Today’s guest post was written by Don Casada. You can see the post that spurred his thoughts here.
Inexplicably, I hadn’t noticed the cultural testimony of the arborvitae in the last segment until today. You’ll find arborvitaes at old home sites and old graveyards. Just last Saturday, Susan and I went out to the Maple Springs area to wander around a bit. Here’s a photo of the Maple Springs Baptist Church shot from under the branches of a large arborvitae that sits at the foot of the graveyard.
I wanted to take that photo to go along with an article that Linda Banwarth has prepared for MyMountainFolks. Her g-g grandfather, Bob Freeman, is a central element of Linda’s piece. Bob, his older brother Sam and their wives were four of the founding members of the church. Sam donated the land for the church. The one standing today isn’t the original; it was built in the early 1970s. Although I’m not sure it is in exactly the same spot as the original church, but it has to be close; the graveyard right beside it is well over a century old, and I’m sure the arborvitae is as well.
It was the Maple Springs arborvitae made me really want to know where that final scene of the Tall Weeds and Rust video was shot. What I found made the video all the more beautiful. The short segment where Lincoln Hensley walks over to place the cap on the gravestone shows just enough of the marker to make out who it was for. Here it is:
Thomas Donald Hensley, 88, Flag Pond, died Monday, February 8, 2021, at the Johnson City Medical Center, following a brief illness.
Don was a native and lifelong resident of the Hogskin Community of Flag Pond. He was a son of the late Henry and Kitty Amy Stockton Hensley.
Don was a farmer and logger, working in sawmills most of his life.
He was a Christian. Don enjoyed working on cars, lawnmowers, anything with an engine, and was always trading on guns and cars.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a daughter, Sharon Ogle, his sister, Louise Wall, half-brothers, Hilliard Hensley and John Hensley, half-sisters, Hamie Tipton, Thelma Rice and Altha Mae Rice.
Don is survived by four children, Jeannette Tilson and husband Jr., Erwin, Teddy Hensley and wife Nina, Flag Pond, Kevin Hensley and wife Lynn, Erwin, Randy Hensley and wife Robin, Chucky; twelve grandchildren; twenty-one great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews.
The funeral service will be conducted Friday, February 12, 2021, at 3:30 P.M., in Roseville Baptist Church, 689 Stockton Rd., Flag Pond, TN 37657, with Rev. Craig Shelton, officiating. Special music will be provided by Lincoln Hensley, Lynn Harris, Dan Boner, Edison Wallin and Aynsley Porchak.
The graveside committal service will follow in Stockton Cemetery. Active pallbearers will be Teddy Hensley, Lincoln Hensley, Rocky Tilson, Jessie Tilson, Matthew Ogle, Austin Hensley, Lucas Hensley, Dana Campbell, Roy Lacy, Ray Metcalf and Noah Metcalf. Honorary pallbearers will be Edgar Rice, Everette Tipton, Ivan Rice, Kenneth Higgins and Harrison Silvers.
The family will receive friends Friday at the church prior to the service from 2:30 until the service hour.
Those planning to attend are asked to wear a mask or protective face covering and practice appropriate social distancing.
Online condolences, photos and memories may be shared with the Hensley family through our complimentary, interactive Book of Memories at www.ledfordfuneralhomes.com.
Robert Ledford Funeral Home, 720 Ohio Ave., Erwin, is privileged to serve the Hensley family. (423)743-1380
Donald Hensley, the son of Henry Ellis and Kitty Stockton Hensley.
At least to me, that obituary brings a great deal more meaning to the music. Here are a couple of photos of that lovely hallowed hill:
Photo courtesy of Find A Grave
Photo courtesy of Find A Grave
My siblings Jim and Annette will remember traveling on the old Asheville-Johnson City Highway through Flag Pond on the way to and from King College. It’s the first community that you come to on the descent from Sams Gap. The cemetery is less than a mile from Flag Pond.
I hope you enjoyed Don’s thoughts as much as I do. If you missed the song that took Don down the rabbit hole you can see the video here.
Last night’s video: Matt Loves to Make Pine Needle Tea – It’s Good for You!
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HI,
Thank you for the pictures of the cemetery. It is so much like my family cemetery your blog featured several months ago. Our Appalachian Family Cemeteries are so peaceful and beautiful. The families that have loved ones there work hard to keep them looking pretty year-round. My family has always let the children run and play in the cemetery
but be respectful of the graves and markers. We feel that those whose remains are there look down upon the children and smile because they are the future and will carry on our Appalachian Heritage. Without our heritage we would not be the strong people we are today.
Kathy Patterson
What is MyMountainFolks and why am I not part of it?
