Name That Cemetery!

compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber August 2010

No this isn't a quizz show. I had a call from California and the caller was confused by the names of the cemeteries in Boyd County, Kentucky.

The caller was working on a Stephens family which means she also had to look at Stevens spellings. She had a death certificate for a Stephens showing one of her ancestors in Stevens Graveyard but when she utilized the Boyd County Master Cemetery Database it stated he was in Stevens/Marcum Cemetery. When she looked at the Boyd County, Kentucky Cemeteries Location Guide she found four cemetery listings utilizing both spellings at different locations. Could "the cemetery lady" please help her?

Working with genealogy every day it is easy to assume that everyone knows genealogical abbreviations and lingo. Working with the Boyd County Cemetery Master Database is also easy interpretation for those of us that utilize it every day. There is a nice introduction on the history of the database in the Location Guide. Since one file is .pdf and the other a searchable dbase not every online user gets to the introduction.

Cemeteries have a history of changing names with land ownership, not just here in Eastern Kentucky but across our nation. A good example is the history of our own Klaiber Cemetery which has had at least four different names over the years & geological survey maps incorrectly spelled it Clyber. Coroners and undertakers many times either incorrectly spelled the cemetery name or named the cemetery after the person being buried there compounding the name problem.

Thus when the Kentucky Historical Society Cemetery Grant began in 1968, volunteers needed to be very careful when submitting data, especially since there may be more than one cemetery with the same name in any given county. The volunteers needed to distinguish any two with the same name. KHS required that each cemetery have a name and some cemeteries were unnamed. It was up to the volunteers to provide a name for each cemetery while distinguishing them individually.

KHS required latitude and longitude as the only form of direction. This only added to the problems. First, unlike today, only a few professionals had anything like a GPS with them and secondly the volunteers had to manually figure the coordinates which left room for error [we found one directional placing the cemetery in the Ohio River]. The KHS form did not give route numbers.

The reality of the KHS Grant program was that it failed on several levels and was a huge success at the same time. Yes I know that statement does not seem to make sense. So let me explain. First it failed on the state level simply because early computers could not handle all the data from all the counties. Next because of computer limitations each cemetery was assigned a number instead of utilizing the assigned names causing even more confusion. Thus the failure. But the grant required that a copy of the typed material be left in each county and that was and is a huge success.

The more I worked with my beloved Boyd County cemeteries the more I became aware of the "name game" and all the limitations it caused for researchers. I began keeping a notebook with notations on each cemetery which developed into The Boyd County, Kentucky Cemeteries Location Guide. Far from a publication, it is simply a collection of historical notations and directions to cemeteries within the county. Because of the various name changes or "AKA" [also know as] each entry is cross referenced.

As my notes on cemetery names grew so did my notebooks with information on who was buried in each. I collected the KHS typed forms and then compared them with the available handwritten entries that, coordinator volunteer, Evelyn Jackson kept for Boyd County. A few of the readings never made it KHS. It became apparent that a master index for Boyd County was a must and new computer technology allowed me to develop a template.

When creating the columns I knew instantly that the KHS numbering system did not work and a column would have to allow for the cemetery name. With the "name game" I soon realized the column needed to be large enough to include some description. Thus we have "Stevens on Durbin", "Stevens/Marcum", "Stevens, Otis" and simply Stevens. If you look in the Location guide you will get directions and information on each. Stevens/Marcum has an AKA Marcum and is cross referenced in the guide as Marcum because some death certificates listed it as Marcum Cemetery.

With the template in place our newly created "Boyd County Master Cemetery Database" was on the way. A column for the source was marked KHS as all the typed grant forms were entered. Another column tells the viewer the year the entry was created. When step #1 was completed Jackson's hand written notations were added with any entries that had not made it to KHS. The source column is marked ESJ telling the reader that it was from her files.

Step #3 was the addition of any older readings that I had found scattered throughout publications and in the vertical files. If an entry differed it was added to the database.

Step #4 was the addition of entries from death certificates 1911 - 1916. The source column then says Dcert. By adding these we know of people that are buried in unmarked graves.

