Roby Smith Dollar

Picture Caption:  Taken abt 1904: Left to Right, Back Row:  Etta Winifred “Freddie”,
Amanda Emaline “Eva”, Cora Eula, Front Row:  Roby holding Smithy Pearl,
Sarah Margaret holding Tempa Maude Elizabeth, Bertta “Annis” Eunice

Roby Smith Dollar was the youngest child of Elizabeth Pennington and Alexander Monroe Dollar.  He was born in Ashe Co., NC on 18 Apr 1868.  As a young man, the family moved to Laurel Bloomery early in the 1880’s.  His uncle, Andrew Pennington had moved there around 1852.  Shortly after they moved to Laurel Bloomery, his mother, Elizabeth Pennington died.  His father, Alexander Monroe Dollar then married Sarah “Lulu” Pearce.  Roby married Sarah Margaret Simmons on 3 Jan 1889.  She was the daughter of Joel Simmons and Tempa Ena Harris. 

Later photo - Only the youngest daughter, Carie Mae not picture.

Roby and Maggie were the parents of ten daughters. They were:  Cora Eula Dollar (1890-1988) m. Benjamin Harrison Sturgill, Amanda “Eva” Emaline Dollar (1892-1979), Bertta “Annis” Eunice Dollar (1894-1980) m Coy McKinley Parsons, Etta “Freddie” Winifred Dollar (1896-1988) m. Charles A Thomas, Tempa Maude Elizabeth Dollar (1900-2002) m. James Walker Beverly, Smithy Pearl Dollar (1902-1980) m. Walter E Parsons, Lena Cleo Dollar (1904-2004) m. Nathan Roth, Estelle Catherine “Kate” Dollar (1906-1989) m.  Raymond Freeman, Sarah Clyde Dollar (1909-2001) m. Thomas P. Jensen, & Carrie Mae Dollar (1911-2004) m. Wilfred Joseph “Fritz” Cloutier.

Roby worked alongside his father, brother, and uncle in a small family lumber mill located near the present Dollar Road in Johnson Co., TN.  After the death of his father in 1908, and the remarriage of his step-mother, Roby and Maggie inherited the family home near Shingletown.  Only a short time later, Roby lost his wife, Maggie, to pneumonia on 19 Feb 1912 and he was left with ten daughters to raise, the youngest being under a year in age.  With the help of his older daughters, Roby managed to raise his large group of children.  He worked as a farmer, lumberman and blacksmith.  It is interesting to note, that the house he lived in at that time, had been built most likely by his brother John Dula Dollar, and then passed on to his father, Alexander Monroe Dollar.  After Monroe Dollar’s death, the house went to his widow, and then was signed over to Roby’s wife, Maggie.  After her death, he inherited the little house.

Top Photo taken in 2009 - View of the house opposite the house -
2nd picture - View from the front porch - taken in 2004

Roby was known to say that “He would never be broke because he had his ten Dollars.” However, it was difficult for the family to make a living.  He was a single father with a large family and they lived on subsistence farming and whatever work he could pick up.  Then the depression hit, and his daughters had to move elsewhere to support themselves.   Some lived as close as North Carolina, and others who moved to Illinois and New York.  Roby sold his land and house in Shingletown and built a small house in Mountain City where he spent the remainder of his life.   

Painting of the little house that Roby built in Mountain City,  Painting by his granddaughter, Gail Dahl

 Most of Roby’s daughters enjoyed long and healthy lives.  Roby, Eva, Lena and her husband Nathan are all buried at Mountain View Cemetery and Sarah “Maggie” Simmons Dollar is buried at the Shingletown cemetery.

Shingletown Cemetery or Wesley Methodist Church Cemetery - Johnson Co., TN

Here is a genealogy report on the family

Roby Smith Dollar and Sarah Margaret Simmons had the following children:

             2             i.   Cora Eula Dollar, born 13 Mar 1890, Shingletown, Johnson Co., TN; married Benjamin Harrison Sturgill, 4 Jun 1913, Laurel Bloomery, Johnson Co., TN; died 18 Mar 1988, Milan, Rock Island Co., IL.

