Silvester Johnson
| Silvester Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the Nelson County district |
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In office 1859–1861 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 15, 1813 Nelson County, Kentucky |
| Died | July 13, 1889 (aged 75) New Haven, Kentucky |
| Resting place | Saint Catherine Cemetery, New Haven, Kentucky |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Mildred Boone Johnson |
| Alma mater | St. Mary's College |
| Occupation | Merchant, Attorney, Banker |
Silvester Johnson (October 15, 1813 – July 13, 1889) was a Kentucky merchant and a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives.
Johnson was born October 15, 1813 on his parents' farm near New Hope, Kentucky in southern Nelson County. The son of John and Dorothy (Miles) Johnson, he was well educated, receiving a liberal education and was graduated from St. Mary's College in Marion County in 1832. After graduation, he spent the next three years teaching school in both Nelson and Hardin Counties and, in the summer off-season, working the flatboats with his uncle along the Rolling Fork, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers.
In 1835 he married Mildred Boone and settled in the village of New Haven, where he purchased a prime location at the center of town, on the corner of the Bardstown & Green River Turnpike and the Lebanon Road. His mercantile business was quite lucrative and, by 1840, Silvester had accumulated a small fortune of over $6,000 (equivalent to $143,940.00 in 2016) and owned five slaves. He continued to work the flatboat and merchandising trade on the Rolling Fork River until 1843, when he opened his own store in New Haven.
By early 1839, he had become an influential member of society in the New Haven area and was instrumental in pressing for the incorporation of the village as a town. In February 1839, New Haven was incorporated as a city and in April 1840, at the age of 27, Johnson was elected as New Haven's first town chairman.
In 1843, in addition to his business ventures, Johnson was appointed a county deputy sheriff and, in 1853 he was elected Nelson County Sheriff. He only served a single one-year term as sheriff, but was again appointed as a deputy sheriff in 1855, serving until 1857. Johnson was also kept active by several appointments to county committees in both Nelson and LaRue Counties. In April 1854 he was appointed as one of three commissioners responsible for the correction of boundary lines in two of the Bardstown voting districts as well as districts on the south side of the Beech Fork in southern Nelson County. Trained as a lawyer, Johnson not only handled his own legal affairs, but was also those of several guardianships for local underage children.
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