He was educated near his hometown, and later attended schools in Springville and Fredonia, New York.
He moved steadily westward, living in Evanston, Illinois during his tenure on the Chicago Board of Trade.
[1] Johnson first married Lucy Leland, a native of Morrisville, New York, in October 1859.
Johnson subsequently married Ella H. C. Kellogg, of Rochester, New York, in March 1895.
While a resident of Waverly, he began serving on the Iowa Senate for District 44 in March 1870, and resigned the position in 1871, upon deciding to return to Waterloo.