04 Sunday Mar 2018
Posted in Cemeteries, Civil War, Pilgrim
Tags
Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, cemeteries, civil war, Clara Kirk, Davis Cemetery, genealogy, history, John Kirk, Kentucky, Martin County, Phyllis Kirk, Pilgrim, Thomas Kirk, Union Army, Wolf Creek
Thomas Kirk (c.1834-1912), a son of John and Clara (Marcum) Kirk, was reportedly an officer in a Union Home Guard unit during the Civil War. He is my great-great-great-grandfather. Tom is buried in the Davis Cemetery on Wolf Creek in Pilgrim, Martin County, KY. 3 March 2018. Photo by Mom.
14 Wednesday Feb 2018
Posted in Cemeteries, Timber, West Hamlin
Tags
Appalachia, cemeteries, genealogy, history, Lewis Family Cemetery, Lincoln County, Robert Lewis, Tyler Creek, West Hamlin, West Virginia
Robert “Bob” Lewis was a regional timber boss in the Guyandotte Valley. He’s buried at West Hamlin, Lincoln County, WV. 10 February 2018.
Bob Lewis grave. 10 February 2018.
Bob Lewis grave. 10 February 2018.
12 Monday Feb 2018
Posted in Cemeteries, Civil War, West Hamlin
Tags
8th Virginia Cavalry, Appalachia, Bettie Thompson, Brandon Kirk, cemeteries, civil war, Confederate Army, genealogy, Harvey May, history, Patton Thompson, Shelton Cemetery
The road up from Tyler Creek. 10 February 2018.
This cemetery contains over one hundred graves. 10 February 2018.
Most graves are marked by beautiful headstones. 10 February 2018.
My great-great-great-grandfather Patton Thompson (1824-1909) is buried here. His rock reads “P.T.” I didn’t find his grave, but I’ll be back! A few Thompson graves are located in this section. The headstone visible in this photo belongs to Patton’s great-granddaughter, Bettie Thompson (1913-1926). 10 February 2018.
Harvey May, “An Old Rebel Soldier” from Company K of the 8th Virginia Cavalry. 10 February 2018.
The road down to Tyler Creek. 10 February 2018.
08 Thursday Feb 2018
Posted in Cemeteries, Fourteen, Gill, Ranger
Tags
Appalachia, Barber Hollow, Beaver Pond, cemeteries, genealogy, history, Lincoln County, photos, West Virginia
Beaver Pond Road, Lincoln County, WV. 4 November 2017.
Compressor Station, Barber Hollow Ridge, Lincoln County, WV. 4 November 2017.
Compressor Station, Barber Hollow Ridge, Lincoln County, WV. 4 November 2017.
Barber Cemetery at Barber Hollow Ridge, Lincoln County, WV. 4 November 2018. Three graves are located here: a woman (center) and her two husbands (on each side).
04 Sunday Feb 2018
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Cemeteries, Ferrellsburg, Halcyon, Women's History
Tags
Appalachia, Babe Dingess Family Cemetery, Brandon Kirk, Brandon Ray Kirk, cemeteries, Clementine Dingess, Ferrellsburg, genealogy, Halcyon, Harry Kirk, Harts Creek, history, Jake Adkins, Lettie McKibbon Adkins, Lincoln County, Logan County, Morning Star Freewill Baptist Church, photos, West Fork, West Virginia
Julius David “Babe” Dingess (c.1847-bef.1900) was the son of Julius C. and Eliza (Smith) Dingess. He married Venila Stollings. 3 February 2018.
This cemetery is located near Morning Star Freewill Baptist Church on West Fork of Harts Creek in Logan County, WV. I last visited here on October 20, 1997. 3 February 2018.
Clementine “Tine” (Adkins) Dingess grave… Tine was the daughter of Enos “Jake” and Lettie Kib (Toney) Adkins of Ferrellsburg, Lincoln County, WV. 3 February 2018. Photo by Dad.
28 Sunday Jan 2018
Posted in Cemeteries, Halcyon, Lincoln County Feud
Tags
Appalachia, Auglin Watts, Bearwallow Gap, Bill's Branch, Blood in West Virginia, Brandon Kirk, Bryant-Dingess Cemetery, Burl Bryant, cemeteries, French Bryant, genealogy, Harry Kirk, Harts Creek, history, Hugh Dingess Hollow, Lincoln County Feud, Logan County, Mosco Dingess, photos, Piney Fork, Smokehouse Fork, West Fork, West Virginia
Dad and I recently cleared the Bryant-Dingess cemetery at Bearwallow Gap in the head of Piney Fork and Hugh Dingess Hollow on Harts Creek, Logan County, WV. I last visited this cemetery over twenty years ago. 27 January 2018.
