A Short History of the Manifold Family in East Tennessee by Jesse Benjamin Manifold
Excerpted from Story of Benjamin and Annabel Manifold and Their Environments and Descendants, privately published in 1953 by Jesse Benjamin Manifold (pictured at right), of Greenacres, Washington.  A copy of this 70-page book is in the McClung Historical Collection, Knoxville, TN.  The Manifold Station monument described in this essay is located at the intersection of Deaton Hollow Road and Kodak Road in extreme east Knox County.  In 2001, Patricia Hancock Maples <faith81760@aol.com> was working on a book about the family.

Benjamin, Jr., son of Benjamin and Annabel Manifold, was born about 1748.  He married Mary daughter of George and Rachel (Cowgill) Payne, in 1777.  They lived in Hopewell township, York Co., Pa. until 1796 when they sold their farm to Pat. Purdy and started for Tenn.  They probably stopped for the winter at George Payne's in Berkeley Co., Va. and went on in the Spring of 1797.  There they lived until Benjamin was killed by whirling machinery in his grist mill Sept. 23,1820.  The wife and children remained there a few years longer when the mother died about 1826 and most of the children moved West.  The following quotation tells the story:

PIONEER'S DESCENDANT RETURNS TO ERECT MARKER AT MILL SITE
from the Knoxville (TN) Journal, Feb. 15 , 1951

J. B. Manifold of Greenacres, Wash. has returned to Knox County to have erected at Stony Point a marker at a historical mill site and trading post operated by his great-great-grandfather, Benjamin Manifold, Jr.  The dedicatory exercises will be held Sunday at 2:30 p.m.  The monument and records will be presented to the historical society.  Manifold will deliver the dedicatory address and recite interesting historical facts.

Benjamin Manifold came to Knox County in 1797 and established a mill and trading post.  The cape of his coat was caught in machinery and caused him to receive fatal injuries Sept. 23, 1820.  J. B. Manifold is the only descendant by the name of Manifold known to have been in Knox County in 120 years.  The boys in the family left here and located in Illinois and Indiana soon after their father's death.

The monument was made and dedicated on that Sunday afternoon.  It was made of concrete and faced with a marble slab from a local quarry. Mr. and Mrs. Dillon West furnished the cement, sand, and gravel, and the author did the work.  If ever a work was one of love that was a true example.  The slab and lettering was paid for, in part, by contributions from descendants.  The author paid the rest.

The address contained considerable history so it is reproduced here:

Ladies and gentlemen and especially cousins:

You may wonder why I am making this talk.  It happened this way.  It seemed appropriate for one by the name Manifold to do it, and, as I am the only one by the name known to have been in Knox County in the last 120 years, it just had to be me.  I will not try to make a fine speech.  I couldn't if I wouldn't and I wouldn't if I could.  I prefer to give the historical background of this occasion.

Let us go back a generation or two beyond this Benjamin and Mary for a start.  Benjamin Manifold, Sr., and Annabel Danger were married in St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Chester, Pa., Nov. 10, 1730.  They lived in Chester Co., Pa., until about 1752 when they moved to York Co., Pa., where Benjamin died in 1754, and Annabel lived several years thereafter.  They had seven children:  in order William, Edward, Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, Benjamin and John; Benjamin, Jr., being born in 1748.

As to Mary's background, Josiah Payne and Martha Sheppard were married about 1715.  A son, George, was born to them Oct. 21, 1728.  This George married Rachel, daughter of Henry Cowgill, on Mar. 26, 1752, and to them was born a daughter, Mary, Nov. 6, 1758.  In 1777, Benjamin Manifold, Jr., and Mary Payne were married and settled in Hopewell Twp., York Co., Pa., where, in 1798, they had 400 acres of land and seven children.  Apparently, Benjamin, Jr., unlike his brothers and sisters, was of a roving disposition for, in 1796, he sold his well-developed lands and, on Sept.16th of that year, loaded his necessary goods and nine children (necessary or not) into his wagon and sought other pastures.

I imagine they spent the winter with Mary's parents in Berkeley Co., Va., and came on to this place the next Spring.  When they arrived at this point, and, I presume, had this creek to ford, I can imagine Benjamin saying something like this:  "Mary, we have had a long, hard journey.  Our horses' feet are sore.  The children are tired and so are we.  Let us stop here.  On yonder hill, we can build our house out of the way of the flooding French Broad.  On the fertile bottom lands, we can raise wheat and corn after its spring waters have receded.  On this creek, I can build a dam, and its waters will turn a wheel and stones to grind the wheat and corn we raise.  We will keep articles for sale to the settlers moving West.  The place will be a haven of safety and rest for the weary travelers like us."

Mary agreed, and Benjamin's dream came true.  He did build a house on yonder hillside.  He did raise wheat and corn on the fertile French Broad bottoms.  How do I know?  I have a letter written by him in Jan., 1799, in which he says:  "There was a purchase of land from the Indians last Fall and land is cheap.  It rates from one dollar to four.  I cannot complain of this place as yet.  It is good for spring crop, and fall crop hath done well with me as yet."

