ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA MEMORIES
This site has photographs and information about southern West Virginia families including the Vest, Smith, Gadd and Cochran families and the Biars family of Ohio and West Virginia. The aerial photo above, taken in 1985, is of the Earl and Golda Smith farm on Route 3, Hinton Road, White Oak Mountain, W.Va. The property was originally owned by Mrs. Smith's parents, Leonard and Stella Vest. If you have additional photos or information to share or if you just want to say hello, e-mail me. Corrections are welcomed.
IN MEMORIUM
On the Smith/Biars page: Excerpt from K. Golda Smith Fox obituary in the Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va., June 13, 2009.
WHAT'S NEW
Smith Cemetery -- The Smith Cemetery is accessed through gated private property located on White Oak Mountain Road off Route 3, Hinton Road, in Raleigh County, W.Va., near the Summers County line. The cemetery itself is on land formerly owned by Earl and Golda Smith. Interments are Earl George Smith and wife Golda Mae Vest, their sons Billy Lee Smith (08 Mar 1936/10 Jun 1949) and Bobby Earl Smith (biography and pictures of Billy and Bobby Smith in the Raleigh County section of the West Virginia GenWeb Archives online), Mrs. Smith’s parents Leonard Haliburton Vest and Emma Stella Gadd, and Mrs. Vest’s sister Annie Gadd Turner. Sarah Ann Frances Gadd married James William Hatcher and George W. Turner. See the pages on this site for more information about the Smith, Gadd and Vest families.
New on West Virginia Talk -- Added an entry about "Rex and Eleanor" and some sayings from our sister state, the commonwealth of Kentucky, and edited "Didn't say dog." (Updated June 6, 2009)
New on the Gadd page -- New photos, articles and obituaries. Added Noah Gadd obituary, 1967, Beckley Post-Herald. (Updated June 28, 2009)
New on the Vest/Cochran page -- In the process of adding more photos of the Vest and Richmond families, courtesy of Cousin Iva. (Updated May 27, 2009)
PHOTOS
In addition to photos on the family pages, there is an unidentified photos page. Please take a look and let me know if you can tell me anything about the people in these photos. (Updated June 1, 2008)
(Updated April 27, 2009) I'd like to hear from you if you have sayings, phrases or words that are unique to West Virginia. To help “place” the saying, these details would be helpful:
- Your birthplace and age (optional, of course),
- Where and when you heard the expression (for example: Raleigh County, 1950s.)
- and who said it.
KENTUCKY IN-LAWS
- SNAPS -- Photos collected by Dorothy Carroll of Ashland, Kentucky. What's new: photo of the DeBord family. (Updated June 26, 2009)
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Giving credit where credit is due -- If you see a photo that you've shared with me and I haven't given you credit, let me know. Most of the pictures are my family photos. But some were given to me by "Internet cousins" and I've forgotten the source. If you use photos from West Virginia Memories or entries from West Virginia Talk, please include this site address. I want more cousins to find their way here.
