Betty Sue Coffield Ledbetter invested several years researching the Ledbetter and Burroughs families of her husband Joseph Daniel Ledbetter son of Royal Aubrey Ledbetter, Sr. and Frances Celeste Burroughs.  Most of this sites genealogy and photos were copied from her research on these families.

Betty Sue was named Patricia Ann Bass at birth. When three weeks old she was adopted by William and Mary Inman Coffield and named Betty Sue Kate Coffield. After researching her husband’s family she researched and found her Bass family siblings and their genealogy.  This led to her documentation of her Native American ancestors and her acceptance into their tribe with the tribal of name Gray Dove.

Not only has Betty Sue demonstrated a remarkable ability in genealogy research, but she has also provided wonderful expressions of her joy in this quest.  The following are a few examples. Except where comments are included in {braces} these are Betty Sue’s words.

Introduction {To Burroughs and Ledbetter Family Albums}

I first began this labor of love after acquiring the genealogical research papers that had, years ago, been given to Aunt Ada Burroughs, by Hannah Moore Smithie. These papers had been in the family for years and although they certainly were a well‑spring of information, it seemed as if no one had taken the time to really understand and organize the priceless information that they contained.

In the year 1985 Louise Burroughs Scales, of Richmond, Virginia, Ada's sister, and inheritor of these papers at the time of Aunt Ada's demise, thought perhaps other members of the family may be interested in having copies. Louise sent the papers to Aubrey Ledbetter, her nephew, in Norfolk, Virginia. Copies were made and distributed to members of the Ledbetter family, the children of Louise's late sister, Frances (Fannie) Celeste Burroughs Ledbetter.

One day while pondering over these genealogical research papers, and trying to decipher them, I suddenly realized why they had not commanded more family interest. Although the researcher, Mrs. Hannah Smithie, had done a remarkable job of research, the facts were not organized in a way that could be readily understood by those who had not been involved in every step of that research. Mrs. Hannah Moore Smithie, as I discovered in attempting to organize this valuable material, was first cousin to Carrie Simcoe Burroughs. Their mothers were sisters. Mrs. Smithie was doing research to enable her to qualify for membership in The National Society Of Colonial Dames of America, and her direct line of ancestry was the same as ours, diverging only at the point of Carrie and Hannah's respective mothers, Parthenia and Jennie James Spilman.

As I write this Introduction to our precious Family Album, it is April 1993. 1 have been working on our family genealogical history for five years. In addition to putting the original research work, and information gleaned from letters contained therein, in order, I have continued the research on our direct line from that previously mentioned diverging point.

Dan and I have traveled, contacted relatives that we never before knew existed (via phone and letter), haunted cemeteries, courthouses, libraries and churches not to mention the frequent onslaughts on the Virginia Dept. of Vital Statistics. In doing so we have uncovered a treasure‑trove of documented family history that we were totally unaware of when first beginning this exciting and rewarding genealogical journey into the past.

In some instances we have been able to re‑construct the general everyday life of some family members and in other instances have become aware of heart‑warming triumphs as well as heart‑rending tragedies. Some long‑gone relatives have been rescued from the dusty shadows of the past and brought into the light to burn brightly in our memories as well as our hearts.

In the section accorded each family member, I have tried to avoid putting in "just the facts," but have tried to capture the true essence or personality of each individual by using mementos, letters, awards, military records, handwriting samples, and also marriage and death certificates when available.

We feel a bond with these loved ones, some from an era long before I was born. I am continuing the search and know that it can never really end, as there is so much to look for. One found piece of the puzzle only suggests another.

I hope that I have managed to do justice to each and every family member. As you start your journey through this album I hope that you will feel the sense of pride and continuity with the past that Dan and I have experienced while working on this project. We have come to realize that 'time' is relative and that what we think of as, 'way back then', is in reality only yesterday.

My wish is, that after I am gone, that someone will continue this album and so preserve for future generations the family heritage and unique personality of each family member, not only those already recorded within, but also those yet to be born that should, as their right, eventually be accorded a place among its pages.

