Inez (Ines) Lorenza Jordan Workman: Whispers from the Grave; Klaiber Cemetery, Boyd County, Kentucky

 

Compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber 2023

 

During the year I have highlighted some of the burials in Klaiber Cemetery in this series.  The cemetery has listings on find-a-grave however the original submitter in charge of those memorial entries is deceased and modification of his entries has been difficult.  Klaiber cemetery has more than its share of unmarked graves or simple field stones.  The use of various names of the cemetery during different time frames has sometimes made it difficult to determine where a person was laid to rest.  The Kentucky Historical Society, tried to give cemeteries throughout Kentucky a definite name during a 1970’s project.  It fell on deaf ears for locals who, when giving information for an obituary call a family cemetery by a name that may or may not be correct.

When I became a trustee of Klaiber Cemetery almost 30 years ago I was told that a grandchild of Inez Workman was buried at her feet.  The informant said they thought it was the child of Inez’s son Bellvard.  Extensive research on her family shows that the grandson was in fact the son of William Robert and Francis Holley Workman.

Inez Lorenza Jordan was born 21 April 1900, the daughter of George Washington and Mary Jane Perkins Jordan.  Inez married Lindsey Mansfield Workman 11 July 1918 in Boyd County, Kentucky when she was seventeen.   The family had three known children: Bellvard Rothland Workman, William Robert Workman and Ethel Marie Workman.

By 1930 the family had settled in Huntington, Cabell County, Kentucky where Lindsey worked at the Nickel Plant.  Inez had a brain hemorrhage and died 13 October 1933.  The death certificate was recorded in Boyd County, Kentucky with the informant her husband giving his address as Gyandotte, West Virginia.  Kilgore and Collier Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements and according to the death certificate burial was in Sexton Cemetery.  As stated before Sexton Cemetery should not be confused with Sexton Cemetery on Pigeon Roost, this county.  Sexton was an aka for Klaiber Cemetery located on Long Branch, Garner, Boyd County, Kentucky.

Inez’ son William Robert Workman (born 22 July 1921 in Boyd County, Kentucky) married Francis Holley 24 December 1938 in Cabell County, West Virginia.  On 4 Feb 1941 the couple had a son born in Huntington prematurely.  The infant was brought back to Garner for burial. The West Virginia Department of Health Death Certificate states “Sexton Cemetery.”   Once again the alias was used for what is now registered as Klaiber Cemetery with the state of Kentucky.

Wishing all my readers a blessed holiday season and during these trying times prayers for peace. 

 

Frank Sexton: Whispers from the Grave; Klaiber Cemetery, Boyd County, Kentucky

 

Compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber

Frank Sexton’s death information is a good example of “carved in stone” not always being correct.

Frank was the son of Elisha “Lige” Sexton and wife Elizabeth Hicks. He was born 3 June 1904 in Boyd County, Kentucky.  He moved to Logan County, West Virginia, when he was 21, where he married Ivy Vannatter on 21 May 1927.  The first error in official records was when the clerk recorded Frank’s father as Elias in the marriage records. The couple had three boys: Charles Percy born 1928; Franklin born 1929; and Joseph Harrison Sexton born 1932.

Family told this compiler Frank died in the mines in West Virginia.  Since the stone said the death date was 21 January 1935 I did a deep search of newspapers which was futile. My search coincided with the Boyd County Library project of indexing obituaries.  As luck would have it, at the time, fellow library worker, Nancy Schnitzker knew I was working on the Sexton surname and would alert me when she made any new entries. Bingo! The obituary appeared in the Ashland Daily Independent one year later!  The article posted on 26 January 1936 stated that the funeral service of Frank Sexton was held Thursday from the Sexton resident on Garner.  This newspaper stated that he was killed in a mine accident at Holden, West Virginia but that the paper did not learn of the accident details.

Hoping I could glean what reporters in Ashland could not, I began a search in West Virginia papers.  The Charleston Daily Mail posted Frank Sexton’s obituary on the same date, 26 January 1936, stating that funeral services were held Thursday and burial was at Catlettsburg, Kentucky.  “He was killed instantly in a mine accident at Whitman, Monday.”  Thus the tombstone, handmade much later is off by one year.

Both Holden and Whitman do lay in Logan County, West Virginia. Once again I had two conflicting bits of information. As far as I can ascertain there were three large mining operations in Whitman and as many as twelve mining camps containing homes and boarding houses. Holden was surrounded by mining operations as well.  The 26^th was on a Sunday.  The accident according to the Charleston paper occurred on Monday which would be January 20th.  With one last ditch effort to find out more about the accident I finally located a one-line entry in the Charleston Daily Mail on Wednesday the 22^nd “Whitman. Frank Sexton 34 died beneath a slate fall.”

Charley Lucas: Whispers from the Grave; Klaiber Cemetery, Boyd County, Kentucky

 

Compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber 2023

Charley Lucas was the son of John Dee Lucas and Dee’s second wife Hattie Gilley. 

Charley’s parents, John Dee and Hattie Gilley were married 12 May 1901 in Carter County, Kentucky.   John Dee Lucas was a coal miner and it appears that, during the first nine years of the marriage they moved around quite a bit.  Charley’s older sister, Louanna Lucas[i],  was born in Tennessee in 1902.  Charley was born 24 May 1905, once again back in Kentucky followed by sister Bertha[ii] who was born in 1909 in Indiana.  By 1910 Charley and his family were all residing with his grandparents, Henry Kane Lucas and wife Lucinda Sexton Lucas, on Straight Creek, in Carter County. 

Making a living at coal mining was a hard and lean way to earn a living.  Many of the miners in our area moved to other coal mining fields during their lives.  John Deed Lucas, was no exception.  After 1910 John Dee Lucas took his family to Cabin Creek, Kanawha County, West Virginia to work as a miner. 

Charley was only twenty-one when he was hurt in a mine accident.  He was working for Imperial Coal while residing at Burnwell, West Virginia.  The Imperial Colliery Company was founded at Burnwell in 1901.  During the 1920’s they had opened and closed several mines in the area.  According to Charley Lucas’ death certificate he was taken to General Hospital in Charleston where his left leg was amputated.

 

 

Charley Lucas died 7 August 1926[iv] from trauma of the amputation. Charley Lucas was brought back to Boyd County, Kentucky for burial on the 10^th of August 1926. Charley was laid to rest near his grandparents, Henry Kane and Lucinda Sexton Lucas. Who ever made his tombstone added a date at the bottom of June 14^th, 1958 which we will assume was when they finally marked the grave.  His father died in October 1956 while residing in Wheelersburg, Scioto County, Ohio.  His parents are both buried in White Chapel Memorial Gardens, in Barboursville, Cabell County, West Virginia.

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[i] OH Vital Lou Anna Horner 4 Sep 1992, Portsmouth, Scioto OH

[ii] OH, Lawrence M to William Belcher 5 Jul 1946

[iii] https://www.liveauctioneers.com/price-result/imperial-coal-company-stock-with-mark-twain-provenance-144353/

[iv] WV Vital death cert 10885