                           ii.   Amanda  "Eva" Emeline Dollar was born on 3 Jul 1892 in Shingletown, Johnson Co., TN.  She died on 28 Mar 1979 at the age of 86 in Richmond, Henrico Co., VA. She was buried in Mar 1979 in Mountain View Cemetery, Mountain City, TN. 

             3           iii.   Bertta "Annis" Eunice Dollar, born 5 Feb 1894, Shingletown, Johnson Co., TN; married Coy McKinley Parsons, 10 Apr 1918, Todd, Ashe Co., NC; died 20 Aug 1980, Lenior, Caldwell Co., NC.

             4           iv.   Etta "Freddie" Winifred Dollar, born 14 Feb 1896, Shingletown, Johnson Co., TN; married Charles A. Thomas, 24 Sep 1924, Laurel Bloomery, Johnson Co., TN; died 16 Nov 1988, Monmouth, Warren Co., IL.

             5            v.   Tempa Maude Elizabeth Dollar, born 6 Mar 1900, Shingletown, Johnson Co., TN; married James Walker Beverly, abt 1930; died 27 Apr 2002, Conway, Horry Co., SC.

             6           vi.   Smithy Pearl Dollar, born 4 Jul 1902, Shingletown, Johnson Co., TN; married Walter E. Parsons, 25 Jan 1922; died 25 Feb 1980, Valois, Schuyler Co., NY.

             7          vii.   Lena Cleo Dollar, born 24 Jun 1904, Shingletown, Johnson Co., TN; married Nathan Rothnagel, 5 Jun 1939, Johnson Co., TN; died 17 Feb 2004, Mountain City, Johnson Co., TN.

             8         viii.   Estelle Catherine "Kate" Dollar, born 14 Mar 1906, Shingletown, Johnson Co., TN; died 21 Sep 1989, Jacksonville, Clay Co., FL.

             9           ix.   Sarah Clyde Dollar, born 11 Aug 1909, Shingletown, Johnson Co., TN; married Thomas Peter Jensen, 6 Sep 1928, Monmouth Illinois; died 5 Feb 2001, Kirkwood, Warren, Illinois, USA.

           10            x.   Carrie Mae Dollar, born 11 Jul 1911, Shingletown, Johnson Co., TN; married Wilfred Joseph "Fritz" Cloutier, 1 Jul 1931, Larchmont, Westchester Co., NY; died 31 Jul 2004, Mount Vernon, Westchester, New York, USA.

Pennington Families in Johnson Co., TN

The Pennington surname is a common name around Johnson Co., TN and the neighboring counties (i.e. Ashe Co., NC, Washington Co., VA, Smyth Co., VA).  It is too simple to say that they are probably all related.  The truth is that we know they are related by DNA, but we can’t make an absolute connection between these families.  The Pennington Research Association has divided these Penningtons up by their oldest known ancestors and has labeled these groups by numbers.  Within Johnson Co., TN there are Penningtons from Group 7, 12, and 30 primarily…so the question is – who are these Penningtons.

There are two Andrew Penningtons that play a meaningful role in these Johnson Co., TN Penningtons.  Andrew Pennington (m. Mary Elizabeth Pope) b. 1813 is a member of Group 7 and is descended from Ephraim Pennington b. 1769. (He was thought to be a descendant of Micajah Pennington but we know now that isn’t the case).  Many of the Penningtons living around the Shingletown area are related to him and I would bet that that a large portion of those buried in Wesley Chapel Cemetery are somehow related to him including the Sexton family that donated the land built the Wesley Chapel Church. (Robert C Sexton was married to Mary E Pennington, daughter of Andrew Pennington.  Their descendants donated the land for the church.) 

