Philip Main, progenitor of the Pike
County Mains, was born in Gloucester County, New Jersey, in 1747,
as recorded in the application for a pension.
The following information was taken from
"The Main Family of Pike County Illinois" researched and written by R. C. MAIN.
All of us owe him a great deal of gratitude for his hard work. Without his research
we might not have ever known this information about our ancestors.
The following is just a portion of what is in the book.
When the Revolutionary War began Philip Main was 29 years old,
had married Clory Ann Rough (b. 1762), and was living west of the
Allegheny Mountains in the Monongahela Valley, on George's Creek,
near Uniontown (Virginia then, but now a part of Pennsylvania).
In August 1776, he enlisted in Captain Andrew Waggoner's Company
of the 12th Virginia Regiment of foot soldiers commanded by Colonel James
Wood. He served four years as a private being transferred, in 1779,
to Major Clark's company of the same regiment. Throughout the northern
campaign, he participated in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown
and suffered through the winter at Valley Forge. On October 3, 1777,
at Germantown, in an assault upon a stone house that was being used by
the British as their headquarters (the
Judge Chew Mansion, still standing),
his right eye was struck by a musket ball and destroyed. Because of this
injury, he was granted a small pension forty-two years later on June 3,
1819. After the Revolution he settled, and reared his family on a farm
of 200 acres, which he had acquired in North Sewickly Township, near
Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. In his book, R. C. states that four of Philip's
sons served in the War of 1812. I haven't found record of any but Solomon
having served.
Solomon Main, son of Philip and Clory (Rough)
Main, was born February 27, 1794, in Virginia. We believed he was born in
Pennsylvania until we discovered in our research that his birthplace is
Virginia. In 1815, in Pennsylvania he married Susanna Nye. In the War of
1812 Solomon Main served as a private in Captain Mathew Johnson's Company,
5th Battalion of the Pennsylvania Militia. In 1832, Solomon enlisted under
Colonel William Ross and served in The Blackhawk War in northern Illinois.
The War of Mexico disrupted the family of Solomon Main whose six sons
were then of military age. John, the oldest, was thirty-one, and Nicholas,
the youngest, had reached nineteen. They were all still at home or in the
home neighborhood except John, living in Texas, where he had made a
contribution to the same cause by serving in the Texas army against Mexico.
Of the five still at home, four offered their services and they went
together to Alton, Illinois where they joined the Army. The records
of the War Department show that on May 22, 1847 they were mustered into
Company K, 1st (Newby's) Regiment, Illinois Infantry, a part of Captain
Philip Kearney's Expedition. Andrew served as Sergeant, and William,
Philip and Nicholas as Privates. They were mustered out together,
October 13, 1848. Nicholas was made Drummer Boy for the great expedition
to Santa Fe.
During his service in the Mexican War,
Melvin Philip Main, son of Solomon and Susannah, contracted
Trachoma, an eye infection little understood in those days.
It spread to his children and grandchildren and did them profound
injury, not only from loss of vision but from social rejection as
well, for they were shunned by others because of the hazard of
contagion. The expression, "The sore-eyed Mains", was heard, used
as a derisive epithet. Two of the sons, Henry and Melvin, and two
of the daughters, Jane and Anne, became totally blind.
The Civil War:
The clan of Pike County Mains had eight of its members in the Union Army
during the Civil War. Five of them were in the 28th Illinois Volunteer
Infantry Regiment, one in the 99th, one in the 137th, and one in the
Second Illinois Cavalry. Only four survived the ordeal and returned home.
Alvin Main, son of Andrew and Lutilia (Johnson) Main,
was only seventeen and had not obtained his parents permission when he
joined the 28th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. His mother dispatched
his older brother, Rufus to Cairo, Illinois to attempt Alvin's release
from the Army but, on reaching the camp Rufus himself enrolled, bringing
to five the number of relatives closely associated.
Alvin was injured during the Battle of Shiloh when a heavy log fell from
a building in which his detachment had taken refuge, and crushed his
hip, from which he suffered a lameness the rest of his life.
At the end of the war in 1864, Rufus and Alvin were released and issued tickets
for transportation by boat to the river port of Montezuma, near their home.
Nicholas Main, born March 4, 1828 to Solomon and
Susannah (Nye) Main, was in the famous 99th Infantry under Colonel Matthews. He
enrolled August 9, 1862, and was mustered out with his company July 31, 1865.
Nicholas was a veteran of both the Mexican and the Civil War.
Three of the sons of Daniel and Ruth (Johnston) Main served in the Army
during the Civil War, George, Richard and Philip. George was a sergeant
in the 2nd Illinois Cavalry Co. K. He furnished his own horse and horse
equipment. He was taken prisoner December 20, 1862 at Holly Springs,
Mississippi. He was incarcerated for seven months at Andersonville, the
notorious camp of the Confederacy.
