Anthony Johnson was a black man who arrived in Virginia around 1621 and was purchased to work as a slave in the tobacco fields of the Bennett Plantation. At that time he was merely known as “Antonio a Negro”, as it wasn’t common for black slaves to have last names. On March 22nd, 1622, an Indian attack on the Bennett plantation left only 12 surviving slaves, one of them being Anthony. In that same year a woman named Mary arrived at the plantation. Being that she was the only woman living at the Bennett plantation in 1625, Anthony could be considered fortunate to have received her as his wife. Together they had atleast four children. It isn’t known how Anthony received his full name of Anthony Johnson, but the time that it is believed that this happened leaves some clues for speculation. It is presumed that someone named Johnson helped Anthony and his wife escape to freedom, apparently sometime between 1625 and 1650. In the 1640’s it is believed that Anthony and his family owned a small farm in Northamton where they raised livestock, which was mostly destroyed by fire in 1653. He received relief for this event in the form of his wife’s and two daughters’s excusal from paying taxes. About halfway through the 1660’s the Johnson’s moved to Somerset County, Maryland in search of more productive land. Shortly after acquiring a lease for 300 acres of land Anthony died, leaving his son to take his place as the head of what had become the Johnson Clan.The similarity of his history with that of white servants of the time seems to be that while he started out in Virginia as a servant, or slave, he had worked his way up to freedom, had a family and established himself as a trustworthy land owner over the years. These too were some of the values he shared with his white neighbors. Having a family, a farm, and freedom. He was also trusted by the white people enough to be allowed t...
