LESSON 9
An Irishman Among Iroquois: The story of William Johnson, who traveled to America and learned to live in two very different worlds.
An Irishman Among Iroquois: The story of William Johnson, who traveled to America and learned to live in two very different worlds.
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This is a story of a handsome young man named William Johnson who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Ireland in 1737 and, among other things, came to be accepted by Native Americans as one of their own. To people back in Europe, who were fascinated with stories of the people called Indians, he was soon a folk hero. A popular ballad was sung about him from Lisbon to London. Johnson came from County Meath, just north of Dublin; when he arrived in America he was leading twelve adventurous Irish families. They had been sent to settle on land owned by Johnson’s uncle, a British naval officer. That land, in a beautiful New York valley edged by Adirondack Mountains, held creeks and a waterway the settlers named the Mohawk River. Five years later, the uncle’s property, and the people settled on it, were doing well. So Johnson bought a thousand acres of land for himself. He was now a justice of the peace and a man trusted by both the British authorities and members of the Mohawk tribes who had long lived in the region and were part of an Indian confederacy known as the Iroquois. He soon became an important figure in the fur trade, which means he was sending beaver skins and other furs to Europe and becoming rich -- very rich. William Johnson was an enigma, which means a puzzle. He was not like most other people. On some days he dressed like a proper Englishman and met and did business with Europeans. On other days he became so trusted by the Mohawk Indians that they gave him the name Warraghiyagey (war rah-gee YAH-gay), and bright designs were painted on his naked chest. He also wore a deerskin kilt adorned with porcupine quills. The dried deer’s hoofs tied to his ankles and wrists rattled as he moved. This unusual man had learned the Mohawk language. He was trusted in two worlds: Native American warriors would follow him in war dances and eventually even in battle. And so would troops of American settlers. As for the British, England’s king would knight him, making him Sir William Johnson, one of only two colonists knighted by a king. Why did he get a knighthood? That would come after he won an important battle against French forces. That was during the French and Indian War and if the English colonists hadn’t won that battle we might all be speaking French today. A biographer wrote of him, “Sir William was a well adjusted European man; Warraghiyagey thought and acted as an Indian. The two personalities lived together without strain in one keen mind and passionate heart.” So why isn’t he in most history books? Ah, that’s a story. Actually it is more than that. It’s a tale about what is best in us, and what is worst. Best: in our hearts we really believe that all men are created equal. Our nation would be founded on that ideal. Worst: we have often not acted on that belief. William Johnson treated Native Americans as equals. Soon after he arrived in America he married Catherine Weisberg, a young German woman who gave him three children. (This was the frontier, where marriage was often an agreement, not a ceremony.) That marriage failed. Or maybe she died. No one seems to be sure of that. At some point Warraghiyagey/Johnson fell in love with the daughter of a Mohawk leader. She was a leader too; her English name was Molly Brant. Her Indian name was Degonwadonti. We also know that when a British officer challenged her to take part in a horse riding competition, she won it easily. She and Warraghiyagey are said to have married in a Mohawk ceremony, but no one knows that for sure. We do know she was a devout Christian and that they lived together as husband and wife, raising eight children in a great manor house in Johnstown, N.Y., which he named for his son. (You can visit that grand house today.) Indian friends often camped on their vast estate. The Johnsons were happy to celebrate with them. But, why is he important in American history? Because the French were settling the land to the north (Canada) and they wanted New York and the fur trade and maybe the English colonies too. Six Iroquois tribes dominated the New York region where Johnson had settled. In the 1750's it looked like the Iroquois were going to ally with the French in the war that was brewing. The British needed help, they turned to the man they had made their Indian agent: William Johnson. In 1755 (with the French and Indian War now happening), Johnson was given a commission for “the sole Management & direction of the Affairs of the Six Nations of Iroquois & their Allies.” He soon led an army of British, Native Americans, and American settlers and, in September 1755, they won the battle of Lake