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John Macklemore

Male 1700 - Abt 1767  (~ 69 years)


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  • Name John Macklemore  [1, 2
    Born Between 1698 and 1700  Albemarle Parish, Surry County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 3
    Gender Male 
    Died Abt 1767  Sussex County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 4
    Notes 
    • Grew to manhood in Virginia, and was left cash, not land, under his fathers will. His family remained in Virginia. (James L. McLemore, III, p 46).

      Probably named for Fortune's father....He was apparently born about 1698 to 1700, but could have been born as much as three or four years earlier. Unlike his siblings, however, he remained where he was born, in Albemarle Parish of Surry County (later Sussex County), Virginia, ending his days only a few miles southwest of the location of his father's abandoned 1714 land patent. He did not follow his parents and their other children into North Carolina, although it appears he may have acquired some property or other interests in South Carolina later in his life. Accordingly, John is known as the founder of the Virginia family, though one son also started a South Carolina line, and several grandsons also migrated southward and westward into North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama to start lines of their own. (James L. McLemore, III, p 54).

      A John MACKMORE is referenced on a November 13, 1713 patent issued by George WYCHE, but it is not known if this is our John Macklemore. The first certain reference to our John Macklemore was a patent issued to him on New Year's Eve, 1725 (March 24, 1725/6). This was for 150 acres of new land astride the county line between waht was then Surry and Isle of Wight Counties, on the south side of Nottoway River, on the north side of Three Creeks, on the east side of "the Great Ready Branch" (Patent Book 12, p. 441). He paid fifteen shillings for this land....he would have been required to be at least twenty-one....(therefore) would have been born not later than March 1704/5 (James L. McLemore, III, pp. 54-55).

      In addition to the 1725 patent described above, he witnessed a deed in 1730 in Bertie County, North Carolina, along with his brother Charles, apparently while on a visit to his family there. On May 21, 1746, the Surry County Court entered an order that he be paid 150 pounds of tobacco as a witness fee for appearing in a matter then before the court (Surry County Order Book, 1744-1749, p. 174). (James L. McLemore, III, p. 56).


      Will of John MacLemore
      (As transcribed by Mark Freeman)

      Will Book B, p. 108. "In The name of God Amen. I John Macklemore of Nottoway Parish in the County of Southhampton being of sound sense & memory do make this writing my last will & testament in form & manner following.

      Imprimis I give & bequeth to my son John Macklemore one pound current money.

      Item: I give & bequeath to my son Burrell Macklemore one pound current money.

      Item: I give & bequeath to my son Joel Macklemore the land & plantation I now live on containing two hundred and fifty acres be the same more or less, I say I give the said land to my said son Joell & to his heirs forever.

      Item I give to my Daughter Sarah Macklemore one pound current money.

      Item I give and bequeath to my Daughter Lydia Macklemore one feather bed & furniture, one cow & calf & one sow & piggs.

      Item I give the use of the following articles to my loving wife during her natural life and at her decease to my son Joell (that is to say) one feather bed & furniture, two cows & calves, and one sow & piggs, and one bay horse.

      Item I give and bequeath to my son Joell Macklemore, after my debts & funeral charges be paid, the rest and remainder of my estate of all kinds whatsoever and I do constitute & appoint my son Joell my sole executor of this my last will & testament as witness by hand this 17th day of March 1758.

      Witness: Edmund Pate, Abraham Wiggins, Joshua Nicholson, Jr.. In a Court held for Sussex County the 19th day of February 1767 the last Will & Testament of John Macklemore decd. was presented into Court by Faithy widow & relic of the said John and the said Faithy declared that she would not accept receive or take the lagacy or legacies to her given or bequeath'd by the said Will or any part thereof & did renounce all benefit & advantage which she might claim by the said Will which declaration on her motion is recorded. And thereupon on the motion of the said Faithy (Joell Macklemore the Executor in the said Will named being out of the Country) who made oath as the law directs and the said Will being proved by the oaths of Abraham Wiggins & Joshua Nicholson, Jr., two of the witnesses thereto & ordered to be recorded. Certificate is granted her for obtaining letters of administration of the Estate of the said Jo. Macklemore with the will annexed, giving security whereupon she with Joshua Nicholson & Charles Gilliam her securities entered into and acknowledged their bond for her due administration of the said estate. Exd. Teste: A. Claiborne, CSC.

      John Macklemore made his mark, "J", on the will.

