Woodson

My mother-in-law, Sue Harris Moses, did DNA testing for me in November 2013.  I have explained her Harris connection in other posts as well as her Shelton and Johnson connections.  Harris is on her father's side; Shelton and Johnson are on her mother's side.  However, a match has been in touch this week that may be on her father's Woodson side.  I am going to explain the little bit that I know about this Woodson connection in this post.

I will start it by telling the story that Sue grew up at least part of her childhood next door to her Grandfather, Samuel Sterling Harris and her Grandmother, Louise Frances Woodson Harris.  This was after the couple had moved from Buckingham/Appomatox area of Virginia to the coal fields of WV.  Sue loved her Grandmother Lou!  Anytime she talks about her childhood, she tells something nice about this woman who according to Sue:  Married Samuel Sterling and raised his four children by his first wife as well as the 9 children they had together and then raised grandchildren in her home as well as caring for Samuel Sterling in his old age.  According to Sue he went to bed and stayed there for years while Grandmother Lou waited on him hand and foot.  Sue says that Grandmother Lou had everyone for Sunday dinner after church and that no one ever helped her ....so that it was always Sue who finished the dishes and the clean up with her grandmother.

It is Samuel Sterling and Lou who had the Harris family Bible that contained the family pages that son, Hewitt, tore from the Bible.   The pages are now have in my possession.  If you would like to see the pages for yourself, go to Gregg Bonner's site:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gbonner/bible/apperson.html

Now to the small amount that I know about this Woodson connection:

Louise Frances Woodson was orphaned very early.  Her father died of typhoid fever in 1862....the same year that Louise was born.  Her mother died sometime after she was the informant on her husband's death information in Buckingham County and the census of 1870.  In the census of 1870 the children are found in the homes of various relatives:

1870 census shows children in homes of the following Uncles:

Uncle James H. Routon caring for Richard and Louisa Woodson

Uncle George D. Woodson caring for George E. & Lucy Virginia Woodson in Appomattox Co.

Uncle Peter H. Routon caring for Samuel Woodson in Bedford Co

In the 1870 census Frances Louise is living in household of James Routon who is 50 years old.  Also in the household are Lucy Routon who is 76 (likely to be mother of James),  Eliza Routon who is 40, Finnet G. Routon who is 30 and female, Richard Woodson who is 10 and Louisa who is 8.  This would have been right after Louisa’s mother died.  This is located in Francisco in Buckingham County, Virginia.  

The above information came from Fran Hill who also  told me that the mother of Louise was Martha Routon,   Martha was a sister to Fran's 2-gr-grandmother.  I looked for Louise in the census of 1880 and it appears that she was living with her brother, George who was married and only 23 years old with a wife and two very small children living with him.  No old maids in that household.  They are in Lovingston in Nelson County, Virginia.  However, I may have found the household that Louise talked about in her story.  In the 1880 census there is a household headed by Jas. H. Woodson in which his mother, Lucy,  who is 86 and a sister, Eliza, who is 55 and single and four black persons who are said to be servants.  This is in Francisco in Buckingham County.  This is indeed the same household that Louise would have been in in 1870.  It was not two old maids...it was a grandmother and a maiden aunt.


The family folklore told by Lou's son, Hewitt Samuel Harris is:

Louise never knew her father. He was captured by the Yankees in the Civil War and died at Camp Lookout from Typhoid Fever.  I have a note that says that Louise was in the kitchen when Yankees came through--but I don’t know anything else about that episode.  She did not remember her mother as she died when Louise was two.  She was raised by two old maid aunts.  They were Baptists and they were so mean that she became a Methodist.

Pop Harris (Hewitt Samuel Harris) said that Louise raised 4 step-children, 9 of her own, and 4 grandchildren and had all of the family for Sunday dinner every Sunday.  He said that she was great.  Samuel Sterling was in bed for five years at the end of his life and she waited on him.

In my data base I have the following:

I do not have the marriage certificate in hand, but in a letter to Ollie Mae from a genealogist in Amherst, Va. he says:  in marriage register 3, page 120 bond secured on Aug 30, 1882, and return by minister, Jno N. Jones, Sept 3, 1882.  Groom S. Sterling Harris-age 34--widowed--born in Appomatix and lived in Amherst--white--son of Samuel and Nancy Harris.  Occupation--miner--bride: Louisa F. Woodson--aged 19--single--white--parents: George and Mahala Woodson. 

In looking for Allen's Creek on the internet, I found the following:

http://pages.suddenlink.net/phelpsdna/Southern_Phelps_Research/VirginiaPhelps/PropertyTrailJohnOFGoochland.htm

This link mentions surnames of Woodson and Glenn which make me think that this is in the right area.  I also found work that someone has done to locate Allen's Creek which seems to have totally disappeared even as early as 1895:

http://www.roadsidethoughts.com/va/allens-creek-xx-nelson-genealogy.htm

http://www.roadsidethoughts.com/va/allens-creek-xx-nelson-map.htm

From reading the information on the roadsidethoughts site I lean towards the thought that Allen's Creek was very close to where the arrow is on the above map.  I have been unable to locate Francisco.  But it would have been on the Buckingham side of the James River ....not the Nelson County side as Allen's Creek.

