52 Ancestors 2021: Week 17: Favorite Place

 

I've already written about my Grandparents house being one of my favorite places growing up, and I've written quite a few times about the Gibson Cemetery being the cemetery that really made me fall in love with old family cemeteries. I could probably write about how much I love our library and it's genealogy department, or maybe a restaurant I love to eat at. 

But I think the best thing I could write about for "favorite place," that also goes along with a "favorite ancestral home," is my hometown and where I still currently reside...

Henderson, Kentucky. 

Henderson was originally known as "Red Banks" to the Native American tribes that lived on this land. In 1775, a man named Richard Henderson tried to purchase over 17,000,000 acres of land between the Ohio, Kentucky, and Cumberland rivers in what is currently Kentucky and Tennessee. Known back then as the Transylvania Purchase (because their little outfit was known as the Transylvania Company.) 

Unfortunate for Henderson, the sale ended up resulting in only 200,000 acres to develop. Richard Henderson hired famed Daniel Boone to survey the country and select favorable areas.. Unfortunately, Henderson passed away before he could ever come west and see the land he'd bought. 

General Samuel Hopkins and Thomas Allin, a surveyor, came to Red Banks in the year of 1797. They began to lay out the plans of what would later be known as Henderson -- named for Richard Henderson and his dream of a town west of the Alleghany mountains. 

While surveying, Hopkins and Allin agreed upon wide streets, so fires could not easily jump across the street. Today, this allows Henderson to have slanted parking spaces everywhere downtown -- instead of parallel parking like in most downtown areas in other cities. 

While Richard Henderson is the namesake -- Samuel Hopkins is certainly the Father of Henderson. In 1792, before "Henderson" came to be.. not counting the local Cherokee population, "Red Banks" only had 62 free male inhabitants. By October 29th, 1799, after "Henderson" was created -- a census for the city reported a population of 183. The county as a whole had 423 residents, 207 slaves, and 412 horses. 

A post office was officially put in place in Henderson in 1801. Our zip code today is 42420 -- but a lot of downtown businesses and P.O. boxes use zip code 42419. Henderson continued to expand and by the mid-1850's, Henderson had grown to be the largest producer of tobacco in the world, most of it being exported to Great Britain at the time. 

At the beginning of the 1900's, Henderson was said to have had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the world. Tobacco was still booming... until the First World War. Great Britain implemented such a high tax on tobacco that it drove the business out in this area for good. Local farmers, even today, still grow a little tobacco but.. it'll never be the craze that it was from the mid 1850's to pre-First World War. 

In the 1920's, 1930's, and 1940's, Henderson garnered attention and was referred to as "Little Chicago" because of how much illegal gambling in nightclubs happened here. In the 1950's and 1960's, they began to clean up the town considerably and nightclubs became a thing of the past. 

Samuel Hopkins resided out towards the "Graham Hill" area of Henderson County, just outside of Henderson city limits, and is buried in his family cemetery there. His residence was known as "Spring Garden." The young daughter of naturalist, John James Audubon, is said to be buried there as well. 

Yes, Henderson garners most of its fame for being home to John James Audubon for the early part of the 1800's. Audubon owned a grist mill right on the Ohio River in downtown Henderson and today that area is known as "Audubon Mill Park." We are home to the John James Audubon State Park and Museum on the north end of town. 

Henderson was also home to famous blues musician W.C. Handy for much of his life -- so we celebrate him and his legacy with the W.C. Handy Blues Festival every June in Audubon Mill Park. Another famous musician, "Grandpa" Jones, a banjo player who made it big on such shows as Hee-Haw was born in Henderson County, in "Niagara" to be exact; a little community just south-east of the city proper. 

During the Civil War, Adam "Stovepipe" Johnson, a Henderson native, rose to fame for taking Newburgh, Indiana for the Confederacy with a "stovepipe" he fashioned to look like a cannon. He took Newburgh on a literal bluff. 

During WW2, most notably the Pearl Harbor disaster -- the man who got a lot of the blame unjustly placed on him, Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, was born and raised here. The Kimmel Homestead was roughly between 5th and 6th Streets off of Green Street (our main thoroughfare through town.) 

We've been home to a few congressmen, senators, and the like. John Young Brown, A.B. "Happy" Chandler, James Franklin Clay, John Lloyd Dorsey Jr, Lazarus Whitehead Powell, Augustus Owsley Stanley, to name a few. 

We've had a few authors come out of our area like Debbie Dadey, Lucy Furman, Joey Goebel, Maralea Arnett, and more. 

Henderson is home to Metzger's Tavern, which proudly holds the title of the oldest continuously operating tavern in the entire state of Kentucky -- opening in 1887.

Henderson is situated on the Green River as well -- or at least, part of the county is. Green River meets up with the Ohio in what is known as the "Scuffletown Bottoms" very near communities such as Spottsville and Beals. It runs down through our county coming into contact with communities like Hebbardsville, Bluff City, and Niagara. The Green River, in part of the county, is the "divide" between Henderson County and McLean County. The Ohio River is the divide between Kentucky and Indiana. 

Henderson is also famous for being where Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1887. Mary Towles Sasseen isn't officially credited as the originator of Mother's Day -- no, the honor was stolen out from under her by a woman named Ann Jarvis. Sasseen was a schoolteacher here in Henderson County and it is recorded that she put together a Mother's Day program for her students as early as 1887. Her cousin, Susan Towles, was one of Henderson's most prestigious librarians. The Towles family was quite affluent in the area. 

Spottsville is home to one of only two revolving train bridges left operating in the world. 

Our "town square" which is called "Central Park" and is home to our county courthouse -- Central Park is the oldest park west of the Alleghany mountains. The park used to be home to the county jail and was even once the public lynching area. 

Henderson has many cemeteries with many notable and prominent people buried in them. I could write a different blog sometime about all of them. I could probably go on for hours about random facts about Henderson - like it being home to Ellis Park which was built in 1922, of course it's gone through a few name changes since then. 

I could also write a whole blog about all the schools in our area and the changes they've gone through since 1797. Same with the churches in the community, and all the little towns throughout the county. They all have their own interesting histories. 

I think I've given you quite a good glimpse at Henderson's history and how it came to be and what all makes Henderson special. Now I need to get down to the genealogical aspect of why Henderson is my favorite place ancestrally. 

My paternal side isn't from the Henderson area -- but my maternal side is. By the 1810 census, my 5x Grandparents -- Bennett Sandefur and Judith Bilbo had come to Henderson County, Kentucky. By 1813, my 5x Grandparents married here -- Thomas Watson and Rebecca Copeland. By 1812, another set of my 5x Grandparents married here -- Joshua Moss and Sarah Adkins "Sallie" Griffin. 

Some more of my early ancestors was my 4x Grandmother Joshua Jarrett who died here in 1849. My 5x Grandparents, Joel Gregory & Nancy Lester were here by the mid 1830's. Nancy died here in 1835 and Joel remarried in 1836. 

My 5x Grandparents, Daniel Hazelwood Jr and Susannah Smith were here by the mid 1830's.. Daniel dying here in 1836. My 5x Grandfather Hiram McDonald came here by 1825 from New York and married a local woman, Susan Hust; my 5x Grandmother. 

My 3x Grandfather, Ben LaRue, came here by the 1860's and married Mary Philapine Lawrey in 1867 - my 3x Grandmother. Her parents, Robert Lawrey & Elizabeth Hill were here by the 1860 census.

Of course, I've written about him several times before -- my 6x Grandfather Joel Gibson and his sons were in the Henderson County area between 1810 and 1820. I believe they arrived in 1813 to be exact. My 5x Grandparents married here in 1813 -- William L. Busby and Elizabeth Denton. 

The rest of my lines -- Blanford, Nally, Thompson, etc.. They're Catholic. They came to the Union County area, first, as part of a Catholic migration from Eastern Kentucky (the Nelson, Washington, Hardin county areas.) They're newer to Henderson County than the previously mentioned lines. 

