William McFadin was the eldest son of John McFadin. William, along with his father, were in Joseph Chapline's Company of the Maryland Militia in Frederick County ca. 1764. In 1766, he and hisfather, together with his brother Samuel, signed a petition for a road tobe laid out in Frederick Co., Maryland.
The extended family of John McFadin moved to old Tryon Co., NC,ca. 1766. However, William's presence in that area cannot be conclusively proven. Neither can his continued presence in Maryland or his possible presence in South Carolina as some believe, or other parts of North Carolina.
Although William is said to have served in the Revolutionary War, it is not definitive which unit he served with.
Shortly after 1783, William joined his brothers, Andrew, John, and James and removed to the area of the Red River in eastern Tennessee County, North Carolina (in the area later to become Montgomery Co., Tennessee). James and Andrew surveyed several roads and William returned to Tryon County and brought out his family, settling in Kentucky after 1785 on the Big Barren River about ten miles from Andrew McFaddin's station which was some four miles from present Bowling Green. The name and dates of his first wife are unknown.
On October 2, 1790, William and Andrew signed a petition to the General Assembly of Virginia to establish a court nearer the settlers, as the Indians made it dangerous to travel.
In 1806, with his brother Andrew and nephew Andrew, son of Elias, William and his family were among the earliest of pioneers to arrive in Posey County, Indiana, where they were met upon landing by General William Henry Harrison and his men. The McFadins founded the settlement of McFadin's Bluff on the Ohio River, later to become Mt. Vernon, Indiana.
In a court suit filed in Warren Co., Kentucky, after his death William's wife Rachel is named. The children named are as follows: Mary, John, William Jr., Noah, Katherine, Squire, Andrew, Elizabeth, Rebecca, and James. The children are not named in order; but also omitted from this lawsuit were minors, Martha, Gouvenor, and Lucinda.
Son John was appointed guardian of his minor brothers and sisters after Rachel's death.
Sources:
1. 1732-1774 Colonial Soldiers of the South, by Murtie Clark, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. , Baltimore, Maryland, (1983).
2. The John Stephen McFadin Family of North Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, and Kansas, by Maude McFaddin, Minnonite Press, Newton, Kansas.
3. The McFadden Family 1700-1998, A Biographical Account of John McFadden and His Descendants, by Etta R. (McFadden) Otto, pub. by Lennis McFadden, Rochester, NY (1998). [David McFadden email 5/5/00]