An Illustrated History of Central Oregon, Western Historical Publishing Company,
Spokane, WA. 1905, pages 239-240.

JOHN C. JOHNSTON, another member of the firm of "Johnstons," an enterprising and
prominent citizen of Dufur, Wasco county, was born in Centreville, New
Brunswick, March 21, 1854. His parents and their distinguished ancestry are
mentioned elsewhere in this work.      

While living at home with his parents our subject attended the public schools in
his vicinity, where he secured a liberal business education, and in 1876 he went
to San Francisco, California, and thence to Sonoma county, same state, remaining
there two years, one year of which he was employed in a hotel and one year on a
ranch. He then came to The Dalles, Oregon, with his brother, Thomas H., and
subsequently was with the firm of French & Gilman, stock-raisers, in Wheeler
county. He remained with them nine years, during which period he raised cattle
for himself, and quite successfully. He disposed of his stock to the firm in
1887, and the following two years traveled in the vicinity of Portland and the
Puget Sound country, engaged in various employments. He came to Dufur in 1890,
and purchased an interest in the business being conducted by his brothers,
George and T.H. He at present has charge of the hardware department. Our subject
is one of the five Johnstons who are mentioned in sketches elsewhere.      
Politically Mr. Johnston is the only Democrat in the family. He has frequently
been delegate to state and county conventions, and has served one term as mayor
of Dufur, one term as councilman, and one as school director. With his brothers
he is interested in the Wasco Warehouse & Milling Company, farm lands and stock.      

He was united in marriage, May 31, 1888, at Dufur, to Josie I. Laing, of
Portland, Oregon, born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her father, Colonel, John K.
Laing, was a native of Woodstock, New Brunswick, in the same county in which our
subject was born. During the Civil War Colonel Laing commanded the Fourteenth
Maine Volunteer Infantry, having enlisted as a private and risen from the ranks.
He was in active service four years, and was frequently promoted for bravery on
the field. He lives in Portland, Oregon. Her mother, Frances (Hayward) Laing,
was a native of Maine, born near Bangor. She died in Portland, Oregon, in 1887.
Mrs. Johnston has two brothers and one sister: Edward, a Southern Pacific
railway engineer, of Rosebery, Oregon; Everett, a school boy, at home, in
Portland, and Elizabeth, at home with her father in Portland. Mr. and Mrs.
Johnston have three children living, Hazel, Lucile and Helen, aged thirteen and
five years, and eleven months, respectively. Our subject is a member of the
I.O.O.F., of which he is past grand, the Rebeckah Lodge and Nicholson
encampment, at Dufur.



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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in January 2005 by Jeffrey L. Elmer. 
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.