Mary Parker

Married Nathaniel Parker 2nd in 1791.

family

From page 103 of Historic Sumner County, Tennessee: With Genealogies of the Bledsoe, Gage and ... By Jay Guy Cisco

Col. Anthony Bledsoe, son of Abraham Bledsoe, was born in what is now Culpeper county, Virginia, then Orange county, in 1733. About 1760 he married Mary Ramsey, of Augusta county. He was killed by Indians at Bledsoe's Lick, Summer county, Tennessee, on July 20, 1788.

Mary Ramsey was born in Augusta county, Virginia in 1734, and died in Sumner county, Tennessee, in 1808.

They had eleven children, five sons and six daughters, one of which was born four months after the death of Colonel Bledsoe.

Their children were

1. Abraham Bledsoe, born in Virginia about 1762.
2. Thomas Bledsoe.
3. Sarah Bledsoe, born in Virginia in 1763.
4. Anthony Bledsoe, Jr.
5. Isaac Bledsoe.
6. Henry Ramsey Bledsoe.
7. Rachael Bledsoe.
8. Polly Bledsoe, born in Virginia in 1780.
9. Betsy Bledsoe.
10. Prudence Bledsoe.
11. Susan Bledsoe.

    ---

Who's Nancy's father?

From link to the Will of Nathaniel Parker

" ....Sixth, I give and bequeath to my second wife's daughter Nancy Parker, one dollar and no more of my estate, real or personal. ..."

---

biographical notes

Extracted from The Pioneer Women of the West by Elizabeth F. Ellet. This is a book that is compiled of women's journals. This section deals with the Bledsoe family