George. England’s Major General Edward Braddock had just been defeated in a battle on the Ohio River. If Johnson hadn’t won his battle we might all be speaking French today. In the years to come William Johnson would fight other battles, negotiate treaties, and attempt to prevent exploitation of the Indians. He would become a great landowner and one of the richest of America’s settlers. You can read his papers, which are still available; they will tell you he was an amazing leader, and a charming one. A Massachusetts doctor who fought at Lake George wrote this in a letter home: I must say he is a complete gentleman, and willing to oblige and please all men: familiar and free of access to the lowest sentinel; a gentleman of uncommon smart sense and even temper: never saw him in a ruffle, or use any bad language…He is almost universally beloved and esteemed by officers and soldiers…. There’s a villain in this story: Lord Jeffery Amherst. He was an old world snob and seems to have held Native Americans in contempt. He was horrified that Johnson had married an Indian woman who he treated with love and respect. To Amherst an interracial marriage was unthinkable, especially for an Englishman. Amherst, who was the commanding general of British forces, did something awful. He viewed Native Americans as an "execrable race" and told his officers to take blankets from smallpox victims and send them to an Indian encampment, knowing that smallpox usually devastated natives. This was germ warfare. Back in England Amherst did all he could to make William Johnson look bad. He said nasty things about his interracial marriage. Is that why Johnson got erased from our history books? I don’t know. I do know that some of that racial bigotry got left in America and, to our shame, we have yet to wipe it out completely. And, I’m sorry to have to tell you that Johnson wasn’t perfect. Africans were being brought into New York where they were sold as slaves. Johnson, who became one of the richest men in America, had many businesses and needed workers. He became a slave owner. Johnson died just before the American Revolution. When that war came, Molly Brandt sided with the British and moved to Canada, where she led troops fighting the American rebels. Today she is seen as a national hero in Canada. As for William Johnson, if he hadn’t come to America our history might be very different. Why isn’t his story told in most history books? The story of Warragghiyagey (the name means he who does much business) and Molly Brandt needs to be told. (You will find it in A History of US.) It tells much about our national heritage. |
These lessons are intended for your use at home. They are copyrighted by Joy Hakim and are not for commercial use or redistribution.
John’s Town
Can you imagine having a town named for you? William Johnson founded the city of Johnstown and named it for his son John. Today it has about eight thousand residents. William Johnson’s big manor house is still there and you can go for a visit. New York was a British colony during Johnson’s lifetime. He convinced the British governor, Lord William Tryon, to make Johnstown the seat of a new county. Then Johnson built a county courthouse (partly at his own expense). It is still standing today, as the oldest operating courthouse in New York. You can visit it too. Of course you know the dates of the American revolution (look them up if you don’t). Fast forward on your American history timeline. Stop in 1815. An important baby is getting born in Johnstown. SHE will change American history. Her initials are E.C.S. See what you can find out about her. (Picture below.) Keep going on that timeline to 1889. Watch out, there’s a big flood. Now that very same year there was a huge flood in Johnstown Pennsylvania. One of my favorite authors, David McCullough, wrote a book about the Johnstown flood. It’s a terrific book, I recommend it, but it is about the flood in Pennsylvania. No one has written about the flood in Johnstown New York(as far as I know) although 20 people died. Maybe you can do some research and write about it.
Here’s a picture of another New Yorker (above) who was very special. She was my mom, Ida Ginsburg, and she was born in Glens Falls, New York, which is very near Johnstown. When she was a teenager she played on the first woman’s basketball team in Glens Falls. Take note of the bloomers. They were high fashion.
More about Lord Jeffery Amherst's controversial history can be read here, on the website of Amherst College, which is named for him.
What should you do with this story (besides reading it)? Well, a fellow named Lin-Manuel Miranda took the story of America's Alexander Hamilton and told it in music and songs. Hamilton was an interesting guy, but just imagine what you can do telling the story of a man who was both an English lord and a Native American. Go for it. Maybe you can try hip hop for your musical tale.
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