Art....I tried going to your site but must have copied the address wrong, could you give it to me again....thanks, Patsy I had http:www.members.tripod.com/~arthowe/ It say there is no such URL. By the way, I have seen your mothers work and she has done an excellent job. She & I even corresponded for awhile.

Found this at the Ancestry.com site. Southern Christian Advocate Obituaries, 1867-1878 DEATH AND OBITUARY NOTICES FROM THE SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE 1867-1878 Issue of March 22, 1876 Mrs. Elizabeth Sasser was born in Screven county, Ga., July 9, 1836; and died in Terrell county, Ga., March 5, 1876. Dixie Ricker Evans & Ricker, Inc 7405 SW Tech Center Drive Portland, OR 97223 Phone: 503-639-9296 Fax: 503-684-1411 e-mail: dixie@locktrack.com website: www.locktrack.com

Dear Maureen, Forget the Maryland connection. William P. was born in North Carolina and by the time he was born, ALL of the living Sassers in North Carolina had been born there. The William in Maryland in the 1790's is NOT the same as the WilliamS (more than one) living in NC in the late 1700's. Robert Earl

Hi Robert, I have a William from Maryland with a date of 1790. I do not have any documentation on him, although the name was passed down the generations by mouth. This would put William as 21 when he had William Pinkney. There is also a Johnathon. He may be William's brother. Maureen Robert Earl Woodham wrote: > Dear Charles and others, > > The William P. you asked about was WILLIAM PINKNEY SASSER, born 8 Dec., > 1811 in NC and died 11 Jan., 1858 in Talladega County, Alabama. He > married Susanna roberson Dison (Dyson) who was born 10 July, 1812 and > died in Talladega Co. 4 July, 1872. They were married 11 May, 1833 in > Meriwether County, Georgia. > > Their children included RICHMOND PINKNEY born 1836 and died in the > Confederate Army 19 Dec., 1861; JAMES DISON (Dyson), born 1 Oct., 1838 > and died 1926 (mar. (1) Nancy A. Christian and (2) Emma Shaw); SARAH > ANTOINETTE, HENRY G., WILLIAM D. (all born in Meriwether County, Ga.); > REGINA CLEMENTINE, LAURA E.; JOHN WESLEY; and SUSANNA ROBERSON. > > Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to prove who his parents are. I > BELIEVE he was a son of WILLIAM SASSER Senior (Junior) and ELIZABETH > BEVERLY but cannot prove this with a document. I do know that this > couple had another son named WILLIAM W. SASSER (Junior) 1829-1902. > > William Sr. moved from Anson County, North Carolina to Jones County, > Georgia sometime before 1820. He later lived in Monroe County and > finally settled at SASSERVILLE in Meriwether County. This little > community was named for him. The community kept this name until it > obtained a post office and because there was already a SASSER, Georgia, > the Post Office Department told the community they would have to pick > another name. It was changed to Gay, Georgia after the Gay family. > > I know it is hard to believe that a family would have two sons names > William. That is my own doubt BUT I have found up to FOUR daughters in > the same family named Elizabeth. > > William Sr. is the ONLY elder Sasser I have learned of who settled in > Meriwether County, Ga. > > Here is the problem -- William Sr. married his wife Elizabeth Beverly in > 1814 in North Carolina. Since William Pinkney's birthdate is given as > 1811, this would mean he was a stepchild of Elizabeth and indicate > William Sr. was married first to someone else. Again, I have no proof of > an earlier marriage. > > Would appreciate it if you would send me the info on your wife's mother > and her siblings. Was she the one who married Arthur Ewing? > > Your cuz, > Robert Earl Woodham > Columbus, Ga. > > ==== SASSER Mailing List ==== > A cousins home page http://www.isource.net/~ralph/ > Sasser Family National Association may be seen at http://www.geocities.com/~rewoodham/sasser.html

Does anyone have any information on this two Sassers? Michael L. Sasser ARLINGTON - Michael L. Sasser, 48, an employee of Heidelberg-Harris in Arlington, died Friday at home after a lengthy illness. Graveside service: 2 p.m. today in Center Hill Cemetery in Linden. Officiant: The Rev. T.J. Bolt. Mr. Sasser was born Feb. 26, 1947, in Tarrant County. He married Glenda Gay on Sept. 5, 1967, in Linden. He had worked for Heidelberg-Harris 10 years. He was a Baptist. He was preceded in death by his parents, Chester and Dorothy Sasser. Survivors: Wife, Glenda Gay Sasser of Arlington; son, Michael Scott Sasser of Arlington; granddaughter, Mary Ann Sasser of Denton; grandson, Chance Sasser of Denton; two brothers, Timothy Lee Sasser of Aubrey and James Calvin Sasser of Arlington; and a host of nieces and nephews. Reeder-Davis-Schindler Funeral Home Linden, (903)756-5211 Wallace D. Sheppard Thanks, Don

