Thank you Laura "Jane" Gaulden Bailey

Laura Gaulden wrote that the earliest Gaulding immigrant was Quaker and went through Chester, Pennsylvania before traveling to Virginia.

In 1922 Laura Jane "Lucy" Gaulden wrote a short History of the Gaulden Family (1) and at her death she left it with the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) Chapter she belonged to.  Laura Gaulden was the daughter of John Gaulden (1808-1889) and Jane Elizabeth McFall (1840-1914), and I must say she was much closer to the true story of how the first members of the Gaulden/Gaulding family came to American that I am.  The entire publication is only ten pages and the vast majority of it has to do with her branch that originated in Prince Edward, Virginia and ended up in South Carolina.  Her history basically begins with her great-grandparents John Gaulden (1735-1782) and Susannah Brumfield (1740-1810), and on page 1-2 she makes the following statement:

"The Brumfield's, spelled several different ways, were Scotch or Scotch-Irish, and came to America about 1730 and located in CHESTER COUNTY, Pennsylvania.  There was a SOLOMON BRUMFIELD in Berkes County in 1732.  He had a daughter named Susanna, which indicates a relationship to Susan Brumfield who married JOHN GAULDEN in 1760.  The first official record of the Brumfield's was in 1739-1740 when the estate of Robert Brumfield was settled in court at Londonderry, Chester County, Pennsylvania by administration, no will having been left by him.  The widow was Jeanet Brumfield.  She had two sons, Dr. Robert Brumfield and Charles Brumfield.  Susan Brumfield was probably their daughter.  After Braddock's defeat in 1755, the Brumfield's and may others migrated to Virginia, some of them going to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.  Some of those in Virginia removed to Sumpter County, South Carolina.  Rev. ___ Brumfield was one of the earliest preachers in Prince Edward County, Virginia.  The Gaulden's and Brumfield's seem to have been associated in some way from their COMING TO AMERICA.  ... In 1816 Dr. Robert Brumfield, descendant of Robert Brumfield whose estate was settled at Londonderry, Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1739-1740, acquired from William Gaulden, son of John and Susan Brumfield Gaulden, the plantation known as Millbrook on marsh Savannah River in Sumpter District, South Carolina, indicating a close connection between the two families."

This John Gaulden who married Susannah Brumfield was the son of Matthew "John II" Gaulding (1709-1773) and Sarah Elizabeth Geers (1720-1773) and was the grandson of John "of New Kent" Gaulding and Mary Anne Stewart.  This not my family line.  My line is from Samuel Gaulding, Matthew's brother.  Laura Gaulden does not make any declarative statements regarding where John Gaulding of New Kent may have originally come from, but rather reports on various family stories she probably heard from family members she knew as she was growing up.  On page 1 of her document she writes:

"According to one tradition, probably true, the Gaulden or Gauldine were of English or Welsh nationality and in religion were QUAKERS.  They came to America a number of years before the Revolutionary War locating probably in Chester County, Pennsylvania, the same section from which came the B---ned and Lincolns and removing later to Virginia in that part which was erected in 1753 into Prince Edward County."

Laura Jane "Lucy" Gaulden was born on 18 January 1854 in Abbeville, South Carolina and she died on 1 June 1932 in Rock Hill, York County, South Carolina.  She married John Crooks Bailey (1840-1914)  Her father was born in 1808 and his father James died in 1827, meaning her father was 19 years old when his father died.  At any rate, the information she gives personal recollection about was of people who lived long after John “of New Kent” Gaulden died in another part of Virginia. 

The part of her narrative that most interests me is the mention that the first immigrant was first in Chester, Pennsylvania before moving to Virginia because there is a similar note in a book entitled The Pioneers of Wiregrass, Georgia by Huxford Genealogy Society, volume 8 (1), p. 115 that states the family came from England and arrived first in Chester County, Pennsylvania and then moved to Virginia.  The closest known person with supposed ties to the early Gaulden family was, according to Laura Gaulden, Robert Brumfield of Londonderry in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  Curiously enough, he may have married a woman named Stuart.  Was there a family connection between her and Anne Stewart of New Kent or was this mere coincidence?

