This post goes from Virginia to Kentucky and covers 1750 to 1820 and possibly beyond.
Here are the generations lined up like links in a chain, at a glance:
WILLIAM → John → James → Eliza Ann m. James Thomas Vickers → Hannah Jane m. William Ryland → Floyd / Frank Ryland (our grandfather)
William
He was born 1750 to 1760, possibly in Rockingham County, Virginia. He married Mary Magdalena in the late 1760s to early 1770s, though one researcher says 1771, in Orange County, Virginia. He died about 1800-1820, in Kentucky. One researcher says 1841, Logan County, Kentucky
Variations in spelling: Mansfield, Manksfield, Mansfile, Mankspile, and Manspile
Mary Magdalena
Unfortunately, we don’t know much about her, like her last name. It’s a safe assumption that she was born around the same time her husband was, probably a few years later, since women were usually (but not always) younger than their husbands.
Rev. Marrietta Mansfield lived in Barren County, Kentucky, and he did extensive research for many years. She confirms that William’s wife was Mary Magdalene (or Magdalena).
William’s Ancestry
Please see these uninterpreted records for his ancestry:
The Mansfields of Early Virginia
Counties of Kentucky
Before we begin, we need to know about the counties that our Mansfields settled in.
Originally from Virginia, they arrived in Lincoln County in the early 1780s. One or two lines seem to have stayed there. But then over the decades most of them were residents of Logan, Warren, and Barren Counties.
Lincoln County was formed in 1780, one of the first of three in “Kentucky County,” which used to be part of Virginia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_County,_Kentucky
Logan County was formed out of Lincoln, in 1792
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_County,_Kentucky
Warren County was formed out of Logan, in 1796.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_County,_Kentucky
Barren County was formed out of Green County and Warren County, in 1798.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barren_County,_Kentucky
William’s Brother John
Researchers who post their family trees at ancestry.com agree that William had a brother named John. He was born about 1749 in Orange County, Virginia. His wife is unknown at this time. He died at an unknown time, probably somewhere in Kentucky. The records confirm his existence.
John moved out to Lincoln County, Kentucky, most likely with his brother William, in the early 1780s.
He and his wife had at least two kids: John and Mary
- John Jr.
John was born in the late 1760 to early 1770s, in Virginia. John Mansfield married a Polly Gresher (Crasher), April 22, 1789, in Lincoln County, Kentucky. Polly is often a nickname for Mary, and so is Molly.
Source for marriage record: ancestry.com. Another source says it was Polly Crasher, found in Harriet Kennett McAdams’s Kentucky Pioneer and Court Records, Abstracts of Deeds, Wills and Marriages from Court Houses, Lexington, Keystone Printery, 1929.
But John Jr. may have died early in his marriage.
August 4, 1802
Tax list, Lincoln County: Molly Mansfield. Is this John’s widow?
Source: Early Kentucky Householders (1787-1811), p. 114, compiled by James F. Sutherland, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1986. No tax amount was abstracted and placed in this resource – at least from what I can find without an abbreviation key.
Polly Manspile appears in the 1810 Census, Lincoln County, Kentucky. One female is 26-44 (1766-1784); two females are under 10; and two males are under 10. Is this John’s widow? Could John have four kids before he died, presumably in 1802? He could if two of them were twins.
September 29, 1818
Lincoln County. Consent of Mary Mansfield for her daughter Anney Mansfield to marry Moses Peek. Is Mary John’s widow?
Source: Michael L. Cook and Bette Cummings Cook, Lincoln County, Kentucky Records, vol. 1, Kentucky Records Series #23, Cook Publications, 1987.
- Mary
Did John Sr. (William’s brother) give away his daughter in marriage?
April 4, 1791
Lincoln County: John Mansfile for his daughter Mary Mansfile to marry George Mann. Yet another record says it took place in Madison County.
Source: Michael L. Cook and Bette Cummings Cook, Lincoln County, Kentucky Records, vol. 1, Kentucky Records Series #23, Cook Publications, 1987.
This reconstruction of John’s life (William’s brother) is tentative. Maybe more records will be uncovered that will confirm or change it.
William and Mary’s Children
Let’s return to the subject of this post: William and Mary.
These are probably the offspring of William and Mary. They appear in the records in the right places and at the right times, to indicate they’re of a later generation than William. The birth order of the first two children could be switched around. The others are placed by their censuses.
The two researchers at ancestry.com come up with a similar (but not identical) list. Rev. Mansfield says John and James were brothers. John’s will (1825) says Elijah is his brother and names him as the executor.
- JOHN (our direct line)
- JAMES (1770s- )
- WILLIAM (1775- )
- ELIJAH (1776 to after 1870)
- JESSE (1780-1860)
Here are their records.
