Jane Unknown (abt. 1710 - aft. 1769)

Wife of Joseph McClelland — married about 1745 (to 1759) in Augusta, Virginia

Descendants

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Biography

Jane was born about 1710. She passed away after 1769.

Sources

• Augusta County records specifying that she is the widow of Randolph McDonald

Records show that there were two similarly named women in Augusta County.

• Jane (McDonald) Clelland was the widow and administratrix of Randolph McDonald, who died in 1744, and mother of Alexander McDonald. Jane later married Joseph McClelland. Though she is identified as the widow of Randolph McDonald when relevant to the matter at hand, from 1746 on she is always referred to with the surname McClelland. Alexander is the only child ever mentioned in connection with Jane McClelland.

• Jennet McDonald was the administratrix of Randolph McDonald, who died in 1767, leaving his four sisters—Margaret, Mary, Jane, and Sarah—as his only heirs. If Alexander had been Randolph’s brother, he would also have inherited a share. Jennet McDonald’s relationship to Randolph and his sisters is never specified, and if she were Randolph’s mother, she should have inherited a share of his estate. Perhaps she was his stepmother.

The use of the surname Stark appears only in Lyman Chalkley, Chronicles of the Scotch-Iris Settlement in Virginia, Vol. 1, p. 337. The original record does not include the reference to Jennet Stark or the 1948 purchase referred to by Chalkley, and I have been unable to find any such purchase. Or any other land transactions during the relevant period involving the Stark name. Other sources say the that the suit involved land patented by Joseph Hannah in 1759. https://www.phillipsplace.net/genealogy/ps03/ps03_052.html https://www.phillipsplace.net/genealogy/wc_src/src003.html#C1092 https://www.phillipsplace.net/genealogy/wc_src/src003.html#C1093

Since the widow of Randolph McDonald and mother of Alexander is consistently referred to as Jane (Jean in one instance), and the name Jennet is consistently used for the administratrix of Randolph McDonald who died in 1767.

Therefore, the reference to Jennet Stark does not apply to the mother of Alexander McDonald. Further, there is no evidence that it is a maiden name. It could just as easily be a married name from a previous marriage.