John

John Johnston and Margaret Tait

Ulster-Scot Pioneer Settlers of Holt, Ontario

John¹ Johnston, June 1805 ¹ -21 August 1860, ¹ and his wife Margaret Tait, ² 24 August 1809-11 January 1894, ³ were the Ulster-Scot parents of the North American born children listed on this family group sheet. John and Margaret were born in Ireland, ⁴ and were descended from families involved in the Border-Scot area of conflict and turmoil. John’s gravestone states that he was a “Native of Co. Derry, Ireland.” John had been a marblecutter in Ireland before he emigrated to Pennsylvania with Margaret in about 1837. In Pennsylvania they had two children, ⁵ and then John and his family moved north into Upper Canada in about 1840. ⁶ John had permanently settled on 100 acres of land near the very small village of Eastville by 1846. Eastville is now known as Holt and is just west of present day Mount Albert, Ontario. Evidently John acquired the land at Eastville between 1840 and late 1846. Brown’s 1846-47 Home District Business Directory records John as residing at Lot 14 of the 7th Concession of East Gwillimbury Township, York County, Canada West. ⁷ Agricultural census records taken in early 1852 reveal that by then John was working 40 acres of this 100 acre farm. ⁸ The farm is shown on George R. Tremaine’s 1860 York County map just north of Eastville in East Gwillimbury Township. ⁹ According to the Canada West census taken in early 1852 John’s family of seven children, made up of five sons and two daughters, belonged to the “English Church”. ¹⁰ The 1861 Canada West census, taken the year after John passed away, shows that the family had become “C P” or Canada Presbyterian. The census also says that John had died in 1860 and gives a cause for his death that, while likely mispelled and almost unintelligible, may have been intended to read Erysipelas. ¹¹ John is buried in what is now known as “Pioneer Cemetery” located at the south end of Center Street in the town of Mount Albert. Margaret passed away after that cemetery had closed and so she is buried just north of town in “Mount Albert Cemetery”. John and Margaret Johnston had 10 children and 41 grandchildren.