John McCurdy
Husband John McCurdy
Born: Abt 1700 - (Ireland) Christened: Died: Mar 1761 - (Cumberland Co., Pa) Buried:Marriage:
Wife
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
Children
1 M David McCurdy
Born: Abt 1728 1 Christened: Died: Abt 1796 - Elbert Co., Georgia Buried:Spouse: Agnes Weakley (Abt 1732-Bef 1795) 1 Marr: 10 Mar 1752 - Yellow Breeches, York Co., Pennsylvania 2
2 M John McCurdy Jr.
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
3 M William McCurdy
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
4 M James McCurdy
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
5 M Samuel McCurdy
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
6 M Joseph McCurdy
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
7 M Moses McCurdy
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
8 M Robert McCurdy
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
9 F Jannet McCurdy
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
10 F Martha McCurdy
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
11 F Mary McCurdy
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
12 F Jean McCurdy
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
General Notes: Husband - John McCurdy
The following information is from the book McCurdy Pioneers of North America by Clyde W. McCurdy and published in 1990. Some parts are quoted in their entirety and others are summarized.
In Chapter 2, the author indicates that Scotch-Irish immigration to America began on a significant scale in 1718, first to Massachusetts and then very soon, because of a scarcity of land in Massachusetts, primarily to Pennsylvania. Chapter 3 is about the immigrant John McCurdy. The first documentary evidence that we have on John McCurdy tells us that he was living in Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1732. His arrival in the New World could have been at any time between 1718 and 1732.
"We have no documentation that tells us this is the same John McCurdy who appears in the 1730 baptismal records in Boston when he had a daughter named Jannet baptized. However, John McCurdy in Chester County did have a daughter named Jannet and it appears she would have been born in 1730 or before. A genealogist who researched records in Massachusetts and New Hampshire concluded that John McCurdy must have left the Boston area about 1731, since no tax records or land records were found on him.
"Early land records in Pennsylvania were well kept and almost all of them are on file at the archives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The first land transaction by John McCurdy is dated May 29, 1736, in which he took out a warrant for two hundred and fifty acres of land in Chester County. This original warrant is on file in Harrisburg and has the information that John had settled on this land before August, 1732."
A facsimile copy of John McCurdy's warrant is on page 43 of the book, and a transciption is provided below. An immigrant who wished to settle on land in Pennsylvania requested authorization from the colony's land office and was given a warrant for some number of acres. After having chosen an unoccupied tract, he presented the warrant to a surveyor, who established precise boundaries for the quantity of land granted. After paying for the survey, the immigrant was supposed to return it to the land office, pay the going rate, and have the land patented. Once the land was patented to him, it was legally his -- to keep or sell or bequeath or whatever. These procedures were not always followed; squatters sometimes settled on land with no authorization. Moreover, warrants were negociable instruments. Someone who obtained a warrant might hold it for several years and then sell it to someone else, who would choose a tract and have it surveyed on the basis of the purchased warrant. A warrant might pass through several hands before being acted upon.
"William Penn died in 1718 and left his interests in Pennsylvainia to his four sons. The land office was closed from 1718 until August 1732, when the Penn brothers took over. This is the reason John McCurdy's warrant had the notation that he had been settled on the land before August, 1732. In the period between 1718 and 1732, James Logan, who was William Penn's secretary, was in charge of the land office and sent some of the people out to settle on the land without warrants. They were supposed to take out a warrant after the land office reopened.
"John McCurdy also took out a warrant for twenty-five acres of land on November 26, 1747, that adjoined the two hundred and fifty acres he had surveyed in 1736. The information on these two warrants, along with two court cases on John McCurdy in Chester County dated November 1752, and May 1755, tell us that John McCurdy and his family lived on this land for about twenty-three years. The court case document in 1752 states John is of Chester County, and the court case document in 1755 states John is late of Chester County, indicating he moved prior to May 1755.
"John McCurdy sold his two warrants, along with all buildings and improvements of the land, to Walter Hood on April 21, 1758. The original warrants were returned to the land office and it was not until January 16, 1765, that a new warrant was issued to Walter Hood for this land. John McCurdy had moved to Allen Township in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, which is approximately sixty miles west of his homestead in Chester County. It is likely that his second son John McCurdy Jr. lived on the old homestead for a few years, because the old Chester County tax lists show that tax was paid on the property by John McCurdy through 1758.
The location of John McCurdy's land in Chester County was approximately thirty-five miles southwest of Philadelphia and only five or six miles from the Lancaster County line."
His small plantation was called 'Greenwood', and on page 49 there is a very nice copy of a surveyor's map showing the exact dimensions and the names of the owners of adjoining property. The shape was rather irregular, and a famous road called 'The Limestone Road' ran through the middle of it. Before the arrival of Europeans a frequently travelled Indian trail ran from the Pequea Valley to the headwaters of Chesapeake Bay. It ran on a ridge and did not cross a single stream of water. With improvement it became an important road for early settlers and was called The Limestone Road. It still exists today and is called by the same name.
