April Scavenger Hunt: Find a Grave with a Lamb on it

 

"Find a grave with a lamb on it."

Darrell LaRue Crooks is buried in Union Hill Cemetery in what I'd call the "Little Dixie" area of Henderson County. It's exact address is 8648 Whitelick Rd, Corydon, KY, 42406. I photographed this tombstone on April 3rd, 2017. It baffled me that this little church cemetery really wasn't documented on Find-a-Grave yet and definitely wasn't photographed whatsoever. So I took it upon myself to get as much of it on there as I could that day.

Darrell was born on January 12th, 1942, and passed on March 9th, 1942. He was the son of Ralph Alexander Crooks and Marie Hammond. Through his father, he's a descendant of Samuel Willett & Polly Dant, and Reeves Arnett & Sarah Trigg. Through his mother, he's a descendant of James Crook & Maria Overfield, and Elias Morehead & Magary Duncan.

According to his death certificate, he died from severe ear infections. It mentions acute bilateral mastoiditis, otitis media.. and it mentions doing an operation and figuring out his ears wouldn't drain properly. Poor baby boy.

His tombstone is one I'd definitely like to get out and clean with a little D/2. It's little, so it won't take much, and I imagine if his parents were still living, they'd be appreciative.

A neat little factoid about Union Hill Cemetery -- it's actually kind of like two cemeteries together. If you ever visit the cemetery, you'll realize that the oldest graves, mostly with the last names of 'Marks' 'Overfield' and some of the older 'Crook/Crooks' are off to the far right of the rest of the graves - like Darrell Crooks' is located away from those original graves - his is more towards the center with the majority of the graves.

I believe this cemetery initially started as a family cemetery. Likely for the family of Charles Crook & Margaret Deborah (Marks) Crook and their descendants... but when a church was founded there, it expanded to include church families. That said, most here still undoubtedly have a Marks, Crooks, or an Overfield in their family tree. I'm going to include a satellite view of the cemetery so it's a bit easier to understand how it feels like it's 'two separate' cemeteries so to speak.

There are a LOT of cemeteries, mostly off in fields and the woods, near this cemetery. One of them being "Old Marks Cemetery" which also has the names "Dixon Cemetery," and "Crooks-Dixon-Pritchett Cemetery." It is located in the woods at GPS coordinates: 37.6767006, -87.7213974. "Old Marks" has ancestors of those buried in this cemetery. It's safe to say that the Marks/Crooks/Pritchett/Dixon/Overfield families owned most of the land in this area south of Corydon.

When you spend so much time doing genealogy, you start to realize all the 'founding' families of the area intermix with one another and everyone is related to everyone. These families tie into my Gibson's umpteen different ways and we all know the two Gibson Cemeteries are just a stones throw away from these.

Also being a genealogist, I'd *love* to know where Darrell got his middle name of 'LaRue' from. From what I can tell - he does NOT have a LaRue ancestor in his tree. Perhaps his parents were family friends with some of my LaRue kin.

April Scavenger Hunt: Find the Grave of Someone Who Passed Prior to 1850

 

"Find the grave of someone who passed prior to 1850."

For this one... it was more than clear to me that I wanted to write about Joel Gibson, my 6x Grandfather and undoubtedly the patriarch of at least 75% of all Gibson's in the Henderson County area.

Joel, for many many years, has been a favorite ancestor of mine to research. He is the forefather of everyone buried in the two Gibson cemeteries in Corydon. He is quite an interesting man to learn about.

Several years ago, I was contacted by a Joel descendant who believed Joel was an FPC (free person of color.) Now, this was an interesting theory to me as I had heard previously, in my youth, that there might have been some African ancestry on that line. However - DNA hasn't been able to prove this. My Mom did get a whopping 7.2% African on MyHeritage, yet 0% on Ancestry.

As of right now - through DNA matching... it appears Joel Gibson might be a son of a John Gibson and Mary Duncan and had a number of siblings that include (we have DNA matches to descendants of each of these): William Gibson who married Elizabeth McCormick (they ended up in Henderson), Naomi Gibson who married William Hogg, Susannah Gibson who married David Lay, John Gibson who married Judith Hogg, James Gibson, Richard Gibson who married Ann Yates, Julius Gibson, Lucresha Gibson who married a Birchfield, and Hannah Gibson who married Joseph Baird and then Jesse Lay.

Joel Gibson was undoubtedly born in 1750, likely in Caswell Co, North Carolina. That, too, is where he married his wife Eleanor (who's last name has been reported as Davis for years) in about 1768/1769. Joel enlisted into the military in 1776 and was discharged in 1783. He was part of the North Carolina Infantry, the "Continental Line."

Sometime around the year 1807 - the family moved from Caswell County, NC, to Pittsylvania County, VA. A few of Joel's daughters married there in the next few years.
By the 1810 census - Joel is in Christian County, Kentucky. He is listed as a male, 45 years and over. However, Joel would have been closer to 60 years of age - so he probably should have been in a '50-59' category but, age back in those days and those early, primitive censuses... it was fluid. That's the best way to put it. Age was fluid. Historically speaking, Joel and his family arrived here in Henderson County (the Corydon area specifically) in 1813.

On April 25th, 1825, he filed a revolutionary war pension and mentioned he was a widow. (I believe Eleanor died in Henderson County in about 1818.) Joel reports that he relies on his sons for support - money and his care. It literally mentions him being penniless if it weren't for his sons... which is surprising, honestly. Joel was the patriarch or the Gibson's. I feel like his sons wouldn't have everything they had, had it not been for him (at least in part anyway,) so it startles me that he was so... poor. But perhaps he knew that was the only way he'd get his revolutionary war pension approved. I don't know. For many years, family historians believed he moved here to Kentucky on a Land Grant from the war but that has proved to be untrue.

