John and Hannah Johnson (ca. 1833 - 1883)

John and Hannah Johnson (ca. 1833 - 1883)

The Johnsons lived in a small frame house on a 12-acre farm in the area of present-day South Meadow Drive. Photo made with AI. Behind every "ghost" was a person

At the Sweeney Cemetery a large gathering assembled to take a last look at the aged soothsayer, and much regret was manifested at her departure. No more will the winsome maidens repair to the old shanty near the woods to learn their fate on future Fridays, for Hannah's work is done...The town of Wheatfield has lost an ancient landmark and one of its most widely known characters. May her spirit rest in peace.

Tonawanda Herald, June 28, 1883.

Generations of North Tonawanda youth were told she haunted the thick, primordial woods that still cover much of the city’s eastern edge.

Legend has it she arrived as an escaped slave via the Underground Railroad in the 1860s. Some say she was part of a Black settlement that tried to take root here, only to be driven out when their belongings were thrown into Tonawanda Creek. Hannah, the story goes, was allowed to stay because she worked in the homes of white families. She was also said to practice divination and root magic—whispers passed down by city elders and local Boy Scout leaders around campfires.

When she died at the ripe old age of 100, strange flowers reportedly bloomed across the area. Those who dared enter her woods were chased out by a shrieking crow—or something worse.

In these wild tales, kernels of truth remain.

As always, the truth is stranger—and far more satisfying—than the legend.


Birthplace and legal status

Local legend said that Hannah was an escaped slave. That is not exactly true. She is born around 1803 in Albany County, New York. We do not know her maiden name. At the time the state is in the process of phasing out slavery under the "Gradual Emancipation Act." The law holds that children born to slaves after 1799 are "indentured" servants until age 25 before gaining their freedom, a concession to New York's slave-holding elite. If Hannah's birth date is correct, it means she finally gets her freedom 1828--ironically, a year after the final abolition of slavery in New York. 

Though technically not enslaved, her life would have been nearly indistinguishable from slavery: unpaid, under the complete control of her mother's enslaver, with no legal rights or protections. If she had children before gaining her freedom, they too would have been indentured under the same system. 


A servant to New York Governor Joseph Christopher Yates (1823-1824)

Although born in Albany County, Hannah lives for a time as a servant in the household of superstar New York politician Joseph C. Yates in nearby Schenectady, New York. The only evidence we have to date of this part of Hannah's life is a single line in her Tonawanda Herald obituary.

It's a plausible story: the 1820 federal census shows that Yates did have eight "free colored persons" in his household at the time: two males ages 14-25, and three females: one under 14, one 14-25, one over 45. Could Hannah (who would be about 17) be the 14-25 year-old? Could her mother be the 45+ year-old? Could her future husband John Johnson (who is born in Washington County around 1800) be one of the two males? We may never know, but Hannah evidently told people she served the governor, perhaps impressing her frontier neighbors with her tales of brushes with the high and mighty in the home of the most powerful man in the state--even if she was literally a servant.

A well-known fortune-teller

Hannah's obituaries prominently mention her purported ability to see the future, and the popularity of her services among the locals. The Lockport Daily Journal notes that Hannah "has acquired quite a reputation during her long residence in this county, as a fortune-teller," and notes that she depicted past lives and futures of those who consulted her with "startling accuracy." The Tonawanda Enterprise calls her a "fortune-teller," and relates that "for years there was scarcely a man, woman or child in all this section of country that had ot heard of "Black Hannah." The Tonawanda Herald obituary claims Hannah "was visited almost every week by dozens of women and young people who had great faith in her powers as a fortune teller."

Tea cup reading

"Tea cup reading was one of her methods," Elizabeth Wherry writes in a 1961 article fantasizing about the olden days. Did Hannah pick this skill up in Schenectady?

By the 1830s, tasseography (tea‐leaf reading) was already a “thing” among genteel Easterners who could afford imported china and black tea. From New York City parlors to ladies’ salons in Albany or Buffalo, a fascination with “what the leaves say” filtered out along tavern routes and stagecoach lines. So if Hannah grew up in Albany County, she might have eavesdropped on some well‐to‐do white ladies experimenting with teacups, then adapted the basic idea for her own circle.

In that era, many white frontier families saw African Americans as having access to “secret knowledge” or an “otherworldly” mystique simply because of racist stereotypes about African spirituality. Hannah could lean into that, holding her Bible in one hand for respectability and a teacup in the other for showmanship—and farmers or farmers’ wives might pay a small fee or trade a chicken for a Friday fortune‐reading.


If Hannah is freed by Gradual Emancipation in 1828 at the age of 25, what is her next step? At some point she marries farmer John Johnson from Washington County, just up the Hudson River. His legal status on censuses is also free Black. It is unknown if he was ever indentured or enslaved.

A new start in Western New York

Another part of the story that is true: She is not born here. On the state censuses of 1855 and 1865, husband John Johnson's birthplace is recorded as "Washington [County, New York]." Hannah's is recorded as "Albany [County, New York]."

