Showing posts with label 52 Ancestors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 52 Ancestors. Show all posts

Saturday, July 1, 2023

The Gibson Family and their Graveyards in Corydon, KY

I feel there is absolutely no better time (or topic) to dive into my absolute favorite family cemetery of all time -- Gibson Cemetery in Corydon, Henderson County, Kentucky. I will also be talking about what I call "Gibson Cemetery #2" out in Corydon as well. 


The above photograph is Gibson Cemetery #1 (the main family cemetery) which sits high on a hill off of Hughes-Sights Rd in Corydon. This photograph was taken by a Gibson cousin, Karen Fleming. 



This photograph is from Google Street View (2012) and is zoomed all the way in. It's the best photograph currently available to show you what Gibson Cemetery #2 looks like when the crops aren't tall enough to hide it. When it's crop season, it's usually behind corn and you cannot see it unless you know precisely where it's at or you use an aerial satellite map to find it. 

It's an educated guess that Gibson Cemetery #1 might have been started with the death of Joel Gibson's wife, Eleanor Davis, when she died in Henderson County in 1818. Other family historians document that she died "on the way to Kentucky," but Joel and family were already here in 1813, so that is inaccurate to say, if she truly died in 1818. 

However, going with documented burials in Gibson Cemetery -- Joel Gibson, patriarch of the Gibson family here in Henderson County, Kentucky, has the earliest death date on a tombstone of December 23rd, 1830. Some Gibson family historians believe that he merely has two cenotaphs in Gibson Cemetery and that he's actually buried in North Carolina. I don't know where that rumor started or when.. but it's 100% codswallop. 

Joel has two tombstones out in Gibson Cemetery -- one is an original military provided tombstone and I do believe it's been there since 1830 or shortly thereafter -- I say this because it fits the look and style of almost all Revolutionary War military provided headstones that I've ever seen. The second military provided tombstone lays flat to the ground and is much newer. The tombstone application for the second one was filled out in 1970 by Joel's great-great-grandson, Jesse Chandler. 

Gibson Cemetery #2, it appears to have been started at the death of John William Gibson, a great-grandson of Joel's, who died October 8th, 1856. That's the earliest death date on a tombstone that's been documented in that cemetery at the current time.

I'm unsure if this line of the Gibson family had had a falling out with the family and felt they couldn't be buried in the "main" cemetery which is, as the crow flies, about a half of a mile from this new cemetery.. or if they simply felt compelled to have their own little family cemetery separate from the main one. John's father, James William Gibson who would have been Joel's grandson, is buried too in this Gibson Cemetery #2. Whereas James' father, Berryman Gibson, is buried in the main Gibson Cemetery with his father and the patriarch, Joel Gibson. 

It's no secret that most of Corydon at one time or another was Gibson land or that of a family that ties into the Gibson family -- Tapp, Pritchett, Dixon, Crooks, Hughes, Sights, Eblen, Denton, Culver to just name a few of the surrounding related families. 



I know this photograph is small - you might be able to right click and open the image in a new window to make it larger.. but it's an aerial map of the area out in Corydon (it's Corydon's southeast side.. between Corydon and Cairo to be more accurate) that the cemeteries are located. 

The small red circle on the left of the photograph is Gibson Cemetery #2 and the larger red circle more on the right is the original Gibson Cemetery. I've been told before that all of the land (roughly) from Hughes-Sights Rd to the north, possible Highway 60 to the west, possible the curve to the south on 145, and Rock Springs Dixie Rd to the east was all Gibson land way back when. Like 1820's-1840's at least. We know between Rock Springs Dixie & US Alt 41 is Eblen Rd and the Eblen's have a family cemetery out there as well so they definitely were neighbors of the Gibson's. 

To the south is a road called Pritchett-Crooks and there are a few different family cemeteries out there. The Pritchett's and Crooks' were definitely neighbors of the Gibson's. To the south is also a community called "Dixie" which isn't an official 'town' anymore like Corydon or Cairo but still a community. There is a church with a cemetery there called Union Hill where a lot of Gibson relatives and neighbors are buried. It's located off of Whitelick Rd which takes you from Henderson County down into Webster County (it's honestly really close to the county line as Whitelick Creek is the dividing line between Henderson & Webster out that way.)

There's a Duncan Cemetery, Morehead Cemetery, Minton Cemetery, Royster Cemetery, Liles Cemetery, Brown-Konsler Cemetery, Alderson Cemetery, and I could go on... that are in relatively "close-ish" proximity to the Gibson Cemetery's. They're all out in the Corydon/Cairo/Dixie area as I would call it. A lot of these families have been in Henderson County by at least the 1820 census and they've never left. 

A little bit of back story here about why I love the Gibson Cemetery so much... it's the first little family cemetery I ever went to as a kid right after I discovered my love of genealogy. I was 7 years old (2000) and went with my Mom and Grandma. I've been back numerous times since then and it's just an overwhelming sense of connection when I go out there. To stand at my 6x Grandfather's grave and know that my 5x Grandfather and 4x Grandfather stood there at his funeral in 1830. Every time I go out there, I feel so close to my ancestors.. it's really indescribable even for me. 

For those of us who are Gibson descendants (or married to a Gibson descendant): my Grandmother told me growing up that it would cost nothing (no plot cost) to be buried out in the Gibson Cemetery. In my opinion, there is still plenty of open room to be buried there... but the downfall to a small private cemetery - there's no "exact plot records." Honestly, to be buried out there, it would be a guessing game on where to plant yourself, so to speak.. There might be unmarked graves out there, or graves that once had a tombstone that no longer do.. so if you decided to be buried out there, it's very possible when they go to dig your grave... they might be disturbing someone else's from 100+ years ago. 

With this blog, I thought I would thoroughly document each person buried in both of the Gibson cemeteries for easy research access not just for myself in the future but for other Gibson relatives. This is going to make for a lengthy blog but I know it'll be well worth it. As much as I would love to add photographs of tombstones for each person to accompany this blog, I know that is way too time consuming and plus, it would make this blog take eons and eons to load for some people who have a worse internet connection than others. 

The following are those who are buried in Gibson Cemetery #1 (the main family cemetery) in alphabetical order (to the best of my ability). I will be listing their name, their birth and death date, who they are a child of, who they married, and their cause of death if available. I will also be mentioning their exact relationship to me as I am related to every single person buried in this cemetery. As a quick note to you guys - my 3x Grandparents, 4x Grandparents, 5x Grandparents, and 6x Grandfather are buried here. (Possibly 6x Grandmother as well, if my theory is correct that the cemetery might have started with her burial in 1818.)

1) John DeForest Culver. Born June 20th, 1868, died March 19th, 1919. Son of William Hollis Culver Jr and Neosha Jane Gibson. Husband of Mary Frances Gibson. My 1st cousin 4x removed. Cause of death: Mitral insufficiency and labor pneumonia, due to Influenza. 

2) Mary Frances (Gibson) Culver. Born June 30th, 1872, died February 4th, 1931. Daughter of Robert Benjamin Gibson and Sibbie Denton. Wife of John DeForest Culver. My 1st cousin 4x removed. Cause of death: Nephritis and hypertension.

3) James Lee Denton. Born November 9th, 1912, died October 27th, 1913. Son of James Benjamin Denton and Sibbie Lee Culver. My 3rd cousin 2x removed. Cause of death: Ileocolitis.

4) Florence Duncan. Born April 14th, 1875, died January 31st, 1899. Daughter of John Melvin Duncan and Mary Susan Tapp. My 2nd cousin 4x removed. 

5) Infant Duncan. Born February 6th, 1890, died September 8th, 1891. Son of John Melvin Duncan and Mary Susan Tapp. My 2nd cousin 4x removed. 

6) John Melvin Duncan. Born November 13th, 1848, died October 17th, 1933. Son of John Duncan Sr and Nancy Smith. Husband of Mary Susan Tapp. My 1st cousin 6x removed. Cause of death: Paralysis and old age.

7) John Strother Duncan. Born January 31st, 1885, died June 18th, 1916. Son of John Melvin Duncan and Mary Susan Tapp. Husband of Vera Whitledge. My 2nd cousin 4x removed. Cause of death: Heart dropsy. 

8) Laura Bell Duncan. Born November 4th, 1870, died April 13th, 1945. Daughter of John Melvin Duncan and Mary Susan Tapp. My 2nd cousin 4x removed. Cause of death: Broncho pneumonia. 

9) Marion Duncan. Born October 18th, 1889, died September 6th, 1945. Son of William French Duncan and Sarah Catherine Tapp. My 2nd cousin 4x removed. 

10) Mary Pearl Duncan. Born May 28th, 1885, died November 9th, 1900. Daughter of William French Duncan and Sarah Catherine Tapp. My 2nd cousin 4x removed. 

11) Mary Susan Tapp. Born April 2nd, 1851, died May 20th, 1935. Daughter of William Tapp and Mary Susan Gibson. Wife of John Melvin Duncan. My 1st cousin 5x removed. Cause of death: Chronic myocarditis and nephritis. 

12) Robert Fulton Duncan. Born September 18th, 1887, died July 14th, 1936. Son of William French Duncan and Sarah Catherine Tapp. My 2nd cousin 4x removed. Cause of death: Cerebral hemorrhage. 