The database at this point still had and has limitations. We knew that not all Ashland Cemetery was in the KHS readings nor did we have Rose Hill entries completed from a separate book. The older entries from Rose Hill have now been completed thanks to Jim Kettel and Ashland Cemetery has supplied the library with additional information which is online as well. Still far from complete the Master database continued and continues to grow.

Step #5 developed with the creation of the Boyd County Fiscal Court Cemetery Board. Again new technology made "reading" a cemetery a thing of the past and "digitizing" the cemetery the new lingo. Joyce Whitlock and I set out on a two year journey across Boyd County to photograph tombstones. Once the tombstone was uploaded to the computer, a split screen view of the actual stone allowed less mistakes in entries into the dbase. While a majority of the cemeteries are digitized it is still an ongoing process. The digitized photographs are available at the Boyd County Public Library.

We have been working with the Boyd County PVA office who is also digitally mapping the county and the cemeteries. During one of our first meetings I asked about a particular cemetery and was told since they did not have the name they just called it whatever came "closest to the location." Oh the haunting "name game" again. The PVA office now utilizes the Location Guide and we hopefully have resolved creating yet another "AKA."

The database has proven to be extremely beneficial for researchers as it continues to grow. It has answered some interesting questions over the past few years. In one example we knew from the KHS reading that a stone existed in 1977 but was not standing when digitized for the followup a couple of years ago. By following research leads with help from the database we were able to determine when the grave and stone had been moved and where it now is.

In the case of the caller from California she was able to determine gps and driving directions to Stevens/Marcum Cemetery. She quickly had the site up on Google Maps and now knows where her ancestor is interred.

The database entry shows that it was from the KHS reading and in the comments line was typed "unmarked." Since no additional comments or entries were made when we digitized the cemetery in 2005 no stone was located at that time either. Additionally the caller says she has the death certificate and an obituary stating that her ancestor is buried next to his wife. That information adds another unmarked burial in Stevens/Marcum Cemetery.

Thanks to the collective efforts of the Boyd County Fiscal Court Cemetery Board, the cemeteries of Boyd County now have road signs giving an added aide for drivers to locate those tucked in the foliage on the hill and hopefully solidifying the question of the name of each cemetery in our county.

It has been an honor to share the database template with our neighboring Greenup County. The template is designed so that other counties with data can be added or merged with Boyd County. The dream of the original KHS project so many years ago has become a local reality. Greenup County and Carter County all have cemetery road signs as well. Seeing the road signs makes me hope that the "name game" is no longer like a quizz show.

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.

Memories of Elizabeth Crutcher Weakly McNamara

compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber August 5, 2010

I am getting old. When I started genealogy I was a youngster. I have had many mentors along the way, corresponded with many good researchers who have now gone on to the great beyond. Each person taught me something new to put in my tool kit and carry forward in my own genealogical journey. Elizabeth Crutcher Weakly McNamara is still teaching me lessons even after her death.

Correspondence from Libby, [she requested we call her Libby] has been tucked in my files for 32 years. I recently renewed my research interest in the Peake/Peek family and opened those old files for review. Knowing that she was now deceased I began to wonder where all her wonderful materials ended up.

A quick Google search gleaned little and I was deflated when I read a genealogy query thread that asked who Elizabeth McNamara was and no one could give a definite reply.

I was able to ascertain that her last publication done in 1985 Descendants of Thomas Cruther is back in print. I was deeply impressed with a quick response from Kent Crutcher who explained that he had purchased the copyright from the lawyer following her death but did not know where her other materials might be housed.

That said I had a flashback and did remember that several boxes of her genealogy books had come to the Boyd County Library after her death which added to our collection. But again there is no original notes or research housed in the Boyd County library archives.

Libby also corresponded with Dr. Reba Neighbors Collins in Edmond, Oklahoma. Reba did thankfully add a section to her book History of the Janes-Peek Family on Elizabeth Weakly McNamara's Peak line in 1975. Unfortunately the publication does not give citations for Elizabeth's work and Collins is also now deceased. I cherish my autographed copy of the book.

