J Howard Johnson was the son of James Angas Johnson, and his grandmother, Rosetta French Hannay, was a daughter of George Fife Angas. Rosetta French Hannay owned Orrie Cowie, a sheep station west of Warooka, Yorke Peninsula (South Australia), which was inherited by James Angas Johnson on her death. J Howard Johnson spent his holidays at Orrie Cowie, and spent various periods up to about 1910 at other locations on southern Yorke Peninsula. He visited Marion Bay repeatedly from 1895, and became acquainted with George and Louisa Egginton. In about 1900 Johnson collected a 'Southern Yorke Peninsula' vocabulary from Louisa Egginton at Marion Bay.