Robert C. (Cager?) Brashear married Charity Dowell on 13 Oct 1726 at All Hallows Parish, Anne Arundel Co., Maryland near where her father lived. Charity Dowell was born on 04 Apr 1711 at Anne Arundel Co., Maryland, d/o Phillip Dowell and Mary Tydings). (Also for Mary Tydings see the children of Richard and Charity (_____) Tydings on the Find A Grave Memorial of Thomas Sparrow).
The surname Brashear is found in the genealogical literature in many forms, e. g. Brasseur, Brassier, Brassieur, Brassiere, Brasher, Brashear(s), Boshears, Brashier, Brasier, Brazier, Basher and Bashier but the Anglicized form, Brashear, will be used in this bio. Robert C. Brashear's ancestors were forced out of France by the terrible Catholic religious persecution and massacres of the French Huguenots during the 16th and 17th centuries. From my efforts, his sacrifices are recognized by two hereditary organizations; the "National Huguenot Society" and "The Huguenot Society of the Founders of Manakin in the Colony of Virginia". The Brashear family history in America is a proud one dating to the French Huguenot (French Protestant refugee) immigrant, Benois (Benjamin) Brassier, who landed in Virginia in 1653 but due to the hostile environment created by the English settlers toward Frenchmen, he moved his wife, Mary, and children to Calvert Co., MD in 1658. By 1661 he was commissioned a Justice and later sheriff there. In the year 1663, Benois Brassier was naturalized as a former citizen of France and his name Anglicized as Benjamin Brashears but unfortunately he died intestate in the same year. His widow, Mary Brashears, of Clifts, Calvert Co., MD recorded her will on 25 May 1663 as a pre-nuptial contract with Thomas Starling, her second husband, in which she names the children of her deceased husband, Benjamin Brashears (MdHR, Wills, Book 1, pp187-189. Note: By the early 1700s, the Huguenots in Virginia were given land at Manakin Town, VA (see attached historical markers).
Samuel Brashear, Sr., father of Robert C. Brashear, was the son of Robert Brashear and the grandson of the original immigrant, Benois (Benjamin) Brashear. Samuel married Ann Jones and had extensive land holdings in Maryland. In the 1720s, Samuel Brashear, Sr. and his wife, Ann, made several deeds of gift to their older children. In one such deed: "On 11 Oct 1726, I, Samuel Brashear, Sr., Carpenter, for love of my son, Robert (C.) Brashear, planter, grant him "Brashear's Meadow", 200 acres beginning at a bounded white oak on the east side of Beaverdam Branch (Beaver Dam Creek) of the Eastern Branch of the Potomac near the corner of Laxen's land; if he should marry and his wife outlive him, she to have possession only during her widowhood." (Land Records, PGCo Deeds, BK "M" pp75-77) Two days later Robert C. Brashear married Charity Dowell. The generosity of his father by the land gift a few miles from present day Washington, D.C. got him off to a good start in life at age 21. Robert was given an addition 50 acres, part of the tract called "Orphan's Gift" in his father's will, made and proved in 1740 (Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD, Wills BK "22", pp230-232.) In 1742, after financial difficulties, Robert was arrested for debt and put in debtors prison. He was forced to sell the remainder of his holdings. He and his family moved west across the Potomac River to Truro Parish, Fairfax Co., VA and settled for a few years without owning land. In 1746, Robert sold all that was left of his meager possessions and moved his family to the wilds of North Carolina where he lived most of his adult life in Guilford County.
Robert died at his long time home, Rocky Springs, Guilford County (present day Rockingham Co., N.C.). There seems to be a published error that Robert C. Brashear and his wife, Charity, are buried in the Brashears-Kries Cemetery, Sugar Grove, Roane County, TN, a distance of over 325 densely forested, mountainous, wilderness miles from their accepted death place. This would seem improbable for the times and their attachment to Guilford County. Both the SAR and the DAR accept the fact that Robert C. Brashear lived in and died in Guilford Co., N. C. The proof of his death and burial in Guilford Co., N. C. was established by testimony in "Phillip Brashears vs. Thomas Hewlett" concerning the lease and ownership of "Brashear's Meadows". Among the depositions from Rockingham Co., N.C. submitted to the Maryland court was one from Peter Dowell, Charity's brother, who testified among other things that Phillip Brashear was the oldest son of Robert C. Brashear. Another deposition was from William Williams who swore he had known Robert C. Brashear for 18 years, that Robert died July, 1786, that he (Williams) "was present and saw him die, and knew him when dead and assisted at the burial". William Williams was enumerated in the 1790 US Census of Rockingham Co., N.C. and his household is shown near Zaza Brashear's household. ( Ref. General Court Judgments, Western Shores (Maryland), Vols. 39, 41, 43, Oct. 1798. Film #013051 LDS Library, SLC).