My direct ancestors do have same family graveyards throughout the county. Joshua Moss and his wife are buried in one Moss Cemetery in the Niagara area and then my 4x Grandparents are buried in what's called the "W.J. Moss Family Cemetery" in Niagara. His name was William Jackson Moss. 

Daniel Hazelwood and his progeny are buried in the Hazelwood Family Cemetery out towards Hebbardsville. Of course, the Gibson Family Cemetery's (two of them) in Corydon where the Gibson Plantation was located right off of J. Gibson (named for Joel, I believe) Road.

Elizabeth (Denton) Busby is buried here in Talbott Cemetery in Robards. The rest of my lines are buried in either city cemeteries, church graveyards, or their graves are lost to time, sadly. A lot of my ancestors, even if I know where they're buried.. they no longer have tombstones or at least, not legible ones. 

My roots being here in Henderson County since 1810 -- it's no wonder that I love my hometown and really have no desire to leave here. A lot of my friends think I'm crazy for not wanting to escape this "hell hole" as some call it. The people here can sometimes be... urgh. I can say that, I'm related to everyone here, haha. But this place is so beautiful and has such a vast, rich history that.. I can't imagine ever leaving it. 

I wish there was a Pioneer Society of Henderson County. I'd love to join something such as that. I know we have a local Daughters of the American Revolution chapter, which I could absolutely join through Joel Gibson, but.. my family helped build this town into what it is today. I wish they could be recognized for their efforts. 

In some of the history books talking about Robards, it does mention my 5x Grandfather, Bennett Sandefur, as helping found the town along with Reuben Moss, my 4x Grandfather's brother. Jordan Moss, my 1st cousin 6x removed is also listed. Others like George Robards, George Eakins, Enoch Spencer, Thomas Rideout, Ben Wall, Nathan Smith, T.W. Royster, James McMullin, and Samuel McMullin Sr are also credited and I'm related to them as well.

George Robards was the husband of my 1st cousin 6x removed, Martha Moss. George Eakins was the husband of my 3rd cousin 8x removed, Sarah Elizabeth Melton. Enoch Spencer was the husband of my 1st cousin 6x removed, Abigail Denton. Thomas Rideout was the father-in-law of my 2nd cousin 5x removed, Martha Jane McAndrew. 

Benjamin "Ben" Wall was the husband of my 1st cousin 6x removed, Mary Sandefur Bugg. Nathan Smith was the grandfather of the husband of my 3rd cousin 4x removed, Mary Frances Wall. T.W. Royster (Thomas Wilkins Royster) was the father-in-law of my 2nd cousin 5x removed, Tabitha Jane Spencer. 

James McMullin was the father-in-law of my 3rd cousin 4x removed, Mary Emily Robards. Samuel McMullin Sr was the grandfather of the wife of my 3rd cousin 4x removed, Socrates Brackett. 

So when I tell you I'm related to everyone from Henderson County, Kentucky... I'm really not joking. My Ancestry tree is up to 94,719 people and it grows by at least a hundred people every couple of days. Before I started up my genealogy business in November of 2016, starting in 2011, I was on a personal mission to figure out how I was related to every single person buried in Henderson County. I started with the smaller family cemeteries and I just about had them all finished. I'd say, realistically, I got about 45% of the way done when I started up my genealogy business and no longer had time to compile my extensive research on each and every cemetery in the county (about four binders full so far.) 

I got a bit windier with this blog post than I intended, but I'm glad to have introduced you to Henderson, Kentucky, the place I'm extremely happy to call home. I'm very happy that my roots go as far back into the history of this great place as they do. I'll have to go much more in depth about some of the stuff I touched on in this blog at some point in the future. Maybe there will be a good topic sometime soon that some of this stuff will fit. :) 

Thank you for reading. If you enjoy my writing, please follow my blog, it would mean a lot to me!

52 Ancestors 2021: Week 11: Fortune

 I just wrote a blog the other day on "prosperity" and talked about my 2x Grandparents - John Rowan Thompson and Mary Janella (Nally) Thompson and how they acquired various bits of wealth throughout their life. 

This week... I want to talk about one of the highest real estate values I've ever seen an ancestor of mine to have in the census -- Berryman Gibson and his wife, Susan (Duncan) Gibson, my 5x Grandparents. 

Before I get to the actual numbers -- I'll tell you a bit about Berry and Susan; it seems only fitting. 

Berryman "Berry" Gibson was born June 13th, 1785, in Caswell County, North Carolina. He was the son of Joel Gibson and Eleanor Davis, who migrated here, with a lot of their children, in the early 1800's. Their arrival to Henderson County was about 1813. In the 1810 census, they were in Christian County, Kentucky. 

Joel and family settled in the area now known as "Dixie." It's kind of a little community on a road that goes from Corydon to Cairo. In census, it's either labelled on some as Corydon and in others as Cairo.. but the farm never moves. It's just the boundaries that do. 

In about 1809, Berryman married Miss Susan Duncan. I'll take a guess and say the marriage probably happened in or near Christian County, Kentucky. She was born on January 18th, 1791, in North Carolina; the daughter of Nathaniel Benjamin Duncan and Jane Rainey. 

Berryman and Susan were the parents of the following children: James William (1810) who married Mary Watson, Elizabeth "Betsey"(1811) who married Solomon Stone, Joel E. Gibson (1813) who married Margaret J. Martin, Martha (1815) who in the 1850 census, still lives with her parents and is unwed; John Gregory (1816) who married Mahala Caroline Busby (they're my 4x Grandparents); Bailey (1818) who married Sirena Weldon, Robert W (1822) who married Catherine Pritchett, then Lucy Ann Floyd, Mary Susan (1823) who married William Tapp (it is their descendants who I believe still take care of the Gibson Family Cemetery in Corydon to this day); William C (1825) who married Mary Frances Floyd, Nathan Alander (1828) who married Eliza Jane Robinson, Susan Ann (1833) who married William Lafayette Welden. 

The Gibson Plantation, first owned by Joel Gibson, and then owned by Berryman Gibson, was quite substantial. The acreage, as far as I know, historically, was everything that lies between Hughes-Sights Rd to the North, J. Gibson Rd to the South, Hwy 145 to the West and Rock Springs Dixie Rd to the East. The original "main" Gibson Family Cemetery rests on a hill on Hughes-Sights Rd. There is a second Gibson Cemetery, started by Berryman's son, James William Gibson, that is in a field off of Hwy 145 directly in front of where J. Gibson Rd begins. 

I believe the Gibson's monopolized, at one point or another, much of the land in Corydon/Cairo/Dixie areas that didn't already belong to other established families like the Agnew's, Poole's, Pritchett's, Powell's, and others. 

In the 1830 census, Berry Gibson owns zero slaves. In 1840, the number is still zero. By 1850, the Gibson Plantation had grown and so had Berry's wealth -- he owned seventeen slaves. In 1860, the census I really want to point out the numbers in... he owned twenty-four slaves. Those numbers are important, and I hate that he owned any slaves at all... but this is history and I have to report the good sides as well as the bad sides. In context, it was horrendous he owned slaves... but also in context, it spoke to his volume of money and how "well" he was doing for himself by that point. 

In the 1860 census, and these are the highest numbers I've seen thus far, for any of my ancestors in the 1860 census... his real estate value was $29,000. That is $847,840.34 in today's value. His personal estate value was $25,000. That is $730,896.84 in today's value. I am absolutely GOBSMACKED. I don't think it ever TRULY dawned on me just how huge the Gibson Plantation was, at its peak. 

Speaking back at the discussion of slavery and the number of slaves Berry owned -- it's actually been said, but not 100% proven, that Joel Gibson, the patriarch of the Gibson family was partially colored himself. It's said he was the son of a white (possibly of Scottish descent) slave owner and either a fully colored or mulatto woman. So Joel himself would either be 50% to 25% African. Supposedly, it was in a history book (which I haven't been able to find) that Joel Gibson and Eleanor Davis were listed as an "interracial marriage." It's hard to believe that any marriage was interracial (unless it was incredibly hush hush) in the 1700's. 

