JOHNSTON, Thomas James ^{1 2 3 4 5}

   Cause of his death was uremia/prostate obstruction.⁵

  General Notes:

Occupation: River driver in Kincardine, Ontario and farmer in Hamiota, Manitoba.

Excerpt from "A History of the Branches of My Family" by Cecil Herbert Edward Johnston and edited by Stephen Robert Johnston:

The four-year gap between Margaret and Tom makes one wonder if there was a sister born between them who died in infancy.

My best guess is that the Johnston family moved from Kingston to Lime Lake in about 1850. Apparently at a very early age, Great Uncle Tom was put to work helping his father in his farming and potash production projects. Even a small boy could help trim logs, clear land for planting, etc. Consequently, he had little if any schooling. Mental arithmetic seems to have been a talent that he engaged in early and developed quite successfully. It has been reported that he developed the ability to add large numbers in his head. He liked to stump the teachers with arithmetic problems, when they came to visit. He developed a talent for "step dancing" and loved to show off his abilities in that pastime.

The 1861 census for Hungerford Township, Hastings County, Ontario shows that Uncle Tom was living with his parents, age 12. The 1871 census shows him still there at age 21, with his parents and four brothers. I have little information on him after 1861 until his marriage in 1890. <He is with his parents on the 1881 census>. It has been reported that at age 24 he made a visit to his Aunt Sarah Maharg in Quebec City, Quebec. At that time, he saw his infant cousin, Sarah, in her cradle and stated "She will one day be my wife".

Great Uncle Tom Johnston seems to have been a rather carefree person in many respects. He was single until age 41 and probably involved himself in a variety of jobs, working in several places. Although uneducated, he learned to be a good carpenter who was particular about the care of his tools and the quality of work that he turned out. After 1871, he was living in Western Ontario, in Huron Township, Bruce County. He was said to be involved as a "river driver" in the area and spent considerable time "in the shanties". His daughter, Rhoda, reported that he found employment at Pine River doing cabinet work and other carpentry with Tom and Arthur McBurney.

Uncle Tom's sister, Margaret, and his brother, John, also lived in Bruce and Huron Counties in Western Ontario. John eventually got a deed on October 20, 1886 to lot 37, Lake Front, Ashfield Township, Huron County, Ontario. November 16, 1899 he deeded those 100 acres to Thomas J Johnston. March 4, 1890 Uncle Tom deeded it to Uncle John's wife. Apparently, Uncle Tom once considered living there.

On August 27, 1890 Uncle Tom Johnston married his first cousin, Sarah Jane Maharg, whom he had stated 18 years earlier would one day be his wife. They were married at Toronto, Ontario, and both show as residents there. He was 41 and she was 18. She was born April 18, 1872 in Quebec City, Quebec, daughter of William Maharg and Sarah Agnes Johnston. They had nine children. The first three were born in Ontario. I have not determined exactly where they lived. The others were born in Manitoba. <In 1891 they are in Richmond Township, Lennox County, Ontario.> I have communicated with three of these children and have visited one. They said that they only remember their father as an old man, badly crippled with arthritis. The age differential made for an unusual set up, and it appears that relations between the parents were often strained. He and the children were never close friends. It is my understanding that, eventually, the parents separated. One of his nieces wrote that he stayed with his brother Bob part of the time during the separation.

It seems that Uncle Tom's wife spelled her name M'Harg rather than McHarg. I don't know that any others of the family used that form. All of the information I have received on Sarah M'Harg Johnston indicates that she was a lovely lady, a good business manager, and a super mother. I have the feeling that she was the backbone of the family. Her son George once wrote to me "You know Cec; my dad was not able to read or write, so I remember Mother reading a book out loud and rocking the cradle at the same time. Her daughter Jean wrote, "Mother was never noted for her bookkeeping abilities. She was much better with a crochet hook, and mothers don't come much better than ours".

