Ann Jennings Johnson (May 8, 1745 – November 22, 1794) was the inaugural First Lady of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and wife of the first non-colonial

Governor of Maryland The governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

, Thomas Johnson.

Early life and family

Ann Jennings was born on May 8, 1745, the daughter of Rebecca Sauders Jennings and Judge Thomas Jennings, chief clerk of the Maryland Register of Land Office. Her mother was the daughter of Robert Sauders, and her father was the son of the Reverend Henry Jennings of St. Marys County, Maryland. Ann grew up in Annapolis, Maryland in an Episcopal upbringing. Her family attended St. Anne's Parish in Annapolis. In the 1760s, she met Thomas Johnson who was a young man recently employed as an apprentice at the land office where her father worked.Delaplaine, Edward S. ''The Life of Thomas Johnson'' (New York: The Grafton Press, 1927). Ann and Thomas wed on February 16, 1766, enjoyed a happy marriage, and had eight children, including one who died in infancy and a second who died as a young adult.

First Lady

After serving as an

Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, wh ...

Delegate to the Provincial Assembly and as a Congressman in two

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

es, Thomas Johnson was elected by the legislature as the first governor of Maryland in 1777. With her husband's new position, Ann became the inaugural First Lady in Maryland's history. Ann was in the role of First Lady throughout her husband's governorship from 1777 to 1779. During this period and throughout her husband's political career, Ann was a prominent and influential figure in Annapolis society.

Later life and death

After Thomas' tenure as governor, the family moved to the newly built Richfield Estate in

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in, and the county seat of, Frederick County, Maryland, United States. Frederick's population was 78,171 people as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Maryland, second-largest ...

. Ann continued to support her husband's public service as a member of the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives, and the lower ...

and

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

, Commissioner of the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, and as an

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is a Justice (title), justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the J ...

between 1779 and 1793. Ann Jennings Johnson died on November 22, 1794, at the age of 49 after a period of illness, and only a few months after her husband's retirement from public service. She was buried at All Saints' Episcopal Church and her remains (along with her husband's) were moved to a new family monument at Mount Olivet Cemetery in 1913.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings Johnson, Ann 1745 births 1794 deaths 18th-century American women First ladies and gentlemen of Maryland People from Annapolis, Maryland People from colonial Maryland