one child Grant McBee shows up in the 1880 census with her and he is listed
as being 11 years old. In the book on the Bryant family in the Spartanburg,
South Carolina library by Professor Pope, there exist the possibility that
Millie may have been married to a Jessie Cannon at one time. I, Danny A.
McBee, do not feel this is correct. Jessie shows up married to an Adeline
in the 1860 Spartanburg County, S. C. Census. I, Danny A. McBee, received a
letter from Glenna Kinard today, October 3, 1997, stating that her name was
Adaline. [I, Danny A. McBee, am still working on this Adaline as a middle name
possibility and also a possible marriage to Jesse Cannon].
According to Gerald "Jerry" Swofford, who has the Bible of his grandfather Fate
Swofford, Thomas McBee's wife was listed as "Abby". I, Danny A. McBee, have
never heard of this before. Children were:
i.
William A. McBee(1) was born about
1843. He died on 20 Sep 1863 in Chickamauga, Georgia [Civil War]. No other
mention is made of W. D. McBee in the following census of North
Carolina. I, Danny A. McBee, do not know what happened to W. D. McBee or
what the W. D. stood for. There was also a child listed as B. D. McBee (I,
Danny McBee, have always thought it stood for born dead or it could have been
Greenberry. W. D. McBee could have possibly stood for William Drury McBee
which could make the father of Thomas B. McBee to be Drury McBee, born circa
1786. [Danny A. McBee, September 1, 1998].
Today, February 5, 2000, I, Danny A. McBee, finally found out what happened to William
McBee. William enlisted in Mitchell County, North Carolina on June 10, 1862. He was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga, September 20, 1863. He was only 19 years old. William was promoted to Full Corporal on July 15, 1863. He was Enlisted in A Company, 58th Infantry Regiment, North Carolina. I am not sure whether he and Eunice had children or not. I have never found any listed for them. I am listing a history of the battle in which William was killed:
Search Terms: 1355 (1)
Database: American Civil War Research Database Battle Summaries
Combined Matches: 1
CHICKAMAUGA, GA.
SEPTEMBER 19-20, 1863
Chickamauga, Ga., Sept. 19-20, 1863. Army of the Cumber-
land. At the battle of Chickamauga the Union forces, commanded
by Maj.-Gen. William S. Rosecrans, were organized as follows:
the 14th corps, Maj.-Gen. George H. Thomas, was made up of the
four divisions of Baird, Negley, Brannan and Reynolds; the 20th
corps, Maj.-Gen. Alexander D. McCook, consisted of the three
divisions of Davis, Johnson and Sheridan ; the 21st corps Maj.-
Gen. Thomas L. Crittenden, included the divisions of Wood,
Palmer and Van Cleve; the reserve corps, Maj.-Gen. Gordon
Granger, was made up of the divisions of Steedman and Daniel
McCook; the cavalry corps, Brig.-Gen. Robert B. Mitchell,
embraced the divisions of Col. Edward M. McCook and Brig.-Gen.
George Crook. The effective strength of the entire Army of the
Cumberland was slightly less than 60,000 men of all arms.
The Confederate army, commanded by Gen. Braxton Bragg, was
divided into the right and left wings. The right, commanded by
Lieut.-Gen. Leonidas Polk, was composed of Cheatham's division
of Polk's corps; Lieut.-Gen. D. H. Hill's corps, consisting of
Cleburne's and Breckenridge's divisions; the reserve corps,
Maj.-Gen. W. H. T. Walker, including the divisions of Walker
and Liddell. The left, commanded by Lieut.-Gen. James Long-
street, embraced Hindman's division of Polk's corps; Long-
street's corps, commanded by Maj.-Gen. John B. Hood, and con-
sisting of the divisions of Hood and McLaws; Buckner's corps,
Maj.Gen. Simon B. Buckner, including the divisions of Stewart,
Preston and Bushrod Johnson; Wheeler's cavalry, including the
divisions of Wharton and Martin; and Forrest's cavalry, con-
sisting of the divisions of Armstrong and Pegram. The total
strength of the army was not far from 72,000 men.
For several days prior to the engagement both armies had
been maneuvering for position. Several attempts had been made
by Bragg to cut off and destroy detachments of the Union army,
but they had failed, either because of the tardiness of his
officers in executing his orders, or because the movements were
discovered by the Federal commanders in time to thwart the
designs. On the 17th McCook's corps was in McLemore's cove,
between Stevens, and Dug gaps, with the remainder of the army
in easy supporting distance. For the first time since the
crossing of the Tennessee river the Federal forces were in
position where they could be quickly concentrated. And it was
well that such was the case, for Bragg, having failed to strike
the army in detail, was contemplating a movement in force
against Rosecrans. The 17th was occupied by him in getting his
troops in position along the east bank of the Chickamauga.
Wheeler, with his two divisions of cavalry, was to make a feint
against the troops at McLemore's cove, while Forrest was to
cover the right and front to prevent the Federals from gaining
knowledge of Bragg's intentions and preparations. Bushrod
Johnson's brigade came up from Ringgold and was assigned to a
position at Reed's bridge, on the extreme right of the line.
Walker's corps, about 6,000 strong, took position at Alexan-
der's bridge on Johnson's left. Next in order came Buckner's
corps, which was stationed near Tedford's ford. Then came
Polk's corps, drawn up opposite Lee & Gordon's mills, with Hill
on the extreme left. Late in the day two brigades came up from
Mississippi and were united with Johnson's, thus forming a
division of three brigades at Reed's bridge. That evening
Bragg issued his orders for the whole line to move at 6 o'clock
the next morning, cross the Chickamauga, and advance on the
Federal position. His plan was for Johnson to cross at Reed's
bridge, strike the Union left and force it back toward Lee &
Gordon's mills, the other portions of the line to cross in
succession and continue the assault from right to left,
constantly pressing the Federals on the left and rear.
