William Randolph Mayfield and his wife Sarah Amanda Davis ca. 1900.

Mayfield Family Genealogy

Tombstone of Micajah Mayfield (1748-1838), Revolutionary War Veteran.

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Jesse Mayfield (1793-1857) of McMinn County TN and Rusk County TX

By Phil Norfleet

 

Jesse6 Mayfield (Jesse5, John4, John3, Robert2, Robert1) was born on 18 May 1793 in Greenville County SC. He was the son of Jesse Mayfield, Sr. (d. 1833) and Penelope Brumette (d. 1850). He married Sarah (Sallie) Walker Starr in about 1821; she was the daughter of Caleb Starr and Nancy Harlan. Sallie Starr was born on 04 July 1804 in the Cherokee Nation. She died on 02 July 1893. Jesse Mayfield died on 14 December 1857 in Rusk County TX. He is buried in the Mayfield Cemetery, near Pirtle, in Rusk County TX.

 

Notes for Sarah (Sallie) Walker Starr, Wife of Jesse Mayfield

 

Sarah (Sallie) Walker Starr was the daughter of Caleb Starr (a white man) and Nancy Harlan (a 1/2 blood Cherokee); thus, Sallie was 1/4 Cherokee Indian by blood. Sallie Starr was born on 04 July 1804 in that part of the Cherokee Nation which lay in the state of Tennessee; she died on 02 July 1893 in the Cherokee Nation.  Sallie, when she was about twelve years of age, went down to the Tennessee River to see the a band of Cherokees, led by Chief Bowls, leaving in their canoes for land west of the Mississippi River and settle in what is now the state of Arkansas.

Sallie Starr married Jesse Mayfield in Tennessee in about the year 1821.  Jesse died in 1857 in Rusk County, Texas.  Sallie remained in Rusk for many years after her husband's death.  Her name appears in the Federal Census reports for Rusk County TX for both the years 1860 and 1880. However, in 1893, she died while visiting a granddaughter in the Cherokee Nation and is buried in the Cherokee National Cemetery on the outskirts of the town of Fort Gibson,  in what is now Muskogee County OK.  She is buried in Section B, Lot 184.

 

Notes for Jesse Mayfield (1793-1857)

 

1835 - Jesse Mayfield Listed in the Cherokee Census (Henderson Roll)

The Treaty of New Echota (29 December 1835) stipulated that the Cherokees must surrender all their lands east of the Mississippi River in exchange for $5,000,000 including funds for removal to and acquiring land in the Indian Territory. In preparation for this removal, the Federal Government conducted a census of those Cherokees still living east of the Mississippi.  This Census in Tennessee was conducted by a Federal employee named Daniel Henderson, hence the enumeration is commonly referred to as the "Henderson Roll." The Census lists approximately 16,000 Cherokees living in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.  In 1838-1839, most of these people would be forcibly removed to the Indian Territory on what would later be called the "Trail of Tears".

Like the other Federal Census enumerations taken before 1850, it provides only the name of the head-of-household. Other members of the household appear only as numbers in the various categories. Unfortunately, even the names of heads of households are frequently uninformative. They fall into four groups: Anglicized full names, Anglicized first names only (example - "Sally"), translated Cherokee names (examples - "Deer in the Water" or "Six Killer"), and transliterated but untranslated Cherokee names.

In total, the census enumerated 16,542 Indians, 1,592 slaves, and 201 intermarried whites. The great majority of these people are unnamed and appear only in the number categories. There is only one household in this census with the Mayfield surname - the family and slaves of Jesse Mayfield!  He is included in the enumeration for these Cherokees then living in the State of Tennessee.

The census data for Jesse Mayfield's family is summarized in the following table:

Location Mouse Creek area, McMinn County TN
Number of Intermarried Whites 01
Number of Fullbloods 00
Number of Halfbloods 00
Number of Quarterbloods 06
Number of Slaves 15
Language Skills 4 family members can read English
Economic Data Family has 1 farm, 1 farmer, 1 weaver, 1 spinner and cultivates 200 acres
Number of Reservees or Descendents of Reservees 06
Remarks

Jesse Mayfield's neighbor was the Reverend Jesse Bushyhead, a well-known Cherokee leader who commanded a detachment on the "Trail of Tears" migration in 1838-1839.

 

1835 - Jesse Mayfield Listed in the "Trail of Tears Roll"

There were actually two rolls created in 1835, which provided names of Cherokee families to be removed west of the Mississippi River.  The best known roll is the Henderson Roll discussed above.  The second roll, frequently called the "Trail of Tears Roll," is actually a report from the Secretary of War, issued in compliance with Senate resolutions.  The report lists, by head-of-household, the funds furnished to each family to offset travel expenses and losses associated with the owner's personal and real property due to the required removal to the west as stipulated by the Cherokee Treaty of December 1835.

