Joseph McCargar (1748-1831)

Joseph McCargar appears to have been quite a character and didn’t seem to have any qualms about embellishing his life and times. Statements on his several land grant applications seem to be made solely for the purposes of enhancing his chances to receive the grants, often lacking factual integrity, so we do not consider these statements as a reliable source of historical facts unless verified by other sources. While the embellishments on his early applications may have been to gain sympathy for his petition, by the time of his last application (age 82) they may have become the truth, as he remembered it.

Birth

Joseph was born ca.1748 in County Antrim, (Northern) Ireland. While we do not have any records that indicate his exact birth year or birthplace, the available documents allow us to make an educated guess.

Determining that County Antrim was his most likely place of birth derives from the following three reasons:

1. Much of our family lore has County Antrim as one of the possible origins for Joseph and his brother Thomas. Glengarry, Scotland is the other popular choice, but we have never found any supporting evidence for the latter.
2. All references relating to the name “McCargar” from the “old country” prior to 1800 are from County Antrim, and date back to 1653.
3. A 1759 document titled “Index of Will approved in the Diocese of Conner” lists a Thomas McCarger of Antrim, Ireland. This establishes the existence of McCargars in Antrim in the same era as Joseph’s birth.

Determining Joseph’s birth year is a little more problematic. We have nine documents that provide age information (five give an age and four give an age range), and between them we can extract three possible birth dates: 1748, 1752, or 1758. Most of the evidence points towards 1748, so until further documentation is uncovered that’s the date we’re using.

• Joseph’s June 24, 1784 British Army letter of discharge has his age at 27, indicating a birth year between June 1757 and June 1758.
  * We believe that this age may be another one of Joseph’s embellishments (or a clerical error) as it is wildly inconsistent with all the other documents.
• Two different 1800 US census records lists him in the “over 45” age category, placing his birth prior to 1755.
  * This supports both the 1752 and 1748 birth years.
• The 1804 South Gower, Ontario census lists his age as 52, indicating a birth year around 1752.
  * This is the only document giving his age as 52.
• The 1808 South Gower census lists his age as 59, indicating a birth year of 1748 or early 1749.
  * He aged 7 year over a 4-year span?
• The 1810 South Gower census lists his age as 61, indicating a birth year of 1748 or early 1749.
  * Consistent with the 1808 census.
• The 1813 and 1817 South Gower census lists him under the “over 60” age category.
  * Supports both the 1752 and 1748 years.
• In Joseph’s January 5, 1831 land application, he states his age as being 82, indicating a birth year of 1748.
  * We’re inclined to believe this one due to the tendency of people to be more honest about their age as they get older; however, Joseph made some other seemingly dubious claims in this same document, so our trust only goes so far…

There has never been any information found on Joseph’s immediate family. Family lore is adamant that he and Thomas were brothers, but there also is no documented proof to corroborate this. The rarity of the McCargar name, the circumstances surrounding their enlistment in the British Army, their appearance together in the same New York town and subsequent move to Canada, and them both being listed on the same land grant documents in South Gower, all indicate, at minimum, a very close familial relationship. So, it’s brothers until we find contradicting evidence.

The American War of Independence

The oldest record we have for Joseph (and his brother Thomas), is the muster roll from the British Army’s 21^st Regiment of Foot, Royal North British Fusiliers, taken on February 28, 1777 at St. Johns, Quebec (Upper Canada/Ontario). Joseph is identified as a private, present for the entire muster period (June 25, 1776 to December 24, 1776).

In an 1831 land application, Joseph states that he came to America as part of Burgoyne’s army, of which the 21^st Regiment was a part. See The McCargar Connection for details on the mystery surrounding the brothers’ enlistment.

