Chapter Eleven

Jan. 5, 1939

Weldon Toney was the son of Webb Toney. His mother was Lydia Hollifield before her marriage. He was a very bright and energetic young man, and completed a fair common school education. He taught school for a few years, or rather a few months each year, receiving about $20 a month for his work. When he was a bout 23 years of age he met Miss Loula Bailey of Marshville, N. C. who was visiting Miss Delia Biggerstaff. Miss Bailey was a very intelligent young lady and very beautiful. So this young man became very much in love with her, and after some months he persuaded her to become his wife. They were married and settled down on the farm, but this did not suit him and he accepted a position with the Singer Sewing Machine Co. as salesman. His work as a salesman was so satisfactory that the machine company promoted him to district manager in a few years and sent him to Salisbury, where he made his headquarters

He always walked with a stick and stayed at home most all the time.His management of this store and district was very successful, so the machine company would not let him remain there, sending him to Columbia, S. C., instead to a larger store and a bigger territory. After managing this store for a few years he was promoted to superintendent for the Singer Sewing Machine Co. for the state of South Carolina, which position he held until his death. He died about fourteen years ago at the age of about 47 years. His wife is still living in Columbia, S. C. They reared a family of two daughters and one son.

J. Weldon Toney rose from a poor boy who walked three an four miles to what was called an old fields school to be superintendent of a great corporation.

Pleasant Fortune lived on Roberson’s Creek just across the creek from Uncle Abe Hollifield, and owned a good farm with about thirty acres of creek bottom which produced good crops.

Mr. Fortune married Miss Patsy Suttle and they reared a family of eight sons and four daughter, as follows: Dock, Joe, Mary, Tom, Dan, Dob, Loula, Bill, Docia, Georgia, Hubert and Lon. There are only four of this family now living. Mr. Fortune was wounded during the, civil war and was never able to do much work afterwards but he had a bunch of boys that kept the work going. He always walked with a stick and stayed at home most all the time. He was a great fellow to play checkers and when he would beat the other fellow it would please him so well he would laugh and tease the fellow a great deal, but if he was getting heat he would not have much to say, but would move a man and hold his fingers on it, move it and then move it again, saying, “That won’t do.”

Mr. Fortune was a member of the Mt. Lebanon Baptist church. Some years before his death he moved to Forest City where he died about 30 years ago. He was a good man and a Christian gentleman.

Mrs. Fortune was a very industrious woman and was always doing something. She was a devoted Christian woman and during “big” meetings would always take an active part, and when penitents were called she would go through the congregation pleading with the sinner to go up for prayer, and very often she would get down on her knees by some person and pray for them.