A Life in Two Worlds
Ann Nancy Conway's ninety-year life is a remarkable story of transition, mirroring the very formation of the United States. Born a British subject in the established, tobacco-rich Tidewater society of Virginia, she came of age during the American Revolution and later migrated to the rugged, burgeoning cotton economy of the South Carolina backcountry. This interactive narrative explores her journey, her deep ancestral roots, and the two vastly different worlds she called home.
Virginia Tidewater
A world of old money, Anglican tradition, tobacco plantations, and a rigid social hierarchy tied to England.
South Carolina Backcountry
A new frontier of Scot-Irish & French Huguenot settlers, forged by the Revolution and built on the rising "Cotton Kingdom."
Virginia Origins
Ann was born in 1766 in Lancaster County, Virginia, into the heart of the "Northern Neck" gentry. This society's wealth, politics, and culture were built on the tobacco trade, dependent on enslaved labor and commercial ties to England. The Anglican Church was the center of social life, managed by vestries of prominent planters. Ann grew up in this seemingly stable world, just as the American Revolution began to shatter its foundations, disrupting the economy and creating a new generation of Virginians—including Ann—who would look south and west for their future.
The Conway Lineage
The Conway family was established in Virginia for over a century before Ann's birth, building wealth and influence through land, political office, and strategic marriages. This interactive tree traces her paternal line from the first immigrant to her father. Click on a name to discover more about each ancestor.
A Presidential Connection: Through her great-great-grandfather's second marriage, Ann Nancy Conway was a second cousin, once removed, to **James Madison**, the fourth President of the United States, connecting her family directly to the new American republic's leadership.
A New Life in South Carolina
In 1787, at age 21, Ann left Virginia for the South Carolina backcountry. This move was part of a great migration wave as families sought fertile land after the Revolution. In South Carolina, she married James Robert Mayson, son of the prominent Revolutionary War hero Col. James Mayson. This union was a strategic alliance, joining the old gentry of Virginia with the new, rising elite of the backcountry, symbolizing the social and economic realignment of the young nation.
The Rise of the Cotton Kingdom
Ann's life in Abbeville District coincided with the explosive growth of the cotton economy. This boom transformed the region but was built on a massive expansion of slavery. This chart illustrates the profound demographic shift in Abbeville between 1790 and 1850, showing how the enslaved population came to form a majority, creating the defining social and economic structure of the world her children and grandchildren inherited.
Matriarch and Legacy
Ann Nancy (Conway) Mayson died on November 13, 1856, at the age of 90. She was a living bridge between two eras, born a British colonial and dying in a community that would soon lead the charge for secession. She witnessed the birth of the United States and the rise of the fiery politics that would nearly tear it apart. Her children and grandchildren, including George Conway Mayson and Robert Conway Mayson, carried the combined legacy of Virginia gentry and South Carolina enterprise into a new, turbulent chapter of American history.
Research & Further Inquiry
The reconstruction of Ann's life relies on synthesizing fragmented records. For those wishing to continue the research, the original report recommended several key avenues for investigation. These are summarized below.