>From: MLSASSER@aol.com >Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 23:40:48 EDT >To: EWSass@writeme.com >Subject: Re: Thanks for the reply. >X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Windows 95 sub 120 > >Good to hear back from you. I spent some time on the internet last weekend >researching Melungeons. I am surprised at all the information out there. I >just haven't seen a connection to the Sassers in any way yet. When I get more >time I'll do more research. > >Here's information regarding my line of Sassers starting with Barden Sasser's >son, Abraham Henry Sasser (my great grandfather): > >Abraham Henry Sasser b. 4-5-1864 in Laurel Co. KY. d. 7-7-1925 in Enterprise, >OR m. Margaret Hammack b. 2-6-1874, d. 7-31-1927 in Enterprise, OR. > >John Wesley Sasser b. 1-19-1897 in Laurel Co. KY, m. (1) Gladys May Baker (b. >6-21-1901 in Wallowa Co. OR, d. 7-15-1922 in Wallowa Co. OR) on 10-20-1918. >Two children were born to this union: Reta Marie Sasser b. and d. 1919; Cecil >Edward Sasser b. 9-16-1921 d. 6-13-1977. >m. (2) Pearl Winters (b. 8-12-1908) on 8-30-1924. Their children were Wesley >Eugene Sasser b. 3-6-1926 in Wallowa Co. OR, d. 5-1-1992 in Coeur D' Alene, ID >(buried in Enterprise, OR) and Velma Calista Sasser b. 3-22-1928 in Wallowa >Co., OR. John Wesley Sasser (known as "Wes") died 3-14-1967 and is buried in >Enterprise, Oregon. (Note: John Wesley's brother, Robert [b. 10/18/1904, d. >3/1982] married Pearl Winters' sister, Violet.) > >Cecil Edward Sasser (my father) b. 9-16-1921 in Wallowa Co. OR, m. Betty Pace >(b. 8-29-1926 in Wallowa Co. OR) on 9-23-1946 in Lewiston, ID. Children: >Michael Edward Sasser b. 1-29-1948 in Enterprise, OR. Mitchell Edwin Sasser >b. 1-29-1948 in Enterprise, OR (they're twins), and Michele Lee Sasser (me) b. >1-31-1953 in Walla Walla, WA. My father died on 6-13-1977 of cancer at the >age of 55 at home in Elwood, Illinois. He is buried in Enterprise, Oregon. > >Michael Edward Sasser b. 1-29-1948 in Enterprise OR m. (1) Dorcas Gooday >2-14-1968 in Elwood, IL. (divorced) Child: Michael David Sasser b. 10-3-1970 >in Joliet, IL. >m. (2) Diane Martha Wachal (b. 7-12-1958 in Schuyler, NE). Children: Stacie >Diane Sasser b. 7-22-1986, Meagan Lee Sasser b. 10-23-1991. > > Michael David Sasser b. 10-3-1970 in Joliet, IL m. Vicki Nothof (b. >4-30-1971) on 6-1-1991 in Joliet, IL. Children: Michael William Sasser b. >8-14-1992 in Joliet, IL, Zachary James Sasser b. 5-23-1996 in Joliet, IL. > >Mitchell Edwin Sasser b. 1-29-1948 in Enterprise OR m. (1) Rita Hughes in >1969 (divorced). m. (2) Christena Diane Ellis on 4-14-1973 in Elwood, IL. >Children: Rebecca Diane Sasser b. 11-29-1973 in Joliet, IL, Scott Edwin >Sasser b. 8-12-1977 in Joliet, IL. > >Michele Lee Sasser b. 1-31-1953 in Walla Walla, WA m. Wayne R. Young (b. >7-27-1949 in David City, NE) on 6-10-1972 in Elwood, IL. Children: Zachary >Wayne Young b. 3-15-1974 in Joliet, IL, Leslie Lee Young b. 12-15-1979 in >Seward, NE. > >My father, Cecil, was a Federal employee and we were transferred to many >places (such as Hanover, Illinois; Umatilla, Oregon; Okinawa; and Elwood, >Illinois - where we moved to in 1958. My mother and two brothers still live >in Elwood, Illinois. I married a man from Nebraska who worked for a large >construction company that moved us from one end of the country to the other >for many years. In 1988 he left that company and we settled here, near >Spokane, Washington. We love it here and don't plan to ever live anywhere >else! This information is from Michele Lee Young (nee) Sasser. Cordially, Earl Sasser ewsass@writeme.com

