David McWilliams of Warren Co., KY Part III
I am working to document the parentage of David McWilliams who married Anna Allison (Ellison) in Warren County, Kentucky on 17 November 1800 according to county marriage records.David and Anna are my 5X great-grandparents.
David’s daughter, Elvira McWilliams Means, in the “Portrait and Biographical Album of Marshall County, Kansas,” (published 1889) reported that her maiden name was McWilliams and that her paternal grandmother’s last name was “Tagard.”I have been unable to find a “McWilliams/Tagard” cross, but there is a Hugh McWilliams who is alleged to have married Mary Taggart who is the right age to be David’s father.
Please see previous message number 1517 on this bulletin board to see the argument and evidence that David McWilliams was the son of Hugh and Mary Taggart McWilliams.See message number 1518 where I address what I believe to be the incorrect assertion that David McWilliams was the son of James McWilliams who lived in Warren County, Kentucky about the time that David lived there.This third posting on David McWilliams of Warren Co., Kentucky, will deal with the assertion that David’s father Hugh was the son of Andrew McWilliams, Senior of Albemarle County, Virginia, another assertion which I believe to be incorrect.
The Lineage of Hugh McWilliams
If it is accepted that David McWilliams of Warren County, Kentucky was the son of Hugh and Mary Taggart McWilliams, the next question might be, who was Hugh’s father? Nothing is known directly of the parentage of Hugh McWilliams.One of the few facts known for sure about Hugh McWilliams is that he lived in Henry County, Virginia in the early 1780s.This is documented in the revolutionary war pension application of his son, James, who specifically mentions his father Hugh by name in his pension application.It is not even known for sure that Hugh’s wife was Mary Taggart as no record of his wife’s last name is known.Nevertheless, Hugh McWilliams can be traced in the records of Henry County, Virginia with a good level of certainty from 1779 onwards and then in the records of Franklin County, Virginia, which split from Henry County in 1785, for another ten or so years.
The claim has been made that this Hugh McWilliams was the son of Andrew McWilliams, Sr. of Albemarle County, Virginia.It is true that in 1772 Andrew McWilliams, Senior, of Albemarle County, Virginia, gifted a piece of property in that county to “my son” Hugh McWilliams.In the same year, Andrew McWilliams, Sr. also made some small bequests in his will to son Hugh.But is this same Hugh McWilliams whose son James was a Revolutionary War soldier and who lived in Henry Co. Virginia in the 1780s?
I believe the answer to this question is, “No.”I believe that the Hugh McWilliams who lived in Henry and Franklin Counties, Virginia in the 1780s and 90s was NOT the son of Andrew McWilliams, Sr. of Albemarle Co., VA, but a completely different man. It is entirely possible that he was related to the McWilliams of Albemarle County, but this Hugh was not the son of Andrew McWilliams, Sr. of that place. I personally collected some of the information in the following discussion from public records, but I also want to thank the many people who have posted information about the McWilliams to Ancestry.com and other internet sites.The information that has been posted is a great help to the following discussion.
Albemarle Records
There are indeed records of a McWilliams family in Albemarle County, VA in the mid-1700s.In 1764, a piece of land a piece of land owned by John Lawson and his wife Margaret was sold to Gilbert Marshal.It was noted that this property, which was on Lickinghole Creek, “a Branch of Mecham’s River” shared a boundary with land owned by Andrew McWilliams.In February of 1772, several important deeds were recorded in Albemarle County, Virginia, related to the McWilliams family.On 12 February, Andrew McWilliams Senior gave “my son” David McWilliams 116 acres on Lickinghole Creek.It was noted that this land began at the corner of David’s brother Hugh’s line.Witnesses were John McWilliams, John Anderson and Andrew McWilliams, Jr.The next day, 13 February, 1772, Andrew McWilliams Senior deeded John McWilliams “my son” 114 acres on Lickinghole Creek.Witnesses were David McWilliams, Andrew McWilliams, Jr. and John Anderson.The day after that, on February 14, Andrew McWilliams gave Andrew McWilliams, Junior “my son” 108 acres lying on Beaver Creek of Meacham River; “my daughter” Sarah McWilliams 180 acres of land on Beaver Creek; and finally, on that same day, (February 14, 1772), Andrew Williams Sr. of Albemarle County, VA gave “my son” Hugh 100 acres of land on Lickinghole Creek.
Soon after this, the will of Andrew McWilliams was filed in Albemarle County Court.In his will, Andrew McWilliams Sr. stated that his wife’s name was Agnes and he left bequests to specifically named daughters Sarah and Agnes.There were also bequests specifically to sons Alexander, John, Hugh and David.Andrew McWilliams, Jr., who was called Andrew Senior’s son when he received land from his father in February of 1772, was not mentioned in the will.It should be noted that children Alexander and Agnes were mentioned in the will, but not given land in February of 1772.
The deeds recorded in February of 1772 and the will of Andrew McWilliams, Senior, also filed in 1772, provide a remarkable record documenting the children of Andrew McWilliams of Albemarle County, Virginia.Although he may have had other children not mentioned in these documents, it is clear that Andrew had sons Andrew Jr., Hugh, David, Alexander and John, and daughters Sarah and Agnes.
At first, this family grouping is very enticing to those looking for the origins of David McWilliams later of Warren Co., KY.Could the David McWilliams who received land from Andrew McWilliams Sr. in Albemarle Co. in 1772 and who is mentioned in Andrew Sr.’s will be the one who married Anna Allison in Warren Co., KY in 1800?Unfortunately, it is immediately clear that the David who received land in Albemarle Co. in 1772 and the one who lived in Warren Co., KY in the early 1800s cannot be the same man.Later census records show that the David McWilliams who married Anna Allison in Warren Co., KY in 1800 was born in 1772.Unless Andrew was giving land to an infant son, and this does not seem likely due to the presence of other contemporaneous records of an adult David McWilliams in Albemarle County, VA these cannot be the same men.On the other hand, could David McWilliams’s father Hugh be the Hugh McWilliams who received land from his father Andrew McWilliams Sr. in Albemarle Co. VA in 1772?
The Albemarle deed from Andrew McWilliams Sr. to Hugh McWilliams and will of Andrew McWilliams, Sr. establishes the presence of a Hugh McWilliams, son of the same Andrew McWilliams, Sr. in Albemarle Co. around 1772.What else is known about this man?
Albemarle County records note that Hugh McWilliams and William Egan were in debt to Arthur Connely as of 23 June 1772.The promissory note was witnessed by John McWilliams.
Marla Moore, on her webpage “Early Birds of Virginia” shows taxes paid by Hugh McWilliams in Albemarle Co., VAin 1785, 1787, 1787 tax list B, and 1789.In 1786 and 1788 Hugh McWilliams signed petitions promoting various causes in Albemarle County, VA.In 1790, Hugh McWilliams and Neal McFall of Albemarle Co. sold 2 acres of land to Jeremiah Cleaveland.In 1792, Hugh McWilliams sold 99 acres of land on Lickinghole Creek to Peter Hubberd.In 1794, Hugh McWilliams “living in the State of Virginia and County of Amherst” and his wife Elizabeth sold 112 acres of land on Lickinghole Creek to the same Peter Hubbard.One line of this property touched land owned by Jeremiah Cleaveland.So there is a fairly continuous record of this Hugh McWilliams living in Albemarle Co. VA from 1772 to the time he moved to Amherst County with his wife Elizabeth in 1794.
Another Hugh McWilliams
As mentioned previously, the Hugh McWilliams thought to be the husband of Mary Taggart and known to have been the father of revolutionary war soldier James McWilliams has been located through his son James’s revolutionary war pension records as living in Orange Co., NC around 1778 and then in Henry County, VA.Part of Henry County became Franklin County, Virginia, in 1785, and there are records of Hugh and James there, also.
There are two or three scant land records in Orange Co., N.C., dated 1778 that mention Hugh and James McWilliams.But it appears that by 1779, Hugh, at least, was in Henry County, Virginia as he appears in the personal property tax records there at that time.(These tax records have been placed on line by Marla Moore on her website “Early Birds of Virginia.Some tax information was also originally published in tax lists edited by Lila C. Adams.)Hugh also appeared in the 1780 and 1782 tax records of Henry County.Records show that Hugh’s daughter Elizabeth McWilliams married William Jamison in Henry County in 1781.In 1784, Hugh McWilliams received a grant of 443 acres on Reedy Creek in Henry County.This was just before the part of Henry County that Hugh lived in became Franklin County.
In June of 1784, Hugh McWilliams sold 150 acres in Franklin County, Virginia to Thomas Craig.Mary McWilliams,“dau. of Hugh” was married to Thomas Warren in Franklin County, Virginia on 16 December 1786.Hugh was listed on the 1787, 1788, 1790, 1791, 1792, and 1793 tax lists of Franklin County, Virginia.Most years James McWilliams was also listed.In 1792, David McWilliams appeared for the first time on the tax list of Franklin County.He appeared on the lists for 1793 and 1794, but is not found on later lists. Hugh and James did not appear on the 1794 tax list for Henry County.In April 1794, Hugh sold 140 acres on a branch of Snow Creek to William Craig.In August of 1794, Hugh received a grant of 35 acres on Snow Creek and in 1795, he appeared on the personal tax rolls for Franklin County.No later records of Hugh McWilliams buying or selling land in Franklin County, Virginia, or appearing on tax lists there have been found.A reasonable conclusion is that this Hugh McWilliams lived relatively continuously in Henry/Franklin Co. Virginia from 1779 to 1795, and was no longer there after about 1795.
The records show, therefore, that a man named Hugh McWilliams lived relatively continuously in Albemarle County, Virginia from 1772 to 1794 and a man named Hugh McWilliams lived relatively continuously in Henry/Franklin County Virginia from 1779 to 1795.There are actually five years when records in both Albemarle County and Henry/Franklin Counties Virginia mention a Hugh McWilliams who lived at those places.In 1786, Hugh McWilliams of Albemarle Co., VA signed a petition advocating repeal of the incorporation act.That same year, the wedding of Mary McWilliams,“dau. of Hugh” to Thomas Warren was recorded in Franklin County.In 1787, a Hugh McWilliams was listed in the personal property tax records of Albemarle County, Virginia and a Hugh McWilliams was listed on the Franklin County, Virginia personal property tax records.In 1788, Hugh McWilliams signed a petition in Albemarle County for the emission of paper money and Hugh McWilliams of Franklin County paid personal property taxes there.In 1790, a deed was recorded in the Albemarle County Virginia records showing that Hugh McWilliams “of Albemarle County” and Neal McFall sold land to Jeremiah Cleveland.In that same year, Hugh McWilliams was listed in the Franklin Co., Virginia personal property tax list.Finally, in 1792, Hugh McWilliams “of County of Albemarle” deeded land to Peter Hubberd.In the same year, David, James and Hugh McWilliams were listed in the personal property tax records of Franklin Co.
Conclusions
Unless Hugh McWilliams was bouncing back and forth for 20 years like a ping-pong ball from Albemarle to Henry/Franklin Counties Virginia, this comparison makes it clear that these records cannot pertain to the same man.The most reasonable conclusion is that there was one Hugh McWilliams who lived in Albemarle County, Virginia, most of his life, who moved to Amherst County, Virginia in 1794 with his wife Elizabeth, and another Hugh McWilliams married to Mary Taggart who lived in North Carolina from about 1772-1778 and then for many years in Henry/Franklin Counties, Virginia.Undoubtedly there were even more men named Hugh McWilliams living at this time.But the men named Hugh McWilliams in Albemarle Co, Virginia and Henry/Franklin Counties, Virginia in the 1780s and 90s were almost certainly not the same man.
I am unable to document at this time what happened to the two Hughs after 1795. It has been claimed that Hugh of Albemarle and Amherst counties went to Kentucky.Some of the McWilliams of Albemarle County are thought to have gone to Madison County, Kentucky, and that may be true, but I have not seen clear evidence, that, say the John McWilliams who married Elizabeth Cleveland and lived in Madison Co., KY was the son John mentioned in the will of Andrew McWilliams, Sr. in Albemarle County, Virginia in 1772.In particular I have seen no evidence that Hugh McWilliams of Albemarle and Amherst Counties, Virginia went to Madison County, Kentucky.Hugh McWilliams of Henry/Franklin Counties, Virginia last appeared in the Franklin County, Virginia records in 1795.At least four of this Hugh’s six children are known to have been in Kentucky at one time or another.Son James was in Hardin County, Kentucky no later than 1810; son David and daughter Elizabeth Jamison were in Warren County (David by 1800); and son John was in Meade County, Kentucky later on.There was a Hugh McWilliams listed in the tax records of Warren County, Kentucky in 1799 and 1805.It would seem reasonable that this was David’s father Hugh, although anyone who has followed the McWilliams families very far knows it is not safe to assume anything about them.Tracking the two Hughs after they left Virginia would help better establish both family lines.
In conclusion, in the course of studying the McWilliams family of Warren Co., Kentucky, I have run across at least three different clusters of possibly linked McWilliams.There are the McWilliams of Albemarle County, Virginia; the McWilliams of Henry/Franklin Counties, Virginia; and the McWilliams of Pendleton District, S.C. who went to Warren County, Kentucky and then, later, south to Alabama and Mississippi.There are tantalizing connections between the groups.There is a similarity, although not complete similarity, of first names.The Albemarle County McWilliams frequently used the names Andrew, David, Hugh and John, but not James or William.The McWilliams family of Henry/Franklin Counties, Virginia used the names Hugh, David, James and John, but not Andrew or William.The McWilliams family of Pendleton District, S.C. frequently used the names James, William, Andrew and John, but not David or Hugh.All three clans have elusive links to York County, Pennsylvania.A member of the Pendleton, S.C. McWilliams clan stated in a government record that he was born there.Two of the children of Hugh McWilliams of Henry/Franklin Counties Virginia married Jamisons, whose roots supposedly go back to York County, Pennsylvania. And there were Jamisons in Albemarle County, Virginia, who interacted with the McWilliams there.These Jamisons have also been linked to York County, Pennsylvania and there is a hint that they are the source of the Jamisonswho later appeared in Henry/Franklin Counties, Virginia, two of whom married children of Hugh and Mary Taggart McWilliams.
This series of articles is by no means the first word written about these families and will not be the last.Some descendants have been working for decades looking for clues and trying to piece them together.Thank goodness for their hard work and willingness to share their findings.Nevertheless, the pieces have not gone together easily.Some don’t fit at all. The three stories I have posted in the last 6 months indicate that the Albemarle, Henry/Franklin and Pendleton McWilliams are separate families, but perhaps linked in unexpected ways.Perhaps soon someone will find and share the crucial piece of evidence that will solve the mystery of if and how all of these McWilliams are related.I hope I am around to see it!
Charlene