"The Long Way Home" part 3

Pheobe had been restless all night but finally, dawn had come and she could smell the coffee in the lodge. As soon as Nancy and William got up, cleaned and ready, they would head about a block over to visit with Mr. Woodfin and get the ball rolling.

After they met with Mr. Woodfin, esq., he was ready to file her claim based on a contingency fee. She was pleased with that because this would likely be a long process and with the Jordans having the presumptive rights to the estate, for now, she thought, the proceeds from the estate would be theirs to utilize. They would go back tomorrow and see how a draft of the claim was going. For now, she would just enjoy the remainder of this beautiful fall day with Nancy and William.

Again she was very excited to have the process going. She would travel in a couple of days to see her friends that were close by. For now, in addition to enjoying her family, Mr. Woodfin asked them to think of witnesses to her marriage and the other facts upon which her claim was based. It had been a very long time and the chore was to find folks that were old enough to recall those days and that were still alive. After all, it had been 45 or so years ago. As she discussed it with Nancy and William, Nancy seemed like one of the obvious choices, maybe Reuben's nephew and legally still her nephew by marriage who had moved to McMinn County could be deposed. He and Phoebe's children had often enjoyed visiting and playing on the Buncombe County plantation when they were children. Reuben Casada was a little older than Nancy but they were close enough in age to play as children can sometimes do.

It did not take long to realize that just the travel for the depositions was going to be expensive. Mr. Woodfin had stated that he believed that the courts would pull the funds from Reuben's estate to fund that travel. They agreed that William would be the plaintiffs' representative at the depositions. Who else would might know the details of she and Reuben Johnson's marriage? Some of her very old friends and acquaintances from Pendleton, South Carolina would recall she and Reuben living together with the two children before his mother enticed them to move back to Buncombe County. However, the witnesses who mostly just remembered her second stint in Pendleton might not have a favorable recollection. Mrs. Orr would be helpful. She had always been very kind to them.

Her mind began to race again, thinking about how that Sallie Jordan's side would react to all of this and who would they call to prove that she was not only his wife but that he was of sound mind when he wrote that last will.

Hopefully, before she had to head back to Tennessee, she would get to look at the answer of the defendant's lawyer to her claim and his witness list. Again, they had made up their minds that with Phoebe's age and the variety of aches and pains that comes with it from rheumatism to arthritis, she could not travel from state to state for depositions. She had given Mr. Woodfin her Power of Attorney or ability to act as her agent.

Phoebe slept better that night knowing that at least the filing of the complaint would be within the statute of limitations and her claim as well as her children's claim would be heard according to Mr. Woodfin. Again, he could not guarantee anything but lawyers are shrewd. Phoebe could not help but believe that a successful attorney like Mr. Woodfin would take the case on a contingency fee basis if he did not think that the case was very good. He would only get reimbursed by the court for his travel expenses not his time if she and her heirs lost.

She was up early this next morning, well rested, but excited to see what the Mr. Woodfin's law firm had gotten drafted. As the three of them enjoyed breakfast at the lodge. She was looking forward to working on the draft complaint then asking around to see where her closest friends might be located. It could be a little while before the complaint was filed with the court and of course, she wanted to see the final draft.

They made their way through the morning air. The mostly dirt roads along the streets of Hendersonville were dry enough not to be muddy but moist enough to hold down some of the dust. Fall had not been rainy yet. Phoebe felt her energy renewed by this mission and she could just enjoy the small town feel. She had lived in rural areas now for about 45 years other than visits to Athens, Tennessee when she went to visit Nancy. Where she was located in Blount County, Maryville had begun to grow and it was small but a bustling town now.

Phoebe had never meet a stranger and enjoyed conversation about how the country was growing and progressing when she made her way to Maryville. Best that she could tell, the timber business from Walland and Townsend, the leisure business from the Allegany Springs and Calderwood lodges where the wealthy southerners come to get away from the heat on the her side of the Allegany mountains, a large marble quarry in the Louisville, Tennessee area plus good access to trading routes made Maryville the crossroads where many of those goods were exchanged or at least transported.

From Maryville, there were a variety of roads on which you could send and receive goods. The old Federal Road, a toll road, extended from Knoxville, Tennessee to Savannah, Georgia and passed through Maryville. You could also divert up the Unicoi Turnpike and get access to the Piedmont area of the Carolina's. The Federal Road also connected to parts of the old Indian Warpath Road would eventually take you to Cumberland gap and the Great Valley Road or Wagon Road as it was sometimes called. Eventually this route connected to the Old Wilderness road which could still only be traversed by foot or horseback due to it's steepness and a narrow trail. That provided the best path from the northern states via Virginia in to east Tennessee. Lot of new people were flocking into the fertile east Tennessee Valley via these routes and not as large as Knoxville but Maryville was very active as traders and raw goods as mentioned earlier were shipped.

She was relaxed and her mind had wondered pleasantly to the thoughts of home rather than racing anxiously as it had those nights before she could take any action toward her ultimate goal. She was interrupted from her wondering mind when Nancy redirected her. They were now in front of Mr. Woodfin's office and would review his proposed claim. Again, her mood was uplifted as she believed that her long journey was becoming successful.