There is a map of Buckingham showing some land that belonged to Woodson men at:

http://home.southwind.net/~crowther/Dibrell/Map-VA.html

Below map is one that I found in my Harris files.  I am embarrassed to admit that I do not know where I found it on-line, but I am sure that it is on-line somewhere:

I am viewing a map on the Library of Congress site that is a c. 1864 map of Amherst and Nelson Counties that shows some land owners.  I have clearly looked at a Harris Ferry on the James River and also a landowner in Amherst with surname Harris.

http://www.loc.gov/item/2002627457

I have also been viewing a modern DeLorme atlas that shows Allen's Creek.  It is clearly an area that is VERY close to all four counties:  Amherst, Nelson, Appomatox, and Buckingham:

Moses/Harris sites in the coal fields of WV

My daughter is doing a rotation in Rural medicine and living with me for the month of January.  I am having a lot of fun spending time with her.  She is in McDowell County today and tomorrow at North Fork.  I wanted to share with her some of the places in southern WV that are meaningful to her father's side of the family.

Quite a number of years ago when my husband's uncle's wife died, Jack and I accompanied his mother and father to the funeral that was held in Bluefield (my memory is less than perfect perhaps it was Princeton?).  That afternoon, we drove on RT 52 from Princeton through the coal fields of WV where the Moses and Harris family had lived in the early to mid 1900's.

Sarah's rotation is with Dr. Thacker who has a family practice in Milton, WV.  However, twice a month Dr. Thacker works in a clinic in Northfork, WV for two days.  When Sarah and I were chatting about her upcoming trip with Dr. Thacker, I kept thinking that there was a reason that Northfork was familiar to me.  But I couldn't come up with it.  I am adding this paragraph to the post at the end of January.  Sarah and I were talking with Sue Moses and Barbara Atkins and they reminded me of why the town was familiar.  It was Northfork Middle School now.   Jack Moses, Sr. taught and coached in the early days of Jack and Sue's marriage!   Jack Sr. taught accounting and business law and coached in 1940 at the high school.

You will see Northfork on the map below just northwest of Kyle on the right hand side of the map. Click on the map to make it larger if it is not clear.

If you need help with figuring out relationships of the people, click on the URL on the right side of this page.

some other places that have meaning to the Moses and Harris family are:

Welch was the town in which Sue and Jack were living when  my husband Jack and his brother, Bob, were born.  It was the town where Jack first went into the automobile business.  Sue's parents were living in Welch when they met.  I am not sure if Jack's family was living there at that time or not....need to do a bit of research on this....some

The above photo is the two Jack's (father and son) standing in front of the first home owned by Jack Sr. and his wife, Sue Harris Moses on Lake Drive in Welch, WV.

Welch Elementary is where Jack said he attended first and second grade.  The family moved to Ashland, Kentucky after his second year in school.

Jack remembered riding his bike to play on the playground that was next to the school.

The above photo is of the home of the Vilani family.  Jack and Sue and son, Jack, remembered Doctor Vilani and his family very fondly.  The Moses family lived next door.  The house that they lived in has been torn down.  Dr. Vilani delivered three of Sue's children.  Virginia Vilani was Sue's best friend.  The children in the two households were close to the same age and played together.

This was the apartment building in which Sue's parents lived.  Sue lived here with them from the time she was 14 until she married.  She lived with them all through the war.  You can see the train on the tracks in the background.  The next photo shows the train coming out of the tunnel which was just across from the apartment building.  And the photo below that show the Tug River that flowed behind the apartment building.  Sue would walk through the tunnel.  She would put her ear down on the track to listen to see if the train was coming.

The above photo is the Appalachian Power Company where Sue Harris Moses worked during the war while her husband, Jack was overseas.  She walked to work every day.  Sue said that she worked for the man who was over the whole  building.  She said when she started to work she made $80 a month and when she quit she had worked up to $180 per month.

The above photo is the site of Jack's first  automobile dealership in Welch.  The Ford Store was located at this site from approximately 1949 to 1954.  And the below photo is of the site at which the Lincoln Mercury Dealership was located from 1946 to 1949.  Earl Yeager and Don Clark were Jack's partners in this store.

The above photo is the Methodist Church in Welch.  Jack Sr. was on the building committee when the church  was built.

We visited the Flat Iron on this trip.  This was a hangout of Jack's and Sue's during their courting days. To see what this street looked like during it's hey day see the photo below:

Sue always told the story that her Uncle directed traffic on Saturday night.  He would take his daughter and Sue with him and they would sit in the car and watch the crowds.

Roderfield   The below photo is a photo of the cemetery at Roderfield.  Several members of the Harris family are buried at Roderfield.  The below photos were taken in October 2009 when I attended the funeral and burial of Everett Harris with my mother-in-law and her family.

The above marker is beside the grave of Everett.  The marker is that of Samuel Sterling Harris and Louise Frances Woodson Harris.  These were the grandparents of my mother-in-law, Sue Moses.  I am going to add a copy of Samuel Sterling Harris' Death certificate at the end of this post.

