In 1842, Andrew Johnson was a State Senator. During this year he bought his first slave. Dolly, a fourteen year old girl, bravely approached Andrew Johnson and asked him to buy her because, according to her future son William, she "liked his looks." A short time later, Johnson bought Dolly's half-brother Sam as well. <span>In time, Dolly would give birth to three children, Liz, Florence and William. Sam and his wife, Margaret, had nine children.
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<span>In 1857, Andrew Johnson bought a boy of about 13 named Henry. Henry traveled to the White House with the Johnson family.
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Johnson claimed to Frederick Douglass that he had never sold a slave.
