Tag: Tennessee

Depews in the Civil War

April 3, 2013 Dennis No comments exist

In the Derrie chapter of our family history, I told the story about the William Derryberry family in Greene County, TN having sons who fought on opposing sides in the Civil War. Read on and you will hear another similar story about Isaac Newton Depew’s family.

First, it is worthwhile to set the scene. Isaac and his wife Betsy were married and started their family in Hawkins County, TN. However, in 1844 the part of the county where they lived was removed from Hawkins and became Hancock County. The new small county was nestled up against the Virginia line on the north and separated from Hawkins County and most of East TN by Clinch Mountain on the south side. The seat of the new county was originally called Greasy Rock, but the name was later changed to Sneedville. Consisting of small valleys and hollows squeezed in between 800 foot taller mountains, Hancock County was from the onset very rural and very poor. Still there were some slaves, even in an area that was comprised mostly of small farmers. In 1860 there was a total of only 66 slaveowners and 243 slaves.

Isaac’s two oldest children were sons. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, William Rufus was 20 years old and his brother Joseph was 19. Like the rest of East TN the county was divided by the war. With slavery not a big issue for county residents there was not much at stake except perhaps southern pride. You can imagine the Depew family conversations or arguments over the war especially since Isaac was a preacher. Being very close in age, William and Joseph must have been very close brothers, but they ultimately decided to choose different sides of the conflict.

William was the first to jump in when he joined the Confederacy along with some others from the county by enlisting as a Private in the 29th Regiment Tennessee Infantry in Nov of 1861 at Knoxville. The 29th Infantry was part of the Army of Tennessee and it participated in various campaigns in central TN including the Battle of Murfreesboro in late 1862. Around that same time records show that William appears on a list of casualties as slightly wounded. However, he actually died later on Jan 28, 1863 from measles while in the hospital in Chattanooga. He was buried in an unmarked grave at the Chattanooga Confederate Cemetery. More than 135 years later, a Depew descendant sought to rectify the injustice of William Depew’s unmarked gravesite. Billy Edwards took action to have authorities erect a nice headstone for William at the Cemetery in Chattanooga.

When Joseph Depew decided to join the fighting he enlisted as a Private with the Union Army. He joined the 47th Kentucky Mounted Infantry Regiment at Irvine, KY in Sept 1863. His unit operated mostly in Eastern KY during the war guarding the railroads and saw little fighting and almost no casualties. Finally, Joseph was mustered out unharmed in Dec 1864. Since Joseph didn’t even join until months after his brother William had died in a hospital farther south, they never came close to opposing each other in battle. Still this story is similar to that of many families divided by the Civil War.

Isaac Newton Depew, Circuit Riding Preacher

April 1, 2013 Dennis Ayers No comments exist

Isaac Newton Depew was born in 1818 in Hawkins County, TN, according to records. He was apparently named after the English Physicist and Mathematician, Sir Isaac Newton who lived 1642-1727. He also had one brother named George Washington Depew and another named John Wilson Depew. As you will see going forward, the Depew line of men were often named after famous people before them. At the age of 22, Isaac married Mariah Elizabeth Setzer, born 1822 in North Carolina. Over the next 30 years, they had a huge family of 16 children with about half of them being male and half female. They lived in Hancock and Hawkins counties in Northeast TN and Harlan and Clay counties Southeast KY. Perhaps so much moving around was because in addition to being a farmer, Isaac was a Circuit Riding Preacher.

In the earlier frontier times, Circuit Riders were clergy in the Methodist Episcopal Church who were assigned to travel around specific territories to minister to settlers and to organize congregations. Because of the distance between churches, these preachers rode on horseback. Popularly called Circuit Riders or Saddlebag Preachers, they were officially called Traveling Clergy. Always on the move, they traveled with few possessions, carrying only what could fit in their saddlebags. They traveled through wilderness and villages, preaching every day at any place available. Typically they traveled the same circuit for a year before being reassigned to a different territory. There is some evidence also that Isaac served as a contract mail carrier for at least part of the time, perhaps along with his circuit riding.

