It may be an effect of reading Darwin who knows. I have a strong interest in my ancestors(Welcome to the gothic south.) I would love to hear about collective family histories on e-strip. When I was applying for a residency in Greensboro. NC a couple weeks ago It peaked my interest in my Dad's half of the family. I started looking around on the internet and listened to these interviews. (N.C.)%20--%20Social%20life%20and%20customs.
The people in these interviews are from my Dad's hometown. This was a little mill town called Bynum. The mill closed in the 70's or 80's so now this town is going through gentrification from the research triangle people. My dad's always told stories about bynum. Here is a link to some of his stories that I recorded I've sampled some of the audio from the oral histories and plan to use it in a video. I'll probably shoot and edit tonight.
So...
I sent my Dad a link to those interviews and asked him for the names of my grandparents brotherrrs and sisters. Now my Dad keeps sending me stuff. I've inherited the role of keeper of the family history. This is good because I'm interested in family mythologies more that institutionalized history.
The first thimg I learned was that I have a connection to Greensboro through my paternal Grandma "granny" apparently granny's daddy was from Greensboro. He died early and granny's mother didn't want anything to do with her dead husbands family.
quoting my dad
"They all moved to Bynum just as the great Depression was
starting. After Mother's father died, Mother's Mother told the lawyers
for the Montgomery estate that she wanted no part of hell's half acres.
Mother's father was a Montgomery and his family came to Gilford County
around 1750 from Lancaster, Penn."
and
"The Montgomery Plantation lasted through the revolutionary and civil war.
The Montgomery's lost the final 60 acres in 1974 when the city of
Greensboro took it to build a sewer plant."

apparently if I can track down the sewer plant in Greensboro I can track down "hell's half acres" so... the same thing goes for the brasington plantation but I guess that was sold off much earlier in 1920.
My Granny started working in the mill when she was 14. Once again quoting my dad.
"Lee Montgomery was the first one to move to Bynum when he was about 19. He
went there to get a job after his Father died. Lee got Mother a job in the mill when she was about 14. Then Marion and Clemont moved to Bynum and got a job. They all lived with Lee until Lee got married. Annie May lived with her mother until she got married the first time. Your Granny started dipping snuff when she was about 14 because the old mill hands told her to dip it so she did not breathe in the cotton dust from the machines. They all moved to Bynum just as the great Depression was
starting. "

Today my dad, well I call hin Daddy pronounced "deddy" today he sent me a bunch of old pictures. I think he's really bored since his retirement. So here are the pics he sent.
This is my Dad as a young man. I think it's his high school graduation photo.


These two are my Granny's brothers. (McGee) Montgomery, I heard in one of the audio histories online that Mcgee used to participate in quilting circles. He died around D-day in France, 1944. Hy dad who was born in 1944 is named after McGee who's given name was Marion Moore. The man in the hat is named Clemont. "Clemont is the one who was shot in the head as a teenager and later died. After Clemont was shot, his brain never developed anymore so he acted sorta like a 15 year old boy the rest of his life. Even though his brain never developed, he had total recall and could remember anything he saw or read. He could quote the whole bible from memory. "



This one is of my grandfather (the little boy in black). I never met him. He died when my Dad was 5. He was born in 1907.



so even though I've always associated my dad with Bynum I guess my grandparents moved there to get jobs and actually come from othe parts of north Carolina.