Author: Johnston, Archibald
Biography:
Johnston, Archibald (1793-1818: covenanter.org)
The son of Scottish Covenanters who emigrated to the New World, he was born in Truro NS; the family moved to Lancaster PA in 1805 and later to Chillicothe OH. He shares a name with the Covenanter leader and martyr Archibald Johnston, Lord Wariston (1611-63), but does not appear to have been a descendant. After graduating from Jefferson College in Canonsburg (now incorporated in Washington & Jefferson College in Washington PA), he studied theology in the Pennsylvania Seminary and was licensed to preach in 1817. He is said to have been a notable orator. However, he was already ill with tuberculosis and although he did some supply preaching, he was obliged to move to be near his parents in Ohio, where he died in October 1818. His poem is dedicated to Commodore Richard Dale of the US Navy in gratitude for his support of Evangelical Marine Societies. Covenanter records indicate that Johnston made a deathbed marriage but no supporting evidence has been found. (covenanter.org 23 June 2019)