Wade & Webb Family History

Sarah "Sallie" Gresham1798–1873

Wilkes · Howell Cemetery

Sarah "Sallie" Gresham was born in Wilkes County, Georgia, in 1798 and married Eli McKinney in Lincoln County in 1817. The tree gives the couple thirteen children, and by 1840 the family was in Chambers County, Alabama, where she was widowed in 1857 and died in 1873.

On this page
  1. Family Record
  2. Life
  3. Documents (1)
  4. Places
  5. Timeline
  6. Open questions
  7. Searches made
  8. Notes

Birth

  1. 1798 Wilkes, Georgia

Marriages

  1. 1817 Eli McKinney, at Lincoln County, Georgia

Death and burial

  1. 1873 Burial: Howell Cemetery, Fredonia, Chambers, Alabama
  2. 2 Sep 1873 Death: Chambers, Alabama 11

Family

Parents
Not recorded
Spouse, 1817
Eli McKinney 1800–1857
Children
Lurancy McKinney 1826–1838
Permelia A. Mckinney 1838–1881
Mary Jane McKinney 1818–1900
Lorene McKinney 1842–?
William McKinney 1840–1914
David McKinney 1844–?
Caroline McKinney 1820–1897
Bethana A McKinney 1835–1862
Tabitha McKinney 1822–1889

Line of descent Webb line

  1. Sarah "Sallie" Gresham
  2. Eli Harris McKinney Sr., son
  3. Emma Louise McKinney, daughter
  4. Lila Walden, daughter
  5. Hilda Webb, daughter
  6. William Albert Webb Wade, son

3rd great-grandmother of Webb Wade, from whom this history is traced. Why Webb Wade?

Life

Sarah Gresham, known as Sallie, was born in 1798 in Wilkes County, Georgia, according to the FamilySearch tree, which gives no source for the year or place and records no parents for her.1 The tree records her marriage to Eli McKinney in Lincoln County, Georgia, in 1817, again without an attached record.2 Eli had been born on 8 September 1800 in Jones County, Georgia, the tree says.3

Thirteen children

The tree names thirteen children, born between 1818 and 1844: Mary Jane (1818–1900), Caroline (1820–1897), Tabitha (1822–1889), Eli Harris (1824–1908), Lurancy (1826–1838), Nancy Howell (1828–1888), Joseph T. (born 1828), Sarah Elizabeth (1832–1903), Bethana A. (1835–1862), Permelia A. (1838–1881), William (1840–1914), Lorene (born 1842) and David (born 1844).4 Two of her daughters' marriages are recorded in Chambers County, Alabama, with their father named in the index: Caroline McKinney's to John Hicks on 25 August 1838, and Nancy McKinney's to John A. Veazey on 3 January 1845.5

The tree also lists her son Eli Harris McKinney Sr. under two other couples, and which of them were his parents is an open question in this research.6 One record bears on it: the Alabama death record of Harris McKinney, who died on 10 June 1908, the date the tree gives for Eli Harris, names Eli McKinney and Sarah McKinney.7 Inference Since his widow was living in 1908 and was not a Sarah, the two names are evidently those of his parents, which supports Sallie Gresham and Eli McKinney as his mother and father; but the index entry is not the certificate, and the informant, who may not have known the parents, has not been seen.7

Chambers County

The federal census of 1850 lists "Sarah Mc Kenny" in the household of "Eli Mc Kenny" in Chambers County, Alabama; a contributor's note on Eli's entry names the children in the household as Joseph, Mary, Elisabeth, Bethany, Permelia, Sarah, William, Lavone and David.8 The family was already in Chambers County in 1840.9 Eli died there on 2 August 1857, and the tree places Sallie in Chambers County in 1860 and 1870, though no census entry for those years is attached to her profile.10

She died in Chambers County on 2 September 1873 and was buried in the Howell Cemetery at Fredonia, Chambers County, where her husband is also buried, according to the tree; the Find a Grave index lists her as Sarah Gresham McKinney.11 Inference Her daughter Nancy's middle name, Howell, and the family's burial in the Howell Cemetery suggest a connection with a Howell family at Fredonia, but nothing in hand explains it.12

Documents

  1. 6 October 2013 Find a Grave memorial: Sarah “Sallie” Gresham McKinney Find a Grave · headstone photographed by Norman Satterwhite

Places

  1. 1798Wilkes
  2. 1817Lincoln
  3. 1850–1873Chambers
  4. 1873Howell Cemetery

Timeline

  1. 1798BirthWilkes, Georgia
  2. 1817Marriage, Eli McKinneyLincoln County, Georgia
  3. 1850ResidenceChambers, Alabama
  4. 1850ResidenceChambers, Alabama
  5. 1860ResidenceChambers, Alabama
  6. 1870ResidenceChambers, Alabama
  7. 1873BurialHowell Cemetery, Fredonia, Chambers, Alabama
  8. 2 Sep 1873DeathChambers, Alabama

Open questions

None recorded yet.

