https://mcginniscommawill.com/tags/revolutionary-war/ Recent content in Revolutionary-War on McGinnis, Will Hugo en-us Tue, 23 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://mcginniscommawill.com/guides/mcginnis-family-history/03-the-great-wagon-road/ Tue, 23 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://mcginniscommawill.com/guides/mcginnis-family-history/03-the-great-wagon-road/ <p>Charles McGinnis-&ldquo;Old Charles,&rdquo; as we&rsquo;ll call him to distinguish him from the many Charleses who would follow-was probably born about 1752, possibly in Pennsylvania.<label for="sn-1775404733878193732" class="sidenote-toggle">*</label> <input type="checkbox" id="sn-1775404733878193732" class="sidenote-checkbox" /> <span class="sidenote"><strong>1752</strong> - Benjamin Franklin&rsquo;s kite experiment with electricity</span> He is the patriarch of our line, the man from whom we all descend. Yet like so many who came before the age of careful record-keeping, much of his life remains in shadow.</p> <p>What we know is this: the early membership rolls of Rocky River Presbyterian Church in North Carolina list him as &ldquo;Charles McGinnis, Colonel, PA.&rdquo; That designation-&ldquo;PA&rdquo;-tells us he came from Pennsylvania. And if he came from Pennsylvania to the Carolina backcountry in the mid-to-late 1700s, there was only one way to travel: the Great Wagon Road.</p>