Nell Evans

1.    Nell Smothers, born say 1740, was the mother of Thomas Smothers who was called a "Molatto" on 24 February 1780 when the Henry County court ordered him bound to John Stokes and called orphan of Nell Smurthers alias Evans on 25 August 1785 when the court ordered him bound to John Stokes [Orders 1778-82, 72; 1785-8, 46].

• perhaps she was the daughter of Godfrey Smithers, born about 1713, a twenty-one-year-old "Mulatto" who ran away from Abraham Nicholas of James City County according to the 26 September 1734 issue of the AWM [Headley, 18th Century Virginia Newspapers, 317].

She was the mother of

i. ?William1, born say 1760, a man of color born in Albemarle County, Virginia, who enlisted in the Revolution from Powhatan County [NSDAR, African American Patriots, 154]. He sued Jesse Stovall in Powhatan County court for trespass, assault and battery on 22 November 1794 and the jury awarded him 12 pounds currency on 20 March 1795 [Orders 1794-8, 32, 74]. He was taxable in Powhatan County from 1793 to 1804, called a "Mo" in 1793 and 1803 [PPTL, 1787-1825, frames 98, 123, 111, 138, 170, 193, 230, 266, 282]. He married Nancy Brown, 17 September 1795 Powhatan County bond.

ii. ?Elizabeth, born before 1776, head of a Rockingham County, North Carolina household of a white woman and a white male under 16 years of age in 1790 [NC:169], 5 whites in 1810 [NC:177] and 4 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:584].

iii. ?Charles, born 1775-1796, head of a Rockingham County, North Carolina household of 6 "free colored in 1820 [NC:602] and 9 "free colored" in Guilford County in 1830.

iv. ?William2, born 1775-1796, head of a Guilford County household of 1 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:115]. He married Mason Melton, 6 December 1823 Guilford County bond and Mary Ann Newby, both "colored," 21 November 1825 Guilford County bond, no bondsman listed. William (born about 1787) with Mason Smuthers (born about 1804) was counted as a "Mulatto" laborer in Hertford County in 1850 [NC:648].

v. John, married Fanny Kersey, 25 September 1825 Guilford County bond, Aaron Nuby bondsman.

vi. Thomas, born say 1775, taxable in Patrick County from 1801 to 1805 [PPTL 1791-1823, frames 326, 380, 439], head of a Stokes County, North Carolina household of 6 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:371]. He may have been the Thomas Smothers who married Rebecca John, 12 September 1799 Washington County, Virginia bond.

vii. ?Amealey, counted in the list of "Free negros & Malatters" in Patrick County in 1813 [PPTL 1791-1823, frame 598].

• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=nsmother&...
• http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/Slaxton-Stephens.htm
• http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/SMOTHERS/2005-02/1107...
• http://www.members.dca.net/smothers/dna