"Sawdust, Spangles & Dreams"

compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber
October 2010

Genealogists come from all walks of life. Like other fields, genealogists have their own network. Within that network I am known by some through my research business, Family Lineage Investigations; some through genealogy organizations; others recognize me during my time as a staff genealogist for the Boyd Library; or by many simply as the cemetery lady. But I also have another past.

My past is full of wonderful animals, and to borrow from the musical Jumbo, it has had a share of "Sawdust, Spangles & Dreams."

While Eastern Kentucky is well known for the Country Western Highway and music entertainers, our area is rich with other performers as well.

My first memory of a big top was as little more than a toddler when Coles Brothers Circus came to Ashland, Boyd County, Kentucky. The canvas went up in the field that would later become Hecks and is now owned by Kings Daughters Hospital behind the famous Bluegrass Grill.

My mother, already friends with many performers, knew no strangers and my father, early in his veterinary practice was already becoming known for his skills with circus animals. While there were no official winter quarters for a given show in Boyd County, for over three decades performers were made welcome in the community by my family. By the time I was in grade school, in the 1950's, our tiny house on Algonquin Avenue already had a trapeze bar, tight wire and trampoline placed in the back yard for performers that wanted to practice.

I was taught how to twirl a baton by performer Rusti Delaney. Trapeze artist Jimmy Lloyd helped me with my roller skates. My first elephant ride was on Burma. I still have a letter in my collection from her keeper Lou Turner who taught me how to properly mount and dismount. Ironically Jimmy Lloyd would later be killed by a rogue elephant [while they are magnificent animals I have a great fear of them but always loved & trusted Burma].

In 1959 George Wolfford did an article for the Ashland Daily Independent titled "Circus Clowns Serve As Baby Sitters For Ashland". I made the newspaper seated between Victor Lewis and Coco the Clown. Under my picture it read "Real Life bedtime Stories - Terry Martin,...enjoys true-to-life bedtime stories read by two honest-to-goodness clowns." In the picture I am holding the latest edition of The Billboard as they look over my shoulder.

Victor Lewis encouraged my fledgling attempts at art. Coco, Michael Polakovs, born 1923 in Rega, Latavia married Hazel Fannin and became a resident of Boyd County, Kentucky. He designed the first Ronald McDonald outfit, headlined with Ringling Brothers and was a member of the Clown Hall of Fame. But to me he was my champion & part of my family. When troubled or in trouble he was always there with his gentle smile. In or out of greasepaint he made me laugh.

He was not my father's brother but they loved each other as such and in the world of sawdust it is an honor to give someone a "family title" which could leave genealogists pondering when doing research. He will always be my "uncle Mike".

The Fannin's have a long history and were pioneers in Lawrence and Boyd County. Hazel is the daughter of Harry F. and Madeline Davis Fannin. Madeline was the great grand daughter of David Davis and wife Catherine Bryson. Her maternal lineage includes John and Elizabeth Chadwick Eastham.

Harry Fannin was the son of George and Emma Lambert Fannin. Michael Polakovs came to America in 1953. He was laid to rest in Rose Hill Cemetery, Ashland, Kentucky in December 2009. He leaves a legacy and wonderful family in Boyd County.

My first "gig" was with Coco and Victor around 1960 when they performed at the Children's Home in Ironton, Ohio. I was supposed to squirt water on Coco as part of the "busy bee" skit. Of course I botched it up which apparently made it all the funnier. I went on to do several more one night stands. I was the stooge for Narbu the guerrilla once. I was not supposed to hit him hard with the purse [as per instructions]. I konked him a good one! Again it apparently brought more laughs.

By the 1960's Ashland Oil was presenting a circus each Christmas for employees and family. The performers found their way to our new home. My parents place was named Jomar [for John and Mary Martin]. It also happens to be the name of the rail car that John and Mary Ringling North used. Today there are many homes on Jomar Road that receive mail with that street address but probably don't know the significance or link to circus heritage.

I was an only child but I felt I had siblings. The Wallenda children, Tino and Delilah Zoppe' spent summers with us. Many years later I would fill in for Tino's wife at a show in New Jersey. No laughs, but I am sure he was glad when it was over. All I had to do was smile, hand him props and "ta da." I think he got all his props ok and can only imagine the description he gave Olinka when he got home!

