She was leaving the land of her people and her husband's family.  West Virginia was a foreign place to her.  Although her decision was heart wrenching, she knew it was time to leave. 

     She made one last visit to the Via/Dillon Cemetery to say goodbye to our dad.  As she looked around the burial plot, her heart ached as she saw the names of so many loved ones.  She wept, as she knew she would never stand on that ground again.

     We shipped our household goods to Glen Lynn by train, and then Mama and us five children started the mountainous journey in a covered wagon pulled by oxen.  We children were happy and excited over our new adventure, but Mama looked worried -- she wondered if she had made the right decision.

     The road to Christiansburg was very rough.  The wagon almost beat us to death as it found every rut and rock in the road.  When we reached Christiansburg, Mama knew we still had another day or two to ride in that wagon.  After getting some sleep, Mama decided to spend what little money she had for three tickets on the steam locomotive.   She took Martha and Rhoda with her on the train.  Malinda, Joseph and I climbed into the wagon seat and suffered the torture of that ride for the next day.  There were times when we got out of the wagon and walked beside the oxen.  Our behinds could only take so much.

     My brother John met us at Pearisburg to see how we were getting along.  He rode with us the rest of the way to our new home.  It was almost dark when our wagon pulled to a stop at our new farm in Glen Lynn.  We were tired, but we were excited about the improvement in our living conditions.

    Glen Lynn sat right on the state line between Virginia and West Virginia.  Some farms were in Virginia, while others were in their neighboring state.  Most of us still thought of ourselves as Virginians. 

 

THE TREASURE OF OUR HERITAGE

 

     Mama didn't say much about not being able to pay the bills, but the banker's visits to the farm told us that she was behind on the mortgage.  In 1885 my brother John, who had moved to Glen Lynn, West Virginia, wrote to us and told us he had found a farm for us there.  He also wanted Mama and us children closer to him. It didn't take long for Mama to sell the farm.  A neighbor by the name of Luther Smith bought it.  His family still owns it today. She had mixed feelings about leaving the hills of Southern Virginia -- she had lived there all her life.