... Mary BLEDSOE, the colonel's wife, was a woman of remarkable energy, and noted for her independence both of thought and action. She never hesitated to expose herself to danger whenever she thought it her duty to brave it; and when Indian hostil- ities were most fierce, when their homes were frequently invaded by the murderous savage, and females struck down by the tomahawk or carried into captivity, she was foremost in urging her husband and friends to go forth and meet the foe, instead of striving to detain them for the pro- tection of her own household. ...
...p. 23: In 1784, Anthony BLEDSOE removed with his family to the new settlement of which he had thus been one of the founders. His brother, Col. Isaac BLEDSOE, had gone the year before. They took up their residence in what is now Sumner County, and extablished a fort or station at "Bledsoe's Lick" -- now known as Castalian Springs. The families being thus united, and the eldest daughter of Anthony married to David SHELBY, the station became a rallying point for an extensive district surrounding it. The BLEDSOEs were used to fighting with the Indians; they were men of well known energy and courage, and their fort was the place to which the settlers looked for protection - the colones being the acknowledged leaders of the pioneers in their neighborhood, and the terror, far and near, of the savage marauders. Anthony was also a member of the North Carolina Legislature from Sumner County ....
From 1780 go 1795, a continual warfare was kept up by the Creeks and Cherokees against the inhabitants of the valley. The history of this time would be a fearful record of scenes of bloody strife and atrocious barbarity. Several hundred persons fell victims to the ruthless foe, who spared neight age not sec; and many women and chil-dren were carried far from their friends into hopeless captivity. The settlers were frequently robbed and their negro slaves taken away; in the course of a few years, two thousand horses were stolen; their cattle and hogs were destroyed, their houses and barns burned, and their plantations laid waste. In consequence of these incursions, many of the inhabitants gathered together at the stations on the frontier, and extablished themselves under military rule for the proptection of the interior settlements. During this desperate period, the pursuits of the farmer could not be abandoned; lands were to be surveyed and marked, and fields cleared and cultivated, by men who could not venture beyond their own doors without arms in their hands. The labors of those active and vigilant leaders, the BLEDSOEs, in supporting and defending the colony, were indefatigable. Nor was the heroic matron -- the subject of this sketch -- less active in her appropriate sphere of action. her family consisted of seven daughters and five sons, the eldest of whom, Sarah SHELBY, was not more than eighteen when they came to Sumner. Mrs. BLEDSOE was almost the only instructor of these children, the family being left to her sole charge while her husband was engaged in his toilsome duties or harassed with the cares incident to an uninterrupted border warfare.
Too soon was this devoted wife and mother called upon to suffer a far deeper calamity than any she had yet experienced. Anthony BLEDSOE had removed his family into his brother Isaac's fort at BLED- SOE's Lick. On the night of the 20th of July, 1788, a number of Indians approached, and placed themselves in ambush about forty yards in front of a passage dividing the log houses occupied by the two families. To draw the men out, they then sent some of their party to cause an alarm by riding rapidly through a lane passing near. Roused by the noise, Col. Anthony BLEDSOE rose and went to the gate. As he opened it, he was shot down, the same shot killing an Irish servant, named Campbell, who had been long devotedly attached to him. The colonel did not expire immediately, but was carried back into the house, while preparations were made for defence by Gen. William Hall, and the portholes manned till break of day. The wife of Isacac BLEDSOE suggested to her husband, and afterwards to her brother-in-law, in view of the near approach of death, that it was proper to make provision for his daughters. he had surveyed large tracts of land, and had secured grants for seve- ral thousand acres, which constituted nearly his whole property. The law of North Carolina at that time gave all the lands to the sons, to the exclusion of the daughters. In soncequence, should the colonel die without a will, his seven young daughters would be left destitute. In this hour of bitter trial, Mrs. BLEDSOE's thoughts too were not alone of her own sufferings, and the deadly peril that hung over them, but of the provision necessary for the helpless ones dependent on her care. Writing materials were procured, and having called Clendening to draw up the will, he bing too much agi- tated to write, Isaac BLEDSOE supported his dying brother while affixing his signature. Thus a portion of land was assigned to each of the daughters, who in after life had reason to remember with gratutude the presence of mind and affectionate care of their aunt.
p. 25 Mrs BLEDSOE's sufferings from Indian hostility were not termi- nated by this overwhelming stroke. A brief list of those who fell victims, among her family and kinsmen, may afford some idea of the trials she endured, and of the strongth of character which ena- bled her to near up, and to support others under such terrible experiences. In January, 1793, her son Anthony, then seventeen years of age, while passing near the present site of Nashville, was shot through the body, and severely wounded, by a party of Indians in ambush. He was pursued to the gates of a neighboring fort. Not a month afterwards, her eldest son, Thomas, was also despe- rately wounded by the savages, and escaped with difficulty from their hands. Early in the following April, he wa shot dead near his mother's house, and scalped by the murderous Indians. On the same day, Col. Isaac BLEDSOE was killed and scalped by a party of about twenty Creek Indians, who beset him in the field, and cut off his retreat to his station near at hand.
In April, 1794, Anthony, the son of Mrs. BLEDSOE, and his cousin of the same name, were shot by a party of Indians, near the house of Gen. SMITH, on Drake Creek, ten miles from Gallatin. The lads were going to school, and were then on their way to visit Mrs. Sarah SHELBY, the sister of Anthony, who lived on Station Camp Creek.
Some time afterwards, Mrs. BLEDSOE was on the road from BLED- SOE's Lick to the above-mentioned station, where the court of Sum- ner County was at that time held. Her object was to attend to some business connected with the estate of her late husband. She was escorted on her way by the celebrated Thomas Sharp Spencer and Robert Jones. The party was waylaid and fired upon by a large body of Indians. Jones was severely wounded, and turning, rode rapidly back for about two miles; after which he fell dead from his horse. The savages advanced boldly upon the others, intending to take them prisoners. It was not consistent with Spencer's chivalrous character to at- tempt to save himself by leaving his companion to the mercy of the foe. Bidding her retreat as fast as possible and encouraging her to keep her seat firmsly, he protected her by following more slowly in her rear, with his trusty rifle in his hand. When the Indians in pursuit same too near, he would raise his weapon, as if to firs; and as he was known to be an excellent marksman, the savages were not willing to encounter him, but hastened to the shelter of trees, while he continued his retreat. In this manner he kept them at bay for some miles, not firing a single shot - for he knew that his threatening had more effect - until Mrs. Bledsoe reached a station. Her life and his own were on this occasion saved by his prudence and presence of mind; for both would have been lost had he yielded to the temptation to fire.
This Spencer - for his gallantry and rackless daring names " the Chevalier Bayard of Cumberland Valley" - was famed for his encoun- ters with the Indinas, by whom he had often been shot at, and wounded on more than one occasion. His proportions and strength were those of a giant, and the wonder-loving people were accust- omed to tell marvellous stories concerning him. It was said that at one time, being unarmed when attacked by Indians, he reached into a tree and wrenching off a hugh bough by main force, drove back his assailants with it. He lived for some years alone in Cum- berland Valley - it is said from 1776 to 1779 - before a single white man had taken up his abode there; his dwelling being a large hollow tree, the roots of which still remain near BLEDSON's Lick. For one year - the tradition is - a man by the name of HOLI- DAY shared his retreat; but the hollow being not sufficiently spacious to accommodate two lodgers, they were under the necessity of spear rating, and HOLIDAY departed to seek a home in the valley of the Kentucky River. ...Bereaved of her husband, sons, and brother-in-law by the mur- derous savages, Mrs. BLEDSOE was obliged alone to undertake, not only the charge of her husband's estate, but the care of the children, and their education and settlement in life. These duties were dis- charged with unwavering energy and Christian patience. Her reli- gion had taught her fortitude under her unexampled distresses; and through all this trying period of her life, she exhibited a decision and firmness of character, which bespoke no ordinary powers of intellect.
Her mind, indeed, was of masculine strength, and she was remarkable for independence of thought and opinion. In person she was attractive, being neither tall nor large until advanced in life. Her hair was brown, her eyes gray, and her complexion fair. her useful life was closed in the autumn of 1808. The record of her worth, and of what she did and suffered, may win little attention from the careless many, who regard not the memory of our "pilgrim mothers;" but the recollection of her gentle vir tues has not yet faded from the hears of her descendants; and those to whom they tell the story of her life will acknowledge her the worth companion of those noble men to whom belongs the praise of having originated a new colony and built up a goodly state in the bosom of the forest. ...

