Samuel Oldham Peyton

          Dr. Samuel Oldham Peyton was born 8 Jan 1804 in Bullitt County, Kentucky and died 4 Jan 1870 in Ohio County.  Dr. Peyton is buried in Oakwood Cemetery.  He married Mary Worthington Kincheloe (1810-1888) on 12 Nov 1829 in Muhlenberg County and they had four children:  Frank; Mary (Hoke); Elizabeth (Hartte); and V. Wesley.

          Dr. Peyton was a US Congressman. Elected to represent Kentucky's 2nd and 3rd District in the United States House of Representatives, he served from 1847 to 1849, and 1857 to 1861. He was defeated in 1855. He also served as a Member of the Kentucky State Legislature.

          Dr. Peyton is mentioned in “Ohio County, Kentucky, in the olden days” a book based on a series of newspaper articles published in the 1850’s and written by Harrison D. Taylor:

William Aston Maddox

          William Aston Maddox, born 31 May 1791, Virginia, son of John Maddox III and Eleanor Aston, died  February, 1866, Ohio County, Kentucky. He is thought to be buried in the Maddox Cemetery, McHenry, Ohio County.

          William married Elizabeth Gray (abt 1797- 1870) on 30 Nov 1815 in Ohio County and they had eight children: John 1820; Thomas 1821; James 1824; Martha E. 1830; William L. 1832; Samuel W. 1834; Daniel A. 1836; and Nancy Jane (Shepherd) 1839. 

          William served with the Confederate Army during the Civil War.  It is thought their home was located near McHenry or Centertown.

          As you can see in his Will, below, he made an agreement with his son Daniel for Daniel to take care of Elizabeth, his wife, until her death, and left his other children only $1.00 each.

William Rogers

          April 1865 was an important month in our history.  President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865 and died the next day.  On April 18 Confederate General Joseph Johnson surrendered to General William Sherman and the Civil War was effectively over.  Booth was shot and killed April 26.

          The documents shown below identify Private William Rogers, age 22, born in Ohio County, and further shows that he enlisted in the U. S. Army on 29 April 1865.  William is further identified as a slave of Mary Rogers, Ohio County.  William died on the Steamship Bermuda of gastritis 28 Nov 1865 while en route to Helena, Arkansas. This document says that two other men, presumably from Ohio County, entered service at the same time as William Rogers:  George H. Shultz and Charles Jackson.  William was a member of 6^th Regiment, U. S. Cavalry.

          I was unable to find William in the 1860 census records.

          I found the following regarding the Steamer Bermuda:

          One of the earliest blockade- runners to be constructed in the United Kingdom was the iron-screw steamer Bermuda, 897 tons gross, built by Pearce and Lockwood, in 1861, at Stockton-on-Tees, and fitted with engines of 135 h.p. by Fossick and Hackworth. She was completed in August and moved round to Liverpool, where she was registered in the name of Edwin Haigh, a local cotton broker. Within a few days of the registration, however, a certificate of sale was executed in favour of A. S. Henckel and George Alfred Trenholme, of Charleston. She made several successful trips, and was manned by a crew of 30 under command of Captain Eugene Tessier, and later Captain C. W. Westendorff, until seized and condemned by the Federal Government towards the end of 1862.

William Jefferson Berry, M. D.

William Jefferson Berry, M. D., the son of Major Edward Berry and Mary Polly Brazelton, was born 9 Jul 1816 in Beech Fork, Washington County, KY and died in Florida 17 Dec 1893.  He is buried in the Fort White City Cemetery, Fort White, Columbia County, Florida, where he moved for health reasons.  Fort White is a small town of about 500 people located west of Jacksonville, between Gainesville and Lake City.

Dr. Berry came to Ohio County in 1838 and married Sarah Ann Martha “Sallie” Walker 26 Jul 1838 in Hartford.  Sallie was born 8 Nov 1822, the daughter of R. L. Walker, a merchant in Hartford.  Sallie died 5 Aug 1894 in Florida and is buried next to her husband.

Dr. Berry practiced general medicine and surgery in Hartford and Beaver Dam from 1838 until about 1885, when he and Sallie moved to Florida.  He also served several terms in the Kentucky State Legislature.

