by Jonathan Tucker

This is the 19th article in a series of articles about the life and descendants of Micum McIntire, a Scottish prisoner of war who settled in York, Maine, and about MacIntyres in general. This article is about the descendants of Micum McIntire who enlisted or were drafted and participated in the Revolutionary War as coastal defenders or sailors. This article may be revised as new information becomes available.

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.

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 – COASTAL DEFENDERS & SAILORS

In 1775, our newly-constituted Congress authorized the creation of a Continental Navy, 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, 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.

York was a small harbor town of at least minor strategic importance. Many merchant ship owners and the owners of fishing vessels served as an impromptu navy, moving men and supplies, and running British blockades in order to smuggle in basic necessities. 

We are able to identify two Mcintires who served as sailors. One of them is a McIntire from York, and possibly one of “ours.” He’s a bit of a mystery. The other seaborne McIntire is out of Portsmouth, NH, and is included here because it is useful to acknowledge the larger network of McIntires in the region at the time. 

Seacoast Defense

At the outset of the Revolution, York Town Meeting voted to create a Committee of Correspondence to maintain swift communication with nearby towns, and further voted:

“ . . . that there be a Military Night Watch at the Harbour’s mouth, Constantly kept up: of four men each night; two on each side, and that the Col. of the Militia be desired to regulate the same, and to include those of the Alarm list.” 

Enlistments for this purpose were some of the earliest. The first company, commanded by Captain Edward Grow, features some familiar Scottish names, including Bean, Furbish, Grant, and a young Andrew G. Rankin (possibly a grandson or great-grandson of the original Scottish prisoner of war).

Service at Sea

At the outset of the Revolution, British warships had destroyed all of the larger ships in York Harbor. Still, York was close to the large harbor at Portsmouth (NH), and York mariners still managed to operate some captured vessels, smaller vessels, or the vessels of other coastal communities in the service of the Revolution. These included:

“Argo” – A ship with 18 guns, commanded by Richard Trevett. It was sunk “near Old York Harbour” in late 1782.

“Black Prince” (later renamed the “Alfred”) – A brigantine with 12 guns originally captured from the British in the southern Atlantic. Commanded by George Rendall of York.

“Putnam” – A sloop carrying 4 large guns and 10 smaller mounted swivel guns. It had a 45 man crew. Owned by Thomas Donnell of York and commanded by John Harmon.

“Sally” – A schooner carrying a crew of 14 men (in 1781). Also commanded by George Rendall of York.

So there were ship’s captains and sailors from York who served in the Revolution, and there were McIntires among them. We know of two, and both are somewhat special cases.

Primus McIntire

“The History of York, Maine” (Charles Edward Bank, 1935), identifies a Primus MacIntyre (McIntire) of York as one of ten (10) York men who set sail from Portsmouth, NH on August 12, 1777 on the Continental frigate “Raleigh.” With Primus was an Andrew G. Rankin, probably the grandson or great-grandson of Dunbar Scot Andrew Rankin and previously a private in Captain Grow’s Company of seacoast defenders.

The “Raleigh” itself is a character in this story. It was one of the 13 frigates authorized by Congress. It was a three-masted frigate with a full crew of 180 men. It was 131 feet long, carried 32 guns, and weighed 700 tons. It was fast, hard-sided, well built, and lethal. It had been built on what is now Badger Island in Kittery (part of Portsmouth at the time), which is located in the Piscataqua River immediately upstream of the current island location of the Portsmouth Naval Yard.

Here is the list of men that “The History of York, Maine” asserted set sail on the “Raleigh,” with their ranks/positions added from other sources:

Aaron Abbot, private (marine)
John Adams, ordinary seaman
Jotham (poss. Jonathan) Booker, private (marine)
Joseph Bridden, private (marine)
Joseph Clements, captain’s steward
Primus MacIntyre, ordinary seaman*
Thomas Parsons, ordinary seaman 
Andrew G. Rankin, private (marine)
Tobias Sellars, private (marine)
David Tinney/Tina, private (marine).

[Note: A marine is an infantry soldier assigned to a ship, serving as a sharpshooter (musket or rifle) during combat with other ships, or when needed as part of an armed shore party. Hence their rank as “private” rather than any designation as a sailor.]

Other York men were on board, from a comprehensive ship’s muster log maintained by Captain Thomas Thompson for the period between June 1776 and February 1778:

William Harrison, ordinary seaman
Pompey Sweat/Swett, ordinary seaman.

Among these sailors from York, Primus McIntire is a mystery. A list of officers and crew exists that was developed just prior to departure of the “Raleigh” and later (1901) published in Oliver P. Remick’s publication, “A Record of the Services of the Commissioned Officers and Enlisted Men of Kittery and Eliot, Maine: who served their Country on Land and Sea in the American Revolution, from 1775 to 1783.” Primus Mcintire was on not on that list, but Andrew Rankin was. An August 11, 1927 newspaper article in the Portsmouth Herald indicates that seventeen (17) other men not in the official list were nonetheless on board at the time of departure, and that twenty-three (23) additional men were “enlisted on vessels on the cruise to France.” Even more men enlisted in France.

