Other Writing

I don’t claim to be the first or only person who ever formed an interest in genealogy as a child; there are likely thousands of us. But I would venture to say it’s not the norm. I was 11 when it took hold of me, and I know it coincided with our nation’s bicentennial in 1976. Attention on America’s founding was everywhere, and it set me to thinking, not just about our country’s history, but also about my family’s history.

The following year, a miniseries documenting writer Alex Haley’s ancestry...

My great-grandmother’s brother, Dick Horton, was more mechanical than agricultural and, much to his father’s and brothers’ chagrin, finagled himself out of farm work whenever he could. From the age of eleven in 1888, he began learning watch repair from his uncle, Joe Councill, a traveling tinker.

In the fall of 1900, Dick took this interest to another level, leaving his Vilas home in the Blue Ridge Mountains to attend the Philadelphia College of Horology and Optometry. He graduated a year...

Around 1919, my seven-year-old future grandfather, Iris Harmon, began attending school. Suffice it to say, his first day was not stellar.

Someone threw a rock.

It struck him in the head.

He “cut a terrible shine.”

Hurt yet undeterred, he resumed his education despite this literally rocky start.

Each day, he and his siblings walked three miles to the schoolhouse and three miles home. Whether uphill both ways, barefoot in the snow, I know not, but Iris dreaded the trek.

“A little fellar,” he...

My great-granddaddy, Council Harmon, more commonly referred to as “Counce,” was dark-haired and blue-eyed and always wore a thick brush of a moustache. Standing about five feet six inches and weighing probably no more than 135 pounds in his prime, he sometimes had a hard time finding clothes to fit him. Even after reaching manhood, he continued wearing boy-sized shoes out of necessity.

Though small of stature, he was a manual laborer and a hard worker like most men of his region, day, and...

There are particular moments in life when we human beings find ourselves reluctantly surrendering our modesty. More often than not, these seem to involve medical examinations and requisite degrees of undress. For me, one such examination involved a procedure known as a flexible sigmoidoscopy.

Although proclaimed to be less invasive than a full-blown colonoscopy, try telling that to the parts about to be invaded. It’s a hard sell, kind of like trying to convince ancient Europeans that the...

Although we’re officially a week shy of “springdom,” today was a mid-60s, spring-like day. To add to the splendor of it, I not only had the day off of work, but I got to visit the stomping grounds of some of my ancestors – specifically Martin country in the beautiful and pastoral Green Valley and Brushy Fork section of Ashe County, North Carolina, bordering Tennessee.

I was a teenager the first time I ventured into that territory and, suffice it to say, that’s been quite a few moons ago. It...

In the fall of 1918, an explosion in the the North Fork portion of the Mabel community in western Watauga County, North Carolina resounded for miles. Eighteen-year-old Charles Thomas, who lived nearby, was the first to arrive on the scene, and he made a horrific discovery. His twenty-three-year-old sister, Lillie, had been torn to pieces by dynamite. But what exactly had happened and why?

While Lillie was rumored by some to have been the victim of her twenty-four-year-old second cousin, Grady...

More than a decade before the War Between the States, a smaller scale war was waged between brothers Jesse and James Ward that would stretch on for more than five years and would eventually be ruled upon by the North Carolina Supreme Court.

The brothers were sons of Benjamin Ward, a Virginia native and Revolutionary War veteran, who had made his home in western North Carolina by 1777. Benjamin was among the first settlers on lower Watauga River in Ashe (present-day Watauga) County. He died in...

Through the years, I have paused many times at the grave of Adeline Henson Combs, the youngest sister of my great, great, great-grandfather. Until I conducted further research this week and discovered some revelatory documents concerning her, my knowledge of Aunt Adeline’s life was minimal. Her parents, Charles and Elizabeth Henson, and her four older siblings – John, Sallie, James, and Jordan – had moved from Iredell County, North Carolina to present-day Watauga County around the time of her...

I recently read this:

“We die twice: once when our breath leaves us, and again when the last person who truly knew us sets down the last object that remembers our existence…. Every object we own is a poem waiting to be understood. That faded photograph, the chipped teacup from your grandmother’s kitchen, the worn leather journal – each carries the fingerprints of moments lived, breaths taken, tears shed…. Listen to these objects. They tell stories of love, of loss, of becoming. Each item you...

This week I celebrate my 28th year of employment with the international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse. Over the course of these almost three decades, I have had many interesting experiences, most stemming from traveling the globe, and I am sometimes asked what my most memorable trips have been. There are a few that stand out, but I would have to say my brief stint in Iraq is at the top of the list. Almost eight years ago, in January 2017, I traveled there in support of the...

Two passages from my recent Bible readings have stuck in my mind these past few weeks:

Joel 3:14 – “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.”

Lamentations 1:9 (in part) – “She did not consider her destiny; therefore, her collapse was awesome.”

My attention is particularly drawn to two key words within these passages – decision and destiny – and I cannot help but consider how the two are intertwined.

Although the “valley of...

Tomorrow, four weeks will have passed since Hurricane Helene struck, and, for the most part (certainly with exceptions), life seems to be creeping back to normal or what may be a “new normal” for at least a time. Considering all that has transpired, I’m fascinated how adaptive we humans can be and how quickly changes wrought by disaster can be adopted into our daily routines. In pre-storm days, I had already memorized and learned to dodge each pothole and deeper-than-normal manhole cover on...

While every season has its own particular visual beauty, the one that feels best to my physical being is fall. As the summer heat fades into more moderate temperatures, I enjoy the reprieve from outdoor chores and the resulting slower pace. Never a self-thought outdoorsman, I actually don’t mind retreating inward, shutting the windows and doors to stave off the crisp evening air or feeling the weight of an extra blanket on my bed.

But along with the Libra sun, autumn has historically brought...

Within a one and a half mile distance from my home are two cemeteries, which I recently walked to in succession. Call me an anomaly, but I enjoy visiting cemeteries. For a person who loves both spirituality and history, they are ideal outings, plus, they are great places to go when you want to be alone with your thoughts. Chances are high you won’t be running into others…at least not living ones!

Within these two particular cemeteries are buried numerous people I once knew, including family...

In Mark 1, while in Capernaum, Jesus got up very early one morning while it was still dark outside and went to a solitary place to pray. His disciples went in search of Him, and when they found Him, they exclaimed, "Everyone is looking for you!" Jesus' fame had already spread over the entire Galilee region, and crowds began to seek and follow Him because of His authoritative teaching and ability to heal the sick and cast out demons. No doubt, when the disciples made this statement, they were...

My paternal grandfather, Iris Harmon, was a man of great humor and an equally great storyteller. He’s been gone for more than 35 years now, but thankfully, he recorded a story that he titled "Hooked on Baseball," which I have transcribed here in his own words. I hope you enjoy reading it!

"I growed up a-way back in the mountains and hills and hollers; not a whole lot to do - run through the woods, act sort of like a wild man. Sometimes I wonder if I wasn't about like Tarzan. Wasn't a whole lot...

The perceptions among "locals" regarding what has grown over time into Appalachian State University always intrigue me. I am thankful for the educational, cultural, and employment opportunities that the university has provided us with, each of which I have personally benefitted from. At the same time, I acknowledge the frustrations brought on by excessive growth without a corresponding infrastructure to support that growth. Certainly, life in any college town has its pros and cons. This is...

When embarking on genealogical research, people often joke or express hesitation about discovering horse thieves in their family trees. Tonight, I found mine. Although certainly not the first or only law-breaking relative that I have been aware of, this is my first horse thief.

David Laurence “Dave” Sutherland was born in 1876 in North Carolina, most likely in the Sutherland community of Ashe County, a son of Dan and Lucinda “Lou” Horton Sutherland. His maternal grandfather was Jack Horton,...

- God’s people are often unduly involved in peripheral issues. We get busy here and there about this and that and gradually drift away from the things that are really important in life.

- One powerful God-given antidote for depression and despair is to pray for others. When we can look beyond our own needs and think about the needs of others, we will find a wonderful relief from our own burdens.

- In death the world loses everything, but God’s children gain everything.

- There are millions who...