Catherine Elizabeth Sellards, daughter of Hezekiah Sellards was born ca 1764, probably in Pennsylvania, died about 1833 in Lawrence, Kentucky, married near Walkers Station in the present Bland County, Virginia, John Borders, born in Prussia probably before 1757 in the province of Hesse.

As most authors have used the name Elizabeth, she probably had a double name, this being either Catherine Elizabeth or Elizabeth Catherine. Catherine, Katherine or some diminutive of these two names is prevalent in the various public records but the name Elizabeth does not appear in any official records located to date.

Henry P. Scalf, author of The Last Frontier, advised that his grandmother always referred to her as the Elizabeth who married the Borders. Adam Brevard Wiley, her nephew, in his story of his mother's captivity as recorded in William Elsey Connelley's The Founding Harman's Station and The Wiley Captivity calls her Elizabeth. Reverend Zephaniah Meek, who married her granddaughter, Mary Jane Davis, assisted William Ely in writing the Big Sandy Valley in which the name Elizabeth is used. Also authors Arville Wheeler in White Squaw and Harry Caudill in Dark Hills to Westward list her name as being Elizabeth.

The following deed per pages 271-272 of Deed Book 1, Tazewell County, Virginia is the first record found of the name Katy. Though Katy is the spelling in the deed and for her mark, as you will note the County Court Clerk in his statement uses the English version of Caty rather than the German spelling, Katy. Caty is more logical, as her parents were Scotch-Irish, thus the English spelling would appear to be more correct.

Note other evidence later in this writing.
This indenture made this thirtieth day of October in the year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and four, between John Borders, and Katy his wife, of the county of Tazewell, Commonwealth of Virginia of the one part & Nehemiah Bonham of County of Wyeth & Commonwealth aforesaid of the other part witness that the said John Borders, and Katy his wife, for in consideration of the sum of one hundred and forty dollars to them in hand paid the receipt whereof, before the ensealing and delivery of these presents is hereby acknowledged, doth bargain and sell and confirm unto the said Nehemiah Bonham & his heirs a certain tract or parcel of land containing one hundred acres lying and being in the County of Tazewell on Kimberlings fork of Walkers Creek, it being part of a tract of (left bank) acres granted to William Muncy, conveyed by said Muncy to Daniel Waggoner & by sd Waggoner to sd Borders & bounded as followeth to wit: beginning at a white oak & hickory & runneth thence S52° W60 poles to a dogwood & cherry tree of the old survey & with the lines thereof S63° W48 poles to two hickory S2° E88 poles to white oaks, George Waggoner's corner & with his line S35° E to marked trees on the open line, of the old survey; another corner of George Waggoner's land N61° E140 poles thence leaving the old line N36° W135 poles crossing Kimberlings fork to the Beginning together with all its appurtenances to have & to hold the sd tract of land with all & singular the premises and appurtenances to the sd Bonham & his heirs forever & the sd John Borders & Katy his wife for them selves and their heirs, doth covenant to & with sd Nehemiah Bonham & his heirs that they the sd John Borders and Katy his wife the sd tract of land with the appurtenances unto the sd Bonham & his heirs against the clame, challenge or demand of him the sd John Borders & his heirs & from all & every other person or persons whatsoever will warrant & defend in witness whereof the sd John Borders & Katy his wife doth hereunto subscribed their names & affixed their seals day & year first above written.

Acknowledge in presence of his
Wm Neel John X Borders Seal
James Finley Mark
his
John X Byrnes her
mark Katy X Borders Seal
mark

At a court convened & held for the County of Tazewell March 15th 1805 this deed of bargain and sale from John Borders and Caty his wife to Nehemiah Bonham was part proven in Court by the oath of Wm Neel and continued for further proof.
At a Court held for sd County June 25th 1805 this deed was further proven by the oath of John Byrnes another witness thereto and continue for further proof.
At a Court held for the County of Tazewell August 26th 1806 this deed was fully proven in Court by the oath of James Finely another witness thereto and ordered to be recorded.
Teste
/s/ John Crockett, Clk

The above land is the same land conveyed to John Borders as of August 14, 1798 from Daniel Waggoner and his wife Susanna and as recorded in Deed Book 2, page 279, Wythe County, Virginia Court Records.

Walkers Mountain parallels the southern border of the eastern portion of the present Bland County, Virginia. Walkers Creek flows along the base of this mountain.

John Borders, his wife and seven children, four sons and three daughters, migrated to Kentucky about 1804 as indicated by the above Tazewell County deed. Their youngest daughter, Gemima, was born in Kentucky about 1806. The earliest recorded evidence of the family in Kentucky is the marriage record of their son Michael in 1809, in Floyd County and the listing of John and his son Michael, as heads of household in the 1810 Floyd County, Kentucky census.

