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Last Updated On 21 December 2006 James McHugh was born 23-August-1825. Memoirs of Georgia claims he was born in Morgan County, GA. However, I believe he was born in Gwinnett County, GA and later moved to Morgan County. There is no record of his father, Charles, ever living in Morgan County. Furthermore, the interview with Mary Prudence McHugh Williams, James' daughter, states "Grampa was born in Gwinnett County." Memoirs of Georgia states "James McHugh, farmer, Rutledge, was born in Morgan County in 1825, and is the son of Charles and Mary (Pritchell) McHugh. His grandfather, George McHugh, was a native of Ireland, and came to America before the revolutionary war and served with the patriots in that conflict. He first settled in Virginia on coming here, then moved to South Carolina, where he remained until his death. Charles, a son of George, was born in South Carolina, came to Georgia in 1815, and settled among the Indians. He was a teacher most of his life, and was employed in the early academies and colleges. He was justice of the peace for over twenty-five years. His wife was the daughter of Joshua Pritchell, one of the early residents of the state. Mr. James McHugh was reared on the home farm and received his schooling in the old-time log cabin and by the aid of the pine knot fireside. When he was seventeen years of age he left home and went to Stone Mountain and began work for the Georgia Railroad, continuing there until about ten years ago, or over thirty-eight years. When he left home all of his possessions were a homespun sack of clothes, which had been spun and woven by his mother, but his industry and energy brought him success, and at the time of the breaking out of the war he was in good financial circumstances. The war wrested from him the larger part of his property, and he had to start over again. He now owns about 1,500 acres of good land, a large part of which is in a good state of cultivation. In 1849 he married Lynda Garner, daughter of Samuel Garner. They have six children, four of whom are living; Baily, Benjamin, Edward, and Mary. The mother was born and reared in Morgan County. She is a member of the Methodist church, and Mr. McHugh has been a Mason for twenty-five years." 1 Memoirs of Georgia indicates that James McHugh married Lynda Garner. However, the marriage license quoted below clearly indicates her name was Eliza (I looked it up and transcribed it myself). Since her gravestone is inscribed Elizabeth Garner, the 1860, 1870 and 1880 census data shows Elizabeth, and the 1900 census lists her as Lizzie, I believe James McHugh married Elizabeth Garner. According to his grave marker, James was born on August 23, 1825. Morgan County Marriage Records 1808 - 1865 by Frances T. Ingmire (© 1985) shows James McQue married Elizabeth Garner on November 25, 1849. I was able to confirm this statistic by finding the original record of marriage in the Morgan County Court House, Marriage Record 1833 - 1854, page 256. The record follows: "Georgia Morgan County to any Minister of the Gospel, Judge, Justice of the Inferior Court, or Justice of the Peace, you are hereby authorized to join James McQue and Miss Eliza Garner in the Holy state of matrimony according to the constitution and Laws of this state and for so doing this shall be your sufficient License Given under my hand and seal this third day of November 1849. F. M. Arnold C C A" After the marriage, this record exists: "Georgia Morgan County I do hereby certify that James McQue and Miss Eliza Garner were duly joined in the Holy State of Matrimony by me this 24th of November 1849. Dawson B. Vance J. P." "Recorded the third day of December 1849. F. M. Arnold C C A" James and Elizabeth McHugh had, I believe, a total of six children:
The family cemetery is located on Double Bridge Road in Morgan County. From the McHugh Hill Church, go 1.2 miles northwest (away from Hard Labor Creek). The cemetery is on the left, up a 5 or 6 foot embankment, about 30 feet from the road. There are three markers in the small cemetery. However, my grandmother remembers coming to Morgan County in the 1920's for Bart McHugh's funeral. She says he was buried in this cemetery. There is no headstone for Bart. However, there is a sunken place next to Julia Brown's marker. This could possibly be Bart McHugh's grave. It is possible the family could not afford a headstone for Bart. The contract for James McHugh's headstone was issued about 1½ years after his 7-February-1896 death. NOTE: Since early 2004, James' and Elizabeth's headstones have fallen over. Both monuments are large and extremely heavy. Any attempt to upright the monuments would likely require heavy equipment. The inscriptions follow:
James McHugh is listed in the 1860 Census as 35 years old which lends credence to the 1825 birth date information found in Memoirs of Georgia. However, in the 1870 Census, he listed his age as 43 which would place his birth around 1827. The 1900 census was the first census where the month and year of birth were recorded. In the 1900 census, Elizabeth stated she was born in December of 1823. The 1900 Census lists her as "Lizzie McHugh." Elizabeth's grave marker places her birth on February 18, 1828. The family Bible, belonging to Elizabeth Garner McHugh, has the following entries: "James McHugh was married to his wife, Elizabeth McHugh the 25 of November in year of our Lord Eighteen Hundred forty nine" "W. T. B. McHugh was born on 11 o'clock A.M. 30 of August Eighteen Hundred and fiftey" "James Grant McHugh was born 28th of March 1852 4 p.m. o'clock" "Charles Binoir McHugh was born 10 January 1854 5 p.m. o'clock" "Benj. F. McHugh was borned [sic] on the 13 November 1855 at 7 o'clock p.m." "Mary P. McHugh was born May the 24, 1858 1 o'clock p.m." "Edward McHugh was borned [sic] September 17, 1861 4 o'clock a.m." "Record of deaths Charles B. McHugh dide [sic] October 8th, 1862 James Grant McHugh dide [sic] 28th March 1869" (Thank you, Jane, for the information). The next earliest records I could find were the 1860 Census, taken August 8, 1860 in the state of Georgia, County of Morgan, Hellow (Hello) District, Post Office of Madison. According to the family Bible, it appears William was W. T. B. McHugh, or "Bart".
