From Cousin Dessiree:
Hi Sherard cousins. My great grandmother was Mary Jane Hardy Sadler Sherard (born 1849). She married into the Sherard family when she married Winston Sherard Sr. also known as Big Wince (who was the son of our patriarch Jesse Sherard).
Through the power of Ancestry DNA, I have found a person who I share Hardy DNA with. This is significant because according to oral history, Mary Jane was sold from her mother as a child and therefore that branch of her/our family was virtually erased from our history due to the legacy of slavery.
The Hardys are having a family reunion this summer June 23-25 in Anderson and would love for the Sherards to attend.
If you are one of my siblings, one of my first cousins, or descend from the Cousin Eunice Stephens branch of our Sherard Family, these Hardys are your kinfolk. There may be others in our Sherard tree who also descend from Mary Jane Hardy Sadler Sherard. I have only listed the ones I am aware of.
Hardy Reunion details are below. If you are able, please attend so you can meet some more extended cousins (possibly descendants of Mary Jane’s brothers and sisters) and learn about a different branch of our family tree. It’s my hope that we are able to figure out who Mary Jane’s mother was and reconnect in 2023 with the family she lost in the 1850’s.
Peace and blessings.