Wade & Webb Family History

Eli McKinney1800–1857

Jones · Howell Family Cemetary

Eli McKinney was born in Georgia in 1800 and by 1840 had settled in Chambers County, Alabama, where he and his wife Sarah raised a large family. He died there in 1857. Whether he was also the father of Eli Harris McKinney is an open question: the tree links that son to him and to another couple, and the son's death record of 1908 names his father as Eli McKinney.

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. 8 Sep 1800 Jones County, Georgia 1

Marriages

  1. 1817 Sarah "Sallie" Gresham, at Lincoln County, Georgia
  2. Date unknown Jane Ivey McKinney

Death and burial

  1. 2 Aug 1857 Death: Chambers, Alabama 7
  2. Date unknown Burial: Howell Family Cemetary, Fredonia, Chambers County, Alabama

Family

Parents
Not recorded
Marriage 1, 1817
Sarah "Sallie" Gresham 1798–1873
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
Marriage 2
Jane Ivey McKinney 1797–1851
Children

Line of descent Webb line

  1. Eli McKinney
  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-grandfather of Webb Wade, from whom this history is traced. Why Webb Wade?

Life

Eli McKinney was born on 8 September 1800, according to the FamilySearch tree, which places his birth in Jones County, Georgia, and cites no record for either.1 Inference Jones County was not formed until 1807, so the place, if it is right, must describe the district by its later name; the birth date and place both await a source.1 The tree, again without a source, records his marriage to Sarah "Sallie" Gresham in Lincoln County, Georgia, in 1817.2

Chambers County, Alabama

By 1840 he was living in Chambers County, Alabama, where the federal census of that year enumerated an Eli McKinney whose age and residence match him; the census of 1840 names only the head of each household and counts the others by age.3 He was named, as Eli Mc Kenny, in the Alabama county marriage record of John Hicks and Caroline Mc Kenny on 25 August 1838, and, as Eli McKinney, in the record of John A. Veazey and Nancy Mc Kinney on 3 January 1845.4 The tree records both brides, Caroline (born 1820) and Nancy Howell McKinney (born 1828), as his daughters.4 Inference His appearance in their marriage records probably reflects a father's consent or bond for his daughters' marriages, though the index entries do not state his role.4

The federal census of 1850, the first to name every member of a household, listed "Eli Mc Kenny" in Chambers County with his wife Sarah and the children Joseph, Mary, Elisabeth, Bethany, Permelia, Sarah, William, Lavone and David.5 Besides Eli Harris, discussed below, the tree names twelve children of Eli and Sarah, born between 1818 and 1844, among them Mary Jane (1818), Caroline (1820), Tabitha (1822), Joseph T. (1828), Nancy Howell (1828), Sarah Elizabeth (1832), Bethana A. (1835), Permelia A. (1838), William (1840), Lorene (1842) and David (1844).6 Inference The census's "Lavone" is probably the tree's Lorene, and its "Bethany" the tree's Bethana, but the household entry in hand gives no ages to confirm the match.5

Eli McKinney died in Chambers County on 2 August 1857, according to the tree, which gives his burial at the Howell Family Cemetery, Fredonia, Chambers County; Find a Grave indexes a memorial for him.7 The tree places Sarah's death in 1873.8

The question of Eli Harris McKinney

The tree also lists Eli Harris McKinney (1824–1908) as his son, and this is not settled.9 FamilySearch records Eli Harris as the child of three couples: Eli McKinney and Sarah Gresham; Harris McKinney (1784–1864) and Jane Ivey; and Eli McKinney and Jane Ivey, a pairing with no marriage and no other children.9 Inference The third couple joins the husband of one candidate family to the wife of the other and is most likely a linking error in the tree rather than a real marriage.9 Eli Harris married Martha Holland Willingham in Chambers County on 12 September 1844 and was living there in 1850, but had moved to Coosa County, where Harris McKinney and Jane Ivey lived, by 1860.10 One record speaks directly to the question: the Alabama death index for Harris McKinney, who died on 10 June 1908, names his father as Eli McKinney.11 Inference A death record's parents' names are supplied by an informant decades after the birth and are not proof, but this entry supports Eli McKinney rather than Harris McKinney as the father; the informant's name and the death certificate itself should be examined before the tree is changed.11 The question is recorded as an open problem in the research on Eli Harris McKinney.12

Documents

  1. 6 October 2013 Find a Grave memorial: Eli McKinney Find a Grave · headstone photographed by Norman Satterwhite

Places

  1. 1800Jones
  2. 1817Lincoln
  3. 1840–1857Chambers
  4. undatedHowell Family Cemetary

Timeline

  1. 8 Sep 1800BirthJones County, Georgia
  2. 1817Marriage, Sarah "Sallie" GreshamLincoln County, Georgia
  3. 1840ResidenceChambers, Alabama
  4. 1850ResidenceChambers, Alabama
  5. 2 Aug 1857DeathChambers, Alabama

Open questions

Was he in Jones County, Georgia? (raised 2026-11-09)

History of Jones County, Georgia lists "McKinnie, Eli" in the 1820 census, "McKennie, Eli" in the 1821 land lottery and "McKinney, Eli" in the 1832 lottery (Book D). If this is him, the family was in Georgia when Eli Harris McKinney was born about 1823 (see MPLT-6SB). Check the 1830 census of Jones County and the 1832 lottery registration.

