Who Was Sarah “Sally” McCage’s Father?

Sarah E. McCage (~1812-1860), who married William Kennedy Dickson (1811-probably 1860s), was born in Tennessee and lived in Perry County, Tennessee by 1840 (if not before). I’d seen her maiden name, McCage, on other researchers’ trees, but last year is the first time I found it on a document. One of her children, Jacob Tipton Dickson, had written his mother’s name as Sarah McCage on a Civil War Questionnaire in 1920.

Jacob Tipton’s Civil War Questionnaire (Question #8 lists “Maiden name in full of your mother: Salley McCage.) She was the daughter of “dont know” and his wife “dont know.”

I’ve been looking through Fold3.com’s War of 1812 Pension Files lately. (They are currently posted through the letter M, and I’m “patiently” waiting for the Ws for Whitwell.) Today, I came across a Samuel McCage from Tennessee who looked like a possible father or uncle for Sarah. Samuel was from Humphreys County, Tennessee which is adjacent to Perry County, Tennessee.

I found Samuel’s Find a Grave memorial and a researcher lists Samuel’s children, which did not include my Samuel. It did, however, say that Samuel McCage lived in Perry County, Tennessee until the late 1840s! But, her birth of May 1811 to April 1812 does not fit nicely with Samuel’s marriage date of March 29th, 1812.

Could Samuel McCage possibly be Sarah’s uncle? And, there’s still a chance Samuel is her father.

I had never found Sarah and her husband, William Kennedy Dickson, on the 1840 census… until recently. I looked for Samuel McCage in the 1840 census in Perry County, Tennessee. I found him, and just 3 names down was Kennedy Dickson with his wife and three young children.