This Old Homestead: Body and Soul
Tracey C.
Mattson
Studies of
Appalachia
Dr. Grace Toney
Edwards
December 2, 2003
This Old Homestead: Body and Soul
Table of
Contents
Introduction
.3
Paper:
Discussion and
Analysis
.
..
4
The Body of This Old Homestead
4
Geography:
Topological description
.
..4
The Buildings:
Barn
..5
Root Cellar
..
.6
Garage
..7
House
.
..7
The Soul of This Old Homestead
...
20
The Past
..
20
The Crickenbergers
20
The Dunaways
.
.
.20
The Aycocks
..
20
The Hyltons
...21
John and Darlene Hylton
.
..21
Cornelius Weldon Hylton and family
21
The Albrights
....25
The Wades
..
...26
The Helms
.
.26
The Present: The Mattson Family
.26
The Future: Willow Creek Cottages
.
28
Conclusion
.
...
..30
Works
Cited
...31
Collection:
Informant Information Sheets
...
.32
Charley Dunaway
.
..32
Jack Hylton
...
.33
Informant/Genre/Geographic
Index
...35
Illustration Index
.
.
...
..
.36
Artifact Index
.
..
..37
Photograph Index
..
.38
Introduction
When my
husband and I moved to our farm in Willis in Floyd County, Virginia, in April
1990, it was painfully obvious to us that the house we were moving into was
very old. However, where others saw sagging floors, rough hand-hewn timbers,
old windows (some with several panes missing), a gravity fed spring system,
and nothing but 3 wood stoves to warm us in winter, we saw a house with
history and character. We spent many nights wondering about the past and
wishing the walls could tell us their stories.
When this project began in
the fall of 2003, it was my intention to simply find out who built the house
and when. But as I dug through deeds at the Floyd County Courthouse and old
census numbers and genealogy pages in the library and on the internet, I found
myself equally fascinated by the families that had once called my house
home. As a wife and mother of four young children, I know that a home is
more than just its physical parts of wood, glass, and brick. A home has a
soul that is formed from the husbands, wives and children who have lived in
it.
It is my hope that I can,
at least in part, be the voice for both the body and soul of This Old
Homestead.
Discussion and Analysis
The Body of This Old Homestead
The southwestern portion of
Floyd County has two major land features: Burks Fork and Buffalo Mountain
(TOH-TCM-P01).
It is on the waters of Burks
Fork in Willis that the subject of this project is located (see TOH-TCM-I01).
The layout of the property as it was on April 12, 1998 is shown in the aerial
photograph marked TOH-TCM-P02 and the topography is shown in the second
topography map dated July 1, 1982 and marked TOH-TCM-I02.
The photograph marked
TOH-TCM-P03 shows (below), from left to right, the barn, a very small chicken
coop (about an inch over the cats head), the house and the root cellar along
the driveway which was once state route 773.
The second topographical map
(TOH-TCM-I02) still lists this as a road, but the state stopped maintaining it
sometime in the 1960s or 70s.
The barn was thirty-one
feet by thirty-two feet and constructed of red oak timbers. There were four
eight foot by seven foot stalls on both sides with the central area of 12 feet
by 31 feet. There was a loft over the stalls on each side, each approximately
eight feet by 31 feet. The third level loft was above the central area and
was approximately eleven feet by 31 feet. There was a tractor shed on the
northern side as well. The roof was metal and the timbers were milled as
opposed to the house timbers which were hand hewn as indicated by the
implement marks on the old house timbers. The diagrams of the barn, labeled
TOH-TCM-I03 through TOH-TCM-I05 show the design of the barn and the photos
below (TOH-TCM-P04 through TOH-TCM-P06) show the exterior of the barn.
The root cellar was
approximately ten feet by twelve feet and built into the south-facing slope of
the hill to the north (front) of the house. The cellar foundation was
constructed of fieldstone and mortar and had a dirt floor. The south facing
side had a small door with a small window on each side (TOH-TCM-P07 and
TOH-TCM-P08).
The second level was
accessible from the pasture on the backside and had a large window facing the
house. There was a small loft that was reached by a ladder from the second
floor. The outside was covered with what appeared to be red asphalt roofing
material and the roof was metal. The foundation on the west side was
collapsing inward due to water damage.