Searches made

  1. 2026-11-09Find a Grave search: Eli McKinney, b. 1800 ±3, d. 1857 ±3: 1 resultsbest: [Eli McKinney (8 Sep 1800 – 2 Aug 1857), Howell Cemetery, Fredonia, Chambers County, Alabama](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/118279133/eli-mckinney); score 17 (high, before review)
  2. 2026-11-09Find a Grave memorial recorded[memorial 118279133](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/118279133), high confidence: [record](../documents/findagrave/118279133-eli-mckinney.md); 1 headstone photo(s)
  3. 2026-11-09Find a Grave headstone photoheadstone photo 111900985 by Norman Satterwhite chosen for the website (the memorial's only one)
  4. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "Eli McKinney", Alabama53 pages; first: [Lavender 400, 402-585, n.d., p. ](https://archive.org/details/lavender-400-402-585?q=%22Eli%20McKinney%22); [The Freeman 1894-10-06: Vol 6 Iss 40, 1894, p. ](https://archive.org/details/sim_freeman_the-freeman_1894-10-06_6_40?q=%22Eli%20McKinney%22); [Xenia Evening Gazette (1918-09-20), 1918, p. ](https://archive.org/details/xenia-evening-gazette-1918-09-20?q=%22Eli%20McKinney%22)
  5. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "Eli Harris McKinney", Alabamano matches
  6. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "McKinney", 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: "McKinney", inside memorialrecordof00tayl4 pages; 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. 737](https://archive.org/details/memorialrecordof00tayl/page/n737/mode/1up?q=McKinney); [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. 738](https://archive.org/details/memorialrecordof00tayl/page/n738/mode/1up?q=McKinney); [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. 748](https://archive.org/details/memorialrecordof00tayl/page/n748/mode/1up?q=McKinney); 0 with the given name (Eli)
  8. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "McKinney", inside historyofalabama01owen4 pages; first: [History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, 1921, p. 395](https://archive.org/details/historyofalabama01owen/page/n395/mode/1up?q=McKinney); [History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, 1921, p. 469](https://archive.org/details/historyofalabama01owen/page/n469/mode/1up?q=McKinney); [History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, 1921, p. 469](https://archive.org/details/historyofalabama01owen/page/n469/mode/1up?q=McKinney); 0 with the given name (Eli)
  9. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "McKinney", inside historyofjonesco00will4 pages; first: [History of Jones County, Georgia, for one hundred years, specifically 1807-1907, 1957, p. 845](https://archive.org/details/historyofjonesco00will/page/n845/mode/1up?q=McKinney); [History of Jones County, Georgia, for one hundred years, specifically 1807-1907, 1957, p. 831](https://archive.org/details/historyofjonesco00will/page/n831/mode/1up?q=McKinney); [History of Jones County, Georgia, for one hundred years, specifically 1807-1907, 1957, p. 834](https://archive.org/details/historyofjonesco00will/page/n834/mode/1up?q=McKinney); 1 with the given name (Eli)
  10. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "McKinney", inside archaeologyforre00morgno matches; 0 with the given name (Eli)
  11. 2026-11-09Internet Archive assessment: "Eli McKinney", Alabama (53 pages); "Eli Harris McKinney" (none)Not him: Rev. Eli McKinney of Coldwell, Tenn. (*The Freeman*, 1894–95), an Ohio ex-soldier (1918–20), modern and medical hits. The Chambers County cemetery survey (1983) is among the hits but is a lending-library book (to-do: his burial at Howell Cemetery, Fredonia).
  12. 2026-11-09Internet Archive assessment: "McKinney" inside Carolyn White Williams, *History of Jones County, Georgia* (1957)Possible (the tree gives his birthplace as Jones County): "McKinnie, Eli, 2(26)" in the 1820 census of Jones County (heads of family; p. 770, the page after 769), "McKennie, Eli" among the 1821 land lottery draws (p. 785) and "McKinney, Eli" in the 1832 land lottery Book D (p. 815). Name and county fit a man born about 1800 who married in 1817; no family named, so not proved. If he is the same man, he was still in Jones County, Georgia, in the 1820s, which fits Eli Harris McKinney's Georgia birth in 1823/24 (inference).
  13. 2026-11-09Internet Archive assessment: "McKinney" inside *Memorial Record* and Owen vol. 1Not him: these concern Harris McKinney's family (see MPLT-6SB) and Dale County's James McKinney.
  14. 2026-11-09Internet Archive hits assessed: 7 searches (2 with no matches)No match; one possible (Jones County, Ga., census and land lotteries).
  15. 2026-11-09DPLA: "Eli McKinney"1 page; first: [Enrollment for Choctaw Census Card by Blood 1655 (National Archives at Fort Worth), 1898-01-01/1914-12-31, p. ](http://catalog.archives.gov/id/218548085)
  16. 2026-11-09DPLA: "Eli Harris McKinney", Alabamano matches
  17. 2026-11-09DPLA assessment: "Eli McKinney" (1 item)Not him: a Choctaw census card (Dawes Commission, 1898–1914, NARA Fort Worth) for the family of Edmund T. McKinney of Goodland, Indian Territory. He died in Chambers County, Alabama, in 1857.
  18. 2026-11-09DPLA hits assessed: 2 searchesNo match.

