Grimshawe, Immigrants to Ontario and then North Carolina
Grimshawes Post Office, Reported to Be the Smallest in the U.S. before Closure in 1953 (Source to be Determined)
Thomas Grimshawe was born in 1815 in Lancashire, the son of Nicholas and Ann (Slater) Grimshaw. Thomas is descended from the Pendle Forest line of Grimshaws, but added an "e" to the surname. He married Helena Brettargh and the family lived in Burnley. All six of their children were born in England. Thomas made a visit to Canada in 1850, during which he kept a detailed journal of his trip; this very interesting chronicle is available on a companion webpage. In 1852 the family emigrated to Cobourg, Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Ontario.
After about 22 years in Ontario (in 1874), most or all of the family relocated again, this time to the Cashiers Valley area of North Carolina, where they acquired some 600 acres and gave their name to a location that is still well known in the area. The (reportedly) smallest post office in the U.S. operated there until all third class post offices were closed in 1953. Thomas and Helena did not remain at the location, however, but moved on and are buried in Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery in nearby Greenville, South Carolina. Interestingly, Thomas and Helena's third son, Henry, moved back to England, married and had a family in Burnley (where Thomas and Helena and their family originated), and later moved to Scotland, where he lived out his life.
Their fourth son, Thomas, and his wife Elizabeth (Bolton) Grimshaw, continued to live at the Grimshawe location after Thomas and Helena departed and are buried with two of their children at nearby East Flat Rock, North Carolina. This couple tragically lost four daughters between the ages of 2 and 7 to diphtheria within eight days in 1988. One daughter, apparently a twin to one that died, lived to be over 100 years old and is buried in East Flat Rock with Thomas and Elizabeth. The fifth son, Christopher, and his wife Hattie (Harper) Grimshaw also lived in the vicinity of Cashiers; they - and several descendants - are buried in nearby Bohaynee cemetery.
Contents:
Connection to Pendle Forest Line of Grimshaws
Entry in The Preston Guardian on Thomas Grimshawe's Family Line
Additional Information on Thomas Grimshaw from the Burnley Express & News
Historical Record of Thomas and Helena Grimshaw's Life in Ontario
Maps Showing Location of Grimshaw Settlement in Ontario
Grimshawe's Location in Jackson County, North Carolina
"The Grimshaw's Home," July 27, 1905
Interview of Olivia Nicholson Lowe with Christopher Grimshawe Anecdotes
Final Resting Place of Thomas and Helena Grimshaw
Grimshaw Cemetery Plot in Bohaynee, NC
Grimshaw Graves in "Saint John in the Wilderness" Cemetery, East Flat Rock, NC
Thad Grimshaw at Grimshawe's Post Office
Grimshawe's Post Office Cachet, July 8, PM, 1950
Images of Newspaper Article on the Burnley Grimshaws
Grimshawe Photos on the Internet by the University of North Carolina at Asheville
Grimshawe's Mines in Jackson and Transylvania Counties
Research Trip to Grimshawes, North Carolina and Surrounding Area, May 2009
The Beer-Brewing Grimshaws - Another Grimshaw Line in Burnley
 | Webpage Credits |
Thanks go to Hilary Tulloch, Redvers Grimshaw and Nancy Flesch for making this webpage possible. Also, much of the information in the descendant chart came originally from Sarah Crouch. Redvers provided a copy of Thomas Grimshawe's diary of his trip to Canada in 1850, which apparently was in the possession of Campbell King in Flat Rock, North Carolina in 1986. Thanks to Mavis Long for providing the article on this line of Grimshaws published in the Burnley Express & News in 1991. Thanks also to John Nicholson, who provided a transcription of an interview of Olivia Lowe, which was conducted by his father in 1978 and which contains valuable information on Christopher Grimshawe and his family on their farm near Cashiers, North Carolina.
| Descendant Chart |
The descendants, and some of the ancestors, of Thomas and Helena are shown below, down to their grandchildren. They had six sons, all of whom were born in England before the family immigrated
Descendant Chart for Thomas Grimshaw and Helena Brettargh. Thanks to Hilary Tulloch and Sarah Crouch for developing this chart and providing it to the author.
