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Note: claims to have been kidnapped as a small boy an sent to be a indentured servant in U.S. the other story says he chose to come to America to be an adventurer and he either jumped overboard or tossed along with his brother an the brother was never heard of again. The HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY says this about him: "William Winnett, having been born in Liverpool, England, was kidnapped in early boyhood, and carried to the American colonies, where he was bound out until twenty-one years of age. On arriving at mature age he came to Washington county, Penn., where he was married to Sally, daughter of John Strange. Both father and daughter were natives of England, and early settlers of Wilmington, Del. Mr. Winnett took a patent for a tract of land in Washington county, Penn., and made a home in what is now Fallowfield township." From Edna Winnett Rigg Brown Genealogy Book of the William and Sarah (Strange) Winnett family the following information is revealed. William WINNETT, born probably in Liverpool, England, about 1748, came to America when about 15 years old. Married July 27, 1773, to Sarah STRANGE of Christiana Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware. Sarah's estimated birth date 1752, was the daughter of Jonathan and Susannah(THOMAS) STRANGE. A record of the marriage was listed in the records of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes)Lutheran Church, Wilmington, Delaware. William WINNETT was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Fought at the Battle of Brandywine and was taken prisoner by the British. When brought before the English General, William was recognized as the nephew of a good friend in England. He was given his freedom, but was told his Uncle was a very rich man and would like him to return to England. Sarah STRANGE, wife of William Winnett,18 for her background, we must go to the early days of Philadelphia. A village four blocks in depth and it extended not more than a mile along the Delaware River. Within that tract, on Second Street, between Arch and Market Streets, Christ Church was built in 1695. George Washington, Robert Morris and Benjamin Franklin worshipped there. Name plates designate these pews. Seven signers of the Declaration of Independence were buried in the church yard. As the village grew, so did the church and by 1727, the west wing was added. Near the end of that year, November 2, 1727, Johathan STRANGE, a clothier, brought his sweetheart, Susannah THOMAS, to be wed (page 82). In1744 the church was again enlarged to cover the entire block and in 1824 the interior was changed,but it stands, the oldest church in Pennsylvania in continuous use. And to think that our early ancestors were married there. Johathan and Susannah were the parents of seven daughters, no sons. Sarah was named last in the will as the youngest daughter and it is safe to assume that she was born about 1752 in Delaware and was still single at the time of her fathers death July 1758. Johathan STRANGE married Susannah THOMAS November 2,1727, both from Darby Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Johathan died July 1758 and Susannah died between 1764 and 1770 as she signed the settlement deeds in 1764, but not in 1770. William and Sarah next appeared in the tax list of 1781 in Bethel Township, Chester County (now Delaware County) Pa., Pa. Archives Series 3, Vol 12, pp 441 & 562, 60 A, a cow and a horse. William and Sarah were not found in the 1790 tax lists of Delaware County, but were found in the 1790 census of Washington County, Pa., where he was listed as WHINNETT. Since Jonathan, the youngest child, was born 1781 when the Archives placed his parents as being taxed inn Chester County, Pa., all of their children must have been born before they came to Washington County, Pa.. On April 25, 1811, William Winnett and Sarah, his wife, sold their property to the two sons and disappeared from the public eye. It is thought that after selling their property to their two sons, they must have gone to live with one of their daughters, but must have remained in Fallowfield Township, Washington County, Pa., there being no further information available. For more information, refer to the Genealogy of William and Sarah (Strange) WINNETT, Fallowfield Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, as compiled by Edna Winnett Rigg Brown, at the Casey and Greenup Libraries. April 25, 1811, William Winnett,1, & Sarah his wife sold their property to the two sons and disappeared from the public eye. There was no will, no administration papers, no orphans court record or anything what so ever to indicate where they had gone. My thought is that, having sold their property, they went to live with one of their daughters, Sarah or Amy, who must have lived near son Jonathan or Grandma would not have known her Grandfather, William, 1,Winnett, so intimately as expressed in the notes she left in the old chest . 4. PENNSYLVANIA FAMILIES - Descendants of William Winnett (b.c. 174 William Winnett married Sarah Strange at Wilmington, Delaware in 1773, and their family later lived in Washington county, Pennsylvania. His descendants make up a sizeable proportion of people with the name living in the USA. Family members writing on the Internet suggest he came from Liverpool, but the source of this information is not known. In Beers Biographical Records On-Line ( http://chartiers.com/beers-project/beers.html ) it says he was kidnapped and taken to America "where he was bound out until the age of 21". The mention of Liverpool is curious, as the Winnett name did not appear at all in Lancashire during the period suggested. It is more likely that Liverpool was his point of departure to the USA, as most ships bound for America did leave from Liverpool. Most Irish emigrants also left from Liverpool, and one possibility (among several) is that he came from the Irish family. In fact DNA testing with a member of this family in 2006 suggests common but distant origins with Family 1.a. David Turvey mentions the family very briefly as "Family No. 7".
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