Besides her contribution to Collin's book and her Crutcher publication in 1985 I am aware of three other publications compiled by her. In 1980 Gateway Press published Weakley, Scearce, Arnold Families of Kentucky: their descendants and ancestral families. In 1978 she did a 28 page typescript titled The Novinger family of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania and Adair County, Missouri which is housed at the NSDAR library. The same year she published Old Letters and Documents from the Estate of James Crutcher 1755-1823. The Kentucky Historical Society and Library of Virginia have copies of this last publication.


Searching the catalogs of Kentucky libraries, Library of Virginia and NSDAR I found no indication that her original research notes made their way to a repository. I am especially saddened since I can now say she was a distant cousin through our Peak/Peek family and would love to see her citations for the information she wrote about in correspondence to my grandmother and myself.

Thankfully I have preserved the correspondence from 1978. In one letter she wrote "...Yes, I know that you are close to Ashland as that is where I was born [1911]. Dad and mother went there right after they were married in 1906 - Dad went into the law office of an uncle-in-law of mothers. We left there in 1915 and went to Covington, Ky., and in 1921 to Ft. Thomas, Ky., which is just across the Licking River from Covington and in Campbell Co. Might add that we still have many friends in Ashland."

Libby's childhood memories are good. I find the family living in Ward 6 of Covington in 1920 and in Fort Thomas for the 1930 Federal Census.

Libby shared her and her siblings full birth dates with another Peak researcher in the 1980's, J. B Hitt. But like others, Hitt would also love to know what happened to her original research. The full birth dates and place of birth for the Weakley children:

Sarah Ross Weakley 13 February 1907, Ashland, Boyd County, Kentucky
Leonard Adriel Weakley 21 October 1908, Ashland, Boyd County, Kentucky
Elizabeth Crutcher Weakley 12 March 1911, Ashland, Boyd County, Kentucky
Margaret Ann Weakley 3 Dec 1917, Covington, Kenton County, Kentucky

Margaret's birth is the only one that qualified to be recorded in the Kentucky Vital Records that began in 1912. Leonard applied for a delayed certificate for Boyd County.

Libby's mother Carrie/Caroline Frances Peak was born 27 October 1884. Collins states Carrie's birth place was Bedford County, Kentucky in her Janes-Peek publication. But Bedford is a town in Trimble County, Kentucky. Carrie was the daughter of Robert Francis Peak who was also an attorney. Her grandfather William Francis Peak was the president of several banks including the bank at Bedford. He died in Bedford, Trimble County 29 January 1911 [KY cert#2484].

By the time Carrie was 15 they were residing in Shelbyville, Shelby County, Kentucky. It was there that she married Calvin Simpson Weakley 20 January 1906 and then moved to Ashland, Boyd County, Kentucky, where they resided for nine years.

The Ashland City Directory for 1908-1909 shows Calvin working in the office of Zerfoss & Weakley in the Thomas Building on 16th Street. The Weakley family resided at 209 Carter Avenue. In fact the house was quite crowded. The following Weakley family members were boarding at this residence: Effie a milliner, Jennie a clerk, Sallie a milliner, and Samuel S. a grocer.

The Zerfoss in Zerfoss & Weakley, attorneys was L. Frank and wife Lizzie who resided at 201 E. Central Avenue.

Libby was very small when they left Ashland. Her memories are in areas of Campbell County and surrounding Bluegrass region counties that would later help her with the genealogy research that she was interested in. She began her love of genealogy in the 1930's while still in Shelby County.

She went on to join the Women's Army Corp - WAC - during WWII. She attained the rank of Captain and served 2 1/2 years in England. Elizabeth married Harold Webster McNamara 30 June 1956 in Arlington, Virginia where she would live out the rest of her life. Both she and her husband are buried in Culpeper National Cemetery in Plot E-0155. Elizabeth Crutcher Weakly McNamara died 30 July 1998 and was buried 5 August 1998.

There are many Peake researchers that hope Libby's research has survived and is tucked away in a repository for our review.

The lesson is an age old one with genealogists. Be clear and concise about what is to become of your genealogical research materials. We can protect our work with a simple codicil to our will and pre-arrangement with a library of choice.

I think of others whose research was shattered, divided or lost after years of work and that it may include Libby's unfinished Peak materials. I am truly thankful that I am able to preserve several of her letters in my own collection. I would love to be able to add an addendum to this article that her Peak materials have been located.




