Which Burke Family are you looking at? Mary SW_VA-D-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > Subject: > > SW_VA-D Digest Volume 99 : Issue 104 > > Today's Topics: > #1 Tazewell County Communities [Peggy Short <lpshort@netscope.net>] > #2 Counties of SW VA ["Edgar A. Howard" <swvaroot@swva.n] > #3 (Fwd) Belcher Family ["Edgar A. Howard" <swvaroot@swva.n] > #4 Flu & Stuff [Bill and Sue McNaught <pp02570@ema] > #5 RE: unusual expressions ["Pat Oneal" <peon@icx.net>] > #6 RE: Tazewell County Communities ["Robert Crabtree" <crabtree@speedl] > #7 Flu and Stuff and Ole Mike's Liver [Pam Moehling <moehling@mc.net>] > #8 Belcher Family ["Edgar A. Howard" <swvaroot@swva.n] > #9 Absquatulate [Frieda Davison <fdavison@sunmuw1.M] > #10 Musick [Jlm9210@aol.com] > #11 COAL MINES OF W VA ["Pat Oneal" <peon@icx.net>] > #12 Re: Absquatulate ["Diana Kinzer Heath" <ANGEL329@pro] > #13 RE: The Curiosity Shop/Expressions ["Pat Oneal" <peon@icx.net>] > #14 Absquatulate ["Pat Oneal" <peon@icx.net>] > #15 Absquatulate [Bill and Sue McNaught <pp02570@ema] > #16 Absquatulate [Delilah Earnest <deesnest@peganet.] > > Administrivia: > To unsubscribe from SW_VA-D, send a message to > > SW_VA-D-request@rootsweb.com > > that contains in the body of the message the command > > unsubscribe > > and no other text. No subject line is necessary, but if your software > requires one, just use unsubscribe in the subject, too. > PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK THE SPELLING OF THE WORD: UNSUBSCRIBE > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: Tazewell County Communities > Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 19:08:47 -0500 > From: Peggy Short <lpshort@netscope.net> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > Amonate - first called Faraday began in 1924 with the #30 mine owned by > Pocahontas Fuel Company. By 1925 the coal community consisted of a > long line of houses in four different styles. During World War II > Amonate employed over 2000 miners. Mines closed in 1960. > Bishop - formed in 1930. It straddles the Va-West Va line. It was a > small coal town named after Walter Bishop, chief engineer of Pocahontas > Fuel Company. The original Post Office was called Shraders. Bishop > suffered two mine explosions, one in 1957 with thirty - seven fatalities > and 1958 with twenty-two. > Bluefield Va. - began in 1883 and named after Colonel Thomas Graham from > Philadelphia. He was in Tazewell County to survey for Norfolk and > Western Railway. He purchased land and laid out the streets of an > embryo town. Prior to being incorporated the name was Pinhook. In 1924 > the name was changed to Bluefield to form a larger Bluefield area with > Bluefield WV. > Burkes Garden - discovered in 1745 by James Burk. Got its name from the > fact that Burk planted potato peelings in 1748 at a campsite where he > and Col. James Patton spent the night. Due to a bad snowfall they left > and came back the next year to find the bed of potatoes that had grown > from the peelings. They named the valley Burk's Garden. The e was > later added and the post office dropped the apostrophe. > Cedar Bluff - named by Thomas M. Scott when he opened a Post Office in > his home. Incorporated about 1895. Probably received its name for the > series of cedar covered bluffs in the area. At one time had two post > offices located about a half -mile apart. > Cedar Bluff is the birthplace of George C. Peery governor of Va (elected > in 1934). > The Cove - settled in late eighteenth century. Rees Bowen and family > were the first settlers. It is located between the Clinch Mountain on > the South and Paint Lick Mountain on the North. > Doran - 1890- named in honor of a distinguished resident of the Quaker > City, Joseph Doran. > Frog Level - named by Jack Witten after all the frogs in the area. When > he wrote an article for the Clinch Valley News he called it the Frog > Level news. The name stuck. > Horsepen- Post Office was established in July 1900. The community got > its name from Cherokee Indians living nearby who used the area to corral > their horses from the white man. It formed a natural corral. It is by > the state line where McDowell County WV and Tazewell County VA meet. > Jewell Ridge- built in 1915 by the Jewell Ridge Coal Corporation formed > in 1912 by George St. Clair, a Wytheville lawyer, and Thomas Righter, a > Pennsylvanian coal operator. They built 105 houses in the camp on the > mountaintop for their employees. > North Tazewell - once called Kelly - railroad came there in 1887. Name > was probably changed because of its location near Tazewell. > Pocahontas - Prior to 1881 it was a laurel thicket. Alexander St. Clair > owned most of the land there at the time. Mining town developed in 1881 > and 1882. Many Italians, Slavs, and Hungarians came to work the mines > owned by Southwest Virginia Improvement Company. > Raven - in 1914 was called the "Gateway to Buchanan County". Named > after Frank Raven, who worked for a glass company in Richlands at one > time but later moved to the area that bears his name. All travelers > from Tazewell into