Acknowledgments

Many thanks to the Cocke family, who believed in this project and supported it thoroughly.

Thanks, also, to my dad. You gave me a year, Daddy, and thus, you gave me my footing.

Thanks to the people of Greene County, Alabama, and Fluvanna County, Virginia, for sharing their stories, their homes, and their wisdom.

To Jennifer, who not only edits with the best of them but fills my days with just the right amount of snark.

My deep thanks to Philip, for believing, for every minute, in me and my words. I love you.

Most of all, my deep thanks to the descendants of the Creasy, Skipwith, Malone, York, Ragland, and Nicholas families. To look you in the eyes and say, “Here, this is your grandfather,” was my highest honor.