William Johnson (barber)
William T. Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1809 Natchez, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | June 17, 1851 (aged 42) Natchez, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Barber, entrepreneur |
| Known for | Businessman and diarist; notable free African American slaveholder in Mississippi |
William T. Johnson (circa 1809 – June 17, 1851) was a biracial entrepreneur and free African American barber based in Natchez, Mississippi.
Originally born into slavery, Johnson gained his freedom in 1820 through manumission by his owner—most likely his father—who was also named William Johnson. His mother and sister had been freed prior to this. Under the tutelage of his brother-in-law James Miller, Johnson learned the barber trade and initially practiced in Port Gibson, Mississippi. He later returned to Natchez, where he established a thriving business network that included a barbershop, bathhouse, bookstore, and various real estate investments. Remarkably, despite his own background as a freedman, Johnson became a slaveholder himself, owning sixteen enslaved individuals. Starting in 1835, he kept a comprehensive diary chronicling both his commercial ventures and private affairs. That same year, he wed Ann Battle, a free woman of color, with whom he had eleven children. Johnson also provided financial loans to influential individuals, among them the Mississippi governor who had authorized his emancipation.
In 1851, Johnson was fatally attacked after a land boundary conflict by his neighbor Baylor Winn. The ensuing trial attracted widespread attention due to Johnson’s prominence; it was relocated to an adjacent town where Winn’s mixed heritage complicated the legal process. Because Mississippi law prohibited black witnesses from testifying against white defendants, Winn asserted partial Native American descent to evade conviction and was ultimately acquitted.
Johnson’s diary resurfaced in 1938 and was published in 1951, offering a rare perspective on the life of a nineteenth-century Mississippi businessman who simultaneously owned slaves. His documents are preserved at Louisiana State University.
In 1990, through congressional legislation, the William Johnson House was incorporated into the Natchez National Historical Park.