Posts Tagged ‘Barren County’

by Sherry Stocking Kline
13 April 2010

I snapped this Tombstone for a couple of reasons. One, I hoped he was family, and Two, it just caught my eye.  It stood there, and though it said  “Gone, but not forgotten,” it seemed, well, lonely.

And like some tombstones that you see, it just made me wonder, who was he?  Why is he buried there all by himself?  What did he  do for a living? What did he die of?

All those questions ran through my mind, but I guess first and foremost, was the question, is he part of my family?

Julian Jones - Caney Fork Baptist Cemetery

On the Stone:

Julian Jones
1863 – 1932
Gone But Not Forgotten

Today I don’t have those answers, and even though he is buried near my Smith family stones, I don’t have the answer to the  “is he family” question.

But it’s a puzzle that I plan to solve!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
06 April 2010

This week’s Tombstone Tuesday is my Mom’s Great-Aunt Bettie Crabb.

Bettie Crabb's Stone - Glasgow Cemetery, Barren County, Kentucky

On The Stone:

Bettie Crabb
Oct 15, 1866
Oct 31, 1932

What you can’t see in the photograph here is that Bettie is buried next to her father, J. R. U. Crabb who died 11 years before she did.  (Bettie never married.)

For a few years, J. R. U. and Bettie’s mother, Elizabeth Laird Jones Crabb lived on a farm in Sumner County, Kansas, just east of Milan, Kansas.

Bettie’s mother Elizabeth, died and is buried there, far away in the Milan Cemetery, Sumner County, Kansas.  You can see her tombstone here.

Sometime after Elizabeth died, J. R. U. and Bettie returned to Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky, to be near Bettie’s sister, Sally Crabb Mayfield, wife of George. Sally and George are buried in the Glasgow Cemetery, Glasgow, Kentucky, also.

The photograph below shows Bettie and J. R. U.’s  place in the cemetery next to each other:

L - R: Bettie Crabb and father J. R. U. Crabb Stone - Glasgow Cemetery, Barren County, Kentucky

Our new-found cousins, Dennis and Nancy (Bertram) Bush who so kindly showed us around Barren County, told us that just a couple of years earlier, some man picked this spot, and this tree, to hang himself…  Gave me shivers then.  (Still does.)

Related Posts (also included in the Text):

J. R. U. Crabb’s Tombstone

Elizabeth Laird Jones Crabb Tombstone

Milan Cemetery Listings, Milan, Sumner County, Kansas

by Sherry Stocking Kline
March 12th, 2010

Here is my almost Wordless Wednesday, a photograph of my Great-Aunt May Breneman Jones Willey in front of her son’s family’s home in Minnesota.

1959 - May Breneman Jones Willey - age 79

May’s parents were Constantine “Tom” and Salinda (Rose) Breneman. May’s first husband was Evan Jones, son of Willis W. and Martha Ellen (Smith) Jones. Willis W. and Martha Ellen originally came from Kentucky, and moved to the Midwest, living in Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

Evan and May’s son’s name was Kenneth Jones. Kenneth and his wife Lois had five children: Lawrence, Lynn, Patty, Charlie, and Kenny, and I hope one of the children, or even their children find this post, and will leave a message.

I have many happy memories of visiting Aunt May and their family in Minnesota, and we would love to re-connect with them.

Sherry Stocking Kline
February 20, 2010

It’s Saturday night!   Time for some more Saturday Night Genealogy Fun with Randy Seaver!  He wants us to tell him about our genealogy “Happy Dances!”

Sounds like Happy Dance Party fun to me!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – Happy Dance, Ah-ha Moments or Genea-gasms!

Hey, it’s Saturday Night (again), time for some Genealogy Fun! Your mission, if you decide to accept it, is to: 1) Think of any number of genealogy events or moments that make you have a genealogy happy dance, an ah-ha moment, or a genea-gasm. 2) Tell us about them in a blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a comment on Facebook.

I didn’t even know there was a Corson book!

Here we go! I just did  a Happy Dance this past week.  When I was doing a few minutes research on my own father, I found he was listed in the  Corson Family Book!

I didn’t even know there was a Corson book!  I love family history books, especially the kind that adds in some tidbits about the people, like what their occupation was, and if they served in the Civil, Revolutionary, War of 1812, Spanish-American War, etc, etc..

I love a ‘peek through the window’ of their lives…

And while I just love filling in the blanks on ancestral charts, I love it even more when I find a newspaper clipping, story, or a family history that gives me a peek ‘though the window’ into their lives.

Corson was the maiden name of my Dad’s grandmother, Margaret “Maggie” Corson McGinnis. And this is a line I’ve just simply not researched much at all, so this may be a fantastic springboard for further research.

Most of my “Happy Dances” haven’t been posted about yet, but that sounds like a fun course of future action!

More Happy Dances…

The Day the Genealogy Serendipity Angels Smiled… is one of those moments when you really believe in Genealogy Angels.  The day I called the South Central Kentucky Cultural Center, hoping to learn a bit about our family history, and connected with a real, live, living cousin.  It just doesn’t get any better than that!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
February 16th, 2010

William Arthur Smith - Smith Cemetery, Temple Hill area, Barren Co, KY

I photographed this child’s stone in a small Smith Family Cemetery in the Temple Hill area in Barren County, KY. (the same cemetery as this Tombstone Tuesday post).

William Arthur Smith photograph - Barren County, KY

On the Stone:

William Arthur
son of
M. H. & B. C.
SMITH
July 27, 1910
Nov 2, 1915

Taking the photograph, and looking at the stone, I had to wonder, who was this handsome little five-year-old boy so obviously loved by his parents?

How did he die?  Was it one of the many illnesses that were fatal in that era, and are so treatable now?   Did he fall from a horse?  Was he a “blue baby” a  heart defect that is so treatable now, but eventually killed it’s victims even in the 1940’s?

I did do a little quick research to try to learn who his parent’s were, and if they were related to ‘my’ Smith’s, but that question wasn’t easily answered.

So, on another day when I have more time I will set out and hope to solve at least some of these mysteries.

RELATED POSTS:

Tombstone Tuesday: Lute and Sabina Smith Ruby’s parents.

J. Thomas and Nancy A. (Smith) Harrison down the road a few miles in the Caney Fork Baptist Church cemetery. They may (or may not) be related.

Warner LaRue Jones Tombstone. Warner was born in Kentucky to Willis and Martha Ellen Smith Jones.

George W. Smith & wife Lucy’s Tombstone

The Day the Serendipity Genealogy Angels Smiled

by Sherry Stocking Kline
February 2, 2010

My Tombstone Tuesday is Ruby L. Smith, buried in a small Smith Family Cemetery, Barren County, Kentucky, near the Temple Hill area.

Ruby L. Smith - buried in the Smith Cemetery - Temple Hill, Barren County, KY

On the Stone:

Ruby L. Smith
Mar 15, 1901
Jan 15, 1919

According to the Kentucky Death Record information I found online, Ruby was the daughter of L. H. and Sabina Smith.

What Did Ruby Die of?

She was so young that I had to wonder, what did Ruby die of at the age of not quite eighteen?  It was shortly after Christmas and the New Year?  Did she have flu?  Pneumonia? An Accident?

To get to this small cemetery, we crossed a bridge over a shallow but fast-moving creek that was rushing down the hill, then drove up a long, shady lane where the trees met overhead in places.  This seemed like a road, but it was narrow and may actually have been the home’s private driveway. It led past a home, past the small cemetery, and back to a field.

The home and the cemetery were on a hill that sloped away to a rolling little valley on the west (I think it was west, but I could have been turned around!) The cemetery was located past this home along the lane.

My first thought was that the home was deserted, as neither the yard  nor the cemetery had been mowed for some time.  But looking again at the photograph of the home that I took that day it’s obvious that there are flowers on the porch along with outdoor furniture.

I Kept Thinking About Snakes…

We parked our cars and hiked through the grass to the stones, (I kept thinking about snakes…) and all the time I was hoping to find names that I knew were “ours” but that day, it wasn’t to be.  That day, none of the names were familiar, so we went on down the road where we did find my mother’s great-grandfather’s farm, and then on to the Caney Fork Cemetery where we found numerous family members.

This cemetery’s proximity to other Smith’s that were our family leads me to believe that these Smith’s are related, and I was able to carve out some time today to do more research on this family.

From the death records that I’ve located today, Ruby is the daughter of last week’s Tombstone Tuesday, Lute H. and Sabina Smith.

Drat! The Name Fits But the Dates Do Not…

According to Lute’s Death Record, he was the son of William Basie Smith. (I’ve not done any fact-checking on these facts yet.)    There is a William in my Charles Smith family, but the dates are simply wrong for Lute’s father to be my family’s William.

I’m disappointed, but this small cemetery is very near to my great-grandparent’s farm, Charles and Virginia Hawley Smith, in the Temple Hill area of Barren County, Kentucky, and while they may not have been related, there is a good chance, too, that they were.

Another puzzle to solve, for another day, but as of today I have more clues to work with!

