Stony Fork Report

For a birthday present, I opted for a trip to Wilkes County, North Carolina. We started out at 7:30 the morning of June 10 for the 2 ½ hour drive to Wilkesboro, North Carolina.  My focus for this research trip was on the Tripletts and Fergusons.  I was, also, happy to find some West information along the way. After spending about 4 hours searching through deeds and wills in the Wilkes County Court House, we made our way to Stony Fork.

Mt. Zion Adventist
Church Cemetery

Needless to say, the beauty and serenity of the area remains the same. Our first stop was at the cemetery often called the Triplett Cemetery but was apparently known as the Mt. Zion Adventist Church Cemetery where Franklin West and his wife Cynthia Holder are buried.  Franklin was the brother of my 2nd great grandfather, Alexander Balus West.  I hoped to find the graves of my 3rd great grandparents, John Balus West and Mary Ann Swanson in this cemetery.  Since his son and daughter-in-law, Franklin and Cynthia Holder West, are buried there, it seemed logical that I would.   However, I could not find a marker with their names among the many small, unmarked fieldstones.  I still believe that John Balus and Mary Ann are buried near Franklin and Cynthia beneath one of those unmarked fieldstones.  Thus far, the location of their burial is unknown.

While we were meandering among the tombstones and fieldstones, a lovely, sweet lady, Marie, came from her home, which is behind the cemetery, and talked with us.  I gained significant information from Marie. 

Marie and her husband, who died in the 1970s, purchased the property and built their home on it at some earlier time.  Since the cemetery is on the front part of her property, she later purchased it from a man named Jordan who told her the land where they both lived had been Carlton property.

Possibly the Old Carlton Home

The Carltons were my ancestors.  Charlotte “Lottie” Carlton (b 1814) and Braxton Barlow (1812-1880) were my 3^rd great grandparents. Charlotte’s parents, Thomas Carlton (1756-1844) and Catherine Livingston (1778-1837), were my 4^th great grandparents.   At this point in time, I don’t know which Carlton family would have been the last owner of the property and the family from whom the man named Jordan purchased it.  However, this information confirms the fact that the Carltons lived “down the road” east of the Land and West families.

Marie said that the church, the Mt. Zion Adventist Church, had burned years ago, and the congregation moved “down the road.”  The building had stood in front of where her home is located.  When my cousin, Joanne, and I were there a few years ago, we speculated that it may have been in the clearing to the left of Marie’s house.  Marie indicated that baptisms occurred, as Joanne and I surmised, in the creek which is on the property.   Marie said that Mt. Zion Baptist Church on Mt. Zion Road, currently maintains the cemetery.

According to Marie, at one time a now-deceased resident of the community knew who was buried beneath every tombstone, including those unmarked fieldstones.  Unfortunately, he never made a record of these graves before he died.  How sad.

Marie told the story of the death of a Charlie Albert West who is buried in the cemetery.  This event happened in 1920 before she moved to the property.  Charlie, who was about 15 at the time, was going hunting with one of the Carlton sons.  As Charlie was coming across the field on the Carlton property to meet him, the Carlton boy mistook him for an animal and accidently shot and killed Charlie.  The tombstone indicates that Charlie was the son of M. L. West and V. A. West.

We greatly enjoyed meeting and talking with Marie.  She said that many people come from “all over” to visit the well-kept cemetery.  I asked if I could take her picture, but she declined indicating that she was not presentable.  She had a bucket of pea shells that she was taking across the road to give to the cattle, who, she said, really enjoyed them.

Mt. Zion Baptist Church
and Cemetery

After our pleasant visit with Marie, we drove west “on down the road” to the Mt. Zion Baptist Church Cemetery where we spent some time revisiting those graves.  Not many of my ancestors or relatives are buried there. 

