'Voices of Our Mountain Kin' Features Family Stories That Reveal Details of Everyday Life

Over the next several weeks Picturing the Past will be featuring books about the people and places that make up Transylvania County’s history.

Voices of Our Mountain Kin shares the stories of the ancestors of members of the email group, MountainKin and was edited by Jerry Owen, Linda Anders and Pamela Yarborough.  The first volume, published in 2006, contains contributions from descendants of families who settled in the upper part of what is today Transylvania County. 

While many of the stories focus on the Owen family, other longtime mountain families are also featured.  The stories stretch beyond the boundaries of Transylvania County throughout Western North Carolina, upstate South Carolina and northeast Georgia.

Owen family reunion at the Jesse Owen home place in September 1939.

Many of the stories have been passed down through families from generation to generation.  As Jerry Owen explains, these family traditions occasionally become altered through retelling.  Owen and his brother chose to research the details of their family stories to paint as accurate of a history as possible.  Owen sites an example were research led to a shift in who the family moonshiner was and even whether or not it was a legal operation.

The book also includes Civil War letters and memories, remedies for ailments, stories of everyday life and even a few ghostly happenings.

One humorous story tells of a prank Rufus Owen and his son played on a neighbor at dusk one evening.  Owen attached a wire to the neighbor’s porch post and stretched it tight to a nearby hiding place.  When his son plucked the wire it produced an eerie sound.  The man came to the porch to investigate but in the near dark was unable to see anything unusual.  The trick was repeated several times until the man no longer came to the door.  When Owen paid a visit later that evening the man shared that they had been hearing noises that they attributed to a ghost.  Owen didn’t divulge the true cause of the mysterious sounds.

These brief tales and those in a second volume, published in 2009, make for a quick and enjoyable read.  Both are available to be checked out at the Transylvania County Library or for browsing in the Local History Room at the Library.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments, or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.