Robert MANSFIELD (~1770-?1850?) +
Sarah Grissom (~1770-18xx)

Elizabeth “Betsy” (10 Apr 1790-1863) — m. John Nelson, Jr. on 1 Mar 1808

Thomas (1792-31 May 1871) — m. Catherine McCuistion on 26 Dec 1816

Anna (~1797-Dec 1856) — m. William Alexander Jett on 10 Sep 1818

Malinda (~1803-after 1880) — m. Edward Thomas Jett on 21 Feb 1827

Robert was from Virginia, parents unknown.

Sarah was likewise from Virginia, parents unknown. She might have been part of the family of Clark ancestors elsewhere listed as Grisham. She reportedly had an older sister named Catherine (b. 1767) and an older brother Benjamin (b. 1769).

Robert and Sarah married on 16 Oct 1788 in Greene County, Tennessee, toward the northeastern tip of the state. At the time, the area was part of the unrecognized state of Franklin, aka the Free Republic of Franklin, an entity created by settlers in Indian territory.

Accounts claim that daughter Elizabeth was born in Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tennessee, out in the south-central part of the state. I doubt this, as Shelbyville didn’t exist until nearly 20 years later. Evidence is that the family settled back east in Jefferson County, Tennessee, since their children all married there.

The 1830 census for Mossy Creek in Jefferson County showed a household headed by a Sarah Mansfield who was in her sixties. Might have been her. Also present was a man in his twenties.

There are no census records showing Robert, or anyone who might have been him. The Robert Mansfield in the 1840 census for Jefferson County was much younger. His familysearch.org tree claims, without evidence, that he died in 1850 in Laurel County, Kentucky, but his absence from records suggests he died long before that.

Children

Elizabeth “Betsy” Mansfield (1790-1863)

Betsy married John I. Nelson, Jr. (1783-15 Aug 1830) from Guilford County, North Carolina in 1808 in Jefferson County, Tennessee. Their children:

Andrew Moses/Mansfield (1809-6 Mar 1836)

Edna (1810-1888)

Rebecca Brown (7 Dec 1810-14 Nov 1886) — m. John W. Nelson in 1830

Sarah Elizabeth (1814-1872)

Mary Ann “Pollyann” (20 Jan 1817-6 May 1895) — m. Robert W. Welch in 1839

Nancy (1819-????)

Nancy Matilda Ann “Sissy” (1823-1889) — m. James William Little in 1845; m. William S. “Bill” Swain in 1870

John Calhoun McCampbell (28 Nov 1825-7 Feb 1893) — m. Jane Short; m. Elizabeth Jane Paul

Amanda C. (29 Jun 1828-27 Jun 1916) — m. William Daniel Little; m. ??? Taylor

John enlisted during the War of 1812. By 1825, the family was in Shelbyville, Bedford County in south-central Tennessee. John died there in 1830, and is buried in Holland Cemetery, Bedford County.

After son Andrew died at the Alamo in 1836, Betsy received a Texas land grant in his name. She and her other children moved to Rusk County, Texas to settle. Betsy died there in (supposedly) 1863, after leaving the grant property to son John. She’s buried in Gray Hill Cemetery.

Thomas Mansfield (1792-1871)

Thomas has his own entry in the family tree. At this point, placing him in this family is still speculation.

Anna Mansfield (1797-1856)

Anna married William Alexander Jett (15 Sep 1796-12 Nov 1869) from Culpeper County, Virginia in 1818 in Jefferson County, Tennessee. Children:

Charles Shannon (1815-~1850)

Nancy Ann (1821-1877) — m. Thomas Shepherd on 14 Aug 1849

Alethia Jane (8 Jun 1823-3 May 1881) — m. Joseph Ritchie

Alinda Caroline (25 Oct 1825-18 Apr 1827)

William Hardin (26 Apr 1828-26 Jun 1830)

Sarah Abigail (14 Aug 1830-10 Aug 1905) — m. William E. Mansfield in 1861

Mandy Elvira (2 Sep 1833-7 Jun 1904)

Perdellia Adeline (11 Feb 1836-10 Nov 1872)

Mary Porter (3 Dec 1842-1 Feb 1843)

The family remained in Jefferson County. William was a carpenter.

Anna died around Christmas of 1856. Her burial site is unknown.

William married Emily Jones Brown on 20 Jul 1861. They had one child: Charles Shannon Jett (5 Jul 1863-25 Nov 1939), named for his late half-brother.

William died in 1869, and is buried in Mount Horeb Cemetery, Jefferson City.

Malinda Mansfield (~1803-after 1880)

Malinda married Edward Thomas Jett (4 Apr 1805-18 Nov 1886) from North or South Carolina on 21 Feb 1827 in Jefferson County, Tennessee. Their children:

Lucinda C. (1832-1888) — m. C. Armstrong Covington Hickman on 22 Oct 1850

Calvin M. (1836-19xx)— m. Permelia Love on 6 Jul 1860

Robert Edwin (Jan 1839-6 Jan 1926) — m. Mary Caroline Carter on 1 Dec 1859

Elizabeth Jane (8 Jan 1843-5 Jun 1925) — m. Joseph Edward Charlton on 17 Apr 1866

John Thomas (21 Jul 1846-6 Nov 1925) — m. Julia Ann Linn on 29 Aug 1867

The 1850 census for Jefferson County listed Edward as a wagon-maker, and the children as Lucinda C. (17), Calvin (14), Edwin (11), Elizabeth Jane (7), and John T. (4). In 1860, along with Edward (55) and Malinda (51), there were Cal (24), E. J. (18), and J. T. (14).

By 1870, Edward (65), and Malinda (62) were living with son John and his wife and daughter in nearby Grainger County. By 1880, it was just the two of them. Edward died in 1886; don’t know about Malinda.