David Mc Conaughy - Early Life

Early Life

McConaughy was the grandson of Irish immigrants who had settled in Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1712. The McConaughy family was among the first settlers of Adams County and among the most prominent pioneers. He was the youngest of six children of John and Margaret (Patterson) McConaughy. His father died when he was four years old, and David was raised by foster parents. He attended Gettysburg College from 1834 until 1838, when he transferred to Washington College, where his uncle, also named David McConaughy, a former Presbyterian minister in Gettysburg, was the president. After graduating in 1840, he accepted a position as principal of a high school in Maryland, where he remained two years.

McConaughy then studied law under noted abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens and became an attorney in Adams County. He was active in politics as a Whig. He helped organize the Gettysburg chapter of the YMCA and often sponsored lectures to raise funds for the organization, which often used "McConaughy's Hall" as a meeting place. From 1853 until 1863, he served as president and chairman of the board of directors for the newly established Evergreen Cemetery, and oversaw the construction of its now famous brick gatehouse on Cemetery Hill. He joined the newly formed Republican Party, served as a delegate to the 1860 National Convention, and became an outspoken supporter of President Abraham Lincoln.