“Primus McIntyer” does appear in Captain Thomas’s comprehensive muster log for the “Raleigh” from June 1776 through February 1778. He is described as follows:

 An ‘ordinary seaman’
 Entered the service on August 5 [1777]
 “Time of appearance, Dischgd,” (discharged?)
 “Entered” (enlisted) for one year
 Place of residence – Old York
 5 feet 7 inches tall
 Black hair
 American.

“Dischgd.” So Primus may have been discharged before he set foot on the “Raleigh,” and the “History of York, Maine” may have been wrong to assert that he set sail onboard. But If Primus was discharged either at the time he appeared for enlistment in Portsmouth, or thereafter (en route and transferred to another ship, or possibly in France?), what then happened to him? More importantly, who was Primus McIntire among our York McIntires? We do not have definite answer, but we have several clues to work with.

Why So Little Information? – Primus McIntire was from York—both the town’s history and a comprehensive ship’s log assert that origin for him. So it is likely he was associated with York’s McIntire families. But no Primus McIntire is identified as a descendant of Micum McIntire in any of the family geneaologies. He is not a descendant of Philip McIntire. He is not a descendant of Ulster Scot William McIntire who arrived in the colonies during the 18th century. Primus only appears on one of the ship’s logs for the crew of the “Raleigh,” and not on the others, although “The History of York” claims that he set sail on that Continental frigate. He does not appear in any earlier or later York records or records for the region. It’s not unheard-of for people in this period to have little or no trail of documents verifying their lives, but it’s unusual. Does it tell us something that Primus appears only in these military records, and not in any others? What sort of person would have their life recorded in so scanty and selective a fashion? That’s our first clue.

What’s With That Name? – Then there’s Primus McIntire’s first name. Primus (pry-muss) is Latin, meaning “the first.” It is what we might call a ‘boldly Roman’ name. While Primus occurred as a colonial surname (last name), it would have been a very unusual first name for an English or Scottish male colonist. While they were no slouches when it came to unusual names, European colonists almost always used first names that were traditional to their origins or were Biblical (Hebraic or Greek) in origin. Latin first names were not unheard of, but they were rare. So, who among the people living in York in the 1770s were frequently given bold, unusual Latin first names, names that were in important ways designed to be badges of their ‘difference’? That’s our second clue.

A Likely Origin – Our third clue is more obvious. If we look around New England at the time, Primus was in fact a common name, but it was almost exclusively reserved as a name for enslaved African men. Which is another reason why it would have been rare and unlikely as the first name of a English, Scottish, or Irish McIntire. As a first name, Primus kept good cultural company with other known male slave names from the York area of the same period, names borrowed from Roman history or mythology such as Pompey, Ceasar/Cesar, Scipio/Sippo, Cato, Samson, Nero, and Zelph. A Primus Shapleigh of Kittery appears as a freed man by the 1790s—he had been owned by Captain John Shapleigh. There was a slave owned by Captain James Littlefield of Wells, Maine named “Prime”—possibly “Primus” shortened as a nickname, just as “Pompey” was often shortened to “Pomp.” There was a slave named Primus who lived in a small settlement of freed slaves on what was referred to as “N*gger Ridge” in Kennebunk, Maine. There were enslaved African men named Primus in the historical records throughout New England—Portsmouth, NH, Little Compton, RI, Boston, MA, Pomfret, CT, Deerfield, MA, Newport, RI, Cambridge, MA, Hartford CT, Springfield, MA, and on and on.

So it is probable—but not proven—that Primus McIntire was an African slave owned by a McIntire family, among Micum’s descendants. As we saw in article 4, there were several African slaves among the families descended from Micum McIntire at the time (Dinah, Sharper, and Prince–see article 8). They were in the families of Alexander McIntire Sr., listed previously. Alexander McIntire Jr.’s brother Micum—who did not serve in the Revolutionary War–had cared for the female slave Dinah in her last days (see article 8).

There were also slaves who had made their way into the McIntires from the Came family (see Prince and Sharper in article 8). Jeremiah McIntire among the land-based York soldiers in article 18 was the son of Sarah Came and Samuel McIntire. Sarah was the 8th child and daughter of Captain Samuel Came, one of York’s well-to-do citizens most associated with early slavery in York. In his will, Samuel Came bequeathed a slave (Sharper) to his grand-daughter Patience Came. Samuel’s daughter-in-law and Jeremiah Mcintire’s aunt-by-marriage Keziah (McIntire) Came (Alexander McIntire’s daughter) also owned a slave (Prince) whom she bequeathed to her two daughters Mary and Jane. 

