Necrology

Patricia concentrated her Melungeon research on the medical maladies that are prevalent to this illusive group of people. She and S.J. Arthur were very thorough in their research with the Melungeon Ancestral Medical Task Force working with Clinch Valley College in Wise, Virginia, (now University of Virginia at Wise). Patricia was the proud owner of a Levant Waist Sash that had been in her family for 400 plus years- the origin of which is said to be-aTurkish Soldier in the mid to late 1400′s.

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Memorial Tribute
by Rhonda Robertson

Emory L. Hamilton, born April 10, 1913 in Wise County and christened Emory Lee; he was the son of Jessee and Sarah Baldwin Hamilton. His love of history began at the feet of his
parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents listening to stories of his ancestors told around the fireplaces and porches of Wise County. Emory was a descendant of the earliest of pioneer families having settled on the frontiers of Southwest Virginia.

He often told of himself and his younger brother, J. B., studying by candlelight in the loft of their old log house in the community known as Hamilton Town. They poked holes in the daubing in the walls and roof so they could lie in their beds beneath feather ticks and look at the stars glinting in the dark sky. Beautiful as this was there was a drawback, and he laughingly told that in winter the snow would sift down through the openings and softly fall on them, making them keep their heads under the cover all night because they didn’t dare tell their parents what they had done.

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Evelyn was a court reporter, serving in Wise County and the city of Norton for more than forty years. She belonged to the Fortnightly Club, the Senior Citizens group, and was a charter member of Gladeville Chapter No. 171, Order of Eastern Star. Additionally, she was a member of the Pound Historical Society, was on the Board of Directors for the Historical Society of Southwest Virginia, and charter member of the Wise County Historical Society. At the time of her death, she was on the committee which planned, collected records, pictures, and family histories for The Heritage of Wise County and the City of Norton – 1856-1992. This new history was published September 1993.

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