The Life and Times of Tell and Minnie Maynard and the Fifteen Children

By Billy Randall Maynard

The title of the book sums it up fairly well with a couple of exceptions. “The Life and Times of Tell and Minnie Maynard and “the Fifteen Children” is several stories , using testimonials, written letters, and history to weave a wonderful narrative about some of the “last pioneers” on Brushy Creek of Pike Conty, Ky. See how they spent their days amidst the rolling hills of the countryside. There was a two-story house. There was a farm of 380 acres. A little church stood beside their home. A family cemetery began to grow from family members who left us too soon. This is the true story of a large family. This is my heritage. I felt compelled to tell their stories as they struggled to survive in this rugged territory. Wow - what a story it is! Meet the Maynards!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665554855

Billy Randall Maynard

Billy Randal Maynard was born and raised in Pikeville, Ky area. He is the son of William Lance Maynard (a son of Tell and Minnie Maynard). Billy’s mother was the late Lottie M. Maynard of Raccoon, Ky. Billy had One brother,’ Barry, deceased. Billy has five children, one with Patty. Billy and Patty presently live in Salyersville, Ky. Billy is Asst Pastor of Owsley FWB Church in Pikeville, Ky. Mr. Maynard is an accomplished author, having written “Interview With An Angel” as well as “Take the Road to Somewhere ( a collection of short stories and poems). Both written after “911” Event. Mr. Maynard received his college degree from “Pikeville College in 1974, and received his Masters’ degree from Morehead State University in 1998, both degrees are in Business Admin. Billy started in the automobile business with his father, William, then spent around 30 years in the Insurance business before retiring in 2016. Billy made it his mission to honor the Maynard family with this writing.

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© 2022 Billy Randal Maynard. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  05/19/2022

ISBN: 978-1-6655-5486-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-5487-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-5485-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022905029

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

This Book is dedicated….

In memory of John Talmage Tell Maynard and Minnie Varney Maynard

As well as their fifteen children of Right Fork of Brushy Creek, Piso, Ky.

The memory of all my deceased cousins. The memorial page included. My mother, Lottie (Keene) Maynard, and my brother Barry R. Maynard (passed Nov. 2016)

All of our inlaws of our great Uncles and Aunts, Lowe, Collins, Muncy, Moore, Marcum, Taylor, Costa, Mead, Hastings, Farley, Keene, Wolfe, Smith, McCoy.

Neighbors of the family like the Runyons (cousins of the fifteen), Blackburns, Scotts, Webbs, Hinkles, Youngs, Muncys, Mullins, and more. Also the Piso Free Will Baptist Church (Bobby Mullins, Pastor).

We have fond memories of Pike County and Pikeville in particular. See old photos of Pikeville, at a time when our relatives were living and doing business or shopping. Williamson,WV. was close by as well. Tell would take farm items to sell there nearly every week.

And to all our Eastern Ky. Pioneers in education, music, churches, farmers and more. These were the starters of things we needed for our communities.

My father, Bill says without a vision, the people perish (scripture). Well, my family were the kind of folks that had the vision.

Contents

Section 1:   Going Home for History

The Beginning of the Maynards

William Takes A Voyage

Facts about William Maynard, Sr. And William Maynard Jr.

Amazing Connections… Cousins, Cousins Everywhere…

The Will of William Mainord of Wake County, North Carolina:

The Land Purchase….

Background of the Joe Varney family.

Poppy Joe Says Goodbye

The Picture Taking Man

Honoring Daniel Boone Maynard…….

The Courtship……

Time to build a homeplace…….

Aunt Virgie (Virginia Maynard Blackburn)

Miscellaneous Photos

Old Time Education: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic

Section 2:   Meet the 15 Children

Time to Have Babies

Let’s Meet Woodrow

Memories of Woodrow Maynard

Hattie Marie Maynard Collins

Ollie James (O J) Maynard, Ethel and Family

J. T. Maynard Jr. Summary

Joseph Harmon Maynard

Marlene Maynard Costa

Georgia Maynard Muncy

Ibba Jean Maynard Miller

Layton Maynard

Mackadoo Mack Maynard

A Brief Biography of William Lance Maynard

Franklin T Maynard

Bob Maynard

Bob BobbyMaynard

Claude Maynard

Peggy Maynard Wolfe

The Maynard boys in the military…………

Miscellaneous Photos

Section 3:   Stories about the Maynard Family and Eastern Appalachia

It’s Funny You Said That…..

