Donahue, David. "Tennessee Records Repository - TNGenWeb Project", (www.tngenweb.org/greene, last updated - 01/16/2018.)
Lewis, James A. Neptune's Militia: The Frigate South Carolina during the American Revolution, (Kent, OH: The Kent State University Press, 1999.)
Morris, Easton. The Tennessee Gazetteer, of Topographical Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: W. Hasell Hunt & Co., 1834.)
Owen, Thomas M., compiler. Revolutionary Soldiers in Alabama: Being a List of Names, Compiled From Authentic Sources, of Soldiers of the American Revolution, Who Resided in the State of Alabama, (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1975.)
"Saratoga", John. "Find a Grave Memorial - Capt. John Mayrant (1762-1836)", (www.findagrave.com., entry added - September 9, 2013.)
Pension Application - John Mayrant S32390
Many of the previous posts in this overall blog have had new information concerning their content either added to them or located by the writer of this blog after the initial post was written. Thus, the reason for the posts subsequently titled exactly the same as the preceding ones but, numbered "Pt. II", "Pt. III", and so on. The initial post concerning John Mayrant is entitled "John Mayrant - A Heroic Life of Service: Midshipman with John Paul Jones on the Frigate Bon Homme Richard and Lieutenant with Alexander Gillon on board the Frigate South Carolina - Additional Information Collected and Cited -" and dated "01/01/2016". That post was fairly extensive, addressing his services with Captain John Paul Jones on board the frigate Bon Homme Richard in his famous engagement with the HMS Serapis and his subsequent services with Commodore Alexander Gillon on board the frigate South Carolina as she embarked on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in the late summer of 1781. That specific post ended with the revelation that currently we do not know that final resting place of John Mayrant as he died evidently on a "visit to a friend" and was assumed to have been buried somewhere in Greene County, TN. The writer of this blog lamented the loss of knowledge of the actual burial spot of John Mayrant in that prior post and closed the post on that note. Since then, new information has been discovered and added that further clarifies this subject but, still, unfortunately, does not completely clear it up. But, still, that new information does indeed narrow down the scope of the geographical area for the actual burial spot of John Mayrant.
(Note: Also, since this post specifically addresses the death and burial place of John Mayrant, it should be relatively brief in length. But, those are famously last words of the verbose writer of this blog.)
The source of this new information concerning the latter years of the life of John Mayrant, 3rd Lieutenant on board the frigate South Carolina for her maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, comes from a well-established, pre-existing source of information. This source is the website entitled "Southern Campaigns American Revolution Pension Statements and Rosters". This website contains the pension application of John Mayrant, which is numbered as S32390. The initial letter, "S", indicates that the pension was applied for by a survivor of the American Revolution and received by the man himself while he was yet living. What the writer if this blog was unaware of is that as new information is located concerning an applicant for a pension from the government for his services during the American Revolution, that information is added into his existing pension application as recorded in the website. The writer if this blog had several times previously poured over the pension application of John Mayrant for information but, had never seen the newer footnoted information at the end of the application. This new information can indeed be found here and will be examined in this post.
A few other minor points of fact concerning the post-war life of John Mayrant are also illuminated in these newer pieces of information on included in the "Pension Application of John Mayrant S32390". These are supplemented by "Saratoga's" entry in "Find a Grave Memorial: Capt John Mayrant (1762-1836)". The first piece of information concerns the death of John Mayrant's wife, Isabella Norvell Mayrant, who he had married on November 3, 1783. According to "Saratoga's" entry in "Find a Grave Memorial: Capt John Mayrant (1762-1836), page 1, "...Isabella Norvell [Mayrant ]...died on January 3, 1833, probably in Stateburg, South Carolina.". Just as with John Mayrant, we do not know exactly where his wife, Isabella Norvell Mayrant is buried. But, an affidavit from '...William B. Smith, Judge of the Probate Court of Winston County holden [held] at Louisville in and for the State [Mississippi] and County [Winston] aforesaid..." included in "Saratoga's" entry and added by the same contributor, clearly states in the text of said affidavit that:
"...he [John Mayrant] left no widow his wife Isabella Mayrant having died at her own residence in Sumpter District in the State of South Carolina on the third day of January AD one thousand eight hundred and thirty three...".