Joseph’s army career spanned 8 years, from 1776 to 1784. Until the end of December 1776, he was a private in a company of the 21st Regiment of Foot, led by Captain Jaspar Farmar. At some point between December 1776 and June 1777 he was transferred to a detachment company of the 21^st, under Captain Frederick Disney, where he remained until July 1778. Captain Disney’s detachment was not part of General Burgoyne’s Army that fought and surrendered at Saratoga, New York in 1777, but remained behind in Canada as a rear guard. After Burgoyne’s surrendered at Saratoga, Disney’s detachment was all that remained of the 21^st, so on July 25, 1778 it was disbanded and Joseph, along with about a dozen others, was transferred to the 34th Regiment of Foot. Joseph remained in Canada with the 34th until his discharge on 24th of June 1784. Apparently, that wasn’t the end of Joseph’s service with the military, however, as on the 34^th’s muster roll for 1784 it shows him being discharged as well as under the heading “Intermediate period” as re-enlisted on Sept 8, 1784 and subsequently “deserted” on Oct 14, 1784.

On an 1807 land application, Joseph claimed he was captured at Saratoga (with Burgoyne’s army), escaped, and returned to Canada to join the 34th Regiment. There is nothing in any muster roll or other document that supports this claim. All indications are that he remained in Canada throughout the war. Further evidence that refutes his claim is that Captain F. Disney, his 34th Regiment’s Captain, does not appear on the list of Burgoyne’s officers that surrendered at Saratoga. Joseph probably tried to use the “captured and escaped” story (probably taken from his brother’s escapades) to garner sympathy for his land grant application.

After the War

Up until August 1, 1797, discharged British soldiers were offered land in lieu of transportation back to England. The parcels of land available to them were put in a hat and each soldier pulled his allotment. Of course, the quantity and quality of land was determined by rank, with the officers receiving the most and the best while the privates receiving the least and the worst. A private’s allotment of 200 acres tended to be far from water, difficult to find, and marginal (at best) for farming. The only records kept of these allotments was a land occupancy ticket (given to each soldier) with the lot number as proof of ownership and a map with the soldiers’ names written on the appropriate parcel. To sell his land, all a soldier had to do was sign the back of his ticket and give it to the new owner – there was no government land registry system until 1795. Joseph received his allotment of land in 1784 in Township No.5, Bay of Quinte (Marysburgh, Ontario).

Soldiers receiving these land allotments weren’t expected to go into the wilderness and support themselves right away though. Instead, the British government provided them with rations for three years on a reducing scale. Each person in the soldier’s family over the age of 10 received full rations in the first year, two-thirds in the second year and one-third in the third and final year. Children under 10 received half those rations. After the end of the third year, the settlers were expected to be able to support themselves. A typical daily ration consisted of one pound of flour and one pound of beef (or 12 ounces of pork), but there was considerable variation in the rations, depending on availability.

Joseph’s allotment at that time was still considered to be in the western part of the Montreal district of the colony of Quebec, Canada. He appears on the 1784 and 1785 Army’s Provisioning lists as being eligible for one ration (this establishes that he was still unmarried up to the end of 1785). The 1784 list (dated October 4) also shows a notation beside his name: “Gone up to Niagara to settle with Regt. Expected this fall”. This notation may go a long way in explaining the “deserted” notation on the 1784 muster roll for the 34th Regiment. We had always assumed that it was a “sneak off into the bush” kind of desertion, but the Provisioning list notation seems to indicate that it may have been an amicable separation with the “deserted” designation not carrying the same meaning as it does today. If it was a “sneak off into the bush” kind of desertion, it is hard to believe that the British would keep providing him with rations. The re-enlistment and desertion notation on the muster role was more than likely the Army’s way of keeping track and paying someone on a short-term basis.

We have no records of Joseph’s whereabouts for the next ten years, between 1786 and 1796, but we believe he probably remained on his land in Marysburgh. Sometime between October 11 and November 15, 1796, Joseph appeared in a Kingston, Upper Canada court to exchange his land Occupancy Certificate/Ticket for a deed to the land he reportedly occupied. At that time, Joseph jointly occupied land (lot 7, 1st Concession at Marysburg) with John Husley, a fellow discharged soldier from the 34th. This would not have been land allotted to either of the privates since 1st Concession land was the best land (usually with river access), reserved for Officers – privates would have received lower quality Concession 8 and 9 land. So, sometime during the “missing” ten years, the pair must have upgraded their allotments from worst to best. A note of interest on the 1796 land document: Joseph is listed as James McCarger. This is either a clerical error or possibly a deception on Joseph’s part.

