Tazewell County, Virginia, Newspaper Articles: Clinch Valley News--February 18, 1916 Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Michelle Burress http://www.cvnotes.com ==================================================================== Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ==================================================================== Clinch Valley News February 18, 1916 "One generation builds, the next tears down." In this day of progress and new things land marks ruthlessly disappear and a chapter in history closes and another begins, built upon the ruins thereof. Tazewell is not an "old town" in years, but there is not perhaps a single building standing now that is as old as the town. Necessarily the first buildings erected were cheap, wooden buildings, which have long ago been removed and replaced by others. The oldest building in town is said to be a part of the May building on Main Street. Perhaps the next oldest is the "Old Inn," now being torn away to make room for another and more modern building. The eastern part of the Jeffersonville hotel was built in the early days of Jeffersonville. The old "Julia Moore" building on Main Street is one of Tazewell's land marks. This building was erected by Mr. COX, the father of the late Captain COX, of Gratton. There are a number of old, brick buildings in the community which have a history. The George PEERY residence west of town is one of them. One of the earliest brick structures erected here was the Methodist church which stood just south of town and near the residence of Judge S.C. GRAHAM. This building was never completed entirely. The church was later removed to what is now lower West Main Street. In the church yard of the first Methodist church near Judge Graham's sleep the remains of a number of Tazewell's pioneer citizens. The writer of this sketch has gathered some facts and data here and there, and records here what he finds. The Old Inn was built by Captain Robert CROCKETT, great uncle of our townsman, R.O CROCKETT, the attorney, and a close relative of E.K. CROCKETT, Charles CROCKETT and other present day people of this community. The property has changed hands frequently. L.R. DODD purchased the property from Mr. CROCKETT in September, 1870 for $1650. DODD sold to William L. WATKINS. WATKINS sold to A.J. MAY Jr. in April, 1890. MAY sold to Dr. HUFFORD. After Dr. HUFFORD'S death, Jeff HOGE and J.W. MOSS bought the property, and COFFEE ran another hotel. HOGE and MOSS sold to J.W. and R.C. CHAPMAN. CHAPMAN sold to George R. SURFACE and SURFACE sold to the Methodist church people, who recently sold to the present owners, Witten and Steele. There is this data as to when the house was built: John F. SUTHERS, of this town, says that he heard his father, who was a carpenter, say frequently that his first work as a carpenter was done on this building. SUTHERS came to Tazewell when he was 18 years old. He died here. Reckoning back, he worked on this building in the year 1822, which would make the building now about 94 years old. This is the nearest we can come at it and is evidently about correct. Who worked on the building besides SUTHERS, or who was the contractor, cannot be known. Reuben FUDGE, HUFFORD and perhaps others, were great brick layers, but this building was erected before their day. Mr. Elgin WHITLEY now about 83 years of age, whom the writer interviewed on Tuesday, could give no help along these lines. Whoever these men were they did their work well, as the ???? Mr. M.F. WYNEE, who has the contract to remove the building, found a brick in the west wall which had the number 1820 cut into it. If this date was cut in the brick when it was laid, the building is 96 years old. So, there you are. The data may have been put in when the brick was made in the yard. Mr. WYNN says that the sills, joint, etc. are sawed by old whipsaw and the laths were ripped out by hand. In those days there were no saw mills or brick machines. Mortar for brick was made by horses tramping and working it up. Mr. Elgin WHITELY says, that as a boy, he rode a horse many a day around in a brick mortar bed, and all the bricks were made by hand, one at a tie. The nails used in the original construction of the building were of wrought iron, made in the blacksmith