PETER JOHNSTONE (JOHNSTON or JOHNSON)
Service-Pennsylvania
Certifcate No. 938
Enlisted under Captain John Wilson, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, in 1776 under Colonel Broadhead and Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Bayard. In pension application filed in Monongalia County, Virginia, he says that he got permission from his capt. 1777, to go to North Carolina where he remained until 1779; then rejoined his command which had returned to Fort Pitt after serving on the easter battle front.
Continued to make his headquarters at Fort Pitt until his discharge in 1783 as a corporal. He served with Captain Sam Brady and Captain John Clark in the two companies that were given special duty ther under Lieutenant Colonel Bayard. These men, apparently picked riflemen, some of whom had served with Colonel Daniel Morgan's Riflemen, ranged the frontier from Fort Pitt and Fort McIntosh to Fort Henry, Wheeling, and other points on the frontier. His oldest daughter, says family tradition, was born in a blockhouse, possibly at Fort Pitt.
Johnstone appeared in Harrison Co., about 1788 and lived there until his death, September 6, 1840, aged 88. He had been a pensioner since 1829. He was first married to Eleanor (or Nelly) Peters. The marriage bonds of all five children: Mary (Hall), Margaret (Current), Abraham, John, and Robert, are filed at Clarksburg, his signature being "Johnstone" in every case. He was the ferryman on the Tygart Valley north of Grafton, was one of the commissioners who established Pruntytown, first county seat of Taylor County, and was High Sheriff of Harrison Co., 1820-1822. His second wife was Susannah Armstrong, a widow.
~~West Virginians in the American Revolution by Ross B Johnston 1959

Peter Johnson and Eleanor Peters married in 1774
~ Just A Family History by Glenn L. Bower 2011

1810 Federal Census
Harrison county, Virginia
Peter Johnston
1 male of 10 to 15
1 male of 16 to 26
1 male of 45 & upwards
2 females of 16 to 26
~living next door
Abraham Johnston
John Johnston
Benj Wiseman
Thomas Hall
Robert Peters
Jed Sayre
John Davidson

1820 Federal Census
Harrison county, Virginia
Peter Johnson
1 male of 45 & upwards
1 female 16 to 26
~also living nearby
Solomon Johnson 26 to 45
Zhaduch Johnson 45 & up
Joseph Johnson 45 & up
Abm Johnson 45 & up
Robt Johnson 26 to 45
John Johnson 45 & up
Michel Johnson 45 & up
James Hall 45 & up

Peter Johnson and Susannah Armstrong were married 30 Oct 1822 in Harrison county, West Virginia. Susannah, whose maiden name is yet unknown, was the widow of George Armstrong, whose estate was appraised in 1821 in Harrison county.

7 Jan 1824, Deed of Trust
Peter Johnstone, his wife Susannah Johnstone, and Lewis A Muse Deed of Trust, beneficiaries John M Armstrong, Edmund Armstrong
~Harrison county, West Virginia Deed Book Vol 16, p 266
~Edmund and John M Armstrong are shown as 1 male 10 to 16, and 1 male 16 to 26, 1820 census of George Armstrong, Harrison county

1830 Federal Census
Eastern District, Monongalia county, Virginia
Peter Johnston
1 male 70 to 80
1 female 50 to 60
~living nearby
Thomas Johnson 20 to 30
John Johnson 20 to 30
Robert Johnson 30 to 40
Samuel Johnson 20 to 30
John Johnson 60 to 70
Anthony Johnson 30 to 40
Nathaniel Johnson 20 to 30
Hadley Johnson 40 to 50
Barnabas Johnson 40 to 50
James Johnson 40 to 50
William Johnson 20 to 30
Elisha Johnson 30 to 40

Persons drawing Revolutionary pensions in 1835 in Harrison county formed from Monongalia...
Peter Johnson amt 80
~History of Monongalia County by Hu Maxwell

1840 Federal Census
Harrison county, Virginia
Peter Johnson
1 male of 80 to 90
1 female of 60 to 70
next door is Robt Johnson 40 to 50
nearby is Abraham Johnson 40 to 50

Peter Johnston's estate in Harrison county was appraised the 1st of December 1840 by John Johnston. No heirs are named.

Peter made his home in the area now known as Grafton. Peter is reported to have been buried in Keener Cemetery, west of Grafton, although existing records are absent
~ Just A Family History by Glenn L. Bower 2011

a work in progress