Person:Othnal Brassfield (1)

1840 Census, Missouri, Livingston, Marion Shown with two sons (probably Mayberry & Tolman), one daughter, very young. Also wife, probably Jane Splawn (father Mayberry lived close by).

1850 Boone County,Iowa (census) Othnal Minter Brassfield 38 Tenn. Matilda (wife) 28 Tenn. George Brassfield 14 Mo. Tolman Brassfield 10 Mo. Lucy Ann Brassfield 8 Mo. Lydia F.J. Brassfield 4 Mo. Sevillah W. Brassfield 3 Mo. Aaron R. Brassfield 2 Ia. A.G.Lafayette Barnes 10 Tenn. Rachel E. Barnes 7 Ark. John R. Barnes 6 Ark.

1852 Polk County shows 6 males, 6 females 1 voter Iowa State Census Collection, 1836-1925 > 1852 > Cass > Cass

1854 Webster County, showing 7 male, 5 females. Iowa State Census Collection, 1836-1925 > 1856 > Wright > Liberty 1856 Wright County IA Liberty Twp Census BRASSFIELD Minter 45 Tennessee Farmer BRASSFIELD Matilda 35 Tennessee BRASSFIELD Tolman 18 Missouri BRASSFIELD Lydia F.J. 9 Missouri BRASSFIELD Savilah W. 8 Missouri BRASSFIELD Aaron R. 5 Iowa BRASSFIELD Lucinda E. 5 Iowa BRASSFIELD Allen P. 3 Iowa BARNES A L 16 Tennesee BARNES John B. Arkansas

Iowa State Census Collection, 1836-1925 > 1854 > Webster > Webster

1860 Wright Co.,Iowa (census) Eagle Grove Township Othnal M. Brassfield 48 Tenn. Matilda (wife) 40 Tenn. Tolman Brassfield 21 Mo. Lydia F.J. Brassfield 13 Mo. Sevillah W. Brassfield 12 Mo. Aaron R. Brassfield 10 Iowa Lucinda Brassfield 9 Iowa Allen P. Brassfield 7 Iowa Sarah M. Brassfield 2 Iowa

1870 Census Wright County, Iowa, Liberty Township

1880 United States Federal Census > Iowa > Wright > Liberty > District 251 Wife Lucinda Children: Ada Perry Sarah StepChildren: Levi., Emma

1885 Iowa state Census. Minter Brassfield, age 74, Liberty Township, Wright County

U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 Name State of Record Issue Date Meridian County Township Range Section Minter Brassfield Iowa 2 Jan 1856 5th PM Wright 92-N 26-W 32

View Record Minter Brassfield Iowa 2 Jan 1856 5th PM Wright 91-N 26-W 5

View Record Minter Brassfield Iowa 15 May 1855 5th PM Wright 91-N 26-W 8

View Record Minter Brassfield Iowa 1 Oct 1855 5th PM Wright 92-N 26-W 33

View Record Minter Brassfield Iowa 1 Jun 1857 5th PM Wright 92-N 26-W 33

First Settler in Hamilton County. The first settler within the present limits of Hamilton county was Minter Brassfield, of Kentucky. He came to Iowa with his family in the fall of 1847. They located at Hook's Point, and for several years their cabin home was a stopping place of interest when members of our family made trips to Des Moines. The visits of the Brassfields at our home always were anticipated with pleasure by old and young. Twenty-five years later, my own family of growing children were delighted at the prospect of a visit from the Major, and his appearance was a joyful assurance to the youngsters that tales of pioneer times were to be recounted. Our neighbor from the south gained his title from a hunt in the hills of Kentucky. The hunting party agreed that the one who bagged the most game should receive the title of "Major." The youngest member of the company won the honor and thereafter was known as Major Brassfield.

Kentucky Grove: Checking the records for settlers that came to the county in 1851, I discovered that Major Minter Brassfield was a Kentucky immigrant, who came to the county and settled near the present day Homer site. He came in 1850 and purchased a claim from John Tolman. The only recorded settlers that came in 1850 were these two plus Thomas Hogan, who took up a claim in Sec. 21-87-26 which in on the south side of the Boone River near the Neese Cemetery.

Since there was a post office Kentucky Grove recorded, and since the only immigrant with a Kentucky connection who came here in 1850 was Brassfield, it is probable that the settlement was named by Brassfield. He soon sold out and moved to Newcastle at the time that the post office was discontinued. He stayed in Newcastle a short time before moving north to Wright County and founding his own town of Brassfield, which the locals changed to Goldfield, as it sounded more prosperous.