The garage was constructed
of milled timbers, similar to the root cellar and barn. It was built on log
and stone supports. Due to its location near a wet-weather spring, the
supports sank or rotted away leaving the garage in very unstable condition.
The floor had sagged considerably and the two sliding doors could no longer be
opened. It was covered with the same red material as the root cellar. The
photographs below (TOH-TMC-P09 and TOH-TMC-P10) show the rear, east side, and
a portion of the front of the garage.
Due to the increasingly
degrading condition of the barn, the root cellar, and the garage, it was felt
that all three were becoming safety hazards. In spite of our best efforts to
repair the buildings, it was ultimately decided that the best solution was to
raze the structures and replace them at a future date.
The house is very similar
to the house on Selu Conservancy. It, too, is an I-House with brick chimneys
on the east and west ends. The front and east side of the house are seen on
the next page (TOH-TCM-P11 and TOH-TCM-P12).
An addition had been built onto
the back of the house in the 1920s. According to a phone conversation I had
with one of the previous owners, Charley Dunaway, he recalled a conversation
he had with Otho Hylton, one of C. W. Welly Hyltons sons, about the
addition. Apparently, Othos family used to push back the furniture in the
new dining room in order to have dances in there. Jack Hylton also mentioned
that Welly and his brothers played music together in a band. Welly may well
have played music for his family as they danced. The photo below on the left
(TOH-TCM- P13) shows the addition from the outside and the photo on the right
(TOH-TCM-P14) shows the room the Hyltons used as a dining room and dance
floor. Please notice the wood on the walls and ceiling.
This oak tongue-in-groove wood
was used in all of the rooms in the new addition and is represented by
TOH-TCM-M01. Jack Hylton told me that this was called beaded ceiling. The
new addition also included the kitchen, a bathroom (presumably), a staircase
and an additional bedroom upstairs. The banister in the kitchen for the new
staircase is shown below (TOH-TCM-P15).
An outhouse had previously been
located over the creek in the back of the house. Apparently one of the floods
that we are prone to getting out here had washed away Wellys outhouse at some
point, much to the Hyltons dismay, no doubt. Perhaps this event is what
prompted the building of the addition with indoor plumbing.
A few years back, we had a
visitor come to the house and tell us that he had once lived in the house. I
cant recall his name but it stands to reason that he was Benjamin Aycock. He
chuckled when he looked at the sink because he remembered kneeling on a pillow
in order to wash dishes because the sink and counter were so low. Apparently
Welly Hyltons wife, Ona or Onie as she was called by family, was a woman of
modest stature and the counters built to suit his wifes needs. The original
counter, which is still in place, is only 30.5 inches high. The photo on the
next page on the left (TOH-TCM-16) shows the height of the original counter
and cabinet, and the additional height added by Charley Dunaway. The brass
door latches and hinges on both the sink cabinet and the panty closet under
the kitchen stairs are an interesting touch as seen in the photo on the next
page on the right (TOH-TCM-P17).
There is a small door next to
the counter, as seen in the photo below on left, (TOH-TCM-P18) that opens to
reveal a passageway into the built-in china cabinet in the center photo
(TOH-TCM-P19) that was also put in at the time the addition was built.
Presumably, the passage was
meant to serve as a way to transport food into the dining room with ease. The
photo on the right shows the brass hinges on the built-in cabinet
(TOH-TCM-P20).
The chimney in the
addition is in between the kitchen and the dining room and probably had a wood
cook stove attached to it on the kitchen side. The chimney has a flue on all
three of the exposed sides, but it seems highly unlikely that all three were
put in at the time it was built. There was originally a wall with a swinging
door that separated the dining room from the kitchen; therefore, there
wouldnt have been a need for a flue there. Nonetheless, that is the only
flue that is in use today, as we have a small wood burning stove there for
those occasionally brutal winter nights. Unfortunately, when the swinging
door and wall were removed, one of the main support beams was also removed and
the ceiling above is beginning to sag and the bedroom floor above it squeaks
whenever it is stepped on.
