Notes Regarding Chester County Flying Camp Battalion (1776); Chester Co., PA

Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by 
John McDowell Morris <jmcdmorris@comcast.net>

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Battalion Listing can be found here:
http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/chester/military/revwar/flyingcamp.txt

Based on Pennsylvania Archives and family records:
* I believe the John McDowell was James McDowell, husband of Elizabeth Loughead - he was known 
  to have been captain of the 4th batallion under Montgomery during the Fall/Winter campaigns 
  of 1776 - reports of his unit's service during the campaign suggests that he was part of the 
  Flying Camp during the battles on Long Island and Manhattan.
 
* Joseph Strasbridge is actually Joseph Strawbridge.  James McDowell bought a farm in Upper 
  Oxford from Dr. Thos. Ruston in 1798 next to Strawbridge's residence - McDowell and Strawbridge 
  children both married into the Boyd family and were neighbors through the late 1800's.

* Allen Cunningham is actually Allen or Alan Cuningham with one 'n' - in 1894 a descendant, Alan 
  Cuningham, would marry Ethel Pusey, sister-in-law to Thomas Rankin McDowell, son of James Boyd 
  McDowell and gr-gr-grandson of James McDowell.

* Lasarus Rinney is likely the 25 year old single Lazarus Finney, son of Robert Finney and Diana 
  Spencer - he later served as First Lieutenant in Evan Evans' Second Batallion of Chester County 
  Militia.  His aunt, Catherine Simonton Finney, was married to James McDowell's brother-in-law, 
  James Loughead, Infantry Colonel in 1776 and a dispatch-bearer for Washington to frontier 
  Pennsylvania forces, Philadelphia City Paymaster in 1777 and Assistant Paymaster-General of the 
  Pennsylvania militia in 1778.  When the British occupied Philadelphia in late 1777, Col. Loughead 
  sent his family to live with his brother-in-law, James McDowell in what is now Lincoln Station, 
  outside of Oxford.
 
The McDowells, Finneys, and Cuninghams were all members of the New London Presbyterian Church where 
McDowell and Cuningham were buried.  I believe Lazarus is buried up in Northumberland county where 
he and his wife, Elizabeth (Fulton?) settled some time in the mid/late 1780's - also where some of 
James Loughead's children settled about the same time.  Not sure about the Strawbridges...
 
- John McDowell Morris


This file is located at:
http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/chester/military/revwar/flyingcampnotes.txt