Be The Bridge Between Them

 FAMILY HISTORY

builds bridges between

the generations of our 

families.

Bridges between generations are not built by accident.

If I want my children and grandchildren to know

those who still live in my memory, then

I MUST BUILD 

the bridge

BETWEEN THEM.

I alone am the link to the generations that stand

on either side of me. It is my responsibility to

knit their hearts together

through love and respect. 

~ Dennis B. Neuenschwander

Edna (Vineyard) Quillin's Potbelly Stove

 The Greatest Gift Turned Out To Be Robert "Bob" Haskell Quillen

Being an older person now myself, I can better understand why Bob always wanted to meet me. In our later years, there are things we say that we are ‘going’ to do…and then it becomes too late. He urged me so many times, and in every Christmas card, he reiterated how important it was for me to come to Bristol so that he could show me around the ‘old’ homestead. I could never visualize that as a young person…going to see what seemed to be a stranger. But Bob had already embraced me as family. He wanted VERY much for Derek and me to come for a visit.

Then one day, Bob totally surprised me. He phoned and said that he and Barbara, his wife, were coming on a tour through the Hill Country of Texas. I was shocked and didn’t know exactly what to do or how I would arrange a visit with him. Since he was touring with a company, we decided that Derek and I would go out on a Saturday morning to the hotel where they would be lodging for a couple of nights.

He embraced me from the ‘get-go’. He was an example of kindness and acceptance. It was a great lesson in humility for me, learning how to accept others. I totally misjudged him, viewing him more as a stranger than as a cousin. I practiced too much caution and less acceptance. I knew immediately when I laid eyes on him and Barbara how badly I missed the mark.  

Bob was so excited about his trip to Texas. It felt as though the trip was centered around the opportunity to meet me, as he would later say, “Where are the hills?” Being from Bristol, Virginia, bounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains on one side and the Appalachians on the other, these were not even hills. He presented me with a gift. I was stunned! Bob had gone out to the old homestead and picked up the door of Edna’s potbelly stove. He had mounted it on wood to hang on the wall. This symbolic gesture serves as a reminder to me of how to accept others. I cherish the little time I had with Bob and Barbara, and yes, I look back and wish that I had taken the time to journey back to the old homestead.

Robert Quillen's letter 1995

 

Gate City Article from 14 July 1904

Robert Haskell Quillen sent me this article. 

It was disappointing that this did not reveal Ira D Quillin's name.

 

Robert Spoke of Joel Shelley - Civil War Informaion

Joel Shelley (1842 – 1929)          

The man who said he knew Ira D Quillin

Compiled by Nancy Quillin Long  

Nov 8, 2020

 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/178569758/joel-shelley
Joel Shelley b. 14 Oct 1842 Scott Co VA  d. 7 March 1929 Scott Co VA buried in the Shelley Cemetery, Bristol City VA
 
Joel Shelley wrote a newspaper article for the Gate City Herald dated July 14, 1904 (1901?)
Mr. Shelley is the man who told William Isaac Quillen, grandson of Ira D Quillen, that he (Joel Shelley) was with Ira D when Ira died. The article details how Company H came to be and listed the names of those he could remember. (see attached photo copy of the Gate City Herald article)
 
In June 1861, Mr. Shelley was a volunteer that helped form Company B, 48^th Virginia Volunteers. They were reorganized in 1862 as Company H, 48^th Virginia Volunteers and remained as Company H until Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Mr. Shelley wrote an article for the Gate City Herald, the local newspaper, published in the July 17 1904 (1901?) edition.  Shelley commemorated the men who served in the Company for the Confederate Army.  Shelley states that “it is difficult to remember distinctly the things of forty years ago.”  In the article, Mr. Shelley listed the Christian names of those who served in this company. 
 