Sue and Jack Moses had one still born baby born after Jack and Bob while they were living in the coal fields of WV.  She is buried at Roderfield.  This is the marker for Sarah Ann Moses.

Twin Branch
Sue Moses' father was Hewitt Samuel Harris.  Here is what I have in the notes for Hewitt:

 Hewitt Samuel Harris started working as a coal miner when he was 12 years old.  his pay was $0.05 per hour for a 10 hour work day--6 days per week.  The date was 1897.

    In 1912 he began working for the railroad and worked there until 1930 (approx).  He had the agency for tickets for the N&W Railroad at Twin Branch, WV.  In 1909 he fired the railroad train.  he did this for approximately one year.  In 1930 he worked for Peerless Laundry and Drycleaners at Welch.  In 1942 he began working for Appalachian Power Co.  In 1950 he retired from Appalachian Power Co.  In 1950 he started working for his son-in-law, Jack Moses, in Huntington, WV.

Sue's mother's name was Mattie Lee Johnson.  Mattie Lee was living in Henry County, Virginia when:

The Johnson family lived on a farm in Henry County, Virginia.  There was not much money to be had in farming and two of the Johnson brothers decided to move to the coal fields of WV.  The coal fields were booming in the early 1900's and many young men moved there for work.  The two brothers who moved were were Everett Hamable and Luther Nathaniel.  Sue named them as Hamable and Luther.

At that time, Hewitt Samuel Harris, was working in the company store in Twin Branch.  He had taken a correspondence course in business and had then been hired in the office of the company store.  Mattie Lee visited her brothers and visited the company store with her brothers which is where she met Hewitt.  They were married soon after the meeting in the home of Hewitt’s parents.

After the marriage of Hewitt and Mattie Lee, they continued to live in Twin Branch.  Sue remembered having lived in a large house.  I am guessing that it was a company house as she said that during the depression her father lost his job and they moved rather suddenly to Davey, WV.  Sue said about this time in her life:  

Sue told the story that when they lived in Twin Branch they lived in a large house.  Her mother always had boarders.  The boarders would pay for a room, but eat at the company club house.  Sue said that she never had a room to herself.  She always had a roommate and she remembered that it was usually a boarder rather than a sister or brother who would room with her.

Davey  

Hewitt Samuel Harris's father was Samuel Sterling Harris.  Samuel Sterling had grown up in Appomattox County, Virginia and he too had moved to the coal fields of WV for work.  Here is what I know of Samuel Sterling and Davey WV:

The Obit is headed Death takes wellknown citizen of Davy, S.S. Harris, Confederate Veteran Dies at Home...It goes on to say that Mr. Harris was born February 18 1848 at Appomatix VA.  He spent his early life in Virginia and enlisted in the Confederate Army in the war between the Statesat the age of 16.  Mr. Harris was married to Miss Louise Woodson on September 18, 1882.
  He came to Wv in 1902 and was mine foreman at Davy until ill health forced him to retire.

  Funeral services will be held at 1 o’clock afternoon in the Davy Methodist Church, conducted by the Rev. W.L. Suggs...Interment  will follow in the Iaeger Memorial cemetery at Roderfield....

The below photo is the Harris family when they lived in Davey.  This photo if from the photo album of Sue Harris Moses.  Samuel Sterling Harris  is sitting on the porand Grandma Lou is beside him.  Louise Woodson Harris was a beloved grandmother to many!  I have never heard any story from any of her descendents that wasn't about what a wonderful woman she was. The couple on the far left are Sue's parents:  Everett and Mattie Lee Johnson Harris.  Beside Mattie Lee and just below Samuel Sterling is Aunt Sis and the man beside her on her left hand side is Uncle John and Uncle Pete on far right

The two  women on front row are Cousin Louise and Sue's sister Nora is the lady with legs crossed and wearing a hat. Louise died young of pneumonia.  Louise's mother was Aunt Mabel.   Again the two men to her left hand side are Uncle John and Uncle Pete with the hat in his hand.

Ieager


 A.L. and his wife, Lida Augusta Fitgerald were the parents of my father-in-law.  They lived in many places before their move to Ieager  in September 1936 to Iaeger, WV.  A.L. sold life insurance for the John Hancock Co. My father-in-law would have been about 19 when they made this move.  However Ieager always stood out to me as a place in his life.

Kyle

 When A.L. and Lida were first married they lived at Kyle, WV.  He was employed by the Lynchburg Coal and Coke Co.  From March 15, 1912 until Jan 1, 1917 he was office manager and payroll clerk there.   There was only one office. After that A.L. and Lida lived in Omar Wv in Logan County.  He was with the Main Island Creek Coal COmpany as cashier and payroll manager for 6 or seven mines.  He stayed there yntil Mr. Jack Dalton and Mr. Jaong A. Kelly came to Huntington.  A.L. came at the same time to work in the new Huntington office.  Jackson Fitzgerald Moses was born in Hugtington at thte hospital located on the corner of 1sty st. and 6th Ave.  Dr. Hatfield delivered Jack.