The plan was well conceived, but, as frequently happens in
war, a series of unforeseen occurrences prevented its success-
ful execution. When Johnson began his forward movement on the
morning of the 18th he was so delayed by the stubborn resis-
tance of Minty's and Wilder's cavalry that it was 3 P.M. be-
fore he gained possession of the bridge. In the meantime ,Hood
had arrived on the field and was assigned to command the divi-
sion, which was further strengthened by the addition of three
brigades belonging to Longstreet's corps. As soon as the
bridge was gained Hood rushed his troops across and swept
southward to the point where Walker was to cross and resume the
assault. The Federal cavalry had been engaged throughout the
forenoon in making an extended reconnaissance along the entire
front and had developed the enemy's position. Finding Walker
about to cross at Alexander's bridge, Wilder massed his brigade
of mounted infantry at that point and, after a sharp skirmish,
succeeded in destroying the bridge. This compelled Walker to
cross at Byram's ford several hours behind schedule time. It
was 5 P.M. before Hood had reached a position where he could
menace Wilder's flank, and the latter retired toward Gordon's
mills. Night fell with only about one-tenth of Bragg's army
across the Chickamauga and again his plans had failed.
The fighting at the two bridges, in connection with the
reconnaissance, had so far indicated the Confederate plan of
operations as to cause a radical change in the position of the
Union troops. At 4 P.M. Thomas concentrated his corps at
Crawfish Spring, where he received orders to move northward to
the Chattanooga and Lafayette road and take up a position at or
near Kelly's farm. He arrived there about daylight on the 19th
and stationed his command to cover the roads leading to Reed's
and Alexander's bridges. The morning of the 19th, therefore,
found the Union army with its right resting at Crawfish Spring,
where the left had been on the preceding day while the left was
several miles north, prepared to contest the possession of the
road, which Bragg had hoped to occupy without apposition, thus
giving him an easy line of march to the Federal rear. The bat-
tle was opened on the 19th, by Thomas. Col. Daniel McCook,
whose brigade had been stationed during the night on the road
leading to Reed's bridge, reported the destruction of the
bridge about 4 A.M., and that the only force of the enemy he
could discover on the west side of the stream was one brigade,
which might be cut off. Thomas ordered Brannan to send forward
two brigades for this purpose, and to support Baird with the
rest of his division., About 10 A.M. Croxton's brigade became
engaged with Forrest's cavalry, gradually forcing him back for
about half a mile upon two brigades of infantry - Wilson's and
Ector's - who raised the "rebel yell" and in turn forced Crox-
ton to retire until Baird came to his support, when the Confed-
erates were again driven for some distance, a number of prison-
ers being taken. This action of Croxton's brought on the
battle of Chickamauga before the Confederate troops were in the
positions assigned them. It also gave Bragg the first know-
ledge of the fact that his right was overlapped by the Union
left, and that his flank was in danger of being turned by Tho-
mas. Hurriedly changing his plans he halted Walker who was
marching toward Lee & Gordon's mills, and ordered him to make
all possible speed to the relief of the right wing. Croxton's
men had almost exhausted their ammunition and were moved to the
rear to renew the supply. Baird's. and Brannan's divisions
were then united and after some severe fighting drove Walker
from their front. Baird had halted to readjust his line, when
he was struck on the flank by Liddell's division, and two bri-
gades - Scribner's and King's - were thrown into disorder and
their batteries captured by the enemy. Just at this juncture
R. W. Johnson's and Reynolds' divisions arrived and were imme-
diately formed on the right of Baird. As soon as they were in
position the line advanced, attacking Liddell on the flank and
rear, driving him back for a mile and a half, while Brannan's
men met him in front and recaptured the guns taken from Baird's
brigades, the recapture being effected by the 9th Ohio at the
point of the bayonet. Cheatham's division was then rushed to
the support of Liddell, but Thomas had also been strongly rein-
forced and the Confederates were driven back upon their
reserves, now posted along the west bank of the Chickamauga
between Reed's and Alexander's bridges. This was followed by a
lull of about an hour in which Brannan and Baird were posted in
a position on the road leading from Reed's bridge to the
Lafayette road north of Kelly's and ordered to hold it to the
last extremity. About 3 P.M. a furious assault was made on
Reynolds' right and Brannan's division was sent to his
assistance, Croxton's brigade arriving just in time to check
the enemy in an effort to turn Reynolds' flank and gain his
rear. Again Thomas reformed his line and about 5 o'clock the
enemy assaulted first Johnson and then Baird, but both attacks
were repulsed with considerable loss to the assailants. This
ended the fighting for the day.
On the evening of the 19th, Rosecrans met his corps com-
manders in council at the house of Mrs. Glenn, and the plans
for the next day's battle were arranged. Thomas was to main-
tain his present position holding the road to Rossville, with
Brannan's division in reserve. Davis, division of the 20th
corps was to close on Thomas' right, and Sheridan's division
was to form the extreme right of the line. Crittenden was to
have two divisions in reserve near the junction of Thomas' and
McCook's lines, ready to reinforce either as circumstances
might require. Davis and Sheridan were to maintain their pick-
ets until they were driven in by the enemy. The reserve corps,
under Granger, and the cavalry were to keep open the line of
communications to Chattanooga. The Confederate line was also
somewhat rearranged. Beginning at the right it was made up of
the divisions of Breckenridge, Cleburne, Cheatham and Walker,
the last two being in reserve. The left wing began with
Stewart's division, which touched Cleburne' left, followed in
order by Johnson and Hindman. Hood was in reserve behind John-
son, Preston was in reserve on the extreme left, and Humphrey
and Kershaw, who had come up during the night, were also held
in reserve. Longstreet arrived about 11 P.M. on the 19th and
assumed command of the left wing.
