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The purpose of this research is to identify the
man named David Lindsey who lived in Tyrone Township, Westmoreland Co.,
Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary War era. Records show that David Lindsey
lived in this area from 1772 to 1787.[1]
Tyrone Township lay first in Bedford Co., then in Westmoreland Co. when it was
formed in 1773. Bullskin Township was formed from Tyrone when Fayette Co.
came into existence in 1784. David probably lived in the same place during
all the town and county changes. This area was also claimed by Virginia
during the Revolutionary War. Virginia included it as part of Yohogania Co.
Because of the shifting town/county boundaries and the border conflict with Virginia,
I often refer to this region as the Fort Pitt area. Fort Pitt was located at
nearby present day Pittsburgh.
David may have been the man who was written about
in my family tradition as the father of my William Lindsey, Revolutionary War
soldier.[2].
If David was the man in my family tradition, then he was probably part of the
Lindsey family that lived in Frederick Co., Virginia in the mid 1700's. This
family is known as the "Long Marsh" Lindsey's because they owned land there on a
stream by that name.[3]
[4] David probably migrated from Frederick
Co. to the Fort Pitt area before 1770.
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. . . . .
David Lindsey, Landowner
. . . . . |
According to a book on the history of Connellsville, David Lindsey was an early
settler of the area. He was a blacksmith who owned land on the
Youghiogheny River that he later sold to Zachariah Connell, the founder of
Connellsville.[5]
David's land bordered a place on the river that was called
Stewart's Crossing.
The Youghiogheny River was only about three feet deep at that spot, so it was
where the settlers forded the river. The state road ran right through the
property, which made it an ideal location for a blacksmith.
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The shaded area on this warrant map depicts the location of
David Lindsey's land on the Youghiogheny River. Present day Connellsville is
right on the land David Lindsey once owned. In 1787, David sold the land to Zachariah
Connell, who patented the tract as "Mud Island".[6]
Hezekiah Lindsey, who was a son of David Lindsey according to family
tradition, owned land further up Mounts Creek,[7]
the mouth of which is shown on the adjoining parcel just
north of David Lindsey's land. Edmond Lindsey, another son of
David, per family tradition, also owned land in Tyrone,[8]
though I have not located his land as of yet. |
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Many of the early settlers who lived near David
Lindsey had moved to the area from Virginia.
Some of them had been neighbors of the Lindsey family who lived in Frederick Co.
there. Just north of David Lindsey in Tyrone lived William McCormick, who was a
son of Dr. John McCormick. Dr. John McCormick's family lived near the
Lindsey family on Bullskin Run in Frederick Co., VA.[9]
William McCormick married Effie Crawford, a
daughter of Col. William Crawford, also from Frederick Co., who lived right
across the river from David Lindsey at Stewart's Crossing.[10]
Zachariah Connell, who bought up quite a lot of acreage in the area, was also
from Frederick Co, Virginia. Connell's grandmother was Sarah Lindsey, a
daughter of Edmund Lindsey and Abigail Dent, so he may have been a relative of
David Lindsey.[10a]
Zachariah Connell married Rebecca Rice, the daughter of Patrick Rice,
another neighbor of the Lindsey's on the Long Marsh in Frederick Co.[11]
Nathaniel Barrett, who married Abigail Lindsey, a daughter of Thomas Lindsey of
the Long Marsh, also owned land near David Lindsey.[12]
[13]
[14]
So it seems quite possible that David Lindsey might also have been from
Frederick Co.
The date when David settled in the area is not
known, but it must have been at an early time. His parcel of land was in a
prime location on the river. The state road ran through the tract, which
would have made it even more desirable. And of course, the choice parcels were
taken up by the earliest settlers. Col. William Crawford of the 13th VA Regiment
lived right across the river from David Lindsey. Crawford settled on his land in
1765, and brought his family there in 1766.[15] David Lindsey must have also
settled on his land across the river at about this time. By the time the
Pennsylvania Land Office opened up for land sales in 1769, most of the land in
the Fort Pitt area had already been settled on. There was so much
competition for land that the Pennsylvania Proprietary instituted a lottery
system to settle disputes over land that was claimed by more than one settler.[16]
David Lindsey probably acquired his land by
"tomahawk" rights. It seems that David never formalized ownership of his
land, perhaps to save some money on fees. All of the paperwork for the
tract was submitted by Zachariah Connell. It is the 1785 survey for
Connell's adjoining parcel, "Woodstock" that shows David Lindsey as the
adjoining owner of
the tract later patented as "Mud Island" by Connell.[17]
No record of the sale of land by David
Lindsey to Zachariah Connell has been located by this researcher. (Update: A bill of sale has been found, and it proves that David Lindsay was the man who later lived in Harrison County, Kentucky) The grantor index
for Fayette Co. deed books does not list any Lindsey's.[18]
A page by page search of deed books A, B, and C-1 did not reveal any Lindsey
transactions. In Fayette Co. Deed Book C-1, Zachariah Connell had begun
selling lots in Connellsville that had been created by subdividing the "Mud
Island" tract.[19]
I believe that a written record of the sale of the land by David Lindsey to
Zachariah Connell must exist for it to have been written about in the
Connellsville history, but I have yet to locate such a record.
