The West Patriarchs: 5th in a Series, Thomas Harvey West

As I continue to write about the West Patriarchs, I am getting closer to “home” in regard to my most recent ancestors.  Thomas Harvey West, my great grandfather, was born in Wilkes County, most likely at Stony Fork, in 1858. He was the only son of Alexander Balus West and Nancy Land West and was born to them 7½ years after they were married.  According to census records, he was apparently called “Harvey.”

Concerning census records—I find them very revealing.  According to the 1900 Census, Nancy Land was recorded as having nine children with only one living. I have carefully scrutinized the original document and compared the way in which the enumerator wrote his figures.  The numeral indicating Nancy’s children definitely appears to be a nine. The number for those living is a one.  After researching the questions that were asked for this census, she would have been asked how many children she had and how many were still living.  Therefore, this data would indicate that she had nine actual births with only one living child. Nancy and Alexander Balus were married 13 years before his death.

Thomas Harvey’s father joined the Confederate Army when Thomas Harvey was 3½ years old and was killed in action just before young Thomas Harvey celebrated his sixth birthday.  Therefore, one may speculate that Thomas Harvey hardly knew his father.  In a previous posting I described the poignant letter penned by Alexander Balus in March of 1864 prior to his death in September.  The letter was addressed to his son, Thomas Harvey.  From that letter one can easily discern the apprehensions and fears that Alexander Balus was experiencing.   His sense of urgency in providing his son with some fatherly guidance, some written advice for his life, was quite clear. 

At the time of Alexander Balus’ death, Nancy and Thomas Harvey lived in the Upper Division of Wilkes County in the Lewis Fork area where they had lived since 1851.  Their property was near that of Alexander Balus’ father, John Balus West.  In fact, Alexander Balus had purchased land from his father in 1857.  According to census records, Alexander Balus and Nancy were living on the south fork of Stony Fork in 1851 which was most likely in the Lewis Fork area and which was most likely the same land on which they lived when they were first married.  I have discovered that areas remain the same but the names designating them change.  When Alexander Balus was killed, he and Nancy owned approximately 135 acres of land in the area.

Not only did they live near Alexander Balus’ parents, John Balus and Mary Ann Swanson West, and his brothers, William Thomas Jefferson West and John Witherspoon West, but also they lived near Nancy’s family, the Lands and the Carltons, all of whom lived in the Upper Division of Wilkes County.  In addition, Swanson families, who may have been relatives of Alexander Balus’ mother, Mary Ann “Polly” Swanson, lived in the Upper Division.  Therefore, family members who could lend support and comfort to Nancy and Thomas Harvey were abundant.

In fact, CALT, my 1^st cousin 1X removed, said that Nancy Land West’s brothers were significant role models for young Thomas Harvey as he was growing up.  The 1870 Census indicates that Nancy and Thomas Harvey were living in the household of her brother, James C. Land, in Elk Township of Wilkes, North Carolina, which was designated as the Upper Division in earlier records.  In addition to Nancy and Thomas Harvey’s living with James C. Land, Nancy’s father, Thomas Land, was living in the household during that same enumeration period.  

Twelve years after her husband’s death, Nancy Land West began purchasing property in the Stony Fork area.  In February of 1876, she bought 120 acres adjacent to the Lands’ line and Franklin West’s line.  In August of 1876, she purchased 24 acres on Buck Branch which ran up Stony Fork Creek to Thomas Land’s line.  In July of 1879, James C. Land and wife Nannie, and Thomas C. Land sold 56 acres on Stony Creek to Nancy Land.  In February of 1884 she purchased 50 additional acres in the area.  By 1884 Nancy Land West owned approximately 385 acres on Stony Fork.  Even though North Carolina began issuing pensions for widows of Confederate soldiers from its state in 1857, I can find no records indicating that Nancy West received a widow’s pension.  How did she fund these land purchases?  Certainly not as a widow who was living off the farm.  Perhaps, instead of inheriting land, she received a monetary inheritance from the estate of her father who died in 1871 and used this money to buy land.  She was surely thinking about an inheritance for her son, Thomas Harvey.   

In the 1880 Census, Nancy Land West is listed as the head of the household in Elk Township of Wilkes County with Thomas Harvey living with her.  Again, they were residing near relatives.  Her brother, James C. Land, lived two dwellings away; her brother-in-law, Franklin West, lived eight dwellings away; and her first cousin-in-law, Thomas Clingman West, lived nine dwellings away. 

In May 1885 she sold 120 acres on Buck Branch of Stony Fork to Thomas Harvey, her son.  The land was adjacent to property belonging to the Lands, the Waters, Franklin West, and the Tripletts.

Unfortunately, the 1890 Federal Census records were destroyed in a fire in 1921.  Therefore, I do not have that source for “reading between the lines” in the lives of Nancy and Thomas Harvey during the ten-year period which was included in that census.

On January 5, 1882, Thomas Harvey West and America Ann McNeil were married in Wilkes County.  She was 18, and he was 23.  In all likelihood, they had known each other all of their lives since the McNeils and Wests lived in Upper Wilkes County. 

Furthermore, they likely attended Mount Zion Baptist Church while they were growing up.  Many of my Wilkes County ancestors including the Wests, the Lands, the McNeils, and the Carltons are cited multiple times in the church’s records between 1849 and 1896.  T. H. West and A. A. West were elected deacon and co-sponsors.  In 1889, T. H. West was elected trustee.

Thomas Harvey and America continued to live on their Stony Fork farm until 1902.  They had 13 children, 12 of whom were born, presumably, on the farm at Stony Fork.  The thirteenth child, Viola N. West, was born after they moved to Banner Elk, North Carolina. 

The descendants of Thomas Harvey and America Ann McNeil West are many.  I have included in the table below the information that I currently have in my files regarding their descendants.  All of their children are deceased.  I have not provided names of any grandchildren who are still living in order to protect their privacy.  I would certainly appreciate any additional information that anyone may have and any corrections that should be made.  Please contact me through this blog or my personal e-mail if any of my readers wish to add information or make corrections.

Descendants of Thomas Harvey West and America Ann McNeil

Children	Dates	Spouse(s)	Grand Children	Great Grandchildren*	2nd  Great Grandchildren*	3rd  Great Grandchildren*
Nannie Lou West	1882-1981	Cornelius Mai Triplett	John H.Triplett, Edna B. Triplett, J. Fred Triplett	?	?	?
A. Judson West	1884-1884	None	None	None	None	None
Martha Alice West	1885-1981	None	None	None	None	None
Milton McNeil West	1888-1979	Myrtle Triplett	Maxine Triplett West, Marie Doris West	1 granddaughter 1 grandson	?	?
William Charles West	1892-1967	Ada Beatrice McQueen	William Charles West, Alzenia Helen West, Living Female West	2 granddaughters 3 grandsons	4 gr. granddaughters 2 gr.  grandsons	1 2nd  granddaughter 7 2nd gr. grandsons
Rosa Belle West	1890-1998	David Sidney Jones, Frank Butner	None	None	None	None
Sallie Jane West	1893-1918	None	None	None	None	None
Robert Leonard West	1895-1968	Margaret Clyde Lowrance	Robert Leonard West, Herbert Milton West, Living Male West, Dorothy Jean West, Max Kenneth West, Living Male West	3 granddaughters 6 grandsons	?	?
Ethel Elizabeth West	1897-1996	Charles Durwood Graham	Living Male Graham, Living Female Graham, Living Male Graham	?	?	?
Willard A. West	1899-bef 1903	None	None	None	None	None
Flora Annie West	1900-1993	Leo Lawrence Lowe	June Lowe, Living Male Lowe, Living Female Lowe, Living Male Lowe, Living Male Lowe, Living Male Lowe, Living Female Lowe	5 granddaughters 5 grandsons	?	?
Guy Harvey West	1902-1997	Mary Ann Trivette	Guy Harvey West, Living Male West, Living Male West, Living Male West, Living Female West	?	?	?
Viola N. West	1905-1920	None	None	None	None	None

*Inadequate information available

Two of these children, A. Judson West and Willard A. West, are buried across the road from the home place in the Thomas Land Family Cemetery on land that had once belonged, most likely, to the Land family.

Harvey and America West's two-story, white farmhouse
was likely located at this site. 

The home where Thomas Harvey and America lived must have been a lovely place.  The house has been described as a two story, white farmhouse.   It was located on the current Mt. Zion Road across from Stony Creek just a short distance east of the intersection of Stony Fork Road and Mt. Zion Road.  The old building which, at one time, housed the Mt. Zion Post Office, is across the road from the home site.  I am thankful to those who remember the house and have shared their descriptions with me.   My 1^st cousins 1X removed, a former mail carrier, and a new blog follower have provided me with this description.  Neither the mail carrier nor the new blog follower knew the Wests but remember the Wellborn family who owned and lived in the house from 1902 until it burned sometime in the 1980s.  

In 1902 for an unknown reason, Thomas Harvey and America West decided to move to Banner Elk, North Carolina.  They traded farms including, of course, the house with all of its furnishings, with the Wellborn family, who owned the Banner Elk farm.  My research of land and census documents reveals that many Wellborns lived in the Stony Fork area prior to this exchange.  Again, I wonder what promoted this move.  Did the Banner Elk Wellborn family want to return to Stony Fork?  Did this Banner Elk Wellborn family represent a branch of the family that wanted to move to Stony Fork to be near other relatives?  Which family initiated the move?  I don’t suppose that I will ever know.

However, in 1902 according to CALT, the West family took their milk cows and the few possessions that they could transport in a wagon and set out with their eight children and Thomas Harvey’s mother, Nancy, on their journey to their new home.  The possibility exists that America had never seen the property in Banner Elk; hopefully, Thomas Harvey had visited it before “the trade” took place.  According to CALT, the children thought they were “going west,” which, indeed, they were, but only about 35 miles west!  Flora, the youngest child at that time, and likely, the two women rode in the wagon.  The other children walked as they traveled along the Daniel Boone Trail.  I wonder how many nights they spent on the trail as they made this trip by foot and wagon.  On each of the trips that I have made from Banner Elk to Boone and then on to Stony Fork, I am reminded of what a difficult journey that must have been.  Of course we were traveling in a car on US421 and not on the Daniel Boone Trail! Certainly, this West family demonstrated that same adventurous pioneer spirit of those early settlers who pressed westward seeking a better life. 

The next year, 1903, after Thomas Harvey and America moved to Banner Elk, Thomas Harvey’s mother, Nancy Land West, passed away.   In 1905, their last child, Viola N. West, was born.  CALT described this birth as being a difficult delivery for America.  Viola was a special child who was born with hydrocephalus, a condition which can be treated today with a shunt.  Of course in 1905, Viola did not have the benefit of such a medical technique that would have given her a normal live.  She never attended school and died at the age of 14. Another daughter, Sallie Jane West, died in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the relatively young age of 25.  Her death was due to complications from the flu which she contracted during the 1918 epidemic.

My father, William Charles West, Jr., as a young boy, visited his grandparents on a regular basis.  My 1^st cousin 1X removed, FL, described my father’s summer visits during which he would stay several weeks at a time on the farm.  My father, who was about eight years older than FL, fished and hunted with his 1^st cousin.  My dad always had fond memories of his cousin, FL, and seemingly, enjoyed those times he spent with him on their grandparents’ farm.  Today, I recognize characteristics in FL’s appearance, mannerisms, and speech which greatly resemble those of my grandfather and dad. 



Banner Elk Home
Photo taken by grandson,
William Charles West, Jr.
1950



On the Foot-Bridge, 1949
Charlotte (front), my cousin CATL,
and my dad, William Charles West, Jr.,
holding my sister, Sandy



I regret that I never had many opportunities to visit my great grandparents in Banner Elk.  From the visits that I had, I remember the farmhouse, which was, also, a white frame two-story home that was located some distance from the main road.  I remember the creek that flowed through the farm which was at the foot of Sugar Mountain.  I remember the log foot-bridge that crossed over the creek. I remember the barn which was a short distance from the house.  And I remember my last visit in August of 1949, a last visit to see Thomas Harvey just before he died on August 24.  As an eight year-old at the time, I didn’t understand the poignancy of this visit. Sadly, this was the last time to see America, also, since she passed away in November of that same year.



The Two Remaining Chimneys



As I became an adult and my husband and I took trips to Florida, we often took the route through Banner Elk and Boone.  As we drove along NC Highway 105 on our way to Boone, I began looking for “the glove factory.”  I used the factory as my locator because the farm was on the land some distance behind that building.  For many years I could see the farmhouse just beyond the creek; then a few years later, I noticed that a trailer had been placed near the farmhouse; and finally, on one of the trips, I saw only two chimneys standing where the farm house had stood – the farmhouse had burned to the ground.  On the recent trips to Banner Elk, I found that a Lowes’ home store now occupies part of the land.  During these recent trips, I wasn’t able to locate the site of the house because of the growth of the trees and the buildings that are now along NC Highway 105.  Without my cousin, CALT, who took me to the site of the home place two years ago, I would never have been able to find it.  In September 2009, CALT and I walked the grounds through the weeds and poison ivy.  We saw what was left of the steps that led up to the front porch; we saw the two chimneys determinedly standing where they had once supported the sides of the farmhouse; we saw the thriving rose bushes, surrounded by overgrown grass, that America McNeil West had planted many years ago.  We walked toward the part of the farm where Lowes’ store is currently located to a clearing where we found a farm road leading to the highway, US105.  From this location CALT pointed out where her aunt and my great aunt, Rosa Belle, had lived in a house across the highway from the farm.  She also pointed out where her paternal grandparents and her parents had lived on a farm adjacent to the West farm.  Forlornly, as a sign of the passing of time, a “For Sale” sign stood at the edge of the property on the road that led from the highway to the driveway. 



"For Sale"



CALT grew up in Banner Elk and has the first-hand knowledge that I don’t have.  I greatly appreciate the time that she spent showing me the home site and the information that she has shared with me.

I have many fond memories of Great Aunt Alice (Martha Alice), an educated, sophisticated lady.  Aunt Alice had moved to Kent, Washington, but made frequent visits back to North Carolina and Tennessee to visit her family who remained in this part of the country.  Later, she returned from Kent to Banner Elk to care for her ailing parents until their deaths.    Aunt Alice was the administrator of the estate of Thomas Harvey and America West and sold the farm to the Von Cannon family who lived nearby.  My grandfather, Aunt Alice’s brother, wanted to purchase the farm, but evidently, Aunt Alice felt that selling the land to someone other than a family member was a better option.  My understanding is that the farm sold for about $10,000 in the early 1950s.  Today, this property, which is at the foot of Sugar Mountain, a famous ski resort in North Carolina, would be worth a great deal more.

Aunt Alice also told us about some of our relatives on the McNeil side of the family.  She sent me a photograph of my 2^nd great grandfather, Rev. Milton McNeil, who was a minister, a politician, and one of the “best-known” figures in Wilkes County during his time.  She enabled me to contact George Larkin Pearson, my 1^st cousin 3X removed, who was Poet Laureate of North Carolina from 1953 until his death in 1981.  His personal papers, books, and memorabilia may be found in the James Larkin Pearson Library at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

My great grandmother, America McNeil West, was Pearson’s first cousin.  Apparently, both shared a talent for writing.  According to CALT, America McNeil West was an artist and a writer.  Supposedly, she was writing a novel prior to her death, but sadly, according to CALT, no novel was found among her things after her death.

While I was in Bakersville, North Carolina a couple of years ago, researching my mother’s family, I experienced a most unusual event; I met a lady in the historical society office who had been a student of Aunt Alice at Cranberry High School.  When I told her I was also researching my West ancestors, she mentioned that a Miss West had taught her typing class at Cranberry High School.  As I described Aunt Alice and mentioned her first name, we realized that Aunt Alice had been the teacher.  The former student spoke fondly of Aunt Alice.

Indeed, Thomas Harvey West and America Ann McNeil most definitely left quite a legacy.



The West Family at Home in Banner Elk
L-R: Thomas Harvey, Mack, America, Lou, William Charles, Sr., Alice, Ethel, Robert, Flora

Thomas Harvey and America
His 90th Birthday, 1948