This article, written by Todd Preston, President of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the September 24, 2009 issue of THE SALYERSVILLE INDEPENDENT newspaper.

The Salyersville Independent  is a weekly newspaper published and edited by Michael David Prater, P. O. Box 29, Salyersville, KY 41465. Telephone (606) 349-2915.  Yearly subscription rates are $24.00 in Kentucky and $30.00 per year out of state.

            We continue to reflect on a very pleasant Founders Day celebration!  We are getting our pictures of the event into albums and on our bulletin boards.  Several people have shared their pictures with us of the events; including Jack Sizemore, Bob Whittaker, Brenda Jenkins and Lena Manns Auxier.  We invite others to do the same. We got a picture of Sheila Kay Prater Pederson, great-granddaughter of Nero Mann with her dau and gr/dau wearing her Manns Clan shirt at a parade in Detroit, MI so “Where in the world” have you worn your Manns souvenir shirt?

            A few of our participants in the recent Founders Day celebration met last Sunday evening and enjoyed talking about our pleasant experiences.  Signing in were Ronnie Pelfrey, Charlene Mann Pelfrey, Ruie Howard, Joe Howard, Ronnie Mann Jenkins, Brenda Jenkins, Ruby Oaks, Imogene Mann Stevens, Ettazene Manns Montgomery, Connie A. Wireman, Dorothy Wireman and Todd Preston.  Ronnie Pelfrey of Morgan County mentioned how appreciative those in the parade were of the bottles of water given to them by the various churches. We know the Salyersville First Baptist Church and the Prater Memorial Methodist Church participated in this very worthwhile project.  Imogene Stevens of Breathitt County remarked that one of the young children in her family asked if they could come back over to that nice place where people gave you water! 

            To catch you up on other happenings during Labor Day - On Labor Day Monday Bob and Betty Whittaker, John and Debbie Britton, along with Muzzleloaders A. B. Conley and his grandson Keenan, Wayne Jenkins, James Montgomery, Howard Joseph and Sheriff Bob Jordan and I got to the Manns Cemetery a little early for the dedication of the Manns markers. We did a little more clearing in the Betts Mann cemetery while we waited for the dedication of the Samuel Manns memorial marker. We are presently working on inscriptions for a marker for Betts Mann as well as one for Rhoda Howard Mann. 

            John Britton, Bob Whittaker, Randall Risner, Jack Sizemore and I set a monument on the Ray Conley Farm on Birch Branch that Monday also.  This old cemetery had almost fallen into oblivion until Ray Conley became landowner and copied the scant info on the fieldstone rocks.  Bob and Randall interpreted the initials J. C. W. found on one old fieldstone to be James Collinsworth.  Now there is a road to the cemetery and Ray is planning to sow it in grass so chalk up another cemetery that has been rescued from being lost.

            On Wednesday morning, we went to Owls Nest on lower Middle Fork and set monuments for Elias Risner and his daughter Elizabeth “Short Betty”.  This was the toughest one we had set to date and we really appreciate Paul Burchell’s fine workers.  John Britton had to go home early so he was not here to see the marker set for Elias who is his ancestor. 

            That evening James Montgomery joined us as we set a Civil War marker at the grave of James Minix in the Fox Lot at the mouth of Oakley.

            This week I attended the dedication of the Henry Dixon monument in the Old Town Cemetery in Paintsville, KY. This was sponsored by Val McKenzie and kinsmen.  I can remember when Henry Dixon’s grave was marked only by a little homemade field rock lying flat on the ground.  It was necessary to rake the leaves off the cemetery before one could see the name.  Henry, an old Baptist preacher and town founder of Paintsville, owned about a fourth of Paintsville including the land of the cemetery where he is interred.  He now has a beautiful monument.

            I also remember when Rt. 460 was built.  A cemetery on upper Mash Fork was moved up on the hill and today is invisible to those passing by.  This is the Captain Henry Connelley cemetery which was moved up the hill above the Rice Cemetery.  Henry’s grave has a military marker but the remaining 50 or more graves had only little funeral home markers with numbers which have since rusted away.

            A large cemetery located behind the present Pepsi plant was moved down below this site with only three graves marked and is now almost isolated due to fencing.

            What I’m getting at is this; the restrictions on moving cemeteries should have been more stringent.  Any future road construction should be required to leave access roads to burial sites.  During the Mountain Parkway construction, they weren’t required to do this and now three cemeteries located on or near Yellow Hill are almost inaccessible.

            I was relating my thoughts on setting memorials for our unmarked or near abandoned cemeteries and mentioned “Granny Fanny” Shaver, buried in the Lemaster Cemetery behind the Falcon Schoolhouse on State Road.  Three ladies, namely Sandra Lee Hudec, Chambersburg, PA, Gloria Sue Schreiber, Grove City, OH and our own Wanda “Dollie” Lemaster Bailey of Mt. Sterling, KY pooled their money and came up with nearly enough funds to buy a monument for “Granny Fanny”, the midwife of State Road Fork.  My mother would say, “She caught nearly all the babies around here.”

            We would like to hear from any other descendants of Ambrose Lemaster and Granny Fanny Tackett.

            The historical society is also working on getting monuments set for Christopher Gullett, his wife Martha “Patsy” Bailey and her mother Martha “Patsy” Brashears Bailey, wife of Joseph Bailey.  She was living in the household with Christopher Gullett according to the 1850 Floyd Co. KY census records.  Of course, you will remember that a marker for Christopher was set outside the fence at the Tackett Cemetery and one for Joseph Bailey was set outside the fence at the Cain Cemetery on Burning Fork a few years ago.  We would like to set a small marker at Christopher’s actual gravesite.

            According to the late Christine Kazee Auxier and James “Jim” Gullett, Christopher was buried adjacent to the Warren Blanton Cemetery where there are 20 or more unmarked graves.

            Now, for a couple of email messages that I need help with to answer.  Jeff Noble ([email protected]) writes he is doing a research on Martha Patricia “Pat” Ready, the late wife of former Western Kentucky University and Perdue University men’s basketball coach, Gene Kelly.  Pat was born in Jackson, KY on 25 Jun 1941 and went to high school at a Baptist boarding school in Kentucky, probably at Frozen Creek in Breathitt County.  Jeff had heard that she became a model in New York City and was quite successful.  She married Coach Ready in 1981. Jeff said he noticed we were honoring the Manns Clan in 2009 and asked us to say "Hello" to Ettazene Manns Montgomery for him.

            Viola Stephens ([email protected]) writes she has a friend who moved from Royalton when she was a child.  She was given a picture of the old Royalton High School and would like to know more about it.  She is in her 80’s and can’t remember the building.  Can anyone tell Viola something about the building?