Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 21, 1995 TAG: 9504210093
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: B. LYNN WILLIAMS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
And like Jim Connell, she will be glued to the television set watching the movie about her famous ancestor. She is most interested in how Sheryl Lee plays Mary Ingles.
Descended from Ingles' son, John, one of four children born to Mary and William following her return from captivity to the New River Valley, Jeffries relishes the prospect of stepping into Mary's moccasins.
Deeply proud of her heritage from prominent Virginia frontier families, she's known about Mary's exploits since she was a toddler.
In fact, Jeffries, 24, a year older than Ingles when she was captured, can't remember a time when she didn't know about her Colonial grandmother.
``I'm extremely proud of her. I can't even come close to conceiving what she went through.''
Jeffries performs in the re-enactment to honor her heritage and to understand what Mary might have been feeling when she staggered those final steps. She gets excited thinking that her feet ``might have stepped in the same places she stepped.''
To Jeffries, that's part of the appeal of Connell's land, the site of the re-creation. It is the actual location where Ingles walked into American history.
When November comes with its cold stinging air, Jeffries tries to imagine how Ingles must have felt after days of eating grubs or berries, clad only in a tattered remnant of a dress, as she climbed painfully across the palisades on the last leg of her journey. Bruised, bleeding and wasted, she must have presented the Harmans with an unbelievable sight.
While she watches "Follow the River," Jeffries will be looking for authenticity. ``The story deserves the best the historian and the actors can do,'' she said. Though admittedly biased, she believes the story ``is worthy enough to be made into a major motion picture.'' She's pleased that it will be featured on the small screen.
Participating in dramas about Mary Ingles' ordeal runs in Jeffries family. Her grandmother, Mary Lewis Ingles Jeffries, performed the role of Eleanor Draper, Mary's mother who dies in the massacre, for years in ``The Long Way Home.'' She missed only a couple of performances and that was in the wake of her husband's death, her granddaughter says.
Does the younger Jeffries want to continue the family tradition of participating in ``The Long Way Home?'' She indicated that she's interested in auditioning for the part of Mary, because acting is fun.
Apart from the pride she feels from being descended from such a strong woman, Jeffries also exudes more confidence and self-assurance because of her connection to Ingles. She looks at life's problems differently because of her pioneer family past.
``If I'm in a bad situation, then I'll be able to take care of myself,'' because of the blood tie from her famous grandmother, Jeffries speculates. Then she laughs and says, ``at least I hope some of her genes rubbed off on me.''
by CNB