In 1989 when the Montgomery County Genealogical and Historical Society was soliciting information for a book, I wrote the following article and sent it to them. When I didn't hear anything for a long time, I wrote to ask what had become of the book and my $20. check that had been cashed. The answer was that the project never came to pass and they had no record of my check. At any rate, I would like to find out more about my Mayfields in Bond County. I especially would like to know where my gr grandmother Nancy Ellen Mayfield was when the 1850 census was taken. Winston Crouch (now deceased) told me that Nancy's grandfather Richard Bradley died 19 Nov 1864 in Bond County. I haven't been able to verify that date or the location of his grave, but I wonder if Nancy Ellen Mayfield was living with her grandparents in 1850? April 11, 1989 The James and Nancy Mayfield family came from Tennessee, where their children were born in Hickman Co., to Montgomery Co IL. They were in Montgomery County in the year 1838 when there is a record of James and Nancy selling land to Zadok A. Jones in Section No. Five, Township No. Eight. James was born in TN in 1776 and died 11 Oct. 1856 in Fayette Co. IL and was buried in the Wright Cemetery in Montgomery Co, IL. His wife Nancy was b. in VA and d. 28 Mar 1851 and is buried in the Wright Cemetery, also. Their children were: - Mira b.16 Sept 1813,m.Andrew Walker 13 Aug 1835, Mont Co, Il. - John b. ca 1815, m.Elizabeth Jane Bradley 22 Aug 1839 in Mont Co, IL. Her father, Richard Bradley, wrote a note to Hiram Rountree, Clerk, stating: "This is to let you know that there is no danger in giving a license to John Mayfield, for my daughter is of age, given under my hand this 17 day of August 1839, "Rich" Bradley." On property sales in Montgomery Co. IL Richard Bradley's wife is identified as "Sally" or "Sarah." Information sent to me by Lloyd DeWitt Bookstruck identifies this Richard as the Richard Bradley who married Sarah Mooney on 27 Nov 1805 in Wilkes Co, NC, and the son of Lawrence and Winifred (Winnie) Wisdom Bradley. Lawrence Bradley was in Wilkes Co as early as 1778 and in Burke Co, NC in 1810. His widow, Winnie, was living alone there in 1820. On the 1830 census, Richard Bradley was in Montgomery Co, IL, where he was age 40-50. He may have had his mother with him because he had a female age 70-80 in his household. - Winnie b.19 Apr 1820, m. John Walker 5 Oct 1839 Mont Co, IL - Jeanette(Jennie) b.6 Mar 1821, m.John Walker 5 Oct 1839 Mont Co, IL - James b. ca 1827, m. Emily Walker 19 Feb 1846 Bond Co, IL - William b. Feb 1828, m.Sarah Walker 15 Nov 1849, Bond Co, IL ********************* John Mayfield was my gr gr grandfather. He and Elizabeth Jane Bradley had the following children: - Sarah (Sally) b. 1841 IL, m. Thomas Elam - James b. 1842 IL, m. 29 Nov 1873 Mary Gower in Bond Co, IL - Nancy Ellen b. 29 Apr 1844 in Mulberry Grove, Bond Co, IL, m. 28 Nov 1878 Jeremiah Bethard in Wrightsville, Greene Co, IL, d. 16 Dec 1899 in Wrightsville. - Richard b. 1847 in MO, m. 27 Sept 1866 Emily Stewart - William b. 1848 in MO, m. 28 Dec 1876 Mary Elam - Jackson b. 1851 in AR - Lavona b. 1854 in IL, m. Lewis Stewart By the 1860 census in Bond Co, IL, John Mayfield had died. I don't know the date of his death or where he is buried. I didn't know the date of Elizabeth Mayfield's death until I read the minutes of the Liberty Baptist Church, Bond Co, IL, for 1853-1887, and they recorded that Elizabeth Mayfield had died 15 Oct 1864. I don't know where she is buried, but I would suppose in Bond Co, IL. Times were very hard for John Mayfield's children. My grandmother, Nancy Ellen's daughter Elizabeth Jane Bethard, told me that Elizabeth called her daughter Nancy to her and said she had to place her in another home for her room and board. She said it was not because she was the oldest girl but because she was the strongest. She was put in a relative's home where she worked as a servant and slept in the attic. My grandmother said her mother would work all day and then knit stockings for the family by candle light. She was often cold and very lonely. Thomas Bethard and his family had lived in Marion Co, IL, from 1841 to 1844. Evidently there was an acquaintance with the Mayfield family, or there were mutual friends, because Thomas' son Jeremiah (Jerry) Bethard, a very prosperous merchant and a widower with three little boys in Wrightsville, Greene Co, IL, hired Nancy Mayfield as his housekeeper. He married her 28 Nov 1878, and my grandmother Elizabeth Jane (their only child) was born 29 Apr 1880. Nancy Mayfield took charge of Jerry Bethard's household with ease. She was known for the excellence of her table, and she ran a restaurant in their home. Many railroad employees and others in the town made a habit of taking their noonday meal in the Bethard home. My grandmother recounted learning to cook before she was tall enough to reach the stove, standing on a low bench beside her mother. Even though my grandmother learned all the skills of keeping a home, she had many of the luxuries of the time. She had her own organ and played it well, often playing for the church services. Nancy Mayfield Bethard was also known for her care of the sick and the poor. When she would hear of a needy family, she would take a basket and go the her husband's store. My grandmother remembered her father following her mother up and down the aisles, saying, "Nanny, don't you think that is about enough?" and Nancy would smile and go on filling her basket. Nancy took a terrible fall on the ice in the winter of 1899 and injured her hip. The infection would not heal, and she died on 16 Dec 1899 when my grandmother was nineteen years old. Before she died, she gave her blessing for my grandmother to marry Ernest Rhodes. But Jerry Bethard had heard that my grandfather was just after his money and he refused to agree to the marriage, disowning my grandmother when she married Ernest Rhodes 18 Apr 1900 and not reconciling with her until many years later. My grandmother felt that she had lost both her mother and her father in that terrible winter of 1899. The following obituary appeared in the White Hall Register, V.31, p.1, col. 1, on 29 Dec. 1899: Mrs. Nancy E. Mayfield Bethard was born April 20, 1844, died Dec. 16, 1899. She was married to Jerry Bethard Nov. 28, 1878. To this union was born one daughter, who, with the husband is left to mourn the loss of wife & mother. She professed a hope in Christ early in life, being a member of the M.E. church in Wrightsville at the time of her death. She was always ready to minister unto the sick & needy, & during the last days of suffering & pain she could sing praise to God with a triumphant faith. It may truly be said of her, "She hath done what she could." She will be greatly missed in the community. Funeral services at Hickory Grove, Dec.17, conducted by W. D. Waltrip, after which the remains were laid to rest in the cemetery near by. ******************** Article written by Nancy's great granddaughter, Shirley Winn Williams -