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Col Robert Adams Johnson Sr.

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Col Robert Adams Johnson Sr.

Birth
Fayette County, Kentucky, USA
Death
15 Mar 1886 (aged 68)
Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee, USA
Burial
Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky, USA Add to Map
Plot
Section C, Lot 9
Memorial ID
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Son of Henry Johnson and Elizabeth Flournoy, Robert married Cornelia L. Ruffin on August 18, 1853 at the Metropolitan Hotel in New York City. Most of his family was located around the Louisville area. His first wife died in 1860. When the Civil War broke out, he helped recruit volunteers from the Louisville area and as a Lt. Colonel, helped train them at Ft. Boone, about eight miles from Guthrie, Kentucky. Many of these soldiers became known as the "Orphan Brigade". Hanson's Regiment, the Second Kentucky, was organized at Fort Boone on July 21, 1861 with Lt. Col. Robert A. Johnson as second in command. In the Autumn of 1861 he was temporarily assigned to the Kentucky 9th Infantry and fought in that unit at the Battle of Shiloh where he was wounded. Johnson was promoted to Colonel in December, 1862 and resigned his commission in October, 1863. Following the War, he married Lucy Jacob and, after her death in 1870, married a third time to Ellen McMahon. Known by some as the "Magnet of the American Turf", he bred thoroughbred horses, organizing the R.A. Johnson & Company, owners of two championship horses: "Loftin", who came in second at the 1884 Kentucky Derby; and "Powhattan", winner of the 1884 Kenner Stakes at Sarasota, New York. He died while temporarily residing at Knoxville, Tennessee.
Son of Henry Johnson and Elizabeth Flournoy, Robert married Cornelia L. Ruffin on August 18, 1853 at the Metropolitan Hotel in New York City. Most of his family was located around the Louisville area. His first wife died in 1860. When the Civil War broke out, he helped recruit volunteers from the Louisville area and as a Lt. Colonel, helped train them at Ft. Boone, about eight miles from Guthrie, Kentucky. Many of these soldiers became known as the "Orphan Brigade". Hanson's Regiment, the Second Kentucky, was organized at Fort Boone on July 21, 1861 with Lt. Col. Robert A. Johnson as second in command. In the Autumn of 1861 he was temporarily assigned to the Kentucky 9th Infantry and fought in that unit at the Battle of Shiloh where he was wounded. Johnson was promoted to Colonel in December, 1862 and resigned his commission in October, 1863. Following the War, he married Lucy Jacob and, after her death in 1870, married a third time to Ellen McMahon. Known by some as the "Magnet of the American Turf", he bred thoroughbred horses, organizing the R.A. Johnson & Company, owners of two championship horses: "Loftin", who came in second at the 1884 Kentucky Derby; and "Powhattan", winner of the 1884 Kenner Stakes at Sarasota, New York. He died while temporarily residing at Knoxville, Tennessee.

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  • Maintained by: Pat Iverson
  • Originally Created by: Bev
  • Added: Dec 26, 2004
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10176518/robert_adams-johnson: accessed ), memorial page for Col Robert Adams Johnson Sr. (3 May 1817–15 Mar 1886), Find a Grave Memorial ID 10176518, citing The Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky, USA; Maintained by Pat Iverson (contributor 46836677).