Earlier thread: https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/845450/untangling-the-early-mcphatter-and-mcfatter-families-part?show=845450#q845450
Question: Who was Margaret McKeithan McFatter's husband?
Margaret was married to a man named McFatter at least by 1774, when her father calls her by that name in his will. She has four children under 10 in her household in 1800, which would imply her husband was alive at least as of 1790.
But the only two McFatter males who appear in the 1790 census seem to make poor candidates for a husband. We know Daniel was married to a woman named Mary in 1798. No way he could also be married to Margaret at the same time. Donald was alive in 1790, but his family does not correspond to the large family of children Margaret has in 1800.
As of this time, the identity of Margaret's husband is unknown.
Theory: the four children under age 10 in 1800 are Margaret's grandchildren, not her children.
Even assuming Margaret was a girl of 15 when she married, she could not have been born later than 1760. More likely, she was in her later teens or even twenties when she married. It is unlikely a woman of that age produced four very young children between 1790-1800.
Where is Isabella McFatter's missing daughter in 1800?
Margaret's possible daughter Isabella was living nearby in 1800, with three of her children that had been born from her extra-marital relationship with Anthony Maultsby. However, we know from court records that Isabella had four children by this time. Possibly one of her daughters (either Ann or Mary) is one of the girls under 10 in Margaret's household. We know all four children were born by 1800, as their father Anthony died that year and left provisions in his will for Isabella and their four children.
What about the younger Daniel McPhatter?
Daniel, not to be confused with Revolutionary War veteran Daniel, was born about 1800. There is a small DNA link between one of his descendants and one of Alexander's descendants. Was he a nephew of Alexander? He may even be a possible grandchild living in Margaret's household in 1800.
Who are the people in Niven's household in 1810?
Niven, who was born in the mid-1780s, was too young in 1800 to be the father of all the young people in his household. He had three boys between 10-16, 1 girl under 10, and another girl 10-16, besides himself, and a 45+ female living with him in 1810 Bladen county. The older woman is probably Margaret or Christian. Niven had a daughter named Margaret, so I lean towards Margaret being his mother, but admittedly that's weak evidence.
Wait... who was Christian?
Christian appears in 1790 on her own with two boys under 16, and 2 females in her household besides herself. I would think she's the mother of Archibald and John, who appear in 1800 living next to each other, but Archibald has young males in his household who would seem to be brothers. Christian has only two boys in her household in 1790, so if Archibald is her son, where did the other young men come from?
Who belonged to the family of the elder Daniel?
As mentioned earlier, this Daniel was married to a woman named Mary in 1798. He had been born in the mid 1750s, and served in the Revolutionary War. He's got 3 females living with him in 1790. By 1800, he's been joined by 2 boys under 10 plus a woman who is probably Mary. By 1810, Mary seems to have died, as Daniel has a male and a female both aged 16-26 in his household. Is this a son and daughter-in-law? Or some other relations?
What about the Archibald who died in 1851?
That Archibald died aged 70, having married a woman named Dorothy. While he surely has many descendants, Archibald appears to have had only daughters.
And the other Archibald, who died in 1831?
This second Archibald had a decently-sized family, but only appears to have had one son: William, who died in his twenties in 1848. According to census-records, this Archibald had several daughters plus a couple of older women living in his household.
