Tag Archives: Piney

Melvin Kirk Family Cemetery (2015)

26 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by in Big Harts Creek, Cemeteries

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Melvin Kirk Family Cemetery, which I visited on May 25, 2015, is located on Piney at West Fork of Big Harts Creek in Logan County, West Virginia.

Row 1

James Edward Kirk (15 January 1965-02 March 2008)

Jimmy C. Kirk (19 August 1938-20 July 1966); s/o Musco and Sallie (Workman) Kirk; SP4 US ARMY

Musco Kirk (13 October 1901-13 March 1984); son of Melvin and Susan (Thompson) Kirk

Sallie Kirk (09 April 1911-06 December 1990); d/o Fletcher and Rachel (Messer) Workman; m. Musco Kirk

Row 2

Infant Williams (09 April 1951-09 April 1951); d/o Henry and M. Iris (Kirk) Williams

Jack Kirk (1926-1927); son of Pat and Eva (Brumfield) Kirk

Phillip Ray Kirk (1941-1948); d/o Shelby and Hollie M. (Justice) Kirk

Row 3

Dola Kirk (1914-1915); d/o Pat and Eva (Brumfield) Kirk

Elsa Kirk (1916-1917); d/o Pat and Eva (Brumfield) Kirk

Michael Lawrence Kirk (24 June 1940-10 April 1960); s/o Lawrence and Mima (Gore) Kirk

Mima Gore Kirk (02 February 1920-29 March 2009); d/o Joseph A. and Flora M. (Dingess) Gore; m. Lawrence Kirk

Lawrence Kirk (17 July 1918-07 May 2011); s/o Pat and Eva (Brumfield) Kirk

Row 4

Albert J. Kirk (28 November 1898-07 September 1960); son of Melvin and Susan (Thompson) Kirk

Thomas Kirk (1937-1938); s/o Albert and Pearl (Kirk) Kirk

Harry L. Kirk (01 January 1944-08 March 1944); s/o Albert and Pearl (Kirk) Kirk

Sharon Kirk (01 January 1944-08 January 1944); d/o Albert and Pearl (Kirk) Kirk

David Kirk (29 November 1946-02 December 1946); s/o Albert and Pearl (Kirk) Kirk

Row 5

Dortha Kirk (1920-1992); d/o Ben T. and Hattie Alice (Headley) Kirk; m. Melvin Kirk, Jr.

Melvin Kirk, Jr. (1910-1974); s/o Melvin and Susan (Thompson) Kirk

Dora D. Workman (10 August 1912-21 January 1916); d/o William and Minnie B. (Thompson) Workman

Mary Kirk (06 March 1975-06 March 1975)

gap between graves

Kenneth Morris Neri (07 July 1927-24 January 2004); US ARMY TSGT US AIR FORCE WWII KOREA

Susie Neri (1940-still alive); d/o Melvin and Dortha (Taylor) Kirk, Jr.

Row 6

Teresa M. Kirk (20 January 1954-still alive)

Manuel Kirk (28 February 1938-

Helen J. Kirk (22 May 1945-17 August 2008)

Clarence Kirk (03 December 1936-03 December 1936); s/o Melvin and Dortha (Taylor) Kirk, Jr.

Melvin Kirk (18 February 1862-25 February 1911); s/o Thomas and Elizabeth (Maynard) Kirk

Susan Kirk Farris (15 June 1867-08 May 1953); d/o Patton and Delanie (Tomblin) Thompson; m1. Melvin Kirk; m2. Hugh Farris

Hugh Farris (15 May 1885-12 May 1952); s/o William and Elizabeth A. (Conley) Farris

Row 7

French McCann (30 June 1913-26 September 1931); s/o William T. and Ida (Kirk) McCann

Fannie McCann (13 January 1916-08 November 1918); d/o William T. and Ida (Kirk) McCann

William T. McCann (20 December 1882-14 January 1929); s/o Kerrick and Elizabeth (Dalton) McCann

William T. McCann, Jr. (29 May 1921-30 July 1998); s/o William T. and Ida (Kirk) McCann

Row 8

Edwin Drury McCann (26 January 1935-28 January 1935)

gap in graves

Dorothy Ann Gore (1961-1983)

Kimber Nicole Workman (October 1991)

Baylee Danielle Workman (13 November 2004-13 November 2004)

Kaleb James Workman (27 March 2010-09 November 2010)

Row 9

Matilda “Mattie” Vance Workman (21 December 1873-XXX); d/o Addison and Theresa (Ross) Vance; m. Robert Workman

Robert Workman (February 1861-12 May 1922); s/o William M. and Mary J. (Thompson) Workman

Row 10

Rosco Kirk (03 March 1935-

Ema Jean Kirk (09 March 1934-02 September 1992); d/o William E. and Lula (Vance) Fowler; m. Rosco Kirk

Tammy Browning (14 June 1961-20 October 2014); d/o Rosco and Ema Jean (Fowler) Kirk

In Search of Ed Haley 337

17 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by in Big Harts Creek, Culture of Honor, Ed Haley, Lincoln County Feud

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Brandon and I also called Bob Bryant, a son of the infamous French Bryant, who lived with his son at the mouth of Piney Creek on West Fork. Billy Adkins had encouraged us to call Bob, saying that he would probably tell us what he knew of the Haley-McCoy murders. When we called Bob, his son said we were welcome to talk with his dad, although he warned us that his memory wasn’t very good.

Bob said he was born on Piney in 1911.

When I asked him about French Bryant he said he knew very little about him because his dad “was pretty old” when he was born. He said he did remember his father talking “some” about the Haley-McCoy affair.

