I began searching for my great grandparents, James and Sarah McAfee, for over 30 years. I have traced them to Greeley, Colorado in 1880.

Others in my family believe that James is related to Samuel McAfee who was living in Greeley at the same time and had a sheep ranch in Hardin, Colorado, just outside of Greeley. There are many records on Samuel McAfee that trace him back to Oakdale, Illinois where the McCloy family also lived.  Other records trace his family back further to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and then Ireland.

Since my grandfather was adopted by James McAfee, we don't actually know anything about his birth parents. The family story is that the children were born to a family named Smith and their mother died when they were about school age. Their father had a job which required him to travel, so he asked James and Sarah to adopt his children. In 1880 Will was 8 years old and his sister Nannie Jane was only 4.

I believe that Sarah Ann was a McCloy because Mary McCloy was living with them and listed as the mother in law on the 1880 census. Sarah's father was John Thomas McCloy Sr. and her mother was Mary Brady. Her brother John Thomas Jr. was living in Greeley, Colorado in 1880, died and is buried in Denver, Colorado. Her older brother Samuel Moffatt was first living in Pennsylvania, then St. Louis and eventually Oakdale, Illinois. He was a follower of  Rev. Andrew C. Todd who brought settlers from Oakdale to Evans, Colorado, a city right outside of Greeley. So Mary, the mother, Samuel the oldest, Sarah and her younger brother John Thomas, Jr. were all living in Greeley, or Evans, Colorado at some point in time, however Samuel quickly moved on to Santa Anna, California where he helped Rev. Todd establish a Covenanter Church.