The colonists in America continued to use British monetary units, the pound, shilling and pence,

where one pound sterling £1 = 20s and 1s = 12d (pence). Also, each colony printed its own notes

and currency, co-existing in general circulation with both British sterling and Spanish dollars

(reales, 'pieces of eight'). Some of the exchange rates reported in the later colonial period were

1 Spanish dollar (eight 'pieces of eight') = 4s 6d (54d) British = 7s 6d (90d) Pennsylvania, and

1 pound sterling £1 (240d) British = £1 13s 4d (400d) Pennsylvania colonial pounds [Note 13].


Daniel McAninch, Cumberland County, Peters Township, 1770

(1770)  Cumberland County: Daniel McNi(n/s)ch (Mc(A)ninch? McNisah?) appears on the list

of Peters Township, list of "Peters Freemen 1770": “McNisch (sic), Daniel" "Peters Rates 1770"

"P(ers?) Tax" 15 "County Tax" 9 (prob. 15d, 9d, in pence?). "Freeman" meant a single, free man

(not an indentured servant, nor slave), at least 21 years of age, not a "landholder" nor "freeholder"

(whereas Property Taxes were assessed on acreage, horses, cows, etc.) [Notes 10, 10.a, 10.f, 12].


(1771)  Bedford County, set off 9 Mar. 1771 from Cumberland County, with all of south-western

Pennsylvania (present-day Westmoreland, Allegheny, Armstrong, and other counties). [7, p.30]


(1771)  The six 'original townships' transferred into Bedford County were [Notes 8, 14, 15]

Ayr Township (created 1754) (now part of present-day Fulton County, adjacent to Franklin Co.)

Barree (created 1767) (now northern half of Blair Co. and western two-thirds of Huntingdon Co.)

Bedford Twp. (1767) (now the western half of Bedford County and southern half of Blair County)

Colerain (1767) (now western side of Fulton Co. and nearly the whole eastern half of Bedford Co.)

Cumberland (Valley) Twp. (1767) (occupied the southwest corner of present-day Bedford Co.)

Dublin (1767) (now the northeast corner of Fulton County and eastern third of Huntingdon Co.)


(1772)  York County, runaway servants Daniel M'Anitinie (sic) and James M'Cormick.[Note 16].

Although Peters Township is close to York County, it is very unlikely that Daniel, a "freeman" in

1770, would become an (indentured) servant the next year, and then escape, becoming a fugitive.

The only clue is the spelling in the newspaper; the printer set the type from some earlier source,

not available today. The "M'Anitinie", "McAnitinie", and "MacAnitinie" spellings are not found

anywhere else in colonial Pennsylvania. The name "McAintiear" does appear in York County tax

records [Note 17]. Also, there are many other names that, when spoken in rough gaelic, could be

mis-transcribed with the ‘an’, ‘t’ and/or ‘ie’ sounds, including McAnally, McCantish, McAnulty,

McCarthy, McCartney, McClatchey, McCutcheon, McKnightley, McLachlen, Mc(E/I)ntire . . .


______________________________________________________________________

Daniel McAninch 1770s to 1790, Pennsylvania             Copyright 2019, Frank McAninch

McAninch Family History Newsletter           v.XXVII n.1           June 2019          p.2019-05


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