Mayfield Family Genealogy

1. Mary Mayfield, born in Virginia; died Abt. July 1792 in Davidson County NC. She married John Haggard Bef. 1786; died 29 December 1792 in Davidson County NC.

Notes for Mary Mayfield

Based on the following family tradition, cited by Nancy Anderson in an E-Mail to the Mayfield List on 12 October 1998, it would appear that the daughter of James Mayfield (d. 1780), who married John Haggard, was named Mary:

" ... my great-great-grandmother was Elizabeth Haggard Jones, Mrs. Jesse Jones, who lived with my great-grandparents for many years and told them various things she could remember about her parents and childhood. Her daughter-in-law passed this information along to my grandmother and to me, since my great grandmother lived until I was eight years old.

"Not only did Elizabeth tell the story of her mother's terrible death at the hands of Indians and of their father's death, but she said the remembered how she, as a small child, was hidden in a barn loft by her uncle when Indians attacked the station at which she was living. Since it seems that her mother was Mary Mayfield, one of the Mayfield men must have hidden her. She said that, when her mother was killed, the family was living at Brown's station which, I've been told, was near what is now the Tennessee State Fairgrounds . Probably John Brown had built this station. To coninue, according to the story told to me which originated with Elizabeth Haggard, her mother was pregnant again and wanted to go into Ft.Nashboro to buy material to make baby clothes. A group of men were going to ride in and offered to escort her, but en route the party was attacked and all were killed except for Mrs.Haggard who was taken alive and one man who fell from his horse, broke his leg and managed to hide in a hollow log from which he witnessed the following:

"The Indians tortured Mrs. Haggard all night and, in the morning, split her open and threw her unborn baby on the ground. Naturally, she died. Several years ago, I got a xerox from the Tennessee archives of some recently discovered, hand written, source material Judge Haywood used in his history of Tennessee. It refers to the death of Mrs.Haggard, saying that John Haggard had married her in an older

colony. That must have been Virginia. It also said no woman had ever been treated so horribly as was she. As you've probably read elsewhere, John Haggard was one of Castlerman's "Indian spies", and when he was killed, he was over-killed. Someone, I think Putnam, surmised that the Indians mangled him so, because he'd been on a

personal warpath against any and all Indians since his wife was killed.

"When his estate was settled, he left silver shoe buckles, silver buttons from a coat, some of his wife's petticoats (one new) and a pen and inkstand; so someone in the family could write; though Elizabeth never learned how. I have a paper she signed with her mark. This information is either in the Tennessee state archives or in Davidson County records. I've forgotten which.

"In the Tennessee archives, I found the record whereby two of the Haggard boys were apprenticed to Jesse Jones of Springfield who later married Elizabeth. Jesse was son of John Jones, signer of the Watauga compact. I've tried far and wide to find documentation of Elizabeth's marriage to Jesse, but I've had no luck. I know that one of the histories says John Haggard left five children in great want (in fact, all he left them was one basket in which to keep their clothes). Everything else was sold. But I can account for only four children, three boys and Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth, by the way, is buried in Haynes Cemetery in Marshall County near the Maury County line. When I was a little girl many years ago, her grave was marked by a stone, but that has disappeared. I surely would like to know what became of Jane Gibson, John Haggard's first wife ,and whether she was a member of the Gibson family which moved on to Middle Tennessee and intermarried with the Mayfields. ... "

Notes for John Haggard - Husband of Mary Mayfield

John Haggard and his wife are mentioned in the following extract from A. W. Putnam's "History of Middle Tennessee" (published 1859), page 301:

" ... John Haggard was killed by Indians about five miles from Nashville, and the twelve balls shot into his body by the savages, seemingly in wanton sport, or to wreck a terrible vengence and then mutilated his body. He had been a spy. His wife had been killed a few months previously, in the summer. We regard it as probable that Haggard had committed some acts to avenge his loss and bereavement and now the Indians riddled him and chopped him. The Indians seldom marked their victims with peculiar evidences of brutality, unless there had been some real or supposed grievance and provocation. Their expressive designation of spies was, 'the eyes and ears' and the 'watch-dogs' of the settlements. Therefore they plucked out their eyes and cut off their ears, and sometimes, heads, arms, and legs."

The conjecture that John Haggard (sometimes spelled "Haggart") was married to a daughter of James Mayfield (d. 1780) may be inferred from several court and land records of Davidson County and Williamson County TN. There is no primary evidence, of which I am aware, that establishes the first name of this daughter who married John Haggard. However, a tradition among descendants of the Haggard family indicates that her name was "Mary." For futher information, see the notes for Mary Mayfield, placed adjacent to this section.

The following are abstracts taken from the court minutes/orders of Davidson County NC which pertain to John Haggard:

8 April 1793: Ordered that William Haggard have letters of administration on estate of John Haggard, deceased; bond of 200 pounds posted with Frederick Davis and David Beaty as securities [see page 25].