Records in the Pennsylvania Archives show that David Lindsey was taxed for his land in Tyrone
and later in Bullskin in 1773, 1783, 1784, and 1786.[20]
The 1783 record shows that David was taxed for 100 acres, 3 horses, 4 cattle, 9
sheep, and 9 white inhabitants. Edmond Lindsey was also taxed in Tyrone in 1783.[21]
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. . . . .
David Lindsey, Citizen .
. . . . |
In addition to his duties as a local blacksmith, David Lindsey was involved several aspects of
local community affairs. On December 25th, 1772, he signed a petition
along with other leading citizens. The signers pledged money to hire the
Rev. David McClure to come to Stewart's Crossing to preach and minister to the
local settlers. Rev. McClure did subsequently include Stewart's Crossing in the
circuit of communities in which he preached in the Fort Pitt area in 1773.[22]
In 1783, David Lindsey served on a jury
with Edmund Lindsey.[23]
David was Overseer of the Poor for Bullskin in 1784.[24]
He was Supervisor of Roads for Tyrone and Bullskin in 1785.[25]David
served as a witness for the Republic on a trial in 1785. He was a member
of the Grand Inquest later the same year. In 1787, David was a juror
during the March Quarter Sessions of the Fayette Co. court. He served on
three trials which took place on March 22nd and 23rd that session.[25a]
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. . . . .
David Lindsey, Soldier . . . . . |
David was a member of the Westmoreland County
militia during the Revolutionary War. He was a 1st Lieutenant of Capt. James
Torrance's Company of the 3rd Battalion in 1778.[26]
David was also Lieutenant of his own company of rangers on the frontier from
1778-1783.[27]
David signed his name to receive pay for serving in the Westmoreland Co. militia
in 1782.[28]
A record on file at the Pennsylvania Archives shows that David received a
certificate for pay in the Westmoreland Co. militia in 1785.[29]
The military records for David Lindsey of Westmoreland Co. have been attributed
to another man named David Lindsay, who later lived in Harrison Co., Kentucky.
That man has a DAR record which includes military service in Westmoreland Co.[30]
I believe the DAR record to be mistaken because the handwritten signature for
David Lindsey of Westmoreland Co. does not match the handwritten signature of
David Lindsay of Harrison Co.[31]
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. . . . .
Conclusion
. . . . . |
What became of David Lindsey after 1787 is not
known. He may have died in the area, or he may have moved on to somewhere
else as many other people in the area did after the Revolutionary War. As
of this writing, the records suggest, but do not prove conclusively that David
Lindsey was the man written about in my family tradition. Further research
needs to be conducted to positively identify David Lindsey of Westmoreland Co.
Pennsylvania.
The Lindsay Surname DNA project test results place a descendant (#L0059) of my
ancestor, Joshua Lindsey, in DNA Group 2. Joshua (b. 1798) is thought to be the
grandson
of Revolutionary War soldier William Lindsey, and the great-grandson of David
Lindsey, the subject of this research. A descendant of Hezekiah Lindsey,
#L0038, has also been tested and placed in DNA Group 2. Although Group 2
has not yet been proved as descending from the "Long Marsh" Lindsey's, the
inclusion of participants #L00102 and #L00115 certainly suggest that this group
has blood ties to to the Long Marsh group. The earliest proved ancestors of both
of these participants were very likely related to Jacob Lindsey Sr. of Frederick
Co., VA who married Elizabeth Abrell, the daughter of John Abrell of Berkeley
Co., VA. Jacob Lindsey Sr. has been proved a son of Edmond Lindsey (b.
1697), and his wife, Elizabeth Beasley Lindsey.
See: Hardy, Yvonne J. (1999). Jacob Lindsey, Sr.
Identified. Alabama Genealogical Society, Inc. Magazine. Vol.31,
Fall/Winter 1999.
Information about the Lindsay Surname DNA project can be accessed at:
http://www.clanlindsay.com/dna_project.htm
Group 2 DNA information can be found at:
http://www.clanlindsay.com/virginia_lindsay_lineage_dna_grouping.htm
I invite comments, questions, and any information
about David Lindsey and his family. Please contact me at my e-mail
address:
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1.
Timeline of David Lindsey in the Fort
Pitt area. This document contains all the records I have found
concerning David Lindsey in the area of southwest Pennsylvania to date.
