Charles Curtis Turbyfill's story and his descendants

Charles Curtis Turbyfill 

My Great great grandfather Charles Curtis Turbyfill was born to James Pinkey Turbyfill

and Lovinia “Vina” Laws in Ramseytown,  North Carolina. I have not found any records to

pinpoint exactly where his birthplace was. In the 1860 census, C. C. appears as a baby, so

the September 1859 birthdate is definitely the correct birthdate; not the October one. 

A confusing thing on the 1870 census, C. C. is marked as 7 years old, when he should’ve

been marked as 11 years old. However, all the other ages on the 1870 census are also incorrect,

so that census taker was not a very accurate one. 

Over the summer of 1865, C.C.’s family moved to Cranberry, North Carolina- I know this because

his sister was born in Ramseytown in 1865  then his brother Joe was born in Cranberry in 1866. 

The land  CC grew up on is along Buck Mountain Road, close to the Tennessee line, parcel 18,

house on plot 52. CC then bought the land from his father and his father moved the family to

Crabtree, TN (just past Roan Mountain, the land is now part of the park, that information will be

in James Pinkey’s entry) I found a map outlining his parcel, it’s nearly right across the street from

Taylor Chapel. However, I do not know where on this parcel “plot 52” was, the site of Charles Curtis’

childhood home that Pinkey built. Curtis built his home on a different plot of this same parcel, plot 44.

I don’t know where it is. I am trying to reach out to the current owners to inquire about any structures

from 1865-1881 and then the new structures Curtis Charles raised his children in that he built in 1882.

This was under different names in censuses. Cranberry Forge. Cranberry Township. Elk Park.

The same place was also once Mitchell County and is now Avery County. 

When C.C.  was 18, in the year 1878, he married a young widowed mother that was 4 years older

than him. Her name was Rebecca Cordelia Gwyn and moved to Linville Falls Township, NC where

she was already settled near her family.  I also figured out where this land is, but it’s all gone.

It is approximately where the Linn Viaduct visitor center is, between Grandfather mountain and

Grandmother mountain. The Guinn/Gwyn family owned this and they sold it off to a logging company

in 1881. This land was later purchased by the government around 1925 from the logging company. 

Back to the land that CC raised his children on, it was the same parcel that he himself grew up on.

His father sold it to him and Charles Curtis Tubfill bought this land free and clear, no debts.

It is Parcel 181900879967. On the right, between Curtis’s land, Buck Mountain Road, and

Miles Field Road, that parcel is owned by Lurania Oaks. I am still tracing the tree to see if this

Lurania Oaks is a family member to Delilah Oaks. The twins Mary Carrie and Callie, Ethel, Charlie,

and Papaw George were all born on this land.

The land Charles Curtis grew up on, moved his wife back to, and all his children were born on this land . Charles Curtis then died on this same land, but in a different home his son in law Jesse Bare built. 

When C.C. married, he was marked as a 18 year old, pointing to the 1860 census being the correct age.

That record mistakenly listed him as E. Tanullygill and Delia Gwyn.  May 1878, CC gained two step

children he raised as his own, Mary Gwyn and David Henry Gwyn, at the time of the marriage, they

were 3 years old and less than 1 year old. They likely didn’t remember their biological father, but they

knew about their biological dad as they kept in touch with the family growing up as his family was also

their family through their mother. 

Rebecca Cordelia Oaks had married her uncle Samuel P. Gwyn/Guinn on March 10, 1874 and was

widowed 1877, but it’s unclear if he died before or after his daughter was born. She married Charles

Curtis Turbyfill the next spring and they lived on her grandparents’ and her husband/uncle’s family

home for the next 11 years. 

