My great grandmother was Sarah Jane Townsend Cloud. She was an enrolled tribal member of the Cherokee Nation. Her great, great grandfather was Chief Charles Renatus Hicks. Like many Cherokee he was baptized by the Moravian missionaries and received the name Renatus which means “born again”. He became chief after the death of Pathkiller. Another of her ancestors was Chief Broom who was Chief of Broomtown in the old Cherokee Nation before the Trail of Tears. Sarah’s husband, my great grandfather was James Laomner Cloud. He is a descendant of Bryan Ward, the husband of Nanyehi (or Nancy Ward in English) who was known as the Gigau or “beloved woman” of the Cherokee . Grandfather Cloud was also descended from Chief Old Hop of the old Cherokee Nation before the Trail of Tears.
