ISAAC PRESTON "IKE" BRUMFIELD
BORN 15 MAR 1843, DIED 26 OCT 1921
MARRIED GEORGEANN MCCLENDON 11 OCT 1871 b. 18 OCT 1853 d. 6 May 1931
CHILDREN 1) Mattie Estelle Brumfield b. 17 SEP 1872, d. 14 JUL 1902 2) William Preston Brumfield b. 27 APR 1874, d. APR 1950 3) Fred Lafayette Brumfield b. 1 JAN 1876, d. 1 AUG 1966 4) Minnie Louiza Brumfield b. 26 JUL 1878 5) Dudley Lawrence Brumfield b. 20 NOV 1881, d. 21 DEC 1971 6) Florence Cuturah "Kitty" Brumfield b. 5 NOV 1883, d. 16 NOV 1971
BACKGROUND (extracted from BRUMFIELD HISTORIES by Albert Ray Brumfield and Dell Magee Clawson) Ike had no taste for the Civil War and according to family tradition, evaded military service. Once when a patrol was sent to bring him in, he hid in a dry pigpen a short distance from the house. The patrol on horseback rode by without seeing him. There is listed I.P. Brumfield on the Civil War portion of the monument at the Franklinton, Louisiana courthouse. This may be an error, another person, or perhaps he actually served an enlistment before hiding out.
Ike was an outdoorsman and a crack shot. He preferred to hunt, rather than the hard and confining life of cultivating crops. Ike killed some 200 deer and numerous turkeys in his lifetime. The table was always provided with wild game.
GeorgeAnn was a small person, weighing approximately 110 lbs. She smoked a corncob pipe. GeorgeAnn's McClendon and Simmons ancestry is traced in "The Silver Creek Simmons Family".
GeorgeAnn lost both of her parents in 1862 while she was only 8 years old. Even though she had a grown brother and sisters, and relatives, this was during the Civil War and we can only assume she had a difficult time. From accounts, she was a very practical person, showing intense purpose in everything she did. As a midwife, she delivered about 2,000 babies in her lifetime, with only 3 or 4 deaths. She examined mothers-to-be, and when problems were likely, she would insist that the patient go to a doctor and better facilities. She worked with doctors, assisting, and asked opinions and explanations for future cases. She served black and white alike. She earned much of the cash money and trade that the family received. GeorgeAnn's recognition of the value of education and her interest in medicine obviously influenced her grandchildren. Five grandsons became Pharmacists, three granddaughters became nurses, and a grandson did some veterinary work as part of his Vocational-Agricultural teaching.
In their first 12 years or so of marriage, Ike and GeorgeAnn lived near Progress, or Simmonsville, Mississippi where they were harassed by a neighboring clan. What their resentment was is not known. The harassment included riding horseback through the place during fox hunts. They would ride through the crops, leave gates open, knock bee hives over, and cause a general nuisance. Once when most of the family was away from home, eleven year old Fred was left to guard the place. The tormentors came through on a raid, shot and killed one of their own, mistaking him for one of the Brumfield boys. They charged Fred Brumfield with murder but whispered the truth among their kin. The Grand Jury did not accept the charges, which intensified their dislike for the Brumfields.
Ike decided to avoid a shooting feud in which both sides would lose. Ike moved his family into Marion County near Dexter, Mississippi which solved the problem.