Serving in Their Masters’ Stead – Finally, it was not uncommon for African slaves to serve in the military on behalf of a conscripted member of a family that owned the slave. If Primus was an African slave, then perhaps he was serving for Alexander McIntire Jr.’s brother Micum or another McIntire of that generation. The aforementioned Remick ship’s list for the “Raleigh” in port indicates that there were at least four men of African ancestry serving on the “Raleigh” when she left Portsmouth. Two of these men were serving for others. Pompey Sweat of York, an ordinary seaman, was serving for John Sweat/Swett of York—a prominent York man who served on York’s Committee of Correspondence. Ceasar Lear of Portsmouth, a seaman, was serving for Tobias Lear of that community. The other two—who may have been freed blacks–apparently enlisted on their own. Peter Adams of Durham (Oyster River), NH, was an ordinary seaman. He may also have been the slave or servant of Reverend John Adams or Lieutenant Colonel Winborn Adams of Durham. Dodge Collins of Worcester, MA was the fourth.

Maybe So, Maybe No – There is one indication—not proof, but an indication—that Primus McIntire was not African. In the comprehensive ship’s muster log for the “Raleigh” from June 1776 through February 1778, “Primus McIntyer”—who was 5 feet, 7 inches tall and had black hair—is described as “American.” In that same muster log, the other four black sailors noted above are clearly identified as “Negro” or “African.” So Primus may have been of European heritage. Or he may have been of mixed-race, very light-skinned, and “passing.”

So this ‘web of likelihoods’ strongly suggests that Primus McIntire was an African slave of the McIntire family in York. If Primus was a slave, perhaps he was discharged because his owner(s) had changed their mind(s) about having him serve, or had sold him. Perhaps he in fact became the Primus Shapleigh who, having been owned by Captain John Shapleigh of Kittery, was free by 1790. Perhaps he got himself discharged by other means and fled to become free. We don’t know (yet). But this attempt to give him an identity illustrates why it is so difficult for people of color whose ancestors were enslaved to learn about their own history. Slaves were an afterthought in the official records, except as property listed in wills. They are at best only partially documented. Given the somewhat contradictory military information on the one hand, and the wholesale absence of civilian information on the other, being an enslaved African man belonging to a York McIntire family is one plausible answer to the mystery of who Primus McIntire was.

James McIntire

There was another McIntire serving on the “Raleigh”—a James McIntire of Portsmouth, NH, who served as a marine drummer (meaning a drummer among the marine infantrymen on board, whose job it was to drum commands above the din of battle). We cannot tie him to York or to Micum, and it turns out there’s a reason for that. There is no James McIntire who matches the right time period among Micum’s descendants, nor among those of Philip McIntire. The closest would be James, the son of Samuel McIntire (son of John McIntire and grandson of Micum, whom see), who was born in April 1771. That James McIntire would have been 6 years and four months old at the time the “Raleigh” launched. While there were indeed boys on board the “Raleigh,” none were that young, and none of them would have had the job of being up on deck during combat, drumming commands to the marine sharpshooters.

The James McIntire on board the “Raleigh” when it launched on August 12, 1777 was instead the son of Ulster Scots Neal and Esther McIntire of Boston. Esther was the daughter of William McIntire, an Ulster Scots immigrant who settled in Warren, Maine in 1720. Both Esther and her husband Neal had been born in northern Ireland to separate McIntire families.

Esther and Neal’s son James McIntire was born January 10, 1755. He was first a foot soldier in the Revolutionary War. He served as a “drum fife” and “drummer” in the company of Captain Tobias Fernald*, 30th Regiment of Foot (militia infantry) in 1775. James McIntire married in Portsmouth, NH on March 2, 1776 to Lois Mushua.

* [Interestingly, Captain Tobias Fernald later (1780) married Dorcas Mcintire, daughter of John Mcintire Jr., and Dorcas WAS a descendant (great-grand-daughter) of Micum Mcintire.]

On July 5 and 20, 1776, James was serving as a private in Colonel Joshua Wingate’s New Hampshire Regiment (militia) which had been defending forts on the Piscataqua River, and which then went to the defense of Fort Ticonderoga. According to the comprehensive muster log of the “Raleigh,” James enlisted on February 4, 1777 for a tour of duty on board the “Raleigh,” and James did set sail and serve.

In 1779, James and Lois had a son, Benjamin, so apparently James made it back from his service on the “Raleigh.” In the William McIntire geneaology (another Red Book by Robert Harry McIntire), there is no specific mention of James’ service on the “Raleigh,” but as an infantryman and a drummer, he certainly fits the bill as a marine drummer.

Our next article will review the descendants of Micum McIntire who served in the War of 1812.