Uncle Albert Pinkney Wilson

Albert Pinkney Wilson

1825-1928

   

     Albert Pinkney Wilson was the seventh child born to Hiram Wilson 1787-1870 and Nancy Smith Wilson 1793-1859. He was born April 14, 1825, at Cove Creek, Watauga County, NC, according to a 1926 newspaper article. About 1850 he married Elizabeth Councill who lived from 1828-1876. Uncle Albert lived quietly at his farm up until the outbreak of the Civil War. He enlisted in the 37th North Carolina Infantry and soon rose to the rank of lieutenant.

     During the War, he recalled that he was wounded and just within a few yards of General Stonewall Jackson when he was killed by his own men. Uncle Albert was at a dressing station getting his wounds taken care of and heard these volley of shots fired. When he inquired about the shots, he found out that Jackson had been shot.

     John Quincy Adams was President of the United States when he was born., and the first President he voted for was Zachary Taylor in 1849. As a result, he voted for the Democratic Party all of his life. In his lifetime he saw twenty-four Presidents come and go.

     At the time of Stoneman's famous raid through Boone with his bushwhackers, he saw the homes of his neighbors burned and sacked by these outlaws, who belonged neither to the Union nor the Confederacy, but were deserters from both. He recalled also the foray by Vaughn's Calvary, another band of bushwhackers, who made a similar raid on Boone later and were pursued as far as Newton by a group of citizens under J. W. Councill and Colonel J. W. Bryan. At the time of Uncle Albert's 101st birthday, Colonel Bryan was still alive and one his closest friends.

     Uncle Albert died February 4, 1928 just a few weeks short of his 103rd birthday. He was laid to rest at the Mount Lawn Memorial Park and Gardens at Boone, Watauga County, North Carolina. Albert Wilson was the younger brother of Martha's father, Lt. Isaac Wilson 1822-1864.

The men in back: James Critten Greene 1864-1950, John Frank Johnson 1881-1950, Ralph Greene 1901-unk . Women: Mary A. Wilson Greene 1864-1951, Bertha Councill Greene Johnson 1895-1973, Alma Greene May Brown 1908-1996, Laura Virginia Wilson 1867-1945. In wheelchair: Albert Pinkney Wilson 1825-1928. Bertha married John Johnson on 20 Dec 1924, so Uncle Albert is 100 years old, at least in this photo. Mary and Laura were Albert's only children to live to adulthood. 

Memories of Martha Evaline Wilson Forrester

The following statements are stories that I have gleaned from others who had memories told to them or they personally witnessed about our ancestor, Grandma Martha Forrester.

Callie Hash Parks, daughter of Aunt Lelia Bina Wilson Hash remembered hearing her mother talk about going over to see her mother, Martha. Aunt Lelia lived in close proximity and visited her often. This one particular day, Andrew Forrester (Lelia's stepfather) had gone to North Carolina with a girlfriend, Lela Grubb Christian, who became his second wife (in 1903, before Martha died in 1904!!!!!!). When he returned Martha had gone out to the barn and saw Andrew's horse. On the saddle was Lela Grubb's umbrella. Martha picked it up the best she could in her weakened condition and said to her daughter Lelia Hash, "If I had enough strength I would rip it up." Poor Martha must have been rather debilitated by her cancer by this time.

Cousin Mickie Evans said Granny Callie Anderson talked about her mother Martha Forrester having a hard life. With what she endured you know she must have.

Mamie Milam Graybeal, youngest daughter of Aunt Luna, said that when she was a small child her mother had a trunk at their old homeplace. Inside of the trunk were a bonnet and some dresses that belonged to Grandma Martha. Mamie said that she and her siblings were afraid of the trunk, because the clothes inside belonged to a dead person. Tragically, the trunk burned in a fire when the Milam homeplace burned down in the 1930s.

Aunt Geraldine Forrester Leonard told me that her mother Lela Grubb Christian Forrester helped take care of Martha while she was ill and then cleaned her body and laid it out to prepare for burial.

Louise Forrester March stated that she remembered Lela Grubb Forrester spoke of Martha sitting in her rocking chair a lot by the fireplace when she was ill.

Margaret Wilson Duncan, Uncle John Wilson's daughter, told me she remembered seeing Martha standing in her father's yard when Martha still lived in NC. She also remembered making a trip to Grayson County, VA with Uncle John and Aunt Rebecca to see her Aunt Matt before she died.

Cousin Sandy Gentry told me she recalled Granny Callie Forrester Anderson telling her about Grandma Martha making some corn pones for a man for breakfast. She seemed to think Granny implied the land was not owned by the Forresters but by this other man. Grandpa Andrew Forrester had left her by this time.