I did not show Omar on the map as it is up closer to Logan and not on the RT 52 map....from Rt 52 one would take Rt 44 north towards Logan and one would pass through Omar

      Their next move took them to Mohawk, WV where they lived from Sept. 15, 1924 until September 1936.  This is the town the kids (Jack, Bob, Barbara, and Steve) always kidded Jack about--they referred to the “tough area” in which he had grown up.
     In Mohawk A.L. worked for the Mohawk Company which was the same interest as the Lynchburg Company he had worked for when he was first married.  During this time A.L was appointed as a member of the board of education of McDowell County.  He was also elected to be a member of the County Court in the November election of 1934.  this was a 6 year term--four years of which he served as  president of the court.

In the early 1900's:


The coal fields of WV were booming in those days.  That was where the jobs were!   I always tell the story that...tell about 



I am showing the photos to Sue Moses in April 2014.  She told the story that she worked for H.B. Gibson when she was about 12.  Sue lived in Twin Branch at the time.  They called Mr. Gibson Hoot Gibson.  His wife had died and he sent his children away to school.  There were three boys and one girl.  Sue's mother looked after them during the summers.  So the four children almost always ate dinner with the Harris family.  Mr. Gobson lived next door.  

Mr. Gibson took Sue every Saturday night to Davey to see the movie.  Sometimes they went to Welch instead. 

Mr. Gibson was an engineer for a mine that was owned by Henry Ford.  They were trying to organize a union.  Henry Ford told them that if they did so, he would shut the mine down.  And he did just that .....the mine has never reopened.  

    

Ann Harris' Harris line in Union County, SC

As our Harris DNA group has been chatting, I find that I want to put some information on the blog about what each of Harris DNA group #27 knows.  I started to add this to the post that I made on January 2, but it seemed that the post would be too long and confusing.  So I am going to break up what we know into several posts.

There are only three DNA participants who match that make up DNA group #27.  One is the brother of Ann Harris whose family moved from Virginia to Union County, SC before the Revolutionary War.  Ann still lives in Union County, SC.

Here is what Ann Harris says about her Harris line that is still in Union County:

On Jul 15, 2012, at 7:00 PM, Ann Harris wrote:

Hi Everyone,

.....  I am concentrating my search in York County at present.  I have found a J. M. Harris there that maybe my GG Grandfather.  My sister-in-law is getting  some information together.  I think my Harris, Glenns and Colemans  all came to Union, SC from Cumberland and Hanover counties in VA.  .....

Ann

Harris, Glenn, and Coleman in South Carolina and Virginia

Terese Mitchell sent a post to the Harris Hunter list in Dec in the middle of the Holiday craziness.  I am relooking at the post today.  What caught my eye about Terese's post was the Harris, Glenn, and Coleman  name in Abbeville County, South Carolina.

Elizabeth Shown Mills talks about using the FAN club (friends, acquaintances, Neighbors) in doing research on our family lines.  I find that the Harris, Glenn and Coleman names are among the FAN group for the yDNA matches for our Harris DNA group #27.  It may be a coincidence.  It may be a clue.


My post on this blog that is dated August 19, 2012 says this:  Our Harris DNA group is a very small group with just the three DNA matches:   My participant, Trey Harris, and the brother of Ann Harris.   We are group #27.  The families of Trey and Ann are found in  Union County, SC from just after the Revolutionary War until today.  Ann still lives in Union County, SC and Trey grew up there.  If you want to read my  post from which I quote:
  http://www.marshamoses.blogspot.com/2012/08/harris-dna-group.html

The Harris line that I look at that is my mother-in-law's line is found in Buckingham/Appomatox Counties in Virginia before they moved to the coal fields of WV in the early 1900's.  They were never in South Carolina.  But there is Glenn and Coleman in the neighborhood in Buckingham/Appomatox counties in Virginia that show up in the FAN club. Below is a photo of the participant who represents the Buckingham/Appomatox Harris line.  Everett Samuel Harris is now deceased.

Here is what Ann Harris says about her Harris line that is still in Union County:

On Jul 15, 2012, at 7:00 PM, Ann Harris wrote:

Hi Everyone,

.....  I am concentrating my search in York County at present.  I have found a J. M. Harris there that maybe my GG Grandfather.  My sister-in-law is getting  some information together.  I think my Harris, Glenns and Colemans  all came to Union, SC from Cumberland and Hanover counties in VA.  .....

Ann

And Trey's line seems to have originated in Buckingham/Appomatox Counties before moving to Union County, SC and as follows:

Samuel Harris born Virginia circa 1770 married Tryphena Harris in Buckingham Co. 1790
Flemming Harris born Union, South Carolina 1809 married Augusta Ann ? circa 1830
Gamewell Calhoun Harris born Union, SC 1853 married Sarah Breakfield in Union 1876
Edward Boyd Harris born Union, SC 1877 married Ida Mae Shaw circa 1900
Gene C. Harris Sr. born Union, SC 1914 married Alice T. Holden circa 1940

Be sure to read Glenn Gohr's page on our group by clicking on the link below. 

http://www.harrisdna.org/results.html

The below map illustrates close proximity of all of the Harris, Glenn, and Coleman families that are mentioned in SC:  Abbeville, Laurens, Union....

Pat Clare mentioned that she is looking at Harris' who lived in Laurens County, SC who may have been interconnected with our Harris families.

