Andrew Logan was born September 21, 1855. He is listed on the 1860 census as Andrew Mims. At this time he was 5 years old. He is living in the household with his grandparents, William and Nancy McKee. Their daughter, Isabella McKee, is also living in the household with them. It is believed that Isabella was Andrew’s mother. This has not been proven, though. Sometime between the 1860 and 1880 censuses, he changed his last name from Mims to McKee [his grandfather’s name]. Due to a fire in the Abbeville Courthouse, I have not been able to find any adoption or guardian records pertaining to this. At that time in our history, families often just took care of their own and did not have to go through all of the paperwork.
Oral tradition has it that Andrew’s father was a Mims from Edgefield. When Andrew was about 12 years old [about 1867], he wrote a letter to his father asking why he had not written him, seen him, sent him a birthday or Christmas card, or acknowledged him in any way. Apparently at this time his father only lived 20-30 miles away, but had not been seen or heard from in years. According to various family members, this letter is still in existence, but no one seems to know where the letter is.
I had combed through census records from 1850-1880 and checked at the records at the Abbeville Courthouse. So far I’ve been unable to find any definitive leads on Andrew’s father.
DNA testing proved there is a relationship with the McKee’s of Edgefield, SC. The DNA shows a connection linking Britton Jones Mims as a probable great-grandfather and a definite family connection to his father, Drury Mims.
However, DNA results and census records do not clearly reveal who Andrew Logan McKee’s father or grandfather are. However, there are some links and leads I am following up on and will share more information once I have more definitive information.
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