Pioneer, military officer, and local official in New York.
| When Burke met | 1818 |
| Where Burke met | Sidney, NY |
| Occupation | Civil Office |
| Interaction with Burke | Guided Burke to a river crossing |
| Identity Status | Confirmed |
| Genealogy | Wikitree |
| Memoir Pages | 88 |
Notes
Witter Johnston (1753–1839) was a pioneer, military officer, and local official in New York. Born in Schenectady County to Presbyterian minister William Johnston and Anna (or Nancy) Cummins, he helped his father establish a homestead in the Susquehanna Valley (present-day Sidney, New York) in 1772. During the Revolutionary War, Johnston was displaced by hostile forces, survived the 1778 Cherry Valley massacre, and served in the colonial army until the war’s end, notably fighting alongside Colonel Willet at West Canada Creek. He returned to the desolated Johnston settlement in 1784 to rebuild his family’s farm. A prominent community figure, he became Sidney’s first town supervisor in 1801. Johnston married Lois Guthrie in 1780 and, following her death, Jane Campbell in 1791, raising several children before his death in Sidney.
Sources
Burke, William. Memoir of William Burke: A Soldier of the Revolution, Reformed from Intemperance, and for Many Years a Consistent and Devoted Christian; Carefully Prepared from a Journal Kept by Himself; to Which Is Added, an Extract from a Sermon Preached at His Funeral, by Rev. Nathaniel Miner. Hartford, CT: Case, Tiffany, 1837.