Ophir, Montgomery County, North Carolina

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophir,_North_Carolina

My Grandmother was a teacher

A prized picture that was just discovered of my Grandmother, Elgie Davis Diffee, when she was a teacher in the mid 1920's. She studied at Appalachian State College, in Boone, NC. She was not allowed to marry as a teacher in the 20's and secretly married my Grandfather, supposedly! She continued to teach until she became pregnant with my father in 1930.

An interesting blog to visit about the Sanders/Saunders family ancestry

Unfortunately, this site was discontinued by the owners, Ancestry.com. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sandersgenealogy/Siftings.html

Shiloh Church, still standing and beautiful

Shiloh Church, Ophir, Montgomery County, North Carolina

Saunders research from Gary Sanders site

I've recently connected with a fantastic group of genealogists researching the Sanders/Saunders family lineage. Gary Sanders, in particular, has an extensive site about the Saunders/Sanders of Montgomery and Randolph County, NC. I am not going to quote too much from his site - but will give you all the link so you can visit and read all you want. I have just broken the tip of the iceberg! from Gary Sanders, "Most of the descendants of William Aaron and Isaac lived in the northern area of Montgomery County, not far from the Randolph County line, between Duncombe Creek and Barnes Creek, particularly near the community of Ophir, which is described as a village of tradition and pastoral values in the Montgomery County Heritage Book, Volume II: Nestled in the Uwharries, Ophir is a family community. A community that still believes in doing things the old fashioned way.“We are all kin up here one way or another, “ said Robert Saunders. “We always tell people they better watch what they say about anybody, because more than likely, they’ll be talking about their own people.” Way back, when folks first started settling in Ophir, Ophir wasn’t Ophir. It was Saunders Hill. “I guess it was around the 1800s that the area as known as Saunders Hill,” said Myrtle Hall. “We had a post office that went across Coggins Gold Mine that was called Saunders Hill Post Office." The name was changed from Saunders Hill to Ophir in the nineteenth century when a steel mill was built. Ophir was a reference to the land of Ophir mentioned in the Bible as a place where King Solomon obtained gold. From this small area, the descendants of the Montgomery County Saunders moved to other states in the South, Midwest, and West." and here is the link if you want to read more:

Nish and Sarah

This blog is dedicated to the memory of my Great Grandparents, Nish W. and Sarah Saunders Davis, who worked this self sustaining farm for the family from the 1800's until the 1960's. They lived and died in the foothills of the Uwharrie Mountains, the oldest mountains in North America.

Facts about Montgomery County

Facts about Montgomery County

Troy, the county seat of Montgomery County The Town of Troy, like the rest of Montgomery County, was settled primarily by Scottish immigrants. In 1852, Angus McCaskill, one of the early settlers, donated a tract of 50 acres to the community to serve as the town proper. Until a legislative decree changed the name, the community was know as West's Oldfield. That same decree also located the courthouse in the new community and made Troy the business center of a thriving county. The town takes its name from John B. Troy, a popular attorney and solicitor of the judicial district. Legend has it that the streets of Troy are paved with solid gold. When the streets were being paved, fill dirt was brought in from the gold mines in Eldorado, a once thriving mining community north of the town. Local citizens with a sharp eye found gold nuggets in the streets of the city. Even today, Troy still represents a golden opportunity for its citizens and visitors. Troy sits on the edge of The Uwharrie Mountains and Ophir is within them also. Places my family took me on outings, hikes and excursions like "the jumping off point" and "low water bridge" are landmarks to locals, the names of places being passed down for generations. Here is a picture from the Montgomery County website of the Jumping off Place. ( I know the legend of the name….do you?? Be sure to place your comment for me to see below!)