When CC’s wife Rebecca died, he bought land off Elk River Road from Jacob Hicks, the same land

that the Oaks Cemetery is on and buried his wife there. He raised the children until they were all grown

and moved out, then he gave the land to his son in law Jesse Bare, his daughter Ethel’s husband and he lived with them until his death. That land record states Jesse Bare became the landowner on

March 3, 1927. Curtis lived with his daughter Ethel and her husband Jesse Bare for ten more years

until he died in 1937. Jesse built another house on the same parcel in 1921. I am unable to figure out

which home Charles Curtis Turbyfill passed away living in. The plot of this parcel this newest home is

not listed, and I am still looking through the Avery County Deeds for this record.  

The land off Elk River Road with the cemetery now belongs to a Douglas Bare and the descendants

of George Washington Turbyfill and Lillie Turbyfill/Gardner/Pritchard. 

Side fun fact. In August, 1927, his brother William Turbyfill sold his land on what is now

651 Beech Mountain Parkway to the Elk River Falls Fishing Club. That entry is a few rows down from

CC Turbyfill’s entry. The land that business is now on was once a farm. 

 Jesse’s land was sold to some other Bare, and then it was sold again to someone else who pulled

down all the headstones and turned it into a cow pasture. The Oaks Cemetery has been lost to time. 

The reason he gave it to Jesse before he died was to avoid the probate process with wills.

Charles Curtis Turbyfill died on June 4 1937 of heart trouble. His funeral was held at the home of

Lillie Turbfyfill and her husband Lawton Pritchard. Reverend W.H. Stout officiated the memorial and

he was buried in the Oaks Cemetery. 

Children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

The children are my first cousins twice removed, the grandchildren are my parent’s generation,

my first cousins once removed/myuncles/aunts, and the grandchildren are second cousins to

all the other grand/great grand children and the great grandchildren are my generation, my 3rd cousins.

I listed a few great great grandchildren for the ones whose parents died young.

If you want to have your names removed and changed to “Private”, shoot me a message and I’ll fix it.

Also, if you spot mistakes, please correct me, I want to ensure my research is accurate. 

1. David Henry Gwyn / Guinn (not biologically his, but raised as his own.)  1875-1949 married Mary Swift Roberts 

1. Ora born 9/3/1900 married Alex/Ellick Lyons, died 1938

1. Dallas Edgar Lyons 1920-1975 married Lillie Janette McKinney

1. Robert Lyons- died as an infant. Robert and “Till” went on to taking care of many foster children over the years, and Till continued to care for foster children until she was 65 (1998) and she died in 2004. 

2. Edward Henry Lyons 1923-1995

1. Terry Lee Lyons

2. Jana Guinn/Gwyn born 1902 

3. Zora Gwyn 1904-1938 married Horace Shull

1. Sherry Yvonne Shull (Doran)

2. Steve Shull

3. Patsy Shull (Jones)

4. Sandra Shull (Smith)

5. Shauna Shull (Booher)

4. Stella Guinn (Gwinn) 1907-1927 died of pellagra.  (This is a vitamin D deficiency), no children

5. Etta “Holly” Gwinn 1908-1979 married John Cornelius Byrd

1. Betty Jo Byrd 1925-2007 (married Ralph Chambers) 

2. Donald Byrd born 1930, married Dorothy Odom

3. Roxanne Byrd born 1932, married Thurman Simerly

4. Ivan Byrd 1934

5. Colleen Byrd (Bowling) about 1937 

6. Gloria Byrd (about 1941) 

7. Arnold Eugene Byrd 1948-2020

6. Andy Guinn 1911-1929 (accidentally shot himself) leaving behind a widow at 18 years old. Unknown if wife Maud Links Guinn had a child by Andy. 