In 1896, shortly before their fourth child was born, the Tom Johnston family moved to a farm near Hamiota, Manitoba. It was located about a half mile south of the one on which Tom's sister, Margaret Wallace, was living, SE 1/4 of 2-15-24. Later on, Uncle Tom bought that farm and moved there. I wonder if that was after Uncle Oliver died in 1905.

In 1913, the Tom Johnston family moved to Brandon, Manitoba. The farm was sold to Jack Hawkins. We had a good visit with Jack in 1979 at his home in Hamiota, Manitoba. He was over ninety years of age. In 1913, Uncle Tom would be about 65 years of age. He was badly crippled with arthritis and probably considered it as a retirement move. <In 1916, they are at Brandon, and he is listed as a retired farmer. Residence was 38 16th Street.> Approximate ages of the other family members was Sarah 41, Lester 22, Annie 20, William 19, Lillie 17, George 16, Noble 14, Rhoda 13, Agnes 12, and Jean 1. The family lived in several places in Brandon. When Annie was married in 1915, they were living at 38 Sixteenth Street.

Tom Johnston died September 21, 1933 in Winnipeg, Manitoba and was buried there. His wife spent her latter years at the home of her daughter, Jean, in Swan River, Manitoba. She died March 21, 1953. Burial was in the cemetery at Hamiota with her infant son, Ross. ⁹

  Facts and details for Thomas James Johnston:

• An alternative source document lists his birth date as 6 Nov 1850 and birth location as Kingston, Frontenac, Ontario, Canada. ⁵

• He lived at log shanty in Hungerford Township, Hastings, Ontario, Canada in 1861. ¹⁰

• He worked as a farmer in 1871 in Hungerford Township, Hastings, Ontario, Canada. ¹¹

• He lived in Hungerford Township, Hastings, Ontario, Canada in 1871. ¹¹

• He worked as a farm labourer in 1891 in Richmond, Lennox, Ontario, Canada. ¹²

• He lived in Richmond, Lennox, Ontario, Canada in 1891. ¹²

• He worked as a farmer in 1901 in Hamiota, Westman, Manitoba, Canada. ¹³

• He lived in Hamiota, Westman, Manitoba, Canada from 1901 to 1906. ^{13 14}

• He worked as a farmer in 1911 in Marquette, Woodlands, Manitoba, Canada. ¹⁵

• He lived in Marquette, Woodlands, Manitoba, Canada in 1911. ¹⁵

• He worked as a retired farmer from 1913 to 1916 in Brandon, Westman, Manitoba, Canada. ^{16 17}

• He lived at 38 16th Street in Brandon, Westman, Manitoba, Canada in 1915. ¹⁷

• He lived at 181 Hughes in Brandon, Westman, Manitoba, Canada in 1916. ¹⁶

• He was buried at the Glen Eden Cemetery (formerly Riverside Cemetery) in West St. Paul, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on 25 Sep 1933. ^{5 8 18} Section C, Lot 344, Space 6.

• His obituary was published in the Winnipeg Tribune on 25 Sep 1933 in Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It read as follows:

Thomas James Johnston, of 216 Smith st, who died Thursday at St. Boniface hospital, in his 84th year, was buried today. The funeral was at 2 p m. at Kerr's funeral chapel, Rev. D. N. Buntain officiating. Burial was in Riverside cem. ⁶

Thomas married Sarah Jane McHARG, daughter of William McHARG and Sarah Agnes JOHNSTON, on 27 Aug 1890 in Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada.¹ (Sarah Jane McHARG was born on 18 Apr 1872 in Québec, Québec, Québec, Canada ^{19 20}, baptized on 14 Aug 1872 in Québec, Québec, Québec, Canada,²⁰ died on 21 Mar 1953 in Bowsman, Swan River, Manitoba, Canada ^{7 21 22} and was buried on 25 Mar 1953 in Hamiota, Westman, Manitoba, Canada ^{7 22 23}.)