Sorting Out Six James Napiers and Two Polly Napiers of the Napier Family of Eastern Kentucky and Virginia

Previously, I have taken it upon myself to write an essay differentiating five men of the same name and family in Eastern Kentucky who were all born within a few years of each other. My article on the five men named McCager/Micajah Napier can be found here: http://thesaltofamerica.blogspot.com/2012/05/sorting-out-5-mccager-napiers-of-perry.html

The reason that article needed to be written was because dozens of researchers, if not more, had combined the records of multiple men into several fictitious versions of them. They applied the wrong men to the wrong parents, and therefore the wrong sets of siblings, which, as any genealogist knows, completely wrecks the viability and credibility of your tree once you figure out your error. Casual armchair genealogists may not care that they're applying the wrong records to the wrong men and putting them in the wrong families--but serious researchers will. That leads us to two more sets of Napiers with the same names and geographic similarities that now need to be sorted out: six men named James Napier, and two named Mary or "Polly" Napier.

All these folks were closely related, and all eventually connect back to a single progenitor of the Napier family--Dr. Patrick Napier. Most Napiers in Kentucky actually connect sooner than Dr. Patrick, but the point is they were all kin to each other. They all came to Kentucky from Virginia and bred like rabbits. They spread themselves at this time over only a handful of counties (mostly Perry, Breathitt, Clay, and Harlan, but some in Owsley, Wolfe, and more). They also had a tendency to repeat names, so we end up with many same-named or similarly-named individuals, often without middle names or initials to distinguish them. People then make guesses about who their ancestor was and to which family they belonged, and it turns Ancestry.com and its public trees and "hint" system into clusters. On some of these James Napiers, I found records for FIVE different men as "hints" for ONE man because people had incorrectly applied records to the wrong Jameses over and over again. So now here we are, needing something in writing apparently to sort out all these Jameses and Pollys.

We'll start with the easier set--the two Polly Napiers. Besides sharing a name, what makes these two women difficult to sort is they are only 3-5 years apart in age and they married a pair of brothers. That's right, BOTH Pollys became Polly Napier Fugate. Fortunately, most researchers recognize they weren't sisters since they share the same name, but beyond that, a lot of guesswork has been done when it comes to determining their parentage.

Here are summaries of our two ladies and how I will differentiate them:

1. Mary "Polly" Napier, who for the sake of this article will be referred to only as MARY, was born about 1829 in Kentucky. She married Zachariah H. Fugate prior to 1850. [Note: Let me take a moment here to say that many apply the middle name Henley to Zachariah, and while that was his father's name, it was also his brother's name, and it is unlikely the parents would name one son Henley and another son Zachariah Henley. It is possible, but unlikely, and there is no proof in records of what the H stood for, so people shouldn't go around making up theoretical middle names for people without a good basis.]

Mary appears in the following Census record locations [brackets show the name she went by for that year and approximate year of birth]:

1850 - Breathitt County [Polly, 1829]
1860 - Perry County [Polly, 1828]
1870 - Perry County [Polly, 1830]
1880 - Perry County [Mary, 1829]
1900 - Perry County [Mary, Jun 1829]

She reportedly died about 1906 according to online family trees, but no proof is cited. She certainly appears to have died between 1900-1910 based on her being alive in 1900 and her husband being widowed in 1910. She was the mother of several children, who in the absence of a marriage record for Polly and Zachariah, provide us with proof of her maiden name. The birth records of Mahala Fugate (1855) and John Fugate (1852) prove her maiden name was Napier. These can be trusted as they were records created when Mary was still living. Some of her children's death records also show her name as Napier, though those were created after her death.

2. Polly Ann Napier, who for the sake of this article will be referred to only as POLLY, was born in roughly March, 1834 in Kentucky. Her exact age is unclear. The Noble Family Association have kindly placed headstones for numerous Eastern Kentucky kin of mine that did not have them previously, which was an incredible service to provide. Unfortunately, the information they put on some of these stones often cannot be trusted and sometimes are completely wrong and/or baseless.

Although in every record she's in Polly's name ends with a Y, for some bizarre reason her name on her stone (the one from the Noble Family Association placed decades after her death) ends in IE. They also assign her the date of birth of 15 Aug 1832, but there is no proof of that date. They even got her date of death wrong; they put 20 Aug 1917, when her death certificate clearly states 27 Aug. So this stone is to be taken with an extremely large grain of salt.

