The primary purpose of my web site is to share information about the families from which I descend who were early settlers of Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. I hope to be able to connect with others who are researching the same family lines, and to work together to preserve our heritage.

Also, I have published a number of genealogy books, and wish to be able to make them available for purchase to anyone who is interested (see link on this page).

One of my primary areas of interest is the families who lived in the towns on the Little Tennessee River in Swain County, NC, who were displaced from their homes and lands when the Tennessee Valley Authority constructed the Fontana Dam in 1943. A number of my forebears were among those who were removed from their ancestral homelands, some having settled there as early as 1835. I hope to be able to keep this heritage alive, even though there are many forces that make it very difficult. There are still twentysix cemeteries remaining on the North Shore of Lake Fontana, accessible only by boat, that contain the graves of my ancestors and those of the ancestors of numerous other families. A number of the eleven hundred graves left are those of Civil War and World War I veterans (see Decoration Day schedule). Some of the towns and communities that were destroyed were Bone Valley, Bushnell, Cable Branch, Dorsey, Japan, Judson, Sugar Fork (Also known as Medlin),

Proctor, and Wayside (Also known as Marcus). Some of the creeks along which settlements existed were Calhoun Branch, Chambers Creek, Eagle Creek, Forney Creek, Goldmine Branch, Hazel Creek, Kirkland Branch,

Noland Creek, Pilkey’s Creek, and Woody Branch. Some of the family names of those who lived along what is now the North Shore were Ashe, Anthony, Bradshaw, Buchanan, Cable, Calhoun, Chambers, Cole,Crisp, Curtis, Dorsey, Earley, Franklin, Green, Gunter, Hall, Hyde, Holloway, Hoyle, Jenkins, Jones, Kirkland, Laney, McClure, Marcus, Medlin, Millsaps, Monteith, Myers, Nelems, Pace, Payne, Pilkington, Posey, Proctor, Sawyer, Stillwell, Welch, Wike, and Woody.

The North Shore Cemetery Association has made a vigorous effort over the last several years to mark the identified graves that do not already have gravestones. Anyone wishing to help with this undertaking can contact me here on this website and I will be glad to provide further information