Kentucky Family Connections

Juanita Clark and William Wayson Marriage Records

2012-01-23T18:00:00.001-05:00

I finally received a copy of the Mason County, Kentucky marriage license and register of marriage for my paternal grandparents, Juanita Ruth Clark and William Wesley Wayson. Thanks, Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Bob!

As a bonus, I also found out the location of my grandmother's birth which had been a mystery to me and other members of my family for years! We knew it was Indiana, but did not know the town. It turns out that she was born in New Trenton, Franklin County which was one idea in my list of "Juanita's likely to be born locations". Juanita's parents, Frank and Myrtle (Nower) Clark and son Richard were in the Kansas City, Missouri 1910 census which was taken early that year. My grandmother was born that following September. By 1920, the family was back in their native Kentucky. In 1910, two of Frank's brothers were living in Franklin County, Indiana. My theory was/is that their journey from Missouri to Kentucky began shortly after the census was taken and that Frank and Myrtle stopped in Franklin County where my grandmother just happened to be born. I don't know why or for how long they were in Indiana, but now my theory makes sense. Anyway, at least I have a birth location and maybe now I can find something that is actual proof.

Walking in Samuel Nower's Footsteps

2011-07-06T11:38:00.001-04:00

My husband and I just returned from a great trip to San Francisco. We enjoyed the food, the sights, and the relief from our 90+ degree South Carolina weather. San Francisco has so much to offer, however, one of the highlights of my trip was our visit to Fort Point which sits on the point where San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean meet, tucked below the steel girders of the Golden Gate Bridge. I doubt that this little fort is one of the big attractions to most tourists, outside of history buffs, but it was at the top my list of "must sees" right up there with Fisherman's Wharf and Alcatraz long before we ever purchased plane tickets or booked the hotel room. Why the big fascination with Fort Point? Well, that little red brick building, built long before the famous bridge, is where my great, great grandfather, Samuel Jackson Nower, was stationed during his Civil War service!

Samuel registered for the draft in 1863 as a miner living in St. Helena, Sonoma County, California. He enlisted on November 15, 1864 and was stationed at Fort Point. His stay there was just short of a year as he was mustered out on October 24, 1865. During his time at the fort, he fell from a ladder, breaking his hip, while painting barrack walls which earned him a military pension later in his life.

We decided to walk to Fort Point and the Golden Gate Bridge from our hotel on a beautiful blue skied, but windy, day. The concierge seemed a little mystified as to why we would want to go there instead of the Golden Gate Park that she deemed a better place to spend time. In her opinion, the art and science museums along with the outdoor band music which the park offered would be a much better choice, but I was not going to be persuaded. We didn't fly all that way to hear music or see artwork so she showed us a route on our map that would take about an hour and a half to walk. And a beautiful, but cold and windy, walk along the bay it was! Worth every bit of time and strength against what seemed like hurricane force winds that it took!

Once we reached Fort Point, we were so excited to see that it was open to the public. I had been told much earlier in the year that it wasn't always open so to see the park ranger standing next to the open gates, motioning for us to enter, was beyond all my expectations. I had been prepared to be satisfied looking at the outside, snapping pictures of the walls and peering through a closed gate.

The fort is very small and I cannot describe the feeling I experienced knowing that I was walking on the same ground and seeing the same walls, rooms, and scenery that my great great grandfather walked on and saw almost 150 years ago! I saw the area where he must have stood straight and tall while drilling with his fellow soldiers. I stood in the rooms where the privates, of which he was one, slept. I imagined him on a ladder painting the walls that still had remnants of what looked to be whitewash. I looked into the larger room that served as his mess hall. I felt the cold and strong wind which he must have felt as he looked upon San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean just as I did that beautiful Sunday afternoon. At the end of our visit, I walked out of the gates of Fort Point understanding a bit of Samuel's life so much more than the documents and dates that make up my research of him allow. I am so so thankful that I was able to experience this small part of San Francisco's charm and beauty. Even if I hadn't walked on the Golden Gate, strolled along Fisherman's Wharf, eaten sour dough bread (more than once!) at Boudin Bakery, visited Alcatraz, or experienced any of the other wonderful things that San Francisco is known for, I would have returned to South Carolina a very happy person!

Fort Point and the Golden Gate Bridge

This is me standing in the private's quarters next to one of the beds that was used during the Civil War. I could just imagine Samuel painting those walls!

The inside of the fort showing the three levels. The private's quarters and mess hall were on the third floor. The ground area was the place where the soldiers would gather to march and drill.

