Sarah Burks

• Updated from MyHeritage Family Trees via husband Roland Horsley Burks by SmartCopy: Apr 14 2015, 23:40:52 UTC

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Sarah Randolph Burks and her husband Roland Horsley Burks ...my 4th Great Grandparents....have been a search similar to the elusive "Holy Grail"......Their son, John Randolph Burks being my 3rd Great Grandfather, was for decades a "Dead End" as far as my own father's Burks line. We always ( from oral histories ) had heard the family stories of JRB bringing his 8 sons down the Mississippi River to Natchez in December, 1811. They came down the Ohio and Miss. Rivers on a flatboat...coming from Kentucky ( Origin of family in America was Virginia in mid 1600's from Ireland) Family stories included the horror of dealing with the New Madrid Earthquake during the trip, losing all they had in material goods....all survived that calamity to settle in Natchez only until the War of 1812 broke out and 6 of the sons and JRB joined the US Army to fight the British. More on the War of 1812 later.... As for Sarah Randolph Burks...family history always told us we were related to the Randolphs of Virginia and also related to Pocahontas....having finally verified the relationship to Pocahontas....she is my 9th Great Aunt...through the sister of Pocahontas, Cleopatra......trying to find the Randolph connection was hard, but I know I am right...connecting dots. As was the early colonial custom...the first son was named after the father and the second son took as a middle name his Mother's surname......but took years of now and then research. I had spent some time looking for the Randolph connection through John Peartree Burks...incorrectly thinking it was he who was my 4th GGfather....when in actuality it was his brother Roland who was JRBs father.....THEN the pieces began to come together....Celebrating my long lost GGGGGrandmother Sarah Randolph Burks !