2/18/2025 Chatsworth Historical Society - The Johnson Family in Chatworth 1
The Johnson Family in Chatsworth
Neils Christian Johnson
1834-1915
Ann Jane Willden Johnson
1845-1920
Lenora Johnson self-
published the story of
Ann Johnson in 1931
Mary Huff published her
grandmother Mary's
1927 handwritten story
of Ann Johnson in 2001
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At age four with her parents, in 1849, Ann Willden crossed the
Atlantic, sailed up the Mississippi and traveled by wagon train to the
raw land of Utah.
A bride at fourteen, she was a mother of three when she and her
husband decided to flee the Mormon Church and farm in California.
Ten years and three children later they homesteaded in the San
Fernando Valley, where four more children were born.
From her daughter's writings and her own letters, her story of
hardships, love, fear, courage and joy of life, will take you back to
harsher times and gentler spirits.
Introduction
As written on the front flap of the hardcover
dust jacket of "Grandma Ann"
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The 160-acre Johnson homestead was north of
today's 118 freeway; today it is a gated community
known as Indian Springs.
•This presentation will cover the family from their
start in Utah to their contributions in Chatsworth.
•1849-1866 - England to Utah to California
•1867-1873 - Lone Pine to Los Angeles to Browns
Canyon
•1874 - Creating their homestead
•1914 - Ann moves to her new house on today's
Bee Canyon road
•1929 - The family sells the homestead to John
Brandeis
Overview
This presentation will be posted at our website, chatsworthhistory.com, Digital Archives, Presentations.
Homesteader parcels overlaid on Google Earth
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Introduction
•We are fortunate that Ann's second child, Mary "Nellie" Proctor, created a
handwritten manuscript with soft point pencil, originally titled "The Little Pioneer
Mother". It is undated except for 1927 late in the work.
•When Ann Johnson died in 1920, Mary began writing some stories of her mother's
childhood and trip across the plains, as her mother had told her. She decided a
complete story would be a wonderful keepsake for her brothers and sisters.
•Ann's sixth child, Lenora, was a schoolteacher and helped Mary in editing the story.
•In 1931, Lenora published Ann's story as "Our Pioneer Mother", 31 pages. Much of
her story was based on Mary "Nellie" Proctor's 1927 handwritten work. It was self
published, leather-bound with gold leaf pages as the interior and back covers.
•In 1976, the Chatsworth Historical Society reprinted the 1931 "Our Pioneer Mother",
as the Katherine Walton Johnson Memorial Edition. It is available for purchase at
the Chatsworth Historical Society.
•In 2001, Mary Huff, the granddaughter of Mary "Nellie" Proctor, published Nellie's
1927 manuscript, titled "Grandma Ann", 232 pages. Mary Huff in the preface
discusses how her grandmother's manuscript was passed to various relatives before
it was finally published in 2001.
•"Grandma Ann" is published on demand from Amazon.com for $32, copies are also
available for purchase at the Chatsworth Historical Society.
1976 reprint of
1931
"Our Pioneer
Mother"
at left
2001 "Grandma
Ann" below
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Introduction of the family members
Neils Johnson (1834-1915) marries Ann Willden (1845-1920) in 1860 in Utah. They had 10 children…
•Hannah (1861-1937) born in Utah. Marries John Ahlstrom in 1881 in Chatsworth
•Mary "Nellie" (1862-1947) born in Utah. Marries Elon Proctor in 1879. Writes her mother's story "The Little Pioneer Mother"
in 1927 with pencil and paper. The book is later published as "Grandma Ann" in 2001.
•Maria "Christina" (1864-1955) born in Utah. Married Andrew Springer in 1883, then Francis Bliss in 1897, eight years after
Andrew's death in 1889.
•Willard Willden (1865-1950) born in Eldorado, Nevada. Married Lillie Beebe 1893.
•Charles Willden (1867-1945) born in Lone Pine, CA. Married Grace Brow 1890 while homesteading 160 acres in todays
Knapp Ranch Park. She died in 1908 in a wash-day fire while heating water outdoors. He married Emalie Resing in 1912.
•Olive Lenora "Nonie" (1869-1947), born in an adobe on 6th and Spring St, Los Angeles. She marries David MacDonald in
1894, he dies in 1895 of tuberculosis 15 months later.
•Walter Levi (1871-1877), born in Brown's Canyon, Chatsworth. Died at 6 yrs, buried at the foot of a giant rock.
•Emma (1873-1962), born in Brown's Canyon, Chatsworth. Married Fred Graves 1896. Fred was a neighboring
homesteader and the Constable in Chatsworth in 1903.
•Norman (1884-1931), born in Los Angeles. Marries Bertha Lehmann 1905. Son Fahy wrote the preface to 1931 "Our
Pioneer Mother". In 1900, Norman (16) and Eastman (14) are living on the homestead with Ann.
•Oliver "Eastman" (1885-1965), born in Chatsworth at the Homestead House. Marries Zoa Spohn in 1917.