Mr. Joel Shelley enlisted 11 Aug 1861 when he was about 18 years old. He was a private from Pocahontas WV.  Company H, Virginia, 48 Infantry Regiment
Possible source: The Virginia Regimental Histories Series
 
My Bristol VA contact Robert Haskell Quillen, keeper of the Ira Quillin cemetery, found this article for me in the Scott County Public Library. (see attached doc titled Important Source) Robert corresponded with me during the 1990s in order to help me document Ira D Quillin and Edna Vineyard Quillin Barker
 
Robert was sorely disappointed that Ira D Quillin’s name was not on the list in the 1904 article.  Robert recalls that his father, William Isaac Quillen (brother to my great grandfather, Beverly Johnson Quillin) had personally spoken with Joel Shelley many years ago and that Mr. Shelley had told him that he was with Ira D when he died.
 
Robert Haskell Quillen < Willie Quillen < Patton Presley < Ira D Quillin
(Patton Presley Quillen was the brother of my great grandfather, Beverly J Quillin.)

Robert's Letter 1993

 Though Robert never did family research, he was willing to at least try to find some things for me.

Ira Quillin Cemetery

 https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2679389/ira-quillin-cemetery

 I will always want to know about the last person on this list for Mrs. Wright. Supposedly Polly Sprowls (who married B.J. Quillin) mother's name was Millie Wright. The Sprowls have been a dead end for me.
IRA QUILLIN CEMETERY
Find a Grave Cemetery: #2679389
The Information about this cemetery was added on 25 Jan 2019  by:
Phyllis Peterson
MEMBER of Find a Graver for 10 years · 17 days
Phyllis Peterson’s FIND A GRAVE ID   is:   47360019
 
Ira Quillin Cemetery #2679389
LOCATION: West End of CR 697
Hiltons, Scott County, Virginia, USA
 
“This cemetery is located slightly to the west of due north of Herman Chap Methodists Church, on the old QUILLIN farm on Fowlers Branch. It is located on the hillside a few hundred yards past the end of the maintained Route 697. The cemetery is unfenced and clean. It is marked by two large cedar trees which were placed at the head and foot of CICERO QUILLIN's grave. TROY DORAN took GUY SANDERS and me (Phyllis Peterson) to the cemetery and gave us a list of six of the eleven or more persons buried there. Troy made the list by discussing it with his mother, AUDREY QUILLEN DORAN. TROY presently leases the farm from his uncle, ROBERT QUILLEN, who owns it. ROBERT said that his father gave him a list of eleven people who were buried there, but the list was lost long ago. IRA QUILLIN SR died during the Civil War and is thought to have been buried near Manassas, VA. [From Donald W. Lane, Jan 2003]
 
8 people were added to Find A Grave by Phyllis Peterson which included the following:
All were buried in the Ira Quillin Cemetery at Hiltons, Scott County, Virginia.
 
Cicero Columbus Quillin
BIRTH  1855
Scott County, Virginia, USA
DEATH 4 Apr 1890 (aged 34–35)
Scott County, Virginia, USA
Drowned in the Clinch River. (Marked by two large cedar trees at head and foot of the grave)
MEMORIAL ID 196357272 ·
 
Patton Presley Quillin
BIRTH  10 Jan 1860
DEATH 10 Mar 1933 (aged 73)
Find a Grave Memorial 196357210
 
Elizabeth Isabell Reynolds Quillin  (wife of Patton Presley Quillin)
BIRTH  16 Apr 1871
DEATH unknown
Find a Grave Memorial 196357688
Martha Virginia Hart Quillin  (wife of Patton Presley Quillin)
Gravesite Details Marked with a fieldstone
BIRTH  11 Sep 1863
DEATH Dec 1896 (aged 33)
Find a Grave Memorial 196357220
 
Ira D. Quillin Jr.
BIRTH  14 May 1863
DEATH 11 Sep 1928 (aged 65)
Find a Grave Memorial 196357184
 
Henry Clay Quillin
Not on Audrey Quillen's list, but known to be buried here according to his grandchildren
BIRTH  1868
DEATH 1894 (aged 25–26)
Find a Grave Memorial 196357596
 
Billy Vineyard   A Baby
BIRTH  unknown
DEATH unknown
Find a Grave Memorial 196357368 
 
Mrs Wright
BIRTH  unknown
DEATH unknown
BURIAL
Ira Quillin Cemetery
Find a Grave Memorial 196357317