Brig. Gen. James A. Garfield (1862)
26 Saturday Jun 2021
26 Saturday Jun 2021
11 Friday Jun 2021
03 Tuesday Mar 2020
Posted Cemeteries, Civil War, Tom Dula
inTags
42nd North Carolina Regiment, Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, cemeteries, civil war, Confederate Army, Dula Cemetery, Elkville, history, Iredell County, Laura Foster, North Carolina, photos, Tom Dooley, Tom Dula, Whippoorwill Academy and Village, Wilkes County
Looking for Tom Dula’s grave in Elkville, Wilkes County, NC. 7 January 2020
Up this way to the Tom Dula grave! 7 January 2020
The Dula family cemetery is located here, but only Tom Dula’s grave is marked by a headstone. 7 January 2020
Tom Dula was a Confederate veteran. 7 January 2020
Sadly, visitors have chipped away part of Tom Dula’s headstone. Note: His death date is erroneously recorded as 1866. 7 January 2020
This was the highlight of my trip. Tom Dula’s original headstone is housed at nearby Whippoorwill Academy and Village. 7 January 2020
Tom Dula’s correct year of death is noted on his footstone. 7 January 2020
Here is a glimpse of the landscape near Tom Dula’s grave. 7 January 2020
29 Saturday Feb 2020
Tags
Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, Depot Hill, fiddle, fiddler, fiddling, history, Iredell County, North Carolina, photos, Phyllis Kirk, sheriff, Silas Alexander Sharpe, Southern Railway Depot, Statesville, Tom Dooley, Tom Dula, William Wasson
Iredell County Courthouse, Statesville, NC. The courthouse that hosted Tom Dula’s trial between 1866 and 1868 is gone; this courthouse was built in 1899. 7 January 2020
Col. Silas Alexander Sharpe House. Spectators here saw Tom Dula ride by from the courthouse to the gallows…supposedly playing a fiddle. 7 January 2020
Col. Sharpe House. 7 January 2020
Southern Railway Depot, built c.1911. Tom Dula was taken to a gallows near the original depot at what is called Depot Hill and hanged in 1868. The original depot stood 300 yards to the northeast. 7 January 2020
Tom Dula was hanged somewhere in this vicinity. Perhaps as many as 3000 spectators attended the hanging. 7 January 2020
Tom Dula was hanged somewhere in this vicinity. Sheriff William Wasson had never executed anyone prior to Dula. Photo by Mom. 7 January 2020
Tom Dula was hanged somewhere in this vicinity. For some reason, no historical markers are here to help tourists find the spot. Photo by Mom. 7 January 2020
16 Sunday Feb 2020
Posted Tom Dula
inTags
Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, crime, Elkville, history, justice of the peace, Laura Foster, North Carolina, photos, Phyllis Kirk, Pickins Carter, Tom Dula, true crime, Wilkes County, Wilkes County Jail, Wilkesboro
The Wilkes County Jail was built in 1859. Here’s our guide showing us the jail cell on the lower floor. 8 January 2020
All three cells have the original doors, wood, and iron bars. The keys still operate the door! 8 January 2020
The jail was used until 1915, when it was converted into apartments. It was scheduled for demolition in 1968 but a local group saved it. It began operation as a museum in the 1970s. Here’s the lower floor cell before restoration… 8 January 2020
This way to the two cells upstairs… 8 January 2020
Was a knife like this one used to kill Laura Foster? 8 January 2020
In June of 1866, Justice of the Peace Pickins Carter wrote the warrant for Tom Dula’s arrest from this desk in Elkville, NC. 8 January 2020 For more info, go here: http://www.kronsell.net/the_story_3.htm
No known photographs of Tom Dula exist, but here is one local artist’s rendition of him. Photo by Mom. 8 January 2020 For information about the fake Tom Dula picture, read this article: https://www.statesville.com/news/local/joel-reese-column-who-s-the-soldier-in-the-photo/article_48eb0f0c-4c93-11e8-8455-abac2bbbaf82.html
Through these bars is Tom Dula’s jail cell. 8 January 2020
Looking inside of Tom Dula’s cell… 8 January 2020
Tom Dula’s jail cell… 8 January 2020
Inside of Tom Dula’s jail cell with the guide. Photo by Mom. 8 January 2020
Inside of Tom Dula’s jail cell… 8 January 2020
Tour happening! Photo by Mom. 8 January 2020
Side window inside of Tom Dula’s jail cell… 8 January 2020
Looking out of the front window inside of Tom Dula’s jail cell… 8 January 2020
16 Sunday Feb 2020
Posted Cemeteries, Logan
inTags
Aldridge Coal Company, Amanda Avis, Anna Crovjack, Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, C&O Railroad, cemeteries, Charles Quinn, crime, Dwight Williamson, Ed Burgess, Elzie Burgess, Fintown, genealogy, history, Hugh C. Avis, immigrants, Ireland, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, Logan Memorial Park, Mamie Thurman, Maude Steele, McConnell, Noah E. Steele, Q.L. Stewart, West Virginia, Woodmen of the World, Works Progress Administration
Logan Memorial Park was a “perpetual care” cemetery established in the late 1920s in McConnell, Logan County, WV. The cemetery contains the final remains of many noteworthy Loganites, including Mamie Thurman, whose 1932 murder continues to tantalize regional residents. The Logan Banner reported on the cemetery’s beginnings on September 7, 1928:
Work Rapidly In Developing Burial Park
With Brush Cut and Loose Rock Being Hauled for Surface, Road Work Starts Soon
BEAUTIFYING COMES SOON
Plans Call for Use of Skilled Landscape Gardeners to Aid in Placing Shrubbery
Conclusive proof that Logan is soon to have a modern burial part embodying all the improvements found in the highest type institutions of this kind anywhere was afforded a reporter of The Logan Banner in an inspection of the work being done near McConnell by the Logan Memorial Park company.
