Josiah Magee (abt. 1791 - abt. 1870)

Born about Feb 1791 in Georgia, United States [uncertain]

Ancestors

Died about 17 Aug 1870 at about age 79 in Smith County, Texas [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Mary Richardson [send private message]

Is Josiah and "Sier" Magee one and the same?

Biography

Josiah Magee about 1791 - after 1850

“Jeremiah and Sire Magee settled on Collins and Magees Creeks near the junction of the two streams in 1811. About this time, or perhaps earlier, Dickey Magee built a grist mill over Collins Creek a little above the ford where the Monticello and Covington road crosses it. Portions of the foundation of this mill can yet be seen at the present time. [...] When a small boy the writer crossed this ford and saw the water pouring in limpid beauty off the old foundation. [...] William Willis Magee, a brother of Sire and Jeremiah[Nehemiah?], was one of the first Baptist preachers coming to this country from South Carolina. Josiah Magee settled on Dry Creek opposite the town of Tylertown.” “Pike County Mississippi: 1798-1886” (1909), 49.^[1]

Bevil Creel says "Therefore, I draw from Conerly, along with my census and tax analysis, that “Sire” (Josiah), Nehemiah, Willis and “Dickey” (Richard) Magee were all sons of John. Richard Magee was apparently the youngest son. The 1825 personal property tax list of Pike County (familysearch.org) showed Richard Magee assessed on his own 320 acres of land on Magee’s Creek, as well as for 160 acres belonging to the estate of John Magee. The next year, 1826, Richard was assessed his own property, and was also assessed for the four slaves of Bethany Magee, his mother. With respect to Willis Magee, he appears to have been the oldest of John’s children. He was enumerated near to John in the 1810 Territorial Census of Amite County, Mississippi with a “young” household. The tax records for Pike County show him with acreage on Pushepetappa Creek from 1818 to 1828, then with 400 acres on Magee’s Creek in 1829. Willis, along with Bethany Scott Magee, were both members of the nearby New Zion Baptist Church, Bethany being received unto baptism there in April 1827, and Willis being licensed to preach there in May 1827" (Bevin Creel, "19th Century Baptist Church Records of Marion and Pike Counties, Mississippi," 40). I am not certain of John's religious proclivities.

The 1817 personal property tax list (viewable in the “Mississippi State Archives, Various Records, 1820-1951” collection, familysearch.org) for Pike County, Mississippi shows John Magee assessed with 960 acres of land on Magee’s Creek. The 1818 personal property tax list for Pike County, Mississippi shows John Magee assessed with the same number of acres. Listed immediately after John in 1818, in a partially alphabetized listing, were Sier Magee (1 poll, .83 cents tax), Elisha Magee (1 poll, .83 cents) and “Myer” Magee (1 poll, .83 cents). The 1819 Pike County Personal Property Tax return, p 18, shows the following five Magee men assessed “consecutively” in a partially alphabetized list: John Magee, 480 acres of land on Magee’s Creek, 12 slaves, $14.87 tax; Elisha Magee, 160 acres of land on Magee’s Creek, 1 poll, 1 slave, $2.64 tax; Sier Magee, 160 acres, apparently on Magee’s Creek, 1 poll, $2.28 tax; Nehem. Magee, 160 acres, apparently on Magee’s Creek, 1 poll, .28 cents tax.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ “Pike County Mississippi: 1798-1886” (1909), 49.
2. ↑ http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Josiah_Magee_%281%29

• http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Josiah_Magee_%281%29
• 1850 Census