What we do know, if there was any African DNA in the Gibson's -- it "bred out" eventually. My Mom met her Great-Grandmother (my 2x Grandmother) Mary Janella (Nally) Thompson.. she would have been the Great-Granddaughter of Berry Gibson, and the 2x Granddaughter of Joel Gibson... and Mom said Janella had perhaps "one or two" features that could make a person speculate if she was fully Caucasian or not. My Great-Grandmother, whom I met, Anna Elizabeth (Thompson) Sandefur, too, in my opinion had a feature or two that might make a person question her entire ethnicity. 

As it happens, though, I got 1% African in my DNA on Ancestry and my Mom got 0%. According to MyHeritage, though, my Mom is 6.7% African -- I feel that absolutely comes from her Gibson or her Moss line. My 1% African, I do believe, is coming from my Dad's side of the family as he got the same 1% and his Aunt got the same 1%... it's always the same area of African -- Congo, Cameroon, and Southern/Western Bantu peoples. We believe it comes through our Bowers line which "supposedly" was Native American but actually wasn't -- I believe it was actually African. They were from Sullivan Co, TN, which was home to a lot of Melungeon's. 

Back onto the topic of Berry and Susan -- Susan passed away on February 2nd, 1865 and is buried in the Gibson Cemetery. Sadly, she didn't see the end of the Civil War. I'm not sure that any of the sons of Susan or Berryman ended up serving in the Civil War -- most of them I believe were a bit too old even for the draft. But they probably had a grandchild or two who served. At the start of the war, Henderson County (like a lot of Kentucky) was Union, (although Kentucky was very much a swing state.) But by the end of the war, Confederates had indeed captured Henderson. 

Henderson notably had several family member vs family member when it came to the War. I have ancestors from Henderson that fought for the Union side, and fought for the Confederate side. In fact, there are cases in Henderson where it was brother vs. brother and father vs. son. 

Berryman passed away in September of 1869, in Henderson County, Kentucky, and he too, is buried in the Gibson Family Cemetery. His tombstone says September 1st, 1870, but his mortality schedule actually says September 1869, and since I can't find him in the 1870 census... this probably is correct. I do believe it is a newer tombstone, honestly, and that's probably why the date upon it is wrong. The original tombstone probably had the correct date, but the original tombstone may have been damaged beyond recognition or beyond legibility. In the 1850 and 1860 censuses, he gives his birth year as 1787 so honestly his birth could have been anywhere in the ball park of 1785-1787. His will wasn't probated until September 5th, 1870, which adds just a slight bit of credence to the 1870 death year, but I still believe 1869 is correct. 

I believe the original tombstones were either removed or destroyed/lost completely as I've been to the Gibson Cemetery numerous times and have never found them. Why do I believe that this tombstone has to be newer? Well, take a look for yourself. 

This doesn't look like a tombstone for people buried in 1865 and 1870. As a matter of fact, their son, John Gregory Gibson's tombstone, from 1890, looks worse than this one.. and looks more appropriate to the era. So I do believe this is a newer tombstone from probably the 1930's or 1940's perhaps even later. With time, their son John, and his wife Mahala, should probably get a new tombstone as well.. Maybe I could raise the funds to do so, eventually. 

Thanks for reading my rambles this evening on my 5x Grandparents, Berryman Gibson and Susan Duncan. 

52 Ancestors 2021: Week 8: Power

When I think of the word "power" in genealogy, a lot of ideas come to mind... I could write about a powerful ancestor (someone who had a lot of influence, or perhaps was political), an ancestor who lived through something powerful (like an epidemic or a pandemic or a natural disaster), but the biggest thing I think of is... a strong patriarch and matriarch of the family. 

When I think of "power couple," a couple different sets of my ancestors come to mind, but I think today, I'll talk about my Great-Grandparents -- Richard Jerome Blanford and Verna Lorene (LaRue) Blanford. Dick and Lorene were the parents of 13 children -- the very first being a stillborn baby girl (premature birth) and #11 being a stillborn baby boy (full term birth). 

Dick and Lorene were the proud parents of: Charles Richard (1933), Kenneth Eugene (1934-1993), James Allen "Jady" (1936-2015), Jerry Lee (1938-2008), Delores Faye (1940), Mary Virginia "Ginny" (1941), Martha Ann "Motts" (1943-2020), John William "Johnny" (1944-2009), Linda Ruth (1947), Joseph Earl "Jody" (1951-1982), and George Edward (1953). Stillborn baby girl in 1931 and stillborn baby boy in 1950. Out of those children, only five remain.

Only eight of their children had children of their own -- making them the Grandparents of 29 grandchildren. Their last son, George, was born the same year that the first Granddaughter, Marcella "Marcy", was born -- 1953. 

Out of the Grandchildren, only three have passed away -- the first to pass away was Jerry Ray Blanford (1959-1969). He was killed in a car crash that also injured his brother Phillip and his late mother, Lottie. The second grandchild to pass away was my Uncle, James Allen "Jay" Blanford Jr (1965-2014). The third grandchild to pass was the eldest -- Marcella Louise "Marcy" Blanford Batey (1953-2018). 

Richard and Lorene were wed on July 11th, 1931. Lorene passed away just a few months shy of their 60th wedding anniversary. Lorene passed on May 8th, 1991, after a long hard battle with breast cancer. Dick lived a few more years -- long enough that I had a chance to meet him (his great-Grandchild); he passed away on December 14th, 1995. 

Dick was one of six children born to Martin Allen Blanford and Mary Agnes Nally before her young death at the hands of pulmonary tuberculosis in 1927. Lorene was one of eleven children born to Charles Clarence LaRue and Carrie Annie Byrd -- three of those children dying in either infancy or shortly thereafter. 

Richard was born November 5th, 1913, in Union County, KY. Lorene was born October 9th, 1914, in Henderson County, KY. Both of them, even in childhood, spent most of their years living in the Smith Mills area and then continued to live there even after marriage. 

According to my Grandpa, they lost at least three houses to fire when he was a young boy. They eventually settled on a place at the end of Star School Road (in the Geneva area) called "The Latta Place." I'm guessing because the prior owners of the house were the Latta family. The house was a bit eerie -- at the end of a road, surrounded by cornfield all around. The bayou also wasn't too far away. 

As of a few years ago...all of the land has been sold, the house is gone, and it's all farmland now. In the late 1970's, Dick and Lorene had a house built for them on Trigg-Turner Road. In fact, my Grandma Glynda helped make out the blue prints for it. That was the house they lived in until they passed away. It was a large house with a library and everything. My Mom has several stories of going fishing out there. 

In fact, Dick had apple trees and ran his own orchard. He was known for making his cider as well. In the "power" aspect -- Dick was a relatively well known man in the community. He was a farmer his entire life and sold many a cow, bull, pig, and horse at livestock shows. He made it into the newspaper on several occasions for auctions of farm equipment, auctions of livestock, or for donating to charity (usually a 4H type program.) 

My Mom says that there was always a coffee pot going and an urn of tea in the Blanford household. We love to talk and we love to spend time together -- but like with every family, when the Grandparents pass away...the family fractures a bit. My Mom sadly, other than at funerals or family reunions, didn't see her cousins much after her Grandparents passed...and I'm experiencing the same thing now. If it wasn't for Facebook, I don't think we'd talk to any of the family anymore... it's not like anybody drops by to have a cup of coffee, not in the COVID days. 

I don't have very many memories of Dick.. I can remember watching fireworks out at his house one Fourth of July -- probably the Fourth of July in 1995, I would have been a little over two years old. It's a very very vague memory.. I wasn't even sure it was a real one until I talked to my Mom about it and she realized that's what I was remembering. I can't remember it, but we found photos from that summer, where apparently I must have caught my first fish as well. 

Hanging on our wall here at home, we still have an aerial picture of his house and farm... the last I heard, they'd turned that house into a fishing or hunting lodge or something. We also have a laminated copy of the front page of the Features section of The Gleaner that he was featured in for his apple orchard and apple cider years ago. I have a lot of things that were passed on to me from them.. well, given to my Grandpa, then to my Mom, then to me. 

