USA > North Carolina > Guilford County > The History of Guilford County, North Carolina > Part 13
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Jonathan, third son of Hamilton, died at the close of the War from exposure in the service. Allen, fourth son of Hamilton,
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married Miss Ford and went to Kansas. Bettie, daughter of Hamilton, married a Crow and lives in Randolph County. Mary, second daughter of Hamilton, married Julian Kirkman, and moved to Indiana. Corinna, youngest daughter of Hamilton, married J. M. Moon.
Abner, fifth son of David, married Hannah Wilson. They had three children : Wilson, Oliver and Emily, who married Mon- roe Kirkman.
Emsley, sixth and youngest son of David, married Jane McGibony. Their only child, Roxie, married Hon. John L. King, and resides in Greensboro. Emsley Armfield was a successful financier. He was Chairman of the Board of County Commis- sioners for years.
Betsy, oldest daughter of David, married Col. James Millis. They had three sons and two daughters, all of whom died young except J. Henry Millis and Mary. Henry married Cornelia Walker, of Asheboro. He is a prominent manufacturer and busi- ness man of High Point, and served as Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners for ten years. His children are Albian, Edwin and Sallie, who married William Armfield, son of Wyatt. Henry Millis' older daughter, Mary, died at the age of nineteen.
Mary, daughter of James Millis, married Samuel Walker, of Asheboro. Their children are: James Walker, of High Point; Emma, now Mrs. C. W. Worth, of Wilmington, and Annie, who is Mrs. James H. Pou, of Raleigh.
Jane, David's other daughter, married John Widdows. They had one son and two daughters, all of whom died unmarried.
John, seventh and last son of William Armfield by his first wife, married a Miss Avery and went to Tennessee. His oldest son, John, volunteered and went into the War of 1812. He fought in the Battle of New Orleans. It is tradition in the family that he killed the British officer Packingham with his father's rifle, and that that turned the tide of battle in the Americans' favor. All trace of this branch of the family has been lost. This ends the
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history of the children of William Armfield by his first wife, Mary Hamilton.
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A few years after his wife's death William Armfield married Mrs. Lydia Julian Fields, the widow of a Revolutionary soldier who was killed at the Battle of King's Mountain. She was the mother of ten children by her first husband. After her marriage to William Armfield she had two sons. One died young; the other was Joseph B. Armfield. He was born in 1785 and grew up to be an honorable and upright man, prominent in church affairs and in the county. His wife was Nellie Stevenson, sister of Robert Stevenson, the noted wheelwright and wagon-maker. He made both the large spinning-wheels and the small flax-wheels which were in use in nearly every household at that time.
Joseph B. remained with his father William at the old home- stead on Buffalo, near Pomona, until his father's death. Some- time afterward he sold this original homestead, which was settled by John Armfield, of Pennsylvania and England, and bought a . farm on Bull Run Creek, two miles northeast of Jamestown, where he and his faithful wife lived for more than sixty years, until her death in 1875. They were strict Primitive Baptists for half a century and attended church regularly at Abbott's Creek. Joseph B. was a strong Union man before and during the War, and a Grant Republican. He voted in every Presidential election from 1806 to and including 1880. He remained at his home until a few weeks before his death, when he went to visit his daughter, Char- lotte Gardner, who lived at the Gardner Hill mine. Although he was perfectly blind, he expressed great regret upon leaving his old home, saying that he feared that he would never be there again. Soon after he was taken sick and died, after an illness of two weeks. His physician said that he was without disease and that his death was entirely due to old age.
He was over ninety-five years old. His mind was clear and his memory perfect to the last, and it was from him, as has been said, that the greater part of this history was obtained. He was
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literally "the last leaf upon the tree," as he was the youngest of the thirteen children of William Armfield, the son of John Arm- field, who came from England. He outlived all his brothers and sisters, many cousins of the same name and all the associates of his early youth.
The sons of Joseph B. were the following: Julian, Jesse, Ithamar, Joseph S. and John J. Julian, the oldest, married Han- nah Iddings, and settled on the southeast quarter of his father's farm, now known as the Capt. John Endy place. In 1849, while his children, Isaac, Alpheus and Sarah, were not yet grown, he moved to Indiana, where he died. Isaac, son of Julian, married and moved from Indiana to Iowa, where his children now reside. Alpheus died in Indiana. Sarah married and moved to Kansas.
Jesse, second son of Joseph B., died at the age of twenty- five, a bright and promising man.
