Robert McMahan 1760-1823
Research to determine the parents, siblings (lineage) of Robert
McMahan of Virginia, Kentucky and Madison County, Illinois
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Family Group Record
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Husband's Name Robert McMahan
Born: 1760 Place: Virginia
Died: 1823 Place: Troy, Madison, Illinois
Married: Jun 1795 Place: St. Clair County, Illinois
Father:
Mother:
Other Spouses: Margaret Clark(e)
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Wife's Name Nancy Kester
Born: abt 1777 Place: Kentucky
Died: Place:
Father:
Mother:
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Children
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1. Sex Name
M Isaac Kester McMahan
Born: 29 Mar 1796 Place: On a raft (Ohio-Illinois)
Died: 08 Jan 1863 Place: Alton, Madison, Illinois
Married: Place: Illinois
Spouse: Catherine .......
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2. Sex Name
M Robert McMahan (junior)
Born: 28 Dec 1797 Place: St. Clair County, Illinois
Died: 29 Oct 1872 Place: Scott County, Illinois
Married: 25 Feb 1818 Place: Madison County, Illinois
Spouse: Nancy Conway
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3. Sex Name
F Rebecca McMahan
Born: 04 May 1800 Place: Horse Prairie, Randolph, Illinois
Died: 09 Oct 1857 Place: Wolf Creek, Pike, Arkansas
Married: 14 Jun 1814 Place: Madison County, Illinois
Spouse: William Kelley
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4. Sex Name
M Thomas "Stogden" (Stockton) McMahan
Born: 1802 Place: Horse Prairie, Randolph, Illinois
Died: aft 1854 Place: Madison County, Ill (last record of)
Married: Place: Madison County, Illinois
Spouse: Nancy Harrington
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5. Sex Name
F Susanna (Susan) K. McMahan
Born: 1805 Place: Horse Prairie, Randolph, Illinois
Died: Place:
Married: 25 Dec 1827 Place: Madison County, Illinois
Spouse: Creath Renfro
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6. Sex Name
M Nathaniel S. McMahan
Born: 1808 Place: St. Clair County, Illinois
Died: 02 Feb 1819 Place: Madison County, Illinois
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7. Sex Name
M George W. McMahan
Born: 1810 Place: St. Clair County, Illinois
Died: 27 Apr 1840 Place: near Curtis' Mills, Clinton Co., Ill
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8. Sex Name
F Nancy McMahan
Born: 12 Mar 1812 Place: Madison County, Illinois
Died: 22 May 1877 Place:
Married: 13 Mar 1827 Place: Madison County, Illinois
Spouse: Milton Hall
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9. Sex Name
M Jesse W. McMahan
Born: 1813 Place: Madison County, Illinois
Died: 1857 Place:
Marr 1: 12 Jan 1840 Place: Morgan County, Illinois
Spouse: Mary Johnson
Marr 2: 01 Jan 1843 Place: Scott County, Illinois
Spouse: Mary S. Smith
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10. Sex Name
F Emily McMahan
Born: 26 Jul 1815 Place: Madison County, Illinois
Died: 13 Mar 1884 Place:
Married: 15 Dec 1836 Place: Illinois
Spouse: Samuel Caruthers
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11. Sex Name
F Avaline McMahan
Born: 1818 Place: Troy, Madison, Illinois
Died: 06 Dec 1878 Place:
Married: 08 Apr 1839 Place: St. Clair County, Illinois
Spouse: James E. Clark
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12. Sex Name
F Caroline McMahan
Born: 1821 Place: Troy, Madison, Illinois
Died: Place:
Marr 1: 31 Dec 1840 Place: Madison County, Illinois
Spouse: Phillip W. Moore
Marr 2: Place:
Spouse: Andrew Harvey
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Family Group Record
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Husband's Name Robert McMahan
Born: 1760 Place: Virginia
Died: 1823 Place: Troy, Madison, Illinois
Married: 29 Jun 1785 Place: Crab Orchard, Lincoln, Kentucky (bond)
Father:
Mother:
Other Spouses: Nancy Kester
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Wife's Name Margaret Clark(e)
Born: Place:
Died: 26 Jan 1795 Place: near New Design Station, Monroe, Illinois
Father: William Clark(e)
Mother:
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Children
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1. Sex Name
F Sarah (Sally) McMahan
Born: 09 Mar 1786 Place: Lincoln County, Kentucky
Died: 23 Jan 1850 Place: Alton, Madison, Illinois
Married: Place:
Spouse: David Gaskill
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2. Sex Name
M child McMahan
Born: Abt 1788 Place: Kentucky
Died: 26 Jan 1795 Place: near New Design Station, Monroe, Ill
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3. Sex Name
F child McMahan
Born: Abt 1790 Place: Kentucky
Died: 26 Jan 1795 Place: near New Design Station, Monroe, Ill
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4. Sex Name
F child McMahan
Born: Abt 1792 Place: Kentucky
Died: 26 Jan 1795 Place: near New Design Station, Monroe, Ill
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5. Sex Name
F infant McMahan
Born: 1794 Place: near New Design Station, Monroe, Ill
Died: 26 Jan 1795 Place: near New Design Station, Monroe, Ill
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New Design Station (fort-stockade) was located in St. Clair (now) Monroe
County, Illinois in 1795. The McMahan house was situated within the
northeast quarter of section nineteen, township three south, range nine
west. Monroe County was created January 6, 1816 from Randolph and St. Clair
counties, Illinois.
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Cemetery Records
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SMITH CEMETERY
Smith Cemetery is located west of Alsey in southwestern Scott County,
Illinois, near the blacktop road between Glasgow and Alsey. Jacob Smith
received the land in a grant from the government in 1832 when the area was
still a part of Morgan County. In 1852 Jacob Smith conveyed the farm land
around the cemetery to George G. Smith "excepting 2 rods square including
burying yard on said land." In 1976 a 4-H club, the Alsey Youth
Corporation, undertook the project of restoring the long neglected
cemetery. This was accomplished under the leadership of Mrs. George (Carol)
Cooper. A re-dedication ceremony was held on Sunday, Oct. 31, 1976. Former
State Representative G. William Horsley of Springfield, an authority on
Abraham Lincoln, gave the dedicatory address. He was driven from Alsey to
the cemetery in a buggy escorted by the 7th Cavalry Reactivated which also
gave a demonstration of Civil War drills. The listing of tombstone readings
given here was made by Mrs. Edna McMahan Secrest and her husband, Elvin
(Al) R. Secrest, in August of 1978.
List of Known Burials
ALLEN, Caroline
Died 2 Oct 1854
Age 16 Yr 5 Mo 16 Da
ARNOLD, Infant Son
of W.M. and D. Arnold
Died 22 Feb 1866
Age 1 Mo 2 Da
Scott County, Illinois Marriage Licenses 28 March 1839-30 December 1899,
page 9, by Edna McMahan Secrest, show that William M. Arnold and Dorcas
Hankins were married on March 24, 1842.
SMITH, David
Died 23 Apr 1857
Age 33 Yr 1 Mo 12 Da
SMITH, James J.
Died 11 July 1884
Age 67 Yr 5 Mo 20 Da
SMITH, Rebecca Ann
Wife of J.J. Smith
She married James J. Smith on June 30, 1842. Mr. and Mrs. Elvin R. Secrest
did not find a marker ... but they have a copy of her obituary - name and
date of newspaper unknown - which reads: "MRS. REBECCA ANN SMITH, nee
MCMAHAN, one of the pioneer residents of Scott Co., Ill., died at the home
of her daughter Mrs. Maria Roberts, 23 Sept. 1912 at the age of 77 years 4
months and 21 days. She was married to James J. Smith 30 June 1842, and
they were the parents of four children two boys and two girls three of whom
are still living, Mrs. Maria Roberts of Alsey, Mrs. George H. Roney of East
St. Louis and Joseph Smith of Canton, Ill. Grandma Smith as she was
familiarly called, spent the last nine years of her life at the home of her
daughter Mrs. Maria Roberts of Alsey, where she had the faithful and
consistent care of her daughter and family, till the end came which was
faithful and full of faith. She was the last of the charter members of the
Big Spring Baptist Church, having made a profession of faith in Christ in
early life and continued a consistent life till the master called her home.
She rests from her labors and her works do follow her. The funeral services
was held from the Baptist church in Alsey, 25 Sept. 1912, conducted by Rev.
W.E. Vaughn of Carlinville. Interment was in the Smith Cemetery."
Her parents were Robert and Nancy (Conway) McMahan.
SMITH, Rachel
Died 21 Feb 1838
Age 52 Yr
Wife of Jacob Smith
Her tombstone was repaired during the 1976 restoration of the cemetery.
SMTIH, William
Co. F 61 Ill. Inf.
SMITH, William H.
Son of J.J. and R.A. Smith
Died at Franklin, Tenn.
May 28, 1865
aged 17 Yr 7 Mo 16 Da (no marker)
WHALEN, America J.
Died 18 Sept 1858
Age 15 Yr 4 Mo 23 Da
Dau of H. ?. and S. Whalen
Badly shattered, monument repaired in 1976.
