Notes for William Henry Clay McMahan.

Ancestry.com Missouri Vital Records: Marriages 1767 - 1900
McMAHAN, H. C. Spouse: HAWPE, MARTHA E.
Marriage Date: 09/16/1859 County: Saline

1910 Census, Saline County, Arrow Rock Township, District 161, dated April 25 Missouri, Page 9B

Dwelling 206 Family 206,

William H C McMahan, Male, White, 84, Widowed, born in Mo, father born in Va, mother born in Va, Can read & write, Farmer,
Margaret L McMahan, daughter, Female, White, 35, Single, born in Mo, father born in Mo, mother born in Mo, can read & write,
Martha ? McMahan, daughter, Female, White, 32, Single, born in Mo, father born in Mo, mother born in Mo, can read & write,
William C Roberts, Boarder, Male, White, 20, Single, born in Ky, father born in Ky, mother born in Ky, can read & write, Farmer.

William H. C. McMahan Biography

W. H. C. McMahan, a representative agriculturist and large land-owner of Saline County, Mo., owns seven hundred and sixty acres of land located upon township 50, range 20, and all in one body, with the exception of about twenty acres. Ambitious and energetic, he has won his way steadily upward, and, a native of the State, has been identified with the growth and rapid advancement of Missouri his entire life. The paternal grandfather of Mr. McMahan was a native Virginian, who early removed to Kentucky, but finally settled in Cooper County, Mo. He was of Scotch descent, and - a wealthy man - was in the early days, a slave-owner.

The paternal grandmother's name was Jones, and presumable of German descent. (Note by HAE: This is not true, the Mother's name was Jones, the Grandmother's name was Adams). Grandfather McMahan and his good wife were married in Kentucky and had six children. The eldest son Samuel, was killed in the War of 1812 by savage Indians. James, the second son, and Thomas, the Father of our subject, were the other sons. There were also three daughters in the household. Thomas McMahan was born in Virginia, later removed with his parents to Kentucky, and finally located, in 1810, in Missouri. He was an ardent and patriotic man who fought bravely in the War of 1812,and, engaging in various conflicts with the Indians, was present in the fort in Howard County when Col. Cooper was killed. He was married after coming to Missouri, and his wife, the Mother of our subject, was also a native of Virginia.

Our subject was the fifth child of the numerous sons and daughters, who were named in the order of their births as follows: Amelia, Jeannetta, Lamenda, Samuel G., our subject, Susan, James, Louisa, Jesse N. and Jane. Mr. McMahan is a native of Cooper County and was born in 1825. He received his education in the subscription schools of his early home, but when a young man was attracted by the glittering stories of the fabulous wealth easily attainable upon the Pacific Coast, and was among the thousands who, in 1852, journeyed to California, going overland and consuming four months upon the way. In 1856, he returned by the peninsula route, after a four-year absence from the familiar scenes.

In 1858, he married Martha Ellen, a daughter of Rudolph and Ellen Hawpe, of Saline County, Mo. The father of Mrs. McMahan was born in Pennsylvania, while her mother was a native of Virginia. Mrs. McMahan was born in Saline County, and enjoys the friendship of a host of old acquaintances. The happy home of our subject has been blessed by the birth of nine children, two of whom have passed away. The seven living sons and daughters are Adelia, the widow of John Lawless; Harvey, Edward, Hawpe, Margaret Lillian, Mattie Kate, and Mary L. James and Cora are the two little ones who died in infancy. The bright and earnest children of Mr. and Mrs. McMahan have lives of honored usefulness before them, and are universally respected by all who know them. Our Subject is not an aspirant for public office, but he takes an active interest in all national and local political events, and affiliates with the Democratic party. For nearly two-score years a resident of his present home, Mr. McMahan has been actively identified with many important interests of his locality, and, ever ready to aid in local progress and improvements, is justly numbered among the leading and progressive citizens of Saline County.

Extracted from "Portrait & Biographical Record of Lafayette and Saline Counties Missouri." Chapman Brothers, 1893.

Death Notice, Marshall Newspaper, Saline County, Missouri:

Wm H Clay McMahan,
Died on Dec 7, 1917, Born on May 10, 1825

Born in Cooper county, one of eleven children. Only one survivor, Mrs. Margaret J Phillips, of Canon City, Co.
Sept 1857, he purchased land in Saline County, built a house, and in Sept. of the following year, he married Martha Ellen Hawpe, a sister of Benjamin Hawpe, an early settler in Marshall and a happy companionship until her death Mar 26 19 (blurred).

1917, December 7 - Death Certificate on file, William Henry Clay McMahan.

Birth and Death dates are confirmed by Park Ridge Cemetery record from Marshall Library, Marshall, Missouri.