The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

My great-grandparents




My great-grandfather, James Tipton Short, was called ‘Beardy Jim’ because of the very long, heavy, black beard he wore. He served in the Civil War as a lieutenant.

He was a great marksman and always used a flintlock rifle. He was very fond of deer hunting and killed lots of them. He was a farmer and a trader. He bought Short Creek and used to own nearly all the head of Pound, Va.

He was very hospitable. People would ride for miles to get to his house to spend the night because they knew he would never turn anyone away.

He had no education, but he was very wise. He was a very good cook and could beat most women at spinning. He could do carpentry work and blacksmithing. He liked ‘bread soup’ and wanted broiled hog skin and cornbread at bedtime.

My great-grandmother, Nancy ‘Sarah’ Milburn Short, born 1820, was medium built with dark eyes and light brown hair. She had fair skin and was called ‘pretty.’

She loved to read the Bible and always wanted to do the right thing. She was around 16 when she married ‘Beardy Jim,’ and he wasn’t much older himself.

‘Beardy Jim’ was born in 1817 and died Dec. 29, 1884 and was buried in the cemetery on the brow of a hill on Short Creek on the Dewey section of South Fork of Pound. My great-grandmother, Nancy, is buried by his side.



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