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The book, "Matthias SHULTZ and his Descendents" by
C. Bennet,
tells a brief history of Nancy SHULTZ and her husband, John
BAIZE.
It list 7 of their children and tells the story of how they
married
twice - to each other. It says...."Nancy was probably born
in 1786
in or near Bardstown, Nelson County before her parents
moved to
Ohio County. She grew up on her father's farm located only
a short
distance from the present town of Beaver Dam and attended
the local
elementary school.
There are two marriage bonds recorded in Ohio county
for
them; one is for Nancy SHULTZ and John "BOYS" on October 7
1801
and the other is for Nancy SHULTZ and John "BAZE" on
October 6 1807. The first shows no bondsman, but
the officiating
Minister was James KEELE. The second list "Matthew" SHULTZ
as the
bondsman and the officiating Minister was John DAVIS.
The story about the
two marriage dates goes like this;
Nancy fell in love with a young man named "John Boys"
(John Baize) and the two wished to be married. However,
probably
because of Nancy's age, (she could not have been more than
15 at
the time), her parents refused to give approval for the marriage,
whereupon the young couple eloped, executed a marriage bond
and
according to the marriage bond on record in the Ohio county
courthouse, were married by James KEELE.
When Matthias SHULTZ learned of this marriage, he intervened
and
took Nancy back home. As Nancy grew older, her father still
refused
to approve her marriage until 1807, when his consent
was gained by
a very clever ruse developed by the two young people in love.
In the early 1800's, Indians were still making ocassional
raids across the Ohio river into Kentucky, driving off
horses and
cattle and causing much concern among the settlers. On one
occasion,
a band of Indians even captured and carried off a young girl
who
was later ransomed from a tribe in Ohio. Since the Indians
were a
real threat, Nancy and John decided to take advantage of
this fact
in furthering their plans for a recognized marriage. So,
one day
in the fall of 1807, Nancy disappeared from her home
and no one
appeared to know what had happened to her. It was soon generally
feared that she had been carried off by Indians. After a
few days
of anxiety, John BAIZE came forward and promised to
do all in his
power to see that she was returned to her family, If it were
understood that in case of success, the couple would be permitted
to marry. This was agreed to and John BAIZE, after a suitable
delay,
went to the place where he had Nancy hidden out and brought
her
home. Matthias SHULTZ, true to his word, gave his consent
and even
acted as bondsman. The bond is in the Ohio county courthouse,
as
already indicated, and is signed, "Matthew SHULTZ". An Interesting
tid-bit to add: Nancy BAYS and Mary SHULTZ joined the Beaver
Dam
Baptist church on the 4th saturday of April in 1806. So even
though Matthias did not recognize her marriage to John Baize,
The
town did!
In his book, Mr. Bennet mentions a story that tells
how John
BAIZE came to Ohio County. He says an article in the Ohio
County
Messenger on Dec 2, 1977, by Lola Ellen EMBRY says that a
grandson
of Matthias SHULTZ, Ozna SHULTZ, often told a story
about a boy
found wandering alone in the woods in the Beaver Dam area
about 1790. It was supposed that this boy's parents had been
killed
by Indians and that he had escaped from their hands. It is
said
that he was given a home in a SHULTZ family and later married
a
SHULTZ girl. The boy gave his name as John BAYS, or something
that
sounded similar to that. The story offers a logical
explanation
for the presence of John BAIZE in Ohio County and for his
association with the SHULTZ family. The Matthias SHULTZ family
would have been one of the very few families of German origin
in
the area at that time, and probably would have been the family
most likely to offer a home to a orphan boy of German parentage.
Matthias and Diademia SHULTZ would have had two or three children
at that time, all girls, and a boy, no doubt, would have been
a
welcome addition to the family. It seems likely, therefore,
that
John BAIZE was an orphan boy and that he lived in the SHULTZ
family
from an early age and ultimately married Nancy, the
oldest
daughter.
ìJohn and Nancy lived on the farm and their real
estate transfers
over a period of years, as recorded in the Ohio County Deed
Books,
indicate that they owned an appreciable amount of land.
The following records give some information on the family
over
a period of some 40 years.
"John and Nancy "BOYS"sold 100 acres of land to Ignatius
BARRETT,
June 3, 1839 for $103.00. Nancy interviewed privately
and
consented." (Ohio County Deed Book H, p.139)
"John "BOYS" bought 365 acres of land from Nicholas and
Sintha Ann
SHULTZ, Sept 22, 1843 for $275.00." (Deed book I, p.251)
"John "BOYS" and Nancy sold 365 acres of land to Isaac
BAKER,
Nov. 11, 1843. This was a part of the Matthias SHULTZ 700
acre
survey. Price $1,150.00." (Deed Book I, p.270)
"John BAIZE Sr., sold to John BAIZE Jr., 100 acres of land
on Indian
Camp Creek for $80.00, Nov. 26, 1844".(Deed Book M, p.304)
"John BAIZE sold to Charles SHULTZ 100 acres on Indian
Camp Creek,
for $100.00, Jan. 21, 1852". (Deed Book M, p.304)