I received in the mail yesterday the court transcripts for the trial that erupted over Peter McQueen’s will, the will in which he left everything to his niece, rather than his own daughter (the only living daughter of the two he kidnapped in the first place, but also the only living daughter since as Caroline passed previous to his death).
Today, however, we will not be going over these transcripts. Today we are going to piece together what I have found concerning the McQueen family.
Peter McQueen was born about 1795 in South Carolina. We know that he married Elizabeth Freeland in Louisiana in 1820. Peter and Elizabeth had at least three daughters, as named in the divorce papers: Louisa, Melissa and Caroline. The divorce was granted for Elizabeth from Peter in 1839 in Mississippi. I have not been able to locate Elizabeth after this, though she may either be the Elizabeth McQueen in Lauderdale County, Mississippi who married Claburn Perry in 1840 or she may have died, since the divorce papers described her as “infirm” (whether that meant she was on her deathbed, had the sniffles or somewhere in between is not clear). I’m betting on the marriage, but so far I can’t find any other record of Elizabeth or Claburn to match up year of birth or place of birth.
In 1837 Peter McQueen returned to his home ten years after abandoning his family and pretty much kidnapped his two oldest daughters, Louisa and Melissa (by the way, I am sure I will go over all of this again in another post, say the post concerning the trial, but there is a point to all of this now, I promise). Why he did not take Caroline with him also is not known, though speculation is that she either was not his child or may not have been at the home at the time he returned.
Peter enrolled Louisa and Melissa in a girl’s school where they later taught or lived for respite (more on that another day). Melissa died young, having never married. Louisa married first Thomas Cottrell, second Jeremiah Elder, both much older than herself-26 years and 22 years respectively). Louisa did not have any children by 1865, and I am not yet certain if she had any after.
Caroline married Edmund Richards in 1846 in Arkansas. She is on the 1850 census with Edmund and three of their children living in Arkansas. There is also an 18 year old woman named Mary McQueen living with them that I had assumed was her sister, but I am no longer sure (if so, then Mary would have been born while Peter was gone from his family when Caroline was 4 years old-therefore possibly a different father or she could be a cousin of Caroline). Caroline is not on the 1860 census with her family, which leads me to believe she passed between February of 1856 after her youngest son Jerome was born and August 1860 when the census was enumerated. Though I am pretty tempted to keep looking for her since I was unable to find any record of her death (which is not unusual).
So, back to Peter. By his death in 1865 the only daughter left living was Louisa. Due to a…uh, we’ll call it a “disagreement”, between the two, Peter left everything to his niece Mary Ann Mullins (and I checked to see if this Mary Ann Mullins might have been the same person as the Mary McQueen living with Caroline in 1850, but it isn’t). Mary Ann Mullins actually was a big clue to help me along with finding some of Peter’s family, though I still haven’t located his parents yet. BUT, here’s what I found:
Mary Ann Mullins was born Mary Ann Wood in 1832 in the state of Georgia to parents Stephen Wood (of Virginia, 1792-1862) and Ann McQueen (of South Carolina, 1793-1834). She married Patrick Henry Mullins (1824-1860), though I am not sure in what state they were married. Together Mary Ann and Patrick, a tobacconist, had four children: Stephen, Matilda, Mary and Pauline. Patrick died March 8, 1860 in Alabama of a brain inflammation. After his death Mary Ann moved in with her Uncle Peter in Holly Springs, Marshall County, Mississippi. After his death she and her children lived in Holly Springs for quite a while. Mary Ann passed in 1917 in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee of old age and is buried in Byhalia, Marshall County, Mississippi. Her headstone, which can be found on Find-a-Grave, reads: Mary A. Wood, Wife of P.H. Mullins, 1832 1917.
SO, now to research the McQueens. Both Peter and Ann McQueen were born in South Carolina, Ann in 1793 and Peter about 1795. The McQueens listed on the census records in 1790 in South Carolina are:
James McQueen-Edgefield, South Carolina, two males, one female, three slaves
Daniel McQueen-Prince Georges, Georgetown, South Carolina, two males, two females, two slaves
Rachel McQueen-Prince Georges, Georgetown, South Carolina, five males, two females, one slave (note: all five males are under the age of 16 years)
Ruth McQueen-Prince Georges, Georgetown, South Carolina, one male, two females, four slaves
Robert McQueen-St Phillips and St Michaels, Charleston, South Carolina, one male, one female
John McQueen-St Phillips and St Michaels, Charleston, South Carolina, two males, one slave
The McQueens listed on the 1800 census in South Carolina are:
Nell, or Neil, McQueen-Liberty, Marion District, South Carolina, two males, five females
William McQueen-Kingston, Georgetown District, South Carolina, two males, four females
Rachel McQueen-Kingston, Georgetown District, South Carolina, five males, four females
No McQueens have been found at all in the state of Georgia in 1800 or 1810.
McQueens listed on the 1820 census in Georgia (are you ready for this? it’s a loooong list!):
John McQueen-Washington, Georgia, one male, three females
Lydia McQueen-Savannah, Chatham, Georgia, one female, seven slaves
Now, I’m not even sure if any of my McQueens, except for Ann McQueen, ever moved to Georgia. Ann died and was buried in Meriwether County, Georgia. Chatham and Washington Counties are not what I would call “nearby” Meriwether County back in those days (prior to cars being able to zip up and down the freeways, I mean). I can’t be certain if she married in South Carolina or Georgia (why, oh why, can I not find the marriage record?). If I could find that record it might give me a clue as to who Peter and Ann’s parents are.
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