shop. And so it goes. It is a long cry from those days and methods to the present. ---------------- In loving remembrance of Mrs. Elizabeth MCGUIRE, wife of the late James Mathias MCGUIRE, and daughter of the late W.D. HURT and Elizabeth McGuire Hurt CECIL, born August 27, 1853 and departed this life January 30, 1916, at 8 am in a Richmond hospital where she had undergone an operation for gall stones about four weeks previous, age 62 years, five months and three days. Besides a host of relatives and of friends, she is survived by four sons, Dr. J.A. MCGUIRE, and James W. MCGUIRE, of Princeton, West Virginia; Marvin H. MCGUIRE, of Pilot Mountain, Tennessee; and Dr. John MCGUIRE, of Richmond; three daughters, Mrs. Maudie L. FUGATE, Pilot Mountain Tennessee; Mrs. Carrie PEERY, of North Tazewell and Miss Sadie MCGUIRE, of Cedar Bluff; three sisters, Mrs. Theresa REPASS, of Cedar Bluff; Mrs. Louisa MCFARLAND, of Blackford, Va.; Mrs. Columbia CECIL, of Ezel, Ky; one brother, Mrs. Charles G. HURT, of Cedar Bluff and one half brother, Mr. William M. CECIL, of Hot Springs, Ark, all of whom were present at the funeral except Mr. and Mrs. CECIL, of Arkansas and Kentucky, respectively. She was preceded to the grave by her husband on September 3, 1894 and the following children: Ella, October 8, 1880, Charles M., December 8, 1894, Mrs. Lena Elizabeth REED, August 10, 1898, Miss Mayo MCGUIRE, June 23, 1900, also by three brothers, Messrs. Thomas, George B. and John B. HURT, whose deaths occurred at or near Cedar Bluff. She is also survived by nine grand children. She was converted at Steele's chapel at the age of 17 and lived a beautiful, Christian life; was a member of the Methodist Church, South, also of the Home Missionary Society and Woman's Christian Temperance Union and will be greatly missed. Her death came as a shock to all, as she was expected home on the following Wednesday. The real cause of her death was the clotting of an artery near the heart, and in a few moments after partaking of a hearty breakfast and walking across the floor, complained of a severe pain around her heart, and asked the nurse to call her son Dr. John MCGUIRE, and in a few moments life was extinct. The funeral was held at her beautiful, now lonely residence, at Cedar Bluff at 11 o'clock on February 1st. Rev. N.B. WATERHOUSE, and B.M. BUHRMAN, of Richlands and Cedar Bluff circuit, respectively, of the M.E. CHURCH, officiated. The flowers were many and beautiful, there being two blankets, one of Eastern lilies, which represented so truly the purity of a beautiful life. Besides the flowers that covered the graves of the wife and husband there were flowers in profusion, which showed the great love and esteem of her relatives and friends. The pall-bearers were Messrs. William GRINSTEAD, John FOX, J. Ed MCGUIRE, Harry W. BANE, Chapman H. PEERY and George R. MCCALL. May all of her children, brothers and sisters live such Christian lives as they can meet her in Heaven. A wedding, which came as a surprise to the many friends of the contracting parties was solemnized Wednesday evening when Miss Stella IRESON and Mr. Walter BLACKBURN joined hearts and hands. The ceremony was witnessed only by the immediate relatives of the bride and groom and was performed by Rev. Mr. PHILLIPS, pastor of the Presbyterian church, at the home of the bride's sister, Mrs. J.W. WADDLE. The beautiful ring ceremony was used. The bride is one of our most attractive young women with many graces of mind and manner. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John F. IRESON, of North Tazewell, Virginia. For a year past she has been the accommodating saleslady at the Style Shop where her genial personality won for her a wide circle of friends. The groom is the manager of the Western Union Telegraph Company and one of the rising young men of this town. The will of the late Robert B. WITTEN was made March 29, 1910. It was admitted to probate shortly after his death. Briefly its provisions are: After the payment of his debts all his property, both personal and real, is bequeathed to his wife, so long as she remains his widow. Should she marry, then she is to have only her legal share. The farm is to be conducted as heretofore, and after an economical living the proceeds are devised to the