On the top level of the fort, the wind was so ferocious that it left me wondering did Samuel fall or did the wind blow him off his ladder!

the Pacific Ocean as seen from the top level

The lighthouse is on the top level. The girders of the Golden Gate Bridge are just above the fort. Of course, Samuel never saw, or even imagined, those huge structures or the bridge itself!

Talented Tuesday - A Needle and Some Thread

2011-02-08T13:47:00.000-05:00

With a needle and some thread, my grandmother could take scraps of fabric and create a quilt that would cover a bed with color and warmth.

With a needle and some thread, my great aunt could take an ordinary item made of fabric and turn it into something unique and personal.

The Clark girls were talented with a needle and some thread. My grandmother, Juanita Clark Wayson made numerous quilts that she gave to her children and grandchildren. Her sister, Irma Clark O'Dowd embroidered all types of things. I have her pillowcases, dresser scarves, and baby blankets to which she added her personal touch. Their sister, Evelyn, who tragically died in 1936 at the young age of twenty-one, was said to have been able to look at a dress or other article of clothing and recreate it using the fabric of her choice.

I am thankful for these talented women for I inherited their love of a needle and some thread. To create something beautiful using these two simple everyday items is a talent worth having!

Family Resemblances

2010-09-16T18:30:00.000-04:00

One reason I love looking at old pictures of family members is to see if there is any resemblance to living family members. I like the idea that those genes just keep appearing to connect us to one another in a visual way.

Now, I don't know much more than the science behind genetics other than Gregor Mendel and his pea plants that I remember from high school biology, but in the genetic pool that we all come from, I know the possibility is there that an ancestor's nose, eyes, or hair color will find its way into one of my grandchildren. In looking for these visual connections, I didn't have to look too far to find one such case that tells me that my father, my son, my grandson, and I all descend from my great-grandfather, Frank Clark. That same gene is floating around in each of us. I only wish I had a photograph of Frank's parents so I could tell if that gene came from the Clark's or from Frank's mother, Belle Stairs.

Frank Clark

Me with my cousin Mike - about 1959

Timothy Koehler - 1984 - age 4

My dad, Bob Wayson,
with my grandson, Liam, who is Timothy's son.

2010-09-10T16:21:00.002-04:00

This month marks the thirty-third anniversary of my Aunt Edna Mae's death. On September 5, 1977, she was shot and killed by her second husband, Dan Dodson in Benton, Arkansas.

Edna Mae Wayson was born November 3, 1941 in Dover, Kentucky. She was the sixth child and second daughter of William and Juanita (Clark) Wayson. She relocated to Benton, Arkansas with my grandmother and several of her siblings in the early 1960's. It was there that she married her first husband, Tommy Raper. They had three children, a boy and two girls.

It was during her second marriage that Edna Mae decided to pursue a career as a Licensed Practical Nurse. Her career was short-lived. Her life cut short.

May you rest in peace. You are remembered, Aunt Edna.

The Mysterious Death of Miss Laura F. Judd

2010-07-07T18:52:00.000-04:00

Laura Judd was the sister of Phoebe Judd Nower, my great great grandmother. Laura was born in Mason County, Kentucky on the sixth day of September 1865. She never married and remained close to her sisters all her life. It has been said that Phoebe's daughter, Myrtle, loved visiting her Aunt Laura.

Another sister, Joella Judd Coulter and her husband, John, had moved from Mason County to Missouri. Around 1890, Laura must have decided to join them in the area. According to Maysville, Kentucky newspapers during that time, Laura returned to Mason County often for visits with Phoebe. One item in the June 3, 1895 Evening Bulletin stated that Laura was returning to Leavenworth, Kansas after visiting with Phoebe's family. Her nephew, Ernest Nower, was accompanying her. By 1900, she was living in Buchanan County, Missouri in the household of her sister and brother - in -law, Joella and John Coulter.

It was in her sister's home that Laura met her mysterious death. According to one newspaper source, Laura, during the night of July 4, 1909, accidentally drank carbolic acid which killed her. Her body was taken to Dover, Kentucky for burial in the Locust Grove Cemetery. On July 13, it was reported in the Daily Public Ledger that there was talk of the possibility of Laura being forced to drink the poison, however I could not find any other newspaper article mentioning this. I imagine her friends and family could not understand her untimely death and were looking for an answer. I think they had a difficult time believing her death at age forty-three.