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Introduction of the family members
1893. Back row Grace Brow Johnson, Emma Louise Johnson
Graves, Lenora (Nonie) Johnson McDonald, Lily Beebe Johnson
wife of Willard Johnson. Middle row Charles W. Johnson holding son
Ivan Johnson. Ann Willden Johnson, Willard Wilden Johnson.
Front row, Eastman and Norman Johnson
This may be Long Beach. Picture of Ann Johnson and
her daughters, Hannah, Mary, Christy, Lenora and
Emma
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The Willden family travel from England and settle in Utah
1849, Charles and Eleanor Willden leave England on a sailing vessel with their family. Charles is a Mormon Missionary.
Ann is 4 years old and the family has seven children.
•They land at the mouth of the Mississippi and travel by boat up river to Council Bluffs, Iowa. After three years Charles had a
prosperous 160-acre farm. In late 1852 the Mormons in the Pottawattamie Company of Council Bluffs were called to Utah by
Brigham Young. Charles sold the farm, bought a covered wagon, and left with his family and household goods on the three-month
trip to Utah. (pg19 GA)
•The wagon train went to Salt Lake City then south to what is now Cedar City, Utah. They began to clear the land, some built a fort.
Most families, as did the Willdens, built dug-out homes for the first winter. (pg23 GA). Eleanor's last child Louisa was born in the
dugout home in December 1853; the large Willden family of 8 slept, cooked and ate in the one-room dug-out home.
•Each man was required to help build the fort, it was built of logs and was a half-mile square. It was finished by spring 1854 along
with a sawmill and gristmill for making flour. Wool from their sheep was spun to make their clothes. They soon lived within a home
made from milled lumber within the fort.
•In 1857 a wagon train of immigrant families from Arkansas bound for California was passing through Cedar City. They camped in Cedar
City, inside the fort. Threats were made against the Mormons, and they threatened to kill Brigham Young. Some Mormon men and
Paiute Indians surrounded the wagon train at Mountain Meadows, about 35 miles southwest of Cedar City. The result was the Mountain
Meadows Massacre, where all men and women and most children on the wagon train were killed. As a result, Ann became increasingly
fearful of her brothers, and less trusting of her father. (pg. 26 GA, pg. 10 OPM)
•They lived in the Old Fort for about 3 years, then moved into a new house in New City. (pg26 GA) (editors note from Richard Johnson's
1979 thesis, pg. 41: people actually began to move out of the Old Fort onto the city lots in New City, abandoning the Old Fort as a community
center.” So “New City” became/was “Cedar City’.)
Note: references are made for continuity and clarity by page number and book, as follows:
(pg. xx GA) = Grandma Ann, (pg. xx OPM) = Our Pioneer Mother
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Neils Johnson marries Ann Willden in 1860
Neils Johnson was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He decided to leave Denmark and stowed
away on a lumber vessel sailing to England. From there he worked his way up the Mississippi
River on a boat to Saint Louis, Missouri. From there, with a few non-Mormon men, he joined a
hand cart train of Mormons to Salt Lake City, and on to Cedar City. Their goal was to head to
the new Mormon Colony in San Bernardino, California, the great golden state.
Neils stopped in Cedar City, found a place to live, and found a job with Ann's older brothers.
(pg31, GA)
•Ann began thinking of Neils. Ann at 14 years was very young but grown, and other older
Mormon men began asking about Ann becoming their second wife.
•On Feb 9, 1860, Ann and Neils were married in the Mormon all-purpose building in New City,
Utah, by her father Charles who used a ceremony that he had used as a Baptist minister.
•Neils used what he had earned to buy a span of horses and a good heavy wagon, and began
to haul for hire. Neils used the southern route to haul goods from Utah to the Mormon
settlement at San Bernardino, California. (pg32, GA)
•Times were tough, so in the fall Neils, Ann and Ann's brother John traveled to Salt Lake
looking for work. In Salt Lake winter 1860 they rented a house, but there was no work to do,
so they shot rabbits to sell and dug up sagebrush and sold it for wood (pg12, OPM). When
spring 1861 came, they started out for Cedar City.
•When they reached Fillmore, a terrible late spring storm came upon them. They were short
of provisions, Ann was pregnant and expecting a child in April.
Google Maps -
Salt Lake to Fillmore
to Fort Willden
to Cedar City (red)
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Their first child Hannah is born at Fort Willden
•In the meantime, in 1859 Ann's father Charles Willden started a settlement in Cove Creek,
and in 1860 began building what would become Fort Willden with his son Ellott. (pg. 34 GA)
•Ann's brother Charles met them in Fillmore, and told them of the new settlement at Fort
Willden, where their father had buried or "cached" some wheat that he was saving for his
spring planting.(pg12, OPM)
•The snow was so deep they walked slowly nine miles to Cove Creek (today named Fort
Willden). Ann's brother John had to almost carry Ann as she was exhausted, while Neils was
walking with and looking after the team.
