Husband John Robert ALLEN
Born: Nov 1893 - North Carolina
Christened:
Died: 1956
Buried:
Father: John ALLEN (1852-1913)
Mother: Mary Jane RIDDLE (1859-1905)
Marriage:
Wife Bertha HANEY (details suppressed for this person)
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Children
1 M Charlie ALLEN
Born:
Christened:
Died: Between 1980 and 1985
Buried:
2 M Avery ALLEN
Born: 1917
Christened:
Died: 1941
Buried:
Husband John W. ALLEN
Born: 1859
Christened:
Died: 25 Sep 1907 - Nx 1
Buried:
Father: Young ALLEN (1822- ) 2
Mother: Nancy ALLEN
Marriage:
Wife Sallie K. ALLEN 1
Born: 2 May 1868 1
Christened:
Died: 18 Jan 1938 1
Buried:
Husband Joseph ALLEN 3 4
Born: 1782 3 4
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Marriage:
Wife Annie TURNER 5
Born: 1786 - NC 5
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Father: Abraham Rogers TURNER (Abt 1764-Between 1798) 6
Mother: Sarah BLACK (1768- )
Children
1 M Joseph P. ALLEN 7
Born: 1818 - Bald Creek, NC 7
Christened:
Died: 23 Jul 1903 - Rhodelia, TN 7
Buried:
2 M Arnold Turner ALLEN
Born: 1821 - NC
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Husband Joseph ? ALLEN
Born: 1708
Christened:
Died: 1755 - Connecticut
Buried:
Father: Samuel ? ALLEN (1665-1718)
Mother: Mercy WRIGHT (1669- )
Marriage:
Wife Mary BAKER (details suppressed for this person)
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Children
1 M Ethan ALLEN
Born: 10 Jan 1737
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Husband Joseph Jennings Bryan ALLEN
Born: 28 Jun 1897 - Burnsville, North Carolina 8
Christened:
Died: 31 May 1988 - Morganton, North Carolina 9 10
Buried: 8 Jun 1988 - Balcom Cemetery, Ionia, Michigan 8
Father: John ALLEN (1852-1913)
Mother: Mary Jane RIDDLE (1859-1905)
Marriage: 11 Sep 1916 - North Black Mountain Baptist Church, North Carolina 8 11
Noted events in his life were:
• Residence 12, 1930 - 616 S. Butler, Lansing, MI
• Residence 13, Between 1931 and 1932 - 711 Brook St, Lansing, MI
• Residence 12, Between 1934 and 1937 - 839 North Pine St, Lansing, MI
• Residence 12, Between 1938 and 1940 - 503 N. Pennsylvania Ave, Lansing, MI
• Residence 12, 1941 - Williamston, MI
• Residence 12, 1945 - 920 North Chestnut, Lansing, MI
Wife Mattie Lucinda WHEELER
AKA: ALLEN 14
Born: 8 Aug 1899 - Rockview, North Carolina
Christened:
Died: 29 Dec 1971 - Ionia, Michigan 15
Buried: 3 Jan 1972 - Balcom Cemetery, Ionia, Michigan
Father: Christopher Columbus WHEELER (1877-1958)
Mother: Cura Leotta RAY (1880-1955)
Noted events in her life were:
• Occupation 16, Taught school in the early 1920's., Between 1920 and 1924 - North Carolina
• Skills
Hand work, and sewing
• Residence 14, 1929
Moved from NC to Lansing MI
• Land Deals 6
Allen, Mattie Lou et al , from Calloway, Christie et al, Dec. 28, 1922,
Ivy Township. Bk. 266 Pg. 180
• Anecdote 17, Between 1916 and 1917
The log cabin sat in a clearing high on the mountain. It was surrounded
by a small clearing and beyond that was the green forest. There was a
spring house built over the spring whose cold mountain water oozed from
the ground. A winding wagon road led up to the clearing and on to the
Cane River Gap. It was this cabin that the young couple began their
married life.
He was the third from the last of the children of John Allen and Mary
Jane Riddle Allen. His father named him Joseph Jennings Bryan after the
great orator. They called him Jen. Their house was on eighty acres with
the Cane River running through it. It was located near the town of
Pensacola, Yancey County, North Carolina.
