The Writings of Robert B. McAfee

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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://jtenlen.drizzlehosting.com/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. I hope you find these transcriptions helpful!