We have an early 1900's roll-top desk that belonged to my Great-Grandfather. I one day want to make that my genealogy desk but.. our house isn't cleaned up enough to get it in here. One day it will be (a girl can dream anyway.) 

I'm a lot like my Great-Grandmother Lorene -- apparently she had a knack for genealogy as well, as she wrote into a newspaper in Evansville once seeking information for her Dad's side of the family. She also loved to do crossword puzzles... I love to do them, too. Apparently it's a LaRue thing to like puzzles and working with your mind. Her father, Charles LaRue, loved them as well. 

Being a prankster and a jokester also runs in the Blanford and LaRue family genetics. Apparently my Grandfather and Great-Grandfather alike... the cornier the joke, the more they loved it. I, too, am a connoisseur of corny jokes. "Dad" jokes. "Pun" jokes. Whatever. The cornier the better. According to my Mom, Dick had a hat that said, "I'm spending my Grandchildren's inheritance," and he wore it with pride. That's the type of jokester that I am as well. 

I guess I could sit here and type for ages about Dick and Lorene.. but I'll wrap this on up and say, they're a prime example of who I think of when I hear the word "power," or "patriarch" or "matriarch." Without them, the family has slowly started to fracture into pieces...branches of the family tree forking out and going their own way. They were two amazing, incredible, and powerful people in their own rights...and made even better together with their family. 

Richard and Lorene are buried in what I call "Blanford Memorial Gardens" here in Henderson -- Saint Louis Catholic Cemetery. Next time you're there, say hello to them if you can. 

52 Ancestors 2021: Week 7: Unusual Source

 For this week's topic, I can talk about two somewhat unusual sources that I've gathered information from over the years.

The first -- several years ago, probably around 2008 or 2009, I joined a Yahoo Group called "Gibson Genealogy." With time, Yahoo Groups closed down, and a lot of them migrated over to Facebook, which of course by then, I had migrated over there as well. 

Through this group, over the years, I've had the pleasure of connecting with several cousins that are descendants of either Joel Gibson (my 6x Grandfather) or his reported parents -- John Gibson & Mary Duncan (still not 100% sure of them as his parents.) 

To this day, I'm still close friends with several I've met in the group, and the group is still rather active over on Facebook. In fact, in 2019, I was contacted by a 5th cousin 1x removed who is a journalist in Washington D.C. She found me through the Gibson Genealogy group and wanted me to be her tour guide while she came to Henderson, Kentucky, to see where her Mother's side of the family was from (the Gibson's.) 

I've learned several bits of information from the group and I'm glad there's so many Gibson's who are interested in their genealogy. 

The second unusual source -- years ago, in about 2007 or 2008, I was first starting out here on Ancestry and was replying on the old "message boards" to topics concerning my Dad's side of the family -- Mefford, Bastin, Turner, Knight, etc. 

A woman started e-mailing me, and then even postal mailing me, after we figured out we were related. My 3x Grandfather, Phylander Turner, had fathered a child before his marriage to my 3x Grandmother... I would have never known about this child, had it not been for Rosemary Rivette Lentz. 

Rosemary was the great-Granddaughter of Phylander Turner and Louiza Mae Tinsley. Their child was born in 1878 and in the 1880 census, Louiza and her family live next door to Phylander's father, step-mother, and siblings. Their daughter was named Rosetta Mae "Rosa" Tinsley, taking her Mom's maiden name... but according to Rosemary, Phylander made provisions for this child in forms of some type of "child support" back then. 

In 1881, Louiza Tinsley passes away young, at the age of 23  or 24 years old. According to Rosemary, Phylander and Louiza might have been married... but no marriage record has been found. I believe what Rosemary told me was the marriage wasn't suitable. I don't know if it was the Turner's didn't think the Tinsley's were good enough or vice versa... but it was an ill-fated match. 

In any case, Phylander married my 3x Grandmother, Lucy Frances Knight, on January 16th, 1879, and my 2x Grandmother, Emma Lillie Turner was born November 23rd, 1879. 

Rosa Tinsley went on to marry Alonzo Annes on January 1st, 1898. Then their daughter, Minnie Marie Annes, was born August 21st, 1923. She married Earl Ivan Rivette -- and  they were the parents of my dear, late cousin Rosemary (Rivette) Lentz. 

I actually had no idea Rosemary or "Ro" as she went by on Find-a-Grave had passed away for years. I had wondered why the correspondence stopped.. then in 2017, I checked her Find-a-Grave profile and it said, "this contributor has passed away," so I went to the memorial that was created for her and left a flower. 

She was a treasure trove of information for me when it come to Phylander Turner and I'll always be grateful to her. She sent me a couple old photographs and documents, too. She really was a wonderfully kind person and had such a passion for cemeteries and genealogy. 

If you're ever on Find-a-Grave and have a second... leave her memorial a flower, if you will. 

Rosemary Rivette-Lentz

52 Ancestors 2021: Week 6: Valentine

 

My maternal Grandparents, Jady & Glynda (Sandefur) Blanford, were always my Valentine's growing up. My birthday is February 12th, and Valentine's is the 14th. Not only would I go over for my birthday every year, but then I would go over for Valentine's.

I always bought those small boxes of Valentine's that kids would buy to hand out at school. Sometimes they were Spongebob themed, sometimes Hello Kitty, or whatever was popular at the time... and I would get a box of chocolates, too. I would take them over to my Grandparents and they would smile. Especially my Grandpa. My Grandpa was a more... "sappy" individual, if you will. My Grandpa was more of a sentimentalist, so I'm sure, somewhere in their things, I could probably find some of those old Valentine's if I looked hard enough.

But we would sit at the dining room table, they would drink their coffee, and we would laugh and talk.. eat chocolate.. and just have a good time. Valentine's Day, ever since they've passed, has felt so lonely. My birthday, too. 

My Grandparents were just a happy couple, and to me, on Valentine's Day... they embodied that. They worked hard for what they had. They raised two children, four Grandchildren, two technically "step" Grandchildren, and a lot of other "honorary" kids and Grandkids. The end of their life....well, it's a heart wrenching, sad, LifeTime Movie style story for another day. 

But for Valentine's... my Grandparents had the type of love I will always strive to have. They made it to 52 years married when Grandpa passed away, January 11th, 2015. I wish one day that I could see my 50th anniversary with someone.. but it's so rare of an achievement these days. Today's generation goes into marriage with the attitude, "well, if we end up not liking each other enough, we'll just get a divorce." 

Today's generation... they're ready for a wedding, not a marriage. They get married before they even really know who the person is that they're marrying. That's why marriages now last weeks, a couple months, maybe a few years if they're lucky. Today's generation, only a select few will get to make it to fifty years married. That's why I know, I'll wait for marriage as long as it takes, until I know I've absolutely found the right one... like  my Grandparents. I will never, ever settle. 

They're celebrating together this year.. Pepaw passed on January 11th, 2015, and Memaw on December 8th, 2015. It's hard to believe they've been gone for six years. It feels like just yesterday, I was going over there and giving them a Valentine and sharing a box of chocolates. I feel like the Forrest Gump movie quote, "life is like a box of chocolates," would very aptly go here. 

This year, I'll be spending Valentine's here at home, with my parents (who will be married 29 years on July 13th). I'm sure we will eat something good, exchange a Valentine card, and then I'll focus on doing genealogy... because right now, genealogy is my biggest love and biggest passion in life. I hope that never changes. 

We love and we miss you, Pepaw & Memaw. Every single day..

52 Ancestors 2020: Week 4: Close to Home

 

This photograph, I colored with MyHeritage, was taken prior to 1951 -- so I believe sometime in the 1940's. This is my Great-Great-Grandparents, Eugene Henry Sandefur and Ollie Lee (Moss) Sandefur. 

Eugene and Ollie married  on May 18th, 1898, in Henderson County, Kentucky. In the 1900 census, they're listed as living at 1418 Clay St. In 1906/1907, they built the Audubon School where 1418 Clay St. had been, forcing Eugene & Ollie to move across the street to 1421 Clay St. 

In the 1910 census and onward -- that's where they reside. They had six children, one of whom died young after being kicked in the head by a mule. The official death certificate says "concussion of brain and inflammation of the same." 

