This article, written by Todd Preston, the president of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the August 9, 2007 issue of THE SALYERSVILLE INDEPENDENT newspaper.  The Salyersville Independent is a weekly newspaper published and edited every Thursday. For inquires or comments, please write to P. O. Box 29, Salyersville, KY 41465. Yearly subscription rates are $22.00 in Kentucky and $26.00 per year out of state.

The monument for Rev. War soldier John Hager has been set!  We placed it in the Dixon (also known as “Old Town”) Cemetery in Johnson Co. KY. If there is sufficient interest among Hager family descendants a dedication can be planned for a later time. This marker was placed beside the Civil War marker for John’s son Daniel Hager.             Another piece of pleasant news to report is that little Nora Patrick now has a tombstone!  Common sense told me to gather up several big strong men to help get the marker to the gravesite but my anxiousness to see the job completed overcame common sense.  I bought a 100-ft. rope, borrowed a pulley from the Pioneer Village farm tool display and “invited” my son Toddie to assist me.             I sawed all the small bushes off to make a path up the hill, tied the pulley to a tree and ran the rope through the pulley and tied it onto the wheel cart.  With Toddie on the other end, I pulled the wheel up hill as Toddie pulled down hill. We would take it about 50 feet and then repeat the process. After about 5 times we got it on site. We cut some of the little trees from the site before placing the marker.  Now, I didn’t set the little white fence.  If enough people are interested we could have a dedication and set the fence. I am really proud of Toddie for helping with this project. He is distantly related to little Nora through his mother.             I have thought of building a set of steps in order to get up the first embankment so Olive Preston Marshall and Mary Lou Preston Brown and other youngsters can get up to the site of the graves of little Nora and her brother Robert Patrick.              I have wanted to do this project ever since Boone Howard told me about the cemetery back in the 1960’s and now I feel relieved that I’ve been a part of this venture to complete what started when Olive Marshall made a donation and said to work toward getting the marker. Thanks to Ben Patton, Jr. for finishing up the amount needed to purchase the marker.             Perhaps you have had the privilege of reading the account of the sickness and death of Little Nora by Mary Lou Brown’s mother. Nora was her sister and while their father Rousseau Patrick was away working in the log woods the little girl became ill and the family sent for the doctor. The doctor examined little Nora, pulled out some money and sent someone back to town for medicine which came too late as little Nora was called to her heavenly home in the meantime. The story continues as Mary Lou’s mother related how the little girl was prepared for burial and laid to rest; her father built a white picket fence around the site. Of course that has been gone for many years now. I hope the little metal fence we will put around Nora’s grave will be visible for many years to come.             Terrance Little of Murray, KY who is webmaster and historian of the ship USS Magoffin visited us recently and donated his personal seaman’s “hurricane” jacket to add to our collection of USS Magoffin memorabilia.  These veterans are still keeping the memory of this ship alive. It was built in 1944 and was still active during the Korean War, hauling troops to and from the battlefront.  Those who served aboard the ship still continue to celebrate and keep the ship’s name alive. Few, if any, other Kentucky counties can boast of having a ship named for their county. We thank Terrance Little for his gift and for helping keep this interest in such a historic ship alive.             Rob Robinson, 3281 N. Bethlehem Rd., Austin, IN 47102 visited recently and brought a handmade shirt and pair of overalls that belonged to Cledis Porter b. 25 Oct 1933 and died 5 Jan 1942. He is buried in the Tip Top or John Bailey Cemetery here in Magoffin County. He was the son of Polly Cox.  The gift to us was made in the name of Rob’s father, Charles Robinson.  This is an interesting item that you will enjoy seeing on your next visit to the Pioneer Village.             The 1920 Breathitt Co. KY census lists Ambrose Cox, age 47, wife Hulda age 45, Polly Wadkins age 16 and Oma Wadkins age 10 months. In the Kentucky vital statistics we find Mollie (Polly) Cox was born on 24 Apr 1913 in Breathitt County to Hulda Campbell.             We didn’t get all the details from Rob concerning the little outfit except he had convinced his father Charles to donate the overalls and shirt to our historical society. We did not learn how he obtained them but it seems that someone was shot in the back by a suspect by the name of Pitts. We offer this info in case it may refresh someone’s memory and if so, please let us hear from you.             A gift has come to us from Carl and Wanda Bailey of Mt. Sterling, KY and is very much appreciated.             Bob Whittaker of SC donated a book to us, Famous Virginia and Kentucky Russell’s by Theodosia Barrett. The book centers on General William Russell and his close ties with Captain Daniel Boone during the War of Independence as well as the Indian Wars.  Bob is working on securing a new monument for the grandfather of Mark Whitaker who married Martha “Patsy” and is the progenitor of all the Whitakers in our area. Check in next week for more particulars or write to him at Robert W. Whittaker, 611 Piedmont Hwy., Piedmont, SC 29673.  What a wonderful chance to be a part of adding to the history of the Whitaker family!             Russell County, VA was named in honor of Brigadier General William Russell who married Tabitha Adams. Russell Co. KY was formed in 1825 and named in honor of Col. William Russell, Jr. who married Nancy Price.             John Robles of Ventura, CA (john9ten @pacebell.net) who is a descendant of Archibald Prater through his son Robert Franklin Prater has written to us. John’s great grandmother was Emily Jane, whose father was John Melvin Prater. John M. was a son of Robert Franklin.  This calls for more research as this is new information to what was published in our Prater book. A revised and extended version of the Prater book is “in the works” here at the historical society if anyone would like to participate in extending the family information found in the 1980 version that we printed.                  Founder’s Days 2007 are quickly approaching. A meeting will be held on Sunday, August 19th at 2 p.m. at our historical library to finalize plans. You are invited to participate.  We know you are as excited as we are about Charlie Sizemore returning to his home county for an album release show. This will be on Friday, August 31st at 3 p.m. on our Pioneer Village stage! You may write to us at Box 222, Salyersville, KY 41465 (email: [email protected]) or telephone 606-349-1607.