| Notes |
- Letter from Sarah Byrd Strange - written as close to the original text as possible. This letter was obviously typed from her original hand (by someone)…and it is the typed version that I am transcribing from. I do not know who has the original letter, nor have I laid eyes on it. Sarah Elizabeth Strange (b. 1870 d. 1970) was the daughter of Eliza Lewis Byrd, and the granddaughter of David and Nancy Hatfield Lewis.
Begin – someone wrote;
“From a letter written to JOHN REYNOLDS by his cousin SARAH STRANGE and records was taked from old deeds and other papers that were in Old Grandmothers possession at her death January thirteen Nineteen hundred and thirteen.”
“Old Grandmother was born in Marion County Tenessee July eightn eighteen fourteen. She was the oldest of nine children. Her maiden name was Hatfield. She married Dave Lewis our Grandfather in the year of eighteen thirty four and to their union was born ten children my mother Eliza Byrd being the oldest child. Next came Oliver Lewis, Then George Lewis, Rebecca Harrell, Mary Burks, Amanda Reynolds, Peat and Joe Lewis twins, Frank Lewis, and last Elzada McDaniel. All lived to be grown and Rebecca and Oliver died just before the civil war and was buried in Marion county on Grandpas place. Then came the war and Grandfather moved from there to Arkansas and then to Collin County Texas and died there I do not remember the year but he was young still. Then Grandmother and family moved to Brown County Texas. She only had four married children at this time and the rest of the children she had to raise alone. She moved to Brown County in eighteen hundred and sixty nine. They Indians were thick in the country
additional portion of Sarah's letter , found on ancestry.com (where is Sarah's orginal letter and what did it actually say? Did she mention the names of brothers and sisters in it?)
From a letter written to John Reynolds by his cousin Sara, believed to have been a granddaughter of Nancy Jane. Nancy moved to Brown County, Texas in 1869, after her husband died. She had four married children and the rest she raised alone. The Indians were thick in the country at that time and did lots of damage, killing people and driving off the cattle and horses. George Lewis got some very close calls being nearly killed a number of time by the Indians. The nearest trading post was in Fort Worth, one hundred and forty miles away. While some of the men folk kept watch over the folks in other family’s one man from one of the families would go after supplies for all the families and would be gone sometimes for three weeks, making the trip with ox driven wagons. Nancy is said to have gotten hold of some of the best land in Brown County and she began to raise thorough bred stock, and farm some of it. She was said to be the owner of the finest breed of horses in the state. Nancy was never rich, accord
From a letter written to John Reynolds by his cousin Sarah Strange and records was taken from old deeds and other papers that were in Old Grandmothers possession at her death January thirteenth Nineteen Hundred and Thirteen. (Retyped from the original, with all misspellings) Old Grandmother was born in Marion County Tennessee July eight eighteen fourteen. She was the oldest of nine children. Her maiden name was Hatfield. She married Dave Lewis our Grandfather in the year of eighteen thirty-four and to their union was born ten children my Mother Eliza Byrd being the oldest child. Next came Oliver Lewis, then George Lewis, Rebecca Harrell, Mary Burks, Amanda Reynolds, Peat and Joe twins, Frank Lewis and last Elzada McDaniel. All lived to be grown and Rebecca and Oliver died just before the civil war and was buried in Marion County on Grandpas place. Then came the war and Grandfather moved from there to Arkansas and then to Collin County Texas and died there. I do not remember the year but he was young s
-courtesy Notha Stevens
- Story by Pearl Lewis Lunt:
"I asked why Grandma Nancy did not stay in New Mexico, why she came when she was older, but then returned to Texas. I was told that George went and got her cuz she was really old and getting in bad shape, she had very bad circulation and they just could not keep her warm. They said Pop (Mary McPeeters Lewis) would heat rocks an then wrap them in blankets and put all around Nancy, but she could keep her warm, that she was miserable and finally George put her in the wagon and took her home to Brown County.
