Monday, September 10, 1736: On this day, two hundred and ninety years ago today, American Revolutionary statesman and signer of the Declaration of Independence Braxton Carter was born at Newington, Virginia. He died on October 10, 1797, at Richmond, Virginia.”
(Source: Chase’s Calendar of Events, 2026.)
Sunday, September 10, 1899: One hundred and twenty-seven years ago today, The Chattanooga Sunday Times reported several short news items in a column entitled “Social News from Near-By Towns”. Some of the items, with a dateline from Johnson City and a date of September 9, were as follows:
“Miss Bessie Worley left Monday to enter Centenary college (sic for College) at Cleveland.”
Centenary College was founded by the Methodist Church; it closed in 1929.
Cleveland, Tennessee is about 188 miles from Johnson City. It is southwest of Johnson City.
“Miss Maggie Bullock gave her Sunday School class of twelve young girls a delightful outing and picnic at the Rockhouse Wednesday.”
“The Junior League of the Methodist church (sic for Church) will give an entertainment at the opera house Tuesday evening.”
“Mrs. W. K. Martin and daughters, Lola and Maggie, returned Tuesday from visiting Morristown friends.”
Morristown is about 66 miles from Johnson City; it is west, and very slightly south, of Johnson City.
“Miss Carey VanDyke, of Chattanooga, was here Tuesday, the guest of Mrs. J. M. Brown, en route to Unaka Springs.’”
Unaka Springs is in Unicoi County.
“Miss Nellie Scarborough, of Knoxville, is the guest of her cousin, Miss atherine Simcox.”
“H. P. Wyman has returned from an extended trip to Big Rapids, Mich.”
“Miss Lillie Painter visited in Bristol last Saturday.”
Bristol is about 24 miles from Johnson City. It is north, and very slightly east, of Johnson City.
“Mrs. J. B. Cox and children have returned form a visit to Mrs. Cox’s relatives at Gate City, Va.”
Gate City, Virginia, is about 31 miles from Johnson City.
“Misses Mary and Larua Swadley, of Marbleton, were guests of relatives here this week.”
Marbleton is a community in rural Unicoi County.
“Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Bruner returned Saturday from a trip to New York and other eastern cities.”
“Mrs. W. J. Matthews and sons, and Robert Williams, have returned from a two weeks’ visit to Boone, N. C.”
Boone, North Carolina is located about 55 miles from Johnson City. . It lies in a slightly southeastern direction from Johnson City.
“Mrs. D. P. Durham, after visiting her brother, Dr. F. A. Long, for two weeks, left for her home in Atlanta, Ga.”
“Mrs. F. B. Owens and child, of Ohio, have joined Mr. Owen here, and they are now occupying the P. H. Pouder residence.”
“E. P. and Arthur Erwin left Thursday afternoon for Lakeville, Conn., where they will attend the Hotchkiss school (sic for School), preparatory to entering Yale college (sic for College), at New Haven, Conn.”
“Mrs. J. Sanford Crouch and little daughter returned to their home at Norfolk, Va., Wednesday.”
“Miss A. K. Hardy left Saturday for New York.”
“Miss Sallie Dyer, after a visit to her sister, Mrs. R. C. Hunter, left for Knoxville Tuesday, where she has a position in the city schools.”
“Dr. Henry M. Cass left Wednesday for Nashville where he will complete his studies from Vanderbilt university (sic for University).”
“Mr. and Mrs. P. M. Ward are visiting Philadelphia, new York, and other eastern cities.”
“Mr. and Mrs. John F. Lyle have moved from their country home into town for the winter.”
“Rev. and Mrs. George P. Faw are visiting Mrs. Faw’s sister, Mrs. H. H. Crouch.”
“Mrs. M. W. Murdock, and niece, Mrs. Dora Lewis, of Rogersville, came to the city Wednesday to attend the Lyle-Thomas nuptials at Happy Valley.”
Rogersville is located in Hawkins County and is about 37 miles from Johnson City.
Happy Valley is a community in Carter County; there is also a Happy Valley community in rural Washington County, near the Greene County line.
