Nathaniel Magruder was the son of John Magruder of Dunblane, and the father of John S. Magruder and of Elizabeth Magruder. Here is the family tree. I hope to post information from the estates of all who died before emancipation, tracking the movement of slaves and free blacks among them–including the Hall family (not shown here) with whom these Magruders were intermarried.

Bold font shows Nathaniel himself, with his ancestors and children; plain font shows his siblings, nieces & nephews, and grandchildren.

See pages in the Magruder-McGregor and Magruder-Hamilton clusters, as well as Descendants of Priscilla Gray. See especially the Interrelations page in the Magruder-McGregor group.

1. Alexander Magruder (immigrant) ~1610-1677
+ Sarah [surname debated]

2. Samuel Magruder ~1660-1711
+ Sarah [surname debated] d. 1734

3. John Magruder of Dunblane
+ Susannah Smith (died intestate)

4. Alexander Magruder + ??

4. Burgess Magruder

4. Rebecca Magruder + Benjamin Hall

4. Zadok Magruder + Rachel Pottinger (widow Bowie)

4. Nathan Dunblane Magruder + Rebecca Beall (his cousin)
Many descendants, including Isaac Magruder,  Staley Magruder, & all the Caleb Clarke Magruders. I will explore this family in future.

4. Elizabeth Magruder 1720-1794 + Richard Burgess 1708-1781; whose children included:
5. Ursula Burgess 1752-1824 + William Sprigg Bowie 1753-1809; whose children included:
6. William Mordecai Bowie 1786-1863 + Martha Magruder, his cousin, d/o Nathaniel Magruder
6. Charles Bowie Sr. ~1787-1849

4. Nathaniel Magruder ~1716-1785
+ Margaret Magruder (his cousin, d/o James Magruder + Barbara Coombs)

5. Francis Magruder  1763-1820 + Barbara Williams
6. Louisa Magruder (unmarried)
6. Eleanor Magruder (unmarried)
6. Martha Magruder (died intestate)  + William Mordecai Bowie d. 1863
7. Richard W. Bowie 1810-1859
7. Francis Magruder Bowie

5. John S. Magruder 1767-1825 + Eleanor Hall (widow Clark) (see Magruder-McGregor pages) In 1820, he changed the surnames of all his living children to McGregor. Eleanor died intestate.

6. Margaret Ellen McGregor d. 1890 + Jesse Ewell d. 1897 (sometimes given as Ellen M.; she was called Ellen) (see George Washington “Wash” Magruder)
6. Nathaniel M. McGregor d. 1869 + Susan E. Mitchell d. 1894
6. Roderick M. McGregor 1804-1857 + Mary Ann Berry (widow Eaton) d.1874 (see Magruder-McGregor pages)
6. Henry M. McGregor 1807-1851 + Eliza or Elizabeth Berry (half sister of Mary Ann Berry). Henry’s will and inventory mention no slaves. At least two of his slaves had been sold to his brother Roderick. (see Magruder-McGregor pages)
6. Alaric or Alerick M. McGregor + Martha Potts Key. Alerick was a school teacher; his will and inventory mention no slaves.
6. Two other children who died young

5. Sarah Magruder + Bernard Shanley (both died intestate)
6. Eliza Shanley d. 1860 + Charles B. Hamilton d. 1851 (see Magruder-Hamilton pages)
6. Maria Shanley + George Watterston (both died intestate)

5. Elizabeth Magruder, d 1827, unmarried (see Magruder-Hamilton pages)

5. Margaret Magruder (unmarried, died intestate)

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The inventory of Nathaniel Magruder’s estate is unusual in that it lists the contents of each room in the main house, as well as the slave quarters and outbuildings, giving an unusually detailed picture of life and material culture on his plantations. The entire inventory has been scanned and transcribed on Probing the Past, a project of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. Here is my snapshot of one page of the original inventory, giving the names of some of the enslaved.

Names in this inventory: Harry 45, a smith ($100), Ben 32 ($80), Tom 25 ($90), Will 22 ($90), David 15 ($60), Charles 10 ($40), Bess 70 ($2), Moll 60 ($10), Clare 32 & child 3 mos. ($70), Rose 20 ($65), Poll 10? ($65), Molley 8 ($35), Sook 4 ($20), Cupit 4 ($20), Tom 3 ($15), Sam 3 ($15), Toby 2 ($12), Adam 18 mos.($10).

It is possible this Charles is Charles Carroll, freed in 1827 by Elizabeth Magruder, but no one else from this list can be traced to her will or to the estate of John S. Magruder. In his will, Nathaniel left Poll to Elizabeth, but she does not appear in Elizabeth’s will. (Her inventory does not survive.)

In his will, Nathaniel left Rose to his daughter Sarah, and to Margaret he left a girl named Cate, not named in the inventory. Both Margaret Magruder and Sarah Magruder Shanley died intestate.

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I have not verified all details given on the family tree; I will update if I discover errors. My general sources are C.C. Magruder and Sue Emerson (see Sources pages for full citations) with verifications from the wills listed.

Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties listing for Dunblane