Roaring River Baptist Church

The Establishment of the First Piso FWB Church

The Burning of a Landmark - Piso Free Will Baptist Church

Time To Git Up And Git Started

Troublesome Times at the Maynard Homeplace……

Minnie and Tell move to Johns Creek……

Good Memories With Grandpa Maynard

50 Years and Counting! The Maynard Anniversary…

Putting a Sears Roebuck Catalog to Good Use…..

A Memorial to the Maynard’s who left us too soon.

Our Family Faith

More Maynard Family Facts or Did You Know?

Mommie’s Blanket……….the perfect one

Miscellaneous Photos

Preface

Every book needs a purpose. The author needs to aim at getting his or her point across to an eager audience. Since you are reading the book, that’s you. This book may appeal mostly to my extended family on the Maynard and Varney lineage.

However, there is something here for everyone who lives in Appalachia and especially Pike, Floyd and Martin Counties. The people of a place fondly named Brushy Creek lived a simple kind of life that appealed to a lot of people that liked the way people lived off of the land. This story is mostly about John Talmage Maynard and Minnie Varney Maynard and their fifteen amazing children, but it is much more. There was a strong sense of community on the Right Fork of Brushy that is demonstrated in these true stories that I have weaved together like a patchwork quilt.

There will be a series of short stories that will capture poignant moments. There were times when death was lurking around the corner and trouble was heading towards the Maynard clan. On the brighter side, there were delightful moments of singing on the porch with neighbors. Sometimes we call that a Hoe Down or pickin and grinnin. We will see hard laboring mountain folks that overcome a lot of odds to get what they need to survive and thrive. We will see how some family members made mistakes then overcame obstacles to move ahead. We will meet neighbors and relatives of the Maynard clan, such as the Runyon family and Blackburns as well as many other large families nearby. We will share stories of tragedy, for it is part of life. I hope you will cry a little and laugh a lot, as the Maynard family moves from the pioneer type lifestyle to modern times. They will go through the Great Depression, but fair pretty good through that time, move on to the Second World War, as many family members participate in many ways.

Minnie and Tell will move a few times and enjoy the new contraptions that modern people enjoy, such as color television, riding in automobiles, and going to restaurants. These things we take for granted, but these things were a real treat to the old timers.

The fifteen children include my own father, William, who is still living as I write the book. They lived wonderful lives that inspired many many people. I have short stories about all of the fifteen children. My Aunt Peggy Wolfe is still living as well as my Uncle Bob Maynard. Both reside in Michigan. Also the purpose of the book is to share stories that involve the many cousins who lived during the last years of their grandparent’s lifetime. There were around 64 first cousins when we were all living. One purpose is to bring honor to those cousins who left us too early.

It is a privilege to write a book of this importance and magnitude. It was also a big task, but I felt someone in the family had to do it. Our family was very special in the sense that we all stuck together, through thick and thin. We loved each other unconditionally. If our Aunt or Uncle got married, we accepted the spouse unconditionally as well. This is an amazing family that went through difficult times. Thankfully there is a church that pulled all of us together over the years and that is Piso Free Will Baptist Church which is located about a quarter of a mile away from the old home-place. The old home-place still stands but it does not display its old glory and charm it used to in days gone by. The family cemetery is on a hillside near the church and most of our family members are buried there, but not all. There will be a lot of pictures for you to enjoy of our wonderful family and friends. We included most genealogies of all the family and many of you may be related to us if you lived near Brushy Creek. We will discover that Minnie and Tell were distant cousins by way of William Maynard of Devonshire England. This is where the tale begins, in Devonshire, England in the late 1700s. Young William Maynard decides to visit the New World of colonies in America. Little did he know he would populate much of Eastern Kentucky. Glad he did! We thus start our journey with William Maynard of Devonshire England in the late 1700s. Enjoy!

Acknowledgments and Thank You

This book would not have been possible without contributions from several individuals. I cannot possibly name everyone who helped me out on this project, so I will name some that were essential. This book was inspired by our loving grandparents John Talmage and Minnie Varney Maynard. If not for them, I would not have had the desire to record their history (our family).

Not in any particular order:

Darrell Maynard, my first cousin (Layton) - investigated our genealogy for years and years. He presented his findings to us at Maynard Reunion and gave me all he had.

Ruby Pearl Henson, first cousin (Hattie) - furnished me with countless stories and pictures. She had all the military photos of our Uncles. I used to tell here she would have been even better qualified to write the book but she lives in Colorado. She did the section about her mother and father, Hattie and Southa Collins.

Sandy Penix, a first cousin (Layton) who wrote a book about her family called Quiet Lessons. I used great excerpts from her viewpoint of how close and faithful our wonderful family had been over the years. She also had great photos.

