I can always tell when individuals copy other people’s trees: The errors tend to stand out like a sore thumb. Using a tree that I know was copied – along with the obituary I personally published to Ancestry – let me point out the errors on my direct ancestor, 3rd-Great Grandfather John O. McGrew fka McGraw.
- John was assigned the middle name “Obadiah” by my relative who began tracing our genealogy a while before I got into the game. Her cousin assigned him the middle name “Oscar” which didn’t catch on for some reason. The fact is, I have found no earthly evidence that John’s middle name was Obadiah or Oscar. Another fact: the “O” as his middle initial did not appear in official documents until about 1870 – after the Civil War when he got into trouble for desertion. I don’t understand the necessity of applying middle names to folks but this is just one of many examples from my tree of errors copied and copied and copied for years without one iota of research.
- John’s parents’ names were NOT Thomas Kincaid Martin McGraw and Margaret Catherine Withrow. When Thomas died, the county clerk applied the middle intial “M” for which only appears in one other document: the 1850 Putnam Census. Whatever his middle name, it was most certainly not Martin since that was his older brother’s name (who is also an ancestor in the McGraw line. As for the name “Kincaid” I am absolutely clueless as to where that name came from especially since I have found no ties, neighbors, or family to that surname. As for John’s mother’s name, “Margaret Catherine Withrow,” there is no evidence for her first name being Margaret. Margaret was John’s grandmother’s name, the one whose maiden name has yet to be discovered. No, it wasn’t “Shores” which I address in a separate post.
- Birthplace: “Greenbriar, Augusta County, Virginia” is wrong. Greenbrier County, yes but Greenbrier was not part of Augusta County. Please understand that Greenbrier County was formed from Botetourt County in 1778; Botetourt was formed from the southern portion of Augusta in 1770. John was born in Greenbrier County in what is now West Virginia, nearly 50 years after the county’s formation. And if you’re searching for records on individuals in counties that were once part of Virginia, you need to search WV records. Go back and research your county formations for the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of West Virginia to see for yourself what I mean.
- As for his son Jasper’s name being Aaron – that’s also a crap shoot. It was “assigned” by recent genealogists, whether there is evidence or not. I’ve yet to find evidence for “Aaron” being his first name. He did have a cousin named Aaron Thomas McGrew, son of James R McGrew and Eliza Jane Lewis.
In 1825, John’s father, Thomas McGraw, is listed in Greenbrier County in the Tax Lists for 1825 to 1830. Thomas is also listed in the 1830 Census of Greenbrier County. Please understand that prior to 1850, the names of wives and children were not listed in census records, but we know from the enumeration by age that John may have been one of two males under 5 years of age. One of the boys either died at a young age or was a relative’s child staying over at that time. I doubt I’ll ever know who the other under-5-year-old was. The older brother, between the ages of 5 and 10, is John’s older brother, Samuel. It was from the 1825-1830 county tax lists that I determined John was born in Greenbrier County. Therefore, John’s birthplace is an assumption, not a fact.
By 1831, the tax list shows us that Thomas McGraw (and family) had moved to Fayette County. This may well be near the Withrow in-laws at the foot of Gauley Mountain. Thomas’ older brother, Martin McGraw, lived at the top of Gauley Mountain at a location now known as Chimney Corner. On 15 February 1833, William Withrow Sr appears in the Fayette County tax list, then appears in the Kanawha County tax list on 2 April 1833. In 1835, Thomas McGraw last appears in the Fayette County tax list, then subsequently appears in Kanawha County on 7 March 1840. Thomas McGraw followed his Withrow in-laws to Kanawha County, but the area to which Thomas and his family moved is what we now know as Buffalo, Putnam County.
There is not much information available about John O. McGraw/McGrew. He indeed fought for the Union Army as a Private in Company G, 13th Regiment of the WVa Infantry. He married Zipporah Fielder sometime in the early 1840s. That is a guess based upon the ages of son Jasper McGrew in the various records, placing his birth between 1841 and 1843. That’s no guarantee his folks were married when he was born but its a safe bet they were living as man and wife at that time. I’ve yet to locate their marriage record.