Myrtle Nower Marries Frank Clark

2010-06-30T17:01:00.001-04:00

Miss Myrtle Nower, only daughter of the late Mrs. Phoebe J. Nower of Dover and Frank Clark of Hebron, Ill., who has been visiting at Dover for some months, were married yesterday at Georgetown, Ohio.

3 October 1907
Daily Public Ledger
Maysville, Kentucky

I found this marriage announcement on the Chronicling America web site.

The Nower Family

2010-06-21T16:17:00.003-04:00

Last week I wrote what I know about Paul Nower and included a picture of him. Over the weekend, my mother commented to my father and me that Paul really didn't resemble his sister, my great-grandmother, Myrtle, at all. Looking back through all the entries of this blog, I realized that I have never posted the great photo I have of Paul's whole family. The picture isn't dated and its actually a copy of the original, but looking at the dates of birth for each of the children, I am guessing that it was taken sometime in the 1890's.

The family posed for their picture in front of their home in Dover, Kentucky. They were, what I suppose we would call, an upper middle class family in their small town. During this time, Samuel was a constable in Dover. His granddaughter, Frances, told me the story of how her mother, Ella Myrtle, was raised with affluence and even had a nanny who cared for her needs. She said that Samuel was a banker, although, as of yet, I haven't found any evidence of that occupation for him. I think the photograph is evidence of the Nower family's economic standing in Dover. Everyone looks well dressed. Samuel has a visible watch chain and the table looks like it is well made with, maybe, a marble top.

Beginning on the left in the front is Paul standing next to his father, Samuel Jackson Nower. Mother, Phoebe Jane Judd, is seated beside her only daughter, Ella Myrtle. Myrtle, as she was known, was born in Dover in 1884. In the back, on the left, is Ernest William, who was born in Illinois in 1887. Finally, there is Clarence Rigdon. He was born in 1880. A son, Samuel Judd, was born in 1888, but lived only five months.

Paul Morse Nower

2010-06-12T11:12:00.000-04:00

Born on the twenty-third of February 1890, Paul Morse Nower was the youngest son of Samuel Jackson and Phobe Jane (Judd) Nower. The brother of my great-grandmother Myrtle Clark, Paul was my great-great-uncle. If I had ever met him, I was too young to remember as he died in 1963 when I was just six years old.

Paul was a Chesapeake and Ohio railroad man who worked as a conductor on a steam engine. My father remembers his Great-Uncle Paul throwing candy to the children as his train passed through Dover, Kentucky, the caboose having a statue of a white bird on top.

According to his niece, Francis Clark Johns, Paul was quite a character! She remembers him as being very cheery and pompous, but very caring. He once bought a Cadillac, even though he didn't drive, just to park it in the front yard so it would look good to the neighbors!

Paul grew up in Dover, Kentucky before moving, as a young man, to Covington in the same state. He married a woman named Olive Copper, but the marriage was not long-lived. On March 13, 1929, he married Nellie Grace Bess of Keyser, West Virginia. His residence was still listed as Covington on the marriage license so it is unknown how the two met.

Paul and Nell settled in Russell, Kentucky where he continued his work with the railroad. On September 24, 1963, after an extended illness, Paul died in a Huntington, West Virginia hospital leaving Nell to mourn his passing. Funeral services were conducted in Russell and his body was taken to the Greenbrier Burial Park in Hinton, West Virginia for burial.

William M. or W. Wayson ???

2010-05-23T14:29:00.000-04:00

I am now wondering if I have my great-great grandfather's correct name. When I first located his and Ada Dean's marriage record, it was a transcription of the original. Whoever transcribed it wrote M. as the middle initial. Now that I have found the original, it looks like that "M" just might be a "W". At least, it gives me something else to go on since I haven't been able to locate him anywhere prior to his marriage. This record also gives his birth place as Greenup County, Kentucky so I might be getting closer!

Click on the picture, take a look for yourself, and let me know what your opinion of that middle initial is. The record is on Line 12.

Eli and Mary McGuire

2010-04-10T22:58:00.001-04:00

I have been finding ancestors left and right ever since I found the parents of Charles Miller! As you found out in my last post, Charles's mother was Elizabeth McGuire. I have been researching her family and have discovered quite a bit.

Her father was Eli Seth McGuire. I have found some other online family trees that have him as a Reverend, but I have not found any proof of that in my research.

