Calendar of Virginia a State Papers” Volume 4, Page 460 Death of Cornelius Roberts June 24, 1788 That men who had gone to the Black Mountain to dig ginseng had found a camp where one of the Elam’s and 3 of the Breeding’s, of New Garden, and Neal Roberts had

Beginning on the next page is an autobiography of JOHN DILS, JR. which was published in William Ely’s 1883 “The Big Sandy Valley”.  Photos are from my collection, not from Ely’s book. In the autobiography Dils concentrated on his family history, his early days in Pikeville, his marriage, his business associations,

Dedication This compilation of histories is dedicated to my first cousin Julia Wall, who safeguarded the notebooks and sent them to me along with original photos of Thomas Elliott; my daughter Ashley Korizis for hours of research in the DAR databases, and to family and friends in Pike, Floyd and Johnson

Corrigan / McKinney Steel Company

Special thanks to Sandy Newsom for sharing photos of her family. The original story was written by Alice J. Kinder, Mountain Roots, News-Express, July 6, 1883 In 1967 Pike Countians read this astounding news in the newspapers: One of the largest transactions in the recent years of Pike County’s history

January 1957 Flood One of the Worst in History The January 1957 flood dealt Eastern Kentucky a severe blow: it took 12 lives and caused $50 million in damage. The mid-winter flood of 1957 wrought great destruction in the Big Sandy, the Kentucky, and the Cumberland river valleys. At Pikeville