Tombstone Tuesday - Elmer & Louella Bebout

Bebout

Elmer

Nov. 24, 1886

Apr. 15, 1977

Louella

Jan. 17, 1884

July 23, 1954

Buried Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 13 January 2014.

According to her obituary in the Crittenden Press, Lou Ella Garnett was the only daughter of Benjamin R. and Martha Ann Garnett. She married Elmer Bebout 27 November 1907. They had 10 children.

Elmer Bebout was the son of Chester C. Bebout and Mary E. Lewis.

Elmer and Lou Ella Bebout were my great uncle and aunt.

Published 30 September 2014, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Crittenden County Estate Administrators 1881

The following terms were commonly used in settling estates in Kentucky. Being familiar with these terms might provide clues for further research.

Administrators of estate were usually appointed in county court shortly after a person's death. The appointment will be recorded in the county court minutes and sometimes in a separate administrator's bond book. The administrator was required to post bond with at least one person as surety for the faithful performance of his duties as administrator. If a person left a valid will, he usually named an executor, whose duties were the same as those of an administrator - to see that debts owed were paid, debts due the decedent collected and the remainder dispersed to the heirs. The appointment of an executor will also be recorded in the county court minutes when the will was presented in court shortly.

A curator was appointed as temporary guardian or conservator by the court to care for the property or person of an incompetent, spendthrift or a minor. A curator might also be appointed as conservator of an estate if a will had been contested. If a will was contested, be sure to check circuit court records.

An administrator de bonis non was appointed by county court to administer on the effects of a decedent which had not been included in a former administration.

The following records have been abstracted from Crittenden County, Kentucky Administrator's Bond Book 1876-1884.

W.J. LaRue appointed administrator of the estate of John M. Lear.  10 January 1881

Stephen Riley appointed administrator of the estate of W.H. Kemper.  12 January 1881

J.L. Boon and H.S. Hill appointed to administer on the estate of Arch Allen.  14 February 1881

Mrs. L.P. Duvall appointed administrator of the estate of J.M. Duvall.  7 March 1881

J.G. Barnes appointed administrator of B.W. Barnes' estate.  4 April 1881

R.N. Walker appointed administrator of estate of R.A. Gettings.  11 April 1881

J.L. Riley appointed administrator of Wm. Belt's estate.  25 April 1881

A.H. Cardin appointed administrator of P.M. Cardin's estate.  11 May 1881

Chesley Nunn appointed administrator of Wm. Straker's estate.  20 May 1881

M.A. Hardesty appointed administrator of W.T. Hardesty's estate.  21 May 1881

Aaron Towery appointed administrator de bonis non of John Mitchell's estate.  13 June 1881

J.A. Gray appointed administrator of Shemi Watson's estate.  8 August 1881

J.R. Finley appointed administrator of R.J. French's estate.  31 August 1881

J.P. Pierce appointed administrator of Mrs. Julia A. Koon's estate.  31 August 1881

G.L. Boaz appointed administrator of the estate of Susan Boaz.  12 September 1881

W.T. Pickens appointed administrator of J.B. Pickens' estate.  26 September 1881

S.H. Watson appointed administrator of Saml. M. Watson's estate.  28 October 1881

J.P. Pierce appointed administrator of N.R. Black's estate.  14 November 1881

J.P. Pierce appointed curator of Joseph Anderson's estate.  14 November 1881

R.S. Thurmond appointed administrator of W.R. Thurmond's estate.  5 December 1881

Alex Woody appointed administrator de bonis non of Joseph Kemp's estate.  12 December 1881

E.C. Flanary appointed administrator of Saml. E. Bracey's estate.  21 December 1881

Published 25 September 2014, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Cemeteries Here and There

I spent some time this summer doing what I love to do - visiting cemeteries.  Each cemetery was different, but my favorite was the one where my elusive Wolstenholme relatives are buried.

The first cemetery we visited outside the area where I normally research was the Nashville City Cemetery, but you already know about that visit. The same day we drove to Franklin, Tennessee to see Carnton Plantation, the home of Carrie McGavock, about whom  The Widow of the South was written. This book told of the Battle of Franklin during the Civil War and Carrie's work in seeing that the many who died there were identified and buried properly.  I had a more personal reason to want to visit there. Carrie's husband, John McGavock, had an ancestor who married into my Bostick family and it was fun to think that this distant branch of my family may have visited Carnton Plantation.

A short walk from the house are two cemeteries - the McGavock Family Cemetery and the Confederate Cemetery, the burial place of so many men who lost their lives during the battle in 1864.

Confederate Cemetery

On grounds of Carnton Plantation

On this same trip, we also visited Charleston, South Carolina and enjoyed touring the Circular Congregational Churchyard, located on Meeting Street in downtown Charleston. It is the city's oldest cemetery and contains about 150 tombstones from before the American Revolution.

