Betsy and William McElhany-where they lived

Betsy McElhany (1768-1849) and her husband, William McElhany (1766-1815) moved between the birth of their daughter, Jane McElhany in 1794 to Ontario County, NY by the 1810 census. Their first son Matthew William McElhany who was a year older than Jane had also been born back in Dauphin County, PA.  They had their next son, Robert Clark McElhany in 1811.

Ontario county ...

Land-hungry settlers from New England swept into upstate and western New York after the Revolution, as nearly five million acres of new lands were available for purchase since the Iroquois were forced to cede most of their territories to the United States. Four tribes had allied with the British and were mostly resettled in Canada: the Mohawk, Onondaga, Seneca and Cayuga.

Transfer of what is now Ontario County to New York formally took effect in 1789, when native title was extinguished and the county was formally established to govern the lands of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase the year prior. The territory first organized as Ontario County was much larger than at present and ran south from the shore of Lake Ontario. As the area was settled, new counties were organized. SOURCE: Wikipedia

 The 1800 census entry at Ancestry (on my tree) used to say the McElhany's lived in Hartford, Ontario County, NY.  Then I read that their household was listed at the bottom of the page, and the total occupants for Hartford was in the middle of the page, with a line drawn and then the Town of Geneseo's residents were started.  So I've now changed my own direction of research about their new home in NY.

The town [of Geneseo] was established in 1789, before the formation of Livingston County [in which it is now situated]. The settlement of Geneseo by the colonists began shortly after the arrival of James and William Wadsworth in 1790. The brothers came to the Genesee Valley from Connecticut as agents of their uncle, Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth, to care for and sell the land he had purchased. (Wikipedia)

 
Betsy is on the censuses (censci?) in Geneseo, Livingston County, NY for 1800, 1810, 1820  and 1830.  In 1818 Betsy's parents (the McNeals) both died in Geneseo, NY, so they had also moved from Pennsylvania.

The town was established in 1789, before the formation of Livingston County. The settlement of Geneseo by the colonists began shortly after the arrival of James and William Wadsworth in 1790.

A year after their third (and last) son was born, the War of 1812 broke out, again against the British.   William McElhany was in "The Pennsylvania -- 22nd Regiment Infantry" (HERE) and he died in 1815 and is buried in Williamsville, NY in a veterans cemetery.

Their oldest son, Matthew (1793-1845) was of age 22 by that time, and he took over the head-of-household for his mother and little brother, and sometimes his sister, Jane.

My cousin, Cheryl says this about him:

"Matthew was obviously the caregiver of the family.  He never married. He had his mother, Elizabeth and brother Robert living with him on 1820 census;  his mother Elizabeth with him on 1830 census;  his mother,  and his sister Jane’s children,  Charles,  Lucinda and Daniel Booth on 1840 census.  Upon his death, in 1845, he willed a portion of his property to Isaac and Jane Booth’s children and his brother Robert and his mother, Elizabeth.  He named his brother Robert as the administrator of his estate."

The McElhanys were in the midst of a geographical area with a spiritual movement known as The Second Great Awakening.

This frontier area was part of the evangelistic activities during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century, when Baptist, Methodist and Congregational preachers traveled and organized revivals and camp meetings. In addition, independent sects developed in central and western New York during this period, including the Church of Latter Day Saints and the Shakers.  (Wikepedia)

By the 1840 census Betsy had moved with her son Matthew to Ohio, Sandusky County, and had other relatives around her.  But none of them had the names that appear in that "Family Bible" which I quoted yesterday.

Interesting thought: you could purchase an old Bible, and inscribe various names and birth dates, and then claim you're related to someone that way.  I wonder if someone did that in this case...

I found an interesting (but long) video about Livingston County, NY, which is where Geneseo is located.  Beautiful scenery, and historical information.