Does any one on this list have any information on George W Mims or his brother Elias, they came from Laurnes Co. Ga between 1850 and 1860. Ann

My friends - I was asked yesterday by one of our subscribers when we might see another of the delightful little essays written by Dr. Gordon Wilson. So, today, to perhaps take our minds away, for a brief moment, from the tragedy of the past two weeks, I am sending along another of Dr. Wilson's narratives. This one is entitled, "Parties", and is taken from his little book called, "Fidelity Folks", which was written about his childhood and teenage years spent in the village of Fidelity in Calloway County, better known to us as New Concord. He was the son of Dr. Marquis Pillow Wilson, a physician of Calloway County. Gordon Wilson was an educator who taught for a short time in Calloway, Hickman and Fulton counties, before moving on to Western KY University. He earned his Ph.D in English and became the beloved head of the Department of English at WKU. He died in 1970. -B =========================================================================== PARTIES -Dr. A. Gordon Wilson -Fidelity Folks "In spite of severe opposition from some quarters the young people of Fidelity had parties - and a good many of them. Square dancing had practically gone out before I could remember and was looked upon as the most immoral thing in the world, unless that honor was saved for gambling. But there were still play-parties in some parts of the area, and there was clog-dancing at the loafers' j'int [joint] and elsewhere. The fiddlers still knew their old wicked tunes and played them just for fun, though the only obvious response was the patting of feet, or the clapping of hands. Occasionally on the fringe of Fidelity somebody would secretly give a square dance, in spite of parents and the Sunday School. Play-parties were and are very little different from square dances. The two most typical forms of these folk games or dances are the circle and the double line, with partners facing each other. "Shoot the Buffalo" or "Pig in the Parlor" represents the circular dance; "Virginia Reel" the double line, or contradance. I have seen many variations of the two types, especially the Virginia Reel. Some of the dances were "called" just as was the square dance; some had sung directions; some were just played to the words and tune of some old ballad. A few of our people drew the line at having a fiddle play for us; that suggested the wicked square dance. But young people, like love, will find a way. Into our village in my earliest days came an itinerant music teacher, who left his stamp permanently upon us. We called him 'Doodle' Daniel; to this day I do not know how he signed his name. He organized a string band and taught the men and boys numerous breakdowns, sentimental airs, patriotic airs, and trick numbers. Our postmaster was first violinist, the "general" played second fiddle, and there were mandolins, guitars, banjos, washboards, French harps, jew's-harps, and 'bones' (castanets). It was a severe trial on all of us to sit still and listen to the seductive string band, unable to rise and shine as dancers. Often we had solos, I suppose you would call them. A fiddler did his tricks or played seriously, or a banjo picker would accompany his own rendition of some mournful ballad. The jew's-harp or the French harp almost has to be played as a solo in order for the hearers to get the delicate tones and shading. I do not recall any vocal solos with string band accompaniment, but we often sang as a group. All the music I have mentioned may have been given at a picnic or at a private home when people had come in to sit till bedtime. Sometimes we had genuine parties after the fashion of people everywhere, as the one that our postmaster gave for the twentieth birthday of his oldest son. This was a moonlight party, with the spacious yard decorated and lighted with Japanese lanterns. There were tubfuls of lemonade and a make-believe spring of ice water with ferns planted around it. Along in the evening, after we had played Social until every boy had met every girl and sometimes got stuck with an uninteresting partner, the postmaster entertained us with numerous records on his gramhophone, the only one in Fidelity. Everybody present regarded the party as the greatest social event in the life of Fidelity. It seems in retrospect that our lives were shut off from planned and supervised social life. That we did as well as we did is a tribute to good average human nature." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I need to know the most efficient way to search land records in person in Calloway County--Calloway County Clerk's Office. (1) Can I and if so, how can I, determine who owns a tract of land today? (I need to trace the ownership/transfer of a certain tract of land back to the 1850s.) (2) Does the deeds office/county clerk's office have the land records on microfilm? (3) Are researchers allowed access to the deed books and/or microfilm? Thanks for any help anyone can provide! Sylvia