On 25 Mar 1852, Polly married Henley Fugate, brother of the aforementioned Zachariah Fugate. As his wife, she appears in the following Census record locations [brackets show the name she went by for that year and approximate year of birth]:

1860 - Perry County [Polly, 1835]
1870 - Perry County [Polly, 1835]
1880 - Perry County [Polly, 1835]
1900 - Perry County [Polly Ann, Mar 1834]
1910 - Perry County [Polly Ann, 1835]

So clearly, Oct 1832 is not correct. And "Pollie" is not the correct spelling. Polly's marriage record, and later vital records of her children prove her maiden name is Napier. Unfortunately, her death certificate does not give her parents' names.

BONUS: There is actually a THIRD woman who should be mentioned, but fortunately is not typically mixed up with these two. Another Polly Ann Napier was born 10 Jan 1837, the daughter of John Rene and Ruth Haskins Napier. She married Ezekiel Couch. Fortunately, I have not seen her records mixed up like I have the others. She is clearly the daughter of John based on the 1850 Census showing "Polly Ann" born 1837 as the daughter of John, so there hasn't been much confusion around here, but I thought her worth mentioning in the context of "Wow, these Napiers really did just repeat the same names over and over, didn't they?"

Now fortunately, other than some vital records mix-ups between the two Polly Napier Fugates when people didn't pay enough attention to the father's name, the records of Polly and Mary records aren't mixed up too terribly often. The issue is their placement in their parents' families.

We'll start with Polly, wife of Henley Fugate. Her parentage is not as questionable as Mary's, but there is still some confusion. Some leave her parentage blank because they can't decide where she belongs (which is a much more sensible thing to do then wildly guessing and often ending up with incorrect information--leaving them blank is more correct than putting the wrong parents, in my book).

I have seen her listed as the daughter of Samuel and Susan Napier, James and Elizabeth Howard Napier, John Rene Napier and Elizabeth Howard [which is peculiar because that was not his wife's name, but okay], and even one bizarre tree that gave her maiden name as Napier, but decided her parents were Eli Flint and Mary Noble Fugate. People are crazy, I'll tell you.

Placing her with Samuel makes sense to the extent that she is living in Samuel's household in 1850. But he would have been 15-16 at the time of her birth, which while that age is not terribly uncommon for mothers in this area, it would be extremely unusual for there to be a father that young at this time. The actual reason she lived with Samuel was that he was her BROTHER. They were the children of James Napier, whose wife is believed to have been Elizabeth Howard, but that is not definitive. The 1850 Census is enough for me to conclude that she is James's daughter, not Samuel's or John Rene's (who as I mentioned in the above "Bonus" section has his own daughter named Polly Ann who was younger than this one), and certainly not the daughter of Eli Flint Fugate.

Now to our other more complicated gal: Mary, wife of Zachariah, is typically attributed to the family of McCager/Micajah and Leanna Lewis Napier. THIS IS WRONG. THIS IS INCORRECT. She is even linked to them as their child on Find A Grave, all but ensuring she will be incorrectly placed in this family for generations to come. It aggravates me to no end to see her placed in this family, but I can't do much about it except for this essay.

You see, I descend directly from McCager and Leanne through their son Patrick. This is MY line, and I take their information being reported correctly rather seriously. If you have Mary as McCager's daughter, I am very sorry, but you are mistaken. In case you have doubts, I can PROVE it.

To be fair, it is easy to see why Mary was attached to his family. Mary was born about 1829. In 1830, McCager has ONE daughter under age 5 in his household. Interestingly, in 1840, he shows NO daughters age 10-14 in his household.

Another woman attached to this family is Eliza Jane Napier, wife of Samuel Grigsby, who was also born in 1829. They are both attached to McCager for the same two reasons: first, they each named a son McCager/Micajah, and a daughter Leanna. That's not typically a lot to go on, but in an area where vital records are often scarce due to feud-related and Civil War-related courthouse fires, you do what you can to piece families together.

The other reason they are attached to McCager is that in 1860, both their households are almost directly next to McCager. The Zachariah Fugate household is two away from McCager's one direction, and the Samuel Grigsby household is two away in the other direction. But the 1830 Census only allows for ONE daughter born between 1825-1830. So which is it?

Fortunately for us, we have written testimony regarding Mary's relationship to another Napier which definitely tells us her parentage--and spoiler alert: it's not McCager and Leannah.

