The Patrick Sauls (b. 1812, N.C.) who married Elizabeth Arabella Watlington, Feb. 2, 1843, in Madison Co., Tenn. has long been associated in family stories with the Sauls family at Saulsbury, Hardeman Co., Tenn. Only in recent years has documentation been found to affirm that relationship and the father of Patrick and Burrell Sauls. Genealogical research has discovered that they, and at least two sisters were born to John Sauls (age 70/80, 1840 Census of N. Carolina) of Scotts Hill, Pender Co., N.C. This county is on the seacoast of N. Carolina, northeast of New Hanover County in which the seaport of Wilmington is located. According to the oral tradition Patrick Sauls migrated to Rowan Co., N.C. and then to West Tennessee. There is also a Calvin Sauls (b. 1804, N.C.) in West Tennesee in the 1850 Census who probably was related to this Patrick Sauls also.
This indicates that Patrick Sauls was an early settler in Madison Co. where he settled on land located between Mason Wells and Mt. Pinson where his descendents continue after one hundred fifty years. Patrick and Elizabeth A. Watlington's grave stones were rediscovered recently on the Vercie Haltom farmland which is believed to have been their homeplace and where an ``Old Pioneer Cemetery'' grew up around the graves of Sauls and Watlingtons. Their son George W. was remembered to have been buried there, also Dr. John R. Watlington's son Kiley and his wife Sarah Gravitt, and the parents of Elizabeth Sauls, George and Catherine Watlington.
At a later time James Murphy, who married their daughter, Arabella Sauls, owned the large Indian Mound now in Pinson Mounds State Park. It was later called ``Sauls Mound'' as the land passed to a nephew, John Robert Sauls. This Johnnie Sauls was a double cousin to Mack Rob Watlington as his father, Sterling Patrick Sauls (b. 1860, Tenn.), had married Jennie Lee Parchman, a cousin on the Parchman side of the family. It was John Roberts Sauls (1886-1984) and his wife who sold the State much of the property now in the Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park.
Burrell Sauls of Hardeman Co., Tenn., was there before 1829 where he married Jane Mathis on August 5, 1829. After securing land there he also staked a claim for land near Ripley, Mississippi, but returned to live in Tennessee. When the Memphis and Charleston Railroad was built it crossed a part of land he and his son-in-law owned and they gave land on which to build a depot. The station was called Saulsberry at first, then adapted to Saulsbury. Two of his sons, Burrell Jr. and Joseph D., became medical doctors and combined that with farming interests. They graduated from the Kentucky Medical School in Louisville, Ky.
Of the children of Patrick and Elizabeth, George W., Burrell R. and
Mary evidently died young. Arabella m. James Murphy and they
farmed land at Big Springs very successfully, but had no children.
Elizabeth married John Steadman. The families of Sterling Patrick
and Robert Curtis (Bob) were well known and are still represented
among many families in West Tenn. but very few of them bear the Sauls
name. This is also true of the large number of Sauls descendents
which were in Hardeman Co., Tenn.