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Here is some more interesting history that may cast some light on The missing years of Burhead. Note that Jesse and gang was robbing in Kentucky in and west virginia at times during his missing years, please click on the below link to view:
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If you like this then please subscribe to the There is a nation wide stereotype of appalachian people as ignorant and backward. Nothing could be further from the truth. The people who first settled the Appalachian mountains were pioneers who sought adventure and were not afraid to face new challenges. If one explores the life style of the early settlers they will find them to be innovative, creative and extremely intelligent.
Actually, many who settled in Appalachia were moderately to very well off land holders and small business owners who managed to make a good living. Their children were well educated for the times. Beginning with the first expansion into Appalachia in the late 1700’s until the Civil War era is actually known as the golden age of Appalachia.
When the war came, the Appalachian people throughout the mountain chain, even down into Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia were typically against slavery. This developed for two reasons: The mountain people were fiercely independant scotch-Irish decendents who valued personal freedoms and the terrain did not lend itself to big farming endevors where large amounts of cheap labor were needed.
In contrast, the flat areas of the states were dependent upon just such agriculture. The south was almost totally dependent on the cotton industry. Large plantations and farms needed great amounts of cheap or free labor to survive. Therefore, their economy promoted slavery. Kentucky’s population was one of the most deeply devided on the slavery issue. It was truely the state of brother against brother. In general, the deviding line ran north to south along the western foothills of Appalachia.
After the end of the Civil war, Kentucky was considered to be a “southern” state by the northern controled government because of the slave holding practices of the central and western part of the state. Therefore, it was punished by policies which hindered the distribution of federal funding for education and roads. The Bluegrass area of the state was the political seat and politicians there controlled the distribution of the available funds. Those in control knew the people in eastern Kentucky had supported the abolition of slavery and the union, because of this, funding for roads and schools were completely cut off from the people of the mountains. It was only after this double injustice that the people of southern Appalachia became poor and less educated.
Yet, 40 years after the end of the Civil war my father (who was born in 1903) recieved an eighth grade education and my mother who was born in 1905 recieved a seventh grade education. By todays standards this may seem meager, however, the average person in Appalachia by that time could not read and write or had ony rudimentary primary schooling. While an education was harder to obtain then, the real keys for a child then as now were the aptitude and personality of the child and the commitment and determination of the parent.
My father was a whiz at math and geometry. He was interested in current affairs both locally and nationally. He could read and had neat hand writing.He was excellent at spelling. He was skilled with his hands in wood craft and blacksmithing. He was a carpenter and could compute various angles and designs.He could play the banjo and read music. He taught singing school by shaped notes. His list of accomplishments and skills could fill this page.
My mother was also gifted. Besides raising 10 children with very little conveniences, she could look at a dress in a catalogue and create one just like it without a pattern. She could have been a fashion designer if she chose, instead she sewed clothing for her children, made lovely quilts and other items to beautify our home. She was a better cook than Julia Child and knew how to grow and preserve every kind of food. She was very industrious and intelligent. As a child she has recieved formal training as an organist.
This is just two examples of many who overcame the lack of educational opportunities in Appalachia. After about 1920 the rest of the nation seemed to “re-discover” Appalachia and the mission schools began to appear. Service minded people, usually christians of one brand or the other, began to arrive to educate and save the poor mountain children. Pine mountain Settlement School, Redbird Mission, and Oneida Baptist Institute were a few examples of those institutions.
Many Appalachian children even as late as the 1950’s and 60’s did not go on to get a high school education. All of my brothers quit school after the 8th grade. Many others dropped out of school long before this. However, as these young men began the exodus to the north to find good jobs in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan they were valued workers because of their honesty, intelligence, loyalty and strong work ethics. They all developed good careers and made a good living for their families. While they were not formally educated in a school system they were educated non the less by being brought up in a manner that prepared them for life.
By the mid 1960’s, it was more common for children of Appalachia to complete high school and a few were attending college. Those who dropped out of high school or finished high school but didn’t go to college were still able to go immediately into the work force and be successful because they possessed an inititive and drive for a better life born of a strong Appalachian work ethic . This was to end by the70′ and 80′ due to another “war”.
President Kennedy toured Appalachia as part of his bid for the presidency in 1960. By this time the coal mining industry had began to slump and attention was called to increasing poverty in Appalachia. Johnson became president when Kennedy was assinated. He carried through with declaring a war on poverty. The welfare system was expanded and programs were created with the intent of lifting people all over the nation out of poverty. Sadly, policy makers failed to realize that giving free money and food handouts for an unlimited amount of time would destroy the initive and work ethic of Appalachia and the poorer sections all over the nation. Children grew up in households where nobody worked and everybody was on the “draw”!
We are about to elect a new president. Obama wants to expand the government to take care of everybody who has a problem. I know from personal experience that a welfare state destroys instead of saving. Short term assistance in a disaster or illness, assistence with education and a few other types of assistance at times of need are the humane thing to do and our government should have some of these programs. However, people need to have to work for themselves and accept personal responsibility. We have enough badly ran government programs. We need to have less government interferance and a better economy. That’s why I am for McCain.