David Johnston

David Johnston (or Johnstone) (3 January 1724 – 12 January 1809) was an American merchant and politician of Scottish descent who served as the president of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York.

Early life Johnston was born on 3 January 1724 at Perth Amboy in the Province of New Jersey, which was then a part of British America. He was the second son of John Johnston Jr., a major in the British Army, and the former Elizabeth Jamison. "but declined on the ground that he was an American and unwilling to give up his birthright for a life in England, but later, at the coming of age of his eldest son, regretted his refusal."

Career At a young age, he entered business as a wine merchant, trading directly with the Netherlands using his own ship. He worked as a merchant until the death of his mother when he inherited his share of the Nine Partners Tract, which by then was worth a substantial amount, and required his considerable attention as his land and estates were extensive. Magdalen was a daughter of William Walton (Sometimes listed as Jacob Walton.) Magdalen's sister Mary Walton was the wife of Lewis Morris, signer of the Declaration of Independence. In New York City, he had a mansion on the east side of Bowling Green (which was burned during the Revolutionary War), a farm in Greenwich Village, a farm in Perth Amboy (which was burned by the Hessians when the British Army occupied New Jersey), and in the Hudson Valley, he owned a large country estate and residence known as Annandale in Lithgow (a hamlet within Washington, New York Johnston named after Linlithgow, the ancestral home of his maternal grandfather) Together, they were the parents of three sons and seven daughters, including: in 1775. Cornelia Johnston (1757–1815), who married Gulian Verplanck, Speaker of the New York State Assembly, in 1784. John Johnston (1759–1759), who died in infancy.

He served two terms, first from 1774 to 1775 and secondly from 1784 to 1785, as president of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York, a charitable organization founded in 1756 that focuses on helping Scots in the New York community.