| Notes |
- Old Times New Treasures, Weekend Edition, November 24/25, 2007
Melinda?s Ferry cost a nickel
In the mid-1800s, a man named Melvin Melinda settled in the area southwest of Rogersville and bought up both sides of Holston River.
Not much is known about Melvin Melinda other than he married a woman from Boston, Mass., and the couple adopted a daughter, Mary Elizabeth Bassett. Mary Elizabeth had been born to Benjamin Bassett and Elnora Bigelow on May 10, 1857 in Deerfield, Mass. Within five years, Mary Elizabeth?s father had disappeared and her grandfather had died, leaving Elnora with five children to raise. It?s not clear whether Elnora or another Bostonian ended up marrying Melvin Melinda, but this much is known: Mary Elizabeth later married Jacob Heck of Rogersville in 1973 and Melvin Melinda raced racehorses on a riverbottom farm next to the Holston and he owned and operated Melinda?s Ferry.
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Bassett Family Association Database
1856 - 1944 (88 years)