Notes

  1. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile M2QP-LS1: birth 8 Sep 1800, Jones County, Georgia, no source attached back to the text
  2. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile M2QP-LS1: marriage to Sarah 'Sallie' Gresham, 1817, Lincoln County, Georgia, no source attached back to the text
  3. "United States, Census, 1840", FamilySearch, Eli McKinney, 1840. Record: Eli McKinney, 1840; note: matches his age and place of residence FamilySearch Family Tree, profile M2QP-LS1: residence 1840, Chambers, Alabama back to the text
  4. "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, 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 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile M2QP-LS1: children Caroline McKinney (1820–1897) and Nancy Howell McKinney Veazey (1828–1888) back to the text
  5. "United States, Census, 1850", FamilySearch, Eli Mc Kenny, 1850. Record: Eli Mc Kenny, 1850; note: spouse Sarah and children Joseph, Mary, Elisabeth, Bethany, Permelia, Sarah, William, Lavone, and David FamilySearch Family Tree, profile M2QP-LS1: residence 1850, Chambers, Alabama back to the text
  6. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile M2QP-LS1: children of Eli McKinney and Sarah Gresham, 1818–1844 back to the text
  7. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile M2QP-LS1: death 2 Aug 1857, Chambers, Alabama; burial Howell Family Cemetery, Fredonia, Chambers County "Find a Grave Index", FamilySearch, Eli McKinney. Record: Eli McKinney, Find a Grave Index back to the text
  8. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GZ18-66P (their page): Sarah 'Sallie' Gresham, 1798–1873 back to the text
  9. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile MPLT-6SB (their page): parents: Harris McKinney and Jane Ivey McKinney; Eli McKinney and Sarah Gresham; Eli McKinney and Jane Ivey McKinney Research log (their page): Who were Eli's parents? three parent couples; the third looks like a linking error back to the text
  10. "Alabama County Marriages, 1711-1992", FamilySearch, Harris Mc Kinney and Martha H. Willingham, 12 Sep 1844. Record: Harris Mc Kinney, 12 Sep 1844 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile MPLT-6SB (their page): marriage 12 Sep 1844, Chambers; residence 1850, Chambers; 1860, Coosa FamilySearch Family Tree, profile LR8F-RG8 (their page): Harris McKinney, 1784–1864 Research log (their page): Harris and Jane were in Coosa back to the text
  11. "Alabama, Deaths, 1908-1974", FamilySearch, Eli McKinney in entry for Harris McKinney, 10 Jun 1908. Record: Eli McKinney in entry for Harris McKinney, Alabama Deaths, 10 Jun 1908 "Alabama, Deaths, 1908-1974", FamilySearch, Harris McKinney, 10 Jun 1908. Record: Harris McKinney, 10 Jun 1908 back to the text
  12. Research log (their page): open question, priority high; where to look: his 1908 death certificate, informant and parents' names back to the text
Every FamilySearch record attached to Eli McKinney (7)
  1. 25 Aug 1838Eli Mc Kenny, "Alabama County Marriages, 1711-1992"
  2. 1840Eli McKinney, "United States, Census, 1840"
  3. 03 Jan 1845Eli McKinney, "Alabama County Marriages, 1711-1992"
  4. 1850Eli Mc Kenny, "United States, Census, 1850"
  5. 10 Jun 1908Eli McKinney, "Alabama, Deaths, 1908-1974"
  6. Eli McKinney, "Find A Grave Index"
  7. Wilkes. Court Minutes 1799–1801