Individual Details
(27 Mar 1837 - 1918)
There were several with the name William G. in the family so this Will i a m G. was known as "Big William". He was a Private in General Stonewa l l J ackson's Army of Virginia and he was General Jackson's blacksmith - s o t h e story goes. Someone of his descendants showed another member of t h e f amily a picture of him and General Jackson and his horse being shod ; h o wever, the picture disappeared about 1975. Another story says that " B i g William" came back home from the Civil War and cleared up some land o n h i s father's farm. Thomas' second wife, Mary Davis McConnell, eviden ta l ly would not let him farm it so he packed up his familyand went abou t 3 0 m iles south, down the Robinette Valley of Scott County and into Ha nc oc k County, Tennessee, settling on some land at War Gap. His old log h o m e is still in good shape and is located below his cemetery on Clinch M o u ntain. The story goes on about "Big William", when he was near 80 yea r s o ld he was rumored to have been caused to be mixed up in the Penteco s t al religion by his son, Stephen Lincoln Price McConnell. "Big Willia m " h ad a full white beard and he was last seen by his son Henry. Henry l e f t "Big William" sitting on the porch sharpening a butcher knife on a w h i trock. When Henry returned to him, "Big William' had cut his throat w i t h the butcher knife. A McConnell book was written by Eugene "Wildhors e " M cConnell about 1984-85, in which he told the story of"Big William". H e e n ded it by saying, "He is buried on a bench of the Clinch Mountain i n a g r ave marked only with a field stone. Some could have ordered a ma rker f o r him since he was a Confederate veteran." Wayne G. McConnell, G ate C i ty, VA wrote: "I wondered why he had not or dered one for him, t hen w e nt ahead and ordered it along with 15 other McConnell Tombstones. T h e n when we had abig McConnell Reunion in 1993, I met Jeff C. McConnell , a s o n of Charlie McConnell and Mollie Bellamy. Charlie and Patton wer e Wi l liam's two sons born to him and Martha Wampler. When I told Jeff a bo u t having the tombstone but I didn'tknow where "Big William" was buri e d , he said he and his brother Aaron McConnell also of Spartanburg, S. C . w o uld let me know when they would be up to help carry it onto the mou nt a in." Wayne gave this account: "June 8, 1994, Jeff McConnell age 76 , A a ron McConnell age 78, N. B. McConnell age 65, Marshall Toney age47, a n d W ayne McConnell age 57, cut a path into "Big" William McConnell's gr a v eyard on top of a point in Clinch Mountain, War Gap, Hancock County, T N . W e then walked the 800 plus yards back to the old homestead, picked u p a 1 5 0+ pound marble tombstone and took it to the grave of "Big" Willi am a n d erected the stone for him. The stone reads PVT William G. McCon nel l , 48 Mtd Inf CSA, 1838-1916. The death date should have been 1918. I t l i ked to have killed us all but we got the job done and we did get t h e w hite marble tombstone put up over "Big William's" grave where it sh o u ld stand, there in the woods, for another century. Some of the famil y m a ke pilgrimages up to the tombstone every year, just to show the you ng e r ones where it is. "Big William" and both wives are buried there, a l o ng with three of Charlie's children who died before he moved the fami l y t o Spartanburg, SC. His daughter, Margaret McConnell Allen, who was J o h n Allen's wife is also buried there in the "Big William" cemetery." 1 8 7 0 Census - Hancock County, TN, P. O. War Gap, District 3, pg. 5, Shee t 1 5 8, enumerated June 20, 1870. 1880 Census - Hancock County, TN -- MERGED NOTE ------------ There were several with the name William G. in the family so this Will i a m G. was known as "Big William". He was a Private in General Stonewa l l J ackson's Army of Virginia and he was General Jackson's blacksmith - s o t h e story goes. Someone of his descendants showed another member of t h e f amily a picture of him and General Jackson and his horse being shod ; h o wever, the picture disappeared about 1975. Another story says that " B i g William" came back home from the Civil War and cleared up some land o n h i s father's farm. Thomas' second wife, Mary Davis McConnell, eviden ta l ly would not let him farm it so he packed up his familyand went abou t 3 0 m iles south, down the Robinette Valley of Scott County and into Ha nc oc k County, Tennessee, settling on some land at War Gap. His old log h o m e is still in good shape and is located below his cemetery on Clinch M o u ntain. The story goes on about "Big William", when he was near 80 yea r s o ld he was rumored to have been caused to be mixed up in the Penteco s t al religion by his son, Stephen Lincoln Price McConnell. "Big Willia m " h ad a full white beard and he was last seen by his son Henry. Henry l e f t "Big William" sitting on the porch sharpening a butcher knife on a w h i trock. When Henry returned to him, "Big William' had cut his throat w i t h the butcher knife. A McConnell book was written by Eugene "Wildhors e " M cConnell about 1984-85, in which he told the story of"Big William". H e e n ded it by saying, "He is buried on a bench of the Clinch Mountain i n a g r ave marked only with a field stone. Some could have ordered a ma rker f o r him since he was a Confederate veteran." Wayne G. McConnell, G ate C i ty, VA wrote: "I wondered why he had not or dered one for him, t hen w e nt ahead and ordered it along with 15 other McConnell Tombstones. T h e n when we had abig McConnell Reunion in 1993, I met Jeff C. McConnell , a s o n of Charlie McConnell and Mollie Bellamy. Charlie and Patton wer e Wi l liam's two sons born to him and Martha Wampler. When I told Jeff a bo u t having the tombstone but I didn'tknow where "Big William" was buri e d , he said he and his brother Aaron McConnell also of Spartanburg, S. C . w o uld let me know when they would be up to help carry it onto the mou nt a in." Wayne gave this account: "June 8, 1994, Jeff McConnell age 76 , A a ron McConnell age 78, N. B. McConnell age 65, Marshall Toney age47, a n d W ayne McConnell age 57, cut a path into "Big" William McConnell's gr a v eyard on top of a point in Clinch Mountain, War Gap, Hancock County, T N . W e then walked the 800 plus yards back to the old homestead, picked u p a 1 5 0+ pound marble tombstone and took it to the grave of "Big" Willi am a n d erected the stone for him. The stone reads PVT William G. McCon nel l , 48 Mtd Inf CSA, 1838-1916. The death date should have been 1918. I t l i ked to have killed us all but we got the job done and we did get t h e w hite marble tombstone put up over "Big William's" grave where it sh o u ld stand, there in the woods, for another century. Some of the famil y m a ke pilgrimages up to the tombstone every year, just to show the you ng e r ones where it is. "Big William" and both wives are buried there, a l o ng with three of Charlie's children who died before he moved the fami l y t o Spartanburg, SC. His daughter, Margaret McConnell Allen, who was J o h n Allen's wife is also buried there in the "Big William" cemetery." 1 8 7 0 Census - Hancock County, TN, P. O. War Gap, District 3, pg. 5, Shee t 1 5 8, enumerated June 20, 1870. 1880 Census - Hancock County, TN
Events
| Birth | 27 Mar 1837 | Scott, Virginia, United States | | | |
| Marriage | 2 Sep 1856 | Scott, Virginia, United States - Mary Kilgore | | | |
| Marriage | 26 Feb 1885 | Scott, Virginia, United States - Martha Wampler | | | |
| Death | 1918 | Hancock, Tennessee, United States | | | |
Families