Robert C. Brashear of Guilford Co., N. C., though 77 years of age, supported the American Revolution both with money and as a supplier of goods (It has been suggested he may have even supplied the wagon to transport the supplies and driven it himself), during the 1781 Battle of Guilford Courthouse. For this service, he is recognized as a Patriot of the American Revolution by both the SAR and DAR (Ancestor #A013835). (Revolutionary Army Accounts, VIII:94, Folio 2, State of North Carolina, Dept. of Cultural Resources; Colonial Records of North Carolina, IX:807; XVI:116; XIX:76.)
The children of Robert C. and Charity (Dowell) Brashear were:
1) Phillip Brashear, b. Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 1798 Henry Co., VA, m. Ann Wilson
2) Ann Nancy Brashear, b. 26 Sep 1729 at Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 30 Nov 1815 Fairfax Co., VA, m. 23 Jun 1745 Moses Ball of Fairfax Co., VA (Reference: Ball Family Bible)
3) Robert Samuel Brashear, (Nicknamed "The Rolling Stone" for his many moves), b. 20 Aug 1731 at Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 15 Jan 1816 Roane Co, TN, m. Phoebe Nicks (d/o John Nicks of Guilford Co., N.C.) Samuel lived in MD, VA. TN, NC and SC resulting in thousands of descendants in those areas and in MO and TX.
4) Jesse Brashear b. c1734 Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 1788 Pensacola, Spanish West FL, m. Elizabeth Prather
5) Asa Brashear, b. 1745 Fairfax Co., VA (Reference: Ball Family Bible), d. 1818 Rockingham Co., N.C., m. Jemima Nelson (Asa was a Captain in the Revolutionary War.)
6) Zaza Brashear (see below)
7) Elizabeth Brashear b. c1748, m. 04 Feb 1774 in Guilford Co., N.C. to John Allen
8) Charity Brashear b. c1757 d. May 1834 St. Clair Co., IL, m. Moses Land 02 Dec 1783 in Guildford Co., N.C. Moses Land's name was listed erroneously in one marriage certificate as "Lamb". (Charity was age 63 in the 1820 application for Moses Land's Revolutionary War Pension).
Sources:
1) "The Brashear Story A Family History" by Troy L. Back and Leon Brashear, 1962, pp5-15,31-34.
2) "A Brashear(s) Family History (Descendants of Robert and Benois Brasseur),The First 200 Years of the Brashear's in America (and Some Descendants in Maryland)" by Charles Brashear and Shirley Brashear McCoy, Vol. I, Aug 1998, pp10,23,33-38,98-100,103.
3) "A Brashear(s) Family History (Descendants of Robert and Benois Brasseur), Robert C. Brashear of NORTH CAROLINA and Some Descendants in TN, KY, Mo, TX etc." by Charles Brashear, Vol. II, 1999, pp32,37,42-45,117
4) "The Brashear-Brashears Family 1449-1927" by Henry Sinclair Brashear, 1929, pp15-16,20-21,25.
Bio by Gresham Farrar.
The surname Brashear is found in the genealogical literature in many forms, e. g. Brasseur, Brassier, Brassieur, Brassiere, Brasher, Brashear(s), Boshears, Brashier, Brasier, Brazier, Basher and Bashier but the Anglicized form, Brashear, will be used in this bio. Robert C. Brashear's ancestors were forced out of France by the terrible Catholic religious persecution and massacres of the French Huguenots during the 16th and 17th centuries. From my efforts, his sacrifices are recognized by two hereditary organizations; the "National Huguenot Society" and "The Huguenot Society of the Founders of Manakin in the Colony of Virginia". The Brashear family history in America is a proud one dating to the French Huguenot (French Protestant refugee) immigrant, Benois (Benjamin) Brassier, who landed in Virginia in 1653 but due to the hostile environment created by the English settlers toward Frenchmen, he moved his wife, Mary, and children to Calvert Co., MD in 1658. By 1661 he was commissioned a Justice and later sheriff there. In the year 1663, Benois Brassier was naturalized as a former citizen of France and his name Anglicized as Benjamin Brashears but unfortunately he died intestate in the same year. His widow, Mary Brashears, of Clifts, Calvert Co., MD recorded her will on 25 May 1663 as a pre-nuptial contract with Thomas Starling, her second husband, in which she names the children of her deceased husband, Benjamin Brashears (MdHR, Wills, Book 1, pp187-189. Note: By the early 1700s, the Huguenots in Virginia were given land at Manakin Town, VA (see attached historical markers).
