-- sources: U.S. Census records, WV Archive Online, and VA Library
According to the U.S. Census, between 1880 and 1920 there were roughly 977 to 1,955 Adkins families with the highest concentrations in WV and Kentucky. Compare that to the Lilly family (354-705) and you can see why there are so many Adkins - arguably more than the Lilly troupe.
An Adkins who surfaces in WV is Lewis Adkins (also Moses in Greenbrier Co) - per a Revolution War bounty in the early 1800's. Lewis received land at the mouth of Indian Creek (next to Farley*). Whether he is the progenitor of Adkins in WV today I don't know and hopefully someone can provide the information.
As for those that lived in Streeter...
Basil Green Adkins (born 1895) was a sometime teacher at the Streeter school and so was his father Nelson. According to Vernon, they would swap out to teach. Basil was married to Persie Oakes. They had the following children: Luther C., Claron, Velmer, Clyde, Basil Green Jr.
Nelson Calloway Adkins abt. 1867 - 1944 was married to Emma R. Harvey (the daughter of A.B. Harvey and Mary Ann Ellison. She was born in Flatwoods).
Nelson was the son of Matthew B. Adkins and Ceclia A. Harvey (per their marriage license they were both born in Raleigh County). Matthew B. was the son of Matthew and Elizabeth Adkins. Ceclia Harvey was the daughter of Michael and Nancy T. Harvey.
*I have written about the Farley family in earlier posts.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Jim Pack
Jim Pack passed away Monday, Sept. 10. He was the son of Pearl and Ruby Pack.
Jim was born at Streeter. There is a full obit in the Register Herald.
http://www.register-herald.com/obituaries/x1023278382/Obituaries-Wednesday-Sept-12-2012
Jim was born at Streeter. There is a full obit in the Register Herald.
http://www.register-herald.com/obituaries/x1023278382/Obituaries-Wednesday-Sept-12-2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Just Some Thoughts...
Conversations with several people about hurtful memories prompted me to write this. I just needed to get some thoughts off my chest - shout at the void, so to speak - to clear my mind. Out of respect for readers, and my immediate family, I try to avoid such topics (and I will NOT go into specifics), but the issue comes up from time to time.
So...painful memories. We all have them, right? It certainly is worse when those memories are associated with family. I have older family members who are reluctant to share much if any stories about Streeter. They would probably be surprised to know that I know quite a bit about certain incidents that may or may not have influenced their opinions. Now, let me be clear, I understand that sometimes people are just not interested at all in family history. That is a different matter altogether.
When I was a child (about 8 years old) my grandmother was in her 80s. I was young, but pretty alert for a kid. Nothing escaped my attention, especially family dirt. Those stories got passed down from generation to generation. We all make mistakes. Some of us are just lucky that we kept them a secret. I certainly wouldn't want everyone to know the very stupid decisions I've made. I learned a long time ago to accept myself 100%. If you look for people to affirm your every decision, both past and present, you will be a very unhappy and bitter person.
I did not start this research before knowing a lot of these stories in the first place. I don't worship my ancestors, and I certainly understand they made decisions that for some people are unforgivable. I don't have any easy solutions for this (for the people who are still angry). Speaking from my own experience, I find forgiveness to be the ultimate antidote to some of the small-minded, petty, or outrageous things that people say and do. It certainly makes things more difficult when these people are "family" or related in some way. But, I have found growth from having the courage to love and forgive.
So...painful memories. We all have them, right? It certainly is worse when those memories are associated with family. I have older family members who are reluctant to share much if any stories about Streeter. They would probably be surprised to know that I know quite a bit about certain incidents that may or may not have influenced their opinions. Now, let me be clear, I understand that sometimes people are just not interested at all in family history. That is a different matter altogether.
When I was a child (about 8 years old) my grandmother was in her 80s. I was young, but pretty alert for a kid. Nothing escaped my attention, especially family dirt. Those stories got passed down from generation to generation. We all make mistakes. Some of us are just lucky that we kept them a secret. I certainly wouldn't want everyone to know the very stupid decisions I've made. I learned a long time ago to accept myself 100%. If you look for people to affirm your every decision, both past and present, you will be a very unhappy and bitter person.
