The Writings of Robert B. McAfee
Transcriber's Notes:
Robert Breckinridge McAfee was perhaps the most accomplished member of
the McAfee family, with a long military and political career. He was born
Feb. 18, 1784 on the banks of the Salt River in Mercer Co., Kentucky, the
second-youngest child of Robert and Anne (McCoun) McAfee. He was orphaned
at the age of eleven, his mother dying in 1794, and his father murdered
a year later in New Orleans, LA. His older brother, Samuel (my 4th-great-grandfather)
raised Robert and two other minor siblings. During the War of 1812, Robert
commanded several troops from Mercer Co., including one raised in response
to General Andrew Jackson's orders prior to the Battle of New Orleans.
Following the War, Robert settled in Harrodsburg with his family, and entered
politics, first as a state legislator and later as lieutenant-governor
of Kentucky during the administration of Gov. Desha. In 1833, President
Andrew Jackson appointed Robert B. McAfee chargé d'affaires of the
United States to the Republic of New Granada. This appointment was most
likely in appreciation of McAfee's support of Jackson during the War of
1812. He died at his home on the Salt River on March 12, 1849, and is buried
in the New Providence Presbyterian Church Cemetery, which was founded by
many of his relations nearly 50 years before. I have more information on
Robert's ancestors and descendants at: http://www.drizzle.com/~jtenlen/Register/RR_TOC.HTML.
Robert B. McAfee was, among other things, a prolific writer. He
kept a detailed journal of his service during the War of 1812, and later
published a detailed history of the war. He also wrote a history of his
family, and of the establishment of the New Providence Presbyterian Church.
I decided to transcribe three of his works in the hopes that it will aid
other McAfee researchers in learning more about this branch of the family.
I have transcribed "Life and Times. . . " and "Book and Journal . . .",
while Peter McAfee transcribed the History of New Providence. Peter Kuhn provided the transcription of Robert B. McAfee's Last Will and Testament. McAfee's
use of punctuation, capitalization and spelling is at times random. Some
passages are especially difficult to follow due to a lack of, or overabundance
of commas. We have made all attempts to faithfully and accurately transcribe
the material, including punctuation. Obvious errors in the text are indicated
with a [sic]. To enable readers to access the material easily, each work
was divided into parts (which were not part of McAfee's original documents).
I welcome your comments, questions or suggestions. Please email
me at: jtenlen@drizzle.com. I
hope you find these transcriptions helpful!
The Writings of Robert B. McAfee:
"The Life
and Times of Robert B. McAfee and His Family and Connections."
"The
History of the Rise and Progress of the First Settlement on Salt River
and Establishment of the New Providence Church." .-- Transcribed and
contributed by Pete McAfee.
"Book
and Journal of Robert B. McAfee's Mounted Company, in Col. Richard M. Johnson's
Regiment, from May 19th, 1813, Including Orders, &cc."
"Last Will and
Testament of Robert B. McAfee"
All of these pages are searchable. Simply type in the term you wish to locate in the box below.
Simple Search created by Matt Wright and can be found at Matt's Script Archive.
Go to My
McAfee Page.
Updated June 2, 2000. This transcription is copyrighted by Jenny
Tenlen. It may be freely used for non-commercial purposes and family
research, but must not be used for any other purpose without written permission
from the transcriber.