Elon Justice, administrator of the Appalachian Retelling Project, graciously posted each section of the book as I compiled it. This gave me goals to reach each week and organized my thoughts and how to arrange parts of the book. Then she put in on Google Drive and really made things easier to publish. I would like to thank Authorhouse for publishing and producing the book in its final form.

Piso Free Will Baptist Church members did so much when the old church burned and had the resilience to build bigger and better in a short time. Piso church has been lenked to our family for over 66 years. Cousins Darrell and John Maynard designed the new church building and did a lot of work. Cousin Todd (Frank) worked many hours also. Many cousins contributed money (as did we).

I thank our talented cousins who painted and sketched family scenes and portraits.

My fathers faithful secretary, Sally Francis for compiling the first booklet in 1994, which gave me a base to work from in the beginning of the book.

I would like to thank Tommy Robinette for all the photos he let me copy off his Facebook site- Brushy Fork of Johns Creek Genealogy and History. People send him amazing photos of old-timers from the 1800s and 1900s. He has some good Old Pikeville photos I have included. He had many of my family (Maynards) and neighbors of the family (Runyons, etc.). Also I t,hank my distant cousin Eldora Maynard Trimble who helped compile a wonderful resource book called

Our Journey Forward a Pictorial History of Old Schools in Pike County", Tivis Branham Author. It had the schools in the area of Brushy Creek, including names and photos of students and teachers at the time.

I cannot thank myself, for I was inspired by such great grandparents to do this out of love. It is a nice legacy to leave the family. It just had to be done. I am normally a poetry writer, song writer, or short story writer. This was different.

God is Great! I thank Him most of all!

Disclaimer

Some sections of this book were derived from a booklet published in 1994. Some of the grammar and punctuation is a bit off, since the people who wrote them were not concerned about being so careful about it being read by people outside the family. As the author of this new book, I have decided to not edit some of those old thoughts my relatives stated in their own words. I also have some scans, like the one of the Roaring River Church records, that have so many mistakes that it is charming in its original form. Many of my ancestors went to church there and sometimes got in trouble. The name Maynard is spelled in other forms, like Maynor, Mainor, Mainord, etc. The first names are the names of William Maynard’s children, so this is how we know it is the very same family.

Sometimes words are in slang form. Examples of this are goinna go to the store. Or I ain’t goinna eat that stuff. Git up and git goin’. I used this for effect. It is really how some folks talked. Our ancestors were not worried about proper pronunciation. I catch myself using some of the slang you will see in the text of the book, especially if I am retelling a story.

Some of the stories are fictional to some extent. I tried to base a lot of it on fact and used fiction to make it as real as it could be (having not been there in the 1700s)

Some scans were not written by me; therefore they appear as found and scanned.

So, this book cannot be fully edited in order to preserve the time era.

So, if a little bit of it seems disjointed, it is because of the time lapse of the old stories vs. The new ones.

Going Home for History

Wilkes County, North Carolina

The Beginning of the Maynards

Devonshire England in the early 1700s

Young William stood in front of his mother’s mirror gazing at his appearance. Yes. young William Maynard was a fine-looking young man, even if he thought so himself. He had a stout body build, stood around 6 ft., he had dark brown hair. Young William was not too fat but surely not too skinny. Today he had dressed unusually well as he contemplated his daring trip to the New Land. His white shirt had a design in the collar that flared out somewhat. His pants and suit coat were black and the lad had suspenders around his strong shoulders. He did not notice his mother looking at him from a distance.

Finally his mother spoke. Will, you look very dapper today, what is the occasion? Are you going somewhere?"

‘We’ve discussed this Mum, I am going to the Colonies. After all, they are still under Britain’s rule. I want to see something new and have my own adventure of sorts."

Well, I know you are a young man now, but I worry about the dangers over there, Don’t you?

No, Mum, I don’t worry about danger. Like you said, I am a man now.

Where would you go? You don’t know anyone in the colonies.

I have friends that are going with me. We are taking the next voyage of the ship called Brothers. I think some of my distant cousins are going along also."

I suppose I can’t talk you out of it, can I?

That would be very true Mum. Dad has taught me well. I am smart enough and strong enough to be on my own. I might need a little coin, I am afraid. Since I have yet to acquire a job. I don’t need too much. A couple hundred shillings should be fine.

Henry came into the room to see his fine-looking son, William. He was indeed a fine- looking specimen. Henry was very proud of his son and knew he had taught him many good things that would carry him far in life. William had been educated well and attended a good school in Devonshire. He had learned to read and do math. Will, as he was called, had enjoyed fox hunting with his father and uncles So, Will, could ride horses with the best of them.

