Tombstone Tuesday - David R. C. Johnston, Trenton, NJ

David R.C. Johnston Oct 1859 - 31 Dec 1945

I had searched for over a year with little luck for the death date of my husband's great-grandfather, David R. C. Johnston who was born in October 1859 in Jefferson County, PA to Andrew Jackson and Eliza Mariah (London) Johnston.  He and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Hildinger moved to Trenton, NJ around 1914 when he began working as as manager for his brother-in-law, Charles C. Hildinger, at his growing movie theater business.

Ewing Church Cemetery, Trenton, NJ

Using numerous sources, including my subscription to the Trenton Times archives, I found a number of articles on David and Mary Johnston and their daughter Luella Ruth who married Dr. Alvin S. Rogers (my husband's grandfather) including Mary's obituary in 1954.  I never had any luck finding David's death date.  Finally a little luck came my way via a wonderful Find-A-Grave volunteer, Mark Snyder who had taken a picture of this Johnston headstone for me for Mary E. Hildinger Johnston.  Mary's name wasn't on the stone, just the name Johnston, but the headstone was near the Hildinger and Sweet headstones who are Mary's siblings.  Mark went out of his way to GO BACK to the cemetery office a few days later to ask if they could check their burial records to see if David was buried there as well.  They confirmed that David C. Johnston died 31 Dec 1945 at age 86 years, 2 months and was buried next to Mary in plot C123.  Find-A-Grave volunteers are the best!

They also reported that a Susan L. Rogers had been buried in the Johnston family plot on 5 Aug 1971.  That would have to be Luella Ruth Johnston, the daughter of David and Mary, my husband's grandmother.  She changed her name to Susan sometime after her husband Dr. Alvin Rogers died in 1937 and she later died in Miami, FL in 1969 and was cremated.  I assume my father-in-law took her ashes back to Trenton for interment.