Though Memorial Day has past, it is fitting to remember our war veterans. A booklet published by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), was my first reference. It names 18 Revolutionary War veterans buried in Delaware County. More have been identified.
One, William Henry Daugherty, Sr., is buried in Mt. Pleasant Township in the Stewart Cemetery. A government monument was erected through the efforts of Linden B. Moffett for Daugherty. We know of at least two other Revolutionary War veterans in Mt. Pleasant Township: John Quinn, buried in the Yorktown Cemetery, and John Gordon, buried at Hawk Cemetery. Of note buried in Salem Township is Campbell Dale, founder of Daleville. He is laid to rest at Little Dale’s Cemetery. More on these veterans later.
It is fitting to recognize Daugherty at this time because the Yorktown American Legion is dedicating a memorial to him in Yorktown Cemetery in September 2021.
Daugherty was born in 1754 in Chester County, Pennsylvania, son of Michael Daugherty, II and Mary Clarke Daugherty. In August 1777, at the age of 23, William enlisted in the colonial militia in the fight for independence. He began his service under the command of Colonel Thomas Gaddis who led his troops to Fort Swearingen “about one mile from the Monongahela River and about one mile below the mouth of Cheat River.”
He stayed at Fort Swearingen for about three weeks and assisted with the capture of a number of Tories. Two of them, William White and Isaac “Boses” were hanged by Colonel Gaddis but Daugherty cut them down “before they were dead and saved their lives”. Of course, with that insubordination, Daugherty was verbally discharged by Gaddis.
Leaving Ft. Swearingen, he went to Ft. Beach Bottom [in West Virginia] on the Ohio river near the mouth of Buffalo Creek. There he served under Captain Samuel Swindler and Lieutenant Michael Cat guarding against Indian invasion from the east. After several months, about September 1778, he and others volunteered to join Colonel John Evans on a special mission.
Evans led the volunteers to join with General Lachlan McIntosh at Cat Fish, near Ft. Pitt. There, the troops built Ft. McIntosh on Beaver Creek. The fort, large for a frontier setting, at one time had a garrison of about 1,500 men. After building the fort, the group left for the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum River and built Fort Laurens. [Daugherty calls the fort “Lawrence”.] After that fort was completed, Daugherty returned to Ft. McIntosh and remained there until 1883. He received his discharge papers in March 1778 and returned to his home in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
But his time with the military wasn’t over. By April 1779, he was called out to John Statler’s Fort. Daugherty was with the troops when the fort was abandoned and subsequently burned by Indians in June 1779. Daugherty said that the troops returned after the attack to rebuild the fort. (The structure was used from 1794 to 1850 as a schoolhouse and a church.) For several years later, he was called out frequently for 10 to 15 days-at-a-time in service of the military.
Daugherty married Lydia Cox on September 19, 1776 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Daugherty moved into Clinton County, Ohio (Census 1820), then to Kentucky, and finally into the wilderness of Mt. Pleasant Township in 1829. (After Daugherty’s death, Lydia returned to Clinton County to be near family.)
In 1832, he first purchased Lot 1 in block 25 “in Brown’s Donation” in Muncietown which he sold in 1834 to J.E. Beck for $48.00. [Book 1, page 267]
The congressional act of June 7, 1832 allowed for Revolutionary War soldiers to file for a pension. Daugherty filed for his pension in Delaware County in 1832. Daugherty’s discharge papers had burned. He was only able to prove a little more than nine months of service to the court. He received just $8 a month for his services. Quotes from Daugherty come from this court case.
Public land in sections 14, 15, and 20 was purchased by Daugherty between 1835-37. He sold 40 acres in section 20 to son William Jr. in 1836 for $200 and 80 acres in section 15 to son James for $300.
William Sr.’s children were: 1) William Jr. married Deborah Koontz; residence Delaware County, IN; 2) James married Mary Ann Reed; residence Clinton County, Ohio; 3) Bridget married Mr. Bell; residence Highland County, Ohio; 4) Hannah married David Reed; residence Clinton County, OH; 5) Lydia married Lewis Ludwig Summers (aka. Somers) in 1805 in Highland, OH)
William Daugherty, Sr. died in 1841. He is buried in the Stewart Cemetery on the bank of White river below Yorktown. His wife, Lydia, moved back to Clinton County, Ohio to be near family. She died there on May 9, 1851, at the age of 89 years. Pension records exist for both William Daugherty and his wife.
Newspaper article below 10 Dec 1931, Muncie Evening Press, Page 5
William_Daugherty__Revolutionary_War_hero__PA___Ohio