USA > North Carolina > Watauga County > A history of Watauga County, North Carolina. With sketches of prominent families > Part 27
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32
Lewis Bryan's children were John Gilson, a Baptist preacher, who married the daughter of James Norris, of New River, and lived on Meat Camp where Billy Green now lives. He moved to Alexander County and afterwards to Georgia, where he died at the age of ninety-eight. The four girls all married and reared families. Their names were Sarah, Ann, Polly and Fanny. An- other of Lewis Bryan's sons was Battle, who married Rebecca Miller, a daughter of Hon. David Miller, and reared twelve children, four boys and eight girls, and, strange to say, there was not a dose of doctor's medicine ever given one of the family until after the youngest child was grown. The other boys in the Civil War, who escaped without a wound, were W. Lewis, John and Joseph.
Battle Bryan's children were John, who married Lydia Ann Holder; Henry M., who was killed at Spotsylvania, Va., hav- ing been shot in the center of the forehead; William Lewis, who
292
A History of Watauga County
lives in Boone; Joseph, who married Sallie Hodges, daughter of Thomas Hodges ; Polly, who married Lawson Woodring; Susan, who married Amos Green; Nancy, who married David Norris; Elizabeth, who married Jehiel Eggers; Sallie, who married a Raegan; Jane, who married John White; Carolina, who died young and unmarried, and Ann, who married T. J. Brown. He is dead, but she still lives.
William Lewis Bryan .- He was born on Meat Camp Novem- ber 19, 1837. His father was Battle or Bartlett Bryan and his mother Rebecca Miller. Battle Bryan was a son of Lewis Bryan, and his wife, Elizabeth White, and was born in what is now Alexander County in 1799, dying in 1894. Rebecca Miller was the daughter of Hon. David Miller, and was born in 1806 and died in 1904. Colonel Bryan moved to Boone in 1857, after having attended several schools on Meat Camp and spending one summer in the home of Paul Hartzogg, near the mouth of Phoenix Creek, Ashe, helping Daniel Moretz build an overshot grist mill for George Bower. While in Boone Colonel Bryan clerked for Jacob Rintils, and made shoes for Jack Horton. Rintils having moved to Statesville about 1858, where he mar- ried Betty Wallace, a sister of Isaac and David Wallace, Colonel Bryan followed him there, and clerked for him a few months, after which he returned to Boone and carried on business for Rintils in the James H. Tatum store till early in the Civil War. Rintils having withdrawn, Colonel Bryan and Moretz Weisenfeld continued the business at the same stand till Weisenfeld went into the Confederate army, when Colonel Bryan moved the stock to the store room which stood where the J. D. Councill house now stands, buying everything he could that he thought the people needed. Stoneman's men did not molest him or his stock, but robbers who followed that raid stole all he had. He then re- turned to Meat Camp and tended a crop on shares for his aunt, Mrs. Polly Lookabill. He married Miss Sarah Hayes, a daugh- ter of Ransom Hayes, on the 12th of December, 1865, and went with her to his Meat Camp home, where they resided till the death of her father in 1868. Then they returned to Boone and farmed till March, 1870, when he opened up a mercantile busi-
293
A History of Watauga County
ness in the old Councill store for M. V. Moore, buying Moore out in 1873. He continued in this business till his store and dwelling and stock were burned July 4, 1895. Since then he has farmed. He was for years United States commissioner and mayor of Boone. He has done much to preserve local history.
Cable Family .- Kasper Cable came from Germany in the British army during the Revolutionary War, but deserted at the first opportunity and went to Dry Run, in what is now Johnson County, Tenn., where he married a Miss Baker. Their children were Jacob, Benjamin, Joseph, Kasper, Daniel, Conrad and sev- eral daughters. Of these children, Conrad had the following sons and daughters: Kasper, who married Lucinda Hamby; John, who married Edith Blevens; Andrew, who married a Miss Bradley; Claiborne, who married Lotta Dugger; Edna, who married William Staunton; Polly, who never married; Sarah, who married Morgan Swift; Rhoda, who married John Dugger, and another daughter who married Elias Swift. T. A. Cable is a son of Claiborne, and was born June 22, 1846. He married Ermine B. Farthing, November 17, 1870.
