Sarah Sally Whitsell
Sarah
Sally Whitsell was born in 1794 and died in 1855 in Henry County, GA, at age 61
and was buried in the Hand Fam Cemetery, Hampton, Henry, Georgia.
Research
Notes: Re: Reynolds/Oglethorpe Co/1790's-1800
Author: Deanna Date: 15 Aug 2001 9:43 PM
GMT
Classification: Query
Here's
some info I found on the Georgia Clan.....Sarah Sally Whitsell was our George's
sister and the daughter of George Whitsell Sr.
This
information was taken from Ancestors Unlimited Edition Vol 8-10 1986-1988:
Edwards Graveyard pages 96/97
Mrs.
Ponder was the former Sarah Whitsell of Wilkes and Oglethorpe Counties, GA, and
the widow of Littlebury B. Edwards who died in Oglethorpe County about 1827. He
had drawn land in the 1821 Georgia Lottery, securing his grant in 1824, in
Henry County. It is not certain whether his widow was married to Major Ponder
before of after her move to Henry County. The marriage record is not found in
Henry County and in the 1831 Tax Digest, Major Ponder is show as owning land in
Franklin County, GA, while Sarah Whitsell's brother-in-law Thomas Edwards, is
shown as the guardian of her minor children: James W. Edwards, William G.
Edwards, Thomas J. Edwards and Martha S. Edwards. At that time Sarah and her
children, Thomas Edwards and Major Ponder were all living in the 3rd District
of Henry County on and near Thompson's Creek and Towaliga River.
In 1833
their friend and neighbor the Reverend William Moseley, was appointed guardian
for the Edwards children, which suggests that Thomas Edwards had either died or
moved from the county. William G. Edwards, another brother-in-law of Sarah
Whitsell, had also settled in Henry County, above the later community of
Luella.
Sarah
Whitsell Edwards Ponder was born in 1794, probably in Wilkes County, and died
sometime between 1850 and 1860, Her grave was likely among the first to be
placed in the Edwards Graveyard. She and her connections formed a significant
settlement in the early days of Henry County. These connections included a
group of Greene County, GA families who settled southeast of present Hampton on
and near Thompson's Creek and Towaliga River: Whitsell's, Fears, Barnetts,
Aandrews, Griffins, Johnsons and allied families. These people included
ancestors and relatives of President Lyndon Baines Johnson of Texas.
Of the
four children of Sarah Whitsell and Littlebury B. Edwards, only one moved away
from Henry County. This was William G. Edwards (not to be confused with his
uncle of the same
name) who
in 1843 married Jane H. Hightower of Fayette County and subsequently removed to
Ashley County, Arkansas and to Texas. James Whitsell Edwards married in Henry
County in 1838, Sarah (Henderson) Crawford, daughter of Richard Henderson and
believed to be the widow of son of George Crawford who lived variously in
Henry, Monroe and Spalding counties, GA, and in Chambers County, Ala.
Thomas J.
Edwards, the youngest son of Sarah Whitsell and Littlebury B. Edwards, married
in Henry County in 1842, Martha J. Crawford, daughter of George Crawford. After
her death
he
married a second, in 1886, Sarah (Glass) Harris, widow of Green B. Harris and
daughter of Pleasant Glass of Butts County, GA. T.J. Edwards was a leading
planter in Henry County
and build
Edwards Mill, whose old millpond is now known as Lake Amah Lee near Hampton.
Soon
after 1847 he built a fine house in the Greek Revival style at his plantation
and in later years had a town house in Hampton, where he died. He was a Justice
of the Peace, a trustee of Liberty Hill Baptist Church in 1860, and later
instrumental in the formation of the Hampton Baptist Church, the land for which
was given by his son John L. Edwards.
Martha S.
Edwards, the only daughter of Sarah Whitsell and Littlebury B. Edwards, married
in Henry County in 1839, James Frederick Glass, son or ward of Manson Glass of
Fayette and Clayton Counties, who came to Georgia from Virginia. Frederick and
Martha settled north of McDonough in Henry County on present U.S. Hwy 23/State
Hwy. 42 and are buried on their home place. They were both under age at the
time of their marriage and until reaching their majority, Manson Glass was
guardian for James Frederick Glass, and the Rev. William Moseley continued as
guardian for Martha (Edwards) Glass. This was owing to the substantial estates
to which each of the young people was to be heir. They were ancestors of the
Henry County branch of the Glass family.
Major
John M Ponder was a native of South Carolina and may have lived for a time in
Franklin County, GA as he owned land there in 1831 when he was living in Henry
County.
Sarah
(Whitsell) Edwards was undoubtedly his second wife as Daniel H. Ponder, who
married in Henry County in 1844 Amanda E. Little, is believed to have been his
son by a prior marriage. Another son may have been Edwin W. Ponder who married
Sarah E. Hand in 1839. Two children appear to have been born to Major Ponder
and Sarah (Whitsell) Edwards: Susan E. Ponder who married James Henderson Hand
in 1856, and George M. Ponder, who is known to be a child of this marriage.
Sarah
Sally Edwards Whitsell, the daughter of George Whitsell Sr., married Littlebury
Brittain Edwards. It is his family that adds some real flavor to the history of
our ancestors. If you follow his
lineage back you find the following taken from research by John Wayne Brown, He
is (was) Mayor of Manchester, TN.
Sarah
Sally Whitsell, the daughter of our ggggGrandfather, George Whitsell Sr.,
married into a rather royal family. Her husband, Littlebury Edwards, was the
ggggggGrandson of Rev. Richard Edwards who appears to have been the child of
Henry VIII and was adopted by the William Edwards (abt 1500-abt 1547) who
married Agnes Blewitt. The story says
Henry VIII is known to have had 6 wives and 2 or 3 mistresses during his
marriage to Catherine of Aragon. One mistress must have been Agnes Bewitt.
Henry the VIII fathered a son with her, whom was born after her marriage to
William Edwardes. She and William named the son Richard Edwardes. Agnes and
William Edwardes had other children.
It is
suggested in some documents including in the book 'Edward's Legacy' by David
Dean Edwards (1992), that it was whispered among some Tudor researchers that
Agnes was mistress to King Henry VIII of England and that the son RICHARD was
fathered by King Henry and not by William. But no solid proof has yet to be
found if it ever will be. Nor has solid proof been found that Richard was the
son of William either. It will be up to the researcher as to which line to
follow. I believe that the evidence leans more towards the fact that Richard
was the "bastard" son of the King and Agnes and my documentation here
will reveal that line. It is documented that Agnes did have a son named
Richard, but only 2 sons, William and Henry are shown to be positively the sons
of William. Richard is said to have kept his Edwards last name out of shame for
the indecency that his mother engaged in.
That
lineage goes back to Rhodri Mawr, King of all Wales and well over 1000+ years
of history. Interesting?