Happy New
Year to you and yours! I certainly hope that one of your resolutions for
this year is to help put on some sort of celebration during this year of
2010 because it is Ol’ Magoffin’s one-hundred fiftieth birthday or
Sesquicentennial!
Let us
think of some ways to celebrate this special event that will become
history down the road of time. It is time now to get involved so let us
hear from you with any suggestions or any offers of help. So far we have
had very little input from you out there so we invite you to write,
telephone, email or come in and talk with us about any ideas you may
have.
We have
many talented people here in Magoffin County, they belong to our churches,
clubs, civic organizations, businesses, etc., and all are very capable of
doing something to celebrate this occasion. Personally, we would like to
see some events all through the year and we want to hear what you and/or
your group is planning.
I would
like to commend the United Baptists who are planning to celebrate the 200th
birthday of the Burning Spring Church here in Salyersville!
A group
representing the Muzzleloaders, the cemetery board, the historical
society, the Sons of the Confederacy, the school system and others are
having discussions for a first-ever Civil War re-enactment for Magoffin
County! We have had a few skirmishes during previous Founders Days
celebrations but never a full-scale battle with cannons, horses, etc.
including a Grand Ball on Saturday night. We are hopeful of holding the
April re-enactment near the South Magoffin Elementary School commemorating
the Battle of Half Mountain/Puncheon Creek. Preliminary plans are to have
another one in October on the Gardner farm here in Salyersville, the site
of the Civil War Battle of Ivy Point.
These
re-enactments take a lot of cooperation from a lot of people and are
costly to perform but we feel the history of our county that will be left
in the minds of our young people will be worth it all.
Jack,
Randall and I have scaled many of the hills near the battleground site of
Puncheon and Little Half Mountain to better acquaint myself and picture in
my mind what and where the actual battle took place. We traveled over
what seemed to be a ten-mile hike on the strip-mined flats of “Little”
Half Mountain and I could picture the Union forces pouring over into
Puncheon Creek near the late Chester Wireman farm. I have seen the
gravesites said to be of two fallen soldiers in that battle according to
legend. It has been recorded that after the capture of the Confederates
they were herded into this hollow and, in the excitement, one or more of
the Union forces, thinking the Confederates were still armed, fired into
the prisoners, killing two of them. In the confusion, some of the
prisoners escaped.
There was
a log home in this hollow that was used as a sort of hospital, known as
the Conley home. It is said that there were many bloodstains on the
floor. This house was later moved by several teams of oxen to the site of
the present Kellie Lee Miller home.
I hope I
have “tickled” your mind enough for you and/or your organization to do
something special in these remaining 350 days of the year 2010!
We had an
emailed query from Tiana Bryant Stowe concerning “Aunt” Chaney Caudill, a
slave in the household of Benjamin and Abigail Caudill. She knows that
Chaney married Hiram Collins in 1872 and wonders if any of his descendants
know of any stories about the family. Aunt Chaney’s daughter Margaret
“Peggy” Caudill had a daughter Gypsy Shepherd who married Isaiah “Zer”
Conley. Gypsy and Zer are buried in the Adams Cemetery in Scioto Co. OH.
Tiana would like to know more about any members of this family.
My mother
Mollie Jane Helton was born in 1890, the dau of Ephraim Helton and Abigail
Conley. Abigail was a dau of Isaiah Conley and Nancy Caudill. Nancy was
a dau of Elder Benjamin Caudill and Abigail Pennington. My mother had
great respect for Aunt Chaney for her mother Abigail Conley told that when
they visited Benjamin and Abigail that Aunt Chaney was very kind to the
children.
Chaney
apparently had sons old enough to become blacksmiths and who lived in
cabins above the log home. I’ve been told by an old neighbor of mine that
they also made a little “moonshine”. I live on a part of the Benjamin
Caudill farm; in fact, the old dug well box still stands in my neighbor’s
garden.
I lived
there several years before I discovered the abandoned Benjamin Caudill
cemetery which we cleaned up, built and erected a metal cemetery sign and
procured some monuments primarily with the help of the late Elmon Conley.
The story
goes that Benjamin Caudill died in 1850 and his wife freed the slaves.
The older sons are supposed to have gone to the Blue Grass horse farms to
work.
Aunt
Chaney is said to have lived for a time in a rock cliff cave that was
enclosed by board lumber on Dutton Creek. She married Hiram Collins in
1872 Magoffin Co. KY but it is not known where they are buried. I have
searched a couple of times for her grave but to no avail. I would like to
put a marker at her gravesite.
I have
spent some time researching Zer Conley and if I’m not too far off track,
we are kinsmen. Zer Conley was born about 1878 and died in 1936 and is
buried in the Dry Run Cemetery in West Portsmouth, OH. I believe him to
be the son of David Conley b. 1849 and the grandson of Isaiah H. Conley b.
1814. Isaiah H. married first in Morgan Co. KY to Susannah McCarty, a dau
of David McCarty. He married secondly to Mary “Polly Ann” Mahan, the
widow of Asa Colvin.
Isaiah H.
Conley was the son of Edmund Connelley and Lydia Joynes. Lydia was a dau
of Thomas Joynes. Edmund and Lydia are my ancestors. Edmond was a son of
Capt. Henry Connelly b. 1752, a grandson of Thomas Connelly b. 1725 and a
great grandson of Henry Connelly of Ireland.
We will
be awaiting a letter, telephone call, visit or email from you concerning
any queries and particularly any suggestions for Magoffin County’s
Sesquicentennial. Write Box 222, Salyersville, KY 41465, telephone
606-349-1607, email
[email protected].
Magoffin County Historical
Society