In a sense, the roll provides a strong indicator of the financial status of each family being reimbursed.  A wealthy man will receive a much larger monetary reimbursement than a poor man.  The wealthy man will move with a much larger household, because he usually owns a sizeable number of slaves; also he is more likely to claim more losses as result of the liquidation of his real and personal property in preparation for the removal. 

Like the Henderson Roll discussed above, the only Mayfield head-of-household is that of Jesse Mayfield.  The amount of funding Jesse received ($8,623.50) is substantially greater than the amounts received by most Cherokee families.  The following table lists the amount of government funds received by many of the leaders of the 13 detachments (see below) that made the trip to Indian Territory in 1838-1839.  In addition, I have also indicated the money received by the two principal leaders of the Cherokee Nation at that time - John Ross and Major Ridge.

Head-of-Household Funds Received
   
Jesse Mayfield $8,623.50
   
Detachment Leaders:  

Hair Conrad

Not Listed

Elijah Hicks

$2,852.50

Jesse Bushyhead

$1,614.00

John Benge

$2,283.90

Situwakee

$134.50

Old Field

$1,427.83

Moses Daniel

$1,343.67

Choowalooka

Not Listed

James Brown

$1,579.00

George Hicks

$3,316.50

Richard Taylor

???

Peter Hildebrand

???

John Drew

Not Listed
   
Major Ridge - Leader of the Treaty Faction $24,127.00
   
John Ross - Principal Chief of the Nation $17,965.75

 

October 1837 - Jesse Mayfield moves His family to Indian Territory in the Cannon Group

Jesse Mayfield removed his immediate family to Indian Territory in October 1837 with one of the last groups of Treaty Supporters to move west.  This group left the Cherokee Agency East  (located near present-day Charleston TN) under U. S. Army supervision, commanded by Lieutenant B. B. Cannon.  Statistics for this group are as follows.

Group Leader

Date of Departure Number Departed Date of Arrival Number Arrived Number of Deaths Reported on Trip Number of Days On the Trail
             

Lieutenant B. B. Cannon

14 Oct 1837 365 30 Dec 1837 350 15 78

An official National Park Service Report (PDF File) describes this group with the following words:

Section E, Page 15:

... Lieutenant B. B. Cannon’s detachment, which had departed at about the same time from the Cherokee Agency area near present day Charleston, Tennessee. Cannon’s party traveled overland through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas. These emigrants encountered severe weather that delayed them, and a number of ill and elderly Cherokee died and were buried along the way. Cannon’s route would later be followed by the majority of the emigrating detachments in 1838-39. ...

Section E, Page 23: 

... In early October of 1837, a group of Cherokee led by Lt. B. B. Cannon made an overland journey from the Cherokee Agency area to the Indian Territory. This was the first entirely overland journey made by a large group of Cherokee after the Treaty of New Echota, and this route was followed by eleven of the seventeen detachments which traveled west in 1838. ...

Lieutenant Cannon kept a journal of the trip and his account is available on the Internet.  Two of his entries refer to Jesse Mayfield's wagon:

December the 9th, 1837.

            Marched at 9 o’c. A.M., Mayfields wagon broke down at about a mile left him to get it mended and overtake, halted at Waynesville, Mo. 4 o’c. P.M., encamped and issued corn & fodder, beef & corn meal, weather extremely cold, 12 ½ miles to day. ...

Decr. 13th, 1837.

            Marched at 8 ½ o’c. A. M., halted at a branch near Mr. Eddington’s, 4 o’c. P.M., encamped and issued corn & fodder, Reese & Mayfield came up, 13 ½ miles today.

 

1838 - Trail of Tears - Jesse Mayfield Hired as Wagon Master for the Jesse Bushyhead Detachment

In 1838, those Cherokees who had not already emigrated, were forcibly removed to lands west of the Mississippi River, in what is now the State of Oklahoma. In 1838-1839, three detachments of Cherokees under U.S. Army supervision and thirteen detachments under Cherokee leadership, made the trip over what came to be called the Trail of Tears.

Specific demographic information for each of the 13 Cherokee supervised travel groups may be found at my Cherokee Families website.

Jesse Mayfield, having already made the trip in 1837, was hired as one of the wagon masters for the third Cherokee Detachment, the Jesse Bushyhead group; Mayfield was in charge of 20 wagons.  John Wilson Mayfield, eldest son of Jesse, was also hired as a teamster.

The above map depicts the principal routes used by the 13 Cherokee detachments.