13) Sarah Catherine Tapp. Born April 1852, died April 8th, 1899. Daughter of William Tapp and Mary Susan Gibson. Wife of William French Duncan. My 1st cousin 5x removed.

14) Sarah Frances Duncan. Born March 14th, 1891, died July 26th, 1891. Daughter of William French Duncan and Sarah Catherine Tapp. My 2nd cousin 4x removed. 

15) Vincan Duncan. Born January 17th, 1877, died November 20th, 1890. Son of John Melvin Duncan and Mary Susan Tapp. My 2nd cousin 4x removed. 

16) Welzy Duncan. Born April 9th, 1878, died July 17th, 1880. Son of John Melvin Duncan and Mary Susan Tapp. My 2nd cousin 4x removed. 

17) William French Duncan. Born April 16th, 1854, died July 18th, 1937. Son of Nathan Benjamin Duncan and Mary Jane Holeman. Husband of Sarah Catherine Tapp. My 2nd cousin 5x removed. Cause of death: Very hard to read but it mentions an accidental burn.

18) Dixie Lou Frasier. Born and died October 30th, 1930. Daughter of Ambrose Haywood Frasier and Frances Jenell Laswell. My 3rd cousin 2x removed. 

19) Gayle Frasier. Born February 8th, 1885, and died May 24th, 1950. Son of John C. Frasier and Lee Forrest Pressley. Husband of Lucile S. Gibson. "Husband of 1st cousin 4x removed." Cause of death: Cerebral hemorrhage. 

20) Lucile S. Gibson. Born January 6th, 1890, died March 26th, 1975. Daughter of George Harrell Gibson and Cora Francis Young. Wife of Gayle Frasier. My 1st cousin 4x removed. 

21) Bailey Gibson. Born December 8th, 1818, died February 5th, 1859. Son of Berryman Gibson and Susan A. Duncan. Husband of Sirena Weldon. 4x Great-Granduncle. (Not entirely sure if he's buried in Gibson 1 or Gibson 2. No tombstone for him has been located yet he's constantly listed as being buried here in Gibson #1.)

22) Berryman Gibson. Born June 13th, 1785, died September 1869. Son of Joel Gibson and Eleanor Davis. Husband of Susan A. Duncan. My 5x Grandfather. Cause of death: consumption (tuberculosis.) (His original tombstone has been replaced. The death date has erroneously been given as September 1, 1870.. this is incorrect. He's listed in the 1870 census as "dying prior to June 1st, 1870." So he died September 1869.)

23) Carrie E. Gibson. Born April 7th, 1873 (on tombstone, birth year appears to be closer to 1877 in census), died October 20th, 1898. Daughter of Robert Benjamin Gibson and Susan A. Pritchett. My 1st cousin 4x removed. 

24) Cora Francis Young. Born April 20th, 1863, died March 18th, 1950. Daughter of James Brice Young and Lucretia Ann Winfield. Wife of (?) Pritchett and George Harrell Gibson. Wife of 3rd Great-Granduncle. Cause of death: Shock from a fractured hip, chronic myocarditis, and diabetes.

25) Derwood Gibson. Born December 8th, 1914, died August 22nd, 1917. Son of James Odie Gibson and Della Caroline Gibson. Cause of death: Dysentery. My 2nd cousin 3x removed. 

26) Eliza Jane Webster. Born February 12th, 1838, died June 19th, 1896. Daughter of Joseph Webster and Elizabeth Cooley. Wife of Nathan Alander Gibson Sr. Wife of 4th Great-Granduncle. 

27) Ellen Sarah Skeel. Born December 26th, 1894, died June 26th, 1950. Daughter of Elbridge Milford Skeel and Mary Josephine Utt. Wife of Louis Steven Emhuff and James Odie Gibson. Wife of 1st cousin 4x removed. Cause of death: congestive failure, arteriosclerotic heart disease, arteriosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus. 

28) Elmos C. Gibson. Born December 21st, 1875, died January 11th, 1876. Son of Robert Benjamin Gibson and Susan A. Pritchett. 1st cousin 4x removed. (He's also getting confused with his sister, Carrie, I believe.. and there's also a rumor he lived to be 101 years old. I've found no proof of this. He's not alive in the 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, or 1940 censuses.)

29) Elymus R. Gibson. Born December 16th, 1899, died January 3rd, 1918. Son of William K. Gibson and Margaret Ellen Pritchett. 1st cousin 4x removed. Cause of death: Acute miliary tuberculosis. 

30) Erastus Kohl Gibson. Born September 19th, 1886, died June 30th, 1919. Son of George Harrell Gibson and Cora Francis Young. Husband of Mary Evelyn Hughes. 1st cousin 4x removed. Cause of death: Carbolic acid poisoning, suicide. 

31) Ethel Gibson. Born July 17th, 1900, died March 29th, 1916. Daughter of James Odie Gibson and Della Caroline Gibson. 2nd cousin 3x removed. Cause of death: Pneumonia. 

32) George Harold Gibson. Born May 9th, 1875, died September 2nd, 1945. Son of John Beverly Gibson and Sarah Jane Koonce. Husband of Stella Robertson. 1st cousin 4x removed. Cause of death: paralysis (or that's the best I can read on the death certificate.)

33) George Harrell Gibson. Born December 20th, 1862, died September 9th, 1940. Son of John Gregory Gibson and Mahala Caroline Busby. Husband of Cora Francis Young. 3rd Great-Granduncle. Cause of death: Organic heart disease. 

34) Bertha Georgia Fryar. Born March 31st, 1881, died June 2nd, 1921. Daughter of George Washington Fryar and Matilda Jane Moss. Wife of Roscoe Gibson Sr. 4th cousin 3x removed. Cause of death: Septicemia and placenta previa. 

35) Infant Gibson. Born and died March 27th, 1861. Daughter of John Gregory Gibson and Mahala Caroline Busby. 3rd Great-Grandaunt. 

36) James Fagan Gibson. Born November 14th, 1848, died May 11th, 1911. Son of John Gregory Gibson and Mahala Caroline Busby. Husband of Nancy Jane Gibson. 3rd Great-Granduncle. Cause of death: myocarditis. 

37) James Morris Gibson. Born April 12th, 1902, died April 16th, 1970. Son of Robert Benjamin Gibson and Susan A. Pritchett. Husband of Louella Alice Morris. 1st cousin 4x removed. COD: Pneumonia and C.O.P.D. 

38) James Odie Gibson. Born May 26th, 1878, died July 24th, 1952. Son of John Beverly Gibson and Sarah Jane Koonce. Husband of Della Caroline Gibson and Ellen Sarah Skeel. 1st cousin 4x removed. 

39) Joel Gibson. Patriarch of the Gibson's in Henderson County, KY and the surrounding areas. Born in 1750, died December 23rd, 1830. Served in the Revolutionary War. Potential son of John Gibson and Mary Duncan of Caswell County, NC. Husband of Eleanor Davis. His wife might be buried in the cemetery as well. If she truly died in 1818 - that was AFTER they came to Henderson and settled in Corydon. Joel is my 6x Great-Grandfather. His children have been proved as definitively being the following: Vicey *possibly nickname for Levicy?* Gibson (m. Josiah Stone), Burgess Gibson (m. Sarah ?), Elizabeth Gibson (m. ?), Bailey Gibson (m. Catherine Sights), Greenberry Gibson (m. Charlotte Davis), Berryman Gibson (m. Susan A. Duncan), Robert Gibson (m. ?), Tillman Gibson (m. Sarah Crowley), Margaret "Peggy" Gibson (m. Abraham Shelton), Nancy Gibson (m. ? Shelton). 

40) John Beverly Gibson. Born February 13th, 1855, died June 29th, 1936. Son of John Gregory Gibson and Mahala Caroline Busby. Husband of Sarah Jane Koonce. 3rd Great-Granduncle. COD: Arteriosclerosis. 

41) John D. Gibson. Born March 10th, 1885, died September 17th, 1903. Son of George Harrell Gibson and Cora Francis Young. 1st cousin 4x removed.

42) John Gregory Gibson. Born December 18th, 1816, died November 6th, 1890. Son of Berryman Gibson and Susan A. Duncan. Husband of Mahala Caroline Busby and Elizabeth (?) Young. My 4x Great-Grandfather. COD: Unsure, but he ran the county sanitarium/poor farm for nine years before he died. He died at the sanitarium. 

43) Katsie Lucille Son. Born July 24th, 1895, died January 24th, 1970. Daughter of James C. Son and Hallie Dossett. Wife of Joseph Leslie Crews and Roscoe Gibson Sr. Wife of 1st cousin 4x removed. 

44) Lizzie Gibson. Born February 22nd, 1892, died October 28th, 1895. Daughter of Robert Benjamin Gibson and Susan A. Pritchett. 1st cousin 4x removed. 

45) Lucilla E. Gibson. Born October 10th, 1853, died September 27th, 1878. Daughter of John Gregory Gibson and Mahala Caroline Gibson. 3rd Great-Grandaunt. 

46) Mahala Caroline Busby. Born January 1820, died November 18th, 1868. Daughter of William L. Busby and Elizabeth Denton. Wife of John Gregory Gibson. My 4th Great-Grandmother. 

