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On page 2 of the Johnston Family TreeS1 Ada Flynn nee Johnston (grand-daughter of Oliver and Elizabeth) wrote: In July, 1919, my brother Arthur Harold Johnston visited Northern Ireland and with the aid of the number of the Orange Lodge No. 1709, obtained from a Certificate of Membership dated Feb. 4, 1836, that belonged to Oliver Johnston, was able to locate the lodge. This established the fact that Oliver Johnston, who came to Canada in 1837 and settled in Pickering Township, was the Oliver Johnston of Lankill near Enniskillen. This lodge, which originally met at Lankhill two miles from Enniskillen, now meets at Culky a short distance away. On page 7 and 8 she continued: Oliver Johnston, son of Arthur Johnston Was born in 1803 at Lankhill, about two miles from Enniskillen, County of Fermanah, Northern Ireland. Here he spent his boyhood. In the spring of 1837, he was on the Atlantic on his way to Canada and his brother, Lancelot, was on his way to Australia. This voyage took sixteen weeks. On his arrival June 22, he made his way to Pickering Township. He located on the south half of Lot 16 Concession 6, 100 acres, a short distance east of Brougham. He met Elizabeth Smith of Lot 15 Concession 6 and in 1847 they were married. A stone house and frame barn were built and here the family of five sons and five daughters were born. The youngest daughter, Alzina, died at the age of nine months, the others all attended the Greenwood school, 5.8. No. 9, Pickering, and the Methodist Church. During the years that followed two sons, John and Will, and daughter, Sarah, established homes of their own in Collingwood Township, Grey County; two sons, Arthur and Thomas, located in Howick Township, Huron County; two daughters married Russell brothers from a nearby farm. A few years later, Sophia and Henry Russell moved to Bottineau, North Dakota, USA. Martha and David Russell made their home on Lot 15 Concession 7 Pickering Township. Oliver Johnston died in March 1897. A daughter, Mary Ann, died, two months later on May 23rd. Lancelot, the youngest son, remained on the farm with his mother. She passed away Feb. 27, 1908. Elisabeth Smith's parents, Elisabeth Bateman and Thomas Smith were born in Ireland 1797 and 1798 (Pickering Twp. census 1851). The Batemans and the Smiths may have brought their families to New Brunswick early in the 1800's or Elisabeth Bateman and Thomas Smith may have married in Ireland and, came to New Brunswick where all the family were born except William Henry, who was born in Upper Canada (Pickering Twp. census 1851). A year or two before his death, father, Arthur Johnston wrote down the name of the place as he could recall it, where his mother, Elisabeth Smith, and her parents had come from in New Brunswick. He spelled it "Carshacton". Some time in the early 1960's his grandson, Jim Johnston and family vacationed in New Brunswick. Jim tried to locate a place by this name. He could find no record of such a place or region. He then began to search for a place with a similar sounding name. He came up with Carleton County where some of the United Empire Loyalists had settled. There he found an old cemetery on the St. John River, about three miles south of Woodstock. One stone had the name Josiah Smith but he had no way of knowing if he were a relative. This cemetery was in the area that was to be flooded on the completion of the dam, which was under construction at that time. I have no definite record of Elisabeth Bateman or Thomas Smith other than we know that they came from New Brunswick. They bought Lot 15, Concession 6, Pickering Township in 1839. They were buried in Salem Cemetery near Greenwood. The patent on the 200 acres in Lot 16, Concession 6 was taken out in 1828 by King's College. According to the deed of the south half of Lot 16, of which I have a copy, Oliver Johnston bought the south half consisting of 100 acres from the University of Toronto in 1854 for one hundred and fifty pounds, about $500 at that time. In 1797, certain lands were set aside for the support of education. Other farms, Clergy Reserves, were set aside for the support of the Protestant Church. This system did not prove satisfactory. Lot 16 was one of these farms. This was the reason the University owned it. Many of these farms were bought by 1840 and all were bought by 1854. When married, Elisabeth came from Lot 15 to Lot 16 so Oliver must have had it rented at that time. It is generally assumed he came to the farm much earlier perhaps shortly after his arrival from Ireland in 1837. References
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