The Coffey Family .- Thomas Coffey was a son of John Coffey, and his wife Jane Graves, of the Church of England. His grandfather came from Ireland to America, where he died, leaving two sons and three daughters, as follows: John, Eliza- beth, Patsy, Anister and Edward. John married Jane Graves, whose parents came from England. They had six sons and two daughters, as follows: James, who married Elizabeth Cleve- land; John, who married Dorcas Carter; Edward, who married Nancy Shenalt; Thomas, who married, first, Eliza Smith, and, second, Sally Fields; Reuben, who married Sallie Scott; Ben- jamin, who married Polly Hayes; William, who married Eliza- beth Ashburn; Elizabeth, who married Thomas Fields, and Winifred, who married Nicholas Morrison.
The children of Thomas Coffey and his first wife, Eliza Smith, were Betsy, who married David Allen; John, who married Han- nah Wilson; Thomas, who married Coffey ; James, who married Delia Ferguson; Polly, who married William Coffey; Smith, who married Hannah Boone.
294
A History of Watauga County
The children of Thomas Coffey and his wife, Sallie Fields, were: Martha, who married James Dowell; William, who mar- ried Annie Boone, niece of Daniel Boone; Reuben, who married Polly Dowell; Elijah, who married Polly Hull; Sally, who married Samuel Stewart; Jesse, who died unmarried; Lewis, who married Harriet Powell; Larkin, who married Catharine Wilson, and McCaleb, who married Elizabeth Collett.
McCaleb Coffey was born August 22, 1803, and married Eliza- beth Collett, February 5, 1828. He died February 17, 1881. His wife was born March 8, 1809, and died July 6, 1887. Their children were Thomas Jefferson Coffey, who married Mollie Greer; Charles L., who married Emily Coffey; Sarah A., who married John Steele; an infant who died unnamed; John E., drowned when a child; Mary L., who married George Nelson ; Margaret, who died unmarried; W. Columbus, who married, first, Carrie Curtis, and, second, Mrs. Ada Penn; Martha E., unmarried; Henry C., who married Sophronia Coffey; Carrie, who married David J. Farthing; James E., who died of diph- theria at Petersburg, Va., in 1864; Rachel M., who married Thomas Coffey; Jennie, unmarried; Laura, died when four years old; Buddie, who died when two years old.
Smith Coffey, son of Thomas Coffey and Elizabeth Smith, his first wife, married Hannah Boone, a niece of Daniel Boone and a sister of Anna Boone. Their children were: Squire, who married Ella -; Morgan, who married -; Athen, who married -; Sallie, who married Wm. Puett; Leland, who married Myra Day; Isaac, who mar- ried Sallie Estes; Millie, who married, first, Wiley Stanley and then John Tritt.
Abram Collett came from Scotland and married Margaret Wakefield, by whom he had three children: Betsy, who married Thomas Church; Rachel, who married a Mr. Ingmon; Charles, who married Amelia Parks, by whom he had ten children: Margaret, Rachel, Abram, Thomas, John, Mary, James, Eliza- beth, Francis and McCoy. Of these, Rachel married William Wakefield; Abram married Mary Stewart; John married Mar- garet Murphy, who died, and he then married Eliza Jane Cald-
295
A History of Watauga County
well; James, who married Jane Stewart; Elizabeth, who married McCaleb Coffey, and Frances, who married Alfonso McGimpsey.
William Columbus Coffey .- He was born near Patterson in Caldwell County April 3, 1839; went to Butler, Tenn., in April, 1859, where he arrived with only three cents in his pocket. He went into business there, on the left bank of Roan Creek and a little above the present residence of D. J. Farthing, where the store washed away in September, 1861. He waded waist-deep in water trying to save the stock. In April, 1862, he went into the 26th North Carolina regiment, where he remained till 1863, when he got a transfer to the 58th North Carolina, Col. J. B. Palmer, in which he was elected third lieutenant in April, 1864, in which capacity he served till the 58th and 60th regiments were consolidated, when he became second lieutenant. He surrendered at Greensboro with Johnson's army in April, 1865. In Novem- ber, 1865, he came with his brother, Thomas Jefferson Coffey, to Boone and opened a store in the J. W. Councill store. In June, 1866, he left Boone and opened a branch store of Thos. J. Coffey & Bro. at what is now Zionville, near the head of Cove Creek, where he carried on business in a store room which is now gone, but which stood on Reuben Farthing's land. He re- turned to Boone and assisted his brother to build the Coffey hotel and store in 1869, and moved into that hotel before it was completed, which was not till 1870. He married Carrie L. Curtis, daughter of Hezekiah Curtis, of Wilkesboro, in 1866. Their children were Edgar S., who married Anna Parks; Thomas Finley, who married, first, Jennie Councill, and, second, Blanche Wells, of Manning, S. C. After the death of his first wife, W. C. Coffey married Mrs. Ada Penn in July, 1908.