7. Edward Edgar George Guinn 1918-1993 married Mary Roberts Swift

1. Edward Charles Wayne Guinn 1947-2017 m. Shelby Jean Arquette

1. Melinda Guinn 1969-1989 married Dusty Constable  (Melinda died of an avoidable injury, family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital) 

1. Travis Bruce Constable 

2. Amanda Renee Constable

2. Charles “Goo” Guinn 

3. Robbie Guinn

4. Michelle Guinn Simpson

5. Delia Guinn Moon

6. Paula Guinn Smith

2. Judy Ann Guinn 1949-2003 married David Arquette (recovered from train wreck) 

1. David Arquette Jr 1970-1989 Accidentally shot himself 

3. Larry Dean Guinn 1949-2013(recovered from train wreck)

1. Larry Dean Guinn

2. Heather Renee Guinn

3. Lindsey Kay Guinn

4. Melissa Gayle Guinn 

4. Teresa Guinn 1952-1966 Train-car wreck 

5. RosaLee Guinn 1954-1966 Train-car wreck 

6. Pasty Ann Guinn 1956-1966 Train-car wreck 

8. Alice Guinn married William Puckett 

1. William Puckett Jr.  Banner Elk 

2. Robert Max Puckett - Banner Elk 

3. Maxine Puckett 1924-(likely step daughter) 

4. Leah Puckett 1926-1958 (likely step daughter) 

5. Josie geneva Puckett 1928-2014 (Probably step daughter, obit says daughter of Rose) 

2. Mary Guinn / Mary Gwyn 1877-1915 married Jacob Hicks  

1. Mary Hicks 1897-1915 (both Marys died of lung infections/ pneumonia) and Jake Hicks as far as I can tell never remarried. This line ends here. 

3. Minnie Turbyfill 1881-1965 married Edward Marlow  No children that I know of… this line ends here. Ed and Minnie had a pool hall next to the Tweetsie Railroad. 

4. Lillie Turbyfill 1883- ?    Married George Gardner, widowed 1912, married Lawton Pritchard, divorced Lawton. She lived 2 houses down from her baby brother George Washington Turbyfill on Elk River Road. I haven’t found her correct death information, as the Lillie Turbyfill death in 1952 is the wrong person, she’s the wife of Rob Turbyfill, not the same person as Lillie, daughter of Curtis Charles Turbyfill. If you know any information about her death, please let me know. 

1. Olive Daisy Gardner 1902-1982 married 2 times , then went by Olive Turbyfill until death. First husband Jesse Sayler died of a burst appendix, divorced second husband French Digman. I have not found information on when she took her mother’s maiden name. If you know more about why Olive went by Olive Turbyfill, let me know please. She had three sons- 

1. Richard Harold Sayler 1926-1980

1. Linda Sayler married Lonzo Denver Herron

1. Lonzo Herron Jr 

2. Richard Harold Salyer Jr. married Velma Ruth Conley, and had a special best friend Doug for 43 years. 

1. Melaine Sayler Yohem (young widow) 

2. Melissa Sayler McClintick

3. Megan Sayler 

3. Steven Sayler

4. Elaine Louise Sayler married Dave McCauslin

1. Jeanine McCauslin

5. Anita Sayler (Wilson) 

2. Clarence Gardner 1904-1980(He lived in the house between his uncle George W Turbyfill and his mother Lillie Pritchard on Elk River Road) 

1. Barbara Lucille Gardner 1938-2020, married Ronald West 

1. Brian West 

2. Tonya West (Ledford)

2. Maggie Deloris Gardner married Ronald Stephenson 

3. Naomi Kate Gardner married Woody Owenby

4. Lewis C. Gardner

3. Cecil Audrey Gardner 1915-1918 (Died during the pandemic in 1918 to the flu strain that was going around, more specifically, his lungs got infected and shut down at 3 years old.) 

5. Mary Carrie Turbyfill 1888- (also has an older half sister Mary Guinn/Gwyn) She was also Mary Guinn or Mary Gwyn, never Mary Turbyfill. You can also look at the censuses to see that they’re indeed two different people. I believe she died between 1910 and 1920 and is NOT the same person as Mary Guinn as she has her own birth recorded in the Avery County book. In the birth records, her name is mis-transcribed as “Turbghill”and the father is put down as E. Turbghill, but when you look closely, you can see it’s actually supposed to be C.C. Turbyfill. Mary Carrie and Rosa Callie are twin sisters.  The next line, Rosa Callie is transcribed correctly and you can clearly see it’s the same father, CC Turbghill. 

