Since February is Black History Month, I though this would be an appropriate time to tell you about some of Laurel County’s Black history.
I ran across an amazing family in Laurel County when I began researching subjects for my podcast this month.
The Yokley family lived in Altamont and East Bernstadt in the early 1900s.
Edward James Yokley, who was born in Tennessee in 1872, was the first member of the family to arrive in Laurel County.
He arrived at Altamont in 1893 looking for work. He was on foot, having walked all the way from Tennessee.
In the late 1880s, both the railroad and coal businesses were thriving in Laurel County, so Ed Yokley easily found work with the railroad soon after he arrived in Laurel County.
While working on the railroad for one dollar a day, he was sent to Jellico, Tennessee, to work on the railroad there.
It was in Jellico that he met young Emma Blye, who was born in 1877 in North Carolina.
The couple were married on December 27, 1899 in Jellico.
The following year, 1900, Edward Yokley returned to Laurel County, bringing his new bride with him, and they settled in the Altamont community at a coal mining camp called “Old Lot,” where he got a job working in the coal mines.
Over the next decade, the couple was blessed with five children, all boys: Clyde, Callous, Orange, Cloyd and Raytha Yokley.
The five Yokley brothers went on to lead very interesting lives, so you'll want to listen to this episode to find out what happened to the family members.
Since February is Black History Month, I though this would be an appropriate time to tell you about some of Laurel County’s Black history.
I ran across an amazing family in Laurel County when I began researching subjects for my podcast this month.
The Yokley family lived in Altamont and East Bernstadt in the early 1900s.
Edward James Yokley, who was born in Tennessee in 1872, was the first member of the family to arrive in Laurel County.
He arrived at Altamont in 1893 looking for work. He was on foot, having walked all the way from Tennessee.
In the late 1880s, both the railroad and coal businesses were thriving in Laurel County, so Ed Yokley easily found work with the railroad soon after he arrived in Laurel County.
While working on the railroad for one dollar a day, he was sent to Jellico, Tennessee, to work on the railroad there.
It was in Jellico that he met young Emma Blye, who was born in 1877 in North Carolina.
The couple were married on December 27, 1899 in Jellico.
The following year, 1900, Edward Yokley returned to Laurel County, bringing his new bride with him, and they settled in the Altamont community at a coal mining camp called “Old Lot,” where he got a job working in the coal mines.
Over the next decade, the couple was blessed with five children, all boys: Clyde, Callous, Orange, Cloyd and Raytha Yokley.
The five Yokley brothers went on to lead very interesting lives, so you'll want to listen to this episode to find out what happened to the family members.