Nielsen Hayden genealogy

Mourning Blanshard

Female 1768 - 1834  (~ 66 years)


Personal Information    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    All

  • Name Mourning Blanshard 
    Birth Mar 1768  North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3
    Gender Female 
    Death Sep 1834  Whitley County, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 4
    Burial Red Bird Cemetery, Williamsburg, Whitley, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 4
    Person ID I10836  Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of PNH
    Last Modified 26 Feb 2023 

    Family James Sumner,   b. Abt 1766, Gates, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1834, Whitley County, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 68 years) 
    Marriage Aft 3 Apr 1784  Gates County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location  [5, 6
    Children 
     1. Lydia Sumner
     2. Sally Sumner
     3. Nehemiah "Miah" Sumner,   b. Between 1785 and 1787, Buncombe, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 14 Feb 1871, Whitley County, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 86 years)
     4. John Sumner,   b. Abt 1792, Buncombe, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location
     5. Mark Sumner,   b. 1 Oct 1795, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 15 Sep 1869, Whitley County, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 73 years)
     6. George Sumner,   b. 1800, Grayson County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Between 1873 and 1880, Monroe, Carroll, Indiana Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 73 years)
     7. Frances Sumner,   b. Abt 1804, Grayson County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Abt 1825, Whitley County, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 21 years)
    +8. Nancy Anne Sumner,   b. Jun 1804, Grayson County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Jul 1876, Williamsburg, Whitley, Kentucky Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 72 years)
    Family ID F6390  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 26 Feb 2023 

  • Notes 
    • According to P. Bryant, current maintainer of her Find a Grave page, she has been extensively confused with the Mahala Smith (1799-1882) who married Joseph Chestnutt Sumner (1793-1880). There appears to be no evidence that our Mourning (Blanshard) Sumner was called "Mahala" in her lifetime, despite the presence of that given name on her modern gravestone at Red Bird.

      Bryant goes on to say that the two extant contemporary records of Mourning (Blanshard) Sumner are her Gates County marriage contract and the 1790 census, neither of which call her Mahala. The marriage contract does show her birth surname as Blanshard and calls her "of Hertford County." It also specifies that once married, she will continue to have full possession of the land and slaves that were hers before marriage. Witnesses were Starkey Sharp, Walter McFarlane, and Joseph Witherington. 3 Apr 1784.

      (An Aaron Blanchard of Chowan County, North Carolina made his will on 15 Jul 1772, naming daughters Millicent, Mary, and Esther, wife Rachel, and "trusty friend" James Sumner, the latter of whom was also named an executor, leading many people, including us, to the hasty conclusion that Aaron was her father. But the James Sumner who married Mourning Blanshard would have been a young child at the time of Aaron Blanchard's will.)

      Assertions that she was of Cherokee heritage are, to the best of our knowledge, baseless.

  • Sources 
    1. [S282] Nancy Jonckheere, 23 Dec 1999, post to Cumberland-River-L.

    2. [S1055] Findagrave.com page for Mourning Blanshard Sumner.

    3. [S840] Ancestry of Elizabeth Louise White by Steven C. Perkins., date only.

    4. [S840] Ancestry of Elizabeth Louise White by Steven C. Perkins.

    5. [S115] North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868, on ancestry.com.

    6. [S250] North Carolina Marriage Index, 1741-2004, on ancestry.com.