Biographical Sketch of the Family of Jesse Mayfield (d. 1833)

of Greenville County SC and McMinn County TN

By Phil Norfleet

Jesse Mayfield was probably born about 1765 in Virginia, he died intestate in 1833 in McMinn County TN. Jesse was purportedly a son of the legendary John Mayfield and Mary Stanwix.  I have serious doubts about the veracity of this legend and have summarized my comments on this subject in a special essay on this subject. 

A direct descendant of Jesse Mayfield, Miss Edna Mayfield, of the town of Athens and owner of the Mayfield Family Cemetery, McMinn County TN, provided comments concerning Jesse and his family.  I found these comments in a typed manuscript, located in the Athens library, entitled "Tennessee Records of McMinn County Tombstone Inscriptions" (dated 8 February 1940) as follows:

... Jesse, son of John and Mary Stanwix Mayfield ... was born in 1770 and married Penelope Brummett in 1788. He was of English descent and she was French. They migrated from Greenville District, South Carolina to McMinn County, Tenn., in 1820 and entered a boundary [sic] of rich land, one mile east of the present City of Athens. They brought slaves with them from South Carolina. There is a slave Cemetery on their old Homestead. The family homestead has been continuously owned by some member of the family since its entry. They purchased other land besides what they entered.

The children of Jesse and Penelope Brummett Mayfield were: Pearson, Carter, Precia [sic], William, Hilda [sic], Thomas Brummett, Elizabeth, Jesse and William [sic]. ...

Jesse married Penelope Brummette in about 1788. She was born in about 1772 in Virginia and died in about November 1850 in McMinn County TN.  Penelope was probably the daughter of Pearson Brummette of Greenville County SC.  Penelope Mayfield's will, dated 12 Feb 1848, was entered into probate in McMinn County TN on 02 December 1850.

Jesse Mayfield was a member of the Mayfield - Brummette Migration Group that I discuss in a separate essay.  This group migrated from Virginia to Washington County NC during the last years of the American Revolution.  In about 1786, the group moved on to Greenville County SC and settled on lands near the Saluda River.  Jesse and his brothers, Isaac and Micajah Mayfield, surveyed and patented land in this area as per the following table:

In the 1790's, Jesse's brothers removed to Kentucky.  By 1800, only Jesse Mayfield was still living in Greenville County SC.  Subsequent to his 166-acre land grant, issued in 1787, Jesse Mayfield acquired at least two additional grants.  Data re these grants is presented in the following table:

During the years prior to and just after his removal to McMinn County TN in 1820, Jesse Mayfield bought and sold several tracts of land in Greenville County, all in the Saluda River region.  See the following table:

In the latter part of the year 1820, Jesse Mayfield and his family, as well as several other families from Greenville County SC, migrated to the newly formed McMinn County TN.  McMinn County was directly adjacent to land still held by the Cherokee Nation prior to their final land cession, which occurred in 1835.  The close presence of the Cherokees is evidenced by the fact that one of Jesse Mayfield's sons, Jesse Jr., married a 1/4 Cherokee named Sallie Starr in 1821.

In 1820 and 1822, Jesse Mayfield patented five tracts of land of 160 acres each.  Jesse's land grants are summarized in the following table:

The above cited land was located a couple of miles east of the town of Athens and is near the location of the well known Mayfield Dairy which was founded in 1923 by one of Jesse Mayfield's great-grandsons, Thomas B. Mayfield (1888-1937).

Children of Jesse and Penelope Mayfield

Jesse Mayfield and Penelope Brummette had at least eight children as follows:

1.  Pearson Brummett Mayfield was born on 04 June 1789 in Greenville County SC and died 16 January 1832 in McMinn County TN. He married Ann (Nancy) McJunkin in about 1811.

2.  Carter Mayfield was born in about 1790; he died in about December 1850 in McMinn County SC.

Carter Mayfield was legally an "Idiot" and not competent to handle his own affairs. After the 1833 intestate death of Carter's father, Jesse Mayfield, Carter's brother, Thomas B. Mayfield, was appointed as his guardian. The need for a guardianship was necessitated by the fact that Carter inherited a share of his father's estate. [See McMinn County TN, CR 186, dated 4 March 1834.]

In the 1850 Federal Census for McMinn County TN, Carter is shown in the household of his mother Penelope with an indicated age of 60. However, Carter died some time late in that same year of 1850, as his brother and administrator, Thomas B. Mayfield, recorded the "Inventory of the personal estate of Carter Mayfield, deceased" on 06 January 1851. [See McMinn County TN Will Book E, page 141.]

3.  Jesse Mayfield was born on 18 May 1793 in Greenville County SC; he died on 14 December 1857 in Rusk County TX.  He married Sarah (Sallie) Walker Starr in about 1821; Sallie Starr was born on 04 July 1804 in the Cherokee Nation; she died on 02 July 1893.  Sallie Starr Mayfield was 1/4 Cherokee by blood.

4.  Preshia Mayfield was born in about 1795 in Greenville County SC; she died on 28 June 1861 in McMinn County TN.  Preshia married David Alexander Cobbs in about 1820 in Greenville County SC.  David was a Presbyterian minister and was born on 08 June 1794 in Greenville County SC.  He died on 10 June 1879 in Johnson County TX.

5.  Thomas Brummett Mayfield was born about 1799 in Greenville County SC; he died on 18 October 1872 in McMinn County SC. He married (1st) Elizabeth E. Ballew; Elizabeth was born on 09 December 1809 and died on 03 May 1845 in McMinn County TN. Thomas married (2nd) Sarah Jane Rudd on 12 September 1847 in McMinn County TN; Sarah died in October 1861 in McMinn County TN.

6.  Mahulda Mayfield was born in about 1808 in Greenville County SC. She married Joseph L. Swan on 19 November 1840 in McMinn County TN.

7.  Williams Mayfield was born about 1814 in Greenville County SC. He married Narcissa Hoyle on 17 December 1850 in McMinn County TN. She was born about 1826 in Tennessee.

8.  Elizabeth Mayfield was born in about 1818 in Greenville County SC and died about 1855 in McMinn County TN. Elizabeth married (1st) James F. Hill on 22 March 1838 in McMinn County TN. She married (2nd) Eli Hudgens on 16 March 1841 in McMinn County TN. She married (3rd) John Baker on 04 December 1849 in McMinn County TN.  John Baker was born about 1795 in Tennessee; he died in about 1861 in Tennessee.