James Johnston is one of the honored pioneers of Portage township who, by developing a good farm from the forest, has materially aided in its growth. He has met with a well-deserved success in his calling, and his fine well-ordered farm (pleasantly situated in Section 9), with its carefully cultured fields, its neat buildings, and all their surroundings, denote the skilled management, industry and well-directed labors of the owner.
The birth of Mr. Johnston, our subject, occurred Richland county, Ohio, March 1, 1819, and he is a son of John and Elizabeth (Humphrey) Johnston, the former a native of the north of Ireland, and the latter of Irish descent, but born in Pennsylvania three weeks after the landing of her parents in this country. When a young man the father came to the United States and was married in Pennsylvania. Before the war of 1812 he came to Ohio, and participated in that struggle under Gen. Harrison. By occupation he was a farmer, and about 1816 removed to Richland county, becoming one of its earliest settlers. His family consisted of the following children: Thomas died in Fostoria, Ohio; Jennie, who was never married, died at the age of sixty years; Fannie married William Underwood, and died in Portage township; Cynthia first wedded James Scott, and later married Edward Coyne, who died in Libbby Prison; James comes next; William died in Portage township, in September, 1895; John lives in Toledo, Ohio; Robert died in Portage township; and Cyrus resides in Illinois.
In the district schools of his native county James Johnston began his education, and in April, 1837, came with his parents to Wood county, locating in Section 10, Portage township, where his father had entered 480 acres of land some years before. They made the trip by wagon, driving the stock, and their first home here was made of round logs. Here the father died at the age of sixty-six, and the mother at the age of sixty-seven years. Their remains were interred in Sargent cemetery. In politics he was a Whig, and always attended religious services, his sympathies being with the Presbyterian Church, where he was baptized when a child, though he never joined any denomination.
James continued his studies in the village of Portage after coming to this county, and at the age of twenty years left home, beginning work as a farm hand. He also drove stock east of the mountains in Pennsylvania. On March 16, 1843, in Portage township, he was united in marriage with Miss Susanna Durler, who was born in Canton Berne, Switzerland, April 29, 1824, and when five years old was brought to America by her parents, John and Mary (Unkey) Durler. They embarked on a sailing vessel at Havre, France, which, after a voyage of seventy-five days, dropped anchor in the harbor of New York. Their first location was in Stark county, Ohio; later they removed to Tuscarawas county, and in 1837 settled in Portage township, Wood county, in Section 2. The parents both died in Fulton county, Ohio. Mrs. Johnston was one of their family of six children, two sons and four daughters, and is entirely self-educated, having never attended a school a day, but taught herself to read.
On the farm which his father had entered in Section 9, Portage township, Mr. Johnston began his domestic life, and there has continuously resided, with the exception of two years spent in the village of Portage. The home was brightened by the presence of seven children: John, born January 12, 1844, is a farmer of Portage township; James, born June 1, 1846, was killed by a falling tree on his way home from Indiana; Lewis, born December 11, `1849, died at the age of five years; Cyrus, born July 28, 1853, is an agriculturist of Portage township; Parsida, born March 4, 1856, is now Mrs. Aaron Crom, of Portage township; William, born November 16, 1858, carries on farming in Center township, Wood county; and Mary E., born September 29, 1862, is the wife of George Sterling, of Henry township, this county.
The parents are faithful members of the United Brethren Church, in which he has served over forty years as steward. They have traveled life’s journey together for more than half a century, sharing its joys and sorrows, successes and reverses, and throughout the county they are widely known and highly respected. As a representative man of the community; and an old pioneer, Mr. Johnston stands pre-eminent, and his public-spiritedness and charity are proverbial. His first Presidential vote was cast of William Henry Harrison, the Whig candidate, and on the formation of the Republican party he joined its ranks. He has served as supervisor and school director in District No. 2.
Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record of Wood County, Ohio, J.H. Beers & Co., Chicago, 1897, pp 689-90