Brigadier General Samuel I. Johnson

May 29, 2025

Born Dec. 4, 1873, Odessa Russia

Died Feb. 24, 1948, San Francisco, Calif.

Brig. Gen. Johnson was born in Odessa Russia and educated in military schools. He served three years in the Cossack Calvary and one year in the Russian Navy. He left Russia before he was 20, his exile being attributed to criticism of the Russian regime. He served one year with the Argentinian Republic but was in Hawaii by May 1893 when he enlisted as a full time member of the National Guard. He gave his age as 20 and the citizenship as USA, although when he attained this citizenship it is not given. In 1898 he was a clerk with E.O. Hall and from 1900 to 1908 was with the Territorial Government as a Read Supervisor and Superintendent of the garbage department. In 1909 he moved to Puna, Hawaii and lived at Pahoa. He was a manager of several lumber companies and for a time postmaster of Pahoa.

He returned to Honolulu in 1915 when he was appointed Adjutant General. In 1918 he resigned to accept appointment as a Major in the U.S. Army. His obituary states that he served as Commanding Officer of the Inter-Allied Occupation and Police Force of Vladivostok and Vicinity, and was Provost Marshall of the district with military police detachments of 13 nationalities under his command.

After the war he spent some time as a plantation manager in the Philippines and a ranch owner in Texas. From 1925 to 1926 he was a Prohibition Enforcement Officer in San Francisco. He seems to have retired after this and lived in San Francisco until his death.

The information on Johnson is contradictory. For instance his obituary states that he served as a mercenary in the Balkan Armies for several years but records show that he was in Hawaii at age 21 and already had years of Russian service and one in Argentine. It also claims he served in the U.S. army during the Spanish American war but his Hawaii National Guard record shows continuous service from 1893 to 1918. The above information on his career in Hawaii is based on contemporary records and directories. Information on his service after leaving Hawaii is from his obituary the only source available.

Last updated October 1965

Biography 1982

Hawaii’s AG Past to Present

Brig. Gen. Samuel I. Johnson
Aug. 16, 1915 – Feb. 19, 1918

(Picture from the 1982 Summer Pūpūkahi)

Samuel Ignatieff Johnson was the third adjutant general, and he came the furthest of anyone to do it. Born in Odessa, Russia, in 1873, Johnson (not his original name) served three years in the Cossack cavalry! After one year in the Imperial Russian Navy, Johnson, then 20, left Russia when word was spread that he didn’t like the Russian Czar.

One year’s duty with the Argentine Army, and Johnson found his way to Hawaii in 1893, when he became one of the first full-time members of the Hawaii National Guard.

He also served in a number of civilian positions: road supervisor, superintendent at the garbage department, lumber company manager and, for a while, as postmaster of Pahoa, Hawaii.

In 1915, Johnson returned to Honolulu and his appointment as adjutant general. He must not have liked it much because in 1918 he resigned to accept an appointment as a major in the U.S. Army.

This obviously colorful gentleman then spent some time as a plantation manager in the Philippines, a ranch manager in Texas, and a prohibition enforcement officer in San Francisco, where he lived until his death in 1948.
– 1982 Summer Pūpūkahi pp. 3