I. "Jesse's Final Trip to Old Fort"
(Click on title for pictures & full story) The heart-tugging story behind the two-day trip from the Mills River section of Henderson County, NC to Old Fort, NC. by the grandsons of Jesse Burgin with Jesse's corpse. In February of 1890, Thomas Lee Burgin and Thomas Elijah Osborne carried Jesse's body to its final resting place beside his devoted wife Rosalind.

II. "Rosey The Pioneer"
(Click on title for pictures & full story) "Rosey" Burgin Bird, got the "Texas Fever" in 1894. She along with husband Sam and their four children made the trip from McDowell County, NC to Leonard Texas in a "covered wagon". They arrived in Texas on January 6, 1895 and buried their five-year old daughter Hattie, January 15th.

III. "My Grandfather, Major Ben"
(Click on title for full story) The life and times of Major Ben Burgin, as told by his grand daughter Flora Angeline Burgin, daughter of Robert Hoard Burgin and Catherine "Kate" Burgin.

IV. "Van Hampton Burgin - WWI Flying Ace"
(Click on title for pictures & full story) #1526731 Van Hampton Burgin, was the oldest of two sons born to Jennie Chilton Rhinehardt and Frank Alexander Burgin, but very few members of our Burgin family were ever aware that Van was a World War I "Flying Ace". Here is a brief accounting of that experience.

V. "A Cotton Broker From McDowell County"
(Click on title for pictures & full story) Samuel Lewis Burgin, born in McDowell County NC in 1875, married Nellie Carpenter April 12, 1904. They lived in Charlotte, NC until his employer, Howell & Dodsworth Cotton Brokers, transferred them to Plains Georgia. He and Nellie lived most of their lives in Plains, where one of their neighbors was a Carter family and their nine-year old son, James Earl Carter. "Jimmy" would later become the 39th President of the United States.

VI. "Wilderness Widow"
(Click on title for pictures & full story) Matilda Burgin, born November 12, 1812 in Ashville, Buncombe County, North Carolina, was the daughter of Abner Burgin and Margaret Patton. She married Michael Isreal Edmundson in 1828. Upon Michael's untimely death, Matilda became a widow with five children at age 36. Undaunted, she raised and educated all five. The girls all married well and sons John Burgin and Benjamin Franklin became doctors.

VII. "The Mule Whisperer""
(Click on title for pictures & full story) Swatsell "Shorty" Burgin was only four feet eleven inches tall, but he was one of the most colorful characters of his time. His occupation for several years was that of a mule skinner. I know you've all read or heard stories about "horse whisperers" -- well, ol' Shorty was what you might call a "mule whisperer".

VIII. "McDowell County - Reconstruction Years"
(Click on title for pictures & full story) Following The War Between the States, all the slaves had been freed, but three had chosen to stay on with Robert Hoard Burgin and his family to help with the work and restoration. It would be very difficult to attempt to describe the relationship that existed at the time. The Black man and the White man were working side by side trying to survive the hardships of so much destruction around them.

IX. "Mississippi Just Ain't Like Tennessee "
(Click on title for pictures & full story) Sometime around 1905/6 "Red John" Burgin left Cocke County, Tennessee and went to Sunflower County Mississippi, settling on Howling Wolf Bayou. Evidently "Howling Wolf Bayou" was appropriately named, because family members and friends told of having to climb on the barn roof  to escape the wolves. John and his family stayed in Mississippi and carved out a large cotton plantation.

X. "The Boys From Crooked Creek (Part I) "
(Click on title for pictures & full story) By 1943 the mothers of servicemen from Crooked Creek were meeting on a weekly basis. They would exchange stories and pray for the safe return of their boys. And as time passed these ladies became as sisters. It was during this time that Ella discovered she was seriously ill. As shocking as it was, her thoughts were still of her four sons. Her daily prayer was that the Lord would let her live long enough to see all of them safely home.

XI. "Give Me the Roses While I Live "
(Click on title for pictures & full story) When Charles Vernon Burgin (son of Lee George "Swatsell" Burgin) was told that he only had a few months to live, he told his wife that he didn't want a traditional funeral. The couple decided then, rather than a funeral, they would hold a "going home party" for Charlie. Yes, indeed...a party was was held, Saturday Sept. 23, 1995 at the couple's home near Knoxville,TN.

XII. "Big Jim Burgin and His Shay Locomotive "
(Click on title for pictures & full story) The story of the development of the Mount Mitchell Railroad is one of the most interesting in North Carolina's history. But just as interesting, if not moreso, were the stories of some of the personalities associated with it. The train crews and loggers were a colorful lot. One such character was a notorious Mount Mitchell Railroad engineer by the name of James Oliver Burgin, the son of (#156463) Allen B. Burgin.

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