William C. Mayhew family: Whispers from the Grave; Klaiber Cemetery, Boyd County, Kentucky

 

Compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber 2023

Background removed using AI a rather grainy scan provided by Joy Mayhew Heard 2010

William C. Mayhew was born 2 November 1832 in Greenup County, Kentucky. His parents, William and Matilda Kazee Mayhew, were married in Greenup County 1 December 1829[i].  His grandparents, Myra and Rebecca Curran Farmer[ii] Mayhew, also married in Greenup County, Kentucky 13 January 1805.

William crossed the river to marry Mary Elizabeth “May” Ross the 19^th of June 1854 in Lawrence County, Ohio[iii].  She was a daughter of the first judge of Boyd County, John D. Ross.  Her mother was Susan Lockwood Ross, another pioneer family from Boyd County.

Boyd County, Kentucky was formed in 1860 from portions of Greenup and Lawrence County, Kentucky.  That year the census shows the family with three children: Grace, John D, and Susan.  The census indicates that William has no value in real estate at that time.  In all they had a total of six children, all born between 1854 and 1872.  The other children included: George W., John D., Susan Evangeline, Dimma and James Taylor Mayhew.  All the children were born on Big Garner, Boyd County, Kentucky. 

The first tax list of Boyd County shows William Mayhew with no land values but does own a horse and one cow.  By 1862 William C. Mayhew is enlisted in the county militia and now had two horses and two cows.

William C. Mayhew enlisted in the 45^th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (Union), Company K on 7 October 1863 at the courthouse in Louisa, Lawrence County, Kentucky. He mustered out at Catlettsburg on 14 February 1865.

 

 

The 1866 Boyd County tax list shows William being assessed for 158 acres on Garner.[i]  Their property adjoined what is today this compilers land at the fork of Solomon’s Branch and Long Branch.  The family once again has two horses, two cows and William is still on the county militia list. As late as 1871 he served the Boyd County Militia, at the age of 39.

In April 1875 the Mayhew’s daughter married Charles W. Diamond.  John D Ross deeded 12 acres on Garner, for love and affection to both William and Mary Elizabeth in 1885[ii] and   daughter Susan married in June 1886 to John Henry Harris. 

William C. Mayhew died 3 May 1890 and was buried in Klaiber Cemetery, Long Branch Road, Boyd County, Kentucky, on the road where he resided.

Two years after William died, son George purchased a “lot” in the cemetery described as “…on a point nearly opposite the mansion house and on the south side of the creek the same is for a grave yard where William Mayhew is now buried….[i]”  The grantor was Henry Powell Sexton who owned the land surrounding the property.

Daughter Dimma was friends with Lorain Klaiber whose nickname was Raney.  In April 1893 the young ladies of Garner attended a quarterly church meeting[ii].  Dimma died 9 April 1895 and was buried next to her father on the point. At one time there was a fence around the plot.

Mary Elizabeth Ross Mayhew continued to live on Garner until her death 8 September 1904.  She is also buried on the point next to William.

Mary Elizabeth Ross Mayhew

I wrote about the Mayhew’s son-in-law John Henry Harris in May.  John Henry Harris, Eva, and their children, resided with her widowed mother, Mary Mayhew in 1900, on Garner, Boyd County, Kentucky.  In the 1970’s the state of Kentucky conducted a project to collect and catalog cemeteries in the state of Kentucky.  Evelyn Jackson was coordinator in Boyd County.  Besides “reading” stones she collected information from family and caretakers of the family cemeteries.  Among the names listed in Klaiber Cemetery is “Flora Mayhew” with no dates.  There is a field stone in the Mayhew plot.  When John Henry Harris died in 1909 he was buried in Klaiber Cemetery close to the Mayhew plot.  The Mayhew’s did not have a daughter Flora.  But John Henry Harris and Susan “Eva” Mayhew Harris had a daughter Flora born in December 1889.  Flora was the granddaughter of William and Mary Elizabeth Mayhew.  This compiler believes that the KHS cemetery reading may be incorrect and should read “Flora Harris.”   I believe she died between 1900 and 1910.  Nola Harris wrote me in 2009 stating: “all I have…is my great – aunt Angie’s word (Mary Angeline Harris Pelfry) and I don’t know if there is existing family bible records.  Angie called it Sexton Cemetery[i] and said that her dad, mom, and little sister were all buried there.  The only gravestone seems to be that of her father John H. Harris.”

There is no stone for Susan Evangeline “Eva” Mayhew Harris either but it does appear there is an unmarked grave next to John Henry Harris.  At this writing this compiler has not found a death record for her.  She died 4 May 1924 and had been living with another son Charlie Harris, a coal miner, in Logan County, West Virginia.

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[i] Klaiber Cemetery has several alias names including Sexton, and  Hood.

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[i] KY, Boyd dbk 25 page 513

[ii] Ashland Republican, 27 April 1893

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[i] KY, Boyd tax fhl 008188344

[ii] KY, Boyd dbk 19 page 438

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[i] KY, Greenup  Marriage , page 57.  The clerk spelled Matilda’s last name as   Kesee. Joseph Arthur was bondsman.