Circular Congregational Churchyard

Charleston, South Carolina

Mrs. Desire Peronneau, 1740

As much as I loved visiting the above cemeteries, I was thrilled to visit Oakwood Cemetery in Milan, Gibson County, Tennessee earlier this month. I have been researching my Wolstenholme family for some time and have found them to be very elusive. You may remember them from my blog  Here and Here   Early one very hot and humid morning we headed south. After a largely unsuccessful visit to the courthouse in Trenton, we drove a few miles to the cemetery in Milan.  There is no cemetery office or map or anything to identify where people are buried. Find A Grave lists the plot where this family is buried, but there was no way to reference that plot at the cemetery. Nevertheless, we walked until we found it. My family really does exist!

Wolstenholme Family Plot

Oakwood Cemetery, Milan, Tennessee

Henry F. Wolstenholme

My Great-Great-Uncle

Elizabeth "Bettie" Wolstenholme

Sister of Henry F. Wolstenholme

My Great-Great-Aunt

All in all, it has been a successful summer and, if the weather holds, more cemetery visits are possible.

Published 22 September 2014, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,  http://wkygenealogy.blog.spot.com/

A Pistol and a Fiddle

He died as a young man, leaving only a few items to show that he had lived, even briefly.  A document found among loose court bundles in the Crittenden County Clerk's Office, tells us he left a pistol and a fiddle and little else. Who was this man who had so few belongings?

There are a few records on John W. Daughtry. We know he married Clementine A. Clark 18 June 1878 in Crittenden County. At that time he was age 22 and gave his birth place as Robertson County, Tennessee and said his parents were also born in Tennessee. Clementine was 17 and a native of Crittenden County. They began their family and are found with daughter, Cora A., age 1, on the 1880 census. That's all we know until he died. And that is where the inventory of his belongings comes in.

"Whereas John W. Daughtry departed this life at W. Mc Clark's house on the 25 day of Decr. 1885 leaving surviving him one only child who is now living with said Clark.  He also left the following property with Jerry Daughtry's, where he had been living = 1 Bed, bedstead & necessary cover thereto, His wearing apparel, 1 saddle & 1 Pistol, & fiddle - and Whereas Lewis J. Daughtry, Brother of said Decedent has assumed the payments of all the funeral Expenses of said Decedent and in order renumerate him for same or at least in part, It is agreed by & between the said Clark & said L.J. Daughtry, the said L.J. Daughtry shall take said property to indemnify him for said funeral Expenses. He can either sell it or Keep it, and the other property left by said Decedent shall be held by said Clark for the use & benefit of the child of said Decedent, which consists of Bed bedding, wearing apparel, Trunk &c - said Clark, being the Grand Father of said child & having it in charge to raise, same being placed under his care by said Decedent several years prior to his Death. This Feby 13th 1886.  [signed] L.J. Daughtry, W.Mc. Clark. Attest: D. Woods."

Inventory of Belongings 

of John W. Daughtry

Published 18 September 2014, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - J.O. and Louise Rutter

Louise Abell

Wife of 

J.O. Rutter

Jan. 27, 1886

Mar. 16, 1913

J.O. Rutter

Feb. 28, 1876

Jan. 11, 1949

Buried Smithland Cemetery, Livingston County, Kentucky. Tombstones photographed 2012.

J.O. Rutter and Miss Louise E. Abell married in Smithland 18 October 1906. He was age 30, a banker. He lived in Marshall County, Kentucky, but was born in Livingston County. His parents were J.H. Rutter and Belle Olive. The bride was age 20, born and lived Livingston County. Her parents were J.L. Abell and E. Laura Fort. Her father gave consent for the license to be issued. (Livingston County Marriage Book 1903-1907, pages 406-407)

The obituary of James Hodge Rutter, father of J.O. Rutter, in the 10 July 1913 issue of the Crittenden Record-Press states that he was born in Livingston County 10 March 1852 and married Miss Belle Olive. For 20 years he was engaged in the tobacco and mercantile business. Burial was in Oak Grove Cemetery.

Published 16 September 2014, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,  http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tree Roots 2014

J. Mark Lowe, C.G. will be featured speaker at the Tree Roots program on Saturday, 27 September 2014, at Willard Library, 21 First Avenue, Evansville, Indiana. All classes are free and open to the public, but it is suggested that reservations be made with Willard Library

Lowe will lead the following classes:
9:00 a.m  Making Early Census Records Talk to You

10:30 a.m.  Finding Uncle John by Talking to the Neighbors

1:00 p.m.  Road Crews & Jury Selection: Finding an Ancestor Without a Census

2:30 p.m.  Is it Really On-Line? Finding & Using Original Sources at Home or in the Library

This is an opportunity to hear a great, nationally-known genealogist in the beautiful Willard Library.

Lunch will not be provided but there are several nearby restaurants or you may bring a sack lunch.

