the farmer could not be abandoned; lands were to be
surveyed and marked, and fields cleared and cultivated, by men who could
not venture beyond their own doors without arms in their hands. The labors
of those active and vigilant leaders, the Bledsoes, in supporting and
defending the colony, were indefatigable. Nor was the heroic matron--the
subject of this notice--less active in her appropriate sphere of action.
Her family consisted of seven daughters and five sons, the eldest of whom,
Sarah Shelby, was not more than eighteen when she came to Sumner. Mrs.
Bledsoe was almost the only instructor of these children, the family being
left to her sole charge while her husband was engaged in his toilsome
duties, or harassed with the cares incident to an uninterrupted border
warfare.

Too soon was this devoted wife and mother called upon to suffer a far
deeper calamity than any she had yet experienced. On the night of the 20th
July, 1788, the family were alarmed by hearing the horses and cattle
running tumultuously around the station, as if suddenly frightened. Colonel
Anthony Bledsoe, who was then at home, rose and went to the gate of the
fort. As he opened it, he was shot down; the same ball killing an Irish
servant, named Campbell, who had been long devotedly attached to him. The
colonel did not expire immediately, but was carried back into the station,
while preparations were made for defence. Aware of the near approach of
death, Bledsoe's anxiety was to provide for the comfort of his family. He
had surveyed large tracts of land, and had secured grants for several
thousand acres, which constituted nearly his whole property. The law of
North Carolina at that time gave all the lands to the sons, to the
exclusion of the daughters. In consequence, should the colonel die without
a will, his seven young daughters would be left destitute. In this hour of
bitter trial, Mrs. Bledsoe's thoughts were not alone of her own sufferings,
and the deadly peril that hung over them, but of the provision necessary
for the helpless ones dependent on her care. She suggested to her wounded
husband that a will should be immediately drawn up. It was done; and a
portion of land was assigned to each of the seven daughters, who thus in
after life had reason to remember with gratitude the presence of mind and
affectionate care of their mother.

Her sufferings from Indian hostility were not terminated by this
overwhelming stroke. A brief list of those wh