A Young Widow

 

Electa Fritts

Sept. 21, 1888

May 28, 1964 

Buried Crooked Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky.

 On the 16^th of April, 1911, Roy Fritts and Miss Electa Simpson left their homes in Crittenden County, Kentucky, crossed the Ohio River to Hardin County, Illinois, where they were married in Elizabethtown.[1]   

Electa Fritts, daughter of John R. Simpson and Nancy "Annie" Fritts, was born and died in Crittenden County. [2]   

Roy Fritts was the son of John McChesney Fritts and his wife, Mary "Molly" Bebout Fritts. Roy was born 18 July 1889 and was a miner at the time of his death on 16 Sep 1911.[3]  

Electa Simpson Fritts died at the home of her sister, Mrs. Mae Clark in Marion, Kentucky. She had been a widow 53 years. Funeral services were held at Crooked Creek Baptist Church with the Rev. Robert Thompson and the Rev. R.H. Myers officiating.[4]

Five months after Roy Fritts and Electa Simpson married, the young bridegroom died of typhoid fever. He had been ill just four weeks.  Surviving him were a young widow, father, mother, two brothers and three sisters. His remains were laid to rest in Crooked Creek Cemetery. [5]

I have connections to some of these families. John McChesney Fritt's  mother was Pernecia Wilson, daughter of John E. Wilson, my 4th great-grandfather. My Bebout family descends from Peter Bebout, who married Harriet C. Bebout, half-sister of Pernecia Wilson.   It's enough to make me dizzy.

 

 

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[1]  “Crooked Creek,” News,  Crittenden Record-Press, Thurs., 4 May 1911, p. 6.

[2] Kentucky Death Record #64-9864, Electa Fritts. Informant: Mae Clark, Ancestry.com.

[3] Kentucky Death Record #22914 (1911), Roy Fritts. Informant: John Simpson of Marion, KY, Ancestry.com

[4] “Mrs. Electa Fritts Dies at Marion,” The Paducah Sun, Paducah, KY, Friday, 29 May 1964, p. 4.

[5] “Obituary,” Roy Fritts,  Crittenden Record-Press, Marion, KY, Thurs., 5 Oct 1911, p. 3.

Published 20 May  2021, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkgenealogy.blogspot.com/

Check Out the Neighbors!

When photographing tombstones of  your ancestors, it is a good idea to check out surrounding tombstones in case a relative is buried nearby.

In this photograph of the tombstone of Philip Fritts, the tombstone of  John E. Wilson can be seen in the background.  Philip Fritt's first wife was Pernecia Wilson, daughter of John E. Wilson.  They are buried in Crooked Creek Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky.

Photographing nearby tombstones may save you from having to make a return trip to the cemetery.

 Published 10 Jan 2019, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - Emily Vaughan

[Emily]

Wife of

P. Vaughan

Born

Sep. 21, 1829

Died

Nov. 4, 1870

This tablet to a wifes love

Is reared by kindred left.

Her soul in bless is now above

Her friends on earth bereft.

Buried Crooked Creek Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 28 September 2009. "Emily" is engraved on the top portion of the tombstone and is on the ground to the left of the tombstone. 

Emily Lynn, daughter of William and Frances Lynn, married Pleasant Vaughn, son of John and Ferby/Phebe Vaughan, 25 March 1847 in Crittenden County, Kentucky. Emily and Pleasant Vaughan lived not far from Crooked Creek Church.

Published 24 May 2011 Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog   http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com



Tombstone Tuesday - Elisha Conger

Elisha Conger

Born

Aug. 23, 1820

Died

Apr. 20, 1885

God gave - He took. He shall restore.

He doeth all things well

Buried Crooked Creek Church Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 1 September 2010.

Elisha Conger was enumerated on the 1860 Crittenden County census with his wife and several children. He died testate and named  wife, Jane R.  Conger, grandchild Ida May Turley and her father Thomas F. Turley in his will.

Tombstone Tuesday - Nola Butler

Nola L.
Wife of
Phil
Butler
Born
July 31, 1892
Died
Feb. 24, 1907

Tombstone at Crooked Creek Cemetery, Crittenden County, was photographed 24 June 2009.

An article in the 25 July 1907 issue of the Crittenden Record-Press gives the following details of the burial of Nola Butler:

"The remains of Phil Butler's wife were shipped from Charleston, Mo., to this place last Friday morning. Mrs. Butler died last March [sic] and was buried at that place but were disinterred and brought to her old home for burial. Mr. Butler is the son of Pierce Butler and Mrs. Butler was the daughter of Robt. Todd of Sheridan vicinity. The interment took place at Crooked Creek."

The Brick Wall Starts to Crumble

Tombstone of C. Wilson, Crooked Creek Cemetery

One of my brick walls for a long time has been the family of Rev. Claibourne Wilson of Crittenden County, Kentucky. I have no trouble researching Claibourne, but his family has been a different matter.

Claibourne, the son of John E. Wilson and a Miss McVay, was born 16 September 1809 probably in Tennessee and died 12 February 1849. According to his obituary in the Baptist Banner, Claibourne was taken ill shortly after giving a sermon at Piney Creek Church. His illness was so sudden that he could not go home, being taken instead to "Brother Crane's, who lived near the meetinghouse." After twelve days, he passed away of "New Monia," leaving a widow, the former Martha Brown, and four children, Frances, John E., Thomas B. and Felix Ann Wilson. Claibourne was buried at Crooked Creek Cemetery.

A little over a month after Claibourne's death, his daughter Frances, usually called Franky, married Henry H. Cannon. The marriage didn't last long, though. Franky left her husband and, in 1850, Henry Cannon filed for divorce. It was stated in one of the divorce depositions that Franky "in company with her mother & others" left Kentucky and went to Missouri. The divorce was granted to Henry and all the rights of a single person were restored to him.

Claibourne's sons, John E. and Thomas B., are found on the 1860 Carroll County, Missouri census. John E. had married Sarah Woodard in 1853 in Carroll County and by 1860 had the following children: George C., age 4; Mary M., age 2 and Charles M, age eight months. Thomas B. Wilson was unmarried and living with his brother's family, also. By 1870, this whole family had disappeared.

Also, what happened to Martha Brown Wilson and her daughters Franky and Felix Ann? No marriages for them have been found and they do not appear using the surname Wilson on the 1860 Carroll County census.

I had decided there is a very large place somewhere known as "parts unknown" and that is where all of my elusive ancestors settled. I put this family aside again and planned to check on them later.

Maybe one last look might turn up something. Sometimes later is better and, in this case, it was! Using ancestry.com, I did a search for the John E. Wilson family on any 1870 census and there he was - listed as J.E. Wilson in Otoe County, Nebraska. Who would've thought he went to Nebraska! His wife is not listed so maybe she died, but children G.C., M.H. (ok, so it's not M.M.) and C.M. are with him and they are of the right ages and their birthplaces are correct. By 1880, J.E. Wilson has remarried, left Otoe County and was living with his wife, Mary E., in Butler County, Nebraska.

This is like a fresh beginning and there is much work to be done, but at least I know in which direction to go. The lesson here is don't give up, put your material aside for a while, and then come back to take another look. Sometimes it pays off.