Researched and written by P. A. White, JD
2015-2022 for @NewWorldAncestry – All Rights Reserved
Subject's relation to author: Paternal Grandfather
See also FamilySearch ID No. LLM7-D45
Updated 2 December 2022
◙ ◙ ◙ ◙
James Victor "Jim" White was born on September 1, 1876, probably in the Chunns Cove area of Buncombe County, North Carolina, to Priscilla "Zillie" Huggins, age 40, and Simon Troy White, age 43. We believe he was the youngest of seven children of this marriage, all of whom lived to adulthood.
DEEP AMERICAN ROOTS
Given his inauspicious beginnings, it is ironic that many family historians believe Jim's 10th great-grandmother was none other than Lady Mary Boleyn (b. abt. 1499 d. 19 July 1543), mistress of King Henry VIII of England, and sister of the English queen consort Anne Boleyn (Anne Boleyn Queen Consort of England (b. abt. 1501 d. 19 May 1536). And depending on how much credence we afford court rumours that Henry actually fathered Mary's daughter, Lady Catherine Carey (b. 19 May 1524 d. 15 January 1568), then King Henry VIII may well be Victor's 10th great-grandfather!
Court intrigue aside, we can confidently trace Jim's roots in America back to the mid-1600s when his 4th great-grandfather John Stephenson (b. 12 May 1656 d. bef. 27 February 1727) arrived in the Virginia Tidewater region from England, and when his 5th great-grandfather Thomas Albert Mims (b. abt. 1637 d. abt. 1693), arrived separately in the Virginia colony as an indentured service (the Mims line also being the one that leads us back to the court of King Henry VIII).
In the mid-1700s several of John Stephenson's descendants relocated to North Carolina, probably in search of virgin tobacco land. And it was there that John's grandson, Solomon Stephenson Sr. (b. abt. 1715 d. bef. 25 August 1794), fought against the British as a soldier in the Johnston County Regiment of the Continental Line under Captain Matthew McCullers.
By 1790 one of Solomon's daughters, Sarah (b. abt. 1755 d, bef. 13 January 1820), had married and buried Frederick Johnson, and then married and buried Frederick's younger brother, Travis. Entering the picture at this juncture was Solomon "Solly" "Saul" White (b. aft. 1755 d. abt. October 1806), who was descended from the Mims line, who had been raised in Cherokee country in South Carolina, and who, by 1792, had made his way to Johnston County, North Carolina for reasons we are not privy to. (One or both of Solomon's parents may have had Cherokee blood, but we have no reliable documentary or DNA evidence of that at this time.)
Solomon and Sarah married in 1792 and had two sons: Jonathan in about 1795, and William in about 1798.
Solomon White died in the Autumn of 1806, and Sarah had probably gone to reward by January of 1820 when William deeded his half of the family land to Jonathan. William then removed to nearby Cumberland County to start a family while Jonathan stayed on, farming in Johnston County until at least 1830.
Jonathan and Ann had had at least six children between 1822 and 1837.
It's unclear what happened to Jonathan, but by 1840 his widow, Ann, was heading up an eight-member household in Buncombe County at the hub of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Ann's brothers, Alsey and Joseph Banks Cordell, had started acquiring land in Buncombe County in the 1820s and they may have encouraged their sister join them there after Jonathan died.
In the middle of the White mob was Simon Troy White, born in about 1833. Simon grew to manhood, married Priscilla Huggins (who during her life went by Rossilla, Rosilla, Raselle, Rosella, Zillie, Tilda, Lilda, Zildah, Zillia, and Zilla), had two children, then signed on – probably for the promised cash bonus – with his brother Pharoah as part of William Wallis McDowell's local defense battalion. Little did Simon and Pharoah know, however, that their unit would soon be absorbed into Company K of the 60th Regiment North Carolina Infantry.
Pharoah was captured in Georgia in 1864, and when given a chance at freedom if he would only renounce the Confederacy and swear allegiance to the Union, he grabbed it. Simon, on the other hand, returned home in 1865, but was so weakened by disease that he was never the same man again. Still, he fathered at least five more children, the youngest of whom was James Victor "Jim" White.
A LIFE LIVED
The 1880 federal census for Asheville (No. 9) Township included Jim as a 2-year-old living on the family's farm with his siblings and 90-year-old maternal grandmother, Mary Huggins. (Jim was probably closer to 3, but perhaps small for his age).
According to the federal census, Jim (as "James") lived in an unincorporated part of Asheville Township with his mother and older brother, William, on June 14, 1900. Jim was working as a blacksmith, possibly for wagonmaker Benjamin Burnette. William was working as a janitor, and mother was working as a mattress maker.
