Capt. William Brownfield

ID: I4310

Name: William BROWNFIELD

Sex: M

Birth: ABT 1739 in Chester County, Pennsylvania

Death: 1810/1816 in Jasper County, Georgia

Note:

In 1755, at age 16, he joined the Colonial Army as a private. He was in the French and Indian War that year under General Braddock at Ft. Duquesne (now Pittsburgh). His niece, Jane Rosborough, recalled in 1872 hearing her uncle, William Brownfield, tell about the time he heard General Edward Braddock reproving young Colonel George Washington "for counseling him to fight the Indians in their own mode - that is, to shelter themselves behind trees." History proved Washington the wiser and Braddock was not only killed, but also lost three-quarters of his troops and the rest were routed. Among the few hundred survivors were Colonel Washington and Private Brownfield. The niece said that her Uncle William was in a great many battles, according to her mother, but she could not name them."

William Brownfield was around thirty when he first made application for land in North Carolina. He received 150 acres in Mecklenburg County in July 1771, joining his father's farm.

The name William Brumfield appeared on a list of Mecklenburg County citizens who served on the Grand Jury between 1774 and 1780. This was probably William, son of Robert Brownfield.

In April 1776, William was appointed by the Provincial Congress of North Carolina as First Lieutenant in Colonel Thomas Polk's Regiment, Salisbury District, Continental Establishment. It is believed that his experience in the French and Indian Wars gave him an advantage in his appointment as an officer. Wheeler's "History of North Carolina, Vol. 1" lists the officers of the Fourth North Carolina Regiment as: Thomas Polk, Colonel; James Thackston, Lieutenant Colonel; William Davidson, Major; Robert Smith, Captain; William Temple Cole, Captain; William Brownfield, First Lieutenant; and James Cane, First Lieutenant. The Fourth North Carolina Regiment remained intact and was called into action during the war. There is evidence that William Brownfield was promoted sometime between 1776 and 1780. Veteran Uriah Hand's Revolutionary Pension Application, dated April 1, 1844, states that he was a "volunteer in the County of Lincoln in the State of North Carolina in the month of March, 1780, in the North Carolina Militia Men, the company commanded by Captain William Brownfield, in the regiment commanded by Colonel Polk."

William Brownfield was about 43 years old when the war ended in the South and it is believed he was still unmarried. He probably married Margaret "Peggy" Giles around 1782. William's father had been co-executor of the estate of a John Giles sometime earlier, but it is not known how he was related to Peggy.

In 1790 and 1800, William was listed as head of household in the census for Mecklenberg, North Carolina. In 1790, there were 3 males (Robert, John, ?) under 16 living with him and 3 females (Elizabeth, Flora, his wife). In 1800, there were 3 females under 10 (Margaret & 2 ?), 1 male (John) and 1 female (Elizabeth) between 10 and 15, 1 male (Robert) and 1 female (Flora) between 16 and 25, and 1 female (his wife) over 45 living with him .

After the war William Brownfield obtained several tracts of land, probably because of his service as an officer. By 1784 he owned four tracts containing 1,059 acres. He sold 400 acres in South Carolina that year to his old commanding officer, Thomas Polk

In 1797 he sold 250 acres to Will Polk and in July 1801 he sold his homeplace on Steele Creek to Charles Polk. These Polks were among the early settlers of Mecklenburg County and Ezekiel Polk, another neighbor and brother to Colonel Thomas, was the grandfather of President James Knox Polk.

On the list of Taxables for Mecklenburg County, NC in 1797, William Brownfield was listed in Captain Taylor's Company with 200 Acres and 1 white pole.

It is believed that William Brownfield and his family traveled by ox cart to Georgia in 1801 or 1802. They probably stopped for a period in Greene County before settling in Jasper County. William's widowed sister, Mary Barnett, was living in Greene County at that time. In Jasper County William spent his last years, dying well before 1818. Rev. A. B. Elliott of Auburn, Alabama wrote about William and Peggy (the parents of his stepfather) in his 1873 letter to his cousin, Jane Wilson, of Chester County, South Carolina. He recalled that when he and his mother moved to Jasper County, Georgia, in 1818 they (William and Peggy) had been dead for some time and were buried on land they owned, in a solitary grave near their dwelling. He stated he had been to their graves often as a boy. Since the name of William Brownfield has not been found in any Georgia records, there is reason to believe that the land belonging to the family in Jasper County was in the name of the oldest son, Robert Brownfield. Four of William Brownfield's five children remained on the family farm after the parents died. The older daughter, Flora, probably did not move to Georgia with the rest of the family. Robert became head of the household after his father's death. He kept one third of the family's 202 1/2 acres and the family dwelling for himself and his baby sister. He sold off one third to his brother-in-law, Andrew Guffin, in July 1816. The other third was sold to his brother, John, in November 1818. Robert and his younger sister were both married in 1823.

1

Father: Robert BROWNFIELD b: 1705/1715 in Northern Ireland

Mother: Jane STEWART (STUART) b: 1716 in Northern Ireland

Marriage 1 Margaret "Peggy" GILES

Married: ABT 1782 in Mecklenburg Co, NC

Children

Flora BROWNFIELD b: ABT 1783

Robert BROWNFIELD b: ABT 1784 in Mecklenburg, NC

Elizabeth S BROWNFIELD b: ABT 1790 in Mecklenburg, NC

John BROWNFIELD b: ABT 1789 in Mecklenburg, NC

Margaret Ann BROWNFIELD b: ABT 1795 in North Carolina

Sources:

Found at "vhhawk" database at RootsWeb.com, WorldConnect

1790 census for North Carolina, Mecklenburg, p158 (Im 3 at Ancestry.com)

1800 census for North Carolina, Mecklenburg, p 533

marriage at http://members.aol.com/wmbigham/bigham/settlers.html

List of Taxables 1797-1824, Mecklenburg Co, NC, CR 065.701.1 (NC State Archives Manuscript room)