Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of Father '1st Gen' McBrayer

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Descendants of Father '1st Gen' McBrayer

21. JAMES⁴ MCBRAYER (SAMUEL³, WILLIAM², FATHER '1ST GEN'¹) was born February 11, 1769 in Tryon Co., NC ²⁹, and died July 18, 1851 in Buncombe Co., NC. He married MARY 'POLLY' ? Abt. 1790 in NC. She was born March 11, 1779 in NC ³⁰, and died March 20, 1872 in Valleytown, Cherokee Co., NC.

Notes for JAMES MCBRAYER:
(Note: There has been considerable confusion into the children of James McBrayer for many years. Numerous errors and omissions in the old records have led to this confusion. Several researchers have sought to eliminate the many errors that have surfaced in this family, but one diligent family researcher, Emmett T. Wilson, Jr., has finally begun to bring to light the elusive descendents of James. It is with his cooperation that this line is finally being straighten out and is included herein. There are probably still a number of errors, but it is with good intentions that the information is included and is hoped that family members who are researching this particular line will understand and at least have a starting point in which to continue.)

He spent his younger years in the area of his birth and at the age of 27 moved with his parents over the mountains into Buncombe Co., NC.

He began in 1797, according to land grant records in North Carolina, to accumulate land on the North Fork of Cane Creek, and apparently acquired a large holding in his lifetime.

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File #779, Grant #660, Entry 7348, 21 Oct 1797, Bk 106, pg 88, Raleigh, NC - Bk #4, pg 538, Buncombe Co. Records, JAMES MCBRAYER - Grant to JAMES MCBRAYER for a consideration of 50 shillings for each one hundred acres, description as follows: A tract of land containing 40 acres in the County of Buncombe on both sides of the north Fork of Cane Creek, joining the west end of Samuel McBryar's old line on the East side of said fork, and runs 60 poles to a white oak, said McBriar's old corner, then with his line North 44 poles to a white oak on the side of a mountain, then 58 poles to a chest-nut oak, James Taylor's corner, then with his line South 78 poles crossing said fork to a stake, then East 118 poles to a stake, then North 34 poles crossing the Creek to the Beginning.

Entered 21 Oct. 1797. At Raleigh, the 26th day of November in the 24th year of our Independence and in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and ninety-nine. By Command, B. Williams.
      Will White, Secy.
      Witt. Thos. Williams

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File #780, Grant #661, Bk 4, pg 537, Buncombe Co. Records Grant to JAMES MCBRYAR for a consideration of 50 shillings for each one hundred acres - description as follows: A tract of land containing 30 Acres in the County of Buncombe on the South side of a small branch of Samuel McBrier's Survey on the north fork of Cane Creek, including the mouth of the branch that runs into said Creek for complement.

Beginning upon a pine near the mouth of a small branch on the East side of said Creek, and East along said McBriar's old line 106 poles, crossing said fork to a maple on the side of a mountain, then South 40 poles to a chestnut, then West 106 poles to a stake, then North 40 poles crossing said fork, to the place of beginning.

Entered 22nd November, 1796 At Raleigh, the 26th day of November in the 24th year of our Independence and in the year of our Lord, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-nine.
      By command: B. WILLIAMS
      WILL WHITE, Secretary
      Witt: THOMAS WILLIAMS

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File #900A, Grant # 857, Bk 6, Section 2, Pg 233, Buncombe Co. Records. Entered 16 March, 1799 - Grant to JAMES MCBRYAR for a consideration of 50 shillings for each 100 acres - description as follows: A tract of land containing 50 acres lying and being in the County of Buncombe, including the fork of a branch that runs into Cane Creek on the South side, opposite to his own field on the plantation where he now lives. BEGINNING upon a white oak on a ridge on the north side of said branch and runs East 100 poles to a sourwood near the north bank of a small branch at the food of a mountain, then South 8 degrees West 90 poles to a hickory in a flat, then West 100 poles crossing a branch to a stake, then to the place of BEGINNING.
In testimony whereof, we have caused these out letters to be made patent and our great seal to be hereunto affixed.

