Thomas George Sowards b 1772 VA d 1812; s/o Thomas Sowards and Melesent Vanderford. Thomas George Sowards m. about 1792 VA to Letitia Hall b 1772 VA d 1876 Floyd Co KY; buried Sowards Cemetery, Shelbiana, KY. Children of Thomas George Sowards and Letitia Hall;

I. Mahala Sowards b 1794 m. 15 Dec 1815 Floyd Co KY to David McBroom b before 1795.

II. Susanna Sowards b 1800 Pikeville, Pike Co KY d before 1815 Pikeville, Pike Co KY

III. Thomas George Sowards b 1804 Floyd Co KY m. 22 Jan 1824 Pikeville, Pike Co KY to Stella Justice

IV. Henry Sowards b before 1805; m. 1 Sept 1825 Pike Co KY to Polly Mays b before 1807.

V. Charles Sowards b 1809 Pikeville, Pike Co KY d Kansas City, Wyandotte, KS

VI. Lewis Sowards b 1812 Floyd Co KY d 21 Sept 1895 Pikeville, Pike Co KY; m. 4 Jul 1833 Pikeville, Pike Co KY to Ollie Morgan b 1807 VA d 1884 Pikeville, Pike Co KY; d/o James Morgan and Elizabeth Hall.

Thomas George Sowards
and Milliscent Mills

Thomas George Sowards b 1772 VA d 1812 Floyd Co KY; s/o Thomas Sowards and Melesent Vanderford. Thomas Sowards m. 19 Dec 1782 Dorchester Co MD to Millescent Mills b 12 Jan 1762 MD d 8 Aug 1824 Hardin Co IL.

Lieutisha "Lettitia" Hall
and Peter Ford

Letitia Hall b 1772 VA d 1876 Floyd Co KY; buried Sowards Cemetery, Shelbiana, KY; m. before 1812 to Peter Ford b before 1772. Children of Peter Ford and Letitia Hall;

I. Lewis Winfield Sowards b about 1812 Floyd Co KY d 21 Sept 1895 Pikeville, Pike Co KY; m. 4 Jul 1833 Pike Co KY to Olly Morgan b about 1810 VA d 14 Jun 1884 Pike Co KY.

II. James Moses Sowards b about 1814 KY d 5 May 1895 Manassa, Conejos Co CO; m. 7 Sept 1837 Pike Co KY to Louisa Branham b about 1822 Floyd Co KY d 1 Jul 1896 Manassa, Conejos Co CO; d/o James Gannon and Delilah Branham.

Letitia Hall
and Daniel Ramsey

Letitia Hall b 1772 VA d 1876 Floyd Co KY; buried Sowards Cemetery, Shelbiana, KY; m. 27 Oct 1824 Pike Co KY to Daniel Ramsey b before 1783 NC d before 1850; s/o Joel Ramsey and Abigail Freeman.

Daniel Ramsey
and Lydia Minchey

Daniel Ramsey b before 1783 NC d before 1850; s/o Joel Ramsey and Abigail Freeman. Daniel Ramsey m. about 1803 Wythe Co VA to Lydia Minchey b before 1785. Children of Daniel Ramsey and Lydia Minchey;

I. Mahala "Milly" Ramsey b about 1805; m. 21 Jul 1824 Pike Co KY to Edmond Clark b 15 Oct 1799 Floyd Co KY d 30 Jun 1885; s/o Reuben Clark and Elizabeth Lykins. Child of Edmond Clark and Mahala "Milly" Ramsey;

1. Daniel R Clark b 16 Jun 1832 Pike Co KY d 8 Oct 1904 KY; m. 19 Sept 1852 Baptist Church, Pike Co KY to Sarah Frances Etter b 26 Jun 1830 Wythe Co VA d about 1909 KY; d/o Henry C Etter and Nancy Utt. Child of Daniel R Clark and Sarah Frances Etter; i. Alice Clark b 31 Mar 1860 KY d 27 May 1942; m. 15 Sept 1881 to Nathaniel "Nathan" M Perry b 10 Aug 1857 Wayne Co WV d 14 Nov 1952 Huntington State Hospital, Huntington, Cabell Co WV; s/o William W Perry and Rebecca Marcum.

II. George Washington Ramsey b about 1810 d before 1840 Pike Co KY; m. 11 Jun 1833 Pike Co KY to Ruth Pauley b about 1812 KY d 11 Jun 1897 Pike Co KY; d/o David Pauley and Elizabeth Justice.

III. Nancy Ramsey b before 1822; m. about 1840 Pike Co KY to Elijah Porter b after 1800. Elijah Porter m. 6 Feb 1825 Pike Co KY to Mary Scott b about 1803 Floyd Co KY d about 1839 Pike Co KY; d/o William Scott and Elizabeth McCoy.

THE FOLLOWING TWO STORIES HAVE BEEN HANDED DOWN THROUGH THE FAMILY: After a very severe winter food supplies were running low and as soon as the first spring thaw came, Thomas left his home in a homemade Jack boat and rowed down the river to Catlettsburg, Kentucky (which was about 125 miles from Pikeville) to get food. It took him several weeks to make the trip and Lieutisha was left at home to care for the children and livestock.

One day when she went out to feed the stock she recognized the tracks of a large bear that had come close to the home. The home was strong but she was alarmed for the safety of the livestock so she decided to set a trap for the bear.

On one side of the house some of the mud daubing had fallen out between the logs and there was an opening almost into the kitchen. Lieutisha tore out more of the loose mud and poured a large amount of honey around the opening. She warned the children to stay inside and to keep a close watch for the bear.

One day they saw a very large bear waddling down the hill. He immediately got the scent of the honey, stepped up his pace and followed the scent right to the opening in the house. He then climbed up on his back legs and braced himself against the house with his front paws and began licking the honey as fast as he could. He seemed to be very hungry.

Lieutisha was prepared for him and quickly grabbed the heavy rope she had placed against the wall. She grabbed one of the bear's paws with the other hand and bound his paw to a strong peg she had driven into the wall . She then pulled his other paw through the opening and tied it securely so that he could not get down. She cautioned the small children to stand back and stay away from the door.

She went outside, picked up a heavy batten stick and beat the bear unconscious. She was afraid to untie him so she just let him hang there until her husband returned a few days later. He was told what happened so he shot the bear and together they untied him, dragged him away from the house and buried him in their backyard. The children insisted a marker be placed at the bear's grave and it remained there many years even after some members of the family had passed away.

One day Leutisha was carrying her husband's dinner or midday meal to him in the fields. She became hot and tired from the long walk so she sat down on a tree stump and laid her arm across it to rest. She was unaware of anyone near, but suddenly a sharp pain went through her arm and she saw that she had been struck by an arrow from an Indian's bow.

The blood began gushing and the pain became severe as she watched the Indian come nearer. She started screaming and luckily her husband was in a cleared field not too far from the spot and rushed toward the sound of her scream. He shot the Indian through the head before any more harm could come to Lieutisha. She had a large scar on her arm, but survived to tell the story to her grandchildren.

One well know hollow in this vicinity is "Turn Hole Hollow". The water was clear, beautiful, very deep and the fish were plentiful as recently as 1930. Garfield and Richard Harrison Sowards caught many fine fish in "Turn Hole".

Source: Joel Hager joel.hager@us.army.mil - Hager Family Website