Every once in a while, a piece of Patrick County history comes along that is truly a treasure.
Charlie Bowman recently passed one of those treasures along to me—an in-depth history of Meadows of Dan written in 1949 by Daniel Webster “D. W.” Scott, a lifelong Patrick County resident who was then eighty-four years old. Scott would pass away five years later, but fortunately for us, he took the time to put his memories and knowledge of his beloved mountain community on paper.
In light of the changes that have taken place in Meadows of Dan over the years, Scott’s account seems more important than ever to preserve. Some of the places he described have disappeared from the landscape, and generations of the people he knew have passed on. Yet the mountains remain, and so does the spirit of the people who called them home.
Scott’s history is much too valuable to rush through in a single column. Therefore, I will share it in several parts, allowing his words and stories the time and respect they deserve. Following each installment, I will attempt to identify and provide genealogical information about the people Scott mentioned, hopefully connecting these names from the past with descendants and families who still know them today.
We will begin with D. W. Scott’s own introduction, written in 1949.
In the Words of Daniel Webster “D. W.” Scott
The author of this brief history of Meadows of Dan is now eighty-four years old and taught in the public free schools of Patrick County for twenty-eight years, but now I am so nervous and my eyesight is so bad that I can scarcely see or read. I am greatly indebted to Mrs. Crystal W. Cruise for copying and assistance in other ways in writing this history.
The facts and figures in this brief history of Meadows of Dan aside from which the author knew to be correct have been secured from reliable sources and prepared with care and accuracy with the single aim in view of making it interesting as well as educational to the rising as well as the present generation.
Meadows of Dan is situated on top of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the extreme western part of Patrick County, Virginia, joining the counties of Floyd and Carroll on the west; thence southeast on the brink of the mountains, including the Rock Wall, Lovers Leap, and the Waterfalls of Smith River; thence continuing with the brink of the mountains to the Floyd County line. This section of the county contains approximately one hundred and twenty square miles.
The Indians once roamed through this section of the county, as evidenced by finding Indian arrows, pieces of clay pots, tomahawks and other things known to be used only by Indians.
Also, when digging the grave of Katie Spangler, wife of W. W. Spangler, near the Pinnacles of Dan, white streaks were found in the clay which were thought to be bones of an Indian buried perhaps centuries ago. Found also in the grave were a tomahawk, a peace pipe, and pieces of pottery. The Indians thought that after death they went on to the happy hunting ground.
The first settlers had many wild animals as well as Indians to deal with, as evidenced by Peter Wood who lived one mile east of Meadows of Dan post-office. One cold, snowy night the family was frying fresh meat. A bear scented the meat frying and tried to break open their door to get the meat. Mr. Wood and family barred the door to keep the bear out.
Also evidenced by Paul W. DeHart, who had a dog about the color of a panther. He was out hunting one day and saw a deer coming toward him being chased by the dog, as he thought. The panther caught the deer near Mr. DeHart and he, thinking that it was his dog, jumped on the deer to help his dog. Instead, it was a panther which got very excited and ran off. The dog’s name was Caesar.
And with that unforgettable story of Paul DeHart, Caesar, and the panther, the first portion of D. W. Scott’s history comes to an end.
But who were these people whose names Scott recorded more than seventy-five years ago? As is so often the case with Patrick County history, once we begin following the names, we discover families whose roots intertwine throughout the mountains.
Daniel Webster “D. W.” Scott was born June 24, 1865, in the Round Meadow community of Meadows of Dan. He was the son of community blacksmith Daniel S. Scott and Martha Ann Spangler Scott and was the youngest of at least nine children:
John W. Scott, 1844–1927
Joseph G. Scott, 1848–1932
Winfield Spangler Scott, 1851–1935
Jennie Lind Scott, 1852–1932
Samuel S. Scott, born 1858
Sarah “Sallie” J. Scott, 1859–1880
Thomas B. Scott, born 1859
Abraham Lincoln Scott, 1863–1940
Daniel Webster Scott, 1865–1954
D. W.’s paternal grandparents were Thomas Scott and Sarah Shelor Scott of Meadows of Dan. His maternal grandparents were John B. Spangler and Susannah Hudnall Spangler.
On January 26, 1888, D. W. married Miss Susan Mary Scott, daughter of Thomas Delaplane Scott and Lucinda Ellen Sandifer of the Round Meadow community. Lucinda’s birthplace was recorded simply and beautifully as along the “Waters of Dan.”
Susan’s paternal grandparents were also Thomas Scott and Sarah Shelor Scott, while her maternal grandparents were Gabriel Penn Sandifer and Martha Howell.
One of my favorite things about the wonderful old Patrick County birth records beginning in the 1840s is the way locations were recorded. Instead of the street names and numbered addresses we expect today, our ancestors were sometimes described as having been born along the “Waters of Dan,” “Waters of North Mayo,” or “Waters along Russell Creek.”
Those few words paint a picture all their own. And thank heavens, these old records have been digitized so that we can still find and study them today!
D. W. Scott lived long enough to see tremendous changes come to the mountain community he called home. Five years after he prepared this history, his obituary appeared in the Enterprise, Volume 78, Number 31, August 5, 1954:
Daniel Webster Scott, 89, former Patrick County merchant and a schoolteacher for 26 years, died Wednesday at Vesta. He retired from public life about ten years ago due to ill health. A native and lifelong resident of Patrick County, he was the son of the late Daniel and Martha Ann Spangler Scott.