Other Related Posts:

Tombstone Tuesday: Lute and Sabina Smith Ruby’s parents.

The tombstone of  J. Thomas and Nancy A. (Smith) Harrison is just down the road a few miles in the Caney Fork Baptist Church cemetery. They may (or may not) be related to each other.

Warner LaRue Jones Tombstone. Warner was born in Kentucky to Willis and Martha Ellen Smith Jones.

George W. Smith & wife Lucy’s Tombstone

The Day the Serendipity Genealogy Angels Smiled

by Sherry Stocking Kline
January 26, 2010

This tombstone is located in a Smith Family Cemetery in or near the Temple Hill area in Barren County, Kentucky.  (there are several Smith Family cemeteries in Barren County.) It is a small family cemetery, but I would guess there might be as many as 20 or 30 burials there.

The cemetery was located behind a farmhouse, and the whole area was overgrown with tall grass.  One clue to note is that someone (probably on Memorial Day given the plastic flowers are only slightly faded) had placed flowers on their grave. So most likely they have living children or grandchildren in the area.

Lute & Sabina Smith - Barren County, KY - Smith Cemetery

Smith
Lute H.
1857 – 1936

Sabina
1860 – 1940

While I suspect Lute and Sabina Smith may be family, I haven’t verified it yet, and I hope that can be part of this year’s adventures.  I think Sabina is a very pretty name, one that I’d never heard before, and if it truly is unusual, that should make sorting her out of the other Smith’s easier. The name Lute doesn’t seem that common, either.

My next steps when I start working on this couple will be to check on the census for them, get a copy of their obituaries, will(s), and perhaps even give the local funeral homes a call as that has worked well in the past.  Those are my first steps.

If it looks like there is a family connection, I will also contact the South Central Kentucky Cultural Center, as they have several family histories there, along with miscellaneous family information, and see if perhaps they have a family history for the family there that I can use as a springboard to use to locate the documents that would verify relationships.

We were at this cemetery  5  July 2005, looking for our own family burials, but we did not find any names in the cemetery that we knew to be our kin.  We had my mother with us and were trying to locate her grandfather’s homestead.

We did not find my mother’s grandfather’s homestead, but were able to locate her great-great grandfather’s homestead about three miles on past this farmstead.  Unfortunately, my ancestor’s Smith cemetery had already been returned to farm ground.

Related Posts:

The tombstone of  J. Thomas and Nancy A. (Smith) Harrison is just down the road a few miles in the Caney Fork Baptist Church cemetery. They may (or may not) be related to each other.

Warner LaRue Jones Tombstone. Warner was born in Kentucky to Willis and Martha Ellen Smith Jones.

George W. Smith & wife Lucy’s Tombstone

The Day the Serendipity Genealogy Angels Smiled

by Sherry Stocking Kline
January 9th, 2010

It’s Saturday Night Live at the Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Playhouse, and Randy Seaver wants to know what our Genealogy Super Powers are.

Check out Randy’s Challenge below or at Geneamusings.

It’s Saturday Night – time for more Genealogy Fun!

Dean Richardson posted What’s Your Genealogical Superpower? on his Genlighten Blog – Genealogy Documented blog last week, along with a nifty picture of a young lady with a big S on her shirt flying (is that Dean’s wife?). I thought Dean’s question was a great one for SNGF – so your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to…

1) Answer the question: Do you have a genealogical “superpower”? (i.e., a unique research ability or technique that helps you track down records or assemble conclusions that others can’t?) If so, what is it?

2) Tell us about it in a blog post, a comment to this post, a comment to Dean’s post, or a comment to this post on Facebook or Twitter.

3) If you have a picture of yourself in superpower mode, please show it to us!

What are my super powers?  What is it they say in the movies?  I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you?  Seriously, I’m just not sure that I have any “super” powers.

I do seem to have some good networking and investigative skills, and I’ve managed to run people (dead and live ones) down by making phone call after phone call to one entity or another.

I found a distant elderly living cousin in Barren County, Kentucky by doing the following:

1. We were at the Glasgow City cemetery and there were flowers on the grave of my great-great aunt.  That told me that someone living, and probably someone from that the area, put them there. She was of an age to still have living children, and definitely could have living grandchildren.

2. So, my next step could have been to find her obituary and that would have been a good next step, but I was hoping for a little quicker solution, so I called the local funeral home(s) with her name and date of death.

3.  I hit gold on my second funeral home. They had handled her funeral arrangements.  Because I had visited with this director on several occasions and he knew the cousins I’d already connected with in his town, he gave me the woman’s name and I was able to call her.