“Milt and Green were pretty rough fellers who got in a lot of trouble all the time,” Bob said. “They were bad to drink. Milt Haley and Green McCoy was fiddlers — I think so. Maybe they was. Yeah, I almost know they was. One of them picked the banjo, I believe, but I don’t know for sure.”

Bob said Hugh Dingess, who was “kind of an outlaw,” organized a posse to fetch Milt and Green after they shot Al and Hollena Brumfield. They found them over around Wolf Creek in Martin County, Kentucky.

“Them Dingesses up there killed them,” Bob said. “It didn’t take much to get them to shoot you back then. People’d shoot you just to be a doing something.”

I asked Bob if he ever heard anything about who took part in what he kept calling “the shooting” and he said, “Hugh Dingess and four or five more.”

He paused, then said, “A few of them I wouldn’t want to tell you.”

We were just waiting for him to say his father’s name when he said, “Short Harve Dingess was pretty rough. Seems like he was in that bunch some way.”

Some of the others were: Al Brumfield, Charley Brumfield, Fed Adkins, and Burl Farley.

Bob never identified his father as a member of the mob but mentioned that his father was a friend to the Dingesses on Smokekouse.

He said he remembered seeing Ed play at the schoolhouse above the mouth of Piney when he was nineteen years old.

“He was a real fiddler,” Bob said.

In subsequent weeks, Brandon and I went through most of our information — processing it, sorting it, discussing it. We thought more about the story of Milt causing Ed’s blindness by dipping him in ice water and wondered how anyone would have ever equated those as cause-effect events. I got on the phone with Dr. Tom Holzen, a doctor-friend of mine in Nashville, who said Milt’s dipping of Ed in ice water, while a little crude, was actually the right kind of thing to do in that it would have lowered his fever. Based on that, Milt seems to have been a caring father trying to save Ed’s life or ease his suffering. Was it the act of a desperate man who had already lost other children to disease?

In Search of Ed Haley 324

20 Friday Jun 2014

Posted by in Big Harts Creek, Culture of Honor, Ed Haley, Lincoln County Feud

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sensing that Dorothy had told all she knew about Ed and knowing that she was one-quarter Dingess, we asked her about Milt Haley.

“Some terrible things went on about Ed’s daddy,” she said. “I heard about that.”

Dorothy blamed the trouble squarely on Ben Adams. She said he was a “bully” who wanted to control all the timber on Harts Creek. He hired Milt Haley and Green McCoy to kill Al Brumfield but they accidentally shot Hollena.

“And them men that shot them went back in towards Kentucky somewhere and they put out a reward for them,” Dorothy said.

Haley and McCoy were soon caught and a Brumfield posse took possession of them.

Ben Adams organized a mob to free them at the mouth of Smoke House Fork but the Brumfields were warned by a spy and detoured up Buck Fork and over a mountain to Hugh Dingess’ house.

“The Adamses come a hair of catching them,” Dorothy said. “You can just imagine what kind of war would have been if they had a got them.”

A large number of men gathered in at Hugh’s for protection, including Albert Dingess (her great-grandfather), “Short Harve” Dingess (her great-uncle), John Brumfield, and French Bryant, among others. At some point, they took Milt outside and shot a few times to scare Green into making a confession inside Hugh’s, but Milt yelled, “Don’t tell them a damn thing. I ain’t dead yet!” McCoy yelled back, “Don’t be scared. I ain’t told nothing yet!”

Dorothy said the mob eventually took Milt and Green up Bill’s Branch and down Piney where they “knocked their heads out with axes and the chickens eat their brains.”

Just before we left Dorothy, we asked if she remembered any of Ed’s family. She said his uncle Ticky George Adams (the grandfather of her late husband) was a ginseng digger who spoke with a lisp and loved to heat hog brains. This image contrasted sharply with what others around Harts Creek had said: that he was a moonshiner who’d shoot someone “at the drop of a hat.” Violet Mullins had told us earlier how Ticky George would get “fightin’ mad” if anyone called him by his nickname. The only thing Dorothy knew about Ed’s wife was, “She went in the outside toilet and then after that some woman went in there and said they was a big blacksnake a hanging. They said she went places and played music.”

Toney News 3.2.1911

18 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by in Big Creek, Big Harts Creek, Big Ugly Creek, Ferrellsburg, Toney

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“Violet,” a local correspondent from Toney in Lincoln County, West Virginia, offered the following items, which the Lincoln Republican printed on Thursday, March 2, 1911:

As “Ding Dong” seems to be silent of late, thought I would write you a few items from this place.

We are having pleasant weather and welcome it too.

Mrs. Brooke Adkins has returned to her school at Leet after a week’s absence.

Ervin Workman attended the burial of Melve Kirk of Piney last Sunday.

A number of our young men attended a very interesting meeting at Big Creek, Logan county on last Sunday.

A large quantity of ties are being shipped from this place.

Miss Dollie Toney closed a successful term of school at Big Creek on last Thursday.

Miss Lottie Lucas spent last week the guest of friends on Big Creek.

Mr. D.C. Fry returned home last Saturday from a business trip down the G.V. Railroad.

Some of our farmers say they are not going to try and raise tobacco this year, as they had hard luck with their crops last year.

Mr. and Mrs. Jas. Brumfield and Mrs. B.B. Lucas visited the latter’s sister Sunday.

Miss Delia Adkins spent Saturday night at her grandpa’s near Ferrellsburg.

Little Edna Brumfield was visiting Maggie Lucas Sunday.