For anyone who might use it here is some mention of Derryberrys and Manesses in my family's history. Rick Paddock. Andrew SMALL and Elija DERRYBERRY and the Sultana disaster (The references to SMALL and DERRYBERRY are from "The Small Family Tree", by Hugh L. SMALL, privately published. The narrative is from American Heritage Magazine). Late in April of 1865, Andrew was on his way home aboard the Sultana. The Mississippi stood at flood stage. Vicksburg had been turned into a great repatriation center, and here were gathered thousands of gaunt, worn-out men in faded blue uniforms... Union Prisoners of War... just released from the horrors of prison compounds like Andersonville. Perhaps the most terrible shipwreck disaster in history, even more than the Titanic, was probably the loss of the Sultana in 1865. Some 1,700 returning Union Veterans, including Andrew small, died... yet the tragedy got very few headlines. The Sultana was blown apart by the terrific force of the explosion of her boilers. Hundreds of sleeping soldiers were blown bodily into the river...snugly asleep one moment, hurling through the air into the cold black water the next. With them went great chunks of twisted machinery, a shower of red-hot coals that hissed and spurted as they hit the river, and great fragments of wood, cabin furniture, railings, deck beams, half of the steamboat had simply disintegrated. Fire followed the explosion. The upper works were all collapsed, there was a huge, gaping hole in the middle of the hurricane deck and the flames were taking hold everywhere. To stay aboard could be worse than to be in the river, even if a man was too weak to swim. So men who had not been knocked into the water went there of their own accord, willing to face anything rather than the spreading flames. A neighbor of Andrew, Eligha Derryberry, was with him and swam to safety on a raft but could not persuade Andrew to join him. Most of the men preferred drowning to being burned alive, and lept into the water. One man remembered, "The men who were afraid to take to the water could be seen clinging to the sides of the bow of the boat until they were singed off like flies." (THE STORY OF THE SULTANA DISASTER || 1865, American Heritage Magazine, October, 1955) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Extracts from memoirs of Alfred SMALL, privately published. (There are several DERRYBERRY references and interesting antecdotes in these passages: "But boys no bigger than I used tobacco. Pa and Ma were so far from it, seemed they thought it unnecessary to advise or warn me against it. I wanted to be as big, at least, as other boys of my size, and several of my chums were chawers and spitters. One Johny Derryberry, a friend, was an outstanding participant in the art. He could dip and smoke, chew and spit, all of which looked very big but not exactly attractive. He could hold his fingers over his lips and squirt a stream of tobacco juice and knock the center out of any spot ten feet away, and then look as complacent as a judge." ------------------------------------------------------ "-TRAGEDY- One time, when Hare's mill was out of fix, Pa sent me to Cisson's mill with a turn of wheat all by myself. I had been there once before with Pa, so I thought I could find the way, and i did. When I got there I was riding way over on the left side of the horse to balance my turn and it was then about ready to fall off on the right side. Mr. Cisson and a negro man came out to meet me. The negro caught the turn before it hit the ground while Mr. Cisson caught me. When they poured up my sack of wheat into the hopper, Mr. Cisson cautioned me to not get close to the belts. He showed me spots of blood that had been dashed out of a negro boy about my size who had come to mill just ahead of me, and who was told to stay away. Those spots of blood were on my mind many hours. I didn't need to be told again to stay away. There was just one other incident that I remember that made me feel worse. That was when Mr. John McMiltin hung himself. We were at school when Eli Derryberry came galloping up to the door and motioned for the teacher. He had come there to narrate it over the country. School was dismissed and some of us went by to see him. There he hung by a rope tied to a protruding log high up on the corner of his barn, the other end of the rope wrapped tightly around his head." "-SHIFTING- As time went on, Pa married again. This time to Miss Jennie Ross. She was a relative of the Hares, and there is where Pa found her. Pa was already talking of selling out and finding a new location. He talked of going to Illinois and to Texas. He had been to Illinois and knew what a fine country it was. His father, Grand Pa Small, lived there. He had a fine prairie farm near Jerseyville in Jersey County, Illinois. But, after his 3rd marriage, being persuaded, by the new wife to go to Carroll County, Pa began to look that way. He looked around Roan's Creek and Clarksburg with a view of selling his place and buying in Carroll. This, no doubt, became known to Lige Derryberry who owned a farm in the New Hope Community in Carroll County. Mr. Derryberry's kin all lived near us in Henderson, Lige wanted to go to our community in Henderson. So, one day while all of us happened to be at the house, Mr. Derryberry rode up on his sorrel horse, lit and came right in. He had come to see if he could trade his place in Carroll for ours. That was I in Henderson County. Good old Henderson, its woods full of huckleberries, blackberries, dewberries, grapes, muscadines, hazlenuts, chestnuts, hickory nuts, walnuts and it seems, everything else all of which were in abundance and wild and free for the gathering. One could live very well in Henderson County without other than its own native supply. The one place known to me as nature's choice, was the 700 acre plantation in Henderson County. But Pa was looking