Kentucky Marriage Bonds

This is a repeat of a post first published here 30 Nov 2017 

If your ancestor obtained a marriage bond in a Kentucky county, but there is no evidence a marriage was performed there, do not assume the couple did not marry. Check for a marriage return in neighboring counties. The marriage bond could be obtained in one county and the couple  could be married in any county in the state. The marriage bond, however, was not valid outside Kentucky.

Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

It's the latest Style ... in 1908!

 Genealogy isn’t just a list of names and dates. To really study genealogy and understand how our ancestors lived, we need to study the social and cultural aspects of the time period too, including what clothing fashions were in style.

Clothing fashions, of course, were not necessarily the same in rural areas as they were in metropolitan areas. My great-grandmother was born in 1877 in Crittenden County, Kentucky and married when she was just 18 years old. Between 1896 and 1917, she had twelve children. She led a full life - full of hard work, rearing a family and attending church on Sunday. I’m sure high fashion was not high on the priority list in her life, or in the lives of most of her neighbors.

That wasn’t the case, though, for young ladies who lived in the larger city of Henderson, Kentucky. In 1908, "Merry Widow" hats arrived and were all the rage.

The Henderson Daily Gleaner reported on 5 April 1908 that "Scores of pretty young girls and blushing widows were seen on the streets yesterday bedecked with ‘Merry Widow’ hats in screaming colors. The new hats are really things of beauty, especially when worn by the young maidens, and within a few days it will be difficult for two women to pass each other on a sidewalk of reasonable width, for the ‘Merry Widow’ hats are the broadest that ever shaded a pretty face."

Three days later it was reported in Paducah, Kentucky that the deacons of the First Baptist Church proposed to bar the "Merry Widow" hats and passed a resolution compelling women to remove them in church.

The Gleaner wasn’t finished with news of those hats as it was reported later that month that "Merry Widow" hats massed in a solid bank in the foremost rows of St. John’s Catholic Church in St. Louis, Missouri prevented a panic among the worshipers at Easter service by hiding from the congregation a dangerous blaze on the altar, which was extinguished by the priest and altar boys. Paper flowers were ignited by candles on the altar and while the fire burned fiercely, those in the church remained with bowed heads in prayer, the flames blocked by the wide-spreading Easter creations resting atop the heads of the ladies who were sitting under the sanctuary rail, where they could not see the fire.

"Merry Widow" hats weren’t in fashion very long, but they were a lively topic of conversation while they lasted.


Originally published 26 October 2007. Published again 6 April 2022, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Rules for the Jailer

Here is another of our posts from the past. This one appeared in the Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog on the 20th of Feb 2020.  If you share it with anyone, please remember to give credit to the Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog.

Being the Jailer in 1875 in Lyon County, Kentucky consisted of more than carrying the keys to the cells. Other duties were required and were spelled out in a document found  among loose county court papers in the courthouse in Eddyville. How do these rules compare to the duties of present-day jailers?

Rules for the government of the Jailer

 

"The Jailer is required to Keep the Jail perfectly clean, & suffer no filth of any Kind to accumulate in or about it.

He is required to clean out the privy valt [sic], or Sink, under the Jail, immediately and as often as may be necessary to prevent a stench in the Jail.

He is required to whitewash both the upper and lower cells and to use in the cells and in the Sink under the Jail, chloride of lime or other disinfect out in such quantities and often enough to destroy the Scent and purify the air of the Jail.

He is required to Keep the clothing and bedding of prisoners perfectly clean.

He is directed to feed the prisoners confined in the Jail at regular intervals three times a day with a sufficiency of wholesome food and to keep them supplied with fresh water."

Filed in open Court and ordered to be spread at large upon the order book of this court and delivered to the Jailer April 26, 1875.

Prohibition in Western Kentucky

A repeat of a post from the archives of the Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, 21 Aug 2014.

The United States became a different place in January 1920 when the 18th Amendment went into effect.  No longer could people legally manufacture, transport or sell alcoholic beverages.  The Amendment wasn't passed suddenly.  The  country had been leaning more and more toward prohibition for many years. It seemed to be what folks wanted ... Well, some folks wanted it. Others didn't plan to give  up their alcohol and if it could not be bought, they would just make it themselves.

Shortly after the 18th Amendment was passed, articles about raids on hidden stills began to appear in the newspapers, including those in western Kentucky. In July 1920, Hopkinsville Constable Claxton and two other men "secured 46 gallons of moonshine liquor which was being transported in a high power automobile."[1] In a scene straight out of the movies, a getaway was made with one man balanced on the running board of the car with the back seat loaded high with kegs and glass jars of liquor.

