Birth

Family stories may say "born 1765, Greene, Tennessee", or "born in Greene County,

Myths

Tennessee, in 1771", and/or "born in the early 1770's in Kentucky", although analysis

of the historical records shows that those statements cannot be accurate.

1. William was born before 1765, long before Kentucky or Tennessee became states:

    a. Kentucky became our 15th state in 1792 (originally, western territory of Virginia);

    b. Greene County, North Carolina ("Greene", not "Green"), was originally created

        on 17 May 1783, set off from Washington County, North Carolina;

    c. Tennessee became our 16th state in 1796, at which time Greene County became

        Greene County, Tennessee (Tennessee was originally the western territory of N.C.).

2. William was married 7 Oct. 1796, in Greene County, eastern Tennessee, shortly

    before migrating through the Cumberland Gap from Tennessee into Kentucky [5].

Only two of William’s children (his two youngest sons, Samuel and Jesse) lived long

enough to be enumerated in the 1880 census, which was the first census that asked each

person where his or her parents had been born. And, in the 1880 census, 67 years after

William's death in 1813, both of his two youngest sons, Samuel, age 74 [20] (1880),

and Jesse, age 69 [24] (1880), said 'father born Kentucky' and 'mother born Kentucky'.

Samuel and Jesse were both born in Kentucky, and knew their parents 'from Kentucky';

however, we can be sure that William 'born before 1765' was NOT born in Kentucky.

The land area of present-day Kentucky was Virginia territory before 1792, and, if

William (born before 1765),had actually been born in the Virginia area of present-day

Kentucky, then William would be named in all of the history books as one of the first

white children born in the ‘over mountain’ Indian country west of the Appalachians.

So, could William have been born in 1771, or born sometime early in the 1770s?

Possibly, if the 1810 census was wrong (we do not know who gave the information).

However, was he born in the Indian country (Kentucky or Tennessee)? Certainly not.

1780s

There were multiple pioneer McA/Ninch’s in early western Pennsylvania [1] [2].

  and

Two of these, Daniel McAninch (b.1748-1750) and William McAninch (b.bef.1765),

1790s

were probably related (brothers?, cousins? unknown), and traveled together down the

Great Valley of the Shenandoah River and through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky.

1780s

William’s oldest son, James McAninch, was born before 1786

(where was William McAninch in the 1780s? Pennsylvania? Virginia? Tennessee?)

1. James is '1 white male over 21' on the 1808 land entry (implies born before 1786)

    (15 Apr. 1808, 153 acres, Fishing Creek, white male over 21, 1 horse). [10] (James)

2. James 'born before 1784' per 1810 census ("1 male, 26-45") [22],

3. and James is an adult witness with expenses paid in an 1810 court case [23].

Myths

James was not "born 1797 Kentucky" (if born 1797, he would be only 10 or 11 in 1808,

vs. ‘over 21’ on the 1808 tax record, and he would be only 12 or 13 in the 1810 records).

______________________________________________________________________

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

McA. Family. Hist. NL v.XXIX n.1  May 2021  Copyright Frank McAninch  p2021-04

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