Johnson was born in Mendota, Illinois, to George C. Johnson, a successful farmer, and his wife, Hanna. She attended Saint Mary's College in South Bend, Indiana, from 1882 to 1884, graduating at the top of her class. Afterward, she worked as a teacher, but found it unfulfilling. While spending the summer with her sister, Mary Walker, in Monroe City, Missouri, in 1890, Johnson answered a newspaper ad for an assistant at Rippey's photography studio.
Mary Walker
Johnson