While definitive records are lacking, the Johnsons (and any companions) most likely reached this area around 1833* via the newly opened Erie Canal. By substantially reducing travel time and expense, the canal would have offered them a practical means to relocate, and to redefine themselves in a frontier town.

When the Johnsons arrive the area is sparsely populated and heavily wooded. Flooding along the Tonawanda Creek is common on account of the dam built for the canal ten years earlier. A small village first called "Niagara" but now known as "Tonawanda" has made a modest start where the canal meets the Niagara River through a lock. The East Boston Timber Company comes here around the same time as the Johnsons, to harvest the white oak of Grand Island. A public house (The Niagara Hotel), a stage coach line to the Falls and Buffalo (the railroad was still a few years away), and a small handful of schools, taverns and churches is about the extent of the goings-on.

Why the Johnsons end up here is a mystery. Did they already have contacts in this area? Did they intend to go to Canada but encounter sympathtic citizens? The first time we see them at all in the historical record is the 1840 census. Interestingly, they are not alone--the document records three "Free Colored Persons" in the household: A male and female 24-36 (John and Hannah), and another male, 55-100. Did they travel here in a larger party? One Tonawandas old-timer claims many years later that the Johnsons are part of a small "colony" of Blacks whose possessions are tossed in Creek and sent on their way, with Hannah alone permitted to stay since she was willing to do housework.

* This date of 1833 for the Johnsons' arrival is suggested by Hannah's 1883 death certificate, which says she lived here for 50 years. The 1855 state census suggests 1830.

Living on Dr. Jesse F. Locke's property

"She and her former husband, John Johnson, lived on the farm a number of years with Dr. Locke and family." - Obituary of Hannah Johnson

One way or another the Johnsons find themselves on the country property of the area's first "physician & surgeon," Jesse F. Locke. Whether he lived here already not known (he arrives in 1838 according to History of City of Buffalo and Erie County p. 419). Donna Zellner Neal thinks they may be "squatting" on the property, and permitted by the doctor to stay. A mineral / sulphur spring lies in the adjacent lot. Census never shows them in household of Locke. Perhaps Hannah helped the family, and John works the farm. [Census Locke household info].

Locke is born...studies medicine...temperance...Whips a faking man...has office on Webster....friends with Payne...religion and politics...household...Sweeney plot.

The Vandervoort family lives to the south.

Changes come to the property. To combat flooding, a State Ditch is dug east-west through the Great Lots. A railroad comes and goes. In ten years, William Vandervoort will sell the farmland to the north to a group of Germans, laying the groundwork for Martinsville.

The Johnsons farm and home

The first appearance of a structure. Not sure when farm is cleared. Fence along south line in deed. Frame and value. 1880, our clearest picture: Live stock. Mown vs un-mown. Hay to sell or trade. Hannah at 77. Hired laborer for 15 weeks.

More details may be filled in by later accounts: Cellar with cream cheese. Chair of logs. 

Nearby is John Chadwick, Jr. He'll play a crucial role in Hannah's life.

A connection to the Underground Railroad? Others in the Johnson household

Unlike Buffalo or Niagara Falls, there are no surviving primary‐source accounts (letters, minutes of vigilance committees, manumission records) explicitly naming “Tonawanda” safe houses or stationmasters.

Fugitives moving along the canal probably passed through or near Tonawanda—boatmen and canal‐side laborers in Wheatfield or across the river might have whispered directions. 

There is no contemporaneous documentation: e.g., committee minutes, abolitionist newspapers, manumission registries. 

The Tonawandas region certainly saw movement—especially after 1840—of free Black canal hands and possibly some fugitives. 

From the beginning, censuses show others living with the married couple:

• 1840: One "free colored males between ages of 55 and 100"
• 1850: Four additional people, including Joseph (38) and Ann (30) Polly from Canada and Ireland, respectively, Henry Hall (20) from Virginia, and  Stephen Smith (35) (no origin given). All are Black except Molly, who is white or "mulatto" (the census mark is hard to read).
• 1855: One "Henry Hall" who is 65 and from Maryland
• 1860: Three people, Isaac (61) and Clarissa (42) Davis and an infant, Dennis Colens, all Black, all from New York.
• 1865: After Civil War, no more Blacks beside the couple are recorded

Federal and state census enumerators in the mid‐19th century were explicitly instructed to record anyone “whose usual place of abode” was with the family on census night. That means a seasonal farmhand, boarder, or canal laborer boarding with the Johnsons would be listed. The Johnsons’ 12-acre farm was a temporary home to a rotating cast of free Black laborers tied to the canal economy, or to work on the Johnsons' 12-acre farm. 

Free Black households and seasonal mobility: Tonawanda sat on a major canal artery, so its free Black population included both long-term residents and itinerant laborers. The Davises (1860 Census) at 61 and 42 could have been year-round residents (elderly “Isaac” perhaps retired from farm or canal work, “Clarissa” running household duties), while baby Dennis represented the next generation—perhaps born locally or recently relocated from Albany County.