47) Martha Caroline Busby. Born May 1st, 1849, died December 6th, 1855. Daughter of John Gregory Gibson and Mahala Caroline Busby. 3rd Great-Grandaunt. 

48) Mary J. Gibson. Born December 27th, 1859, died April 27th, 1860. Daughter of John Gregory Gibson and Mahala Caroline Busby. 3rd Great-Grandaunt. 

49) Martha Walker. Born April 28th, 1876, died July 15th, 1972. Daughter of George William Walker and Mary E. Utley. Wife of John Beverly Gibson. Wife of 3rd Great-Granduncle. 

50) Maud V. Gibson. Born September 30th, 1877, died November 28th, 1893. Daughter of William K. Gibson and Margaret Ellen Pritchett. 1st cousin 4x removed. 

51) Nancy Jane Gibson. Born January 20th, 1855, died December 2nd, 1927. Daughter of John William Gibson and Susan Covey. Wife of James Fagan Gibson. 2nd cousin 4x removed. COD: Bright's disease, and dysentery. 

52) Nathan Alander Gibson, Sr. Born January 5th, 1828, died July 23rd, 1899. Son of Berryman Gibson and Susan A. Duncan. Husband of Marietta Webster, Eliza Jane Webster, and Susan B. Hancock. 4x Great Granduncle. 

53) Robert Benjamin Gibson, Jr. Born April 11th, 1884, died May 31st, 1885. Son of Robert Benjamin Gibson Sr and Susan A. Pritchett. 1st cousin 4x removed.

54) Robert Benjamin Gibson. Born January 14th, 1844, died January 15th, 1913. Son of John Gregory Gibson and Mahala Caroline Busby. Husband of Sibbie Denton and Susan A. Pritchett. 3rd Great-Granduncle. COD: Croupous pneumonia.

55) Roscoe Gibson Sr. Born January 6th, 1883, died March 4th, 1957. Son of John Beverly Gibson and Sarah Jane Koonce. Husband of Bertha Georgia Fryar and Katsie Lucille Son. 1st cousin 4x removed. COD: Cerebral embolus, arteriosclerotic heart disease. 

56) Sarah Jane Koonce. Born September 1855, died 1906. Daughter of Owen Lawrence Koonce and Arrena Sims. Wife of John Beverly Gibson. Wife of 3rd Great-Granduncle. 

57) Silas Gibson. Born September 23rd, 1886, died December 21st, 1887. Son of John Beverly Gibson and Sarah Jane Koonce. 1st cousin 4x removed. 

58) Stella Robertson. Born April 24th, 1877, died August 22nd, 1958. Daughter of Ira Bascom Robertson and Martha Frances Gibson. Wife of George Harold Gibson. 2nd cousin 4x removed. COD: Bowel obstruction, hernia. 

59) Susan A. Duncan. Born January 18th, 1791, died February 2nd, 1865. Daughter of Nathaniel Benjamin Duncan and Jane Rainey. Wife of Berryman Gibson. My 5x Great-Grandmother. 

60) Susan A. Pritchett. Born June 14th, 1857, died January 11th, 1937. Daughter of Ephraim Pritchett and Elizabeth Handley. Wife of Robert Benjamin Gibson. Wife of 3rd Great-Granduncle. COD: carcinoma of the stomach. 

61) Virgie M. Gibson. Born and died 1896. Daughter of William K. Gibson and Margaret Ellen Pritchett. 1st cousin 4x removed.

62) William O. Gibson. Born December 16th, 1876, and probably died shortly after. Son of John Beverly Gibson and Sarah Jane Koonce. 1st cousin 4x removed.

63) William C. Gibson. Born October 16th, 1825, died January 2nd, 1898. Son of Berryman Gibson and Susan A. Duncan. Husband of Mary Frances Floyd (who is also very likely buried beside him, unmarked.) 4th Great-Granduncle. COD: Bright's disease.

64) Mary Frances Floyd. Born about 1836, died between 1880-1898. Daughter of John Crosby Floyd and Mary Randolph. Wife of William C. Gibson. Very likely to be buried here next to her husband. Wife of 4th Great-Granduncle. 

65) William James Gibson. Born November 21st, 1842, died April 22nd, 1843. Son of John Gregory Gibson and Mahala Caroline Busby. 3rd Great-Granduncle. 

66) William K. Gibson. Born 1858, died 1904. Son of John Gregory Gibson and Mahala Caroline Busby. Husband of Margaret Ellen Pritchett. 3rd Great-Granduncle. 

67) Katharine Anna Koonce. Born August 19th, 1853, died March 3rd, 1899. Daughter of Owen Lawrence Koonce and Arrena Sims. Wife of Peter Benjamin Grisham Sr. Sister-in-law of 3rd Great-Granduncle. 

68) Elliott Hoy. Born May 1909, died October 14th, 1921. Son of James Samuel Hoy and Minnie Lee Gibson. 2nd cousin 3x removed. COD: Pertussis and nephritis (that's the best I can make of the death certificate. I'm not sure if the P word really is pertussis but it's the closest I can come. It sure isn't pneumonia.) 

69) George Fagan Hoy. Born December 28th, 1896, died March 19th, 1965. Son of James Samuel Hoy and Minnie Lee Gibson. 2nd cousin 3x removed. 

70) Infant Hoy. Born and died November 24th, 1899. Son of James Samuel Hoy and Minnie Lee Gibson. 2nd cousin 3x removed.

71) James Morris Hoy. Born September 28th, 1917, died July 24th, 1929. Son of James Samuel Hoy and Minnie Lee Gibson. 2nd cousin 3x removed. COD: Meningococcal meningitis epidemic of Detroit 1928-1929. 

72) James Samuel Hoy. Born July 27th, 1873, died July 31st, 1967. Son of Leander Jones Hoy and Eliza Jane Hancock. Husband of Minnie Lee Gibson. Husband of 1st cousin 4x removed. 

73) Minnie Lee Gibson. Born October 4th, 1877, died January 7th, 1974. Daughter of an unknown father and Lucilla E. Gibson. Raised by her Uncle and Aunt, James Fagan Gibson & Nancy Jane Gibson. Wife of James Samuel Hoy. 1st cousin 4x removed.

74) David Hoy Key. Born July 16th, 1927, died October 11th, 1927 (tombstone incorrectly gives October 27th). Son of Reeves C. Key and Cora Agnes Hoy. 3rd cousin 2x removed. COD: Broncho pneumonia.

75) Elinora "Ellen Nora" D. Tapp. Born November 9th, 1858, died April 6th, 1875. Daughter of William Tapp and Mary Susan Gibson. Wife of Burrell Jerome King. 1st cousin 5x removed. 

76) Elizabeth J. Tapp. Born June 10th, 1856, died November 6th, 1894. Daughter of William Tapp and Mary Susan Gibson. Wife of Burrell Jerome King. 1st cousin 5x removed. 

77) Andrew Jackson Koonce. Born October 15th, 1917, died August 30th, 1919. Son of George William Koonce and Lou Inez Mills. 3rd cousin 3x removed. COD: Accidentally burned to death by scalding hot water. 

78) Arrena Sims. Born September 5th, 1818, died April 30th, 1889. Possible daughter of Elisha Sims and Ann Clopton. Wife of Owen Lawrence Koonce. Mother-in-law of 3x Great-Granduncle. 

79) George William Koonce. Born October 29th, 1872, died February 10th, 1919. Son of Owen Thomas Koonce and Martha Ann Gibson. Husband of Lou Inez Mills. 2nd cousin 4x removed. COD: Dropped dead working in the field, most likely of a heart attack. He suffered from organic heart disease.

80) Owen Lawrence Koonce. Born December 29th, 1819, died November 11th, 1907. Son of Wendell M. Koonce and Nancy Woods. Husband of Arrena Sims. Father-in-law of 3x Great-Granduncle. 

81) Eula May Duncan. Born May 17th, 1891, died February 19th, 1920. Daughter of Elijah Thomas Duncan and Amelia Pritchett. Wife of Henry Oliver Nally. 4th cousin 2x removed / Wife of 2x Great-Granduncle. COD: Pneumonia/Influenza

82) Henry Oliver Nally. Born November 3rd, 1856, died December 14th, 1925. Son of Thomas Sidney Nally and Martha Jane Oliver. Husband of Vandalia Delia Gibson. My 3x Great-Grandfather. COD: Vascular heart disease. 

83) Mamie Eva Phillips. Born April 4th, 1890, died September 30th, 1986. Daughter of Conrad Herman Phillips and Mary Belle Royster. Wife of Sidney Thomas Nally, John Eblen Denton, and Henry Oliver Nally. 7th cousin 2x removed / Wife of 2x Great-Granduncle. 

84) May Nally. Born and died on March 30th, 1916. Daughter of Sidney Thomas Nally and Mamie Eva Phillips. 1st cousin 3x removed. COD: Premature birth.

85) Morrison Phillip Nally. Born October 31st, 1922, died November 23rd, 1922. Son of Sidney Thomas Nally and Mamie Eva Phillips. 1st cousin 3x removed. COD: Enterocolitis. 

86) Ray Nally. Born and died on March 30th, 1916. Son of Sidney Thomas Nally and Mamie Eva Phillips. 1st cousin 3x removed. COD: Premature birth. 

