Rev. James Finley and Hannah Evans
Husband Rev. James Finley 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Born: Feb 1725 - County Armagh, Ireland 4 7 Christened: Died: 6 Jan 1795 - Rostraver Twp, Westmoreland Co, PA 3 4 7 Buried: - Rehoboth Cemetery
Father: Michael Finley (1683- ) 4 6 8 9 10 Mother: Ann O'Neill ( - ) 9 10
Marriage: 1752 - Maryland 7 11
Wife Hannah Evans 7 11 12
Born: 1715 7 11 Christened: Died: 1 Apr 1795 7 11 Buried:
Father: Robert Evans ( - ) 7 11 13 Mother: Margaret Kilpatrick ( - ) 14
Children
1 M Rev. John Evans Finley 7 11
Born: 6 Jul 1753 7 11 Christened: Died: Aft 1813 - Ohio Buried:Spouse: [Unk] Ruston ( - ) 7
2 M Samuel Robert Finley 7 11
Born: 19 Dec 1754 11 Christened: Died: 25 Oct 1839 7 11 Buried:
3 F Margaret Finley 7 11
Born: 5 Sep 1756 7 11 Christened: Died: 10 May 1836 7 11 Buried:Spouse: Col. John Power (1757-1805) 7 11
4 M Ebenezer Finley 2 3 7 11 15
Born: 30 Dec 1758 or 28 Dec 1760 - Cecil Co, MD 3 7 11 Christened: Died: 18 Jan 1849 7 11 Buried: - Dunlap's Creek Cemetery, Fayette Co, PASpouse: Jane Kinkaid (1762-1793) 3 7 16 Marr: 29 Jan 1782 3Spouse: Violet Lowrey (1775-1804) 3 7 16 Marr: 8 Apr 1794 3Spouse: Margery Cunningham (1769/1770-1822/1822) 7 16 Marr: 14 Mar 1805 3Spouse: Mrs. Sarah Jones (1769-1847/1848) 7 16 Marr: 1822 3
5 F Hannah Finley 7 11 17
Born: 20 Jun 1764 7 11 Christened: Died: Bef 1820 7 Buried:Spouse: John Robinson ( - ) 7 11 17
6 M Joseph Finley 7 11
Born: 13 Dec 1766 7 11 Christened: Died: 3 Jun 1860 7 11 Buried:Spouse: [Unk] Veech ( - ) 7 11Spouse: Frances Moore ( - ) 7 11
7 M James Finley 7 11
Born: 14 Jan 1769 7 11 Christened: Died: 17 Nov 1772 7 11 Buried:Spouse: Did Not Marry
8 M William Finley 5 7 11
Born: 10 Jun 1772 7 11 Christened: Died: 20 Aug 1857 7 11 Buried:Spouse: Sarah Patterson ( - ) 7 11Spouse: Margaret Wilson ( - ) 7 11
9 M Michael Finley 7 11 12
Born: 24 Mar 1774 7 11 12 Christened: Died: 29 Jul 1850 7 11 12 Buried: - Rehoboth CemeterySpouse: Eleanor Elliott ( - ) 7 11Spouse: Mrs. Mary Plumer Smith ( - ) 7 11
General Notes: Husband - Rev. James Finley
He was minister of Rock or East Nottingham Church, Cecil County, Maryland, 1752 to 1783; and of Rehoboth and Roundhill churches, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, 1783 to 1795.
As early as the year 1765 the Rev. James Finley, then living on the eastern shore of Maryland, came out through southwestern Pennsylvania on a tour of exploration in the service of the church with which he labored, his mission being presumably to learn how the people of that region were supplied with the means of religious worship. He was accompanied on his journey (made on horseback) by a Mr. Philip Tanner, a fuller by trade, whose object in undertaking the excursion was the looking for a favorable land location. This object had likewise something to do with Mr. Finley's journey, for he had a family of six sons, and he conceived the idea that perhaps he might find for his boys a place where they might grow up with a new country and lead a life of independence. Mr. Finley is supposed to have been the first minister of the gospel to penetrate west-ward of the mountains for the purpose of spreading the influences of religion among the inhabitants. Army chaplains had been there before him, but they could scarcely be classed in the same category. He preached wherever he found a place and opportunity, and returning to the same country subsequently on similar expeditions in 1767, 1771, and 1772 became well known. In 1771 he selected some lands lying in Redstone and Menallen townships, and in 1772 brought out his son Ebenezer, a lad of fourteen, whom he intended to be trained in the hardy experience of a pioneer. With his son he brought also a few negro slaves and Samuel Finley (not related to the Rev. James), to the latter of whom he gave the charge of the lands and the guardianship of young Ebenezer.
