ANTHONY JOHNSON

Anthony Johnson was the first prominent black landholder in the English colonies. Johnson arrived in Virginia in 1621 aboard the James. It is uncertain if Johnson arrived as an indentured servant or as a slave, early records list him as “Antonio, a Negro.” Regardless of his status, Johnson was bound labor and was put to work on Edward Bennett’s tobacco plantation near Warresquioake, Virginia. In March of 1622 local Tidewater Indians attacked Bennett’s plantation, killing fifty-two people. Johnson was one of only five on the plantation who survived the attack. In addition to being a landowner, Anthony Johnson was also a slaveholder. Court records reveal that Johnson won a 1655 case against white planter, Robert Parker, to retain ownership of Johnson’s slave, John Casor. Casor, with the help of Robert Parker, tried to claim that he was an indentured servant, not a slave. Although the courts initially found in Parker’s favor, temporarily freeing Casor, they subsequently reversed the decision, returning Casor to the service of his master, Anthony Johnson. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/johnson-anthony-1670/