Woodland Cemetery, Ashland, Virginia

Back in early March, I wrote a post on my 3rd great-grandparents, William M. Woody and Marginia M. Thomas.  I was thrilled to receive a comment from Rick Walton, a Historian for the 6th North Carolina Troops, which included the infantry unit that William served in during the Civil War.  At the end of my post, I stated that I did not know where the men from the 6th were buried that had died at the hospital at Ashland, Virginia.  Rick was kind enough to provide that information and so much more.

Grave 198 at Woodland Cemetery in Ashland, Virginia is the final resting place of William.  The graves are unmarked but the roster of those buried at the cemetery lists some familiar names to Mitchell and Yancey county researchers, including my ancestor Archibald McNeill's brother, Daniel, in Grave 194.  It should be noted that the soldiers buried in this cemetery are not just from North Carolina, but also include troops from Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi and a handful from Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Maryland, and Tennessee.  There are 8 for whom the state is unknown.

Additional information on the 6th North Carolina Troops can be found at their website:  http://www.6ncst.org/.

Many thanks to Rick for sharing this information with me.

The Woody Surname of Western North Carolina

I have previously written about my 2nd great-grandmother, Mary Jane Woody, and her father, William Woody, who died serving in the Confederacy in May 1862.

The Woody line has been thoroughly researched and documented by Dave Woody who has assembled his data (and that of others) on his website, Woody Family Roots. If you have Woody ancestry, it is well worth your time to visit his site.

My Woody line is as follows:
Mary Jane Woody, my great-great-grandmother, was the daughter of
William M. Woody (married to Marginia Thomas) who was the son of
Josiah Woody (married to Marjorie Wilson) who was the son of
Wyatt Woody (married to Mary Robertson) who was the son of
Henry Woody (married to Susannah Martin).

Henry fought in the Revolutionary War from Virginia and has several descendants who have obtained membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution. I hope to be able to do that one day if I can overcome the hurdle of my grandpa Lee's name change.

If you have any Woody connections to Mitchell and Yancey counties in North Carolina, I would appreciate sharing information. Please contact me using the yellow contact button to the left of this blog.

Marginia M. Thomas Woody Jones

In my previous post, I wrote about William and Marginia Woody's family and his brief service in the Confederacy that ultimately cost him his life. In this post, I hope to describe some of the information I have obtained on Margie and the children after William's death in May 1862.

In the 1870 Federal census, Margie can be found in Brush Creek Township, Yancey Co, North Carolina. She is listed as 33 years old, W[hite], F[emale], keeping house, born NC [North Carolina]. She has three children listed in her home: Emily, age 12; Matilda, age 8; and Sherman, age 4. I believe this Emily to be Creeney E. as listed in the 1860 census. Matilda is the right age to be a child of William, so I assumed this was their last child together. Based upon her death certificate, that is the case. Matilda was born several months after her father's death. That brings us to the question of who is Sherman? I have searched in subsequent census years to no avail. I have come to the conclusion that he must have been illegitimate and died before 1880. The only other possibility is that he went by a first name other than Sherman and I don't think I'll ever have a way to find him.

I have been unable to locate their daughters, Kisiah C., Harriett L. or Mary Jane anywhere in the Mitchell or Yancey county censuses for 1870. I know that Mary Jane marries Isaac Grindstaff, but I have no idea what became of the other two sisters. Kisiah would have been old enough at 18 in 1870 to have been married, but I suspect that Harriet may have been too young to be married by then.

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to share information with a woman named Melody from the Detroit, Michigan area. She was trying to work backwards on a Margie Jones who may have been a Woody before she married a Jones. I was trying to work forwards on Margie Thomas Woody. Our paths collided and we began to share information. It seems that Margie Thomas Woody married a John Sydney Jones, a man over 20 years her senior, on 7 July 1872 in Washington Co, Tennessee. By 1880, John and Margie were living in Sullivan Co, Tennessee with their son, Dick, age 5. As a descendant doing the research, Melody had discovered that Margie may have had an entire family before marrying John Sydney Jones, a fact that was unbeknownst to all of the living descendants of Dick Jones.

According to the Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 database at Ancestry.com, the marriage of John S. Jones and Margie Woody was solemnized on the 7th day of July 1872 by Robert H. J. Hackers [sp?], M.G.

