Johnson, A.B. (Alexander Bryan), 1786-1867

Banker, semanticist, philosopher.

Alexander Bryan Johnson was a banker in Utica, New York who had immigrated from England in 1797. He wrote ten books and many pamphlets on morals, politics, language, and financial subjects. Some of his letters of advice to his children were incorporated by him into his published works. The best known of his fourteen children was Alexander Smith Johnson, a jurist.

Alexander Bryan Johnson was a banker in Utica, New York who had immigrated from England in 1797. He wrote ten books and many pamphlets on morals, politics, language, and financial subjects. Some of his letters of advice to his children were incorporated by him into his published works. The best known of his fourteen children was Alexander Smith Johnson, a jurist.

Alexander Bryan Johnson was the son of Leah Simpson and Bryan Johnson, a descendant of Dutch and German-Jewish ancestors. He was born in Gosport, England, on May 29, 1786 and lived in England until he was nearly fifteen. In 1801 Alexander and his mother moved to Utica, New York (then Old Fort Schuyler), to join his father who had emigrated to the United States in 1797 and was becoming a respected merchant. In 1810 Alexander took over the management of his father's business and also established a glass factory in Ontario county. In 1811 Johnson went to New York to invest in bank stocks and learn more about finances. It was here in 1812 that he published his first book, An Inquiry into the Nature of Value and of Capital .

Returning to Utica Johnson met and married Abigail Louisa Adams, the daughter of Charles Adams and granddaughter of President John Adams. He was appointed one of the state directors of the Bank of Utica and soon proposed a bank of his own. Through a charter granted him for an insurance company Johnson was able to engage in banking activities, but the company was forced to dissolve itself in July 1819. Johnson, in the meantime, had been appointed a director of the Ontario Branch Bank and in September 1819 was elevated to its presidency. He remained with the bank until its charter expired in 1855.

Freed from financial worries, Johnson was able to find time for many other interests. He studied law in the office of his old friend, Nathan Williams, and was eventually admitted to the bar though he never practiced law. Between 1828 and 1841 he published many pamphlets and four more books, including his important Treatise on Language . The Utica Lyceum and other groups frequently called on Johnson as a lecturer. His family prospered; he and Abigail had ten children and all the boys, when old enough, were sent away to preparatory school and then to college. The girls, too, were sent away to be educated. Johnson's oldest son, Alexander Smith Johnson, attended Yale and became a lawyer. He later served on the New York Court of Appeals, including two years as chief justice, and was a commissioner for the settlement of claims of the Hudson's Bay and Puget Sound Agricultural Companies. (Some of A. S. Johnson's papers are in the Bancroft Library in California.)

In 1836 Johnson's wife died. Two years later he married Eliza Lydia Masters; they had four children. Eliza died in 1852 and Johnson became so despondent that his children encouraged him to take a trip to Europe. On his return, and probably at the urging of his children, he married for a third time. He lived with his third wife, Mary Livingston, until his death in 1867.

These last years were not unproductive in terms of literary accomplishment. Johnson produced another five books, including The Meaning of Words and A Guide to the Right Understanding of Our American Constitution, which contains his reflections on American government and politics including the slavery question. Unfortunately, Johnson did not keep a close enough watch on his banking interests and the new Ontario Bank which he helped organize in 1855 was declared insolvent in 1856: the bank cashier had fraudulently appropriated half of the bank's capital for speculation. Johnson was able, eventually, to pay off all billholders and creditors and return a small amount to the stockholders. He then retired from business to spend the remaining ten years of his life studying and writing. His last book, Deep Sea Soundings, appeared in 1861.

Additional biographical material on Alexander Bryan Johnson may be found in Moses M. Bagg's The Pioneers of Utica . Johnson wrote an autobiography which was never published. Hamilton College has photocopies made from a typescript of this work, which is still in the hands of the family. In September 1967 Hamilton College held a Centennial Conference on Johnson's life and works. A more detailed appraisal of Johnson's career and a complete bibliography of his works may be found in the proceedings of this conference, published as Language and Value, edited by Charles L. Todd and Russell T. Blackwood (Greenwood Publishing Company, New York, 1969).