| Sources |
- [S9] Smoky Mountain Historical Society Newsletter, Smoky Mountain Historical Society, Vol. XXVI, Issue 1, page 56-57, 2000.
- [S142] Newspaper Article, The Newport Plain Talk, 15 Dec 1999.
When the sun rises over the mountains on New Year?s Day, Nancy Edna Proffitt will begin her third century of living.
Incredible as it may seem, Proffitt, who was born in 1899, has been alive through the passage of 100 years that will span three centuries.
She was born on December 16, 1899, in the Jones Cove community of Sevier County to Joe and Mary Ann Rolen. She spent her first 60 years in the cove.
She said one of her earliest memories is that of her father?s death when she was only five.
"He called all his children to his bedside and told us to be good and mind our Mommie," she said.
She laughingly says she went to school when just a toddler.
"Everyone who they could stick on a bench went to school. You went to school as soon as possible, almost as soon as you could walk.
"We had a good school," she said referring to the one-room, one-teacher Stinnett School.
"We carried lunch to school in an old lard bucket. We usually had a baked sweet potato and boiled corn, or maybe a biscuit, to eat.
"I met my husband, Arlie, at school. He was four years older than me. We went to Sunday School together and I guess you could say if we did any courting it was there," Proffitt said.
"I was 15 when we got married. We were married at my house by a squire. I guess there were only about three or four people there. We didn?t have a honeymoon -- just the trip from my house to his," she laughed.
They raised a family of one daughter and four sons -- Ima Kate Williams, Joe C. Proffitt, Denzil Proffitt, Roy M. Proffitt, and the late Charles Proffitt. She has 17 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren, and 14 great-great-grandchildren.
The Proffitts raised their children on their 100-acre farm and remained there until Arlie?s death in 1962.
Proffitt credits her husband as having the most inžuence in her life. She said though she was raised poor and worked hard, she would not change anything about her life if she had the opportunity. She credits her long life to her faith in God and striving to be good to everyone.
Proffitt comes from sturdy stock. She and her husband taught their children, she said, the importance of faith in God, loving one another, and "just keeping on going on no matter what."
Her faith in God is strong and her family believes that one chapter of the Bible could have been written about her. Proverbs 31 asks who can Žnd a virtuous woman, for her price is far above rubies.
"Mamaw is a jewel. No one could have had a better mother-in-law than I do," said Wilma ProfŽtt, who is the wife of Joe Proffitt.
While her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren have scattered to the four winds, Proffitt's children remain nearby.
Proffitt lives alone and still "do for myself. I just go about my business," she said.
Until just a few years ago, she cooked a big "country-style dinner for them after church each Sunday morning.
She has never seen the ocean. The farthest from Cocke County she has been is Ohio. She thinks this is the best place to be.
She remembers riding a horse or mule to get from one place to the other if she was lucky. Walking was the main mode of transportation when she was growing up in the cove.
She has seen man fly in airplanes and walk on the moon. She has lived through two world wars, Korea, and Vietnam and watched relatives go off to fight on foreign soil.
Her eyesight may have dimmed, but their twinkle remains bright. Her smile comes easily and often, and her sense of humor is always present. She may ask people to speak up so she can hear them, but, according to her children, "her mind is still as sharp as a tack."
Most of the Proffitt clan gathered on Sunday afternoon at the Smoky Mountain Home Health and Hospice meeting room to help her celebrate this special birthday.
The matriarch of the Proffitt clan said on Sunday that she is looking forward to seeing what the year 2000 will bring. She hopes for peace, health, and happiness for herself, her family, and her friends.
- [S112] Census, 1930.
Name: Edna Proffitt
Titles and Terms:
Event Type: Census
Event Year: 1930
Event Place: District 01, Sevier, Tennessee, United States
District: 0001
Gender: Female
Age: 30
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Race (Original): White
Relationship to Head of Household: Wife
Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Wife
Birth Year (Estimated): 1900
Birthplace: Tennessee
Immigration Year:
Father's Birthplace: Tennessee
Mother's Birthplace: Tennessee
Sheet Number and Letter: 11A
Household ID: 202
Line Number: 5
Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Affiliate Publication Number: T626
Affiliate Film Number: 2271
GS Film number: 2342005
Digital Folder Number: 004547919
Image Number: 00585
Household Gender Age Birthplace
Head Arlie Proffitt M 36 Tennessee
Wife Edna Proffitt F 30 Tennessee
Son Charles Proffitt M 13 Tennessee
Son Craton Proffitt M 9 Tennessee
Son Denzil Proffitt M 7 Tennessee
Daughter Ima C Proffitt F 5 Tennessee
Son Milton Proffitt M 1 Tennessee
- [S4] Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee), 10 Jan 2001.
PROFFITT, EDNA - age 101, of Newport, passed away Tuesday, May 8, 2001, at her home. She was preceded in death by her husband, David Arlie Proffitt, and son, Charles B. Proffitt. She was the oldest member of New Salem Baptist Church.
She is survived by her daughter, Ima Kate Williams of Newport; sons, Joe C. Proffitt of Newport, Denzel Proffitt of Sevierville, and Roy M. Proffitt of Kodak, Tenn.; 17 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren, 18 great-great grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. Funeral service will be held 8 p.m. Thursday at Manes Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Ray Swann, Rev. Andy Ball and Benny Proffitt officiating, with burial 11 a.m. Friday at Proffitt Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, prior to the funeral at Manes Funeral Home.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 8 May 2001.
Edna Proffitt, age 101, of Newport, passed away May 8, 2001, at her home.
She was preceded in death by her husband, David Arlie Proffitt, and son, Charles B. Proffitt.
She was the oldest member of New Salem Baptist Church.
She is survived by her daughter, Ima Kate Williams, of Newport; sons, Joe C. Proffitt, of Newport, Denzel Proffitt, of Sevierville, and Roy M. Proffitt, of Kodak, TN; 17 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren, 18 great-great-grandchildren; also several nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be held 8 p.m., Thursday, at Manes Funeral Home Chapel, with Rev. Ray Swann, Andy Ball and Benny Proffitt officiating, with burial 11 a.m., Friday, at Proffitt Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m., Thursday, prior to the funeral at Manes Funeral Home.
Manes Funeral Home in charge.
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 12 May 2001.
Edna Proffitt, 101, of Newport, died May 8, 2001 at her home. She was preceded in death by her husband, David Arlic Proffitt; and son, Charles B. Proffitt. She was the oldest member of New Salem Baptist church. She is survived by her daughter, Ima Kate Williams of Newport; sons, Joe C. Proffitt of Newport, Denzel Proffitt of Sevierville and Roy M. Proffitt of Kodak; 17 grandchildren; 33 great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. The funeral was Thursday at Manes Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Ray Swann the Rev. Andy Ball and Benny Proffitt officiating. Burial is 11 a.m. Friday at Proffitt Cemetery. Manes Funeral Home in charge.
- [S34] In the Shadow of the Smokies, Smoky Mountain Historical Society, (1993), 497.
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