Daniel McKinney Sr. was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, in the year 1744 . He
served in the early part of the Revolutionary War, the first two years in the Pennsylvania
Militia. He was a locksmith and gunsmith by trade, and as such, his services were in great
demand. About 1778 while he was burning a coal pit near his home, he was captured by the
Indians.
He had left his coal pit to go past some brush and timber to his potato patch to gather
some potatoes. He gathered the potatoes and was returning to his coal pit when a part y of
fifteen Indians, secreted behind a fallen treetop, took him prisoner. They took him down
the Ohio River to the mouth of the Wabash, and up that river some distance. They kept hi m
a bout a year, and then took him to Detroit and sold him to the British. He was kept a
prisoner about Detroit for some time, and one day some man wanted a gun lock repaired.
There was a person at Detroit who pretended to do that work that work but was not able to
do it well. McKinney saw him at work and offered to help. It was then discovered that
McKinney was a gunsmith; and the British then required him to make guns for the Indians,
their allies in fighting the Americans.
They gave him $2.50 a day to make gun barrels and to finish the guns; but he was shut up
in prison every night. He made the guns; but he spoiled every gun barrel so that they
could not be relied upon to shoot his countrymen. It is supposed that he made about 250
guns and spoiled them all but one. There was one Indian who knew what a good gun was, and
he got onto McKinney's scheme; he told him he would not betray him if he would make him a
perfect gun, which McKinney did. It is said, that the Indians used one of McKinney's guns
and shot seventeen times at Gen. Washington, but could not hit him once.
McKinney remained a prisoner at Detroit until about 1783 when he was released . He went
back to Pennsylvania and was married to Millie Doutheet. They had the following children:
Theodore born in 1785: Daniel Jr. born 1787; and Cynthia born 1789, who married Cornielius
Skinner.
The second wife of Daniel McKinney Sr. was Mary Hodnett. She had the following children,
Solomon, James, Thomas, Charles and William. Daniel McKinney Sr. was a member of the
Legislature from Scioto County from December 4th, 1809, until February 21st, 1812. He was
a very active, energetic man and citizen. He died June 17th, 1816.
Source: The history of Scioto County