Some children of Uncle Luther Forrester stated that their Aunt Gincy Wheatley Anderson remembered seeing Martha sitting near the fireplace hanging her undergarments to dry. She bled a lot (I am thinking due to ovarian or uterine cancer) and had to constantly wash out the blood.

Cousin Mamie Forrester Gum said her father, Uncle William Clinton Forrester, told her two things about his mother Martha. "She was very strict and thought children should be raised a certain way to grow up right. However, she wasn't mean. If my mother was alive and she asked you to do something you did it right away."

My mother and her mother both told about Granny Callie Anderson as a young girl standing on a chair to roll out biscuits for her mother who was very sick at the time.

Aunt Frances "Frankie" Wilson Osborne recorded that her sister Martha Forrester was one of the deceased sisters unable to attend the Wilson Reunion on 18 August 1918. Sometime later there was another reunion, and she once again remembered her sister's absence by name.

Finally, Uncle Wayne Forrester, Lela Grubb Forrester's son by Andrew, stated that he was told that Martha was kind of fussy and thought things should be done her way. Andrew thought she was too demanding and too sickly to remain with her. She was after all nine years older than he. Also, Martha may have been like her mother Caroline Greer Wilson, who was known as being very contrary.

Andrew Johnson Forrester

      The Andrew J. Forrester family has been somewhat difficult to trace in our quest to prove earlier fore bearers.  The earliest proven ancestor was William Forrester who married Nancy Greer and lived in Tennessee and North Carolina (per daughter Elizabeth's death certificate). Some researchers state that William was the son of early Tennessee pioneer, John Forrester who married Altha McCoy. They state further that John was born in 1780. An early Ray family Bible contains the name of our William Forrester recording his birth as 1793. Since most Bibles record births as close as possible to their actual birth year it seems that John was not William's father. However, it is also plausible that John's birth year of 1780 is in error. A Johnson County, Tennessee heritage book announces that John Forrester was in Tennessee by 1780. Furthermore, John listed a William Forrester as one of his heirs. William's daughter Elizabeth named one of her own daughters, Altha. Most likely someone transposed John's birth year from the year he was settling in Johnson County, Tennessee. Thus we can assume that OUR William was John's son.
Our line begins with William and Nancy's daughter Elizabeth "Betsy" Forrester. The 1870 Johnson County Federal Census records her as having been born in North Carolina. Using various censuses and family interviews we can safely say that Elizabeth bore at least seven children. However, we cannot at this time determine the name of these children's father. Thus our Forrester line is a maternal one.
On January 7, 1866 near Shouns Crossroads, Johnson County, Tennessee (now close to modern-day Mountain City) Andrew Johnson Forrester was born to Elizabeth. Unfortunately, there are no records of his life before his marriage, so we know nothing about his growing up years. It appears that his early years before marriage were spent near his birthplace.  We do know that he possessed many talents. Speaking with several relatives we have ascertained that he was a smith, sawyer, farmer, and merchant during his life. Most of the time he was a farmer.
At this point in time we do not know what brought Andrew into Ashe County prior to October 1886. However, on October 1, 1886, in Johnson County, Tennessee,  Andrew married Martha Evaline Wilson of Sutherland Township, Ashe County, North Carolina. Upon this marriage, Andrew immediately became stepfather to Martha's four children from a previous relationship. Various descendants of these children seemed to agree that Andrew was very fond of them and they of him.
In March 1887 Martha gave birth to Andrew's first child, Luther Monroe Forrester. Later in 1890 son William Clinton Forrester was born. Two years later, Andrew's first daughter, Lena Callie Forrester, was born. Finally, in 1896, Andrew and Martha's last son Wade Austin Forrester was born. Another child was born in 1897 but did not live long.
Sometime around 1898 the Andrew Forrester family needed to relocate to Grayson County, Virginia. We have not yet discovered the reasoning behind it, but two of Martha's older children were living in the Pine Branch Community of Grayson. Perhaps, they heard of better farming opportunities and passed this on to Andrew and Martha. The house (built by Martha's grandfather Greer in the 1870s) at Sutherland was sold to Martha's brother John for money to travel to Virginia. Their daughter Callie recalled traveling by covered wagon into Virginia when she was six years old. This would correspond to the estimated date of arrival of 1898.
Upon their arrival they needed to buy land and build their own home. Andrew built a house for his young family on Kindreck Mountain in the Pine Branch Community. To help provide for their livelihood, Andrew planted apple and cherry orchards, as well as, blackberry and raspberry vines. A smokehouse was built behind the house and a root cellar on the left side for storing food. Several yards behind the house a barn was built where Andrew probably did his smiting. In 2011 the Forrester house is still standing proving it was well-built. The property is now owned by a Cole family. Remnants of the apple orchard still exist despite the treachery of hurricane Hugo in the 1980s.
Martha died on May 26, 1904 while Andrew was in Washington State. By this time he had a new wife named Lelia Elizabeth Grubb Christian who gave birth to their first son, Teddy Spurgeon Forrester also born in 1904. Later between 1904-1914 Andrew and Lelia would have four more children: Jacob Carson in 1906, Blanche Geraldine in 1908, Myrtle Effie in 1912, and Gentry Wayne in 1914.
Prior to 1914 Andrew owned a mercantile at Major, Virginia as proven by the letterhead on his bill of sale to Jack Halsey. His grandson Gwyn Anderson later told his children about how strong Andrew was. He could carry a full barrel of flour on his shoulders! Andrew also owned a sawmill at this time. According to Missouri Anderson Testerman, her brother Gilbert Sylvester Anderson began working in 1910 for his future father-in-law before marrying Callie in 1913.
In the early 1920s Andrew had a hankering to return to Washington. Letters to his daughter Callie in the 1920s show that he was living in Everett, Washington. Later on he made his final stop at Guemes Island  where he later died. In Washington he was a farmer. It is possible that he raised cows as he sold a cow to Martha's nephew William "Willie" Isaac Osborne in 1913 for $16.00 ($348 in 2011). A few months later Willie refused $120 ($2613 in 2011) for the cow because it pleased him so.
At the present, we continue to research our "elusive" ancestors. Someday we hope to determine the identity of Andrew's father. Corrections are welcomed!!