I have discovered that he was born in 1823 somewhere in Virginia. He married Mary Knapp in 1843 and they lived in Mason County, Virginia, now West Virginia. Eli served with the 13th Regiment of the West Virginia Infantry, K Company during the Civil War. I have sent for his military records from the National Archive and look forward to seeing what documents will be included in the packet.

Eli and Mary continue to live in Mason County, West Virginia until by 1885, they are found with their son, John and his wife, Sarah, in Bourbon County, Kansas. They both lived in Kansas until their deaths in 1901 and 1921, respectively. Both are buried in Bronson, Kansas.

William Alexander Miller

2010-03-30T15:55:00.000-04:00

The following is what I have found so far on the family of William Alexander Miller, father of my Charles Wesley. The family lived in Mason County, West Virginia, except for the short period of time they spent in Illinois where several of Charles's siblings were born. I believe they went to Illinois with Elizabeth's parents, Eli and Mary McGuire and her brother, John. The McGuire's went on to live in Kansas while William and Elizabeth Miller decided to return to West Virginia. If you would like to know the sources that I used, please let me know and I'll be happy to share them with you.

Name: William Alexander MILLER
--------------------------------------------------
Birth: 1844 Place: Virginia
Death: ............................. Place: ...................................................
Burial: ............................. Place: ...................................................
Father: William N. MILLER (1812-)
Mother: Elizabeth Wright (1825-1898)
Marriage: 1866 Place: Mason, Mason, West Virginia

Spouse: Elizabeth J. McGuire
--------------------------------------------------
Birth: 1846 Place: Virginia
Death: 20 Jul 1895 Place: Point Pleasant, Mason, West Virginia
Burial: 22 Jul 1895 Place: Point Pleasant, Mason, West Virginia
Father: Eli McGuire (1823-1901)
Mother: Mary Knapp (1826-1921)

Children
--------------------------------------------------
1 M: Charles Wesley MILLER
Birth: 1 Dec 1867 Place: Point Pleasant, West Virginia
Death: 21 Sep 1947 Place: Mason County, Kentucky
Spouse: Mary Elzeta COCHRAN
Marriage: 17 Oct 1892 Place: ...................................................

2 M: Richard A. MILLER
Birth: 23 Jul 1869 Place: Mason County, West Virginia
Death: 30 Aug 1924 Place: Charleston, Kanawha, West Virginia
Spouse: Sarah Louise Kapp
Marriage: 1890 Place: Jackson, West Virginia

3 M: John M. MILLER
Birth: 1872 Place: Illinois
Death: ............................. Place: ...................................................
Spouse:
Marriage: ............................. Place: ...................................................

4 F: Mary MILLER
Birth: 1874 Place: Illinois
Death: ............................. Place: ...................................................
Spouse:
Marriage: ............................. Place: ...................................................

5 F: Alice MILLER
Birth: 1876 Place: Illinois
Death: ............................. Place: ...................................................
Spouse:
Marriage: ............................. Place: ...................................................

6 F: Rachel MILLER
Birth: 5 Jan 1878 Place: Mason, Mason, West Virginia
Death: ............................. Place: ...................................................
Spouse:
Marriage: ............................. Place: ...................................................

7 F: unknown MILLER
Birth: 24 May 1889 Place: Mason County, West Virginia
Death: ............................. Place: ...................................................
Spouse:
Marriage: ............................. Place: ...................................................

8 ?: unknown MILLER
Birth: bef 1889 Place: ...................................................
Death: ............................. Place: ...................................................
Spouse:
Marriage: ............................. Place: ...................................................
Status: ............................. Place: ...................................................

--------------------------------------------------
Last Modified: 11 Mar 2010
Created: 30 Mar 2010

Charles Miller's Father

2010-03-23T15:57:00.003-04:00

I would love it if all my ancestors had unique names that stood out in census lists or that a search engine could really sink its teeth into, but...I don't. Case in particular - the Miller's. Do you have any idea how many Millers there must be out there?

I knew about Charles Miller, my great-great grandfather from my father. He remembered visiting with him so he was able to give me some approximate dates and the names of his children. Then Charles's granddaughter, Elzeta Mitchell Pfeffer, gave me more exact dates to go on, but no one seemed to be able to recall Charles's parents. They only knew that they had lived in West Virginia. Well, West Virginia is a big place with many Miller possibilities so I put Charles back in my file drawer where he stayed for a long time!

