The Magoffin County Historical Society has worked through the years to help fund and to make the public aware of memorials for our founding fathers of Magoffin County and eastern Kentucky.
It all started when we purchased the memorial in the Hall Community Center yard honoring our town founders: Archibald Prater who founded Prater's Fort, then William “Uncle Billy” Adams who founded Adamsville and Samuel Salyer, the founder of our town of Salyersville.
Now, twenty-eight years later and having worked to secure memorials too numerous to mention, finds us continuing to aid and assist in getting several more memorials. To mention a few, we would like to see the proposed memorial to our Vietnam veterans set, perhaps near or in the yard of the courthouse or administrative building and, while we are at it, another memorial for Korean veterans. Yes, several of the veterans of this period have their names on the Ramey Park Memorial but we feel they also deserve an individual memorial. After all, several of the troops of this era gave their all, the same as in any other war.
We could also mention other founding fathers, such as Reuben Arnett who along with his brother Stephen (who has a memorial) are the forefathers of the Arnetts of our area. There is also an ongoing move to set a memorial for Jesse Gullett and Elizabeth Coffee. Space will not permit listing all needed memorials but our generation is steadily passing into oblivion. It may be later than we think and our younger generation may not be aware of these founding fathers. “Nuff said?”
We continue to be interested in finding the Marion Neeley Cemetery on Bull Creek of the upper Licking River area. Last week when Robert Neeley and his wife Dorothy of Arcadia, FL were here Dorothy Wireman called Ray Shepherd to help us in the search for the cemetery. We were successful in finding the Loren Neeley Cemetery that Connie Wireman had copied in October 1977 when she found at least five unidentifiable graves along with Glen and Lena Neeley and Susan Wireman b. 1863 d. 1940. The GPS coordinates are N-37.32866, W-082.56277, elevation 1174. The 1930 census lists Loren Neeley age 44, Lonie (Wireman) age 40 with Susan Wireman, age 67, mother-in-law. Also in this census was Marion Neeley age 55 and his wife Martha (Wireman) age 53.
We had a group from the Purcell Marian High School of Cincinnati, OH visiting with their teacher, Shannon Lively, a former student UDSAP of 2002 (one of the “Dayton Bunch”). They numbered 14 students and we gave them a tour of our Pioneer Village. We enjoyed having Shannon come back to visit us.
Lorraine Smith, 13907 Wide Hollow Road, Yakima, WA 98908 visited Friday after stopping in neighboring Morgan County to visit the courthouse. It was closed due to the Sorghum Festival and when she inquired there about the John McGuire grave she was advised to come to Salyersville. We told her the story of how the McGuire marker came to be placed then took her to the John Hamman Cemetery at Bloomington where she saw the marker for John McGuire, Revolutionary War soldier. When Lorraine saw the memorial and government footstone, she wept. We took pictures at the site and then went on a tour of the area where her ancestor lived.
We went on down Rt. 460 to the Rockhouse Road and turned up Pricey, showing her the locality of other McGuire cemeteries. As the rain had started we didn't stop at these. We came on up Lick Creek then across Elk Creek to Rt. 460. Lorraine made this notation in our visitor registration book: “Such a special place! You have helped an old lady find an ancestor and to find a stone marker for him and to see the booklet showing all of John McGuire's family and ancestors made me cry for happiness. I love and thank you.”
Linda Brown Webb (spiderwebb1 @fuse.net) had emailed us with a question about a listing in our Prater & Dunn Funeral Home book which gave info that Dean Arnett had died on 16 June, no year given. On Saturday she and her sister stopped by on their way to Hazard. Although it had been raining, they followed me to the Jane Arnett Branch, off Mill Branch of Middle Fork. They weren't able to climb up the hill so I took their camera, my GPS unit and some shaving cream and went up to the cemetery. Why shaving cream? There is usually a mold or lichen on tombstones causing them to be hard to read and resulting in poor pictures. I spread some shaving cream on them to make the printing plainer.
I copied this cemetery in 1978 but hadn't listed a death date and, for good reason, the marker doesn't have a death date. Apparently Dean's wife had died first and the double marker was set before he passed away and it was not inserted later. Does anyone know of his death date?
The cemetery is well kept (N-37-42.895, W-083-06.647, elevation 991).
Linda and her sister left and I drove on up the Jane Arnett branch some distance as I understand they are to drill a gas well in that area. I then drove up to the Lockard Hamilton Cemetery (N-37-42.791, W-083-06.558, elevation 1067) and that cemetery is also in respectable condition.
I had coon hunted in the Jane Arnett branch back in my younger days during the late fifties. As I left Mill Branch, I took pictures of the chimney of the recently burned Arnett home. How sad it looks, standing majestically above the rubble. It is also sad to think of another landmark being destroyed, by suspected arsonists, I understand.
Ralph Lee Salyer, III of 6811 Aetna Ct. Wauwatosa, WI 53213 and his mother and grandmother, plus his son Ralph Lee IV stopped by on Sunday morning on their way to Norton and Big Stone Gap in search of his kinsmen. His father, Ralph Lee Salyer, Sr. born 1927 was the son of Roy Salyer. I could not pick up on this family in the Elisabeth Salyer book or in the Western Branches of the Salyer Family book. Ralph Lee Salyer, Jr. would appreciate any help on his Salyer ancestors.
Ron and Jan Ross, 2629 Townline Road #13, Willard, OH 44890 visited searching for the Amyx, Whitt, Lykins, Oney and related families. Their comments in our visitor's book “Awesome wealth of information! Thank you!”
We want to send our thanks to Lee Smith, husband of Lorraine Smith and Chaplain of the Marine Corps League of Yakima, WA for his donation of a 3X5 American Flag to be placed at the Hamman-McGuire Cemetery.
We were also pleased to receive a book entitled “Sensing the Mundane”, a volume of poems and folklore by Rosemary Turner Lore which will be cherished down through the years. Thanks, Rosemary, for mentioning the Historical Comments as giving you an idea for your poem “Paths Through the Licking River Meadows.”
A family reunion of the descendants of the Adeline Patton and Joseph Gardner Arnett family will be held in Williamsburg, VA on October 13, 14 and 15th. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Williamsburg Hospitality House, Hotel and Conference Center for Friday and Saturday night, October 13th & 14th. To secure your reservation call toll free 1-800-932-9192 and state that you will be attending the Arnett Family Reunion. For additional information, please contact:
[email protected]
or [email protected].
Come see us at 191 South Church Street in Salyersville, telephone 606-349-1607 or write Magoffin County Historical Society, Box 222, Salyersville, KY 41465 (email
[email protected]).
Magoffin County Historical
Society
This
article, written by Todd Preston, the president of the
Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the
October 5, 2006
issue of