Elijah Cannon McWhorter (1790 - 1866)

Born 1790 in Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Pigg) McWhorter — married 13 Jun 1811 in Clay County, Kentucky

Descendants

Died 1866 at about age 76 in Clay, Kentucky, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Paula McWhorter [send private message]

Biography

Elijah was born in 1790. (He was 60 years old at the time of the 1850 Census.)^[1] He was the son of John McWhorter and Elizabeth McClure. He passed away in 1866.

Elijah and Polly McWhorter's life in Clay County, KY

Elijah McWhorter was born about 1790 in VA. His father and family moved to Lincoln County, TN (now Casey County) Ky.

Later, when salt was discovered in Clay County, he moved the family there to try to make his fortune in salt. He was elected sheriff of the county.

Through poor business management he went broke and settled on a tract of forest land where he lived and died.

He married Polly Pigg on June 13, 1811 in Clay County. Her parents had lived in Casey County and had also moved to Clay County about the same time Elijah moved there.

His name appears on the 1811 Clay County Tax List. James McWhorter and William Pigg are listed, also.

It was Polly’s brother, Lewis, who married Elijah’s half sister, Sarah, and it is believed that the wife of James was also a sister of Polly Pigg.

In his will, written in 1820, William Pigg left to Elijah McWhorter “all my right and claim to the mill I built on the Rockcastle River.” So it must have been from William that Elijah learned to be a millwright.

Elijah’s grandson, John J. Crittenden McWhorter, left this description:

“My grandfather McWhorter was an unusually large man. As I remember him, he would have weighed more than three hundred pounds. He owned and operated a water mill, which he had built himself, and being a millwright, many more in other streams were monuments to his genius along that line.” ^[2]

1810 U. S. Census

In 1810, Elijah McWhriter [original spelling] is listed as a household of 1 male aged 16-25 [Elijah] in Clay County, Kentucky.

1820 U. S. Census

In 1820 Elijah McWhirter had the following listing: 3 males under 3, 1 male 26-44 [Elijah]; 1 female under 10, 1 female 16-25 [Polly] (per Ancestry's transcription.) Next to him are listed the William Pigg and Paul Pigg households. The date was 07 August 1820.

1830 U. S. Census

in 1830, Elijah McWhirter had the following listing: 1 male under 5, 1 male 10-14, 2 males 15-19, 1 male 40-50 [Elijah]; 1 female under 5, 1 female 5-9, 1 female 10-15, 1 female 30-39 [Polly]; 1 female slave 10-23. (per Ancestry's transcription. The transcription provided by Ancestry leaves out male 40-45 and female 10-15 and have been added.)

1840 U. S. Census

In 1840, Elijah McWherter had the following listing: 1 male 15-19, 1 male 50-59 [Elijah]; 1 female under 5, 1 female 5-9, 1 female 10-14, 1 female 15-19, 1 female 40-49 [Polly]; no slaves. Jesse McWherter is next door. (per Ancestry's transcription.)

1850 U.S. Census

In 1850 Elijah McWhorter, age 60, lived with his family in Clay County, KY.He was born in Virginia, and the rest of the family members were born in Kentucky. With him lived:

• Mary McWhorter (64)
  
• Perry McWhorter (27)
  
• Sarah McWhorter (18)
  
• Lucretia McWhorter (13)
  

Elijah and Perry were listed as farmers. The value of real estate is $900, written next to Perry's name, so perhaps this was his farm and his parents lived with him. ^[3]

Conclusions: The fact that Mary in this household close to the same age of Elijah and the wife in the family story is named Polly does not mean that there were two wives. Polly was a common nickname for Mary at the time. The household enumerated immediately before this one is headed by Mary McWhorter, age 20, with a three-month old son named George. She could have been the oldest child of Polly and Elijah, unmarried, or the widow of one of their children.

1860 U.S. Census

In 1860, Elijah McWhorter was a farmer with $1500 in real estate and $500 in personal property. He lived near Perry and Thomas McWhorter. His household included:

• Elijah McWhorter, age 70
• Mary, age 65
• Susan Baker (house servant), age 20 ^[4]

1866 Death

Elijah and other McWhorter family members are buried in the Ben Hacker Cemetery.^[5][6]

A memorial marker for Elijah McWhorter and Polly Pigg McWhorter in the Ben Hacker Cemetery says Elijah McWhorter was born in 1790 and died in 1866 and Polly Pigg McWhorter was born in 1796 and died in 1872.^[7]

Elijah was born in 1790. He passed away in 1866.

Sources

• https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search_descendants/?action=list&MyPrimary_Seqn=1299903&MyLineageCount=1

1. ↑ 1850 U.S. Federal Population Census, Genealogical Society Number: 4192487, Film Number: 442965, Line Number: 3, National Archives, Courtesy of FamilySearch.org. Accessed via Archives.com July 5, 1012 by Karen Wilhelm
2. ↑ The Clay County Genealogical and Historical Society
3. ↑ 1850 U.S. Federal Population Census, Genealogical Society Number: 4192487, Film Number: 442965, Line Number: 3, National Archives, Courtesy of FamilySearch.org. Accessed via Archives.com July 5, 1012 by Karen Wilhelm
4. ↑ 1860 U.S. Federal Population Census, Clay County, Kentucky, page 142. National Archives, Courtesy of FamilySearch.org, NARA Publication No.:M653. Image retrieved from Archives.com by Karen Wilhelm, May 4, 2015.
5. ↑ The Clay County Genealogical and Historical Society
6. ↑ Ben Hacker Cemetery. These graves were recorded by the Clay County Genealogical and Historical Society and by Joyce Helton and Debi H. Kendrick for the Clay County section of the Kentucky American Genealogy and History Project.
7. ↑ Burial: Ben Hacker Cemetery, Clay County, Kentucky, USA. Record added: Apr 27, 2008. Find A Grave Memorial# 26437665.

• 1810 United States Federal Census, Clay County, Kentucky. Ancestry.com. Accessed online 13 January 2024.

• 1811 Clay County Tax List (names 0nly) https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~twspence/tim/clay/tax/1811.html. Accessed online 14 January 2024.

• 1820 United State Federal Census, Clay County, Kentucky. Ancestry.com. Accessed online 14 January 2024.

• 1830 United State Federal Census, Clay County, Kentucky. Ancestry.com. Accessed online 14 January 2024.

• 1840 United State Federal Census, Clay County, Kentucky. Ancestry.com. Accessed online 14 January 2024.

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