Samuel Brashear, Sr., father of Robert C. Brashear, was the son of Robert Brashear and the grandson of the original immigrant, Benois (Benjamin) Brashear. Samuel married Ann Jones and had extensive land holdings in Maryland. In the 1720s, Samuel Brashear, Sr. and his wife, Ann, made several deeds of gift to their older children. In one such deed: "On 11 Oct 1726, I, Samuel Brashear, Sr., Carpenter, for love of my son, Robert (C.) Brashear, planter, grant him "Brashear's Meadow", 200 acres beginning at a bounded white oak on the east side of Beaverdam Branch (Beaver Dam Creek) of the Eastern Branch of the Potomac near the corner of Laxen's land; if he should marry and his wife outlive him, she to have possession only during her widowhood." (Land Records, PGCo Deeds, BK "M" pp75-77) Two days later Robert C. Brashear married Charity Dowell. The generosity of his father by the land gift a few miles from present day Washington, D.C. got him off to a good start in life at age 21. Robert was given an addition 50 acres, part of the tract called "Orphan's Gift" in his father's will, made and proved in 1740 (Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD, Wills BK "22", pp230-232.) In 1742, after financial difficulties, Robert was arrested for debt and put in debtors prison. He was forced to sell the remainder of his holdings. He and his family moved west across the Potomac River to Truro Parish, Fairfax Co., VA and settled for a few years without owning land. In 1746, Robert sold all that was left of his meager possessions and moved his family to the wilds of North Carolina where he lived most of his adult life in Guilford County.
Robert died at his long time home, Rocky Springs, Guilford County (present day Rockingham Co., N.C.). There seems to be a published error that Robert C. Brashear and his wife, Charity, are buried in the Brashears-Kries Cemetery, Sugar Grove, Roane County, TN, a distance of over 325 densely forested, mountainous, wilderness miles from their accepted death place. This would seem improbable for the times and their attachment to Guilford County. Both the SAR and the DAR accept the fact that Robert C. Brashear lived in and died in Guilford Co., N. C. The proof of his death and burial in Guilford Co., N. C. was established by testimony in "Phillip Brashears vs. Thomas Hewlett" concerning the lease and ownership of "Brashear's Meadows". Among the depositions from Rockingham Co., N.C. submitted to the Maryland court was one from Peter Dowell, Charity's brother, who testified among other things that Phillip Brashear was the oldest son of Robert C. Brashear. Another deposition was from William Williams who swore he had known Robert C. Brashear for 18 years, that Robert died July, 1786, that he (Williams) "was present and saw him die, and knew him when dead and assisted at the burial". William Williams was enumerated in the 1790 US Census of Rockingham Co., N.C. and his household is shown near Zaza Brashear's household. ( Ref. General Court Judgments, Western Shores (Maryland), Vols. 39, 41, 43, Oct. 1798. Film #013051 LDS Library, SLC).
Robert C. Brashear of Guilford Co., N. C., though 77 years of age, supported the American Revolution both with money and as a supplier of goods (It has been suggested he may have even supplied the wagon to transport the supplies and driven it himself), during the 1781 Battle of Guilford Courthouse. For this service, he is recognized as a Patriot of the American Revolution by both the SAR and DAR (Ancestor #A013835). (Revolutionary Army Accounts, VIII:94, Folio 2, State of North Carolina, Dept. of Cultural Resources; Colonial Records of North Carolina, IX:807; XVI:116; XIX:76.)
