Introduction: Nancy (we don't know a last name) is said to be the mother of our Nancy BROWN who married my second great grandfather Stephen SHELTON (b 1809). All I have on her are family stories; but I keep searching for more. Some in the family feel her husband is the John BROWN who was once chief of the Cherokee Old Settlers.
Some say Nancy is of the (Oglala) Sioux Nation and was traded to the Cherokee for a horse. Altho the Sioux info was new to me, the horse-trading story wasn’t. Daddy used to tell about an unnamed ancestor being camped near a stream when some "Gypsies" came thru. Being awestruck by the beauty of a prized black horse owned by my ancestor, the Gypsy asked how much he'd take for it. My ancestor replied that the horse was not for sale. (The Gypsy's wife, meanwhile, sat quietly nearby holding a baby.) The story goes that the Gypsy kept asking until finally my ancestor said, "Give me your baby; and you can have my horse." To the astonishment of my ancestor, the Gypsy agreed & handed over the baby. Opinions vary as to the value of oral tradition. I pay attention because I believe the stories offer clues. The Sioux story & the Gypsy story are likely two versions of the same event. The baby was named Nancy.
She married John BROWN of the Cherokee Nation. Some in the family claim he is the same John BROWN known to be the principal chief of the western Cherokee in 1838. Nancy is esteemed to have been an outstanding and grand person. She was proficient in herbal medicines. She was called a "doctor woman". She was known for riding for miles on horseback to visit patients with her saddlebags filled with medicine. Of interest, I found a similar story on the web about a Nancy BROWN of Walker County, Alabama. I quote: "One of the grandmothers was a herbal doctor that traveled around the area on horseback tending to the ailing." I was encouraged until I studied the family of the Alabama Nancy. There is not much about her family that seems to match ours, unfortunately. John BROWN & Nancy had a daughter named Nancy BROWN.
Sheila Gibson ~ SpiritHawk
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Copyright © 2003 Ethereal World ~ 09 Sep 2003 10:00:00 GMT