When Ferdinand J. Johnston was born on 15 April 1852, in Maury, Tennessee, United States, his father, Martin Harrison Johnston, was 31 and his mother, Grace M Turnbow, was 33. He died on 23 April 1852, in Tennessee, United States, at the age of 0.
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Scottish: habitational name, deriving in most cases from the place so called in Annandale, in Dumfriesshire. This is derived from the genitive case of the personal name John + + Middle English ton ‘town, village, settlement’ (Old English tūn). There are other places in Scotland so called, including the city of Perth, which used to be known as Saint John's Toun, and some of these may also be sources of the surname.
English: habitational name from Johnson Hall (Staffordshire), recorded as Johannestonc. 1233 and Joneston in 1314. The placename means ‘John's settlement’, from the genitive case of the Middle English personal name Johan, Jon (see John ) + Middle English ton ‘town, village, settlement’.
History: As far as can be ascertained, most Scottish bearers of this surname are descendants of John, probably a Norman baron from England, who held lands at Johnstone in Annandale from the Bruce family in the late 12th century. His son Gilbert was the first to take the surname Johnstone and their descendants later held the earldom of Annandale.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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