Bibliography of McAfee Resources
in Print and Online

I've listed below most of the major works published about the McAfees and allied families of Mercer Co., KY. Many of these works provided important source material for the genealogy on this site. Several books are not genealogies, but relate to historical events in which members of the McAfee family were involved. I own some of these resources, and am actively searching for others. I put together this bibliography to help other McAfee researchers build their own library, or know what books to look for when visiting a library. Please note that these books relate only to the ancestors/descendants of the Mercer Co. McAfees. Happy reading!

Print Resources

Cansler, Norma Todd. Armstrongs of the Catawba, a Genealogical History. Dallas, TX, 1969. An index compiled by Elizabeth Herzfeld in 2004 is available via the Family History Library Catalog.

Chalky, Lyman. Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia. Extracted from the original court records of Augusta Co. 1745-1800. Three vol. Baltimore Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1974. Full of references and anecdotes to many McAfees and kin. Complete transcription available online.

Collins, Lewis. "An attack on McAfee's Station, in the year 1781." Historical Sketches of Kentucky. Maysville, KY: Lewis Collins and Cincinnati: J. A. and U. P. James, 1848. pp. 461-462. Click on the article title to view a transcription of this account, which provides interesting details about how close brothers Samuel and Robert McAfee came to losing their lives. The entire book can be searched or freely downloaded from Google Books.

Daviess, Maria Thompson. History of Mercer and Boyle Counties. Published by the Harrodsburg Herald, 1924 (1961 reprint), 175pp. This history originally appeared in the "Harrodsburg Democrat" newspaper in the late 1880s. The author was a McAfee descendant. Includes town histories, short biographies, culture, and other historical information. Every-name index to history is available online. According to a Jan. 7, 2002 posting on the KYMERCER-L list, this book is still available for purchase from the Harrodsburg Herald. (I own a reprint of this book, and will do limited lookups from it - please check the index first to make sure your person of interest is listed).

Freshour, Sidney. Wagons to Soquel. Glenhaven Press, Modesto, CA, 1995. A well-researched and well-documented history of the Freshour clan's emigration from Missouri to California in the 1850s. In addition to extensive genealogical information on the various Freshour families that participated in the emigration, Sidney also paints a vivid portrait of the conditions they faced during their journeys, and once in California. If you are researching the Freshours, then I highly recommend purchasing a copy of this book, and would be happy to provide Sidney's address to anyone interested. (I own a copy of this book, and will be happy to check and see if your ancestor is listed, and give the page references. Because it is a copyrighted work, I cannot provide more information than that).

Herrera, Lola R. Don Santiago, A Biography of James Wiley Magoffin. (View the Front Cover and Table of Contents of book). Copies are available for purchase for $27.95 through the author's daughter, .

Humphrey, Edward P. and Cleland, Thomas H. Memoirs of the Rev. Thomas Cleland, D.D., Compiled from his Private Papers. Cincinnati: Moore, Wilstach, Keys & Co., 1859. The Presbyterian minister, Rev. Thomas Horace Cleland, was an important figure in early Mercer County, Kentucky history. Among the many churches he preached at was New Providence Presbyterian Church, founded by the McAfees, Buchanans, Armstrongs and other family. Rev. Cleland officiated at baptisms, weddings and funerals of multiple McAfees. His wife, Margaret (Armstrong) Cleland, was related to the McAfees through her siblings' marriages. Both Thomas and Margaret Cleland are buried at New Providence Presbyterian Cemetery. This book is searchable and can be freely downloaded from Google Books.

Klimcheck, Maurie McCoun. James McCoun & Margaret Walker & their descendants. Self-published, Watsonville, CA. (Library of Congress lists publication date as "1993-1997".) 3 volumes. It is a highly-cited and highly-respected resource among McCoun researchers. At last check, the book is out of print, but the author may be willing to have copies printed at cost. (James McCoun and Margaret Walker were my 6th-great-grandparents).

Liebmann, A. G. Skiles-McAfee-Liebmann Memorial Published 1929. This is an interesting but somewhat chaotically-organized history of the Skiles, Liebmann and McAfee families. A. G. Liebmann claims that his maternal grandfather, John McAfee, was the son of George McAfee and Susan Curry. Robert B. McAfee, in his "Life and Times. . . " believed that John had moved to South Carolina, and died an "old bachelor," never to be heard from again by his family. While the author does present a lot of primary evidence (especially military service records) for his Skiles and Liebmann ancestors, he presents no primary evidence that his grandfather was indeed George and Susan's son. It will be interesting to see whether further research can resolve this issue. (I own a reprint of this book, and will happy to do limited lookups from it.)

McAfee, Dr. Joseph Ernest. A Midwest Adventure in Education. Published by the Parkana Alumni Committee, 1937. This book chronicles the history of Park College to 1937. Park College was founded by John Armstrong McAfee, and many of his descendants (including the author), as well as other McAfees, were educated at and/or taught at the college.

McAfee, Dr. Joseph Ernest. You Are A McAfee. Published by the Evangelical Press, Harrisburg PA, 1935. Subtitle: "For the Descendants of John Armstrong McAfee and Anna Waddell Bailey McAfee." It is a nice, personalized history, full of colorful anecdotes about the different branches of the author's family. There is a detailed genealogy of Joseph and Anna (Bailey) McAfee's children and grandchildren at the end of the booklet.

McAfee, Robert B. Book and Journal of Robert B. McAfee's Mounted Company, in Col. Richard M. Johnson's Regiment, from May 19th, 1813, Including Orders, &cc. Originally written 1813-1814. Reprinted in the "Register of the Kentucky Historical Society" in 1928. Complete transcription available online.

McAfee, Robert B. The History of the Rise and Progress of the First Settlement on Salt River and Establishment of the New Providence Church. Originally written between 1836 and 1849. Reprinted in the "Register of the Kentucky Historical Society" in 1931. Complete transcription available online.

McAfee, Robert B. Life and Times of Robert B. McAfee and His Family and Connections. Originally written in 1845. Reprinted in the "Register of the Kentucky Historical Society" in 1927. Complete transcription available online. This history is the key source cited in nearly all subsequent histories - notably A. G. Liebmann's and Neander Wood's.

Mosgrove, George Dallas. Kentucky Cavaliers in Dixie: Reminiscenses of a Confederate Cavalryman. [Orginially published by McCowart-Mercer Press, 1957. Revised edition published by University of Nebraska Press, 1999.] Byron Ames recommends this book for anyone interested in the history of the Kentucky Confederate volunteers in the Civil War. There is an extensive section on Confederate Army Capt. John Johnson McAfee.

Parker, Katherine McAfee. Near To The Heart Of God. Published by Bobbs-Merrill Company. Katharine was the sister of Mildred McAfee Horton, President of Wellsley College and first Commander of the Waves in WW II.

Smithey, Annie Fulton. The McAfee Family of Scotland, Ireland, and America, also the Matthew Forsythe descendants, and connecting lines of Alversons and Crocketts. Paris, MO: 1954. I have never seen this book, so cannot comment on its contents. If someone can offer a commentary on this book, I would be happy to post it here.

Thompson, Heather McAfee McCune and Darlene McAfee Blackwood. A Daughter's Journey: Evelyn Becker McCune. Published in 2007 by Lulu.com. Evelyn Becker McCune was the daughter of Methodist missionaries in Korea, and married George McAfee McCune, also the son of missionaries (and descendants of the McAfees who founded Park College in Parkville, MO). Available for purchase from the publisher, and Amazon.com, among others.

Woods, Dr. Neander. Woods-McAfee Memorial. Originally published in 1905. This book is available as a free download from the Internet Archive. Reprints can be ordered from Higginson Books (all orders take about 7-10 weeks). Dr. Woods descended from Mary McAfee and Samuel Woods. The bulk of this book documents his Woods ancestry, but there is a lot of information on McAfee descendants as well. (I own this book, and will happy to do limited lookups from it.)

Online Resources

General

Genealogies and Family Data