Person:Mary McKee (22)

Marriages and Family

Mary McKee first married Jonathan Cunningham (son of Hugh Cunningham & first wife name Unknown) and after Jonathan's death Mary McKee Cunningham second married Capt. Hugh Weir (son of John & Mary Weir).

Jonathan Cunningham's wife, Mary McKee, is identified as the daughter of John McKee & Jane Logan in the cemetery census provided by New Monmouth Presbyterian Church's Rev. Wray Sherman.

The McKee family bible gives Mary's date of birth and date of death.

From the will of Jonathan Cunningham, the will of Mary McKee Cunningham Weir^[3] and the will of Capt. Hugh Weir^[4] it appears Mary had no children as her estate was left to siblings and nieces & nephews.

Advisory on Mary McKee

A Find A Grave memorial^[5] was "created" for Mary & Jonathan Cunningham that stated both Mary and Jonathan died in 1763, during the second Shawnee Massacre of Kerrs Creek, however this Find A Grave bio is a narrative that appears to be created from faulty information found on pages 70-71 in "The History of Rockbridge County, Virginia" by Oren Morton^[6]

Both Jonathan and Mary survived the 1759 & the 1763 raids on Kerrs Creek as evidenced by Jonathan Cunningham's 1769 will.

Jonathon Cunningham wrote his will on the 24th of May 1769 and it was admitted to probate on the 20th of March 1770. Mary was not deceased 1763 (even though many narratives claim both Jonathan & Mary Cunningham died in the second raid since it occurred at their block-house home)^[7] rather, Mary was alive and was named in Jonathan's 1769 will [as well as her father, John McKee, and her brother, William McKee]:

Will of Jonathan Cunningham "of Carrs Creek", written 24 May 1769^[8]:

Names and Relationships in will:

   Jonathan Cunningham (deceased, testator)
   Hugh Cunningham (father, executor)
   Mary Cunningham (wife, beneficiary)
   William McKee (brother-in-law, executor)
   John McKee (father-in-law, guardian of Mary)

- To wife Mary £60; his plantation to his dutiful father, Hugh Cunningham. Brother in law, William McKee to be executor and father in law, John McKee to be guardian of my wife Mary

Executors, father Hugh Cunningham and William McKee. Testor's brother-in-law William McKee refuses to execute. Hugh Cunningham qualifies as sole executor.

Mary McKee is also frequently assigned the father "Robert McKee" because of an error written in the book "Annals of Augusta" by Joseph Waddell^[9] wherein Waddell calls Mary's brother "Col. William McKee" [who was the son of Robert McKee] however Jonathan's will never identified his brother in law, William McKee, as "Col William McKee" [the title "Col" was a narrative created by Waddell in error].

From Waddell's "Annals of Augusta County, Virginia, from 1726 to 1871":

• The will of Jonathan Cunningham of Carr 's Creek , was admitted to record March 20, 1770. He gave his wife, Mary, £ 60, etc, and left his plantation to his dutiful father, Hugh Cunningham. His wife, as appears from the will, was a daughter of John McKee and sister of Col. William McKee

[NOTE: Mary cannot be both the daughter of John McKee and the sister of Col. William McKee as Col. William McKee was the son of Robert McKee... Waddell goofed giving Mary's brother (and Jonathan's brother in law), William McKee, the title "Col" as Jonathan never stated that in his will. Robert McKee did have son Col. William McKee born 1732 & John McKee did have a son William McKee born 1759; the latter was the brother of Mary McKee Cunningham Weir].

Jonathan Cunningham named "my father in law John McKee to be guardian of my wife Mary" so Jonathan's will tells us who Mary's father is as does the formal cemetery census.

The bio at Find A Grave, stating Mary is the daughter of Robert McKee, is "user created" and only as reliable as the user entering the data; thus Find A Grave memorials and/or their user created bios should not be considered a Primary Source. The second Find A Grave memorial for Mary McKee^[10] also has a bio which lists children of Mary & Hugh Weir which obviously is a glaring error because neither of them had children, as evidenced by their wills, thus Find A Grave is not to be considered a reliable source or a Primary Source.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 McKee Family Bible.

   Provides date of birth and date of death

2.   Augusta Co. Will Bk 4: 277.

   Mary was named in the will of her husband Jonathan written on 24 May 1769

3. ↑ https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62347/images/007646173_00349?pId=1295489
4. ↑ https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62347/images/007646173_00345?pId=2567646
5. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38021540/mary-cunningham
6. ↑ https://archive.org/details/historyofrockbri00mortrich/page/70/mode/2up?q=cunningham
7. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/942M-L48
8. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9P7-S9S1-D?view=fullText&groupId=M9NC-B3N
9. ↑ https://archive.org/details/annalsofaugustac00wadd/page/262/mode/2up
10. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35175187/mary-weir