The man whose estate was settled in Londonderry in 1739–1740 appears in records under the surname Brownfield, though some genealogical traditions connect him to the Brumfield line. The most detailed and corroborated information identifies him as:

Robert Brownfield (1670–1739) Born: 14 June 1670, Scotland or Ireland.  He died in September 1739 in Londonderry, Chester County, Pennsylvania.  He immigrated from Ireland to Pennsylvania before 1737 with his wife Jean (Jon) (Stuart?) and their children. He acquired 144 acres in Chester County in 1737, part of William Penn Jr.’s Manor.  His estate inventory states he died in the “midel of September 1739.” (3) 

Estate Settlement (1739–1740)

His widow Jean Brownfield nominated James Shields and George Stewart as administrators of the estate. This matches the timeframe Laura Gaulden referenced (1739–1740) for an estate settlement in Londonderry.  A genealogical note from the Brumfield–Gaulden research community states:

"One of his descendants, Robert Brownfield, later purchased land from the Gaulden family in South Carolina." (4)

This suggests:

The Brumfield spelling in some genealogies may refer to the same Brownfield family.

The Brumfield–Gaulden connection is traced through Susannah Brumfield, who married John Gaulden Jr., and whose relatives interacted with the Brownfield family in later generations.

Thus, the “Robert Brumfield” mentioned in some family histories is almost certainly Robert Brownfield (1670–1739) of Londonderry.

Robert Brownfield married Jean (Jon) Stuart (?) and all of their children were born in Ireland.  She died in 1741 in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  They were:

John Brownfield Sr. (b. 1691–1695; d. ~1751, Chester Co., PA)

Robert Brownfield II (b. 1705–1710; d. ~1790, Mecklenburg Co., NC)

Charles Brownfield (b. ~1715; d. ~1787, Kentucky)

Ann Brownfield (b. ~1717; d. 1765, PA)

This is from Robert Brownfield, Sr., p. 1 by Max Perry, 1987 (5)

“"Robert Brownfield, Sr. obtained 144 acres of land in Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1737, just north of the Village of Russellville, Pennsylvania, it is now two miles from U.S Route #1, about ten miles north of the Maryland State line.  It was part of William Penn, Jr. Manor.." Robert Brownfield, Sr. died "midel of September 1739" as stated in the inventory of his estate.  His wife Jean "Jon" nominated her friends JAMES SHIELDS and GEORGE STEWART to administer his estate, which will appear in the following estate papers.

'Know all me by these presents that Jon Brownfield, in the County of Chester and township of Londonderry have upon the consideration of my old age and informatory of my body not being abel to rit a good hand, nominate and constitute, ordain and by these presents do nominate constitutie and appoint in my stead and place my trusts and well beloved friends, James Sheilds and George Stuart to do and administer and to take out letters of administration or to do according as the law directs in my place and stead.  Given under my hand and seal th twenty first day of February and Donno 1739..'

Witnesses to the will were Samuel Peterson and Robert Brownfield.  Note that in the above will, Jon Brownfield of Chester, PA says George Stewart was her friend and not her relative.  Does that mean her name might not have been Stewart? 

So, the family Brumfield, while in Chester was called Brownfield.  At some point, some of them may have moved to Virginia and intermarried with the Gaulden family.  So, what about Susannah Brumfield.  Where does her line go?

I’ve traced the ancestry of Susannah Brumfield who married John Gaulden and they stay in Virginia until at least 1677 when her great-grandfather Robert Brumfield was born.  I don't see any direct overlap between her and Chester, Pennsylvania.  Here's the line of descent:

1.  Robert Brumfield was born in 1677 in Goochland, Virginia and he died on 29 March 1755 in Gloucester County, Virginia.  He married Susannah Watson (1680-1750) and their son was Moses Brumfield.

