Bill, Could you explain the custom of men using the title of Colonel? In an obit for my greatgrandfather, he was referred to as Col. I.W. Lynn. He resided in Ballard Co. Ky. and died in 1870. I'm not aware that he served in any war. Keep up the good work. Georgia

He may have been what is known as a "Kentucky Colonel." There is an explanation of that on the Secretary of State's website. CheriC -----Original Message----- From: GATATUM@aol.com [mailto:GATATUM@aol.com] Sent: Monday, February 07, 2005 9:47 PM To: KYJacksonPurchase-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [KYJP] Custom of using the title of Colonel Bill, Could you explain the custom of men using the title of Colonel? In an obit for my greatgrandfather, he was referred to as Col. I.W. Lynn. He resided in Ballard Co. Ky. and died in 1870. I'm not aware that he served in any war. Keep up the good work. Georgia ==== KYJacksonPurchase Mailing List ==== Have general questions about the Jackson Purchase? Visit the Jackson Purchase Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)web site at: http://users.arn.net/~billco/jacksonfaq1.html

He may have been, as suggested by Cheri, a member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, which has been in existence since 1813. Early Kentucky Colonels actually performed military service, but by the end of the 19th century, the role had become a ceremonial one, with individuals of achievement, nominated by their peers, were invited to join. By the 1930's, a formal organization had been formed, "The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels", which exists today. It is primarily a charitable organization now, and contributes to a number of worthy causes each year. There are about 600 KY Colonels in the US today(I am proud to say that I am one of those). When most people think of a "KY Colonel", a mental picture of Col. Harlan Sanders of KFC comes to mind. He was commissioned a KY Colonel in 1936. Even today, new colonels must be nominated by one of their peers and the nomination forwarded to the sitting KY Governor for review and decision. The most frequent reason for a KY man to be addressed as "Colonel" was his commissioning as a KY Colonel by the Governor(who is the Commander-in-Chief of the KY Colonels). Sometimes, however, that title was actually their given name, while in others, it may have been a sobriquet given to them as children. An example would be Edmund William Starling, born in Christian Co., about 1870. He was called "Colonel" by his family when he was a child, and, in the 1890's he was commissioned a KY Colonel. All of his life, though, he was known as "Col. Starling." He was the Chief of the White House Secret Service Detail from 1932 to 1944(when he retired), and had been on the Detail since the second administration of Woodrow Wilson. All of the presidents he served called him "Colonel", except President Roosevelt, who called him "Ed". The KY Colonels were - and are - and interesting group of folks(and there are now also lady colonels), with a long and distinguished history of service to KY. -B ======================================================================== At 11:46 PM 2/7/2005, you wrote: >Bill, Could you explain the custom of men using the title of Colonel? In an >obit for my greatgrandfather, he was referred to as Col. I.W. Lynn. He >resided in Ballard Co. Ky. and died in 1870. I'm not aware that he served >in any >war.