Letter from California 1855

When a person under the age of 21  years planned to marry, it was necessary for a parent or guardian to give consent for the license to be issued. Most of these consent notes are brief and to the point, but occasionally a consent note surpasses  "ordinary" and gives us a glimpse into the personality of the writer.  An example of this is the letter below.   On the 3rd of September 1855, Willis L.  Hobby, who was temporarily in Grass Valley, California, wrote his son, William M. Hobby of Caldwell County, Kentucky about William's intended marriage. 

"Grass Valley California   September the 3 - 1855   William M. Hobby:

Dear Sun I have Jest recived your compliments and vary unexpectedley had I thought of being addrest on A Subject of Such magnitude as yours and having but few moments to reflect I shall bee at great loss for the form of my letter however I feel willing to gratify you as fare as I can consistent with my feelings and intrest.  William you have complied with your duty as an obedient Sun to me being your Father, and I feel willing as a Father to comply with my duty to the child.  William in the first place I feel it my duty to ask you some important questions.  The first question I ask have you give your Self time for [illegible] and Sober reflection in regard to this matter; also have you taken into considderation the great responsibillity which involvs upon the head of the family and also the Solom oath that is binding through life.  William I never intend to make or brake matches and if you think you had rather ingay A retyard life exersise your one free will and if you do well it will bee well for you and if not dont reflect on me. William let the result bee as it may  I hope you will Stay with my children till I return  I will start home the 15 of November next if I live and able to travel.  William Studdy your intrest and act in accordance is all that I can say at present  I will do no more  I remain your  Father     Willis L. Hobby"[1]

William M. Hobby and his bride, Lucinda Crow, were married  the 8th of November 1855[2] and Willis L. Hobby did return to Caldwell County, but probably not in time for his son's wedding.   

Keep in mind that gold was discovered in California in 1848 and many men left their families behind to travel by sea or overland to California in hopes of making their fortune. The 1850 Nevada County, California shows a number of men living in Grass Valley who listed their occupation as "miner."   Apparently, Willis L. Hobby did not find a fortune as he was back in Caldwell County in time to be enumerated on the 1860 census.[3]

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[1] Letter from Willis L. Hobby, Grass Valley, California, to his son, William M. Hobby, Caldwell County, Kentucky, filed with original marriage records (1855), Caldwell County Clerk's Office, Princeton, Kentucky.

[2] Brenda Joyce Jerome. Caldwell County, Kentucky Marriages 1854-1865, (Evansville, IN: Evansville Bindery, 1997) 11.

[3] 1860 Caldwell County, Kentucky Census, Farmersville Subdivision, page 133, dwelling #990, family #990, family of W.L. Hobby, Ancestry.com, accessed 29 July 2017.

Published 10 August 2017, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - William B. and Maggie Davidson

Davidson

William B.

Davidson

Apr. 2, 1878

Sep. 17, 1944

At Rest

Maggie L.

Wife of W.B.

Davidson

Sep. 6, 1880

Feb. 8, 1917

Life, Love and Truth

Buried Union Church Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstones photographed 2012.

William Buckner Davidson was born in Kentucky and was the son of Arch Davidson and Lucy Franklin, both of whom were born in Kentucky.[1] William B. Davidson married Maggie, his first wife, about 1903.[2]

Following the death of Maggie, William B. Davidson married Maude Lasher, who is buried at Hampton Cemetery, Livingston County.

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[1] Kentucky Death Certificate #20080 (1944) for William Buckner Davidson, Ancestry.com, accessed 2 Mar 2017.  His burial place is given as "Old Union Cemetery."

[2] 1910 Livingston County, Kentucky Census, Dist. 7, E.D. 0108, Ancestry.com, accessed 2 Mar 2017 shows the first child, Truman, age 6, indicating he was born about 1904.

Published 8 August 2017, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Where's Frank?

There is a bit of a mystery surrounding the husband of Mary Elizabeth Watkins and the father of her son, Fountain. Mary Elizabeth's tombstone in Smithland Cemetery states she was the wife of Frank Nickels and the same name is listed as the father of Fountain Nickels on his tombstone.  

Mary Elizabeth Watkins

Wife of Frank Nickels

Dec. 24, 1845

Oct. 24, 1924

Fountain

Son of

Frank & Mary E.

Nickels

Born

Jan. 4, 1866

Died

Mar. 26, 1870

In 1860 Mary E. Watkins is found in the Lyon County, Kentucky household of her father, Washington Watkins[1], but her death certificate identifies her father as Thomas Watkins.[2] In 1870, following the birth and death of her son, Fountain Nickels, Mary E. was living in the household of her brother-in-law and sister, John W. and Sarah (Watkins) Bush in Smithland, Kentucky. Her occupation was given as domestic servant. [3]

The date and location of the marriage of Frank Nickels and Mary E. Watkins are unknown. A search of the marriage records in Lyon, Caldwell, Livingston and Crittenden Counties does not show such a marriage. Was Frank Nickels  part of one of the numerous Nickels  families in the Caldwell and Lyon Counties area or was he from outside the immediate area?

Born at a time when women did not work outside their home, Mary Elizabeth continued to live with the  Bush family in Smithland for many years. She died at the home of her niece and nephew-in-law, Corrie (Bush) and Charles C. Grassham at 105 Fountain Avenue in Paducah in 1924.

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[1] 1860 Lyon County, Kentucky Census, Population Schedule, database on-line, page 703, Ancestry.com, accessed 26 May 2017.

[2] Kentucky Death Certificate #23389, Ancestry.com, accessed 26 May 2017.

[3] 1870 Smithland, Livingston County, Kentucky, Population Schedule, database on-line, page  , Ancestry.com, accessed 26 May 2017.

Published 3 August 2017, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Book Sale!

I am weeding out genealogy books from my personal library in order to have room for new books. Take a look and to see if there is anything you like, then email me to make sure it is still available.


Genealogy Books For Sale

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

Tombstone Tuesday - W.B. Sullenger

W.B. Sullenger

Sept. 9, 1854

Dec. 21, 1934

Buried Watson Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 8 May 2017.

According to Kentucky Death Certificate #598 (delayed), Wilson Berry Sullenger was the son of Thomas E. Sullenger and Martha Elizabeth Porter, both of whom were born in Kentucky.

W.B. Sullenger married (1) Miss Sarah White 29 November 1876 in Crittenden County[1] and (2) Miss Sallie Settles 3 February 1885.[2]

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[1] Brenda Joyce Jerome, Crittenden County, Kentucky Marriage Records Vol. II 1866-1886, (Evansville, IN: Evansville Bindery, 1991), 82.

[2] Ibid, 154.

Published 1 August 2017, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Kentucky Vital Statistics Law of 1852

Kentucky is fortunate to have birth and death records dating back to 1852. While they aren't complete and many contain errors, they can be helpful and are certainly better than having no records at all. The records begin in 1852 and, for most counties, cover 1853-1859. The law was rescinded during the Civil War, but was reinstated in the 1870s. There are few records during the 1880s and 1890s.  Compliance across the state was not consistent until 1911, when it became mandatory in Kentucky to keep a record of these vital statistics.

According to the law,[1] it was the duty of all physicians, surgeons and midwives to keep a registry of all births and deaths at which they had professionally attended, showing, in the case of deaths, the time, place and cause of death, the name, age, sex, color, and condition (whether single, married or widowed), name and surname of parents, occupation, residence, and place of birth of the deceased.  When two or more physicians, surgeons or midwives attended professionally at the event, the oldest one in attendance shall make the registry.

It was the duty of the local assessors, while making their lists of taxable property, to record a list of all births, marriages and deaths which had occurred within their counties in the 12 months ending on the 31st day of December last preceding the time of assessment.

In the case of births, the information on the registry was to include the time and place of birth, name of father and maiden name of mother, their residence, sex and color of the child, together with the child's name and whether born alive or dead. If the birth was for a slave, the owner's name could be given in place of the names of the parents.  The same applied when listing the death of a slave.

The following death record was found in loose papers (Deaths) in the Caldwell County Clerk's Office, Princeton, Kentucky. Click on the record to enlarge the image.

Death Certificate of Samuel Crowder born in Georgia September 23rd 1769, aged Eighty-two years Eleven months and nine days, residing in Caldwell County, Ky, died in Caldwell County Ky, on the second day of September 1852 of Congestive fever. [signed] J.C. Trayler

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[1] The Revised Statutes of Kentucky, Vol. II, Approved and Adopted By the General Assembly, 1851 and 1852, and in Force From July 1, 1852, (Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co., 1860) Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Chapter 82, p. 234.

Published 28 July 2017, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - Jonathan and Sarah C. Belt

Jonathan Belt

Jan. 8, 1854

July 17, 1928

Sarah

Catherine

Wife of

Jonathan Belt

Born

Aug. 10, 1854

Died

Dec. 17, 1893

Buried Watson Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstones photographed 8 May 2017.

According to the death record of Sarah C. Belt, she died 17 December 1894[1], at the age of 39 in Crittenden County. Her parents were A.W. and Letty Sullinger.

Jonathan Belt is found in the household of A.H.  and Margaret Belt on the 1870 Crittenden County census. [2] In the household were Enoch Belt, age 19, Johnathan Belt, age 16 and B.W. Belt, age 33.

Jonathan Belt and Sarah C. Sullinger married 11 October 1876 at the home of the bride's mother in Crittenden County. The bridegroom's age is given as 22. He was born in Crittenden County and both parents were born in  Rutherford County, Tennessee.  The bride was  age 22, born Crittenden County and her parents were born in Livingston  County. [3]

Jonathan and Sarah C. Belt are enumerated on only one census - the 1880 Crittenden County census. Appearing in their household, also, are a daughter, Martha J., age 2, and Jonathan's 28-year-old brother, Enoch.

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[1] Kentucky Death Records 1852-1964, online database, Ancestry.com, accessed 14 May 2017. Note the difference in death year.

[2] 1870 Crittenden County, Kentucky census, Hurricane Dist. #4, Post Office Hurricane, (database online) p. 403A, dwelling 134, family 149, image 256486, Ancestry.com, accessed 14 May 2017.

[3] Brenda Joyce Jerome, Crittenden County, Kentucky Marriage Records 1866-1886, (Evansville, IN: Evansville Bindery, 1991) 80.

Published 25 July 2017, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/