Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Sorting fact from legend

Yesterday I introduced John Og McIntosh, our 5th-great-grandfather from Scotland. Trying to separate the facts from the legend behind his arrival in the US is proving to be difficult. First, let's look back at the account from the Combined History of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash Counties, 1883.

John Og McIntosh is first mentioned in the entry on Wabash County, on page 292. This section says he was from Virginia, of Scottish descent, and his wife Sarah Bennett was the daughter of a ship carpenter. They went to Kentucky in 1784 or 1785, until they arrived in Illinois in 1814 with a family of six children, Samuel, Daniel, William, Lavina, Lucinda and Sarah. The family settled in an area then part of Gallatin County and moved into Compton's Fort. "After a four months' stay he settled on the west half of the southeast corner of section 23 and lived there for about one year." This matches up with the land grant issued to John McIntosh in 1816. The county history book says this land was entered on 12 November 1814.
Land Grant issued 6 Apr 1816.

John McIntosh "was naturally a leader, and took an active interest in the movement that resulted in the creation of Edwards County, having been selected for the arduous and dangerous task of bearing the citizens' petition to Gov. Ninian Edwards at Kaskaskia." The section on Andrew J. McIntosh states that John made this journey on horseback and met the Governor, whom he had personally known in Kentucky. The petition to create the county was granted, and it was named after Edwards.

When the county formed in 1814, McIntosh was appointed a judge of its court. He "busied himself in the manner of organization and the establishment of police regulations." This land would eventually separate to become Wabash County.

John McIntosh and Sarah Bennett had at least the following children:
- James McIntosh, 5 May 1783 in Winchester, Virginia to 1 March 1866 in Wabash County, Illinois
- Margaret Jane McIntosh, 6 March 1785 in Mason County, Kentucky to 3 January 1848
- Levina McIntosh, 1788 in Mason County, Kentucky
- Elizabeth McIntosh, 11 July 1790 in Kentucky to 5 May 1867 in Wabash County, Illinois
- Samuel McIntosh, 25 December 1791 in Bourbon County, Kentucky to 16 June 1879 in Wabash County, Illinois
- John McIntosh, 15 October 1794 in Bourbon County, Kentucky to 1 June 1859 in Nashville, Tennessee
- Sarah McIntosh, 1798 in Bourbon County, Kentucky to 1844 in Wabash County, Illinois
- William McIntosh, 15 May 1800 in Logan County, Kentucky to 16 August 1882 in Tipton County, Tennessee
- Daniel McIntosh, 1 October 1801 in Warren County, Kentucky to 14 December 1884 in Crawford County, Indiana
- Lucinda McIntosh, born about 1802 in Warren County, Kentucky to sometime after June 1880 in Crawford County, Indiana

Tracking the birth locations of the children helps show the path John and Sarah took before arriving in Wabash County, Illinois.

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