Who Is Elease Johnson? The Quiet Life of Bumpy Johnson’s Daughter and Her Daughter Margaret

James Dyson 3 days ago

0 7 7 minutes read

Many people search for Elease Johnson after watching shows or movies about Harlem’s famous crime boss, Bumpy Johnson. They want to know one simple thing: who was his daughter in real life?

The honest answer is that very little is written about her. Elease Johnson never gave interviews and never wrote a book. She lived a private life, and most of what we know comes from family stories, a memoir by her stepmother, and a few news reports.

Quick Bio Table

Detail	Information
Full name	Elease Johnson (sometimes spelled Elise or Elease)
Known as	Daughter of Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson
Father	Ellsworth Raymond “Bumpy” Johnson (1905 to 1968)
Stepmother	Mayme Hatcher Johnson (married Bumpy in October 1948)
Half sister	Ruthie Johnson
Daughter	Margaret Johnson
Home area	Harlem, New York City
Birth date	Not confirmed in reliable sources
Death	Many sources say 2006, but no official record is public
Public career	None known. She lived a private life
Best known for	Being linked to Bumpy Johnson and to her daughter Margaret

Who Was Bumpy Johnson?

To understand Elease, it helps to know her father first.

Ellsworth Raymond Johnson was born on October 31, 1905, in Charleston, South Carolina. When he was a teenager, his family sent him to live with his sister in Harlem. He dropped out of high school and soon started working for local gangsters.

Over time, he became one of the most powerful crime bosses in Harlem. He worked with a numbers racket leader named Stephanie St. Clair. After a bloody gang war in the 1930s, he built his own group and made deals with the Mafia.

In 1952, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for a drug conspiracy. He served much of that time at Alcatraz and was released on parole in 1963. He was arrested more than 40 times in his life.

Bumpy Johnson died of a heart attack on July 7, 1968, at age 62. He collapsed at a restaurant in Harlem. He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

His life has been shown in many films and TV shows. Famous actors such as Laurence Fishburne and Forest Whitaker have played him.

Who Is Elease Johnson?

Elease Johnson was the daughter of Bumpy Johnson. Her name is also written as Elise in many articles, books, and TV scripts. Both spellings point to the same person.

Here is what most sources agree on:

She was Bumpy’s daughter.
Bumpy Johnson had two daughters in total.
She had a daughter named Margaret.
She had a hard life and lived away from the spotlight.

Here is where the sources do not agree:

Her mother. Some websites say she was a daughter from an earlier relationship. Others say she was Mayme’s daughter and was adopted by Bumpy. Others say she was born to Bumpy and Mayme together.
Her birth year. Some pages give 1931, but they do not show proof.
Her death. Many pages say she died in 2006. One page gives a different date and a different first name, which shows how messy online information can be.

Wikipedia, which is one of the more careful public sources, only says that Bumpy had two daughters and that one of them came from another relationship. It does not give more detail.

So, when you read a blog that gives you her exact birthday, job, or school, be careful. These details are usually guesses.

Elease and Her Half Sister Ruthie

Bumpy Johnson had two daughters. Elease is one of them. The other is Ruthie Johnson.

Most accounts say Ruthie was the daughter of Bumpy and his wife, Mayme Hatcher Johnson. Elease is said to have come from another relationship, though some websites tell the story differently.

Because the two girls had different life paths and very little was written about them, people often mix up their stories. Some pages even swap details between them. If you want the safest summary, keep it simple: Bumpy had two daughters, Elease and Ruthie, and both lived mostly out of the public eye.

Mayme Hatcher Johnson: The Best Source We Have

If you want to learn about the Johnson family, the most important book is Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson.

It was written by Mayme Hatcher Johnson, who married Bumpy in October 1948, only six months after they met. The book came out in 2008. Mayme shared her memories of life with Bumpy, from the parties to the prison years.

Mayme passed away in May 2009 at age 94.

Because Mayme lived inside the family, her memoir is a key source. It is not perfect, though. It tells one person’s side of the story, and it was written many years after the events.

Elease’s Daughter, Margaret Johnson

The best known part of Elease’s story is her daughter, Margaret.

According to several reports, Elease struggled with personal problems, including drug addiction, and could not take care of Margaret. Bumpy Johnson and his wife Mayme stepped in and raised Margaret as their own child.

This means Margaret grew up in Bumpy’s home. She was his granddaughter, but many people saw her as the family’s daughter.

Some reports say Margaret passed away in December 2016 at age 66. If you plan to quote this fact, check it against a newspaper first, since the details come from secondary websites.