Thomas Grimshaw (17 Nov 1737 - 14 May 1797) & Jane Holt ( - 17 May 1794)
|----Christopher Grimshaw (1764 - 1821)
|----John Grimshaw
|----Thomas Grimshaw (1768 - 1820)
|----Nicholas Grimshaw (1773 - 1830) & Ann Slater
|----|----Thomas Grimshawe* (1815 - 1892) & Helena Brettargh (Circa 1815 - 22 Dec 1885)
|----|----|----Nicholas Grimshawe ( - 1906) & Delia Ferguson
|----|----|----|----Mabel Grimshawe
|----|----|----|----Stella Grimshawe
|----|----|----|----Clarence Eastwood Grimshawe
|----|----|----Richard Holt Grimshawe (17 Aug 1833 - 10 Feb 1915) & Sarah Florence Beckett (17 Feb 1866 - 1953)
|----|----|----|----Richard Edward Grimshawe (7 Dec 1895 - 4 May 1920)
|----|----|----|----Mary McDowell Grimshawe (20 May 1885 - 11 Nov 1929)
|----|----|----|----Sarah Florence Grimshawe (27 Feb 1890 - 20 Jun 1932) & Walter Francis Schwuchow
|----|----|----Henry Grimshawe & Ann (Annie) Sutcliffe Witham
|----|----|----|----Helena Grimshawe
|----|----|----|----Herbert Grimshawe
|----|----|----|----Henry Pereirel Tritham Grimshawe
|----|----|----Thomas (Tom) Grimshawe (18 Jul 1844, England - 27 Feb 1936) & Elizabeth Bolton (31 Mar 1850, Canada - 1 Sep 1932) (Presumed children, buried nearby, shown below)
|----|----|----|----Elizabeth Grimshawe (ca 1881 - 3 Nov 1888)
|----|----|----|----Mary Grimshawe (ca 1882 - 7 Nov 1888)
|----|----|----|----Vida Evelyn Grimshawe (12 Jul 1882 - 15 Jul 1982)
|----|----|----|----Olive Grimshawe (ca 1884 - 31 Oct 1888)
|----|----|----|----Helena Grimshawe (ca 1886 - 5 Nov 1888)
|----|----|----|----J Leeming Grimshawe (7 Apr 1893 - 29 Apr 1979)
|----|----|----Christopher H. Grimshawe (Jul 1846 - 17 Nov 1934) & Harriet J. (Hattie) Harper (May 1860 - 1903)
|----|----|----|----Thomas Delaware (Del) Grimshawe (14 Dec 1882-17 Dec 1962) & Agnes A Allison (5 May 1887-18 Dec 1954)
|----|----|----|----Helena Ollie Grimshawe (Feb 1885 - 1907)
|----|----|----|----Govenna S.T. (Gov) Grimshawe (Apr 1886 - After 1934) & Gordon T. Doe
|----|----|----|----Anna (Annie) Grimshawe (3 Sep 1887 - 29 May 1980) & Walter R. Orr (25 Mar 1875 - 4 May 1939)
|----|----|----|----Nell (Nellie) Grimshawe (Mar 1889 - After 1981) & Edgar Kennerly
|----|----|----|----Christopher N. (Doc) Grimshawe (Sep 1890 - After 1934) & Florence M Moore
|----|----|----|----Garland (Googe) Grimshawe* (20 Oct 1892 - 27 Oct 1979) & Bell Pague (1892 - 1969)
|----|----|----|----Garland (Googe) Grimshawe* (20 Oct 1892 - 27 Oct 1979) & Ethel Miller
|----|----|----|----Cecelia Viola Grimshawe (Aug 1894 - Dec 1910)
|----|----|----|----Harry L. Grimshawe (Jul 1896 - 1937)
|----|----|----|----Dorothy (Daisy or Dot) Grimshawe (6 Dec 1899 - 2 Jul 1981) & Paul Keating
|----|----|----Oliver Grimshaw (1852 - 1852)
|----|----Jane Susie Grimshaw ( - 1863)
|----|----Elizabeth Grimshaw (18 May 1818 - 20 Aug 1878)
|----|----Ann Grimshaw (11 May 1823 - 1892) & Richard Eastwood ( - 1871)
| Connection to Pendle Forest Line of Grimshaws |
Thomas' line of North American Grimshaw(e)s has been traced to its English roots. The image below is taken from the descendant chart of the Pendle Forest line of Grimshaws as presented in Whitaker1 (v. II, p. 276 ff.). The full descendant chart is provided on a companion webpage. The figure clearly shows the lineage of the Thomas Grimshawe family.
