Friday, April 15, 2011

Unknow aspects of Talcott, West Virginia and the Big Bend Tunnel





It seems that history and even the Church is 'quiet' upon aspects of the Railroad and the building of the Big Bend Tunnel at Talcott, West Virginia.    One can 'google' the "Legend of John Henry: The steel driving man verse machine" to read about the legend.  

Within the legend, it took 3 years to complete the tunnel and hundreds of workers died during the construction of the tunnel.  

Yet, where are they buried?   Most of the graveyards around the area are small.   There are three churches in the town, one of the being in the above photo.   It is peaceful and quiet, very tranquil, and even seems a bit inviting towards a visitor or visiting soul.   

Where are the church records of preachers and pastor during this time and even subsequent years until the 1890's? 
Where are the graveyard records of people buried in the various plots during the thirty years between 1870 and 1900?

There are two 'Unknown or Unnamed" Cemeteries in Summers County, according a USGenWeb researchers.

Miller does indicate there were two doctors in the town prior to 1911 and a 'undertaker' in his book "Summers County, West Virginia, then and into the present 1850 to 1910".  This is available as a PDF document and key-word search able.    A contemporary anthropologist having studied at Virginia Tech indicates specific burial patterns based upon proximity to a church and local within Appalachia.  

Yet, even with the known aspects, many things remain unknown in searching for "The Ghost of Mary".   As alluded too in prior writings;  Mary Daniel was born 1846 and died January 1st, 1888.   She married a John Henry Wykle, on the 15th of May 1871, in Raleigh County, West Virginia.   They resided in Talcott, West Virginia, during the 1880's, having several children.  One of whom was a daughter, Nora Clinton Wykle, in 1885.   Grandmother Nora, was only 3 1/2 when her mother passed away.    

As it is a mystery to Nora's grandchildren, it is even a mystery to our kin-folk the Daniel relatives.   We have agreed that she is buried somewhere in Summers County, West Virginia, thus far concluding.     

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