Her name was Mattie Lucinda. She was the oldest of seven children of
Cura Ray Wheeler and Christopher Columbus Wheeler. She was named for
Cura's sister, Mattie Ray Hensley. Her home was on a small farm located
in the village of Rockview near Barnardsville, Buncombe County, North
Carolina.
They were married in the year 1916. That September Jen was nineteen
years old and Mattie Lou had just passed her seventeenth birthday. It
was unlikely that they would ever meet, much less that they would marry.
He lived on one side of Mt. Mitchell and she lived on the other.
However, there was a road. It was a dirt road and passable for wagons but
used mostly by people on horseback. The beginning in Yancey County was
at Pensacola. It wound up the mountain across Cane River Gap and
followed many curves to North Fork and Barnardsville.
Jen owned a chestnut mare of which he was very proud. After his parents
died their farm on Cane River was divided among their twelve children.
Jen sold his part and bought a horse. Now the teen-teenager who was
fourteen at the time had no real home. He lived with one of his older
sisters, choosing one who lived closest to his place of work. In this
particular year he had a job working with a crew that was laying railroad
ties for a new railroad bed.
One Saturday Jen heard that there was to be a Social at the Black
Mountain Baptist Church in the village of Rockview which was over the
mountain. Several of his friends joined him and they rode over the gap
on that Saturday.
The activity at the church was in the form of a box supper. The younger
girls of the community each bought supper packed in a decorated box. The
boxes were sold to the highest bidder and the person who won had the
privileges of eating supper with the girl who bought the box. The young
men looked over the girls and the boxes and attempted to decide who
bought which box. Some way Jen managed to get Mattie Lou's box. He said
later, "I chose the prettiest box and the prettiest girl."
That was the beginning of their courtship. Jen rode over the mountain to
attend the Black Mountain Church and to spend time with Mattie Lou. Some
Sundays they met with other young people and took a picnic lunch to the
Ogle Meadows.
One day she told him that she would be leaving soon to stay at boarding
school where she would prepare for College and a teaching career. She
did not want to leave at that time. He was fearful that he would lose
her if she went away. So he said, "They won't send you away if we get
married." They began to plan a secret marriage.
They knew that marriage in the church would be observed by her parents
who lived across the road. They talked with the preacher and their
friends. It was decided that they would be married by James Mariion
Burleson after the evening service out back of the church.
Jen had hired a buggy and after the ceremony that evening they drove to
town and checked into a hotel. One night was all he could afford. They
had no place to live and must get back to Pensacola to be near Jen's
work. Their temporary solution was to visit Jen's family.
There was now a railroad connecting Pensacola to Burnsville and other
cities. Other railroads were being built and Jen had a job helping to
lay cross-ties for another road.
The immediate problem was to find a place to live. The lumbering
business was booming and there was no house to rent. Jen remembered the
old log cabin in the Wells. He had noticed it on the way over the
mountain to Barnardsville. He learned that it was still owned by they
Allen family and they could live there.
The cabin sat in a clearing in the woods up the mountain near Cane River
Gap. It was a solid structure with fieldstone fireplace. The logs were
chinked with a clay mixture. A kitchen was built into the back with wide
planks and a storage cellar was underneath this. There was a glass
window in the kitchen but the main room of the cabin had only shutters on
the front openings beside the front door. Mattie Lou set about making
the place livable as soon as they moved in. Relatives gave them
presents. There was a feather mattress for the bed that was built
against the wall.
She had an iron skillet and a large iron kettle. At the store in
Pensacola she bought material for spreads and curtains. They borrowed a
wagon and brought her trunk from Rockview. In this they found sheets she
had planned for school stay and other useful items.
They rode double on Jen's mare to Pensacola for their mail and food. The
men sitting around the stove on Saturday watched the young couple pick up
their mail. They noticed that they had a copy of a magazine along with a
newspaper. One of the men asked: "What in the world do you want with
all that stuff?" Mattie Lou just smiled. She could read by lamplight,
copy styles in the magazine and the newspaper for patterns.
The winter was cold, but the young people filled the fireplace with wood
and with the help of family they managed to get through until spring.