      Faith Macklemore filed the household inventory, which consisted mostly of household furniture, etc. (Sussex Will Book B, p. 113). She also filed her accounting signed by her "Faithy V Macklemore" and recorded September 15, 1768 (Sussex Will Book B, p. 217). In it she showed a distribution of one pound current money to each of John's two older sons, John Jr. and Burrell, and also a similiar distribution to Thomas Clifton, the neighbor [and brother-in-law] of John Jr. (James L. McLemore, III, p. 58). John Macklemore Sr. may have also died owning property in South Carolina, as his nephew Richard McLamore was appointed on December 23, 1767 as administrator of the estate of John McLamore in that province, and following Richard's death in 1771, John's son Joel took over in his place. Indeed, when John's will was admitted to probate in Sussex County, Virginia, his widow Faithy had to qualify as administrator, since Joel, the named Executor, was "out of the country" (outside Virginia) at the time, and hence was probably in South Carolina helping to take care of matters there.

      In an 1986 letter to Rudy Leverett, Jim McLemore (the author) indicates that Simon TURNER was a witness to the will of John McLemore, Sr.
    • (Medical):For yDNA study of this branch of the McLemore family, see:

      http://strongfamilytree.org/showmedia.php?mediaID=2082

      Two descendants of John and Faith son Burwell, and one descendant of their son Joel, have tested their yDNA and are matches. They are all members of the E1b1 Haplogroup, which is rare in Western Europe.

      Edwin Holcombe indicates this branch of the McLemore family most closely match a number of members of a Hooper family.
    Person ID I20921  Strong Family Tree
    Last Modified 12 Feb 2019 

    Father James Macklemore,   b. Between 1660 and 1662, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 13 Feb 1732, Bertie County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 72 years) 
    Mother Fortune Gilliam,   b. Between 1668 and 1671, Surry County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 1736, Bertie County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 69 years) 
    Married Abt 1690  [2
    Family ID F7450  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Faith ???,   b. Bef 1703, Surry County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 1771, Sussex County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 68 years) 
    Married Abt 1718  Surry County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    • James L. McLemore, III notes that due to the great disparity in the age of their children, their may have been more than the five surviving children born to the couple. (James L. McLemore, III, p. 55).
    Children 
     1. John McLemore, Jr.,   b. Between 1719 and 1720, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Abt 1783, Southampton County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 64 years)
     2. Burwell McLemore, Sr.,   b. Bef 1721, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Abt 1798, Sussex County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 77 years)
     3. Sarah McLemore,   b. Aft 1722, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     4. Lydia McLemore,   b. Aft 1724, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     5. Joel McLemore,   b. 7 Jan 1739, Albemarle Parish, Sussex County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Abt 1795, Richland County, South Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 55 years)
    Last Modified 19 Jan 2009 
    Family ID F7449  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - Between 1698 and 1700 - Albemarle Parish, Surry County, Virginia Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarried - Abt 1718 - Surry County, Virginia Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - Abt 1767 - Sussex County, Virginia Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Documents
    McLemore DNA Study Results NOVEMBER 2011  (see spreadsheet PDF at bottom of this page)
    yNDA results of three direct male descendants of John Macklemore b. 1698 d. 1767 Virginia, husband of Faith, Green section of the spreadsheet, Haplogroup E3b
    The main purpose of this study was to prove that the immigrant founders of this family in America, James Macklemore and Abraham Macklemore, were brothers. If brothers, then the y-DNA of the direct male descendants of both men would match. However, instead of confirming this, it appears that we have AT LEAST two distinct yDNA groups, with three additional potential lines. The first cluster of matching yDNA has ten members, who are part of the R1b1a2 haplogroup (highlighted on the spreadsheet in salmon). The R1b DNA haplogroup, is the most common in Western Europe. Two of the ten participants can trace their lines back to the immigrant Abraham Macklemore, the husband of Mary Young. Another member (m268) can trace himself back to Moses McLemore b. ca. 1738 who is thought to be a son of Wright McLemore, grandson of William Macklemore, and great-grandson of the immigrant James Macklemore. If both these members are correct in their paper trails, AND if Amos can be proven to be a great-grandson of James Macklemore, then the assumption that James and Abraham have a common paternal ancestor is correct as descendants of both men share the same yDNA. The other seven members of this first cluster all have the McLemore surname, and all can trace their lineages back to McLemore men who predate the Civil War, but have not conclusively linked themselves back to either James or Abraham.