1421 Clay St. stayed in the Sandefur family until sometime in the late 50's, I believe, when Ollie made the move to New Mexico to stay with her Granddaughter, the late Marie Luna. Eugene had passed away in 1951 -- Ollie passing in 1963. 

The reason I'm sharing this story as "close to home," is because I live less than a mile away... about a three minute car drive or a fifteen minute walk. Plus, because they lived there for so long, I feel like, they stayed "close to home" for decades. 

One of their sons, Russell Louden Sandefur, became the Fire Chief at the Audubon (City of Henderson) Fire Department and lived over by Letcher St. His address, in the 1940 census, was 118 Cottage Avenue, which is a little street that runs parallel to Letcher.

Their other son, my ancestor, Henry Lloyd Sandefur, also lived over on Letcher St. and that's where my Grandmother, Glynda, was born at home, on June 13th, 1941. However, in the 1940 census, Poppy and Nana were listed as living at 122 Burdette Street. 

Interesting enough, also listed at 122 Burdette St, was another of their sons -- Walter and his wife and daughter. The other children spread out a little bit more. Daughter Ruby lived in Harlan Co, KY by 1940 and daughter Hollie lived out towards the Smith Mills area of the county. 

Not far from my house, coincidentally enough, is Sandefur Dr. I'm not quite sure which Sandefur in my family that the street is named after. My Grandparents, Jady & Glynda (Sandefur) Blanford lived right across the street from Sandefur Dr.

So for this particular line of my family, we've stayed pretty close to 1421 Clay St. Even a generation before Eugene -- his parents, Philo and Susan, lived at 420 S. Green St, which is very near Clay St. By 1900, Philo & Susan lived at 1419 Clay St, and by 1910, Philo lived at 1449 Clay. 

As for Ollie, her Mother, re-married by 1900, lived at 1425 Helm Street, which is just the next street over from Clay. Ollie's Father, however, remained out in the county -- towards Hebbardsville. 

Clay St. and "East End" Henderson will forever be in my blood. The area has been called a lot of things over the years, but that area of Clay St. is most notably called "Audubon Heights." Now most people just call it "East End." It's a rather impoverished area of Henderson, sadly.. and rather drug laden. They've been trying their hardest to clean it up for decades... but it hasn't helped much. 

Still, at one point, the area thrived with its own grocery store, barber shop, and more. The staple employment of the East End used to be the Hosiery Mill on Washington Street.. that's long gone now. Where it stood is now (roughly) home to the Salvation Army and the Washington Station Apartments. 

52 Ancestors 2021: Week 5: In The Kitchen

 

The above photographs are from two separate occasions -- I believe the top photo was a summer get-together. Grandma, Uncle Charles (Grandpa's brother), Grandpa, my Mom, and my Dad. (Grandma & Grandpa are my Mom's parents). A lot of times during the summer we would have ribeye steaks, baked potatoes, and salad.

The bottom photo is from Christmas -- Grandma would always wear that sweater. You can see that it was Christmas by how many loaves of bread were there....for lots of ham sandwiches. Lots and lots of ham sandwiches.

Looking back in retrospect, I wish I had more photographs of us cooking in my Grandmother's kitchen before life threw us a huge curveball. Now my Grandparents are gone and we no longer have the house.. So many memories. So many holidays spent cooking in that kitchen. So many meals ate at that dining room table. So much coffee consumed. So many laughs, so many good conversations, and even some bad ones. 

Growing up, it was tradition to have holiday dinners at my Grandparents house. Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, for sure. But sometimes we would have little get togethers for birthdays -- mine (February 12th), was always held at my Grandparents house. Sometimes we'd get together for their anniversary (March 31st), or sometimes we'd get together on a random Thursday in the middle of August. 

We'd usually go over and have a meal with them on their birthdays -- Grandma was born June 13th, and Grandpa was born July 31st. Sometimes we'd have a meal for my Mom's birthday, January 8th.. or her younger brother, his birthday being January 11th. Sometimes we'd go over for New Years Eve. 

It didn't matter the date.. it didn't matter what food was being cooked. You could always count on a pot of coffee going, a cookie jar full on the dining room table, and a lot of good conversation leading to laughter and smiles. For my Grandma, cooking was something she picked up from my Grandpa after they married. My Grandma's Mom -- Nana -- didn't allow her children into the kitchen with her, when they were young. 

Whereas, my other Great-Grandmother -- Lorene -- allowed her children into the kitchen. Not to mention, my Grandpa had picked up some cooking skills in the Army in and around 1960, prior to marrying my Grandma in 1962. Growing up, my Grandma allowed her kids into the kitchen, and when it came time, she more than allowed her Grandchildren into the kitchen with her. 

I would usually spend the night at their house the night before a big holiday dinner. Take Thanksgiving for instance.. Grandma and I would wake up sometimes at 5 o'clock in the morning to get the oven pre-heated and the turkey into the oven in time for it to be done by 11 AM. Sometimes the last guest wouldn't leave until 10 PM and we'd be cleaning the kitchen until midnight. It just depended on the holiday and who came over. We Blanford's, well, we love to drink coffee and talk. In fact, we probably talk a lot more than your average person. Probably why our jawbones are so thick...it has to compensate for how often we wag our tongues. 

Growing up, I've heard stories of the Blanford kitchen. My Mom said they used to keep urns of coffee and urns of sweet tea going. Matter of fact, you'd have to brew multiple urns a day. In the Sandefur kitchen, you'd have some unsweet tea, because Nana's husband, Poppy, was a diabetic. 

In the Blanford kitchen, you would find Lorene making a delicacy known as Jam Cake. Every southern family (or it seems more prevalent in the south) has their own Jam Cake recipe and most women will take their recipe to the grave with them. I thankfully have my Great-Grandma's recipe. 

In the Sandefur kitchen, you would find Nana making her signature Oatmeal Date Cake, or perhaps her 7-Up Cake. She was also rather famous for her zucchini bread. According to my Mom, Nana made a blackberry cobbler that was delicious. She would also make a homemade chocolate syrup for ice cream or to drizzle over hot brownies. 

Unfortunately, Lorene passed away before I was born... but my Nana lived until I was eight years old, in 2001. So Nana would come over for every holiday dinner at my Grandma's house until she passed. Until she wasn't able anymore, she would always help my Grandma make deviled eggs, banana logs, or Waldorf salad. 

Deviled eggs and banana logs kind of became the traditional "staple" at every holiday dinner. You might have ham for Easter, turkey for Thanksgiving, and ribeye steaks for Christmas, but one thing was for sure: you were probably going to have green beans, corn, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, and banana logs. 

Another thing a Blanford kitchen never lacked... brownies or pie. Blanford's are notorious sweet eaters. My Grandpa's cookie jar was never barren. In fact, many times growing up, I helped my Grandpa make homemade apple butter, apple pie, pecan pie... I can still remember the smell of the kitchen when we'd cook together. It never smelled better than when we would make homemade apple butter. It was a family affair, too. 

Another thing we'd do in the kitchen/dining room was snap beans and can. I've canned a lot of green beans in my day, and other veggies like tomatoes and corn. We shelled a lot of purple hull peas and canned those, too. 

I firmly believe that's what is wrong with today's generation of kids...they don't snap beans or shell peas with their Grandma in the kitchen anymore...and boy does it show. They haven't been taken out into the front yard and told to pick a good switch from the tree and had their rear-end lit up enough either. Grandma's were infamous disciplinarians and my, oh my, my Grandma and Great-Grandma were good at it: they had previously been school bus drivers and we all know just how little crap they take. 

I have a million other things I could talk about, when it comes to food...but this topic was specifically "in the kitchen." One day, I'll write about the BBQ's and fish frying that my Great-Grandpa Blanford would do. He also had an apple orchard and made homemade apple cider. But those are topics for another day.

52 Ancestors 2021: Week 4: Favorite Photo

 

This is a photograph of my 2x Grandparents -- Martin Allen Blanford and Mary Agnes (Nally) Blanford. I *think* it was from their wedding but I could be wrong. He's in a suit and she's in a white blouse with a nice hair-style so.. I'm thinking wedding. 

