The Man in the Log and Umbrella John
By Beverly Belcher Woody
Years ago, before the Sears & Roebuck catalogs, traveling peddlers used to come through the community, selling their wares. Often, these peddlers depended on the kindness of strangers to give them shelter at night. It might be in a barn, a corn crib, or a stable, just somewhere to sleep and stay out of the weather.
Unfortunately, a peddler came through Rock Castle and was unable to find a place to sleep one night. He crawled into a hollow log to try to stay warm. His body was found there several days later. Due to the unpleasantness of decomposition, he was left in the log and buried there off CC Camp Lane at the bottom of the gorge. Sadly, no one ever knew his name.
Mysterious strangers were always traveling through the community. Here is another sad tale that took place at the other end of Patrick County.
No one knew the old man who appeared at the Stella post office that hot, summer day in 1902. He said his name was John Pierson and inquired if there was any mail there for him. When the postmaster told him no, he asked if there might be somewhere to stay for the night. Two onlookers at the post office told him about a boarding house near the railroad, but the old man was turned away at the door. It was getting late and the old man was hungry, tired, and weak. The old man finally found shelter for the night in an old, abandoned cabin in the Stella community.
The depot agent, Edward Foster, was concerned about the old man and wondered how he had fared during the night. The following morning, Foster found the old man in the cabin in critical condition. He had fell partly through a hole in the floor of the cabin and was unable to lift himself out. He had remained there all night. Foster summoned the doctor who told the old man he only had a short time left to live. The doctor asked the old man if he could notify his relatives but was told he had none. The old man handed Foster a tin box and asked if he would take care of it for him.
The old man expired a few hours later and was placed in a crude coffin, such as the ones that the county provided for paupers. He was buried on a little knoll, a short distance away from the old cabin. After the old man was laid to rest, Foster opened the tin box, curious to see what it might hold. Inside the box, Foster found certificates from three different banks in Chattanooga, Tennessee showing that the old man had to his credit more than $8,000 in cash.
When I first heard this story, I was skeptical. There were so many factors that did not make sense. As mentioned earlier, this was 1902 and Mr. Pierson, being old and sickly, was traveling alone. Why was he traveling in the first place? Why was he expecting to receive mail in Patrick County and from whom? If he was a man of means, why did he appear to be a half-starved beggar? $8,000 is still a good bit of money in 2021, but according to the CPI Inflation Calculator, $8,000 in 1902 could buy what it takes $242,301.40 to purchase now!
I decided if Mr. Pierson really existed, O.E. Pilson would know about it. Sure enough, I turned to my old trusty volume of Tombstone Inscriptions of the Cemeteries of Patrick County, Virginia by Mr. Pilson. There the old man was, on page 108, “the Pierson grave, located about 100 yards south of Road #694, on a ridge west of junction of Roads #694 and #701, in the Stella section.”
I had to find out more about Mr. Pierson. Edward Foster, the depot agent from Stella, was a good and honorable man. He contacted the banks in Chattanooga and notified them of Mr. Pierson’s death. According to the 9th of December 1923 edition of the Chattanooga News, Mr. Pierson was known as “Umbrella John” by the citizens of Tennessee city. Umbrella John trudged the streets of the city, performing odd jobs, such as mending umbrellas and sharpening scissors.
Umbrella John had no relatives (but that did not stop several people from claiming to be his heirs) once news reached the city that his estate was worth $8,000. The chancery suits were unsuccessful, and no heirs were proven. By 1916, more than $2,800 had been paid out in taxes, administration, and attorney fees. Once the statute of limitations had ran, the remainder of Umbrella John Pierson’s estate was taken by the state for education.
What a sad ending to Umbrella John’s life. I hope now that more people know his story, when folks drive up highway 58 to Martinsville, they will remember Umbrella John and think about him as a part of the Patrick County family.
(Information about Umbrella John was obtained from the Birmingham, Alabama News Report and Chattanooga News. Woody can be reached at rockcastlecreek1@gmail.com.)