To the Sasser-L, The Sasser Family Reunion in Millington, Tennessee on June 26th and 27th was enjoyed by all. We had cousins from Pendleton Oregon, Reno Nevada, Mission Viejo California, Grand Junction Colorado, Kansas City Missouri, Tecumseh Oklahoma, Wichita Falls Texas, Electra, Texas and also the Tennessee group from Drummonds, Brighten, Millington and Memphis. I would like to offer my apologies for any location I didn't mention. The younger group enjoyed canoeing on Navy Lake while the older more mature stayed indoors in the spacious Air Conditioned Lake House telling family stories and passing on information brought in my scrap book and photograph albums. There were two copy machines and one laptop that could be used to access the net. And of course there was food, food, food, from 12 noon on. At about the time one could not look at another bite of food at 6 o'clock in the evening the Pizza man dropped off eighteen large Pizzas with the works and extra cheese. On one table one could find people copying photos of ones ancestors while at another table a game of cards were being played. Just outside one could see their cousins playing horseshoes waiting for a canoe to become available. Late in the evening a business meeting was called to get some thoughts about the next family reunion. The East and West coast were out as venues because it would cause to much travel for some. So a location in the mid part of the USA was look for and Wichita Falls, Texas was selected. So in the year 2000 in the month of June the Andrew Jackson Sasser descendants will be heading for Texas. Cordially, Earl Sasser ewsass@writeme.com

We have a new member: Lynn Dell Sasser> Lynn Nantz Sasser> John Tilford Sasser> John Peter Milborn Sasser > Arthur J Sasser Thanks Don

Hi, Sorry I haven't responded sooner but I just had a baby boy and all you parents know what it is like to have a first child. I am exhausted! This is my line of Sasser. Charles can reach me at 415-665-1161, or monrene@pacbell.net. I would be happy to talk on the phone. I don't check my e-mail very often. Maureen Don L. Sasser wrote: > I am working on my wife's genealogy. Her mother was a Sasser. She > descends from a William P. Sasser born about 1812 in North Carolina. > William > married a Susanna R. Dyson in Meriweather County, Georgia on November 5, > 1833 and died in Talladega County, Alabama about 1855. He had the > following children born in Georgia; Richmond, James, Sara, Henry, and > William. The following children were born in Alabama; Rigina, Susannah > and John Wesley. John Wesley Sasser, who was my wife's grandfather was > born in Talladega County, Alabama on the 16 of June 1853. He married and > Annis Shaw on the 27 of January in 1877. He died on the 18 of October > 1940 in Alexander City, Alabama. John Wesley had the following > children;Vergie, Cornelia, Clara, Seward, Emma Ozella (my wife's > mother), Sara Antionette, and Amy Jewel. My wife's mother was born 9 > October 1897 and died 8 December 1985 in Montgomery, Alabama. I have > birth, marriage and death information for all of my wife's mother > sibilings. > > My interest to connect with others who link to these Sassers in order to > expand my current database especially with regard to William P. Sasser > born in North Carolina. > > Charles A. Swanson > 298 Rolling Acres Road > Hope Hull, Alabama 36043 > > ==== SASSER Mailing List ==== > Sasser Family National Association may be seen at http://www.geocities.com/~rewoodham/sasser.html > http://www.isource.net/~ralph/ A cousin's home page

Notice the mention of the Sasser Schoolhouse about 2.3 the way down. Debbie M -----Original Message----- From: JLoomer@aol.com [mailto:JLoomer@aol.com] Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 1998 1:34 AM To: KYLAUREL-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [KYLAUREL-L] EXCERPTS from the MOUNTAIN ECHO 1893 (35) ================================================ Reprinted with permission of the Laurel County Historical Society ================================================ AUGUST 18, 1893 PITTSBURG Miss Lou Pitman of Missouri, attended the Hyden-Pitman nuptials. She is a sister of the bride and is the guest of Mrs. Rob't McNeil. Mr. Charles Moses, of your city, has charge of Capt. Pugh's office until his return from the World's Fair. Rev. G. Hayden, of the Presbyterian church and Miss Nellie Pitman were married at the church here Thursday evening the 10th at 8 o'clock, by Rev. J.L. McKee of Danville. LOCAL ITEMS Attend the Fair during the day and the Opera at the Jackson Hall during the evening. There will be and ice cream supper given at the Swiss church in the Johnson addition to-morrow, Saturday evening, the proceeds to be appropriated to the benefit of the German Reform church. Everybody invited and a good time anticipated. The members of the Baptist church gave an ice cream supper at the Sasser's School house last Saturday evening the proceeds to be given for the benefit of the Slate Hill church. Several parties from London attended the supper and all reports a pleasant time. Another one will be given at an early date. DIED-At the residence of his father in the Southern part of this county of typhoid fever early last Friday morning Mr. Matt Elliott after an illness of about five weeks. His remains were buried Saturday at the McHargue burying grounds. He leaves a young and loving wife beside many other relatives and friends to mourn his death, who enjoy the deep sympathy of all. AT REST-Fannie Pearl, the sweet little thirteen year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Martin now of Bluefield, W.Va., but formerly of this place, died at the former place last Sunday morning. The people of London are unanimous in their sympathy with the bereaved parents. EAST BERNSTADT Robt. McFerran has returned from Pine Hill. Little Vernon Thompson and Charley Rednor are both quite sick. Mrs. Emeline Frady, who has been visiting her sister Mrs. J.S. Thompson left for her home in Glascoe, Kansas, last Monday.

