Editing Thomas Johnson (judge) (section)

== Life before the Revolution ==
Thomas Johnson was born in [[Calvert County, Maryland]], on November 4, 1732,<!-- probably Gregorian Calendar, but found no reliable source giving Oct 24 or Nov 15 – all sources agree on Nov 4 --> to Thomas Johnson (1702–1777) and his wife Dorcas Sedgwick Johnson (1705–1770). His grandfather, also named Thomas Johnson (1656–1714), was a lawyer in London who had emigrated to Maryland sometime before 1700. The younger Thomas was the fourth of ten children, some of whom later had large families of their own. ([[Louisa Adams|Louisa Johnson]], daughter of his brother [[Joshua Johnson (merchant)|Joshua]], married [[John Quincy Adams]].)

Thomas and his siblings were educated at home. As a young man he was attracted to the law, studied it with an established firm, and was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1753. By 1760, he had moved his practice to [[Frederick County, Maryland|Frederick County]], and in 1761 he was elected to the [[Maryland General Assembly|Maryland provincial assembly]] for the first time. On February 16, 1766, Johnson married [[Ann Jennings Johnson|Ann Jennings]],<ref>Delaplaine, Edward S. (1927). "The Life of Thomas Johnson: Member of the Continental Congress, First Governor of Maryland, and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court". Westminster, Maryland, US: Willow Bend Books: 492.</ref> the daughter of the judge under whom he apprenticed. They had eight children, including one who died in infancy and a second who died as a young adult.<ref name=newspost/>