for advancement, not specially in nature, but in man's power to accomplish. More refinement, culture and enlightenment. So, he traded our place with Lige Derryberry for 360 acres in Carroll County. -WE MOVE TO CARROLL COUNTY- Some time, in some winter, I don't know when, Pa had several wagons and plenty help engaged to move us. He put some out to drive the livestock thru and the others of which I was a helper, loaded everything and struck out for Carroll County. It was fifteen miles away and all to go in one day. I had never been so far from the old home. We had to go right by Grand Pa's and if I hadn't been bound up in the moving I couldn't have passed Grand Pa's without stopping. We loaded the day before and had everything ready to start early. Away we went up by Grand Pa's, Ki Lovell's, Old Negro Mack's, on to the Natchez Trace. A few other people of our acquaintance had been over that part of the Old Natchez Trace from Old Negro Mack's to Bucksnort and we had heard a little about it. It was historic and, that part of it uninhabited. It was a trail along a ridge thru the forest some seven or eight miles. The only signs of human exploration was a turkey blind here and there. Do you know what a turkey blind is? Well, it is just a few poles stacked up to hide behind to kill wild turkeys. Somewhere on that old Natchez Trace, Pa said we were half way. There we had the first picnic dinner I ever had a part in. We stopt only a few minutes and ate, but didn't take time to feed the teams for Pa wanted to get to our destination while it was day light and some ot the neighbors who hauled loads wanted to get back home that night. We drove on thru Bucksnort, viewing the impressive grandeur of the town, the largest some of us had ever seen. It consisted of Irve Hester's white house, Mr. Holbrook's store with up-stairs for Masonic Lodge, Dr. Town's beautiful white house and office and, at the other end of the land, Wylie Carrington's fine white house. That was the town. After passing thru, we again resumed our normal feeling and drove on down by Hint Bolen's, Jim Rosser's, Mr. Gooch's and Dr. Hill's, to the Derryberry place where we were met by several future friends, there to take up our abode in our new home. We were picked up at our old home in Henderson County and set down in our new home in Carroll. There things had to start again." "-THE DERRYBERRY YEAR OR" THE YEAR OF REVOLUTION"- About 8 months after Pa's death she married Lige Derryberry, the man with whom Pa had traded places. He had 4 children and there were six of us. When the announcement of the wedding became known it seemed good news to Ada and the younger boys. Without a serious thought of the matter, they thought it an innovation. But when she took me back into the side room, closed the door and said to me in a low voice, that she and Mr. Derryberry were going to be married, and wanted to know what my attitude was. I promptly responded, in my youthful boldness, that I thought she was playing hell. Was I wrong that time? Well, I might have been, but as near as I can learn what that play is, I am inclined to believe I was right, and that she made a real job of it. Of course, everything was lovely to begin with. Mere visiting for a few days, for it was late winter or early spring. Then Mr. Derryberry made his lineup. He sent his children to school all the year and told us that if we would work hard all the year and make a good crop, he would give us a lot of money Christmas. We had never had any money and that sounded might good to us. It was a trade. We were ready to go. We worked both places and worked up a fine crop. Joe Derryberry, Henry Talent, Luther, Hugh L. and me. It was the biggest year's work we had done. We had something to look forward to. You know its no trouble to work when you know that there is something worth while coming. We made lots of corn, cotton, hay and other things. It was a year of uncertainty, mysterious-like. It was far from the whole-soul, whole-heartedness free for all and all for freedom which we had been used to. We couldn't look down the road of our ambition. Our ambition was, at least, held up temporarily. Imagine we had a feeling akin to slavery. But there were some in- teresting things, some good times and a few bright moments mixed along with the drudgery. Yes, we had some fun. T'would be unbelievable, that out of all that gang of youngsters, nothing but drudgery. I'll be fair. More than once I saw Old Lige trying to single out the fellow who threw away his tobacco or put a cucumber tine under his chair so it would slip. You can guess now who that was, but Pa-Lige never knew. I slipt Old Mrs. Lige's snuff bottle once and hid it. When she was ready for a dip she didn't find it and caused dilligent search to be made in the various parts of the premises. She had the whole family, including me, looking the place over. I felt a little skittish at times, but what composed me most, was that she remarked that some outsider must have taken it. I made it a point to look closely where I hid it so that no others need to look there. Search was made but the bottle could nowhere be found. Then we quit. When I hid it, I intended to finally find it but she pounced on me, just on general principles, and I lay low about the bottle of snuff till I got a good chance and took it to the Willis Hole and buried it neath six feet of water. What a cat she was the day she had to do without her snuff. That incident was a strong reaction on my part. No one ever knew the disposition of that bottle of snuff. It just seemed that I had to do something for revenge. At least, to revenge my own feelings and I couldn't do openly. I had to do it secretly. That is human nature and altho it does no one any good, there certainly is satisfaction in it. There were many interesting incidents during this year of the revolution, as we children referred to it. As a