This article, written by Todd Preston, President of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the October 2, 2008 issue of THE SALYERSVILLE INDEPENDENT newspaper.

            I was invited to go on a tombstone setting trip with the local funeral home employees last Thursday evening.  We first set a monument at the gravesite of Mary Patrick Minix in the John and Charlotte Patrick Cemetery, sometimes called the Berry Patrick Cemetery, located about a mile off Rt. 30 on 3337 down Middle Fork.

            My helpers and I had cleaned this cemetery up a few days before.

            We next went to the Wiley Arnett Cemetery located on the right side of the river below the mouth of Oakley or Sublett.  Here we placed a monument for Elizabeth Sizemore Arnett to replace the old one that has been broken for many years and was beyond repair.

            The third stop was the Carpenter Hill Cemetery. Here we set one for Meldi (Arnett) Allen who married R. B. Allen.  One of their children was Audie Allen who married Warnie Arnett, the parents of Warnie Arnett, Jr.  You might say this was a tribute to the memory of Warnie, Jr., one of our more diligent co-workers.

            Sharon Cornell, PO Box 41, Parma, MI 49269 sent a donation for the proposed monument for the Eli/Elias Risner Cemetery on Owls Nest of Middle Fork. John Britton is working on this project and hopes to have the marker set by spring.  This has been a project that I, as well as the late David Risner, had envisioned for several years now and sort of hope to be able to do some cleanup in preparation of setting some markers rather soon.

            Other monetary donations came from Lorraine Smith of Yakima, WA and from Jerry Blinn of Placites, NM in memory of the Patricks.

            My crew and I made a trip to another somewhat abandoned cemetery in the head of Litterals Fork that I have listed as the Ferguson Cemetery. This is where Edna  Williams Ferguson b. 1889 d. 1918, wife of Earl Ferguson, is buried.

            John H. “Glover” Conley (b. 1853 d. 1927), also Josephine Griffith (infant of Mae Ferguson Griffith) are buried here. There may be more burials.

            I accompanied Jim and Joyce Williams to this cemetery a few months ago and they so wanted it cleaned up.  This is now another cemetery that “looks as such” again.

            Then we made a trek to the Calloway Howard Cemetery here in town, behind my neighbor A. B. Conley’s gun shop.  This abandoned cemetery is the resting place of two of Calloway’s sons. There is a deep trench in the cemetery which might indicate one grave might have been dug up and perhaps moved.

            J. W. Back and I attended the Eastern Kentucky Genealogy Conference at the Ramada Inn during last Friday’s opening night.  I met many of my friends of a few years ago who are still doing genealogy; some are selling the various books they have published.  All of which, in my opinion, has to make eastern Kentucky rate close to number one in the state for preserving the history of it’s kith and kin.

            Among the many visitors were the daughters of Raymond Long and Eldon Long and among this bevy of lovely ladies was Janet “Jan” Grunwald of Glenville, NC and Sarasota, FL.  I related to her how her mother Beulah Hoskins Long told me years ago the story of “The Teacher” of the old Bull Branch School. Beulah had told how he died and was buried on the farm and pointed out the location.  Bob Whittaker of SC had obtained a small monument for him which Wendell Hoskins, Bob and I installed.  I asked her to set up a date for a dedication which she accepted as her mother had recently passed away.  Janet’s cousin, Nancy L. Dahir gave a donation in memory of the School Teacher.  We hope more information on the story of the unknown teacher will come to light.

            I can’t name all the folks I renewed acquaintance with at the conference but there was Pat Patton. I told Pat that I had recently noticed the road to the Patton Cemetery at Royalton had been upgraded.  Jan Horne was also there and has published a book of cemetery, birth, death, etc. records, also Steve Witten, Marlitta Perkins and Val McKenzie.  Val seemed to be the major promoter of this event.

            I saw one display of the Shaver family. I didn’t meet the author.  Sarah Francis Tackett b. 1822 married Patrick Shaver b. 1821, a son of Susan Shaver.  This Sarah Francis is “Granny Fannie” Shaver, the famous midwife of State Road Fork. She married 2^nd to Ambrose Lemaster and they are buried behind the Falcon school house location and it is claimed she delivered (“caught”) nearly all the children of that area.

            The 1850 Johnson Co. KY census shows 24 year old Fanny Shaver with children Elizabeth age 3 and William B. age 1 in the household of William Tackett (age 54) and Sarah Lemaster Tackett.

            Magoffin County was taken from Johnson County beginning east of 22 Mile Branch of Stringtown. This is the location of this cemetery and would have been part of Johnson County prior to 1859/60.

            We would welcome this Shaver genealogy for our shelves.

            Doug Lyon, 172 Thatcher Road, Rockport, MA 01966 visited our area over the weekend and came in to our genealogy library on Monday.  He is interested in the Lyon families of our area, especially his 3^rd great uncle, Southwell Lyon, Union soldier, buried on Raccoon Creek.

            We had met at the Eastern Kentucky Genealogy Conference and asked others what had happened to or where was the Hamilton Lyon Cemetery moved to when the Rt. 460 and Rt. 23 intersection was built.

            I visited this cemetery in the early 1950s when Lester Adams, a fellow Conservation officer lived in the only house in the area.  No one seems to know where the cemetery now is.

            I called Jim Bill Lyon who came in and he is of the opinion that this cemetery may be under the Rt. 460 road.

            Hamilton Lyon was in business with a Mr. Bell with steam engines and boiler builders in Cincinnati, OH.  A Hamilton Lyon, age 64, shows in the 1870 Johnson County census, having been born in PA. He also shows in the 1880 census, age 74, father-in-law to John W. Turner whose wife was Francis, age 32. 

            The Cemetery aforementioned was on Turner Branch.

            Hamilton was in the oil well drilling business.

            We have been advised by Valerie Edgeworth, chairperson for the Coordinating Committee that October is Kentucky Archives Month with the theme “Celebrating the Commonwealth Record”, which comemorates the 50^th anniversary of Kentucky’s Public Records Law.  The web address for Kentucky Archives Month is http://archivesmonth.ky.gov.  Please check the web site for events that will be held throughout the state.

            We are getting ready to work on our picture scrapbooks of the recent Fletcher Founders Days.  We want to thank Jack Sizemore, Madge Davis, Laura Davis Wireman and Tammy Hardin for sharing their pictures with us.