I found these Sasser's. Does anyone recognize them ? http://members.tripod.com/~GWaller/md/william.htm William Waller (1661-1713) was about four years old when his parents, John Waller and Alce Major, settled on the south side of Little Monie Creek in Somerset County, Maryland. He was born in Accomack Co, Virginia. Inheriting the 300 acre plantation named "Waller's Adventure" William lived his entire life improving and extending his inheritance. He married in about 1680, Bridgett Nelson, daughter of John Nelson who lived at "Nelson's Choice" near the upper portion of Manokin River a mile or two west of the present town of Princess Anne, county seat of Somerset County. Alice Waller 1692 - ............ +William Sasser ................... 3 William Sasser ................... 3 Bridget Sasser ................... 3 Alice Sasser ................... 3 Ann Sasser ................... 3 Benjamin Sasser William was the son of Benjamin and Ann Rensher Sasser. Ann was the daughter of John and Frances Rensher. Children: William m. Alice Waller Benjamin b. 1677 m. --------------Panter (See Benjamin b. 11-19-1677, below) John b. 1671 (See John b. 9-12-1681, below) Mary b. 1683 m. Alexander Hall Anne (Amy) b.1687 m. William Rensher Will Benjamin Sasser, F. 17, E.B. 9-1712 Will John Rensher, E.B. 9, p.39 Court Book Records, Parran, p.202 Abs. of Somerset Parrish Rec., Vol. 16, p.4, Md. Gen. Rec., D.A.R. Library William d. 2-6-1730, Alice d. 1740. Children: William m. Sarah McClemmy Bridget b. 1720 Ann b. 1722 Benjamin b. Jan. 4 1725/26 m. Mary Lawes Mary b. June 4 1728 Alice b. 1728 Vol. 16, p. 160, Inventory William Sasser Vol. 25, p. 275 Inventory Alice Sasser Benjamin b. 11-19-1677 (d. after 1723, see tax list) m. daughter of John Panter. Children: Panter d. c. 1729 Thomas Will of John Panter, Calender of Wills, Vol. 4, p.19, Cotton John b. 9-12-1681 d. ?, not on 1723 tax list m. ? Children: Benjamin Will of Benjamin Sasser E. B. 17, p. 500 , 1795 Hope this helps.

I found these Sasser's. Does anyone recognize them ? http://members.tripod.com/~GWaller/md/william.htm William Waller (1661-1713) was about four years old when his parents, John Waller and Alce Major, settled on the south side of Little Monie Creek in Somerset County, Maryland. He was born in Accomack Co, Virginia. Inheriting the 300 acre plantation named "Waller's Adventure" William lived his entire life improving and extending his inheritance. He married in about 1680, Bridgett Nelson, daughter of John Nelson who lived at "Nelson's Choice" near the upper portion of Manokin River a mile or two west of the present town of Princess Anne, county seat of Somerset County. Alice Waller 1692 - ............ +William Sasser ................... 3 William Sasser ................... 3 Bridget Sasser ................... 3 Alice Sasser ................... 3 Ann Sasser ................... 3 Benjamin Sasser

-----Original Message----- From: JWHART22@aol.com [mailto:JWHART22@aol.com] Sent: Sunday, June 21, 1998 8:47 PM To: Don L. Sasser Subject: Sasser from RootsWeb >>>I am working on my wife's genealogy. Her mother was a Sasser. She descends from a William P. Sasser born about 1812 in North Carolina. William married a Susanna R. Dyson in Meriweather County, Georgia on November 5, 1833 and died in Talladega County, Alabama about 1855. He had the following children born in Georgia; Richmond, James, Sara, Henry, and William. The following children were born in Alabama; Rigina, Susannah and John Wesley. John Wesley Sasser, w>> I have some Sassers from my husband's side but none of these names match up. I think ours came from NC at one point but the main link with other Sassers I've met seems to be Screven Co. GA. You didn't mention that county but I wondered if maybe you had some notes about that? julie

