Samuel was a pioneer all his life, never enjoying the convenience ofci vilization. In both KY and OH the family lived either in abarricaded f ort for protection against the Indians, or in a barricademade by round ing up settlers' wagons while their log cabins werebeing constructed.
He served in the NC troops during the Revolutionary War and with PAtro ops during Indian uprisings. Positions he held in the Army were:
1777 As a private, corporal, and sergeant in Capt James Gibson's Coof C umberland Co troops under Col James Wilson.
1778 As a private again, this time in Capt Robert McTeer's Co.
1779-80 As ensign in Capt McAllister's Co - 1st Co, 7th Batt underCol J ames Purdy, whose daughter would become his wife.
He claimed KY friends:
Benjamin Harrison, signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Daniel Boone (In 1776, Daniel's wife was the 1st white woman inKY a nd retained that distinction for 2-3 yrs.)
Andrew Jackson
David Crockett
James Bowie
Samuel devoted his whole life to his family and it was one of which hec ould be proud. Of the 8 sons who reached adulthood, all becamedisting uished in their home city and the 3 daughters married men whobecame eq ually prominent.
Residences & other events in his life:
1775 Cumberland Co, PA. He was among the county's signers of aremons trance (protest) to the General Assembly.
1778 Fermanagh Twp, Mifflin Co, PA, where his home was on thefrontier . He was included in a list of taxables, having 21 acres, 1horse and 2 c attle.
11/22/1779 Lewistown, PA. He bought his deceased father's farm neart he present site of Mifflin by buying out the interest of hissiblings:
"Jean McElvain, Samuel Tennis and Violet Tennis, his wife, convey toSa muel McElvain their interest in the tract of 190 acres on LostCreek, F ermanagh Township, Cumberland County PA....it being theirright to that t ract of land which was surveyed to Agnes McElvain inpursuance of a war rant from the Proprietaries of said State, bearingdate at Philadelphia , the 17th day of May, 1768."
1779 His property was growing, he was taxed for the 190 acres he justb ought, 2 horses, and 4 cattle.
He also bought land from his father-in-law, James Purdy.
1780 Apparently he had sold a few acres or forgot the tell the taxmant he exact figure, paying taxes on 140 acres, 3 horses, and 4 cattle.
1785-7 He paid taxes for three years for land, back up to 190 acres,2 h orses, and 3 cattle. He also had a servant worth 10 pounds.
1/21/1786 He purchased more land from his mother "Agnes McElvain andh er son Robert two-fifths of the 190 acres which she had warrantedand J an. 23, Samuel and his wife Elizabeth deeded to Agnes McElvainand her s on Robert, during their lives, the same tract. Witness tosignatures r eads 'Now comes Col. James Purdy, who acknowledges,'etc." Robert is no t mentioned in later transactions.
KY It is thought that Samuel preceeded his brothers to KY. Thehistor y of Lexington recorded that when Samuel arrived in KY,Lexington was a m etropolis and Indians were numerous and dangerous.
Woodford Co, KY. He joined brothers, Moses and John, who were alreadyt here.
Bourbon Co, KY.
2/6/1789 Together with brother, John, he bought 300 acres from ThomasL ogwood of Bedford Co, KY.
Harrison Co, KY. When his current residence became part of HarrisonCo , he and Benjamin Harrison were among the first twelve Magistratesof t he new county.
4/29/1791 He sold the farm back in PA to John Boris of Lower Paxton,D auphin Co, PA, for 700 pounds. The tract contained 201 acres andwas r esurveyed by James Herrick.
"said land was first surveyed for Agnes McElvain in trust for herselfa nd her children by her husband, Moses McElvain, deceased, and SamuelMc Elvain, her son, having purchased from the other children, is nowthe s ole owner of said plantation or tract...the said Agnes now beingdeceas ed." Signed by Samuel McElvain and Elizabeth McElvain.
4/5/1796 Harrison Co, KY. Samuel was among those present for court.P art of the proceedings included a deed transfer from John Smith,attorn ey in fact for William Woods, to Samuel McElvain, proved byJohn McIlva in, witness.
1797 With a party of surveyors headed by Lucas Sullivant, Samuel andh is young son, Andrew, went north to survey a Virginia land grantwhere t hey laid out the lands at the Forks of the Scioto River. Theylaid out t he town of Franklinton in August and to encouragesettlement, appropria ted the lots on "Gift" Street as donations toanyone who would come.