Now we are going to step
back farther into time as we explore the oldest part of the house. As you
walk in the front door there is a stairway and a hallway and these are shown
in TOH-TCM-P21 through P23 (below and next page). The banister as shown on
the next page on the left (TOH-TCM-P22) shows that the rail is fastened to it
with a mortise and tenon joint, because you can see the rectangular mark
(under the heart stencil).
A mortise and tenon joint is
made by carving a tab (the tenon) on the end of one piece of wood and carving
a slot (the mortise) into the other piece of wood for the tab to slide into
(Kirby). The wide hand-hewn planks on the walls in the hallway are
tongue-in-groove yellow poplar and are nailed in place with wrought iron nails
(TOH-TCM-M02). These planks are also in both rooms on either side of the
hallway. The photos below (TOH-TCM-P24 and 25) show the room as it is now.
As you can see, the wood is in
very poor condition and is represented by the piece of wood labeled
TOH-TCM-M03, although the tongue and groove edges have been taken off. We are
planning on remodeling the room, but we are hoping to salvage the original
wood by planning it and cutting off the rotting, nail-ridden ends. The
backside of the representative piece has been run through a planer and shows
the beauty of the wood that can once again show through. The floor in this
room (we call it the mudroom for some unknown reason), is probably the
original floor based on the poor condition it is in. The photograph below
(TOH-TCM-P26) shows the floor, but it does not accurately show the bowing and
unevenness of the individual boards.
The room on the left side
of the entrance is our living room. The photo on the next page on the left
(TOH-TCM-P27) was taken in 1990 before we moved in. Sam Crickenberger, the
man who last owned the house, had replaced the living room floor with pine 2x6
boards and replaced the old hearth with concrete and flagstones as shown in
the photo on the next page on the right (TOH-TCM-P28). The wall panels in
this room are not as deteriorated as those in the mudroom.
As we go up the stairs and
turn to the left to get to the bedrooms, we must go up three steps
(TOH-TCM-P29).
The stenciling on the stairs
was done by Cindy Crickenberger. The bedroom on the right has been worked on,
probably within the last thirty years or so. The ceiling is now acoustic
ceiling tiles and the walls have been paneled. We pulled a piece of the
paneling down to reveal the rough saw milled planks seen in the photo on the
next page on the left (TOH-TCM-P30). The floors in the photo on the right
appear to be original (TOH-TCM-P31) and there is evidence of a hearth having
once been in both of the bedrooms.
The room on the right still
has the mantle on the wall, but the firebox has been boarded up and the mantle
was turned into a bookshelf. The photo below (TOH-TCM-P32) shows the
mantle/bookshelf and the rectangular area in front of it is where the
hearthstone once rested.
The boards in front of the
mantle are not nailed down and we were able to remove them and see the chimney
in the back. We removed a piece of old brick (TOH-TCM-M04) and, judging from
the color and shape, a piece of what might have been the hearthstone
(TOH-TCM-M05). The bedroom doors are relatively simple in design, made of
three pieces of tongue-in-groove, probably the same material as the walls in
the other rooms of the older part of the house, and three crossbars. The
handle and lock (below) on the doors are intriguing (TOH-TCM-P33).
The bedroom on the left side of
the hall has also been remodeled. The wood on the walls and ceiling are a
manufactured, decorative tongue-in-groove that would not have been available
when the house was first built. A piece of it is represented by TOH-TCM-M06.
The floors in this room are the same as that in the other bedroom. There is
an opening to the attic with a folding ladder in this room that was added by
Randy Mattson in 1992. The previous attic entrance was only seventeen inches
square.
When you get up into the
attic, the first thing you notice is the absence of a ridge board running the
length of the apex of the roof of the old part of the house. The rafters are
joined with angled butt joints. The photo below on the left (TOH-TCM-P34)
shows the lack of a ridge board and the butt joints. The rafters are nailed
to the 4x 6 sill plate (beam) with a birds mouth cut joint as seen in the
photo on the next page on the right (TOH-TCM-P35).
The attic in the 1937 addition
does have a ridge board as the photo below (TOH-TCM-P36) shows. The internal
chimney of the addition is also shown in this photo.