Ithamar, third son of Joseph B., married Martha Gates, and settled north of his birthplace, where he still lives at an advanced age. His children are Albert, Elizabeth and Adela. Albert mar- . ried Emily Hassell during the Civil War. He served through the war with his uncle, John Armfield, was captured at Appomattox two days before Lee's surrender and was taken to Point Lookout Prison, where he was kept six months. A few years after the War he died. He had two sons, James and Frank, and several daughters. James married and lives in Pilot Mountain, and Frank lives in High Point.
Elizabeth, daughter of Ithamar, married James Ledwell, and died several years ago. Adela married Calvin Kirkman, who is yardmaster for the Southern Railway in Greensboro. They have three sons, Albert, Alexander and Calvin (all train-dispatchers), and two daughters.
Joseph S., fourth son of Joseph B., was born in 1823. His wife was Nellie Iddings, daughter of Mark Iddings, and settled near Jamestown. He was an expert gunsmith and was a member of the firm of Lamb & Armfield, who made the famous Lamb Ken-
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tucky rifles. They manufactured these guns and sent them in wagons to the various courts throughout western North Carolina and over into Tennessee and Kentucky. Joseph S. suffered many hardships during the War on account of his strong, outspoken Union principles. He died in 1887 at the age of sixty-four, and was interred in Deep River churchyard.
Joseph S. had only two children, George Williamson and Melvina. G. Will married in 1875 Esther Wakefield, daughter of the late Henry Wakefield, who was a native of England and came to Canada and thence to North Carolina. She is also a sister of Dr. W. H. Wakefield, of Charlotte. G. Will settled in Greensboro, where he engaged in merchandising in the dry goods line, first as salesman with Houston & Causey, succeeded by Houston & Bro. Then he became a member of the firm of Brown & Armfield, but latter carried on a successful business under his own name unti! 1893, when he closed out to Thacker & Brockman.
He has had five sons and two daughters: Joseph, now in Greensboro P. O .; Mrytle; Clay, electrician for McAdoo Tele- phone Co .; Hazel, whose tragic accidental death on August 26, 1901, has forever marred the bright and happy home; Roy, George and Hugh.
Melvina, daughter of Joseph S., married Franklin Frazier, and lives at Gladesboro. She has no children.
John J., youngest son of Joseph B., married Lydia Hill, and settled near his father's home. He was superintendent of the Lamb Armory, which was broken up about six months before the close of the War, when he was conscripted and taken to the army. Two days before Lee's surrender, he was captured, and then placed in Point Lookout Prison, where he died a few days after the assasination of Lincoln. . He left a wife, one son and two daughters, Mary L. and Laura, who married Prof. J. M. Weath- erly. She has three sons, Carl, John and Ralph. John J.'s son, Nathan, went to Indiana.
Lydia, oldest daughter of Joseph B., married John Bartley.
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Their sons were R. Madison and John. The latter went to Indi- ana at the beginning of the Civil War. R. Madison married a Miss Barker, and settled at Avon, Ind. Their children's names are Erastus, Orla and Nellie, ali of whom are married and live in their native State. The daughters of Lydia and John Bartley were Mary, Eleanor and Charlotte. None ever married.
Charlotte, second daughter of Joseph B., married John Gard- ner, the original owner of the Gardner Hill mine. She had one son, Jesse, who married Louisa Freeman. He and his one child, Mary, are dead.
Lavinia, third daughter of Joseph B., died in 1820, while a school-girl.
Patience, the fourth daughter, married Jabez Stephens, and had ten children, all of whom are dead except Jesse F., who is a Pullman car conductor, and lives in Greensboro.
Eleanor, fifth daughter of Joseph B., married William Reece, Jr., of Randolph County. He died while a soldier, in 1864. She has several children.
Mary Ann, youngest daughter of Joseph B., married Donnell Burney. This ends the history thus far obtainable of the family of Joseph B. Armfield.
John, Jr., second son of the original John Armfield, mar- ried and brought his wife from Pennsylvania, settled southeast of his father, on South Buffalo, near the present Vandalia. He had a small family, and moved west, probably to Tennessee. We have no further account of him or his family.
Robert, third son of the original John Armfield, married in Pennsylvania, just before he came to North Carolina. He settled on the headwaters of South Buffalo. While he was out hunting one day, the Indians killed and scalped his wife and child. He never married again. Although he was a Quaker and therefore exempt from service, he fought through the Revolutionary War, and served as a Regular, fighting the Indians after the War. He died at his brother William's house not long after the Revolu- tion.
