This article, written by Todd Preston, the president of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the October 11, 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.

As I write this, the weather has cooled down so that a light jacket feels rather good. Now, what brings that remark on? Well, do you remember that old neglected cemetery that you intended to clean up last spring then hot weather came on before you got around to doing it or having it done?  Well, what’s wrong with the forthcoming lazy days of fall? The snakes will soon be hibernating and the creeks are at a record low. I know my Helton Cemetery on Fairchild Branch of Mash Fork needs attention.  I also want to clean up the Hale Cemetery up-river that our friend, the late Raleigh Shepherd, Jr. intended to restore but the Lord called him home before he could finish the project.             Christian M. Kaser (christiankaser @gmail.com) is the grandson of Mayme Cantrill Harman Leitzki and sent this query. He has found that Cantrell is a Choctaw or Cherokee surname and the surname Held (Hale) seems to be German and he was wondering if we had any information on his family’s past.             Mayme or Mamie Hale was born in 1924, the dau of Willie Cantrill b. 1893. Willie was a son of Henry C. Cantrill b. 1861. Henry C. was a son of Elijah Cantrill. Elijah was a son of Richard Cantrill b. 1660 England and came to America in 1682. He married in 1693 to Dorothy Jones b. 1662 England. According to a monument in the Cantrill Cemetery on Lakeview Drive, Staffordsville, Johnson Co. KY their children were Joseph (m. Catherine Heath), Isaac (m. Telitha Cloud), Elijah (m. Peggy Conley), Henry (m. Rachel Blanton), William (m. Phoebe McKenzie) and Loman (m. Lissie Rowland).             Elijah Cantrill married Peggy Connelly who was born in 1779, the 3rd child of Capt. Henry Connelly b. 1752 and Ann McGregor.  Henry Cantrill m. Rachel Blanton b. in VA the dau of George Blanton b. 1775 and Martha Shepherd b. 1776 NC. George was a son of John Blanton and Hannah Hobbs.              Elijah Cantrill m. Nancy C. Adkins.  Henry C. Cantrill m. Elizabeth Crace, dau of Nehemiah Crace. Nehemiah was a son of Campbell C. Crace and a grandson of Peter Crace and Annie Adams. Campbell Crace m. Mahala Craft, a dau of James Craft and Drucilla Hammon.  Nehemiah Crace m. Mary Franklin.             William “Willie” Cantrill m. in 1913 to Julia Hale, dau of Francis Marion Hale, Jr.  Francis Jr. was a son of Francis Marion Hale, Sr. and Virginia Cook b. 1847.  Francis Marion Hale, Sr. was murdered and Virginia m. 2nd to James W. Roark b. 1852 who raised Francis Marion Hale, Jr.             Francis M. Jr. married in 1889 to Mary Catherine Crace, dau of Noah Campbell Crace. Noah was a son of Campbell Crace and a grandson of Peter Crace and Annie Adams. Campbell Crace married Mahala Craft, dau of James Craft. Noah Campbell Crace m. Letha Ann Howard, dau of William Wash Howard and Catherine Helton. Catherine was a dau of George Helton and Malinda Wade.             Constance Collins, 3800 Fairfax Dr., Apt. 408, Arlington, VA 22203 (conniecollins @earthwave.net) wrote to us about the plans for a dedication for Nora Patrick, dau of Rousseau Patrick who was a younger brother of her grandmother Rhoda Patrick.  Rhoda m. George Collins, son of Elijah Collins and Nancy Jane Ratliff.             George and Rhoda moved to Scioto Co. OH around 1901 and their youngest son was born there in 1908 and is the father of Constance.  She would appreciate making any contact with both the Collins and the Patrick families.             George Collins was born in 1867, the son of Civil War soldier Elijah Collins (Co. I, 14th KY Inf., Union Army).  Elijah is buried in the Collins Cemetery off Rt. 40 Junction with Rt. 1081 behind the home of the late Farmer Howard.             