Much work was found to have been done already. Brush and undergrowth has been cleaned off the entire 20 acre tract. This will finally include the grubbing of stumps and raking up the trash until the entire tract can be mowed with a lawnmower. Several hundred sled loads of loose rock have already been hauled to the banks of the small stream that flows through the central part of the tract, where a rubble stone embankment will be built near the water course to be covered with vines and shrubbery.
All surface rocks will be removed, blasting being resorted to loosen the larger ones. Several hundred holes were drilled in the surface of the entire plot of ground before it was decided that it would be a suitable place for burial purposes. It was found that there was no ledge rock on the entire tract except at one small spot.
Work is now in progress in preparation for the concrete road to be built from the state road into the park. A ditch suitable for the placing of 26-inch tile to carry the small stream out of the park is being dug. The C. & O. had two steam shovels at work Wednesday cleaning off a sidetrack, unused for several years and submerged by silt from the roadside, preparatory to setting out a carload of tile. It will be laid at once and then the making of a grade for the concrete will follow.
This entrance is between the residence of Burgess and Aldridge. Options have already been secured on property adjacent so that a large stone and iron entrance can be built just off the state road. From that point the hard surfaced road passes up the hollow to where a natural amphitheater provides several acres of smooth land where the first section of the park will be developed. The improved road will entirely encircle this plot so that easy access will be afforded and each lot will be reached by either the roadway or paths.
At the lower end of the natural amphitheater stand several houses that were formerly the property of the Aldridge Coal Company. The present tenants have been ordered to vacate these and they will be torn down.
Water will be supplied to the entire section now being developed and in the spring the entire tract will be plowed and seeded to the best grass obtainable. At that time much shrubbery, from the best nursery stock, will be planted under the direction of competent landscape gardeners.
The Bannerman was in doubt as to the closeness of this tract to the Courthouse, so it was metered and clocked. It proved to be 2 1/2 miles in distance and it was driven easily in traffic in six minutes. Thus there will be the dual advantages of the great natural and enhanced beauty of the Logan Memorial Park site and proximity to the town.
The earnest desire of the company to get this memorial park ready for those desiring to use it is shown in the rush that characterizes the work of cleaning it of brush and rock and in getting in a permanent road. More than a dozen men have been at work ever since the charter was granted and others will be added as more projects get under way simultaneously. The permanent road is to be laid immediately. The rubble stone wall along the stream will come later, but every bit of the work is to be pushed as rapidly as men can do it.
The perpetual care which the charter confirms to the lot owner will no doubt be a great inducement. Already interested parties are inquiring about when it will be open for inspection. Q.L. Stewart, the manager, assures them that no avoidable delay will be allowed to intervene.
