"Robert,
You asked me to get you the origin of
our Magill family. I will give you some idea of their origin.
From what I could learn, they were from Scotland to Ireland as
far back as I can recollect Uncle John Magill's account as him
and me made a visit to Indiana from Kentucky about 1834. As well
as I can recollect the history of the old ones, there were three
brothers of them. I think they were born in America ~ John, William,
and James. Those three brothers left Virginia, John to Kentucky,
William to South Carolina and James to Tennessee. So our grandfather
was John.
"As well I can remember the names
of my uncles, they were David, Samuel, William, James, John,
and Hugh [his father] and one daughter, Betty, who married a
man named Jeremiah Frame. He and Uncle David moved to Missouri.
I can just recollect seeing them, I suppose I was five years
old. Uncle Sam was killed in VA. A crowd looking at a stable
horse crowded around the horse and it kicked and killed him.
The others all married and raised familes.
"My father (Hugh) was the youngest
son. He was born in Pennsylvania, lived in Virginia, moved to
Kentucky ~ all the family moved ~ grandfather, my father, single.
Father married Margaret Daugherty near the head spring of the
Salt River, five miles from what is now Danville, Kentucky. They
were married the first of January, 1795.
"My grandfather, James Daugherty,
was born in the city of Dublin, Ireland. There he learned the
trade of wheelright. He came to Kentucky in an early day, established
a wheel factory whereby he accumulated property, raised a large
family. I will give you the names of them and who they married.
Rebecca, an Irishman named Archie Gray
Cinthia ~ Amesby Spencer
Nancy ~ Thomas Gash
Sally ~ Jno. Walkup
Polly ~ Sam Latimore
"My mother's name was 'Peggy' Margaret
Daugherty. Father (Hugh) was the youngest, all the others were
old enough to be in the war. Uncle John Magill was in at 16 years
old. Uncle James Magill was a Capt. He drew a pension. He had
a farm and no one to work it when his boys married off and left
him and the pension was a great help to him.
"My uncles were all large, all past
200 pounds. I think all lived to be old except Father. Grandfather
outlived Father. He lived to 92 years. I remember him. He made
father's house his home. I remember he walked with crutches the
last years of his life from rheumatism. He was a very tall, large
man. The Magill family was of the old Presbyterian faith. He
was an educated man.
"Uncle James was a Mason. Father
was not a scholar, tho' was Sheriff and not ignorant at all.
The cause of his death was he bought an awkward negro whom he
was showing how to split rails, he became very warm, came to
dinner, drank a great draught of water fresh from the deep well
and it produced congestion of the stomach. He lived some 48 hours.
"The most of the Magills emigrated
west from Kentucky. Uncle James' oldest son, Samuel Patterson
Magill, was some 20 years older than me. He and his wife did
not get along well. He left, went to Mexico, joined Houston's
army, went through it all, drew his bounty money, went back,
got his wife and two boys after twenty years, settled in Burnett
Co, and was Co Clk. until he died. The family is yet there doing
well.
"Mother's father, James Daugherty,
was, as I think, on the extreme about religion. He had family
prayer three times a day and worked like he prayed and was still
on the extreme about work. He made money, ran a large shop, but
made nothing about his farm. He had secured some five or six
hundred acres of the finest kind of land. His children grew up
in idleness. Uncle Sam was dissipated, played the fiddle, attended
parties, spending his time and money. He and an Irishman named
Morrow made a contract that when one of them died the other was
to go to his grave and the deceased one should tell him how he
liked his place of rest.
"Morrow died and was put in a graveyard, was ____ by rock,
near Danville. One evening, Uncle called about dusk, on his way
home from Danville; there stood Morrow. Uncle said, "How
do you like your new home?" "You had better try some
other," said Morrow. Uncle stood to seeing Morrow, to the
day of his death. He quit drinking. It was of great value to
him and his family.
"All of my aunts married men who
made good livings. The largest part of the town of Perryville
was built on Uncle Latimore's farm. He raised seven boys. They
all settled around Perryville, Mercer Co.
