John McCord 1702–1762

Mary McCord McElhany's father John was probably born in 1702 in Stewartstown, Ireland. His parents were from Argyle, Skye, Scotland however.

John McCord

Birth 1702 • Stewartstown, Tyrone, Ireland

Death 1762 • West Hanover, Dauphin, Pennsylvania,

Some information is available on Stewartstown, County Tyrone, Ireland.

 The castle Stewart was probably there when his family immigrated from Scotland.

This Presbyterian Church may not have been built at that time however, but having Scotch parents they would have belonged to that church.

Stuart Hall was made into a postcard later on, but it is possible that it was there when the McCords lived in Ireland.

And this is a more modern aerial view of Stewardstown, County Tyrone, Ireland.

His ancestry information is pretty confusing.  One source says he was born in Scotland.  And it says he died in Paxton, near Derry PA in 1762.  It does have information that he joined the Presbyterian Church in 1733 in Derry, PA (now Hershey).  It has no information on his spouse or his mother.  But it does say he had a son, William, born in 1740 in Ireland, who died Sept. 9, 1806 in Erie PA. (Source: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/t/e/Dana-L-Stearley)

A modern designed tartan plaid for the McCord family

John McCord and his brothers, David and William were some of the earliest settlers of central Pennsylvania.  As early as 1750 he and his brothers names appear on tax lists of Derry and Hanover townships, Pennsylvania.  In 1756 the McCord Fort stood in the settlement of Conococheague.  In the same year it was burned by the Indians and twenty-seven persons were either killed or carried into captivity.  No authentic record of the family exists beyond their settlement in Sherman's Valley, now Perry County, Pennsylvania, when they built their house prior to the Indian War of 1755-1763.  The house was standing a few years ago (written in 1905) and bore its marks of bullets fired by the enemies of the white man.

 In this valley dwelt the families of Robinson, Black, Moorhead, Fisher, Crawford and McCord who intermarried at an early period.  Their farms were located on the west side of the Susquehanna river along the Swatara and Manada creeks. The most desperate Indian outrages were perpetrated and at one time the valley was almost deserted by the settlers.  After the French and Indian War, the savaages moved on and gradually the old Scotch-Irish families returned.  Some of their cabin homes were not destroyed, but the majority were in ashes.  That of the McCords escaped the fire and hatchet of the redskin.

In the burial grounds of Derry, Hanover and other of the Presbyterian churches of central Pensylvania, lie the remains of many who bear the name and who doubtless descendants of the original families that have settled, and who were closely connected by ties of blood.

from  "History of the Families of McKinney, Brady, and Quigley" by Belle McKinney Hays Swope, published Newville, Pennsylvania, 1905

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So John McCord settled (where his children were born) in what would later become West Hanover Township, Dauphin County, PA.

Did I mention that one source says he married a woman named Anne in 1725 in Pennsylvania?  I don't know who she was, nor if they had any children.  Oh, she was killed in the Indian attack on Fort McCord.  The plaque memorializing that has her as Anne, wife of John McCord.

Monument for Fort McCord

Anne wife of John McCord among those killed

Ancestry trees also has him marrying about 1741 to Mary MacIntyre in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.  She was probably born in 1712 in Derry, Ireland, and they had at least 4 children.  This seems to be the most popular description of his family.

But there are many different possiblities from different trees.  One said she was Mary McCarty born in 1722, another had her as a completely different name.  Unfortunately my 7 times great grandmother didn't get any records written about her, but I am sure she was a real woman, who had all the joys and activities and sorrows of any woman of her times.

And it's always possible that some old records will be found that talk all about Mary McCord, mother of all those people that would eventually bring about me and my own children and grandchildren.

Derry Session House and Enclosure — at 248 East Derry Road, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. This is a 1740s Presbyterian Church enclosed in a 1927 (renovated 1999) glass building, built originally by Milton S. Hershey, next to his home High Point. Note that both the church and the glass enclosure are on the NRHP, since November 21, 2006.

An interesting oral history is also on Ancestry (transcribed as J.T. McCord's book.)  There don't seem to be any similarities to my tree beyond the immigrant John McCord. The lineage that is followed in this record are descendants of Robert McCord.

Next I'll look at the earliest records I have of the McCords, who were MacKorda or MacCorda in Scotland.

Today's Quote:

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." Henry David Thoreau