Jim's mother seems to have been counted twice in the 1900 federal census. On June 23, 1900 a different enumerator listed her as Zilly White, 59, in the Asheville Haw Creek precinct home of her son, William, a farmer. Jim was not in this count, but his father, Simon, was — albeit listed as "Samuel T. White," age 65.
NOTE: These two 1900 households may have been completely different White families. But if they were, the demographic coincidences are astonishing.
Jim's father died on February 12, 1902, in Buncombe County. His body was returned to the earth in the Haw Creek Cemetery (now Bethesda United Methodist Church).
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
Jim married Miss Minnie Smith in Buncombe County on May 17, 1903, when he was 26 years old. Minnie was 18 years old and, like Jim, was the youngest child of a Civil War veteran. The ceremony was officiated by William F. Rice, minister, and witnessed by W. R. Randall and J. W. Randall.
Minnie bore Jim five children: Ruby V. in 1904; William Franklin "Frank" in 1906; James E. in 1907 (who would be known as Victor James after 1910, and who is the author's father); Frederick Lackman "Fred" in 1909; and Ruth M. in about 1913.
The 1904 city directory for Asheville found Jim and Minnie living at 305 College. Jim's occupation was listed as blacksmith, working for wagonmaker Benjamin Burnette.
In January 1905 the protracted probate action for Jim's father was finally concluded when W.E. Shuford, the court-appointed administrator, filed a final statement and accounting. Simon's death intestate in 1902 had created quite a mess, and Jim's mother had had to fight creditors tooth and nail to retain her widow's share of Simon's small estate. But in the end, she won. In addition, Zilly had successfully fought for a modest widow's pension based on Simon's Civil War service.
The 1910 federal census found Jim's family living and farming in Sandymush Township, in the extreme northwest corner of Buncombe County. Since Jim reported he was farming and blacksmithing on his own account, it may be that the family had moved so far from Asheville so they could finally afford to own some land.
If the 1914 Asheville city directory is correct, however, Jim's family had moved back to Haw Creek, where Jim continued blacksmithing. This move may well have been part of a general downturn in the family's fortunes.
WIDOWHOOD
The 1915 Asheville city directory shows Jim living in the Biltmore area and working as a blacksmith for C. L. Brown, another local wagonmaker and fabricator. But it's not hard to imagine blacksmithing being a very tough way to make a living in 1915, as Model T Fords rolled off the assembly line in Michigan at the rate of almost 6,000 per week, and with the price for a basic Runabout model reduced to $390.
The North Carolina Constitution has wonderful language about the obligation of a civilized and Christian State to care for the poor, the unfortunate, and the orphan. And Buncombe County may well have offered assistance for the poor and hungry in 1915. But Jim may have been too proud to ask for help for his family.
We suspect this is so because Minnie died on June 29, 1915, in Asheville, at the tender age of 30. The cause listed on the death certificate was pellagra, a debilitating disease most commonly associated with malnutrition. The classic symptoms of pellagra are chronic diarrhea, extreme dermatitis, dementia, and finally a prolonged death within about five years. Minnie's last years must have been horrific.
The family buried Minnie's remains at Haw Creek Cemetery, but there was evidently no money for a stone marker.
As Jim struggled to support his five children, the 14th of July in 1916 saw the worst flooding in western North Carolina history following six days of torrential rainfall. Streams and rivers reached flood stage in just a few hours. At least 80 people lost their lives, property damage was devastating, and Asheville and Hendersonville were completely cut off from the outside world for weeks.
Almost a year to the day after the great flood — on July 17, 1917 — Jim died in Asheville Township when he was 39 years old. The cause listed on the death certificate was bronchial pneumonia and untreated appendicitis. Jim clearly went down swinging, but even twenty-first century medicine would have had its hands full with a man that sick.
As with Minnie, the family buried Jim's remains at Haw Creek Cemetery. And once again, there was evidently no money for a stone marker. Both graves are now lost to time.
EPILOGUE
Both Jim's and Minnie's mothers were still living when Minnie died in 1915, although both women were widowed and of advanced years. We do not know if they or other family members in the area tried to help Jim with the children.
With both Minnie and Jim dead, however, we know with certainty that the four younger White children were taken to the Thompson Orphanage in Charlotte, and that they were still housed there at the time of the 1920 federal census.
What happened to eldest daughter, Ruby, is less well known. She would have been only about 15 in 1920, but she does not appear on the census rolls for Thompson Orphanage. Indeed, there is no other record of her until 1924 when she was married in Buncombe County to William Virgil Willis, a widower 24 years her senior.
The author's father, Victor James White, lied about his age — perhaps at the urging of orphanage officials — to join the U.S. Navy in November 1923. He was 16 that year, and had gone no further than the 8th grade in school. Victor went on to make a career of the Navy, seeing combat duty in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters during the Second World War.
