Bill Johnston: Common Historical Mistakes

The history of every legendary figure includes tall tales, deliberate embellishments, and apocrypha. Bill Johnston, the nineteenth-century, Thousand Islands folk hero is no exception. Commercial interests, journalistic excess, historical mistakes, and political propaganda have all contributed to myth and mis-fact. This post aims to correct the commonest errors.

Ada Burleigh Aids Bill Johnston in Hiding

The legend of Bill Johnston includes a cast of interesting supporting characters. In 1838, while Bill hid in the Thousand Islands from two armies searching for him, his niece Ada spent the summer aiding her family in a time of trouble. She consoled her aunt Ann Johnston and often helped her cousin Kate Johnston run supplies to the family fugitive.

Bill Johnston: 15. No Prison Can Hold Him

After Bill Johnston skipped bail in mid-April 1839, he returned to the Thousand Islands. As they had in the summer of 1838, the Canadian and US military launched joint patrols to find him.