I brought Charles's file out the other day. Since I no longer work, I have decided that it would be a good thing if I tried to organize all my family files into binders. The Miller file was one of the first to be organized probably because it is so thin and the "overwhelm-factor" was low. I guess Charles was tired of being cooped up in the drawer because, boy, has he led me down a fast road of discovery!

Using the West Virginia Vital Records Project, which wasn't available the last time I researched this family, I found Charles Wesley Miller's birth record listed in the Mason County records! Right there on the line next to his birth date of 1 December 1867 were his parent's names, William A. Miller and Lizzie Miller. You will not guess what else was on that line! Almost as a reward for my patience, the person listed as reporting the birth was Wm. Miller, grandfather! Father, mother, grandfather, all in one minute of reading! Then to top things off, as I looked further on the page, I noticed the same parents listed again! Sure enough, there was Charles's brother, Richard A. Miller who was born two years later on July 23, 1869. That explained who the Richard Miller was who lived next door to Charles and his wife in Dover, Kentucky in 1920!

Needless to say, I have taken my new found knowledge and added many names to my family tree which I'll give you the details of in future postings. In the meantime, take a lesson from me, sometimes that brick wall just needs to be put in a dark file drawer to rest while the Internet resources take time to grow!

Nora Wayson Moore

2010-02-27T13:09:00.001-05:00

Nora Wayson Moore was the eighth child of William and Ada (Dean) Wayson. She was born November 25, 1905 in West Virginia. In 1920, at the age of fourteen, she lived with her parents in Pierce Township, Clermont County, Ohio.

In 1921, Nora could be found in Indiana which is where her sisters, Vannie and Haley were living. While they were living in Fayette County, Nora did find herself in Grant County which is where she married Bradley Moore, brother to both Vannie and Haley's husbands. It is not known whether she was actually living in Grant County, or only got married there.

In 1922, while still in Indiana, Nora and Bradley became the parents of a son, Elmer. The family left Indiana sometime after Elmer's birth and was living in Newport, Kentucky, not too far from Nora's parents, by 1930. It was in Newport that Nora gave birth to her second child, Betty Moore in 1932.

Like her sister Haley, the family moved to Elkhart, Indiana by 1947. In 1950, Bradley died making Nora a widow. She continued to live in Elkhart until her death in 1970. She is buried in Prairie Street Cemetery, Elkhart.

This obituary was published in The Elkhart Truth June 25, 1970.

Haley Wayson Moore

2010-02-25T12:57:00.003-05:00

Haley Wayson was born September 1, 1902 in Cabell County, West Virginia. She was the seventh child of William and Ada (Dean) Wayson. By age seventeen, Haley had joined her sister, Vannie, in Connersville, Indiana where she worked in a factory. In the same year, Haley married Ethel Moore who was the brother of Vannie's husband, Martin.

Ethel and Haley became the parents of two boys, Olin, born in 1921, and Michael. By 1930, Haley and Ethel moved to Cincinnati, Ohio near her parents who lived in across the Ohio River in Campbell county, Kentucky. In the 1940's, the family moved back to Indiana, settling in Elkhart, and in 1955, they located to a warmer climate, Bradenton, Florida.

Haley became a widow in 1964 upon Ethel's death. She continued to live in Bradenton until her death in 1991.

Guss Wayson

2010-02-23T12:56:00.000-05:00

Guss Wayson, son of William and Ada (Dean) Wayson was born June 4, 1900 in Cabell County, West Virginia. He was the fifth child born to Ada. He spent his childhood in Clermont County, Ohio and then in the small town of California, Kentucky. According to his mother's obituary, Guss was in Washington by 1947. It is not known why he made his way to Yakima from northern Kentucky.

Samuel Nower Murder

2010-01-13T17:37:00.003-05:00

Samuel J. Nower was only 22 years old when he was shot and killed in July 1836. Born in about 1814, Samuel was a son of Alexander Nower and Martha Morrison. At the time of his death, he was married to Sarah R. Judd, a daughter of Daniel Judd and Rachel Nower. The couple lived in Mason County, Kentucky.

In 1836, the Ohio River town of Dover, Kentucky had just been chartered. At that time, it was a bustling little town with boats stopping on their journey up the Ohio. On Saturday, July 9, Samuel, for reasons unknown, was in Dover. According to a newspaper article found in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Thomas Reeder shot Samuel. Reeder claimed it was in self-defense and was later acquitted of the crime.

Samuel did not die immediately as the newspaper article states that on Monday, July 11, he was still alive and that there was some hope for recovery. We now know that he did not live. Sarah was left a widow and her son, Samuel Jackson Nower, who was born in October of that year, never had a chance to know his father.

