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News !!OPEN HOUSE!! Come join us Saturday, June 7th from Noon to 4:00 pm for our Open House. Information about the library will be available in abundance. Including activities for children and adults alike, the Briceville Public Library's Summer Reading Program signups, information about the status of our new library building. Also, there will be Door Prizes and Refreshments. |
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Members List:
WE HAVE LINKS!!!
Librarian:
Lynette Seeber
Chair:
Teresa Prosise
Assistant Librarian:
Daphne Windham
HOMETOWN GENEALOGY
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MS. EPPS
 Ms. Evelyn Epps Information contributed by family on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 Evelyn Epps was born June 29, 1919 in Panola County, Mississippi to Samuel Edward Epps and Jennie Ruth Duke Epps. Evelyn has 4 brothers and 4 sisters. Three brother and 3 sisters are still living. Evelyn was 12 years old when she became a Christian. During WWII, she worked in a national youth program. For several years she took typing and shorthand, going to school 12 hours a month and working 12 hours a month. She took the civil service exam and worked for the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts in the Navy Department in Washington D.C. She was there 5-1/2 months. Then the whole department and equipment was shipped to Cleveland Ohio on five train cars. Later, she was issued a transfer to Memphis, TN at the naval station in Millington. After working there one year, she felt the Lord had something special for her to do. She resigned and went to college—after nine years out of high school. The year she finished college, she went to New Orleans for ten weeks as a summer missionary and worked in the Friendship House, one of the Goodwill Centers in New Orleans. She came back to Memphis and worked at a dry cleaners as assistant bookkeeper. Then she went to Southwestern Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. After the first year at the seminary, she spent the summer as summer missionary in the Cumberland Mountains in Ky. November 195l, she was appointed by the Southern Baptist Convention Home Mission Board as a Home Missionary at the Goodwill Center in Tampa, Florida. She worked there for six years and then went to Baltimore, Maryland to work at the Kathleen Mallory Goodwill Center. She worked there one year and was asked to go back to Tampa as the director of the Goodwill Center were she worked 7 years until the center closed. She then moved to Nashville, TN to Carroll St. Chapel of First Baptist Church in 1965 as weekday director for two years. In 1968, she was asked to go to Briceville, TN. She was there 16 years until retirement in 1984. Having worked in Pineville, Ky. for a summer, she was scared to death of traveling around the mountains. When she was offered the job in Briceville, she knew the Lord would have to remove her fear of the roads. He did. It was said that she maneuvered her red and white van through the narrow passages of the mountain community as if she had been given driving lessons by one of the coal tandem drivers. When Evelyn retired, the Rev. Troy Christopher told a gathering of Bricevillians that “When Miss Epps leaves, this community loses it’s greatest asset.” “ I’ve seen when Miss Epps has been there to comfort and console when no one else was around. There are no full-time pastors around here, only her.” Her work in Briceville meant being a lot of things. She was part time social worker, part youth worker, Bible teacher and counselor. It was said that she defined the Friendship Center for she was the second director since it was founded. The center moved 3 time: from the old mining commissary, to the community’s old movie house and finally in 1972 to the now present building. The Friendship Center was constructed by the Clinton Baptist Association, which, along with the Tennessee Baptist Convention, joined the Home Mission Board in direct support of the facility. Though Baptists funded the center, the focus of its activities was non-denomination. While Miss Epps was in Briceville, she developed a strong bond between the Center and the Briceville area churches. Saying goodbye to her friends was not easy when she retired. After retirement from the