"In the later part of the 18 century, James and Martha sufferedtragica lly at the terrible things that were happening to them. Theiroldest th ree sons, John, Robert and James survived the Revlotionarywar, but the ir son James was drowned in the Juniata River in1784.Their youngest tw o sons, Capt William and Lt. Hugh Purdy werekilled in the defeat of Ge neral St. Clair, and their grandson JamesMcilvain was killed by The Bl ack Hawk Indians. Their eldest son Johndied in 1798at age 40, from Wha t cause we do not know. Their deathsshielded from the tragic death of t heir g. grandson Dr. John PurdyReynolds at the Alamo in 1836. They wer e Settlers in a new land whichthey loved enough to defend it with thei r lives."
Fermanagh Twp history recorded the family in the following manner:
"The children of James Purdy were John, William, Hugh and Robert,Eliza beth and Jane. John married Nancy, a daughter of Thomas Wilson.Of thei r children, Mary married David Reynolds; Martha became thewife of Robe rt Nelson and moved to Ohio, where Caroline, a daughter,became the wif e of Governor John Brough, and Margaret, the wife ofDr. James McConnel l.
Elizabeth, a daughter of John, married a Huston and moved West; Nancym arried a Mayberry and settled in Tennessee. Sally resided in theneighb orhood of the old homestead and lived to an advanced age, anddied a fe w years since. She was the last of the family. William andHugh, sons o f James, were killed at St. Clair’s defeat in 1791.Robert was an offic er in the War of 1812"
Residences & events in his life:
From Fermanagh Twp, Cumberland Co, PA history:
1755 "The early settlers in the territory now Fermanagh wereAlexander L afferty, Thomas McCormick, James Purdy and James Sharon.These men were t he first to settle in the limits of the presenttownship, in 1755, an a ccount of which will be found hereafter. Thesettlers were driven out s everal times, from 1763, and were muchtroubled by Indians as late as 1 780."
"James Purdy was one of the early settlers to locate land in thissettl ement, and came about the same time as Captain James Patterson.His fir st tract of land was located at Jericho September 6, 1755. Hewarranted l ands in 1762, and later acquired other lands by purchase.The tract war ranted in 1762 he sold, January 26, 1791, to JohnElliot. He bought a t ract of one hundred acres of Francis West(warranted July 9, 1755), whi ch he sold to James Smith August 21,1777. He also purchased, November 5 , 1799, a tract of land on LostCreek Ridge, which Denman Beavis took u p on order of survey No. 5117,July 20, 1768, and sold to his son Issac har Beavis."
The History of the Juniata Valley says:
"James Purdy settled at Jericho, and in 1770 put up a grist-mill, thef irst in that locality."
1767 "The following are the names of land-owners in the tax-list,with n umber of acres, horses, cows and cleared land, including thosepublishe d in the list of 1768 for Derry township, Mifflin County:
Purdy, James 100a 2h 1c"
"At the March term of court, 1767, James Purdy, living near nowJericho , was appointed constable, and also at the July term of courtfollowing .
At the July term, 1767, the boundaries of Fermanagh were described asf ollows:
'Beginning at the mouth Cockalumus Creek, up the North side of Juniataa nd to terminate at the middle of the Long Narrows; thence (along themo untain) to the heads of Cockalumus Creek; thence down the saidCreek to t he place of beginning.'"
"James Purdy built a grist-mill upon his farm in 1770, which hecontinu ed until 1779, when it would appear to be continued by JohnPurdy, as h e was assessed upon a grist-mill from 1780 to 1793, atwhich time he so ld to Peter Sturgeon a tract of land containing agrist-mill."
James served as executor of his brother-in-law's estate:
Name: James Purdy
Description: Executor
Prove Date: 22 Apr 1772
Book/Page: B:114
Remarks: James McConnell of East Pennsborough. 23 Mar 1772. WifeMargre t. Sons John, James and William. Dau. Elizabeth, land on creekadjoinin g James Purdy. Land on Buffaloe in the New Purchase,adjoining land of J ames Pleck, in Berks County. Edward Morton andRobert Gilfillan, guardi ans of sons John and James. John Buchanan,guardian of son William and J ohn Elliott, guardian of dau. Elizabeth.Exs., James Oliver, Esq., Jame s Purdy, Wm. Giddes.
"Pennsylvania Packet" Jan 23, 1777
List of Deputies attending the meeting at Carlisle on January 4, 1775a t which
they supported measures passed by the Continental Congress inSeptember 1 774.
James Purdy"
TAXABLE INDUSTRIES.—The tax-lists of Fermanagh township from 1763 to18 31 show assessments on the following, in addition to lands andstock.
GRIST-MILLS.
Purdy, James 1770-79
Purdy, John 1780-93
SAW-MILLS
Purdy, James 1776-78
He was named in the will of a Samuel Fisher:
FISHER, SAMUEL, Tyrone.
July 24, 1775 8 June 1776.
Wife, Mary.
Sons, James, Samuel and Thomas.
