This Calhoun County native was a banjo player, ballad singer, storyteller, and dancer. She first learned banjo at age 10 on her brother Noah’s homemade instrument. After marrying in 1928, she stopped playing for decades but returned to music during the 1960s folk revival.

In 1975, she won the banjo contest at the West Virginia State Folk Festival and, the next year, performed at the Festival of American Folklife in Washington, D.C. She later received the Vandalia Award, the state’s highest folklife honor. Known for her clawhammer banjo style and storytelling, she influenced many younger musicians.