by Jonathan Tucker

The most definitive and comprehensive current source for information on MacIntyres in general is the “Clan MacIntyre: A Journey Into the Past,” Martin L. MacIntyre, Regent Press, Berkeley, CA, 2018, second edition.  Copies may be purchased by contacting the author at martin.macintyre@juno.com .

The definitive genealogy is “Descendants of Micum McIntire,” Robert Harry McIntire, revised edition, 1983, Bookcrafters, Chelsea, MI.  This is often referred to as the “Red Book” among Micum descendants because of its bright red cover.  New copies may be obtained through the Gift Shop on this website:  https://micummcintireclanassociation.org/shop/?product-page=2.  Used copies can still be obtained from time to time through online booksellers. There is an earlier version published in 1940–it is less complete but still useful.

Those interested in pursuing their own genealogical connections to Micum McIntire may submit question through this website at:  https://micummcintireclanassociation.org/micum-mcintire-genealogy-questions/

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McINTIRES SERVING IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR – LAND-BASED SOLDIERS

There were at least three ways to serve in the colonial military during the Revolutionary War.

Militia Soldier – You could serve as a member of the local or colony-wide militia. Local militia in York, Maine were actually under the authority of the militia commanders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Maine did not divide off from Massachusetts until March 15, 1820.

Continental Army Soldier – Often after you had first served in the militia, you could be drafted or enlist to serve in the formal Continental Army. First formed on June 15, 1775, it took a while after independence was declared and hostilities were joined for the Continental Congress to get its act together and for General Washington to organize and train a functioning “army of the continent” out of multiple local militia units organized and commanded by officers elected by local soldiers or appointed by specific colonies.

Coastal Defender/Sailor – Congress authorized a Continental Navy in 1775, but at first it had no publicly-owned vessels to serve that purpose. Initially it purchased (starting with just two) or commandeered private ships, often taking over British merchant vessels. It authorized selected colonial ship owners to serve as “privateers” (basically legalized pirates). Some colonies–Rhode Island was first—authorized the creation of their own navies. By the end of the year in 1775, Congress had authorized the construction of 13 new battle frigates. As we will see in the next article, at least one York Mcintire served on such a frigate. There were also shore “fencible” units that kept watch on British sea movements, and guarded harbors and likely points of invasion by sea.

Any McIntire Women? – So far as we know, only male York McIntires served as militia or Continental Army soldiers or as sailors. That may seem an obvious assumption about to make about military service during the 1770s, but it should not be. It is well known that colonial women disguised themselves as men in order to fight for freedom. Deborah Sampson of Massachusetts and Margaret Cochran Corbin of Pennsylvania are examples. (It is worth noting that Margaret’s maiden name, Cochrane, is Lowland Scots.) No women soldiers have yet surfaced among Micum’s ancestors.

LAND-BASED SOLDIERS

The descendants of Micum Mcintire of York who participated in the Revolutionary War as land-based soldiers were the grandsons and great-grandsons of his eldest son John McIntire and his youngest son Micum McIntire Jr. Micum’s middle son Daniel McIntire never married or sired children that we know of. This part of the article will focus on those McIntire descendants of John and Micum Jr. that we can document as having served, and will not cover those for whom there is (as yet) no documented record of their service.

THE GRANDSONS & GREAT-GRANDSONS OF JOHN MCINTIRE & SUSANNAH YOUNG

John McIntire was Micum McIntire’s oldest son. He married Susannah Young, and together they had seven (7) children—Joseph (died age 23, unmarried), Susannah, John Jr., Hannah, Ebenezer, Daniel, and Samuel. It was John and Susannah’s children and grandchildren who participated in the Revolutionary War, including the children of John Jr. (two sons), Hannah (one son), Ebenezer (three sons and a grandson), and Samuel (one son)—a total of eight men.

Sons of John McIntire Jr. and Abigail Webber

Samuel McIntire

Samuel McIntire was born in 1743 in York. He married twice: 1) July 23, 1768 to Dorothy Rogers, with whom had two (2) children. Dorothy died April 17, 1771 and by late 1773 Samuel remarried, 2) Mary Johnson, with whom he had six (6) more children. Samuel was drafted into the Continental Army on August 27, 1777, and served for three months (terms of militia service were often specific and brief). Samuel died January 3, 1810, in York.

Phineas McIntire

Phineas McIntire was born about 1750 in York. On November 29, 1773, in York, he married Lucy Stover, with whom he had seven (7) children. They moved to Biddeford, Maine before starting their family.

Phineas served in Captain John Elden’s Company (militia) of Colonel Lemuel Robinson’s Regiment during the Revolutionary War. The dates and time of his pay tell us where he was, and when. He was paid February 26, 1776 at Roxbury, MA (where he was also allowed pay for 120 miles marched), on April 1, 1776 in Dorchester, MA, and on June 6, 1776 at Pepperellboro (an early name for Saco, Maine).

Phineas and Lucy settled in Biddeford, Maine. He died in late February/early March 1838, In Biddeford. 