Joel died on December 23rd, 1830, in Corydon, Kentucky. He was laid to rest at the Gibson Cemetery. Some amateur family history enthusiasts say that he was "taken back to North Carolina and buried," but trust me... in 1830 - that was dang near impossible to do and the Gibson family definitely didn't have that kind of expense account, especially with Joel being "penniless." No - Joel was one of the first burials in the Gibson Cemetery. It's arguable that his wife, Eleanor, might have been the actual first, in or around 1818...but no tombstone for her has ever been recovered/found.

I had speculation of Joel's children for YEARS. I couldn't get a hold of his estate paperwork until about two years ago which confirmed all the children that I believed to be his. (When it comes to Gibson research... my gut instinct is about 99.9% correct. They're my favorite line to research so I've become very good at it over the years.) I feel like there might be other children of Joel's that died prior to his death in 1830 that I might be missing. Since they aren't listed in his estate papers... they're lost to history, unfortunately.

The children I have been able to find and a little information about them--

1) Vicey (possible full name could have been Lavicey) Gibson, born about 1770, and married Josiah Stone in or around 1788. They were in Henderson County by 1810. Vicey died between 1840-1850 possibly in Union or Henderson County. ** Chances are, if you're a Stone from Henderson/Union/Webster, you descend through Josiah & Vicey OR through Josiah's brother Levi Stone...and some of you descend through BOTH. **

2) Burgess Gibson (Burgess' name lends me the thought that Joel's mother might have maidenly been a Burgess, not a Duncan, or perhaps Eleanor's maiden name was actually Burgess. I have a lot of Burgess matches in DNA that not only match my Dad through his Bastin line, but also match my Mom and I'm thinking it's through the Gibson's. It's too eerie of a coincidence. Because the Burgesses were known to be in Pittsylvania Co, VA.) Burgess was born about 1772. He had an unknown first wife, then married a woman named Sarah. He was in Henderson by 1820, and I believe he died in Union County between 1840-1850.

3) Elizabeth Gibson reportedly born 1782 - Elizabeth is not listed in Joel's pension paperwork, so in my opinion, it confirms she died prior to 1830.

4) Bailey Gibson, born about 1784. He married Catherine Sights here in Henderson County on February 22nd, 1813. Bailey died here in 1856.

*The next two children, I'm not sure that they weren't twins. Twins run heavily in the Gibson family so it's possible, considering their names are similar*

5) Greenberry "Berry" Gibson, born about 1785, married a Charlotte Davis. He's in Henderson by the 1830 census. By 1840, he's moved to St. Francois Co, MO. I believe he died there between 1850-1860, but some relatives say he came back to Henderson and died. He has a number of Missourian descendants that would love to figure out if he's buried there, buried here, when exactly he died, etc.

6) Berryman "Berry" Gibson, reportedly born June 13th, 1785, and married Susan Duncan in about 1808 - likely in Pittsylvania Co, VA. They were my 5x Great-Grandparents. Berryman was in the War of 1812 and was in the Virginia militia. I believe the family was definitely in the VA area from 1810-1813. Likely, like his family, he was here in Henderson by 1820.. but the first census I've definitely nailed him on is 1830. Berryman's tombstone has been replaced and the year of death has now incorrectly been reported as 1870. However - he is listed on the mortality schedule in the 1870 census, so he died PRIOR to June 1st, 1870 (hence why June 1st, 1870 is given as his death date. That is incorrect.) He died in September of 1869 of consumption (tuberculosis.) His will was not probated until September 5th, 1870, which I believe also added to the 'he died in 1870' idea. He and Susan, though, are definitely buried in Gibson Cemetery.

7) Robert Gibson, born about 1786, reportedly went to Alabama, married, had some kids and then might have migrated back up to Henderson County. He's a bit of an enigma. There's a Robert who married an Eliza Seay in Dallas Co, AL.. but I'm not 10000% sold that it's our correct Robert. It definitely could be, though.

8 ) Tillman Gibson (also spelled Tilghman) born about 1790 in reportedly Pittsylvania Co, VA. It is documented he went to Alabama. He married a Sarah Crowley in about 1824 (there's Crowley's that are prominent in Webster Co so it's possible she's related to them.) By 1850, he's in Fayette Co, AL. He died there between 1860-1870.

9) Margaret "Peggy" Gibson, born about 1793, married Abraham Shelton on February 24th, 1808, in Pittsylvania Co, VA. There is a land deed she and her husband took out in 1827 for here in Henderson County. I believe Peggy died here between 1840-1846, as her husband remarries in 1846.

10) Nancy Gibson, born about 1795. She, too, married a Shelton... but the name hasn't been located. They, too, likely married in Pittsylvania and her Shelton might have been a brother of Abraham Shelton. Brothers marrying sisters back then was very, very common.

It is not out of the question to say that about 75% of Henderson County is related to one another through a common ancestor of Joel Gibson. There are thousands of us here today and all over the world. Some of his descendants are even famous - one is an Emmy-winning journalist, one is a Professor of Biophysics, one is a renowned children's author, one owns a prominent Henderson restaurant, and the list could go on and on and on.

It might be a bit taboo to mention, but I hope y'all will understand that it's part of our history - but the Gibson's did in fact have quite a substantial plantation or two out in the Corydon/Little Dixie areas. They were indeed slave holders (some of the Gibson sons owned more than others). I spoke with an African-American gentleman with the last name of Dixon at the library many years ago, in about 2009 or 2010.. and he believed he was a Joel Gibson descendant through breeding of slaves. I know that there are a many of African-American, likely slave descended - Dixon's, Pritchett's, Gibson's, and other large last names in that area, out in the Corydon/Dixie/Cairo areas even today. It is very, very possible you're a Joel Gibson descendant. DNA *might* be able to help us determine that.

