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The life and family of Jerome Pierce. Ray Willis. November. 2007.
THE LIFE AN FAMlUL~
OF JEROME IE CE
"' lBD!frl11t
circa 1848 to 1850 --Died 1945""'
(Earlier spelled Pearce)
by Ray Willis ---- Nov. 2007
South. They walked
to Bristol to catch
the train to Roanoke,
Virginia but the
rebels had destroyed
The Mother of the first known Jerome Pierce was
the bridges for all
known only as Maw. While she was a slave and
railroads and they
served as a cook for a Kingsport white family, the
were forced to hike
Pierces, she became pregnant. Her baby boy was
and live off the land.
born circa 1848- 1850. She named him Jerome
Pierce. They lived in a one-room dirt floor log cabin.
Jerome Pierce and Wife Alice Luvenia.
They had no uniforms, no food and would kill farmer's
animals (sheep) or forge for food. They received Union
uniforms and ten dollars per month pay. Jerome could
When he was around 15 or 16 years old ( 1863), he
decided to nm away from the Pierce farm with 2
other slaves. Each one was going to bring supplies
such as matches, side of meat, bread and blankets.
not read or write or count money because it was against
the law for slaves to attend school. He learned to count
money and saved his monthly wages to purchase his
mother, Maw, out of slavery.
One person failed to meet at the rail fence , so they
called it off which probably saved their lives. That
night was the biggest snowstorm of the year.
His primary job in the army was hauling supplies
such as flour, corn and equipment to the Union Army
in the South. With the bridge~ gone. they had to ford·
Later he, Andrew Bachman and other slaves joined
the Union Army to fight the Confederate Army of the
all the rivers and creeks with all the barrels of flour
and supplies. The U.S . Army required one soldier
'
�'i·.·.~.,.~
'(J,:.\;11~
to ride the
"j:-;
·
horsemanship
lead horse
skills.
pulling the
Jerome's skill
wagons. This
with horses
was usually
Jerome Pierce.
At the end of
and mules
Jerome Pierce (on horse), sons -Albert J. Peirce and Sammuel Patton Pierce, 1927-28,
Kingsport, TN., Bays Mountain. Hauling logs on Studebaker Wagon.
became
renown.
the Civil War, he had to walk home from the North
Once he bet some men in Jonesboro that he could
but he had to hide his blue Union coat because of
turn his team of horses and wagon in the Jonesboro
hostile Confederates. When he got to the Pierce
Square without touching the curb. Every time the
home his mother's whereabouts were unknown.
horses would approach the curb, he would crack his
Ruth Coley, a Great Grandchild, had always heard
whip and the horses would jump back. He won.
Maw had been sold. No one knows for sure.
Recorded in Deed Book 76, Page 452, on March 27,
Along the trail of Southern Baptist Retreat Center,
there was an old log cabin that could have been
Jerome's early home when he returned from war.
Jerome G. Pierce, his grandson, said he built a
log cabin on the side of Bays Mountain. When he
returned. the only black men he knew were Andrew
Bachman and Scott McConnell with whom he
worked logging, hauling, farming and improving his
1888, Jerome bought 2 tracks of land from Aunt Nan
(Nancy Hayes or Vincent) for $53. Parcel·#l was
73 2/3 acres and Parcel #2 was 89 34 acres. Nancy
Hayes Vincent reserved the right to live in the house
unti l the clay she died. She was the widow of Primus
Hayes. Nancy and Jerome signed their names wi th ..
an "X" on the deed in the presence of notary Alvin
Roller and witnesses N.B. Owens and B.F. Hood.
�Recorded in Deed Book 22, page 225, "on
July 11, 1863, Primus Hayes (Vincent), "a
NOJmes of Pierce sellers to J!Jays M ountain Pwrlk
on April 6, 2006 were:
man of culler", paid $100 to
George W. Vincent and Thomas
1. Jerome G. Pierce
F. Vincent for 210 acres more
2. Jack & Betsy Pierce
or less under the will of John
& Virginia Pierce Leeper
Vincent, deceased. It is the same
3. Jerome G. Pierce, Jr.
track of land that Primus now
(son of Jerome G.)
lives upon". This land is part of
4. Aleea Pierce (daughter of Jerome G.)
the 28.4 acres that was bought
from the Pierce Family by Bays
As of 2007, the old home of Jerome
Mountain Park in April, 2006.
