Lineage: Pauline McClanahan Cooper > George Alexander Cooper > Lace McClanahan > Mason T. McClanahan
(8) Mason T. McClanahan (my 3rd great-grandfather) was likely born in 1805, in a Cherokee territory which would become Rhea County in 1807. His parents were (16) John McClanahan and (17) Eleanor Snodgrass, who had recently settled in the area from Virginia. Mason T. McClanahan would die in Meigs County, Tennessee after 1860.
(9) Malinda “Linda” Gross was born in 1809 in Tennessee and died in Meigs County, Tennessee after 1855. I believe that her parents were likely George and Catharena Gross and that her brother was Jacob Gross, who married her sister-in-law Mary “Peggy” McClanahan. The only evidence that we have that her last name was Gross is, her son, Mason Jr’s death certificate lists his mother as L Gross.
In 1819, the Calhoun Treaty forced the Cherokee to cede their lands north of the Hiwassee River and south east of the Tennesee River. This almost doubled the size of Rhea County. There is a crossing of the Hiwassee River known as McClanahan Ferry, so at some point, one of the McClanahans must have operated a ferry at that location. Meigs County was created out of this portion of Rhea County in 1836.
In 1830, the US Congress passed the Indian Removal Act which resulted in the forced removal of most of the “Five Civilized Tribes of the Southeast,” which included the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Creek. Cherokee removal began in 1838 and resulted in the “Trail of Tears,” which passed through Rhea and Meigs Counties. This resulted in over 5,000 Cherokee deaths on their march to Oklahoma.
Some Cherokee did not go west, but we will cover that later, as one of Mason and Malinda’s grandsons, George Alexander McClanahan (my great-grandfather) married a woman of Cherokee heritage, Leona Alton (my great-grandmother). Click here for more on our Cherokee ancestry.
Mason and Malinda’s family are listed in the census of 1830, 1840, 1850 and 1860. Mason is listed as a farmer. According to the 1860 census, he primarily produced Wheat, Corn, and a little tobacco. He also had some swine, sheep, milk cows, and cattle. His farm was worth approximately $4,000 ($140,000 in 2022). He did not appear to own any slaves.
In the 1837, Meigs County records “Mason McClanahan overseer [of] road from Thornbury's Ferry on Hiwassee River to John T Powers on the Alabama Road.”
In 1839, Meigs County records show a James Cowan signing over a title to land to Mason McClanahan.
In 1846, Mason and Malinda’s son, (4) Lace (my 2nd. great-grandfather), was born.
Malinda (Gross) McClanahan dies sometime after the 1850 census. She would have been in her in 40s. We do not know the cause of her death.
On 05 Aug 1860, Mason would remarry Martha Lock in Meigs County. Martha would have been 25 and Mason 55.
On 12 Apr 1861, the US Civil War begins. Six of Mason’s nine sons would fight for the Union during the war: Jehue, Mason Jr., John, Hiram, James, and Miles. My 2nd great-grandfather, Lace, would have only been 12 at the start of the war. His brother-in-law, Elisha Boucher, also fought for the Union.
On this site, I don’t usually profile great-uncles or great-aunts, unless they are historically relevant. Of course, this is one of those historically relevant cases, so I have written separate article on their experiences during the war: The Fighting McClanahans of East Tennessee.
Mason T. McClanahan died sometime in 1870, at 65 years of age. His son, Jehue, was the executor and proceeds were distributed to Lace, J.F., John, and Mason [Jr.].
Mason T. McClanahan and Malinda Gross:
- Jehue m. Sarah J. Eldridge
- John Wesley m. Adaline Hemmins, m. Malinda ?
- Nancy Jane
- James Franklin m. Elizabeth Collins
- Hiram Douglas m. Elizabeth “Betsy” Lane
- William A.
- Mason, Jr. m. Mary Catherine “Kitty” Martin
- Miles B.
- Lace m. Malinda Smith
- Andrew Jackson m. Harriett Yearby
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