Google Maps -
Salt Lake to Fillmore to Fort
Willden to Cedar City (red)
•The adobe house that Ann's father had built had no doors or
windows, but they put blankets over them and were able to
start a fire. The mail carrier came by heading south and
carried news to Beaver City of their helpless condition. Ann
was awakened at midnight by a number of young men from
Beaver City with pack animals loaded with provisions for them.
•After a time, their provisions gave out. They dug a cellar and
made a fireplace in it, and ate the cached wheat.
•Their parents and brother Ellott and wife came soon to help.
And their first child, Hannah Jane Johnson, was born in
this little cellar home at Cove Fort on April 24th, 1861
(pg13, OPM)
A plaque at Fort Willden
tells Ann Johnson's story,
full text in the Appendix
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The Escape
•They then moved to Dayton, Nevada, then 10 miles west to Eldorado.
•Willard Willden Johnson was born November 13, 1865 in Eldorado,
Nevada. They lived in a clay floored cabin, Neils worked in a lumber
company mill and Ann did the cooking for the man's family (pg50 GA) (ed
note: The city of El Dorado no longer exists, but Richard Johnson's 1979 thesis
identifies an 1860 map that places the El Dorado Mining company just south of
Carson City, Nev. - Eldorado creek and Eldorado Co on map at right)
•Later that spring the Willden family moved up to Fort Willden.
•Ann & Neils moved back to the Old Fort at Cedar City. Mary Eleanor was born on Nov. 30th 1862, and Christina Marie
was born Jan 24th, 1864.
•In 1865 Neils and Ann made plans to leave Utah with their 3 daughters. Neils did not want to join the Mormon Church. Ann's
father believed that any Mormon who left Utah would lose his soul, and forbade anyone from taking Ann out of the territory.
•Ann and Neils decided go out of Utah separately. Neils took two horses, and Ann would follow later with a small group of
wagons. They took the overland route to Nevada. Ann had given Neils a piece of an old blue calico dress of hers and asked
him to hang a piece of cloth on some tree or bush as a guide at his camping places. (pg46 GA, pg. 17 OPM)
•Neils made it to the fort in Nevada, and after many days Ann made it too. Ann's father Charles tried to follow them, but a late
cold driving rain washed out the roads and filled the canyons with snow.
1860 Evans Official
Map of Wahsoe and
the Carson Valley
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Neils and Ann go to California
•In the spring of 1886 Neils made a trip over to Owens Valley. There was land to be had and
markets for produce and settlers were coming. They were soon on their way. They left with a
years worth of provisions and enough seed wheat for next years planting. They moved to
Owens River, and bargained for a ranch.
•They bought some cows and began to make butter. The first year they sold four hundred dollars
worth. They would pack it into barrels and Neils hauled it to the nearby mines and
Independence. (pg63 GA).
•Neils hired the Indians who lived along the foothills of the High Sierra, men to help on the farm,
and women to help Ann with washing and cleaning. He paid them with flour, bacon, coffee and
beef.
•On May 24, 1867, Charles Willden was born in Lone Pine (their 5th child)
•In the fall of 1867, over fear there would be problems with water rights, they left, on their way to
Los Angeles. They briefly stopped at Elizabeth Lake, then down San Francisquito Canyon,
arriving in San Fernando. Spending the night, they traveled through the San Fernando Valley,
down the Cahuenga Pass, and struggled with the team through the mud flats of Hollywood.
(pg76 GA)
•They ended up setting up the large one roomed tent at the corner of Fifth and Pearl (now
Figueroa). Neils was busy hauling wood from the Arroyo Seco. They then rented a small house
on Fifth and Main. Even working every day and taking every hauling job he could find, the town
rents were too high.
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Neils and Ann go to California
•They decided to buy groceries and take them up to Owens River to sell. When Neils got
to Soledad Canyon in Santa Clarita, he set up a grocery store. They did well with the
business, but it was no place to make a home for growing children. So Neils carried the
goods to Owens River and sold them there.
•Ann was expecting a child in a few weeks, so she rented an adobe house of two rooms
at the corner of 6th and Spring, and hired a nurse. Olive Lenora Johnson was born
December 23rd, 1868 in Los Angeles. (Their 6th child)
•They returned to Soledad Canyon for a year raising cattle, then bought a quit claim deed
in Brown's Canyon. They built a house entirely of logs, and called it their "Log
House".(pg. 116 GA, pg. 26 OPM)
•Colonel Mormon lived in a rock house and had cleared the bears out of the nearby hills
and mountains (pg. 122 GA) This was why Brown's Canyon was called Mormon's
Canyon first. Early Pioneers - Johnson & Mormon & Brown
•Walter Levi Johnson was born in the log house on October 27, 1871. (pg26 OPM)
•The Johnson's neighbors were the Cratkeys. They sold their property to Mr. Brown.
Neils realized that the log house was on Mr. Brown's property, so he sold the house to
Mr. Brown, and built a new 4-room house down canyon built of cottonwood shakes.(pg.