Dr. Berry and Sallie had eleven children: Richard G. Berry; Elijah Berry; Zelma Berry (Gregory); Dr. Samuel Logan Berry; Dr. Lavega Berry; Harris Walker Berry; Mary Lelia Berry (Ellison); Mattie S. Berry (Murrell); Dr. John Morgan Berry; William Jefferson Berry, Jr.; and Edward Berry. 

Hartford Republican - Obituary, August 17, 1894

GRIFFITH – 3 Generations

GRIFFITH – 3 Generations

Joshua Griffith was the first member of his family to come to Kentucky.  After his wife died in 1797 in Maryland, Joshua and his remaining family left Maryland and arrived in the western section of Ohio County about 1805; they are shown living in Montgomery County, Maryland in the 1800 census and are shown living in Ohio County in the 1810 census.  Joshua was born in Anne Arundel County, Maryland 25 Mar 1764.  He married Elizabeth Ridgley about 1780; Elizabeth was born about 1765 and died about 1797.  Joshua died 25 March 1845 in Daviess County (their home was in the part of Ohio County that became a part of Daviess County when Daviess County was formed in 1815). Joshua is buried in Rosehill Elmwood Cemetery, Owensboro.  Joshua and Elizabeth had several children, including his youngest son, William Ridgley Griffith and several daughters.

William Ridgely Griffith, son of Joshua and Elizabeth Griffith, was born 28 Feb 1793, Montgomery County, MD, and died 7 Dec 1858, Daviess County.  Served in the War of 1812.  Served in the Kentucky Legislature.  First married Arria Moseley 13 April 1820, Daviess County.  Two children:  Daniel Moseley Griffith and Clinton D. Griffith.  Following Arria’s death in 1828 William Ridgely married Marsha Hopkins. No children were born of the second marriage.

  

(a)  Dr. Daniel Moseley Griffith was born 28 February 1826 and died 3 November 1893. Daniel Moseley married Virginia Shelby and they had ten children: Florence (Miller); Mary Ridgely (Ray); Clinton Griffith; Joshua Todd Griffith; Rose Burwell (Watkins); Letitia Shelby (Watkins); Charles Todd Griffith; Virginia Todd Griffith; Ruth Griffith; Daniel Moseley Griffith, II.

(b) Clinton D. Griffith was born 18 Oct 1828 and died 3 August 1896.  He married Mary Frances Crawford who died in 1865 - and they had one child: William Ridgely Griffith.  Second marriage in 1870 to Anna Bell Weir  and they had four children: Anna Rumsey Griffith; James Weir Griffith; Dewitt Clinton Griffith;  and Arria (McGinniss).

William Crown Leach

William Crown Leach, son of Leonard Washington Leach & Rosanna A. Morris, was born 23 March 1848 in Ohio County and died 12 Dec 1914 in Ohio County. He married Nancy Mariah Young 28 Sep 1871 in Ohio County. She was born 14 Mar 1850 in Renfrow, Ohio County, KY and died 23 Nov 1945 in Palestine, Anderson County, TX.

His parents are identified in his death certificate.  Since there were two men named William Crown Leach living in Ohio County it is hard to distinguish between them. One of them used W. L. C. Leach as his name, probably to avoid confusion - I suspect it might have been this man because the L. could have come from his father's name, Leonard.

There is a W. C. Leach listed as a member of the Cromwell Home Guards, a volunteer unit that protected Ohio County during the Civil War (June 1861 - abt Jan 1862).  He is listed as a Pvt.

Identified in writing as William Crown Leach by his granddaughter, Elizabeth Nancy Trabue, during the 1930's, in "Baby Book" of great-granddaughter.   "Mother wrote 'Virginia Lee Shane as she grew' as a title in the old kind of black photograph albums. She had to use white ink. After listing time of birth, et-cetera, she listed my parents, then Father's parents, then Mother's parents, Father's grandparents: Ethelbert Bruce Trabue, Ophelia Elizabeth Burnett, and Mother's Grandparents: William Crown Leach, & Nancy Mariah Young."  Source is email from Ginger Hartman (Virginia Lee Shane Hartman) dated 7 May 2007.

Nancy M. Leach in Houston 1933        

William Crown and Nancy had eleven children:

1. John Richard Leach, born Aug 1872 Ohio County – died 1907 Ohio County.

2. Silas E. Leach, born 12 May 1874 Ohio County – died 31 Oct 1877 Ohio County.

3. Pernoley Leach,  born 1 Jan 1876 Ohio County – died 18 Aug 1876 Ohio County.

4. Leonard Cominton Leach, born 13 Oct 1876 Ohio County – died 30 Jan 1950 Daviess County.

  

Leonard married Mary Alice Plummer and they had two children:

a. Lorene Leach, born 22 Nov 1899 – died 8 Jul 1966 FL. Lorene married Lonie Johnson.

Loney Johnson 1890, son of DAVID JOHNSON & TENNESSEE TALLY married LORINE LEACH 1899 on MARCH 31, 1917 in SPENCER CO. IND.  On FEB 24 1918 from this marriage there was born WILDA M. (NELLY) JOHNSON and her twin brother LONEY JOHNSON, it is felt Loney died as infant. Loney the father was also a twin.  In 1920 Lorene is back in her father's home, listed as single with child Wilda.. Since she is under father's name it could be felt that she was divorced, or widowed. Sometime later Lorene married FLEMOND D. MOSELEY son of ROBERT C. MOSELEY 1855 and CATHERINE D. CROWDER. It is not known if there were children by this marriage.

b. Elijah Beulah Leach, born 1902 Ohio County – died 1 Nov 1980 Akron, Summit County, Ohio.

                    Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio 3 Nov 1980

5. Polly A. Leach  born 15 Oct 1879 Ohio County – died 30 Sep 1883 Ohio County.

6. William Crown Leach, Jr.   15 Jul 1881 Ohio County –  died 5 Jul 1882 Ohio County.

7. Lou Donie Leach  born Nov 1883 Ohio County – died 23 Jul 1946 Houston, Harris Co, TX. Married Robert Samuel Trabue, born 24 Oct 1881 Owensboro – died 25 May 1957 Houston.  Seven children: (a) Crown Ethelbert Trabue; (b) Elizabeth Nancy Trabue; (c) Alice Virginia Trabue; (d) Roberta Trabue; (e) Robert Lee Trabue; (f) Lou Valta Trabue; and (g) Kathleen Avis Trabue.

8. James Virgil Leach  born 18 Sep 1885 Ohio County – died 26 Nov 1940 Los Angeles, CA.  Married Florence Olivia Fields:  3 children: (a) James Fields, born 21 Jun 1916 Miami, AZ – died 12 Nov 1962 Houston; (b) Lucille Bernice, born 30 Jul 1917 AZ – died 10 Feb 1940 Los Angeles; and (c) Marian, born abt 1920 AZ (Marian not mentioned in father’s obit)

9. Lou Vennie Leach,  born 13 Aug 1887 Ohio County – died 16 Dec 1969 Ohio County

Lou Vennie married John Thomas Renfrow, born 1881 Ohio County – died 20 Jul 1952 Ohio County. Six children: (a) Raymond, (b) Golan Forest, (c) Eula Ray, (d) Wilmer O’Connel, (e) John Thomas, and (f) Yeullis Maurice.

10. Everett Leach, born 25 Mar 1890 Ohio County – died 25 Mar 1892 Ohio County.

11. Lavada Ethel Leach,  born 1 Apr 1893 Ohio County – died 12 Oct 1982, Palestine, Anderson County, TX.  Lavada married H.H. Lee Alford; Six children: (a) Ruby Mae, (b) Loretta E., (c) Kenneth L., (d) Elmer E., (e) Lavada Iris, and (f) William Pleasant.

  

Texas Death Index: Lavada Alford Death Date: 12 Oct 1982 Death County: Anderson Gender: Female

Thanks to Shane Hartman for the photos and Virginia Lee Shane Hartman for providing information about the family.

Robert Lee Dever

          Robert Lee Dever was born 15 Nov 1880 in Ohio County, the son of Henry Clay Dever (1844 – 1934) and Jamima “Mima” J. Wright (1855 – 1912), and died 25 Dec 1957 in Daviess County.  He was one of eleven children and his father, who previously lived in Larue County, was a farmer in the Sulphur Springs area of Ohio County. His father had a previous marriage to Sarah Frances Nicholas and three children were born of that marriage.

          Robert Lee Dever and Martha Jane (Coy) Ewing were married 18 April 1903 in Ohio County.  Martha Jane had previously been married to Jesse Ewing, who died about 1902, and two children were born to that previous union, Ervin Ewing (1894 – 1959) and Allen Ewing (1897 – 1963).