The Jesse Bushyhead group, departed 0n 03 September 1838 and arrived in Indian Territory on 27 February 1839,  About 950 people began the trip and 898 actually arrived at the destination.  On the trip, 6 births and 38 deaths were recorded.  The Bushyhead group made the trip in a longer period of time compared to most of the other travel groups; they were on the trail for 178 days.  The primary cause for this longer period was the fact that, in December 1838, when the detachment arrived at the Mississippi River crossing point near Cape Girardeau MO, the river was frozen over.  There were no bridges in those days and the ice was thick enough to preclude the use of ferries but too thin to support oxen and wagons.  Therefore, the Bushyhead detachment had to wait several weeks until the ice melted sufficiently to permit a a ferry crossing.

An Interview with Jesse Mayfield's Grandson re the Trail of Tears

On 19 March 1937, William Wilson Harnage, a grandson of Jesse Mayfield and Sallie Starr, was interviewed by a Historical-Indian Research Worker, Mr. L. W. Wilson. The interview covers many topics, including the trip his grandparents made over the "Trail of Tears."  A transcript of that interview is as follows:

I am one-fourth Cherokee and was born in 1852 in Tyler, Texas, which makes me eighty-five years of age, last January.

My Father's name was George W. Harnage, born in Georgia, date unknown. Died at the age of seventy and was buried at Chapel Hill, Texas, near the present town of Tyler, Texas.

Mother's name was Nancy Mayfield, born in Tennessee, date unknown, and was buried at Overton, Texas.

Grandfather, Jesse Mayfield, on my mother's side, was born in North Carolina [sic] at date unknown to me. He died in 1857. He was buried at Belleview, Texas on the old home place - the Mayfield Plantation.

Grandmother, Sally Starr-Mayfield, on my mother's side was born in Tennessee, at a date unknown to me. She died in the early part of 1860 [sic] and was buried at Belleview, Texas, alongside her husband. Grandmother, when about twelve years of age, went to the river to see the party, under Chief Bowls, who was Chief of a band of Cherokee Indians, leaving in canoes seeking a new land in which to live.

Chief Bowls and his party left in canoes and drifted down the Tennessee River, until they came to the Mississippi River. When they reached the mouth of Red River they ascended Red River to the mouth of the Sabine River, thence up the Sabine, to the headwaters of the Neches and here he established a village.

He remained there until the Mexican War. At the beginning of the Mexican War, with the solicitation of Sam Houston, an agreement was made, whereby Chief Bowls would protect their rear from attack from wild Indians. The reason that he solicited Chief Bowls was because he lived among the Indians, and knew their traits, character, and tactics. For his services as such, he was promised a concession of land, which embraced about three counties, the names of the counties were Rusk, Smith, and Cherokee County, Texas. The result of the Mexican War was that the United States whipped them. Chief Bowls never did receive for his reward, the three counties promised.

The line was run and started at the head-waters of the Neches River and went with the wind of the Naches to some point on the Angelina River, thence, down the Angelina to a certain point, thence due north to the Sabine, embracing about three counties. Houston went to Bowls camp or village. He told Bowls that he would give him that land and would make him a title as soon as it could be done.

After the war, Houston became the first Governor of Texas. Later he was elected United States Senator, which was after the annexation of the state of Texas. While he was in the Senate, Governor Lamar became Governor. He was the first Governor after the annexation.

Bowls was in his little village in the Neches and the people began to encroach on him. He thought that he had a promised reservation. Bowls went to Lamar and told him that the people were encroaching on his reservation. Lamar did not give him any encouragement. The third time Lamar just answered him: "The boundary of Texas is marked by the sword." Bowls understood it and he left. He went back to his reservation and began a removal. He crossed the Neches and camped off his reservation. He was pursued by the Texas Rangers, and Bowls was killed and the larger part of his tribe slaughtered. Some of them, however, got away. The Rangers pursued them, and they were captured. They took them, as prisoners, to Fort Towson, in the Indian Territory and turned them over to the Government. They were then moved to Fort Smith and turned over to the Cherokee Nation.

My father was an old settler. He settled within about four miles of the present town of Evansville, Arkansas, in about 1825 and remained there until a treaty was signed back east by John Ridge and Elias Boudinot for the removal of the entire Cherokee tribe from Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, and other states, and he then moved to the Indian Territory and settled in the Going Snake District.

My mother came through at the instigation of the treaty made as above mentioned and known to all as the "Trail of Tears". They traveled in caravans and wagons and were pushed along by the United States troops. Many of the Cherokees did not care to leave their lands, that were so productive and also to leave behind the burial grounds, where their loved ones were buried, to come to this Western country. It was forced upon them and consequently a great deal of dissatisfaction reigned among them, causing a faction known as the Treaty Party and the Anti-Treaty Party.