My friends - As I continue to look around for interesting 19th century newspaper pieces about the JP region, I came across another item from "The Atlanta Constitution" of 23 January 1883. It concerns a moonshine raid in Calloway County. It is more in the way of a "fun" piece than anything else, but it does remind us that stills and moonshining was a part of the era, even in the JP region, and it was serious business to both law enforcement and those operating the stills. More items to follow soon....... -B ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A Raid on Moonshiners Two Illicit Distilleries in Kentucky Destroyed by Major Barnes -The Atlanta Constitution 23 January 1883 "Louisville, KY., January 22 Major George F. Barnes, Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, and a posse of four men returned this morning from a successful and daring raid on the moonshiners of Calloway County. Last week, Major Barnes went to this famous moonshiner district with his gun and dog, ostensibly on a hunting expedition, but while there he discovered the situation of two illicit stills, and immediately returned and organized the expedition. The first still captured was a small one, and the operators had escaped. After a further ride of a dozen miles, the party came upon the second still, the real object of the trip. This still was probably the largest crooked one in the State, and consisted of two large copper stills, with an estimated capacity of 40 gallons every 24 hours. The location is on a stream known as Yellow Spring Branch, about 300 yards from the Tennessee line. The still is surrounded by an almost impassable bamboo and huckleberry swamp. The operators were six men of desperate character from Tennessee, headed by two men named Smith and Winn. The still was fortified by a stockade built of heavy logs. The officers approached it in broad daylight and found it in full operation. They got within 30 yards of the stockade before they were discovered by the moonshiners, who, thoroughly surprised, dropped everything and took to the woods. The officers gave hot pursuit, firing several shots after them, but the natives were too nimble-footed and reached the Tennessee line in safety. The posse then returned to the still and began to destroy it. The found 18 mash tubs, the still mentioned above, 12 worms, 3,600 gallons of beer, and 200 gallons of whiskey, amount in value, with other apparatus, to $2000. The work of destruction was barely completed before the woods were echoing with the yells of the moonshiners and their friends, who had flocked from all quarters at the alarm to fight the officers. The latter, fearing they would be overpowered by superior numbers, began a retreat. An exciting chase ensued for several miles, both parties keeping up a running fire.But the officers finally cleared the woods and escaped uninjured. It is not known whether any of the moonshiners were shot. The was the first daylight raid ever made on the Calloway moonshiners and hence they were taken off guard." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My friends - Yesterday, I posted the contents of a newspaper article from 1898 in *The Atlanta Constitution", concerning a mob lynching in Graves County. In the same subject matter area, I am passing along today another article from "The Atlanta Constitution" of 20 February 1917, almost 20 years after the date of yesterday's article. There are some similarities and some differences in the mood and approach taken by the public in this case, versus that of the earlier, 1898, actions. -B ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Troops Fill Court to Protect A Negro Lube Martin, Accused of Killing Policeman, on Trial In Kentucky -The Atlanta Constitution 20 February 1917 "Murray, Ky., February 19: With Kentucky national guardsmen posted at points of vantage inside and out of the Calloway county courthouse, the case of Lube Martin,a negro charged with the murder of Gutherie Duiguid, a policeman, was called for trial here this morning. The scene presented was in sharp contrast to that enacted early last January when Judge Charles Bush aroused such a storm by granting a continuance of the negro's case that Governor A.O.Stanley found it advisable to make a hurried night trip half the length of the state to avert possible violence against officials of the court. Today, everything was quiet.There was little excitement, and this was apparently the result of curiosity. Last January, a mob threatened the life of Judge Bush and Commonwealth's Attorney Danny Smith, when it became known that the continuance in the negro's case had been granted. The two officials spent the night in a barricaded hotel which the crowd threatened to dynamite unless the negro was returned for trial. The excitement ended with the appearance of Gov. Stanley. He addressed a crowd in the circuit court room, demanding respect for the law, announcing his purpose to protect the court by his personal efforts, if necessary, and promising that the negro Martin should be brought to trial in due course. The militiamen on duty at the courthouse are members of the three companies returned to Kentucky from the Mexican border at Governor Stanley's request after the outbreak here in January. At that time, every available unit of the Kentucky National Guard was on the border and when the emergency rose, there was no force upon which the Governor could call. The case was finally called after a long delay due to Martin's collapse. Judge Bush admonished newspaper men to give Murray no undue notoriety and ordered that nobody with firearms be permitted in the court room. Officers under the instructions made a superficial examination of those who sought to enter. Martin was brought from the jail under a heavy guard, but no demonstration was made by either the dense crowd at the courthouse door or by those who filled the court room. Two attorneys defended the negro. It was agreed that he should have a speedy hearing and a special venire of sixty was summoned to appear tomorrow. Martin's return to jail was without incident." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My friends - I want to take just a few minutes of your time today to comment on the use of early newspapers in our research. As many of you who have been on this List for some time know, we do not have extant newspapers for the JP region earlier than about 1880. The UK has the best collection of early KY newspapers, in my experience. There are a few single issues here and there which go back some years earlier in the JP, but any series of newspapers - that is, for example, a run of 1 January 1880 - 31 December 1880 - for any period earlier than 1880 is virtually unknown for the JP area, which is unfortunate. However, as we see more and more early newspapers come online, we do have some opportunities, now and then, to find some tidbits connected with events in the Jackson Purchase. This is especially true in the 1907 - 1910 time frame, when the Night Riders were active in Calloway County. The events surrounding those activities often found their way into large national newspapers. But, occasionally, a "filler" item will appear in newspapers elsewhere, such as the following two examples: ~~~ From a newspaper in Norwalk, CT (25 June 1886): "Death From Hydrophobia Louisville, Ky - June 24 Miss Maude Jetton was bitten eighty days ago in Calloway County by a dog. Tuesday, she had all the symptoms of hydrophobia and died yesterday in great agony". and The Farmers Cabinet Journal (Amherst, NH) 16 July 1841 "Three Persons Drowned At Once A most lamentable and distressing occurrence took place near the mouth of Cypress Creek in the County of Calloway, Ky, a few miles the mouth of Sandy, on Wednesday, the 24th, ult. A little son of J.B.Winchester was fishing in the creek a few rods from the house on the opposite side. He is supposed to have fallen in from a log, and his mother and grandmother drowned in getting him out. On search being made, the three bodies were found within about six feet of each other, Mr. Winchester's wife holding a handful of his mother's hair." ~~~ As you can see, these pieces were printed in a newspaper and a journal based far from Calloway Co. I know that we have both Jetton and Winchester descendants on the List. While the Winchester item does not give names for the child, the wife, or the child's grandmother, it does tell us that these three people died on 24 June 1841. This may supply a date for descendants who may have the names of the three who were drowned, and it may also supply the circumstances of the deaths, which may not have been known before now, as well as the fact that the mother in question was J.B.Winchester's mother, and not the mother of his wife(which we can determine from the fact that the piece states that Winchester's wife was holding hair from "his" mother's head). These items came from the Early American Newspapers database, which is, unfortunately, at this point, still a fee based resource. However, there are several free databases, which are constantly growing, and most of these are shown on the Cyndi's List website, here: http://www.cyndislist.com/newspapr.htm Newspapers can be outstanding and fascinating resources. Finding them, and then locating items about our families, can be time consuming and frustrating at times. But, often, the rewards may make it worth the effort. -B ====================================================================

My friends - I recently mentioned that I would be posting an interesting piece by the late Judy Maupin, written in 1976, entitled, "The Ghostly House in Brandon Springs". Today's post contains her narrative. This posting may perhaps be more appropriately directed to the JacksonPurchase-Lore-L List, but because it mentions family names, I am going to place it here. There are two surnames mentioned in this piece: Skinner and Chilton. Those of us who are familiar with Calloway County's families will immediately recognize the Skinner surname. The Chilton surname, which is said, in Maupin's piece, to have been in Calloway around 1880, does not appear anywhere in the JP region, except for one family in Hickman County, in the 1880 census. That may or may not be meaningful. Let me say, too, that we need to remember that this is Judy Maupin's story, based, she says, on some research she did regarding the area. Whether the facts are true or not is certainly open to speculation. I've not researched it, beyond determining that no Chilton family was in Calloway in 1880. If any of our subscribers are familiar with more details of this story, please let me know by private e-mail. It is an interesting "ghost story", if nothing else. -B ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Ghostly House in Brandon Springs -Judith A.Maupin, 1976 "Last Spring, when I went with a group of children to the new Brandon Springs camp, I did a little research about the area, with the hope of coming up with something that would interest kids of that age. To my surprise, I came up with an apparently authentic ghost story. It seems that one the spot where the Brandon Springs dormitories now stand, there once stood a large, two-story house, originally built about 1835 by Nathan Skinner. It sat high on the hill and overlooked the [Tennessee] river, which was at that time the main form of transportation. It was also located on a well used road; consequently, what with the lack of hotels in those days, many time weary travelers, whether from the riverboats, walking, or on horseback, would come to the house to ask for lodging for the night. According to the stories, Mr. Skinner would make the travelers welcome, feed and tuck them in, and then, in the dead of night, rob them of their possessions - and, incidentally, of their lives. Members of the family were reported to have heard the ghosts of these misrouted travelers, trying in vain to continue their journeys. In later years, the house changed hands. Nathan Skinner died in 1846 and is buried nearby, probably quite near where he put his victims. Sometime around 1880, after the estate had been settled, the house was occupied by a family named Chilton. These people were not natives of the region and had probably come in when the iron furnaces were still in operation. They were a close-knit, quiet family who stayed who stayed pretty much to themselves. This may have been because they were not natives, but it is more likely because of their son, who had been deformed quite severely at birth. In those days such a tragedy was looked upon with shame, and a person who was mentally retarded or crippled was kept at home but hidden from the public eye. This child, whose name is not known, stayed mostly in his little room on the first floor, where he spent many hours peeking out the windows, trying to see the world that lay beyond the row of cedar trees in the yard, which had been planted there to block outsiders' view of the house and its occupants. Before he got to be very old, the boy died, and so the legend goes, as long as the house stood, his halting steps and the sound of his crutches could be heard at night in that house." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My friends - We have recently been reviewing articles which appeared in the "History of Calloway County - 1931" publication. We are continuing that today. This piece was written by Charles A. McCuiston for the 1931 history. He was a long time resident of New Concord, and gave the history of the town as he recalled it, and from some few documents and older people that he consulted. That should be borne in mind as the narrative below is read. For example, he mentions two doctors in the area(and tells an odd and somewhat morbid story about one of them), but we know that Dr. Marquis Pillow Wilson(father of Dr. Gordon Wilson) was also practicing medicine in and around New Concord in the latter part of the 19th century. We will continue, from time to time, to have posts from this 1931 county history. -B =========================================================================== History of New Concord -Charles A. McCuiston “History of Calloway County – 1931” “We have no record further back than 1828, but old folks tell us that the first store that was put up here was where the New Providence and Murray roads now fork, and this store was built in 1819; but we have no date on it further back than 1828. At that time this country was inhabited mostly by the Stubblefield family. Mrs. A.J. (Mitt) Stubblefield has some old letters written to this place dated October 8, 1828 from James Barnett, Leakville, Rockingham Co., NC, to Robert C. Stubblefield, Humility, Calloway Co., Ky. That was the name of this place at that time. That records show that about 1831, the name was changed to New Concord, there being another Concord in the eastern part of Kentucky, and between 1831 and 1835, they added the word ‘New’ to it, making it New Concord. The first person buried in the New Concord Cemetery, according to the old people’s memory, was Jackie Stubblefield. The oldest marked tombstone in this graveyard is Jas. Barnett, who died September 22, 1835. From an old letter, written September 19, 1837, tobacco at that time was selling from 3 to 5 cents per pound. In the year 1848, P[eter] M[ackness] Rowlett established a tobacco manufacturing plant. The first two brands of tobacco made were named ‘48’ and ‘Old Dominion’. Several years later, his son, Jeff[erson Davis] became a partner. His father was getting old, so Jeff became manager in 1889. His father died, so Jeff continued on with the factory and in 1903 he moved it to Murray and is still making those two old famous brands. Back in the [18] 50’s and [18] 60’s, the tobacco business came to be of great interest in this community. In 1861, the Civil War broke out, and the United States put a revenue on tobacco, so a great many people did not think it was right, and a lot of them began smuggling tobacco. It would now be called bootlegging. It put this factory to the bad. In the 70’s Pink Stilley founded a wagon shop here which made wagons and sold them to the people of the county. They worked 15 or 20 men in this shop and sold the wagons for $150. The town had grown to about 150 inhabitants. It has two drugs stores, two dry goods stores, one saloon, one hotel, one church, a Masonic lodge, two tobacco factories and two doctors – Dr.Bowling and Dr. Lynch, and old Dr.Lynch decided he wanted to eat a piece of dog meat. So he decided to kill a dog, cook it and give a big dog dinner. He asked in his neighbors and fiends. Everything that was cooked had some of that dog in it. Some would not eat any dog; but you see they got some dog anyway. At one time the wealth of Calloway County was in and around New Concord. Some of the biggest men this county ever had were born and reared in New Concord. The only millionaire the county ever produced was born in New Concord. About 1845, the Masons of this community bought a large bell weighing about 150 pounds from a steamboat which sank in the Tennessee River near here. This bell was used on the Masonic building, and the old Union Church which was the same building. It is now used by the New Concord High School. In 1919, the New Concord Milling Company was established here by A[lbert] G[allatin] Smith. It operated here for six years but it got too big for this place and Murray did not have a flour mill, so it was moved there in 1925. At the present time[1931], this town has about 100 population. It has a grade A four year high school, two stores, one blacksmith shop, one garage, on church, one doctor and a post office. This is the true history of New Concord and the community according to the best information and knowledge I have of it, I have lived in this little city for the past forty years.” ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I am searching for the marriage date and place for my grandparents, Hiram D Cochran & Hattie Lee [Weatherly] Weatherly Cochran. Hiram was born in Calloway Co. Hattie was born in Sunflower Co MS. Each was widowed when they married and they lived for a time after their marriage in Ruleville, MS. They moved within a year or so to Mayfield, Graves Co KY - where they died; they are buried in Maplewood Cemetery. I know they were married in March of 1904, but I do not know the day or place. They were married in MS, TN, or KY. Hiram married his first wife, Madzetta "Madge" Cotton, in Henry Co TN. Hattie married her first husband, Robert Weatherly, in Sunflower Co MS. Any help you can be in locating the date and place of Hiram and Hattie Cochran's marriage would be most appreciated.

