James McGrew

Abt 1744 - Abt 1797  (53 years)

• Name	James McGrew  [1, 2]
  Birth	Abt 1744  [3]
  Gender	Male
  Death	Abt 1797	St. Stephens, Mississippi Territory   [2]
  Notes	According to Feldman's ANGLO-AMERICANS IN SPANISH ARCHIVES (p 27) he and John McGrew were American residents of Mobile on January 1, 1786. Wynema McGrew writes (p. 7) that he may also have been a royalist and left the Carolinas in the late 1770s of early 1780s, moving to area that became the Mississippi Territory, as had his older brother John. He received a Spanish land grant in 1788. The following information is courtesy of Ester McGrew Hardin, and was originally prepared by Robert Lee McGrew of Pearland, Texas in December 1986. Some additional information has been added to his work from loose papers owned by Mrs. Hardin and from the book THE SOUTHERN McGREWS GREW by Everette L. McGrew, 2106 Freeland Way, Dallas TX 75228. James witnessed the sale of property on March 30, 1770 in Tyrone County, North/South Carolina by Alexander Kilpatrick on both sides of the Pacelot River. This is near where his brother, John, had bought land October 9, 1770. The brothers left Tyrone County in 1778, with their wives and children, and settled in Mississippi. James settled, however, in the area of St. Stephens, Alabama, on the banks of the Tombigbee River. This was a remote area with few settlers. The boundaries of Washington County at that time were the Chattahooche River on the east, Pearl River on the west, the 31st parallel on the south, and 32 degrees, 28 minutes on the north. From this 25,000 square miles, 26 counties in Mississippi and Alabama were later formed. Many of these early settlers from the Carolinas and Georgia were in the territory as early as 1775, and as such were subject to the laws of the ruling Spanish Government. In keeping with Spanish regulations, the commandant of the Alabama Fort of San Esteban de Tombecbe compiled in 1797 a census of the settlers of the district. This list contained fifty-one (51) families; two of which were those of John and James McGrew. They became leaders of their settlement and were successful planters living on large plantations and active in early territory politics. James's brother, John McGrew, Sr., became on of the wealthiest planters in the south, owning approximately 4000 acres. On the 1808 tax rolls, he paid a tax of $25.05 on 29 slaves and a 640 acre section. Mrs. Hardin had in her papers a copy of a letter from The Catholic Center, Archdiocese of Mobile, Mobile, Alabama dated January 27, 1982. It showed the following baptism's: Ana (Nancy), Maria Casia (Keziah), Guillermo (William), Juan (John), children of Santiago (James) and Constancia Tibbett (Constance Tillet) Magrew, (Protestants). Dated 17 Nov 1788. Recorded Page 31, Bapt. Rcds. Bk #2. Under Spanish regulations all residents were required to have their children baptized by a Catholic priest, even if they were not Catholic. JAMES McGREW, had died in 1797 at the age of 57. According to THE SOUTHERN McGREWS GREW a James McGrew of St. Stephen's obtained a passport to go to Georgia on 8 January 1797. Possibly James died while on this trip? James's widow, Constance, and children petitioned the Congress of the United States of American for title to his land, since the original title had been a Spanish grant, and as of 1799 the territory had been taken over by the United States. John also petitioned for his land. Many letters were written to President Thomas Jefferson, and to the Congress of the United States. These were signed by John Flood McGrew, William McGrew, John McGrew, Sr, and John McGrew, Jr. [Col. John Flood McGrew was a member of the Territorial Council, and friend of Chief Pushmataha, chief of the Choctaw tribe]. These petitions were granted and full titles to the lands in question were given to the two McGrew families. John and his children prospered during the next few years, as did Constance McGrew and her grown children. Constance tried to also obtain a grant for an additional 604 acres of land, but was denied. She and her children later sold the 400 acres of their land to Wm. and John Pierce. Below, from the AMERICAN STATE PAPERS Volume 1, p. 686, is the summary of the hearing related to the land grant of James and Constantia McGrew in the Mississippi territory: The heirs of James McGREW, case no. 53 on the docket of the Board, and no. 73 on the books of the Register. Claim--Of 400 acres, by virtue of a Spanish warrant of survey, under the first section of the act. The claimants presented their claim, together with a surveyor's plot of the land claimed, in the following words and figures, to wit: To the Commissioners appointed in pursuance of the act of Congress passed the 3rd day of March, 1803, to receive and adjust claims of lands east of Pearl River. Please take notice, that the following tract of land, situated on the west side of the river Tombigbee, butting and bounded as follows: beginning on a corner cotton tree, above Reams's line and lands claimed by Young Gains, &c, about two miles below Fort St. Stephen's, (supposed;) thence, running south, eighteen degrees west, one hundred and twenty-six chains fifty links, to a corner red oak; ...... thence, down the meanders of the river to the first mentioned station; .....is claimed by James McGrew, or by his heirs, to wit: Peggy McGrew, Eliza McGrew or Eliza De Castro, Alexander McGrew, Giles McGrew, James McGrew, Jane McGrew, Nancy McGrew, Keziah McGrew, John McGrew, and Wm. McGrew, children of said James McGrew, under and by virtue of a Spanish warrant or order of survey, granted unto him, the said James McGrew, on the day of; and the said claimant did, on the 27th day of October, 1795, inhabit and cultivate the tract herein specified, agreeably to the requistions of the first section of an act of Congress, entitled an act, and the same does not appear to be claimed by any preceding provision of the act, and now exhibited to the Register of the Land Office, established east of Pearl river, to be recorded as is directed by said act. To all which they beg leave to refer, as also to the plot hereto fixed, &c, &c. Presented February 29th, 1804, by Elizabeth De Castro, her X mark. Witness, Edwin Lewis. Surveyed in February, 1804, by Robert Ligon. Chain carriers, Young Gains, Dawson Grimes. In support of this claim, a Spanish warrant of survey was exhibited in the following words and figures, to wit: Don Estevan Miro, Colonel of the royal army, Governor civil and military of the city and province of Louisiana,&c.,&c. Mobile, 12th January, 1788. James McGrew, inhabitant of this jurisdiction of Mobile, with the greatest respect to your excellency, represents and says, that there is on the Tombigee river ten acres of vacant land, which until now, has never been claimed by any proprietor; he begs your excellency to grant him, with the profounder customery, with papers of titles necessary from the Secretary of Government, that may correspond witht he concession; for which favor he will be forever thankful. (signed) James McGrew. Certified by Vicent Folch. . Both Wynema McGrew, the author of a book about the Descendants of James McGrew, and G.E. McGrew, 132 Lausanne Drive, Camden, SC 29020 suggest that the McGrews of South Carolina are from Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland, and landed in Charleston SC in May, 1773. See LDS Alm(?) 874714, at the Orangeburg Historical Society in South Carolina. Esther McGrew Hardin instead speculates that the McGrew's might be descended from Quaker families originally from Pennsylvania. Many McGrew's can be found in Orange County, North Carolina records. Additionally, in the corner of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware, many members of the Blackburn, Means and McGrew families were all kin, a pattern of intermarriage between these families that continued for many generations. It is possible they came to Pennyslvania from Omagh.
  Person ID	I2104	Strong Family Tree
  Last Modified	17 Aug 2014

  
  

  Father	Alexander McGrew,   b. Bef 1715   d. Aft 11 Oct 1776, South Carolina (Age 61 years)
  Mother	Margaret ???,   b. Aft 1715   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F1378	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Constance Tillett,   b. Abt 1752   d. Between 1805 and 1808, St. Stephens, Mississippi Territory (Age 53 years)
  Marriage	Bef 1774	South Carolina
  Children	1. Elizabeth McGrew,   b. Abt 1774, South Carolina d. Between 1830 and 1840 (Age 56 years)   2. Margaret "Peggy" McGrew,   b. Abt 1777, South Carolina d. Yes, date unknown   3. Alexander McGrew,   b. Bef 1783, St. Stephens, Mississippi Territory d. 2 Oct 1849, Milam, Sabine County, Texas (Age 66 years)   4. James Tate McGrew,   b. Bef 1783, St. Stephens, Mississippi Territory d. Aft 1839, County of Robertson, Republic of Texas (Age 57 years)   5. Giles "Joel" McGrew,   b. Bef 1783, St. Stephens, Mississippi Territory d. Bef 1847, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana (Age 64 years)   6. Jane McGrew,   b. Bef 1783, St. Stephens, Mississippi Territory d. Yes, date unknown   7. Nancy Ann McGrew,   b. 27 Nov 1783, St. Stephens, Mississippi Territory d. Yes, date unknown   8. Mary Keziah McGrew,   b. 26 Jun 1785, St. Stephens, Mississippi Territory d. Yes, date unknown   9. John McGrew,   b. 24 Jun 1788, St. Stephens, Mississippi Territory d. Abt 1835-1836, Covington, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana (Age 47 years)   10. William McGrew,   b. 24 Jun 1788, St. Stephens, Mississippi Territory d. 21 Jun 1876, Rockport, Aransas County, Texas (Age 87 years)
  Family ID	F1161	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	27 Jul 2014

  
  

• Event Map		Marriage - Bef 1774 - South Carolina Death - Abt 1797 - St. Stephens, Mississippi Territory  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S89] Feldman, Lawrence ANGLO-AMERICANS IN SPANISH ARCHIVES (Genealogy Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD, 1991). [S202] McGrew, Wynema THE JAMES McGREW FAMILY (1744-1797) Second Edition, 1999, p. 11 (Reliability: 3). [S202] McGrew, Wynema THE JAMES McGREW FAMILY (1744-1797) Second Edition, 1999, p. 11, She cites the 1797 census of the San Estevan De Tombechebe District, taken in 1796, which shows him as age 52, putting his year of birth as ca 1744 (Reliability: 3).