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.  

Juanita Clark and William Wayson Marriage Records

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.

Talented Tuesday - A Needle and Some Thread

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

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.

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.

William M. or W. Wayson ???

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.

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.

Haley Wayson Moore

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

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.

William M. Wayson

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

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

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

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

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.

A Kentucky Genealogy

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.