John Johnston (fur Trader) - Family

Family

The Johnstons had eight children, most of whom were American by birth. They educated them in English, Ojibwe and French. Johnston had a large library filled with English classical authors, including poets, which his children used for their literary education. The parents took care to educate their children in both cultures, and expected them to have opportunities in society equivalent to their standing. Many fur traders sent their children to Montreal for school.

The Johnstons' eldest daughter Jane married Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, who arrived in Sault Ste. Marie in 1822 as Indian agent for the US government. He was to establish formal relationships with the Native Americans. He became noted as an ethnographer and writer about Native American life. Despite his marriage and interests, he remained more outside Native American life than the fur trader John Johnston.

Jane Johnston Schoolcraft was inducted in 2008 into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame for her own contributions to literature and history. She is recognized as the first Native American literary writer and poet. A major collection of her work was published in 2007.

The second daughter Eliza never married. The next two married well. The third daughter married Archdeacon MacMurray, of Niagara, who worked as a missionary with tribes along Lake Superior. Maria, the youngest daughter, married James Laurence Schoolcraft, a younger brother of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft.

The Anglo-American settlement and rule over Sault Ste. Marie and Michigan after the War of 1812 changed the culture markedly within a generation. It particularly disadvantaged the mixed-race men, even those of upperclass families such as the Johnstons. The Americans disdained the children of mixed marriages; in addition, they were suspicious of Roman Catholics and French speakers. They often did not take the time to discern the layers of northern Michigan society, but lumped all those together who had preceded them in Sault Ste. Marie and other communities.

As noted above, the oldest son Lewis stayed in Canada after the War of 1812.

Because of Johnston's resistance to becoming a citizen of the US, his second son George was shut out of the fur trade as the Americans exerted more control. George Johnston worked for Henry Schoolcraft in various roles for the US Indian Agency during the 1820s.

After Johnston's death, Susan Johnston and their son William managed the sugaring and fishing business. The youngest son John McDougall Johnston settled on Sugar Island (an island along the St. Mary's River) across from Canada. He was later the last official US Indian Agent in the area.