MacMahans in Scotland and Noteworthy Laird s
McMahans in the Thirteen Colonies and Early America, Including Tennessee, below the Mason Dickson Line.
John and Jenny McMahan's Children
Archibald and Ann Payne McMahan and Their Children
Jessie and Caroline Barrett McMahan and their Children
William Lawrence and Ida Barron McMahan and their Children
References and
Sources: The Colonial
American South
Other Descendents of John and Jenny McMahan
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Ti gerville reache d
from this li
THE ARCHIBALD MCMAHAN "HOME PLACE"
East of Easley, South Carolina, near the intersection of
Saluda Dam Road and Prince Perry Road in Pickens County
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| View of the front of the house from the Northwest (Photo taken in 1994 | This is the Eastern side. The section on the left with two fireplaces was the part built around 1806 (Photo taken in 1994) |
The house that stood until 1995 on what remains of the old home place established by Archibald McMahan in 1806 was a two story frame structure with a long wing running directly off the rear of the house. The house was situated facing north on the center of a long ridge which runs east and west. The barn was located on the west side of the house with the openings facing east. There is some speculation that the original road running east and west through this region passed directly in front of and close to the house.
The existing dug well was located 40' west of the house, and The family cemetery is located south east of the house on a knoll 200 yards away.
A local historian suggested that the family built a temporary shelter when they first moved onto the property and lived there while they built the barn. Then they built the first permanent structure, probably in 1806, which is now a rear wing on the house.
The first house was one story, approximately 21' across the front, 20' on the left side, facing the front and 15' 7" across the back. The house was 20' on the right side with several wall segments.
There was a fireplace centered in the left wall with a plain, Charleston style mantle of that period. The first coat of paint had been light blue. There was 2 1/2" crown molding in the house with 10 foot ceilings. The brick work in the supporting columns and in the chimney was older, and distinct from the brick in the rest of the house, although all of it appeared to be hand made There were very large foundation stones under this portion of the house measuring 4' x 3' x 2'. There was a screen porch on the right rear section of the house. This may have been closed and a part of the original house and turned into a porch later.
A second wing was added to the house, probably between 1815 and 1820 which was 42' 11" on either side and 16' across the front and rear. This section joined the right front corner of the original house. Over the years the ceilings in this section were lowered. As the house began to deteriorate, the original ceiling could be seen and it was close to 14 feet high. This section was divided into three rooms with back to back fire places with mantles between the back two rooms. The back room was 18'11" x 16' 16" with a window on each side wall and door opening into the original house.
The middle room was 15'6" x 16' with a window on each side and a door on the right side, and the front room was 8'6" with a door centered on the front wall and a window on the left wall. The front or last section of the house, which was probably built between 1835-1845, was two story, 40' across the front and 17' deep, with a 12' front porch running across the entire width of the house. The house featured a "sawtooth dental molding across the front and down each the side of this section which was more than 4" wide. The front hall in the downstairs was 9' wide and 17'3" deep with a 3' stair case going up to the second floor attached to the left wall in the hall. It had 2"x 2" plain square balusters going up the steps. There were three doors in the hall, one leading to the older, middle section of the house at the end of the hall and one leading to a room on each side. The room to the left was 15'4" x 17'3" and the room to the right was 16'4" x 17'3". There was a fireplace with mantle on each outside wall, and a door leading from the room on the left into the older section of the house and a door leading to a closet under the staircase. The downstairs windows measured 4'9" x 5'4".Upstairs the rooms on either side of the hall were the same size as those below them and each had a fireplace with mantle. There was a small room, 8' x 8 'In front of the staircase over the front hall with a window. The upstairs windows measured 4' 1/4" x 3'6". The ceilings in the newest portion of the house were 10'. There was a small brick one story building 6' x 8" between the house and barn which probably served as a cellar for storing food. The floor was dirt and was 4' below the surface of the ground.
