Topic: Flew the Coop

Samuel Todd Johnston 1866-1934 and his brother Peter Johnston Jun., 1874-1946, were my First cousins twice removed, ie my Grandfather’s cousins – although I very much doubt they ever met. They were also the brothers of Mary Learmonth Johnston who was the recipient of the birthday book I wrote about in Week 29.

There were seven siblings who all stayed close to home throughout their lives with the exception of those two brothers. Samuel went to Chicago and Peter to Canada, and both married but as far as is known had no children. Samuel’s occupation is unknown but Peter was a butcher, so probably went to a good job. Samuel was not in the 1891 Scottish Census but Peter, then aged 17, was still living with his parents and sisters at that stage, and was still there in 1901. Unfortunately no entry can be found for the family in the 1881 Census. Peter was still living at home in 1901. The birthday book notes that Peter “left Scotland for America on 9 Feb 1910. “ it also noted “4 years since he left”. But nothing about Samuel.

Their sister Mary must have tried hard to maintain contact. In her birthday book she noted the birthdays of their wives – “Mrs. S T Johnston” and “Mrs Peter Johnston”. But nothing about their marriage dates (which were often noted for other people). Mary died in 1932 and someone else took over the birthday book and noted her death as well as Samuel’s; Peter’s turned up in an internet search.

It is impossible to know if other family members maintained contact. It seems that Mary was the glue that held the extended family together.