87) Sidney Thomas Nally. Born April 5th, 1885, died November 15th, 1926. Son of Henry Oliver Nally and Vandalia Delia Gibson. Husband of Mamie Eva Phillips. 2x Great-Granduncle. COD: Erysipelas. 

88) Vandalia Delia Gibson. Born December 21st, 1856, died July 5th, 1949. Daughter of John Gregory Gibson and Mahala Caroline Busby. Wife of Henry Oliver Nally. My 3x Great-Grandmother. COD: arteriosclerotic heart disease. 

89) Isadora Duncan. Born July 2nd, 1874, died June 13th, 1908. Daughter of John Melvin Duncan and Mary Susan Tapp. Wife of William Jasper "Jack" Nesler and William Martin "Willie" Drury. 2nd cousin 4x removed. COD: Suicide by carbolic acid poisoning. 

90) Virlie Norton. Born August 8th, 1894, died June 23rd, 1896. Daughter of Harry J. Norton and Eliza Jane Sutton. Step-great-granddaughter of my 4x Great-Granduncle (Nathan Alander Gibson Sr.) 

91) George Washington Overfield. Born November 12th, 1872, died March 2nd, 1955. Son of Manuel James Overfield and Macy Catherine Watson. Husband of Mary Jane Duncan. Husband of 2nd cousin 4x removed. COD: Diabetes mellitus and chronic osteomyelitis. 

92) Mary Jane Duncan. Born February 5th, 1880, died March 5th, 1971. Daughter of John Melvin Duncan and Mary Susan Tapp. Wife of George Washington Overfield. 2nd cousin 4x removed. 

93) Christine Thompson. Born April 2nd, 1919, died February 20th, 1995. Daughter of Sam Thomas Thompson and Camilla Nally. Wife of Dale Edward Palm. 1st cousin 3x removed. Cremated.

94) Dale Edward Palm. Born January 30th, 1920, died May 11th, 1995. Son of John Nevin Palm Sr and Edith Hoffman. Husband of Christine Thompson. Husband of 1st cousin 3x removed. Cremated.

95) Dennis Wayne Palm. Born September 3rd, 1945, died January 18th, 1994. Son of Dale Edward Palm and Christine Thompson. 2nd cousin 2x removed. Cremated.

96) Vandelia D. Gibson. Born September 28th, 1888, died May 17th, 1976. Daughter of Robert Benjamin Gibson and Susan A. Pritchett. Wife of Aubrey Kohl Gibson and Robert Charles Schultz. 1st cousin 4x removed. COD: Myocardial infarction, arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. 

97) Infant Stanley. Born and died November 17th, 1922. Child of Lyman Stanley and Sarah Cornelia Brown. Distant relationship (honestly unsure why the Stanley children are buried in Gibson Cemetery unless they're just friends of the family.)

98) Tommie Stanley. Born July 14th, 1903, died November 18th, 1915. Son of Lyman Stanley and Lena Miller. Distant relationship. COD: (this took a while to decipher) Follicular tonsillitis and vascular lesions of the heart.

99) Lelia Hattie Duncan. Born January 4th, 1881, died October 9th, 1904. Daughter of George Henry Duncan and Mahalia Caroline Gibson. Wife of George Washington Stone. 2nd cousin 4x removed. 

100) Archibald Tapp. Born February 14th, 1854, died August 10th, 1931. Son of William Tapp and Mary Susan Gibson. Husband of Elnora Wood. 1st cousin 5x removed. COD: Carcinoma of face (had to be a type of skin cancer.)

101) Arulius Benjamin Tapp. Born February 10th, 1846, died February 14th, 1860. Son of William Tapp and Mary Susan Gibson. 1st cousin 5x removed. 

102) Elnora "Ella Nora" Wood. Born January 24th, 1869, died September 30th, 1956. Daughter of Joseph Wood and Minerva Handley. Wife of Archibald Tapp. Wife of 1st cousin 5x removed. COD: Cerebral thrombosis, generalized arteriosclerosis. 

103) Martha F Tapp. Born May 29th, 1848, died December 14th, 1850. Daughter of William Tapp and Mary Susan Gibson. 1st cousin 5x removed. 

104) Mary Susan Gibson. Born February 10th, 1823, died January 12th, 1864. Daughter of Berryman Gibson and Susan A. Duncan. Wife of William Tapp. 4x Great-Grandaunt. 

105) Nathan Tapp. Born August 13th, 1849, died September 5th, 1852. Son of William Tapp and Mary Susan Gibson. 1st cousin 5x removed. COD: Flux. 

106) William Tapp. Born December 15th, 1817, died March 8th, 1886. Son of Vincent Tapp and Rosanna Hopson. Husband of Mary Susan Gibson. Husband of 4x Great-Grandaunt. 

107) Willie Tapp. Born 1906, died 1918. (No death certificate or obituary found.) Son of Roland Gooch Tapp and Bertie Ann Duncan. 3rd cousin 3x removed.

108) Camilla Nally. Born October 20th, 1882, died November 3rd, 1962. Daughter of Henry Oliver Nally and Vandalia Delia Gibson. Wife of Sam Thomas Thompson. 2x Great-Grandaunt (Twin of my Great-Great-Grandmother, Mary Janella (Nally) Thompson). COD: Pneumonia, diabetes mellitus, 2nd degree burns on neck and back (from a gas heater), and pyemia. 

109) Mary Katherine West. Born April 18th, 1917, died October 8th, 2009. Daughter of Cohen West and Anna Elizabeth McGroarty. Wife of Otis Benton Thompson. 3rd cousin 3x removed / Wife of 1st cousin 3x removed. COD: Urinary tract infection, Alzheimer's disease.

110) Otis Benton Thompson. Born November 18th, 1914, died August 20th, 1981. Son of Sam Thomas Thompson and Camilla Nally. Husband of Mary Katherine West. 1st cousin 3x removed. 

111) Sam Thomas Thompson. Born April 3rd, 1880, died October 10th, 1950. Son of Martin Henry Thompson and Elizabeth Levina Nally. Husband of Camilla Nally. 2x Great-Granduncle.  COD: Cerebral thrombosis, arteriosclerosis, and senility. 

112) Thornton David Thompson. Born March 5th, 1912, died January 11th, 1933. Son of Sam Thomas Thompson and Camilla Nally. 1st cousin 3x removed. COD: Diabetes mellitus and cachexia (wasting syndrome.) 

113) Vannie Louise Thompson. Born November 24th, 1911, died November 19th, 1915. Daughter of John Rowan Thompson and Mary Janella Nally. Great-Grandaunt. COD: Membranous croup.

114) Lida Watson. Born April 3rd, 1897, died February 4th, 1898. Daughter of Charles William Watson and Ella Culver. 2nd cousin 3x removed.

115) Marvin Watson. Born December 18th, 1921, died September 28th, 1924. Son of William Hollis Watson Sr and Mary Anna Duncan. 3rd cousin 2x removed. COD: Dysentery of eight days duration. 

116) Infant Welden. Born and died January 10th, 1863. Son of William Lafayette Welden and Susan Ann Gibson. 1st cousin 5x removed.

117) Martha Welden. Born February 24th, 1868, and died possibly in 1875. Daughter of William Lafayette Welden and Susan Ann Gibson. 1st cousin 5x removed.

118) Susan Ann Gibson. Born May 24th, 1833, died March 18th, 1887. Daughter of Berryman Gibson and Susan A. Duncan. Wife of William Lafayette Welden. 4x Great-Grandaunt.

119) Martha Vandelia Nally. Born November 19th, 1891, died November 9th, 1913. Daughter of Henry Oliver Nally and Vandalia Delia Gibson. Wife of Richard James Williams. 2x Great-Grandaunt. COD: Vascular disease of the heart, dropsy of the heart.

The following are those who are buried in Gibson Cemetery #2 (the second family cemetery) in alphabetical order (to the best of my ability). I will be listing their name, their birth and death date, who they are a child of, who they married, and their cause of death if available. I will also be mentioning their exact relationship to me as I am related to every single person buried in this cemetery.

1) Malinda Belle Gibson. Born July 4th, 1871, died November 3rd, 1955. Daughter of George Lafayette Gibson and Lockie Ann Christopher. Wife of Robert Jackson Sellars and George Hickman Cates. 2nd cousin 4x removed. COD: Bronchial pneumonia, hypertensive cardiovascular disease, generalized arteriosclerosis, and senile dementia. 

2) Louisa Jane Gibson. Born August 18th, 1834, died October 30th, 1863. Daughter of James William Gibson and Mary Watson. Wife of Andrew Joseph Crawford Jr. 1st cousin 5x removed. 

3) Benjamin Franklin Gibson Sr. Born July 15th, 1836, died October 5th, 1909. Son of James William Gibson and Mary Watson. Husband of Talitha Ann Floyd and Sarah Crosby Floyd. 1st cousin 5x removed. (Family suspicion that he's buried here. It's possible he could be buried in New Mexico or Texas.)

4) Ellis Earle Gibson. Born June 13th, 1880, died December 31st, 1920. Son of George Lafayette Gibson and Lockie Ann Christopher. Husband of Bertha Culver. 2nd cousin 4x removed. COD: Status epilepticus, epilepsy. Status epilepticus is usually a seizure lasting more than five minutes in result from a high fever or infection.

5) George Lafayette Gibson. Born December 25th, 1846, died May 11th, 1905. Son of James William Gibson and Mary Watson. Husband of Lockie Ann Christopher. 1st cousin 5x removed. 

6) George Louis Gibson. Born July 9th, 1880, died July 28th, 1880. Son of William L. Gibson and Sarah Elizabeth Walker. 3rd cousin 3x removed. 

7) George Other Gibson. Born August 1st, 1873, died December 18th, 1884. Possible son of James Franklin Gibson and Sarah Easley Mills, but would have been born prior to their marriage, so he's possibly an adopted son. He doesn't appear with them in the 1880 census. His tombstone does read "Son of J.F. and S.E. Gibson." If this is true - he's my 3rd cousin 3x removed. 

8) Infant Gibson. Born and died June 16th, 1879. Daughter of George Lafayette Gibson and Lockie Ann Christopher. 2nd cousin 4x removed.

9) James Andrew Gibson. Born July 9th, 1880, died July 28th, 1880. Son of William L. Gibson and Sarah Elizabeth Walker. 3rd cousin 3x removed.

10) James W Gibson. Born and died November 17th, 1882. Son of John Wiley Gibson and Nancy Caroline Morehead. 3rd cousin 3x removed.

11) James William Gibson. Born February 18th, 1810, died May 27th, 1885. Son of Berryman Gibson and Susan A. Duncan. Husband of Mary Watson and Mary E. Royster. 4x Great-Granduncle. 

12) Elizabeth A. Pritchett. Born 1844, died between 1880-1900. Daughter of William W. Pritchett and Permelia Powell. Wife of James William Gibson Jr. Wife of 1st cousin 5x removed. 

13) James William Gibson Jr. Born March 26th, 1841, died November 26th, 1879. Son of James William Gibson Sr and Mary Watson. Husband of Elizabeth A. Pritchett. 1st cousin 5x removed.

14) John William Gibson. Born November 25th, 1831, died October 8th, 1856. Son of James William Gibson and Mary Watson. Husband of Susannah Covey. 1st cousin 5x removed.

15) Lillie Gibson. Born February 25th, 1879, died October 23rd, 1879. Daughter of Robert A. Gibson and Kimmillar S. Christopher. 2nd cousin 4x removed.

16) Lizzie Gibson. Born August 7th, 1882, died October 15th, 1882. Daughter of George Lafayette Gibson and Lockie Ann Christopher. 2nd cousin 4x removed.

17) Lockie Ann Christopher. Born February 25th, 1846, died May 4th, 1920. Daughter of John J. Christopher and Elizabeth White. Wife of George Lafayette Gibson. Wife of 1st cousin 5x removed. COD: Sudden death, neuralgia of the heart. 

18) Louis Jefferson Gibson. Born April 13th, 1861, died April 27th, 1882. Son of Robert W. Gibson and Lucy Ann Floyd. 1st cousin 5x removed.

19) Mary Watson. Born October 11th, 1811, died April 2nd, 1865. Daughter of John Tarlton Watson and Sarah Elizabeth English. Wife of James William Gibson. Wife of 4x Great-Granduncle. 

20) Matildia Gibson. Born May 12th, 1886, died October 14th, 1886. Daughter of William L. Gibson and Sarah Elizabeth Walker. 3rd cousin 3x removed. (This grave originally was for a 'Mattie Cinella' with 1879 dates but.. I believe that was taken from an incorrect source and distributed over the years. The tombstone proves it's Matildia with 1886 dates.)

21) Robert Fulton Gibson. Born January 23rd, 1887, died July 29th, 1962. Son of George Lafayette Gibson and Lockie Ann Christopher. Never married. 2nd cousin 4x removed. COD: Coronary occlusion and myocardial infarction of the anterior descending branch, previous anterior infarction, long standing arteriosclerosis coronary. 

22) Sarah Crosby Floyd. Born April 8th, 1843, died between 1900-1910. (Suspected of being buried here with her husband, although they could be buried in New Mexico or Texas). Daughter of Henry Crosby Floyd and Elizabeth Atkinson. Wife of Benjamin Franklin Gibson Sr. Wife of 1st cousin 5x removed. 

23) Susannah Covey. Born August 12th, 1830, died July 13th, 1865. Daughter of Joshua David Covey and Lydia Adamson. Wife of John William Gibson. Wife of 1st cousin 5x removed.

24) Talitha Ann Floyd. Born October 11th, 1837, died September 28th, 1865. Daughter of Henry Crosby Floyd and Elizabeth Atkinson. Wife of Benjamin Franklin Gibson Sr. (Based on gut instinct, I believe she's 100% buried in this cemetery.) Wife of 1st cousin 5x removed.

25) Eula Jennette Gibson. Born August 19th, 1894, died February 8th, 1919. Daughter of James Franklin Gibson and Sarah Easley Mills. Wife of Edward Arthur Moffett. 3rd cousin 3x removed. COD: Labor pneumonia. 

26) Nathan Alander Gibson Jr. Born January 13th, 1857, died March 10th, 1898. Son of Nathan Alander Gibson Sr and Eliza Jane Webster. Husband of Mary Ellen Gibson. 1st cousin 5x removed.

27) Infant Norman. Born December 31st, 1870, died January 21st, 1871. Child of William A. Norman and Martha Frances Gibson. 2nd cousin 4x removed.

28) William A. Norman. Born September 26th, 1844, died January 28th, 1873. Son of Joseph Clifton Norman Sr and Virginia Rebecca Brooks. Husband of Martha Frances Gibson. Husband of 1C5R. 

29) Mary Ellen Pritchett. Born January 24th, 1857, died October 4th, 1857. Not exactly sure who's child she is at the moment. The Pritchett's and Gibson's intermarried a lot as they were always family friends and neighbors. If a tombstone is ever found for her (there had to have been one when Mr. Blue documented the cemetery in the 80's and 90's), then perhaps parents initials are on it. She's most likely a descendant of John Pritchett and Sarah Powell.

30) Martha Frances Gibson. Born October 3rd, 1843, died January 29th, 1885. Daughter of James William Gibson and Mary Watson. Wife of William A. Norman and Ira Bascom Robertson. 1st cousin 5x removed. 

31) Pearl Sellars. Born 1890, died 1894. Daughter of Robert Jackson Sellars and Malinda Belle Gibson. 3rd cousin 3x removed.

32) Robert Jackson Sellars. Born June 9th, 1866, died July 31st, 1897. Son of Isham Sellars and Lucy Ann Hughes. Husband of Malinda Belle Gibson. Husband of 2nd cousin 4x removed. COD: Typhoid fever. 

33) Juliett Duncan Gibson. Born February 22nd, 1877, died March 15th, 1932. Daughter of George Lafayette Gibson and Lockie Ann Christopher. Wife of James S. Tapp. 2nd cousin 4x removed. COD: Ruptured gallbladder, and chronic heart disease.

34) Eliza Thompson. Born October 20th, 1868, died January 4th, 1885. Daughter of Willis R. Thompson and Emily Adeline Pritchett, adoptive daughter of James William Gibson and Mary E. Royster. 1st cousin 4x removed.


This project has taken me almost a full month to complete. Over the course of the month, typing up this blog and adding plenty of material to my genealogy page on Facebook (Genealogy by Brecca) -- I have fixed a LOT of stuff in Gibson Cemetery #1 and #2. I have solved a lot of family mysteries.. I have found a lot of sad stories and over the next little while I will absolutely share those to this blog as well. 

For now, I will end this blog by saying thank you so much for having an interest in the Gibson cemeteries.. and if you're a relative, please say hello! I hope this blog helps future Gibson genealogists for years to come!!

Saturday, March 26, 2022

52 Ancestors 2022: Week 5: Branching Out

 At just about 100,700 people in my family tree on Ancestry - you can say I've done a *bunch* of branching out over the years. I first started my Ancestry tree in 2008 when I was just fifteen years old. I'd already been doing genealogy for eight years at that point. This year makes twenty-two years for me. 

A handful of years ago - oh, around 2011 or 2012 - I started on a personal mission to figure out how I was related to every person buried in Henderson County, Kentucky. Realistically, I got about 45% of the way there. I extensively worked on every cemetery in the county except for the biggest ones -- Fernwood, Fairmont, St. Louis, and Roselawn. 

My most extensive project came in August/September 2021 when I decided to thoroughly go over each and every person buried in the two Gibson cemeteries in Corydon, Henderson County, Kentucky. Yes - I'm related to each person in those two cemeteries, and it was definitely a rollercoaster ride in figuring out how. 

I know some people like to keep their family trees for 'direct ancestors' only but... where's the fun in that? Sometimes the 'juicy' relatives are your collateral lines. Look at Ed Singleton - the man who started John Dillinger into his road of mischief and debauchery... Ed was my 5th cousin 3x removed. 

President Abraham Lincoln, with whom I share a birthday, is the husband of the sister-in-law of my 3rd cousin 5x removed. The midwife present during his birth was Margaret "Peggy" (LaRue) Walters -- her Grandparents were my 7x Grandparents... but she was also the wife of my 5th Great-Granduncle, Conrad Walters. 