By the time I was 15 I went on the road for several weeks with Kirby's Chimps. The Kirby's were great and it was a wonderful vacation. I had no duties or cares. When I was 16 I traveled with Clyde Brothers Circus for the summer. This time I had to pull my own weight. The Toth's had a roly poly act and I quickly learned to help with set up. I was given a costume and immediately put in Spec and finale and allowed to carry baby Oggie the Orangatang. He was wonderful and I missed him at the end of the season. I also was given my first real job. Under the tutelage of Gee Gee Engesser Powell I became a hawker of cotton candy. Today, tucked away in my jewelry box, among my treasures, is a small silver disk that she gave me when I left the show. It is engraved "Cotton Candy Queen."

My father would later write Doc, My Tiger's Got An Itch which gives a wonderful overview of life and circus friends. Among his narratives he mentions elephant man "Captain K. Y. Seagraves". He was an elephant trainer with Mills Brothers Circus.

K. Y. Sagraves was born Lonnie Virgil Sagraves 17 December 1920 in Boyd County, Kentucky. His father, James A. Sagraves was a boilermaker in the steel mill at Ashland. His mother was Katie Weaver Sagraves. James and Katie are buried in Dixon Cemetery, Boyd County, Kentucky. K. Y. died 24 November 1985 in Ashland.

Boyd County has been entertained by the circus for generations. The Boyd County Library Hanner's Photograph Collection contains ads and billboards for several shows including the announcement that the Forepaugh Show with its Wild West would be arriving in Ashland, October 2nd, 1890 by train.

1923 seems to have been an extremely popular year for circus entertainment in Ashland. An ad for Sparks Circus said they would be at the "circus ground" April 11th. Their ad said there were 350 performers, 2 herds of elephants and hundreds of thoroughbred horses. Two months later in June the Haag Show also played Ashland. The following month, July, the L. G. Heth show with 35 double length circus cars also arrived in Ashland. They were followed by the Al. G. Barnes Circus on August 16th. All these shows and later shows were at 35th & Winchester, the same lot that I remember in the early 1950's.

Nor are circus personalities limited to my life time in Boyd County. In the early 1900's many articles were written about the Nichols Brothers. Howard, Clyde, William, Walter and Millard were the sons of Thomas M. Nichols and his wife Lucretia. In 1910 the family is residing in Catlettsburg. Thomas is listed as an electrician and his sons are listed as traveling jugglers. Articles say that they learned to hoop juggle from their father who never did professional appearances. They played the Hippadrome Theatre in New York. After World War I the brothers scattered. Eventually there were three separate acts under the same name. Howard played in different areas of Europe. Millard, Bill, Walter and Millard's wife Birdie May of Ashland made up another act in the New York area while Clyde and his wife played the Chicago area. Thomas M. Nichols [1868-1945] is buried in Ashland Cemetery.

Gee Gee, my father and Coco have all passed away along with so many others. All have touched my life and left memories. And while the circus has evolved "Sawdust, Spangles & Dreams" never die. The Wallenda's carry on the circus tradition. The family friendships continue into new generations. Their children along with my children share pictures of our grandchildren [thanks to Facebook]. Another generation that have dreams and who can enjoy the wonder of the circus with all its sawdust and spangles.

An Interview with Ruth Hazlett Faulkner

compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber

Ruth Hazlett Faulkner's obituary appeared in the Daily Independent, Ashland, Kentucky, Monday, June 21, 2010. I have mentioned a comment she made concerning Memorial Day in past blogs but never mentioned her by name. As I read her obituary my mind went back to the interview I did at her home in January 2006.

When interviewing anyone for genealogical purposes I always carry a tiny tape recorder and usually transcribe the material when I get home. Checking Family Lineage Investigations files, I found the tape and the transcription.

Ruth was 95 years old when I visited with her at her home on Edgewood in Ashland, Kentucky. While there she gave me several grainy copies of old photographs in her possession.

Ruth grew up on Clay Jack, Boyd County and the picture is of the old Hazlett home that is no longer standing. William R. and Elizabeth Hazlett are in the buggy in the picture.

