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The Martin Johnston Family
submitted by Jim G. Faulconer
This is to document some of the history of the Johnston family that
settled in Clark County in the late 1700s or early 1800s. The name
Johnston and Johnson were sometimes intermixed, which makes our task
more difficult, but Johnston was the norm for this line of the family.
Martin Johnston was a Revolutionary War soldier, who came to Clark
County from Culpeper County, Virginia. Fortunately for us, his widow
applied for her pension, and gave an excellent record of the family
members. It is in the National Archives (W436). Here is an abstract:
Johnston, Martin or Martin Johnson, Nancy, VA Line, soldier was a son of
William and Sarah Johnston and was born 1 February 1758 in Virginia.
Soldier lived in Culpeper County, Virginia, at enlistment and soldier
married there to Nancy Wright on 1 March 1779, and she was born 27 March
1762, soldier applied 20 Jun 1818 Clark County, Kentucky, and he died
there 3 July 1820 and his widow applied there 25 November 1839, soldier
and wife had 3 children: (1) William born 11 September 1780 and he
married 22 December 1800 to Elizabeth Laurence who was born 2 November
1781 and in 1840 they lived in Clark County, Kentucky and soldier's
widow had lived with them since 1820 and they (William and Elizabeth)
had children (soldier's grandchildren), to wit:
Matilda born 2 October 1801, Martin born 2 June 1803 and he married Lucy
Sanders 28 March 1822, Henry born 9 March 1805, Nancy born 29 May 1806,
Betsey born 28 February 1808, William born 11 March 1810, Frances born 8
February 1812, George H. born 19 November 1813, Cinthy born 4 October
1815 and John Roberts Johnston born 17 Feb 1818. (2) Frances "Fanny"
born 3 June 1783 and she married 4 February 1802 to John Johnson who was
born 25 December 1774 and died prior to 1840. (3) George W. born 31 July
1893 and he married 5 September 1820 to Murtila Murphey and in 1840 they
lived in Tennessee. Also shown were Laurence Johnston born 7 October
1821, Cornelius Spry born 6 January 1801, Asa S. Wright married Martilda
Johnston 9 September 1819, soldier's brother George Johnston was aged 84
in 1840 when he made affidavit in Maury County, Tennessee and it was
stated in 1840 that widow's brother William Wright was deceased.
The above data is impressive. Now we will sort it out, and add to it
from other sources:
William and Sarah Johnston, parents of Martin, lived in Culpeper County,
Virginia. On September 9, 1765, William Johnston, Jr. of Culpeper
County, wrote his will. He named his wife Sarah, and children Elizabeth,
George, Martin, Jean, and Leanah. The will was proved on October 17,
1765. Here, then, are the children:
1. Elizabeth Johnston.
2. George Johnston.
3. Martin Johnston. More below.
4. Jean Johnston.
5. Leanah Johnston.
Martin Johnston, son of William and Sarah, was born on February 1, 1758,
probably in Culpeper County. He lived in Culpeper County at the time of
his enlistment. He married Nancy Wright of the same county on March 1,
1779. She was a daughter of Joseph and Frances Wright, who settled by
1790 on Four Mile Creek in what was to become Clark County. Joseph
Wright died in 1904. A son of Joseph Wright was WilliamWright, who also
settled in Clark County, who was a Revolutionary Soldier, and who
testified that he had known Martin Johnston "from his early youth."
Then, when William Wright applied for his pension, his sister, Nancy
Johnston, attested on behalf of William.
Martin and his family must have settled in Clark County in the 1790s,
for his son, William, married in 1800 in Clark County. William died on
July 3, 1820.
