Sturgill, Andrew
| Birth Name |
Andrew Sturgill |
| Nickname |
Andy |
| Gender |
male |
Narrative
ANDREW (Andy) STURGILL and his wife NANCY BOOTH made their home on the Roaring Fork of Powell's River in Wise County, VA where Andy built a two story log house with four fireplaces. All of their children were born in this house and they lived out their lives there. Near his house Andy built a water powered grist mill and country store where he traded in furs and herbs. He was a very prosperous man for his time and at one time owned over 2500 acres of land, most of which his heirs later sold to mining companies. He was a great bee hunter and his lifetime ambition was to have 100 bee hives. 99 was as close as he ever came.
Historical Note: At the end of the civil war a group of weary, hungry and ragged Confederate soldiers, which included a 14 year old boy, were on their way back to KY. (Different accounts give the number from 7 to 12). When they came to Andy Sturgill's house he fed them and they went on up the path a ways where they set up a temporary camp. As Andy feared for their safety he asked the Home Guard to escort them to the KY line. One of the leaders of the Guard, who had lost some property to the Confederate Army during the war, decided to murder the soldiers and ordered them shot as they were. Andy gathered some other neighbors and buried them on the spot. Many years later when a coal mine was opened in the area their bones were found and moved to a near by cemetery. The man who ordered these murders soon left the area in fear for his own life.