The children of Robert C. and Charity (Dowell) Brashear were:
1) Phillip Brashear, b. Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 1798 Henry Co., VA, m. Ann Wilson
2) Ann Nancy Brashear, b. 26 Sep 1729 at Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 30 Nov 1815 Fairfax Co., VA, m. 23 Jun 1745 Moses Ball of Fairfax Co., VA (Reference: Ball Family Bible)
3) Robert Samuel Brashear, (Nicknamed "The Rolling Stone" for his many moves), b. 20 Aug 1731 at Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 15 Jan 1816 Roane Co, TN, m. Phoebe Nicks (d/o John Nicks of Guilford Co., N.C.) Samuel lived in MD, VA. TN, NC and SC resulting in thousands of descendants in those areas and in MO and TX.
4) Jesse Brashear b. c1734 Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 1788 Pensacola, Spanish West FL, m. Elizabeth Prather
5) Asa Brashear, b. 1745 Fairfax Co., VA (Reference: Ball Family Bible), d. 1818 Rockingham Co., N.C., m. Jemima Nelson (Asa was a Captain in the Revolutionary War.)
6) Zaza Brashear (see below)
7) Elizabeth Brashear b. c1748, m. 04 Feb 1774 in Guilford Co., N.C. to John Allen
8) Charity Brashear b. c1757 d. May 1834 St. Clair Co., IL, m. Moses Land 02 Dec 1783 in Guildford Co., N.C. Moses Land's name was listed erroneously in one marriage certificate as "Lamb". (Charity was age 63 in the 1820 application for Moses Land's Revolutionary War Pension).
Sources:
1) "The Brashear Story A Family History" by Troy L. Back and Leon Brashear, 1962, pp5-15,31-34.
2) "A Brashear(s) Family History (Descendants of Robert and Benois Brasseur),The First 200 Years of the Brashear's in America (and Some Descendants in Maryland)" by Charles Brashear and Shirley Brashear McCoy, Vol. I, Aug 1998, pp10,23,33-38,98-100,103.
3) "A Brashear(s) Family History (Descendants of Robert and Benois Brasseur), Robert C. Brashear of NORTH CAROLINA and Some Descendants in TN, KY, Mo, TX etc." by Charles Brashear, Vol. II, 1999, pp32,37,42-45,117
4) "The Brashear-Brashears Family 1449-1927" by Henry Sinclair Brashear, 1929, pp15-16,20-21,25.
Bio by Gresham Farrar.
Robert C. (Cager?) Brashear married Charity Dowell on 13 Oct 1726 at All Hallows Parish, Anne Arundel Co., Maryland near where her father lived. Charity Dowell was born on 04 Apr 1711 at Anne Arundel Co., Maryland, d/o Phillip Dowell and Mary Tydings). (Also for Mary Tydings see the children of Richard and Charity (_____) Tydings on the Find A Grave Memorial of Thomas Sparrow).
The surname Brashear is found in the genealogical literature in many forms, e. g. Brasseur, Brassier, Brassieur, Brassiere, Brasher, Brashear(s), Boshears, Brashier, Brasier, Brazier, Basher and Bashier but the Anglicized form, Brashear, will be used in this bio. Robert C. Brashear's ancestors were forced out of France by the terrible Catholic religious persecution and massacres of the French Huguenots during the 16th and 17th centuries. From my efforts, his sacrifices are recognized by two hereditary organizations; the "National Huguenot Society" and "The Huguenot Society of the Founders of Manakin in the Colony of Virginia". The Brashear family history in America is a proud one dating to the French Huguenot (French Protestant refugee) immigrant, Benois (Benjamin) Brassier, who landed in Virginia in 1653 but due to the hostile environment created by the English settlers toward Frenchmen, he moved his wife, Mary, and children to Calvert Co., MD in 1658. By 1661 he was commissioned a Justice and later sheriff there. In the year 1663, Benois Brassier was naturalized as a former citizen of France and his name Anglicized as Benjamin Brashears but unfortunately he died intestate in the same year. His widow, Mary Brashears, of Clifts, Calvert Co., MD recorded her will on 25 May 1663 as a pre-nuptial contract with Thomas Starling, her second husband, in which she names the children of her deceased husband, Benjamin Brashears (MdHR, Wills, Book 1, pp187-189. Note: By the early 1700s, the Huguenots in Virginia were given land at Manakin Town, VA (see attached historical markers).
