REVOLUTIONARY WAR VETERAN
ELDEST SON OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR VETERAN MAJ. RICHARD MCDONALD
RESEARCH BY LAURENCE OVERMIRE, MCDONALD FAMILY HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR, JUNE 2018:
According to family tradition handed down in a blueprint made about 1912 by William's grandson, John McDonald (1834-1913), who must have known his grandfather quite well and was a witness to the signing of William R. McDonald's will:
"Wm R McDonald served a short time in Revolutionary army but was given his discharge by Gen Washington because, being the eldest child in a large family Gen Washington thought that he ought to be at home to take care of the younger children while his father was away in the army."
This family tradition that William R. McDonald served for a short time in the Revolutionary War is probably true. After all, John McDonald would have heard the story directly from William himself. In fact, military rosters show an unidentified William McDonald who served in Capt. Andrew McMyers Company of the First Battalion (1st New Jersey Regiment), First Establishment. This regiment was organized in Dec. 1775 at Elizabethtown and Perth Amboy from Somerset, Middlesex, Morris, Monmouth, Essex and Bergen counties. William would have been only about 15 years old at the time, but that was not all that unusual in the Revolution. Furthermore, the tradition that Gen. George Washington himself may have encouraged the young William to stay home also bears the ring of truth. There is little doubt that William's father Maj. Richard McDonald and his grandfather Col. William McDonald must have known Washington personally and worked with him and his high-ranking officers during the war.
After his wife's death, William's daughter Abigail took care of him in his declining years. They appear together in the 1850 census in Ohio, Herkimer Co., NY. William signed his last will and testament on 14 May 1851. At the time he was living in Russell Twp., Geauga Co., OH. Apparently, William and his daughter Abigail moved to Crawford Co., PA, not long after. Vital Records say William died of "old age and fever" on 21 May 1853 at the age of 92 in Beaver Twp., Crawford Co., PA. Abigail apparently died a little over a year later between 11 and 21 Sept. 1854. The burial places of William and Abigail, however, are still unknown.
Sources:
1) "William R. and Abigail (Fowler) McDonald of Herkimer County, New York, and Their Descendants," by Laurence Overmire (Indelible Mark Publishing, imarkbooks.com, 2015). Available only as an e-book on Kindle at Amazon.
2) "A Revolutionary American Family: The McDonalds of Somerset County, New Jersey," by Laurence Overmire (Indelible Mark Publishing, imarkbooks.com, 2015).
3) Pennysylvania Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993
4) Crawford County, PA, Vital & Court Records
5) 1850 federal census, Ohio, Herkimer, New York
6) Blueprint containing the family historical tradition and research of John McDonald (1834-1913) as handed down from William R. McDonald, c. 1912 (courtesy of Bart and Corey McDonald)
ELDEST SON OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR VETERAN MAJ. RICHARD MCDONALD
RESEARCH BY LAURENCE OVERMIRE, MCDONALD FAMILY HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR, JUNE 2018:
According to family tradition handed down in a blueprint made about 1912 by William's grandson, John McDonald (1834-1913), who must have known his grandfather quite well and was a witness to the signing of William R. McDonald's will:
"Wm R McDonald served a short time in Revolutionary army but was given his discharge by Gen Washington because, being the eldest child in a large family Gen Washington thought that he ought to be at home to take care of the younger children while his father was away in the army."
This family tradition that William R. McDonald served for a short time in the Revolutionary War is probably true. After all, John McDonald would have heard the story directly from William himself. In fact, military rosters show an unidentified William McDonald who served in Capt. Andrew McMyers Company of the First Battalion (1st New Jersey Regiment), First Establishment. This regiment was organized in Dec. 1775 at Elizabethtown and Perth Amboy from Somerset, Middlesex, Morris, Monmouth, Essex and Bergen counties. William would have been only about 15 years old at the time, but that was not all that unusual in the Revolution. Furthermore, the tradition that Gen. George Washington himself may have encouraged the young William to stay home also bears the ring of truth. There is little doubt that William's father Maj. Richard McDonald and his grandfather Col. William McDonald must have known Washington personally and worked with him and his high-ranking officers during the war.
After his wife's death, William's daughter Abigail took care of him in his declining years. They appear together in the 1850 census in Ohio, Herkimer Co., NY. William signed his last will and testament on 14 May 1851. At the time he was living in Russell Twp., Geauga Co., OH. Apparently, William and his daughter Abigail moved to Crawford Co., PA, not long after. Vital Records say William died of "old age and fever" on 21 May 1853 at the age of 92 in Beaver Twp., Crawford Co., PA. Abigail apparently died a little over a year later between 11 and 21 Sept. 1854. The burial places of William and Abigail, however, are still unknown.
Sources:
1) "William R. and Abigail (Fowler) McDonald of Herkimer County, New York, and Their Descendants," by Laurence Overmire (Indelible Mark Publishing, imarkbooks.com, 2015). Available only as an e-book on Kindle at Amazon.
2) "A Revolutionary American Family: The McDonalds of Somerset County, New Jersey," by Laurence Overmire (Indelible Mark Publishing, imarkbooks.com, 2015).
3) Pennysylvania Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993
4) Crawford County, PA, Vital & Court Records
5) 1850 federal census, Ohio, Herkimer, New York
6) Blueprint containing the family historical tradition and research of John McDonald (1834-1913) as handed down from William R. McDonald, c. 1912 (courtesy of Bart and Corey McDonald)
REVOLUTIONARY WAR VETERAN
ELDEST SON OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR VETERAN MAJ. RICHARD MCDONALD
RESEARCH BY LAURENCE OVERMIRE, MCDONALD FAMILY HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR, JUNE 2018:
According to family tradition handed down in a blueprint made about 1912 by William's grandson, John McDonald (1834-1913), who must have known his grandfather quite well and was a witness to the signing of William R. McDonald's will:
"Wm R McDonald served a short time in Revolutionary army but was given his discharge by Gen Washington because, being the eldest child in a large family Gen Washington thought that he ought to be at home to take care of the younger children while his father was away in the army."
This family tradition that William R. McDonald served for a short time in the Revolutionary War is probably true. After all, John McDonald would have heard the story directly from William himself. In fact, military rosters show an unidentified William McDonald who served in Capt. Andrew McMyers Company of the First Battalion (1st New Jersey Regiment), First Establishment. This regiment was organized in Dec. 1775 at Elizabethtown and Perth Amboy from Somerset, Middlesex, Morris, Monmouth, Essex and Bergen counties. William would have been only about 15 years old at the time, but that was not all that unusual in the Revolution. Furthermore, the tradition that Gen. George Washington himself may have encouraged the young William to stay home also bears the ring of truth. There is little doubt that William's father Maj. Richard McDonald and his grandfather Col. William McDonald must have known Washington personally and worked with him and his high-ranking officers during the war.
After his wife's death, William's daughter Abigail took care of him in his declining years. They appear together in the 1850 census in Ohio, Herkimer Co., NY. William signed his last will and testament on 14 May 1851. At the time he was living in Russell Twp., Geauga Co., OH. Apparently, William and his daughter Abigail moved to Crawford Co., PA, not long after. Vital Records say William died of "old age and fever" on 21 May 1853 at the age of 92 in Beaver Twp., Crawford Co., PA. Abigail apparently died a little over a year later between 11 and 21 Sept. 1854. The burial places of William and Abigail, however, are still unknown.
Sources:
1) "William R. and Abigail (Fowler) McDonald of Herkimer County, New York, and Their Descendants," by Laurence Overmire (Indelible Mark Publishing, imarkbooks.com, 2015). Available only as an e-book on Kindle at Amazon.
2) "A Revolutionary American Family: The McDonalds of Somerset County, New Jersey," by Laurence Overmire (Indelible Mark Publishing, imarkbooks.com, 2015).
3) Pennysylvania Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993
4) Crawford County, PA, Vital & Court Records
5) 1850 federal census, Ohio, Herkimer, New York
6) Blueprint containing the family historical tradition and research of John McDonald (1834-1913) as handed down from William R. McDonald, c. 1912 (courtesy of Bart and Corey McDonald)
ELDEST SON OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR VETERAN MAJ. RICHARD MCDONALD
RESEARCH BY LAURENCE OVERMIRE, MCDONALD FAMILY HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR, JUNE 2018:
According to family tradition handed down in a blueprint made about 1912 by William's grandson, John McDonald (1834-1913), who must have known his grandfather quite well and was a witness to the signing of William R. McDonald's will:
"Wm R McDonald served a short time in Revolutionary army but was given his discharge by Gen Washington because, being the eldest child in a large family Gen Washington thought that he ought to be at home to take care of the younger children while his father was away in the army."
This family tradition that William R. McDonald served for a short time in the Revolutionary War is probably true. After all, John McDonald would have heard the story directly from William himself. In fact, military rosters show an unidentified William McDonald who served in Capt. Andrew McMyers Company of the First Battalion (1st New Jersey Regiment), First Establishment. This regiment was organized in Dec. 1775 at Elizabethtown and Perth Amboy from Somerset, Middlesex, Morris, Monmouth, Essex and Bergen counties. William would have been only about 15 years old at the time, but that was not all that unusual in the Revolution. Furthermore, the tradition that Gen. George Washington himself may have encouraged the young William to stay home also bears the ring of truth. There is little doubt that William's father Maj. Richard McDonald and his grandfather Col. William McDonald must have known Washington personally and worked with him and his high-ranking officers during the war.
After his wife's death, William's daughter Abigail took care of him in his declining years. They appear together in the 1850 census in Ohio, Herkimer Co., NY. William signed his last will and testament on 14 May 1851. At the time he was living in Russell Twp., Geauga Co., OH. Apparently, William and his daughter Abigail moved to Crawford Co., PA, not long after. Vital Records say William died of "old age and fever" on 21 May 1853 at the age of 92 in Beaver Twp., Crawford Co., PA. Abigail apparently died a little over a year later between 11 and 21 Sept. 1854. The burial places of William and Abigail, however, are still unknown.
Sources:
1) "William R. and Abigail (Fowler) McDonald of Herkimer County, New York, and Their Descendants," by Laurence Overmire (Indelible Mark Publishing, imarkbooks.com, 2015). Available only as an e-book on Kindle at Amazon.
2) "A Revolutionary American Family: The McDonalds of Somerset County, New Jersey," by Laurence Overmire (Indelible Mark Publishing, imarkbooks.com, 2015).
3) Pennysylvania Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993
4) Crawford County, PA, Vital & Court Records
5) 1850 federal census, Ohio, Herkimer, New York
6) Blueprint containing the family historical tradition and research of John McDonald (1834-1913) as handed down from William R. McDonald, c. 1912 (courtesy of Bart and Corey McDonald)
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