Searches made

  1. 2026-11-09Find a Grave search: Sarah Gresham, b. 1798 ±3, d. 1873 ±3: 0 results; Sarah McKinney, b. 1798 ±3, d. 1873 ±3: 3 resultsbest: [Sarah “Sallie” Gresham McKinney (1798 – 2 Sep 1873), Howell Cemetery, Fredonia, Chambers County, Alabama](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/118279092/sarah-mckinney); score 17 (high, before review)
  2. 2026-11-09Find a Grave memorial recorded[memorial 118279092](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/118279092), high confidence: [record](../documents/findagrave/118279092-sarah-sallie-gresham-mckinney.md); 1 headstone photo(s)
  3. 2026-11-09Find a Grave headstone photoheadstone photo 111901583 by Norman Satterwhite chosen for the website (the memorial's only one)
  4. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "Sarah Gresham", Alabama129 pages; first: [DTIC ADA359493: Phase I Historic Resources Survey Lowndes Wildlife Management Area Lowndes County, Alabama., 1998, p. ](https://archive.org/details/DTIC_ADA359493?q=%22Sarah%20Gresham%22); [Milestones 2008, 2008, p. ](https://archive.org/details/milestone2008?q=%22Sarah%20Gresham%22); [The ancestors of Eleanor Bedford Wilkins Cooch and Edward Webb Cooch., 1962, p. ](https://archive.org/details/ancestorsofelean00cooc?q=%22Sarah%20Gresham%22)
  5. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "Sallie Gresham", Alabama41 pages; first: [Long Way from Home: A Memoir, 2000, p. ](https://archive.org/details/longwayfromhomem0000robe?q=%22Sallie%20Gresham%22); [Technala, 1917, p. ](https://archive.org/details/technalajan1021917stud?q=%22Sallie%20Gresham%22); [Our all-southern family, 1948, p. ](https://archive.org/details/ourallsouthernfa00fulg?q=%22Sallie%20Gresham%22)
  6. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "Gresham", inside surveyofcemeteri0002milf_h9x0not searchable: surveyofcemeteri0002milf_h9x0 (A survey of cemeteries in Chambers County, Alabama ) is a lending-library book: borrow it on archive.org and search it in a browser
  7. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "Gresham", inside memorialrecordof00tayl1 page; first: [Memorial record of Alabama. A concise account of the state's political, military, professional and industrial progress, together with the personal memoirs of many of its people, 1893, p. 640](https://archive.org/details/memorialrecordof00tayl/page/n640/mode/1up?q=Gresham); 1 with the given name (Sarah, Sallie)
  8. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "Gresham", inside historyofalabama01owen4 pages; first: [History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, 1921, p. 467](https://archive.org/details/historyofalabama01owen/page/n467/mode/1up?q=Gresham); [History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, 1921, p. 588](https://archive.org/details/historyofalabama01owen/page/n588/mode/1up?q=Gresham); [History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, 1921, p. 603](https://archive.org/details/historyofalabama01owen/page/n603/mode/1up?q=Gresham); 0 with the given name (Sarah, Sallie)
  9. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "Gresham", inside earlyrecordsofge0001davinot searchable: earlyrecordsofge0001davi (Early records of Georgia. Volume one, Wilkes County ) is a lending-library book: borrow it on archive.org and search it in a browser
  10. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "Gresham", inside earlyrecordsofge0002davinot searchable: earlyrecordsofge0002davi (Early records of Georgia. Volume one, Wilkes County ) is a lending-library book: borrow it on archive.org and search it in a browser
  11. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "Gresham", inside hillsofwilkescou00hill4 pages; first: [The Hills of Wilkes County, Georgia, and allied families, [192, p. 231](https://archive.org/details/hillsofwilkescou00hill/page/n231/mode/1up?q=Gresham); [The Hills of Wilkes County, Georgia, and allied families, [192, p. 173](https://archive.org/details/hillsofwilkescou00hill/page/n173/mode/1up?q=Gresham); [The Hills of Wilkes County, Georgia, and allied families, [192, p. 274](https://archive.org/details/hillsofwilkescou00hill/page/n274/mode/1up?q=Gresham); 1 with the given name (Sarah, Sallie)
  12. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "Gresham", inside historicalcollec0001daugnot searchable: historicalcollec0001daug (Historical collections of the Georgia chapters Daughters of the American Revolution) is a lending-library book: borrow it on archive.org and search it in a browser
  13. 2026-11-09Internet Archive assessment: "Sarah Gresham", "Sallie Gresham", AlabamaNot her: a Maryland colonial Gresham family (wills of John and Sarah Gresham), a newspaper managing editor Sallie Gresham, a Union Point, Ga., Sallie Gresham of 1906, modern students.
  14. 2026-11-09Internet Archive assessment: "Gresham" inside *Hills of Wilkes County* (4), *Memorial Record* (1), Owen vol. 1 (4)Not her: William (Billy) Gresham of Lexington, Ga., Thomas B. Gresham, John Gresham Sr. as a witness, Newton Gresham (Farmers' Union). None names her family; the Wilkes County records and Georgia DAR collections are lending-library books (to-do; the tree gives her birth in Wilkes County).
  15. 2026-11-09Internet Archive hits assessed: 9 searchesNo match. None of the books names her as a mother of Eli Harris McKinney; see MPLT-6SB.
  16. 2026-11-09DPLA: "Sarah Gresham"no matches
  17. 2026-11-09DPLA: "Sallie Gresham", Alabamano matches
  18. 2026-11-09DPLA hits assessed: 2 searchesNo hits; nothing to assess.

