=================================================================(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==================================================================
