Hidden Figures' Katherine Johnson (1918-2020)

Katherine (Coleman) Goble Johnson (1918-2020) was born August 26, 1918, to J. M. and Joylette Coleman in White Sulphur, West Virginia.

She was a toddler when enumerated in the 1920 censs:

Census 1920

White Sulphur, Greenbrier, West Virginia, United States

Household Role Sex Age Birthplace

Joshua M Coleman Head Male 38 West Virginia

Joylatte R Coleman Wife Female 33 North Carolina

Horace L Coleman Son Male 7 West Virginia

Margaret Coleman Daughter Female 6 West Virginia

Charles Coleman Son Male 4 West Virginia

Katherine Coleman Daughter Female 1 West Virginia

1930 Census

Union, Kanawha, West Virginia, United States

Household Role Sex Age Birthplace

Joylette Coleman Head Female 42 North Carolina

Horace Coleman Son Male 16 West Virginia

Margaret Coleman Daughter Female 15 West Virginia

Charles Coleman Son Male 14 West Virginia

Katherin Coleman Daughter Female 11 West Virginia

Katherine's parents, Joshua and Joylette (Lowe) Coleman, were living in White Sulphur, in 1910:

Census 1910

White Sulphur, Greenbrier, West Virginia, United States

Household Role Sex Age Birthplace

Joshua M Coleman Head Male 27 West Virginia

Joilet R Coleman Wife Female 23 North Carolina

Annie [Norris] Coleman Stepmother Female 56 Virginia

Katherine's father, Joshua McKinley Coleman, was born December 18, 1881, in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, to Horace and Margaret (Wheeler) Coleman, both of Albemarle County, Virginia.  

Her grandmother, Margaret, who was the daughter of Louisa Johnson, died April 30, 1892, in Greenbrier, West Virginia. 

Katherine's mother, Joylette, was the daughter of Lee Lowe, and the granddaughter of Abraham Lowe, of North Carolina.  (See Abraham's Wikitree entry here).

Lisette Denison (Forth) of Michigan

Ever since noticing the historical marker on Grosse Isle, Michigan, commemorating the remarkable feat of Lisette Denison, I wondered why she wasn't more widely celebrated as a heroine. After finding the .pdf file highlighting her background, I found her even more amazing. More about the church and historical marker here.


A link for Lisette's father, Peter Denison is here at Wayne State University. Her photo and a notation indicating a plaque in downtown Detroit where her home once stood is here.

According to this site, Lisette was the first black landowner in America.

The Tucker family, who freed the elder Denisons, apparently played another pivotal role in history. Tucker warned Major Gladwin in 1763 that the fort in Detroit was going to be attacked in what is known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Rebellion.

[Note: This is an updated version of a post of Feb. 2008]