This photograph is one of my most treasured possessions, and it was one of my Grandpa's favorite pictures, as well. You see, Mary Agnes died very young. Let's talk about Martin and Agnes for a few, shall we?

Martin was born on February 28th, 1888, in Morganfield, Union County, Kentucky, to Samuel Blandford and Mary Olive Oatman "Ollie" Raley. 

Mary Agnes was born November 6th, 1894, in Smith Mills, Henderson County, Kentucky, to Thomas Sidney Nally and Matilda Catherine McBride. 

On January 7th, 1913, in Union County, Kentucky, they wed, most likely in one of the Catholic churches -- Sacred Heart or Saint Peter's is my guess. 

They were the parents of six children -- one whom died/stillbirth. Of the living children, three were sons and two were daughters. 

On January 28th, 1927, at the young age of 32, Mary Agnes Nally passed away from pulmonary tuberculosis. She had been sick with this for about two years, according to the death certificate. She left behind children who were only 14, 12, 9, 6, and 4 (roughly) in ages. She was laid to rest in Saint Peter's Catholic Church Cemetery in Waverly, Union County, Kentucky. 

Thanks to an awesome group on Facebook called "Random Acts of Photo Restoration," I was able to get the crinkles fixed in the photo of Martin and Agnes. For the first time, I could really truly see Agnes' beauty. I used MyHeritage to help colorize the photograph and used the Remini app to "clear" up the photo a bit...and this is the final product. Martin and Agnes in all their glory in circa 1913. 108 years ago. 

If you're ever in Waverly, stop by Mary Agnes' grave and tell her hello. 94 years after her death, she is still deeply missed. There probably isn't anyone alive today who remembers her in person, as her children are long gone, siblings as well.. but, her Grandchildren feel her absence as the Grandmother they never got to know. My Grandfather would look at this photograph on his desk and think of his Grandfather, who didn't die until 1968 (my Grandpa would have been 32 in 1968)...but he always longed for a relationship with the Grandmother who died so young. It apparently shaped his father, Richard Blanford, who was their oldest child, in ways that I can't even imagine. 

Tuberculosis took another one of my 2x Grandmother's at a very young age... but that's a blog for another day. I'll wrap this one up by just saying.. remember your ancestors who died young, because without them.. you wouldn't be here today.

52 Ancestors 2021: Week 3: Namesake

My name is Brecca -- and sadly, I'm not named after anyone. In fact, most people mispronounce or misspell my name as Becca or Rebecca. My name is pronounced Brek-kuh. My first name actually came from my Dad sitting back and watching an old Western movie where there was a character named "Bricka," or something similar to that. 

However, there is a gorgeous name in my family that for a couple generations was "a family name," if you will, and then it seemed to have died out, quite literally. It's my absolute favorite name in my entire family tree...

Vandalia.

The first Vandalia was my 3x Grandmother, Vandalia Delia (Gibson) Nally. I, unfortunately, have no photographs of Vandalia, even though she lived well into the 20th century. I'm not incredibly sure what or who the first Vandalia was named after... my speculation is the Vandalia territory. 

According to Wikipedia -- Vandalia was the name in the late 1700s of a proposed British colony in North America. The colony would have been located south of the Ohio River, primarily in what are now West Virginia and northeastern Kentucky. 

It's possible the Gibson family knew of this proposed colony as they came to Kentucky from Caswell County, North Carolina, and would have undoubtedly traveled through eastern Kentucky to arrive in Henderson County, Kentucky in the mid 1810's. 

Vandalia was born December 21st, 1856, in the Corydon area of Henderson County, Kentucky, where the Gibson family had been settled since Joel Gibson, Vandalia's great-Grandfather, came to the area in 1813. He came with a passel of his children, including his son Berryman Gibson, who was Vandalia's Grandfather. 

Vandalia herself was the daughter of John Gregory Gibson and Mahala Caroline Busby. She was their ninth child -- their fifth daughter. Vandalia and her older sister Neosha, were the only two daughters that lived past their 20's. 

On January 28th, 1880, at Old Highland Missionary Baptist Church in Union County, Kentucky, Vandalia became Mrs. Henry Oliver Nally. She was 23 years old. On her marriage application, she is listed as "Vannie Gibson." Vannie was her lifelong nickname. 

Henry and Vandalia were the the parents of seven children -- of those seven, there were two sets of twins. Janella & Camilla being the first, and then Henry & Vandelia being the last.

Martha Vandelia "Vannie" (Nally) Williams was born on November 19th, 1891, in Corydon, Kentucky. She was the twin of Henry Oliver "Bud" Nally. Vannie married Richard James "RJ" Williams and bore him one daughter, Eleanor Dorothy (Williams) McKasson. 

Vannie unfortunately died young, on November 9th, 1913, just shy of her 22nd birthday. 

Looking back at another of Vandalia's daughters -- Janella -- she mothered the third, and final "Vannie" in our family line. 

Vannie Louise Thompson was born to John Rowan Thompson and Mary Janella Nally on November 24th, 1911, in Henderson County, KY. Unfortunately, Vannie didn't live a long life. At almost four years old, she passed away of membranous croup and was laid to rest along with the other Vannie's in the Gibson Family Cemetery. She died November 19th, 1915. That would have been her aunt, Martha Vandelia's 24th birthday, coincidentally enough.

The original Vandalia -- she lived to see the age of 92. She passed away on July 5th, 1949, in Henderson, KY, of arteriosclerotic heart disease. 

If you ever go to the Gibson family cemetery out on top of the hill on Hughes-Sights Road in Corydon, Kentucky, remember to pay your respects to the Vandalia's of our family, especially those who didn't live a long life at all. And also, remember to pay your respects to the patriarch of the Gibson's in Henderson County -- Joel Gibson, my 6x Grandfather. Without Joel, none of us would be here today. And when I say none of us, I quite literally mean just about every person in Henderson County, Union County, and even Webster County have a line going back to Joel Gibson. 

Joel, too, became a family name in the Gibson family but, it would take me eons to gather up information on every single Joel there is in the family. There are five when I type in "Joel Gibson" into my family tree on Ancestry, but I know there are more than that, that I haven't added in. 

I have another interesting "namesake" story in my tree that I could talk about... and that's my 3x Grandmother, Mary Olive Oatman "Ollie" (Raley) Blandford. She was named after Olive Ann Oatman (1837-1903) -- an American woman taken hostage by a Native American tribe. The character of Eva Oakes, on the AMC show, Hell on Wheels, is adapted from Olive Oatman. 

The Wikipedia about Olive Oatman: Olive Oatman

Photograph below is of the real Olive Oatman, from the Wikipedia page.

My 3x Grandmother, Mary Olive Oatman "Ollie" Raley was born February 3rd, 1864, in Union County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of George Washington Raley and Frances "Fanny" Martin. She was one of at least nine children -- most of them being girls. 

On October 8th, 1883, at Sacred Heart Church, she became Mrs. Samuel Blandford, at the age of 19 years. 

Sam and Ollie had eight children together before she passed away on June 16th, 1906, at the age of 42. I'm unsure of what Ollie's C.O.D. was, as in 1906, Kentucky wasn't keeping proper death certificates yet. I believe, though, that she's buried in Saint Peters Cemetery in Waverly, Union County, Kentucky. However, no tombstone for her has been located. I've also never seen a photograph of Sam Blandford nor Ollie (Raley) Blandford. Sam re-married shortly after Ollie's death.  

I may, someday, revisit this topic and talk about all the Joel Gibson's in the family, if I ever find them all, LOL. But for now.. I think I'll wrap this up. :)

52 Ancestors 2020: Week 3: Long Line

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, 2020 Challenges

Week Three: "Long Line."

Long line could be taken in a lot of ways. I could talk about the long line of bus drivers I descend from or the long line of jokesters I come from. Maybe the long line of farmers in my family. But I thought the best thing to talk about when it comes to "long line" is how far back my roots in America go on each branch of my tree. Or at least...the ones I've confirmed the furthest back. 