Everyone always said that Pop and Grandma did not get along well, that George being the oldest son was really favored in his mother's eye, that there was a lot of jealousy there with Pop. That Pop washed her clothes on a sand stone rock/stone, and while Grandma Nancy was living in NM George returned from one of his freighting trips or from somewhere and he brought pop a brand new washboard. Grandma Nancey was just so jealous and mad and thought the sandstone rock was fine to do washing on. Pearl was told that Grandma Nancy "messed" on Pop's washboard."
Pearl Lewis Lunt
I asked Aunt Pearl who told her this story and she said Aunt Nora (Nora Coffelt Lewis) and then she heard it several times from others. "it had really made an impression" is what Pearl said. (notha stevens)
- Taken from various Lewis accounts (comments by Notha Stevens)
Sarah Strange, dau. Of Eliza Lewis Byrd (grandau of Nancy Hatfield Lewis)
Parents - James R. Hatfield /Annie Rice
children:
Nancy, Grant, Clark, Comfort, Peggy, Annie, Hampton “Ham” , Polly
Middle name of Nancy was Melissa
Grant lived in Jasper, Tenn in 1912,
Source; Jim Byrd shows sources as ..Sarah’s family; son Glen Strange, daughter-in- law Flora (Hooper) Strange, (this would be the wife of Glen) and a grand daughter
Source :Pearl Lewis Lunt (see below), given the same parents names, siblings given to her (Comfort, Clark, Grant, Ham( separate time period..from Jim Byrd, she did not get it from Jim Byrd…ns comment)
Taking apart Jim’s Byrds information/comments included in his family group sheet
This is 16 pages, titled Byrd family history; Starts with James R. Hatfield, the rest of it is descendants of Eliza Lewis and Jesse B. Byrd. Last page is the Hatfield children
He begins a bio under James R. Hatfield
(Keep in mind he had Sarah’s info, and Behringer’s, and if there is exact info that Belle Behringer stated…. but is obviously included in his info….ns comment)
James R. Hatfield lived in Marion, Tenn, he married Annie Rice who died about 1828
Their home was in the Big Bend of the Cumberland River in Tennesse, close to a place named “Cowpens“, this area is where “Old Hickory“, Andrew Jackson grew up…(this is clear Jim Byrd took this from the Behringer diary…ns comment)
Annie Rice was part Cherokee Indian - (no mention anywhere in Behringers memoir about her being Indian. This had to have come from Sarah Strange..ns comment)
They had 8 children. NOTE: the Hatfield children listed in this report are probably not in order of birth
Then he starts with Nancy Jane Hatfield
And it is written like a bio;
Nancy Jane Hatfield…yada yada…birth, death burial. Lived to 100 etc
She raised all of her brothers and sisters when her mother died in 1828 (above he shows ABOUT 1828... NS…comment)
Nancy was 15 years old when her mother died in 1828
3. Nancy was 15 years old when her mother died … (Behringer say 8 years old. So …Sarah Strange info? YES!…ns comment)
He shows his source for Nancy’s birth as “Bowman memoirs” (which is actually Behringer…ns comment)
Source of middle name..he chooses Jane in Behringers acct over the name Melissa’s in Sarah Strange’s info, due to the first daughter of Nancy being named Eliza Jane
Belle Lewis Behringer - daughter of Nancy’s son George W Lewis
1. Nancy Jane b. in Marion, TN
2. Did not know the day or year of her birth, daughter Eliza gave her one (dau Elzada says the same thing…ns comment)
3. Mother died when she was young
4. She was oldest and only girl
5. 4 brothers (house keeper for father and brothers)
6. Grew up in the Big Bend of the Cumberland River, very near “Old Hickory” where Andrew Jackson was raised
7. Her father was John Hatfield
8. David Lewis married Nancy in 1834
9. David and Nancy settled on a farm down the river from the Hatfield place, 1 year later they had Eliza
10. In 1839 David and Nancy moved to Georgia, near Savannah, George was born there in 1840
11. 1842 David and Nancy moved back to Marion, TN, same place on the Cumberland River
12. Several years later they moved to Missouri and settled near Springfield while Abraham Lincoln lived there
Then Belle starts over:
“Another family I have no trace of , David Lewis married Nancy Jane Hatfield who was raised by her father in Tenn.”
