McShane Land on Indian Creek: in Three Different Counties

McShane Land on Indian Creek: in Three Different Counties

Jean M. Hoffman, CG

McShane and Waits family members lived in Harrison County, Kentucky, and claim it as the burial location of Edward McShane, the head of the family who died in 1796. However, the land they bought and probate of Edward’s estate were in neighboring Bourbon County. Further, Bourbon lost area to the formation of Nicholas County, the McShane land going with it. Eventually they were in Harrison County. The parcels of land and their locations in these three counties are explained by boundary changes.

1. Bourbon County, Kentucky

Plat of the 100 acres, by author

Six heirs of Edward McShane purchased a 100-acre plot of land in Bourbon County, Kentucky, on 4 October 1796.[1] They gave thirty pounds current money to Richard Young & Mary his wife of Woodford County, Kentucky, for the property. It was on the waters of Indian Creek and described as bounded as follows: “Beginning at a box elder and Elm, thence N 45 W 125 poles to a Buckeye and white Oak thence N 45 E 131 poles to two Elms and an ash, thence S 45 E 118 poles to a dogwood and Beech, thence S 45 W 131 poles to the Beginning.” The deed for the sale was witnessed by Francis Mann, William Blackburn, and Thomas Carrothers. The heirs of Edward McShane were Sarah, Mary, Daniel, Francis, John, and Elizabeth McShane all of Bourbon County, Kentucky.[2] Sarah was taxed on the 100 acres, 1 tithable (male 21 or over) and 2 horses in 1797.[3]

 The death of Edward McShane would have preceded the sale to his heirs but the actual date is unknown. He was apparently buried in the Indian Creek Churchyard in Harrison County, Kentucky, so it is assumed that he died in that county.[4] The history of county boundaries in the area makes it possible he died in Bourbon County in what is now Harrison. Both counties existed in 1796, but their boundaries changed.

 Mary McShane and John Waits were married in Bourbon County on 27 September 1798.[5] John then controlled Mary’s share of the land. John was also administrator of the estate of Edward McShane which went to probate in Bourbon County. The estate sale was entered in the will book in March 1799 and the settlement in the June Term of 1800.[6]

 2. Nicholas County, Kentucky

Nicholas County was created 18 December 1799 from the eastern portion of Bourbon County and from Mason County.[7] The McShane land became part of Nicholas County.

 Sarah McShane of Nicholas County, Kentucky, sold her interest in the land on 22 March 1802 to John Waits for thirty pounds. She relinquished all her right and title to her part of the tract of land on which she then lived with the understanding that relinquishment was to take place after the last of March 1802. The deed was witnessed by William Trousdale, Henry Buskirk, and William Gonce. No description of the land was included in the deed beyond being where she lived.[8] The implication is that she was moving away from that place.

 The McShanes and John Waits all lived in Nicholas County as recorded in the 1810 U.S. census. The names were written in alphabetical order so it isn’t possible to tell if they were close to each other. Daniel McShane headed a household of three males, one 16 through 25, probably his brother John, and two 26 and under 45, undoubtedly himself and brother Francis.[9] John Waits was head of a household containing seven children under 16 and a couple each 26 but under 45, himself and his wife Mary.[10]

 The Nicholas County land was the same 100 acres previously in Bourbon as the remaining heirs, Daniel, Francis, John, and Elizabeth McShane sold their interest in 66 acres and 106 poles (or two thirds of the property) to John Waits. The land description is identical to the Bourbon County land. The four, all of Nicholas County, sold their inheritance in fee simple of each and every one of their equal parts as heirs of Edward McShane deceased to John Waits for $484 on 8 October 1813. The witnesses were Joseph Stewart, Charles Waits, and William Stewart.[11] John Waits now owned the entire 100 acres.

 While the four McShane heirs sold their 2/3 interest in the 100 acres, they also purchased other land in Nicholas County. Daniel, Francis, and John McShane bought land from John Brown and Hannah his wife, all of Nicholas County witnessed by Joseph Stewart and James Brown. On 14 August 1812 for $90 they obtained 10 acres on the waters of Indian Creek in Nicholas County neighboring McShane land.[12] Elizabeth McShane, of Nicholas County, obtained a parcel from James Gray of Harrison County, the deed witnessed by John Waits and Daniel McShane. She paid $365 on 1 April 1816 for 24 acres in Nicholas County on the waters of Indian Creek. Like the original 100 acres it was situated at 45-degree angles.[13]

2020 county boundaries. Courtesy of U.S. Census Bureau

 3. Harrison County, Kentucky

Harrison County was the home of the families for the rest of their time in Kentucky. A small change moving land from Nicholas to Harrison County in 1817 seems to have included the land of the McShane and Waits families.[14]

 In the 1820 U.S. census the families lived in Harrison County, Daniel McShane, Francis McShane, and John Waits listed together in that order.[15] In Daniel’s household, he and his brother John are probably the males 26 and under 45, both engaged in agriculture, and the female 26 and under 45 might be his sister Elizabeth, or if the census was taken late, perhaps his bride of 23 October 1820.[16] An enslaved male under 14 was also in the household. Daniel’s brother Francis headed a household with one young male and a couple 26 but under 45, himself and his wife Theodosia.[17] He was engaged in agriculture. The household of John Waits included four children under 16, a male under 26, two females under 26, and the older couple both 26 but under 45. Three were engaged in agriculture.

