Nancy Shadrick (maiden name: Hayes) was born around 1828 in North Carolina to Thomas and Maria Hayes. Her father worked as a farmer. She grew up in Granville County, North Carolina, and she married Allen Shadrick there on February 22, 1857. They had at least two children: John, born around 1858; and Ella, born around 1860. They settled in Cedar Creek, North Carolina, and her husband worked as a farmer. He served in the Confederate army and died of disease on February 4, 1864. She died sometime after 1860.