Hello and welcome to my official author's website - a place for you to encounter and hopefully enjoy the things I have written over the years about faith, family, and history.
I am a native and lifelong resident of Watauga County, North Carolina, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia, where many of my ancestors settled by the 1790s, resulting in some of my family having been here for eight or more generations. This rich and lengthy heritage sparked my early interest in genealogy and local history and, at the age of eleven (quite a few moons ago!), I embarked on a quest to write books about each of my four grandparents' families. I published three of those over a period of decades and have one more to complete. Beyond these genealogical endeavors, I have also delved into other aspects of my county's history (including a well-known murder case), resulting in the publication of a few other books, ideally with more to follow. Additionally, I have composed quite a few personal reflections about Bible passages, my faith in Jesus Christ, and the Christian life.
I am a graduate of Appalachian State University in my hometown of Boone, North Carolina (BA in Political Science/MA in Education with a social studies concentration) and also worked at the university for nine years before being employed at Samaritan's Purse, a Christian international relief organization, where I have worked for the past twenty-nine years.
Perhaps because I'm blood kin to a number of craftsmen, musicians, and storytellers, I have always needed and enjoyed creative outlets. Aside from writing, I have dabbled through the years in art (pencil drawings in particuar), residential design/decor (enjoying my log home, which sits on part of my maternal grandparents' former farm and has an inspiring view of the mountains), collecting and refinishing antiques, amateur photography, and even a bit of cooking.
I have also had the privilege to travel quite extensively, visiting more than 60 countries through both personal and work-related trips, and I have appreciated the opportunity to expand my worldview in the process. In the words of Mark Twain, “Travel is fatal to prejuidce, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.... Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
Again, welcome! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out. I am glad you are here.
Hello and welcome to my official author's website - a place for you to encounter and hopefully enjoy the things I have written over the years about faith, family, and history.
I am a native and lifelong resident of Watauga County, North Carolina, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia, where many of my ancestors settled by the 1790s, resulting in some of my family having been here for eight or more generations. This rich and lengthy...
Available in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions.
Amazon rating:
AWARDS:
2025 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards Gold Medalist for Nonfiction: True Crime
2025 Literary Global Independent Author Award for Best True Crime Book
2025 National Indie Excellence Award for Best True Crime Book
2025 Speak Up Talk Radio Firebird First Place Book...
Prior to its formation in 1849, Watauga County was a hunting ground for the Cherokee and part of the trail blazed by frontiersman Daniel Boone, for whom the county seat was later named. Primarily settled by whites after the Revolutionary War, many of the county’s earliest families came to the Appalachians from the Piedmont region of North...
This 325-page book outlines the ancestors and descendants of the author's great, great, great-grandparents, Alf and Letha Watson Yates, who moved from Wilkes County, North Carolina to neighboring Watauga County, North Carolina in 1875. It includes many details of Alf Yates's military service as a Confederate soldier, including the Battle of...
In May 1953, a tall and very thin man with graying hair walked into the Calhoun, Georgia jail, asking for a place to sleep. His request was granted, but he was found dead the following morning, the victim of a cerebral hemorrhage.
Apparently, no one had asked the man’s name, and as authorities began to investigate his identity, they learned that he had told a waitress he had a wife in Maryville, Tennessee. This somehow led them to Ova Shore, who, when shown a picture of the deceased man,...
My paternal grandfather, Iris Harmon, had a great sense of humor and was a natural storyteller. Around 1971, most likely for the benefit of his three grandchildren (my brother, my sister, and me), he assumed the identity of a young, wet-behind-the-ears Santa Claus, eager to make his mark on the world and recorded the tale of his debut sleigh run and how he came to have white hair and a white beard. I hope you enjoy it!
“If you’ll get you a seat and be right quiet, I’ll tell you about the first...
This week, as I have watched the new Ken Burns documentary on the American Revolution, I’ve been reminded what a complicated time that was, and probably no more so than for those who refused to embrace the fight for independence – those who preferred the status quo and maintained their loyalty to the King of England. Although I have a few other Loyalist relatives, one in particular – a 6x great-grandfather, to be precise – has been on my mind, and this is his story.
John Eagles resided at...