Historic Webster is a newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc., created at the Society’s founding in 1974. The publication helped to serve the Society's mission of collecting and preserving the history of Webster, North Carolina. Webster, established in 1851, was the original county seat for Jackson County.

• Contributor
  • Webster Historical Society (Webster, N.C.)
• Format
  • Newsletters
  • Periodicals
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 1984
  • Date digitized: 2017-01
• Extent
  • Dimension: 15" x 11"
  • Pages: 4 pages
• Subject - Topic
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Webster (N.C.) -- History -- Periodicals
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • Historic Webster
• Identifier
  • HistoricWebster1984_Vol10_No02
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library

HISTORIC~ •••••••••••••••~--"-e_w..:,s_:le.;.tt.:...er of the Webster Historical Society, Inc. VOLUME X, NUMBER 2 WEBSTER, NORTH CAROLINA SUMMER 1984 Page 2, HISTORIC WEBSTER, SUMMER, 1984 I Bumgarners help settle Jackso1 By Tracey Jeanne Whitaker Most of the Bumga rners in Jackson County are descended from Charles Bumgarner who was born in 1799. Family tradition tells that Charles and his brothers came to this country from Germany and that he had come "over the mountain" to settle in Jackson County. The first census in 1790 lists several Bumgarners already down east living in Lincoln County North Carolina. Charles also lived in Lincoln County. He married Rebecca Odum there on August 29, 1821, and his first three children, at least were born there. This places the family in Lincoln County until at least 1826. Sometime before 1836, he did come "over the mountain" because he bought fifty-seven acres of what was formerly Cherokee lands at an auc­tion at J. B. Love's store near Webster. The auction was held in December, 1836, and the entire tract was bought for $28.50. The original deed is held by Mrs. Mabel Bumgarner, the current owner of part of that land. Charles continued buying land, both adjoin­ing the original tract and elsewhere in Jackson County. In 1859 he bought thirty-five acres on Love's Mill Creek, ajoining annexing his own land, for $4.37 and forty acres on Locust Creek for $5.00. Charles later sold the Locust Creek acreage to his son William for the same $5.00. Upon his death in 1865, Charles left 296 acres of land to his children, who then sold the entire lot to George Bumgarner for $551. Rebecca Odum Bumgarner lived until the age of 81, dying in 1886. The following is a list of Charles and her children: I Rebecca Odum and her husband Charles Bumgarner bought land in the Webster area in 1836. Alexander -M. 1821-1905, married Matilda Fisher, 7 children; George W. 1823-1910, married Eliza Tatham, 4 children; Hosea 1826-1880, married Lucinda Bryson, 9 children; Logan 1829-1903, married Sarah Bumgarner, 12 children; Adolphus 1831-1897, mar­ried Lucinda Harrell, 3 children ; Louisa 1835-1905, married Col­eman Bryson, 8 children; John 1836-1845; William 1839-1902, mar­ried Polly Allen, 10 children; James 1843-1867; Rebecca 1844-1844; Mahala 1846-1918, married James T. Painter, 10 children. The Bumgarners were Methodists and founding members of Love's Meeting House in 1840. The meeting house was named for John B. Love, who gave an acre of land for the building site. The name was later changed to Love's Chapel Methodist Church. The meeting house was used as a community house, a place of com­munity gatherings and a school as well as a church. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, the first four of Charles and Rebecca Bumgarner's seven surviving sons served the Con­federacy. George and Logan were captured at the Battle of Cumberland Gap in Tennessee on September 9, 1863, and were held in a federal prison, Camp Doublas, Illinois, until March 1865. George Bumgarner, son of Rebecca and Charles married Eliza Tatham. This portrait is done in charcoal. Charles Bumgarner died at 67 in 1866 and Rebecca lived on un­til 1886, dying at age 91. Both are buried in the old Methodist Cemetery in Fairview. Their original markers are still there, along with a newer one placed there by the family in the 1950's. Accor­ding to the late Bud Parker, Rebecca never learned English. The fact that she spoke her native German is almost sure evidence that she immigrated to the United States as a young girl. George Bumgarner married Eliza Tatham, daughter of another couple that pioneered Western North Carolina, W. C. and Isabell Tatham. George and Eliza had four children, Nathan Wilber (call­ed Wib), Carrie A., William H. and John Wesley Bumgarner. While Grandpa George was