While at this cemetery, we had the opportunity to talk with Chris who was spraying weeds in the church parking lot.  Chris recalled that the George Wellborn family had lived in the house that we believe to be the old West home.  He said that the house burned sometime in the 1960s.  Again, his memories reinforce the idea that the location of this home across from the old Mt. Zion Post Office was where my great grandparents, Thomas Harvey West and America Ann McNeil, lived for many years prior to their removal to Banner Elk about 1902 or 1903.  Also, I think that the home may have been that of Alexander Balus West and Nancy Land, my 2^nd great grandparents.  Alexander Balus West was killed in the Third Battle of Winchester of the Civil War, in 1864.  Nancy Land West lived with Thomas Harvey and America McNeil West and moved with them to Banner Elk were she died in 1903.

When we came to the Thomas Land Family plot, which is on the property owned by the Mingo Tribal

Thomas Land Family Plot

Preservation Trust, we found the cemetery to be in no better condition and possibly worse condition than it had been in 2011.  The weeds are so high and thick that it would be impossible for anyone to enter it and find tombstones.  The split-rail fence continues to deteriorate and fall.  Likewise, the Tuscarora Ranch does not appear to be operational.  I was amused that the few cattle that were in the barn came out to inspect “their intruders” and lined up in a row in their corral staring at us as we got into our car to leave.  Even though the grounds and fields were well-maintained, the ranch appears to be mostly abandoned and in disrepair with much of the fencing deteriorating and in need of paint. 

View of Tuscarora Ranch

I continue to have concerns about the future of this small plot of graves.  I certainly hope that it will not be bull-dozed and obliterated.  In order to try to guarantee its preservation, in September 2012, I registered it with the North Carolina Cemetery Survey Project which is part of the North Carolina Division of Archives and History.  In March 2012, I received acknowledgement from an archivist at the North Carolina State Archives indicating that my information about the Thomas Land Family Cemetery has become part of the permanent records of the North Carolina Cemetery Survey Project.  In addition, George and Joyce McNeil recorded this grave in 1989 when the heirs of G. W. Wellborn owned the land.  The McNeils, who rendered an outstanding service with their cemetery transcriptions, later published them. Copies are located in the Wilkes Community College Library and in other genealogical libraries.

Even though it was the day before my actual birthday, I did something that I love to do—visit courthouses, libraries, and cemeteries!  What a great day!

(You may double click on the photos to enlarge them. Also, a preview pane of all of them will appear at the bottom of the screen. You may select from the preview pane the one/s you wish to enlarge.)

Charlotte’s Paternal Pedigrees—Barlow, Carlton, Ferguson, Land, McNeil, Triplett

As I have researched my ancestors and tried to create a record of their being and of my link to them, I have come to realize that I should publicize these various pedigrees, the direct lines from which I descend, for the benefit of others.  Indeed, much research remains to be done, and current information may change as new information becomes available or is discovered.    Therefore, the listing below of some of the pedigrees in my paternal family reflects information that I have at this time but should not be considered as “set in stone.”  Since my West pedigree appears in the left margin of each of these posts, it is not included in the list below. 

Barlow Pedigree

Thomas Barlow and Elizabeth Carlton

John Barlow, Sr. and Elizabeth or Ann

John Barlow, Jr. and Merritt Elizabeth Kendall

Braxton Barlow and Charlotte “Lottie” Carlton

Martha Adeline Barlow and Milton “Milt” McNeil

America Ann McNeil and Thomas Harvey West

William Charles West, Sr. and Ada Beatrice McQueen

William Charles West, Jr. and Ruth Stella Hughes

Charlotte Ruth West

Carlton Pedigree

Thomas Carlton and Mary Land

Nancy Jane Carlton and William Thomas Land

Nancy E. Land and Alexander Balus West

Thomas Harvey West and America Ann McNeil

William Charles West, Sr. and Ada Beatrice McQueen

William Charles West, Jr. and Ruth Stella Hughes

Charlotte Ruth West

Ferguson Pedigree

Thomas Ferguson, Sr.

Richard  Ferguson and Verlinda “Linnie” Triplett

Elender “Nellie” Ferguson and Larkin “Lark” McNeil

Milton “Milt” McNeil and Martha Adeline Barlow

America Ann McNeil and Thomas Harvey West

William Charles West, Sr. and Ada Beatrice McQueen

William Charles West, Jr. and Ruth Stella Hughes

Charlotte Ruth West

Land Pedigree

Curtis Land I and Mary Hodge

Curtis Land II and Mary Williamson

John Land

Thomas Land and Eleanor McClanahan

Thomas Land and Anne Sumter

Jonathan Land and Elizabeth Isbell

William Thomas Land and Nancy Jane Carlton

Nancy E. Land and Alexander Balus West

Thomas Harvey West and America Ann McNeil

William Charles West, Sr. and Ada Beatrice McQueen

William Charles West, Jr. and Ruth Stella Hughes

Charlotte Ruth West

McNeil Pedigree

Thomas McNeill and Mary Hannah Parsons

George McNiel and Mary Sarah Coats
Joseph McNiel and Hannah Wilson

Larkin “Lark” McNeil and Elender “Nellie” Ferguson

Milton “Milt” McNeil and Martha Adeline Barlow

America Ann McNeil and Thomas Harvey West

William Charles West, Sr. and Ada Beatrice McQueen

William Charles West, Jr. and Ruth Stella Hughes

Charlotte Ruth West

Triplett Pedigree

Francis Marion Triplett III and Elizabeth Browne

William Triplett and Eleanor Harbin

Verlinda “Linnie” Triplett and Richard Ferguson

Elender “Nellie” Ferguson and Larkin “Lark” McNeil

Milton “Milt” McNeil and Martha Adeline Barlow

America Ann McNeil and Thomas Harvey West

William Charles West, Sr. and Ada Beatrice McQueen

William Charles West, Jr. and Ruth Stella Hughes

Charlotte Ruth West

A Newly Discovered Cousin from the Land Family

Using DNA in genealogical research is a valuable tool which enables one to locate and communicate with distant cousins.  These contacts may provide the link to break down that “brick wall” that plagues so many of us in our quest for those elusive ancestors.   Recently, I communicated with one of my Family Finder DNA matches who lives in Texas. 

With relative ease, we discovered that we are 5^th cousins with our most common ancestors being our 4^th great grandparents, Jonathan Land and Elizabeth Isbell.  Their children, William L. Land (my 3^rd great grandfather) and Francis Elizabeth Land (his 3^rd great grandmother) were siblings. 

My genealogy from Jonathan Land and Elizabeth Isbell is as follows:

·         Jonathan Land (1758-aft1820)/Elizabeth Isbell (1762-aft 1820)

·         William Thomas Land (1788-1871)/Nancy Jane Carlton (1793-1865)

·         Nancy E. Land (1830-1903)/Alexander Balus West (1828-1864)

·         Thomas Harvey West (1858-1949)/America Ann McNeil (1863-1949)

·         William Charles West, Sr. (1892-1967)/Ada Beatrice McQueen (1895-1965)

·         William Charles West, Jr. (1916-2007)/Ruth Stella Hughes (1918-2007)

·         Charlotte Ruth West

In addition to our discovery of common Land ancestors, this cousin indicates that we also have West connections.  At this time, he is uncertain as to how his Virginia Wests connect with my North Carolina Wests.  In his direct line, he has an Isaac West (1741, PA-1821, VA) who married Roseanna Lewis (1752, Rowan, NC-1821, Rowan, NC).

In land records, I have found an Isaac West connected with my Alexander West I.  In fact, in 1787, an Isaac West, along with Bray Crisp, was a chain carrier for the survey of a land grant for Alexander West on Glady Fork of Wilkes County.  Was this Isaac West a brother or a son?  I have never found any documentation to prove a relationship.  In my tree I have listed an Isaac West as the brother of Alexander West I, and I have listed one as the son of Alexander West I.  However, these entries are undocumented and are included only as reminders for me that they are possibilities which need further research. 

Could the Isaac West who was born in 1741 in Pennsylvania have been the son of my Alexander West I?  The time frame is logical, and since I don’t know from where Alexander West I migrated when he immigrated into North Carolina, the location of Isaac’s birth is plausible.  Could the Isaac in my 5^th cousin’s tree be “the hammer that breaks my brick wall.”?

At this time I have DNA matches with individuals descended from Barlow, Carlton, Ferguson, and Land ancestors.  Hopefully, these are the same Barlows, Carltons, Fergusons, and Lands that I have in my tree.  Some of these matches have been confirmed by determining our common ancestors in our family trees as I have described above.  Others, particularly those descending from females, are not so easily identified.  These that lie hidden in our trees but who are genetic matches will eventually be uncovered.  

      

Entwined Roots

Do you remember the country or folk song, “I’m My Own Grandpa”?[i]    Sometimes, that’s the way I feel, except, I would be “my own grandma!”

It’s amazing how family roots intermingle and entwine.  The more I delve into family histories, the more aware I become of the interrelatedness of family members.  In this post, I would like to share some of the experiences I have had with entwined roots.

My dear 4^th cousin, Joanne, whom I met on-line a couple of years ago and met in person a few months ago, and I have recently discovered how entangled our relationship is.  We are 4^th cousins in the West family sharing our closest common grandparents, John Balus West and Mary Ann Swanson, our 3^rd great grandparents.  Their son Franklin West was Joanne’s 2^nd great grandfather, and their son Alexander Balus West was my 2^nd great grandfather. 

Not only are we 4^th cousins in this family, but we are also 4^th cousins 1X removed in the Ferguson family.  Richard Ferguson and Verlinda Triplett were my 4^th great grandparents and Joanne’s 3^rd great grandparents.  In this Ferguson-Triplett family, I descend from their daughter, Eleanor “Nellie” Ferguson, and her husband, Larkin McNeil.  Joanne descends from their son, Jeremiah Ferguson, and his wife Polly Louisa McGee.  Since we do not share a set of grandparents in the same generation, we are 4^th cousins 1X removed in this family.

Joanne also has a connection to my Barlow family.  Henry Harrison Barlow, my 2^nd great uncle from my Barlow ancestors, married Joanne’s great aunt, Amanda Ferguson, sister of Joanne’s great grandmother, Eliza Ferguson.  Eliza and Amanda were my 1^st cousins 4X removed!    According to Joanne, Henry Harrison Barlow and Nancy Amanda Ferguson had one child, Thomas Leroy Barlow.  Thomas Leroy Barlow was my 1^st cousin 3X removed and Joanne’s 1^st cousin 2X removed.  And there’s more!  After Henry Harrison Barlow died from wounds he received in the Civil War, Nancy Amanda Ferguson Barlow married Smith Ferguson Walker, the brother of Joanne’s great grandfather, George Washington Walker.   Furthermore, George Hayes Walker, the son of George Washington Walker and Eliza Ferguson, were the grandparents of my 4^th cousin Joanne.  Joanne’s grandmother, Dicia Albertha “Bertha” West, who married George Hayes Walker, was my 2^nd cousin 2X removed.  Quite a maze of entangled roots!

Are Joanne and I double cousins of some sort?  I’m sure there are more entanglements in this web, but, right now, my mind just cannot wrap around them and neither can my computer program!  My overworked Family Tree Maker program is thoroughly stressed! 

Joanne is exploring the possibility that she may be related to the Land family, the family of my 2^nd great grandmother, Nancy Land.  I wonder where this next step will take us as we explore our interrelatedness.  Joanne so aptly described this interrelatedness when she wrote, “We are just like kudzu there in Beaver Creek--intertwined in all directions.”

Are you confused?  So am I!

How did this interrelatedness occur?  My only explanation at this time is that these families lived in a close, tight-knit community, relatively isolated in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Therefore, they grew up together, attended the same school and the same churches, courted each other, and subsequently married each other.  Marriages between 2^nd and 3^rd cousins were not uncommon.  As I research my other families, the Hugheses, Honeycutts, Hoilmans, and Canipes of Yancey and Mitchell counties in North Carolina, I see some of the same “entanglements.” 

Joanne, do you think we can write our own song!

---

[i] Read more about “I’m My Own Grandpa” at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I'm_My_Own_Grandpa

The W. Scott Kerr Dam, Other Wilkes Cemeteries, and the Thomas Clingman West Home Site

In this post I would like to describe more of the places we saw on our trip to Stony Fork and the Mt. Zion Community on Sept. 9, 2011.  In addition, to my husband, Doug, I was with two 4^th cousins, JJL and JP, and BL, the husband of JJL.
  

While we were cruising around the mountain roads in BL’s white pickup truck, our attention was captured by several interesting sites.  First, BL took us to the W. Scott Kerr Dam and Reservoir on the Yadkin River.  The dam is located in the area of Lewis Fork.  Its construction had been opposed by many residents because they feared the loss of land and the changes that would occur in the environment.  However, over the past years the dam has provided important advantages for the area.  It has, first of all, prevented many homes and farms from being flooded.  Furthermore, the lake and the area surrounding the dam are quite beautiful and provide opportunities for recreation for the residents and tourists. The Yadkin River begins from a source in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, and winds its way east for about 100 miles.  It then turns south at East Bend with its name changing to the Pee Dee and continues for about 225 miles where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean.  Stony Fork Creek empties into the Yadkin River and makes it journey to the Atlantic, also. The following multimedia website superbly presents the Yadkin River Story:  http://yadkinriverstory.org/yadkin.html 

The Yadkin River and Lewis Fork areas are significant to those of us who are descendants of Alexander West I and Alexander Balus West.   Alexander West I lived on the “lower end of bottoms on north side of the Yadkin River” in 1778.  Alexander Balus West and Nancy Land apparently lived in the Lewis Fork area in 1860 since Lewis Fork is given in census documents as their post office.



JJL at Her Parents' Tombstone
Arvil Robert Johnson and Hazel Walker
Walker Family Cemetery



Driving back across the spill-way of the W. Kerr Scott Dam, observing the reservoir on one side with the river valley on the other, we continued our road trip.   Next we stopped at the Walker Family Cemetery at Beaver Creek.  The cemetery is owned and maintained by my 4^th cousin, JJL and her husband, BL.  The setting of this cemetery in a private wooded area provides a quiet place for one to reflect as he sits on the concrete bench near the woods.  JJL’s parents, Arvil Robert Johnson and Hazel Walker, and her grandparents, George Hayes Walker and Dicia Albertha “Bertha” West, are buried in the cemetery.  George and Bertha West Walker were also the grandparents of 4^th cousin, JP.  Bertha West Walker was the daughter of Thomas Clingman West and Bethania Triplett, and the granddaughter of Franklin W. West and Cynthia Adeline Holder.  Bertha lived to be over 91 years old.  According to her granddaughters, JJL and JP, she remained



JP at the Tombstone of the Grandparents of JP and JJL
George Hayes Walker and Dicia Albertha West
Walker Family Cemetery



active with a good mind until her death.  Many other Walkers are buried in this cemetery.  While I was walking among the tombstones, I recognized other familiar names such as Barlow, Triplett, and McNeil.  Certainly, I must research these individuals to determine if any relationship exists with anyone in my West family.





Tombstone of Thomas Clingman West and
Bethania Triplett
Beaver Creek Baptist Church Cemetery



From this stop, we continued to Beaver Creek Baptist Church where Thomas Clingman West and his wife Bethania Triplett, the great grandparents of JJL and JP, are buried.  JP showed me a photograph of their great grandfather, Thomas Clingman West.  I was astonished to see how much he resembled photographs I have of his 1^st cousin, my great grandfather, Thomas Harvey West.  Eventually, in a future blog, I hope to post photographs of both Thomas Clingman West and my great grandfather, Thomas Harvey West. 

From the Beaver Creek Baptist Cemetery, we went to the Triplett-Mt. Zion Cemetery where we found the one and only grave and tombstone of Franklin W. West along with that of his wife Cynthia Adeline Holder.  If you missed the resolution to this mystery of the two tombstones, please see my blog of Sept. 10, “Eating Humble Pie.” 

At some point in this route, we visited the home site of Thomas Clingman West and Bethania Triplett.  The house burned some years ago, and the property appears to be used by its current owners for storing equipment and other items.  I can envision a visitor passing between those two boxwoods and climbing a few steps to the front porch to sit "for a spell" and enjoy a glass of lemonade with the Wests!  In its time, the home and setting must have been beautiful and peaceful with trees and shrubbery adorning the lawn.  In fact, many very large boxwoods and trees remain on the property today as a testimony to those by-gone days.



Site of the Home of Thomas Clingman and Bethania Triplett West



The Tuscarora Ranch: A New Beginning for the Ancestral Land



Buildings, Barns, and Silos
on the Ranch
Sept. 2011



During my trips to the Stony Fork/Mt. Zion Community of Wilkes County, I have been stunned with the beauty of the countryside which is nestled between two mountain ridges in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  As we have driven along Mt. Zion Road, the county road that parallels Stony Fork Creek, I have noticed the handsome brown rail fences along parts of the land and indeed, even around the location where my great grandparents lived for many years before moving to Banner Elk.  In addition, to these fences, various barns, sheds, pavilions, silos, and the like are scattered among the fields.  All of the structures have a commonality, a common personality, which gives the impression that they are part of something bigger.

Of course, I have been aware that much of the land was purchased from the local landowners as they or their heirs sold off their farms.  As I have mentioned in a previous blog, the Mingo Tribal Preservation Trust, which owns about 5,000 acres in the area, apparently purchased much of the land as it became available. 

 

Land Family Cemetery
Upper Right of Fence
Sept. 2010

Also, in previous blogs I have cited the family cemetery plot, the Thomas Land Family Cemetery, on the land owned by this trust.  I definitely have an interest in this cemetery, since, in addition to having West ancestors who lived on the land, I have Land, Carlton, McNeil, and Barlow ancestors who lived and farmed there.  My 3^rd great grandparents, William Thomas Land and Nancy Jane Carlton Land along with two grand uncles, A. Judson West and Willard A. West, who died at young ages, are buried in this plot.   These young children were the great grandchildren of William Thomas and Nancy Land.  My desire is to provide some maintenance of the cemetery on a yearly basis and repair the fence around it. I live too far away (over 100 miles) to do much more.

On my recent visit this past week on Friday, September 9, with the help of BL, the husband of my 4^th cousin, who was transporting us in his truck, I was able to meet someone at the Tuscarora Ranch.  Initially, BL drove down the drive from Mt. Zion Road toward the barn so that we could visit the family plot which is located just behind the barn on a small knoll.  As he was driving toward the barn, he noticed a couple of men working in the corral area.  Therefore, he continued through the gates of the corral so that I could speak with the men. 

As I was getting out of the truck, a young man who was working in the barn immediately came out to meet me.  He greeted us in a most friendly manner and introduced himself as Nathan Winebarger.  Mr. Winebarger, as it turned out, is leasing the land where the family plot is located and operating the Tuscarora Ranch.  My husband, Doug, and I found him to be very friendly, gracious, and courteous.  He listened with interest as I explained my mission and indicated that he, as the leasee, had no problem with our cleaning up the plot and repairing the fence.  We enjoyed meeting Nathan, and both of us left with a very positive impression of him and what he is doing with the land.

 

JJL Walking Along the Front
of the Cemetery Inspecting
Its Overgrowth
Sept. 2011



During a brief visit to the family plot, we continued to be amazed at the thickness of the overgrowth and the deteriorating condition of the fence around the plot.  The crushed grass pathways within the enclosure indicate that animals, more than likely wild animals, are grazing there.  My cousins, JJL, BL, and JP, whom we met for the first time on Friday, hiked up the knoll to the plot with us and helped us evaluate the situation.  They have volunteered to help with cleaning up the plot when we do it in the spring.  We have been told to wait until the snakes are hibernating and the spiders are gone or at least, inactive before we venture into that thick growth.  Also, by March, the growth will be beaten down by the winter weather.  Hopefully, I can enlist other West and Land relatives to help with this project.

Old Mt. Zion Post Office
Sept. 2011

As we drove away in BL’s truck, I felt a sense of comfort knowing that the current use of the land as a rural attraction and the maintenance of it in a natural state of farm and pasture land will be most beneficial to the area and to the preservation of the beautiful pastoral setting.  The buildings and fences that have been erected enhance the pastoral setting.   In fact, the old post office is on Mt. Zion Road across from the land where the West “home place” had been.  I don’t know if the post office has always been in that location or if it has been moved.  I am inclined to believe that it is in its original location.  The sign over the door, a remnant of its past, indicates that it had been the Mt. Zion Post Office.  According to the Tuscarora website, this old post office is now used as the bunk house.  From its appearance, the building is in good repair and still retains its original character. 

I encourage you to look at the web site (http://tuscaroraranch.com/) and see the natural beauty of the land as it is presented by the Tuscarora Ranch.  Indeed, this ancestral land of those early settlers, the forbearers of many of us descendants, is experiencing a new beginning.



 

Site of Former Farm House
of the Thomas Harvey West Family
Sept. 2010 







Mailbox at the Edge
of the Lawn on
Mt. Zion Road
Sept. 2011

The Cemetery

In my last post I described the land at Stony Fork.  In this one I would like to go a step further in the description by telling about the family cemetery plot that is located there.

During my first visit to Stony Fork with my cousins, one cousin (CALT) told about her mother, Flora West Lowe, visiting the homeland sometime prior to her death in 1993.  According to the story, Flora took her cousin, Edna Triplett Coder, with her, and the two of them cleaned up the family plot and put a split rail fence around it. The farmhouse where Thomas Harvey and America Ann McNeil West had lived was still standing on the site across and down the road from the cemetery on Mt. Zion Road just before Stony Fork Road branches to the right off Mt. Zion Road.  Land records indicate that the Wests owned land on both sides of Stony Creek.  An assumption can be made that their land must have been on both sides of Mt. Zion Road, also.

In our efforts to locate the land, we talked with several individuals in the area, one of whom identified the family plot and said that the owners kept a path mowed up to it.  The plot is located adjacent to a barn and corral on a knoll in a well-maintained field or pasture.   We drove to the location and walked up the knoll to the plot.  We found the fence rotting and falling down and the ground within the fence covered with thick, high grass which was taller than our heads.  Even though CALT ventured into the thicket of grass, she didn’t stay very long and said that she saw no evidence of any grave markers.  I, being afraid of poison ivy and snakes, didn’t risk going in.  Out of respect and desire to preserve the cemetery, both of us felt that we would like to clean it up.

The farmer who helped us identify the land and cemetery said that it was owned by a Jesse Horton and that “he planned to do something with it.”  We didn’t know exactly what this meant.  Did he mean the development of a subdivision or some other type of development? 

For almost a year, I have been trying to find out who owned the land on which this family cemetery is located and to get in touch with this owner.  Even though I searched the White Pages and Yellow Pages on the Internet, called directory assistance for phone numbers, made phone calls, and wrote a letter, I was unable to find the owner.  In February 2011, I received a phone call from the one who received my letter.  He had been the mail carrier on the Stony Fork/Mt. Zion mail route and had known the Wellborn family very well.  He described the nickname that Mr. Wellborn had given him.  Of course, these Wellborn heirs would have been a much later generation of Wellborns than those who originally took ownership of the farm.  He was extremely helpful in confirming that we had found the location of the farm and that we had identified the site where the farmhouse had been.   He described the farmhouse, which burned sometime after 1993, as being a very nice, well-kept, two-story white house.  He thought the present owner, Mr. Jesse Horton, who had lived for some time in a double-wide home on the site of the farmhouse, lived in Wilkesboro.  I still didn’t know how to reach him!  

Oh my!  I have gotten sidetracked again, but some additional knowledge about the farm is important to understanding the context of the cemetery.  And now, back to the cemetery!

Of course, we assumed that this cemetery plot was the West Family Plot about which CALT had learned from her mother.  Recently, with the help of a 4^th cousin whom I have met on the Internet (JJL) and Wilkes County cemetery research completed by a 5^th cousin 1x removed (GFM),  I have learned that this cemetery is the Thomas Land Family Cemetery.   William Thomas and Nancy Jane Carlton Land (my 3^rd great grandparents) were the parents of Nancy Land West who was the wife of Alexander Balus West and mother of Thomas Harvey West.   Many thanks go to JJL and GFM for your help in solving this piece of the puzzle.

As I have researched land documents and, more recently, minutes of church proceedings, I have found that the Wests, Swansons, Witherspoons, Lands, Carltons, McNeils, Fergusons, and Barlows, apparently all lived within close proximity to each other, often owning adjacent properties.  As a widow, Nancy Land West bought land from her parents which, of course, went to her only child, Thomas Harvey West. 

Likewise, Thomas Harvey’s father, Alexander Balus West, had purchased some of his father’s land (John Balus West).  Moreover, Franklin West had purchased some land from his father, John Balus West.  Other children of John Balus West may have purchased land from him, also.  I just haven’t delved that deeply into the records of Alexander Balus West’s siblings.  Therefore, determining who originally owned which parcels of land is extremely difficult. 

In retrospect, remember that the parcels of land in this area that belonged to Alexander Balus West/Nancy Land West and their only child, Thomas Harvey West/America Ann McNeil, were traded by Thomas Harvey West for the land in Banner Elk, North Carolina, owned by the G. W. Wellborn family, about 1902.

Furthermore, one may easily see why recent generations thought that the cemetery was the West family plot.  In fact, two “known” West children, A. J. West and Willard A. West who were the young children of Thomas Harvey and Nancy Land West, are buried in the Thomas Land Family Cemetery. 

According to the Wilkes County Cemetery Database[i] maintained by GFM and JDM, the plot is 75’X50’ with 8 marked graves and approximately 10 unmarked graves.   At the time of the verification of the cemetery and graves in 1989, identifiable graves were those of the following:  Jane Carlton Land, T. C. “Tommy” Land, Thomas Land, Jim Pennell, Robinett Infant, Molly Land Robinett, A. J. West, and Willard A. West.  Some of these tombstones were turned over and/or broken.

During my last visit to Wilkesboro, North Carolina on June 16 and 17, 2011, I was able to determine the present owners of the property on which this cemetery is located.  Currently, nearly 5,000 acres of land in the Stony Fork/Mt. Zion community, which likely includes all of the land formerly owned many years ago by the Wests, Swansons, Witherspoons, Lands, Carltons, McNeils, Fergusons, and Barlows, are currently owned by the Tuscarora Ranch, LLC, the grantee, with the grantors being the trustees of the Mingo Tribal Preservation Trust.  The trustees are listed as Jesse W. Horton, Jr., Mark R. Ricks, and George R. Wilson. 

I have written the Tuscarora Ranch asking permission to repair the fence around the plot and possibly cut back some of the tall grass that covers it.  Also, I have asked permission to make periodic visits to the cemetery and to do some minimal maintenance.   Cutting back the grass and repairing the fence, along with occasional visits, would indicate that the cemetery has not been forgotten and abandoned.  If we are granted this permission, I hope to find some “cousins” who would be willing to help!

Regarding the tall grass – I have recently learned from cousin GFM that the tall grass found on the plot was planted by the owners as, I presume, a means of protection.  Cutting the grass only makes it come back thicker.  Digging it up would only disturb the graves.  Therefore, the best thing to do at the end of winter weather before new growth begins would be to cut it back enough in order to reveal the markers and provide the appearance of being maintained.

Note:  In legal documents, the name Wellborn is spelled several different ways (Welborn, Wellborn, Wellborne,  Welborne, and Wellbourne).  I am using the spelling found in a family historical article written by Homer C. Wellborn, G. W. Wellborn’s son.

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[i] McNeil, George F. and Joyce D. McNeil. “Wilkes County Database.” Wilkesboro, NC, 2009.