We had a very pleasant visitor at the Magoffin County
Historical Society last Friday and one bearing gifts! Adam Manns and his
wife Shirley came in with one of his hand-crafted wood plaques for our
library. Made from wood that came from the Tip Top Church building, this
plaque has pictures of the Tip Top area and a history of the Tip Top area
engraved into the wood on the bottom panel. Adam is a master at
pyrography which is what we learned is the correct name for his
“wood-burning” art. (Smile). Photography and researching the history of
eastern Kentucky are among Adam’s other hobbies.
Adam is a pro at wood working and has done many plaques,
clocks, racks and other wood crafted objects. All his work is handmade
from measuring and cutting the wood to the finishing touches of sanding,
wood-staining and putting a glossy finish on them. This particular plaque
took over two weeks in the making.
We will very proudly display this plaque in our historical
society where it will receive a lot of attention from our visitors; as has
the area of Tip Top on Oakley Creek for the last several years. The Tip
Top Reunion held each Labor Day weekend has become quite a tourist
attraction with visitors who have “roots” in Magoffin County. For this
reunion people come from many places all around the country to revisit the
land of their ancestors. Charlotte Gillum and Paul Bailey have played a
huge part in the success of this event.
Now, back to Adam, he is the son of our friend Herley and
Margie “Sue” (Marshall) Manns. All the family is very talented and you
will remember seeing their names in our columns and publications many
times over as they are very active in community minded projects such as
cemetery cleanings, marker settings, etc. We are very proud of the family
“tree” that Adam, his sister Lena Auxier and mother Margie made for the
Manns Founders Day and which was used again by the Rudd family in their
Opening Ceremony. It has also been featured in our window displays.
Maybe Herley will come over to visit one of these days and see
what fine work his family has done. (Smile)
We have mentioned before the several visitors we have with
Salyers lineage. Another who was here last week was Greg Salyers of
Michigan. His Salyer ancestry lies in Johnson County, KY but his great
grandparents lived in Magoffin County in 1930. Greg’s grandparents were
Ray Salyers (b. 1897 d. 1969 Stockbridge, MI) married in 1922 to Mandie
Emaline Prater (b. 1906 d. 1984 Stockbridge, MI). Ray was a son of
William Salyers b. 1877 Johnson Co. KY and died in 1916 Magoffin County,
KY. He married in 1903 to Mary Jackson b. 1879.
The 1930 Magoffin Census lists this family as William M.
Salyer age 32, married for 14 years to Mary age 28. The children in the
household were (1) Ray Salyers age 10; (2) Burley Salyers age 10; (3)
Docia Salyers age 8; (4) Rachel Salyers age 6; (5) Virgil Salyers age 4
and (6) Wade Salyers age 1.
William’s parents were James M. Salyers b. 1843 Johnson Co. KY
and wife Sarah Blanton b. 1843 Harlan Co. KY. James M. was a son of Henry
Salyer b. 1817 and his wife Betsy, last name unknown.
William’s wife Mary was a daughter of Civil War soldier Elisha
Jackson and his wife Rachel Conley. Elisha was a son of John Jackson and
Martha Hall. Rachel was a daughter of Isaiah H. Conley and Susannah
McCarty.
Greg has another Civil War soldier in his mother’s line.
Maudie, wife of Ray Salyers, was a daughter of Clay Prater b. 1879 and
Bell Adams. Clay was a son of Elijah White Prater who served in the Civil
War. Elijah’s parents were Rev. Elijah Prater and Jane “Jincy” Patrick.
Elijah’s wife was Emeline Patrick, daughter of Richard Patrick and Ellen
Kennard.
We were able to add to our store of Joseph family material
with another of our visitors. Julia and Mike Churchill of Westerville, OH
were researching the Howard and Allen families. Julie’s grandparents were
Raymond Litteral and Norma Marshall. Raymond was a son of Roe Litteral
and Lola “Odie” Howard. Odie was born in 1907 Magoffin Co. KY and died in
Greenup Co. KY. She married secondly to an Oney. Her parents were Sam
Howard and Susan Allen. Sam was a son of Cal Howard and Mary Allen.
Susan was a daughter of Simon Allen and Lorena Joseph. We were very
pleased to find she was a relative of our own Jimmie Allen. He came in to
visit with her and was able to add some first-hand knowledge of her
ancestors. Julie is a descendant of Samuel Allen and Sarah Prater; Adam
and Margaret Gearheart; Thomas Howard, Sr., Isaiah Salyer, Sr. and of Mark
and Patsy Whitaker.
On the same day Laura Pinks of Francesville, IN visited with
us. She had learned about us from Facebook on the Internet and was
searching for the gravesites of her grandparents, Caloup and Ruth Pinks.
We contacted Myrtle Fletcher Cole at Royalton and also used our Volume One
Cemetery book to direct her to the Thomas Fletcher Cemetery on Gun Creek.
Caloup Pinks was born in 1911 and died in 1975. His wife Ruth (Salyer)
Pinks was born in 1909. Her date of death had not been inscribed when the
cemetery was copied in 1978. Ruth, daughter of Jim Salyer, and Caloup were
parents of (1) Ernest Pinks, (2) Dollie Jean Pinks, (3) Virgil Pinks, (4)
Mack Pinks, (5) Sandra Pinks, and (6) Ethel Mae Pinks.
Caloup was a son of Floyd Pinks and Katie Fletcher. Floyd was
a son of Brack Pinks and Arzelia Arnett.
We enjoy meeting our visitors and also welcome letters and
emails. Please write to Magoffin County Historical Society, PO Box 222,
Salyersville, KY 41465. Our email address is
[email protected].