Richard Fields, Sr.

Richard Fields Sr. is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A209523.

Biography

NOTE: This is one of the many Richard Fields in the Carolinas at the same time. He is frequently confused with his son, also Richard Fields, who was born about 1770 and was killed in Texas in 1826.

Almost nothing is known of the white trader called Richard Fields. According to Emmet Starr, Richard Fields was an Englishman. [1] Some think he was born c. 1744 and came to South Carolina (from England or Virginia) with his father, also named Richard Fields, by 1754. Richard Fields Sr. was reimbursed by the legislature in January 1755 “for a Negro Slave of his that was executed for poisoning.” [2] There is no mention of anyone named "Fields" in the South Carolina "Indian Books," records from 1750-1765. [3].

In 1759 a Richard Fields was granted 200 acres in Granville County, South Carolina. [4] A 1766 deed locates Richard Fields Sr. on the Savannah River, on the South Carolina side, in what became the Abbeville District. [5]

Around 1765 or 1766 he met and married Susannah Emory, the Cherokee daughter of William Emory, a white trader. According to Emmet Starr they were the parents of seven children, Richard, George, Lucy, John, Turtle, Thomas, and Susannah. [6] Researcher James Hicks believes some of the seven children had a different Cherokee mother, but cites no source. [7]

By 1770 Richard Fields was established in the Indian trade with the Creek Indians of upper Georgia. After the murder of George Beck and Thomas Jackson by Creek Indians in 1771 in upper Georgia, Richard Fields was part of a group of traders that suggested the Creek Indians be allowed to pay off their debts to traders by transferring land to the traders. Indian Commissioner John Stuart rejected the plan, though the governor of Georgia then presented it to the king. [8]

A DAR patriot record states that Richard Field was paid for services in 1777 and that he was armorer to the Cherokee in 1778. [9]

Cherokee children of Richard Fields and Susannah Emory

• John Fields b.c. 1767 m. Elizabeth Wickett
• George Fields b.c. 1769 m(1) Nannie Brown; m(2) Sarah Coody
• Lucy Fields b.c. 1770 m(1) Daniel McCoy Sr; m(2) James Harris
• (Rev.) Turtle Fields b.c. 1774 m(1) Ollie Timberlake; m(2) Sarah Timberlake
• Thomas Fields b.c. 1776 m(1) Nannie (Downing) Rogers
• Susannah Fields b.c. 1776 m(1) George Brewer; m(2) Thomas Foreman
• Richard Fields Jr. b.c. 1778 m(1) Jennie Buffington; m(2) Elizabeth Hicks m(3) Nancy (Brown) Timberlake, m(4) ? Grapp

Research Notes

• None of the following is supported by documentation: It is likely they met near Charleston, probably at Goose Creek.
• Note: Some believe that Susannah Emory was NOT the mother of Bushyhead (b.1758), the son of Captain John Stuart. It would be socially impossible for Richard Fields, a proud Englishman, to go to John Stuart, a proud Scotsman, with this plan if Stuart had fathered a child by the wife of Fields. It just would not happen. This is one of the more convincing facts toward proving that there were two Susannah Emorys. [10]
• Richard Fields Sr. did not die in the Revolutionary War

Sources

1. ↑ Starr, Emmet. History of the Cherokee Indians. Oklahoma Yesterday Publications edition, Tulsa, OK. 1979. p. 466. Digitized edition at Starr
2. ↑ South Carolina Journal of the Commons House of Assembly, 8 Jan 1755, 12 Mar 1755, 9 May 1755
3. ↑ McDowell, William. Colonial Records of South Carolina: Documents Relating to Indian Affairs, 1750-1765. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Columbia, S.C. 1958.
4. ↑ South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Date: 10/13/1759; Series: Colonial Land Grants (Copy Series) (S213019); Document Type: Land Grant; Images: Available at SCDAH Archives ID: Series: S213019 Volume: 0009 Page: 00267 Item: 000
5. ↑ Langley, Clara. South Carolina Deed Abstracts. Vol. III, p. 305
6. ↑ Starr, History of the Cherokee Indians, p. 306
7. ↑ Hicks
8. ↑ Coleman, Colonial Records of Georgia, Vol. XXVIII Pt 2, pp. 351-361
9. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 10 Nov 2021), "Record of Richard Field", Ancestor # A209523.
10. ↑ Richard Fields : adventurer in the Indian trade http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tnpolk2/fields.htm (undated and with questionable conclusions)

Source: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Fields-988

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Cherokee children of Richard Fields and Susannah Emory

These are from online sources, without verification. The Cherokee Fields family is so well-documented but with conflicting results. The University of Texas website on Chief Richard Fields places his birth at around 1780 but admits others have it as 1770, even as 1759.

i. John Fields b.c. 1767 m. Elizabeth Wickett
ii. George Fields b.c. 1769 m(1) Nannie Brown; m(2) Sarah Coody
iii. Lucy (Luvica) Fields b.c. 1770 m(1) Daniel McCoy Sr; m(2) James Harris (Luvica is fem. form of Ludovic)
iv. (Rev.) Turtle Fields b.c. 1774 m(1) Ollie; m(2) Sarah Timberlake
v. Thomas Fields b.c. 1776 m(1) Nannie (Downing) Rogerstwins
vi. Susannah Fields b.c. 1776 m(1) George Brewer; m(2) ThomasForeman
vii. (Chief) Richard Fields b.c. 1778 m(1) Jennie Buffington; m(2) Elizabeth Hicks (2 other marriages given)

Richard Fields : adventurer in the Indian trade http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tnpolk2/fields.htm (undated and with questionable conclusions)