Sir William Johnstone, 2nd Baronet

Sir William Johnstone, 2nd Baronet of Sciennes and Westerhall was a Scottish landowner and politician who sat in the Parliament of Scotland from 1698 to 1707 and in the British House of Commons at various times between 1708 and 1722.

Early life Johnstone was the second son of Sir James Johnstone of Westerhall, a member of the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland. His mother Margaret was the daughter of John Bannatyne of Corehouse in Lanarkshire. He married Henrietta Johnston, the daughter and coheiress of James Johnston of Sciennes, Edinburgh before 1698. His elder brother John was an MP and became a baronet.

Career Johnstone was a political ally of his distant relation the Earl of Annandale. In the Parliament of Scotland he was a member from 1698 to 1707 for the burgh of Annan, of which Annandale was the patron. He initially supported the Union with England, and when Annandale shifted towards opposing it, Johnstone intermittently joined him.

Later life and legacy Johnstone's younger son, John, married Annandale's stepmother which exacerbated the ill-feeling between the families. In 1726 the Marquess tried to prevent his titles and lands descending collaterally to ‘a certain family of Johnstone’, by which he was acting against his stepmother and the Johnstones of Westerhall.