 He became the Confederate secretary of state in 1861; this disloyalty to the Union displeased county residents, who petitioned for a name change.Accordingly, in 1863, the county was renamed Andy Johnson County for Andrew Johnson, who was serving as the military governor of Tennessee at the time.However, Johnson's actions and positions as US President (1865-1869) also displeased county residents, so on 6 March 1868 the county name was again changed, to Wilkin County.