The photos of the cemetery remind me of the one we visited in West Virginia near Burnsville. My husband did some research on his family and where they came from before some of the members ended up in Indiana. The cemetery, Posey, where his great great great grandparents were buried was so beautiful, peaceful, and well taken care of. It was on top of a small mountain and it was still being used. There were some old headstones whose date could not be made out, but we found others dating back to the 1700’s.
Before reading the rest of the comments, I want to say that I believe that first tombstone in that photo is on my grandfather’s grave. He was Franklin Pierce Hutchins and died in 1897. If Jim sees this, I hope he will check to see if I’m correct. Next to it is another local stone, hand cut stone marking the grave of my uncle William Tyson Hutchins who died 6 months earlier. Family history says that Grandpa Franklin harvested and carved the stone for William and decided to make his own whilst he was about it. He carved it all with a screwdriver except the date of his death. My Grandma Hutchins carved that in with the same screwdriver. The legend also has it that she was carrying the stone to the cemetery on her shoulder when John Matt Davis saw her and her oldest daughter, my Aunt Amanda, and took the stone from her and carried it to the churchyard and put it in place. He and Amanda married not long after.
As I said in my comment I think Sarah Hasseltine DeHart who died in 1834 was the earliest burial at Maple Springs but her gravestone is probably not the original. The same with my g-g-grandfather who died in 1882. His stone appears to be a replacement.
Find A Grave shows a child Wm. Cary Hutchins Oct. 13, 1896 to Feb 23, 1897. He was the son of F. P. and M.L. Hutchins. F P Hutchins’s gravestone picture shows he died Jan. 15th, 1899. The Cemeteries of Swain County book doesn’t show a William Tyson Hutchins and neither does Find A Grave. It seems logical that if Wm. Cary was the child of F. P. and M.L. that he would have engraved the stone for their child.
I looked at every Hutchins in The Cemeteries of Swain County and didn’t find a William Tyson Hutchins. I’m not disputing what you are saying, just letting you know what I found. I am also sending you a copy to your email.
Put it down to the bad memory of an old man, Cousin Ed. 🙁
To show how bad it really is, note that I called Don Casada by his brother’s name. My apologies, Don. Thank you for the picture and article on Maple Springs Baptist Church.
The old Maple Springs Church building sat right in the gap of the mountain. The grassy patch between the Arborvitae and the road is where the old church sat. Before the old building was torn down it was so close to the road that you could lean out through the school bus window and almost touch it (I can remember sitting in that church and seeing billows of dust come in through the windows when a car went by). The church had a lean-to attached to the other side that came out to within a few feet of the arborvitae and the graveyard.
Just a few feet north of the tree, in the first row, are the earthly remains of my G-G grandfather Allen Ammons (marked A. A. Ammons 1819-1882), my g-g-grandmother Cynthia (marked Cyntha wife of A.A. Ammons age 85), my g-grandfather Jasper Ammons (marked E. J. Ammons 1852-1929) and my g-grandmother Amanda Welch (marked Amanda wife of E.J. Ammons Apr. 5 1855 – Jan 25 1907). Next in that row is Sarah H DeHart (marked Apr. 14 1832 – Jan. 9 1834). Sarah is said to have drowned in the Little Tennessee River just 3 months shy of her 2nd birthday. She is thought to be the first burial in that graveyard.
I would be willing to bet that I am related, by blood or by marriage, to 90% of those buried in that cemetery. Many in more ways than one.
Linda Banwarth is my 3rd cousin. We used to communicate quite a bit but have lost contact in recent years. Linda is a 1st cousin once removed of Judy Logan of Clays Corner fame. Linda’s grandmother and Judy’s mother were sisters if I am not mistaken.
Thanks to Mr. Don today this beautiful post. My husband and I have visited quite a few cemeteries looking for family members. Last summer through some research we were able to find his great grandparents graves. We didn’t realize it, but we actually have traveled on that very road. The graves were in a field surrounded by none other than, tall weeds and grass. It has since been cleaned up. So many graveyards are not kept up, even abandoned. Our church cemeteries receive better care, but I think a wonderful project for scouts, or any youth church group would be to get out and clean these places up. Some of the headstones need scrubbing and cleaning. My husband and I keep all our families cleaned. We’ll take jugs of water and Dawn dish liquid and stiff brushes to clean the headstones and we will rake and weed eat also. That is the least we can do for them. There is such an abundance of history in these places.
Interesting post today. They are blessed to have so much family history to reflect on and pass on to future generations.
