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- Excerpt from "A History of the Coalfield Area" by W.B. Lyles - - -Millard Lyles, the youngest son of John and Lucinda Lyles, was bornMay 22, 1886. He grew up at the old home place in the head of SolomonHollow. While he was a small boy, they haad a hard time feeding thefamily during the depression of 1893 and 1894. He was the only onethat got to go to school. He went to the 3rd grade. After he gotinto his teens, his father bought a farm about four miles away. Therehe built a larger home, and there he remained to help support thefamily. His father had an accident that made him blind. One of themishaps of life - when John was going up a mountain path, a limb flewback and hit him in the eye. It put it out. John was an avid hunter,trapper, and fur trader. After losing the sight of one eye, he baganbagging fur for other trappers in the area. He lost his other eyeputting barrel staves together. A metal piece flew off and hit him inthe other eye, making him totally blind.
Millard grew up with very little education. He would work forneighbors to earn spending money. On one account, he would help digsweet potatoes for Uncle Clint Liles for 35 cents a day, previouslymentioned. As he grew older he began courting the girls in theneighborhood. The story is told that he courted a girl named LizeWilliams in Petros in 1911 and 1912. She had a son by him named LoganWilliams.
On September 19, 1911, Millard met a new girl named Virgie Frye. Shewas visiting her sister who was giving birth to a child. They datedoff and on for until January 26, 1913. This was the date they gotmarried - that Saturday morning about 10:30 a.m. by Pleas Adcock, whowas Justice of the Peace at the time. Millard was 26 years old andVirgie was 19 that previous April 4.
So they started their lives together about 8 months after the sinkingof the ship, the Titanic - the ship that was built as the buildersboasted could not be sunk, but it went down on its maiden voyage fromEngland to the United States. 1509 people perished.
Millard and Virgie's first child was born in 1914, a boy. He lived 12days and died. This was very disappointing to both Millard and Virgieas they loved children. Again, in 1916, another child was born. Thiswas a girl and she was born dead. This one was the last because thecondition of Virgie's health was such that she was never again able tobear children. As the years went by, they wanted to a chld so badly,they started looking for a child they could adopt. At the Knoxvilleorphanage, the children would come up and climb and their laps andask, "Would you please take us home with you?" But somehow they feltthey were being led by the Holy Spirit and turned these children down.This took place in the fall of 1921.
Up to this time, Millard had been working in the coal mines and made agood living for the two of them. They were always going places andhaving a good time. They were a happy-go-lucky couple. Millardworked in the Coalfield Coal Company mines. They had come to thisarea not too long after the Civil War because coal was being minedhere in a big way. The name was changed again at this time - first itwas called Reo; then, in the 1840's it was changed to Ruffner'sSwitch; now it was changed to Coalfield. There was a railroad builtfrom Harriman through Coalfield into Petros. It was finished in 1905.At one time, there were eight trains a day, two of them were passengertrains.
Above the mines on the mountains, there was a place near the top, alarge level place, they called "Horse Tie." The reason it was calledthat was because during the Civil War, soldiers from both sides wouldcome through and take what they wanted fd from the farmers. The farmerswould take their animals to this level spot on the mountain and tietheir cows, mules, and horses to keep them safe. Not too far was themain top of the mountain, at a high peak, was a place called the"Signal Pole." That was where the signals were sent. They had smokesignals for different signs so the people would know what to do.
On one occasion when Millard and his brother Henry were working onLittle Brushy Mountain in the mines, they started coming down andgoing toward home. Henry was in front walking down the mountain.They heard a shot down at the foot. In about 2 or 3 seconds, a bullethit Millard in the forehead and knocked him down. Almost by the timehe got up, a large bump appeared. That was the closest he came togetting killed.
