1308. Gennette Emiline6 Allgood (John William5, Henry Robert4, William (Pikey) Henry3, William John2, Edward1) was born in Yadkin Co., NC October 29, 1861. Gennette died June 21, 1893 in Yadkin Co., NC. Genetta was buried in the Deep Creek Cemetery, Yadkin Co., NC
She married Henry Franklin Hoots March 21, 1883 in Yadkin Co., NC. Henry was born May 21, 1865 in Yadkin Co., NC. Henry was the son of John (Jack) Hoots and Phebe Ellen Farrington. Henry died November 26, 1948 in Yadkin Co., NC. Funeral services for H. Frank Hoots, 83, of Yadkinville, Route 3, were held Monday at 3 o'clock at South Deep Creek Baptist Church, with Rev. J.M. Hayes , Rev. M.F. Reavis and Rev. J.G. Allgood officiating. Mr. Hoots, a well known Yadkin County retired farmer, died late Saturday afternoon after several months of declining health. He was born in Yadkin County May 21, 1865, son of John and Phebe Farrington Hoots. He was married twice, first to Nettie Allgood, and again to Polly J. Joyner. He was a member of Harmon Lodge 421, A.F.and A.M. surviving in addition to the widow are three daughters, Mrs. J.B. Shore, Cana; Mrs. S.W. Garner and Mrs. Frances Springstead, Winston Salem; nine sons, B.F. and Silas Hoots, Chicago, Ill.; Wade Hoots, Gleason, Wis.; H.H. Hoots, Jackson, Tenn.; M.T. Hoots, Washington, DC; H.F., Jr, and E.W. Hoots, Winston-Salem; Carl and Delma Hoots, Yadkinville; 26 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Henry is buried at Deep Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Yadkin Co., NC Upon his father John's death in 1872, he was bequeathed "...one stone jug, one money box and the farming tools, one ax, one drawing knife, one tin can, one good pot, one skillet, one half bushell measure, one kettle, all the property that is willed to my beloved wife and not specifically spessified is at her death or when she marries again is to be equally divided between my sons Henry F. Hoots and my step son Abner C. Hair. And further it is my will that the balance of my property that I have not willed to be sold and after paying my just debts funeral expenses if any, be equally divided between my three sons to wit: James Hoots, Isaac Hoots, and Henry F. Hoots..." The stone jug and money box, according to family lore, were brought over from Germany by Johann Jacob Huth. According to Frank's son Carl, one of his brothers broke the jug and was severely punished. The money box, a metal box with locking hasp, was in possession of Frank's youngest son Delma. Still in the box are several dozen documents dating from 1834 to 1900, mostly receipts for taxes, small loans, purchases, services, etc. Also included are receipts from the settlement of the estate of Elizabeth Shore Hoots, wife of Daniel Hoots, by their son John Hoots. From "The Heritage of Yadkin County," published by the Yadkin County Historical Society: "Soon after he and Genette were married, he sold the land given him by his father, purchased the Kern Allgood farm, and started farming. He would clear a few acres each year and buy more as the opportunity presented itself. It eventually became a large and beautiful farm. He was also engaged in the real estate business, buying and selling houses, land, and tracts of timber. He financed such ventures as a keg manufacturing company. They manufactured oak well buckets, kegs, barrels, and hogsheads. He also owned and operated a distillery." Probably at the time of his first marriage in 1883, Frank replaced the farm's original log cabin with a two room frame house. About 1898 four additional rooms were added and in 1912 four more rooms. During the latter addition, the original two room house was detached and moved in back of the main house for use of the hired hands. The main house was quite a place for its day, with large, airy rooms and the first plastered inside walls in Yadkin County. It sits on a knoll with a pleasant view across a field to Harmon's Creek. It had a unique gas lamp system in which gas was generated by chemicals and acid in a separate utility house and piped into the main house. The house was heated by fireplaces and an interesting feature was that the parlor/dining room and kitchen shared the same fireplace through the wall. When Rodney N. Hoots was young, perishable foods were stored in a "dry well," a cool, deep hole that was drilled in the ground next to the kitchen. The food was put in a cylindrical holder and lowered into the hole by a windless. Although there was a kerosene stove in the kitchen, some dishes were still cooked or warmed in holders in the fireplace. Frank enjoyed a desert of bread dipped in molasses, originally made from cane grown in the area but later "store bought." As late as the 1940's, butter was still made by churning. The house had a "tin" roof and on a rainy night the drumming of the rain on the roof was guaranteed to lull you into a sound night of sleep.
The old log cabin was used to house black laborers who worked for about 55 cents per day, plus room and board. The best known hand was Julius Hawkins, whose forebearers were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. In his book "Descendants of Jacob Hoots," Carl Casper Hoots says "I can well remember the twilight hours spent with Julius Hawkins around this old log cabin. Julius' forebearers had been freed some 50 years before by the war of the 1860s. Julius could blow a harmonica, pick a banjo, play mouth harp or pick a guitar. He very seldom went home except over the weekend and was always asked if he wanted to take along some meal, flour, or other groceries; never taking anything without asking for it. Such staples were usually given to him for the asking."
Frank's son Benjamin used to tell about one of the hands, who was cross-eyed, asking him to help catch a chicken for dinner. While Ben was holding the birds neck on the chopping block, the hand was looking at the chicken with one eye and Ben with the other. When he raised the ax to chop the chicken's head off, Ben let go and ran.
Frank was the last of the line who was in the mold of a frontiersman. In his younger days, he led wagon trains of local men to salt flats near Clingman's Dome mountain in Tennessee to gather salt from the original salt deposits, called "salt licks." Family stories say that he was a rough and ready leader and carried a pistol in his belt during those trips. Salt was vital in maintaining the health of farm animals, particularly dairy cattle, and was kept in a rack in the the barnyard for the animals to lick.
About 1887, Frank opened a government licensed distillery on the farm and manufactured whiskey and brandy which was hauled to markets as far away as Danville, Virginia. The still house was located on Harmon's Creek near the house. Water came from a nearby spring, through wooden pipes made by Frank by drilling holes through logs with an eight foot auger. The auger was still in Delma Hoots' possession in 1998. Apple, pear and peach orchards abounded at that time and the fruit was used to make brandy. Whiskey was made from corn and rye. The residue from the stills, called mash, was used to feed a herd of pigs. Frank's sons used to talk about the pigs staggering around drunk after eating the fermented mash. Although there was a government agent on the premises during working hours to insure that tax stamps were purchased and placed on each barrel, a good deal of illegal liquor was made after hours. Ben told of a man who agreed to buy 400 gallons of illegal whiskey from Frank. When the whiskey was loaded some men rode up on horseback, fired pistols in the air, said they were government agents, and took over the whiskey. After they left, Frank suspected a trick and rode to stop them. As Ben said, it was fortunate that Frank couldn't find them or someone may have been killed. After the incident, it was discovered that the leader of the gang was a known criminal who later shot his partner in an argument. About 1900, Frank opened a general merchandise store on the farm with his son-in-law, Samuel W. Garner. One source of customers was a road that ran through the farm and, for a while, was a stage coach line. The coaches would stop at the store for passengers to buy food, drinks and merchandise. When a new road was built some distance away, the business dried up. The old store building is still standing.
A development that made life easier for Frank and the community was construction of a bridge over the Yadkin River in 1903. As mentioned above, goods sold by the farmers of Yadkin County had to cross the river to get to eastern markets. The first ferry across the river, established at Shallow Ford in 1749, was used by Jacob, John, and Daniel. Ferries were undependable, with long waits during busy market times, and could not operate when the river flooded.
The advent of Prohibition forced the closing of the distillery, which brought economic hardship to the family. Frank then turned to farming as his primary source of income but things were never the same. Farming was hard and the income sparse. Fortunately, the family had grown tobacco since their farm had started and, under Federal guidelines, was allotted a large amount of tobacco acreage. This was the sustaining crop, along with dairy farming, and some sales of grain and corn. Rodney remembers the unforgettable smell of the tobacco curing barns, where family members would have to man the fires 24 hours a day during the curing season. Another unforgettable experience was attending a tobacco auction in Winston-Salem, with the auctioneer chanting in a language that only the sellers and buyers understood. A major local industry was the manufacture of "plug," or chewing tobacco, and some women made pocket money sewing the small cloth bags that held tobacco for rolling cigarettes. The women were usually paid with "due bills" which could be used to trade in local stores.
Rodney's most vivid memory of Frank was watching him make wooden roofing shingles on the front porch of the farm house. Frank, usually rather taciturn with children, was very jovial that day and spent a lot of time explaining how the shingles were made. A block of wood, the length and width of a shingle, was cut from a log. The shingle maker would then judge the proper thickness and split off one shingle at a time from the block, using a frow and mallet. The frow was a long blade with a handle, dull enough so that when it was struck by the mallet, it would not cut but split the shingle from the rest of the block. Rodney was about nine years old, so Frank was 73.
Gennette Emiline Allgood and Henry Franklin Hoots had the following children:
+ 4471 i. Ella Jane7 Hoots was born April 8, 1888.
+ 4472 ii. Ila Jane Hoots was born October 16, 1891.
Return to Table of Contents or Index
Go to Next Page
Go to Previous Page