Portion of Whitaker's1 Pendle Forest Grimshaw descendant chart, showing the Thomas Grimshawe family lineage (circled in blue). The individuals show on the chart are also included in Figure 1 above.
| Entry in The Preston Guardian on Thomas Grimshawe's Family Line |
In September 1877 The Preston Guardian, the principal newspaper of Preston during that time, published a series of four articles on the Pendle Forest Grimshaws; these articles are included on another page of this website. The second article2 (September 8) describes the branch that includes Thomas Grimshawe (underline added by webpage author):
Christopher Grimshaw of Pumphouse, fifth son of John of Fence Yate, was born Feb. 2nd, 1702 and married Catherine, daughter of Richard Towneley, Esq., of Carr and Barnside. He died Feb 24th, 1747, at the age of 45, having had issue two sons, Christopher, born in 1731, died in 1732; and Thomas; and daughters, Ellen, wife of Thos. Rice of Hampstead; Margaret, wife of Thomas Owen of Manchester, architect; Anne and Catherine, both died unmarried. Thomas Grimshaw, the only surviving son, was born Nov. 17th, 1737. He sold the Pumphouse Estate in Symonstone; and practised as a surgeon in Burnley, where he died May 14th, 1797. He married Jane, daughter and co-heir of William Holt of Burnley, apothecary (she died June 17th, 1794), and had four sons, namely, Christopher, born in 1764; John, died young; Thomas Grimshaw, of Burnley, surgeon, born in 1768, died unmarried in 1820; and Nicholas Grimshaw, of Loveclough, born in 1773, died in 1830, who married Anne Slater, and was father of Thos. Grimshaw, J.P., who settled at Coburg, Ontario, Canada, in 1852, and had six sons, several of them now living. The older brother, Christopher Grimshaw, born in 1764, he did not marry, I think. On the 19th April, 1808, at the Halmot Court of the Manor of Ightenhill, Christopher Grimshaw of Burnley, gent. (eldest son and heir of Jane Grimshaw, deceased, late the wife of Thomas Grimshaw of Burnley, apothecary, deceased, which said Jane Grimshaw was one of the four surviving daughters and co-heirs of William Holt, late of Burnley, apothecary, deceased, and also one of the two surviving sisters and co-heirs of Betty Hargreaves, deceased, late the wife of the Rev. John Hargreaves, formerly Betty Blackmore, and of Nancy Holt, spinster, deceased, two other of the daughters and co-heirs of the said William Holt, deceased), and John Wright of Haslingden, gent. (eldest son and heir of Peggy Wright, deceased, wife of James Wright late of Haslingden, deceased, which said Peggy Wright, deceased, wife of James Wright late of Haslingden, deceased, which said Peggy Wright, deceased, was the fourth surviving daughter and co-heir of William Holt, deceased, and the other surviving sister and co-heir of the said Betty Blackmore deceased, and of the said Nancy Holt, deceased), surrendered into the hands of the lady of Ightenhill Manor the copyhold tenement called Hudhouse in Habergham Eaves. Christopher Grimshaw, gent., was a solicitor, practising in Burnley, where he died in 1821.
| Additional Information on Thomas Grimshaw from the Burnley Express & News |
Mavis Long provided the following remarkable article from the Burnley Express & News, October 18, 1991 on the Grimshaws who lived in the Burnley area. Among the Grimshaws described are Thomas and Helena Grimshawe and their family. One of their sons, Henry, moved back to England and subsequently to Scotland, where he remained for the rest of his life. Thanks go to Mavis for providing this important article. An excerpt of the most important sections for Thomas and Helena is shown below; images of the complete article are provided further down on this webpage (click here).
The Grimshaws were such a well-established and prosperous family in and around Burnley in the nineteenth century that it’s actually quite hard to follow their branch of it without getting sidetracked onto others.
Perhaps we might start with Nicholas Grimshaw, who married Ann Slater at Whalley in 1814. He was connected with the calico printworks at Sabden, and he and his wife set up their first home there at the house called Whinns (where Lord Waddington lives now).
They were there until about 1820, when they moved to Loveclough in Rossendale, where Nicholas had taken on the ownership of the printworks that were still operative up to about ten years ago.
Here Mrs. Grimshaw died in 1823 and her husband in 1830, leaving four children: Thomas, Jane, Elizabeth and Ann.
Nicholas has [sic] inherited a good deal of property in Burnley before he died, and this of course came down to Thomas. It included Fulledge House (on Todmorden Road, demolished in 1907), two or three coal-pits, and a lot of land around where the Central Library now is.
He lived at Fulledge House in about 1840, but moved about two years later to live in some style at Peers Clough, which is a house set back in the hills behind Forest Holme on the road between Burnley and Waterfoot.
His wife was called Helena (nee Brettargh) and there were three children at home at the time of the census in 1851: Henry (8), Thomas (6), and Christopher (4). Two older boys, Nicholas and Richard, were probably away at school.
They all emigrated to Canada in the following year.
We usually think of emigrants as people who leave their country in order to better themselves or in some cases simply to survive. There was no obvious reason why the Grimshaws would have emigrated, but emigrate they did.
They settled at Sherbrooke Lodge near Cobourg in Ontario, later moving south to Whiteside Cove in North Carolina, USA. It was there that most of the Burnley Express adverts were sent out from.
