MISCELLANEOUS DEATHS FROM THE 1850’S

 

MISCELLANEOUS DEATHS FROM THE 1850’S 

            I found some data regarding seven people born in Ohio County that died in various counties during the 1850’s and I hope that this information might be helpful to someone out there.  There is no connection among these seven people except that they died in the same decade and that they were born in Ohio County. Of course hundreds of other people from Ohio County died in the same decade, so the following is just random information. 

1. Judith Mary (Phillips) Gabbert, born about 1832, Ohio County, daughter of Solomon Phillips & Judah Cooney; her siblings were Matthew, Elizabeth, Margaret, Silas, Daniel James, Nancy, Solomon, and Charles W. 

Judith married John Wesley Gabbert 3 Dec 1847 (she was age 15) and they had two children: Narcissa Hite b. 1850 & Infant d. 1853. 

Judith died 8 July 1853, at age 21, of typhoid fever; buried Phillips Cemetery, Taffy, Ohio County. 

2. Robert E. Smith, single; born near Fordsville about 1831; son of Thomas Smith (1800-1843) & Jane “Ann” Pate (1802-1838). 

Robert died at age 22 in Daviess County 13 Aug 1853 of scrofulo (tuberculosis). This ancient bacterial disease was also referred to as consumption and usually infected the lungs and lymph nodes. Before a cure was found this disease had killed one in seven people that had ever lived. There was no cure until the 1950s. 

3. Mary H. (Fields) Howard, born 31 Jul 1831, Ohio County, daughter of   Zachariah Fields & Amelia “Milly” Tanner. 

Married John M. Howard 21 Dec 1854 in McLean County. 

Mary died 22 Dec 1858, at age 27, in McLean County, of consumption, buried Downs Family Cemetery, Nuckols, McLean County, KY. 

4. William Jackson, born 8 Jan 1834 Ohio County, son of George Cessna Jackson & Sarah “Sally” W. Landrum. 

William, who was unmarried, died 10 May 1856, at age 21, in McLean County of “Epileptic fits” and he is buried in Tichenor Family Cemetery, McLean County, KY. 

5. John A. Jones, born about 1832 in Ohio County, son of William Jones and Paulina Hall. 

John, who was unmarried, died 4 Feb 1855, at age 23, in McLean County, of Desprehsia (probably Dyspraxia, a disease that affects coordination). 

6. Martin Crow Riley, born 16 Jul 1803, Ohio County, son of Michael Riley and Elizabeth Jackson. 

Martin married Elizabeth Smith 7 May 1838. They had eight children. 

 Martin died 21 or 26 Mar 1858, at age 53, in Buel, McLean County, and is buried in the cemetery at Pleasant Hope General Baptist Church, Livermore, McLean County. 

7. Elizabeth (Moore) Tanner, born about 1823, Ohio County, daughter of P. Tanner & Nancy Moore. 

Elizabeth married Charles A. Tanner 23 Nov 1844 in Ohio County and they had 3 children: Richard P., Frances E., & Sally A. 

Elizabeth died 19 Dec 1859 in Ohio County, at age 39, of consumption.

John Oldham - Hometown Hero

WKU basketball legend John Oldham dies at 97

       

On Monday morning, WKU Men’s Basketball legend John Oldham passed away in Bowling Green at the age of 97.

“We are very saddened to learn of the passing of John Oldham,” WKU Director of Athletics Todd Stewart said in a press release.  “Coach Oldham is one of the all-time iconic figures in Western Kentucky University Athletics history who impacted the Hilltoppers as a player, head coach, athletics director and developer of the Red Towel athletics logo.”  

Oldham, a native of Hartford, Kentucky, came to WKU in 1942 to play basketball for Coach E.A. Diddle after earning All-State honors at Hartford High School. After his freshman year at WKU, Oldham served in the U.S. Navy for three years during World War II.

According to the press release from WKU Athletics, in four years as a student athlete — from 1942-43 before the war and 1946-47, then 1947-48 and 1948-49, after the war — he earned a place in WKU's 1,000-point club, scoring 1,006 career points, and helped the Hilltoppers to three appearances in the NIT, four conference championships and 102 wins.  

He was named an All-American by the United Press International and the Associated Press as a senior in 1949, and earned a spot on the first All-Ohio Valley Conference Team that season.