130 GA)
•Emma Louise Johnson was born in the shake house on April 16, 1873. (their 8th
child)
1871 Plat of the Ex Mission de San
Fernando, identifying Mormon and
Cratkey on the map (circled in yellow)
Note: Mormon Canyon is north of
Desoto up Brown's Canyon Rd.
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Neils & Ann move to their 160-acre homestead in Chatsworth
•They needed level land; a deep canyon was not a good place for a home.
•1874 - In early summer they rode west to a place with level land, and a
clear spot where there was a winter lake. They found a spring. They built
a road to the new place, and within two weeks everything was moved;
family, cows, pigs, chickens and dogs. The spring was almost a quarter of
a mile away. (pg27 OPM)
•Neils hired two men to dig a well. They stopped at 30 ft. While Neils was
away for the week hauling wool with Christy, Ann and the children cleared
the land. Ann also lowered the children down into the well to continue
digging. They hit water at 45 feet. (pg. 152 GA)
•Neils begins hauling up wood for a new house. They finished the house
with real glass on the windows before winter came.
•They planted wheat on the land they had cleared. They harvested wheat,
threshed it by having horses walk over it. They then gathered the wheat
up into a bucket, tossed it into the air to separate the wheat from the
chaff. They had 13 sacks of grain; Neils took it to the flour mill in town,
and came back with 9 sacks of flour, equal to 900 lbs. (pg. 159 GA)
1915 Johnson relatives ready for a hay ride
1910 Johnson boys Kelly & Leslie in wagon
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They find a new spring and build a two-story house
•They find a new spring on the homestead, and a new place to build a house. (pg181 GA).
•In 1876 they built a substantial house of eight rooms. It was situated at the foot of the great rocky hills, where an
ever-living spring of water bubbled forth. (pg. 28 OPM)
Above from Ann's family scrapbook
Notice the rock cooler in front of house
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Johnson Homestead 1929
•At right is the earliest aerial of the Johnson
homestead, the year it was sold to John
Brandeis.
•Notice that it is completely fenced.
•Notice the diagonal tree lined
driveway/road to their house, which is at
the foot of the mountains at today's 22637
La Quilla Drive ($10 mil, 16 acres per
Zillow)
1929 ucsb aerial Johnson Homestead
Yellow - corners of the 160-acre homestead
Red - Homestead house, at end of tree lined road
Black - 20-acre Fern Ann Falls, reserved for
Johnson descendants
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Views of the Johnson Homestead
Pg 19 of the Starling "Bruz" Bryant book
Views of the Johnson Homestead
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View of the Johnson Homestead, looking east
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Above overview,
And at left enlarged,
a 1952 aerial of Brandeis Ranch,
the old 160-acre Johnson Homestead
The 10 2-acre parcels of Fern Ann Falls
can be seen in the upper right
1952 Brandeis Ranch, the old Johnson Homestead
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Fern Ann Falls
•In 1929, 140 acres of the homestead is sold to
John Brandeis, with 20 acres retained as Fern
Ann Falls, 10 2-acre parcels reserved for the
Johnson descendants.
•Note the diagonal bridge over the creek on
Fern Ann Falls Rd that splits Nellie's parcel in
two. The creek is light blue on the map.
•Richard Johnson's 1979 thesis, pg. 99,
documents that Harold Johnson lives on five
acres. That may have been the northwest
corner that is currently Ranch at the Falls.
(Hanna + Christine +lower half of Nellie on the
west side of the creek).
•Today, none of the parcels are owned by
Johnson descendants
Map from LA County
Assessor portal
Descendant parcel
ownership is identified in
Ann's Family notebook
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The large round pool next to the 2-story house
•The house also had a large round pool (notes from Ann's family
scrapbook and other sources)
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Photos of the Homestead House
Ann Johnson on the front
porch
(Neils passes in 1915, Ann
in 1920)
1928 the children of Neils
and Ann Johnson at the
Homestead House
4th of July
Will, Eastman, Norman,
Charlie, Christie Bliss,
Hannah Ahlstrom, Emma
Graves, Lenore
MacDonald, Nellie Proctor
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The Johnson Family in Chatsworth
•Their nearest neighbor was the Jeremiah family, who lived at the foot of the hills.
There was no school within 10 miles of them, so in the evening Ann taught the
children their "Primer" and helped them with writing and spelling.
•As the girls grew older, they went to live with families in Los Angeles so they could
go to school, and one by one, each was happily married.
•At their ranch home, Ann held Sunday School for her children and study for
children of other neighbors. Church was held when a traveling Baptist minister
visited. Besides Ann's ranch, the church was sometimes held beneath the Oaks
near today's Chatsworth Reservoir. In 1880, she founded Union Sunday School
which became the Chatsworth United Methodist Church in 1888. History of the
Chatsworth Methodist Church
•In 1880 the Santa Susana School was established in Chatsworth, and Ann was the
clerk of the board of trustees the first few years. Church services/Sunday School
were also held at the school.
