Memorial Day - Remembering Corporal Everett Bates (1895 - 1918)

Two years ago, I published an article on the Tabor Cemetery. One of the graves I visited at the cemetery was that of Everett Robert Bates, a young Needmore-area farmer who died in World War I. Although all war deaths are tragic, his seems particularly so to me. Why? In addition to his youth and the impending birth of his first child at the time of his death, Everett died in the waning hours of the war, quite literally. He perished sometime between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918 - Armistice Day - the very day upon which the war ended. As Memorial Day is nigh, I felt that a remembrance of this brave young man was in order.

Everett Robert Bates (taken September 26, 1917)
Source: David DeHart

Everett Robert Bates was born in the Needmore section of Swain County on September 27, 1895, the fourth child (of at least 13) of William Jefferson and Sally Jane Levinia (nee' DeHart) Bates. Little is known of his young life but it may be assumed it was the typical life of a child of rural Swain County during that time. He likely attended either the Hightower School or the White Oak School as a youngster, as the 1910 census reveals him to have been able to both read and write, and probably attended one of the churches in the area - perhaps Maple Springs or Brush Creek. He appears to have farmed for a living during his brief adult life. In 1917, the 'Great War' in Europe came knocking upon the doors of the young men of Swain County and Everett was required to register for the draft. His draft card (dated June 5, 1917) reveals that at the time, he was single and working as a farmer for Charles Rastus Browning in the Needmore area. He married Lillie May Marr (1899 - 1978) just 3 months later on September 26th. 

Everett Bates draft registration card
Source: Ancestry.com and Fold3.com

Everett Bates and Lillie Marr (top row) on their wedding day (September 26, 1917).
Seated in this picture are Lillie's sister Nell and Everett's friend Columbus 'Lum' Winchester.
Source: David DeHart

It is almost certain that Everett and Lillie's marriage occurred when it did due to his being 'called up' for duty. For though he had tried to claim exemption from the draft due to disease, his number had been pulled and he left via train for Camp Jackson in South Carolina, just days later on October 2nd. He was enlisted in Company I of the 321st Infantry Unit (the 'Wildcats'), 81st Division of the U.S. Army. Over the next nine months at Camp Jackson, he actively trained for near-certain deployment to the Western Front in Europe. He appears to have had the chance to return home at least once during his training, as Lillie became pregnant in the spring of 1918 but on July 31, 1918 he embarked on the 'City of Glasgow' to go to Europe with his fellow soldiers, never to return alive. 

The 'City of Glasgow' - the ship which transported Everett Bates to Europe in 1918.
It was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Ireland one month later.
Source: wrecksite.eu

Everett Bates embarkation record
Source: Ancestry.com and Fold3.com

The activities of Everett's division during the three months prior to his death are recorded elsewhere (link below) and in the interest of saving space, I will not detail them here. However, we are exceptionally privileged to have access to the diary of another soldier in the 321st, who wrote in great detail about the events that transpired on the date of Everett's death at the Battle of Moranville in France. The full diary is located at this link, but I have excerpted small bits and pieces to provide the reader some idea of the awful realities that Everett faced on that last day of his earthly existence.

'About 5 o'clock (am) we walked around and looked at the sleeping company in their little shell holes, every one in a shell of his own. I wondered how many of them would be living at noon that day and I thought how hard it would be to arouse them from a peaceful sleep to go out to kill and be killed. At this time we called the men....the men rubbed their eyes and tightened their belts for there was no water to wash their faces or food to fill their stomachs. The men took it good naturedly and prepared to go over the top.....

The high explosive shells were falling just as though it was raining them from above....we could hear the continuous ring of M.G. (machine gun) fire and every now and then a man could be seen going to the rear carrying a bullet pierced arm or limping back on a leg that had been shot...nothing could stop us as long as life lasted for our orders were to take Attain or die trying. 

