Windows on the Past

Unbelievable!

As a result of recently reconnecting with my mother's first cousin Varnell, we traveled back into the country today. Way back. In fact, before lunch, we'd stepped back a couple hundred years into a house built in 1812.

Just driving toward Luttrell made me cry, because I was flooded with the emotion of missing my mother and grandmother. Stopping at the cemetery where I'd taken my grandmother many years before to visit the unmarked graves of her little baby boys made me sob. However, seeing Varnell and Eileen's old log cabin retreat brought smiles, and exchanging photos and family history information was a joy.

The greatest treat, though, began with showing them the photo (circa 1917) of my grandparents (George and Margaret Hopson Kitts), his mother (Eliza Hopson Wolfenbarger), and the sisters' parents (William and Mary Rucker Hopson) at Charlie Fraley's home where they once lived and ran a dairy farm (See "A Place to Live") and telling him that my grandmother had pointed the house out to me just down the road decades ago. Varnell then told me it was still standing, and before the morning was over, I knocked on a stranger's door and we were getting zenia seeds from the present resident! The homeowner was as thrilled to get the old photo of her house (I had an extra copy) as we were to tour her home! Oh, to put my hand on the same stair railing where my grandparents and great grandparents had touched it on a daily basis!! What a blessing!!

Collins: The Melungeon Connection

Connecting with kin is just one of the blessings of exploring a family tree. In researching my mother's Kitts line, I was introduced to Norman and Sonja Collins (pictured right), who are my distant cousins and are serious genealogists.

My maternal grandfather George Washington Kitts' mother was Nellie Lucinda Collins, daughter of Aaron Collins. Norman's grandmother Clarissa was Aaron's niece, and she also married a Collins, her first cousin Tom Lee Collins. Tom Lee and Clarissa Collins are pictured left.

A Place to Live

Speaking of houses, here's a great photo of my grandparents, Margaret Jane (Hopson) and George Washington Kitts, with her sister Eliza Jane and her parents, William and Mary (Rucker) Hopson. Again, I love to see the details, like the mailbox and the front gate.

Fond Memories

Another strength we had as a family was for food and fellowship! This photo reminds me of so many wonderful times together, when we would gather for a holiday or just to hand crank a few freezers of ice cream (complete with fresh fruit toppings!) or cut several watermelons. Both my parents grew up among 9 siblings, which means I have dozens of cousins on both sides. At either gathering, we always had enough folks for at least two teams to play ball, as well as red rover, tag, hide and seek, etc. Once darkness fell, we played hide and seek by flashlight or we competed catching lightning bugs. If we were confined to the house, we played Rotten Egg and other quieter games for which I can't even remember names.

For Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, my immediate family divided its time between my two sets of grandparents' homes (Kitts and Loveday). At each place, we would have tables and counter tops laden with food, fresh from the kitchens of wonderful cooks. After filling our plates, we would find or make seats throughout the house, spilling out onto the porches and into the yard if the weather was good. Even if the weather wasn't good, the food was! And the memories are precious!

Family Talent

I suppose because I didn't inherit any of it, I am amazed by the abilities of family members who could play musical instruments with ease, even though they never had any lessons with their instruments of choice. My grandfather George Washington Kitts was like that, able to play a song on the piano after simply hearing it. At least two of his daughters were like that as well, and possibly even a son or two. They played the piano, the guitar, and the banjo and maybe even other instruments.

Having a Home: The G. W. Kitts Family

My maternal grandfather, George Washington Kitts, worked in the quarries and held different jobs during the Great Depression, and he moved his family from Luttrell in Union County to Knox County, where he eventually worked at Lay Packing Company. They lived for a while in a little house off Roberts Road in Corryton, near the railroad tracks, and also at Marbledale, off Kennedy Road. (That's where my parents met as neighbors!) Mamaw and Papaw lived in a house in the field behind where would eventually become their home.

