 The Hatfield Family of Campbell County, Tennessee The Hatfields of Stinking Creek have somewhat murky beginnings. Davis Hatfield, progenitor of this clan, was probably born in either Virginia or Tennessee, somewhere within the timeframe of 1797 - 1802. Although he may have grown up in Campbell County, the first record of his appearance there is on the 1823 tax list. Davis's wife was Mary Pauley, who never really appears on any formal records until after her death. She is the daughter of Revolutionary War veteran William Pauley and his wife, Margaret Munsey. The Pauleys moved from Southwest Virginia to Campbell County in 1807, so Mary was probably born in Virginia and moved to Tennessee as a small child. Davis and Mary were probably married around 1823, and all told, they had eight children. The oldest child was Calvin Jerome Hatfield, born about 1824. In quick succession Obedience (Biddy), Margaret, Andrew, James, Joseph, Francis (Frankie) and Elizabeth were born. By the late 1830s, however, major changes were occurring within the family. Sometime between the 1836 birth of Elizabeth and 1838, Mary Pauley Hatfield died. On 4 October 1838 Davis Hatfield married for the second time, to Elizabeth Walden. Davis and Elizabeth appear on the 1840, 1850 and 1860 Campbell County censuses. Davis was a large landowner in the Stinking Creek area of the county. Although perpetually in debt, he was able to purchase a 5,000-acre tract of land on Stinking Creek from the State of Tennessee in August 1837. This amounts to nearly eight square miles of property. The land passed across Stinking Creek and over the top of Pine Mountain where I-75 traverses today. The property bordered land owned by Jo. H. Delap, Jesse Bryant and Isaac Bryant. Even today the property in that area is known as the Hatfield-Bryant deed. In 1841, Davis Hatfield posted a 5,100-acre tract of land as security against a $216 debt he owed. He apparently paid the debt because the 1849 tax roll shows him as owning exactly 5,100 acres. Shortly after that, he began selling off parts of his land to family members and others. Throughout the 1840s and 1850s the Hatfield children grew to adulthood and started their own families. First to marry was Biddy Hatfield on 26 November 1844 to James B. Tacket(t). By 1860 their children included Margaret, Joseph, Lucy, Andrew, Elisabeth, Ewell and Lawrance. Davis's oldest son Calvin was the next to marry, tying the knot with 14-year-old Candia Bryant on 29 April 1845. Calvin and Candia had six children before Candia died in the 1856-60 timeframe. The children were Alafore, who married Alvis K. Powers, Nancy B. who married Sylvester Davidson, Davis Wesley who married Nancy Jane (Fields) Crabtree and Emma (Fields) Crabtree, Jasper, Mary and Samuel Greer Hatfield. Several months later, on 19 January 1846, Margaret Hatfield married Samuel Baker. By 1860 they had seven children: Joseph P., Davis H., Calvin D., Mary J., Elisabeth, Hamilton and Cynthia. Second son Andrew Hatfield married Mary (Polly) Hatfield on 31 May 1847. Their children included Davis, Obedience, Samuel and James. Next, 14-year-old Elizabeth Hatfield married Isaac Bryant, who already had several children of his own. The wedding took place on 21 March 1850. Isaac's children from his first marriage to Elizabeth _____ included Jessee, Elizabeth, Felix and Davis. Isaac Bryant and Elizabeth Hatfield also had several children of their own, including Rebecca, Lydia, Abigal and Eliza J. Son James Hatfield married Nancy Broyles on 1 May 1851. They had sons Aaron, Calvin, Joseph and George. Daughter Frankie Hatfield married John Davis on 29 January 1853. By 1860, Joseph was still unmarried and living in the home of his father and stepmother, Davis and Elizabeth Hatfield. Throughout the 1850s and 1860s, the family was very tight-knit. With the exception of Frankie and John Davis, all of Davis Hatfield's children lived in close proximity to him. The 1850 census shows a sequential string of family members: Elizabeth and Isaac Bryant followed by Calvin and Candia Hatfield, then Davis and Elizabeth Hatfield with children James, Joseph and Frankie still at home, then Andrew and Polly Hatfield, and finally Biddy and James Tacket. Margaret and Samuel Baker lived close by as well. The 1860s began to see the disintegration of the Hatfield clan. Whether a result of the ravages of the Civil War or the death of the family patriarch, it wasn't long before the close-knit Hatfields began to disperse. By 1860, Calvin's wife Candia had died. By 1865 Davis Hatfield was also dead, and in 1867 his estate was sold to George Broyles to pay off his debts. Soon thereafter, Margaret's husband Samuel Baker died. James Hatfield, too, was dead by 1870. Also by 1870, Calvin had moved to Scott County, Virginia, and five of his oldest children were scattered across Scott and Smyth Counties. According to the 1870 census, Davis's widow Elizabeth was still in Campbell County. Margaret Baker was living nearby with her children. James Hatfield had died and his wife Nancy was still living in Campbell County with their children as well. Andrew and his family remained on their Stinking Creek property at this time, but he was to sell his land in 1873. Sometime in the mid-1870s Calvin died, probably in Scott County, Virginia.
Today, part of the land from the Hatfield-Bryant deed, including the Hatfield cemetery, is in the hands of George Reynolds, a second great grandson of George Broyles. There are about 4-6 grave markers in the cemetery, which is now overgrown. George Reynolds said that when he was a young boy, his elderly aunt (who knew the Hatfield family) told him that only Hatfields and Bryants were buried in that cemetery. It is possible that Davis Hatfield and Mary Pauley are both buried there. Another possibility would be Candia Bryant, Calvin Hatfield's wife. Other Hatfields and Bryants may be buried there as well. Elizabeth Walden Hatfield may not be buried there since she died after 1870, which was some years after the land had been sold.
© Mike Curtis, 2001 All rights reserved
1 July 2001 |