Numbers on the endnotes look like regular text and are hard to read, but give all the documentation for this report.

Michael McGuire 1695?-1789

Michael McGuire was born about 16951. We have been unable to find immigration records or any indication of his actual birthplace. Wherever he was born we know that Michael was living on the John Lemon farm in Pennsylvania between 1735 and 1737. This farm was located in Adams Co., PA about midway between McSherrystown and Littleton, just west of the Hanover Reservoir. Beginning in 1746, there was a long trial for the murder of John Digges, Jr. The testimonies of this trial are published in both the Maryland2 and the Pennsylvania archives3. According to Chief Justice Allen, Michael McGuire testified in 1752 that ‘17 years ago he had been working on the John Lemon farm and he had worked there for 2 years when Lemon went away and Kitsmiller came.’4 In 1735 this farm would have been under the jurisdiction of Lancaster County, PA. A search of the available records for Lancaster did not turn up any information on Michael McGuire.

Living on the Lemmon farm must have given Michael opportunity to investigate the surrounding lands. On February 29, 1743 Michael Macquire of Baltimore County, Maryland warranted 100 acres of land called “Patience Care”.5 This land was located in the Pipe Creek area near Taneytown in of present day Carroll County. At the time of the warrant, this land was considered part of Baltimore County. Then in 1749 it became Frederick County and in 1837 this area became Carroll County. Michael had this land surveyed on April 2, 17446 and finally patented it on April 28 of the same year.7

At the present time, there are no records for Michael between 1737 and 1743 when he warranted his first piece of land.

Michael was probably married by 1743, because he named his land after his wife Patience Wells. Patience was the daughter of James and Ann Wells of Baltimore County.8 The Wells land was in present day Baltimore County about 30 miles from the location of McGuire land9. The Wells land was about midway between McGuire land and Baltimore. Somehow Michael had to become acquainted with this family in order to meet and marry Patience.

The actual marriage date of this couple is unknown; however, an analysis of the church records might give some indication of a time frame for this marriage. Six of the children of James and Ann Wells are listed in the register of St. Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Church of Baltimore Co., MD.10 This church was located in Baltimore City. Patience was not listed in the church record along the other children. Neither was her brother Thomas, although his marriage to Elizabeth Howard11 and the birth of their first son who was born in 1737.12 It should be noted that it appears that Thomas was the first Wells to participate in this particular church and then his siblings followed him there. The Wells children are listed on page 28 of the first register of St. Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Parish.13 The dates of the entries for page 27 range from March 1734 to April 1737. The exception is when families with more than one child are listed. In the one family on this page the first child is listed as September 1729 and the next child as July 1735. On page 28 the dates range from January 1736 to December 1737 with the exception of the multi-child family that is the Wells family. These births range from 1716 to 1729. It should also be noted that the children are out of order in this list. Honor, who was born is 1724 is actually listed after Alexander [1727] and Ann [1729]. On page 29 the dates range from March 1736 to November 1737 with two multi-children families whose dates range from 1733-1736 and 1735 to 1737. The careful study of these pages show that the register births were not recorded when they occurred but rather were recorded when the actual baptisms occurred. There is one entry that might help establish when the actual baptism took place. “Mayberry born August 12, 1735, baptized April 20, 1738 son of Mayberry and Anne Helms.”14 It would appear that the baptisms on these pages were performed late in 1737 or early in 1738. It would also appear that only the children of James and Ann remaining at home were baptized and they were at least teenagers by this time. We might conclude that Patience is out of the house by late 1737 and probably married to Michael McGuire. Her marriage does not show in the St. Paul’s records. Perhaps this is because she married a Catholic. We know Michael was Catholic because he was referred to as a ‘papist’ in some of the rent rolls.15 We shall conclude that Patience and Michael married sometime between 1737 when she was not joining her siblings in being baptized in the Episcopal Church and 1743 when Michael named his land for her.

Except for the rent rolls, we now experience another gap in official records for Michael between the patent on his 100 acres in 1745 and recording of a mark of cattle and hogs in 1753.16 Michael must have had at least some animals on his farm. On September 7, 1754 Michael got a survey on original 100 and also 785 acres.17 It was noted on this survey that only ½ acres of land was cleared. Michael had owned this land for eleven years, but yet had only cleared ½ acre. Why? Were his children too young to help and he too poor to hire anyone? Since he did not register his mark until 1753, maybe he was too poor to even have cattle! Michael got the patent for this land on November 27, 1754.18 Included at the end of the survey was a statement by Henrietta Maria Dulany stating that she had received payment of 39 pounds five shillings from Michael for 785 acres being part of a warrant granted to her on October 15, 1754. This statement was made on November 28, 1754. Michael seems to have at least partially financed this transaction by selling 20 acres of ‘Patients Care’ to John Logsdon on November 20, 1754.19 The rest of the money seems to have come from Basil Dorsey of Anne Arundel Co., MD.20 By March 10, 1761 finances were getting better because John Logsdon sold the same land back to Michael.21 Also Dorsey released “Resurvey of Patience Care” on March 27, 1761.22 This release does not name the amount of money Michael had mortgaged the land for nor how much Michael paid to have it released.

