Genealogical And Other Data Concerning The Johnston Family

Author : Charles Ernest Johnston
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781332130900
Total Pages : 124 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (39 download)

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Download or read book A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Peter Johnston written by Charles Ernest Johnston and published by . This book was released on 2015-08-04 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Peter Johnston: Who Came to America From Lockerby, Scotland, in the Year 1773, and Settled in Wilton, Also a Short History of the Clan of Johnston, of Annandale Owing to the want of documentary evidence the history of the early settlers of this country is frequently of a legendary nature; and these legends, in being handed down from generation to generation, become so distorted as to be of little real value as regards persons, while they doubtless portray in natural colors the character of the times. Saratoga County, New York, was settled mostly by people of Scotch and Dutch descent, some of the settlers coming from the New England colonies and others from the Old World direct. Of the latter class were the Johnstons and Laings. Some say that John Laing came to America from Dumfriesshire, Scotland, in 1771, but there is a tradition in both families to the effect that the Laings and Johnstons came over on the same vessel, and it is known that the Johnstons came in 1773. It is not known whether they were acquainted in Scotland, but they lived only about fifteen miles apart - the Johnstons at Lockerby, and the Laings at Langholm. Both families settled in Palmerston, Saratoga County, N. Y., a little east of Mt. McGregor. Palmerston was also called Palmertown, and Thomas Johnston spelled it Parmertown; it was named for a family of Palmers, who were among the first settlers. The township has since been named Wilton. Peter Johnston was a Presbyterian in Scotland, but it seems that he found no place of worship of that denomination at his new home, and he therefore attended the Dutch Reformed Church. Preachers were scarce and schoolmasters not much more plentiful, and the consequence was that both religion and education received severe setbacks. From the Puritans the settlers borrowed superstition and witchcraft, and probably came to believe in them as thoroughly as the Puritans themselves, although they did not carry their inquisitions so far. Susanna (Cleveland) Johnston used to tell in all seriousness of a witch in the form of a cat that used to torment her husband. The cat would come up to him on dark nights, run all around him, pass between his legs, and do all sorts of antics to worry him; and try as he might, he could never strike it or kick it. It was believed that the wife of one of the neighbors was the instigator of the witch, as they were not on friendly terms with her. Superstition was rampant. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.