off in the Civil War, Grandma Eliza was afraid that the Union soldiers would take all their valuables and steal their cow, so she sold the cow and buried the money. After his parole at Camp Douglas, Grandpa George was involved in a prisoner exchange in City Point, Virginia, in March 1865. After Lee's surrender in April, George walked home. He and Eliza dug up the money, but since it was Confederate, it was worthless. My great, great grandfather was John Wesley Bumgarner. Like his father, he bought some of the family land from his brothers and sisters when his father, George, passed away. In 1880, Grand­pa John married Mary Long, daughter of Andrew Jackson Long and Jemima Cathey. Andrew Jackson Long was descended from ·a well-to-do colonial family that began as Quakers in Pennsylvania and settled in North Carolina about the time of the Revolution. His great grandfather was a Revolutionary War Colonel who had 86 slaves in 1790. Jemima Cathey descended from William Cathey, an early settler of Haywood County. John and Mary Bumgarner built the white frame house that still stands out on the Fairview Road, in the same area where Charles and George had built their log cabins. There is a picture of them and their large family in front of the family house in the Spring, 1978, issue of Historic Webster. The children of John and Mary Bumgarner were; Iva, July 14, 1884-September 9, 1979, married John Hoxit, 4 children; Rufus Oscar, January 21, 1882-May 31, 1951, married Minnie Nunn, 2 children; Edgar, January 1893-June 10, 1970, married Lucille Painter; Carrie, October 1887-May 3, 1964, married twice to Wil Link and Henry Bryson, 4 children; James Gerald, August 7, 1895 to September 1, 1954, married Grace, 2 children; Lewis Wilburn, June 15, 1898-September 10, 1975, married Mabel Edwards, 2 children; Lucy Ellen, June 15, 1898-Aprilll, 1972. My great grandfather was Oscar Bumgarner. Oscar Bumgarner and Minnie Hester Nunn met while Oscar was working in the coal mines of West Virginia and boarding with Minnie's sister. They were married on April22, 1903 in Henry County, Virginia, at Min­nie's parents' home. They returned to the coal fields near Bluefield, West Virginia where their first daughter, Ila, was born in 1904. Returning to Jackson County, they lived with Grandpa George Bumgarner in his log cabin. My grandmother, Love Bumgarner, was born in that log cabin. The family moved around a good bit while Ila and Love were young, but they finally came back to Fair­view to build and stay. The house burned a few years ago, but it had a lot of " character" and housed five generations over the years. Ila finished high school in Sylva and married Grady Hen­son. They have one daughter, Jeanne, who married Clyde Bumgarner, who is a descendent of Logan Bumgarner. Love mar­ried J. Floyd Owens of Webster. They had three children. Love Louise (Snooky) married Vaughn Lemmond and raised three children in Daytona Beach, Florida. James Floyd Owens has retired from the Navy and he and his wife Linda are two of Jackson county local rural route postpeople. They have three children and live in Fairview. Uncle Jim has two children by a previous mar- Oscar Bumg Virginia. They in her mother': riage. My mothE After dad retire• Carolina and als• four children. Fl Grover Kilpatric Tennessee. (Anyone wishi scant family hist• 3, Box 146, Sylv1 Cover Story: color by the . reproduction \ historical socie: series. Society Will Celebrat1 Miss Lucy's Picnic One of the g1 of Miss Lucy l mer was the I and her picni never plannec was just "Brin and come up f• The Webst• Society would Miss Lucy's pi vites meml families , and t come up to thE 1 County I arner met his wife Minnie Nunn in West had two daughters, Ila, standing, and Love, ; arms. ·r, Nancy Ann, married William Ray Whitaker. I from the Air Force they came home to North >built on the family land in Fairview. They have Jyd Owens died in 1944 and Love Owens married k. They now make their home in Andersonville, ng more information or to add to or correct the >ry that I have presented, can write to me at Route '• North Carolina 28779. ) "Summer Evening in Webster" is a water­Jackson County artist, Jeff Ginn. Color 1ill be given to the participants of the :y's "Summer Evening in Webster" concert eat pleasures Iedden's sum­' ourth of July :. Miss·Lucy a picnic. It g your supper ~r the picnic." •r Historical like to revive cnic and it in­> ers , their 1eir friends to "Big Lot" at 4:30 Wednesday evening, Ju­ly 4. Mr. and Mrs. John Fobes, who now own the Hed­den House, have offered their yard, the "Big Lot," for the gathering. Bring your supper, a chair, a cardtable, a blanket. We will spread our supper, visit, talk