Ruth had invited me to her home because she wished to talk about the Robert Hazlett Cemetery, also known as Hazel Dale Cemetery on Clay Jack. Ruth thought it would be nice to plant some Walnut trees in the cemetery but was no longer able to visit herself. She provided me with a handwritten list of people she remembered buried in the family cemetery which I later compared with with Boyd County Cemetery Database.

Ruth, one of six children, remembered her brother Wilbur Hazlett born 7 July 1916 when she was only 5 years old. Wilbur died 11 January 1917 and was buried in the cemetery. Talking about her mother and the twins Ruth said "...twins with red hair and she felt like the good Lord was punishing her because she didn't like red hair and she had two boys with red hair. One of them died at six months old with chicken pox."

Ruth reminisced about going to school. "...[Hazel Dale School]... you turn up Clay Jack Road it is land right where you turn. It [is] like an acre or something. ...one of the Hazlett's donated the land for the cemetery and the other donated the land for the school....May Fannin Lockwood she sold it...."

While we talked Ruth's memory would jump around. But during our conversation continued to mention Hazel Dale School. She talked about it being a one room school and when asked about her first teacher she believed it was Junior Fields then Clyde Bolt. " [The boys] were all mean...The girls sat on one side and the boys on the other. We didn't play together."

"And I remember a neighbor lady came and she had her little boy about my age and mom said, she was visiting with the neighbor ...she said take Howse [Harris] out to play...I got up and whispered to mother But he is a boy. She said well that is alright he is used to playing with his sisters you can play with him it will be alright. So I said come on Howse and I took him out in the sand pile and I built a sand castle, built a farm and had people, cattle and had a fence around it. ...I told dad I got everything and I have a garden laid out but I don't have any seeds. Dad said he would give me seeds to put in my garden so he got me some beans..."

She attended high school with Martha Klaiber. The school was at Cannonsburg and both she and Martha stayed with the Eastham family, coming home on Friday for the weekend. It was to far to go to school otherwise.

When she was older Ruth attended Morehead for less than a year and qualified as a teacher but there were more teachers than schools in Boyd County and she did not like being a substitute so begged her parents to go back to school. Ruth then attended Eastern to study business. During WWII she worked at Willow Run near Yipsalaniti and Detroit, Michigan. She helped build radios for B-52's matching up the wiring.

"My family was Baptist. But it kinda fell by the wayside. The Baptist ...my dad...had a little bit of education for an old timer. They got in the church, you know, as leaders, and were not qualified, and he just could not take it so he didn't go anymore...Mt. Olivet. So we didn't go anywhere for a long time and then when I got up in high school and got to know the Hogan's...lived down by the church...So I started going to the Methodist Sunday School and dad's first cousin, a McGlothlin...was the Sunday school teacher...Dova Hazlett married a McGlothlin." [Married John Chapman McGlothlin - tk note.]

"Then Trudi Hazlett married Ed Chaffins." I asked her if she was a short lady. "Yes a little dwarf. They had two. They had one that was smaller than Trudi that never married. She died rather young."

Ruth mentioned several times that the girls all wore ribbons in their hair. She showed a picture of the Hazlett reunion on Bear Creek at the L. C. [Tobe] Hazlett farm. The picture included the house in the background which Ruth informed me later burned down. As she remembered the reunion she described the afternoon. "...they killed a fatted calf and cooked all kinds of chicken...they put tables along that fence line...They come in there and cooked. And maybe some of them brought them with them...They killed a beef and anyway I just remember having a lot to eat and having my picture made. And Oh they had ice cream that the boys, the young people, made after we all ate...the boys turned, mostly the crank and made the ice cream. They had a great big ice cream maker...we never did have one...."

The ice cream triggered another memory with Ruth because they did not have the ice cream machine. "...we had such cold, cold winters and we had a lot of rocks on the property. Caves. And the water that was flowing over these would form big icicles so it might be a warm day in March or February and we would take, the kids would take a bucket, a big tub and go up on the hill and get the ice. While we was gone mother would be mixing up the ice cream and we would come down and the way we would do it. She put the ice cream in a gallon syrup bucket then we would put that ice all around it in a bigger container and would just, took that bucket with a bail and went around and around and around and around. And dad said he didn't like it, it was to cold. We all loved it. And Mom was right there with us."

