Biography of Michael McKee, Sr
In 1800, MICHAEL was listed as being age 26-45 on the Federal Census for Abbeville District, SC and his household was enumerated on the same page as ADAM McKEE and MARTHA McKEE (THOMAS' widow). MICHAEL would have married before 1797. Because of requirements that folks go to Charleston in order to be "officially" married, most marriages in the South Carolina highlands during that era went unrecorded -- this one included. From the family bible passed through the line of their oldest son (William, who remained in SC) we learned that Michael's first wife was named "Margrit" and that she died in 1828.
The 1810 Census shows MICHAEL still residing in Abbeville District near his mother's household. Both he and his wife were still shown as age 26-45 so this would narrow calculation of their years of birth to 1774-1784. One son and one daughter from the 1800 enumeration had apparantly died or married as there were only two children over age 10 -- a daughter aged 16-26 (which would signify that Mary was born a little earlier than indicated by later records) and a son aged 10-16 (WILLIAM). There were five boys and one girl under age ten and we find corresponding McKEE references in Jefferson County, MO which at least tentatively account for all of them. The youngest known son by that first marriage, ADAM HARVEY McKEE was born the next year.
While there is no evidence that MICHAEL accompanied his brother WILLIAM SETH on the wagon train to Missouri ca.1811-1817, tradition holds that he did and that he and the McKAY's settled in present-day Jefferson County while WILLIAM SETH went on westward toward the Gasconade River. The Missouri Gazette, an early Missouri newspaper published in St. Louis, has a notice on October 23, 1818 that Michael McKee of Joachim Township, St. Louis County took up a roan horse about 12 years old, appraised at $25.. However, in September 1820 we find MICHAEL among the purchasers at ADAM Jr's estate sale back in SC. He must have journeyed back when his brother died. His brother JOHN was also in Abbeville District at that time and administered Adam Jr.s estate although he was not on the 1820 census.. Long and arduous journeys to be with family in time of crisis were not so uncommon as many of us might believe, which tells us something about "the pioneer spirit".
On both the 1830 and 1840 census enumerations, MICHAEL McKEE was listed while residing in Big River Township of Jefferson County, MO. On the 1830 enumeration his son ARCHIBALD was in a separate household a few pages later with a female aged 60-70 and a son under age 5. We can speculate that ARCHIBALD's wife died (perhaps in childbirth) and an older relative (possibly Aunt MARGERET McKAY?) was there to help care for the child. Three pages earlier we find MICHAEL (age 60-70) listed with three sons aged 20-30 and one son aged 15-20. The youngest son would have been ADAM HARVEY. One of the older boys plus the two girls probably married/left home by 1830.
The 1840 census for Jefferson County is extremely difficult to read, so is subject to greater copying error but it shows MICHAEL as still in the age 60-70 age bracket and now the household included a female aged 40-50, two boys aged 15-20, one boy aged 5-10 and a girl aged 5-10. This posed something of a mystery until it was learned that MICHAEL married the widow of JOHN GAMBLE, Jr during the early 1830s and started a second family. As we shall see a little further along, MICHAEL Junior was married to John & Lucinda's daughter making his step-mother his mother-in-law as well.. The census lists MICHAEL Sr. and MICHAEL Jr. in adjacent households (page 196, lines 25-26), sons BENJAMIN & JOSEPH on lines 6-7, HARVAY (ADAM) on line 22 and several WILSON/GAMBLE/McKAY/McKEIN "in-laws" on the intervening lines. The two teen-aged boys would have been GAMBLE children by LUCINDA's first marriage and the two aged 5-10 were from their "second family".
The marriage between MICHAEL McKEE Sr and
LUCINDA nee WHITNEY must have occurred during 1830 or 1831 for their daughter,
OLIVE, was born ca.1832. Their son
SETH WHITNEY McKEE was born 28 Jun 1835. No
record of the marriage was found in Jefferson County perhaps they went to a
neighboring county to be married. The
marriage is confirmed by research of descendents Betty Barrett Harman/Katherine
Bond and by correspondence between MICHAEL Jr and SETH WHITNEY concerning the
death of MICHAEL Jr's wife.
MICHAEL McKEE Sr. presumably died in Jefferson County on the 23rd of April, 1845, as evidenced by the family bible. No estate record could be found for him, but a land transaction (Book G, Pg.349) during 1845, transferred land to the children by his second marriage (Olive & Seth W), thus "taking care of" the last of his known children. Most likely the reason no estate record appears for him (either in ledger or in probate files) is that he had seen to the distribution before he died. There are reportedly several unmarked graves in the Bethlehem Cemetery where some of his children/grandchildren are buried so quite possibly he was buried there.
LUCINDA died less than a year after Michael (February 1846 per family bible).