“Mrs. John Brock, nee Miss Mary Odom, of Decatur, Ala., is visiting Mrs. C. K. Lyle.”
“Miss Faith Wilder, of Chestoa, visited her sister, Mrs. F. A. Stratton, a few days this week.”
Chestoa is located in rural Unicoi County.
“Mrs. T. J. Galloway has returned from a several weeks visit to relatives at Austin Springs.”
In 1899, Austin Springs was a community in rural Washington County; now it is in the city limits of Johnson City.
Chattanooga is approximately 216 miles from Johnson City. Chattanooga is southwest of Johnson City and borders Georgia.
The Chattanooga Sunday Times was published as The Chattanooga Daily Times the remaining days of the week. It is now published online as the Chattanooga Times Free Press. I do not have access to any newspapers that may have been published on a daily basis in Johnson City in 1899; however, The Comet was published weekly.
Note: A reader asked for news from around the turn of the century, so that is why we have an entry from 1899. If there’s a special date in your life, let me know!
Friday, September 10, 1926: One hundred years ago today, the Johnson City Chronicle reported that “Theft of a Ford touring car owned by Jesse Williams and bearing state license number 182-477, motor number 9,017,882, was being investigated by the police today. The machine was stolen from Roan Street Wednesday night.”
For a unique way to “Get Involved!” I invite you to read the words of Meredith Trott, and go to the Gap Creek bridge dedication on Saturday, September 12:
“Join us on Saturday, September 12th at 11:00 a.m. at the new Gap Creek bridge dedication for our Ira Meredith. We share this honor with the family of Dr. Michael J Brown, longtime veterinarian and resident of Carter County whose home overlooks the bridge. We’re grateful and proud to share this remembrance that allows two families to celebrate the memory of their loved one.
“Yesterday I met my friend, Lynnea Bowman, at City Market for breakfast. While we were sitting there, a gentleman walked by and she spoke to him and said, ‘Donald, do you remember Merri Treadway? She went to Happy Valley Elementary with us; her mother was the librarian there.’
“Donald Wilson looked at me and said, ‘I remember. I loved your mother. When I was 11 years old my brother, Harold, was killed in the Vietnam War. The principal sent your mother out on the playground to find me and take me to my dad.’
“In March of 1966, Marine Lance Corporal Harold Wilson was killed in the Battle of Texas when his Huey helicopter was ambushed. Donald told us that through the years (more than 50) his sisters kept saying that there should be something special to remember their Harold by.
“When the new Johnson City four-lane highway was being constructed, the Tennessee State Legislature passed a resolution to name one of the roadway’s bridges in memory of Corporal Harold W. Wilson. The bridge was dedicated to Harold in June of 2017 and is located above the elementary school. He was a star athlete and graduate of Happy Valley High School.
“Donald said from the bridge you can hear the voices and laughter of children from the playground and when the leaves are off the trees, you can see the fields where his brother Harold played ball.
“Comfort found in remembrance.
“I am so proud and appreciative of our Meredith family members who worked to have the Gap Creek bridge that is located near the Meredith homeplace named for our Ira. In addition, I am grateful to the family members who have spent years mowing and caring for the Meredith Family Cemetery where Ira was laid to rest. Our Meredith cousins recently worked to clean the hillside, repair the graves, and reset the headstones. They replaced the fence, erected an American flag, and added a sign for the cemetery.
“The bridge that will be named for Ira is just over the hill from the Meredith family farm (Ira’s grandparents) where they raised ten children. You may be able to see the bridge from the hillsides where Joseph and his nine sons plowed the ground and planted crops including corn and tobacco.
“From the bridge, you might have been able to smell Sallie’s bread baking in the wood stove and detect the aroma of her sweet apple pies. She had a large flower garden and a picket fence around her vegetable garden that hugged the bend in the road.
“The Gap Creek Road was well traveled on foot, horseback, wagons and automobiles by the family. Joseph would have crossed over the creek many times on horseback as he covered his mail route of 28 miles. He began delivering mail across the county in 1908.