Son of Hannah McIntire and Alexander Junkins

John Junkins

John Junkins was born July 19, 1733 in York, the son of Hannah McIntire (John McIntire’s second daughter) and Alexander Junkins Jr. John Junkins was an innkeeper. John married Eunice Young on January 19, 1755 in York, with whom he had eight (8) children.

John served as a private in Captain Thomas Bragdon’s Company of Storer’s Regiment of militia (also referred to as the 3rd York County Militia regiment from August 14 to November 30, 1777. The regiment served as part of General Briskett’s Massachusetts Militia Brigade. John was part of a contingent of York men and others called up as reinforcements for the Continental Army during the Saratoga Campaign. The regiment marched to join the forces of General Horatio Gates in opposition to the forces of British General John Burgoyne in the Hudson River Valley of northern New York. After Burgoyne was forced to surrender on October 17, 1777, the regiment was discharged on November 30, 1777 at Queman’s Heights.

Sons and Grandson of Ebenezer Mcintire and Mercy Randel

John McIntire

John McIntire was born about 1739 in York. On March 7, 1762, he married Esther Nowell, with whom he had five (5) children. A John McIntire—possibly ours—was drafted September 12, 1777 for service in the Continental Army, during the campaign against General Burgoyne in the Hudson River Valley. 

Ebenezer McIntire, Jr.

Ebenezer McIntire Jr. was born about 1746 in York. On May 5, 1771, in York, he married Hannah Linscot, with whom he had eight (8) children.

Ebenezer enlisted as a private in Captain Johnson Moulton’s “Company of Minute Men of the Province of Massachusetts Bay” which marched in response to the Lexington Alarm of April 19, 1775. By 1776, Ebenezer was serving as an ensign in Captain Jedediah Goodwin’s Company. That company was discharged at Albany, NY on November 30, 1776, at which time it was noted that Ebenezer was allowed pay for a total of 280 miles marched. Ebenezer was later one of a group of York men raised for a period of 8 months “to fill deficiencies [in the Continental Army] in quotas of men which had [originally] been raised to serve for three years.” On June 15, 1778, Ebenezer reached Fishkill, NY and joined Colonel Nixon’s Regiment.

Tobias McIntire

Tobias McIntire was born about 1756 in York. Tobias was one of the “six months men” raised by York to reinforce the Continental Army in 1780. He began his service on July 12, 1780, when he marched off to camp under the command of an Ensign Gilbert. His group was discharged on December 16, 1780. He had served for 5 months and 26 days. At his muster, he was described as 24 years old, 5 feet, 3 inches tall, and lightly complected.

After the war, on June 29, 1794, Tobias married Molly Pickernell, with whom he had two daughters, only one of whom survived. Tobias died of smallpox in 1797. Molly remarried in 1801 to a Daniel Cook.

John McIntire, Jr.

Grandson of Ebenezer McIntire and Mercy Randel, and the son of John McIntire and Esther Nowell, John McIntire, Jr. was born January 1, 1765 in York. At the age 17, he enlisted as a Continental soldier in the Second Massachusetts Line, and served in Captain Adam Bailey’s Company from May 2, 1782 to June 1784. He served in the Revolutionary Army for a total of 26 months. For 14 of those months, he served as a private in Colonel Hull’s Congressional Regiment, and was in that unit at the end of the war.

John settled in Lancaster, NH, where he married Sally Stockwell on March 19, 1792, with whom he had eleven (11) children. Sally died September 19, 1812. John remarried to Susannah Bucknam on November 4, 1812 and they had another five children. John died April 5, 1850 in Lancaster, NH. 

Son of Samuel McIntire and Sarah Came:

Jeremiah McIntire

Jeremiah McIntire was born May 21, 1745 in York. Began his service as part of the 1st York Company (militia). On June 25, 1776, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 5th Company of Captain Thomas Bragdon of the Massachusettts (Bay Colony) Militia. In 1777, Jeremiah drafted from the York Brigade to serve under Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Storer in a battalion raised to reinforce the Northern Army (a branch of the Continental Army).

On February 8, 1799, Jeremiah married Eunice Kingsbury. Jeremiah served as a deacon in York’s Second Congregational Church in Scotland District. Jeremiah and Eunice’s eldest daughter Sarah (born Dec. 24, 1798; died Dec. 20, 1875) never married. She was the last permanent resident of the McIntire Garrison.

THE GRANDSONS & GREAT-GRANDSONS OF MICUM MCINTIRE JR. & JANE GRANT

Micum McIntire was Micum’s youngest son. Micum Jr. married Jane Grant, grand-daughter of Dunbar prisoner Peter Grant. They had three children—Alexander, Keziah, and Mary. Alexander in turn married Mary Weare, and they had six (6) children—Dorothy, Mary, Jane, Alexander Jr., Micum, and Keziah.

Sons and Grandsons of Alexander McIntire and Mary Weare

Alexander McIntire Jr.