The Rev. Mr. Finley himself never became a resident of Fayette County, Pennsylvania. He lived in Maryland until 1783, when he accepted a call to preach for a church in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. There he remained in charge of the congregation until his death in 1795.
There is an amusing story told of the appearance of Rev. James Finley and Philip Tanner in the Dunlap's Creek Valley. It recites that Messrs. Finley and Tanner rode up to the house of Capt. John Moore, of German township, and upon their near approach were espied by Capt. John's youthful son Aaron, who, running as fast as he could into the house, cried out almost breathlessly to his father, "Pap, pap, there be two great men out there. I know they're great men 'cause they've got boots on." Evidently "men with boots on" must have been rare objects in that country at that day. [HFC 1882, 653]
He was a native of Cecil County, Maryland, and came to Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in 1765, on a missionary tour, and to seek out land locations for his sons. He made a second trip in 1767, and a third trip in 1771, when he purchased a large tract of land on Dunlap's creek. He was instrumental in bringing thirty-four Presbyterian families from Maryland into Fayette County, and establishing five churches of his religious faith in Southwestern Pennsylvania. [BPCFC, 332]
He was born in County Armagh, Ireland. He was nine years old when the family emigrated to the province of Pennsylvania, and his early education was received at Flagg's Manor, Chester County. In 1752 he was ordained by the New Castle Presbytery, and became pastor of the church at East Nottingham. In 1765 he established his son Ebenezer, a lad of fourteen, on a tract of land in Fayette County, and thereafter made frequent trips to that region, others of his children also settling on the far side of the mountains. Thirty-four families belonging to his East Nottingham congregation also came West, being scattered over an extensive area. Mr. Finley had some special commission from the Council of State in the West, and it is on record that in 1788 he resigned his commission as justice of the peace and as a member of the Court of Common Pleas. In 1782 Mr. Finley removed to Westmoreland County with his family, and in 1785 he became pastor of the Rehoboth and Round Hill churches, to which he continued to minister to the close of his life. He was the owner of four hundred acres of land, Rehoboth church standing near the centre of the tract, and his own house, which was built of stone, occupying a neighboring site.
He married in Maryland the daughter of a slave-holder, and brought several slaves with him to Westmoreland County.
Mr. Finley is described as having been a short, compactly built, nervous man, well fitted to endure the hardships of frontier life. [ONW, 1243]
General Notes: Wife - Hannah Evans
The year of her birth is given by sources, but seems wrong.
1 Franklin Ellis, History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: L. H. Everts & Co., 1882), Pg 653, 737.
2 John M. Gresham, Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Fayette County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: John M. Gresham & Co., 1889), Pg 332.
3 Editor, Nelson's Biographical Dictionary and Historical Reference Book of Fayette County, Pennsylvania (Uniontown, PA: S. B. Nelson, Publisher, 1900), Pg 1136.
4 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Genealogical and Personal History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1912), Pg 324.
5 John S. Van Voorhis, The Old and New Monongahela (Pittsburgh, PA: Nicholson, Printer and Binder, 1893), Pg 158.
6 Fenwick Y. Hedley, Old and New Westmoreland, Vols. III & IV (New York, NY: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1918), Pg 1243.
7 Charles A. Hanna, Ohio Valley Genealogies (New York, 1900), Pg 36.
8 Charles A. Hanna, Ohio Valley Genealogies (New York, 1900), Pg 34.
9 George P. Donehoo, Pennsylvania - A History (SW) (New York, NY; Chicago, IL: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., 1926), Pg 96.
10 Scott Lee Boyd, The Boyd Family (Santa Barbara, CA: Self-published, 1935), Pg 245.
11 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Genealogical and Personal History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1912), Pg 325.
12 Fenwick Y. Hedley, Old and New Westmoreland, Vols. III & IV (New York, NY: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1918), Pg 1244.
13 Carl Ross McKenrick, My Family and Antecedents (Baltimore, MD: Self-published, 1949), Pg 59, 117.
14 Carl Ross McKenrick, My Family and Antecedents (Baltimore, MD: Self-published, 1949), Pg 117.
15 Franklin Ellis, History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: L. H. Everts & Co., 1882), Pg 725.
16 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Genealogical and Personal History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1912), Pg 326.
17
George Dallas Albert, History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: L. H. Everts & Co., 1882), Pg 366.
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