Up John Carr

And

Around

and

Down Cove

By

Okey L. King

Photo By Okey L. King

.....I celebrated the first Sunday of my 71st June, along with my grandson Jon and my friend Woody Cox, by making a challenging walk up John Carr Mountain. John Carr rises on the border of Greenbrier and Monroe Counties.
.....We drove from Woody's to the top of the divide and parked just off of the road on the natural gas line.

.....
.....Photo By Okey L. King

.....The gas line provided us with part of the route to the top of John Carr. The photo directly above gives a view to a point perhaps a third of the way up the hill. But, before we could go up, we had to go down. We descended into a hollow by a steep and rough trail that seemed to had been used by someone on a dirtbike. We had to be very careful in order to keep our footing. From the bottom of the hollow we climbed a trail up a steep slope that was often coverd in small loose rock. After a lot of good exertion, we found ourselves at the third way point of the hill.

...............
...............Photo by Okey L. King

.....The photo directly above and the first photo on the page was made at this point that we had reached. We could see where we hade come from and we could see the top of the hill. This spot was also featured in my novel "Our Mountain of Refuge." It was in the woods just to right of where we stood that we refugees made our first camp.

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..........Photo by Okey L. King

.....From this point, we were blessed to be able to take a road through the green woods. I don't know if you have noticed, but, in West Virginia, there seems to be thousands of shades of greem. It seems that every variety of plant has its own shade. And there are literally thousands of varieties of plants. ...............
...............Photo by Okey L. King

.....................
.....................Photo by Okey L. King

....The road suddenly began to climb steeply and we found ourselves back in the sunshine of the gasline. Jon was leading the way with me right behind. It was very steep.

..........................
..........................Photo by Okey L. King

.....Just below the summit I turned ane made this photo. You can see the gasline as it rises and falls in the distance. The mountain in the distance is Rich Mountain. Below Rich, you can see the lower upper reaches of Kates Mountain. It near distance, Laurel Creek meanders unseen. Across the divide, rises Archer Fork. Laurel joins Little Laurel and then plunges through a gorge. On the other side, it is joined by Archer's Fork and then it flow through the wilderness until it gives itself up to Second Creek.

.....John Carr Mountain was named for John Floyd Carr. His parents were Madison Harvey and Francis Clemintine Vickers Carr. Like many of the other old families, the Carrs are related to most of the families of the area.

Descendants of Nancy A. Carr
																																			
	1  	Nancy A. Carr	b: 1807 in Giles County	d: August 02, 1890 in Craig County																												Census: 1850 Botetourt, 1860 Craig	Census: 1850 Botetourt, 1860 Craig		d: August 02, 1890 in Craig County
.		+Buchannon Ball	b: 1794	d: 1882																												Census: 1860 Sinking Creek, Craig County	Census: 1860 Sinking Creek, Craig County		d: 1882
	2  	Lucinda Carr	b: 1831																																
...		+Givens																																	
.	3  	John F. Givens	b: 1852																																
.	3  	Clementine Givens	b: 1856																																
.	3  	Samuel D. Givens	b: 1857																																
	2  	Isabella Carr	b: 1833																																
	2  	Samuel Carr	b: 1840									Military service: 22 Va Co C Ist Kanawha																							
	2  	Madison Harvey Carr	b: April 1843 in Sinking Creek, Craig County, VA	d: 1906								Military service: 28 VA IN CO B																				Census: 1870 Allegheny, Craig, 1880 Craig, 1880 Sweet Springs, 1900 Sweet Springs	Census: 1870 Allegheny, Craig, 1880 Craig, 1880 Sweet Springs, 1900 Sweet Springs		d: 1906
...		+Francis Clemintine Vickers	b: 1846	d: 1933									Father: William Vickers	Mother: Rachel																		Census: 1910 Sweet Springs	Census: 1910 Sweet Springs		d: 1933
.	3  	Nancy Luverta Carr	b: March 04, 1866 in Craig County	d: 1910																												Census: 1900 White Sulphur	Census: 1900 White Sulphur		d: 1910
.....		+Carron Lee Ragland	b: 1864	d: May 23, 1893 in Greebbrier		Cause of death: Died from a sawmill accident in which a piece of wood pierced his temple.							Father: J. D. D. Ragland	Mother: Sophia E.																		Census: 1880 Boiling Spring	Census: 1880 Boiling Spring		d: May 23, 1893 in Greebbrier
..	4  	Ivy C. Ragland	b: 1886																																
..	4  	Cora Lee Ragland	b: 1887						Individual Note: Living with Grandfather in 1900																							Census: 1900 White Sulphur, 1900 Sweet Springs	Census: 1900 White Sulphur, 1900 Sweet Springs		
..	4  	Clara B. Ragland	b: 1890																																
..	4  	Harry I. Ragland	b: September 1892	d: October 23, 1941 in Columbus																															d: October 23, 1941 in Columbus
..	4  	John C. Ragland	b: 1893	d: November 12, 1961																															d: November 12, 1961
.		*2nd Husband of Nancy Luverta Carr:																																	
.....		+Unknown																																	
..	4  	Besie V. Ragland	b: 1897						Individual Note: Living with Grandmother in 1910																							Census: 1910 Sweet Springs	Census: 1910 Sweet Springs		
..	4  	Birdie A. Ragland	b: 1899																													Census: 1910 White Sulphur	Census: 1910 White Sulphur		
.	3  	William Carr	b: June 08, 1867 in Craig County	d: in Glace																												Census: 1870 Craig, 1900 Sweet Springs	Census: 1870 Craig, 1900 Sweet Springs		d: in Glace
.	3  	Maggie Jane Carr	b: April 08, 1868 in Craig County	d: June 04, 1948 in Sweet Springs																															d: June 04, 1948 in Sweet Springs
.....		+John William Baker	b: April 04, 1866 in Monroe County	d: March 09, 1948 in Gap Mills									Father: George M. Baker	Mother: Sarah J. Carter																		Census: 1910, 1920 Sweet Springs	Census: 1910, 1920 Sweet Springs		d: March 09, 1948 in Gap Mills
..	4  	John Madison Baker	b: September 20, 1888	d: December 11, 1927 in Paint Bank																															d: December 11, 1927 in Paint Bank
......		+Mary Henryetta Childress	b: 1892	d: 1981																															d: 1981
....	5  	Virginia C. Baker	b: 1912 in New Castle	d: February 15, 1984 in New Castle																															d: February 15, 1984 in New Castle
....	5  	Guy L. Baker	b: September 30, 1915 in New castle	d: April 02, 2009																															d: April 02, 2009
....	5  	Elsie Louise Baker	b: May 22, 1919	d: October 06, 1996																															d: October 06, 1996
....	5  	Earl Trainham Baker	b: September 15, 1924	d: March 13, 1985																															d: March 13, 1985
..	4  	Bessie Florence Baker	b: March 25, 1889	d: December 18, 1969																															d: December 18, 1969
......		+Steven Richard Bates	b: December 25, 1884 in Paint Bank																																
..	4  	George W. Baker	b: June 1890																																
..	4  	Lula F. Baker	b: August 16, 1892	d: March 03, 1989 in Lewisburg																															d: March 03, 1989 in Lewisburg
......		+Charles Randolph Sams	b: June 22, 1885	d: February 09, 1975 in Sweet Springs																															d: February 09, 1975 in Sweet Springs
..	4  	Eliza J. Baker	b: March 21, 1893	d: January 19, 1973																															d: January 19, 1973
..	4  	William G. Baker	b: June 06, 1895	d: January 15, 1976																															d: January 15, 1976
..	4  	Peter Thomas Baker	b: January 17, 1897	d: July 21, 1981																															d: July 21, 1981
..	4  	James Frederick Baker	b: August 08, 1900	d: July 17, 1974																															d: July 17, 1974
..	4  	Joseph A. Baker	b: May 04, 1902	d: October 14, 1987 in Bellair, OH																															d: October 14, 1987 in Bellair, OH
..	4  	Nettie Baker	b: October 25, 1904	d: November 23, 1938																															d: November 23, 1938
..	4  	Nora Baker	b: August 25, 1907	d: October 14, 1956																															d: October 14, 1956
..	4  	Mildred Baker	b: April 25, 1909	d: October 30, 1987																															d: October 30, 1987
..	4  	Buster Baker	b: August 21, 1911	d: April 19, 1919																															d: April 19, 1919
..	4  	Mary Baker	b: October 16, 1912	d: October 19, 1912																															d: October 19, 1912
.	3  	John Floyd Carr	b: December 02, 1868	d: February 26, 1939 in Glace																	Source: marriage index											Census: 1880 Sweet Springs, 1910, 1920, 1930  White Sulphur District	Census: 1880 Sweet Springs, 1910, 1920, 1930  White Sulphur District		d: February 26, 1939 in Glace
.....		+Alethia C. Clark	b: June 14, 1867	d: October 16, 1934 in Roncevere			m: March 26, 1909																											m: March 26, 1909	d: October 16, 1934 in Roncevere
..	4  	Elizabeth B. Carr	b: April 14, 1891	d: February 14, 1971 in Selma																															d: February 14, 1971 in Selma
......		+Hubert Wilson Feury	b: January 14, 1885	d: 1922									Father: Phillip Richard Feury	Mother: Margaret McDowell																		Census: 1920 Second Creek	Census: 1920 Second Creek		d: 1922
....	5  	Arthur H. Feury	b: 1912																																
....	5  	Mary E. Feury	b: 1914																																
....	5  	Fannie L. Feury	b: 1915																																
....	5  	Jessy H. Feury	b: 1918																																
..	4  	Anna Carr	b: 1896	d: 1948																															d: 1948
......		+Newton Gilbert Dowdy	b: February 15, 1884	d: October 1977 in Fairlea	Burial: Dowdy Cemetery								Father: James Crockett Dowdy	Mother: Nancy Catherin "Manassa" Martin																		Census: 1900 Sweet Springs	Census: 1900 Sweet Springs		d: October 1977 in Fairlea
....	5  	Edith Aretha Dowdy	b: June 13, 1913 in Glace	d: May 30, 1971 in Roncevete																															d: May 30, 1971 in Roncevete
........		+Leslie Gilbert Hoke	b: July 21, 1897	d: December 01, 1946									Father: Theodore Amon Hoke	Mother: Nancy Jane Holsapple																					d: December 01, 1946
....	5  	Ruby Belle Dowdy	b: March 21, 1919 in Glace	d: May 30, 1971 in Roncevete																															d: May 30, 1971 in Roncevete
........		+Joseph Cornelius O'Brien	b: 1913	d: 1989																															d: 1989
....	5  	Gladys Dowdy																																	
....	5  	Dorothy Dowdy																																	
........		+Phillips																																	
..	4  	John Floyd II Carr	b: April 29, 1899	d: June 23, 1978																															d: June 23, 1978
......		+Ruby Carlisle Burns	b: June 25, 1913	d: May 09, 1963									Father: Telford Raymond Burns	Mother: Serena Pearl Wylie																					d: May 09, 1963
..	4  	Lillian Mamie Carr	b: March 06, 1901	d: March 10, 1986 in Baltimore																												Census: 1930 White Sulphur	Census: 1930 White Sulphur		d: March 10, 1986 in Baltimore
....	5  	Wilbur Mason Carr	b: May 01, 1919	d: September 14, 1968 in McDowell		Cause of death: colon cancer																													d: September 14, 1968 in McDowell
........		+Maxine Annadale Browning	b: December 07, 1920	d: November 1970 in McDowell			m: 1945																											m: 1945	d: November 1970 in McDowell
......	6  	Patty Carr																																	
..........		+Steele																																	
......		+Telford Raymond Burns	b: May 15, 1894	d: September 29, 1951 in Baltimore			m: Aft. 1930						Father: John Andrew Burns	Mother: Lizzetta Magdalene Bostic																				m: Aft. 1930	d: September 29, 1951 in Baltimore
..	4  	Daisey May Rhodes Carr	b: January 1903	d: December 01, 1979 in Roncevere																															d: December 01, 1979 in Roncevere
......		+Agustus Woodson Honaker	b: September 09, 1890				m: Aft. 1920						Father: James William Honaker	Mother: Alcinda Mary Bennett																				m: Aft. 1920	
....	5  	Leonard H. Honaker	b: Abt. 1925																																
....	5  	John E. Honaker	b: Abt. 1927																																
....	5  	Hazel Honaker	b: April 06, 1929	d: January 24, 2008																												Census: 1930 Irish Corner	Census: 1930 Irish Corner		d: January 24, 2008
........		+Oscar Morgan	b: Abt. 1932										Father: Carl Roger Morgan	Mother: Madaline Morgan																					
....		*2nd Husband of Hazel Honaker:																																	
........		+Nelson McClung																																	
......	6  	Jerry McClung																																	
....	5  	James Honaker	b: Aft. 1930																																
....	5  	Larry Honaker																																	
....	5  	Gene Honaker																																	
.	3  	Francis J. Carr	b: December 1870																																
.....		+Thomas J. Bates	b: 1860																																
..	4  	Betty Elizabeth Bates	b: 1891																													Census: 1900 Sweet Springs	Census: 1900 Sweet Springs		
......		+Robert Ira Young	b: June 11, 1884	d: December 1980 in White Sulphur			m: April 17, 1927						Father: Henry Jackson Young	Mother: Mary Jane Bostic																		Census: 1920 White Sulphur	Census: 1920 White Sulphur	m: April 17, 1927	d: December 1980 in White Sulphur
....	5  	Hazel M. Young	b: 1909																																
..	4  	William T. Bates	b: August 1892																																
..	4  	Borma Ann Bates	b: September 1894																																
..	4  	Josie B. Bates	b: August 1896																																
..	4  	Minnie Florence Bates	b: June 1898																																
..	4  	Alonzo H. Bates	b: December 1899																																
..	4  	Dora L. Bates	b: 1901																																
..	4  	Leonard E. Bates	b: 1904																																
..	4  	Daniel T. Bates	b: 1909																																
.		*2nd Husband of Francis J. Carr:																																	
.....		+Henry Hayes Feury	b: January 29, 1879 in White Sulphur Springs	d: February 07, 1960 in Caldwell, WV			m: 1901 in Greenbrier County						Father: George Edward Feury	Mother: Lucrecy Ellen Alpaugh																				m: 1901 in Greenbrier County	d: February 07, 1960 in Caldwell, WV
..	4  	Daniel Feury	b: August 21, 1909																																
.	3  	Nora Belle Carr	b: June 20, 1873																																
.....		+Jacob B. Keys	b: November 1868	d: June 28, 1936 in White Sulphur			m: Bef. 1890						Father: Thomas Keys	Mother: Mary Ann Caldwell																		Census: 1870, 1880, 1920 White Sulphur	Census: 1870, 1880, 1920 White Sulphur	m: Bef. 1890	d: June 28, 1936 in White Sulphur
..	4  	William Harveey Keys	b: May 03, 1890 in White Suphur District																																
..	4  	Robert Canton Keys	b: May 01, 1894																																
.	3  	Lelia Ann Carr	b: October 11, 1874 in Craig County																																
.	3  	Peter B. Carr	b: June 1878																													Census: 1900, 1910 Sweet Springs	Census: 1900, 1910 Sweet Springs		
.	3  	David F. Carr	b: 1879	d: February 11, 1896																															d: February 11, 1896
.	3  	Madison Carr	b: 1880	d: 1884																															d: 1884
.	3  	Infant Female Carr	b: 1884	d: 1884																															d: 1884
	2  	Floyd Carr	b: 1845									Military service: 22 Va Co C Ist Kanawha																							

.....
.....Photo by Okey L. King

.....At the top, you look East into Virginia. Not far to the east is Big Ridge and the Big Ridge Community. I hope to have a page about Big Ridge soon.

..........
..........photo by Jonathan D. King

.....I didn't want to just walk back the way we come. To the south from the top of John Carr, a road, that is now just a four-wheeler trail, traverses the ridge in the direction of Cove Mountain. I am not sure just where John Carr ends and Cove begins. It is a nice gentle walk. I had never walked this way before.

................
................Photo by Jonathan D. KIng

.....We had not walked far when Jon stopped and said. "What's all those rocks."
.....Stretching for a long distance along the ridge was a long rock wall. Some of the wall was intact while parts were just piles of rocks. Why a wall of rocks? The answer was clear. The woods that you see in the photos were once vast fields upon the ridge. The pioneers had cleard the original woods and had farmed them. These mountains once suppored a fairly large population. This is confirmed by number of schools buildings that once stood in the area. Some folks left after the Civil War. Others left because of economic conditions. but, other farms grew back into wilderness because the old folks died off and the young folks had moved on to greener pastures. Now, the woods have reclaimed what man had taken away. If it were not for relics like these stone fences, no one would have known that people once labored hard to scratch out a living here. ..................... .....................Photo by Okey L. King

.....One the georlogical features that controlls certain aspects of thes mountains is the red shale. It is hard for water to penetrate this shale. That results in the rainwater being trapped in lowplaces on the ridges. There are water holes all along the ridge. These waterholes are the homes of slamanders and other woodland wildlife.

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.........Photo by Jonathan D. King

....Woody and I trod along while Jon is using my camara.

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..........................Photo by Okey L. King

.....This huge mudhole has been made much worse my folks tying to mudbog. Jon could not resist wading in the muck. It was kind of stinky too.

.....
.....Photo by Jonathan D. King">

.....This is the Cemetery of the Jonas Sparks Family. It is just one example of the many old cemeteries opr single graves that are scattered across these mountains forgotten or almost forgotten. You see that there are only rocks for tombstones. This is a common feature of these old cemeteries and graves.
.....Jonas' parents were Jonas and Lucinda Harrison Sparks. He waa the brother of Woody's grandfather Rev. Joseph Sparks who was a Primitive Baptist minister.

The Sparks Family

Descendants of Jonas P. Sparks
																																	
	1  	Jonas P. Sparks	b: April 07, 1882 in Wilkes County, NC	d: October 16, 1951 in Clifton Forge	Burial: Old Cemetery on Cove Mountain.				Individual Note: a neice, 14 year-old Nanny, was in househole in 1920												Source: Worle War I Records											Census: 1900, 1910, Jeffersonville, Tazewell; 1920 Sweet Springs	Census: 1900, 1910, Jeffersonville, Tazewell; 1920 Sweet Springs
.		+Rebecca Jane Crouse	b: Abt. 1886 in Tazewe;; County, VA	d: 1919 in Glace, WV			m: 1907						Father: Hugh Andrew Crouse	Mother: Susan Nay Altizer																			
	2  	Stella Sparks	b: 1906	d: 1940																													
	2  	Lucy Sparks	b: 1909	d: 1970 in Botetourt,,, VA																													
....		+Will Clark																															
...	3  	Hoover Clark																															
...	3  	Marshall Clark																															
	2  	Paul Sparks	b: 1910	d: 1993 in Covington, VA																													
....		+Lucinda Angle																															
...	3  	Butterfly Sparks																															
...	3  	Dennis Sparks																															
...	3  	Junior Sparks																															
...	3  	Linda Sparks																															
		*2nd Wife of Paul Sparks:																															
....		+Oliva Brown Loan																															
	2  	Huander Taylor Sparks	b: July 19, 1913 in Monroe County	d: December 12, 1986 in Roanoke																													
....		+Ida Mae Grubb																															
		*2nd Wife of Huander Taylor Sparks:																															
....		+Virginia Francis Loan	b: 1927	d: 1999																													
	2  	Susie Sparks	b: Abt. 1918	d: Bef. 2000																													
....		+Elmer Smith	b: 1909	d: 1978																													
		*2nd Wife of Jonas P. Sparks:																															
.		+L. Jestine Horton	b: August 23, 1869 in Carroll County	d: June 06, 1952 in White Sulphur Springs			m: Aft. 1919						Father: Henry Horton	Mother: Amanda Webb																			

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..........Photo by Okey L. King

..................
..................Photo by Jonathan D. King

.....Jon just can't seem to stay out of water holes and this is the biggest one yet. He found what I am sure is a baby salamander.

...............
.....After a nice walk along the ridge, we came out on Cove Mountain Road. Down the road and off the the mountain to the left is the community of Pedro and then Moncove Lake.

...............Photo by Jonathan D. King ......................
.....We turned right and North or Cove Mountain Road. I have driven this read may times. But, I have never walked it. It is a much different experience walking that driving. There are so many things that you never noticed from the a car. Hollows, side roads, trails and other things became manifest that I had never paid attention to before.

......................Photo by Okey L. King

..........................
.....Jonathan had again commdeered the camara and he made this photo of two older men trudging down the road. I was still doing pretty well.

..........................Photo of Jonathan D. King

.....Just after we started down the hill, we passed the Morris home. It stands in a curve of the road and is a very pleasant place. Mr. Morris is a timberman. This has been the main occupation of many men of the area for many many years. It is a very hard and dangerous job. A number of men have lost their lives during the time that I have lived here. It is also very expensive. The equipment is expensive and difficult to maintain. Something is always breaking down. Mr. Morris was working on the engine of his skidder whenwe walked by. It has been increasingly difficult for timbermen to find timber to cut. At one time, a family could go back up on the mountain, cut a load of wood, and haul it to the mill. Those days are long gone. .....
.....Photo by Okey L. King

..........
.....We continued our descent of Cove Mountain. Someitmes it is much harder to walk downhill than to walk up hill. Now your muscles have to apply the breaks. .....We finally made it to the bottom of the hill and to the community of Glace. This is a photo of the "Four Corners." We had a little caiine company who wasn't very pleased to see us. We had already encountered a number of these would be beligerent pooches who were very brave until we got to close.

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...............Photo by Okey L. King

.....We made a right toward Tuckahoe. Youcan see the sign that advertizes Tuckahoe Lake. It was but a gentle climb back up the hill to the truck. ...................
...................Photo by Okey L. King

.....Just before we began to ascend back to the Lowgap, I turned and made this photo. It had been a very pleasing walk. I was still in pretty good shape for an old man in his 71st year. We had been blessed. I don't have a spell checker on this program that I use, so there might be some words that I missed. .......................

.......................Photo by Okey L, King

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