William Fife (Captain Billy Fife)

William "Captain Billy" FIFE was one of three brothers who were born in the Fife, Scotland area. William was born in 1720, John was born in 1721 and Matthew was born approximately in 1745. William, John and Matthew travelled from Scotland to northern Ireland in the County Tyrone area. Eventually William and John emigrated to the United States while Matthew stayed on and lived in Ireland until he was 100 years old.

Life

William married Jane (last name unknown) and traveled to America AbOUT 1769. He was in the Philadelphia region for a short while, before going west around 1776 and claiming a 386 acre tract of land called “Fifer’s Delight” that was near his brother John’s land in Upper St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The tract of land was actually first recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia. On the Virginia certificate granted Feb 5, 1780, “Fifers Delight” is listed as 400 acres + 17 perches simple. William was also given the right of preemption to one thousand (1000) acres adjoining this tract. The Pennsylvania warrant for the land as listed in Washington County, PA, was granted Feb 15, 1786 for 386 acres which is what is usually recognized when listed in land records.

During the American Revolution, William served as the Captain of the Washington County Militia, 4th Company 2nd Battalion. William, known as "Captain Billy", and his company of 96 men from the local area patrolled the western border between Pittsburgh and Wheeling and accompanied the ill-fated expedition of Col. Wm. Crawford against the Indians on the Sandusky Plains in May 1782. While returning home, Captain Billy found a white child wandering alone, brought her back home with him and adopted her. Captain Billy’s 2nd Battalion included: John Fife – Sr. (his brother), James Fife (his son), John Fife – Jr. (unknown whether it was his son or nephew - both named John), and William Fife – Jr.(his nephew).

There is a disagreement by family members as to which William Fife is the real Captain William. Many statements are out on the internet that have no basis in fact, other than someone wanted the William Fife that is their direct relative to be the Captain in the Revolutionary War. I have outlined the true facts, in another section of this narrative, as found in the National Archives, cemetery records and other historical documents that show why William Fife Sr, the brother of John Fife Sr, is the true Captain William Fife.

During the Whiskey Insurrection, Captain Fife was loyal to the Government. He was engaged in transporting whiskey and salt over the mountains and kept his men so engaged that they took no part in the affair.

Children

Children of William and Jane Fife were:

• John Fife (unknown Ireland – 1817) married his first cousin Elizabeth (John and Margaret’s daughter). Their children were born in PA and the family moved to Madison Township, West Point, Columbiana County, Ohio in 1804. They had fourteen children.
• William Fife (Mar 17, 1757 County of Fife, Scotland - May 1838 PA) married his first cousin Margaret (John and Margaret’s daughter). They lived inAllegheny County, PA all of their lives. They had nine children. William was commissioned a lieutenant in his father’s battalion during the Revolutionary War period and also served as an early trustee and elder of Bethel Church.
• James Fife (June 24, 1764 – Mar 4, 1841) married Mary Jane McGowan (Dec 4, 1867 – Apr 6, 1832) in 1833. [Her maiden name also shown as McCowan/McCown]. Her parents were John McGowan (So. Ayrshire SCT) and Margaret Lusk (Lancaster, PA). They are listed as having ten or eleven children. James served as a Private in the 4th Company, Washington County Militia. They had three sons: James, Robert and Thomas M. Fife.
• Nancy Fife (unknown – unknown) married John McLoney of Bower Hill, PA. They had eight children.
• Jane Fife (unknown – unknown) married James Dennis. They had two children.

Captain William Fife died in 1799 in Upper St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, PA and is presumably buried in Bethel Cemetery. There are Revolutionary Placards at the front of the cemetery honoring William, John and James Fife, but the gravesite is not marked.

Who is the real "Captain Billy" Fife?

Revolutionary War

The revolutionary war period was a proud time for the early settlers in the Allegheny County region of PA. Many of the early Fife relatives served during this time period as outlined below.

