| Betsy was Cherokee. Join: Native Americans Project Discuss: native_americans |
Betsy Ward, born about 1759 in the Cherokee Nation, was the daughter of the famous Cherokee woman Nan-ye-hi/Nancy Ward and her white husband, Bryant Ward. She had children by two white men, Gen. Joseph Martin and ? Hughes. Her children were Nancy and James Martin, and Rachel Hughes. Betsy is believed to have died about 1803. [1]
In 1782 Nan-ye-hi and Betsy spent the winter with Joseph Martin and his son William, "Things were so bad in the Overhill settlement that in the fall of 1782, Joseph Martin took Nancy Ward and Oconostota back to Long Island [of Holston] to spend the winter. Scarcity of food and respect for Nancy, as well as friendship for the Old Chief, who was now almost blind, were sufficient reasons. William Martin wrote:
In June 1793, at the request of North Carolina Governor William Blount, a number of Cherokee leaders gathered at Chief Hanging Maw’s home to consider having peace talks with President Washington.
In 1799 her son James met the Moravian missionaries who wrote:
Bryant Ward, an English trader who had fought in the French and Indian War, took up residence with the Cherokees and married Nancy in the late 1750s. Ward had a wife, but since Cherokees did not consider marriage a life-long institution, the arrangement apparently presented few problems. Ward and her English husband lived in Chota for a time and became the parents of a daughter, Elizabeth (Betsy). Eventually Bryant Ward moved back to South Carolina, where he lived the remainder of his life with his white wife and family. Nancy Ward and Betsy visited his home on many occasions, where they were welcomed and treated with respect.[citation needed]
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Betsy is 25 degrees from Herbert Adair, 21 degrees from Richard Adams, 16 degrees from Mel Blanc, 23 degrees from Dick Bruna, 16 degrees from Bunny DeBarge, 29 degrees from Peter Dinklage, 16 degrees from Sam Edwards, 14 degrees from Ginnifer Goodwin, 14 degrees from Marty Krofft, 13 degrees from Junius Matthews, 14 degrees from Rachel Mellon and 17 degrees from Harold Warstler on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
It appears to be a true story with information about "the daughter of Nancy Ward" that contains a misspelling of the daughter's name (Betty vs. Betsy).
found on Family Search is probably not a match
07 Sep 1845
Saint Matthew,Walsall,Stafford,England
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N214-WBQ