William M. Wayson

2009-11-18T16:25:00.005-05:00

William M. Wayson is one of those ancestors that helps build brick walls in the pursuit of genealogy! Sure, I have been able to find plenty of information that helped me discover his contributions to my family tree such as being listed as the father in his children's birth records, and there is even a record of his marriage to Ada Catherine Dean in 1889. It's not that I'm not appreciative of all that I have found, but I want more!

William's part in building the previously mentioned brick wall comes from the fact that he is absolutely unable to be located in the 1870 census which would help me establish another generation of Wayson's. From later census information and his death certificate, I can almost say with some degree of certainty that he was born around the year 1863. If I rely completely on the death certificate, I can even go as far to say his birthday was on April 29 of that year, but then I would have to forget all the discrepancies in the census data and the fact that I have no other source for his birth. Not good genealogical practice!

Where William was born is an even bigger question. Some census years lead me to believe Ohio. Other years, Kentucky is the place! His daughter, Haley, for her father's death certificate, seemed to think that it was Campbell County, West Virginia which can be ruled out since there is no such county in West Virginia!

Without any solid clues for a location, I have searched the 1870 census for any mention of a William Wayson born about 1863 using all imaginable variations of the name. No luck! I have found a few remote possibilities, but none that seem plausible, but that's okay. I'll just keep hunting and trying all sorts of things until one day, out of the blue, some little piece of information or clue will appear that will be, without a doubt, what I have been looking for. It always happens that way. Until then, there are plenty of other leaves on the tree to shake!

A Life Cut Short - Edna B. Miller Wayson

2009-09-21T13:38:00.007-04:00

In a previous post, I introduced you to my great-grandmother, Edna Blanche Miller. Dying at only 22 years of age, her time on this Earth was short, yet I have a little glimpse into her life courtesy of a postcard she sent to her mother. The date is not on the card, yet the picture of her with her first son, William, gives a hint that it must have been written sometime during the latter part of 1914. William was born in March of that year and the way he is posed on his mother's lap is like that of a baby who has reached about six months of age.

While the picture of them is wonderful, it is the back of the card that is priceless. On it, Edna shares a bit of her daily life. The card has been trimmed around the edges, but using context clues, I can tell with some accuracy the few words that are missing. In her note, Edna writes (I have typed it as she wrote it.)

Dear Mam and all,
Will write you a few lines to let you know we are all well and hope you are
all the seam I hav bin caning beans and am going to get 3 hundred
cucumbers to day to make pickles they are only 20 cts a hundred I am
drying some beans to
Mr Wayson has gone up the river to (?find or look? This word is cut off) work he was layed off at the locks
They hav layed off some of the men come down soon all of you a X from William

I do not know where Edna was living at the time, but William was born in Mason County, Kentucky so I am thinking that was where the family was at the time of this postcard. There are also locks present just up the Ohio River from Mason County. Her parents were probably living in Putnam County, West Virginia. I found them there in the 1910 census. By 1920, they are listed in the census as living in Dover, Mason County, Kentucky. It was possibly Edna's death that brought them to Kentucky. They were responsible for much of William and his brother's upbringing after their mother's death.

Ada Catherine Dean Wayson

2009-09-14T13:26:00.003-04:00

Ada Catherine Dean was born in Barboursville, West Virginia on March 29, 1871. She was the first child of Stephen and Eveline (Ferguson) Dean. The family would eventually grow to have six additional children.

By the time of the 1880 census, the family had settled in McComas, West Virginia. After her marriage in 1889 to William M. Wayson somewhere in Cabell County, Ada and her husband made their home back in Barboursville. It was in this location that her eleven children were born.

With some of her children grown and living their own lives, William, Ada, and the remaining children made a move to live in Pierce Township which is located in Clermont County, Ohio where they can be found listed in the 1920 census. Ten years later, she, her husband, and one child, William Jennings, were living in Newport, Kentucky.

Around1937, Ada began suffering from arthritis and heart problems. Possibly due to her illness, she moved to Elkhart, Indiana and lived either with or near her daughter, Haley Wayson Moore. It was in Haley's home that Ada died at 12:30 on April 5, 1947. She was buried in Prairie Street Cemetery in Elkhart.