Notes

  1. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GZ18-66P: birth 1798, Wilkes, Georgia, no source; no parents recorded; other name Sallie back to the text
  2. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GZ18-66P: marriage 1817, Lincoln County, Georgia, spouse Eli McKinney, no source back to the text
  3. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile M2QP-LS1 (their page): birth 8 Sep 1800, Jones County, Georgia back to the text
  4. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GZ18-66P: thirteen children, with the years given back to the text
  5. "Alabama County Marriages, 1711-1992", FamilySearch, Eli Mc Kenny in entry for John Hicks and Caroline Mc Kenny, 25 Aug 1838. Record: Eli Mc Kenny in entry for John Hicks and Caroline Mc Kenny, Alabama County Marriages, 25 Aug 1838 "Alabama County Marriages, 1711-1992", FamilySearch, Eli McKinney in entry for John A Veazey and Nancy Mc Kinney, 03 Jan 1845. Record: Eli McKinney in entry for John A Veazey and Nancy Mc Kinney, 03 Jan 1845 back to the text
  6. Research log (their page): FamilySearch lists Eli as the child of three couples: Harris McKinney and Jane Ivey; Eli McKinney and Sarah Sallie Gresham; Eli McKinney and Jane Ivey FamilySearch Family Tree, profile MPLT-6SB (their page): parents in three families back to the text
  7. "Alabama, Deaths, 1908-1974", FamilySearch, Sarah McKinney in entry for Harris McKinney, 10 Jun 1908. Record: Sarah McKinney in entry for Harris McKinney, Alabama, Deaths, 10 Jun 1908 "Alabama, Deaths, 1908-1974", FamilySearch, Eli McKinney in entry for Harris McKinney, 10 Jun 1908. Record: Eli McKinney in entry for Harris McKinney, 10 Jun 1908 "Alabama, Deaths, 1908-1974", FamilySearch, Harris McKinney, 10 Jun 1908. Record: Harris McKinney, 10 Jun 1908 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile MPLT-6SB (their page): death 10 Jun 1908, Crews, Coosa, Alabama; spouse Martha Holland Willingham (1824–1913) back to the text
  8. "United States, Census, 1850", FamilySearch, Sarah Mc Kenny in entry for Eli Mc Kenny, 1850. Record: Sarah Mc Kenny in entry for Eli Mc Kenny, 1850 "United States, Census, 1850", FamilySearch, Eli Mc Kenny, 1850. Record: Eli Mc Kenny, 1850: matches his name, birth state, spouse Sarah and children Joseph, Mary, Elisabeth, Bethany, Permelia, Sarah, William, Lavone, and David FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GZ18-66P: residence 1850, Chambers, Alabama back to the text
  9. "United States, Census, 1840", FamilySearch, Eli McKinney, 1840. Record: Eli McKinney, 1840 census FamilySearch Family Tree, profile M2QP-LS1 (their page): residence 1840, Chambers, Alabama back to the text
  10. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile M2QP-LS1 (their page): death 2 Aug 1857, Chambers, Alabama FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GZ18-66P: residences 1860 and 1870, Chambers, Alabama; three sources attached, none for 1860 or 1870 back to the text
  11. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GZ18-66P: death 2 Sep 1873, Chambers, Alabama; burial 1873, Howell Cemetery, Fredonia, Chambers FamilySearch Family Tree, profile M2QP-LS1 (their page): burial Howell Family Cemetary, Fredonia, Chambers County "Find a Grave Index", FamilySearch, Sarah Gresham McKinney. Record: Sarah Gresham McKinney, Find a Grave Index back to the text
  12. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GZ18-66P: child Nancy Howell McKinney Veazey (1828–1888); burial Howell Cemetery, Fredonia back to the text
Every FamilySearch record attached to Sarah "Sallie" Gresham (3)
  1. 1850Sarah Mc Kenny, "United States, Census, 1850"
  2. 10 Jun 1908Sarah McKinney, "Alabama, Deaths, 1908-1974"
  3. Sarah Gresham McKinney, "Find a Grave Index"