More than likely Isabella Norvell Mayrant was buried near "...her own residence..." which was located in Stateburg, South Carolina. Yet, we do not know for sure. So, the mystery remains for now until further research might illuminate this point. Other sources note that at the time of her death, Isabella Norvell Mayrant was seventy years old.
This leads well into the reason for John Mayrant having his pension from South Carolina to Alabama. In the earlier post on "01/01/2016", the writer of this blog postulated that the possible reason for this move was to be nearer family members after the loss of his wife. Owen's work, Revolutionary Soldiers in Alabama, pages 83-84 state:
"John Mayrant - lieutenant in the navy, particular service not shown; annual allowance, $360; to be paid from September, 1835; transferred from South Carolina.
Pension Book
State Branch Bank
Mobile [AL]."
A new entry in the footnotes to the "Pension Application of John Mayrant S32390", succinctly indicates the true reason for John Mayrant's removing from South Carolina to Alabama. This note is as follows:
"The file contains an application dated June 11, 1836 for a transfer to Alabama of the pension of John Mayrant, who had moved to Washington County "...in order to be more comfortably situated with his son...", John Mayrant, Jr. A certificate added to the application refers to Major John Mayrant.".
(Note: The writer of this blog has encountered a reference on "Find a Grave Memorial" that indicates that John Mayrant, Jr. was born at some point in 1785. At the time that John Mayrant, Sr. moved to be near him or actually moved in with him in Washington County, AL in 1836, John Mayrant, Jr. must have been 50-51 years old. Former Lieutenant of the frigate South Carolina John Mayrant, Sr. would have been 73-74 years old at the time that he removed to Alabama from South Carolina. "Dr." James Norvell Mayrant is recorded in "Find a Grave Memorial" as being born in 1790. John Mayrant, Jr. died on June 25, 1848 at the age of 62-63 years old and is buried next to his wife, Maria Penelope Rees Mayrant, in Greenwood Cemetery, Jackson, Hinds County, MS. Yet, "Dr." James Norvell Mayrant is recorded as having died in Choctaw County, AL in November 1858 at the age of 67-68 years old and his burial site is disputed. He is cited as being buried in an "unknown burial site" or as being buried in Grand Gulf Cemetery in Grand Gulf, Claiborne County, MS next to his wife, Mary Elizabeth Potts Mayrant, who is also interred there. Yet, a search of "Grand Gulf Cemetery" on "Find a Grave Memorial" finds no James Norvell Mayrant buried in Grand Gulf Cemetery in Grand Gulf, MS at all, even though Mary Elizabeth Potts Mayrant's grave, which is definitely located there, has the inscription that she was the "...consort of Dr. James N. Mayrant..." included in the epitaph on her tombstone.)
(Note: There is practically no reasonable manner in which to even guess where in Washington County, AL John Mayrant, Jr. was living when his father - John Mayrant, Sr. - moved to be near him or moved in with him. Today, Washington County, AL is due north of Mobile, AL and was formed from the Tombigbee District of the Mississippi Territory on June 3, 1800. The first territorial capital of Alabama was St. Stephens, which was located within Washington County, AL, about 67 miles directly north of Mobile, AL. "Old" St. Stephens served as the territorial capital of Alabama from 1817 to 1819 and, due to latter industrial developments , such as shallow-draft steamboats, became a veritable ghost town by 1833, with the majority of the population relocating to "New" Saint Stephens about two miles away. Wakefield, AL was the county seat from 1805 to 1807 but, is now also a ghost town. But, John Mayrant, Jr.'s home may have been outside of these towns or he may have been a resident of one of these established communities. John Mayrant's pension application and the other documents at the disposal of the writer of this blog are silent on this issue.)
This brings the readership to the actual events leading up to the death of John Mayrant, Sr. and the loss of the knowledge of his burial spot. The following information was not introduced in the earlier post on John Mayrant, Sr. because it had not been posted yet on the website "Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution Pension Applications and Rosters". This new information is introduced as a foot note in the form of a contemporary document at the end of "Pension Application of John Mayrant S32390". This document is cited as follows:
"State of Mississippi
County of Winston
I, William B. Smith, Judge of the Probate Court of Winston County holden [held} at Louisville in and for the State and County aforesaid do hereby certify that satisfactory evidence has been exhibited to said court that John Mayrant, Sr. was a pensioner of the United States at the rate of three hundred and sixty dollars a year was a resident of Sumpter District in the state of South Carolina and died at Siloa the house of Col. Alfred Russell near the warm springs in Green[e] County in the State of Tennessee on the first day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six that he left no widow his wife Isabella Mayrant having died at her own residence in Sumpter District in the State of South Carolina on the third day of January AD one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three that he left two children whose names are John Mayrant, Jr. of Hinds County and James N. Mayrant of Winston County in the State of Mississippi and that they are the only lawful heirs and distributors of the said John Mayrant, Sr.
