Naynee's Babies

Mary Jane (née Hill) Johnson, affectionately known as "Naynee" by her family, was born in 1904 to sharecropping parents in rural southwest Georgia, somewhere between Sylvester and Oakfield. Her childhood was shaped by hard work and resilience. After completing only the third grade, she left school to help support her family on the farm.

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From dawn until dusk, Naynee worked alongside her six older brothers and sister, moving from field to field, tilling the soil, planting crops, and harvesting under the relentless Georgia sun until darkness settled across the fields. The demands of farm life instilled in her an extraordinary work ethic, but they did not define the full measure of her gifts.

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Even as a young girl, Naynee showed signs of possessing what her family called "healing hands." Her mother and grandmother, both respected lay midwives, recognized her natural ability and began teaching her the traditions they had learned through generations of Black midwifery. Under their guidance, she learned to identify and harvest medicinal plants, prepare herbal remedies, and care for mothers and newborns during childbirth.

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Despite her youth, Naynee quickly earned the trust of her community. In addition to working in the fields, she was often called upon to assist with births, serving families and working alongside local physicians.

She accomplished all of this before the age of fifteen.

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Mary Jane Hill later met Arthemon Johnson Sr. in Ty Ty, Georgia, where they began raising a family. During the 1930s, amid the Great Migration, the Johnson family relocated to Central Florida in search of greater opportunity.

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From the time she arrived from Southwest Georgia until the early 1980's, Naynee served the families of Orange, Seminole and surroundings counties as a dedicated midwife and birthworker. Her compassionate care, deep knowledge of traditional medicine, and unwavering commitment to mothers and babies made her a treasured figure in the community.

By 1973, Mary Jane Johnson was recognized as one of only fifty remaining "granny midwives" in the State of Florida—a living link to a centuries-old tradition of community-based maternal care that had served generations of families.