By October 1896, John Sydney Jones had died. I have been unable to locate Margie in the 1900 census. In 1910, she is listed as a boarder in the Thomas Dixon household in Civil District 12, Sullivan Co, Tennessee. She is listed as widowed and born in North Carolina as well as her parents. Unfortunately, it does not list the number of children that she gave birth to or how many are still living. According to the death certificate provided by Melody, Margie died 26 Jan 1914 and is buried with John Sidney Jones in Kingsport, Tennessee. It also lists her birthplace as Mitchell Co, North Carolina and her parents are John Thomas and Sindia [Lucinda] Wilson. In addition to the death certificate, Melody also provided me with a headstone photo, and an old photo that may possibly be Margie. Because I have lost touch with Melody, I won't post them here without her permission.

So was the marriage of Margie and John Sydney a marriage of convenience: he needed a wife to keep house and she needed financial security? Or was it a love match? Either way, why did none of Dick's descendants know of Margie's first family or only have a slight inkling that somehow she used to be a Woody? Was Margie able to keep in touch with her Woody children and her own Thomas family from a couple of counties away? Whatever became of little Sherman and who fathered him? And most of all, how was Margie able to survive after William died in the War?

So many questions and so many answers that probably went with Margie to the grave.


If anyone has information on this branch of the Woody line or more specifically what became of Harriett, Kisiah, Creeney Emily and little Sherman, I would appreciate hearing from you. I have quite a bit of information on my ancestor, Mary Jane, and some on the other sister, Matilda, who went on to marry James P. Thomas and had at least nine children.

And Melody, if you are still out there, please contact me again.

William Woody and Marginia (Margie) Thomas

William M. Woody and Marginia M. Thomas are my 3rd great-grandparents. I have written previously about their daughter and my ancestor, Mary Jane Woody Grindstaff.

William M. Woody was born about 1836 likely in what was Yancey Co. which later became Mitchell Co, North Carolina. His parents were Josiah Woody and Marjorie Wilson. William was one of at least five known (to me) children.

Marginia M. Thomas is believed to be the daughter of John Thomas and Lucinda Wilson. Marginia was often referred to in records as Margie. I believe her birth to be 31 Jan 1831 in Burke or Yancey Co, North Carolina. Her father, John Thomas, is one of the many children of Aaron Thomas and Elizabeth Hunsucker. The parents of Lucinda are unknown at this time.

William and Margie married in the early 1850s, though an exact date is not known at this time. They were parents to the following five daughters:

• Kisiah C born abt 1852
• Mary Jane, my 2nd great-grandmother, born 11 Jan 1853 and died 26 Jan 1946.
• Harriet L. born abt 1857
• Creeney Emily born abt 1859
• Matilda born 25 Oct 1862 and died 22 Mar 1942. She married James P. Thomas.

Their life was dramatically altered by the start of the Civil War. William joined the Co. E, 6th North Carolina Infantry, a Confederate unit, as a Private on 8 March 1862 in the newly-formed Mitchell County, North Carolina, for the duration of the war. Per his military records held at the NARA and found online at Footnote.com, he was absent from duty beginning 6 April 1862 where he was "sick at hospital." Like many other members of his unit, he contracted measles. The mountain boys who joined up were exposed to many new illnesses for which they had no immunity. William "died of measles at General Hospital at Ashland VA May 10th 1862" just six short months before the birth of his fifth child, Matilda. One wonders if he even knew of the impending arrival at the time he enlisted in early March.

The records further detail his physical description. He was age 27, with grey eyes and dark hair, dark complexion, and 6 feet tall. Another document in the military record packet describes him as age 25 in 1862.

Sometime after William's death, Margie applied for the unpaid portion of his pay. He was entitled to two months and four days pay amounting to $23.46 and for "commentation of clothing" in the amount of $25.00. She received a total of $48.46 on the 28 Sept 1864, nearly two and a half years following his death. The amount was made payable to her attorney, Samuel D. Byrd, of Burnsville, Yancey Co, North Carolina.

I do not know where the Confederate soldiers were buried for those that died at the Ashland, Virginia hospital. I would appreciate any information that could lead me to William's final resting place.

In a second post, I will describe what happened to Margie and her five daughters following William's untimely death.

Rev. Isaac Grindstaff and Mary Jane Woody

Reverend Isaac Grindstaff and Mary Jane Woody are my second great-grandparents. I have written previously about their daughter, and my great-grandmother, Della Winnie Grindstaff McNeill.

Isaac Grindstaff was born about May 1852 in formerly Yancey Co, now Mitchell Co, North Carolina. He was the second of twelve children to Henry Grindstaff and Bedie Buchanan. Mary Jane Woody was born 11 Jan 1853 in formerly Yancey Co, now Mitchell Co, North Carolina. She was the second of five children to William Woody and Marginia (or Margie) M. Thomas. When Mary was only about 9, her father died from measles while serving in the Confederate Army near Ashland, Virginia.

