An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church

Johnston, Gideon

(c. 1671-Apr. 23, 1716). First Commissary to South Carolina. He was born in Tuam, Ireland. On Sept. 19, 1707, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel informed Johnston that the Bishop of London had appointed him Commissary to South Carolina. On Mar. 2, 1708, the ship bearing Johnston and his family arrived off the coast of Charleston. While in South Carolina, Johnston did extensive missionary work among African Americans and Indians. He died in a shipwreck.

Glossary definitions provided courtesy of Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, NY,(All Rights reserved) from “An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians,” Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors.