War of 1812 Pension Application - Joel and Mary Lambert

The following is recorded in Joel Lambert's War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant application:[1]

"State of Kentucky

Henderson County

                On the 29th of January A.D., 1852 personally appeared before  me [Y.E. Allison]  a Justice of the peace ... Joel Lambert aged fifty five years a resident of Henderson County in the State of Kentucky, who being duly sworn according to law, declares that he is the identical Joel Lambert who was a private in the Company commanded by Captain Robert Smith in the 14th Regiment of Kentucky detached Militia commanded by Col. Parker in the War with Great Britain declared by the United States on the 18th day of June 1812. That he was drafted (or substituted for a Drafted man) at Henderson in Henderson County Kentucky, on or about the 25th day of August A.D. 1814 for the Term of Six months, and continued in actual service in said War for the term of Six Months (having entered into actual Service on the 14th of November 1814) and was honorably discharged at Russellville, Ky on the 20th day of May 1815 as will appear by the Muster Rolls of said Company. He states that he received a written discharge, and that the same is lost or mislaid and cannot now be found.

                He makes this Declaration for the purpose of obtaining the bounty land to which he may be entitled under the "Act Granting bounty land to Certain Officers and Soldiers who have been engaged in the Military Service of the United States" passed September 28th 1850.                   [signed] Joel Lambert"

The above declaration was recorded by William D. Allison, Clerk of County Court of Henderson 28 January 1852.

Lambert stated he fought at the Battle of New Orleans as a private and his pension was on file in the pension office.

Joel Lambert and Polly Husbands were married by Claiborne Duvall, Minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in Henderson on 11 Sep 1818. Rev. Joel Lambert was a minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for more than half a century. He was born in Virginia, but went to Kentucky as an infant. Mrs. Lambert was a native of Henderson.

A letter from J.L. Rousseau, Attorney & Counselor at Law, to Joseph H. Baker, Commissioner of Pensions in Washington, DC, dated 28 Oct. 1871, stated Joel Lambert had received a land warrant for 80 acres. Appended to this letter was a deposition in which Pain Dixon stated he was a member of the same regiment and company with Joel Lambert.

On the 8th day of September 1879, Sam W. Sizemore and Robt. B. Batte appeared before the Henderson County Court Clerk and stated that Joel Lambert, pensioner of the War of 1812 - No. 8354 died in the City of Henderson  on the 26th day of June 1879, aged 82 years, that Lambert was the husband of Polly Lambert, who made an  application for pension as his widow and Polly had not married since the death of her husband.  

In a letter to the Department of the Interior Pension Office, it was stated that "Mrs. Lambert appears to be very old and states that she was born in 1802 ... her pension certificate, No. 27713, was issued to her Nov. 10, 1879 as the widow of Joel Lambert."

Joel and Mary "Polly" (Husbands) Lambert are buried in Fernwood Cemetery in Henderson, Kentucky. Inscribed on their monument is the following:

Joel Lambert  Born Aug. 25, 1796   Died June 26, 1879

Polly Husbands  Wife of Joel Lambert  Born June 3, 1802   Died Feb. 24, 1893

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[1] Pension Application 8354, Fold3 War of 1812 Bounty Land Warrant Application, <https:www.fold3/image/314998680> accessed 15 Dec 2015.

Published 29 May 2016, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,  http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

White Sulphur Springs 1848

This ad appeared in The Tennessean  newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee during the summer of 1848. Note that it states there was an elegant hotel and 20 cottages for guests who came to take the medicinal waters. At first I thought this was an early version of the Crittenden Springs, but  the Crittenden Springs resort dated from the late 1880s and I believe it was in a different location.  Do you have any thoughts on the White Sulphur Springs?

Published 24 May 2016, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Livingston County, Kentucky Administrators 1882

Administrators of estates were usually appointed in county court shortly after a person's death. Therefore, you can use the appointment date as an approximate death date if there is no other death record. 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. The following information comes from Livingston County, Kentucky Court Order Book P (1880-1887) .The page number in the County Court Order Book is at the end of the entry. The bond below comes from the Administrator's Bond Book 1868-1885, page 207. 

David Adams was appointed administrator of the estate of Wiley M. Robinson, dec'd, the widow, Mrs. M.T. Adams, waiving her right to administer. 13 March 1882  [P/147]

The personal estate of Minerva Fletcher was confided to the hands of J.M. Davis, Sheriff, for administration and settlement.  18 March 1882  [P/150]

Mary Frances Parkins, widow of Joseph Parkins, waived her right to administer upon her husband's estate. Upon her request, the estate of Parkins was put into the hands of J.M. Davis, Sheriff. 5 April 1882   [P/157]

Jackson Ramage was appointed administrator of the estate of C.L. Ramage's estate, the widow waiving her right to administer.  1 May 1882 [P/162]

The estate of Bird Jameson dec'd was confided to the hands of J.M. Davis, Sheriff, for administration and settlement. 1 May 1882 [P/164]

Wm. D. Miller was appointed administrator of the estate of Robert Miller dec'd. 15 May 1882  [P/167]

Linn B. Nichell was appointed administrator of the estate of T.J. Nickell. 23 August 1882 [P/186]

W.J. Slayden was appointed administrator of the estate of F.A. Slayden dec'd. 4 October 1882 [P/223]

The widow waiving her right to administer on the estate of her husband, John U. Morris, ordered that J.D. Morris be appointed administrator. 13 November 1882  [P/234]

Administrator Bonds 1868-1885, p. 207

Published 18 May 2016, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Midnight Madness Scheduled June 20-24, 2016

Willard Library's annual week long  Midnight Madness  is scheduled for June 20-24, 2016. That week will be full of classes and workshops designed to increase your knowledge of genealogy in a casual and fun atmosphere. Some events are scheduled in the  Browning Gallery (new addition to Willard) and others will be on the second floor in the Bayard Room. Willard Library is located at 21 First Avenue, Evansville, Indiana.

Among the scheduled classes are the following:  Beginning Genealogy -  Researching at the Working Men's Institute (Posey County) -  Finding Your Ancestors' Land Using Your GPS  - Black Heritage Trail - Perkins and Pitfalls of Researching in Germany  - Tri-State Early German History - Women in the Civil War and Their Roles - The Famous McGary Family: Developers of SW Indiana and Kentucky - Tombstone Art - Early Schools in Evansville - Using the DAR Database to Find Your Revolutionary War Patriot - Families & Histories of Evansville's Westside 1870-1920 - Tips and Strategies for Researching Records in Languages You Don't Know - St. John's UCC 1850-2015.

Among the speakers will be Eddie Price, who is scheduled to talk on What I Saw at Cane Ridge: The Great Revival That Transformed Kentucky and The Battle of Blue Licks (Kentucky).  Well-known Evansville historian and speaker, Harold Morgan, will speak on Evansville Workforce in World War II in Pictures and Prose and The Famous McGary Family: Developers of SW Indiana and Kentucky.   Wednesday, June 22, is J. Mark Lowe Day. He will give four programs: Pitfalls, Pratfalls and Loud-Mouthed Children;  Road Crews and Jury Selection: Finding an Ancestor Without a Census;  Cheap Land on the Prairie (Or That's What the Railroad Man Said); Coffins, Urns & Zip-Lock Bags: Burial Customs and Cemetery Stories.

All classes are free and open to the public. Reservations are not required, but will be helpful in insuring adequate seating. To make a reservation, go to  Reservations  and scroll down to the classes you want. You should register for each class you plan to attend.

Published 15 May 2015, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - Benjamin Crowell

Benjamin

Crowell

Born

June 12, 1776

Died

Dec. 13, 1853

Buried Crowell Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 23 September 2015. This tombstone is on the ground and in danger of being damaged by mowing machines.

Benjamin Crowell had 233 acres of land surveyed on Caney Creek in Livingston County, Kentucky 15 March 1817.[1] He can be found on the 1830 Livingston  County and 1850 Crittenden County census records. His birthplace was listed as North Carolina in 1850.[2]

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[1] Kentucky Land Grants, 1782-1924, Ancestry.com <http://www.ancestry.com/> accessed 7 December 2015.

[2] 1850 Crittenden County, Kentucky Federal Census, Dist. 2, page 263 (stamped) and 525 (penned), dwelling 243, family 243, 26 August 1850.

Published 10 May 2016, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Petition to Remove Guardian 1816

It wasn't uncommon for a guardian of minor children to be removed from his duties.  Maybe the guardian felt the children should be apprenticed to learn a trade or maybe one of the parties had died or perhaps proper care was not being given to the children.  That is what happened in the family of Jacob Foreman.

When Jacob Foreman died in late 1815 or early 1816 in Livingston County, Kentucky, he left  several  children, including sons Carter and Jesse. Foreman's widow, Isabella/Isabel Foreman, and James Glass were appointed administrators of the estate[1] and James Young was appointed guardian[2] to the young boys.

Apparently Isabella Foreman was unhappy with the  James Young's care of her two stepsons and she petitioned the court with her concerns. She gave three reasons for her request for guardianship of the boys: (1) She didn't think Young would treat the boys well.  (2) The boys had an antipathy towards Young. (3) Her late husband would have preferred that she have the  care of his sons.

She wrote the following in her petition:

"To the Honourable Court of Livingston    

To wit,

I was left the care of two children  boys the sons of Jacob Forman my husband at his death untill his brother who lives in Carolina comes for them, I have kept them without any expectation of any benefit therefrom, and willingly would use my best endeavors to give them such education as is to be had in the county; only I am detered by James Young who has had the youngest one some short time, having been appointed (I presume without proper consideration) guardian for them both. After he had taken the boy into his care he instead of putting him to school forced him to work in the corn field in a short time he came back to me since which I have cloathed him and put them both to school which when Young understanding went and forced him (the youngest) from school preventing me from giving them schooling  the oldest having been frightened by his threats to have him bound to some man would not stay but came home. "

I think it a hard case that the two children should be parted being very much attached to each other, it is the choice of them both that I should be their guardian, the only one has a right to choose for himself yet I believe I have a right to the guardianship for both as their step Mother as long as they are treated properly by me. If I have a right agreeably to our laws I claim now the attention of this honourable court and petition for the guardianship of the two boys but if the court should think proper not to grant  this my petition, and determine that I have no lawful claim to the office of a guardian,  I petition that James Young may not be appointed or continued their guardian ... "[3]

The court agreed with Isabella's petition. James Young was removed as guardian of Carter and Jesse Foreman and Isabella was appointed in his place.  When Isabella married James Williamson in Illinois[4], they also became guardian for William Foreman, another  orphan of Jacob Foreman dec'd.

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[1] Livingston County, Kentucky Court Order Book F, p. 3, 15 Jan 1816.

[2] Livingston County, Kentucky Court Order Book F, p. 6,  19 Feb 1816.

[3] Loose County Clerk's Papers 1815-1816 Box 4, Isabella Foreman vs James Young} Petition, Livingston County Clerk's Office, Smithland, Kentucky.

[4] Judy Foreman Lee & Carolyn Cromeenes Foss. Pope County, Illinois Marriage Books A-# 1813-1877, Vol. 1, p. 2, James Williamson and Isabell Foreman 28 Jan 1819.

Published 4 May 2016, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogyblogspot.com/

May Day at Morganfield 1902

Organized labor celebrated May Day 1902 in Morganfield, Kentucky with a day of festivities. A look at the typical May Day activities is provided in the Evansville Journal News on Friday, 2 May 1902, page 1.

May day was celebrated here yesterday by the different branches of organized labor. It was the most largely attended and widely represented celebration of the kind ever held in Western Kentucky.

The crowd assembled at Young's Grove early in the day. The committee in charge had everything in order before the crowd arrived. There were 30 head of sheep, 15 shoats, 15 lambs, 10 calves, 2 beeves for meats and these were barbecued by Tom Sparks, considered an expert in that line. The arrangements committee consisted of John Jarbeau, Henry Veach, James Threlkeld, James Sickling and Charles Morehead.

The following organizations participated in the festivities: Local 9757, composed of teamsters, painters, paper hangers, carpenters, bricklayers, machinists and laborers; 1123, U.M.W. of A., of DeKoven; 8989, Federation of Labor of Uniontown; 1414, U.M.W. of A. of Uniontown; 836, U.M.W. of Sturgis; 990, U.M.W. of Grangertown; 119, Federation of Labor, teamsters, of Sturgis.

The music for the occasion was furnished by the DeKoven corncert [sic] band, director and leader, Joe Young, C.P. Neggie, Ben Hieronymous, Fred Newcomb, William Walker, Jim Boettiger, S. Newcomb, F. Shipley, Wes. Ames, H. Spragues, C. Spragues, E. Ames and William McKinley.

The speakers for the occasion included E.P. Taler, of Owensboro, John Brashear, of Madisonville, Wm. Howell, and Judge Clements of Morganfield. Judge Clements made an appeal for Marshall Hubby, a boy about 17 years old who had lost his leg in an accident in one of the mines, and $150 was quickly subscribed for the purpose of securing an artificial leg for the lad.

The celebration of May Day in Morganfield was one of the most successful ever held in Western Kentucky. There was no liquor on the ground, but there were barrels of ice water and lemonade, and coffee was served hot to those who wanted it.

Another celebration will be held the 4th of July at Sturgis.

 Published 1 May 2016, Western Kentucky Genealogy, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/