Isaac and Mary were married 9 Dec 1872 in Mitchell Co, North Carolina. The couple had 12 children, two of which are unknown at this time. I suspect they likely were lost in infancy or between the periods of the 1880 and 1900 census. The known children are as follows:

• Docia born abt 1874
• Emeline born abt 1876
• Willoughby James born 30 Jul 1879 and died Jan 1960 in Avery Co, North Carolina. He married Mattie Buchanan and had three daughters. I have alternately seen his name as William James, but do not know which may be correct.
• Nathan A. born 14 Mar 1883 and may have died in Norfolk, Virginia. He married 1) Martha Sherrill and 2) Edna. Nathan registered for WWI in Colorado and later lived in Chicago.
• Hoy Gilbert born 15 Jun 1884 and died 8 Apr 1956 in Buncombe Co, North Carolina. He married Mary Jane Thomas and had at least six children.
• George A. born 18 Mar 1889. He registered for WWI in Boulder, Colorado in 1917.
• Alfonze (spelling uncertain) born Jan 1890.
• Della Winnie born 1893 and died 1979. She is my great-grandmother.
• Walter C. born 5 Jan 1897 and died 28 Apr 1970 in Toledo, Ohio. He married Myrtle and had two children.
• Etta (or perhaps Etter) born 2 Feb 1901 and died tragically 10 Aug 1940 as a result of a homicide. She married Pat Thomas and had three children.

Isaac and Mary lived in or near the town of Bakersville, Mitchell Co, North Carolina. In 1900, Isaac was listed as a farmer, but by 1910 he was listed as a pastor of a church. A relative has told me that Isaac was the pastor at the Mine Creek Baptist Church in Mitchell Co, where both he and Mary are buried. Another relative described Isaac as a "hellfire and brimstone preacher." From everything I have heard, Isaac and Mary were good, kind people. Apparently after Isaac's death, Mary would come stay at another relative's house because she didn't like to sleep at home alone. She was remembered for devoutly praying each night before bed.

Isaac died 4 Apr 1936 in Mitchell Co. Mary died 26 Jan 1946. Both Isaac and Mary are buried at Mine Creek Baptist Church, Mitchell Co, North Carolina. A photo of their headstone can be found here.

Please contact me if you are related to Isaac and Mary or have further information. I would be thrilled to find other descendants of this couple. I would be very grateful if anyone had photos they would be willing to share.

The D.A.R. Jackpot

The Daughters of the American Revolution announced this week that after a decade-long effort to digitize their records they are now available online. I have known for quite some time of the possibility of a couple of Patriot ancestors but haven't quite gotten around to proving without a doubt that I am a descendant.

So out of curiosity, I went to their research site and entered searches on a few names. I first searched for Isaac Grindstaff born in 1754 and served from North Carolina. He is a proven Patriot and my good online friend Anita recently entered DAR through him. I need to make one final connection before I would have adequate proof. My line is as follows: me, my father, Lee McNeill, Della Grindstaff, Rev. Isaac Grindstaff, Henry Grindstaff OR alternatively me, my father, Lee McNeill, Charles McNeill, Margaret Ledford, Clarissa Grindstaff. What I still need to prove is that Henry and Clarissa's father is Isaac Grindstaff b. 1774/6, who is a known son of Isaac b. 1754.

I went to the Ancestor Search option and what I found was a list of six members that have proven ancestor from Isaac Grindstaff b. 1754. It lists the child they descend from and three of those six descend from Isaac Grindstaff b. 1774/6 and his second wife, Prudence Ledford. I believe I descend from his first wife, Sally or Sarah Hart.

My other known Patriot ancestor is Henry Woody of Virginia. There were 10 members descended from him. The line is me, my father, Lee McNeill, Della Grindstaff, Mary Jane Woody, William Woody, Josiah Woody, and Wyatt Woody who is the son of Henry. I didn't see any members listing Wyatt as their descendant, but rather his siblings John, Randolph, and Susannah B.

However, the real "jackpot" came when I searched for an Isaac Harmon of Massachusetts using the Descendant Search. This search looks for all matches of any descendants listed on the application rather than just the Patriot themselves. I am reasonably certain my ancestor Walter Harmon b 1798 in Tyringham, Berkshire, Massachusetts is the eldest child of Isaac Harmon (1774-1849) and Mary "Polly" Rawson. The line is me, my mother, Fred Harmon, Edward Harmon, Walter Harmon, Porter Harmon, and Walter Harmon b. 1798.