US and Marriage

Joseph must have sold his share of the Marysburg property sometime between 1796 and 1800, since he next appears in two 1800 US census records. The first record was in the Lower Dublin Township, Philadelphia County, PA and the second was from Granville, NY (the Granville census was enumerated about 3 months after the PA census):

Presumably, the female (26 to 45) was his wife Catey and the male (10 to 16) was a boy named Joseph Melvin (who lived with them for many years), but we have no further information on who the other female (10 to 16) and male (16 to 26) from the Philadelphia record were, or what happened to them.

One mystery has been how and/or why Joseph would have ended up in Pennsylvania (and Granville, NY) from Canada. We know that Joseph made many false statements on his Canadian land grant applications. One that has usually been dismissed as being false was on his 1831 submission where he professed to have returned to England. If this statement was actually true, and he went back to England after selling his property in Canada, he may have returned to North America through an east coast US port. That may explain how he could have ended up on an 1800 Pennsylvania census.

Another mystery which may also be resolved by a return to England is where and when he meets his wife Catey.  For many years Joseph and Catey had a young boy living with them named Joseph Melvin – the speculation has been that he was Catey’s son from a previous marriage. A Melvin researcher reported that their family lore has Joseph Melvin’s father dying on the immigration trip to North America. So, if our Joseph was on that same ship and hooked up with the widow Cathy and her 3 children, and they landed in Pennsylvania, it would be a plausible explanation for the census record, marriage and some of the future statements Joseph would make on his land grant applications.

The first record we know about that mentions a wife by name is from the wedding of a Revolutionary War pensioner near Guilderland, NY, from sometime around 1800, where Joseph and Catey (Catherine) McCargar are listed as witnesses. We do not have a copy of that marriage record, nor do we know the exact date or names of the bride or groom; however, this reference came from Robert McCargar – a very reliable source.

In 1801, Joseph was still in New York as he appeared on an Oneida, NY, property tax roll as owing 72 cents taxes on a property valued at 100 dollars.

Canada

Joseph’s next move was back to Canada, where he’s found on the 1802 Edwardsburgh, Ontario census. Edwardsburgh began a yearly enumerating of its residents in 1800, which tells us that Joseph arrived there after the 1801 census and moved away (to South Gower) before the 1803 census, since he only appears there only in 1802. Consistent with the Granville and (future) South Gower census records, the Edwardsburgh census shows Joseph with one adult female and one male child in his household.

It’s also from Edwardsburgh where Joseph made his first application for a land grant as a military claimant, stating:

“That your petitioner served his Majesty, first as a Volunteer, afterwards as a soldier in the thirty fourth Regiment of Foot during the space of eight years and having enlisted after his Majesty’s Proclamation of the 16th December 1775 become entitled to his discharge.–

That your Petitioner has a wife and three children Your Petitioner therefore prays your Excellency in Council that you will be pleased to grant him such portion of land as is allowed in like cases–and your Petitioner as in duty bound shall ever pray.

I Joseph McCargar the above named petitioner do solemly make oath that I am of upwards of twenty one years of age and that I have never received any land from the crown.”
* We know this last statement was false, and the three children mentioned above were more than likely the three shown on his 1800 PA census.

This application was neglected by Joseph (probably because he had moved to South Gower, Ontario), so it was cancelled on August 3, 1804.

In August 1803, Joseph and thirty-one other applicants (including his brother Thomas) applied for land in South Gower, Ontario. The land was granted to the brothers and twenty-seven others by order of Council on October 12, 1803. This grant was for vacant Crown land, sold to immigrants who reportedly had been in the province for at least four years (a lie for both Joseph and Thomas). The 200 acres of land that they received cost each applicant 5 pounds Sterling, plus one pound, seven shillings, and six pence for surveying costs. There has been some family speculation that his application was as a military claimant, but this land was an outright purchase by an immigrant.