Pierce has been rented for 41 years
The purchase price was $750 an
by Charles Clyde Nunley (Bud)
acre, $21,300 total. This Pierce
Plot serves as a buffer zone
and his wife Barbara. The home is
/
Albert J. Pierce and wife Lena Fritzgerald Pierce.
f or the Park. The land is very
steep and rocky, but this purchase protects
the plai1ts, trees and wildlife frorn logging
and development. Mike Stone appraised the
mountain property at $745 an acre.
owned by Sherry Pierce Grimes,
Jerome G. Pierce's daughter.
In 191.5, the Clear Creek Water Company purchased
1,000 acres and built a clam for Kingsport's water
supply. The lake was 28 acres. For 15 months. 35
or 40 men worked on building the dam. The rocks
·.
�were cut out
Jerome Pierce. the Civil War Veteran, taught his
of a limestone
quarry located
a total of eighteen horses. He moved his family to
the dam. The
"Old Kingsport'' and worked for Bill Roller and Pet
Pierces helped
Dairy. He was widely known for his expertise as a
construct
blacksmith or farrier (one who shoes and takes care
the Bays
Samuel Patton Pierce, February, 1967.
work and care for horses. Albert,' at one time, owned
right below
'!.,
sons, Albert J. and Samuel Patton Pierce, how to
of Horses). He would charge 25 cents a foot for a
Mountain Park Dam. They hauled the heavy stone
and concrete to the dam site with large Belgium
horses. The horses were similar to the C lydesdale
horses we know today. vVith their large feet and
strength, they could pull the heavy loads through
the muddy roads. The Pierces transported worn
railroad rails to be placed in the concrete of
the dam for the reinforcement. They devised a
set of rails and a wooden sled called a " lizard"
to convey heavy loads to the muddy dam site.
Jerome and his son, Albert Pierce, hauled rock,
sand and cement for Bill Roller to help build the
First Baptist Church at the Kingsport Church
Ci rcle in 1925 - 1927.
regular iron shoe, while a metal shoe with rubber
would cost 50 cents a foot. Pet Dairy required the
rubber shoes for the horses pulling the milk wagons
on the concrete streets of Kingsport. The rubber
shoes prevented them from sliding and making too
much noise on the hard surfaced streets. Jack Pierce,
son of Albert Pierce has donated Bays Mountain
Park one of these old iron and rubber horse shoes.
During World War II, Samuel worked for Frazier and
Brace Company, who built the Holston Ordinance
Plant. He cared for the horses that the security
guards used to protect the huge ammunitions plant. ·.
In the late 1920's, the Tennessee Eastman Company
hired many men from fom states to log timber. ~he
�•'
Eas:tman sold the lumber, but used the baric, limbs
·.
was chinked with clay and hog hair between the logs.
and mill waste to make methanol and later acetic
Virginia raised twelve children and the boys slept in
anhydride in the process of filmmaking. The Pierce's
the loft while the parents and daughters ·slept down
were an important family in logging and getting the
below. Circa 1936, Oscar, an older son, built them
logs to the Eastman sawmilL They used a Studebaker
a new house in front of the cabin. Many relatives of
wagon that had wide wheels to help pull loads
Jerome Pierce have been given the names of Jerome
through muddy roads. They soaked the wooden
and Virginia to honor their ancestors.
spokes in creeks for them to swell to keep them tight
The Pierce Bond Family later built a combined school
Jerome wanted each of his five children to learn to
and church situated at the Pierce Cemetery on 1820
read and write. The teacher, Headmaster Dolan. did
Seavers Road toward Hilltop Mission Church. The
not want any of the white families to know he vvas
old church and school has been sold because it was
teaching the Pierce children. Jerome had to promise
abandoned and vandalized. Jerome died in 1945 from
to keep the teaching a secret. Mr. Dolan would bring
old age and was buried along with his wife, Alice
his slates and chalk and often ate supper with them.
Luvenia 1864- 1928, in the Pierce Cemetery. The
cemetery became an historical landmark in 2002.
Jerome's only daughter, Virginia, married Alfred
Bond. Jerome built Virginia and Alfred a one-room
The Jerome Pierce Family has been an asset to
cabin on 30 acres more or less of land that was
Kingsport and the surrounding communities. They
bought on November 4, 1990 by the Sullivan Babtist
have often endured hardships and difficulties, but
Association. Sixteen of Virginia's children and
always have provided hard work, prominent athletes
grandchildren signed the deed. The one-room cabin
and leadership for their communities.
�Backyard of Pierce Homeplace - (L to R.l
Jack Pierce, Charles Hunley (Bud),
and Fred Hilton (Bays Mtn. Naturalist).
Jerome Pierce's Homeplace at the foot
of Bays Mountain.
Jerome G. Pierce and wife Elizabeth.
Grandson of Jerome Pierce
Jerome G. Pierce.
'
Virginia Pierce l:.eeper.
Signing of the deed
of Jerome Pzerce~
original land (28.4
acres) over to Bays
Mountain Park.
Tom Bowman - Park Director
'
Betsy Pierce and Rick Currie.
Rick Currie, attorney and commissioner on Pari< Commission,
and Jerome G. Pierce
�®
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D I VISION OF T I-l E
JEROME PEARCE PROP!<:RT'
Elizabeth (Beth) Pierce, Virginia Pierce, Jacl< Pierce, Mary Cunningham
(chair person of Park Commission) and Jerome G. Pierce, Jr.
ME A D E PROf'
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January 26, 2006
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Grandchildren:
Jero me G. Pierce,
Virginia Pierce Leeper,
and Jack Pierce.
;; 1. .Jerome G. Pierce, S1 ~ 6. 7 acres .r $750 = $5.025
:
~
~ 2. Aleea Pierce- 6.05 acres x $750
= $4.538
= $4,538
3. Jerome P ierce, Jr.~ 6.05 acres x $750
4. Ja ck & Betsy Ann Pierce, Vi1~~inia and James Leepe1
:
28.4 acres .r $750 = $2 1.300
~
----
Charles Clyde Nunley (Bud)
Great Granddaughter Ruth Pierce Coley
Essay, "Butterfly Community" by Jimmy Jones
Eastman Chemical Company 1920-1 995- Video Tape
Wanda Valentine- Eastman Chemical Co. -Pictures
Deed Books 22 and 76 - Blountville Record of Deeds
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Kingsport
Subject
The topic of the resource
Churches--Bethel A.M.E. Zion
Churches--Spirit and Truth Full Gospel Baptist Church
Education
Family History
Holidays--Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Neighborhoods--Riverview
Newspapers--Kingsport Times
Schools--Appalachian Training Center
Schools--Bland High School
Schools--Douglass High School
Schools--Northeast State Technical Community College
Soldiers--Veterans, WWII
Soldiers--Women
Sports
Description
An account of the resource
Items about the Kingsport African American community, including a large collection of newspaper articles from the Kingsport Times, ephemera from reunions for Douglass High School, family photographs from African American families, information on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; 1919- 2013
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Ronnie Collins; Louetta Hall; Linda Kincaid; Jack Pierce; Brenda Taylor-Stuts; Ray Willis
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Black in Appalachia
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2019-01-24
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Items can be used for private reflection and research, and not for commercial purposes.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
United States--Tennessee--Kingsport
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Ronnie Collins; Louetta Hall; Linda Kincaid; Jack Pierce; Brenda Taylor-Stuts; Ray Willis
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Life and family of Jerome Pierce 2007
Subject
The topic of the resource
Tennessee; African Americans--Appalachian Region; African Americans--Southern States; African American men; African American families
Description
An account of the resource
A detailed, biographical account of the life and family of Jerome Pierce, spanning from slavery to the Civil War to the current descendants in the 21st century. Includes photographs, maps, and deeds to land purchases
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Ray Willis
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Ray Willis
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Black in Appalachia
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
January 2019
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This item can be used for private reflection and research, and not for commercial purposes.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
2007; United States--Tennessee--Kingsport
Eastman Chemical Company
family
history
Kingsport
slavery
work