Angel Watching Over Us~

An Angel sits with a serene expression, holding a bouquet of roses, while

 silently watching over loved ones now departed in Gaston County, NC.

*angels walk among us,

you just have to know where to look*

~

Wordless Wednesday~ Well, just a few...

Sunrise, Dallas, NC, December 5th, 2012~

Trees on the Mountain~

If you have never heard the mountains singing; or seen the trees of the field clapping their hands, do not think because of that they don't. Ask God to open your ears so you may hear it, and your eyes so you may see it, because, though few men ever know it, they do, my friend, they do.

McCandlish Phillips

 

 

 

 

 Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina ~

Wandering Wednesday ~ An Angel on my Path

Angels watching over us.

She drops roses in her path.

A beautiful early November day with green grass and autumnal colors painted in the trees.

Wandering Wednesday ~ Richlands, Home of John James Winters

Pictures of the area of Richland, where John James Winters

 made his home and where he is laid to rest.

This stream runs right through the land that once belonged to him.

Quiet and peaceful, this area has become one of my favorite destinations.

I have met a wonderful family that lives in this area,  and have been invited back again and again.

After one visit I was ready to stay!

I felt I was 'back home', once again.

What a wonderful place.

Thinking Thursday~ Sentimental Verse on Stone

Warm Summer Sun Shine Kindly Here.

Warm Southern Wind Blow Softly Here.

Green Sod Above, Lie Light, Lie Light.

Good Night, Dear Heart, Good Night, Good Night.

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Poem by Robert Richardson

One day we will all be but a name, etched in stone.

Winters Resting Grounds ~Old Ellis Cemetery

John Winters, brother to Sarah Ellender Winters Arrowood.

Family legend states that she was very close with John and loved him very much.

Rest in Peace, dear Uncle.

******



Thoughtful Thursday ~ Mary Winters

Mary Magdalene "Lana" Cook Winters

She rests in the old Ellis Cemetery, now known as Pilgrim Church Cemetery on the top of a knoll overlooking the town of Elk Park.  Her husband, John Winters rests nearby.

John was the son of Billy and Eliza Shell Winters.
Brother to my second Great grandmother, Sarah Ellen Winters.

She was the daughter of George Hobson Cook and Isabell Edwards.

Recently visited the old graves again, in the Avery/Carter County area.

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In Search of My Family ~ Being a Graveyard rabbit ~

Moments of discovery in a misty morning setting, overlooking the mountains, it just doesn't get any better for me.

One smiling Graveyard Rabbit.

And the search continues.....

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Misty Morn in Avery County, NC ~

Scenes from Elk Park, Avery County, North Carolina ~

In the mountains of North Carolina this morning!

Seeking graves of the Winters Family and enjoying myself immensely!

Follow along as I find more and add pictures.

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Avery County ~ Beautiful Countryside, Quilt Trail

Avery County Quilt Trail Website

Avery County, North Carolina

Plaque posted on the Avery County Courthouse ~

Avery County Courthouse, North Carolina

Still enjoying my  mini vacation in Elk Park.

Being a 'graveyard rabbit' all around town, loving every minute!

These rolling hills are just beautiful.

Seeing the sights and visiting with friends, it feels more and more like "home".

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Martin Winters Grave at Hayes Orchard, Avery County, North Carolina ~

Winters family cemetery is located on Floyd Hayes Lane off of Buck Mountain Road,

Elk Park, Avery County, North Carolina ~

Cemetery is located off on the knoll, to the left.

Descendants of this tribe are buried there as well.

I have stood at this site many times over the years of my search and wondered about whether or not to enter it into Find A Grave, but the facts are what they are.

 

I am currently posting from Elk Park , back in town for more searching.
Follow along as I add more!

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The Beautiful Hills of Avery County, North Carolina

The Queen Anne's Lace was gently swaying in the breeze , the blue hazed mountains off in the distance.

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Springtime Among the Apple Blossoms ~

Springtime is here in North Carolina.

I went out to look at the beautiful blossoms on my apple tree and found a nest, nestled among the branches.

Mother Robin bird had laid her brood in a tiny nest surrounded by blossoms.

I peeked later and found four eggs, altogether.

Springtime is a wonderful tonic for any winter weary soul.

Go out and breathe in some renewal of spirit!



Obituary ~ Elizabeth Caroline Benfield Winters, wife of James Lenoir Winters

Obituary ~

Death took from our midst on July 24, 1912, Mrs. Elizabeth Caroline Winters, wife of Mr. James Lenoir Winters, aged 76 years, 10 months, and 7 days.

She was laid to rest in Oak Hill graveyard. Rev. Albert Sherrill, her pastor, conducting the funeral services.

She leaves a bereaved husband and four children, two boys and two girls, who are James Winters, and W. Winters of Catawba County, Mrs. C.A. Williams of Granite Falls, and Mrs. William Conley of Marion.

"Aunt Bettie" as she was usually called, was a member of the Methodist Church and had been since her youth.

She was a woman that attended to her own affiars, a good neighbor and a friendly, kind-hearted woman in every respect. She was a hard working woman and very attentive to her home, and also a devoted wife and mother.

We extend our heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved husband, children and relatives.

 

 

~

Antiques for Sale! Cleveland County, NC

If this old building could only talk.  What mesmerizing story would it tell us?

Old buildings are fascinating to me.

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Alfred Benfield ~ Civil War Hero ~ Winters Connection

Louisa "Leweasy" Catherine Winters married Alfred A. Benfield on August 10, 1852 in Burke County, NC.

May 25,  1831  ~  May 1, 1932



Alfred Augustus Benfield was a brother of Elizabeth Caroline Benfield, who married James Lenoir Winters.

The following article was printed in the Morganton Newspaper ~

During recent Veterans Day celebrations, President Bush placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers in Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia.

Across our vast nation, many communities such as Burke County, also honored our military veterans from all wars.

While sometimes overlooked , the United States has also experienced the most destructive of wars, -a civil war- that raged from 1861 to 1865 as men that were dressed in blue or gray were killed and maimed by the tens of thousands in the defense of their nation and their honor.

Although Southerners, are on occasion, criticized for their failure to forget this war, there are many of us that believe that a nation is judged by its ability to remember such sacrifices.

In fact, our current Memorial Day began as “Decoration Day”, an observance started in the South after the war between the states when the flowers were placed on the graves of the Confederate and Union soldiers.


Alfred Augustus Benfield is such a man to be remembered. Born in the Oak Hill community of Burke County, where he lived as a farmer, Benfield enlisted in the Confederate Army on July 14, 1862. Assigned to Company C, 5th Battalion, North Carolina Calvary, this unit was known as the “Burke Rangers” under the command of Junius Tate.

Company C was later stationed in Clinton, Tennessee as a unit of Colonel John Palmer’s 58th Regiment of North Carolina Troops.



Benfield was captured at Wildcat, Kentucky on August 1, 1863 and taken to the Union’s prison camp at Camp Chase in Ohio.

Shortly before his capture, Benfield wrote to his wife from Big Creek Gap in eastern Tennessee, to report that he “was alive yet and in common health but all the men were suffering greatly from lack of food.

He wrote, “ I tell you men can’t stand it much longer, nor they won’t do it. There has ten run away out of our company….”

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