Name: Anna Schmidt
Born: about 1730 in Germany
Died: unknown
Buried: unknown
Children: Elizabeth, Humphrey, Joseph, Ephraim, Thomas
Anna and her parents emigrated from Germany. Her parents died enroute. Anna was indentured to pay for her passage. It is believed that the Bates family held her indenture. She did marry Joseph Bates. They purchased land in Union County, SC around the late 1750's. The were finishing up working in the field one day and the Indians attacked. Anna told her husband to run as she was getting on a horse. The Indians (probably Cherokee) captured Anna, her daughter, and three sons. In camp that night the Indians were showing the scalps that they collected that day. She noticed that a scalp was that of her husband. Anna was pregnant when she was captured and bore a boy. The boy was lost when they tried to cross a river. After about a year they were ransomed and returned to their farm. We have no documentation if Anna remarried. If she would have not remarried then someone would have been appointed guardian for the children. At that time, widows were not able to own land without male help. No records have been found on any guardianship.