•Ten years after the birth of Emma, Norman Carvin Johnson was born, in 1884,
at Hanna's house in Los Angeles, followed by Oliver Eastman Johnson in 1885
at the Homestead House.
1965 picture of 1903 Pioneer Church
on Topanga
1905 Santa Susana School with addition
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The Johnson Family in Chatsworth
•The Johnson farm flourished in the 1890's. Ann's butter came more in demand, and she improved her dairy stock with
Jersey heifer calves. Ann's delivery service, which included butter and produce, became a part of the social life of the
community. (pg. 220 GA)
•In the 1900 census Ann is living at the Homestead with Norman 16 and Eastman 14. She is 56 years old. Neils lived with
Christie in Monrovia.
•In 1905, Norman marries Bertha. Up until 1909 or 1910, Ann and Eastman run the farm alone, then Reuben runs the
ranch when Eastman gets a good job with the phone company (pg. 213, GA)
•In 1914 Ann moves into her new house on Santa Susana Pass. The Homestead house was leased out to Charles Pogue
in 1918. Charles was a farmer and the father of Glen Pogue, who lived at 10853 Santa Susana. Glen married Dorothy
Johnson, daughter of Charles. Harold Johnson, Dorothy's brother, married Myrtle Pogue, Glen's sister.
•In 1914 the Chatsworth Chamber of Commerce is founded.
Norman is President, Charles is Treasurer, Fred Graves is a
Director.
•Neils dies in 1915; Ann dies in 1920. Neils and Ann are buried in
Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles.
•In 1929, 140 acres of the homestead is sold to John Brandeis, with
20 acres retained as Fern Ann Falls, 10 2-acre parcels reserved
for the Johnson descendants.
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Ann's house on Santa
Susana Pass Road
•1914 Ann moves into her new
house on Santa Susana Pass.
•1928 Chatsworth Directory
•10901 Santa Susana - "Kelly"
& Katharine Johnson
•10811 Santa Susana -
Charles Johnson
•Note: The Chatsworth Historical
Society was formed in 1963 at
Katharine Johnson's kitchen table.
1928 UCSB aerial
Red = Kelly / Katharine Johnson house
Blue - Leslie Johnson house
Orange = Charles (CW) Johnson house
Orange Line = Charles's tree lined driveway
Green = Ann Johnson House
Yellow = Glenn Pogue House
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Ann's house on Santa Susana Pass Road
Kelly / Katharine Johnson house
10901 Santa Susana
Leslie Johnson house
Ann Johnson House
Charles Johnson House
10811 Santa Susana
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Ann's house on Santa Susana Pass Road
Ann Johnson House
Stoney Point in background
Ann Johnson Tea Party
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Hannah marries John Ahlstrom
•Their first child and daughter Hannah (age 19) marries John Frederick "Fred" Ahlstrom (32)
in 1881. Fred was born in Stockholm, Sweden, was a carpenter, and immigrated to the US
in 1873. He was ranching in Chatsworth when he met Hannah. (See Appendix - 1907 John
Ahlstrom History)
•After their marriage they went to Los Angeles where he engaged in carpentry work and
worked on the street cars. In 1894 he had 11 acres devoted to raising berries.
•They had nine children.
•Their son Reuben Ahlstrom owned property on Lassen St. west of Topanga that included the
Graves Hill Store area.
•Around 1910 Reuben was working full time on the Homestead ranch/farm, when Eastman
got a good job with the telephone company (pg. 213 GA)
•In 1913 Fred Ahlstrom was doing most of the work on Ann's new house next to Charles on
Santa Susana/Topanga. (pg. 214 GA)
•In 2004, Reuben's son Ed Ahlstrom visit the Acre (Smoke Signal Oct 2004). Virginia and Ann
video-interviewed Ed in May 2006.
•2024 Hannah Ahlstrom's wedding dress is on display in the Hill Palmer Cottage, featured in
the 2024 Wedding Fashion Show.
Hannah Johnson
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Mary Eleanor (Nellie) marries Elon Proctor
•Their 2nd child and 2nd daughter Nellie (age 16) marries Elon
Proctor (24) in 1879.
•They had 3 children.
•Nellie and Elon Proctor acquired a well drilling business in
Southern California, had two boys and a girl, and settled in the
City of San Fernando.
•Their granddaughter Mary Proctor Phillips Huff wrote the book
Grandma Ann, published in 2011.
•In May 2006 a pioneer reception was held at the Chatsworth
Museum featuring Mary Huff, Ed Ahlstrom, Bill Pogue and
others. Smoke Signal May 2006.
•Mary Huff's daughter Mollie Phillips Garitee donated Johnson
family memorabilia to the Historical in 2024, article published in
the Nov 2024 Smoke Signal
Mary Eleanor "Nellie"
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Christy Johnson marries Douglas Springer, and then Frank Bliss
•Their 3rd child and 3rd daughter Christy (age 19)
marries Douglas Springer (23) in 1883. Douglas
dies in 1889, then Christy marries Frank Bliss in
1897.
