Person Record
Metadata
Name |
Johns, James |
Date Born |
09/26/1797 |
Deceased |
04/26/1874 |
Father |
Johns, Jehiel |
Mother |
Johns, Elizabeth Sexton |
Notes |
James Johns (September 26, 1797- April 26, 1874) was the son of Jehiel (February 19, 1756-August 12, 1840) and Elizabeth Sexton (d. March 25, 1851) Johns, first settlers of Huntington, Vermont, in 1786. Jehiel Johns served successfully as moderator, town clerk, selectman, treasurer, and finally for three years, as Huntington's representative in the Vermont legislature. James Johns, one of six children, had little opportunity for more than a district school education. He farmed in Huntington until 1868 when he moved to Starksboro where he died in 1874. He began writing at age thirteen. His early literary output included stories, poetry, essays, song lyrics, a "Journal of the Weather," and diaries he called "minutes" or "yearly chronicles." Johns' first published work was a collection of poems, Green Mountain Muse, which was printed in Burlington by Foote and Stacy in 1828. In 1867, his history of Huntington, Vermont, was published in Hemingway's Vermont Historical Gazetteer. In 1857 Johns secured from Boston a small hand press and became his own publisher. He published several small books but abandoned the press by the 1860's in favor of printing by hand. Johns' early pen printed work includes the newspaper, the Vermont Autograph and Remarker, which he wrote and distributed from as early as 1834 until 1873. He produced the final issue of the paper on August 28, 1873, eight months before his death at age seventy-six. Johns' pen printed output consists of obituary poetry, short stories, essays, sermons, speeches, and local history. |