Rev. George Washington Noble published an amazing memoir titled "Behold He Cometh In The Clouds" in 1912. It is chock-full of stories and anecdotes about his neighbors and kin in Eastern Kentucky. On page 222 he writes, regarding his daughter's in-laws:

"There was a Baptist preacher by the name of James Napier in my neighborhood. He was a fine man and a good-sensed man. He and I took up together and preached together. The Baptist church elected him Moderator at the Pilgrims Rest church. He and I would have a meeting once a year at the home of my son-in-law. Zachariah Fugate, 15 miles from my house. Old Zachariah Fugate and his wife (Polly Napier) lived with Zachy and Naomi, my daughter. Old Mrs. Fugate was a sister to Preacher Napier. The old man Fugate was a preacher. They both were so clever that they hardly knew what to do when we went. They would both talk at once. The old woman would boast of Naomi’s children.—how smart they were. And they were “smart.” When night came they would all get into the house and the children would sing us a song. “Grandpa” and I would sing for them. They were not used to much preaching in that country. and a fine crowd came. All would behave well. Zachy had plenty to eat and feed our horses. We went on a visit and to preach. We would stay until after dinner on Sundays and then ride 15 miles home."

So this tells us that Mary Napier Fugate had a brother named James Napier who was a preacher. Well, as you can tell from the title of this article, that's not that simple--there were many James Napiers. However, only ONE of them can be proven to be a preacher.

Later in his book, on pages 237-238, Rev. Noble shares a letter to the congregation of the aforementioned Pilgrims' Rest Church, which was located in Breathitt County. It was moderated by the aforementioned James Napier, and was dated 1903.

This tells us that James Napier, brother of Mary, was alive in 1900, and likely in Breathitt County. This also illustrates that this James Napier CANNOT be the James that is son of McCager and Leanna. That James never listed "Preacher" as his occupation on census records, spent his later years in Wolfe County, has never been a documented resident of Breathitt County, AND was dead before 1900. His date of death is given as 5 Mar 1889 in Wolfe County, but is not sourced.

Fortunately, there was a James Napier in the 1900 Census who lived in Breathitt County and listed his occupation as "Preacher". In fact, in most family trees, he's even call "Preacher Jim" Napier. Amazing, that no one put two and two together to conclude that THIS James is the one Rev. Noble referred to NOT James, son of McCager. But some people just aren't willing to do the necessary legwork to verify their information.

"Preacher Jim" was the son of Patrick Napier and Mahala Jackson. He can be found in their household in the 1850 Census in Perry County. Mary was already married by this time, so she is not in their household. But Patrick has a 10-14 daughter in his household in the 1840 Census who is not in his 1850 household. That fact combined with Rev. Noble leads us to the logical conclusion that Mary "Polly" Napier, wife of Zachariah Fugate, was the daughter of Patrick Napier and Mahala Jackson. She was NOT the daughter of McCager Napier and Leanna Lewis.

This differentiation of two Jameses for the purpose of identifying Mary's parentage is as good a segue-way as any to the heart of this article: sorting out and differentiating SIX different James Napiers from the same area of Kentucky and in somewhat the same age range.

What's sort of funny in kind of a sad way is that their ages really aren't that close. If their names were John and Bill we would not consider their ages close at all. But apparently for dozens of lazy researchers their ages were close enough together that these men's records and family trees have been twisted and tangled into something rather magnificently ridiculous. So now we are left to sort out the information in hopes of untangling the branches of researchers that care enough to look a little deeper.

While there are even more James Napiers that fit this area and age range, what sets them apart is that they have distinguishable middle initials or names. That helps to separate them from the pack of those that don't. Also, one of these six Jameses never even appears in a Census record in Kentucky, and yet his records STILL get tangled up with the others. He may have lived in or visited Kentucky for a time as a young man, but he has no discernible ties to the area beyond his wife's nativity. I would not have included him in this article if it weren't for my continuously finding his records as "hints" for these other Jameses, and even some of their records appearing as "hints" for him. It's almost like someone went and found every single James Napier they could find in any record anywhere and attached them all to one guy, assuming for some baffling reason they all belonged to him. I really can't begin to understand it; all I can do now is try to undo as much of the damage as I can.

Without middle initials, we will be left to call these men by numbers assigned chronologically. We have:

1. James Napier I, born about 1820. Husband of Rebecca Sizemore.
2. James Napier II, born about about 1822. Husband of Louisa Huff.
3. James Napier III, born about 1823. Husband of Mary Campbell.
4. James Napier IV, born about 1824. Husband of Louisa Miniard.
5. James Napier V, born about 1826. Husband of Clarissa Griffith.
6. James Napier VI, born 1831. Husband of Nancy Frazier and Martha Watts.

Each of these men had their own respective spouses and children. But they were all born within about 10-11 years of one another, and all lived in or were born in the following places: Lee County, Virginia, Perry County, Kentucky, and Clay County, Kentucky. They can all be tied to one of these places in one way or another, and some can also be linked to Breathitt, Wolfe, Leslie, and Harlan counties.

