William McCallister and Jane Edgar of Mason Co., West Virginia
I am trying to find documentation for the maiden name and family of Jane, the wife of William McCallister b. 12 Mar 1784, Bath/Allegheny Co., Virginia, d. 19 Dec 1865, Mason Co., West Virginia. Most online family trees list her as Jane Edgar, apparently based solely on an 1891 biography of her son contained in "History of the Great Kanawha Valley, with Family History and Biographical Sketches," John P. Hale, Brant, Fuller & Co.; 1891, Volume II, at page 82. Unfortunately, old biographical sketches, like these, are notoriously inaccurate. Does anyone have real documentation?
I ask because I have an excellent circumstantial case that Jane was actually Jane/Jean Logue, whose mother Martha had a second marriage to a Mr. Eager (perhaps John Eager).Martha's daughter was referred to both as Jane Logue and Jane Eager in later records.
Martha's will was probated in April of 1789. It listed one child, her daughter, Jane Logue. William Logue served as executor. (Will of Martha Eger, Botetourt Co., Virginia. Will Book 1. p. 267.)
William Logue was the brother of Mary Ann Logue McCallister, and presumably the uncle of the orphan Jane Logue.Mary Ann Logue was the wife of John McCallister, the aunt of William McCallister, and presumably the aunt of Jane Logue.
Jane Logue was a young child when her mother died because "Jane Loague, orphan of Martha Eager, [was] bound to John McCallister or William Loague." ( Botetourt Court Order April 15, 1789: Annals of southwest Virginia, 1769-1800, L.P. Summers, Abingdon, Va.: 1929, page 434.) Jane was still under age in 1799, when "Jean Eager, daughter of Martha Eager, [was] bound to John McCallister." (Annals of southwest Virginia, 1769-1800, L.P. Summers, Abingdon, Va.: 1929, page 479: Botetourt Court Order January 8, 1799.)
The John McCallister mentioned in both orders, undoubtedly was John McCallister, husband of Mary Ann Logue McCallister.
In 1802 Thomas McCallister and his son William witnessed a deed for Samuel Logue Senior, Jane Logue's grandfather. (Larry Shuck. Greenbrier County (West) Virginia Records. Athens, Georgia. Iberian. 1988. Vol. 1. p. 363.) This indicates that they also had a relationship with the Logue family.
When Mary Ann Logue McCallister died in 1838, she left a will in which she gave part of her household belongings to "my niece Jane McCallister."Despite a lot of searching, the only McCallister niece I have found named "Jane" was the daughter of Richard McCallister, but she married Thomas Harmon in 1812, and would have been listed as Jane Harmon in Mary Ann's will. In addition, there is no apparent reason Jane Harmon would have been especially close to Mary Ann.
As it turns out, the only woman named Jane McCallister in the area was Jane "Edgar" McCallister, wife of William McCallister.If William's wife actually was Jane Logue Eager, Mary Ann's niece and fosterdaughter, the bequest to "my niece Jane McCallister" makes a lot of sense.
William and Jane McCallister named their first daughter Martha.If they followed traditional naming patterns, the first daughter would have been named after Jane's mother. This fits with Jane McCallister being the orphan Jane Logue Eager, because Jane Logue Eager's mother was named Martha.
In addition, the names "Eager" and "Edgar" are very similar and might easily have been confused with each other in old records.
Janice
More Replies:
-
Update William McCallister and Jane Logue of Mason Co., West Virginia
Janice McAlpine 10/22/09