Editor’s Note: Western North Carolina is rich with untold stories—many resting quietly in local cemeteries. In this Tombstone Tales series, we explore the lives of people from our region’s past whose legacies, whether widely known or nearly forgotten, helped shape the place we call home.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — In Riverside Cemetery, the grave of Allen “Buck” Trivette marks the end of a family quarrel that turned violent.
On Aug. 24, 1911, Trivette was shot by his uncle, W. Pitt Ballew, a respected Southern Railway engineer. The confrontation unfolded in the sickroom of Ballew’s home near the depot. Inside were Ballew’s bedridden mother, Mrs. Martha Ballew, a nurse named Sallie Stines, and Trivette’s mother, Laura Trivette…