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We know more about Nathan's last wife, Sarah Delaney, than all the others combined because she lived at a later period for which, generally, more records regarding women are available.  She is an interesting individual and from a family closely allied with the Ganns. 

Nathan married for the last time December 24, 1817, in Kingston, Roane County, Tennessee.  It is unknown why the marriage took place in Kingston rather than in Greene County where Sarah Delaney's family lived, or Nathan's own Washington County. 

A number of Delaney families lived along the Washington-Greene county line. They were certainly not unknown to the Gann families who lived just inside Washington County. This marriage was not the only Gann-Delaney connection. Nathan's son, William, had married Ruth Ann Delaney just the year before in August 1816. Ruth and Sarah were sisters, daughters of John Delaney of Greene County. Their brother, Jacob Delaney, married Sally Broyles whose family was also closely allied from a marriage with the Ganns in the previous generation. 

Nathan might have met Sarah either at William and Ruth's wedding, during their courtship, or sometime after they were newly married. Nathan, newly widowed, may have started courting Sarah immediately as she was 25 years old and certainly of an age to consider marriage. Sarah was born about 1792 in Greene County, Tennessee.

When Sarah Delaney married Nathan Gann, she became the stepmother of thirteen children, six of whom were her age or older. Nathan's two youngest children were still at home and were raised by Sarah:  Solomon, born in 1798-99, and Lucinda, born in 1808. Sarah Gann was the mother of Nathan's last six known children: Anna Jane "Jenny," Permelia Catherine, Sampson Marion, Margaret Malinda, James Madison, and Sarah Sophronia Gann. 

Sarah spent all of her married life on the Nathan Gann family farm on the south bank of the Nolichucky River.  Her life, especially with the number of children in the home, would have centered heavily on providing food, clothing, and other basic items of daily life for them and Nathan.  As mentioned previously, women at the time rarely appear in public records except in specific instances relating mostly to land, marriage, or probate.  We have not located any public records naming Sarah between their marriage and Nathan's death, except the Delaney probate matters in Greene County.  Sarah does appear in several public records as a widow, however. 

From a private business record preserved in a public record (Nathan Gann's estate settlement), we can draw some information about part of Sarah's life.  This record is the account of Nathan's family with the Broyles Store.  This little, local store is probably where they did most of their trading for goods not produced at home.  The account covers two years and contains much detail.  It shows on July 4, 1837, that Sarah paid the balance on some shoes purchased previously. She did take time away from her labors at home to visit the store in person from time to time. The store was most likely near the Gann farm, perhaps at Brownsborough or Broylesville, as a number of Broyles families lived nearby.

Items purchased in the store were usually things, which could not easily be produced at home.  The account records purchases of a candlestick, a snuffbox, combs, stockings, and gloves, among other things.  Many of the items purchased were yard goods and notions for sewing.  Sarah was undoubtedly quite busy along with her daughters making and mending the family's clothing.  In the process, she purchased and used such items as needles, Turkey cotton, red calico, Tally velvet, and three-quarters yard of silk.  From the small amount of yardage purchased of most of these "store bought" fabrics, it appears that Sarah was both frugal and creative.  If she were making an entire garment out of the fabric purchased, it had to be for a small child, probably Sarah Sophronia, who would have been two years old when the fabric was purchased. If it was not being used for a complete garment, then perhaps Sarah was using it as trim to enhance the appearance of other garments made from homespun cloth woven by her and the girls in the home. Some of the new fabric purchased may have been used to supplement fabric salvaged from other garments. At that time, it was a common practice to remake an older garment to extend its life, or to restyle it, or to resize it for another family member. With such a household, Sarah undoubtedly practiced frugality. She did splurge on one occasion, however: in November 1838, she bought an entire bolt of cloth. Still frugal and practical, however, she settled for "domestic," rather than anything fancy.