Some of these records are for a man named David Lindsey who lived in
Cecil Township, in present day Washington Co. At the time of this
writing, I believe that David Lindsey of Cecil was the Revolutionary War
soldier who married
Mary Casey, and who later lived in Shelby Co., AL.
2.
Lindsay, Margaret I. (1889). Lindsay's of America. Albany, NY:
Joel Munsell's Sons. Facsimile reprint by Heritage Books, Bowie MD: 2002.
Pgs. 218-220.
3.
Thorndale, William. (1974). The Lindsey's of Long Marsh, Shenandoah
Valley, 1733-1770. FHL microfilm #928100.
Item 2. Contact Susan Grabek for a copy of Thorndale's manuscript in
PDF format. 4.
Frederick Co. Deed Book 13, Page 224, 02 March 1770: The
connection between the Lindsey family of the Long Marsh and the
Lindsey's of the Fort Pitt area is a
1770
Frederick County deed of lease and release between Edmond
Lindsey Sr. and Jacob Lindsey of Frederick Co., VA. On
the release, Hezekiah Lindsey is named as an adjoining owner of the parcel
being transferred. Though the relationship between Hezekiah and the
other Long Marsh Lindsey's is not stated in the deed, it seems certain that he
must have been part of this family.
5. McClenathan, M. D. (1906).
Centennial History of the Borough of Connellsville, Pennsylvania,
1806-1906. Columbus, OH: The Champlin Press:
Page 44. The entire book can be
read and downloaded at the Digital Bookshelf at Penn State:
http://apps.libraries.psu.edu/digitalbookshelf/
6.
Pennsylvania Archives. Land Records: Survey Book C,
No. 16, Page 211.
7.
Westmoreland County, PA Deed Book A,
Page 414. FHL Microfilm #0929165. Ezekiah Lindsey to Isaac Meason: 7
Feb. 1783. Location of Hezekiah's land. 8.
Pennsylvania Archives:
Third Series, Volume 22
Pg. 391. In 1783, Edmond Lindsey paid taxes
in Tyrone Township on 200 acres, 2 horses, 2 cattle, 8 sheep, and 9 white
inhabitants. The Pennsylvania Archives can be accessed free of charge at
http://www.footnote.com
9.
MacDonald, Rose Mortimer Ellzey (1979). Clarke
County, a daughter of Frederick: a history of early families and homes.
Berryville, Va.: Blue Ridge Press,
Pgs. 7-8.
Ancestry.com: Fayette County, Pennsylvania, Genealogical
and Personal History [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The
Generations Network, Inc., 2003. Original data: John W. Jordan, ed.
Genealogical and Personal History of Fayette County Pennsylvania.
Vol. I-II. New York, USA: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1912.
Records 1718-1719.
10.
Jordan, John
W. (1912): Records
1718-1719.
10a.
See the attached web page for more
information on the Lindsey ancestors of Zachariah Connell.
11. McClenathan, M. D. (1906).
Page 44. Also: MacDonald, Rose Mortimer Ellzey (1979).
Page 8.
12.
See the warrant map, above, for Nathaniel Barrett's
tract. It is not known if Nathaniel Barrett ever lived on this land.
His name did not appear on any early tax records for the area. The only
record I have found for Nathaniel Barrett in the Fort Pitt area during the
Revolutionary War period was that of a ranger on the frontier named
Nathan Barrett, (PA Archives,
Series 3, Vol. 23, Pg. 216) who may or may not have been the landowner. 13.
Clark, Murtie J. (1999). Colonial Soldiers
of the South, 1732-1774. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co.
Pgs. 286, 292, 294,
405, 421, 423, 590,
597, 604: Nathaniel
Barrett, born in 1736, was in Capt. George Mercer's Company during the French and Indian
War. Barrett was at the Battle of the Great Meadows on July 3, 1754, which took
place in present day Fayette Co., PA.:
http://www.nps.gov/archive/fone/rostercmb.htm
Genealogy.com:
Genealogical Records: Early West Virginia Settlers, 1600s-1900s,
Cabell County Annals and Families, Savage Grant. Pgs. 518-521: In
1772 Nathaniel Barrett received a land grant for his 1754 military
service, which he assigned to Isaac Larue. Isaac Larue owned land in
Hampshire Co., VA that adjoined land of Nathaniel Barrett's
father-in-law, Thomas Lindsey, in 1761. See: Gray, Gertrude E.
(1997). Page 128.
