NASH
Our branch of the Nash family immigrated from England (most likely Wales) in 1774. Thomas Nash arrived in the U.S. with two unnamed brothers. He fought in the Revolutionary War and married Sarah COLE, who was probably a widow with a maiden name of DANIEL. Thomas and Sarah settled in Charlotte County, Virginia and had six sons. Their third son, William Daniel Nash, married Mary Frances GAULDING of Prince Edward County, Virginia. William D. was a prominent land owner and tobacco farmer in Virginia, and also fought in the War of 1812. He and his wife had eight children. Prior to the Civil War, he gave up his land holdings in Virginia and moved his family west to Tazewell County, Virginia.

The story of the Civil War being brother against brother is not just a myth. Two of William's sons fought against each other at the Battle of Gettysburg. The oldest son, Joseph N. Nash, had moved with his wife and children to Iowa and joined up with the 37th Regiment of the Iowa Infantry, Union Army. One of William's other sons, John Thomas Nash fought for the Confederates with the Partisan Rangers, which was later reorganized into Company I of the 16th Virginia Cavalry.

John T. married Elizabeth Jane SHANNON and they had 10 children, the oldest of which were twins Andrew Jackson Nash and George Washington Nash. A.J. married Naomi John SUMMERS and they had nine children, including the youngest George Rhea Nash.

GAULDING
The Gaulding line of the family is believed to have been Hugoenot, and were said to have come to America by way of England. The family settled early in Prince Edward County, Virginia. Two daughters and a niece of this family married three of the sons of Thomas & Sarah Nash.

MOORE
When John T. Nash married Elizabeth Jane (Betty) Shannon in 1853, he brought the legendary MOORE's of Virginia into the family. Betty was the great-granddaughter of Capt. James MOORE of Abbs Valley. The book The Captives of Abbs Valley by Rev. James Moore Brown (published 1854 & 1943) tells the story of Capt. James Moore and how most of his family was slaughtered by the Shawnees, and two children, James and Mary, were taken captive. Another son, Joseph Moore (who was Betty's grandfather), had been visiting relatives at the time. James and Mary eventually gained their freedom and were reunited with their brother Joseph. A monument stands in Abbs Valley to memorialize the event.

BROWN
Thanks to it being such a common name, we have only traced the Brown's to Isabelle Ellen "MeMe" Brown's grandfather, William H. Brown (1811-1893) It is through William H. Brown though, that we are connected with many of the founding fathers of many of Southwestern Virginia's oldest towns. Isabelle Ellen Brown's grandmother was Isabella O. CROCKETT, of whose family the town of Crockett, Virginia was named. There are several family claims to a kinship to Davy Crockett, but no one has yet been able to prove this relationship (but you will find the tentative files here). The Crocketts were also related to the SANDERS family. Stephan Sanders was the owner of the very first tavern in Wytheville, Virginia, and also owned land. Isabelle Ellen Brown (1898-1984) even at one time owned a crucial corner lot in downtown Wytheville during the town's forming stages.

CROCKETT
The Crockett branch of our family (via the grandmother whom Isabelle Ellen was named after) has been traced back to Gabriel D'Gust CROCKETAGNE, who was born in France in 1622. His son Antonine Crocketagne was second in command of King Louis VIX guards, which in laymens terms, makes him a Muskateer! There are many documents attesting to Antonine's good looks and how well liked he was, however, during the French Revolution, he was ousted from France with the rest of the Hugenots. He, his wife and child moved to Ireland, which became their springboard for arrival in America about 1708. The name was shortened around that time. Antonine's grandson Capt. Joseph Louis Crockett Jr. (1697-1767) was in the Colonial Militia, Antonine's great-grandson Major Samuel Crockett (1740-1773) was in the Revolutionary War.

SANDERS
Robert Crockett (1769-1835) married Letitia Sanders, daughter of Col. Stephen Sanders (1747-1830) of Cripple Creek, Virginia. This family is mentioned prominently in any history book on Wythe County, VA.

MESSERSMITH
The Messersmith branch of the family is obviously German, but the name may perhaps have been shortened to just Smith once they arrived in the States, so it's impossible to know how many Smiths we are related to. Fannie Ellen Messersmith (MeMe's mother) was born in Rural Retreat, Virginia in 1869. Her father, Frances Marion Messersmith, was illegitimate and was actually given his mother Malinda's maiden name upon his birth. Malinda's grandfather Henry Messersmith, arrived in Philadelphia onboard the ship Phoenix ca. 1754. So far, there have only been speculations about Frances Marion's father. By the way, in old family photo albums, George Rhea captions pictures of Frances as "Grandpa Smith."

LINDAMOOD
Frances Marion Messersmith (1840-1927) married into the LINDAMOOD family of German descent, via Missouri Ellen Lindamood (1842-1898). The Lindamoods are another old family from Wythe County, as you can see by perusing various old cemeteries across the county. The German version of the name appears to have been LINTEMUTH. The earliest known family member was George Lintemuth, who arrived in America from Germany in 1749 onboard the ship Patience, which docked in Philadelphia.