Thomas either sold or leased some of his property before he left England. Most of it was soon built upon, and thus we have Grimshaw Street, Nicholas Street, Thomas Street, Elizabeth Street, Henry [Henry lined out and Helena inserted in handwriting] Street and Anne Street.
He always spelt his name Grimshawe, by the way, and so for many years the spelling of Grimshaw Street varied: sometimes it had an ‘e’ and sometimes it didn’t. Not until about 1912 did it finally settle to its modern spelling.
Henry Grimshaw, Thomas’s son, came back to England in the 1860s and was later to act as agent for the American sales. He married a Burnley girl, Anne Sutcliff-Witham, who died in 1881, leaving him with three children: Helena, Hubert John, and Henry Percival.
From there they went north to Gatehouse in Scotland, where Mr. Grimshaw died in 1903.
The children must have been quite talented. Two of them wrote novels in 1896: Helena wrote “Trapped by Avarice” and Henry wrote “Dr. Forenti”. Are any copies still around today?
An image of Fulledge House, where Thomas Grimshaw was living in 1840, is shown below
| Thomas Grimshawe's Diary |
Before the family emigrated to Canada in 1852, Thomas made trip to Canada in 1850, possibly as an exploratory visit with an eye toward potential emigration. During this visit, he kept a diary that is very interesting in the detail of his experiences and the people and places he encountered, as well as his own values (and prejudices!) The diary is described below, and the full text of the diary is presented on a companion webpage.
The diary begins on August 31, 1850, when Thomas departed Lancashire by rail. He sailed on the Asia British North America mail steamboat, presumably from Liverpool, and landed in New York City on September 12 after a brief stop at Halifax, Nova Scotia. He traveled by boat up the Hudson River to Albany and by rail westward to Buffalo, New York. He then visited Niagara Falls and arrived in Toronto on September 15, where he stayed until September 23. Next he traveled north to Georgian Bay via the Coldwater River portage, apparently arriving at Port Phillip on Sturgeon Bay. Then he went by boat to Penetanguishene, and then on to Owen Sound, arriving there on October 1. From there he traveled inland (south) about 70 miles to Fergus and Elora. The diary ends on October 11 with an entry describing Elora as "the most beautiful place I ever saw for river scenery."
A copy of the final page of the diary (October 11, 1850) is shown below with a transcription. When the family immigrated to Ontario in 1852, apparently they settled in Cobourg, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, about 50 miles northeast of Toronto, which is not among the places Thomas visited in 1850.
Last Page of Thomas Grimshawe Diary, October 11, 1850. A rough transcription from the companion webpage is provided below the image.
11th Oct
Elora is I think the most beautiful place I ever saw for river scenery. There is a very comfortable inn or two, the land also is good and I understand cheap. The town is mostly made of stone. This would be a good place for a joiner or two and a mason or two. These people are all doing well and stone and timber is abundant. They get 5 per diem and paid 8 for their keep. The work is however contract and they have to wait long time to sometimes for their money. They two joiner and a maison. I talked with each 2 or 3 hundred acres of land which they let. The people seem to have a great respect for anyone they take to be a gentleman much more than in the old country. They are no doubt a kind of curiosity up here. The store keeper, the tavern keeper, and one or two of the inhabitants always come and have a chat with a stranger about the old country and generally with a strong feeling of respect and pity for the good old has been, much in the same style as you would about an old done horse, there are not many who talk of making a fortune and returning home as they would have to make great description of real comfort, for ideal ___ appearance.
| Historical Record of Thomas and Helena Grimshaw's Life in Ontario |
A record has been found for Thomas and Helena on the internet at the following website:
http://www.ontariogenealogy.com/Northumberland/haldiman.html
The information was extracted by Thelma Collens, from the 1878 Illustrated Historical Atlas of Durham and Northumberland Counties of Ontario. Published by H. Belden & Co. - Toronto.
Haldimand of 1878: Township Facts-1878
The township of Haldimand is bounded on the north by Alnwick, west by Hamilton, east by Cramahe. It was settled early; it was surveyed in part in 1797 and again in 1822. In 1817 there were under cultivation 6,258 acres. There were then three gristmills and four sawmills in the township. Land was valued at from ten to fifteen shillings per acre. In 1850 the population was 4,177 and in 1861, 6,164. The natives of Ireland numbering nearly one thousand, equal the added numbers of the natives of England and Scotland. There is also a good sprinkling of citizens of United States origin, Several of whose ancestors were the first settlers....
The MACKLINs settled on lot 16 in the 8th concession over forty years ago. The two brothers, Robert and Edward have valuable farms. They are of English descent. Edward married one of the Staples of Cavan; she had three boys at one birth, for which she received the Queen's bounty of three pounds sterling. There are MACKLINs also on the 9th concession, Edward P.,Edwin, and William, sons of James MACKLIN, and cousins of the last mentioned family, all well to do people. The families of LEACH are also numerous in the same neighborhood, further north. They are Irish and settled about forty years ago.