Other information related to the Archibald McMahan homeplace:
On July 26,1813, Archibald purchased 300 acres of land on George's Creek from Sam l. C. Duff. On September 13, 1821 he purchased 320 acres on Fork Georges Creek from Thomas Payne, giving him a known total of 620 acres. (Indirect Grantee Index to Conveyance Books 1790-1948, S.C. Archives, Columbia, S.C). There is no information available at this point on Archibald's will. Archibald or Anne upon her death, may have divided the land among the sons, Washington, Jessie, James and Alexander.
Two of James's daughters, Mary and Elizabeth McMahan and their brother William never married, and lived in the house until Elizabeth and William had passed away. Shortly after Elizabeth's death in 1918, Mary moved to Greenville. When she passed away in 1944 she was buried in the family cemetery.
This may indicate that James received the house and some of the adjoining land when his mother (Ann) died. Then when James died, Mary, Elizabeth and William continued to live in the house. This is generally supported by records which indicate that Jessie, Washington and Alexander each had land in the area.
On January 2, 1842 Alexander McMahan purchased 133 acres in the area of Big George's Creek. This was the year after Archibald's death, and Alexander may have been expanding his holdings, if Archibald's land was divided at this point. (Deed Book D-1, p.555, Pickens County Court House).
On July 30, 1870, Jessie Sold James 106 acres of land on George's Creek. Immediately after this, Jessie moved to a site on Little River in Oconee County. In the deed, it is noted that this land adjoined the land of among others, G.W. McMahan (This may be their brother, Washington McMahan), James McMahan and Jane McMahan. (Jane was Jane Kemmerer, the wife of Alexander. He died in 1862). (Deed Book A-2, P. 395 Pickens County Court House).
James McMahan (Some references call him James Duff) had three sons, William, Archibald (Often referred to as "Arch") Franklin Jay and two daughters Elizabeth Ann and Mary Martha. A number of the available deed references go back to these five, including the donation of land to the Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church and the establishment of protection for the family cemetery.
264 acres were sold to William by his brother Franklin Jay on May 30, 1879. Franklin died November 26, 1879. (Deed Book D, p. 349, Pickens County Court House) Arch McMahan sold William all of his interest in the Estate of James McMahan which consisted of 254 acres for $400. This took place on the 23rd of December, 1879. (Deed Book P, p. 561. Pickens County Court House). That same day Arch sold William 90 acres of land for $250.00. (Deed Book P, p. 562, Pickens County Court House).
On March 10, 1885 William, Elizabeth and Mary McMahan gave 2+ acres of land to the officers of the Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church "so long as it shall be used for church purposes". This church was constructed in the wooded area to the left of the home place. (In 1969 the church was still standing with pews, pulpit and bible still in place. Pictures exist of the structure taken in that year.) (Deed Book G-2, p. 304, Pickens County Court House).
William McMahan died on February 14, 1916. Upon his death, his brother Arch and his niece Cleo Latham (daughter of Franklin) conveyed all of their interest in the real estate of William to Elizabeth and Mary McMahan. This included 190 acres of land which was a part of the James McMahan tract of land which originally contained 264 acres. (Deed Book UU, p. 292).
Elizabeth died on June 2, 1919. There was no indication of any property transfers, so the above property was probably jointly held by the sisters. Mary McMahan died on October 21, 1944. On February 15, 1945 her property was sold to F.W. Whitmire for $8,950. W.T. McMahan was listed as the administrator of the will. (Deed Book 5-D, p. 159, Pickens County Court House.)
The two acres donated to the church trustees was no longer in use for church purposes in early 1969, and the trustees, by deed dated June 17, 1969, conveyed the property back to the heirs of the original grantors.
At this point the descendants of Arch and Franklin (William, Elizabeth and Mary had no children) were identified, and the two acres were sold to J.T. Pace, who already owned land on all but the north side of the property. (Deed Book 12-B, p. 289, Pickens County Court House)
In 1987 180 acres known as the J.T. Pace place which includes the house and outbuildings, was sold to Mr. James H. Roberson, P.O. Box 1311 Clemson, SC 29633. Roberson bought the McMahan place as a land investment. The house, which had suffered termite damage by this time began to deteriorate. The barn, which was built with very large hand hewn timbers was pushed down in 1997.
The house itself was knocked down by the Roberson's in 1995 and subsequently burned.
© 2020 Gary L. McMahan