A Friend of Friends Friday: African American Slaves Named in the 1812 Will of THOMAS SANDERS (SAUNDERS) of Buckingham Co VA and Davidson Co TN

THOMAS SANDERS (also spelled SAUNDERS) was my great X 4 grandfather.  He was the son of JAMES SAUNDERS b VA, of Orange Co NC, who died May 1776,  and an unknown first wife.  I wrote extensively about my research on the SAUNDERS / SANDERS family in one of my previous blogposts from 2010.

THOMAS married MARY MITCHELL, who I have not been able to trace. They had nine children:

1) ANN SAUNDERS / SANDERS b abt 1759 m MATTHEW CLAY
2) ELIZABETH SAUNDERS / SANDERS b abt 1760 m WILLIAM JONES II
3) FRANCIS SAUNDERS / SANDERS b abt 1762 m his first cousin ALETHIA SAUNDERS
4) JAMES SAUNDERS / SANDERS b Oct 31, 1764 m HANNAH MITCHELL, MARY ANN MICHIE SMITH
5) EDWARD T SAUNDERS / SANDERS b 1766 m LOCKEY TRIGG
6) SARAH "SALLEY" SAUNDERS / SANDERS  b abt 1770-1773 m THOMAS WATSON
7) MARY "POLLY" SAUNDERS / SANDERS b 1774 m WILLIAM FRANCIS MOSELEY (see blogpost for Jan 7 2011)
8) JUDITH "JULIET"  SAUNDERS / SANDERS  b 1775-1780 m PETER GUERRANT MOSELEY
9) MARTHA SAUNDERS / SANDERS  b abt 1785 m ABRAHAM "ABSOLEM" TRIGG


The family lived  in Buckingham Co VA from the 1770s until the early 1800s, according to records.  By around 1800, several of THOMAS' adult children began to migrate to Tennessee, settling in Sumner & Davidson Co. THOMAS & his wife MARY sold their house & land in Buckingham Co VA and moved there sometime shortly before his death in 1812. They undoubtedly took many of their slaves with them to Tennessee.


--Davidson County Tennessee, Wills and Inventories, Volume One 1783-1816, Page 200.  


November 28, 1812 Will of THOMAS SANDERS, deceased To my beloved wife MARY SANDERS all my property both real and personal and at her death to be divided among the foll owing, to my granddaughter AMANDA CLAY negro girl named SOPHIA to be delivered when she arrives to lawful age or marries;  to my daughter MARTHA TRIGG four negroes, namely, LUCY, JENNY, CAROLINE, and MARY, and also my riding horse;  to my four daughters ELIZABETH JONES, SALLEY WATSON, POLLY MOSELEY , and JUDITH MOSELEY and my son EDWARD SANDERS, five pounds of Virginia money each. To my son JAMES SANDERS my negro man named WILL. To my son FRANCIS SANDERS all the residue of my whole both real and personal except two negroes named GEORGE and ROSE which I do set free. I appoint my sons JAMES SANDERS and FRANCIS SANDERS my executors. This 26 Jan 1812. Wit: Nathaniel Sanders and Meridith Wilkerson.




For more information on the SAUNDERS / SANDERS family of Buckingham Co VA and Sumner & Davidson Co TN, see my Rootsweb online family tree "Moseley, Miller & Related Families of Colonial Virginia"

Have a great day!

Betty

© Betty Tartas  2011