My mother has told me that they came to the Mississippi River, that it was up and that it was necessary for them to remain there six or seven weeks, before they could cross the river, as they had no means, other than canoes and flat boats to put them across. This put them on the west bank of the Mississippi River, in Arkansas, and they continued to travel, often wading streams with little food and practically no medical attention and hundreds of them died enroute, caused by exposure and unsanitary conditions. Even while they were waiting for the river to recede, while in Tennessee, hundreds of them died on the banks of the river from dysentery. As they died along the route they were buried in unmarked graves. My mother was one of the fortunates that made it through and it is useless to say that she endured many hardships, was grief stricken and sorrowful. She weathered the storm, while others, even after arriving, soon died of sorrow and grief.

In this removal my grandfather had thirty teams [sic] and was employed by the government to assist in removing them, so I guess my folks really fared well to what some of the rest of them did, because, they brought with them enough stuff to start building cabins, clearing the ground and making ready for crops.

My father and mother married in the Cherokee Nation and remained there until what they called the "Star War", between parties of Treaty and Anti-Treaty. My parents, along with Judge Adair, George Starr, Judge Wiley, Franklin D. Thompson, two or three of my uncles and my grandmother, Sally Mayfield, all went to Texas, before the Civil War, and lived as one big family and located near the present town of Tyler, and Kilgore, Texas, and it was at this place that I was born.

We did not return to the Indian Territory until 1888. During the Civil War, my father volunteered, although he was over-age, he signed up at Galveston, Texas and was assigned to Regiment (unknown to me) and fought under the Confederate flag during the duration of the war. It so happened that he was not engaged in any battle. After the war he returned to us - we were living in Tyler, Texas.

Prior to the war my parents and grandparents owned many slaves and naturally when the slaves were freed it left us very much humiliated from a financial standpoint. All we had was land.

We started farming then by employing Negroes and doing the best that we could under the circumstances with free Negro labor and it was really bad. Our principal crops were cotton, corn and raising cattle. I would say that my father was left in debt after the war to the extent of three hundred thousand dollars, I mean by that, that the war cost him three hundred thousand dollars.

[Taken off the Internet from the Oklahoma Genealogy Net]

 

1845 - Expedition to Mexico

The historian, Grant Foreman, in his book (first published 1934) entitled The Five Civilized Tribes (pages 336-337), states that Jesse Mayfield was a member of a Cherokee delegation sent to Mexico in 1845:

... in the summer of 1845 a part of the Old Settler and Treaty parties feeling that they could not be happy under a government dominated by John Ross, determined to seek a home on the borders of Mexico.  Conferences were held near the Arkansas line where members were selected to explore the country to which it was proposed to move.  A delegation left Evansville, Arkansas about September 1 for that purpose.  Among them were Charles Reece, Tessee Guess, the son of George Guess [Sequoyah], James Starr, Ezekiel Starr, Joseph M. Lynch, Dr. J. L. Thompson, Mathew Moore, John Harnage, Jess Mayfield and John A. Bell; beside W. Quesenbury who went along out of curiosity.  They were equipped with horses and pack mules.  The party consisting of forty-three members of the Treaty and eleven of the Old Settler party, met at the forks of the Canadian and Arkansas rivers and after electing a captain proceeded by Fort Washita, crossing Red River at Coffee's trading house, and followed the ridge dividing the waters of the trinity and Brazos to the latter river, which they crossed at Basky Creek.  Here they found a small settlement of sixty-three Cherokee, who had moved in the preceding June from a place called by them Mount Clover, in Mexico.

Leaving the Brazos River, the explorers traveled westward to the Colorado, reaching it at the mouth of Stone Fork Creek, beyond which they proceeded in a southwesterly direction to the San Saba Creek, at a point about forty or fifty miles above its mouth.  They returned on a route some sixty miles south of their outgoing trip, by way of Fort Towson, where they arrived early in January.  On their return to the Cherokee Nation, they held a council with their partisans, at which it was decided to ask the United States to provide them a home in Texas upon their relinquishment of all interests in the Cherokee Nation, or in case of the refusal of this request that the territory of the nation be divided into two parts, and their share be assigned to them with the privilege of setting up their own government and living under it. ....

 

1846 - Removal to Rusk County TX

The U. S. Government did send a commission to investigate the possibility of separating the Cherokee nation into two parts, but nothing came of it. A new treaty was signed with the Cherokees, which took effect on 06 August 1846.  The treaty, among other things, stipulated that the lands occupied by the Cherokees belonged to all members and that a federal Government patent for this would be issued to the tribe. 

