Person:Robert Brownfield (4)

ROBERT BROWNFIELD II, b. Bet. 1705 - 1710, Ireland; d. Abt. 1790, Near Steele Creek, Mecklenburg, NC; m. JANE STEWART, Abt. 1737, Chester County, PA; b. 1716, Ireland; d. 1811, Chester County, SC.

Notes for ROBERT BROWNFIELD II:
In 1738 Robert assisted his brother, Charles, to settle their fathers estate. Robert and his wife had five children, two daughters and three sons, William, John and Robert. All three served in the Revolutionary War, one or more serving on Gen. Sumpter's staff. Lt. John was killed in battle in Georgia. Robert was educated at Princeton and went into the medical service at the beginning of the Rev. war. He was with Gen. Washington all during the war and saved the life of Gen. Sumpter. William belonged to the regular army as a private and fought under Braddock.

By 1790 when the first US census was taken, Robert Brownfield was an old man. He had been a vital part of an area which had produced its own Declaration of Independence (The Mecklenberg Declaration) prior to July 4, 1776 where vertually no Tories could be found among these Scots-Irishmen.

He is interred in the Steele Creek Church graveyard.

About Robert Brownfield
ID: I4305

Name: Robert BROWNFIELD

Sex: M

Birth: 1705/1715 in Northern Ireland

Death: 1790/1800 in Mecklenburg, NC

Burial: Steel Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Mecklenburg County, NC

Note:

Robert's parents' family was in Chester County, Pennsylvania by 1737 and there is evidence that Robert, Jr., was married soon after. Records show that Robert Brownfield, Jr. purchased a 59 1/2 acre farm one-half mile west of Russellville, Pennsylvania, which was a part of the 5,000 acre William Penn, Jr., manor. His tax assessment for 1739 in Chester County was ten shillings, nine pence. Following the death of his father in September 1738, and the removal of his mother (upon her request) from administrative duties in February 1739, Robert and his brother Charles assisted in the settlement of the estate. After the 1740 tax assessment, the name of Robert Brownfield, Jr., disappears from Chester County records. However, family records indicate that all of Robert's children were born in Pennsylvania. This would mean that they remained there at least through 1757 and possibly later

It is likely that in the 1760's the family took one of the major southern routes of Scotch-Irish migration through the Shenandoah Valley and into the Yadkin River Valley of North Carolina. The Brownfield name appears on public records in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, in 1768, for the first time. William and John Brownfield were witnesses to a deed made by John and Martha Henry to John, Robert, and James Bigham on the north branch of Steele Creek, dated December 23, 1768, in Mecklenburg County. This is the first indication of the family in North Carolina

On May 3, 1769, William Tryon, Governor of North Carolina, authorized the granting of 300 acres of land to William Brownfield. The wheels of the monarchy turned slowly and in July 1771, the grant was issued and it was for only 150 acres. The chainbearers for the survey were Robert Brownfield and Samuel Bigham. Robert Brownfield, Jr., had settled just southwest of the present city of Charlotte. This is believed to be the first settlement in the deep south to become saturated with Scotch-Irish Presbyterians and nearly all came from Southeastern Pennsylvania and its adjacent surroundings in Northern Maryland. On Steele Creek, just south of Charlotte, one of the earliest churches was organized by 1760. In 1872 Pastor John Douglas wrote a history of the Steele Creek Presbyterian Church in which he indicated on page 7 that the congregation met for some time "under the widespread branches of some forest oak." He further stated, "In the course of time they (the Steele Creek Church) obtained a small piece of land, not exceeding two acres, from a Mr. Brownfield (or Brumfield as he was more commonly called). It is unknown if this land was purchased or donated. The third published history of the Steele Creek Church in 1978 gives the following information on page 13: "Apparently there were two tracts of land chosen for Steele Creek Church. The first was obtained from Robert Broomfield, whether it was purchased or was a gift is not known. The tract consisted of about two acres on the headwaters of Steele Creek." The only purchase of land made by Robert Brownfield, Jr., that can be found was made January 7, 1771: "William Bigham and wife Sarah of Mecklenburg County, planter, to Robert Brownfield, of same, planter, for 60 pounds proclamation money ... 300 acres on branches of Beaver Dam Creek on west side of Hugh Parks, part of grant to Bigham made on 23 December 1763, four acres of said land, including the old and new meeting houses, the graveyard and the spring on the north side of said meeting houses, only excepted and exempted for the use of the congregation. Witnesses: Robert Brownfield, Jr., and Samuel Bigham; signed: William Bigham and Sarah Bigham. Robert Brownfield, Jr., was never referred to as "Junior" in North Carolina records. He was called Robert Brownfield, Sr., and the witness to the above deed was his son, the twenty-one year old Robert Brownfield, Jr., who will hereinafter be called Dr. Robert Brownfield. The elder Robert was a planter whose 300-acre farm joined the 150 belonging to son William so that they had a joint estate of 450 acres. Following the American Revolution Robert and William sold a portion of that estate to neighbor, James Bigham. This deed for 200 pounds sterling was made October 10, 1783 for the sale of 262 acres, thus reducing the estate to 188 acres: "being part of two tracts of land, one granted to Robert Brownfield by deed from William Bigham dated January 7, 1771; the other grant to Will Brownfield by patent dated July 12, 1771. Witnesses: James Hail and John Brownfield; signed: William Brownfield and Robert Brownfield (his mark)."