John Borders was born in Prussia and Catherine in Pennsylvania per their son Archibald's statement to the 1880 Lawrence County, Kentucky census taker. John served on the British side, under Cornwallis during the American Revolution, as one of the Hessian soldiers. There is one story circulated in part of the family which moved to Arkansas, that failing to be paid, John switched to the American cause. No record has been found of this switch or actual record of John as a Hessian soldier.

A most prevalent tradition by the descendants of a grandson Henry BORDERS, son of Michael Borders, is that John had a brother Michael who served with John and later went West and was never heard from again. Hezekiah Borders Hammond, great grandson of John Borders and grandson of Hezekiah and Jemima (AUXIER) Borders, wrote a 24-page treatise on the Borders family in 1949, at age 81, Data About Our Family. He states John and his brother were Hessian soldiers and that they served together.

Linda Cunningham Ewing in her book, My Forbears, published in 1946, claims the Michael Borders who settled in East Tennessee, later migrating to Jackson County, Georgia where he died in 1807, is definitely a brother to John Borders of the Big Sandy Valley. As John had a son Michael, this Michael had a son John.

As Kentucky was once part of Virginia, at the same time the present state of Tennessee area was then part of Washington County, North Carolina. Michael is listed as a North Carolina militiaman during the American Revolution on the side of the colonies. He has been used for entry into the DAR. The 1850 census of Bledsoe County, Tennessee lists Michael's daughter, Mrs. Maryanne Click as being born in Tennessee in 1764. Michael is listed in the 1778 Washington County, North Carolina tax list. Based on this Michael apparently was in the East Tennessee area before 1764.

The 1850 census of Jackson County, Georgia lists Michael's son Isaac as being born in Tennessee in 1776. The 1850 census of Benton County, Alabama lists Michael's son John as being born in Tennessee in 1779. The 1850 census of Harris County, Georgia lists Michael's son Stephen as being born in Georgia in 1784.
In 1787 North Carolina granted Michael Borders/Bordin/Borden 250 acres in Greene County, Tennessee on the south side of the Nolachuckee. Also in 1787 Mikill Borders was one of the signers of a petition to the State of North Carolina which asked for authority to form a separate government across the mountains. Elbert County, Georgia records show that one Michael Borders bought 200 acres in that county in 1792. The Franklin County, Georgia records show that Michael Borders bought 200 acres in that county in 1795. The above information on Michael of Tennessee and Georgia are from the files of Colonel W.S. Borders (retired) of Ft. Walton Beach, Florida.

Whether or not these two are brothers is not yet proven. Michael was here too early to have been one of the Hessian soldiers. The first German State troops to arrive did not land at Staten Island until August 15, 1776.

Traditionally when Cornwallis surrendered, John asked for and received permission to remain in this country. He then migrated to Walker's Station. Here he met, courted and married the daughter of Hezekiah Sellards.

By family tradition, John and his family planned to migrate to Scioto County, Ohio, but upon reaching the Big Sandy Valley he became ill and stopped to recuperate. He remained in the area and was deceased by the 1820 census. Henry P. Scalf believes his death to be about 1815. The old John Borders house was situated on the old river road on the west side of the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy. The present Johnson-Lawrence County line went through this old residence which was torn down many years ago. A gavel made from one of the beams of this house was presented to Mr. Henry P. Scalf while he was serving the city of Prestonsburg, Kentucky as its police judge.

Edward R. Hazelett of Paintsville, Kentucky, speaks of another traditional story in the family to the effect John Borders always prayed in German. upon being questioned about the context of his prayers, John would reply he was praying for his family which he left behind in the old country. Some read into this that John may have been married and when conscripted into service he left a family in Prussia. Others feel he was merely praying for his brothers, sisters and other members of the family he left behind.

The 1820 Floyd County, Kentucky census lists Catherine Borders as head of household. In the 1830 Lawrence County, Kentucky census we see her listed as Katy Borders, age 60 to 70.

In the land patent records we find the following entry.
LAWRENCE COUNTY to wit 19 March 1823 Survey for Caty Borders Assignee of William Boyd who is the Assignee for William Nelson 50 acres of land by virtue of one Kentucky Land Office Warrant S11.710 lying and being in the County Lawrence bounded as follows to wit beginning on the west side of Georges Creek at two beeches thence South 75 E98 poles to a poplar and beech S12 E80 poles to a beech S9 W64 poles to two beeches S26 W130 poles to a stake S7 W268 poles to the beginning.
/s/ John Hawes LCC
/s/ George Pack
/s/ Charles Pack
his
/s/ John X Brown
Mark

On December 4, 1833 the following deed was written for the heirs of Catherine BORDERS in the sale of her farm to her son Michael, as recorded in Deed Book B, page 232, Lawrence County, Kentucky County Court Records.