Thomas Jefferson Coffey was born near Patterson, Caldwell County, in December, 1828, and died in June, 1901. He taught school at Valle Crucis before the Civil War, but soon went into business at what is now Butler, Tenn. He joined the Confed- erate army, finally becoming captain of Company E, 58th North Carolina infantry. He married Mollie Greer about 1866. She is still living in Statesville. Their children were Elizabeth, who
296
A History of Watauga County
married Judge W. B. Councill; Margaret, who married Stacy Rambo, of Mountain City, Tenn., and Stewart, who married, first, a Miss Sanborn, and then a Mrs. Roby, and lives at States- ville. Before his death he and brother, W. C., entered into an agreement that whichever survived the other should carry on the firm business as long as he thought fit, and then divide the property. Upon the death of Thos. J., in 1901, W. C. carried on the business as before for about two years and until T. J.'s youngest child became twenty-one years old. He then divided the property into two lots. Lot No. I contained the stock of merchandise on hand, the debts due the firm, cash on hand and part of the land. In lot No. 2 were the greater part of the land and the live stock principally. T. J. Coffey's heirs were given choice of the two lots, and chose lot No. I. Thomas J. Coffey had most to do with the building of the turnpike from Blowing Rock to Boone. He got the charter through the legislature and took the contract to build the road, which contract was given to himself and brother, W. C. Coffey. The survey was made by S. T. Kelsey, the overseeing was done by Alexander McRae, the work was commenced in August, 1893, and the road was fin- ished in October, 1894.
Cottrell Family .- Wm. Cottrell, Sr., settled in Caldwell County, and was the father of several children, among whom was William, Jr., who married Lucy Day. Their children were: John, who married a Triplett, and moved to Mississippi, where both died, leaving children, two of whom live in that State and one in Texas. Thomas and William and several girls were other children of William, Jr., and Lucy Day. One of these girls married a Minton and settled near Wilkesboro, another married Wm. Brown and moved to Georgia, while a third married a Coffey and settled on Mulberry, where they died several years ago, leaving several children in Caldwell County. William Cot- trell married Susan Shearer, settled in Caldwell, where they died. James, a brother of William and Thomas, married a Blair and settled in Caldwell. Thomas Cottrell married Louisa Shearer and settled in Watauga. To them were born ten chil- dren, all of whom are dead but four. These are: Louisa and
297
A History of Watauga County
Julia, who live in Caldwell; Susan, who lives with Mr. and Mrs. L. N. Perkins near Boone, and C. J. Cottrell, who married Melissa Norris. This gentleman is a justice of the peace and is connected with the Appalachian Training School. He lost an eye at Resacka in 1864. He is a most worthy and highly re- spected citizen.
Councill Family .- The following facts have been taken hap- hazard from the family Bible in possession of Mrs. J. S. Wil- liams. They will be valuable to all who trace their ancestry from this family, the first of whom was Jordan, making three Jordans in succession before 1850. Jordan Councill, who lived at the Buck Horn Tree place, just east of the town of Boone, where Jesse Robbins now lives, was born in 1769, having been the son of Jordan Councill. He married Sallie Howard about 1797, and died December 10, 1839. His son, Jordan Councill, was born September 22, 1799. Sarah Councill was born Sep- tember 23, 1802.