What needs to be done now is to tie each man to his parentage. With my article on the five McCagers, I also differentiated their places of burial and respective services in the Civil War. But most of these men were too old for Civil War service--or simply didn't serve--and too few of their burial places are known or assumed to devote a lot of time to working them out. My primary concern at this point is sorting out the respective parentage of each of them so that they will be placed with the right sets of parents and siblings in the family trees of those that care about actually getting it right. So I will list each man and how I have reached my conclusions regarding their parentage.

1. James Napier I lived in Clay and Leslie counties, and was probably born in Harlan County. His wife was Rebecca Sizemore according to the records of his children (birth record of his daughter Kizziah, and death record of his son Hamilton).

Some have James I as the son of John Rene Napier, but James I was almost certainly the son of Edmund Napier and his wife Sarah "Sally" who is believed to have been a Howard, though there is no proof of that name. Many of his father Edmund's records have been mis-transcribed as Edward, but if you look at each one closely enough, he is clearly Edmund.

Edmund is in Harlan County in 1820, 1830, and 1840, so James I was likely born there. His brother Hughes Napier married Rebecca Sizemore's sister, Keziah Sizemore. Hughes appears in the 1850 Census in Edmond's household. A few households from Edmund is his brother, John Rene Napier. Next door to Edmond is his son, John b. about 1820-1821, and next to John is James I. This is circumstantial, true, but this immediate proximity to Edmund strongly indicates that Edmund was his father. John Rene was not old enough to father James I, and as you can see in his household, has his OWN son James, born about 1826.

2. James Napier II is the one that it's kind of ridiculous we have to include here. He only ever appears in Census and vital records for Lee County, Virginia. But because James III was also born in Virginia a year apart and because James II's wife was from Harlan County, this James gets roped in with the others when it comes to records. On 18 Dec 1853 in Lee County, Virginia, James II married Louisa Huff, who gives her nativity as Harlan County, Kentucky.

This record gives us a straight-forward identification: James II gives his parents as Thomas and Nelly Napier. Thomas was another brother of the aforementioned Edmund Napier and John Rene Napier. We have no record of Thomas living in Kentucky, but we know at least one child (Malissa Napier Hartsack) eventually ended up in Eastern Kentucky. And clearly James II either lived in Harlan County for a time, or visited his relatives there. Otherwise, how else would he meet his wife of Harlan County nativity?

Again, it's silly that we even have to include this James with the others when he doesn't have a clear link to Eastern Kentucky besides his family being from there, but someone somewhere apparently decided this James was their James from Kentucky at some point, and that has led to rampant mis-application of his records to the wrong people.

3. James Napier III was already mentioned in this article. Vital records of his children Isaac, Granville, and Mary proved his wife's maiden name was Mary Campbell. He is believed to have been the son of McCager Napier and Leanna Lewis, as previously discussed. Firstly, here is an important note for you: HIS MIDDLE NAME WAS NOT PATRICK. There is not ONE single record from when he was living, or even among his children's vital records, that indicate a middle initial of any sort, much less the letter P, much less the name Patrick. Please do not put made-up pretend middle names for people on your tree--be better than that. 

Unlike, with the aforementioned Eliza and Mary, there isn't much circumstantial evidence tying James to McCager. He lives in the same area as McCager, but isn't ever clustered with him on a Census Record. James III does have a son named McCager--but in this area, it's almost easier to count the families that DON'T have a son named McCager than the ones that do. But with his age, James III fits perfectly into McCager's households in 1830 and 1840 along with the other presumed sons of McCager. Can he be definitively linked to McCager? No. He is a suspected son largely due to the absence of probate or deed records mapping out the McCager Napier family. But I do believe he fits well in this family and have not seen him placed anywhere else more convincing.

4. James Napier IV is even tougher to place. His age is inconsistent across Census records:

1850 - Born 1824
1860 - Born 1823
1870 - Born 1826
1880 - Born 1830
1900 - Born Oct 1822

I decided 1824 is as solid a guess as we can get. At least it seems he most likely fits in the 1820-1825 age range. He married Louisa Miniard in Harlan County in 1844. Like so many of the other Napiers, no definitive record links him to his parents so we are left to educated guesswork. The most likely father of this James is...yet another James. The aforementioned James Napier who married Elizabeth, who was probably a Howard. That makes him a sibling of the aforementioned Polly Napier, wife of Henley Fugate.

The eldest James Napier, born about 1794, died between 1840 and 1850. His wife Elizabeth survived him, and is shown in the 1850 Census with their son McCager. Their son Samuel is on his own, and has his siblings John and Polly residing with him. Elizabeth is found next door to Patrick and Mahala Jackson Napier, who are two households from McCager and Leanna Lewis Napier. Samuel and his lot are 3 pages away on the Census record.

