The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
Hugh Hamill was born in Bushmill, County Antrim, N. Ireland about 1756. He is the son of John Hamill and Elizabeth Gibson and the nephew of Patriot Nathaniel Hamill (P-173678) and Patriot Robert Hamill (P-336660). Patriot Robert Hamill (P-173680) is his brother. Hugh came to the American colonies in 1761 entering at the port of Philadelphia, and grew up in the Ligonier Valley, Pennsylvania.
Hugh Hamill enlisted as a private in August 1776 with the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment under Capt. Samuel Miller’s company commanded by Colonel McCoy. According to his 1833 pension application, the regiment marched to New Jersey to support the continental line at Quibbletown (New Market, NJ). In May 1777 Hugh was one of a hundred men selected to become a sharp shooter under the command of Colonel Daniel Morgan. That corps supported General George Washington’s army. In August 1777, the corps marched to the Mohawk Valley in New York where it was attached to General Gate’s Command. Hugh was a sharpshooter at the Battles of Saratoga: Freeman’s Farm and Bemis Heights. He then was involved in the surrender of the British on 17 Oct 1777. The sharpshooter corps returned to Pennsylvania and rejoined Washington’s army at Whitemarsh in November 1777. Hugh wintered over at Valley Forge and then rejoined the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment. The Pennsylvania 8th regiment marched up the Susquehanna River in pursuit of the Wyoming Indians in early 1788, then returned to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by September 1778, and built Fort McIntosh and Fort Laurens. Hugh was then involved in the 1779 Sullivan Campaign – a mobilization against the Iroquois Nations that had sided with the British. Hugh fell ill during that campaign and was transported back to Pittsburgh ahead of his regiment. Hugh was honorably discharged in 1779 after 3 years of service.
Hugh married Jane Semple in March 1792. They had 8 children together:
Nancy Agnes Hamill b. 21 Mar 1796 in Westmoreland Co, PA, m. James Mathews, d. 3 Jun 1848 in Westmoreland Co, PA.
Elizabeth Hamill b. 1798, m. Francis Lytle, d. 4 Oct 1856
Hannah Hamill b. 1800, m. Douglas McKelvey, d. in New Wilmington, PA
Jean Martha Hamill b. 1803
Eleanor Hamill b.1806, d. 9 Oct 1886 in Westmoreland Co, PA
James Hamill b. 9 Oct 1809 in Westmoreland Co, PA, m. Margaret Lemon, Ann Serena, d. 18 Feb 1867 in Westmoreland Co, PA
Hugh Hamill b. 1 July 1812, m. Mary Johnston, d. 12 Feb 1886
Rachel Hamill
Hugh and his family were farmers and lived in Fairfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Hugh died on 21 April 1836 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Hugh and his wife are buried in the Fort Palmer Cemetery, Ligonier, Pennsylvania. Most of Hugh’s descendants remained in western Pennsylvania.
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