Whether you are connected to this family line or not, it is a most intriguing story and you might give it a read. Happy New Year and no posts tomorrow! Sandi NOTE: I have no connection, no further information and am not seeking additional information. 11203 WOODFORD CO – MRS. NANCY BRANDON – Brandon, Watson, O’Neil #11203: Pike County Missouri History, Des Moines, Iowa, Mill and Company, 1883, pp. 435-6. Woodford Co. MRS. NANCY BRANDON. This estimable old lady was born in Woodford county, Kentucky, on the 16th day of May, 1793. Her parents removed to this county when it was embraced within the limits of St. Charles. They came perhaps as early as 1809 or 1810, and made up one of the nineteen families that went into Old Buffalo Fort to protect themselves from the Indians during the War of 1812. It was in this fort that she was wooed and won by Mr. Brandon, a soldier of that war and then encamped at the fort with his company in order to protect the settlers from the tomahawk and the scalping knife of the treacherous savage. A Mr. Watson, who was neither preacher nor justice of the peace, officiated in the celebration of their nuptials. But neither the sanctity of the gospel nor the authority of the law could have made more happy the lives of this devoted couple. They loved each other and their pledges of affection, made in that old fort in the presence of their friends and fellow prisoners, and almost within hearing of the stealthy tread of the skirmishing Indian, were sacredly kept during a long series of years. The circumstances connected with this marriage must have contributed to make it peculiarly impressive. Within the walls of the fort the young husband was vowing protection to a confiding maiden; without the wily savage was planning schemes of captivity and death. To-day he might press to his bosom his new-made bride; to-morrow he must leave her to battle with the foe. The shades of night might bring him to the fort and the arms of her he loved, or they might envelop his corpse, slain by the bullets of the ambushed enemy. But fortune favors the brave, and the nineteen families so long cooped up in the old fort at Buffalo were at last relieved. The war soon ended, and the Indian, no longer hostile, sought the settler’s cabin not as an enemy but as a friend; not seeking scalps but begging bread. Mr. and Mrs. Brandon long lived together and enjoyed more keenly their affection and happiness from the hardships and anxieties which they had before endured. Mrs. Brandon remembers distinctly the O’Neil murder by the Indians, narrated in another portion of this work. She lived in stirring times, but maintained a brave heart and trusted in the ultimate success of her people’s cause. She is still living, and delights to relate some of the thrilling incidents connected with the early settlement of the county. For many years she has been a widow, but from her own great sorrow she has found much relief in administering to the comforts of others. She is now in her ninetieth year and has about or near her four generations of descendants. She is mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great grandmother, with the prospect of some years of life yet before her. She has always been a very active and energetic woman, and to her industry and perseverance much of the vigorous health so long enjoyed must be attributed. Well has she performed her part in the great battle of life, and when the end shall at last come may it be as peaceful as we have reason to believe her destiny will be glorious. KYBIOGRAPHIES Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index?list=kybiographies KYRESEARCH Archives:http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index?list=kyresearch