Rabbit holes seem to be a good fit with this busy time of year. Shallow enough to spend some genealogy time but just deep enough to ferret out a few clues in the lives of the ancestors.

Pleasant Mahon was born c1780, reportedly in Virginia, although the died in the decade before the 1850 census so never personally reported his place of birth in that record.

He married Mary Williams, daughter of Matthias Williams, the Revolutionary War soldier, on 20 February 1802 in Campbell County, Virginia.

I’ve never added parents to Pleas, as he was known, in the family, mainly because there is so much undocumented family lore that has accumulated by Mahon descendants.

Checking for online trees is enough to give the reader a migraine. His reputed father and mother have been blessed with multiple names – none with even a hint of a proven source.

Pleasant Mahon is sometimes attributed to be the son of Thomas Mahon and Elizabeth Johnson, other times of John Mahon. It is further said that Thomas was the son of one “Jane Agnes Byrd Dial who married John Mahon, who was shot and killed by British soldiers during the Revolutionary War because they wanted the silver buckles on his pants and shoes. The origin of this tale is an unnamed great grandson. Thomas then raised his siblings before he married and had his own family. The only place mentioned as home, until many left for Fayette County, Illinois c1835, is Pittsylvania County.

So, what can be gleaned of the extant records for the 1700s? Let’s begin with the documents concerning Pleasant Mahon’s life.

With the loss of the early Virginia census records, Pleasant only appears in the 1820, 1830 and 1840 census records, where his age is reported as 45+ and then born 1770-1780 and, again, 1770-1780. His given name is mis-indexed in every census – first as ‘Pharietta,” then as ‘Thomas’ (although careful reading shows it does say Pleasant) and, finally, as ‘Slearant.’ Those census reports support a birth year of the late 1770s to 1780.

His 1802 marriage record in Campbell County, Virginia indicates he was of legal age, so again, born no later than c1780.

Tax records help fill in some of the blanks in Pleasant’s young adulthood, but it’s necessary to begin introducing the other Mahons because they were a somewhat mobile family, at least in Virginia.

Because Pleasant married in 1802 in Campbell County, I began there. In 1802, the only Mahon is Pliant Mohon, with one male 16+. In 1803, however, we find three men listed together – Pleasant, one male 16+, Dennis, one male 16+ and one horse and Pliant, one male 16+.

It is claimed that these three men are brothers. Pleas married in 1802, Dennis married Susanna Neal on 11 March 1805. Dennis and Susanna were living in Butler County, Kentucky in 1850. He was 74 years old, so born c1776 in Virginia. No marriage record has been found for Pliant, but in 1850, he lived in Logan County, Virginia (now WV), aged 72, wife wife Ann, 63, and four inferred daughters, Aggy, 28, Sarah, 25, Elizabeth, 22, and Nancy D., 13. James Mahon, 34, and his family lived next door.

Back to Pleasant – by 1804, he is no longer in Campbell County. However, neither is Pliant. Instead, Barnett Mohon appears, with one male 16+ listed next to Dennis Mohon, with one male 16+ and one horse.

In fact, I haven’t found Pleasant Mahon on any tax list in any county in 1804, but the 1804 list for Pittsylvania County is missing. I suspect that Pleas moved there.

Barnett was still living as late as 1860, aged 88 years, so born c1772.

So far, we have four men, all close in age:

• Barnett Mahon, born c1772
• Dennis Mahon, born c1776
• Pliant Mahon, born c1778
• Pleasant Mahon, born c1780

By 1805, only Barnett remained in Campbell County. However, there are three Mahon men in Pittsylvania County, but, first, we need to back up to 1799 in Pittsylvania County.

Between 1799-1803, Thomas Mahon appears in every tax list in Pittsylvania County, but he is the only man of that surname listed.

In 1805, there are three Mahons on the Pittsylvania tax list: Thomas, Pleasant and Plyant Mahon, all visited by the taxman on 17 July.

The list was a bit longer in 1806 as we now find Pleasant, Plyant, Thomas, James and Doctor (his first name, not his occupation.) We’ve already met and identified Pleas and Plyant, but need more information about Thomas, James and Doctor.

Doctor Mahon married Dolly Lansford on 4 December 1810 in Pittsylvania County. In 1850, they lived in Fayette County, Illinois and was 68 eyars old, so born c1782 in Virginia. We can now add another man to our list of early Mahon men.

• Barnett Mahon, born c1772
• Dennis Mahon, born c1776
• Pliant Mahon, born c1778
• Pleasant Mahon, born c1780
• Doctor Mahon, born c1782

To glean more information about Thomas and James, let’s look at marriage records. Thomas Mahon married Elizabeth Johnson on 16 February 1795 in Amherst County, Virginia. Let’s say he married when he was 21 years old, so born c1774. James Mahon married Mary Nowlin on 2 March 1795, but in Pittsylvania County. If James was about 21 when he married, then he was also born c1774. The 1770s are getting quite crowded now for Mahon births.

We now have seven Mahon men, all close in age:

• Barnett Mahon, born c1772
• Thomas Mahon, born c1774
• James Mahon, born c1774
• Dennis Mahon, born c1776
• Pliant Mahon, born c1778
• Pleasant Mahon, born c1780
• Doctor Mahon, born c1782

James Mahon appears in the Pittsylvania County tax lists from 1806 to 1810, when he is listed as ‘James & Doctor’ Mahon, which seems to indicate they were living in the same household. James then disappears from all records. He isn’t found in the 1820 census either and there are no land deeds indicating he bought or sold any land. What became of James and wife Mary is unknown.

The Mahon story gets a bit more complicated and will be covered in Part 2.