Son of Esther McIntyre (1717-1776) and Neal McIntyre, Sr. (1718-1776) of Boston, William McIntyer or McIntyre was born on 27 April 1747 at Boston. His brothers included Neal McIntyer (1743-1812) who operated a store on Portsmouth’s Spring Hill and James McIntyer (1755) who served alongside with William in early 1776 with Captain Titus Salter’s Company of Artillery protecting Portsmouth’s harbor from Fort Washington on Pierce Island and Fort Sullivan on Seavey Island. William’s younger brother James earlier served as a musician in Captain Tobias Fernald’s Company of Col. James Scammon’s 30th Regiment of Foot in 1775 and later was entered on the frigate Raleigh’s roll in February 1777. In November 1777, James McIntier served yet again at Fort Sullivan in Captain Eliphlet Daniel’s Company of New Hampshire Militia. William McIntyre was married to Ruth Bigelow (1753-1807) on 6 April 1775 at Portsmouth.
William McIntyer first served as a private under Captain Eliphalet Daniels unit of Capt. Titus Salter’s company of artillery where he was “coxswain of ye boats.” He is listed on a return dated 5 November 1775 taken at Fort Sullivan but not on one dated 18 March 1776. Captain Titus Salter (1722–1798) was a merchant and privateer who was commander of the 180 man garrison at Fort Washington between 1775 and 1778. Salter later captained John Langdon’s ship Hampden during the failed Penobscot Expedition in 1779. Located on Peirce’s Island, Fort Washington was built in 1775 under orders of Major General John Sullivan, overall commander of the Portsmouth harbor defenses at that time, to control the Piscataqua River at “the Narrows” and to provide crossfire with Fort Sullivan directly across the river on Seavey’s Island at Kittery. A log boom defense was placed in the river between the two forts.
William McIntyer, or McIntyre, next appears on the List of Officers and Men of the Frigate Boston (1777) appearing on pages 41-45 of Gardner Weld Allen’s publication “Captain Hector McNeill of the Continental Navy” (1922). That list was drafted on the ship Boston at Wichcasset in the Sheepscott River on 16 July 1777 where McIntyer is noted as assigned to the starboard watch and to gun number 29 in battle quarters. Boston was commissioned under the command of Captain Hector McNeill. On 21 May 1777, Boston sailed in company with USS Hancock for a cruise in the North Atlantic. The two frigates captured three prizes including the 28-gun frigate HMS Fox on 7 June. On 7 July; Boston, Hancock, and Fox engaged the British vessels HMS Flora, HMS Rainbow, and HMS Victor. The British captured Hancock and Fox, but the frigate Boston escaped to Sheepscot River on the Maine coast. McNeill was finally court-martialed in June 1779 for his failure to support Hancock and was dismissed from the Navy.
On 8 September 1777, William McIntyre was enlisted into Capt. Nicholas Rawlings’ Company of Col. Abraham Drake’s New Hampshire Regiment of Militia to reinforce continental forces at Stillwater. Drake’s Regiment was also known as the 2nd New Hampshire Militia Regiment attached to General Ebenezer Learned’s brigade of the Continental Army. The regiment marched quickly to join the gathering forces of General Horatio Gates as he faced British General John Burgoyne in northern New York during the Saratoga Campaign. With the surrender of Burgoyne’s Army on October 17 the regiment was disbanded on December 15, 1777. However, according to the 15 January 1778 roll of Rawling’s Company, William McIntyre deserted twenty-one days after his enlistment in October 1777.
Marine William McIntyre appears next on the 1778 Bounty Roll of the Continental brig General Gates (Essex Institute, LXXV, Oct, pp 382-385) under the command of Captain John Skimmer. Formerly known as the Industrious Bee, the vessel had been captured on 29 August 1777 by Skimmer, then in command of the Continental schooner Lee. The Bee was purchased by the Navy Board at Boston on 19 December 1777, fitted out with 18 guns, and renamed General Gates with John Skimmer in command. The Continental brig General Gates sailed from Marblehead on 24 May 1778 and in company with the privateer brig Hawk took as prizes the ship Jenny and brigantines Thomas and Nancy. Parting company with Hawk in early August, the General Gates next took the schooner Polly before engaging the brig Montague in a long and hot action. Montague resorted to firing “every piece of iron of all kinds that could be rammed into the tube of the cannon” with one “shot striking a swivel gun on the State’s brig divided, and one part of it glancing instantly killed the active and brave Captain Skimmer.” General Gates returned to Boston on 31 August 1778 accompanied by the Polly and Montague. It is not known if William McIntyre joined the vessel for her next cruise, departing on 14 November 1778 and returning on 13 April 1779 after taking the schooner Friendship, schooner General Leslie and brigs Active and Union.
William McIntyre was likely close to home in late 1778 as a daughter Polly, who died in childbirth or infancy in 1779, was born to his wife that same year. Another daughter Eunice (1776-1849) born to the couple three years earlier, survived childhood to marry Samuel Brookings. Thirty-nine year old mariner William McIntyre died of unknown causes sometime before his widow posted a bond as Administratrix of his modest estate on 24 August 1786. Ruth Bigelow McIntyre married leather dresser James Haslett at Portsmouth later that same year. Formerly of Boston, James and brother Matthew Haslett initially opened their factory and shop at the “Sign of the BUCK and GLOVE” adjoining Canoe Bridge in 1767, later moving their operation “to the House lately belonging to Mr. Matelin, next Door to Capt. George Boyd’s, and almost opposite the Sign of the State House.”