About this time we need to be careful about which Michael McGuire is being referred to in the records. We know from a deed in 176123 that Michael and Patience had a son Michael. This is the first time this Michael shows in the records with clarity. Some records from this time on are clear referring to Michael Sr. or Michael Jr. or linking Michael and Patience or referring to Michael Sr. as a papist. Michael Jr. was literate and so his deeds bear a signature while Michael Sr.’s only bear a mark. However, some of the records have no such indications and it is sometimes hard to distinguish between the two Michaels. There actually appears to be another Michael McGuire living in Baltimore Co. at this time.24

In 1758 Michael McGuire and Richard Wells of Frederick Co., MD are sureties on the William Holmes estate. Honor Holmes was executrix.25 Honor Holmes was the sister of Patience Wells. This seems to be Michael Sr. who would be the brother-in-law of William Holmes as was Richard Wells, Patience’s brother.

The debt books and the deeds of Baltimore and Frederick Co., MD help us in following Michael and his land transactions. We must remember that the debt books were like tax lists. Sometimes, they are referred to as rent rolls. Everyone who owned land in Maryland had to pay a rent or tax to the governor for the privilege of living on the land. Beginning in 1754 Michael was taxed for his share of ‘Patience Care’.26 This first tax was for 100 acres. By 1756 he is being taxed for 885 acres on ‘Resurvey of Patience Care.’
After 1761, a year in which he seems to have straightened out his finances, Michael begins to sell of much of the land he owned. 331 acres went to Joseph Dyer27, 92 acres went to son, John28. This land was later returned to Michael by John in 176629. Fifty two acres went to Michael30, their son and 100 acres went to Peter McMullen of York, PA31. In 1767 Michael Sr. sells another 46 acres to Michael Jr.32 In 1774 Michael sells two tracts of land to Thomas and James McGuire. These deeds do not indicate if these boys are sons or not. Thomas received 190 acres33 and James received 159 acres34. These two tracts were adjoining each other. Finally, Michael sells the rest of his land to Peter Erb in 1788.35 Michael sells the land on which ‘he now lives’ so Erb sells it back to Thomas Durbin who returns it to Erb after the death of Michael.36 Thomas Bond Durbin was the administrator of Michael McGuire’s estate in 1794.37

The children of Michael McGuire and Patience Wells were:
John (?-1801)38
Michael (?-1793)39
Thomas (1749-?)40
James (1749-1819)41
Patience (1751-1823) married Philip White.42
Nicholas (1753-1813)43
Susan (?-?) married John Welsh.44
Ruth (1760-1843)45 married Nicholas Trucks.
Peter (1763-1850)46
Mary (1766-1829)47


1Frederick County, Maryland Judgments, Part I, 1758, pg. 174. In this petition Michael explains that he is sixty odd years old and has a large, young family. He further states that they have just experienced extensive illness and he was not able to pay his taxes.
2 Maryland Archives, Volume 28, pgs., 539ff. Currently online at www.mdarchives.state.md.us
3 Colonial Records of Pennsylvania, Minutes of Provincial Council of Pennsylvania. Harrisburg, PA: Theo. Penn & Co. Vol. 5. pg. 582-597.
4 McPherson, Edward. The Murder of Dudley Digges : 1752. Gettysburg: Times and News Publishing Company, 1941. pg. 42.
5 Maryland Land Patents LG #3 pg. 231 and PT #2 pg. 84, Maryland Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD.
6 Maryland Land Office, Surveys Frederick County, Maryland #3742, Maryland Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD.
7 Maryland Land Patents LG #3 pg. 231 and PT #2 pg. 84, Maryland Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD.
8 Baltimore County, Maryland Register of Wills and Inventories Book 9 pg. 391, Maryland Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD. On November 14 , 1771 Patience Maguire and Thomas Wells are named as next of kin on estate of James Wells.
9 Maryland State Land Office, Liber P.L. No. 6, Folio 288-289.
10 St. Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Parish, Baltimore City. Register I 1710-1788. Maryland Historical Society, Manuscript Division. Reamy, Bill and Martha. Records of St. Paul’s Parish. Family Line Publications, Westminster, MD, 1988.

