Richard Fields : adventurer in the Indian trade

Who is Richard Fields?

He was born c.1744 and came to South Carolina (from England or Virginia)

with his father Richard Fields by 1754. Richard Fields Sr. was reimbursed by the legislature in January 1755 “for a Negro Slave of his that was executed for

poisoning.” [SC Commons Journal of 8 Jan 1755, 12 Mar 1755, 9 May 1755]

Around 1765 or 1766 he met and married Susannah Emory (b.1750), daughter of

William Emory (d.1770). It is likely they met near Charleston, probably at Goose

Creek. This Susannah Emory was NOT the mother of Bushyhead (b.1758), the son of Captain John Stuart.

A 1766 deed locates Richard Fields Sr. on the Savannah River, on the South

Carolina side, in what became the Abbeville District. [Langley, SC Deeds, III, 305]

By 1770 Richard Fields Jr. was established in the Indian trade with the Creek

Indians of upper Georgia. Although he was married to a powerful Cherokee girl,

the Cherokee trade was over-exploited and unprofitable after the Cherokee War

(1762). After the murder of George Beck and Thomas Jackson by Creek Indians in 1771 in upper Georgia, Richard Fields was part of a group of traders that suggested the Creek Indians be allowed to pay off their debts to traders by transferring land to the traders. Indian Commissioner John Stuart (the father of Bushyhead) rejected the plan, though the governor of Georgia then presented it to the king. [Col Recs GA, Coleman XXVIII Pt 2, 351-361)]

It would be socially impossible for Richard Fields, a proud Englishman, to go to

John Stuart, a proud Scotsman, with this plan if Stuart had fathered a child by

the wife of Fields. It just would not happen. This is one of the more convincing facts toward proving that there were two Susannah Emorys.

Richard Fields died c.1781 in the Revolutionary War, probably as a British soldier or a loyalist. A Jacob Fields served with John Emory in a company of

loyalists in Georgia. [Loyalists, I,470]

Cherokee children of Richard Fields and Susannah Emory

These are from online sources, without verification. The Cherokee Fields family is so well-documented but with conflicting results. The University of Texas

website on Chief Richard Fields places his birth at around 1780 but admits others have it as 1770, even as 1759.

i. John Fields b.c. 1767 m. Elizabeth Wickett

ii. George Fields b.c. 1769 m(1) Nannie Brown; m(2) Sarah Coody

iii. Lucy (Luvica) Fields b.c. 1770 m(1) Daniel McCoy Sr; m(2) James Harris (Luvica is fem. form of Ludovic)

iv. (Rev.) Turtle Fields b.c. 1774 m(1) Ollie; m(2) Sarah Timberlake

v. Thomas Fields b.c. 1776 m(1) Nannie (Downing) Rogers

twins

vi. Susannah Fields b.c. 1776 m(1) George Brewer; m(2) Thomas

Foreman

vii. (Chief) Richard Fields b.c. 1778 m(1) Jennie Buffington;

m(2) Elizabeth Hicks (2 other marriages given)

The Buffington & Harlan Families

When did the Buffingtons and Harlans meet the Cherokees?

The Harlans and Buffingtons were related Quaker families from Pennsylvania

and came to South Carolina by 1754. (Note this is the same time Richard Fields

arrived). They settled in Abbeville District, owning land on Turkey Creek.

This put them in proximity of Indian trader Robert Gouedy and other Indian traders, including John Vann. They went into business with Vann, then with the Dewes (Dues) family of Abbeville District.

In February 1758 Ezekiel Harlan sought a grant of 100 acres on the Broad River

(in Georgia) “about Sixty Miles above Augusta” next to the land of John Vann.

[Candler, Colonial Recs of Georgia VII, p.723, 7 Feb 1758]

On 7 June 1768 Margaret Buffington was granted 200 acres on Turkey Creek.

At the same council hearing in Charleston, Thomas Nightingale was granted 300

acres in Colleton Couny, Aaron Loocock was granted 300 acres on the Santee River (SC), and John Sanders was granted 100 acres on the Saluda River.

