NC-CEMETERIES-L Archives

From:
Subject: [NC-Cemeteries] Elizabeth Lail
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002 23:14:09 EDT

I can't believe I forgot to put dates etc. in my last posting, good grief!

This is the story as well as I know it.

My Lail ancestors had land in Rowan County, NC. My 5xGgrandfather left NC to
settle in Kentucky (still part of Virginia back then).

In June of 1780 my 5xGGrandfather Henry Lail was living in Virginia/Kentucky
at a frontier fort called Ruddles' Station. The fort was attacked by a group
of British soldiers and a band of their Shawnee indian allies. Some of the
settlers from the fort were taken prisoner by the British, but the rest were
either taken captive or killed by the indians. Henry Lail was one of the
ones taken by the indians along with his brother and nephews. While in
captivity, he married a Shawnee woman. When they married she became a
Christian and took the name Elizabeth Lail. When Henry was released by the
indians he and his new wife moved back to North Carolina. They had 6
children: Mary, Elizabeth, Catherine, George, Jane, and John.

I'm descended from George Lail.

Henry and Elizabeth's daughter (also named Elizabeth) married a John White of
Alexander County. My understanding is that many of the White descendants
still live in Alexander County today. Many of the White's intermarried with
the Pennel family in that area also.

Henry Lail ran into some legal trouble around 1806 and posted his land as
bail for himself and some of his friends. His "friends" skipped town and
rather than forfeit his land, Henry sold it before the courts took it, and
left the area also. This is where we lose track of his wife. We've tracked
Henry from NC through Tennesee to Arkansas. He took sons George and John
with him, so we could track the whole group as they moved West.

There is no mention of Henry's wife Elizabeth after he leaves NC. We're not
sure if she died, or if he left her behind when he ran from the law. There
are conflicting family legends of what became of her. Some branches of the
family thought she may have moved in with her daughter's family the White's.
There was a long time assumption that she was buried in the small private
White family cemetery near Taylorsville.

Very recently, a newly located descendant of this branch of the family came
forward with additional information. This family member is the one who
indicated that the local Indian community in Alexander County knew a lot
about Elizabeth including that her name in Shawnee was Me-Shekin   Ta- Withe
and that her and Henry's story was "well known" among the local indians in
Alexander County. This family member is also the one who also provided the
cemetery information.

If any of this rings a bell, I'd really appreciate any information you might
have.

Thanks,

Ken Weber
Columbia, MO

This thread:

• [NC-Cemeteries] Elizabeth Lail by