Martha Evaline Wilson Forrester

Our ancestor Martha Evaline Wilson Forrester was born in the Sutherland Community (also known as North Fork Township on the Federal Censuses) in Ashe County, North Carolina to Isaac Wilson and Caroline Nancy Greer on August 5, 1857. She was the fifth child and fourth daughter born to them. Her father Isaac was a rather prominent farmer owning two other farms and houses. One was known as the Forrester House located at Trade, Tennessee just over the North Carolina line and was occupied by Martha's maternal grandparents, Jesse Greer, Jr 1806-1892 and Frances "Frankie" Brown Greer 1810-1905.

Andrew Johnson Forrester & Martha Evaline Wilson Forrester 1900

When she was only about seven years old, her father, Lt. Isaac Wilson was shot in the back while home on furlough plowing corn before his intent to return to the Confederate Army later that day. Men who opposed the war murdered him, although it was actually a case of mistaken identity. They mistook him for his cousin Isaac "Big Ike" Wilson; however, modern historians doubt it was mistake.

Caroline Greer Wilson 1828-1911

Lt. Isaac Wilson 1822-1864

By this time there were seven Wilson children, four girls: Nancy Emaline 1850-1919 (married Richard Franklin "Frank" Osborne 1846-1897), Frances Caroline 1851-1940 (married George Washington Osborne 1846-1927), Polly Jane 1852-1937 (married James Harvey Proffitt 1845-1913), and Martha Evaline 1857-1904 (married Andrew Johnson Forrester 1866-1938), and three boys: John Wilborn 1855-1928 (married Rebecca Ann Wilson 1862-1954), Robert Boyd 1860-1949 (married Sarah Ellen Wilson 1866-1952 and sister to Rebecca), and William Albert Pinkney 1861-1951 (married Mary "Mamie" Amelia McClellan 1868-1949) to mourn the loss of their father. Thankfully, they had the love and support of their mother Caroline, their Grandfather Hiram Wilson 1787-1870, and their Greer grandparents.

Siblings of Martha Evaline Wilson Forrester August 18, 1918

Seated: Polly Jane Proffitt 1852-1937, Nancy Emaline Osborne 1850-1919, Frances Caroline Osborne 1851-1940

Standing: Robert Boyd Wilson 1860-1949, John Wilburn Wilson 1855-1928, William Albert Pinkney Wilson 1861-1951

Naturally, the death of her father must have taken its toll on her and her siblings. The only man in her life died tragically. Some years later when she was sixteen or seventeen another man entered her life but not in the traditional way. This man was none other than her brother-in-law, Richard Franklin "Frank" Osborne 1846-1897. From what we have been told by elders of the family, Martha's oldest sister, Emaline did not hold a grudge against her, because she knew exactly the kind of man that she married. Frank Osborne was feared by members of the family and community alike. In later years, when he visited his daughter Luna, his son-in-law Lindsay Milam was afraid that Frank was planning to choke him to death while he slept in the same bed, as told by a daughter-in-law of Aunt Luna. Finally, he was known as a very strict disciplinarian at home and in the school where he taught.