Gray, Gertrude E. (1997). Virginia
Northern Neck Land Grants, 1742-1775, Vol. 2. Baltimore, MD:
Genealogical Publishing Co. Pgs.123, 198: In 1761, Col. George Mercer
was a resident of Frederick Co., VA. He
owned land on the Shenandoah River in 1768, where he was a neighbor of
Isaac Mason (Isaac Meason, who later lived in the Fort Pitt area) and Thomas Speake (husband of Sarah
Lindsey, the daughter of John Lindsey. John, b. abt.
1708, was an early settler of Frederick Co. He is believed to have been
the brother of Edmond Lindsey Sr.). See Thorndale, William (1974).
Letter One, Page 9.
14.
Brown, Ferrell A.
(1970). The Lindseys: A Genealogy of Thomas and Mary Lindsey and Their
Descendants. Point Lookout, MO: School of Ozarks Press. (FHL
Microfilm #1698042) Pgs.
xii-xiii.: Nathaniel
Barrett was mentioned in Thomas Lindsey's 1769 will in Frederick Co., VA
as Thomas' son-in-law. Although Thomas named his son-in-law in his
will rather than his daughter, it is believed that Abigail was her given name.
Abigail Barot was on the
1790 census
for Wilkes Co., North Carolina. She lived next to Richard
Allen, the husband of Thomas Lindsey's daughter, Nancy Lindsey Allen.
Richard Allen was also named as a son-in-law in Thomas Lindsey's will.
Thomas stated that his daughter, Mary Turner, was living in Carolina when
he wrote his will. Several Turner's lived near Abigail Barot in
Wilkes Co., NC in 1790.
15.
McClenathan, M. D. (1906). Pg. 29
16.
McClenathan, M. D. (1906). Pg. 28 A
detailed explanation of the 1769 land lottery, with information about all
of the entries, and a complete listing of names of all those who entered
certificates can be found in: McCrea, Kenneth D. (2003).
Pennsylvania Land Applications Volume 2: New Purchase Applications
1769-1773,. Philadelphia, PA: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania: http://www.genpa.org/pubs_PALand.html
17. Pennsylvania Archives. Land Records: Survey Book C,
No. 25, Page 190
18.
Fayette County, Pennsylvania Recorder of Deeds. Grantor Index A1-B1
1784-1927. (FHL Microfilm
#862189)
19.
Fayette County, Pennsylvania Recorder of Deeds. Deeds v. C1-C2
1793-1797. (FHL Microfilm #863548)
20.
Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series,
Volume 22.
In 1783, David Lindsey paid
taxes in Tyrone Township on 100 acres, 3 horses, 4 cattle, 9 sheep, and 9
white inhabitants. The Pennsylvania Archives can be accessed free of
charge at
http://www.footnote.com
21.
Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series, Volume 22,
Pg. 391.
22.
Rauner Special Collections Library at Dartmouth
College Library: McClure MS. 772675:
1772 petition signed at Stewart's Crossing.
23.
Minute Book
A, Westmoreland County, July Session 1783, Page 72. ( From “Old
Westmoreland, the History and Genealogy of Westmoreland Co. Pennsylvania.”
Vol. 2, Num. 3, Aug. 1982. Pg. 28.) Lee
of William Robinson vs. Zachariah Connell with William McCormick.
Ejectment suit.
Edmund Lindsey was also on the jury, which found for the defendants.
24.
Ellis, Franklin (1882)
History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania: with biographical sketches of
many of its pioneers and prominent men.
Philadelphia, PA :
L.H. Everts & Co.,
Pg. 492:
http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pitttext&cc=pitttext&idno=00aft2784m&node=00aft2784m%3A33&frm=frameset&view=image&seq=596
25.
Ellis, Franklin (1882). Pg.790:
http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pitttext&cc=pitttext&idno=00aft2784m&node=00aft2784m%3A33&frm=frameset&view=image&seq=1050
25a.
Fayette County
(Pennsylvania) Prothonotary (Main Author). Orphans' Court
docket, 1783-1802 and minutes of the Court of General Quarter Sessions of
the Peace, 1783-1808. FHL microfilm
#1449107. Pages are unnumbered.
Images
26.
Pennsylvania Archives, Sixth Series, Volume 2,
Page 280 The
Pennsylvania Archives can be accessed free of charge at
http://www.footnote.com
27. Pennsylvania Archives,
Third Series, Volume 23, Page 314
28. Pennsylvania Archives,
Sixth Series, Volume 2,
Page 353
29. Pennsylvania Archives Online
Search Engine: David Lindsay in Westmoreland County, PA.,
military pay certificate.
http://www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us/
30. National Society Daughters
of the American Revolution (2003). DAR Patriot Index, Vol. II.
Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, Inc. Page 1655: The
DAR
record of David Lindsay of Harrison Co., Kentucky.
31. The
signatures of David Lindsey of Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania and David
Lindsay of Harrison Co., Kentucky.
This page was updated on 10-20-2013
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