March Death Days

John Magill 

    John Magill, son of Hugh Magill and Esther Steele, was born on 3 March 1865 in Ballyward, County Down, Ireland. In 1871, John age 6 lived in Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland with his parents Hugh age 29 and Esther age 28 as well as his older brother Samuel John Magill age 7. In 1880, John age 15 lived in Northbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts with his parents Hugh age 36 and Esther age 35 as well as his siblings Samuel age 17, Rachel Magill age 6, Thomas Hugh Magill age 4, Hugh Magill age 3, and Robert Magill age 1. In 1900, John age 35 lived in Ottawa, Franklin County, Kansas with his wife Mary Matilda Matney age 24 as well as their children Raymond John Magill age 4 and Harold Hugh Magill age 2. 

    In 1920, John age 54 lived in Falls, Richardson County, Nebraska with his wife Mary age 44 as well as their children Kenneth Henry Magill age 17, Ronald Ralph Magill age 15, Byron Lawrence Magill age 13, Mary Esther Magill age 11, Grace E Magill age 9, Thelma I Magill age 6, Stanley Richard Magill age 4, and William David Magill age 2. John Magill worked as a blacksmith. He died at about 88 years old in Kansas in 1954. John Magill is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas. This March we remember John as a son, brother, husband, and father. An Irish immigrant who moved to Scotland and then made a life as a blacksmith in the United States.

photo from Find a Grave by Cheryl White

Honorable Mentions: 

1. Raymond John Magill, son of John Magill and Mary Matilda Matney, born on 2 March 1896 in Kansas died on 17 March 1973 in California.
2. Helen Elizabeth (Shaw) Meese, daughter of Homer Ripley Shaw and Vena Martha Warner, born on 11 November 1916 in Pennsylvania died on 23 March 1984 in San Diego, California.

With love, 

Autumn Rose Surratt 

The Ancestor Witch 

Sources 

• Find a Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/76359665/john-magill: 2 March 2026), John Magill, death 1954. 
• "Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F5PY-8S4: 2 March 2026), John Magill, 3 March 1865. 
• "Scotland Census, 1871", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VBR8-MYP: 2 March 2026), Hugh Mcgill and Esther Mcgill, 1871. 
• "United States Census, 1880", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHFQ-1SC: 2 March 2026), Hugh McGill and Esther McGill, 1880. 
• "United States Census, 1900", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMTK-8VN: 2 March 2026), John Magill and Matilda Magill, 1900. 
• "United States Census, 1920", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCKB-CGD: 2 March 2026), John Magill and Mary M Magill, 1920. 
• "Find a Grave Index", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVKN-2YJ6: 2 March 2026), Raymond John Magill, death 17 March 1973, memorial ID # 43100803. 
• "California Death Index, 1940-1997", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPJY-ZB5: 2 March 2026), Elizabeth Meese and Shaw, 23 March 1984.