2.  Moses Brumfield was born in 1716 in Goochland, Virginia and he died on 1 July 1760 in Goochland, Virginia.  He married Ruth Patrick and Patriot Watson Brumfield was their son.  Moses Brumfield left a will.

3.  Patriot Watson Brumfield was one of the signers of the 1775 South Carolina Declaration of Independence.  He was born in 1720 in Briery Creek, Prince Edward, Virginia and he died on 22 November 1781 in Craven, South Carolina.  He married Elizabeth Patton and Susannah Brumfield who married John Gaulden was their daughter.

But still, Laura Gaulden states that in 1816 Dr. Robert Brumfield, a descendant of Robert Brownfield acquired from William Gaulden, the son of John and Susanna Brumfield Gaulden the plantation known as Millbrook in the Sumpter District, South Carolina.  Is this true?

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any written evidence.  No digitized land deed index or published transcription shows a William Gaulden selling or buying land with Dr. Robert Brownfield in 1816.  This conclusion is from a search of the Sumter County deed abstracts, South Carolina deed index summaries, Gaulden family histories and Brownfield/Brumfield genealogical summaries.  None list a Gaulden ↔ Brownfield land transaction for 1816.

There is also no evidence that Dr. Robert Brownfield ever owned a plantation called Millbrook in Sumter District, South Carolina, based on all currently available, searchable historical sources. The sources confirm that Dr. Robert Brownfield lived in Stateburg, Sumter District.  This places him in the High Hills of Santee region, but not at a property called Millbrook. A Revolutionary War bounty‑land document confirms that Dr. Robert Brownfield was residing in Sumter District in 1806.   Again, this confirms his presence in the district but does not associate him with a plantation named Millbrook.

No plantation named Millbrook appears in connection with any Brownfield in Sumter District in land grants, deed indexes, probate records, Revolutionary War pension files or genealogical summaries.  No Brownfield family plantation by that name appears in the Stateburg or High Hills of Santee historical literature.

There was however a well‑known plantation named Millbrook in South Carolina — but it was located in Charleston District, not Sumter, and was associated with the Heriot and Mann families. Dr. Brownfield did marry Susanna Mann Heriot, which may be the source of the confusion — but that Millbrook was not in Sumter District.

Several overlapping facts create a misleading impression:

Dr. Brownfield lived in Stateburg, where many plantations existed. His wife came from a family connected to a plantation named Millbrook — but in Charleston, not Sumter. Later Brownfield descendants lived throughout Sumter County, which sometimes leads genealogists to retroactively assign plantation names.

Here is what we can conclude about the supposed early connection between the Brumfield/Brownfield family and the Gaulden/Gaulding Family.

1. There was a Dr. Robert Brownfield because he appears in Sumter District records and in Revolutionary‑era references.  He may have had land dealings with William Gaulden, but no record is available to prove it.

2. There were Gaulden land transactions in Sumter County. The Gaulden family owned property in the High Hills of Santee and Long Branch areas.

3.  Laura Gaulden states Dr. Robert Brownfield was a descendant of Robert Brownfield of Chester, Pa. and she stated the Brownfield and Brumfield families were the same.    

4.  Laura Gaulden also suggested that John Gaulding and his wife Anne Steward were Quakers and went through Chester, Pa. before going to Virginia.  This does not place John and Anne in Chester, Pennsylvania through documentation, none of which has been found to date.

Works Cited

1. Bailey, Laura Gaulden. History of the Gaulden Family. 1922.

2. Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia. Vol. 8. [book auth.] Huxford Genealogical Society. Homerville, Georgia : Huxford Genealogical Society, Inc., 1988.

3. Robert Brownfield. We Relate. [Online] https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Family:Robert_Brownfield_and_Jean_Stuart_%281%29.

4. Susanna Brumfield Gaulden. WikiTree. [Online] https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Brumfield-422.

5. Robert Brownfield, Sr. . [book auth.] Max Perry. p 1. 1987.