Luna Wilson Milam 1874-1953

Together, Martha and Frank had five children: Luna Ellen Wilson 1874-1953 who married Lindsay Albert Milam 1873-1949, Arthur Merrill Wilson 1876-1950 who married first Martha Ruth Grubb 1877-1917 and second Eudora "Dora" Lucretia Anderson 1891-1971, Lelia Bina Wilson 1878-1935 who married Lee Fields Hash 1873-1959, Minnie Martha Wilson 1881-1883 who died young, and Charles Smith Wilson 1884-1923 who married Ruth Lee Paisley 1896-1981. Elders of the Wilson family have stated that Frank was fonder of his children by Martha than those by his legal spouse, Emaline. However, the children by Emaline held no ill will towards their Aunt Matt, as they called her, as I have a Forrester Family photograph that Martha gave to her niece Alice Osborne Snyder. Martha also had a wedding photo of her sister Emaline's oldest son William Isaac Osborne and his wife Waneta sent to her from Washington State.

It is my opinion that Martha must have been a favorite grandchild of Jesse and Frankie Greer, as they built her a home about 1878 on property she inherited from her father Isaac's estate. Also, Martha owned a bible that once belonged to them that passed to Caroline and then to Martha.

Sometime in 1885 or 1886, a third man entered Martha's life. This man was Andrew Johnson Forrester of Shouns Crossroads over in Johnson County, Tennessee. At this time it is not known how they met, but I am guessing that since Andrew was quite the farmer and trader he was in the Sutherland Community, probably on business when he met Martha. Or perhaps, they met at a Greer Family gathering somewhere, since they were third-cousins. On October 1, 1886, Martha married Andrew in Johnson County, Tennessee. Together they had five children born in Ashe County: Luther Monroe Forrester who married first Cora Lee Hash 1887-1910 and second Beulah Jeannette Wheatley 1890-1967, William Clinton Forrester who married Effie Cornelius Ross 1893-1954, Lena Callie Forrester who married Gilbert Sylvester "Vester" Anderson 1881-1968, and Wade Austin Forrester who married first Ruby Gyneth Goings 1905-1990 and second Mary Isabell Smith 1905-1956. The fifth child was unnamed and  died four days after it was born in 1897.

About 1898, the Andrew and Martha Forrester Family moved to Grayson County, Virginia. It is possible that Martha's daughter Lelia gave them word that there was an available farm in the Pine Branch Community on Kendrick Mountain, because Lelia and her husband Lee Hash lived on a farm there where they eventually moved. At this time, we do not know why they moved to Virginia. Lelia and Lee were married at Martha and Andrew's home in Ashe County on January 19, 1897. Grandchildren of Uncle John Wilson stated that Uncle John bought his sister Martha's land, and that is probably how they acquired the money for their farm in Virginia.

In 2001, I visited the home that Andrew Johnson Forrester built for his wife and young family. On this property was a large barn and some apple trees left over from the orchard he planted. The cherry trees by this time were all gone. On July 10, 2011, I revisited this home and was pleased to learn that the home was still standing; however, the barn no longer exists. The owner allowed me to take some stones from the old fireplace, as a souvenir.

Andrew & Martha Forrester Home July 10, 2011

Not many years prior to May 26, 1904, Martha's date of death, she developed a form of cancer. Her daughter Callie remembered standing on a chair to roll out biscuits to help her sickly mother with the cooking. In her last years, Martha was left alone with her four children. Andrew was in Washington State when Martha died, and his second wife, Lelia Grubb Christian Forrester 1872-1950 laid out her body for burial. Great-great-grandmother Martha is buried in the Pine Branch Baptist Church Cemetery on Kendrick Mountain in Grayson County, Virginia.

Other than some brief memories or stories passed down by other family members, this is all that I have discovered about her life. Grandmother Martha is certainly someone we should pity for the difficult life she led as a young girl without a father, a young woman forced into an affair with her brother-in-law, and her last years battling a form of deadly cancer without a husband by her side. Besides being strict like the men and women who came before her, she must have also been very loving, as her daughter Callie cried whenever anyone mentioned her.

Lena Callie Forrester Anderson 1892-1986 at a circa 1950s picnic in VA