Bloody Butcher corn is described as a blood red corn
originating in the 1800’s by the mixing of the Native
American corn with the white settlers’ seed. It is found
on front doors when the air turns crisp and used in
culinary dishes by world renowned chefs. But for us,
the Meadows family, it is a reminder of our ancestors
and this is why we strive to preserve the heirloom.
According to legend, the bloody butcher seed first
came into our family around the 1800’s through
Betsey Gibson who was half white and half
Pottawatomie Indian. At the age of ten, Betsey and
her Wolf dog were captured by Native Americans.
Betsey befriended the Native Americans and learned
their culture until she could make an escape.
Betsey Gibson and Wolf’s escape happened a year
after her capture when she swam across the Ohio
River. When she returned back to the white
civilization, Betsey brought with her the bloody
butcher seed and beginning of our history.
Betsey Gibson, about eight years later, married and
had a daughter named Delilah Deal. Delilah Deal
would later marry another key character in the legend
named “Bandy Bill” Mullins. Bandy Bill was known as
being a wild man who owned a large amount of
property in Tennessee and Clay County, West
Virginia. He was a large man of Australian and
Cherokee descent. Bandy Bill and Delilah Deal were
married in Nicholas County, West Virginia where he
purchased several thousand acres for his large family.
Bandy Bill and Delilah Deal were told to have had
twelve children that inherited his empire. However, his
daughter Ebby Mullins Meadows, never owned a
share of the wealthy Mullins’ farm after she chose to
marry a traveling preacher named Bill Meadows. Ebby
was disowned by her family and forced to forge her
life on her own with only the bloody butcher seed and
her Cherokee roots to help her survive. Ebby never
again attained the wealth she was born into. She
bought a small farm on Cranberry Ridge in Webster
County, West Virginia where she had several children
one of whom was Bob Meadows.
Bob Meadows was a known horse trader in the
Nicholas county area. He married a wealthy woman
from California named Laura Walker and they bought
a small farm in Cottle, West Virginia where they raised
their children one of whom was Edgar Meadows.
It was now the 1920’s and the Great Depression had
begun and Edgar Meadows began his childhood in
poverty. The Depression had robbed the country of
its wealth and the Meadows family of their security.
Edgar was forced to help more on the farm and go to
school less. The family became poor with only the
bloody butcher to keep them going. Edgar would walk
in the snow barefoot in order to get the corn meal
grist and keep the family going. It was during this time
that the bloody butcher played its most important part
in our history because without it, the Meadows family
would have starved.
Even after the Depression, it became increasingly
harder for the Meadows family to regain the standard
of life they were once used to. Edgar Meadows
married Edna Martin and they begun to plan for a
future: A future that would not consist of hardship.
They bought a small farm in Cottle where they raised
seven children and they started working the farm
more and more. Edgar realized the only way they
would ever rise above their predicament was with the
help of the land.
Now, in 2007, Edgar is in his older years and he still
continues to raise the bloody butcher, He plants,
hoes, waters, and harvests the corn all himself the
same was he did as a child and as a young man. It is
his therapy and there is not a year that goes by that
the bloody butcher is not planted. It is the top priority
in the garden because it has proven its worth to him
and his family. That is why the recognition of the
Spring Creek Farms Bloody Butcher is such a
blessing to the family and especially Edgar. It is
almost like a piece of our history is in every kernel of
that corn. It is the telling of our ancestry and a tribute
to all that has been, all that is, and all that will be.
Written by Julie Green
originating in the 1800’s by the mixing of the Native
American corn with the white settlers’ seed. It is found
on front doors when the air turns crisp and used in
culinary dishes by world renowned chefs. But for us,
the Meadows family, it is a reminder of our ancestors
and this is why we strive to preserve the heirloom.
According to legend, the bloody butcher seed first
came into our family around the 1800’s through
Betsey Gibson who was half white and half
Pottawatomie Indian. At the age of ten, Betsey and
her Wolf dog were captured by Native Americans.
Betsey befriended the Native Americans and learned
their culture until she could make an escape.
Betsey Gibson and Wolf’s escape happened a year
after her capture when she swam across the Ohio
River. When she returned back to the white
civilization, Betsey brought with her the bloody
butcher seed and beginning of our history.
Betsey Gibson, about eight years later, married and
had a daughter named Delilah Deal. Delilah Deal
would later marry another key character in the legend
named “Bandy Bill” Mullins. Bandy Bill was known as
being a wild man who owned a large amount of
property in Tennessee and Clay County, West
Virginia. He was a large man of Australian and
Cherokee descent. Bandy Bill and Delilah Deal were
married in Nicholas County, West Virginia where he
purchased several thousand acres for his large family.
Bandy Bill and Delilah Deal were told to have had
twelve children that inherited his empire. However, his
daughter Ebby Mullins Meadows, never owned a
share of the wealthy Mullins’ farm after she chose to
marry a traveling preacher named Bill Meadows. Ebby
was disowned by her family and forced to forge her
life on her own with only the bloody butcher seed and
her Cherokee roots to help her survive. Ebby never
again attained the wealth she was born into. She
bought a small farm on Cranberry Ridge in Webster
County, West Virginia where she had several children
one of whom was Bob Meadows.
Bob Meadows was a known horse trader in the
Nicholas county area. He married a wealthy woman
from California named Laura Walker and they bought
a small farm in Cottle, West Virginia where they raised
their children one of whom was Edgar Meadows.
It was now the 1920’s and the Great Depression had
begun and Edgar Meadows began his childhood in
poverty. The Depression had robbed the country of
its wealth and the Meadows family of their security.
Edgar was forced to help more on the farm and go to
school less. The family became poor with only the
bloody butcher to keep them going. Edgar would walk
in the snow barefoot in order to get the corn meal
grist and keep the family going. It was during this time
that the bloody butcher played its most important part
in our history because without it, the Meadows family
would have starved.
Even after the Depression, it became increasingly
harder for the Meadows family to regain the standard
of life they were once used to. Edgar Meadows
married Edna Martin and they begun to plan for a
future: A future that would not consist of hardship.
They bought a small farm in Cottle where they raised
seven children and they started working the farm
more and more. Edgar realized the only way they
would ever rise above their predicament was with the
help of the land.
Now, in 2007, Edgar is in his older years and he still
continues to raise the bloody butcher, He plants,
hoes, waters, and harvests the corn all himself the
same was he did as a child and as a young man. It is
his therapy and there is not a year that goes by that
the bloody butcher is not planted. It is the top priority
in the garden because it has proven its worth to him
and his family. That is why the recognition of the
Spring Creek Farms Bloody Butcher is such a
blessing to the family and especially Edgar. It is
almost like a piece of our history is in every kernel of
that corn. It is the telling of our ancestry and a tribute
to all that has been, all that is, and all that will be.
Written by Julie Green
The Legend of the Bloody
Butcher Corn
Butcher Corn
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