Mary 'Mamie' E. Johnson was born on April 8, 1876. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Mary 'Mamie' E. Johnson.
A photo of Emily Hagadorn and daughter, Mary E. Johnson - California Pioneers. Handwritten on back:
""Grandma, wife of Col. Jack C. Johnson (age about 40) and mama, Mary 'Mamie' E. Johnson-Robb...(about 6 months old)...born April 8, 1876 in Placerville in Bruster House...great-grandmother and grandmother to Philip Brock"
Mary "Mamie" Johnson was the daughter of John Calhoun Johnson (born 1822 in Deersville, OH) and Emily C. Hagadorn (born May 1834 in Cleveland, OH). Mamie's father, JC Johnson, was the first practicing attorney in California and explored the Sierras during the Gold Rush, finding a route over the mountains that is now U.S. Hwy 50.
JC Johnson was also the first man to carry the mail over the Sierra's in winter and had a 400 acre ranch in Placerville called Johnson's Ranch. He was the first to name Lake Tahoe (calling it Bigler's Lake), and named nearby Fallen Leaf Lake for his friend,Delaware Indian Chief, Fallen Leaf. He died in 1876 shortly after this baby girl was born.
Mamie Johnson married Albert Robb in 1904, and died in San Jose in 1953. Her mother, Emily Hagadorn Johnson remarried a Mr. Jacobs, and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, San Jose, CA.
Photo found in an antique store. I am not related to the person in this photo.
Date & Place:
at JC Kemp's Great Flying Gallery in J Street, Sacramento, California USA
This photo was rescued from an antique store and resulted in an interesting discovery. Written on the back was "Grandma, wife of Col. Jack C. Johnson (age about 40) and mama, Mary 'Mamie' E. Johnson-Robb (about 6 months old) born April 8, 1876 in Placerville in Bruster House...great-grandmother and grandmother to Philip Brock"
With this information the new owner of the photo found out a lot about the mother and baby, including that they were California pioneers and that the (unpictured) father of the baby named both Lake Tahoe - he called it "Bigler's Lake" - and nearby Fallen Leaf Lake. So much history in one photo!
Fewer than four years later, the great-great-grandaughter of the mother in the photo, contacted the owner of the image through AncientFaces. She was writing a book on her family and wanted to include this never seen before photo.
What interesting discoveries and connections a single 'Lost & Found' photo can make 137 years later.
Hello Pam, Thank you for rescuing this photo. Emily is my G,G, Grandmother. Please contact me at [contact link]. I have written a book about Emily's husband and am about to have it published. I would love to include this photo. This was taken just before Johnson left for Arizona where he was killed by Apaches. Quite a story. I live in Northern California near Sacramento. Hoping to hear from you, Ellen Osborn
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