Captain Abraham Kuykendall

    Abraham Kuykendall was like Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson's character in "The Patriot") and a quasi Donald Trump rolled into one, from what I have read. He was a very early settler in Henderson County, North Carolina, having made it his home before 1770.


    He and his Dutch family had emigrated from Ulster County, New York and made the very long journey into the unknown. They had reached the area of Flat Rock and decided to put down roots in the fertile, but rocky ground of Henderson County (in his time, it was known as Tryon County.) Abraham was a very wealthy man, whose wealth went into building a tavern and an inn. He also fed travelers coming to and fro very well. He had lots of help running his tavern, inn and farm from his enormous brood of kids.


    His first wife, Elizabeth Fidler Kuykendall, who was the mother of his first eleven children, died in 1800.


    To protect his and his neighbors' homes from Indian attacks, he joined the North Carolina Militia, whose troops were commanded by Captain Corbin during the Revolutionary War. Kuykendall was eventually made into a captain. He was also a member of the Safety Committee of Tryon County; procured supplies from North Carolina and sent them North to George Washington's troops; was appointed Commissioner of Tryon County, responsible for building a court house, prison, and stocks, and for establishing a boundary line between Tryon and Mecklenburg Counties. He also became Justice of the Peace of Tryon County in December of 1778, and continued in these roles when Rutherford County was formed during or after the Revolutionary War.


    Abraham was a well-respected man and citizen of North Carolina. Because he was a veteran, he was given a land grant of six hundred acres, courtesy of North Carolina. Over time, he had amassed over a thousand acres, which covered most of Flat Creek. On that land is where he built his fortune.


    After Elizabeth's death, Abraham married a much younger woman named Bathsheba Barrett. She loved the fact that her husband was very wealthy and she was able to buy all the pretty things she wanted. She loved bright, flashy dresses, the finest jewelry and everything else money could buy. She knew she was able to buy everything she wanted as long as the money was flowing in.


    Eventually, Abraham caught wind of his wife's doings and wondered if thieves might try and steal his treasure. He stored and buried most of his strong boxes on his property.


    One dark night, Abraham decided to transfer his money from strong boxes to an iron pot, common to colonists since there were no banks at that time. He awoke two of his slaves and blindfolded them so they would not know where it was they buried the treasure. Using torches to guide their way, Abraham told them to dig a hole, and when he was satisfied of how deep it was, he had them to cover up the iron pot. After all this, he warned them to never speak of what they had done, and blindfolded them again, then led them away from the site.


    When old Abe was 104 years old, he went out alone to search for his treasure because he had a deal he was wanting to land. It was dark and he was pretty old. It is speculated that he had fell down and hit his head. Abraham never left Pheasant Branch again a living, breathing man. The slaves told the family where they thought the treasure was, but after frantically digging, no one ever found Abraham's gold and silver.


    It is said that Abraham still guards his treasure. Many people have claimed to hear or see him and are frightened away from digging for treasure. Some people are not scared and try locating it still today.



Abraham Kuykendall History

The 1890 Census

In an earlier post, I had mentioned briefly about the 1890 census record being in pieces. For those who do not know, the Eleventh United States Census (or the 1890 census) was destroyed in a fire in the basement of the Commerce Building in Washington D.C. 1921. If you were doing family research prior to that year, you were lucky. This is what you would have seen:

address

number of families in house

number of persons in house

names

whether a soldier, sailor or marine (during the American Civil War), (whether Union

 or Confederate), or widow of such person

relationship to head of family

race, described as white, black, mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, Chinese, Japanese, or Indian

sex

age

marital status

married within the year

mother of how many children, and number now living

place of birth of person, and their father and mother

if foreign-born, number of years in US

whether naturalized

whether naturalization papers have been taken out

profession, trade or occupation

months unemployed during census year

ability to read and write

ability to speak English, and, if unable, language or dialect spoken

whether suffering from acute or chronic disease, with name of disease and length of time afflicted

whether defective in mind, sight, hearing or speech, or whether crippled, maimed or deformed, with name of defect

whether a prisoner, convict, homeless child, or pauper

home rented, or owned by head or member of family, and, if owned, whether free from mortgage

whether farm is rented, or owned by head or member of family; if owned, whether free from mortgage; if rented, post office box of owner.

The 1890 census was the first to use Herman Hollerith's methods of data compiling. This data used a punched method, which was entered on a reader that could tabulate it. This particular method was said to reduce the census counting 8:1. For its time, it was very state of the art. 

The original data for the 1890 census is not available. The public was informed that 25% of the materials were presumed destroyed and 50% were destroyed by smoke and water. This led to a public outcry for a permanent National Archives. 

Even more records were destroyed when in 1932, the Chief Clerk of the Bureau of the Census gave the Librarian of Congress a list of papers to be eradicated, including the 1890 census schedules. The Bureau asked the Librarian to put aside any records deemed historical, and the census records were not designated to be saved. Congress authorized that list of records to be destroyed in 1933 and the rest in 1934-35. 

The other two census reports that are lost are the 1800 and 1810 enumerations. 

How could anyone deem any census record not worthy of saving? This particular census record is a major setback for a great deal many people trying to locate family members. Hopefully this will never happen again with any census records. With all the technology we have now, I doubt that would ever happen.

Anyway, good luck with your researching!

~Shasta

Hitting Road Blocks

I have been working on my family tree for years, just plodding away happily as I recorded each name and date and relation. Recently, I have found myself working feverishly trying to thaw some cold cases.


There are some great-grandparents who are escaping my finding them: Cora Burnette Cook, William and Susie (Susan) Greenwood Ward, Taylor and Julia Ownbey Searcy. Sure, I have bits of information here and there, like census and death records of children they're mentioned on. I have no idea of their real heritage (yet). I have no idea who their parents are, their lineage, marriage or death dates. This is about to be a very daunting task. My elderly aunts and uncles who are up in their years either forget the dates or get stories mixed up with the wrong people. The ones who really knew the dirt are long gone, of course.
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The 1890 census reports were nearly all destroyed in a fire. Only bits remain. This is one of the difficult things we family tree researchers must deal with.


When, and or if I ever do finally find the records I need, I will report back. Maybe that can help someone with their own personal road block.

Until next time...


~Shasta

Places Where My Ancestors Lived: Guilford County, North Carolina

   While doing my research, I have discovered that many of my Cook people lived in Guilford County, North Carolina...in particular, Jamestown. Guilford County is known for its history. At the time it was settled, a tribe of Native Americans inhabited the area and they were known as the Saura. They lived in the Piedmont of North Carolina, mostly along the Yadkin River.


    In 1740, a group of Quakers from Pennsylvania settled in the area. They are known to be a passive people and did not believe in war. Also living among the Quakers were the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians and the German Lutherans. Guilford was formed from parts of Rowan and Orange counties and was founded in 1771. It was named after Francis North, 1st Earl of Guilford. (To read more about Guilford County history, click here.)


    Jamestown was mainly a Quaker settlement, though its first inhabitants were the Keyauwee Indians. When the settlers moved in, it is believed that the Keyauwee moved south and eventually absorbed into the Catawba tribes. One of the original settlers, James Mendenhall, established a farm there around 1762. Even though James eventually moved to Georgia, his son George remained at the farm and continued to run the town's grist and lumber mills. He also owned much of the land and named the town after his father, James.


    During the Revolutionary War, General Cornwallis and his men camped out and sent for provisions from local farms and mills until their battle with Nathaniel Greene at New Garden. (To read more of the battle, click here.)


    Jamestown seemed to be a perfect place to settle down and raise a family. There were friendly neighbors and farmland to be tended to. There were gunsmiths, tanners, miners (some significant amount of gold was discovered there), and farmers. There were plenty of jobs to do in Jamestown. The residents of Jamestown were against the Civil War, and would often refuse to fight, stating it was against their religion. Jamestown was a stop in the Underground Railroad, which helped fugitive slaves escape to their freedom in the North.


    Many families, including my own Cooks, Wards, Grays, and Armfields lived together in Jamestown. It is quite possible the children all grew up together and knew each other into adulthood. They all lived and loved together as loved ones as friends in a little settlement called Jamestown.

(Photo courtesy of Jamestown, North Carolina site)

Alvin Everette Cook, Jr.

  Alvin was born to Cora and Alvin Cook, Sr. on August 10, 1927. He was the baby of the family, and was spoiled as such. His older sisters, Carrie and Evelyn doted on little Alvin and his older brother, Paul. Even though times were tough for little Alvin's family, they never really let on how much they struggled. The elder Alvin worked in a cotton mill to provide for his family of seven. Cora and the girls would cook meals and keep up their home.


  When Alvin was a boy, his father grew very sick and was not able to work anymore. He had been diagnosed with tuberculosis. Without the extra income, Cora had to take care of her husband while scraping together money to keep a roof over their heads. She would often use her skills as a gifted seamstress and provide paying customers with her finished garments. In 1939, the elder Alvin passed away.


  Fast forward to the Korean War. Alvin joined the United States Army in 1950. He was 23 years old, good-looking and strong. He loved his country and stepped up when his number was called. While he was serving, he made many friends, some of them life-long. As any person who is faced with certain death, Alvin would often relate to his fellow troops and recall good times and remember their loved ones. One of the jobs Alvin was responsible for was keeping the phone lines connected. He had several men down below him ready to shoot the enemy had they tried to shoot Alvin off the telephone pole.


  When Alvin was honorable discharged in 1953, he came home to his mother, who was waiting for both sons with open arms (brother Paul was also in Korea.) Things soon began to quieten down and Alvin was able to settle into a routine, in which he always believed everyone must have one of. Alvin began his career in the cotton industry by working at a local cotton mill. Landis, North Carolina was a nice, quiet small town and Alvin was ready to put down permanent roots with a family of his own someday.


  Some time later, he met a lady named Willene, who was affectionately called "Bill". They courted for awhile and eventually married. They were very happy and very much in love. They were in the process of adopting their daughter, Susan, when Bill became sick and passed away, in February 1956. Alvin was distraught and took Susan to Asheville. He believed they would take her away from him since his wife died.


   Alvin found work at a laundry service. He met a divorcée there, named Maxine Searcy Huntsinger. She had a small son named Johnny. They became friends and enjoyed each other's company. They fell in love and were married in November 1956. Maxine, a mountain girl who had never really lived too far from her parents, agreed to move back to Landis with Alvin. She met Alvin's mother, sisters and brother, and began life as a Cook wife and mother.


   Son Steve came in 1957; little Karen followed in 1958 and baby Randy in 1960. They were a happy family. Alvin loved his children so much and they adored their daddy. Alvin was so patient and kind to his kids. It was known that Maxine was the disciplinarian and he tried to get them out of trouble many times.


  Cora, Alvin's mother, passed away in 1962. Alvin was terribly sad because he was so close to his mother. From that moment on, he made it a point to truly enjoy life, because it could be so easily taken from a person. He talked lovingly about his mother and what he could remember about his father. He was very close to his siblings, as well. In 1975, Alvin also lost his brother Paul. Now, it was just the three: Evelyn, Carrie and Alvin. They remained close until Alvin's death.


  Alvin enjoyed his later years being a superintendent at Linn-Corriher and later, Cor-Linn Mills. He was very much loved by his employees and was given a "money tree" with paper bills given by everyone he worked with at his retirement.


  Alvin had nine grandchildren at the time of his passing, and he adored each and every one. I consider myself very lucky to had been raised by both he and Maxine. I could understand and relate to how my mother, uncles and aunt adored Alvin so. You couldn't have wanted for a better father, husband, friend, or grandfather. He was truly one of a kind.

~Shasta

Genealogy Consumes My Life!

Ever since I was a kid, I was exposed to genealogy and was told how important it was to keep track of one's family. My grandfather (whom I called PawPaw) always made it a point to tell me stories of his family, the Cooks. He was the one who took it upon himself to research his family tree. He was utterly fascinated with the bits of information he was able to find. I often chuckle now imagining his reaction of me being able to find generations of his paternal side. His maternal side is still a mystery to all of us. With this blog, I hope to help others in my family who are researching and finding themselves hitting roadblocks. In return, I hope that someone out there will be able to help me when I hit my own walls. In the future, I would like to spotlight my ancestors and tell their stories. I will be providing information on deceased family members as they become available and perhaps will be able to include a photo or other media. Of course, this blog will always be a work in progress. No one's tree is every really completely done, is it? ~Shasta