Hugh Johnston was a genealogist from Wilson County, North Carolina. Johnston graduated from Davidson College. He received his master’s degree in Hispanic-American studies from George Washington University. Johnston also studied at the University of North Carolina. He taught in the North Carolina public school system. He later taught at Atlantic Christian College, which is now Barton College in Wilson, North Carolina, in the Department of Modern Foreign Languages.
He was a past president of the North Carolina Genealogical Society and the Wilson County Historical Society. Johnston wrote historical and genealogical articles for The Wilson Daily Times and The Rocky Mount Evening Telegram under the pen name “the old reporter”. His writing also appeared in The North Carolina Historical Review, The National Genealogical Society Journal Quarterly, The Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal and The News and Observer.
Johnston’s collection was donated to the Edgecombe County Memorial Library. His collection includes genealogical material about eastern North Carolina families. There are photographs, family letters and much more in this collection.
