Linnea Ista, Teresa V. Ballard, Gail Raczek and Cheryl J. Brooks
Have assisted in completing this on-line book.

This NCGenWeb page is presented
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Sharon Miller Williamson
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Contents:

Chapter I. The relation of Watauga County and it's residents to remainder of the mountains. Early settlers in eastern part of State. Difference between eastern and western settlers. Our Yankee ancestry. Critics eager to find fault. Our annals. Difference between "poor whites" and "mountain whites." Cooperation has ceased. Moonshining an inheritance. Pennsylvania "Whiskey Rebellion."

Chapter II. Similarity of Indians to Hebrews. A study in ethnology and philology. Speculations as to the beginning of things. Indians never residents of Watauga in memory of whites. Cherokees parted with title to land long ago. Old forts on frontier. Cherokee raids. First white settlers of Watauga. Linville family and falls.

Chapter III. The greed for land in the eastern section. Bishop Spangenberg sets out to get land for Moravians. He is misled and "wanders bewildered in unknown ways." Reaches delicious spring on Flat Top. Three Forks described. An Indian old Field. Caught in a mountain snow-storm. Their route from Blowing Rock. Conflicting claims as to locality described.

Chapter IV. No direct Daniel Boone descendants. Other Boone relatives. Jesse and Jonathan Boone. Their Three Forks membership. Marking the Trail of Daniel Boone. Boone Cabin Monument. Locating Trail. Cumberland Gap pedestal. Boone's Trail in other States. Congress urged to erect bronze statue there. Boone's first trip across Blue Ridge. Probability of relocation of trail. Improbability of carving on the Boone tree. Boone's relations with Richard Henderson considered.

Chapter V. Backwoods Tories. Samuel Bright, Loyalist. Patriots feared British influence with Indians. Bright's Spring and the Shelving Rock. Watauga County once part of Watauga Settlement. Doctor Draper's errors. W. H. Ollis's contribution. No camp on the Yellow. Cleveland's parentage and capture. His rescue, etc. Greer's Hints, of two kinks. The Wolf's Den. Riddle's execution. Killing of Chas. Asher and other Tories. Ben Howard. Marking old graves by United States. Its niggardly policy. Battlefield in Watauga.

Chapter VI. The Yadkin Baptist Association. Three Forks Baptist Church. List of its early members and officers. A great moral force in the community. Church trials, grave and gay. Other ancient happenings. First churches. Revivals.

Chapter VII. Order of the Holy Cross. Picture of Watauga Valley in 1840. Valle Crucis as first founded. Rt. Rev. L. S. Ives. Feeble and undignified imitation. Why Ives vacillated. Old buildings. Adobes and humble bees. Easter Chapel. Spiritual starvation on the Lower Watauga. The Mission store. Death of Mr. Skiles. Removal of St. John's. Reinstitution of Mission, and School for Girls. Summer resort, also.

Chapter VIII. Light on the Jersey Settlement. Meagre facts considered. John Gano, preacher. Fairchild's diary. Adventures on road. Mr. Gano constitutes a church. A colonial document. Other ancient documents and facts. Letter from Morris Town, N. J., Church. The Fairchild ladies.

Chapter IX. Democracy of the religion of the mountaineer. Our morals, as appraised by others. Pioneer Baptists. The Farthing family. A family of preachers. Rev. Joseph Harrison. Cove Creek Baptist Church. Bethel Baptist Church. Other early churches. Stony Fork Association. White's Spring Church. Methodist Churches. Henson's Chapel. A family of Methodist church preachers. M. E. Churches. Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans.

Chapter X. Formation of county. Councill's influence. Three New England visitors. Doctor Mitchell's geological tour. Tennessee boundary line. Boundary line and Land Grant Warrants. Running State Line. Watauga County lines. Watauga County established. Changes in county lines. Avery County cut off. Jails and court houses. To restore lost records. First term Superior cour. Tied to a wagon-wheel. Roving spirit. Legislative and other officers. Watauga's contribution to Confederacy and Federals. Population and other facts. Mexican War soldiers. Weather vagaries. Agricultural and domestic facts. Forests. Altitudes.

Chapter XI. Boone incorporated. Its attractions. Miss Morley's visit. First residents of Boone. First builders. Saw-mills for new town. The Ellingtons. Other builders. First merchants, J. C. Gaines, Rev. J. W. Hall. Post-bellum Boone. Coffey Bros. Their enterprises. Newspapers. Counterfeiters.

Chapter XII. Too many troops for limits of book. Keith Blalock. Four Coffey Bros. Danger from Tennessee side. Longstreet's withdrawal. Kirk's Camp Vance raid. Death of Wm. Coffey. Murder of Austin Coffey. Other "activities." Michiganders escape. Camp Mast. Watauga Amazons. Camp Mast surrender. Sins of the children. Retribution? Paul and Reuben Farthing. Battle of the Beech. Stoneman's raid. Official account. A real home guard. Mrs. Horton robbed. No peace. Fort Hamby. Blalock's threat.

Chapter XIII. Some Thrice-Told Tales.-- Calloway sisters. Pioneer hunters. James Aldridge. His real wife appears. Betsy Calloway. Delila Baird. A belated romance. Colb McCanless, sheriff. His death by Wild Bill. Bendent E. Baird. Zeb Vance's uncle makes inquiry. Peggy Clawson. Other old stories. Joseph T. Wilson, or "Lucky Joe." "Long-Distance." An African romance. James Speer's fate. Joshua Pennell frees slaves. Jesse Mullion. Crosscut suit. Absentee landlord. "School Butter." Lee Carmichael. The musterfield murder. A Belle of Broadway.

Chapter XIV. Fine Watauga County scenery. Cove Creek. Our flowers. Valle Crucis. Sugar Grove. Blowing Rock. along the Blue Ridge. Moses H. Cone. Brushy Fork. Shull's Mills. Linville Valley and Falls. The Ollis Family. Elk Cross Roads. Banner's Elk. A trip on foot. Meat Camp. Rich Mountain. The "Tater Hill." The Grandfather and Grandmother. Grafting French chestnuts. Beaver Dams. Boone's Beaver Dams trails. Beech Creek and Poga.

Chapter XV. Ante-bellum education. Peculiarities of speech. We speak the best and purest English. Place-names. Kephart's dissertations. Ante-bellum pedagogues. Our schools. Penmanship. Phillip Church. Jonathan Norris. Eli M. Farmer. Burton Davis. Todd Miller. The "Twisting Temple." Lees-McRae Institute. School-teachers. Normal school at Boone. "Skyland Institute. T. P. Adams' long service. Silverston public school. Walnut Grove Institute. Valle Crucis School for Girls. First argicultural instruction. Promiment in education. Lenoir School lands. School-house Loan Fund. T. L. Clingman, a teacher. Mount Mitchell controversy.

Chapter XVI. Gold mines and mining. First owners of Cranberry. Iron forges. Iron bounties. Some old hammermen. Clingman's mining.

Chapter XVII. First wagon roads. First across Blue Ridge. Caldwell and Watauga Turnpike. Yonahlossee Turnpike. Early road legislation. Earliest stopping places. First paper railroads.

Sketches of Prominent Families Alphabetically Arranged