Genealogy is a never-ending search for more and more information. It is especially nice when we have visitors who are descendants of a family we have researched who give us a little more information to help with what we have collected. Danny R. Mize of Mt. Vernon, KY had come to know about us through our Facebook page and came for a visit. Danny was very pleased to see an article in one of our recent Journals on Alfred Bailey. Another descendant, Steve Bailey, had sent us some pictures to go with that article.

Danny and his mother, Norl Mize are descended from the family of Alfred and Serenda (Perkins) Bailey as well as the family of John and Caroline (Bailey) Hyden.

They may have some relatives among our readers. If so, we would appreciate you writing to us at Magoffin County Historical Society, PO Box 222, Salyersville, KY 41465 or email [email protected].

We were also pleased to have Luther Green Carpenter’s daughter Charlotte Thompson in for a visit. She and her friends, Margaret Stradran and son, took a tour of the Pioneer Village. Charlotte especially liked the church house cabin.

Margaret Jean Stradran and her son Mark are from Seattle, Washington. Margaret grew up here in Magoffin County with her grandparents Cap and Bess Prater. Cap Prater was born in 1895 and died in 1971, a son of Frank "Dump" Prater and Terie Conley. Frank Prater was a son of William Prater and Rebecca J. Elam. Frank’s wife Terie was a dau of Elexious Howes Conley and Ellender Salyer.

Cap Prater married first to Evelyn Veal and later married Bess Estep, a dau of Frank and Emma Jean Estepp. Bess had first married a Hall and was the mother of Virginia Hall. Cap and Bess are buried in the Bluegrass Cemetery here in Salyersville, KY.

Other visitors were Robert Rank, his wife, daughter and son-in-law. After researching and finding info on the family, his daughter hugged Robert and thanked him for bringing her to Magoffin County.

The mother of Robert Rank of Ludington, Michigan has strong Magoffin County ties. She was Rebecca Allen Rank, the daughter of Gratz Allen and Mary Howard.

His mother’s family can be found in several of our family histories, such as the Allen, Wireman, Sizemore, Howard, Minix and Patrick books, as well as our books on area Civil War soldiers.

Rebecca "Becky" Rank’s father Gratz Allen was born in 1873 to William Allen and Nancy Wireman. William Allen was born in 1839 when our county was a part of Floyd County, KY. His parents were John Allen and Nancy Jane Click. William served in Co. F, 10^th KY Inf. in the Civil War. He was captured at Gladeville, VA in July of 1863. His first wife was Nancy Wireman, a daughter of Jacob Wireman and Susannah Sizemore. He was married secondly to Josephine "Pine" Arnett b. about 1858, dau of Russell Arnett and Rhoda Howard.

The children of William and Nancy Allen were (1) Alexander Allen, (2) Rebecca Allen, (3) Susanna Allen Moore, (4) R. B. Allen, (5) Mary Allen (m. Linden Allen), and (6) Gratz Allen (our visitor’s ancestor). The children of William and Josephine were (7) Oscar Allen, (8) James Allen, (9) Princess Allen, (10) Samuel Allen and (11) David Allen.

William Allen had a store at Swampton, KY in the vicinity of the present-day South Magoffin Elementary School and served as postmaster of the Swampton Post Office from December of 1887 to May of 1897.

William Allen’s father John Allen was born in 1809 and died in 1893. His wife Nancy Jane was born in 1808, a daughter of John Click and Nancy Drake. John Allen was a son of William Allen and Caty Gearheart.

The elder William Allen was born in 1783 in Patrick Co. VA and died in 1854 Breathitt Co. KY. His gravesite was located in 2010 by Joe Allen and our historical society, with the help of Bob Whittaker, set a marker for him. A very nice ceremony was held at the dedication for the marker on March 31, 2012 with many descendants attending.

William’s son, Gratz Allen’s wife Mary was the daughter of another Civil War soldier, Stephen B. Howard. Stephen served as a Confederate soldier in Co. A, 5^th KY (Captain A. J. May’s Company). He also has the distinction of being the first sheriff of Magoffin County. A very nice marker was secured for him in 2010 with Randall Risner and Jack Sizemore as chairpersons of the committee. His name is also engraved on the 2010 section of our Early Settlers of Magoffin County marker in the Pioneer Village here beside the Magoffin County Historical Society library. This inscription was done as part of Magoffin County’s Sesquicentennial birthday events. Stephen’s gravesite was located through the oral history recording of Les Risner who told us when we began copying the cemeteries in Magoffin County in the mid-1970s that Steve and Rebecca Minix Howard were the last two graves on the upper side of the Shawnee Branch Cemetery.

Stephen Howard was a son of Benjamin S. Howard (b. 1807) and Nancy Arnett (b. 1805, a dau of Stephen Arnett and Elizabeth Howard). Benjamin S. was a son of Benjamin Howard b. about 1776 and died in 1849 on Puckett’s Creek of Harlan Co. KY. His wife was Phoebe Slusher b. 1780 in Montgomery County, Virginia.

Stephen’s wife was Rebecca Minix, the daughter of Charles Minix, Jr. (1813-1899) and Margaret "Peggy" Patrick (dau of Robert "Robin" Patrick and Betsy McMullen). Charles Minix, Jr. was actually Charles Minix, III as his father was Charles Minix and his grandfather was also named Charles.

The father Charles Minix married Fanny Rickmond in 1798 in Franklin Co. VA. This Charles and Fanny were early settlers of Oakley Creek in present day Magoffin County, about two miles from Royalton, KY off KY 7. They had previously lived on Lost Fork of Middle Creek of Floyd County, KY and also owned land on the upper reaches of the Licking River. This information came from the research of the late Sharroll Minix, dau of Fred and Audie Minix of Royalton, KY.