Individual Details

SPECULATION REGARDING SARAH'S FIRST HUSBAND
In a letter dated 26 AUG 1993, Lucille Vann Cohen states "..there is evidence that William Childress' wife, (Mrs. Snow), was previously married to Ebenezer Snow. Her maiden name was Sally (Sarah) McFadden (note: I (JPC) wonder is Lucille wasn't confusing the McFadden name with Rachel McFadden, wife of Moses Ayres). She had at least one child, Eli. A Sally Snow and children, orphans of Ebenezer Snow are listed in GA in 1800. This is in conflict, however, with Obediah's birth date of 1793. Further to this point, Alabama mortality schedules show a Sarah Snow as a widow at 95, born in VA (in 1755), died in Randolph Co., Alabama, presumably in 1850. On another schedule, a Sarah Snow is listed as a widow in Baldwin Company, Georgia. Capt. Amos Young's battalion registered May, 1821."

In the DAR Patriot Index 1966, page 631, it shows Ebenezer Snow, b. 5 Jan 1734/35 of MA, m. Elizabeth Chase, Sarah ________.

Perhaps another explanation would be that Sarah was the second wife of William, and that his first wife (Tabitha, maybe) was the mother of Obediah and other siblings.

MORE RESEARCH NOTES
It should be noted that there was a sizeable group of Snows who were married while in Jefferson County in the early 1800's. I (JPC) might speculate that Sarah and her "extended family" of Snow relatives were present in Alabama and may have been one of the reasons why and how William Childress ended up there with his family. As a matter of note, I show the following Snows and their respective new spouses and date of marriage in Jefferson County, Alabama:

Cynthia to John Ayers on 4/30/1819; Henry to Malinda Keys on 11/15/1821; Lucy to William Forbis on 2/26/1823; Martha to Samuel Miller on 2/28/1819; Nancy to Isaac Barton on 11/27/1819; Peggy to Merritt McAdams on 2/28/1821; Polly to Stephen Hodges on 8/13/1820; Sally to Andrew Wilson, Jr. on 9/3/1824 and Temperance to Lucas Bayles on 10/19/1820.

FURTHER SPECULATION ON THE OBEDIAH'S MOTHER'S NAME
Spartanburg County, South Carolina, Minutes of Court 1785-1799, pp. 326-329, 10 Feb 1795: "Daniel Obar of SC to Jeremiah Snow of Spartanburg for 10 Lb Stl. Sold 88 acres of 640 acres granted 6 Nov 1786 to Daniel Obar on branch of Furgeson Creek on Tygar. Signed/ Mary Bradshaw. Witnessed by William Childress and Thomas Childress."

(Note: the above reference relates more to the idea that Thomas was William's father, and that their relationship to the Snow family was carried with them from a date at least prior to 1800. I speculate that even if William married Eli Snow's mother, it is highly possible that she was an older widow at the time, and that William's first wife and mother of Obediah and siblings was either deceased or divorced by the time that William and "Mrs. Snow" married. I'm betting on "Tabitha" as being Obediah's natural mother, and that Eli Snow and Obediah were likely step-brothers, not half-brothers. What we need to do is look for a marriage between William and Mrs. Snow around 1800. See note below concerning 1800 S.C. census re: Rachel Snow and William Childress.)

DAR Magazine, July 1923, Vol. 57, #7, p. 433: "10861. CHILDRESS. Obediah Childress, b. 1793, d. 1852, m. Celia Ayers. Their ch were Wm., 1816 -1852; John, Obed., Bettie, Polly, Minerva & Eliz. His mother's maiden name was Snow, & his father was m twice, as there were half Bros & sis. Obediah Childress moved with his family from North Alabama abt 1836/7 & settled in Choctaw Co., Miss., residing there until his death. According to tradition the Childress family lived in East Tennessee prior to settling in Alabama."

Letter from John Hunt (Grandson of Obediah Childress, Sr.), dated 22 Sep 1942, Sturgis, Mississippi:

To Whom It May Concern:
The following statements are true and contain all the accurate knowledge I have of these parties.

Moses Ayres lived and died in Tennessee, I do not know for a fact that Moses Ayres fought in the Revolutionary War.

Selah Ayres, the daughter of Moses and Rachel Ayres married Obed Childress while living in Tennessee. They moved from Tennessee to Alabama, Rachel Ayres, Selah's mother moved with them and they moved to Mississippi, they lived and died near Ackerman, Mississippi and were all buried in Enon Cemetery.

Obed Childress' mother was a Mrs. Snow, but that is all the knowledge of her I have, she was not buried at Enon Cemetery. Obed Childress has a half brother Eli Snow buried at Enon Cemetery.

Signed
John Hunt

Letter from Lucille Vann Cohen, dated 7 Aug 1993: "Most of us believe that Obediah's mother was a Mrs. Snow, a widow, who had Snow children when she married William Childress."

Letter from Lucille Vann Cohen, dated 26 Aug 1993: "Levi Childress and Susannah Montgomery named their first child, John Snow Childress."

Letter from Lucille Vann Cohen, dated 11 Sep 1993: "It is interesting to note that in 1800 in Spartanburg County, S.C. at the time William Childress, Sr. was living there, a Rachel Snow, 1 f 45 & over; 1 f 10-16, 1 f under 10; 1 m 10-16 is also in that county."

Letter from Lucille Vann Cohen, dated 12 OCT 1993: "I doubt very seriously that Sarah Snow, supposedly the mother of Eli Snow, was the mother of any of the Childress men. I think William Childress married her in Tennessee after he left South Carolina. It might be that all of us are barking up the wrong Snow Tree."

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Birth	6 Aug 1777	Greenville, Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States
Marriage	Est 1789	William CHILDRESS
Marriage	Abt 1816	North Carolina, United States - Elias Snow
Residence	1850	Choctaw, Mississippi, United States
Death	2 Jan 1851	Ackerman, Choctaw, Mississippi, United States
Marriage		James J Howard
Burial		Ackerman, Choctaw, Mississippi, United States

Spouse	William CHILDRESS (1750 - 1834)
Child	Mary CHILDRESS (1790 - 1860)
Child	Obediah CHILDRESS (1792 - 1852)
Child	William CHILDRESS (1801 - 1853)
Child	David CHILDRESS (1802 - )
Child	Levi CHILDRESS (1805 - 1879)

Spouse	Elias Snow (1780 - 1851)
Child	William Calloway Snow (1817 - 1862)
Child	Levi Snow (1822 - )
Child	Martha Snow (1825 - )
Child	Pinkney Snow (1825 - )
Child	Marion Snow (1832 - )

Spouse	James J Howard (1774 - 1858)
Child	Delilah Howard (1812 - 1874)

Father	Moses Ayres (1747 - 1828)
Mother	Elizabeth Vittito (1750 - 1802)
Sibling	Moses Ayres (1774 - 1841)
Sibling	Daniel Ayers (1792 - )