For Mary Ann McTee - Kyuka/Duck Springs
Mary
Regarding your reply to one of my posts from long ago..........
Rick - hope you are still monitoring this forum. I am getting ready to make a trip and need some information...Can you tell me how to get to Kyuka Baptist Church and the Duck Springs/Cemetery? Also, when you were there and found the graves of Jesse M. Brackett, Noah Brackett, and Oscar Josh Brackett.....did you find any graves of wives? Especially, did you find the grave of Nancy (Bruster) Brackett Windsor? Hope to hear from you soon. If you want to contact me directly, my e-mail is: [email protected]
I'll post this to the Genforum as well........
What graves have I found...
Jesse M. Brackett and Nancy (Carmon) Brackett are buried together in Kyuka. (Many of the Whisenant grandchildren are buried nearby)
Noah Brackett....haven't found his grave, just found out last year that he died in 1899, and was most likely in Indian Territory (Oklahoma) when he died.
Oscar Josh Brackett and Rebecca J. (Whisenant?) Brackett are buried together at Duck Springs (Their infant son Dortch) is beside them. (Remember, he choked on a bean and died.)
James Henry Brackett and Mary (Yancy) Brackett are together in Duck Springs (James is Noahs son, Mary is his first wife, he was married to Nancy Slaton when he committed suicide)
I Havn't seen a grave for Nancy Bruster Brackett, or John.. Correrct me if I'm wrong...One of Jesse's boys, I'm thinkin It was John, died after he got his arm cut off in a cotton gin.....Or was it James...if so, seems like that happened in Georgia.
I'm still here.My family and I just finished moving to Illinois from Alaska so we're still upside down in boxes.I do monitor Genforum, but thru my internet at work.We still haven't gotten set up at home yet...
Most of my geneo stuff is still packed away in boxes....somewhere.
I hope you get this before you start looking for Duck Springs...I'll try to explain the directions as best asI can.
I can't recall where your from so I'll start the directions in ATTALLA:
-The main Highway through Attalla is Highway 431, in town 431 will turn south towards Gadsden, don't turn...go straight and you'll be on Highway 11 and continue straight towards the east. Follow Hwy 11 east for 5.5 miles and you'll come to a 4 way stop (There'll be a gas station on your right).
-Turn LEFT at this 4 way stop. You'll be on Bruton Gap Road (or Burton??).Follow this road for ~2 miles (It'll take you over the mountain and down into Sand Valley. A very beautiful view too)This area is also known as Wills Valley, from the creek that flows through there. While on that thought, if you follow that creek northward, you'll be backtracking the path our Bracketts took when they migrated from northern Georgia.I've also heard some info that the mountains on either side of the Valley are called Big Will and Little Will (thus Wills Valley)
-Once your over the mountain and into the valley, Brutons Gap Road ends....you'll want to turn RIGHT, you'll be on Duck Springs Road now. (Also known as Hwy 227)(Here is where the directions will vary depending on which cemetery you want to visit)
- Once on Duck Springs Road, stay on this Road for 4 or 5 miles and you'll find Duck Springs Church and Cemetery. (Duck Springs Elementary School is there too)
OR.....
-Once on Duck Springs Road, Go maybe 1/4 of a mile and you'll see Leeth Gap Road on your LEFT.Turn LEFT.
-Follow Leeth Gap Road for about 2 miles and you'll see a sign for 'Unity Church'.This is Sand Valley Road.
-Turn RIGHT on Sand Valley Road. Follow for 3 miles (past Unity Church) and you'll find Kyuka Church and cemetery.
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While your looking around, you'll see tons of other stones bearing familiar names.
Whisenant- You'll see a lot of Whisenants, 'Old Man Tom Whisenant' (from the 1840/60 era) owned a large majority of the valley at one time or another.There is a lot of land there still owned by Whisenants.The Brackett/Whisenant marriage took place too many times to list.(Wasn't Oscar Joshs' wife REBECCA a Whisenant?) Jesse's youngest daughter, Emma, married 'Old Man Tom Whisenants' son. (His name was Tom too, his descendents and the community also referred to him as Old man Whisenant too)
Also....Many here may remember the Jesse M and Nancy photo (with Emma, Tom and grandchildren)....That photo was taken in front of the younger 'Old Man Whisenants' house.That house (Tom and Emmas' house) is where Jesse and Nancy spent their final years until they died.Dad and I found that house......Remarkably, it's still standing (I'll get to that part).As I recall, Jesse and Nancy lived in a small cabin behind Tom and Emmas house, there is a cabin there but it is not standing.I shot about a dozen photographs and will scan and email them out to anyone who wants them.So how in sam hill is this old house still standing? After Tom and Emma passed away, their younger son Dewey Whisenant inherited the property.Who knows what he initially did with it, but, some time later, he went into the Hog business.He made the old house into a 'Hog Parlor'.In doing so, he built several stalls onto one entire side on the house with cement blocks.Many people in the valley know Dewey Whisenent, 'Dews", as he was known, passed away in the 80's.
Burgess - T.J. Burgess (Once served as Sherriff, was a Justice-O-Peace, Civil War Captain (He enlisted Jesse and was his first captain).The Burgesses were also related to the Whisenants.
Another particular note, the 'Sons of Confererate Veterans' have been very busy in the past year.They are putting up stones in all the Valley cemeteries for our Rebel Ancestors.You'll see those white stones peppered throughout the cemeteries.Many bearing those same familiar names.Some are placed near parents graves, as the soldiers died on the battlefield and never made it home.Others portray brothers, the parents stones will be flanked by matching stones of their lost sons.
Finally.....Sadly, seems the new craze is for out of control hoods, punks, delinquents, whatever other choice names you can think of to take dads SUV and rip roar through the cemeteries. My dad and I spent an entire day visiting/searching all the Valley Cemeteries and most of them had tire tracks, broken stones..... Seems they'd also pick certain graves and spin their tires on them and try to tear them up.My great uncle Sylvester 'Tab' Badgett was a POW during the Korean War, the family had an American flag and a POW flag permanently installed on his grave and someone smashed the pole down and burned the flags on his grave.
I'll try to piece more together soon...
TiIl later
God Bless
Rick Brackett
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Re: For Mary Ann McTee - Kyuka/Duck Springs
Robert Baker 8/26/02