I have been on a “half” vacation for the last two weeks as my son Toddie has been on a holiday break from Magoffin County schools. We have spent several hours training squirrel dog pups and I have seen several hollows that are new to me or ones I haven't seen for several decades.
We took one trip to the Williams Fork of the left fork of Johnson's Fork, a hollow that has a Williams Cemetery that I wanted to find. My dog treed rather soon on the left side and we went almost to the top of the hill and harvested squirrel number 1. As we were near the ridge and the next tree was on the very top of the hill, we went up the ridge to near the head of the creek and came back down the left fork where Toddie dropped a couple more squirrels. As we came down we passed by house locations of yesteryear. We came down to the main stream and went up the right fork which was the longest fork as indicated by the quadrupled flow of water. What a beautiful stream! I took a picture and, when developed, it was a post card scene!
We only went about a half mile and passed several house seats of the 1940s. If there was a road up this creek I think people would flock to build homes there.
I want to make another trip up in there and maybe go down the ridge from the Town Flats into the head of Williams Fork and while in that vicinity, take another look for the Caudill Cemetery which is said to be located just below the flats on the Red River side.
Now, what LARGE ideas this old senior citizen has but I just can't hold too many of the things I want to do in the back of my mind. Know what, I guess my kids are right, they claim I'm sort of losin' what little mind I still have. (Smile)
We took a trip into the Bear Tree Fork of Rockhouse on Burning Fork; a hollow I thought was so beautiful about 1977 when we were copying cemeteries. I wrote about it then, telling about Aunt Rhoda Powers as well as her little dog that gave me an unwelcome greeting.
This large boundary of land is still almost uninhabited because there is no road; actually the best part of the way in is in the creek bed.
Now, John Pace has a nice little summer cottage and another “frontiersman” has a nice camp beside the creek. There are five cemeteries and some Indian graves near or under the “High Rocks” in the very head of the creek.
People migrated out of William Fork and Bear Tree in the 1930s. There are many such abandoned hollows in our county and, I might add, nearly all are near county lines where there are few voters. I've seen some quarter-million dollar homes in the Wheelrim area of Morgan County so people are coming back to these isolated hollows. I believe if our roads into these hollows were opened up, more people would resettle these hollows, which in turn would make a lot more cemeteries accessible.
As we go into a new year, I would like to remind people who ask for info on their families to send enough information, such as dates or approximations, siblings, places lived, etc. so that we can get started on making a search. Include as much as you already know in order to facilitate our search.
Shannon Castle sent this message: Do you know what happened to Ida Vanover who is listed as a daughter of McClelland and Nancy Vanover in the 1930 Magoffin census in the Gifford Precinct? She is listed as a school teacher in the public schools.
I can't find Ida who would have been 20 years old in 1930 so I will ask our readers to help Shannon. Her email address is shannoncastle @msn.com.
Mike Hamonds writes that his 5th great grandfather was Joseph Hammond. His grandfather was Courtney Hamonds b. 7 Feb 1899 d. Aug 1974. Courtney married Irene Haas b. 11 Apr 1908 d. Jun 1979. Their son Donald Hamonds b. 16 Jun 1937 d. 23 Nov 1998 m. Frances Duenne b. 8 Apr 1938.
I just ran across this info in the book Our Family Heritage by the late Bruce David May on page 49: John W. Hammond b. 1841, son of Benjamin Hammond, gr/son of Joseph Ambrose Hammons b. ca. 1770, great-grandson of Rev. William Hammond. William was a son of John Hammond and a gr/son of Ambrose Hammond b. ca. 1647 England. Ambrose was a son of John Hammond b. ca. 1610 in England and d. 1700 VA, a son of Francis Hammong b. 1590 England d. 1652 and grandson of Robert b. 1566 in Norfolk, England. Now, this may or may not be a true account of the local Hammond family but gives some food for thought. Does anyone have any information or advice for Mike?
Theda May Arnett
Perkins is the dau of Tony “Tone” May b. 1907, dau of Hamilton May b.
1862. Hamilton was the son of Henry Harrison May b. 1838 and gr/son of
Blair May b. 1808. Blair was the son of Caleb May b. 1781 and Margaret
Patrick b. 1783. Margaret was a dau of Jeremiah Patrick and Sarah
Blair.
Blair May married
in 1829 to Sarah Adams b. ca. 1810, dau of Stephen Adams b. 1778 and
gr/dau of John Adams and Nancy Caudill. Stephen married in
1798 to Mary “Polly” Webb b. 1775, dau of James Webb and Letty Nelson.
Henry Harrison
May m. in 1856 to Eliza Jane May b. 1833, dau of James May b. 1811.
James was a son of Caleb May and Margaretta Patrick. James married
Matilda Whitaker b. 1810.
Hamilton May
married in 1894 to Marinda Patrick b. 1873, dau of Apperson Patrick
(b. 1854), son of Thomas Calvin Patrick b. 1824. Thomas C. was a son
of John Patrick and a grandson of Reubin Patrick and Charlotte Wilson.
John married Charlotte Patrick. Thomas Calvin married Rebecca Patrick,
dau of John Patrick and Martha Kennard. Apperson m. in
1872 to Mary A. Prater b. 1856, dau of George Washington Prater b.
1824. G. W. was a son of James Prater b. ca. 1800 and a gr/son of
Archibald Prater b. 1755. Archibald married Sarah Fugate, dau of
Josiah Fugate. James Prater m. Nancy Patrick, dau of
William Patrick and gr/dau of Jeremiah Patrick and Sarah Blair. G. W.
Prater married Elizabeth Jane -?-.
Tone May married
in 1931 to Edna Mae Arnett. She was born in 1913 to Will Arnett b.
1859. Will was a son of William “Bill” Arnett b. 1839. Bill was a son
of Wiley Arnett b. 1816 and grandson of Stephen Arnett and Elizabeth
Howard. Wiley Arnett married Betsy Sizemore, dau of Goldenhawk
Sizemore. William “Bill” married Martha Collinsworth b. 1845, parents
not known. Will Arnett married in 1907 to Ellen Causby
Arnett b. 1878, dau of Catlett Arnett b. ca. 1840. Catlett was a son
of Hiram Arnett and a grandson of Reuben Arnett and Susan Kilgore.
Hiram m. Serena Arnett b. 1830, dau of Stephen Arnett and Elizabeth
Howard. Catlett Arnett married Susan Medley.
And so
begins another year of searching for and recording our Magoffin County
history and genealogy. We invite you to be a part of it. Write to us
at Magoffin County Historical Society, Box 222, Salyersville, KY 41465
(email:
[email protected]
). Visit us at 191 Church Street in
Salyersville or telephone 606-349-1607.
Magoffin County Historical
Society
This
article, written by Todd Preston, the president of the
Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the
January 11, 2007
issue of