The name Saunders is one of German origin, and the first person to hold this name was Robert, Lord of Innsbruck. The family moved on to England (1370) and some members later to Ireland (around the late 1600's). From many books of the 16th and 17th Centuries, this family is found to be people of culture and money. It is believed that their reasons for leaving the Old Country were either political or religious. Bloody Mary had some of them beheaded for being Protestants. In coming to the New World, they colonized places in Massachusetts and Rhode Island (towns such as Saunders, Sandeys, Saundersville, Saunderstown). The Saunders family was among the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Benjamin Franklin used the pseudonym Richard Saunders for his "Poor Richard's Almanac".
I have many more generations earlier than what I have here, but there are still many questions about them. Some of the data is merely circumstancial. However, for the truly curious, I have posted these names at my "Earlier Saunders Generations" link above.
We begin here with John Saunders, who was born about 1510 in Berkshire, England. He married Alex (or Ales) Coles in Berkshire about 1540. She was born about 1515 in Wick, Berkshire, England. This family was of Purley, in the Parish of Chaddleworth, in Berkshire. John was known as "Sir" John Saunders. He and Alex had a son also named John.
This John Saunders was born about 1540 in Berkshire, England. He married Margaret Buckeridge (born about 1550 in Basildon, England) in Berkshire about 1580. They had a son named Thomas.
Thomas Saunders was born about 1590 in Berkshire, England. He married Mary Buckeridge (born about 1600 in England) in Berkshire about 1625. They had a son named David.
David Saunders was born about 1630 in England. He married Elizabeth Isaac (born about 1650) about 1670. David, who was a Baptist minister, immigrated to Virginia about 1683 from England. He became overseer for the colony established at James City, VA, and then later returned to England. David and Elizabeth had two children: Martin and Daniel.
Martin Saunders was born about 1670 in England. He married Rachel Aaron about 1700. He and his brother Daniel had immigrated to VA from England about 1735. A letter written by T.B. Saunders, I, in the early 1900's provides the following information: "There were two Saunders brothers who came from England long before the Revolutionary War. At that time, the pirates were very bad on the North Carolina coast. The governor of North Carolina fitted out a vessel to catch them. In making up the crew, he took one of these brothers, and they caught Black Beard the Pirate, and hung him to the mark arm. The crew got a good deal of money, and when that brother came back, he left the 'u' out of his name, and that is the reason so many spell their name 'Sanders'."
According to Collier's Encyclopedia, Blackbeard was Capt. Edward Teach from Bristol. He turned pirate in 1716 in the West Indies. He operated off of Charleston, SC, terrifying the provinces of Carolina. He stole three armed ships and gave plunder. He was killed in 1718 by Lt. Robert Maynard on the James River during an attack by two sloops sent against them by the governor of VA. -- pretty consistent with the Saunders story.
Martin Saunders and his wife Rachel had a son named John. John, born about 1700 in VA, married about 1730 to Catherine Nimrod (born about 1705 in VA). John and Catherine had 4 children: (1) Isaac, who was born about 1732 in VA, and died in NC. He was the first man to build a house on Cross Creek near Fayetteville, NC, according to Saunders family records.; (2) Moses, who was born about 1734 in VA, and was a Baptist minister; (3) William Aaron, who was born about 1735 in VA, and died about 1775; and (4) Tibitha, who was born about 1740 in VA, and married a Mr. Hamilton about 1760 in VA.
William Aaron Saunders (3rd child of John) married Joan Bailey (born about 1740 in VA) about 1760. William Aaron was an army captain during the Revolutionary War, and was killed during "a fight with the Tories". His wife Joan is said to have been of the "famous Bailey family of Virginia". They had 3 children: (1) Nimrod; (2) Benjamin "Ben" (died in AL); and (3) Joseph "Joe" (born in NC, died in AL).
Nimrod Saunders/Sanders was born in 1780 in Montgomery Co., NC, and died about 1849 in AL. He married Elizabeth Ricketts (born about 1786 in Anson Co., NC, and died in AL). She was also known as Mary. Nimrod is shown as owning land in Montgomery Co., NC, in 1802, on the Duncombe Creek, a branch of the Uwharrie River. He later moved his family to Alabama.
