This article, written by Todd Preston, President of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the July 17, 2008 issue of THE SALYERSVILLE INDEPENDENT newspaper.

            I made an excursion to Middle Creek Friday.  I stopped and got my son-in-law Larry Dotson and we went to the Stoney and Martha Ray Branch.  We talked to Mr. Ted Poe and his wife who live in the forks of the branch.  They have a son who lives above them on Ray Branch.  Ted told us that there had been some logging in the Ray Branch and he thought we could go all the way to the head of the creek via the road they had made. A fallen tree had blocked the road and he advised taking a chain saw.

            His wife told us there were two cemeteries there, one on the left that used to have little houses built over the graves and one on the right that had several graves, one being Audie Adams.  Larry remembered going there as the Adams man was a relative of his.

            We are still working on finding a location for the markers with the names of Bruce Fraley and Den Fraley which are lying beside the road on Dry Bread near Ivyton, KY. We took Lucy Dudek to visit a cemetery there and saw these two markers by the road.  Lucy’s mother, Alka Fraley Birchfield was a sister to Bruce and Denny. According to Lucy’s info her mother was born in 1903 at Dry Bread so apparently the family lived there for some time.  We find Bruce b. 1898 and Denny b. May 1900 in the 1900 Floyd Co. KY census as children of James Monroe Fraley and Laura Belle Salyer.

            Henry Clay Sizemore, Jack Sizemore and Randall Risner think they can go to the Sam Poe Cemetery on four wheelers then go on up to the ridge and get to the other cemeteries that way where the young Fraley’s may be buried. Anyone with info on this Fraley family is urged to get in touch with us.

            Incidentally, Alka Fraley married Walker Birchfield, the son of James Birchfield and Lizzie Holland.  James Birchfield is buried on the Roark Cemetery on Burning Fork right across from Birch Branch.  We believe Birch Branch was named for the Birchfield family.

            Just yesterday, as I was sitting on our log cabin post office, someone came by and sat down with me. We struck up a conversation and I told him I had visited his family cemetery last year and it was in dire need of cleaning. He agreed and told me this story. Most of his family had moved out of the area and he had paid taxes on the land for several years.  He couldn’t get help from other family members and couldn’t buy the farm where the cemetery was located so he had quit paying the taxes and now the land was to be sold at the courthouse door. Even if he should buy it, he probably never could get a clear deed.  This situation is just one of several in our area. You may say that whoever buys the land can’t desecrate the graves but what if they claim they couldn’t tell it was a cemetery?  Wouldn’t it be wise to clean it up and put some markers at the gravesites? Bulldozers don’t have eyes and the operator can’t always see little fieldstone rocks.

            Now, for a change of pace. The 4^th of July celebration in Salyersville went off quite well even though I thought there was not much preplanning. I base this assumption on all the telephone calls that came in to the historical society asking when and where the events were going to take place.  We were not in charge of the plans but admire those who make an effort to have community events for our people.

            Brian Fletcher ([email protected]) writes he is interested in his Fletcher connection to Salyersville.  Brian is the son of Paul Edward Fletcher. His grandfather Tracy Fletcher b. 1905 was a son of Will Fletcher b. 1870. Will was a son of Meredith Fletcher b. 1837. Meredith was a son of “Old” George Fletcher b. 1796 and his 2^nd wife Louisa Marshall.  Brian says his mother was a Wright from Floyd County but did not give her name. He says the family moved to Ohio where they were raised.

            We want to thank Harold Fletcher of Lexington, KY for his recent donation to the “Old” George Fletcher monument that Morris Fletcher and others are planning to set on Gun Creek during the Fletcher Founder’s Days celebration.  This is to be on Saturday afternoon after the parade.  This year’s Founder’s Days begin on August 26^th so there is not much time left for us to get all in order.

            I’ve attended meetings of the Muzzleloader’s Club and they have accepted the invitation to participate in the Fletcher Memorial Dedication program at the cemetery. Morris wants to make this a memorable event for Magoffin County!

            Morris is hoping other Fletcher kinsmen are as proud of their ancestor as he is and will make a monetary contribution toward this monument.  Our historical society will funnel any donations that are received into the fund. 

            We are beginning to get “edgy” as Founder’s Days are getting closer and closer and we have not received the family information we had expected. Time is running out so start shaking your Fletcher family tree then send your genealogy and pictures to us!  Remember that we have several family souvenirs already here and we invite you to come in to our library and visit.  Our regular meeting which will center on Founder’s Days will be this Sunday, July 20^th at 2 p.m.

            We had a letter from Joseph F. Conley who reports his dad, Roy Conley, will be turning 80 on August 1^st and they are having Open House to honor this special birthday on Sunday, Aug 3^rd.   He still has some relatives in this area and Joseph says his heart is always with Magoffin County and that each time he visits he considers it “going home”.  If anyone would like to send him a card, please address it to Joseph F. Conley, 2477 East 37^th St., Lorain, OH 44055.