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: Soldier / Patriotic Service
Author: William James McKim
James McKim was born in 1739 and came to America prior to the Revolutionary War. At the age of twenty-two he came to America from Northern Ireland. I believe he came to Ireland from an area near Loch Ness in Scotland. The McKim name is a Sept of the Fraser Clan. He served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War in the Pennsylvania Militia and the Continental Line. He was married to Hannah Lewis who was also from Ireland. He had at least one brother, John, who also settled in America during this period and served in the Revolutionary War
On May 20, 1818 James McKim, at age 79, appeared before the County Court of Common Pleas for Beaver County, PA and swore to his service in the Revolutionary War for purposes of applying for a Revolutionary War pension. The affidavit states that he enlisted in Cumberland County, PA in August of 1776 in a company commanded by Captain McConnell in the regiment commanded by Colonel Frederick Watt in the "Pennsylvania Flying Camp" and that he continued to serve in that corps or in the service of the United States until Fort Washington located in northern Manhattan was taken by the British. The affidavit states that he became a prisoner of war and was confined in New York until January, 1777 when he and others were released on parole. He stated that since he was unable to walk he was carried in a wagon to Philadelphia, PA. He stated further that he re-enlisted at Valley Forge in the Spring of 1778 in a company commanded by Captain Sam Brady a part of the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment commanded by Colonel Broadhead, continued to serve for one year, the term of his enlistment, and was discharged at Pittsburgh, PA by Captain Brady in the spring or summer of 1779. This affidavit stated that he was in battles with the Indians in many towns along the Allegheny River. He claimed to be "very infirm and altogether unable to labor" and in "reduced circumstances."
On September 18, 1820 James McKim appeared for a second time before the Beaver County Common Pleas Court for the purpose of applying for a Revolutionary War pension. The second affidavit he stated that he enlisted in the summer of 1776 in Captain McConnell's company which was part of Colonel "Watts regiment in the "Pennsylvania flying camp." He stated that he served until the winter of 1777 and re-enlisted for one year on York Island in the State of New York, "but was kept for up wards of three years in the company commanded by Captain Irwin in the Regiment commanded by Colonel Broadhead in the line of the State of Pennsylvania on the continental establishment...." He stated that he was in the battles of Brandywine Creek, Paoli, Germantown, and in the battles along the Allegheny River against the Indians. This affidavit refers to the fact that he had been placed on the "pension list Pennsylvania agency" as evidenced by a certificate dated February 9, 1819 which was referenced in a Beaver County Court document numbered 6899. On November 10, 1820, the Beaver County Court Prothonotary, Thomas Henry, certified the affidavit as being a true copy from the court's records.
A Certificate of Pension was awarded to James McKim on February 9, 1819 based on his service as a private in Colonel Broadhead's regiment. The pension awarded was in the amount of eight ($8.00) dollars a month commencing on May 28, 1818. As of March 4, 1819 between arrears and the current payment he received the amount of seventy-six dollars and fifteen cents ($76.15). In 1847 James McKim's widow, Hannah Lewis, was awarded a pension by the Department of the Interior-Bureau of Pensions based on his service.
James McKim is listed in the Index of Revolutionary War Pension Applications, National Genealogical Society (1966). At page 760 of this Index his name appears. In addition, he is listed in the 1790 census. His service in the Continental Line and the Pennsylvania Militia is listed in the Pennsylvania Archives. His grave is in Wilson Cemetery in Big Beaver Township near New Galilee, Beaver County, PA. He is buried beside his son William who served in the War of 1812. The marker recognizes James' Revolutionary War service. The wife of William McKim is buried in a cemetery between Route 65 and Wurtemberg, Lawrence County, PA.
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.