There is quite a settlement of Aberdeen Scotsmen in the neighborhood; all thrifty and well provided. These families are; CAMPBELL, KENNEDY, SKINNER, CARUTHERS, MASON, MCKENZIE. West of the 8th concession is the ISAAC settlement. The family all owns fine farms and good stone houses and has obtained some celebrity for raising improved breeds of prize cattle. On the 8th concession towards Baltimore, on the Hamilton and Haldimand line, there is a large settlement of English farmers, originally from Cornwall, who came into the place between thirty and forty years ago. All have done well. The names include the families of; KNIGHT, BRAY, TURK, and SANDERCOCK. Directly east of the MACKLINs, on the 8th and 9th concessions, is what is known as the GRIMSHAW settlement. Mr. GRIMSHAW, a man of fortune, an English Roman Catholic, who married a sister of Rev. Father BRETTAGH of Trenton, located the place. He put up saw mills, shingle mills, asheries, a store, a tavern, and such, and was the means of settling a large Roman Catholic population in the place. There are numerous descendant of the families of MORRISON, HAGAN, DILLON, NATHAN, and FANNING. Richard CLARK, born in the township, is a descendant of the old settlers of that name. John R. CLARK, his father, took an active part in political and local matters, had been selected as the candidate of his party to contest the East Riding of Northumberland, but was suddenly cut off by death before taking the field.
The descendant chart in Whitaker (Figure 2 above) indicates that this Grimshaw family "settled at Sherbrooke Lodge, Cobourgh, Ontario, Canada."
| Maps Showing Location of Grimshaw Settlement in Ontario |
The Canadian County Atlas for Northumberland and Durham3 provides vital information on the location where the Thomas and Helena Grimshaw settled when they arrived in 1852. The county atlases of Canada are described on the following webpage; the description of the atlases is reproduced below. The title page for the Northumberland and Durham County atlas is shown below.
http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/CountyAtlas/aboutatlases.html
About the County Atlases
Between 1874 and 1881, approximately forty county atlases were published in Canada, covering counties in the Maritimes, Ontario and Quebec. Thirty-two of these atlases were produced for Ontario by the following five companies: H. Belden & Co. (17); H.R. Page & Co. (8); Walker & Miles (5); J.H. Meacham & Co. (1); H. Parsell (1). Two types of county atlases exist for Ontario, those which covered a single county or multiple adjacent counties, and those which were published as supplements to Dominion of Canada atlases. In total, 40 Ontario counties were covered by these 32 atlases.
Each of the county atlases consisted of a historical text, township and town maps, portraits, views and patrons' directory / business cards. But more important, names of residents were marked on the lots of the township maps in these county atlases. Unfortunately only the names of subscribers were recorded on the township maps for the Dominion of Canada supplements. All of these atlases were sold by subscription. Prominent county residents paid an additional sum to have biographical sketches, portraits and views of their residences or businesses included in the atlases.
A township in Ontario is usually rectangular in shape, unless it borders a major river or lake. Townships are divided into concessions. Each concession is a strip of land 1 and 1/4 mile wide. Concessions can run in any direction and are usually separated by a road. Concessions are numbered with Roman Numerals (V, IV, etc). When concessions do not run the length or width of the township because of water, they are usually labelled with letters (A, B, etc). A gore is a part of a township that does not fit into the regular shape.
Concessions are divided into lots that use Arabic numbers (3, 4, etc). Originally lots were 200 acres, which could then be easily divided into parcels of 100 acres. The lots ran parallel to the road.
Title page from the Canadian county atlas, published in 1878 by H. Belden & Co.
The Historical Atlas of Durham and Northumberland Counties3 contains two maps that show the area where the Grimshaw settlement was located. Although the settlement is not identified specifically, the location can be determined from the description provided in the preceding section. The first image below shows the probable location on a large-scale map of Haldimand Township. A more regional map, shown in the second image below, indicates the location of the Grimshaw settlement in relation to Lake Ontario, Rice Lake, and the communities of Coburg and Colburne.
Map of northeast corner of Haldimand Township showing probable location of Grimshaw settlement (area in yellow,) just west of the community of Burnley. The settlement was located "directly east of the Macklins, on the 8th and 9th concessions" as described in the text above. Map is from Illustrated Historical Atlas of Durham and Northumberland Counties of Ontario3
Map of parts of Hamilton and Haldimand Townships, between Lake Ontario and Rice Lake, showing location of Grimshaw settlement near Burnley (northeast corner) in relation to the towns of Coburg (west) and Colborne (east) on the shore of Lake Ontario. Map is from Illustrated Historical Atlas of Durham and Northumberland Counties of Ontario3
| Grimshawe's Location in Jackson County, North Carolina |
Images from the U.S. Geological Survey topographic quadrangle showing the location of Grimshawe near Cashiers in North Carolina are shown below (Cashiers 7.5-minute quadrangle, scale 1:24,000, published 1997).