The children of Jordan Councill, Jr., who married Sallie Bowers, September 3, 1823, were: John C., born August I, 1824; James W., born December 29, 1826; William Bowers, born February 23, 1829; Elizabeth, born September 29, 1831 ; Sarah Louise, born December 7, 1841; Martha Adelaide, born December 8, 1845; George R., born October 12, 1849.
Daughters of Jordan Councill, Sr., and his wife, Sallie Howard: I. Sallie, who married Alfred Martin, of Yadkin County; 2. Lottie, who married John Hardin, Sr .; 3. Eliza- beth, who married Willis McGhee; 4. Nancy, who married Col. Euclid Baird; Eliza, who married, first, George Phillips, the father of Dr. J. B. Phillips, and, second, Rittenhouse Baird, the father of ex-Sheriff William B. Baird, who lived below Valle Crucis on the old homestead. George Phillips was the sheriff of Ashe County, and on his return from Raleigh, where he had gone to settle the taxes collected by him, was drowned in the Shallow Ford of the Yadkin. This was long before the Civil War and soon after the birth of his son, Dr. J. B. Phillips.
The children of Dr. W. B. Councill, who married Alice M. Bostwick, June 7, 1854, were: Jefferson Bostwick, born Octo-
298
A History of Watauga County
ber 3, 1855; William Bower, born August II, 1857; Margaret, born February 10, 1861 ; I. Lenoir, born March 25, 1864; Emma A., born June 19, 1866; Mary Virginia, born January 12, 1862.
The children of J. W. Councill, who married M. V. Cocke November 29, 1854, were: Mary Alice, born October 17, 1856; G. W., born December 31, 1859; J. D., born August 21, 1861 ; R. Lenoir, born April 19, 1864; Sallie M., born September 16, 1866; Bettie Folk, born August 17, 1870; John Hardin, born February 25, 1874; Walter Armfield, born May 14, 1878.
George R. Councill ("Toad") married Anna M. Carter June 28, 1881; S. W. Boyden married Margaret F. Councill Febru- ary 14, 1882; John S. Williams married Elizabeth F. Councill January 9, 1889; Dr. L. C. Reeves married Sallie M. Councill April 16, 1890; Richard L. Councill married Cora Bryan Octo- ber -, 1889; Geo. N. Folk married Elizabeth A. Councill October 16, 1853; J. W. Councill died November 19, 1884; Jordan Councill, Jr., died July 24, 1875; Sarah L. Councill died November 26, 1844; Martha A. died November 3, 1856; Sallie B. died April 23, 1877; George R. died July 9, 1891; Mary V. died November 26, 1894.
Jordan Councill the First .- He married Sallie Howard, daughter of Benjamin Howard, and lived on the right hand side of the old road which led from Councill's store to Jeffer- son, at what is now called the Buck Horn Tree place and where Jesse Robbins in 1914 erected two houses. There is a fine spring near by. Councill's house was of logs. He was a farmer and a man of means. His children were: I. Jesse, who married Sallie Dixon, of Ashe, and lived where Jerry Ray now lives, nearly two miles east of Boone and off the road to Three Forks. 2. Jor- dan, who married Sallie Bower, sister of George Bower, and lived at the old Councill home, opposite Richard M. Greene's home in Boone. He was the Father of Boone, and Ransom Hayes, who gave as much land as he, was the Step-father of Boone. 3. Benjamin, who married, first, Lizzie Mast, daughter of Joel Mast, and lived at Vilas, and, second, Tempe Shull, sister of Joseph Shull, Sr., and of Phillip Shull. There were four children by the first and four by the last marriage.
