Rachel (Bryan) Whitfield (abt. 1723 - abt. 1780)

Born about 10 Jun 1723 in Pasquotank, North Carolina [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of William Whitfield II — married 6 Nov 1741 in Snowfield Plantation, Lewiston Woodville Bertie, North Carolina

Descendants

Died about 6 Nov 1780 at about age 57 in Lenoir, North Carolina [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Brock Riggs [send private message]

Biography

Rachel Bryan^[1][2][3] was born on 10 June 1723 in Pasquotank, North Carolina, USA,^[2][4] to Needham Bryan and Anne Rambeau.^[4]

On 6 Nov 1741^[5] in Bertie, North Carolina Colony, Rachel married Captain William Whitfield II at Snowfield Plantation, Lewiston Woodville, Bertie Co, North Carolina.^{[6] [7][8]}

Shortly after their marriage at Snowfield in North Carolina, William and Rachel Whitfield set their faces to the south in search of a new home. When they arrived at the place where South Washington, NC, was later to be built they stopped in the home of John Wright, His Majesty’s justice of the peace. Here the young couple were rudely disturbed, for we are told, the justice was so impressed with the beauty and youth of the bride that he concluded that William was running away with her and ordered his arrest. That evening the Wright home was the scene of a party. The fiddler became so drunk he could no longer play and dancing was halted while a substitute was sought. Perhaps Rachel told the guests of her husband’s skill with the violin. They called for him and he was allowed to play. This he did so well that his dancing friends demanded his immediate release, for it seemed to them that “such a clever musician had no need to run away“. William and Rachel moved on to that portion of Johnston County later to become Dobbs and still later Lenoir County. Here they settled at Rich Lands, more recently called Rocky Ford. There they built the Rockford house where their first son was born, June 1, 1743.

After two years at Rockford, William took his family to White Hall, more recently Seven Springs, on the south bank of the Neuse River in Wayne County. Here they lived until 1776 when they moved three miles farther to Pleasant Plains.^[9]

Children

Rachel and William had 9 children:

1. William Whitfield
2. Elizabeth Whitfield
3. Sarah Whitfield
4. Bryan Whitfield
5. Charity Whitfield
6. Needham Whitfield
7. Rachel Whitfield
8. Mary Whitfield
9. Lewis Whitfield

Death

She died 6 November 1780 in Lenoir Co, North Carolina.^{[10][2][11][12]}

Burial

The graves of Rachel Bryan Whitfield and Captain William Whitfield occupy a little plot at White Hall within fifty feet of the Neuse River. (Information provided by Whitfield Descendant Nancy Yankie.)

Sources

1. ↑ Source: #S-2137272308 Note: name Note: Data: Text: Death date: November 1780 Death place: Lenoir, North Carolina
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Page: Birth year: 1723; Birth city: Pasquotank Co; Birth state: North Carolina. Note: http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=genepool&h=352496&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt Note: Data: Text: Birth date: 10 June 1723 Birth place: Pasquotank Co, North Carolina Death date: November 1780 Death place: Lenoir Co, NC Marriage date: 6 November 1741 Marriage place: Snowfield Plantation, Lewiston Woodville Bertie Co, NC
3. ↑ http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=genepoolb&h=647223&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt Data: Text: Birth date: 10 June 1723 Birth place: Pasquotank, North Carolina, USA
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=genepoolb&h=647223&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt Data: Text: Birth date: 10 June 1723 Birth place: Pasquotank, North Carolina
5. ↑ North Carolina Hist. Gen. Reg., Vol 1 (1900), quarterly issues 1-4 bound: issue 4 (October), page 577.
6. ↑ Whitfield, Emma Morehead. Whitfield, Bryan, Smith, and Related Families. Westminster, Maryland, 1948-50. Page 54. Accessed 8 August 2020.
7. ↑ W. M. Clemens, North and South Carolina Marriage Records
8. ↑ Marriage Bond: "North Carolina, U.S., Index to Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868"
   State of North Carolina. An Index to Marriage Bonds Filed in the North Carolina State Archives. Raleigh, NC, USA: North Carolina Division of Archives and History, 1977
   Ancestry Record 4802 #1020596 (accessed 12 April 2023)
   Rachel Bryan marriage to James Whitfield in Craven.
9. ↑ History Whitfield Bryan Smith Vol I
10. ↑ http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=genepoold&h=376328&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt Note: Data: Text: Death date: November 1780 Death place: Lenoir, North Carolina
11. ↑ Millennium File Author: Heritage Consulting Publication: Ancestry.com Operations Inc
12. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #28860305

• Whitfield, Emma Morehead. Whitfield, Bryan, Smith, and Related Families. History Whitfield Bryan Smith Vol I: Whitfield. Compiled by Emma Morehead Whitfield, Assisted by Many Members of These Families. Edited by Theodore Marshall Whitfield. P 58.

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/28860305#add-to-vc

• North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 for Rachel Bryan

• North Carolina Marriage Collection, 1741-2004 Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.Original data - Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. (P.O. Box 740, Orem, Utah 84059) from county marriage records on microfilm located at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City,

• U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Author: Yates Publishing Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004.Original data - This unique collection of records was extracted from a variety of sources including family group sheets and electronic databases.

• Family Data Collection - Births Author: Edmund West, comp. Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.

• Family Data Collection - Deaths Author: Edmund West, comp. Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.

See Also

• http://www.bmgen.com/document/pdf/History_Whitfield_Bryan_Smith_Vol_I.pdf

Acknowledgments

• Thank you to Penny F for creating WikiTree profile Bryan-1399 through the import of Staton Family Tree .ged on Feb 3, 2013.
• This profile was merged with the profile Bryan-2437, which was created by Brock Riggs through the import of Jennifer Riggs Family Tree.ged on Jan 18, 2015.