I'll wrap this up with my usual - if you're out in the Corydon area and feel like dropping by a cemetery... say hello to Joel, because chances are, you're saying hello to your ancestor. If you're ever curious if you have a Joel Gibson line - contact me! I love nothing more than connecting with new Gibson cousins.

April Scavenger Hunt: Find the Grave of a Veteran

 

"Find the grave of a veteran."

Who more fitting to talk about than my 3x Great-Grandfather, Philo Hilyer Sandefur.
Philo's military career began at twenty-two years old on September 7th, 1862, when he enlisted and was placed into Johnson's KY Cavalry, also known as the 10th KY Partisan Rangers (Cavalry) under Adam Rankin "Stovepipe" Johnson.

Philo would have sadly missed, by just a few months, Stovepipe's infamous taking of Newburgh, IN (although being a native Hendersonian, I'm sure he knew all about it)... but he would have definitely been in Morgan's Raid on the Ohio which took place in June & July of 1863. This is where Philo likely got his thumb shot off, and the deep scar he bears on his cheek. 

Philo was taken as P.O.W. at this battle - and I believe he was released sometime in early 1864. I say this because his daughter, Josephine, was born October 1st, 1864, and because of DNA - I know she was definitely Philo's biological daughter.

According to historical notes - the men were not sent to a P.O.W. camp, but rather to the Ohio Penitentiary. Afterward, a lot of them were sent northwest to Camp Douglas in Chicago. I'm unsure if Philo was one of those men or not.

A little more about Philo besides just his military career --

Philo was born on February 20th, 1840, in Henderson County, Kentucky, to Tandy Sandefur and Shilo Watson (Shilo was his 2nd wife.) Sometime prior to the 1850 census, Tandy moved his family to Hoodsville, Jefferson Co, Arkansas. Reportedly in around 1852 - the family decided to make the journey back to Henderson and the parents, Tandy & Shilo, died on the journey back home.

On February 3rd, 1860, Philo married Miss Susan Rebecca Jarrett, daughter of the late Joshua Jarrett and Martha Washburn. Through her father - Susan had a rather famous half-brother... the outlaw, John Jarrett, who ran with the James-Younger Gang and even married Josephine "Josie" Younger... the namesake of Philo & Susan's daughter, Josephine (Sandefur) Carroll.

The next notable life event for Philo happened to be on June 8th, 1890, when he was admitted to the membership of Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church. To my knowledge - that's in Louisville and not Henderson, but, this information is in my Grandma's notes about Philo. It's possible she got the name of the church wrong or perhaps at one point in Henderson's history, we had a Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church. Someone more versed in Henderson history might be able to answer that.

As for jobs - Philo did a bit of this and that. In the 1860 census and at the time of his marriage, he was a merchant tailor in a store, also listed as a 'clerk in a store.' In the 1870 census, he's simply a farm laborer. 

By 1880 - he's a retail grocer. I believe he might have ran his own grocery at his house or very near there. In the 1880 census, the address is given as "240 Green Street." (Or dwelling number, 240, at least.) I kind of did some sleuthing and wondered if it was a house that had previously sat on Green St. across from the old Save-a-Lot. Probably torn down ages and ages and ages ago.

In 1900, he is listed as a house painter, same in 1910. On his death certificate, it also lists his usual occupation as painter.

In the 1900 census -- Philo and his family live at 1419 Clay St. Today, there is no such address. The reason for that is the old Audubon School. A few years later, the city would likely buy Philo's property to knock it down to make way for the school. Philo moved his family across the street and they lived at 1421 Clay St for many, many decades afterward. (My 2x Grandparents, Eugene Henry Sandefur & Ollie Lee Moss lived there after Philo's passing.)

Philo unfortunately passed away on January 16th, 1915, at Western State Hospital in Hopkinsville. His death certificate says he died of "Exhaustion, a psychosis period, and involutive." Now, when one googles about "Involutive," you find "involutive cerebral disorders," and I believe that might have been an old name for such things we call today as Alzheimer's. In Grandma's notes, she had written down that he was "of an old age, feeble minded, and he'd wander off and get lost."

I actually found mention of his passing in the Evansville newspaper and it said:

Philo H. Sandefur, aged 75, one of the best known citizens of this city, died at Hopkinsville early this morning.

I'm proud to know that Philo was one of the 'best known citizens' of the town. Proud to be his 3x Great-Granddaughter.

As always, I'll give a little information of Philo and Susan's children - I've posted about them each before, but it doesn't hurt to do it again.

1) Joshua Jarrett Sandefur, named for his late maternal Grandfather. 11-20-1860 / 3-24-1861 (His tombstone in Fernwood has sadly toppled over.)

2) Nora Ella Sandefur, 2-6-1862 / 7-23-1915 (She died just a few months after her father.) Nora married Thomas W. Hicks. They're buried in Fernwood.

3) Josephine Lee "Josie" Sandefur, (named after Josephine "Josie" Younger Jarrett), 10-1-1864 / 12-21-1953. Married William Walker Carroll and moved to Colorado. They're buried in Riverside Cemetery in Denver, CO.

4) John Washburn Finley Sandefur, (His middle names come from his maternal Great-Grandparents James Washburn and Susan Finley), 10-23-1867 / 8-25-1910. Married Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Blandford. They're buried in Fernwood. (They lived in the 1900 census at 1438 Clay St. That house would have been sold and torn down to make way, a few years later, for the Audubon School. His father, too, owned a house at 1419 Clay St. that would be torn down to make room for the school. By the 1910 census, John has moved to 1431 Clay St. So he was living just a few houses down from Philo, who resided at 1421 at this point.)

