Sturgill, Joel
| Birth Name |
Joel Sturgill |
| Gender |
male |
Narrative
JOEL STURGILL and his wife Cynthia Maggard lived in Wise Co. VA near Pound where all their children were born. When Cynthia died, leaving Joel with six sons and two small daughters, he was in dire need of a housekeeper. A local preacher paid Joel a visit and told him about a widow on the other side of the mountain who was in equal need of a husband, so Joel rode over the mountain into Letcher Co. KY to meet the widow. the preacher told each of them what he knew about the other and then walked away so they could be alone. After they had an hour of private talk the preacher married them and went back across the mountain by himself.
As the widow, Lisa Boggs, had the largest house, Joel moved his family of eight in with her family of eight, mostly girls. Until the house could be enlarged all the boys slept in the barn. The house, part log, part frame, was kept in good condition until it was destroyed by a strip mine in 1980.
Two of Joel's sons, Elbert and Willard, lived alone in the old house until they died in 1968 and 1967. Elbert took care of his brother Willard, who was blind. Their main source of income was from the sale of honey. Some of their bee hives were made from hollow logs by their grandfather Andy Sturgill and were over a century old. - pg 100
