Tombstone Tuesday - W.B. Franks

W.B. 

Franks

1868 - 1897

Buried Mapleview Cemetery, Marion, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 21 October 2014.

W.B. Franks is found in the household of J.M. and N.T. Franks on the 1870 Crittenden County census. W.B. Franks had been doorkeeper of the state penitentiary at Eddyville in Lyon County, Kentucky. According to his obituary in the 9 December 1897 issue of the Crittenden Press, he was born and reared in Crittenden County. He had been ill for five days before his death.

Published 21 July 2015, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Carrsville Masonic Lodge, No. 387 - Livingston County

Carrsville Masonic Lodge, No. 387, met at Carrsville, Livingston County, Kentucky on the Thursday after the full moon in each month. The following listing comes from Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, 1867 as accessed on Google Books.

OFFICERS

Joseph C. Tolley, Master

David W. Owen, Senior Warden

Webb Owen, Junior Warden

Rich L. Threlkeld, Treasurer

Jas. Newton Clemens, Secretary

S. Paris Weldon, Senior Deacon

Jas. H. Terry, Junior Deacon

David J. Ellington, Steward and Tyler

PAST MASTERS - James Cox Barnett, William H. Crawford, Joseph C. Tolley

MASTER MASONS - George W. Adams, Joseph H. Ainsworth, Francis U. Clemens, Jas. T. Davis, James M. Griffith, Thos. E. Griffith, James W. Kidd, Leroy Morris, Robt. H. May, James S. McMurray, Nathan A. Ray, Jas. R. Stallions, H.C. Sherman, Rev. C.W. Threlkeld, Wm. Thompson, Geo. M. Tolley, Wm. T. Terry, James H. Terry, Isaac Trimble, Foster Calvin, Harvey Briggs, Rev. Wm. S. Davis, A.D. Vick

FELLOW CRAFTS - Walter Pinkney Clemens, Henry Ramage

ENTERED APPRENTICES - Rufus Baynes, Rev. J.T. Crouts, T.A. Hammond, John Ray, Oscar Given Evertson

Published 16 July 2015, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - Arris K. and Adiline Love

Love

Arris K.

1849 - 1925

Adiline L.

1846 - 1901

Buried Hurricane Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 7 November 2014.

According to Kentucky death certificate #3233 (1925), Arris Knight Love was born 3 May 1849 and died 1 February 1925. He was the son of William and Rebecca Love.  A.K. Love married Adaline [sic] Lucas, daughter of Ingram C. Lucas and Mary Ann Hill, 4 March 1874. An account of the sudden death of Mrs. Adline [sic] Love appeared in the 12 September 1901 issue of the Crittenden Press. She was sitting on the porch pealing peaches, became dizzy and died shortly thereafter.

Published 14 July 2015, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Don't Skip the Remarks!

When Kentucky county assessors were given instructions on recording births under the Sutton Act of 1852, no one told them to add extra information. To be honest, most assessors did only what was required, if that, but now and then one would add a note that makes a genealogist send a prayer upwards for the thoughtfulness of that long-deceased assessor.

If you read the vital statistics on Ancestry.com, do not be satisfied with just reading their index as they have neglected to record the information listed in that category called "Remarks." If you are reading the vital statistics on microfilm, you will need to scroll over to the far right side. It is there that you find the good stuff - the tidbits of information the assessor didn't have to add, but he did. The following examples come from Henderson Vital Statistics of the 1850s.

That extra information may be something as simple as identifying a man as the "Slave of E.G. Sugg of Arkansas." Pretty simple, isn't it? But if you didn't know E.G. Sugg lived in Arkansas, it becomes pretty important.

Or how about this one for Minerva, who was born alive on 7 Aug 1852 and was probably a slave of F.H. Dallam: "Born on the Ohio River in a skiff while moving from Livingston County to Henderson, Ky." I knew F.H. Dallam had moved his family from Livingston County between 1850 and 1855, but this gives me a better date for his removal to Henderson.

Here's another one: John, a black child owned by William S. Holloway, was born 12 Dec 1856 with "Six fingers on each hand."  You won't find that on any census.

The one that tickles me most is the record of the birth of a son born 22 June 1858 to John Southerland and Lucy Lane. Under "Remarks," it simply states: "Weighed 40 pounds."  Whew! I have no other comment except to suggest that you read that column called "Remarks."

 Published 10 July 2015, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Drumming Up Some Business

Many of you have heard of the Rev. James F. Price, the Presbyterian minister who performed marriages in Crittenden County, Kentucky during the mid-1900s.  One of those marriages was that of my parents, John Joyce and Lavern Croft on 25 July 1937. They were married in the Price home with my dad's brother, Hebbert Joyce, and Mother's cousin and soon-to-be sister-in-law, Lena (Bebout) Hughes, as their attendants.

In an effort to drum up more business, the Rev. Price sent out little notes suggesting that people send prospective marrying couples to him. Below is the note he sent my parents just eight days after their marriage. They were living in Hardin County, Illinois. This note was pasted in an old scrapbook page found among my mother's possessions after her death. If living, my mother would be 96 years old today and my father would be 102.

Published 7 July 2015, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Celebrating the 4th of July in 1905

Can you see a difference in the 4th of July celebration of 110 years ago and that of today?

"No 4th of July in the memory of the oldest inhabitants was ever celebrated in Marion as universally as was done last Tuesday. Every business house in Marion was closed by common consent, and many of the business men and their families went to the Crittenden Springs for the day, and remained over to see the fireworks and to witness the ball.  The streets were deserted throughout the day and an air of quiet and rest was abroad in the city." [1]

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[1] "Marion Holiday," Crittenden Press, 6 July 1905, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/, page 1, accessed 1 May 2015.

Published 5 July 2015, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,  http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Happy Independence Day!

Celebrate!

Independence Day, also called the 4th of July, commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Today we mark the event with concerts, picnics and reunions, but as we celebrate, please take a moment to remember the reason we celebrate. Without the courage and audacity of our forefathers in rebelling against control by another nation, we might be saluting the Union Jack and bowing to a monarch. Thank God our ancestors were brave and fearless enough to take a stand for what they believed!

Published 4 July 2015, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,  http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Clipart courtesy of  webweaver at http://www.webweaver.nu/clipart/usa-patriotic.shtml