We were lost in a fog and wading water waist deep.....we rushed on for some distance and found that we were caught in a trap.....we fought there for some time in the marsh up to our waist and the coldest water I ever felt. We were in an awful fix in a trap sure from all sides and our men were being killed by the M.G. from the front and a box barrage from the rear......Our scouts were out in front of the front wave about 40 yards and the fog was so dense that we couldn't see them at all but we knew very well when they came in contact with the enemy for they opened up with what seemed us a thousand M.G. and a few 77s#'s which they shot whiz bangs point blank at us......

At seven minutes to eleven a runner came up to the Capt. out of breath and handed him an order. I had no idea what the order meant.....as soon as he read the order he called two runners and told them to go to the platoons and give them orders to cease firing at eleven o'clock. At 11 a.m. we ceased firing and the Germans jumped up, threw their rifles down and came running to meet us....We spent the rest of the day gathering up the dead and wounded of the field and they were plentiful. We hauled many loads of dead bodies up and buried them in a hole dug like a long ditch. The men were laid close together, side by side, and covered up...... 

The Germans celebrated all night long by sending up flares and lights from the trenches and they were so glad they wouldn't sleep at all but we were perfectly willing to rest and sleep.'

Thomas 'Jack' Pinkney Shinn, Co. B, 321st Inf., 81st Div., U.S. Army 

Chaplain B.S. Vaughn presiding over the mass burial of the dead at Moranville on November 12, 1918. The graves are marked by small slabs of wood. Everett was one of the deceased soldiers for whom this service was given.
Source: https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2018/11/11/north-carolinians-respond-armistice-november-11-1918

Everett was originally interred among this sad line of deceased soldiers described by Jack Shinn. It is not known how his demise was conveyed to his wife and family, though it is almost certain they received the news via telegram. His death was announced in the Asheville Citizen-Times on December 10, 1918. 

'America's Honor List'
Source: Asheville Citizen Times, December 10, 1918

On February 27, 1919, Lillie gave birth to Everett's child, a son that she named after his father. Sadly, however, Everett Robert Bates Jr.'s life was to be cut tragically short as he died on January 1, 1921, of meningitis. Lillie, no doubt devastated by the loss of both her husband and son in such a short period of time, married James Floyd Cunningham just a few months later in March.

Everett Sr. remained in France until  July 1921, when his body was repatriated to the United States (unlike many of his comrades, whose bodies remain buried in foreign soil). He was interred in the Tabor Cemetery near the grave of his son. It is a peaceful and beautiful place for his eternal repose, in the mountains of home - far removed from the horrors of the battlefield upon which he died. 

Everett Bates repatriation documentation
Source: Fold3.com

Tombstone of Everett Robert Bates, Sr. (Tabor Cemetery)
Source: Felicia Mashburn on Findagrave.com

Sadly, for every Everett Bates, whose life is being honored in this article, there are millions more soldiers who were killed in action whose incomplete lives have been long-forgotten over time. Each of them was an Everett with their own story- full of life, with families and friends they loved and who loved them, with plans for a future that they would sadly never see come to fruition. As we celebrate Memorial Day on Monday, May 25th, I would encourage my readers to each take a moment to remember all those soldiers who gave their lives for the freedoms that we and our fellow men around the world enjoy and take for granted. May you each have a blessed holiday.

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Notes to the reader: 

• For those interested in learning more, a full-text file of the book,  'The History of the 321st Infantry' may be found for free at this link. 
• The excellent movie, '1917', was released early this year. It won rave reviews for its depictions of the horrors of the Western Front during World War I - I highly recommend it. 

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Sources:

Ancestry.com

Asheville Citizen-Times, December 10, 1918

David DeHart

Findagrave.com

Fold3.com

ncdcr.gov
Newspapers.com

wrecksite.eu

Stories of Stones - Oscar Shuler (1906 - 1917)

Indian Creek is likely my favorite spot in the park, and I am either hiking or riding my bike on it at least once a week. Prior to its acquisition by the National Park Service in the late 1920's, the creek once had (according to one of its oldest residents) approximately 30 families living on it at one time. It had its own church and school and at least one mill (written about in this article) and was a small but thriving community. However, Indian Creek, like everywhere else in these mountains, saw its fair share of tragedy and loss, and today I visited the Queen/Styles Cemetery on the creek to pay my respects to a young boy buried there.

Oscar Shuler's stone
Source: Findagrave.com (Mike Gourley, 2011)

Queen/Styles Cemetery
Photo by Wendy Meyers (December 25, 2019)

Oscar Shuler was born (likely on Indian Creek) on May 19, 1906, the second documented child of James and Nora (nee' Laney) Shuler. We know almost nothing of his brief life. He is captured in the 1910 census at the age of 4 along with his parents, sister Eva, and brother Robert, with his parents recorded as being subsistence farmers (as were most others living on the creek in the early 1900's). Life was hard for these families, and like all children of the mountains, Oscar would have been expected to contribute heavily to the day-to-day activities required to run the household year round - gardening, cutting firewood, helping with the livestock, and so on. 

His parents were both literate and he does appear to have gone to school for at least a time, as his death certificate records his being a "schoolboy". He lived on the upper end of Indian Creek so his walk to and from school would have likely been around two miles each way. He also likely attended the Indian Creek Church on Sundays. Beyond that, Oscar's life is an enigma. I do not even have a picture of him.

Robert Shuler family in the 1910 Census, Charleston Township
Source: ancestry.com

Tragically, Oscar's life came to an end at the tender age of 11 on November 26, 1917, after a devastating 3-day illness. His death certificate records that no doctor attended him, but that per the history given by the parents, it was believed by Dr. James DeHart that he had died of meningitis. With an extant mortality rate for untreated meningitis approaching 70% in the modern day, poor little Oscar stood virtually no chance of surviving this illness over 100 years ago. It is absolutely heartbreaking to imagine the horror faced by Nora and Jim Shuler as they sat watching helplessly as their son succumbed to his illness.

Oscar Shuler's death certificate
Source: Ancestry.com

As tragic as the circumstances of his death were, they were the grist for the creation of one of the most poignant headstones to be found in the entire park. For Nora, in her grief, decided to handcraft a stone for her son rather than place a simple (unmarked) fieldstone. She is said to have carved an inscription in wood; a framework was then created and concrete poured and allowed to cure to create the stone. The end result is a headstone whose inscription is backwards; however, it matters not, for the love with which it was created resonates in every single letter and number. Turned around, the stone reads as follows (I have not corrected the spelling):

Osker Shuler

Sun if Nora Shuter

Wos Borned May 19 196

Died Nove 20 1917

At Rest

Oscar Shuler's stone - photo is reversed for readability
Photo by Wendy Meyers (2012)

All of Oscar's Indian Creek kin left the area in the late 1920's and early 30's after their land was acquired for the creation of the Park. He has lain quietly for eternity for 102 years now, visited only by the rare curious hiker and by the families that come once a year for Decoration Day on Memorial Day weekend. Time and weather have prevailed and his stone now lies broken on the ground, oddly symbolic of the incomplete life it represents. 

And yet, if you place a hand on the stone and allow your fingers to trace the markings, you can still feel the love and sadness embodied in the hand of the grieving mother who sought to memorialize her child in the only way she could. Through Nora's simple tribute, Oscar's life will always be remembered.....a beautiful and powerful reminder of the tenuous nature of life and death a century ago in these mountains we call home.

Oscar Shuler's broken stone
Photo by Wendy Meyers (December 25, 2019)

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For those interested in visiting the Queen/Styles Cemetery, here are the directions:
From the gate at the main Deep Creek trailhead, hike approximately 0.8 miles up the Deep Creek Trail to the intersection with Indian Creek. Turn right on Indian Creek and hike approximately 2.5 miles until you come to the third bridge on Indian Creek itself. Just before you cross the bridge, there is an old road on the right - take this road and hike approximately a quarter of a mile up the road; the road will terminate at the cemetery. The round-trip hike is just over 7 miles.

