Lycurgus Johnson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
March 22, 1818
Lycurgus Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lycurgus Leonidas Johnson March 22, 1818 |
| Died | August 1, 1876 (aged 58) |
| Occupations | Planter, politician |
| Spouse | Lydia Taylor |
| Children | 12 |
| Parent(s) | Joel Johnson Verlinda Offutt Johnson |
| Relatives | Robert Johnson (paternal grandfather) Richard Mentor Johnson (uncle) Benjamin Johnson (uncle) Henry Johnson (uncle) Margaret Johnson Erwin Dudley (cousin) Robert Ward Johnson (cousin) |
Lycurgus Johnson (March 22, 1818 – August 1, 1876) was an American cotton planter and large slaveholder in the Arkansas Delta during the antebellum years. Born to the powerful political and planter Johnson family in Scott County, Kentucky, he became the owner and developer of the Lakeport Plantation in Chicot County, Arkansas. It bordered the west bank of the Mississippi River.
Although Johnson declared bankruptcy after the Civil War, he retained his land. After clearing his debts, he re-established his fortune. By 1870 he was the largest cotton producer in Chicot County. In 1874 he was elected to and served as a Democrat in the Arkansas House of Representatives.
Lycurgus Johnson was born on Easter Sunday, March 22, 1818, in Scott County, Kentucky, to Joel Johnson and Verlinda (Offut) Johnson.[1][2] His father Joel Johnson was also from Scott County and part of a powerful and influential family there. Like many other planters, his father acquired property in the Deep South, in his case, along the shores of Lake Chicot in the Arkansas Delta.[1][2] Lycurgus had eight siblings.[1]
Lycurgus's paternal grandfather, Robert Johnson, was a surveyor in Kentucky, which had put him in a good position to identify property to claim under land grants.[1] Other influential relatives included paternal uncle Richard Mentor Johnson, who served as the ninth Vice President of the United States under President Martin Van Buren from 1837 to 1841.[1] Another uncle, Benjamin Johnson, was appointed as a United States federal judge in Arkansas.[1] Yet another paternal uncle, Henry Johnson, became a large landowner and slaveholder in Mississippi. Henry's daughter and Johnson's cousin, Margaret Johnson Erwin Dudley, became the owner of the Mount Holly plantation on Lake Washington in Mississippi.