One morning when Millard went to work there at the Coalfield mines inthe fall of 1922. A man came up to Millard by the name of CharlieBagwell. All of the men knew everyone they worked with in the mines.Millard and Virgie had been to Knoxvillle looking for a baby and allknew it. Charlie Bagwell said to Millard, "Say Millard, I heard youand your wife are looking for a baby to raise." Millard said, "Yes,we have." Charlie then said, "My oldest daughter, Florie, has got ababy boy down there at my son's house in the Camp that she wants togive away. My son's name is Harve and his wife Alvana Bagwell. Tellyour wife about it." So Millard said he would. The next morning, thevery first thing, Charlie came up to Millard and said, "Well, did youtell your wife?" Millard replied, "No, I forgot to, but I will besure and tell her tonight."
That night he did tell Virgie, his wife. She told Millard that shewould go check on the baby the next day. This was in April 1922. Thenext morning she did go. It was a cool day, not too cold. She foundthe house where Harve and Alvana lived. She knocked at the door, andthey invited her in. The baby was sitting in a large cardboard box,back from the grate where they had a fire for heat. Most all of theworkers a the mines lived in the Camp in houses near the mines. Theyall had fireplaces to build fires in the winter for heat.
Virgie took the baby in her lap and she warmed herself. She statedlater, "I never have been so sorry for a child as I was for this babyboy I was holding. He was undernourished, and he was very sick." Shetold Alvana that she must be going. Alvana said, "Well, aren't yougoing to take the baby?"
Virgie said she would go home and talk it over with her husband. Whenshe got to the door, just ready to close it, she took one more lookback at the box where the baby was. He was looking at her with hishand stretched toward her. Virgie broke at this point and told Alvanato get his clothes and she would take him. Alvana got a bag, putthree diapers, a cap, and two dresses in it, and handed it to Virgie.That's all the clothes the baby had - not even a blanket.
Virgie held the baby very close under her coat. She got down to DaveBrown's house. Dave's wife was Millard's sister; they lived aboutone-half mile away. There they loaned her a quilt to put around thechild until she got home.
That evening, when Millard got home, he opened the door, came in, andsaw the boy. He wept for a long time. He told Virgie, "You get thesewing machine out. Tomorrow night when I come home, I will bringenough material so that you will be busy sseveral days making clothesfor that child." Two days later, Virgie and her sister, Sarah Brock,(who had heard of the news), came over, stayed all day, and madeclothes for the baby. Dr. H. E. Hecker was called to doctor the baby.There were three doctors that looked after the baby for the nextseveral months. After a few weeks, he started to improve. However,there was nothing that would stay on his stomach. The doctors werepuzzled as to what to do. Finally, Dr. Sinheth said to Virgie, "I amgoing to suggest, after much though, that you take a cup of rice, boilit for four hours, and give him the broth from it." So she did justthat. She was willing to try anything, and that started improving ofhis health. Virgie changed seeveral diapers for several days filledwith inflammation, which had lined his intestines. When Virgie hadleft the Harve Bagwell home with the baby, she asked Alvana what hadshe been feeding the baby, Alvana replied, "We have been giving himpinto bean soup."
So with the coming of spring, the baby's health improved greatly. AsVirgie commented later, "By giving him a bath every day, by taking alittle dirt at a time, I finally got him clean after two weeks. Butdue to the lack of proper food, nourishment, and care, the boy wouldtake sick in the least change of weather." For the next eightwinters, he had pneumonia fever. Because he was sick so much at anearly age, he got a slow start in school. But he did start school inAugust 1927 at Coalfield Elementary School. His first teacher wasLizzie Jackson, whom he liked so very much. It was a greatdisappointment for him when the teacher died in childbirth beforeschool was out in March 1928.
The school year of 1928-1929, the boy was in the first grade of schooland Thelma Whalen was the teacher. There were some boys in that roomthat were 10 and 11 years old. With another winter and pneumoniaagain, the boy still managed to pass the second grade.
I am sure you know by now, dear reader, that this baby boy was noneother than William Blount Lyles. That was the name I was going by,but by the court of the land, my name was Corum for I was not legallyadopted until February 1942 at the Wartburg Court House, there at thecounty court.
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1886 - 1951 (64 years)
Siblings
