Marcus “Mark” Sexton: Whispers from the Grave; Klaiber Cemetery, Boyd County, Kentucky

 

Compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber

Marcus Sexton was born 2 January 1812, in Virginia to Elisha and Tabitha “Bitha” Sexton.  His parents were members of Stoney Creek Church, in Russell County, Virginia when Marcus was born.

Marcus along with his wife Catherine came thru Pound Gap into Kentucky before 1836.  They lived a few years in Perry and Letcher County, Kentucky before migrating northward to Carter County, Kentucky. 

Marcus is highlighted in a book I wrote several years ago Catherine Heart and Soul.    The 1865 Internal Revenue Records give his occupation as “stallion keeper.[i]”   He was involved in several court cases including one concerning a black horse.  Marcus and Catherine lived on Pigeon Roost, Boyd County, Kentucky and later moved to Lawrence County, Kentucky, on Bell’s Fork, where he died 22 October 1877.  He was buried on Bell’s Fork.

Catherine came back to Boyd County and by the time she died in June 1893 was living on Long Branch of Garner with her son Henry Powell Sexton and family.  In November 1893 the Big Sandy News reported: “Powell Sexton of Garner passed thru Bolts Fork yesterday with the remains of his father who died 16 years ago and had been exhumed and buried in the family graveyard beside his wife who died a short time ago.”[ii]

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[i] Internal Revenue Service Record Group 58. Roll 21, Oct 1865

[ii] Big Sandy News 10 Nov 1893

 I am so proud to announce the publication of my newest book: 

Catherine: Heart and Soul A True Appalachian Pioneer Woman

Catherine 1808-1893 came thru the Gap to Kentucky. She lived Through the Civil War, epidemics and saw the founding of several Kentucky Counties.  Based on the large Sexton family of Eastern Kentucky and the Eastern KY way of life. Counties mentioned: Russell Co., VA; Letcher, Carter, Lawrence, Boyd Kentucky.

This book contains information on Charles Sexton, Elisha Sexton, Bartlett Sexton, Marcus Sexton, H. P. Sexton and extended lines. It is a a historical novel only because day to day life is envisioned by the author.  All events are factual taken from documents, newspaper articles and personal artifacts.  I hope you enjoy Catherine's story as she tells it.

Find us on Amazon.com

Surnames mentioned in the book: Adams, Andrews,  Baker, Ball, Banfield, Belcher, Biggs, Binion, Blair, Bolt, Boothe, Botts, Breeding, Brown, Burchett, Burns, Bush, Caldwell, Chinn, Clark, Coburn,  Collins, Colvin, Craft, Crum, Cunningham, Cyrus, Davis,  Dawson, Dheil, Easterling, Ellis, Enyart, Estep, Fannin, Finney, French, Fuller, Gallion, Gallup, Geiger, Gibbons,  Gullet, Heflin, Honshell, Hood, Horton,  Howe, Jesse,  Johnson, Jordan, Kelley,  Kennedy, Kilgore, Kitchen, Klaiber, Lampton, Lansdown, Lawson, Leffingwell, Leslie, Lucas, Lunsford, Lusk, McBrayer, McCarty, McCormack, McCoy, McWhorter, Marcum, Martin,  Mayhew, Montgomery, Moore, Mullan, Patton, Pittman, Pope, Prichard, Rice, Riffe, Ross, Rucker, Selbee, Shepherd, Shortridge, Slone, Slusher, Stewart,  Stuart, Strother, Swim, Thomas, Towler, Turman, Ulen, Underwood,   WamplerWatson, Webb, Whitt, Wilhoit

Remembering Robert Morris Rennick

compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber August 2010

The Lexington Herald and the Daily Independent ran a very small obituary announcing the death of Robert M. Rennick in Prestonsburg, Kentucky on August 6th. Mr. Rennick was a rather quiet person with a very active life.

While working in the genealogy department of the Boyd County Library he would come in, always dressed in his suit and with a small smile and a nod get right to work. On several occasions Mrs. Rennick would accompany him patiently waiting for him to complete his work.

Mr. Rennick always enjoyed talking with me about place names in Boyd County. Our conversation usually ended up with a discussion about why there is a Big and Little Garner in Boyd County. Rennick was quick to point out to me that his interest was geography. It only took a few moments to realize the gentleman was not only versed in geography but had acquired mountains of historical information for every county in Kentucky.

As I sit here I have my copy of Kentucky Place Names beside me. Rennick authored many books including From Red Hot to Monkey's Eyebrow: Unusual Kentucky Place Names which was released about the time I first was acquainted with Mr. Rennick. He was chairman of the Kentucky Committee on Geographic Names and was coordinator of the Kentucky Place Names Survey. Rennick knew all the now gone post offices around the state. He was a frequent contributor to the Kentucky Humanities Council magazine and a member of The American Names Society.

In 2005 he wrote an interesting article for the Humanities Council on nicknames that overshadow real names of places in our state. While the article is short it is long in lessons for researchers that can not locate a given place that might be handed down in family stories.