The cemetery was overgrown with saplings. Four persons are buried here: French Bryant, Burl Bryant, Auglin Watts, and Mosco Dingess. 27 January 2018.
French Bryant (1855-1938), son of Rufus Bryant, is a major character in my feud book, “Blood in West Virginia: Brumfield v. McCoy.” My Kirk family liked French. 27 January 2018
Burl Bryant grave (lower) and Auglin Watts grave. 27 January 2018.
Looking downhill toward cemetery. 27 January 2018.
Up above the cemetery are these magnificent rocks. 27 January 2018.
Looking from the rocks down into Hugh Dingess Hollow of Smokehouse Fork of Harts Creek. 27 January 2018.
The ridge above the cemetery. 27 January 2018.
08 Monday Jan 2018
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Cemeteries, Civil War
Tags
129th Regiment Virginia Militia, Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, cemeteries, civil war, Confederate Army, Garland Conley Family Cemetery, genealogy, Harts Creek, history, Logan County, Phyllis Kirk, Smokehouse Fork, West Virginia
Garland B. Conley (d.1895) was a veteran of Carter’s Company, 129th Regiment Virginia Militia. I recently revisited his grave on Smokehouse Fork of Harts Creek, Logan County, WV. 7 January 2018. Photo by Mom.
29 Sunday Oct 2017
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Cemeteries, Civil War, Lincoln County Feud, Pecks Mill, Warren, Whirlwind
Tags
10th Kentucky Cavalry, Anderson Blair, Appalachia, Aracoma, Barbara Kovach Morris, cemeteries, Chapmanville District, civil war, Confederate Army, Dingess Cemetery, Harts Creek, history, John Blair, John S. Blair, Logan, Logan County, Logan County Banner, Pecks Mill, photos, Polly Blair, Pop Dingess, Tommy Isaacs, Upper Hart, West Virginia
Anderson Blair, son of John S. and Polly (Baisden) Blair. Photo posted online by Barbara Kovach Morris.
Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 9 January 1890. During the Lincoln County Feud, Anderson Blair was a justice of the peace in Chapmanville District, Logan County, WV. His district included Upper Hart.
Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 14 August 1895.
Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 17 April 1902.
Dingess Cemetery, Pecks Mill, Logan County, WV. June 2016. John Blair and Tommy Isaacs installed the military headstone in May of 2014.
04 Tuesday Jul 2017
Posted in Cemeteries, Giles County, Harts, Native American History
Tags
American Revolution, Appalachia, Beech Fork, Beech Fork State Park, Billy Adkins, Brandon Kirk, cemeteries, Continental Line, genealogy, Giles County, Harts, Hezekiah Adkins, Hezekiah Adkins Cemetery, history, Isaac Adkins, John Lucas, Lincoln County, Missionary Baptist, Molly Adkins, Montgomery County, Native Americans, New River, photos, preacher, Revolutionary War, Ronnie Adkins, tourism, Virginia, Wayne County, West Virginia, Winslow
In 1990, Ronnie Adkins published THE definitive Adkins genealogy book. A great many researchers appreciated his work on Hezekiah Adkins’ line of the family. Hezekiah Adkins was born in 1759 in Virginia, served in the American Revolutionary War, moved from Giles County, Virginia, to present-day Wayne County, West Virginia, about 1810, and died in 1842. His grave markers are yet visible at Winslow on Beech Fork in Wayne County, WV. If you visit the grave site, you will find Hezekiah Adkins buried on the left and his wife Mary “Molly” buried on the right (unlike in this photo). Any Adkins researcher owes a great debt to Ronnie Adkins and his book. THANK YOU, RONNIE.
Here is a photo of my good friend and mentor Billy Adkins visiting the grave site in 1991. Years ago, Billy assisted Ronnie in gathering information about members of the Adkins family who settled in the Harts area of Lincoln County, WV.
Here is Hezekiah’s grave as it appears today (left). His wife Molly is buried to the right.
Hezekiah Adkins is my paternal great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather through his son, Isaac Adkins (1790-1854).
Here is Molly Adkins’ grave as it appears today. She is my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother.
Hezekiah Adkins has a nice military marker positioned at his feet.
I recently visited Hezekiah Adkins’ grave. 30 June 2017.
A short distance from the cemetery, beside of the highway, is this great historical marker commemorating Hezekiah Adkins’ service in the Revolutionary War. Beech Fork State Park is less than five minutes away. 30 June 2017.
25 Thursday May 2017
Posted in Cemeteries, Civil War, Logan, Pecks Mill
Tags
Appalachia, Blacksburg, Brandon Kirk, cemeteries, civil war, Confederate Army, Edge Hill, genealogy, history, J.E. Peck, Logan, Logan County, Mary C. Peck, Peck Family Cemetery, Pecks Mill, photos, Phyllis Kirk, Virginia, West Virginia
J.E. Peck grave, Pecks Mill, Logan County, WV (2017). Photo by Mom.
