Patrick J Jack, born December 3, 1678 in Cannon Gate Edinburg, Scotland was my 8th great-grandfather. He had immigrated to Chester county, Pennsylvania prior to the American revolution. I hadn’t researched on the Jack’s since adding them several years ago, there connection being to my Kilgore line.
I decided to see what information I could find on the Jack’s using the footnote.com site. From what I found, they were very prominent in the Civil War. There seemed to be a bit of controversy with some of the claims of some of the Jack’s. I would believe the confusion would start due to the fact they had a tendency to name their descendants the same first name. James and John were amongst the most popular and many were born in Pennsylvania.
James Jack, born May 2, 1705 in Ireland, married to Elizabeth McNulty was a Captain and died during the war in 1776.
The story goes that James’ oldest son James Jr, born Mar 11, 1728 in Ireland, would take his father’s place in the war.
John Jack, born March 11, 1726 in Ireland, son of James Jack and James Jr.’s brother, was given credit for writing the major part of the Hannastown Declaration of Independence.
Their brother was Colonel Patrick Jack, born June 4, 1730 in Ireland and was known as “Juniata Jack the Indian Hunter.” It was said that Patrick Jack became a bitter enemy of the Indians by finding his cabin one evening, on his return from hunting, "a heap of smoldering ruins, and the blackened corpses of his murdered family scattered around." From that time he became a rancorous Indian hater and slayer.
John Jack, born 1747, married to Nancy McCoy, and son of James Jack Jr. would also fight in the war. He was a private for 9 ½ months.
Matthew Jack, born 1755 in Ireland, son of Matthew Jack, born May 17, 1711 who was the son of Patrick J Jack born 1678, was another soldier in the war. He would lose his left hand in 1777 when his gun burst. Three of Matthews surviving children would apply for the land grant that was their father’s after his death.
Thomas Jack, born 1749 in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, son of Andrew, born 1731, who was the son of James born 1705, was married to Mary Jane Kinkaide and was a Sergeant in the revolution.
There is a James Jack, born Jun 22 1748 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania that claims to a cousin of Colonel Patrick Jack. The paperwork on file makes the claim that he was taken to North Carolina by his mother and raised there. According to documentation he was in many battles and suffered many different wounds. His claims would come under scrutiny over the years several times totaling 86 pages of documentation.
Muster rolls filled in for some of the records for Jack’s that served the new country. Now I need to see what Burgess records that I can find.