Rodney Clark of Northern Kentucky

Born in Mason County, Kentucky on the 20th day of September 1820, Rodney spent his childhood in the same area of his birth.  His parents were likely Joseph and Polly Clark, although this has never been proven.  On September 26, 1844, at the age of twenty-four, he and Susan Pierce crossed the Ohio River to Aberdeen and were married by Squire Thomas Shelton.

Rodney and Susan lived in Mason County for at least fifteen years before moving their family to neighboring Bracken County.  The majority of their ten children were born in Mason County while the others began their life in Bracken.  By 1880, the family was living in Grants Lick, Campbell County, Kentucky.

In 1893, Susan Clark died in New Richmond, Clermont County, Ohio.  It is not known if she and Rodney were living there to be near their daughter, Mary Lydia Clark Peck, or if Susan was, perhaps, just visiting, but in 1900, Rodney was back in Kentucky living in the Alexandria Voting Precinct of Campbell County with the family of his son, William.

The death of Rodney must have occurred between the years 1900 and 1910 as he is not found in the 1910 census, but an actual date or burial place has not been found.  If any readers can help locate proof of Rodney's death or parents, this writer would be truly appreciative!

 

The Wayson Family in the Prohibition Years

When I think of the 1920's and Prohibition in this country I tend to think about Chicago, Al Capone, and Eliot Ness.  In my mind, Al Capone looks a lot like Robert DeNiro and Eliot Ness could be Kevin Costner's twin brother!  Like most people today, my perception is totally influenced by television, Hollywood, and movies such as The Untouchables.  Little did I know that my family was a lot closer to that illegal liquor, gangster filled underworld than just documentaries and reruns of gangster movies on television!

During Prohibition, in a country governed by the 18th Amendment which prohibited the production, sale, and transport of intoxicating liquors, the city of Newport, Kentucky which rests on the banks of the Ohio River, was the home of illegal backyard stills, the smuggling and selling of the product of those stills, and, yes, even organized crime.  It is said that the country's major crime syndicates, including that of Al Capone, depended on Newport for some of their illegal liquor supply.  Newport, Kentucky was known as Sin City.

The year was 1926.  The place was Sin City.  The house at 840 Dayton Street was the home of my great-great grandfather, William Wayson and his family.  He was in his mid to late 50's and on the 18th day of November, he found himself standing before Oscar H. Roetken, U.S. Commissioner, in Covington, Kentucky being arraigned on a charge of conspiracy to violate the Volstead Act or, as it is better known, The Prohibition Act.  Standing with him were George Green and James Wade Russell, both of Bowling Green, Kentucky.  Green and Russell were the owners of an oil station in Bowling Green, and William  admitted that the night before, at a house at 332 Isabella Street, he sold them 16 gallons of moonshine whiskey.

The three men were arrested by Newport patrolmen, Michael Cassidy and Morris Hodesh, after placing the illegal substance into an automobile.  After the arrest, federal agents, James Wood and Rodman Russell, were called.  William told the agents that he worked for Edward Becker, the "big boss", selling liquor in Newport from 5:00 pm until 7:30 am when another man would come and relieve him taking the "business" during the day.  William was told that he, along with the other two men, would be given a preliminary hearing the following Tuesday.

At the preliminary hearing, George Green and James Wade Russell, were dismissed.  Becker, a man named Milton Roll, and my great-great grandfather were held to the April term of court.  I have not found anything that tells me what happened to William the following April, but I do know that in 1930, he, his wife Ada, and youngest son, William Jennings, were living in the small town of Gubser, very near Newport and, at the age of 89, William passed away right there in the heart of Sin City in his home at 614 Central Avenue just a hop, skip, and a jump from Isabella Street and his brush with the law.

I found the story of William and his arrest in the Kentucky Post newspapers dated 18 and 24 November 1926.  Both articles, "Trio Held After Whisky Sale" and "Three Are Held", were on the front page.  Copies of the articles can be requested from the Kenton County Public Library.  I found many interesting web sites about Newport and her infamous reputation on the Internet.  The one I used for this post can be found at Northern Kentucky Views: A Broad Collection of Images and Texts on the History of Northern Kentucky.  

Nora Wayson Moore

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.

Guss Wayson

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.

Ernest Wayson

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.