This was my great-great John (1813-1903) and Nancy Sumner (1817-bef 1885) Ray’s house. The house is in Macon County, North Carolina, near Franklin, in the Burningtown Community.
They are buried in unmarked graves in the Burningtown Baptist Church Cemetery. Their descendant Cecil remembered watching the men break the ice and snow to bury John Ray.
John was listed on the 1870 census as a wagon maker. They had eleven children.
This barn was on their property. Also my sons at that moment in time my sons Rocky and Adam were on what used to be their property, in about 1990.
On that same visit Cecil Baldwin (1895-1992) showed us around. Cecil was a bachelor. He was the last descendant to live in and own the house. He was about 95 years old but looked much younger. He died about two years later.
I have heard from family tales that John and Nancy disapproved of their daughter Emaline’s suitor William Trammell and forbidden her to court him.
She climbed out the window and courted him anyway.
When you see this sign, the house is just down a the bottom of the hill on the left.
Life is full of really neat stories. Your memory and records should be all bound and published. This one sounds like it could be a good million dollar movie.
ReplyDeleteSi,
ReplyDeleteThanks. There is a good story in every family.