Recently, I had an opportunity to Go to Staunton, Augusta County, VA, for
some addtional research.  The trip was very successful in that I was able to
find some court records for Michael O'Hair which I had only found references
to in my searches.  I thought that each of you may liike to have a copy of
these records for your files.

While there Deb and I also went to the American Frontier Culture Museum, to
get some background information about the way of life for Michael O'Hair in
Ulster, Ireland prior to coming to America.  I was very excited about the
information we found there.  Took loads of pictures at the Irish (Ulster)
farm, which was transported from Ireland to the US in the 1990's.  The farm
dates back to 1730's, and therefore was contemporary with Michael's
childhood.  Not sure if your would like some of this information, but would
love to share it with you if you would like.

I was able to get a photocopy of the original Court Order from the Augusta
County Court in which Michael O'Hair was bound to Alexander Millroy as an
orphan, which I am attaching for your use.  The original record provided some
additional information of which you may not be aware.

We ll have known for some time that Michael O'Hair came to this county at the
approximate age of 12.  It has been an accepted tradition that he probably
was a stowaway on a ship that left Ireland some time in the middle to late
1761.  Melvin: In your "Descendents of Michael O'Hair (1749-1813)" you
epostulated that he may have landed at Richmond, VA, attached himself to a
family traveling westward, and arrived in Staunton, Augusta County, Virginia,
on 17 February, 1762.  My research has indicated otherwise.

The vast majority of immigrants from Ireland during this time period actually
landed in Philadelphia.  In the 58 years of the Ulster migration to America,
approximately 15-20 thousand landed at Philadelphia, and only 83 are recorded
as landing in Virginia.  From Philadelphia, the typical Irish Immigrant path
followed the "Great Philadelphia Wagon Road" from Philadelphia, westward
across Pennsylvania, and down through the Great Valley of Virginia, between
the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Mountain chain, ending up in
Augusta County, Virginia.  This was an easy trek which only required crossing
rolling foothills instead of the wilderness mountains of the Blue Ridge.
This was one of the major reasons that Augusta County area was settled by
Irish and Ulster Scotsmen.  I know from my own family traditions that my
Grandmother Gearheart's (MANNING) family followed that route.  A trip
westward from Richmond across the Blue Ridge Mountains would have been
difficult because it would have required crosing the Mountain chain with
little or no roadways or knowledge of a pass through the mountains, which at
that time was mostly wilderness.  Keep in mind, historical records in the
Virginia Archives indicate that few Indians actually lived in the Valley of
Virginia, it was their hunting grounds for buffalo, and at the end of every
season, they actually burned off the undergrowth to prevent the area from
becoming woodland.  Thus traveling down through the Valley would be a very
easy trip.  For these reasons, I believe that Michael O'Hair probably landed
at Philadelphia, and am pursuing research in that direction.

While it may have been a misunderstanding on my part, I thought that the
description in the Hicks paper was an attempt to indicate that Michael O'Hair
may have traveled with the Millroy family westward..  I found documentation
that indicated that Alexander Millroy actually received a Colonial Virginia
Land grant for 200 acres on the Calfpasture River (Augusta County, VA) in
1751, almost eleven years before Michael arrived in America. Thus he was a
well established farmer prior to 1751.  It appears that Millroy was an Ulster
Scot.

Now we know that Michael did not arrive in Staunton on 17 February, 1762,
because the Court Record of his being bound as an orphan to Alexander Millroy
is dated in the Court Session of 17 February, 1762.  He had probably been in
the area from 1 to 3 months.  We can deduce by the fact that the court
sessions were only held monthly during this period.  It would have taken some
period of time to get his situation as an orphan brought before the court.
Working backward from that, normal travel time from Philadelphia to the
Valley of Virginia was from 30-45 days, assuming uninterrupted travel.  Thus
we may estimate Michael's arrival in Philadelphia was at some time between
October and December of 1751.  Personally, I would favor the earlier date,
because winters in the western part of Pennsylvania and the northern part of
the Valley of Virginia were very harsh, and I find it difficult to believe
that an immigrant family would travel westward during that season.

Using Lyman Chalkley's Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia
as a reference index, I was able to find the original Court Records very
easily.  From the original record we learn that it was upon a motion brought
before the Court by Alexander Millroy that Michael was bound to him.  Thus
Michael became Millroy's apprentice in the farming business as well as his
ward.Thus we may surmise that Michael had made himself known to Millroy, and
that the young boy impressed Millroy with his character and eagerness to
learn.  We may also assume that this is true because of the conditions under
which Michael was bound to Millroy, most of which were quite unusual for
orphans of that time period.  Upon reaching the age of 21, Michael was to
receive "two suits of apparel (one new) and a mare or Horse of the price of
Five pounds."  In no other case was I able to find such conditions for an
orphan... usually the record only named an individual as guardian, with no
other stipulations attached.  It is an easy assumption that Millroy wanted to
make sure that the young boy was provided for, since he so easily contracted
to present Michael with those additional resourses upon reaching the age of
21.

Since the original Court Records are written in long-hand by the Court Clerk,
and thus may be difficult to read, I have included a transcription of the
record for your use, as well as a scanned copy of the original.  I have
attempted to transcribe the document exactly as written in the Court Record,
without adding any corrections to the spelling or punctuation.

TRANSCRIPTION:

Headline:   Michael O'Harah (sic O'Hair)
Date:   17 February, 1762
Source:   Augusta County Court Order Book 7
     Augusta County CourtHouse, Clerk's Office
     Staunton, Augusta County, Virginia
Page:   156
Subjects: Court Order Records
Region:   Augusta County, Virginia

"On the Motion of Alexander Millroy it's ordered that the church wardens of
Augusta Parish bind out Michael O'Harah (sic O'HAIR) to him till he comes to
the age of Twenty One years being now of the age of 12 years the eleventh of
September last the said Millroy giving him when free two suits of apparel
(one new) and a mare or Horse of the Price of Five pounds and to learn him
the Farming business and to read write and cypher as far as the rule of
Three."

Hope you all may enjoy this information as much as I have.

Sincerely,
Richard Gearheart