Mortimer T Johnston (1816 - abt. 1885)

Born 1816 in Franklin, Pendleton, Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Catharine Ann Will — married 21 Jun 1837 in Pendleton, Virginia, United States

Husband of Caroline (Pennington) Johnston — married 23 Jun 1848 in Pendleton, Virginia, United States

Descendants

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Brian Ward [send private message]

Biography

Mortimer Johnston lived in Appalachia. See Appalachia Project.

Mortimer Johnston, born near Doe Hill, Va., 1816, son of John Johnston and Mary Wilfong^[1].

In 1837 he married Catherine Ann, daughter of John Henry Will Children, John Henry, Washington Milton, Norval Luther, Markwood Stickley, James William, Sampson Reuben, Eliza Catherine, Mary Ellen, Alice Caroline, Charity Elizabeth, Laura Caroline, Cecil, Arbelia, Lucy, Solomon Yancey.

His father was born in Ireland, but came to this country while a boy.

Mr. Johnston's wife died in 1845 and he married Caroline, daughter of Sampson Pennington, of Pendleton County.

He was in the Southern army under Jones, and acted as a scout and mail carrier; lost a leg in the battle of the Wilderness; was at Gettysburg; he was formerly Captain of State militia; was Constable, Justice of the Peace and Notary Public.^[2]

Residence

Date: 21 Aug 1860

Place: Mt Freedom PO, Pendleton Co, Virginia^[3]

Date: 1880

Place: Circleville, Pendleton, West Virginia, USA^[4]

Dwelling Number: 63

Race: White

Marital status: Married

Spouse's name: Caroline Johnston

Father's Birthplace: Ireland

Mother's Birthplace: Virginia

Occupation: Blacksmith

Maimed, Crippled, or Bedridden: Yes

Household Members:

Mortimer T. Johnston 63

Caroline Johnston 51

Eliza C. Johnston 28

Mary E. Lannon 27

Charity E. Thompson 19

Solomon Y. Johnston 18

Laura C. Johnston 12

Lucy Johnston 9

Lora L. Johnston 7

Caddie Johnston 4/12

May B. Johnston 4

Jacob W. Thompson 1

Mortimer Johnston served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: May 26, 1861
Mustered out: May 24, 1864
Side: CSA
Regiment(s): Second Company E, 25th Virginia Infantry (Heck's Regiment)

Military

Name: Mortimer Johnston

Residence: MT Freedom, Pendleton Co, West Virginia

Occupation: Blacksmith

Enlistment Date: 26 May 1861

Enlistment Place: Grafton, West Virginia

Side Served: Confederacy

State Served: Virginia

Sources: 21

Eye Color: dark

Hair Color: black

Complexion: dark.^[5]

Surrendered 13 July 1861 at Beverly, Virginia.

Re-enlisted 5 Apr 1862.

Served with Second Company E, 25th Virginia Infantry (Heck's Regiment)

Slightly wounded 3 July 1863 at Battle of Gettysburg.

Lost leg 5 May 1864 at the Battle of the Wilderness.

Furloughed 24 May 1864.^[6]

Notes

• Mother of Mortimer Johnston?
• Jeff Carr, who has studied and written extensively about this "family" has stated:

" I have researched the daylights out of the possibilities for Mortimer’s parents, without much success. First and foremost, I do not think there was any such ‘Mary Wilfong’ to have been his mother! I descend from the Wilfongs three ways, as does my wife; by default, I have become an expert on the first three generations of them in Pendleton County. There simply was NO UNACCOUNTED FOR Mary Wilfong to have been his mother. In addition, John Johnston was the son of Samuel and Mary Johnston. When John died without a will, the land that he owned legally reverted to his parents, and at their death, to his living heirs. Mortimer Johnston NEVER participated in the quit-claims deeds to those pieces of land; this means that he was not a legal heir. Even if Mortimer had been an illegitimate son of John Johnston, Mortimer STILL would have had a legal claim to the land."

“I have NO DOUBT that Mortimer was somehow a grandson of Samuel and Mary Johnston. He appears to be living with them in 1820 and 1830, and first appears in the Pendleton County personal property tax lists in 1837 adjacent Samuel Johnston . . . My guess is that Mortimer was an illegitimate son of one of Samuel and Mary Johnston’s daughters. There’s only two that I can find. . . . The daughter, Sarah, seems a MUCH more likely candidate to have been Mortimer’s mother. Sarah was unmarried in 1816 when Mortimer was born. She too was living at home with her parents in the 1820 and 1830 censuses. As a grown adult, she first married James Jordan, then she married Robert Scott.”^[7]

Sources

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/273V-N3V

1. ↑ Morton, Owen, A History of Pendleton County, West Virginia (Morton, Franklin, West Virginia, 1910), p 285
2. ↑ The history of Randolph County, West Virginia. From its earliest settlement to the present, embracing records of all the leading families, reminiscences and traditions, Author: Maxwell, Hu (1860-1927), Publication date: 1898
3. ↑ 1860 United States Census, Mt. Freedom PO, Pendleton Co, Virginia, Page 134
4. ↑ 1880 US Census, Place: Circleville, Pendleton, West Virginia; Roll: 1411; Page: 74C; Enumeration District: 048
5. ↑ Historical Data Systems, comp.. American Civil War Soldiers [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.
6. ↑ John W. Busey and Travis W. Busey, Confederate Casualties at Gettysburg: A Comprehensive Record, Publisher: McFarland (2016), Volume 1, p 1642
7. ↑ From an Aug 25, 2000 email by Jeff Carr to Lorella Nelson.

• www.potomachighlandroots.com/wc43/wc43_338.htm
• Death record of daughter Mary Ellen Johnston maintained by West Virginia Archives & History.