2015-2022 for @NewWorldAncestry – All Rights Reserved
Subject's relation to author: Paternal Grandfather
See also FamilySearch ID No. LLM7-D45
Updated 2 December 2022
◙ ◙ ◙ ◙
James Victor "Jim" White was born on September 1, 1876, probably in the Chunns Cove area of Buncombe County, North Carolina, to Priscilla "Zillie" Huggins, age 40, and Simon Troy White, age 43. We believe he was the youngest of seven children of this marriage, all of whom lived to adulthood.
DEEP AMERICAN ROOTS
Given his inauspicious beginnings, it is ironic that many family historians believe Jim's 10th great-grandmother was none other than Lady Mary Boleyn (b. abt. 1499 d. 19 July 1543), mistress of King Henry VIII of England, and sister of the English queen consort Anne Boleyn (Anne Boleyn Queen Consort of England (b. abt. 1501 d. 19 May 1536). And depending on how much credence we afford court rumours that Henry actually fathered Mary's daughter, Lady Catherine Carey (b. 19 May 1524 d. 15 January 1568), then King Henry VIII may well be Victor's 10th great-grandfather!
Court intrigue aside, we can confidently trace Jim's roots in America back to the mid-1600s when his 4th great-grandfather John Stephenson (b. 12 May 1656 d. bef. 27 February 1727) arrived in the Virginia Tidewater region from England, and when his 5th great-grandfather Thomas Albert Mims (b. abt. 1637 d. abt. 1693), arrived separately in the Virginia colony as an indentured service (the Mims line also being the one that leads us back to the court of King Henry VIII).
In the mid-1700s several of John Stephenson's descendants relocated to North Carolina, probably in search of virgin tobacco land. And it was there that John's grandson, Solomon Stephenson Sr. (b. abt. 1715 d. bef. 25 August 1794), fought against the British as a soldier in the Johnston County Regiment of the Continental Line under Captain Matthew McCullers.
By 1790 one of Solomon's daughters, Sarah (b. abt. 1755 d, bef. 13 January 1820), had married and buried Frederick Johnson, and then married and buried Frederick's younger brother, Travis. Entering the picture at this juncture was Solomon "Solly" "Saul" White (b. aft. 1755 d. abt. October 1806), who was descended from the Mims line, who had been raised in Cherokee country in South Carolina, and who, by 1792, had made his way to Johnston County, North Carolina for reasons we are not privy to. (One or both of Solomon's parents may have had Cherokee blood, but we have no reliable documentary or DNA evidence of that at this time.)
Solomon and Sarah married in 1792 and had two sons: Jonathan in about 1795, and William in about 1798.
Solomon White died in the Autumn of 1806, and Sarah had probably gone to reward by January of 1820 when William deeded his half of the family land to Jonathan. William then removed to nearby Cumberland County to start a family while Jonathan stayed on, farming in Johnston County until at least 1830.
Jonathan and Ann had had at least six children between 1822 and 1837.
It's unclear what happened to Jonathan, but by 1840 his widow, Ann, was heading up an eight-member household in Buncombe County at the hub of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Ann's brothers, Alsey and Joseph Banks Cordell, had started acquiring land in Buncombe County in the 1820s and they may have encouraged their sister join them there after Jonathan died.
In the middle of the White mob was Simon Troy White, born in about 1833. Simon grew to manhood, married Priscilla Huggins (who during her life went by Rossilla, Rosilla, Raselle, Rosella, Zillie, Tilda, Lilda, Zildah, Zillia, and Zilla), had two children, then signed on – probably for the promised cash bonus – with his brother Pharoah as part of William Wallis McDowell's local defense battalion. Little did Simon and Pharoah know, however, that their unit would soon be absorbed into Company K of the 60th Regiment North Carolina Infantry.
Pharoah was captured in Georgia in 1864, and when given a chance at freedom if he would only renounce the Confederacy and swear allegiance to the Union, he grabbed it. Simon, on the other hand, returned home in 1865, but was so weakened by disease that he was never the same man again. Still, he fathered at least five more children, the youngest of whom was James Victor "Jim" White.
A LIFE LIVED
The 1880 federal census for Asheville (No. 9) Township included Jim as a 2-year-old living on the family's farm with his siblings and 90-year-old maternal grandmother, Mary Huggins. (Jim was probably closer to 3, but perhaps small for his age).
According to the federal census, Jim (as "James") lived in an unincorporated part of Asheville Township with his mother and older brother, William, on June 14, 1900. Jim was working as a blacksmith, possibly for wagonmaker Benjamin Burnette. William was working as a janitor, and mother was working as a mattress maker.