If there was any doubt
that this house was built prior to the turn of the century, an examination of
the floor joists and joinery will allay those doubts! The crawl space door
that leads under the house is under the kitchen door in the back of the
house. The big boards or logs that run the length of the room and support the
floors are called sleepers (Wigginton p. 62). The sleeper shown on the next
page on the left (TOH-TCM-P37) is under the kitchen. The rocks in the photo
on the right (TOH-TCM-P38) are the supporting foundation for the chimney in
the kitchen.
As you move deeper under the
house to the oldest half, you find the sleepers are oak logs (below left -
TOH-TCM-P39) that had been flattened on the top with a foot adze (Wigginton
63). The ends of the sleepers had been shaped to fit into a notch in the sill
plates (below right - TOH-TCM-P40).
The photo on the next page on
the left (TOH-TCM-P41) shows three log sleepers with the bark separating from
the wood. The upper right hand corner of that picture also shows the rotting
floor boards from the mudroom. A free standing shower stall had been
installed at some point and it apparently began to leak and caused the
damage. The photo on the right (TOH-TCM-P42) shows the log sleeper resting on
the brick foundation for the chimney and fireplace in the mudroom.
You can see the flat stones
that form the base under the bricks as well. The corner posts of the walls
are hand hewn and are joined by mortise and tenon. Although I could not get a
picture of the mortise and tenon joints, there is one exposed in the mudroom
as the result of an addition-in-progress on the kitchen.
We had been told when the
property was purchased from Sam Crickenberger in 1990 that the old part of the
house was about 110 years old, which would have the house built around 1880.
The newer part was about 70 years old at the time, which would place the
construction around 1920. Based upon the materials used, the methods employed
to construct the house, newspapers removed from the floor of the addition
dated in the early 1920s, and conversations with other people, these dates
seem fairly realistic.
The Soul of This Old Homestead
Having looked at the
physical body of the house and property, its now time to look at the people
who have lived here. I have done my best to follow the deeds backwards
through time as accurately as possible. There are a few places, particularly
when trying to get back before C. W. Hylton, where things get a bit murky, but
I have tried to cross-reference dates and other information from family
genealogy web sites and Floyd County Census data to get the information
correct.
The Past - Beginning
with the family the Mattsons bought the property from and going backwards in
time:
The Crickenbergers
Sam and Cindy lived here for
about eight years. They had two young children, Grace and a younger son. Both
were born in the house as reported by Sam in 1990. Sam did some renovations,
such as replacing the living room floor and hearth, put in a large sliding
glass door in the back and other assorted landscaping and house improvements.
They bought 26 acres from the Dunaways.
The Dunaways
Charley and Dreema Dunaway
lived in the house for about two years and one of their four children was born
in the house. Charley built the chicken coop. They bought 26 acres from the
Aycocks in 1980.
The Aycocks
Benjamin and June bought 71
½ acres from Jack and Darlene Hylton in 1971. They owned the property for
nine years. I have no other concrete information about this family.
The Hyltons
Jack and Darlene Hylton
bought the property in 1964 from Luona Hylton and the heirs of C. W. Hylton,
but they never lived in the house. Jack is the nephew of Cornelius Weldon
Welly Hylton and Luona Onie Hylton (below left - TOH-TCM-P43). Welly died
in 1963 and Onie lived here until her death in 1969.
Cornelius Weldon Hylton
(above right - TOH-TCM-P44) bought this piece of property in 1901, the year
before he married Ona. He bought 88 Ό acres from J. B. Albright, but he
eventually owned about 410 acres in this area. He and his family lived in
this house for 63 years.
His father, John W. Hylton
(with his wife Rosetta, above, TOH-TCM-P45), had a portable saw mill that he
brought to each of his eleven childrens properties and milled all of the wood
for their building. I believe John W. milled all of the wood that built the
barn, the chicken coop, which is still standing on Sherrill Poffs land and
seen below (TOH-TCM-P46), the root cellar, garage and perhaps other buildings
such as the cattle weigh station.
My husband Randy found a piece
of metal (TOC-TCM-M07) and a horseshoe (TOH-TCM-M08) on the site where the
station once stood that may have been part of the weighing mechanism. The
bricks for the chimneys were most likely made on the property. Welly and Onie
had 8 children and it can be assumed that all of them were born in the house.
