McConnell Links

McConnellsburg

McConnellsburg is located 150 miles straight west of Philadelphia in the south-central part of Pennsylvania. It is about 15 miles north of the border with the thin strip of Maryland that lies between Pennsylvania and West Virginia.  It is about 40 miles east and a touch north of Gettysburg, where the great Civil War battle was fought. Before the town was "founded" the area in which the early settlers of that area settled was called "Big Cove" and sometimes "McConnell's Cove". It is now part of Fulton county. In 1990, it had a population of 1,115. Although in the general vicinity of the Appalachian Mountains, its elevation is only 890 feet above sea level.

Note there is also a McConnellstown, about 10 miles south and west of Huntingdon, almost 30 miles straight north of McConnellsburg. I have seen where there was Henry McConnell family in that area, where the Henry was born in Ireland in 1762, some years after our McConnell's were already in Ameria. So, this may not be named after our family. This is in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.

Additionally, there are McConnells Mill in Lawrence County and McConnells Mills in Washington County. The USGS map shows these as "populated places", but gives no population, indicating they're probably pretty small. In addition, the USGS map shows a few more geographical features with McConnell in the name, all very possibly named after our ancestors or their progeny.

See a map of McConnellsburg, McConnellstown and other McConnell sites in Pennsylvania
 
Here are some links about McConnellsburg:

McConnellsburg Hang Gliding Festival

Historic Sites in Fulton Co, Pennsylvania

Fulton County's First Settlers

The Memoirs of David Hunter Patterson are an interesting insite into the everyday life and events of the "Big Cove" from its early settlements, maybe as early as 1735, certainly by 1750. Fascinating reading.

President Buchanan, the president before Lincoln, was born just a touch to the east of McConnellsburg, in 1796. See also this sketch of President Buchanan, who narrowly defeated Charles Fremont, the Pathfinder, for the Presidency, in 1856.

McConnell Pages - Our Line

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Other McConnell Lines - It is always helpful to be aware of lines other than your own. For one thing, if you see a candidate for inclusion in your tree and find that person, with some good evidence, is in another line, you can stop working on him. Also, communicating with other researchers of the same name may turn up "extraneous info" by one researcher that is a bonanza for another.

The McConnell Page - Dedicated to McConnell's anyplace, anytime Includes a database and McConnell researcher's list.

The McConnell Genealogy Page - Also dedicated to McConnell's anyplace, anytime. Includes a history of the McConnell Clan in Scotland and Ireland

The William and Sara (________) McConnell line appears to have left Ireland in the early to mid 1800's and first to Moundsville, West Virginia (then Virginia). Sons James and William.

Other Connecting Lines

The Wilson Network - The Willsons (two l's) were neighbors of the Taylor's, McClelland's, McCay's, and Latta's in Westmoreland county in the 1700's. Some of our most valuable information has come from a Willson genealogy.
 

McConnell Marriages:

MARRIAGES BY REV. JOHN LINN, CENTRE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 1778-1793
SHERMANS VALLEY, PERRY (then Cumberland) COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA
United congregations consisting of Centre & Upper (Blain).
The Perry Historians

1781 27 Feb, Thos. McConnell and Elizabeth McCutchin both of Upper Tuscarora

1781 26 Nov, John McCutchin and Esther McConnell of Upper Tuscarora

1783 14 Aug, Joseph Hoge and Ann McConnell of Upper Tuscorora

1781 27 Sep, Richard Taylor and Margt. Buchannan

1792 24 May, David Bard and Elizabeth Taylor

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Copyright, 1998 Norris M. Taylor, Jr.