Countless numbers of Meredith family members have lived on the roadway, and it held their schools, churches, and Joseph’s general store. Each Meredith sibling left home behind and traveled down this road to make their way into the world to start families and careers.
Farmland surrounded by valleys, mountains, and roadways imprints lasting images upon us. Memories and landscapes that lie deep within our bones.
“One day in the future we are going to travel the Gap Creek Road and cross the Ira Meredith Memorial Bridge because just as Harold Wilson’s sisters said there should be something to remember their brother Harold by, eighty years later, Ira Meredith’s family said the same thing.
“Staff Sgt. Ira L. Meredith
“’Ira Lynn Meredith was born on 2 December 1914 to William G. Meredith Jr., and Lizzie Hammett. His mother died in 1936, and his father married Lucinda Bishop. Ira had four sisters and one brother. He was killed in action on 9 June 1944 in France. Buried at Meredith Cemetery, Elizabethton, Tennessee. Staff Sergeant 4th Infantry Division, 8th Infantry Regiment, Company L, Ira was a member of the 4th Infantry Division and was killed in France on D-Day plus 3. He was awarded (posthumously) the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroic action taken on June 9, 1944. He was wounded by German gunfire. yet he continued to fight despite his wounds. He killed the crew of a machine gun nest that had his men pinned down. He received more gunshot wounds but continued to assault another machine gun nest. He finally went down and died from his numerous wounds.’–Submitted by Rick Meredith, the Johnson City Press-Chronicle, October 27, 1944.’
“Posthumous award of the Distinguished Service Cross of Staff Sgt. Ira Lynn Meredith, who was killed in France June 9, has been announced to his father, William G. Meredith of Elizabethton, Route 4. The medal is the first of its kind known to have been presented a Carter Countian during this war. Meredith today was awaiting word from the Fourth Service Command in Atlanta, Ga., on arrangement for formal presentation of the medal. The message from the adjutant general said the medal would be sent to the commanding general, who would send an officer to make the presentation.
“The citation read: ‘For extraordinary heroism in action against the enemy on 9 June 1944 in France. As the first and second platoons of Staff Sergeant Meredith’s company were advancing upon a hill, the enemy opened up with machine gun mortar and rifle fire upon them from both flanks. Staff Sergeant Meredith, although wounded by rifle fire, without delaying to think of his own personal safety charged a machine gun position and succeeded in killing several of the enemy and destroying the gun. In his assault, Staff Sergeant Meredith was again wounded but valiantly continued to advance upon the enemy until he fell dead. The complete devotion to duty, gallantry and heroic determination to destroy the enemy, even at the cost of his own life, reflects great credit upon himself and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the armed forces.’
“Sergeant Meredith, who was 29 years old, was among first Allied forces to land in France. A member of an infantry outfit, he had been in England since January of that year. After entering the Army at Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., January 17, 1942, he trained at Camp Wheeler and Camp Gordon, Ga., Fort Dix, N.J., and Fort Jackson, S.C. He went to England last January.
“Surviving besides the father are a stepmother; a brother, Elbert Meredith of Johnson City, Route 5; four sisters, Mrs. Hobart Taylor and Misses Marie and Jeanette Meredith, all of Elizabethton, Route 4 and Mrs. Frank Eugene Verran of Elizabethton, whose husband, Radioman First Class Frank Eugene Verran, was killed in a naval plane crash near Montauk Point, L.I., August 18, 1943.”
Meredith also adds: “I am honored to have additional recognition for our Ira. I want to mention that Happy Valley High School has done an extraordinary job in recognizing veterans who were killed in combat. They have a display at the school and have an online display that the University of Tennessee has recognized and said that they are the only high school in the country they know of that has honored their lost veterans in such a manner. Mark Banks, retired history teacher, has been a major factor in this. They recently renamed the road up to the high school Fallen Warriors Way to recognize Commissioner Steve Burrough, who was instrumental in helping with the naming of these fallen warriors, as well as Mark Banks and others.”
Meredith reiterates, “The bridge is also being named for Dr. Michael Brown, longtime DVM in Carter County.
“We’re honored to share the dedication with his family.”
Thank you for sharing part of your day with me!
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