Andrew Johnston (New Jersey politician)

Andrew Johnston (December 20, 1694 – June 24, 1762) was a politician from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly and the New Jersey Provincial Council.

Andrew Johnston
Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly
In office
1740–1744
GovernorLewis Morris
Preceded byJoseph Bonnel
Succeeded bySamuel Nevill
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the City of Perth Amboy district
In office
1727–1729
Serving with John Johnstone
Preceded byThomas Gordon
Succeeded byThomas Farmar
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the City of Perth Amboy district
In office
1733–1744
Serving with Gabriel Stelle, Lewis Johnston, Samuel Leonard
Preceded byJohn Johnstone
Succeeded bySamuel Nevill
Member of the New Jersey Provincial Council for the Eastern Division
In office
June 19, 1745 – June 24, 1762
Personal details
BornDecember 20, 1694
DiedJune 24, 1762
Perth Amboy, New Jersey
NationalityAmerican
Spouse(s)Catherine Van Cortlandt
RelationsDavid Johnston (nephew)
Children9
ResidencePerth Amboy
ProfessionMerchant

Early life

Andrew Johnston was born on December 20, 1694, to John Johnstone (1661-1732) and Euphame Johnstone (née Scot). His maternal grandfather was George Scot of Pitlochie. The children of John Johnstone dropped the final "e" from their name. His elder brother, John Johnston, was the father of prominent merchant and politician David Johnston.[1]

Career

Until approximately 1717/8, he was a merchant in New York City, subsequently relocating to Perth Amboy, New Jersey.[2]

Johnston represented the City of Perth Amboy with his father in the ninth New Jersey General Assembly (1727–1729 Legislative Session). After the elder Johnstone's death in 1732, Andrew Johnston took his father's seat in the tenth Assembly for the 1733 seating. After this, the Assembly did not meet until 1738, when Governor Lewis Morris called new elections and the eleventh Assembly was seated. Johnston would serve in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth Assemblies (1738–1744), and was Speaker during the twelfth and thirteenth. (1740–1744)[3]

After his service in the General Assembly, on June 19, 1745, Johnston was appointed a member of the New Jersey Provincial Council, where he would serve until his death.[3]

In 1747, Andrew Johnston was serving as Mayor of Perth Amboy, New Jersey.[4]

In 1748/9, he was named Treasurer of the College of New Jersey.[2]

Perth Amboy Constituency

In 1702, the royal instructions to Governor Viscount Cornbury named the Town of Perth Amboy as a constituency, apportioned two members to the New Jersey General Assembly.[5] In 1718, Perth Amboy was granted city status; the same apportionment continued until the adoption of the New Jersey Constitution of 1776, which apportioned the entire New Jersey Legislature by county, thereby abolishing separate representation for cities.[6]

Personal life

He married Catherine Van Cortlandt, the daughter of Stephanus Van Cortlandt (1643–1700) and Gertruj Van Schuyler. Van Schuyler was the daughter of Philip Pieterse Schuyler (1628-1683) and the older sister of Pieter Schuyler (1657-1724), the first mayor of Albany. Together, Andrew and Catherine had:

  • John Johnston
  • Stephen Johnston
  • Anne Johnston
  • Gertrude Johnston
  • Catherine Johnston
  • Margaret Johnston
  • Elizabeth Johnston
  • Mary Johnston
  • Euphemia Johnston, who married her first cousin, John Johnston, a Colonel of the New Jersey Provincial troops at the capture of Fort Niagara during the French and Indian War in 1758.[1]

Andrew died on June 24, 1762, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

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References
  1. Stiles, Editor, Dr. Henry R. (1902). The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 33. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. pp. 247–248. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  2. Contributions to the Early History of Perth Amboy and Adjoining Country; William Adee Whitehead; D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1856; p. 72
  3. Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, date: various (pre 1950)
  4. New Jersey Colonial Documents, Archives of the State of New Jersey, First Series, Vol. VI, 1738 - 1747; Daily Advertiser Publishing House, Newark, New Jersey, 1882. p. 467
  5. New Jersey Colonial Documents, Archives of the State of New Jersey, First Series, Vol. II; Daily Advertiser Publishing House, Newark, New Jersey, 1881. p. 510
  6. "Richard J. Connors, The Constitution of 1776" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-04-13. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
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