at which the three brothers, Matthew, Michael, and Alexander, are said to have come from Armagh to America. Possibly, all had gone at the same time from Scotland to Ireland. Michael Ochiltree married, in Ireland, in 1767, Mary Elliott. Her grandfather had suffered imprisonment in Scotland, on account of his religious faith, and the family had emigrated to Ireland. In 1793, Michael and Mary Ochiltree, with their five children, all grown, the eldest having died in Ireland, sailed from Port Down, Ire- land, for America, landing at Philadelphia. One account gives the place of birth of the two youngest children as Newry Down Co. So it seems evident that they had lived in that county for some time before leaving Ireland. The Captain of the vessel in which they crossed the ocean, los- ing his bearings, sailed out of his course for several weeks. Provisions ran low; but their signal of distress was finally seen, and they were saved. They went, almost immediately on landing, to Augusta County, Virginia, where Michael Ochiltree died, Feb. 10, 1815. Mary Ochiltree died ten years later, Dec. 15, 1825. Both are buried in the oldest cemetery in that sec- tion, near Staunton; their graves unmarked, as graves were, for the most part, at that day. Mary Ochiltree was a devoted Christian woman, kind and loving; her life full of good deeds for others. She predicted that her grandson, William Young, would preach the Gospel. Placing her hand on his brow, she said, “Don’t you see the grace of God there? He will be a preacher.” And when he became a Methodist preacher, to the dismay of his family and friends, Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, in those early days of Methodism, his aged grandmother gave him her blessing. E.l. Elinor Ochiltree; b. in Armagh, Ireland, in 1768; d. in 1778. E.2. Matthew Ochiltree; b. 1770; m. Rosana Murphy. E.3. Mary Ochiltree; m. Mr. Clinton, in Pa. E.4. Nancy Ochiltree; m. Joseph Lowry. (See the Lowrys). E.5. Michael Ochiltree, Jr.; m. his cousin, Peggy Young. E.6. Rachel Ochiltree; m. William Young. Matthew Ochiltree, born in Armagh, Ireland, in 1770, eldest son of Mich- ael and Mary (Elliott) Ochiltree, came, with his parents, to Augusta Co., Va., in 1793. A descendant of Michael Ochiltree, his brother, states that Matthew left Augusta County, and that neither Michael, nor his descend- ants, ever heard of him again. In the Chalkley papers, in items taken from Circuit Court records, is found the following: “Petition for road in Rockingham Co., 1793, from Matthias Amons Mills, crossing North River at Collis’ Ford near Jason Scotts, thence to Rockish road near Peter Kib- linger’s . . . road passes through lands of Matthias Ochiltree, Thomas Hanna, etc.” Superior Court for district of Augusta, Bath, Rockbridge, and Rockingham; Deed 22, Feb. 1796, by Rosana Ochiltree to Matthias Amond, 10% Acres in Rockingham, on South River, recorded in Rocking- ham, 1796. It is said by descendants of Matthew Ochiltree’s sisters, that he died comparatively early in life, leaving two daughters, Annie and Mary. These items from the records, would seem to indicate that he had married and settled in Rockingham Co., in 1793, the same year in which he came to America, and had died previous to, or in the year, 1796. An advertisement, inserted in a Harrisonburg, Rockingham Co., Va., paper, and ensuing correspondence, with Mrs. F. P. Showalter, of Port Republic, Rockingham Co., too late for thorough investigation, elicits the following: About This Document
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 23:20:56 +0000
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