My friends - Today, we are reviewing a narrative which appeared in the 1931 "History of Calloway County", authored by The Ledger & Times. The piece speaks of two colonels who served in the War Between the States who had Calloway roots: Albert Petty Thompson and Gustavus Adolphus Christian Holt. We will have some additional items from this now rare publication as we go along. -B ===================================================================== Calloway's Two Colonels -History of Calloway County - 1931 Calloway had about 1800 citizens of military age[in 1860]. At least half of them enlisted and many were killed in battle, many others were crippled or bore wounds through life. Calloway's soldiers were in the thick of the fight at Shiloh, one of the bloodiest [battles] of the war. Calloway furnished two colonels to the Confederacy - Colonel 'Press' Thompson[Albert Petty Thompson] and Col. G[ustavus] A[dolphus] C[hristian] Holt, both men of rare courage and ability - brilliant, dashing, intrepid. Colonel Thompson was killed in a charge on the Federal fort at Paducah. A cannon ball struck the horn of his saddle and blew him to bits. His grave and monument thereto is in the Bowman Graveyard, north of Murray. Colonel Holt was with General Forrest's left wing at Fort Heiman. He always rode a magnificent horse, and dressed in the picturesque uniform of his rank, booted and spurred and with gleaming sword. He was as splendid a picture of the typical and storied and romantic soldier as was ever put on canvass. He was idolized by his men. Colonel Holt was afterward Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky and President of the [KY] Senate, and was known as one of the best lawyers in the state. Mr. C[rawford] D[uncan] Holt of Murray is a brother of Colonel Holt. Their father[James Patterson Holt] was a noted doctor of the town and a brave, fearless and patriotic citizen. His office was in a frame building on the lot now occupied by the First National Bank, and the descendants of the patrons of Dr. Holt can now be seen wending their way to the Keys & Houston Clinic, where old Dr. Holt formerly held forth. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My friends - Today we are looking at another of the delightful narratives written by Dr. Alexander Gordon Wilson, as taken from his little book, "Fidelity Folks". Dr. Wilson(the son of Dr. Marquis Pillow Wilson) was born in Fidelity - better known to us as New Concord - and was raised there to an adult. Today's essay is entitled "Sulphur Springs Church", and is a sentimental reminder to us of how things used to be in the old country churches. -B +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SULPHUR SPRINGS CHURCH -Dr. A. Gordon Wilson "Fidelity Folks" Much of my childhood revolved around Sulphur Springs Church, which has now been moved to Fidelity because of the great Kentucky Lake flooding the area in winter. The nearness of the church to my home made me a Methodist, even though my parents were Presbyterians. This same nearness made our home the official headquarters of preachers during protracted meetings. And many visitors came to our house when the season was not suitable for dinner on the ground. Some of the fields I cultivated were near the church, with the result that I passed it nearly every day of my life. Hence the sadness at seeing it disappear as a building, though the organization continues intact in the village. Sunday School froze out at Sulphur Springs late in the fall and did not return until the first Sunday in April. Then we started all over again, with good smelling Sunday School books and bright cards. April meant spring, and spring meant wild flowers in bloom around the church and small fish building their nests in the shallow creek. April meant new leaves, and odors of blossoming vegetation drifting into the church through the open windows and somewhat softening the harsh theology that we had to listen to. All through the summer we kept up attendance rather well, unless the young people wanted to go a farm wagon up the creek to a foot-washing at a Primitive Baptist church or planned to go still farther away to some all-day meeting with dinner on the ground. The preacher came pretty regularly on second Sundays through the good months and always staged a protracted meeting right in the hottest, dustiest part of the summer. All this kept the Sunday School going, but I doubt whether the working of miracles could have made it "evergreen," that is, lasting through the cold months. Winter was for neighborhood visiting and rabbit hunting and parties. No night ever got too cold for us to ride horseback miles to a frolic, however easily a mere Sunday School might freeze out. Right now I could go through the catechism I used to say every Sunday when I was a little