and celebrate our coun­try's birthday at Miss Lucy's Picnic. SUMMER, 1984, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Page 3 Mary Morris, 1937·1984, founded Webster's Historical Society By Joe P. Rhinehart On Saturday mornings about eleven o'clock, we stood in front of Rhinehart's Store and waited for the Blue Goose. That was the name we had given the old school, bus that Venoy Reed had painted blue and that he ran between Webster and Sylva in the 1940's. The trip to town was the beginning of our favorite day-Saturday- and Mary Morris and I were on our way to the movies. Twenty cents for the bus ride, 12 cents for the movie, five cents for the popcorn. That was the day's expense, and what a day! We would spend the after­noon at the picture show-a western staring Roy Rogers, our favorite, or Gene Autry or Hopalog Cassiday; a dou­ble feature with Francis, the talking mule, Pa and Ma Ket­tle, Abbott and Costello; the continued show-Batman, Superman; the cartoons; the previews; the newsreels; and the local ads. After seeing all these features, we would cross the street to Stovall's ten cent store for a visit with Callie McConnell, who ran the toy department, and maybe we would make a purchase. By five thirty it was time to go up to Mary's father 's office and get our ride home to Webster. This past summer Mary and I had a chance to visit everyday, and we often talk­ed about growing up and how often our paths crossed. She was my first friend, for a long time my best friend , then just my friend, and for the past years my best friend again. We were children together, we were classmates at Webster School, we saw each other at Woman's College when I went up to dances. Then when she moved back to Webster, and Flossie and I were there in the summer, we visited, went to plays together, ate out, talked about Webster , and remembered, from Mary's porch that overlooks the village, all those wonderful childhood times. Flossie surely got bored as we talked. We again dug blue clay from the creek bank near the Owen house to make pottery, baked in Florencie's stove in the Morris kitchen. We sang "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" as we had when we had wanted to be part of the war. We remembered the barber shop we had had when we ac­tually shaved each other with razors taken from the Rhinehart bathroom. We retold the ghost stories that we had heard the big children-Jack, Ralphine, and others-tell and then felt the shivers as we walked that long walk across the street in the dim light of Webster's lone street lamp. What a day it was for us when the blacks of Webster came home in the summer to open their church for their annual " Feast in the Wilderness! " The Morris children, under Florencie's direction, and Jim and I, in the hand~ of Annie Bell and Clyde Fisher, walked down the Cemetery Road and up the hill to the Webster Bap­tist Church. We celebrated. We ate. We sang. We visited. We walked home, tired but full of joy. Webster's streets, in the forties, were dirt. That was a delight, because when it rain­ed, we could play in the mud, damming up the ditches. Our standard answer to "Get in out of the rain and mud! " was "We're washable, aren't we?" On Christmas Day, 1983, Flossie and I went up to Mary's. " I've been waiting. I knew you would be here to­day." She wanted to know about Mildred Cowan's Christmas Eve concert, the concert · played on the Methodist church's restored organ. We talked about the "Summer Evenings in Webster" for 1984, about Cadbury chocolate, about cats ... That day was the kind of day Mary and I loved. It was cold, bright, and hazy blue, and Webster sparkled in the valley .. . Mary Morris, the secretary of the Webster Historical Society, was one year old when this photograph was made. After leaving Webster she attended Woman's College of the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. When she became a librarian at Western Carolina UniHrsity she moved home to Webster. Page 4, HISTORIC WEBSTER, SUMMER, 1984 Reflections by Janice Monteith e c.nat 8 1 40.) Ia rlv · I ' ~·~'·' Webster School, Part 2 le pd. Transition from elementary to high school at Webster was a relatively easy process because grades one through twelve were in the same building. Although we knew all the high school teachers, our major adjustment came from changing class and having a number of different teachers during the same day. No longer in our self-eontained "cocoons" of one room and one teacher, we had to spend time studying and figuring out the various teachers' styles and standards as well as learning a variety of sub­jects, not all of which were appealing. Ernest Penland was principal during