NANCY WARD 1738-1824
One cannot study the life of Nancy Ward without knowing her son-in-law General Joseph Martin, and vice versa. There are many books still in print about Nancy Ward. She is called by many names; Nanye'hi, Beloved Woman, Pretty Woman, The Rose of the Cherokees, and many others. Nancy was born in the year 1738 in or near Fort Loudon, Tennessee or Chota, the Capital City of the Cherokees. (more to follow)
There is also a Nancy Ward Website you can visit. It is located at www.NancyWard.com or just - CLICK HERE
This statue bears the inscription "NANCY WARD, 1776 WATAUGA". The statue stands in the Arnwine Cemetery in Grainger County, Tennessee, about five miles from Tazwell, Tennessee.
If Nancy Ward died in the Spring of 1824 and was buried in Polk County, Tennessee, how did the statue get approximately 220 miles away from her grave?
This photo was taken by Judge Burton Jones and is on the cover of the book Military and Genealogical Records of the Famous Indian Woman; Nancy Ward by Annie W. Burns
"General Joseph Martin, from Virginia, was appointed Indian Agent to the Cherokees. Having much in common with Bryant Ward, they became close friends. On one of his trips into Upper South Carolina he met Nancy [Ward]and [her daughter]Elizabeth[Ward]. He was entranced by the beauty of this daughter of his friend, Bryant Ward, and asked for and was granted her hand in marriage. He and his bride bought land adjacent to Bryant when they settled on the west branch of the Toogaloo River in an area that later became old Franlkin County in northeast Georgia."
Nancy Ward, Beautiful Woman of Two Worlds by Robert G. Adams, Hampton House Printers, Chattanooga, Tennessee,
1979, page 93-94.
This book is still available on the Internet but is very expensive.
It can be found by searching www.bookfinder.com
This illustration is from the cover of the book, Nancy Ward, Beautiful Woman of Two Worlds. The book is illustrated by Ben Hampton.
"Things were so bad in the Overhill settlement that in the fall of 1782 Joseph Martin took Nancy Ward and Oconostota back to Long Island [of Holston] to spend the winter. Scarcity of food and respect for Nancy, as well as friendhip for the Old Chief who was now almost blind, were sufficient reasons. Draper's Manuscript records this quote from William Martin, son of Joseph: 'I am of the opinion that Oconostota was one of the noblest and best of humankind. He had a powerful frame, and in his prime must have weighed more than two hundred pounds, with a head of enormous size. He was, when I saw him, very lean, stooped, and emaciated.'"
"These two Cherokee greats, Nancy Ward and Oconostota, spent the winter of 1782-1783 in Joseph Martin's Long Island [of Holston] home, where Nancy's daughter, Betsy, was able to care for their needs. With the coming of spring, Oconostota asked Martin to take him home. The Old Chief must have felt that his end was near, and he wanted to spend his last days at Chota. Martin realized that the ailing Chief would be unable to make th trip on horseback, so he arranged to take the party down river by boat. Sometime later, when the veteran Chief breathed his last breath, Martin buried the Old Chief with Christian rites, using a dugout canoe for a coffin."
Nancy Ward, Cherokee Chieftainess and Dragging Canoe, Cherokee-Chickamauga War Chief by Pat Alderman, The Overmountain Press, Johnson City, Tennessee, 1978, page 65. You may still purchase this book for under $10.00 - search www.bookfinder.com
This illustration of Nancy by Bernie Andrews was used in the movie production, The Overmountain People.
Illustration found in book
Nancy Ward, Cherokee Chieftainess-Dragging Canoe, Cherokee-Chickamauga War Chief
by Pat Alderman