President James Madison was my 2nd cousin 8x removed. President George Washington was the Great-Granduncle of the wife of my 5th Great-Granduncle. 

Pocahontas was a wife of my 13x Great-Grandfather, John Rolfe Jr. I descend through his wife, Jane Pierce, and their daughter Elizabeth Pierce Rolfe. (I will be able to prove this 100% once I (or my Mom) does our mtDNA testing since it'll go back much further than autosomal.)

Governor Lazarus Whitehead Powell Jr was the nephew of the husband of my 2nd cousin 5x removed. Politician John Y. Brown was the husband of my 7th cousin 7x removed. General Samuel Hopkins, our towns founder, was the Uncle of the wife of the paternal grandfather of the husband of the wife of my 8th cousin 6x removed. Now that's distant! 

It's those "rabbit holes" we go down when doing genealogy that can really prove the most fun and interesting! 

Look at the neat people I've figured out I'm related to via DNA that are distant cousins -- Scott Porter from the Tennessee Wraith Chasers (TV shows like Ghost Asylum & Haunted Towns) is my 3rd cousin 1x removed through the Mefford's. Ryan Upchurch is my 4th cousin 2x removed through our Burgess lines that's *if* I have my Burgess mystery solved.

Hugh Hefner was the 4th cousin 1x removed of the husband of my 7th cousin 2x removed. 

I'm telling ya -- branch out! You never know who or what you might discover. I grew up with the folklore that I was descended from Daniel Boone -- that wasn't true... but we are related. 3rd Great-Granduncle of the husband of my 3rd cousin 3x removed. I think we *might* have a slightly closer relationship because my 4x Grandmother was indeed Rosella (Boone) Blandford. 

So take that chance sometime. Work on that random sixth cousin that sounds interesting. Heck, I've got a Wilder line and y'all have no idea how badly I wanted to be kin to Almanzo Wilder and thus related to Laura (Ingalls) Wilder, one of my favorite authors of ALL time.

Go. Down. The. Bunny. Holes!

See y'all on the other side. 

52 Ancestors 2022: Week 4: Curious

Originally, I wrote this blog in November of 2021 just to chronicle how I went about finding Owen Koonce in the census. It took some real sleuthing and deciphering. When I noticed the week four prompt was "curious," I decided to repurpose this post for that because, let's face it, "Koonce" being transcribed as "Wacek," that's pretty curious in my book, isn't it yours? 

So follow along here of how I discovered "Wacek" to be Owen Lawrence Koonce.

For pretty much the entirety of Henderson County - and even other areas I have family and have researched extensively - the 1880 census is absolute trash in quality. Most pages look like they were filled out by a 2 year old and scanned onto Ancestry by a 3 year old. That's even being kind about it.

For some odd reason, all the pages look smudged, cut off, and crooked. I wish I understood why. I really wish I had a proper explanation as to why the 1880 census looks so horrible (maybe I'll Google it later) but for right now, I don't. Sometimes, pages worth of the 1880 census aren't even transcribed on Ancestry, because you honestly cannot read it. 

Unless you had the physical copy of it and used a magnifying glass, you can't transcribe it, and not in the least bit transcribing it accurately. So Ancestry's auto-transcription is totally useless, and so are those of us who try and help Ancestry along by transcribing and fixing errors. We do the absolute best we can.

Sometimes, other decades of the census look like complete garbage, too. I've seen a few pages of the 1850, 1860, 1870, and even 1900 be unreadable. This particular instance pertains to a couple pages of the 1900 census here in Henderson County. 

The person I was working on back in late August was Owen Lawrence Koonce. Owen was the first of many Owen's to come in his family line. He was born to Wendell Koonce and Nancy Woods on December 29th, 1819, in Tennessee; perhaps the Rutherford County area. 

On June 11th, 1841, in Rutherford County, he married Miss Arrena Sims. By the 1850 census, they're living in Wilson County, TN, and by the 1870 census - they're in the Cairo area of Henderson County, Kentucky. They truly became the patriarch and matriarch of the Henderson County Koonce's. 

Arrena and Owen are both buried out in the Gibson Cemetery. Going with dates on their tombstones - I know Arrena died in 1889. But Owen's supposed death date on his tombstone is November 11th, 1907. Well - his tombstone is difficult to read. It's in desperate need of some tender love and care. I couldn't for the life of me find him in the 1900 census, so I had started to wonder if he died in 1897, instead. Maybe someone had transcribed his tombstone wrong (originally transcribed in the 1960's.) 

I decided to give it one last try to find him and this time, not by the name Owen or the last name Koonce. I restricted Ancestry's search perimeters to "Exact location: Henderson County, Kentucky," and for anyone born within 5 years of 1819 in Tennessee. 

I started going through the matches and curiously found one transcribed as just simply: Wacek. Hmm, Wacek. That sounds Russian or something. Could it be an indentured servant? Could it be a foreign relative? Henderson doesn't have many Russian families, but we've got lots of German ones. Maybe Wacek is a German first name. Curiously enough though, it says that Wacek was born about 1820, in Tennessee, and his parents hailed from North Carolina, and that he's widowed. 

Well by golly, Wacek, you match the description of Owen Koonce. Wacek's name is towards the top of the page, so the head of household is on the page before it. Flipping to the page before, it's slightly more legible and sure enough, the head of household is John Beverly Gibson, Owen's son-in-law. So he was living with his son-in-law and daughter, Sarah Jane (Koonce) Gibson. 

Going back to the page Wacek is listed on... you really can't even make out anything. I don't think what it says is even remotely close to 'Wacek.' It probably says, "Koonce, O.L." or "Koonce, Owen," and I can only imagine Koonce could be spelled wrong. I've seen it as Koontz, Counce, Coontz, etc. 

Satisfied with my findings though, I edited "Wacek" to "Koonce, Owen," and left a note that the transcription was wrong, and the image is down right unreadable. 

Ultimately, Owen, you're lost no longer in the 1900 census. 


As you can see, his tombstone is in desperate need of some gentle (but very thorough) cleaning. I've bought some D/2 over the Christmas holiday and plan to get out to my ancestral cemetery for some cleanings very soon. I'd have been out there this week (third week of March) but I've been down with E. Coli, unfortunately. Maybe next week!

Friday, February 25, 2022

52 Ancestors 2022: Week 3: Favorite Photo

Four Generations in One Photo x 2

Not every kid born in the 1990’s can tout that she has a photograph with her Great-Grandmother. In fact, not every kid born in the 90’s can say she has a four-generation photo comprised of herself, mother, Grandmother, and Great-Grandmother. As a matter of fact, I have two four-generation photographs.

When I was growing up, it seemed to be rare that any of my friends knew a Great-Grandparent. More so, some of them hadn’t even had the luck of knowing a Grandparent. Now, rewind to the 1960’s when my Mom was a kid… she knew three of her Great-Grandparents and one of them lived to be 97 years old. He died when my Mom was 17.

I wish on everything I am that I could have had my Great-Grandmother until I was 17, but unfortunately she passed away on October 2nd, 2001, when I was 8 years old. The Great-Grandmother I’m talking about is my direct maternal line Great-Grandmother, Anna Elizabeth (Thompson) Sandefur. 

You'll notice me make mention of my Nana a lot on this blog and on my genealogy page on Facebook... because she's the entire reason I got into doing genealogy going on twenty-two years ago now (in the year 2000.) 

Nana, as all of her grandkids and great-grandkids called her, was born on August 18th, 1916, in the Smith Mills area of Henderson County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of John Rowan Thompson, a farmer who ended up making a bit of money in the oil industry, and Mary Janella Nally, a homemaker who ruled her home with a tender but firm touch.

Nana was the 7th child of 8 born to John and Janella. In fact, the 5th child, Vannie Louise, had just died of membranous croup on November 19th, 1915. It probably was just after that, that Janella got pregnant with my Nana. 

It was on August 25th, 1933, that Nana became Mrs. Henry Lloyd Sandefur — and it was indeed a shotgun wedding. They eloped to Shawneetown, Gallatin County, Illinois for the wedding and Nana lied about her age. Eight months later, Nana gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Carolyn. Two sons -- Donald "Don" and William "Buddy" came afterward and then the next girl — my Grandmother, Glynda Jane. 

Grandma was born at home when they were living on Letcher Street, here in Henderson, on Friday, June 13th. 1941. She was delivered by the late Dr. Walter O’Nan — the father of the doctor who delivered me almost 52 years later, Dr. William O’Nan. 

Now my Mom, she was the first of only two children born to my Grandparents -- Jady & Glynda. Mom was brought into the world at about 2:30 AM on January 8th, 1963, and her younger brother followed two years and three days later. Unfortunately, we lost my Uncle on July 5th, 2014.. he was only 49 years old. 

The two photographs I have that are four generations were taken roughly Christmas 1993 (when I was ten months old) and then the summer of 1996, I believe, when I was 3 years old. It *might* have been summer of 1997, when I was 4 years old. 

The photograph from Christmas of '93, being a typical kid... I had taken to it with an ink pen. There's a wonderful group on Facebook called "Random Acts of Photo Restoration" and they helped me edit the photo back to its near original glory. (Note for all you with kids out there....hide your family photos. Hide them until your kids are about 13 years old lol.) 


