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CHAPTER TWELVE

A Tale Of Three Cities
(Well--Towns, Anyway!)

There are three towns in the USA with the name of Bybee, and they trace, roughly, the migration of many of our Bybee ancestors from Virginia to states and territories farther west. If there are more than three towns by this name, I have not been able to find them.

Following the Revolutionary War, land grants were given to veterans for their services. John Bybee, Sr., born about 1706, may have served. Some of his sons definitely did. Well documented are his sons Cornelius, Pleasant and my own ancestor John Bybee, Jr., born 1739 in Fluvanna County, VA.

Migration spread to Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa and farther west. Some of the Bybees joined the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormon), and many went on to Utah and other western states. Some may have been in Nauvoo, Illinois, when the Mormons were persecuted so harshly that they had to move out. I believe this line of Bybees is through Lee Allen Bybee, his wife, Jerusha Atkinson, and their descendants.

According to plaques just south of Moulton, labelled "The Mormon Trail," their main route must have passed through my home town. I recall a prominent local doctor in Moulton, Dr. Downing, telling of his grandfather killing a Mormon as they passed through. He was very proud of that, it seemed.

BYBEE, VA:

While our son, Robert Douglas (Bob) was attending the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, we received a postal card from him that said, "Dig the crazy postmark!" When my wife, Frances, turned the card over it had been postmarked in Bybee, VA.

Bob loved to scout around the hills of Virginia, and in his driving around in our old '69 Mercury, he had chanced upon the little town of Bybee. The next time we visited him, he took us out to see it.

It took me back in time. Not just because my ancestors had lived there, but because there was a grocery store (the only one) which was right out of the 1930s! With a little rearranging it could have been Bybee Bros. Kash Grocery in Moulton. Unfortunately it was closed, but a lady who lived next door came over to see why we were snooping around and peeking through the store's windows. After we explained, she told us the store owner had taken sick and it had been closed, perhaps forever. She invited us into her home while we talked.

It had, before its closure, also been the town post office, complete with its own Zip Code. A small trailer stood at the back and was, at that time, serving the purpose. The town has since lost the postal facility, I assume because a number of small-town post offices were closed down in the name of government efficiency. The lady also told us that a nearby cemetery had several markers with Bybee names on them. We did not take the time to visit it that day; and we never got back to do it later, much to my regret.

A new housing development was being built at that time called, "Bybee Acres." Who knows? The town may come to life again. I am told that there is still a Bybee Church there, and a Bybee Road.

The late Curtis Bybee, of Jefferson City, Missouri, to whom I owe much because of the genealogical data furnished me by his widow Flora Belle, wrote these lines concerning the area which is now known as Bybee, VA:

"John Bybee, Sr. owned about 1500 acres of land laying on both sides of Ballengers Creek in Fluvanna County, VA in 1758 as evidenced by a Deed of Trust in Book #2, Page 46, Albemarle County, VA. Fluvanna county was made from Albemarle and Louise Counties. Cornelius Bybee ((his son)) lived to draw a Revolutionary War pension, so a good record is in the Bureau of Archives in Washington stating that he moved to Clark County, KY in 1784 and to Monroe County, MO in 1834 and died in 1841 in Audrain County, MO.

"Near Ballengers Creek in Fluvanna County is a highway known as Bybee Road. On the highway is a post office known as Bybee, VA. About one-half mile east on this highway is Bybee Road Baptist Church, which is a very nice church and has been recently rebuilt.

Near this point is a cemetery which has only one stone with readable lettering on it and this is Pleasant Bybee, who died in 1835.

"Pleasant Bybee has a will filed in Palmyra, VA. This will shows the following children: Elizabeth Bybee, John Bybee, William Bybee, Sarah Bybee, and Sherrod Bybee. ((Note that these, among others used, are all very common Bybee family names. Our ancestors used very little imagination in naming their children, so several brothers and sisters would all have children with names just like their first cousins. This duplication of names within the family causes no end of difficulty when trying to climb the old family tree.

((The name Sherrod, quite popular in the early days, is also spelled Sherod, and has other variations. I read somewhere that this name came from England, and is a corruption of Sherwood, of Sherwood Forest. You know, Robin Hood and his merry bandits, and all that.))

"I find a power of attorney given to John Bybee, son of Pleasant, Nov. 6, 1826, showing John Bybee to be in Ross County, Ohio on that date. Pleasant Bybee's will is in Will Book 4, page 56, Fluvanna County, VA." ((Bybee, Va is located in the northeast portion of Fluvanna County, near Palmyra, a short distance from Charlottesville.))

BYBEE, KY:

Bybee, Kentucky is located in Madison county, near Waco, not far from Richmond. It also, at one time, had its own post office, but no more. In spite of the fact that the pottery output of this town made this post office profitable, it had been closed "by President Carter," according to one of the residents.

