Sebree High School Graduates 1910

Graduation from high school was an event to celebrate. Elaborate ceremonies were held and whole families attended to witness the event.


When Sebree High School in Webster County, Kentucky held their graduation in 1910, the following article appeared in the Henderson Daily Gleaner on Wednesday, 27 April 1910.

The Sebree high school closed one of the most successful years of its history Monday night. There were ten graduates and each one rendered their part of the commencement program with credit to themselves and to the school.

Gibney Oscar Letcher, of Henderson, delivered the class address. There was a good crowd out to witness the closing exercises, many of whom were out of town people.

Invocation was given by the Rev. D.S. Edwards and the benediction was delivered by Rev. S.E. Ragland.

The following are the names of the graduates: John A. Powell, Jr., Dexter W. Ramsey, Kenneth S. Agnew, H. Townes Hardin, Philip D. Powell, Fabian Biggs, Lockie Brown, Frances Smith, Flora Osborn and Paul E. Ashby.

A Look at Union County 1878

It is exciting to locate material that gives a description of a place as it looked at the time. The following information comes from Kentucky: Its Resources and Present Condition - The First Annual Report 1878.

Towns and Villages

Morganfield, the county seat, is handsomely located north and west of the centre of the county. It contains a population of between 600 and 800 persons, one of the best court houses in the State (cost, $60,000), an academy, grist and saw-mill, tannery, wool-carding factor, a dozen mechanic shops, and several elegant private residences.

Uniontown, on the Ohio River, seven miles north of the county seat, has about 1,200 inhabitants, and is a place of decided commercial advantages. Large quantities are stemmed and shipped from this point, mostly to England.

Caseyville, on the Ohio river, near the mouth of Tradewater, has a population of about 700, who are mostly connected to coal mining.

Clayville, Francisburg, Locust Port, Raleigh, DeHaven, Gum Grove, Huntsville, Boxville, Seven Gems and Bordley are all neat, thriving villages, each doing a considerable local trade.

Agriculture - Nine-tenths of the people of Union County (leaving out those engaged in coal mining( are employed in tilling the soil, and live upon their farms. The principal staples are tobacco, corn, wheat, oats and hay.

Other Industries -  There are numerous grist and saw-mills, where flour is manufactured for export, and where millions of feet of lumber are sawed for shipment to New Orleans and other places, much of which goes even to Europe.

Schools and Churches - Prof. J.S. Austin has a well-managed academy at Morganfield. The St. Vincent Female Academy, under the charge of the Sisters, is located some 4 miles east of Uniontown, and 7 miles north of Morganfield. There is a first class female institution, well patronized by the citizens of Union county and the southwestern part of Kentucky. There are several other Catholic schools of merit in different parts of the county. The free common schools, under the State system, are taught in nearly all districts of the county. The Catholic is the leading Christian denomination in this county.

The People -  Nowhere in Kentucky will be found a more noble, hospitable, intelligent and moral community that in Union county. There are no very poor persons in the county. The court dockets are sparse of cases, and the jails are generally empty. Everybody works, and no one is so rich as to make him purse-proud or aristocratic.

Tombstone Tuesday - D.A. Butler

D.A. Butler

Born

Aug. 4, 1819

Departed This Life

Sept. 1, 1873

A friend to his country

and believer in Christ

Buried Piney Fork Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 11 March 2011.

Daniel Allen Butler married Matilda W. Green, daughter of George Green, 10 October 1838 Livingston County, Kentucky. Daniel Allen Butler is named a son and one of the executors in the will of his father, Armstead Butler, in Livingston County Will Book B, page 56, dated 20 February 1837 and proven 1 May 1837. 

According to a biographical sketch on his son, T.M. Butler, in Kentucky Genealogy and Biography, Vol. IV, pages 4-5 (reprinted 1972 by Thomas W. Westerfield), D.A. Butler was born in Culpeper County, Virginia and came to Kentucky in 1825 with his parents. D.A. and Matilda (Green) Butler had nine children, six of whom were living in 1872. They were Thomas M. of Caldwell County;  William F. of Livingston County; Polly Ann, wife of Smith Lowry of Livingston County; Albert of Livingston County and Gideon D. of St. Louis. Deceased children were Berry George, Jasper N. and Matilda A. Butler.

Copyright on text and photographs

by Brenda Joyce Jerome, CG

Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog

http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Midnight Madness!

It's that time of year again!  Willard Library, 21 First Avenue, Evansville, Indiana  is hosting its annual Midnight Madness 20 - 24 June 2011. Special Collections (2nd floor) will be open from 9 am until midnight for personal research and a variety of classes. Each day that week has a theme - In The Beginning (Monday), Moving Forward (Tuesday), A Call to Arms (Wednesday), Day of the Dead (Thursday) and In Reference to (Friday) Among the classes offered this year are the following:

Beginning Genealogy

Courthouse Research

Saving and Storing Your Research

Source Books for Genealogy

Church Records

Victorian Mourning Customs

World War I Genealogy

Brother Against Brother (Civil War Research)

Civil War: Evansville

Written In Stone: Tombstone Inscriptions

Finding Cemetery & Death Records

Becoming a Certified Genealogist

Memories (Journaling Your Memories)

Photographs & Collections: Evansville Museum

In addition, representatives of DAR, SAR, Civil War Roundtable, United Daughters of the Union and Confederacy will be present. A highlight of the week will be the Grey Lady Ghost Tour on Thursday, 23 June. I have seen the program on Victorian Mourning Customs and can tell you that it is very informative and entertaining.

Midnight Madness is one of the most popular events at Willard Library and attendance is high. All classes are free. For more information, check Willard Library's Website or call 812-425-4309. You will want to reserve a seat in the classes that interest you.

Military Draft - Civil War

Copyright by Brenda Joyce Jerome, CG

Both the Confederate and Federal  governments relied  on a military draft to obtain men to serve during the Civil War. The Confederate Conscription Act was the first to enact an American military draft on 16 April 1862. It called for healthy white men between the ages of 18 and 35 to serve for a term of three years. The upper age limit was raised to age 45 in February 1864. A bit later the age limits were expanded to men between the ages of 17 and 50.

The Federal government had a similar draft law, but it didn't take effect until 3 March 1863. The Federal draft covered men between the ages of 18 and 45.

Exemptions occurred on both sides for men in certain occupations. These included river and railroad workers, miners, teachers, telegraph operators and civil officials. In addition, men of draft age for the Union army were exempt if they had physical or mental disabilities. They were also excused from service if they were the only son of a widow, the son of infirm parents or a widower with dependent children. Men of draft age living in the South were excused from service if they owned 20 or more slaves.

The Enrollment Act of 1863 allowed Union soldiers to obtain an exemption from service by paying $300 or by finding a substitute. 

The military draft was not popular and the law was often abused  in the North as well as in the South. 

 

Tombstone Tuesday - Maria Haydock

Maria Haydock

Born

June 27, 1806

Died

Jan. 26, 1834

Buried Smithland Cemetery, Livingston County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 4 April 2009.

Maria Ferguson, daughter of Richard Ferguson, married Joseph Haydock 10 September 1823 in Livingston County. Issue of Maria and Joseph Haydock were Theodore, Mary Augusta, Richard, John and Nancy Haydock.

Following the death of Maria, Joseph Haydock married Mrs. Catherine F. Ferguson, widow of James B. Ferguson,  in June 1834.

Published 3 May 2011,  Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,   http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com

Flood of 1945

This is not the first year Kentucky has dealt with flooding from the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers. The most devastating floods occurred in 1884, 1913 and 1937, but floods in other years  caused problems. One such flood was that of 1945.

The Livingston Leader (published in Smithland, Kentucky) on 15 March 1945 stated that the Ohio River had risen during the past week  from the river to U.S. Highway 60 (Adair Street).  The overflow had covered the town's main business and residential areas. In two places, the flood waters had even crossed the highway. Goods and belongings had been removed  from businesses and homes in advance of the water so that loss in that respect would be light. However,  40 families were out of their homes with 35 of those homes being underwater. Also underwater were over 20 places of business. The water had passed the old Methodist church on Mill Street and covered the entire lower floor of the Bush (Bush-Dallam) house.   Fortunately, the flood did not reach the wells supplying water to the town.  School was closed for two weeks until all danger of flooding had disappeared.

There have been floods  in Smithland since 1945 - in particular, 1997 and 2005. Each time  flooding is predicted, the community gathers itself together and tries to stop the flood waters.  Residents living along the rivers today, again, face possible flooding. The National Guard plus local residents and jail inmates have worked hard to construct a flood wall to stop the flow of water into the town.  Let's hope they are successful.

Copyright on text and photographs

by Brenda Joyce Jerome, CG

Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog

http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com