11 St. Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Parish, Baltimore City. Register I 1710-1788. Maryland Historical Society, Manuscript Division. Reamy, Bill and Martha. Records of St. Paul’s Parish. Family Line Publications, Westminster, MD, 1988. pg. 33.
12 St. Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Parish, Baltimore City. Register I 1710-1788. Maryland Historical Society, Manuscript Division. Reamy, Bill and Martha. Records of St. Paul’s Parish. Family Line Publications, Westminster, MD, 1988. pg. 12.
13 St. Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Parish, Baltimore City. Register I 1710-1788. Maryland Historical Society, Manuscript Division.
14 Reamy, St. Paul’s Parish Registers
15 Frederick Co., MD Debt books 1754-1773. Maryland Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD.
16 Frederick County , MD Land Records Liber E-251.
17 Maryland Land Records Surveys Frederick Co. #3806.
18 Maryland Land patents BC&GS #1 pg. 374 and BC&GS #2 pg. 100.
19 Frederick Co., MD Land Records Liber E-589-590.
20 Frederick Co., MD Land Records Liber F-1286-1287.
21 Frederick Co., MD Land Records Liber F-1259-1260.
22 Frederick Co., MD Land Records Liber F-1286-1287.
23 Frederick Co. , MD Land Records Liber G- 223-224)
24 Baltimore County, MD Land Records, Liber B. No. I 1760.
25 Frederick Co., MD Testamentary Proceedings, Provincial Court Liber 37 pg. 167
26 1754-1769 Michael McGuire is taxed in the Debt Books of Baltimore Co., MD for 100a of 'Patience Care'.
1756, 1759-1761 Michael McGuire taxed in the Debt Books of Frederick Co., MD for 885 a of 'Resurvey of Patience Care'
1762 Michael McGuire, papist taxed in the Debt Book of Frederick Co., MD for 534a of 'Resurvey of Patience Care'
1763 Michael McGuire, papist taxed in the Debt Book of Frederick Co., MD for 290 a of 'Resurvey of Patience Care'
1766 Michael McGuire taxed in the Debt Book of Frederick Co., MD for 290a of 'Patience Care' and 162 a of 'Resurvey of Patience Care'
1768 Michael McGuire taxed in the Debt Book of Frederick Co., MD for 244a of 'Patience Care'
1769-1773 Michael McGuire taxed in the Debt Book of Frederick Co., MD for 336a of 'Patience Care'
27 Frederick Co. , MD Land Records Liber F 1291-1293
28 Frederick Co. , MD Land Records Liber G- 197-198
29 Frederick Co. , MD Land Records Liber K- 747-749
30 Frederick Co. , MD Land Records Liber G- 223-224
31 Frederick Co. , MD Land Records Liber G-225-226
32 Frederick Co. , MD Land Records Liber K-1149-1150
33 Frederick Co., MD land records V pg. 267
34 Frederick Co., MD land records V pg. 253
35 Frederick Co., MD land records WR 8, p. 212
36 Frederick Co., MD land records WR12 pg. 501
37 Frederick Co., MD Inventories 1786-1802 pg. 308
38 Frederick Co., MD Land Records Liber G- 197-198/Jefferson Co., OH will book 1 pg. 7 written Feb. 6, 1801.
39 Frederick Co. , MD Land Records Liber G- 223-224/Family Bible of Michael McGuire of Cambria Co., PA 1766-1882 (Nov. 1748) copies and transcriptions in possession of Brenda Wallace of Beaver Falls, PA 2007.
40 Old family chart [about 1860-1880] passed down in the James and Ruth Brown McGuire family of WV says Thomas was the twin of James. NOTE: This family's researchers had no contact with Cambria researchers until long after the chart had been made. /DNA research has linked the descendents of Thomas of TN to Michael of MD.
41 Richland Co., OH, common Pleas Court Records 1823-1833 quoted in Gateway to the West Vol. II.
42 Souvenir of Loretto Centenary, Kittell, 1899, Swope Bros., Cresson, PA: says in cemetery list: White, Patience (McGuire) b. 1751 d.7/27/1823
43 Kladder Cemetery, Blair Co., PA/Estate records in Blair Co., PA/Nicholas is named by Peter as his brother in an affidavit that Peter McGuire sworn on behalf of Richard Nagle in 1827 in Cambria Co., PA. Richard Nagle pension records.
44 Article quoting Father Tuigg, pastor of St. John's, recorded in American Catholic Historical Society, RECORDS, 1915. Father Tuigg says he received the story of Prince Gallitzin's arrival at Cambria from Mrs. John Burgoon's dau. who married Jacob Sherry. [this must be Elizabeth who married Nicholas Cherry]. He states that John Welsh who married Capt.Michael McGuire's sister went to Baltimore to get a priest in 1795 because Mrs. Burgoon was dying and wanted to convert to the Catholic faith. This is also family tradition. I have been unable to find anything concrete on this connection.
45 Tombstone and obit in Davenport Gazette, Scott Co.,IA/ Internet records on Scott Co., IA site, Davenport Gazette, March 16, 1843.
46 Mountain Sentinel Ebensburg, PA Thursday, 31 Jan 1850 giving age as 87 years./ 1793 February 4 Thomas Bond Durbin's accounting on estate of Michael McGuire, Sen. Peter McGuire and Mary McGuire listed as nearest of Heirs and Greatest Creditors. [Frederick Co., MD Inventories 1786-1802 pg. 308]
47 1793 February 4 Thomas Bond Durbin's accounting on estate of Michael McGuire, Sen. Peter McGuire and Mary McGuire listed as nearest of Heirs and Greatest Creditors. [Frederick Co., MD Inventories 1786-1802 pg. 308]