education of the children. At the wife's death, the home farm is to be ??? Andrew and ready. When the daughter, Nannie, reaches the age of 21 years she is to be given a horse, cow and "good bed" and the three boys are to give her each $200. To his son, Walter, he gave a note which he held against him. To his daughter, Mrs. Pauline GRAHAM, Mrs. Jennie PORTER and Mrs. Katherine WATKINS, $50 each and to Mrs. Rachel WHITLEY, and Mrs. Rosa CHARLES, $1.00 each. To Messrs. WILK and Ebb WITTEN, two sons, $1.00. Not long before his death, he made a change in the provisions of the will. His widow is to have only her legal share of the property and Messrs. WILK and Andrew WITTEN are named as administrators and guardian of the children. No mention is made in the will of any intangible property, if any, owned by the testator. Wilkerson Witten DAILEY passed away on the 4th of February at his home on South Street at ten o'clock of dropsy. He was born August 4th, 1834, in Tazewell County, Virginia. He was married to Miss Nannie P. DESKINS, the third daughter of the late George W. DESKINS, in the year 1859. In 1884 they moved to Missouri, where they remained until about five years ago, when they moved to Ponca City. He was a patient sufferer and was ??? about his condition. He united with the church when 18 years of age and had lived a consistent Christian up to the time of his death. He talked to each member of the family, who were present before his death, and implored them to meet him in heaven. His funeral was conducted at the home by the Rev. J.I. HILL, on Feb. 7, at 2:30 pm. He leaves a wife and seven children - Mrs. A.A. BALL, Cole and Augustus DAILEY, of Ponca City; Mrs. J.R. OGLESBY and Basil DAILEY, of Chicago; Mrs.. Harry HANKS, of Great Falls, Mont. and Mrs. W.R. JENNINGS, of Abingdon, Ill. the two latter being unable to attend the funeral . The funeral was largely attended by a host of sympathizing friends and hsi body was laid to rest in the I.O.O.F. cemetery to await the resurrection morn. BURKES GARDEN -------------------------- Mr. W.J. HOGE went to Tazewell Sunday. Miss Buby SUITER and Dr. and Mrs. HIGGINBOTHAM were called to Graham Friday by the sudden death of their relative, Mr. Ed NEEL. Rev. James REPASS, of Bristol, has been visiting relatives and friends here for several days. Mr. Creed PAULEY died very suddenly at his home here on last Friday night. He leaves a wife, two sons and three daughters to mourn the loss. Funeral services were conducted at the house and at the church by Rev. Mr. James REPASS. Messrs. E.J. WYNN and N.W. STOWERS went to Clear Fork Saturday to attend the burial of Mr. A.B. SHAWVER, and also the burial of Mr. Ed NEEL on Sunday. Messrs. A.S. BOLING and R.M. GOODMAN also attended the burial of Mr. NEEL. Mrs. Jane MEEK was ill at her home here the first of the week. After having warm weather for several days, the mercury dropped to 5 degrees below zero last night. J.P. GOSE, A.E. PEERY, and N.W. STOWERS have each been having some maple syrup and sugar made. POUNDING MILL ---------------------------- Mrs. R.K. GILLESPIE went to Tazewell today to visit her mother, Mrs. Mary O'KEEFFE, who has been ill. Misses Helen and Nell GILLSEPIE, of Wittens Mills, spent Monday night visiting their brother, Mr. William G. GILLESPIE and family. They had spent the weekend with their brother, Sam and family at Raven. Mrs. J.T. ALTIZER and children and Miss Pattie WHITAKER spent Saturday and Sunday visiting their relatives, Mr. and Mrs. Alex ALTIZER and family at Richlands. Mrs. T.A. REPASS, of Cedar Bluff, spent today with her cousin, Mrs. W.B. STEELE. Rev. R.E. GREER preached to a good audience Sunday night in spite of the inclemency of the weather, and was the guest of Mrs. C.H. TRAYER to super, and Mrs. R.K. GILLESPIE at night. A.R. GILLESPIE is down from Wittens Mills, helping take stock in the W.B. STEELE and Company store. Mr. John WITT, of Erwin, Tennessee, is here to run the store. His wife and baby are spending the week with her mother, Mrs. Jennie REPASS, at Paint Lick. W.W. BOXLEY was down one day last week from Roanoke looking after the rock quarry here and was the guest of Mr. and Mrs. C.M. HUNTER. Mr. Benjamin RILEY, who has been very ill for some time at the home of his son, Alex RILEY, is able to