James's census records indicate he had at least nine sons. It is believed that seven of them are Edward, Adron, Patrick R., Samuel, James, John, and McCager. This family unit is pieced together largely because folks couldn't find anywhere else for the four oldest to fit other than James's households--and they do all fit. I have not identified the other two but hope to in the future.

Some have James III as a son of James b. 1794, but I believe this James fits better.

5. James Napier V married Clarissa Griffith on 7 Jun 1852 in Clay County, Kentucky. His Census records with his wife placed him being born about 1826. This matches perfectly with the James Napier, born 1826, in the household of John Rene Napier in the 1850 Census in Clay County, Kentucky. Some put James V as the son of James b. 1794, but this is by far the better fit.

6. James Napier VI, our last James, is the aforementioned "Preacher Jim". As discussed, he is the sister of Mary Napier Fugate. He was born about 1831, and fits perfectly as the 19-year old James Napier in the household of Patrick Napier and Mahala Jackson in the 1850 Census. He married first Nancy Frazier, and second Martha Watts, who also married two Fugate men--one before James VI, and one after. There really should be no debate on this one.

Fortunately for us, placing the Jameses in the Napier family tree is overall simpler than placing their McCager counterparts. I would not have bothered to write this article were it not for the rampant mis-application of their records with the wrong men. I felt it necessary to outline all this information for those who are serious about having correct and accurate Napier family trees.

Finally, because visualization helps many of us, I have created a family tree that shows where each of these Jameses belong and how they connect to one another.

I hope this will clear things up for folks. Feel free to contact me with any questions or additions.

Sorting Out the 5 McCager Napier's of Perry County, Kentucky

I am writing this in an attempt to sort out the 5 McCager Napier’s of Perry County, Kentucky who were born in a 10-year time span and are frequently mistaken for and mixed up with one another. I am hoping this will help sort out who is whose child, who married who, and who served in which unit(s) during the Civil War. I will be starting with the 5 listed in the 1850 Census and work forward.

Please note that one will often find these men's names spelled "Micajah" rather than "McCager". Two of their headstones actually say "Micajah Napier". McCager is the correct, proper spelling for all 5 of these men's names. "Micajah" is the phonetic spelling of the same name. They did not pronounce "McCager" as "Mick-ay-jer". It was pronounced "Mick-ay-ja". Those that did not know the proper spelling "McCager" would spell the name "Micajah" because that was how it sounded to them. But as the very first "McCager" Napier, who was a father, grandfather, or uncle to all 5 of these other McCager Napiers, spelled his name "McCager", it is clear that that is the correct proper spelling of the name, and that is spelling I will utilize in this post.

Originally posted: 5/31/2012

Update: 12/11/2014

2nd Update: 5/4/2017

3rd Update: 8/12/2017

Some new information has led to some new conclusions about some of these new McCager's, primarily concerning their Civil War service. I have worked with Faron Sparkman and Manton Ray Cornett to correctly attribute each man's Civil War service to the correct person, and I believe this has finally been accomplished as definitively as possible with the records we have available to us. Also, dates of death and places of burial for some of the McCagers which were previously unknown appear to have been pinpointed, and again credit for much of that goes to Mr. Sparkman and Mr. Cornett. I am very grateful to them for helping me sort the McCagers further than I already had, and I think it has led to this being the last update needed for this particular study. 

1850 Census – Perry County, Kentucky

No. – Name as spelled – Approx. birth year – District – Page on Census - Parents

1. Michager Napier – About 1832 – District 2 – Page 4/37 - Mother, Elizabeth Napier

2. Micager Napier – About 1834 – District 2 – Page 4/37 – Parents, Micager and Leanner Napier

3. Michager Napier – About 1844 – District 2 – Page 6/37 – Parents, James and Mary Napier

4. Michager Napier – About 1843 – District 2 – Page 4/37 – Parents, Patrick and Mihala Napier

5. Micager Napuer – About 1846 – District 2 – Page 17/37 – Parents, Stephen and Polly Napier

Henceforth, each McCager will be referred to as McCager 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, based on this list.

Now clearly, all of these McCager’s were closely related; they were all either 1^st cousins, 1^st cousins once removed, or had an uncle/nephew relationship.

The mother of McCager # 1, Elizabeth, is the widow of James Napier, son of Patrick Napier and Fanny Brumfield.

The fathers of McCager # 2 and McCager # 4, McCager and Patrick respectively, are also sons of Patrick Napier and Fanny Brumfield.

The fathers of McCager # 3 and McCager #5 are brothers of McCager # 2, sons of McCager and Leanna Lewis Napier.