Samuel Brashear, Sr., father of Robert C. Brashear, was the son of Robert Brashear and the grandson of the original immigrant, Benois (Benjamin) Brashear. Samuel married Ann Jones and had extensive land holdings in Maryland. In the 1720s, Samuel Brashear, Sr. and his wife, Ann, made several deeds of gift to their older children. In one such deed: "On 11 Oct 1726, I, Samuel Brashear, Sr., Carpenter, for love of my son, Robert (C.) Brashear, planter, grant him "Brashear's Meadow", 200 acres beginning at a bounded white oak on the east side of Beaverdam Branch (Beaver Dam Creek) of the Eastern Branch of the Potomac near the corner of Laxen's land; if he should marry and his wife outlive him, she to have possession only during her widowhood." (Land Records, PGCo Deeds, BK "M" pp75-77) Two days later Robert C. Brashear married Charity Dowell. The generosity of his father by the land gift a few miles from present day Washington, D.C. got him off to a good start in life at age 21. Robert was given an addition 50 acres, part of the tract called "Orphan's Gift" in his father's will, made and proved in 1740 (Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD, Wills BK "22", pp230-232.) In 1742, after financial difficulties, Robert was arrested for debt and put in debtors prison. He was forced to sell the remainder of his holdings. He and his family moved west across the Potomac River to Truro Parish, Fairfax Co., VA and settled for a few years without owning land. In 1746, Robert sold all that was left of his meager possessions and moved his family to the wilds of North Carolina where he lived most of his adult life in Guilford County.
Robert died at his long time home, Rocky Springs, Guilford County (present day Rockingham Co., N.C.). There seems to be a published error that Robert C. Brashear and his wife, Charity, are buried in the Brashears-Kries Cemetery, Sugar Grove, Roane County, TN, a distance of over 325 densely forested, mountainous, wilderness miles from their accepted death place. This would seem improbable for the times and their attachment to Guilford County. Both the SAR and the DAR accept the fact that Robert C. Brashear lived in and died in Guilford Co., N. C. The proof of his death and burial in Guilford Co., N. C. was established by testimony in "Phillip Brashears vs. Thomas Hewlett" concerning the lease and ownership of "Brashear's Meadows". Among the depositions from Rockingham Co., N.C. submitted to the Maryland court was one from Peter Dowell, Charity's brother, who testified among other things that Phillip Brashear was the oldest son of Robert C. Brashear. Another deposition was from William Williams who swore he had known Robert C. Brashear for 18 years, that Robert died July, 1786, that he (Williams) "was present and saw him die, and knew him when dead and assisted at the burial". William Williams was enumerated in the 1790 US Census of Rockingham Co., N.C. and his household is shown near Zaza Brashear's household. ( Ref. General Court Judgments, Western Shores (Maryland), Vols. 39, 41, 43, Oct. 1798. Film #013051 LDS Library, SLC).
Robert C. Brashear of Guilford Co., N. C., though 77 years of age, supported the American Revolution both with money and as a supplier of goods (It has been suggested he may have even supplied the wagon to transport the supplies and driven it himself), during the 1781 Battle of Guilford Courthouse. For this service, he is recognized as a Patriot of the American Revolution by both the SAR and DAR (Ancestor #A013835). (Revolutionary Army Accounts, VIII:94, Folio 2, State of North Carolina, Dept. of Cultural Resources; Colonial Records of North Carolina, IX:807; XVI:116; XIX:76.)
The children of Robert C. and Charity (Dowell) Brashear were:
1) Phillip Brashear, b. Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 1798 Henry Co., VA, m. Ann Wilson
2) Ann Nancy Brashear, b. 26 Sep 1729 at Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 30 Nov 1815 Fairfax Co., VA, m. 23 Jun 1745 Moses Ball of Fairfax Co., VA (Reference: Ball Family Bible)
3) Robert Samuel Brashear, (Nicknamed "The Rolling Stone" for his many moves), b. 20 Aug 1731 at Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 15 Jan 1816 Roane Co, TN, m. Phoebe Nicks (d/o John Nicks of Guilford Co., N.C.) Samuel lived in MD, VA. TN, NC and SC resulting in thousands of descendants in those areas and in MO and TX.
4) Jesse Brashear b. c1734 Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 1788 Pensacola, Spanish West FL, m. Elizabeth Prather
5) Asa Brashear, b. 1745 Fairfax Co., VA (Reference: Ball Family Bible), d. 1818 Rockingham Co., N.C., m. Jemima Nelson (Asa was a Captain in the Revolutionary War.)