Published 14 September 2014, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Follow-Up on 1866 Livingston County Apprenticeships

The following response to the recent post on Indentures of Apprenticeship - Livingston County, Kentucky 1866 has been provided by Janet Hawkins (hawkinsjk1@gmail.com). Information about the Coker family appears in her master's thesis, Slavery, Emancipation, and Afterward.  A Chronicle of the African Americans of Crittenden and Livingston Counties, Kentucky, to 1939, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, 2004.

Ties between white slave-owners and former slaves often endured generations after Emancipation, especially in cases involving mixed-race children.   A Livingston County, Kentucky Court Order Book M  (see 28 August 2014 post) entry illustrates the complexity of race relations in post-Civil War Kentucky: 

Adeline, a free Mulatto, bound as an apprentice to Ann E. Coker until 6 March 1874, when Adeline will be 18 years old, to learn the art & mystery of a spinster. [Bk M:132, 4 June 1866]

Adeline Coker (7 March 1854 - 2 October 1944) was the daughter of Daniel Coker, a Caucasian slave-owner and the husband of the Ann E. Coker mentioned above, and Manda Coker, an enslaved black woman.  The 1860 U.S. Population Census, Slave Schedule, for Livingston County lists Daniel Coker as the owner of a 22-year-old black female, a 6-year-old mulatto female, and a 2-year-old black  male.

Adeline Coker married Edward Crawford at Mrs. Coker's house on 26 December 1879, five years after her apprenticeship had ended.(2) 

According to Addie Bell Crawford(3), Adeline Coker’s granddaughter, Daniel Coker made provisions for Adeline to receive a portion of his Salem property after he died.  Addie Bell inherited this land from her father, James Crawford, in 1961(4), and lived on this land her entire life.

Addie Bell also stated that Adeline’s white half-brother, Charlie Coker, occasionally paid social visits to his half-sister and her family.

Whether Manda Coker remained in contact with Daniel or Ann Coker after Emancipation is currently unknown.  Prior to 1870, she married a black Civil War veteran named Jordan Caldwell and resided in Smithland, Livingston County, in 1880.(5)

(1) Death Certificate, Adeline Crawford, Livingston Co., KY. 

(2) Livingston County, KY Marriage Bonds:  Negroes and Mulattoes, Microfilm #997708.

(3) Personal Interview with Addie Bell Crawford, 2002.

(4) Livingston County, KY Will Book D, Microfilm #997691, 581.

(5) U.S. Population Census, 1870 and 1880.


Published 11 September 2014, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - Dr. Henry H. and Mary L. Duley

Duley

Dr. Henry H.

Duley Sr.

1840 - 1927

Mary L. Handlin

His Wife

1840 - 1894

At Rest

Buried in Smithland Cemetery, Livingston County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 8 June 2012.

H.H. Duley and Miss Mary L. Handlin married 20 October 1864 in Livingston County and first appear together on the 1870 Livingston County census with their daughter, Caroline, age 2.

Published 9 September 2014, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,  http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

George Washington Hayward (1836 - 1864)

Two of the most interesting tombstones in the Leeper Cemetery in Livingston County, Kentucky are those of George Washington Hayward and his first wife, Martha "Mattie" McCarter.  These tombstones rest under a tree, surrounded by an iron fence.

Front of monument of G.W. Hayward

Reverse side of monument of G.W. Hayward

E.J.H. - initials of Edward J. Hayward (1864-1940),

 who most likely had these monuments erected.

Front of tombstone of Mattie Hayward

Reverse of monument of Mattie Hayward

George Washington Hayward was the son of James Hayward and Sarah Beverly, who left Jefferson County, Kentucky and settled in Smithland, Livingston County. G.W. was not the only member of his family to be involved in the steamboat business. His brother, Napoleon B. Hayward and his brother in law, Nathaniel F. Drew, were both steamboat captains on the Ohio River.

G.W. Hayward married Martha McCarter 31 December 1856 Livingston County, Kentucky and she died 25 July 1857 at the age of 24 years. On 4 November 1863, Hayward married Emma Shelby in Henderson, Kentucky. To this union was born one child, Edward J. Hayward, who was a banker for many years in Marion, Crittenden County. Emma Shelby Hayward died 25 January 1930. Emma, her son, Edward, and other members of his family are buried in Mapleview Cemetery in Marion.

Published 5 September 2014, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - Rice Family

Tombstones of the Rice Family

Fredonia Cemetery

Caldwell County, Kentucky.

Benjamin G. Rice died June 10, 1840, aged 50 years, 7 mo, 15 days

Mary Z. Rice died Sept. 5, 1835, aged 15 years, 8 mo, 10 days

Robert H. Rice died June 16, 1840, aged 18 years, 1 mo, 27 days

Sarah A. Rice born May 21, 1791, died Sept. 16, 1872

Joseph G. Rice departed this life July 25, 1840, aged 15 years, 6 mos, 10 days

Tombstones photographed 15 March 2013.

Published 2 September 2014, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,  http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/