Springtime in the mountains was beautiful. Mattie Lou picked strawberries
and made jam. They planted a garden and later dried green beans and
ground corn for meal. They dried apples on a sheet, found honey in a
tree, and killed a hog when the weather turned cool. Relatives came to
visit, shared their knowledge and helped with the work.
That November the first baby came. a bolt of flannel cloth has provided
the clothing and again family came to help. When the time came Doctor
McCurry rode his horse up the mountain to attend the mother. When he was
ready to leave Jen asked how much he owed. The doctor said, "When you
get down to town come by and give me $5.00."
That winter was unusually cold and snowy. Keeping the cabin warm was more
of a problem. The snow blew in around the shuttered windows and through
the cracks between the logs. One morning the snow was on the baby's
crib. Mattie Lou, the mild mannered quiet one made a loud and final
announcement, "We are not staying here another winter" . And they did
not.
Once again the log cabin was abandoned. As the years went by the forest
surrounding it began to move slowly into the clearing. It has now
covered what was left of the little homestead and returned it back to the
forest floor.
Written by Velma Allen Fitzgerald Crump for Richard Riddle's book
"Pensacola, North Carolina History"
Children
1 F Velma Moleta ALLEN
Born: 8 Nov 1917 - North Carolina 16
Christened:
Died: 22 Dec 2001 - Morganton, NC
Buried:
Spouse: John Howard FITZGERALD (1913-1983)
Marr: 1937 - Lansing, Michigan
Spouse: Thad CRUMP (living)
2 M Bryan Fay ALLEN
Born: 8 Jan 1920 - North Fork, North Carolina
Christened:
Died: 17 Mar 1991 - Bellaire, Michigan 15
Buried: 23 Mar 1991 - Balcom Cemetery, Ionia, Michigan 9
Spouse: Rosalie Myrtle THOMPSON (living)
3 F Jenny Lenora ALLEN
Born: 24 Oct 1922 - North Carolina
Christened:
Died: 17 Sep 1999 - Laporte, Indiana
Buried:
Spouse: Kenneth GREEN (living)
Birth Notes (Husband)
Jen was born June 28, 1897, in Yancey County, North Carolina.
Notes (Marriage)
Jen Allen, age 19, from Yancey Co., married Mattie Lou
Wheeler, age 18, from Buncombe Co.
Married by: J. Marion Burlson, Minister
Witnesses: G. H. Allen, A. J. Burleson, Z. C. Burleson
Death Notes for Child: Velma Moleta ALLEN
Asheville Citizen-Times December 25, 2001
VELMA CRUMP
MORGANTON - Velma Allen Fitzgerald Crump, 84, died Saturday, Dec. 22,
2001. The funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday at Zion
Baptist Church with visitation one hour prior to the services. Burial
will be held at a later date in Michigan. Kirksey Funeral Home is in
charge of the arrangements
Hickory Daily Record December 25, 2001
VELMA F. CRUMP
MORGANTON - Velma Allen Fritzgerald Crump, 84, of Tellis Lane, died Dec.
22, 2001, at Shytle House in Valdese after a period of declining health.
Born Nov. 8, 1917, in Burnsville, she was a daughter of the late Joseph
J. and Mattie Lou Wheeler Allen.
A member of Zion Baptist Church in Morganton, she taught Sunday school
and was a member of the Womens Circle and the Library Committee. A
member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Womens Club in Glen
Alpine, Order of the Eastern Star and American Legion Auxiliary, she
volunteered for Burke United Christian Ministry and the Salvation Army.
She worked as a social worker in North Carolina and retired from social
work in Lansing, Mich.
She was preceded in death by her first husband, John Howard Fritzgerald;
a stepson, Hugh Crump; a brother, Brian Ray Allen; and a sister, Lenora
Coldwell.
Survivors include her husband, Thad R. Crump; a son and daughter-in-law,
Dennis and Clara Fritzgerald of Huntington Beach, Calif.; a daughter and
son-in-law, Doreen and Robert "Bob" Emmett of Fairbanks, Alaska; a
stepson, William N. Crump of Greenville, S.C.; a stepdaughter, Carole Ann
Davis of Morganton; 13 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.
The funeral will be conducted by the Rev. Ralph May at 3 p.m. Thursday at
her church. Burial will be at a later date in Michigan. The family will
be at the church one hour prior to the service.