•Christy and Douglas Springer lived in San
Francisco a while and after he died, she came
back to LA, married Frank Bliss, and had two
more children.
•She had 3 children, Florence Springer, Frances
Roger and Howard Bliss
•Frank and Christy had a large farm in Monrovia,
and specialized in avocados. Sometime, when
the two youngest children were still small, Neils
left home, and went to live with Christy in
Monrovia, where he died in 1915. Regarding
Neils leaving home, Ann said "there was no more
work for him to do as a teamster, and he was
always closer to Christy than to any of the rest of
us." (pg. 208, GA)
Frank Bliss, Christina "Christy" Johnson
Children Florence Springer and Howard Bliss
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Cousins including Frances Bliss at
Long Beach, about 1908
This may be Long Beach California, about 1908
First Cousins have a fun day at the beach
front lt-rt June Proctor, Anna "Queenie" Graves, Frances Bliss.
back lt-rt Eleanor Ahlstrom, Marguerite Johnson, Ella May Johnson
Picture of Ann Johnson and her daughters, Hannah,
Mary, Christy, Lenora and Emma
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Willard Willden marries Lillie Beebe
•Their 4th child and 1st son Willard (age 27) marries Lillie Beebe (16) in 1893.
•They had 6 children - Ida, Clarence, Marcilla, Marrel, Hazel and Samuel.
•Willard worked as a lookout for the County Fire Department on one of the mountain tops that
ring the valley. In his later years he had a service station on the corner of San Fernando Road
and Pierce Street in Pacoima (pg. 207 GA).
•In the 1892 Directory he is listed as a horticulturist.
•His 1950 death certificate lists his occupation as a carpenter of houses.
•In 1911, Lovell Hill and Willard Johnson built the cottage at the Minnie Hill Palmer Homestead
Acre, that still exists today. (pg1, 1986 Growing Up On The Acre)
•He spent a lot of time with his nephew, Elmo Proctor prospecting and roaming around the
desert. After Lillie died he married Stella Proctor Richards the widowed sister-in-law of his
sister Mary. (pg. 207 GA)
•At our September 2024 Ice Cream Social, we had a visit from Barrett Purko. Willard is her 3rd
great-grandparent, from the Ida Honeycutt line.
Willard 24 years old
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Charles Willden marries Grace Brow and then Emily Resing
•Their 5th child and 2nd son Charles (age
23) marries Grace (14) in 1890.
•They had eight children, Oliver, Iven,
Ernest, Harold, Ray "Kelly", Leslie, Ella,
Dorothy.
•In 1889, before Charles married, at the age
of 22, he homesteaded 160 acres just south
of Bell Canyon. Knapp Ranch Baseball is
on his homestead parcel.
•They lived there for 15 years.
•In 1899, he purchased an 8-acre ranch
north of Chatsworth School. Around 1904,
he moved to the Chatsworth ranch. (1934
Keffer - History of San Fernando Valley, in
the appendix).
160-acre
Charles W Johnson
homestead in Bell Canyon
Charles and Grace
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Charles Willden marries Grace Brow and then Emily Resing
•In 1907 Charles incorporated the
California Honey Company, later selling it
to his sons. (1934 - Keffer, appendix)
The History of Bee Canyon
•They produced as much as eighty tons in
one year.
CA
B
Bees
1920's photo at right, of Chatsworth looking east
from Garden of the Gods (enlargement above)
C=Charles' House, A = Ann's House, B = Barn
Bees = Bee Hive Boxes
2/18/2025 Chatsworth Historical Society - The Johnson Family in Chatworth 34
Charles Johnson Family - Santa Susana Pass Road
•In 1899, he purchased an 8-acre ranch north
of Chatsworth School. Around 1904, he
moved to the Chatsworth ranch. (1934
Keffer - History of San Fernando Valley, in
the appendix).
•In 1908, when the youngest was about six
months old, Grace died in a wash-day fire.
1909 Charles W Johnson Family
Santa Susana Pass Road
Dorothy Ecroyd Liss Ancestry page
Left to Right Ann Willden Johnson, E.J. Emerick J
Barzen friend, Oliver Eastman Johnson, brother,
Miss Mora, housekeeper, Harold Johnson, Ray
LaValle Johnson, in front is Leslie Johnson, Ella
Johnson, Dorothy Johnson, Charles W (CW)
Johnson father, Ernest Johnson and Hannah Jane
Johnson Ahlstrom, (married to John Frederick
Johnson)
2/18/2025 Chatsworth Historical Society - The Johnson Family in Chatworth 35
Olive Lenora (Nonie) marries David S. MacDonald
•Their 6th child and 4th daughter Lenora (age 24) marries David (27) in 1894. David
unfortunately had tuberculosis at the time, and died 15 months later in Dec 1895.
•They had no children.
•Lenora got her teaching degree in 1891, and started teaching at Chatsworth Park Elementary
School for 3 years.
