Rita’s Family: Ancestors of Helen Spencer |
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| These pages are a compilation of my work and that of others. You are welcome to use anything on this page, but be aware that although I have been as careful and accurate as possible, I am not a professional genealogist. I have been working on our genealogy for over 25 years, and started the website in 2005. Some of the lines I have researched myself; some, especially on Rita’s side, we inherited the research of other family members over the past 75 years. Still, the majority of these pages are limited to compilations from published books and what I could find on the internet. The target audience was and remains our family, so the family pages are limited to our own ancestors. I have set it up so that each page is one set of ancestors, with their descendants. For the most part I have limited my scope to their great-grandchildren (second cousins to us); in some cases I list sources which may continue further. | HOME | |
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NOTABLES: 649. Elizabeth was a local heroine in Pontiac’s War |
648. William Daugherty was born about 1712 in Muff, Inishowen (Donegal) Ireland, and died 6 Jul 1773 in Montgomery Co, Virginia. He is a son of Michael Dougherty [1296] and Catherine Rodgers [1297]. William married about 1730 in Pennsylvania,
649. Elizabeth Bunch.
William came to America in 1727 with his family at age 15, settling first in Pennsylvania. He settled in Augusta (now Rockingham) Co, Virginia in 1738. He was a blacksmith, and is often called “William the Blacksmith” in genealogical works. He was probably born Catholic, and was baptized Presbyterian in 1749. He was an Indian Agent for Virginia to the Cherokee. William and his family survived raids by the Shawnee leader Cornstalk, once on 10 Oct 1759 (French and Indian War), and again on 17 Jul 1763 (Pontiac’s War).
Elizabeth is said by one source to be Cherokee, though no evidence for this is cited. She was a heroine in Cornstalk’s second raid in 1763. Word came of the Shawnees approaching, but William was not home. Elizabeth rode on horseback up Cowpasture Valley to warn all the settlers, and they were able to gather and defend themselves. Many of the settlers on nearby Kerr Valley, including William’s brother Charles, were killed.
There are several conflicts within this family. Some researchers omit the eldest son William, and have this William and Elizabeth as the parents of our ancestor Joseph Daugherty. There is also a 10-year gap between the first few and last few children -- this, together with William’s conversion to Presbyterian immediately before the later group of children, suggests possibly two marriages. If that is true, then Elizabeth would not be the mother of our 324 William (but if the other story is true, she would still be our ancestor as the mother of 162 Joseph). Due to a lack of any official records in these early times, it is unlikely that we will ever get a complete and true story.
William and Elizabeth had five children:
648.1. William Daugherty [324] (~1730 - 1786 VA) and Elizabeth ___ are direct ancestors, separate page.
648.2. Henry Daugherty was born about 1733.
648.3. John Daugherty was born about 1737.
648.4. Nicholas Daugherty was born sometime around 1750.
648.5. Elizabeth Daugherty was born sometime around 1750 in Virginia. She married Robert Dennison.
Compiled by Bill Stupak. Last update: Aug 2010