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| Calvin Morgan McClung 1855-1919. The man who amassed the McClung Collection housed at the East Tennessee History Center |
While I was at the Sherrod Library I noted that the boxed
material they brought me from their Robert Nave collection was not complete. I
knew this because I’d been to Robert’s home in 2012 and I’d seen a lot of files
that were not in the collection at the Sherrod. So when I returned on the
second day I asked about where the rest of his material had been sent. That is
when I learned about the East Tennessee
History Center in Knoxville. So,
even though it meant a little back tracking I dutifully headed for Knoxville
the next day.
After driving most of the way I stopped before getting to
the city and camped at a second TVE dam campground – The Douglas Dam Tailwater Campground. It was a Saturday and because
I arrived pretty late there were no sites left with water and electric hookups.
So, for the first time since I left California I had to “dry camp”.
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| Downtown Knoxville |
Dealing with the heat and humidity without my air
conditioner did not please me but I was glad to have the opportunity to test
the solar panel I had installed on the roof of the motorhome before I left home.
There is a little red box hidden behind the video monitor that converts the
solar energy to electricity. It has just 2 outlets but that was enough for my
laptop and a small fan. The small solar panel provided me with ample power for
the evening to do all that I wanted to do.
I also figured out how to set up the awning on the side
of the motorhome, which I’d never done before. I did so to keep some of the sun
out. My camp neighbors watched me fumble around with the contraption and congratulated
me on successfully executing the task.
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| A small park in downtown Knoxville with fun art and a fountain |
The following morning I was up early and headed into the
city. I arrived about 15 minutes before the History Center opened but used the
time, in their air conditioned lobby, to check my email. I was directed to the
3rd floor where Tim, the librarian explained and showed me what and
where to look at books. The entire library – two large rooms consists of the McClung Collection. It is the primary
source for historic information about Appalachia and all of the southern
states, so I did research here on my Tennessee and Virginia ancestors and for
the first time I tackled South Carolina.
I’ve been doing genealogy research in earnest for more
than 20 years and for most of that time I’ve been trying to identify the
parents Joanna Gaines, my second great grandmother on my father’s side. I also
want to know if she had any siblings. I worked hard on this mystery the two
times I went to Salt Lake City with the California Genealogy Society, I’ve
searched for clues on the FamilySearch and Ancestry websites, and I’ve even
enticed Jane Lindsey, researcher extraordinaire to look for her parents – all
to no avail.
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| Historic photo of Macom Randolph College in Boydton, Virginia. The McClung Collection had resources for each of the southern states so I worked on my Pattillo ancestors while at the library |
While in Albany, Texas on this trip I found a new clue
from a reliable source. Adding this to what I already knew about Joanna I
decided to focus on Abbeville, South Carolina and a connection between the
Gaines and Brooks families. I checked every book in the McClung Collection for
Abbeville County and one provided another clue that got my heart racing. It
was, “Abstracts of Old Ninety-Six Abbeville District Wills and Bonds” by
Willie Pauline Young. In this book there was a synopsis of the will of Joanna
McGehee that specifically mentioned Joanna Gaines and Martha Gaines, daughters
of Hiram Gaines. It looked very promising but I wanted to see the complete will
for reassurance.
I left the library six hours later when it was closing and stopped
to ask the librarian if they might have a copy of the will. He told me to come
back the next day and check with Steve, the head librarian. That night I made a
bad choice for a place to camp. It gave me the creeps so I was anxious to leave
early the next morning. I packed up, drove into town and parked myself at an
ice cream store across the street from the History Center to wait for the
library to open. The library didn’t open until 1:00 so I had coffee and then
lunch while I waited.
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| Page 1 of 3 of the Last Will and Testament of Joanna McGehee |
When I posed my query to Steve he went directly to a little known
roll of film and set me up on a reader. I was practically holding my breath as
I slowly turned the knob to advance the film. And, then I found it – the complete
Last Will and Testament of Joanna McGehee. It had been typed by a precursor to
the WPA program – what a blessing – I didn’t have to struggle to read a
tattered, smudged and torn ancient document. Every word was clear and every
sentence reinforced what I’d hoped to find all these years. At this point I am
99% convinced that I now know that Hiram Gaines was Joanna’s father and that
she had a sister named Margaret. I also got the names of the grandmother she
was named after, one cousin, 2 aunts and 3 uncles. All of which is new
information. I’m 80% sure that I know her mother’s name and hope to prove it
when I get to South Carolina.
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| One of the Knoxville buildings I liked |
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| Knoxville street |
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| My parking space for the two days I spent at the ETHC |
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| Another Knoxville historic building |
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