Sir William Johnson’s Legacy
Reprinted from the Recorder, March 19, 1988

By 1750 William Johnson was the most important man in the Mohawk Valley. He was in command of the whole Northern Militia and the leader of the Indians. Although the war had ended in Europe there was still great fear of the French in the Mohawk Valley.

By 1750, Molly Brant, sister of Joseph Brant, a Mohawk chief, was living at Fort Johnson. Known as the “brown Lady Johnson,” she was intelligent, well educated and had caught William Johnson’s eye. According to Max Reid in The Mohawk Valley, published in 1901:

“According to local tradition in the valley, Johnson first met the pretty squaw at a military muster at or near Fort Johnson. In jest, she asked an officer to let her ride behind him. He assented, returning fun for fun. To his surprise she leaped like a wildcat upon the space behind his saddle, holding on tight with hair flying and garments flapping while the excited horse dashed over the parade ground. The crowd enjoyed the sight, but the most interested spectator was William Johnson who admiring her spirit, resolved to make her his paramour.”

It is possible that Catherine Wysenberg had died before this time, although there is no evidence one way or the other, Reid continues:

“Approaching the front of the house (Fort Johnson) we paused for a moment to gaze upon the slab of brown stone in front of the main entrance, the edges of which have been dressed by a carver’s chisel into an ovolo molding, giving the appearance of having been perhaps the top of a small tomb such as are frequently found in small cemeteries. For whom besides Catherine Wysenberg would Sir William have prepared this tone? The man who discovers her grave (which is supposed to be somewhere near the west side of the building) will deserve and receive the praise of the antiquarians of the Mohawk Valley.”

In all the many volumes of the Johnson papers there is little reference to Catherine. Johnson’s account to Campbell, a storekeeper of Schenectady, for June 26, 1756, lists two shillings, nine pence for “one pair of gloves for Mrs. (mistress?) Caty.” A letter of John Johnson contained a few references to “granny,” and in 1766 he wrote, “The Old Woman was just buried when we arrived yesterday.” In his will, Sir William refers to Caty as “my beloved wife” and Molly as his housekeeper.

Johnson was, at this time, continually at odds with the Assembly in Albany. Many Indians and British had been taken prisoner during the recent war.

Now that hostilities had ended in Europe, plans for the exchange of prisoners were made. The Assembly made arrangements for the white but would not ransom the Mohawk prisoners. The Iroquois, infuriated at this treatment, threatened to make a separate peace with the French. Johnson must constantly keep them loyal to the British as well as supplying the forts at Oswego and Stanwix, largely at his own expense.

By 1755 the British finally decided that something must be done about the French. General Edward Braddock was to capture Fort Duquesne but his campaign ended in disaster. William Johnson now had a serious decision to make. During his 15 years in the fur trade he had become one of the richest men in America. Practically every pelt taken legally in New York passed through his hands on its way to New York City and Europe. If there was war with Canada he would control the entire fur trade. But he did not feel that he could serve his king and the Five Nations of the Iroquois if he were also in control of the fur trade. He enjoyed diplomacy and politics and finally made his decision. On Dec. 17, 1754, he wrote to Governor Shirley: “Should His Majesty deem me worthy of that important trust, he would abandon the fur trade and pass the rest of his life furthering the public good.”

When the British finally decided to move, Governor Shirley marched up the Mohawk to take Fort Niagara. He treated Johnson’s Iroquois badly and tried to force them to go with him. He was evidently jealous of Johnson and tried to harm him at every turn. Shirley’s expedition never achieved any success. He finally returned to Albany.

Johnson, in the meantime, was organizing to go against the French at Crown Point and Ticonderoga. Toward the end of August he arrived at Lac St. Sacrament with about 300 Iroquois and his company of militia. Upon arriving, he renamed the lake, Lake George. The battle with the French was not a large engagement but the French did retreat to Crown Point, Johnson’s soldiers then set to work building Fort William Henry at the south end of the lake.

Although Crown Point remained in the hands of the French, William Johnson had achieved the only success of the entire war. He was named Sir William Johnson, Baronet, and received 5000 pounds from a grateful king. There was only one sad note for Johnson. King Hendrick, the great Iroquois sachem and Johnson’s close friend, was killed in the battle.

Johnson begged for forts in the valley, but all his pleading was to no avail. The disgusted Iroquois, except for the Mohawks, made a separate peace with the French. Forty Germans were killed in a raid on Burnet’s Field.

After this the war began in earnest. Forts were built in the valley and by 1759 Generals Johnson and Amherst had captured Fort Niagara. By September of that year it was all over. The French capitulated. Johnson and his Mohawks had played a large part in the defeat of France. But the collapse of New France signaled the end of the Iroquois Confederacy. The Mohawks who had fought with Johnson were now in the way of the settlers, streaming into what was now a safe valley. Sir William Johnson, whose long friendship and control of the Iroquois had meant the defeat of New France and the opening of the western lands, was now one of the biggest men in North America. But he still had enormous problems.

During this period in Sir William’s life he was busy at pursuits other than war. As owner of several hundred thousand acres of land, he had encouraged settlers. He brought in Scotch and Irish farmers who settled Broadalbin, Galway, Scotch Bush and Perth. He was an avid agriculturist and introduced many varieties of fruit to the region. He ordered pear and apple trees from Europe and brought cows to the area. He laid out roads, many of which are still in use today, and established county boundaries. Two years after the defeat of the French, he commissioned Samuel Fuller, an architect and engineer, to draw the plans for Johnson Hall in Johnstown.

In 1765 he built St. John’s Episcopal Church in Johnstown and was one of the chief patrons of St. George’s Church in Schenectady. For the Indians he had built Indian Castle Church at German Flats. He also supported Moor’s Charity School which eventually became Dartmouth College. He built a summer place for entertaining on the edge of the great Vlaie and a fishing lodge down the Sacandaga River named Fish House.

No matter how much he cherished his new home and the land he loved, the fate of his Indians was still uppermost in his mind.

In 1768, Sir William Johnson, suffering from the results of a French bullet he had received in the war, began his final achievement. A council with the western Indians had been called at Fort Stanwix (now Rome, N.Y.).

At Stanwix, a line was drawn up the Ohio Valley through New York at Stanwix and on up to Canada. All the land west of this line was reserved for the Indians. Through the summer, bateaux had carried food and supplies to the site of the conference. Bales of cloth and blankets, presents for the Indians, were ready. After days of negotiations, the whites agreed on the line and Sir William could return to Johnstown, hoping it would be honored by the settlers.

In July 1774, some 600 Indians came to Johnson Hall. Sir William addressed them, standing in the hot sun in front of the Hall. On July 11, he spoke for many hours, ordered gifts distributed before he was assisted into the house. There he sat down on a chair, drank a glass of water and quietly died.