Ok I now have 8 plus pages on this whole puzzle.
Briefly I will abstract the important stuff. This way
it will be on line and offer "proof " to others.
This from an article written by Harold Grier McCurdy
Chapel Hill NC and published in The Virginia
Genealogist pages 243-249. Actually there are more
pages but only going to abstract from these pages.
Ann
James MacGregor died in Maryland before Feb.5,1676/7.
Thomas Mackgehee died in Va after 7/27/1727.
Crucial to the argument are the undiscovered family
letters of the immigrant referred to by Browning in
his Magna Charta Barons and Their Descendants then
Malcom H. Harris repeated the story in Old New Kent
County ...( longer title and I'm not typing it all)
and compared with Burke's Peerage and Baronetage.
Harold says that he looked in vain for the lettes at
the Virginia Historical Society and was assured by an
archivist at the Virginia State Library and by the
curator of manuscripts at the Earl Gregg Swem Library
of the College of Wiliam and Mary that NO SUCH LETTERS
ARE TO BE FOUND IN THEIR COLLECTIONS. Dr. Malcolm
Harris says he was simply relying on Browning.
The earliest published account of Thomas MackGehee's
will of 1727 seems to be in James Edmonds Saunders,
Early Settlers of Alabama and there is no mention in
that book of either family letters or the supposition
that he was originally a MacGregor. ( I have this book
and Mr. McCurdy is correct. I just looked and there is
no mention)
"Burke's Peerage and Baronetage agrees with Browning
in making Marian MacDonald the wife of Patrick
MacGregor but calls her a daughter of MacDonald of
Auchatrichatan ( not of James McDonald of Slate) and
goes on to say that Patrick's sons were: John the
heir; James, a major in the army who settled in
America; and Duncan, who died unmarried. Further it
was not John the heir of Patrick who adopted the name
John Murray, but a son of John's flourishing in 1715
at the time of the Jacobite uprising. As for James,
nothing is said about his having become Thomas
MackGehee, and indeed he must have been born too early
to have survived until 1727 as the father of Thomas
MackGehee's children, three who were under age at the
date of his will. In view of Burke's statement that
James MacGregor was a major in the army combined with
the following words by Sir Iian Moncreiffe of the Ilk,
Albany Herald, in his The Highland Clans:" To get away
from it all, in the mid seventeenth century one
brother of the then chieftan of the Children of the
Mist emigrated to America, WHERE HE WAS SCALPED BY THE
INDIANS"
As early as 1649, four years after Montrose's battles
of 1645, a James Macgregor was in Maryland, and by
1650, the year of Montrose's execution was established
as a land owner in VA in partnership with Hugh Fouch.
In Cavaliers and Pioneers written by Nell M. Nugent
there are numerous references to the landholdings of
James MacGregor and Hugh Fouch. ( I have some of these
references with page numbers and books but I will have
to dig back out.) They are usually linked and always
in Northumberland County. Again the names are
butchered such as Metgrigar and Foutch and Magregory.
If anyone wants some of the actual transactions let me
know I just don't feel like typing them all here.
MacGregor and Fouch were active in Northumberland Co
for more than a decade.
On April 13,1652 James MacGregor was taking the oath
of allegiance to the Commonwealth signing with his
mark ( NOT STATING THAT HE WAS MCGEHEE).
Moriall MacGregor made a deposition in a slander case
on Nov. 21,1653. "presumably, Moriall, a woman of 34
was James MacGregor's wife; and that suggests that he
was probably born before 1619."
James MacGregor's son Hugh is mentioned in a court
record of a gift of a calf to him on 9/20/1662 by Hugh
Fouch. On 4/22/1662 in another entry James gives his
son Hugh a cow and a heifer to replace the cow given
to him by Hugh Fouch and killed by James's servants.
Before settling in Virginia James and Hugh Fouch were
in Maryland. James Macgreggar was named as a defendant
in a suit brought by Walter P( can't read the rest of
his name)in 1649 and Hughe Fouche was on the tax list
for Kent Co Dec.16,1642.
While MacGregor and Fouch were still residents in Va
the court of Talbot Co. MD took action against
MacGregor in a fashion indicating that he had property
in that county.( 2/12/1662/3 court ordered that the
estate of James Magrerory should be charged with a
debt of 300 pounds...)
James Macgregor moved to MD. Feb.16,1664/5 he applied
for renewal of his patent for 1000 acres in MD and
referred to himself as a Virginia planter.
There is an entry in MD Warrents p 510 which indicates
MacGregor's intention of moving from VA to MD. In 1665
James Magregory actually did enter Maryland along
with Hugh Magregory. Since Moriall MacGregor did not
accompany them it is presumed that she died. MacGregor
had prepared for the move by selling 600 acres of his
VA land to Richard SPAN(sic).
9/24/1665 he obtained in MD 500 acres for transporting
himself and his son and 8 other people. Hugh Fouch
remained in VA until he sold his land in 1670 to
Thomas Hughes. I have names of his wife and daughters
if anyone wants them.
There's more mention of land dealings in MD.
One transaction dated Jan.1694/5 states James
Mackgregory father of Hugh. Later in another
transaction Hugh's wife Elizabeth Mackgregory was made
power of attorney by Hugh this was in Cecil Co.on
8/8/1692. She states in another transaction of
Jan.1694/5 " dear husband Hugh Mackgregory of Cecill
County was absent having ocation to travvile out of
this province into forraigne parts"
The will of James MacGregor was proved in Maryland on
Feb.5,1676/7 by Abraham Bondwell. I have the
transcription of the will if anyone is interested.
Very brief and mentions son High Magruger and leaves
his wearing clothes to Hugh Fouche.