It is with this generation of Nimrod's children that we begin to see the change in spelling from Saunders to Sanders. Some kept Saunders, and others changed to Sanders. Nimrod and Elizabeth Ricketts Saunders/Sanders had 14 children:
(1) Sarah, who was born 12-21-1803 in NC. (2) Tabitha, who was born 7-21-1806 in NC, and died 1-15-1892 in Cherokee Co., AL. (3) Nathan D., who was born 5-27-1808, and died 6-23-1832. (4) Aaron, who was born 5-14-1810. (5) Stephen, who was born 3-28-1812 in NC, and died in OK. He married and had 2 sons & 2 daughters. (6) Polley, born 2-28-1814 (twin of Solley). (7) Solley, born 2-28-1814 (twin of Polley) She married and had 6 children. (8) Thomas Bailey (see more on him below). (9) Joanna, who was born 7-8-1820 in NC, married and had 3 children. (10) Jackson, who was born 8-21-1822 in NC, and died in AL. He married & had 6 children. (11) Harris (see more on him below). (12) Luke, who was born 8-30-1826 in NC, married and had 2 daughters. (13) Agnes (Agga), who was born 6-3-1828 in NC, married and had 5 children. and (14) Allen, who was born 11-11-1829 in NC.
Thomas Bailey Saunders (8th child of Nimrod) was born 10-9-1816 in Fayetteville, Cumberland Co., NC, and died 5-26-1902 in Saunders Station, Bexar Co., TX. He married on 8-25-1841 in AL to Elizabeth Emma "Emmie" Harper (born 11-26-1824 in Birmingham, AL, and died 11-6-1893 in Sayers, Bexar Co., TX). T.B., as he was known, is buried in Salem Cem. in Sayers, Bexar Co., TX. He was a rancher.
The following is taken from a Texas Historical Marker located in Saunders Park at the 100 block of E. Exchange Ave., Fort Worth, sponsored by North Fort Worth Historical Society: "A native of North Carolina, Thomas Bailey Saunders (1816-1902) migrated to Texas in 1850 and started a cattle ranch near Gonzales. After the Civil War, he completed cattle drives to markets in New Orleans and Kansas before settling in Bexar Co. Two of Saunders' 12 children were also involved in the cattle industry."
The following is taken from the "History of the Cattlemen of Texas", 1914, p. 221: "T.B. Saunders was born in North Carolina, lived for some time in Alabama, and in 1850 came to Texas, settling at Rancho. In 1859, he moved to Goliad County, where he resided until 1880, when he became a resident of the eastern portion of Bexar County, where the station of Saunders, which was later established as the Gulf Shore Railroad in that locality, was named for him. He died at the Saunders' homestead at that place in 1902. He was, during his life in Texas, a successful farmer and stockman, well known to all the early residents of the state."
T.B. Saunders also lived in Mississippi a few years before moving to Texas. The location of his ranch in Gonzales County, TX, was a place known as Rancho. The location of his ranch in Goliad County, was on Lost Creek. T.B. Saunders founght in the Civil War, along with his sons Matt and Bill.
T.B. and Emmie Saunders had 11 children: (1) James Madison "Matt", born 1-1-1843 in Yalobusha Co., MS, died 3-14-1910 at Saunders Station, Bexar Co., TX.; (2) William "Bill" David, born 3-1-1845 in Yalobusha Co., MS, died 1-9-1922 in San Antonio, TX. He enlisted in the Confederate Army at the age of 17. He was a rancher like his father, and helped supply beef for the soldiers during the Civil War, leading massive cattle drives from Texas. He later established the Saunders Trail through South Texas and Louisiana to Mississippi.; (3) Nancy Tibitha, born 4-25-1847, died 10-19-1937.; (4) Sarah Ann, born 12-5-1848, died 2-26-1933.; (5) Andrew Jackson, born 8-19-1851 in Rancho, Gonzales Co., TX, died in 1924 in San Antonio, TX.; (6) George Washington, born 2-12-1854 in Rancho, TX, died 7-3-1933 in San Antonio. He became a noted trail driver of the 1870's, organizing the George W. Saunders Live Stock Commission. The Old Time Trail Drivers organization was founded Feb. 15, 1915, under his leadership, and he was made lifetime president. The entertainer Will Rogers was a friend of George and sent flowers to his funeral.; (7) Steven Allen, born 4-9-1856 in Goliad Co., TX, died 12-4-1894 in Stockdale, Wilson Co., TX.; (8) John Calhoun, born 6-10-1858, died 9-25-1914; (9) Mary Elizabeth; (10) Tom Harper, born 10-21-1863, died 4-28-1866; and (11) Pally Katherine, born 9-11-1868, died 4-21-1917.
Harris Sanders (yes, Sanders), the 11th child of Nimrod Saunders, was born 3-27-1824 in Montgomery Co., NC, and died 2-21-1917 in Cotton Plant, Tippah County, MS. He married on 6-26-1853 to Emaline Crump (born 10-20-1836, died 3-4-1920 in Cotton Plant, MS). Emaline was the daughter of William and Elizabeth Webster Crump (see my Crump link).