Philip Main, born February 12, 1845 was the brother of Richard and George
and was the last of the Pike County Mains to enter the Service. In May, 1864,
at the age of 19, he enlisted at Pittsfield in Company H., 137th Illinois
Infantry under Colonel John Wood. He served to the end of the war. He was
mustered out in September, 1864.
Fred Main, born about 1866 was the oldest son of George and was a veteran of the
Spanish American War, serving in the Cavalry. He participated in the raid on
Aguinaldo's home.
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George Michael Troutner, born about 1727 in
Gundershoffen, France, is the first of our Troutner ancestors to come to
America. He is the great grandfather to Rachel Troutner who married Melvin
Philip Main born March 8, 1822. George Michael arrived in Wilmington,
Delaware by way of Cowes, Isle of Wright on October 23, 1754 from the ship
Recovery along with his wife Anna Margretha and young son Johannas born
April 21, 1753. George Michael served in the Revolutionary War in Captain
Benjamin Weaver's Company of the Northumberland Militia.
David C. Troutner, born about 1833, the brother of Rachel married Sarah
"Sally" Main, daughter of Solomon Main. In 1861, during the Civil War,
when the 28th Illinois Volunteer Infantry was being enrolled, David,
Alvin Main, Richard Main, and James Clark were among the first to enlist.
James Clark was the husband of Mary Main, daughter of Solomon Main. As
you can see the Troutner and Main families were very intertwined.
David, Alvin, Richard, and James were taken, with others, in farm wagons to
Valley City on the Illinois River, then by train to Camp Butler (later
called Camp Lincoln) at Springfield, and afterwards to Cairo, Illinois,
the concentration and training center. The company planned an election
to choose one of their number as sergeant. Both David and James were
nominated. James withdrew so the appointment went to David.
On the first day of the Battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862, the Union Army
was badly defeated, but reinforcements arrived during the night and next
morning the tide turned and the Union Army regained the field. Alvin Main
found his Uncle David Troutner on the ground where he had fallen the day
before. He was still alive, but unconscious. Presumably David died there
and was buried where he lay as were many hundreds of others. David was
2nd Lieutenant at the time of his death. He was killed by a
Minie Ball
hitting him in the eye.
On that same day, April 7, 1862, Alvin also saw his Uncle James Clark injured
and evacuated for transportation to the hospital at Jefferson Barracks, St.
Louis. James died there May 11, 1862. He was a Sergeant at the time of his
death. He died of injuries he sustained from being hit in the temple by a
Canister Ball.
Andrew Nye was born June 6, 1750 in Bucks County, Pa.
(now Northampton County). He and Rachel (McDonald) Nye are parents to two daughters,
Nancy and Susannah, both married men from the Main family.
The record of Andrew's military service during the Revolution is
fragmented. On May 23, 1780, the Yohogania County court "Ordered that Thos.
Rigdon, Lieut. Andw. Nigh, proper person, as lieuts. of Militia." After
this commission as lieutenant, nothing is recorded until 1782, when Andrew
appears as a private in Capt. William Bruce's company in the second
battalion of the Washington County, Pa., Militia. Bruce was made
captain in the Yohogania County militia the same day Andrew was made
lieutenant.
Although it was almost a year since the surrender of the English force
at Yorktown, no peace treaty existed in the summer of 1782 and hostilities
were still under way on the frontier. Instead of English soldiers, the
primary foes were Indians. They were stirred to action by the British and
their sympathizers, such as Simon Girty. Indian raids meant scalpings,
kidnap and torture. The settlers often replied with equal savagery.
Because everyone was threatened, each man who was able was expected to
serve in the Militia. Andrew was called to serve in the Washington County
militia at least twice -- June 14 and Sept. 15, 1782. The first date
follows the stunning defeat of Colonel William Crawford's expedition to
Sandusky, Ohio. The settlers feared the Indians would follow their victory
with attacks on Pennsylvania. The second date corresponds with Indian raids
on settlements in Washington County.
Michael Nye, born August 2, 1785 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania was the brother
of Susannah Nye, wife of Solomon Main. During the War of 1812 Michael served
as a sergeant in Captain Armstrong Drennan's Company, First Battalion, 26th
Regiment. The Beaver County Militia was called into service only once
during the war, when the British threatened Lake Erie in 1814. Michael served
in the military February 16, 1814 to March 22, 1814 in Beaver Co., Pennsylvania.
Some of the information about the Nyes and Troutners was received from Patricia
Harvey, the great, great granddaughter of Solomon Main.
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October 23, 2008 ~ 2 photos