Yuma County, Colorado
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Yuma County Pioneers

Albert C. Macfee


In 1880 Charlotte County, Virginia, Albert is 13, with father E.D. Macfee, Sr. 45 and Margarett 40. Edward Jr. is 21, Camilla 19, Albert 13, and Carrie 11.

In 1888 Cheyenne County, Kansas, A.C. Macfee was a witness for two land claims

1889 "A. C. MacFee is again amongst us. Je talks of going to Oklahoma soon.

January 9, 1890 St. Francis, Kansas " A. C. Macfee is very low of typhoid fever. His two brothers are here from Decatur county assisting in caring for him."

One tree posted that Albert died in Jaqua, Cheyenne County in January 1890, and was buried in Decatur County.

"Heirs of Albert C. Macfee", represented by George W. Macfee, proved up a quarter in 30, 5S 42W in 1903, and the same year a Timber quarter.

Taxes were delinquent in 1906.



"NOTICE: In the Matter of the Petition) of JOHN KUEB for the Determination of Interests in the Lands and Tenements of ALBERT C. MACFEE, Deceased. Notice is hereby given that John Rueb has filed his verified Petition in this Court, praying for the determination of the interests in the lands and tenements of Albert C. Macfee, deceased, alleging that the sole and only heirs at law of the said Albert C. Macfee, is Edward D. Macfee, Senior; that the said Albert C. Macfee was the owner of an inchoate title in and to the real estate hereinafter described under and by virtue of certain Homestead Entry of a certain Timber Culture Entry application number 14657, and a certain Homestead Entry, application number 14835, which were made by said decedent during his lifetime under the Homestead Laws of the United States, and upon which Entry patents were issued after the demise of said decedent to the heirs of said decedent, as in said Petition more particularly set forth. That the hearing upon said Petition has, by order of said Court been set for Tuesday, the 31st day of October, A. D. 1944, at ten o’clock a. m. in the District Courtroom in the Town of Wray, County of Yuma and State of Colorado, or on such date thereafter to which said hearing may be continued; at which said hearing the Court will determine the heirs at law of the said Albert C. Macfee, deceased, and the grantees of such heirs, and ths interest of each in and to the following described real property, lying, being, and situate in the County of Yuma in the State of Colorado, to-wit: Lots Fourteen (14), Fifteen (15), Sixteen (16), Seventeen (17), Eighteen (18), Nineteen (19), Twenty-two (22), Twenty-three (23), Twenty-four (24), and Twen-ty-five (25), of Section Thirtythree (33) in Township Five (5) South of Range Forty-two (42) West of the Sixth Principal Meridian, in Yuma County, Colorado; and will enter a decree accordingly, at or before which time any person interested may appear and answer such Petition, and set up any proper defense to the same or any part thereof, or to the prayer being granted or intervene to assert and protect any interest which he or she may have. Given under my hand and the Seal of said Court at Wray, Colorado, this 16th day of Steptember, A. D. 1944. ESTHER CASSINI, Clerk of the District Court of Yuma County, Colorado.

January 1953 Wray, Colorado "Guests at a holiday dinner on Sunday at the Elmer Thiringer home were Mr. Thiringer's parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Thiringer of Herndon, Kansas, his three sisters and families, Mr. and Mrs. Harley Morthole of Culberson, Neb., Mr. and Mrs. Harlan Cox and family and Mr. and Mrs. Clark Macfee and family, all of Atwood, Kan., and a brother, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Thiringer and family of Fort Lupton."
"Clark Macfee: s/o Milburn Macfee & Viola Thomas; md. Elsie Thiringer 01 Aug 1937 Evangelical Church in Herndnon, Rawlins County, KS; 1 daughter."

One tree thinks he was Albert Cabell Macfee born January 8, 1869 in Richmond, Virginia.  He was the son of  a minister, Edward Daniel Macfee, born in New Orleans, marrying Pauliana Giannini there, then moving to Virginia.  In 1870 Charlotte County, Virginia  Edward and Paulina have Willie, 13, George 11, Edward 9, Kamilla 8, Albert 3, and Carry 1,

In 1880 Charlotte E.D., 45, is married to Margarett 40.  Edward 21, Camilla 19, Albert 13, and Carry 11 are with them.

George Washington Macfee spent most of his life in Oberlin, Kansas, and is buried there  1857-1937.


You are welcome to use whatever you like on the history I have sent you. Edward

I am related to the two Edward Daniel Macfees by marriage. A few years back I wrote an article for a Heritage Book for Charlotte County, Virginia about both Edward Daniel Macfees. Edward Daniel Macfee, Sr. was born in New Orleans. According to his Confederate pension application of 1902 he moved to Virginia when he was 19 years of age. By 1855 he was living in Richmond, Virginia where he married Paulina Giannini on August 29, 1855. She was the daughter of Marianno Gianinni, a Richmond grocer. At the time of the couple's marriage, E. D. was working at the foundry and armory near Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond Virginia. In the 1860 census for Richmond, Virginia, he is listed as a "patten maker" (possibly "pattern marker") for the production of steel weapons. According to a note found in Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Edward Daniel Macfee, Sr. "...invented a Gatling gun which was confiscated by the Confederate government." This probably occurred late in 1861 when the Confederate States of America took over the Richmond Armory. Also in 1861, E. D. Macfee formed a partnership with Edwin Boyle and Thomas Gamble of the firm "Boyle & Gamble" to form another firm, "Boyle, Gamble & Macfee". It appears that Boyle and Gamble produced military hardware sold privately to individuals. Boyle, Gamble and Macfee, functioned as a military outfitter for the Confederate States of America to produce bladed weaponry. The company manufactured sabers, bayonets, cavalry swords, artillery swords, bowie knives, and cavalry officer's swords. Their business was located on south Sixth Street, one block from the old Virginia Armory in Richmond, VA, and within walking distance of Tredegar Iron Works.

According to his pension application he states that he joined the Confederate Army on April 7, 1864 at Fort Lee near Richmond, VA. He stated in the pension he was in the "Richmond Armory unit" and then was moved to Alabama Company, but according to Virginia Confederate Soldiers 1861-1865 and the Virginia Regimental Series produced by H.E Howard Company, he was in the 19th VA Infantry Co. F. I believe his statement on his Parole is the correct one as the Richmond Armory and the carbine factory were moved out of Richmond to protect them from capture by the Union. They were moved to Alabama and I think E.D. Macfee went with them. He was paroled in Montgomery, Alabama when the war ended and made his way back to Richmond to reunite with his family. Upon reaching Richmond, he found his entire livelihood destroyed by the fires set by retreating Confederates when the city was abandoned in April 1865. His family home would have had a front row seat to this fire as it was located just blocks away. E. D. Macfee, Sr. states in his pension that he took up residence in Charlotte County by 1869. According to my family lore the reason they moved to Charlotte County was because Paulina had family already living there during the war and they relocated to be near them. While in Charlotte County he worked as a wheelwright but also continued to invent and invented a "corn hopper" which he patented. Paulina died in Charlotte County in 1871 and E. D. Macfee Sr. married 2nd, Margaret Ann Harvey Reames on 30 Oct 1872 in Charlotte County, VA. She died in 1890. There was no issue from the marriage. His 3rd wife was Elvin Druscilla Clark whom he married on 21 Dec 1892 in Charlotte County, VA. (Elvin is the sister of my great-grandfather Robert Michael Clark). Elvin died 09 May 1926 in Charlotte Co., VA. There was no issue from this marriage either. At some point Edward Daniel Macfee, Sr. went to live with his son, Edward Daniel Macfee, Jr. in Petersburg, VA where he died 2 years after Elvin.
" This is Edward Daniel Macfee, Sr., not the photographer. The official Confederate records say he was in the 19th VA but it does not appear that he was with the 19th VA in these final days of the war. The 19th VA was part of “Lee’s Retreat”, were at the battle of Sailor’s Creek and surrendered at Appomattox. Edward Daniel Macfee, Sr. went with the Richmond Armory when it was removed from Richmond Virginia to Tallasee, Alabama in the last stages of the Civil War. He was paroled in nearby Montgomery, Alabama."


"The elder Macfee was a principal in the firm of Boyle, Gamble & Macfee. The firms only client was the Confederacy and they produced bladed weaponry for the Confederacy. This included swords, scabbards, knives and bayonets. They also produced and had a patent for an adaptor to attach bayonets to guns that were not necessarily made to carry a bayonet."
"In 1879 he received a patent for a corn planter which included a mechanism for dropping fertilizer with the seed. "

E. D. Macfee Jr. was, according to the family, intelligent, multi-talented, and something of a Renaissance man. He often worked as an itinerant photographer, as well as wrote music and poetry. He was a business owner. Owning and operating at various times a photography studio, a movie theater, a boarding house, and a neighborhood grocery store. He was an inventor who invented the spark plug but died before he applied for a patent. One of his partners applied for the patent and now has the distinction of being the inventor of that particular spark plug. He held several patents on mechanical devices, one on a carriage for photography equipment, and another on a reserve fuel tank for an automobile. I found that he was a photographer in Rolling Hill, VA; Chase City, VA.; Baltimore, MD; Petersburg, VA; Raleigh, NC, and Norcatur, Kansas. I have recently run across a picture taken in the "Indian Territory". Most of the photographs appear to be taken in the late 1800s and early 1900s. I know he also had a contract with Fort Lee near Petersburg to take pictures of new recruits. I have been meaning to research that connection further but have been unable to do so. There is also a short film held in the National Archives that he shot of the return of the Great White fleet returning to Hampton Roads, VA from their circumnavigation of the globe that took place from December 16, 1907 to February 22, 1909 by order of then President Teddy Roosevelt. He married late in live. Interestingly, he married Elvin Druscilla Clark Macfee's niece, Frances Mabel Clark (my great-aunt) on 12 Oct 1927 in Charlotte County, Virginia. They had no children. He died in Petersburg on 15 Apr 1930.
"He was actually not based in Richmond but in Petersburg and ran the Columbia Picture Studio there. He worked in still and moving picture production. He was an itinerant photographer and so far I have found pictures he produced in NC, Virginia, Maryland, Kansas, and Oklahoma. On election days, he did come to the state capitol of in Richmond and set up moving pictures in a tent to entertain the crowds waiting for election results. He wrote many songs, "Song of Camp Lee", being one. Camp Lee was the camp just outside of Petersburg, VA. He also wrote poetry, some of which graced postcards that he produced for sale."