Wesley Methodist Cemetery aka Shingletown Cemetery - Johnson Co., TN

Here is a list of the children of Andrew Pennington and Mary Elizabeth Pope: 

·         Mary E. Pennington b. 1836 d. 1916 m. Robert C. Sexton 

·         Levi Pennington b. 1837 d. bef 1860

·         John H. Pennington b. 1840 d. aft 1860

·         Ephraim Pennington b. 1842 d. 1904 m. Louisa Katherine Hall m. Margarett R Richardson

·         Martha Jane b. 1848 d. 1928 m. Madison M. McCracken

·         Margaret C. Pennington b. 1851 d. 1914 m. Pleasant Alexander Dixon

·         Nancy Laurinda Pennington b. 1853 d. 1930 m. Creed F Davidson

·         Adelaza Pennington b. 1856 d. aft 1860

There were also Penningtons in Shady Valley who were sons of Andrew Pennington’s nephew, Levi Daniel Pennington (Levi Wilson Pennington and Solomon Stansberry Pennington) My own Pennington line comes from the same family.  My 3^rd great grandmother was Elizabeth Pennington (Levi Daniel Pennington’s sister, daughter of Levi Pennington and Elizabeth Henson) and she was married to Alexander Monroe Dollar and their granddaughter, Sophia Dollar Friddle was my great grandmother.

The home that my great grandmother grew up in - near Shingletown!

The second Andrew Pennington (m. Hester Ann Blevins)  was born about 1809 in Ashe Co., NC and is a descendant of Group 30 (Father is most likely Abram Pennington) and was married to Hester Ann Blevins.  Andrew was buried in Smyth Co., VA but many of his descendants can be found either in or near Johnson Co., TN.  His son Andrew Jackson Pennington (m. Eliza Jane Gentry) is buried at Stateline Cemetery in Laurel Bloomery as well has his descendants.

Here are the children of Andrew Pennington and Hester Ann Blevins:

·         Abel Abram Pennington b. 1836 d. 1920 m. Emily Blevins m. Sarah V Able 

·         William Caolloway Pennington b. 1838 d. 1904 m. Nancy D Privett

·         Eli Pennington b. 1840 d. aft 1910 m. Catherine Emeline Allen

·         Mary Matilda Pennington b. 1842 d. 1920 m. Calvin Calhoun Davis

·         Naomi Pennington b. 1843 d. 1902 m. Andrew Jackson Davis – Child by Lee Blevins 

·         Hiram H. Pennington b. 1845 d. 1914 m. Margaret Huffman

·         Samuel Pennington b. 1845 d. 1932 m. Sarah Ann Huffman (Hiram & Samuel aren’t twins – one was born in January and the other in September)

·         Andrew Jackson Pennington b. 1850 d. 1913 m. Eliza Jane Gentry (This is the first line I would check for Johnson Co., TN descendants) 

·         Rebecca Pennington b. 1852 d. 1914 m. Andrew John Hart

·         Asa Ira Pennington b. 1853 d. 1904 m. Martha Emaline Sherwood

·         Eda Eveline Pennington b. 1856 d. aft 1920 m. David Pennington (Son of Lorenzo Dow Pennington – brother of Andrew)

The third group represented in Johnson Co., TN was the descendants of Malissa Ellen Pennington who married George Washington Hines and James Sluder.  Her father was Elisha “Dock” Pennington who died close to the Johnson Co., TN border but was in Ashe Co., NC.    Here are Malissa’s descendants…this info mostly comes from the census records and I haven’t filled out the families as well as I would like!

Malissa Ellen Pennington b. 1861 d. 1952 m. George Washington Hines b. 1856 d. 1911 m. James Melvin Sluder b. 1871 d. 1850

·         Roby Hines b. 1881
·         James Hines b. 1884 d. 1918 m. Rosa McGrady
·         Dock Hines b. 1885 d. 1918
·         Marvin Hines b. 1887
·         Wiley G. Hines b. 1889
·         Otis Hines b. 1891
·         Rosie Hines b. 1895
·         Lidy J Hines b. 1898
·         Dolly Hines b. 1902

So, if you are trying to research the Pennington family in Johnson Co., TN, they most likely came originally from Ashe Co., NC from the early 1800’s as both the Andrew Pennington b. 1809 (Group 30) and Andrew Pennington b. 1813 (Group 7) were both born in Ashe Co., NC and the Group 12 Pennington (Desc. Of Samuel Pennington) also come from Ashe Co., NC in the early 1800’s.  So most Johnson Co., TN Penningtons likely have connections coming from Ashe Co., NC.  These families are good starting points in your Pennington research.

