WELCOME


~ The pieces are all sewn together, stitched with love.........and a quilt tells a story and the story is our past ~

The Arrowood family immigrated from England to Maryland in the 1700's. They went south, eventually settling in the mountains of North Carolina. Later , some went further south, into the Piedmont of North Carolina, in search of work and a better way of life.



I am in search of my family.

I search for those that came before me, and lived their lives as best they could. I am in search of their stories, how they lived, and how they loved.


I shared this love of seeking the past with my Dad, sharing each new finding with him, the thrill in his heart intermingling with mine. I continue this search in his honor, and hope to know these people of ours when I join up with them all in heaven.

~ Steve Lewis Arrowood 1932-2008 ~


Come with me, back to a simpler time and place. A place far removed from the hectic pace of today. To a time when life was hard, but the rewards were great. When your quality of life was determined by your own sweat, your own toil, and your own ingenuity.


Would you like a glass of sweet tea? Let's sit out on the porch where we will catch the sweetly scented breeze of summertime. Maybe Grandma will fry up some of her wonderful chicken... Time slows here.

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"We shape our lives not by what we carry with us, but what we leave behind."

~You live as long as you are remembered.~


"Our most treasured family heirlooms are our sweet family memories. " Author: Unknown


"But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you from the wisdom of former generations."

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Thursday, July 15, 2010

The Sage Of Pigeon Roost ~ Harvey Miller



I have heard about the "Pigeon Roost News" all my life.

I also saw an original copy while in the Historical Society office in Bakersville, N.C. I happened upon a write up about Harvey's children. He had two daughters and a son. On a whim, I searched for the daughter, and I came up with a lady's name. I found a phone number and called the lady. Turns out it was really her, daughter of THE Harvey Miller.

Journalist and writer of the Pigeon Roost News.

The Pigeon Roost Sage.

I was so excited! She talked about her childhood and her wonderful memories of the man. Harvey wrote about what he knew, and he sure knew the people of Pigeon Roost!
He wrote of the simple things, the things that mattered and all about the lives of those around him.

Guess what?? We are related to Harvey, by marriage! Yep, can you believe that one? He ALSO referred to "Uncle" John Henry and "Aunt" Nora, just as we do, because Nora was his AUNT, too. Nora Barnett Arrowood's sister, Lucinda "Cinda" Barnett, was Harvey's mom. She was six years older than Aunt Nora.



Harvey wrote many articles about Reverend John Henry and they are priceless glimpes into the life that the people of Pigeon Roost led. John Henry was a beekeeper from a long list of beekeepers. He still had the old bee hive that belonged to his mother, Sarah Ellen Winters Arrowood Miller. Harvey wrote about her, too. She was my 2nd Great grandmother!

Spencer Barnett and Hannah Honeycutt were the parents of Nora and Lucinda "Cinda" Barnett . There are several Barnett's buried in the Barnett/Sinking Creek Cemetery in Tennessee. They had ten children in all. Lucinda "Cinda" Barnett, born November 13, 1869, married David Miller. Cinda Barnett and David Miller had at least five children and one of those was Harvey James Miller.

Harvey's sweet daughter was just 'tickled pink' to find out that I was an Arrowood. She was so nice to me on the phone and before the phone conversation was over, we were tight cousins.. Big Smile!

She sent me a booklet that she had compiled from her Dad's writings through the years. I was over the moon to get this! The writings offer such a wonderful glimpse into life on Pigeon's Roost.

Wonderful documentation of our family's life up in the mountains, with some humor thrown in.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the man behind it all, The Pigeon Roost Sage.

Harvey James Miller

Thanks, Harvey. Rest in peace ~ Jul. 10, 1909 ~ Dec. 27, 1997

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Excerpts taken from the writings of Harvey J. Miller, dated 4/12/62.

Bears, once plentiful and feared by man and beast in Pigeon Roost area, are seldom seen now. But such places as Bear Wallow, Bear Cove and Bear Knob are reminders of the early days when the area was a howling wilderness and bears roamed the wilds.
In pioneer days, the bear population was so numerous, the animals prowled among the settlers in search for food. Oftentimes they tore up the beehives to get honey, and they raided the streams for fish. They also made it hard for the moonshiners. They raided for mash and whiskey, and upset the barrels and vessels used around the distilling plant. The animals were so destructive and so plentiful that the settler's often had to get out their guns and go in search for them.
Early settler's trapped bear for food and clothing. The meat was used for food, and the hides for clothing, bed covering and carpets for the homesteads.
Names given certain areas by the early settlers, because of the bears, have been retained through the years.

John Arrowood, great-grandfather of the Rev. John Henry Arwood, now nearing 90 years old, came over from England. He settled his family on the upper reaches of Pigeon Roost Creek. Due to the number of bear wallowing in the mud where he drove his stakes for a homestead, he called the place Bear Wallow. For years, bears continued to wallow in the mud near the old homesite.

The Rev. Arwood now resides in Spruce Pine, but when he lived here a few years ago, he told us his ancestor planted and grew an orchard at his Bear Wallow farm. He said when the trees began to bear, the bears would climb the trees for fruit. The older bears would shake the trees so that the cubs on the ground could have some.

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The last corn mill on Pigeon Roost that was pulled by a water wheel was owned and operated by the late Rev. and Mrs. John H. Arrowood, located in the upper section. He had one of the small water wheels that was called the 'undershot' kind. He had to always catch water in the mill race to get enough water to keep the wheel rolling. This mill wheel was hooked to a dynamo machine by Arrowood's son, R.H., and they had the first electric lights on Pigeon Roost, as well as the first electric radio.

Excerpt taken from the writings of Harvey J. Miller, dated 3/16/72.

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Looking Back Toward Home ~ A Correll




All along this path that I have been on, searching for our family, I have met some wonderful people.

People ready and willing to share their pictures, info, and stories about the family, trying to help one another.

I just was given a wonderful opportunity to return the favors that have been given to me. To "pay it forward", just a little, as they say. It sure does my soul good to be able to do that for someone! Someone else searching for their family, too.

I got an email from a girl that has a Correll connection to our Correll family that is buried up in Happy Valley, Isabell's family.

She forwarded an email that she had gotten, on to me.

He was a Correll, born in Happy Valley, that was long lost, and seeking where he came from.

I looked over what info he had given and checked my database for any connection. I found it. Big Grin!

His father was Kenneth Correll. Born and raised in Happy Valley, Tennessee.

I just KNEW at this point that I was going to be able to tie him into to our branch of Corrells!

His grandfather was Joe Thomas Correll. Joe Thomas was the son of William Correll.

William Correll was the brother of our Isabell.

This Correll is my third cousin. Second Cousin, Once removed , if you are from my Dad's generation.

He decided to try and find his family that he never really knew, the Correll side of his family.

His mother and father went separate ways, when he was just a toddler. Once, in his twenties, he and a brother contacted his Dad, Kenneth and they met briefly.

No other contact was made.

He had pretty much raised himself and became independent at a very young age.
He married young and started a family unit of his own. He had lived a wonderful life, so far, but there was always something missing. Something hard to explain, but something I can easily understand. "Family" was missing, and a big chunk of "I don't know" was in the way, of an otherwise full, happy, life.

Time had come for him to seek his roots and find out what he could. He located a gal that I had been in contact with, some time back and she had saved my email info..so she sent his email to me.

I replied back after I found the connection.

What an exciting moment that had to be for him!

He fired an email right back to me, elated.

There, on FindAGrave, a website for memorials, a man had entered his father's memorial.

He came instantly, face to face, with the picture of his father sitting beside his grandfather, Joe Thomas.

Imagine that moment. First glimpse of your grandfather's face at the age of 60.

We have been so blessed, folks! In our family, we have never known what it is like to not have a large family to turn to.

With the memorials pictures that I had entered into FindAGrave, of all those buried in Boone Cemetery, Happy Valley, he was able to see the graves of his father's family in a matter of moments.

His grandparents, his great-grands, all of them.

He wrote me back telling me how wonderful all this new found information was.

His daughter had been away on a weekend vacation. Gone to Cade's Cove. Now just guess where his Great grandmother was from?

Yep, Cades Cove. She was a Tipton, with deep roots in the Cades Cove area.
He wrote and told me that sometimes things just seem to be set into place, to happen, and somehow, I believe him.

You can follow life's path to just about anywhere, but when you get to where you're going, you always seem to get to a point, where you want to pause and look over your shoulder, back toward home.

Happy Valley ~ Daily Times 1992




Happy Valley TN Newspaper Article ~

This article was printed in 1993, in the Daily Times Newspaper.

It gives an account of the new school teacher coming to Happy Valley, in 1875.

Mentioned are Fanny Arrowood Whitehead, the sister to our Samuel Augustus Arrowood. Also mentioned is Thomas Whitehead, Fanny's father-in-law.


Click on the image to get a larger, more readable picture.