3rd Great Grandparents; William Johnston and Elizabeth Thomson

William Johnston (1779-1839)

William Johnston was born 0n 17th October 1779 in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, the son of Elisabeth and William. (this is not certain, but a William Johnston, son of William Johnston and Elizabeth Cameron, was born in Port Glasgow, about 2 miles from Greenock and then as now joined onto it, on 17 October 1779). He married Elizabeth Thomson on July 12, 1800, in Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland. William was a bookseller, printer and publisher and published the first newspaper in Greenock. According to https://famtrees.info/wm_johnstonframe.htm, it was probably the Greenock Advertiser, founded in 1802. (It seems to have ceased publication in 1880). 

William Johnston died in Greenock, 22 Dec 1839, leaving an estate valued at between £300 and £450. An estate of £300 in Scotland at the time would have placed a person in the top 10-15% of the population in terms of wealth.

Elizabeth Thomson (1781- 1853)

Elizabeth Thomson was born in 1781 in Scotland. According to https://famtrees.info/wm_johnstonframe.htm, she was probably previously married to a Mr. McDonald, as William mentioned a step-daughter in his will, Elisabeth Mcdonald Thomson. She had nine children with William Johnston. They were William, Robert, Margaret, Janet, John, James, Kerr, Mary and Andrew. She died on January 1, 1853, in Leith, Midlothian, Scotland, at the age of 72.

One son, Reverend Kerr Johnston, became a famous theologian in Australia. The family were members of the George Street Congregational Church. Kerr entered the Glasgow Theological Academy was also a student at Glasgow University.

Their son, Kerr Johnston

Kerr was William and Elisabeth's sixth son. He was born in 1812. After his schooling, he took up his father's trade and worked as a bookbinder. He joined the Congregational Church and saved to study at Glasgow Theological Academy. He was baptised by his brother,  Robert, (who was a Baptist minister) and thus Kerr became a Baptist. Kerr then became a pastor in the Baptist church. After a time as a popular minister, he moved to Van Diemen's Land and became active in political debate, renouncing the state subsidization of religion by the state. He called it "an unholy compact" and said it subsidised truth and error indiscriminately. He also became involved in interdenominational events and the Bible Society. He was involved in the temperance movement also, however, his true passion was the Seaman's Mission. He sought to set up protestant spiritual support to seamen, regardless of interdenominational differences. He believed in "essential Christianity". With the support of the government and key supporters (so much for the separation of church and state), he set up a floating chapel, Bethel Sailor's Church, with a pulpit in the hold. He and his family lived on the boat, together with three servants and livestock.  He remained passionate about the welfare of seamen for the rest of his life, although the floating church eventually ceased.

He was at the deathbed of William Buckley, a convict who had once escaped and spent many years living with the aboriginal Watourong people in Tasmania for 32 years.

Walter Phillips, 'Johnston, Kerr (1812–1887)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/johnston-kerr-13010/text23519, published first in hardcopy 2005, accessed online 28 August 2024.