William J Caudill and
Martha Ann Whitaker

William J "Miller Bill" Caudill b 27 May 1850 Letcher Co KY d 11 Dec 1924; buried Bill Caudill Cemetery Mouth of Elk Creek, Blackey, Letcher Co KY; s/o William J Caudill and Nancy Dixon. William J "Miller Bill" Caudill m. 8 Aug 1871 to Martha Ann Whitaker b 18 Apr 1854 d 10 Apr 1931 buried Bill Caudill Cemetery, Mouth of Elk Creek, Blackey, Letcher Co KY; d/o Stephen A. Whitaker b Aug 1831 Rockhouse, Floyd (now Letcher) Co KY and Lavina Vina Frazier b 18 Feb 1831. Grains of the field played an important role in the lives of Bill and his father. His father became famous for distilling and young Bill became well-known for his occupation as a miller. Children of William J "Miller Bill" Caudill and Martha Ann Whitaker;

I. Isaac D. "I D" Caudill b 16 May 1872 Letcher Co KY d 9 May 1942 Blackey, Letcher Co KY; buried Bill Caudill Cemetery near the mouth of Elk Creek at Blackey, Letcher Co KY; m. 4 Sept 1897 Letcher Co KY to Minerva Dixon b 12 Feb 1878 d 4 Nov 1956; buried Bill Caudill Cemetery near the mouth of Elk Creek at Blackey, Letcher Co KY.

II. Lavina "Viney" Caudill b 24 Dec 1874 Caudill Branch, Letcher Co KY d 13 Nov 1948 King's Creek, Letcher Co KY; buried Stamper Cemetery, Linefork, Letcher Co KY; m. 1 Apr 1897 Letcher Co KY to Kelly Stamper b 6 Jan 1872 d 10 Jun 1934; buried Stamper Cemetery, Linefork, Letcher Co KY; s/o Hiram Stamper and Susannah Hogg.

III. Richmond B. "R. B." Caudill, b 8 Apr 1877 Rockhouse Creek, Letcher Co KY; d September 15, 1961 Whitesburg, Letcher Co KY; m. 5 Jul 1900 Perry Co KY to (1) Jane Cornett b 27 Mar 1877 d 21 Aug 1944 Blackey, KY. Richmond B "R B" Caudill m. 20 Mar 1946 Mayking, Letcher Co KY to (2) Sarah A. Jane Cornett b about 1882; d 8 Dec 1966.

R. B. was a farmer at Blackey and a well-known Caudill Family Historian, collecting data on the family for many years. Unfortunately, all his effort and valuable ollection was lost to posterity by disposal by one of his heirs who did not realize its value. R. B. was the first postmaster at Blackey, when the post office was established near the mouth of Elk Creek in 1911. The old Indian Bottom name for the community was abandoned when the post office department said it was too long. For many years he operated a feed and grain store in Blackey. He served as Clerk of the old Indian Bottom Church of Old Regular Baptists, at the mouth of Rockhouse Creek, and was an authority on the church history, which was founded in 1810. Also, he was active in the large Letcher County Caudill Reunion for many years. The early issues of the "Mountain Eagle" newspaper are filled with obits written by R. B. He was a charter member and chairman of the Letcher County Soil Conservation District Board.

IV. William J. "Willie" Caudill b 21 Feb 1880 d 21 Dec 1944 Louisville, KY Willie died at the home of his son, Larry Caudill, and is buried in the family cemetery in Blackey, Letcher Co KY. William J. "Willie" Caudill m. Hettie Cornett b about 1880 Perry Co KY; d/o Archibald Cornett and Martha Combs. William J. "Willie" Caudill was a retired contractor and builder; he spent many years in the lumber and building business. He had been an active member of the Doermann Memorial Presbyterian Church at Blackey for many years.

