Childress Cousins: From the Hills and Hollows of Southern Virginia - Paperback

by Katherine R. Vestal (Author)

Bill Osborne Childress and Rev. Bob Childress (The Man Who Moved a Mountain) were born in the late 1800s in "The Hollow" of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, not far from the North Carolina border. They were brothers. This carefully researched book is about their nineteen children. It is a treasure trove of stories, history, and more than 100 photographs, preserved here for current and future "cousins," and for everyone who is drawn to the Appalachian folklore of the Blue Ridge hills and hollows.

In this collection are biographies, WWII memoirs, letters between cousins, Hattie's poems, an unfinished autobiography written by Rev. Bob, and so much more. The birthdates of the nineteen span the 35 years from 1908 to 1943; their death dates from 1950 to 2020. They were tradesmen, farm laborers, seamen, homemakers, and teachers; they were truckers, nurses, preachers, and military officers.

These personal stories and photos are shared by children, grandchildren, and cousins of the nineteen. It is they who have lovingly breathed life into these pages.