Elizabeth Cruther Weakley McNamara [Carrie Peak Weakley- Robert Francis Peak - William Francis Peak - Thomas Peake - William Peake - Francis Peake - John Peake]

Teresa Martin Klaiber [John Geer Martin - Henry Kautz Martin - John Shouse Martin - Henry Foster Martin - Mary Ann Peek Martin - Thomas W. Peek - Francis Peake- John Peake]

Colegrove genealogy can Stump a Researcher

compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber

One of my favorite people asked me to go over her limited Colegrove notes the other day. I am always glad to help her. She descends from Lydia Colegrove Vanover who died 16 February 1915 in Boyd County, Kentucky.

Lydia's death certificate is filed with Kentucky Vital Statistics and says that her father is J. D. "Coalgrove" and Elizabeth "Coalgrove." Said friend had no further information than the certificate that I had provided her but it did not take us long to ascertain through census records that J. D. was Jedediah D. Colegrove.

Armed with these pieces of evidence I decided to follow the trail after my friend left my office. It did not take long in our internet world to locate several full copies of The History and Genealogy of the Colegrove Family In America With Biographical Sketches, Portraits, Etc. by William Colegrove, DD, LL, D. published in 1894 by the author.

The publication [page 378] listed Jedediah Colegrove [s. Jeremiah...] of Lawrence County, KY; farmer; born November 2, 1811 d. July 29, 1882. M. 1833, Elizabeth STUMP b March 16, 1813, d. in 1891. The death is just three years prior to the publication of the Colegrove book.

Doing a typical search I found the information repeated and repeated on many sites. All stated that his wife was Elizabeth Stump. They also added the middle name of Darius to Jedediah.

These publications of the 1880's are wonderful sources and thousands were written during this time frame. I theorize that people began having a serious genealogy attraction during relative peace time in the United States. They were able to concentrate more on home and family. Most of the publications were based on oral information, bible notations [good evidence] and hand written letters around the country. Etiquette of the time would eliminate the author writing anything considered improper. All information was sorted and resorted and copied and recopied before publication. So while they are a wonderful valued tool they need to be documented with our newer technology and access to legal records.

Something just did not ring true and sent up my inner red flag about wife Elizabeth being a Stump. Why? Because the 1880 Federal Census of Lawrence County, Kentucky showed the Vanover's including Elizabeth born about 1813 in Kentucky with parents born in Pennsylvania and a mother-in-law named Catharine Elaxander age 87 also born in Pennsylvania.

By now I also had found a notation by late historian Evelyn Jackson saying that J. D. was [J.] Dyer Colegrove and that Elizabeth was Elizabeth Long. Tracking her notation I quickly found the 27 July 1833, Greenup County, Kentucky marriage of Dyer Colegrove to Elizabeth Long. The original Greenup records have been replaced with copied typed versions because of a lose of records in the clerks office. Maybe they misread the middle name Darias/Dyer? We will leave that for later scrutiny.

It was now time to track Catharine Elaxander aka Alexander and see where we wondered. I found her living with Alexanders in Perry Township, Lawrence County, Ohio in 1870. The census indicates that she is "infirm" along with a John Alexander aged 70, born in Kentucky still working on the farm.

In 1860 John and Catharine Alexander resided at Star Furnace, Carter County, Kentucky in the district next to where the Colegrove's are enumerated the same year. Tracking back, the family is in Greenup County in 1850 and among Alexander household members is also a William Long age 19 born in Kentucky.

Armed with basic census information I again reviewed Greenup County Marriages 1803-1853 published by the Hardiman's in 1980. John Alexander married Catharine Long 23 February 1838 in that county.

Since Elizabeth was born in 1813 in Kentucky it seemed plausible that I would locate a first marriage of Catharine as well. Utilizing the same resource I located the marriage of Henry Long 15 October 1813 to Catharine Stump the daughter of Christopher.

I had now resolved my original red flag issue. Catharine Long Alexander was nee Stump. Someone provided a complete birth date of 16 March 1813 for Elizabeth for the Colegrove genealogy publication. So now we have a new red flag. Who was the father of Elizabeth Stump Colegrove? When Elizabeth married she utilized the father's surname she had known since she was an infant: Long.

