m27p03wr

Daniel McAninch 1770s to 1790, Pennsylvania

This is the early story of Daniel McAninch working his way westward across Pennsylvania, from

colonial times, through the time of the American Revolution, and to the first U.S. census in 1790.

Daniel lived in Cumberland County, 1770-1786, and married Mary Smith there, on 11 June 1776.

Daniel McAninch was born ca.1748-1749 (b.bef.1750) [Note 1], in (northern) Ireland [Note 2].

The exact birth date and place are unknown; nothing is known about his parents, nor any siblings

(if he had any brothers or sisters), and nothing is known about his early years in (northern) Ireland.

During the 1700’s there were many large scale migrations of Ulster-Scots to America [Note 3].

At that time, the British Crown ruled the entire island of Ireland, and our original 13 Colonies in

North America. Daniel probably crossed the Atlantic to colonial Pennsylvania in the late 1760’s

probably through Philadelphia’s port, although no records have been found there (yet) [Note 4].

Daniel McAninch and Surname Spellings

McAninch(ck) McNinch McNench(McNeneh) McNisch (McNinch,McNisah) (and not McC~’s):

At that time in history, our names were spoken (almost certainly in Gaelic), and then hand-written

by educated, English-speaking people, including ministers, tax clerks, court clerks, and judges.

Of course, these people wrote down our surnames phonetically, according to what each person

thought they heard at the time, leading to numerous variations in the transcriptions of our names.

Multiple McCamish / McCarni(sh/sk), McCannish, McCandish / McCandlish, McConaughey,

and McConne(l/ll) family names are found on the tax lists in this area, always written as McC~’s;

their first names include Adam, John, Joshua, Samuel, and William, but not Daniel (nor David).

So, there is no confusion among the various McA/N~ or McC~ entries on the township tax lists.

Also, a Daniel McEntire appears on the Bedford County Tax Lists, 1781-1782, in Turkeyfoot

Township (present-day Somerset County); the name is clearly written McEntire, not McA/N~,

and, at the same time, our Daniel McAninch is over the hill in north-eastern Cumberland County,

in Hamilton Township (1779), and then in Rye Township (1785, and 1786) [Note 5]

In the 1770’s, Daniel McAninch McNinch McNench(McNeneh) McNisch (McNinch,McNisah)

is of the right age (on the "Freemen" tax lists, and for a first marriage in 1776), and Daniel is in

the right places (Cumberland County, Bedford County, and Westmoreland County), on track

moving westward with the Ulster-Scots (Scotch-Irish) on the frontiers of colonial Pennsylvania.

______________________________________________________________________

McAninch Family History Newsletter v.XXVII n.1 June 2019 p.2019-03