I did not start this research before knowing a lot of these stories in the first place. I don't worship my ancestors, and I certainly understand they made decisions that for some people are unforgivable. I don't have any easy solutions for this (for the people who are still angry). Speaking from my own experience, I find forgiveness to be the ultimate antidote to some of the small-minded, petty, or outrageous things that people say and do. It certainly makes things more difficult when these people are "family" or related in some way. But, I have found growth from having the courage to love and forgive.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Letter from Jonathan Calvin Harvey to Isaac N. Harvey (1888)
This is an item that is a part of a collection that Vernon Pack recently sent to me. He deserves many thanks for including these materials. The rest I am uploading soon into the photo and document archive on the blog (look for the tabs on the home page).
The letter, written June 24, 1888, was mailed from Vandalia, WV. Vandalia was the name for Streeter before the name change. Jonathan Calvin Harvey communicates the very hot temperatures, recent severe storm, and resulting crop damage to his father Isaac (coincidentally, there is a photo of both men in the archive via Vernon).
(my notes are in brackets and there are footnotes):
Vandalia Summers Co WVA
June The 24th 1888
In ancer [answer] to your letter dated the 12th of this inst [instance] I will Say That I was glad to hear from you and that you was well as common. I will Say that we have had some of the hotest weather for this time of year I think I ever felt. The mercury was up to 105 degrees and it has been dry weather up to a bout the 20th of this month. Sam Pack* had to grinde by hand**but on the evening of the 20th I went to the mill after a turn of meal and as I came back I had to take of my turn and Saddle and get under the clift and Stay Till near by night. It rained and hailed So and it has rained every day but once Since Same and Some places corn has been beat nearly in the ground with hail. John Basham+ Said that his crop was clear ruined he said that it washed his corn ground all of just leaving the marks of the plow and I guess that Adam's++ crop is hurt too. My corn looks very well I got over it the first time the 15th about ten o'clock on friday morning and I have been working in the backin [a back corner]] for Buck Wheat Since I got it fenste [fenced] and the logs on the part I have clear roled [rolled] but I have been near by past going with my back for over two weeks. The rest off [of] the family is in common health. Dow's^and Jim's^^ famileys is well and the people in general as far as I no [know] is well.
I got a letter from Putman [Putnam] yesterday and you can gess hoo [guess who] it is from he was as well as common and that was a good country crops range... it to waste [waist] high and that tobacco was same as large as a palm lief [leaf] hat on the hill. he did not say what he was doing but that he was in the Bird Settlement [Raleigh County community that no longer exists].
Basham+ has had a time with adline he had to take her with a war[a]nt of trespas and that did not do hardley any good. She is now gone to hinton with her cow and children So I will close for this time hoping those lines will find you well.
From J.C. Harvey To I.N. Harvey
*Samuel Pack, owner and operator of Streeter Mill.
** The water was not high enough for the water wheel to turn.
+ John Wesley Basham, my great grandfather.
++ V. Pack is not sure who he refers to here.
^ Lorenzo Dow Harvey, brother of Joshua Calvin.
^^James Harvey, Joshua Calvin's brother.
The letter, written June 24, 1888, was mailed from Vandalia, WV. Vandalia was the name for Streeter before the name change. Jonathan Calvin Harvey communicates the very hot temperatures, recent severe storm, and resulting crop damage to his father Isaac (coincidentally, there is a photo of both men in the archive via Vernon).
Vandalia Summers Co WVA
June The 24th 1888
In ancer [answer] to your letter dated the 12th of this inst [instance] I will Say That I was glad to hear from you and that you was well as common. I will Say that we have had some of the hotest weather for this time of year I think I ever felt. The mercury was up to 105 degrees and it has been dry weather up to a bout the 20th of this month. Sam Pack* had to grinde by hand**but on the evening of the 20th I went to the mill after a turn of meal and as I came back I had to take of my turn and Saddle and get under the clift and Stay Till near by night. It rained and hailed So and it has rained every day but once Since Same and Some places corn has been beat nearly in the ground with hail. John Basham+ Said that his crop was clear ruined he said that it washed his corn ground all of just leaving the marks of the plow and I guess that Adam's++ crop is hurt too. My corn looks very well I got over it the first time the 15th about ten o'clock on friday morning and I have been working in the backin [a back corner]] for Buck Wheat Since I got it fenste [fenced] and the logs on the part I have clear roled [rolled] but I have been near by past going with my back for over two weeks. The rest off [of] the family is in common health. Dow's^and Jim's^^ famileys is well and the people in general as far as I no [know] is well.
