In 1850, King was identified as a 9- year old boy. In 1860, Oliver K. was listed as a 16- year old. Taken together, his named is presumed to have been Oliver King Pruitt. He cannot be located in a census after the one taken in 1860. [1]
The next piece of information recorded about King Pruitt was recorded in a handwritten ledger kept by Levi Absher. Born in 1838, Levi Absher lived in northern Wilkes County and during his lifetime, kept a ledger in which he recorded birth and deaths, apparently family members and neighbors. Within the ledger is this notation: King Pruitt - Shot [2]
My father-in-law had never heard any stories about King Pruitt until a local researcher named Paul W. Gregory told him about the Bell Mountain Massacre. According to my father-in-law's recollections, Mr. Gregory told him that locals found out that raiders were planning to loot homes and a group of residents assembled to try to defend their properties. And that the raiders were actually the Home Guard, who should have been defending the neighbors, not attacking them. The group encountered the Home Guard near Bell Mountain in northern Wilkes County. According to my father-in-law, Mr. Gregory told him that King Pruitt was one of the casualties.
Mr. Gregory wrote a book, Early Settlers of Reddies River, published in 1976, in which he discussed what was known as the Bell Mountain Massacre. [3] He references the difficult conditions that existed in the South near the end of the war, the problems related to the general location of Northwest North Carolina, and the poor regard that many local residents had for the Home Guard. Regarding the events that occurred on December 2, 1864, Mr. Gregory said that:
"Complete details of what happened are not available; but we do know that when the smoke cleared that at least four of the defending citizens were killed."
Three members of the Sebastian family, Charles, Lewis and William, were killed, along with Thomas Shumate. Mr. Gregory further wrote:
Also reported to be killed, but unconfirmed by this writer were King Pruitt, Reubin Owens, W.W. Higgins and Wess Brown. Moses Frank Richardson and Lewis Sebastian, age 17 and son of William Sebastian, Jr. were among those who escaped the massacre."
and
"Another group of local citizens in the nearby community, hearing the shots, moved in and helped drive the attacking force across the mountain into Alleghany County."
Levi Absher's ledger listed several other men, in addition to King Pruitt, who were "Shot". These included Rubin Owens, Thomas Shumate, Lewis Sebastian, Charlie Sebastian, Billie Sebastian, W.W. Higgins, Little Wes. Brown, James Blackburn and Rila Hall.
Levi Absher's ledger does not include dates of death for these men, or in any way suggest that they were killed at the same time. Their names are not listed together, but are scattered throughout the list. However, except for James Blackburn and Rila Hall, the names in the ledger appear to match the names of those killed, or reportedly killed at Bell Mountain.
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What do we know about the events of December 2, 1864?
Mr. Gregory provided background information about the circumstances and conditions that existed in the area, along with a record about what happened that day.
The Wilkes Journal-Patriot published an article in January 2015, the 150th anniversary of the final year of the Civil War, mentioning the Bell Mountain Massacre. You can read that article here.
In a genealogy forum in 2006, a descendant of William Sebastian provided a similar account of events.
Nanalee Caudill quotes from "History of Alleghany County 1859 through 1976" The Battle of Caudill's Hill, page 255. You can read that here.
FindAGrave has a memorial for the daughter of Lewis Sebastian, who was one of the men killed that day. This memorial includes an account of those events, found here.
No accounts were contemporary with the events of December 1864. None of the accounts listed here, including Mr. Gregory's, provide any sources or references to newspaper reports, diaries, or any other records created at or near the time that these deaths occurred. We don't know whether or not Mr. Gregory viewed Levi Absher's ledger.
One of the accounts in the genealogy forum references records at the Wilkes County Courthouse. I have not yet located those records.
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And, what do we know about King Pruitt?
We know he was in the household of Joel and Elizabeth Pruitt in 1850 and 1860. We know that he can't be found in any later censuses. We know that the name King Pruitt was written by Levi Absher in his handwritten ledger, along with the word "Shot". Other names within this ledger were also listed as "Shot".
We don't know if King Pruitt was a part of the group that was trying to prevent looting, or if he was in the group of neighbors who heard the shooting and came to help. More information is needed, but records may never have been created, or may not survive.
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[1] Information about King Pruitt's father can be found here.
[2] Levi Absher Ledger; published by the Wilkes Genealogical Society, 16 pages. This book can be ordered from the Wilkes Genealogical Society for $25.00 plus shipping, or $18.75 for a digital edition.
[3] Early Settlers of Reddies River; by Paul W. Gregory. Published by the Wilkes Genealogical Society, 1976. Pages 168-171. This book can be ordered from the Wilkes Genealogical Society for $8.00 plus shipping, or $6.00 for a digital edition.
Great info.... I will add what I know for sure so you can add it to your research as I will be doing the same with yours.
ReplyDeleteThe Tragedy of the Wilkes County Massacre
Shortly before the close of the Civil War, there existed an armed force of men known as the Home Guard. The primary objective of this group was to protect the citizens from the terror and fear caused by the lawless elements of the country.
Unfortunately, this organization itself turned into a brigade of robbers and looters.
Several male citizens of the Hay Meadow and Mulberry area (northeast of North Wilkesboro) had heard they were headed toward their area to loot and burn their homes.
Eighteen to twenty men, armed and riding saddled horses, started toward the mountain where the robbers had their headquarters.
Unknown to them, the outlaws had observed their movements and had prepared an ambush for the vigilantes.
In the battle, the outlaws killed three members of the Sebastian family: Lewis, born 1808; William, born 1814 and Charles F. (son of Lewis), born 1845. Others who lost their lives on that fatal day of December 2, 1864 were King Pruitt, Rubin Owens, Thomas Shumate, W. W. Giggins, Little Wes Brown, and Moses F. Richardson.
William was Grandpa Eli Sebastian’s father. Lewis was a brother to William.
According to records at the Wilkes County Courthouse, some pages say the tragedy happened on Bell Mountain of the Blue Ridge Mountains - another place in the book states it happened near Cherry Lane at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
When Wayne and I talked to Flora Sebastian Dillard, she said her mother told her it happened in the Piney Grove Community which is near the foot of the mountain in the pasture of the Johnsie Spicer homeplace.
Eli Walker brought the dead men home in a wagon.
Jeff, thanks for commenting on the blog, and thanks so much for the additional information!
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