Hannah is the daughter of Archibald and Mary Idol Johnson. She was a young pioneer and came from Rowan County, North Carolina to Washington County, Indiana with her parents. Her father was a Veteran of the American Revolution and served as a drover for the American cause. Archibald and his family settled on property in the Delaney Creek area of Washington County, Indiana about 1811 or 1812. About the same time as her arrival at Delaney Creek, she married William Spurgin, Grandson of Colonel William Spurgin and Mary Jane (Welborn or Sellars) Spurgin. He also pioneered to Washington County from Rowan County. Hannah's sister Elizabeth married William's Uncle Josiah Spurgin. Josiah entered public land in Washington County, Indiana and returned to North Carolina to obtain money to make payments. Elizabeth found her neighbor, Mrs. Colloner and her two children tomahawked by Native Americans. She promptly put their three children on horseback and went 18 miles to seek shelter at the fort in Utica. Elizabeth and Josiah settled on what is now known as Spurgeon Hill near Salem. These early pioneer settlers suffered many hardships in the life they chose. They sought prosperity for themselves and their children and were willing to endure the hardships of frontier life to gain it. Another of Hannah's sisters, Chloe, married her husband William's cousin, Cadwallader Jones. Cadwallader and Chloe migrated to Washington County about the same time. Cadwallader became a hunting companion with the famed scout Micajah Calloway (the head scout for General Mad Anthony Wayne). Cadwallader later was considered one of the "Washington County Giants" They were call Giants because of their fighting ability. They tested this ability often with matches against each other. The sport included making bets on one's favorite fighter. Cadwallader also began a flatboat venture which lasted just a short time using the spring floodwaters to launch on the mouth of Delaney Creek and ferry products of Washington County to sell at St. Louis, Missouri. This was dangerous business, not only because of the treacherous rivers, but the flatboat crews had to be on their guard to ward off river pirates. River pirates would at times try to ambush them on their return trip home. The weapons they carried and their courage was all the protection these early frontier pioneers could rely upon. Also, often the wild game that they could bag meant staying alive or starving to death. Records indicate that Cadwallader had put elk meat on his family's table killed in in the pioneer days of Washington County. Morris Denney, son of Elisha and Polly Denny indicated in a newspaper article that the Archibald Johnson family, Micajah Callaway family, George House family, his Denny family, William Spurgin and others stayed at the Fleenor Fort or Stockade located 3 miles northeast of Salem and in part on the property which Wiley Jones lived on at the time the article was written. He related an incident of an alarm of an Indian attack which caused the fort's occupants to seek the shelter of the fort. The threat of lose of life by warring Indians was real. Elisha Denny volunteered to reconnoiter the area and William Spurgin lent him his rifle to do it. It turned out to be horses wandering in the smoke of burning trees from the land they were clearing. The small fort community worked together, some clearing land others standing guard as mundane chores of daily life went on. While forting there a child was born to Elisha and Polly. Mary, Hannah's mother, called "Granny" Johnson declared that the birth of Morris' brother, James, on February 2, 1813, was the first obstetrical case in Indiana. Mary possibly was the midwife at his birth. Most of the pioneer's doctoring was done by women who learned their craft from their mothers. No doubt, this was passed on to Hannah and her sisters. The frontier pioneer women were, in most cases, the only healing Angels available short of God's own will that the brave pioneers had. Hannah and William secured a farm next to Archibald's farm cleared it, built their home and raised their family cutting out their living from the forests of Washington County, Indiana. All this was done by mutual aid of all. Hannah and pioneer women like her worked hard beside their husbands and children. In these times family helped family, neighbors helped neighbors and the hardy of the frontier pioneer families flourished. May God Bless them.

The newspaper article recording the oral history of Morris T. Denny was subtitled, "An Octogenarian". There was no date or publisher with it. In its text, it was identified as the "Leader". The article is in the Steven's Museum at Salem.
Compiled and written by Roger G. Spurgeon