Fort Johnson

William Johnson 

Today, we all learned about William Johnson, a British agent who made negotiations with the Mohawk. He befriended the Indians and often provided them with a great hospitality at his home.

Johnson's House

The picture above shows Johnson’s house. In this house was where many of the Indians were welcomed. As we were explained, the Indians got into to the house, set in the waiting room and waited for their turn. In many occasions, they waited weeks before being assisted by Johnson. This is why there were available rooms for them in the attic. While they waited, they could eat or drink whatever they wanted. Johnson had plenty of servants to take care of the Indians while he was dealing with other issues.

                Johnson's Desk                                                         Game Table to entertain the Indians 

During this time period, many agents used rum or other kind of alcohol to make the Indians unconscious of their actions when making negotiations. Doing this, many of the agents made great profit out of the Indians. Even though, many of the agents used this technique, William Johnson never did. Due to this, he had a good reputation and thus more Indians would come to him when they had problems or wanted business. Clearly, the hospitality and honesty of William Johnson made him a great negotiator which then led him to his fortune.

The house above was not only a workplace for Johnson, but it also was the home where he lived with his wife, Catherine Wesenberg, his son John Johnson and his daughters.

Catherine's Bed

His wife was born in England. She was not seen very often by Johnson’s customers. Most of the time, she was in the back of the house taking care of other matters. When Catherine died, Johnson married Molloy, a Mohawk Indian. They had several children who were excluded in his will by their half-brother John Johnson. After marrying Molloy, Johnson constructed a new house about a mile away from his previous house. This house is shown in the picture below.

                                  

Johnson's New House/ Johnson's Hall

 Here, Johnson continued his business with the Indians. In contrast with Catherine, Molloy was a very outgoing woman who helped Johnson to take care of his business. After the Indians had done business with Johnson, they sent thanks letters to him and Molloy. I found it ironic that Molloy, who might have been considered as a “savage”, knew how to help her husband with his business matter. While Catherine who might have been considered as “civilized,” did not participate in her husband’s business.

The fact that William Johnson married an Indian woman fascinated me. When I heard about it the first time, I thought I heard wrong. But I did not. William Johnson married an Indian woman with whom he raised eight kids. It seems that William Johnson did not care about class status which in the colonization and American Revolution period was a big issue. This fact reflects that Johnson, besides being honest and friendly, was also humble.