James Joshua “Joshua” Totherow

He was born in Lincoln County, NC, the son of John/Johannes Tetherow/Dettero Totherow/Dettero and Elizabeth Clemmer. The final disposition of his parents is not known although one Find a Grave volunteer has set up memorials for Missouri for the father with “burial details unknown” and then, for the mother, the Clemmer Family Cemetery in Monroe County, TN (According to tngenweb.org the first person buried there was in 1927 though); I have decided to go ahead an link those since the names are correct.
It was said that his mother was one of 5 people who drowned on the Little Tennessee River when the ferry or boat capsized.

Now this is the memorial for Joshua Totherow. His full name was James Joshua Totherow but he went by "Joshua"

His siblings are listed in at least 3 books written about the family; I will try to list the names later. One is The Hoffmans of North Carolina which relied heavily on an earlier book and may have an error in it. One of the earlier and best books was “Our Kin, Being a History of the Hoffman, Rhyne, Costner, Rudisill, Best, Hovis, Hoyle, Wills, Shetley, Jenkins, Holland, Hambright, Gaston, Withers, Cansler, Clemmer and Lineberger Families” That one has a wealth of information. His known siblings are:

From the book, “The Hoffmans of North Carolina, by Max Ellis Hoffman, DDS.; Miller Printing Company, Asheville, NC, 1938, page 127:

“John Totherow, m. Elizabeth Clemmer. Their children:
Isaiah Totherow
Silas Totherow, m. Isabel Rhyne
Eli Totherow, m. Catherine Hope
Elizabeth Totherow, m. John Scott
Ann Totherow, m. John Reasoner
Joel Totherow, m. Tilda Young
Joshua Totherow, m. Rhoda Shope, and lived in Buncombe County, N.C.”

He married Rhoda Shope in Buncombe Co., NC

Notes say to look for last names which may have been taken down wrongly:
Totherow, Tutherow, Tetheroe, Dettroe, BUT the original spelling of family name was DETTERO. The family in NC mostly spelled it Totherow but those moving to Tennessee kept variations of the German spelling which begun with “D.”

1850 the family is in Buncombe Co, NC house/family 1705/1705
J__ (?) Tetherow 43 /laborer/ NC
wife Rhoda 35/ NC
children:
Sarah 19. #11216434
Matilda 16
Eliza 14
Alfred 10
Silas 8
James 6
Nancy 1
Harriet (?) 1
(Same house/family):
John Shoope 94, m, b in PA (this is John Shope)
Sally Shoope 96, F b in VA

In 1860 (Census) they are in Cowee District of Macon County, NC:
Joshua Tatherow 55 /farmer 150/200/ born in Lincoln Co. NC
wife Rhoda 55 / born in Buncombe Co NC
children:
Alfred M 27 / Buncombe
Silas 19/ Buncombe
Nancy M 17 / Buncombe
William F 15 / Buncombe
James 13 /Macon
Margaret 12/ Macon
Larcena J. 10, f / Macon. #92886886
and one more person, not their child living in same household: Eli Dowell 23, m, born in Iredell (don't know who this is).

After his wife's death, on May 6,1870, he married Martha Culbertson in Macon County, NC. She was the daughter of William and Elizabeth Culbertson, she had never married before.

Swain County was formed from Macon County in 1871.

In 1880 he and his 2nd wife are living on Wesser Creek, Nantahala Township, Swain County, NC.
Name Age
Joshua Tethrow 76
Martha Tethrow . 70

*BIO by Mountain Links*