According to the notes of Elizabeth Lankford Jones as recorded at the Transylvania County Historical Society:
“Nancy Taylor (‘Indian Nancy,’ born circa 1740 in Tryon, North Carolina) the Indian died at the age of 110. She smoked a soapstone pipe with a long stem. She would lie in the bed and reach her pipe in the fireplace and light with ashes. One night about ten o’clock they heard her pipe fall to the floor, next morning she was dead in the bed when they called her to breakfast. ”
Nancy Taylor married Lewis Taylor (1708-1768). Their daughter was Sybil “Sibbley” Taylor (1772-1842) who married Robert W. Lankford (1752-1831) and their daughter was Elizabeth Lankford Jones who recorded the family notes at the Transylvania County Historical Society.
Nancy Taylor would be my great-great-great-great-great grandmother. I would love to learn more about her, her parents, and her family.
I seem to have ancestry that leads back to Nancy Taylor in my maternal grandparents lines. I am very interested in finding out more about Nancy Taylor, her husband Lewis Taylor, and their daughter Sybil Taylor. My email is dickmarti14@gmail if you would like to corrdspond and share information.
I have traced our family back to Indian Nancy also. She would be 5-great grandmother. Daughter Sybil “Sibbly” married Robert Lankford (Sr); Son Robert (Jr) Lankford/Lucinda Randolph Lankford; Daughter Eliza Lankford Sims Scott/James Sims (1st husband); Daughter James Catherine Sims May/Nathan May; Daughter Minnie May (grandmother)/Ben Mallett. Robert and Lucinda settled in McMinn TN. Then moved to KY about the time of the Trail of Tears. My grandmother claimed that her grandmother was 1/8th Cherokee Indian. Eliza was born in TN. James Catherine “Kate” was also born in TN and sometime in the 1860’s, they moved to NW Arkansas. Eliza is buried at Hilltop Cemetery Boone County, AR. One of Eliza’s sisters attempted to file for Cherokee citizenship with the Dawes. She was issued an application but it was either not completed or was rejected by Dawes. I would like to know more about Lewis and Indian Nancy also! She sounds quite interesting! My email is paula.leaman@oc.edu.
It is my belief that Nancy was Shawnee. Where she was born in Tryon, NC used to be a village called Xuala that belonged to the Shawnee tribe. Even after Englishmen and Frenchmen settled there, many Shawnee remained and their daughters married Englishmen. My email is lillyknox007@yahoo.com.