One history of the trip says the party was surprised by Indians andthe y narrowly escaped by separating and hiding out in differentdirections . They succeeded in getting back together and finallyreturned home.
Fall 1797 Chilicothe, Ross Co, OH. Having sold his interest in thefa rm, he moved the family north, along with the Hunters and others,stopp ing for the winter at Chillicothe, the capital of the OhioTerritory. H e purchased 2 lots, apparently planning to build a house
but then decided to move on instead.
Spring 1799 Franklinton, Franklin Co, OH. From the local history:
"Among those who came with Sullivant into Franklinton as permanentsett lers the following names have been handed down by the earlierhistorian s: Joseph Dixon, George Skidmore, William Domigan, JamesMarshall. thre e families named Dearduff, McIlvain and Sellsrespectively, consisting o f several persons, young and old, but notseparately designated: John L isle and family."
Samuel's family was one of the first ten families to settleFranklinton , now Columbus and was said to have helped raise the firstcorn in the c ounty by whites. The Indians were numerous but friendlyat that time. A nother history said the "family located, soon after1800, on the farm j ust north of where W S Shrum now lives. Theysubsequently moved to Col umbus."
Son, Andrew, said his father erected the first "meal-makingestablishme nt." It was "a hominy block - a hole burned in a stump,with a sweep s o fixed that two men could pound corn into meal. Thesifter was a deer skin stretched over a hoop, with small holes made
therein with a small hot iron. And that block mill supplied the firsts ettlement of Franklinton."
9/8/1803 Samuel was at a meeting of the court of Common Pleas when hea nd two others were appointed as commissioners to "view a road tolead f rom the northeast end of Gift Street in Franklinton in asstraight a di rection as the situation of the ground will permit of aroad toward New ark in Fairfield county." They each received $1/dayfor their services f or a total of $3. Samuel was appointed againlater and received $5 for 5 d ays' service.
Before 1804 Clinton Twp. Samuel's family and others settled in thisa rea, one of the original surveyed townships of five miles square andde signated on the plats as TI, R18, US Military lands, appropriatedby Co ngress in 1796 to satisfy claims by the officers and soldiers ofthe Re v War. Samuel and the family probably expected to receive ashare in t he Virginia Land Grant for his services in the Revolutionand Indian Wa rs but for some reason they never proved the title.
Even though they were farmers, it was necessary to live in thesettleme nt and go back and forth to work due to Indians. The BlackHawk tribe w as "warlike, treacherous, and made frequent raids" intothe area.
Samuel had descendants living in the Cynthiana, OH, area as late as194 5 and perhaps even today.
At the time of his birth, the Indians were still troublesome to
settlers.
Samuel died intestate and administrators of the estate were his wife,E lizabeth, with son, William, and son-in-law, Samuel King, inaddition t o John Dill, Thomas Moore, and Samuel King. The estate wasappraised b y John Lisle, Baltzer Hess, and son-in-law, ArthurO'Harra, who account ed for everything down to the smallest itemsworth as little as 25 cent s, reporting their findings on 4/16/1806.
In the administrators' report was a bill from Elizabeth for a coffin =$ 7.00. In the sale of personal effects on 4/29/1806, some of thebuyers w ere: Elizabeth; sons, William and James; Arthur O'Harra andSamuel Kin g; John Lytle (Lisle); and James Marshall. Elizabethsigned her last n ame with an "I".
From the Ohio Genealogical Quartery:
042, McElvaine, Joseph & Purdy, Guardianship. Feb 15, 1810.
Thomas Moore, John Dill, & Solomon Moore, guardians of Joseph andPurdy , infant heirs of Sam'l. McElvaine. (What about the infantdaughters?)
Dec, 15, 1826
Andrew McElvaine was appointed guardian of Joseph V, aged 11 yrs, andS amuel McElvaine, aged 9 yrs, with Joseph Hunter & Robert brotherton.
043. McElvaine, Andrew, Guardianship, Feb 17, 1810
Grdn--Samuel King chosen by Andrew McElvaine, infant heir of Sam'lMcEl vain, over 14 yrs.
The cemetery is situated on the banks of the Scioto River, now between
the banks of the river and the railroad opposite a packing house.