Memorials may be made to Zion Baptist Church, 3394 Pea Ridge Road,
Morganton, 28655 or Hospice of Burke County, P.O. Box 1029, Valdese, N.C.
28690.
Kirksey Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
General Notes for Child Velma Moleta ALLEN
GIRL SCOUT'S ENJOY HIKE, AND AWARDS COURT Girl Scout Troop No. 28
hiked Wednesday to the home of Mrs. Harley Hall, West Michigan Ave.,
where a basket lunch was served and a court of awards was held. Badges
were given by the troop captain, to........and Miss Velma Allen. Miss
Lois Baldwin and Miss Velma Allen received prizes for having carried out
the best projects of the members of their patrol.
Asheville Citizen-Times December 25, 2001
VELMA CRUMP
MORGANTON - Velma Allen Fitzgerald Crump, 84, died Saturday, Dec. 22,
2001. The funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday at Zion
Baptist Church with visitation one hour prior to the services. Burial
will be held at a later date in Michigan. Kirksey Funeral Home is in
charge of the arrangements
Hickory Daily Record December 25, 2001
VELMA F. CRUMP
MORGANTON - Velma Allen Fritzgerald Crump, 84, of Tellis Lane, died Dec.
22, 2001, at Shytle House in Valdese after a period of declining health.
Born Nov. 8, 1917, in Burnsville, she was a daughter of the late Joseph
J. and Mattie Lou Wheeler Allen.
A member of Zion Baptist Church in Morganton, she taught Sunday school
and was a member of the Womens Circle and the Library Committee. A
member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Womens Club in Glen
Alpine, Order of the Eastern Star and American Legion Auxiliary, she
volunteered for Burke United Christian Ministry and the Salvation Army.
She worked as a social worker in North Carolina and retired from social
work in Lansing, Mich.
She was preceded in death by her first husband, John Howard Fritzgerald;
a stepson, Hugh Crump; a brother, Brian Ray Allen; and a sister, Lenora
Coldwell.
Survivors include her husband, Thad R. Crump; a son and daughter-in-law,
Dennis and Clara Fritzgerald of Huntington Beach, Calif.; a daughter and
son-in-law, Doreen and Robert "Bob" Emmett of Fairbanks, Alaska; a
stepson, William N. Crump of Greenville, S.C.; a stepdaughter, Carole Ann
Davis of Morganton; 13 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.
The funeral will be conducted by the Rev. Ralph May at 3 p.m. Thursday at
her church. Burial will be at a later date in Michigan. The family will
be at the church one hour prior to the service.
Memorials may be made to Zion Baptist Church, 3394 Pea Ridge Road,
Morganton, 28655 or Hospice of Burke County, P.O. Box 1029, Valdese, N.C.
28690.
Kirksey Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Birth Notes for Child: Bryan Fay ALLEN
, in a house that his parents built. It was across the road from his
Wheeler grandparents, and next to the Black Mountain Baptist Church where
his parents had been married. The house is no longer standing. In it's
place is a Wheeler cemetery.
Husband Joseph P. ALLEN (details suppressed for this person)
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Marriage:
Wife (details suppressed for this person)
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Husband Joseph P. ALLEN 7
Born: 1818 - Bald Creek, NC 7
Christened:
Died: 23 Jul 1903 - Rhodelia, TN 7
Buried:
Father: Joseph ALLEN (1782- ) 3 4
Mother: Annie TURNER (1786- ) 5
Marriage:
Wife
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Husband Julious ALLEN 18
Born: 1879 18
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Father: Henry ALLEN (Abt 1838- )
Mother: Loveda S. SILVER (1838- ) 18
Marriage:
Wife
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Husband Roger Andrew FLEMING (details suppressed for this person)
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Marriage:
Wife Kathy Janette ALLEN (details suppressed for this person)
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Father: Harold Wayne ALLEN
Mother: Phyllis Jean HUTCHINS
Children
1 F Phoebe Jeanette FLEMING (details suppressed for this person)
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Husband Kelly ALLEN (details suppressed for this person)
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Father: Michael Richard ALLEN
Mother:
Marriage:
Wife (details suppressed for this person)
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried: