Tri-County Observer (Monroe Co. TN) November 28, 1979, Page 7B:

“A 49 Year Wait Ends---A 49-year wait for a Townsend man came to an end early Saturday morning. For it was around 10:30 a.m. that 
Ed Fry, age 51, found his mother’s grave in the Coppenger Cemetery near Tellico Plains. Fry’s mother died in 1930 when he was two 
years old, but his father would never speak of her or tell his son where her body was laid to rest. The long search ended with 
the discovery Saturday. Fry’s mother was the former Annie Fry, who was born in Tellico Plains. She married Howard Odom, who was 
born in Sevier County. The couple moved to Maryville since the father worked with the old Babcock Saw Co. in that town. The couple 
had one son, named Ed, but when the youth was two years old, his mother contracted tuberculosis and died. He never knew his mother 
that he could remember, nor did he know where she was buried. ‘My father just wouldn’t talk about her,’ Fry said Saturday after 
visiting the grave. ‘He always did tell me he would one day take me to the grave, but he died two years ago and never got the 
chance to tell.’ This started the search for Fry to find what he had always wanted to know. He knew his mother was buried in her 
hometown of Tellico Plains, but he did not know what cemetery. ‘I knew several people who were familiar with the town and its 
area, but I just never could get to talk with them,’ Fry said. ‘All I knew was she was in Tellico.’ Then recently Fry met with 
Maria Tate from the Tellico area and she told Fry of another Tellico man who had a wide variety of knowledge about the area. 
Believe it or not, his name was Fry also. ‘As far as I know we’re not related,’ Fry said of the coincidence. ‘We talked for a 
few minutes and he took me right to the place.’ Fry said he could not explain his feelings when he finally discovered the grave, 
which was unmarked. He said a few tears were shed when he finally realized he had discovered his dream. ‘I found something today 
that I’ve been hunting a long time,’ Fry said. ‘I just don’t know how I felt. I just about cried.’ Fry, who is employed by the 
city of Maryville, is active with Boy Scouts in the area. He says he is only a volunteer, though many have tried to get him to 
be one of the scout leaders. But in the meantime, Fry still has some work to go concerning his mother’s grave. Though he found 
the cemetery, and the general location, the grave was unmarked. He has one more wish. ‘It’s an unmarked grave so I’m going to 
try and determine the exact location of where she is buried,’ Fry said. ‘If I can locate it exactly, I’m going to put some type 
of marker on it to make it permanent.”
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Madisonville Democrat, Wednesday, June 8, 1927, Page 1:

“A Bear Fight Around A Pine Knot Fire---When I was a boy, I was raised in the hilly country of Tennessee and always had a desire 
to bear hunt. My father always told me so many bear tales around our fireside when I was a boy, which always makes me very anxious 
to take a stroll into the mountains to hunt bears. My father owned a rifle, which he said when I became a man, I might carry 
into the Alleghenys. Before I go any further, I might tell you something about the Allegheny Mountains. They divide Tennessee 
and North Carolina and are about three thousand feet above sea level. The state line is on the top of the mountain between 
Tennessee and the Carolinas. The Tennesseans had to be very careful not to get on the North Carolina side to kill bears, 
on account of the Cherokee wild Indians. I remember once a boy, taking his rifle, went bear hunting and never returned. We always 
feared the Indians captured him. My mother was always afraid and always insisted that I should never be allowed to go. But when 
I was 18 years of age, in the fall of 1830 in the beautiful Autumn month of October, I got my rifle, haversack and provisions and 
set out to the top of the mountain. I reached the high top of the mountain at the Cantrell Gap with my short-tailed and crap-eared 
dog. He was a dark, brindle bear dog. So we built us a camp fire and took refuge under an Oak tree to spend the night alone. All 
was quiet except the hoot of the owl and the scream of the panther. The next morning we arose very early and began to prepare 
breakfast, after which we were going to make a drive for the bear. When I began to broil my meat on the coals, to my surprise up 
walked two large black bears, walking on their hind feet with their paws reaching towards me. I grabbed my rifle and at the crack 
of the gun, I brought one of the bears to the ground. That left me and my dog and the other bear for the fight. I cried to ‘old 
Jumbo’ my dog, for help. The next moment I found myself in the arms of the bear. Being very much excited, I thought of my hunting 
knife. I reached back into my belt and as I brought out my knife I had no time to think, as I pierced the bear through the heart. 
I soon was relieved from the clutch of the bear. But on my return home I came to the cabin of John Murphy and related to him my 
fearful escape from the bear fight, and John said, ‘Let us return to the scene of the bear fight.’ On reaching the scene we 
discovered several Cherokee Indians who had come to the scene of the bear fight, and John spoke in a low tone to me and said: 
‘What must we do?’ I returned the remark to him and said, ‘We will slip up a little closer.’ John said, ‘You being a lad of a 
boy, you follow me.’ We crawled under the bushes up to about 30 yards of the Indians. John reached back and got his old revolver 
from his belt and opened fire on the Indians. At the crack of the old revolver which almost shook the mountains, he brought the 
old Chief Indian to the ground. The rest became excited and escaped across the line over into the Cherokee, North Carolina. John 
and I then proceeded to dress our bear, but shortly discovered the Indians returning with reinforcements, and we took the little 
Indian trail and returned home and reported our attack upon the Indians and soon we had reinforcements to the amount of about 25 
men. We saddled our horses, my father was Captain of our company. He rode a big black horse. We took the main road and rode around 
by the toll gate at the top of the mountain. We took the road then that led to Sullivan Creek. We were then in North Carolina. 
Murphy was riding in front with my father and all at once my father and Murphy halted in the road and said ‘Be quiet.’ We looked 
a little ways ahead in the gap of the mountain and we saw the Indians. My father then said, ‘All fall in line for a battle,’ and 
we opened fire on the Indians, and had a large fight with them. One man was killed. His name was Smith, the father of the boy who 
had been captured by the Indians. We charged them so heavily they fled and we pursued them and overtook them near a little Indian 
town five miles this side of Murphy, North Carolina, on the Hiwassee River. There we had a tremendous hard fight. We fought for 
about one hour and lost one man, John Murphy was killed. We captured the Indians and when we captured them we found the Smith boy. 
We killed all the Indians and returned across into Tennessee and brought the Smith boy back home. The Smith boy related great 
stories to his mother how the Indians had captured him and had been so cruel to him. We had a great barbecue. The neighbors all 
gathered in and we had a great day. Our community has been quiet and free from any attack by the Indians unto this day. The 
community went to work and built houses, and went together and organized a church. The name of the church is Coker Creek. I 
remember well the first preacher that ever preached in our settlement. He was a tall man with gray whiskers and wore a suit 
made of homemade cloth. His name was old Uncle Julian Brown. The first meeting that was ever held here he held a revival meeting. 
We had a wonderful meeting with about 100 conversions. We Baptized them all in Coker Creek on Sunday, November the 10th. I am now 
getting old; my head is gray. I shall never forget my childhood days. I lay my pencil down to write no more. May this story be kept 
and read in remembrance of me.   ---Composed by Rev. W.N. Cagle.

This same article was re-printed in the June 30, 1976 issue of The Monroe County Observer, Page 22.
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Tri-County Observer (Monroe Co. TN) August 23, 1978:

Letter To The Editor
“Seeks Death Dates of Local Ancestors---“You are our last hope. We are trying to find the death dates of Obediah White and his wife, 
Martha “Patsy.” Would you run a notice to any descendants living in your area to please contact is?” said Mrs. Charles H. Guffey, 
1015 West Nearss Ave. 8, Tampa, FL 33612, in a letter to the editor today. “Obediah and Patsy moved from Spring Creek, McMinn County 
in 1858 or 1859 to near Tellico Plains. At that time they were about 60 years old. Apparently James Mitchell White, eldest son, 
bought the land so there were no wills nor court proceedings necessary to settle any estate. The 1880 census shows them as 81 and 
79. They were buried in unmarked graves in the Guffey – Shell Cemetery, Spring Creek, McMinn County, TN. For kin information
---we are descendants from their daughter, Lucinda, and are corresponding with descendants of Thomas Richard in Texas. Your help 
will really be appreciated.”
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Madisonville Democrat, Wednesday, August 8, 1945:

“Rafter---Hon. F.L. Hunnicutt of Oklahoma City, I have read your interesting letter in last week’s Democrat, and would like to learn 
if you know Gideon Morgan of Tip, Oklahoma, or Mrs. Fannie Dixon of Wheatland, Oklahoma? I had a first cousin who lived in the Indian 
Territory for 36 years and who came back here in 1908. He went west with Gideon Morgan and the Hensons to take up their Indian claims 
in 1872. Tom Shaw was the one who went with the Hensons and Morgans to stake his Cherokee claim. He had a half-brother, Columbus Lynn, 
and another named Tom Shaw. He had two children, a son and daughter, whom he left there, their names were Willie and Linda Shaw. If 
you can locate anyone bearing any of these names near you, please write the Democrat about it.”   ---Columbus Shaw.
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Madisonville Democrat, Wednesday, April 1, 1942:

“Three Point---Here’s a little sketch of something my uncle, Isaac Lindsey, said he had seen several different times on the road near 
the Boyd Williams place, known as the old Billy Click farm: He said it was a ghost in the shape of a large man. He said the first time 
he saw it, it was standing at the side of the road. It jumped onto his horse behind him, placed its arms around his waist and it 
would seem as if this ghost would squeeze him to death; then it would get in front of him and place its hands on his shoulders, 
talking to him all the time. Uncle Ike thought that a man by the name of Berle Blanton was dead. But this ghost told him that the
man was living in Missouri, and that if he would write, he would get an answer. He said he wrote and got an answer from Berle Blanton. 
He said it rode with him something like a mile the first time, then got off on the side of the road on an embankment. He said he shot
it and sparks of fire rolled out of it apparently by hundreds and it said, “Mr. Lindsey, you can’t hurt me by shooting me; and you 
shouldn’t shoot.” So Uncle Ike put his gun in his pocket and didn’t offer to shoot again. He said the last time it rode with him, it 
told him when it dismounted that if he told what it told him not to tell, it would “come back to see him.” I have heard him weep and 
tell this at different times.”   ---Happy Girl.
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Tri-County Observer (Monroe Co. TN) October 27, 1978, Page 20:

“Seeks Information On Brother’s Daughters---A letter addressed to the sheriff of Monroe County seeks information about the 
whereabouts of three women “last seen in 1919.”  The letter, sent by Mrs. Gertie Lane of Memphis [TN] read as follows:
‘I am trying to locate my brother’s children as follows: three daughters, Lotus, Elmer and Helen Eva, last seen in 1919. 
I heard he bought a farm near Madisonville. His name, J.E. (Jim) McMillon. His wife’s name was Myra Lee Hicks. Not sure, 
but think she was from Polk County. I think Lotus was eight years old in 1919 and Helen Eva was born that year. Hoping you 
can shed some light on my problems. Am thanking you for same. Kindest regards.”
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Tri-County Observer (Monroe Co. TN) March 3, 1978, Page 8:
“104 Year Old Bible Is Found---Hobson Shaw, Tellico Plains, Route 4, found an old Bible in 1961 and took it home and forgot about 
it. On Feb, 27, 1978, he brought it to The Observer thinking it might be of interest to someone. Shaw found the Bible in what used 
to be the old Sink Church just off Sink Road in Tellico Plains. The old church was falling down and the windows were broken out. 
Shaw said the Bible had been rained on and was in poor condition so he took it home. There is an inscription in the front of the 
Bible which reads, “Presented to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Madisonville, April 29, 1866.” The Bible was printed in 1864. 
Also written on one of the front pages is “Emma Ghormley visited the graveyard April 11, 1960, born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 
daughter of Davia LaFayette.” The Bible was also signed by George M. Cusow.”
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