Oldham left his mark on Hilltopper Basketball in each of his roles, earning All-America accolades as a player in 1949 and later coaching some of the greatest teams in WKU history.

Oldham’s impact on WKU was so big that the court in Diddle Arena was named in his honor on Dec. 27, 2012 and was selected to the WKU Basketball All-Century Team in 2018 as a player. 

“It was a special evening on December 27, 2012, when we officially named the court in Diddle Arena ‘John Oldham Court’ with he and his family in attendance, ensuring him the recognition he never sought but certainly deserved,” Stewart said. “It was an honor to have known him, and our thoughts are prayers are with his family.”

After two seasons for the NBA’s Fort Wayne, now Detroit, Pistons, Oldham returned to Bowling Green to coach at Old College High School before moving on to Tennessee Tech as the head coach. He returned to the hill in 1964 to take over the Hilltopper Basketball program from the retiring coach Diddle.

In seven seasons at WKU, from 1964-71, Oldham had a 142-40 record and led the Hilltoppers to five postseason trips, four conference championships, a Sweet 16 berth and a trip to the Final Four in 1971. 

Oldham's .780 winning percentage as a head coach is the best in WKU's men's basketball history, and his number 42 from his days on the court hang in the rafters of Diddle Arena as tribute. He coached two of WKU's three All-Americans, Clem Haskins and Jim McDaniels.

According to the release, In all, Oldham contributed to 244 men's basketball victories, eight postseason appearances and nine conference championships in 11 years as a player and head coach. The overall record of those 11 teams was a remarkable 244-53, or 82.2%.

Oldham was also a pioneer for social change in the sport, putting the Hilltoppers on the forefront of integration in the south in the 1960s.

Oldham served as athletic director from 1971-86 and, in 1971, conceptualized the Red Towel logo, which has turned into one of the most recognizable and historic logos in the country.  

His time as A.D. lined up with the creation of Title IX, the revival of women’s athletics and the football program’s move to Division I-AA, and his coaching hires included some WKU’s best in Paul Sanderford, Joel Murrie, and Curtiss Long.

While he was in charge as director, WKU won six OVC All-Sports Championships and one Sun Belt Conference All-Sports Championship.

“His impactful 15-year tenure as WKU’s Director of Athletics from 1971-86 trails only Ed Diddle for longest service in overseeing WKU Athletics,” Stewart said.  “A soft spoken and enormously kind man, I truly enjoyed knowing him, visiting with him and learning so much about WKU from him.”

Oldham has been inducted into the Lions Club Kentucky High School Hall of Fame (1969), Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame (1986), Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame (1989), Kentucky High School Hall of Fame (1990), Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame (1990), WKU Athletic Hall of Fame (1991) and WKU Hall of Distinguished Alumni (2002).

Source: College Heights Herald – by Kaden Gaylord, Nov 23, 2020

John L. Barnett

     John Langdon Barnett was born 8 Jul 1850 in Ohio County, the son of David L. & Sallie A. (Baird) Barnett.  John married Pauline Barnett 12 Nov 1874 and they had six children: Luther Cotrell, Zana Alexandra, Somers Edward, Mary Jane, Junius Lowery, and David Emmet.  Pauline died 28 Jun 1907, a few years after her youngest child, David, died in 1904.

    Apparently John L. remarried to a Mrs. Brown, from Arkansas, a short time before he died.

    John L. died 17 Sep 1913 in Arden, Arkansas and is (apparently) buried in Marvin Cemetery, which is located near his home in Little River County, Arkansas.  His son, David, is also buried in Marvin Cemetery.

    There are monuments for Pauline and for John L. located in Hartford but John L.'s says he is buried near Foreman, Arkansas.  The following is from the Hartford Republican 19 Sep 1913.

The following is from a newspaper in Arkansas, the Foreman Sun:

J. L. Barnett

Foreman Sun 

Wednesday, September 24, 1913 

J. L. Barnett died at his home at Arden Wednesday morning at the age of 63 years, after an illness of several days duration. 

Mr. Barnett formally resided in Foreman and has many friends here who will regret to learn of his death.  He was born in Hartford, Kentucky, but moved to Foreman about nine years ago which place he made his home until a short time ago, moving to Arden after being married to Mrs. Brown of that place. 

