Legend; slave Mammy Kate frees Stephen Heard
I am not related to this family, but there is a short article in my recent DAR magazine about them:
"The namesake of Stephen Heard Chapter, Elbeton, GA, received a land grant in Georgia for his service in the French and Indian War.In 1774 Heard and his brother built Heard's Fort, which became the foundation for the town of Washington, GA.Heard took part in the Battle of Kettle Creek in 1779 and shortly thereafter was captured by Tories and threatened with hanging.According to local legend, his female slave Mammy Kate convinced guards to let her visit Heard bearing food and clean clothes, then smuggled him out of his cell hidden in a laundry basket.Heard served as governor of Georgia from 1780-1781.He is buried in the cemetery at Heardmont, his family home, where Mammy Kate and her husband, Daddy Jack, also are buried."