This collection contains 38 items that pertains to the life and career of Edward E. Johnson, who served as assistant to the Reverend Horace James, Superintendent of Negro Affairs in North Carolina, following the Civil War.
Edward E. Johnson was an African American civic leader, educator, and assistant to Reverend Horace James, the Superintendent of Negro Affairs for North Carolina during the Reconstruction era. Born around 1824, likely into slavery, Johnson rose to prominence during and after the Civil War as a trusted agent in the Bureau of Negro Affairs, a division established by the Union Army to assist formerly enslaved people in the transition to freedom.
In the aftermath of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Union occupation of eastern North Carolina, Johnson worked closely with Reverend Horace James, who had been appointed by the military government to oversee the welfare of freedpeople in the state. As James's assistant, Johnson played a crucial role in organizing schools, securing fair labor contracts, distributing relief, and helping newly freed African Americans establish independent communities.
While not much is known regarding Johnson's life, his work in assisting Freedmen's communities such as those at Roanoke Island and in New Bern, North Carolina was instrumental in supporting the now free African American communities in the years following the Civil War. Though the exact date of his death is uncertain, records suggest that Johnson died around 1901.
This collection consists of 38 items documenting the life and career of Edward E. Johnson (ca. 1824–ca. 1901) of Lake County and Painesville, Ohio, where he worked as a schoolteacher and insurance agent prior to the Civil War. The materials are arranged chronologically and primarily span the years 1844 to 1866.
The earliest items, dated 1844–1852, include 13 documents related to Johnson's early professional life. These materials consist of teacher accreditations, letters of introduction, and references attesting to his character and work ethic.
The bulk of the collection dates from 1861 to 1866 and documents Johnson's Civil War service, particularly his work with the Department of Negro Affairs, later the Freedmen's Bureau. Of particular note is a letter from Rev. Horace James, Superintendent of Negro Affairs in North Carolina, who named Johnson as one of his three assistants in the state, commending "the diligence and fidelity with which they have discharged their duties."
Early wartime correspondence includes four letters written on Johnson's behalf to Ohio Governor William Denison, advocating for a military commission. Though Johnson may have had brief involvement with "Shield's Division" in 1862, by 1864 he was actively engaged in freedmen's affairs in North Carolina and Virginia. This work included support for the Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony, a settlement established under Union military authority for formerly enslaved people classified as contraband. The colony, spearheaded by James, sought to create a self-sufficient community through agriculture, resource extraction, and skilled labor. Johnson's role appears to have supported these efforts through logistics and administration.
Documents from this period include a letter from J.A. Judson, Assistant Adjutant General, dated September 10, 1864, instructing Johnson to coordinate transportation and provisions for African American men under the care of the Provost Marshal. Also included are eight passes issued to Johnson for travel in Virginia and North Carolina, some of which identify him with the "Contraband Department" or as "Superintendent Negro Affairs," and two of which reference freedmen accompanying him. Additional materials include two 1866 documents related to Johnson's postwar work as a tax collector for the Office of U.S. Direct Tax Commissioners in North Carolina.
Following the Civil War, Johnson returned to Ohio. Census records list his occupation as a farmer in 1870 and as a manufacturer of oil cloth binding in 1880.
April 22, 2024 (processed), 0.50 cubic feet: A group of 38 items documenting the life and career of Edward E. Johnson (ca 1824- ca 1901) from Lake County and Painesville, Ohio, where he served school teacher, insurance agent before the Civil War. Ten letters recommend Johnson for military and government positions with the U.S. Army at the beginning of the war and Reconstruction government in the last year of the war. One letter and several transportation passes relate to Johnson's service as assistant to Horace James, Superintendent of Negro Affairs in North Carolina (Roanoke Island). Other items relate to Johnson's experience as tax collector in the Windsor and Edenton areas of North Carolina. A group of four clippings relate Ohio local history. Purchased from Max Rambod Rare Books.
Processed by Patrick Cash and Lydia Brooker, April 2025
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.
Annual report of the superintendent of negro affairs in North Carolina, 1864 : with an appendix containing the history and management of the freedmen in this department up to June 1st, 1865 / Horace James. NC Stacks. E185.2 .J35X 1865A. Electronic copies are also available.
Brief report of the services rendered by the freed people to the United States Army : in North Carolina, in the spring of 1862, after the battle of Newbern / by Vincent Colyer. NC Reference and NC Stacks E473.3 C72 1864. See also copy in Digital Collections.
Speech of John R. French, esq., of Chowan County : on the question of suffrage, delivered in the Constitutional Convention of North-Carolina, February 18th, 1868. NC Rare JK4190 .F74 1868.