William Magill, of Augusta County

Evidence needed to support as son of Robert Makgill, III

William Magill

• b.Abt 1670. / 1690 Oxenford, Calloway, Scotland
• d.Bet 10 Oct 1749 and 29 Nov 1749 Augusta County, Virginia
• Emigrated to Tullycairn, Ireland in 1715 [citation needed]
• Migrated to America 1727
• In Augusta Co., Virginia by 1745
• First wife: perhaps Mary Eakin (1696-1745) (uncertain)
• widow: Margaret Cowan, widow of David Gass (1694-aft 1758)

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Biography

"William Magill was born about 1670 / 1690, probably in Scotland, as the Magills are Scotch-Irish. If born in Scotland, he went to Ireland before 1715, as his son, William, was born in Ireland at that date. From Ireland he came to Augusta County, Virginia., where he died, in October or November, 1749.

Children of William Magill include (uncertain)

1. Esther Magill, born: ca 1715 in Ireland. She married Hugh Campbell ca 1739/1740. Hugh was born ca 1705 in Coleraine, Ireland, the son of Robert and Margaret Campbell
2. Jane McGill b.Abt 1717 Prob. Northern Ireland. Marriage Est 1739 to William Dickson Marriage Aft 1740 to Unknown McKee
3. Ann McGill b.1722 Prob. Northern Ireland Marriage Abt 1742 to Robert Fowler
4. Sarah McGill b.Abt 1723 Prob. Northern Ireland. Some sources claim that Jane McGill married William Berry, but other sources have her as Sarah. Sarah and Jane McGill are sisters, so it is possible that some sources accidentally switched their names.
5. James Magill, born about 1724 Prob. Northern Ireland. Marriage to Unknown Alexander
6. Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Magill, born Abt 1725 Tullycarn, Ireland. Marriage Bef 1743 to James Berry. The identity of John Jones, the supposed 2nd husband of Elizabeth McGill is in question. It does NOT appear to be Rev. John Jones (1725-1773), who died in Botetourt County, Virginia
7. John Magill, born about 1727 in Augusta Co., Virginia.
8. William Magill , Jr., born about 1731 in Augusta Co., Virginia; died October 28, 1806 in Greene Co., Tennessee; married Jean Edmiston about 1749 in Rockingham Co., Virginia.
9. John McGill b.Abt 1727/28 County Down, Ireland d.1816 Lincoln County, Kentucky. Marriage Feb 1748/49 prob. Augusta County, Virginia to Mary Patterson Marriage Aft 1763 to Agnes Cravens

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Disputed Origins

A previous version of this profile claimed, without source, that his parents were Robert Magill and Margaret Gass (which is actually the name of his second wife, though not her maiden name). They have been detached.

Will

William Magill's will

• Wife, Margaret, and her son, David Gass;
• sons, James and William, adjoining Charles Campbell;
• son, John;
• grandchild, James' son;
• daughter, Elizabeth.
• Executors, Robert Cravens, Hugh Campbell.
• Signed William Magill, Margaret Magill.
• Teste: Andrew Erwin, Charles Campbell.
• Proved, 29th November, 1749, when Margaret renounced the will. (p. 15)

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Notes

http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~berry/genealogy/newupload/pages/B1_2...

Most of the available sources indicate that William MaGill, Sr. emigrated to northern Ireland from Scotland with his father around 1715, although at least one source has the MaGill move from Scotland to Ireland taking place in the previous generation. These sources mostly agree that William's father was Robert MaGill/Makgill, although two sources give the name of his father as either Charles or William. Regardless of the name, all of the sources indicate that the father of William MaGill, Sr. was born either in Scotland or Ireland, and died sometime after 1715 in Tullycairn/Tullycarn or Ulster, Ireland (Figure 26). The birth dates for Robert MaGill have been variously given as 1627, 1629, 1630, 1645, 1651 and before 1651. Robert MaGill is generally believed to have assisted in hiding the future English king, Charles II, following the execution of this monarch's father, King Charles I. In 1651, Charles II compensated Robert MaGill for his services by awarding him knighthood, a title (Viscount of Oxenford), and a land grant in Tullycairn, Ireland. 113,116,128,169,264,321,322,335,336,337, 342,344,347,349,360

Most MaGill sources agree that William MaGill, Sr. was married at least twice, and although the majority of these sources indicate that the identity of his first wife is unknown, several sources, albeit without documentation, have identified her as either Sarah Elizabeth, Sarah Simcock or Mary Eakin. Unfortunately, no primary source documentation has yet been found that identifies his first wife or the date and place they were married. If William began having children around 1715, it can probably be safely assumed that he got married not long before that time, especially if his 1690 date of birth is correct. This places the location of his marriage either in northern Ireland or Scotland. Sarah Elizabeth and Sarah Simcock probably represent the same woman, and some researchers suspect that Sarah Simcock married a different and much younger man named William MaGill, who, as noted above, is probably a nephew of William MaGill, Sr. No additional information is available concerning Mary Eakin, but, at this time, she appears to be a more likely candidate for the first wife of William MaGill, Sr.21,116,264,321,322,336,342,348,360

The date and place of the death of William MaGill, Sr.'s first wife is not known. His second wife was Margaret Gass (1694 - ?), but the date and location of their marriage is also not known. Margaret's first husband was John Gass (~1670/1690 - 1734), and it appears that he was born in northern Ireland. Several sources indicate that Margaret's maiden name was Margaret Cowan/Cowen, and that she was born in northern Ireland, as well. It should be noted, however, that no primary sources have been found documenting Margaret's maiden name.

References

1. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~berry/newupload/pages/B1_2...
2. WikiTree contributors, "Margaret (Cowan) Magill (1694-1758)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cowan-3044 : accessed 22 March 2024). Cites
   1. Notable Southern Families Volume Ii, by Armstrong, Zella, 1918, Publisher Chattanooga, Lookout Pub. Co, page 233. < Archive.Org >
   2. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LC56-G3D?1=1&spous...
   3. Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Viginia extracted from the original court records of Augusta Co., 1745-1800.
   4. "Abstracts of Wills of Augusta County, Virginia, Augusta County Court ... Will Book Number 1" ... Page 202 10th Octorber, 1749.
   5. Genealogy of the Berry and Associated Families, Author: Jim Jackson, Carol Vass, Marie Loughlin, 3 April 2000 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~berry/
3. https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:William_Magill_(4)
4. Family Tree Maker site of Robert E. Kapp (http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/k/a/p/Robert-E-Kapp/GENE2-0010...) (dead link) He was the son of 1288. James Magill.