Jim's mother seems to have been counted twice in the 1900 federal census. On June 23, 1900 a different enumerator listed her as Zilly White, 59, in the Asheville Haw Creek precinct home of her son, William, a farmer. Jim was not in this count, but his father, Simon, was — albeit listed as "Samuel T. White," age 65.
NOTE: These two 1900 households may have been completely different White families. But if they were, the demographic coincidences are astonishing.
Jim's father died on February 12, 1902, in Buncombe County. His body was returned to the earth in the Haw Creek Cemetery (now Bethesda United Methodist Church).
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
Jim married Miss Minnie Smith in Buncombe County on May 17, 1903, when he was 26 years old. Minnie was 18 years old and, like Jim, was the youngest child of a Civil War veteran. The ceremony was officiated by William F. Rice, minister, and witnessed by W. R. Randall and J. W. Randall.
Minnie bore Jim five children: Ruby V. in 1904; William Franklin "Frank" in 1906; James E. in 1907 (who would be known as Victor James after 1910, and who is the author's father); Frederick Lackman "Fred" in 1909; and Ruth M. in about 1913.
The 1904 city directory for Asheville found Jim and Minnie living at 305 College. Jim's occupation was listed as blacksmith, working for wagonmaker Benjamin Burnette.
In January 1905 the protracted probate action for Jim's father was finally concluded when W.E. Shuford, the court-appointed administrator, filed a final statement and accounting. Simon's death intestate in 1902 had created quite a mess, and Jim's mother had had to fight creditors tooth and nail to retain her widow's share of Simon's small estate. But in the end, she won. In addition, Zilly had successfully fought for a modest widow's pension based on Simon's Civil War service.
The 1910 federal census found Jim's family living and farming in Sandymush Township, in the extreme northwest corner of Buncombe County. Since Jim reported he was farming and blacksmithing on his own account, it may be that the family had moved so far from Asheville so they could finally afford to own some land.
If the 1914 Asheville city directory is correct, however, Jim's family had moved back to Haw Creek, where Jim continued blacksmithing. This move may well have been part of a general downturn in the family's fortunes.
WIDOWHOOD
The 1915 Asheville city directory shows Jim living in the Biltmore area and working as a blacksmith for C. L. Brown, another local wagonmaker and fabricator. But it's not hard to imagine blacksmithing being a very tough way to make a living in 1915, as Model T Fords rolled off the assembly line in Michigan at the rate of almost 6,000 per week, and with the price for a basic Runabout model reduced to $390.
The North Carolina Constitution has wonderful language about the obligation of a civilized and Christian State to care for the poor, the unfortunate, and the orphan. And Buncombe County may well have offered assistance for the poor and hungry in 1915. But Jim may have been too proud to ask for help for his family.
We suspect this is so because Minnie died on June 29, 1915, in Asheville, at the tender age of 30. The cause listed on the death certificate was pellagra, a debilitating disease most commonly associated with malnutrition. The classic symptoms of pellagra are chronic diarrhea, extreme dermatitis, dementia, and finally a prolonged death within about five years. Minnie's last years must have been horrific.
The family buried Minnie's remains at Haw Creek Cemetery, but there was evidently no money for a stone marker.
As Jim struggled to support his five children, the 14th of July in 1916 saw the worst flooding in western North Carolina history following six days of torrential rainfall. Streams and rivers reached flood stage in just a few hours. At least 80 people lost their lives, property damage was devastating, and Asheville and Hendersonville were completely cut off from the outside world for weeks.
Almost a year to the day after the great flood — on July 17, 1917 — Jim died in Asheville Township when he was 39 years old. The cause listed on the death certificate was bronchial pneumonia and untreated appendicitis. Jim clearly went down swinging, but even twenty-first century medicine would have had its hands full with a man that sick.
As with Minnie, the family buried Jim's remains at Haw Creek Cemetery. And once again, there was evidently no money for a stone marker. Both graves are now lost to time.
EPILOGUE
Both Jim's and Minnie's mothers were still living when Minnie died in 1915, although both women were widowed and of advanced years. We do not know if they or other family members in the area tried to help Jim with the children.
With both Minnie and Jim dead, however, we know with certainty that the four younger White children were taken to the Thompson Orphanage in Charlotte, and that they were still housed there at the time of the 1920 federal census.
What happened to eldest daughter, Ruby, is less well known. She would have been only about 15 in 1920, but she does not appear on the census rolls for Thompson Orphanage. Indeed, there is no other record of her until 1924 when she was married in Buncombe County to William Virgil Willis, a widower 24 years her senior.
The author's father, Victor James White, lied about his age — perhaps at the urging of orphanage officials — to join the U.S. Navy in November 1923. He was 16 that year, and had gone no further than the 8th grade in school. Victor went on to make a career of the Navy, seeing combat duty in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters during the Second World War.