When Fran and I visited there a few years ago, we found a town that was neat and clean, and looked to have very industrious inhabitants. It is the home of Bybee Pottery, known far and wide for its unique ceramics. It has been written up in Better Homes and Gardens (December 1982), in Americana (July/August 1986), and in other national publications and books. The town even has a Bybee Grocery. It was startling to see such a sign again.

You may wonder who were the Bybees who lived here and gave the town its name. So did I, and I'm sure many others in our extended family have asked this question. So, I wrote to Mr. Walter Cornelison, the owner of Bybee Pottery, after we had returned to our home in Florida. He was not available while we were there.

Some of the questions I asked were these: Was Bybee Pottery founded by someone in the Bybee family? When was it founded, and are you and your sons related to the Bybees?

Mr. Cornelison's answer will be a shock to any, like myself, who thought that this was another historic marker for the family. In a way, I suppose it is; but it is slightly different from the other two towns. Here is his reply:

"Dear Mr. Bybee --

"Thank you for your letter. I'm afraid this area is a dead end for you. The Bybees, it seems, ran a stagecoach stop here some 100 years ago (maybe longer). This tiny area became known as Bybee for that reason, not because of the pottery. To our knowledge, no Bybee ever worked in this shop for my family. My ancestors named the pottery "Bybee" out of respect for the several local families who worked, generation after generation for the Cornelisons. None of these families, however, were Bybees.

"All are gone now. They either moved or died. So as I have stated, this area is a dead end for you. Several members of the Bybee family have called or written thinking that maybe their ancestors were part of this pottery. I have responded in kind to them, also.

"Enclosed is a history sheet for your inspection.
          Sincerely,
          R.W. Cornelison
          6th Generation."

How kind and thoughtful of a busy business man to take the time to reply in this manner. Thank you, Mr. Cornelison!

The following was received from the Kentucky Historical Society, and is an excerpt from "The Bybee Family of Kentucky (by way of) Virginia:

Fielding Lewis Bybee married Sina Elizabeth McCoy, daughter of James McCoy, 4 September 1845, in Fayette County, KY. The McCoy family also lived in Sandersville area of Fayette County. Lewis and Elizabeth moved to Clark County before 1850.

The 1850 census records for Clark County show:
          157 Bybee, Fielding L. 25 M Laborer
          Elizabeth 24 F
          Nancy J. 4 F
          James L. 3 M
          William H. 8/12 M

Sometime shortly after the above census was taken this Bybee family moved to Madison County near the community of Waco. The move was the beginning of several business ventures by the Bybee family. In 1879, the F. L. Bybee General Store and Stage Coach Stop, and The Cornelison and Bybee Pottery were listed in a Waco Business Directory. During this time the community was called The Bybee Stop and later was called Bybeetown; later the Post Office was named Bybee, Kentucky.

During this period, Lewis Bybee's half brothers, the Griggs family, were operating a General Store, Grist Mill, Woolen Mill, and Griggs and Grinstead Pottery. L. T. Griggs was postmaster of Waco in 1883.

BYBEE, TENNESSEE

When I first heard of Bybee, Tennessee, shortly after World War II, it was from my brother, Bob. He was working in Oak Ridge, TN at the time, for the Manhattan Project. He and his wife, Sara, had recently taken a drive through the hills of that beautiful state and found themselves in Bybee. They had no knowledge that there was any town of their family name, much less one near where they were living.

They stopped at a small gas station and grocery store, told the people there that their name was Bybee. Bob said that they were treated like royalty. He had high praise for this town and its people.

(The following article on the town of Bybee, Tennessee and one of its early pioneers is a reprint of an article in the Newport (TN) Plain Talk, which was published on Friday, July 18, 1986. It is reprinted with permission.)

In the early days of Cocke County, a couple settled in the southwestern section of our county. They were Thomas Bibee, a Revolutionary War soldier, and his wife, Wahonee, an Indian princess ((of the Powhatan tribe)). Although no one by the Bibee name lives in Cocke County today, the Bybee Community Church and post office insure the memory of this pioneer family.

Highway 160, a two-lane, paved road, runs through Bybee today. The Bybee Methodist Church, its post office and two stores, the Bybee Market, operated by Gary and Debbie Williams, and Lanes' Grocery, owned by Jack Lane, comprise the nucleus of this unincorporated community.

Other communities surround Bybee. Fowler's Grove, Bruner's Grove, Briar Thicket, Glendale, Joseph's Chapel, High Point, Centerview, Liberty Hill, Redwine, Slate Creek, Point Pleasant, Inman's Bend, Solomon and Holt's (McCowan's Creek) are the names of some of these areas.

As is true in most pioneer communities, once the initial work of perfecting a settlement was completed, the early Bybee settlers organized a church. In 1818, or earlier, Slate Creek Baptist Church was organized when a group of settlers with the surnames Driskill, Kelly, Smith, Anderson, Boley, Boswell, Brady, Collen, Colour, Crumley, Dalton, Deason, Ellason, Fly, Hale, Henderson, Livingston, Hurley, Manning, Miller, Talley, Whaley, Witt and Wood "mutually consented and agreed to embody themselves together as a religious society."