18 Tuesday Apr 2017
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Cemeteries, Harts
Tags
Adkins-Brumfield Family Cemetery, Appalachia, Caney Branch, cemeteries, Charles Adkins, genealogy, Harts Creek, Harts Creek District, history, Isaiah Adkins, justice of the peace, Lincoln County, Mary Jane Adkins, miller, Minerva Adkins, photos, West Virginia
This cemetery is occupied by the family of Charles and Minerva (Dingess) Adkins. Charles Adkins (1850-1919), a resident of Caney Branch of Harts Creek, was a miller and justice of the peace in Harts Creek District, Lincoln County, WV. He is my great-great-great-grandfather. In recent weeks, we have been busily restoring this cemetery.
Charles Adkins (1850-1919), son of Isaiah and Mary Jane (Toney) Adkins.
11 Tuesday Apr 2017
Posted in Cemeteries, Harts
Tags
Appalachia, Billy Adkins, cemeteries, Elizabeth Adkins, genealogy, Harry Edward Mullins, history, Isaac Adkins, photos, Wayne County, West Virginia
Harry Edward Mullins, a genealogist, appears here visiting Adkins-Fry graves in Wayne County, WV. Harry was dedicated: he purchased modern headstones for several noteworthy Harts area residents, including Isaac and Elizabeth Adkins. Photo courtesy of Billy Adkins.
03 Monday Apr 2017
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Cemeteries, Civil War, Lincoln County Feud, Shively, Spottswood, Warren
Tags
Appalachia, Blood in West Virginia, Brandon Kirk, cemeteries, Dingess-Brumfield Family Cemetery, genealogy, Harts Creek, Henderson Dingess, history, Kathy Adams, Lincoln County Feud, Logan County, photos, Sallie Dingess, Smokehouse Fork, West Virginia
Henderson and Sallie (Adams) Dingess are buried here on Smokehouse Fork of Harts Creek, Logan County, WV. Since my last visit, a tree has pitched over onto their graves. Photo by Kathy Adams. 2 April 2017.
27 Monday Mar 2017
Posted in Big Ugly Creek, Cemeteries, Rector
Tags
Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, cemeteries, genealogy, history, Lincoln County, photos, Phyllis Kirk, Rector, Squire Toney, Squire Toney Family Cemetery, West Virginia
Squire Toney Family Cemetery near Rector on Big Ugly Creek, Lincoln County, WV. I first visited this cemetery in the mid-1990s. Photo by Mom. 23 January 2017.
15 Wednesday Mar 2017
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Cemeteries, Halcyon
Tags
Appalachia, cemeteries, Chloe Mullins, Floyd S. Gore, genealogy, Harvey Gore, history, John Gore, John Gore Family Cemetery, Joseph Gore, Leander Gore, Logan, Logan County, Logan County Banner, Margaret Gore, Martha Gore, Martha Lawson, Mary Ann Lawson, Nancy Jane Toney, photos, Rebecca McDonald, surveyor, West Fork, West Virginia
John Gore (1816-1895), son of Joseph and Martha (Pine) Gore. Husband to Margaret “Peggy” Dingess. Settled on the West Fork of Harts Creek in Logan County, WV.
John Gore Land Grant (1848), Logan County, (West) Virginia.
John Gore obituary, Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 9 October 1895.
John Gore grave, West Fork of Harts Creek, Logan County, WV. 5 June 2015.
08 Wednesday Mar 2017
Posted in Cemeteries, Ferrellsburg, Lincoln County Feud
Tags
Aaron Adkins, Appalachia, Bertha Dingess, Bill Fowler, Blood in West Virginia, cemeteries, Elias Adkins, Ferrellsburg, Ferrellsburg Community Cemetery, genealogy, Harts Creek, history, Lincoln County, Lincoln County Feud, photos, West Virginia, Will Adkins
George Washington “Will” Adkins headstone (1863-1889). Will Adkins, a son of Aaron J. and Nancy Jane (Gillispie) Adkins and father to Bertha (Adkins) Dingess, drowned at the mouth of Harts Creek. Bill Fowler, a merchant and uncle to Will, purchased his headstone. Will is buried at the Elias Adkins Family Cemetery, now called the Ferrellsburg Community Cemetery, in Ferrellsburg, Lincoln County, WV. Photo taken 29 November 2016.
22 Wednesday Feb 2017
Posted in African American History, Civil War, Harts
Tags
Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, cemeteries, Elizabeth Adkins, genealogy, Harts, history, Isaac Adkins, Lincoln County, slavery, West Virginia
Isaac and Elizabeth Adkins section of the Adkins Family Cemetery in Harts, WV, 21 May 2016. The slave cemetery is located just beyond the trees.
