The House Carpenter- Smith Harmon (NC) c.1939; Bronson 63
[From Bronson's TTCB III, 1966; sent to Bronson by Edward Cray, Los Angeles, Ca. Wiley Smith Harmon's father was John Wiley Harmon (1838 - 1926) and his mother, Malinda Cook Harmon (1847- 1927). His grandfather was Goulder Harmon, who I believe was named for Goulder Hicks, Big Sammy Hicks uncle (Goulder and his brother David, Big Sammy's father both lived in Goochland Virginia circa 1720s). Big Sammy's daughter Sabra Hicks, who married Andrew Harmon was the mother of both Goulder and Council Hicks.
To simplify: Goulder was Smith Hicks grandfather and Council was his great-uncle.
Notes from various sources follow.
R. Matteson 2013]
The Harmon family, descendants of Council Harmon (1803-1896) along with the Hicks and Ward families, are well known purveyors of folk tales and ballads in the Beech Mountain area of NC. Smith Harmon of Beech Creek was visited many times by Richard Chase who collected folk tales from him.
The Hicks family which inter-married with the Harmons, was the family my grandfather, Maurice Matteson, collected ballads from in the 1930s. Chase: "Smith Harmon, the postmaster at Beech Creek, told us: 'Old Counce sure did like to have a good time. When he was younger he'd get read out of church ever' now and then. He'd behave for a while, and not make music, or dance, or sing any love songs. . '(which usually mean traditional ballads.)"
Council Harmon [from Blue-Ridge online]
Storyteller and musician
Watauga County, NC
"'Old Counce' was certainly the kind of man about whom unforgettable tales are told," writes historian Betty Smith. "The tales he told have been perpetuated through several different family lines, but the tales about him have lived on as well." Remembered as a warm and fun-loving man, Council Harmon was one of the first residents of the Beech Mountain area to gain a widespread reputation as a great storyteller. In the twentieth century, Ray Hicks would carry on the tradition, and today the storytelling continues with Orville Hicks. The rich Jack Tale tradition of Beech Mountain would be far less fruitful today, perhaps nonexistent, had it not been for Council Harmon.
The Harmons were one of the first families to settle in the Valle Crucis area of what is now Watauga County. They were Germans who came to America in the 1720s. By the end of the 1700s, the Harmons had settled in Northwest North Carolina, and Council Harmon was born around 1807. He learned his stories from his mother, Sabra Hicks (also spelled Hix) Harmon.
Council Harmon worked as a farmer all of his life, living in various areas around Watauga County, including Big Ridge, Beech Creek, Beech Mountain, and Buckeye. He was very popular in the community, particularly among children. Ballad singer and storyteller Jane Hicks Gentry admired Harmon, who was her grandfather, and there are stories of other children in the community sitting on his lap to listen to stories. Betty Smith notes, "In a family with more than its share of memorable characters, Council Harmon is the one most often mentioned."
Harmon was known for loving good music, flatfoot dancing, entertaining children, and being the best in a community full of storytellers. During a time when families knew how to entertain themselves with music, dancing, and games, Council Harmon was a standout. Without this lively character, many of the stories still told today by Orville Hicks, a descendant, would not be around, and the rich traditions of Beech Mountain might not have been as well documented.
"The House Carpenter"- Sung by Smith Harmon, Beech Creek, N.C., c. 1939, Collected by Hilda Kasting and Mrs. Carl Wiseman. Sent to Editor by Edward Cray, Los Angeles, Calif.
1. "We!l met, well met, my own true love,
Well met, well met are we;
I've just returned from the old salt sea,
And 'twas all for the sake of thee.
2. "I once could have married the king's daughter dear,
And she would have married me,
But I refused a crown of gold,
And it was all for the love of thee."
3. "And you could have married the king's daughter dear,
I am sure you are not to blame;
For I am married to a house-carpenter,
And I think he is a nice young man."
4. "If you will forsake your house carpenter,
And go along with me,
I'll take you where the grass grows so green,
On the banks of sweet Relee."
5. She took up her sweet little innocent babe
And gave it kisses three,
Saying, "Stay at home, my sweet little babe,
And keep your papa company."
6. She dressed herself in silk so fine,
Most glorious to behold.
And as she walked down to the sea
She outshone the glittering gold.
7. She had not been on see two weeks,
I'm sure it was not three,
Till she burst our a-weeping.
And she wept most bitterly.
8. "Are you weeping for my silver or my gold?
Are you weeping for my store?
Or are you a-weeping for that sweet little babe,
Which you shall never see anymore?"
9. "I'm not a weeping for your silver nor gold,
Neither for your store,
But I am a-weeping for that sweet little babe,
Which I shall never see anymore."
10. She had not been on the sea three weeks, I think;
I am sure it was not four,
Till there came a leak in her true lover's ship,
And it sank to rise no more.
11. Once around went our gallant ship,
Twice around went she,
Three times around went our gallant ship,
And she sank to the bottom of the sea.
12. Oh, cursed be the sea-going train[1],
And all the sailors' lives,
For the robbing of the house carpenter
And the taking away of his wife.
1. usually "men" perhaps pronounced "main" and mistaken for "train."