•Later she became engaged to Fredrick G Charlton, a previous Chatsworth neighbor and an
aspiring artist who became an illustrator for the San Francisco Chronicle. He survived the
1906 San Francisco Earthquake, but was killed 4 months later by a streetcar in Los Angeles
where he managed his art business. November 2024 Smoke Signal
•Around 1910 or before, Lenora, who had no family but was living frugally as a teacher,
purchased some land on both sides of Topanga. Ann chose a site for a new house on the
west side of Topanga, where she could see Stoney Point from her front yard. (pg. 213 GA)
(editors note: Her brother Charles bought an 8-acre ranch adjacent to Lenora's property in
1899)
•In 1912 they had the foundation to Ann's new house laid. Nonie would supply the bulk of the
monies for materials, and sons would do the work. In Jan 1913, Ann, almost 60 years of age,
was nailing on the shingles to the new house on a cold, windy day. She moved into the new
house with Eastman in 1914. Many in the family lived close by. (pg. 216, GA)
•Lenora taught Elementary School in Chatsworth, Temecula, and Lordsburg (pg. 207 GA)
•In 1931 Lenora published "Our Pioneer Mother".
Olive Lenora (Nonie)
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Walter Levi Johnson
•Their 7th child and 3rd son Walter was born in the log house in Brown's Canyon.
•Walter died of an unknown illness at the Homestead house at the age of 5.
"Back in the year 1877 our little blue-eyed,
sunny-haired, laughing son, Walter, passed
away to his heavenly home. We buried him
there in the hills at the foot of a giant rock, which
stands as an everlasting monument"
(pg. 29, OPM)
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Emma Louise Johnson marries Fred Graves
•Their 8th child and 5th daughter Emma (age 23)
married Fred Graves (21) in 1896.
•They had 6 children, Jess, Theodore, Cecil, Anna
(Queenie), Curtis, and Warren.
•Fred and Emma homesteaded the 160 acres west and
adjacent acres to the Johnson Homestead, 22 years
after the Johnsons arrived. Chatsworth Hills
Homesteaders Part 1. His acreage includes Hialeah
Springs, and is a part of today's Indian Springs
development north of the 118 freeway.
•1899 Theodore drowns in a reservoir/fish pond at the
age of 1 at the homestead. (pg. 54, 2014 Starling "Bruz"
Bryant Early Chatsworth)
•Fred Graves becomes Constable of Chatsworth from
1903-1910, and also goes into partnership with Lovell
Hill, another homesteading family, to run the Graves &
Hill General Merchandise (Sept 2015 Smoke Signal).
•1904 Emma is pictured at the fruit cutting sheds at the
Gray Ranch (Sept 2023 Smoke Signal)
1912 Chatsworth Postcards - Graves & Hill Gen'l Merchandise & Post Office
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Emma Louise Johnson marries Fred Graves
•1908-1913 Fred purchases land west of Andora and north of
Chatsworth Street. His father Eli and brother Harry soon
purchase additional adjacent land north of Chatsworth street.
•1909 - Jess and Cecil come down with infantile paralysis, Jess
recovers, Cecil is crippled for life (pg10, 1978 Queenie Billings
interview). Later Cecil invented a block and tackle whereby
Emma could lower him into his Model-T Ford (pg. 211-213, GA)
•1932 Fred Graves sells most land holdings, and moves his house
from 10637 Andora to the present location 22200 Chatsworth
Street (known today as the Big Oak Theatre).
•1978 - Jess Graves, and Anna "Queenie" Graves Billings, are
interviewed and give oral histories of Chatsworth memories.
•2014 - Starling (Bruz) Bryant, "Queenie's" son, publishes a 108-
page book, of Early Chatsworth Johnson family photos and
memories.
•2009 - Ken Ditto (his grandfather Harry Graves was Fred Grave's
brother), shares Graves Chatsworth History.
1956 Emma Graves and Charles Janess
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Emma Graves Home on Andora Street about 1909
Emma, Warren, Curtis, Cecil and Jess
2/18/2025 Chatsworth Historical Society - The Johnson Family in Chatworth 40
Fred Graves Family photos
Fred Graves Family April 1946, 50th Wedding Anniversary
First row - Cecil, Emma, Fred
Second Row - Jess, Anna "Queenie", Warren, Curtis Emma Graves
2/18/2025 Chatsworth Historical Society - The Johnson Family in Chatworth 41
Norman Johnson marries Bertha Lehmann
•Their 9th child and 4th son Norman
(age 21) marries Bertha Lehmann
(18) in 1905.
•They had one child, Fahy Orville
Johnson.
•In 1903 Bertha graduated from
Chatsworth Park Grammar School
Story in Sept 2023 Smoke Signal
•In 1914, Norman organized the
first Boy Scout Troop in the valley,
Troop 26. The history of Troop 26
is in the appendix.
•In the 1920 Census, Norman had a
farm on Devonshire.
•In 1979, Norman's grandson
Richard published a thesis with
annotated footnotes clarifying
places and dates from "Our
Pioneer Mother".