PLEASE NOTE that this aforementioned eldest McCager Napier, who was the father of McCager #2, the husband of Leanna Lewis, and the son of Patrick Napier and Fanny Brumfield, is the McCager Napier who died August 8^th 1882 in Hazard, Perry, Kentucky. NONE of the above listed 5 McCager Napier’s are THAT McCager Napier; none of them died August 8^th, 1882, so PLEASE do not attach that death date to ANY of the McCager Napiers other than the husband of Leanna Lewis and the son of Patrick and Fanny Brumfield Napier.

Finally, please additionally note that James Napier, father of McCager # 3, is often attached on family trees as the son of James Napier and Elizabeth Howard Napier, the parents of McCager # 1. That makes James the brother of the eldest McCager Napier, father of McCager # 2. There is no solid documentation “officially” tying him to one brother or the other, but as James named his first son McCager and was in very close geographical proximity to the other descendants of the eldest McCager, I have always tied James to McCager and Leanna in my records.

Correct Years/Dates of Birth

There is some confusion regarding the proper years and dates of birth for the 5 McCagers. One headstone has a year of birth off by 2 years. This should be the correct birth order for the 5 McCagers.

McCager # 1 - Born 16 Apr 1833, according to the date on his stone. This date properly aligns with his Census records and is likely correct.

McCager #2 - Born 11 Apr 1834, according to his Union pension. This date properly aligns with his Census records and is likely correct.

McCager #3 - Born 1843. This aligns with Census records and is the year on his headstone.

McCager # 4 - Born 19 Aug 1843. The original source of this information is not known; it is the date on his military stone. It does align with his Census records and is likely correct.

McCager #5 - Born 17 Jun 1846. This date is NOT reflected on his headstone, which has 17 Jun 1844 on it. However, Census and military enlistment records (he gives his age as 17 in 1863) indicate he was actually born in 1846, not 1844 as his headstone currently states.

Visual of Napier Family Tree

I have created a Napier family tree starting with Patrick and Fanny Brumfield Napier and making its way down to all 5 McCagers (plus the eldest original McCager). I have labelled the McCagers 1-5 accordingly. The chart turned out almost the way I wanted, but it did not leave room for the spouses of McCagers #1 and #4. McCager #1 was the husband of Harriett McLemore. McCager #4 was the husband of Armina Davidson. Otherwise, this is a perfect representation of how the 5 McCagers are connected to one another and to the eldest McCager. This will help those in need of a visual aid in determining which McCager is "your" McCager and from whom he descends.

Descendants of Patrick Napier and Fanny Brumfield named McCager Napier.

McCager Marriages between 1850 and 1860

McCager # 2 – to Elizabeth CAMPBELL – on 23 Dec 1852 in Perry County, KY*

McCager # 1 – to Betty unknown – on unknown date, approximately 1859 (based on them having no children in the 1860 Census)*

McCager # 1 – to Harriett McLemore Fairchild – about 1860 (according to 1900 Census)

         

      * - Please note that these are 2 different McCager’s who married two different Elizabeth/Betty’s, as proven by the 1860 Census

1860 Census – Perry County, Kentucky

No. – Name as spelled – Approx. birth year – District – Page on Census – Living with

1. Micajah Napier – about 1832 – District 1 – Page 27/97 – Spouse Betty + Future Spouse Harriett

2. M S Napier – about 1834 – District 1 – Page 3/97 – Spouse Betty (Campbell) + son Harison

3. Micajah Napier – about 1844 – District 1 – Page 53/97 – Parents Jas and Marry

4. Micajah Napier – about 1844 – District 1 – Page 49/97 – Parents Patrick and Mahala

5. Mc Cager Napier – about 1845 – District 1 – Page 56/97 – Father Stephen and step-mother Hulda

ALSO

6. Micajah Napier – about 1844 – District 1 – Page 25/97 – James and Martha Napier Guinn

Note: It is not known which McCager this sixth Census entry belongs to; clearly, it is either #’s 3, 4, or 5. The problem is that the Martha Napier who married James Guinn is a daughter of McCager Napier and Leanna Lewis, and therefore sister of McCager # 2. This McCager is working as a laborer, and is either Martha’s nephew or cousin, but it is not known which. It was not horribly uncommon for a person to appear in a Census twice for one year, especially when they lived in one household and worked in another, as is the case here. (Helen Keller appears in the census twice one year as she is at home the first time, and traveling the second time.) If the person happens to be at both places whenever the Census-taker came by, then they were counted twice. I believe this is the case here, and that this is not a random 6^th McCager who was not in the 1850 Census.