Although Bragg had failed to accomplish his ends on the
18th and 19th, he still adhered to his original plan of
successive attacks from right to left, in an effort to force
the Union army up the valley. Orders were accordingly issued
for Breckenridge's division to attack at dawn on the 20th his
assault to be followed rapidly by the other divisions through-
out the entire length of the line, but constantly forcing back
the Federal left until the road to Chattanooga was in posses-
sion of the Confederates. Before daylight Bragg was in the
saddle near the center of his line anxiously waiting for the
sound of Breckenridge's guns. The morning dawned red and sul-
try, with a dense fog hanging over the battle-field. During
the night the Union troops had thrown up temporary breastworks
of rails, logs, etc., behind which a line of determined men
awaited the onset. Eight o'clock came and still no attack.
Bragg then rode to the right and found the troops unprepared
for an advance. All the energy possible was exerted to begin
the action, but it was 9:30 before Breckenridge moved. Cle-
burne followed fifteen minutes later and the fight was on.
At 2 A.M. Thomas had received word from Baird that his
left did not rest on the road to Reed's bridge, as it was
intended to do, and that to reach the road he would have to
weaken his line. Thomas immediately sent a request to head-
quarters for Negley's division to be sent to the left to extend
the line to the road, and received the assurance that the re-
quest would be granted. At 7 A.M. Negley was not in position
and Thomas sent one of his staff to hasten him forward and to
point out the ground he was to occupy. About the same time
Rosecrans rode along the line and personally ordered Negley to
lose no time in joining Thomas, at the same time directing
McCook to relieve Negley and close up his line more compactly.
Upon reaching the left of the line Rosecrans became convinced
that the attack would begin on that flank, saw the importance
of holding the road, and again rode back to hurry Negley's
movements. The division then moved to the left with Beatty's
brigade in advance, and Rosecrans directed Crittenden to move
Wood's division to the front to fill the gap in the line caused
by Negley's removal.
The assault of Breckenridge fell mainly on Beatty's bri-
gade soon after it was in position on the left and it was
driven back in confusion. Several regiments of Johnson's
division, with Vanderveer's and Stanley's brigades, hurled
themselves into the breach, checked the advance of the enemy
and finally drove trim entirely from Baird's flank and rear.
Immediately following the opening attack the Confederate line
advanced, striking Johnson, Palmer and Reynolds in quick suc-
cession. But, from behind their improvised fortifications, the
Federals met the assaults with a bravery and determination
seldom equalled on the field of battle. Fresh troops were hur-
ried forward by Bragg, who now made a desperate effort to drive
in the center and turn Thomas' right. Again and again the Con-
federates advanced in the face of that merciless fire and each
time they were repulsed with fearful slaughter. Finding all
his efforts in this direction futile, Bragg fell back to his
old position.
About 11 A.M. Wood received an order from headquarters to
"close up on Reynolds as fast as possible, and support him."
In the execution of this order a gap was left in the line,
which Davis undertook to close with his reserve brigade. But
Longstreet had observed the break in the line and was quick to
take advantage of it. Before Davis could get his reserves into
position the divisions of Stewart, Hood, Kershaw, Johnson and
Hindman came rushing through the opening, sweeping everything
before them, while Preston's division pressed forward to the
support of the assailants. McCook vainly endeavored to check
the impetuous charge of Longstreet's men with the three bri-
gades of Heg, Carlin and Laiboldt, but they were as chaff be-
fore the wind. He then ordered Walworth and Lytle to change
front and assist in repelling the assault. For a time these
two contended against an overwhelming force, temporarily
checking the enemy in their immediate front. But the Confeder-
ates, constantly increasing in numbers, succeeded in turning
the left of these two brigades and they were forced to retire
to avoid being surrounded. In this part of the engagement Gen.
Lytle was killed and Hood seriously wounded. Wilder and Harri-
son joined their commands with that of Sheridan to aid in re-
sisting the fierce attack, but a long line of the enemy was ad-
vancing on Sheridan's right and he was compelled to withdraw to
the Dry Valley road in order to save his command. Subsequently
he moved toward Rossville and effected a junction with Thomas,
left on the Lafayette road. In his report Rosecrans says:
"Thus Davis' two brigades, one of Van Cleve's, and Sheridan's
entire division were swept from the field, and the remainder,
consisting of the divisions of Baird, Johnson, Reynolds, Bran-
nan, and Wood, two of Negley's brigades and one of Van Cleve's,
were left to sustain the conflict against the whole power of
the rebel army, which, desisting from pursuit on the right,
concentrated their whole efforts to destroy them."
This tells the situation. Not only were the troops on the
right driven from the field, but several thousand men were made
prisoners 40 pieces of artillery and a large number of wagon
trains fell into the hands of the enemy. When McCook's forces
were compelled to fall back in confusion they were not pursued.
Instead, Longstreet reversed the order of battle, and when
Stewart's division reached the Lafayette road it became the
pivot upon which the left wing turned to the right instead of
to the left, with the intention of crushing the forces under
Thomas.
At 11 A.M. Granger and his chief of staff were seated on
the top of a hay-rick at Rossville. Through his glass Granger
could see the clouds of smoke, constantly increasing in volume,
while the sounds of the battle grew louder every moment. Scan-
ning the road to the south he saw that no attack was likely to
be made on his position, and rightly surmising that the whole
Confederate strength was being massed against Thomas, he said
to his chief "I am going to Thomas, orders or no orders."
Sliding off the hay-rick he hurriedly directed Dan McCook to
station his brigade at McAfee Church, to cover the Ringgold and
Lafayette roads, then went to Steedman and ordered him to take
his command "over there," pointing toward "Horseshoe Ridge"
where Thomas was making his last stand. Along the crest of
this ridge Thomas had placed Wood's and Brannan's divisions,
while on the spurs to the rear was posted his artillery. If
Wood had inadvertently brought about the disaster by the with-
drawal of his division, causing the gap in the line, he now
retrieved himself. From 1 P.M. until nightfall he bravely
held his portion of the ridge, repulsing several obstinate and
determined attacks of the enemy. One of these attacks was
made by Bushrod Johnson, who reformed his line on a ridge
running nearly at right angles to the one on which Brannan and
Wood were posted. Longstreet reinforced Johnson with the divi-
sions of Hindman and Kershaw, the object being a movement in
force against the Federal right and rear. Just at this criti-
cal moment Granger and Steedman arrived and reported to Thomas,
who ordered them into position on Brannan's right. Granger
then ordered a charge on the Confederate lines. Steedman
seized the colors of a regiment and led the way. Inspired by
the example of their commander the men hurled themselves upon
the enemy and after twenty minutes of hot fighting drove him
from the ridge which was held by Steedman until 6 P.M., when
he fell back under orders. The arrival of Granger's troops was
a great advantage to Thomas in another way. By some mistake
the latter's ammunition train had been ordered back to Chatta-
nooga at the time the Union right was routed, and the supply
was running low, when the arrival of Granger with about l00,000
rounds put new courage into the men as it was distributed among
them. To add to the supply the troops went among the dead and
gathered all they could from the cartridge boxes of their
fallen comrades and foes alike. Toward the close of the day
the order was given to husband the ammunition and use the bayo-
net as much as possible. Some of the late charges of the Con-
federates were repulsed with the "cold steel" alone. The gal-
lant stand of Thomas, and the generalship he displayed in hold-
ing Horseshoe ridge in the face of superior numbers, won for
him the significant sobriquet of the "Rock of Chickamauga."
When Longstreet broke the Union line at noon Rosecrans
himself was caught in the rout. Believing that his army was
doomed to certain defeat, he went to Chattanooga to provide for
the security of his bridges and, as he says in his report, "to
make preliminary dispositions either to forward ammunition and
supplies, should we hold our ground, or to withdraw the troops
into good position." The first official intelligence that Tho-
mas had of the unfortunate occurrence on the right was about 4
p. m. when Gen. Garfield, Rosecrans, chief of staff, arrived
from Rossville. Notwithstanding the disheartening news, Thomas
decided to hold his position until nightfall, if possible. The
remaining ammunition was distributed and instructions given to
his division commanders to be ready to move promptly when or-
ders to that effect were issued. At 5:30 Reynolds received the
order to begin the movement. Thomas himself went forward to
point out the ground he wanted Reynolds to occupy and form a
line to cover the withdrawal of the other troops. While pass-
ing through a strip of timber bordering the Lafayette road
Thomas met two soldiers, who had been in search of water, and
who informed him that a large body of the enemy was drawn up in
line in the woods just in front advancing toward the Union
lines. Reynolds was ordered to change the head of his column
to the left, with his right resting on the road, and charge the
enemy. At the same time the artillery opened a converging fire
from both right and left, while Turchin made a dashing charge
with his brigade, utterly routing the Confederates and driving
them clear beyond Baird's position on the left, capturing over
200 prisoners. Robinson's and Willich's brigades were then
posted in positions to cover the retirement of the troops, the
former on the road leading through the ridge, and the latter on
the ridge to the right. Wood, Brannan and Granger fell back
without molestation, but Baird, Johnson and Palmer were at-
tacked as they were drawing back to their lines. This attack
was made by L. E. Polk's division, but by this time it had be-
come too dark to move with certainty, and in advancing the Con-
federate line was changed so that it formed an acute angle, the
troops firing into each other. The withdrawal from the field
was accomplished with such precision and quietness that it was
not discovered by Bragg until after sunrise the following morn-
ing. Thomas took up a position in the vicinity of Rossville
and remained there during the 21st, retiring to Chattanooga
that night. Bragg's army had been so severely punished in the
two days' fighting that he was disinclined to continue the con-
flict. Some desultory skirmishing occurred on the 21st, but no
general movement was undertaken.
The Union losses in the battle of Chickamauga, according
to the official reports, were 1,657 killed, 9,756 wounded, and
4,757 missing. The Confederate losses, as given in "Battles
and Leaders of the Civil War," amounted to 2,389 killed, 13,412
wounded, and 2,003 missing.
Source: The Union Army, vol. 5
[Copied by Danny A. McBee, February 5, 2000].
