A Tree Accurst

Bobby McMillon and Stories of Frankie Silver

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, State & Local, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Folklore & Mythology, Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book A Tree Accurst by Daniel W. Patterson, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Daniel W. Patterson ISBN: 9780807860915
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: June 19, 2003
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Daniel W. Patterson
ISBN: 9780807860915
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: June 19, 2003
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

On a wintry night in 1831, a man named Charlie Silver was murdered with an axe and his body burned in a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. His young wife, Frankie Silver, was tried and hanged for the crime. In later years people claimed that a tree growing near the ruins of the old cabin was cursed--that anyone who climbed into it would be unable to get out. Daniel Patterson uses this "accurst" tree as a metaphor for the grip the story of the murder has had on the imaginations of the local community, the wider world, and the noted Appalachian traditional singer and storyteller Bobby McMillon.

For nearly 170 years, the memory of Frankie Silver has been kept alive by a ballad and local legends and by the news accounts, fiction, plays, and other works they inspired. Weaving Bobby McMillon's personal story--how and why he became a taleteller and what this story means to him--into an investigation of the Silver murder, Patterson explores the genesis and uses of folklore and the interplay between folklore, social and personal history, law, and narrative as people and communities try to understand human character and fate.

Bobby McMillon is a furniture and hospital worker in Lenoir, North Carolina, with deep roots in Appalachia and a lifelong passion for learning and performing traditional songs and tales. He has received a North Carolina Folk Heritage Award from the state's Arts Council and also the North Carolina Folklore Society's Brown-Hudson Folklore Award.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

On a wintry night in 1831, a man named Charlie Silver was murdered with an axe and his body burned in a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. His young wife, Frankie Silver, was tried and hanged for the crime. In later years people claimed that a tree growing near the ruins of the old cabin was cursed--that anyone who climbed into it would be unable to get out. Daniel Patterson uses this "accurst" tree as a metaphor for the grip the story of the murder has had on the imaginations of the local community, the wider world, and the noted Appalachian traditional singer and storyteller Bobby McMillon.

For nearly 170 years, the memory of Frankie Silver has been kept alive by a ballad and local legends and by the news accounts, fiction, plays, and other works they inspired. Weaving Bobby McMillon's personal story--how and why he became a taleteller and what this story means to him--into an investigation of the Silver murder, Patterson explores the genesis and uses of folklore and the interplay between folklore, social and personal history, law, and narrative as people and communities try to understand human character and fate.

Bobby McMillon is a furniture and hospital worker in Lenoir, North Carolina, with deep roots in Appalachia and a lifelong passion for learning and performing traditional songs and tales. He has received a North Carolina Folk Heritage Award from the state's Arts Council and also the North Carolina Folklore Society's Brown-Hudson Folklore Award.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book Technocrats and the Politics of Drought and Development in Twentieth-Century Brazil by Daniel W. Patterson
Cover of the book To Walt Whitman, America by Daniel W. Patterson
Cover of the book North Carolina Slave Narratives by Daniel W. Patterson
Cover of the book A Southern Lawyer by Daniel W. Patterson
Cover of the book Us versus Them by Daniel W. Patterson
Cover of the book Boss Lady by Daniel W. Patterson
Cover of the book Managing White Supremacy by Daniel W. Patterson
Cover of the book The Charlotte Observer by Daniel W. Patterson
Cover of the book The Case of the Wild Onions: The Impact of Ramps on Cherokee Rights by Daniel W. Patterson
Cover of the book Zero Hunger by Daniel W. Patterson
Cover of the book The Savor the South® Cookbooks, 10 Volume Omnibus E-book by Daniel W. Patterson
Cover of the book Shouldering the Burdens of Defeat by Daniel W. Patterson
Cover of the book The Collapse of the German War Economy, 1944-1945 by Daniel W. Patterson
Cover of the book Strangers and Pilgrims by Daniel W. Patterson
Cover of the book A Failed Empire by Daniel W. Patterson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy