Notes for Marcus Brittain




			The Ancestors of D O N N A J O Y J O H N S O N of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

Notes for Marcus Brittain

Marcus Brittain was a sheriff in Burke County, North Carolina, and served
as a state Senator. He was also a farmer.

On 22 January 1822, an agent of the American Bible Society, a national
organization to distribute Bibles, met with a group of Burke county
residents who had been doing similar work since 1813. Officers were
elected, and Marcus Brittain was elected as one of many managers.
[Edward William Phifer, Jr., Burke The History of a North Carolina
County, 1777 - 1920 With a Glimpse Beyond, (Morganton, NC: privately
published by Edward William Phifer, Jr., 1977), 117.]

In 1810, Mark Brittain was a district captain in the Burke County Militia
regiment that held musters at Morganton. There were three regiments in
Burke County. [Edward William Phifer, Jr., Burke The History of a North
Carolina County, 1777 - 1920 With a Glimpse Beyond, (Morganton, NC:
privately published by Edward William Phifer, Jr., 1977), 278.]

"Mark Brittain died intestate. Court records for Spring 1859, Burke
County, NC Court of Equity:
"Mark Brittain, late, of said county died intestate, and his heirs were:
Susan Poteet, deceased; Jemima Quiett, wife of James Quiett, deceased;
Barbara Williams, wife of William Williams; Polly Mull, wife of Ashby
Mull; Sarah Mull, wife of Henry Mull; James Brittain; and the children of
Henry Brittain, deceased [Marcus Brittain, William J. Brittain, and Eliza
Duckworth, the wife of John Duckworth.] He was married to Barbara Mull
about 1797." (Derick Hartshorn, informant)

The following article on Mark Brittain was written by Col. Thomas George
Walton in his book "Sketches of the Pioneers in Burke County History", a
collection of his reminiscences and sketches that appeared in the
Morganton Herald.

Mark Brittain

Mark Brittain, and (sic) old citizen, and for many years sheriff of
the county, was elected to the State Senate in 1831 and 1833. A man of
respectable character, esteemed by the people and loved by his neighbors,
in some respects he was peculiar. His address and manner showed he had a
good measure of self-esteem. I know several anecdotes concerning him,
some of them not being proper for "ears polite" of course I must omit.
His manner and conversation attracted attention in the Legislature.
There was an occurrence in which he and the celebrated wit, Jack Stanly,
took a part, that convulsed the members of the Senate, that comes under
the prohibited head aforesaid. Being on another occasion asked what
county he represented, he replied: "I am the pivot on which the county of
Burke revolves." He carried a large hickory cane in honor of "Old
Hickory," having been his enthusiastic supporter in 1828. The cane was
mounted on a silver head on which was engraved his initials "M. B." On
being asked by some member of the Legislature what the initials stood
for, he replied "Mountain Boomer, sir."
In 1834, being a candidate for the Senate, he had changed his
politics, and was no ardent friend of Mr. Clay. At a gathering of the
people to hear the candidates for Congress and State Legislature speak in
an orchard in the rear of an old house of Mr. W. Mull, Uncle Mark
denounced the Democratic party. W. L. Tate, a son of Mr. Wm. Tate of
Hickory Grove, rose to his feet and charged him with being a "turncoat."
Unabashed, he cooly replied: "Why, Jefferson, my son. Don't you know:
'While the lamp holds out to burn; the vilest sinner may return.' "
Uncle Mark was elected, laid aside the hickory stick, and named his fine
clay-bank horse "Henry Clay." His son, Sheriff Joseph Brittain in many
ways - popularity, fidelity, manner and honesty in all his dealings,
whatever with men or in discharge of the duties of his office as sheriff
- was like his ancestor." [Col. Thomas George Walton, Sketches of the
Pioneers of Burke County History, Easley, South Carolina: Southern
Historical Press, Inc., 1984, 59-60. The book was reprinted from a copy
furnished by the genealogy section of the North Carolina State Library in
Raleigh, North Carolina.]

| HOME | EMAIL | SURNAMES |

If you have additional information or can make corrections
to existing information, please contact me