Legendary Folks With Connections to Floyd Co., VA

Robley Dunglison Evans

18 August 1846 – 3 January 1912

Born in Floyd County, Virginia, was a rear admiral in the United States Navy, who served from the American Civil War to the Spanish–American War. In 1907–1908, he commanded the Great White Fleet on its worldwide cruise from the Atlantic Ocean through the Straits of Magellan to the Pacific Ocean.

Posey Green Lester

March 12, 1850-February 9, 1929

Born near the town of Floyd, Virginia, Lester attended the common schools and the Jacksonville graded school at Floyd. He engaged in teaching in Floyd County, Virginia. Ordained a minister in the primitive or old-school Baptist Church in 1876. He became associate editor of Zion's Landmark, a church paper published at Wilson, North Carolina, in 1883, and editor in chief in 1920.

Lester was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-first and Fifty-second Congresses (March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1893). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1892. He resumed his ministerial duties in Floyd, until 1921, when he moved to Roanoke, Virginia, and served as pastor of the Primitive Baptist Church until his death in that city on February 9, 1929. He was interred in Evergreen Cemetery.

NASCAR Legends from Floyd County

“A lot of the newer breed of drivers have never heard of the many old timers who were the fathers and grandfathers of this great sport. So many were and are from Floyd Co.” by Ralph “Wayne” Hawley, deceased

Turner DeHart

by Ralph “Wayne” Hawley, deceased

“Another that comes to mind was a driver by the name of Turner DeHart. Turner really fit the good ole boy image. A wild man both on and off the track. He was and is a businessman. Although his years in racing are far removed, he was one that all the older drivers remember well. He one time won eleven races in a row and did it with ease. His smooth driving and knack for taking chances became well known. Bruce Sweeney, another of the early greats once told me that Turner could put a car through a keyhole and not hit the sides. When he saw an opening, he went for it.

Like so many of us ole boys, he is getting up in years and lives on rental property and a little farming. Back in the day he owned a lot of trucks and worked them in W. Va. hauling coal, and maybe some of the "Mountain Fruits" of Floyd Co. Turner was not too well educated but had the business sense of the best. He could smell a lawman a mile away and maybe that is why he was never caught in his "sideline" business.
Oh the stories this man could tell of his wilder days would fill a book ten times over. He is in my eyes a true hero of early racing in the old bullrings as well as a lot of other trades.”

Major Lee Sweeney, Sr

by Ralph “Wayne” Hawley, deceased

Occupation Auto Mechanic
Born April 4, 1902 in Virginia
Died April 16, 1993  in Salem, Virginia
Married  in 1924 to Margaret Marie Powell  born October 12, 1906 in Draper, North Carolina

Father: Elkannah K. "Cain" Sweeney born December 25, 1859 in Floyd County, Virginia: Died July 13, 1932 in Floyd County, Virginia

Mother: Ida Lelia Yates born March 20, 1880 in Floyd County, Virginia Died November 10, 1970 in Floyd County, Virginia

Obit: Roanoke Times, Apr 17, 1993. SWEENEY, Major Lee Sr., 91, of Floyd, passed away Friday, April 16, 1993, in a Salem hospital. He was preceded in death by a son, Thomas W. Sweeney. He is survived by his wife, Margaret Powell Sweeney of Floyd; six sons, M. L. Sweeney Jr., W. Bruce Sweeney, both of Floyd, Max E. Sweeney of Roanoke, Jack Sweeney of Christiansburg, W. Barry Sweeney of Floyd, and S. Douglas Sweeney of Troutville; two daughters, Daphine Sowers of Floyd, and Cindy Eanes of Ridgeway, Va.; two sisters, Daisy Sweeney

Not as well-known as maybe Curtis Turner, the Sweeney family goes back to the "rough neck" days of racing the old bullrings that were all over in the 50's and 60's. Mr. Major Sweeney was the guru of the flathead engines. I spent many hours with him years ago listening to his stories of building motors for racing as well as other uses. Mr. Major as we all called him told of building motors for folks that he never saw. They would call and tell him to build a motor and then tell him what tree or what stump to put it behind and the money was always there. He would drop off the motor and drive off never knowing who he had built the motor for.
All his sons were great mechanics also. Bruce was at one time as good a driver that ever came down the pike. I remember seeing him run at the old Floyd Co. Speedway as well as Starkey and other tracks. He had nerves of steel and wasn't afraid to trade paint with the best of them. He raced against Glenn Wood, owner of the famous Wood Bros. race team from just down the road in Patrick Co. Bruce had so many different drivers in his cars over the years that I could not name them all. Names like Harry Gant was just one of many.
Barry was and is the engine man now in the family, building motors for his son Jamie as well as a lot of other drivers . Big name builders have told me that Barry could build with the best of them. Tim Richmond was counted as was of his closest friends as well as Darrell Waltrip and many others. Like I said in the beginning, their name was not as big as Curtis Turner but in all respects, they were as good as he was, and Jamie still carries the family banner each week at Shelor Motor Mile Speedway in Radford.