          Martha Jane (Coy), daughter of Nicholas Coy and wife, Elizabeth, was born 20 Oct 1878 in Larue County, KY and died 16 Nov 1910 in Ohio County. 

          Mr. Dever and Martha Jane had two children, Fronia Mae Dever was born about 1905. A second child, Carson Dever, was born 15 Apr 1907 and died 8 Sep 1909 in Ohio County. 

          Here is their wedding announcement for Mr. Dever and Martha Jane:

Hartford Herald, April 22, 1903 Jingo news. Married at the residence of H. C. Dever, last Sunday the 16th, at 2 o’clock, Robert Dever and Mrs. Janie Ewing of LaRue County, Ky.  The groom is the son of H. C. Dever and is very popular.  The bride was a pretty young widow.  They will start to housekeeping at once at Dundee.  May their pathway be strewn with thornless flowers.

          The 1910 census shows the family living in Sulphur Springs and Mr. Dever’s occupation is listed as a farmer.

          Here is the death notice for Martha Jane:

Hartford Herald, May 23, 1910:  Mrs. Dever, wife of Robert Dever, who lives near Sunnydale, died at her home Wednesday morning at 2 o'clock of tuberculosis. She had been sick for several months and her death had been expected for several weeks. She leaves a husband and three children to mourn her loss.

          Mr. & Mrs. Dever lost their son, Carson, in September 1909, and then Mrs. Dever died about a year later, 16 Nov 1910, leaving Mr. Dever with his only  living child, Fronia Mae, who was then about 5 years old, and his two step-sons, Ervin and Allen. 

          Mr. Dever next married Eunice Rock about 1913; she taught school in Ohio County.  They had a son, Earl Preston Dever, that was born 12 Oct 1914 and died 2 Dec 1914. Eunice died during childbirth in May 1918. 

Hartford Herald, May 22, 1918: Mrs. R. L. Dever, wife of Mr. R. L. Dever, the grocer on Union Street, died early Tuesday morning of childbirth, in the family apartment above the grocery. Mrs. Dever was 28 years old and before her marriage was a Miss Rock, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Luther Rock of the Concord neighborhood. She was a member of the Christian church and her funeral will be preached this morning by Rev. Walter Greep at the Midkiff burying ground, near Mt. Vernon, where her remains will be buried.

           By 1918 Mr. Dever was operating a grocery store in Hartford and later operated a transfer service between Hartford and Beaver Dam.

          The 1920 census shows Mr. Dever as a widower.

          In January 1922 Mr. Dever married for the third and last time to Mrs. Lucy Ellen “Ella” (Gardner) Leach of Beaver Dam, the widow of Harney Leslie Leach, who had three children by her deceased husband.  Mr. and Mrs. Dever had one child, a son named Robert Lee Dever, Jr., born 1924.  The family moved to Owensboro and lived on West 11^th Street; Mr. Dever owned a shoe repair shop in Owensboro.

          This is the obituary for Mr. Dever from the Messenger-Enquirer 26 Dec 1957:

          

          This is a photo of the Dever family from his first marriage showing Ervin and Allen Ewing in the back row; Mr. Dever and Martha Jane in the middle row; and Fronia and Carson in the front row (since Carson died Sept 1909 this photo was probably made during the summer of 1909):

  

          The following photo is of Robert L. Dever and Lucy Ellen “Ella” (Gardner) Leach Dever, my grandmother, and I guess the photo was made in the 1950’s:

        

          Mr. Dever chose to be buried next to his second wife, Eunice, in the Midkiff Cemetery, Ohio County:

          Mrs. Dever chose to be buried next to her first husband, Leslie, in the Sunnyside Cemetery, Ohio County:    

   
         As to Fronia Mae Dever, the daughter of Mr. Dever’s marriage to his first wife, Martha Janie (Coy) Ewing, I found mention of her in the local paper in 1918 and it suggests that she was living in the Bennett’s community and was called Miss Fronie Dever in the article.  She is shown in the 1920 census living with her father on Union Street in Hartford – probably an apartment above the grocery. Later she married Guildford Donald Sawyer in Indiana on 21 April 1926.  Mr. Sawyer was born 21 Nov 1907 and died 31 Mar 1990 in Los Angeles, California.  His WWII draft registration in 1942 shows Fronia May as his wife.  They had one child, Guilford D. Sawyer, Jr., who was born in 1927.  Fronia died in March 1998 in Joliet, Will County, Illinois.