The Descendant Search enabled me to view the descendants of the Patriots and I was very surprised to see Isaac b. 1774 listed as a child of the Patriot Soldier Isaac Harmon b. 1751. I had no idea Isaac Harmon b. 1751 was a soldier, but 12 women have been able to attain membership with him as their Patriot. So that means I need to continue to pursue proving Walter Harmon b. 1798 is the son of Isaac Harmon b. 1774. I have found a birth record for Walter but want to verify there are no other possible Walters that could be confused with mine. As you can see this family liked to use the same names over and over.

So I'm off to search the Family History Catalog to see what films I need to order.....and to start getting my application in order.

And I hadn't realized how many Isaacs I actually descend from.

Tombstone Tuesday - Isaac and Mary Woody Grindstaff

Headstone of my second great-grandparents, Isaac Grindstaff (1852-1936) and Mary Woody (1853-1946). They are buried at Mine Creek Cemetery in Mitchell Co, North Carolina. Isaac was a preacher at Mine Creek Church. This photo was taken by my dear online friend and distant Grindstaff cousin, Anita Wages.

My Veteran Ancestors

This morning on this long Memorial Day weekend, I got to thinking about all the people in my family tree that have served in the military. I was surprised when I realized how long the list really was.

On my father's side:

• Both my father and his brother served in the Navy during Vietnam. Their father, Lee McNeill (as mentioned in previous posts), also served in the Navy as a pharmacist's mate during the 1930s. My goal for this weekend is to finally draft the letter to the NARA to see if we can finally obtain his military records.
• Lee's great-grandfather, Archibald H. McNeill, served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War serving in Co E, 6th North Carolina Infantry. He escaped from that unit, returned home to Mitchell Co, North Carolina, and enlisted in the Union Army, serving in Co A, 3rd Regiment of NC Mounted Infantry. If I also recall, two of Archibald's brothers, John and Daniel, also served during the Civil War.
• William Woody, another great-grandfather of Lee, also joined Co E, 6th North Carolina Infantry and died of the measles at Ashland, Virginia in May 1862.
• William Woody's great-grandfather, Henry Woody, served in the Revolutionary War from Virginia.
• Henry Grindstaff, Lee's great-grandfather, served in the Mexican War.
• Isaac Grindstaff, an ancestor of Henry, served in the Revolutionary War from North Carolina.
• On my grandma's (Lee's widow) side, her grandfather Conrad Coons Scott served in Co H 35th Missouri Infantry and Co F 12th Missouri Cavalry for the Union during the Civil War. Two of Conrad's brothers also served during this conflict.

On my mother's side:

• Her father, Fred J. Harmon, served in the Army Air Corp station at Wharton Air Base in Wharton, England during World War II. I remember listening to many of his war stories, including the fact that he REFUSED to eat brussel sprouts after being in England, that they had to march through mud in the rain, and that after he was diagnosed with pluresy and put in a military hospital, Dinah Shore came to sing for the patients. He would always sing "Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah" when I was a child and I didn't realize until I was an adult he always fondly was thinking of her! Both of Fred's brothers served during WWII: one stateside and the other in the Pacific at Guam.
• Fred's great-grandfather, Thomas Arthur, served in Co D, 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery during the Civil War.
• My great-grandfather, Helmer N. Hiby, served during World War I at Ft. Riley, Kansas. One story that sticks in my memory is that he worked in the medical unit during the flu epidemic and carried all the deceased victims out of the hospital presumably to the morgue. Apparently he refused to go to funerals for the rest of his life.
• I think there were some Harmons that served in the Revolutionary War, but am not sure if they are my direct ancestors. It's a research point I'm currently working on.
• I think there is a Struble or perhaps a Studervant ancestor that served during the American Revolution as well. Again, something I'm still researching.

In my husband's family, his brother is currently serving a second tour of duty in Iraq. His wife has also served there as well. My father-in-law served in the U.S. Navy in the early 1960s and was stationed in Germany for a while where he got to connect with some of his German aunts, uncles, and cousins.

May you take the time this weekend and every day throughout the year to remember the sacrifices our military personnel makes through their time and even the sacrifice of their lives to serve our country and protect our freedoms. I know I will.

My serious research begins - Part 2

After my success of finding my grandfather in 1920 in Snow Creek Township, Mitchell Co, North Carolina, I worked backwards to see if I could find his parents in 1910. Because of what I had found in 1920, I knew indeed that Charles' parents were Robert McNeill/McNeal and wife Margaret. So a search of the 1910 index revealed a Robert McNeill living in Snow Creek Township, Mitchell Co, North Carolina (1). Robert, age 52, and wife Peggie, age 58, were living with their son Charles, age 23. Robert is listed as a blacksmith of an iron shop and Peggie as a farmer. I suspect that Robert had dual occupations of farmer and blacksmith...sort of like a jack-of-all-trades. And after some digging I determined that Peggie is an appropriate nickname for Margaret. So Peggie it is.

