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Notes for Noah KITE:

• Birth: 24 March 1814 in Page County, Virginia, USA.
• Death: 29 September 1870 in Alma, Page, Virginia, USA.

Letter from Noah Kite [#95/1] & Isabella (Pirkey) Kite [#95] to John W. Pirkey [#98] &James Pirkey [#97], dated 18 Jun 1848 {6650}”Page County Virginia June 18th 1848Dear Brothers I have taken this leasure moment & time with great sadness to inform you boththe death of Mother [#9] who died last Friday right little past 9 Oclock it being the 16th dayof June and was returnd to the Earth yesterday Evening Mother was feble for upwards ofone year but keep about till the day before her death Thursday at 12 Oclock she eat her dinnerbut was taken . . . at the table and she walked a cross the House the same day of her deathshe died of her right mind and appeared to be very sensible of her death And what is thegreatest comfort to us is that she has been a kind and affectioned Mother And we haveEvery right to believe that she died satisfied and Expected her death on Earth should be hergain in Heaven We know it is a hard case to part with a kind Mother but at the same time itis gratifying to us . . . we can reconcile our mind and say Mother is gone Home to rest Andif we all take Example and follow after her path we all can meet her again where parting willbe no more I will say to you we received James letter dated March 5th 1848 We was allglad to hear from you all Mother was very glad to hear from you all We have wrote toWashington some time ago but he has not answered but we want you to write as soon as possibleOur family is in reasonable health at present hoping that these few lines may find youall Enjoying good health nothing more at present but remain yours OCTo: John W. Pirkey James PirkeyNoah Kite Isabel Kite”Husband of Isabella V. Kite.From the Kite Family History, by Virginia A. Kite, 1889.Noah Kite and his family lived at Columbia Mills, VA.. baby grand pianos . where he owned and operated a large flour mill, a store, and other enterprises that made Columbia a busy little mart. He was a man of great energy, public spirited and surrounded by a happy family and contented employees. This little community, blessed with so much to make them satisfied and happy, presented a condition of domestic tranquility seldom found in the country. His farm was an ideal one, well stocked and highly cultivated, which was a source of pride to the whole family. Proud of his heritage, and with an intelligent, loving wife and children, no man could have desired more. This was the picture of Noah Kite and his family when the terrible flood of September 29th, 1870. burst upon them. A ceaseless downpour of rain had continued for several days, and the little streams soon widened into creeks, and the river that had always been so placid and beautiful, winding its way among the farms, and by its perpetual activity encouraging the natives to greater exertion, had grown into a raging torrent, that swept the low grounds of every living thing in its path. The rain continued and the waters in the river rose higher and spread wider and wider over the beautiful farms. The poor, bewildered farmers looked in dismay upon the vanishing crops, but no one had the remotest idea that any worse danger threatened them. On the evening of the 29th of September 1870, Noah Kite saw the dark muddy waters gradually rising in the house. When the first floor was untenable, he took his family to the next floor, and soon the second floor was flooded, and with all possibility of escape gone they could do nothing but climb out on the roof and pray for deliverance. His wife and children were all out on the roof in the pelting, ceaseless rain that still continued. Night came on. and in the pitchy darkness the old home began to rock, and in a moment it swung from its moorings, and with its cargo of humanity, and the accumulation of years in the old house, it dashed down the stream, impatient at the time these helpless doomed people had to live. No pen can describe the anguish of their hearts as they looked upon their little ones in their helplessness. One by one the children lost their hold and were swallowed up by the murderous waters. With their hearts breaking, and their prayers for rescue unanswered, they still tried with all their might to hold the children together. But with all their efforts, as the old housetop careened and trembled, they would find another one gone, and then another, until none were left but the father and mother. They had seen their little ones drop into the very jaws of death unable to do more than say farewell. These two, who had been devoted companions for so many vears. And who had feasted their souls in the pride of their loved ones, had seen their offering, as it appeared to them, refused and cast aside, and they stood now bereft of every gift of God but their immortal souls, and these, the devouring waters demanded. Louder than the roar of the flood was heard the breaking of the timbers, and the old house went to pieces. The souls of these good old people went up out of the water and joined their children. Nothing in the annals of history equals the horrors of this flood of the Shenandoah. except the Johnstown flood. Many persons were drowned, houses were washed away and the destruction of the corn and wheat crops and cattle along the course of the river was incalculable. Noah Kite’s body was found six months after the flood in a drift in Long’s bottom, recent rains having washed the debris away, disclosing a human body, which was identified by a ring he wore as Noah Kite’s. His wife’s body was found a few weeks after the flood in Long’s bottom also. Eudora, the beautiful daughter, was found in the top of a sycamore tree near Luray. As she was known to be an expert swimmer, it is supposed she swam to this tree, where she died from exhaustion. Elenora Kite Norman’s body was found at Front Royal, a distance of thirty miles from home. atlanta seo company . The two younger sons’ bodies were found on Mr. Henkle’s farm, and tenderly laid to rest in the old Kite burying ground. Before the blinding, driving rain began, how beautifully glowed the green fields, the well staked vineyards, the luscious apples blushing in the rays of the rising sun, the mighty hills tranquil as eternity, covered with haystacks and grain and all the products of nature that make the farmer contented. This verdant valley became in a night a nere waste of sand and debris. Fortune, that smiled so benignantly on Noah Kite’s family one day, had turned a devastating hand upon them the next, and the two boys who escaped death found themselves bereft of everything on earth but themselves. Their fortunes had gone with the drowned family down the river, and they had to seek shelter and a place to lay their heads among their more fortunate friends. commercial energy consumption . The son George Kite was saved by his brother Erasmus Kite and Mr. Martin, George was carried to the barn. and drifted to a straw rick, where they stayed for thirty-six hours before being rescued by neighbors.