You can't even tell that Nana's face, all over Grandma's body, and even some over my face and my Mom's face had pen scribbles, can you? They did an awesome job! Kudos to that Facebook group!


The above photograph was taken in the backyard of my Grandparents house in front of their little 'barn' building. I actually just found another picture like this one but a little bit closer to us the other day. I knew the photo existed, but had forgotten what photo album it had been slipped into. So here it is for y'all to see. 



All of these photos were taken at my Grandparents house.. That house, even to this day, is my favorite place in the world. Sadly, it was sold at auction in August of 2015. I drive past it multiples times, every single day. Sometimes I just want to pull into the driveway and sit there a while. Reminisce on being a kid, on better times. I miss my Great-Grandmother, I miss my Grandparents, I miss my Uncle. I miss all of us being a family. 

They always say when the Grandparents pass away, the family splinters apart...that's no lie and no exaggeration. I don't talk to my cousins whatsoever now. I can't tell you hardly anything going on in their lives. One cousin makes the newspaper fairly often for her work with the Habitat for Humanity. I do speak to my youngest cousin... he's a Dad now. He sends us pictures of his baby boy fairly often. 

Well, that's the gist of my favorite photographs.. Photographs speak a thousand words and my how I wish I could hear the voices of my Great-Grandma and my Grandma again. I'm tearing up just as I type this. What I wouldn't give to sit on a bench and chat with both of them again for a while. Don't you just wish heaven had a telephone? Or visiting hours? Pack up a picnic and spend a Sunday afternoon up there.. 

Saturday, February 5, 2022

52 Ancestors 2022: Week 2: Favorite Find

I thought I'd take a moment to go over some of my favorite finds since starting genealogy in 2000 -- they've come in the last few years and they've come from newspapers. 


This will forever be one of my favorite things I've discovered in the newspaper. This was from the July 10th, 1902 "Courier & Press" out of Evansville, Indiana. I knew my 4x Grandmother's name was Susan and I knew her maiden name was something like Switzer, Sweitzer, Sweilzer... then finally I found out it was Schweitzer. 

Susan was born in April of 1802 and died July 5th, 1902. So she was just slightly over one hundred years old. 
What I didn't realize, was that she and her husband, John Byrd, were considered pioneers of Posey County, Indiana...and thus through them, and this newspaper clipping, I can join The Society of Indiana Pioneers, if I want to. I actually e-mailed the genealogist with the Society of Indiana Pioneers and she confirmed, when/if I want to join, Susan Schweitzer & John Byrd are a great couple to use. 

They married in Posey County, Indiana, on March 12th, 1831. I believe the genealogist of the Society of Pioneers said that proof of any ancestor in, especially Southern Indiana, by 1820 was grounds for joining. John Byrd is in Posey County, in the census, by 1820.

Censuses said Susan was from Pennsylvania, but this article helped confirm that. There were other Schweitzer's that came to Posey County, Indiana, and I had to play "connect the dots" to finally figure out who Susan's parents were.. My DNA didn't help with the Schweitzer line...but my Mom's absolutely did!! 

I finally figured out (after almost two years of playing with Mom's DNA) that Susan was the daughter of Jacob Schweitzer & Elisabeth Hoke. Jacob was born July 13th, 1765 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. His wife, Elisabeth, was born February 7th, 1766. They married roughly 1788, because I've found a son born to them in 1790. By the 1820 census, Jacob & Elisabeth are in Columbiana, Ohio. They never made it as far as Indiana, so for a moment or two, I'd thought maybe I'd found the wrong couple.

However, the connection to the state of Ohio helped give credence to Mary "Polly" Schweitzer, who married Samuel Davis in Posey County, Indiana, in 1830, being a sister of Susan Schweitzer. The family clearly migrated to Ohio probably post 1810. The girls, how they ended up in Southern Indiana... perhaps they came with other relatives? Friends of the family? I'm unsure. 

Jacob Schweitzer died in Columbiana County, Ohio, on October 27th, 1841, and Elisabeth followed him in death on December 20th, 1844. 

Jacob was the son of Peter Schweitzer and Elizabeth Heffelfinger. My Mom has numerous DNA matches through them. Elisabeth was the daughter of Johannes "John" Hoke and Maria Sabina Schwob; Mom has numerous DNA matches through them as well! So I know I've found the correct lineage for my Susan (Schweitzer) Byrd at long last. 

Susan, whos full first name was Susannah, and her husband John had at least seven children: Jesse, Samuel, John, Elizabeth, Nancy, Jonathan, and Esther. My ancestor is their son John, who married Maria Moore. 

John & Maria were both born in Posey County, Indiana, but eventually migrated over to Henderson County, Kentucky. They're both buried in the Smith Mills Cemetery. They left quite a progeny of Byrd's on this side of the Ohio River. Lots of us are still living in Henderson County today.

Susan (Schweitzer) Byrd's death certificate says she was buried in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery -- I believe that's the one in Poseyville, Posey County, Indiana. I'm unsure where her husband, John, is buried. Perhaps on the family farm? He died sometime between 1860 and 1870. He wasn't in the Civil War. 

The Byrd line has been a tough nut to crack, too. John Byrd, as far as I know, was the son of John Byrd and Mary Brookes. His father, John Byrd, was born about 1772 in I believe Caswell County, North Carolina. That's where he married Mary Brookes on July 21st, 1795. By 1820, though, they're in Posey County, Indiana. 

John Byrd 1772 dies sometime between 1850 and 1860. Mary (Brookes) Byrd I believe dies between 1840 and 1850, as she doesn't appear with her husband in the 1850 census. I have a lot of DNA matches connecting to John Byrd & Catherine
 King, so for now, that's my hypothesis of parentage for my John Byrd 1772. 

John & Mary (Brookes) Byrd had at least eight children. I descend through another of their children -- Elizabeth Byrd (1810-1883) who married Littleton Keeling (1796-1858). Their daughter, Sarah Keeling (1828-1868) married Solomon "Sol" Moore (1828-1875) and they were the parents of Maria Moore, the one and the same that married John Byrd, son of John Byrd & Susan Schweitzer. 

That's actually another interesting discovery... My 4x Grandmother, Sarah (Keeling) Moore is buried next to a house in Mt. Vernon, Posey County, Indiana. It's next to 103. W. Sherman. She died in 1868, and Sol, her husband, died in 1875... but no tombstone has been found for him. Her tombstone just stands there... by itself, behind a house in the middle of town. You can even see it on Google Street View!!


Another interesting newspaper clipping I found mentions my 4x Grandmother, Maria (Knight) Lawhorn Brown Ballard. It confirmed her as the mother of my 3x Grandmother, Sarah (Brown) Bastin (wife of Martin Stimmons Bastin) and it also finally confirmed when she died -- May 1898, in Lincoln County, Kentucky. 




Maria has been a tough person to track down. She was born circa 1815 in Virginia, I believe. She married first to Benjamin Lawhorn on May 30th, 1835, in Casey County, Kentucky, who was at least 40 years her senior. They had at least two daughters that are mentioned in his will (in 1845): Christina and Lavinia.  (I had previously believed Maria was born about 1805 and he was only 20 years older than her, but upon more research, I don't believe she was born as early as 1805, I believe she was born closer to 1815.)

Then Maria married Brazil Brown on March 6th, 1847, in Wayne County, Kentucky. They had I believe two daughters: Julia (also called Juda), and my ancestor, Sarah. By 1860, Maria is widowed or divorced as Brazil is no longer in census with her. 

She married for the last time on June 11th, 1866, in Lincoln County, Kentucky, to John H. Ballard. They had no children. I believe John Ballard died sometime between the 1880 census and when Maria died in 1898, as, I don't believe he survived her. 

I believe that Maria's parentage is up in the air. She could be a daughter of Ephraim Knight and Mary Carrel -- but more probably, she's the daughter of Robert Knight and Martha Burgess. I fully believe she and her husband, Brazil, were related to each other through the Burgess family. 

Her husband, Brazil Brown, was the son of Jesse Brown & Juda Hodge, I believe...and she was the daughter of Amasa Hodge & Jane McDaniel -- some of my Burgess DNA matches are DNA descendants of Amasa & Jane, that would make sense that they are our MRCA.. but, considering I have no Brown DNA matches... I wonder if Brazil Brown was actually the son of a Burgess and born out of an affair.


My last "OMG" discovery was that my Great-Grandmother, Lorene (LaRue) Blanford wrote into the newspaper, on behalf of her Dad, Charles Clarence LaRue, to try and learn about their family history. To know that my LaRue ancestors were interested in their genealogy...well, it sent me into giddy mode major. 

My Mom told me a story that she, my Grandparents, and my Great-Grandparents took a road trip to South Dakota to see my Uncle Jay while he was stationed there. On the way back, they went to Kansas and saw "some of Grandma Lorene's cousins." I believe those cousins were some LaRue's that wrote to her from this very newspaper article! 

Benjamin Hardin LaRue, my 3x Grandfather, was the son of Josiah LaRue & Mary Castleman -- some of their children ended up moving west into Missouri, Arkansas, and even Kansas. It's no coincidence, now, that Lorene met up with cousins who lived in Kansas. It's because of this very article printed in the Evansville newspaper on August 18th, 1973. 