Witness, BEMJAMIN WILLIAMS, Esquire, our Governor, Captain General and Commander in Chief, at Raleigh, the 11 day of December in the 25th year of our       Independence and in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred.
      By Command: B. WILLIAMS
      WILL WHITE, Secretary
      Witt: JOHN WILLIAMS
            JAMES WILLIAMS

On 7 Jan 1808 he was witness on a deed in Rutherford Co. for his brother John. He bought two tracts of land on 22 Feb 1819 from WILLIAM HAMRICK of Rutherford Co. for $450. One tract contained 243 acres; the other was 115. He sold this land 27 Oct 1836 to JAMES R. RIPPEY for $700. The land was located on Shoal Creek and First Broad River, Rutherford County.

He also obtained more land by grant and purchases in 1832 and 1833.

James was appointed by then governor Ashe to raise a contingent of soldiers to fight the Indians. He was given the rank of Captain in the Buncombe Regiment on the 17th of October, 1798.

      STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
      To CAPT. JAMES MCBRAYER, GREETINGS

      We reposing special trust and confidence in your patriotism, valour, conduct and abilities, do by these presents constitute and appoint you CAPTAIN IN THE BUNCOMBE REGIMENT.
      You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of Captain ....Regiment by exercising and well disciplining the officers and soldiers under your command, and by doing and performing all manner of things thereunto belonging. And we do strictly charge and require all officers and soldiers under your command, to be obedient to your orders as a Capt. in Said Regiment and you are to observe and follow such orders and directions from time to time, as you shall receive from your superior officers, according to the directions of military discipline and the laws of the state.
      WITNESS, SAMUEL ASH, Esquire, our Governor, Captain General and Commander in Chief, under his hand and the great seal of the state, which he hath caused to be hereunto affixed, at RALEIGH the 17th day of October, 1798, A.D. one thousand seven hundred and ninety eight and in the xxii year of American Independence.       /s/ Sam Ashe

According to the census records of Buncombe Co., James began to acquire a holding of slaves between 1820 and 1830. In the latter census he was listed with 3 slaves; a man, a wife and a child.

James and Mary are both buried in the Cane Creek Church Cemetery, Fairview, NC. His grave site, which was lost for several generations, was located in the 1950s by Mrs. Daintry Allison.

Carl Henry "Skipper" McBrayer visited the grave location in 1957 and later wrote the following, "On 21 April 1957, I, my wife, Verona, in the company with Ubert McBrayer and his wife (a great grandson of James), and others, visited the Cane Creek Baptist Cemetery at Fairview and in a pioneer section of the cemetery in the southeast corner near the highway, found the grave of James McBrayer. The inscription reads, "JAMES MCBRAYER, born Feb 11, 1769, died July 18, 1851". In the same plot was a small grave marked "SAMUEL MCBRAYER, son of James and Polly McBrayer, died Dec. 31, 1810, age 2 years, 11 months, 27 days". Another grave was marked "A.H. MCBRAYER, departed this life Aug 10, 1860, age 31 years, 10 months, son of James and Polly McBrayer". This is the grave of Andrew Harvey McBrayer, who married Elizabeth Noblet."

"Between the grave of Andrew Harvey and James is an unmarked adult grave, presumably that of James' wife, Mary."
                  _____________________________

      REGISTER OF WILLS
      NORTH CAROLINA) Clerk Superior Court
      BUNCOMBE COUNTY) Book A Page 50