He leaves five children to mourn his death, two of whom were at his bedside when death came, S. E. Barnett, of Idabel Oklahoma, and Mrs. R. M. Thornberry, of Owensboro, Kentucky, a daughter.  Three children who reside at Louisville, Kentucky, did not arrive. 

The remains were interred at Marvin cemetery Wednesday afternoon, but will be taken up after and removed to the family burial ground in Kentucky. 

The Sun extends sympathy to the bereaved. 

Check the bottom words, "Buried near Foreman, Ark."

Note that in the article from the Foreman Sun it mentions that John L. married a Mrs. Brown from Arden, Arkansas.  I found that Sallie E. (Hanson) Brown from Arden became a widow in 1911 (her husband had been C. C. Brown); and I found the marriage info for John L. and Sallie:

Name:	Sallie E Brown
Gender:	Female
Age:	42
Birth Year:	abt 1871
Residence:	Arden, LIttle River, Arkansas
Spouse's Name:	J L Barnett
Spouse's Gender:	Male
Spouse's Age:	60
Spouse's Residence:	Foreman, LIttle River, Arkansas
Marriage Date:	20 May 1913
Marriage License Date:	20 May 1913
Marriage County:	LIttle River
Event Type:	Marriage
FHL Film Number:	1007918

Lillian Lulu (Lula) Davis

           Lillian Lulu (Lula) Davis was born in Cromwell in March 1887, the daughter of John Wesley (Wes) Davis and Mary J. Schrader.  Lulu married Amos Ransom about 1903 and they lived in Cromwell on Old Hartford Road.  Amos was from Indiana and was born 14 June 1877.  Their son, Earnest Woodrow Ransom, was born 31 May 1908.  The 1910 census also says they had lost one child and I think that child was named Otto R. Ransom, who was born 28 Feb 1904.  The 1910 census also says Amos was a “tie hack” which means he made cross-ties for the railroad. 

          Their neighbors were John & Mary Combs; John M. & Elizabeth Leach; Richard & Mollie Davis; and Oscar & Annie Davis.  Most of their neighbors were farmers.

          In the spring of 1915 Lulu was pregnant again, and again she lost the baby.  Apparently the loss of the second child was more than she could bear and, at age 26, on 27 June 1915, she committed suicide.  Lulu is buried in Shields cemetery in Cromwell.

          The following is a short article from the Hartford Republican dated 2 July 1915 and a copy of her death certificate. You will see in the article that Lulu took laudanum, which was an alcohol solution containing morphine, prepared from opium and was used as a pain killer.  An article on the internet says that doctors would give laudanum to babies for teething.  It was sold without a prescription and was used in many patent medicines. 

Beda School Reunion - 1907

 

The 1890 Census

 

The 1890 Census

             We have all searched the census records for clues and information about our ancestors, and we have all discovered that the 1890 census is not available, but I have never known why.  Today I discovered the full story about the loss of those precious records.

          The 1890 census was taken as of June 1, 1890 and gathered different information than former census schedules; there was a separate schedule used for each family with new questions about race, home ownership, ability to speak English, immigration, naturalization, number of children born & living, and Civil War service. Enumerators completed their counting by July 1, 1890 and the original forms were sent to Washington.  At that time we did not have a Census Bureau and the Department of the Interior administered the census. 

          An abstract of the census was published in 1894 revealing the population by States, plus information about agriculture, manufacturing, etc. – but these numbers and statistics are totals and contain no individual information.  The population count ascertained from the records was determined to be 62,979,766.  After that information was taken from the records the original records were then stored in the basement of the Commerce Building as we had no National Archives.

          On January 10, 1921 a fire occurred in the basement where these records were stored and some of the records were burned and most were water damaged.  The damaged records were moved to a warehouse and were later purposely destroyed in the 1930’s. Why they were destroyed is a mystery.  The only remaining records are fragments from various states with fewer than 6,160 names. 

