Fountain S. Mayfield (abt. 1808 - aft. 1880)

Born about 1808 in Tennessee, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 1880 after about age 72 in Travis, Texas, United States

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Biography

Fountain S. Mayfield (1808-Aft.1880) was a Tennessee-born farmer who migrated to Austin, Texas in mid-life and operated a blacksmith shop. He also served as one of the first sheriffs of Travis County, Texas.

Based on census records, Fountain was born about 1808 in Tennessee. His parentage is not proven (but see Notes). He appears in the 1830^[1] and 1840^[2] censuses of Rutherford County, Tennessee; these entries suggest he had an unknown first wife (possibly named Malinda, see Notes below), by whom he had the following children:

• Mary Ellen Mayfield (1829-1916), married William G. Rountree.
• Newton W. Mayfield (1832-1896), never married.
• Ephraim Norman (Eph) Mayfield (1837-1906), married Mary (Polly) Mussett.
• Sarah (Sally) Mayfield (1840-1883), married Gouldman David Martin.

The Rutherford County tax lists of 1836^[3] and 1837^[4] indicate that Fountain owned 100 acres of land in District 20 near the now-defunct community of Millersburg. On 6 June 1840, Fountain purchased 5 acres in District 20 from Andrew M. Hamilton^[5]; then on 1 July 1840, Fountain sold those same 5 acres to Henry D. Ransom.^[6] On 7 June 1842, Fountain put up some of his personal property in a deed of trust to C.C. Ezell, possibly indicative of indebtedness.^[7]

Sometime between 1840 and 1842, Fountain's first wife presumably died, leaving him the widowed father of small children. On 12 April 1842 in Rutherford County, Fountain obtained a license to marry Susan E. Henderson, but the license was not signed and returned.^[8] There were no known children from this marriage.

Shortly afterward Fountain's family appears to have relocated to Lynchburg, Tennessee, which was in Lincoln County at the time. On 25 February 1845, Fountain's name appears on a lend trust agreement with James McBride in which Fountain conveys a Lynchburg town lot to McBride and acknowledges that he is in debt.^[9] A short piece in the Weekly Nashville (Tenn.) Union newspaper lists "Col. F. S. Mayfield" among delegates from Lincoln County, Tenn. named to the state Democratic convention.^[10] On 8 July 1847 in Lincoln County, Fountain and Susan's daughter Mary Ellen Mayfield was married to William George Rountree.

Sometime between 1847 and 1857, the family became part of a large number of Tennesseans who migrated to the recently annexed state of Texas. The exact year this move occurred, and whether there were any stops along the way, are not known; but by 1857 (when Fountain's daughter Sally Mayfield married Gouldman D. Martin), the Mayfields had taken up residence in the Austin, Texas area (Travis County), where Fountain set up shop as a blacksmith.^[11] An obituary of Fountain's son Eph Mayfield in the Jan. 1, 1907 issue of the Austin American-Statesman attests that Fountain served as sheriff of Travis County during the time A. W. Terrell was district judge^[12]; this would have been approximately 1857-63.

Fountain and Susan are not found in the 1850 census, but they appear in Travis County in the 1860 and 1870 censuses:

1860: Austin, Travis County, Texas^[13]

1870: Travis County, Texas, Justice Precinct 5^[14]

Sons Ephraim and Newton Mayfield both fought for the South in the Civil War, and both survived.

Fountain and Susan also appear in the 1880 census:

1880: Travis County, Texas, Polling Place No. 7:^[15]

Fountain also appears on an 1873 list of Travis County voters.^[16]

Fountain's exact date of death and burial place are not known, but it is assumed he died in Travis County, where he was living in 1880.

Notes

• Fountain's parents are unknown, but an intriguing 1933 article from the Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Daily News Journal alleges that his father was a brother of Ambrose Mayfield (1798-1826) and his mother was a sister to Nancy Brooks Mayfield, who later married Iredell Reding. An overwhelmingly strong possibility for the identity of Fountain's parents, it seems to me, would be Thomas Mayfield (c.1786-c.1846) and Elizabeth (Betsy) Brooks, who married in 1807 in Pulaski County, Ky.^[17] and later lived in Rutherford County, Tenn. As further evidence, Fountain's daughter Mary E. (Mayfield) Rountree names her firstborn son Thomas (after her grandfather?). A possible objection to this hypothesis is that Thomas lists nine children in his 1846 will, but not Fountain; however, Fountain and his family had already departed Rutherford County by the time the will was composed. Fountain's 1880 census entry, the only one that lists birthplaces for his parents, indicates South Carolina was his father's birthplace and Virginia was his mother's^[15]; but this data may be dubious since it was recorded so many years after the fact.
• The identity of Fountain's first wife is unknown. However, at Isaac Miller Cemetery in southern Rutherford County, Tenn., there is a tombstone for a "Malinda Mayfield", "who departed this life September 11, 1841, aged 31 years".^[18] Is this Fountain's first wife? It would match perfectly the data on the 1830 and 1840 census as well as the community in which he was known to have lived. Fountain's second marriage to Susan Henderson took place on 12 April 1842. As further evidence, Fountain's daughter Mary E. Rountree names her oldest daughter "Melinda" (after her mother?).

