This past week was the 121st anniversary of the Fraterville Mine Explosion. On the morning of 19 May 1902 Edith Hightower McKamey lost John, her husband of 33 years, but also three of her sons. This event and its impact on my ancestors have been the subject of my family narrative for the ProGen StudyContinue reading “Going The Extra Mile To Find Out More”
Tag Archives: Fraterville
Widows and Orphans
This past week I wrote a blog post about the Fraterville Mine explosion and how it affected my ancestors. But on 19 May 1902, hundreds of women were widowed with up to 1,000 orphans.1 The town of Briceville and nearby Knoxville quickly rallied to help the immediate needs of these families.2 In the 26 MayContinue reading “Widows and Orphans”
52 Ancestors – Week 7: Outcast
This week’s theme, Outcast, has me a little stumped. No one ancestor comes to mind. No one robbed banks (that I know of) or had a terribly contagious disease. The closest I can come to an outcast is this guy…Tipton Hightower (and what happened wasn’t his fault). Born in the 1850s in Tennessee, Tipton isContinue reading “52 Ancestors – Week 7: Outcast”