Dear Elves:
I have not been able to get beyond my 4g grandfather with any confidence. His name is Thomas Ogan, (WikiTree Ogan-101), he was born 1741 at sea, Atlantic Ocean, he and his wife died about Nov/Dec 1813 in Rockingham Co., Virginia. The first solid lead I have is from his enlistment as a rifleman in Paxton, Pennsylvania (then Lancaster Co, now Dauphin Co [1785]) in Capt. Matthew Smith's Company of riflemen in Col. William Thompson's 1st Pennsylvania Regiment. His name on that roster, dated 24 July 1775 is given as Thomas Gunn. He next shows up 31 Dec 1775 under the name of Thomas Ogun, age 23, state left blank, in the notes it says [born] at sea as a war prisoner in Quebec following a failed siege at Quebec by Gen. Benedict Arnold and others in which Thomas Ogan was captured with some 250 other soldiers and officers including then Capt. Daniel Morgan. He spoke with an Irish brogue, his age at capture was actually 33. In this roster They were paroled, exchanged, and released 24 Sept 1776 at Elizabethtown, NJ. By this time his wife Anne had moved her family from Paxton to near Winchester, Frederick Co, VA, where his brother Peter Ogan and wife Phamy were living with their children. Following his release, Thomas Ogan re-enlisted in the 11th Virginia Continental Line in Col. Daniel Morgan's Virginia Riflemen for the remainder of the Revolution. He was involved in a couple of legal actions in Frederick Co, VA between 1778 and 1784. His wife Anne filed with Frederick Co, Virginia in 1777, 1779, and 1780 for assistance based on Thomas Ogan's service. In 1788 he was deeded 98 acres in Rockingham Co, VA, surveyed in part by Abraham Lincoln's great grandfather, John Lincoln. Between 1786 and 1803 four of Thomas and Anne's daughter filed for marriage in Rockingham County (see Strickler's 10th Legion Marriages). He is listed in Rockingham Co tithing and tax records between 1789 and 1812. In 1812 and 1813 he filed for old age pension based on his service. Many letters from former officers vouch for his service and attest his age as 72 years old (b. 1741).
My DNA matches to his brother Peter and several of his sons, to at least 2 daughters of Thomas and Anne Ogan, as well as five sons of John Ogan (Thos and Anne's son) and at least 2 of their daughters.
Since I do not see any Martin DNA from supposed parents of Anne, I am assuming her maiden name is not Martin, as presumed by many Ancestry.com records, nor is his father Thomas or Thomas Henry Ogan/Hogan of Virginia.
This is what I know. What I don't know is who his parents were, where they came from, and where they lived in Pennsylvania. There are between 6 and 10 Ogan's in Pennsylvania between 1750 and 1800 including at least 4 in the Revolution according to records I have. This is during a period which Pennsylvania did not require manifests and passenger lists for English citizens traveling between Great Britain and Pennsylvania.
Chet Ogan