Harris served in the Confederate Army in the Civil War, in Co. D of the 7th Mississippi Cavalry. He and Emaline are both buried at Academy Cem. in Tippah Co., MS. They had 12 children:
(1) Elizabeth Jane (see more on her below); (2) Sara Ezella, born 1857 in Tippah Co., MS, married Matthew Lee Crump in 1875 (kin?); (3) William Peter, born 1860 in Tippah Co., married Susie Godwin in 1894; (4) Louvenia, born 1861 in Tippah Co., married Benjamin Welch; (5) Mary Jane, born 1864 in Tippah Co., married Joseph M. Gunter; (6) Mary Alice, born 1866 in Tippah Co.; (7) James Luke, born 1868 in Tippah Co., married Luella Mauldin; (8) Thomas Jefferson, born 12-30-1869 in Tippah Co., married Eula Inez Guyton on 2-16-1899; (9) John Duff, born 1872 in Tippah Co., married Nancy Elizabeth Clifton; (10) Polly Viola, born 1876 in Tippah Co., married Samuel Jernigan; (11) Arthur Harris (see more on him below); and (12) Olive Belle, born 1882 in Tippah Co., married Henry Patterson.
Elizabeth Jane Sanders (oldest child of Harris & Emaline Crump Sanders) was born 4-15-1855 in Tippah Co., MS, and died 1-23-1944 in Blue Mountain, MS. She married Newton Jasper Owen, and had 5 children: (1) Daisy Ezella, born 8-5-1879; (2) Ernest Lynn, born 8-8-1882; (3) William, born 3-6-1884, married Mildred Pauline Sims 1-31-1914 and had 3 children, William Sims, Ernest Caple, and Earl Dean.; (4) Lillian, born 10-11-1887; and (5) Carl G.
Arthur Harris Sanders (11th child of Harris and Emaline Crump Sanders) was born 11-25-1879 in Tippah Co., MS, and died 2-3-1937. He married Nell Serene "Nellie" Crump (born 7-9-1881, died 10-9-1950) on 9-8-1901. Nellie was the daughter of James W. Crump and his wife Ms. Duncan (see my Crump link). (They were first cousins.) This family settled in Alabama and Cotton Plant, Tippah County, MS. Arthur Harris and Nellie Crump Sanders had 10 children:
(1) James H. "Jim", who was born 5-31-1902, and died 3-1-1906. He fell into the fire and was burned, and died as a result.
(2) William Hubert, who was born 12-28-1903, and died 5-23-1986 in Corinth, Alcorn Co., MS. He married Pearl Willhite (born 12-27-1925).
(3) Albert Wayne, who was born 6-21-1905, and died 2-2-1975 in Corinth, Alcorn Co., MS. He married Clara Wilbanks (born 1-21-1923, died 12-25-1989).
(4) Emma E., who was born 1-20-1907, and died 4-1971. She married first to J.P. Porterfield on 10-8-1923, and then to Will Russell on 2-11-1929.
(5) Thomas Luther "Tom", who was born 1-21-1909, and died 3-1-1988 in Corinth, MS. He married Mary Alice Hardin Miller on 10-20-1951. They had no children.
(6) Leonard Crump (see more on him below).
(7) Carl Overton, who was born 9-23-1912, and died 1-26-1998 in Corinth, MS. He married Ollie Belle Essary on 4-30-1938. They had no children.
(8) Rosa Delta, who was born 1-15-1915, and died 3-24-1920. She caught the flu during the epidemic during the War and died as a result.
(9) Cora Belle (see more on her below).
and (10) Minnie Orilla, who was born 4-4-1920, and died 2-14-1979 in Corinth, MS. She married Phillip Cannon on 10-28-1950.
Leonard Crump Sanders (6th child of Arthur Harris & Nellie Crump Sanders) was born 9-16-1910 in Blue Mountain, Benton Co., MS, and died 8-31-1993 in Corinth, Alcorn Co., MS. He married Edith Mae Nanney (see my Nanney link) on 10-25-1931 in the Prentiss County Courthouse at Booneville, MS. He and Edith are both buried in the Young Memorial Garden cemetery at Smithville, Monroe County, MS, where they had lived for many years.
Leonard and Edith Sanders had 4 children: (1) Ruby Irene, who married Lee Roy Tucker, and had 4 children; (2) Hulen Louis, who married first to Sue Majures, and then to Betty Dillard. He and Sue adopted 2 children. Betty brought her 2 into the marriage, and they had 2 more, totalling 6.; (3) Sarah Juanita, who married Leroy Wayne Campbell (see my Campbell link) and had 3 children; and (4) Jerry Wayne, who married Pearline Evans and had 2 children.
Cora Belle (9th child of Arthur Harris & Nellie Crump Sanders) was born 8-11-1917, and died April 11, 2001. She married first to Clarence J. Green and had 2 children. She then met and had 3 children with Marlow Hudson. Belle then married Ellis Smith, and had five more children (totalling 10), after which she met Early Smith, and then married Charley Davis. She then married her first husband Clarence J. Green again.
