=================================================================(Page 19)Great-Great-GrandfatherWilliam McGinness, the head of the immediate family in America,with which this genealogy has to deal, was the eldest son of afamily of five or six children. He was born in County Down,Ireland, in the latter half of the eighteenth century. The exactdate of his birth has not been ascertained, but evidently it wadsometime between 1750 and 1760. He was married, about the year1780, in County Down, to Martha Wilson, a Scotch woman. Theirdescendents, who are of Scotch-Irish origin, may be found in manyStates if the Union, and many of them have been figuredprominently in military, political, commercial and professionallife. Shortly after the birth of their eldest son, James, Mr.McGinness emigrated to America, and was located, for a time, inLancaster County, Pa., where many of the early immigrant settled.He appears to have come to this country about the year 1782, butthe precise date cannot be stated with certainty. His wife, withher infant son, sailed several months later and, after a perilousvoyage of three months, landed in Philadelphia, where she was metby her husband. They first settled at Carlisle, CumberlandCounty, Pa., where a relative, who had probably immigrated sometime before, was then located. Here they remained a few years,after which they removed to Staunton, in what is now AugustaCounty, Va,. Where they continued to reside a number of years;but on account of slavery existing(Page 20)There, and being sorely opposed to it, they removed fromVirginia, shortly after the year 1796, to what is now FindlayTownship, Allegheny County, Pa., and settled near Cavett's Mills.From there they moved to what is now Shenango Township, CrawfordCounty, Pa., shortly before the formation of that county, in1800, where they purchased a farm of 200 acres, about 14 mileswest of Meadville, in the valley of Shenango, on which theypermanently located, and here continued to reside during theremainder of their lives, being engaged in farming. Mr. McGinnesswas identified with the Seceder church of Crawford County. Butfew details of his life have come down to us, which is greatly tobe regretted, as incidents connected with his pioneer life couldnot fail to be both interesting and instructive. The date of hisdeath has not been ascertained, but it must have been previous tothe year 1817, as the following will show: A deed recorded inCrawford County, Pa., conveying 200 acres of land in Shenangotownship, said county to James McGinness and Adam Stewart,administrators of the estate of William McGinness, deceased, intrust, and for the use of the heirs of said William McGinness, isdated Jan. 10. 1817, and acknowledged before Thomas Atkinson, a'Justice of the Peace' of Crawford County. Consideration, $100.Witnesses: J.A. Blossom and Thomas Atkinson. Signed by WilliamGriffith, of Burlington, New Jersey, and John B. Wallace, ofPhiladelphia, Pa. Attorney, Harm Jan Huidekoper. This propertywas afterwards conveyed to Robert Cotton, of Crawford County,Pa., by deed bearing dater June 16, 1817. Consideration, $ 582.Witnesses: John Phipps and Michael Law. Signed by James McGinnessand Mary his wife; (page 21) John McGinnis and Margaret his wife;William McGinness and Elizabeth his wife. Acknowledged before A.McCurdy, a 'Justice of the Peace' for Allegheny County, Pa. Thishomestead farm is now owned by Mr. Hugh Blair, who, at presentwriting resides on it. Mr. And Mrs. McGinness died on their farmin Crawford County, and were buried in the neighboring graveyard.Five children were born to them vis., James, John, Martha,Elizabeth, and William. They all grew to maturity and hadfamilies.(from photocopy of a book titled 'The McGinness Family' only havepp. 18-21, 98-101, 105 )=================================================================Arived in the States in 1782, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His wifecame later ariving in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Property wasdeeded to their heirs on 1-10-1817. Church Seceder of CrawfordCounty.=================================================================William McGinnis, who was born about the middle of the eighteenthcentury in County Down, Ireland. In 1780 William McGinnis weddedMartha Wilson, an estimable lady of Scotch ancestry, and twoyears later they came to America and settled in Carlisle,Cumberland Co., Pa. After a short sojourn there, he began lookingabout for a suitable location for a home, and made a trial ofStaunton, Va., and Lancaster Co., Pa.; finally in company withhis wife he took up his residence near Cavatt's Mills, AlleghenyCo., Pa., where he lived from 1796 until 1800. In that year Mr.McGinnis bought a 200-acre tract of land in Shenango township,Crawford County, and devoted the greater portion of his remainingyears to clearing the ground of the forest that cumbered it, andgetting the fields in cultivation. He died on this farm inCrawford County in 1817. Mr. McGinnis was a devoted parent, aChristian gentleman, and an active and zealous member of theSeceder's denomination. Five children were born to this pioneercouple, and were named: James; John; Martha; Elizabeth; andWilliam.Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens Lawrence CountyPennsylvania 1897 (Book of Biographies: The Volume containsBiographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Lawrence County,Pennsylvania; Biographical Pub. Co., Buffalo, NY, 1897, pgs. 152-154.)http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/pa/lawrence/1897/mcginnjm.htm==================================================================
