Jasper Newton Sexton & Miriam Lambert Sexton: Whispers from the Grave; Klaiber Cemetery, Boyd County, Kentucky

 

Compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber

Jasper Newton Sexton was born 15 January 1869 in Boyd County, Kentucky, the son of Henry Powell Sexton and wife Julina McCormack. 

Jasper married 20 January 1898 Miriam Roberts Lambert.  She was the daughter of James Calvin Lambert and wife Marietta Davis.  Their reception was a big event on Garner and Luella Banfield carefully entered it in her day book[i].  Daughter Willa said her mother described the day of the wedding with a carpet from the road all the way to the house and butter molds in the shape of something special.  The marriage is recorded in the East Fork Methodist church records.  The marriage took place at Miriam’s father, Cal’s house on Garner.  John Childers and Thursy Davis[ii] were witness.

Jasper was a farmer all his life.  He and Miriam had ten children.  Harold Lee (b.1912) , Hopie (born 1910) and Wirt (b. 1918) were born in what today is the Klaiber Hood Cabin on our farm[iii].    Their first son Everett born in 1905 was their first child, to die and be buried in the cemetery. Everett died 17 June 1905. He was followed by Jasper II born 24 February 1916, died the same day.  Jasper was buried in Sexton Cemetery on Pigeon Roost. The next year they had another stillborn girl they named Maymie Lynd Sexton. 

The family buried son Royal Norman on the 10^th of November 1921 He had gone to Sullivan County, Indiana to work in the coal mines and died from the falling of slate  in a mine accident.  He was brought back for burial in Klaiber Cemetery.

Miriam’s nickname was “Toad.” She died 17 March 1930, from pneumonia, and was laid to rest in Klaiber Cemetery.  Three months later the family buried Hopie who I wrote about in our last blog post. 

Jasper continued to live on Garner for the rest of his life.  He died 10 November 1967. His funeral service was held at East Fork United Methodist Church. 

I love the inscription on their stone “We shall never grow old or be separated Again.”

---

[i] Luella Banfield’s Day book is housed in the genealogy room of the Boyd County Public Library

[ii] KY Boyd mbk 16a p 47

[iii] Sexton Willa B telephone interview September 1997

Sophia Mae “Hopie” Sexton: Whispers from the Grave; Klaiber Cemetery, Boyd County, Kentucky

 

Compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber

Sophia Mae “Hopie” Sexton was born 9 March 1910 in Boyd County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Jasper Newton Sexton and Mariam Roberts Lambert Sexton.  Whenever family remembers and talks about her she is simply “Hopie.”  Her father’s nickname was “Hop.”

Hopie went to Portsmouth, Ohio and was working as “forelady” for a steam laundry company when she was eighteen.  When she and her friends went to the river to swim and cool off. Tragedy struck.   Hopie drowned in the Ohio River on June 30, 1930, when she was twenty.  

The Portsmouth Daily Times told the sad story. “…Found near foot of Harmon Street where she met death Monday night -Companions rescued. Zelda Lowder of Bluefield and Everett Harlowe 12 have close call.  Strangled by waves from a ferry and a barge ...Miss Hopie Sexton 20, of 2334 Jackson Street, was drowned in the Ohio river...occurred about 300 yards west of the upper ferry landing...body was recovered...by city firemen. … about 20 minutes after the victim disappeared the rescue squad of the city fire department hooked the body and lost it as it neared the surface. The body was later recovered near the same spot which is close to the place where she went down...Miss Sexton is the fourth drowning victim here this month...Zelda Lowder and Everett Harlowe were saved by the girl’s father C. L. Lowder. John Wall 17...Clarence Johnson 19...Nobel Sadler 21 ...Charles Lemon 35 of 2334 Jackson Street cousin of the drowned woman....others....were bathing  in the river near the scene when the drowning occurred and went to the rescue...Miss Sexton came here from Cannonsburg, Kentucky south of Ashland, Kentucky about two years ago. She was employed in the American Steam Laundry. For the past two months she had been living with her cousin Mrs. Charles Lemon[i]. Previous to that time she resided on Glover Street.  She is survived by her parents Mr. and Mrs. Jasper Sexton, three brother, Edgar, Harold and Mert[ii] and one sister Billie[iii] all of Cannonsburg …”

Hopie Mae’s death certificate[iv] simply states “Accidental drowning” “Drowns while in River.”   Her brother Thomas Edgar Sexton was the informant for the death certificate.  Thomas became a pastor for the Church of God in Boyd County, Kentucky.