This Indenture made the 4th day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty three between the heirs of Catherine Borders of the County of Lawrence and State of Kentucky of the one part & Michael Borders of the other part. Witnesseth that for and in consideration of the sum of one hundred and seventy five dollars to them in hand paid the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged that the said heirs both granted, bargained and sold & by these presents doth grant, bargain & sell unto Michael Borders all that tract or parcel of land situate lying and being in the county of Lawrence & State of Kentucky & bounded as follows to wit, beginning on the left hand fork of Georges Creek on the North side of said creek at the stake thence N17 W40 poles to a white oak, N67 E58 poles to a stake, S75 E28 poles to white oaks corner to Michael Borders lower place S22 E30 poles to a stake S19 W60 poles to a stake S39 W108 poles to a stake, S70 W85 poles to the beginning to have and to hold and possible enjoy forever from them and their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns to the sole benefit of the said Michael Borders warrant and forever defend the aforesaid premises from themselves, their heirs, and assigns brot against no other title in witness whereof we have unto set our hands and seals this day and date first above written.
Signed and sealed and delivered in
the presence of /s/ John Borders
/s/ Stephen Graves /s/ Isom Daniel
/s/ William Price /s/ Elizabeth Borders
/s/ A Borders /s/ A Borders
/s/ Hezekiah Borders
/s/ Valentine VanHoose

State of Kentucky, Lawrence County Sct
I James N. Rice, Clerk of the Court for the County aforesaid do certify this deed from the heirs of Catherine Borders to Michael Borders was this day produced to me and acknowledged by the said Archibald Borders to be his act and deed and proved by the oath of Stephen Graves and Archibald Borders, two subscribing witnesses thereto to be the act and deed the said John Border, etc., to be their act and deed whereof the said deed together with the forgoing certificate hath been duly recorded, given under my hand this 15th day of January 1834.
/s/ James N. Rice CLC

As you will note the above deed is signed by the sons, one daughter, Elizabeth, and the son-in-laws. The puzzle in these signatures is why Elizabeth signed as a Borders rather than as a Davis. Archibald Borders, as above, normally signed various documents as just A. Borders.

The Kentucky vital statistics microfilm for Lawrence County, Kentucky for the year 1857 lists the death of Hezekiah Borders as of October 15, 1857 and lists his parents as John and Katherine Borders.

Included in the marriage record information in the Floyd County Court Clerk's office in Prestonsburg, is an old yellowed slip of paper on which the faded ink has turned brown is written the permission slip for their daughter Caty to marry John Brown. This slip is signed Catty Borders. The letter "t" as used in these two names is not crossed, but written in the manner many people use to close a word ending in "t". The first letters are clearly "C". The signature is definitely not "Elly."

The first Borders to settle in Kentucky came to Washington County, Kentucky in the late 1700's to early 1800's. Their names were Mathias and Henry Borders, probably brothers. If there is any connection to John Borders this has not been proven.

Other Borders of the Revolutionary War period on whom applications were filed for pension purposes were:
Christopher Borders of Butler Township, Darke County, Ohio, age 71 on August 15, 1833, declared that in the spring of 1779 or 1780, he was drafted into the Virginia Militia in the Company of Captain Maxfield or Maxwell and marched to Whitens Station on the waters of the Clinch River. As members of the company at that time were housed with settlers in the vicinity, Christopher stayed part of the time with Matthias Harman near the station. Christopher was born in 1763 near Schoolkill River. His father moved to Maryland when he was very young and then to North Carolina. About one year after he quit the service he returned to Rowan County, North Carolina and live about five years and then moved to Rockingham County where he live two years, then to Greenbriar County for twenty two years, to Green County, Ohio about six years and then to Darke County, Ohio.

It is interesting to not the name Matthias Harman in the statement of Christopher Borders and one wonders if there is any connection with the Mathias Harman of Walkers Station and whose son founded Harman's Station in Blockhouse Bottom outside of present day Paintsville, Kentucky or a relative with the same name.

Another pension applicant is Peter Borders of Sangamon County, Illinois who declared he was born in 1767 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. At the age of four his family moved to Loudon County, Virginia. He claimed in his application, later rejected as being under age 16, he entered service in Loudon County in March 1781 as a substitute for John May. He resided in Loudon County until about 1803 when he moved to Clark County, Kentucky. In 1804 he moved on to Green County, Ohio and in 1828 to Sangamon County, Illinois.

No connection has been proven between either pensioner listed above and John Borders of this family. Based on the similarity of names some of the Borders located in Tulsa, Oklahoma appear to be possible descendants of the above Christopher Borders.