William Johnson (1715-74) was an Irishman who settled in the Mohawk Valley of New York in 1738, at the age of 23.
He became a wealthy landowner and trader and treated his Mohawk neighbors with fairness and respect.
The Mohawks adopted him as a blood brother, and he took a Mohawk wife, Molly Brant. Johnson’s influence helped keep the Iroquois on the British side during the French and Indian War.
He led a combined force of colonists and Mohawks to victory against the French at Lake George in 1755.