MY FAMILY ROADSHOW

MATTHEW T. MARTIN MY 3RD GREAT GRANDFATHER Killed in this train wreck. Emerson’s Forgotten Train Wreck The Midnight Collision of the Chiefton and Senator By Joe F. Head   The Great Train Wreck of Sunday, September 1863, may be more of Emerson’s exclusive claim to Civil War railroad fame than the celebrated 1862,  Great Locomotive Chase  that once raced through the old iron ore mining community. Emerson was originally a wood stop along the Western and Atlantic road known as Stegall Station. It was initially a single boxcar depot named for Emsly Stegall a wealthy landowner, but later renamed for the Civil War Governor, Joseph Emerson Brown. The northbound Senator, engine number 41, was transporting fresh confederate troops to Chickamauga, while the southbound Chiefton number 42 was evacuating wounded from the northern battlefields. In the haste of warring activities these two peacetime locomotives were pressed into evening service, but only to become silent victims of a fatal collision a

  JULY - 2023 Clinton, Oklahoma HART FAMILY REUNION A Brief Overview - More Informative Post Will Follow Soon! I had never met anyone from this family in person - a letter, a few brief  phone conversations and messages. My Daddy knew he had cousins in Oklahoma, but knew nothing about them. Upon arriving at The Hart Family Reunion, I felt as if I knew everyone.  One would be hard pressed to find a more genuine,  kind group of people. The importance of family and connections were real here.  I was touched at the scenes of groups - in each circle a variety of generations  of smiles, laughter, and stories being shared - especially by what you might  say were the ‘seasoned’ members in the group. My heart smiles as I think of the power experienced for each person as they were enjoying the present -  as well as the past. Getting together and experiencing the amazing benefits of  connecting with ‘who you really are’ is therapeutic. Restores the soul.  This I know . . . years from now one may c

Bell County is located in the southeastern corner of Kentucky where the state meets Tennessee and Virginia at the famed Cumberland Gap. Its 361 acres are dominated by two mountain ridges, Pine Mountain and Cumberland Mountain. Much of its rugged terrain is thickly forested with picturesque streams cutting through deep valleys. Rugged terrain . . . That’s a BIG YES. Many of the roads in this mountainous area were almost impossible to navigate - along with some truly sad and neglected areas. However, it was one of my favorite day trips to date dealing with my ancestors.  My research focused on my FUSON ancestors of southeast KY. The Fuson Family came from England  and eventually settled in Hanover County in Virginia.  Thomas Fuson, my 5th Great Grandfather (born in 1765 in Hanover County, Virginia) was  the progenitor of the Fuson/Fuston family in southeastern Kentucky …  settled in the Chenoa area ( marrying Rachel Permelia Robinson in Liberty, Tennessee, in 1791).  Thomas  Fuson  was a