Buchanan went by Raven since the main road to Grundy > built across the mountains came out here where it intersected with other > roads. > Red Ash - located in the Western end of the County, it was named after > the red ash left after burning coal mined in the area. > Richlands - formed from the "rich lands" on both sides of the Clinch > River. Christened in 1785. Town was laid out in 1888. Incorporated > January 26, 1892. > Springville- got its name from the number of springs in the area. The > first school was built in the 1870's. In 1860 it had its own post > office. > Tazewell - Settled in 1773 when William Peery selected a homesite. > Samuel Ferguson followed. Legislature created the county of Tazewell in > 1799 and these men and others donated the land for the courthouse and > town. It was first named Jeffersonville for Thomas Jefferson. > Most info is from TAZEWELL COUNTY HISTORY VOL. 1. This book covers > communities, schools, churches, and stories written by the citizens of > Tazewell County. > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: Counties of SW VA > Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 20:57:19 -0500 > From: "Edgar A. Howard" <swvaroot@swva.net> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > I have officially added Grayson, Dickenson and Wythe Co. to > the List description on the Rootsweb www page. We have > unofficially covered all counties west of the New River but I thought > we should list these counties to attract more members researching > that area. > > I have really enjoyed the post from books of late. I would like to > see more. Get a scanner and start posting. > > -sysop > "Toto, I don't think we are in NH any more." > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: (Fwd) Belcher Family > Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 22:33:21 -0500 > From: "Edgar A. Howard" <swvaroot@swva.net> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > - > Subject: Belcher Family > > I am research my mother's family (Belcher). My grandfather was James Wesley > Belcher and my grandmother was Anna K. Belcher. Their children were: > Margaret, Louise, Dorothy, Dorcas, Patsy, Mary, Ruth, Kyle, Billy, Bobby, > Harold and James. I know that my family lived in Jewell Ridge and my > grandfather was a coal miner. Any information would be GREATLY appreciated. > There is only 4 members of the family left and I haven't been too successful > getting information from them - except my Aunt Patsy who lives in Pounding > Mill (Paint Lick). > > Thanks, > > Tammy > > "Toto, I don't think we are in NH any more." > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: Flu & Stuff > Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 09:08:58 -0500 > From: Bill and Sue McNaught <pp02570@email.kcc.edu> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > Dear List, > Having been caught by the current flu I checked the Net for the latest > thinking. Learned an interesting statistic regarding the 1918 epidemic. > That one was called the Spanish Flu and there were 500,000 deaths. By > comparison, the 1957-58 Asian flu took 70,000. The Center for Disease > Control says we are overdue for the next Big Bad One. I put up a sneeze > guard for the keyboard so I don't give your computers my virus. Groan. > I've missed some of the interesting and fun topics this List is so good > at. I'd like to see some input on curious expressions used by our SW VA > grandparents. Here's one I have only heard in our family....so far. > When a child asked what was in a box on a closet shelf, the answer was > "Layovers to catch meddlers". > "Drive on the cart" was another one. The story was that a family was > struck with some bad luck and the children were hungry. A neighbor felt > sorry for them and took a wagon load of corn to the house. He called to > the notoriously lazy father that he had brought some corn. The father > yelled back, "Is it shelled?" "No" "Well, then, just drive on the cart." > > Sue McN. > Get me another box of tissues, honey. > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: RE: unusual expressions > Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 00:33:40 -0500 > From: "Pat Oneal" <peon@icx.net> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > In response to Sue McNaught: I'll knock on wood before I say this: I told > my doctor last week that I was the only person I knew who hadn't had a cold > or the flu in the last year. "Knock, Knock." > Just today, I found a website that contained "Slang in the 1860s". > 1. "That's a new dodge." - meant using clever or tricky means for your own > gain. 2. "He's a bit of a swell," suggested the man was a showy, dashing, > boastful person. 3. "I didn't give a straw what he thought." 4. "He's one > of the big bugs." (big shots). 5. "It's all the rage." 6. "They had to > rough it." 7. "I'm dead beat from working." 8. "Absquatulate", (I have no > idea what that means!!) 