Timothy Mitchell, shown in a portrait probably taken during the 1890's (from the collection of J.T.W. Mitchell).
Timothy Mitchell, shown in a portrait probably taken during the 1890's (from the collection of J.T.W. Mitchell).
Birth: December 17, 1832, at Bedford County, Virginia.
Parents: Decovid E. Mitchell and Elizabeth Craighead.
Married: Ardelia Jane Wohlford (3/12/1844 – 11/9/1913), daughter of Samuel Wohlford and Elizabeth Nicewander.
Marriage Ceremony: March 4, 1858, at Mechanicsburg, Bland County, Virginia, ceremony performed by B.F. White.
Children: Thirteen — Jerome, Samuel Harvey, Charlie Alfred, Shirley Kinder, Irene Elizabeth, Esca, Daisy, James Taylor, Victoria Burton, Gilbert Morgan, Dora Thorne, Burmontia, and Birdie. (See further details.)
Death: February 20, 1916, at the home of his daughter Daisy Mitchell Burton on Nobusiness Creek, Bland County, Virginia.
Burial Place: Community Cemetery, Mechanicsburg, Bland County, Virginia.
Military Service: First Sergeant, Company F, 8th Virginia Cavalry, CSA.
Places of Residence after the Civil War:
When Timothy E. Mitchell was an infant, he, his mother Elizabeth, and an older brother Berry were kidnapped by Shawnee Indians and were taken across the New River toward the Ohio Valley. One to three weeks elapsed. Berry was given more liberty about camp than his mother and baby brother. Elizabeth got Berry to hide a tomahawk. Elizabeth was strapped down at night under leather straps between two adult males. One night she worked herself loose and signaled for Berry to bring the hatchet. She hit one of the men in the head with the hatchet (results unknown) and escaped. They took a pony and rode to the New River, now swollen at flood stage. Elizabeth rode the pony holding baby Timothy, with Berry holding onto the pony's tail, as the pony swam the river. The Shawnees were in hot pursuit, but stopped at the riverbank while the Mitchells made it across to the other side. (Anecdote told to J.T.W. Mitchell by his grandfather Timothy Mitchell, and later again by his uncle Alfred Mitchell.)
When Timothy was a child and young boy his family lived in Floyd County, Virginia. After the death of Timothy's mother Elizabeth when Timothy was very young, his father Decovid Mitchell married Matilda Wilks (December 1837, in Franklin County, Virginia). When Timothy was about twelve years old, Decovid and Matilda moved west, probably to the Abingdon area. However, when they made camp near Draper on their first night away from their old home, Timothy slipped away and went back. He and his brothers continued to operate the Floyd County farm themselves. Some years later, Decovid and Matilda returned, financially needy, and the boys took care of them there for the rest of their lives — Decovid died in 1857. (Anecdote told to J.T.W. Mitchell by his uncle Alfred Mitchell.)
Prior to the Civil War, Timothy operated a photography studio in Christiansburg, Virginia (see its site). He also set up a portable studio at Christian camp meetings, which he helped to organize. It was at one of these meetings that he met his wife-to-be, Ardelia Jane Wohlford. (Anecdotes told to J.T.W. Mitchell by his aunts Vick Mitchell Mustard and Dora Mitchell Farrior.)
While involved in a camp meeting at the Kimberling campground in Bland County, he was invited to a meal at the adjacent home of Samuel and Elizabeth Wohlford. At that meal he was enthralled with the most wonderful biscuits he had ever eaten and the attractive Ardelia Jane who served them to him, so much so that he proposed marriage to her. The proposal was accepted, and the marriage soon occurred. But when Timothy set up housekeeping with his almost-fourteen-year-old bride, he discovered that she did not know how to make biscuits — those biscuits he had so treasured had been made by Ardelia's mother! (Anecdotes widely known within the Mitchell family.)
Timothy Mitchell was nicknamed “Tugmutton,” possibly because of his habit of stroking his chin while considering a topic. He was widely known as a public debater, and he and his close friend, Civil War compatriot, and business partner J.M. Hoge are said to have invented numerous legal controversies between themselves in order to spice up Bland County's court days. Timothy is remembered to have often teased Hoge with a ditty, “Hogg by name, hog by nature, changed to Hoge by the legislature!”
When asked what or how he was doing, Timothy typically replied, “Simply, Sir, minding my own business!”
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