History of Wright County,Iowa MAJOR MINTER BRASSFIELD This is the way this pioneer of Wright county usually wrote his name....either M. or Minter Brassfield....but his daughter informs us that his true name in full was Othnal Minter Brassfield. The title "Major" is a misnomer, he never having served in any military capacity, other than accompanying a detachment of soldiers over the prairies of Wright county to Ft.Dodge, in the early fifties; after that he was dubbed "Major". Minter Brassfield, of Liberty township, who died many years ago, arrived in that township on August 12,1854. Mr. Brassfield, William Stryker, of Troy township, and William S. Montgomery, of Liberty township, were the first of the pioneer band who located in what is now Wright county. All came with families within a few weeks of one another. Mr. Brassfield settled on a farm, where he spent the remainder of his days. He was a native of Claiborne county, Tennessee, where he was born in 1811. His father, George Brassfield, and his wife, Mary, removed from Tennessee to Randolph county, Missouri, where the father died. His wife, Mary, later came to Iowa, whit her her children had moved and lived with them for a time, but finally returned to Missouri, where she died. George Brassfield and wife had nine children, who grew to manhood and womanhood. Minter Brassfield was the oldest of the family. He had lived in Wright county from its earliest settlement and saw it wonderfully transformed into a rich, well developed farming section before his death. Died: Feb.1,1896 Goldfield,Wright County,Ia. Probate of Othnal Minter Brassfield, Names and addresses of the heirs as far as known. Lucy Brassfield RYAN....Meacham,Oregon, The heirs of Lyday Brassfield GUILLIAMS, deceased, names unknown. Living in Klamath Falls,Oregon. Emma STRATTON only heir of Snevilla Brassfield, deceased. Washta, Cherokee Co., IA. Aaron R. Brassfield sold and transfered his share and interest to T.L.Knight of Goldfield, IA. A. P. Brassfield....Livermore, Iowa. Lucinda Brassfield HANN...Goldfield, Iowa. The heirs of George Brassfield, deceased are as follows: Minter Brassfield, somewhere in British Columbia. William Brassfield, somewhere in British Columbia. Cornelia Brassfield WHITMAN, Goldfield,Iowa. The heirs of Tolman Brassfield, deceased are: Frank Brassfield, Boice City, Idaho, Jared Brassfield, Boice City, Idaho, Lillie Brassfield BROWN....Jessie,Idaho, Almedia Brassfield CROSS...Jessie,Idaho. The above are the only heirs of the late O.M.Brassfield. signed ....O.C.McIntosh, administrator Probate undated. There was never a Jessie, Idaho that I can find. It was probably meant for Boise as that's where I have found this family. Livermore, in Humboldt Co.,Iowa. Meacham, in Umatilla Co.,Oregon. In another small pamphlet printed in 1870. History and Business Directory of Wright Co. Ia. LIBERTY township-Major Minter Brassfield is the pioneer settler of this township, and is acknowledged by all as the first settler in the county. It is very interesting to sit and listen to the Major narrating some of his hunting expeditions on his first settling on the Boone, for it was by this means the tables of all the early settlers were supplied wih meat. We spent a short time in the Major's company, in our tour around the county, and must acknowldge that we were completely surprised to find a man of such rough exterior, possessed with such free and fluent conversation and such profound knowledge. It was in 1854 that the Major settled on the Boone (River), and the following year he built a saw and grist-mll, this being the first in the county. LIBERTY (town). This town was laid out in 1855, by Major Brassfield and his brother A.D. Brassfield (NOTE: Anson D. Brassfield m. Elizabeth. He was the first county treasurer and recorder of Wright Co.,Iowa. His wife Elizabeth donated a half acre for a cemetery.) The latter gentleman building the first house on the town site. In 1858 a spendid two-story building was erected for a court-house, for which purpose it was used until 1865, when the county seat was moved to Clarion. The first marriage celebrated in Wright County was that of Alexander Usher and Lucy Ann BRASSFIELD, who were married by Judge Dean on 27 Dec.1855. The removal of the courty seat to Clarion, which took place in 1866, had a tendency to somewhat hurt the business of Liberty, but being surrounded by a beautful and well settled country, it yet carries on a good trade. NOTE: Liberty, no longer exist's. Goldfield, became the main town just across the river from Liberty. The Major lived at the mouth of the Boone River, before settling in Wright County.

Civil War: Tolman Brassfield, enlisted as a private,age 22, 8-9-1861 Co. F 2nd Iowa Cavalry. bur: Amity Cemetery,Amity, Yamhill Co.,Oreg. m. Corrilla I.TOLMAN 12-24-1864 Wright Co.,IA, she m/2. O.Robbins 12-9-1882 Boise, Ada Co., Idaho (Her marriage and her children's marriage's on the web......Idaho). Samuel Newton Guilliams, enlisted as a pvt, age 21, residence: Franklin Co.,Iowa, native of Indiana, on 9-26-1862, Co. C Northern Border Brigade. Mustered 9-26-1862, Mustered out 9-10-1863 at Spirit Lake, Dickinson Co.,Iowa. Re-enlisted: 9-17-1863 Co F. Northern Border Brigade. Mustered 10-14-1863. Mustered out 12-9-1863 Spirit Lake, Iowa. (The Northern Border Brigade : Was a State Milita...protected citizen's against Indian attack.) m. Lydia F. J. BRASSFIELD 7-17-1864 Goldfield, Wright Co.,Iowa. John L. Guilliams, enlisted as a private, age 28, residence: Alden, Hardin Co.,Iowa, native of Indiana, on 9-26-1862, Co. C Northern Border Brigade. Mustered 9-26-1862 Discharged 12-7-1862 disability ( Arrow, in his hip) Re-enlisted: age 31, pvt., Co.D. 2nd Regt Iowa 12-1-1864 at Fort Dodge,Webster Co., Iowa. Discharged 6-14-1865 Clinton,Clinton Co., Iowa. m.Rachel Evelyn BARNES 4-21-1856 Liberty, Wright Co.,Iowa. ( Half sister of Lydia F.J.)