boy. It was not the Shorter Catechism or any published form but concerned itself with the oldest, wisest, strongest, and other famous people of the Bible. It became such a matter of associative memory that if the teacher had suddenly asked us who swallowed a whale, we would have yelled "Jonah" before we could think, if we ever thought, anyway. The catechism was not a part of the lesson proper. The lesson, for the very small ones, at least, was printed cards in question-and-answer form. Big Sister or Mother taught it to us by rote. Since there were only a few questions, we soon had our lesson said and had to be kept quiet while the elderly people discussed with more heat than light some abstruse points in theology raised by the lesson for the day. I always shone on these drills, for I had a good memory and an auctioneer's voice and could drown out six to ten ordinary youngsters. For rewards we got cards, much like the ones mentioned in TOM SAWYER. I never knew of any one's trading cards as Tom did, but some of us might have if we had not feared the "wrath to come," or, more specifically, our parents. One year I attended Sunday School every Sunday and had a perfect lesson, whatever that meant; consequently, I got a Bible for a reward. Since then I have taken several degrees and have had some college honors, but none of them made me feel as big as I did when I marched down the aisle of the little country church to get my Bible. At Sunday School, as at church, people were kept separated into the two sexes, just as the Lord had made them. The men sat one side, from the Amen Corner, with its elders and respectable gentlemen, back to the disorderly bunch near the door. We even invented the term "Awomen Corner" to designate the dignified group of elderly women. At Sulphur Springs, unlike many country churches, there was a middle row of seats where men and women could sit together. This space came to be largely for young courting couples. Then there was, later times, the choir, where it was very appropriate for the sexes to sit together. To sit either place and fan one's best girl with an open-and-shut fan while all the bad boys of the neighborhood looked on is one of the hottest jobs I ever tackled. Fidelity, though loudly proclaiming its individuality, feared to be different. Consequently, when other churches of circuit and some of the Baptist churches got organs, sentiment began to develop for an organ at our church. Some conservative members opposed the idea, saying that they could find no organ in their Bibles. They could not find any buggies, either, but they never thought of that. The persistent souls ultimately got the organ, paid for it, and installed it in our church. It was thought best to enlarge the preacher's little platform to include the choir loft. When the new organ was dedicated, along about 1897, the whole area turned out, Methodists and Baptists and Christians, those who approved of organs and those who did not. I as a child singer did my part in the Children's Day exercises with which we began the new era. From the day that we got the organ our music changed. Formerly we had sung only to the monotonous lining of the parson on preaching Sundays and from memory an Sunday School mornings. Now we had to have new songbooks. Only rarely did an old-fashioned Preacher like our superannuated Methodist dentist-preacher insist on having at least one lined hymn a service. We got to singing snappy songs from newer books and increased the tempo of our religion a bit. The old-timers, who sat down in the church and not on the stage, had difficulty in keeping up with, and sometimes came in a length behind, the choir. The organist did her best to keep us all together and by degrees got the older ones to stay fairly close to the rest of us. The organ loft, made of wide planks, looked somewhat bare. Some good women suggested that it be carpeted. The same conservatives opposed and lost. And so a carpet was put on the choir loft and down the two aisles to the doors. When all this was done, the church looked dressed up and must have tempted the preacher mightily to discuss the worldliness of his congregation, but for some strange reason he did not. And the organ, with its new brightness, brought a whole reform into the little old church and helped keep it alive until the great power dam backed the waters of the Tennessee River up the creek and covered forever the site of Sulphur Springs. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I'm looking for Margaret E. Ivie/Ivey/Ivy. The E. may stand for Eveline/Evaline. She may have married a White. She was born 1844 in TN and was the daughter of Robert C. & Nancy Ivie of Calloway Co, KY. Thanks. Sylvia