I suppose you are ready for the next big step in life, Will, but your mother and I will miss you. But you know I will support you as best I can. I was young and stubborn myself long ago. Henry smiled as he spoke kindly.

Young William thought he detected a tear in his fathers’ eyes. Surely not. Father doesn’t cry, does he? he thought to himself.

Chancey Smith Maynard would see her son off the large ship Brothers in a few short days. Father Henry would be standing back a little further and stared at the ship for several minutes after it left port. Little did Henry know, his son William would be the start of a large family of Maynards that would reshape a part of the New Land. It would take a few generations of Maynards until they reached North Caroline (Wilkes County). There his grandsons would attend a little church together and form plans to go to newly formed Kentucky, that used to be part of Virginia. Today most call it Brushy Creek. +

Young William later was known as William Maynard, Sr. He would marry a North Carolina girl named Agatha Damron. The Damron family was used to having slaves, something William was not used to. Amazingly, his son William Jr also married a sister of Agatha, Elizabeth Damron. William, Sr. was in the French Indian War under Captain Robert Spotwoods Company. This information was discovered on the Ancestry website. He also was described as a shoemaker. Besides Jr. William was the father of Christopher Columbus Maynard (who moved to Ky at the area of Brushy Creek), James (who later moved to Ky.) and Gibson Maynard, who attended the South Fork of Old Roaring River Baptist Church in Wilkes co. N.C. with some of his other brothers. Also Jacob, Thomas, John Agatha or Aggey Smith, Sarah also called Sally Maynard Burgess, Charity Maynard Waldrop, also of Wilkes Co. NC. George Maynard, Frances for Frankie Maynard Weddington also of Wilkes County. Silas Maynard, Ruth Maynard Searles and Lydia or Liddy Maynard Petty also of Wilkes County, NC. The most famous at the time was Moses Maynard, who ended up living to the ripe old age of 107. Moses lived most of the time in Indiana, where his grave is marked today in Madison County. (See graves illustration_.

It would make sense that most of the children at some point attended the South Fork of Old Roaring River Baptist Church. There are some funny stories in the minutes of the church that mention the mishaps and repentance of some of the Maynard boys. Sometimes their last names were spelled Manor, because some of the people who kept records could not spell very well.

Now it was Moses who had the children that in part moved to Ky in the early 1800s. Christopher Columbus Maynard was the very first Maynard to end up on the left fork of Brushy. He lived in a very crude shanty but started a family there. His life and times are best described in Roland B Maynard’s account, in his book the Book of Maynards. Moses had other children some of which migrated to eastern Ky, as well. One of them was Nancy Jane Maynard, who married a Runyon man. You will see a chart of the dates of birth and death in the index. Her lineage is the one I come from. Some of my distant cousins come from the others. At the turn of 1800 Pike County was in Floyd County, so that caused a discrepancy in the census. Maynards appear in Pike County starting 1830. Maynard was not spelled just one way. It could be Maynor, Mainard, Mainer.

I have seen Pike County deeds with these other spellings. Sort of funny, I thought. Maynard is the English way of spelling and we use it today.

Moses’ other children were Elizabeth, James, Barnabas Lewis Maynard, and as we mentioned Christopher Columbus Maynard. If you visit Apple Orchard Cemetery you will see tombstones of some of the kinfolk of these Maynards. My cousin by way of Roland B Maynard wrote a book about the cemeteries on Brushy Creek. Apple Orchard was one of the oldest cemeteries in all of Eastern, Ky. It is about five miles or so from the Piso Free Will Baptist Church, where our family cemetery is located.

There are charts and pictures throughout the index section of the book. We will concentrate on one of the descendants of Nancy Jane Maynard coming down to

Harmon Maynard, married Williamson (who actually was a cousin to all of us) including her husband (distant). What is now the Old Home Place is near the Piso Freewill Baptist Church, It was started by Bill Childers and others mentioned in the book.. Now it is John Talmage Maynard (who married Minnie Varney) that this book will be based upon. The old home-place is still there. I share wonderful memories that I can remember as a child while living near them. Grandpa Maynard and Grandma had fifteen children and I will attempt to tell their story. For their story is my story. It seems to come full circle for me, as I did not know the first Maynard in America was William until many years later, for you see….one of the fifteen was my father William Lance Maynard who is still alive as of the time of this writing of the book I fondly call The Life and Times of Tell and Minnie Maynard and the Fifteen Children"

Now, let’s take a big, long journey through time……………. you just might believe!

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William Takes A Voyage

Young William had told his parents goodbye and packed his suitcases to board the ship called Brother destined to the New world in the colonies of America. William was filled with wonder and curiosity as he boarded the ship. Henry, his father, went as far as he could go. They took a carriage to the port and said some more goodbyes. Henry held back tears. It was the Maynard way. A young man had to find his future and destiny. William was dressed in linens and a nice white shirt. His coat was buttoned up as the wind blew along the shoreline. Henry reminded him to be safe and make contact someday in the weeks ahead. Willaim had a leather durbin hat that would serve him well as he sailed with the many others looking for something in the New Lands of America. Williams’ heart was beating pretty hard as he walked the wooden walkway, occasionally looking back at his father. He knew his life would never be the same. William had just a few hundred sterlings to his name, but it had to be enough until he was employed sometime in the future.

Winds blew and water splashed upon the ship from time to time, but that was just the way it was out there on the Atlantic. On good days young Will did not get sick. On other days, he was quite nauseated and even threw up a few times. He ate jerky and a little fruit from time to time. It was a pain to use the toilet if you want to call it that. He met a few people he knew, so that fact helped some. Devonshire was a nice township in England and others like him wanted to travel abroad. Young William was pretty sure some of these folks were cousins, for Maynard was a common last name in his area of Devonshire. Sleeping was interrupted often by sea waves, or old men snoring too loudly. He got what rest he could get, anyway, he could get it. Young William was good at penmanship and kept a diary of his adventure. This helped him pass the time as the days’ dragged on and on. He imagined what it may be like in the colonies, for he had heard some stories. This voyage was heading towards Virginia which was one of the older colonies. There was a lot of restlessness politically between Britain and the colonies but William did not worry so much about all that. Will just wanted to get on with his life. He wondered if he would meet a girl and fall in love. William wanted a big family. He would get what he wanted!

Finally, the day came that the mariners announced that they could see the shoreline. Passengers began to talk excitedly about getting on land and seeing this new place of opportunity and promise. William could feel his pulse increase the closer they got to the shore. Wow. This is really happening. I’m in Virginia!

It came time to disembark, and William lined up with the rest and walked to the shore. A man thanked them for taking the journey with the Brother and said to them a few nice words about being careful and enjoying your stay and such. William picked up his bags and set out to see the little town on the shore. The first step of a million more to come. And so the journey begins!

Facts about William Maynard,

Sr. And William Maynard Jr.

Originally posted on Ancetry.com by a member of John Tell Maynard family 2012.

Some info came from research by our cousin Darrell Maynard of Raccoon, Ky. I have researched records as well as Ruby Henson who resides in Colorado.

William Maynard, Sr. was born about 1728 in Devonshire England. Darrell and I think his father was Henry Maynard (thus not Robert Maynard of Blackbeard lore). He sailed on a ship called Brother when he was just 16 yrs of age. He may have been briefly married to a lady named Fancis, but not for long. He Married Agatha Aggie Damron in Wilkes county, NC.aka Wake County. sometime before 1754 because William Maynard Jr. Was born about 1754. Oddly enough Jr. would end up marrying into the same Damron family He would marry Elizabeth Damron who was born in 1759. That marriage did not last long, for in 1792, William Jr. Married Elizabeth ``Betsy" Edwards Broadway. We see from old records of Johnston County, NC. They were married Oct, 26, 1792. We think the city was called Johnson City, NC.

Thus it appears that Sr and Jr both married the daughters of Moses Damron of the same area. From sailing to the new world on a ship, to marrying a lovely woman, Will Sr. served as a private in the French Indian War. He served under Captain Robert Spotwood. He was mustered into service Sept. 2, 1755. He was listed as a former shoemaker, from England, enlisted at Williamsburg, Va. His build was well made. Scar of lip, thick dark brown hair. Briefly, his other children are Christopher Columbus Maynard, bn. 1750 d. This son is the one that ended up on Brushy Fork of Piso in Pike County.

James Maynard bn. About 1756, d. Oct. 13, 1852.

Gibson bn. Around 1779 d. 1802.

Jacob Maynard

Thomas Maynard

John Maynard

Footnote: Christopher Columbus was mentioned in the Floyd County census in 1820. At one time Floyd County was a large county that took in what became Pike County. We see his family again in the 1830 census in Pike County, but we don’t see him counted, so he must have passed before 1830. Some of these people are buried at Apple Orchard Cemetery at Heenon, Ky. There are others in other states or areas of eastern, Ky.

Here are the daughters of William Sr.

These were mentioned in his will

Agatha Aggie Maynard Smith married 11-27-1800 to Abssalom Smith in