Daus. Margaret and Jenny, who are married to James Morrow and JohnCoug hran. Dau. Elizabeth, married to Robert Scott.
Grandson, Hugh Sharron, when of age.
James Purdy.
Exs: wife Mary and son James Fisher.
Wit: George Douglas, George Robinson, Jas. Baxter.
Bk B. 230-131. Cumberland Co, PA Wills
From REVOLUTIONARY WAR MILITIA ORGANIZATION: CUMBERLAND CO., PA.
1780 - 7th BATTALION
Lt. Col. James Purdy
The Mother Cumberland listing says "In May of 1780, the militia wasreo rganized." Purdy's residence, "as ascertained from tax records)was fr om Juniata Co, Fermanagh Twp.
1790 Where was James at census time? Was he the Jas Purday living inH ope Twp, York Co, PA? If so, the census counted 1 male over 16, 2unde r 16, and 3 females.
And in the Pennsylvania Herald Wednesayd, 18 June 1794 was:
"James Purdy has taken in a stray mare at his plantation in HopewellTw p."
Again from the Carlisle Gazette, Wednesday, 13 July 1791:
Sheriff's Sales:
"200 a with improvements. 1 mile below the Long Narrows in Fatmona (?)t wp, now Mifflin Co, on the road leading to Lewis-town; sold as theprop erty of James Purdy."
Again from Fermanagh Twp history:
"John Elliot purchased a part of the Purdy lands, near Jericho, ofJame s Purdy, January 26, 1791, and lived and died upon it."
"In 1793 John Brown had added to his grist-mill a saw-mill; ThomasHenr y owned a tanyard. George Patterson, near Mexico, in 1794, nearhis gri st and saw-mill, built a fulling-mill. Peter Sturgeon ownedthe Purdy g rist-mill. "
1800 Fermanagh Twp, Mifflin Co, PA. The census recorded James livinga lone, his age over 45. Daughter Mary and David Reynolds lived inthe s ame township and also living there was Widow Purdy with 1 maleunder 10 , 3 females under 10, 2 at 10-15, 1 was 16-25, and 1 at26-44. She was p robably a daughter-in-law, but which one?
Lawrence Aubrey at Ancestry.com says:
"Colonel James Purdy was a man of considerable distinction in theearly h istory of Mifflin County, Pa." He was one of the earlysettlers to loca te land in Fermanagh Twp. of Cumberland Co. whichbecame Mifflin Co. an d later Juniata Co. James Purdy's first tract ofland was at Jerico and h e and his sons acquired many land warrants.He also built a grist mill o n his farm in 1770 which he continued to1779, when it was continued by J ohn Purdy
to 1793. On Nov. 5th, 1799 he purchased land on Lost Creek Ridge (give n in Bible of Dr, John P. Reynolds)
He was a township magistrate, mill owner and community leader.
1810 Where was James that year at census time?
Thanks to Lawrence Aubry at Ancestry.com for the following:
This by no means the documents that James purdy is buried here. Beenlo oking for his resting place and I ran across this on the internet.(L. A ubry ]
The Purdy-Sturgeon Family Cemetery
Fayette Township
No visual evidence remains of this family burial plot that lies just'i nside' the Fayette Township line on farmland owned, in 1969, by aMenno nite farmer. It was located at the intersection of Route 35 andSR1002, n ear the crest of the hill, on the north side, in the fieldwest of SR 1 002. [This road leads to Pine Grove Church] The cemeterylay north and w est of the barn, and directly above the highway bridgethat spans the c reek.
According to an interview with a McAlisterville resident, conducted in1 969, this cemetery is the final resting place for perhaps as many astw enty early settler families, namely Purdy's, Sturgeon's, Sharon'sand A nderson's, all from the vicinity of Jericho Mills. The Historyof the S usquehanna and Juniata Valley's lists individuals with thosenames as b eing settlers of the Jericho area. It was James Purdy whobuilt the ori ginal gristmill, which stood about one hundred and fiftyyards south of t he site of the present [1969] mill.
The burial plot may have been fifty to sixty feet square, which was ac ommon size for this area of Juniata County. In 1879, theMcAlisterville r esident's father worked as a hired hand for JacobGayman [Gehman] a Men nonite preacher and an earlier owner of thefarm. He related to his son t hat when the field was plowed in thearea of the cemetery, careful effo rts were made to avoid disturbingthe stone markers. These stones, whic h were of native rock, wereunmarked and over time, they gradually gave w ay and were eventuallyremoved. The cemetery is now part of the cultiva ted field.
In an interview with a former owner of the farm, this gentlemanrelated t hat he had various conversations with a descendant of GeorgeWilson, of t he Wilson estates in Walnut, who related that as youngboy he often vis ited this farm with his parents who were friends withGeorge McCulloch, y et an earlier owner of the farm. McCulloch, anofficer in the Civil War ,
at the end of fighting returned to the farm near Oakland Mills,bringin g with him two Blacks, evidently former slaves. When these twoBlacks d ied, they were buried in the plot at the highest point on thehill.
