Tags
Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, Breeden, coal, Mingo County, Norfolk and Western Railroad, photos, tunnels, West Virginia

Breeden, Mingo County, WV, 20 August 2016. Photo by Mom.
05 Monday Sep 2016
Tags
Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, Breeden, coal, Mingo County, Norfolk and Western Railroad, photos, tunnels, West Virginia

Breeden, Mingo County, WV, 20 August 2016. Photo by Mom.
21 Saturday May 2016
Posted in Atenville, Cemeteries, Lincoln County Feud
Tags
Absolum Spry, Appalachia, Atenville, Blood in West Virginia, book, books, Brandon Kirk, Dry Branch, genealogy, history, Lincoln County, Lincoln County Feud, photos, Rachel Spry, West Virginia

Absalom “Ap” Spry grave, located at Dry Branch in Atenville, Lincoln County, West Virginia. Mr. Spry (1850-1930), husband to Rachel Brumfield, appears as a character in the book.
09 Monday May 2016
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Cemeteries, Halcyon
Tags
Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, Elizabeth Vance, genealogy, Harry Kirk, Harts Creek, history, Logan County, Marvel Vance, photos, Phyllis Kirk, Piney Fork, Thomas Kirk, West Fork, West Virginia

Elizabeth “Betty” (Maynard) Kirk-Vance grave, located on Piney Fork of West Fork of Harts Creek in Logan County, WV. Betty (1837-1902), the daughter of Jesse and Sarah (Welch) Maynard, was my great-great-great-grandmother. She married Thomas Kirk, then Marvel Vance. Mom found the grave, Dad deciphered the writing on the stone, and I knew her death year. Photo by Mom. 7 May 2016
26 Tuesday Apr 2016
Posted in Huntington, Lincoln County Feud
Tags
author, authors, Blood in West Virginia, book, books, Brandon Kirk, Dave Lavender, Empire Books, Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, Lincoln County Feud, West Virginia
The book and I will appear at Empire Books & News in Huntington, WV, on Saturday, April 30, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Our last appearance in September was a sellout venue…and we met many amazing people. If you are local to the Tri-State area, come and see us this Saturday! (We will be joined by over 25 regional authors.) For information about our last visit to the store, follow this link: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/features_entertainment/author-to-sign-new-book-at-empire-on-saturday/article_dcf95a5c-13eb-5ecf-aeca-713a131626c5.html


03 Sunday Apr 2016
Posted in Big Creek, Cemeteries, Lincoln County Feud
Tags
Appalachia, Blood in West Virginia, Brandon Kirk, genealogy, Lilly-Adkins Family Cemetery, Lincoln County Feud, Logan County, midwife, Nancy Simpkins, photos, West Virginia

Early today, I located the grave of Nancy Simpkins at Big Creek in Logan County, WV. Nan was a midwife who appears in my feud book, “Blood in West Virginia: Brumfield v. McCoy.”
09 Saturday Jan 2016
Posted in Huntington
Tags
Appalachia, authors, Brandon Kirk, Eliot Parker, Empire Books, Fragile Brilliance, Huntington, literature, West Virginia, writers, writing

During my recent trip to Huntington, WV, I made sure to pick up this HOT NEW book written by Eliot Parker. Eliot is a writer, TV host, and professor operating in the Greater Huntington Area. 31 December 2015
07 Monday Dec 2015
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Cemeteries, Spottswood
Tags
Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, Dicy Adams, genealogy, Harts Creek, history, Joseph Adams, Joseph Adams Family Cemetery, Kathy Adams, Logan County, Spottswood, U.S. South, West Virginia

Joseph and Dicy (Mullins) Adams modern headstone. Joseph Adams is buried to the left where the old rock is marked “J.A.” Dicy Adams is buried at center where the old headstone is marked “Dicy A.” The person buried at right with a rock headstone is unknown. 14 October 2014.

Joseph and Dicy (Mullins) Adams headstones. On 24 April 2015, Kathy Adams and I restored this section of the cemetery.

Joseph and Dicy (Mullins) Adams headstone. 11 June 2014.

Joseph Adams original headstone. 14 October 2014.