all my school years at Webster. Although at times, he taught classes, I don't recall him teaching me. I have men­tioned an experience or two relating to Mr. Penland in prior articles, but the thing I most appreciate him for is the tremendous support and backing he gave me when I drove a school bus. I'm not sure, but I may have been the first female driver for the school; at any rate, I can recall occasions when he was involv­ed in assuring people I was a good driver and back­ing me in various ways. I could particularly depend on him to support me in school bus discipline. Mrs. Elizabeth Reed was, of course, our home economics teacher. Now home ec was not at the top of the list of my favorite subjects, but, being female, I had to take it. I really didn't learn much, through no fault of hers, but rather because cooking and sew­ing didn't have much priority in my life at that time (they still don't! ). I remember I made a red blouse one time, and against Mama's wishes, spent quite a bit on some pretty red buttons for it. A few years ago, when I was home and pilfering around upstairs, I found the blouse - right where I had hid it before to keep from wearing it! To this day, I still can't hem anything and the hem stay in. While I was, in general, a lost cause in this class, Mrs. Reed was a good teacher; she certainly knew her field. One pro­ject I did thoroughly enjoy was a research project on careers. I chose interior decoration and, although I dropped the idea upon learning that, for this pro­fession, chemistry was required in college. I had fun with it, improved my own room decoration at home, and have used information learned from the research throughout my life. Mrs. Bunn (whose first name I don't recalll was a science teacher at Webster for I think only one year. I was in her biology class and I loved it. She was an excellent teacher and knew her subject. She made biology very exciting for me. In spite of Webster's limited science facilities, she was able to relate information and have us do minor kinds of ex­periments to inform and increase our knowledge. We kids were really hard on Mrs. Lillian Camp­bell. She, unlike many of the other teachers, came to Webster just before I got to high school. Her sub­ject area was the social sciences. There's no doubt in my mind that she was intelligent and knew her subject backward and forward. Unfortunately, she was a very low-key and kind woman who felt everyone was basically good, and her classes took advantage of this and could generally be classified as undisciplined. I know now, of course, that this was our loss. I respected Mrs. Campbell's intelligence and was, as a young girl, especially impressed with her beautiful clothes. She was always immaculate­ly dressed in lovely, and I thought expensive, suits and dresses and a very pretty lady to look at in class. Joe Pressley spent at least a year at Webster. He was there primarily to coach, and had to teach some math. Being on the dumb side in math anyway, I, un­fortunately, had him for Algebra I. We had a ball in class and easily talked him into singing or going out to play ball. When the tests came, we all failed. As a result, he graded "on the curve" and my grades were notA's but A+'s for the year! Needless to say, I'm still dumb in math and particulary algebra. I lik­ed Joe anyway and still do. He was jolly and fun­loving and a good coach. Kate Deitz Welch was a super "human" teacher. Often, we tend to think of teachers (or bosses, or ... ) as unapproachable or set apart, and Mrs. Welch, on the surface, gave this appearance. But, she, aside from being an excellent business teacher, was a regular person as well. I appreciate her most of all because we shared a "secret" regarding a purchase at the town store which, she, by asking me to do it, made me feel like she recognized me as a young lady, and most of all, showed she was confident that I could "keep my mouth" shut about something. Her quick sense of humor often helped divert my attention from some boring aspects of accounting and she was very encouraging in my learning typing skills. Although, I've rarely needed typing in my career, I've found the skill invaluable for other purposes. Mrs. Kate Rhinehart and Mrs. Louise Davis were two more of my high school teachers. I've written articles previously on each of them which give in­dication of how very special and important each was to me. They also influenced me in the church and community, so I got a "triple dose" from each of them. Very different in personality, Mrs. Rhinehart teaching history, Latin, and math and Mrs. Davis, English, they were excellent teachers in their own way. Perhaps more important than the