Lancaster Family - Back Creek Hundred Ties?

Here is a wonderful email I received from Don Lancaster who found the blog and was kind enough to write to me. My answers to him are in bold and brackets.  If any of you have information that might help him, please write to me at the email address listed to the right, and I will forward it on to him. 

Thanks Don! Truly appreciate hearing from you!

My family is of very early Cecil Co as wel,l 1670s.

Sinclair Lancaster Captain of the 18^th Battalion,  son Abraham Lancaster married Lydia Foard

This family are family of Pennington. Lum, Bayard, Bouchelle, Hollingsworth, Herman, Thompson [[sadly I don't have any of those names in my family history].

Abraham Lancaster served the war of 1812 Baltimore Maryland and New Castle De, after his father’s death he migrates to Washington of Williamsport 1820 (Ortho H Williams founder)

A lot of Miller’s of Germany are settled of the Han Michal Miller line. [Have researched Hans Miller and others, and we are definitely not related to any of the German Millers (Darn! There is lots of info about Hans, so I wish I did tie in!!)]


Abraham Lancaster son William married Harriet Lucas believed of the Lucas family of Cecil Co Md [sorry, but don't have any info on the Lucas family]

Had three children, Malinda a Lancaster Born in Middletown New Castle De 1826, Benjamin and St Clair Lancaster Born 1833 & 1834 in Chesapeake City  North side of back creek also called Back creek Hundred. [My William Miller, his father, Abraham, and some brothers owned land in Back Creek Hundred for many years.]

This is what makes me wonder of the connection of Millers of Cecil Co Md are of English Decent [I am almost 100% sure that they were of Scotch Irish descent. I can't find any ties to England....thus far! Who knows! My ancestors are quite elusive, no I never rule anything out completely!] and also believed to have Migrated through Virginia to Washington Co Maryland and reason is St Clair A Lancaster

Son of William Married Margaret A Miller daughter of John W Miller Born in Jefferson Co VA 1805.  His son John Lester Miller had a son that moved to Ohio and of this family I found the grandson that submitted his DNA we all hoped for a match with the Millers of Washington Co [Lots of William Miller's inlaws (the Bradfords) lived in Washington County, Pennsylvania....is that the Washington County you speak of?] but of our surprise we found that this DNA was of English Decent. [isn't this DNA thing revolutionizing genealogy?!!]

Kind of a long way around it but a lot of years to go through, I have land deeds with William Miller and Richard Foard/Ford [I have always wondered if there was any family relationship between William and the Fords, so your connection to Lydia Ford/Foard that you mentioned above is very, very interesting] of a Mill on Elk River I do have that deed also so this explains the Miller’s of Washington co being of same in fact owned very important Mills

Of the area.
 Another connection with Cecil and Washington Co is a lot of the same family migrated as well

A Correction and a Research Clue

William and Rebecca Miller left Cecil County, Maryland and moved to Fayette County, Pennsylvania around 1782 as mentioned in yesterday's  post. That post, however, contains an error. I said:

"On August 21, 1771, a Lawrence Harrison sold 293 acres to a William Miller (our William?), though the deed was not recorded till 1788 (the land was originally owned by Lawrence's father, a man named Battle Harrison, and it appears that this might have been a land grant)." 

However, Battle Harrison is Lawrence's father and it does not appear to have been a land grant. I just found the correct information online - see below (italics added). However, this contains a great new research clue:

"Lawrence Harrison, Sr., father of Benjamin, settled near- Stewart's Crossing, now Connellsville, Fayette County, Penn., prior to Mar. 30, 1768. Lawrence owned land adjoining Col. William Crawford who settled there on the west bank of the Youghiogheny River about 1767. (Veech, pp. 90-93, 118-19)

Crawford made surveys in the vicinity of Stewart's Crossing for Benjamin, William., Battle and Lawrence, Jr., sons of Lawrence Harrison. (Veech, P. 119)

This area in Pennsylvania where the Harrisons lived was claimed for awhile by Virginia. Therefore, records of Benjamin Harrison are found in Westmoreland County, Penn., as well as in Yohogania County, Va. until boundary disputes were finally settled in September 1780."(source: http://www.frontierfolk.net/ramsha_research/benharrison.html)

I have in the past concentrated my research on Fayette County, PA, records, but indeed, it looks like a search of Westmoreland and Yohogania counties is in order.

The Youghigeny River Near Connelsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania

Hill Grove Cemetery, Connellsville, Pennsylvania

Picture courtesy of Edwin Fredrickson & Michael Hackworth


We're so pleased to have this new picture sent to us by member, Mick Hackworth. Hill Grove Cemetery is where William Miller and his wife Rebecca Bradford Miller are buried. Pictures of William and Rebecca's headstones were posted in a previous blog, but this photo shows how beautiful the surrounding area is.

Remember  the Miller's had moved out to Fayette County in western Pennsylvania around 1782. We don't have many facts about their life there. Family legend has it that William was a boatbuilder along the Youghigheny River there, but we have not found conclusive proof of that as yet.

A 1799 Taxpayer's list for this area (Dunbar Township) does list William as owning 450 acres, 6 horses and 6 cattle. The low number of animals he owned always confused me, but this picture makes it easy to imagine that much of the land was wilderness and not pasture.

On August 21, 1771, a Lawrence Harrison sold 293 acres to a William Miller (our William?), though the deed was not recorded till 1788 (the land was originally owned by Lawrence's father, a man named Battle Harrison, and it appears that this might have been a land grant [incorrect...see next blog]). Records show that this land was in a loop of the river, lending credence to the boat-building theory. If that was William's vocation, he would have needed property on a river. Also, if this land transaction actually did involve our William Miller, it would mean that he must have come out west on business before he moved his family to Fayette County in 1782.

As ever, considering that it looks like William Miller owned a goodly amount of land, it is a mystery as to why we have never been able to locate a will for him. Let's hope one turns up in the future!

Thanks again to Mike for this great photograph.