Sources

1. ↑ United States Census, 1830, database with images, FamilySearch (XH5W-HPP : 4 Oct 2023), Entry for Fountain Mayfield, 1830.
2. ↑ United States Census, 1840, database with images, FamilySearch (XHT1-8Z9 : 2 Feb 2024), Entry for Fountain S Mayfield, 1840.
3. ↑ Tennessee, U.S., Early Tax List Records, 1783-1895, database with images, Ancestry.com (1836 Tax List : accessed 4 Feb 2024); Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013, Provo, UT.
4. ↑ Tennessee, U.S., Early Tax List Records, 1783-1895, database with images, Ancestry.com (1837 Tax List : accessed 4 Feb 2024); Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013, Provo, UT.
5. ↑ Rutherford County Deeds, 1804-1964, images, FamilySearch (image 362 of 594 : accessed 10 May 1840); citing Tennessee > Rutherford > Deed Books > Vol. Y, pp. 40-41; Tennessee State Library & Archives, Nashville; FHL microfilm 7894574.
6. ↑ Rutherford County Deeds, 1804-1964, images, FamilySearch (image 376 of 594 : accessed 10 May 1840); citing Tennessee > Rutherford > Deed Books > Vol. Y, p. 69; Tennessee State Library & Archives, Nashville; FHL microfilm 7894574.
7. ↑ Rutherford County Deeds, 1804-1964, images, FamilySearch (image 166 of 276 : accessed 10 May 1840); citing Tennessee > Rutherford > Deed Books > Vol. Z, p. 348; Tennessee State Library & Archives, Nashville; FHL microfilm 8185084.
8. ↑ Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002, database with images, Ancestry.com (3030967:1169 : accessed 4 Feb 2024); citing marriage of Fountain S. Mayfield and Susan E. Henderson in Rutherford County, 12 Apr 1842; Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
9. ↑ Lincoln County, Tennessee, Land records, 1810-1887, images, FamilySearch (image 309 of 538 : accessed 4 Feb 2024); citing Tennessee > Lincoln > Deed Books > Vol. O, p. 609-10; Lincoln County Register of Deeds, Fayetteville, TN; FHL microfilm 8478599.
10. ↑ "Old Democratic Lincoln", Weekly Nashville Union, 10 Feb 1847, p.2; (GenealogyBank.com $ : accessed 4 Feb 2024).
11. ↑ A notice in the 6 Mar 1858 edition of the Austin State Gazette newspaper reads: "NOTICE: The undersigned would respectfully announce to the public and citizens generally, that he has taken charge of the Blacksmithing Department of the carriage shop of W.M. Fowler, in the city of Austin, where he hopes to receive his proportion of the liberality of his friends. He would at the same time return his grateful thanks for past favors, while he will promise general satisfaction to all who may give him a call. He would also give notice that Mr. W.H. Reynolds of New Haven will carry on the wood department of the business. He is an experienced and efficient workman in all respects. F.S. MAYFIELD, Austin." (GenealogyBank.com $ accessed 4 Feb 2024).
12. ↑ Obituary of Eph N. Mayfield, Austin American-Statesman, 1 Jan 1907, p.3. (Newspapers.com $ : accessed 5 Feb 2024); Austin, Texas.
13. ↑ United States Census, 1860, database with images, FamilySearch (MXFK-RNV : 4 Oct 2023), Entry for F S Mayfield and S E Mayfield, 1860.
14. ↑ United States Census, 1870, database with images, FamilySearch (MXG8-DJJ : 4 Oct 2023); Entry for F Mayfield, 1870.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} United States Census, 1880, database with images, FamilySearch (MFJX-65S : 5 Oct 2023); Entry for S. S. Mayfield and Susanand Mayfield, 1880.
16. ↑ 1873 Austin, Texas Voter Registration List, (Austin Genalogical Society : accessed 2 Feb 2024), Austin, Texas.
17. ↑ Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979, database with images, FamilySearch (FWBN-25G : 29 Nov 2023), Thomas Mafield, 1807.
18. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (Memorial ID 37118363 : accessed 4 Feb 2024), memorial page for Malinda Mayfield (unknown–11 Sep 1841); citing Isaac Miller Cemetery, Rutherford County, Tennessee, USA; maintained by Patsy Paterson (contributor 46596020).