The Ashland Daily Independent was either given incorrect information or confused the death.  On July 2 the paper stated that Hopie Mae Sexton had died at her home after an illness of several days.  If this were the only article, researchers would incorrectly think Sophia “Hopie”  Mae Sexton died in Kentucky, which would be an error. The family brought Hopie back to Boyd County, to be buried in Klaiber Cemetery on 3 July 1930. 

 

 

---

[i] Mrs. Charles Lemon maiden name Bertha French was a 2st cousin once removed through her mother’s family.

[ii] Mert is an error – the brother ‘s name is Wirt Elam Sexton

[iii] Billie in the article is Willa Bertran Sexton. Her nickname was Bill.

[iv] OH Vital, Scioto 38680

Treasures From Our Father's Past

compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber
October 2010

I recently read that the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center in Ashland, Kentucky is developing a wonderful display with World War II memorabilia and will be host to a traveling exhibit as well.

During and after the war soldiers families received advertisements to submit their picture and information for publication in a book. The books were published across the country. Today we tag these type of books as "vanity books." You paid to submit your information and got a copy of the book.

But the World War II books and many other of these historical submitted publications are truly jewels for family and genealogists today.

The Boyd County Public Library received a worn and tattered copy of Patriots of Kentucky WW2 as a donation the other day. You can tell the book has been used over and over again.

I found no publisher listed nor date of publication. But the dedication says "To those who have died for their country - 2nd WW." It does not appear to be the same series as the WWII Young American Patriots 1941-45 series. But the publication is similar.

Another quirk of the publication is the use of 2 vs II throughout the publication. And unlike the Young American Patriots Series the photographs are not alphabetical. The book is organized by town and then by soldier. The book states "Look for your hometown and refer to the page indicated where you will find your picture and historical sketch..."

I spent some time just reading the list of cities and towns in the front of the book. Many of our soldiers were from rural Kentucky and I did find a few entries for Kentucky's unique rural burgs. Most entries, of course were for Louisville, Lexington and a large group from Ashland.

Since this blog is based in the postal service area of Rush, Kentucky I of course looked to see how many entries were from this area. I found two entries. Many more served from this area of Boyd County but these two were submitted:

Charlie C. Coburn Pvt 20, Entered US Army Inf. European Theater. Attended Boyd Co. School. Member of the Methodist Church. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Coburn. Rush, KY.

J. H. Lambert, Pvt. 22 US Army. Mediterranean. Attended Canburg High School and Baptist Church. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey Lambert.

Canburg is the Boyd County High School that was then held at Cannonsburg, Boyd County, Kentucky.

Three more entries caught my eye from northeastern Kentucky. Having raised three sons my heart went out to the mother who waited back home for word from three of hers. Under Flatwoods, Kentucky I found the entries of Charles Kenneth Clarke age 20 in the US Army and a POW in Germany. Lemuel Morton Clarke age 35 in the US Engineers and Leonard G. Clarke age 21 in the US Army. All three gentlemen the sons of Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Clarke.

William R. Clarke and wife Stella are listed in the 1930 Federal Census in Russell, Greenup County, Kentucky. Kenneth and Leonard are 5 and 6 years old and Lemuel Morton is listed as Morton age 20. The Clarke family was large with a total 0f ten children that year. It was no surprise to see that William R. Clarke supported his large family by working at the steel mill.

My generation grew up surrounded by silent hero's. They did not talk much about their service until the past few years. Now they are leaving us. This wonderful book was not about vanity but pride in being an American.

This treasure can be viewed in the Minnie Crawford Winder Genealogy Room at the Boyd County Public Library.

John Lesley, Bolts Fork, Kentucky: Day Tripping Around Eastern Kentucky

compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber July 2010

Driving back north on US#23 from Pike County, Kentucky to Bolt's Fork on the border of Lawrence County and Boyd County on a super highway is a breeze these days. However, viewing the changing terrain makes one think about the challenges our Eastern Kentucky pioneers had when settling the area.

In my last blog I described Lesley Settlement on John's Creek and spoke of William Robert Lesley and son Robert. When William and Robert left Virginia to travel to John's Creek, son John Lesley remained behind.

John, according to his tombstone and NSDAR papers was born 22 November 1760. Lesley served 18 months on the Clark Expedition to Illinois and is listed as receiving bounty land in George Rogers Clark Papers 1771-1784 edited by James A. James. This is probably the land that he made a survey for on the waters of the Bluestone.

John appears on the 1793 Wythe County tax list as John Lestly. He was recommended to the Commission of the peace in Tazewell County in 1812. Often the spelling of his name was contorted and read as Lasly/Lasley/Lestley/Leslie and other variants.

By 1815 John Lesley had deeded 1/2 acre near where he lived on the Bluestone, now Tazewell County, to the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church [Tazewell deed book 2 page 509] and began selling parcels of land while giving other acreage to his son William.

