The Greene & Pickens Black Families Association
The story of Johnny Nick & Sarah Ingram begins in Pickens County, Alabama. Little is
known about Nick's background, but it was said that he became the man of the house very
early. His father died between 1870 & 1880. His mother was left to raise her children by
herself. So Nick and his older sister, Rebecca, helped out as much as they could. The Lee's
daily life consisted of sharecropping in Olney & Bethany. His mother, Mary, was a
sharecropper and also a mulatto. His sister, Rebecca, nursed the younger children while her
mother was in the fields. In the middle 1890's, while Nick was sharecropping he meets a
woman named Sarah Shambley. There was an instant attraction between the two.
Sarah was a very dark skinned woman with very long hair. Her hair was so long that it fell
close to her waist. It was said that Sarah was a Native American descent. Also, her maternal
grandfather was a mulatto. While Sarah was growing up, she took the name of her step
father, which was Shambley. However, her real father was Frank Ingram, from Vienna. After
some time of courtship, the two got married and have nine children. Times became very hard
in Pickens County, so the families left for a better life. Nick & Sarah migrated to Greene
County, in the Pleasant Ridge & Mantua Precinct. Mary Lee met and married a man named
Daniel "Pink"Cunningham. They eventually migrated to Tuscaloosa County.
Nick Lee died in 1926 of some sort of fever, leaving Sarah to raise her children by herself. In
1949, she became very ill. Dr. Joe P. Smith, was her primary at the time. It stated on her
death certificate, she refused to go to the hospital to get treatment. A couple weeks later she
died of some for of leukemia. This form of leukemia runs through her side of the family.
Sarah's oldest daughter, Chaney, died of leukemia. Also, one of Sarah's granddaughters,
Dee, died of leukemia.
known about Nick's background, but it was said that he became the man of the house very
early. His father died between 1870 & 1880. His mother was left to raise her children by
herself. So Nick and his older sister, Rebecca, helped out as much as they could. The Lee's
daily life consisted of sharecropping in Olney & Bethany. His mother, Mary, was a
sharecropper and also a mulatto. His sister, Rebecca, nursed the younger children while her
mother was in the fields. In the middle 1890's, while Nick was sharecropping he meets a
woman named Sarah Shambley. There was an instant attraction between the two.
Sarah was a very dark skinned woman with very long hair. Her hair was so long that it fell
close to her waist. It was said that Sarah was a Native American descent. Also, her maternal
grandfather was a mulatto. While Sarah was growing up, she took the name of her step
father, which was Shambley. However, her real father was Frank Ingram, from Vienna. After
some time of courtship, the two got married and have nine children. Times became very hard
in Pickens County, so the families left for a better life. Nick & Sarah migrated to Greene
County, in the Pleasant Ridge & Mantua Precinct. Mary Lee met and married a man named
Daniel "Pink"Cunningham. They eventually migrated to Tuscaloosa County.
Nick Lee died in 1926 of some sort of fever, leaving Sarah to raise her children by herself. In
1949, she became very ill. Dr. Joe P. Smith, was her primary at the time. It stated on her
death certificate, she refused to go to the hospital to get treatment. A couple weeks later she
died of some for of leukemia. This form of leukemia runs through her side of the family.
Sarah's oldest daughter, Chaney, died of leukemia. Also, one of Sarah's granddaughters,
Dee, died of leukemia.
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