Display Patriot - P-245181 - John MCNAY/MCELNAY

John MCNAY/MCELNAY

SAR Patriot #: P-245181

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: PA      Qualifying Service: Private / Patriotic Service
DAR #: A076582

Birth: 11 Jul 1753 / York / PA
Death: 21 Nov 1841 / Adams / PA

Qualifying Service Description:
  1. Also Capt Norton Garrett, Musketry Battalion, PA, Continental Line
  2. Injured in battle of Long Island, captured and sent to Philadelphia, PA as a POW
  3. Captain Philip Albright, Lt Colonel Pepper, Colonel Samuel Miles, 1st Battalion, PA Rifle Regiment

Additional References:
  1. Pension Number *S2788
  2. SAR Patriot Index Edition III (CD: PP2210, Progeny Publ, 2002) plus data to 2004
  3. PA Archives, 5th Series, Volume 3, pg 252, 256, 508

Spouse: Hannah Brown
Children: Nancy Agnes; John; James; Mary; Joseph; Rebecca;
Members Who Share This Ancestor
Date Approved Society ACN SAR Member Info Lineage via Child View Application Detail
1986-06-30 OR 227176 Robert Harold Holcomb (127887) John   
1990-02-11 IL 219118 Harry Clay Fleming (134096) John   
1993-06-22 PA 210741 Robert "Bob" Henry Hepler (140970) Nancy   
1993-06-22 PA 210742 Robert "Rob" Gordon Hepler (140971) Nancy   
1993-06-22 PA 210743 Robert Scott Hepler (140972) Nancy   
2014-11-06 KY 61361 Mark Louis McNay (192818) James   
2017-05-04 HI 74461 Robert Patrick Moore (202517) John   
Location:
Gettysburg / Adams / PA / USA
Find A Grave Cemetery #:

Grave Plot #:
Grave GPS Coordinates:
n/a
Find A Grave Memorial #:
Marker Type:

SAR Grave Dedication Date:

Comments:

Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:



Author: Robert Patrick Moore
My great, great, great, great Grandfather, John McElnay (also spelled McNay) was born on July 11, 1752, in York, Pennsylvania, his father, John, was 39 and his mother, Mary, was 22. He served in the American Revolution in Captain Philip Albright's Company (Lt William McPherson’s unit) of the First Regiment of Riflemen, commanded by Colonel Samuel Miles. While under Lt McPherson’s command in August 1776, Private John McElnay marched to New York and took ferries to Long Island for battle in which they were defeated. Troops scattered to the swamp and he climbed a bushy tree Tuesday through Thursday and then tried to escape and got caught. While prisoner, they took his money and rifle and put him on a man-of-war in leg irons. Treated badly for 14 weeks and he was then transferred to a French Church and saw Lt McPherson, also a prisoner. John McElnay was released in Feb 1777 and returned home in Liberty, York County (now Adams County), in Pennsylvania. He married Hannah Brown on May 20, 1778, in his hometown. They had ten children in 17 years. He died on November 21, 1841, in Adams, Pennsylvania, having lived a long life of 89 years, and was buried in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Send a biographical sketch of your patriot!

Patriot biographies must be the original work of the author, and work submitted must not belong to another person or group, in observance with copyright law. Patriot biographies are to be written in complete sentences, follow the established rules of grammar, syntax and punctuation, be free of typographical errors, and follow a narrative format. The narrative should unfold in a logical manner (e.g. the narrative does not jump from time period to time period) or have repeated digressions, or tell the history of the patriot's line from the patriot ancestor to the author. The thinking here is that this is a patriot biography, not a lineage report or a kinship determination project or other report published in a genealogy journal. The biography should discuss the qualifying service (military, patriotic, civil) of the patriot ancestor, where the service was rendered, whether this was a specific state or Continental service, as well as significant events (as determined by the author) of the patriot's life. This is the entire purpose of a patriot's biography.

Additional guidelines around the Biography writeup can be found here:

Send your submission1, in a Microsoft Word compatible format, to patriotbios@sar.org for inclusion in this space


1Upon submission of a patriot biography, the patriot biography becomes the property of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and may be edited to conform to the patriot biography submission standards.


© 2025 - National Society of the American Revolution (NSSAR)