Several months before the negotiation of the above treaty,  on 02 November 1845, James Starr, Sr., a brother of Jesse Mayfield's wife Sallie Starr Mayfield, was slain by a posse of Ross supporters.  All members of the Starr clan became concerned for their safety. Accordingly, in about 1846, Jesse Mayfield and his family, as well as a number of other families then residing in the Indian Territory, removed to the area which is now Rusk County TX.  Additional reasons for this migration are set forth below:

Due to the near civil war state that existed then in the Cherokee Nation between the Ross Faction (those that were part of the "trail of tears" ) and the Ridge or Treaty Party (those that were signers and supporters of the 1835 Treaty of New Echota) some fifty Cherokees fled for their lives to Texas. These went to what is now the area where Rusk, Smith, Cherokee and Gregg counties come together in a place coined in the book Cherokee Cavaliers as Mt. Tabor, Texas, thus the beginning of the Mount Tabor Indian Community. ... It was these people, their children and other relatives that made up the community until the coming of the American Civil War. Between 1861 and 1865 the community grew as Cherokees fled Federal troops in Indian Territory. In fact the community became exile headquarters of the Confederate Cherokees during the war. ... After the death of John Ross in 1866 and Stand Waite in 1871, much of the community disbanded and returned to the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory. Many there went on to become prominent in the affairs of the Cherokee Nation in the latter part of the 19th century. One descendant of Benjamin Franklin Thompson (John Wilson) became a Councilor of the Cherokee Nation, representing the Tahlequah District

[The above information was extracted from the Texas Band of Cherokee Indians of the Mount Tabor Indian Community website]

 

1850 Federal Census for Rusk County TX

After removing to Texas, Jesse Mayfield became a wealthy man.  The 1850 Federal Census for Rusk County TX (page 296) shows Jesse as possessing real property worth  $16,000! Also, the 1850 Slave Schedules (page 358) show Jesse with 57 slaves!  Jesse's eldest son, John Wilson Mayfield, is also listed in the 1850 Federal Census for Rusk County TX with his own household (see page 267); the Slave Schedules (page 357) shown Wilson as possessing 7 slaves.

Census data for the households of Jesse and Wilson Mayfield are as follows:

Name Occupation Age Gender Place of Birth Value of Real property Number of Slaves
             

Jesse Mayfield

Farmer 51 Male SC $16,000 57

Sarah Mayfield

  46 Female TN    

Walker Mayfield

Student 16 Male TN    

Elvira Mayfield

  13 Female TN    

Sabina Mayfield

  10 Female AR    

Victoria Mayfield

  8 Female AR    
             
Wilson Mayfield Farmer 23 Male TN $640 07

Sarah Mayfield

  24 Female TN    

Ezekiel Mayfield

  3 Male AR    

Penelope Mayfield

  2 Female TX    

Ellis Starr

Hand 20 Male TN    

 

1860 Federal Census for Rusk County TX

Jesse Mayfield died in 1857.  The 1860 Federal Census for Rusk County TX shows his widow Sarah and son Wilson.  Three other Mayfield households are also shown, those of Thomas B., James and Jesse Mayfield.  These Mayfields had originally come out west from McMinn County TN and were all sons of Jesse's deceased elder brother, Pearson Brummett Mayfield (1789-1832).

The 1860 Federal Census data for these five Mayfield households are shown below.  All of the Mayfield households are above average in wealth.

Page # Name Occupation Age Gender Place of Birth Value of Real Property Value of Personal Property Number of Slaves

Remarks

                   
305 Sarah Mayfield Farmer 56 Female TN --- $19,000 21 Widow of Jesse Mayfield
305

M. J. Howell [sic]

M. D. 25 Male AL $3,200 $10,000   Newton J. Howell, husband of Elvira
305

Elvira Howell

  22 Female TN       Daughter of Jesse Mayfield
305

George Wyche

M. D. 27 Male MS $3,200 $10,000   George William Wyche, husband of Sabina
305

Sabina Wyche

  20 Female AR       Daughter of Jesse Mayfield
                   
272 Wilson Mayfield Farmer 32 Male TN $8,200 $7,400 15 John Wilson Mayfield, eldest son of Jesse Mayfield (1793-1857)
272

Mary Mayfield

  18 Female TX       Mary Ann nee Stovall, second wife of Wilson Mayfield
272

M. M. Stovall

  61 Male KY --- ---   Father of Mary Ann Stovall Mayfield
272

Penelope Mayfield

  11 Female AR       Daughter of Wilson Mayfield by his first wife, Sarah Starr
                   
238 Jesse Mayfield Farmer 46 Male SC $5,560 12,000 07 Jesse is a son of Pearson Brumette Mayfield (1789-1832), eldest brother of Jesse Mayfield (1793-1857).
238

