Notable Women of Henderson County: Uva Shipman Minners
By: Dan Gibbs Uva Shipman Minners was born in Henderson County in 1908 to a Baptist Minister but her family moved to Asheville sometime during her childhood. She graduated from Asheville High School in 1927. She married and moved to New York City in her early 20’s. She became enamored with flying and gained her […]
Notable Women of Henderson County: Polly Mills Stepp
By: Dan Gibbs In the late 18th century there was a pioneer woman that lived in Henderson County named Polly Stepp. Her story as a frontier woman was part fact but mostly legend but it is a great story. She was born in 1754 in Orange County, Virginia. Polly Mills Stepp first appeared in the […]
Notable Women of Henderson County: Mary Jane King Justice
By: Dan Gibbs Mary Jane King Justice went by the name “Dr. Polly” and she was one of Henderson County’s first midwifes and medical practitioners. She was born in 1819 and died in 1904. She married John H. Justice of the Dana community in Henderson County. He was known as “the Peacemaker” because of his […]
Notable Men of Henderson County: George Mills
By: Dan Gibbs The story of George Mills is one of the more fascinating story’s to come out of Henderson County during the Civil War. It is a story of friendship, loyalty, and devotion that transcended the social structures that were in place in pre-war United States at the time. George Mills was born into […]
Notable Men of Henderson County: Charles de Choiseul Part II
By: Dan Gibbs January 1861 was an important month in the life of former Flat Rock resident and naturalized American citizen Charles de Choiseul. He had joined the New Orleans militia in 1857 and early in January 1861, he passed out ammunition to volunteers and helped Louisiana seize control of the Union arsenal at Baton […]
Notable Men of Henderson County: Charles de Choiseul Part I
By: Dan Gibbs Charles de Choiseul’s time in Henderson County was short but he had a major impact on the area and was returned to his final resting place at St. John’s in the Wilderness church, a Civil War hero. He was born in France around 1818 to Xavier comte de Choiseul and Sarah Johnes. […]
Notable Men of Henderson County: The Life & Legend of Abraham Kuykendall
By Dan Gibbs Abraham Kuykendall was born in New York in 1719 and he was in his 60’s when he served in the Revolutionary War. The veteran Kuykendall was one of what was to become Henderson County’s first settlers. He was awarded a land grant of 600 acres by the state of North Carolina in […]
Notable Men of Henderson County: Xavier de Choiseul
By Dan Gibbs Count Marie Joseph Gabriel St. Xavier de Choiseul was born in France in the late 1700’s and was connected to French royalty because he was a cousin to King Louis-Phillippe XV. He was named French consul to Charleston in 1831 and it was a position he held until 1856. He and his […]
Notable Men of Henderson County: C.G. Memminger
By Dan Gibbs C.G. Memminger was born in Wurttemberg, Germany in 1803. His father died within a month of his birth and his mother immigrated to Charleston soon after. She died in 1807 from yellow fever and Memminger was placed in an orphanage. At the age of 11, Memminger was taken in by prominent Charleston […]