The information below is summarized from two land transactions and from census records in Calloway Co, KY, concerning Rebecca Anne Wells and Marion Alexander Jones. I'm sending it as information for other Calloway County Wells researchers. Several Wells researchers have listed Rebecca Anne as a child of Reuben M. & Nancy Wells. However, there is no mention of Rebecca Anne in the estate settlement for Reuben M. Wells; 9 living children are mentioned. Based on the information below, Rebecca Anne is a daughter of Claiborn & Rebecca Wells, also of Calloway County. Note 1: The children of Claiborn & Rebecca Wells, according to the 1850 & 1860 Census records in Calloway Co, are as follows: -1850 C, HH of Clabourn & & Rebecca Wells: Mary (7), Rebecca (5), John G. (3), William R. (6/12) -1860 C, HH of Rebecca Wells: Mary E (16), Maca A (15), Jno G (12), Wm B (11), Christopher C (8), Sarah J (5), Claiborn (3). Note 2: In the first land transaction below, Claiborn, son of Claiborn & Rebecca Wells, apparently purchases the portion inherited by each of his siblings except for his brother William (not mentioned in the first transaction but mentioned in the second transaction as bordering Claiborn). (Transaction 1) Calloway Co, KY, Deed Book 4, pp 22-24 Rebecca Wells Heirs to Clayburn/Claiburn/Claburn Wells Transaction date - 12/12/1885 Final date of relinquishment of heirs & spouses - 12/6/1886 Recorded date - 11/20/1891 Names mentioned - C. C. Wells & wife Susan D. Wells John G. Wells & wife Susan Wells Rebecca A. Jones formerly Wells & husband M.A./Alex Jones Sally J. Wells Mary E. Morris formerly Wells & husband A. J. Morris Each is to receive $100 with interest as shown by promissory notes from Clayburn/Claiburn/Claburn Wells for their share in the Rebecca Wells home place containing about 160 acres, about a mile south of Shiloh. (Transaction 2) Calloway Co, KY, Deed Book 14, pp 109-110 Clayburn Wells sells to Rebecca A. Jones By a Deed of General Warranty Transaction date - 8/29/1892 Presented - 9/2/1892 Lodged - 9/4/1902 Recorded date - 9/8/1902 50 acres for $140, bordering Clayburn's brother William & bordering Rebecca & M. A. Jones

I'm looking for a listing of the McCuiston Cemetery located near Mt. Caramel Church, New Concord, KY. Is there a listing? Thanks in advance. Slainte Math! B. J. McCuiston PO Box 2193 Gilroy, CA 95021-2193 2B1?1

CLAN UISDEAN, USA, Inc. PO Box 2193 Gilroy, CA 95021-2193 billiejo@garlic.com May 20, 2005 Slainte Va! The Clan Uisdean, USA, Inc. Gathering and reunion will be in Murray, KY on July 23 & 24th 2005. Headquarters for the gathering will be the Best Western University Inn, 1503 N. 12th St. Murray, KY phone # 270-753-5353. A block of rooms has been arranged from July 22-25 @ a rate of $50.00 + tax per day should you want to stay with us. Arrangements have also been made for a meeting room, with a catered evening meal, at Murray State University on July 23. Arrangements have been made for a Celtic String Band, O'Kennessee Strings, for entertainment. Mr. Robert Valentine, from MSU, with be guest speaker. Room reservations must be made prior to July 8. There will be an annual membership meeting and an opportunity to share genealogy information. All family members, collateral lines and anyone with a connection to any of the family names, are invited to attend. A visitation to the McCuiston Mansion and McCuiston Cemetery in New Concord, KY is planned. Clan Uisdean, USA, Inc was incorporated July 4, 2000 and consists of all variations of the McChristian, McCuistion, McCuiston, McQuesten, McQuestion, McQuistion, McQuiston and others family names. These names have documented genealogical connections which have been verified through DNA testing. We are descendants of Uisdean Macdonald, Hugh of Sleat. We are involved in researching family history and genealogy, family cemetery preservation, aid to distressed family members and preservation of our Scotch-Irish Culture. We hope you will attend this Fifth annual Clan Gathering and reunion. Please bring family photographs and genealogy to share. Come prepared to meet many new relatives and have a great time. If you have Kilts, feel free to wear them. Our Scottish Tartan, "MacDonald of Sleat", will be on display. Slainte Math, B. J. McCuiston, Secretary/Treasurer James A. McQuiston, President/Historian; Gloria D. McCuistion, Genealogist;