When Henry Long died he did not leave much. A sale bill was filed in Greenup Will book 3 page 137 dated 31 December 1836 and filed the following 6 March. The estate consisted of a sorrel horse, colt, corn, 5 head of hogs, 4 head of cattle, saddle and bridle. They were all purchased by John Long for a sum of $9.50.

This certainly did not leave much for Catharine Stump Long Alexander to exist on, even though her daughter Elizabeth was grown and already married to Jedediah Colegrove. She still had a son, William [b. 1831] living with her in 1850 from her marriage to Henry Long.

William Henry Long had a guardian filed in Will book 5 page 364 4 April 1859 in Greenup County, Kentucky. It states that Jacob Howe was appointed guardian of William Henry Long, infant heir of Henry Long, dec'd with Allen Myers as security "for the purpose of getting a land warrant from the Federal Government for services of Henry Long, dec'd in the War of 1812. The document states that Howe had tried but failed to get the Land warrant and had not received property of any kind whatever belonging to his ward, William Henry Long. Howe goes on to state that Henry Long had died insolvent.

I doubt Catharine's daughter,Elizabeth, had an easy life born under the cloud of unrest in 1812/13 and living through the period of strife of the Civil War. Her husband, Jedediah D. Colegrove, appears on the rolls of the 22nd Kentucky Infantry. He enrolled at Grayson October 1861 and gave his age as 44 years old. His papers are 11 pages long riddled with entries of illness. He was finally released from duty because he was weak and had not been with his unit much, at Memphis, Tennessee.

Jedediah certainly wanted to serve his country. He lied about his age because he was 50 at the time and the requirements said that anyone over 45 was to old to serve for the union. A graph on American Civil War Research shows many in this age group did the same thing. His discharge seems to prove that age did matter. It reads "I know of nothing of any particular disease affecting...the soldier...it is general debility rendering him to be weak and feeble for even the lightest duties of a soldier...I have known said soldier for the greater portion of 11 months during the greater portion of which time he has been sick either in the hospital or in quarters..."

In 1880, living in Lawrence County, Kentucky J. D. Colegrove gives his age as 73 with a very hard to read notation that appears to say he has palsey and can't work. Elizabeth gives her age as 64, which would place her birth in 1816 instead of the earlier cited 1813. If this is the case then she is Henry Long's daughter.

The 1820 Greenup census shows two females under 10 in Henry Long's house which does not resolve the question. When was Elizabeth born? This age group simply places her birth between 1810 and 1820.

Elizabeth was born seven months prior to her mother's marriage to Henry Long according to the cited full birth date. The author of the 1894 publication chose not to utilize the Long surname but does not give documentation to validate her having to use the Stump surname. The War of 1812 was underway and Henry Long could be her father. Elizabeth chose him as such when she utilized his surname at her own marriage in 1833.

While some of the vanity genealogies published in the 1880's were flowery giving detailed accounts of heroism, Colegrove's publication gives very little information on each individual but certainly provides us room to continue researching. Said friend now has a little more information to continue on her own journey about the Stumps and their several other marriages in the Colegrove family.

William H. Mackoy, Greenup County, KY - More to the Story

compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber

My copy of the History of Greenup County, Kentucky was handed down to me. It is cherished and belonged to my great uncle Henri Gorath Halderman.

Uncle Henri had a knack for writing notations in books. Yes, we are taught in school not to deface or dog ear or write in books. But how wonderful that Henri still talks to me through the many books from his library. Some of his entries are humorous, many historical and a few naughty. He also glued clippings and even stuck stamps in books.

As a side bar, the back of my copy of the Greenup history includes four prepaid sales tax stamps for the state of Ohio, now collector items. In pencil under the stamps Henri wrote "I returned a book on which I paid tax evidently the clerk allowed me credit on the tax as well as the first cost. For I paid 10 cents for this book and the state tax would be 30 cents. 1951."

The history book was written by Nina Biggs and Mabel Lee Mackoy in 1951 and Uncle Henri's memory of the incident written about on page 86 was to large to include in the margins so he paper clipped a sheet of writing paper to the page. Since he presented the book to my mother I believe he was addressing her when he wrote his memories of that fatal day.