In testimony where of I have
William B. Smith
Judge of Probate Court"
This would appear to be a typical official document, signed by a judge, that duly notes and notarizes certain events having taken place in the life of an individual, that individual being John Mayrant, Sr. John Mayrant, Sr. is cited as being "...a pensioner of the United States..." at a certain monthly amount. He was a resident of "...Sumpter District in the state of South Carolina..." as was his wife, Isabella Mayrant. But, she was deceased by the time of the document being drawn up, making John Mayrant, Sr. a widower at the time of his death in 1836.
Yet, the intention of this court document becomes quite clear towards the end. This document takes the place of an official death certificate in that it was issued by a judge, "...William B.Smith, Judge of the Probate Court of Winston County [the State of Mississippi]...". It is founded on the evidence provided by two of John Mayrant, Sr.'s biological children, "....whose names are John Mayrant, Jr. of Hinds County and James N. Mayrant of Winston County in the State of Mississippi...". But, it is the final phrase of this brief official document that indicates the true intention of the document. It openly states and testifies that these two aforementioned children, "...John Mayrant, Jr. of Hinds County and James N. Mayrant of Winston County in the State of Mississippi...", are "...the only lawful heirs and distributors of the said John Mayrant, Sr....".
But, the passage of import to this specific post is the brief recitation of the details concerning the death of John Mayrant, Sr. To recap, these details are as follows:
"...[He, John Mayrant, Sr.] died at Siloa the house of Col. Alfred Russell near the warm springs in Green[e] County in the State of Tennessee on the first day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six...".
This brief statement does confirm that when John Mayrant, Sr. died on August 1, 1836, he was within the boundaries of Greene County, Tennessee but, some other details are also given in this account. The first of these details is that that John Mayrant, Sr. "...died at Siloa...". A search for a town of Siloa (or Siloam) in Greene County, Tennessee returns nothing at all. But, there was a post office known as Siloa located in Greene County, Tennessee. Morris's work, The Tennessee Gazetteer, or Topographical Dictionary, confirms that Siloa is a post office in Green[e] County, Tennessee. The brief citation in Donahue's entry in "Tennessee Records Repository - TNGenWeb Project" gives further detail in noting that Siloa post office opened on February 14, 1832 and closed on June 5, 1834, having been in operation as a post office for a little over two years. Yet, no reference as to the exact location of this post office can be found in any of the sources currently available to the writer of this blog.
The second detail states that John Mayrant, Sr. died at [in] the house [home] of "...Col. Alfred Russell...". This is a highly specific statement by its very nature except for the fact that very little evidence of a Colonel Alfred Russell living in Greene County, Tennessee can be located. There is a reference to an Alfred Russell being an attorney of some note in Greene County but, no further clarification that this is indeed the Alfred Russell who was associated with John Mayrant, Sr. There is another reference in 1841 to an Alfred Russell being appointed a guardian for the five children of a Peter Bowers who had died. Yet, again, there is no indication that this is the same man who was associated with John Mayrant, Sr. It can be somewhat assumed that since there are very few further references to other Russell's in Greene County, Tennessee, that this may well be the individual in question here. Due to his prominence within the community, he may well have had the moniker of "Colonel" bestowed upon him as a badge of honor. Yet, again, there is no reference to the location of the house of Col. Alfred Russell, except that he was a resident of Greene County, Tennessee.
