Photo courtesy of The Shook Museum – Clyde, Haywood County NC
A few weeks back the girls and I attended the Quay Smathers Memorial Singing School which was held in the Shook Museum in Clyde, NC. This is the second year we’ve been able to attend and we had a terrific time. We’ve been fortunate to get to know Quay’s daughters, Liz and June, who we have much in common with.
We all come from musical families and The Deer Hunter grew up in the Dutch Cove area of Canton that Quay’s family lived in and that June still lives in today.
During this year’s singing school June pointed out the photo above and read the words below from a document that belongs to the museum.
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John Smathers b 17 Dec 1781 Pa d Feb 10 1825 Haywood Co NC 44y + Mary Agner May 10 1803 NC b Jan 1776 d Nov 28 1868 NC Haywood Co 92y
Mary Agner lived until her death at age 94 in the old Shook House, which still stands. She was there when the famous Methodist circuit rider Francis Asbury stayed as a guest. Her dress was exhibited until recently in the house which has become a museum.
John Smathers and his wife, Mary Agner Smathers, moved from Pennsylvania into Piedmont North Carolina, and, after the Revolution, found their way into what is now Haywood County.
They selected a home spot somewhere in the neighborhood of the present site of Canton, or near Turnpike by 1815 to escape Rowan Co’s disease stricken community. Here they made their home and reared a family.
The children of John and Mary Agner Smathers were Isaac, Charlie, Mary, George, Jesse, and Levi. The children all grew to maturity in Haywood county and married there.
Among Mary Agner Smathers’ prized possessions was a book written in 1795 in German, containing songs, prayers, and sermons by Martin Luther. That book is in the possession of Janice Smathers and her bro Julian. “An inscription on the fly leaf of this old volume, with its brittle paper and ink faded almost beyond deciphering, has preserved the key which opens a door into past history of the Smathers family before its first members came across the Blue Ridge to the Pigeon River,” Patton wrote. “There in German script, appears the record, which translated reads: Johannes Smetter was born 17th Dec 1781 Pennsylvania.”
I had the front pages of the Smathers German book translated by a German Scientist I work with and is attached for your information and use as well as a photo.
Courtesy of 6x grandau Rebecca from her Smather’s family album collection.
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List of children:
Isaac (Eiseg) William 2/7/1804 Rowan died: 10/23/1835
George Fredrick (The Yorg) 9/9/1807 Rowan died: 6/24/1894
Jesse 12/19/1811 Rowan died: 2/20/1879
Mary ‘Loni’ Smathers 4/20/1816 Haywood died: 9/21/1855
Levi, 9/9/1817 Haywood died: 3/4/1896
Charles ‘Charley’ 7/21/1819 Haywood died: 12/8/1906
Added by Junior Ramsey 7/18/2016
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As June shared the story of John and Mary I felt goosebumps rise up on both my arms as I thought about the Smathers family who’ve called Haywood County home for over 200 years. Thinking about the longevity of the family line in the same general area and the heritage, music, and culture continuing to be passed down even until this day, made me wish I could send John and Mary a message and tell them they did good.
If you ever get the chance drop by the Shook Museum for a visit. The old house is beautiful, especially the third floor chapel, and the folks who run the museum are very informative and friendly.
Tipper
I’m a volunteer doing research for the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy on the 156 acre Dutch Cove property they recently purchased from descendants of Marie Smathers Myers (born in 1917 on the family farm of Dollie & Luster Smathers).
I particularly interested in learning about the family that owned the land when the wood frame house with field stone chimney, dog trot building and crib barn were built. They may date from 1870-1900 but I need more documentation that’ll contribute to a site history and ultimately a plan to preserve the structures.
I’ve done a good bit of research in the county’s online deed books and have a copy of the 2022 survey; the Smathers name is most prominent on this land.
Any information on the structures or the families that built/used them would be much appreciated.
I’m a descendent of the Smathers family, but my wife is from the Philippines. I had told her that my ancestors were from Germany, and that part was true, but I thought they came to the U S. after slavery had ended. I was surprised to find out that Levi Smathers owned slaves, and that he probably wasn’t the only one. The mountaineer talked about the Smathers name though the eyes of the slaves.
Edward Hyatt and his wife Hannah settled amongst the cherokee before the Shook family arrival in 1787. The Cherokee accepted Hyatt and stated that he could stay among them and stated ” Hyatt a good man he feeds squaws , all other whites go”. John Smathers wife , Mary resided in the Shook house with her brother inlaw Henry Smathers who owned the Shook property at that time after her husband John had passed away .