History of Wright Co,Iowa FIRST SETTLEMENT. "On the 11th of August, 1854, Major Minter Brassfield, accompanied by his family, arrived where he now lives in Section 32,Township 92, Range 26, and at once built him a log house which had puncheon floors and doors made from the same style of lumber. It had shake roofing. Into this rude house he moved his family, he being the first settler in the township and among the very first in Wright county..... the Stryker, Wilcox, Middleton settlement in Troy township, with possibly two others on the east side along the Iowa river, only preceded him. However he had lived as a hunter and trapper here as early as 1853. Major Brassfield lived in his cabin home until the late fall, when he changed his location to a point some fifty rods further up the river, on account of a fine spring he had discovered; and to save time and trouble in moving his house, he built another of the same kind, except that it had hewed logs. The house is still standing (1877) as a monument of pioneer days. "H.W.Montgomery arrived with his family, Oct 4,1854, and about the same time as John Boyles. The former settled four miles up the river in Section 17, Township 92, Range 26, where he still resides. The latter built a cabin in Section 28, about a mile northeast of Brassfield's farm, on what was later known as the Barnes farm. All the log houses built that fall were of the very primitive construction, as was Major Brassfield's, and were entirely innocent of window's. It was inconvenient to have the doors open, so light was admitted through the roof by moving a "shingle," thus making a real "sky light." An ample fire-place, built of sticks and plastered with clay, furnished the heating apparatus....rude but comfortable, as the writer knows from experience. "At that time, Homer, forty-five miles distant, was the nearest post office. The nearest mill was at the mouth of he Boone River, five miles beyond Homer; and Boonesboro, distanced sixty-five mles, was the nearest market town. Kentucky Grove - The exact location of this settlement is unknown. It is the earliest settlement on the U. S. Postal Service records, and dates back to the time our county was called Risley. The post office was opened on August 8, 1851 and stayed in service only until June 21, 1852. Checking the records for settlers that came to the county in 1851, I discovered that Major Minter Brassfield was a Kentucky immigrant, who came to the county and settled near the present day Homer site. He came in 1850 and purchased a claim from John Tolman. The only recorded settlers that came in 1850 were these two plus Thomas Hogan, who took up a claim in Sec. 21-87-26 which in on the south side of the Boone River near the Neese Cemetery. Since there was a post office Kentucky Grove recorded, and since the only immigrant with a Kentucky connection who came here in 1850 was Brassfield, it is probable that the settlement was named by Brassfield. He soon sold out and moved to Newcastle at the time that the post office was discontinued. He stayed in Newcastle a short time before moving north to Wright County and founding his own town of Brassfield, which the locals changed to Goldfield, as it sounded more prosperous.

Major Minter Brassfield would travel miles to race his horses. He raced a bay mare, a grey gelding, and a sorrell."

Mrs. Brassfield, a woman of culture and refinement, was the daughter of a southern planter who owned a long retinue of slaves. From ease and opulence to the privations of pioneering was a marked change in her life, but single-handed and without servants, Mrs. Brassfield courageously and uncomplainingly assumed the complex duties incident to household management and the rearing of a large family.

Years later Mrs. Brassfield was afflicted with eye trouble. The mother did not see the face of her youngest daughter Kate, until the child was four years old. Her sight was restored after treatment by the veteran oculist, Dr. James Campbell of Des Moines.

The pioneer friendship initiated by Major Brassfield and Wilson Brewer has endured through four generations. His daughters and I were fast friends and his grand and great grandchildren and mine are appreciative companions.

Some time ago one of Iowa's small town papers contained a ludicrous, although convincing account of an early settler. It said: "Mr. ____ was the initial, first pioneer in this section, coming here before anyone else." The exclamation often was heard when Wilson Brewer and Major Brassfield were seen together: "There go the two first settlers." The ambiguous expression easily could be made clear, however. Brassfield was the first settler in Hamilton county, and Brewer the first settler in Webster City.

Soon after the Major's removal to Wright county, mentioned elsewhere, Mrs. Brassfield died. Several years passed and the Major married Mrs. Montgomery, mother of Alfred Montgomery, the well known Iowa painter of sheep and corn.

1852 Iowa Census, Risley County, Cass Township, Old Risley County

from Francine White: I have found out that MINTER is a surname.

There is a Othneil MINTER m.Joyce STULTZ or STULTS 12-7-1798 Henry Co.,Virginia.

Betsy MINTER m.Michael GRIGGS 11-30-1799 Henry Co.,Va. (Henry Co.,Va. is where my GUILLIAMS family was from before the county changed).

1. ↑ beside Matilda