"We know from estate records in Cumberland County, that John McCurdy had twelve children, eight sons and four daughters whose names were: David, John Jr., William, James, Samuel, Joseph, Moses, Robert, Jannet (Jennet), Martha, Mary and Jean. These names appear in four or five documents, but never in the same order, although David, John Jr. and William are known to be the three oldest sons and Jannet (sometimes written Jennet) is always listed first among the daughters. It is also known from these documents that John McCurdy was married twice and that his second wife was much younger than he was. The second marriage may have been at about the time he moved from Chester County to Cumberland County. One document also indicates that two of his children were from this marriage, because Jean who is thought to be the youngest daughter is referred to as a full sister of Robert.
"John McCurdy's first wife is unknown and the last name of Margaret, his second wife, is unknown, but we do know that after John died, Margaret later married James Silver by whom she had three sons: James, William, and John. Her second husband, James Silver, died in 1776, and she remarried for the third time, in 1787, to William Patton.
"Chester County, Pennsylvania, where most of John McCurdy's children grew up, was one of three original counties of Pennsylvania. When William Penn founded the colony in 1682, the first three counties were Bucks, Philadelphia, and Chester. The fourth county, Lancaster, was formed in 1729, and it then comprised all the territory west and north of Chester County. The fifth county, York, was formed in 1749 from parts of Lancaster; and the sixth county, Cumberland, was formed in 1750 from parts of Lancaster and York. It was to the frontiers of these early counties that the Scotch-Irish settlers were sent. They would become a barrier between the Indians and the more settled area along the Delaware and at Philadelphia.
"The old land documents, court cases, and inventory of his estate, tell us a lot about John McCurdy and his family. In one document he is referred to as John McCurdy "Cordwainer," which is an archaic word for a shoemaker or a worker in leather. In another doucument he is referred to as John McCurdy "Yeoman," which is a word used at that time to describe a gentleman farmer; one who is possessed of a small estate of land one class below the gentry. In the inventory of his estate are listed a bible and other books, a shoemaker seat and tools, a sundial, a pair of toothdrawers, and many other interesting items of farm equipment and household goods."
Seven sickles for cutting wheat are in the inventory of his estate. He probably raised mostly wheat and rye. It is stated that in 1758 John McCurdy sold to Walter Hood the two warrants to his land in Chester Co. Many years had passed since John McCurdy obtained those warrants, and it is not clear why that land had not been patented to him.
"The age of John McCurdy may be determined by the age of his eldest son David, which is given in records of the Big Spring Presbyterian Church in Cumberland County. These records are found in the book, "History of the Big Spring Presbyterian Church", published at Newville, Pennsylvania, in 1898. The records were kept by the Reverend Samuel Wilson, pastor of the Big Spring Presbyterian Church from June 20, 1787, to March 4, 1799. Reverend Wilson made lists of members by the district they lived in and gave the age of each member. From known ages of some of the members listed, we can tell the lists were made in the period 1787-1788. David McCurdy's age is given as 60 which tells us he was born in 1727 or 1728. This indicates John McCurdy was married in 1726 or before. The conclusion is to place his birth between 1700 and 1705, although he could have been a little older."
A lot is known about the descendents of John's eldest son David, but very little is known about his other children. The records of the Cumberland County Orphans Court indicate that Moses McCurdy and his wife died young leaving a daughter named Catherine, and there are a few other references in the public records. A lot is known about the family of the John McCurdy who married Mary Fox and had 12 children including the Rev. Elisha McCurdy, a well-known Presbyterian minister in western Pennsylvania, and some people believe that he is the same person as John McCurdy, Jr., son of our John McCurdy, but there is no clear evidence to support that belief. There were other McCurdy families in Pennsylvania in the 1730's and 40's but there is no evidence that they were related to John McCurdy.
"John McCurdy moved to Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, about 1755, but only lived there a few years before he died in April 1761. He must have had a sudden death because he did not leave a will, and since some of his children were very young, the estate was turned over to the Orphans Court of Cumberland County. This resulted in many years of litigation that provides numerous documents which help those working on a genealogy. The estate was not completely settled until 1790, a period of almost twenty-nine years."
The administrators of the estate were John McCurdy, Jr. and his mother Margaret McCurdy, and the inventory which they presented to the court is dated April 8, 1761. Letters of administration had been issued to Margaret on April 2, and the items in the inventory were sold at auction on April 17. According to law and custom at the time, when a person died without a will the real estate went to the eldest son. David McCurdy claimed the land, and apparently some members of the family lived there until the final settlement in 1790. The first settlement was made in 1781, twenty years after John's death, in the Orphans Court, when cash in the hands of the administrators from the sale of the inventory and from the collection of debts owed to John was distributed to the heirs. The amount was £88 4d 10p and included £4 2p received from Walter Hood which he still owed for the warrants and home which he purchased from John McCurdy in Chester Co. The eldest son David received 2 shares, the widow three, and the other heirs one share apiece.
"The last court document dated March 13, 1790, gives us information on the names of the husbands of three of John's daughters, and also tells us that by this date sons William, Joseph, Moses, and daughter Jean have died. Mary is not on this list and may also have died.
"The final settlement had been made after the eldest son David McCurdy signed a deed of release on a tract of land called "Spotsylvania" containing 246 acres to his brother Robert McCurdy. This deed was signed by David McCurdy and his wife Agnes on January 21, 1790. Robert had agreed to pay to the heirs a total of £544 3d 3p to get title to the land. David and John Jr. each received £68 16d and the other heirs each received £34 8d. This deed of release is important to us, since it gives the genealogical information that David McCurdy, the eldest son, was married to Agnes Weakley."
WARRANT for 250 ACRES in CHESTER COUNTY:
On page 43 is a facsimile copy of the warrant for John McCurdy's first grant of 250 acres in Chester Co. It is addressed to Benjamin Eastburn, Surveyor-General. It is a printed form with blanks for specific information. The following is a transcription:
W H E R E A S John McCurdy of the County of Chester hath requested that We would grant him to take up Two hundred & fifty Acres of Land whereon He was settled before August 1732, scituate between Hugh Thompson & Samuel Galbreith on the Line dividing the Townships of East Nottingham & London Derry in the said County of Chester for which He agrees to pay to our Use at the Rate of Fifteen Pounds Ten Shillings current Money of this Province for one Hundred Acres, and the yearly Quit-rent of one Half-penny Sterling for every Acre thereof T H E S E are therefore to authorize and require thee to survey or cause to be survey'd unto the said John McCurdy at the Place aforesaid, according to the Method of Townships appointed, the said Quantity of 250 Acres, if not already survey'd or appropriated, and make Return thereof into the Secretary's Office, in order for further Confirmation; for which this shall be thy sufficient Warrant; which Survey, in case the said John McCurdy fulfil the above Agreement within six Months from the Date hereof, shall be valid, otherwise void. G I V E N under my Hand, and the lesser Seal of our Province, at Phildelphia, this 29th Day of May Anno Dom. 1736.
AGES and BIRTHPLACES:
John McCurdy's younger children were certainly born in Pennsylvania, but his older children may have been born in Ireland. He may or may not have been married when he arrived. Of his 12 children only David appears in the list of members of the Big Spring Presbyterian Church prepared in 1787 or 1788. He was then 60, so we can say that he born in 1727 or 1728. If John married in 1726 and was then 18, he was born in about 1708. He may, of course, have been older (or even a little younger).
REMOTE ORIGINS:
Chapter 1 of Clyde W. McCurdy's book is entitled 'The McCurdy Ancestral Home in Scotland'. The oldest documentation we have on the origin of the McCurdy family is the Crown Charter of August 16, 1506, in which King James IV granted specific lands to specific individuals on the Isle of Bute.
"The Isle of Bute is located in the Firth of Clyde near Glasgow. It has a length of fifteen and one-half miles, and width of from one and one-half to five miles. The town of Rothesay, before regionalisation, was the capital town of the county of Bute. The county is composed of a number of islands. The three principal islands are Arran, the largest, Bute is second, and Cumbrae is third. The population of Bute today is approximately 14,400 with almost 7,000 living in the town of Rothesay. These islands are very popular each summer for thousands of tourists."
"The Crown Charter of 1506 gives the name of the lands granted to the McWrerdys and others. Many of these names are still used today and we can see that most of the McWrerdy lands were located in the southern half of the island. Today there are about 80 farms on Bute. All of the farms are known by their names, such as Kerrycroy, Kerrymenoch, Stravanannan, Langalhuinoch, etc. "Kerrycroy Dairy Farm" is managed by Mr. Andrew McKirdy, who told us the farm had been passed from generation to generation by has great grandfathers, but did not know how many generations this might be."
The Crown Charter is written in Latin, and the modern prefix 'Mc' is spelled 'Mak'. There are 77 names in the document; Makwerdy appears 8 times and Makweriche 3 times. The Latin version is on page 17 and is followed by a translation into English. A sample follows:
Walter Bannatyne the lands of the half of Bruchog.
Gilchrist McWrerdy the lands of the other half of Bruchog.
Malcolm McPherson the lands of Kerytonlea.
Finlay McWrerdy the lands of the half of Keremanoch.
Finlay McIlmun the lands of the other half of Keremanoch.
There are many variant spellings of the name, which is said to be derived from the old Gaelic word 'Muircheartach', meaning 'Searuler'. 'Muir' means 'sea' and 'Cheartach' means 'ruler'. The spelling 'McKerdie' occurs in a Bute document in 1662, and the first occurrence of 'McCurdy' is in a Bute will in 1663. The most common modern spelling in the United States, Canada, and Northern Ireland is McCurdy, although MacCurdy and McCurdie also occur. The most common spelling in England and in Scotland is McKirdy or MacKirdy.
1 Julius Augustus McCurdy, "The McCurdy's of Stone Mountain, Georgia," 1979, pg 23.
2
Julius Augustus McCurdy, "The McCurdy's of Stone Mountain, Georgia," 1979, pg 17.
Home | Table of Contents | Surnames | Name List
This website was created 3 Oct 2022 with Legacy 9.0, a division of MyHeritage.com; content copyrighted and maintained by nparker41@att.net