Wilson McMahan

[NOTE: I will attach a formatted version of this text in the source documents.]

INTRODUCTION

The story of Wilson (and to some degree, his brother Archibald) is a mystery that may never be fully solved. Although many branches of the McMahan family were poor farmers, the generation of and immediately surrounding these brothers are particularly sparse in the amount of data available. It is very possible that this particular branch of the McMahan family may have had several generations with very few family members that could read or write.

It is my hope that someone out there has something more concrete that census and military data; however, that was really the only thing I could find for these two brothers. This means that any specific information prior to 1850 is difficult to ascertain due to the fact that the census did not include all family members. The good news is that once we get to about 1880, the facts become much clearer.

It is also interesting to note that there were prior generations in this branch that were more learned, so that information is much more concrete. So, while 1800-1850 is hazy, at least the information we have from 1750-1800 is more reliable.

While most of the controversy deals with Wilson, I have included Archibald in this write-up due to the fact that I have come across him being listed as the son of Stephen (b.1780) and James (b. 1775). Since Archibald and Wilson did live together after Wilson’s divorce I think it’s safe to assume that they were close family and “probably” were brothers.

Finally, I really hope that someone out there has some hard evidence to prove me right or wrong about some of the things I have written. But, until then, I will just write about what I know for sure.

(NOTE: Unless otherwise indicated, all census information below is taken from Yancey County, North Carolina.)

STORY AS WE KNOW IT

Here are the facts:

• Archibald (b. 1803) and Wilson (b. 1805) shared the same surname and lived together for a while after Wilson’s divorce.
• Wilson married Mary (b. 1810) at some point, but was divorced prior to 1850 (most likely around 1844.)
• In 1850, Wilson was living with Archibald with a boy named Robert (b. c1831). Based upon how the census is listed, Robert shows as being Wilson’s son.
• In 1850, Mary was living alone with two boys: Wilson (b. 1832) and Sanders (b. 1834.)
• In 1860, the elder Wilson was living alone. We must assume he died sometime between 1860 and 1870.
• In 1860, Mary was living alone with the Wilson Jr.

ASSUMPTIONS

• Archibald and Wilson were brothers are cousins.
• Robert was raised as Wilson’s son.
• Sanders and Wilson Jr. were given the McMahan name. I think it’s reasonable to assume that they were Wilson’s sons; however, given the mess of the divorce and the fact that they were living separately, it’s hard to know.
• There are several family trees online that indicate two other children that Wilson/Mary may have raised (either their own blood or otherwise): Jane (b. 1826) – married Nathaniel Allen (b. 1815), and Elizabeth (b. 1832) - married Nathan Harris (b. 1834.) It’s probably not unreasonable to assume that they were married by the 1850 census and were not staying with either parent.
• In 1850, Archibald lived right next door to a single mother named Blanchy Allen Hensley. I have read of rumors that she was somehow involved in the divorce. This rumor is reinforced by the fact that she is listed as having a son at that point by the name of “William B.” (A “William B. McMahan” from this area reportedly was discharged (from the war) in Mobile Alabama in 1865 and just disappeared completely.)

Since I am a descendent of Robert, I have no choice but to make some decisions in order to establish a working family tree. Here are the questions I had to answer:

1. Who were Wilson’s (and Archibald’s) parents?

Most trees in the world do assume that Wilson and Archibald were brothers; however, there is a difference in opinion as to who were there parents. In general, there are two choices that are used pretty much equally throughout the genealogy community: A) They were the sons of STEVEN (b.1780) and BLANCHE RIDDLE/RIDLEY (b. c1784). B) They were the sons of JAMES (b. 1775) and ELEANOR (b.1790) C) They were orphans (either from another member of the McMahan family, or simply orphans outright.)

It seems as though the popular decision (and perhaps this is based upon other documentation to which I am not privy) is to place them as sons of JAMES and ELEANOR. Although this is entirely possible, that would make Archibald ELEANOR’s first child when she was 12 or 13. I’m sure this DID occur; however, this is a little extreme for 1800, even in backwoods North Carolina.

The orphan theory holds some weight due to the fact that it is just so hard to pin them down as being the children of a specific couple. It’s entirely plausible that their father died in the war of 1812 and they needed a place to stay and JAMES (having served in the war) needed boys to help with the farm.

Or, perhaps they were sons of STEVEN and BLANCHE that, for one reason or another, were raised by JAMES and ELENOR (perhaps JAMES was injured in the war.)

It all sounds like a fairy tale, right? Of course – and that’s about how seriously any of those theories (along with any other theories) should be taken. Unless someone has some documentation that I have not seen, each person will just have to decide where to place Wilson/Archibald on the family tree.

I’m going to put them down as the sons of STEVEN and BLANCHE.

2. Who were Robert’s parents?

Based upon the fact that Robert was living and working with Wilson in 1850, I’m going to assume that he was his legitimate son. But, with the divorce and all of the other scandalous things going on, it’s impossible to say for sure.

CONCLUSION

While there are a lot of other questions surrounding this ‘soap opera’, I think that spending any more time speculating would not be helpful. Unfortunately, I had to make two uninformed decisions in order to fix the timeline for my family tree, but I guess that’s just how it goes. The good news is that from Robert to the present day is pretty straightforward and documented.

However, I will leave you with a few questions that I would love to ask if I could:

• Did Mary have another husband before Wilson? (Perhaps another McMahan…)
• Were Wilson and Sanders the legitimate children of Wilson and Mary?