There is an amusing story provided by Bruce Johnson which has passed down through the generations about when Isaac was a preacher. Once when he was away on one of his trips, a man came to his log cabin during the night. Mariah and the children heard the man walking outside and were afraid to go out. It was customary for visiting neighbors to call out their name when approaching someone’s house in the dark, but this person did not do that and they knew he was up to something. The man stuck his bare feet between the logs to climb the side of the house to get at their corn stored above the ceiling. The house had eves under the roof left open for ventilation and it was easy for the man to reach in and get the corn. Also, the mud chinking had been removed between some of the logs to allow the flow of air in to relieve them from the summer heat. They heard the man filling his sack with corn and he left when it was full.

Isaac came home after a few days and was told about the incident. Apparently the man did not know that Isaac had come home and he returned the next night for more corn. As he stuck his toes between the logs to climb up the wall, Isaac gave both feet a good whack with a hammer. The family heard a scream followed by a thud as the man hit the ground. The thief left in a hurry. Isaac suspected the person who did it, and a few days later Isaac was at a local store when he saw this man hobbling around with both feet bandaged up. He asked him what happened to his feet and the man replied, “A cow stepped on them.” Isaac said, “Yes, and I know exactly which cow it was too.”

Isaac died in Clay County, KY in 1890 at the age of 72. His wife, Mariah Elizabeth, called Betsy who had bore him sixteen children died the following year.

Likely Parents of Isaac Newton Depew Identified

March 29, 2013 Dennis Ayers

Note: This is a new post inserted in January 2021

Isaac Newton Depew (IND) was born out of wedlock to Edward H Depew and Abigail Cupp. Without records, this parentage cannot be proven. However, it is highly probable based on DNA Forensic Analysis. Capt Isaac Depew was an uncle and William G. Depew was his cousin. Many researchers had previously thought William G. was his likely father, but the DNA, plus time and place strongly points to Edward.

Born around 1800 in Botetourt County, VA, Edward was the only son of John Depew Jr., and Mary “Polly” Seagraves. When John’s family migrated to Illinois, the first leg of their long journey followed the Wilderness Road through Southwest Virginia. There were encampments and resting stops along the way, as they traveled by wagon.

One regular resting stop was the settlement where the Wilderness Trail passed over Clinch Mountain through Moccasin Gap in Scott County. Today that settlement is called Gate City.

Abby Cupp was born about 1800 probably in Grayson County, Virginia. She was the daughter of Jacob S. Cupp and Sibitha “Sibby” Breeding. As a young woman, Abby lived as a single mother in Scott County, VA, through which the Wilderness Road passed. She apparently never married since she is found in every census from 1820 through 1850 as a single person. Although unmarried, Abby had a least six children by various partners.

One of her first partners around 1818 was evidently Edward Depew. Both still in their teens at the time, Edward and Abby would have had the opportunity to meet and interact during the Depew’s journey though Scott County. Whether this was a short romance between two young people, or just a transaction is up for conjecture. Their circumstances at the time are totally unknown. Regardless, Edward eventually continued on his way to Illinois, probably not realizing he had fathered a child, which would take the Depew name. This coupling scenario aligns very will with a story passed down through various Depew families that IND’s mother was a cook in a Virginia logging camp, and had a child with a man named Depew who subsequently left her.

Edward ultimately settled in Fayette County, IL. He married Priscilla Williams there in 1828 and had eight children with her before dying in 1848. The 1820 census for Scott County shows Abby living as a single mother with no young male in her household. However, her parent’s nearby household shows a very young male living with them. So, it is quite possible that IND spent part of his life living with his Cupp grandparents.

By 1830, the Jacob Cupp family along with many of their offspring, including Abby, had relocated to Claiborne County, TN, in an area which came to be known as Cupp Ridge. However, Abby still lived unmarried in a separate household up until she died before 1860. It appears that IND may have spent most of his early life in Claiborne County.

Isaac Depew Sr, One of the Revolutionary War Overmountain Men

March 20, 2013 Dennis Ayers No comments exist

The oldest child of John Depew and his wife Catharine was Isaac Depew, Sr., born in Sept 1758 in New Jersey. When the family moved to a farm near Fincastle in Botetourt County, VA. he moved with them, but at the age of 18 he enlisted in the militia to fight in the Revolutionary War. Per his pension application filed many years after the war, in 1776 and 1777 he served several 3 month tours of duty as a Private fighting the Cherokee Indians. These actions first brought him to be familiar with East TN. In 1780 he again joined the militia to repel the Cherokees, and earned the rank of Captain under Colonel Landon Carter.

In Oct 1780, Captain Isaac Depew was one of the 1040 volunteers from Tennessee called the Overmountain men who played a very significant role in defeating the British in the Battle of Kings Mountain. The men first gathered at Sycamore Shoals near Elizabethton, TN, and then marched 80 miles in 5 days across the mountains to join forces with about 400 North Carolina militia. Together they engaged the enemy led by Colonel Ferguson at Kings Mountain just below the South Carolina border. (Recall from a previous post about our Ayers ancestors in the Rev War, that Elihu and Nathaniel Ayers fought with the NC militia.) The victory at Kings Mountain proved decisive in defeating the British in the South and eventually in gaining American independence. Isaac Depew also stated that he later took part in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in 1781.

After the war, Isaac returned home to Virginia. However, by 1784 he had relocated to East Tennessee. By occupation he was a wheelright, cabinet maker and a farmer. He also became active politically when in 1799 he was appointed Commissioner of Jonesborough and in 1801 Commissioner of Washington County. He eventually settled at Rock Springs, in Sullivan County. Between 1787 and 1850 he bought and sold land on a regular basis and at one point had accumulated 3000 acres on and near Bays Mountain.

Isaac Depew, Sr. married twice, first to Jane Jones in 1780, and then after she died to Virginia Grimes, a widow in 1804. Altogether, he was the father of seventeen children. According to reports, the Depews were deeply religious people and highly skilled workmen. Isaac Depew had heirs who were magistrates, physicians, farmers and soldiers. A grandson, The Reverend William P. Depew, to whom he had given substantial land became a preacher in the Methodist Church and was held in very high regard by all who knew him. He gave the land, organized and help build Depew’s Chapel and served as its pastor. Several Depews are buried in the Chapel cemetery including Captain Isaac Depew. The church, located in the shadow of Bays Mountain near Kingsport, TN, is still in use today.

Captain Isaac Depew was one of the most respected men in his county. However, he became the subject of general notoriety when he became opposed in principle to the Congressional Act of 1832 which established pensions for service in the Revolutionary War. His complaint was that it allowed pensions to persons able to support themselves. He believed the Act was too liberal in its provisions, and those who did not need the aid obtained it too easily. He personally possessed property and good health and the ability to subsist without aid from the government. It is totally unclear then, why Isaac Depew eventually filed his own application in 1852. By that time he was already 94 years old and other volunteers who could have provided testimony of his service had already died before him. So the application was turned down due to lack of sufficient proof, and he died in 1854 without providing any additional information.

Helen Derrie Ayers, Woman of Faith and Determination

March 18, 2012 Dennis Ayers 2 comments

Some things in life you just cannot clearly see or understand while they are happening, but can only fully appreciate in hindsight. This is the case with my mother, Helen Derrie Ayers. Growing up I knew her as a loving and nurturing mother. As an adult I knew her as a God loving and supportive mother and grandmother to my children. Only now looking back on her life, can I better appreciate the depth of her religious faith and her fierce determination to overcome any adversity.

Mom was raised in poverty as the ninth of eleven births, and she saw only a bleak world around her. During the 1930s Depression, she had to drop out of school in the eighth grade because she had no shoes to wear. Even though she was only 14 years old, she worked up the courage to get a job at a new shirt factory in town by telling them she was 16. Luckily, they needed women operators. Most of the money she earned doing piecework went to support her father and mother, but she got a first glimpse at how she could earn a better life with a good work ethic. It was about that time also that she first found her faith in God, after being drawn into a church when she heard wonderful music. From that time on she was determined to find a way to escape her unhealthy home environment and even leave her small town of LaFollette, TN.

In Jan 1942, Mom married Ira Ayers, Dad, when he returned to LaFollette for Christmas from Baltimore, Maryland where he had gone to find employment. She then moved back to Baltimore with him for a few months. However, he was soon drafted into WW II leaving her back in LaFollette with an unborn baby (me), while he spent the next 4 years overseas. Knowing that Dad would someday take her away again, Mom began saving some of money that he sent home. She had faith that it would help them find a better life. After the war, they again moved to Baltimore where Dad returned to his job with the B&O Railroad. They also took on the responsibility of supervising two large apartment houses which allowed them to continue saving. Mom was always embarrassed and ashamed of her family background and was determined to provide a solid foundation and better life for her own family. She found a new church in the city, became a born again Christian, and became a Sunday School teacher.

In 1947 and again in 1948, she tragically lost babies at birth because her blood type was RH negative and the babies died because her body had developed antibodies against the fetuses. Determined to overcome this medical adversity, she allowed the doctors to experiment with a new drug to counteract the antibodies, and as a result my two sisters, Carol and Annette, survived when they were born. And that experimentation in which she participated, helped cure the RH factor problem for today and future generations.

In 1950 Mom and Dad bought a small farm in the country about 20 miles west of Baltimore City. Dad continued working for the railroad, but because of the extra commuting expenses, finances were very tight. Mom often went to God in prayer seeking guidance. The family went to church and tithed faithfully. Her deep faith helped her to remain optimistic. By the mid 1950s they began selling chickens, eggs, strawberries and vegetables produced on the farm. By 1960, their small business had grown to selling 300 dozen eggs per week year round, along with hundreds of bushels of strawberries, tomatoes and corn in the summertime. Between working for the railroad and on the farm, Dad worked 16 hours a day and was always very stressed. However, Mom also did her part as she spent countless hours picking, cleaning, crating and delivering their products by car along a home delivery route they established. This was extremely hard work that produced little profit in return. Mom knew that she had to find a job off the farm for the family to move ahead, but she had no high school diploma.

Again, she was very determined and while continuing to work the farm, she started home schooling herself and eventually received a GED diploma. This led to her getting a job in 1965 at a state mental institution where she did on-the-job training and classwork to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). Continuing to push ahead, by 1970 she obtained an Industrial Therapist job at another state mental institution where she helped patients train for job skills before they were released back into the community. She found her niche in helping others, and took great pride in her work before retiring in 1983.

Growing up under unfortunate circumstances, Mom always had great empathy for others less fortunate. She applied this empathy in all parts of her lifelong work for the church and her personal life. She often visited, comforted and prayed for sick people. On two separate occasions in the 1950s and 60s, there were large neighboring families who lived in similar households like she had experienced, where the father made bleak living conditions worse by excessive drinking. She reached out and befriended those families and did everything she could for the wives and children. In addition, she and Dad would gather up as many children as would fit in their old car and take them to Sunday School. She was determined to show them that there was a path of hope that eventually could lead them to future security.

Mom always looked out for her own family as well. She supported and strengthened Dad whenever his resolve seemed to weaken, or whenever stress caused him to erupt at some family member. She provided constant encouragement and guidance to my sisters and me. She was the bedrock of our family. Thankfully, she motivated me to go to college, although no one knew where the money would come from. But she had faith the answer would be found, and it was found outside the home with a scholarship. She died in 2005, and even though she is no longer with us, Mom will always be our inspiration. Helen Derrie Ayers was indeed a strong woman of faith and determination.

Derrie Sisters and Brother

March 13, 2012 Dennis No comments exist

Tom and Myrtle Derrie only had five of eleven children who reached adulthood. There were four sisters and one brother. I’ve never seen a picture with all of them together. The picture below from 1963 only shows the sisters who are youngest from left to right: Veatta, Helen, Alma, Lillie. Brother Bud was not present at the small reunion in Knoxville. Lillie and Alma were born in Greene County, TN while Helen, Veatta and Bud were born in Campbell County.

The family never lived on a farm, and always lived in or close to town. Due to poverty living conditions when they were young, it cannot be said that the children grew up in a normal household. They had few possessions, and none of today’s conveniences. With money for daily necessities very scarce, attending school was difficult and attending church almost never. There’s even a story that the oldest sister, Lillie, had to share a single dress with her mother when she went to school. Despite the hardships, the offspring stood together to weather their situation. However, all left home as early as possible to seek better lives. Unfortunately, none of them remain alive today. Below is an introduction and short summary of how each of the brothers and sisters’ lives evolved from the oldest to the youngest, with some old pictures thrown in for fun. All facts may not be totally correct, so readers please let me know when I need to make corrections. Remember to click on the photos to enlarge them.

Lillian Mae Derrie McNutt (1905 – 1976)

Lillian, or Lillie as most people called her, was born in 1905. She was serious and determined as first-born children tend to be. She may have been the only one in her family to finish school. In fact, she taught school in Campbell County for about a year after graduating. Soon though, Lillie set off for Knoxville which is about 40 miles from LaFollette where she put herself through business school. In 1929 at age 24, she married S.F.C McNutt whose initials stood for Samuel Franklin Casenberg, the name of the doctor who delivered him as a baby. As a youngster he apparently was called Casey, but later everyone just called him Mac. He always called his wife Lillian and not Lillie. Mac was a jovial

person and liked to listen to baseball games on the radio. In 1934 they had their only child, a daughter named Shirley. Lillie was a strong Christian and always worried about the well-being and spiritual health of her siblings. In 1940, Lillie and Mac took in her youngest sister, Veatta, to live with them for about a year when she was still in school. Then in 1943, they generously took in her sister, Helen, (Mom) and me as a baby to live with them for a year to escape the living conditions back home in LaFollette. Mac worked many years for the Southern Railroad in knoxville. Lillie worked initially in business offices, but later in life she worked as a real estate agent and broker. Her reserved and proper nature probably served her well in that profession. She also taught Sunday School for about 50 years. A lifelong smoker, she died of cancer in 1976 at age 70. Mac lived a little longer and died in 1981 at age 76.

Alma Bernice Derrie Wilson (1909 – 1986)

Alma & Otney Wilson ca 1970s — **Alma and Ott 1970s**

Alma, born in 1909, married Otney Wilson in 1927. They lived their entire lives in LaFollette with many years in the beginning next door to her parents, Tom and Myrtle. Unfortunately, this led to excessive drinking in their household as well. Alma and Ott, as he was called, had seven straight sons between 1927 and 1941, but finally had a daughter in 1949. Their sons’ names were James (called JL), Phillip, Carl, Chester, John (called Nookie), Don, and Alvin. Sadly, Chester died when only 1-year-old, and Nookie was killed at age 16 when he stepped on a downed power line while walking in the woods. All the sons are now deceased. Their daughter born last was named Veatta after her Aunt so they always called her “Little Veatta”. After she was born, Alma and Ott turned their lives around. Ott got a job with the LaFollette Fire Department and over the years worked his way up to become the Fire Chief before he retired. They moved to a house in LaFollette proper, became Christians and attended church regularly. Alma was a sweet and gentle woman who was always a homemaker. She died of cancer in 1986 at age 76 and Ott died just a few months later at age 84. They are buried with most of their children in the Cumberland View Cemetery in LaFollette.

James Alvin (Bud) Derrie (1919 – 1979)

James Alvin was called Bud almost from the day he was born in 1919, but always used Alvin for official purposes. He grew up as the only boy in a poverty-stricken, dysfunctional household. As a consequence, he always took the brunt of his father’s bitter harsh ways. Bud only finished the 6th grade and finally got away from home by first joining the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCCs) and then when he was 20 years old, he enlisted in the Army in 1939 in Punta Gorda, Florida for duty in Panama. However, in 1940 he was stationed at Ft. Benning, Georgia and was soon dragged into WW II. It is believed he served mostly in an Engineer Aviation Battalion which built and repaired runways throughout the war. There is a story that he participated in the D-Day invasion of the Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944, in the second wave when the US brought vehicles ashore, some of which were to help build temporary airfields. He was released from duty after the war in 1945, and his family thought he returned as an emotionally handicapped person. It was probably what today is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD, which affects some war veterans. He developed the same heavy drinking pattern of his father and never found a smooth road. Bud re-enlisted in 1947 for a second tour in the Army, but was always in trouble for going AWOL and was released again just prior to the Korean War. He was married to Ruth Norman in 1953, but then was divorced a short time later. In 1964 he married Cora Lloyd, a woman 23 years older than him, but she died in 1965. Bud never really found any happiness in life and eventually died in 1979 at age 60 while in the Mountain Home VA hospital in Johnson City, TN. He is buried next to his mother and father in the Jacksboro Cemetery.

Helen Louise Derrie Ayers (1923 – 2005)

Helen 17 Years Old — **Helen at about 17**

Helen, born in 1923, married Ira Ayers in 1942, and they moved to Baltimore, MD in 1946. Ira worked for the B&O railroad while Helen was a homemaker and farm woman until the 1960s when she began working outside the home, first as a Licensed Practical Nurse, and then as an Industrial Therapist. She and Ira had three children: Dennis, Carol, and Annette. Helen had an outgoing personality and loved to talk to anyone. She was a loving mother and a devout Christian. She died in 2005 at age 81 and Ira died in 2003 at age 90. They are buried in the Crestlawn Memorial Cemetery in Ellicott City, MD. See more details about her life in the post dated May 9, 2011, and in a following post.

Veatta Belle Derrie Whistleman (1925 – 1998)

Veatta born in 1925, was married several times before her final marriage to Marshall Whistleman in 1958. Before that, she lived for a few years in Baltimore, MD where they apparently met. However, they were actually married in Lockport, NY where Marshall had taken a job. They later lived in Newfane, NY where they both worked at Harrison Radiators, a division of

General Motors. The location was only 25 miles from Niagara Falls. Marshall was a soft-spoken, gentle guy, while Veatta had a strong and sometimes gruff personality. They never had any children, but later in life Veatta stayed home and took in foster children raising them as her own. She loved to go play bingo and grow roses. She and Marshall both loved their little poodle dogs, and they liked to travel in their mini motorhome with the dogs beside them. A lifelong smoker, Veatta had various cancer problems starting in the 1980s and finally died from a brain tumor in 1998 at age 72. Marshall died from a heart attack in 2001 at age 76. They are buried in the Hartland Central Cemetery in Gasport, NY.

Thomas Washington Derrie

March 6, 2012 Dennis Ayers No comments exist

As mentioned earlier, Robert and Sarah Derryberry/Derrie had three daughters and four sons. Their oldest son was my grandfather,Thomas Washington Derrie, who I knew only briefly before his death. Sadly, Thomas never knew either of his two grandfathers. Both were killed in the Civil War fighting for the South before he was born. The death of his father’s father, James Derryberry, at age 25 in the battle of Atlanta was described in an earlier post. The death of his mother’s father, George Washington Clowers, at age 34 in the battle of Winchester, VA, will be described in a future post when I discuss the Clowers. I wonder how many other children have lost both grandfather’s to the devastation of war?

Thomas Derrie was born in 1883 in Greene County, TN. Tom, as everyone called him, grew up working on his father’s farm near Warrensburg. He only attended school until the second grade and by age 18 he could not yet read or write. In 1903 he lost his own father, Robert, and in 1904 at the age of 22 he married Myrtle Jackson. Myrtle was born in Washington County, TN, in 1888 but her family had moved to neighboring Greene County. Coming from a large and poor family she was turned out at a very early age to be a live-in servant to a local merchant. Tom must have met her when he went to the store where she lived. They married when Myrtle, with black hair and light blue eyes, was only 15 years old. She must have wanted to get away, because she later said that the family she had worked for treated her poorly and didn’t feed her very much. By 1910 Tom and Myrtle had started their family and moved to Jacksboro in Campbell County, TN, perhaps because Myrtle’s father and mother had earlier relocated there.

Tom Derrie was of medium height and a somewhat stout man. He had brown hair and brown eyes. In his early 30’s, he worked in the nearby Caryville coal mines until around 1915 when his left lower leg was severely mangled while operating a coal crushing machine. The story is that after the other miners freed him from the machine, they took him to his house where the doctor cut off his leg just below the knee while he laid on the kitchen table. How painful that must have been, but there were no hospitals in the county. He must have received a cash settlement from the coal mines, because in 1917 he and Myrtle purchased a house in Jacksboro for $300. However, continuing to make a living with only one good leg became extremely difficult.

Altogether, Tom and Myrtle had eleven children between 1905 and 1927. Unfortunately, only five of them grew to adulthood: Lillian, Alma, Alvin (Bud), Helen and Veatta. Most of the others died at birth or at a very early age, but nine-year old Dorothy died after the doctor lanced her tonsils and she bled to death. There is also the story that they lost two young ones during the great Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918-1919 which cost millions of lives around the world. Tom had to dig the graves while he too suffered from the flu. There was always sorrow in their household from the many lost children.

In an attempt to support his family after losing his leg, Tom bought an old Model T touring car with button-down side window curtains, and became a taxi driver. Fixing constant flat tires and making frequent repairs on that old car trained him to be especially good at fixing autos. As a result, he eventually gave up the taxi and became an auto mechanic. Perhaps seeking more work around 1923, he moved the family five miles down the road to LaFollette to a house on Tennessee Ave, which they rented for $10 per month. By 1937, the family moved into a house about a mile outside of town on Highway 25W at Coke Oven Hill which they rented for $5 per month. This house was unpainted and very drafty. In 1945, they were somehow able to purchase the house and property which had 160 ft of road frontage for $150. Tom then built a good-sized garage next to the house to repair cars. Unfortunately, business was not very good, and due to various reasons the years in LaFollette were not kind to the family as they often lived in great poverty with few clothes and barely enough food to eat.

Tom suffered continuously with his amputated leg, and his crude, wooden artificial leg never fit well, always causing sores on the stub. That together with his inability to make a decent income and his family sorrows, caused him to become a bitter man and a heavy drinker over the years. His drinking problems also eventually dragged down Myrtle, and others close to him into the same sad and deplorable situation. The heavy drinking only made their financial condition worse. Finally, in 1949, Tom suffered a ruptured appendix and after three days in the hospital died from complications at age 65. He was taken to a mortuary on the second floor above a furniture store. His oldest daughter, Lillian, had heard there were rats in the building and stayed with his body all night for protection. Tom is buried in the Jacksboro Cemetery.

Myrtle remarried in 1951 to Henry White, sold the house at Coke Oven Hill, and moved into his small house in LaFollette proper. It was a marriage of companionship and they lived comfortably for a few years. In 1956, she apparently developed breast cancer, but before treatment she died from a heart attack at age 66. She is buried next to Tom in the Jacksboro Cemetery.

Robert Derryberry’s Family Shortens the Name

February 7, 2012 Dennis No comments exist

Greene County, TN, was the birthplace of the legendary Davy Crockett in 1786. It was also the home of our 17th president, Andrew Johnson, who took over after President Lincoln was assassinated. After the Civil War, the Derryberrys remaining in Greene County, TN, began feeling the need to shorten their surname. Perhaps the first to do so was Thomas Derryberry who by 1870 was using the name Dayberry. Then by 1880 his father William was also using this new spelling. Both William and Thomas and their families moved to Sevier County, TN, sometime before 1880 and lived there until the end of their lives. William died in 1890 and Thomas died in 1908.

Meanwhile, recall from the previous post that James Derryberry had married a second time to Elizabeth Hansel, in 1859. Well, later that year they had a son named Robert, and before James rode off to join the southern campaign in 1862 they had a daughter named Mary. When James didn’t return after the war, his widow and two small children must have had a very difficult time surviving. Finally, in 1870, Elizabeth who sometimes went by her first name Susan, at age 33 remarried an older gentleman named Samuel Easterly who was 64. Together they had a daughter named Cenia. Unfortunately, by 1880 Elizabeth was widowed once again.

By 1880, 21 year old Robert Derryberry, had moved away from home and was called “Ball Dery”. Perhaps Ball was a nickname, but it is obvious that he was also trying on a shorter surname. That same year he married Sarah Jane Clowers who was six years older. He possibly met Sarah when when she was visiting relatives next door to where Robert was living. However, Robert and Sarah were married using his old Derryberry surname.

Over the next 15 years, Robert and Sarah proceeded to have three daughters and four sons. They lived and farmed near Warrensburg, TN for the rest of their lives. The Nolichucky River runs right through this area. In 1900, the family was still using the Derryberry name, but shortly after began spelling their name differently. Most of the family members dropped the “berry” syllable and began using just “Derry”. Robert died of pneumonia in 1903 at only 44 years old. Sarah lived for another 20 years and died in 1923. They are both buried in the Methodist Church cemetery in Warrensburg, TN. Interestingly, as can be clearly seen, the name is spelled Derrie on their headstone. Only one of their offspring adopted that particular spelling variation and that was their oldest son, our ancestor, Thomas Washington Derrie.

Jim Derry who lives in the northwest corner of Georgia, not far from Chattanooga, TN is a great-great grandson of Robert Derryberry/Derrie. Jim had a DNA test run in 2010 that matches him with the Durrenbergers of Switzerland, proving that the Derrys/Derries of East Tennessee are in fact descendants of that line. Jim and I are second cousins, but once removed since he is one generation younger than I.

James Derryberry Dies in the Civil War

January 29, 2012 Dennis No comments exist

Most people have read or heard stories about the American Civil War causing brothers to fight on opposite sides for the North and the South, and about soldiers fighting first on one side and then the other. Well, all this actually happened in our Derryberry family history. Read on to find out the complicated circumstances.

William Derreberry was a farmer and a shoemaker. When William and his wife Mary (Polly) migrated to Greene County, TN in the 1850s, their two oldest offspring, Susan and Barnabas, were already married and stayed behind in North Carolina. Jefferson, aka Jesse, was also married but chose to travel with the family as did their three youngest sons, James, John and Thomas. After arriving in Tennessee, James, who is our ancestor, and his brother John married two Garmon sisters in August 1857, one week apart. The marriages took place down the river in neighboring Jefferson County, TN. Then due to an untimely death or some other unknown reason, James got married a second time just a year and a half later to Elizabeth Hansel also in Jefferson County.

In the Spring of 1861, seven southern states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. This triggered the War Between the North and the South or the American Civil War. East Tennessee was very divided by the war with people only choosing sides when compelled. William Derreberry and his sons must have had very mixed emotions about the war and perhaps disagreements between family members. None immediately jumped at the chance to go fight. At first the Confederacy relied on volunteer soldiers, but within a year they began conscripting all males between 18 and 35 years of age. This probably caused John Derryberry to be the first in the family to side with the South. In July of 1862, at age 21, he enlisted as a private in the 64th North Carolina Infantry Regiment when it formed in Madison County, NC. Then a month later James Derryberry, at age 23, also enlisted as a private in the 64th when the regiment had reached Sevier County, TN. Since he had learned the shoe making trade from his father, James was put to work making and repairing shoes. Thomas Derryberry was too young to be conscripted.

Poor food, boredom, unhealthy camp conditions, fear of death, and homesickness caused desertion to be a frequent occurrence on both sides. Soldiers close to their homes were especially sensitive to conditions there, and bad news consequently contributed to desertion, particularly among Confederate soldiers. Being not far from home in Eastern TN, John Derryberry developed a history of desertion. He first deserted in November 1862, then returned to duty in February 1863 only to desert again in Knoxville in July 1863. Then John totally switched sides and together with his brother, Jesse, joined the Union Army in Greenville, TN. Why did he jump to the side of the Union? Obviously, he didn’t care for the conditions on the Confederate side, and perhaps his brother Jesse talked him into it. Regardless, they both enlisted on the same day in August 1863 in the 8th Tennessee Cavalry.

John enlisted as a private and went to work as a Blacksmith, and Jesse enlisted as a Corporal, perhaps because at 25 he was older and more mature. Both were described as 5 ft 8 in tall, with John having a dark complexion, dark eyes and hair, and Jesse having a fair complexion with blue eyes and brown hair. They both fought with the 8th Cavalry until the end of the war, and according to records they were mustered out in Sept 1865. However, after the war, John and Jesse completely disappear from all records. It is highly probable that they both died near the end of the war and their muster out records were incorrectly completed.

Meanwhile, our ancestor, James Derryberry, served for the South with the 64th North Carolina Infantry until Sept 1863. Unfortunately, during his time with that unit, the 64th was involved in one of the greatest atrocities of the war which took place in a remote Appalachian valley of Madison County, North Carolina called Shelton Laurel. In January 1863, under orders from their commander, soldiers from the 64th shot and killed 13 Union sympathizers without any trial or hearing whatsoever. There were many factors that lead up to the Shelton Laurel massacre with grievous errors in judgement on both sides. To learn more, I recommend reading the book Victims A True Story of the Civil War by Phillip Shaw Paludan, which also gives a good depiction of the horrific guerrilla fighting conditions in the mountains. It is unknown whether James Derryberry took part in the actual killings, but probably not as shoe makers typically stayed behind in camp to apply their trade and didn’t normally participate in raids or skirmishes.

By the Fall of 1863, James was detailed to Atlanta to help make and repair shoes at a central location for the Confederacy. Muster Roll and Pay receipts show that he was “bottoming shoes” and receiving 35 cents per pair. He was then transferred to Major Bridewell’s unit in July 1864. Major Bridewell was the quartermaster for the Confederate clothing depot, which was located outside of Atlanta. General Sherman’s successful siege of Atlanta and march to the sea by Union Forces occurred in late Summer and Fall of 1864. Since there are no further records of James Derryberrry after July 1864, it is strongly believed that he met his death at the hands of Sherman’s troops sometime during that period. He was only 25 years old!