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Isaac, fourth son of the original John Armfield, married a Miss Brown, and lived on a farm near his father's place on South Buffalo. He fought with the North Carolina militia at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Although he had six sons, there are very few of his descendants, bearing the name, now living in Guilford County. These were his sons : John, William, Robert, Joseph C., Isaac and Jacob. His daughters were Ann and Betsy. John, the oldest son, moved to Shelby County, Tennessee, about 1810. One of his daughters married a Zarecor, and her grandson, J. H, Zarecor, is now a prominent lawyer in Nashville, Tenn.
William, second son of Isaac the first, familiarly known as "Sheriff Billy," was a well-known figure in his day and time. He was County Treasurer and Sheriff of Guilford for a number cf years, being Sheriff at the time the courthouse was move.1 from Martinsville to Greensboro. He married Hannah Greene and lived near Pomona. They had a large family, their children being Isaac, Robert, Hans, Joseph, William Cameron, John, Jacob, Hannah, Betsy, Jennie, Sallie and Delilah.
Isaac, oldest son of "Sheriff Billy," married a Miss Hoskins. Their son, Joseph, lives with his family on Deep River, near Free- man's Mill.
Robert, second son of "Sheriff Billy," married Miss Lovett. Their son, Boston, died in the Confederate Army, and their daughter married a Hayworth.
Hans, "Sheriff Billy's" third son, was educated at Chapel Hill. He built an academy near Jamestown, where he taught school about ten years. Later, he moved to Jackson, Miss., where he practiced law. He was married before leaving this State to Lucinda, daughter of George Gardner. They died in Mississippi, without children.
Joseph, fourth son of "Sheriff Billy," lived near Kernersville. His children were William, Joseph, Tabitha and Mary Ann. William moved to Pennsylvania and Joseph to Texas. Mary Ann married a King, a brother of Hon. John L. King.
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William Cameron, fifth son of "Sheriff Billy," went to South Carolina and married there. He was a practicing physician for many years. He died there, leaving two or three children.
John, sixth son of "Sheriff Billy," lived in Rockingham County, and was never married.
Jacob, seventh and youngest son of "Sheriff Billy," also lived in Rockingham. He married Miss Bland, and had one daughter, Rose, who is Mrs. Wooters, and lives in Richmond, Va.
Hannah, daughter of "Sheriff Billy," married Hezekiah John- ston, who was the father of J. Harper Johnston, of High Point. The latter has four daughters, Mrs. W. G. Bradshaw, Mrs. O. E. Kearns, Mrs. C. C. Wilson of Florida and Alice. Jennie, another daughter of "Sheriff Billy," married a Coe, and Sally married a Burton. Betsy died single.
Robert, third son of Isaac the first, died young.
Joseph C. was the fourth of the six sons of Isaac, who came from Pennsylvania with his father, John. Joseph C. was born January 3, 1776, therefore a subject of George III. He married Elizabeth Beeson. In 1795 he bought a farm on Deep River, near the present town of High Point, where some of his descendants still reside. Joseph C. held positions of trust in the county and in his church. He was coroner for years and deacon of the old Baptist Church at Jamestown. The following were his children : Richard Beeson, Wyatt J., Sallie, Mary, Betsy and Laura. Of these, Richard Beeson was the only one who remained in the State and married. He married Annie Chipman, and lived on Deep River his whole life. He was an upright man, honest and truthful to the core. His was a character without sham or pre- tense, and his long life of toil and saving and simplicity was an open book wherein all true and honest men might read.
Wyatt J., only son of Beeson, grew to manhood in the troubled times of the Civil War. He started out in business in 1866 without capital, and now, after thirty-five years of honest endeavor, economy and good judgment, he has accumulated a
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large fortune. He was engaged in the nursery business for many years and handled large quantities of fruit and ornamental trees, sending salesmen throughout the country from New York to New Orleans, and as far west as the Mississippi.
Later, he went into the banking business, and is now a direc- tor of eight banks in the counties of Guilford, Randolph, David- son, Rockingham, Alamance, Montgomery and Davie. All these banks are uniformly successful. His first connection with a bank was made in 1876, when he became director of the National Bank of Greensboro. In 1886 he was elected president of the National Bank of High Point, and in 1896 director of the Greensboro National Bank. In 1897 he was made vice-president of the Bank of Randolph, Asheboro. He is the largest stockholder in each of the three banks last mentioned.
He also invests extensively in stocks, bonds and loans on his personal account, and is considered very fortunate. He assures his friends that he has given only one note and endorsed only one as surety, and never has overdrawn his bank account during his entire business career.
