James D. McPherson (1810-01-18 – 1892-08-19) and Juliet Ann Nixon (1811-07-13 – 1885-06-17) were my great-great-great-grandparents, being the parents of Joel McPherson. They were born in Leesburg, Virginia and died (or at least are buried) in Rhea County, Tennessee. James was the son of John McPherson and Sarah McDonald. Juliet was the daughter of Jonah Nixon Jr. and Nancy Ann Slane.
Their gravestones give exact days of birth and death, which are consistent with census records and so are likely accurate.
Names
James’s middle initial is said to be short for Daniel, which is plausible, but I have never been able to confirm.
Juliet is often referred to as Julia, especially by descendants. Others insist that this is wrong (see funeral notes below). The name Juliet appears on her gravestone, and so that is what I use here, although the spelling Juliette is sometimes found. On the other hand, she is recorded as Julia in some records such as the censusref ref, so this is not clear-cut.
Service
James served in the Virginia Militia from 1844 to 1847.
Family
A marriage intention of James D. McPherson to Juliann Slane is recorded in Frederick County, Maryland on 1832-03-16. It seems this must be this couple. Juliet may have been using her mother’s maiden name for some reason at this time (a couple of years after her father died), or there was some mix-up when recording the marriage.
All children were born in Virginia, probably Leesburg, except for William, who was born in Rhea County:
- Virginia Ann (1832-11-05 – 1902-11-05), married Burton William Leuty, son of William and Mary Leuty.
- Amanda Jane (1834-03-09 – 1912-09-25), married Thomas Hawes McPherson of the other McPherson family. She was red-haired and carved her initials under G.W. (allegedly George Washington) on Natural Bridge in Virginia, losing her shoes in the climb.ref
- John Marshall (1835-10 – 1911-11-01), married first Elizabeth J. Marsh, second Catherine Thompson.
- Sarah Rebecca (1837-06-25 – 1838-08-09), died aged 13 months.
- James D. (c.1838 – c.1863), died in the Civil War. I cannot find any information about him.
- Joseph Lewis “Joel” (1840-10-11 – 1924-05-29), my great-great-grandfather.
- Mary Louise “Mollie” (1842-10-18 – 1901-09-10), married James Griffiths Martin.
- Emma/Emily Patience (1844-11-22 – 1930-10-07), married Thomas Roddy.
- Stephen Thompson Mason (1847-02-02 – 1928-04-30), married Melissa Victoria Carden.
- Julia Ann (1848-12-05 – 1917-04-30), married Thomas Burton Coulter.
- William Pyott (1855-12-16 – 1937-05-11), married Sarah Annice Powell; the name Pyott is presumably after Juliet’s step-father.
Early records
Juliet is listed as aged 15–20 in the 1830 Federal census under her mother, which see.
In the 1840 census, the family is shown with two boys under 5, and two girls aged 5–9, which fits the above. In the 1850 census, which lists all individuals, all children in the above list are reported in the household except for Sarah (who died young) and William (not yet born). In both, there are other adults living with them, relationship unclear.
Funeral notes
A sheet was distributed to the attendees at the funeral of Emma Patience (listed above) on 1930-10-11, which contains details on the family, and was transcribed by her great-great-granddaughter Polly Morris:ref
Emma was a daughter of James D. McPherson and Juliette (not Julia) Nixon. She married Thomas Roddy. The other children were Virginia, who married Burton Leuty, Amanda, who married Thomas McPherson, James D., who never married, he was a Texas Ranger killed in the Civil War, John Marshall, who married 1. Elizabeth Marsh and 2. Kate Thompson, Joel Lewis, who married Hannah Ladd, Mollie, who married James Martin, Stephen Thompson Mason, who married Victoria Carden, William Pyott, who married Anice Powell, and Julia, who married Thomas Coulter and their 10 children were Charles, Jeff, Addie, Jack, Jim, Elizabeth, Hugh, Frances, Robert, and Tom. By 1930, all the children of James and Julia were dead except William Pyott, who was the baby of the family. The family roots are in Virginia. James D. McPherson and Joel Lewis Nixon operated a general store in Leesburg, Loudon Co., Va. during the 1840’s. James freed his slaves and moved to Rhea Co. in 1852. His business partner and wife were related. Juliette was the daughter of Jonah Nixon II and Nancy Ann Slane. Jonah was the son of Jonah I who was the son of George Nixon. George’s will of 1796 is, or was, on file in Leesburg, Loudon Co., Va. He and brothers William, Jonah, and John immigrated from Ireland to the States around 1750, but the family was originally from Scotland, where the the name Nixon was also spelled Nison and Nikson. Although his brothers went to PA and MD, George settled in Loudon Co., VA, where he owned a large and prosperous farm. In 1930 his large brick home was still standing, but the slaves quarters had been demolished. The mill was also still standing and a stone over the door bore his name and the date 1777. His son Jonah I married Nancy Ann Slane, and died before he turned 30. George provided for his son’s family. At least two of George’s grandchildren grew up and remained in Loudon Co., –Jonah II remained on the Nixon farm until he died, and John settled on his own place in Loudon–however, their mother Nancy Ann remarried John Pyott and moved to TN. George Washington, Juliette (m. James D. McPherson) and Louisa Ann (m. Stephen Cawood) went with her. Other daughters married and moved to Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky.
Some information is doubtful or wrong. The Nixon family being originally from Scotland is unlikely; they were probably Irish. A generation of Jonah Nixon is missing; “Jonah I” who married Nancy Slane was George’s grandson; see also his entry for of his age at death, which is probably more than 30.
DNA
I have autosomal DNA matches to several descendants of this couple. Descentants of their son William were among my earliest confirmed DNA matches.
See McPherson paternity for the doubt which DNA has thrown on the deeper McPherson origins.