We have had a very pleasant week here celebrating Todd Preston’s 88^th birthday! We enjoyed a week-long series of activities with lots of people stopping in with birthday wishes culminating with a birthday party on the lawn of the Pioneer Village hosted by Todd’s son Toddie, and daughters Theresa, Jessica and Abby. Todd was very pleased to see all the friends who came in to visit and to receive the greetings by telephone, mail and through the Facebook group.

Bob and Betty Whittaker of South Carolina were among those sharing some time with Todd. We are always glad to have them come for a visit, they have worked for many years to place markers at the gravesites of our early ancestor’s. Their work will be appreciated for generations to come.

Some of the activities included are all the monthly events plus all Reenactments, Civil War Balls, Founder’s Days activities, scripts and pictures of the Sesquicentennial dramas and much more.

The cost of this book is $50 plus $5 shipping fee from Magoffin County Historical Society, PO Box 222, Salyersville, KY 41465 and we only have a limited supply.

Work is now taking place on the other two volumes in this series, the 1860-2010 People-Places-Events books which will contain stories and pictures spanning 150 years of Magoffin County history. This material was all received from contributors in the year of 2010.

We had a direct descendant of Beriah Magoffin, Kentucky’s 21^st Governor, visiting this week. Matt Magoffin of Willcox, Arizona came to see the county that was named for his ancestor. We were pleased to show him around and tell him about our county. He was not aware that there had been a ship named Magoffin and was very interested in the memorabilia that we have on the USS Magoffin APA 199. A few years ago the USS Magoffin Veteran’s Association held their reunion here in Salyersville and we had a wonderful ceremony in the Pioneer Village courtyard.

The USS Magoffin was launched in October of 1944 and saw service through November of 1967. Their association members are very active and they have provided a scholarship for one of our high school graduates for many years.

Lance and Judy Carter of Flatwoods, KY also visited. They went to visit the gravesite of Reuben Patrick and spoke of all the downed trees in the area. They are researching the Millard, Patrick, Pendleton and Salyer(s) family lines.

John Richard Kuna and Patti McElligott of Tyler, Texas visited late in May bringing us a very nicely bound notebook of material on Margaret Elizabeth "Lizzie" Minich. She was the daughter of Henry Moore and married William F. Minich of Christian Co. VA. Mary’s husband was a Civil War soldier in Missouri. Mary heard in the fall of 1864 that he had been killed so she left Missouri and made a trip to her childhood home in Lebanon, Virginia with three small children. Reports of his death proved to be untrue as he was reunited with his family as shown in the following local records.

Lizzie, William and some of her children lived in Magoffin County for a period of time. They had a daughter born here on 1 Oct 1874, this is believed to be Mary Catherine. The family was also enumerated in the 1880 Magoffin census but by that time Lizzie was listed as a widow. They were near neighbors to Samuel T. and Jane May, Samuel L. and Celia May, Jeff and Lizzie Prater, Campbell and Easter May and Cummings and Preshia Porter. This census record shows Lizzie as age 42, she and parents born in Virginia. A son William age 18 and daughter Jennie age 16 were listed as being born in Missouri. Other children were Johnny age 12 and Laura age 10 both born in Illinois, a son Henry age 7 b. in VA and a daughter Mary age 5 born in Kentucky (see above).

Margaret Elizabeth "Lizzie" Minich’s daughter Ella Rosalie "Rose" married Jeptha Hammond and they were the grandparents of our visitor Richard Kuna’s mother. The marriage which occurred in Magoffin County on 30 Sep 1886 gives her surname as "Rule" but his Social Security application has her name as "Minich".

According to Morgan County, KY Vital Statistics Jeptha was born 27 Jul 1858, a son of Benjamin Hammond, Jr. and his 2^nd wife Mary (Pop) Caudill, according to the 1860 Magoffin County census. In 1900, 1910 and 1920 Jeptha and Rose lived in Magoffin County; by 1930 they had moved to Gallia Co. OH.

Another of Lizzie and William Minich’s daughters also married in Magoffin, Jennie b. 1864 in Missouri married first to Joseph W. Howard and married second in 1905 to Tarleton Combs. Joseph W. Howard was born in 1837 in the Coon Creek area of present day Magoffin County and served as a Commonwealth’s Attorney in the early years of the county. He was first married to Frances Howard, dau of Andrew and Matilda (Ray) Howard.

Joseph W. died about 1903 and Jennie moved to Berea in Madison Co. KY where many members of her family lived. Jennie Combs died there on 6 Dec 1925; Tarleton Combs died 3 Jun 1937; both are buried in the Berea Cemetery.

Researcher Sharroll K. Minix did not know of a connection to her Magoffin County Minix family but found that William Minich lived next door to one of "Old" Charles Minix’s daughters in Russell Co. VA.

There is still much to be learned about this family. We look forward to hearing from others who can offer additional and/or corrected information to what is reported here.