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  Magoffin County Historical Society 
"Preserving Our Past for the Future"

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This article, written by Todd Preston, President of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the OCTOBER 16, 2014 issue of THE SALYERSVILLE INDEPENDENT newspaper.

The Salyersville Independent 
P. O. Box 29, Salyersville, KY 41465. Telephone (606) 349-2915.  Yearly subscription rates are $24.00 in Kentucky and $32.00 per year out of state.

            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].

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