Jesse H. Johnson

Jesse H. Johnson, born in Clarksburg, West Virginia, came to Texas in 1868 and settled in Columbus, Colorado County. In May 1869 he was appointed sheriff of Colorado County and held that position until the end of the year. In 1871 he entered Texas' late 19th-century cattle industry by leading a cattle drive from Columbus to Abilene, Kansas, delivering over 600 head of cattle. He was sworn in as Colorado County justice of the peace in 1872. In 1873 he married Laura Glenn Harbert, a prominent local landowner and the daughter of an important county judge. He served as district clerk of Colorado County from 1876 to 1882, became a director of the Columbus Meat and Ice Company in 1883, and was tax collector from 1886 to 1894. In 1899 he joined the United States Foreign Service and served as U.S. consul in Coaticook, Quebec, Canada, from 1899 to 1901; Santos, Brazil, from 1901 to 1906; Swansea, Wales, U.K., from 1907 to 1910; Matamoros, Mexico, from 1910 to 1917; and Regina, Saskatchewan, Western Canada, from 1917 to 1923. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1923, returned to Columbus, died in Houston, and was brought back to Columbus by railroad for burial.

Columbus, Texas · United States