Sarah Neel Johnston was the daughter of Col. Thomas and Jean Spratt Neel. She was the wife of David Johnston, Sr. Their children were: Jean, Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah and David, Jr.
Sarah was a woman possessed of unusual courage. In 1779, she rode to Charleston on horseback to recover her slaves whom the British and Tories had stolen after the Battle of Charleston. She made her way, unattended, to Charleston through a wild country, almost completely in the hands of British and Tory allies. She secured her slaves and returned home safely on the Catawba River, present site of Lake Wylie, South Carolina. Tradition tells us that she would camp at night, sitting up half the night guarding and a trusty slave would sit up the other half. Her husband, David, was serving in the Patriot army at this time. Another tradition which has been handed down is of her ride to the battlefield of Kings Mountain, and of her hunting among the dead and wounded for her relatives, and of caring for the wounded. Sarah died September 1, 1836 and is buried at Bethel Church Cemetery.
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