My new-found (and very elderly) cousin was very kind, but she knew very little about her ancestry and was very apologetic about “having had to throw away all the old photos due to moving into a smaller apartment.”

My first thought was “You Did WHAT?!”

But I didn’t say that and while I was broken hearted knowing that photos of my ancestors may have gone into the dumpster, at least I was able to learn that that particular avenue was closed to me for more information, and I connected with a nice sounding distant relative.

I guess what I’ve learned is that you can pick up the phone and make a few phone calls that can help you connect with distant family members and further your research, though you may not always get positive results.

Sherry Stocking Kline
November 24, 2009

Here is my Tombstone Tuesday:

J. R. U. Crabb, Buried in Glasgow Cemetery, Barren County, Kentucky

As shown on the tombstone:

J. R. U. Crabb
Born: April 14, 1838
Died:  Nov  1, 1920

Our Father is gone but not forgotten.

If I have all my facts right, and if my mother is right, too, then J. R. U. Crabb buried in the Glasgow Cemetery, Barren County, Kentucky, is my step great-grandfather. Mom was always told that Elizabeth Crabb was her grandmother, and Elizabeth was J.R.U.’s wife.

J. R. U.’s daughter, Bettie Crabb, is buried right next to him in the cemetery in Glasgow.

This is a beautiful cemetery, with a small Civil War fort, Fort Williams, at the top of the hill, and the tombstones run up and down along the sides of the hill.

72 - Fort Williams Memorial Marker, Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky

Fort Williams has a cannon, and there are several memorial markers that tell the story of the battle that was fought there on October 6th, 1863,  and you can look out over the tombstones from nearly everywhere in the Fort.

81 - Nancy Bertram Bush, Glasgow, KY & Norman Kline, Wellington, KS

We spent an hour or two locating family graves, and spotting other names that may have been family as well, so I came home with several ‘extra’ tombstone photographs for research purposes.

Because there were flowers on one family gravesite (indicating to me that there were people living nearby who brought flowers) I was later able to track down some other family members thanks to a few phone calls and the kindness of several Kentucky businesses, the South Central Kentucky Cultural Museum, and new-found family members.

That evening we watched the sun set from the fort and it was beautiful to look out over the tombstones on the rolling hillside in one direction and in the other direction watch the lights of the city begin to twinkle on far below us.

The city of Glasgow’s website has information and aerial photographs of Fort Williams here.

You can read more abut the J.R.U. Crabb family and see information extracted from the 1860 census here.

For a time, J. R. U. , his wife, Elizabeth (Laird) Crabb, and their daughter Bettie lived on a farm just east and a little south of Milan, Sumner County, Kansas.  I know from reading the local newspapers for that era that J.R.U. had cattle.

Elizabeth died on their farm near Milan, Sumner County, Kansas on July 30, 1912, and at some point in time before his death J.R.U. and daughter Bettie returned to Kentucky where J.R.U.’s other daughter, Sally Mayfield lived.

You can see Elizabeth’s tombstone, located in the Ryan Township Cemetery, Milan, Sumner County, Kansas, and read her obituary here.

And oh, yeah, if you’ve googled one of the names in this post, leave a comment and contact info!  We need to talk!

Sherry Stocking Kline
November 21, 2009

For me, it’s a sniffly sneezy, Saturday night. I’m on the mend, but Kleenex still needs to be on stand-by.

Here is our Saturday Night Fun Challenge from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings!  Have Fun!

Hey, genies, it’s Saturday Night, time for some Genealogy Fun!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (where’s my Mission Impossible music…drat, lost it), is:

1) Who is your MRUA – your Most Recent Unknown Ancestor? This is the person with the lowest number in your Pedigree Chart or Ahnentafel List that you have not identified a last name for, or a first name if you know a surname but not a first name.

2) Have you looked at your research files for this unknown person recently? Why don’t you scan it again just to see if there’s something you have missed?

3) What online or offline resources might you search that might help identify your MRUA?

4) Tell us about him or her, and your answers to 2) and 3) above, in a blog post, in a comment to this post, or a comment on Facebook or some other social networking site.

My most elusive mysterious ancestor and the brick wall I most want to break down is my Great-grandfather, Willis Washington Jones.

What do I Want to Know?

Who was his father. If his last name wasn’t Jones, it would certainly be a lot easier.

If I could find a marriage license/record for his mother and father, it would certainly be a lot easier.

If he had been on a census with a Jones mother and father, it would be a lot easier.

Here’s What I Know, and What I Think I Know…

He was born in Kentucky, according to his death certificate and most census records, though one granddaughter thought he was born in Illinois.   He may have been born in Barren, Edmonson, Hart, or possibly even Metcalfe County and he died in Sapulpa, Oklahoma.