By 1790 when the first U. S. census was taken Robert Brownfield was an old man living only with his wife in Mecklenberg. He had been a vital part of an area which had produced its own Declaration of Independence (The Mecklenburg Declaration) prior to July 4, 1776 where virtually no Tories could be found among these Scotch-Irishmen. Robert had seen all three sons serve as officers of the Revolution and had lived long enough to be a part of the new nation whose liberties his sons and sons-in-law had helped to achieve. Oldest son, William, was likely the only one of the children still living nearby when Robert died in the 1790's. According to a great granddaughter, Jane Wilson, he was interred in the Steele Creek Church graveyard. There is no marker there today designating the site of his burial.

1

Father: Robert BROWNFIELD b: 14 JUN 1670 in Northern Ireland

Mother: Joan

Marriage 1 Jane STEWART (STUART) b: 1716 in Northern Ireland

Married: ABT 1737 in Chester County, Pennsylvania

Children

William BROWNFIELD b: ABT 1739 in Chester County, Pennsylvania
Margaret "Peggy" BROWNFIELD b: ABT 1742 in Chester County, Pennsylvania
Ann BROWNFIELD b: ABT 1743 in Chester County, Pennsylvania
John BROWNFIELD b: ABT 1746 in Chester County, Pennsylvania
Isabella BROWNFIELD b: ABT 1747 in Chester County, Pennsylvania
Robert BROWNFIELD b: 1750 in Chester County, Pennsylvania
Mary "Mollie" BROWNFIELD b: ABT 1754 in Chester County, Pennsylvania
Flora BROWNFIELD b: ABT 1757 in Chester County, Pennsylvania
Sources:

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

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

December 23, 1768, in Mecklenburg County (Deed Book 7, pp 231, 232)

July 1771, N.C. Land Grants, File #1863

January 7, 1771 Mecklenburg Deed Book 5, pp. 328-330 (N.C.)

October 10, 1783 Mecklenburg Deed Book 17, p. 415

Steele Creek Cemetery comprises a remarkable collection of basically intact (though sometimes moss-covered) headstones, dating from 1763 to the present. There are approximately 1,700 headstones in the cemetery to date; and about 200 date between 1763 and ca. 1820. These earliest markers were crafted by local artisans, and notably by members of the Bigham family of headstone carvers. The Bighams, who lived nearby and donated land to the church, operated their workshop in this vicinity between about 1765 and 1820 (Gatza 1988; Little-Stokes 1982; Clark 1989). While generations of Bighams cut gravestones in the vicinity of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania as well as in the Carolina Piedmont, "the best and most varied collection of their works can be found in the cemetery next to the Steele Creek Presbyterian Church. . ." (Clark 1989, 37). Among the variety of traditional designs executed by the Bighams and evident in the Steele Creek cemetery are the Scottish Thistle, the Tree of life, the Dove of Promise, rear-face decoration (11 examples identified), and family coats of arms (34 examples).

All of the gravestones in the cemetery are arranged in parallel rows running north-south, and they face east. The early stone markers are located primarily in the south half of the burial ground (south of the site of the first four churches) and were made from soapstone, granite, and marble. Those markers that post-date the work of the Bighams, and erected between the 1830s and turn of the century, often have traditionally restrained designs, with simple descriptions and flat, curvilinear, or occasionally pedimented tops. A number of them are marked with names of local and regional headstone manufacturers.

According to church tradition, the stone wall that surrounds the cemetery was constructed with slave labor during the antebellum period (Grier 1941). The wrought iron gates on the south and east entrances appear to be original, though the wall, in places, has been reconstructed and reinforced with cement mortar. In 1912, for example, stonemason Plato Price rebuilt part of the wall and may have been responsible for reconstructing the wall's north side (Grier 1941).