Here I am standing in the old Adkins slave cemetery. Isaac Adkins is my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. 21 May 2016.
12 Monday Dec 2016
Posted in Hatfield-McCoy Feud
Tags
Appalachia, Betty McCoy, cemeteries, feuds, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Johnse Hatfield, Kentucky, photos, Pike County, Roseanna McCoy, Stringtown
On December 7, 2016, I visited the Betty McCoy House at Stringtown, Pike County, Kentucky. According to tradition, Roseanna McCoy gave birth to her child by Johnse Hatfield here at Aunt Betty’s residence in 1881. The romance between Johnse and Roseanna represents one of the more familiar events of the Hatfield-McCoy Feud. NOTE: The present-day house includes the original log structure. Until recent years, this home stood across the highway and faced the river.
Betty McCoy residence in Stringtown, Pike County, KY. According to legend, Roseanna McCoy gave birth to Sarah Elizabeth at this location in 1881.
Betty McCoy residence in Stringtown, Pike County, KY. According to legend, Johnse Hatfield continually tried to see Roseanna while she stayed here with Aunt Betty.
Historical Marker at Stringtown, Pike County, KY. This is Site 2 on the Hatfield and McCoy Driving Tour brochure.
To reach Sally’s grave in the McCoy cemetery, you go up these steps…
And up these steps…
Sarah Elizabeth “Sally” McCoy grave at Stringtown, Pike County, KY.
06 Tuesday Dec 2016
Posted in Civil War, Harts, Lincoln County Feud
Tags
34th Battalion Virginia Cavalry, 45th Battalion Virginia Infantry, Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, cemeteries, civil war, genealogy, Harts, history, Lincoln County, Lincoln County Feud, Nathan Kirk, Paris Brumfield, Paris Brumfield Family Cemetery, Phyllis Kirk, Vincent A. Witcher, West Virginia
Here we are placing the marker. Paris Brumfield Family Cemetery, Harts, Lincoln County, WV. 29 November 2016. Photo by Mom.
Paris Brumfield served in the 45th Battalion Virginia Infantry from 1863-1864 and also under Lt. Col. Vincent “Clawhammer” Witcher in the 34th Battalion Virginia Cavalry from 1864-?.
Paris Brumfield is my great-great-great-grandfather and a major character in my book, “Blood in West Virginia: Brumfield v. McCoy.” Photo by Nathan Kirk.
14 Monday Nov 2016
Posted in Cemeteries, Stone Branch
Tags
Anthony Hamilton, Appalachia, Bert Surgoine, Betty Joe Spencer, Callie Morrisett, Cecil L. Hager, Cecil L. Hager Jr., cemeteries, Dicy Susan Nelson, Dixie Motel, Floyd G. Lilly, Floyd Lilly Family Cemetery, genealogy, history, Lacy E. Nelson, Logan County, Mary June Hager, Mary Lilly, Mollie Surgoine, Nancy Hager, Robert Adkins Jr., Shirley Surgoine, Stone Branch, West Virginia, William C. Surgoine
The Floyd Lilly Family Cemetery, which I visited on 12 November 2016, is located at Stone Branch along Route 10 in Logan County, West Virginia. The Dixie Motel was once located across Route 10 from the cemetery.
Row 1
Mary June Hager (5 January 1935-27 January 1935)
Row 2
Mary Lilly (1882-1944); d/o Ben and Sarah (Gore) Adams; m. Floyd Lilly
Floyd G. Lilly (25 October 1882-31 January 1961); s/o Gordon and Martella (Workman) Lilly
Row 3
Nancy Lilly Hager (26 April 1908-1 May 1995); d/o Floyd and Mary (Adams) Lilly; m. Cecil Hager
Cecil L. Hager (24 December 1900-11 February 1969); s/o John and Mary (Ferrell) Hager
Cecil Lawrence Hager, Jr. (22 June 1927-2 March 1994); s/o Cecil L. and Nancy (Lilly) Hager
Row 4
William C. Surgoine (30 September 1908-29 October 1980); s/o Bert and Mollie Surgoine
Shirley Lilly Surgoine (25 May 1917-29 July 2000); s/o Floyd and Mary (Adams) Lilly; m. William Surgoine
(large gap)
Dicy Susan Nelson (1884-1978)
Lacy E. Nelson (1884-1952)
Row 5
Callie Morrisett (31 January 1862-12 September 1942)
Bert Surgoine (15 May 1883-10 October 1951)
Mollie Surgoine (20 December 1890-27 April 1987)
(large gap)
Anthony Hamilton (1882-1950)
Robert Adkins, Jr. (10 March 1947-17 May 1948)
Betty Joe Spencer (31 December 1936-12 December 1946)
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
Brandon Ray Kirk 