My Smith Family

When the good Lord passed out ancestors, he must have thought, "I'll give Brenda a challenge and make her work a little bit harder to find her ancestors." That's the only reason I can think to explain my ancestor, John Smith. If that weren't enough, he put John Smith somewhere in Virginia and gave him an approximate birth year of 1777. Do you have any idea how many John Smiths there were in Virginia at that time? A bunch would be a mild estimate.

In John's defense, he did give two of his children (the only ones I can prove) names that should set them apart from all the other Smiths: Morgan and Giles. Notice I said "should" and not "did."

Morgan, my ancestor, was born about 1804 in Virginia, may or may not have lived in eastern Kentucky at one time, married an unknown woman sometime, somewhere and then married Sarah Holder, daughter of Shadrach Holder, in 1834 in Caldwell County, Kentucky. He is found on the 1840 and 1850 Hardin County, Illinois census records and, in 1860, was living in Lyon County, Kentucky separately from his wife and children. Then he did the famous disappearing act by going to "parts unknown." That is just about all I know about Great-Great Grandfather Morgan Smith.

Well, I do know the names of Morgan's children: Rufus, Angeline, James A., Cassander, Reddick (my ancestor), Susanna, Morgan W., and Giles. No son named John for Morgan's father - at least, to my knowledge. And I do know that he lived in iron manufacturing areas.

My next step is to make a list of exactly what I do know and then make a list of what I need to learn and where I might find that information. This will be my research plan on the elusive Smith family and, with luck and a little divine guidance, maybe it will pay off. In the meantime, if you run across a stray John Smith born somewhere in Virginia about 1777 or a lost Morgan Smith born about 1804, let me know. They might have fallen off my family tree.

Sale of a Slave 1803

Because they were considered personal property, one would think that the sale of a slave would be recorded in the deed books. Not so - at least in most western Kentucky courthouses. Only rarely have I found such a record in the deed books. However, in the loose court papers, these sales are often found. The following sale is found in Livingston County Clerk's Papers, Box 1. Edward Mitchusson lived in the area of Livingston County that became Caldwell County in 1809.

January 5 - 1803
Know all men by these presents that I Edwd. Mitchusson of the state of kentucky and county of Livingston hath Bargained sold and delivered unto John Drury Mitchusson of said state and county a certain mulatto boy child about the age of three years named ben for the sum of one hundred & fifty dollars to me in hand paid which child I do warrant and forever defend from myself my heirs or any other person to said John Drury Mitchusson his heirs or assigns forever. [signed] Edwd. Mitchusson. Test: Jacob Pennington, Moses (X his mark) Stagal.

Winter Storm 2008

A terrible snow/ice storm hit my area of southern Indiana Monday afternoon. Schools have been closed the past two days and people have been advised to stay off the roads if possible.

As bad as it is here, Crittenden County, Kentucky is worse. To see a short video of the conditions there, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efHPbDMuugc

Importation of Slaves

In 1849, an act was passed that stated slaves could not be brought into the Commonwealth of Kentucky with the intention of selling them. The owners of newly arrived slaves had to testify that the slaves were to be used for their own benefit. The value of these records lies in the fact that the slaves are identified with their owners and the ages of the slaves are given. The following document was found among loose court papers in the Crittenden County Clerk's Office, Marion, Kentucky and was recorded in Deed Book B, page 569.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky Crittenden County
The following is a true and correct list and discription of each and all slaves that I have brought to this state for my own private use along Viz: A Negro girl slave named Linsay, aged Eleven years in December last, dark complected. Given under my hand this 30th Day of March 1850. [signed] John H. Moore.

This day personally appeared before Robert L. Bigham clerk of the County Court of said County John H. Moore and made oath that the said slave named Linday was brought into this state for his own private use alone and that the said slave was not brought for speculation to be sold again for profit, or as merchandize and that the above List is a true and correct list and discription of each slave brought by Moore into this State since the passage of "An act to amend an act entitled an act to amend the law to prohibit the importation of slaves into this state Approved February 24th, 1849." [signed] John H. Moore. Sworn and subscribed before me this 30th March 1850. [signed] Robert L. Bigham, clk.

Recorded 27 Septr 1850.

Petition 1860

The following petition of voters for a new district at Farmersville, Caldwell County, Kentucky was filed in open court Friday, 2 March 1860. The petition was located in a file marked "Petitions" in the Caldwell County Clerk's Office, Princeton, Kentucky. The original spelling has been retained.


Boundary of New Dist.

Beginning at New Liberty Church near Mrs. Harpers old place, thence to Joel Beckners, thence to the mouth of the Buffalow branch, thence up Tradewater River to Smiths Mill, then to Thomas Jacksons, thence to Bartholomew Creekmurs, thence to Thomas Youngs, thence with a line of the new district to the beginning

Mr. J.N. Turner County Judge

Sir the undersigned partisioners wish to be attached to the Farmersville district as we are more convenient to the voting place then we now are we ware originally in the oald 2nd district, a complyance with this request will obligie your partitioners.

Samuel D. Graham

John T. Trayler

Joel Beckner

Furdenan Boitnott

M.H. Dixon

Wm. R. Davis

Andrew H. Beckner

James Jackson

John H. Harris

Timothy Creekmur

Martin Jackson

J.H. Martin

William Hammock

Matthew McNeily

John Dunbar

J.J. McNeley[?]

Shadrack McGrigger

James McGriger

Levi Malone

Francis Dunbar

Isaac Beckner

William H. Sigler

Wm. Creekmer

Wm. Dunbar

Isaac Young

Newspaper Abstracts 1923

Even though your local newspaper might not have extant issues for the period you want, you might find information in the newspaper of an adjoining county or even in the nearest large town newspaper. The newspapers of Paducah, Hopkinsville and Evansville, Indiana often contained news of the smaller counties. The following entries were gleaned from the Evansville Courier, which is available on microfilm at Willard Library, Evansville. Items from the Henderson, Kentucky newspaper will be presented at a later date.

30 May 1923
Norten Jones, 60, died of heart trouble at his home in Spring Grove yesterday at noon. The funeral was held at Woodland church this afternoon after which interment took place in the cemetery there. He leaves a widow and two half-sisters, Mrs. Jim Tom Curry of Henshaw and Mrs. Robert Hagon of Sturgis.

1 June 1923
The contract for the grading of the federal highway on the 16 miles between Morganfield and the Crittenden County line was let at Frankfort yesterday at a bid of $125,300 and went to W.W. Carter of Clay, Ky.

Mrs. Francis M. Scott, widow of Elbert Scott, who died a short time ago as a result of an injury received in a gas explosion in the mines of the Madison Coal company at Central City, qualified here today in county court as guardian of their children, Dorothy, Hazel and Thelma.

Marriage license was granted to William Henry Stevens and Miss Anna Louis Bingham by County Clerk Kerney today. They will be married by Rev. R.C. Raham. Their parents are well-to-do farmers in the Henshaw neighborhood.

3 June 1923
Funeral services for James A. Young, 70, who died last Tuesday of advanced age, were held this morning, Rev. Louis A. Warren of the Christian church officiating. Interment was in Odd Fellows cemetery. Deceased is survived by his widow and three sons, James, Herbert and Blanton. He also leaves three sisters and two brothers: Mrs. Dan McKinney, Mrs. J.H. Mobley, Mrs. Kate Henshaw and J.W. Young, all of this county, and Rogers Young of Paducah.

Last rites were observed today for Mason Stewart, 10 year old son of Mr. and Mrs. J.R. Stewart. Rev. W.B. Brooks, Baptist minister, of Sturgis, conducted the ceremonies.

4 June 1923
Funeral services for Mrs. Thomas Thompson were held Friday afternoon and interment was made in the Catholic cemetery. She was 55 years old when she died Thursday following a protracted illness with consumption. She is survived by her husband and several children.

Funeral services for Mrs. T.W. Lamber were held at the home Saturday morning. Mrs. Lamber died Friday morning at 85 years of age as a result of an injury. She fell two weeks ago and sustained a fractured hip. She is survived by four sons and three daughters.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Drury, who lost their residence and contents in a fire May 5, have filed suit in Union circuit court for $16,000 against the Kentucky Utilities company. The suit alleges defective wiring installed by the defendant was the cause of the fire.

4 June 1923
Police are searching for Agnes Peffer, 17, and Wayne Hammock, 30, who allegedly eloped from their homes in Uniontown, Ky., in an automobile to get married. The father of the girl, Louis Peffer, asks for their arrest. Peffer informed the local police they left Uniontown Saturday morning in the automobile after telling their friends they would be married in Evansville and then go to St. Louis on a honeymoon.

New On My Bookshelf

There is something exciting about a new book. Part of that excitement comes from the anticipation of learning what secrets the books holds and part of it is that a new book looks and smells like nothing else. It is as good as having a new car, but a whole lot less expensive.

I have three new books waiting to be read. Maybe you would be interested in them too.

Harold B. Morgan has compiled a pictorial book, Home Front Heroes: Evansville and the Tri-State in WWII, which I skimmed through briefly, but want to go through page by page soon. Photographs from the Evansville area as well as Henderson and Paducah, Kentucky show how the local residents adapted their lives around the war. All partipated in the war effort, from the youngest child to the oldest resident. Many of you probably know that Evansville had a shipyard, where 19,000 workers built LSTs during World War II. There is info on the shipyards, but that is not the focus of the book; there is much, much more. I was especially interested in the photos of the women and their involvement in the war effort. The book is available in my area at Barnes and Noble bookstore.

Another book I am looking forward to reading is Frances, Kentucky: Days Gone By, which was compiled by Matthew T. Patton. This book is actually a reference book on this small Crittenden County town. There is information on everything from schools and school census records to cemetery recordings, town history, newspaper items from the early 1900s to an autobiography of James Riley Glass (1913). To learn about availability of this book, contact the author through his blog at http://dycusburg.blogspot.com/

The third book I look forward to reading concerns one of my favorite subjects - the Melungeons. Sometimes called a tri-racial group, these folks have been the subject of many articles and books and few of the authors agree on the origin of the Melungeons. Lisa Alther has written Kinfolks Falling Off the Family Tree (My Search for My Melungeon Ancestors). The author states that her relatives had extra thumbs (Yes, that's right!), which were removed and that prompted the author to try to discover who the Melungeons really were. I ordered my copy of this book from amazon.com

So, if we get a blizzard - or even if we do not - I have plenty to read.