David Johnston (or Johnstone) (3 January 1724 – 12 January 1809) was an American merchant and politician of Scottish descent who served as the president of the

Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York The Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York is the oldest Charitable organization, charitable institution in the state of New York (state), New York and is focused on helping Scots in the New York community with the motto Charity, Fello ...

Early life

Johnston was born on 3 January 1724 at Perth Amboy in the

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial history of the United States, Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherla ...

, which was then a part of

British America British America collectively refers to various British colonization of the Americas, colonies of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and its predecessors states in the Americas prior to the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1 ...

. He was the second son of John Johnston Jr., a major in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, and the former Elizabeth Jamison. His elder brother, John Johnston, married their cousin, Euphemia Johnston (daughter of Andrew Johnston), and was Colonel of the New Jersey Provincial troops at the capture of

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara, also known as Old Fort Niagara, is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great L ...

during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

in 1758. His paternal grandparents were Eupham (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Scot) Johnston (only daughter of George Scot, Laird of Pitlochie) and Dr. John Johnstone of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, who emigrated to the United States in 1685 and served as

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

from 1714 to 1718. Through his father, he was a member of the Border Reiver

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Scottish Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared heritage and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure r ...

Johnstone Johnstone (,
) is a town in the

Marquis of Annandale," a title in the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland (; ) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union 1707, Treaty of Union, the Kingdom of Scots and the ...

, "but declined on the ground that he was an American and unwilling to give up his birthright for a life in England, but later, at the coming of age of his eldest son, regretted his refusal." His maternal grandfather, David Jamison, was one of the so-called Nine Partners who purchased a large tract of land in the

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

in 1697. Jamison served as Secretary of the State of the Colony of New York, Warden of Trinity Church, Chief Justice of the Colony of New Jersey in 1711, and Attorney General of the Colony of New York in 1720.

Career

At a young age, he entered business as a wine merchant, trading directly with

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

using his own ship. He worked as a merchant until the death of his mother when he inherited his share of the Nine Partners Tract, which by then was worth a substantial amount, and required his considerable attention as his land and estates were extensive. By 1800, Johnston owned 15 slaves at his estate in the Hudson Valley.

Political career

In February 1761, he was elected to the

New York General Assembly The General Assembly of New York, commonly known internationally as the New York General Assembly, and domestically simply as General Assembly, was the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the Province of New York d ...

and was registered a Freeman of the City on 21 August 1770 as "David Johnston, Gentleman." On 19 May 1774, he was chosen as one of the

Committee of Correspondence The committees of correspondence were a collection of American political organizations that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament and, later, support for American independence during the American Revolution. The brainchild of S ...

, and "subsequently chosen as one of a

Committee of Observation A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

elected by a poll held at the City Hall by order of the Committee of Correspondence. He was also one of a Committee of One Hundred selected at the agitation to the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

." On 26 April 1775, he was one of the signers of a call for a

New York Provincial Congress The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...

Personal life

On 27 May 1753, Johnston was married to Magdalen Walton. Magdalen was a daughter of William Walton and Mary (née Beekman) Walton (a daughter of Dr.

Gerardus Beekman Gerardus Willemse Beekman (c. August 1653 – October 10, 1723) was a wealthy physician, land owner, and colonial governor of the Province of New York. Early life He was christened August 17, 1653 at Corlaer's Hook Plantation, New York, the seco ...

, acting Governor of the Province of New York). Magdalen's sister Mary Walton was the wife of

Lewis Morris Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Conti ...

, signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. In New York City, he had a mansion on the east side of

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

(which was burned during the Revolutionary War), a farm in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

, a farm in Perth Amboy (which was burned by the Hessians when the British Army occupied New Jersey), and in the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

, he owned a large country estate and residence known as Annandale in Lithgow (a hamlet within

Washington, New York Washington is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 4,522 at the 2020 census.U.S. Census, 2020, 'Washington town, Dutchess County, New York' The town is named after George Washington, who passed through the town ...

Johnston named after

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

, the ancestral home of his maternal grandfather) where he permanently moved to after the War. Together, they were the parents of three sons and seven daughters, including: * Mary Johnston (b. 1754), who married John Allen (d. 1778), son of William Allen (Chief Justice of the

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

and

mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is the first woman to hold the ...

), in 1775. * Elizabeth Johnston (b. 1755), who married Capt. George Elliot Salter in 1783. * Cornelia Johnston (1757–1815), who married Gulian Verplanck,

Speaker of the New York State Assembly The speaker of the New York State Assembly is the highest official in the New York State Assembly, customarily elected from the ranks of the majority party. As in most countries with a British heritage, the speaker presides over the lower hous ...

, in 1784. * John Johnston (1759–1759), who died in infancy. * Magdalen Johnston (b. 1760) * John Johnston (1762–1850), who married Susannah Bard, daughter of Dr. Samuel Bard, the personal physician of President

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. Johnston was presiding Judge of the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

Dutchess County Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later org ...

from 1807 to 1817. * Effie Johnston (b. ) * David Johnston (b. 1766) * Johanna Johnston (b. 1769) * Jacob Johnston (1770–1811) * Euphemia Johnston (b. 1774) He served two terms, first from 1774 to 1775 and secondly from 1784 to 1785, as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

, a charitable organization founded in 1756 that focuses on helping Scots in the New York community. Johnston died on 12 January 1809 at his country residence, Annandale.

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

1809 Will of David Johnston
on New York Heritage Digital Collections. {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, David 1724 births 1809 deaths American people of Scottish descent Members of the New York General Assembly Presidents of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York 19th-century American merchants Merchants from colonial New York 18th-century American merchants