McMahan Notes

"Our" link to the McMahan family is through Mary Elisabeth McMahan who married John L. Beene. Mary Elisabeth McMahan is on the 1870 census Lawrence Co, AR, Powahatton P. O., Black River Township, July 21, 1870, listed as age 53, born TN. On the same census her husband was listed as age 52.

This census information was given to us by Lemuel Beene of Freestone County, Texas, now deceased. He was the first person who was able to tell us where "our" Beene line fitted in the family tree. He was able to tell us that we were descended from Robert Bean and Martha Womack. We also were grateful for the information that Tommie Rue Craig had submitted to the Southern Bean Association for publication in their magazine, The Bean Stalk, Vol 19, #3, Spring 1991. That is where we first learned of Mary Elisabeth McMahan.

It seems likely that Nancy McMahan was Mary Elisabeth's sister. Here is some information on a Nancy McMahan of Marion Co, TN:

Nancy married Robert Payne.  Her mother Milly (maiden name unknown) McMahan lived next door to Robert and Nancy on the 1850 census Marion Co, TN. Milly was very short, had red hair, and loved flowers, in fact, she was locally famous for her flower garden. Milly was thought to have come from Pennsylvania to North Carolina with the Squire and Daniel Boone caravan. Nancy's father was believed to be Lett McMahon.  His mother's name was believed to be Nancy Lett, as Nancy was supposed to have been named for her grandmother.  The surname Lett/Lott appears in land records of Granville, NC.  Squire Boone and other Boone's had land records in Granville Co, NC in overlapping time periods, but this area covered what became many counties.

Census records in Marion Co, TN show that Nancy was born in Georgia and her headstone in the Bean-Raulston graveyard in Sweetens Cove, Marion Co, TN shows that she was born August 10, 1803 and died in Marion Co, March 1, 1872. Robert is buried beside his wife, and had died April 12, 1859. Several Paynes, McMahans, and a Mrs. Lett are mentioned in Jerry Blevins' book, Old Primitive Baptist Church Books. This book contains the transcribed original documents of Sweeten's Cove Primitive Baptist Church 1821-1868.  The Paynes mentioned are: Daniel, Fanny, Lewis, Nancy, Owen, and William. The McMahans mentioned are: Amelia, Benjamin, and Elizabeth. (Benjamin McMahan married Elizabeth Beene.  He could be a brother of Nancy and Mary Elisabeth McMahan).  There is also a Milly Rogers, George C. and Rachael Hampton, and others who appear to be descendants or sons-in-law of Nancy McMahan and Robert Payne.

Descendants of Nancy McMahan
                                   
    1     Nancy McMahan    b: August 10, 1803 in GA    d: March 01, 1872 in Marion Co, TN         Fact 1: Less than 5 feet tall     Fact 2: buried Bean-Roulston Cem, Sweeten's Cove, Marion Co, TN        
...        +Robert Payne    b: September 20, 1794 in Burke Co, NC    d: April 12, 1859 in Marion Co, TN     m: 1818    Fact 1: in war of 1812, ensign 15th Regt TN militia along w/ sons and sons-in-law    Fact 2: Most Paynes were members of Sweeten's Cove Prim Bap Ch, others Methodist    Father:     Mother:

....    2     Lewis Payne    b: September 20, 1819 in Marion Co, TN    d: March 14, 1892 in Marion Co, TN                    
.........        +Mary (Polly) Beene     b: November 01, 1824 in Marion Co, TN    d: November 14, 1877 in Marion Co, TN    m: November 26, 1844 in TN             Father: Obadiah Beene     Mother: Barbara Heifner
....    2     Rachel Payne    b: 1821     d: 1895                    
.........        +George Claibarne Hampton     b: 1822    d: 1885         Fact 1: Called Claibe         Father:    Mother:
....    2     Milly Payne    b: 1823     d: 1889                    
.........        +"Jackson" Batley Rodgers     b: 1820    d: 1903                 Father:     Mother:
....    2     William Payne    b: 1823     d: 1904                    
.........        +Jerusha Jane Patton                         Father:     Mother:
....        *2nd Wife of William Payne:                            
.........        +Josephine S. Wood                         Father:     Mother:
....        *3rd Wife of William Payne:                            
.........        +Telethia A. Daniel                         Father:     Mother:
....        *4th Wife of William Payne:                            
.........        +Elizabeth Weaver                         Father:     Mother:
....        *5th Wife of William Payne:                            
.........        +Lucinda Lynch                         Father:     Mother:
....    2     Robert Payne    b: 1825     d: 1864                    
....    2     John Payne    b: 1828     d: 1896                    
.........        +Patricia Katherine Lynch                         Father:     Mother:
....        *2nd Wife of John Payne:                            
.........        +Matilda Lynch                         Father:     Mother:
....        *3rd Wife of John Payne:                            
.........        +Margaret Garner Marlow                         Father:     Mother:
....    2     Nancy Payne    b: February 07, 1830 in Marion Co, TN    d: April 27, 1895 in Marion Co, TN                    
.........        +Jonathan Lasater                         Father:     Mother:
....        *2nd Husband of Nancy Payne:                            
.........        +George Washington Wynne     b: 1834 in TN        m: Abt. 1857     Fact 1: killed at Ft. Donelson, CSA         Father: John B. Wynn    Mother: Margaret "Peggy" Kennedy
....    2     James Payne    b: 1831-1832    d: 1915                    
.........        +Hetty D. Crabtree                         Father:     Mother:
....    2     Benjamin Payne    b: 1838     d: 1927                    
....    2     George Payne    b: 1835     d: 1925                    
.........        +Sarah Springer                         Father:     Mother:
....        *2nd Wife of George Payne:                            
.........        +Kate Sweney                         Father:     Mother:
....    2     Unknown Payne                 Fact 1: Died young           
....    2     Jefferson Payne    b: 1838     d: 1864                    
.........        +Elizabeth Henley                         Father:     Mother:
....    2     Sarah Payne    b: 1840                        
.........        +James S. Rice                         Father:     Mother:
....    2     Newton Payne    b: 1842             Fact 1: Died in Civil War           
....    2     McGager Payne    b: 1845     d: 1925        Fact 1: Sometimes written as Micasah           
.........        +Nancy Jane Duncan                         Father:     Mother:
....        *2nd Wife of McGager Payne:                            
.........        +Elizabeth Cooper                         Father:     Mother:
....    2     Joseph Anderson Payne     b: 1848    d: 1887         Fact 1: Called Anderson            
.........        +Debora Ferguson                         Father:     Mother:
....    2     Daniel Crockett Payne     b: February 19, 1827 in Sweetens Cove, Marion Co, TN     d: November 23, 1916        Fact 1: buried Bean-Roulston Cem, Sweeten's Cove, Marion Co, TN    Fact 2: joined Primitive Baptist Church 1860       
.........        +Fannie Beene    b: February 06, 1831    d: July 01, 1909         Fact 1: buried Bean-Roulston Cem, Sweeten's Cove, Marion Co, TN    Fact 2: joined Primitive Baptist Church Oct 21, 1860     Father: Obadiah Beene    Mother: Barbara Heifner

For more generations of Nancy's line click here.

Sources for the above information include but are not limited to::
(1) The Heritage of Old Buncombe County Volume 1 - 1981, Section 503 (This is Buncombe County, North Carolina).
(2) The Bean Tree, Robert Bean and Martha Womack and their Descendants 1764-1985, copyright 1986 by Estalee Beane Rankin, first printing March 1986, published in USA by Madaloni Press, a Division of M.A. Publishing Syndicate, 1 South Lawrence Street, Mobile, Alabama 36602
(3) The Bean Stalk, p 105, Vol 19, #3, Spring 1991, Ancestor chart submitted by Robert O. Raulston.
(4) Old Primitive Baptist Church Books, Jerry Blevins, P. O. Box 4417, Huntsville, AL 35815, Book 1 Sweeten's Cove Primitive Baptist Church Book 1821-1868, Book 2 Mount Moriah Primitive Baptist Church Book 1888-1916, published April 1992. Both these churches are located in Marion County, Tennessee.
(5) The Granville District of North Carolina 1748-1763, Abstracts of Land Grants, Volume One through Volume Five, by Margaret M. Hofmann:, for more information, view author and speaker Margaret M. Hofmann's web site at: http://www.margaretmhofmann.com

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