This article, written by Todd Preston, President of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the May 30, 2013 issue of THE SALYERSVILLE INDEPENDENT newspaper.

            We are happy to report that plans are progressing for our 35^th Magoffin County Founders Days scheduled for the week of the Labor Day holiday.  We are hopeful of getting our souvenir tee-shirts and hats ready for the 4^th of July parade.  We have received a nice “bunch” of Rudd family genealogy this week.  By mail we heard from Donna Hamons Miller, Garry Rudd and Roger Wheeler.  Here in the county we had info brought in by Mary Alice Rudd, Lisa Preston, Augustine Castle, Gwen Lemaster, Veronica Hall and Sheila Huff.

            From the material that has been turned in and typed into the family outline we are learning more and more about the genealogy of the Rudd family and finding many more descendants that we ever imagined.

            Those attending the meeting of the Magoffin Historical Society on May 19^th were Tori Hall, Veronica Hall, E. J. Rudd, Jimmie Allen, Sandra Conley Rudd, Gracie Lang Rudd, Jesse Len Rudd, Connie A. Wireman, Roy “Todd” Preston, Augustine Castle, Kirby Castle, Dorothy S. Wireman, Connie Hansen, Dallas Bentley, Kay Bentley, Gwen Lemaster, Sheila Huff, Charlotte Gillum, Billy Rudd, Vivian Rudd, Buck Lemaster, Barbara Daniels and Melissa Sanford.  Again, we want to commend the Rudd family for getting the younger generation involved in this family history project.  It has always been our purpose to save in print the genealogy and history of our area for future generations.

            Our next regular meeting will be June 16th which also happens to be Father’s Day.  We hope you and your family can come out in the afternoon that day at 2 p.m. and visit with us.

            This week we want to expand on what we have learned about the families of two of the daughters of Archibald Rudd and Nancy Woosley.

            Nancy E. Rudd who was born in 1833 married a Civil War soldier Allen Dalton.  He had previously been married to Nancy Bruster May and had children Isabella, Mary, Betsy, Rebecca and Ebenezer. 

            Nancy and Allen Dalton were the parents of seven additional children: (1) Sarah Ann Dalton m. Joseph Arthur in Lewis Co. KY, (2) George W. Dalton m. Gilly Ann Davis, daughter of Ephraim Davis.  George and Gilly Ann were the parents of Nancy Eveline Dalton who married James Herod Allen, Emily Dalton, Aronton Dalton married Francis J. Barker and Tillie Watson and James Monroe Dalton m. Callie Prater.

            Nancy and Allen Dalton’s 3rd child was a son Thomas J. Dalton and he married Nancy Emily Stacy. Child (4) was Hiram Hitems Dalton died in 1867 Magoffin Co. KY. James M. Dalton was the fifth child.  No. 6 child was Ellen Dalton and she married in Lewis Co. KY to Isaac Thomas Prater, son of George W. Prater (or Prather) and Sarah Jane Prewitt.

            The (7) child of Nancy and Allen was Nancy Emily Dalton and she also married a son of George and Sarah Prater.  His name was James Monroe Prater. They lived in Lewis Co. KY and in later life moved to Oklahoma.  Some of their children made their home in Louisville, KY.

            After the death of Allen Dalton Nancy E. Rudd married in 1868 to Wesley Gullett of Morgan Co. KY.  They are later listed in the Lewis Co. KY census records with children (a) John Wesley Gullett, (b) William Preston Gullett, (c) Rena Belle Gullett m. John L. Grigsby ( a Civil War soldier) and John A. Earlywine, (d) Milton A. Gullett, and (e) Christey B. Gullett, 

            Another daughter of Archibald Rudd and Nancy Woosley was Louisa Rudd b. 1832.  She married in Morgan Co. KY to Jesse Coffee, son of Elijah Coffee and Peggy Patrick.  Louisa was listed as a widow in the 1900 Magoffin Co. KY census.  We have ten children of this family (a) William S. Coffee b. 1855; (b) James Monroe Coffee m. Elizabeth Williams known as “Aunt Sis”, daughter of Holly P. Williams; (c) Ambrose Coffee m. Louisa Jane DeHaven, (d) Samuel H. Coffee m. Sarah Burgess and Sarah Smith, (e) Jarrett C. Coffee m. Rhoda L. Oney, (6) Charles M. Coffee b. 1866 d. 1936 Magoffin Co. KY, (f) John M. Coffee b. 1872 was a Magoffin County Court Clerk from 1918 to 1921, (g) Sarah J. Coffee b. 1872, (h) Nancy Coffee b. 1874 and (i) Alice Coffee.

            We have given this short history of these two families hoping that someone will recognize an ancestor and help us with some more “pieces of the puzzle”.  We did recognize several people we have come in contact with during our years as a historical society in these families, among them Leona Oney’s children, Earnest, Hazel, Gardner, Clara and Bill Joe Oney. 

            We are also familiar with the family of Jarret and Rhoda Oney Coffee, (a) Maude Coffee m. Leck Patrick, (b) Mary Coffee m. Frank L. Prater, son of Leander Cox Prater, and (c) Cassie Coffee m. Lester Stacy.