The 1860 Morgan County Tax Digest lists James McCugh (should be McHugh) as having 3 children between the ages of 6 and 18 years of age. He had 2 slaves valued at $900, $1,300 in cash and $25 in personal property. The 1870 Census, taken on July 19, 1870, lists James McHugh.
The 1871 Morgan County Tax Digest lists James McHugh as having 3 children between the ages of 6 and 18 years. It shows he had 5 hands employed between the ages of 12 and 65 years. In 1871, James had 534 acres of land in Morgan County valued at $2,670 (that comes to $5.00 per acre). The value of all his other property was $475. The 1878 Morgan County Tax Digest shows James as owning 828 acres and in 1883, the Tax Digest shows James owning 964 acres and employing 9 hands. The 1885 Tax Digest lists James S. McHugh. This Digest shows that James owned 1142 acres valued at $4,568 (that's only $4.00 an acre). The 1885 Digest also lists a company by the name of McHugh & Dickson. The company owned something worth $125 in town, although we don't know which town. It may be Rutledge or Madison. In addition, the 1885 Digest lists William McHugh as owning 100 acres and Bart owning 60 acres. Bart is listed in other records as Barton McHugh. He was evidently another child of James & Elizabeth McHugh. The 1880 Census information was gathered on June 2 through June 4, 1880 where James and his family are listed in the Whitfield District, Page 4 and Page 8.
Marriage records found in the Morgan County Court House show the following marriages:
The 1890 Morgan County Tax Digest lists James McHugh as owning 1,142 acres valued at $5,568 (that's $4.88 per acre) and $417 in horses and mules. The 1890 Digest also indicated that James owned the Iron Works Foundaries and the company owned $380 worth of property. William McHugh was listed owning 100 acres and Barton owning 68 acres. Benjamin McHugh and Edward M. McHugh were listed, but owned no property. I finally established from a list of Morgan County deaths that James McHugh died on February 7, 1896 and Elizabeth Garner McHugh died on June 12, 1912. Both of these death dates are inscribed on their respective grave markers. However, the 1895 Morgan County Tax Digest shows the "James McHugh Estate" as owning 1,142 acres. Similarly, the 1897 Tax Digest lists the James McHugh Estate as owning 732 acres, Mrs. Elizabeth McHugh owning 210 acres, William McHugh owning 60 acres and Columbus McHugh owning 110 acres. B. F. McHugh and Eddie McHugh were listed in the Digest, but owned no acreage. According to the 1900 Census, taken on June 12, 1900, Edward M. (Morgan) McHugh was born in March of 1853 and married in 1885. The 1900 Census lists his wife as Fannie and she was born in September of 1860. Their children are Spence, born in March of 1891; Johnny, born in April of 1889; Sally, born in June of 1893 and Eva, born in July of 1896. The couple had two more sons, Ernest McHugh and Charles Clarence McHugh. Charles McHugh was born in 1903 and died in 1974. Edward M. McHugh was my great grandfather and Charles Clarence McHugh was my grandfather. ______________________________________1 Memoirs Of Georgia, Vol II, George White, Published by The Southern Historical Association, 1895, page 585 |