|Matilda Horne McAllister|
It was not without a fight, though, as many was forced to stand up and defend their freedom in the American War of Independence. The ancestor for these Scots abroad have rediscovered their heritage in the last century through the Clan societies and other organizations that have sprung up across North America. Immigration and passenger ship lists show some important early immigrants bearing the name McCray.
This family starts for me with Mose(s) McRae and Matilda Horne McAllister McRae. They have 11 children that I am able to find in the census data, but I was told that there were 12 of them. This 12th one maybe the one son that I was told moved to Canada, passed as white and never returned. This is something that nobody wants to believe would happen in their own family, but it was quite common then. I do understand how one would feel it necessary to do, especially given the way people were treated by others when it was known that they had African blood.
The spelling of this name is different for many reasons. The census shows it as McRae more often and I believe that it is because they were living in or near McRae, Georgia. The only living granddaughter of Mose and Matilda, yes there is one still living, and in San Francisco, and she is the daughter of John Franklin McCrae. She says that her dad spelled his name McCrae, but her brother who is John Franklin McCrae, Jr. spells it McCray.
Many names are consistently misspelled in the census.
Many thought that there were many spelling variations of the name because maybe they could not read or write, but I a told by Lelia, that her dad John Franklin McCrae, taught his children to read and write, so that theory is at least out of the question for him. He is also the one that signed Matilda's death certificate.
In the past three years this is the side of the family where I have made major discoveries and met lots of knew relatives and it has been wonderful. Many were in the areas of Georgia that were easily accessible from Savannah, but we didn't know each other. Thanks to Ancestry.com and technology, we were able to find each other, connect, and stay connected.
My great great grandfather was Moses McRae, born 1846, in Telfair County, Georgia, to Mary and an unknown father. I was recently made aware that a Nelson McRae may have been his father, but that is not yet confirmed, he was considered mulatto. There is documentation in the form of wills, that shows a Nelson McRae at a neighboring planation.
Moses married Matilda Horn McAllister in 1872 and they had 10 known children, Emma(who was born before their marriage and is probably not Moses' daughter), Edward, Sarah, Susie(my great grandmother), John, Earnest, Milbern, James, Joseph, and Waldo.
Links to McCray posts
McRae-McCray-McCrae: What Happened?
Leila McRae Jones - The Closest Living Relative to Mose and Matilda McRae
The Family Gathering in Ailey. Georgia
Lieutenant Colonel Jesse McRae
McRae Grandchildren Meet
Matilda McAllister McRae
Mose McRae's mothers name is Mary
Is Mose the Brother of Daniel McRae?
Mose McRae and Matilda Horn McAllister
New Connection to the Mose & Matilda McRae
Rhonda McCray Arnette
Leila McCrae Jones' fight with breast cancer