Boother, Abraham

All we used to know about Abraham Boother was that he was a Revolutionary War veteran buried with honors of war at Turner Cemetery in the early 1800s. He has no existing tombstone. He is also listed on the memorial plaque in the church under the date 1775. Then in August 2o13 our committee was contacted by a descendant of Abraham Boother, who gave us more information about his Revolutionary War ancestor.

Abraham (or Abram) Boother (or Booker, Bougher, Becker, Becher or Bugher), was born in or near the present town of Frederick, Maryland, in 1748. He moved with his parents to a farm that is now part of Wilkinsburg. He enlisted in a Virginia regiment in 1776. He saw his first action in the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776, when General Washington led his army across the Delaware River on Christmas night and overcame the Hessians early the next morning. Boother saw action in many other engagements and remained in active service until peace was declared in September 1783.

After the war Boother returned to Pittsburgh. He enlisted again in the campaign against the Indians and fought at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in November 1791. After that, he came back to Pittsburgh  and married Frances McElroy on November 25, 1795. They had seven children: Elisa (m. William Freeman), William (m. Julia Biggs Knox), David (never married), John (never married, d. 1870), Rebecca (m. Joseph Smith Burtt), Asa Thomas (father of Elisabeth Urban), and James (never married).

He was described as “not very tall, wore a full beard, was never known to drink except the time Lafayette visited Pittsburgh; on that occasion he turned out with the other local Military Veterans, and when he came home that evening, Granny thought he had been drinking.”

Boother was killed by the fall of a tree on February 2, 1833, and was buried in Turner’s Cemetery with all the honors of war. The local troops at his burial were commanded by Major Treville.

We have more detailed information about the military career and genealogy of Abraham Boother. Contact us at this website if you are interested in learning more.

Included in the information is a family tree showing several other people who are listed as being buried in Turner’s whom we previously had no record of. They are Abraham Boother’s wife Frances McElroy Boother (no dates), and one of their daughters, Rebecca (no dates). In the family tree, Booker is spelled Bougher. Rebecca’s husband, Joseph Smith Burtt (Aug. 28, 1804-1844), is also listed in the family tree as being buried in Turner’s. We have added their information to our general list of burials in Turner’s.