Daniel Macfee, Jr. and his brother George applied for land patents under the Homestead Act in Decatur County, Kansas in Roosevelt Township on September 9, 1886 and on April 24, 1890. I would imagine Albert probably headed West with or following his older brother George and patented land in Colorado when he was of age. I don't know if Albert C. Macfee lived in Colorado or not but if he did it was not for long. I have Albert's death as occurring on January 8, 1890 and he died at the home of his father, Edward D. Macfee, Sr. in Red House, Virginia. I have not looked up the death record so I can't tell you what he died of but his Step-mother died that July of a bacterial infection that is very serious...treatable by antibiotics now but probably not in 1890. He was most likely buried on the family farm as there was a cemetery right there on the property.

The Historical Society of Charlotte is registering and cataloguing all the cemeteries in the County and they know about the one for the MacFee family. I don't know if they will get permission to go on site and register the cemetery as the property is now private property. It is guarded like a military compound.

It appears George W. Macfee, Albert's older brother, was taking care of the estate of Albert MacFee for his heirs. George Washington Macfee was a probate judge in Norcatur, Kansas. I believe he may have been a pharmacist before that. I don't know why the failure to pay taxes in 1906. I don't believe anyone in the family living at that time moved to Colorado. I have pictures of family members taken by E.D. Jr. but I am not sure I have one that has Albert in it. Unfortunately, E.D. Jr. and his wife Mabel were notorious about not putting names on family portraits!!! E.D. would write notes on photos of historical significance but not on family portraits. I do have contact with the grandson of George W. MacFee, E.D. Jr.'s brother, and he has a number of E.D.'s photographs. His name is Pat MacFee and he lives in Kansas. Together we have been able to identify most of the people in the portraits taken by E.D. If his email still works, I will see if he has any photos of Albert. I am glad to share anything I have with you on the MacFees. If I run across any pictures of Albert or any taken in Colorado I will send it your way. D. Briggs
 EDWARD D MACFEE DIES AT PETERSBURG
Mr. Edward D. Macfee, Sr., one of the oldest and most highly esteemed citizens of Charlotte County, passed away to his reward April 12th, 1928 at 6:30 P.M. in Petersburg, Virginia, at the home of his son, Mr. E.D. Macfee Jr. Mr. Macfee was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, December 25, 1834 and at the age of 21 moved to Richmond Virginia and after serving through the War moved to Charlotte County, Virginia, Red House.
The deceased was married three times and his married life was singularly congenial and happy. In his early days he joined the M.E. church and his faith was as simple as it was beautiful, sincere, and unaffected. In business his word was his bond. He spent the most of his life near Red House, where he enjoyed the respect and confidence of all who knew him.
His body now rests in the old family burying ground together with the remains of his three wives and his son.   Rev. W.V. Macfee died while attending Richmond College and the survivors are as follows: G.W. Macfee, Oberlin Kansas; E.D. Macfee, Jr., Petersburg, and Carrie Lee Macfee, Petersburg.

Edward served in the 19th Virginia MACFEE, E. D.: Pvt., Co. F (no date); paroled Montgomery, Alabama 5/19/65.

A photograph of him and his home is on the Charlotte County Archives page.

Edward was a wheelwright in one census, a farmer in another, a foundry worker in another - and he must have been a metal-worker for the Confederacy.  His firm applied for a patent from the Confederacy for a method of affixing a bayonet to a gun.

In 1879 he received a patent for a corn planter which included a mechanism for dropping fertilizer with the seed.

Edward, Jr. was a photographer / moving picture operator in Richmond, and photographed the "Wreck of the N & W   Cannonball " the source of the song.

W. V. Macfee, the son of E. D. Macfee, Sr., was born July 21, 1856, at Louisburg, N. C. He was educated at Richmond College and at the S. B. T. Seminary, Louisville. Ky. He was pastor first of churches in Mecklenburg County and then of a field below Richmond. His feeble health gave way under his earnest work and by reason of exposure. He died at the "Retreat," Richmond, Va., April 4. 1889. He was buried on his father's farm, some
nine miles from Pamplin, Va. In one of the churches of which he was pastor a difficulty of long standing, a menace to the very life of the church, was healed by his tact.
 

1892 Goodland, Kansas "E.D. Macfee of Norcatur, Kas., was sojourning at the Commercial this week.  He is in the photograph business.  His specialties are the outside and inside pictures of buildings."  Maybe Edward was visiting brother George in Oberlin.

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