This post is for my cousin Joyce who apparently doesn’t have email (or can’t find the password) nor, it seems, a computer with which to download or view documents that I would love to share with her. I’m unable to send PDF documents to her via text message so this post will have to do. She can, to my immense delight, view the internet with her phone.
So, Joyce, here is a Family Group Sheet for the family of Martin and Margaret McGraw, who came to Greenbrier County, West Virginia from perhaps Lancaster County, Pennsylvania prior to the Tax List taken in 1796. Martin, the father, was not in the Tax Lists for the years prior to 1796.
Family Group Sheet: McGraw-Martin-Margaret-Family Group Sheet
About 30 years ago when I began helping your mom with obtaining documents to establish the genealogy of our family, I surmised this list of “children” due to the fact that there was only one McGraw family in Greenbrier County prior to 1796 evidenced by the tax lists. Yes, there was McGaraugh and other spellings but that turned out to be “McGary” and the family is believed to have removed to Kentucky before Martin McGraw and family moved into Greenbrier.
Fast-forward 30 years or so and the advent of autosomal DNA. Ancestry shows you all of your DNA matches but it also provides Thru-Lines which shows you how (where the DNA match has a tree) I and my matches are related. Therefore, I am also providing my Thru-Lines/DNA Matches. The line of William McGraw (m. Lucretia Skaggs) is rather sketchy since the descendant has them 1. born in South Carolina, 2. married in Monroe County, 3. settled and died in Jasper, Mississippi.
The point is: I match via atDNA every person who claims to have descended from each of the children of Martin and Margaret McGraw: JulieDNAMatches for Martin McGrew McGraw.
You may ask how I know where Martin McGraw and the family settled when they arrived: Caldwell, WV (east of Lewisburg). I assumed that due to the close proximity of one Benjamin Grigsby. Ben Grigsby was the second pastor of the Old Stone (Presbyterian) Church in Lewisburg. Since I am unable to determine which direction the Tax Commissioner was moving in when he collected this info, I am unable to ascertain whether Martin and son Anthony were North, South, East or West of Caldwell.
Yes, there were definitely two Martin McGraw’s in West Virginia. Oddly enough, I have found tax records in Pennsylvania for one Martin McGraw, Jr in 1773, too young to be “our” Martin McGraw, Jr who married Nancy Wood then Sarah Johnson. This is why you’ll see I’ve numbered our ancestors Martin I, Martin II, and Martin III in my documents: In case there really are three of these fellows. There is a history with the Northumberland County property: First, he claimed 300 acres then within 5 days he sold the claim to Reuben Haines of Philadelphia. Then Martin claimed another 300 acres which you have read about here and here. I’m attaching the Land Warrant (the second one) below:
Land Warrant App – McGRAA-Martin-JR Northumberland Survey-MartinMcGrawJr
McGRAW-Martin-JR-p2-33019_b078938-00436
Northumberland Survey-MartinMcGrawJr
