YANCEY COUNTY, NC - BIOGRAPHIES - Cora Belle Hensley Haney ----¤¤¤¤---- Cora Belle Hensley Haney was born March 19, 1889 in Alleghany County, North Carolina. She was born to James Crawford "J.C." Hensley, b. October 18, 1852 d. Feb. 26, 1914 and Rebecca Lewis b.1853 d. Sept. 14, 1901. Belle was only 12 yrs old when her mother passed away. She shared many fond memories of her mother, and from her stories we knew her mother had red hair, something Belle was very proud of. She was the youngest of four known children. Shared between James Crawford and Rebecca were: William Crawford Hensley b. March 14, 1869 d. 1950; Louiza "Lou" Hensley Bradford Davis b. Nov. 16, 1877 d. July 23, 1943; and James Jasper Hensley "Uncle Jim" b. June 7, 1886 d. Dec. 22, 1966. Sometime after Belle's mother passed away, the family moved to Yancey County, North Carolina, either to follow work or family. On March 22, 1906 Belle married Sam C. Haney, b. June 8, 1882 d. May 10, 1960, three days after she'd turned sixteen. They immediately began a family: Clifford Haney b. April 30, 1907; Dessie Mae Haney Bryant b. June 21, 1909; Loyd Haney b. Dec. 27, 1912 d. in infancy; Gerta Haney b. Dec. 27, 1913 d. Jan. 17, 1914; Gustie Georgia Haney Murphy b. May 6, 1914; Thelma Haney Whitson Renfro b. June 11, 1916 d. Feb. 14, 1991; Robie Haney b. July 15, 1919 d. Jan. 14, 1993; Vester Haney b. June 28, 1922; Boyd Haney b. April 10, 1925; Ferland Haney b. Dec. 2, 1927; and Letcher Haney b. Aug. 27, 1931. Life was no fairy tale for Belle. Her father forced her to marry so he himself could re-marry; this was just the first of many heartaches Belle had to endure. She lost two children within two years in infancy, Loyd first and Gerta second. Sometime in the years that followed Belle began practicing midwifery in Yancey and Mitchell Counties. She aided in helping birth many of her own grandchildren. Her oldest daughter Dessie Mae married Luther Bryant Dec. 26, 1926. Belle helped her birth five children, three girls and two sons that died in infancy. Dessie's husband Luther was killed Aug. 19, 1939 in a logging accident, leaving behind a wife and three young daughters. The year 1940 was another tragic year for Belle. Two of her children, Ferland and Dessie took pneumonia. Ferland recovered and Dessie passed away on May 19, 1940 leaving her children orphans. After Dessie's passing, many family members were willing to take one or two of the grand-children but not all three. Belle would not have it, she wanted the girls to stay together. She decided to keep them with her and raise them with her own children still living at home. Sam was not happy with Belle's choice to keep the three granddaughters. Not long afterwards, he moved out and left the family. Clifford Haney, her oldest son, served his country during WWI. When WWII broke out, Robie enlisted in the Army. Vester he wasn't old enough to enlist, so he told Army officials he was the twin to his brother Robie. Vester was sent to France where he was one of many soldiers killed. He died June 19, 1944. This was a really hard time for Belle. As a way to soothe her heartbreak, she would go fishing, thinking things over. She decided not to have Vester's remains sent back to the U.S. She had heard tales of others getting the wrong bodies back, so he was laid to rest in the Memorial Cemetery in France. When the Korean war came about two more of her sons were drafted, Ferland and Letcher. Before Letcher left he married Wilma Sturgill. During his enlistment she lived with Belle and her granddaughter Maphrey. Belle prayed daily for the war to end so her boys could return safely home. When Dwight D. Eisenhower called for the end of war, he became Belle's hero. She kept a picture of him on her dresser until her dying day. Belle continued living in her home for several years even after all her children and grand children had moved. Letcher's wife became very sick. Belle decided to sell her home and move with her son and his family to care for his two young children. This would be her last home, she lived out her final days with the family. During her stay, another grandchild was born. Belle died in their home in Feb. of 1970. Her death was very painful for the family. The next year, they had another child and named her after Letcher's mother. There is no way of knowing exactly how many children Belle helped bring into the world. She was a very neat, clean and organized woman. She shared many interesting stories with her family, stories passed down and well remembered. She was a remarkable woman, in my opinion, although I never had the honor of meeting her. All I have are the stories and each one is precious to me. She was very proud of her family, she often bragged about how smart the Hensley's were. She told stories of how her grandfather had come here from Ireland, he was a cabinet maker. Belle did not learn to read or write until she was expecting her last child, Letcher. She decided to teach herself by reading the New Testament in the Bible, and read it every year until her death. Belle's life with Sam was not always pleasant. He had a tendency of being quite ill natured with his children. Belle did not let him intimidate her. Once, someone parked a car outside of their home, to be able to walk to another's home further back. Robie decided he wanted to sit in the car, and this really seemed to bother Sam. Sam picked up a rock and was going to throw it at Robie to show his displeasure. At the time, Belle was churning butter and saw the events about to take place. With churn still in hand, she grabbed Sam by the "hair of his head" and wrung him until he dropped the rock. Belle had a soft side as well. When she went to live with her son and his family, she became very fond of their child born during her stay. She quite literally spoiled him. When he was in trouble, she'd sit on Letcher's belt to keep him from spanking the boy. Cuddling him in her arms saying "come here and let me nuss you". She was very compassionate toward others. If she heard of a family being burned out of their home or some other type of tragedy, she'd have someone take her to those in need so she could give them "a piece of money". It was her way of helping others less fortunate. ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Regina Belle Gasperson celticwinefairy21@yahoo.com ___________________________________________________________________