Mary Laffoon

1749 - 1846  (97 years)

• Name	Mary Laffoon
  Birth	1749	VA   [1]
  Gender	Female
  Death	13 Feb 1846	Pickens Co, SC   [1]
  Findagrave.com	02 Feb 2020
  	See Notes
  Burial	Pumpkintown, Picken, SC   [1]
  	Oolenoy Bapt Church
  Person ID	I1542	Butler Family Tree
  Last Modified	6 Jun 2026

  
  

  Father	Matthew Laffoon, Sr,   b. Between 1727 and 1728, VA d. Between 25 Mar and 27 Apr 1789, Brunswick Co, VA
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Mary ???,   b. Between 1730 and 1735, Lunenburg Co, VA d. 30 Dec 1807, Lunenburg Co, VA (Age 77 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage	1749	VA
  Family ID	F436	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Cornelius Keith-xx, II,   b. Nov 1743, Brunswick Co, VA d. 13 Jun 1820, Pickens Co, SC (Age 76 years)
  Marriage	1770	NC
  Notes	Children: son John Marshall Keith 1771 - 1853 - married Jane Mackey son George Keith 1772 - 1840 - married Margaret Mackey son James Matthew Keith 1776 - 1871 - married Elizabeth Sutherland son Ethan Allen Keith 1780 - 1861 - married Rebecca Douthit son Cornelius Keith 1786 - 1847 - married Nancy Allen son Hugh M Keith 1790 - 1806 son William Lafoone Keith 1791 - 1856 - married Elizabeth Brown Reid dau Sarah Elizabeth Keith 1793 - 1871 - married ??? Sutherland dau Edith Catherine "Eady" Keith 1796 - 1874 - married Alfred Hester
  Family ID	F875	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	6 Jun 2026

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 1749 - VA Marriage - 1770 - NC Death - 13 Feb 1846 - Pickens Co, SC Burial - - Pumpkintown, Picken, SC  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos		Keith-Mary-(Laffoon)-1
  		Keith-Mary-(Laffoon)-2

  
  

• Notes

  - ** See marriage notes for list of children ** - ** See Cornelius Keith's notes ** - ** See Cornelius Keith II article in Misc-Docs-Pics/Laffoon ** --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- found at findagrave.com on 2/2/2020 Mary Lafoon Keith Birth: 1749 North Carolina, USA **?? NC - not VA? Death: 13 Feb 1846 (aged 96–97) Pumpkintown, Pickens County, South Carolina, USA Burial: Oolenoy Baptist Church Cemetery, Pumpkintown, Pickens County, South Carolina, USA Memorial #: 113259094 Bio: Notes for MARY LAFOON:Mary Lafoon was the daughter of Matthew Laffoon, Sr. & Mary Laffoon SOURCE: Lafoon Homepage, Contact: Charles Edwin Lafoon 2/10/2004**"During the Revolution, Mary Lafoon Keith was many times a heroine. One time, seeing the enemy approaching, and knowing that the Americans were encamped within several miles, rode to warn them. During the ride her cape slipped from her shoulders. It was recaptured in the ensuing battle and returned to her. Pieces of it are still preserved by her descendants.From her comes the assertion that Cornelius's brother was James, grandfather of Chief Justice Marshall. The inference is strong, as it is her claim and when Cornelius removed to South Carolina, his brother James, a minister, paid him a visit.She died 1846, at the age of ninety-seven.Cornelius served as Colonel in the South Carolina Artillery. His home was burned and all he owned destroyed, while his wife and children and a few slaves fled to a rock cavern where they lived on roots and berries for a week until aid reached them. "SOURCE: Of Keith & Kin, by Marion Frerman Henderson, 1988, Pub. Marion Frerman Henderson, 5415 Wedgewood Dr., Charlotte, NC 28210, book located Easley Library, SC Room, Easley, SC 10/10/2003 Mary Lafoone Keith (1749-1846), was the wife of Colonel Cornelius Keith Senior, inscribed, "Sacred to her memory" and a Tabletop tomb marks her grave. Mary married Colonel Keith who was in the Revolutionary War. She was many times a heroine during the war. If she heard the British were approaching, she would ride even great distances to warn the Americans. One when she was on this kind of mission, some Indians who were loyal to the British, burned her hut. A slave escaped with her children and hid in a cave by the Oolenoy River. They lived on berries, grapes and herbs until their mother returned and rescued them. The cave became known as the Mary Lafoone cave. The cave is located across the river from Miracle Hill Children's Home, a short distance away from the church. SOURCE: United States Department of the Interior National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet, Section #7, Page 14. Oolenoy Baptist Church Cemetery, Pickens County, South Carolina.** from the telling and retelling of stories regarding Mary Lafoone Keith, it is very possible that her "spying" was not during the Revolutionary War, but the War of 1812. from: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/c/o/p/Mary-K-Copeland/GENE2-0002.html Gravesite Details SOMEONE DELIBERATELY DELETED SEVERAL MEMORIALS AND I ADDED THEM BACK. Family Members Spouse Cornelius Keith 1743-1820 Children John Marshall Keith 1771-1853 George Keith 1772-1840 James Matthew Keith 1776-1871 Allen Keith 1780-1861 Cornelius Keith 1786-1847 Hugh M Keith 1790-1806 William Lafoone Keith 1791-1856 Sarah Elizabeth Keith Sutherland 1793-1871 Edith Catherine Keith Hester 1796-1874 Created by: Debra (47442357) Added: 3 Jul 2013 URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/113259094 Citation: Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 02 February 2020), memorial page for Mary Lafoon Keith (1749–13 Feb 1846), Find A Grave Memorial no. 113259094, citing Oolenoy Baptist Church Cemetery, Pumpkintown, Pickens County, South Carolina, USA ; Maintained by Debra (contributor 47442357) . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
  

• Sources

  [S25] Findagrave.com.