Casstevens, Frances H. 1936-

views updated

Casstevens, Frances H. 1936-
(Frances Harding Casstevens)

PERSONAL:

Born September 9, 1936, in Winston-Salem, NC; daughter of F.D.B. (an attorney) and Laura (a nurse; maiden name, Bowman) Harding; married Gerald R. Casstevens (a musician), January 4, 1954 (deceased); children: Danny, Caren, Michael, Tony, Kay Casstevens Campbell, Tim (deceased).Ethnicity: "White." Education: Attended Surry Community College; University of North Carolina at Greensboro, B.A., 1976, M.A., 1981. Politics:Republican. Religion: Methodist. Hobbies and other interests: Genealogy.

ADDRESSES:

Home—313 Chestnut St., Yadkinville, NC 27055.E-mail—fcasstev@yadtel.net.

CAREER:

Writer and educator. Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, research assistant in neurosurgery at Bowman Gray School of Medicine, 1977-2001. Yadkin County Country Store, proprietor; Richmond Hill, volunteer docent.

MEMBER:

Yadkin County Historical Society (past president).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Willie Parker Peace Award, North Carolina Society of Historians, 1998, 2003.

WRITINGS:

The Descendants of Solomon Lineberry, Hunter Publishing (Winston-Salem, NC), 1965.

(With William Clinton Casstevens)Descendants of Thomas Casteven: A Genealogical History, Hunter Publishing (Winston-Salem, NC), 1977.

(Editor and contributor) The Heritage of Yadkin County, North Carolina, Hunter Publishing (Winston-Salem, NC), 1981.

(With William Casstevens) Daniel Boone on the Yadkin (play), performed in Yadkin County, NC, by Yadkin Players, 1985.

Yadkin County: The First One Hundred Years,Arcadia Publishing (Dover, NH), 1996.

The Civil War and Yadkin County, North Carolina, McFarland (Jefferson, NC), 1997.Clingman's Brigade in the Confederacy, 1862-1865,McFarland (Jefferson, NC), 2002.

Edward A. Wild and the African Brigade in the Civil War, McFarland (Jefferson, NC), 2003.

George W. Alexander and Castle Thunder: A Confederate Prison and Its Commandant, McFarland (Jefferson, NC), 2004.

Out of the Jaws of Hell, McFarland (Jefferson, NC), 2005.

Ghosts and Their Haunts: Legends and Lore of the Yadkin River Valley, Parkway Publishers (Boone, NC), 2005.

Contributor of articles and poetry to local periodicals.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Three novels; research on the Harding family history.

SIDELIGHTS:

Frances H. Casstevens told CA: "My primary motivation for writing is to make history come alive for others. Through my writing, I hope to share my love of history, to educate the public about the past, and to encourage people to preserve that history and pass that knowledge along to future generations. I began by collecting my family history 61 and genealogy. Then I began collecting and writing local history. This led to research about various generals who have been overlooked or forgotten by modern-day historians.

"I am indebted to some very fine history professors— Conrad Holcomb, James Albert Hutchens, and William Sanders—at Surry Community College. Without the basis their wonderful classes provided, I could never have obtained my degrees later at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

"My writing process begins with a basic outline, which I fill in with facts collected from many sources. I enjoy research, and access to the Internet has allowed me access to information previously unavailable. I try to use as many primary sources as possible, and to document those sources correctly so that others may refer to them.

"I have been interested in history, especially the history of the Civil War, since I read Margaret Mitchell's bookGone with the Wind when I was twelve years old. In addition, my family has always been interested in history and genealogy and has passed down to me family letters and other artifacts from the mid-1800s. I was influenced by the stories told by my grandmother, who always wanted to write but never had the chance. My subjects include Brigadier General Edward A. Wild, originally a doctor from Brookline, Massachusetts, who served in the Crimean War before joining the Union troops. After his arm had to be amputated, he was placed in charge of recruiting and training blacks as Union soldiers. Wild was a little-known, but fascinating and unique individual, who was scorned by North and South alike. George W. Alexander sailed with Commodore Perry on his expedition to Japan in the 1850s. Another unique individual, Alexander's career ranged from engineer on a U.S. steam sidewheeler to pirate for the Confederacy, from prisoner to prison commandant, and from a wanted fugitive to a Washington newspaper editor."