I got a letter from Putman [Putnam] yesterday and you can gess hoo [guess who] it is from he was as well as common and that was a good country crops range... it to waste [waist] high and that tobacco was same as large as a palm lief [leaf] hat on the hill. he did not say what he was doing but that he was in the Bird Settlement [Raleigh County community that no longer exists].
Basham+ has had a time with adline he had to take her with a war[a]nt of trespas and that did not do hardley any good. She is now gone to hinton with her cow and children So I will close for this time hoping those lines will find you well.
From J.C. Harvey To I.N. Harvey
*Samuel Pack, owner and operator of Streeter Mill.
** The water was not high enough for the water wheel to turn.
+ John Wesley Basham, my great grandfather.
++ V. Pack is not sure who he refers to here.
^ Lorenzo Dow Harvey, brother of Joshua Calvin.
^^James Harvey, Joshua Calvin's brother.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Notes On Streeter (Conversations With Vernon)
The following are some notes taken from a recent conversation with Vernon (my notes are in bold):
During WWII, Vernon and his sister Juanita Pack pulled spikes from the abandoned, narrow gauge railroad for the war effort. "Uncle Andy built a wagon made from an old automobile. They loaded it with rubber-tires, and scrape metal. I remember hauling it to the Jumping Branch Post Office. Of course, we weren't paid- you volunteered for it."
"The railroad followed the bank below the road, passed the Old Mill, then up the road passed Andy Pack's [his uncle] grist mill. His mill was for his own personal use,a means to charge his own, home built batteries for power."
On the school house (I have an earlier post on its location):
"It had several teachers while I was there: Bum Pack, Basil Atkins, Beulah Tolliver, and Audrey Lilly [during the time he attended, late 30s-early 40's]. The school had 30-40 kids at any given time."
His memories of the Old Mill:
" Alex Pack was the third owner of the mill, after Sam Pack, who inherited from his father John R. Pack"
"I would stand in the doorway and watch the corn be ground, and then come down the shoot. To this day I love the smell of freshly ground corn."
Memories of town meeting:
"In the early days of the war, a group of men came from Charleston to speak about the Worker's Alliance of America. I can remember about 70+ people were in attendance."
During WWII, Vernon and his sister Juanita Pack pulled spikes from the abandoned, narrow gauge railroad for the war effort. "Uncle Andy built a wagon made from an old automobile. They loaded it with rubber-tires, and scrape metal. I remember hauling it to the Jumping Branch Post Office. Of course, we weren't paid- you volunteered for it."
"The railroad followed the bank below the road, passed the Old Mill, then up the road passed Andy Pack's [his uncle] grist mill. His mill was for his own personal use,a means to charge his own, home built batteries for power."
On the school house (I have an earlier post on its location):
"It had several teachers while I was there: Bum Pack, Basil Atkins, Beulah Tolliver, and Audrey Lilly [during the time he attended, late 30s-early 40's]. The school had 30-40 kids at any given time."
His memories of the Old Mill:
" Alex Pack was the third owner of the mill, after Sam Pack, who inherited from his father John R. Pack"
"I would stand in the doorway and watch the corn be ground, and then come down the shoot. To this day I love the smell of freshly ground corn."
Memories of town meeting:
"In the early days of the war, a group of men came from Charleston to speak about the Worker's Alliance of America. I can remember about 70+ people were in attendance."
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Hatcher Family
There are several families that lived in and around Streeter that I have little information on. The Hatcher Family is one.
There is a website: Hatcher Family Genealogy Association. A cursory glance didn't bring up much regarding the Hatchers of Southern WV - to be fair I looked up the few names I know. Nevertheless, it contains a wealth of information about the origins of and connections to Hatchers who moved west.
Charles Silas Hatcher was the son of John Edward Charles Lewis Hatcher (a sometime justice of the peace). He wrote one of the books I referenced for some of my early research.
His father was highly regarded in the Jumping Branch area. He was interviewed by the Charleston Daily Mail in 1929 and this article is referenced in the Hatcher Association website. If interested in the article (or the website), follow the link below...
http://hatcherfamilyassn.com/getperson.php?personID=I39236&tree=WmTheIm
There is a website: Hatcher Family Genealogy Association. A cursory glance didn't bring up much regarding the Hatchers of Southern WV - to be fair I looked up the few names I know. Nevertheless, it contains a wealth of information about the origins of and connections to Hatchers who moved west.
Charles Silas Hatcher was the son of John Edward Charles Lewis Hatcher (a sometime justice of the peace). He wrote one of the books I referenced for some of my early research.
His father was highly regarded in the Jumping Branch area. He was interviewed by the Charleston Daily Mail in 1929 and this article is referenced in the Hatcher Association website. If interested in the article (or the website), follow the link below...
http://hatcherfamilyassn.com/getperson.php?personID=I39236&tree=WmTheIm
Friday, July 6, 2012
Lillie Jennings Basham Halstead
I've been meaning for a long time to write a post on my grandmother (my mother's mother). Lille Jennings Basham Halstead, or Mawmaw as I referred to her, was born in 1896. She was the daughter of John Wesley Basham and Ida Jane Basham.
Claude Hurt was her first husband. She had two children by this marriage: Johnnie (who was born with complications and later died) and my Aunt Lee. The story goes that after Claude returned from WWI he cheated on her. She later married my grandfather, Edgar Stanley Halstead. According to the story, they courted at Streeter. From this marriage were born: James (Jimmy), Dave (Davey), Ruth, and my mother Linda.
Mawmaw died when I was 8, but I remember a lot about her. She was kind, but even from a child's perspective I could tell that her eyes concealed years of wisdom mixed with sadness and loss.
After pawpaw died, I had sleepovers at her house on East Prince Street. She would tell me stories about growing up on Chestnut Flat (near Streeter). I especially loved hearing the one about how she and her sister Grace (Emma Grace), when returning from the meat house, were chased by a panther. The way Mawmaw described her sister's face as "pale white" when she saw her reaction made chills run down my back.
She also told me the story of the ghost of a family member who visited him and his wife one night "standing at the foot of his bed".
Mawmaw loved to sing and laugh. She also liked to pick. She would take her cane and poke me with it when I was little. My mother likes to pick (so do my aunts and my uncle) and I can see where they acquired the trait.
She loved poetry - one of the many things I have in common with her. Her favorite poem was Longfellow's "Wreck of the Hesperus".
When she would visit our house I always wanted to play school with her: this entailed me setting up a small blackboard and playing like I was her teacher (she loved it). Gee, I'm a teacher now... wonder how that happened?!
She loved to travel. The list of places she traveled to rivals that of any million miler frequent flyer. I used to play with her airline momentos - probably one of the reasons why I chose to work for the airlines pre 911.
Mawmaw died in 1983 almost a year after Pawpaw died. After he died she was never the same. My Uncle Jimmy caught her not chewing or swallowing her food. She died at his house in Charleston, WV.
I owe alot of my memories of Streeter to my grandmother. She played a pivotal role in my development and I'm thankful of that.
Claude Hurt was her first husband. She had two children by this marriage: Johnnie (who was born with complications and later died) and my Aunt Lee. The story goes that after Claude returned from WWI he cheated on her. She later married my grandfather, Edgar Stanley Halstead. According to the story, they courted at Streeter. From this marriage were born: James (Jimmy), Dave (Davey), Ruth, and my mother Linda.
Mawmaw died when I was 8, but I remember a lot about her. She was kind, but even from a child's perspective I could tell that her eyes concealed years of wisdom mixed with sadness and loss.
After pawpaw died, I had sleepovers at her house on East Prince Street. She would tell me stories about growing up on Chestnut Flat (near Streeter). I especially loved hearing the one about how she and her sister Grace (Emma Grace), when returning from the meat house, were chased by a panther. The way Mawmaw described her sister's face as "pale white" when she saw her reaction made chills run down my back.
She also told me the story of the ghost of a family member who visited him and his wife one night "standing at the foot of his bed".
Mawmaw loved to sing and laugh. She also liked to pick. She would take her cane and poke me with it when I was little. My mother likes to pick (so do my aunts and my uncle) and I can see where they acquired the trait.
She loved poetry - one of the many things I have in common with her. Her favorite poem was Longfellow's "Wreck of the Hesperus".
When she would visit our house I always wanted to play school with her: this entailed me setting up a small blackboard and playing like I was her teacher (she loved it). Gee, I'm a teacher now... wonder how that happened?!
She loved to travel. The list of places she traveled to rivals that of any million miler frequent flyer. I used to play with her airline momentos - probably one of the reasons why I chose to work for the airlines pre 911.
Mawmaw died in 1983 almost a year after Pawpaw died. After he died she was never the same. My Uncle Jimmy caught her not chewing or swallowing her food. She died at his house in Charleston, WV.
I owe alot of my memories of Streeter to my grandmother. She played a pivotal role in my development and I'm thankful of that.
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