      In the name of God Amen. I, James McBrayer, of the State of North Carolina, being in sound mind and memory blessed be God, do this the 24th of June 1839, make and publish this my last will and testament, in manner and form to wit:
      1st, as to what worldly goods it has pleased God to give me, I give and bequeath the manner following after paying all my just debts.
      2nd, I give to my beloved wife the plantation whereon I now live, during her lifetime or widowhood, and also Mingo and Sal during her lifetime, also what she chooses to keep as she deems necessary for her own use of stock; also plows, hoes and farming utensils; also beds and furniture. I will that after my wife, Polly, has selected what she thinks necessary the rest is to be sold and equally be divided amongst my children, to wit: William S., Jane (,) Almira, James M., Milly T., Adolphus, Martha, Andrew H. I will that Betsy's children, Mary Ann, James R., Milly, Thomas, and Martha, have Betsy's, their mother's, share equally divided among them.
      3rd, I will that after the death of my wife, my land be divided as follows: James M. to have one hundred acres on the two fifty tract on the Dyeleaf, Adolphus to have the lower end as far as the lower meadow inclusive, thence down the water communication to the creek, thence up the creek to the Merrill Branch to the south; Andrew Harvey the balance of the land. I will that after the death of my wife, all my other property, one Negro Mingo, be sold and divided between Wm. S., James, Adolphus, Andrew Harvey, my sons; that Sal be sold and divided between Jane Almira, Milly T., Martha C., Betsy's heirs or children to have her part.
      4th, I also appoint Josiah Burgin and James Madison and Adolphus executors of this my last will and testament.
      In witness whereof I have set my hand and seal the day and year above written, signed, sealed in the presence of us (by the testator James McBrayer) who were present at the signing or acknowledging and sealing hereof.
      /s/ James Pinkerton, Jurat
      Henry G. Fagans /s/ Codicil

      CODICIL TO MY WILL WITHIN:
      Betsy Pinkerton's three last children to have an equal share of her part with the rest of the heirs.
      June 24th, 1851
      JAMES (X his mark) MCBRAYER
      James Pinkerton, Jurat
      Henry G. Fagans

      STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA) Court of pleas and quarter sessions COUNTY OF BUNCOMBE) September Term 1851 The above paper writing was duly proven, as well as codicil thereto, in open court by oath of James Pinkerton and ordered to be recorded.
      R.B. Cance, Clerk
________________________________________________________________

Census Records:

      1790: James was apparently living with his parents
      1800: Buncombe Co, NC; pg 179; 3 males under 10, 1 male 26-45, 1 female 16-26.
      1810: Buncombe Co, NC; pg 275; 1 M under 10, 1 M 10-16, 1 M 26-45, 3 F under 10, 1 F 10-16,       1 F 26-45
      1820: Buncombe Co, NC; pg 19; 3 M under 10, 1 M 10-16, 1M 45-Over; 2 F under 10, 1 F       10-16, 1 F 16-26, 1 F 26-45
      1830: Buncombe Co, NC; pg 250; 1 M under 5, 1 M 10-15, 1 M 15-20, 1 M 60-70; 1 F 5-10, 1 F       10-15, 1 F 20-30, 1 F 50-60 --- 1 Male Slave 10-24, 1 Female Slave under 10
      1840: Buncombe Co, NC; pg 144; 1 M 10-15, 1 M 70-80; 1 F 15-20, 1 F 50-60
      1850: Buncombe Co, NC; pg 220; James McBrayer, 81, M, W, Farmer, b NC
      W - Mary, 71, F, W, b NC
      S - A.H., 21, M, W, Laborer, b NC

*See WFT, Vol 5, #2359 for conflicting information on birth dates.

The following was written by Bruce Whitaker and appeared in the Fairview (NC) Town Crier and was provided by Dianne Crawford (3/14/2003):

James McBrayer

James McBrayer was one of the early pioneers of what became Fairview. He was born February 11, 1769, in Tryon (now Rutherford) County, North Carolina. James was the son of Samuel McBrayer, Sr., and his first wife, Elizabeth. Samuel moved to North Carolina in about 1765 from the area around Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

James McBrayer grew up in Rutherford County, but he moved to Fairview with his father around 1796. His brother, Samuel, Jr., had already moved to Fairview a few years before.

