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/

Spotlight on: Henry Thorning

Henry Thorning

1885 - 1958

Buried Salem Cemetery, Livingston County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 18 April 2018.

According to his death certificate, [1] Henry Thorning was born 2 January 1885 in Kentucky and died 11 April 1957 Livingston County. He was a carpenter by trade and never married. His parents were John Thorning and Sharlet Mahan. Mrs. Nannie Loyd was listed as informant.

Henry Thorning was enumerated on the 1900 Livingston County census[2] in the household headed by his mother, Charlotte Thorning. Also listed in the household were his sisters, Nannie, Minnie and Sarah. Minnie Thorning later became the third wife of my great-great grandfather, Chester C. Bebout.

In 1942, Henry Thorning registered for World War II draft. [3] He was listed as 5 feet, 9 inches tall, had brown eyes and gray hair and weighed 150 pounds. He was 57 years old and the person who would always know his address was Nannie Loyd, his sister.

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[1] Kentucky Death Certificate #57-12720, Henry Thorning, Ancestry.com.

[2] 1900 Livingston County, Kentucky census, Salem, E.D. 55, p . 1,  dwelling 6, family 6, Ancestry.com.

[3] U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, Henry Thorning, Ancestry.com.

Published 19 June 2018, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - Marion J. Bebout

Marion J.

Bebout

Born

May 25, 1848

Died

Dec. 9, 1908

Buried Good Hope Cemetery, Karber's Ridge, Hardin County, Illinois. Tombstone photographed 27 November 2017.

Marion J. Bebout was born in Crittenden County, Kentucky and was the son of Peter and Harriet C. (Wilson) Bebout.[1]  Marion J. Bebout married (1) Rebecca J. Lewis 3 February 1871 Crittenden County[2] and later married Mary F. Carnett[3] and was the father of 10 children with nine surviving by 1900.[4]

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[1] 1850 Crittenden County, Kentucky Census, Dist. 1, page 229B, image 273, Ancestry.com, accessed 5 December 2017. Also 1860 Crittenden County, Kentucky Census, West Half of County, p. 355, PO Carrsville, Family 389, Dwelling 289, Ancestry.com, accessed 5 December 2017.

[2] Brenda Joyce Jerome. Crittenden County, Kentucky Marriages, Vol. II, 1866-1886, (Evansville, IN: Evansville Bindery, 1991) 37.

[3] Illinois, Death & Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947, Ancestry.com, accessed 5 December 2017, death of James Bebout 6 April 1942 lists his parents as Marion Bebout and Mary Carnet.  

[4] 1900 Hardin County, Illinois Census, Roll 305, p. 9A, E.D. 0062, Ancestry.com, accessed 5 December 2017.

Published 13 February 2018, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Croft Family Reunion June 24, 2017

J.N. Croft and Josephine Bebout Croft and their children ca 1929

Descendants of James N. and Josephine A. (Bebout) Croft are invited to a family reunion on Saturday, 24 June 2017, at the Salem Baptist Church in Salem, Kentucky. We will meet at noon for food and visiting until 4 p.m. Please bring a dish to share and old photos you would like to display. Please contact me at bjjerome@wowway.com with the number in  your family who plan to attend.

Published 20 June 2017, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - Rev. John and Sarah Bebout

John Bebout and Sarah Ann Shoemaker were married 4 February 1841 in Caldwell County, Kentucky. [1] They were later enumerated on the 1850 Caldwell County census with their three oldest children, Mary, Abraham J. and John A. Bebout. [2]

By 1860, John and Sarah had moved to Crittenden County, Kentucky. Their children are listed as Mary, Abraham J., John A., Enoch B., James B. and Columbus Bebout.[3]

Sarah A. Bebout died in 1869 and John died in 1883.  Both are buried in Deer Creek Cemetery in Crittenden County.

 Sarah A.

Wife of

Rev. John

Bebout

Apr. 7

1823

Feb. 1

1869

 Rev. John

Bebout

June 17

1816

June 12

1883

Tombstones were photographed 10 June 2010.

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[1] Brenda Joyce Jerome. Caldwell County, Kentucky Marriages 1833-1853, (Evansville, IN: Evansville Bindery, 1997), 56.

[2] 1850 Caldwell County, Kentucky Census, Dist. 1, p. 295, Ancestry.com, accessed 30 March 2017.

[3] 1860 Crittenden County, Kentucky Census, West Half of County, Post Office Carrsville, p. 56, Ancestry.com, accessed 30 March 2017.

