Hi Everyone,
I wanted to mention that I am one of Devil John's great grandsons. My father's father was Frank Wampler Sr who was the 18th child sired by John and the first of 12 born to Alice Harmon Wright. My grandfather passed in 1968. His photo is in the book Uncle "Chid" wrote (Devil John Wright of the Cumberlands). I remember traveling to Pound, VA to visit Uncle Chid and Aunt Belle and their family when I was less than 3 years old. I was born in 1955 so I believe it was in the summer of 1958. Uncle Chid gave each one of us a copy of the book when I was a young man. My father Frank Wampler Jr. met "Devil John" when he was a young boy a short time before John passed. My mother and father, Frank and Jean Wright will celebrate their 60th anniversary on
8-31-07. My grandfather was at one time the Plant Manager at the Jefferson Island, LA salt mine near New Iberia, LA.
Several years later my brother was drilling an oil well for Texaco Inc when the lake above the mine they were drilling in collapsed and started flooding the mine. Miraculously no one lost their life. This incident was on national news when Walter Cronkite was the CBS anchor. It was also written about in Reader's Digest and Science Digest. The lake swallowed 2 drilling rigs, 11 barges and numerous small boats and trees before it finally filled the mine. I didn't mean to digress so much. I just thought some of you might be interested in this story that coincidentally had my grandfather and brother linked to this same mine. The story can be pulled up on the net as Jefferson Island disaster.
Hope to hear from someone,
Frank T. Wright