8 July 1793: William Haggard Administrator of John Haggard returns inventory [see page 45].

14 April 1795: Deed of Margaret Gibson as Administrix of Sutherlin Mayfield to heirs of John Haggard acknowleged [see page 179].

8 January 1798: Deed of Daniel Hogan to John Haggard's heirs, viz., Samuel Haggard, Edmond Haggard and John Haggard acknowledged [see page 409].

8 October 1798: Ordered that John Buchanan, David Beaty, Frederick Davis, John Edmonston, Jnr., Moses Speers and Robert Bell or any five of them, divide into three equal parts between John Nolin [sic], John Haggard's heirs and Isaac Mayfield's heirs a tract of 640 acres on Mill Creek and make return [see page 491].

15 January 1799: Division of land between John Brown, the heirs of John Haggard and the heirs of Isaac Mayfield returned and recorded [see page 519].

From Williamson County TN are loose court records for the case of John and George Mayfield versus William Haggard. The following depositions and statements of the plaintiff [William Haggard] mention both John Haggard and various Mayfields:

Deposition of Benjamin Joselin [Joslin], dated 27 January 1824:

"I was well acquainted with Sutherland Mayfield in Virginia, was raised near him and lived with him in the station at Davidson County now Williamson County, after moving to Tennessee. He is now dead. His admr. was appointed April 1789. Mayfield had a station which was burnt by the Indians about the time of the date of this bond (1786). John Haggart, John Campbell and myself made a contract with Mayfield to go to live with him in his station for 2 years to clear 10 acres of ground each and build a new station. We built the station and all moved our families ito it. When we were burning the logs to plant the first crop the Indians came and fired on us. We were putting up a wolf pen about half a mile from the station. Southerland Mayfield and Andrew Martin, a soldier, was killed. George Mayfield taken prisoner and William Mayfield was killed. In a few days we all left the station at the request of Mrs. Mayfield. ... "

"8 Feb. 1786 - Sutherland Mayfield conveyed to John Haggart 200 acres of land lying on Indian Camp Creek, a branch of Mill Creek. Sutherland Mayfield died in March 1789. Margaret, his wife, was appointed admr."

Deposition of Batholomore Stovall of Bedford County, aged 69 years, given at the house of John Atkinson, dated 22 June 1824:

"I was acquainted with Mayfield for 2 or 3 years before his death. I knew John Haggard about 7 years. He was killed Sept. 1793 [sic]. I heard Mayfield and Haggard talk of their contract about a piece of land for which Haggard was to live with Mayfield at his station 1 year or more. I don't remember how long or how many acres he was to clear. He went to the station in the fall of 1785 or the following winter. Haggard left the station in April 1786 and did not return to live there again. ... "

Deposition of John Marion of Bedford County, aged 64 years, dated 22 June 1824:

"I knew Sutherland Mayfield upwards of 2 years before his death in 1789. I knew John Haggard about 5 or 6 years before his death in 1793 [sic]. I came to this country in Sept. 1785. Thomas Nolin was killed a few days after I came to this country."

"John Haggard died intestate. He left Samuel Haggard, Edmond Haggard, and John Haggard his sons and only heirs"

"Margaret Mayfield, widow of Sutherland Mayfield was appointed Admr. and then she married John Gibson who died about 1795. On 14 April 1795 Margaret executed a deed to Samuel, Edmond, and John Haggard for the 200 acres of land. John Haggard, Jr. died without issue, intestate. Sutherland Mayfield died leaving two sons, John and George. John Mayfield lives in Davidson County and George lives in Williamson County and they refuse to convey the land to the Haggards."

From Davidson County NC Deed Book 1, page 32: North Carolina Grant # 1939, dated 20 May 1792, to John Brown, John Haggard and Isaac Mayfield, 640 acres of land in Davidson County, on Mill Creek. Surveyed for said Brown, Haggard and Mayfield on 10 August 1790 in consequence of a Military Warrent # 2345, land located on 26 December 1785.

From Davidson County TN Deed Book 2, page 54: Indenture, dated 4 January 1799, between John Brown of Logan County KY and John Nolin of Davidson County TN for 160 acres of land on MillCreek. Said land being the said Brown's Preemption of land laid off by a jury appointed to divide a tract of 640 acres granted to said Brown, Haggard and Mayfield, per NC Grant # 1939.

The following Newspaper account re the death of John Haggard was graciously provided to me by Donna Hamm:

From "Bowen's Sentinel and Gazette" of Frederick County, Virginia, issue dated January 7, 1793"

"Dec. 7th, Eight miles from Nashville calvary - John HANKINS was scalped. Twenty-ninth of same month John HAGGARD was killed and scalped about 6 mi. from Nashville. His wife was killed last summer by the Indians and he has left 5 small children in poverty and wretchedness." [Comment: The date of John's death, 29 December 1792, cited in this newspaper account differs from the court depositions cited above, that indicate his demise in late 1793. However, the date of issuance of the letters of administration for John Haggard, 8 April 1793, supports the December 1792 date.]