Pop Friddle

Mom’s Pop Friddle was possibly the most important person in her small world as a child.  There is no doubt that her parents and grandmother were of great import…but Pop Friddle was special.  He was the one who gave her a bear hug and made her feel safe and loved…Pop was patient,kind, and loving.  During her early life, Pop, was her anchor when everything else was in chaos.  He was there to give her comfort when her father died or when the family home burned down.  When she got in trouble with her mother, he was the one she ran too.  When she was 14 and he was trapped under the effects of a stroke, she was holding his hand when he died.

Lower Right - Martha Brown Friddles - Upper right - Callie Friddles and James B. Friddles next to her.

David Carl Friddle or “Pop” as he was called by nearly everyone didn’t have an easy start to life.  His parents married in 1878 when his father was 52 years old and his mother was 16.  When Pop was born in 1889, he was the 10^th child for Moses Friddle.  (He’d had at least three wives who mothered the 10 children) Within a year after Pop’s birth, Moses Friddle died.  Pop’s mother was Martha “Mattie” Brown.  She was the daughter of John and Margaret Brown and has been very difficult to trace.  When she married Moses Friddles in 1878, she was 16 years old.  I’m sure there wasn’t much choice in husbands after the devastation of the Civil War.  I know that she worked in old Judge Vaught’s house after Moses Friddles death and her children were with her at that point.  However, by the 1900 census, her chidlren were living in other households as servants, including Pop Friddle at 11 years old.  She married again after her second husband and died in 1908.

I think that Pop Friddle was essentially on his own as a young child.  The old Judge that he lived with and worked for taught him how to read and write and that was probably the only schooling that he really had.  By the time he was an adult, Pop was 6 feet tall with a barrell chest and was incredibly strong.  I’m sure he worked as a handyman and farm worker and worked across the county.  That’s the only way I can think of how he met Sophia Dollar aka “Mom Friddle”.  She lived on the other side of the county and not in the local town but rather out of the small town of Shingletown.  Pop Friddle lived out closer to Trade growing up…but I am fairly sure he never really had a home.  Pop Friddle didn’t have the normal childhood that most of us had – his father had died, his mother remarried and was living her own life away from her children.  For most of his childhood, he had been alone.  At the end of 1908, he and Mom Friddle eloped.  He was 19 years old and she was 14.  They lived near her step grandmother’s home in near Shingletown, but very quickly they had a child on the way.  Pop Friddle’s oldest brother wrote them and encouraged them to come out west.  After all, there was nothing that was keeping them in Johnson Co., TN – there was likely little opportunity for work or for a home of their own.  By late 1910, Pop Friddle was on out west and working for the railroad.  Mom Friddle joined him in November with their young son, Jack in tow. 

Pop Friddle teaching Mom Friddle how to shoot...Jack in front of Pop.

Mom and Pop Friddle lived up on Grouse Flats, Wallowa Co., OR until the early 1920’s when they moved to Pomeroy,  WA so Jack could go to High School and then they moved to Lewiston, ID in the late 1920’s.  Mom and Pop Friddle bought a large chunk of land at the top of Thain Grade in Lewiston and Pop worked for the irrigation department for a dollar a day.  Half of the money went to support his family and the other half went to pay for the land.  By the time my mother was born in 1941, Pop Friddle was starting to feel the effects of ill health.  For the rest of his life, he experienced the effects of small strokes.  He wasn’t able to be as active as he liked…but he still puttered around the place doing what he could.  I think he especially loved having his daughter’s family live so close so he could enjoy her children.  Mom Friddle traveled back to Tennessee and North Carolina several times to visit her family but Pop never went back.  By the time 1930 had rolled around, he didn’t have any living siblings to go back and visit.  His brother that had stayed back in Tennessee died of either suicide or was murdered in 1928.  There was nothing left for him there, and he never wanted to go back.

Pop Friddle in his chair with his dog Tauser.

