Johnson received a recess appointment from Ulysses Grant on October 25, 1875, to a seat vacated by Lewis Bartholomew Woodruff.

Born on July 30, 1817, in Utica, New York,[1] Johnson graduated from Yale University in 1835 and read law in 1838.

[2] Warm praise was awarded Johnson in both England and Canada for the sagacity that he displayed in the peaceful settlement of these difficulties, which at one time threatened serious results.

[1] In December 1873, he was appointed to the New York Court of Appeals by Governor John Adams Dix to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Rufus Wheeler Peckham.

[2] In November 1874, he ran for a full term on the Republican ticket, but was defeated, and left the bench on December 31, 1874.