Norman Carvin Johnson
Los Angeles County Fire Chief
1911 Norman Fahy Bertha
2/18/2025 Chatsworth Historical Society - The Johnson Family in Chatworth 42
Norman Johnson
1912 Neils, Fahy and Norman Johnson 3 generations in Monrovia
In 1979, Norman's grandson Richard
published a thesis with annotated footnotes
clarifying places and dates from "Our
Pioneer Mother".
2/18/2025 Chatsworth Historical Society - The Johnson Family in Chatworth 43
Eastman Johnson marries Zoa Spohn
•Their 10th child and 5th son.
•In the 1910 census, Eastman and Ann were the only ones
at the Homestead.
•In 1910, the Johnson "Pacific" Telephone Company was
established. Ann broke her arm up at the Homestead, and
the Johnson's decided that it was high time there was a
telephone service. Eastman was in charge, and the line
went from the ranch on the hill down to Charles Johnson's
place. Neighbors and businesses soon joined in.
•Married Zoa Sphon in 1917, they had no children
•In the 1920 census, Eastman and Zoa are living in
Woodland Hills. His occupation is Zanjero, for the Water
Company. (In Los Angeles a zanjero is a person in charge
of water management)
•In the 1950 census, Eastman and Zoa are living in
Sherman Oaks. Eastman is a meter service inspector for
the Water Company.
Eastman
Wall phone in
Minnie's cottage
2/18/2025 Chatsworth Historical Society - The Johnson Family in Chatworth 44
Other Items that are a part of the Johnson story
1883 Herald Examiner article on the NC Johnson Ranch (see appendix for full article)
In May 1883, Al Workman gave a personal tour of the San Fernando Valley wheat ranches to the editor of the Los Angeles
Herald Newspaper. (see our Wheat Farming Presentation for those articles). At the end of the tour, Al Workman showed
the editor the NC Johnson Ranch.
The editor wrote a glowing article about the ranch and homesteaders, excerpts below:
"He has located one hundred sixty acres of government land, seventy of which have already been put into grain and
orchard. He has a positively elegant home, a hundred stand of bees.. In search for water, he simply tunneled into the
mountain's side, being rewarded by a stream which runs fully fifteen thousand gallons a day."
"Johnson, by creating a perfect Paradise on the mountain's summit, has opened new possibilities to the settler in this
section."
George Washington Rock
In July of 1901 an article was printed in the San Francisco Call newspaper that
highlighted a rock formation they referred to as a sphinx. “The rock is on Chatsworth
Park Rancho, the property of Mrs. Johnson".
In February of 1914 Sunset magazine featured a color photo of the George Washington
Rock on the cover of their magazine. The Rock has been featured in many newspaper
articles and books over the years.
See the full article at 2022 George Washington Rock Adventure
2/18/2025 Chatsworth Historical Society - The Johnson Family in Chatworth 45
Other Items that are a part of the Johnson story
Johnson photos of 1917 Santa Susana Pass Road Construction
From the November 2015 Smoke Signal - Provided by Richard and Sue Johnson
Stoney Point is seen in the background of both photographs.
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Sources and Acknowledgements
•References written documents:
•1931 - Our Pioneer Mother Ann Johnson - Lenora Johnson
•1963 - Chatsworth History - Katharine Johnson
•1978 - Jess Graves Oral History - CSUN
•1978 - Anna "Queenie" Billings Oral History - CSUN
•1979 - Richard Johnson publishes a thesis with annotated footnotes clarifying places and dates from "Our Pioneer Mother". The thesis was a part
of his Master of Liberal Arts from USC.
•1986 - The Letters of Ann Willden Johnson, 1907-1920- Richard & Suzanne Johnson
•1986 - Growing up on the Acre
•1988 - Chatsworth Methodist Church History Lila Schepler
•2001 - Grandma Ann - Mary Huff
•2014 - Early Chatsworth California 1859-1959 - Starling "Bruz" and Doris Bryant
•References photos and Facebook:
•2006 - Mary Huff (Nellie)
•2009 - Ken Ditto (Graves)
•2009 - Bruz Bryant (Emma)
•2012 - Joel Curtis Graves (Emma)
•2015 - Richard Johnson (Norman)
•2016 - Dorothy Ecroyd Liss (Pogue)
•2020 - Robert Langley (Emma)
•2024 - Molly Garitee (Nellie)
•Smoke Signal Newsletter articles
•As referenced
•Prepared by Ann & Ray Vincent February 2025
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Appendix - Fort Willden Plaque
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Appendix - 1907 John Ahlstrom History
2/18/2025 Chatsworth Historical Society - The Johnson Family in Chatworth 49
Appendix - 1934 - History of San Fernando Valley - Keffer - Charles W Johnson Bio
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Appendix - 1953 Troop 26 All Star Scout Show - Boy Scout Troop 26 History
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Appendix - 1883-05-17 NC Johnson Ranch
1883-05-17 - SFV Wheat - NC Johnson Ranch - LA Herald Examiner