In 1868 he married Jennie Britt, daughter of W. O. Britt, of Nashville, Tenn. Their children are as follows. Eugene M., Wil- liam J., Frank, Jesse, Blanche ( Mrs. R. T. Pickens, of Lexington) and Lucile .*
Eugene M. ,the oldest, has been cashier of the National Bank of High Point since 1888. He is also president of the Bank of Thomasville and president of the Bank of Alamance, Graham, N. C. He is interested in various manufacturing enterprises in High Point, and is easily one of the ablest and most progressive business men among the young men of the State. He was the leading spirit in the establishment of a chain of banks which covers seven counties. He has a mind wonderful for its breadth of grasp and accuracy of detail, and also an unusual memory.
* Songs from the Carolina Hills is a book of poems written by Miss Lucile Armfield. She is a clear and beautiful writer and one of North Carolina's gifted women.
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Though his time is largely taken up with his business, he is a man of culture and scholarly tastes, and is at all times loyal to his Alma Mater, the University of North Carolina, of which he is a trustee. He has lately established the Armfield Scholarship at the University.
William J., second son of Wyatt J., is cashier of the Bank of Randolph, Asheboro, N. C., and president of the Bank of Mont- gomery, Troy, N. C. In February, 1900, he married Sallie Millis, daughter of Henry Millis, of High Point. They have one son, Britt Millis Armfield.
Jesse L., youngest son of Wyatt, has been cashier of the Bank of Thomasville since he was seventeen years old. He is also treasurer of the Thomasville Manufacturing Co., and secretary of the Lambeth Furniture Co.
Mary, daughter of Beeson, married I. H. White, and has eight children.
Wyatt J., younger son of Joseph C., died in 1843, a short time before his nephew and namesake, the present Wyatt J., was born. He was about twenty-five years old and unmarried.
Mary, daughter of Joseph C., married John Chipman, and moved to Texas. Betsy married Enoch Stevens; Sallie, Obed Chipman, and Laura, Albert Dillon. These three, with their hus- bands, moved to Missouri many years ago.
Isaac, Jr., fifth son of Isaac the first, lived near the present Vandalia. The following were his children: Martin, Harmon, Mark, Isaac, Jacob, Polly and Jennie. Martin, oldest son of Isaac, Jr., married and had one daughter, Isabella, who died young.
Harmon, second son of Isaac, Jr., married Delitha Wilson, in 1837, and went to Tennessee. They had five children, as fol- lows : Jane, Mary, Andrew, William and Jesse.
Jane married James Lockman; her children are: W. W. Lockman, Bolivar, Tenn .; Mrs. Leona Stewart, Blythesville, Ark .; A. L. Lockman, Janesville, Ala .; Mrs. Cora Milstead and Mrs. Mattie Milstead, of Cranesville, Tenn.
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Mary, second daughter of Harmon, married Dr. William Thompson. and they live with their only daughter, Cora, in Bolivar, Tenn.
Andrew, oldest son of Harmon, was lost in the Civil War.
William, second son of Harmon, died in 1885 at Arkadelphia, Ark., and left two children-James, who lives at Burns, Okla., and Mrs. Cora Hunt, of Little Rock, Ark.
Jesse, third son of Harmon, lives at Ardmore, I. T. His children are: Mrs. Ora Citty, Ozan, Ark .; William, who died in 1900; Annie Lee and Gertrude.
Mark, third son of Isaac, Jr., had one son, William, and three daughters, Mrs. Lucy Cunningim and Misses Fannie and Bettie, who have taught in Greensboro College for years.
Isaac, fourth son of Isaac, Jr., married a Miss Hendrix, and moved to Mt. Airy. He died a few years ago at an advanced age. There are now nearly fifty of his descendants living in and near Mt. Airy. His sons are Monroe, Frank, Martin and Marcus ; his daughters, Annie and Jennie, the latter being dead.
Monroe, son of Isaac, has three children : John B., Fred and Lelia, who married a Cochran. Frank, Isaac's son, has five boys and a daughter, as follows : James, Isaac, Ester, Elma, Cleveland, Roy and Ora. Martin, son of Isaac, married a Mitchell. These are their children: Thomas, Walter, Luther, Charles, Loton, George, Florence, Elizabeth, Jeanette and Alice.
Marcus, son of Isaac, married a Prather. Their children are : Frank, Edward, James, Thomas, Arthur, Maud, Annie, Ethel and Bert. Frank, oldest son of Marcus, lives in Fayetteville, and has two children, Donald and Dennis. Thomas is married and has two children, Ralph and Louise. Maud is also married and has two daughters. Bert married Dr. Duncan.
Nannie, daughter of Isaac, married John Greenwood, and has six children.
Polly, daughter of Isaac, Jr., married Roderick Hendrix, and Jennie married a McClintock. Both went to Tennessee.