I never knew there was a website called “Find a Grave”. You have to join, but if your researching your family geology and can’t travel to all the different grave locations, it looks like it might be worth looking into to see if it’s worth your time and money. I might look further into it myself in hope to find some of my great grandparents graves.
Find a Grave is a valuable asset in doing your genealogy but beware, it is rife with errors. I use it but only if there is other documentation to back it up. Too many contributors don’t have photos of gravestones and have no connection with the deceased. When I went to put my wife’s memorial and gravestone photo, I found that someone else had beat me to it. That is upsetting to say the least!
I am debating whether to create my on memorial since the stone is in place and has been photographed already so that some total stranger doesn’t claim me.
If you are a member you can contact the person that created a memorial for your family member and ask them to transfer it to you. Then you can correct incorrect information. Unless it has changed, membership is free. All you need is an email address.
Findagrave is an excellent source of information. Sometimes you find someone has done a lot of work for you,by posting links to several generations.
Hi,
We were lucky and FindAGrave had a picture of my ancestor’s grave
when it had a fence around it and a nice marker. Now, the marker is
almost gone and the woods have taken the cemetery back. He died in 1823 so the family decided that we knew where the grave was and we would let nature reclaim it. We honor him in remembrance. Ever so often some of us find out more about him– He was in the 8th Regiment of the Revolutionary War and he made counterfeit coins. Anyway, I still honor him. Deep down I think a piece of his
rebellious nature is still engrained in me which I will always treasure.
Kathy Patterson
I’m glad Don dug up this additional insight. I have had that song running through my head ever since your post. The whole thing just tugs at me in a way I can’t explain. The video has the ‘tall weeds’ of (I think) September, the end of summer and the beginning of fall, another sort of transition. That song fits so very many Appalachian lives. Alan Jackson’s “The Little Man” does much the same for the small town South.
Some of my “city” friends do not understand my affection for cemeteries. I enjoy walking through the old ones especially and reading about the lives of those who were buried there. I’ll stop and pray too. Funerals are another celebration of life and God in my world.
I had never heard the song Tall Weeds and Rust until you posted the video a few days ago. Since then, I’ve listened to it several times on other YouTube videos. That group does a fine job of singing it. The piece by Don Casada was interesting and he used a word that I wasn’t familiar with, arborvitae. Well, I just had to look it up. So, through your blog, I’ve recently learned a new word, heard a new to me song, and found a great Bluegrass group. Just a few small reasons why a morning visit to the Blind Pig and the Acorn is time well spent.
That certainly is a lovely spot for a church and cemetery! Who wouldn’t mind to be laid to rest in such a tranquil spot? My goodness what an arborvitae!!! I have many, but the deer keep eating on them. I look out at night when my light is triggered and sure enough theres 5 or so of the cutest walking tenderloins you ever saw just looking at me wondering why an ugly old woman is interrupting their nightly feast. May the Lord rest Harold’s weary soul! (I suspect merely by his age he was weary.) You sure do have a way of putting words, Mr. Casada that would make just about any topic more appealing! Thank you for the sweet share.
Tenderloins come in pairs so 5 isn’t likely to be the correct number!
I listened to the song and enjoyed it and thought about much truth is in the words. In 2 weeks I will be 69 years old and have lived in the same area all of my life. During the last week I have been on the road around my area a good bit. I am constantly thinking of how it use to be when I’m driving about. Now in my area every vacant spot of land is being turned into a housing or subdivision. I think of the older generations before me and how many made their living farming the land that now has houses or shopping centers on it. I would dearly love to be buried in a cemetery like the one in the picture. My church was founded in 1815 and has a cemetery that was started at the same time. There’s a holy tree at the cemetery that has been there all of my life. When I was a teenager, I kept the grass cut at the cemetery and would look at the names and dates on the headstones. I knew the names and families of many of the ones buried there. Many are family members. I could go on forever about this, just yesterday I passed by land my wife’s granddaddy farmed (sharecropped) that is now being cleared for a 350 home subdivision. To me a cemetery is a sacred place and the graves of the ones there should be loved and respected. I said this before but will say it again, I respect Don Casada for helping take care of the Bryson City cemetery.
The Freeman name immediately caught my attention in this article as I have Freemans in my ancestral line. Will have to research these folks to see if we are related.
Thank you, Tipper, and have a blessed and productive day.
This is our past! These old church yards are our history, and they are fading away. I love walking through these old cemeteries that are our history. I can feel it! If you walk these old cemeteries you can
actually feel the past as it is slipping away.
You can sure send me down some rabbit holes. I may have to borrow that song.
Thanks…a beautiful sendoff. Looking forward to ‘our’ new reading. God Bless