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

My Hiatus

I’m still here but have been on an unplanned, unwanted hiatus since my last post on July 7.   For the last 7 weeks, my list of topics has been empty. My research trip to South Carolina was unproductive as far as uncovering information about my 4^th and 5^th great grandfathers, John West and Alexander West I.  Therefore, I am currently at a stand-still or using the statement of genealogists, “I have reached a brick wall.”

What have I been doing?   I have expanded my research into my other families: the McQueen and Moreland families of my paternal grandmother, Ada Beatrice McQueen West; the Hughes and Honeycutt families of my maternal grandfather, Robert Avery Hughes, Sr.; and the Hoilman and Canipe families of my maternal grandmother, Lillie Mae Hoilman.  Also, I have begun “serious” research of my husband’s Dade and Jones families.  I would love to start blogs about each of these families but am concerned that I would not have time to devote to additional blogging.   In addition, keeping up with my DNA matches and digging for common ancestors that I share with them require much time and effort.

My West readers may be interested to learn than I am gradually uncovering a few West-related cousins among these DNA matches.  Some of these include matches to the McNeils, Fergusons, Tripletts, Carltons, and Lands. Still, I remain optimistic even though no information about my John or Alexander has surfaced.  Eventually, I want to expand my West blog, The Wests of Wilkes, to include more about these families.  I have already written about them in many of my previous posts.  If you haven’t already done so, click on the links to them.

I have had a few comments, all of which have been enlightening and appreciated.  I always respond to my readers’ comments.  I will, indeed, honor your requests not to publish comments that you wish to remain private but will respond to you through e-mail if you provide one.

Soon I will conclude the series on my West Patriarchs with a blog about my father, William Charles West, Jr.  Because he is a patriarch only to me, my sister, my daughter, my nephew, and my great niece and nephew, I must still honor him in such a tribute.

Thank you for your patience with my hiatus, and please let me know if you have a particular interest for a topic.

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.  

      

The Proof of the Pudding IS in the DNA!

No matter how meticulously we trace our roots using the traditional forms of documentation, the paper trail, as we call it, using birth, marriage, and death certificates, land transactions, census records, and court proceedings, the real proof of the pudding is in the DNA.  I have just discovered how true this statement is.

Recently, after contacting one of my Family Finder DNA matches (a DNA assessment which provides cousin matches across paternal and maternal lines), we found that we are probably 4^th cousins 1X removed with our most recent common ancestors being Richard Ferguson and Verlinda Triplett of Wilkes County, North Carolina.  They are my 4^th great grandparents and his 3^rd great grandparents.  These individuals have been traced with the traditional paper trail and also with DNA testing.

What a surprise I had after making contact with this genetically matched cousin, a male with the Ferguson surname.  He has discovered that he does NOT match with any Ferguson in the Ferguson Y-DNA Project (a male surname project) who descends from Thomas Ferguson, the here-to-fore presumed father of Richard Ferguson.  Of course, he would most likely match with other male Fergusons descending from Richard Ferguson.  Apparently, none of these male individuals descending from Richard Ferguson and Verlinda Triplett have participated in Y-DNA testing. 

In the final analysis, the Y-DNA of my distant cousin actually matches the Y-DNA of a group of other male individuals who are not in his family tree but who match with the descendants of a male individual with the Allison surname who lived in Wilkes County the year of Richard’s birth.

My cousin and other Allison researchers believe that a non-paternal event occurred resulting in Richard’s genetic disposition being different from those of the descendants of Richard’s brothers.  Such a non-paternal event could have been one of three events:  the adoption of Richard by Thomas Ferguson; a pregnancy prior to marriage resulting in Richard’s birth; or an extra-marital affair resulting in Richard’s birth.   Therefore, those of us who descend from Richard Ferguson and Verlinda Triplett are really not Fergusons even though their descendants carried and still carry the Ferguson name.  We are most likely of the Allison lineage.  I am certain that this revealing information will be a surprise to many.

As genealogical researchers, we must be open to and accepting of such discoveries.  As one delves into his past, he is bound to find some “skeletons in the closet.”   Therefore, he must learn to be objective, remembering that no one is perfect and that all make mistakes.  And, he must recognize that, obviously, he would not be here if certain events had not occurred in his past.   

An example such as the one I have described illustrates how significant the field of genetics is becoming in understanding one’s ancestral background.  In today’s world, DNA is the only proof of the pudding!

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!

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

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.