Martin McGraw & Margaret “Polly” Shores? No!

I’m still finding the name “Margaret ‘Polly’ Shores” in so many family trees of others with whom I share DNA. Below is the marriage record from which the name was erroneously taken – and I personally know the individual who made this error. Note the date and the location of the marriage: Our alleged great-grandmother Margaret is marrying a man whose name isn’t Martin McGraw in a county approximately 170 miles from Greenbrier about 16 years after our ancestor Martin died and all their children were born! I know that “Polly” was a nickname for both or either  Mary and/or Margaret. I won’t deny that I may be distantly related to the McGraws of Hampshire County, WV. I do, however, deny that the couple in these records is our direct ancestors, Martin and Margaret McGraw.
Margaret Shores marriage to Samuel McGraw

See Also:

Marriage License of Samuel McGraw to Margaret Shores, 1 Feb 1826, Hampshire County, WV
Marriage, Hampshire County, West Virginia, USA; License: Feb 1, 1826 signed by Samuel McGraw. “Familysearch: Sign In”. 2022. Familysearch.Org. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89K9-W9LY?cc=4375852.

Studying the records of Augusta, Greenbrier, and Monroe Counties, you will find that the name Martin McGraw is used consistently, namely in the Court Records and Tax Records. However, Martin died about 1806, but he disappears from the tax list after that and 1810 is when he is replaced by “Widow” Margaret McGraw. In the court records before and after 1810, Martin’s sons are referred to as “Martin McGraw’s hands or titheables.” Son Martin McGraw II (or Jr) followed the same example as his father, using one name throughout – censuses, marriage records, tax records, pension records – in four different counties, from Monroe in 1806 to Putnam in 1850.

Martin McGraw I (or senior, if you prefer) and wife Margaret – surname unknown as of this writing – were most likely born between 1750 and 1755. Why? Because their two eldest sons, George Anthony and John, were both married in 1799 Greenbrier County. At that time, young men in the Virginias didn’t marry until the age of 21 or thereafter. Subtract 21 from 1799 and the year of birth is about 1778. I’m not saying the two brothers were twins: Anthony was most likely the elder of the two as he appears on the 1796 Greenbrier County Tax List with father Martin making him at least 16 years of age. John doesn’t appear on the Tax List until two years later.

Where did Martin McGraw and Margaret ___ marry? In 1850 each son, John and Martin “Jr” appear in the censuses of their respective counties; John in Russell County, Virginia and Martin in Putnam County, (West) Virginia; a distance of roughly 200 miles. Each gives his birthplace as Pennsylvania. Therefore it is likely that IF Martin and Margaret were married in America, they would have married and began having children in the state of Pennsylvania where sons John and Martin, and allegedly daughter Elender/Eleanor, were born:

John McGraw, Russell County VA birthplace

Martin McGraw, Putnam County WV birthplace

I know that younger brother Samuel gave his birthplace as Augusta County on a voter’s list in Fayette County  (true since I recently found the tax records of Martin McGraw Sr in Augusta County, VA) but Samuel’s elder siblings were born north of the Mason-Dixon line. I’ve estimated Samuel’s year of birth as 1792. In an affidavit for Elizabeth (Betsy Brian) McGraw Gill, Anthony’s widow, Samuel states that he was “a small boy” when Anthony and Elizabeth were married but he was able to recall it. I suggest that Samuel would have been about seven years old at the time of his brother’s marriage.

Another word to the wise researcher: There are tax records of Martin McGraw living in Hopewell Township, Bedford County, PA. This is more likely to be your ancestor. Why not the Martin McGraw in Westmoreland County, PA? Because he still appears in the tax list in Westmoreland County, PA at the same time he is accounted in the tax lists of Greenbrier and Monroe Counties of West Virginia. The man couldn’t be two places at the same time.

A word of advice: Before copying someone else’s data, do your own homework to establish accuracy otherwise you create a brick wall of your own making.