M. A, Mayfield

  28 Female TN       Wife of Jesse Mayfield
238

William Mayfield

  18 Male AR       Son of Jesse Mayfield
238

M. Y. Mayfield

  2 Female TX       Daughter of Jesse Mayfield
238

H. P. Mayfield

  10/12 Male TX       Son of Jesse Mayfield
238

John Owen

Laborer 19 Male TN --- --- --- Hired hand
                   
298 Jacob Gurian Farmer 74 Male NC $2, 500 $4,400 5 Jacob DeGuerin is James Mayfield's father-in-law.
298

A. W. Gurian

Laborer 18 Male SC --- --- ---  
298

Jacob Day

Laborer 15 Male SC --- --- ---  
298

James Mayfield

Farmer 40 Male SC $300 $5,800 2 James is a son of Pearson Brumette Mayfield (1789-1832), eldest brother of Jesse Mayfield (1793-1857).
298

Sallie Mayfield

  34 Female SC       Sarah nee DeGuerin is the wife of James Mayfield.
                   
298 Thomas B. Mayfield Farmer 32 Male TN $5,000 $7,000 7 Thomas is a son of Pearson Brumette Mayfield (1789-1832), eldest brother of Jesse Mayfield (1793-1857).
298

Melissa Mayfield

  24 Female SC       Sarah Melissa nee Blythe is the wife of Thomas B. Mayfield.
298

John W. Mayfield

  5 Male TX       Son of Thomas B. Mayfield
298

Jesse Mayfield

  1 Male TX       Son of Thomas B. Mayfield
298

W. Whitehead

Overseer 28 Male TN --- $100 0  
                   

 

Jesse Mayfield's Place of Burial

Jesse Mayfield is buried in the Mayfield Cemetery, Rusk County TX.  The cemetery is located east of Pirtle, a community which was, before the Civil War, also known as Bellview. The cemetery is on private property and, as of 1991, there were only four marked graves. Jesse's tombstone reads: "Jesse Mayfield  May 1793 – Dec 1857."

 

Children of Jesse Mayfield and Sallie Starr

Much of the following information was obtained from the Descendents of Nancy Ward website.

Jesse Mayfield and Sallie Starr had ten children, all of whom were 1/8 Cherokee:

1. Nancy7 Mayfield was born on 11 April 1822 in the Cherokee Nation. She married George William Harnage in about 1843.  She died on 11 June 1894 and was buried in Overton, Rusk County TX. Nancy was 1/8 Cherokee Indian blood.

Nancy Mayfield and George William Harnage were married in about 1843. George William Harnage (son of Ambrose Harnage and Nancy Sanders) was born about 1814 in the Cherokee Nation (now the state of Georgia). He died in 1874 in Chapel Hill, Smith County TX. He was buried in Asbury Cemetery, Arp, Smith County TX.

Nancy Mayfield and George William Harnage had the following children:

1. John Sanders Harnage was born in 1845 in Mount Tabor, Rusk County TX. He died on 04 November 1884. John was unmarried and had no children.

2. Sarah Jane Harnage.

3. William Wilson Harnage (see his interview presented above).

4. Nannie Sabina Harnage.

2.  Penelope Mayfield was born on 12 May 1824 in the Cherokee Nation in what is now McMinn County TN. She married John Thompson Adair on 30 January 1840 in Saline District, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now in OK).  Judge John Thompson Adair was the son of Walter (Black Watt) Adair and Rachel Thompson. Judge Adair was born on 22 December 1812 in Tululu Falls, Habersham County GA. He died on 23 December 1891 in Park Hill, Tahlequah District, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now Cherokee County OK). He was buried in Tahlequah City Cemetery, Tahlequah, Cherokee, OK. Penelope Mayfield Adair died on 27 May 1907 in Oak Grove, Going Snake District, Cherokee Nation, IT (now Oak Grove, Adair, OK). She was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, Oak Grove, Adair, OK. She was assigned Dawes-Cherokee by Blood Roll #1903. Penelope was 1/8 Cherokee Indian blood and John was 1/4 Cherokee Indian blood.

