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