Sarah Tinsley was born in the 1770s probably in or very near to Amherst County, Virginia. She married Thomas Sledd in 1798 in Amherst County. She died probably in Nicholas County, Kentucky, after the 1850 federal census enumeration. Some things I’ve learned about research from Sarah:
- diminutives matter. Sarah is referred to as Sally in several documents.
- online compilations are not always right. Many indicate that Sarah died in 1850. She died sometime after the 1850 federal census enumeration.
- she must have been resilient. Husband Thomas died after they had been married for approximately 16 years, leaving her with six children and a farm to tend to. Sarah never remarried and apparently spent the rest of her life on the property the family acquired shortly after arriving in Kentucky.
- widows may wait to partition the farm. Thomas Sledd left no will but his farm was not partitioned among his heirs (with Sarah receiving her third) until several years after his death. It is surmised that the family waited until the youngest child reached the age of majority to facilitate the sale without the need for the appointment of guardians.
Sarah (Tinsley) Sledd is my 5th great-grandmother. She can be seen in my ancestor table on my website.
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