William Dunlap, Jr., (1753-1817) is the Patriot ancestor of Dana Dunlap. He was born in Cherry Valley, New York in 1753. Cherry Valley was founded by his great uncle in the 1740s. It was located in Mohawk country.
William and his three brothers were members of the Tryon County militia, 1st regiment. Their uncle, Samuel Campbell, was the colonel. They fought in the Saratoga campaign at the battle of Oriskany in 1777. The British sent a force down the Mohawk valley to come behind the American left flank at Albany. The only troops available to stop them were the Tryon County militia, which was about 750 men strong. They were sent up the valley and meet the British at Oriskany, which was fought on August 6th, 1777. They suffered the greatest casualties for the patriots in the entire war. 385 were killed. But they stopped the British. One of the Dunlap brothers, James, who was 21 years old, was killed. He was buried in a mass grave on the battlefield. Today the names of the Dunlap brothers are on the monument at Oriskany.
Six months later the Dunlaps were back in Cherry Valley. In February 1778 men at Cherry Valley signed a petition to the governor of New York to form a Ranger company to defend the frontier from Tory rangers and their Indian allies. The three Dunlap brothers and their father signed the petition to George Clinton, governor of New York.
Finally William appears on the muster roll for the 16th regiment of the Albany County militia in 1779-1780. The Tryon County militia was absorbed into the Albany County militia.