Dear Sharon R., Nooooooooo! I am not sure of anything with this family. Old Ralph was a mysterious man, and Anna was somewhat younger than him when they married. They seem to have been a productive couple however, from at least the late 1820´s. Your theory should be checked out, and will be when I can find the time, but one problem with it is that there is no mention of Taylor children that I know of. If she had children with Mr. Taylor, then Ralph must have adopted them as there are only Sheltons mentioned in all the official documents and notarized testimony that I have seen. It is also possible that Anna and Mr. Taylor had no children. This presents a problem as Ralph and Anna have recorded and documented children as early as abt. 1826. These are Shelton children and mentioned several times in notarized statements. This would mean that she had children with a half Cherokee before, during and after she was married to Mr. Taylor. Your theory would also negate the reference to Anna Taylor being the sister of Joel Taylor, which I admit that I have not followed up as yet. What now? Keep digging, I guess. I learn a little more almost every day. Regards, Duane Mills >Hi Duane, >are you sure she was not a widow, when she married Shelton...and the >earlier kids are from her first marriage....there is no Shelton-Taylor >marriage in the 1820-29 book...BUT there is a Richard Taylor >to Anny Shipley.....11-19-1828.....you might check that angle >out...happened all the time....just to confuse us....Ha Ha ___________ >> The WPA transcribed the records and show the date as 1838, but I >> have very >> good reasons, not the least of which is all the children born before >> 1838, >> to think that the actual date was 1828.