***
Here’s a WPA map of the cemetery dating from the 1930s:
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This 1938 map of the cemetery is located in the Logan County Clerk’s office:
***
Here are photographs of the cemetery in 2020:
14 February 2020
14 February 2020
14 February 2020
14 February 2020
14 February 2020
14 February 2020
Charles Quinn, Irish immigrant… 14 February 2020
Many immigrants are buried in the cemetery… 14 February 2020
14 February 2020
14 February 2020
14 February 2020
14 February 2020
Woodmen of the World! 14 February 2020
14 February 2020
14 February 2020
14 February 2020
14 February 2020
14 February 2020
14 February 2020
Mamie Thurman is buried below the Steele Mausoleum… 14 February 2020
Elzie Burgess helped dig Mamie Thurman’s grave. Here is an interview with Mr. Burgess by Dwight Williamson, dating from about 1985…
09 Sunday Feb 2020
Posted Tom Dula
inTags
Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, Caldwell County, crime, Elkville, history, Laura Foster, North Carolina, photos, Tom Dula, Wilkes County, Yadkin Valley
Laura Foster’s murder in the vicinity of Reedy Branch at Elkville, NC, resulted in Tom Dula’s hanging. Driving from Elkville (Wilkes County) toward Yadkin Valley (Caldwell County) on Highway 268, the Laura Foster grave is located at left; the Laura Foster memorial is located up ahead at right. You park at the memorial. 8 January 2020
Laura Foster Memorial near Yadkin Valley in Caldwell County, NC. 8 January 2020. The marker is located across Highway 268 from the Foster grave.
Laura Foster’s grave is located at the edge of a field. The pasture is surrounded by an electric fence. 8 January 2020
Laura Foster’s grave. A white fence encloses the grave so as to protect it from cattle. 8 January 2020
When Laura Foster was buried here, locals marked her grave with white stones from the creek. Today, white gravel still marks her grave. 8 January 2020
Laura Foster’s headstone shows an incorrect death date and includes the name of her killer, Tom Dula. Since her burial, the grave site has been nearly lost and her marker disappeared for a time. Thankfully, the grave site is well-preserved today. 8 January 2020
08 Saturday Feb 2020
Tags
Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, civil war, Confederate Army, Elkville, Ferguson, fiddler, Frank Proffitt, Grayson and Whittier, history, Kingston Trio, music, North Carolina, photos, Phyllis Kirk, Sharyn McCrumb, The Ballad of Tom Dooley, Tom Dooley, Tom Dula, Wilkes County
Reading Sharyn McCrumb’s masterpiece “The Ballad of Tom Dooley” sent us down to find historical sites in the vicinity of Ferguson in Wilkes County, NC. 7 January 2020. Most anyone will remember this 1958 mega-hit by the Kingston Trio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhXuO4Gz3Wo
Tom Dula (1845-1868), a Confederate veteran and fiddler, lived in Elkville, just above Ferguson, NC. Few sites remain from his time; most of the old buildings are gone. 7 January 2020. Here’s the first recording of “Tom Dooley” by Grayson and Whittier (1929): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWd1rNmDAgg
Finding this sign in Ferguson meant that we were basically at Ground Zero. More discoveries to come! Photo by Mom. 7 January 2020. Here’s a personal favorite version of “Tom Dooley” by Frank Proffitt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfPdCveqQRw
19 Saturday Oct 2019
Posted Kiahsville
inTags
bear, Big Laurel Fork, Brandon Kirk, Francis Fork, horses, Kiahs Creek, Lincoln County, Mountain Home Cemetery, nature, New Salem Old Regular Baptist Church, photos, Phyllis Kirk, Wade Adkins Branch, Wayne County, West Virginia
Black Bear, Francis Fork of Kiahs Creek, WV. Photo by Mom. 2015
House With the Rock, Wade Adkins Branch of Kiahs Creek, WV. 15 July 2016
Log Structure on Francis Fork of Kiahs Creek, WV. 31 August 2019
Mountain Home Cemetery, Trough Fork of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV. 5 August 2017
New Salem Old Regular Baptist Church, Big Laurel Fork of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV. 15 July 2016
Old School at Big Laurel Fork of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV. 15 July 2016
Head of Big Laurel Fork of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV. 15 July 2016
Head of Big Laurel Fork of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV. 15 July 2016
Head of Big Laurel Fork of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV. 15 July 2016
Head of Big Laurel Fork of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV. Photo by Mom. 15 July 2016
Road in the Road, Wade Adkins Branch of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV. 15 July 2016
10 Saturday Aug 2019
Posted Cemeteries, Logan, Music
inTags
Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, cemeteries, Coney Isle, Ed Belcher, Elbert Garrett Family Cemetery, fiddler, Fort Branch, Frank Hutchison, genealogy, guitar, harp-organ, history, Lake, Logan Banner, Logan County, music, New York, Okeh Company, Omar Theatre, Peach Creek Theatre, piano, Sheila Brumfield Coleman, Stirrat Theatre, Stollings, West Virginia, West Virginia Rag, William Hatcher Garrett
Logan (WV) Banner, 1 February 1927.
Logan (WV) Banner, 8 March 1927.
Logan (WV) Banner, 25 March 1927.
Here we are visiting the Frank Hutchison grave at the Elbert Garrett Family Cemetery at Lake, Logan County, WV. Photo by Sheila Brumfield Coleman. 10 August 2019
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