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Information, pictures and stories provided by J. Tracy Walker, III Charlottesville, VA
(grandson of J. Tracy Walker and son of J. Tracy Walker II) |
| J Tracy, son of John Floyd Walker (a personal guard of General Pickett), was born at Eggleston in Giles County, VA. John Floyd's father, George H Walker moved from Craig to Giles during the war. When the war was over, John Floyd, paroled at Appomatox, walked without shoes to Craig County only to find his father had moved away. The neighbors told him that he had moved to a location somewhere on New River. John walked to Ripplemead in Giles County. Not knowing where his father had moved, he turned down river and walked all the way to Charleston WV. At that point he crossed the river and walked up river all the way to Eggleston (just a very few miles from Ripplemead) where he found his father. J Tracy graduated from Roanoke Business College about 1897. I assume his first job was for Mr. Parrott (who was from Roanoke). He married my grandmother, Barbara Emmons in Giles County 9 Sep 1902 and, as far as I know, their first home was in McComas.. |
| My father (J. Tracy Walker II) was born there (McComas) in 1908; his father worked for the American Coal Company (I think). He was the company's local treasure, or something to that extent. I have his large safe. My uncle told my me my grandfather used to ride a mule to Bluefield once a month to bring back the payroll; he carried a .44 pistol and a rifle. I have the pistol. It was an overnight trip and he usually would stop and build a camp fire and sleep at night. But one night two wild cats came near his camp sight before he was asleep; I guess the mule knew they were there and made his fears known. My uncle said these wild cats were very smart hunters; one stayed just outside the camp fire light and make noise to try to keep the attention of my grandfather while the other came in quietly from the rear. But my grandfather knew there hunting habits and shot the one behind him before it jumped. My uncle also told me that my grandfather didn't sleep the rest of the night and kept the fire burning brightly. I tried to find McComas once about 15 years ago, but couldn't find it. Maybe I was there and didn't know it. |
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My father told me one winter, when he was very young (must have been in
grade school at the time since they moved to Bluefield where he attended high school), he and his brother Chapman went sled riding on a high hill where there were railroad tracks. It was very cold, snowing and sleeting, so they got under a box car and built a fire to get warm. The weather didn't improve; they were cold and hungry, so they went on home. They were sure the fire would burn out in the cold and snow. It did and so did the box car! I asked him if his father was very mad. He replied: "Would you be mad if you had to buy a burned box car?" He told me that the mine closed at some point when the union men, on strike, would sit on the opposite mountain and shoot at the non-union strikers coming out of the mines. I guess that is when they left McComas and moved to Bluefield. |