“It was proved by several witnesses, that the said JAMES McKEE first seated himself on the land, and began to build a cabin about Christmas 1768, which was finished in 1769, after the office opened, and originally held it by what he falsely called an improvement, which he had continued by himself or his tenants up to the present period, and that at the time of commencing the ejectment he had a good house, barn, stables, some meadow ground and about sixty acres of ground cleared on the farm, that his father had sent to Philadelphia applications for several tracts of land for his sons, and amongst them one for the tract in question, to be entered in the office, which had miscarried, but which under an impression that the locations had been sent by mistake to the wrong surveyor, the survey had been actually made for the said JAMES McKEE, his son, and JOHN McKEE, his brother, had paid 5 (Written L with a cross in the middle) for the surveying fees.”
This case decided in 1793, was an action of ejectment for “300 acres at Braddock’s upper crossing on the west side of the Monongahela about 14 miles from Fort Pitt,” the present city of Duquesne.It recites that JAMES McKEE claimed the land under a permission granted to Alexander Ross by Captain Charles Edmundstone, commanding officer at Fort Pitt, under date of September 29th, 1768.Upon the attainder of Ross for high treason, the estate was declared forfeited, and sold at public sale to JAMES McKEE for 35 (written L with a cross in the middle of it).
Therefore, in lieu of any authentic information of the subject other than the commissioners’ report before mentioned and the Supreme Court record, DAVID McKEE and his family must have arrived at the mouth of the Youghiogheny some time between April 2nd, 1768 and December 25th of the same year.With DAVID McKEE came his wife, MARGARET, his five sons, ROBERT, JAMES, THOMAS, DAVID and JOHN, and his two daughters, MARY and MARGARET.
https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/mckee/4650/