[ii] In published Greenup  Marriage records & History of Greenup County by Biggs she is referenced as Rebecca Farmer d/o John Currant

[iii] OH, Lawrence, page 80 #483

John Henry Harris. Whispers from the Grave; Klaiber Cemetery, Boyd County, Kentucky

 

Compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber 2023

John Henry Harris was the son of Lawrence and Cynthia Collingsworth Harris, born in Johnson County, Kentucky, 2 March 1860. 

Family traditions have whispers of truths, some flamboyant, but mostly hearsay.  Thus a repeated story appeared in 2007 on a noted genealogy site stating that “John Henry Harris wandered into Rush, Boyd County, Kentucky and went to work for Evie’s uncle, Taylor Mayhew…” and that is how he met his wife.[i]

John Henry Harris was one of ten known children of Lawrence and Cynthia.  The family had moved to Johnson County from Floyd County before some of the family migrated to Boyd County.  By 1869 John Henry Harris’ older sister, Nancy, had married George W. Crum[ii] and resided on Bolts Fork of Boyd County.  One of Crum’s brothers, James Crum, would later marry, Susannah “Susan” Sexton, the daughter of Richard Sexton and Mary Lucas[iii].  Susannah was a grandniece of Marcus/Mark Sexton buried in Klaiber Cemetery.

By 1880 John Henry Harris and father Lawrence Harris, are residing next door to the Mayhew Family on what is now Long Branch Road, along with John’s sisters Sarah A. and Mary.  Indexing of census records is done by volunteers and unless the indexer is familiar with a local area many errors are made.  Thus the indices show Lawrence as “Lance” misread and easily overlooked.

John Henry Harris and Susan Evangeline “Eva” Mayhew were married 13 June 1886 on Williams Creek in Carter County at the “Pleasant Church”[iv].  Eva’s father, William Mayhew died 3 May 1890 and is buried in Klaiber Cemetery.  John and Eva resided with her widowed mother, Mary Mayhew in 1900.

In 1903 Taylor Mayhew, brother of Eva, was deeded the north side of Salmons Fork at the mouth of Long Branch to a corner with the property of Philip Howe from brother John D. Mayhew, all part of William Mayhew’s, then deceased, property.[v]  In turn, in November  Taylor had several transactions involving the north side of Salmons Fork which partitioned  William Mayhew’s property.  71 acres on the north side of Salmons Creek  was deeded back to siblings including one to John and his sister Susan E. (Eva Mayhew) Harris[vi].  All the property in turn reverted back to Mary “May” Ross Mayhew, widow of William C. Mayhew.

Ever confusing is the renaming of this part of the creek on early maps.  Today maps show Long Branch Creek going straight up Long Branch Road into Carter County.  But early maps and deeds show Long Branch Creek turning at the bridge (the mouth of Long Branch) and running up the lane past  what is now this compiler’s home, then past the Philip Howe aka Klaiber log one room house.  Long Branch Creek meanders through the bottom fields behind our home and then curves back  left where the head of Long Branch ends in the water shed in Carter County.  Salmon’s Fork was in fact the stream continuing up what is now Long Branch Road in front of then Mayhew property[vii].  The Philip Howe log home still stands behind our log home and is a Kentucky Registered Landmark.

Mary Elizabeth Ross Mayhew, mother of Eva died 8 September 1904 and is buried in Klaiber Cemetery.

John Henry and Eva Harris had six children by the time of William Mayhew’s death[viii].  John Henry Harris died on 11 March 1909 here on Garner.

 Eva, widowed with five of her children are still residing next to the Mayhew holdings.  By 1920 Eva had moved to Logan County, West Virginia where, son Charles was renting and working in the coal mines.

In the 1950’s Julina Sexton Klaiber, campaigned for funds to fix the road and  fence around Klaiber Cemetery. Among the responses was a letter dated  May 1956 “…Dear old friend and neighbor. I am Mae Harris daughter of John and Eva Harris, now Mrs. R. E. Bryant…”  The Bryant’s were living in Worthington, Franklin County, Ohio and donated for the care of the road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[i] Angie Harris Pelfrey, Ancestry.com, original submitted by NolaBull

[ii] s/o Reuben and Pricilla Mutters Crum

[iii] Carter County Circuit Court Bk 30/31 Divorce 1911

[iv] FHL 1842850

[v] KY Boyd deed book 40 p 2

[vi] KY Boyd deed book 4-0 p 4

[vii] Today what was then Salmons Fork runs along Blanton  and Stewart, Green and others property on the south and  across the road, Wright’s, Stewarts, Tolliver’s on the north.  Today the creek and road running into Carter County is simply all labeled Long Branch. While the turn at the county bridge at 22937 and creek running up the hollow is simply not named on most maps.  By experience this compiler can tell you that when there are heavy rains the water rushing from the water shed into Long Branch,, down the hollow and into the main Long Branch is not something for the faint of heart.   Long Branch flows between the old Howe/Klaiber one room and our log home flooding the lane and leaving  us to wait for receding waters.

[viii] Clarence Burns Harris m Ethel Rice; Flora Fain Harris; Elizabeth Ethel Harris m Ed McCormick; Ida Mae Harris m Robert Bryant; Mary Angeline Harris m Bert Allen Pelfrey