ABSTRACT
Sarah Childress was born near Murfreesboro, in Rutherford County, Tennessee, on September 4, 1803 . Her father, Joel Childress, was a prominent merchant, planter, tavern keeper, and land speculator. Born in Campbell County, Virginia, Childress moved in the 1790s, to Sumner County, Tennessee, where he met Elizabeth Whitsitt. The two were married on January 17, 1799, and settled in Rutherford County in 1803. The third of their four surviving children, Sarah had an older brother, Anderson, an older sister, Susan, and a younger brother, John Whitsitt Childress. Two other children born to the Childresses, Benjamin and Elizabeth, died in infancy.