Dicy (Mullins) Adams modern headstone. 11 June 2014.

Dicy (Mullins) Adams original headstone. 11 June 2014.
28 Saturday Nov 2015
Posted in Ferrellsburg
Tags
Appalachia, Billy Edd Wheeler, Brandon Kirk, Jim Comstock, Jim Comstock Seminar, journalism, Marshall University, newspaper, Richwood, Steve Eschelman, The West Virginia Hillbilly, West Virginia

I worked on two separate projects with Jim Comstock, West Virginia’s most famous newspaper editor, in 1994-1995. Here’s a little excerpt from The West Virginia Hillbilly (11 May 1995).
23 Monday Nov 2015
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Cemeteries
Tags
Adkins-Brumfield Family Cemetery, Bill Brumfield, Brandon Kirk, Cole Branch, Harts Creek, Lincoln County, West Virginia

Here I am visiting the grave of my great-great-grandfather, Bill Brumfield, who is buried on Cole Branch of Harts Creek in Lincoln County, WV. My late friend Betty Brumfield first showed me this cemetery over twenty-five years ago. I love visiting here. 4 August 2014
23 Monday Nov 2015
Posted in Cemeteries, Civil War, Fourteen
Tags
34th Battalion Virginia Cavalry, Andrew Elkins, Brandon Kirk, Confederate Army, Fourteen, genealogy, history, Lincoln County, Marvel Elkins, Phyllis Kirk, postmaster, preacher, Rhoda Elkins, U.S. South, West Virginia


Mom and I recently marked the grave of Andrew Elkins, our ancestor who served in Company D, 34th Battalion Virginia Cavalry. After the war, Andrew, the son of Marvel and Rhoda (Vance) Elkins, was a Baptist preacher and postmaster at Fourteen in Lincoln County, WV.
07 Saturday Nov 2015
Posted in Lincoln County Feud
17 Saturday Oct 2015
Posted in Big Ugly Creek, Cemeteries, Leet
17 Saturday Oct 2015
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Lincoln County Feud, Warren
06 Tuesday Oct 2015
Posted in Ed Haley, John Hartford, Lincoln County Feud
04 Sunday Oct 2015
Posted in Ed Haley, John Hartford, Lincoln County Feud
Tags
Appalachia, Ashland, Ashland Daily Independent, Blood in West Virginia, books, Brandon Kirk, Dave Lavender, Ed Haley, Ed Haley Memorial Fiddle Contest, Empire Books, fiddlers, fiddling, Goldenseal, Greenup, Hannibal H. Holbrook, Harts Creek, Herald-Dispatch, history, Huntington, John Hartford, Kentucky, music, Poage Landing Days, Steve Haley, The Kentucky Explorer, U.S. South, West Virginia, writing
The Herald-Dispatch of Huntington, WV, and the Ashland (KY) Daily Independent have recently provided great coverage of the book and related research projects. Many thanks to these newspapers for supporting regional history. Here are the links to the stories:
I am honored that some of my writing will appear in forthcoming issues of Goldenseal and The Kentucky Explorer, two of my absolute favorite magazines. The Winter issue of Goldenseal will feature a story about Ed Haley’s background on Harts Creek and his later visits to the community. A smaller story details John Hartford’s search for Ed Haley in the Harts Creek area. The December issue of The Kentucky Explorer will feature a story about Ed Haley’s friendship with Dr. H.H. Holbrook of Ashland and Greenup.
03 Saturday Oct 2015
Posted in Lincoln County Feud, Logan
03 Saturday Oct 2015
Posted in Lincoln County Feud
18 Friday Sep 2015
Posted in Lincoln County Feud
09 Wednesday Sep 2015
Posted in Lincoln County Feud
05 Saturday Sep 2015
Posted in Cemeteries, Sand Creek
Writings from my travels and experiences. High and fine literature is wine, and mine is only water; but everybody likes water. Mark Twain
This site is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and promotion of history and culture in Appalachia.
Genealogy and History in North Carolina and Beyond
A site about one of the most beautiful, interesting, tallented, outrageous and colorful personalities of the 20th Century