John Kleber listed Robert Rennick as a Floyd County notable in the Kentucky Encyclopedia. I found him down to earth during our pleasant conversations. He knew his away around every repository in the state of Kentucky and was a walking encyclopedia with or without map in hand. Every time we shared an afternoon in the library together I felt I learned something new, yet he was the one who would always stop at the door to take the time to thank me for assistance. I assured him each time that the honor was all mine.

We never resolved the question about Big Garner and Little Garner in Boyd County. I was able to share with him that the first notation of Garner I could locate in Carter County records in 1845. Both of us were aware that no Garner family resided in the area in those early years. He was quick to point out that there is a Garner in southeastern Kentucky, now Knott County. Many migrated through the Pound into Letcher and Perry before moving northward in Eastern Kentucky. Knott was formed much later from portions of Letcher, Floyd and Perry Counties. If I ever find the key that unlocks the question I certainly will have Robert Morris Rennick in my thoughts.

Rattlesnake Tales in Eastern Kentucky

compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber 2010

Today's Independent newspaper in Ashland, Kentucky proclaimed "Large snake leaves a calling card." Yep it is Rattlesnake season in Eastern Kentucky. The article made me smile.

Clell Lucas, minister of Princess Chapel, has honored several with graveside prayers in Klaiber Cemetery the past few years. He found the skin of what appears to be a large rattler in a shed he was cleaning out. The article goes on to say that Rush, Kentucky is known for big ones. Toward the end of the article Lucas states "Sam Jenkins and Alfred Sexton, both of Rush...I would go to them for information about snakes. They're both dead now..."

What in the world does this article have to do with a genealogy blog and why did it make me smile? First Appalachia is one of the few places I know where introductions begin with at least three generations of genealogy: "This here is Joe Jones, his mother is Sue Jones and his grandfather was George Jones." Appalachia is the center of ballad making and ballads are a very useful tool when doing Eastern Kentucky Genealogy, which I have mentioned before in this blog. And story telling is the heartbeat of our community. Rattlesnake stories are right at the top of the list.

Sam Jenkins, mentioned by Clell Lucas in today's rattlesnake article was the grandson of Hulda Sexton Kitchen. The Sexton's migrated from Letcher County, Kentucky to Carter County, Kentucky. Sam died in 1977. Alfred Sexton. Well actually there were two and both had a pretty good knowledge of this hill country. Alfred James Sexton was the son of Andrew Jackson Sexton and died in 1983. Then there was Alfred son of William Riley and Dicey Thomas Sexton. And the Lucas family - you guessed it - lot's of ties to the Sexton family. Cousin's at every turn.

Which brings me back to story telling. There is usually a thread of truth in Eastern Kentucky stories. Some may be golly whoopers but if you listen closely you will ascertain bits and pieces of knowledge that you can carry through life.

I remember when I got my first dulcimer made by Leslie Crawford, a talented dulcimer maker in Boyd County, Kentucky. The first thing I was told was to drop the buttons of a rattlesnake down through the fret holes so it would play "sweeter." I still have those buttons in that dulcimer. Unfortunately this may be one of those golly whoopers because I can only pluck. I enjoy my private moments plucking but I doubt if anyone else would call it sweet playing.

Then there was that time in 1997 when my neighbor killed the baby rattler in her barn. We were having a log house raising at the time and a young builder from Ohio got really excited. Buckeye had never seen a rattler before. Put that baby rattler in a baggie in his suit case and took it back to Ohio. Last I heard his mother was horrified first at the smell and then the discovery of the snake in his dirty laundry.

The summer of 1968 is another good rattlesnake story. We pulled in the driveway for Sunday dinner, when I explained to my husband that someone must have died. Cars and trucks were lined up and down the driveway, as far as you could see. John Henry Powell Sexton Klaiber exclaimed that I was to look from a distance at the dead snake, at least six feet long but warned that a dead snake can still bite. Seems the snake had curled up on the back porch. When Elsie Rucker Klaiber saw it she never stopped dialing the phone until everyone in the hollow was called. One person had enough sense to stop at the milk house down the road and alert John Henry what was going on. Yes we have the buttons for that snake as well.

I killed a rattlesnake in 2004. Before you think I was brave, I ran over it at least 20 times with the car tires. Disappointed the neighbor because I destroyed its buttons. Hubby killed one last year that was curled by his fence post while mending fence at the top of the hill.

Life is made up of memories and stories. When Brian Tackett visited awhile back he said his memory is filled with the warning of "watch out for the snakes," from the minute he opened the car door as a little tyke until he became a grown man. I visualize my father in law sitting on the tractor with his gun across his arm "standing guard" as I picked blackberries many years ago. The warning is not an idle threat.

Now realize that the above tales are the 20th and 21st century and the pioneer families settled around Garner and Rush, Boyd County before it was even a county in 1860. The rock cliffs and the hills were cleaned for pasture with bare hands and hand tools. In the 1880's and early 1900's farmers became home miners. They would dig for coal with small picks laying on their stomachs in the hillsides to eek out a little extra money. Many stared snakes right in the eyes!

These stories give us a look at how our pioneer families lived in these same hills. Understanding the area where your ancestors lived helps you to know who these people were and how they lived and worked.

By the way it is time to celebrate Arbor Day so I think I will go out to plant my trees. But I am taking a hoe with me!