In Lesley/Leslie 200 Years in America the author indicates that John Lesley and family may have stopped in the area of Lesley Settlement for a couple of years between 1827 and 1833. He does appear on the 1830 Federal Census of Pike County.

John then migrated to Lawrence County, Kentucky. The trip from John's Creek northward could not have been easy. When he applied for a pension in Lawrence County, Kentucky in April 1833 [#25016] the name was filed as Lasley. At this time he states he is a resident of the East Fork of Little Sandy and is 72 years of age.

The following year, 16 June 1834, son John P. Lesley had a confrontation with Josiah Lambert. The Lawrence County Circuit Court record states that Lesley had received a brutal assault and beating at the hands of Lambert. Testimony was requested on his behalf by Gordon Coburn, Isaac Bolt, William Lesley, and Briant Fannin. In April 1835 John P. Lesley wrote a note " Mr. James Rice, Sir I want you to stop that suit of mine as we have compromised it. He says he will pay all costs. I do not see there would be any chance of getting any thing out of him for he is not worth twenty-five cents...John P. Lesley."

When Ruth Cleveland Leslie published her book in 1956 she wrote about the burial of the elder Revolutionary John Lesley: "No actual account of his death was discovered by this researcher but he apparently died before another payment was due in April 1842. The aforementioned source also states that he was also buried in Pike County. However, no information as to the specific burial place was learned." NSDAR applications simply state he died circa 1841. Some online submitted trees still show John Lesley with a death in Pike County.

There is no indication that John Lesley returned to Pike County after filing for a pension in Lawrence County, Kentucky. He appears on the 1840 Lawrence County, Kentucky census as J. Lasley. He appears on the 1841 tax list for Lawrence County as well but does not appear on the 1842 tax list.

Driving north from Pike County on US #23 then left on Old Route #3 past routes to Yatesville Lake is a wonderful afternoon drive. Head up #3 and turn on Bolts Fork Road on the East Fork of the Little Sandy, now Route #773 you meander past the pioneer lands of Isaac Bolt and John D. Ross and what was once Sandy Furnace. Beyond Sandy Furnace you will see Ross Chapel and Jacks Fork Road. And just a short distance more on the right you will see a charming cemetery known as Leslie Cemetery. When the first burials took place in this cemetery it was part of Lawrence County now Boyd County.

Under the shade trees in Leslie Cemetery is a weather beaten stone that is unreadable. Apparently Ruth was not aware of or could not read the stone when she wrote her publication in 1956. When a reading was done in October 1968 historian, Evelyn Jackson, created a rough map of the cemetery and marked a "?" for the old weather beaten stone directly under the tree. She returned to the cemetery again in March 1978 again leaving the stone as unidentified.

Between 1978 and July 2001 the old weathered stone was replaced to honor John Lesley who had helped protect Virginia, saw the Wabash, and traveled the pioneer creeks and hollows of Eastern Kentucky to settle and finally rest under the shade trees of Bolts Fork.

Garner, Boyd County, KY 1923 Diary Entries

Transcribed and annotated by Teresa Martin Klaiber 2010

Diaries come in many shapes and forms. This particular diary is simply one, moth eaten sheet of paper, written in blue ink on the back of a NeedleCraft Magazine form letter.

The author is not cited nor is the year cited. However, with a little sleuthing this compiler has been able to ascertain that the compiler was Julina Leota Sexton Horton Klaiber. Besides the entry that President Harding has died, other entries concerning deaths have been confirmed as 1923 as well.

This flimsy, fragile, tattered sheet is just one of many treasured items discovered in the smoke house on property that has been in the Sexton and Klaiber family for 125 years.

The area is known as Big Garner and over the years the road has had several names including Poor House Fork and finally Long Branch Road. The smoke house and cellar still stand beside the well as a testament of days gone by.

Original entries are in bold. Annotations in brackets.

Jan. 23 Ruth Fannins baby died buried...[Hattie May Fannin daughter of Thomas & Ruth Stapleton Fannin. Buried in Sexton Cemetery on Pigeon Roost, Boyd County, KY. Death certificate 217.]

Feb. 7 School closed.

Feb. 19 Mrs. Fannin died buried the... [Samantha Jane Fannin born 20 June 1839. A widow, died at Coalton and buried at Fannin aka Sexton Cemetery. Death certificate 6755.]

March 3 Lelia [Horton Meeks, daughter of Julina and first husband William Horton] and Wilmont [Meeks son of Lelia] came out home went back. [Went back to Ironton, Lawrence County, OH where resided.]