subjects they taught, were the influence and expectations they had for us kids to apply ourselves and do our best at whatever we attempted. Mrs. Davis, in her stern matter-of-fact way, got the best out of us in English class, in annual work, in the RIDGERUNNER pro­duction, and in school plays by simply, silently ex­pecting us to do a good job and not hesitating to ver­bally chide us if we didn't come up to her expecta­tions. Mrs. Rhinehart, in her loving and supportive way, encouraged us to stretch for beyond what we might think ourselves capable and made us feel good and special when we achieved. She rarely took " no" for an answer and she literally pushed us into ac­tivities and experiences which she knew were good for us but which we, at the time, weren't so sure about. Yes, a mixture of personalities and learning resulted from each Webster teacher during my twelve years there and all of them good. Affectionate support from Mrs. Moseman, development of study and learning skills by Mrs. Roper, Mrs. Sutton, Mrs. Ensley, and Mrs. Allison, appreciation and Jove for nature and the applicability of learning from Mrs. Mary Cowan, love for reading from Mrs. Pauline Cowan, development and enjoyment of art and music by Mrs. Madison, administrative and personal sup­port from Mr. Penland, patience and perseverence from Mrs. Reed, intelligence and beauty from Mrs. Campbell, awareness of and appreciation for science from Mrs. Bunn, an ability to relax and have fun from Mr. Pressley, typing and the importance of " be­ing human" or able to relate to those with whom one works, no matter the profession from Mrs. Welch, and self-pride and a determination to achieve from Mrs. Rhinehart and Mrs. Davis are the accumulated gifts these individuals gave me during my years at the Webster School. The school was small and the teachers few in number, but personal interest and desire to help each student develop to his/her fullest was like no where else. For this, I'm glad and thankful to each teacher for his/her unique and im­portant contribution to my development. SUMMER'S RICHES When katydids begin to sing And blinking fireflies stir, Then evening breathes with restlessness And new life everywhere. The meadows then are bountiful, For summer's in her prime, When fruit trees in the orchards stand Awaiting harvest time. The dew clings to the window sill, And mist is on the pane, As raindrops patter from the roof When day is on the wane. The jay bird near the back window, Attuned with flaunting note, Defies the cardinal and thrush As sons of the sparrow float. -William Bird "Summer Evenings" Begin in June Summer, 1984, will be an exciting time to be in Webster. The Webster Historical Society is planning its second series of "Summer Evenings in Webster" for June and Ju­ly, and it invites natives and visitors to attend the events. Scheduled for Sunday evening at 5:30, the pro­grams will feature society members in concerts and reading at the Webster United Methodist Church. Mary Clark, a Webster resident since 1971, a doctor's receptionist and the pianist Mary Clark with the Spencer Clark Trio, will open the series on June 24 with a piano concert of popular and classical music. William E. Paulk, Jr., of Cullowhee, a professor of English at Western Carolina University, and a published poet, will read the poetic works of Dr. Robert Lee Madison, founder of the University, and for years, a Webster resident. The Sum­mer Eve~ings in Webster are William E. Paulk presented in honor of Mr. Madison and his wife Ella Richards. The historical society has a book of Madison's poem in publica­tion. Mr. Paulk will be join­ed in his presentation by Bruce Buchanan who will present flute selections. The flute was Professor Madison's instrument and he often entertained the village on summer evenings with his front porch concerts. This program will be July 1, in the Webster Church. Howard Allman, a drama student at Western Carolina University and a Webster native, will read two plays on July 8. "Death of a Public Howard Allman Servant" by Professor Paulk and "Magnolia's Man," a mountain comedy written by Gertrude Wilson Coffin, set in Jackson Coun­ty, and performed by the University of North Carolina Playmakers in 1929 in Chapel Hill and on its nor­thern town. Mildred Cowan, Webster's former postmaster and the society's president will pre­sent a concert of popular religious and classical music Mildred Cowan on the recently restored pump organ of the Webster United Methodist Church on July 15. Spencer Clark The series will end with an outdoor concert with the Spencer Clark Trio on the lawn of Hilda and Huck Hoff­man on North Main Street and Buchanan Loop on July 22.