1. Her mother died when she was 8, (so this came from Belle Behringer..ns comment)
2. She cared for 4 brothers who were younger than her
3. She had no other associates, no schooling, signed her name with an “x”
4. At age 22 she married David Lewis, settled in the Big Bend of the Cumberland
5. From there they moved to GA
6. George was born in 1840 in 13 miles of coast of Georgia
7.1842 they returned to Tenn.
8 George was 15 when they moved to Missouri, near Springfield
Elzada, youngest daughter of David and Nancy Lewis Hatfield Lewis
1. Nancy born in TN don’t know where
2. Oldest of 9 children
3. She didn’t know her age, month or year
4. Maiden name Hatfield
5. Didn't know year she married, she said 1834
Harvey W. McDaniel grandson of Elzada above
Harvey was researching, he wrote a bio, he has many people listed as sources, one being Pearl Lunt, states she gave him the earliest info of James Hatfield that married Annie Rice
1. James and Annie Rice Hatfield
2. Nancy born abt 1800 on the Va/TN border, died at age 111
3. How many children of James and Annie were born in TN and how many were born in Missouri I do not know
4. Nancy grew up in Missouri, married David Lewis in Missouri
5. One of Elzada’s daughters told him James and Annie Hatifield lived by the James boys in Stone, Mo. Played with them as kids, grew up with them
6. Jesse James mother was a Lewis, she was a cousin to Festus Lewis of Danville, Ark. We don’t know if they were related
7. Now he is speaking of David and Nancy (ns)
Sometime between the birth of Peter born 1851 in Missouri and 1861 - they moved back to the VA/TN border, because they left that area by ox cart and horseback for Texas
8 Elzada (his grandmother) was the youngest of David and Nancy’s children
( he continues on the family of David and Nancy Hatfield Lewis. NS)
Orpha Wingfield - information from the 100 year reunion..
This is combined info from the Behringer acct and what Pearl Lewis Lunt obtained from Sarah Strange…Pearl Lunt was very active with the reunion. By 1984 she had both the Behringer information and Sarah Strange . This notebook contains nearly every descendant of George W Lewis……I have copy of this spiral notebook, it was printed to be distributed at the 100th year family reunion, of the Lewis Cabin in Lewis Canyon, Otero, NM. The cabin was built by George Washington Lewis in 1884. Pearl Lewis Lunt had gathered nearly every descendant of George W. and Mary McPeeters Lewis
This was compiled by Orpha Wingfield with information Pearl Lewis Lunt supplied her
Portion of a letter written by Sarah Strange
Talks about Nancy and her children, names David and Nancy‘s children, begins by saying there were 9 children born to the parents of Nancy Lewis……. Where is the rest of the letter? This portion of a letter was given to Gail Stafford by Jim Byrd
Pearl Lewis Lunt- daughter of Emma Coffelt Lewis, who was the daughter of Nancy Jane Lewis (dau of Geo. W. Lewis and Mary McPeeters….Pearl began early research on her family)
I have a note in my file, it states " conversation with Aunt Pearl 1994 " I tried to find Sarah Strange and always missed her, I was down in Texas talking to family and they told me the person to talk to was Sarah Strange, she would know, I heard she was at her kids house in Phoenix, I called, she had just left. I heard she was back in Phoenix, I called ..and spoke to one of her kids. Sarah was there, but I didn't get to talk to her. They said Nancy's parents were James Hatfield and Annie Rice. I was in Phoenix and went to see her, she had just died""
2nd note I have from Aunt Pearl, again an oral conversation. "Sarah Strange said Nancy had a sister named Comfort, and brothers Clark, Ham, and Grant
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1813 - 1914 (100 years)