Page 86 has a sub title "Tragedies" and includes several incidences. Paragraph two:

"In 1887, William H. Mackoy, of Siloam, was killed when a gun he was carrying was accidentally discharged as he was mounting his horse."

In pencil Uncle Henri has written " Dr. S. S. Halderman, Sciotoville was called." Then attached, in ink, is the story as told by Henri Gorath Halderman. Henri was the son of Stephen Simpson Halderman, M.D. I have left all spelling and writing in Halderman's own words.

"On page 86 - it is recorded that William H. MacKoy was accidently shot while hunting. He was climbing over a fence and carelessly placed his gun over the fence and leaned upon it to climb over and the gun was discharged as I recall so it was told. Your grandfather S. S. Halderman was located at Sciotoville at the time and was called. He took me with him and while he was engaged I was amusing myself by climbing upon a stake and rider fence to see better the men working on the C&O RR bed which had but at that time was built thru to Maysville, KY. I ran a splinter in my left thumb and upon removing home father cut it out - my thumb nail yet shows a split where father cut a 'V' shaped piece out to remove the splinter. I was 11 years old and remember yet how hungry I grew waiting on the river bank for a skiff with Mrs. Davis to get across the Ohio River to home.

Apropos of all this, I was told by one of the author's of this book, Mabel Mackoy that at the time of the accident to William Mackoy the question arose "what doctor shall we call" and Mabel's father suggested Dr. S. S. Halderman just across the river and added - by the way Dr. Halderman is a DEMOCRAT, too..."

I was able locate the sale that followed William Mackoy's administration, published in the Portsmouth Times 26 November 1887. "Saturday, December 3rd, at the residence of the late W. H. Mackoy, Greenup County, Kentucky, opposite Sciotoville, Ohio at 10:00 a.m." Among the items being cited in the sale is a horse, a colt, cows and sundry items. J. B. "Macoy" was administrator.

As a child walking along Gay Street in Portsmouth, hand in hand, with my great uncle I can remember seeing the funny shape of his thumb nail. He loved his books and had a large collection on the 2nd floor of the family home. Tomorrow I am sure to open another book and find more tidbits, wisdom and wit that are scribed in his hand.

William Henry Mackoy
born 31 August 1856
died 16 November 1887
burial: Old Christian Church Cemetery at Siloam.

Camellas Milton Clay Survived

compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber July 2010

Crushed By A Falling Tree
Daily Evening Bulletin, Maysville, Kentucky
19 March 1884

Catlettsburg, March 10. -- A sad accident happened near Bolts Fork, in this county, yesterday afternoon in which Camellas Clay was the victim. He, in company with two of his brothers and a young friend, were out squirrel-hunting, and they cut down a tree, and a limb struck Clay on the head, breaking the skull and causing the brains to come out. He still lingers, but is unconscious and will die.

Camellas Milton Clay was born 28 July 1870, the son of John M. Clay and Catharine Lambert Clay. Clay had three older brothers, William, John and James. It is unclear which of the elder brothers he was with that day.

The Ashland Independent has been extracted in the publication Bygone Bylines for the following day, March 20, 1884. There is no mention of the incident.

Camellas Milton Clay did survive the accident. He is listed in the 1900 Carter County, Kentucky census as Milton Clay along with wife [A]merica and two sons. This census says they have been married seven years. No occupation is listed. The family lives next door to a Kiser family.

C. M. Clay became a physician at some point in his life. The Directory of Deceased American Physicians 1804-1929 lists him as C. Milton Clay. It simply says that his type of practice was Allopath and that he died March 1912. This death data is incorrect.

The family is listed in the Pleasant Valley District of Carter County, Kentucky in 1910. The census taker misspells the given name Camellas. This time Clay's occupation is given as a physician in general practice.

Camellas Milton Clay died 19 February 1912 at Pleasant Valley, Carter County, Kentucky. His death certificate is under C. M. Clay, M. D. and does not list his full name. His wife was living at the time of his death. The certificate states that he is buried in Kiser Cemetery.

Today Kiser Cemetery is called Kiser - Gilliam Cemetery. On a beautiful sunny day this past month, prior to the awful flooding that hit the Grahn area this past weekend, my husband and I took a drive to visit the cemetery for photographs. From I64 we took the Carter Caves exit then west on US 60. Manned with directions from the USgenweb Carter County site we had no trouble locating the cemetery. Exactly 1/2 mile on #60 we turned left at the caution light on route 182 towards Grahn. Exactly 2.4 miles on #182 we turned right on Kiser Branch Road. We turned left on Kiser Fork Road and traveled .2 as instructed to the top of a very steep hill. At the very top of the hill we turned right about 200 yards and followed it .2 of a mile where it ended at the cemetery.

We found the cemetery fenced and maintained having been recently mowed.










America Clay died 1 March 1957 and is buried beside her husband in the cemetery.

Son Emil Liscom Clay is also buried next to his parents. Emil was born 2 February 1903 and died 10 September 1922 from a punctured appendix. His death certificate shows that he died in the Grahn district of Carter County.

Henry Preston Scalf: Day Tripping in Eastern Kentuck

compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber

The sun was blazing on our day trip to Ivel, Floyd County, Kentucky. Our outing to Davidson Memorial Cemetery was two fold. We wanted to pay our respects to aunt Mildred Rucker Hall Crisp and Boone Hall. Both Mildred and Boone had taught for many years in the Floyd County school system. Secondly we wanted to see if there was a marker for Confederate Soldier Middleton Garrett.

The office 3x5 cards quickly verified that there was no marker for Middleton Garrett. We parked the car on the hillside and walked among the various sections taking the stairs up and down the hillside. Flowers overwhelmed the cemetery that is teetering, literally on the hill. As I turned to head back to the shade of the car I smiled as I recognized a very familiar name.

Henry Preston Scalf was one of the first people I corresponded with when I began genealogy in the 1970's. [Ok I admit I have been around awhile!] Sadly I was introduced to him near the end of his life. We became acquainted when I subscribed to The East Kentuckian. Scalf was editor and I looked forward to the quarterly bringing me a little flavor of Kentucky while living in New Jersey.

Looking back at the old newsletters that have traveled with me from New Jersey to Ohio and finally back to our beloved Eastern Kentucky, I see the love he put into everything he did. Each of my 1978 editions are hand addressed. By 1979 Scalf's friend and fellow writer, Clayton Cox had taken over as editor of the publication. The front of the March issue shows a wonderful picture of Henry P. Scalf standing beside a Kentucky highway marker commemorating Tandy R. Stratton on Mare's Creek, Floyd County. I had found my way to this wonderful publication because of connections between the McBrayer and Stratton families.

Cox began the issue with information on the founder of The East Kentuckian stating that he was a "distinguished historian and genealogist of Eastern Kentucky." Henry Scalf was also a distinguished teacher in the Floyd County School system but for most of us we will forever remember him for his many publications on history and genealogy and what he has taught us about our Eastern Kentucky ancestors. He was awarded a Kentucky Citation for Outstanding Journalism in 1954.

Among his many publications was Kentucky's Last Frontier with an honored forward by Thomas D. Clark who was named Historian Laureate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The book is still available and gets a five star rating on most sites handling the publication. Another favorite publication of Scalf's was Four Men of the Cumberlands which told of the story Devil John Wright and others and is now out of print.

Henry Preston Scalf married 21 October 1831 in Pike County to Norah James who also loved teaching. When her husband became ill Norah took the reins of the quarterly to keep it going until Clayton and wife Elizabeth Cox stepped in. At that time the publication shifted from Stanville, Kentucky to a Lexington address.

If it were not for teachers and genealogists like Henry Preston Scalf, I may not have taken up pen and paper to follow the path I have taken. It has been a good journey and because of Scalf and his creative publications I have been able to formulate a respect for the pioneers that proceeded me in these wonderful hills that I call home. His research was grass roots and in depth research without aide of the click of a computer. He knew the importance of sharing information with others so that our history would continue to be handed down from generation to generation.

Standing on the side of the hill just outside Allen at Ivel, Floyd County, Kentucky I paid my respects and knew the warm feeling was not just from the sun beating down but the warmth of good feelings for those that came before us so we could continue on the journey.

Henry Preston Scalf
20 February 1902-2 September 1979