5) Belle Sandefur, born in May of 1870 (she's two months old in the 1870 census).. and she had to have died between that census and 1880. I've found nothing else on her. She's likely buried in Fernwood Cemetery near family.

6) Nathaniel Philo Sandefur (obviously got Philo from his Dad's name), 1-1-1872 / 4-14-1962. Married Winifred "Winnie" Neaphen. They're buried in Fernwood Cemetery.

7) Annye Mae Sandefur, 12-8-1874 / 8-16-1941. She married Jesse Thomas Shuttleworth. They eventually moved to Clark Co, OH.. and she died in Cincinnati, OH. She's buried in Glen Haven Memorial Gardens, New Carlisle (Clark Co) OH.

8 ) Lastly, but not certainly least, my 2x Grandfather - Eugene Henry Sandefur, 3-16-1878 / 1-14-1951. He married Ollie Lee Moss. They lived at 1421 Clay St. until his death. He was a retired mailman. They, too, are buried in Fernwood.

Well, I hope y'all enjoyed getting to know Philo. Some of y'all have previously met him as I've posted about he and his wife, Susan, a few times in the past. Hopefully I told y'all something new about him this time around!

April Scavenger Hunt: Find the Grave of Someone 90+ Years Old

 

"Find someone 90+ years old."

A lot of us know of him as "Dad LaRue," but his full name was Charles Clarence LaRue, and he lived to be 97 years old. He was my Great-Great-Grandfather through his daughter, Lorene (LaRue) Blanford.

Charles was the son of Benjamin Hardin LaRue and Mary Philapine Lawrey - born June 8th, 1883, right here in Henderson County, KY. Likely in the Smith Mills/Geneva area. He was one of at least eleven children - more that we might not know about because they were born and died in between censuses. His mother, Mary, died prior to the 1900 census. We have no idea how many children she bore. His father, Ben, died in January of 1901. It is said that Ben and Mary are buried in the Smith Mills Cemetery, possibly near their son, in unmarked graves.

At least four of his siblings died prior to 1900 as they poof without a trace. At least three more died between 1900-1921. It seems that generation of LaRue's had a tendency of passing away young.

Charles went on to marry Carrie Annie Byrd on April 27th, 1904. They, too, had eleven children and three of them died young.

Dad and Carrie lived, for the most part, in the Smith Mills/Geneva/outer Corydon areas for most of their lives. At one point, they lived in Robards. According to Carrie's death certificate in 1955, they were living in Lawndale Apartments. I didn't even know Lawndale was that old, haha. After Dad re-married to his second wife, Sarah (Beck) Hallmark Roberts Wise Staser (yeah she married a few times)... they lived in Baskett a number of years. She preceded him in death in 1976.

For the last of his life, I believe, he lived with his daughter Lorene and her husband, Dick Blanford. He passed away on November 20th, 1980.

I grew up hearing stories of Dad LaRue frequently from my Mom (he passed when Mom was 17 years old) and of course from my Grandpa Jady. Grandpa Jady had an immense love for his Grandfather. I dare say he was one of Grandpa's favorite people in the world. I've heard Dad LaRue was a prankster, and a jokester. Grandpa Jady definitely inherited that.

Whenever I was first able to afford a GenealogyBank subscription and started looking for my ancestors names in the Evansville newspapers -- I found this article and have treasured it ever since. Apparently Dad LaRue never ever heard his Dad speak of another relative. His Mom's family, the Lawrey's, were here in Henderson and I'm guessing he knew of them/had met them. His Grandmother, Elizabeth (Hill) Lawrey lived to 1916 so I'm absolutely sure he had made her acquaintance on at least one occasion.

So Lorene, my Great-Grandma, wrote into the Evansville paper - the "Bish" columnist, and he answered. He posted Lorene's address and asked for correspondence from whoever might know of Benjamin Hardin LaRue and who his parents or siblings could be. I believe my Great-Grandma had an answer. 

In the mid-1980's, Mom, my Grandparents, and my Great-Grandparents went on a road trip to South Dakota to see my Uncle Jay who was stationed there in the Air Force. On their return trip, they made a trip down to Kansas to visit a "relative of Lorene's." Mom didn't remember names or the town they lived in. I think these people corresponded in letters with Lorene and she went to go finally meet them on that trip. Because yes, Ben LaRue had a number of siblings who migrated westward into Missouri, Kansas, and other areas.

This many years later, aided a lot with DNA... I know Benjamin Hardin LaRue was the son of Josiah "Si" LaRue and Mary Castleman. They had at least eleven children but some could have been born and died between census years. They lived in Hardin Co, KY -- hence Benjamin's middle name being 'Hardin.' The LaRue and Hardin families marry into one another a number of times, too. It was also a LaRue relative that was a midwife during the birth of our 16th President -- Abraham Lincoln on February 12th, 1809.

Apparently, the love for our family history was born into us LaRue descendants. I have more DNA matches through Charles & Carrie than ANY other set of my Great-Great-Grandparents. There are SO many of us Blanford's, Ganno's, Buckman's, LaRue's, and all the rest -- we have such a deep love of our family roots and I believe it all started with Dad LaRue having a thirst to know his LaRue family!

For those of you who are descendants and don't know our origins yet - I'll take a moment to tell you. My 9x Great-Grandfather, Abraham Le Roux (Leroux) (LaRue) came to this country to escape religious persecution. He was what is called a French Huguenot. Some of our family died in what is known as the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572. It wasn't until 100 years later, in around 1680, when Abraham brought his family to the New World. Due to our roots in French history, the family tree is well filled out to the point that I know the name of my 13th Great-Grandparents on the Le Roux line.

The LaRue family has a rich history in this country - namely in Virginia and Kentucky. For more information - I always recommend the reading of the family Wikipedia page. (I've vetted all the information on it.)

LaRue Family Wikipedia

So here's to you, Dad LaRue - thank you for leaving us with an amazing legacy. Thank you for leaving us, and especially myself, with a thirst to know ancestors, like yourself. You'd be 139 years old this year in June and your story lives on as I hope and pray that it will forever.

April Scavenger Hunt: Find the Grave of Someone who Passed Away in April

 

"Find me a grave of someone who passed away in April."

I've also inverted the colors of his tombstone to help read the stone a bit better. I photographed this stone in 2010 on a cell phone camera, so it's not the best. I plan to get back out there and clean this stone and re-photograph it when the weather calms down.
William James Gibson was born November 21st, 1842, and died April 22nd, 1843. He was the first child born to John Gregory Gibson (1816-1890) and Mahala Caroline Busby (1820-1868), my 4x Grandparents.

John and Mahala married on November 1st, 1841, in Henderson County, KY. They lived in the Corydon area for the majority of their lives.

William was born a little over a year after their marriage and died at only five months and one day old. In total, they had 13 children that I've found. I cannot say for sure they didn't have other children that might have died as infants and their tombstones are lost or they never had one to begin with.

John and Mahala's other children and their spouses include:

2) Robert Benjamin Gibson (1844-1913) m1. Sibbie Denton, m2. Susan A "Sudia" Pritchett.

3) Susan E. Gibson (1846-1865) m. James Frederick Denton.

4) James Fagan Gibson (1848-1911) m. Nancy Jane "Nannie" Gibson.

5) Martha Caroline Gibson (1849-1855)

6) Neosha Jane "Noty" Gibson (she often spelled her last name GIPSON) (1852-1930) m. William Hollis Culver Jr.

7) Lucilla E. Gibson (1853-1878) Never married but had one child out of wedlock, Minnie, who was raised by Fagan and his wife.

8 ) John Beverly Gibson (1855-1936) m1. Sarah Jane Koonce, m2. Martha "Mattie" Walker.
9) Vandalia Delia "Vannie" Gibson (1856-1949) m. Henry Oliver Nally. (These are my 3x Grandparents.)

10) William K. Gibson (1858-1904) m. Margaret Ellen "Maggie" Pritchett

11) Mary J. Gibson (1859-1860)

12) Infant Gibson (1861-1861)

13) George Harrell Gibson (1862-1940) m. Cora Francis Young.

Next time you're out at the Gibson Family Cemetery in Corydon - take time out of your day to say hello to little William, and to the right of his grave, his Great-Grandpa and patriarch of the Henderson Gibson's --- Joel Gibson (1750-1830), Rev. War Patriot. Chances are, no matter who you are, you're a Joel Gibson descendant even if you don't know it yet.

If you'd like to know whether or not you're a Gibson descendant - just message me about doing your family tree! I loooove to meet new cousins, and Gibson cousins are my favorite. 🙂

April Scavenger Hunt: Find a Grave of Someone Born in April

"Find a grave of someone born in April."

As a matter of fact -- this tombstone is shared by two people born in April.

Uncle Sid was born on April 5th, 1885, and Aunt Mamie was born on April 4th, 1890.
Let's talk about them a bit so you can get to know these two people. My Mom actually had the pleasure of meeting Aunt Mamie when she was younger. She told me she was a very kind woman, and quite funny.

Sidney Thomas Nally was the fourth child of Henry Oliver Nally and Vandalia Delia Gibson. Sid and Mamie married on February 3rd, 1911, in Vanderburgh County, Indiana. They had five children together: James Dorris Nally, twins May & Ray who died on the day they were born, Raymond Nally, and Morrison Phillip Nally who died at just shy of a month old.

Uncle Sid died at just 41 years young of erysipelas. If you're a Downton Abbey fan, you'll recognize erysipelas from season one - it's what Mrs. Crawley believes Mr. Molesley has, when instead, it's a rue allergy. Unfortunately for Uncle Sid, as of November 15th, 1926, when he passed -- there was no cure for erysipelas... only management.

Now to talk about Aunt Mamie -- she was the sixth child of Conrad Herman Phillips and Mary Belle Royster. (They are buried in Royster Cemetery.)

Uncle Sid was her first marriage, and unfortunately, it ended in him passing young. Sometime around 1928, she re-married to John Eblen Denton. He was a widower - his first wife, Allie Liles, having died in 1925. He, too, passed before Aunt Mamie in just 1932 at the age of 64 of organic heart disease. (He's buried in Denton Cemetery.) Their union resulted in no children.

Some time later - Aunt Mamie married for the third time to Uncle Sid's brother, Uncle Bud -- he was born Henry Oliver Nally (technically Jr.) I believe they married sometime in the 1940's and remained married through Uncle Bud's passing in 1972 at 80 years of age. (He's buried in Fairmont Cemetery.)

Uncle Bud had been married two previous times - Eula May Duncan (she, too, is buried in Gibson Cemetery as she died very young in 1920) and his second wife, Ruth Lee Hall, who died in 1939. Uncle Bud and Ruth had one son: Edward Lee Nally.

Aunt Mamie herself made it to the ripe old age of 96 - passing away on September 30th, 1986. She and Uncle Sid reside in the Gibson Cemetery in Corydon, KY. Their tombstone, in my opinion, is one of the biggest in the cemetery and their descendants keep it nice with a saddle of flowers.

Uncle Sid and Uncle Bud were brothers of my Great-Great-Grandmother, Mary Janella (Nally) Thompson.

I leave you with their tombstone photograph and the only photograph in existence of Uncle Sid -- it was probably taken around his marriage to Aunt Mamie, so circa 1911 (he'd have been 25 years of age.) I enhanced it a bit with the Remini app and also colorized it. He was a very, very handsome young man.

Their tombstone will take quite a bit of effort to clean up - but I'd love to get the discoloration off of it at some point. It'll take quite a bit of product but I sure do know Uncle Sid and Aunt Mamie are more than worth the money, time, and effort.

If you get out to the Gibson Cemetery any time soon... say hello to them. I'm sure they'd be happy to make your acquaintance.

April Scavenger Hunt: Find a Tombstone with Your First or Last Name on it

 

"Find a tombstone with your first or last name on it." 

I'm one of the only "Brecca"'s in the entire world... so you won't see that name on a tombstone near here until I myself pass away (which I pray won't be for many many more years to come!) and you won't see a Mefford tombstone here in Henderson until my parents pass away (which again, I hope isn't for many many more years to come.)

So I'm sharing with y'all my late Grandmother's tombstone. She isn't buried here in Henderson -- she's buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Charleston, Mississippi County, Missouri.

Her full name was Mina Geneva (Jones) Hendrix Mefford. Unfortunately, she passed away almost eleven full years before I was born. My Dad was only sixteen years old when he lost his Mom. She did pass away here in Henderson. She passed just five days after her 48th birthday.

I think sometimes a big reason I love genealogy is to feel closer to my ancestors - like her. Finding her in censuses, finding old photographs of her, hearing stories about her from my Dad and my Aunt Debbie... it makes me feel like, even for just a few moments, like I knew her. Sometimes I envision what her voice sounded like or how she sounded when she laughed.

If you've still got a Grandparent -- go and hug them today for me. Talk to them about their childhood. Talk to them about when your parents were little. Talk to them about their parents and their Grandparents. Write things down!! Record them!! You will cherish it when they're gone, please believe me when I say that.

April Scavenger Hunt: Find a Woodsmen of the World Grave

 

“Find a Woodsmen of the World grave.” (This won't be *too* long of a post because I've written in depth about Uncle Fagan before.)

This is James Fagan Gibson and he is my 3x Great Granduncle. His sister, Vandalia (Gibson) Nally was my 3x Great Grandmother. 

Uncle Fagan is buried in the Gibson Cemetery in Corydon and yep, his stone is in need of some TLC. 

The son of John Gregory Gibson and Mahala Caroline Busby, he was born on November 14th, 1848 in the Corydon area. 

Fagan married his 2nd cousin 1x removed, Nancy Jane “Nannie” Gibson on April 20th, 1872 in Gallatin Co, IL. 

He and his wife didn’t have children but they helped care for a few of his nieces— Mary (daughter of his brother Robert) and Minnie (daughter of his sister Lucilla.)

He ran the county sanitarium in Corydon for a while. I also learned his Dad, John, had run the sanitarium and even died there when I found Fagan’s obituary. 

Fagan died on May 11th, 1911 at the age of 62. 

RIP Uncle Fagan. 🙏

April Scavenger Hunt: Find a Tombstone with Your Birthday on it

 

"Find a tombstone with your birthday on it." It could be your birthday as their birthday, or their date of death.

I was born on February 12th -- as was Eliza Jane (Webster) Gibson.

For the longest time, I thought her maiden name was Robinson, due to her sons death certificate. However, when I did my big Gibson Cemetery project in August/September 2021... I realized, I had been wrong.

You see, Nathan Alander Gibson Sr (1828-1899) had a little girl living with him and wife Eliza in the 1860 census... "M.E. Blackburn." There also, living with his parents, was a granddaughter named "Susan E. Gibson" living with them.

Figuring out who Susan could be was easy enough - I found her birth record - 23 Jul 1853 in Henderson to a Nathan Gibson and Mary Webster. Okay - this makes sense. Mary must have passed away during childbirth or shortly after and therefore Berryman Gibson & Susan Duncan (Nathan's parents) were raising her. Not uncommon.

But who is M. E. Blackburn? Could this have been a step-daughter? Had Eliza been a Blackburn prior to marriage to Nathan? I couldn't find anything. So I started to work on Eliza, Nathan's current wife. Verify that her last name was Robinson or Blackburn, if I could.

When nothing, and I mean nothing, was coming up for the last name Robinson, and certainly nothing in Henderson... you know how when the first wife would die, that sometimes the widow would marry the first wife's sister? I decided to look for an Eliza Webster who married a Gibson.... jackpot. I found an index for the marriage of Nathan A. Gibson and Eliza Webster in Mississippi County, MO on November 7th, 1853.

Well, that certainly confirms Eliza's last name ISN'T Robinson unless Webster was her second name or even third (still thinking she could have been a Blackburn at some point). It also made me wonder about any more marriages of Webster's or perhaps this Blackburn last name in Mississippi County, MO.

That's when I stumbled upon the marriage for Marietta Webster and James B. Blackburn in that same county. I found them in the 1850 census in Mississippi County, MO as well-- with a daughter named Mary Elizabeth Blackburn. Jackpot - that's my M.E. Blackburn.

I finally put all the pieces together that the first two wives of Nathan Alander Gibson Sr were Marietta "Mary" (Webster) Blackburn and Eliza Jane Webster. Mary had the one daughter with her Blackburn husband (Mary Elizabeth Blackburn who married Franklin Pierce Sutton), then the one daughter with Nathan (Susan E Gibson who married John O Sutton)... then Marietta "Mary" passed away shortly thereafter (I speculate she could be buried in the Gibson Cemetery).

Then he married Eliza Jane Webster, the younger sister of Marietta "Mary" Webster Blackburn. He and Eliza had at least three sons: Nathan Alander Gibson Jr (also called Alex & Elick -- he married his cousin, Mary Ellen "Mollie" Gibson), William Carroll Gibson (he married Nancy Ann "Nannie" Handley), and Henry Gibson.

Eliza Jane (Webster) Gibson only predeceased her husband by three years. She passed away on June 19th, 1896, and now resides in the Gibson Cemetery in Corydon, KY.

The tombstone photo I'm including was taken by our own David Melton in 2016. His photo is ridiculously better than mine which was photographed in September 2010 on a cruddy old cell phone. So David, thank you for this *much* better photo of Eliza's tombstone. It's very much appreciated.

The next time you're out at the Gibson Cemetery, take a moment to say hello to Eliza, Nathan, and the whole extended family. Nathan was a brother of my 4x Grandfather, John Gregory Gibson, and they're not buried far apart.

April Scavenger Hunt: Find a Masonic Symbol (well, it's a symbol...)

 

*Credit to Find-a-Grave user PLWilson for this photograph. I unfortunately can't find the photo I took of John's grave when I photographed this cemetery in April of 2017*

This is for the scavenger hunt prompt: "Find a masonic symbol," however... this is NOT a masonic symbol. I had no idea what this symbol meant until tonight so I thought I would post this and shed light on it!

This is actually a symbol for the A O U W or the "Ancient Order of United Workmen," a fraternal organization sort of like the W O T W (Woodsmen of the World).

For more information about the A O U W

A O U W Wikipedia

I was confused by the symbol because of it being an anchor - I kept thinking it must have nautical meaning, like John having been in the Navy... but I could find no evidence of that. From what I could tell, he was just a simple farmer from Henderson County. Then I thought, "well, maybe the symbol honored one of his sons or something." Nope, that didn't pan out as well.

By 1885, the A O U W was the largest fraternal benefit group in the US. So it's no surprise in 1901 - they would help provide John's family with money to bury him. He died at just 36 years young and had at least seven children ranging from 17 years old to a year and a half old. (1884-1900 birth years)

John M. Watson was the son of John Watson & Clementina Winnefred Sutton. He married Polley Emma Crook on August 6th, 1883, in Posey County, Indiana.

Their children include:

1) Maude Watson, 12-11-1884 / 12-22-1965, who married James Ora Gibson.

2) Claude Watson, 9-12-1886 / 4-10-1964, who married Henrietta Hancock

3) Aubrey William Watson, 8-31-1888 / 1-15-1951, who married Harriet Fowler.

4) Kathryn Mary "Mittie" Watson, 3-5-1892 / 3-11-1952, who married (?) Bale

5) Sudie Mae Watson, 11-2-1895 / 11-2-1981, who married Thomas Jefferson O'Nan.

6) Lillian Watson, 2-2-1898 / 5-23-1972, who married Henry Harrison O'Nan.

7) Dean Watson, 7-5-1900 / 5-9-1975, who married Howard Duett. (I believe Dean went by the name Inez in the 1910 and 1920 censuses).

According to the 1910 census, Polley had 8 children born to her, and only 7 living. These are the 7 I can accurately find.

John is buried in United Hill Cemetery in Little Dixie, Henderson County, Kentucky.

Have y'all ever come across any A O U W graves? I'd love to see more pictures of these headstones! Please share your masonic symbols on headstones, too, as that's what this prompt was meant to be -- but I thought this was too interesting of a symbol not to share with the group!

April Scavenger Hunt: Find One of Your Great-Grandparents Graves

 

"Find one of your Great-Grandparents grave." 

I'm sharing my Great-Grandparents Richard Jerome "Dick" Blanford and Verna Lorene (LaRue) Blanford. They're buried in Saint Louis Cemetery on Main St. here in Henderson.
Married on July 11th, 1931, Dick and Lorene had a total of thirteen children - eleven of which lived to adulthood. Only five children are living today in 2022 - Uncle Charles, Aunt Faye, Aunt Ginny, Aunt Linda, and Uncle George. My Grandpa Jady was the fourth born in 1936 and he passed away on January 11th, 2015.

Through Dick and Lorene, we have a whole passel of double cousins. Dick's brother, Tom, married Lorene's sister, Opal. Tom and Opal had fourteen children. It's safe to say that Dick and Tom populated Henderson, Union, and even Webster county with Blanford/Blandford's.
Dick and Tom were sons of Martin Allen Blanford and Mary Agnes (Nally) Blanford. Their sister, Margaret married Alfred Gerald Bishop; their sister, Boots married Cevial Duncan, and their brother, Charlie married Mary Emma Robbins.

Lorene, too, had several other siblings than just Opal. They were the children of Charles Clarence LaRue and Carrie Annie (Byrd) LaRue. Their brother, Shelby married Amie Blades; their sister, Rosie married Benny Alstadt and then Ray Miles; their brother, Woody married Myrtle Culver; their sister, Bonnie married Martin Ganno; their sister, Annie married Willard Buckman; and their brother, Jimmy married Sue Catherine Mills.

Dick was well known in the community - especially out in the Geneva and Smith Mills areas. He had a successful apple orchard and was always in the business of livestock and farming. He and Lorene were devout Catholics and loved their Holy Name family.
Get out there and find one of your Great-Grandparents soon! If you don't know who your Great-Grandparents were... then get with me! I'd be more than happy to help you work on your family tree and figure out that mystery.

April Scavenger Hunt: Find a Popular First Name on a Grave

*Photo credit to David Melton, it's much better than my photograph of John's tombstone*

"Find a popular first name on a grave."

For this one - I've got to go with my 4x Great-Grandfather, John Gregory Gibson. John is about as popular of a first name as you can get.

First and foremost, I'd like to give credit to our wonderful member David Melton for his photograph of John's tombstone. It's MUCH better than the one I took of John's grave in 2010, so I'm sharing it here with y'all. John's tombstone is one I plan to get out to and work with some D/2. As y'all can tell, it needs it.

So let me tell you about John.

John Gregory Gibson was born on December 18th, 1816, in Corydon, Henderson County, KY. He was the son of Berryman "Berry" Gibson and Susan A. Duncan. He was one of at least eleven children.

On November 1st, 1841, here in Henderson County, he wed Mahala Caroline Busby. They lived in the "Cairo" area on census but the area would have actually been between Corydon and Cairo, very rural area.

Mahala preceded John in death in 1868 and he remarried to Elizabeth (unknown maiden name) Young on March 16th, 1871, in this county.

John, for a number of years, ran the county poor farm that his son, Fagan, would later run as well. It's very possible that when John died, on November 6th, 1890, that it was within the county poor farm. I haven't found an obituary for John, so I can't say for sure.

John and his first wife, Mahala, were the parents of at least thirteen children. There might be more that were born and died between census years that are "lost to history," so to speak. Their children are:

1) William James Gibson, 11-21-1842 / 4-22-1843. Buried in the Gibson Cemetery.

2) Robert Benjamin Gibson, 1-14-1844 / 1-15-1913. Married first to Sibbie Denton, then to Susan "Sudia" Pritchett. He is buried in the Gibson Cemetery.

3) Susan E. Gibson, 6-1-1846 / 7-17-1865. Married James Frederick Denton. Likely dying so young, she may have died in childbirth. She's buried in the Denton Cemetery.

4) James Fagan Gibson, 11-14-1848 / 5-11-1911. Married his cousin, Nancy Jane "Nannie" Gibson. They raised their niece, Minnie Lee (Gibson) Hoy like she was their own. He is buried in the Gibson Cemetery.

5) Martha Caroline Gibson, 7-1-1849 / 12-6-1855. Buried in the Gibson Cemetery. (Her birth date is up for a bit of debate as it's only 8 months after Fagan's birth. Some reports give her birth year as 1852, but this is impossible as she's listed in the 1850 census as being 1 years old.

6) Neosha Jane "Noty" Gibson/Gipson, 3-10-1852 / 1-7-1930. Married William Hollis Culver Jr. She's buried in Fernwood Cemetery.

7) Lucilla E. Gibson, 10-10-1853 / 9-27-1878. Never married, to the best of my knowledge. She had a daughter, Minnie Lee (Gibson) Hoy who was born out of wedlock. Her brother, Fagan, raised Minnie like his own. She's buried in the Gibson Cemetery.

8 ) John Beverly Gibson, 2-13-1855 / 6-29-1936. Married Sarah Jane Koonce, then married Martha "Mattie" Walker. He's buried in the Gibson Cemetery.

9) Vandalia Delia "Vannie" Gibson, 12-21-1856 / 7-5-1949. Married Henry Oliver Nally. They are my 3x Great-Grandparents. They are buried in the Gibson Cemetery. I've never seen a picture of them, even though Henry died in 1925 and Vannie in 1949. I feel like photos of them *have* to exist... if anyone has a picture of them, I'd be so, so, so appreciative. I've always wanted to put faces with their names. Especially Vandalia.

10) William K. Gibson, 1858/1904. Married Margaret Ellen "Maggie" Pritchett. I have not been able to hone in on William's birth date, or his exact death date. I know in the 1900 census, he and his family are living in the Spottsville area of Henderson Co. I've called myself looking through the Newspapers and GenealogyBank databases for mentions of his passing and have come up empty. He's buried in the Gibson Cemetery.

11) Mary J. Gibson, 12-27-1859 / 4-27-1860. Buried in the Gibson Cemetery.

12) Infant (female) Gibson, born and died on March 27th, 1861. Buried in the Gibson Cemetery.

13) George Harrell Gibson, 12-20-1862 / 9-9-1940. Married Cora Francis Young. He's buried in the Gibson Cemetery.

I think we've all probably got a direct ancestor named John. Some of us might have a few more John's than others.

John Gregory isn't my only one. My 2x Grandfather was John Rowan Thompson. My 4x Grandfather was John Hardison. My 6x Grandfather was John Mefford. 5x Grandfather was John Goff. 3x Grandfather, John Randolf Jones. 5x Grandfather, John Jeffords. 6x Grandfather John Tucker. 6x Grandfather, John Bowers Sr. 5x Grandfathers, John Baptist Blandford, John Basil Raley Jr, and John Martin. 6x Grandfather, John Baptist Blandford, John "Jack" Medley, John Basil Raley Sr, John Hinton, and John Bowles. 5x Grandfather, John Lawrey/Lowery, John Hill. 6x Grandfather, John Lowry. 3x Grandfather John Byrd, 4x Grandfather John Byrd, 5x Grandfather John Byrd, and you guessed it, 6x Grandfather, John Byrd (yeah, they really liked the name John), 5x Grandfather John Jarrett, 6x Grandfather John Bilbo, 4x Grandfather John M. Thompson (y'all might recall him.. he's the one who had 29 kids between 3 wives), 6x Grandfather John Barton Thompson...and finally, that's all my immediate 'John' ancestors! 😂😂

As usual - thank you for reading my ramblings. Please tell me about your John ancestors in the comments, or your Gibson ancestors, or just any ancestor you have with a super popular first name like Mary, Elizabeth, James, Samuel, etc.