 Francis McShane, of Harrison County, Kentucky, purchased just over 160 acres in Hamilton County, Indiana, from the General Land Office in Brookville, Indiana, with patents dated 20 May 1825.[18] He and his wife “Dosha” sold to Daniel McShane, all of Harrison County, his 1/3 share in 60 acres purchased in two several deeds by Daniel, Francis, and John McShane from John Pollock and John Brown. Daniel paid $200 on 2 November 1825. The land was where Daniel lived and in Harrison County on the waters of Indian Creek.[19] The deed does not include the bounds of the land but states the corners and boundaries are according to the survey. No deed from John Pollock in either Nicholas or Harrison County has been found, but the John Brown deed is the one mentioned above in Nicholas County in 1812.

 Conclusion

The locations of family records make it seem they moved around in Kentucky but they really stayed in one place while the county boundaries shifted around them. Next steps for learning more about the land and family members include following the land in three other deeds from the same owners on the same date as the McShane 1796 purchase and following tax records for the McShane family, John Waits, and the purchasers of the other properties.

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[1] The spelling McShane is used throughout the article but the citations show variants in the documents.

[2] Bourbon County, Kentucky, Deed Book D:137-39, Richard and Mary Young to heirs of Edward McShain, 100 acres on waters of Indian Creek, 4 October 1796, recorded April 1797; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKW-2S5X-Y?i=73&cat=431279), digital film 008141370, images 74-75.

[3] Bourbon County, Kentucky, tax record, 1797, book #2, James Parks, Commissioner, page 13, Sarah McShain entry; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3J-249L?i=441&cat=154761), digital film 007834401, image 442.

[4] Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5366285), memorial page for Edward McShane (1751–1796), Memorial ID 5366285, citing Indian Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Cynthiana, Harrison County, Kentucky; gravestone photo by Denny Lipscombe.

[5] “Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5ZH-HTK), digital film 004542764, image 25, Bourbon County Marriage Register 1:37, returns of Benj. Colen, John Waits and Mary McShaine, Sept. 1798. And, “Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5Z4-Z2F), digital film 004542750, image 476, Bourbon County marriage bonds, John Waits and Richard Taylor, bride Mary McSheane, 24 September 1798.

[6] “Kentucky Probate Records, 1727-1990,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GP3X-2R3?i=202&cc=1875188&cat=279820), digital film 004818818, images 17-18, 37-38, Bourbon County Will Book B, Edward McShaine estate entries: p. 33-34 for inventory ordered in the October Term recorded in the January Term of 1799, p. 34-35 estate sale March Term 1799, p. 73-74 estate settlement June Term 1800, administrator John Wait.

[7] Littell, William. The Statute Law of Kentucky; with Notes, Prælections, and Observations on the Public Acts, Vol. II, p. 366-67 (Frankfort: William Hunter, 1810; digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/LittellsStatutesVol2).

[8] Nicholas County, Kentucky, Deed Book A:106-07, Sarah McShain to John Wait, 1802; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSJ1-93QY-B?i=86&cat=432725), digital film 008109176, image 87.

[9] 1810 U.S. census, Nicholas County, Kentucky, page 425, line 7, Danl. McHan (McShane) household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7613/); NARA M252, roll 8.

[10] 1810 U.S. census, Nicholas County, Kentucky, page 436, line 13, John Wates household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7613/); NARA M252, roll 8.

[11] Nicholas County, Kentucky, Deed Book C:429-31, Daniel McShane, Francis McShane, Jno. McShane & Elizabeth McShane to John Waits, 1813; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSJ1-937Q-F?i=643&cat=432725), digital film 008109176, images 644-45.

[12] Nicholas County, Kentucky, Deed Book C:365-66, John and Hannah Brown to Daniel, Francis, and John McShane, 1812, recorded 1813; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSJ1-9377-B?i=610&cat=432725), digital film 008109176, images 611-12.

[13] Nicholas County, Kentucky, Deed Book D:444-45, James Gray to Elizabeth McShane, 1816; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSK4-6B7J?i=244&cat=432725), digital film 008141837, images 245-46.

[14] Littell, William. The Statute Law of Kentucky; with Notes, Prælections, and Observations on the Public Acts, Vol. V, p. 452-53 (Frankfort: Butler & Wood, 1819; digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/LittellsStatutesVol5).

[15] 1820 U.S. census, Harrison County, Kentucky, population schedule, indexed as Marysville, pages 206-07 (stamped), lines 34-36, Daniel McShane, Francis McShane, and John Waits households; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7734); NARA M33, roll 23.

[16] “Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954,” digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5Z6-99C), digital film 004542911, image 357, Harrison County Marriage returns (loose papers), Daniel McShane and Nancy Talbott, 1820.

[17] “Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5Z8-SGZ), digital film 004542900, image 654, Harrison County marriage bond, Francis McShane and Daniel McShane, bride Theodosia Gray, 1816, and (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5Z8-VS6), digital film 004542911, image 132, Harrison County marriage return no. 1187, Francis McShane and Theodosia Gray, 1816.

[18] Bureau of Land Management, “Land Patent Search,” images, General Land Office Records (www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx), Francis McShane (Hamilton County, Indiana), patent nos. 6215 and 6216.

[19] Harrison County, Kentucky, Deed Book 9:435, Francis and Dosha McShane to Daniel McShane, 1825; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4L-B9YP-B?i=225&cat=431273), digital film 007900616, image 226.

 All online sites checked on 31 August 2023.