Reviewing some of the following  info for Willis, I see a couple of gaps I have that I can probably fill without too much travel involved.

But if anyone out there has a lot of Jones’ family info in one of the above counties, I’d sure be interested!  I’ve nearly come to the conclusion that I need to gather all Jones’ info for those counties in that era, and see if I can by process of elimination figure the puzzle out.

I do have one question that I would like an opinion on, on the 1860 census that my great-grandfather Willis is on, (see below) he is listed at the very bottom of the list, and not with what I believe are his half–siblings.

Any comments would be welcome! Does that mean that Elizabeth is probably not his mother. (Either an obituary or death certificate names her as his mother, and yet, never a mention of his father.)

She, her husband, and one of her daughters also moved to Kansas, and lived near Willis for a time.

The following is part of  a ‘cheat sheet’ that I’ve typed up to take with me when I’m out and about researching.

Willis Washington Jones – Misc Info

Born: Mar. 28, 1853  in Kentucky.

Willis’ mother was Elizabeth Laird Jones (Elizabeth’s parents were Hezekiah Lard/Laird and Patsey Carter.)

I have no idea who Willis’ father is.

I have no proof that Elizabeth married anyone named Jones before she married J. R. U. Crabb.  (5 March 2012 – I have now viewed the marriage  certificate for Elizabeth and her second husband, J. R. U. Crabb and her name is listed as Jones.)  So, apparently Elizabeth did marry Willis’ father,  and either they divorced, or his father died while he was very young.

Willis last name was Jones on the census as a child, and ever after.

1860 Census in Barren County

Is Willis with his mother and a stepfather, J.R.U. Crabb, or is he an orphan taken in by this couple?

1860 Census Page 87 – Metcalfe County, KentuckyPost Office – East Fork4th of July, 1860
Entry 586

J.R.U. Crabb – 28 – Male
Elizabeth – 28  (1880 census says born in KY, mother born in South Carolina)
Daniel U – 02
Patsy S – 1/12

Patsy C. Crabb – 60 – North Carolina
Willis Lard – 25
Catherine Piper – 17
Amanda Gooden – 12
Willis Jones – 7  – born Kentucky

I have not found Willis on the 1870 Census

Willis W. Jones married Martha Ellen Smith, daughter of Charles and Virginia (Hawley) Smith on 27 June 1876 in Barren County, KY.

They were married by Minister Bertram at his home. (later, in 2005, a new-found cousin, Nancy Bertram Bush, told me the minister was Ephraim Bertram, a circuit minister.)

Martha Ellen Smith was born Sept 03, 1852. She died on July 23, 1898.

I do not know where she is buried, but believe it to be in Kansas, Oklahoma, or possibly even Arkansas, as I’ve been told they had a strawberry farm in Arkansas for a time.

No one living knows where the strawberry farm was in Arkansas, and I question the person’s memory who gave me that information.  I’ve done no research in Arkansas – yet.

1880 Sound-Ex Edmonson Co., KY, Brownsville Dist.

Jones – Soundex# – is 520
Roll 40 – Kentucky T-570

Jones, Willis White,  Male, 27 years
Jones,  Martha E. Wife Age 28 Born KY
Jones, Evan B Son 3 KY
Jones, Pearl dghtr 1  KY

1880 Census  – Edmonson Co., KY

Jones, Willis white Male 27  married  Farmer
Jones, Martha white  Female 28  married  housewife
Jones, Evan B white Male   3  son
Jones, Pearl white Female 1 dghtr

Willis W. Jones remarried and had more children, and he died Sept 26, 1929 in Sapulpa, OK (this is certain, I have the death certificate), he is buried there, and some of his descendants live there.

1910 Oklahoma Census – Sapulpa  Township  47, 47(There was a third son later, William)

Jones, Washington W.    Hd  Male         Age 57  born KY  fthr  brn US. mtr brn U.S.

Eliza C. wife white  Age 40  # of yrs of present marriage   2  (or 7 not a good copy)

Bessie B age 18  born KY mtr & ftr born in KY
Vechel N. age 6, born Oklahoma  parents  born KY
Richard T age 1, brn Oklahoma parents KY – Willis Lard

This seems like such a lot of information, but hope springs eternal that someone with the answers will find this post, and contact me.

The thing that makes this more unlikely, is that I doubt that my Great-grandfather Willis had any more full siblings who would have the information that I need.

If  you are reading this after googling one of the names listed above, We need to talk! Please leave a comment, so we can share info!  Thanks….