Abraham McGuffey

Born: 1794 in North Carolina

Died: 17 May 1848 in Mexico

Sergeant, Company E, 4th Tennessee Infantry, USA

23 Oct 1847-17 May 1848

Abraham was the son of Edmund Samuel McGuffey and Sarah Elizabeth Kuykendall.  He married Lillian Morgan on 24 Mar 1819 in the Greenville District of South Carolina.  We do not know who her parents were. They had fourteen children born from 1820 to 1848. Whew!

Abraham enlisted on 23 Oct 1847 in Nashville. He may have been promoted to Sergeant in early 1848 but the records are unclear. They do indicate that he enlisted as a Private and was a Private at his death. His widow's pension indicates that he was a Sergeant. He died of unspecified cause on 17 May 1848 in St Augustine, Mexico

We don't know where Abraham is buried. He is likely buried at the place of his death in St Augustine, Mexico. There is a U.S. Tomb for Unknown Soldiers of the Mexican War in Mexico City where 750 are buried but not identified. Abraham is likely in a grave at the location where he died. We don't know where Lillian, his wife, is buried either. We do know that she was left with six kids ages 1-16 to finish raising. Many of the kids wound up in Allen County, Kentucky. We know that she was living here on her property when she died. Anyone having more details, please contact me.

Sandy Adams has the following report of Samuel Moss's pension application on her family tree at ancestry.com  Samuel and Abraham were in the same company so some assumptions can be made regarding Abraham's combat from the below account on Samuel

On 22 September 1852, Samuel Archer Moss requested an invalid pension because of health problems resulting from his service in the Mexican War. He reported that after he volunteered in Nashville, he was transported to New Orleans, Louisiana, then to Veracruz, Mexico.  From Veracruz, he marched to Jalapa, then to Pueblo where in January of 1848, he was attacked with diarrhea.  In his request, he stated that the diarrhea, ". . . so prostrated him as to render him incapable of performing military duty and in consequence of which he remained till about the 12th of February 1848 at which time he became so improved that he went with the Illinois Regiment to the city of Mexico thence to Molenodelra and returned to his company from thence to St. Augusti;ne (NOTE THAT ABRAHAM DIED AT ST. AUGUSTINE) with his company but was unable to perform military duty in consequence of said disease thence to Ausaro where on or about the 24th day of June 1848 said disease became so bad upon him that he was hauled to Veracruz thence was transported to Memphis, Tennessee, with his  company where on the last day of July 1848 he was honorable discharged....."

UPDATE: On 1 Nov 2025, the Cemetery Restoration & Preservation Association (CRPA) set a Cenotaph for Abraham at the Rough Creek Cemetery in Allen County, Kentucky. Of course, Abraham's remains are in Mexico in an unknown grave, probably near where he died. We selected Rough Creek Cemetery as the location for his Cenotaph because, after his death, several of his children migrated from Tennessee to that location. He has multiple children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren buried in that cemetery and a couple of other nearby cemeteries. Joining us for the occasion were Max McGuffey and Allen White, both 3X great grandsons. Also, Wendell Spears, caretaker of the Rough Creek Cemetery. Our own Harold Ralph Maynard, a 4X great grandson was unable to be with us physically although he was there in spirit. There were also some wives and grandkids along. Check the gallery below for all the photos.