Among their many interests and activities, they owned a store at the corner of Wayland Road and Strawberry Plains Pike, and they eventually bought the Osborne Road house. At one time, Mamaw had shelves built into their dining room wall, so that the young people of the community would have a "library" where they could get books.

Beginning a Family: My Kitts Grandparents

My maternal grandparents, George Washington and Margaret Jane (Hopson) Kitts first lived with Dr. Atkins, (Adkins?) and his wife for a few months, but Mamaw didn’t like that Mrs. Atkins wanted to tell her how to cook, so she told Papaw she wanted a place of their own! Eventually, Dr. Atkins provided a house for them. Their family began a year later, and a little one was born about every two years or so... until 11 children had been born! In the summertime, their children would cross Clinch Mountain (which has a peak called Kitts Point) to enjoy Lees Lake.

One son, Elmer, died at the age of one, “after eating too many cherries.” The next one, Willis, died the same day he was born, and both are buried in unmarked graves near one of the cedar trees in the Luttrell Cemetery shown here.

What's in a name? Joe Wheeler Kitts

My mother's paternal grandfather was Joe Wheeler Kitts (lovingly called "Grandpa" in her story copied in my Melungeon Roots post). When I see a name that seems to reflect someone else's last name as well, I immediately wonder what the connection or affinity is. Surprisingly, this great-grandfather of mine, born in 1867 to Joseph and Elizabeth (Boles) Kitts, was named for Confederate General "Fighting Joe" Wheeler, although most other family lines seem to have held Union sympathies.

Wheeler commanded all of the Army of Tennessee's cavalry and was recognized for his fighting in the battles of Shiloh, Perryville, La Vergne, Chicamauga, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Bentonville, Ringold, and Atlanta, where he helped stand against Sherman. General Robert E. Lee considered him one of the two outstanding Confederate cavalry leaders.

Joseph Wheeler Kitts married Nellie Loucinda Collins, the daughter of Aaron and Elizabeth (Vandergriff) Collins. He is shown here with his son, George Washington Kitts, my grandfather. Joe had eight children and was widowed and married more than once.

Rosenbalms at Damascus, VA

Mamaw Kitts' father was William Harrell Hopson. William’s mother, Eliza Jane, was born on December 17, 1833, in Claiborne County, Tennessee, to Elizabeth (Harrell) and David Rosenbalm. Elizabeth Harrell was born March 10, 1811, in Tennessee, to Polly (Hopson) and Drewy Harrell.

Mamaw's great-grandfather David Rosenbalm was born in Washington County, Virginia, to Catherine (Stubblefield?) and George Rosenbalm (Rosenbaum). Elizabeth and David were married on February 2, 1832, in Claiborne County, where they lived and farmed. In February 1834, David returned to Washington County, Virginia, where he sold to his Uncle Valentine Rosenbalm his interest in his father George Rosenbalm’s part of his grandfather John Rosenbalm’s estate near Damascus, Virginia.

Since I now live nearer to Damascus, I think more about that particular family line on a regular basis. If you haven't ridden the Virginia Creeper bike trail there, I encourage you to do so and enjoy the glorious beauty of the area. It's a 17 mile coast DOWNHILL from White Top Mountain on what was once a railroad route. I promise! It really doesn't require much pedaling, and it crosses lots of wonderful trestles and bridges zig-zagging the creek (pictured). I can't help but wonder whether the Rosenbalms were in the vicinity when men from the surrounding area were called to arms for the Battle of King's Mountain.

John Rosenbalm had died on June 18, 1821, but because he had not left a will, his estate was not finally settled until about 1826. Catherine and two of John, Sr.’s other sons, Jacob and John, were the administrators. I have a copy of the estate inventory, which is three pages long and lists every tool, basket, utensil, head of livestock, piece of furniture, etc. and its individual worth! David’s father George apparently died young in about 1815 or 1816, and David’s mother Catherine remarried to a James Mountain. David and his brother John shared in their father George’s portion of their grandfather John Rosenbalm’s 1826 estate, along with George’s five other brothers and three sisters.

How They Met: My Kitts Grandparents

Soon after my grandmother Margaret Jane Hopson's family moved back near Washburn, TN, she caught the eye of George Washington Kitts one day as he was fulfilling the civic duty that each man had of taking his turn repairing the roads. He took one look at her and declared that she would be his wife some day! He came by her home one day, along with a young man who worked for her father on the farm, and the whippoorwills sang all night, but her parents had no idea then that George was interested in their daughter!

Papaw was born October 5, 1894, in Powder Springs, Grainger County, Tennessee, in an area Mamaw said was known as Dutch Valley. His mother, Nellie Loucinda (Collins) Kitts, was ill and passed away when he was young, so he was raised by the doctor who delivered him, Dr. Atkins, and his wife. They lived next door. For whatever reason, Mamaw's parents really didn't want her to be seeing that Kitts boy, so she secretly carried his photo in her "bosom" (see the worn crease in the photo) and eventually sneaked a few dresses out of the house before they eloped one Saturday, May 13, 1916, after a morning church service and were married at the home of the Reverend Phillips in Powder Springs. Ernest and Ula Needham were their witnesses. (These details came from Mamaw's Bible.) Mamaw knew she was supposed to be 16 to get married without the consent of her parents and her birthday was still a few weeks away, so she wrote the number 16 on a slip of paper, placed it in her shoe, and told the minister that she was "over 16!" She and Papaw returned to visit her parents home that night, where "they didn't throw a fit or nothin'."

Speaking of Unique History: Melungeon Roots

I never knew my mother to do any creative writing, but I found a few note pages she wrote with the following story, which is obviously based on her personal memories and questions:

"As she drove up the narrow valley road, the blue, blue sky enhanced the floating cotton puffs of clouds as they drifted over the mountain to her right. The mountain, Clinch by name, stretched out as far as she could see in either direction. A spiral of smoke drifted up above the ridge a distance in front of her. Shortly, a train came into view on the tracks that paralleled the road. Her mind wandered back to her childhood when the engineer gave a toot on the whistle and waved to her and her brothers and sister. They often played in the strip of land between the road and the railroad tracks in front of their home, romping in the lush green grass and clover. Smiling to herself, she wondered how far along the track the chains of clover she and her brother and sister made would stretch. Would they stretch from the little town or hamlet that nestled on the valley floor, practically at the foot of the mountains, to the little community of Powder Springs (She mused, "Wonder where the name came from?") on further up the valley, and also nestled at the base of the mountain, where her paternal grandfather lived in a little three room cabin? Reveling in thoughts of those long, gone days, she could still see her grandfather, sitting outside the cabin, his twine-bottomed chair against the wall, strumming on his banjo. She remembered he always, even in summer, wore a hat. Wishing she had a photo of that scene, she dwelt on the image, visioning clearly the white mustache, flowing white beard, the suspendered pants, and crumpled shirt. He lived there with three grown sons until they married, then he was alone. Her mother always cooked a big dinner for them as they spent a Sunday with her grandfather. Grandpa, as he was lovingly called, would go out to the smoke house and cut a big hunk out of a home-cured ham. The thoughts of the delicious, tasty, ham made her mouth water. Then she was brought back to reality, a constriction in her throat. Yearning to know more about her ancestry, she wa heading to the courthouse of a county across the mountains. Not too far, as the crow flies, from the county seat lived the Melungeons -- those tall, dark-skinned mysterious people. There were many theories as to their origin. She was sure they were her people. Her dad was tall and dark-skinned, high cheek-boned and his mother was of a family same as one of the Melungeons. The name went back as far as anyone knew or heard."

Because I had begun my research focused on my father's line and never seemed to finish, it was many years before I began to work on her family line. Fortunately, others I encountered had researched her Collins ancestry. And yes, my grandfather Kitts' mother, a Collins, descends from the Melungeons! Pictured here is my mother's father, George Washington Kitts, described above.

Rucker Farm

My beautiful great-grandmother Mary Isabell (Rucker) Hopson (left) was born April 13, 1868 to Minerva (Jordan) and Samuel Rucker at Washburn, Grainger County, Tennessee. Minervia's mother was a Harvey. Minervia had a brother named Jack Jordan.

Mary Rucker Hopson is shown here at her brother's farm with her sister-in-law Mary, who married Dewitt Rucker (Mary Rucker Hopson's brother). Confused?

According to oral history, Mary's father Samuel Rucker put wood in the fireplace, then lay down on a sheep skin rug, and called, "Minervia!" but by the time she got to him, he was dead.

My mother, Wanda Lee (Kitts) Loveday was with her grandmother Mary Rucker Hopson, who was in the bedroom cutting out material for an apron when she just fell over. My grandmother and Gladys Merritt (Chet Atkins’ mother’s sister) were in the garden picking greens, when Mother went out to tell them about her grandmother Mary falling. Mary died that day, on Mother’s sixth birthday, September 30, 1930.

Margaret Jane (Hopson) Kitts' memories of Indiana

Mamaw always looked forward to when her mother would fry chickens and make cakes and pies to take to the July 4^th picnic at Stylesville, IN, where everyone in the area gathered for food, games, fun and fellowship once year. It was at the Stylsville picnic that she and her sister Eliza spun the wheel to try to win a little stuffed poodle. Mamaw won the poodle, and Eliza won a wiry spider, but it was Mamaw who later dropped the spider onto the bald head of Uncle Pete when he was visiting their home. She ran out of the room laughing when it fell into his long, snowy beard and he began to dance around! Needless to say, she got into trouble for “doing that poor old man that way.”

In the photo, Mamaw (Margaret Jane Hopson Kitts) is on the back row on the left, with the “Princess Leah” buns and the big, black bows and plaid dress.

Margaret Jane (Hopson) Kitts' brother Greenlee

My mother's mother's family lived in Indiana for several years, but they eventually settled back near Washburn, TN, when Indiana began the practice of embalming the dead. My grandmother's father, William Hopson, wanted no part of that, and it wasn’t the norm yet in Tennessee! Mamaw said she was so sad and disgusted to come back to the hills, partly because she couldn’t stand up on the rough terrain and was constantly ruining her pretty stockings! She had also left behind a serious boyfriend, Gilbert Rhea, who was studying to become a doctor and wanted to come get her when he finished school.

Mamaw’s older brother Greenlee Hopson and his family continued to live in Indiana even after his parents and two sisters returned to Tennessee. Greenlee was a dapper young man who served as the local postman with his horse and buggy in his younger years.

Margaret Jane (Hopson) Kitts' school days

My grandmother, Margaret Jane (Hopson) Kitts (center of circle), was a delightful lady with a twinkle in her eyes. She enjoyed telling stories from her childhood, which was spent divided between Tennessee and Indiana. When she was quite small, her family moved to Indiana but came back to Tennessee for a while before her father, William Hopson, sold their Washburn farm and went to a rented farm in Indiana, where her father's sister America Melvina and her husband Eli Sevier Branson also lived and farmed in or near Jamestown.

There in Indiana, Mamaw enjoyed things like taking her doll on Saturdays and riding with her friend Ruth Woods and Ruth’s older brother Arthur in his car, the first in the area, to the town of Amo. Mamaw was always on the move and enjoyed going to church, school, etc., but a few of the services of town, such as peddlers and the physician Dr. Enoch Idle came to them by horse! Sometimes she would take a buggy and her mid-sized, feisty pony, Nell, and drive herself to town. It was that little mare’s colt that was later gored to death by their oxen Berry and Ben at her ill Uncle Jess Hopson’s home, when the community gathered there to get his wood in before winter after he’d had a stroke and was partially paralyzed.