The first notable mention of Thomas Connelly came in the service of General Braddock during his ill fated march on Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).
Thomas Connelly was a traveling man, seeing to holdings as far north as Pennsylvania and as far south as the ancestral family holdings in Charleston, SC.. According to William Elsey Connelly in his history, The Founding of Harman's Station, in 1763, Thomas was in a party which explored the Big Sandy Valley of Eastern Kentucky. Among the party members were, Thomas's brother Harmon Connelly, Daniel Boone, Matthias Harman, James Skaggs, Henry Skaggs and others. They stayed for six weeks near the mouth of Big Paint Creek in cabins long since abandoned by French explorers.
In 1780 Thomas was in Charleston, South Carolina to consult with his attorney concerning land held by his family in that city. Thomas was caught up in the battle for the city. When the city fell Thomas joined in the army of General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.
Thomas went on to fight at the battle of King's Mountain on October 7, 1780. During the battle Thomas was shot through by a musket ball. According to family legend Thomas was treated by a Dr. Hicks who was the son-in-law of Thomas's brother Harmon. Dr. Hicks was half Indian and trained in Medicine in France. As treatment for the wound, Dr. Hicks passed a silk handkerchief several times through the wound. Thomas died in 1783 as a lingering result of this wound.
More About Thomas Connelly and Mary Van Harlingen:
Marriage: Abt. 1746, Chester County, Pa..
Children of Thomas Connelly and Mary Van Harlingen are:
i. +Henry Connelly, b. May 02, 1752, Chester County, Pennsylvania, d. May 07, 1840, Oil Springs, Ky..
Go back to: Connelley
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