andrewjohnsonfamilyhistory

Andrew Johnson was born in South Carolina June 4, 1800, the fourth child of Jane and William Johnson I. Elizabeth's parents are unknown, but she was also born in south Carolina. She was only 16 years old when their first child, William II was born on October 6, 1827.

Soon afterward, they moved to the Gwinnett/Dekalb area of Georgia. Andrew's mother, Jane, father, William I, three sisters, Mary "Polly", Lucretia and Sara my have come to this area at the same time. If so, there were three generations-possibly four, who made their journey westward together from South Carolina to what had recently been Indian territory.

Some time after Andrew and Elizabeth arrived in Georgia, their second child, Thomas, was born August 1, 1830 in Gwinnett County. While living in Gwinnett, Andrew operated a general store on Killian Hill Road.

By 1836, the family was living in Dekalb County. Their third child, Mary A. Johnson, was born there April 1, 1836. The fourth child, George, was born in 1839.

Andrew became a First Lieutenant in Captain Latimer's Voluntary Enlistment in the 54th Regiment of the Georgia Militia June 17, 1836.

He then build a hotel at the base of Stone Mountain in the vicinity of the present day Stone Mountain Park Administration building. When gold was discovered in Dahlonega, statecoaches from Milledgeville, then the State Capital, would stop at the hotel. The passengers would spend the night there and travel on to Dahlonega the next morning. Because the mountain was Georgia's most popular tourist attraction, bringing in droves of tourists, business must have been very good for Andrew. Later, when the railroad came throu Stone Mountain in 1845, he erected another hotel on Main Street across from the train depot.

Andrew was appointed to the Dekalb County Comission December 21, 1837. In 1839, he helped to incorporate New Gibralter, which had been called Rock Mountain. He was appointed Postmaster of New Gibralter October 28, 1839 and served seven years in that office. He was one of the leaders who persuaded the railroad officials to bring the Georgia Railroad through Stone Mountain in 1845. The rails ran from Augusta through New Gibralter to Atlanta. In 1847, the town's name was changed again to Stone Mountain.

Andrew became one of Dekalb County's wealthiest early landowners. He acquired appromimately 2,000 acres of land, plus all of Stone Mountain. Because the first Dekalb County courthouse and all its records were destroyed by fire in 1842, we don't know for sure who owned Stone Mountain before Andrew. However, he is listed as the first owner after the fire. He bought the mountain and owned it until his death in 1852. This fact is on record. A book by Willard Neal, Georgia's Stone Mountain, available for purchase at the Stone Mountain Park Administration building mentions Andrew in several places, describing some of his enterprises, but does not state that he owned the entire mountain, which he did. During the time Andrew owned the mountain, a new industry, the quarrying of granite from the mountain was started here. Because the granite was too heavy for long hauls by wagon, there was another good reason to bring the railroad through the town. After the Civil War, quarrying and shipping granite became Stone Mountain's main industry.

In Village Fare: Food, Facts and Folktales, by the Stone Mountain Woman's Club, 1996, which can be purchased in the Village of Stone Mountain includes some early history. From one article we learn that "The Southern Central Agricultural Association was formed for the purpose of staging an annual fair for ffarmers to exhibit and sell their fruits and produce and for the manufacturers to exhibit and sell their wares. The year was 1846 and the fair was held in a beautiful grove owned by Thomas Johnson. The fair was deemed very successful with more than 3,000 attending. It was held for three more years and in 1849, P.T. Barnum brought his circus. By 1850, the fiar had grown too large for the grove and was moved to Atlanta where it became the Southeastern Fair." We know the Southeastern Fair lasted until 1975, more than 125 years. Also the Agricultural Association evelved into the State of Georgia Department of Agriculture.

Elizabeth was the first to die at the age of 39 on August 2, 1850. At this time, her younest child, George, was only 11 and Mary was only 14 years old. Unfortunately, less than two years later, Andrew died on April 16, 1852. They are both buried in the Johnson-Maddox-Goldsmith Family Cemetery in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

courtesy of Cora Whitley Lambert and Hazel Britt Mitchell