Alexander McIntire was born about 1738 in York. On May 3, 1775, Alexander enlisted as a sergeant in the company of Captain Jonathan Nowell as part of the regiment of Colonel James Scammon. He reached Cambridge and received his bounty (a coat or its monetary equivalent) on November 16, 1775. His muster review described him as being 40 years old, 6 feet, 2½ inches tall, and lightly complected. He later served as a schoolteacher in Berwick. 

Alexander married twice, first on an unknown date (1773?) to an unknown woman (possibly Deborah Tuttle), and, second, on April 11, 1791, in Berwick, to Sally Cotton. A story in the diary of Joseph Tate, a resident of Somersworth, NH, says that Alexander ‘defeated’ a John Welch for the affections of a Debby Tuttle. In 1773, Mr. Welch travelled to Portsmouth, NH to marry Ms. Tuttle, but found upon his arrival that she had transferred her affections to Alexander.

Sons of Dorothy McIntire and Paul Preble (Great-Grandsons of Micum McIntire, Jr.)

Dorothy McIntire was the eldest child of Alexander McIntire and Mary Weare. Dorothy married Paul Preble and they had eight (8) children—David, Alexander, William, Paul Jr., Abraham Jane, Thomas, and Joel. Of these, their three (3) older sons are documented as having fought in the Revolutionary War. We have only partial and not terribly reliable information about the later parts of these brothers’ lives—whether they married, where they settled, or when or where they died.

David Preble

David Preble was born November 2, 1749 in York, the oldest child of Dorothy McIntire and Paul Preble. He served as a private in Captain Johnson Moulton’s company of Minutemen, which marched in response to the April 19, 1775 Lexington Alarm. He enlisted April 21, 1775. David’s service also shows on muster and pay rolls for Captain Samuel Darby’s Company in Colonel James Scammon’s Regiment, enlisting May 4, 1775, paid July 1775, and returning October 1775.

David was on a February 8, 1777 list of men mustered at Wells by Nathaniel Wells for York County from which muster David served on behalf of the town of York in Captain Samuel Darby’s Company as part of Colonel John Bailey’s Regiment for a term of three years, service for which he received a state bounty. David was present with that company and regiment at the Valley Forge winter camp of General Washington’s troops on January 25, 1778.

A David Preble married Susannah Walpe on September 18, 1784. There is a David Preble in the 1790 U.S. census for York showing one older male (presumably himself) and 4 females (no age given). In the 1800 and 1810 censuses a David Preble is listed with one older woman of comparable age and various male and female children.

William Preble

William Preble was born January 14, 1754 in York. He was with David on February 8, 1777 at the York County muster, and also served in Captain Samuel Darby’s Company as part of Colonel John Bailey’s Regiment. He received a state bounty. William was with his brother David at Valley Forge. “The History of York, Maine” asserts (p. 413) that “William Preble of this company was killed in an engagement.” We have not yet been able to determine where or when.

Abraham Preble

Abraham Preble was born Dec. 7, 1758 in York. In late 1776 or early 1777, he enlisted in the Continental Army for the town of York in Captain Daniel Wheelwright’s Company in Colonel Ebenezer Francis’ Regiment. At the time, he passed muster (physical review) by Joseph Bragdon Jr. He was listed as being 18 years old, 5 feet 4 inches tall, and light complected. He was once again mustered for the same company and regiment on February 7, 1777. He received a state and continental bounty. On January 25, 1778, Abraham was with his brothers David and William in Captain Samuel Darby’s Company and Colonel John Bailey’s Regiment at Valley Forge. 

The Preble brothers were part of the Second Massachusetts Regiment during their time at Valley Forge. The Second Regiment entered Valley Forge with 459 men assigned and 297 fit for duty, and left with 392 men assigned with 226 fit for duty. Serving with the Preble brothers at Valley Forge in the company of Captain Samuel Derby were the following other men from York:

Ensign: Eliakim Hilton
Sergeant: Daniel Webber
Corporals: John Young, Stephen Young
Privates: James MacDonald, Edward Moore, Joseph Parsons, Spencer Perkins, John Perkins, Henry Sayward, Paul Webber, and Nathaniel Young.

Of these men, it is worth noting that while these men are not Micum descendants, the Youngs and Webbers married into the McIntire lines very early. Susannah Young married Micum’s son Micum Jr., and Abigail Webber married Micum’s grandson (John’s son) John McIntire Jr. Eunice Young married John McIntire’s great-grandson) John Junkins.

One of the men who fought in the same regiment as John Junkins at Saratoga was a William Weare. Mary Weare had married Micum McIntire Jr.’s son Alexander. During the Revolutionary War, settlements like York fought as a community, just as their militia had fought side-by-side during King Philip’s War and throughout the French and Indian wars.

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It is worth noting that, so far as we know, only one of the McIntire men who served in the militia, the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War was wounded or killed, though many of them certainly saw battle. William Preble is our only documented casualty. The rest all survived to come home, and that is why many of us are here today.