Murlia Essie was born in 1903, Grover B. was born in 1905, Claude Otho was
born in 1906, Edrie Lee was born in 1908, Harman Elliott was born in 1909,
Weeda Gay was born in 1913, Howard Weldon was born in 1920, and Maurice
Cleveland was born in 1923. It seems reasonable to assume that after the birth
of Maurice, that Welly and Onie would want to expand the house. There would
have been nine people living in the house at this point (Grover died at less
than a month old) and there is a deed of release from a mortgage that was
taken out in 1924 and this may have been a loan used to pay for the
expansion. Jack Hylton told me that Onie had built the china cabinet and the
cabinets, including the counter, in the kitchen. Apparently there were more
cabinets in the kitchen, but there is only one small 10 x 16 cabinet left in
the corner near the pass through. Welly, Ona and some of their children are
in the photographs below (TOH-TCM-P47 through P9).
Mr. and Mrs. Hylton are shown
celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on the front porch in
the photo of a newspaper clipping below (TOH-TCM-P50). There is also a small
building visible behind them just past the porch swing. It may be a shed of
some sort.
Solomon E. Hylton and his
wife Nannie Bird are buried in the cemetery at the top of the hill, as seen in
the topo map (TOH-TCM-I01) and aerial photograph (TOH-TCM-P2). Solomon was
Wellys half-brother. He owned property on the eastern boundary of Wellys
property. We had heard that one of the Hylton boys had hung himself in one
of the trees on the property years ago. Darlene and Jack Hylton corroborated
and elaborated the story. The Reverend Solomon E. Hylton and Nannie Bird
Hylton were Darlene Hyltons great grandparents. Apparently he suffered
financial difficulties as a result of the stock market crash and he committed
suicide by hanging himself in a tree near Wellys property.
The Albrights
John B. Albright was a
farmer who bought 83 Ό acres from Owen Wade in 1883. John and Hannah had a
total of nine children. Luther N. was born in 1866, Charles B. was born in
1867, Emmett was born in 1871, Henry E. was born in 1878, Lucy F. was born in
1880, Markes A. was born in1881, and Ellen E. was born in 1885. These are the
only children we have found information on, and all the information came from
the census records of 1890 and 1900. Based on birth dates of Johns children
and what I presume is the approximate age of the house, I feel reasonably sure
that it was this family that built the house. His three oldest sons would
have been old enough to help in the construction of a house. The cemetery at
the top of the hill is the final resting ground for Charles B., who died at 26
years of age, his daughter Carrie, who died at 11 months, Luzena A., Henrys
wife, was 46 when she died. There may be other Albrights buried there, but it
is difficult to say for sure. The cemetery was in poor condition when we went
up there and we did find at least a half dozen small stones with only initials
on them that had been removed from there original places and leaned up and
stacked next to a cedar tree. Many headstones were illegible, broken or hidden
under weeds and brush.
The Wades
Owen
Wade bought 83 Ό acres from Eli Wade in 1870. He owned the land for 13 ½
years. It is possible that this family built the house, but I havent been
able to find any information on Eli or Owen Wade. Eli Wade bought the
property from John Helms in 1869. There are four Wades buried in the
cemetery, but two headstones are nearly illegible. One was born in 1812 and
died in 1890 and the other died in 186?. These may have been Owen or Eli or
members of their immediate family. Again, due to the condition of the
cemetery, it is difficult to say if there are other Wades buried there or not.
The Helms
This is where my reliable
information ends. The deeds become increasingly difficult to read and if we
go back farther in time it is less likely that there was a house on the
property. Since the house is my main subject this where I stopped my
research.
The Present:
Melvin R. and Christa B.
Mattson bought 26 acres from the Crickenbergers in 1990. The photo on the
next page on the left (TOH-TCM-P51) shows Melvin, Christa, Tracey, Randy,
Christopher, Monika, and Leanna at Christophers baptism in 1998. Their son
Randy J., daughter-in-law Tracey C., and four grandchildren, Leanna R, Monika
J., Christopher J., and Teresa M. Mattson are now living in the house. The
photo below on the right (TOH-TCM-P52) shows all four of the children in 2003.