As Pop got older, the strokes started to inhibit his life even further, and he wasn’t able to do much more than sit in his chair.  My mother remembered seeing her grandmparents sit and hold hands and tell stories about each other.  They were made up stories that were ridiculous but each would nod as if they were true.  Both of them were great story tellers.  According to my Grandma Cappy’s diary, during the last part of November in 1954, she and Pop went shopping.  He was more generous than normal and bought her a brand new coat and special gifts for his granddaughters.  Perhaps he knew that his time was short…because just after Christmas he had another stroke that completely incapacitated him.  For two weeks he laid in that bed and could speak or move.  All he could do was communicate with his eyes and smile with his lips.  Mom sat with her grandfather and read to him stories and out of the Bible.  Mom Friddle and Grandma Cappy stayed with him most days.  On the morning of January 4^th, Mom was holding his hand and knowing at 14 years old that she was going to lose her beloved “Pop”.  She saw him smile and look at her and then look towards Mom Friddle with a loving glance and then he closed his eyes and slipped away.

I never knew my great grandfather, he died 12 years before I was even born.  But for most of my life, I have heard storeis about him from his children but most especially from his granddaughter, my mother.  Now, all of them have passed on and all that is left are the stories that I grew up hearing.  I’ve always thought that he had a tragic young life – but most of that didn’t come out until long after he died.  He didn’t like to complain about what had passed but lived completely for his beloved wife, children, and grandchildren.  The love he showed to his family lived far past his death and made a lasting impact on his family and friends.

A Lifetime of Changes

My great grandmother (Sophie Dollar Friddle aka Mom Friddle) was born either on January 27 or January 28 in 1894.  According to Mom Friddle she was born around midnight on the 27^th…and her step grandmother, Lulu, thought she was born after midnight and therefore on the 28^th of January – so that was the date that she celebrated as her birthday.  She died the day before my birthday in 1979 on February 8^th.  It is hard for me to believe that it was over 30 years ago now.

The little house near Shingletown, TN where Mom Friddle was born.

Mom Friddle grew up in a small house in a holler about two miles from the nearest small town of Shingletown, Johnson Co., TN.  Within three months of her birth, her mother died at the tender age of 21 and Mom Friddle was left to be raised by her grandfather, Alexander Monroe Dollar and step grandmother, Sarah “Lulu” Pearce.  I suspect that she had an idyllic childhood – she had little responsibility and was the adored granddaughter of a woman who never had any children of her own.  I remember Mom Friddle telling me about that house that she grew up in and how she used to walk to town to the store.  I used to think that she meant Mountain City – but now I know that it was the little town at the end of the road that burned down near the turn of the 20^th century.  When her grandfather died in 1908, her father made noises about bringing Mom Friddle to live with him and his new family.  She was encouraged by her grandmother to get married to stop her father from stealing her away.  Mom Friddle eloped and soon she was the mother of a young child traveling west to Oregon to join her husband on a train.  (The story of her elopement is a grand story for another time).

When my mother was born, Mom Friddle was still a relatively young woman at 46.  Since I am turning 45 soon, it seems even younger now.  My mother lived just about 100 yards away from her grandparents and spent a great deal of time with them.  Like her grandmother, she was an adored granddaughter who enjoyed the love and attention of her grandparents.  I’m sure Mom didn’t recognize at the time how fortunate she was to be so close to her grandparents – but she certainly did later in life.  Mom Friddle was integral part of my mother’s life and young marriage.  Since my mother’s own mother was still working, it was Mom Friddle who she talked often to and sought advice on a multitude of issues.  My mother said that Mom Friddle taught her a lot of lessons both by words and examples.  One of the most important lessons that Mom took to heart was to always keep some “jingle money” as Mom Friddle termed it.  She meant that my mother should always keep her own money and not be totally dependent on any man.  Throughout my mother’s life, she always squirreled away a bit of money to cover the odd emergency that came up…that was a lesson that came from her grandmother.

Mom Friddle - about 1955

Mom asked her grandmother in the early 1970’s if she wished that she had lived in another time.  Mom Friddle looked at her and replied that she felt that had lived in the most exciting time of human history.  The first time she saw a train, she got on it and road clear across the country.  The first car was also the first time she got to ride in a car.  During her lifetime telephones, radio, and television became commonplace and she had lived to see women get the vote and had seen so many technological advances that it boggled the mind.  When she was a child, man only dreamed of flying and she had seen a man walking around on the moon on television. Mom Friddle said that she didn't know if there would ever be a time of such growth in technology and travel as she had seen her lifetime – from the beginning of flight to going to space and landing on the moon.   It really is remarkable when you thing of the world of her childhood and the changes that she saw in her lifetime – it makes one wonder what changes will occur in our lifetimes and if we will look back in awe just as she did!  