In the 1850 Putnam Census, you’ll find John McGraw living “next door” to his uncle, Martin McGraw (fourth known child of Martin McGraw Sr and wife Margaret (LNU or last name unknown). The area of residence is Red House, even though the location is given as District 46. “Next door” to Uncle Martin McGraw is John’s sister Susan (aka Susannah/Lucinda J) and her husband, Moses Higgenbotham. Remember, Susannah is the name of her maternal grandmother: Susannah Skaggs Withrow, wife of William Withrow Sr. I’m not certain how her name became confused as Lucinda J on her marriage record or whether all of those names truly are her own. Rt. 62, (aka Charleston Road), which runs parallel to the Kanawha River along the east bank, shows the distance from Red House to Buffalo to be about 10.5 miles.
According to his Civil War records, John was caught and convicted of Desertion (between July 10, 1864 and December 19, 1864) by a General Court Martial. The records, per the War Department, shows that as of September 25, 1883, he was sentenced to 6 months hard labor to make good the time lost. As of June 25, 1888, the record shows his conviction could not be expunged. Another card provides his name as “John W McGraw.” However, I noticed several of the cards appear to spell his surname “McGrew.”
A notice in the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, dated Tuesday, 15 March 1898, states that “Mr. Miller introduced a bill for the relief of John O. McGrew of Putnam County, a claim for relief.” So, from this I gather that John did not receive the Civil War pension for which he applied as “an invalid” filed May 24, 1882. It should be noted that John gave his birthplace in these documents as “Fayette County” which could be true – his parents may have left Fayette and removed to Greenbrier after his birth, but that would place John’s birth year earlier than 1825.
John McGrew and wife, Zipporah “Pora” Fielder had four children that I am aware of and have evidence for:
- A. Jasper McGrew, b. ~1841 18 Mile Creek (Buffalo), Putnam County, WV (although the area was still Kanawha County when he was born); he married twice. (1) Diana Hill 30 Mar 1865 Putnam County, WV and (2) Virginia E. Barber 9 Dec 1872 Putnam County, WV; Jasper served in the Union Army, Co. F, 7th Reg. WV Cavalry. At age 18, he was described as having light complexion, blue eyes, and light hair, a farmer by occupation when he enlisted at Martinsburg, WV in Feb 1864; Jasper died 2 Feb 1923 in the Buffalo District, Putnam County, WV and is buried in the Cross Creek Cemetery at Buffalo.
- Dona S. McGrew, b. 4 June 1853, Guano Creek, Putnam County (even though the record states Kanawha County, I know that Guano Creek runs near Bancroft, Poca, and Red House). Sadly, Dona isn’t listed with her parents in the 1860 Census. She would have been 7 years old. There is a 7-year-old in a Fielder household, but that individual is marked “Male” and the initials and surname are different. If Dona were alive in 1860, she would be counted in an as-yet-unidentified household. Due to the number of years between the birth of Jasper and the birth of Dona, it is quite possible that John and Zipporah had other children who died young and have yet to be identified.
- Mary L. McGrew, born about 4 June 1856, Putnam County, WV. She died on 13 November 1858 at the age of 2 years, 5 months, 9 days of Remittance Fever on the Kanawha River, Putnam County, WV. It is from her age given in the death record that her date of birth was calculated (Gregorian Calendar).
- John Davis McGrew, b. 25 May 1859, 18 Mile Creek, Putnam County, WV; d. 7 Mar 1932 at Plymouth, Putnam County, WV. John D married twice: (1) Anna Elizabeth Thornton, 25 Jan 1883 at George Thornton’s in Putnam County. Anna died about the time of their second child in 1887. (2) Martha Alice Trader, 7 Sep 1889, Putnam County, WV. Note that John Davis McGrew died 7 March 1932, his son Homer H McGrew died 11 May 1932, also at Plymouth, and great-granddaughter Elaine F. McGrew died on 6 Nov 1932 at Glasgow, Kanawha County. It was a very difficult year for my grandfather Henry, who helped bury is father and grandfather 2 months apart and his first-born child six months later. John Davis McGrew is the only child who appears in the censuses with John O McGrew and Zipporah Fielder from 1860 through 1880.
According to my great-Aunt, Gloria McGrew Thomas, and a newspaper article printed in a local paper, John O McGrew was very hard of hearing. He walked the railroad tracks frequently. On his final day in this world, he stepped out of the way of an oncoming engine and into the path of another following closely behind. The story goes that it took a while to identify the body and then to notify the family. The undertaker buried the body before family members arrived to collect his remains, possibly in pieces. The burial plot is yet unknown to me. John O’s nickname was “Doc” but the story behind that went to the grave with the older folks.
