This biography has been written by a team of Revolutionary War researchers, genealogists, and local historians. For more information about Patriot Legacies exhibits, contact the Blount County Historical Museum at blountcountyhistoricalmuseum1@gmail.com

Joseph McConnell was born in Pennsylvania about 1745.

He served in the Cumberland County, Pennsylvania Militia. Under a 1777 Pennsylvania law, most Pennsylvania male adults were required to serve. Because of Pennsylvania's rotational nature of militia duty, it is difficult to know what Josephe McConnell did in the Revolutionary War. 

He died without filing for a pension, leaving no record of his service. We do know that he paid taxes which, based on when and where paid, were used to finance the Continental Army. Some incredibly important activities to the Continental War effort took place in Cumberland County that had to impact Joseph and everyone who lived and served there.

Cumberland County’s seat is Carlisle, home to our nation’s second-oldest active military base. At the time, under the name “Washingtonburg,” it was, along with West Point, New York, the two most vital military installations of the Continental Army. Although Cumberland County had been mostly agricultural before the Revolution, Carlisle’s proximity to sizable quantities of iron ore resulted in the establishment of iron works and foundries. 

At that time, colonials shipped raw materials to Great Britain to be used in manufacturing. When the colonists wanted independence, they had to create the infrastructure to do their own manufacturing. Carlisle was a key piece of that needed infrastructure. Carlisle produced cannon and large caliber ammunition and also repaired artillery gear. The locals were definitely impacted by the Continental Army’s production in their midst, and their militia duties would have no doubt included guarding and protecting this critical capability. Additional duties for the militia might have included helping to erect numerous substantial brick buildings for military stores and worker housing for those coming to Cumberland County to support the war effort. 

Hessian Prisoners of War, who were captured after Washington’s surprise river crossing at Trenton, New Jersey, on Christmas night, 1776, were sent to Carlisle and employed in building the original magazine. This structure, with its four-foot-thick walls, is, not surprisingly, still standing. Further, a story has been passed down that fields went unplowed, and planting and harvesting were disrupted in Cumberland County during the Revolution.

Joseph married Susanna Milligan in Pennsylvania in the late 1760s. The tax ledger for their township in Cumberland County 1779 noted Joseph’s name next to fellow taxpayer ‘Widow Milligan.’ Joseph and Susanna were likely neighbors since the two had to live somewhere close to each other to meet and court. Joseph and Susanna’s known children were:

• Isabella was born on 1 February 1771 and married Josiah Hutton.
• Jane ‘Jennie’ was born on 10 November 1774 and married William Hanna.
• James was born about 1775 and married 1) Ann McKee and 2) Margaret Montgomery.
• John was born on 7 December 1779 and married Ann Stewart McConnell. 
• Samuel was born on 24 June 1786 and married Mary McGill.

The Patriot died on 24 May 1823, presumably at his home in Western Blount County at age 78. His name is on a memorial marker at Baker’s Creek Cemetery. Susanna Milligan McConnell (1745-1839) passed at the age of 93 and may be buried in Polk County, Tennessee.