9. "Go it while you are young, for when you are > old, you can't." > There are lots of expressions in an article entitled "By the Jumping > Moses!" on a website called "The Curiosity Shop." > Pat O'Neal > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: RE: Tazewell County Communities > Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 03:39:24 -0800 > From: "Robert Crabtree" <crabtree@speedlink.com> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > Peggy, you did it again. Great information. I was wondering if you have any > information on the mine explosion at Amonate in about 1957/8? I was working for > the Maytag Place in Richlands at the time and I had a call to go repair a > refrigeration unit in the War, WV Company Store. It was early one morning > before day break and I had to drive through Amonate. As I passed the road > leading up to the mine, I saw this bonfire built in a barrel and all these > people were standing around it in the forks of the road. I will never forget > the sight of the expressions of those people's face. I am a photographer and > sometimes artist and the picture of this scene in my memory still haunts me. I > just wish I had the ability to accurately reproduce it with the feeling those > people must have possessed that morning. I had no idea what the problem was but > knew it was grave. I stopped at a little store/restaurant just outside Amonate > and there was a lot of cars and activity there. I went in for a cup of coffee > and this man in a suit, a reporter, was talking to a miner. The miner said that > "my buddy, standing next to me was blown in two". He then broke down > completely and said that he had nothing else to say. I then found out that > there had been an explosion and that person talking had been standing just > around a corner but his buddy was caught the blast. The anguish those people > were going through matches any thing I have seen during two tours of service in > Viet Nam. I have researched the coal mines and mine disaster sites and can not > find out anything on that explosion. The best of my memory, which isn't much > any more, has it that about 27 died. And I believe there was a song produced > about it. Coal mining in that part of SW VA is so much a part of our history. > I have a friend that sent me a video that he had taken throughout McDowell > County that vividly illustrates the deplorable condition of that area > appropriately titled, "After The Coal Mines Closed". It is good to see that > the movie "October Sky" just out is doing wonders to revive interest in that > area. The producers had a special preview of the film for people of McDowell > County which had to be shown in Bluefield, WV because McDowell County has no > theaters. This area was all SW VA until the late 1800s and is very much a part > of our heritage. > Robert Crabtree > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: Flu and Stuff and Ole Mike's Liver > Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 07:12:57 -0600 > From: Pam Moehling <moehling@mc.net> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > Hi Sue, > > Guess you realize what you started here...this will be hysterical... > > Anybody ever here the expression "Ole Mike's Liver"... well when my grandfather was a boy he boarded with > an old women. This old women had an old bull named MIke...well she killed old Mike and served him up to her > boarders..and being a frugal old women she served whatever she had and then reserved it until it was all gone..well > one evening her boarders sat down to dinner..one boarder looks to the other boarder and says " You know there's > three things that last forever, Hell , Heaven and Ole MIke's Liver" <g> > > And just out of curiosity does anyone know if the Cemeteries in Tazewell Co., Va. have been recorded in book form.. > such as a project by their Genealogical Society...I know alot of counties have been working on such projects..I helped > out here in our county... it took about 4 or 5 years to totally complete the project but it was well worth the effort...and I'd > like to give a BIG thank you to those who are looking up their ancestors and take the time to do the complete cemetery > and pass it on to others...I think most of us realize what a help that is when your not able to visit an area yourself..I was > assuming the ones that are listed were done this way...and not as a total project..but we all know what happens when we > "assume" something... > > Stayed tuned for "Good Morning, This Morning...." > > Pam > > Researching the following surnames: BURKE, CARTER, PATRICK, WINGO, McGRADY, WIMBERLEY, WITT/WHITT, HENSLEY, ROBERTSON. > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: Belcher Family > Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 08:55:22 -0500 > From: "Edgar A. Howard" <swvaroot@swva.net> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- > Date sent: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 00:15:12 -0500 > From: Peggy Short <lpshort@netscope.net> > To: "Edgar A. Howard" <swvaroot@swva.net> > Subject: Re: (Fwd) Belcher Family > > Looked in TAZEWELL COUNTY HERITAGE VOL.1 - Moses Belcher, Tobias Albert Belcher, > and Clarence Leslie Belcher but none seem to tie into yours. Peggy > > Edgar A. Howard wrote: > > > - > > Subject: Belcher Family > > > > I am research my mother's family (Belcher). My grandfather was James Wesley > > Belcher and my grandmother was Anna K. Belcher. Their children were: > > Margaret, Louise, Dorothy, Dorcas, Patsy, Mary, Ruth, Kyle, Billy, Bobby, > > Harold and James. I know that my family lived in Jewell Ridge and my > > grandfather was a coal miner. Any information would be GREATLY appreciated. > > There is only 4 members of the family left and I haven't been too successful > > getting information from them - except my Aunt Patsy who lives in Pounding > > Mill (Paint Lick). > > > > Thanks, > > > > Tammy > > > "Toto, I don't think we are in NH any more." > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: Absquatulate > Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 08:13:02 +0000 > From: Frieda Davison <fdavison@sunmuw1.MUW.Edu> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > Pat Oneal wrote: > > 8. "Absquatulate", (I have no idea what that means!!) > > One of our old Webster International Dictionaries says this means "to squat" as > in "No, you take the chair, I'll absquatulate." > > Frieda > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: Musick > Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 10:22:30 EST > From: Jlm9210@aol.com > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > I'm trying to find out info about my ggggrandfathers and ggggrandmothers. > They were Ephram and Elizabeth Musick AND Henry and Susan Powers. The > Musicks, I believe, were from Russell County and the Powers were from > Washington County. My gggrandfather was Thomas Jefferson Musick (son of > Ephram and Elizabeth) and gggrandmother was Mary Catherine Powers (daughter of > Henry and Susan). Thomas and Mary Catherine (Kate) were married 4/4/1864. > Any info you can provide on the two families would be greatly appreciated. > > Thanks, > Jeff Musick > > Primarily researching my MUSICK ancestory. Beginning to work some of the > other families of POWERS and HENRY. > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: COAL MINES OF W VA > Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 11:46:19 -0500 > From: "Pat Oneal" <peon@icx.net> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > I have yet to see the movie "October Sky" which was filmed about 10 > miles from my home. But I did observe the premier showing in Knoxville. The > boy starring in the movie was like a young Tom Cruise entering the theater, > with all the young girls waiting behind the ropes for him to sign their > autograph books. He kissed one of the girls. I just imagined how I would > have felt if I had been a teenager, getting to experience the fame of a > local boy. Who knows! Maybe he will be our next Tom Cruise. > After reading Robert Crabtree's emotional story of the mine explosion in > Amonate, WVA, it seemed appropriate that I tell this story. Some of you may > remember a movie starring James Earl Jones called "Matewan", 1987. It was a > story about the coal mines in WVA during the 1920s. Shortly after the movie > came out, my son Greg was going through a small town in WVA. Driving past an > antique shop, he looked in his rearview mirror and spotted a tall vertical > sign on the porch of the shop. It caught his eye because the name on the > sign said "Estep Hotel" (my maiden name). He backed up his car and entered > the shop to inquire about the sign which appeared to be very old and weather > worn. > The shop owner said the sign was not old. It had been made by a New > York artist especially for the movie "Matewan." My son paid $50 for the > sign, and it has since been a focal point in his home in Indiana. > Obviously, there was an Estep Hotel in the town during the 1920s, but he > never learned anything about it. Does anyone recall the Estep Hotel, who > owned it, or recall anything about Matewan (what does the name mean)? > Pat O'Neal > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: Re: Absquatulate > Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 11:49:37 -0500 > From: "Diana Kinzer Heath" <ANGEL329@prodigy.net> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Now I know a better word to use for it...but, break the word up and what do > you get??! > Ab "squat" u late > ........ > Diana Kinzer Heath > -----Original Message----- > From: Frieda Davison <fdavison@sunmuw1.MUW.Edu> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com <SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com> > Date: Wednesday, March 17, 1999 9:24 AM > Subject: Absquatulate > > >Pat Oneal wrote: > > > > 8. "Absquatulate", (I have no idea what that means!!) > > > >One of our old Webster International Dictionaries says this means "to > squat" as > >in "No, you take the chair, I'll absquatulate." > > > > > >Frieda > > > > > >==== SW_VA Mailing List ==== > >#7 "Roll Calls" or such by other names are to be called > >by the SYSOP ONLY. NO WARNINGS!! Each member is free to post their > >SURNAMES anytime they please. > > > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: RE: The Curiosity Shop/Expressions > Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 