Clan Johnstone is a Scottish Border family whose historic power base lay in Annandale, Dumfriesshire. Johnstone, Johnston and Johnstoun all occur in records, but spelling alone cannot prove that a person belonged to the Annandale chiefly line or followed a particular migration route.
Follow the regional story: the long rivalry with Clan Maxwell and the neighbouring Jardines of Applegarth place the Johnstones in their Border setting. Families whose records lead through Ulster can continue with our separate guide to Scots-Irish migration to America.
Clan Johnstone at a glance
- Historic heartland: Annandale in Dumfriesshire
- Historic seat: Lochwood Castle
- Traditional motto: Nunquam Non Paratus, “Never unprepared”
- Major conflict: the feud with the Maxwells, including Dryfe Sands in 1593
- Name forms: Johnstone, Johnston and older Johnstoun occur, but records—not spelling rules—establish ancestry
Where does the Johnstone name come from?
Johnstone is a territorial name, conventionally understood as “John’s town.” The Annandale family is documented in medieval south-west Scotland, where the valley of the River Annan formed an important route through the western Borders.
Surname spelling was not fixed. A single person or family may appear under more than one form, while unrelated lines can share the same spelling. Scotland’s People therefore recommends variant searching. Researchers should include Johnstone and Johnston and, when the evidence warrants it, forms such as Johnstoun or Johnson.
What was Lochwood Castle?
Historic Environment Scotland identifies Lochwood as the principal seat of the Johnstone family from the late twelfth century until the early eighteenth century. The site combines a motte-and-bailey with a later stone castle. Its surviving tower is a large fifteenth-century L-plan building with courtyards and service ranges.
The castle was accidentally burned in the early eighteenth century. The Raehills estate record says the 1st Marquess of Annandale left Lochwood around 1720 and the family moved to Newbie Castle near Annan. Raehills became the later Hope-Johnstone seat: James Hope-Johnstone commissioned its mansion and landscape after succeeding to the Annandale and Hartfell line in 1792. These are successive centres of the family story, not interchangeable names for the same residence.
What happened in the Maxwell–Johnstone feud?
During the sixteenth century the Johnstones and Maxwells competed for influence in the Scottish West March, and chiefs of both families served as wardens. The conflict reached a decisive point at Dryfe Sands near Lockerbie on 6 December 1593, when Sir James Johnstone’s force defeated Lord Maxwell’s larger army and Maxwell was killed.
Dryfe Sands did not end the feud. In 1608 a meeting intended to reconcile Sir James Johnstone and the next Lord Maxwell ended with Maxwell shooting and killing Johnstone. Maxwell fled but was later captured and executed in Edinburgh. Presenting both events preserves the chronology instead of implying that the 1593 battle closed the rivalry.
How did the Johnstone titles develop?
The title sequence involved several generations. James Johnstone was created Lord Johnstone of Lochwood in 1633 and Earl of Hartfell in 1643. His son, also James, succeeded as 2nd Earl of Hartfell and received a new grant as Earl of Annandale and Hartfell after the Restoration. That younger James’s son William became 2nd Earl of Annandale and Hartfell and was created 1st Marquess of Annandale in 1701.
William was followed by his sons James, 2nd Marquess, and George, 3rd Marquess. George died in 1792, after which the marquessate and the earldom claim became dormant. The 1662 limitation later supported descent through the Hope-Johnstone family. Historic Environment Scotland records that Patrick Hope-Johnstone succeeded his father in 1983 and that his claim as Earl of Annandale and Hartfell was admitted in 1985. This is why the earldom and the dormant marquessate should not be treated as the same title.
What does Nunquam Non Paratus mean?
Nunquam Non Paratus is usually translated as “Never unprepared.” It belongs to the chief’s heraldic tradition. The wording does not prove how an individual Johnstone lived, fought or thought, and sharing the surname does not confer a right to use the chief’s undifferenced arms.
Did every Johnston line go through Ulster?
No. Some Johnston families did settle in Ulster and some descendants later moved to North America, but neither the shorter spelling nor a modern location proves that route. A Scottish Johnstone line, an Ulster Johnston line and a Johnson line created by phonetic spelling or Anglicisation must each be tested against records.
Begin with the most recent proven ancestor. Use Scottish statutory and church records when the trail is in Scotland; use Irish civil, church, land and census-substitute sources when it reaches Ireland; and only then connect an immigrant to American records. A migration story should be demonstrated one generation and one place at a time.
Sources and further research
- Historic Environment Scotland: Lochwood Castle
- Historic Environment Scotland: Raehills
- Clan Johnston/e in America: history of the clan
- Scotland’s People: surname search guidance
The store’s current exact-name range uses the Johnstone spelling: browse the Johnstone Scottish Clan Gifts collection.