Researched and written by P. A. White, JD
2015-2022 for @NewWorldAncestry – All Rights Reserved
Subject's relation to author: Paternal Grandfather
See also FamilySearch ID No. LLM7-D45
Updated 2 December 2022
◙ ◙ ◙ ◙
James Victor "Jim" White was born on September 1, 1876, probably in the Chunns Cove area of Buncombe County, North Carolina, to Priscilla "Zillie" Huggins, age 40, and Simon Troy White, age 43. We believe he was the youngest of seven children of this marriage, all of whom lived to adulthood.
DEEP AMERICAN ROOTS
Given his inauspicious beginnings, it is ironic that many family historians believe Jim's 10th great-grandmother was none other than Lady Mary Boleyn (b. abt. 1499 d. 19 July 1543), mistress of King Henry VIII of England, and sister of the English queen consort Anne Boleyn (Anne Boleyn Queen Consort of England (b. abt. 1501 d. 19 May 1536). And depending on how much credence we afford court rumours that Henry actually fathered Mary's daughter, Lady Catherine Carey (b. 19 May 1524 d. 15 January 1568), then King Henry VIII may well be Victor's 10th great-grandfather!
Court intrigue aside, we can confidently trace Jim's roots in America back to the mid-1600s when his 4th great-grandfather John Stephenson (b. 12 May 1656 d. bef. 27 February 1727) arrived in the Virginia Tidewater region from England, and when his 5th great-grandfather Thomas Albert Mims (b. abt. 1637 d. abt. 1693), arrived separately in the Virginia colony as an indentured service (the Mims line also being the one that leads us back to the court of King Henry VIII).
In the mid-1700s several of John Stephenson's descendants relocated to North Carolina, probably in search of virgin tobacco land. And it was there that John's grandson, Solomon Stephenson Sr. (b. abt. 1715 d. bef. 25 August 1794), fought against the British as a soldier in the Johnston County Regiment of the Continental Line under Captain Matthew McCullers.
By 1790 one of Solomon's daughters, Sarah (b. abt. 1755 d, bef. 13 January 1820), had married and buried Frederick Johnson, and then married and buried Frederick's younger brother, Travis. Entering the picture at this juncture was Solomon "Solly" "Saul" White (b. aft. 1755 d. abt. October 1806), who was descended from the Mims line, who had been raised in Cherokee country in South Carolina, and who, by 1792, had made his way to Johnston County, North Carolina for reasons we are not privy to. (One or both of Solomon's parents may have had Cherokee blood, but we have no reliable documentary or DNA evidence of that at this time.)
Solomon and Sarah married in 1792 and had two sons: Jonathan in about 1795, and William in about 1798.
Solomon White died in the Autumn of 1806, and Sarah had probably gone to reward by January of 1820 when William deeded his half of the family land to Jonathan. William then removed to nearby Cumberland County to start a family while Jonathan stayed on, farming in Johnston County until at least 1830.
Jonathan and Ann had had at least six children between 1822 and 1837.
It's unclear what happened to Jonathan, but by 1840 his widow, Ann, was heading up an eight-member household in Buncombe County at the hub of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Ann's brothers, Alsey and Joseph Banks Cordell, had started acquiring land in Buncombe County in the 1820s and they may have encouraged their sister join them there after Jonathan died.
In the middle of the White mob was Simon Troy White, born in about 1833. Simon grew to manhood, married Priscilla Huggins (who during her life went by Rossilla, Rosilla, Raselle, Rosella, Zillie, Tilda, Lilda, Zildah, Zillia, and Zilla), had two children, then signed on – probably for the promised cash bonus – with his brother Pharoah as part of William Wallis McDowell's local defense battalion. Little did Simon and Pharoah know, however, that their unit would soon be absorbed into Company K of the 60th Regiment North Carolina Infantry.
Pharoah was captured in Georgia in 1864, and when given a chance at freedom if he would only renounce the Confederacy and swear allegiance to the Union, he grabbed it. Simon, on the other hand, returned home in 1865, but was so weakened by disease that he was never the same man again. Still, he fathered at least five more children, the youngest of whom was James Victor "Jim" White.
A LIFE LIVED
The 1880 federal census for Asheville (No. 9) Township included Jim as a 2-year-old living on the family's farm with his siblings and 90-year-old maternal grandmother, Mary Huggins. (Jim was probably closer to 3, but perhaps small for his age).
According to the federal census, Jim (as "James") lived in an unincorporated part of Asheville Township with his mother and older brother, William, on June 14, 1900. Jim was working as a blacksmith, possibly for wagonmaker Benjamin Burnette. William was working as a janitor, and mother was working as a mattress maker.