12:05:34 -0500 > From: "Pat Oneal" <peon@icx.net> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > In response to my remark about the The Curiosity Shop, I am forwarding > the entire message. It may be of interest to many of you involved in > researching clothing worn during the Civil War. And, too, it gives a little > insight re fabrics used for clothing. At the end of the message is a > website for the Curiosity Shop. You will find the "expressions" in an > article entitled "By the Jumping Moses!" > Also, observe the article "Weeping Sad and Lonely" Mourning in America. > That too, will give you insight to Mourning Customs during the Civil War > period. > This website appears to have lots of material concerning reenactments of > battles during Civil War, and is one worth exploring. See below: > > Dennis Brubaker wrote: > I have been asked to make a dress for a Civil War reenactor. She wants it > to look authentic but not drab. > > Response: > I recommend either Homespun Patterns or Past Patterns for the most accurate > patterns available. Feel free to e-mail me with specific questions. > As for fabrics and colors, they had some amazingly bright colors at the > time. Depending on where a person lived and their social class they had > access to and could afford the new aniline dyes that were amazingly bright. > Natural dyes, professionally done are also very bright. Depending on the age > of the woman she may have been wearing lighter bright colors (young) or > deeper rich colors, > (married or older) Solid color silks and very fine wools were very common, > as were modest plaids and small checks for silk, fine wool or cotton > dresses. Unless you are very familiar with the type of prints available at > the time (a study in itself) I would recommend a simple check or plaid. > Naturally, avoid neon type colors, but most any blue or brown, most reds, > subdued greens are all safe choices. > An added note, before cutting the dress material, make a muslin of the > bodice and do very careful fittings until it fits snug at the waist and > midriff and smooth every where else. Also, make it at least 1"-2" short > waisted. The skirt will pull it down to where it should be, at least 1/2" or > more above the natural waist line. Remember she will be wearing a hoop and a > short petticoat under the hoop and at least one or maybe two petticoats over > her hoops to hide the bones. If she's wearing a work dress, she will still > need a couple petticoats under it, preferably at least one that is corded > and well starched. > Again, feel free to contact me off the list for more details as you may want > them. > >Glenna Jo "Obsessive Reenactor" Christen > >gwjchris@rust.net > >Visit our web site, "The Curiosity Shop" > >http://www.rust.net/~gwjchris/ > > > > > > > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: Absquatulate > Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 12:09:18 -0500 > From: "Pat Oneal" <peon@icx.net> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > Thanks Frieda for the definition to "absquatulate." I like that word. > Think I'll throw it out once in awhile, although I don't think I'll be doing > much absquatulating nowadays. I may not get up again!!!!! Pat > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: Absquatulate > Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 21:30:40 -0500 > From: Bill and Sue McNaught <pp02570@email.kcc.edu> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > Sounds like a word to use when one takes the last seat and tells those > left standing to "sit on your fist and rair (rare?) back on your thumb". > > Sue McN > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: Absquatulate > Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 12:19:36 -0500 > From: Delilah Earnest <deesnest@peganet.com> > To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com > > Mr. & Mrs. Webster (there is a good woman behind every man, customary > saying) > Ab-squat-u-late > v.intr. ab-squat-u-late d ab-squat-u-lat-ing ab-squat-u-late s > 1.a. To depart in a hurry; abscond: "Your horse has absquatulated!" > (Robert M. Bird) > b. To argue. > {Mock-Latinate formation, purporting to mean "to go off and squat > elsewhere"} > Notes: The vibrant energy of American English sometimes appears in the > use of Latin affixes to create jocular pseudo-Latin "learned" words. > Midland absquatulate has a prefix ab-, "away from," and a suffix -ate, > "to act upon in a specified manner," affixed to a none existent base > from-squatul-,probably suggested by squat. Hence the whimsical > absquatulate, "to squat away from." Another such coinage is Northern > busticate, which joins bust with-icate by analogy with verbs like > medicate. Southern argufy joins argue to a redundant-fy, "to make; cause > to become." These creations are largely confined to regions of the > United States where change is slow, and where the 19th century love for > Latinate words and expression is till manifest. For example, Appalachian > speech is characterized by the frequent use of recollect, aggravate, > oblige, and other such works.