Hugh Johnston (April 3, 1790 – April 13, 1850) was a merchant and politician in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. He represented the city of St. John from 1820 to 1830 and Queen's County from 1834 to 1842 and from 1847 to 1850 in the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

. He was born near

Gagetown, New Brunswick Gagetown (2016 population: 711) is a village in Queens County, New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated on the west bank of the Saint John River and is the county's shire town. History Acadians Gagetown was originally named Grimross by the Ac ...

, the son of

Hugh Johnston Hugh Johnston (January 4, 1756 – November 29, 1829) was a Scottish-born merchant and politician in New Brunswick. He represented St. John County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1802 to 1820. He was born in Morayshire, t ...

and Ann Gilzean. In 1822, he married Elizabeth Murray, the daughter of

John Murray Bliss John Murray Bliss (22 February 1771 – 22 August 1834) was a Canadian jurist, politician and administrator. Biography Father John Murray Bliss was born in Massachusetts, the son of Massachusetts loyalist Daniel Bliss, a lawyer and British sold ...

. He began work in his father's company but then formed his own company in partnership with Robert William Crookshank. Following the death of his first wife in 1826, Johnston retired from the business. He invested his share of the business and later his share of his father's estate in various investments and lived off that income. Johnston married Harriet Maria, the daughter of Thomas Millidge in 1829. In 1830, he was named a magistrate for the city of Saint John. He was named to the province's Executive Council in 1837. He was defeated in the 1842 election but was named to the Legislative Council and named again to the Executive Council. Johnston resigned from the Executive Council in 1845 after

William MacBean George Colebrooke Sir William MacBean George Colebrooke, (9 November 1787 – 6 February 1870) was an English career soldier and colonial administrator who became lieutenant governor of New Brunswick in 1841. Life The son of Colonel Paulet Welbore Colebrooke, R ...

named his son-in-law provincial secretary. Johnston was persuaded to return to office in 1846 by the colonial secretary and served until 1848. He also served as a director for the

Bank of New Brunswick The Bank of New Brunswick, established in 1820, was the first Canadian bank to operate under a charter. The bank operated independently in New Brunswick and later in Prince Edward Island until it merged with the Bank of Nova Scotia (now Scotiabank ...

, the New Brunswick Marine Assurance Company and the New Brunswick Mining Company. Johnston died at his estate Roseneath in Queen's County at the age of 60.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Hugh 1790 births 1850 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Members of the Legislative Council of New Brunswick Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick Colony of New Brunswick judges Colony of New Brunswick people Canadian magistrates