- JOHN
He is our direct line. See his post here:
John Mansfield and Rebecca Simmons
- JAMES
He was born in the early 1770s. He may have married Eliza Wilkerson, February 18, 1804, Barren County, Kentucky. It is not yet known when he died, but it was after the 1820 Census.
More about him:
f this is the right James Mansfield who married Eliza Wilkerson, then he either married late (in his 30s), or this is his second marriage. The 1810 Census poses no problem for Eliza’s possible age relative to the marriage date, but the 1820 Census does.
Source for marriage record: ancestry.com
James witnessed a 1789 marriage record in Lincoln County, but it is odd that Mary Mansfield was the Benedicts’ daughter, unless she had been married before to a Mansfield, and this is her second marriage.
“Consent of John Benedict and Magdalane (sic) Benedict for their daughter Mary Mansfield (sic) to marry James Crafton, September 3, 1789; witnessed by James Mansfield and John Benedict Jr.” One record at ancestry.com spells her name Mankspile, but same husband and marriage date.
Source: Michael L. Cook and Bette Cummings Cook, Lincoln County, Kentucky Records, vol. 1, Kentucky Records Series #23, Cook Publications, 1987.
In the 1810 Census, Barren County, Kentucky, James (Ja’s) Mansfield appears as the head of household. Two males are 26-44 (b. 1766-1784); one male is 16-25; and two are under 10. One female is 16-25 (b. 1785-1794); and one is under 10. His brother William Mansfield lives next door. And the Lawrence Gillock (45+) and Wm Gillick families live close by. Jesse (child #5, below) will marry a Gillock girl in 1815.
James Mansfield is in the 1820 Census, Barren County, Kentucky. One male is 26-44 (b. 1776-1794); one female is under 10; and one female is 16-25 (b. 1795-1804). This poses a problem for James’s wife Eliza’s marriage age (they married in 1804), but this may be his daughter from a previous marriage, and Eliza has died. Or we have a census error. One confirmation we have the right James is that Jesse Mansfield and Wm Mansfield are on the same page, though the census is in rough alphabetical order. They are his brothers.
There is a James Mansfield in the 1850 Census, Division 1, Barren County, Kentucky. He’s 67 (b. 1783) and said to originate from Kentucky, not Virginia. He’s a farmer. Frances, 45, lives with him. She’s from Kentucky. James is 17, and David is 15. Surely this is not the right James – too many mismatches. We place it here for your consideration.
James Mansfield seems to have dropped out of sight in the censuses, after 1820. He does not appear in the one for 1830 (or we can’t find him). We should assume he died in that decade.
- WILLIAM
He was born about 1775, in Virginia. He married (1) Mary Catherine Feland November 27, 1793, Lincoln County, Kentucky; and (2) Mary Young, September 6, 1833, Barren County, Kentucky. He died after the 1850 Census and before the 1860 Census, Barren County.
More about him:
The first marriage record can be found in Harriet Kennett McAdams’s Kentucky Pioneer and Court Records, Abstracts of Deeds, Wills and Marriages from Court Houses, Lexington, Keystone Printery, 1929. The second marriage record can be found in Martha Powell Reneau’s Marriage Records of Barren County, Kentucky, 1799-1849, “the First Fifty Years,” self-published, 1984.
Censuses
In the 1810 Census, Barren County, Kentucky, William Mansfield is the head of household. One male is 26-44 (b. 1766-1784). Two males are 10-15; and three males are under 10. One female is 26-44; one is 10-15; and one is under 10. And the Lawrence Gillock (45+) and Wm Gillick families live close by. Jesse (child #5, below) will marry a Gillock girl in 1815.
In the 1820 Census, Barren County, Kentucky, Wm Mansfield is over 45 (b. in or before 1775). One male is 16-25; one male is 16-18; two are 10-15; and three are under 10. One female is 26-44 (b. 1776-1794). One female is 10-15; and one is under 10. The census is in rough alphabetical order, and James Mansfield and Jesse Mansfield are on the same page.
In the 1830 Census, Barren County, Kentucky, William Mansfield is 50-59 (b. 1771-1780). One male is 30-39; one male is 20-29; one male is 15-19; two males are 10-14; and one is 5-9. One female is 50-59 (b. 1771-1780); one is 15-19; one is 10-14; one is 5-9. A David Mansfield (20-29) appears two doors down, and Samuel Vickers (50-59) is at the top of the page. Samuel was the original immigrant into Kentucky, to start the Vickers lines.
William Mansfield is in the 1840 Census, Barren County, Kentucky. He is 60-69 (b. 1771-1780). One male is 30-39. One female is 40-49 (b. 1791-1800).
William Mansfield appears in 1850 Census, District 1, Barren County, Kentucky. He’s 75 (b. 1775) and a farmer who’s from Virginia. He lives with Mary’s who’s 57. She’s from Virginia; that is, the census taker puts a ditto mark in her row, under William’s place of origin. Richard Young, 38, lives with them. His occupation is not stated. (Mary’s maiden name or first-marriage name was Young.) This household lives three houses down from Levi and Levisa (Wilson) Baldock.
