William McAninch, Kentucky Pioneer (born before 1765; married 1796 in

Tennessee; Kentucky land 1797-1813; died 1813, Casey County, Kentucky)

Short

William McAninch, Kentucky pioneer, was born before 1765, possibly in Pennsylvania?

Bio

or in Virginia? In 1796, William McAninch (age at least 31) married "Doshia Dosey"

(Laodieca? Ladosha? Ladisha?) (Rawson? Rosson? Rowson? or Dawson?), on October

7th, 1796, in Greene County, (eastern) Tennessee. The records in (eastern) Tennessee

and in the 'knob country' of southern Kentucky clearly show that William McAninch,

Daniel McAninch, and their families were traveling together (from Pennsylvania?).

Shortly after the wedding, William and his family went down the Wilderness Road

north-west through the Cumberland Gap, becoming pioneer settlers in Lincoln County,

Kentucky, in 1797 (William's land became part of Pulaski County, set off in 1799, and

then in Casey County, set off 1807). William McAninch lived in Casey County, in 1810,

and died there in 1813 (age at least 48). In his Will, recorded in Casey County, in 1813,

William McAninch named his wife as executor, and named his five "lawful children"

(five sons: James, Jonathan, William, Samuel, and Jesse) [Notes] [3] [4] [5] [26].

Birth

There are no records of William’s parents, and no records of William’s birth itself,

so, William’s birth (DOB, BP) CANNOT be stated as any specific exact year or place.

Based on the historical evidence available, William’s birth can only be estimated as

"before 1765" (maybe "1750-1765"?). William’s exact birth year cannot be determined,

and there is no evidence for specific-year statements like "born 1765" or "born 1771".

And, of course, any software or online tree that requires one to enter a single specific

birth year (e.g. ancestry.com et al) will always be incorrect and misleading.

Born

Date of Birth (DOB): "born before 1765"; there are few sources for age and/or DOB:

 bef.

1. William is age "45 & over" on the 1810 census, so, he was born before 1765 [22]

 1765

    (Note: "born before 1765", there is no evidence for just saying 'born in 1765')

2. William is 'over 21' on the June 1797 Tax List, Lincoln County, Kentucky [7],

    so, that 1797 Kentucky Tax List list infers that he was 'born before 1776'

    (however, 'born before 1765' per 1810 census is earlier than 'born before 1776')

3. William is 'old enough' to get married in 1796, in (eastern) Tennessee, so, he was

    probably 'over 21' in 1796, which would imply that he was ‘born before 1775’ [5].

    (however, ‘born before 1765’ is still our best estimate).

Unfortunately, none of the other records for William McAninch (recorded deeds, land

survey plots, nor tax lists in three Kentucky counties) give any (other) age information,

and there is no age information in William’s 1813 Will [26].

Birth-

Place of Birth (BP): William was probably born in Pennsylvania, or possibly Virginia?,

 place

or possibly in (northern) Ireland? There are no contemporary sources for William's

birth place during his lifetime, not in any of the marriage records, land deed and survey

records, nor tax records, and not even in his own Will in 1813 [26].

______________________________________________________________________

William McAninch (born before 1765; died 1813, Casey County, Kentucky)

McA. Family. Hist. NL v.XXIX n.1  May 2021  Copyright Frank McAninch  p2021-03

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