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Matthew McNinch Letter, circa 1861, with introduction by Robert McNinch, 1993 |
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From Meredith (McNinch) Chilson, 5680 County Road 2B, Belmont New York 14813 |
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This Biography by Matthew McNinch was written about 1861. Matthew McNinch was born in |
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Sussex County, New Jersey, on March 3, 1784. He died at Conesus, New York on March 3, 1867. |
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He states in his letter that he had lived in Conesus fifty seven years at the time he wrote his |
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statement. He came to Conesus with his family at the age of eighteen. The original of this |
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statement was hand-written by Matthew. The spelling and phrases are as Matthew wrote them. |
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The original paper is in my possession. |
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[introduction by Robert McNinch, New York, 1993] [see Notes 1 to 8] |
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Matthew McNinch, son of Pattrick McNinch |
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[Matthew McNinch] “son of Pattrick McNinch [sic, two ‘t’s, Note 9], was born in New Jersey, |
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in the County of Sussucks [sic, Sussex County] in the year 1784, March 3rd, at the end of the |
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Revolution war. He moved that same year up to the state of Pennsylvania, in Northumberland |
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County, in the forks of the Susquehanna. My father’s name was Pattrick McNinch [9], he came |
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from Ireland, was born there. My mother’s name was Jane Scott, she came from Ireland also; her |
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father’s name was James Scott. My father and mother were married about the year 1770 or 1771. |
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They were in Ireland when married and soon after embarked for North America. They first settled |
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in New Jersey, then after the war, when the Indians got quiet, they moved up to Pennsylvania in |
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Northumberland County, Torbut Township. We resided there until I was about eighteen years old, |
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then my Father thought to try and better himself. He had six sons and two daughters, of which |
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two were younger than myself. We fixed for moving to the Genesee country. We got about ready |
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to move, my Father got sick, and, it getting late in the fall, he urged the family to start and leave |
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him at his daughter’s. They started, and the second day after, he died. We went on, when we got |
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to the wilderness, it came a great rain, raised the water, made bad roads, and we worked our way |
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through to the headwaters of Tioga, went down that to the mouth, then up Canisteo to the head, |
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and not a bridge on either stream. We had to ford it, sometimes the water [was] so high it about |
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swim the horses and waggon [sic]. So, we were over the worst of the waters; we worked our way |
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on to Dansville [New York], there was one grist mill, David Shutts, one store, one publick house |
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and a few scattering huts over the plane [sic]. |
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There were but few roads here then, and they were poor and rough. We started from Dansville |
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for the head of Conesus lake. We came by the way of Darling haven. Mr. Havens, he kept a |
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publick house. Then we went on up to where Jacob Been now lives. We went on through the |
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woods down to where Hector McKay was just making a beginning. He put us on an old road or |
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rather an Indian path down to the inlet bridge, an old log bridge that I expect Colonel Sulivan |
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built to get his army across. Then we were to the head of Conesus lake, on Henderson flats, |
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where we resided for three years. There were but three families of us white folks at the head of |
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the lake. My mother and her family, Mr. Jacob Durham and his family, Mr. [Benjamin] Himes |
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and his family. Except us three families we had no white neighbors nigher [sic, closer] than three |
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miles of us, but Indians plenty; they were civil and friendly. This was a great place for fishing & |
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hunting, wild game plenty; I recollect one time in particular, it was on Sunday evening, there |
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was about thirty Indians out before the door, some twenty rods from the house, along the creek, |
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McAninch Family History NL, VIII-4 October 2000 Copyright Frank McAninch page 2000-30 |
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