Johnston and his family moved to New Salem and built a residence in 1832. He was a wheelwright, woodworker, and cabinet maker who also repaired furnishings and implements for local residents and made wooden gears for the two mills in town. The Johnstons were Cumberland Presbyterians and regularly attended the Rock Creek camp meetings conducted by Rev. John M. Berry. Mrs. Johnston, who attended many such camp meetings, often experienced a common "spiritual exercise" called "the shakes," in which one's body trembled violently.