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Facts and Events
References
- Hunt, Royce Miller. Descendants of Robert Brownfield
[1].
JOHN BROWNFIELD, SR. was born Bef. 1697 in Ireland, and died abt. 1751 in Marple, Chester, PA. He married MARY LEWIS Abt. 1718 in Chester County, PA, daughter of HARRY LEWIS and ABIGAIL.
Notes for JOHN BROWNFIELD SR.:
The first evidence of this line of Brownfields in America is the record of John buying 45 and 1/2 acres at Newton Square on March 5, 1718 in Chester County, PA. This is now Delaware
County in the same state. The property was about 15 miles west of Phila. on the road to West Chester. Next John and his new wife, the widow Mary Lewis Worrell, are recorded as opening a tavern 25 miles due northwest of Phila. He was taxed there from 1728 to 1739 inclusive.
In 1728 when Edward Kinison Sr. did not renew his tavern inn license, the people of
Whiteland Township got up a petition signed by 25 residents saying they were very much decommoded every night by travelers. These were immigrants coming from Britain and Europe with their household goods and livestock and Penn promoters of real estate. The petition for John Brownfield to run a tavern inn state he was a "fitt person to run a tavern inn and was well equipped to feed men and horses."
License #202 was issued to John Brownfield allowing him to sell all kinds of liquor. He ran a tavern inn for several years renewing the license annually. It was known as "The Three
Bottles Inn."
Notes for MARY LEWIS:
Mary was the widdow of John Worrell when she married John Brownfield.
Children of JOHN SR. and MARY LEWIS are:
i. JOHN BROWNFIELD JR., b. 1718, Marple, Chester, PA.
ii. THOMAS BROWNFIELD, b. Abt. 1720; m. SARAH WARTH, 1746, York County, PA; d. 21 Sep 1758, York County, PA.
iii. MARY ANN BROWNFIELD, b. Abt. 1722; d. 12 Apr 1765, Derry, Dauphin, PA; m. CHARLES CLARK, Abt. 1738, PA; d. Abt. 1768, Dauphin County, PA.
- Message Board on Ancestry.com Re: Robert Brownfield of PA
[2].
Robert Brownfield of PA
mvittone (View posts) Posted: 6 Feb 2000 11:51PM
Classification: Query
Edited: 19 Apr 2003 12:37AM
Surnames: Brownfield, Worrell, Gray, Clark, Rainey
Searching for information on early Pa. Brownfields. What I have now is Robert Brownfield b N. Ireland d 15 Sept 1739 Londenderry Twp. Chester Co. Pa., son John Brownfield m Mary Lewis Worrell, son John m Prudence Gray, son John b 1742 d 1788 m Elizabeth Clark, daughter Elizabeth b 1776 d 1864 m James Rainey. Is anyone else searching this family?
Mary Anne Vittone
Re: Robert Brownfield of PA
CarolynLine57 (View posts) Posted: 19 Feb 2000 3:22PM
Classification: Query
Edited: 19 Apr 2003 12:37AM
Surnames: Brownfield
Hi . I have a great great grandfather named Samue Oscar Brownfield, whose father John R. Brownfield was born in pennsylvania. his wife was Susan. Could this be a sibling or other relation.
Re: Robert Brownfield of PA
grbrownfield (View posts) Posted: 16 Apr 2003 8:19PM
Classification: Query
Edited: 19 Apr 2003 12:39AM
Surnames: Brownfield, Worrell
John Brownfield m Mary Lewis Worrell is definitely not a son of Robert Brownfield b. N. Ireland d. 15 Sept 1739 Londonderry Twp. There is a possibility they were brothers but have never been able to establish that for a fact nor have any of descendants of John & Mary Lewis Worrell Brownfield. Robert Brownfield of Pennsylvania had sons Robert Jr. settled in North Carolina and Charles who settled in Brownfield, PA and later to Kentucky. Family then to Illinois elsewhere. Interesting many descendants of John & Mary Lewis Worrell Brownfield descendants in Kentucky and Illinois also.
Re: Robert Brownfield of PA
Glenn Brownfield (View posts) Posted: 24 Apr 2003 4:48PM
Classification: Query
Edited: 25 Apr 2003 6:39AM
Surnames: Brownfield, Worrell
I am a descendant of Robert Brownfield of Chester Co., Pa and conferred with other family researchers also and we are definite in the fact that John Brownfield m. Mary Lewis Worrell is not a son of Robert Brownfield. Some possibility he could be a brother but I would stake my 40 years of research on the fact that he is not a son. I have met many descendants of John and Mary Lewis Worrell Brownfield. Many in Kentucky and a large group in Champaign Co., Illinois. My interests are in all that bear the name Brownfield.
Glenn,
Thanks for reply. Info I have on line is an old posting. Came to conclusion you reached a long time ago. Information on old DAR records led to error but after several trips to Cumberland Co. was able to sort out.
Re: Robert Brownfield of PA
jhlhenrie (View posts) Posted: 29 May 2005 2:30PM
Classification: Query
Surnames: Brownfield
Hi, I also had that John was a son of Robert Brownfield Sr.. You say that you proved otherwise. So did you find out that he was his brother instead? Also I have that Robert Sr. was married to a girl named Jean. Do you happen to know what her last name was? Thank you!
Re: Robert Brownfield of PA
JEAN (View posts) Posted: 29 May 2005 3:59PM
Classification: Query
Edited: 30 May 2005 4:10AM
Surnames: Brownfield, Stewart, Stuart
Does this help:
Robert Brownfield, Jr., son of Robert and Joan Brownfield, immigrants, is
believed to have been born in Northern Ireland somewhere beween 1705 and
1715. The family was in Chester County, Pennsylvania by 1737 and there is
evidence that Robert, Jr., was married soon after to Jane Stewart (sometimes
listed as Stuart), whose family also migrated from Northern Ireland in 1722.
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 duies 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 Marha
Henry to John, Robert, and James Bigham on the north branch of Steele Creek,
dated December 23, 1768, in Mecklenburg County (Deed Book 7, pp 231, 232).
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 (N.C. Land Grants, File #1863).
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 Presbyerians 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 clled). 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 (Mecklenburg Deed Book 5, pp. 328-330):
"William Bigham and wife Sarah of Mecklenburg County, planter, to Robert
Brownfield, of same, planter, for 60 pounds proc. 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 (Mecklenburg Deed Book 17, p. 415), 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 firt U. S. 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 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.
Source: Brownfield Gleanings, Volume 6, Issue 4, March 1985
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