Matthew McConaughey and his Cameron, West Virginia Ancestors

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
Surnames/tags: wikitree_challenge west virginia

Profile manager: WikiTree Challenge WikiTree

This page has been accessed 377 times.

Matthew's Uvalde roots have been mentioned a lot in the news lately, but his roots in Cameron, West Virginia, run even deeper.

Long before the "Dazed and Confused" actor was making a name for himself with things like "Alright, alright, alright", some of his McConaughey ancestors came to America to try and make a name for themselves.

David McConaughey was born about 1750 in County Tyrone, Ireland. He married Martha Lindsey, who was born about 1765 in Lisnacrieve, Ireland. These are Matthew's 4th great-grandparents. Together, they had five children.

Of the five, only two came to America: Robert, the oldest, and Matthew's 3rd great-grandfather, and David, the youngest, Matthew's 3rd great-uncle.

Based on the birthdates of his two oldest sons, we figure Robert and his family came to America between 1814 and 1821. David may have come over at the same time, we don't know for sure, but we do know that he was in America by 1846 as he married Anne Davis that year in Belmont, Ohio.

At some point both brothers found their way to a little unnamed town in West Virginia.

Cameron, West Virignia

A Mr. Himes was one of the first to settle there in 1788, on property that would eventually belong to the McConaughey family. A Himes family anecdote relates that in that same year the family procured a basket of apples from Pennsylvania. The fruit was considered a luxury at the time and so it was distributed sparingly among family members.

One of the young boys accidentally managed to choke on the core of his apple. Once it was removed, another family member, driven by curiosity, took the seed from the core and planted it. This seed grew into a large tree that is still standing today on one of the McConaughey farms.

David and Anne, among the first of the early settlers, bought a tract of land on what is now the main part of the town and he and Anne moved into their new home. He erected the first building on Grave Creek.

By the late 1820s, there were more settlers arriving in this area. Around this same time the construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was beginning. David McConaughey realized the potential for their little town if this new railroad had a stop there. He, along with some other prominent men in the town, went by stagecoach to Baltimore to use their influence to make this happen. The trip was a success and as anticipated, the little town became one of importance.

The railway was finished in 1852 and it was at this time the honor of naming the town was conferred upon David McConaughey. A prominent railroad official by the name of Samuel Cameron, who was a right of way purchasing agent with the company, came to check the area out. As a good friend of David, Samuel suggested that the town be called McConaughey but David rejected that idea saying kids would have to graduate eighth grade before they'd be able to spell it. So, instead, David chose to name the town Cameron, after his friend. Sadly, Samuel died the next year of cholera.

David, appointed by President Pierce, was the first postmaster of Cameron village. He held the office for several years until 1857.

He and Anne both lived the remainder of their lives in Cameron, until his death in 1874 and hers in 1900.