My friends - Today, we are returning to our review of the narratives of Dr. Gordon Wilson, in his delightful book, "Fidelity Folks". Fidelity is better known to us as New Concord in Calloway County, where Dr. Wilson was born and grew to adulthood, after which he taught school for a time in Fulton County and later moved on to Western Kentucky University, where he became the Chairman of the Department of English. He was a well known and superb story-teller, as we have found in our reviews of his narratives. Today's item is entitled "Feeling Big." -B +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Feeling Big -Dr. A. Gordon Wilson "Fidelity Folks" Children of today probably feel as big when they are allowed to do things slightly above the level of their ages as we used to at Fidelity; the only difference between them and us is that the styles have changed, and, consequently, the things that made us feel grown up now appear insignificant to our children. I have tried to remember this feeling of importance and have not always succeeded, even with myself, who used to do all these important-seeming things. When there was a working--barn-raising,wheat-threshing, log-rolling--we small boys were allowed the great privilege of acting as water boys. Elsewhere I have suggested that a monument should be erected to the water boys of all time, from the building of the Pyramids to the present. When Father salted the meat after supper on hog-killing days, the small boy was allowed to carry the lantern and hand salt from the barrel or joints of meat from the tables or shelves on which they had been cooling. Then when we went across the fields to sit till bedtime at some neighbor's,again the boy was given the enviable task of carrying the lantern. The drum major of a college band may step higher than we did, but he feels his importance no more. We felt large when we could collect the eggs and take them to the country store, especially if Mother permitted us to buy some candy on what would be due us. Every boy liked to make up orders, and the girls were even more skillful than the boys in selling things to people who did not want them. Father usually finished out the order by purchasing all the left-overs that no good-natured neighbor would buy. But we got our reward, in the shape of a ring that left a green band around our fingers or a water pistol or some other contraption that worried the family until a few days of use destroyed the much-sought-after prize. Work on the farm sometimes brought us our first chance to earn something. I made my first fifteen cents by dropping tobacco plants and felt rich and important. After I got a little larger and dropped plants as a matter of course, without any prospect of immediate reward, somehow the poetry of the task faded. A similar experience came when I took the "down row" in gathering corn. I have always wondered whether my older brothers really could not hit the wagon with their corn or deliberately threw the ears so I would have to pick them up. Before long the down row became monotonous and even hateful. It came to be a symbol of a small boy. A friend of mine once said that an acquaintance of ours should not have come to college but should have been kept on the farm to take the down row in Corn-gathering. Since corn can be gathered only at one season, we finally compromised by suggesting that the young man could drop tobacco plants in spring, build smudge fires in summer to keep the gnats and flies off the cows while they were being milked, and pick up chips for winter kindling. Distasteful as all these tasks ultimately became, they were alluring at first, The element of daring that sometimes entered into feeling big left many a scar, for the small boy was not always able to carry out his plan. Climbing trees against parental advice was fine and daring so long as one got back down without any disasters; when a torn shirt or pants or skinned knees revealed the offender, somehow the big feeling vanished. Similarly, chewing one's first tobacco gave a large feeling that shrank pretty fast when the nicotine took effect and the world started going around. Maybe life among grownups is, after all, a sort of daring to do what was never done before - a grown-up version of feeling big. ====================================================================

Having the loan of a 1936 yearbook of the Faxon High School, I thought I would ask if anyone on the list would be interested in the names, etc., contained in the book. Also has the names of the alumni back to 1926. Judy

Thanks to all of you who have responded with such great help. I have all the info that I need for the Grover and Gracie White family. Kay in MI

Kay: I find in Calloway County, 1910 Census: White, Grover C. Head MW 24. Yrs Mar-1, B. Ky Mother B Tn Father Bn Ky " Gracie A. wife FW 21. Yrs Mar-1, Childrn Bn 2 Childr. living 2 Ky Ky Ky " Howard son MW 3 Ky Ky Ky " Clifton son MW 2/12 Ky Ky Ky Hope this helps, Jeanne -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.296 / Virus Database: 266.11.3 - Release Date: 5/3/2005

Could someone please look up the following Census record for me with the details: 1910 KY Census, Calloway Co, : Grover Cleveland White Son: Robert Howard White, b: 1907 in Harrigrove, Calloway Co, KY (Please include information about wife and siblings also) thanks, Kay in Michigan