Andrew Jackson McFann

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Andrew Jackson McFann was born in Scioto County, Ohio on February 19, 1820.¹ He was the son of David McFann and Mary Fleece McFann. An Ohio resident, Andrew Jackson McFann, nicknamed Squire, lived in Scioto, Lawrence, and Gallia Counties. During his lifetime, A.J. McFann was married three times, was widowed twice, and was the father to 10 children.

A.J. McFann began his working career as a farmer, then he served as a Justice of the Peace for Scioto County, Ohio. After his education, A.J. McFann became an attorney for Scioto County, Ohio, and he was admitted to the Scioto County Bar. During the mid 1860s, A.J. was elected to serve as the Prosecuting Attorney of Portsmouth, Ohio, an office that he held until 1869. During his career, family records and Court documents show that A.J. McFann performed a number of family weddings, including the marriage of his nephew and name-sake, Andrew Jackson McFann (b. 1832) to Margaret Munyan.

After his career, A.J. McFann was determined to farm and retire to a life in the country. He and Lizzie sold their home in Portsmouth, Ohio and purchased several tracts of land in Bladen, Ohio. Bladen is located between Crown City and Gallipolis in Gallia County, Ohio. This small town, and much of the McFann's farm land, was situated along the Ohio River. On this property, he and his third wife, Elizabeth Keister McFann (Lizzie) built a large home facing the Ohio River. This home and the surrounding land became the farm where A.J. and Lizzie would live for the remainder of their lives.

A.J. McFann died on November 7, 1906, in Ohio Township, Gallia County, Ohio.²   He left behind his wife, Lizzie, and 8 children. Two children had preceded A.J.'s death: Andrew J. McFann, an infant son, and Legrand McFann. Andrew Jackson McFann is buried at Mt. Zion Cemetery in Bladen, Ohio.

A.J. McFann's Family: A.J.'s Parents

Mary Fleece, A.J. McFann's mother, was born on October 3, 1779 in Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia).³   Mary Fleece's parents were Jacob Fleece and Rebecca Smith from Berkeley County, Virginia.

A.J.'s father, David McFann was born on December 25, 1772.⁴   His place of birth and parentage is being researched but is unconfirmed at this time.

Andrew Jackson McFann's parents, David McFann and Mary Fleece were married on August 26, 1799 in Berkeley County, [W]Virginia. The minister who performed their marriage ceremony, David Young, was from the German Congregation. ⁵   The little log church in Berkeley County where David McFann and Mary Fleece were married was used as a church for both the Lutheran and German Reformed alternately.⁶

After their marriage, David and Mary McFann remained in Virginia for several years. On March 18, 1802, David and Mary McFann sold property in Berkeley County for $100 to John Fleece, Mary's brother.⁷ David and Mary Fleece McFann moved from [W]Virginia to Ohio in the early 1800s, migrating along with other Scots-Irish into the Ohio region. During this time, several of Mary Fleece McFann's relatives migrated into the Ohio region, as well. Early tax lists support that the McFanns were in Scioto County, Ohio as early as 1806.

A.J. McFann's Family: A.J.'s Brothers and Sisters

A.J. McFann had a number of brothers and sisters. Names, birth dates, and dates of death were found in the entries of the McFann Bible or through legal documents. The family's vital statistics has been confirmed from a variety of sources, including birth and death certificates, marriage records, and deeds. Transcribed family records and Census entries have been used to provide additional verification when possible.

The brothers and sisters of A.J. McFann include Lettecia, Sarah, William, David, Mary, Kimber, James, Emily, and possibly Lycurges McFann.

• Lettecia McFann, b. May 5, 1800
• Sarah McFann, b. July 12, 1802
• William McFann, b. September 19, 1804
• David McFann, Jr., b. July 17, 1806
• Mary 'Polly' McFann, b. February 23, 1809
• Kimber B. McFann b. March 2, 1813
• James McFann b. between 1815-1817
• Andrew Jackson McFann, b. February 19, 1820
• Emily McFann, b. June 16, 1826
• Lycurges McFann, b. January 11, 1828 (possible son of David and Mary McFann)

A.J. McFann's Family: A.J.'s Children

A.J. married his first wife, Mary Moler/Mouler, on June 18, 1840 in Lawrence County, Ohio. Together, they had 3 children: Dennis H. McFann, Demetrius Hayes McFann, and Eliza Jane McFann. After the death of his wife, Mary Moler/Mouler McFann, in the early 1850s, A.J. married again. His second wife was Nancy Andre, born in Kentucky in 1812. Twelve years older than A.J., he and Nancy never had children together. Nancy Andre McFann died in September 1869.

