Family Tree Continued...
540-297-6888
1035 Mercantile St. Suite 104
Moneta, VA24121
Downtown Moneta Shopping Center
540-721-8839
16440 Booker TWashington Hwy
Moneta, VA24121
Bridgewater Plaza
The Barn Cat Buddies
Needs Barns, Greenhouses,
Marina
Employ
Feral and/or Friendly Cats As
Rodent Control Technicians
SAV
GREEN
Please Save Cats In Danger
Of Being Killed In Our Shelters
Visit
ALL BUDDIES ARE STERILIZED & RABIES V
CIN
E
Referenc
Req
ed/
atio
reatly App
ciated
We
NO
s
rate N
d*
Will Mouse In Exchange
For Free Room and Board
The Barn Cat Buddies
Needs Barns, Greenhouses,
Marinas, and Wineries To Employ
Feral and/or Friendly Cats As
Rodent Control Technicians
SAVE A LIFE AND GO GREEN
Please Save Cats In Danger
Of Being K
ters
ALL BUDDIES ARE
VACCINATED
References Required/Donation Greatly Appreciated
*
Have N
arn Ho
te N
d*
Will Mouse In Exchange
For Free Room and Board
Ange
344-8
Ange
344-8
Ange
344-8
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344-8
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344-8
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344-8
Ange
344-8
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344-8
The
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Needs Barns, Greenhouses,
Marinas, an
Employ
Feral
ts As
Rodent
icians
AV
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Pl
se S
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In Danger
Be
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led
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Shelte
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Will Mouse In Exchange
For Free Room and Board
The Barn Cat Buddies
Needs Barns, Greenhouses,
Marinas, and Wineries To Employ
Feral and/or Friendly Cats As
Rodent Control Technicians
SAVE A LIFE AND GO GREEN
Please Save Cats In Danger
Of Being Killed In Our Shelters
Visit
ALL BUDDIES ARE STERILIZED & RABIES VACCINATE
References Required/Donati n Gr atly Appreciated
*We Have NO Bar
sperate eed*
Will Mouse In Exchange
For Free Room and Board
Angels of Assisi
344-8707 ext. 3
Angels of Assisi
344-8707 ext. 3
Angels of Assisi
344-8707 ext. 3
Angels of Assisi
344-8707 ext. 3
Angels of Assisi
344-8707 ext. 3
Angels of Assisi
344-8707 ext. 3
WW.BARNCATBUDDIES.O
Angels of Assisi
344-8707 ext. 3
Angels of Assisi
7 ext. 3
Angels of Assisi
344-8707 ext. 3
The Barn Cat Buddies
Needs Barns, Greenhouses,
Marinas, and Wineries To Employ
Feral a
s
Rodent Control Technicians
SAVE A LIFE AND GO GRE N
Ple
r
Of B
helters
Visit
ALL BUDDIES ARE ST
NATED
ference
equire
onation
eatly Appreciated
*We Have NO Barn Homes Available No
Desperate N
*
Will Mouse In Exchange
For Free Room and Board
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W
W
W
arn Cat Buddies
Ne ds Barns, Greenhouses,
Marinas, and Wineri s T Employ
Feral and/or Friendly Cats As
Rodent
SAVE A LIFE AND GO GREEN
Please Save Cats In Danger
Of Being Killed In Our Shelters
Visit
ALL BUDDIES AR STERILIZED & RABIES VACCINATED
References Required/
nation Greatly ppreciated
*We Have NO Barn Hom s Avai
ow-In Desperate Need*
Will Mouse In Exchange
For Free Room and Board
Angels of A
344-8707 ex
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344-870
Angels
344-87
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The Barn at Buddies
Ne ds Barns, Greenhouse ,
Marinas, and Wineries To Employ
Feral
Rode
SAVE A LIFE AND GO GREEN
Please Save Cats In Danger
Of
ei
ers
ALL BUDDIES A
VACCINATED
R ferences Required/Donation Greatly Appreciated
*We Ha
NO Barn
te Need*
Will Mouse In Exchange
or Free Room and Bo rd
Angels
344-87
344-870
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Angels of Assis
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Angels of Assisi
344-8707 ext. 3
Angels of Assisi
344-8707 ext. 3
Gibson. Another eventually emigrated
to England and married John Jacob
Astor, Jr., eventually becoming Lady
Astor and serving as the first woman in
the House of Commons.
According to Joe, she had a famous
encounter with Winston Churchill at
a dinner party. During an argument,
she told the Prime Minister “Winston,
if I were married to you, I would put
poison in your tea.” Churchill’s famed
response: “Madam, if I were married to
you, I would drink it.”
In late 1859, another descendant,
Vincent Witcher, had a granddaughter
who was suing her husband for
divorce. The troubled marriage was
the impetus for the Witcher – Clement
feud. Witnesses were being deposed
in a general store in Sandy Level, and
an argument ensued. The husband, one
of three Clement brothers, reportedly
became belligerent and started a knife
fight, bringing the proceedings to a
close.
They continued about three months
later, in the back room of Dickinson’s
Store, but again, there were heated
arguments, devolving this time into
gunplay. When all was said and done,
all three Clement brothers lay dead, and
all the Witchers present stood accused
of their murders.
Needless to say, the divorce became
moot, and the Witchers were put on
trial. Since the witnesses’ accounts of
the incident varied considerably, the
judge dismissed the case. Naturally,
the Clement family was determined
to hold the Witchers accountable, but
to no avail. They held a grudge for
generations.
This feud reared its ugly head,
probably for the last time, in 1967.
When Emmett Jefferson sold his farm,
he made an offer to purchase some
property on which to build a house. As
it turns out, that land had previously
belonged to the Clement family. One
of the current trustees expressed
reservations about selling land that
had once belonged to the Clements
to a descendant of the Witchers, but
eventually agreed to the sale.
Joe speaks a bit more fondly of his
great-grandfather, William Tazewell
Jefferson, who participated in Pickett’s
Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.
He was one of the few survivors, and
eventually attended the Confederate
surrender at Appomattox. In 1923,
Molly Graves and her husband Frank,
who was Joe and Lib’s great-aunt,
bought property that was part of the
grounds where the surrender had taken
place in Appomattox. A historical
marker on the old property marks the
spot where Robert E. Lee was stopped
by his men, to ask if it were true that he
intended to surrender.
On that same land, there is a grave,
cordoned off by a split rail fence, of a
man named Sweeney, who is credited
with adding the 5th string to the banjo.
He was a member of Jeb Stuart’s unit,
and frequently entertained Stuart’s
entourage with his musical stylings.
Joe and Lib love to tell the story
of how their grandparents met. She
had gone to school in what is now
known as the Holland Duncan House,
which today houses the offices of
Stanley, Houchens, & Griffith. After
completing her education, she stayed
on as a teacher.
At first, it may seem scandalous to
report that she eventually married one
of her students, but not in the context
of the late 19th century.
“Of course, Granddad didn’t go to
school except in the middle of winter,
when there was nothing to do on the
farm,” Joe explains. “They’d send him
over there for a month or so.”
They happily complete the story
by explaining that both grandparents
were in their 30’s when they married.
For Joe Jefferson and Lib Walker, it’s
just a small sample of their rich family
heritage.
Discover Smith Mountain Lake
Spring 2014
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