by Rocky Macy
Mary Elizabeth “Polly” HUFF was born on April 9, 1790, or April 9, 1794, most likely in Hardinsburg, Breckenridge County, Kentucky. She married William MASEY in Breckenridge County on January 9, 1813, and she passed away in that same county on May 12, 1883.
Polly (HUFF) MASEY was my g-g-g-grandmother.
Her tombstone says that Mary Elizabeth “Polly” (HUFF) MASEY’s date of birth was April 9, 1790, but an entry in a family Bible that belonged to her son, Charles MACY, and his family put her date of birth at April 9, 1794. (That Bible is currently in the possession of one of Charles’ descendants, but copies and transcriptions of the entries are available in the book, “Macy Family” by Betty TUGGLE BELL, another descendant of Charles MACY.)
Polly is believed to have been the daughter - and oldest child - of Benjamin “Ben” HUFF, the first sheriff of Breckenridge County, Kentucky (1801-1805) and Mary “Polly” HARDIN, a member of the family that founded Hardinsburg, Kentucky – the county seat of Breckenridge County.
Polly MASEY’s first official entry into the public record was on the occasion of her marriage to William MASEY on January 9, 1813. In that record he was listed as “William Massey” and she was noted as “Polly Huff.”
William and Polly MASEY had twelve children: Winnie Ann (born October 14, 1813 – died after 1833), Elihu (July 15, 1815 – March 11, 1876), Lydia (November 18, 1817 - October 24, 1907), Benjamin (September 18, 1819 – September 5, 1850), Robert (February 8, 1822 – December 6, 1849), Nancy (May 31, 1824 – October 24, 1907), Daniel (February 4, 1827 – July 11, 1858), William (June 20, 1829), Charles (February 4, 1831 – February 28, 1876), Jesse (August 7, 1832 – November 9, 1921), Joshua (December 29, 1833 – after 1850), and Mary (October 6, 1836 – after 1860).
Winnie Ann married James BRUINGTON on October 12, 1833. Elihu married Martha J. BRUINGTON on October 2, 1839. Lydia married William DAVIS on September 14, 1865, when she was nearing the age of fifty. Nancy married Jas. P.R. SNIDER on April 16, 1845. Daniel married Rebecca HOOK in 1854. Charles married Mary Jane MEADOR on February 19, 1852. Jesse’s first wife was Docia MEADOWS (a sister to Mary Jane MEADOR), and after Docia’s death he married Sarah DAVIS. Mary, the youngest child in the family, married James POOLE on April 9, 1858.
The US Censuses prior to 1850 did not list any family members by name other than the head of the household. There was an age-appropriate, free, white female noted in the family of “Wm Marsey” on the 1820 census of Stephens Port, Breckenridge County, Kentucky, who was undoubtedly Polly. The 1830 US Census of “Breckenridge, Kentucky” had an age-appropriate, free, white female listed in the household of “William Masey” who was certainly Polly, and the 1840 census for “Breckenridge, Kentucky” also listed an age-appropriate, free, white female in the household of “Wm Macy” who was surely Polly.
With the 1850 census things began to get more specific. In 1850 Polly was listed as “Mary Magsay,” the 56-year-old wife of “William Magsay (age 61). They were residing in District 1 of Breckenridge County, Kentucky. Also in the household were the following “Magsay” children: Lydia (30), Daniel (23), Charles (20), Jesse (18), Joshua (16), and Mary (13).
William MASEY died in Breckenridge County on May 20, 1853, leaving Polly to spend nearly 30 years as a widow. She was on the 1860 US Census of District 1, Breckenridge County, Kentucky, as “Mary E. Macey, “ aged 70, and living in the household which included James “Pool,” (aged 24, his wife Mary (Polly’s youngest child, aged 22), one-year-old John “Pool,” and Lydia “Macey” aged thirty-eight.
Polly was living in the home of her son, Jesse, and his family when the 1870 US Census of Locust Hill, Breckenridge County, Kentucky, was taken. Then she was listed as being 75-year-old “Mary Maysey”. Also present in that household were Jesse Maysey (age 36), S.E. Maysey (female, age 27), and children R.A. (male, 14), W.T. (male, 10), D.M. (female, 8) and George (male, 3). There was also a female “L.M.” listed whose age was not given, and she would likely have been Jesse’s older sister, Lydia.
Polly made her final appearance in the public record in the 1880 US Census of Hardinsburg, Breckenridge County, Kentucky. There she was listed as being 88-year-old “Mary Maysey” and the mother of the head of the household, 62 –year-old Lydia DAVIS. Also in that household was Lydia’s nephew, 20-year-old “T. William Maysey.” T. William was probably Jesse’s 10-year-old son from the 1870 census, T.W., who had moved in with his grandmother and elderly aunt to help them with farm work.
Jesse MACY died in 1921 after deaths started being officially recorded in most states. His Kentucky death certificate lists his father as “Macy” and gives his mother’s maiden name as “Mary Huff.” The document also states that both of his parents were born in Kentucky – a mistake because William MASEY, Jesse’s father, was a native of Fairfax County, Virginia, although he did live most of his life in Breckenridge County, Kentucky.
Mary Elizabeth “Polly” (HUFF) MASEY passed away in Breckenridge County, Kentucky, the place where she had spent her entire life, on May 12, 1883, just eight days shy of the 30th anniversary of her husband’s death. She is buried at Ephesus Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery. Her husband, William MASEY, is also believed to be buried in the same cemetery, although there is no tombstone for him. Polly’s stone identifies her as “Mary Wife of Wm. MASEY.” She was that, and so much more.
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