V. Vernon Caudill b about 1882; d about 1884.

VI. Anna M. Caudill b 14 Apr 1884 d 30 Mar 1972 Blackey, Letcher Co KY; buried April 01, 1972, Dixon Cemetery, Carcassonne, Letcher Co KY; m. 23 Mar 1905 Letcher Co KY to Thomas A. Dixon b 6 Nov 1880 d 21 Sept 1975 Blackey, Letcher Co KY; buried September 24, 1975, Dixon Cemetery, Carcassonne, Letcher Co KY; s/o James Dixon and Sarah Stacy. Children of Thomas Dixon and Anna Caudill;

i. Effie Dean Dixon

ii. Elma Dixon

iii. Sophia Dixon; m. Bruce Back b 12 Jun 1909.

iv. Hermie L. Dixon

v. Wilma C. Dixon b 3 Feb 1916 d 7 Apr 1955.

vi. Charles Glenn Dixon; m. Ruby Dorleen Atwell

vii. James Andrew Dixon; m. Faith May.

viii. Taylor Dixon; m. Dorothy Lee Turner.

ix. Martha Dixon

x. Mary Elizabeth Dixon

xi. Thomas A. Dixon, Jr

VII. Elma M. Caudill, (aka Ella) b Nov 1886 Letcher Co KY; d about 1953; m. 8 Oct 1916 Letcher Co KY to James Loggins (aka Logans) b about 1886 TN d about 1944.

VIII. Callie M. Caudill b 5 Feb 1889 Blackey, Letcher Co KY d 14 Jan 1967 Blackey, Letcher Co KY; m. 17 Jun 1904 in the home of James Dixon, Letcher Co KY to (1) William M. Whitaker b 27 Aug 1879 Letcher Co KY d 6 Nov 1919; s/o Isaac J Ike Whitaker b about 1842 Perry Co KY and Nancy Caudill b 1844 Perry Co KY. Children of William M Whitaker and Callie M Caudill;

i. Vina Whitaker b 20 May 1905 Letcher Co KY; m. 2 Jun 1923 to Joseph Oscar Patterson.

ii. Annie Whitaker b 5 Nov 1906 d 18 Nov 1911.

iii. Ruth Whitaker; m. Joseph Back b 13 Dec 1904 d May 1978.

iv. Charlie Haskel Whitaker b 26 Jun 1910 d 28 Jul 1910.

v. James Keller Whitaker b 3 Jun 1911 Letcher Co KY d 14 Oct 2004 Lotts Creek, Knott Co KY; buried 17 Oct 2004 Whitaker (aka Lewis Back) Cemetery, Letcher Co KY; m. to Bertha Lee Slone b 17 May 1910 Pippapass, Knott Co KY d 29 Apr 1999 Lotts Creek, Knott Co KY; d/o Isaac Preston Slone b 12 Mar 1866 Floyd (now Knott) Co KY and Leanor Thornsberry b 5 Mar 1870 Knott Co KY.

vi. Corsie Whitaker; m. Cleo Hale b 5 Aug 1907 Cody, Knott Co KY.

vii. Nancy Scofield Whitaker b 9 Apr 1915 d 5 Sept 1940.

viii. William M. Whitaker, Jr.; m. Hazel Dean Hicks.

Callie M Caudill m. 18 Aug 1921 to (2) James G. Little Jim Back b 29 Dec 1871 d 8 Jun 1941; s/o Henry Back and Mary Sumner. Children of James G Little Jim Back and Callie M. Caudill;

i. John Paul Back b 6 Jul 1922 d 18 Aug 1928.

ii. Walton "Walt" Back.

iii. Isaac D. I.D. Back; m. Ina Rose Hamilton.

IX. James M. Caudill b 25 Dec 1890 d 20 Jul 1955; m. (1) Lina Blair; died Unknown. James M Caudill m. (2) Carolyn Hibbitts. James M Caudill m. 30 Jul 1913 Whitesburg, Letcher Co KY to (3) Mary Branson b 14 Jul 1895 d 23 May 1972.

X. Crittie Caudill, b 16 Dec 1892; m. Leroy "L R" Andrews.

XI. Charles Bowman "C. B." Caudill, b 7 Jan 1896 Rockhouse Creek, Letcher County, KY; d 27 Apr 1966 Whitesburg, Letcher Co KY; m. 10 Jun 1916 Rev FF Sumners home, Letcher Co KY to Tessie Mae Hogg b 16 Nov 1896 Letcher Co KY d 30 Nov 1983; buried Bill Caudill Cemetery Mouth of Elk Creek, Blackey, Letcher Co KY; d/o Green G. Hogg and Polly Adams

Notes for Charles Bowman "C. B." Caudill: After WW I, in partnership with his brother-in-law, Joe Andrews, C. B. operated a drive-in restaurant in Oklahoma. Then he returned to Blackey to operate a general store. His store at Blackey had a long front porch piled high with a large variety of goods from fishing poles to horse collars. This was merchandise that he never locked up. He said people would steal from him, however, most knew that he slept in a private room just inside of the store. C. B. always seemed to know where any article was in the myriad stacks of merchandise. Each article was marked with a price. If anyone began to haggle the price, he would merely take the article back and replace it on the shelf and move on to the next customer.