Karen-thank you for sharing that information 🙂
My Great Grandparents were Will Theodore and Mary Radcliffe Smathers of Clyde N C I would be very interested in this publication and any other family history My Grandmother was Evelyn Smathers her sisters were Mary Martha Leiala Anna D brothers were Lawrence Vinson and Hilliard Claude
Edward-thank you for the comment! I would suggest you contact the Shook Museum in Clyde NC. I’m sure they would have information about your family and hopefully be able to point you to other information as well. Here is a phone number for them that I found online: 828-564-1044. Good luck 🙂
My grandmother is Mary Smathers who was married to Clauston smathers… any info would be great.
Hello Tipper!
I came to your site via the picture of my Smathers ancestors. George Fredrick was my 2x g-grandfather and I am very proud North Carolinian, though I now live in Marietta, Georgia. My grandmother, Bessie Smathers Stamey, and my grandfather, Boyd Stamey, lived on Kim’s Cove Road in later life. Reading about your life in the mountains makes me so homesick for the times I spent there before their passing. I hope I can return one day – I almost ache to come “home’ – but until then I very much enjoy your blog. Thank you for helping keep the mountain ways alive via your blog.
All the best,
Nancy Stamey Eubanks
In response to Ron Stephen’s comment, yes the Smetters/Smathers immigrated from Germany and Dutch Cove was originally known as the German Cove, or Deutsch Cove.
More than likely we were Moravians.
Thanks for posting about my ancestors and telling our story Tipper!
June Smathers-Jolley
Your recent posts brought back great memories from my childhood of dinner-on-the-grounds at the little church in Dutch Cove where Quay Smathers led shape-noted singing. My great-uncle had married one of Quay’s sisters, and we were always invited to their wonderful musical/dinner gatherings at Morning Star Methodist Church. Surely do miss those days!!
I respectively disagree with Miss Cindy. The vast majority of people are musically inclined. A few are talented at making music. The rest of us are talented at listening! I may not be able to make world class music but I am right up there at the top when it comes to listening.
They almost don’t look real, so solemn! I remember their names from living in Canton but I never knew any of the Smathers. My family was not musically inclined.
Some random comments on the Smathers and the Shooks:
A great-grandson of John (or Johannes) and Mary, William Marion Smathers, was one of the group headed by Jim Stikeleather which acquired all the property on Hazel Creek which had been owned (and stripped) by Ritter Lumber Company. W.M. had a store on the east side of Hazel Creek at Proctor.
George Smathers, another great-grandson, was an attorney for Champion Fibre who helped clear up the mess involving Cherokee lands at the turn of the 20th century. Based on knowledge acquired from this effort, he wrote a book, The History of Land Titles in Western North Carolina which not only covers the lands but has good information on the peoples.
A couple of years ago, I wrote a piece for the Univ. of TN Great Smoky Mountains Colloquy, a quarterly newsletter by the UT Libraries (see link below). The subject was sort of a speculation – “Who were the First Settlers of the Smokies?” The reason I point toward this is that clearly among the earliest settlers on Oconaluftee (which was the first portion of the NC side of the Smokies to be settled) were John Hyde and his wife, Elizabeth Shook. Elizabeth was the daughter of Jacob Shook, who built part of the Shook-Smathers house which is now the museum.
http://www.lib.utk.edu/smokies/colloquy/colloquy.16.1.pdf
The Smathers family has cast a wide net over not just Haywood County, but much of western North Carolina.
Tipper: Your post makes me want to just go back to NC this weekend! We were over last weekend for Jim’s favorite cousin’s (BILL WIKE) funeral and burial in East Le Port. We will miss wonderful visits and great conversations and STORIES which we always had with Bill! I so wanted him and Jim to write their BOOK. But guess it will remain UNWRITTEN!
Eva
I wonder if the story of the Smetter/Smathers family is a case in point of localities being named “Dutch” because of German (“Deutsch”) settlers. That claim is routinely encountered in genealogy work. For example, there is a Dutch Valley in each of Anderson, Knox and Grainger Counties, TN.
I also wonder if the Smetters were Moravian back in the 1700’s because the Moravians had three settlements in the NC Piedmont in the Winston-Salem, NC area. My earliest-known ancestor on my Dad’s side lived near “the Moravian town” in NC at the time he enlisted in 1780.