Tennessee and Kentucky Trip November 2008

The intent of this blog was to capture my love for fishing, however Hurricane Ike took away all plans for the normal fall fishing trips during the Flounder run. The Texas Parks and Wildlife recommended to not eat fish out of the Galveston bay system due to pollution. Bait was not to be found as so many fishing boats and bait camps were destroyed and I was concerned about all of the debris under water and the hazard that could bring wade fishing and or danger to any boating activity.

In order to keep the blog active I will share another great trip we took in early November. (There are a number of pictures in the body of this posting, if you would like to see some other pictures we took on the trip click on the Slideshow of Tennessee and Kentucky Trip to the right). I took over 200 cemetery photos that I haven't included, if you want to see them, send me an email holtnotesrah@aol.com.

We flew to Nashville and rented a car. The first day we went to the Tennessee State Archives researching books and documents. The Archives Library is located across from the Tennessee State Capital. We spent the whole day researching and then that evening we drove out to the Grand Ole Opry Hotel and Convention Center. The Christmas lights and music were beautiful. Later that evening we decided to take in a Nashville show.

Downtown Nashville, Tennessee from the balcony of our room the first day on our trip

The State Capital of Tennessee

Beautiful lights and music on the grounds of the Grand Ole Opry Hotel and Convention Center

We enjoyed the Dinner and show at the Nashville Theatre

The second day we left Nashville and drove to Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee. We spent time in the library and drove around the area where our ancestors lived back in the early 1800's based on census and cemetery records we have identified.


The GPS took us to this location which was part of an original land grant of an ancestor in Montgomery County, Tennessee.

Fall colors were fantastic

We left Tennesse on the third day driving into Todd County, Kentucky researching history on my mother's side of the family. We met a distant cousin there and he spent time showing us where our ancestors lived and owned and ran a general store many years ago. We also spent time in the County Courthouse and we were able to obtain a copy of my Great Grandparents Marriage License on my mothers side. We also visited a number of cemeteries in the area where ancestors are buried.

Tyewhoppety, Kentucky old house and land where our ancestors lived.

Location of the General Store owned by ancestors in Tyewhoppety. The location of the gas pumps can still be seen by the rock on the front of the property.

We left Kentucky and drove South back into Tennessee ending up in Culleoka, Maury County, Tennessee and from there we went to Bedford County, Tennessee home of the Tennessee Walking Horse. We went to the library in Shelbyville, Tennessee and drove around the area visiting numerous cemeteries where family members are buried.

In Culleoka, Tennessee an old farm house built by an ancestor in 1917, the original log cabin was moved. The current owners said the log cabin sat just to the left and behind the current home. A number of out buildings are still there. The home and 75 acres is all that is left from an original land grant of 1280 acres. The family cemetery is about a half mile from the home and the graves date back to ancestors born in the 1700s.

After enjoying Shelbyville and the surrounding area we headed to Lynchburg, Tennessee a very quaint small town in the rolling hills of southern Tennessee. The fall colors were great. We spent the night in a bed and breakfast which was an old house outside Lynchburg. Our host was the daughter of a gentleman who was the General Manager for the Jack Daniels Distillery for many years. She also runs the carriage rides in downtown Lynchburg, Tennessee. Her Brother in law lives next door and he invited us over to his home for early morning coffee and then the 3 of us joined our host for a wonderful breakfast. While in Lynchburg we visited the Tennessee Walking Horse Museum, visited a number of different shops and took a tour of the Jack Daniel Distillery.

Picture of the Jack Daniel Distillery, very pretty grounds, the tour took just about an hour. The next picture is showing the fall colors near Lynchburg as we headed out of town.

We left Lynchburg and decided that we would head to Wartrace, Tennessee. Antother nice small town full of antiques and crafts. We had a wonderful lunch there and enjoyed looking at all of the old relics.

Back road near Wartrace, Tennessee

Bugshuffle road near Haley Tennessee

Late in the afternoon we headed for Haley, Tennessee to visit a family cemetery. It started getting dark and we left the cemetery with the intent of spending the night in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. As we approached the above bridge a car flashed its headlights and both Susie and I said "Why did he do that" just as this came out of my mouth I noticed my lane ended. I swerved to keep from going over into the creek and caught the right front tire on the rock ledge. We went up on the two left wheels and hit the left side of the bridge which knocked us back to four wheels hiting back on the right side and then back to the left ending up dragging the whole underneath of the car to the other side of the bridge. We ended up in our lane about 30 yards on the other side of the bridge and the car stalled. The right front tire was bent sideways and it looked like the axle was broken. After 3 hours, county, state, local police enforcement, volunteer firemen and passers by we were able to get the car towed back into Wartrace. The rental car company brought us another car and took the wrecked car back to Nashville. Fortunately for us, the only thing left open in Wartrace was the Walking Horse Hotel and Restaurant. An old refurbished hotel with an outstanding menu. We were very fortunate to have gone through this ordeal without harm. We learned that a Florida couple had gone off the road directly into the creek, destroying the car and ending up in the Hospital just 5 days prior.

The next morning we had a great breakfast in the local cafe in Wartrace. We left there headed to Franklin, Tennessee just south of Nashville. With shaken nerves we took our time and wanted to get back into Nashville early enough to spend the night and head to the airport to come home the next morning. The last night in Nashville we spent downtown eating dinner and enjoying all of the different bars where country music wanna be stars were playing.

The last two pictures are of a mansion and property of an ancestor that was part of a 1280 acre land grant. Only 200 acres remain of the original land grant and is still owned by the family. I met the current owner and enjoyed visiting with him about the history of the home and land. A major portion of the land has been subdivided and multi million dollar homes were built. The area is now called Brentwood, many country western stars built their homes in this area.

We had a great trip, and enjoyed the fall colors. We were able to obtain additional documentation about my family history on both my Dad and Mother's side. While I had hope that we would uncover something new and more confirmation about my Dad's side, we did not.

The next planned trip for fishing is Sitka, Alaska. I will be posting information about this trip in the near future.

To all that read this: I wish you and your family a very Healthy and Happy New Year!!!