Published 2 May 2017, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,  http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/                           

New Information From a Divorce File

Last week we discussed how to obtain a Kentucky divorce record from the Archives. I did just that recently and was pleased with the results.  Sometime ago I purchased the Crittenden County Circuit Court Index on microfilm[1] and used that to locate a file I thought might be of interest - John Bebout vs Ellen Bebout.

There have been a number of John Bebouts through the years, but who was Ellen Bebout? Which John Bebout had a connection to an Ellen?  I suspected this was a divorce case, but wasn't sure until I read the file. It was full of information.

According to the plaintiff (John Bebout), he married Ellen Adams in Hardin County, Illinois in July 1869. The couple lived together until June 1872. During that time he treated the defendant (Ellen Bebout) "kindly and did all he could to make her a kind & loving husband and provided her with a good home and all that was necessary to make her comfortable." [2] In June 1872, Ellen left the plaintiff and moved to Madison County, Missouri.  The couple had been living in Illinois, but after Ellen left for Missouri, John moved back to Crittenden County.

Several people gave depositions for the plaintiff at the home of John and Martha E. Tolley in Pope County, Illinois in July 1874, including Absalom Vanbaber; J.A. Bebout, John Bebout's 27-year-old son; Samuel Humphreys and John and Martha E. Tolley.

So what did I learn from this file?  I determined this John Bebout was the Reverend John Bebout,  brother of my ancestor, Peter Bebout. John  first married Sarah Shoemaker in Caldwell County, Kentucky in 1841. Sarah died 1 February 1869, according to her tombstone in Deer Creek Cemetery in Crittenden County. When she died, she left young children in need of a mother's care.  Just five months later John married Ellen Adams in Hardin County.

Those of us who had ancestors living in Crittenden and Livingston Counties know that many of those ancestors  married, lived or died in Hardin County and Pope County. There was a lot of movement back and forth across the Ohio River between Kentucky and Illinois. The problem with researching Hardin County is there were two courthouse fires, the last being in 1884, so often the records we  need no longer exist. In the Bebout divorce file is there is a copy of  the 1869 marriage license, something I would not expect to find. Although the copy dates several years after the actual marriage, it is well before the courthouse fire.  If this copy did not exist we would have no idea John Bebout ever married Ellen Adams.  But we know about the record now and it helps fill in some blanks.

Ellen Adams Bebout did go to Madison County, Missouri and is found living there with her married daughter, Frances Adams Wiseman, and family on the 1880 census. Ellen is listed as a widow, which was probably preferable to being listed as divorced.

John didn't file for the divorce from Ellen until July 1874 and it was granted 17 December 1874. Three days later he married Mrs. Mary Barger in Crittenden County. John died in 1883 and is buried beside his first wife, Sarah.

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[1] John Bebout vs Ellen Bebout,  Case File #202, Crittenden County Circuit Court General Cross Index to Case Files 1842-1977, Roll No. 7018899, Kentucky Dept. for Libraries and Archives.

[2] Ibid

Published 3 September 2015, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Oh, Those Middle Names!

Do your ancestors have middle names?  Are those middle names clues to be used in your research? Sure they are, but watch out for false clues!

As an example of a false clue, look at the case of my great-great grandfather Chester C. Bebout, born in 1854. He consistently used the middle initial "C."  At some point, someone decided his middle name was Coleman and if you go to those public member trees on Ancestry.com, you will see many  listings for Chester Coleman Bebout. Keep in mind, though, there is not one record spelling out his full middle name in Livingston or Crittenden County, Kentucky.  No Chester Coleman Bebout - only Chester C. Bebout. So, did he have a middle name or just a middle initial?  It's hard to be sure.

Wait a minute ... There was an attorney and businessman named Chester C. Cole  who lived in Crittenden County before moving to Iowa in 1857.[1]  Could Chester C. Bebout have been named for this prominent citizen?  Maybe .. or maybe not, but the Bebout family did have business dealings with Chester C. Cole. Still not enough proof. This ancestor will have to continue as Chester C. Bebout in my records until other information is found. Hearsay isn't good enough; there must be a record showing his entire middle name.

Then there is my great-grandfather, David Vaughn.  This situation is similar to that of Chester C. Bebout ... well, sort of. Many researchers have his full name as David Marshall Vaughn. The only problem is no record gives his middle name as Marshall.  The 1850 Livingston County census shows a Gustavus Vaughn, age three, the right age in the right family to be my David Vaughn. The 1860 Livingston County census lists him as David A. Vaughn.   He is listed as David Vaughn on his own death certificate and as David or Dave Vaughn  on the death certificates of several of his children. His name was given as David Vaughn when he married Sarah E. Myers in 1872 and Margaret C. Riley in 1875. It was still David Vaughn in a court case in 1876, in court minutes of the 1890s and finally, in his will dated 1917.

So, was his name David Gustavus, David A. or just David Vaughn.  Could it have been David Gustavus A. Vaughn, after a prominent doctor, Gustavus A. Brown, who lived and died in Smithland? There is no proof and without proof, I will have to be satisfied with calling him just David Vaughn.

Middle names can provide clues to ties with family and friends, but they can also cause us to follow false leads, especially when only an initial is used.

 

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[1] "Chester C. Cole," DrakeApedia, <http://drakeapedia.cowleswiki.drake.edu/Chester+Cole>, accessed 25 May 2015.

Published 28 May 2015, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - Elmer & Louella Bebout

Bebout

Elmer

Nov. 24, 1886

Apr. 15, 1977

Louella

Jan. 17, 1884

July 23, 1954

Buried Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 13 January 2014.

According to her obituary in the Crittenden Press, Lou Ella Garnett was the only daughter of Benjamin R. and Martha Ann Garnett. She married Elmer Bebout 27 November 1907. They had 10 children.

Elmer Bebout was the son of Chester C. Bebout and Mary E. Lewis.

Elmer and Lou Ella Bebout were my great uncle and aunt.

Published 30 September 2014, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

FGS Conference Wrap Up

This past week at the FGS Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee has been a time to remember. Not only was it an opportunity to hear expert genealogical speakers, it was also a time to meet new bloggers and to renew acquaintances with other genealogists.

The classes covered every imaginable topic of interest to genealogists. One of my favorites and a friend I had not seen for some time, was Kandi Adkinson of the Kentucky Land Office. She can explain - step by step - how land was patented in early Kentucky in such a way that it is so easy to understand. If you have never heard Kandi, try to catch her at one of her speaking engagements around Kentucky. She is a treasure.

Another favorite was the class on Union draft records of the Civil War. I had no idea they existed or what they contain. Arranged by congressional districts in Kentucky, these records contain lists of deserters and physical examinations of the drafted men as well as other records. Unfortunately, they are only accessible at the Atlanta Branch of the National Archives and they are only for Union soldiers.

Wendy Bebout Elliott's lecture on the Trail of Tears was outstanding also. I was pleasantly surprised that she concentrated on events leading up to the Trail of Tears rather than the march itself. Wendy is a special person. We corresponded over 20 years ago and she was very helpful to me when I was researching the Bebout family. Her Bebout ancestor was a brother to Benjamin Bebout, the progenitor of the Crittenden County, Kentucky Bebouts.

There were other really informative classes and it was sometimes difficult to decide which ones to attend. In addition to the lectures, there were special events combining the winning duo (food and music) which enhanced the whole conference experience.

It isn't always convenient to attend national conferences, but there are a number of regional and local workshops and seminars that we can attend. One coming up in September is TreeRoots at Willard Library in Evansville, Indiana. It's free and promises to be a good workshop. More on it later.

Tombstone Tuesday - James N. & Josie A. Croft

 

 



Croft

James N.

1874 - 1944

Josie A.

1877 - 1947

Buried Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 14 August 2009. Pleasant Grove Church is in the background.

James Newton Croft, son of Jeremiah Croft and Sarah E. Cooper, married Josephine Adaline Bebout, daughter of Chester C. Bebout and Mary Elizabeth Lewis, 11 September 1895 Crittenden County. James N. and Josie were my great-grandparents.

Tombstone Tuesday - A.J. and Sue Bebout

A.J. Bebout
1844 - 1924

Sue His Wife
1853 - 1895

Buried Deer Creek Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Note the Masonic symbol. Tombstone photographed early 1990s.

Abraham J. Bebout, son of John and Sarah Bebout, was born 8 March 1844 Kentucky and died 3 April 1924. He married Sue Shoemaker 4 December 1873 in Livingston County, Kentucky. Abraham and Sue appear on the 1880 Livingston County census with their children Lewis, Anna L. and John and Abraham's brother, Christopher C. Bebout.

Fearless Female - Harriet C. Wilson Bebout

I received a wonderful gift a couple of weeks ago. One of my Bebout cousins shared a photo of two people, possibly my great- great-great grandmother, Harriet C. Wilson Bebout, and her "afflicted" son, John. I had never seen a photo of either of them. In Harriet's face I could see my mother, especially around the eyes. My daughter thinks she sees me in Harriet. Perhaps there is a family resemblance. This gift is also special because Harriet has always fascinated me. Let me share a bit of her life story with you.

Harriet was born in December 1824 in the part of Livingston County, Kentucky that is today Crittenden County and was the daughter of John E. Wilson (ca 1780 NC - 2 November 1853) and Harriet Brooks. Harriet Wilson's mother died when she was about 6 years of age and she was reared by her step-mother, Nancy Franks.

Harriet grew up in a large family. Her father had at least four children by his first marriage to a daughter of Hugh McVay. These children were Manerva, Claibourne, Martha "Patsy" and Letty Keziah. Five known children blessed the marriage of John E. Wilson and Harriet Brooks, his second wife. They were Mary, Eleanor Brooks, Sarah, Harriet C. and Frances Jane "Franky." Then, by his marriage to Nancy, the third and much younger wife, the family expanded to include three more children - Pernesa, another Sarah, and another Claibourne. I think they ran out of names for the children as they named two daughters Sarah and the only two sons were named Claibourne. I don't know if the two Sarahs were named after someone in the family, but the two Claibournes were most likely named for Claibourne McVay, John E. Wilson's first wife's brother.

Harriet was not quite 21 years old when she married Peter Bebout, the son of Abraham and Elizabeth VanOstrand Bebout. Together they had the following children: Harriet, Elizabeth, Pernecia Rebecca, John, Jesse B., Chester C., Margaret/Ellen. We don't know a lot about their lives, but we do know that Peter was a farmer and they probably attended the Baptist church. One child was born in Iowa so they did spend a short time in that state. They never owned slaves and it is not known if they had strong feelings about slavery. We do know that Peter enlisted in Co. D, 20th KY Voluntary Infantry (U.S.A.) rather than in a C.S.A. regiment. Unfortunately, he did not survive the war and died in Columbia, Tennessee in 1862.

Rearing the children fell solely on Harriet. It must have been difficult providing food and clothing for the family. By the end of the 1870s the children were all married except John, who would never marry. Harriet and John lived the last years of their lives with her youngest son, Chester. In 1908, Harriet passed away and was laid to rest at Pleasant Grove Cemetery on the 17th of June.

Harriet lived to be almost 84 years of age. Many events occurred during her long life. In the 1830s, thousands of Cherokee Indians walked through this area as they headed toward their new homes. On 1 April 1861, the attack on Fort Sumpter signaled the beginning of the Civil War and would result in a life-changing event for Harriet and her family. Was she aware of that wonderful invention, the telephone? Did she know about the machine, the automobile, that would change the mode of transportation of her children and grandchildren? What a treat it would be if I could hear the story of her life in her own words.

Published 12 Mar 2010, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,  http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - What's Her Name?

 



This lovely tombstone for John Bebout and his mother Katherine is located at Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. There is just one thing wrong with the tombstone - the mother's name is likely incorrect. Most records list her name as Harriet or Harriet C. Bebout. It would be easy to assume the C. in Harriet's middle name stood for Catherine, making the name on the tombstone correct. However, in the will of her father, John E. Wilson, recorded in Crittenden County Will Book 1, page 46, she is listed as "Cassa Bebout wife of Peter Bebout." When her daughter, Harriet Ann Bebout, married James P. Sullenger in 1863, the wedding was at "Casander Bebout's."

Her full name might be Harriet Cassander or Harriet Cassa , but it surely was not Katherine. Harriet C. and her husband, Peter Bebout, were my 4th great grandparents. Harriet C. Wilson Bebout was born in 1824 and died in 1908. Peter Bebout was born in 1823 and died in 1862.

Published 29 Dec 2009, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,  http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - Chester and Minnie Bebout

Copyright on text and photograph by Brenda Joyce Jerome, CG

 



Bebout

Chester C.

1857 – 1942

Minnie T.

1882 – [blank]

Buried Salem Cemetery, Livingston County, Kentucky. According to his death certificate, Chester C. Bebout was born 24 December 1856 and died 7 January 1941. He was the son of Peter Bebout and Harriet Wilson. Minnie Thorning was the daughter of John and Charlotte Thorning. Minnie died 26 November 1967 at the age of 85.

Chester C. Bebout and his first wife, Mary Elizabeth Lewis, were my great great grandparents.

Tombstone photographed 24 May 2009.