My ancestor was Mary (Polly) Wells born 1815 in Lee Co., VA.
She was a lifelong Baptist and Democrat.
She is believed to be the daughter of Zachariah Wells and Rebecca Shepherd.
Thus, she should be granddaughter of Zachariah Wells, Sr.
She married Solomon Yates in 1834 in Lee Co. and moved right away to Jackson
Co. MO.
He was the son of William and Seley Yates who lived in Wilkes Co,
NC; Lee Co, VA and MO.
Solomon was first married to Rachael, who according to our family
legend, was Mary's sister.
Rachel died and Solomon returned to VA to marry her sister.
They made several subsequent moves in northwest MO
and had many children which they raised in addition to Rachael's
children.
Solomon died in the late 1850s and does not appear in the 1860
census with "Polly" and the rest of the family.
She moved to MT in 1864 where she is remembered in the west as "Granny
Yates."
She is a notable MT pioneer who made 13 trips across the plains and
led most of her family to MT.
She lived beyond ninety years, a tough and energetic old woman.
Much has been written about her, and there is an annual picnic held
in her honor.
Today her descendants number in the thousands.
One titillating story in MT is that Granny Yates had a bible that traced her
genealogy back for generations.
I have corresponded with people who claimed to have seen it as late as the
1920s. But of course,
nobody remembers what it said. Oh well........
I would like to know more about her early life in MO and VA, and her family
background.
Dan Brown
Corvallis,
OR