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.
State of Service: VA
Qualifying Service: Sergeant / Civil Service
Author: David J. Allen
William Langfitt, born 1737 In Fairfax, Virginia, served as a sergeant under Captain William Linn with the Virginia Militia in 1777 and later as a constable under Crumrine in Yohoghania County. Records indicate that his initial service was for a period of 170 days.
After the war in 1784, William started out with a hunting party for Beaver County, Pennsylvania to the north of Pittsburgh. En route they stopped at Bartley Campbell’s ranch near Steubenville where he became enamored with Bartley’s daughter, Margaret, whom he married. They built a cabin and settled on approximately 400 acres of land in Beaver County and commenced the raising of corn, potatoes and children. He received a land grant for his claim in 1785. A fort was built about 3 miles from William Langfitt’s homestead, called Frank Fort (now Frankfort, PA). During the time of an Indian uprising, William and a neighbor encountered three Indians in an ambush. William took three shots, one passing through his chest, one passing through his thigh while the third shot passed through his arm twice owing to the position of his arm in holding his gun to his shoulder. His frightened horse carried him back to the fort where Langfitt was nursed back to health by a Mrs. Dugan. His neighbor was on the ground at the time of the attack by the Indians and was immediately captured and taken to an Indian settlement at Sandusky, Ohio and burned at the stake.
William made his home in Hanover Township, Beaver County. He and his wife raised ten children. He died there on August 23, 1831 and was buried in Old Mill Creek Cemetery in Hookstown, Pennsylvania.
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