Key Facts

Snapshot:	housewife
Parents:	246Ephraim McGraw Her mother's identity is uncertain.
Born:	circa 1821 South Carolina
Last known record:	1880 census militia district 1043 (map), Paulding County, Georgia
Buried:	unknown

The census records that include 123Sarah are not particularly consistent with each other, but they generally suggest that she was born in the early 1820's1-4 in South Carolina.1-3 Her father is 246Ephraim McGraw, as explained below. 123Sarah's mother is very likely 246Ephraim's widow, Nancy, but I'm not entirely convinced.

Problem: Resolved Who is 123Sarah's father? 123Sarah McGraw married in Meriwether County, Georgia on 17 March 1842.5 Therefore, it's likely that her family was living in Meriwether County in 1840. The 1840 census includes only one McGraw family in Meriwether County: Nancy McGraw's.6 1840: 247Nancy McGraw's household in Meriwether County, Georgia. Full page.6 Since the 1840 census strongly suggests that Nancy was a widow, and since Nancy was the head of the only McGraw household in Meriwether County, a Meriwether County deed dated 22 February 1841 that mentions "the widow of Ephraim McGraw" almost certainly refers to Nancy, and also provides her late husband's name.7 Another deed shows that 246Ephraim had died by June 1840.8 This 1841 deed provides the name of Nancy's late husband. Full page.7 Although the evidence does not identify 123Sarah's father explicitly, it strongly suggests that he is 246Ephraim McGraw. DNA evidence affirms this hypothesis: An Ancestry.com autosomal DNA sample from my maternal grandmother shares 25 cM on three segments with a sample from James McGraw,9 a descendant of 246Ephraim McGraw's son Ephraim, whose descent from 246Ephraim is somewhat more certain (thanks in particular to the re-use of the name "Ephraim"). I've prepared a sketch of James' lineage, including links to some relevant evidence. Numerous relationships could explain 25 cM of shared autosomal DNA. According to DNA Painter's Shared cM Project tool v4.0, there's a 17% probability that the two samples are from 4th cousins (i.e., the relationship between James and my maternal grandmother if they are both indeed 3x-great-grandchildren of 246Ephraim McGraw, as proposed) or a similar relationship. Although the probability of a more distant relationship is actually higher, I'm confident in my conclusion due to the paper-trail evidence presented above.

Problem: Unresolved Who is 123Sarah's mother? I know of no evidence to prove when 246Ephraim McGraw married Nancy. It is plausible that he could have an earlier wife—albeit not attested in extant records—who birthed some of 246Ephraim's older children, e.g. 123Sarah. The abovementioned DNA match is not adequate to prove that 123Sarah and Ephraim are whole siblings rather than half-siblings.

She married 122William Garner in Meriwether County, Georgia on 17 March 1842. He was approximately 13 years older than she.5 For more information about their marriage, their lives together, etc., see his profile since that information won't be repeated here.

1842: 123Sarah's and 122William Garner's marriage record. Full page.5

Although 123Sarah and 122William had lived in Carroll County for a long time, after his death in the 1870's we subsequently find 123Sarah (and her youngest son Jefferson) in Paulding County.4

1880: 123Sarah's remaining family in militia district 1043 (map), Paulding County, Georgia. Full page.3

The 1880 census entry shown above is the last record I've found of 123Sarah.

Sources Cited:

1: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Division 19, Coweta County, Georgia. Page 304a, dwelling 296, family 296, William Garner household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 66. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-65XX-LW?i=42&cc=1401638&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMZYK-B7Q>, accessed 15 May 2021.

2: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). District 10, Carroll County, Georgia. Page 29, dwelling 190, family 189, William Garner household. NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 113. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBG-4Z4?i=28&cc=1473181&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMZMH-5FH>, accessed 15 May 2021.

3: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). District 5, Carroll County, Georgia. Page 13, dwelling 100, family 100, William Garner household. NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 139. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-62YS-GDY?i=19&wc=KLSJ-3TL%3A518665401%2C518832801%2C518680901&cc=1438024&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMCSK-41X>, accessed 15 May 2021.

4: 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 1043, Paulding County, Georgia. Enumeration district 160, page 458C, dwelling 92, family 92, Sarah Garner household. NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 160. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YB9-ZHQ?i=10&cc=1417683&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AM8G2-LWN>, accessed 14 September 2021.

5: Meriwether County, Georgia. Marriage book A (1828-1843), page 128, marriage of William Garner and Sarah McGraw, dated 17 March 1842. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9BZH-PHP?i=79&cc=1927197&cat=269741>, accessed 15 May 2021.

6: 1840 U.S. Federal Census. Meriwether County, Georgia. Page 126, Nancy McGraw household. NARA microfilm publication M704, roll 46. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBQ-ZCZ?i=64&cc=1786457&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AXHBN-VWF>.

7: Meriwether County, Georgia. Deeds book G, page 382. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSR1-9SMF-K?i=211&cat=234242>.

8: Meriwether County, Georgia. Deeds book G, page 159. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSR1-9SM2-2?i=97&cat=234242>. Notice the phrase "the place Ephraim McGraw lately lived on."

9: For privacy reasons, I won't share further details of the DNA match here. This PGP-encrypted file contains those details.