Children of Charles Caudill and Tessie Hogg;

i. Mariam Gaynell Caudill, (aka Evelyn Gaynell Begley) b about 1917 d 14 May 2008, Letcher Manor Nursing Home, Whitesburg, Letcher Co KY; m. Joe Taylor Begley b 23 Feb 1919 Floyd Co, KY; d 27 Mar 2000 Letcher Co KY; buried March 29, 2000, Caudill Cemetery, Blackey, Letcher Co KY. Children of Joe Taylor Begley and Evelyn Gaynell Caudill;

1. Margaret Jane Begley m. Male Dixon

2. J. T. Begley, Knoxville, TN

3. James Chennault Begley, Lexington;

4. Jody Begley (son of Joe Taylor Begley in a previous marriage?)

ii. Infant Caudill.

iii. Martha Carolyn Caudill; m. (1) David Cheatham. Martha Carolyn Caudill m. (2) Esley Brown.

iv. Charlie Ann Caudill; m. Cramer Mullins; s/o Easter Mullins and Bertha Breeding.

Obituary: Gaynell Begley
Gaynell Begley dies at 91; was storekeeper, leader

Evelyn Gaynell Caudill Begley of Blackey died May 14 2008, at Letcher Manor Nursing Home in Whitesburg, Letcher Co KY. She was 91 years old. A daughter of the late C.B. and Tessie Mae Hogg Caudill, she was the widow of Joe Taylor Begley and the mother of the late Margaret Jane Dixon. Mrs. Begley and her husband, Joe, a Floyd County native, met when both worked at a defense factory in Manchester, Conn., during World War II. When the war ended they returned to Kentucky where she became a teacher.

After the death of her father in 1966, they lived in and ran the C.B. Caudill Store in Blackey, which was established by her father in 1933. From the store the couple became community leaders, fighting against the early abuses of strip mining. The Begleys received the Helen M. Lewis Award for community leadership from the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development in February 1998.

Mrs. Begley is survived by two sons, J.T. Begley, Knoxville, Tenn., and James Chennault Begley, Lexington; a stepson, Jody Begley, Knoxville, Tenn.; a sister, Charles Ann Mullis, Lexington; three grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Graveside services were held May 17 2008 at the Caudill Cemetery at Blackey, Letcher Co KY. Letcher Funeral Home had charge of arrangements.

Obituary: Joe Taylor Begley
23 Feb 1919 - 27 Mar 2000
Source: Floyd County Times
29 Mar 2000

Joe Taylor Begley, age 81, of Blackey, formerly of Floyd Co died Monday, March 27, 2000, at his residence.

A Navy veteran of World War II, Begley helped mount the first organized opposition to strip mining in eastern Kentucky. He helped found the Citizens League to Protect the Surface Rights. A gas company worker in Kentucky and West Virginia for many years, he and his wife returned to Letcher County in the 1960s to run his late father-in-law's store at Blackey, the C.B. Caudill Store, now a museum.

He was born February 23, 1919, and lived in the Maytown area as a young man. He attended Maytown High School. He is survived by his wife, Gaynell Caudill Begley; one daughter, Jane Dixon of Blackey; three sons, J.T and Joe T. Jr,, both of Knoxville, Tennessee, and James C. of Blackey; three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were Tuesday at 7 p.m., at the Letcher Funeral Home in Whitesburg, with Tom Currie officiating. Graveside services will be today (Wednesday) at 11 a.m. at the Caudill Cemetery at Blackey. Memorial contributions may be made to Appalshop, Madison Avenue, Whitesburg.

The following article is from the March 29, 2000, issue of the Mountain Eagle newspaper:

Begley Considered Himself Point Man For His Community

By: Phil Primack

To most folks from Letcher Co the C.B. Caudill Store was the place to go to get some gas, groceries, pipe fitting or other supplies. Included in any transaction was the chance to talk about the weather, family, friends or anything else in the Blackey breeze with storekeepers Gaynell - C.B.'s daughter - and Joe Begley.

To most folks not from Letcher County - touring college students, reporters, federal poverty warriors, foundation funders and community activists - the C.B. Caudill Store was the front - porch stage for Joe Begley to rail against strip mining, oil and gas exploitation or any of the other causes for which tall Joe stood. Gaynell would generally sit on the swinging chair or hold the fort behind the counter, full of her own wisdom but content to defer to Joe's determined outspokenness.

