Buffalo Rising Online

May 28th 2007, 4:28pm By Bill Zimmermann

In 1837, two brothers in their mid-lives, took up their families and left the cities of Buffalo and Rochester, respectively, and set up an iron-ore mining business in the less than bustling community of Tellico Plains, Tennessee. They lived there, thrived there, died and were buried there about mid-century.

But from where had they come from? And what remarkable path did they leave behind? One brother, Elisha, had spent most of his life in Rochester, where he was one of its first mayors. The other brother, Ebenezer, had been a surgeon in the war of 1812, then set up a medical practice after the war, and stuck his own drug emporium next door to his medical clinic in Buffalo.

Ebenezer was a dedicated doctor, cited as a 'miracle worker' in the years of frequent cholera epidemics in Buffalo. He was also a tireless visionary for what his city on the lake was creating of itself.

On this day, May 28, 1832, Dr. Ebenezer Johnson became the City of Buffalo’s first mayor.

The two term mayor presided over a city population of 10,000 that knew a total of six churches, a couple of banks, over a dozen schools, and a newspaper called the Western Star. Mayor Johnson was paid $250 a year, and ran a city government on an average of $10,000 annually.

He was a wealthy land speculator in his own right, with a span of 25 acres stretching from the Chippewa-Tupper area to the State Reservation line. Here, on his property, he held social court for the city, at his home known as ‘The Cottage.”

With his second term completed in 1835, 1836 saw his continued support in all facets of Buffalo growth and social spirit. He held a huge party at The Cottage, engraved invitations citing the big to-do that kept folk dancing past midnight. The high spirits began to decline that year, however, and a land speculation boom had gone bust. Speculators who bought on credit were going bankrupt, and Ebenezer Johnson was not exempt from the turmoil of the times, losing his entire fortune.

The Cottage and all its holdings went up for lease. Contact was made with brother Elisha, and the Johnson family said their goodbyes to their beloved Buffalo, with hopes of one day returning with new good fortunes. Fate, however, would not serve upon that wish.

It is said that Ebenezer Johnson led an admirable, gracious, dutiful and honest good life. He never did return to Buffalo, but died in Tellico, Tennessee on September 23, 1849. He was 63 years of age. A true American pioneer, he’d lived life to the fullest. It is said that his exuberance was unmatched in welcoming visionaries, new enterprises and founding institutions to Buffalo in its fervent early years. He may be buried in Tennessee, but he will always be remembered here in Buffalo.