David E. (David Emmons) Johnston

Born in 1845, he built a varied career as a lawyer, editor, and Democratic politician in West Virginia. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1890s, but he is also remembered for his interest in regional history and for preserving stories of early settlement in the New River area.

His best-known book, A History of Middle New River Settlements and Contiguous Territory, reflects that lasting interest. Rather than writing in a distant academic style, he gathered local traditions, family histories, and accounts of frontier life, creating a work that remains valuable to readers curious about Appalachian and West Virginia history.

He died in 1917. Today, his work stands out for the way it connects public life with local memory, giving modern readers a detailed look at the people and places that shaped his corner of the American South.