Perhaps I am reading this wrong, but it looks like the quarrel was not over Mahala's 1/9th portion of the land, but over Charity's, who died in 1858 without heirs. The defendants named as the administrators of Mahala's will and others, were perhaps some of Mahala's children. I can't see a scenario where Mahala's children would have lost their right to this land, if it was their mother's to begin with. Nor can I understand why this suit would have been filed 13 years after Mahala had died? Perhaps the Dehony's or Courtney's are Mahala's children. Mahala had daughters named Mary and Sarah, so perhaps Sarah Dehoney was Charity's daughter and Leander M. Dehony was her husband, and Mary A. Courtney was Mahala's daughter, and James M. Courtney was her husband. The two or three youngest children of Mahala were probably underage in 1860, which would be why the administrator (Thomas Monroe) of Mahala was being sued. Is Traci out there, and would she know who Mahala's children married? And how many were still alive in 1860? Willoughby was guardian of Charity, who was insane, and she was living in his household in 1850. Just found this on Ancestry.com. At least it answers who Sarah Dehoney and Leander were. "Always Looking for Cousins!" Entries: 125961 Updated: Sun Aug 25 18:16:27 2002 Contact: Craig Beeman <crb@ponyexpress.net> ID: I183388 Name: Sarah CHISUM Sex: F Birth: 28 FEB 1835 in ,Morgan,MO Death: 9 JUL 1905 Change Date: 15 MAR 1999 at 05:56:42 Marriage 1 M. Leander DEHONEY b: 28 OCT 1826 in ,Scott,KY Married: 5 OCT 1854 in ,Jackson,MO Children Howard DEHONEY b: 1856 in ,,MO Wellena DEHONEY b: 1856 in ,,MO Thomas DEHONEY b: 1859 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Leander's mother was Harriet Gatewood, a very distant cousin of Eliza Gatewood, wife of Granville Atkins. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1880 US Census Place: Brooking, Jackson, Missouri Source: FHL Film 1254694 National Archives Film T9-0694 Page 223D Relation Sex Marr Race Age Birthplace Leander M. DEHONEY Self M W 50 KY Occ: Farmer Fa: VA Mo: VA Sarah DEHONEY Wife F M W 47 MO Occ: Keeping House Fa: KY Mo: KY Howard C. DEHONEY Son M S W 25 MO Occ: Farmer Fa: KY Mo: MO Linda DEHONEY Dau F S W 22 MO Occ: At School Fa: KY Mo: MO Robert E. L. DEHONEY Son M S W 14 MO Occ: At School Fa: KY Mo: MO Leander DEHONEY Son M S W 12 MO Occ: At School Fa: KY Mo: MO Carrie DEHONEY Dau F S W 10 MO Occ: At School Fa: KY Mo: MO Cora DEHONEY Dau F S W 9 MO Occ: At School Fa: KY Mo: MO Buford DEHONEY Son M S W 6 MO Occ: At School Fa: KY Mo: MO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kathy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Elizabeth DuBois Russo" <elizabethrusso@attbi.com> To: <MOHOWARD-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2002 6:40 AM Subject: [MOHOWARD-L] 1860 Lawsuit naming heirs of Mahala Williams Chism > I do have a day job that I need to get back to <g> but I couldn't resist putting this one more excerpt out there for discussion: > > Howard County Deed Book 9, page 132 > > "Know all men by these presents that whereas at the June term 1860 of the Howard Circuit Court Judgment was rendered upon a petition filed therein by Willoughby Williams, Wm. D. Williams, George W. Williams, Colden, J. Williams, Josiah Brown, Nancy Brown, Nero M. Thomson, Elizabeth Thomson, Reuben Watts, Margaret Watts, Edmond C. Foster, Martha J. Foster, Casendara Brashear and Mary F. Withers, Plaintiffs against John C. Williams, Sarah Hardin, Uriah Davis, Joseph B. Davis, James C. Davis, Colden Davis, Charles C. McKinny, Mariah McKinny, Uriah J. Williams, Ann E. Williams, Martha J. Williams, Leander M. Dehony, Sarah Dehoney, Mary A. Courtney, James M. Courtney & Thomas Monroe administrator of Mahala Chism deceased, Defendants...." > > Does anyone have who the McKinneys, the Dehoneys, and the Courtneys are? > > For the curious, the plaintiffs won and the land belonging to Mahala (her 1/9 share of a Colden Williams piece of land) was sold to the highest bidder who was Willoughby Williams. Willoughby eventually was successful in obtaining nearly all of his siblings' shares one way or another. Most deeded over their shares for a nominal amount. Willoughby had been given his father's "plantation" in Colden's will and he proceeded to buy up land where he could that had been other pieces of Colden's land. > > EDR > > >