Curtis Morton Turner

Born April 12, 1924 in Floyd County, Virginia
The Son of Morton and Minnie Turner
Died October 4, 1970 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
in an airplane crash

by Wayne Hawley

Call Him wild, crazy, businessman or the greatest driver ever and you would be right on all of them. This man was and is a true legend. Called the greatest driver ever by the late Bill France he never knew fear. In a career where he won 356 races of all types, he had to be good. He drove stock cars, convertibles and even an Indy car one time.  He was good in all.   He won 17 Winston Cup races, and 38 convertibles races. He ran and won the famous Pikes Peak climb. No one else has even come close to doing what he did. He is now in three halls of fame, The Hall Of Legends in Calif, The National Motorsports Hall of Fame in Darlington SC and of course The International Motorsports Hall of fame In Talladega.
Curtis could always find trouble also. He was suspended from NASCAR by his old friend and racing buddy, Bill France on 1961 for trying to get a drivers union. He felt the drivers should get more of the gate money and was willing to lay it on the line to get it. He also wanted life insurance for the drivers. It was the time while he was suspended that he won the Pikes Peak deal and also drove an Indy car built by Smokey Yunick. After Bill France heard that Curtis was working on starting his own racing circuit that he was allowed back into NASCAR. He had a rough start getting the respect of the news folk who were saying he was too old. He crashed out in his first two races back and broke some ribs. He was being called Pops Turner because of his age but it never bothered him. Then the Woods Bros. of Stuart Va. put Curtis in one of their fast Fords.
His first race in that car was the first race ever run at Rockingham. He was down two laps at one time but made it up. His broken ribs came through his skin and he was in terrible pain but in the end he won the first ever race at Rockingham. The next two behind him, Cale Yarborough and Richard Petty. Good company for a man that had done it all.
He did this at the unheard age of 41. In the old days, drivers usually quit by at least their mid-30's or before.
Curtis died doing something else he loved, flying. No one will ever know for sure what happened, but I heard Curtis tell a bunch of his buddies one time he "lived fast, loved hard, and wanted to die young". Like everything else in his life, he got his way.

Blind Alfred Reed

June 15, 1880 – January 17, 1956

Blind Alfred Reed was an American folk, country, and old-time musician and singer-songwriter. He was one of the artists who recorded at the Bristol Sessions in 1927, alongside more famous names such as Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family. He played the fiddle along with his son Arville, who played the guitar. He is perhaps most well-known for the songs "The Wreck of the Virginian" and "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?", the latter of which has been covered many times, including versions by Bruce Springsteen, Ry Cooder, and the New Lost City Ramblers.

Alfred was born completely blind, in Floyd County, Virginia, being the second blind child born to Riley & Charlotte (Akers) Reed.  He was raised in a very conservative family, the son of a farm laborer, and he acquired a violin at a young age. Later, he began performing at county fairs, in country schoolhouses, for political rallies, and in churches. He even played on street corners for tips. He used to sell out printed copies of his compositions for ten cents each. This is about all the information that can be gathered from him in his early life, as most of the events during this time were not written down nor talked about much in his later years.

(src: Wikipedia)

Ruby Thema Altizer Roberts

April 22, 1907 – May 24, 2004

Roberts was born in Alum Ridge, Virginia in 1907, d/o William Waddie & Mandana A. (Dana) Altizer. When she was still a child her family moved to Cambria, Virginia, where she spent most of the rest of her life. She was married to highway contractor Laurence Luther Roberts from 1927 until his death in 1966; the couple had one daughter, Heidi.

Ruby Altizer Roberts is the author of two collections of poetry, three memoirs, a children’s book, and a genealogy. She was named Virginia’s first female poet laureate in 1950 and, until 1994, was the only woman to have held the post. In addition, Roberts edited the poetry journal The Lyric from 1952 until 1977. In 1961 she received an honorary doctor of humanities degree from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, and in 1992, the General Assembly designated her Poet Laureate Emerita of Virginia.

Valentine Marion Sowder

October 5, 1866 – August 18, 1956

Valentine Marion Sowder, b. Copper Hill, Floyd Co., VA, s/o William & Mary Ann (Thrash) Sowder. He was married to Susan Adelaide "Sue" Edwards, d/o Floyd W. & Harriet E. Edwards also of Floyd.

Valentine was an American Republican politician who served as a member of the Virginia Senate from the 26^th District (1912-1916) and House of Delegates from Floyd Co., VA (1891-1893).