6) Zaza Brashear (see below)
7) Elizabeth Brashear b. c1748, m. 04 Feb 1774 in Guilford Co., N.C. to John Allen
8) Charity Brashear b. c1757 d. May 1834 St. Clair Co., IL, m. Moses Land 02 Dec 1783 in Guildford Co., N.C. Moses Land's name was listed erroneously in one marriage certificate as "Lamb". (Charity was age 63 in the 1820 application for Moses Land's Revolutionary War Pension).
Sources:
1) "The Brashear Story A Family History" by Troy L. Back and Leon Brashear, 1962, pp5-15,31-34.
2) "A Brashear(s) Family History (Descendants of Robert and Benois Brasseur),The First 200 Years of the Brashear's in America (and Some Descendants in Maryland)" by Charles Brashear and Shirley Brashear McCoy, Vol. I, Aug 1998, pp10,23,33-38,98-100,103.
3) "A Brashear(s) Family History (Descendants of Robert and Benois Brasseur), Robert C. Brashear of NORTH CAROLINA and Some Descendants in TN, KY, Mo, TX etc." by Charles Brashear, Vol. II, 1999, pp32,37,42-45,117
4) "The Brashear-Brashears Family 1449-1927" by Henry Sinclair Brashear, 1929, pp15-16,20-21,25.
Bio by Gresham Farrar.
The surname Brashear is found in the genealogical literature in many forms, e. g. Brasseur, Brassier, Brassieur, Brassiere, Brasher, Brashear(s), Boshears, Brashier, Brasier, Brazier, Basher and Bashier but the Anglicized form, Brashear, will be used in this bio. Robert C. Brashear's ancestors were forced out of France by the terrible Catholic religious persecution and massacres of the French Huguenots during the 16th and 17th centuries. From my efforts, his sacrifices are recognized by two hereditary organizations; the "National Huguenot Society" and "The Huguenot Society of the Founders of Manakin in the Colony of Virginia". The Brashear family history in America is a proud one dating to the French Huguenot (French Protestant refugee) immigrant, Benois (Benjamin) Brassier, who landed in Virginia in 1653 but due to the hostile environment created by the English settlers toward Frenchmen, he moved his wife, Mary, and children to Calvert Co., MD in 1658. By 1661 he was commissioned a Justice and later sheriff there. In the year 1663, Benois Brassier was naturalized as a former citizen of France and his name Anglicized as Benjamin Brashears but unfortunately he died intestate in the same year. His widow, Mary Brashears, of Clifts, Calvert Co., MD recorded her will on 25 May 1663 as a pre-nuptial contract with Thomas Starling, her second husband, in which she names the children of her deceased husband, Benjamin Brashears (MdHR, Wills, Book 1, pp187-189. Note: By the early 1700s, the Huguenots in Virginia were given land at Manakin Town, VA (see attached historical markers).
Samuel Brashear, Sr., father of Robert C. Brashear, was the son of Robert Brashear and the grandson of the original immigrant, Benois (Benjamin) Brashear. Samuel married Ann Jones and had extensive land holdings in Maryland. In the 1720s, Samuel Brashear, Sr. and his wife, Ann, made several deeds of gift to their older children. In one such deed: "On 11 Oct 1726, I, Samuel Brashear, Sr., Carpenter, for love of my son, Robert (C.) Brashear, planter, grant him "Brashear's Meadow", 200 acres beginning at a bounded white oak on the east side of Beaverdam Branch (Beaver Dam Creek) of the Eastern Branch of the Potomac near the corner of Laxen's land; if he should marry and his wife outlive him, she to have possession only during her widowhood." (Land Records, PGCo Deeds, BK "M" pp75-77) Two days later Robert C. Brashear married Charity Dowell. The generosity of his father by the land gift a few miles from present day Washington, D.C. got him off to a good start in life at age 21. Robert was given an addition 50 acres, part of the tract called "Orphan's Gift" in his father's will, made and proved in 1740 (Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD, Wills BK "22", pp230-232.) In 1742, after financial difficulties, Robert was arrested for debt and put in debtors prison. He was forced to sell the remainder of his holdings. He and his family moved west across the Potomac River to Truro Parish, Fairfax Co., VA and settled for a few years without owning land. In 1746, Robert sold all that was left of his meager possessions and moved his family to the wilds of North Carolina where he lived most of his adult life in Guilford County.
Robert died at his long time home, Rocky Springs, Guilford County (present day Rockingham Co., N.C.). There seems to be a published error that Robert C. Brashear and his wife, Charity, are buried in the Brashears-Kries Cemetery, Sugar Grove, Roane County, TN, a distance of over 325 densely forested, mountainous, wilderness miles from their accepted death place. This would seem improbable for the times and their attachment to Guilford County. Both the SAR and the DAR accept the fact that Robert C. Brashear lived in and died in Guilford Co., N. C. The proof of his death and burial in Guilford Co., N. C. was established by testimony in "Phillip Brashears vs. Thomas Hewlett" concerning the lease and ownership of "Brashear's Meadows". Among the depositions from Rockingham Co., N.C. submitted to the Maryland court was one from Peter Dowell, Charity's brother, who testified among other things that Phillip Brashear was the oldest son of Robert C. Brashear. Another deposition was from William Williams who swore he had known Robert C. Brashear for 18 years, that Robert died July, 1786, that he (Williams) "was present and saw him die, and knew him when dead and assisted at the burial". William Williams was enumerated in the 1790 US Census of Rockingham Co., N.C. and his household is shown near Zaza Brashear's household. ( Ref. General Court Judgments, Western Shores (Maryland), Vols. 39, 41, 43, Oct. 1798. Film #013051 LDS Library, SLC).
Robert C. Brashear of Guilford Co., N. C., though 77 years of age, supported the American Revolution both with money and as a supplier of goods (It has been suggested he may have even supplied the wagon to transport the supplies and driven it himself), during the 1781 Battle of Guilford Courthouse. For this service, he is recognized as a Patriot of the American Revolution by both the SAR and DAR (Ancestor #A013835). (Revolutionary Army Accounts, VIII:94, Folio 2, State of North Carolina, Dept. of Cultural Resources; Colonial Records of North Carolina, IX:807; XVI:116; XIX:76.)
The children of Robert C. and Charity (Dowell) Brashear were:
1) Phillip Brashear, b. Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 1798 Henry Co., VA, m. Ann Wilson
2) Ann Nancy Brashear, b. 26 Sep 1729 at Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 30 Nov 1815 Fairfax Co., VA, m. 23 Jun 1745 Moses Ball of Fairfax Co., VA (Reference: Ball Family Bible)
3) Robert Samuel Brashear, (Nicknamed "The Rolling Stone" for his many moves), b. 20 Aug 1731 at Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 15 Jan 1816 Roane Co, TN, m. Phoebe Nicks (d/o John Nicks of Guilford Co., N.C.) Samuel lived in MD, VA. TN, NC and SC resulting in thousands of descendants in those areas and in MO and TX.
4) Jesse Brashear b. c1734 Brashear's Meadow, Prince Georges Co., MD, d. 1788 Pensacola, Spanish West FL, m. Elizabeth Prather
5) Asa Brashear, b. 1745 Fairfax Co., VA (Reference: Ball Family Bible), d. 1818 Rockingham Co., N.C., m. Jemima Nelson (Asa was a Captain in the Revolutionary War.)
6) Zaza Brashear (see below)
7) Elizabeth Brashear b. c1748, m. 04 Feb 1774 in Guilford Co., N.C. to John Allen
8) Charity Brashear b. c1757 d. May 1834 St. Clair Co., IL, m. Moses Land 02 Dec 1783 in Guildford Co., N.C. Moses Land's name was listed erroneously in one marriage certificate as "Lamb". (Charity was age 63 in the 1820 application for Moses Land's Revolutionary War Pension).
Sources:
1) "The Brashear Story A Family History" by Troy L. Back and Leon Brashear, 1962, pp5-15,31-34.
2) "A Brashear(s) Family History (Descendants of Robert and Benois Brasseur),The First 200 Years of the Brashear's in America (and Some Descendants in Maryland)" by Charles Brashear and Shirley Brashear McCoy, Vol. I, Aug 1998, pp10,23,33-38,98-100,103.
3) "A Brashear(s) Family History (Descendants of Robert and Benois Brasseur), Robert C. Brashear of NORTH CAROLINA and Some Descendants in TN, KY, Mo, TX etc." by Charles Brashear, Vol. II, 1999, pp32,37,42-45,117
4) "The Brashear-Brashears Family 1449-1927" by Henry Sinclair Brashear, 1929, pp15-16,20-21,25.
Bio by Gresham Farrar.
Bio by: Gresham Farrar
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