Correcting the Record
Irish Immigrants in the Land of Canaan
The authors of Irish Immigrants in the Land of Canaan may be experts on Irish immigration, but they have not delved deeply into where our ancestor settled. On page 91 they tell you that John Smilie settled in what is now Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. John's 1762 letter to his father identifies his location as "Fishing-Creek on Susquehanna". There are at least four tributaries that flow into the Susquehanna River that are named 'Fishing Creek' found in present day Columbia, Dauphin, Lancaster, and Perry Counties.
John Smilie's 'Fishing Creek' was in Drumore Township, which, in 1762, in 1785, and today, is in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In 1785 when Dauphin County was created out of Lancaster County, Drumore Township remained in southern Lancaster County.
John's letter to his father documents his arrival in New Castle, Delaware in September 1762 and he is writing from Fishing-Creek on Susquehanna, Drumore Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The tax records of Drumore Township chronicle John's presence.
John immediately appears in the 1763 Drumore Twp tax list as a Freeman
The Lancaster County, Drumore Township, tax record collection at FamilySearch has gaps and the next record is in 1769.
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| https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS7W-M3F6-M |
The 1780 tax list contains the note "300 Acres of Land in Westmoreland County". After 1780 John Smilie no longer appears in the Drumore Township tax records.
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