Richard Malcolm Johnston
Encyclopedia
Richard Malcolm Johnston (March 8, 1822 - September 23, 1898) was an American educator and author. Johnson was born in Powelton, Hancock County
, Georgia
. His father was a Baptist
minister, and his early education was received at a country school and finished at Mercer University
. After graduating there he spent a year teaching and then took up the study of law and was admitted to the Bar in 1843. In 1857, he accepted an appointment to the chair of belles-lettres and oratory at the University of Georgia
in Athens
, retaining it until the opening of the Civil War
, when he began a school for boys on his farm near Sparta
. This he kept going during the war, serving also for a time on the staff of General J.E. Brown, and helping to organize the state militia.
At the close of the war he moved to Maryland
, where he opened the Penn Lucy School for boys near Baltimore. One of his teaching staff here was the poet Sidney Lanier
, who persuaded him to begin to write for publication, although he was then over fifty years old. His first stories were sent to the Southern Magazine; others to The Century followed, and became immediately popular. He had the knack of story-telling that depicted the homely children of the soil, quaint characters that filled the memories of his youth, and he embalmed their fading images with facility and a faithful regard to accuracy that preserved the bourgeois type of old Middle Georgia. His style was serene and facile, mingling humour with moral philosophy. As a critic he had poetic sympathy with wise discrimination.
Johnston became a Catholic
in 1875. His wife Frances Manfield, of old New England stock, had been received into the Church six months previously. He relates that he was thirty years old when he first saw a priest, and that his first investigations into the Faith were during the "Know-Nothing" campaign of 1855, when he read some of Bishop England's and Cardinal Newman's works to confute a political opponent. With his conversion the attendance at his school, which was long associated with Baptist patronage, declined, and he gave it up and devoted himself entirely to literature — his popularity as a story writer having steadily increased — and to lecturing on literary topics. His published works include: Dukesborough Tales (1871–81), in which the impressions of his early school days in Georgia were elaborated; Old Mark Langston (1884); Two Gray Tourists (1885); Mr. Absolom Billingslea and Other Georgia Folks (1888); The Primes (1891); Widow Guthrie (1890); Ogeechee Cross Firings (1889); Old Times in New Georgia (1897); a Life of Alexander H. Stephens with whom he had been associated in law practice (1878). A collection of essays was published in 1881, and he prepared a Historical Sketch of English Literature (1872), a textbook for advanced students, used at Johns Hopkins University
and other institutions at which he gave lecture courses.
He died in Baltimore, Maryland.
Hancock County, Georgia
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 10,076 people, 3,237 households, and 2,311 families residing in the county. The population density was 21 people per square mile . There were 4,287 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. His father was a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
minister, and his early education was received at a country school and finished at Mercer University
Mercer University
Mercer University is an independent, private, coeducational university with a Baptist heritage located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study: liberal arts, business, education, music,...
. After graduating there he spent a year teaching and then took up the study of law and was admitted to the Bar in 1843. In 1857, he accepted an appointment to the chair of belles-lettres and oratory at the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
in Athens
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
, retaining it until the opening of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, when he began a school for boys on his farm near Sparta
Sparta, Georgia
Sparta is a country town in Hancock County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,265 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Hancock County...
. This he kept going during the war, serving also for a time on the staff of General J.E. Brown, and helping to organize the state militia.
At the close of the war he moved to Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, where he opened the Penn Lucy School for boys near Baltimore. One of his teaching staff here was the poet Sidney Lanier
Sidney Lanier
Sidney Lanier was an American musician and poet.-Biography:Sidney Lanier was born February 3, 1842, in Macon, Georgia, to parents Robert Sampson Lanier and Mary Jane Anderson; he was mostly of English ancestry. His distant French Huguenot ancestors immigrated to England in the 16th century...
, who persuaded him to begin to write for publication, although he was then over fifty years old. His first stories were sent to the Southern Magazine; others to The Century followed, and became immediately popular. He had the knack of story-telling that depicted the homely children of the soil, quaint characters that filled the memories of his youth, and he embalmed their fading images with facility and a faithful regard to accuracy that preserved the bourgeois type of old Middle Georgia. His style was serene and facile, mingling humour with moral philosophy. As a critic he had poetic sympathy with wise discrimination.
Johnston became a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
in 1875. His wife Frances Manfield, of old New England stock, had been received into the Church six months previously. He relates that he was thirty years old when he first saw a priest, and that his first investigations into the Faith were during the "Know-Nothing" campaign of 1855, when he read some of Bishop England's and Cardinal Newman's works to confute a political opponent. With his conversion the attendance at his school, which was long associated with Baptist patronage, declined, and he gave it up and devoted himself entirely to literature — his popularity as a story writer having steadily increased — and to lecturing on literary topics. His published works include: Dukesborough Tales (1871–81), in which the impressions of his early school days in Georgia were elaborated; Old Mark Langston (1884); Two Gray Tourists (1885); Mr. Absolom Billingslea and Other Georgia Folks (1888); The Primes (1891); Widow Guthrie (1890); Ogeechee Cross Firings (1889); Old Times in New Georgia (1897); a Life of Alexander H. Stephens with whom he had been associated in law practice (1878). A collection of essays was published in 1881, and he prepared a Historical Sketch of English Literature (1872), a textbook for advanced students, used at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
and other institutions at which he gave lecture courses.
He died in Baltimore, Maryland.
External links
- Autobiography of Col. Richard Malcolm Johnston. Washington: The Neale Company, 1900.