The Two Henry Macon's And The Wife, Rebecca Mayo.

John and William Macon were both the son's of Gideon Macon

John and his wife Ann Hunt Macon had a son named, Henry, born in 1721

William and his wife Mary Hartwell Macon had a son named, Henry, born in 1727

One Henry married Rebecca Mayo, and then Francis Netherland.

It seems that there was an old William Macon Bible written at some point in the past, stating that William's son Henry married Rebecca Mayo. I was told that this Bible is now on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. I am sure at the time, it was someone's idea of the truth, but with no research into the fact. Other people have taken this idea and have been stating it as fact.

The following four wills along with the discussion below should prove that it was John's son, Henry that married Rebecca Mayo and not William's son, Henry.

1) The will of Henry Macon, dated 9 Oct 1783, Pro.24 Oct.1785 (Will Book 2, p. 378, Cumberland Co., Va.) In the will, Henry left some things to “John Pleasants Woodson, son of Tucker Woodson.” And he also left things to “John Pleasants Woodson, son of William”, John Pleasants Woodson is of John's line. I noticed that the son of John III and Elizabeth was also named Pleasant Macon, born in 1797, he married Nancy Gray, born in, 1798. The name “Pleasant”is a family name of John's line.

2)The will of Wade Netherland, dated 29 Apr. 1774, mentions “my sister, Francis Macon, wife of Henry Macon.”. He also mentions , “my sister, Mary, wife of Tucker Woodson.”

3)There is also a will of his father, Wade Netherland, dated 28, Jun 1764. He mentions, “the marriage of Mr. Tucker Woodson with my daughter, Mary”. Francis Netherland was the second wife of Henry after Rebecca Mayo. We are talking about the same Henry as the one above.

Henry's will connects him to John's line, and the two Wade wills connects Henry to Rebecca Mayo and Francis Netherland. The connections of John Pleasants Woodson, Tucker Woodson, Francis Netherland Macon, and Henry Macon, points to John's son, Henry, being the Henry married to Rebecca Mayo and Francis Netherland.

Another Connection to John's line is that John, son of Gideon, started out with a land patent of 400 acres in Goochland. This is in the Virginia land records. In Henry's will, dated 24 Oct. 1785, he mentions “Great Guinea Creek, being land my father gave me by his will”. 4)And in the will of William Mayo, dated 10 Feb. 1743-4, he says, “...Great Guinea Creek...in Goochland.” This is just to show that John's Henry Macon and the Mayo families were both located in Goochland.

William Mayo was the father of Rebecca Mayo, her son, William Mayo Macon was probably named after him.

Apparently, John, Henry, and the Mayo families were all based in Goochland and Cumberland Co.'s. I see no connections here with the William and Mary Macon family of New Kent Co.

Henry's father, John, married Ann Hunt. According to parish records, Ann, wife of John Macon died 15 Feb. 1724-5. So, this Henry had to be the Henry born in 1721, not 1727.

Many people over the years mixed up these two Henry Macon's. It probably all started with the William Macon Bible, when someone thought there was only one Henry, but did not look into it.

Any comments please direct to my e mail, cagemacon.aol.com. Thank you.

Bib:

1) St, Peters Parish Records. For Williams son, Henry, born in 1727. John Macon's wife died in 1724-5.

2) Virginia Land Records for Goochland and New Kent Counties.

3) “Descendants of Henry Macon”web site, by Clemmer. For the four wills I used in the above essay. However, on her web site she says that the Henry that married Rebecca Mayo was born in 1727 in Cumberland, and that he was the son of William Macon (of New Kent Co.). Of course, she came to a different conclusion than I did. She probably mixed up the two Henry's even with the wills.

4) John Macon's genealogies, (son of Gideon Macon), for family names and locations for John Macon and his descendants.

5) Slave and census records in Virginia and Alabama listed Pleasant Macon along with other descendants of John Macon

6) William and Mary Macon's headstone in New Kent Co., listed a Henry as one of their “issue”.This Henry, according to parish records, was born in 1727.