Catherine Johnson (maiden name unknown) was born around 1808 in New Jersey. She married Rhodes Johnson by the early 1830s, and they had at least eight children: Martha Jane, born on May 13, 1833; Benjamin, born on June 8, 1835; Merrit, born on December 23, 1836; Mabel and Mary, born on April 1, 1837; Julia Ann, born on December 15, 1841; James Johnson, born on June 19, 1843; and George, born on February 15, 1847.

 

She suffered a series of tragedies in the ensuing decades. Her husband died on November 11, 1847, and her daughter Mabel passed away on May 9, 1852. Her daughter Julia fell ill with scarlet fever around 1853 and, according to one observer, “became imbecile and helpless” and spent her adulthood as a pauper.

 

Catherine’s health declined by the early 1850s, and she required two crutches to get around. By the late 1850s, her young sons were reportedly “work[ing] out among the neighbors at farming” to help support the family. James and George both died fighting in the Union army, and Merrit passed away in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, insane asylum on May 20, 1867. She applied for a federal pension and secured one at a rate of $8 per month in 1869. She died sometime after 1869.

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