Infant Son of H. and S. Whalen (no further inscription)
WHALEN, Nancy M.
Died 21 Oct 1850
Age 2 Yr 4 Mo 23 Da
Dau of H. and S. Whalen
WHALEN, William H.
Died 30 Mar 1853
Age 2 Yr 1 Mo 25 Da
WHALEN, Sarah G.
Died 20 Mar 1854
Age 37 Yr 7 Mo 22 Da
DV (Footstone)
JY (Footstone)
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilscott/cemeteries/Smith.txt
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Census Records
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1860 United States Federal Census
Name: Ann McMahan
Age in 1860: 85
Birth Year: abt 1775
Birthplace: Kentucky
Home in 1860: Township 3 Range 7, Madison, Illinois
Gender: Female
Post Office: Troy
Household Members: Name Age
Geo G Smith 41
Catherine Smith 37
Mary Dixen 13
Martha Smith 2
Ann McMahan 85
Page No. 27
Schedule No. 1 - Free inhabitants in Township 3 N. 7 W. in the County of
Madison, State of Illinois enumerated by me on the 12 day of June, 1860.
(blank), Ass't Marshal. Post Office: Troy
Line 20-20 | Dwelling 193 | Family 190 (James Purviance) Birthplace
George Churchhill 70 M Farm Laborer Vermont
Line 32-36 | Dwelling 195 | Family 192 Birthplace
Geo. G. Smith 41 M Farmer 1200 200 Kentucky
Catherine " 37 F House Keeper Illinois
Mary Dixen 13 F "
Martha Smith 2 F "
Ann McMahan 85 F Kentucky
Census Year: 1860; Census Place: Township 3 Range
7, Madison, Illinois; Roll: M653-208; Page: 27.
Notes: Illinois Marriages, 1790-1860, Name: Catharine McMahan, Spouse:
Patrick Henry Dixon, Date: 3 Jun 1846, County: Madison, State: Illinois,
Source: Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah Microfilm: 1306457
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Genealogy
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THE GASKILL FAMILY: ONE LINE OF DESCENDANTS OF
EDWARD GASKILL OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, SINCE 1636
by Gussie Esther Gaskill (excerpts)
Most of the Gaskills in this country are descended from Edward, a ship
carpenter who had a grant of 20 acres of land in Salem in 1636. This is the
history of one line of his descendants, compiled by a female descendant of
the tenth generation. This line is
1. Edward and Sarah
2. Samuel and Provided Southwick
3. Samuel and Bethiah Woodin
4. Jonathan and Alice Pickering
5. Silas and Sarah Jillson
6. David and Sarah McMahan
7. Joseph and Mahala Riggin
8. Sylvester and Mary Elizabeth Tenison
9. Terry and Eva Edna Worswick
10. Gussie Esther Gaskill
Illinois Gaskills: David Gaskill's nephew Sylvanus, son of Wilder, settled
near David in Madison County, Illinois, and many of his descendants have
lived in that area, including St. Louis, Missouri, ever since.
David Gaskill arrived in Troy, Illinois, in 1804. Not long afterward he met
and married Sarah McMahan. Sarah (Sally) McMahan was the daughter of Robert
McMahan, a native of Augusta County, Virginia, who had emigrated to
Kentucky after the Revolution. He married Margaret Clark at Crab Orchard,
Kentucky, on June 29, 1785. In 1793, he moved his family to Illinois and
settled near New Design, in the present Monroe County, one of the earliest
American settlements in Illinois.
For a year or more, the family lived in a house belonging to James Lemen at
a station or fortified place, with other early settlers, for protection.
Then in January 1795, they moved to a cabin McMahan had built on their own
land, about three miles from the station and out of sight of any other
house. Only two or three days later they were attacked by four marauding
Indians from northern Illinois. The mother and four young children,
including a tiny baby, were killed. Sally, the eldest, who was not quite
nine, and her father were taken captive and forced to go north with their
captors.
Robert McMahan managed to escape the second night and make his way back to
find his family all dead and buried by shocked neighbors in a common grave.
Sally was taken north to the home of the Pottawatomies, southwest of Lake
Michigan where she was turned over to an Ottawa Indian chief.
In 1795, General Anthony Wayne won a great victory over the Indians in
Ohio, and this was followed by the Treaty of Greenville, under which the
Indians agreed to return all their white captives. In April 1796, the
Ottawa chief, Suk-ko-nok, took Sally by canoe down the Illinois and
Mississippi Rivers to Cahokia, where he delivered her to the white people.
Her father remarried, moved to Ridge Prairie, southwest of Troy, in Madison
County, and raised a large family. It was there that Sally met and married
David Gaskill, and there that they lived until his death in 1842.
Various accounts of the McMahan massacre have been published in Illinois
histories, but the best and most accurate is that of George Churchill, who
had been for years a neighbor of the McMahans and Gaskills on Ridge
Prairie. His account was read before the Troy Lyceum in 1855 and was
published in A Gazetteer of Madison County (Alton, Hair, 1866), pp. 248-
252.
When I was a little girl with reddish hair my grandfather told me about his
grandmother Sally who had been taken captive by Indians and her family
killed. He said I got my red hair from her, that it was because of her red
hair that the Indians had taken her captive instead of killing her too.
David and Sally had thirteen children, five sons and eight daughters. But
of the sons, only Joseph E., their second child, married and had children.
The oldest child was a daughter, Cynthia, who married Ebenezer Pickering
when she was only sixteen or so. She was dead when her father died in 1842,
and her mother's will, 1850, lists Susan, Hannah, and James Pickering,
children of her deceased daughter Cynthia, among her heirs.
Of the sons, Robert was killed at age 14. William and Samuel Parker (called
Parker) were living when their mother died in 1850, but they died,
unmarried, not many years after-ward. Joseph died too, in 1852, of
"consumption."
Two daughters, Katharine and Elizabeth, died before their mother. The other
children were two pairs of twin daughters, Fanny C. and Julia Ann, being
the elder, and Lucy and Phoebe, the second pair, and David and Mary Ann,
the two youngest children. David died unmarried in Alton early in 1851.
Julia Ann married William W. Fairbanks in 1844, and Fanny C., who was
administratrix of her mother's estate, married Robert W. Kennedy in 1850.
Lucy married Williamson Jones, and Mary Ann married Oscard Gifford in 1855.
Sally moved to Alton after David's death and lived there until she died.
Joseph had settled near Marine, also in Madison County, but several miles
from Ridge Prairie about the time he was married.
After David's death in 1842, his land and other property on Ridge Prairie
was gradually sold and the family left Ridge Prairie for Alton and
elsewhere. Fanny asked to be replaced as administratrix of her mother's
estate after she married and was moving out of Madison County. William died
in New Orleans in 1851 and Mary Ann and her husband, Oscar Gifford, whom
she married in 1855, moved eventually to Kansas.
Joseph is the only one of David and Sally's children whose death was
attributed to consumption (tuberculosis) in the records we have, but was it
the cause of the early death of others of their children? The last death
attributed to consumption was that of Joseph's younger son by Mahala
Riggin, Seth, but his four children by Lucinda Smart all died young. Did
they have consumption too?
Joseph E. Gaskill was born in Illinois in 1806, married Mahala Riggin on
March 13, 1828. They had three daughters and two sons, the elder of whom
was Sylvester H. The younger was Seth W., born in 1838, who died unmarried
in 1866. The three daughters were Harriet Ann, Lucinda and Ellen. Joseph
and Mahala had settled before 1830 on a farm in Marine, Illinois, Madison
County, near Albert Riggin, presumably Mahala's brother. Mahala died in
1838 when Seth was born, and then Joseph married Lucinda Smart. They had
four children, who all died young. When Joseph died in 1852, he owned a
grocery store in Alton. Mahala's daughter, Harriet Ann, had married William
H. Owen or Owens, and Lucinda had married Dr. James Peterson before they
both moved with their families to Kansas where they lived the rest of their
lives. Ellen and Seth W. died in Marine.
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~ahopkins/gaskill/gussie.htm
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RootsWeb
WorldConnect
Family Trees
Sevier County Gedcom
Entries: 16639
Updated: 2005-11-03 14:19:07 UTC (Thu)
Contact: John James Henry (jhenry05@comcast.net)
ID: I03684
Name: John MCMAHAN
Sex: M
Birth: ABT 1731 in County Meath, Ireland
Death: 1783 in Montgomery Co., VA
Note: John planned to go with the Shields families (his wife's sister was
Nancy Stockton, Robert Shields' wife) and his brother Archibald to
Tennessee, but died soon after the plans were finished. His wife Deborah
and their younger children went to TN with the Shields in 1785.