Martin and Nancy Johnston owned some land, for they inherited a portion
of the estate of Joseph Wright in 1804. Then, they bought another 60
acres on Four Mile Creek, inherited by John and Mary Wright, on November
27, 1909. On March 3, 1821, Nancy Johnson, widow of Martin Johnson,
deceased, sold a parcel of land to William Johnson, John Johnson and
Fanny his wife, and George W. Johnston of the State of Tennessee. This
was land of Martin Johnson, who died intestate. She sold it "love and
affection." for $1.00. (DB 18, pp. 9-10) The next year, on September 5,
1822, George W. Johnston and Matilda, his wife, of Maury County,
Tennessee, sold their 47 acres on Two Mile Creek to William Johnston for
$500. (DB 18, p. 516)
Nancy Wright Johnston lived until after November 1839, when she made
application for her widow's pension. Here, then, are the children of
Martin and Nancy Wright Johnston:
1. William Johnston was born on September 11, 1780, in Culpeper County,
Virginia. He married Elizabeth S. Lawrence in Clark County on December
22, 1800. She was the daughter of Henry Lawrence, who gave consent to
the marriage. They had the following children:
A. Matilda Johnston was born on October 2, 1801. She married Asa S.
Wright on September 9, 1819. He was the youngest of the sixteen children
born to William and Susanna Threlkeld Wright, and was born on July 22,
1801, in Culpeper County, Virginia. They lived until after 1860 in Clark
County, and eventually moved to Atchinson County, Missouri. They had six
children, according to his obituary published in 1885.
B. Martin Johnston was born on June 2, 1803. He married Lucy Sanders on
March 28, 1822.
C. Henry Johnston was born on March 9, 1805.
D. Nancy Johnston ws born on May 29, 1806. She married Francis C.
Browning on September 27, 1826. The marriage license notes that she was
the daughter of William Johnston, Sr. William Johnston, Jr. posted the
surety.
E. Elizabeth "Betsey" Johnston was born on February 28, 1808. She
married Richard Johnson on May 30, 1825. The marriage license notes that
she was the daughter of William Johnston. Martin Johnston posted the
surety.
F. William Johnston, Jr. was born on March 11, 1810. He married Martha
Bush on January 25, 1835. Joseph Bush posted the surety.
G. Frances "Fanny" Johnston was born on February 8, 1812. She married
William M. Browning on November 11, 1834. William Johnston posted the
surety.
H. George H. Johnston was born on November 19, 1813. He married Lucy
Jones on April 12, 1849. William Haggard posted the surety.
I. Cynthia Johnston was born on October 4, 1815. She married Howard Bush
on March 11, 1844. The license notes that she was the daughter of
William Johnston, Sr. Martin Johnston was a witness, and Lawrence
Johnston posted the surety.
J. John Roberts Johnston was born on February 17, 1818. Probably he is
the John Johnston who married Sarah Debary on November 18, 1843. Marquis
Debary posted the surety.
K. Lawrence Johnston was born on October 7, 1821. While the pension
application does not explicitly say he was a son of William and
Elizabeth Lawrence, the name certain suggests that. He was listed as one
of the heirs. (See below) The birth date fits too. He married Xanippe ?
L. Amanda Johnston was not mentioned in the above pension application.
However, she was one of the heirs of William Johnston. (See below) She
was born about 1829, and married George Isham on July 26, 1849. William
Johns(t)on posted the surety.
On March 26, 1852, the heirs of William Johnston, partitioned the land
on Two Mile Creek, under the supervision of the Commissioners. (DB 36
pp. 125-126) The living heirs were named as follows: Amanda Isom (Isham),
late Amanda Johnson; William Johnson; Nancy Browning, alias Nancy
Johnson, Robert Johnson, George Johnson, Matilda Wright, late Matilda
Johnson; Polly Ann Johnson; Frances Browning; Martin Johnson, Lawrence
Johnson; Betsy Johnson; and Cynthia Bush, late Cynthia Johnson.
2. Frances "Fanny" Johnston, daughter of Martin and Nancy Wright
Johnston, was born on June 3, 1783, in Culpeper County, Virginia. She
married John Johnson on February 4, 1802, in Clark County. He was born
on December 25, 1774, and died before 1840.
3. George W. Johnston, son of Martin and Nancy Wright Johnston, was born
on July 31, 1793. He married Matilda Murphy on September 5, 1820, place
unknown. They settled in Maury County, Tennessee.
Another one mentioned in the pension application is of interest.
Cornelius Spry, born January 6, 1801, married Lucy Wright, daughter of
William and Susanna Threlkeld Wright, on January 1, 1844. Hence, he was
related by marriage to Martin Johnston.
The above information is a start. We hope further information will be
forthcoming.
* * *
Compiled by Jim G. Faulconer, 5200 Oakbrooke Drive, Kettering, OH 45440.
April 20, 1996.
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