    The second cluster in the study have three members to date (this group is highlighted on the spreadsheet in green). They are all in the E1b1 Haplogroup, which is rare in Western Europe. All of them match each other, but do not match any other McLemores yet tested. All three of these members can trace their ancestry to John Macklemore of Virginia, the husband of Faith. Two of them descend from his son Burwell, and the third from his son Joel. But, as discussed above, IF we have also proven that the immigrants Abraham and James Macklemore are brothers, then it follows that John Macklemore could not be the biological son of the immigrant James, as the yDNA of these two clusters is very different.

    Our current thinking is that John was likely a son of Fortune?s and a stepson of James Macklemore, who raised him as his own. Alternatively, it may still be proven that James and Abraham were not brothers. They may share the same surname, but not the same paternal ancestry. More proven descendants of James and Fortune Macklemore will need to be tested to confirm or refute either theory.

    As an interesting side note, it had long been assumed that the Revolutionary War Soldier John McLemore, who lived for a time in North Carolina and died in Tennessee, was a son of Burwell MacLemore and Amy Gilliam. However, current DNA evidence indicates this could not be correct. This is because two descendants of Archibald McLemore of Knox County, TN, a son John McLemore the Revolutionary Soldier, are both part of the larger R1b1a2 cluster (highlighted in salmon). They do NOT match the DNA of Burwell?s other descendants in the E1b1 cluster. Therefore, it is evident that the John McLemore who moved to Tennessee and was the father of Archibald McLemore CAN NOT be the same John McLemore who was a son of Burwell McLemore.

    In addition to the two groups discussed above, there are three McLemore DNA volunteers who don?t match any of the McLemores in either of the first two groups, OR match each other. One of these men (highlighted in purple on the spreadsheet) is a descendant of Hiram McLemore of Lee County, VA and later Breathitt County, KY. Hiram has been speculated to be a son of John McLemore and Ruth Steelman, a grandson of Ephraim McLemore, and great grandson of the immigrant James. However, if James and Abraham Macklemore are brothers, then Hiram could not be a biological descendant of James. He would have to match the group of ten McLemore?s in the first group. Although Hiram McLemore's descendant is also part of the R1b1 Haplogroup, he is more than 10 markers removed (based on 25 markers tested) from being a match to any of the other R1b1 McLemore?s, and therefore could not share a common ancestor in a genealogically significant time period.

    The second unmatched volunteer (highlighted in blue) is a direct descendant of the McLemore family that moved from North Carolina to Jones County, GA and then onto Montgomery County, AL. He is part of the R1a haplogroup, common in many parts of Eurasia and Scandinavia. He can trace his line back through four generations of James McLemore?s to James Macklemore Jr, thought to be the son of James and Fortune. But again, if James and Abraham are brothers, then he could not be a biological descendant of James Macklemore, the immigrant.

    The third unmatched volunteer (highlighted in brown) descends from James Madison McLemore born 1861 in Louisiana and died & buried 1918 in Van Zandt County, Texas. He is thought to be a son of William Kearney McLemore b. 1825 and d. 1889, also buried in Van Zandt County, Texas. He is in the I1 haplogroup, which is the most common group in Scandinavia.

    It is currently not known why these McLemores do not yet match any other study members. It is possible that there were several founding McLemore lines, instead of just one as has been long assumed. Or another possibility could be that undisclosed adoptions have occurred through the generations of descendants of both James and/or Abraham.

    Please help us to continue to unravel these DNA mysteries by volunteering to take part in this study. Email me for more details (stxstrong@gmail.com), or you can enroll directly at this websites listed below.

    http://www.geneticousins.com/morrison/

    or here

    http://www.familytreedna.com/project-join-request.aspx?group=Morrison

    Also, if you have had your yDNA tested outside of the Morrison group, please let us know. We would be glad to add your results to the spreadsheet.

    If you have trouble viewing this spreadsheet, email me at stxstrong@gmail.com and I can send you an excel spreadsheet or PDF.


  • Sources 
    1. [S206] McLemore, James L. III ("The Early History of the McLemore Family of Virginia and the Carolinas"), p 40 (Reliability: 3).

    2. [S321] Freeman, Mark (mwfgenealogy@verizon.net) "Mostly Southern" http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=markfreeman ; Ver. 2008-09-19 17:51:13.

    3. [S206] McLemore, James L. III ("The Early History of the McLemore Family of Virginia and the Carolinas"), p 40, p 54 (Reliability: 3).

    4. [S206] McLemore, James L. III ("The Early History of the McLemore Family of Virginia and the Carolinas"), Chart II (Reliability: 3).