sit up again. Mr. Mose BURNETT has moved his family to Harwell, Virginia. Mrs. Joseph SMITH, of this place, Mrs. PAGE, of Richlands, and son, and Mr. JOHNSON, of Nebraska, are visiting Mr. and Mrs. William SHEPHERD today. Mr. SHEPHERD talks of moving to Nebraska. Rev. W.S. BULLARD, of Tazewell, will preach at the Christian church next Sunday at 11 o'clock. O.O. BERRY, of Jonesville, was here the latter part of the week to take charge of the Cedar Bluff Roller Mills at Cedar Bluff. The mills will be ??? and will be known as the Bluff Milling Company. The mill has a capacity of 35 barrels per day. We have had a very cold spell here for several days. The ground has been covered with snow, which is now melting. Mrs. R.K. GILLESPIE and two little sons spent Saturday and Sunday with her friend, Mrs. Sam WARD in Thompson Valley. F. MYERS is again laid up with rheumatism. Mrs. Cora SHAMBLIN visited her sister, Mrs. Richard LOWE at Cedar Bluff one day last week. Mrs. LOWE is very ill with cancer of the breast. Mr. Jacob BALL, of Kent's Ridge, is visiting his sister in law, Mrs. G.R. THOMAS. Mr. and Mrs. Beverly DAVISON, newlyweds, are living in our town. Mr. DAVIDSON is farming. Mrs. George BREWSTER is suffering greatly with perhaps a bealing of the head just over her eye. Roy LEe and family and Arthur HUNNELL have moved to Seaboard to live. Mrs. H.W. CHRISTIAN is recovering from an attack of grip. COVE CREEK --------------------- Many from this place attended the burial of Mr. Ebb NEAL last Sunday. Mr. and Mrs. Will BUCHANAN, of Pearisburg, are visited relatives and friends in the community. Mrs. Jennie COMPTON, of Wolf Creek, is visiting relatives in this community. Miss Lula and Rose SIMPSON were the guests of Miss Rose HIGGINBOTHAM last Saturday and Monday. Miss Mary GREGORY and Mrs. Jennie COMPTON were the guests of Mrs. R.C. FOX last Saturday. Mr. and Mrs. Crockett STOWERS, of Brushfork, spent last Saturday and Sunday in the community. Mr. and Mrs. H.P. BOLING, of Wolf Creek, spent last Saturday at Mr. Harve STOWERS. Mr. S.E. SIMPSON spent last Sunday with S.R. ASHWORTH. Mr. Steve FOX spent last Sunday at the home of Mr. Andy FOX. ------------------------- The community was greatly shocked last week to hear of the death of W.E. NEAL, a well known citizen of this county, living at Graham, to which place he moved recently from Cove Creek. Mr. NEAL was in his wagon, with several others, on his way from Graham to Cove Creek on business, when the end came. An hour before he was in his usually good health and apparently in the best of spirits. He was suddenly stricken and in a few minutes was dead. His funeral was attended by a very large concourse of people. He was about 45 years of age and leaves a widow and family. Another Clear Fork citizen, A.B. SHAWVER, 75 years old, died a few days ago. Some months ago he was accidentally shot by his son, the load entering his knee. This wound and the ravages of old age hastened his death. Mr. SHAWVER was a man of sterling integrity and leaves behind him a good name. A pleasant surprise to their host of friends was the marriage of Mr. Lewis J. GREEVER to Miss Nannie M. HELDRETH. The ceremony was performed by Rev. R.B. PLATT, Jr. in the Methodist parsonage Wednesday evening at six o'clock. Mrs. J.T. HELDRETH, the bride's mother, being the only attendant. The couple left on the evening train for a short trip to Richmond and Washington. Mr. GREEVER is a successful young contractor at Princeton, West Virginia, and Miss HELDRETH is the daughter of the genial contractor of Tazewell. As typist and sales lady for Jeff WARD'S store she numbered all the people of Tazewell among her friends, being a young lady of affable manner and very attractive personality. Her absence from the town will be sincerely regretted. The future home of Mr. and Mrs. GREEVER will be Princeton, West Virginia where the happy thoughts and best wishes of their friends will attend them. The funeral and burial of W.E. NEEL, who died suddenly last Friday morning, on Cove Creek, was held last Sunday near his home. Interment was made near the old home. The funeral services were held in the Mount Calvary church at Cove Creek. The church was crowded. Rev. M.P. CARICO, of Graham, assisted the Cove Creek pastor in conducting the services.