It is not known whether James McBrayer was married before he moved to Buncombe or just after his arrival. He is listed on the 1800 Buncombe census with three sons under the age of ten. If the census is correct, only one of those sons lived to adulthood. Around 1796 he married a woman named Mary, whose last name is unknown and who was born in North Carolina in 1779. The McBrayer History by Harriet Reed Whitaker, published in the 1920s, and the McBrayer History published in 1998 by Carl B. McBrayer both say her maiden name was Whitaker and that her father was Henry Whitaker, but this is not true. Mary McBrayer's second husband was a Whitaker, and Henry Whitaker, born in 1811, was her nephew by marriage.

James McBrayer began over four decades of land acquisition when he applied for a land grant from the State of North Carolina in 1796. The tract of land contained 30 acres on the north fork of Cane Creek and bordered the land of his brother Samuel. The land was sold at a rate of 50 shillings for each 100 acres; thus James would have paid 15 shillings for the 30 acres. In 1797, he put in another application for a state land grant, this one for 40 acres and also adjoining his brother Samuel. These land grants were both granted in 1799.

James bought 150 acres from Samuel McBrayer (either his father or brother) in 1799. In 1800 he received two more land grants from North Carolina, both for 50 acres and both on Cane Creek, and in 1808 he bought 50 acres from John Reed. In 1832, James received another state land grant of 20 acres, and the following year, he bought 50 acres on Cane Creek from William H. Jenkins. Finally in 1840, McBrayer bought 333 acres on Cane Creek from Robert Stockton and 333 acres from Nehemiah Blackstock, an agent for the Presbyterian Church. This brought James McBrayer's total land holdings to at least 1006 acres.

The James McBrayer home was located on Dye Leaf, off Old Fort Road, near Spring Mountain Church. McBrayer was a very frugal man, as were all the old McBrayers. He and his family lived in a hollow tree for several years after he first moved to Fairview. James believed a house was a luxury and business had to come first.

James was appointed Captain of the Buncombe County State Militia in 1798, as evidenced by this letter:

State of North Carolina
To Captain James McBrayer,
Greetings
We reposing special trust and confidence in your patriotism, valour, conduct and abilities, do by these presents constitute and appoint you Captain in the Buncombe Co. Regiment.
You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of Captain...Regiment by exercising and well disciplining the officers and soldiers under your command, and by doing and performing all manner of things thereunto belonging. And we do strictly charge and require all officers and soldiers under your command, to be obedient to your orders as a Captain in said Regiment and you are to observe and follow such orders and directions from time to time, as you shall receive from your superior officers, according to the directions of military discipline and the laws of this state.
Witness, Samuel Ashe, Esquire, our Governor, Captain General and Commander in Chief, under his hand and the great seal of the state, which he has caused to be hereunto affixed, at Raleigh the 17th day of October, 1798 A.D. ...
Samuel Ashe

In addition to the Buncombe Militia, James took part in the community in many other areas. He served on the Buncombe County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions from 1813 to 1815 and was active in Cane Creek (now Fairview) Baptist Church from the church's beginnings. He also directed roadwork and construction in Fairview and other parts of Buncombe County.

For his day, James McBrayer became a well-to-do and prosperous man. When he wrote his will on June 24, 1839, he owned at least 340 acres of land and two slaves, Mingo and Sal. He tripled the amount of land he owned between the time his will was written and his death. He died July 18, 1851, at the age of 82, and was buried in Cane Creek Cemetery.

Mary "Polly" McBrayer remained at her husband's Fairview home for the following two years. Then in the spring of 1853, James Whitaker, Sr., came to Fairview from his home in Valleytown (now Andrews), in Cherokee County, North Carolina, to visit his older brothers William and Joshua. He stopped by to visit the widow of his old friend James McBrayer and ended up marrying Polly on May 15 of that year. He returned home to Valleytown with his new wife, to the surprise of his children and Polly's son, the Rev. James Madison McBrayer, who was living in Cherokee County at the time.

James's widow, Polly McBrayer, Whitaker lived in Valleytown the rest of her life. Her second husband, James Whitaker, died in 1871 at the age of 92, after over 18 years of marriage. Polly died six months later on March 20, 1872, at the age of 93. She was buried next to her second husband and his first wife at Valley River Cemetery.

James and Mary "Polly" McBrayer had 10 children, nine of whom lived to be adults:

1. William Strutton (1798-1857) was born in Fairview; married Margaret Clements (Clemmons); and moved to McMinn County, Tennessee, then, likely, Alabama, and, finally, Dade County, Missouri, where he died.

2. Jane (born 1802, died between 1870 and 1880) was born in Fairview; married Josiah B. Burgin; and they lived in McDowell County.

3. Elizabeth "Betsey" (born 1806, died between 1857 and 1860) was born in Fairview and married Robert Pinkerton, Junior.

4. Samuel (1808-10) was born in Fairview.

5. Martha C. or E. (1810-?) was born in Fairview and married John Hamilton Jenkins.

6. Elmira (1811-?) was born in Fairview; married William Jenkins; and they lived in Fairview as late as 1850.

7. James Madison (1815-99) was born in Fairview and married Anna Betsey Pinkerton in 1808. He was a school teacher, song writer, and Baptist preacher in the area where Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee join. In 1840, he was in Fairview; in 1850, he was living in Cherokee County; in 1867, they lived in Lumpkin County, Georgia; and he also lived in McMinn County, Tennessee. He died in Cleveland, Bradley County, Tennessee.

8. Millie Morah Mary (born 1818, died after 1880) was born in Fairview; married Noble Erwin Penland; they lived in Swannanoa and later moved to lower Hominy twps in West Buncombe County.

9. Adolphus (1820-74) was born in Fairview; first married Narcissus Gilliam in 1839 and later married Lou Case Wells Green. He lived in Fairview until around 1870, then moved to Bent Creek, where he died.

10. Andrew Harvey or Henry (1828-56) was born in Fairview; married Elizabeth Noblitt; and is buried in Cane Creek Cemetery.

More About JAMES MCBRAYER:
Burial: Cane Creek Bapt Ch Cem, Fairview, NC

More About MARY 'POLLY' ?:
Burial: Valley River Cem., Cherokee Co. (now Andrews Co.), NC

More About JAMES MCBRAYER and MARY ?:
Marriage: Abt. 1790, NC

Children of JAMES MCBRAYER and MARY ? are:

96.	i.	WILLIAM STRUTTON⁵ MCBRAYER, b. Abt. 1800; d. May 01, 1857, Dade Co., MO.
	ii.	? MCBRAYER, b. Bef. 1800.
97.	iii.	JANE MCBRAYER, b. Abt. 1802, Buncombe Co., NC.
98.	iv.	ELIZABETH BETSY MCBRAYER, b. 1806, Buncombe Co., NC; d. Bef. 1851.
	v.	SAMUEL MCBRAYER, b. February 13, 1808, Bumcombe Co., NC; d. December 31, 1810, Buncombe Co., NC.

Notes for SAMUEL MCBRAYER:
Buried Cane Creek Cem, Fairview, NC.

99.	vi.	REV JAMES MADISON MCBRAYER, b. 1809, Miller's Creek (North Fork Cane Creek), Buncombe Co., NC; d. 1899, Cleveland, Bradley Co., TN.
100.	vii.	ALMIRA MCBRAYER, b. Bet. 1810 - 1812.
101.	viii.	MARTHA CAROLINE MCBRAYER, b. Bet. 1811 - 1814, Buncombe Co., NC.
102.	ix.	MILLIE MORIAH T. MCBRAYER, b. Bet. 1818 - 1822, Buncombe Co., NC; d. 1924, Beaver Dam, Buncombe Co., NC.
103.	x.	THOMAS ADOLPHUS MCBRAYER, b. February 13, 1820, Buncombe Co., NC; d. Abt. 1874, NC.
104.	xi.	ANDREW HARVEY MCBRAYER, b. November 1828, Buncombe Co., NC; d. August 10, 1856.

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