Greetings from Sunny Texas (for the moment), I'm starting to think that I know what a dog feels like when it's chasing its tail. I've been searching for the Irish origins of my gggrandfather Robert "Red Robin" Johnston for the better part of 26 years with no sight in end - may be... Today I contacted a not-too-distant relative whom I had met last in 1948. I mentioned that I was working on our family history. Would he by any chance have any idea as to where in Ireland our Johnston family came from? His response was a rather quick, "Yes, I remember talking with my grandfather about the 'old people'. He said that they were born in County Cork." His grandfather was my ggrandfather, James Johnston son of Robert "Red Robin" Johnston. That was that. Nothing more, but he remembered County Cork and that there were two of them who came over together. Ca. 1832 Robert "Red Robin" Johnston, b. ca. 1807 and Archibald Johnston, b. 1815, came over to Upper Canada and settled on adjacent farms in N. Plantagenet Twp., Prescott Co.. Red Robin was tall at 6'-5" and of course had red hair. A recent stroke of good luck put an old Johnston Family Album of 44 old tintypes of him, his wife and other family members in my hands. I've restored and retouched them. They can be viewed at: http://www.pbase.com/cjmax/photo_restoration&page=all All of the children were born on the family farm (Upper Canada or Canada West, now Ontario, Canada) to Robert "Red Robin" Johnston, b. ca. 1807 in Ireland, d. ca. 1895 in Ontario, Canada, and Mary "May" Frances McQueen, b. 1819 in Scotland, d. October 8, 1885, in Ontario, Canada. Robert "Red Robin" Johnston and his brother Archibald, b. 1815 in Ireland, came to Upper Canada ca. 1832. I do not have the names of Red Robin's parents although if traditional naming patterns held then his mother could possibly have been named Margaret. I believe that we are missing his first born son and cannot use naming patterns to identify his father. Their children are: 1. Catherine Johnston, b. ca. 1835, m. Robert Grant, b. ca. 1830 in Scotland. They appear to have remained in Ontario. 2. Margaret Johnston, b. ca. 1840, d. 1898. Maggie was a weaver and remained at home on the family farm until her death in 1898. She may have suffered mild brain damage from a high fever as a child. 3. Elizabeth Johnston, b. ca. 1841. She married Robert Grant who was born in Scotland. 4. John McQueen Johnston, b. February 9, 1843, d. 1917, m. Susannah Way, b. December 4, 1849. They farmed in Prescott Co., Ontario, Canada. 5. Isabella Johnston, b. April, 1845, d. 1918, m. John Graves, b. 1838. They immediately moved to Michigan and settled in the Flint area. 6. Robert R. Johnston, b. February, 1847, d. 10-27-1914, m. Mary A. O'Brien, b. March, 1852 in NY, d. 1928. Robert moved to Michigan in 1869 with his brother Archy, and met Mary. Mary's partially paralyzed sister Anna, b. ca. 1858 in MI, lived with them for many years. He worked in the logging industry while Mary ran a small boarding house in East Tawas, MI, and Anna helped out. They are located there in the 1880 census. When they had saved enough money they bought a farm in Central Lake Twp., Antrim County, MI, where they are found in the 1900 & 1910 censuses. 7. Archibald Johnston, b. October, 1850, d. 1940. Archy went to MI with his brother Robert in 1869. He shows up on the 1920 and 1930 Federal Censuses in Nahma Twp., Delta County, MI. Apparently Archy was married twice. His first wife was Esther Carle. His second wife was Ida B., b. ca. 1851 in NY. Archy and Esther had at least one daughter Alice, b. 1872, who married Edwin Knowles in 1898. There may have been at one more daughter, but right now it appears that if there was, she and her mother may have died close together. Archy may have died in 1940 in Flint, MI. His family spelled his nickname Archie. 8. William Johnston, b. 1853, d. ca. 1897, m. 1885, Sarah A. Johnstone, b. 1856. They were said to be first cousins. Sarah's family came from Cahore, Co. Fermanagh, Ireland, where we have located their house which still stands today and is occupied by another family, and Annan, Scotland. The Johnstones farmed near Crysler, Finch Twp., Stormont Co., Ontario, Canada. Several lawyers in the U.S. have come from this union, including one who married another attorney who was featured in TIME magazine. Another descendant was elected to the Oklahoma legislature and was given the task of writing the death penalty law in Oklahoma - the irony being that he was/is opposed to the death penalty. We met a little over a year ago and remain in touch. 