Monday, January 24, 2022

52 Ancestors 2022: Week 1: Foundations

There are a lot of ways I could interpret this prompt -- for one, my Grandpa Jady used to help build houses. My Granddad Glen used to work with wood, building things like porch swings (my Granduncle Vernon is known for his Swings by Mefford.) 

There's a lot of ancestors that were 'foundations of the family,' so to speak. I come from a long, long line, on almost every branch, of strong, patriarchal and matriarchal people. Probably why I'm so resilient and headstrong today. 

I think the best way to interpret this prompt is to talk about the foundation of who and what got you started into genealogy. For my Mom, who is sitting right here beside me while I type this -- she says the person that gave her the start into genealogy was my Granduncle Charles. 

My Mom had to do a family tree project in junior high and went to Charles for the information for her tree. He already had all of the information and he'd cited his references, too. Charles was a college professor - so he was very thorough about his genealogy research. 

Sadly, Mom let a cousin of hers borrow the completed family tree chart for a college project and she never got it back. In the end, that's okay - I'm the family genealogist now and have taken the branches back way further than Charles had them in the 1970's. 

It seems to be a LaRue thing to be interested in genealogy as Charles' mother (my Great-Grandmother) and his Grandfather (my Great-Great-Grandfather) were very interested in family tree. In fact, my Great-Grandmother wrote into the Evansville newspaper asking to connect with unknown cousins. She ended up getting correspondence from some out in Kansas that they took a road trip out there to meet!

It wasn't the LaRue side of the family that gave me MY start into genealogy though. This is a story I've told before in several blogs but, considering this is the first prompt of the year, I feel like it would be good to refresh y'all on who and what gave me my start into genealogy. 


This beautiful woman right here -- my Great-Grandmother, Anna Elizabeth (Thompson) Sandefur. Born August 18th, 1916 -- she was 76 years old when I came into this world on February 12th, 1993. Affectionately referred to as Nana - she was my babysitter for most of my toddler years and early childhood. 

When I was about 5 years old, we had to move her out of her apartment and she moved into my Grandparents house. Unfortunately, that didn't last too long - Nana's Alzheimer's was just progressing and she was getting worse by the day. So we moved her into the nursing home. 

After breaking her hip a couple times and being in the hospital for a while - she passed away on October 12th, 2001. I was eight years old. Prior to her passing though, about a year or so before, I had gotten curious to know if she had known any of her Great-Grandparents. 

I knew my Dad hadn't met any Great-Grandparents, and my Mom had met three of her Great-Grandparents. My Grandpa had met none of his, and my Grandma knew only one of hers.. but I really was curious if Nana knew any of hers. Unfortunately, because of the Alzheimer's, she couldn't answer it accurately. 

My Grandma and I took to doing genealogy together in the genealogy department at my local library - which quickly became one of my favorite places in the world. It didn't take us too long to figure out that all of Nana's Great-Grandparents died prior to 1900 so unfortunately, she didn't get to know any of them. 

My Grandma took me out to the Gibson Cemetery a few months into our genealogy and that, too, quickly became one of my favorite places in the world. The feeling you get when you walk up the hill and into the cemetery is indescribable. 









Being the final resting place of my 3x, 4x, 5x, and 6x Grandparents -- it's like I get socked in the face by my own ancestors when I arrive. It's like I walk into a very warm embrace. A lot of the tombstones there are old and weathered, in desperate need of some D/2 cleaning which I'm going to work on this spring. (I'm looking at y'all's tombstones, John & Mahala..) 

My Great-Grandmother's older sister, Vannie Louise, is in the cemetery. She died at just four years old of membranous croup. My Great-Great-Grandmother, Mary Janella's brother, Sidney Thomas, is there with his wife, Mamie. Janella's twin sister, Camilla, and her husband, Sam, are there as well. Janella's younger sister, Martha Vandelia who died rather young is there. 

I definitely owe my Great-Grandmother and the Gibson side of my family for my love of genealogy and family history. The pull I feel to my ancestors is just something I really can't put into adequate enough words. I wish I could. I guess the saying is right - 'there's one in every generation.' That one is me and I'm so very glad it is. I'm so glad genealogy is my life's passion. 

Monday, January 17, 2022

52 Ancestors 2021: Week 52: Future

I realize I'm writing the last blog for 2021 on January 17th, 2022 -- but, pretending as if I'm writing this on December 31st, 2021, I would probably say that my biggest hope, genealogy wise, for the year of 2022 is to solve my Burgess mystery once and for all. 

If not that mystery - then I'd love to solve the other mystery on my Dad's side of the family. The ones I label in an Ancestry group, "I wish I could buy a f*ckin' clue." 🤣 I think they're going to be on my 4x Grandmother Clarissa (unknown maiden name) side as they all have a line going back to Alabama but... I just can't nail down who the common ancestor(s) is/are. 

I have other brick-walls in my family tree, don't get me wrong... but those two mysteries are the ones that'll drive me bonkers the rest of my life if they don't get solved. That and Evaline Edwards... she's an enigma. Those "I wish I could buy a f*ckin' clue" matches could be through her. My 3x Grandmother. 

I have a mound of genealogy that needs worked on in 2022. I need to finish this Littrell/Grossman tree. I have several binders that need doing: Sanders, Meeks, O'Bryan, Anderson, and Jackson. My giveaway binders people won in February 2021.. 

I have more projects than I have time to do. I have more housework than I have time to do. Taking care of my parents is a full time job yet I'm trying to be a genealogist full time. Writing these blogs even take me away from work I've been paid to do but if it wasn't for working on blogs from time to time, I'd probably lose my sanity. I get genealogy burnout BAD when working on one project for too long. 

I do hope in 2022 that I'm able to work on some more DNA and solve some more mysteries for other people. That's probably my greatest love with genealogy these days is the genetic genealogy I get to do. We've solved 5 out of 7 of the parentages for Granny's family mystery - I'd love to get the last 2 done this year or at least 1 more. 

I have a big Mefford/Bastin binder done up - I'd love to get one finished for Jones/White, Blanford/LaRue, and Sandefur/Thompson too. But those are personal projects and I've got way too many paid projects lined up to work on anything personal at this point.

I could probably go on and on for hours about random genealogical things I'd like to accomplish this year as I think of them but, I by as well end this one right there. Those are the major things I'd like to work on/get done this year. 

Friday, January 14, 2022

52 Ancestors 2021: Week 50: Lines

I think I'll use this topic to talk about one of my favorite things to do... fishing. I grew up fishing with my Dad primarily but sometimes my Mom would come fishing as well. When I was born, the favorite fishing spot was my Great-Grandpa's lake in Geneva. As I got a little older, we'd fish in a lake out at my cousin's in Hebbardsville. 

Then when I got into my teen years, we'd either fish at Pepaw's (Howard Yates) or at Paul Windhaus' lake. Memorial Day and Labor Day, we'd take holiday and go fishing down at Lake Malone where my Granddad Glen had a wonderful lake house (unfortunately we had to sell at the start of 2021 because of his passing in August 2020.) 



These are really old. I believe this was the summer of 1995. I turned 2 on February 12th, 1995. This is out fishing at my Great-Grandpa's lake with my Dad. I caught my first little fish. That's my Dad's old 1962 Chevy pickup in the photo with us. I got these off of a disposable camera in the summer of 2020 that had never been developed. It was a real treat to finally see these photographs. Unfortunately, some photographs were so dark/distorted, they were ruined. 


Here's a good one from ten+ years ago of Dad and his catfish haul down at Lake Malone. Granddad and Dad would set limb lines and jugs the night before and check them the next morning. They had great success doing that and we had a many fish fry.


Old photo I took back in 2008 of some bluegill I caught at a friends lake. I think Dad caught a few giant catfish that day, but I can't find the photo of those bad boys.


A nice bass my Dad got my Mom several years ago. My Mom's favorite fish to eat is bass and she loves it fiddler style!


This is back in like 2007 or 2008, I think, Mom got her some decent fish at a friends lake. That was a trip I didn't go on with Mom and Dad. I think I was at Grandma and Grandpa's.  


This was June of 2020 - went fishing with my now ex best guy friend down at the Riverfront. Well. I didn't fish - he did. Those storm clouds rolling in, ended up getting us wet, lol.


A few days later - went fishing with him and his brother at Audubon Lake. It was such a nice day out. Usually I avoid the summer days like these because the bees are out in full force (I'm allergic) but surprisingly, we didn't see a single bee! Not a single wasp! I was floored.



Newest photo of me the last time I went fishing - September 2020 at Lake Malone with my then best guy friend. Dad took the photo from up on the porch. Not the most flattering photo of myself but it was one of the last times I truly, utterly, and blissfully happy. 

See, I have a thing for trying to take broken people (my now ex best guy friend) and fixing them in the way I wish someone would fix me, and in the process, they break me even worse than I was already broken. That's not what this blog is about, though. 

Hopefully I can sink a line in the water in 2022. We don't have many places to fish now, though. We lost the lake house, no reason to go to Lake Malone anymore. Audubon Lake is dry as a bone while they fix things at the State Park. Dad doesn't like fishing in the river, can't say I blame him since he won't eat anything out of that contaminated cesspool. 

Hope y'all get to do some fishing in 2022, too!