JOHNSTON, WILLIAM [3]

County surveyor for Co. Waterford, 1834-1840. According to Andrews, William Johnston was trained by ALEXANDER NIMMO [1]  ALEXANDER NIMMO [1] and was employed by the Bogs Commissioners between 1809 and 1813. In the late 1820s when Nimmo was laying out roads in Connemara, Johnston was his assistant engineer. When this employment came to an end in 1831, he moved in Dublin, possibly in the expectation of doing further work for Nimmo, who died in Dublin in January 1832. In the Morning Register for 14 March 1832, Johnston advertised his readiness to carry out a variety of engineering and land surveying activities. On 17 May 1834 he was appointed the first county surveyor for Co. Waterford. He remained in this post until his death from 'an affection of the heart', which took place suddenly on 27 July 1840 while he was attending a hearing in Kilkenny court house.(1) At the time of his death his salary had been unpaid for eight months.(2) He was succeeded by JOHN WALKER. JOHN WALKER.

Johnston's pupils and assistants included PETER BURTCHAELL.  PETER BURTCHAELL.

ICEI: founder member, 1835.(3)

Addresses: 25 Lower Ormond Quay, Dublin, 1832; 16 North Earl Street, 1833

All information in this entry not otherwise accounted for is from J.H. Andrews, Plantation Acres (Ulster Historical Foundation, 1985), 255,266n, and Brendan O'Donoghue, The Irish County Surveyors 1834-1944 (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2007), 216. References to Johnston (not seen) appear in House of Commons Parliamentary Papers 1836 (527) xii, 293 and 1840 (291) xlviii, 165 (IAA, Edward McParland files, Acc. 2008/44).

(1) Waterford Mail, 29 Jul 1840; Connaught Journal, 6 Aug 1840.(B.O'D.)
(2) Waterford Mail, 22 Jul 1840.(B.O'D.).
(3) Photocopy of transcript of minutes of first meeting of Engineers' Society of Ireland, 6 Aug 1835, in IAA, Jones File F73.