Mary Sayers (Grayson) Porter (1797 - 1841)

Born 1797 in Fauquier Co., VA

Ancestors

Wife of Samuel Porter — married 22 Feb 1819 in Fauquier, Virginia, United States

Descendants

Died Jun 1841 at about age 44 in Montgomery, Illinois, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Erik Granstrom [send private message]

Biography

Mary Sayers Grayson was born about 1797 in Fauquier, Virginia. Her parents were William S. Grayson and Mary Elizabeth Waggoner who were married in May of 1793 in Washington D.C.

Mary had three older brothers, Thomas, Peter Wagener and John Grayson. She had a younger sister Dinah Grayson and a younger brother named Frederick William Spence Grayson who was born in 1804.

Mary Grayson married Samuel Porter on the 23rd of Feb. 1819 in Fauquier, Virginia.^[1]

Mary and Samuel had ten children, William Grayson, Mary Elizabeth, John Edward, Evelina Anville, Ann McCarty, McCauley, Martha Susan, Caroline, Ester and Isabella Porter.

She passed away in June of 1841 in Montgomery, Illinois.

Timeline

24th of January, 1820 - Son William Grayson Porter born in Fauquier, Virginia.

6th of October, 1821 - Daughter Mary Elizabeth Porter born in Fauquier, Virginia.

Genealogical Proof Standard

Research Notes

Research Questions by Erik Granstrom

In the family history researched by Meredith DeBuse it says that her parents passed when she was a child and that Samuel Porter (b. 1774) was her guardian and later gave permission for his son Samuel Porter (b. 1799) to marry Mary S. Grayson on the 23rd of Feb. 1819 in Fauquier, Virginia.

On her Family Search profile it lists her parents death years as 1806 for her father William S. Grayson and 1810 for her mother Mary Elizabeth Waggoner.

However I found the following note which makes claim that Mary Elizabeth was married secondly and lived until after May 14th, 1853.

"Mary Elizabeth widow of Wm. Grayson married Richard E. Beale Jan. 1808 PWC. Richard E. Beale abt. age 72 was a resident of Fauquier County, Va on Aug. 28, 1832 when he made his pension application. He died Jan. 8, 1835. Mary E. made land bounty app. May 14, 1853 while living in Washington, District of Columbia aged 74 years."

• "Mary Elizabeth Waggoner." Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties. Accessed Jan. 6th, 2021. https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I035034&tree=Tree1.

So the question is when did Mary Elizabeth Waggoner pass away? 1810 or after 1853? Was she really married a second time?

Also are there any sources that show that Mary Grayson's parents were William S. Grayson and Mary Elizabeth Waggoner?

Research done by Meredith DeBuse:

"Name (Mary Sayers Grayson) given to Meredith DeBuse by Bill Porter descendant of Samuel Porter and 2nd wife Margaret Jane Thomas." (February 2, 2014).

"Name on her son, McCauley's tombstone at the Bell Fountain Cemetery, Benton County, Oregon. This is the version of her surname that appears on McCauley's tombstone." (June 25, 2015).

"Marriage record explaining that Mary S. Grayson was the ward of of Samuel Porter, Sr. That Samuel Sr. gave permission for his son Samuel, Jr. to marry her.

This record indicates that her parents William Grayson and Mary Elizabeth Waggoner Porter had died when she was still a young child. It provides the proof that Mary was a ward of Samuel Porter Sr. as family lore had said."

FHL Microfilm, MIcrofilmed copy of the original records, copied by Meredith DeBuse 25 yrs. ago. Number lost. (June 25, 2015.)

• "Mary S. Grayson." Family Search. Accessed April 14, 2017. https://familysearch.org/tree/person/LCSB-J82/.

Links

Acknowledgments

Sources

1. ↑ "Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XR8C-XZC : 11 February 2018), Samuel Porter and Mary Grayson, 23 Feb 1819; citing Fauquier, Virginia, reference r4 p18; FHL microfilm 31,634.

See also:

• "Mary S. Grayson." Family Search. Accessed April 14, 2017. https://familysearch.org/tree/person/LCSB-J82/.

• "Mary S Porter (Grayson)." Geni. Accessed Jan. 6th, 2021. https://www.geni.com/people/Mary-Porter/6000000056658349833.

• "Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XR8C-XZC : 11 February 2018), Samuel Porter and Mary Grayson, 23 Feb 1819; citing Fauquier, Virginia, reference r4 p18; FHL microfilm 31,634.

• "Genealogies of Virginia Families." Family history of the Graysons of Virginia pp 105-112. (Listed as a source on Family Search Profile.)

• Add sources here.

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