Betty C. Ledbetter (wife of Joseph Daniel (Dan) Ledbetter)

April, 10,1993

{Poem To Cousins}

In one of my ‘corny’ but heartfelt poems, that I wrote many years ago about one of my  childhood’s happiest memories,   I speak  to my cousins in that poem, ( they shared those  memories of that long ago time with me) and this is what I  say to them in the last two verses  (this poem concerned a visit  to two of our favorite aunts in Edenton, NC each summer and their house that we have such fond memories of.

Strangers now lived in that house that we
love, of neglect there were so many signs,
But my cousins and I simply superimposed on it
the original etched in our minds,
And saw it again with the porch and the bell
Like it was in those happier times...
And as long as just one of us remains and remembers,
It will always exist in its prime.
So from time to time cousins let us again
take that journey through a train of thoughts through the mind,
And review the bright pictures stored there
for safe keeping, safe from the changes of time,
Where nothing can change things—even one
whit, no matter the passage of time.

THE JOURNEY

By Gray Dove2

I shall always remember the day that I mailed my nearly 5 pounds of genealogical documentation to the Nansemond Indian Tribal Association. The date was November 19, 1996. As I placed my carefully packed, wrapped and addressed package on the counter of the post office window it seemed as though I was giving up a part of myself. Events leading up to that day will always be indelibly stamped in my mind.

For three years I had worked almost nonstop putting together my Bass genealogy in hopes that I could one day document every link in my ten generations of linage spanning back to the 1638 marriage between John Basse, son of the English Captain Nathaniel Basse, and Keziah Elizabeth Tucker, a convert to Christianity and daughter of the Chief of the Nansemond Indian Tribe. Only by doing so would I then be able to gain admittance into the Nansemond Indian Tribal Association. The Nansemond Indians were once a part of Powhatan's Confederacy or Empire and originally lived along the Nansemond River in Virginia. At some point during the 17th century the Nansemond split into Christianized and non-Christianized divisions. The Christianized group eventually migrated into Norfolk County, Virginia, settling near the northeast edge of the Dismal Swamp in the area of Bowers Hill. That area today is in the City of Chesapeake. My direct line, Andrew Bass, Sr. a grandson of John and Keziah Basse, thru their son Richard, then went South into North Carolina's Black Creek area.

It was only in January of 1994, after much searching and a few major miracles that I had managed to find my own biological roots. I had been adopted when three weeks of age. My birth name had been Patricia Ann Bass. That entire name was legally changed at the time of my adoption. After years of searching and many setbacks I finally found my siblings. Both biological parents were by that time deceased. There had been seven of us children and five of us remained. I mention this finding of my siblings as it precipitated a series of events that ultimately led to a most amazing culmination of my genealogical journey.

During the reunion with my siblings in that January of 1994, I had the good fortune to meet Edward Bass, a first cousin. I learned that it was cousin Ed's family that had commissioned Dr. Albert D. Bell to compile that genealogical treasure, Bass Families of the South. That amazing book contained, along with much other Bass data, information about the Nansemond Indians and their Bass linage. Ed told me when we first met that we were somehow descended from that marriage of John Basse to Keziah Elizabeth. At that moment, I knew in my heart that I would not rest until I had proven and claimed that wonderful heritage. I purchased another genealogical book, The Bass Family of Black Creek NC by Albert Bass, Sr. and Jr. Many days were spent in the courthouses of North Carolina and in the State Archive in Raleigh. I began to gather the needed documentation--- wills, deeds, birth and death certificates, marriage bonds and other important papers. I knew I needed to link, with hard fact, each generation one to the other. Toward the end of 1996, I felt that I had finally amassed the needed proof. The problem then became how to assemble and present it. Just handing over a five-pound box of documents could easily overwhelm even the most diligent and devoted genealogist.

I finally settled on the idea of presenting my linage and the proof thereon in book form. A large three-ring notebook separated into sections. One section for each generation, with that generation's Pedigree Charts and all other pertinent data safely ensconced in glare-proof clear sheets. The wills and other old documents that were hard to read, either because of fading or the flourish of the Old English type of handwriting, I made legible by typing these documents double spaced so I could insert notes and call attention to the names I was trying to bring to the forefront in order to establish that particular link. Although this typing procedure was time consuming, it helped me to make the connections of the generations more apparent. I then inserted these legibly typed copies along with the originals into the proper sections. Each generation's section also contained a Family Group Record with the names of the father, mother and all children born of that union. I then highlighted the child thereon that was my direct line.

When finally completed, my book weighed close to five pounds. I felt such pride and a deep sense of fulfillment in knowing that I had rescued long forgotten, or here-to-fore unknown to me, relatives from the dark recesses of time. In my heart and mind they now lived again as distinct personalities. Through the study of documents I was able to piece together both the small and large events of their lives. I learned of their economic status by reading wills. Many times I would suddenly be overwhelmed by the thought that was it not for these ancestors I would not even exist! In my heart I said a silent thank-you.

The postal clerk took my package, weighed and stamped it, and on its way it went via certified mail. I later agonized that I may have left something important out. Or perhaps put too much in? Was I correct on all those dates? How did I ever think I could go that far back in time and still be able to prove my linage and be accepted into the Nansemond Tribe?  As the days snailed past and three months had elapsed my hopes began to falter. On the bright cold morning of February 12, 1997, I was at the breakfast table when the phone rang. My husband answered it and handed it to me saying in a soft whisper, "It's Wind Song." I knew that this was my answer be it yea or nay! My heart leapt as I heard her voice telling me that I had been accepted. My documentation had been found to be valid in every regard. Oh, the rush of joy I felt! I was to be received into the Nansemond Tribe by voice vote at their next meeting. (Note: "Wind Song" is herself a birthright member of the Nansemond Indian Tribe and the tribal genealogist.)

The much awaited day finally arrived. The meeting, with Chief Barry W."Big Buck" Bass presiding was held in the Indiana United Methodist Church in Bowers Hill, Chesapeake, Virginia. That church was, many years ago, an Indian mission and later an Indian school. I was duly voted in and chose Gray Dove as my tribal name. I had become a proud birthright member of the Nansemond Indian Tribe. All of my fellow tribesmen, as did I, descended from that 1638 marriage . . . a marriage that took place so very long ago and yet only yesterday. This special genealogical journey was now complete. I had come full circle. The precious past had now become an important part of my future.

I have listed below two sources of information to aid those wishing to study and learn more about the Powhatan Indians of Virginia.

1.      Pocahontas's People: The Powhatan Indians of Virginia Through four Centuries By Helen Rountree, University of Oklahoma Press.

2.      The Powhatan Indians of Virginia: Their Traditional Culture By Helen Rountree, University of Oklahoma Press,

By Gray Dove
Birthright member of the Nansemond Indian Tribe.

Copyright 1998-2000.  This material may be saved and used for ones own purpose but must never be printed or placed in a book without the permission of author.

To Margaret

{Betty Sue to her older sister on finding her in later life after the separation of adoption}

I wish we had cut out paper-dolls and
climbed Wild Cherry trees,
Walked barefoot through white clover
amid the honey-bees,
Sat side by side in an old porch swing
and childhood secrets shared
Or woven the yellow butter-cup chains
to adorn each others hair.
I wish we had been happy children
walking arm in arm
While you my older sister protected
me from harm.
I wished we had grown up together, I
could have teased you about your
first beau,
And you could have taught me, ‘baby
sister’, the things that I
needed to know.
We could have shared all the birthdays
and ice-cream
And at Christmas it would have been fun
to open our presents together
(Or before Christmas peek at each one.)

Fate decided it different and for a
life-time we have been apart
My long search has now been rewarded
and you fill a void in my heart.
We can now do the things that I’ve
mentioned…
We can walk hand in hand, arm in arm.
I’m still your baby sister
And you can still try to keep me
from harm.
We can surely walk barefoot on clover
amid the honey-bees, but…
The one thing we may have to miss           
out on..
Is climbing those Wild Cherry trees!
Our bones have become a bit fragile
and hips might break in a fall
But if you’re game, I am, and we’ll try it
(Or perhaps we should cut paper-dolls?)
Oh, How lucky I am to have found you
I can hardly believe that its true!
I now have my very own sister and
I’m so happy that sister is you!

Betty C. Ledbetter
February 5, 1994