Friendship Center she moved to Memphis, TN and was very active at Audubon Park Baptist Church. She now lives in Oxford, MS and is still active in the Clearcreek Baptist Church. Miss Epps turned 85 on June 29 of this year. Miss Epps returned to Briceville in Feb. 2005 for a visit. When entering the Library, the Librarian, Lynette Seeber, who had never met Miss Epps, knew the name because she had heard about her from the people in the community. Within the hour approximately 30 people or more were gathering at the Friendship center to visit with Miss Epps. My Home Town, Briceville, TN Contributed by Gloria Fay (Harmon)Burris May 31, 2005 "Memories we hold dear to our hearts are gone with our passing, may we be generous in sharing our stories & information with family, that they may know of those that have gone before us." This way my family can be forever! 1. Samuel "Sam" Harmon (Ephraim, Hiram) was born December 12, 1869 in Campbell Co, TN, and died July 16, 1932 in Anderson Co, Briceville, TN. He married Nancy Dolly "Nannie" Shelton September 01, 1898 in Campbell Co, TN, daughter of Moses Robert Shelton and Margaret Henderson. She was born October 23, 1870 in Campbell Co, TN, and died July 05, 1944 in Anderson Co, Briceville, TN. Children of Samuel Harmon and Nancy Shelton are: 1) Oda Agee Harmon, born September 11, 1901 in Campbell Co, Lafollette, TN; died June 14, 1975 in Anderson Co, Lake City, TN, Lake City Hospital. 2) Flora Grace "Flo" Harmon, born April 28, 1903 in Campbell Co, TN; died June 06, 1969 in Campbell Co, LaFollette, TN. 3) Amy Lois Harmon, born July 14, 1905 in Campbell Co, TN; died March 18, 1971 in Columbus, OH. 4) Bessie Harmon, born Infant in Campbell Co, TN; died Infant in Campbell Co, TN. 2. Oda Agee Harmon (Samuel "Sam", Ephraim, Hiram) was born September 11, 1901 in Campbell Co, LaFollette TN, and died June 14, 1975 in Anderson Co, Lake City, TN, Lake City Hospital. He married Beulah May White December 22, 1928 in Anderson Co, Briceville, TN, daughter of Pleasant Calloway White and Mary Etta Foust. She was born May 31, 1908 in Anderson Co, Briceville, TN, and died March 24, 1998 in Methodist Medical Center, Oak Ridge, TN. Oda Agee Harmon was born September 11, 1901, to Samuel & Nana Dolly "Nannie" {Shelton} Harmon, in Campbell Co, TN. They moved to Anderson Co, Briceville, TN in his early teens for my grandfather & father to work in the coalmines. My father married my mother, Beulah May White, December 22, 1928, by Kelly Cooper, in Anderson Co, Briceville, TN. Daddy worked in the coalmines until a hunting accident nearly took his life. He was unable to return to the mines & my mother washed on a board & ironed for people so they could eat. My parents were members of the First Baptist Church, Anderson Co, Briceville, TN. My father was admitted for Baptism August 6, 1932, Lee Phillips was the pastor. He was also elected Sunday School Superintendent, September 15, 1932. He was sent as a Delegate to the Baptist Association, August 18, 1934. My mother's restoration to the church was September 15, 1932. In 1934 my father began operating a General Merchandise Store for Brit Simpson, in Briceville, TN. This store had one of the first telephones in the area. Everyone from out of state or another city that wanted to give a message to their family phoned the store & daddy would see that they received the message. This store was used as a central information source for the area. Everyone would come by to shop or play a game or two of checkers, or walk outside to a game of horseshoes. He sold everything from wash boards; wash tubs; coal buckets; shovels, rakes; hammers; screw drivers; wash pans; dippers; dyes; thread; & cloth. In addition, he sold corn & bran for pigs. The grocery line consisted of sugar, corn meal, flour, blocks of cheese & baloney that had to be sliced; white beans & pinto's that came in sacks that had to be weighed. Most of the produce, corn, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, & greens came from gardens in the area. The meat was provided when area residents killed their cows & pigs. Then there would be slab bacon, pork chops, cracklings, & pickled hogs feet. Mostly from the cows came hamburger & roast. If you didn't raise chickens, you would just ask your neighbor if you could buy a chicken for Sunday dinner. The people that raised