          I have found an online article that explains in detail what happened to the 1890 census.  If you are interested in this subject just check on the links below:

Part 1: 

https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1996/spring/1890-census-1.html 

Part 2:

 https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1996/spring/1890-census-2.html

Part 3 (Notes only):

https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1996/spring/1890-census-3.html

And if this is a subject that you are deeply interested in, you can look at the 1890 Government Pamphlet given to the enumerators:

 https://www.google.com/books/edition/Eleventh_Census_of_the_United_States/f4YZAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=1890+census&printsec=frontcover

Military Search Web Sites

 Military Search Web Sites

          There are many ways to search for military records of your ancestors.  If you belong to Ancestry.com you will find an entire section on Military Records – this includes the Revolutionary War, Civil war, WWI, WWII, and other conflicts, such as Vietnam. If you are not a member of Ancestry.com, you can still find a lot of information at various web sites.  Here is a list of sites to explore:

Kentucky Commonwealth sites:

https://kdla.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/SO_3a09f161-28dc-41a3-b9d2-e0dcf5105c92/

https://kdla.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/SO_3adfde2b-ab20-4392-9a3e-9448e561bc76/

https://kentuckygenealogy.org/military

Federal sites:

Note: Some of these sites require you to download a form and mail it in or otherwise write a request and they will conduct a search and mail you copies of records. There is a small fee involved. I have done this and it works.

http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/

http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/

http://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/other-websites/database-links.html

https://www.usa.gov/military-records

http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm

Private sites:

http://www.military-genealogy.com/

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/military/

http://www.militaryarchiveresearch.com/Genealogy.htm

https://www.railslibraries.info/system/files/Anyone/mtg/2016/2016-11-30/132748/How%20to%20find%20military%20records%20booklet%20Familytree%20magazine%202016.pdf

https://www.americanancestors.org/education/learning-resources/read/world-war-research

https://genealogyresearchnetwork.com/lectures-topics/military-lectures/

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Kentucky_Military_Records

https://ldsgenealogy.com/KY/Military-Records.htm

Crittenden Parks

                                                  Crittenden Parks

           I found a wonderful article about Crittenden “Crit” Parks, a young slave freed by Daniel F. Parks of Ohio County.  The article was written by Roger Hardesty and was posted on his blog October 3, 2020.  Roger is from Portland, Oregon and is seriously interested in history and how history influences our world.  I have never met Roger but he is certainly impressive and we were lucky that he stumbled upon my blog and contacted me.  It appears that Roger has an interest in Madison County, KY, so we can assume his roots are found in Kentucky.  Madison County is located just south of Lexington and the county seat is Richmond.

          First I encourage you to read Roger’s excellent post about Crit Parks, which can be found here:

https://rdhardesty.blogspot.com/2020/09/crit.html

          Second, I encourage you to look through the Archives shown on Rogers’s blog site as you may find another article or two that you will enjoy – particularly if you are a student of history.

          There is not much to add to Roger’s well researched article about Crit Parks.  I enjoyed it so much I have read it multiple times.  As to Crit’s owner, Daniel F. Parks, the 1850 census says Daniel F. Parks lived in Hartford and was born about 1804 in South Carolina.  There is no wife or family shown in the 1850 or 1860 census listing for Daniel Parks.  The 1860 Slave Schedule says he owned 15 slaves. I think Daniel’s father was Peter Parks*, who was born about 1765, and enlisted in the Revolutionary War in North Carolina; Peter had two sons, Daniel and Quinton Parks. The 1870 census shows Daniel living in the Oakford Precinct of Daviess County and he apparently died in Daviess County in 1874.  Here is an 1876 map showing the Oakford Precinct where Daniel lived at the time of his death:

          Daniel’s brother, Quinton, married Margaret Shown on 10 Aug 1826 in Ohio County; the 1850 census shows Quinton and Margaret living in Daviess County with nine children. Quinton died in Daviess County in 1876.

Footnote:

         * "Parks, Peter   Private N.C. line; from North Carolina: 

The above named soldier was living in the county of Ohio, state of Kentucky, when he applied for pension of the date of October 16, 1824, at the age of 60 years. He enlisted in the county of Northhampton, state of North Carolina, the date not remembered. His children’s names were Quinton Parks and Daniel Parks, the birth dates not given."'

Source: Kentucky Society, Sons of the American Revolution, 1896, at page 208 

From “Ohio County in the Olden Days” - Peter Parks is shown in Ohio County in the 1840 census; Peter Parks is listed as receiving a pension for services in the Revolutionary War.