Retracing the footsteps of Fraterville's miners
19 May 2012
The 110th anniversary of the Great Fraterville Explosion
Descendants & visitors travelled from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana,
Kentucky,
Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee
What does Fruitland Park, Florida, have in common with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania? Descendants of Tip Hightower live there and they met for the first time at Fraterville Miners’ Circle on Saturday, 19 May 2012, while remembering the 110th anniversary of the Great Fraterville Explosion.
Similar stories unfolded from families of other Fraterville miners—Webber, Wallace, Vowell, Roberts, Hutson, Harmon, Dezern, Slover and Webb. Louise Nelson talked about family pride and how her great-grandmother Dezern had caskets of her five sons in her home at the same time. She said the women in her family are known for their strength, a trait they inherited from Mother Dezern.
Family members and Coal Creek citizens await
word of the rescue efforts of their loved
ones in the Fraterville Mine explosion
Headstone of David R. Thomas whose
collection of Welsh-language books was
donated to Harvard University
At the
headstone of David R. Thomas, we recalled how his family collection of
Welsh-language books had been donated to Harvard University. Dr. Eirug
Davies of Harvard translated passages from those books into English and used
them as references in his book,
"The Welsh Of Tennessee".
It tells about the lives of Coal Creek's first miners
and how their descendants assimilated into American society. David Thomas
retired from the Fraterville Mine three months before the Great Explosion
and he provided testimony at the inquest, which he began by saying, “I
started to work in the mines when my daddy carried me on his back.”
We read stories by B. Rule Stout about life in Coal Creek at the time of the explosion. He was a school teacher in Anderson County in the 1890s and later became a director of Coal Creek Mining and Manufacturing Company.
At Longfield Cemetery, Tom Frew read the farewell message his great-grandfather, Jacob Vowell, wrote before suffocating in the Fraterville Mine—“Oh God, for one more breath. Ellen, remember me as long as you live, Good bye Darling.” After reading the lines, “Good bye Lillie, Good bye Jimmie, Good bye Minnie, Good bye Horace”, he talked about taking his grandfather, Jimmie--a giant of a man--to see his brother Horace for the last time.
Do you know that President Clinton recited Jacob Vowell's farewell letter in one of his speeches?
Tom Frew, great grandson of Jacob Vowell
reads Jacob's farewell message over Jacob's
and his son Elbert's shared grave and headstone
Carolyn Harmon McCafferty reads her
grandfather's farewell message next to his
headstone and the headstone of his son Conda
who perished nine years later in the Cross
Mountain Mine disaster in Briceville
Descendants of Powell Harmon travelled from Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama to hear Carolyn Harmon McCafferty read her grandfather’s farewell letter that says, “My Boys, never work in the coal mines. Henry and Condy be good boys and stay with your mother and trust for Jesus sake.”
They also heard Powell Harmon’s great-granddaughter, Barbara Titus, recall how Condy Harmon supported their family by working in the Cross Mountain Mine after his father died. When Condy’s body was removed from the Cross Mountain Mine after it exploded in 1911, mine rescuers told his mother, Josie, how only his right shoe was removed from his foot. His mother interpreted that as a sign from Condy that he had gotten right with the Lord.
Do you know that the trainer for the current Tennessee Mine Rescue Team is the great-great-grandson of Fraterville miner William J. Webb?
Barb Titus at the headstones of her
great grandfather Powell Harmon and
grand uncle Conda Harmon
Barry Thacker, PE, President of the
Coal Creek Watershed Foundation, led
the tour of the historic sites. Here he
stands on the trail that leads to the
Fraterville Mine site.
Larry Harmon told how his great-grandfather
Powell Harmon protected his job by fighting the
corrupt use of convict labor during the Coal
Creek War. Powell perished in the
Fraterville Mine, but was able to leave a poignant
farewell message to his family.
Dr. Elizabeth Kellar DeCorse demonstrates
the probe used to verify grave sites
at the Itinerant Miners' Cemetery
No descendants were present to remember miners buried at Fraterville Itinerant Miners’ Cemetery, because the names of miners buried there are not known. Dr. Elizabeth Kellar DeCorse explained how UT archaeologists performed a ground-penetrating radar study to at least determine the number of graves and she demonstrated the ease at which a probe could be pushed into the ground to verify grave locations delineated by geophysical testing. Documenting the results of that study might compel descendants of those miners to share their family stories.
Some of the Fraterville miners lived in Dutch Valley and walked across Walden Ridge on their way to and from work each day. A story was told about how miners would chase foxes after work on Fridays, not returning home until Saturday morning. The more-senior descendants made the trek to the abandoned mine portal with the rest along the same path that their ancestors travelled 110 years ago.
Descendants of the Fraterville miners and visitors
gather at the site of the mine explosion
Steve Hutson, great grandson of George Hutson,
attended the tour with his wife and son
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After the tour, we received an email from a descendant that said,
“Words
simply cannot express how much we appreciate all of your hard work. You
have made our children's heritage very special.”
University of Tennessee Archaeologist
Dr. Elizabeth Kellar DeCorse (L) and
Writer/Author Fred Brown
at the Itinerant Miners' Cemetery
Widows and children after the
Great Fraterville Mine Explosion
NBC's WBIR-TV's videographer
John Henry joined us for the tour
and produced a beautiful segment for TV