On January 8, 1839 Sarah also purchased one ounce of indigo. Indigo was a dyestuff, used to produce a true blue color. Natural dyes could be harvested from the woods and garden on the home place to pro-due most other colors-red, greens, tans, browns, yellows-but a good, strong blue was difficult, almost impossible to achieve with natural dyestuffs. Indigo, a natural dye produced from plant materials, was not usually grown for home use and was generally purchased. 

Perhaps Sarah and her daughters used the Indigo to dye some jeans cloth dark blue. Sarah occasionally brought to the store lengths of flax jeans cloth, a sturdy home-woven fabric. The value of this fabric was credited to the account toward the family's purchases on more than one occasion. Other items brought in for credit on the family's account also reflect the labors of Sarah and her daughters including two pounds of feathers; and along with apples, both pared and unpared.

Little else is known of Sarah's life as Mrs. Nathan Gann. She never appeared in court as a witness, plaintiff or defendant that we have found and was not involved in any land transactions. Her total concentration, the focus of all of her energies, appears to have been the care of her home and family.

Nathan Gann died on Thursday, July 18, 1839, leaving Sarah (Delaney) Gann a widow at the age of 47.  We know of five of the children who were still living in the home at the time of his death. The youngest threechildren were still under the age of 14 when their father died, and thus classified as minors. Hence, the law required that a guardianship be established for them. Women at that time were generally not considered qualified to be in full charge of legal and financial matters, such as a guardianship. 

We know much more about Sarah's life and activities as a widow. Immediately after Nathan's death, Sarah petitioned at the next term of court, in August 1839, for her dower right. The Court appointed a committee to meet at the farm and to carry out Sarah's request according to law.

Sarah returned to Court a few months later, in February 1840, to petition for her dower right in Nathan's real estate. In that petition, she stated that Nathan had left her "as a widow and a great number of children & grand children, as his heirs at law, whose names will be here in after given."

We are grateful to Sarah for her care in naming and identifying so many of Nathan's descendants. She appears to be detail oriented for she also provided a careful description of the land which Nathan possessed at his death. Sarah asked in her petition for her dower in these lands. On March 30, 1840, the five-man committee appointed by the Court returned their report. They set off to Sarah one-third of Nathan's real estate.

As a result of a lawsuit brought in court by some of the heirs, the judge agreed that the property could not be fairly divided among the numerous heirs.  Therefore, the Court ordered the remaining two-thirds of Nathan's real estate be sold so that the proceeds could be divided.  Accordingly, the property was sold.  Nathan and Sarah's son, Sampson Marion Gann, purchased the 200 acres. 

Sarah probably continued to live on the farm. Of the five children remaining at home at the time of Nathan's death, three married within the next five years: Permelia Catherine, Sampson Marion, and Margaret Malinda. The two daughters moved out to set up housekeeping with their new husbands.  Sampson Marion Gann, on the other hand, may very well have brought home his new bride, Maria Magdalena Good, to live under the family roof. Sarah probably needed his help in running the farm. One hundred acres had been set off to her in response to her dower petition and the remaining 200 acres had not yet been sold. We know Sampson stayed close by, if not actually on the home place, from the fact that he purchased the property. He was probably already farming it.

After Margaret Malinda's marriage in March 1844, Sarah was left with just two children at home, and perhaps Sampson and his new bride. On July 10, 1847, Sarah sold lands received from Nathan's estate to her son, Sampson M. Gann for $100.00. 

On April 5, 1850, Sarah again sold land which had come from Nathan's estate. This was her dower portion of 100 acres, which she sold to her son-in-law, David Good, for $100.00. She made this sale in preparation for a move: Sarah was going to Texas! Other members of the family had already moved there. Perhaps, some had invited her to join them, as she was getting older and being left alone by marriages of her children. 

By 1853, Sarah and her 15-year-old daughter, Sarah Sophronia, were in Titus County, Texas. We know little of the last few years of Sarah's life in Texas. We do know that she died in Titus County, Texas, on April 9, 1856. Her place of burial is unknown but it was most probably in Titus County.

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