Some people - I'm lucky enough to be one of them - could live in both worlds, able to know Joe Begley as the photogenic, outspoken, looks - like - Lincoln advocate as well as the Blackey guardian and storekeeper who, with Gaynell, was daily proof of all that is so rare and so right about eastern Kentucky.

More than 30 years ago, I was one of those outsiders drawn to Letcher County because of its problems, which were as clear and visible as a strip mine bench or a black lung scarred miner or a school without books. Joe and Gaynell willingly - sometimes wearily - explained such problems to visitors, but they would do so only in the context of local positives. It's too bad so many visitors missed those positive things, which were as apparent as the store's long porch and the genuine bonds of friendship, family and community that quietly played out there every day.

To Joe Begley, and to Gaynell, that sense of community and place was the fuel that drove the outrage.

When I first met Joe, I was a Yankee newcomer, fotched - on, as it were, come to write for the Mountain Eagle. But during that first visit, Joe decided not to switch into his interview mode, enthralling reporters with perfect quotes, perfectly delivered with a fine mix of details and anecdote.

No, on that first real encounter 30 years ago, Joe said hello and then suggested, well, sort of commanded, that I just get in the red jeep with him. He had a Saturday square dance in Carcassonne to get to.

Rather than a tour of strip mines or pipelines, my first jeep ride with Joe was a nighttime drive past Elk Creek and Bull Creek and up the steep, dirt road to Carcassonne which I would eventually grow to enjoy but which at the time seemed little more than one endlessly long blind curve. Joe looked at the road occasionally, but mostly pointed out who lived where, adding color and commentary, at least some of which turned out to be true. At Carcassonne, he made a point of introducing me to Dixons and Caudills and Fugates and others, many of who I still count as friends. Then he was off to the dance floor, happily cajoling and organizing circles within circles.

And that was the point: Joe Begley certainly enjoyed the national soapbox role and the cameras and notebooks, but not for his own notoriety. Joe saw himself as the point man for a cause, and the cause was a culture and community he felt was under corporate, governmental and economic assault.

I lived in the little house behind the store. Joe would of course keep me duly informed of newsworthy developments, but I also remember his boots thudding on the porch early one morning so that he could drag me outside to point out a hawk he had just spotted soaring over the river. To Joe, it was just as important for Mountain Eagle readers to know that a hawk had returned to Letcher County as it was for them to know that yet another delegation was visiting from Washington.

As an Eagle reporter, living in the little house kept me literally in the middle of many of the news stories of the day, from meetings of the Citizens League to Protect Surface Rights, organized by Joe, to more local stories, such as the fire that destroyed Blackey's school. That blaze also burned up the little bit of community fabric that held together Blackey as a viable town. Until the library was built -- and more recently the water and sewer line -- about the only glue left was the C.B. Caudill Store. Joe and Gaynell Begley became not just keepers of a country store, but keepers of a community.

As much a wooden-plank wire service for strip mining and other coalfield developments, the store and its porch became my own center. Driving back just before dawn after delivering the Eagle from the printer, I would see the store just after that last broad curve before Blackey bridge. Sometimes Pascal Dixon was already sitting there in the winter darkness, waiting for his ride to work. We'd talk a little, soon to be joined by Joe or Gaynell as they began their own day. "Be good, buddy," Joe would say as I headed off to Whitesburg, or wherever.

I later moved to Ice, where my new neighbors were Clarence and Sara Ison, who still writes a regular community column for the Eagle. Last year, after visiting Joe in the hospital, I drove Gaynell to visit with Sara and Clarence. I just sat back and listened - as they talked about old times and good ways of life.

For me, this wasn't just nostalgia or some kind of quaint exercise in oral history to observe. This was the kind of connection, the kind of values and positive tradition which make folks like Sara and Clarence so special and which were the core of what drove Joe and Gaynell Begley to stay and persevere.

Countless mountain people, many of whom don't know it, owe a special thanks to Joe Begley for making it possible for them to stop worrying that a bulldozer might suddenly strip the hill above them.

But I'm grateful for something else. I'm glad that Joe chose not to launch into an eloquent and quotable tirade against strip mining that night I met him three decades ago. Being chauffeured by Joe Begley in his red Jeep made me understand what really made this fine man tick. And it made me appreciate once and forever why eastern Kentucky matters.

"Be good, buddy."