GoogleEarth Images
Grimshawes location southwest of Cashiers. Whiteside Mountain can readily be seen just northeast of Grimshawes.
Westward view of Whiteside Mountain. From the GoogleEarth website. Note that the mountain is apparently named literally -- for the steep white cliff (side) facing southeast (toward Grimshawes).
Closer view of Grimshawes location, showing cleared area, roads, and small dam and reservoir. The main home is just northwest of the rectangle signified as "Grimshawes, Cashiers, N Carolina".
| "The Grimshaw's Home," July 27, 1905 |
A photo has been found on the internet that is apparently of the Grimshawe's home in North Carolina. It is shown below with a description of its source.
Source: http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/photo/rives/P36.htm
Credits for the website are provided as follows:
| Title | "The Grimshaw's Home." July 27, 1905 |
| Creator/Photographer | Hattie Hill |
| Identifier | http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/photo/rives/P36.htm |
| Subject | Keyword: tourism; Grimshaw family; domestic dwelling; architecture |
| Subject | LCSH: Travel; Tourism; Architecture -- North Carolina; Applachian Mountains -- Description and travel |
| Description | Home with seven individuals standing in front of home, to left . |
| Publisher | D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804 |
| Contributor | Sarah Ann Eller |
| Date | 5/31/2001 |
| Type | Image |
| Format | Scanned image, 72 dpi, 500 x 387 pixels, manipulated, from original 4" x 5" print ; Original retained by donor. |
| Source | M01.04.P36 |
| Marks | On photo album page, opposite, "July 27, '05" |
| Condition | Discoloration around edges of print. Dye shift. |
| Relation | Ora Rives Collection ; R.H. Scadin Collection |
| Coverage | 1905 ; western North Carolina |
| Rights | Any display, publication, or public use must credit the D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville. Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law. |
| Donor | Donor number |
| Acquisition | 5/20/2001 |
| Citation | Ora Rives Collection, 1905 (rivesP36). D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804 |
| Processed by | Special Collections staff, 2001. |
| Last updated | 6/18/2001 |
| Interview of Olivia Nicholson Lowe with Christopher Grimshawe Anecdotes |
John Nicholson has provided a very interesting interview of Olivia Lowe that was conducted by John's father in 1978, when Olivia was 80 years old. It contains several anecdotes about Christopher Grimshawe and family that lived next to the Nicholson family near Cashiers, North Carolina. A transcription of the interview is shown below, followed by the chain of e-mails with John Nicholson that provides additional information on the interview. Thanks go to John for providing the transcription of the interview.
| CLN: | This is the 2nd day of Sept, when... 1978... Now how many brothers and sisters did you have? |
| Ollie: | I had 7 sisters and 4 brothers.... |
| CLN: | Let’s see… and the oldest one was... all of you were born where? |
| Ollie: | At Sapphire... |
| CLN: | At Sapphire... that’s the old home place up there |
| Ollie: N. | The old home place... yeah, we was everyone born there and we never had a doctor except Dr. C. Grimshaw and he was a homeopathic doctor... he was really good, yeah. |
| CLN: | Dr. Grimshaw... and what did... where did the children go to school? |
| Ollie: | We had a teacher from the Philippines for 10 years and we all went to school at home. My daddy paid her one month and she stayed with us and roomed with us, the next month she’d stay at Grimshaw’s ... well that went on for 10 years. I think the last year or two they built a little house halfway between and we all went there... they call that Possum College... |
| CLN: | Possum College... laughter... now it was just two families |
| Ollie: | Yeah just 2 families. |
| CLN: | Grimshaw’s and the Nicholson’s |
| Ollie: | Yeah, well see my dad had 600 acres of land and Grimshaw had 600. Well, there was no place where nobody could build a school house unless we’d give them property and then it’d just be us...so we had to do our own... manage our own education.. |
| CLN: | But now where did... for instance, my daddy was the principal of the school at East Flat Rock for a while... where did he go to college? Did he go to college? |
| Ollie: | Oh yes, he went 3 or 4 months and they gave him his degree... said he knew more than they did. |
| CLN: | His... this teacher you’re talking about ....you say a Filipino Teacher? |
| Ollie: | Yeah... Miss Ida McCullough from the Philippines |
| CLN: | Where did she get an education? |
| Ollie: | Back in the Philippines... I don’t remember how come her to come to our house or what happened.. but she come and she taught the first five until they had finished and got their diplomas and were teaching school before she left... with the smaller ones. |