For approximately 70 years, this church operated near the present-day Centerview School. In 1877, however, its membership had dropped to only 12 active members and its remaining members disbanded. The old church building is long gone, but the markers in the old cemetery stand today as a testimony to these hardy pioneers.

The next church organized in Bybee was the Clay Creek Baptist Church which began as Arm Church in 1828. Thomas Christian, a wealthy bachelor, gave the land. Today, a beautiful brick building stands atop this hill. A large, well-kept cemetery lies next to the structure. Tombstones dating to the early 1800's carry such pioneer surnames as Gillett, Wood, Marshall, Moore, Lovell and Hurley.

Leading from the main highway is Fowler's Grove Road. Early on, the Fowler family settled here and lent their name to the community, church, road, school and an arithmetic book. Abijah Fowler, author of Fowler's Arithmetic, was a member of the family. At one time, the community had a post office named Givens. This honored the postmaster, Wesley Givens. In addition to the Fowler and Givens families, the Scotts, Vicks, Thomases, Palmers and Wrens stood prominently in the community developments. The Fowler's Grove Methodist Church, organized in the 1880's, is one of the oldest church buildings still used in Cocke County.

Continuing past Fowler's Grove, one comes to another community, Bruner's Grove. A Methodist minister gave his name to the burg and today, the church and adjacent cemetery join the local grocery store in carrying Rev. Bruner's name.

Not far from Bruner's Grove is a little church which gets its name from a meandering stream. Bear Creek Baptist Church is the last church one passes before reaching the Nolichucky River, the boundary between Cocke and Green counties.

Winding through various valleys and "hollers," a traveler in this section may pass through the settlement known as Briar Thicket. According to local folklore, John Lovell, a Bybee merchant, was once asked to aid a revenue officer in the capture of some moonshiners. He replied,"If we have anyone engaged in that sort of business, you will find him in the briar thicket." This was in 1885; today, one won't find many "briar thickets," but he will find the picturesque Briar Thicket Baptist Church and many modern homes surrounded by neat, well-tended farmland.

Farther down in the country is still another Methodist Church called Glendale. At one time there was a school here, but now only the church and adjacent cemetery remain. Early families in this area included the Holdway, Conway, Sawyer and Davis clans.

Leaving Glendale to return to the Bybee Highway, one passes through the High Point area. The old school is now a dwelling. According to the book, Newport, it was once the center of that area, with a three-room school building and a progressive school. But the center of that community was the large store run by June and Ed Holdway who lived nearby. The store not only supplied families with food and other household and farm items, but served their social, educational and political life.

Across the highway and farther west is Joseph's Chapel Freewill Baptist Church. Nearby is New Home Freewill Baptist Church. Still farther up the road is Redwine, whose name reminds us of this Virginia family who settled here after the Civil War.

Southwest of this area is a beautiful spot called Point Pleasant. Driving through this area, one is reminded of a Vermont farm scene. The sparkling white Point Pleasant Baptist Church, built in 1888, stands as an inspiring monument to those pioneers' spirits lying in the graveyard. Across the way is the former, two-story Point Pleasant School, now George Ailshie's Grocery. Also serving the hamlet is Hayes Grocery.

Point Pleasant is at the center of several crossroads, one of which leads to McCowan's Creek Community. At one time it was called Holts. Its religious needs are met by the McCowan's Creek Church of God.

At one time several one- and two-teacher schools dotted the Bybee area, but today's educational needs are met by the modern Centerview Elementary School. Beginning with kindergarten and continuing through the eighth grade, the school is ideal for the children's needs.

Within sight of the school are two Baptist churches, Liberty Hill and Centerview. They serve the Liberty Hill community which might well be called Holttown, if one checked surnames of the tombstones or peeked at the church roster.

Lying at the end of the county are two areas which once were thriving communities. Inman Bend takes its name from a pioneer family who settled the fertile bottom land. Nearby lived the Solomons, who once had a ferry and a bridge named for them.

How does one get to these communities? From Newport travel north and cross the Valentine Bridge. Turn left on Highway 160. After crossing Dry Fork Creek, the next stop is Bybee. The other communities discussed in this article encircle Bybee. Roads with names such as Palmer Hollow, Moore Hollow, Fox Hollow, Thomas Hollow, High Point, Fowler's Grove and Slate Creek twist and wind, drop and climb through some of the prettiest areas in Cocke County.

Why not devote a Sunday afternoon and visit Goodwater and Syracuse and come back through Lickskillet? Where is Lickskillet, you ask? That's an old name for Bybee.

Bybee was named for the family of Tipton Bibee whose father, Thomas Bibee, a Revolutionary soldier, settled there in 1812. Bybee was once known as Lickskillet.

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