Another raid was made by lawmen on the old Thomas O'Nan farm south of Corydon, Kentucky and captured a 30 gallon moonshine still with 3 1/2 barrels of corn mash and a gallon jar  half full of "white liquor." [2]  The "operators" were not captured, but the still was taken to the courthouse in Henderson to be viewed by anyone wanting to see an operating still.

Constable Bob Adamson  and Deputy Charlie Bob Sanders of the Bells Mines community of Crittenden County, Kentucky captured a large moonshine still along with two gallons of "white mule," which was delivered to county authorities in Marion. [3] Before daylight, the lawmen went to where they thought the still was being operated, but a sentinel on the opposite hill saw them and fired two shots. The constable and his deputy made a dash for the still and the operators ran off. Shots were fired, including one that passed through the Constable's hat, but the still operators got away. Their identities were unknown.  The lawmen found three gallons of moonshine and brought two gallons to town. The other gallon container was broken and the contents lost.   Hmmm.

The 18th Amendment was repealed in 1933, ending one of the more colorful eras of our country's history.

 

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[1]  "Hold Up Truck Load of Booze," Evansville Courier, 2 July 1920, p. 19.

[2]  "Find Still But Not the Operators," Evansville Press, 28 September 1921, p. 2.

[3]  "Still Captured Near Bells Mines," Crittenden Press, 20 June 1924, unknown page.

A repeat publication on 14 Feb 2022.

Salem Shops Shut on Sundays in 1836

 Blue Laws are nothing new in Kentucky. Even in the 1830s merchants banded together to keep stores and shops closed on the Sabbath. The following Article of Agreement among merchants, mechanicks, grocery and tavern keepers was found among loose county clerk's papers in Livingston County. The following document was first published here on 31 Jan 2013.

"We the undersigned traders & Merchants of the town of Salem, Ky. for the purpose of correcting some degree the pernicious practice of Opening Shops, Stores, &c on Sunday, do obligate ourselves to close & keep closed our doors on the Sabath, & in all cases refuse to trade with any who may come to town on said day to loiter & drink. And do further agree unanimously to present any Grocery, Store or Shop that persists in so unholy & unlawful practice in Salem. June 7, 1836. The above obligation is not to prevent the furnishing of medicin Shrouds &c Sent for by the sick or required for the Dead. [signed] Greer & William, [?] Johnson, G. Robertson, [?] Richardson & Greer, Jos. Watts, Bayliss & McCrosky, Joseph Watts & Co., H.M. Woods, Given Williams & Given, R. & W.U. Hodge, Bass & Williams."

Published again on 30 Jan 2022

Singing For Better Weather

 This post on the weather comes from previously published posts of the Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog. Somehow it seems appropriate. The only thing missing was a pandemic.

After a couple of years with mild winters, those of us living in the middle part of our country had almost forgotten what a real winter was like. Mother Nature hastened to remind us the middle of this month when she sent us bone-chilling temperatures and several inches of snow. 

The winter of 1950 cut a swath of destruction across the country– from  tornadoes in the south, a paralyzing blanket of slush in the midwest and  snow and ice dumped on the northeast.  The tornadoes killed 48 people and injured hundreds.

When two large rain-swollen rivers meet and merge, a flood is sure to happen. The result in 1950 was an inundated business district with part of the residential area being covered by water, too. Part of Smithland had been flooded since early January. [1]

The residents of Smithland, Kentucky knew how to deal with disaster when their options were few.

“From the Pacific Northwest to New England, the northern half of the nation was barraged by almost every weapon in winter’s book – snow, rain, freezing drizzle, high winds and sub-zero temperatures.

“Flood refugees at tiny Smithland, Ky., held a community sing to bolster their spirits. More than 200 people sang “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More” and “River Stay way From My Door” as the Cumberland and Ohio Rivers, which join near the town, climbed steadily higher …

“The Red Cross served coffee, donuts and punch, and county clerk Gabe McCandless reported, “Yes, sir, everybody was kinda cheered up and felt much better when the thing was over.”[2]

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[1] “Where Cumberland Meets Ohio,” Evansville Press, Evansville, Indiana, Thurs., 16 Feb 1950, page 1.

[2] “Tornado – Battered Southern Sections Get Flood Misery; All Northern Half of U.S. Feels Winter,” Clinton Daily News, Clinton, Oklahoma, Tues., 24 Feb 1950, p. 1, Newspapers.com accessed 18 Feb 2021.

p.s. Don't expect new posts from now on. Maybe cabin fever is getting to me or perhaps this is a way to entertain myself on a quiet winter day.  

Gone Fishing!

 

Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/