Bill Alston was a regular caller to TownTalk shows for years, and he was a wealth of knowledge about many things, from railroads to pocket watches.

Alston also was an avid collector, from Civil war artifacts to books on local history.

He died in 2020, and the time has come for his estate auction.

Elissa P. Yount and Bill Alston were friends with a common interest in auctions and local history.

Over the years, Alston collected items of interest, but he also inherited items that had been in the Alston family for generations.

“Bill was a prophet to know that these things would be so valuable,” Yount said on TownTalk. “He just had an eye and a knack for what would be important for future generations.”

A former English teacher, Yount said she is especially interested in the numerous diaries and different historical accounts that she said are among Alston’s collection.

There’s an entire collection of Warren County native Reynolds Price’s works – to Yount’s delight. Other local authors – from Thad Stem to Junius Rogers – are represented as well.

His collection of local histories is quite extensive, too. “He has a book for just about every county in North Carolina,” Yount said. “He was just a great, great collector.”

The auctions will contain many of the items that Alston collected over the years. Online bids are being accepted now and the winning bids will be announced, lot by lot, beginning at 1 p.m. each day on April 6, 7 and 8.

If you are interested in railroad items, bottles, baskets, the Civil War, Corbitt Trucks, locks and toys, check out Winstead’s Auction at
https://www.winsteadsauction.com.
Photos of the items for the April 6, 7 and 8 auctions also can be found at estatesales.net.

A couple of housekeeping notes regarding the online bidding for those who may not be familiar with how online auctions work:

• Bids can be placed until 1 p.m. on the day of the auction; lots will close one per minute. Any bids placed in the last five minutes will extend the bidding by five minutes.

Here’s a sneak peek about the history of the Alston family and some of the items that are included in the estate sale, as related by the auctioneers:

The Alston family were direct descendants of individuals associated with both Saxham Hall inWarrenton and Butterwood Plantation in Halifax County, NC.

The April 6 auction provides a unique opportunity to purchase authentic Americana items, including Alston’s lifetime book collections, including books on local history, genealogical records and other rare volumes.

The April 7 auction includes bottles from Panacea Springs, benches from Boyce Drug Store, locally handcrafted baskets, a Columbia phonograph and Corbitt memorabilia, just to list a few.

Items during the April 8 auction include antique portraits, a Philadelphia Tall Case clock, maritime memorabilia and authentic artifacts from the Civil War.

 

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