A History of William's unit's battles up till his death:
Name of Regiment Date of Organization Muster Date Regiment Type
North Carolina 58th Infantry Regiment 24 July 1862 09 April 1865 Infantry
Officers Killed or Mortally Wounded Officers Died of Disease or Accident Enlisted Killed or Mortally Wounded Enlisted Died of Disease or Accident
List of Soldiers
Regimental History
Battles Fought
Battle at Deep Creek Gap, Tennessee
Battle at Cumberland Gap, Tennessee on 23 September 1862
Battle at Cumberland Gap, Tennessee on 25 September 1862
Battle at Cumberland Gap, Tennessee on 15 October 1862
Battle at Clinton, Tennessee on 05 November 1862
Battle at Missionary Ridge, Tennessee on 15 November 1862
Battle at Jacksboro, Tennessee on 15 December 1862
Battle at Columbia, Tennessee on 01 January 1863
Battle at North Carolina on 01 May 1863
Battle at Missionary Ridge, Tennessee on 15 June 1863
Battle at Hawkins County, Tennessee on 20 June 1863
Battle at Knoxville, Tennessee on 20 July 1863
Battle at Clinton, Tennessee on 15 August 1863
Battle at Chickamauga, Georgia on 20 August 1863
Battle at Cumberland Gap, Tennessee on 09 September 1863
Battle at Chickamauga, Georgia on 15 September 1863
Battle at Chickamauga, Georgia on 19 September 1863
Battle at Chickamauga, Georgia on 20 September 1863
(William was killed at the Battle at Chickamauga, Georgia on September 20, 1863. The regiment went on to fight many, many more battles before they were mustered out on April 9, 1865. I am glad that I solved the mystery of what happened to William McBee. I was surprised that William joined the Confederacy since his father and younger brother James Alfred McBee had joined the Union Army. I wonder if Thomas B. McBee and his son James Alfred McBee were also at the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia on the day their son and brother was killed. Family against family. [Danny A. McBee, March 6, 2000].
8 ii.
James Alfred "Alf" McBee.
iii.
Lucinda "Lindy" McBee(1)
was born about 1849 in Near Ringgold County, Georgia. She was also known as
Cindy. Lucinda McBee, age 22, shows up in the 1870 Mitchell County, North Carolina
Census living in the household of her father Thomas B. McBee, age 52. I,
Danny A. McBee, have often wondered if Lucinda McBee was married to Joseph
Greene. (Danny A. McBee).
A friend of mine online, MzJane, found a marriage for John Smith to Cindy McBee, 4 August
1878, in Mitchell County, North Carolina. I am not sure if it is my Lucinda McBee or not. Sounds very promising. I put out a challege to her to help me find my Lucinda McBee as she had helped me with one of Lucinda's brothers named William. [Danny A. McBee, May 15, 2000].
On a trip to the Bakersville, Mitchell County, North Carolina on September 25, 2000, I found the marriage record of Lindy McBee to John Smith in the marriage records. There was no information as to their parents listed on the sheet and I could not find the actual marriage license on this trip. I have no doubt that Lindy McBee and Lucinda McBee are one and the same. The record did show they were married by W. A. Hollifield, Justice of the Peace. I will go back in the 1880 Mitchell County, North Carolina Census and see if I can find John and Lindy McBee Smith. [Danny A. McBee, September 26, 2000].
iv.
Luther Calvin McBee(1) was born on
7 May 1850. He died on 10 Jan 1913 in Cleveland Co., Shelby, North Carolina.
Something occurred to me today, March 11, 2000. Calvin McBee does not show
up in the 1860 Mitchell County Census. He apparently had died from an illness
or possible accident after the 1850 McDowell County, North Carolina Census was
taken. [Danny A. McBee,
March 11, 2000].
Lucy Swofford Dover, my cousin from California, gave me Luther's name as a
child of Thomas B. McBee. Thomas B. McBee's son, James Alfred McBee, had a
son named Luther, born circa 1873. That is probably where the name Luther
came from. Vardry McBee also had a son named Luther McBee who became quite
prominent. [Danny A. McBee].
There is an L. C. McBee, born May 7, 1850 and dying January 10, 1913. He is buried in the Camps Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Cleveland County, North Carolina. Take Highway 150 North going toward Boiling Springs. Before you get to the Broad River Bridge turn west on the first paved road and go west. I, Danny A. McBee, am not sure exactly who this L. C. McBee is. I am going to have to do some investigating. [Danny A. McBee, July 26, 1999].
In a conversation with my second cousin Miss Helen McBee of Bakersville, North Carolina around 1997, Helen told me, Danny A. McBee, that Luther McBee died young and his death is mentioned in information in her Bible [Helen was talking about Luther who belonged to William Albert McBee and not the Luther belonging to Thomas B. McBee].. I would really love to see the Bible and information that may lead me to know where many of the McBee boys [and Lucinda] went to and whom they married. [Danny A. McBee, March 14, 2000].
I have seen some records that indicate that Luther McBee settled in Morgan County, Tennessee. I am not sure for a certain fact that my L. C. McBee who died in Cleveland County, North Carolina is one and the same. The dates of birth match up exactly. [Danny A. McBee, April 11, 2000].
v.
John Edward McBee(1) was born about
1854. I do not know if the H. in John H. McBee's name stands for Henry or not
but I strongly believe it does. John H. McBee was listed as a Southern Loyalists
in the book Southern Loyalists of North Carolina from the Civil War. [Danny
A. McBee, July 7, 1998].
Something occurred to me today, March 11, 2000. John McBee does not show up in the 1860 Mitchell County Census as John. He shows up as Edward. He was apparantly named John Edward McBee. I am not sure if John Edward migrated to the Buncombe County, North Carolina area or not. Many of the McBees went to the Ashevill area to live and work in the cotton mills there. He doesn't show up in the Mitchell County 1870 Census with his mother Millie McBee and brother Grant McBee. John Edward McBee may have gone to the Arkansas area with his father Thomas B. McBee when he left Millie Adelaide Bryant McBee in the early 1870s. [Danny A. McBee, March 11, 2000].
vi.
Albert McBee(1) was born in Oct 1856
in Bear Creek, Yancey County, North Carolina. He was buried in Grassy Creek
Baptist Church Cemetery, Spruce Pine, North Carolina. The 1880 Mitchell County,
North Carolina Census list Albert as being 22 years
old which would make him being born about 1858. Albert is listed with wife Martha, 23, and children Dova, 4, and Sarah, age 2. The 1910 Mitchell County,
North Carolina Census has him as being 54 years old which would make him being
born about 1856. The 1880 Mitchell County, North Carolina Census also lists
wife Martha, age 23, daughters Dova, age 4, and Sarah, age 2. Albert's wife's
family (the Connollys) migrated to Missouri. Possibly a reason for Thomas B.
McBee going to Arkansas.
vii.
Hiram K. (Bud) McBee(1) was born in
May 1858 in North Carolina. Hiram McBee's age is taken from the 1900 Buncombe
County, North Carolina Census, page 164. Hiram has been married 25 years. He
and Lucinda have had 9 children with 6 children surviving. Hiram is listed as
a painter. He is living in household 11/272 which was located in Precient #6.
[Danny A. McBee, February 11, 1999]. He was buried in Bigham Heights Presbryterian
Church. He was a Painter/Mine house. According to the Buncombe County Heritage
Book in the Gaston County Public
Library, article #452, Hiram McBee left his family and his wife died soon
after. I wonder if Hiram moved back to Spartanburg or if he moved out to
Tennessee to be with his own father who had also left his wife, Millie
Adelaide Bryant McBee. H. R. McBee shows up in the 1880 Mitchell County,
North Carolina Census, age 20, wife Lucinda, age 21, child Lilla, age 3.
While working in the Gaston County Public Library in Gastonia, North Carolina
Thursday evening, October 26, 1995, I, Danny A. McBee, found a reference that
Ethel McBee, age 18, was a servant in the household of Henry Fort. They were
listed in the Buncombe County, Asheville Township, 1910 U. S. Census, on page
164. This led me to look at the 1900 Buncombe County, Asheville Township,
U. S. Census. I found Hiram McBee listed in District 6, Asheville Township.
Hiram was listed as being born May 1858, 42 years old, married 25 years. His
wife was listed as Lucinda, born June 1847 (this had to be an error), 42 years
old. Their children were listed as Columbus, Sada (Sadie), Girtie, Rufus, and
Ethel. They were shown to have had nine (9) children with only six (6)
surviving to adulthood. Hiram was possibly named after Abraham Hiram McFalls.
[Danny A. McBee, October 26, 1995].
B. D. McBee, age 2, is listed as a child in the household of Thomas B. McBee in the 1860
Mitchell County, North Carolina Census. This is Hiram K. (B. D.) McBee. I have always listed them as different children but after careful research, I now know that Hiram K. McBee was the child listed as B. D. McBee. [Danny A. McBee, March 11, 2000].
W H I T E E G Y P T
In1900 when Hiram K. "Bud" McBee moved with his wife Lucinda Carver of 25 years and 6 children from rural Mitchell County into Asheville, North Carolina he had no idea that city life would very soon destroy the very family whose fortunes they had hoped to improve. In the early years of marriage Bud had carved a hard living from Mitchell County's even tougher mountain mines. He and Lucinda had already lost three children to the grinding poverty of a miner's income. Asheville surely could be no worse and relatives working here reported an even better life.
When the wealthy Cone family of Greensboro had purchased and upgraded C. E.Graham's Asheville Cotton Mill in l893, more mill jobs were available and the name McBee or MacAbee was commonly heard above the roar of the shuttles and looms in that large two story brick structure built in the French Broad River's flood plain at the foot of West Haywood Street.
Likely some close relative's satisfactory move was the stimulus for Hiram and Lucinda's difficult family transplantation from a Mitchell County farm to the mill village sections of Asheville. Having been born in the piedmont territory of pre Civil War McDowell County, Hiram was no stranger to family moves. The Asheville Cotton Mill's rolls are filled with the name McBee and also of Carver any of whom could have issued the invitation. Bud rented a small cottage at No 11 White Egypt which was that section of Pearson Drive just behind Riverside Cemetery. While he was a house painter Bud's children understood that they also must soon secure salaried jobs. Columbus(b May23, l881) was hired as a wagon driver in the furniture industry, likely the W. L. . Moore Company in which he worked for over two decades. Sadie(b. Sept 11, l882) was taken on as a cook in a private home probably in the nearby wealthy district of Montford Avenue.
Their youngest child Ethel (b. March 11, l892)remained at home. If other children were born to this couple after Ethel, they have no public record.
The census of 1900, the only year in which this full family appears in Buncombe County's official records, remains confusing about other family members. There is no mention of a son, Ulysses(b Aug 10, l885) but the recorders do list a son "Rufus" (b Aug, l887) and a daughter "Estelle?"(b. August, l884) both working in the Asheville Cotton Mill. This same census lists Hiram K as born May, l858 and Lucinda as born in April, l857.