Firstly, my Mefford line. I have three of them, you know. My 3x Grandparents were first cousins...and then my 3x Grandfather's parents were double first cousins. *Yes, that is banjos you hear playing in the background.*

The first Mefford, or Meffert, in America was Andreas Meffert, born January 2nd, 1707, in Hessen, Germany. He migrated to America with some of his sons in 1749, coming in through, I believe, the Port of Philadelphia. Andreas or as he became to be known as, Andrew, spent the rest of his life living in the Washington County, Pennsylvania area, where he died on August 13th, 1760. His widow, Anna Magdalena Haas Meffert is said to have made the move down to Frederick County, VA, where she died in 1765. 

I descend through their son Casper Mefford. It's interesting to note, and I'll add it right here, that Tom Hanks and Mr. Rogers also descend from Andreas Meffert -- through his son Johannes "John" Meffert. Tom Hanks didn't know about his Meffert lineage until he went to portray Mr. Rogers in a biopic a couple of years ago. A couple genealogists put their heads together and found the connection. Imagine my surprise when I open an article to see the name "Andreas Meffert" in it. I about fainted. 

Anyway -- Casper Mefford was the first to use the spelling Mefford and keep it. He was born August 27th, 1741 in Hessen, Germany, and migrated with his father in 1749. He married miss Maria Siegler in Philadelphia on March 30th, 1763. Eventually, Casper, Maria, and their family migrated south to Virginia where Casper died on November 23rd, 1805, in Rockingham County. Casper's widow, Maria, passed away April 16th, 1816, also in Rockingham County. 

From Casper, I descend from his son John Mefford. John was born October 8th, 1764, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On January 8th, 1787, in Rockingham County, Virginia, he married miss Mary Lemon. By the 1820 census, John and his family were living in the Logan County, Kentucky, area. John died in Logan County on April 18th, 1842. John's wife, Mary, preceded him in death by at least two years. 

From John, I actually descend through two of his children. Twice through his son, Jacob; and once through his son, George. 

George W. Mefford was born January 11th, 1789, in Rockingham County, Virginia. In approximately 1811, probably in Rockingham County, Virginia, he married miss Anna Hudlow. By the 1830 census, he was living in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. He died in Butler County, Kentucky, on October 24th, 1877, and his tombstone still stands. Anna preceded him in death on November 19th, 1859, in Butler County...and her tombstone still stands, too. 

As for his brother, Jacob -- he was born May 11th, 1790, in Rockingham County, Virginia. He married miss Susanna "Susan" Hudlow on December 21st, 1808, in Rockingham County. By the 1820 census, they appear to be living in Logan County, Kentucky. Jacob died in the Muhlenberg County area in roughly October of 1835. Susan reportedly died the following year, in 1836.

From George, I descend through his son, Andrew Jackson Mefford, who was born February 25th, 1817, in what was probably Logan County, Kentucky. On July 10th, 1839, in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, he married miss Catharine "Katie" Mefford -- his double first cousin. Catharine was the daughter of Jacob Mefford & Susan Hudlow. She was born January 28th, 1817, in Logan County, Kentucky. Katie passed away August 26th, 1855, in Muhlenberg County, leaving Andrew a widower. 

Andy re-married and eventually passed away on July 28th, 1873, in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. From Andy and Katie, I descend through their son, George Washington Mefford. George was born July 13th, 1847, in Muhlenberg County. On March 19th, 1868, in Muhlenberg County, he married miss Amanda Hardison -- his first cousin. 

Amanda "Manda" Hardison was born December 14th, 1848, in Logan County, Kentucky and was the daughter of John A. Hardison and Mary Anna "Annie" Mefford. Annie Mefford was a sister of Catharine "Katie" Mefford, thus making her a daughter of Jacob Mefford & Susan Hudlow. Annie was born circa 1819 and passed away sometime between 1860 and 1870. 

As for George & Manda -- Manda passed away on August 23rd, 1918, in Muhlenberg County. George outlived her and passed away on January 30th, 1930, in Muhlenberg County. From the two of them came only two daughters and two sons. I descend through the eldest boy, French Mefford. 

French Mefford was born April 2nd, 1874, in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. On February 7th, 1898, he married miss Emma Lillie Turner in Muhlenberg County. French died April 24th, 1955, in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. Lillie passed December 14th, 1964, in Greenville, Muhlenberg County. 

From them was born one son and three daughters. I descend, of course, through their son -- Clinton "Clint" Mefford. He was born July 29th, 1903, in Ennis, Muhlenberg County. He married the lovely Edith Mae Bastin on June 26th, 1926, in Hartford, Ohio County, Kentucky. He preceded her in death on October 3rd, 1965, in Greenville. She went on to re-marry and lived until April 11th, 1988, passing in Daviess County, Kentucky. 

Their son, Glen Bastin Mefford, was my Grandfather.. and he sadly passed away on August 11th, 2020. From Granddad Glen to Andreas Meffert was nine generations. Nine generations between Granddad and the first Meffert to land on American soil. Even though, in 1749, we weren't quite the United States, were we? We were the British Colonies of America, I believe? 

****

Anyway... the second line I can talk about, that goes back even further in American history -- is my mother's maiden name, Blanford. It originally was spelled Blandford before someone dropped the middle D. We hailed from the area of Dorset, England. Just a short distance from the actual town of Dorset is a little place called Blandford Forum and I believe that's where we originated from. We got our last name from the town, more than likely..so who knows what our last name was before Blandford. Or perhaps...the town was named for us. Hmph!

Thomas Blandford was born about 1648 in the Dorset area of England. He is the furthest back documented Blandford I can trace. I believe he came to America around the year 1673, although it could have been as early as 1660. I had previously believed Thomas was a son of a John Blandford & Dorothy Wright, but, there's not a lot of concrete evidence to back that up. 

We know Thomas married Tabitha Wright on June 13th, 1678, in Calvert County, Maryland. The Blandford's at this point are starting to become well documented here in America because they're Catholic. And let's face it... Catholics keep phenomenal records. Thomas passed away in Prince George's County in 1698. Tabitha survived him until 1701. Tabitha had previously had children with William Mills -- that's also a very old name in Catholic America coming over from England. 

From Thomas & Tabitha, I descend from their son, Thomas Blandford. Thomas was born in either late 1678 or early 1679, Calvert County, Maryland. Around 1697 or so, he married Sarah Beaven. They both died in Prince George's County around 1749. 

From Thomas & Sarah, I descend through John Blandford. John was born roughly in 1709 in Prince George's County. His first wife was an Elizabeth Hagan, but his second wife, was a woman named Eleanor, who he married around 1751. Her last name right now remains a mystery. John passed in Prince George's, in 1770. 

From John and his second wife Eleanor, I come from their son, John Baptist Blandford. John Baptist was born about 1758, likely in Prince George's County, Maryland -- and around 1773, he married Elizabeth Clarke. Sometime after that, they made the "Great Catholic Migration" from Maryland down to Eastern Kentucky. John & Elizabeth both supposedly pass in Nelson County, Kentucky, in 1797. 

Their son, John Baptist Blandford, comes next in my lineage. He was born about 1774, likely in Prince George's County, Maryland, and married miss Catharine Hagan on November 12th, 1795, in Nelson County, Kentucky. The Hagan's, too, are an old English Catholic family. John passed away, probably in Nelson or Washington County, Kentucky, in 1818. Catharine eventually migrated with her children to Union County, Kentucky, where she died May 7th, 1859. It is likely she was buried in Saint Vincent / Sacred Heart Cemetery but no tombstone exists today. 

Through them came a son named Richard B (probably Baptist) Blandford. He was born about 1810 in likely Nelson County, Kentucky. Through his second wife, Rosella Jane Boone, whom he married November 9th, 1847, in Union County, Kentucky, I descend. Richard passed away sometime between the 1860 and 1870 censuses, leaving Rosella as a widow. Rosella passed away in 1910 in Union County, Kentucky, and too, is likely buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery with no existing tombstone. 

