Week 35 #52Ancestors: At Work

Many of my ancestors worked as farmers so discovering someone who chose a different path was surprising.  This would be James Franklin Epperson who was the eighth child of James Nelson Epperson and Martha Barnard.  It was amazing to see this man and his wife, Minerva Lovin Epperson, in photos taken at the Sutton farm in Fannin County, Texas as they lived in Wise County, Virginia.  

L to R: Minerva and James Epperson, Allie and Noah Sutton, Charley Epperson and girl could be Nina Sutton circa 1935.

As Susie Kelley Clarke and I began to research the individuals in her family photo collection then I couldn’t help but try to learn more about them.  Jim's first wife was Mary Lawson and they had two sons named Willie H. and Louis Clay.  She must have died as he married Minerva in 1897.  This marriage would be blessed with five children: Mary Elizabeth, Virginia Myrtle, Ella C., Paul F., and Dana Herman.  Jim followed in the path of farming until 1900 or so and then, by 1910, he was a retail merchant of dry goods in Hancock County.  Turning to newspaper articles, I learned that the family was planning a move to South Dakota in 1915 but they were back in Hamblen County, Tennessee by 1920 and Jim was a merchant of a general store. The family moved again in 1930 to Gladeville, Wise, Virginia and he was still working as a merchant but now in a retail grocery store.  His daughter, Ella, would later reveal in a newspaper article (that's another story) the family had a medicinal recipe so I believe it was compounded and sold in his store. Ella later marketed it as “Epperson’s Compound”.

Ad in Kingsport Times,  20 Apr 1965, p. 5 (Source: Newspapers.com)

In 1940, Jim is 73 years old and must have stopped working as no occupation is listed and he passes away in 1943.  He was buried in the Creech Chapel Cemetery in Whitesburg, Tennessee.  In fact, his wife and several children are buried there as well.

Published in The Bristol Herald Courier, 31 Jan 1943, p. 2 (Source: Newspapers.com)

Is that the end of this story?  No!  His wife, Minerva, passed away 10 days later and her obituary provided much more information about their time together.

Published in The Bristol Herald Courier,  11 Feb 1943, p. 2 (Source: Newspapers.com)

My research on the orange grove in Boloco, Florida has been disappointing as there isn’t a town with that name. However, J. F. Epperson was also a magistrate in Wise County so I found an interesting article.

Squire J. F. Epperson takes confession published 24 Feb 1929 in The Bristol Herald Courier (Source: Newspapers.com)

This ends my story on Squire J. F. Epperson and it would seem that he was a man who wore many hats.

Photo of James and Minerva Epperson provided by Steve Laster on Ancestry.com

Week 34 #52Ancestors: Tragedy

Although the Epperson tragedy was the topic in Week 9, I couldn't help but write a part two of sorts on the trial that would transpire. The emotional toll this had on my great-grandmother, Allie Epperson Sutton, and her siblings must have been horrendous.  The eldest brother, John A. Epperson (age 25) would be charged with the murder of his father.  John’s younger brother, Thomas Epperson (age 20) would act as prosecutor and principal witness for the State despite using the weapon that caused the deaths of his mother and sister.  Reading through summary of the appeal filed by John A. Epperson saddened me but also helped to visualize how angry two brothers were during the tragic day.  It seems like enough sadness had occurred in the family but now their pain would be revisited again in court.

John A. Epperson v. The State, p. 291

Newspapers had written that John was a one-armed man and I was shocked to discover that this was confirmed in the legal documents.  His right arm had been lost to an accident.  After reading testimony indicating that his father had accosted him and encouraged Thomas to join in the fracas, it seems odd that there wasn't more sympathy given that he was handicapped.  Seems he had a right to defend himself but we will never know what the true relationship was between father and son but John was very determined to defend his mother.  Two siblings were witnesses for the defense – George (age 23) and Mary Epperson (age 14).  The Knoxville Daily Chronicle published an article on September 26, 1880 regarding John's conviction.  The writer indicated that the deaths of his mother and sister were a result of John's actions; however, the legal summary indicated that it was Thomas.  He pointed a gun at John and George grabbed his hand resulting in a struggle and the weapon fired.  The bullet's victim was their 15-year old sister Gracy who later died of her injuries.  As George and/or John walked out of the room, Thomas fired the gun once again in their direction but shot his mother instead! 

While reviewing the summary of the trial, I realized that I had not documented John on the 1880 census.  I discovered him living in the County Jail in Hawkins County.  This census was dated June 23, 1880 so this must have been where he was held before the trial:

The enumerator also indicated that John was married.  Could he have children from this union?  Luckily, information provided on Find A Grave revealed his spouse as Sarah Elizabeth Lea and there was indeed a child -- a daughter named Laura.  

John A. Epperson's death record. Source: Tennessee, City Death Records 1872-1923

It saddened me to realize that Laura was born after her father's death.  According to the information on Find A Grave, Laura was born on December 31, 1883 and her father had died from tuberculosis in the State Prison located in Nashville on March 22, 1883.   Could her birth year or birth month be incorrect given she was born nine months after his death?  John may have gone to his grave unaware that he was going to be a father.  He was laid to rest in Mt. Ararat Cemetery and that is curious given it is a historical African-American Cemetery located in Nashville.  I doubt there is a headstone but his death and burial location was recorded: 

Source: Tennessee, Deaths and Burials Index, 1874-1955 -- Ancestry.com 

After John’s death, Sarah remarried in Hamblen County on February 23, 1891, to Harbert Cooper with whom she had several children.  Daughter Laura was wed to Benjamin Franklin Moore on March 20, 1898 in Hamblen County.  To this union, nine children were born and in reading Laura's obituary, it sounds like she had a wonderful life.

Source: Elizabethton Star (Elizabethton, Tennessee) 29 Dec  1963 -- Newspapers.com

Now as each generation discovers this tragedy, it re-opens the wound that has been felt through the years:

“It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.”
― Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

Week 33 #52Ancestors: Comedy

Mr. Guitar

Chet Atkins' 51st studio album and second Christmas album issued by Columbia Records in 1983

Given that I have yet to discover a comedian in my family tree (and no Frank Sutton of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.is not related despite some who think he is), I decided to find someone from East Tennessee to feature. After discovering that this individual not only had roots to East Tennessee, I learned his 2^ndgreat-grandfather, Lewis Atkins, actually lived in Grainger County many years and married there in 1804 to a woman named Elizabeth Monroe.  I have a DNA match to an Atkins who descends from this line and it is none other than Chet Atkins (if you didn't notice the name already). 

Chet Burton Atkins photo source: Wikipedia

My dad had a love of many types of music and we spent a lot of time listening to his favorite artists and this man was one of my dad’s favorites. My sister said Dad would buy albums from Sears to save money on his music collection.  I still remember him removing the vinyl record from its sleeve and placing it on the turntable and thoroughly enjoying the music.  When my Uncle Doyle visited (dad's older brother), they would sit down with their guitars and strum along.  Dad just picked at the guitar but Doyle really knew how to play it.  Dad would be so excited to learn that he might possibly be related to Chet!

Chet was born in 1924 in Luttrell, Union, Tennessee near Clinch Mountain.  Luttrell only has a little over 1,000 residents.  He was a high school dropout who went onto make country music history creating the Nashville sound, receiving 14 Grammy awards, and nine Country Music Association awards for Instrumentalist of the Year (source: Wikipedia).  

Map showing Luttrell and surrounding towns

Apparently Chet had a love of rural humor (source: Country Music Humorists and Comedians by Loyal Jones) and country music comedy. According to this book, if a car backfired during one of his concerts, Chet would yell, “Shoot him in the legs. That coat belongs to me!” Another story told to his audience is about the purchase of bifocals and how he was observing a dog through them: “While I was admiring the big one, the little one peed on my shoe.”

Source: Chet Atkins photo shared on Twitter discussion

Chet Atkins died in 2001 and was eulogized by Garrison Keller on “A Prairie Home Companion,” sharing another humorous story:

This duck walk into a bar, umps up on the counter, and says, “You got any corn?”  The bartender says, “No, we don’t have any corn, and furthermore, we don’t serve ducks, so get out!”

The next day the duck comes back, jumps up on the counter and says, “You got any corn?”

The bartender says, “I told you we don’t have any corn, you flat-footed idiot, and ducks are not welcome here.  If you come back in here, I’m goin’ to nail your feet to the counter.”

The next, day the duck comes back in, says, “You got any nails?”

The bartender says, “No, I don’t have any nails.  This ain’t no hardware store.”

The duck says, “You got any corn?”