Sarah Ann Fields is one of the two daughters of the eight children of William (1) and Elizabeth (Lynch) Fields, of Abingdon, Washington County, VA. There has been some confusion about the date of her birth. In the 1850 census she is enumerated as being 30 so would have been born in 1820. That is unlikely, however, since her brother, James, is known to have been born March 17, 1820. In 1870, her age is listed as 53 but some interpret the age on the microfilm as 55. In his will, her brother Jacob, names the other daughter, Elizabeth, as "my second sister". We believe Sarah Ann is the older of the two sisters and that she was probably born around 1816. For this narrative she is being identified as the third child of William (1) and Elizabeth.
There is no record that she ever married. Her siblings were William, Edward, Elizabeth, James, Daniel, Jacob, and David.
In 1850 Sarah Ann was living in Abingdon with her mother, Elizabeth, and brothers, Jacob and David. Her 1860 census enumeration has not been found, but a deed signed 1859 in Abingdon gave her residence as Washington Co VA. In 1870 she was in the household of her brother, Daniel, in Leadvale, Jefferson County, TN.
She was not found in the 1880 or 1900 census and her gravesite was never located in Washington County. For years her fate remained a mystery. Then in 2001 an article from the Feb 26, 1880 Maryville (TN) Weekly was posted online. According to this story, sometime before January 1880, Sarah Ann had returned to Abingdon and was making her home with her brother, James, and his family. On January 31, 1880 Sarah Ann's clothing caught fire from the fireplace in her bedroom. She died from the burns suffered in this tragic accident. Other than the account of her death, no glimpses of her life have survived. |