John Dula Dollar

I’ve always loved the song Tom Dooley…I can remember hearing the song with the Kingston Trio’s smooth voices imploring Tom to “hang down his head.”  I used to think that my great great grandfather was named for Tom Dooley…but I doubt that the connection.  My great great grandfather was named John Dula Dollar…sometimes it is spelled John Dooley Dollar.  I’m not sure what is exactly correct, but I suspect that Dula might be correct.  From what I have read about the name Dula is pronounced Dooley and it is the Appalachian pronunciation.  It is possible that John Dula’s parents knew of or knew Tom Dooley.  That in itself is an interesting coincidence.

John Dula Dollar was born 3 Oct 1863 in Creston, Ashe Co., NC and died 6 Dec 1933 in Atlanta, Fulton Co., GA.  He was the son of Alexander Monroe Dollar and Elizabeth Pennington.  Alexander Monroe Dollar was a confederate soldier who served in the 58^th North Carolina Infantry which was one of the units that had the most desertions in the Confederate Army.  Tom Dula also served in the Confederate Army and was in the 42^nd North Carolina Infantry.  Tom Dula was from Wilkes Co., NC and Alexander Monroe Dollar lived in Ashe Co., NC near the Tennessee border.  Sometime in the early 1880’s Alexander Monroe Dollar, his wife Elizabeth and three of their children moved to Laurel Bloomery, Johnson Co., TN.  Now…I don’t really think that John Dula was named for Tom Dula but it is in interesting coincidence…especially since the notorious murder occurred in the same stomping grounds.

Tom Dula was supposed in love with Ann Melton (maiden name Foster) and was also involved with her cousin Laura.  He was carrying on an affair with Ann and was supposedly engaged to marry Laura Foster.  Laura and Tom were supposedly going to elope and get married.  Laura left with some clothes and her father’s horse.  She disappeared and was found a few months later stabbed and dead with only the clothes that were with her to help identify her.  Soon after, Tom Dula was considered to be the main suspect and he took off to get out of town.  He was captured in Trade, Johnson Co., TN and taken back to Wilkes Co., NC to be tried.  A local lawyer took his case and got the case moved to Iredell Co., NC.  Tom Dula was hung in Statesville, NC in 1868.   His lover, Ann was also held in jail and considered to be his accomplice.  She died two years after Tom Dula having gone insane despite being acquitted based on a letter that Tom Dula wrote that absolved her.   Sharyn McCrumb wrote an interesting article about that Tom Dula story  which is an interesting read and located at http://blueridgecountry.com/archive/tom-dooley.html

John Dula Dollar holding Sophia - Claude on the left and Bessie on the  right.  Probably taken in 1895.

It is a great story and became the stuff of legend and song.  I’m not sure that my John Dula Dollar was ever quite that interesting.  John married 16 year old Buena Vista Bailey in 1889 and had three children within five years.   Buena Vista died at the age of 21 about 3 months after giving birth to my great grandmother.  John left his children with his father and step mother and went out to work.  He married Cleopatria Josephine Gentry and had 7 more children with her.  He brought his older two children to live with him and left the youngest with his father.  John Dula worked as a logger and builder and eventually ended up in Atlanta, GA where he died at the age of 70.  John Dula was 3 years old when the murder occurred and 5 years old when Tom Dula was hanged.  I wonder if Alexander Monroe Dollar’s family knew the story and if they did – did they find out by gossip or by newspaper.  I’m not sure which version was more salacious.  When I first did a little a research on the story – I was surprised to learn all of the details that were involved.  If anything, the song is a pretty sedate version of the whole ugly episode....the real story is a whole lot more complicated and would be fit for today’s tabloid reporting.  It certainly was a major topic in the newspapers of 1868.