Randy is a builder, and he
and his father have made numerous improvements on the house and property. A
new roof, windows, new siding, and insulation have all been added to the
house. The bathroom was remodeled and an upstairs bathroom is going to be
added within a month. The mudroom and kitchen will eventually be remodeled as
well, but we plan on keeping as much of the original wood and character as
possible. Randy also put in large pipes under the road where the creek
crosses old 773 up near where the barn once stood and had the creek diverted
somewhat in order to reduce the amount of flooding that had been inundating
the property close to the house. He also built a wood shed, a garden and tool
shed to replace the garage, a large workshop, a duck house, a wood
kiln/greenhouse, a tractor shed, and a goat and chicken house. The photos on
the next page show the new buildings (TOH-TCM-P53 and 54) Randy also replaced
the old bridges that crossed the streams.
The Future: Willow Creek
Cottages
Randy and his father have
also built two cottages (below TOH-TCM-P55) and a pond in the area where the
barn once stood. The cottages are rented to vacationers who are interested in
the Blue Ridge Parkway and Floyd County. It is our desire to share the
natural beauty of this area with anyone who can love and appreciate our
beautiful surroundings.
I am presently a graduate
student at Radford University and teaching two freshman English classes. I
was previously an elementary school teacher at Check Elementary School in
Floyd County. I have enjoyed trying my hand at many crafts and traditions
that were once considered a necessary part of life here in Appalachia, such as
canning and drying our own vegetables, crocheting and cross stitching, making
homemade lye soap, and most recently, chair weaving. Luckily, the Mattson
children all seem to have a deep love for this house and property which makes
their father and I hope that this piece of paradise that we call home will
always remain in the Mattson family.
Conclusion
I had originally set out
to find out information about the house my family and I live in. I was also
curious to know a little about some of the previous owners and their
families. Although I was not able to get an exact date or to positively
identify the builder of the house, I feel like I have come pretty close to
that goal, perhaps as close as I can ever get with any degree of certainty. I
have definitely learned a lot of information about the Hylton family and the
early inhabitants of the surrounding area. I have also had the pleasure of
meeting Jack and Darlene Hylton who are both very knowledgeable and friendly
people. I look forward to learning more from them about the local history.
As a result of this
project, I feel a much closer connection to this area and to the families who
once lived in the area. It saddens me to know that the cemetery on the hill
has fallen into such a sad state, particularly because I now feel like some of
the people up there are relatives because we shared the same piece of land
and probably even the house in one way or another. My husband and I are both
planning to get up there to try to reclaim the plot from the years of
neglect. It just doesnt seem right to let the final resting place of
family remain in such sad condition.
I feel like there is still
a lot more to learn about the people and families that lived in the Burks Fork
and Buffalo Mountain areas, and I will no doubt continue researching and
reading about them.
Works Consulted
Wigginton, Eliot, ed. The
Foxfire Book. Garden City: Doubleday, 1971.
Moore, Hazel S. Hylton Genealogy: From Castle to Cottage. No city,
publisher or date listed.
Chichester, Lee, Pat Therrien and Catherine Pauley. Floyd County, Virginia
Heritage. Summersville, West Virginia: Walsworth Publishing Co., 2001.
Brunvand, Jan Harold. The Study of American Folklore: An Introduction.
4th edition. New York: Norton and Co., 1998.
Floyd County Web Site. <http://www.floydvirginia.com/about/history.html>
November 2003.
Stanton, Gary. Department of Historic Preservation Home Page. 16
January 2002. <http://departments.mwc.edu/hipr/www/305-01.htm> Mary
Washington College. November 2003.
Kirby, Ian. Mortise and Tenon: A Primer. Woodworkers Journal.
Copyright 2000-2003. <http://www.diydata.com/techniques/timber_joints/mandt/mortise_tenon.htm>
November 2003.
2 books on cemeteries in Floyd County (need to get info)
Informant Information
Charley Dunaway, Age unknown,
465 Chestnut Creek Lane Willis, VA 24380
Mr. Dunaway lives with
his wife, Vicki, on their farm in Willis. They own and operate their own
dairy in the town of Willis and they also own and operate Chestnut Creek Farm
which specializes in organic vegetables and farm products.