On February 19, 1807 Joseph again applied for land as a military claimant, stating:

“That your Petitioner was a soldier in His Majesty’s 21st Regiment of Foot and was made prisoner with the Regiment at the Convention of Saratoga, when he made his escape and joined His Majesty’s 34th Regiment and obtained a good, valid, and sufficient discharge at the conclusion of the War. That your Petitioner has received no lands from Government for his services – Humbly solicits Your Excellency in Council for such a quantum of land as usually granted to persons of his description.”
* Again, erroneous statements as he never was at the battle of Saratoga and he had received crown land in 1784.

This petition was rejected.

On January 5, 1831 Joseph yet again applied for land as a military claimant. On this application he states:

“That your Petitioner first came to America as a Private Soldier under General Burgoyne in the year 1776 under whom he served during the Revolution, at the close of which he received his discharge as Sergeant in the light company of the 34th Regt and returned to England. Your Petitioner afterwards returned to this country, purchased a lot of land, on which he resided until a few years since when it became unavoidably necessary that he should dispose of it to support himself and his aged wife. That he never received any lands nor order for any lands from his Majesty’s Government of Upper Canada, although fully satisfied from the munificent character of the British Government that it might be obtained had it been applied for – but so long as your Petitioner retained his health and activity he did not wish to trouble your Excellency’s predecessors with an application for lands, but he had now arrived at the advanced age of 82 years and having no fixed place of residence, unable to do any kind of work for a living, and totally dependant on the fluctuating feelings of humanity for the common sustenance of life, he prays your Excellency will be pleased to devote a few moments to reflection upon the justness of your Petitioner’s claim and make such order in his behalf as your Excellency in your wisdom may consider just.”
* Oh my, what a sad story. The returned to England statement is still up for debate, and as for being discharged as a Sergeant, at best this can only be attributed to “time usually embellishes Military rank.”

His petition was rejected on April 9, 1831 with the statement:

“All claims for military lands ceased on the 1st August 1797 – therefore the prayer of the Petition cannot be recommended.”

We believe that Joseph died later in 1831, more than likely in South Gower, but we have found no record of the date, place, or burial.

Catey (Catherine) McCargar

We know Joseph’s wife’s name from the South Gower census records for 1804, 1805, 1808, and 1810. Unfortunately, we do not know when or where they married, nor do we know Catey’s maiden name. We suspect that Catey was previously married since a boy named Joseph Malvin lived with Joseph and Catey for many years. There is also an account from a direct descendant of Joseph Malvin that the Malvin family emigrated from England and that the father died en route aboard ship. This may also explain Joseph’s claim of three children if they were Catey’s from her first marriage.

We believe Catey was born about 1759, but her actual birth year is confused by conflicting records. The 1804 South Gower census shows her age as 45, while both the 1808 and 1810 South Gower census records show her age as 46. Any of the three ages could be true, but we feel the 1804 census was probably closer to the truth.

As with Joseph, we have no records of when or where Catey died. We do know that she was still living as of the 1823 South Gower census, and maybe even in 1831, depending on the validity of the statement on Joseph’s land application.

Descendants

There is no evidence that Joseph had any children of his own, despite the declaration that he made on his 1802 land application. We suspect that the three children Joseph referred to (if there were actually three) may have been Catey’s children from her previous marriage, used as a ploy to try to gain sympathy for his land application.

We know from the British provisions list of 1785 (muster roll #16) that he was still unmarried at the end of that year. This means that the earliest an in-wedlock child of his could be born would be late 1786. Thus, by the time of his 1800 census records he could theoretically have had three children, all under 13.

Although the 1800 PA census does show him with three “children”, the male (16 to 26) does not fit the timeline. Then only three months later, the 1800 NY census shows only one male child (10 to 16). Later census records from South Gower still show only the one male child, and, where named, is identified as Joseph Melvin (not McCargar).