The following is taken from a book entitled Biographical Sketches from the Indian Territory - Its Chiefs, Legislators and Leading Men by H. F. and  E. S. O'Beirne:

The subject of this sketch is the wife of John Thompson Adair, recently deceased, whose portrait and biography will be found elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Penelope Adair is the daughter of Jesse Mayfield, of South Carolina, who married Sarah, daughter of Caleb Starr, of Tennessee. Her parents emigrated to this nation in 1839 with the Bushyhead detachment. [sic] In January, 1840, Penelope Mayfield married John Thompson Adair, and they settled near Tulu, Washington County, Arkansas, near the Indian Territory line, beside the present family home. Mrs. Adair had a family of nine children, two having died in infancy. Her oldest child, Jesse M. Adair, was born November 28, 1841, then followed Rachel Lavina, Sarah R., Oscar F., Edward Everett, John H. and Samuel Houston, the youngest, who is slightly over thirty years of age. Mrs. Adair's sons are all prosperous men, doing for themselves, the younger one remaining at the old home to look after his mother. Mrs. Adair is the remains of a remarkably pretty woman, having all the marks of culture and refinement. She is at present in poor health, owing to the recent loss of her husband, who died last December at the advanced age of seventy-nine years.

John Adair was elected to several terms on the Supreme Bench of the Cherokee Nation: in October 1843, October 1847, October 1852, October 1855, October 1859, November 1867, and November 1874. During his last two terms, he was the Supreme Judge.

John was elected chairman of the Cherokee citizenship court in December 1886 and was elected superintendent of the Cherokee National Seminary in November 1889.

Penelope Mayfield and Judge John Thompson Adair had the following eight children:

1. Jesse Mayfield Adair was born on 28 November 1841 in Oak Grove, Going Snake District, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now Oak Grove, Adair, OK).  He died on 12 January 1864 near Sherman, Grayson County TX. Jesse was 3/16 Cherokee Indian blood. Jesse served in Company G, First Cherokee Mounted Rifles, Captain George Harlan Starr, Colonel Stand Watie; and later in Captain Ephriam Martin Adair's Company, Second Cherokee Mounted Volunteers, Colonel William Penn Adair. He died in the Civil War and is buried near present day city of Sherman TX.

2. Rachel Louvenia Adair.

3. Sarah Ruth Adair.

4. Oscar Fitzaland Adair.

5. Walter Adair was born on 22 December 1849 in Stilwell, Going Snake District, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now Stilwell, Adair County OK).  He died on 25 March 1851 in Oak Grove, Going Snake District, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now Oak Grove, Adair County OK). He was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, Oak Grove, Adair County OK. Walter was 3/16 Cherokee Indian blood. He died as an infant and left no issue.

6. Edward Everett Adair.

7. John Harrell Adair.

8. Samuel Houston Adair.

3.  John Wilson Mayfield, usually known as Wilson Mayfield or Jack Mayfield, was born on 11 April 1827 in the Cherokee Nation (now McMinn County TN); he died on 14 November 1883 and was buried in Buffington Cemetery, Sallisaw, Sequoyah District, Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma).  In 1846, John married Sarah Starr who was born in about 1826 in the Tennessee portion of the Cherokee Nation. Sarah Starr  was the daughter of Ezekiel Starr and Mary Upshaw; Sarah died in about 1855 in Rusk County TX.  Sarah was 1/8 Cherokee Indian blood.

John Wilson Mayfield and Sarah Starr had the following children:

1.  Ezekiel Starr Mayfield

2.  Penelope Jane Mayfield

4.  Emily Walker Mayfield was born on 20 August 1830 in the Cherokee Nation (now McMinn County TN); she died on 29 March 1899. in Tahlequah, Tahlequah District, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now Tahlequah, Cherokee County OK). She was buried in Tahlequah, Cherokee County OK. Emily Mayfield married John Griffith Harnage on 12 January 1844 in Sequoyah District, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now Sequoyah OK). John Griffith Harnage was the son of Ambrose Harnage and Nancy SANDERS; he was born on 12 May 1816 in the Cherokee Nation (now GA). He died on 12 January 1891 in Tahlequah, Tahlequah District, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now Tahlequah, Cherokee County OK). He was buried in Tahlequah City Cemetery, Tahlequah, which is now in Cherokee County OK.

Emily Walker Mayfield and John Griffith Harnage had the following eight children:

1. William Thomas Harnage.

2. Jesse Mayfield Harnage was born in in 1849 in Mount Tabor, Rusk County TX. He died in 1858 in Smith County TX. He was buried in Asbury Cemetery, Smith County TX.