Father: Robert MCMAHAN b: 1706 in Ireland
Mother: Catherine BRYAN b: 1709 in Ireland
Marriage 1 Deborah STOCKTON b: 1733 in Augusta Co., VA
ID: I03556
Name: Deborah STOCKTON
Sex: F
Birth: 1733 in Augusta Co., VA
Death: AFT 1795 in Sevier Co., TN
Note:
Deborah McMahan and some of her children made the trip to Shield's Station,
Sevier Co., TN in 1785, shortly after John died. Her son James was
prominent as Sevier County's Register of Deeds in 1796-1800. However her
older sons William and John Jr. must have remained on Montgomery Co., VA.
Whether Robert came to Sevier Co. or stayed in Virginia is not known.
Married: BEF 1852 in Augusta Co., VA
Children
1. Nancy MCMAHAN b: 1752 in Augusta (now Montgomery) Co., VA
2. William MCMAHAN b: 1754 in Augusta (now Montgomery) Co., VA
3. John MCMAHAN b: 1755 in Augusta (now Montgomery) Co., VA
ID: I10108
Name: John MCMAHAN
Sex: M
Birth: 1755 in Augusta (now Montgomery) Co., VA
Death: 1837 in Warren Co., KY
Marriage 1 Rosannah HARDIN
Married: ABT 1785 in Montgomery Co., VA
Child
Rosana MCMAHAN b: 4 OCT 1789 in Montgomery Co., VA
4. Robert MCMAHAN b: 1762 in Augusta (now Montgomery) Co., VA
5. James MCMAHAN b: 1768 in Augusta (now Montgomery) Co., VA
ID: I10114
Name: James MCMAHAN
Sex: M
Birth: 1768 in Augusta (now Montgomery) Co., VA
Death: AFT 1840 in Sevier Co., TN
Note:
James McMan (McMahan) had a Land Grant for 428 acres in Sevier County and
his land included most of the center of downtown Sevierville today. He was
Sevier County's second Register of Deeds after statehood. (Sources: "In The
Shadow Of The Smokies", SMHS, 1993, p80; Goodspeed, "History of East
Tennessee", 1887 reprinted 1972, p836-7.) Goodspeed on p836 says James
McMahan was Register in 1795 but on page 837 says he became Register in
1796. James is sometimes confused with his cousin, James McMahan, the son
of Archibald.
6. Mary MCMAHAN b: 1770 in Augusta (now Montgomery) Co., VA
7. Elizabeth MCMAHAN b: 1771 in Augusta (now Montgomery) Co., VA
ID: I06114
Name: Nancy STOCKTON
Sex: F
Birth: 1745 in Albemarle Co., VA
Death: 1805 in Middle Creek, Sevier Co., TN
Burial: Middle Creek Methodist Church, Sevier Co., TN
Marriage 1 Robert SHIELDS b: 9 NOV 1740 in , Augusta Co., VA
Married: ABT 1761 in , Augusta or Rockbridge Co., VA
Children
Janet SHIELDS b: 7 MAR 1762 in Augusta Co., VA
Thomas SHIELDS b: 1763 in Augusta Co., VA
Richard SHIELDS b: 4 JUL 1764 in Augusta Co., VA
David SHIELDS b: 1766 in Augusta Co., VA
William SHIELDS b: 4 JUL 1768 in Augusta Co., VA
John SHIELDS b: 1769 in Augusta Co., VA
James SHIELDS b: 10 MAR 1770 in Augusta Co., VA
Robert SHIELDS b: 1772 in Harrisonburg, Botetourt Co., VA
Joseph SHIELDS b: 17 MAR 1775 in Harrisonburg, Botetourt Co., VA
Benjamin SHIELDS b: 1780 in Harrisonburg, Botetourt Co., VA
Jesse SHIELDS b: 10 MAR 1782 in Harrisonburg, Botetourt Co., VA
ID: I06113
Name: Robert SHIELDS
Sex: M
Birth: 9 NOV 1740 in Augusta Co., VA
Death: 18 JAN 1802 in Middle Creek, Sevier Co., TN
Burial: Middle Creek Methodist Church, Sevier Co., TN
Note:
Robert Shields was a Private in Frances Lang's company of the Shenandoah
Co., Militia during the American Revolution. In 1781, Robert bought land on
Smith Creek (in Augusta, now Rockbridge, Co., VA), and as an heir to his
brother, John, of Botetourt Co., VA he conveyed land to William Shields in
1782. John A. Shields says that Robert and his sons left Virginia because
they could not compete with the slave-owning-plantations and, as Irishmen,
didn't believe owning slaves was morally right. In truth, hard times
following the Revolution may have forced them to seek greener pastures in
the wilderness. In 1784, Robert Shields bought land from the Watauga
Association (Landon Carter in Washington Co NC (now TN) on Middle Creek
which was then in Greene Co., NC and is now in Sevier Co., TN. He and three
of his married sons accompanied by Archibald McMahan and another McMahan
family then went to their newly purchased land and established Shield's
Station in the valley of Middle Creek, near Shield's Mountain. It took
nearly 4 years to complete the fort and the men were separated from their
wives and smaller children for about a year while they completed the
initial structures. They were among the first settlers south of the French
Broad River in Tennessee, having purchased their land about a year before
the Treaty of Dumplin opened this land to Settlers. The fort was enclosed
by a palisade of pointed logs on a rectangular plot of about 1/4 acre and
inside this they built a long single log dwelling for all six families. It
was a log structure with a common kitchen at one end and a living room at
the other. In between these were rooms for the individual families. Inside
the palisade there was also a well and two log barns for the animals. They
were about 12 miles from the main Indian road, so they were rarely bothered
by Indian attacks, though many small skirmishes occurred and Thomas Shields
was almost killed by Indians in 1793. The Shields and McMahans lived in
this communal setting until about 1800 when most of them built separate
homes on their own land and only the Robert Shields family remained in the
Station by 1804.
Father: John SHIELDS b: 1709 in Lancaster, Chester Co., PA
Mother: Margaret PERRY b: ABT 1715 in Chester Co., PA
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Family of Richard Stockton
RICHARD STOCKTON was born 1710, and died July 21, 1775 in Albemarle County,
Virginia. He married AGNES ANN ANTHONY, 1732, in Goochland County,
Virginia, daughter of JOSEPH ANTHONY.
Notes for RICHARD STOCKTON:
29 Mar. 1749, Richard annexed 12 Shillings to the Orthodox Reformed
Presbyterian Church.
Richard Stockton lived at fork of Mechum's River, near the old Black place,
in fact, that was a part of his land, he and his wife Agnes having sold 400
acres to Rev. Samuel Black in 1751.
Obtained a grant of 400 acres in Albemarle County on 23 July 1754 and other
grants later.
Augusta Co., VA Court Records, Order Book No. VII, 20 Nov. 1761, pg. 133:
John McMahon and Richd. Stockdon (sic), bail for Robt. McMahon.
Patented 200 a. of land on the N. Fork of Mechum's River, Albemarle Co.,
VA. Patent Book #54, 1756-1762, Pg. 60.
His will was dated 21 July 1775 and proved in October 1775. His will read:
In the Name of God, Amen. I, Richard Stockton, of Albemarle County and
parish of St. Annes, being sick of body, but of sound and perfect memory,
do constitute this to be my last will and testament. That is to say, I
bequeath my soul to the lord that gave it to me, trusting in his mercies
that he will preserve it again, and as for my worldly goods, I bequeath as
in form and manner following:
Unto my son Thomas Stockton, five shillings sterling.
Unto my son John Stockton, five shillings sterling.
Unto my son Robert Stockton, five shillings sterling.
Unto my son David Stockton, five shillings sterling.
And to every one of my daughters, five shillings apiece.
I bequeath unto my son Richard Stockton my land and Negro Simon, after his
mother's death, and all the rest of my goods after my just debts are paid I
bequeath unto my well beloved wife and that (they) be at her disposing
after my death.
I appoint Alexander Black and John Dollings to be my executors.
July 21st, 1775
Richard (his X mark) Stockton (L.S.)
John Davis
Francis Davis
Lucy Davis
At Albemarle October Court 1775, the will was presented and proved by the
oath of John Davis and Francis Davis, two witnesses hereto and ordered to
be recorded. Teste.
John Nicholas, Clerk.
More About RICHARD STOCKTON and AGNES ANTHONY:
Marriage: 1732, Goochland County, Virginia
Children of RICHARD STOCKTON and AGNES ANTHONY:
i. DEBORAH STOCKTON, b. Abt. 1733, Orange County, Virginia; d. (in)
Sevier County, Tennessee; m. JOHN MCMAHAN, Bef. 1752; b. 1731,
Orange County, Virginia; d. 1784, Augusta County, Virginia.
Notes for DEBORAH STOCKTON:
Deborah McMahan and at least some of her children made the trip
to Tennessee with the Shields family. John McMahan had died in
Virginia.
Notes for JOHN MCMAHAN:
Augusta Co., VA Court Records, Order Book No. VII, 20 Nov. 1761,
pg. 133: John McMahon and Richd. Stockdon (sic), bail for Robt.
McMahon.
More About JOHN MCMAHAN and DEBORAH STOCKTON:
Marriage: Bef. 1752
ii. ELIZABETH STOCKTON, d. Aft. 1816, Surry County, North Carolina;
m. LT. THOMAS LOCKHART, Abt. 1747, around Albemarle County,
Virginia; b. Abt. 1705; d. Bef. May 30, 1791, Henry County,
Virginia.