6. Rosa Callie Turbyfill 1888-1965, married Charlie Smith 

1. Carrie Cordelia Smith married Rush Baliff 

1. Charles Dixon Baliff married Mary Belle Johnson 

1. Robert Floyd Bailiff (died right around the time his son was born) 

1. Rush Floyd Bailiff 

2. Edna Charlene Bailiff married Harold Ward

1. Brent Ward 

2. Kristie Ward 

3. Amanda Ward Messer

2. Margaret Bereniece Baliff married Paul Winters 

1. Christopher Joseph Winters 

2. Shanita Winters Robinson

3. Steward Bailiff (lives in Mableton, GA)

4. Jo Ann Bailiff married William Clarence Ruff

2. Flora Edith Smith was a nurse, she married *one* man that went by both Fillmore Shoemaker and Phil Hicks

1. Roger Phil Hicks/Shoemaker 

2. Charles Louis Hicks/Shoemaker

3. Jimmie Shoemaker/Hicks

4. Jack Alvin Shoemaker/Hicks

5. Kenneth James Shoemaker/Hicks

6. Vivian Reed

7. Joyce Kay Shoemaker

8. Phyllis Ollis

9. Pat Odell Shoemaker

3. Katie Alma Smith, died as an infant 

4. Madge Leona Smith married William Peake

1. Diana Olsen 

5. Ruby Roeanna Smith married Adrian Julian 

1. Terry Lynn Julian married Rebecca Sides

2. Glenda Rose Julian married Ray Rensi 

3. Frederick Wayne Julian

4. Adrian Julian Jr. 

5. Frieda Jayne Julian married Samuel Foster

6. Rosie Etta Smith, died as a 6 year old.

7. Ila Edna Smith (a twin) married Jonah Potter

1. Billy Joe Potter married Susan Davies 

2. Beulah Juanita Potter married Jay Laney Roberts

8. Edna Ila Smith (a twin) married Dana Harmon Young 

1. Dana Dean Young 

2. Jo Nell Young  

9. Clara Sue Smith (never married, no children)

7. Ethel Turbyfill married Jesse Bare and Ethel is the daughter Charles Curtis left his estate to, and Jesse Bare passed down the land down to his children, including the land the Oaks Cemetery was on. Sometimes their last name was written down as Bear. Fun fact- Her brother George married Jesse’s sister Mary Magdalena Bare, so the children of Ethel and the children of George Washington are double cousins. Our DNAs would show us as closer relatives due to this, for example, with DNA testing,  their child would show up as my uncle instead of my first cousin twice removed. If you also did the DNA test and saw that same connection being closer than it should be, that’s why.  In old age, Charles Curtis stayed home, but they appear on the census as Jesse Bare being the owner, and CC listed as “father in law”. He had two tracts- one off Elk River Road and one along the Buck Mountain Road near Taylor Chapel. 

1. Robert Harold Bare married Wilma Snook, his military records on Fold3, NAR, and Ancestry are INCORRECT. His son stated that he was in South Africa, never an army air corps man. NAR is closed to physical file requests due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so it’ll be awhile before I can sort out the correct story. Robert does have 3 other cousins also named Robert Bare, also born in Avery County, I suspect that is why their records are all tangled up. 