Here is Terese's e-mail:

Hi,
Today on Fold3, I came across an obscure family history that mentions a
Harris surname with Glenns in Abbeville, SC.  I couldn't find more about the
given name, but perhaps someone will recognize.  The file was contributed by
Mindy Penn to Fold3.  She scanned in reams of mostly handwritten pages on
the Pitts family. Also mentioned is a Calhoun connection in Carolina to the
Pitts.

The Pitts Family 
Lending Boook #9
by Mrs. W R Eckhaardt, Jr 
Houston, Texas
29 Mar 1968


Source information
http://www.fold3.com/image/#249251925

Contributed by:
   Mindy Penn
Filename:
   DSCN2924.JPG 
Document Title:
   DSCN2924.JPG 


   Some People
       . Mrs. W. R. Eckhardt, Jr.
       . James Glenn
       . Sally Glenn Harris
       . David Coleman
       . Charles Pitts
       . John Bartee
       . Frances Pitts
       . Lewis Mitchell
       . Peter S. Coleman
       . Henry Featherston
       . Lucy Pitts
       . Charles Featherston
       . Pitts Tucker
       . John West Pitts
       . Patience Wooten
       . William Wooten
       . John Pitts
       . Joseph Pitts
       . Peter Aiken
       . Amasa Pitts
       . Ann Pitts
       . Nancy Pitts
       . Joseph Pitts
       . Celia Pitts
       . Michael Toland
       . William Wessen
       . Elizabeth Pitts
       . Silas T. Toneray
       . Elbert A. White
       . Mathias G. Pitts
       . Josephine Nave
       . Giles Pitts
       . Katherine Fulmer
       . Sally Pitt
       . Lawrence Larry Stringer
   Places
       . Abbeville Co., SC
       . Sumner Co., TN
       . Pittsburg Landing, Hardin Co., TN
       . Hardin Co., TN
       . Shelby Co., TN
       . Giles Co., TN
       . Edgecombe Co., NC
Potontoc, MS
Virginia
Texas
Pg1
Begin transcription
PITTS
(from the notes of Mrs. Peavy)

Estate of James Glen Pack 4012-Clerk of Court's Office
Abbeville, SC Feb 3 1763 (in which John Glen leaves
Certain negroes and property to his daughter 
SALLY GLENN HARRIS who later married David Coleman.  David then took in
possession the Negroes and then David died leaving widow Sally (Glenn)
And a son Peter S. Coleman.  His widow (Polly?) then married Thomas Bartee
and had John Bartee and FRANCES, who was the wife of CHARLES PITTS.  Frances
married second Lewis Mitchell- This document goes into the division of
property of James Glenn among these various heirs.)

End transcription

The large DNA Harris family line that seems to be intermarried with Glenn is DNA group #6.  I thought that that would be the group with which the Harris line that I look at would have connected.  It remains to be seen if there is a birth incident with our group #27 (somewhat expected from our very small participant match) or if perhaps the Harris/Glenn/Coleman connections were on the female side.  Two of our matches have a Harris male married to a Harris female.  It is possible that the couple then lived with relations on the wife's side rather than relations on the male side.  Thus those Harris/Glenn connections would not be connected to the yDNA.

The only Glenn in my data base is Daniel Coleman Glenn.  Fran has told me that Daniel Coleman Glenn was the uncle of Martha Routon Woodson as he married her mother's sister. Martha Routon Woodson was the mother of Frances Louise Woodson who married Samuel Sterling Harris in 1882.  This is the couple that my mother-in-law remembers fondly as her grandparents.  Perhaps this is a stretch on FAN club....but these people were living in the same area of Appomatox County, Virginia.

The Glenn and Kin book that I viewed with Ann Harris when I visited her in Union County, SC says:

Gulielmus Coleman buys land from Nathaniel Glen of Union County SC  14 Feb 1788.  Gulielmus Coleman is said to have been of Cumberland County, VA.  The land was 350 acres on both sides of the Couble Horsepen branch adjoining land of James Glen, Thomas Wright, Nathan Womack, William Glenn and John Macon.  (Cumberland So VA Deed BK 6 pg 468.  This was the land that had been willed to Nathan by his father in 1762.  For all we know Coleman never moved to Union County, SC.

This Gullielmus Coleman has a son named Benjamin who married Sarah Apperson.  Sarah is a sister to James Apperson and an aunt to James' daughter, Nancy Apperson who married Samuel W. Harris.  These people lived in the same area and knew each other....there is no about it.  Guillielmus also had a daughter named Elizabeth who married William Guthrie.  The Guthries were absolutely relatives of the Appersons.

I have a membership to Fold3 and I will try to look at the original information on that site if there is indeed more information.  Please check back to see if there is more information later.  This posting can always be found on my blog with posting date of January 2.  Or type Harris in the top left hand search box to narrow the posts down to those that would be of interest to you.  I also welcome editing ideas sent to my e-mail address:  mosesm@earthlink.net or additional ideas in the comments section.

Harris/Apperson/Johnson/Shelton

I am sitting in my mother-in-law's kitchen this morning.  We had identified everyone in the below photo several years ago.  However, I wanted to take a few minutes to ask her if she remembered anything more about any of these people.  The photo was taken in the coal fields of WV during the heyday of that area of our state.

 This photo was taken at a Harris reunion that was held at Coney Island in Welch, WV 7 September, 1930.  Below is a scan and list that identifies all of the people in the photo.  The patriarch and wife in this photo are Samuel Sterling Harris and wife Frances Louise (Lou) Woodson.  Everyone else (except  for one gal who was a date and never married into the family) are children or grandchildren or in-laws of the four children of Samuel Sterling and his first wife or of Samuel Sterling and Lou.

Oh, I almost forgot Everett!  Everett is hiding in the tree behind the group....you can just barely see him just behind #41 and #42.  His head is barely on either side of the tree branch.  I would never have known his being in the photo if my Mother-in-law had not shown me.  Everett and Sue (my mother-in-law) were close to each other and remained in touch for most of their years after children were raised and left home.  Everett did yDNA testing for me before he died.  So I have a good bit of information about his connections from the yDNA that I am willing to share if someone has interest.

Here are Sue's stories:

Samuel Sterling Harris was her grandpa.  Sue remembered that when she got old enough to know him, he was retired and sat on the porch all day long....finally he was bedfast and grandma Lou waited on him six years in bed.  He complained the whole time.  He died 11 Feb 1934 in Davey, WV (McDowell County).

Frances Louise Woodson Harris was wife of Samuel Sterling (often called S.S.)....Sue said that she was a saint. She raised the four children of S.S. and his first wife.  She was only about 16 when the first wife died.  She had come into the house to help out when his first wife got sick.   And then she and her husband had

Uncle Pitt was the oldest son of the first marriage and he was married to Isabelle....Sue called her Aunt Toad.

Louise Harris McCoy was partly raised by Lou after her mother died.  Louise was back and forth between the home of Grandma Lou and Louise's father's home.

Audrey Anna Harris was the daughter of Uncle Howard.  Her father is right behind her in the photo.

Uncle Pete never married and lived at Davey and took care of grandma and grandpa until he died.  He died in Davey.  He worked at Twin Branch in the coal mine.  He was son of Lou and SS.

? Wolfe was married to Uncle Pitt's daughter. Lenora.  They lived in Portsmouth, Ohio.  He was a traveling salesman.  Sue calle him Wolfey.

Pete Harris.....Lou called him Paul.  He lived in Davey.  When grandma and grandpa died, Aunt Edna moved into the old home place and took care of Pete.  He never married.

Earl Shufflebarger was the son of Aunt Molly.  Sue does not remember her having a husband.  Aunt Molly lived in Princeton for a while.  She moved to Norfolk.  She and  Aunt Sis (Nora) were close as they were full sisters.  The two of them are standing together in the photo.


John Harris was the youngest of the four children born to Samuel Sterling Harris and his first wife, E.M. Harris.  Lou did not raise him as he moved in with his mother's people.  Later he "came home"...but he was not raised by Lou.

Uncle John's wife was Aunt Ada.  Sue was named after her.  Sue visited Aunt Ada in McComas WV after she was married.  Sue took her mother to visit and they would have lunch and visit and drive back home.  Aunt Ada told Sue to pick out somethings that she wanted and Sue chose the following which are still in her household.

Elaine Hogan was Aunt Edna's daughter.  Aunt Edna came back and moved in with her parents.  She had divorced her husband early and was married a second time but never even lived with him.  So she moved in with her parents.  Aunt Edna worked in Welch in Bell's Department store.  She would take the bus to work from Davey.  The store was a dime store that was locally owned.

James (Jim Harris) sitting beside Elaine was the son of Uncle Pitt and Aunt Toad.   he had the exact same name as Sue's brother, James Warren Harris.  There other son was Randolph Harris.  He was at VPI when WWII broke out.  He and another man were sent out on a mission and were never heard from again.

Mary and Martha Walker were the twins that Sue always talked about  Their mother was Bertha Harris Walker and father Pearl Walker .  Sue is standing between the two twins.

Bob Hogan was Aunt Edna's son.

Gene Harris was the youngest son of Stella and Uncle Howard.  Stella is holding Gene in the photo. I have written it as Jean....

Ollie Mae Harris Tolbart Barnett kept in touch with Sue for many years.

Frances Walker was the last child of Aunt Bertha and Pearl Walker.

The lady who is labelled date never married into the family.



Much to my disappointment, she has very few photos of any of her family.  Sue explained that when her grandmother, Frances Louise Woodson Harris (Lou) died, Aunt Edna came down and took it over (Edna Hogan).  She was the second girl in the family.  Aunt Bertha was the oldest daughter.  Aunt Edna actually lived in the house for a long time and took care of Pete.  Then Pete owned the house....he was the youngest child of Lou ....Finally Pete sold the house to Aunt Edna's son, Jake....and eventually Jake sold it to Bob (also a son of Aunt Edna). This basically left the house totally empty.  Sue remembered that there would have been photos, but it is a mystery if they were thrown out or if any of the descendents of these people might have some.

Harris/Apperson Bible pages

I have in my possession Bible pages that I believe were once a part of a Bible that was owned by Samuel W.  and Nancy Apperson Harris.  This couple lived in Buckingham County, Virginia and/or Appomattox County, Virginia in the early to mid 1800's.   I believe that the Bible pages belonged to Samuel and Nancy Harris because the names of the people who are listed with births, deaths, and marriages are people who were related on both sides of the family:  Apperson and Harris.

Gregg Bonner has done a wonderful job of putting the pages on his website and also interpreting what he believes that the pages say.  

To look at the Bible pages for yourself go to:

 https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~gbonner/genealogy/bible/

I am having trouble correcting the link to the Bible pages.  See if this works for you:

 https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~gbonner/genealogy/bible/

If it doesn't, contact me via e-mail:  mosesm@earthlink.net  I know the second link looks exactly like the first, but I do not seem to be able to make the first one work even though it is the correct address. 

Samuel and Nancy married 30 December 1824.  This date is recorded in the Bible pages.  Their youngest son, Samuel Sterling, was born 18 Feb 1848.  This date is also recorded in the Bible pages.

The family Bible came to be in the home of Samuel Sterling Harris.  Perhaps he was the last child at home or the male child most interested in owning the Bible.   I do know that it was in his possession after the family moved to WV.   By 1902, Samuel Sterling had moved to Davey, WV in McDowell County.  His son told me that a new mine had opened up at Davey and he moved there to take the job as a mine supervisor.

Samuel Sterling Harris married as a second wife Louise Frances Woodson before his move to WV.  This couple's oldest child who survived infancy was Hewitt Samuel Harris.  Hewitt Samuel Harris was the father of Everett Samuel Harris who is my DNA participant and also the owner of the Bible pages when I first learned of their existence.  Everett had received the Bible pages from his father.  He told the story that Hewitt Samuel had gone to his parents home for dinner every Sunday after church.  One of the times that he was with his parents he tore the pages from the Bible and took them home with him.  I believe that it was with the permission of his parents who did not want to give up the Bible but had very little interest in the genealogy that the pages contained.  The Bible itself has since disappeared.

Upon the death of Everett Samuel Harris in 2009,  I visited Everett's third wife and convinced her that I would make sure that Everett's genealogy information was safe.  And the pages came into my collection.  I hope to eventually donate them to the Library of VA.

Harris DNA group

I was chatting last night with a man named John Harris.  We had talked in the past about the fact that I research the Harris name.  It occurred to me that I used to think that my mother-in-law's Harris line would connect with one of the big Harris groups out there such as the Overton Harris....Mourning Glen lines.  However, we now know that our DNA group is a relatively small group.  The fact that one of our matches has names in her research that match with Glenn  makes one wonder if there has been a birth incident....or if perhaps the connection might have been on the female side rather than the male side.


I wanted to take a minute this morning to post some of what our DNA group knows so that I can have a place to go back and refresh my memory on what we DO know about this family group.  We are a relatively small group.  Fran Hill has no DNA participant.  However, we became friends several years ago when we realized that her Harris line and the Harris line that I look at were proved to be connected by the Bible pages that are now in my possession.  To see the Bible pages go to:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gbonner/bible/

click on the Apperson Family Bible.  Gregg Bonner has done an excellent job in putting these pages on the internet and in interpreting the pages to make them more helpful.

I hope to make another post that will repeat who each of the people named in the Bible pages are and how they are connected....and where and when I came to have the pages in my possession.

To see the Harris DNA results go to:

http://www.harrisdna.org/results.html

We are group #27.  Be sure to read Glenn Gohr's page on our group by clicking on the link.  There are only three matches in our group.  My participant, Trey Harris, and the brother of Ann Harris.   The families of Trey and Ann are found in  Union County, SC from just after the Revolutionary War until today.

Trey Harris is a DNA match to my mother-in-law's brother, Everett Harris who is my Harris DNA participant.  Trey believe that his ancestors connect to Samuel Harris married to Tryphena Harris.   Tryphena's maiden name was also Harris.  Her father was Thomas Harris married to Sarah/Sally Lacy.  This couple was married by a French Huguenot minister named Chastain.  These people seemed to have lived in Buckingham County--so they were certainly living in the right area to be connected to the Harris family that I look at.  Samuel and Tryphena moved their family to Union County, SC in 1792 and the family has remained in that area to the present day.

Ann Harris lives in Union County, SC.  Her brother is a Harris DNA match for our line.  Ann and her brother descend from George Washington Harris of Union County, SC.  He was born in 1810 according to his tombstone and died 21 June 1880.  His wife was Jane Susan Elizabeth Glenn Harris.  Ann does not have parents for George Washington Harris.

I believe that the Harris line I look at was living in the part of Buckingham County that is now Appomattox County, Va in the mid 1800's.  The Bible that I refer to later in this post belonged to Samuel and Nancy Apperson Harris.  This is the family that lived in this county.

http://www.livgenmi.com/1895/VA/County/buckingham.htm

I could not find Samuel Harris in the 1840 Census on Ancestry in Buckingham County.  However he is there in 1830 and 1850 with all of the right people in his household.  Samuel was born 7 Nov 1795.   His oldest daughter, Sarah Ann, was born in 1727, so he did have a family at the time of both the 1830 census and the 1840 census.    I am convinced that he is the man who signed the petition in 1832 AGAINST the formation of Appomattox county from Buckingham County as he is the only Samuel that I find in Buckingham in 1830 census.

It is likely that Samuel and Nancy and their family lived at Trent's Mill.  I will try to spend some time editing this last thought in the next few days.  Please go to my post for January 6, 2013 for more information on this location and this family.

Mattie Lee Johnson was the best dancer in Henry County

The lady who is being talked about in the below story is Mattie Lee Johnson Harris.  She was born 29 Oct 1891 in Henry, Virginia in the County of Franklin.  Her parents were Robert Henry and Francis Ann Shelton Johnson.  It is Mattie Lee who is said to have been voted the best dancer in Henry County, Virginia.

I asked Granny to tell me the story about what a wonderful dancer her mother was before her marriage to Pop Harris.  Barbara, Granny and I were having dinner at Guyan.  I had the following note in my data base about Granny Harris:

Granny Harris always told her children she was raised at the foot of the Blueridge Mountains.  Note that it is the town of Henry which is in Franklin County where she was born and raised

We had Sue for dinner one night and she told the story that Mattie Lee’s older brothers played musical instruments....and that Mattie Lee was voted the best dancer in Henry County.  The below is a census for this Johnson family in 1900.  Robert is the father, Frances his wife.  Then sons: Hamon, Everett, Luther, next Mattie Lee and last Albert H.  Mattie Lee would have been 9 at this time.  It is likely that it was these  brothers with whom she traveled in the next ten years.  The six older siblings had probably married and moved out of the home by 1900. The family is said to have lived in the Brown Hill Township during this enumeration.

In the below map you will see that Henry is very close to Henry County in the far south of Franklin County, so Mattie Lee may well have done much of her dancing in Henry County.  Also note that Brown Hill Mountain is near by...probably giving rise to the designation of Brown Hill Township 

Sue added to that story last night that the brothers (I am not clear which brothers played instruments, but I do remember that Everett was the name of one of them) played musical instruments and traveled to many locations where they were called upon to play for gatherings.  Mattie Lee would accompany them.  We think that Mattie Lee danced traditional mountain dances....perhaps like the clogging that we see now.  We also agreed that Mattie Lee named one of her sons for Everett who must have been one of the favorite brothers. 

Another day Sue added the following to this information.  There were no jobs in the Henry/Franklin County area in this time period.  Mattie Lee's brother left the area and moved to Twin Branch in the WV coal area.  It was on visits to Twin Branch to visit her brothers that Mattie Lee met her husband, Hewitt Samuel Harris.  Sue was born after their marriage and while they were living at Twin Branch.  Uncle Everett died before Sue ever knew him from the flu in year that there was the huge epidemic of flu.  Sue's brother who was named Everett lived a long life.  All of us knew Uncle Everett quite well from visits over the years.  This is the man who shared with me the Bible pages that I have treasured about the Harris family.

In spring/summer of 2017,  I heard from Patty Ament.  (e-mail address:  pament@kci.net) Patty is a granddaughter of Hamon Johnson.  Hamon was the brother of Mattie Lee Johnson Harris.  Patty shared with me a photo of her grandfather playing the fiddle and the handmade fiddle that Hamon made:

Patty gave me permission to share the photos on this blog post and to share the following information:

Here are some photos of Hamon Thomas Johnson’s fiddle, maybe one of the first ones he made.  It is hand carved, even the pegs.   It does not play.  A violinist friend of mine tried it with his own bow and got  a couple of squawks.  The wires cannot be tightened with the hand-whittled pegs.  But I love it and the photo of Gpa Hamon playing another more highly polished fiddle in front of his house in Beckley, WV.  I remember visiting this house once when I was about 12.  It is built into the side of a mountain  and he is standing in front of the basement.  He made his fiddles in the basement and also kept his store of whiskey (moonshine??) The main  floor starts with the white framing.  There were red and black raspberry bushes growing down the steep side of the mountain in front of the house, and, as I remember, cars had to drive part way up the driveway from the highway below into a sort of garage, then back the rest of the way up to his house.  They collected mountain honey, and every summer, Grandma Lourie Dean Stone Johnston mailed us quart jars of dark honey complete with long pieces of honeycomb.  No jars ever broke.  We gorged ourselves when they came.  It was heavenly.

You mentioned wondering which Hamon is my gfa.  He was Hamon Thomas Johnson, 1882-1958, s/o Robert Henry Johnson and Frances Shelton.  Frances Shelton was the d/o Giles Gerald Shelton and Nancy Spencer.  Giles and Nancy also had a son- Hamon David Shelton (1844-1918).  My Gpa Hamon may have been named after his mother’s brother. 

Yes, I have done the Ancestry DNA test.  According to it, I am 66% English, 16% Irish, bits of French, German and a smidge Iberian.  As I understand it, Johns(t)on is an Irish name and the Irish brought fiddling with them to America and it became Blue Grass Music.  When I visited Ireland a few years ago, I was struck by how much their pub music sounded like our country music.  Now I know why.  It all fits.