A Wilson Family Tree
Notes for Priscilla McCoun
James Hotchkiss listed John Wilson's first wife as McCoun [first name not known], with no date or place for the marriage. He listed her death as 1831, which does not seem likely. John's second marriage was in 1817, and chances are that his first wife died before then.
A record on Ancestry.com in the California Pioneer and Immigrant Files, 1790-1950 lists McCoun [no first name] as the first wife of General John Wilson and says that the date of marriage is "Uncertain. About 1812 or before." For place of marriage, it says "Supposedly Virginia. Maybe Augusta Co.", with "Staunton" written above "Augusta Co."
A very short biography of John Wilson at http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/john-wilson?highlight=John%20Wilson says that his first wife was Percilla McGowen (McCoun). Their source is John Wilson's War of 1812 pension papers from the National Archives (note that this is on a form filled out by John's widow, Ann, after he was dead, so it wouldn't be surprising if it's not quite right).
McCoun genealogies list a Priscilla McCoun/Maccoun who married a John Wilson on 1 Dec 1812 in Mercer Co., KY (see "James McCoun & Margaret Walker & Their Descendants" by Maurie McCoun Klimcheck, self-published, 1993; selected pages copied from microfilm obtained from FamilySearch.org; in particular, this marriage is listed on p. 218 of Volume II). This was unexpected, as I have no other information that John lived in Kentucky for a time. However, it seems to fit, so I am provisionally taking this Priscilla McCoun to be John's first wife. Priscilla was the daughter of John McCoun and Elizabeth Tilford. Another bit of information indicating that this might be a good fit is that Priscilla is known to have had sons David and John T. Wilson. We know from John Wilson's will that he had sons David and John, and James Hotchkiss indicated that they were from his first marriage.
The Klimcheck book, on pp. 172-178 of Vol. II, has quite a bit about legal challenges over the estate of Priscilla's father, John McCoun, who died intestate in Dec 1826. On p. 173 is a transcription of a document dated 14 Apr 1828, which was signed by (among others) "Lanty Holman, guardian to the heirs of Priscilla Wilson and John Maccoun, Jr." The "heirs of Priscilla Wilson" having a guardian seems to imply that their father had also died, which would mean that this was the wrong John Wilson, since our John Wilson lived until 1877. However, additional information on this can be found on Mercer County guardian bonds dated 7 May 1827 for David Wilson and John Tilford Wilson, appointing Lanty Holman their guardian (copies obtained from the Harrodsburg Historical Society). The wording is a little different on the two bonds (one for David and one for John), but with the same meaning. The one for David says that Lanty Holman was being appointed a Special Guardian "for the purpose of taking care of his estate descended to him from his grandfather John McCoun, Dec'd". Each bond describes the child as an "orphan son of John Wilson, Dec'd", but with the "orphan" and the "Dec'd" crossed out. I think it is reasonable to conclude from this that their father, John Wilson, was not dead. At this time, John Wilson Sr. was long gone from Mercer County, living in Howard Co., MO. My guess is that someone local was needed in Mercer County to represent the interests of the boys in settling their grandfather's estate, so Lanty Holman was not a guardian in the sense of the person who raised them, but rather was a legal representative. I do not know whether David and John T. were living with John Sr. at this time, or perhaps with some other family member(s). However, it is known that David was in Howard Co., MO, as of 1835. See the notes on David for more about this. (By the way, we see this type of guardian elsewhere in the family as well. After David S. Wilson, the brother of John Wilson Sr., was dead, a legal challenge arose over the estate of a brother of David's wife, Margaret Kinnear Wilson. James Reid, who was the husband of David's daughter Eliza Jane, was named guardian of the minor children of David and Margaret for purposes of representation in the legal challenge. Margaret was still alive and raising the children, as can be seen from census records.)
Note: Some of the information in these pages is uncertain. Please let me know of errors or omissions using the email link above. ...Mike Wilson
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