Benjamin Franklin Fleming + Rosanna Riley

John McGehee: Name, Spouses, and Descendants

Introduction:

In tracing out John’s lineage, I have found that his surname has many spellings; i.e., Mackgehee, McGehee, McGeehee, Megehee, Megehe, etc.  Due to the preponderance of documented sources, I have chosen the surname "McGehee"; but, have included all the other spellings as "Alternate Names".


Additionally, there are a lot of McGehee trees to be found in the various genealogies sites.  The majority of those have no sources to support the proposed trees and appear to just be copies of each other.  Some of the sites do have some sources and I have used those, along with the documented sources found on Family Search to create a "best guesstimate" as to what the lineage looks like.  To be clear, we have not been able to find all the sources needed to be 100% confident of John McGehee’s tree.  As we continue to find more documented sources, we can then confidently adjust the McGehee tree.  Clearly, this is not an exact science and many times we have to make some decisions on circumstantial evidence.  I will continue to look for more definitive facts on the McGehee family tree.

Spouses - Facts:

1 Mrs John McGehee (G3QH-TGS)
    o Lifespan: about 1805 -> Deceased
    o Married John before 1822 since their first child was born in 1822.
    o Referenced in the 1830 Census as a Female in the 20 to 29 age category.  This suggests a birth year of 1800 to 1810.
    o No records have been found to identify the true name of John’s first spouse

2 “Milly” McGehee (K2XM-QFD)
    o Lifespan: about 1815 -> May 1858.  Death date is based on John’s marriage to Matilda O’Barr in April 1858.
    o Married John in about 1835.  Their first child was born in about 1837.
    o Referenced in the 1840 Census as a Female in the 20 to 29 age category.  This suggests a birth year of 1811 to 1820.
    o Was mentioned in the 1850 US Census as "Milly" with a birth location of Missouri and estimated birth year of 1815.

3 Matilda O’Barr (L6D8-G92)
    o Lifespan: about 1820 (birth year based on 1850 Census) -> after 1880
    o Married John on May 9, 1858.  This marriage is documented via Arkansas Marriages.
    o Was mentioned in the 1860 US Census as "Matilda" with a birth location Tennessee and estimated birth year of 1820.
    o John and Mathilda’s Divorce Case (see attached source) was issued a Continuance in 1858 and dismissed in 1869.
    o Mathilda was mentioned in the 1880 Census as a "Widow".  Her estimated birth year was 1812.

4 Rosanna Riley (G9CB-VT5)
  o Lifespan: 1837 -> after 1870
  o Was mentioned in the 1870 US Census as "Rosanna" with a birth location of Missouri and estimated birth year of 1837.

Spouses - Detailed Discussion:

"Milly" McGehee (K2XM-QFD) and Matilda O’Barr (L6D8-G92) are not the same person.

INTRODUCTION:

There have been several profile modifications on Milly McGehee (nee??) and Matilda O’Barr.  Many editors have grouped Milly and Mathilda as a single person.  Time-wise, that is plausible as is the fact that "Milly" could possibly be a nickname for a "Matilda". However, based on the available records and data, it appears that they are two separate persons.  I would welcome any other research data that either supports or contradicts this assumption.  I would request that only bonifide sources be stated as opposed to “… I found an un-sourced tree on Ancestry that …..”.  If trees found on other sites can provide real data, then please provide it and we can adjust the tree accordingly.  Based on McGehee family research, I will revise this part of the tree to reflect this presented analysis.

The following analysis summary will step through the various Census, Marriage, Divorce, and Probate records we currently have.  One of my primary assumptions is that in the mid-1800s only married couples had children.

DATA:
The earliest records we have showing John is married surfaces in the 1840 Census (Arkansas).  That Census lists a Female in the 20-29 age category which corresponds to an 1811 -> 1820 birth year.   There is a listing of other household members; but, no information on birth states and relationships.  We have been unable to find any marriage records around that time showing that John was married.

The 1850 Census (Arkansas, December 11) starts to provide some real data.  That Census lists (presumably John’s wife) a “Milly” with an estimated birth year of 1815 and birth state of Missouri.  Some children are listed which have been resourced to show they are John’s children.  Based on the age of the children, it is estimated that John and Milly would have been married in about 1835.

There is another 1850 Census (Tennessee, October 9) that lists a “Matilda O’Barr” who is living with her parents.  Her birth year is listed as 1820 and birth place being South Carolina.

Note that if "Milly" and Matilda were the same person, it is odd that Oct 1850 her birth state is South Carolina and in Dec 1850 a Missouri birth state is listed.

On May 9, 1859 John McGehee and Matilda O’Barr were married in Conway, Arkansas.

On June 17, 1859 John and Mathilda McGehee are mentioned in a land deal with CH Rogers.
The 1860 Census (Arkansas, July 9) clearly depicts a "Matilda" with an estimated birth year of 1820 and born in Tennessee.  Another O’Barr family member and researcher has noted that while she was born in South Carolina, her family settled in Tennessee when she was very young.  The researcher felt this could be the explanation of the differing birth states.

On April 13, 1869 the Divorce Case between John and Matilda is dismissed.

The 1870 Census (Missouri, June 16) shows John having a new wife (Rosanna) with some step children.

We have been unable to find any 1870 Census records for Matilda either as a McGehee or O’Barr.

In 1875 there are Probate Records for the estate of John McGehee.  His sister (Anna) and grandson (Joshua) are listed as Administrators.

The 1880 Census (Arkansas, June 15) lists a Matilda O’Barr as a “Widow” living in her niece’s household.  Her estimated birth year is 1812.

SUMMARY:

Based on the analysis and data discussed, it is highly probable that “Milly” and Mathilda were two separate people.  Both were married to John McGehee.

There are no documents that support “Milly” and Matilda are the same person.  For example, had we found two versions of the 1858 Marriage Record … one with the name “Milly” and one with the name Matilda … then that would support they were the same person.  But, we could not find that kind of supporting documents.

The birth state differences in the 1850 Census cannot be ignored and strongly suggest that are documenting two different people.

The only marriage record we can find for John is his marriage to Matilda O'Barr in 1858.  His children, presumably who mother was “Milly”, supports a 1835 marriage date.  It doesn't seem plausible that John would have children with “Milly” in the 1830s but not marry her until 1858.  This further suggests that Milly and Matilda were different persons.