Lesa Autrey represents her cousin, Niagara Ray Wilson, wife of the famous tracker, Big Tom Wilson. She tells about her life and growing up on the Cane River. Born in 1848, Niagara recounts many tales, including losing some family land to a Sheriff who absconded with funds, seeing her first automobile, and about her husband being part of the search team to find Elisha Mitchell.
Written and Hosted by Dylan Wilson
Performed by Lesa Autrey
Music performed by Nicholas Rash
Edited and Produced by Jules Corriere
Our Mountain Speaks Season One is funded by a grant from the Avery-Mitchell-Yancey Regional Library System.
Special thanks to the Yancey History Association and Millie's Mountain.
Stories for this podcast were inspired from an oral history collection found in The Heritage of the Toe River Valley by Dr. Lloyd Bailey (1994)
Created by Dylan Wilson, Jules Corriere, and Nick Rash
This program was made possible by a grant from the Yancey County Public Library.