John Fife’s son William at the age of 26 enlisted in March 1777 for eighteen months as private in Captain Wagoner's Company of the 12th Regiment of Virginia Continental Line. He went east and fought with George Washington's Army at Brandywine (September 1777), Germantown and other battles. He wintered at Valley Forge 1777-1778. William was a private in Captain Andrew Waggoner’s Company for the period from March 1777 through April 1778. This company served under the command of Brigadier General Charles Scott’s Brigade during the Winter and Spring 1777-1778.

There were a number of Fifes who enrolled in Captain Robert Johnson’s Company of the Westmoreland County Rangers, serving as militiamen from 1780-1782. The Washington County Militia had a number of Fife relatives that served in the unit that was in charge of protecting the western PA boundary. With the formation of Washington County in 1781, it became necessary to organize the militia. This was done under the leadership of County Lieutenant James Marshall. He had as sub-lieutenants: John Canon, Daniel Leet, William McClurg, William Parker, Matthew Ritchie, George Vallandigham.

Five battalions were formed, each with 8 companies—a total of nearly 3000 men were enrolled. All able-bodied men between 18 and 53 were in this draft. The battalions were headed by Lieutenant Colonels: Thomas Crooke, Henry Enoch, John Marshall, George Vallandigham, David Williamson. Captains were elected.

Their service was on the frontier. No one was in a "battle" and very few lost their lives. Many days were spent on guard watching for possible Indian attacks. Patrols were stationed at forts, especially along the Ohio River and at stockades. At harvest time the militia guarded the reapers. Since the companies were each from the same region, no entire company was ever called out. Instead, each company was divided into classes and classes were required to serve. Now and then there were skirmishes with Indians.

Attacks were made in 1782 on two forts in western Washington County: Miller's in March and Rice's in September. Sporadic attacks continued for a number of years. A total of probably 10% of the men received pensions in later life. In the PA Archives, Series V, Volume IV, page 399, there is a listing:

“Soldiers who received depreciation Pay per cancelled certificates” – Washington County Militia

• Fife, Henry - Private ; Fife, John Senr - Private ; Fife, John - Private ; Fife, William - Private

Since there are 3 John Fifes and 3 William Fifes between the two Fife brother families alone, it is not known which William or John is which.

In the PA Archives, Series V, Volume IV, page 708, there is a listing:

“Soldiers of Revolution who received pay for their services” – Rangers of the frontiers 1778-1783

• Fife, Henry - Private ; Fife, John - Private ; Fife, William - Private ; Fife, William - Captain

It is this last listing that has created a lot of controversy and misstating of facts within the two branches of the Fife genealogy tree. Which William Fife was the Captain? How did the facts get changed or misstated? I will look at the facts that are known in this argument.

Review of the evidence

Located within Bethel Cemetery at the Bethel Presbyterian Church are 4 plaques designating service in the Washington County Militia during the Revolutionary War. All four were in the 2nd Battalion, 4th Company of the Washington County Militia. They are as follows

• William Fife Sr - Captain
• John Fife Sr - Private
• William Fife Jr - Private
• James Fife - Private

William Fife Sr is the original William Fife born in 1720. John Fife Sr is the original John Fife born in 1721. William Fife Jr is the son of William Sr above. James Fife is the son of William Sr above.

Some Fife relatives have tried to state that William Fife Sr is actually William Fife the son of John Fife Sr born in 1721. Their points that they say prove this are as follows:

• 1) William Fife born in 1720 would have been 61 years old.
• 2) The Bethel Presbyterian Church mismarked the graves in 1936 due to William Fife Sr’s descendants being members of the church.
• 3) Several marriages in the 1700s were between different branches of the Fife tree and it is hard to distinguish who is who.
• 4) William, John’s son, was in the Continental Army and thus would have been more likely to be Captain William.
• 5) William, John’s son, left a signed will similar to a signed military return of William Fife in the Continental Army.

They state that William Sr. couldn’t sign his name, but used an “X” on his will. These points are very interesting, but also do not hold any credence when looked at in detail. Before looking at each point individually and adding several others that weren’t mentioned, I would like to state the following:

William Fife listed as serving in the 12th Virginia Line of the Continental Army is William Fife, born 1751, who was the son of John Fife the pioneer. There is no question on this fact due to the pension records from William Fife’s wife, Margaret Boyd.

Now let’s review each of the points listed above with regard to the facts as we know them today:

• 1.1 - William Fife Sr would have been 61 years old. #What does that matter? Men served out of patriotic duty during that time. William Sr’s brother John Sr also served but they don’t mention anything about him being too old.
• 1.2 - The Bethel Presbyterian Church mismarked the plaques on purpose. #There were members from both William Sr and John Sr’s families belonging to the church when the plaques were placed. Why would one side have let them mismark the plaques and not have them changed to show the correct information? This would have been impossible to list them wrong and not have a major fight within the church, let alone the family.
• 1.3 - Marriages in the 1700s were between cousins and family members with the same names. #So what does that prove. That doesn’t mean the wrong William is listed as Captain on the plaque.
• 1.4 - William, John’s son was in the VA Continental Army and would have been more likely to be the Captain. #I agree that John Sr’s son, William born in 1751, was in the VA Army. To state that he then would be more likely to be the Captain is a matter of opinion. I would ask you to think about how people thought back during the Revolutionary times and realize that the older you were, the “wiser and more respected” you were. This would lead many to believe that William Sr would be the Captain.
• 1.5 - William, John’s son, signed his will which matched the Army records of the Captain and William Sr couldn’t sign his name. #The VA Army record signature that is shown on the record doesn’t match the signature on William Fife’s (born 1751) will. As for the fact that William Sr couldn’t sign his name as shown on his will, that is stretching the truth. If you read William Sr's will, you can clearly see that it was signed with an “X”, because if you look at the first line

on the will, it says, “ I William Fife being stricken in years and weak in body but sound in judgement….” This means that William was of poor health when his will was drafted and that is the probable reason that he had to sign with an “X”.

Now let’s look at various facts that are found in different sources that are available in the National Archives, various library collections and from the internet:

• 1) There are many cases of the following types of records on file regarding William Fife, son of John the pioneer, born in 1751. An example is found in “The Compendium of American Genealogy” First Families in America (pages 432-433). The ancestors of Lucy Louise Thomas Powell show that she is descended from Nancy Jane Fife. The descendency is as follows:
• John (1721-1800) married Margaret Wright ; William (1751-1808) married Margaret Boyd ; William (1793-1844) married Mary Thomas ; Nancy Jane Fife

The description beside William (1751-1808) shows William is a private in Captain William Fife’s Company, 2nd Battalion, Washington County Militia. This means that William, the son of John the pioneer, is not Captain William Fife.

• 2) “The History of Ohio” by Charles Galbreath. This book was printed by the American Historical Society, Inc. in 1925. (Page 105) Martha Ann Sawyer has her family history outlined and it shows she is a direct descendant of John Fife Jr and John Fife, Sr. It discusses his background in the various battles that he was in, but the last few lines states:

“Among these were the two Fifes and also Capt. William Fife, a brother of John Fife, Sr.” This means that in 1925 the families knew that Captain William was William Fife born in 1720, not William Fife born in 1751.

• 3) In the Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files in the National Archives, Pension File # W7265 shows:

Margaret Boyd Fife, wife of William Fife born 1751, filed for a Revolutionary War Pension for surviving widows. The file contains approximately 40 pages that outline William’s record and verifications that prove Margaret is William’s wife. Throughout the entire pension records in which Margaret and all of her friends who signed verifications on her behalf, she never states that William was a Captain during his years of service. Don’t you think that if your husband was a Captain that you would mention that instead of continuously saying he was a Private. Being a Captain would be more influential if you are arguing why you deserve a widow's pension. All of this paperwork was filed during the time period of 1830s-1840s. This is the most solid piece of evidence that William Fife born in 1751 (John's son) is NOT Captain William Fife of the Washington County Militia during the Revolutionary War.