Louis McGill

Louis McGill is one of my earliest known paternal ancestors and one of my brick walls.
What I do know of him from my research is that he was formerly enslaved farmer who by the 1900s became a landowner in Williamsburg County, SC.

Louis was born around 1850. It’s not clear if he was born in Williamsburg County or a nearby county. In 1880, Louis was living in Turkey, Williamsburg, SC with his wife Lucy nee Hanna and their children. Some time around 1867, Louis and Lucy were married and began their family.
Louis was a farmer as was the older children in the household.
Louis and Lucy’s children include: Louis (13), Letty (11), Jane (10), Daphney (8), Werry (6), Alfred (4) and Lucy’s son from a previous relationship, Mosey (16).

Louis is listed in the US, Selected Federal Census Non-Popluation Schedule in 1880 showing that he was a sharecropper tilling about 17 acres of land. Louis raised pigs and poultry. He planted eight acres of Indian Corn which yielded 75 bushels, 1 acre of sweet potatoes, yielding 50 bushels in 1879.

Between 1880 and 1900, Louis and Lucy added Samuel (born 1883) and Ida (born 1892) to their family.

Unfortunately, the 1890 US Census burned in a fire and I could not find him in the 1900 US Census for Williamsburg County, SC. There is 20 years of information about Louis unaccounted for at this time.
He does appear in the 1910 census with Lucy and two of his grandchildren living with him.

Louis is found in a Register of Mesne Conveyances in 1904. This document was shared with me by my cousin Vickie McGill. Mesne Conveyances is the French way of saying deeds.
W. H. Kennedy registered a Quit Claim deed to Louis signed March 4, 1904 for the sum of $100 for 200 acres “more or less” of land.
The land was “bounded as follows North by lands of Jesse L Turner East by lands formerly of John A McCrea South by new[???????????] and Cowhide Swamp and west by lands of James Scott”.

W. H. Kennedy was a prominent merchant in Williamsburg County and a former mayor of Kingstree. What was the relationship between W. H. Kennedy and Louis for Kennedy to sign a quit claim deed to Louis?

Louis lived two farms down from Kennedy in 1880, but there are no records that show a working relationship these two had.
Lewis died some time between 1910 and 1914. Unfortunately, around 1914, his heirs lost some or all of this land to the bank.
Named as defendants against the plaintiff (Bank of Kingstree) were:
“Werry McGill, Samuel McGill, Ida McClary, William Seward, John Seward, Anna Seward, Mary Seward, Edward Brown, Alfred McGill, Alfred Scott, Joe Haywood Scott, the unknown heirs of Louis McGill, Jr. (deceased), F Rhem and D. D. Rehem, copartners, trading under the firm name of F. Rhem & Sons, J. W. Locklier and W. T. Rowell, heretofore copartners trading under the firm name of Locklier and Rowell and P. O. Arrowsmith.”
The land in question went into foreclosure and consisted of 300 acres “more or less, and bounded as follows: On the North by lands formerly of Turner but now of J. K. Smith; East by lands formerly of R. H. Kellahan but now of the Atlantic Coast Lumber Corporation; on the south by the run of Black River and on the Southwest and West by lands formerly of Jim Scott and now F. Rhem & Sons.”
It was sold to F. Rhem & Sons for the sum of $2525.00. F. Rhem & Sons were listed along with the McGill family as defendants.

What was this relationship about?

Unfortunately, this is where the trail runs cold for now.