McCager Marriages between 1860 and 1880

McCager #3 – to Patience Spencer – about 1867, no marriage record found, year based on first child born about 1868

McCager #4 – to Armina Davidson – about 1861, no marriage record found, year based on first child born about 1862

McCager #5 – to Anna Engle – about 1870, no marriage record found, year based on first child born about 1871

1870 Census 

No. – Name as spelled – Approx. birth year – City, County – Living with

1. Cager Napier – about 1830 – Campbell, Perry – Spouse Harriett + 3 children

2. M S Napier – about 1834 – Lost Creek, Perry – Spouse Betsey + 7 children

3. Micager Napier – about 1844 – Precinct 3, Wolfe – Spouse Patience + 2 children #

4. Cager Napier – about 1840 – Campbell, Perry – Spouse Armny + 3 children*

5. McCager #5 has not been located for the 1870 Census.

* - Note: It was decided that this McCager is McCager #4 based on the fact he is living directly next door to Patrick and Mahala Napier, parents of McCager #4.

# - Note: McCager #3’s parents, James and Mary Napier, also moved to Wolfe County.

1880 Census 

No. – Name as spelled – Approx. birth year – County – Living with

1. Mc Cager Napier – about 1834 – Perry – wife Haret + 7 children

2. Mack S. Napier – about 1834 – Leslie – wife Elizabeth + 7 children

3. Mccager Napier – about 1843 – Wolfe – wife Patient + 7 children

4. Mc Cager Napier – about 1843 – Perry – wife Armina + 8 children

5. Mecager Napier – about 1845 – Perry – wife Anny + 4 children **

** - It was determined that this was McCager #5 based on History of Kentucky, Volume V by William E. Connelley and Ellis Merton Coulter (American Historical Society, 1922). In a sketch about Calloway Napier, it discusses mentions his parents are McCager Napier and Anna Engle, and his grandfather’s name is Stephen William Napier. This McCager’s oldest son is named Stephen W., and McCager #3 is the son of Stephen Napier. Unfortunately, the rest of the sketch outlining Calloway’s Napier ancestry is full of completely inaccurate, false information. It claimed Stephen was the son of a completely fictional man named John Napier, who was a supposed son of “Sir William Francis Patrick Napier”, who not only did not die in Perry County, Kentucky as the sketch claims, but never even resided in the United States. It was not uncommon in those times for someone to think of the most well-known person who shares their last name, and assume they were descended from them, or sometimes a person was hired to research the family’s ancestry, and made the same guess/assumption. This has happened in my family in determining we were descended from John Jay because he shared a family last name, or deciding we were of the same stock as Zachary Taylor, since he was a Taylor from Virginia. Many Napier lines originally claimed they descended from John Napier, a famous mathematician, but this was later disproven. This is most certainly what happened in this case.

McCager’s deceased before 1900

McCager #3 died 30 Jul 1899 in Washington County, Arkansas. His is buried in Hazel Valley Cemetery in Washington County, AR with a Union army headstone.

McCager #4 died in 1899 in Perry County and is buried in Red Hill Cemetery in Perry County with a Confederate headstone. 

1900 Census

No. – Name as spelled – Approx. birth year – City, County – Living with

1. Mccregor Napier – Apr 1833 – Hazard, Perry – wife Harriet + 2 children

2. Mc Cager S Naper – Apr 1834 – Campbell, Perry – wife Betty + 3 children and 1 grandson

5. Mc Cager Napier – Jun 1844 – Troublesome, Perry – wife Anna + 4 children and an unknown Thomas McDaniel listed as a son

McCager’s deceased from 1900 to 1910

McCager #1 died 18 May 1904 as proven by the date on his headstone at the Napier-Combs Cemetery near Grapevine. The cemetery is on Rome Napier Cemetery Road, and was originally called Napier Cemetery, and is now called Combs Cemetery. 

McCager #5 died 10 Apr 1910 according to the aforementioned biography of his son, Calloway Napier. A military headstone was procured for him and placed at Powers Cemetery, also called Captain Powers Cemetery, in Maggofin County, which is where this McCager's wife is listed in the 1910 Census, proving his residence there. The headstone incorrectly has his year of birth as 1844 instead of 1846. There is also a second flatstone by his upright military stone bizarrely reporting Civil War service in a "Virginia Militia". But this McCager never resided in Virginia, and there are no service records for a McCager Napier in any Virginia military records for the Civil War. This second stone was clearly placed in error by a well-meaning descendant, but its information should be disregarded. 