Notes for ELIZABETH STOCKTON:
Julia Wood shows Elizabeth as born abt 1749, died aft 24 NOV
1790, Henry County, Virginia.
More About THOMAS LOCKHART and ELIZABETH STOCKTON:
Marriage: Abt. 1747, around Albemarle County, Virginia
iii. NANCY STOCKTON, b. Abt. 1739, Goochland County, Virginia; d. Abt.
1805, Sevier County, Tennessee; m. ROBERT SHIELDS, 1761,
Harrisonburg, Virginia; b. July 04, 1744, Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Notes for NANCY STOCKTON:
Description: Gravestone says "In memory of Nancy, wife of Robert
Shields, Daughter of Richard & Agnes Stockton Shields, came to
Sevier Co. in 1784"
Bill Navey gives Nancy's birth date as 1749
More About NANCY STOCKTON:
Burial: Middle Creek Cemetery, near Sevierville, Tennessee
Notes for ROBERT SHIELDS:
Christine Brown says Robert was born Nov 9 1749 near Harrisburg,
Virginia.
Robert Shields was a private in Francis Lang's Company in Rev War
Christine Brown says he was a captain.
John A. Shields put Robert's birth at 1740. He says there were 11
sons, one died in infancy. Another source says that there were 12
sons and 2 died in infancy.
Court records indicate that Robert acquired land in 1781 on Smith
Creek, a branch of the Calf-Pasture River in Augusta and
Rockbridge Counties, Virginia. As heir to his brother John of
Botetourt County, Robert conveyed land to William Shields in 1782.
John Shields says the family settled in the western wilderness
near Pigeon Forge because the government of North Carolina was
offering cheap land and tax exemptions and because the were
pressed in Virginia by high taxes, poor markets, ruinous
competition of slave-labor plantations (the Shields were not slave
holders), hard times and increasing needs of a large family.
Daniel Boone, described as a kinsman, and other hunters and
explorers had brought back glowing accounts of the fertility of
the land, abundance of game and beauty of the country, all of
which was added to by accounts of the eldest son, Thomas, who had
spent three years exploring the unsettled region of East Tennessee.
In 1784, the Shields and McMahan families (Mrs. Deborah McMahan
was Nancy Stockman's recently widowed sister) loaded their
possessions in three wagons and embarked on the long trail down
the Shenandoah Valley. At Big Lick (Roanoke), the party divided.
One wagon, in charge of Robert's son James, 13 with Nancy, Janet
and the smaller Shields boys, went to Yadkin Settlement in North
Carolina, where they remained with Robert's cousins a year before
proceeding to Tennessee. The other two wagons proceeded as far as
the settlement on the Watauga where the McMahan and Thomas' and
Richard's wives remained until the following year. In 1785, the
McMahans and the Yadkin party of the Shields family went on with
the pack animals via the old Traders Trail.
At the Watauga Land Office, Robert Shields bought a tract of land
on Middle Creek, a tributary of the Little Pigeon River in what is
now Sevier County, Tennessee. This was far beyond the most remote
frontier settlements. The most remote settlement up until then was
at Big Island in the French Broad River, about 20 miles northeast
of Robert's land. From Watauga to Middle Creek was about 100 miles
as the crow flies and more than 200 miles by the pack-animal trail
or 150 miles via forest footpaths.
In 1784, Robert and his five older sons, carrying on their backs
such scanty equipment as was absolutely required, proceeded on
foot by mountain paths known by Thomas. They often traveled for
days without seeing a settler's cabin. Once, two Indians with
flintlocks and tomahawks stalked them. Thomas, becoming aware of
the lurking danger, took two long-rifles, going some distance
ahead of the others, and hid until the trailing Indians passed
him. He killed them both.
After about two weeks, they reached the mouth of the Little
Pigeon River. Leaving the regular trail, they turned south up
that stream to their new location. On what is now the old T.D.
McMahan place on Middle Creek, a branch of the Little Pigeon
River, they built a temporary cabin at the foot of Shields
Mountain, started a clearing and began erection of Shields fort.
On the frontier, a fort was a prime necessity for protection
from hostile Indians. Following the Revolution, Spain claimed the
land west of the Alleghenies and bitterly opposed settlement from
the United States. The Spanish incited the Indians, especially the
Cherokees, offering large bounties for white settlers' scalps.
Some accounts say that between 1780 and 1795 half of the male
settlers were killed by Indians.
Shields Fort, when completed was 16x100 feet with low ceilings
and attics. It was constructed of heavy logs with a fireplace at
each end. There were four outside doors, several small window
openings without glass and numerous portholes with convenient
places upstairs and down. The original building contained living
quarters for six families with a large common kitchen at one end
and a common living room at the other. The building was in the
midst of an oblong yard of about a quarter-acre, surrounded by
walls 12 feet high. The walls consisted of double rows of logs
standing on end, closely spaced and sharpened at the top and
fastened together with wooden pins. A high sentry box at each end
of the stockade gave a commanding view of the clearing for several
acres. The spring was within the enclosure, as were stables for
the stock and all the other buildings.
It took nearly four years to complete the original structure. It
was in this fort that Robert Shields lived with his children and
grandchildren for almost 20 years. Seven of his sons brought their
brides to the fort. As the family grew, the size of the stockade
increased. Eventually, the McMahan and some of the Shields boys
moved into their own separate quarters nearby.
John A. Shields says Robert and Nancy Shields died at the fort
about 1805 and were buried in unmarked graves on a nearby hillside.
In 1976, the Spencer Clark Chapter of the DAR marked Robert and
Nancy's graves, which are now part of a small cemetery at the rear
of Middle Creek Methodist Church. Other members of the Shields and
McMahan families are buried there as well.
More About ROBERT SHIELDS and NANCY STOCKTON:
Marriage: 1761, Harrisonburg, Virginia
iv. THOMAS STOCKTON, b. Abt. 1740; m. MARY GOLDEN, October 28, 1775;
b. Abt. 1742.
More About THOMAS STOCKTON and MARY GOLDEN:
Marriage: October 28, 1775
v. JOHN STOCKTON, b. Bef. 1741, New Jersey; d. Abt. 1810, Pittsylvania
County, Virginia; m. MARY MORTON11; d. Aft. 1811.
Notes for JOHN STOCKTON:
John Stockton was a signer of the Albemarle Declaration of
Independence.
John and Mary "Polly" Stockton were on record in Pittsylvania
County as early as 24 August 1775, when Thomas Herget of
Pittsylvania County granted power of attorney to John (Index to
Wills and Deeds, 1767-1848, Vol. 4, p. 157).
On 26 Nov. 1777, John Davis of Henry County sold John Stockton
500 acres in the Commonwealth of Virginia and on Turkey Cock
Creek in consideration of 250 pounds "current money" (Pittsylvania
County Deeds and Wills 1767-1780, Vol. 5, p. 2).
On October 21, 1811, Mary Stockton is signing alone, so John had
probably died by then. Mary and her children and her children moved
to Cumberland County, Kentucky after John's death.
vi. ROBERT STOCKTON, b. November 11, 1743, Goochland County, Virginia;
d. September 21, 1824, Henry County, Virginia; m. CATHERINE BLAKEY,
September 07, 1768.
Notes for ROBERT STOCKTON:
Two separate entries appear in the 1782 Personal Property Tax List
of Henry County, Virginia for Robert Stockton, as follows:
Stockton, Robert - Tithes 1, Negroes 6, Horses 5, Cattle 23.
Stockton, Robert - Tithes 0, Negroes 8, Horses 13, Cattle 24.
Very likely the above represents two different Robert Stockton's
who happened to reside in Henry County at that time. However,
"tithe", as I understand it, indicates the taxability of 1/10th
of ones annual income. Could it also be possible that two entries
are made for the same individual if, for example, the person had
two farms (an entry for each farm)? Then, it would seem the
individual would only be counted once, as appears to be the case,
above.
1790 Personal Property A for a Robert Stockton in Henry county, VA
appears as:
White Tithes - 2, Blacks over 16 - 7, Blacks 12 to 16 - 4, Horses
- 4
More About ROBERT STOCKTON and CATHERINE BLAKEY:
Marriage: September 07, 1768
vii. SARAH STOCKTON, b. Bet. 1744-1749; d. Aft. January 1787, Albemarle
County, Virginia; m. HUGH ROSS, Bef. 1764.
Notes for SARAH STOCKTON:
Joe Funderburk reports that Sarah married Benjamin Jones.
More About HUGH ROSS and SARAH STOCKTON:
Marriage: Bef. 1764
viii. RICHARD STOCKTON, b. Abt. 1745; m. ELIZABETH COPELAND, January 04,
1781, Henry County, Virginia.
Notes for RICHARD STOCKTON:
A Richard Stockton is shown in the 1790 Henry County, VA Personal
Property A Tax Roles on page 14 with:
White tithes - 1, Blacks over 16 - 2, Blacks 12 to 16 - 2?, Horses
- 4.