[Holcomb, Petitions for SC Land, VI, 7 June 1768]

Around 1760 Ezekiel Buffington married a white woman and worked on his father’s farm in Abbeville District. Around 1767 Ezekiel Buffington gave up

farming and joined his uncle Ezekiel Harlan in the Indian trade. I imagine he met at this time the Cherokee daughter (Elizabeth) of William Emory, probably in South Carolina. The proximity of William Emory, Thomas Nightingale, and

Robert Gouedy in the area is a good reason to think they met in South Carolina.

On 22 August 1768 Robert Gouedy went into Charleston to register a deed of

land he received from Thomas Nightingale back on 24 October 1757. Both of

the witnesses to the deed (John McQueen and John Butler, Indian traders) were

dead. [Charleston Deeds, Book K-3, p.291]

At this time, 1767, Ezekiel Buffington went with Elizabeth Emory to find her family which had been scattered by the Cherokee War (1759-1762). She may have gone to her home village of Tomatly in North Carolina. It was not until after the

Revolutionary War that the Cherokee of South Carolina were driven into Alabama and Tennessee. There is little reason to believe that the Buffington

Cherokees born before that time were born in Tennessee. Likewise, the Harlan

Cherokee appear to be born in South Carolina or, more likely, in Georgia.

How did Ezekiel Buffington wind up with a 2^nd Emory wife?

Ezekiel Buffington and Elizabeth Emory had 1 known child together. Then, in 1769 Ezekiel returned to his white family because his father had died and there

were some matters to attend to. Elizabeth waited, wondering if he would

just return to his white wife as well. After ten months or so, she married Robert

Dewes (Due).

Ezekiel returned and was none too happy to find his business associate had

taken his wife, so he married Elizabeth’s sister, the widow Mary (Emory) Fawling.

With Mary he had about 6 children, born in North Carolina and upper Georgia.

Ezekiel Buffington’s Revolutionary War service

Like many of the men who married into the Cherokee, there is no record of his

service in the Revolution. He was probably a back country loyalist who tried to

remain hidden and neutral as much as possible among the tribe. By 1781, he had left the Cherokee and is unaccounted for. In the late 1780’s he shows up

with his uncle Ellis Harlan in Pendleton District, South Carolina.

Ezekiel Buffington in Pendleton District

Land lost by the Cherokee as the result of the Revolution was given to soldiers

in the form of grants. Pendleton District, South Carolina, was part of the land

lost. A glance of the grants for service along the Keowee River reveals a

surprise:

LOT NO. LOCATION GRANTED TO ACRES REC’D BOUNDED BY

743 Keowee River John Martin 270 1785

748 Keowee River Fields Pruitt 127 1786

758 Keowee River Abraham Hembree 200 1792

759 Keowee River David Gentry 50 1790

761 Keowee River Abraham Elledge 350 1789

762 Keowee River John Martin

763 Keowee River Isaac Elledge 356 1792

790 Keowee River Ellis Harlan

[from Van Clayton, Pendleton District, pp.62-63]

Buffington was living on his uncle’s land but note Abraham Hembree (Emory)

and David Gentry.

The 1790 census is also interesting:

NINETY SIX DISTRICT, ABBEVILLE COUNTY p.58

Davis, David 1-0-1-0-0

Martin, John 1-2-4-0-16

Harlan, Ezekiel 1-2-2-0-0

Dews, William 2-0-2-0-0 (“Bews” in index)

Morrow, Thomas 2-3-1-0-0

Armstrong, William 1-0-3-0-0

Bowie, John Esq. 5-5-2-0-19

Moore, David 2-1-3-0-0

Moore, James 3-0-3-0-0

Moore, William 1-0-1-0-0

NINETY SIX DISTRICT, PENDLETON COUNTY P.85

Moore, Eliab 1-1-1-0-0

Maxwell, John 1-0-0-0-0

Armstrong, John 1-0-3-0-0

Jolly, William 3-5-4-0-1

Jones, Lewis 1-2-5-0-0

Elledge, Abraham 1-0-2-0-0

Jolly, James 1-1-2-0-1

Dickeson, Eleanor 1-2-3-0-0

Vann, William 1-3-4-0-0

Fields, Lewis 1-2-4-0-0

Harris, Benjamin 1-2-1-0-0

Ware, Edward 1-1-4-0-0 (also Weir)