When speaking of her parents Ruth became very lively. "She [her mother] was eight years younger than dad and a little more lively. Dad was anemic part of the time and he just had some problems. Like he just didn't have the energy. But he always had help on the farm...he had a rent house and he kept, I'll tell you what he did. A family man, he give him a dollar a day, free rent, a gallon of milk a day, a garden spot, I forget what else... we had a cellar, a nice cellar and all that concrete from the kitchen door into that cellar and it had shelves in there to keep canned goods. It had a pump right outside that went through and had like a trough built [of] concrete and cold water ran through there. Mom put milk and butter and she could even put set jello in there. It was cold water flowing through there. ...we had another we called the smoke house. Great big, it was originally a old school house. Mother and dad bought it for $100.00 and had it moved. It was the original school house...Hazel Dale. And they built another new school at Hazel Dale...and momma had a cook stove in it [smoke house] and when she was going to can instead of heating up the house she cooked out there in the smoke house...she did her canning out there. ... I guess looking back my family was pretty much up to date. We had a cream separator."

I asked her how many cattle her father ran. "Oh I don't know he sold off every year and that was cash. And he never did raise tobacco for sale. He raised a little for his own use and at one time he raised sheep but the dogs made it very difficult. They killed the sheep."

Asked how many acres the family owned she stated: "360. He bought the extra that was momma's old home. It joined after, I don't know, after I was pretty grown up. I guess. And we had a dairy farm and sold milk. So I milked my way through high school...the worst time was Sunday evening to go milk...you had to get your good clothes off and the day was over {laughing}. You couldn't be dressed up and cleaned up to milk cows... I remember momma sold butter. And she had her own bank account. Maybe a sugar bowl account or something. When she got married her daddy gave her a cow and ten hens and one rooster and that was it I guess. So she claimed that when a cow would have a calf that was hers...."

Ruth remembered the first car the family had. "Boggs the blacksmith came and took my older brother out every day for a week and taught him how to drive. So my dad said he would learn how to drive later. ...He just didn't jump right into anything. He had to think about it awhile. He could figure it all out ahead of time and then done better than he could johnny on the spot. Anyway I remember my brother took us and the family different places. Like homecoming at church and one time we went home with a couple. Mom said we was related, some kind of cousins. We went home to eat and my brother was about 15 or 16. He was driving us and had on a suit of clothes but the knickers were like here and then big fancy socks up here and a cap. The girls were quite a bit older and lived at this house and said you are to old to be dressed like that you need some long pants, you are a man now. So he wouldn't wear those clothes anymore. We came home and he said he had to have new clothes. And I guess they ordered them from Sears Roebuck."

I asked her if her father ever learned to drive. "Yes he was sorta forced. And my older sister was that way...didn't want to drive. She put it off for a long time ...I couldn't wait to drive. I was always wanting dad to let me. He let me drive when I was ten or eleven years old with him sitting beside me. You didn't have to have any [license] and then later my older sister was teaching. She went away to school when she was 14 and by 18 she was teaching. So you had to live away from home. And my job when I was think I was 15 when I got home from high school every Friday I had to go get my sister and bring her home for the weekend. That was my job. Everybody else was busy. You know farm work. You never get it done."

The complete interview will remain in my office files and eventually will be donated to the library along with the rest of my collection. I enjoyed my visit with Ruth very much and appreciate her sharing memories with me. Ruth was buried yesterday [June 22, 2010] in Rose Hill Cemetery, Ashland, Kentucky. Her obituary stated that she worked for Ashland Asphalt and Paving for many years. At the time of her death she was a member of the First Presbyterian church in Ashland.

African American Research in North Eastern Kentucky

By Teresa Martin Klaiber

The last episode of Who Do You Think You Are highlighted African American Research. There were slave owners in north eastern Kentucky, though not the large numbers found in southern states, the large land holders names are well known in our area.

In 2004, Boyd County Kentucky Monographs I [available on cd] was published, containing several articles to help researchers of African American genealogy. A good example of tracking individuals is to follow William Hampton's slaves Isabella and Lucy. Isabella became Isabelle Fox residing in Catlettsburg in 1870. Lucy, also a Hampton slave, married Henry Williams a Mulatto.

Alexander Mead was a slave of Benjamin Mead in Greenup County. In a newspaper interview he tells of gaining his liberty "by buying it with his heals." He most likely crossed the river near Ironton and made his way north from there.