This part of the story shows a softer side of Bumpy Johnson. Many people only remember him as a crime boss. But the family accounts show that he also made room at home for a child who needed care.

A Life Away From the Spotlight

Unlike her father, Elease did not become famous. There are no known interviews, books, or public speeches by her.

A few websites say she was a social worker or an activist, or that she went to college. These claims are not backed by solid proof. Some pages also repeat the same sentences again and again, which is a sign that they were copied or written quickly. It is better to say that her work life is unknown.

What we can say is this:

She grew up around Harlem’s rough world.
She had a complicated family life.
She faced personal struggles as an adult.
She had a daughter who was raised by her father and stepmother.

That is a small piece of history, but it is a real one.

What Happened to Elease Johnson?

Many websites say Elease Johnson died in 2006, around the same time as her half sister Ruthie. Some pages say the cause was a heart attack linked to drug use.

Here is the problem. No public death record or major news story clearly confirms this. The story is repeated in many places, but they often copy each other.

So the fairest way to put it is this: reports say she died in 2006, but the exact date and cause are not confirmed.

Elise Johnson in Godfather of Harlem

If you found Elease through a TV show, you are not alone.

In the series Godfather of Harlem, Forest Whitaker plays Bumpy Johnson. The show also has a character named Elise Johnson, Bumpy’s daughter. She is played by actress Antoinette Crowe-Legacy.

Keep in mind that this is a drama. The writers change timelines, add scenes, and invent conversations to make the story exciting. The TV Elise is based on the real person, but she is not a copy of her. Her storylines should not be used as proof of what happened in real life.

Why Her Story Matters

You may wonder why people care about a woman who stayed out of the news.

First, her story reminds us that famous people have families who never asked for attention. Children of powerful figures often grow up in the shadow of their parent’s name.

Second, her life shows how a family can be complicated. There were different mothers, different homes, and hard choices. Still, there was also care, since Margaret was raised in Bumpy’s household.

Third, it shows why we should be careful online. Many blogs give long biographies of Elease with exact dates and job titles. But when you look closely, the facts are thin. A short and honest article is better than a long one filled with guesses.

How to Check Facts About the Johnson Family

If you want to learn more, here are some simple tips:

Start with books. Mayme Hatcher Johnson’s memoir is the best place to start.
Use trusted history sites. Pages like BlackPast, Biography, and the National Park Service have careful profiles of Bumpy Johnson.
Read old newspapers. Reports from the New York Daily News and other papers can help confirm family details.
Watch for copied text. If many websites say the exact same sentence, they may have copied each other.
Be careful with TV shows. They are made to entertain, not to teach history.

Final Thoughts

Elease Johnson’s story is short, but it is worth telling carefully. She was the daughter of one of Harlem’s most famous names, she lived a private life, and she was the mother of Margaret, who was raised in Bumpy’s home.

Many details, such as her birth date, her mother, and her cause of death, are still unclear. Until stronger records appear, the best approach is to stay honest about what we know and what we do not.

If you enjoyed this article, try reading Mayme Hatcher Johnson’s memoir to see the family through her eyes.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who is Elease Johnson?

Elease Johnson is known as a daughter of Harlem crime boss Bumpy Johnson. She is also the mother of Margaret Johnson. She lived a private life.

2. Is Elease Johnson the same as Elise Johnson?

Yes. Both spellings are used for the same person. “Elise” is more common in TV shows and some articles.

3. Was Elease Johnson adopted?

Sources disagree. Some say she was adopted, and others say she was Bumpy’s daughter from an earlier relationship. There is no strong proof for one answer.

4. How many children did Bumpy Johnson have?

He had two daughters, Elease and Ruthie Johnson.

5. Who raised Elease’s daughter, Margaret?

Reports say Bumpy Johnson and his wife, Mayme, raised Margaret as their own child.

6. When did Elease Johnson die?

Many sources say 2006. However, no public record fully confirms the date or cause.

7. What did Elease Johnson do for a living?

Nothing is confirmed. Some websites claim she was a social worker or activist, but there is no reliable proof.

8. Who wrote a book about the Johnson family?

Mayme Hatcher Johnson, Bumpy’s wife, wrote Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson, published in 2008.

9. Who plays Elise Johnson in Godfather of Harlem?

Actress Antoinette Crowe-Legacy plays Elise Johnson in the series.

10. Why is there so little information about her?

Elease never sought public attention. She did not give interviews or write a memoir, so most details come from other people.