John Marsden Ehle Jr. (1925 - 2018)

Born 13 Dec 1925 in Asheville, Buncombe, North Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Died 24 Mar 2018 at age 92 in Winston-Salem, Forsyth, North Carolina, United States

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Biography

John Ehle Jr. is Notable.

John was an American Author

Corporal John Ehle Jr. served in the United States Army in World War II
Service started: 17 March 1944
Unit(s): 97th Infantry Division
Service ended: 1 May 1946

John Marsden Ehle, Jr. (December 13, 1925 – March 24, 2018) was an American writer known best for his fiction set in the Appalachian Mountains of the American South.

He has been described as "the father of Appalachian literature".

American author, WWII veteran, and anti-poverty campaigner in the state of North Carolina. His daughter is the actress Jennifer Ehle who gained fame for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in the 1995 BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice.

Born in Asheville, North Carolina, to John Marsden Ehle and Gladys Starnes, the oldest of five children. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Wales and England.

Ehle enlisted in the US Military during WWII and was a rifleman in the 97th Infantry Division. After WWII, he received a BA from the University of North Carolina and later a MA in dramatic arts. He also served on the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1951 to 1963. During his tenure at UNC-Chapel Hill, he wrote plays for the American Adventure series that played on NBC Radio and began writing his first novel. ^[1]

His most well known book was published in 1964, The Land Breakers. ^[2] The book is a fictional account set in the late 18th century that traces the story of the first white pioneers to settle in the Appalachian wilderness of the mountains of Western North Carolina. The Land Breakers was the first of a seven part series of historical fiction about the Appalachian region. ^[3]

Two of his eleven novels, The Winter People and The Journey of August King, have been adapted as films.

Among his six works of non-fiction is the 1965 book, The Free Men, which is a first-person chronicle of the desegregation struggle in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Novels

• Move Over Mountain (1957). ISBN 0-9793049-8-9
• Kingstree Island (1959)
• Lion on the Hearth (1961) ISBN 1941209300
• The Land Breakers New York : Harper & Row, 1964. ISBN 9780060111700, OCLC 774094
• The Road New York, Harper & Row, 1967. ISBN 1572330163, OCLC 1090449
• Time of Drums New York, Harper & Row, 1970. ISBN 9780060111748, OCLC 93792
• The Journey of August King (1971). ISBN 0060111666
• The Changing of the Guard (1974)
• The Winter People (1982). ISBN 1941209696
• Last One Home (1984). ISBN 098244168
• The Widow's Trial (1989)

Non-fiction

• The Survivor: The Story of Eddy Hukov (1958)
• Shepherd of the streets; the story of the Reverend James A. Gusweller and his crusade on the New York West Side (1960)
• The Free Men (1965)
• John Ehle; James J Spanfeller, The cheeses and wines of England and France : with notes on Irish whiskey, New York; London: Harper and Row, 1972. ISBN 9780060111670, OCLC 1045048947
• Trail of Tears (1988)
• Dr. Frank: Life with Frank Porter Graham (1993)

Legacy

• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill maintains the John Ehle Papers. The collection also includes a large collection of audio recordings of interviews, video, and photographs which document the civil rights activities observed by Ehle while he was writing The Free Men.^[4]
• Ehle was elected to the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame.
• Ehle received the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award
• Ehle received the Lillian Smith Book Award
• Ehle received the John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities
• Ehle received the Mayflower Award.