The third detail concerns the specific geographical reference to "...the warm springs in Green[e] County in the State of Tennessee...". According to the official statement included in the footnotes of the "Pension Application of John Mayrant S32390", a geographical reference is made to "...the warm springs..." which were supposedly located close by "...the house of Col. Alfred Russell...in Green[e] County in the State of Tennessee...". There are numerous springs of different chemical compositions and types of waters in Greene County, Tennessee but, none that the writer of this blog has been able to find that are cited as being "...a warm spring...". Again, this is highly specific information that should easily narrow down the place of death and, thus possibly, the burial place of John Mayrant, Sr. Yet, no warm spring has been identified anywhere in Greene County, Tennessee to the satisfaction of the writer of this blog up to this point in time.
(Note: an unusual footnote is added at this point in this specific post mostly due primarily to its unusual nature. According to the "Pension Application of John Mayrant S32390" in a footnote added after the above referenced official document concerning the death of John Mayrant, Sr., there is a rather brief entry. This footnote is as follows and is cited in full here:
"The file contains a letter to the Secretary of War from James N. Mayrant of Louisville MS dated June 12, 1845 stating that before leaving for Tennessee his father, John Mayrant, told him that 12 months of pension was still due to him. The file also contains a power of attorney dated October 17, 1845 by John Mayrant of Hinds County, MS to obtain any pension due his deceased father.".
The writer of this blog does not like to include queries among these writings but, this instance does seem to necessitate one: Might John Mayrant, Sr. have had a premonition that he might not return from this sojourn to Tennessee to visit with a friend? Or was this a time-honored and necessary precaution he simply took due to his advanced age and the arduous journey he had in front of him? After all, John Mayrant, Sr. was seventy-four years old at this point in his earthly life and he had buried his wife three years earlier in South Carolina. These types of situations needed to be addressed, in particular, to his next-of-kin and the individuals who had power of attorney over his existing estate in case of his "untimely and unexpected demise". Still, it makes one wonder...)
To sum it all up, we are no closer to locating the grave of John Mayrant, Sr. than when the writer of this blog began either of these two specific posts on the life of John Mayrant, Sr. Granted there are vital details added to the story of the end of John Mayrant' Sr.'s life, yet nothing absolutely conclusive in nature. So much detail is packed into that brief sentence documenting the death of John Mayrant, Sr. It is documented that he died in the vicinity of the post office of Siloa in the home of Col. Alfred Russell which was situated near the warm springs of Greene County, Tennessee. This should be highly conclusive evidence, yet so much has been lost with the passage of time. The post office of Siloa was only open for two years, between 1832 and 1834. As a matter of fact, John Mayrant, Sr.'s death (August 1, 1836) took place over two years after the closing of this specific post office (June 5, 1834). It appears that the geographical location of this specific post office has been also lost to the passage of time. It is completely feasible that the post office "...at Siloa..." operated out of the house of Col. Alfred Russell, possibly due to the ruggedness and remoteness of this area in the 1830s. Yet, it would seem also that the particular location of the house of Col. Alfred Russell has been lost or forgotten. And, finally, there is the location of the elusive "...warm springs..." of Greene County, Tennessee which were another geographical reference point, once probably known to local inhabitants of Greene County but, sadly, also lost now to memory. But, even if all this information could be found out, if John Mayrant, Sr. lies in an unmarked grave in a forgotten cemetery in Greene County, Tennessee, then we are no closer to finding his final resting place. We would know more about the general vicinity in which he was buried than we knew previously but, still not be certain for sure where he was actually interred.
(Personal Note: In the clear, cool early morning of July 12, 2018, the writer of this blog walked into Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson, Mississippi. Greenwood Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Jackson, Mississippi and is located just north of the downtown area of this vibrant southern city. The cemetery contains the mortal remains of numerous Confederate generals, Mississippi governors, and other Mississippi notables and is, in fact, a still active cemetery. Yet, the writer of this blog politely and reverently overlooked these other interred southern dignitaries and searched the large cemetery for a considerable amount of time. The writer of this blog is not a total stranger to old cemeteries and eventually found what he was seeking. Under a huge crepe myrtle tree along the central western perimeter of the cemetery, the writer of this blog found what he was seeking - the grave of John Mayrant, Jr. - oldest son of John Mayrant, Sr. and executor of his will. His grave is marked with about an eight-foot obelisk and closely interred nearby, less than three feet away, is the slightly shorter obelisk marking his wife's grave - that of Maria Penelope Rees Mayrant. Hopefully, further and continued research will find the grave site of his father - John Mayrant, Sr., Lieutenant on board the frigate South Carolina.)