Charley once owned and
lived in the house this project is based on and I knew that he had knowledge
about the house and its previous owners. I emailed Mr. Dunaway a list of
questions pertaining to the property and asked him if he could help me out
with some information. He phoned me back that evening and we discussed the
answers to the questionnaire.
Informant Information
Jack Hylton, age unknown, 319
Burks Fork Rd. Willis, Virginia 24380
Mr. Hylton and his wife
are both natives of Willis and they are both descendants of Archelaus Hylton.
Jack Hylton is the nephew of Cornelius Weldon Hylton, one of the previous
owners of the house. Mrs. Hylton owns and operates her own real estate
business, Hylton Real Estate, Inc., in Floyd County. Her grandfather was
Solomon E. Hylton who was Cornelius Weldon Hyltons half brother.
I came to ask Darlene
about the house one day after I had spent hours trying to sort through old
deeds, when the Commissioner of Revenue of Floyd saw Darlene and Jacks name
on one of the deeds. The Commissioner suggested I call Darlene for more
information. I phoned Mrs. Hylton and we were eventually able to set up a
time for me to meet with them and borrow some family photos. However, Mrs.
Hylton was unavailable when I arrived at their home that evening.
I had brought some photos
of the house to share with Mr. Hylton and I was thinking that I was just going
to show him my photos and collect a few from in to copy in return and maybe
get a few questions answered about his uncle and his family. Little did I
know that Mr. Hylton is a fountain of Hylton knowledge and that he has a huge
collection of family photos, birth, death, and marriage dates, as well as many
books and articles about the Hylton family. He is presently researching and
collection information pertaining to old mills in the Willis area. Mr. Hylton
provided me with many wonderful photos of his Uncle Welly and family. I
thought I was just going to stay about 20 minutes or so, but before I knew it,
two hours had already past! I think he will need to make a map of all the old
Hylton homesteads so other people can drive around and see all of the houses
and buildings and mill sites he described to me. He is very knowledgeable
about the history of the Willis area and I hope to take a few more history
lessons from him.
Informant/Genre/Geographic Index
THIS OLD HOMESTEAD: BODY AND SOUL
Tracey C. Mattson
English 648
Dr. Edwards
December 2, 2003
48P, 7I, 9M
Informant Index:
Charley Dunaway, farmer
Jack Hylton, retired business man and genealogist
Genre Index:
Material Culture/Shelter
Oral History
Narrative/Anecdote
Narrative/Account
Geographic Index:
Willis, Floyd County, Virginia
Archives
Checklist Attachment
Illustration
Index
Project
Title
Author
This Old
Homestead: Body and Soul Tracey C.
Mattson 2003
|
Item # |
Description |
|
TOH-TCM-I01 |
Topographical map of
Burks Fork Area |
|
TOH-TCM-I02 |
Topographical map of
property |
|
TOH-TCM-I03 |
Barn 1st
level (stalls) |
|
TOH-TCM-I04 |
Barn 2nd
level (loft) |
|
TOH-TCM-I05 |
Barn 3rd
level (loft) |
|
TOH-TCM-I06 |
House floor plan |
Archives
Checklist Attachment
Artifact Index
Project
Title
Author
This Old
Homestead: Body and Soul Tracey C.
Mattson 2003
|
Item # |
Description |
|
TOH-TCM-01 |
Tongue-in-groove addition |
|
TOH-TCM-02 |
Wrought iron nail from old
section of house |
|
TOH-TCM-03 |
Yellow poplar from interior
of old section of house |
|
TOH-TCM-04 |
Chimney brick bedroom on
right under floor boards |
|
TOH-TCM-05 |
Fragment of hearthstone
bedroom on right under floorboards |
|
TOH-TCM-06 |
Tongue-in-groove wood from
wall of bedroom on left |
|
TOH-TCM-07 |
Metal from weigh station
(?) |
|
TOH-TCM-08 |
horseshoe |
|
TOH-TCM-09 |
Window from living room
|
|
TOH-TCM-10 |
Window weight from addition
window |
|
TOH-TCM-11 |
Old ice cream scoop found
on property |
Archives
Checklist Attachment
Photo Index
Project Title
Author
This Old
Homestead: Body and Soul Tracey C.
Mattson 2003