1. Donald Harold Bare

2. Gerald David Bare

3. Marleen Bare

4. Robert “Bobby” Bare

5. Colleen Bare

6. Rick Bare

7. Steve Bare

2. Wayne Curtis Bare married Ruby Lee Murphy, no children. 

3. Charles Stuart Bare married Alicetean Richardson Norris

1. Mary Ann Bare(married Francis Bandy then Wayne Oler) 

2. Randy Bare

3. Charles Bare

4. Billy Bare

5. Donnie Bare

6. Gail Bare

4. Jesse Bare (died at 3 months old) I believe the family moved to Ohio after Jesse’s death. 

5. Winston Edward Bare married Helen Rose Black, he served on USS Ashtabula, then after the war, worked as a furnace maintainer at a steel mill in Ohio 

1. Jerry Lee Bare married Carole Haller (There is another Jerry Lee Bare, son of Freelin Bare, his 4th cousin 3 ways, up the Sheets line and the Bare line two ways, this is NOT the same person as this Jerry Bare) This Jerry Lee Bare lived in Ohio his whole life. 

1. Kristen Klintschenko

2. William Leslie Bare, passed away at 21 years old. No wife/children known of. 

6. Evelyn Pauline Bare married a Fair and a Treece. Evelyn was born in Elk Park, so at this time the family moved back to North Carolina and some of her brothers moved back to Ohio when they were of age. When she was 21, spent a month in New York City, then a year in France. She took the ship MV Georgic (same type of ship as the Titanic) to Port Le Havre, France and from there she went around France by train. I wonder what kind of adventures Evelyn had while abroad.  

1. Patricia Ann Fair 

2. Jack Allen Fair married Kathleen Lederman

1. Breanna Fair

2. Mandy Fair

7. Shirley Jean Bare (No information on her children.) 

8. Charlie Turbyfill, died young I believe as he doesn’t appear in subsequent censuses with his parents. 

9. George Washington Turbyfill married Mary Magdalena Bare

1. Georgia Turbyfill (died as a little girl) 

2. Frankie Carrie Turbyfill married Junior Hicks

1. Rayna Thompson

1. Neal Anthony “Ty” Thompson, my second cousin, rest in peace. 

2. Tim Thompson 

2. Dale Junior Hick, one daughter Jeneen

3. Carlos Leonard Hicks

4. Dreama Darlene Hicks 

3. Juanita Marcella Turbyfill married John Trivett

1. Charles Gene Trivett was the coroner of Avery and Carter Counties. 

2. Vivian Lee Trivett 

1. Brian Pyle

2. Tammie Pyle Thelen

3. John Timothy Trivett married Paula Zaglaniczny

1. Stacie Trivett Ropes

2. Timothy Trivett 

4. William Rolette Trivett 

4. George Washington Turbyfill Jr (Died as an infant.) 

5. Lloyd Worth Turbyfill married Ramona Bell Wilhelm 

1. Marcella Jo Turbyfill 

1. Cary Armstrong

2. Sean Armstrong 

2. Starly George Turbyfill 

1. David Turbyfill 

2. Dylan Turbyfill

3. Eric Turbyfill 

3. Gary Kent Turbyfill married Mary Elizabeth Witt

1. Amie Shields-Lee-Baxter 

2. Gary Kent Turbyfill 

4. Michael Turbyfill, no children 

5. Tammy Turbyfill married Michael Conner

1. Tishia Turbyfill-Conner-Bonneau-Chambers 

6. Loyd Harold Turbyfill 

1. Roman Andrew Turbyfill

2. Austin Drake Turbyfill/Burdine 

6. Ruth Turbyfill  married Ralph Winters

1. Austin Winters 

2. Pamela Winters married Micky Dial 

7. Nicola Turbyfill married Harold Pritchard 

1. Danny Pritchard 

2. Steven Pritchard 

3. Vera Angela Pritchard married Woo Buck and Lou Mayo

8. Elmer Curtis Turbyfill married Shirley

1. Elizabeth Turbyfill married Doran Gwyn

2. Tammy Turbyfill Hartz

3. Curtis Turbyfill

9. Maynard Turbyfill married Georgia Worden 

1. Twins Tonya Turbyfill

2. Twins Sonya Turbyfill (Rich)

3. Maynard Keith 

4. Theresa Williams 

10. Roma Geraldine Turbyfill, died as an infant