Jane (McMichael)
McAfee

1710 - 1783

Daughter of Malcolm and Elizabeth (Montgomery) McMichael, married James McAfee, about 1735, County Armagh, Ireland.

Inscription on her memorial, erected in the New Providence Presbyterian Cemetery, Mercer County, Kentucky. "In memory of Jane McAfee, the mother of pioneer men of Kentucky, who by the side of her five sons was among the first to cross the Cumberlands in 1779. This stone erected by her descendants and the Jane McAfee Chapter of the D.A.R."
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"The Life and Times of Robert B. McAfee and His Family and Connections", April, 1845.
...In 1778-1779, the McAfee brothers returned to Virginia to pack up their families and head back to central Kentucky. James McAfee Sr. chose not to make the trip to Kentucky. This decision was understandable, as he was about 72 years old at the time. He moved into the home of his granddaughter Mary (McAfee) Woods, eldest daughter of James McAfee Jr., who had stayed behind with her husband, David Woods. Here, in Botetourt Co., Virginia, James McAfee Sr. died in 1785. What is remarkable is that Jane McMichael McAfee chose to follow her children to Kentucky, instead of remaining at home with her husband. It is not known why she made this decision, but it was a courageous one, given her age and the harsh conditions of the first winter spent in McAfee Station. She lived in the home of her eldest son, James McAfee (which home still stands outside Harrodsburg, Ky today) until her death in 1783.