Ernest Wayson

2009-09-13T16:52:00.002-04:00

The past couple of days I have been looking for Wayson's. They are very hard to come by unless you are related to the Wayson family in Maryland which as of right now, I can find no connection. My bad luck. My Wayson's are from West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky and, to be fair, over the years I have found bits and pieces of their lives lurking in the census records and old newspapers. The pieces are like a puzzle that must be put together, taken apart, then reassembled until it makes some sort of sense. One piece of the puzzle is Ernest.

Ernest was born in Cabell County, West Virginia in 1892 to William M. and Ada Catherine (Dean) Wayson. In 1912, at the age of 19, he married Edna Blanche Miller. Four short years later, Edna died of pneumonia leaving Ernest with two young sons to raise.

Pearl F. King became Ernest's second wife in August 1919. He was 26 years old while she was 30. The marriage was registered in Huntington, Cabell County, although the couple listed their residence as Campbell County, Kentucky. To this marriage, four children were born - Carl Leslie, Lillian Catherine, Alice Louise, and Thomas Ernest. The family made their home in Cabell County, West Virginia.

According to his mother's 1947 obituary, Ernest lived in Cleveland, and I am assuming Pearl lived there also. She wasn't mentioned in Ada's obituary. Pearl died in 1963 and at that time, she and Ernest were living in Bethel, Clermont County, Ohio. At the time of Ernest's death in 1970, Ernest was in Cleveland, Ohio. Thomas Wayson was the informant for the death certificate, and I am assuming that he was the son of Ernest.

Ernest is buried in Seaman Cemetery, Seaman, Adams County, Ohio. There is no headstone that I could find.

Edna Blanche Miller

2009-08-03T15:10:00.004-04:00

Edna Blanche Miller was the daughter of Charles Wesley Miller and his wife, Mary Elzetta Cochran. Although her headstone states that she was born April 28, 1894, there has been no other record found of her birth. It is interesting to note that the 1900 Putnam County, West Virginia census has Edna's birth year as 1895. Not knowing how accurate the information is, census data can't be used as proof of an event, however, I would like to see a birth record or other reliable source before saying that I am certain her birth year is 1894.

No matter the birth year, it is known that Edna married Earnest (Ernest) Wayson. Edna's niece recalls the date as June 8, 1912. The location of the marriage is not known although West Virginia or Kentucky seem the most probable places. While Edna and her family have not been found in the 1910 census, Ernest was living in Cabell County, West Virginia at that time. Kentucky must also be considered because the Miller family did move to Mason County, Kentucky sometime between 1900 and 1920.

It is believed that Ernest and Edna were living in Mason County when their first son, William Wesley was born on March 23, 1914. Two years later, on January 16, 1916, their second son, Roy Lee was born.

Edna never lived to see Roy Lee 's first birthday. In December of 1916, she and Ernest were preparing to move. The weather was cold and Edna had been cleaning the house. She caught a cold which developed into pneumonia. She died on December 12 in Mason County. She was only twenty two years old. She is buried in Dover, Kentucky.

Ella Myrtle Nower

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Described by her daughter as "little, but mighty", Ella Myrtle Nower was born May 7, 1884 into a very, for the time, affluent family. Her father, Samuel J., was a respected banker in Dover, a small town on the Ohio River in Mason County, Kentucky.

The third child and only daughter, Myrtle, as she was known, had four brothers. Earnest and Clarence were born in 1877 and 1880, respectively. Baby Samuel Judd, born February 28, 1888, lived for only four months. Myrtle's youngest brother, Paul, was born in 1890. Their mother, Phoebe Jane Judd Nower, hired a nanny to help in the raising of her young children.

In 1907, Myrtle married Frank Bernard Clark and soon started their family which would consist of six children, four girls and two boys. Her daughter, Frances, remembers her mother as a hardworking woman, "pumping water from a cistern or well, scrubbing clothes on a washboard, canning all our food, sewing clothes". While life was not as comfortable as her childhood had been, Myrtle was known to give parties where as many as seventy-five chickens were fried and served along with the commercial bought ice cream for dessert. Her younger children, Evelyn, Frances, and Irma, dressed alike for these occasions, would serve "goodies" to their guests. Other times would see Myrtle managing her family on very little. No matter the circumstances, however, her determination and strong will earned her the respect of her children and grandchildren.

Frank and Myrtle spent most of their married life in the towns of Dayton, Fort Thomas, Covington, and Dover in northern Kentucky. Toward the end of their lives, they lived on Second Street in Ripley, Ohio. It was at this residence that Myrtle became a widow on September 20, 1960. In June of the following year, with her health rapidly failing, Myrtle was moved to the Georgetown Nursing Home (Georgetown, Ohio) where she died of liver cancer on December 7, 1962. She is buried in Locust Grove Cemetery in Dover, Kentucky.

