User:LloydTaylor1/George "All" Sizemore

George "All" Sizemore was born between 1750 and 1754 in Mecklenburg, Virginia. He died July 13, 1822 in Clay County, Kentucky at the age of 72. George and his wife Aggie were the first residents of what is now Hyden, Kentucky. Descendants of George and his wife Agnes are the pioneer settlers of Leslie County, Kentucky.

Occupation
George "All" Sizemore was a professional prizefighter. He killed William Twitty in the ring.

Sizemore Indians struggle for identity and acceptance
A group of Indians escaped the Trail of Tears. They were taken in by a family named Sizemore in the Whitetop Mountain area of Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. They took the last name of Sizemore. The Indians now known as Sizemore intermarried with the Cherokee Indians in the area. Sixty years after the Trail of Tears they became known as the Whitetop Laurel Band of Cherokees. They were never registered in the Eastern band of Cherokee Census. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians denied the applications of 2175 Whitetop Sizemores to apply for Cherokee Nation funds. Some said they belonged in the Muscogee (Creek) Indian nation. They avoided the Indian census both to avoid having their farms stolen and because they were passing for white in Kentucky. Other Sizemores joined the Métis and the Melungeon. For Indians assimilated into white culture, Indian women could marry white men but not Indian men. Many Sizemores applied for government funds with enrollment applications ECAs. Most were denied because they were not on a previous census.

First residents of Hyden, Leslie County, Kentucky
"In 1778 George All and Agnes lived in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia where Edward was born. Later they settled at the mouth of Rock House Creek in what is now Leslie County, owning most of the land opposite the town of Hyden. This land was later owned by a son, John "Rockhouse" Sizemore and wife, Nancy. who built the first permanent home there...Nancy was a daughter of John Bowling and Martha Jefferson. According to the Dickey Diary, Martha was a sister of President Thomas Jefferson, but according to John Asher she was a niece."

History and Kidnapping of George's mother Susan Caroline "kidnapped white girl"
Ms. Brewer states p. 209-212: "In the meantime, in another part of the area (Kentucky) the Cherokee Indians had also captured a white girl. One Indian Chief, seeing her beauty, became desirous of possessing her for his own and took her into his teepee. However, his love was short lived for the girl's brothers made pursuit and brought the girl back to her own people, but under her heart she carried the child of the Indian Chief. This child was given the name of George All Sizemore."

History and Kidnapping of George's first wife Agnes Cornett Shepherd "kidnapped Indian girl"
Following is an excerpt from an article on the George All Sizemore and Aggy Shepard connection to the Creeks and the Whitetop Laurel Band of Cherokees. "The marriage of George "All" Sizemore to Aggy Shepard originated from a raid of Indians on the white men's camp where they captured a white girl. In retaliation, the white men followed and rescued the girl and captured an Indian girl who was later given to a white family to raise (Aggy). Aggy is thought to have been a Creek Indian. George lived in both the white man's world, and the Whitetop Cherokee tribe throughout his life." She was known as Aggy Shepherd (her Indian name) and also Aggie Cornett (her white name). Many researchers believe Agnes was full Creek Indian.