299
A History of Watauga County
Jordan Councill's Grandchildren .- Jesse's children were: I. Sallie, who married Jesse Ray and lived on Old Fields Creek; 2. Nancy, who married Thomas Green and lived at the mouth of Meat Camp; 3. Elizabeth, who married Albert P. Wilson and lived on Cove Creek after the Civil War, when he sold the place to Hiram McBride, of Tennessee, and came to Boone, where his wife died. He now lives near Three Forks Baptist Church. 4. Louisa, who married D. B. Ferguson, of Meat Camp, and died when he was in the Civil War. Ferguson still lives in Catawba. 5. John, who died unmarried while in the Confederate army, as did also Jordan. Jordan Councill's children were James W., who married Mollie Cocke, of Sumter, S. C. These were the parents of J. D. Councill, of Boone. Dr. William B. Councill, who mar- ried Miss Alice M. Bostwick, of Sumter, S. C .; George R. C. Councill, who married a Miss Carter, of Yadkin Valley; Eliza- beth A., who married Col. George N. Folk at Easter Chapel on upper Watauga River, Rev. Henry H. Prout officiating. Benja- min Councill's children were, by his first marriage: Jacob M., who married Sallie Lewis, daughter of Jacob, who lived at the head of Hog Elk and was killed by Stoneman's men, March 28, 1865, aged thirty-five years. Their children were: Mary, who married George W. Blair; Benjamin J., who married Blanche Hagaman, and Mattie, who married John Hardin, of Boone; Joseph C., who married in Texas, where he died; Sallie, who married Eben Smith, son of Jehiel; Elizabeth, who married Holland Hodges, both of whom are living at Hodges Gap, two miles west of Boone. By his second marriage Benjamin Coun- cill had Jordan, who married Polly Horton; Benjamin, who married, first, a Miss Adams, and, second, a Miss Bradley ; James, who married Sallie Horton, and Polly, who married James W. Horton, of Cove Creek.
James W. Councill's children were: I. Alice, who married Samuel Lenoir and still lives in Sumter, S. C., though her hus- band is now dead; 2. George W. (Bud), who died unmarried in Sumter, S. C .; 3. J. Dudley, who married Emma, daughter of Joshua Winkler, and lives in Boone; 4. Richard L., who married Cora Bryan and died in Boone in October, 1895; 5.
300
A History of Watauga County
Sallie, who married Dr. L. C. Reeves, who died at Blowing Rock about 1899. She still lives there with two children. 6. Elizabeth, who married John S. Williams and lives near Three Forks Baptist Church; 7. John H., who died unmarried; 8. Walter, who died before reaching manhood. Dr. Wm. Bowers Councill's children were: I. Jefferson B., a physician, who lives in Salisbury; 2. Judge W. B., who married Elizabeth Coffey, daughter of T. J. Coffey and wife; 3. Margaret, who married Stephen Boyden, of Salisbury. She is dead, leaving four chil- dren. 4. Emma, who married James, the son of Henry Taylor, of Valle Crucis. He is dead, but she still lives at Hickory and Blowing Rock. 5. Isaac Lenoir, who is unmarried and lives at Waynesville; 6. Jennie, who was the first wife of Finley Coffey, of Manning, S. C.
Jesse Councill's daughters were: Sarah, who married Jesse Ray; Nancy, who married Thomas Greene; Elizabeth, who married Albert P. Wilson; Louisa, who married Burnett D. Ferguson. His two sons never married. They were John and Jordan, and both died in the Confederate army. Benjamin Councill's first wife was a Miss Mast. Their children were: Jacob, who married Sarah Lewis, of Hog Elk; Joseph, who married a lady in Texas; Sarah, who married Eben Smith and moved to Texas, where both died; Elizabeth, who married Hol- land Hodges and are still living a few miles west of Boone. Benjamin Councill's second marriage was to Tempe Shull, an aunt of Joseph Shull. Their children were: Jordan, who mar- ried Polly Horton and died in Lee's army in Virginia; Benja- min, who married a Miss Bradley, daughter of Daniel Bradley, of Brushy Fork, where he died, and James P., who married Sarah Horton, daughter of Jack Horton, and lived at Vilas; sold out to Finley Holsclaw and moved to Limestone, Tenn., and Polly, only daughter, who married James W. Horton and lived at the old homestead on Cove Creek.
Jordan Councill, Jr .- Was born at the Buck Horn Tree place, Boone, and married Sallie Bower, a sister of George Bower, of Ashe County. His son, James W., married Mary Cocke, of Sumter, S. C .; another son, Dr. William Bower Councill, married Alice Bostwick, of Sumter, S. C .; George
301
A History of Watauga County
Russeau married Annie Carter, of Caldwell County; Elizabeth, who married George N. Folk, noted lawyer, who lived at Boone where Dr. J. W. Jones now resides, but moved to Asheville shortly before the Civil War, where he entered into a copart- nership with one of the Woodfins, but returned to Boone and made up a company of cavalry, which was a part of the First North Carolina Cavalry. When he was in Boone he made a speech to his men from the front of the store which stood on the site of the present residence of W. L. Bryan, and where Wal- lace, Elias and Rintils were merchandising. J. W. Councill was the first lieutenant; J. B. Todd, second lieutenant, and J. C. Blair was third lieutenant. J. W. Todd, afterwards the distin- guished attorney of Jefferson, was the first sergeant.
