He was a captain, and this story from the History of Long River could be about him:
NEAR TRAGEDY AS TOLD BY JOHN J. CAMPBELL
.....••
The young people of New London hired Capt. John Johnstone to
take them for a sail aboard his Black Fox vessel to a picnic on Lennox
Island.
All went well until they were nearing New London Harbour on
return, a violent thunderstorm and shift of wind churned up a rough sea.
Capt. John battened down the hatches leaving only the crew and me on
deck. The vessel had no ballist and the Capt. was afraid she would
founder on the bar, a difficult harbour to navigate.
Below deck many were sea sick and thought they would never
see land again. When we tied up at Clifton wharf there was a lot of
sand and gravel on the deck due to waves washing over the vessel. My
cousin, Jemima Johnstone, was so sick I had to carry her off the ship.
Capt. John said, "Never again will I take a party like this, for had
the ship gone down nearly every house in New London would be in mourn-
ing."
This 72 ton vessel was built by John and Robert C. Orr in 1870
and was lost in 1880 with the Captain and two young men from Ken-
sington.