Family:William Magee and Mary James (1)

There is no extant will or estate record for William Magee in Washington Parish due to that Parish’s records loss in the 1800s. However, the family may be reconstructed from various sources. We may begin with the 1830 Census of Washington Parish, Louisiana, page 85, which shows William Magee’s widow enumerated as head of household aged 50-60, with 1 male aged 15-20 in her home. Enumerated immediately “next door” to Mary, in an unalphabetized return, were the following five households: Jeremiah Magee (age 30-40), Hezekiah Magee (30-40), Benjamin Magee (30-40), Edmund Anders (50-60, with a female 20-30), and Zachariah Magee (20-30). Let us hypothesize that the Magee men were Mary’s sons and that Edmund Anders was her son-in-law, and consider further evidence. Before proceeding, however, I will point out the presence of Jonathan Magee (age 50-60) on the 1830 Census of Washington Parish, Louisiana, page 86. Jonathan was William’s brother, as has been discussed elsewhere. While he was certainly of age to have been the father of some of these children, when he removed to Simpson County, Mississippi shortly after 1830, none of the presently discussed children of William and Mary went with him. Jonathan’s family is discussed on his page, see there.

Luke Ward Conerly’s 1909 “Pike County, Mississippi: 1798-1876,” 60, includes a sketch of Stephen Ellis, husband of Mary Magee. The extensive sketch shows that Conerly knew Stephen Ellis personally, and that he also knew and/or had been in contact with at least some of the children of Stephen Ellis and Mary Magee. Conerly wrote that “Stephen Ellis married Mary Magee, sister of John, Hezekiah and William Magee. He moved from Pike County to near Franklinton, in Washington Parish, Louisiana.” From this, we may round out a rough list of the children of William and Mary James Magee. Obviously, more will be said regarding each child under their individual pages.

1. John Magee; 2. Hezekiah Magee; 3. Benjamin Magee---John Magee identifies himself as Benjamin’s brother in Crawford vs. Graves et als, see under Benjamin Magee; 4. Jeremiah Magee; 5. Dorcas Magee, mrd Edmund Andrews; 6. Zachariah Magee; 7. Mary Magee, mrd Stephen Ellis; 8. William Magee

contributed by: Bevin Creel