William T. Johnson and family papers. Legal and financial documents. Folder OS 01-03, 1846-1885. - William T. Johnson and family papers. Legal and financial documents. Folder OS 01-03, 1846-1885.

William T. Johnson (1809?-1851) and his sister, Adelia, were the children of Amy Johnson, a free woman of color and a former slave freed in 1814 by William Johnson, a planter of Adams County, Mississippi. William T. and Adelia were freed in 1820 and 1818, respectively. In 1820, Adelia married James Miller, a free man of color from Philadelphia. Miller was a barber and a respected businessman in Natchez, Mississippi, and he trained his brother-in-law, William T. Johnson, to become a barber. William T. Johnson moved from Port Gibson to Natchez in 1830 to pursue the trade, having purchased Miller's unexpired lease. Five years later, William married a free woman of color and former slave, Ann Battles (1815?-1866). Ann and her mother, Harriet Battles were emancipated by Gabriel Tichenor of Natchez in 1826. William and Ann Johnson had ten children: William (born 1836), Richard (born 1837), Byron (1839-1872), Anna (1841-1922), Katharine (1842-1901), Phillip (born 1844), Eugenia (born 1845), Alice (born about 1846), Josephine (born 1849), and Clarence (born 1851). Between 1835 and 1850, Johnson acquired three barber shops, a bath house in Natchez, and a plantation; he also maintained business connections in New Orleans.; In the late 1840s, Johnson became involved in a dispute with Baylor Winn and Benjamin Wade, regarding a property line on his plantation; Baylor Winn was also a free man of color. After the circuit court ordered a survey, the dispute was settled out of court in May of 1851. However, on June 16, 1851, Johnson was fatally wounded in an ambush; before his death on the morning of June 17th, Johnson named Winn as his assassin. Johnson owned more than 2,000 acres of land in Adams County at the time of his death.; On Johnson's death, his wife Ann Battles took over management of the Johnson family household. When she died of illness in 1866, her son Byron became head of the family.; James Miller was a free man of color and barber originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1820, he married Adelia Johnson, who was a free woman of color and the sister of William Johnson. The couple lived in Natchez, Mississippi, where James found success as a barber and businessman. He trained William Johnson to become a barber, and in 1830, he sold Johnson the unexpired lease of his Natchez barbershop.; Anna L. Johnson (1841-1922) worked as a schoolteacher and was born a free person of color in Natchez, Mississippi to William Johnson (1809?-1851) and Ann Battles Johnson (1815?-1866), both free people of color and former slaves. She became the head of the Johnson household, managing the family's financial and business matters, following her brother Byron's death. Anna taught in the Natchez primary schools, as did her sisters: Alice, Josephine, and Katharine. During the period of 1912 through 1920, Anna lived at the family plantation, Peachland Plantation. Anna died in 1922 at about age 81.; Duncan Gustine Minor was born to a wealthy, aristocratic family in Mississippi in 1862. Duncan never married and lived with his mother at Oakland, managing his family's estate. It is speculated that he had a secret relationship with his second cousin, Jennie Merrill, who was known in the Natchez community as an eccentric and recluse. Duncan is famous for finding his cousin murdered in her home in Glenburnie on August 4, 1932. News of the crime travelled through newspaper print across the country and abroad. Merrill bequeathed her entire estate to Duncan, which included Glenburnie, two plantations in Louisiana, and $250,000 in cash. Minor died at Glenburnie in 1939.; Alexander James Postelethwaite (born 1813) was a wealthy dry-goods merchant and importer in Natchez, Mississippi. He was the son of Henry and Elizabeth Postelethwaite, who moved from Carlisle, Pennsylvania to Natchez in the early nineteenth century. He married Mary Elizabeth Browder (1821-1900) in 1851, and together the couple had five children.