Jane Allen Salyer of the Galdia community, south of Royalton here in Magoffin County celebrated her 101^st birthday on January 9^th. We send her our congratulations and wishes for an abundance of happiness and good health through the coming year.

Helping patrons with their Risner ancestors has been foremost in our research areas lately.

We received a phone call from Barbara Hickey Cutler of Arizona inquiring about her mother’s family. She was pleased to hear about our Risner family book which has much information about her family included.

Barbara’s grandparents were Sam Diamond and Phoebe Risner. The family moved around quite a bit as Sam was a coal miner. In 1910 at Stillwater in Wolfe Co. KY Sam was listed as age 7 in the home of his parents Henry and Ellen Diamond. By 1920 Sam had married Phoebe Risner and was by occupation a coal miner in McRoberts, Letcher Co. KY. Sam and Phoebe lived next door to his parents Henry and Ellen (Burgett) Diamond.

Sam Diamond is again listed as a coal miner in the 1930 Marianna Borough, Washington Co. PA census. He and Phoebe had the following children by that time: (1) Stella Diamond age 8, (2) Elwood Diamond age 6, and (3) Ruth Diamond age 2. Also in the household was sister-in-law Dove age 32, and nephew "Junior" age 7.

The family was still in Washington Co. Pennsylvania in 1940 but listed as living in Carterville. Stella was no longer in their household; son Elwood was age 16, daughter Ruth was age 12 and they had a nine-year old daughter Lucy Diamond. A brother-in-law Jolly Risner age 33 was in their home.

Sam Diamond died as a widower on 25 Sep 1983 in Dayton, OH. It is not known when the family moved to Ohio but their son Elwood Diamond married in Summit Co. OH in February 1943 to Theresa Pasqualucci.

Sam’s wife Lucy Ann Patrick was born 20 Jan 1873, the daughter of William "Irvin Bill" Patrick and Phoebe Risner. Lucy Ann d. 15 Nov 1936 of influenza and is buried at Adele, KY.

Lucy at age 8 is found in the home of her parents, William "Irvin Bill" Patrick and Phoebe Risner in the 1880 Magoffin Co. KY in the Middle Fork precinct. By the time of the 1910 census Lucy had married Samuel Risner and they lived on Johnson Fork of Magoffin Co. KY. Samuel Risner was age 33, Lucy Ann was age 28 and they had two children: (1) Ernest Risner age 10 and (2) Stella Risner age 8.

In 1910 the family is listed on Grape Creek of Magoffin County, KY and Lucy was age 34 and a widow. In her home were two children (1) Phoebe age 7 and (2) Jolly age 3. It is not yet known what happened to her children Ernest and Stella.

By the 1920 Magoffin Co. KY census, Lucy Risner was age 45, her occupation was given as "manager of boarding house" and with her was son Jolly Risner age 14.

Samuel M. Risner was born in 1867 and died sometime before 1910, the son of William "Pretty Bill" Risner and Mary "Polly" Patrick. William Risner was a son of James Risner and Margaret Adams. His wife Polly Patrick was a daughter of William Patrick and Nancy Prater.

We have mostly only given census information here. There is much more information in the Risner family books compiled in 1993 by the Magoffin County Historical Society. At that time the late David Risner contributed a great deal of info on these families.

An earlier visitor was Barbara Risner Loeb of New Carlisle, OH whose grandparents were Callie Risner and Gracie Fletcher. Callie and Gracie had married in 1919 Magoffin Co. KY. Callie was a son of John Morgan Risner and Louise Arnett. Gracie was a daughter of Buel Fletcher and Louisa Risner.

Buel Fletcher was born in 1863, son of Isaac Fletcher and Susannah Gilbert. Isaac Fletcher was a son of George W. Fletcher and Louisa Marshall. Isaac’s wife Susannah (1826-1900) was a daughter of Thomas P. Gilbert and Malinda Davis.

Buel Fletcher’s wife Louise was born in 1870, the daughter of Michael Risner and Martha Hamilton.

Buel and Louisa lived in Magoffin County according to the 1900, 1910 and 1920 census records. In 1920 Buell was a laborer for the railroad. By 1930 they had moved to Crane in Wyandot Co. OH and Buell was an "onion raiser of an onion patch" where his two sons Lacy and Henry were workers.

The Fletcher info is the contribution of Col. Morris Fletcher to the Magoffin County Historical Society.

John Morgan Risner was born in 1874 and died in 1961 at Ivyton, Magoffin Co. KY. He was a son of Meredith Risner and Betty Whitaker. John Morgan’s wife Louisa was born in 1878 and died in 1952, a daughter of William J. Arnett and Phoebe Salyer.

Meredith Risner was born in 1831 and died before 1910, a son of James Risner and Margaret Adams. Meredith’s wife Betty was a daughter of Johnson Whitaker and Susan Howard. A more thorough accounting of this family appears in our Risner book from information contributed by Donna Marshall Wireman and our late friend Bernice Dotson Moore.

Much sadness has come to us again as we lost one of our friends, Herley Manns, on January 13, 2016. Herley was a lifelong resident of the Tip Top area of Magoffin County and was very knowledgeable about the history and genealogy of the area as well as the Hawes Fork section of Breathitt County, KY. Herley helped in setting several markers, notably the Manns markers on Hawes Fork and Betts Manns Fork also with the Howard markers at Galdia, KY. He was an excellent source of family information and genuinely enjoyed his old friends and getting to know new ones. He will be greatly missed.