Hiram and Lucinda's oldest daughter Lillie had already come into Asheville, stayed with relatives, got a mill job and on April 23, l897, the 22 year old girl had married M. B. Taylor, age 38 , son of Jonathan and Lavinia Taylor. The marriage was presided over by Rev. E. L. Bain with Mrs. W. H. Fort, and George Taylor acting as witnesses. Taylor was a much older farmer with a spread in the Fairview section of Biltmore and part of that area's larger Taylor clan soon to make its mark by channeling the river sand, and mountain stone and timbers into Asheville's booming construction industry. -------- While family members likely kept their own names straight, official records(census, birth/ death/ marriage certificates, etc) regularly commingle the "McBee" and "McAbee" family names. At that time such a "small difference" wasn't considered important. So the passel of McAbees, mostly Asheville Cotton Mill workers who held forth at 23 Atkinson Street , or on Nichols Hill, were likely first cousins to those fellow workers with the name McBee clustered in the White Egypt section.
Many names were simply misrecorded. For example , at 527 Pearson Alley, just around the corner from Hiram and Lucinda McBee , was the Thomas McAbee family with wife Josephine, and children John, Taylor, Garrison, Fonia, Sallie and Lattie. Equally ironic , just 5 houses away at No 5 White Egypt was the family recorded as Hiram McAbee (age 53) with his wife , Elizabeth,(age 50) and children Delia, Furman, Gavonia, Ada, Grady and May.
What was the world of "White Egypt" into which the young Ethel McBee was thrust? Like most other town plans, White Egypt 's place in Asheville generally followed the prevailing notion that "the rich folks lived on the hilltops and the poor folks in the valley." Here however the often flooded river plain was taken up by the tracks of the Southern Railway and the various industries , such as the Asheville Cotton Mill, needing immediate access to those tracks.
So the segregated patterns of Asheville generally had the poor whites perched along the steep gullies on both sides of the French Broad River with poor Black families clinging to the equally steep banks of Valley Street(behind the City Hall) and the hillside dropping down behind S. French Broad Avenue.
Here "cracker box" cottages , often built on stilts, were tacked to steep gullies with the outhouse runoff from houses above naturally draining down onto the lower levels. Disease, malnutrition and poverty ran rampant with insects and rodents carrying the full array of illnesses against which these impoverished souls had no recourse either financially or physically.
Surely one of Asheville's most colorful area titles, the origin of the name "White Egypt" has yet to be discovered. However its intent was clearly as a classy counterpart to the "Coonville," or "Niggertown" populated by descendants of former slaves. Egyptians, whose lore was popular among upper classes at this time, were correctly considered as dark skinned peoples.
But "class" was required because this was part of well-appointed Pearson Drive an affluent middle class area just behind the upper crust of Montford Avenue running along the ridge. "Poor white trash" slipped in here because this was on the border of the Riverside Cemetery. Burial practices in the late 1800s being less than pristine and with many dying from disease, no self respecting family would want their children playing in their back yard among the rats and rodents which had just emerged from the cemetery's burial vaults. So these blocks of Pearson, and the streets hurtling down into the gullies behind the Riverside Cemetery, were assigned to poor whites.
Remember that drainage from these banks of outhouses and from the cemetery would seek the lowest ground, i.e. head toward the river. Of course amongst this filth and fever-carrying mosquitoes and flies was obviously the place to build the city's "Pest House" where it's poor citizens afflicted with communicable diseases could be quarantined until their death.
Sometime, likely in late summer of l900's "fever months", according to McCurry family lore, Lucinda Carver McBee was "stricken with fever"and carried by wagon down the hill to this city Pest House. Her fever could have been diphtheria, scarlet fever, typhoid or even one of the 109 cases of smallpox reported to the city in that year.
These Pest Houses were built by the city in l898 on the abandoned site of the Buncombe Brick and Tile Company. Sketches of these Pest Houses show two squat clapboard cottages with few windows and a "keeper's home." To City Fathers interested in projecting their growing city as a healthful mountain haven full of sparkling streams and clear air, the need to quarantine the impoverished infected was paramount. "Sanitariums"promising cures for a wide range of ailments already dotted the city scape and were attracting wealthy sufferers from the blights of other growing cities.
Yet the growth of an industrial base also required a population influx of hill-bred workers willing to work in death dealing conditions for barely above a pittance. In the McBees and others from neighboring counties, these industrial leaders living along Montford Avenue discovered their workforce. They also soon found that those living in such impoverished conditions bred diseases which could quickly carry the few blocks into affluent Asheville. Girls like Sadie McBee would sleep in pest ridden homes yet report for duty in the kitchens of Asheville's "finest families." These Pest Houses were a "must."
Patients would have been placed in racks filled with straw which would absorb the large volume of bodily fluids emitted by fever victims. At this time there were no effective vaccines for these diseases available to the poor whose temperatures would have been cooled with quantities of water-soaked clothes and shared dippers of water until a coma brought death. Of course no family members were allowed to visit.
These rooms would have been filled with constant moaning, the smells of a range of bodily fluids ( adult diapers were also unknown) filling whatever clothing the family might bring. Any clothes removed from the patient were burned/buried in pits out back until fever and poverty soon reduced patients to not even the clothing required by that day's standards of modesty. On a regular schedule, the "straw ticks" would be removed from these racks which were then swabbed with carbolic acid . The ticks were burned outside.
In such a hell hole just a few blocks down wind from her family's rented home, Lucinda Carver died in late l900. According to Ethel , her youngest daughter , Lucinda was buried in a section of one of the city's oldest cemeteries, Newton Academy Cemetery, located on Biltmore Avenue across from the present site of Memorial Mission Hospital. While Health Department Archives have yet to be examined, there is no other proof of this burial ... and no real reason to doubt a young child's memory.
At this time the prestige of the old Newton Academy Cemetery had fallen in the shadow of the beautiful new River Side Cemetery whose property likely abutted the back yard of Hiram and Cindy McBee. While Newton Academy was then a "private" cemetery, it had considerable space within the 'slave section" in which the wealthy Ashevillians buried close by under carved stones had interred their human property. By the turn of the century, this field stone dotted area would have been considered a prime and safe burial ground for infectious/impoverished city wards.
