Home Page
Contact Page
Guest Book
Pamplin, VA
Pamplin Books
Volume I, Ch I
Volume I, Ch II
Bucksnort I
Bucksnort II
Royals
British Monarchs
R. B. Pamplin
Name Index
Corrections
Go Back
Introduction
Part VII of Volume II of The Pamplin Family and Connections consists of the reproduction in its entirety of Lily May Pamplin's little book of reminiscences, the first edition of which was privately published in 1962. Her book, "affectionately dedicated to the memory of my father, Andrew Jackson Pamplin and his children and his mother," is written in a style that is refreshing in its simplicity and complete absence of affectation.Lily May lived as a child in the home of her father's mother, along with her father and her older sisters and brother. Her grandparents, Levina Frances Phoebe Bates Pamplin and Micajah Childs Pamplin (No. 19, pages 124-126, and Vol. I, pages 139-159) were the parents of eight children who produced for them 63 grandchildren, of whom Lily May was the youngest. Micajah Childs Pamplin died in 1863, and for the next 30 years, until her own death in 1893, Levina Frances Phoebe Bates Pamplin was the reigning matriarch of this numerous family, and her home the gathering place of the whole extended clan. Lily May was a shrewd and observant child, and she retained throughout her long lifetime (she died at the age of 96) a vivid memory not only of her own youthful exploits, but also of family affairs of grown-up significance that swirled about her and to which she attached her own childish interpretation.
In the little vignettes Lily May Pamplin paints of everyday activities--raising crops, playing games, storytelling, going to a one-room school, helping poor neighbors, courting, playing pranks, and just plain having fun--she captures and brings to life a warm, vibrant picture of a childhood untouched by such newfangled inventions as the automobile, the telephone, electrical gadgets--and nuclear warheads. Instead, to make life interesting, she had her multitudinous kinfolk and the hills and hollows of her Tennessee home.
Lily May Pamplin was born in Mimosa, Lincoln County, Tennessee on May 12, 1884, the sixth child of Andrew Jackson Pamplin and his wife Mary Etta Victoria Pamplin. She married first in 1909 to Robert E. Lee, by whom she had four children, only one of whom, Laverna Lee Roseman, is living (in 1986). Her second marriage was to George Weaver Trueblood. Lily May Pamplin was a member of the Mormon Church, and lived most of her adult life in Salt Lake City. She died there on January 20, 1981
Welcome to Bucksnort, Tennessee
Bucksnort, Tennessee, got its name from William ("Buck") Pamplin, a brother of McCager Armpstead Pamplin, my father's father. Before the Civil War, William owned and lived on the site that later became Bucksnort.
It was like this: William loved whiskey. He would get soused to the ears with the sweet, smelly stuff, and when he did, he would roar and snort till everyone around heard him. They would say: "Just listen to Buck snort." His snorting became so frequent and the comment was made so often, that the neighbors soon found themselves running the last two words together, thus the place was called Bucksnort.
In the course of time, a post office was needed. The Government wanted to know what name the community wished to be known by. Since William still owned and lived on the site, and since he still kept up his snorting, the neighbors and near-by farmers decided on Bucksnort. It was approved by the Government and the first post office and surrounding community became Bucksnort.
To be continued . . .