Donegalmen In The American War Of Independence Q'HART in his Irish Pedigrees •opened the genealogy of the Conyngham families of Lancaster and Wilkes Barre, U.S.A., with a romantic account of their Irish ancestor, Alexander Conyngham, of the lrlencairn family, who settled at Rossguil in the early seventeenth century. He is credited with having (what was then quite a common occurence) married the daughter of one of the dispossessed ehieftains; in the case one of the MacSweeneys. The Conynghams of Lancaster, U.S.A., are descended from their eldest son. Adam Conyngham. The descendants of A d am Conyngham's brothers, David and Gustavus 'are, however, those which now interest us. DAVID Conyngham, we are told, married a daughter of "the renowned Irish chieftain; Red- 'mond O'Hanlon" ·and their eldest son Redmond emigrated from Letterkenny ta Philadelphia with his wife, Martha, daughter of Robert Ell:s, and their family about the year 1756. Redmond Conyngham was a trained sea captain and on occasions took command of a merchant ship owned by John Nesbitt & Co. of Philadelphia. Eventually he was offered a pi;irtnership in this firm which then changed its name to Nesbitt and Conyngham. About the year 1767 he gi·ew tired of America ancl returned to Ireland. His son, David Hayfield Conyngham tool~ over his father's partnership in Fhiladelphia and became one of Washington's most valued supporters in the \V·ar of Independence. He was the father of .John Nesbitt Convngham. LL.B., born in Philadelphia, 17~, one of \;he foremost American Jurists of the last century. His descendants were living in Wilkes Barre at the close of the century and one of them was t1he wife of the Rt. Rev. Bacon Stevens, D.D., Bishop of Pennsylvania. GUSTAVUS Conyngham, third son of Alexander Conyngham and Miss MacSweeney, married his cousin Gabri2! Conyngham and their son was a:so named Gustavus. He, too. emigrated to the New World and served as a ship's officer unde:c his cousin, Redmond Conyngham. When war broke out he passed into the Amecican navy with the ran.k of Captain and on 2nd May, 1777, his ship, "The Surprise" captured the British packet boat "Prince of Orange" in the English Channel. He was, in turn captured by the Royal Navy but escaped while being sent, in irons, for trial. He managed to find his wav back to the Revolutionists and was given command of tte U.S. warship "Revenge" which he commanded until 178'i. JN a footnote O'Hart tells that Redmond Cunningham was named after his mu1.crll<1l grandfather; Count Redmo:1d O'Hanlon,
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