"James H. Johnston, born in 1796, came from Franklin county in 1823 and purchased two hundred and forty acres of land, upon which he settled. Mr. Johnston was a man of remarkable physical strength and intellectual vigor. He once walked from his home in Ayr township to Leavenworth, Kansas. and returned, making seventy miles per day. He took with him only forty dollars, and of this he had eighteen dollars left when he reached home.During the war he was one of the most patriotic men in the country. When he was seventy years old he walked from his home to Bloody Run ( the original town name of Everett, PA) to notify Gen. Milroy that the rebels were approaching the Big Cove. Mr. Johnston also possessed a mind stored with valuable knowledge. For ten years he was engaged as a contractor on the Baltimore & Ohio* railroad. He was married in 1823 to Nancy Rankin of Franklin county, who, at the age of eighty-two years, still survives him. Mr. Johnston died in 1879.
Children: Marion E. (Johnston), Thomas, Mary A.(Houston), Archibald W., John, Ann(deceased), J. Walker, Samuel H. and Anna C.J. Walker. Walker Johnston enlisted in Co. F, 77th regt. Penn. Vols., in 1861, entering the service as a private; he was promoted to first lieutenant. He resigned and returned home in 1865. "
(Source: The History of Bedford, Somerset, and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania, 1884, Waterman, Watkins & Co., p.639.)
*James was actually a contractor on the Tapeworm Railroad which was a project of then State Senator Thaddaus Stevens who got funding in the 1830's for a branch line that would go through Philadelphia, York and Gettysburg and into Maryland where it would connect withthe B and O. It was called the "Tapeworm RR" by its detractors. The overall project was a failure but a portion of the line did open in 1889 and it remains active today as a part of the CSX transportation system.
James'daughter, Mary Agnes, moved to Garnett Kansas in 1858 with her husband David Watson Houston and was living in Leavenworth 1870-1877. James' son John Johnston moved to Kansas Territory and was Orderly-Sergeant of Governor S.J. Crawford's company which was raised in Garnett, Kansas in 1861. Daughter Ann also moved to Garnett,Kansas with her husband, John Hunter.
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Children: Marion E. (Johnston), Thomas, Mary A.(Houston), Archibald W., John, Ann(deceased), J. Walker, Samuel H. and Anna C.J. Walker. Walker Johnston enlisted in Co. F, 77th regt. Penn. Vols., in 1861, entering the service as a private; he was promoted to first lieutenant. He resigned and returned home in 1865. "
(Source: The History of Bedford, Somerset, and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania, 1884, Waterman, Watkins & Co., p.639.)
*James was actually a contractor on the Tapeworm Railroad which was a project of then State Senator Thaddaus Stevens who got funding in the 1830's for a branch line that would go through Philadelphia, York and Gettysburg and into Maryland where it would connect withthe B and O. It was called the "Tapeworm RR" by its detractors. The overall project was a failure but a portion of the line did open in 1889 and it remains active today as a part of the CSX transportation system.
James'daughter, Mary Agnes, moved to Garnett Kansas in 1858 with her husband David Watson Houston and was living in Leavenworth 1870-1877. James' son John Johnston moved to Kansas Territory and was Orderly-Sergeant of Governor S.J. Crawford's company which was raised in Garnett, Kansas in 1861. Daughter Ann also moved to Garnett,Kansas with her husband, John Hunter.
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"James H. Johnston, born in 1796, came from Franklin county in 1823 and purchased two hundred and forty acres of land, upon which he settled. Mr. Johnston was a man of remarkable physical strength and intellectual vigor. He once walked from his home in Ayr township to Leavenworth, Kansas. and returned, making seventy miles per day. He took with him only forty dollars, and of this he had eighteen dollars left when he reached home.During the war he was one of the most patriotic men in the country. When he was seventy years old he walked from his home to Bloody Run ( the original town name of Everett, PA) to notify Gen. Milroy that the rebels were approaching the Big Cove. Mr. Johnston also possessed a mind stored with valuable knowledge. For ten years he was engaged as a contractor on the Baltimore & Ohio* railroad. He was married in 1823 to Nancy Rankin of Franklin county, who, at the age of eighty-two years, still survives him. Mr. Johnston died in 1879.
Children: Marion E. (Johnston), Thomas, Mary A.(Houston), Archibald W., John, Ann(deceased), J. Walker, Samuel H. and Anna C.J. Walker. Walker Johnston enlisted in Co. F, 77th regt. Penn. Vols., in 1861, entering the service as a private; he was promoted to first lieutenant. He resigned and returned home in 1865. "
(Source: The History of Bedford, Somerset, and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania, 1884, Waterman, Watkins & Co., p.639.)
*James was actually a contractor on the Tapeworm Railroad which was a project of then State Senator Thaddaus Stevens who got funding in the 1830's for a branch line that would go through Philadelphia, York and Gettysburg and into Maryland where it would connect withthe B and O. It was called the "Tapeworm RR" by its detractors. The overall project was a failure but a portion of the line did open in 1889 and it remains active today as a part of the CSX transportation system.
James'daughter, Mary Agnes, moved to Garnett Kansas in 1858 with her husband David Watson Houston and was living in Leavenworth 1870-1877. James' son John Johnston moved to Kansas Territory and was Orderly-Sergeant of Governor S.J. Crawford's company which was raised in Garnett, Kansas in 1861. Daughter Ann also moved to Garnett,Kansas with her husband, John Hunter.
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Children: Marion E. (Johnston), Thomas, Mary A.(Houston), Archibald W., John, Ann(deceased), J. Walker, Samuel H. and Anna C.J. Walker. Walker Johnston enlisted in Co. F, 77th regt. Penn. Vols., in 1861, entering the service as a private; he was promoted to first lieutenant. He resigned and returned home in 1865. "
(Source: The History of Bedford, Somerset, and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania, 1884, Waterman, Watkins & Co., p.639.)
*James was actually a contractor on the Tapeworm Railroad which was a project of then State Senator Thaddaus Stevens who got funding in the 1830's for a branch line that would go through Philadelphia, York and Gettysburg and into Maryland where it would connect withthe B and O. It was called the "Tapeworm RR" by its detractors. The overall project was a failure but a portion of the line did open in 1889 and it remains active today as a part of the CSX transportation system.
James'daughter, Mary Agnes, moved to Garnett Kansas in 1858 with her husband David Watson Houston and was living in Leavenworth 1870-1877. James' son John Johnston moved to Kansas Territory and was Orderly-Sergeant of Governor S.J. Crawford's company which was raised in Garnett, Kansas in 1861. Daughter Ann also moved to Garnett,Kansas with her husband, John Hunter.
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