Bell County KyArchives Biographies.....Napier, James Thomas October 11, 1869 - March 14, 1957 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ky/kyfiles.html ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Robert Brock robbrock@comcast.net November 17, 2005, 2:39 pm Author: Robert William Brock (Grandson) James Thomas Napier He was born in Bell County on October 11, 1868, and was the son of Franklin Napier and Lucy Slusher. He was one of 12 children. His brothers and sisters in order were (1) Emily Napier (2) James Thomas Napier (My Grandfather) (3) George Napier (4) Joseph Napier (5) John H. Napier (6) Jacob Napier (7) Amanda Catharine Napier (8) Henry Madison Napier, who died at 6 months of age, (9) William Leonard Napier (10) Robert Boyd Napier (11) Leander Lee Napier and (12) Zelpha Virginia Napier. He married Mellie Saylor and had two children, Lillie Mae Napier and Robert Lee Napier. Mellie died around 1900, and seven years later he married my grandmother Lucy Bailey and they had three children, Hattie Vieve Napier, Irene Napier (my Mother) and Andrew Jackson Napier. His father, Franklin Napier owned and operated a sawmill on the Left Fork of Straight Creek for most of his life and raised his family of 12 children at this business. He was killed tragically in 1896, when he was caught in one of the belts at the sawmill, which pulled him into the saw blade. He was killed instantly. My grandfather was a big man about 6 foot 3 inches tall and always had a moustache. He was always in excellent physical condition, and was a very muscular man. He had large arms and very broad shoulders. He was very strong and had a reddish complexion. We always went to town (Pineville) on Saturday and it seemed like he knew practically everyone in town that we would meet, as we would walk down the street, and he would talk to almost everyone we would meet in town. According to my mother he was a very kind and gentle man, and always a good father to his children, as they can remember sitting on his lap in front of the fireplace and he would rub Vicks Salve on their feet and warm them in front of the fire. He loved to tell stories to his children and all the children in the neighborhood, and always made the stories seem real. He worked very hard on his farm, usually getting up about 5 each morning 6 days a week, and after working all day would come in and feed the animals and always gathered the eggs. He once raised a hog that weighed over 1,000 pounds, and many of the offspring reached as much as 800 pounds. During the county elections he was in charge of all the voting precints on the Left Fork of Straight Creek, and did this for most of his life. He was responsible for counting the votes and doing all the reporting for his area of the county. He was elected as a deputy sheriff for the county, and served in this capacity for several years. He also served on the local school board, whose primary job in these years was to appoint the teachers for the various schools on the Left Fork of Straight Creek. Many of the teachers boarded with him and my grandmother during the times they were teaching in the schools in the area. He was instrumental in the development of the coal industry in the Southeastern Kentucky area as he operated his own business for many years when the coal industry was in full operation. He opened almost all the mines in the Bell County and the surrounding counties. He would prospect and find the coal seams in the mountains, then determine if they were large enough to work or too small. He had employees who would then work with him in making the opening to the mines. They would use explosives to open the mine, and then face up the mine opening with timbers, and have the mine ready for the miners to begin working. He traveled to Harlan County, Leslie County, Clay County and Knox County to open the majority of the mines in the Southeastern Kentucky area. He did this in addition to operating his family farm of over 200 acres on Sims Fork. He loved children, and was the storyteller in the area. He would talk to children anywhere, at church and on the street and always had something to say to any child he would meet. He build his own house on Sims Fork where his family was raised, cutting the timbers himself and building it by hand. It was a three-room log home with very large rooms, big enough to have several beds in each room. He later had the entire house paneled inside with tongue and groove paneling which came from his farm and added additional rooms to the house. The family also ran a general store which they had on their farm for many years which was approximately 1000 square foot. He was one of the most popular men in the area, and knew almost everyone in Pineville and the surrounding area. When he passed away the the Arnett Funeral home director said it was the largest funeral they had ever had. He always went to church every Sunday and any other time there were church services. He would always be the first in church to say "Amen Preacher" during the church service. He always invited the entire congregation to his house after church was over, and it was not unusual for them to have as many as 35 people for dinner every Sunday after church. Prior to him getting married he taught school on the Left Fork of Straight Creek for a year or two. The only school book the children had at that time was called the Blue Back Spelling Book, which taught the children to read. He could quote the entire book by memory, and I still have his Blue Back Spelling Book, which is still in excellent condition. He died March 14, 1957, and was buried by his father and mother in the Little Creek (Sawmill) Cemetery. Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ky/bell/photos/bios/napier342gbs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ky/bell/bios/napier342gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/kyfiles/