Family Matters

A Band of Teachers - The Nesbitt Family

   
 
#156468 Mary Williams Burgin was the daughter of James Lee Burgin. She was born May 30, 1878 in McDowell County, NC. After marrying Winford Judson Nesbitt on March 26, 1901, she lived in McDowell County until 1919, when they moved to the Fairview section of Buncombe County. Mary and Winford had eleven children, eight of whom were School Teachers.

Andrew Winford Nesbitt b. May 6, 1916 was a graduate of Fairview High School and University of Kentucky. Andy was teaching Agriculture at the Mooresboro High School when he was inducted into the Army. He was among the first group of infantrymen to hit Normandy Beach on D-Day. Later he was wounded and sent to a base hospital in England. Andy's brother, Burgin Nesbitt who was stationed in England at the time visited him at the hospital. It was the first time they had seen one another in over two years.

Andy married Vanda Whicker December 27, 1949. Vanda was an English teacher in Shelby, NC and Andy continued teaching Agriculture at Mooresboro, NC until he retired in 1973.

Burgin Nesbitt b. July 2, 1922 was a graduate of Fairview High School and was a student at Appalachian State Teacher's College at Boone, NC when inducted. He received his basic training at Camp Croft, SC and specialized training at various camps in the south and south-west. Cpl, Burgin Nesbitt was deployed to England in 1944, where he served as a Radio Technician in the Army Air Force. Burgin married Ruth Virginia Keene in 1946.

John Hughes Nesbitt b. September 12, 1918 was a graduate of Fairview High School and was employed as a teacher in Haywood County prior to induction. John served in the U.S. Navy and was stationed in the South Pacific. He married Rozell Shumolis, who was also a teacher. Both retired from the teaching profession in Waynesville, North Carolina.

James Monroe Nesbitt b. June 29, 1914 married Justine Cook. They lived in Weaverville, North Carolina where Justine taught school. James taught Agriculture in North Buncombe county High School.

George Wilson Nesbitt b. October 23, 1912 married Avis Vance. Both were teachers and lived in Elk Park, North Carolina.

Sallie Myrtle Nesbitt b. November 29, 1910 married Gilbert Roberts. They lived in Berea, Kentucky where Gilbert taught math at the college for 44 years before retiring.

Maggie Mabel Nesbitt b. February 13, 1909 married Clyde Venable. They lived in Roanoke, Virginia where Mabel was a School Teacher.

Benjamin Franklin Nesbitt b. July 31, 1907 was handicapped and walked with crutches all his life. He held a degree in History and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC. He was a teacher in the veterans program, never married.

William Arthur Nesbitt b. 1905 married Jewel Bass. He held a teaching degree in Forestry and Agriculture and was teaching Agriculture in Weaverville, NC at the time of his death. Jewel was also a teacher and taught until she reached the age of retirement.

Source: Newspaper clippings provided by Willard Burgin
Peggy Silvers, Echoes In The Mist (The Burgin Family 1677 - 1989)

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