The following article was published by Eddie McRorie on 3rd June 2025 on the Johnstone History Facebook page and is reproduced here with his kind permission.

Newspaper Eulogy From 1862
In that pleasant home, nestled among the trees now shedding their autumnal leaves to the south of Johnstone, the spirit of a good old man quietly passed away the other day. In the fullness of age and the highest regard of all who knew him, Mr. Houstoun of Johnstone died peacefully.

Though long in comparatively delicate health and well-advanced in years, Mr. Houstoun’s death came as no surprise. Yet, for all who knew him—even slightly—or who had benefitted from his kindness in any way, his passing is deeply felt.

Ludovic Houstoun, Esq. of Johnstone was the representative of a distinguished old Renfrewshire family. Hugo de Padvinan, one of the witnesses to Walter, High Steward of Scotland’s foundation charter for the Abbey of Paisley around the year 1160, was the founder of the family. He obtained grants of land in Strathgryffe, to which, as was the custom of the time, he gave his surname. These became known as the lands of Hugo’s-toun—Houstoun, as they remain today.

The Houstouns of Johnstone were a younger branch of the family. In 1662, Sir Ludovic Houstoun died, leaving two sons and several daughters. His eldest son, Patrick, inherited the family estates, while his second son, George, received, as his patrimony, the Lands of Johnstone, which Sir Ludovic had recently acquired. From George descended the Houstouns of Johnstone, the only male line remaining of the Houstouns of Houstoun.

The late Mr. Houstoun was a man of cultivated mind and gentle temperament. Though a Deputy Lieutenant of the County, a Commissioner of Supply, and a resident Justice of the Peace, he rarely played a prominent public role. A naturally reserved man, his interests lay in other pursuits: agricultural improvement, the prosperity of Johnstone, and quiet domestic enjoyment.

Among the people of Johnstone, he was held in the highest regard. He maintained friendly relations with all classes of that busy, thriving community—a community that owed its very existence to his father, George Houstoun, the founder of the original village of Johnstone.

It was a charming sight, on many a summer afternoon, to behold the private bowling green of Johnstone Castle, lying to the west of the house with its pleasant southern exposure, framed by clumps of evergreens and shady trees. The townspeople were welcomed there for a quiet game of bowls with the "Laird," as he was affectionately known, and social distinctions faded under his warm and generous manner.

Mr. Houstoun was a Conservative in politics. His son, George, whose untimely death was both a personal tragedy and a loss to the county, represented Renfrewshire in Parliament under the Conservative banner. Yet Mr. Houstoun’s political stance was never obtrusive. A broad-minded man, well-read in history and literature, he looked deeply into the substance of things and thought well beyond the confines of party politics. In the truest sense of the word, he was liberal.

Just as he was modest in his political views, Mr. Houstoun was equally humble in his charity. He gave generously to all manner of causes—charities, educational and religious institutions, and the unnoticed poor—often anonymously, in keeping with the Christian principle of doing alms in secret.

Having lived a long, happy, and virtuous life, the good old county gentleman—the oldest of his class in Renfrewshire—left this world as autumn showed her loveliest colors, with the peace of mind that only a truly good man can possess at life’s end.

He passed away at Johnstone Castle on the 3rd of October, in his 83rd year.

The family’s title now passes to his nephew, George Ludovic Houstoun, a fine boy of fifteen.

The remains of the deceased were interred yesterday in the Abbey burying ground. The funeral procession consisted of a hearse bearing the body and twenty-nine carriages, with all the principal families in the county represented at the occasion.

Note - "Abbey burying ground" refers to the family burial vault in Paisley Abbey and not the Abbey cemetery in Elderslie.

Johnstone Castle

Houstoun Burial Vault in Paisley Abbey (Photo by Gerry K.)