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Re: Daniel St. Clair b. 1759 Scotland



At 23:31 13/09/99 -0500, you wrote:
>This is a genealogy request. I am searching for information on my 4th 
>great grandfather, Daniel ST.CLAIR. He was born 17 March 1759 in Scotland 
>and died 28 Feb. 1835 in Northumberland Co.,PA. He is buried along with 
>his wife, Isabella Auchmuty St.Clair at Fisher's Ferry,PA.
>Daniel came to the USA in 1771 at the age of 12. We don't know at this 
>point if he was accompanied by anyone or if he made the trip alone.
>Daniel enlisted in the Rev. War in the spring of 1777 as a drummer in 
>Capt. Nichols Company, Col. Thomas Hartley's Penn. Regt. and was promoted 
>to drum major in this same Company. In 1778,while in battle (not sure 
>which one),he received serious wounds to his body (loss of his left eye 
>and all the fingers of his left hand) which lead to his discharge on 11 
>Nov 1783.
>We know that the Gen. Arthur St.Clair also had a son named Daniel and that 
>the two families often lived in the same counties. I am wondering if maybe 
>our Daniel maybe somehow related to the Gen. as a nephew or cousin?
>I would like to find out about Daniel's Scotish family. If anything sounds 
>familiar, please email me at Premio500@aol.com
>Thanks for your help,
>Carolyn St.Clair Vaughn


Daniel could well have been a son or nephew of Major general Arthur St 
Clair (1736-
1818) as  the dates fit with this conclusion.

The name, Daniel, is not a common one with the Sinclairs.  It seems to have 
been
confined to the Sinclairs of Broynach (most of whom went to America) and Assery
but none of the Daniels I have been able to trace coincide with a Daniel St 
Clair
being born in Caithness in 1759.

In 1771/1772 (the time when Daniel St Clair is said to have come to 
America) Major      General Arthur St Clair had settled on his fine Estate 
in the Ligonier Valley until he
was summoned to Philadelphia by President Hancock in 1775.  In 1776 he raised
a Regiment and in the same year reached Quebec to cover the retreat of the 
imperilled
army.

If  Colonel Thomas Hardy's Pennsylvanian Regiment was also part Major General
Arthur St Clair's troops, you great x 4 grandfather may have been wounded 
at the Battle
of Brandywine (but this is pure speculation on my part).

As you will be aware Major General Arthur St Clair was court-martialled for 
abandoning
Ticonderoga but, later, it was established that his skilful retreat had 
preserved the troops
for the Republic which resulted in the subsequent surrender of Burgoyne at 
Saratoga and
the triumph of the American cause!!!  He was greatly honored and became part of
Washington's 'military family'

He became Governor of the North West territories in 1787 where Lake St 
Clair is named
after him.

I will be writing a full 'history' of the General later in the year when 
(and if) time permits.

Niven Sinclair

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