Jim's mother seems to have been counted twice in the 1900 federal census. On June 23, 1900 a different enumerator listed her as Zilly White, 59, in the Asheville Haw Creek precinct home of her son, William, a farmer. Jim was not in this count, but his father, Simon, was — albeit listed as "Samuel T. White," age 65.
NOTE: These two 1900 households may have been completely different White families. But if they were, the demographic coincidences are astonishing.
Jim's father died on February 12, 1902, in Buncombe County. His body was returned to the earth in the Haw Creek Cemetery (now Bethesda United Methodist Church).
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
Jim married Miss Minnie Smith in Buncombe County on May 17, 1903, when he was 26 years old. Minnie was 18 years old and, like Jim, was the youngest child of a Civil War veteran. The ceremony was officiated by William F. Rice, minister, and witnessed by W. R. Randall and J. W. Randall.
Minnie bore Jim five children: Ruby V. in 1904; William Franklin "Frank" in 1906; James E. in 1907 (who would be known as Victor James after 1910, and who is the author's father); Frederick Lackman "Fred" in 1909; and Ruth M. in about 1913.
The 1904 city directory for Asheville found Jim and Minnie living at 305 College. Jim's occupation was listed as blacksmith, working for wagonmaker Benjamin Burnette.
In January 1905 the protracted probate action for Jim's father was finally concluded when W.E. Shuford, the court-appointed administrator, filed a final statement and accounting. Simon's death intestate in 1902 had created quite a mess, and Jim's mother had had to fight creditors tooth and nail to retain her widow's share of Simon's small estate. But in the end, she won. In addition, Zilly had successfully fought for a modest widow's pension based on Simon's Civil War service.
The 1910 federal census found Jim's family living and farming in Sandymush Township, in the extreme northwest corner of Buncombe County. Since Jim reported he was farming and blacksmithing on his own account, it may be that the family had moved so far from Asheville so they could finally afford to own some land.
If the 1914 Asheville city directory is correct, however, Jim's family had moved back to Haw Creek, where Jim continued blacksmithing. This move may well have been part of a general downturn in the family's fortunes.
WIDOWHOOD
The 1915 Asheville city directory shows Jim living in the Biltmore area and working as a blacksmith for C. L. Brown, another local wagonmaker and fabricator. But it's not hard to imagine blacksmithing being a very tough way to make a living in 1915, as Model T Fords rolled off the assembly line in Michigan at the rate of almost 6,000 per week, and with the price for a basic Runabout model reduced to $390.
The North Carolina Constitution has wonderful language about the obligation of a civilized and Christian State to care for the poor, the unfortunate, and the orphan. And Buncombe County may well have offered assistance for the poor and hungry in 1915. But Jim may have been too proud to ask for help for his family.
We suspect this is so because Minnie died on June 29, 1915, in Asheville, at the tender age of 30. The cause listed on the death certificate was pellagra, a debilitating disease most commonly associated with malnutrition. The classic symptoms of pellagra are chronic diarrhea, extreme dermatitis, dementia, and finally a prolonged death within about five years. Minnie's last years must have been horrific.
The family buried Minnie's remains at Haw Creek Cemetery, but there was evidently no money for a stone marker.
As Jim struggled to support his five children, the 14th of July in 1916 saw the worst flooding in western North Carolina history following six days of torrential rainfall. Streams and rivers reached flood stage in just a few hours. At least 80 people lost their lives, property damage was devastating, and Asheville and Hendersonville were completely cut off from the outside world for weeks.
Almost a year to the day after the great flood — on July 17, 1917 — Jim died in Asheville Township when he was 39 years old. The cause listed on the death certificate was bronchial pneumonia and untreated appendicitis. Jim clearly went down swinging, but even twenty-first century medicine would have had its hands full with a man that sick.
As with Minnie, the family buried Jim's remains at Haw Creek Cemetery. And once again, there was evidently no money for a stone marker. Both graves are now lost to time.
EPILOGUE
Both Jim's and Minnie's mothers were still living when Minnie died in 1915, although both women were widowed and of advanced years. We do not know if they or other family members in the area tried to help Jim with the children.
With both Minnie and Jim dead, however, we know with certainty that the four younger White children were taken to the Thompson Orphanage in Charlotte, and that they were still housed there at the time of the 1920 federal census.
What happened to eldest daughter, Ruby, is less well known. She would have been only about 15 in 1920, but she does not appear on the census rolls for Thompson Orphanage. Indeed, there is no other record of her until 1924 when she was married in Buncombe County to William Virgil Willis, a widower 24 years her senior.
The author's father, Victor James White, lied about his age — perhaps at the urging of orphanage officials — to join the U.S. Navy in November 1923. He was 16 that year, and had gone no further than the 8th grade in school. Victor went on to make a career of the Navy, seeing combat duty in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters during the Second World War.