So with the success of finding Charles and his parents in 1910, I switched gears to try to find Della, Charles' future bride. Based upon the old family tree, Della was the daughter of Isaac Grindstaff and Mary Woody. I searched the 1910 index for a Della Grindstaff and found her in Bakersville Township, Mitchell Co, North Carolina (2). Her household included her parents Isaac, age 58 is listed as a clergyman, Mary 54, and the children at home: George 22, Alfonso 20, Della 17, Walter 13, Etta 9. Lastly, Bedie Grindstaff age 77, listed as widowed and mother of Isaac. A link to another generation..........

What a thrill this was to find both Charles and Della living with their parents shortly before they married and began their own family. Part of what made this so wonderful was that it helped prove the old family tree I had been given. While there was still much work to be done, at least I had a couple of generations of family. The names and the dates were about right. There was hope. My next thought was is there anyone still alive who remembers these folks? And what about 1930?


(1) 1910 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule), Snow Creek Township, Mitchell Co., North Carolina, Dwelling 219, Household 223, Robert McNeill household, jpeg image, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc. 2006) [Digital scan of original records in the National Archives, Washington, DC], subscription database, http://www.ancestry.com, accessed 2002.

(2) 1910 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule), Bakersville Township, Mitchell Co., North Carolina, Dwelling 104, Household 108, Isaac Grindstaff household, jpeg image, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc. 2006) [Digital scan of original records in the National Archives, Washington, DC], subscription database, http://www.ancestry.com, accessed 2002.

My serious research begins - Part 1

About 1998, I began to get serious about trying to pursue my family history. I wanted some cold, hard facts and at the time I think I mentally prepared myself for the worst and secretly hoped for the best, or at least something better than the worst. I had no idea what I'd find out about Lee or if I could even find someone still living who would remember him or his family.

The cousin my grandma had communicated with in the 1980s had sent a typewritten chart prepared by Charles L. McNeill, Lee's father, that covered at least four generations of Charles' ancestry as well as his wife's, Della Grindstaff. It listed five children of Charles and Della with no birthdates: Lee Wesley, Anna Kate, Ora Belle, Ben Arvel, and Riley Barton. The tree also indicated Charles (1886-1970) was the son of Robert McNeill (1858-1932) and Margaret Ledford (1848-1927) while Della (1893-1979) was the daughter of Isaac Grindstaff (1852-1936) and Mary Jane Woody (1853-1946). Part of Lee's story was that he was born in Asheville, Buncombe Co, North Carolina. However, the cousin told us that the McNeills and Grindstaffs were actually from Mitchell Co, North Carolina, but had later moved to Asheville to find work. So I had a starting point...........

Thank goodness for the internet. I began by reviewing message boards and mailing lists on various websites including Rootsweb, Ancestry.com, and Genealogy.com. I could find quite a bit about the earlier generations of Grindstaffs, Ledfords, McNeills and Woodys, but little from the early part of the 20th century. I naively made some attempts at posting some messages after lurking for a long time and got a few replies, but nothing that was a pot of gold.

Next I turned to online census records. At the point I got this far it was probably 2001 or 2002. I remember all the excitement over the release of the 1930 census and I could hardly wait to see if I could find Lee and his family. While I waited for the 1930 North Carolina census records to be on the website, I diligently searched the 1920 and 1910 censuses for Charles McNeill and Della Grindstaff. This was also about the time I realized that spelling is optional....at least as far as the name McNeill is concerned.

The first discovery was the 1920 census. Charles L. McNeal and wife Della were listed as the first household in Snow Creek Township, Mitchell Co, North Carolina (1). Charles was age 33, married, and a farmer born in North Carolina. Wife Della is age 26, also born in North Carolina. Seeing the following children is what gave me chills up my spine: Lee Wesley, son, age 8; Anna Kate, daughter, age 6; Ora Belle, daughter, age 4. Also living in the household were Charles' parents listed as Robt N., father, age 61, occupation is blacksmith, and Margrett, mother, age 72. Both were born in North Carolina as well as their parents. As I looked to the top of the page to find the date the census was taken (2nd & 3rd of January, 1920), I noticed that the census taker was actually Robt. N. McNeal. What better household to begin with than your own!


(1) 1920 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule), Snow Creek Township, Mitchell Co., North Carolina, Dwelling 1, Household 1, Charles McNeal household, jpeg image, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc. 2005) [Digital scan of original records in the National Archives, Washington, DC], subscription database, http://www.ancestry.com, accessed 2002.