Elijah was a son of Joshua Collins b. 1807 who m. 2nd to Elizabeth Dale b. 1805 who may or may not be the mother of Elijah.  Elijah married Nancy Jane Ratliff b. ca. 1833, dau of Silas Ratliff and Ann Spradlin.             George Collins m. Rhoda Patrick who was born in 1868 to Robert Patrick and Mary Ann Hurt. Mary Ann was born in 1845, a dau of William H. Hurt (b. 1822 and a Confederate soldier) and Thursey Burke.             Don and Nancy (Salyer-Conley) Clary, 93 N. Terrace Ave., Newark, OH 43055 visited us recently. They brought info on the John Conley family, a son of John Connelly and Lear Joynes. Lear was a dau of Thomas Joynes and Sarah Caudill.             Nancy Lee Salyer is married to Donald Clary. She is the dau of Hobert Henry Salyer b. 1897 and a gr/dau of Franklin B. Salyer b. 1862 and Sarah C. McKinzie b. 1860.  Hobert Henry Salyer married Della Mae Conley b. 1897. Della was a dau of Peter Conley b. 1853 and Mary “Polly” Ann Wadell. Polly was born in 1858 to Meredith Waddell (b. 1821) and Mary Pennington (b. 1825).  Peter Conley was a son of Moses Conley (b. 1818) and Nancy J. Day (b. 1829). Nancy was a dau of Peter Day (b. 1787) and Sarah F. Williams (b. 1793).             Moses Conley was a son of John Conley b. 1785 and Lear Joynes b. 1787. John was a son of Capt. Henry Connelly and Ann McGregor.              Nancy Ann included a copy of the Conley Cemetery at Crockett in Morgan Co. KY with her material.             Jean Salyer Osborn, 112 Kathy Lane, Townsend, TN 37882 visited last week. She was born in Indiana to Ernest “Ernie” Salyer (b. 1895) and Myrtle Salyer (b. 1898). Myrtle was a dau of F. Marion Salyer (b. 1858) and a gr/dau of John Morgan “Ferryman” Salyer and Eveline Jackson. John Morgan was born in 1827 to Abner Salyer and Nancy Hale.             F. Marion married Minerva Salyer, dau of Cambridge Salyer and Susanna Gose. Susanna was born in 1849, dau of Phillip Gose and Polly Arnett.             Ernest “Ernie” Salyer is kind of hard to trace but I did find an Ernest Salyer age 16 listed as a “ward” in the household of John Joseph in the 1910 Magoffin census.  That family is listed as John Joseph age 56, 2nd wife Alice Salyer (her 1st marriage) and the mother of 3 children with 2 living. In the house was Callie age 13, Ernest Salyer age 16 “ward” and Sarah Fletcher age 15, hired girl.  The 1900 census lists John Joseph age 45, Alice age 38, mother of 3 children with 2 living, Eva age 13 b. 1887 and Calla Adams age 3 b. 1896.             John Joseph married Alice Salyer on 27 Nov 1878 and they first appear in the 1880 Magoffin census when John’s age is given as 22 and Alice is 17. Can anyone identify Ernest “Ernie” Salyer’s parents?             John Paul Bays of Greenup Co. KY (bayshunter @zoominternet.net) writes that he is a descendant of Caleb May through his daughter Sarah May who married George Washington Bays. In recent inquiries on Ancestry .com he found Caleb b. ca. 1871 listed as the son of John May and Sarah Jane Phillips and wonders if this is the opinion of the May family historians in our area.  We would like to hear from any May descendants.             Here is another one for our readers.  Debra Linn (debralinn2000 @yahoo.com) lives in California and writes that her mother Joan McCray is a descendant of George “Goldenhawk” Sizemore and would like to have info on the family. She writes she found info on the Ridgetop Band of Shawnee that is related to George All Sizemore and Goldenhawk. Debra, write to us again and give us your mother’s parents and grandparents and we will see if we can help. Write the Magoffin County Historical Society, Box 222, Salyersville, KY 41465 (email: [email protected]) or telephone 606-349-1607.