Tombstone Tuesday - Rachel D. Brown

In loving
Remembrance of
Mrs. Rachel D. Brown
Died
July 8, 1887
Aged 87 years

Buried at Uniontown Cemetery, Uniontown, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 21 June 2009. Rachel D. Brown is found on the 1880 Union County census in the household of her son, E.J. Brown, a druggist in Uniontown. According to Incidents From the Farm Account Books of James Beard Crutcher 1857 – 1893, Mrs. Brown, wife of James Huston Brown, died in Mt. Vernon, Indiana. She was born in Spencer County, Kentucky 7 June 1800. Her husband was a soldier in the war with England in 1812 and he died 26 February 1868.

Coroner's Inquisition 1811

When a person died unexpectedly in Kentucky, the coroner called a jury of twelve men to examine the facts surrounding the death and determine the probable cause of death. Coroner’s inquisitions are often found among loose papers in the county clerk’s office. The following inquisition was found in a file marked “Oaths 1811” in the Caldwell County clerk’s office, Princeton, Kentucky.

“Whereas We Joseph Morgan Chittenden Lyon Wm. Birdsong Wm. Darnal Wm. Johnston Zachariah Chandler Reuben Martin John E. Pound Christopher Hammond Wm. S. Norris Sam Black and Michael Mobley being Summoned by Edward Robison Coriner of Caldwell County at the House of Cobb & Clark in Eddyville on the first of July 1811 to Enquire in to the cause of the death of John Watson Infant Son of Samuel Watson aged about 14 years. The Jury on there oaths from the Information of George Miller Samuel C. Clark & John Phaora[?] Say the above [illegible word] John Watson came by his death accidentally. “ Chitt. Lyon foreman.

Sinking of the Belmont 1884

Tombstones of Mathew and Sarah Lyon, Oak Hill Cemetery, Evansville, Indiana.

After Mathew S. Lyon married Sarah Frost in 1845 Hopkins County, Kentucky, they settled down to rear their family. Lyon was first a merchant and later a hotel keeper in Madisonville. By the mid-1860s, the family had relocated to Evansville, Indiana, where Lyon became a clerk and loan agent. The family grew to include the following children: Ella, Lawrence, John, Sallie, Harvy, Thompson, Laura, Edward and perhaps others.

On the morning of the 30th of August 1884 in Evansville, Sarah Lyon and two of her daughters, Mrs. Sallie Bryan, a young widow, and Miss Laura Lyon, boarded the transfer steamer, the Belmont, which was headed toward Henderson. The Belmont was towing a barge containing a passenger train carrying about 60 people.

Suddenly, a cyclone blew in along the Ohio River, striking the Belmont and causing it to rip apart from the barge. The Belmont, which was carrying about 20-25 people, turned bottoms up, throwing passengers and crew into the dark water or trapping them in their rooms. There was no chance for escape as the storm raged for over an hour. All aboard the Belmont drowned in the storm. Among those who perished were Capt. Smith and his crew, who remained with the sinking boat until the end. All passengers on the barge survived.

The storm also hit Uniontown, Kentucky and damaged Hamilton’s warehouse, Dr. Brown’s residence, the roof of the Commercial Hotel, Cartmell’s warehouse and there was much destruction to crops in the fields. Also badly damaged were the Evansville steamers, Josh V. Throop and Silverthorn.

The body of Sarah Lyon was among the first recovered from the river. It was placed on the steamer, Iron Cliff, and returned to Evansville. The bodies of Mrs. Sallie Bryan and Miss Laura Lyon were recovered shortly thereafter. All three bodies were placed in a vault at Oak Hill Cemetery, Evansville, to await burial the following day.

The funeral for Mrs. Lyon and her daughters took place on Sunday, the 31st of August. The bodies were laid to rest side by side – Mrs. Lyon on the left, Mrs. Bryan on the right and Miss Laura in the center. A large crowd was in attendance as the Rev. Mr. Berger of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church read a scripture and said a prayer.

Mathew S. Lyon moved to Sturgis, Union County, Kentucky and died there on the 19th of May 1890. Sadly, his obituary in the Evansville Courier of 20 May 1890 does not mention the deaths of his wife and daughters. His body was brought back to Evansville and he was laid to rest beside his family at Oak Hill Cemetery.

Tombstone Tuesday - Elizabeth Lake

In Memory
Of
Elizabeth R.
Wife of
John A. Lake
Born
July 6th 1802
Died
January 14
1830

Smithland Cemetery, Smithland, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 16 April 2009. This tombstone, even though almost 180 years old, is in fairly good condition. Click on photo for an enlarged view.

Elizabeth R. Brown and John A. Lake married 19 October 1828 Livingston County, Kentucky. The 1830 Livingston County census shows John A. Lake with one female child under the age of five in his household. This child is believed to be Elizabeth Lake, who married Emilius P. Haynes 20 July 1846. She is the only known child of Elizabeth Brown and John A. Lake.

John A. Lake died before 7 December 1835, when letters of administration upon his estate were granted to James McCawley, who was also appointed guardian of Elizabeth Lake. It is likely that Martha (Brown) McCawley, wife of James McCawley, was the maternal aunt of Elizabeth Lake Haynes.

FGS Conference 2-5 September 2009

The Federation of Genealogical Societies and its local host, the Arkansas Genealogical Society, invite you to Little Rock this September 2-5 for this Conference for the Nation’s Genealogists. Almost 200 lectures, workshops and other presentations await your inquiring mind. What else will you find at such a conference? Many of the countries top researchers, speakers, vendors, archivists, librarians, editors and others in the field of genealogy will be converging on Little Rock eager to share their genealogical knowledge and experience. The conference theme is “Passages through Time” and you will come away with the energy and knowledge to take you through time to research your ancestry with up-to-date techniques, records, and databases.

Register by July 1, 2009 and save $50.00 off the full conference registration. Your full conference registration provides entrance to all lectures during the full four days except for a few with an extra fee. Hear speakers from all around the United States. Ask them questions, learn from your fellow genealogists, figure out ways to find Grandma's marriage record, purchase books, CDs, software, maps, databases, memberships, and come away with a renewed energy that can only be found at such a conference. Learn about military, land, school, tax, county, court, probate and other record types. Learn ways to get around brick-wall research. You will receive tickets that enables you to participate in door prize drawings. A conference tote bag and a CD containing the handouts from 99% of the lectures is also yours. If you wish this material in paper form, that is available for a low fee.

Registrants to date are coming from all over the U.S. and some from Canada. This conference has topics for everyone no matter how long you have been doing genealogy. Wednedays’ Networking Luncheon will have some tables designated for specific discussion topics including genealogy bloggers, Arkansas research, military research, Tennessee research and others.

For more details visit www.fgsconference.org and keep up-to-date on conference news, tips, previews, and more at www.fgsconferenceblog.org. See you in September! Be a part of the more than a thousand registrants who will be attending.

Old Bethel Church

The following article has been transcribed from the Henderson Gleaner and Journal, Sunday, 21 March 1926.

One of the oldest churches in Henderson County is located near Hebbardsville. In fact, the old Bethel Church was the second church erected in the county, the first being the Grave Creek Church.

This church was organized in 1811 by members who, before building the church, held their meetings in tents, in what was known as camp meetings, and the preaching services would last all during the day and until late at night on Sundays.

The Old Bethel Church was organized by a group of members who withdrew from the Grave Creek Church. The Grave Creek Church was the only Baptist church in the county, and members lived miles away, but would go there to attend services. Finally, some of the members in this locality decided it was too far and it was from this decision that they set to work and built a church in their own community.

When Old Bethel was first erected, there was only one room, which was built of logs and had a mud chimney. During this time people used to attend church here from Indiana and Illinois. They would cross the river at Red Banks, now Henderson. In later years the old logs were torn down and brick building erected out of brick donated by James Priest, the brick having been made on his farm near Hebbardsville. The building was constructed by Tuck Landrum.

When the members were making a canvass for money with which to build the church, John Priest told them he would give $200, saying "I am giving you $100 provided you build it at Hebbardsville, and $100 if built near my farm," which is now known as the Ella Hamilton farm. When Mr. Priest came to Henderson County, he moved his family across from Green River in rocking chairs, the river having been frozen over.

In 1842, this church had 48 colored members, and they were all dismissed during that year, when the slaves were freed to worship as they pleased. The church had 200 white members.

At the present time Old Bethel has a membership of 300 and the pastor is Rev. Balldock, of Russellville, Ky. Preaching services are held semi-monthly.

Besides Bethel, there are four other churches in Hebbardsville, they being the Hebbardsville Baptist, Methodist, Christian and Cumberland Presbyterian.”

Uniontown Fire 1894

Fire has always been a concern in small towns, especially as fire-fighting equipment was scarce or non-existent. The following is an account of a fire in Uniontown, Union County, Kentucky as reported in the Evansville Courier, Sunday, 13 May 1894 and reprinted here in the Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog.

Uniontown, Ky., May 12 – The sun rose this morning upon an ugly mass of ruins, damaged machinery, etc., where stood for 24 years the city roller mills, solely owned and controlled by Wm. Rathman. At 2 o’clock a fire was discovered in a part of the building as leads to the inference that it originated in the engine room. There was $10,000 insurance upon the mill, but that sum is not sufficient to make Mr. Rathman’s loss tolerable. The loss to the town, unless rebuilt, will be great.

A large frame warehouse, which stood across the street from the mill, belonging to Mr. Sam Taylor, was burned. This had wheat stored in it belonging to Martin J. Clements and Geo. W. Cambron.

J.F. Roberts lost an uninsured blacksmith shop, and a small frame cooper shop, in which the barrels for use at the mill were made, belonging to Mrs. Nancy Livesay, was also burned. The three buildings in close proximity to the mill were saved. The nearest of these was Mr. Rathman’s three-story grain elevator built of brick and iron roofed, the second, his dwelling, just back of the mill. It is of frame, iron roofed and was saved but the out buildings were burned.

Mrs. Nancy Livesay’s two-story, shingle roofed frame dwelling is the third and it was only because of the good facilities her grounds afforded for water that it could be saved by the efforts of citizens.

Mr. Wm. Rathman, who is the principal loser by the fire, has been 41 years a resident of the town, coming here from Evansville in 1853. He worked for 17 years for H. Munchoff and then built the mill which burned last night. This is his second heavy loss by fire, he having $6000 worth of wheat stored in a warehouse burned in the big distillery fire of 1874.