Aunt Becky worked hard all her life

By Thomas M. Parsons

She never married. Legend says it was because her father squelched an early relationship with a suitor and she vowed to get even by never marrying. She herself always claimed she simply had no time for marriage.

She was born in Tennessee on December 7, 1844, the second child of John P. and Elizabeth Cable. When she was 28, she moved with her parents to the tiny mountain community that would be her home until her death 72 years later.

Her ancestry could be traced back to Germany from which her great grandfather, Kaspar Goebel (later changed to Casper Cable), emigrated before 1780. But the family members she knew mostly made their homes in the southeastern United States.

Life was extremely difficult in the valley where Rebecca Ann Cable lived. Surrounded by natural beauty that was stunning, the Cables had no conveniences. Everything they had they produced themselves.

Becky's father had built a lumber mill in the valley, and it helped provide for the needs of the family. When Becky grew up, she took advantage of an opportunity to make her life and the lives of her neighbors, just a little bit easier.

She and her brother Dan purchased a building in the valley that had been built to house a store on the ground floor and a residence on the second floor, an arrangement common in Europe that was often duplicated in early American communities. Becky lived in the upper level, raising Dan's children for a time when he and his wife became too ill to care for them. On the ground floor was Becky's store.

Goods sold in the store were purchased from the nearest larger community several miles away and brought into the valley in oxen-drawn wagons. Other goods, especially food items, were grown locally in the valley.

The store became known as Aunt Becky's store, and the spinster who ran it was beloved by all in the community. She did not see the store as a commercial venture the purpose of which was to make her wealthy. She saw it as an opportunity to provide for her own needs and serve her friends and neighbors. The bottom line for Aunt Becky was not profit but people.

Aunt Becky was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church in the community, and the evidence suggests she was a faithful believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Her hard work done for the benefit of others is one of several indications of her Christian faith.

When she was in her late eighties, still running her store and still doing good things for others, Aunt Becky became ill. During her illness she claimed she saw a vision of Jesus standing on the other side of the creek motioning for her to come to Him. When she started walking toward the vision, it suddenly disappeared. "I guess Jesus wasn't ready for me to come to him just yet," she commented.

She soon recovered from the illness and returned to her store. But things were changing in the valley. The population had declined. Modern times had come, as it was now in the late 1930's. Many had left the severe hardships of the valley for a better life in nearby cities which were growing and offering jobs. And then there was the government.

The valley in which Becky lived and operated her store was named Cades Cove. The United States government had purchased all of the land in the Cove and surrounding areas to create the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Aunt Becky was allowed to live on her property, which she did until her death on December 19, 1940, just twelve days after her 96th birthday.

Today, a replica of Aunt Becky's store still stands in Cades Cove and receives millions of visitors annually. Becky's grave can be seen at the cemetery at the Primitive Baptist Church in the Cove. Aunt Becky is part of the ancestry of my wife, Linda Hubble Parsons.

Becky's father, John P. Cable, was the son of Daniel Cable, who came to the Cove with his brother Peter before 1830. Peter built dikes and dames in an area of the Cove known for its frequent flooding. His work turned the wetland into farm land.

Daniel and Peter's father was the German immigrant, Casper Cable. The first child of Casper and Elizabeth Baker Cable was also named Elizabeth (1785-1859). She was the oldest sister of Peter and Daniel and the other seven Cable children. She was also my wife's grandmother seven generations back. Elizabeth's descendents included Helen Pearl Hagaman, my wife's father's mother.

Linda and I have visited Cades Cove several times, as long ago as the early 1970's and as late as 2007. In the summer of 2007, we entered Aunt Becky's store and explored the Cove she loved. At the time we were not aware of Linda's family relationship to the Cables.

This is one of the joys of exploring one's ancestry. Every once in a while one stumbles on a distant relative who is well-known outside family histories. Here is an ancestor of my wife who never married, who loved people, who served her community and then went home to be with her Lord, her life totally unknown outside of a small cove in the Appalachian mountains of southeastern United States. And now she is well-known and part not only of the history of my wife's family, but the history of a beautiful and rugged valley was unknown like its resident, but now known to the world.