Woodall, Joseph 1-1-4-0-1

Brown, Samuel 1-3-6-0-0

Pruitt, Fields 2-3-3-0-0

Kelly, John 2-6-4-0-0

Harlan, Ellis 1-0-0-0-2

Buffington, Ezekiel 2-0-0-0-0 -- living with son Oborn b.1766

Moore, Aaron 1-3-3-0-0

Fields, Thomas 2-0-4-0-0

Land records also reveal the Harlan and Buffington link:

2 Oct 1791 Ezekiel Buffington and Ellis Harlan bought 321 acres from Fields Pruitt on

Little River branch of the Keowee River

5 March 1792 a 567 acre grant to Ezekiel Buffington and Ellis Harlan on Cain

Creek of the Keowee River

28 Dec 1797 Oborn Buffington sells 25 acre parcel to William Beazley.

The parcel was part of a 567 acre grant to Ezekiel Buffington and Ellis Harlan

on 5 March 1792, on Cain Creek of the Keowee River.

25 Mar 1805 Ezekiel Buffington and Ellis Harlan sell 200 acres on Little River to

Solomon Palmer. Part of a grant to Fields Pruitt in 1790. Witnessed by Isaiah

Beck and Jeffrey Beck.

[all from Betty Willie, Pendleton Deeds 1790-1806]

The 1800 census is the last one Buffington appears in:

PENDLETON DISTRICT, SOUTH CAROLINA p.28

This page contains the Jollys and Emorys (Hembrees)

PENDLETON DISTRICT, SOUTH CAROLINA p.31

861. Osbern Buffington 2-0-0-1-0 1-0-1-0-0 0-5

872. Ezekiel Buffington 1-1-2-0-1 1-3-0-1-0 0-6

873. Ellis Harlan 1-1-1-0-2 3-1-0-0-1 0-3

key: males females slaves

: : : : : : : : : :|

< 10… : : : : : : : : : :|………….. 45 +

10-15……: : : : : : : :………. 26-44

16-25………… : : : : : :………16-25

26-44……………. : : : : ……..10-15

45+ …………………...: : …….< 10|

In the above census we see that Ezekiel is living next to his uncle, and close

to his son Oborn (b.1763), and now has the family of his daughter Mary

(Buffington) Treadaway (b.1761) living with him. Within just a few years,

they would all move into Georgia.

Buffingtons and Harlans move to Georgia

On 11 December 1799 Ezekiel Buffington purchased 575 acres of land from James Cunningham of Jackson County, Georgia. The land was on the north fork of the Oconee River in Georgia. The Buffington and Harlan families (white) moved into Georgia before 1805. The Cherokee Buffington and Harlan families were already living in Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama at that time.

Death of Ezekiel Buffington

In late 1817 or early 1818 Ezekiel Buffington died in Jackson County, but in that

part that was to become Hall County in late1818. Thus, his death is shown as

1818, Jackson (or Hall) County, Georgia.

On 14 September 1818 in the Jackson County records, Mary (Buffington)

Treadaway sold her share of the estate of her father to her Cherokee half siblings

for $300. She names the siblings as: Elizabeth McGloughlin, Susanna Beck,

Ellis Buffington, and Mary Daniel. This turns out to be quite a testament to the

genealogy of Emmett Starr, who had no access to Georgia records, but correctly

confirms the above. Mary Treadaway also applied to administer the estate of her

father. Her brother Oborn, who did not want his Cherokee half siblings to receive

anything, contested her appointment and prevailed in court.

In 1818, most of the residents of Hall County, Georgia, were Cherokee. In 1820

the Cherokee land lottery changed that. Moses McDaniel remained a citizen of

the Cherokee tribe and a citizen of Hall County in the 1820 census. Others

include George Davis and the Woodalls.

The forgotten Buffington : Oborn

The mother of Ezekiel Buffington was Mary Harlan, who was the daughter of Quakers Ezekiel Harlan and Hannah Oborn. Ezekiel had a brother Oborn who

followed him into the Cherokee Nation and took a Cherokee wife. He died before

1785, but he did leave Buffington Cherokee children.

Children of Ezekiel Buffington:

Ezekiel Buffington m(1) ----- unknown (white) c. 1759 and had:

i. Mary Buffington b.c. 1760 SC d.c. 1854 Walker Co., GA

m. Daniel Treadaway of Orangeburg District, SC

ii. Oborn Buffington b.c.1763 SC d.

Ezekiel Buffington m(2) Elizabeth Emory (Cherokee) c. 1768 and had:

iii. -- perhaps Elizabeth below is their child b.c. 1769-70

Ezekiel Buffington m(3) Mary Emory (Cherokee) c. 1770 and had:

iv. Elizabeth Buffington b.c. 1771 NC or GA d.

m(1) David McLaughlin (b.c.1761); m(2) Jeremiah Towers

v. Annie Buffington b.c. 1773 NC or GA d.bef 1800

m. James (Mc)Daniel Sr (no ch)

vi. Mary Buffington b.c. 1774 NC or GA d.bef. 1816 TN

m(1) James (Mc)Daniel Sr; m(2) David Gentry

vii. Susannah Buffington b.c. 1776 NC or GA d. c.1859 Indian Terr.

m. Jeffery Beck c. 1804 (he b.1770 d. 1822 Indian Territory)

www.beckfamilyweb.com

viii. Ellis Buffington b.c. 1778 NC or GA d. 1858

m(1) Lydia Wright? m(2) Catherine (Mc)Daniel

ix. Thomas Buffington b.c. 1780 NC or GA d. bef 1815

Cherokee children of Ellis Harlan:

Ellis Harlan was b. 1731 Chester County, Pennsylvania, and d.aft. 1810 in

Georgia or Tennessee. He was the son of Ezekiel Harlan and Hannah Oborn.

He m(1) Catherine (Ka-Ti) (Kingfisher) Walker (b.1752), the Cherokee daughter

of Kingfisher and Nancy Ward.

i. Nannie Harlan b.c. 1776 ? d. 1841 Indian Territory

m. Caleb Starr

ii. George Harlan b.c. 1778 ? d.c. 1848

m(1) Nancy (Nannie) Sanders (1782-1834 Ark)

m(2) Mary Ann May; m(3) Eliza Riley

iii. Ezekial Harlan b.c. 1780 ? d. 1817

m. Hannah Lewis

iv. Susannah Harlan b.c. 1782 ? d.

m. John Otterlifter

v. Ruth Harlan b.c. 1784 ? d.

m. Joseph Philips

vi. Sarah (Sallie) Harlan b.c. 1786 ? d. 1837

m. Jacob West d.1843 Indian Territory

vii. Elizabeth Harlan b.c. 1788 ? d. 1826 Cherokee Nation, TN

m. Peter Hildebrand

note: compiled from online sources, no verification attempted

From the Nancy Ward Society:

    2. Ka-ti, born on c1752 at Cherokee Nation (now TN).

       She married, first, to Samuel CANDY; and married, second, to John WALKER;

       and married, third, to Ellis HARLAN, born on 1733? at Chester county, PA;

       son of Ezekiel HARLAN and Hannah OBORN.

       Child of Samuel CANDY and Ka-ti was as follows:

           4.     i. Samuel CANDY Jr., born c1768; married Elizabeth WEST.

       Children of John WALKER and Ka-ti were as follows:

           5.    ii. Jennie WALKER, born c1771; married Thomas FOX-TAYLOR.

           6.   iii. John WALKER Jr., born c1773; married Elizabeth LOWRY.

       Children of Ellis HARLAN and Ka-ti were as follows:

           7.    iv. Nancy HARLAN, born c1777; married Caleb STARR.

           8.     v. George HARLAN, born c1779; married Nancy SANDERS.

           9.    vi. Ezekiel HARLAN, born c1781; married Hannah LEWIS.

          10.   vii. Susannah HARLAN, born c1784; married Otterlifter.

          11.  viii. Ruth HARLAN, born c1786; married Joseph PHILLIPS.

          12.    ix. Sarah HARLAN, born c1788; married Jacob WEST.

          13.     x. Elizabeth HARLAN, born 15 August 1793; married Peter

HILDERBRAND.

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