Neither he nor Mary appears in the 1860 Census (that we can find), and since he was old in 1850, we can assume he died in that decade. Probably the same is true for Mary.
- ELIJAH
He was born about 1776, in Virginia. One researcher at ancestry.com, without citing a source, says he was born June 13, 1775, Rockingham, Virginia. He married (1) Susannah Peirce, January 8, 1795, Lincoln County, Kentucky. (2) Then he married Sarah Robertson, September 20, 1815, in Logan County, Kentucky (transcription of record at ancestry.com).
More about him:
One record says Susannah Peirce’s name was Pence, and they married January 3, 1795
Source: Harriet Kennett McAdams, Kentucky Pioneer and Court Records, Abstracts of Deeds, Wills and Marriages from Court Houses, Lexington, Keystone Printery, 1929.
January 3, 1795
Lincoln County. Bond of Elijah Mansfield to marry Susannah Peirce [sic], with William Mansfield as surety. Consent of Hugh Logan who state that Susannah had lived with him since she was a child and is now of full age.
January 8, 1795
John Mason returned that he had married: Elijah Mansfield and Susannah Pierce.
The linkage between William and Elijah Mansfield is now secure, since there seems to be no other William Mansfield or Elijah Mansfield in Logan County at this time. They appear to be father and son. This means that William is John’s father, too.
Source: Lincoln County Kentucky Records, vol. 1, p. 42, compiled by Michael L. Cook and Betty Cummings, Evansville, IN: Cook Publications.
Elijah has plenty of records, since he lived a long time.
Lincoln County, Kentucky
Tax List
August 5, 1793
Elijah Mankspile
April 18, 1794
Elijah Mansfield
April 27, 1795
Elijah Manspile
Source: Early Kentucky Householders (1787-1811), p. 114, compiled by James F. Sutherland, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1986. No tax amount was abstracted and placed in this resource – at least from what I can find without an abbreviation key.
January 3, 1795
Lincoln County: Bond of Elijah Mansfield to marry Susannah Peirce, with William Mansfield as surety. Consent of Hugh Logan who states that Susannah had lived with him since she was a child and is now of full age. January 8, 1795. John Mason returned that he had married: Elijah Mansfield and Susannah Pierce.
Source: Michael L. Cook and Bette Cummings Cook, Lincoln County, Kentucky Records, vol. 1, Kentucky Records Series #23, Cook Publications, 1987.
Logan County, Kentucky
1797
Logan County, Tax List: Elijah Mansfield, no land, 1 white male over 21, 2 horses.
Source: Logan County Kentucky Tax List 1792-1797.
April 13, 1804
Logan County. John Manksfield and Elijah Manksfield are appraisers of the estate of John Green.
Source: Abstracts of Wills and Settlements, Logan County: 1795-1838, Logan County Genealogical Society.
Censuses
In the 1820 Census, Russellville, Logan County, Kentucky, Elijah Manksfield is the head of household. There is one male who’s over 45 (born in or before 1775). One is 16-25; one is 16-18; two are 10-15; and two are under 10. One female is over 45; one is 26-44; one is 16-25; two are 10-15; and one is under 10. His sister-in-law Rebecca Manksfield is also in this census, nearby.
In the 1830 Census, Russellville, Logan County, Kentucky, Elijah Mansfield is 50-59. One male is 20-29; one is 15-19; one is 5-9; and two are under 5. One female is female is 40-49; two are 15-19; one is 10-14. One female slave is 10-14. There is a Mansfield next door, but his first name is difficult to read. It looks like Dr. J. One male is 20-29; one female is under 5; and one is 20-29.
In the 1840 Census, Township not stated, Logan County, Kentucky, Elijah Mansfield is 60-69. One male is 10-14. One female is 50-59; and one is 15-20. Granville Mansfield lives next door to him. One male is 30-39; one is 10-14; one female is under 5; two are 5-9; and one is 30-39. Jesse Mansfield lives next to them. One male is under 5; one is 10-14; one is 30-39; one female is 10-14; and one is 30-39.
In the 1850 Census, District 1, Logan County, Kentucky, Elijah Mansfield appears. He’s 76 (b. 1774) and from Virginia. He’s married to Sarah, 73, and she’s from South Carolina. He’s a farmer, and their real estate is valued at $250.00. Next door is the large Granville (44) and Burnedly (41) Mansfield family. Both are from Kentucky. Then Janes (sic) Allison, 43, and Malinda Allison, 20, live next door. Both are from Kentucky. The large family of Jesse Mansfield, 43, and Mahala, 30, live two doors away from the Allisons. Both are from Kentucky.