From Richard & Rosella came a son named Samuel "Sam" Blandford and it is through him and his two wives that he populated present day Union County, Henderson County, and even some of Daviess County with Blandford's. I think even some crossed over the river into Evansville, Indiana. 

Samuel Blandford was born April 15th, 1860, in Union County, Kentucky and he married his first wife, October 8th, 1883, at Saint Vincent Church, in Saint Vincent, Union County, Kentucky... her name was Mary Olive Oatman Raley, "Ollie" for short. The Raley's, too, are an old English Catholic family. 

Ollie preceded Sam in death on June 16th, 1906, in Union County, Kentucky. Sam married again and eventually left his second wife a widow on February 1st, 1916, in Union County, Kentucky. I believe both Sam & Ollie are likely buried in Saint Vincent Cemetery, but again, no tombstones have been found. It's plausible they could be interred at Saint Peter Catholic Cemetery but, again, no tombstones have been located. 

Sam & Ollie bore several children, their son Martin Allen Blanford being my ancestor. Dad Blanford, as he was called, was born February 28th, 1888, in Morganfield, Union County, Kentucky. He married the beautiful Mary Agnes Nally on January 7th, 1913, in Union County -- likely at Saint Peter Church. Agnes bore him six children before the good Lord called her home at an early age -- just 32 years young, on January 28th, 1927. She died of tuberculosis. The Nally family, too, is an old English Catholic family. 

Dad Blanford married again and lived a long life -- he passed away April 24th, 1968, in Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana. Dad & Agnes' first son, Richard Jerome Blanford, was my Great-Grandfather. "Dick" as he was known, was born November 5th, 1913, in Union County, Kentucky. 

On July 11th, 1931, probably in Holy Name Catholic Church, he married miss Verna Lorene LaRue and to them 13 children were born. They both lived long, but hard lives at times. Lorene passed away of breast cancer on May 8th, 1991. The LaRue's had been in Henderson County for quite a while, and Lorene and her immediate LaRue family were Catholic, but I don't believe the LaRue's were always Catholic. I'll talk about them again in a minute. 

Dick passed away from prostate cancer on December 14th, 1995, in Geneva, Henderson County, Kentucky. I actually had the pleasure of knowing my Great-Grandfather, just for a short while. I turned three the February after his passing. 

Their son, James Allen Blanford, who passed away six years ago today.. was my Grandfather. 

From my Grandpa Jady to Thomas Blandford of Dorset, England, are ten generations. Ten generations between the first English Blandford in America to my Grandpa. 

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For my LaRue kin -- we came to America as French Huguenots. As defined on Wikipedia -- "Huguenots were French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism." Now, my LaRue line can be traced further back into France than just what I'm going to talk about but -- my French Huguenot ancestor is my 9th Great-Grandfather, Abraham LaRue or "Le Roux". 

As per Wikipedia -- "The LaRue family and its descendants trace their ancestry back to the French Huguenot Abraham LeRoux, who sailed to America with his family around 1680 as part of a mass exodus from France. According to LaRue descendant and author of Six Generations of LaRue and Allied Families, Otis M. Mather, several attempts to trace Abraham's family to a particular individual or locality in France have been unsuccessful. However, Don Holland Watson began the search in 1961 and, along with his two sisters, visited Germany and France on several occasions, tracing the family from the sub-province of Lalloeu in France to Mannheim, in Germany, and from there to the USA, then tracking the family until modern times, all across the USA in personal visits.

Although there are dozens of family traditions describing in various ways how Abraham and his family first arrived in America, all sources agree that some of the LaRues were murdered during or soon after the Massacre of St. Bartholomew in 1572, and afterward scattered across Europe and, eventually, America, where several members of the family were reunited.

Abraham LeRoux (LaRue) settled in New Jersey, where he died in 1712, leaving behind a son named Peter. Peter had three sons of his own; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, from which sprang the LaRue families of Virginia and Kentucky."

Peter died in Frederick County, Virginia, in 1783. I descend from his son, Isaac LaRue Sr. Isaac was born 309 years ago today -- January 11th, 1712, in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Around 1743, he married Phebe Carmen, and reared at least ten children who went forth and populated Kentucky & Virginia with LaRue's of all kinds. On March 20th, 1795, Isaac Sr dies in Frederick County, Virginia. 

From him, comes my 6th Great-Grandfather, Jacob LaRue Sr. Jacob was born May 1st, 1744, in Frederick County, Virginia. He married twice and had a slew of children with both women. I descend through his first wife, Mary Frost, whom he married in 1765 in Clarke County, Virginia. She died in 1804. Jacob eventually moved with a number of his descendants to present day Hardin County, Kentucky, where he died September 15th, 1821. 

My 5th Great-Grandfather was Samuel LaRue -- born about 1781 in Virginia. He married miss Elizabeth Dodge (Dodge is a very old American last name with roots in very early New England American history) on June 2nd, 1801, in Hardin County, Kentucky. Elizabeth passed in 1821 and Samuel shortly after in 1826. They mostly had daughters, which meant the LaRue last name was starting to die out... but they had two sons; one being my 4th Great-Grandfather. 

Josiah "Si" LaRue has been a tough man to trace down. He was born about 1804, likely in Hardin County, Kentucky, and by October 13th, 1828, in Floyd County, Indiana, he married miss Mary Castleman (old German family). They remain, however, in Hardin County in subsequent censuses. It seems they both die between 1850 and 1860. They had at least eleven children -- mostly sons, so the LaRue last name makes a come back! 

A lot of Josiah & Mary's descendants end up in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and even further west. I descend through their son, Benjamin Hardin LaRue. Ben LaRue was born about December of 1844 in probably Hardin County, Kentucky. For some reason, by the mid 1860's, he's made his way to Henderson County, Kentucky, where he marries miss Mary Philapine Lawrey. 

I'm unsure exactly when Mary passes away, but it was between the 1880 and 1900 census. She's likely buried in Smith Mills Cemetery in Smith Mills, Henderson County, Kentucky. Ben LaRue reportedly died on New Years Day 1901 and his will was probated on January 30th, 1901. He, too, is likely buried in Smith Mills Cemetery. 

They, too, had eleven children -- one of them being my 2nd Great-Grandfather, Charles Clarence "Dad" LaRue. Dad LaRue was born June 8th, 1883, in Henderson County, Kentucky. On April 27th, 1904, also in Henderson, he married Carrie Annie Byrd and they, too, had eleven children -- but only eight that survived past a few years old. Carrie predeceased Dad on June 29th, 1955.. and eventually Dad LaRue re-married, 

In 1973, Dad LaRue and his daughter, Verna Lorene LaRue (my Great-Grandmother) wrote into the local Evansville newspaper column "Bish Says" to try and get information on his parents. 

She goes so far as to say "Never heard his father mention any relative." Well -- Ben LaRue had eleven siblings and apparently, he'd never talked about them, either! Eventually, my Great-Grandmother received an answer from this article and came into contact with descendants of Josiah LaRue -- Ben LaRue's father -- who lived out in Kansas. My Mom, her parents, and my Great-Grandparents -- Dick Blanford and Verna Lorene LaRue, went on a road trip and went to Kansas to meet these cousins of Lorene. 

My Great-Grandmother might be gone, and my Great-Great-Grandfather might be gone, too, but.. I've solved the LaRue lineage. I don't, however, know exactly why Ben LaRue didn't talk about his parents or siblings or where he came from. I know he was born in 1844 and I believe his parents might have died between 1850-1860... but.. he still should have been old enough to have known who they were, known their names and whatnot. He had 10 siblings.. he should have at least known their names.. I suppose dementia could have played a factor. By the time he wanted to tell his son, Charles Clarence, about his family... maybe he didn't remember. 

The Lawrey line, too, though, has proved a tough nut to crack. That's a story for another time. 

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These are my furthest back and most well documented "overseas to America" lines. I do have my Sandefur, Gibson, Moss, Hazelwood, etc lines back to the 1700's but, I haven't made the official "jump over the big pond" with them. Not verified anyway. So perhaps I'll talk about those ancestors another day!