Frank Bernard Clark

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On October 16, 1875, Frank Bernard Clark was born in Bradford, Kentucky. He was the firstborn of John Joseph and Belle (Stairs) Clark. By the time he was four years old, the family had moved to Grant's Lick, in Campbell County, Kentucky.

The 1890 census was destroyed by fire, and Frank cannot be positively identified in the 1900 census so there is some question as to where he was located during that time. It is known that he was in the military in the very late 1890's, but his particular place of service is unknown.

In 1907, he and Ella Myrtle Nower were married. Frank and Myrtle did not stay in Kentucky. Their first son, Richard Covell was born in Illinois on March 31, 1908. The 1910 census shows the family living in Kansas City, Missouri, although family members today believe that Juanita, the second child, was born in Indiana in September of that year.

At this time, it is unknown where the next two children, Ernest William (1913) and Evelyn Lucille (1915) were born. However, Frances Irene was born in Covington, Kentucky in 1918 and her sister, Irma Elizabeth, was born in 1920 in Fort Thomas, Kentucky.

Frank was a painter and carpenter, although it is known that he was once a marshal in the town of Augusta, Kentucky. During the early days of his marriage, the fingers of his right hand were cut off in a corn shredder late one night after a long day's work leaving him with only a thumb on that hand.

In their later years, Frank and Myrtle lived on Second Street in Ripley, Ohio. On September 18, 1960, Frank entered the Veteran's Hospital in Cincinnati. Six days later, he died there of heart failure. He was 84 years old. He is buried in Locust Grove Cemetery in Dover, Kentucky.

The Clark Family

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It's hard to imagine giving birth to twelve children and having only six survive past their twenties, but that is what John J. Clark and his wife, Belle, experienced.
John and Belle were married in 1874 at the home of her father, Noble Stairs in Kentucky, most likely in Bracken County. On October 16, 1875, their first child, Frank Bernard, was born. At that time, the family was living in Bradford, Kentucky. Frank lived until he was 85 years old, dying in 1960. It is unknown where Edgar Perry, their second child, was born in 1877, although his World War II draft notice states that Franklin County was his place of birth. Nothing else has been found to indicate the family was ever in Franklin County. He died one month before his brother Frank.
In 1879, a daughter, Bessie, was born and a year later, in 1880, she and her family are listed in the Campbell County, Kentucky census. They were living in the town of Grant's Lick. In August of the same year, Bessie died and just a month later, baby Jennie joined the family. She lived until 1900, possibly dying in childbirth.
On April 11, 1882, Belle gave birth to twin boys, Omar and Homer. Little Omar lived only five months. His brother's death date is not known at this time, but from the above photograph, he was still alive in the late 1950's.
Named after his maternal grandfather, Noble Clark was born October 31, 1883. His sister, Vella, arrived two years later on February 22, 1885, but lived only a short time. She died on July 15, 1885. On September 10, 1886, Charles Taylor was born. He would live to the age of 83.
Mary Sudie Clark joined the family on March 30, 1888. She lived until November 25, 1893. Her death is possibly the one that was written about in the Kentucky Post newspaper on November 28 of that same year. The article states that the six year old daughter of J. J. Clark, of Kane Post Office, Kentucky in Campbell County was burned to death. She had been playing near a burning stump close to her home when her dress caught fire. More evidence will need to be found before it can be said for certain that this was Mary Sudie's fate.
Another boy, Carl, was born in May of 1892. He lived only until July. John and Belle's last child was Nelva Ruth. Born on May 2, 1895, she is the only daughter to have survived past the age of twenty. Like her brother Homer, her date of death is unknown at this time.
I would like to thank Ronald Clark, grandson of Edgar Perry, for some of the information about the children of John and Belle Clark.

A Kentucky Genealogy

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The roots of my family straddle the Ohio River following the creeks and roads into southwestern Ohio and northern Kentucky. This blog will concentrate on the Kentucky side of those roots.

The early members of these families did not, all of a sudden, find themselves living in the counties of northern Kentucky. They came from places like Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Some crossed the river from Ohio and settled in Kentucky.

Some of the families that share these Kentucky roots and will be discussed in this blog are

Clark, Dean, Judd, Miller, Nower, Stairs, and Wayson.

I look forward to sharing their lives with you.