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Jacob, youngest son of Isaac the first, son of the original John, never married.
Thomas, fifth and youngest son of the original John, never married. He was always spoken of as "The Bachelor." He was a strong Loyalist during the Revolution, which was quite differ- ent from all his relatives. This fact made it unpleasant for him to remain in this country, so he returned to Pennsylvania soon after the close of the war, and died there.
This ends the history of the original John Armfield and of his posterity to the present time, January, 1902. He was the only one who ever came from England, and so far we have never met nor ever heard of one of this name who could not be traced to this original ancestor.
In apology, we wish to say that we have spared no time or pains in obtaining these facts, and if we have made mistakes or omissions we trust that none will feel slighted or take offense. This has been a much greater task than one would suppose at first thought. These facts were obtained chiefly from G. Will Armfield, who wrote them down about twenty-five years ago at the dictation of his grandfather, Joseph B., and from W. J. Arm- field, who has lived his entire life where his father and grand- father lived, and who heard the story of the family from their lips.
BENBOW.
In 1718 three Benbow brothers came from Wales to America in a sailing vessel. As they had no money they were, according to custom, sold in Philadelphia to the highest bidder for the short- est length of time, to meet the expenses of the passage on the ship. Charles, then fourteen years old, was bid off by a man by the name of Carver, who resided in Pennsylvania. He afterwards came with the family to Bladen County, North Carolina, and later married one of Carver's daughters. His brother Gresham was taken by a New Jersey man. Later, he and his family went to Bush River, South Carolina, and several of the famliy moved to
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Indiana. Gresham and his sons, Powell and Richard, were noted for their fondness for fine horses and racing. During the Revolu- tioary War Mr. Carver and Charles Benbow were engaged in the culture of the indigo plant, and later moved to Guilford County and, being Friends, settled at Centre Meeting House, ten miles south of Greensboro. The third brother was sold, but never has been traced.
The Benbows are a long-lived people. Charles had five daughters and two sons, Thomas being the ancestor of the family now living in Guilford County and several of the Western States.
Thomas married Hannah Stanley, March 24, 1787. They had two daughters and three sons. They settled near the Guilford Battleground and Mr. Benbow owned and operated a tanyard there. He must have owned a blacksmith shop as well, for he made the nails and door-latches for the New Garden Meeting House in 1792.
One of his sons, Charles, married Mary Saunders, and they gave issue to four sons and one daughter, the youngest child being Dr. D. W. C. Benbow, of Grensboro, N. C.
The Benbow family have worked for the industrial and edu- cational development of Guilford County. Dr. D. W. C. Benbow has taken an active part in the erection and maintenance of the first graded school in this County and the State. Mrs. Priscilla Benbow Hackney, for many years matron at Guilford College, has helped numbers of girls and young women toward an education. For a number of years she occupied the responsible position as clerk in the woman's division of the Yearly Meeting of Friends of North Carolina. Mrs. Hackney certainly holds a high place in North Carolina. Her yearly epistles to the women and to the children of Friends are beautiful expressions of Christian love and fellowship.
Dr. Benbow has taken an active interest in the betterment of the road law; he also was interested in the change in the local stock law, which before had required the owners of grain, fruits
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and vegetables to take care of stock. The Benbow Hotel was made a popular resort by his efforts.
GARDNER FAMILY RECORD.
"Richeard Gardner was born in England and removed to Salem in New England at or about 1684; from thence to Nan- tucket. He begot a son Richeard, he begot Solomon, he begot Stephen and a number of sons and daughters. Stephen, the auther of this, was born on Nantucket the 10 mo, II, 1746, and married Abigail Pinkham the II mo, 1766; had one daughter Eunice, who diede yong; Abigail born I mo, 20, 1772. In the II mo, 21, 1772, removed from Nantucket with my wife and child, father and mother, brothers and sister, to Guilford County, in North Caro- lina. Miriam, born 5 mo, 24, 1774; Stephen Gardner, my oldest son, 6 mo, 10, 1776; Shubal, 6 mo, 20, 1778; Eunice, I mo, 4, 1781 ; Roda, 2 mo, 15, 1783; George, 4 mo, 9, 1785; Abel, 8 mo, I, 1788."
MARRIAGES AND BIRTHS.
My daughter Abigail married Zeno Worth-had one son and three daughters. Miriam married Jonathan Gardner-had one son, Stephen. My daughter Eunice married David Worth-had twelve children, nine of which are living at this time, the 10 mo, 23, 1829.
My son, Stephen, married Mary Turner, of New York, and had three sons-John, Franklin and Stephen T .- and four daughters.
My son Stephen died in Louisiana.
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