James Leeper Johnson (October 30, 1818 – February 12, 1877) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.

Born near Smithland, Kentucky, Johnson attended private schools. He moved to Owensboro, Kentucky, in 1836. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1841 and commenced practice in Owensboro. He owned slaves. He served as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1844.

James Leeper Johnson

Johnson was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-first Congress (March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851). He was nominated for reelection in 1850 but declined to accept. He resumed the practice of law in Owensboro and also engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was appointed judge of the Daviess County circuit court on May 4, 1867, and served until September 2 of that year. He died in Owensboro, Kentucky, on February 12, 1877. He was interred in Rosehill Elmwood Cemetery.

James Leeper Johnson

References

1818 births

1877 deaths

People from Livingston County, Kentucky

American people of English descent

Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky

Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives

Kentucky state court judges

19th-century American judges

Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves

James Leeper Johnson