John Johnston (merchant)

John Johnston (January 22, 1781 – April 20, 1851) was a Scottish-American bookkeeper and merchant who was a co-founder of New York University.

John Johnston
Portrait of Johnston by Rembrandt Peale, c. 1826-1829.
President of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York
In office
1831–1832
Preceded byJohn Graham
Succeeded byDavid Hadden
Personal details
Born(1781-01-22)January 22, 1781
Balmaghie, Gallowayshire, Scotland
DiedApril 20, 1851(1851-04-20) (aged 70)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Spouse(s)
Margaret Taylor Howard
​
​
(m. 1817; his death 1851)​
ParentsJohn Johnston
Dorothea Proudfoot Johnston

Early life

Johnston was born on January 22, 1781 at Barnboard Mill in the Parish of Balmaghie, Gallowayshire, Scotland. He was a son of John Johnston and Dorothea (née Proudfoot) Johnston, who married in 1780.[1] After his mother's death in June 1794, his father remarried to Margaret Rae in 1795, and Johnston, an only child of his parents' marriage, became the elder brother to ten half-siblings, including brothers William, Robert, Samuel, and sisters Agnes and Margaret, as well as uncle to John Taylor Sherman.[2]

His paternal grandparents were William Johnston and Janet (née McCreedy) Johnston and he was educated in the neighboring village of Laurieston, and also at Boreland.[1]

Career

In 1804, at twenty-two years old, he came to New York and became a bookkeeper in Robert Lenox's counting house.[1] After nine years with Lenox and Maitland, Johnston and partner James Boorman established the merchant house known as Boorman, Johnston, & Co. in 1813. The new firm, based at 57 South Street, sold Scotch goods and, later, tobacco from Virginia and wines from Madeira and Italy. They also owned an iron warehouse at 119 Greenwich Street and in 1828, admitted Adam Norrie as a partner.[2]

Johnston was elected a member of the Saint Andrew's Society of New York in 1811 and served as manager from 1819 to 1823, second vice-president from 1823 to 1827, first vice-president from 1827 to 1828 and as president from 1831 to 1832.[3]

In 1839, Johnston and several other civic-minded New Yorkers founded University of the City of New York (today known as New York University). He was also a co-founder of Washington Square North.[2]

Personal life

On September 2, 1817, Johnston was married to Margaret (née Taylor) Howard (1784–1879), a widow of Rhesa Howard Jr. (himself a nephew of William Few, Signer of the U.S. Constitution from Georgia whose brother-in-law was U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin).[4] His wife Margaret, the daughter of John Taylor and Margaret (née Scott) Taylor, had four siblings who, likewise, married two grandchildren, a great-granddaughter, and a nephew of founding father Roger Sherman, Signer of the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. Declaration of Independence from Connecticut. Together, John and Margaret were the parents of:

  • John Taylor Johnston (1820–1893),[5] who married Frances Colles (1826–1888), the daughter of Harriet (née Wetmore) Colles and James Colles, a prominent merchant in New York and New Orleans.[6][7]
  • Andrew Taylor Johnston (1821–1821), who died in infancy.
  • James Boorman Johnston (1822–1887), who married Mary Hoppins Humphreys, he commissioned the Tenth Street Studio Building at 51 West 10th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. They were the parents of artist John Humphreys Johnston
  • Margaret Taylor Johnson (1825–1875), who married John Bard (a grandson of Dr. Samuel Bard) in 1849 and became founders of Bard College.[8]
  • Emily Proudfoot Johnston (1827–1831), who died in infancy.

Johnston, who suffered from gout, died on April 20, 1851 at his residence, 7 Washington Square in New York City.[2]

Descendants

Through his son John Taylor, he was the grandfather of Emily Johnston (1851–1942) (wife of Robert W. de Forest);[9] Colles Johnston (1853–1886); John Herbert Johnston (1855–1931),[10] Eva Johnston (wife of Henry Eugene Coe);[11] and Frances Johnston (wife of Pierre Mali, the former Belgian Consul-General in New York).[12]

References
  1. DeForest, Emily Johnston (1909). John Johnston of New York, Merchant. New York: Priv. print. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  2. Morrison, George Austin (1906). History of Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York, 1756-1906. New York: Saint Andrew's Society of the State of NY. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  3. Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York (1911). Roster of Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York with Biographical Data. D. Taylor. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  4. Museum of the City of New York Archived 2007-12-25 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "John Taylor Johnston's Will.; Small Requests to the Museum of Art and New-York University" (PDF). The New York Times. 6 April 1893. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  6. Finding aid for the Colles Family Papers (1801-1957), MssCol 17772, New York Public Library, Humanities and Social Sciences Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division.
  7. "JAMES COLLES; JAMES COLLES, 1788-1883, LIFE AND LETTERS. By Emily Johnston de Forest. Illustrated. 300 pp. Limited edition. New York: Privately printed" (PDF). The New York Times. 13 June 1926. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  8. Year Book of the Dutchess County Historical Society. Dutchess County Historical Society. 1965. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  9. "HENRY DE FOREST, LAWYER, DIES AT 82; Leader in Financial and Rail Circles Many Years Also Noted Philanthropist" (PDF). The New York Times. 29 May 1938. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  10. "J.H. JOHNSTON WILL FILED IN RIVERHEAD; Presbyterian Hospital to Get $5,000, as Will Metropolitan Museum of Art. RESIDUE GOES TO WIDOW Widow of the Rev. W.J.D. Thomas of Tarrytown, Disinherited in Will, Wins Third of Estate. Preacher's Will Nullified" (PDF). The New York Times. 20 December 1931. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  11. "FAMILY GETS COE ESTATE.; Four Children Receive Stocks -- Residuary Held for Widow" (PDF). The New York Times. 8 August 1933. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  12. "Other Deaths; John Taylor Johnston" (PDF). The New York Times. 25 March 1893. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
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