It's been awhile since I looked at these older Ledford's, but best I know the best most definitive answer we have for Amos Ledford's parentage is some notes someone found where Mr. Ellis Smith named off John's sons as best as he could remember.

(I think I knew Ellis Smith's relation to John at one time, but can't recall right now, maybe a great-grandson?)

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The notes: "

The following was copied from handwritten notes in the possession of Mr. Frank Moore (Clay County, North Carolina). The notes were written by Frank's father, Mr. Lawrence Moore. This information was prepared by Raymond Ledford on March 5, 1983. The statement was made by Ellis Smith, age 78, April 13, 1936. Monday after Easter Ellis died with a coma.

NOTES:
JOHN LEDFORD came to Clay County, North Carolina from Buncombe County, North Carolina some time before the time the Cherokee Indians left (1835) on the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma. JOHN LEDFORD settled at the Taylor Ledford place on Licklog. He bought a large tract of land from the state of North Carolina. These are the names of the children, as best as Ellis could remember:

William (Billie)Ledford married a Sanderson

Curtis Ledford lived on Shooting Creek

John Ledford married Sallie Israel and lived at Licklog, (community South-Central, Clay County, North Carolina).

Sam Ledford married Pheby Dunn and lived at Licklog (Clay County, North Carolina).

Thomas Ledford married Sara Waters/Eliza T. and lived on Downing Creek (rises in central Clay County, and flows Southeast through Holden Cove into Hiwassee River).

Amos Ledford lived on Shooting Creek (community in South Clay County, North Carolina).

Center Ledford lived at Sweetwater (a community in West Clay County,North Carolina).

Ben Ledford lived at Brasstown (a community South-West of Clay County, North Carolina on Ledford Branch).

One girl married William Leatherwood of Fines Creek (Haywood County, North Carolina)

One girl married William Spring of Hot House Creek (community in South-West Cherokee County, North Carolina). "

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That John is listed as John the Third in most of the Ancestry type stuff, but I don't know if there's any proof of that, or it it's more of a case of trying to shoehorn people into family groups to be able to cram them up under The Three Brothers of Mr. Egerton's book, Generations.

(i'm not dissing him, he was writing about a couple, not the Ledford family history, the book even says he came up with a story telling "how it might have happened". Not his fault everyone took it as Gospel.)

It's said John (3rd) married Amy/Ann Curtis, but again, I don't know where that info came from, I haven't seen if there was a marriage record found or not.

I think his wife's name was Ann, if she's the mother of Samuel (Jackson Ledford) in the 1850 Cherokee Co, NC census, which she probably was.

I'm not sure if it was this John (3rd) or an older John, or if it was this John, if he was father or brother, I'd have to look up the whole thing again, but back around 1830'ish, a Joshua Ledford died in Macon Co, NC. John Ledford was involved with the estate and property and all.  There were 5 children, 3 girls and 2 boys..I don't have all this handy right now, but I know (Anthony) Center/Sinter took one of the boys...George Ransom? I think?

Anthony Center/Sinter was (purportedly) John (3rd) son, and we know David Ledford, SR named a son Center, so we assume things from that, but what?

George Ransom Ledford (son of Joshua...son of John (3rd)?) grew up and married David, SR's daughter, Eliza. We pretty much have the records for most/all of this.

We pretty much know/figure David SR wasn't son of any John's, because he had an old Fed/Frederick Ledford living in his home in 1850 Cherokee Co, NC, so we assume that's his father. 

There were two or three, maybe more, Fed/Frederick Ledford's. One of them possibly married Prudence Curtis, but I don't know if it was this Frederick, David SR's father.

We do know Rev. Amos Curtis took in a couple of the deceased Joshua Ledford's daughters. What was the connection to the family? If any? Brother of Ann, John (3rd) wife? Cousins of Ledfords from further back?

Rev. Amos Curtis married Millie Estes, and one of their daughters, Nancy Caroline Curtis, married Rev. James Murphy Ledford.

Family legend had it that Rev. James' father was named George, and his mother was a Murphy. So I investigated every George Ledford I could find and decided I don't think that's correct information. One of the census records said Rev. James was born in Burke County, NC, ca 1815, so I went back to Burke Co census for 1820 to see who, if any, had a 5'ish year old son.

In 1820 Burke Co, NC was people like Peter (Sr and Jr), Levi, Frederick (one of them), a Jesse, a John, and a James.

Other Ledfords ie. John, John Jr, Benjamin Ledford, Benjamin Curtis, William, Anderson, Isaac, Amos Curtis, David Ledford and a couple of James Ledfords were all in Buncombe Co NC in 1820.

The 1820 Burke Co. James Ledford had a male 10-15, 2 males under 10, and 2 females 10-15 in the home. I looked back to the 1810 Burke Co Ledfords, and it was basically the same family, namely Peter (Sr.) There was Elias who was pretty much proven as Peter (Sr.) son, and also William, Edwd, and Sarah, who's relationship I don't know, and James Ledford, with one male and 2 females under 10.

He matched being the same James as in 1820.

Looking back at 1800 Burke Co, there's a John, Peter, Alexander (whom they say is the same as Elias), and a few people who's names I don't know or may not have been Ledfords.

I did a whole census (or NC census?) check for James Ledford, and found a young James, age 16-25 with a wife 16-25, in Lincoln Co, NC...and they lived next door to an older John on one side, and a lady named Elizabeth Murphy (!) on the other.

A few households from Eliz Murphy lived "Fourey" Ledford. His name was actually George Towery Ledford.   He left a will and we know his descendants and none of them are Rev. James Murphy Ledford. But maybe George Towery and James were brothers, and someone got the names mixed up.

Rev. James Murphy Ledford's father was said to have died "when James was about 15", and sure enough, this James disappears before the 1830 census. There are only 3 James Ledford's in the 1830 census, one is in Kentucky, the other two in Macon Co, NC.

It's like most all the families ended up in Macon Co in 1830, there's Towery, Peter, John, Jason, William, Thomas, Joshua, David, James, etc.

How you can tell these James in 1830 Macon Co apart, the James in 1800-1820 Lincoln-Burke Co's was the same age as his wife.

One of the James' in 1820 Buncombe-1830 Macon, his wife was in the lower age bracket as himself, and the other James, his wife was in the higher age bracket than him.