3. Mary Victoria Harnage.

4. Ida Eugenia Harnage.

5. Loretta Beldora (Belle) Harnage.

6. Nancy Ethel Harnage.

7. John Curtis Lee Harnage.

8. Lena Harnage.

5.  Carter Walker Mayfield was born on 26 September 1834 in McMinn County TN; he died on 28 July 1879 in Muldrow, Sequoyah District, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now Muldrow, Sequoyah County OK) and was buried in Roland Cemetery, Roland, Sequoyah County OK. He married Jane Blackburn in about 1857. Jane was the daughter of Richard Blackburn and Martha J. (Patsy) Gunter; Jane was born in 1839 in Creekpath, Cherokee Nation (now Jackson County AL). She died in 1879 in Muldrow, Sequoyah District, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now Muldrow, Sequoyah County OK) and was buried in Roland Cemetery, Roland, Sequoyah County OK.

In the Civil War, Carter Walker Mayfield served in Company A, Second Cherokee Mounted Rifles, under Captain Bluford West Alberty and Colonel William Penn Adair.

Carter Walker Mayfield and Jane BLACKBURN had the following children:

1. Jesse Houston Mayfield.

2. Pickens Beauregard Mayfield was born in 1861. He died in 1883. Pickens died unmarried and had no children.

3. Stand Watie Mayfield.

6.  Elvira C. Mayfield was born on 08 September 1837 in McMinn County TN and died on 25 July 1899 in Muskogee, Canadian District, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now Muskogee, Muskogee County OK). She was buried in Greenhill Cemetery, Muskogee, Muskogee County OK. She married twice.

1) Elvira's first husband was Dr. Isaac Newton Howell, whom she married on 17 November 1859 in Rusk County TX. Isaac was the son of Elijah Howell and Nancy Andrews; he was born in August 1835 and died in October 1873. He was buried in Mayfield Cemetery, Pirtle, Rusk County TX. Isaac and Elvira had no children.

2) Elvira's second husband was William Henry Barker, whom she married on 10 September 1875 in Rusk County TX. William was the son of William Henry Barker and Sarah Griffin.  William was born on 6 November 1850 in Illinois District, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now OK).  He died on 7 August 1924 in Muskogee, Muskogee County OK.  He was buried in Greenhill Cemetery, Muskogee, Muskogee County OK.  He was assigned Dawes-Cherokee by Blood Roll #4534.

Elvira C. Mayfield and William Henry Barker had one child:

1. Sallie Belle Barker.

7.  Ezekiel Mayfield was born in about 1839.

8.  Sabina Elizabeth Mayfield was born in about 1840 in AR; she died in May 1877. She married Dr. George William Wyche on 17 November 1859 in Rusk County TX.  Dr. Wyche was the son of Rev. Robert Devereaux Wyche and Mary Alliston. He was born about 1833 in Muscogee County GA. He died on 12 January 1906 in Gregg TX. He was buried in Kenedy Cemetery, Kenedy, Karnes County TX. George Wyche was a doctor of medicine and a graduate of Tulane University in New Orleans.

Sabina Elizabeth Mayfield and Dr. George William Wyche had the following six children:

1. Jessie Cora Wyche.

2. Robert Devereaux Wyche.

3. John William Wyche.

4. Elizabeth (Betty) Wyche.

5. Lilla Wyche - died young.

6. Starr Wyche - died young.

9.  Victoria Hulda Mayfield was born in about 1842 in AR and died on 15 May 1890 in Canadian District, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now Muskogee County OK). She married three times.

1)  Her first husband was Thomas Henry Still, whom she married  on 03 September 1857 in Rusk County TX. Thomas Henry Still was the son of William Henry Still and Emily Lagrand. Thomas was born on on 8 January 1837 and died on 11 March 1907 in Overton, Rusk County TX.  They were divorced in about 1880.

Victoria and Thomas Still had one child:

1.  William Henry Still.

2)  Her second husband was _____ Galloway. I have no further information on this marriage.

3)  Her third husband was Robert McAlister Gilmore, whom she married on 28 December 1881 in Canadian District, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Robert was the son of Anderson Smith Gilmore and Nancy McAlister.  He was born in July 1839 in Pulaski County KY.  He died on 02 August 1918 in Muskogee, Muskogee County OK. He was buried in Fort Gibson National Cemetery, Fort Gibson, Muskogee County OK. Robert was a captain in the Second Kentucky Cavalry, USA during World War I. There were no children by this marriage.

10.  Cornelia Mayfield  was born in 1848 and died in 1849. She was buried in the Mount Tabor Indian Cemetery, Rusk County TX.  The cemetery was destroyed by oil field workers in the early 1970's. It was located about 6 miles south of Kilgore, southeast of Laird Hill and northeast of Overton.  Cemetery information for her is as follows:

Cornelia Mayfield-Cherokee b. 1848 d. 1849 Daughter of Jesse Mayfield and Sarah "Sallie" Walker Starr.

 

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