At 49 years of age, A.J. McFann had become widowed twice. Still in the Portsmouth, Ohio area, A.J. was a merchant as well as an attorney. Although he was a responsible father of 3 children and was busy with his work, he was essentially alone in life now. His children were young adults and were pursuing their independent lives. Dennis, the firstborn son of A.J. and Mary Mouler McFann, was living in Cass County, Indiana. Demetrius McFann, once enrolled at Denison University in Ohio, had left his university studies to enlist in the Civil War where he earned the rank of Captain before he was mustered out in 1865. Eliza Jane, the youngest child and only daughter to A.J., was educated at Mt. Auburn Institute in Cincinnati and no longer at home. ⁹

It was at this time, in 1870, when A.J. met Elizabeth Keister. They were both travelling on a packet boat on the Ohio River headed upstream to Gallipolis, Ohio. On September 1, 1871, Andrew Jackson McFann married Margaret Elizabeth Brown Keister (Lizzie) in Greenup County, Kentucky where she had lived. ¹⁰

A.J. and Lizzie began their family at this home on Sixth Street in Portsmouth, Ohio. Their home, very close to the old courthouse, was a large 2-story brick house, included an attached office for A.J.'s law practice. This home was their residence when A.J. and Lizzie had their first children, Grace and Legrand McFann, in the early years of their marriage. The home on Sixth Street was where the couple remained until they moved into Gallia County in the late 1870s when A.J. retired.




In the mid-1870s, A.J. and Lizzie were wanting to move from the city. During this time, they had a set of twin boys named Wells and Oscar. With four children now, their family was growing.

A.J. McFann's Farm, Gallia County, Ohio

A.J. and Lizzie McFann owned a 100-acre tract of land located in Ohio Township, Gallia County, Ohio.¹¹  This acreage included river frontage on the Ohio River, and wooded hillside on the back acreage. Their home, erected in the mid-1870s, faced the Ohio River. After A.J. and Lizzie moved to this home, 3 more children were born. Their fifth child, a son named Andrew Jackson after A.J., was born in 1879. Unfortunately, he died within 3 weeks of his birth.

Within 3 more years, A.J. and Lizzie had another son, William Wilson McFann, nicknamed Willie. Their last child, Helena Rivers McFann, was born at the Gallia farmhouse in 1889. A.J. was 69 years old when Helena was born.

After A.J. McFann's death in 1906, Lizzie remained on the farm in Gallia County. When Lizzie died on January 20, 1944, the farm in Gallia County remained in the family. The family had a strong desire that the farm remain in the McFann family, and within several years, a McFann family descendant did, indeed, purchase the home and some of the farm's surrounding acreage. Within a few short years, however, the large home, erected in the 1870s, was engulfed in flames and was destroyed by fire. Although no person was injured in the blaze, A.J. McFann's family home was gone.

Andrew Jackson McFann
Born: February 19, 1820
Birthplace: Scioto County, Ohio
Death: November 7, 1906, Ohio Twp, Gallia County, Ohio
Burial Location: Mt. Zion Cemetery, Gallia County, Ohio

Parentage
Father: David McFann
Mother: Mary Fleece

Marriages
1st Wife: Mary Moler/Mouler
2nd Wife: Nancy Andre
3rd Wife: Margaret Elizabeth Brown Keister

Children:
The children of Andrew Jackson McFann & Mary Mouler
Dennis H. McFann
Demetrius H. McFann
Eliza J. McFann

The children of Andrew Jackson McFann & Elizabeth Keister
Grace R. McFann
LeGrand B. McFann
Wells A. McFann
Oscar F. McFann
Andrew Jackson McFann
William Wilson McFann
Helena Rivers McFann

References

¹   Gallia Co., Ohio Death Records, Volume 2, 1899-1916, p. 63.
²   Ibid.
³   Hand-written entries found in the McFann Family Bible.
⁴   Ibid.
⁵   Marriage Records of Berkeley County, Virginia For the Period of 1781-1854 by Guy L. Keesecker, p. 73 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1983).
⁶   Correspondence dated June 27, 2005 from Joanne Huntsberry, Berkeley County Historical Society, Martinsburg, West Virginia.
⁷  Berkeley County, West Virginia Deed Book 19, page 271, 18 March 1802.
⁸   1830 U.S. Federal Census Microfilm: Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration. M, p.306
⁹   Captain McFann's Life, As Related By Himself by Demetrius McFann. (Unpublished, circa 1870).
¹⁰   A History of Our Heritage: McFann - Woodard: From Generation To Generation: 1816 - 1984 by Hilma I. McFann Woodard (1984: Unpublished family documentation).
¹¹   Gallia County Treasurer's Office Tax Receipts, dated 1881 through 1934.

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