2015-2022 for @NewWorldAncestry – All Rights Reserved
Subject's relation to author: Paternal Grandfather
See also FamilySearch ID No. LLM7-D45
Updated 2 December 2022
◙ ◙ ◙ ◙
James Victor "Jim" White was born on September 1, 1876, probably in the Chunns Cove area of Buncombe County, North Carolina, to Priscilla "Zillie" Huggins, age 40, and Simon Troy White, age 43. We believe he was the youngest of seven children of this marriage, all of whom lived to adulthood.
DEEP AMERICAN ROOTS
Given his inauspicious beginnings, it is ironic that many family historians believe Jim's 10th great-grandmother was none other than Lady Mary Boleyn (b. abt. 1499 d. 19 July 1543), mistress of King Henry VIII of England, and sister of the English queen consort Anne Boleyn (Anne Boleyn Queen Consort of England (b. abt. 1501 d. 19 May 1536). And depending on how much credence we afford court rumours that Henry actually fathered Mary's daughter, Lady Catherine Carey (b. 19 May 1524 d. 15 January 1568), then King Henry VIII may well be Victor's 10th great-grandfather!
Court intrigue aside, we can confidently trace Jim's roots in America back to the mid-1600s when his 4th great-grandfather John Stephenson (b. 12 May 1656 d. bef. 27 February 1727) arrived in the Virginia Tidewater region from England, and when his 5th great-grandfather Thomas Albert Mims (b. abt. 1637 d. abt. 1693), arrived separately in the Virginia colony as an indentured service (the Mims line also being the one that leads us back to the court of King Henry VIII).
In the mid-1700s several of John Stephenson's descendants relocated to North Carolina, probably in search of virgin tobacco land. And it was there that John's grandson, Solomon Stephenson Sr. (b. abt. 1715 d. bef. 25 August 1794), fought against the British as a soldier in the Johnston County Regiment of the Continental Line under Captain Matthew McCullers.
By 1790 one of Solomon's daughters, Sarah (b. abt. 1755 d, bef. 13 January 1820), had married and buried Frederick Johnson, and then married and buried Frederick's younger brother, Travis. Entering the picture at this juncture was Solomon "Solly" "Saul" White (b. aft. 1755 d. abt. October 1806), who was descended from the Mims line, who had been raised in Cherokee country in South Carolina, and who, by 1792, had made his way to Johnston County, North Carolina for reasons we are not privy to. (One or both of Solomon's parents may have had Cherokee blood, but we have no reliable documentary or DNA evidence of that at this time.)
Solomon and Sarah married in 1792 and had two sons: Jonathan in about 1795, and William in about 1798.
Solomon White died in the Autumn of 1806, and Sarah had probably gone to reward by January of 1820 when William deeded his half of the family land to Jonathan. William then removed to nearby Cumberland County to start a family while Jonathan stayed on, farming in Johnston County until at least 1830.
Jonathan and Ann had had at least six children between 1822 and 1837.
It's unclear what happened to Jonathan, but by 1840 his widow, Ann, was heading up an eight-member household in Buncombe County at the hub of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Ann's brothers, Alsey and Joseph Banks Cordell, had started acquiring land in Buncombe County in the 1820s and they may have encouraged their sister join them there after Jonathan died.
In the middle of the White mob was Simon Troy White, born in about 1833. Simon grew to manhood, married Priscilla Huggins (who during her life went by Rossilla, Rosilla, Raselle, Rosella, Zillie, Tilda, Lilda, Zildah, Zillia, and Zilla), had two children, then signed on – probably for the promised cash bonus – with his brother Pharoah as part of William Wallis McDowell's local defense battalion. Little did Simon and Pharoah know, however, that their unit would soon be absorbed into Company K of the 60th Regiment North Carolina Infantry.
Pharoah was captured in Georgia in 1864, and when given a chance at freedom if he would only renounce the Confederacy and swear allegiance to the Union, he grabbed it. Simon, on the other hand, returned home in 1865, but was so weakened by disease that he was never the same man again. Still, he fathered at least five more children, the youngest of whom was James Victor "Jim" White.
A LIFE LIVED
The 1880 federal census for Asheville (No. 9) Township included Jim as a 2-year-old living on the family's farm with his siblings and 90-year-old maternal grandmother, Mary Huggins. (Jim was probably closer to 3, but perhaps small for his age).
According to the federal census, Jim (as "James") lived in an unincorporated part of Asheville Township with his mother and older brother, William, on June 14, 1900. Jim was working as a blacksmith, possibly for wagonmaker Benjamin Burnette. William was working as a janitor, and mother was working as a mattress maker.
Jim's mother seems to have been counted twice in the 1900 federal census. On June 23, 1900 a different enumerator listed her as Zilly White, 59, in the Asheville Haw Creek precinct home of her son, William, a farmer. Jim was not in this count, but his father, Simon, was — albeit listed as "Samuel T. White," age 65.