Dear Charles and others, The William P. you asked about was WILLIAM PINKNEY SASSER, born 8 Dec., 1811 in NC and died 11 Jan., 1858 in Talladega County, Alabama. He married Susanna roberson Dison (Dyson) who was born 10 July, 1812 and died in Talladega Co. 4 July, 1872. They were married 11 May, 1833 in Meriwether County, Georgia. Their children included RICHMOND PINKNEY born 1836 and died in the Confederate Army 19 Dec., 1861; JAMES DISON (Dyson), born 1 Oct., 1838 and died 1926 (mar. (1) Nancy A. Christian and (2) Emma Shaw); SARAH ANTOINETTE, HENRY G., WILLIAM D. (all born in Meriwether County, Ga.); REGINA CLEMENTINE, LAURA E.; JOHN WESLEY; and SUSANNA ROBERSON. Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to prove who his parents are. I BELIEVE he was a son of WILLIAM SASSER Senior (Junior) and ELIZABETH BEVERLY but cannot prove this with a document. I do know that this couple had another son named WILLIAM W. SASSER (Junior) 1829-1902. William Sr. moved from Anson County, North Carolina to Jones County, Georgia sometime before 1820. He later lived in Monroe County and finally settled at SASSERVILLE in Meriwether County. This little community was named for him. The community kept this name until it obtained a post office and because there was already a SASSER, Georgia, the Post Office Department told the community they would have to pick another name. It was changed to Gay, Georgia after the Gay family. I know it is hard to believe that a family would have two sons names William. That is my own doubt BUT I have found up to FOUR daughters in the same family named Elizabeth. William Sr. is the ONLY elder Sasser I have learned of who settled in Meriwether County, Ga. Here is the problem -- William Sr. married his wife Elizabeth Beverly in 1814 in North Carolina. Since William Pinkney's birthdate is given as 1811, this would mean he was a stepchild of Elizabeth and indicate William Sr. was married first to someone else. Again, I have no proof of an earlier marriage. Would appreciate it if you would send me the info on your wife's mother and her siblings. Was she the one who married Arthur Ewing? Your cuz, Robert Earl Woodham Columbus, Ga.

I am working on my wife's genealogy. Her mother was a Sasser. She descends from a William P. Sasser born about 1812 in North Carolina. William married a Susanna R. Dyson in Meriweather County, Georgia on November 5, 1833 and died in Talladega County, Alabama about 1855. He had the following children born in Georgia; Richmond, James, Sara, Henry, and William. The following children were born in Alabama; Rigina, Susannah and John Wesley. John Wesley Sasser, who was my wife's grandfather was born in Talladega County, Alabama on the 16 of June 1853. He married and Annis Shaw on the 27 of January in 1877. He died on the 18 of October 1940 in Alexander City, Alabama. John Wesley had the following children;Vergie, Cornelia, Clara, Seward, Emma Ozella (my wife's mother), Sara Antionette, and Amy Jewel. My wife's mother was born 9 October 1897 and died 8 December 1985 in Montgomery, Alabama. I have birth, marriage and death information for all of my wife's mother sibilings. My interest to connect with others who link to these Sassers in order to expand my current database especially with regard to William P. Sasser born in North Carolina. Charles A. Swanson 298 Rolling Acres Road Hope Hull, Alabama 36043

Debbie, You recently asked whether anyone has a copy of Sarah Grindstaff's letter to Piety Humfleet--widow ofWilliam Humfleet and daughter of Henry Sasser and Nancy Kirby Sasser--in 1888. This is the way it was printed in Knox County, Kentucky Kinfolk 2 (no. 1): January 1, 1978, pp. 6-7 (reprinted for the Knox County Genealogical Society under the Reprint Program of Cook-McDowell Publications, Inc., 719 E. 6th Street, Ownesboro, KY 42301). Glenn [p. 6] A LETTER FROM THE PAST Contributed by Mr. Robert W. Helton, 5739 North 98th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53225 The following letter was also [in addition to another item published in the previous pages of the same issue]found in a trunk belonging to my great-grandfather, Arthur Humfleet. The letter was transcribed by his grand-daughter, Eva Humfleet McHargue and was typed by Robert W. Helton on December 10, 1977. (Note: The letter was addressed on the outside to, "Mrs. Pi ety HumfleetTuttle, Ky.") Apr. 23, 1888 Spickardsville Mo. Grundy Co. Dear Sister & Family I thought I would write you a few lines. I am still on the land amongst the living, but I don't feel that my time is very long here. I am growing old and feeble but when the Lord calls I am ready to go. I am the last of the family and I have been left here a long time to suffer and toil. But that hope I have of the rest after death sustains me through this toilsome life. I am crippled with the rheumatism so I can't hardly get around. Paris has three children two boys and a girl. The oldest is six years old. They are named Jimmy, Willie, and Betty. Paris es (sic) wife isn't very well now. Paris is plowing for corn he is going to put in about thirty acres of corn. We are doing very well. This is a good country. Wages run from 18 to 20 dollars per month. I want you to write and tell me something about brother Johns wife. Where is she and where is Berty Williams and sister Mary's girl. What became of her. And give my love to all the friends. I want some of you to write me as soon as you can. I don't know how long I will be here to receive and write letters. I would like very much to hear from you often. I feel that I am nearly alone in the world. Paris and his family are all I have [beginning of p. 7] here and sometimes I feel very lonely. And a letter from my old home would cheer me up. I will close hoping to hear from you soon. Ever remember your affectionate sister and friend. Sarah Grindstaff Special Note: Robert W. Helton adds the following regarding the above letter: "William and Piety Humfleet are found in the 1850 Knox County Census. Living with them was a Sarah Humfleet, age 40, born N.C., who is either a sister or widowed sister-in law of William in my opinion. The writer of the letter, Sarah Grindstaff, may be this Sarah. Where the word sister is used in reference to Piety in the letter, I am absolutely positive she is not a blood sister." ***************************************** Glenn E. Perry Department of Political Science Indiana State University Terre Haute, IN 47809 USA E-Mail: psperrg@scifac.indstate.edu (812)237-2505 (office) (812)234-5661 (home) ****************************************