whole, it must have been, really a commendable one, considering the setup of the conglomerated mixup of the family. There weren't any better boys than Joe Derryberry. There weren't any better girls than Delia. We and Neely and Tolley had some skirmishes but rounded up as brothers. The two heads of that gang were, of course, the ones that caused both the beginning and the lamentable outcome. We had some fun, notwithstanding the touchiest and inflammable situation. It was easy for only a spark to flare up a flame but it seems there were sufficient level headedness to avert seriousness. Splendid cooperation and mutual assistance prevailed - considering -We would fight among ourselves all day and then if an outsider, such as the Tigers (the Blankenship boys) should start something with any of us our whole bunch, to a boy, landed on them in our common defense. The Tigers, the sons of Mr. Blankenship, a neighbor, were not dangerous. They were really good fellows if some one would just show them where to head in. They could be the worst and the best of most any body. They always had good clothes. They were always dressed up and never did go in their shirt tails as nearly all the other boys had to do. They joined the Old Shelter Church and would shout and have as big times as any of them during a big meeting. They even came to see Ada and Delia. And even while they were sparking the girls, we boys would call them out and diff em one for some past offense they had committed on some little fellow alone. Joe was most too large and good to have a hand in the frills of the little ones but he seemed to know no diff- erence between us, and came to the rescue of all alike. I'll never forget the time he helped save me from the old ram. We had a very large Billie. He had long, double circling horns. When he was mad or made a lunge at anything he looked vicious. Mr. Derry-berry and Joe were not afraid of him. They could catch him by the horns and throw him down and he would not tackle them. One night I was helping Delia milk. The way we helped milk was that we pulled the calf away and minded him while the women milked. I was sitting in a trough minding the calf. It was dark and the old ram was in the lot. He sauntered around, presumably, looking for a victim. He finally came right up close to the trough in front of me and just all but said to me - "I dare you to get out of that trough". I didn't accept his challenge, but presently, I had to get out to see about the calf and he saw me. Here he came like a steam engine down a track. I ran for the fence and just as I was reaching for the top rail he gave me a but in the rear that brought me down. I was screaming bloody murder at the top of my voice. By that time Joe was there to help me. The old ram backed off, I suppose to make another lunge at me but Joe came between us and I ran for the wagon. I tipped the brake and step and landed in the wagon bed but he was so close to me and gave such a hard but to get me that he broke his horn on the wagon wheel. I was still yelling and when Joe got the ram by the horn and held him, told me to get down and get out of the lot, which I did, but I was so scared and out of breath that, when I was spoken to I couldn't say more than "old sheep."' It took me several days to get over that. Well, after the crop was all made, and we went to the big singing at Scrouabout and to the big meeting at the 01d Shelter, then it was gathering time. We gathered everything in, and there it was, an abundance to show for our year's labor. Then with everything spick and span for Christmas, believe it or not, about the middle of the afternoon on Christmas Eve, Mr. Derryberry called us all in, his boys included, and presented each of the whole ten of us 50 cents. He bragged on us and said that he had made the biggest crop of all his life and was proud of us for doing the work. There wasn't a word said. We accepted that 50 cts with great ap- preciation. As much as if it had been a check for a $100. We were triumphantly elated at this generous reward for our year of faithful service. It was great. That half dollar looked immense and we struck out for Clarksburg to buy out the town. We bought and bought and bought till we were loaded down with fine things, and had money left. Wasn't that a history-making year? And what an innovation! He and she, no doubt, planned for us all to go together and do big things. Well, we went together all right, and we did some pretty big things, but the ball that rolled and accumulated so bountifully that year for him came to its melting point in less than twelve months from the day of that happy uniting, but long enough for our horses, cattle, hogs and equipment to be squandered and our set-up all demoralized. That was the play that I had predicted, and I was still bold to use my prerogative and say- I told you so. It went against the grain with our stepmother, and as I continued to resent and criticize the affair, she made it hot for me, and during my remaining stay at home, I was miserable. Nothing of our real home was left to me but a sad memory." -------------------------------------------------------------- James H. SMALL married Adelia DERRYBERRY James was son of Daniel Willis SMALL and Rachel Ann ALTOM. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Elijah Derryberry and C.M. Derryberry were members of the Christian Chapel Church. TOLLEY DERRYBERRY married LOUANA SMALL December 26, 1898, daughter of WILLIAM SMALL and MARY RUSH. She was born June 20, 1882 in Henderson CO, TN, and died March 28, 1899. SARAH CORDELIA DERRYBERRY married JAMES HENDERSON SMALL January 12, 1896, son of DANIEL SMALL and RACHEL ALTOM. He was born June 06, 1871 in Henderson CO, TN, and died January 27, 1942. ------------------------------------------------------------- CHRISTINE MANESS married HAROLD LOYD SISSON January 17, 1957, son of JOHN SISSON and ELINE PARKS.