Luther Green Allen came to visit. His father Kindle Allen was a mail carrier in our county and was always interested in family history. Kindle had helped us with some of our publications in the past. We are glad to see that his children continue that interest and desire to know more about their family. Luther Green’s parents have deep Magoffin County roots.

Kindle was a son of Hatcher Allen and Sinia Whitaker who lived on Whitley Creek until their later years when they moved to Indiana. Hatcher was a son of William "Old Billy" Allen and Mary Ann Carpenter. William was a son of George Allen and Malinda Howard.

Sinia was born in 1878 and died in 1964, a daughter of the minister Elmore Smith Whitaker and his first wife Nancy Howard of the Whitley Creek area. She was their youngest child, the others being (1) Delaney b. 1866 m. Woodson Allen, (2) Susan b. 1868 m. Walker Allen, (3) Farisee b. 1869 m. Green Shepherd, (4) Laurabell b. 1873 m. Haden "Whitley Hade" Allen, and (5) Betty "Monk" b. 1875 m. Irvin Allen.

Smith Whitaker was a son of Johnson Whitaker and Susannah Arnett. Johnson was a son of the progenitor of the local Whitaker families, Mark Whitaker. After Mark’s death in Virginia, his widow and children traveled to Magoffin County where they made their home near the mouth of Puncheon Creek off Route 7. Through information given by the late Les Risner we were able to determine the approximate location of the cemetery where Mark’s wife Martha "Patsy" Whitaker was buried. During the Whitaker year of 2004 wonderful markers were placed for Patsy Whitaker as well as Stephen and Elizabeth (Howard) Arnett.

Luther Green’s paternal line is printed in several of our family books. His maternal line is a bit harder to research. His mother Cynthia (1917-1994) was a daughter of John Maynard Hale (1872-1954) and his 2^nd wife Sarah "Sally" Layne (1894-1965).

John Maynard was a son of James M. Hale (1833-1917) and Mary "Polly" Shepherd. James M. was the only child of John Hale and his first wife Tobitha Maynard or Mainard. John Hale married 2^nd to Louvina Stone and had several other children.

James M.’s wife Polly was a daughter of Bryson R. Shepherd (1816-1890) and Elizabeth "Betty" Crager.

Sally Layne Hale was a daughter of Elbert Severa "Cap" Layne who, according to his death certificate, was born 26 August 1855 in Wolfe Co. KY. He died of influenza on 21 Mar 1932. He and his wife are buried at Langley in Floyd Co. KY. Cap Layne was widely known as a "tinkerer" who fixed watches and clocks. It is said he worked as a railroad engineer for B & C Railroad from Bosco to Jenkins, KY.

Our visitor Luther Green Allen has many relatives in our area and we would like to hear from others who are related to these families. Please write to us at Magoffin County Historical Society, PO Box 222, Salyersville, KY 41465 (email: [email protected])

Our historical society was founded on and is sustained by the efforts of a great many volunteers who have worked and helped us in many ways so that we can "Preserve the past for the future". The month of May saw the passing of several of those friends whose memories shall remain dear to us.

Gladys Mullins was born 19 Jul 1925 and died 3 May 2016, a daughter of Ramey Whitaker, a minister, and Frankie (Bailey) Whitaker, a teacher. Gladys was the widow of Herbert Mullins. Our associations with Gladys and Herbert made our experiences richer and more enjoyable, especially during the Whitaker year.

Pearlie Risner was born 10 Oct 1937 and died 6 May 2016, a daughter of Everett Risner and Mary Fitch. Pearlie and her husband Willard Risner could always be depended upon to help with any of our Founders Days programs and with info on any of the people and history of their area.

Alka Patrick was born 22 Apr 1925 and died 27 May 2016, a daughter of Shafter Patrick and Ada Arnett. Alka was a continuous member from the early 1980s until recently. Her interest in our historical society was inspiring to us and her help with family information was much appreciated.

A current member, Anthony Arnett was born 19 Sep 1949 and died 28 May 2016, a son of Forrest Joe and Pansy Arnett. His mother Pansy was a charter member of our historical society. Pansy, along with her daughter and son-in-law, Harold and Kristy Koontz, were mainstays in planning and helping during Founders Days. Pansy was one of those who walked many miles around the tables when we had pages to be picked up for our quarterly Journal or one of our family books. Unfortunately modern technology with its automatic way of doing things took away the socializing and camaraderie that came from getting together to work on projects as we did in our earlier years. We wonder how many remember getting together with us at the high school or in our first "home" in the room beside the Magoffin County Library to "pick up pages".

We also send our condolences to fellow historical Tony Adkins of the Morgan County Historical Society on the passing of his wife Cassandra "Sandy" Adkins on the 27^th of May. She was the daughter of Robert May and Loretta Lewis. Tony has worked to build the Morgan County group toward success and we value his friendship.