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Byard D. P'Pool/Pettypool
Byard D. P'Pool/Pettypool, son of Seth and Sarah Elizabeth Dunning P'Pool, was born 18 Jan 1827 near Wallonia, Trigg County, KY. In 1940 he was living in Ft. Worth, Texas where he was a pharmacist. It was at this time he corresponded with Miss Fanny Newsom of Princeton, KY. Miss Fanny, a lover of family and Kentucky history, contributed his letters for the Dunning family book, Dunning Footprints and Wagon Tracks, by Joyce Britt Dunning. Excerpts of letters concerning his memories of Wallonia in the mid-1800s are presented to the Trigg County Website in memory of Miss Fanny Newsom.
Joyce Britt Dunning
Thank you Joyce for sharing these lovely old memories of Wallonia!
Wallonia
May 25, 1940
...Regarding the old stores and residences of Wallonia, I know quite a lot about them for I was age 11 when we moved away in Oct. 1873. I will begin at the east end of town where the road turned south leading to George Bingham's mill. (This road is scarcely traveled now.) I've been in this mill many times, and have went fishing in the old mill pond above it. George Bingham had a son named George, who I think was a humorous columnist. Where this road turns to Bingham's mill, and on north side of street is the old blacksmith shop that Kurg Cravens, Mrs. Keeney's father, used to occupy. The very same building is there, without any changes, except by the ravages of time and a more tumbled down appearance, and by the way, it is still occupied as a blacksmith shop, and many is the time, when returning home from school on a cold day, I have stopped there and Uncle Kurg would set me up on the rock foundation of the forge, close to the fire, to warm my feet.
...You asked if I went to school at the Wallonia Institute, yes, I went there from the time I was old enough, to the time we moved away. My first teacher was John Wilson, he could easily have been the son of Wiley Wilson born 1822, and Dolly Wilson b. 1826 and I was born in 1862, and if my memory serves me, my teacher John Wilson was a man about 40 or 45 years of age. He was tall and had black hair. My next teacher was named Glenn. I believe his initials were H.C., but won't be positive, and he had an assistant -- a lady, but can't recall her name. I have it put away somewhere but can't find it now.
...Well, close to where the road turned to Bingham's mill on south side of the street was where Marion Wolfe kept a dry goods store, the old building is not there, but the lot has a small store and gasoline station on it. Well, right across on north side of the street is the old Wall residence, same house, same spot, as when we moved away. I never knew any of that family except a girl named Nannie. She and the two Wolfe children, Nora and Willie, were my school mates. I suspect the town of Wallonia was named for this family. I also suspect that Dr. Stephen Elbert P'Pool married this Nannie Wall who was my school mate, for Dr. Elbert lived in Wallonia until 1880 and that was 7 years after we moved away, he was born in Jun 1837. Nannie was perhaps 8 years older than myself.
Well, after leaving the Wall residence, coming down the street going West about half way to the bridge on Muddy Fork, we came to the old Coy residence, the dwelling is there now as it was in 1873, but it looked very much older and needing painting so badly. This man Coy ran a general store, groceries, dry goods and whiskey. The store was on the same lot with residence, but only the residence remains. Mr. Coy had a family of several girls, and a boy named Ben as he was called, it perhaps was Benjamin. There must have been at least four girls in the family perhaps more. One was Dellah and I think one was named Mary.
...Well I will proceed with houses and stores in Wallonia, right adjoining and south of the Coy place, on north side of street was my father's house at the time we moved away, it consisted of a log house, with upstairs. And a kitchen and dining room combined built on the north side. There was an old barn close by that was converted into a blacksmith and wood work shop where my father worked and built many farm wagons.
About 5 or 6 acres of land was included with the home and bordered on the Muddy Fork west of the house. When I was there on my visit to Sudie Keeney, all the buildings had been removed and only the old spring beneath the hill remained.
Now we'll turn and look south across the street from the Coy residence and there we find the spot where Mr. Tayloe had his store. I knew him well, but none of his family. The store and residence is gone. He was a kindly man and full of business. My father could not write very well, and many times he went to Mr.Tayloe's store and he would write his business letters, and he was the most rapid writer I've ever witnessed. Some years ago, when the National Democratic Convention met in Houston, Tx, and nominated Al Smith for President, I remember reading in the papers about Mrs. Nellie Tayloe Ross, Gov. of Wyo., being a delegate to the convention and about her making a speech for her candidate for President, and when I read your letter telling that she was a niece to Mr. Tayloe of Wallonia, then I remembered about her making a speech in the convention at Houston.
...I will now tell you about stopping over in Missouri on our way to Texas. We left Kentucky in October 1873. We came to Uncle Solomon's home -- I think it was November following. Uncle Solomon [Dunning] lived in Vernon County and the county seat is Nevada. We stayed with him through part of the winter and following that went to Dade County and lived in a small town called Dadeville (the county seat is Greenfield) about a day's drive by wagon from Vernon County. We rented a farm close by and made a crop of corn and other things in the year 1874. In the spring of 1875, we rented another place and made only a crop of corn and sorghum, so when this crop was matured, my father wanted to come on to Texas, so he sold the corn and other things in the field and in October 1875 we pulled up stakes and headed for Texas, landing in Denton County, 15 miles from the county seat which was Denton, rented a farm and stayed on this farm 2 or 3 years then moved 5 miles further south in same county where we bought a farm and our P.O. address was then Elizabethtown and Roanoke. We were living there when Aunt Minerva McCulloch and her two children Edgar and Adah came to Texas.
While we lived at the first place above is when your Aunt Fannie and Uncle George [Dunning] came to Texas. There was a young man, a great friend of Edgar McCulloch, helped Uncle George make a crop and to save my life I can't think of his name, (perhaps you know and can tell me.) The place we rented was known as the old Brown farm, and Uncle George and Aunt Fannie lived on a place adjoining, but made a crop at another place about a mile away. The place we purchased was on Denton Creek where Trail Creek joined and was 3 miles to Elizabethtown and 3 1/2 miles from Roanoke...soon after we bought our place on Denton and Trail Creek, there was a Henry Dunning and wife and John Robinson, an old bachelor, both from Kentucky, settled on Denton and Trail Creeks just above our farm. They bought farms adjoining each other. I'm sure Henry Dunning was some sort of kin to my mother, for we visited them and gave them a welcome to be our neighbors. He might have been a first cousin of my mother. Finally Henry Dunning sold his place and went back to Kentucky, but Mr. Robinson kept his farm and finally married a maiden lady, Miss Jennie Day, a daughter of Capt. Day who owned a large farm and ranch about 2 miles S.W. of where we lived.
We finally sold our place and moved on further west to Jones County, Texas where my father and mother died. Those old letters your Aunt Fan wrote to your mother sounds true to the life we lived in Texas. The one Aunt Fanny wrote about the revival at the school house and that I had joined and the herds of cattle that passed almost every day, that is where they lived and we were living on the old Brown farm and it was only a ten minute walk from our house to theirs. theirs.
Dec.9th, 1940 ...The first time I ever attended school was at the old Wallonia Institute, in the years 1869 and 70. The teacher's name was White and as I recall his name was John, but I'm not sure about the given name, but pretty sure name was White and have often wondered of what family he was a member, later on the teacher there was Prof. Glenn.
kyseeker
