Martha G. Sanders

Biography

Martha Elmore (Johnson) was born on 15 Sep 1738 in Hanover, Virginia to John Elmore and possibly Ah Nah Wah Kah who was said to be half Cherokee. She was said to have been raised by David Johnson and Mary Woody. She married Hezekiah Sanders on 6 Nov 1757 in Henrico, Virginia. Children: John, Samuel, David, Jonathon, Mary, Elizabeth, Martha, Sarah, Rebeckah, Jemima, Elizabeth. She died about 8 Sep 1817 in Deep River, Guilford, North Carolina.

From "Allen Family History: "A story told by Aunt Molly Coppock at an evening camp fire of those from Bush River on their way to Northwest Territory. She stated that her grandmother was a Cherokee Indian of her story.

"For over seventy years, there was an Indian village on Bush River not far above the little Friends settlement. There was a good deal of bitterness between the Indians and the white men, and border warfare between them was frequent. One night a company of soldiers, together with some settlers, who had volunteered, fell upon this Indian village and killed every Indian, man, woman, and child; save only two. A little boy and a little girl, about five and six years old, escaped in some way from the burning wigwams and the scenes of slaughter, and the next morning they were found by my great grandfather when he happened to pass that way. They were hungry and were crying, and he took them to him home. Later, he adopted them. They grew into manhood and womanhood, as my great grandfathers own children, and his own son fell in love with the girl and they were married. That girl was my grandmother Sanders, and from that time the Cherokees have always been our friends, Grandmother taught me their language when I was a little girl and I can still speak it quite well."

"So you see," she continued, "I have no fears of my relatives, the Cherokees. Only two years ago, the Cherokee Chief, Doublehead, stopped at my house when he passed through Bush River on his way to Washington, D.C., where he had been summoned in regard to the Treaty. I kept him overnight, and he knows well the story of my grandmother." -Written by Wilson S. Doan

ANOTHER VERSION OF THIS INDIAN MASSACRE IN SOUTH CAROLINA: "The Quakers heard that an Indian village in the Carolinas had been destroyed and the inhabitants massacred by white men. The Quakers went there to see if there was anything they could do. They buried the victims and found two little Indian girls hiding in the buShes nearby. They brought them home and they were raised by a Quaker family, David Johnson Mary Woody. Later two Sanders brothers married them. My grandmother, Elizabeth Hoover (Sanders) Boone was dark complected. She was very sensitive about this and would not let any discussions take place in her home about Indian ancestry. A lawyer came from Washington, D.C. declaring he could prove the ancestry and she could receive Indian benefits from the Federal Government. but she would have nothing to do with him. Carolina cousins of my grandmother used to come to visit when my father was young, and he said they were all dark complected with straight hair. My father and his sisters were also dark complected."

Written by Walter Boone in "Allen Family History" on pages #265 and 266

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