Will of Richard Stockton
Franklin Co., Virginia
WB 2:297-299, 10 AUG 1819:
In the name of God, Amen. I, Richard Stockton of the County of
Franklin & State of Virginia being of sound disposing mind & memory
and calling to mind that it is appointed for all men to die, do
hereby constitute this as my last will & Testament, revoking all
other will or wills by me heretofore made. First I recommend my
Soul to God who gave it existance and that my Body be decently
buried at the discretion of my Executrix and Executors hereafter
named.
My will and desire is that all my just debts be paid also that my
loving wife Elizabeth Stockton have the use and benefit of the Land
and plantation whereon I now live, including the lands I purchased
of Samuel Luttrell and Willis Luttrell with all the appurtenances
thereunto beloning, also the following negroes, namely, Simon and
his wife Aggy, and their daughter, Anly(?), also Gilbert and Letty,
with all the Plantation tools, household furnitre and Kitchen
furniture with all Stock of every kind, also my Still except as
hereafter mentioned, all which I lend to my beloved wife during her
natural life. ITEM I give to my Daughter ELIZABETH COPLAND the land
I purchased of Dennis Marshall and the Title conveyd to me by
Elisha Arnold and Joseph Pedigo also a Negro man named David, which
land and negroe my said Daughter has already in possession. ITEM I
give to my Daughter CHRISTIANA KING two negroes namely Hercules and
Edice and which she has already received. ITEM I give to my
Daughter NANCY WINGFIELD the following negroes to wit, Siney and
her 2 children named George and Aggy, also a girl named Jimmey, all
of which she now has in possession and with their future increase.
ITEM I give to my Daughter MARIA CRAIG, two negroes, namely Lucy
and Malinda with their future increase, which said negroes she now
has in possesion. ITEM I give to my Daughter SOPHIA STOCKTON, three
negroes, namley Delila & Frances and a boy named Simon (son of
Aggy) with any future increase of the said Delila or Frances, and
after my wife's decease, a half dozen table and tea spoons of
silver now in my possession, also a horse, saddle & bridle out of
my Estate after my wife's decease and upon her arriavel to lawful
age or marriage to have a feather bed & furniture and a cow and
calf. ITEM I give to my son PETER C. STOCKTON our negroe man named
Tom, also one hundred and thirty pounds, and which said negroe and
money my said son has already received. ITEM I give to my son
CHARLES STOCKTON a negroe man named Patrick and hundred pounds in
cash, also one abligation on Joseph Collins of South Carolina for
one hundred and five pounds, Virginia Currency, also after my
decease my negroe man named Will and a female negro named Caroline
with her future increase. ITEM I give to my son COPELAND STOCKTON a
negroe man named Stephen also a horse out of my stock, such as he
may choose also a feather bed and furniture and a cow and calf to
go into his possession on his marriage or on his arrival to lawful
age. ITEM I give to my son PRESTON STOCKTON a negro boy named Ben,
also a horse, such as he may choose also a feather bed and
furniture, and a cow & calf out of my Estate on his marriage or
arriving to lawful age. ITEM my will is that the whole of the Land
I now own in Franklin County be after my wife's decease divided by
the following lines to wit, Beginning on a toped red oak in the
line between me and William Campbell and 7 poles north west from
where Campbells line crosses a branch, flowing down from Campbell's
field and running from thence, North 7 degrees East 20 and poles to
a persimmon tree, thence north 7 degrees West 47 poles to a stake,
thence North 30 degrees 105 poles crossing a branch to the line
dividing my land from Benjamin Cooks, and I give to my son COPLAND
after my wife's decease all the land lying southeast of the above
mentioned line and to my son PRESTON after wife's decease the
residue of my land lying Northwest of the before described line.
And I further desire and direct that during my wife's life the said
Plantation be cultivated in the manner that I have of late
practiced, viz, that no part be tended in corn of lesser than once
in every third year and after my wife's decease I give to my son
COPLAND my Desk and Bookcase, and to my son PRESTON, my still and
Cupboard. And my negroes not herein named are to remain with my
wife during her life, and after her decease, all those negroes
loaned to her with any owned by me or belonging to the Estate and
not herein bequeathed all the stock of every description and every
species of property which may remain of my Estate is to be equally
divided amongst by before mentioned children or their legal
representatives in any manner that a majority or them or their
legal representatives may agree on, but should any of my aforesaid
children or their representatives enter into any lawsuit about the
distribution herein made or directed, in that case I do hereby most
solumnly revoke all legacy herein given to such child or children,
except one dollar to each of such individual child or children or
representative or representatives. Las ly I hereby appoint my
beloved wife Executrix, and my son Peter C. Stockton, Christopher
Wingfield, Robert Innes and Benjamin Cook, Executors, of this my
last will and testiment. In Witness whereof I have and do hereunto
set my hand & seal this 10th day of August 1819.
Witnesses, John Cook, P. Dickenson, Willis Luttrell, Peter Campbell
and Zachariah Finney.
More About RICHARD STOCKTON and ELIZABETH COPELAND:
Marriage: January 04, 1781, Henry County, Virginia
ix. JEMIMA STOCKTON, b. Abt. 1747, Albemarle Co, VA; d. July 10, 1833,
Franklin Co, TN; m. WILLIAM SHARP, Sr., VA; b. Bet. Sep-Oct 1751,
Pittsylvania Co, Virginia; d. Feb 9, 1838, Winchester, Franklin Co,
TN.
x. DAVID STOCKTON, b. Abt. 1750, Albemarle Co, VA; d. Union Co, SC; m.
MARGARET HADEN.
xi. MARGARET STOCKTON, b. Abt. 1754, Goochland Co, VA; d. 1797, near
Fayetteville, Illinois; m. JOHN PULLIAM, Sr., Abt. 1775; b. June 1,
1757, Richmond, Henrico Co, VA; d. Bet. 1812-1813, Fayette, St.
Clair Co, Illinois.
Notes for JOHN PULLIAM, SR.:
The Pulliam family moved to Kentucky when their oldest son was a
boy, then to Illinois in 1796, finally settling in St. Clair Co.,
in 1802.
Information from Jerry McClure, Carthage, MO jmac23@ipa.net
More About JOHN PULLIAM, SR.:
Burial: the family farm on the Kaskaskia River near Fayetteville,
Illinois
More About JOHN PULLIAM and MARGARET STOCKTON:
Marriage: Abt. 1775
xii. WINNEFORD STOCKTON, b. Abt. 1754, Virginia; d. Sevier County,
Tennessee; m. JOHN RANDALL.
Notes for JOHN RANDALL:
A John Randall is shown in the 1782 Personal Property Tax List of
Henry County, Virginia. The entry is, as follows:
Randall, John - Tithes 1, Negroes -, Horses 3, Cattle 12.
xiii. SUSANNAH MOURNING STOCKTON, b. Abt. 1755, Virginia; m. ALEXANDER
WILKEY.
http://members.cox.net/trm/StocktonRichard.htm
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ANCESTORS OF WILLIAM NAVEY
Updated September 5, 2000
Bill Navey
P.O. Box 251
Holly Ridge, NC 28445
A-United States
910 329-9191
genealogy1@ancestry.com
Descendants of DAVIS STOCKTON
Generation No. 3
DEBORAH-7 STOCKTON (RICHARD-6, DAVIS-5, RICHARD-4, RICHARD-3, JOHN-2,
OWEN-1) was born 1733 in AUGUSTA CO.,VA. She married JOHN MCMAHAN, son of
ROBERT MCMAHAN and JOAN.
Children of DEBORAH STOCKTON and JOHN MCMAHAN:
i. NANCY MCMAHAN, b. 1752, AUGUSTA CO., VA.
ii. WILLIAM MCMAHAN, b. 1754, AUGUSTA CO., VA; m. REBECCA PATTON.
iii. JOHN MCMAHAN, b. 1755, AUGUSTA CO., VA; d. 1837.
iv. ROBERT MCMAHAN, b. 1762, AUGUSTA CO., VA.
v. MARY MCMAHAN, b. 1770, AUGUSTA CO., VA; m. PETER BLAKE, September
03, 1792.
vi. ELIZABETH MCMAHAN, b. 1771, AUGUSTA CO., VA; m. HUGH DONAGE, March
08, 1791.
vii. JAMES MCMAHAN.
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/n/a/v/Bill-Navey/GENE4-0003.html
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The Genealogical Tree of Thomas S. McMahan
Thomas S. McMahan
Born: ABT. 1802, Horse Prairie, Randolph Co, IL
Married ABT. 1824 to Nancy Harrington
Died: AFT. 1854, prob. Madison Co, IL
Children with: Nancy Harrington
Children:
Permelia McMahan
Francis M. McMahan
Emily McMahan
Sarah McMahan
George W. McMahan
Charles H. McMahan
William T. McMahan
Generated by GenDesigner 2.0 beta 3.6
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hollandinbrazil/1428.html
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History
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ROBERT McMAHAN Sr.
Illinois Pioneer
Along the lowlands of the Mississippi river in southwest Illinois from
Alton to the mouth of the Kaskaskia river the first immigrants found a
deep, rich and fertile body of land where they made their first
settlements. These early pioneers named this region the American Bottom. It
produced excellent crops and its name helped distinguish it from the
Spanish territory west of the Mississippi. These American settlers came
principally from Kentucky and Virginia and in 1779 the first English
speaking settlement was established at Bellefontaine. Other settlements
were Grand Ruisseau and New Design.
The New Design was founded by a group of Virginians about 1786 not far from
Bellefontaine. It was the largest American settlement in Illinois at that
time and thus became the first rendezvous and head-quarters, along with the
Bellefontaine settlement, for the westward moving American population. In
these early settlements the inhabitants erected forts or "stations"
consisting of blockhouses and stockades, primarily for their protection
against possible Indian hostility. Beginning in 1783 and especially from
1786 to 1795, depredations occurred annually in the settlements and several
murders were committed upon the settlers by hostile tribes. It is under
these circumstances that a number of families from Kentucky arrived at the
New Design in 1793. Included among them was the Robert McMahan family.
Robert McMahan Sr. of Augusta county, Virginia was born in 1760 ... While a
resident of Augusta county, Robert McMahan Sr. served in the Revolutionary
war. His service extended from 1780 to 1781. He was among the Virginia
militia engaged in the Battle of Guilford Court House in North Carolina
where he was taken prisoner. This battle occurred March 15, 1781 and the
Virginia militia commanded by Generals Robert Lawson and Edward Stevens
provided for the "American Second Line" of defense. This battle was the
climax of the Green-Cornwallis campaign across the Carolinas.
After the war soldiers of Augusta county, Virginia that were issued
military land warrants traveled to Kentucky to make claims. Upon their
return home and favorable report of this region "a spirit of immigration
was awakened throughout the county." As a result, in 1783 or 1784, several
families moved to Kentucky including Robert McMahan. He settled at Crab
Orchard in Lincoln county where he married Margaret Clark, June 29, 1785
(bond). From there he moved to Lexington, Fayette county, Kentucky and in
1793 moved to the Illinois country. Before moving to Illinois Robert
McMahan with others employed James Whiteside, also of Kentucky, to go to
the Illinois country and make claims and secure improvements for them. By
April 1790 Whiteside had selected several locations for improvements but
died on his return to Kentucky. Subsequently those having an interest moved
to Illinois during the years 1791 thru 1794 and made actual cultivation by
themselves or agents on their respective improvements.
Robert McMahan left Kentucky for the American Bottom in 1793 and upon his
arrival for reasons not fully known made temporary settlement west of the
Mississippi in the village of New Madrid then under the Spanish government.
The Spanish Commandants at St. Louis frequently invited the inhabitants of
the Illinois country to become settlers of the Spanish colonies and assured
them at the same time they would have land for themselves and their
families. But being partial to his own government according to the
Territorial Papers of the United States McMahan left New Madrid after a
short time to settle near the New Design. He selected a place for a farm
about three miles southwest of the New Design Station but apprehensive of
attacks then being made by various parties of Indians he moved into a house
owned by James Lemen Sr. near the station in 1794. In the same vicinity
lived Peter Carterline and Benjamin Ogle.
Later that year desiring to improve the land he had selected for his farm
and hoping to escape or repel any potential Indian attack McMahan moved to
his improvement on the prairie. This improvement was situated within the
northeast quarter of section nineteen, township three south, range nine
west in present day Monroe county, Illinois. His house was so constructed
that the door could be strongly barred and port holes were made in the
walls so as to be able to shoot anyone who might attempt to ascend to the
roof. He had a rifle and a blunderbuss charged with six charges of powder
and nine balls. He said to his friends at the Station, "when you hear the
report of my blunderbuss, you may be certain that I am attacked." In spite
of these preparations he and his family fell victim to an Indian assault
which resulted in the death of his wife and four children in January, 1795.
One historical account described it as "the most serious and dreadful
tragedy that ever occurred ... in the state."
George Churchill later a neighbor of Robert McMahan in Madison county,
Illinois prepared a written account of the affair which he read before the
Troy Lyceum in Madison county in 1855. He states, "the story has several
times appeared in print, frequently with some inaccuracies, and always with
the ommission of some important circumstances." George Churchill's account
was first published in 1866 by James T. Hair in his "Gazetteer of Madison
County" which says: "the following paper ... not heretofore published,
gives a true account of the massacre of Mr. McMahan's wife and four of his
children, and of the captivity of himself and eldest daughter by a party of
Indians." An excerpt of Mr.Churchill's account follows:
"On the fatal 26th of January 1795, Mr. McMahan went out to hunt for his
oxen, when he perceived that his horse, which was confined in a pen,
appeared to be frightened. He cast his eye over the prairie in every
direction, but saw no enemy. A lone hickory tree, one hundred and fifty
yards from his house, had been blown down the year before while in full
leaf, thus furnishing a convenient hiding place for an attacking party, but
unfortunately Mr. McMahan did not think of there being a deadly enemy
ensconced within that convenient covert.
He entered his house, but had not been there more than two or three minutes
when four Indians, frightfully painted black and red, entered the house,
two by two, saying "Bon jour! Bon jour!" (good day! good day!) They stood
motionless a few seconds, when one of them attempted to take down Mr.
McMahan's rifle from the hook, and Mr. McMahan took down his blunderbuss;
but his wife took hold of it and begged her husband not to resist, as she
hoped their lives might be spared if they submitted peacefully, but
otherwise they would be killed. The Indians then seized the blunderbuss and
wrenched it from his hands. Every one then made for the door. Mrs. McMahan
ran half way around the house when she was shot in the left breast and
scalped. Mr. McMahan was then pulled back into the house, thrown on the
floor, and his hands pinioned close behind him with deer sinews. Sally
McMahan, his eldest daughter, then less than nine years old, remained in
the house and saw one of the Indians knock her brother and two of her
sisters on the head with the poll of his tomahawk. It was a light blow,
only sufficient to stun them. This Indian was proceeding to open the cradle
where lay a female infant, only one month old, when Sally ran out of the
house and once around it, when she was also seized by him.
The Indian who committed the murders was supposed to be of the Miami tribe.
The other three were Pu-taw-wahs, as they call themselves, or as they are
commonly called by the whites, Potowatomies.
Three of the children were scalped. It was said that the infant was not
scalped, but my informant stated that the Indians displayed five scalps
when they camped at night, and she supposed they took two scalps from the
head of one of the murdered children, and left the infant unscalped. It has
also been stated that the infant was unhurt and died of starvation, but my
informant learned from a woman who was present at the burial, that there
was a gash in its cheek.
The Indians took from the house such articles as they wanted, packed a part
of them upon Mr. McMahan, one of whose hands was untied so that he might
carry his load, and with their captives, left in haste for their home in
the northeast part of Illinois. Mr. McMahan meditated an escape, but did
not make known his intention to his daughter. The first night of the
journey he saw no chance of escape, as the Indians had tied him very
securely, and had taken away his shoes and hat and part of his clothes. But
during the second night, he quietly slipped the cords from his limbs and
body and was about to rise, when he perceived that one of the Indians was
awake. Waiting till the Indian was again asleep, he made his escape after
trying in vain to get possession of his shoes. In the dead of winter,
without shoes, without food, and scanty clothing, he left his daughter with
her captors and endeavored to make his way to the New Design. He lay out
one cold night making a bed of leaves under a large fallen tree, which was
held up from the ground by its branches. Here he was partially frozen, but
the next morning resumed his journey.
He now had the pleasure of meeting a friend in the person of Col. Samuel
Judy, who gave him the necessary directions, which he pursued, and reached
his home just after his wife and four children had been committed by their
sympathizing neighbors, to one common grave. He prostrated himself upon the
grave, exclaiming, "They were lovely in their lives and in their deaths
they were not divided!"
The massacre took place on a Monday and the burial on the succeeding
Friday. A small dog belonging to Mr. McMahan daily visited the residence of
Mr. James Lemen Sr. and endeavored by whining to inform the people of what
had happened to his master's family. But for several days they did not
comprehend the dog's message, one authority says, not until old Mr. Judy
had discovered the dead bodies and reported the fact to the Station."
In the meantime the Indians, with Sally McMahan, traveled north until they
reached the home of the Potawatomi southwest of Lake Michigan in northeast
Illinois. Here she was transferred to an Ottawa Indian, now a Potawatomi
chief and whose wife was a sister of the three Potawatomi involved in the
massacre. The name of this "chief of the small fort west of Lake Michigan"
was Sukkonok which means Blackbird, but among the whites he went by the
French name of Leturneau.
The Indian tribes of the north were opposed to the white settlements being
established above the Ohio River. They considered the Ohio River as a
boundary line between them and the Americans. They were organized into a
confederation to protect this border and frustrate white immigration into
their lands. The Indian confederation waged war across the present states
of Indiana and Ohio for six years defeating and humiliating the American
forces until Anthony Wayne Major General commanded the army of the United
States in a decisive victory over the Indian alliance in the Battle of
Fallen Timbers in Ohio on August 20, 1794. It "broke the back of tribal
resistance" and peace was negotiated. On August 3, 1795 a treaty of peace
between the United States and the Tribes of Indians which included the
Wyandot, Delaware, Shawanee, Ottawa, Chipewa, Potawatomi, Miami, Eel-River,
Weea's, Kickapoo, Piankashaw and Kaskaskia was signed at Greenville, Ohio.
This treaty known as the "Treaty of Greenville" was ratified and proclaimed
on December 2, 1795. One of the significant conditions (Article II) of the
treaty was, "all prisonersshall on both sides be restored. The Indians,
prisoners of the United States, shall be immediately set at liberty. The
people of the United States, still remaining prisoners among the Indians,
shall be delivered up in ninety days from the date hereof ..."
Thus Sukkonok, in April 1796, brought Sally McMahan down the Illinois and
Mississippi rivers in a canoe to Cahokia and delivered her to the white
people. This was during a Quarter Session of the General Court and a large
number of people had assembled in Cahokia for that purpose. Sukkonok made
a speech to them in which he said he had no part in the massacre of the
McMahan family and that he had paid a large sum for the captive and had
brought her a considerable distance into the white settlements. He appealed
to the liberality and sense of justice of the people to make him
compensation. A subscription paper was circulated and one hundred and
sixty-four dollars was subscribed by the people and that amount in goods
was advanced to Sukkonok by William Arundel an Irish merchant of Cahokia.
At another time a ... humorous incident occurred involving Robert McMahan
Sr. during a session of General Court at Cahokia. It was remembered by
John Reynolds a former Governor of Illinois and published in his book "My
Own Times" in 1852.
"At a Court in Cahokia in olden times, a great crowd of people remained
there all night and the hotel kept by E. Pensoneau was filled to
overflowing. One half of the collection could not procure beds and many did
not want any. Robert McMahan, Esq., a Judge of the Court and a rather
dignified character, was anxious to obtain a bed and not sit up all night
with the wild, frolicking party. Jehu Scott, an old settler and neighbor of
McMahan, told him he could get him a bed, but he must go to it soon to keep
others out of it. McMahan readily agreed to it and would retire
immediately.
The wife of the landlord, E. Pensoneau, was sick in a bed in a private room
and in the room there was not much light. Scott got McMahan slyly into the
room of the sick woman and told him to take his clothes off without noise
so others would not know it. Scott so timed it, that about the time McMahan
would get his clothes off, he would tell Pensoneau there was a man in bed
with his wife. When McMahan entered the room and was taking his clothes
off, Mrs. Pensoneau thought he was her husband and said nothing, but as
soon as he entered the bed and came in contact with her, she discovered the
mistake, and so did McMahan, also. At this crisis Scott had so fixed it,
that Pensoneau entered his wife's bedroom with a light. He was an irritable
Frenchman and understood very little English. He in reality believed
McMahan was in bed with his wife and made a terrible noise and bluster
about it. He found McMahan with his clothes off and commenced without
ceremony to chastise him. He and the wife both laid on McMahan without
stint and banged him about the room in a furious style. By this time, Scott
had all the wild and merry crowd at the room to witness the fun. All three,
McMahan, Pensoneau and his wife, were in a horrid fracus within the room,
all shouting, scrambling and fighting in terrible confusion. McMahan was
trying to explain, but Pensoneau did not understand in the scuffle, his
English explanations, and blustered on. At last McMahan was forced out of
the room naked and abandoned his clothes and dignity. He ran to the crowd
for protection and to save himself from the fury of the landlord and wife.
Never was such a farce enacted since Don Jaun was whipped out of the
bedroom of Donna Julia in Spain. This was backwoods merriment and afforded
the audience great amusement. The spectators laughed and shouted at the
sport. In due time the affair was explained to the satisfaction of all
concerned, except Justice McMahan, who would prefer Scott to perpetrate his
tricks on others and let him alone."
Sally McMahan eventually married David Gaskill and had thirteen children
including two sets of twins. She was born in Kentucky on March 9, 1786 and
died at Alton, Madison county, Illinois on January 23, 1850. She was the
informant who provided George Churchill with information that occurred in
her presence in his account of the massacre and captivity of her family.
Robert McMahan Sr. second married in St. Clair county, Illinois to Nancy
Kester in June 1795. They had twelve children:
Isaac Kester McMahan, born March 29, 1796, On a raft (Ohio-Illinois);
married Catherine (maiden surname unknown); died January 8, 1863.
Robert McMahan Jr., born December 28, 1797, St. Clair county, Illinois;
married Nancy Conway, February 25, 1818, Madison county, Illinois; lived
in Pike County, Arkansas 1848-1853; died October 29, 1872.
Rebecca McMahan, born May 4, 1800, Horse Prairie, Randolph county,
Illinois; married William Kelley, June 14, 1814, Madison county, Illinois;
moved to Pike county, Arkansas in 1815; died October 9, 1857.
Thomas "Stogden" (Stockton) McMahan, born 1802, Horse Prairie, Randolph
county, Illinois; married Nancy Harrington; lived in Pike county, Arkansas
1847-1853.
Susanna (Susan) K. McMahan, born 1805, Horse Prairie, Randolph county,
Illinois; married Creath Renfro, December 13, 1827, Madison County,
Illinois.
Nathaniel S. McMahan, born 1808, St. Clair county, Illinois; died
February 2, 1819, Madison county, Illinois.
George W. McMahan, born 1810, St. Clair county, Illinois; died April 27,
1840; drowned near Curtis' Mills, Clinton County, Illinois.
Nancy McMahan, born March 12, 1812, St. Clair or Madison county, Illinois;
married Milton Hall, March 13, 1827, Madison county, Illinois; died May 22,
1877.
Jesse W. McMahan, born 1813, Madison county, Illinois; married first, Mary
Johnson, January 12, 1840; married second, Mary S. Smith, January 1, 1843,
Scott county, Illinois; died 1857.
Emily McMahan, born July 26, 1815, Madison county, Illinois; married Samuel
R. Caruthers, December 15, 1835; died March 13, 1884.
Avaline McMahan, born 1818, Madison county, Illinois; married James E.
Clark, April 8, 1839, St. Clair county, Illinois; died Decemeber 6, 1878.
Caroline McMahan, born 1821, Madison county, Illinois; married first
Phillip W. Moore; married second Andrew Harvey.
About 1799 or 1800 Robert McMahan moved his family to the upper end of
Horse Prairie in Randolph county, Illinois. While living here he served as
a justice of the peace and Judge of the courts. He was Judge of the
Randolph County Court from August 1, 1800 until January 1, 1806. From
Randolph county, Illinois McMahan moved to St. Clair county, Illinois and
settled on Silver Creek near Lebanon about 1806 or 1807. In 1812 or 1813 he
moved to Madison county, Illinois and located southwest of Troy where he
died in 1823 at the age of sixty-three.
David Kelley
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The Gems of Pike County Arkansas
Volume VI Number 2 page 21 & 24
ROBERT McMAHAN Sr.
Illinois Pioneer and father of Rebecca McMahan
wife of William Kelley of Pike County, Arkansas
Robert McMahan Sr. of Augusta county, Virginia was born in 1760 and
believed to be the son of John McMahan and Deborah Stockton. John McMahan's
father, also named Robert McMahan, was an early settler of Augusta county
who died in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1769 ...
Robert McMahan the father of John McMahan of Augusta County, Virgina was
executed at the Public Gallows in Williamsburg, James City county, Virginia
on Friday, May 26, 1769. He murdered Robert Reaburn the son of his second
wife Mrs. Margaret Reaburn. He was charged in Augusta county, Virginia and
sent to Williamsburg for trial where he was found guilty and sentenced to
death. The court records of Augusta county show a previous history of
violence. He was involved with Samuel Lockhard or Lockhart in killing
William Thomson's or Thompson's hogs, horses &c. in 1746.
Source: The Virginia Gazette newspaper, June 1, 1769, page 3, column 1.
Augusta County, Virginia court records.
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EARLY SETTLERS OF TROY PRECINCT
Compiled by James T. Hair, ©1866
Madison County, Illinois (included)
HALL, William Jr.
HALL, William W.
HALL, William Sr.
HALL, John
McMAHAN, Robert
HALL, Noah
GASKILL, Silvanus
GASKILL, David
KELLEY, Giles
McMAHAN, Isaac K.
McMAHAN, Robert Jr.
McMAHAN, Thomas S.
HARRINGTON, Whitmill
HARRINGTON, John
HALL, Henry
http://www.iltrails.org/madison/troyset.htm
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Journal
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Murdock, 1792-1871
Journal (1792-1864)
Typescript, HBLL
AN ABRIDGED RECORD OF THE LIFE OF JOHN MURDOCK, TAKEN FROM HIS JOURNAL BY
HIMSELF. CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS GENEALOGY AND THAT OF HIS CHILDREN,
AS ALSO HIS TRAVELS, EXPERIENCE, ORDINATIONS, CALLINGS, PREACHING,
BLESSINGS, ENDOWMENTS AND ETC.
(Excerpt) 1832
They (Levi and Lyman) went on but we tarried till Monday (February) 27th. I
had a severe fit of the ague and did not recover from it so as to get up
till noon. I lay and thought on our mission and our calling of God. We had
but very little money and while sick we were continually on expense. I saw
we could not stand it, so I determined in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
to arise and pursue my journey. I called Bro. P. (Brother Pratt) to the bed
and told him my determination, and requested him to lay hands on me in the
name of the Lord. I arose from my bed, we took dinner and gave the widow a
Book of Mormon for her kindness and started on our journey, it being 7
miles to the next house. I had a severe headache, and would frequently sit
down and have Bro. P. (Brother Pratt) lay hands on me. At length we arrived
at the 7 mile house and tavern overnight. 28th Bro. P. (Brother Pratt) had
a shake before he was out of bed and then arose. We took a little breakfast
and travelled 20 miles. 29th travelled 16 miles. I had a shake about 10
o'clock forenoon and travelled through it. Paid 12 cents for dinner. March
1st. Preached at An. Caldwell's. 2nd preached at Mr. Farrier's, people
tender. We tarried till Sunday 4th and preached--5th travelled 20 miles and
preached. 7th taught the people. 8th thence 7 miles to St. Louis 200 miles
east of where we started in Jackson County. Found Brother Lyman and Levi
who had visited the Catholic Bishop and other Priests, they said, and tried
to get public meetings in the city but was refused. They said they had
preached in the markets and corner of the streets. We 4 crossed the
Mississippi and stayed at Mr. Short's. 9th we recrossed the river to St.
Louis and tried to obtain the courthouse to preach in but could not, and
recrossed the river. Travelled 13 miles to Eportis and preached in the
evening, Brother Lyman and Levi passed on. 10th preached at the Canteen
Baptist meetinghouse (Madison County, Illinois). 11th Sunday, preached.
12th we preached. 13th we awoke at 12 o'clock at night by the hallowing of
Isaac K. McMahan who followed us 27 miles to be baptized. He insisted on
being baptized immediately. We arose and travelled back with him 4 miles,
and baptized him at 2 o'clock (in the) morning, and ordained him an Elder
and among other teaching we taught him to go to Zion ...
http://boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/JMurdock.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letters
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Madison County Letters© - 4Apr1846
Copyright 2000 Fredi Perry
In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet,
data and images may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this
message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be
reproduced in any format for profit or for other presentation without
express permission by the contributor(s).
(Excerpt)
Ridge Prairie, Madison Co., Illinois April 4, 1846
Dear Caroline,
It is a considerable time since I have heard from you, but the receipt of
the Wisconsin Argus of March 10 convinces me that you are still alive ...
Stephen W. (Gaskill) has sold his ... farm, and bought the old farm of
Thomas S. McMahan. I mean the one having a barn and brick cabin ...
Truly yours. George Churchill.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilmacoup/madison/letr-17.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mail
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: MesaV3013@aol.com
Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2006 13:20:13 EST
Subject: John McMahan & Deborah Stockton:
To: a0009792@netzero.net
David
There is some question about John's father. I've attached some items I
found on Genealogy.com's data records back in 2004. There is another Robert
McMahan who lived in Augusta Co. Virginia and was hung in Williamsburg in
1769 for killing his stepson. I've seen the Robert McMahan website:
http://www.geocities.com/pameladhudson/mcmahan.html
But I'm not sure she has the correct Robert McMahan father of our John
McMahan. I have some other Robert McMahan records, but I'll have to search
for them.
Ray Reed
MesaV3013@aol.com
Attachments: McMahan Execution.jpg; McMahan Virginia Documents.doc
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Attachment: McMahan Execution.jpg (newspaper)
Last Friday were executed, pursuant to their sentence (bring all that were
capitally convicted and condemnded the last General Court) the following
criminals, viz: Robert McMachen, from Augusta, for murder; William Jones
(alias Richard Chapman) from Southampton and James Biggars from Bedford,
for horse-stealing; and John Derby (alias Derby Finn) from Westmoreland,
for picking of pockets.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Attachment: McMahan Virginia Documents.doc
McMahan, Robert
Date: May 16, 1752
Location: Augusta Co., VA
Record ID: 31650
Description: Witness
Book Page: 4-401
Property: 112 acres.
Remarks: Patented to Andrew 1 Jun 1750
Notes: This land record was originally published in "Chronicles of the
Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. Extracted from the Original
Court Records of Augusta County" by Lyman Chalkley.
McMahon, Robert
Date: Sep 7, 1753
Location: Augusta Co., VA
Record ID: 31848
Description: Witness
Book Page: 5-477
Property: 165 acres on Dry River between Daniel Smith's and Shifman's
lands.
Notes: This land record was originally published in "Chronicles of the
Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. Extracted from the Original
Court Records of Augusta County" by Lyman Chalkley.
McMahon, Samuel
Date: Sep 7, 1753
Location: Augusta Co., VA
Record ID: 31848
Description: Grantor
Book Page: 5-477
Property: 165 acres on Dry River between Daniel Smith's and Shifman's
lands.
Notes: This land record was originally published in "Chronicles of the
Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. Extracted from the Original
Court Records of Augusta County" by Lyman Chalkley.
McMahon, Robert
Date: May 16, 1754
Location: Augusta Co., VA
Record ID: 36400
Description: Surety
Book Page: WB2-45
Remarks: Margaret Reburn's bond as administratrix of Edward Reburn.
Notes: This probate record was originally published in "Chronicles of the
Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. Extracted from the Original
Court Records of Augusta County" by Lyman Chalkley.
McMahon, Samuel
Date: May 16, 1754
Location: Augusta Co., VA
Record ID: 36413
Description: Decedent
Book Page: WB2-56
Remarks: Robert McMahon's bond as administrator of Samuel McMahon.
Notes: This probate record was originally published in "Chronicles of the
Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. Extracted from the Original
Court Records of Augusta County" by Lyman Chalkley.
McMahon, Robert
Date: May 16, 1754
Location: Augusta Co., VA
Record ID: 36413
Description: Administrator
Book Page: WB2-56
Remarks: Robert McMahon's bond as administrator of Samuel McMahon.
Notes: This probate record was originally published in "Chronicles of the
Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. Extracted from the Original
Court Records of Augusta County" by Lyman Chalkley.
McMahon, Samuel
Date: May 19, 1755
Location: Augusta Co., VA
Record ID: 36463
Description: Decedent
Book Page: WB2-109
Remarks: Samuel McMahon's appraisement, by Thomas Stevenson, John Campbell,
David Stevenson, and accounts - paid Samuel McMahon, George Bowman, John
Reybourn. To Robert McMahon, Cr., 21 May 1755, by appraisement.
Notes: This probate record was originally published in "Chronicles of the
Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. Extracted from the Original
Court Records of Augusta County" by Lyman Chalkley.
McMahon, Robert
Date: May 19, 1755
Location: Augusta Co., VA
Record ID: 36463
Description: Administrator
Book Page: WB2-109
Remarks: Samuel McMahon's appraisement, by Thomas Stevenson, John Campbell,
David Stevenson, and accounts - paid Samuel McMahon, George Bowman, John
Reybourn. To Robert McMahon, Cr., 21 May 1755, by appraisement.
Notes: This probate record was originally published in "Chronicles of the
Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. Extracted from the Original
Court Records of Augusta County" by Lyman Chalkley.
McMahon, Samuel
Date: May 19, 1755
Location: Augusta Co., VA
Record ID: 36463
Description: Creditor
Book Page: WB2-109
Remarks: Samuel McMahon's appraisement, by Thomas Stevenson, John Campbell,
David Stevenson, and accounts - paid Samuel McMahon, George Bowman, John
Reybourn. To Robert McMahon, Cr., 21 May 1755, by appraisement.
Notes: This probate record was originally published in "Chronicles of the
Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. Extracted from the Original
Court Records of Augusta County" by Lyman Chalkley.
McMahon, Robert
Date: May 18, 1761
Location: Augusta Co., VA
Record ID: 32554
Description: Grantor
Book Page: 9-402
Property: 140 acres on a branch of North River of Shanandoe; corner to
Conolley's land.
Remarks: £10. Part of 300 acres patented to Robert, 12 May 1759.
Notes: This land record was originally published in "Chronicles of the
Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. Extracted from the Original
Court Records of Augusta County" by Lyman Chalkley.
McMahon, John
Date: May 18, 1761
Location: Augusta Co., VA
Record ID: 32554
Description: Grantee
Book Page: 9-402
Property: 140 acres on a branch of North River of Shanandoe; corner to
Conolley's land.
Remarks: £10. Part of 300 acres patented to Robert, 12 May 1759.
Notes: This land record was originally published in "Chronicles of the
Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. Extracted from the Original
Court Records of Augusta County" by Lyman Chalkley.
McMahon, (Deborah)