-----Original Message----- From: Earl Sasser [mailto:EWSass@writeme.com] Sent: Saturday, June 13, 1998 11:51 PM To: Don Lee Sasser Subject: Melungeons Don--> This was in the newspaper here in Mission Viejo. It's in the same area as our descendants in the Appalachia Mountains. It may be to big to put on the Sasser-L. I have tried to put message on the Sasser-L this week and the list seem to be down. Have you heard anything about the list going under? EARL ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ MOUNTAIN MYSTERY SOCIAL ISSUES: in Appalachia, descendants of a people called Melungeons try to uncover their past. Have they found traces of a lost society, or are they simply engaged in wishful thinking? By TED ANTHONY From: The Orange County Register The Associated Press Sunday, June 7, 1998 >From Nash Home Place, Va. He always believed them. No reason not to Kennedy was his name, and of course Scotch-Irish was his background - a self- reliant lineage straight back to the cool hills of the British Isles, people who took to Appalachia's ridges with vigor and verve. Intrepid mountaineers. But this illness, this thing that threatened to consume his body and hijack his control - well, it just didn't fit. Not at all. An odd malady common in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern people? How did it invade him, of all people? No time to worry about it, though. Other things were more pressing: the unbearable agony in his bones. The lungs that couldn't grab enough air. The grotesquely swollen legs. The panic. The wife and young son. Explanations be damned. He resigned himself to those months of injections. and treatment and pain. He thought he might die. Then he got better, and curiosity begat obsession. Middle Eastern, Mediterranean - did that have some connection to the un explained olive skin, swarthy features and bright blue eyes that his family, and others up on Coeburn and Stone mountains, had exhibited for generations? To the fact that his brother, improbably, was a dead ringer for Saddam Hussein? Maybe, he mused, it was part of a bigger story. He began asking questions. About his parents' parents' parents. About those shy, raggedy folks with shining eyes who'd come out of the woods now and then. About an odd word he'd always heard. About history. About race. About community. The questions brought hi~~ here, to a mountainside graveyard filled with souls who spent their lives ashamed of who they were. Brent Kennedy, whose own eyes shine, wanted - needed - answers. It was the beginning of his new calling -and of something far more. One word. An obscure word. A powerful word, uttered over the centuries in confusion, derision and, most recently, pride. Melungeon. One word. And behind it, a tapestry of truth and possibility, of people wanting to be what they're not and not wanting to he what they are. For 300 years, racial, social and cultural stigmas made second-class citizens of any one in this region who was branded with that one word. Scattered in pockets through the mountains, they sat at the bottom of the white-trash pile - discriminated against, denounced, denied voting rights, branded "colored" by the government in the days when that was a fighting word. But why? What was - what is - a Melungeon? The short answer: Nobody's quite sure. This much is known about the people called Melungeons (rhymes with dungeons): Today many are concentrated in south western Virginia, eastern Kentucky and eastern Tennessee. They have been derided for where they live (the hills), how they live (often poorly), how they are named (Mullins, Collins, Goins, Roberson, etc.). And then there's this. Unseemly, but here it is: Though they fit our nation's modern definition of white, many with Melungeon ancestry just plain look different from the majority of white folks around here. Long, regal noses, dusky faces, jet-black hair, shining blue eyes. One glimpse can evoke foreign lands, strange tongues. Were they originally Spanish? There has long been talk - some of it bolstered by fact, some rampant speculation - that survivors of Santa Elena, a Spanish colony on the South Carolina coast in the 15OO's, forged inland and settled in the hills. Were they Turkish or North African? Both the Turkish melun can and the Arabic malun jinn mean "outcast" or "accursed soul." Were Turkish slaves from Spanish ships abandoned on the coast to work their way to Appalachia? Or were they Portuguese? Early Melungeons, discovered by Scotch-Irish settlers in the mid-l8th century, reportedly spoke broken Elizabethan English and described themselves simply as "Portyghee." The prevailing academic theory offers an equally slapdash, though less romantic, origin. It suggests Melungeons are descended from "tri-racial isolates," a mixture of whites, blacks and American Indians who historians say interbred along Appalachia's ridges during the 18th century. The tantalizing speculations go on, culled from old documents and stories passed down: Spaniards living in a mining community in the southern Alleghenies in 1654. Hints of Catholicism, Judaism, even Islam. Refugees from Sir Francis Drake's ship. Moors and the Spanish Inquisition. American Indian words that inexplicably mirror Turkic words. Today, myth and fact are often inseparable. Abraham Lincoln, it's suggested, was a Melungeon through his mother, Nancy Hanks. And Elvis Presley - look at those dark poor-boy features. Classic Melungeon, some like to speculate. In Wise County, along the cloud-shrouded ridges of Stone and Coeburn mountains in southwestern Virginia, such notions have always been whispered or left unsaid. After all, in the pre-civil rights era, you didn't want to be related to Melungeons, to the "Black Nashes" or "Black Ira" or "Spotted Dave." You didn't want to be pushed around in school by townies; just living on the mountain was stigma enough without being tagged a Melungeon. And you certainly didn't want a surname that caught W.A. Plecker's attention. Two generations ago, the Virginia state official compiled a list of common names that he deemed Melungeon (like Mullins, or Collins), then instructed local officials to sniff out these "mixed families" and prevent them from claiming American Indian ancestry as an "aid to intermarriage into the white race." You didn't even want to poke into your own background; who knew what might turn up? Connie Clark, who teaches in the Wise schools and counts herself as a Melungeon, remembers in eighth grade being assigned to trace her family history - but to stop with her grandparents. "I said, 'What if we can go back farther?'" she recalls. "And they said, 'No - some People might not like what they find.'" Now here's the odd part: T~ day, though there remains passionately angry resistance, more and more people who believe they are Melungeon are going back farther. And they like what they find. "Want to feel my bump?" Brent Kennedy asks. It is on the back of his head, and it is, he proposes, classically Central Asian - proof, along with a ridge behind his upper teeth, that such genes reside within his 47-year-old body, that he's not Scotch-Irish. A stretch? Even Kennedy acknowledges that possibility. But it speaks directly to what he's Went the 1990's trying to do: create, uncover, prove - use whatever verb you wish - similarities between people. Find shared history, common ground. Kennedy's ailments - sarcoidosis and suspected familial Mediterranean fever - halted his life. He gave up a big-time Atlanta public relations job and moved back to Wise, his hometown, to become a college administrator. Like many who fall gravely ill, he shuffled priorities. What emerged frpm his crucible of pain and curiosity was a deep, abiding desire to learn why his family would never discuss being Melungeon, why his mother's people were called the "Black Nashes." So he went onto Stone Mountain and poked. He went onto Coeburn Mountain and pried. He alienated family members with questions; some destroyed photos to prevent him from getting them. Burn in hell, one cousin told him. He found kindred spirits like Darlene Wilson, a gregarious doctoral student in history and the main Melungeon voice on the World Wide Web. Like Chester DePratter, an archaeologist excavating the Santa Elena ruins who - first tentatively, then enthusiastically - became part of the Melungeon investigation. Like Scott Collins, a Sneedville, Tenn., court official who has spent 25 years walking Newman's Ridge in eastern Tennessee and researching his Melungeon ancestry. Kennedy kept at it. He networked. He wrote letters; he got letters back emotional letters, thank-you letters, hate letters, death threats. He helped form a committee (as college administrators do) composed of historians, anthropologists, geneticists, regular folks. A Spanish researcher, a Portuguese researcher, a Turkish researcher. "Brent is running the whole gamut - from oral history to ‘real' history and into the realm of science," DePratter says. "I do find myself having to caution him from time to time, but if he had been totally out there on the fringe, I never would have gotten involved." Then Kennedy wrote The Book. "The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People" resonated in all corners of Melungeondom. It left people on the two mountains aghast; Melungeon simply wasn't a word they discussed. In academia, Kennedy was either welcomed as a provocative kindred spirit or dismissed as a loose cannon who made conclusions, then sought facts. "It was not written as history," Kennedy insists. "The book is a manifesto." Not good enough for some. David Henige, an oral history expert at the University of Wisconsin dismantled Kennedy's book in a recent critique. A believer in the tri-racial isolate" theory, Henige attributes the Melungeon movement to people feeling inadequate and creating a "mass attitude." "It's an attempt - an unsuccessful one - to create history. Instead, it's created a myth," Henige says. "This says something about-human nature: It's nice to believe. That's what keeps religion going, isn't it?" he says. "This is like religion - faith with no proof." Proof or not, the faith is accelerating. This is what it has caused: The mayor of Cesme, Turkey, and his entourage have visited Wise County endorsed the curiosity and promised help in exploring links between Melungeons and the possible Turkish melun can of so long ago. Even the Turkish World Research Foundation has gotten involved. This is what it has caused: Last year, a meeting of Melungeons called "First Union" was expected to draw 200, maybe 300 people. Nearly 1,000 showed up, jamming hotels. Second Union is set for next month. This, arguably, is what it has caused: A backlash against racial purity arguments, a grass-roots movement in a nation where almost all of the -"natives" aren't natives. "History has been sacrificed for much worse," says Rodger Lyle Brown, who wrote about Southern nativist movements in his book, "Ghost-Dancing on the Cracker Circuit." "It's as if they're saying, 'This is what's inside of me, and what's inside me is all things,'" Brown says. "It's as if the Melungeons contain the world." And this is what it has caused: curiosity, anger, understanding. Friendships among people who never knew of each other. Families reunited; other families out-raged-at the temerity of unearthing something they worked so hard to bury. "We are here! We are here! We are here! We are here! -The Microscopic residents of Whoville in Dr. Seuss' "Horton Hears a Who," yelling in unison to persuade the regular-sized universe that their world exists upon a dust speck. Brent Kennedy's great-grand-mother was a strong woman, a woman who could deal. To the day she died in October 1915, Louisa Hall Nash was known on Coeburn Mountain as two things - hospitable and tough. The smattering of houses called Nash Home Place is named for her people. She was, her descendants say, a Melungeon. Today her great-grandson comes to her grave for contemplation - as he has since he was 4, when his mother first brought him to the monument-dappled hillside. "Even then," he recalls, "there was a sadness." Now, though Kennedy's -shoes crunch through the same grave yard's grass, the ground he treads is different. Those who preceded him may have felt they were islands in an ocean of disdain, but now tens have become hundreds have become thousands - Sextons, Gipsons, Collinses, Robersons, Kennedys, random people who have heard of what's happening. People who want to belong. Carolyn Akkins, a young mother from Stone Mountain still hesitant about her Melungeon background, is getting involved, with her 13-year-old daughter Amanda, in Second Union. "To all you people. who ever put me down -I'm not as low as you thought I was," she says. And Connie Clark is teaching a new generation about the Melungeons. She looks at her pale hands and vows her own little push for progress. "When that census comes around the next time," she says, "I'm not going to put down 'white.' I'll put down ‘other.'" Kennedy wants to be. buried here, though not just yet. He can imagine nothing more fitting than to come to an end alongside the people he is starting to understand. His people. History. Race. Community. A nascent extended family in which belief, not genetics, gets you through the front door. Yes, like a religion. And below it all, the questions that faith always raises: How do you tell a story without all the facts? Ai~d, without all the facts, should you ignore the story? Kennedy didn't. Wilson didn't. Collins didn't. And today, in the mountains of southwestern Virginia, eastern Tennessee and eastern Kentucky, almost everyone who wants to be a Melungeon can find a reason, and the paucity of hard facts makes it almost impossible to exclude - anyone. And why not? You could say this lesson - what Darlene Wilson calls the "incredible mosaic" -is a fitting development for an America mixing like never before. What Brent Kennedy envisions is a new kind of ethnicity - one based not upon race or color or background but upon shared experience and - history. "I don't care who we are. I just believe that we need to KNOW who we are," Kennedy says. "However they did it, they got here. And their genes are here," he says. "So when someone says to me, 'Without doubt you're Scotch-Irish,' and I'm sitting here with all these physical traits and all these clues and this illness - well, don't tell me that. Somehow the genes are here. Maybe the blurriness isn't a shortcoming; perhaps it's exactly the point. Something unusual happened here long ago, but the truth may be eternally elusive. It may be that questions, not answers, are what matter most. A new history? Hard to say, many more facts are needed. A new community? You'd be hard-pressed to say otherwise. Because, conclude what you. will about their origins, today some of them are shouting together. The Melungeons, whatever whoever they may be, are here. They are loudly, passionately, indisputably here. AUTHOR: Brent Kennedy visits the grave of a great- great grand mother. He wrote the controversial book ‘The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People.'

This is a test to see if list is working.... Don -----Original Message----- From: Earl Sasser [mailto:ewsass@yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, June 19, 1998 6:11 PM To: dlsasser@classic.msn.com Subject: The Sasser-L???? Don--> Is the Sasser-L still up??? I have posted to it and did not get a message from it. I have not received anything since last Saturday or Sunday. == Cordially, Earl Sasser EWSass@writeme.com _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

Can anyone tell me if William Sasser, b. Johnston Co., NC had any siblings? Or if his father, John Sasser, b. 1715, had any siblings? Does Thomas SASSER Sr. b:circa 1760, Craven Co NC; M:(1790 to 1795)Clarisy ???; d:3 May 1823, Screven Co GA, have any siblings? Does anyone have any more info (dates, siblings) on this:Benjamin Sasser in NC (Craven or Dobbs Co.) who fought in the Revolutionary War. -Bill

Ray, My line has only with certainty been traced back to William Sasser in Johnston Co., NC born about 177?. From there it has been difficult. There were a number of William Sassers in NC about that time (at least 3). There is some hard data on a Benjamin Sasser in NC (Craven or Dobbs Co.) who fought in the Revolutionary War. However, I cannot make the connection to my line. I have also heard of the 3 Sassers who were mentioned in the Somerset Co, MD census in the early 1700s. I don't have that info handy right now, but some others such as Don, Dixie, Glenn, or Robert Earl I'm sure can verify the names and dates. I'm at the office now. When I get home tonight perhaps I'll have some better data for you. Be careful, there are a lot of unsubstantiated rumors. Happy hunting, Phil Sasser