Saturday, March 21, 2015

Margaret Jane McKeehan Farnsworth (1750 – ?)

This lady needs further investigation. Margaret was the wife of our patriarch Maj. Henry Farnsworth. Many personal records say she died in 1870. Seriously? She would have been 120! Her daughter Mary died in 1870, so that may be the source of the confusion. Someone referenced a death record for in her in Tennesse in 1836 which makes a lot more sense, BUT her last name would have been Farnsworth, not her maiden name, right? Maybe if she divorced* it would make sense.

Another thing I have issue with is her being born in Greene County, TN. If that were so, why was her marriage in Virginia and her children born in Virginia and Tennessee, with most dying in Tennessee? Yes, she could have gone to Virginia for awhile, but did people travel back and forth like that in the early 1800s?

Did Henry and Margaret divorce?
Another issue I have is that according to various records, Henry remarried* while Margaret was still alive. That was definitely not normal--usually there was a death. Tennessee records cite a Margaret McKeehan marriage to John Lauderdale 26 Jul 1796 in Greene,Tennessee. She could have reverted to her maiden name.

(Henry remarried in 1807.)

BOTTOM LINE: I need to visit Greene County to view their records. I don't know who this Margaret person is. Need more proof!


 Further research on Margaret
http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/m/a/r/Melvin-C-Martin/GENE3-0001.html


Something more to chew on...Her son John married Jane Jamison. He was 15 and she was 22 at the time?



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2 comments:

  1. Bob RuthJuly 7, 2016 at 9:43 PM

    Samuel Mckighan He is listed as being born in Scotland and Cumberland Co., PA.
    Some information on this family is copied from "The Families of Joshua Williams of Chester County, Pa. and John McKeehan of Cumberland County, Pa. with some Allied Families".

    Samuel Mckighan, (John1), born, March 17th, 1728; died 11 Mar 1785. In the Cumberland County assessment lists, Samuel Mckighan is assessed in West Pennsboro Twp. in the years 1768, 1769 and 1770. Between the years 1780 and 1783 he located land on the Juniata river, close by McVeytown, Mifflin Co., PA., his tract including an island. Here he died. By the terms of his will his youngest son, James, was heir to the farm.

    Surname is most likely spelled :McKighan, in his will.
    Death date may not be correct. Death occured in Greene Co., State of Franklin. The State of Franklin existed from 1784 to 1789 in what is now upper East Tennessee. It was situated on lands that North Carolina ceded to the federal government. Statehood was eventually realized in 1796, when the North Carolina cession, with the various communities that had once formed the State of Franklin as its nucleus, became the state of Tennessee.

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    1. MichelleJuly 8, 2016 at 5:21 AM

      Thanks so much, Bob! We're always excited to get new info.

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