March 5 Mrs. Lambert died buried 8, Thurs. [Marrieta,as spelled on the death certificate, born September 25, 1848, widowed. Daughter of Aaron and Miriam Eastham Davis. Burial was in Sexton Cemetery. The certificate says the death occurred on the 6th. Certificate 6756.]

March 20 Lizzie Sexton baby borned. [Juanita Catherine daughter of John Milton Sexton and Elizabeth - Lizzie- Mae Klaiber Sexton.]

March 31 Goldia and Mattie were out home.

April 1 Mr. Pinkins died buried Tue 3 [? very difficult to read.]

April 2 Ed Harris died at 5:30 buried -- 5 pm.

--- I did my first washing machine.

April 22 Sunday. Cynthia, Arthur and Martha [Klaiber would later marry 1. Zachary Jones 2. Fred Cox] went to Mrs. --

April 28. Saturday. Nick cat kittens born 3 Sat 12

May 1. Sunday. Martha went to Millards K. [Klaiber] I went to Lelia's.

May 19. Saturday Lelia, Wilmont and myself came home.

May 21. Tuesday. Millard [Klaiber] moved to Detroit.

June 5. Tom Kitten died.

--- Alice Kittens were borned.

June 22 Sunday. Mrs. Selbee died at 4:40. [Kate born 1866 wife of W. R. Selbee, buried in Banfield Cemetery.]

June 24 Lelia and Wilmont came out.

--- School at East View started. Mrs. Te--- [East View located on Garner on RR 854 facing the junction of Jacks Fork.]

---Willa S. baby borned and buried 31. [Willa Sexton. Infant death certificate 19880.]

---Thursday. Uncle Walter Reece, Bird and Paul Ambs were here. Went home from here Aug. 8. [Bird is Virginia the daughter of Walter and Martha Sexton Reece who married Paul Ambs.]

August 3. Friday. President Harding died buried the 10. None Charged.

August 4. Saturday. Gladys baby borned. [Gladys Klaiber married Richard Otworth, baby is Elizabeth Jane.]

August 6. Monday Fred Elzwick baby died buried 7. [Fred Elswick Jr. born at Normal, Boyd County, son of Fred and Melissa Boggs Elswick. Buried at Seed Tick in Lawrence County, Kentucky. Death certificate 19881.]

August 10. Friday. Ollia Church baby born. [The child was Virginia Evans born in Boyd County, certificate 39821. The index spells mother's given name as Ola.]

August 17. The horse fell on me.

--- Monday school began.

September 3. Aunt Miriam, Alle, Frank, Wren, John, Ethel come and we went ---

--- Saturday Goldia and Mattie married.

---Thursday Esther married.

September 17. Wednesday. Mr. John Lambert died buried the 20. [Death certificate states he died on the 18th. He was the son of Cal and Anna Hogan Lambert. Buried in Ashland Cemetery. Death certificate 27172.]

September 19. Friday Mrs. Hubert died buried 21.

September 21. Sunday. Martha Lucas burned died the 22. [Born 23 June1919. Her full name was Martha Edith. The certificate states she died on the 22nd. Her clothing caught fire. She was the daughter of Frank and Nancy Perkins Lucas. Burial was in Klaiber Cemetery.]

On the form letter side there are several entries written over the printed heading which are very hard to read:

--- Lewis Combs got killed. [The tombstone says 1923 with no month or day. A train hit his automobile. He was killed at Frazeysburg, Muskingum County, Ohio November 15, 1923. His usual residence was Columbus, Ohio. The certificate says he was to be buried in Ironton, Ohio. He is buried in Klaiber Cemetery, Boyd County, Kentucky.]

---Louise Carmack [??? very hard to read.]

--- Mrs. Kounse died buried 11.

---18. Harry Church

--- [unreadable]

--- [unreadable] Wilmont came out.

--- 24. Mrs. Bell Job died buried 26. Preacher stayed here one night. [Belle Jobe died 24 December 1923. She was born 28 Sep 1872 the daughter of James Stanley and Sarah Clark. She was a widow buried at Garner, Kentucky. Death Certificate 29604. Other siblings of Belle say their mother was a McGuire. Further research is suggested by anyone working on this line.]

END

Julina Leota Sexton Horton Klaiber

The author of this sheet of paper with so much genealogical information, Julina Leota Sexton Horton Klaiber was born 30 June 1877. She was the daughter of Henry Powell Sexton and Julina McCormack. She married 28 October 1896 William Henry Horton and for a short time resided in Ironton, Lawrence County, Ohio. Horton died in a gas explosion in the saloon he ran in Ironton. Julina married 2nd James Matthew Klaiber 2 April 1905. She lived for 101 years and died 20 May 1978. She is buried in Klaiber Cemetery on the property where she spent most of her life. Her flowers still grace my gardens.