Tag Archives: Phyllis Kirk

Elk Creek Community Cemetery at Emmett, WV (2020)

29 Friday May 2020

Posted by in Cemeteries, Coal

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Up this way to Elk Creek Community Cemetery… 5 February 2020

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Coal is not dead! For more information, go here: https://www.ramacoresources.com/mining-complexes/elk-creek/ 5 February 2020

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My parking spot. Miners helped me to find the cemetery, which was concealed by the mining operation. 5 February 2020

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Up this way to the (mostly neglected) cemetery! 5 February 2020

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Someone left this pretty cardinal painting here. 5 February 2020

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View from the cemetery. 5 February 2020

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The Sias graves. 5 February 2020

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My great-great-uncle is buried here. 5 February 2020

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Sias graves. 5 February 2020

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Sias graves. 5 February 2020

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Sias graves. 5 February 2020

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This little guy found me. Made a buddy. 5 February 2020

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Here goes Mom to decorate the graves. 5 February 2020

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Walter F. Sias (1896-1933) was a brother to my great-grandmother, Gertie (Sias) Frye. He is buried here with two of his children. 5 February 2020

Tom Dula: Trial and Hanging in Statesville, NC (2020)

29 Saturday Feb 2020

Posted by in Tom Dula

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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

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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

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Col. Sharpe House. 7 January 2020

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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

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Tom Dula was hanged somewhere in this vicinity. Perhaps as many as 3000 spectators attended the hanging. 7 January 2020

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Tom Dula was hanged somewhere in this vicinity. Sheriff William Wasson had never executed anyone prior to Dula. Photo by Mom. 7 January 2020

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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

Tom Dula: Wilkes County Jail, Part 2 (2020)

16 Sunday Feb 2020

Posted by in Tom Dula

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The Wilkes County Jail was built in 1859. Here’s our guide showing us the jail cell on the lower floor. 8 January 2020

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All three cells have the original doors, wood, and iron bars. The keys still operate the door! 8 January 2020

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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

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This way to the two cells upstairs… 8 January 2020

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Was a knife like this one used to kill Laura Foster? 8 January 2020

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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

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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

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Through these bars is Tom Dula’s jail cell. 8 January 2020

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Looking inside of Tom Dula’s cell… 8 January 2020

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Tom Dula’s jail cell… 8 January 2020

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Inside of Tom Dula’s jail cell with the guide. Photo by Mom. 8 January 2020

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Inside of Tom Dula’s jail cell… 8 January 2020

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Tour happening! Photo by Mom. 8 January 2020

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Side window inside of Tom Dula’s jail cell… 8 January 2020

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Looking out of the front window inside of Tom Dula’s jail cell… 8 January 2020

Tom Dula: Ferguson, NC (2020)

08 Saturday Feb 2020

Posted by in Civil War, Music, Tom Dula

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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

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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

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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

Kiahs Creek, Wayne and Lincoln Counties, WV

19 Saturday Oct 2019

Posted by in Kiahsville

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Black Bear, Francis Fork of Kiahs Creek, WV. Photo by Mom. 2015

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House With the Rock, Wade Adkins Branch of Kiahs Creek, WV. 15 July 2016

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Log Structure on Francis Fork of Kiahs Creek, WV. 31 August 2019

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Mountain Home Cemetery, Trough Fork of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV. 5 August 2017

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New Salem Old Regular Baptist Church, Big Laurel Fork of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV. 15 July 2016

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Old School at Big Laurel Fork of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV. 15 July 2016

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Head of Big Laurel Fork of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV.  15 July 2016

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Head of Big Laurel Fork of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV.  15 July 2016

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Head of Big Laurel Fork of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV.  15 July 2016

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Head of Big Laurel Fork of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV.  Photo by Mom. 15 July 2016

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Road in the Road, Wade Adkins Branch of Kiahs Creek, Wayne County, WV. 15 July 2016

West Virginia State Folk Festival in Glenville, WV (2019)

23 Tuesday Jul 2019

Posted by in Music

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Straight ahead…the WV State Folk Festival! Glenville, WV. 21 July 2019

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Here we are early in the day. 21 June 2019

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Highlight: The Country Store and Museum. 21 June 2019 https://www.wvstatefolkfestival.com/country-store-and-museum

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Inside of The Country Store and Museum are many great things! 21 June 2019

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Black Diamond Strings in The Country Store and Museum. 21 June 2019

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Here’s Betty Vornbrock winning the fiddle contest. 21 June 2019

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Paul Gartner, the winner of the banjo contest, lives in Lincoln County, WV. Photo by Mom. 21 June 2019

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Out and about on the grounds. 21 June 2019

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Out and about on the grounds. 21 June 2019

 

Hatfield-McCoy Feud: Ellison Hatfield Grave at Newtown, WV (2019)

17 Wednesday Jul 2019

Posted by in Cemeteries, Hatfield-McCoy Feud

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Up this way to the old Hatfield cemetery. Newtown, Mingo County, WV. Photo by Mom. 6 July 2019.

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Entering the old Hatfield cemetery. It was a bit weedy! Photo by Mom. 6 July 2019.

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I mowed some of the graves and made sure to place flowers at the grave of Ellison Hatfield. Photo by Mom. 6 July 2019

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Leaving the cemetery, you can return to the paved road by going left over the bridge or right through Mate Creek. 6 July 2019

Antique Timber Branding Stamp Hammer (2019)

09 Sunday Jun 2019

Posted by in Timber

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These well-worn hammers were used to “brand” the ends of freshly cut logs so as to identify the owner of each log. Photo by Mom. 7 June 2019

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When timber men sent hundreds or thousands of logs floating down the river to market, the identifying mark proved ownership. Cutting the end of the log, thus removing the brand symbol, was a penitentiary offense. Photo by Mom. 7 June 2019

Gov. Simon Bolivar Buckner Grave in Frankfort, KY (2019)

26 Sunday May 2019

Posted by in Cemeteries, Civil War, Hatfield-McCoy Feud

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Simon Bolivar Buckner grave at Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, KY. Governor Buckner, a veteran of the Confederate Army, played a role in the Hatfield-McCoy Feud. Located in Section I of the cemetery. Photo by Mom. 21 May 2019

Barboursville Cemetery (2015/2017)

23 Saturday Feb 2019

Posted by in Barboursville, Cemeteries, Lincoln County Feud

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Anthony and Margaret Shelton headstone, Barboursville Cemetery, Barboursville, Cabell County, WV. 14 February 2015

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Dr. V. Randolph Moss grave, Barboursville Cemetery, Barboursville, Cabell County, WV. Dr. Moss was an attending physician to Hollena Brumfield after her gunshot wound to the face in September of 1889. Photo by Mom. 5 May 2017

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Dr. V. Randolph Moss grave, Barboursville Cemetery, Barboursville, Cabell County, WV. Photo by Mom. 5 May 2017

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Dr. V. Randolph Moss grave, Barboursville Cemetery, Barboursville, Cabell County, WV. 5 May 2017

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William S. Kelley grave, Barboursville Cemetery, Barboursville, Cabell County, WV. 15 February 2015