While the television program did not have time to go in depth into all records available for research, it did provide excellent guidelines. The Boyd County tax records beginning in 1860 are of assistance in our area. Beginning in 1865 the tax contain a list of all "Free Persons of Color." Some of these people migrated to the area from other counties. Alec [Alex] Botts moved to Catlettsburg from Bath County, Kentucky and became a well known barber. He bought his wife, Mary out of slavery.

Kentucky legislature created an act for marriage records commonly known as Freedmen registers. There was a separate book prepared for recording these marriages in 1866. The first recorded marriage in Boyd County Register 1-1-A was for James Spurlock born in Floyd County to Martha Russell born in Lawrence County, Kentucky. [Monographs I gives a complete list of the marriages in 1-1-A.]

By 1877 the tax list now labeled "Colored Tax Payers" has grown immensely. The majority of the people on the list live either in the town of Catlettsburg or Ashland. Only a few families have settled out in the county.

Sadly much has been wiped from history. Only a few that survived after slavery are in marked graves in Boyd County. Most graves were marked with field stone. The Eastham's buried slaves in graves in Fields Cemetery, marked only by stone. John Eastham had 5 slaves depleted to 1 in 1865 at the end of the Civil War. Oral history states that besides sales in Catlettsburg, there was an auction block at the point [junction of 60 and Midland Trail] across from where Kyova Mall is located [2010]. Old Catlettsburg Cemetery does contain a few marked graves of those people who stayed in the area after slavery.

Monographs I includes the tax records, and the television show outlined deeds and estate papers. Besides emancipation records, researchers can find many disputes recorded in County Order and Circuit Court records in north eastern Kentucky that will help researchers.

Boyd County, Kentucky Poor House 1870

In 2004 Boyd County, Kentucky Monographs I was published and includes an article "Boyd County Poor Folks." This two part article contains the history of the Boyd County Poor House from its inception in early 1870.

Like all historical research new documents have recently surfaced concerning the Poor House. From time to time I will share findings. The following includes some of the first people that were to be residents of the home, which was located on Poor House Road, now Long Branch Road, Boyd County, Kentucky.

I have preserved the spelling of this two page court document but took the liberty of adding periods for easier reading.

"In compliance with this order I have collected the fawling persons and conveyed them to the por hous & placed them in charge of John Higins who was in possession of said home. I collected on the 14 day of Sept 1870 taken Emgine Harlis James Harlis & Clery Harlis in posesian & upon the 15 day taken Sarah Walker and Mary Thomson in charge and delivered them all to the por hous on the same day. I demanded on the 6 day of Sept 1870 Elizabeth Blankinship to go to por hous. She refused to go and famly wold not let her go. I did on the 14 day of Sept 1870 demand Robert Reed. He refused to go and James Smith refused to let him go. Said if the county would not pay him he wold keep him any how. I demanded Bevin Trail Sept 16 1870 & A. Tomson said he was to keep him till next cort of clames so I left him there. & upon 22 day Sept 1870 I imployed Thomas Colinsworth to convey Margret & Elizabeth Colinsworth to por hous which he don and upon the 23 day I demanded Sally Sammons & children to go to por hous. They refused to go. Said she knew nothing about it. She is able to seport her self & children and will do it. So I let her alone. this is all I know of that is on the county that is liable to go to por hous this Sept 26 1870. J. C. Eastham, sheriff of Boyd County, KY. I also demanded Ned Noris Sept 15. He refused to go. J. C. Eastham."

John Higgins was the first appointed superintendent. The court compensated him and he was paid a salary of $1.00 a day. Emmaline Harlis with children James & Clara were residing with Larkin Warner and family when the census was taken in October, 1870. So while the above states that the sheriff delivered them to the poor house, the Harlis family did not remain long.

Ned Norris, 82 years old, a black gentleman born in Virginia [along with Evaline age 77, black; Susan; Polly and Charles L. Mulatto's] was living in Cannonsburg, Boyd County in October, 1870. This appears to be Ned [cited page 30 Boyd County, Kentucky Monographs I ] an emancipated slave of Thomas H. Poage that made application for support to the Boyd County Court in late June 1864 stating that he was a pauper. In 1865 Free Persons of Color were listed on the tax list. Ned Norris along with 3 other Norris surnames appear as being free.