Career
In 1734 Johnston was appointed He arrived to a warm welcome in early November. Johnston would marry Penelope Eden, the stepdaughter of former North Carolina Governor Charles Eden. When Penelope Johnston died, Governor Johnston married again in 1751 a widow, Frances Button.
He came under pressure for allegedly not corresponding with British authorities in London, but he cleared his name.
He was a firm defender of union with Britain, in the face of a growing sentiment for independence. Johnston studied medicine but is supposed to have not practiced.
Many of the Scots who settled in North Carolina at Johnston"s encouragement came to the colony as refugees following the defeat of the Jacobite Rising of 1745, crushed by the British Army at the Battle of Culloden. When news of the victory of the British Army at Culloden came to North Carolina, Johnston refused to order a celebration.
Besides offering toleration and a refuge to these Scottish political dissidents, Johnston is also remembered for trying to protect the rights of Native Americans to hold their ancestral lands in North Carolina.
Governor Johnston died in August 1752 in Chowan County, North Carolina. Johnston married Penelope Eden, the daughter of Governor Charles Eden. Johnston County, North Carolina is named after him.