Redfearn Plantation 1768

Today's Tale is of our 5x Great-Grandfather

Isaac J. Redfearn

b 1750 Essex County, Virginia

m 1768 Milberry Jemima Harden

d August 1832 Brush Creek, Randolph County, North Carolina

Surname is spelled Redfearn, Redfearne, Redfern, Readfearn, Redfairne, Redfairn

1763

Isaac's father, James, had at least 200 acres near Raleigh in 1763. At some point he moved the family further south and west, but still in North Carolina.

1768

A big year! Father James died. Isaac inherited the land on Brush Creek and married Milberry Jemima Harden.

1799

Isaac accumulated quite a few acres of land in the extreme southeast corner of what is now Randolph County, North Carolina. The county boundaries and name changed often in colonial & revolutionary times. Isaac's land was located within a large area first called Rowan County. That was split up as more people came to the area and our area was called Guilford County. Then Randolph county was formed in 1779 from Guilford County. It was named for Peyton Randolph, first president of the Continental Congress.

As an aside -- we had at least one ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War's Battle of Guilford Courthouse. (Guilford County is north of Isaac's land.) He is also a part of this Oswald/File family line and his Tale is here.

Tax rolls (and his will) indicate that Isaac owned 400 acres located southwest of Raleigh by 60 miles, near the Deep River and Brush Creek area, north of Big Brush Creek's Flat Branch. The land was halfway between Coleridge to the north and Bennett to the south.

Tavern and Inn Prices

I used a fun online calculator from the UK. It shows what a specific amount would buy in history. Covering the years 1270-2017. Click on the image below to try it out.

Image is from a book called Randolph County 1779-1979 - Published in 1980 by Randolph County Historical Society.

1775-1783 Revolutionary War

About October 10-12, 1781

Battle at Brush Creek

170 Patriots under the command of Brigadier General Griffith Rutherford moved to Brush Creek and attacked Colonel David Fanning's contingent of 140 Loyalists.

In my opinion, since our Isaac owned 400 acres along Brush Creek, this battle had to have taken place on or very near his land. Brush Creek is only 23 miles long.

House in the Horseshoe

Go 20 miles southeast (as the crow files) of Isaac's land and you come to the Alston House in neighboring Moore County. About the time of the Battle of Brush Creek, the same Tories attacked this home. It still stands, and the bullet holes are still there. If you want to see a plantation home that existed at the time of our Grandfather Isaac, this is a perfect example! Click on the photo for more.

Isaac fought on the Patriot side. I found a pay voucher for him.

Pious

Isaac was named as one of the trustees of Mt. Pleasant Meeting House (Methodist church) in 1798. Located on the south side of Big Brush Creek in Randolph County.

Cemetery

The Redfearn Plantation Cemetery is located along Lewis Brown Road near Bennett, North Carolina. I don't have GPS on that. In 1821 Isaac Jr was the first to be buried there. Isaac Sr. and Milberry followed him over ten years later.

Redfearn Family History pub 1954

"The author visited this old cemetery in October, 1941.

'File monuments now stand in a growth of mature trees. Mr. W. A. Brown, R.F.D., Bennett, North Carolina, and Dr. R. L. Caveness visited this old cemetery with the author, Both of them were elderly gentlemen at the time, and they remembered having heard their fathers speak, of the Redfearn family whom they remembered as boys. Dr. Caveness resided at Coleridge, North Carolina, which is only a few miles from the Isaac Redfearn cemetery, and Mr. W. A. Brown resided on a plantation near the cemetery.

Dr. Caveness stated that he remembered that when he was a boy he heard his father say that Isaac Redfearn, Jr., and some companions were squirrel hunting one afternoon and stopped to rest under a tree in the corner of Isaac Redfearn’s field. While there Isaac, Jr., remarked that this would be a nice place for a cemetery and that he hoped to be buried there when he died. Shortly thereafter he died, and his wishes were carried out."

Milberry's Estate Sale 1835

John Rains was the executor of Isaac's will and administrator of Milberry's three years later. He was listed as a neighbor on the 1810 census. I found the handwritten listing of individual items in the estate sale (searching through Ancestry).

Her daughter Martha (still unmarried at 51 years old) bought back these items. I transcribed items as I was able to decipher:

a Pair of Stethiards

Loom and contents

one flasc wheel

cotton wheel and cards

one reel

one hachel

pair of cloth shears

one stone jug

firedogs

one washing tub

one steer

one ewe and lambs first choice

one sow

two black borrows

half doz chair

one pine table

half dozen pewter plates

11 lb wood

barrel of soap

one pine chest

1 glass bottle

shovel and pot racks

1 pair beadsteads

1 lot of flax

1 pitcher and glass tumblers

1 bell

60 lb butter

275 bunches fodder

5 barrels of corn

1 lot of cabbage

2 lots of clothing

Many other people bought items from the sale. The document was about 10 pages in length with 20-30 items on each page. One Bible and two books were purchased by William Elis. Eli Bray (a close neighbor) bought one negro man for $336. This was Adam, mentioned by name in Isaac's will addendum where he was given the right to choose his new owner. $336 in 1835 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $11,582.95 in 2023, according to officialdata dot org.

Heirs

Milberry passed away after Isaac. In her will were mentioned nine heirs, some had predeceased her. She was buried in the Redfearn Plantation Cemetery.

1 ) Dau Susannah Redfearn Dean - her grandson was Elisha Dismuke Dean born 1828

died in 1836 in Randolph County, NC

2) Son Solomon Redfearn

died in 1873 in Vinton County, OH

3) Son Samuel Redfearn

died in 1836 in McNairy County, TN

4) Dau Eleanor Redfearn Graves

died in 1823 in Jackson County, GA

5) Son Isaac Redfearn, Jr.

died in 1821 in Randolph County NC

6) Dau Milberry Redfearn Cruthis (OUR LINK)

died in 1884 in Bond County, IL

7) Son John Redfearn

died in 1864 in Montgomery County, IL

8) Dau Martha Redfearn

died in 1854 - the last Redfearn to live in Randolph Co NC

9) Son James Redfearn

died in 1839 in Jackson Couty, OH

Isaac's daughter Martha received 80 acres of his land along the border of Randolph County at his death. The satellite map below shows the general area of the 400 acre Randolph Plantation. The green boxes only indicate how large areas of 400 and 80 acres are. Not the exact location.

I have been unable to lock down the exact location of the plantation. Its cemetery is on Lewis Brown Road. So that HAS to be within the borders. The eastern border is the county line. The shape of the 400 acres could be rectangle or square.

Here is an old map from 1800 showing the area waterways.

Leaving North Carolina

Six of Isaac Redfearn's nine children moved away from North Carolina. Most of the plantation was sold to neighbor John Rains after Isaac and Milberry died. Their daughter Martha had inherited an 80 acre portion along the county line but had no children. So the original 400 acres are no longer in the family.

Isaac's daughter, our 4X Great Grandmother, Milberry Redfearn Cruthis, came from NC to Bond County, IL in 1817 with her husband John who was a native to Guilford NC. This excerpt from a Bond County history tells more.

* Mentioned in DeadFamilyTales

Isaac James Redfearn

this Tale

Milberry C Kirkland

https://www.deadfamilytales.com/post/strong-willed-woman

Julia Ann File

https://www.deadfamilytales.com/post/strong-willed-woman

Lucille Bernice Oswald

https://www.deadfamilytales.com/post/lucille-s-tale-more-memories

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