Even today the White Egypt area, now mostly Afro-American , remains dotted with the tiny frame shacks and their counterpart "shack churches" which also surely held sway at the turn of the 19th century. Most certainly none of the infected bodies carried out of White Egypt were ever allowed to return for a burial service. Likely, even in death, Lucinda's body was forbidden the family which was also walled away in her last weeks/months.
Here there would have been no stately march carrying a coffin to the cemetery. Rather her body would have been laid in a straw ticked coffin quickly hammered together. This corpse would have then been loaded onto a straw filled wagon driven by a man whose face was masked in carbolic acid soaked rags. Lucinda was hauled down along the River Road to the Biltmore junction and up South Main Street(Biltmore Avenue) to the Newton Academy Cemetery. Here other masked men would have quickly offloaded and covered the casket without any fanfare except perhaps a quick prayer for her soul.
Any bones of slaves encountered in this grave digging would have been simply temporarily hauled out until the hole was deep enough, then thrown back in and covered with a thin layer of dirt before the next casket was interred.
Her family would have been notified of Lucinda's impending death and likely even followed this casket wagon over to the Newton Academy Cemetery. While the need for a stone to mark her grave was certainly a wish at this time, no stone was ever erected and the exact site of Lucinda's grave is lost.
Across the river from the Pest Houses stood the regal mansion of former U. S. Senator Richmond Pearson who regularly complained that the wind from these places carried odors and disease up to his lofty and aging heights. As the Pest Houses were adjacent to both the railroad tracks and "Riverside Drive" the major road out of the northern counties, city fathers were soon looking for another place/ method to quarantine their impoverished citizens with infectious diseases.
Soon vaccines for such major killers were discovered, the city enforced better sanitation methods even in the mill villages, and the need for Pest Houses diminished.
With the death and burial of his wife of a quarter century, Bud McBee's family was shattered. The chronic alcoholism with which he was afflicted in later years was likely also present at this time. Bud reappears in City Directories again 5 years later living alone on Popular Street in a "mill town" section for the old Elk Mountain Cotton Mill near to the Woodfin area.
On July 15, l902 his daughter, Sadie, then age 18, married Clayton Sawyer, age l6, and son of John L and Emma Sawyer who had to give their legal permission for their under-age son to marry Sadie. Clayton is known in family lore as "Cleve Sawyer."
viii.
Thomas J. McBee(1) was born about
1859 in McDowell County, N.C..
ix.
Colonel Kirk McBee(1) was born about
1863 in Mitchell County, North Carolina. Kirk McBee shows up in the 1880 McDowell
County, North Carolina Census on page
28, Marion township as Colonel K. McBee. Thomas B. McBee's Colonel in the
Civil War was Colonel Kirk. He undoubtedly named his younger child after his
Colonel. Colonel K. McBee is shown as 17, white male, living with the Thomas
M. Hicks, 31, family. Thomas had a wife, Rebecca A., 27, daughters Ada M.,
2, and Olla, 5/12 months. I wonder how Kirk was related to the Hicks family.
Colonel George Washington Kirk lead Kirk's Raiders of the Union ranks. (Danny
A. McBee).
Today, March 6, 2000, I, Danny A. McBee, found Colonel K. McBee in the marriage
records of Sangamon County, Illinois with a marriage date of February 25, 1890 to
Belle McLoon. I am truly excited to find this information because I never knew what
happened to Colonel Kirk McBee until now. Colonel K. McBee apparently migrated
to the Arkansas/Illinois area to be near others in the McBee family. In my search of
the McBee family, you will not believe how many McBees live in the Harrisburg, Arkansas
and Illinois area. I am not sure which segment of the McBee family moved to the area
to start the exodus of McBees to that area. I do know that his father Thomas B. McBee, according to handed down history, was living and supposedly died in the Harrisburg,
Arkansas area in late 1879. We have no official date of death for Thomas B. McBee.
Thomas would have been approximately 65 years old in late 1879. [Danny A. McBee, March 6, 2000].
x.
Robert S. McBee(1) was born about 1867
in Mitchell County, North Carolina. I almost suspect that Robert S. McBee's
middle name was Sherman. Thomas B. McBee named his last three sons Colonel Kirk
McBee (after Colonel Kirk), and Grant McBee (no doubt after General Grant, and
Robert S. McBee (probably after General Sherman). Thomas B. McBee was in the
Union Army instead of the Confederacy. [Danny A. McBee, July 7, 1998].
Robert S. McBee does not show up in the 1880 Mitchell County, North Carolina Census with his mother Millie A. McBee and his brother Grant McBee. Robert would have only been 13 years old and he should have been home unless he migrated to Harrison, Arkansas with his father, Thomas B. McBee. I was told a story by Helen McBee of Bakersville, North Carolina, great granddaughter of Thomas B. McBee that one of his younger children went with him in a wagon to Arkansas but later came back here to the mountains of Mitchell County. I feel that Robert may have died with an illness that probably swept through the mountains of North Carolina. [Danny A. McBee, March 11, 2000].
xi.
Grant McBee(1) was born about 1869
in Mitchell County, North Carolina. Grant McBee, age 11, is listed as a farmer
in the household 122 of his mother Milly McBee, 56 in the 1880 Grassy Creek,
Township 3, Mitchell County, North Carolina Census. [Danny A. McBee, October
19, 2000].
Return to Table of Contents