Sedgwick County KSGenWeb

Portrait And Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.

Chapman Brothers 1888

Pages 729 - 730 

ALBERT E. JOHNSTON, one of the solid men of Valley Center Township, owns 160 acres of choice land in the above-named township, also 240 acres in Kechi Township, besides six lots in the village, and since the time of his coming here has been a leader in those matters pertaining to the development and progress of this section of the county. He is an Ohio man by birth, and possesses in a marked manner the qualities usually attributed to the individuals who first opened their eyes in the Buckeye State. The birth of Mr. Johnston took place in Harrison County, near Cadiz, on the 4th of March, 1838. His paternal ancestors were of Irish descent and his father, John H. Johnston, was born in Ireland, whence he emigrated with his parents when quite young. They located first in the Dominion of Canada in the vicinity of Quebec, and also lived near Montreal for a time, where the father carried on a large manufacturing business in woolen and cotton cloths, he having learned the trade of a weaver in his native isle. Subsequently he removed to Philadelphia, and from there, a few years later, to Hancock County, Ohio, where he abandoned the shuttle for the implements of husbandry and where he still lives, having now arrived at the advanced age of seventy-six years. The mother still remains the faithful partner of her husband, and is seventy-four years old. They are the parents of eleven children, ten of whom were named respectively: William, Robert, Albert E., Thomas H., Edmond, Orlando, John H., Matilda, Amelia and Melissa. One babe died unnamed.

             Robert Johnston, an elder brother of our subject, enlisted during the late war in the 2d Illinois Cavalry, and served in the Union army until the surrender of the Confederate General, then re-enlisted in the regular army, and was killed near Ft. Donelson, in 1863. William, the first-born, died in infancy; Edward was married and became the father of three children, and was killed by a runaway team in Hancock County, Ohio, about 1885; his widow survives, and is still a resident of Hancock County.

             Albert E. Johnston commenced the battle of life for himself at the age of seventeen years. Up to this time he had assisted his father on the farm, and attended school when possible in the winter season. Upon leaving his native State he crossed Indiana into Illinois, and engaged in farming on rented land in Logan County until after the first call for troops to assist in putting down the Rebellion. In August, 1861, he enlisted in the 106th Illinois Infantry, which was assigned to the 7th Brigade and 7th Army Corps, with which he fought, marched and bivouacked until the close of the struggle, in 1865. He entered the ranks as a private, performed his duties to the best of his ability, and was content to come out with the same rank, and with the reflection that he had done his duty, and was among the last to flee at the approach of danger. He met the enemy in the battles of Vicksburg, Little Rock and Pine Bluff, skirmished after rebels along the White River, and fought them at Devall, Ark., and in that State he was finally mustered out.

             Mr. Johnston, upon laying aside the accoutrements of war, made his way north into the State of Illinois, and took up the implements of husbandry in Logan County. Not quite satisfied with the results of his labors in that locality he moved into Champaign County, and from there to Sedgwick County, in 1874. His first purchase here was 160 acres in Kechi Township, of which he is still the owner, and where he resided twelve years. Upon leaving the farm he took possession of a handsome home in the village of Valley Center, where he commenced dealing in real estate and loans, and subsequently purchased the livery business of L. Willis, who had established there some years before, and which is the only institution of the kind in the town.

             The first wife of our subject, to whom he was married Oct. 18, 1857, was in her girlhood Miss Elizabeth Ittner, a native of Pennsylvania, whence she removed with her parents to Ohio, and thence to Illinois, where her marriage took place. She was a lady greatly esteemed by her neighbors and acquaintances, and a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She departed this life at her home in Kechi Township in 1880, leaving four children, two sons and two daughters -- Jane, Frances, Julius and Albert, all living. Jane is the wife of Harry Hutchinson, an efficient teacher in the public schools of Valley Center. The other children are unmarried, and make their home with their father.

             The second marriage of Mr. Johnston was celebrated in the spring of 1881, his wife being Miss Lucinda B. Pawling, who was born in Ohio in 1840. Of this marriage there are no children. Mr. Johnston has been quite prominent in township affairs, holding the office of Justice of the Peace in Kechi Township two terms, and has served as School Director both there and in Valley Center. He is a straight Republican, politically, and religiously, a liberal. He organized the first Sunday-school in Valley Center.

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