John, child of John Marsdon Ehle, was born on 13 December 1925 in Buncombe, North Carolina.^[5]

In the 1930 census John (age 4) was the son of John M Ehle in Asheville, Buncombe, North Carolina, United States.^[6]

John was in a military record in 1943 in West Asheville, Buncombe, North Carolina, United States.^[7]

John was in a military record on 1 May 1946 in Buncombe, North Carolina, United States.^[8]

John married Nancy Gail Oliver on 18 August 1951 in New Hanover, North Carolina, United States.^[9]

John died on 24 March 2018 and was buried.^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ "Biography of John Ehle". The North Carolina Writers' Network. Archived from the original on October 4, 2006.
2. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (13 April 2018). "John Ehle, Who Rooted His Novels in Appalachia, Is Dead at 92". The New York Times. p. A24. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
3. ↑ "Finding Harper Lee". Greensboro News & Record. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
4. ↑ "John Ehle Papers, 1918-1993". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
5. ↑ Birth: "North Carolina Birth Index, 1800-2000"
   citing vol. 13, p. 1338, Buncombe, North Carolina, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh.
   FamilySearch Record: VHK8-6YD (accessed 22 December 2022)
   John Marsdon Ehle born on 13 Dec 1925, child of John Marsdon Ehle, in Buncombe, North Carolina.
6. ↑ 1930 Census: "United States Census, 1930"
   citing enumeration district (ED) ED 22, sheet 2B, line 52, family 35, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1675; FHL microfilm 2,341,409.
   FamilySearch Record: X39T-L1F (accessed 22 December 2022)
   FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GRC9-DWQ Image number 01064
   John M Ehle (4), single son, in household of John M Ehle (25) in Asheville, Buncombe, North Carolina, United States. Born in North Carolina.

   1930 United States Federal Census: Asheville, Buncombe, North Carolina, United States

   Name	Sex	Age	Status	Relation	Birth Place
   John M Ehle	M	25	Married	Head	West Virginia
   Gladys S Ehle	F	26	Married	Wife	North Carolina
   John M Ehle	M	4	Single	Son	North Carolina
   Robert S Ehle	M	2	Single	Son	North Carolina

7. ↑ Military: "U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947"
   The National Archives at Atlanta; Atlanta, Georgia; WWII Draft Registration Cards for North Carolina, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 108
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2238 #1611751 (accessed 22 December 2022)
   Name: John Marsden Ehle Jr; Gender: Male; Race: White; Age: 18; Relationship to Draftee: Self (Head); Birth Date: 13 Dec 1925; Birth Place: Asheville, North Carolina, USA; Residence Place: West Asheville, Buncombe, North Carolina, USA; Registration Date: 1943; Registration Place: West Asheville, Buncombe, North Carolina, USA;
   Household Members (Name) Age Relationship:
   John Marsden Ehle Jr 18 Self (Head)
   John M Ehle Self (Head).
8. ↑ Military: "North Carolina, Discharge and Statement of Service Records, 1940-1948"
   citing Buncombe, North Carolina, United States, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh; FamilySearch digital folder 007264942.
   FamilySearch Record: Q2WK-X6PP (accessed 22 December 2022)
   FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-994R-ZDK5 Image number 00079
   Name: John Marsden Ehle; Military Service Date: 01 May 1946; Military Service Place: Buncombe, North Carolina, United States; Birth Date: 13 Dec 1925; Birth Place: North Carolina, Asheville; Event Place Year Range: 1915-1957.
9. ↑ Marriage: "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979"
   citing New Hanover, North Carolina, United States, p. 74, North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History; FHL microfilm 2,392,773.
   FamilySearch Record: QKJ3-GTKP (accessed 22 December 2022)
   FamilySearch Image: 33S7-LBDX-3VL Image number 01166
   John Marsden Ehle marriage to Nancy Gail Oliver on 18 Aug 1951 in New Hanover, North Carolina, United States.
10. ↑ Burial: "Find A Grave Index"
    citing record ID 229562442, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
    FamilySearch Record: 68J3-1TPQ (accessed 22 December 2022)
    Find A Grave: Memorial #229562442
    John Marsden Ehle burial (died on 24 Mar 2018).

See Also:

• Wikipedia: John_Ehle
• Wikidata: Item Q6231502, en:Wikipedia
• "Biography of John Ehle". The North Carolina Writers' Network. Archived from the original on October 4, 2006.