9. Christopher Colin Johnston, b. March 16, 1855, d. 1936, m. Elenor Sophia McDonald, b. 1859. They eloped to Michigan, marrying in Corunna on 1-30-1881. Several of their descendants live in and around Midland, Michigan, today. 10. Mabel Johnston, b. March 16, 1855, d. March, 1855. Mabel was Christopher Colin's twin sister and died shortly after being born. 11. James Johnston, b. May 5, 1860, d. 1933, m. January 6, 1885, Isabella "Belle" Muir, b. May 24, 1864. They took over the Johnston family farm in N. Plantagenet Twp., sold it ca. 1900, and moved to a new farm in Clarence Twp., Russell Co., on what is now known as Johnston Road. Jim and Belle are my great grandparents. The "new" family farm burned down some years ago and was never rebuilt. James was a very knowledgeable farmer who had the good fortune to marry an exceptional woman in Belle. During the Great Depression several of their children with their families returned "home" when the going got tough in the U.S. and Canada. According to the family, no one ever missed a meal or went hungry or lacked a bed to sleep in (although it got plenty crowded with 4 to a bed sometimes, and they didn't wear their shoes in the summer unless they had to!). 12. Arthur Johnston, b. June 17, 1863, d. May, 1949, m. 11-10-1884, Anna Reid, b. December 17, 1868. They started farming in Prescott Co. where they remained for the most part of their lives. Their son, John McQueen Johnston was killed in WWI by a German sniper bullet to the head. He was with an ammunition train that had brought up a cargo of artillery shells to the front. He was waiting to meet his cousin, my grandfather Clifford, who was with the Canadian Field Artillery. John decided to get a closer look at the German lines while waiting for Clifford and paid the supreme price for his curiosity. Several of their other children had significant careers in the field of education. 13. Mary Ann Johnston, b. ca. 1865. Mary shows up in the 1871 census. We have nothing more on her than that. 14. Oral family history from at least 2 different sources indicates that there were 14 children. That means that we are missing one. As the census records for N. Plantagenet Twp., Prescott Co., are missing for the years 1841 & 1851, it is more than likely that whoever is missing was probably born between 1834 and 1839 - given the marriage date of Robert & Mary (July 22, 1833) and the birth of Margaret in 1840. We were fortunate in finding Catherine, b. ca. 1835, as she looked after her grandparents where we found her on a census. The family appears to have followed the traditional naming patterns with the children that we know about. Mary's parents were named John and Catherine. Given that, we can deduce that the missing child is a son, name and year of birth unknown at this time. I've recently had my Y-DNA tested. Unlike most Johns(t)on(e)s who are testing out R1b, I tested out as I2 indicating a Danish Viking heritage. There are only a handful of us Johns(t)on(e)s who have tested out similarly, one of whom has his grandfather's genealogy paperwork which leads directly back to the Johnstones of Poldean and the Old Gang of Wamphray in Scotland. If you are descended from any of the above or have any information pertaining to our Johnston family I would like to hear from you. Good hunting, Cliff. Johnston Granbury, Texas "May the best you've ever seen, Be the worst you'll ever see;" from A Scots Toast by Allan Ramsay

Long day - error notice - #3 Elizabeth Johnston married a White who was a minister. They had 3 children. He died young not too long after their 3rd child. Just laugh at the other errors... Cliff. Johnston "May the best you've ever seen, Be the worst you'll ever see;" from A Scots Toast by Allan Ramsay ----- Original Message ----- From: "CJMax" <moments-in-time@charter.net> To: <IRL-CORK-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2005 8:33 PM Subject: JOHNSTON, Robert "Red Robin" & Archibald > Greetings from Sunny Texas (for the moment), > > I'm starting to think that I know what a dog feels like when it's chasing > its tail. I've been searching for the Irish origins of my gggrandfather > Robert "Red Robin" Johnston for the better part of 26 years with no sight > in end - may be... Today I contacted a not-too-distant relative whom I > had met last in 1948. I mentioned that I was working on our family > history. Would he by any chance have any idea as to where in Ireland our > Johnston family came from? His response was a rather quick, "Yes, I > remember talking with my grandfather about the 'old people'. He said that > they were born in County Cork." His grandfather was my ggrandfather, > James Johnston son of Robert "Red Robin" Johnston. That was that. > Nothing more, but he remembered County Cork and that there were two of > them who came over together. > > Ca. 1832 Robert "Red Robin" Johnston, b. ca. 1807 and Archibald Johnston, > b. 1815, came over to Upper Canada and settled on adjacent farms in N. > Plantagenet Twp., Prescott Co.. Red Robin was tall at 6'-5" and of course > had red hair. A recent stroke of good luck put an old Johnston Family > Album of 44 old tintypes of him, his wife and other family members in my > hands. I've restored and retouched them. They can be viewed at: > http://www.pbase.com/cjmax/photo_restoration&page=all > > All of the children were born on the family farm (Upper Canada or Canada > West, now Ontario, Canada) to Robert "Red Robin" Johnston, b. ca. 1807 in > Ireland, d. ca. 1895 in Ontario, Canada, and Mary "May" Frances McQueen, > b. 1819 in Scotland, d. October 8, 1885, in Ontario, Canada. Robert "Red > Robin" Johnston and his brother Archibald, b. 1815 in Ireland, came to > Upper Canada ca. 1832. I do not have the names of Red Robin's parents > although if traditional naming patterns held then his mother could > possibly have been named Margaret. I believe that we are missing his > first born son and cannot use naming patterns to identify his father. > Their children are: > > 1. Catherine Johnston, b. ca. 1835, m. Robert Grant, b. ca. 1830 in > Scotland. They appear to have remained in Ontario. > > 2. Margaret Johnston, b. ca. 1840, d. 1898. Maggie was a weaver and > remained at home on the family farm until her death in 1898. She may have > suffered mild brain damage from a high fever as a child. > > 3. Elizabeth Johnston, b. ca. 1841. She married Robert Grant who was born > in Scotland. > > 4. John McQueen Johnston, b. February 9, 1843, d. 1917, m. Susannah Way, > b. December 4, 1849. They farmed in Prescott Co., Ontario, Canada. > > 5. Isabella Johnston, b. April, 1845, d. 1918, m. John Graves, b. 1838. > They immediately moved to Michigan and settled in the Flint area. > > 6. Robert R. Johnston, b. February, 1847, d. 10-27-1914, m. Mary A. > O'Brien, b. March, 1852 in NY, d. 1928. Robert moved to Michigan in 1869 > with his brother Archy, and met Mary. Mary's partially paralyzed sister > Anna, b. ca. 1858 in MI, lived with them for many years. He worked in the > logging industry while Mary ran a small boarding house in East Tawas, MI, > and Anna helped out. They are located there in the 1880 census. When > they had saved enough money they bought a farm in Central Lake Twp., > Antrim County, MI, where they are found in the 1900 & 1910 censuses. > > 7. Archibald Johnston, b. October, 1850, d. 1940. Archy went to MI with > his brother Robert in 1869. He shows up on the 1920 and 1930 Federal > Censuses in Nahma Twp., Delta County, MI. Apparently Archy was married > twice. His first wife was Esther Carle. His second wife was Ida B., b. > ca. 1851 in NY. Archy and Esther had at least one daughter Alice, b. > 1872, who married Edwin Knowles in 1898. There may have been at one more > daughter, but right now it appears that if there was, she and her mother > may have died close together. Archy may have died in 1940 in Flint, MI. > His family spelled his nickname Archie. > > 8. William Johnston, b. 1853, d. ca. 1897, m. 1885, Sarah A. Johnstone, b. > 1856. They were said to be first cousins. Sarah's family came from > Cahore, Co. Fermanagh, Ireland, where we have located their house which > still stands today and is occupied by another family, and Annan, Scotland. > The Johnstones farmed near Crysler, Finch