1910 Census

No. – Name as spelled – Approx. birth year – City, County – Living with

2. Mc Cager Napier – about 1833 – Campbell, Perry – wife Elizabeth + 2 children and 3 grandchildren

Death of last McCager

McCager Napier died 14 May 1912 according to his Civil War pension file. His place of burial has not been 100% determined. The Sons of Confederate Veterans' book on the 13th Kentucky Cavalry listed his burial place as Yerekes in Perry County, but that does not appear to be accurate. Some family members had him placed at Rocklick Cemetery where two of his daughters are buried. However, both family descendants and the SCV are now in agreement that he is most likely buried in what is today called the Campbell Cemetery near Napfor, which is only a couple of miles from Rocklick. In 1910, this McCager is living with his son John. He dies in 1912, and John himself dies in 1916, followed by McCager's wife Elizabeth in 1918. There are two fieldstones in the Napier plot at the very small Campbell Cemetery very near John's grave. It appears likely that those fieldstones mark the graves of McCager and Elizabeth Campbell Napier. Arrangements are currently in the works to procure a stone for McCager in this cemetery, as he appears to be the only one of the 5 McCagers without a marked grave.

The McCager’s in the Civil War

Determining in which units each of the 5 McCagers served during the Civil War has been a difficult task. I have had to rewrite and rearrange this section numerous times. However, I believe there is now consensus on who served in which unit. All five served in at least one unit, and one definitively served in two units. There are three additional terms of service by the McCagers that cannot be definitively attributed to one McCager or another. All we can do is speculate which McCager Napier is most likely to have served in these remaining three units with there being no further supplemental information available for us to determine who belonged where. Below is the final draft concluding which McCager served where, with visual aids.

These are the 9 enlistments of the various McCager Napiers along with any additional pertinent information.

1. McCager #1 was a part of the 5th Kentucky Mounted Infantry (CON). This is confirmed by George Washington Noble’s book Behold He Cometh In the Clouds: A Religious Treatise from Inspiration and Illumination, which mentions McCager many times, and mentions his wife Harriett as well. It does not appear that this McCager served in any other units. He enlisted on 4 Feb 1862, and was last marked present on 20 Oct 1863. It is not possible for him to have served in the 13th Kentucky Cavalry as well because the 3 enlistment dates for the 3 McCagers that did serve in that unit all fall between 4 Feb 1862 and 20 Oct 1863 when he was still serving in the 5th. It is possible he is the McCager that enlisted in the 19th Kentucky Infantry (UN) and deserted two days later, but that could also have been McCager #4.

2. McCager #2 served in the 14th Kentucky Cavalry (UN), as did McCager #3. They each have their own distinct service records. McCager #2’s service proven in his Pension file. He also appears to be one of the three McCager Napiers who were part of the 13th Kentucky Cavalry (CON). He appears to have enlisted September 26th, 1862 as a 4th Sergeant. He is most likely the McCager that served in Company G of the 13th, mostly because it is more likely the 27 year old McCager would be mustered in as a 4th Sergeant than his younger counterparts of the same name.

3. McCager #3 served 14th Kentucky Cavalry (UN), as did McCager #2. He also later applied for a federal pension. Like McCager #2, he also appears to have served in the 13th Kentucky Cavalry (CON). He is most likely the McCager that was conscripted into Company I of that unit and deserted less than two weeks later.

4. McCager #4 served in the 10th Kentucky Cavalry (CON), along with his brother, William. He possibly served in a 2nd unit as well. It is not likely that he is one of the McCagers in the 13th Kentucky Cavalary (CON) because it would be nonsensical for him to enlist in the 13th in September or October of 1862, just to desert and re-join the Confederacy in January, 1863. It is possible he is the McCager that enlisted in the 19th Kentucky Infantry (UN) and deserted two days later, but that could also have been McCager #1.

5. McCager #5 served in the 47th Kentucky Infantry (UN). This is proven by his service record and his son Calloway’s biography detailing his service. He enlisted in the 47th on 4 Jul 1863. It is almost certain that prior to this, he was enlisted (or conscripted) into Company C of the 13th Kentucky Cavalry (CON). He enlisted on 5 Apr 1863 and was present 25 days later, but he appears to have deserted shortly after to enroll in the Union army. All 4 of the other McCager's are accounted for in serving other units in Apr 1863 except for this one, which has brought me to the conclusion that the McCager that served in Company C of the 13th could only have been McCager #5.

A visual guide showing in which units each of the McCagers served.

Conclusion

I believe the evidence as I’ve laid it out speaks for itself well. I hope other researchers will find this essay helpful in attaching the appropriate records and family members to their own respective McCager Napiers. It is disheartening to see so many researchers attaching other peoples' information to their trees without at least checking to see if it’s accurate. With even just a little digging, one can figure out where each McCager belongs in their respective family tree as descendants of Patrick Napier and Fanny Brumfield, as proven above. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me.