This end this segment: Still more to come, Sarah Bledsoe Shelby

Source: http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/bledsoe/1025/

notes

Uncertain as to who was Nancy Parker's father. The story goes like this:

Nathaniel Parker married Mary Ramsey Bledsoe on the 4 December 1791 and separated roughly a year later. In the Knox Gazette dated 29 November 1794 Nathaniel Parker stated that his wife Mary had left his bed and board and warned all persons that he would not be responsible for her debts or contracts. On November 21, 1800 Mary Parker sued for divorce from Nathaniel Parker. On November 12, 1802 a trial was held. Twelve days later, on November 24 1802, the court entered it's final decree. The court awarded her separate bed and board and awarded her separate maintenance in the amount of $200 per annum to be paid quarterly
A local Sumner County, TN. tradition is that Mary Ramsey was pregnant with the child of Thomas Sharpe Spencer, who was killed by Chief Doublehead on 1 April 1794 on the Cumberland Road [Lamb and Allied Families by James L. Mohon, p. 221] before they could be married. The administration of Thomas Sharpe Spencer's estate was granted to Thomas Donnell at the January 1795 term of court in Sumner County [Sumner Co., TN County Court Minutes p. 80). This was a little more than three years after Mary Ramsey married Nathaniel Parker.
Nathaniel Parker wrote his will in Sumner County on 25 February 1811 [Sumner Co., TN WB 1:156 J. He named his children and mentioned "my second wife's daughter Nancy Parker." It is presumed that was a reference to his wife Mary Ramsey Bledsoe. She was probably about 45 years of age when she married Nathaniel Parker, being nearly at the end of her childbearing years. Anthony and Mary Bledsoe were not known to have a daughter named Nancy.
So Nancy Parker receiving only a one Dollar in Nathaniel Parker will sixth bequest makes sense as she was born when her mother Mary Ramsey Bledsoe Parker was still married to Nathaniel Parker thus the Parker surname for Nancy, but she was not a biological child of Nathaniel Parker.

notes

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Thomas Scott in his 1851 letter confirms that the Nathaniel Parker who married is aunt Elizabeth Scott and the Nathaniel Parker who married Mary (Ramsey) Bledsoe were one and the same by stating:

After the decease of my aunt, Mr. Parker with the residue of his sons and daughters, their families removed to the state of Tennessee, where he intermarried with the widow of Col. Bledsoe deceased, but report says they did not live happily together.

The 'did not live happily together' is reinforced by the publishing In the Knox Gazette dated 29 November 1794 where Nathaniel Parker stated that his wife Mary had left his bed and board and warned all persons that he would not be responsible for her debts or contracts. On November 21, 1800 Mary Parker sued for divorce from Nathaniel Parker. On November 12, 1802 a trial was held. The jury found that Mary Ramsey Bledsoe had not been mistreated by Nathaniel Parker any worse than she treated him and that Nathaniel had forced the defendant from his house. Twelve days later, on November 24 1802, the court entered it's final decree. The court awarded her separate bed and board and awarded her separate maintenance in the amount of $200 per annum to be paid quarterly.

See: Legal Papers of Andrew Jackson by Andrew Jackson - Univ of Tenn Press 1987 link and More Tales of Tennessee by Louise Littleton Davis 1998 link

Nathaniel Parker's cabin is a typical pioneer log cabin, built in the 1780s. The cabin was originally located a few miles north of Bledsoe's Lick and later dismantled and moved to the park. Parker married Mary Ramsey Bledsoe,” the widow of Anthony Bledsoe, in the 1790s and commanded the fort at Greenfield. [1]

A photograph of the cabin in which they lived may be seen here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bledsoe%27s_Station#/media/File:Natha...

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bledsoe%27s_Station
• http://genforum.genealogy.com/bledsoe/messages/1163.html
• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~we3sumneritesjblcsf/mrg_os...
• page 287 of Historic Sumner County, Tennessee: With Genealogies of the Bledsoe, Gage and ... By Jay Guy Cisco
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Bledsoe