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Feilder Harris

Born in South Carolina, Fielder spent the first part of his life as an enslaved person. In 1883, while working at a farm in Brooksville, Fielder met an 11 year old Raymond Robins who had come to live at the farm with his cousins. That relationship would change both of their lives. Fielder became a father figure to Raymond in those early years, teaching him to farm, hunt, start fires, and care for livestock.  Raymond often promised Fielder he would be rich someday, return to Brooksville, and take care of Fielder. Twenty-two years later, Raymond would return to Brooksville when his sister Elizabeth purchased Chinsegut Hill the two of them as well as Raymond's new wife, Margaret.  True to his word, Raymond found Fielder and made him manager of his estate - a risky move in those Jim Crow years.

Fielder went on to successfully manage the large operation and took on even more responsibility since Raymond's travels meant he was gone for months at a time.  He married Lizzie Carr Washington's daughter, Precious Ann. They had two children, Margaret and Raymond, who they named after the Robins.  

Fielder was a big fan of Teddy Roosevelt, so in 1915 Raymond set up a meeting with them at Roosevelt's home in Sagamore Hill. Fielder lived and worked at Chinsegut until his death in 1924 and is buried at Lake Lindsay cemetery.