This article, written by Todd Preston, President of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the June 17, 2010 issue of THE SALYERSVILLE INDEPENDENT newspaper.

            We continue to meet here at the historical society with the Friends of Middle Creek re-enactment team nearly every Friday morning at 8 o’clock to discuss further events for Magoffin County’s Sesquicentennial year. For those of you who are interested in becoming a Civil War re-enactor, Co. A. Commander Floyd Davis of Rt. 850, David, KY attends these meetings and will explain the details, he has the application papers to fill out and I also have some here.

            The next event the re-enactors are planning is a wagon train ride from the Middle Creek battlefield to the Puncheon Creek grounds. They will camp out there and then get in on our 4^th of July parade (which probably will be held July 3^rd this year) here in Salyersville.

            We are also making plans for other activities, especially the fall re-enactment of the Battle of Ivy Point at the local Gardner farm.  There are re-enactment activities in some part of our area nearly every weekend.

            You do not have to have costly attire to be a re-enactor, so if you are interested come in and talk with us.

            The year is half over and time waits on nobody! We hope that your story for the Magoffin County Sesquicentennial book is being written and will soon be ready to bring in to us. Go through your pictures and see what you may have to tell the story of our county. Betty Patrick Himes of Florida visited us recently and brought in some advertising and political memorabilia that helps tell the story of Magoffin County’s history.  Among the items are advertising matchbooks for J. O. Arnett Department Store, an ashtray labeled Dunn & Kelley Funeral Home, various political cards from the 1950s and 1960s, along with some pictures that we are very pleased to have.  

            Susanne Gamble Woods Olack ([email protected]) writes that she recently found that her father was born in Salyersville.  He was Jeffe “Jay” Gamble b. 25 Apr 1928 d. 3 Feb 2004, son of John Gamble/Gambill and Gencie Genoah Blanton.  John Gamble’s mother was Susannah Brown and Ms. Olack was named for her.

            The 1930 Magoffin census lists John Gamble, age 28, wife Gencie Blanton age 29 and children Bertie b. 1922, Hershel b. 1924, Ruthie b. 1925, Elmer b. 1926 and Jeffe b. 1928.  This John Gamble was nicknamed “Coon” and was the son of John “Coon” Gamble b. 1873 and Susie Brown.  This John “Coon” was the son of William Gamble b. 1862 and Elizabeth Cantrill b. 1860.

            I copied the John Gamble Cemetery in 1978 and at that time it was so overgrown that it was almost invisible.  It is located at the head of Flat Fork; after making an attempt to clean it up, I found that the only marker inscription at that time was Jencie Gamble b. 10 Dec 1897 d. 18 Feb 1964.  Jencie was the daughter of Dave Blanton and Elizabeth Sellars (Sellards).

            This cemetery has had more monuments put up since then and I will personally visit it again shortly and make another report.  I would encourage any kinsmen to get in touch with Susanne or with me.

            My brother Henry F. Preston and my sister Anna Elizabeth Kelley were interested in genealogy and have now both passed away.  In their study of genealogy they were always interested in learning if they could find any Indian bloodlines in our family as our grandmother Abigail “Granny Abbie” always told us we had Native American bloodlines.

            Recently Helton researchers came up with the answer.  Our grandfather Ephraim Helton was the son of George Helton and Ann Estridge.  Ann was the dau of William Estridge and the granddaughter of Henry Estridge and Phoebe Taylor.  Phoebe was the daughter of Stephen Taylor and Sarah Roark. Sarah was the daughter of Charles Roark and Abigail, a Cherokee Indian. 

            I am pleased to have this information for my kinsmen and their offspring, especially my daughter Abbie Preston Conley and her three-year-old son Preston Scott Conley.

            Little Preston is the son of Brian Conley and the grandson of Roy Conley. Roy is the son of William Grady Conley and grandson of Clark Conley.  Clark was the son of William Wallace Conley and a grandson of William Smith Conley.  Wm. Smith was a son of Edmond Conley and a grandson of Capt. Henry Connelley.

            William Smith Conley married secondly to Rebecca Caudill, a dau of Benjamin Caudill and Abigail Pennington.

            Clark Conley married Alice Napier.  More research needs to be done on the Napier line.

            Roy Conley’s sister Sue and her husband H. G. Whitaker of Tennessee were very welcome visitors here recently and she is researching her Napier family.