chickens also sold eggs to the store. Oh, but we had RC Cola's & moon pies; ice cream & candy back then! A salesman delivered this to the store. My parents owed a large rambling house, with a wrap around porch, on a hill above where Cambria Coal Co Commissary used to be. They had a coal furnace installed and it stayed 90 degrees in that house all winter. After we were all married, it was a standing joke to wear as few clothes as possible when visiting them. Somehow, in the early 1950's my father had saved enough money & began operating the Masonic Esso Station, Briceville, TN. The Masonic Lodge building housed a network of businesses. It was like a modern day strip mall, only on a smaller scale. Located within the framework of this two story block building were Amos Vowell's Barber Shop; Jim Cox's Restaurant; Evan's Grocery Store, & the Post Office. The Masonic Lodge was located on the second floor of the building. The Esso Station set only a few feet away. This being the area of Briceville activity, it was similar to the present day shopping malls. Gas sold for {29) twenty-nine cents & {30} cents a gallon, & motor oil was (30} cents a quart. I think kerosene was {15} or {20} cents a gallon. During the winter months, everyone would come into the station and sit around a kerosene stove to warm up, chew tobacco, tell tall tales, or just to watch or play a challenging game of checkers. My father loved to play checkers & always kept a checkerboard nearby. He was an excellent player & everyone would come from far and near to try and beat him. I will have to say, that was very hard to do. In the summer months, there was always a big horseshoe game going. Those were the days when station operators pumped your gas & checked your oil. On many occasions, long time customers would pump their own gas, so an un-interrupted game could continue without my father having to stop. They would simply pump their gas, check their oil & walk over to the game & pay my father and wish him luck. He was a very good player & as long as he had a good partner, couldn't be beat. My parents opened a small cafe across the road from the Masonic Lodge a short time after daddy began operating the station. Mom was the chief cook & bottle washer. It was called the Harmon Cafe and it lasted about two years until mom decided she had enough. A few years after my father retired they decided to move to Lake City to be closer to us. This was in early 1970. They purchased a lot at 415 3rd St & moved a mobile home onto it. My then, my father was in poor health & felt that was all he was able to take care of. My father enjoyed baseball & fishing. He became ill shortly after moving and died with cancer June 14, 1975, Anderson Co, Lake City, TN and is buried at Campbell Memorial Gardens, Campbell Co, LaFollette, TN. My parents were married 46 years and had three daughters: Anna Mae, Marilyn Ruth, & "me" Gloria Fay. "Bear" My mother Beulah May {White} Harmon was born May 31, 1908, Anderson Co, Briceville, TN. She was the daughter of Pleasant Callaway & Mary Etta Ellen {Marietta} {Foust} White. "Granny Bear" was called by this name by most of her six grandchildren & four great grandchildren. "Me" I simply called her "Bear". She was the youngest of six children and raised in the "lower end" of Briceville. Mom had a very hard life as a child, as her mother died when she was about thirteen years old. She attended Briceville Elementary School until she had to quit shortly after her passing so that she could help with household chores. She later worked in a hosiery plant called the Knit Mill, Anderson Co, Lake City, TN. When my father was shot in a hunting accident, she washed on a washboard & ironed for neighbors & friends so they could eat. She cared for my Grandmother Harmon, night & day, for over a year when she came down with cancer. I was her soul support each day as I was only five years old & was with her every day. As we grew up & married Mom would fix the most wonderful Sunday dinners for us. She would cook all day on Saturday & finish it up on Sunday morning. All we had to do was to go in & sit down & eat. We would stuff ourselves on fried chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, potato salad & the most delicious desserts you could ever put in your mouth. She would always make a banana pudding (in a bowl I still have, that we called the banana pudding bowl), a cake, apple or chocolate pie. We would eat until we thought we would burst & she would yell at us that we hadn't eaten anything. We always left with whatever was left & had plenty to eat the following day. She enjoyed it thoroughly & would call during the week to say she had made fried apple pies or an old fashion stack cake & please come and get some. The first TV we had at our house, I think was probably when I was in the 6th grade. The reception was terrible & after Sunday dinner, daddy would always want one of us to carry the antenna. We did this even after we were married. Mom would begin to fuss, that is all he wants to do is, carry the antenna, carry the antenna! She would be furious with him & he loved every minute of it. This went on each week and the reception never got any better but we continued to carry that antenna for many years. We must have carried it ten thousand miles, waiting for that magic moment when it would come in clear. Mom loved to raise flowers, embroidery, and quilt, attend church and a ladies circle group, and cook for her family. Mom told me in the years following her mother, Marietta's marriage to Pleasant C White; she became much closer to her father Andrew Jackson Foust & his second family. Most Sunday's Pleasant & Marietta would gather their children into a horse drawn wagon, pack a picnic and travel to Dutch Valley where they would spend the day with Jack Foust & his family. Mom would tell me of these carefree days & her eyes would twinkle bright as she remembered playing & picnicking at her grandfather's farm. She remembers peeping into the cellar, which was off limits to the children, where her grandfather kept his home brew. He always told them he made it to use for medicine, when in fact Mom stated; they all knew he was always a lot happier after he helped himself to a snootful. Mom stated many times they traveled home by moon light, tired & sleepy. As she told her story, and the remembrance of those days, was still very much a part of her life as she traveled down memory lane. She told of how their home was damaged by floodwaters from Coal Creek, June 13, 1922. Also the flood of March 28, 1928 & again March 23, 1929. Each time the water swept down from the mountains surrounding Briceville it took with it county roads & railroad bridges, & heavily damaged property & crops. The floods washed many personal belongings & shattered dreams away. Mom always looked very sad as she continued her story, & how hard it was, for her parents to see their children's memories flow away with the raging water. Children of Oda Agee Harmon and Beulah May White are: 1) Anna Mae Harmon (Oda Agee, Samuel "Sam", Ephraim, Hiram) was born July 13, 1930 in Anderson Co, Briceville, TN, and died May 01, 1998 in Methodist Medical Center, Oak Ridge, TN. She married Robert Harold Jones March 04, 1949 in Wayne Co, Richmond, VA, son of Paul Jones and Dora Qualls. He was born March 23, 1926 in Wise Co, Pardee, VA, and died July 17, 2003 in Miamisburg, OH. Children of Anna Mae Harmon & Robert Harold Jones are: i. Steven Paul Jones, born 1950 in Montgomery Co, Dayton, OH. ii. Ronald Harold Jones, born 1954 in Montgomery Co, Dayton, OH. iii. Jeffrey Michael Jones, born 1958 in Columbus, OH. 2) Marilyn Ruth "Bitsy" Harmon (Oda Agee, Samuel "Sam", Ephraim, Hiram) was born October 18, 1933 in Anderson Co, Briceville, TN, and died February 08, 1984 in Anderson Co, Oak Ridge, TN, Oak Ridge Hospital. She married Q V Leinart December 24, 1948 in Walker Co, Rossville, GA, son of Glemith Leinart and Jeanette Patterson. He was born February 14, 1931 in Anderson Co, TN. Children of Marilyn Ruth Harmon & Q V Leinart are: i. Marilyn Ann Leinart born 1951 in Knox Co, Knoxville, TN. ii. Quentin Lynn Leinart, born 1954 in Anderson Co, Lake City, TN. 3) Gloria Fay5 Harmon (Oda Agee, Samuel "Sam", Ephraim, Hiram) was born 1939 in Anderson Co, Briceville, TN. She married Charlie Benjamin Burris June 20, 1959 in Lake City, Anderson Co, TN, son of John Spurgon Burris and Lillie Isabelle Seiber. He was born 1929 in Anderson Co, Seiber Flats, Briceville, TN. Son of Gloria Fay Harmon & Charlie Benjamin Burris is: i. B Shane Burris born 1960 Oak Ridge, Anderson Co, TN Gloria Fay (Harmon) Burris |
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