Funeral services were held Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Meadows of Dan Baptist Church in charge of Rev. Wayne Dietz, pastor, and Rev. Robert J. Mann, pastor of the Stuart Baptist Church. Burial was in the church cemetery.
Surviving are: three sons, T. O. and R. H. Scott of Charlottesville and D. H. Scott of Stuart; and four daughters, Mrs. Estelle Highfield of Charlottesville, Miss Dora Scott of Bristol and Mrs. Calla K. Williams and Mrs. B. G. Rodgers, both of Stuart.
Interestingly, Scott stated in his 1949 history that he had taught in Patrick County’s public free schools for twenty-eight years, while his 1954 obituary credited him with twenty-six years as a schoolteacher. Whatever the exact number, education clearly occupied a significant portion of his long life.
D. W. Scott made a point of acknowledging Mrs. Crystal W. Cruise, whom he credited with copying his manuscript and assisting him in preparing his history.
Mrs. Cruise also had another connection to Scott: she succeeded him as teacher at the Free Union School in Vesta.
Crystal was the daughter of Sparrell Jacob “Boss” Williams and Rose Anne Turner of Stuart. She married Levi Joseph Cruise of Vesta.
It seems especially fitting that a teacher helped another teacher preserve this history for future generations. Without Mrs. Cruise’s assistance, Scott’s failing eyesight and nervous condition might have prevented these memories from ever being recorded.
Scott next mentioned Katie Spangler, wife of W. W. Spangler, whose grave was being dug near the Pinnacles of Dan when what were believed to be evidence of an earlier Indigenous burial were discovered.
The woman Scott referred to as Katie Spangler was likely Frances Eunice Langhorne, daughter of James Steptoe Langhorne and Elizabeth Rachael Omohundro Langhorne. W. W. Spangler was Wallace Wolford Spangler, son of Richard Spangler and Lucretia Scott Spangler.
Her obituary appeared in the Enterprise, Volume 60, Number 45, November 5, 1936. Like those of so many married women in newspapers of the early twentieth century and before, the obituary did not even identify her by her own given name. She was simply “Mrs. W. W. Spangler.”
The obituary read:
MRS. W. W. SPANGLER PASSES
Mrs. W. W. Spangler, 81, one of Patrick’s oldest and most respected women died at her home near Meadows of Dan, Friday, October 30 after an illness of several months.
Funeral services were conducted at Meadows of Dan Baptist church on Sunday afternoon by Rev. A. E. Estall assisted by Eld. Joel E. Marshall and Rev. C. W. Childress, and interment made in the Spangler cemetery near Mayberry.
The deceased is survived by two sons, Hon. C. L. Spangler of Meadows of Dan and J. W. Spangler of Richmond, and three daughters, Mrs. Lizzie L. Cody of Mt. Airy, N. C. and Mrs. Lili Webb and Miss Mary Spangler of Meadows of Dan.
Mrs. Spangler was a cousin of Lady Nancy Astor of England, a member of the British House of Lords.
The final sentence contains an interesting error in the original newspaper account. Nancy Astor was actually a member of the British House of Commons, becoming the first woman to take her seat there. I have left the wording above as it appeared in the Enterprise so that the historical record remains intact.
The Peter Wood described by Scott was probably the son of John Wood and Lydia Bryant Wood.
Following the death of her husband, Lydia and her children were recorded in the northern district, Rock Castle Post Office area, in the 1850 and 1860 United States censuses. Her children included:
Harriett Wood, born 1830
Joel Wood, 1832–1918
Eletha Wood, born 1834
Peter Wood, born 1837
John Wood, born 1839
Francis Wood, born 1845
The family later moved to Putnam County, West Virginia.
Perhaps the most colorful story in this first installment belongs to Paul W. DeHart—and a dog named Caesar.
The Paul W. DeHart mentioned by Scott was probably the man who lived along what is now Cherry Creek Road in Vesta. He was married to Lucinda DeHart, 1813–1904, and their children included:
Thomas DeHart, 1832–1917
John W. DeHart, 1834–1896
Paul W. DeHart Jr., 1838–1868
Miss Lucinda DeHart, 1844–1880
Aaron Wyatt DeHart, 1848–1947
William Lawson DeHart, 1853–1935
One can only imagine how many times the story of Paul and the panther was repeated around firesides and dinner tables in the Meadows of Dan community before an elderly D. W. Scott finally put it on paper in 1949.
And perhaps that is what makes Scott’s manuscript such a treasure. He did not simply record names and dates. He preserved glimpses of a Meadows of Dan that was already disappearing in his own lifetime—a place of isolated mountain homes, wild animals, old burial grounds, country schools, and families whose names remain familiar throughout Patrick County today.
Scott wrote that his purpose was to make his history “interesting as well as educational to the rising as well as the present generation.”
More than seventy-five years later, I believe he accomplished exactly what he set out to do.
Next time, we will continue with another installment of D. W. Scott’s history of early Meadows of Dan and learn more about the settlers who made their homes atop the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Thank you again to Charlie Bowman for recognizing the importance of this wonderful document and for passing it along so that D. W. Scott’s words—and the stories of the people he remembered—can be shared with another generation.
For questions, comments, or story ideas, you may contact Woody at [email protected] or 276-692-9626.
