One of our visitors to the Magoffin County Historical Society recently was William Phipps who was interested in researching his Wheeler family line. First we looked at his Phipps lineage. His first Phipps ancestor in Kentucky was John Phipps who was born about 1802 in Virginia. John was in Morgan County prior to 1825 as that is the year he married Cynthia Howard, a daughter of Thomas Howard and Frances Jackson. We believe he lived in the section of Morgan County that was ceded to Magoffin County when we became a county in 1860. John and Cynthia are listed in the 1830, 1840 and 1850 census records of Morgan County, KY. By 1860 they appear in the first census of Magoffin County.

John and Cynthia had seven children that we can ascertain by the census: (1) James Phipps b. 1829 m. 1^st Margaret "Peggy" Howard, m. 2^nd Clarenda Montgomery and m. 3^rd Mary Louisa Stallard, (2) John Martin Phipps b. 1834, (3) William Green Phipps b. 1838 m. Clarinda Howard, (4) Allie Ann Phipps b. 1840 m. Thomas H. Prater, (5) Ludena Phipps b. 1843 m. John Wesley Montgomery and (6) Winnie Phipps b. 1845 m. William Risner.

James Phipps and Margaret’s children were (1) William Green Phipps b. 1859, (2) George W. Phipps b. 1863, (3) Telitha Phipps b. 1866 and (4) Clarinda Phipps b. 1868. James Phipps and Clarenda had a daughter (5) Rhoda Phipps b. 1878. James Phipps and Louisa Stallard had 4 children: (6) Sherman Phipps (our visitor’s ancestor), (7) Fred Phipps m. Nellie Griffith, (8) Leona Phipps m. Farris Tackett and (9) Erie Phipps married Jim Caudill.

Sherman W. Phipps was born in 1884 and married here in Magoffin County in 1918 to Mollie Wheeler. He apparently had a first marriage to a Barbara who was born about 1887. They are listed in the Pike Co. KY 1910 census with a son Clyde Phipps b. 1909. By 1920 Sherman and Mollie lived on Flat Fork in Magoffin County and had added a daughter Gertrude Phipps b. 1913 and a son James b. 1918 to the family. Also in their home was James’ widowed mother, Louisa Stallard Phipps age 67, she and parents b. Virginia.

Sherman W. was a coal miner and moved many times in his lifetime to job locations. In 1930 he lived in Scioto, Pike Co. OH, in 1935 he lived in Logan, West Virginia, and in 1940 he lived in Harlan Co. KY. He died 11 May 1949 in Adams Co. OH and was buried in the Kirker Cemetery in Adams County.

Sherman’s wife Mollie was a daughter of James W. Wheeler and Eliza Williams. James W. was born in May of 1876 and died 15 Jun 1970 in Adams Co. OH. We believe James W. to be a son of Greenville Powell Wheeler born 6 Nov 1856 (Johnson Co. Vital Statistics) and his wife Melvina Wheeler (dau of William Wheeler and Judith Green). Greenville died 26 Nov 1936; he and Melvina are buried in the Wheeler Cemetery on Litteral Fork in Magoffin County.

If this is the right family, Greenville Powell Wheeler was a son of Daniel Wheeler and Mary Salyer (b. 1836 d. 1882) and a grandson of William R. Wheeler and Elizabeth Borders. Mary Salyer, the dau of John Salyer and Margaret Jayne, married Daniel Wheeler in Johnson County KY 30 Dec 1852. We hope some of our readers with more knowledge of the Johnson County Wheeler families can help us with more information.

James W.’s wife Eliza’s father, Chandler Williams was born in 1849 and died in 1880. Chandler married in 1869 Magoffin County to Mary Ann Kimberlin b. ca. 1849, a daughter of John W. and Elizabeth Kimberlin. (Info on this family was received from June Kimberlin of Morgantown, WV)

Chandler was a son of Wyatt Williams born in 1816 Letcher Co. KY and died in 1873 Hunting Creek, Breathitt Co. KY. According to Sandra Williams Feltner of Hazard, KY who provided the info for our Williams family book in 1995, Wyatt’s wife Nancy Little (b. 1828) was probably the daughter of Edmond Little and Nellie Cardwell.

Wyatt Williams was the third child of Colby Williams b. 1790 in Culpepper Co. VA and his first wife whom he married in 1811 Floyd Co. KY, Cynthia Davis. Cynthia died before 1840 and is thought by researchers to be a daughter of John and Elizabeth Davis. Colby and Cynthia’s children were born in Letcher Co. KY.

Anyone who wishes to contact the Magoffin County Historical Society may do so by writing PO Box 222, Salyersville, KY 41465, email [email protected]. Our library is located at 191 South Church Street in Salyersville.