DAVID McKEE was born in Scotland in the year 1710.His parents were strict Presbyterians, serious minded and deeply religious, and for that reason they were persecuted, as was the custom of the day.In the year 1715, while DAVID was a mere child, his family was forced to flee from Scotland to northern Ireland.But religious persecution followed the family into Ireland, and possibly in the year 1750, DAVID and several of his brothers, with their families, came to America in search of a “church without a bishop and a state without a king.”
The McKEE brothers, and their families, located near Philadelphia, and there is no authentic record of the families until the building of the cabin at the site of the present city of Duquesne, as before stated.
DAVID’S brothers are presumed to have located in Virginia, Kentucky, and other states.
When the Proprietor’s Land Office opened on April 3rd, 1769 in Philadelphia to receive applications for the purchase of land in the “New Purchase,” which included southwestern Pennsylvania, DAVID McKEE was present on the opening day, and filed his application for 306 acres of land at the junction of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny Rivers.Two days later, his two sons THOMAS and ROBERT, filed their applications, the former for 253 acres adjoining his father’s purchase on the south, and the latter for 285 acres adjoining his father’s purchase on the east.To specify more particularly the boundaries of the three tracts, using present day streets,
DAVID McKEE’S tract extended from the Youghiogheny River to Huey St., and from the Monongahela River to approximately Eleventh St., and eastwardly between Versailles Avenue on the north and Jenny Lind St. to the south to the neighborhood of Soles Street.
The original cabin of DAVID McKEE and his family was located near the northeasterly corner of Second Avenue and Water Street, and with the aid of his sons, he cleared the land, planted a large orchard and raised various kinds of grain.The excess grain was turned into whiskey, as was the custom of the day.MR. McKEE’S stillhouse was located near the southwesterly corner of Shaw Avenue and Huey St.He also had a small brewery, which was located near the corner of Locust St. and Spring St.
Living at the junction of two rivers, it was long before DAVID McKEE was operating ferries over both the Monongahela and the Youghiogheny.However, it is certain that such ferries existed, for the minutes of the Virginia Court for Augusta Co. under date of February 21st, 1775, record the appointment of viewers for a proposed road “from the mouth of the Youghiogheny River at McKEE’S Ferry.”Lack of such permission from Virginia caused the temporary suspension of the operation of McKEE’S ferries during the year 1775.SAMUEL SINCLAIR, who resided across the Youghiogheny, taking advantage of McKEE’S omission in this regard, on Feb. 24th, 1775, made application to the Virginia Court for Augusta Co. sitting at Fort Dunmore for permission to operate ferries across both rivers.The minutes of the court on that date provide as follows: “ On motion of SAMUEL SINCLAIR, who lives at the forks of the rivers Monongahela and Youghagano, leave is granted him to keep a ferry over each of the rivers, and that he keep boats.”
Thus it will be seen that Certificates of Public Convenience as granted by the present Public Utilities Commission are not particularly new, the old Virginia courts having exercised the same jurisdiction in a somewhat limited form.
It is not known just how long DAVID McKEE’S ferry remained inactive, but on Feb. 5th, 1784, the Assembly of Pa. passed an Act granting to JOHN McKEE, son of DAVID McKEE, the right to operated ferries over both of the aforesaid rivers.
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