Cinthia was the daughter of Demaricus Berry Kirkland, who may have been part Cherokee Indian. Demaricus was probably born at Ballplay or Rafter where most of the Kirklands in Monroe County lived. Her mother married a first cousin, Jonas Columbus Lynn, whose ancestry goes back to European royalty. They moved to Blount County about the time of the Civil War. Jonas and Demaricus were the keepers of the tollgate located on the Parson's Turnpike between Calderwood, TN and Deal's Gap, NC. They were living there when handsome young Confederate soldier William "Bill" Birchfield came through and asked to spend the night. He fell for Cinthia that very night, and promised he would soon come back to see her---and he did. A courtship began, and soon, in 1864, there was a wedding. Bill and Cinthia "began housekeeping" in the Land Farley Cove on the waters of Rocky Point Branch, three miles upstream from the present location of Cheoah Dam in Graham County, N. It was there that Cinthia bore several of their children. Soon they moved to Cades Cove, TN for a few years (Bill had been born there), then to Yellow Creek in Graham County, NC.
Later, Bill and Cinthia returned to the Tollgate as the tollkeepers themselves. Many times weary travelers stopped and spent the night with them, and their hospitality was well-known. A cemetery between Rabbit Creek, off the Parson's Turnpike which is now known as the Tail of The Dragon, and Cades Cove was named the "Cinthia Birchfield Cemetery", though she is not buried there. When they left their post at the Tollgate, Bill died in 1908 and was buried nearby at the Calderwood Cemetery. Cinthia went to live with one of her daughters on Forney's Creek, where she died in 1917 and was buried nearby at Proctor.

Grandson:
Charlie Birchfield