Randolph McDonald (abt. 1710 - 1744)

Born about 1710 in Lancaster County, Province of Pennsylvania

Husband of Jane Jennet (Stark) McClanahan — married 1730 in Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died 24 May 1744 at about age 34 in Augusta County, Colony of Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Nathan Horner [send private message]

Biography

Randolph McDonald was born about 1710 in Lancaster County, Province of Pennsylvania.

Randolph married Jane Jennet Stark (1710 - abt. 1768) in the Colony of Virginia in 1730.^[1]

Their children were...

1. Randolph McDonald (~1731 - ~1767)
2. Margaret (Mcdonald) Fowler (~1732 - ~1800)
3. Mary (McDonald) Patterson (~1733 - >1768)
4. Jane (McDonald) Guinn (~1734 - 1819)
5. Sarah (McDonald) Skidmore (~1735 - ~1815)
6. Alexander McDonald (1736 - 1812).

Randolph passed away on 24 May 1744 in Augusta County, Colony of Virginia, aged ~33.^[2] On 16 February 1748 Henry Downs petitioned for counter security from Jane McDonald, listed as the widow and administratrix of Randol McDonald (admin. granted in Orange), now the wife of Joseph McClallan.^[3]

Research Notes

Some people hold that the maiden name of the wife of Randel/Randolph McDonald (d. 1744) of Beverly Manor, Augusta, VA was Stark, and that Alexander, Randolph, Margaret, Mary, Jane, and Sarah were all children of Randel.

I believe this conclusion has resulted from confusion between: 1) Jane/Jean McDonald, widow of Randel/Randolph and mother of Alexander McDonald and 2) Jennet/Janet McDonald, mother of Randolph/Randall, Margaret, Mary, Jane, and Sarah and administratrix of Randolph’s estate.

I have analyzed the references to Jane McDonald and Jennet McDonald in the Augusta, VA records, and have concluded that they are two different women; that Stark was not the maiden name of Alexander’s mother; and that Randolph, Margaret, Mary, Jane, and Sarah were not the children of the Randel McDonald of Beverly Manor.

1) From the eventual sale of the land Randel McDonald bought in 1740, it is clear that Jane McClelhill is the widow of Randel McDonald and the mother of Alexander. It is also clear that Alexander inherited all 141 acres purchased by Randel McDonald in 1740. There is no record of any other land owned by Randel McDonald.

2) Randolph and his sisters were never involved in any way with the transfer to Alexander or sale of the 141 acres originally owned by Randel in Beverley Manor.

3) Alexander is never mentioned in connection with the Randolph whose estate was administered by his mother, Jennet, or with Randolph’s sisters: Margaret, Mary, Jane, and Sarah. In 1769, it was specified that the sisters co-inherited the land, and a 1774 sale specified that Randolph died intestate and that Mary inherited ¼ of the land.

4) The only reference to the name Stark is a 1762 reference to “Jennet Stark alias McDonald” and is in reference to land sold by her in 1748. However: A) In 1748, and thereafter, the mother of Alexander McDonald was always referred to as Jean or Jane McClelland. B) The given names Jennet and Janet are never used in reference to the mother of Alexander McDonald.

Therefore, I have concluded that the woman referred to in 1762 as Jennet Stark must be a different person than the mother of Alexander McDonald and that Margaret, Mary, Jane, Sarah, and Randolph are not the children of Randel McDonald of Beverly Manor.

The reference to Cumberland County, Pennsylvania in the 1774 sale of the land inherited by Margaret, Mary, Jane, and Sarah McDonald from Randolph leads me to believe that this McDonald family lived in or near the area of Augusta County that is now Pennsylvania, rather than in Beverly Manor.

Callahan-1080 17:01, 29 June 2022 (UTC) Marian Hill

Sources

• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L281-1N1

1. ↑ Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
2. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #39617730
3. ↑ "Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County, Volume 1" by Lyman Chalkley. Book WB2-203. Mary S. Lockwood (DAR), Pub.

Jun 1747 James McClelhill vs. Andrew McClure.----James and Jane, his wife, admrs. of Randal McDonnald Chalkley's Scotch-Irish in Virginia, Vol. 1, p. 295.

• Augusta Co, VA, Order Book 1, page 95.
• Augusta Co, VA, Order Book 2, page 100.
• Chalkley, Scotch-Irish in Virginia, Vol. 1, pp. 34, 37, 77, 111, 293, 295,337, 341, 356
• Chalkley, Scotch-Irish in Virginia, Vol. 2, pp. 42, 53, 456
• Chalkley, Scotch-Irish in Virginia, Vol. 3, pp. 46, 55, 472, 541
• Orange County, VA Order Book 4-103.
• Orange County, VA, Will Book B1-321
• Wilson, The Tinkling Spring Headwater of Freedom, p. 438.