Critcher Family .- Nathaniel R. Critcher was born in Gran- ville County, North Carolina, September 6, 1803, and married Cynthia A. Clarke, who was born in Orange County, Nortlı Carolina, August 9, 1804. They, with her mother and David and Daniel Clarke and Elisha Holder, moved to what is now Watauga in 1840, Nathaniel settling where Abe J. Edmisten now lives, Holder on Howard's Creek and the Clark brothers at the mouth of Roan Creek, now Butler, Tenn. Nathaniel's children were: Guilford A., Sarah J., William J., Nancy C., John C., Thomas A., all of whom are dead except Sarah J. Hodges, John C. having been killed near Richmond, Va., in the Civil War. Guilford A. was born in Orange County, North Carolina, April 28, 1828, and married Frances R. Satterwhite, daughter of Nathan and Lucy, of Granville County, North Carolina, Decem- ber 29, 1852. In 1858 they settled where Charles L. Cook now lives, and where they both died. Thomas L. Critcher, the oldest living son of Guilford A., was born October 20, 1857. He mar- ried Nannie J. Wilson, daughter of Isaac, and she died Decem- ber 20, 1910. He is a merchant, justice of the peace and civil engineer. He owns part of 640 acres granted to William Miller in May, 1887, and deeded to Nathan Horton May 20, 1898, the deed having been witnessed by Shadrach Brown and Hodges Councill. It is in Cook's Gap of the Blue Ridge in which Thomas, Bethuel and Jonathan Buck, William Miller, Nathan Horton, Robert Greene, the Coffeys, Hayes and Shearers have
302
A History of Watauga County
been settlers, or through which they have passed on their way further West, following in the footsteps of the famous Daniel Boone. James and Alfred Brown, Henry Blair, Nathan Satter- white, Samuel Brown, Adam Cook, have at various times owned an interest in this land, which could not be bought now for $10,000.00. It is through this gap that the Grandon Railroad is to pass on its way to Boone.
Davis Family .- James Davis was first of this family, and he was born in England and emigrated to America. His son, James, married Nancy Fullbright. He was born and reared in Lincoln County, till Catawba was established, five miles northeast of Newton. James the second moved close to Miller's farm on Meat Camp in 1844 when William S. Davis was thirteen years of age. W. S. married Sarah Blackburn November 30, 1854. The object James had in coming was to run the linseed oil mills for John Moretz. James Davis had four sons, Isaac and David, both of whom died young; Smith, who moved to Texas, and James, father of William S.
H. A. Davis was born in Catawba County July 17, 1840, but in December, 1845, moved to Watauga County with his parents, James Davis and his wife, who was born Nancy Full- bright, their parents having come to North Carolina from Penn- sylvania. H. A. Davis was married January 23, 1868, to Mary A. Hodges, daughter of Wm. R. Hodges and Nancy Triplett Hodges, who were born in Watauga and Wilkes counties, re- spectively. May 17, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company D, ' Ist North Carolina cavalry, and was captured by the 16th Penn- sylvania cavalry June 9, 1863; exchanged June 30, 1863; was wounded September 22, 1863, near Jackshop, Va. His wife, Mary A., born January I, 1850, died December 5, 1875. James Davis, father of H. A., died August 30, 1859. Nancy Fullbright Davis, mother of H. A., died March 5, 1895. James Davis' parents were James Davis and Delphia Mahaffa. Nancy Full- bright Davis' parents were Wm. Fullbright and Nancy Plonk. Nancy Triplett Hodges died in May, 1912. Wm. R. Hodges' parents were Jesse Hodges, who was murdered in 1864 by Thomas Roberts, of Johnson County, Tennessee; Polly Claw- son, died in 1863.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.