He did build a mill, grind wheat and corn, and keep articles for sale as evidenced by the old millbook still in existence.  The place did become a haven of refuge, as evidenced by on account in history that the settlers for miles around gathered at Manifold Station for protection against the Indians.  It was an important stopping-place for the weary traveler.  Here he could buy wheat or corn already ground and the salt to season it, and [he] could help himself to all the water he wanted from this creek to mix it into dough.  He could even gather wood nearby to bake it into bread, and he was safe lest the Indians see the smoke and come on with the arrow or tomahawk.  What more could one went?

This station was operated until Sept. 23, 1820, when Benjamin attending his mill and wearing an over coat with cape attached, the cape caught in the machinery, and he was whirled to his death. He was buried on a nearby hillside, and his gravestone is in the base of this monument.  After the father's death and that of the mother, most of the children, inheriting the pioneer spirit of their father, emigrated to newer lands.  The record follows:

• George was taxed on 1250 acres in Knox County in 1808.  He was overseer of the road from Flint Gap to Sevier County line in 1805.  He married Mary Pursley and had moved to Rhone [sic] [Roane] Co., Tenn., in 1820.  From there, he moved to Hancock Co., Ill., in 1834 and died there in 1836.
• William, my great-grandfather, married his cousin, Elizabeth Payne, in Washington Co., Tenn., but lived in Knox Co. in 1820 and emigrated to Wayne Co., Ind., soon thereafter.
• Elizabeth married John Underwood and remained in Knox and/or Sevier Co., Tenn.
• Joseph married Susannah Butler and went to Wayne Co., Ind.
• Alice married Aaron Bales, and they went to Wayne Co., Ind.
• Hannah married James McCarty and remained in this vicinity.
• Benjamin, III, joined Capt. James Thorps' Company of Col. Edwin Booth's Regt. of E. Tenn. militia in the war of 1812 and died in the
  service Feb. 23, 1815. His father administered his estate, which consisted of a horse, saddle and bridle, and some military clothing among which was a high plume worn on the hat.
• Henry married Rebecca Scott and went to Madison Co., Ind.
• Mary (Polly) married David Kerr, and they went to Wayne Co., Ind.
• Martha married Thos. H. Bryan and moved away; place unknown.
• Sarah (Sally) married Thomas Scott, and they moved to Madison Co., Ind.
• Rachel married George Richard.  Where they went is unknown.  Tradition has it that she was drowned while riding a horse near this place.

In all, there were 12 children and about 70 grandchildren.  Benjamin and Mary Manifold settled here when the stream of westward emigration was at its flood and remained until it began to ebb.  They were plain people, as this plain monument so truly represents.  They were of the "salt of the earth."  They were loyal to their country.  Benjamin, Jr., was a member of the York Co., Pa., militia during the American Revolution.  Their descendants have fought in every war since, and many have made the supreme sacrifice.  Certainly it is fitting and proper for us, their descendants, to pay this small homage to their memory.

Thus, on behalf of the 2,000 or more of these descendants, I dedicate this monument and present it to the East Tennessee Historical Society in the hope they will preserve it so long as the society exists.

Below is a picture of the author and monument taken on the day of the dedication. [not scanned]

Because of lack of space [in the book], two old tax receipts are stripped along side and an old letter reproduced on the following page [of the book] without comment.  Benjamin had 1,000 acres of land, a grist mill, articles for sale, and considerable personal property, so his tax doesn't appear excessive.

Benjamin Manifold, Jr., died intestate.  His son, Henry, was appointed administrator.  The final settlement was made at the July session of Knox Co, Tenn., court in 1824.  Of interest is a decree of the court at the April session, 1821, which is as follows:

The commissioners appointed to allot and set apart of the estate of Benjamin Manifold, deceased, one year's allowance to the widow and family, report an allowance as follows, to wit:
We the undersigned being appointed by the court of Knox Co., after being sworn, have provided to be set apart for the support of Mary Manifold, widow of Benjamin Manifold, dead, and her family for one year, which consists of herself and three children, the following stock of groceries, that is to say lay by two hundred bushels of good corn, twenty bushels of wheat, one thousand one hundredweight of pork, three bushels of potatoes, fifteen dollars worth of coffee and sugar, eight dollars worth of leather for shoes and the whole of the flax and cotton. January 16th 1821
Wm Cunningham (seal) B. McNutt (seal)

Also of interest is the record of the sale of the personal property made necessary to settle the estate.  This seemed to be largely a matter of form, as most of the property was bought by the family, and there was probably not much competition.  The list is long, so only a few sales will be here mentioned.

It is interesting to compare articles and values with those in the inventory of Benjamin, Sr.'s, estate.  Here are a few items, the buyers, and the value:

All of the children or their spouses are here accounted for except Benjamin, III, deceased, and George, who was in Rhone [sic] [Roane] Co. Tenn. A deed to James McCarty is also on record in the Knox Co. courthouse; [it] accounts for all the children.

The descendants of Benjamin, Jr., and Mary now follows.  It is very extended and has caused the author much effort.  He hopes the readers will appreciate the effort.  [For that information, you must read the book!]

This page was last updated January 3, 2004 .
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