"The Walkup family moved to Missouri.
The Spencers lived in Wayne Co., Missouri. I knew little about
them.
"The old Kentucky Magill family was of remarkably good temper.
Uncle John's family was the best natured of people I ever saw.
Some of our family was somewhat ill tempered tho' your mother
(Rebecca) Polly, John, Hugh, and Sally were mild tempered, would
hardly get mad soon enough.
Family records copied from the old family
Bible by Dr James Daugherty Magill
"Hugh Magill and 'Peggy' Margaret Daugherty were married
1 Jan 1795
children
Cynthia Magill born 25 Nov 1795
Mary Patterson Magill born 16 Oct 1797
Jno Cunningham Magill b 2 Aug 1803
James Daugherty Magill b 26 May 1806
Hugh Patterson Magill b 18 Feb 1808
Rebecca Magill b 11 April 1810
Sarah Magill b 16 July 1813
"I left out two who were not raised,
Robert and another son not named.
"One of my grandmothers before marriage
was a Cunningham and the other a Patterson. You see the letters
'C' and 'P' put in their names.
"John Magill married Nancy Edmondson
7 Oct 1787. I will say something of Uncle John and family. He
married a woman named Edmondson ~ she was left-handed and every
child of hers was also left-handed. She was good natured, every
child was also, they never got mad or fretted at anything, never
had a family jar. I heard Dr Jno Magill say he was never mad
enough in his life, but one time, to strike a man; he never forgot
anything.
"James D. Magill was born in Lincoln
Co, KY. Lucy Pope was born in Jones Co., GA . Was married within
one mile of Jacksonville, AL, 10 Sept 1839 by William Estill
of Jacksonville, AL.
Children
John b 13 Dec 1840, d 15 June 1841
Robert b 3 Nov 1843, d at three years
Thomas b 7 June 1846, d at two years
Margaret b 8 July 1850, d at three years
H. Clay b 27 Sept 1852, d 1865
Sarah b 4 Feb 1855, d at 16 years
Benjamin P b 25 June 1847, died at 18 years
Lucy T., the mother, died in Pulaski Co., AR 2 Oct 1858
Jas D Magill and Sophia A Nabors were married 8 Oct 1861 by Jonathan
Esq.
Child
Charles M B 15 (or 13) Jun 1863, d 15 Aug 1863
"My first wife, when we were married, weighed 95 pounds.
I, 165 lbs. She was 19; I, 32 years old. She was, all her life,
delicate. I never thought it was a hardship to wait on her. She
was worthy of kind treatment. A better woman never lived. If
she was in that all-depicted Hell, I wish to go there when done
here.
"The common trait of the Magill family;
they were all industrious, saving, some of them stingy, some
liberal, generally law-abiding, moral, mostly church members.
Father was not in the Church, but their foreman to start the
music."
(Letter courtesy of Susan S. Hargrove,
Jun 2002, who added, "My great grandmother, Sarah Margaret
Webb Beauchamp, grand daughter of Hugh Magill, received a notebook
on her birthday in 1932 from her cousin Dora Hocker Chenault.
Dora's father had been tracing the family for many years and
Dora continued. Enclosed in the notebook was family history and
this letter from Aug 1882 that Dr Robert T Hocker (Dora's father)
received from his uncle Dr. J. D. Magill. J D was the son of
Hugh Magill, grandson of John Magill. His mother was Margaret
Daugherty.
"Rebecca Magill, daughter of Hugh
Magill and Margaret Daugherty, married Washington Hocker. Their
daughter, Sarah Margaret Hocker, married Warren Elijah Webb.
Their daughter, Sarah Margaret Webb, married William David Beauchamp
whose daughters married Hellum and Day. An interesting story
about Rebecca Magill is that at her funeral, 7 Sep 1852, her
son Samuel Duncan Hocker died. The funeral stopped and the body
of son Sam was put in her casket and they were buried together.)
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