NOTE: These two 1900 households may have been completely different White families. But if they were, the demographic coincidences are astonishing.
Jim's father died on February 12, 1902, in Buncombe County. His body was returned to the earth in the Haw Creek Cemetery (now Bethesda United Methodist Church).
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
Jim married Miss Minnie Smith in Buncombe County on May 17, 1903, when he was 26 years old. Minnie was 18 years old and, like Jim, was the youngest child of a Civil War veteran. The ceremony was officiated by William F. Rice, minister, and witnessed by W. R. Randall and J. W. Randall.
Minnie bore Jim five children: Ruby V. in 1904; William Franklin "Frank" in 1906; James E. in 1907 (who would be known as Victor James after 1910, and who is the author's father); Frederick Lackman "Fred" in 1909; and Ruth M. in about 1913.
The 1904 city directory for Asheville found Jim and Minnie living at 305 College. Jim's occupation was listed as blacksmith, working for wagonmaker Benjamin Burnette.
In January 1905 the protracted probate action for Jim's father was finally concluded when W.E. Shuford, the court-appointed administrator, filed a final statement and accounting. Simon's death intestate in 1902 had created quite a mess, and Jim's mother had had to fight creditors tooth and nail to retain her widow's share of Simon's small estate. But in the end, she won. In addition, Zilly had successfully fought for a modest widow's pension based on Simon's Civil War service.
The 1910 federal census found Jim's family living and farming in Sandymush Township, in the extreme northwest corner of Buncombe County. Since Jim reported he was farming and blacksmithing on his own account, it may be that the family had moved so far from Asheville so they could finally afford to own some land.
If the 1914 Asheville city directory is correct, however, Jim's family had moved back to Haw Creek, where Jim continued blacksmithing. This move may well have been part of a general downturn in the family's fortunes.
WIDOWHOOD
The 1915 Asheville city directory shows Jim living in the Biltmore area and working as a blacksmith for C. L. Brown, another local wagonmaker and fabricator. But it's not hard to imagine blacksmithing being a very tough way to make a living in 1915, as Model T Fords rolled off the assembly line in Michigan at the rate of almost 6,000 per week, and with the price for a basic Runabout model reduced to $390.
The North Carolina Constitution has wonderful language about the obligation of a civilized and Christian State to care for the poor, the unfortunate, and the orphan. And Buncombe County may well have offered assistance for the poor and hungry in 1915. But Jim may have been too proud to ask for help for his family.
We suspect this is so because Minnie died on June 29, 1915, in Asheville, at the tender age of 30. The cause listed on the death certificate was pellagra, a debilitating disease most commonly associated with malnutrition. The classic symptoms of pellagra are chronic diarrhea, extreme dermatitis, dementia, and finally a prolonged death within about five years. Minnie's last years must have been horrific.
The family buried Minnie's remains at Haw Creek Cemetery, but there was evidently no money for a stone marker.
As Jim struggled to support his five children, the 14th of July in 1916 saw the worst flooding in western North Carolina history following six days of torrential rainfall. Streams and rivers reached flood stage in just a few hours. At least 80 people lost their lives, property damage was devastating, and Asheville and Hendersonville were completely cut off from the outside world for weeks.
Almost a year to the day after the great flood — on July 17, 1917 — Jim died in Asheville Township when he was 39 years old. The cause listed on the death certificate was bronchial pneumonia and untreated appendicitis. Jim clearly went down swinging, but even twenty-first century medicine would have had its hands full with a man that sick.
As with Minnie, the family buried Jim's remains at Haw Creek Cemetery. And once again, there was evidently no money for a stone marker. Both graves are now lost to time.
EPILOGUE
Both Jim's and Minnie's mothers were still living when Minnie died in 1915, although both women were widowed and of advanced years. We do not know if they or other family members in the area tried to help Jim with the children.
With both Minnie and Jim dead, however, we know with certainty that the four younger White children were taken to the Thompson Orphanage in Charlotte, and that they were still housed there at the time of the 1920 federal census.
What happened to eldest daughter, Ruby, is less well known. She would have been only about 15 in 1920, but she does not appear on the census rolls for Thompson Orphanage. Indeed, there is no other record of her until 1924 when she was married in Buncombe County to William Virgil Willis, a widower 24 years her senior.
The author's father, Victor James White, lied about his age — perhaps at the urging of orphanage officials — to join the U.S. Navy in November 1923. He was 16 that year, and had gone no further than the 8th grade in school. Victor went on to make a career of the Navy, seeing combat duty in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters during the Second World War.
Gravesite Details
Buried at "Hawcreek" per death certificate.
Family Members
Siblings
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