Elijah Mansfield is still alive and well in the 1860 Census, District 1, Logan County, Kentucky. He’s 85 (b. 1775) and a farmer who’s from Virginia. He lives with Jesse Mansfield, 52, and his wife Mahala, 47. He’s a farmer, and she’s a housekeeper. Their real property is valued at $375.00, and their personal at $210.00. George, 16, is a farm laborer; James is 14; and Will is 10.
- JESSE
He was born 1778-1780, in Virginia. He married Martha Frances Gillock, March 9, 1815, Barren County, Kentucky (ancestry.com). He died in July 1860, in Barren County.
More about him:
Since he married so late in his life (35) at the time of the next marriage record, he may have been married before.
A hardcopy of his and Frances’s marriage record says: “Mansfield, Jese, to Fanny Gillock, March 6, 1815, sur[ety] Laurence Gillock, consent Lawrence Gillock, guardian of Fanny Gillock; wit: John Clack (sic), Lawrence Gillock; md. [married] Mar. 9, 1815, by Augustin Clayton.”
Source: Martha Powell Reneau, Marriage Records of Barren County, Kentucky, 1799-1849, “the First Fifty Years,” self-published, 1984)
At ancestry.com, Jesse appears in a mortality index, Barren County, Kentucky. He died July 1860, at 80 years (= b. 1780); cause of death was “old age.” His occupation was “farmer.” He was from Virginia.
Lincoln County Tax List
June 16, 1796
Jesse Mankspile
June 7, 1797
Jesse Mansfield
Source: Early Kentucky Householders (1787-1811), p. 114, compiled by James F. Sutherland, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1986. No tax amount was abstracted and placed in this resource – at least from what I can find without an abbreviation key.
Barren County Censuses
The Gillocks lived near the Mansfields.
In the 1820 Census, Barren County, Kentucky Jesse Mansfield is the head of household. One male is 26-44 (b. 1776-1794). Two males are under 10. One female is 26-44. One is 16-25; and one is under 10. Since Jesse got married 1815, which is very late in life, we have a blended family here. He must have been married before.
In the 1830 Census, Barren County, Kentucky, Jesse is the head of household. One male is 50-59 (b. 1771- 1780). Two are 1-14; one is 5-9; and one is under 5. On the female side, one is 30-39; one is 10-14; and one is under 10. The Lawrence Gillock family is not too far away. He’s 70-79. Jesse married a Gillock girl. Lawrence was in the 1810 Census living near Jesse’s older bothers James and William.
In the 1840 Census, Barren County, Kentucky, Jesse Mansfield appears as the head of household. One male is 60-69 (b. 1771-1780). Two males are 20-29; one is 15-19; and one is under 5-9. One female is 50-59 (1781-1790); one is 20-20; one is 15-19; and two are 10-14. Thomas Mansfield (40-49) and John Mansfield (20-29) live nearby.
In the 1850 Census, Division 1, Barren County, Kentucky, Jesse Mansfield is 72 (b. 1778) and from Virginia. Frances is 57 and from Virginia. The real estate is valued at $450.00. ; Henry is 28; Martha is 20; Andrew J. Kinslow is 22. All the kids are from Kentucky.
William in the Revolutionary War?
Let’s get back to the subject of this post, William Mansfield.
Rev. Mansfield writes in a letter dated November 20, 1976: “I’ve just discovered that our old Wm Mansfield of Lincoln County, KY, was in the Am. Revolution. I have his record, at least in part. I’ve somehow known that he was in the Revol., but had no proof until recently.”
Here is the record for a William Mansfield from Maryland. William is an extremely common name. So it is not entirely confirmed that the record, below, is our William.
In my view, more research needs to be done before accepting these records as belonging to the William of this post.
William Mansfield Tax Records
Rev. Mansfield says there are land patents / warrants in 1781.
It looks like William Mansfield migrated to Lincoln County, Kentucky before February 20, 1788.
Lincoln County
February 20, 1788
The Court proceeded to lay the county levy as follows: To William Mansfield – for one grown wolf scalp, 100 pounds of tobacco.
Source: Lincoln County Kentucky Records Vol. 2 (Court Order Books 1-3 1781-1791), page 303.
May 8, 1794
William Manspile
April 10, 1795
William Manspile
June 2, 1796
William Manspile
May 4, 1797
William Mansfield
Note: these tax records may be about William Jr.
Related
The Mansfields of Early Virginia
Source: Early Kentucky Householders (1787-1811), p. 114, compiled by James F. Sutherland, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1986. No tax amount was abstracted and placed in this resource – at least from what I can find without an abbreviation key.
Source: Michael L. Cook and Bette Cummings Cook, Lincoln County, Kentucky Records, vol. 1, Kentucky Records Series #23, Cook Publications, 1987.
Live as Free People 