LYDIA
(PICKERING) JOHNSTON
1808-1880
Lydia (Pickering) Johnston was born in
Barnstead November 5, 1808, the daughter of Stephen and Sarah (Grove)
Pickering. She was one of nine children, having five brothers and three
sisters. Nothing is known of her education or early life.
On April 28, 1836 at the age of 28 she married John Johnston who was 10 years her senior. In October of the following year she had a son, John, who tragically passed away 12 days later. She was accepted into the Congregational Church upon recommendation of the Barnstead Church on April 4, 1839. Her husband was already a member.
Lydia's second child, John Walter Johnston, was born February 10, 1841 and surely established a record in adulthood that made her a proud mother.
Prior to the Civil War John Walter was a traveling salesman dealing in flour and grain. On August 23, 1862 he enlisted in Company F of the famous Twelfth Regiment. In September he was raised to the rank of corporal and a few months later to sergeant. On November 22, 1863 he was promoted to first lieutenant and the following July to Captain of Company D. During the summer of 1864 he was on the staff of Brigadier General J. H. Potter as provost marshal. He served in the same capacity on the staffs of General Charles K. Graham and General Freraro. He later was on the staff of General Benjamin F. Butler, whose uncle lived in Pittsfield.
Lydia Johnston
John Walter participated in the Battles of Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Wapping Heights, Swift Creek, Cold Harbor, Cemetery Hill and Petersburg. Despite the unusually high rate of casualties in his companies, he never received a wound. He was discharged on June 21, 1865.
The following year John Walter married Susan A. Philbrick of Candia and they had one child before her untimely death in 1868. Walter then married Clara A. Philbrick, Susan's first cousin, and they had four children. She passed away in 1889 and four years later he married Laura Caroline Hood.
Given his parents' affiliation with the church he likely attended frequently as a youth. In 1870 he was admitted to membership and in 1878 was elected superintendent of the Sunday school. In 1881 he was elected Deacon.
Mr.
Johnston was also active in the Congregational Society. In 1874 he was
elected a warden, an office that he served in again during 1880 and
1882. In 1877 he was selected to serve on a committee to choose the new
minister and in 1879 was elected moderator.
Apparently Mr. Johnston was not active in town politics, as he did not
serve in any of Pittsfield's
major offices. He did, however, serve one term as a representative to the
state legislature in 1879.
Lydia's third son, Albert Curtis, would likely also have made her proud
with many contributions to the church and community. Unfortunately,
however, he was a drowning
victim at the age of seven on September 26, 1851 just two months after
his baby sister Ellen Maria
was born. What torment Lydia must have gone through in losing her second
child early in life. Surely, however, she had the strong support of her
husband and members of the church.
Mrs. Pickering passed away November 30, 1880 at the age of 78. She is
buried in Floral Park
Cemetery next to her husband who predeceased her three years before.
Buried in the same lot are her two sons who passed away at an early age
and John Walter and two of his wives, Susan Philbrick and Clara
Philbrick.
|
SOURCES |
Biographical research and written profile by Larry Berkson, Historian, Pittsfield Historical Society |
Chapman, Jacob. A Genealogy of the Philbrick and Philbrook Families (Exeter: Exeter Gazette Steam Printing House, 1886), pp. 116 and 144.
Early Vital Statistics, Pittsfield, New Hampshire, in the possession of the Pittsfield Historical Society. Floral Park Cemetery Records, in the possession of Larry Berkson.
Genealogical Date Respecting John Pickering of Portsmouth, New Hampshire and His Descendants (Boston, 1884), pp. 9-10.
Manual of the Congregational Church, Pittsfield, New Hampshire, May 1, 1899, no place, no publisher, pp. 13, 15, and 45.
Records of the Congregational Society of Pittsfield. Book beginning April 19, 1860 and Book beginning May 6, 1878.
Records of the First Congregational Church of Pittsfield, New Hampshire. Book beginning November 17, 1789.
Robinson, Henry L. Pittsfield, New Hampshire in the Great Rebellion (Pittsfield: no publisher, 1893), pp. 90-91.
"Service of Rededication," Valley Times, August 16, 1907.
Young, E. Harold. Histo of Pittsfield, New Ham shire (Concord: New Hampshire Bindery, 1953), p. 561.