Twp., Stormont Co., Ontario, > Canada. Several lawyers in the U.S. have come from this union, including > one who married another attorney who was featured in TIME magazine. > Another descendant was elected to the Oklahoma legislature and was given > the task of writing the death penalty law in Oklahoma - the irony being > that he was/is opposed to the death penalty. We met a little over a year > ago and remain in touch. > > 9. Christopher Colin Johnston, b. March 16, 1855, d. 1936, m. Elenor > Sophia McDonald, b. 1859. They eloped to Michigan, marrying in Corunna on > 1-30-1881. Several of their descendants live in and around Midland, > Michigan, today. > > 10. Mabel Johnston, b. March 16, 1855, d. March, 1855. Mabel was > Christopher Colin's twin sister and died shortly after being born. > > 11. James Johnston, b. May 5, 1860, d. 1933, m. January 6, 1885, Isabella > "Belle" Muir, b. May 24, 1864. They took over the Johnston family farm in > N. Plantagenet Twp., sold it ca. 1900, and moved to a new farm in Clarence > Twp., Russell Co., on what is now known as Johnston Road. Jim and Belle > are my great grandparents. The "new" family farm burned down some years > ago and was never rebuilt. James was a very knowledgeable farmer who had > the good fortune to marry an exceptional woman in Belle. During the Great > Depression several of their children with their families returned "home" > when the going got tough in the U.S. and Canada. According to the family, > no one ever missed a meal or went hungry or lacked a bed to sleep in > (although it got plenty crowded with 4 to a bed sometimes, and they didn't > wear their shoes in the summer unless they had to!). > > 12. Arthur Johnston, b. June 17, 1863, d. May, 1949, m. 11-10-1884, Anna > Reid, b. December 17, 1868. They started farming in Prescott Co. where > they remained for the most part of their lives. Their son, John McQueen > Johnston was killed in WWI by a German sniper bullet to the head. He was > with an ammunition train that had brought up a cargo of artillery shells > to the front. He was waiting to meet his cousin, my grandfather Clifford, > who was with the Canadian Field Artillery. John decided to get a closer > look at the German lines while waiting for Clifford and paid the supreme > price for his curiosity. Several of their other children had significant > careers in the field of education. > > 13. Mary Ann Johnston, b. ca. 1865. Mary shows up in the 1871 census. We > have nothing more on her than that. > > 14. Oral family history from at least 2 different sources indicates that > there were 14 children. That means that we are missing one. As the census > records for N. Plantagenet Twp., Prescott Co., are missing for the years > 1841 & 1851, it is more than likely that whoever is missing was probably > born between 1834 and 1839 - given the marriage date of Robert & Mary > (July 22, 1833) and the birth of Margaret in 1840. We were fortunate in > finding Catherine, b. ca. 1835, as she looked after her grandparents where > we found her on a census. The family appears to have followed the > traditional naming patterns with the children that we know about. Mary's > parents were named John and Catherine. Given that, we can deduce that the > missing child is a son, name and year of birth unknown at this time. > > > I've recently had my Y-DNA tested. Unlike most Johns(t)on(e)s who are > testing out R1b, I tested out as I2 indicating a Danish Viking heritage. > There are only a handful of us Johns(t)on(e)s who have tested out > similarly, one of whom has his grandfather's genealogy paperwork which > leads directly back to the Johnstones of Poldean and the Old Gang of > Wamphray in Scotland. > > If you are descended from any of the above or have any information > pertaining to our Johnston family I would like to hear from you. > > Good hunting, > > Cliff. Johnston > Granbury, Texas > "May the best you've ever seen, > Be the worst you'll ever see;" > from A Scots Toast by Allan Ramsay > > > ==== IRL-CORK Mailing List ==== > RootsWeb, a user-supported enterprise http://www.rootsweb.com/ > > ============================== > View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find > marriage announcements and more. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx