Everything Tuckahoe and Glace

.....Tuckahoe once teemed with people with at least three one-roomed schools. There were homes all up and down the length of the valley as well as up the side valleys. After the coming of the railroad, business boomed. The logging indrustry roared until the 1920s. There was once even a brickyard that supplied bricks for the streets of Ronceverte. You coculd get on the railroad at Tuckahoe Station and go to White Sulphur or Covington, Virginia. Or, you could go accross the country.

.....Before the boom days, folks eaked out a living the best that they could. It was hard. The rich investors had taken up the bottom lands outside the valley leaving the hollows and the ridges for the poor folks. Now the rich are coming in to take the ridges. Many a child on a small poor farm went to bed on a supper of buttermilk (Or what was left of the buttermilk after the cream was gone) and cornbread. Many folks still like that fare today.

.....After the boom times, it was back to scratching out a living again for many folks. For others, moving to Cleveland, Columbus, or Baltimore was the answer. Boom times have never came back to Tuckahoe. Sometimes folks retire and come back, but the boom times have not returned.

.........
photo by Woody Cox

.....About the time that the boom was winding down, the Pentecostal folks of Tuckahoe built the Peniel Pentecostal Holiness Church Building. This was in 1923. It is still in service today. This is an older photo that was made before the coming of Tuckahoe Dam and Lake. We will talk more at length on these things later.

.....At the heart of the valley is the creek and the road. The Creek and the runs of the side valleys carved out the valley. In the last two hundred plus years, the roads have made it possible to travel by other means than by foot.
.....From White Sulphur Springs to the old village of Tuckahoe, the stream is known as Dry Creek. From Tuckahoe to the base of the divide, it is known as Tuckahoe Run. But, it is the same stream. There are many hollows with their streams that make up the Tuckahoe basin. Some are small while others are quite large. From the East, there is State Line Hollow, Allegheny Tunnel Hollow, Alexander Hollow, Broad Hollow, Ramsey Hollow (which was mislabled by the 911 folks as Broad Hollow), and Fletcher Hollow. Rising above the head of Fletcher Hollow is the high point called Fletcher Knob. At its top, the counties of Allegheny, Virginia, Greenbrier, and Monroe West Virginia meet. Above the South side of Fletcher Hollow, Fletcher Ridge runs its course. The road that ascends Ramsey Hollow was once a state maintained road. But, after a series of devestating floods, and since nobody still lived on the upper reaches, the state ceased to maintain the road. The road climbs to the top of a high ridge that is adjacent to Big Ridge near the old farm where Noah and Lottie Sparks Midkiff once lived. They, along with their daughter, are buried on a knoll behind their old house. The road joins Big Ridge Road at the Midkiffs.
.....On the west of Tuckahoe are White Hollow, Bostic Hollow, the Hollow of Laurel Run, Myles White Hollow, and Joe Vance Hollow. Up Laurel Run is the hig falls called Tuckahoe Falls. Locals call the falls Dead Man's Falls.

......In the very early years, the road as far as State Line Hollow, was part of the Sweet Sulphur Springs Pike. From Dry Creek, the Pike ascended what is now Sate Line Road and then down US Route 311 to Sweet Springs. The wealthy traveled between the spa at White Sulphur and the spa at Sweet Springs by coach by way of Crows.
.....At the time of the Pike, the road on up Tuckahoe was probably not much more than a trace. Improvements were slow in coming. Until more recent years, the road was a dirt road that followed in and out of the creek. Now, except for a short stretch, the road is a narrow winding blacktop. When you travel the road today you must use caution and be ready to put two wheels on the berm in order to avoid oncoming traffic.

.....About two and one half miles or so up the hollow, you come to two bridges. This is near what once was the White homestead. William White was born in Ireland and came to America on the Ship Lord Nelson. His son William II was born on board ship. His son James was born at Tuckahoe. William's wife was Rebecca Orr.

.....Just past the State Line Road, you will come to the old Corneilus Caldwell place.

........
.........(photo by Okey L. King)

.....Neil's wife was Carrie Ella Alpaugh the daughter of John David and Margaret Vance Alpaugh. Neil's parents were John C. and Catherine Caldwell. This old pond is on the old Caldwell Place.
.....The old Caldwell family cemetery is on Fletcher Ridge behind Woody Cox's Home. But, you't find it. It never had stones, but the graves were surrounded by wooden rails to keep the livestalk off of the greves. However, the landowner bulldosed the site. Now it is overgrown and Woody Cox is the only one who knows where it is. When Woody passes, no one will know where these people are buried.

.....Across the road from the pond on a bench on the hillside is the McCleary Cemetery.

.........
Photo of McCleary Cemetery by Okey L. King)

.....I have had at least two funerals here and have attend others. These tombstones can tell some sad stories.

.................
.....I borrowed this photo of my friend Tommy Bostic. Tommy was tragically killed in an auto accident March 18, 2011 near his home at Moncove Lake. He was interred in this cemetery and his is the latest sad story. Below is Tommy's line back to his grandparents. His great grandparents were George William Jr. and Margaret Sindie Reed Bostic. I would like to add a separate Bostic page to the Tuckahoe page, but that will be a large undertaking.

Descendants of Frazier Dickerson Bostic
																																	
	1  	Frazier Dickerson Bostic	b: April 20, 1876	d: December 23, 1964	Burial: Hylton Cemetery																											Census: 1930 Monroe Second Creek	Census: 1930 Monroe Second Creek
.		+Ada Francis Morris	b: January 10, 1888	d: August 16, 1968	Burial: Hylton Cemetery		m: 1907 in Monroe County						Father: Andrew Lewis Morris	Mother: Lucy Virginia Caldwell																			
	2  	Joe H. Bostic	b: Abt. 1909																														
	2  	Henderson Bostic	b: December 28, 1909																														
...		+Edith Burdette	b: Abt. 1907										Father: Sylvestor Adrian Burdette	Mother: Emma Susan Grimmett																			
.	3  	Tommy Bostic	b: 1942	d: March 18, 2011																													
	2  	Robert D. Bostic	b: April 02, 1911	d: February 13, 1978	Burial: Hylton Cemetery																												
	2  	Sallie M. Bostic	b: Abt. 1914																														
	2  	Ruth E. Bostic	b: Abt. 1916																														
	2  	James M. Bostic	b: Abt. 1918	d: June 29, 2006 in Glace, Wv	Burial: Dowdy Cemetery																												
	2  	Earnest Bostic	b: June 11, 1923 in Glace, WV	d: February 06, 1994 in Glace, WV																													
...		+Lilly Ellen Morris	b: August 16, 1933 in Glace, WV	d: December 27, 2002 in Fairlea, WV	Burial: Dowdy Cemetery								Father: James Earnest Morris	Mother: Rozella Mae Hoke																			
.	3  	Jesse Bostic	b: Abt. 1954 in Glace	d: May 06, 2005 in Glace		Cause of death: self inflicted gunshot																											
.	3  	Jeannie Bostic																															
.....		+Waddell																															
.	3  	David Bostic																															
	2  	Edith Bostic	b: Abt. 1925																														
	2  	Gladys Bostic	b: Abt. 1927																														

...............
(photo by Okey L. King)

..... Now, the only thing that is left is this old horse and buggy days underpass which is both an eyesore and a bottleneck. The citizens of Tuckahoe tried to get the tunnel removed when Tuckahoe Lake was built, but they could not fight the CSX Railway. CSX also owns the Greenbrier Hotel at White Sulphur. The only thing that was done was that the floor of the underpass was lowered to accomadate the heavey equipment used to build the lake. This only made the flooding worse.

............
............1950 Photo by B. F. Cutler

.....This is a view of Tuckahoe Valley made just above the underpass near where the old station once stood. This was the view that met travelers as they came out out of the dark of Allegheny Tunnel. Of course the old folks would have also seen the old depot.

................................
.....I am grateful for this old photo of the mouth of the Tunnel. I do not know who made this photo. Another version of this photo can be seen on the net. However, I believe that both genealogy information and old photographs are public domain.

.....I have seen a note that said that Tuckahoe got its name in 1884, but it may have been known as Tuckahoe long before that. By 1950, the boom days were long gone. But it has remained an important spot because of the frieght carried by the railway. During World War II, this spot was well guarded. The tunnel exits on the eastern side of Allegheny Mountain at the little railroad town of Allegheny, Virginia on Route 311.

.....After watching for oncoming traffic, you enter and pass through the old tunnel under the railway. On the other side of the underpass, the road winds around a series of curves passing a number of homes. Just past the underpass, across the creek, is the home of the Porter Burdette Family. Although you have to all the way back to James/John Burdette who was born in 1729 to reach our common ancestor, these folks are my distant relatives. They descend from John's son Giles while I descended from John's son William. While my branch went to Mason County, Porter's family came to Tuckahoe many years ago from the Elk Knob area in Summers County. .....As you wind onup the road, on the left there are the Mines, the Grimmetts, and the Alexanders. On the right you pass the Spence Home, the Ross Mines, and then the home. Until you reach this point, the road is the same as it has been for years. But, that changes here

.....Just past the Sparks', there rises a high earthen wall. This is the Tuckahoe Dam which contains the waters of Tuckahoe Run to make Tuckahoe Lake. In the early 1970s, a huge flood roared out of Tuckahoe and flooded part of White Sulphur and the grounds to the Greenbrier Hotel. Flooded at White Sulphur was the Bank Of White Sulphur. The bank, the hotel, and the town made up a strong force to lobby for a dam somewhere. Tuckahoe was chosen, and the citizens of Tuckahoe didn't stand a chance. Homes that had been in families for many many years were condemed and bulldozed away to make way for the pork barrel project dam.

...............................

...........

....I made these photos recently, but they depict the harsh winter conditions Tuckahoe folls have faced over the many years. Although now snowplows make it easier to traverse the hollow today. It wasn't always this way. Harsh weather brought really tough conditions. At the church, folks huddled around a potbelly stove to keep warm. At home, it was usually a year-round task to make sure you had enough wood to keep you through the winter. Wood was not only used for heating, but it was esentioal for cooking. It was a tough world suited for tough people who didn't rely on the government to pull them through. They did it by sheer intestinal fortitude. And they didn't think that it was strange or unfair. It was just the way it was.

This stretch of road is just beyond the church.
Photo by Jonathan King.

.....For less thatn a mile, a two-lane road replaces the onelane. After this stretch, the road is again the road that it has been for years. Many lost their homes and the rest still have to deal with the bottlenick horse and buggy tunnel. It was a lopsided deal for Tuckahoe.

.....Back at the dam, Alexander Hollow comes in from the east. It is a huge hollow. You can look up the mouth of the hollow and see the wall that is Allegheny Mountain. Back at the Alexanders, a logging road climbs the mountain and then winds down and around and then up again to the top of the mountain on Big Ridge in Virginia and in the National Forrest.
.....Accross the valley, Bostic Hollow comes in from Kates Mountain. The waters from these hollows are not contained by the dam and roar on down the valley unabated.

.....At the upper end of the lake, on the Western side of the valley on a bench, lies the old Alpaugh Cemetery. I thought I had a photo of it, but I haven't found it. Here lie Alexanders, Alpaughs, Caldwells, and others. Many of these were once movers in the church across the valley from the cemetery. I have had several funerals here. Before the lake was built, we crossed the creek on a road now covered by the lake. We then made our way up the bottom to the cemetery. Now it is difficult to reach the cemetery.

.....This a view of the lake shore with the church in the distance, The next photo shows my grandson Jonathan fishing. He is also the photographer of some of the photos on this page.

........
Photo of Feury Cemetery by Okey L. King

.....This is the old Feury Ceemetery, but it probaly should be called the Bostic Cemetery because the number of those folks lying their. Some of the oldest settlers of the area are here including members of the Keyes family. There are a number of graves marked only by fieldstones. I have said the last words for four friends in this old hardscrabble graveyard.

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

.....This is the Cox home which is now the last house at the head of the lollow. Woody, Hillman, and Elizabeth Sparks Cox once lived here, but now, only Woody remains. The Williams house was once about a half mile above Woody's, but it burned down one night in mysterious circumstances.

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

.....If you walk up this hollow, up a ridge,a nd then down in a side hollow, you will come to where Woody was born. Lizzy lived there when she was young, but she was born up on Big Ridge just over in Virginia. This hollow and Woody's birthplace is featured in my novel Ou Mountain of Refuge. ...........
...........Photo by Okey L. King

.....This is Woody's bridge across Tcukahoe Run. It is is main access to his home. Everything but firewood comes accross this bridge. Firewood is hauled across a rough creek crossing just downstream. Years ago, Tuckahoe road was just a rough dirt road that was in the creek almost as much as on the banks of the creek.

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

.....This is Woody Cox crossing his bridge. He and I had been over at the Turkey Ridge holiness Church for a dinner.

A Tribute To Lizzie Cox: a lady of the West Virginia Mountains

The Sparks Family

A Bill Cox: Story Teller

Kates Mountain: Mountain of Beauty and of History.

.......

.....Looking down the road in front of Woody's house, you can see that the road grade has increased a good deal.

I have spent many happy hours at Woody's home. I miss Lizzy and helman a great deal. They were close to me.

.....Elizabeth Sparks father was Joseph Sparks. He was a Primitive Baptist Minister. The Sparks Family came to the Virginia-West Virginia Border Country from Carroll County, Virginia. The family had originally settled in North Carolina after they had come to Queen Anne County, Maryland from England.

.........
.....This is Joseph Sparks baptizing folks in Laurel Creek at Glace.

Descendants of Jonas Sparks
																																	
	1  	Jonas Sparks	b: February 1842 in Wilkes County, NC						Individual Note: Living with Uncle Joshua in 1860	Residence: Jeffersonville, VA																						Census: 1860, 1880, 1900, 1910  Census Virginia Jeffersonville	Census: 1860, 1880, 1900, 1910  Census Virginia Jeffersonville
.		+Lucinda Harrison	b: January 1849	d: Bef. 1910			m: February 10, 1865 in Tazewell CDounty, VA																									Census: 1900 Jeffersonville, Tazewell	Census: 1900 Jeffersonville, Tazewell
	2  	Joseph Sparks	b: November 16, 1865 in Tazewell County, VA	d: July 26, 1930 in Big Ridge, VA	Burial: Dowdy Cemetery, Glace, WV					Residence: Jeffersonville, VA in 1880	Occupation: Elder (minister) of the Primitive Baptist Church										Source: Woodson P. Cox											Census: 1880 Census	Census: 1880 Census
....		+Sarah M. Sparks	b: July 24, 1871	d: June 30, 1930	Burial: Dowdy Cemetery, Glace, WV																											Census: 1930 Greenbrier	Census: 1930 Greenbrier
...	3  	Lucy Sparks	b: Abt. 1890 in Big Ridge, Allegheny County, VA																														
.......		+Matt Booth																															
...	3  	Electra Sparks	b: March 17, 1896							Residence: Sweet Springs, WV																						Census: Worle War I Records	Census: Worle War I Records
.......		+Pearlie Sparks	b: Abt. 1904						Individual Note: May have been daughter of Joshua Sparks				Father: Joshua Sparks																				
...	3  	Gideon Sparks	b: August 05, 1898 in Grayson, VA	d: December 12, 1953 in Baptist Valley, Cedar Bluff, Tazewell, Virginia	Burial: Hankins Cemetery				Individual Note: Isaac D. Webb  and Earnest Smith living in household in 1920																							Census: 1910, 1920  Virginia, Boiling Spring, Allegheny	Census: 1910, 1920  Virginia, Boiling Spring, Allegheny
.......		+Melissa Allice Smith	b: August 02, 1895 in Carroll County, VA	d: July 21, 1977 in Tazwell, VA	Burial: Hankins Cemetery		m: August 01, 1919 in Grayson, VA						Father: Burwell Smith	Mother: Susan Elizabeth Goad																			
...	3  	Nancy Melinda Sparks	b: Abt. 1904	d: in Arizona																													
.......		+Baldwin																															
...	3  	Lottie Sparks	b: April 23, 1905 in Big Ridge, Allegheny County, VA	d: April 29, 1974	Burial: Midkif Cemetery, near Big Ridge					Residence: near Big Ridge, Allegney County, VA																							
.......		+Noah Midkiff	b: 1893	d: April 1974	Burial: Midkif Cemetery, near Big Ridge					Residence: Near Big Ridge, Allegney County, VA																							
...	3  	Sarah M. Sparks	b: Abt. 1909	d: May 1989																													
.......		+William Estep	b: March 21, 1890	d: March 24, 1973																													
...	3  	Eliza A. Sparks	b: Abt. 1912	d: March 1963																													
.......		+Joshua Sparks																															
...		*2nd Husband of Eliza A. Sparks:																															
.......		+Joe Sparks																															
...	3  	Patty Sparks	b: February 11, 1912	d: October 30, 1992					Individual Note: at home in 1930																							Census: 1930 Greenbrier	Census: 1930 Greenbrier
.......		+John Wesley Lowe	b: February 24, 1899	d: August 15, 1967 in White Sulphur Springs			m: Aft. 1930						Father: John Luther Lowe	Mother: Myria Angiline Davis																			
...	3  	Elizabeth Sparks	b: December 06, 1918 in Big Ridge, VA	d: July 06, 1989 in Greenbrier Valley Hospital, Fairlea, WV	Burial: Dowdy Cemetery, Glace, WV				Individual Note: at home in 1930	Residence: Tuckahoe Hollow								Funeral: Peniel Pentercostal Holines Church, Tuckahoe, WV by Okey L, King														Census: 1930 Greenbrier	Census: 1930 Greenbrier
.......		+Daniel Hillman Alderman Cox	b: May 10, 1918	d: May 09, 1988 in Kates Mountain, WV	Burial: Dowdy Cemetery, Glace, WV		m: Aft. 1930						Father: George T. Alderman	Mother: Mary Ellen Lane				Funeral: Peniel Pentercostal Holines Church, Tuckahoe, WV by Okey L, King														Census: 1920 Allegheny Dunlap	Census: 1920 Allegheny Dunlap
	2  	Martha Sparks	b: 1866																														
....		+James Robert Baldwin	b: 1871				m: May 15, 1888						Father: David B. Baldwin	Mother: Nancy Garnet Pruitt																			
	2  	John Sparks	b: 1870 in Jeffersonville, VA																													Census: 1880 Census Virginia, 1900, 1930 Jeffersonville, VA	Census: 1880 Census Virginia, 1900, 1930 Jeffersonville, VA
....		+Nancy M.	b: 1881																														
	2  	Lydia Sparks	b: August 1871 in Jeffersonville, VA	d: 1963 in Tazewell County, VA																												Census: 1880 Census	Census: 1880 Census
	2  	Mary B. Sparks	b: September 1873 in Jeffersonville, VA																													Census: 1880 Census, 1920 Jeffersonville, VA	Census: 1880 Census, 1920 Jeffersonville, VA
	2  	Rachel Sparks	b: 1875 in Jeffersonville, VA	d: November 10, 1944 in Tazewell  County, VA					Individual Note: head in 1920																							Census: 1880 Census, 1900,   Jeeffersonville, VA, 1910, 1920 Maiden Spring, VA	Census: 1880 Census, 1900,   Jeeffersonville, VA, 1910, 1920 Maiden Spring, VA
....		+George Washington Baldwin	b: September 13, 1875	d: 1919 in Richlands, VA									Father: David B. Baldwin	Mother: Nancy Garnet Pruitt							Source: World War I Draft records											Census: 1880 Big Creek, McDowell, 1900 Jeffersonville, Va; 1910 Maiden Spring	Census: 1880 Big Creek, McDowell, 1900 Jeffersonville, Va; 1910 Maiden Spring
...	3  	David R. Baldwin	b: 1894																														
...	3  	Nancy Baldwin	b: 1896																														
...	3  	Lucy Baldwin	b: 1898																														
...	3  	Edna Baldwin	b: 1900																														
...	3  	Jonas B. Baldwin	b: 1902																														
...	3  	Albert Baldwin	b: 1909																														
...	3  	Edward G. Baldwin	b: 1911																														
...	3  	Lee A. Baldwin	b: 1915																														
...	3  	Arch Baldwin	b: 1916																														
...	3  	James N. Baldwin	b: 1917																														
	2  	Harriet Sparks	b: March 1877 in Jeffersonville, VA	d: 1971 in Tazewell  County, VA																												Census: 1880 Census	Census: 1880 Census
....		+James Beavers																															
		*2nd Husband of Harriet Sparks:																															
....		+Hugh Schrader																															
	2  	Nancy "Nanny" Sparks	b: June 1878 in Jeffersonville, VA	d: 1973 in Glace, WV																												Census: 1880 Census	Census: 1880 Census
....		+Archibald Baldwin	b: 1868										Father: David B. Baldwin	Mother: Nancy Garnet Pruitt																			
...	3  	Child Baldwin																															
	2  	Analiza Sparks	b: 1880	d: 1947																													
....		+Robert Joseph Sparks	b: 1890	d: 1970									Father: Austin Sparks	Mother: Sarah																			
...	3  	Barbara Sparks	b: 1909																														
	2  	Elias Sparks	b: August 1880																														
	2  	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																			
...	3  	Stella Sparks	b: 1906	d: 1940																													
...	3  	Lucy Sparks	b: 1909	d: 1970 in Botetourt,,, VA																													
.......		+Will Clark																															
...	3  	Paul Sparks	b: 1910	d: 1993 in Covington, VA																													
.......		+Lucinda Angle																															
...		*2nd Wife of Paul Sparks:																															
.......		+Oliva Brown Loan																															
...	3  	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																													
...	3  	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																			
	2  	William Sparks	b: February 1884	d: 1939 in Glace, WV	Burial: Dowdy Cemetery, Glace, WV																											Census: 1910 Tazewell; 1930 Greenbrier	Census: 1910 Tazewell; 1930 Greenbrier
....		+Mary Louellen Baldwin	b: 1896	d: 1963 in Glace, WV	Burial: Dowdy Cemetery, Glace, West Virginia								Father: John Edward Baldwin	Mother: Elizabeth White																			
...	3  	Martha L. Sparks	b: May 09, 1913	d: February 28, 1996																													
.......		+Robert Markham																															
...	3  	Sarah Sparks	b: Abt. 1916																														
...	3  	Jonas W. Sparks	b: February 21, 1916	d: September 1971																													
...	3  	George Sparks	b: Abt. 1918																														
...	3  	Bertha M. Sparks	b: Abt. 1919																														
...	3  	Flora Sparks	b: Abt. 1921																														
...	3  	Alberta Sparks	b: Abt. 1923																														
.......		+George Bowyer																															
...	3  	John Sparks	b: Abt. 1925																														
...	3  	Arch Sparks	b: 1926																														
...	3  	Herbert Sparks	b: Abt. 1927																														
...	3  	Charlie D. Sparks	b: Abt. 1929																														
...	3  	Nancy Sparks	b: Aft. 1930																													Census: not in 1930 census	Census: not in 1930 census
	2  	Timothy Sparks	b: July 22, 1886	d: March 03, 1947																												Census: 1920 Sweet Springs	Census: 1920 Sweet Springs
....		+Pattie Jane	b: June 03, 1887	d: March 14, 1976	Burial: Nester Cemetry																												
...	3  	Robert A. Sparks	b: Abt. 1910																														
...	3  	William R. Sparks	b: Abt. 1911																														
...	3  	James Walter Sparks	b: Abt. 1914	d: January 14, 1941	Burial: Nester Cemetry																												
...	3  	Jonas Sparks		d: January 14, 1941	Burial: Nester Cemetry																												

.....Looking up the road from Woody's, you see the road as it climbs to the low gap that separates Greenbrier County from Monroe County. After you cross the devide, you drop down onto Laurel Creek and into the community of Glace.

.....On Sunday the 24th of October, Woody and I walked the two miles up the road from his house tot he top of the Divide. I would like to take you along by way of photos.

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

.....Because there were a lot of children in Old Tuckahoe, and they all had to walk to school, there were at least three schools in Tuckahoe. A little less than half=way up the road in the photo and on the left stood the Upper Tuckahoe School. Lizzy walked down the hollow and up the road to this school.

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

.....It was a beautiful mid-fall day. But, it has been very dry. We are both blessed to be able to walk. Since I turned 70 the last of September, I feel especially blessed. The road is narrow and in disrepair. Tuckahoe and folks do not get a lot of attention from the Department of Highways.

..........
..........
photo by Okey L. King

.....This is the mouth of Joe Vance Hollow. He raised a family up in this narrow valley. If you could walk up this hollow a piece, you would find a flat space on the floor of the hollow. In the spring, you would see this flat space bordered by blooming dafodils. That is all that is left of this hooestead where people laughed,cried and performed the everything day things that mountain folk did then.

...............
...............photo by Okey L. King

.....These are the tragic remains of the home of Sister Williams who was a faithful member of my church. I would hate to have her see what has happened to the home that she had so much pride in. But, she passed on before the night of the fire.

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

.....In the distance, you can see the road curve to the left as it begins the final ascent to the top of the Divide.

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

.....Now we are climbing the first grade to the top.

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

.....Sincee I stopped to make a photo, Woody is a little ahead of me as we climb through the autumn woods.

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

.....This is the final climb and the top of the Divide. About a quarter of a mile to the left of the top of the Divide is the summit of John Carr Mountain. The area surrounding the top of this mountain is strongly featured in my novel Our Mountain of Refuge.

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

.....At the top, we turn and look back down into Greenbrier County.

Photo by Okey L. King

.....Ahead of us, the nost remote section of Monroe lies below. This is the Second Creek District and much of it is still wilderness.
.....At the bottom of the hill, you come to the Four Corners and the community of Glace. The road to the left crosses Cove Mountain and down to the village of Pluto. A left will take you to Moncove Lake. A turn to the right at Pluto will take you down Cove Creek and then up and over Big Ridge to Allegheny, Virginia.
.....If you turn right at the Corners, you will go past the road to the Dowdy Cemetery, and cross another divide. At the bottom of this hill is Archers Fork and a Forks in the Road. A right hand turn here will take you up and down into Greenbrier State Forrest. Or, at the top of the gap between White Rock Ridge and Kates Mountain, you can take a right and go across Kates Mountain. Back at Archer Fork, a left hand turn will take you down the creek to where Archer Fork joins with Laurel Creek. You will then climb and cross Jones Mountain and down to Burdette Springs and on to Childers Road.
.....If you Continue straight at the Corners, you will go down Laurel Creek and through the community of Glace and the old store and Post Office. A road to the left climbs the hill to Nester Cemetery.
.....After about a mile or so, you will see a break in the Mountain on your right. It is here that Little Laurel Creek joins Laurel Creek. Laurel Creek plunges through a deep wild canyon before joing Archers fork on the other side.
.....Not far from the junction of the creeks, you will come to the Hylton Cemetery on the right and Hylton Chruch on the left. Just down the road is the Spence Cemetery, but there is a no trespassing sign at the gate. The road continues up the valley before climbing Spence Mountain. After you cross this mountain, you will see a sign that says that the land on the left belongs to Stoney Brook Farms. Jim Justice, who owns the Greenbrier Hotel, has bought all of the land for rich folks to hunt on.
.....After crossing Forrest Run, you climb up Turkey Ridge.

.....
.....This is the old Glace Three-roomed School. The photo was given to me as a birthday present my Elmer and Mary Adwell.

.....Glace is a high beautiful mountain valley. The story is that a visitor awoke one morning in Glace and everything was covered with ice. He thought that it looked like icing on a cake, so he called the place Glace.

.....Glace is the site of a number of family cemeteries.

....The first of these cemeteries is the Dowdy Cemetery. Many Glace and Tuckahoe folks's bodies lie here. Woody relatives are among them.

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.............................. .....
.....These are the graves of Lizzy and Hillman Cox along with Lizzy's parents.

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

.....These are the graves of my friends the Adwells. They include "Little" Roger Hull who died in a tragic drowing accident.

...............
...............Photos by Okey L. King

....These next two photos are of the Nester Family Cemetery. As I wrote inthe first part of this article, along with the Webbs, the McGradys, the Daltons, the Hubbards, the Spences and others, the Nesters came to work on the railroad in the 1870s. All of these families settled in Glace. Right in the middle of the cemetery, there are some Sparks graves.

Descendants of Jonathan Nester
																																	
	1  	Jonathan Nester	b: August 02, 1856 in Carroll County, VA	d: 1938 in Glace	Burial: Nester Cemetery															Cemetery: 1900 Sweet Springs													
.		+Virginia Puckett	b: Bet. 1859 - 1860	d: in Glace	Burial: Nester Cemetery		m: March 31, 1881							Mother: Mary Polly Puckett																			
	2  	George A. Nester	b: 1882	d: 1940 in Glace, WV																													
	2  	Harvey Deskin Nester	b: 1883																														
	2  	Molly Nester	b: 1885																														
	2  	Montague Nester	b: November 08, 1886 in Carroll County, VA	d: August 01, 1977 in Glace	Burial: Nester Cemetery																												
...		+Virginia Huffman																															
.	3  	Addie Mae Nester	b: Abt. 1912																														
.	3  	James Arden Nester	b: Abt. 1913																														
.	3  	Other "Joe" Nester	b: March 27, 1914	d: June 18, 1998 in Kokomo, IN																													
.	3  	Mable Nester	b: Abt. 1916																														
.....		+Walti																															
.	3  	Mollie Nester	b: Abt. 1917																														
.....		+Mustain																															
.	3  	Lillie G. Nester	b: Abt. 1919																														
.	3  	Eunice Nester	b: October 09, 1920 in Glace, WV	d: April 04, 2005 in Roanoke, VA	Burial: Nester Cemetery																Source: Beckley Post Hearld Obituary												
.....		+McMann																															
.	3  	Grace Nester	b: Abt. 1921																														
.....		+Bostic																															
.	3  	Elva Nester	b: February 28, 1923	d: March 03, 2008 in Akron, OH																													
.....		+Hershal Parrish																															
.	3  	George Thomas Nester	b: Abt. 1925																														
.	3  	Simon M. Nester	b: October 11, 1927 in Glace, WV	d: August 28, 2002 in White Sulphur Springs., WV	Burial: Honaker Cemetery																Source: Beckly Post Hearld												
.....		+Evelyn Faye Nicely	b: August 25, 1928	d: March 08, 1999 in White Sulphur Springs																													
.	3  	Lorenna Nester	b: Abt. 1929																														
.....		+William Henderson																															
.	3  	Viola Nester	b: Unknown																														
.....		+Campbell																															
	2  	John Everett Nester	b: 1888																														
	2  	Rosetta Nester	b: September 10, 1889																														
	2  	Sarah A. Nester	b: 1894																														
	2  	Nancy Kate Nester	b: 1897																														
	2  	Elijah Reed Nester	b: Unknown																														
	2  	Forrest D. Nester	b: Unknown																														
	2  	Jesse McCoy Nester	b: Unknown																														
...		+Catherine Allice Honaker	b: January 26, 1909	d: October 25, 1959 in +									Father: James W. Honaker	Mother: Mary Eelizabeth McGuire																			
.	3  	Oscar McCoy Nester	b: August 08, 1930	d: January 26, 1973																													
.	3  	Johnny Nester				Cause of death: killed on board ship																											
	2  	Troy Nester	b: Unknown																														
...		+Eva Largen																															
.	3  	Dale Nester																															
.....		+Francis Hutka	b: September 24, 1928																														

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

.....These three photos are of the Hylton Cemetery.

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

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

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

Photo by Okey L. King

Descendants of Ulyssus Grant Hoke
																																	
	1  	Ulyssus Grant Hoke	b: January 01, 1865 in Monroe County	d: September 11, 1921 in Monroe County	Burial: Hoke/Vance Cemetery, Hollywood, WV																												
.		+Mary Alice Vance	b: May 22, 1871 in Hollywood, WV	d: January 12, 1946 in Monroe County	Burial: Hoke/Vance Cemetery, Hollywood, WV		m: June 12, 1890 in Monroe County						Father: John Edward Vance	Mother: Sarah Catherine Jones																			
	2  	Elizabeth Ann Malinda Hoke	b: June 02, 1891	d: July 20, 1987																													
...		+Jesse Thomas Helvey	b: November 23, 1884	d: February 20, 1934	Burial: Hollywood Cemetery		m: May 08, 1918						Father: James David Helvey	Mother: Nancy Virginia Beane																			
	2  	Martha A. Hoke	b: Abt. 1892																														
...		+Harry L. Hylton	b: June 07, 1888 in Floyd County, OH				m: Bet. 1910 - 1917						Father: W. Jacob Hylton	Mother: Unknown						Cemetery: 1900 Smith River, Patrick, Va	Source: Worle War I Records											Census: 1920, 1930  Second Creek	Census: 1920, 1930  Second Creek
	2  	Sarah Magdaline Hoke	b: June 14, 1893 in Hollywood, WV	d: September 27, 1950	Burial: Highland Park Cemetery																												
...		+Hubert Marion Boggs	b: December 01, 1888 in Greenbrier County	d: 1958 in Monroe County	Burial: Highland Park Cemetery		m: March 16, 1914 in Ronceverte, WV						Father: William Wasson Boggs	Mother: Joanna Susan Hoke																		Census: 1930 Second Creek	Census: 1930 Second Creek
	2  	John E. Hoke	b: Abt. 1896																														
	2  	William M. Hoke	b: Abt. 1897																														
	2  	James Hanson Hoke	b: May 12, 1899	d: November 10, 1966																													
	2  	Charles R. Hoke	b: Abt. 1901																														
	2  	John I. Hoke Hoke	b: Abt. 1904																														
	2  	Jehu Ivan Hoke	b: July 02, 1904 in Monroe County	d: February 11, 1970 in Monroe County	Burial: Hoke Cemetery																											Census: 1930 Monroe, Second Creek	Census: 1930 Monroe, Second Creek
...		+Hattie Jane Hall	b: September 04, 1909 in Smith County, VA	d: September 04, 1974 in Monroe County	Burial: Hoke Cemetery		m: June 10, 1926						Father: Elbert Hall	Mother: Carolina Sturdivant																			
	2  	Rozella Mae Hoke	b: September 30, 1905	d: September 1988 in Gap Mills, WV	Burial: Hylton Cemetery																												
...		+James Earnest Morris	b: November 27, 1899	d: July 08, 1982	Burial: Hylton Cemetery								Father: Andrew Lewis Morris	Mother: Lucy Virginia Caldwell																		Census: 1930 Monroe Second Creek	Census: 1930 Monroe Second Creek
	2  	Harvey C. Hoke	b: Abt. 1906																														
	2  	Virginia Dare Hoke	b: April 29, 1909	d: November 19, 1980	Burial: Vance Cemetery																												
...		+Clyde Elba Feury	b: November 08, 1917	d: October 11, 1975	Burial: Vance Cemetery		m: June 05, 1937						Father: John David Feury	Mother: Lora Edith Martin																			
	2  	George Wilbur Hoke	b: August 01, 1911 in Hollywood, WV	d: May 07, 1993	Burial: Mt. Carmel Cemetery/Gap Mills Cemetery																											Census: 1920 Second Creek	Census: 1920 Second Creek
...		+Margaret Agnes Clarkson Feury	b: June 03, 1921 in Hollywood, WV	d: June 04, 1991	Burial: Carmel Cemetery, Gap Mills		m: December 06, 1937						Father: John David Feury	Mother: Lora Edith Martin																			
	2  	Henry Clay Hoke	b: April 09, 1913 in Monroe County	d: November 1981 in Glace, WV	Burial: Turkey Ridge																											Census: 1920 Second Creek	Census: 1920 Second Creek
...		+Una Feury	b: Abt. 1923										Father: John David Feury	Mother: Lora Edith Martin																		Census: 1930 Sweet Springs	Census: 1930 Sweet Springs

.....This is the Forrest Run School. It sits across the road from the Turkey Ridge Holiness Church.

.....These hollows and mountain ridges were once the sites of many farms and the home of many people. These families included the Hokes, the Vances, the Bostics, the Feuries, the Whites, the Jonees, the Morrises, the Ramseys, and many others. Now, it is mostly wilderness. It demanded a lot of currage and intestinal fortitude, It was not the realm of the weak. They survived without the help of the government. Most would have been insulted with what they would have called "handouts." They expected to stand on their own two feet. It was a hard life, but it produced a tough independent people. Big government and social services has wrecked havoc. But, there are still those who still go in to the woods to log, or work at other jobs, and earn a honorable living. And there are many God fearing people among them.

The Plight of the Lone Mountain Mother

Up John Carr Mountain

Selected Chapters from Our Mountain of Refuge by Okey L. King

Tuckahoe and Glace Area Genealogy