Over the next several weeks Picturing the
Past will be featuring books about the people and places that make up
Transylvania County’s history.

Voices of Our Mountain Kin
shares the stories of the ancestors of members of the email group, MountainKin
and was edited by Jerry Owen, Linda Anders and Pamela Yarborough.  The
first volume, published in 2006, contains contributions from descendants of
families who settled in the upper part of what is today Transylvania
County. 

While many of the stories focus on the Owen
family, other longtime mountain families are also featured.  The stories
stretch beyond the boundaries of Transylvania County throughout Western North
Carolina, upstate South Carolina and northeast Georgia.

Owen family reunion at the Jesse Owen home place in September 1939.

Many of the stories have been passed down
through families from generation to generation.  As
Jerry Owen explains, these family traditions occasionally become altered
through retelling.  Owen and his brother chose to research the details of
their family stories to paint as accurate of a history as possible.  Owen
sites an example were research led to a shift in who the family moonshiner was
and even whether or not it was a legal operation.

The book also includes Civil War letters and
memories, remedies for ailments, stories of everyday life and even a few
ghostly happenings.

One humorous
story tells of a prank Rufus Owen and his son played on a neighbor at dusk one
evening.  Owen attached a wire to the neighbor’s porch post and stretched
it tight to a nearby hiding place.  When his son plucked the wire it
produced an eerie sound.  The man came to the porch to investigate but in
the near dark was unable to see anything unusual.  The trick was repeated
several times until the man no longer came to the door.  When Owen paid a
visit later that evening the man shared that they had been hearing noises that
they attributed to a ghost.  Owen didn’t divulge the true cause of the
mysterious sounds.

These brief tales and those in a second
volume, published in 2009, make for a quick and enjoyable read.  Both are
available to be checked out at the Transylvania County Library or for browsing
in the Local History Room at the Library.

Photographs and information for this column
are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. 
Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more
about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information,
comments, or suggestions contact Marcy at [email protected]
or 828-884-1820.