| CLN: | Yeah... well now your daddy then had 9 girls? |
| Ollie: | One died before I was born... we had 8 girls and 4 boys... so 12 children.. and Grimshaw had 12... |
| Syble: | That’s a classroom... |
| Ollie: | Yeah |
| CLN: | Yeah, a big classroom, but it was all one room everything was taught at the same time. |
| Ollie: | That’s right... and it was usually the biggest (unintelligible)... |
| CLN: | And where did they [your parents] get married...do you know? |
| Ollie: | In Mountain... what do you call that place down there... Pine Mountain, GA |
| CLN: | Well now how come....where did your daddy get that 600 acres of land? |
| Ollie: | Well, after his daddy... I don’t know... he come over there and bought it... from... I don’t know who he bought it from... and Grimshaw did the same... he bought 600 acres... |
| CLN: | Oh... so they came up from GA... |
| Ollie: | No... my daddy... just a little ways from GA... from Cashiers when he’d go up to our place on the edge of our property right over the mountain he’d go in 2 or 3 hours on his mule or horseback into Pine Mountain GA |
| CLN: | So he just went across there and bought 600 acres of land. |
| Ollie: | That’s right |
| Syble: | Years ago when I was small.... course I could ride the railroad free.... and I would get on the train at East Flat Rock and... ride as far as I could and Uncle Pick would meet me on horseback.... and we would go to the post office for Uncle James tea... and Aunt, ah,... Sapphire Post Office... and stay awhile and then we’d go on... on horseback to grandpa... So, I remember there was a big tree there that.... daddy use to study under there.... and Pick said yeah I had to work in the field and Ziffie’d studied his books.... |
| Ollie: | Heh heh heh he really studied ‘em, that’s right |
| Syble: | And I just had to hurry and open that apple house... oh that was the best smelling thing in the world... they had it dug back like a cellar and the door was flat like this... see... and apples just as far as you could see in there... so one day Uncle Pick or Grady... I’ve forgotten which and I went to Dr Grimshaw’s to take a half of a sheep... they said when one killed a sheep they’d take Dr Grimshaw half and Dr Grimshaw’s people killed one they’d bring it to the Nicholsons, you know.... cause they were the only 2 families on 1200 acres of land there I guess.... |
| Ollie: | Well, that’s right they did |
| Syble: | And so I walked in his house and he is a... stuffed all these birds.... |
| Ollie: | Animals |
| Syble: | Had an old old piano... organ... and it had these cubby holes.... you remember the old organs... it had this hole and this hole...they’d be a nest up there with 2 birds, a snake crawling in there killing one of the birds... he had tall cranes... where he got them I don’t know... they looked tall to me then... standing in one room... the whole thing was just birds... and he says how about you spending the night with me... and I got hold of Uncle Grady’s shirttail I said NO... I got to go back... laughter... I remember that as long as I live... his whole house... I can see that organ just as plain and it had about 6 or 8 or 10 birds and snakes... he had them crawling around, and in the birds nest... and he didn’t live too far... wasn’t it... we walked... |
| Ollie: | That was the Montvale post office... he had it for awhile... and then they moved it over there and Ethel and James T. took it over to Sapphire post office... that was Montvale over there as long as Dr Grimshaw had it... |
| Ollie: | [On discussion of education of her father] But he was a well educated man... I don’t know how long he went... as far as he could... they really educated all their children |
| CLN: | Well that’s why... you children got an education because he had one |
| Ollie: | Yeah he’d seen to it... that’s where he spent his money... but back then you didn’t have to pay a teacher but $40 a month and board and room |
| CLN: | Room and board... $40 a month |
| Syble: | She was under your own roof so you couldn’t use any bad English... you got corrected... you had to eat right because you got corrected. That’s good |
| Ollie: | That’s right... |
| CLN: | This Dr. you talked about....Dr Grimshaw... was he a medical doctor? |
| Ollie: | Dr. Grimshaw... no he’s a... what.... derma... what... homeopathic... he doctored with powders and a teaspoon full of pinhead in a half of glass of water and you’d take so many but it’d work every time... and he.... actinide and belladonna and I can remember those two medicines.... my daddy would go help him days and days putting a half of teaspoon full in a little thing and they were folded real neatly and turn it back and that was.... he sold that then... that was actinide and belladonna and when the people come in sick... you know... well he’d give ‘em... |
| Syble: | What’s belladonna? Where would he get it... |
| Ollie: | Some kind of medicine... Ethel and them had the book where they ordered it from in New York.... up till just a month... oh I guess Mitch still got one... where they can still get that kind of medicine |
| Syble: | What is it now? |
| CLN: | This is roots and herbs...things like that... actinide... what is it now |
| Ollie: | Actinide and belladonna was two of the medicines |
| CLN: | Actinide and belladonna |
| Ollie: | Yeah that was 2 of the medicines.... I don’t know whether the doctors use any of that now... but they had lots of things besides that... Oh he was a good doctor |
| Syble: | Would he treat people? |
| Ollie: | yes... and delivered every one of us no matter how sick we got... we all got sick a lot of times but none of us ever died... and then he’d |
| Syble: | He named me |
| CLN: | He did? well I was gonna ask you ... he delivered all the babies of the Nicholson’s....Dr Grimshaw... on his own...did he have a big family |
| Ollie: | Dr. Grimshaw...yes he did...yes...he had 12 and we had 12 there was 24 of us |
| CLN: | Wow...that was a crowd |
| Ollie: | We done scared each other... one time they’d come they put chairs over their head and an old white sheet over top of that chair and turned the chair upside down... and come over our house and my daddy was gone off on some kind of a meeting... some where another.... he had to go... to a governor’s meeting somewhere... and they’d come to scare us... and when they come at the door them big white sheets you know... Roxy was there... she got that shotgun down and when she breached it back into the barrel... you know... went back in the barrel.... said MY LORD don’t shoot us... laughter.... don’t shoot us |
| CLN: | Where did you... where did you girls meet all these boys... I mean you were back up there in the hills so far away... how did you meet these guys to go on a date |
| Ollie: | It wasn’t very far up there to Cashiers Valley |
| CLN: | What do you mean very far...10 miles |
| Ollie: | No....it wasn’t but bout 3 miles... |
| CLN: | 3 miles |
| Ollie: | yeah... we were on the edge of our 600 acres... Grimshaw was too… then the land laid off this a way... but it wasn’t but a little ways out here to the road that went up to Cashiers Valley... and across the mountain and into Franklin... |
| CLN: | Real interesting... and we’ve spent about an hour here Aunt Ollie... would you like to listen to some of this back? |
| Ollie: | No... laughter... I know it all... |
| CLN: | You know it all... laughter... |
| CLN: | The previous interview was taken on the 2nd day of September 1978 with my Aunt Ollie Lowe at her home in Canton, North Carolina, and she is 80 years old. |
The chain of e-mails with John Nicholson, providing additional information on the interview, is shown below.
Transcript of interview with Grimshaw stories
From: jpen(at)jnicholson.net
To: thomas.w@grimshaw.com
Subject: My GGF was closest neighbor of Dr Christopher Grimshaw
Date: Sun, 6 Apr 2008 16:35:41 -0500
Mr. Grimshaw -
My great grandfather, William J. Nicholson, lived on 600 acres in western North Carolina and was the closest neighbor of your Dr Christopher Grimshaw. I am presently transcribing an interview done by my father with his aunt Olivia Nicholson Lowe, who was a daughter of Wm J. and knew Grimshaw. In this interview, she tells stories about her family, but also about Dr. Grimshaw. I suspect you and your kin would be interested in hearing portions of the interview, and propose to share them with you if you like... For example, the Nicholsons and Grimshaws built a one room "school" between the two homes. The Grimshaws had 12 kids, and the Nicholsons the same. They called this school "Possum College".
It'll take me another week or two to complete the full transcription, and if you like I can send you the MS word file to review. If the stories look interesting, I can ftp the audio file to you via one of those web sites whose purpose is to move large files.
I'll be in touch later.
John Nicholson
Alexandria, VA
From: Thomas Grimshaw [mailto:thomas_grimshaw@hotmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2008 10:59 PM
To: Nicholson
Subject: RE: My GGF was closest neighbor of Dr Christopher Grimshaw
Hi John,
Good to hear from you. I look forward to hearing the interviews!
Thanks,
Tom
Thomas W. Grimshaw
1308 Shannon Oaks Trail
Austin, TX 78746
512/784-1078
thomas.w@grimshaw.com
From: Nicholson (jpen(at)jnicholson.net)
Sent: Tue 7/22/08 12:37 PM
To: 'Thomas Grimshaw' (thomas_grimshaw@hotmail.com)
Dr Grimsh...doc (42.5 KB)
Sorry to have taken such a long time about this, but here finally is the transcript of that portion of my Aunt's interview that contains the Grimshaw stories.
John Nicholson
Alexandria, VA
| Final Resting Place of Thomas and Helena Grimshaw |
Thomas and Helena Grimshaw are buried in Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery in Greenville, South Carolina, as described below on the Find-A-Grave website:
