Martha “Patsy” MNU Welch

5 generations back my ancestor Richard Welch arrived in what is currently Lincoln County, Tennessee with his wife Martha. The family never knew her last name. We only know that she was born in 1785 in North Carolina (verified by the 1850 census of Marshall County (their land is cut in half by Marshall and Lincoln County, TN about three miles from present day Petersburg, Tennessee. This land was bordered on land owned by William Welch and Jonathan Welch (verified in 1820 census and land records). This land would have still been Chickasaw land when they arrived between around 1805. Family lore is that she was Cherokee. I have no Indigenous DNA, but other family members in a different branch do. We all grew up in the area around Petersburg. I carry DNA from Welch, Hembree, Nichols, Hesters from that generation on 23 and Me, FTDNA, and Ancestry. There seems to be a connection through James Welch the Packhorseman. I know that my ancestor Richard had a brother named Henry and one named Nicholas. I am hoping that by identifying my ggggrandmother, Martha, that I can verify my family line. The census records say they were both illiterate.