Boarders were commonplace. Small farms and canal families frequently took in boarders (including single men, widows, or small families) to supplement income. The Davises might have paid rent in kind (eggs, milk) or cash to live on someone’s property—perhaps even the Johnsons’ 12-acre farm discussed earlier.

It’s hard to know just how commercial Hannah and John’s farm really was—some of that land might have been left fallow, used for pasture, or simply rented out—yet even at minimal production the work would have outstripped what two people alone could manage. In mid‐19th‐century Western New York, planting and harvesting windows were tight: a late start in spring could invite frost, and a slow harvest could mean losing grain to rot. John may have handled the bulk of plowing and field maintenance, but Hannah’s days were likely filled with running the household—cooking, preserving, and caring for anyone under their roof. Bringing in an extra hand during busy seasons was a common solution: a boarder or hired worker might live on the farm, perhaps paying rent in produce or a small wage, and help with tasks like weeding, fence repairs, and hauling crops to market. Without that occasional assistance, even a modest twelve‐acre operation would have been difficult for a couple to sustain.


If we explain the other names on the censuses this way, very little seems left to connect the Johnsons with the Underground Railroad. A document on the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area website (page 192) offers some measured reflections on the subject.

John Chadwick, Jr.

Subsequent owners attempted to eject black Hannah, but in John Chadwick the old woman found a friend who protected her interests even at a high cost before the courts. - Obituary of Hannah Johnson (1883)

Chadwick begins acquiring property in Lot 10. In 1853, Locke & Payne sell Chadwick a thin strip in the middle of Lot 10 land for $500. He builds a home with a pond on the other side of Sweeney Street, on the edge of the Tonawanda Creek, a front row seat to the pageantry of the canal, around present-day Mayors Park.

In 1859, Locke sells Chadwick another thin strip in the middle of Lot 10, this one just west of the 1853 purchase, for $1550. This one does overlap about 1/3 of Johnson's property, though not the  frame house.

The death of Locke: Who owns the Johnsons' 12 acres? 

The Johnsons have lived almost 30 years on the farm. Locke dies March 12, 1861, one month before the Civil War. He dies "intestate" (without a will), and all hell breaks loose.

Johnson says he owns the land, but he has no deed. In 1868 Locke's heirs sell swaths of the western part of Lot 10 (including the Johnsons) to John & Elizabeth Fonner.

The Fonners take legal action to evict John & Hannah Johnson for trespass. On September 17, 1869, Johnson, Chadwick and Sherman file a complaint with the Niagara County Clerk, and serve public notice in the newspapers (through at least late February of the following year) that the Fonners have twenty days to reply "or the plaintiffs will apply to the Court for the relief demanded in the complaint"(that Locke did indeed sell Johnson the land, but never filed the paperwork before his death). Attorneys for the plaintiff are Farnell and Brazee.

In July 1873 the Johnsons sell the land (quit-claim) to Chadwick for $1. The document describes a refereed action against the Fonners and Locke heirs. This quit-claim is not necessarily proof that the Johnsons ever owned the land.

Chadwick wins [date?] a refereed judgment which is at first sustained in court, and is granted the 12-acre parcel on July 21, 1874. A judge rules that the property is granted by parole, even in the absence of a deed, and finds sufficient evidence that Johnson bought the property and paid for it on accounts of statements Locke made to others in his lifetime. 

[John Johnson dies sometime after 1873, in the midst of the proceedings. ]

The Fonners appeal the judgment. This time they win on a legal technicality: Johnsons' testimony included his statement that he never agreed to pay Locke a certain price per acre. Deemed harmless to referee and first judge. Appeals court disagrees, and throws out the judgement on the legal principle that when Johnson answered question, he testified on what a dead man said during his lifetime, which is inadmissible. An ironic cadence, that the testimony of Johnson, now dead, was used to dismiss the case, and strip his widow, Hannah, of their property of 40 years.

Strangely, no eviction ever seems to take place. According to her obituary, Chadwick gives Hannah a "life-lease" on the property (though in NY this should appear in Deeds but does not). If he didn't own the property how could he? Would the public not know this? Perhaps the Fonners have mercy on the old widow, having had their victory in court.

Hannah's death

Hannah dies in 1883 after an illness of two weeks. The village mourns its beloved cook and babysitter. The Tonawanda Herald reports:

At the Sweeney Cemetery a large gathering assembled to take a last look at the aged soothsayer, and much regret was manifested at her departure. No more will the winsome maidens repair to the old shanty near the woods to learn their fate on future Fridays, for Hannah's work is done.

It is rumored that non-native flowers grow on the site (unusual red trilliums grew during her lifetime). She is buried in Sweeney Cemetery (although the grave site appears to be lost). The late Donna Neal Zellner states in her booklet "Story of Hannah and John Johnson and the Underground Railroad" that "Jesse Locke was buried in Section B, Plot #7, between Simson and Smith Avenues in Sweeney Cemetery. It is believed that Hannah Johnson's body was interred in a grave on his plot. The grave marker noting H. Johnson is located in the area of the cemetery which would be included in Locke's plot"(37).



Hannah is the subject of a song by my musical gang Yellow Jack on our album "A Horse Apiece"