John Moorhead (abt. 1720 - 1785)

Born about 1720 in Ulster, Ireland [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 1785 at about age 65 in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

John was born about 1720. He passed away in 1785.

JOHN MOORHEAD, THE PROGENITOR (from "A Moorhead/Morehead Genealogy" ^[1]

John MOORHEAD, who died in Westmoreland Co, PA in 1785, is the progenitor of the Moorhead family in this history and genealogy.

The earliest date identified with his life is 21 November 1745, when he received a warrant from the proprietaries of Pennsylvania for 100 acres of land in Hopewell Twp, Lancaster (now Cumberland) Co.

John's name and the time and location of his settlement almost guarantee that he was of Scotch-Irish ancestry; that is, his ancestors moved from the Lowlands of Scotland to Ireland, probably sometime in the seventeenth century, as a part of a political experiment undertaken by England. The experiment was called the Plantation of Ulster, one of England's many attempts to solve the "Irish Problem". After England became Protestant, the traditional resistance of the Irish to English rule intensified when England tried to eradicate the Catholic religion in Ireland. During Queen Elizabeth's closing years, Irish earls in the north were defeated and exiled, and the Crown confiscated their lands. James I, who succeeded Elizabeth, proposed to settle the region with loyal English and Scottish Protestants. James I had been James VI of Scotland before succeeding to the English crown, and he was successful in persuading thousands of his Scottish subjects to cross to Ulster to start a new life.

This migration continued for roughly a century, from the early sixteen hundreds to the early seventeen hundreds. Just when John's ancestors migrated will likely never be known. Two persons with the surname appear on a muster roll of County Down in 1631. A number of Moorheads are on the Ulster muster roll of County Down of 1642. A John Moorhead, a William Moorhead, and a Widow Moorhead are on rent rolls in Ulster during the period 1681-1688. Thomas Moorhead and William Moorhead were ruling elders of Presbyterian churches in the counties of Down and Tyrone in the period 1694-1716.

Since John was old enough to be purchasing land in 1745, and since the Scotch-Irish migration was very heavy to Pennsylvania in the late 1720's, it is very possible, if not probable, that he was born in Ireland. If he were, there is one bit of circumstantial evidence to suggest his home in Ireland. After his death in 1785, his widow and son secured a patent to a piece of land in Westmoreland County. Following the custom of the time, they gave a name to their land, calling it "Rapho". There is a parish and a diocese in County Donegal by that name.

If John did arrive at the height of the Scotch-Irish immigration into Pennsylvania in the late 1720's, probably as a youth with his parents or relatives, he may have settled first in a region near the ports, perhaps in Chester or Lancaster County. John's land in Hopewell Twp. was not purchased from the Five Nations Indians until 1736, although some settlers did occupy the region before the purchase, as early as 1731. Unfortunately, no tax lists nor other data for this region before 1745 have been found to fix his arrival.

John did not have his land surveyed until November, 1784, when the tract was found to contain 192 acres, 16 perches and allowance. He and his wife Sarah sold this land to Isaac DURBORROW, by deed dated 2 May 1785. The warrant states that the land was north of Conodoguinet Creek and west of the Susquehanna River. The deed names neighbors Thomas MCCLELLAND, Robert and William POLK, James DYSART, Alexander MCMULLIN, and Robert and Samuel WHERRY. These names help to fix the probable location of his land. A Thomas MCCLELLAND was an elder of the Middle Spring Presbyterian Church north of Shippensburg. A list of people in his district in arrears of subscriptions in the 1770's includes the names Samuel WHERRY and two DYSARTs. McClelland was said to have been living near Shippensburg. Thus, John's farm was probably south of but near the present-day village of Newburg.

Life in the 1740-1770 time period in this region was literally on the frontiers of civilization. Histories of the period include many accounts of attacks by Indians, especially after 1755, and of the murder of many settlers along and near the Conodoguinet.

Very shortly after selling their Cumberland County land, John and his family moved westward to Westmoreland County. On 23 July 1785, John's wife, Sarah, and his son John purchased 200 acres of land in Derry Township at a sheriff's sale. Either John, Sr. was too ill to transact the purchase, or he had died by that date. Administrators of his estate- his wife Sarah and John CRAIG- were not named until 7 October 1785, suggesting that he may have suffered some severe accident on the move, or that some incapacitating illness marked his last days.

Captain William MOORHEAD and Barnabas HIGHLAND gave bond with the administrators of the estate. The identity of this William Moorhead has not been determined. A William Moorhead had served as a captain of Cumberland County militia during the Revolutionary War, and he moved to Derry Twp, Westmoreland County about two years before John. His land was very close to the land purchased by John's wife and son. There also was a another William Moorhead in the area who married Mary DONNELL, sister of Sarah DONNELL, the wife of John Sr.'s son John.

The inventory of the estate was made on 26 October 1785, and amounted to 523 pounds, 15 shillings, and seven pence. Most of the estate, 425 pounds, consisted of bonds due from May 1786 through May 1794 for the Cumberland County land sold to Isaac DURBORROW. An account for the estate was exhibited in Court on 25 September 1789, and an additional account on 2 February 1790.

Unfortunately, no distributive account naming heirs could be located among the estate papers, although the index at the Westmoreland County Court House indicates that one was filed.

Not much information about John's wife Sarah has been found. She appears on the 1790 census of Westmoreland County (spelled Sarai) with one male over 16, and four females. She made a very distinctive mark as her sign on documents. She was living as late as 27 April 1809 when she sold to John, Jr. her portion of the Derry Twp. land which they had purchased jointly on their arrival.

The author believes there is a strong possibility that Sarah was a second wife of John, and not the mother of John's son John. Among the several deeds and the patent for the land which they purchased jointly, a mother-son relationship between the two is never mentioned. The land was held by the two as tenants in common. These arrangements suggest perhaps a stepmother-stepson situation.

Children of John MOORHEAD: (probably others)

1. John, b ca 1762.
2. Margaret, b ca 1770, living Stark Cy, OH 1830; m ca 1798 , probably Westmoreland Co., PA, Francis POMEROY. Children of Francis and Margaret (MOORHEAD) POMEROY:

• Margaret Sarah, b 24 June 1800, m Dr. Alexander PORTER.
• John, b ca 1804, d unm Stark Cy, OH.
• George, b 6 May 1806, d 1842, m 21 May 1816 Mary MEESE.
• Thomas, b ca 1810, m Ruth CAMPBELL.
• William Robinson, b ca 1812, m 1) ? ; m 2) George's widow, Mary MEESE.
• Francis, Jr., b ca 1816, d 1867 Logansport, IN, m ca 1840 Abigail MEESE.
• James, b 21 October 1819, d 27 April 1871, m Becky ROBINSON.

(The William MOORHEAD who married Mary (Polly) DONNELL is a probable but unproven son of John MOORHEAD.)

Sources

1. ↑ “A Moorhead/Morehead Genealogy": Some Descendants of John Moorhead, ca 1720-1785, Cumberland and Westmoreland Counties, Pennsylvania, Stark, Hancock, and Wood Counties, Ohio, and Points West” by Rex K Moorhead, 1992, Sun City West, Arizona, 162 pages.