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Sources:

ancestry.com 

cdc.gov

findagrave.com

Great Smoky Mountains National Park archives

Witcher's Chapel - Easter Morning (April 21, 1889)

This Easter morning service exactly 130 years ago was nothing akin to the type of Easter service typically held at churches in the modern day. However, it also seems entirely appropriate to celebrate the homegoing of a clearly beloved community member on the day of the Resurrection. Best wishes to all my readers for a blessed Easter!

Interior of Palmer Chapel at Cataloochee

Souce: npplan.com

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"Rev. P.P. McLean held a memorial service in memory of Eli Collins at Witchers Chapel Sunday April 21^st 1889.

The morning broke in full splendor, solemn quietude pervaded the land. Before 9 o’clock the stillness was broken by the call to Sabbath school. At 10:15 we repaired to the place appointed where the men of God should stand forth and speak in memory of a sainted brother. The services were opened by appropriate singing after which the minister arose and said, “We might, as one of old, ask what it is that has caused this large assembly to come to the house of God this beautiful Sabbath morning. We presume it is because a servant of God has been called home to rest.”

A very appropriate hymn was then announced which was followed by scriptural reading suitable to the occasion. Then was read the life incidents of the deceased brother, followed by another hymn sung by the minister. He then announced the text and proceeded to its discussion which was clear, able, and forcible, making vivid to the minds of his hearers things that have been passed far down the vale of time.

The audience was large and attentive. A collection amounting to $3 was taken for foreign missions. Reception of members into the church, three. The services were concluded by appropriate singing and prayer.

Anonymous"

 _______________________________

Notes:

Witcher’s Chapel was located in close proximity to the area which later became Judson and was almost certainly named for the Methodist Episcopal minister William Witcher, who at one time resided in Macon County.

The Witcher’s Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church South was located on the south bank of Alarka Creek and on the former Parch Corn Flower/Flour reservation (which Thomas Wentworth Pledge Poindexter was living on prior to the Cherokee removal) – which later became part of Judson. In September 1858, Elizabeth Poindexter, widow of T.W.P. Poindexter sold, for $1, a half-acre parcel to the trustees of the Witcher’s Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church South (consisting of Joel Sawyer, Edward DeLozier [her son-in-law], John Anderson, and James Ingram) for the purposes of constructing a church house for both school and church purposes. The building served for several decades as a church, school, and meeting-house for the community. 

Newspaper announcement of service times - Witcher's Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church South

Source: Swain County Herald, 24 January 1889

The name “Witcher’s Chapel” disappears from the written record (in the records that I have been able to access) after 1891. It is possible that it later became the Judson Methodist Episopal Church.

Eli Collins (ca. 1807 – 1889) was originally interred in the Judson Public Cemetery. At the time of Fontana Lake’s impoundment, his grave was identified (though was apparently only marked by a fieldstone). No discernible remains were found, therefore, it is likely that a symbolic shovelful of dark earth was dug and placed in a new container, and reinterred in Lauada Cemetery.

Judson, NC (1938). Thanks to Don Casada for identification of the church and cemetery.

Source: NARA Southeast

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Sources:

Ancestry.com, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Cemetery Removal Records

Macon County, NC Register of Deeds

National Archives and Records Administration, Southeast – TVA Records

Swain County Herald, 25 April 1889 

The Life and Tragic Death of Ben Enloe

Today, September 8th, 2016, marks 100 years since the death of Benjamin F. Enloe, a member of one of the most prominent families in Swain County during the 1800's and early- to mid- 1900's.

Ben Enloe, circa late 1890s/early 1900s

Source: Laura Taylor

Frequent readers here know of my fondness for the Judson area, because I grew up about a mile from there. One of the most wealthy families in Judson was headed by William Aesoph  'Ace' Enloe. Readers are likely familiar with the Abram Enloe family as being among the early settlers of the Oconalufty Valley, relocating there from Puzzle Creek in Rutherford County sometime after 1810. Ace, one of Abram's grandsons, was born in the Oconalufty area in 1847 and likely lived in that greater area until sometime in the 1890's. He married Margaret Clarinda Conner, with whom (according to the 1910 census), he had 12 children.

William Aesoph 'Ace' and Clarinda (Conner) Enloe

Source: Laura Taylor

Ben, one of the 'middle' children, was born on June 9th, 1879. During his childhood, Ben would have been expected to contribute heavily to the family's day-to-day work: helping in the garden, gathering firewood, hauling water from the spring, feeding the livestock, and similar activities. His responsibilities would have increased as he grew older. The census records note that he was literate so he almost certainly attended school; an 1890 newspaper article noted that the Oconalufty school ran for 5 months out of the year. The Enloes probably also attended church at either the Oconalufty Baptist Church or at the Hughes Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church. Sometime in the late 1890's, Ace moved his family to the Judson area, purchasing the Amos Ashe property and mill. Ben probably had a role in running the mill prior to his departure from the area.

The Enloe Mill in Judson, circa 1910

Source: Great Smoky Mountains National Park archives

The Enloe Mill in Judson, circa 1909

Source: Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Ben had left Swain County by 1900, as the census that year showed him working as a coal miner in one of the 8 coal mines near Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Virginia. By 1910, Ben had left the coal mines and moved much closer to home, living in Asheville and working for the Southern Railway as a fireman. Also called a stoker, the fireman's job was to shovel the coal that powered the steam engines. The job required close coordination with the engineer in order to ensure that the engine was adequately powered for all operations, stoking the fire higher when more power was needed, and making sure that the train didn't explode. Often firemen worked as apprentices to the engineers and were sometimes allowed to operate the powerful locomotives under their supervision.

Engineer and Fireman/Stoker on a tourist steam locomotive in Colorado

Source: The Durango Herald

By the time he was 37 in September of 1916, Ben was an engineer for the railroad, responsible for managing the very complex steam boiler and controlling the speed of the train, a massive vehicle that could weigh thousands of tons when considering the engine and cars. The engineer had to know the location of signals, curves, crossings, and changes in uphill or downhill grade along his route in order to safely control the train. The job was a good one, earning Ben, a lifelong bachelor with no family to support, a comfortable salary.

A Southern Railway freight train near Black Mountain, circa early 1900s

Source: Alibaba.com

On the night of September 8th, 1916, Ben was backing a work train in toward the Biltmore train station, likely getting ready to head to his home. Unbeknownst to him, freight train #172, pulling several loaded coal cars, was having difficulty ascending Buena Vista hill 3.5 miles distant from Biltmore. The engineer of the freight train realized that it was not sufficiently powered to make the full ascent and attempted to avert derailment by pulling the engine itself just off the track, leaving the coal cars on the track with their brakes set.  Unfortunately, the brakes did not hold and the train began to hurtle backwards toward Asheville, picking up a great degree of speed along the way despite the valiant attempts of brakeman N.G. McGalliard to reset the brakes.

Coming into view of Ben Enloe's work train, which was situated on a small bridge at the Fairview rail crossing, McGalliard realized that disaster was imminent and jumped clear in the nick of time. Unfortunately though, Ben and his flagman Erwin Pitts did not escape in time and were instantly killed upon the collision of the trains. Pitts' body, buried under tons of coal, was found rather quickly. However, Ben's badly scalded and mangled body, found buried underneath both the work train's engine and the coal, was not recovered until the following afternoon despite what were described as frantic efforts to find him. The wreckage of the trains was spread over a good distance along the track, and the work engine was said to be torn up such that it looked as if it was made of cardboard.

A coal train wreck, circa early 1900s

Source: Norfolk and Western Historical Society

Ben Enloe's death certificate

Source: Ancestry.com

Some of Ben's family arrived in Asheville on September 9th in order to accompany his body back to Swain County, where funeral services were held the next day. A cemetery committee chaired by D.K. Collins provided a burial plot for him in the Bryson City cemetery. Two days later, Ace purchased the plot and additional space for other family members to be buried in as they passed away.
Probate records indicate that Ben had $500 (almost $11,000 in today's currency) to his name at the time of his death. His father, Ace, was the recipient of Ben's entire estate.

Signature of Ace Enloe on Ben Enloe's Probate Record

Source: Ancestry.com

Over the years, Ace and Clarinda, along with some of Ben's brothers and nephews, joined their brother and son in eternal repose in the family plot, a peaceful place with a beautiful view of the mountains. For those interested in visiting, the plot lies a short distance behind the cemetery's angel and in line with the Everett family graves. And if you do choose to visit, spare a moment to reflect on the young man buried here, cut down in the prime of his life in such a tragic manner.

Tombstone of Ben Enloe in the Bryson City Cemetery

Source: Don Casada

I would like to recognize the significant contributions of Laura Taylor to this blog. Laura, a great-niece of Ben Enloe, has contributed significant family history and numerous photographs of the Enloe family that bring this blog entry, and especially Ben Enloe, to life.

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Sources:
Alibaba.com
Ancestry.com
Don Casada
http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/exhibition/exhibition_9_8.html
Laura Taylor
The Asheville Citizen-Times, September 9, 1916
The Charlotte Observer, September 11, 1916
The Durango Herald
The High Point Enterprise, September 11, 1916
The Tennessean, September 1, 1890
Western Carolina University Special Collections

Lemmons Branch on a Spring Day

It makes me glad that so many of you have read and enjoyed the first part of Don Casada's tale of his father's move from Clay County to Swain County.  He has already written the second part of this tale, and I will be publishing it later this week.  But today, I'm simply posting a few pictures and words from an outing today with my family.

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A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to interview Hazel (Lemmons) Cook, who was born on Mouse Branch and lived there for the first 8 years of her life. Those of you who mountain bike or hike will know that the waters of Mouse Branch that are not under the waters of Fontana Lake are located in the Tsali Recreation Area straddling Swain and Graham Counties.  Hazel's ancestors are those for whom the nearby Lemmons Branch is named.  At the time that TVA surveyed the Lemmons Branch area, there were two families still living there. 



1942 TVA map of Lemmons Branch area

One of the home sites is now underwater, but the other is not and is easily accessible off the road to the Lemmons Branch boat ramp.  My family and I decided to investigate today, and found a simply gorgeous site with an outstanding chimney.  While Mrs. Cook did not live here, some of her relatives did.

The old road leading to the home, which has clearly been maintained by the US Forest Service

 

The chimney, a field of daffodils, and a magnificent old walnut tree



The chimney was double-sided and remarkably well-preserved.



The home's spring was beautifully 'rocked in'.

 Mrs. Cook had mentioned visiting a small cemetery as a child that was close by.  The TVA map of the Lemmons Branch area corroborated her story (as shown above).  The cemetery is evidently referred to as the 'Welch #2' cemetery and lies on land that was owned by Forest Denton at the time of the Fontana Lake removals.  I could find no indication that this cemetery had been moved by TVA(likely because it was old, the graves were only fieldstones, and those buried there could not be identified), so my family and I set out to find the cemetery after our home site visit. 



Navigating the old Lemmons Branch Road heading to the lake



The Lemmons Branch embayment

Despite the fact that my husband and I had plotted the cemetery's likely location using Google Earth and the TVA map and almost certainly located the site of the cemetery, we were disappointed to find no fieldstones standing in the area....only an iron surveying pin nearby.


An iron surveying pin located near the probable cemetery site

That's OK though - it was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the daffodils were in full bloom.....and now the elusive cemetery has given me an excuse to go back.  'Twas hard to be disappointed.

Daffodils in bloom at the Lemmons Branch home site

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Sources:

Don Casada

Carol Cochran

Google Earth

TVA Map # 504-21