Jessamine Creek – that Kentucky girl

[ARTIFACT] 1776 Deed: James Douglass, Jessamine Co, KY

This deed is the legal origination of land that eventually served as my father’s family childhood homeplace.

James Douglass was an appointed deputy surveyor of Colonel William Preston, county surveyor, when Kentucky was known as Fincastle County of Virginia. In April 1774, Douglass joined John Floyd, Hancock Taylor (uncle to future US President Zachary Taylor), and Isaac Hite in heading to Kentucky. Other members of the surveyors group soon joined.

Although surveys had been conducted in the region a year or so prior, those claims were not considered legitimate because the men conducting the surveys were not deputized by Col. Preston.

In the detailed account, The Fincastle Surveyors in the Bluegrass, 1774 by Neal O. Hammon, around July 3, 1774, Douglass, having left the headwaters of the Elkhorn, “discovered a spring which he named Jessamine after his daughter, an only child.” This spring of Jessamine Creek served as the primary water supply for the my father’s homeplace.

He has shared memories of how integral was that spring to his youth. Finding arrowheads, swimming, how it would swell and on a few occasions shot up like a geyser, how he saved his older brother from drowning there, when the bridge was built…and more. I knew the creek spring as where the family gathered for my uncle’s pig roasts.

Kentucky Doomsday book record of 1,000 acre land grant at Jessamine Creek spring described as “a remarkable camping spot” which I had seen referenced on a landowners map by Clyde Bunch of the Jessamine County Historical Society.

Attempts to transcribe the handwriting and legal jargon of this time the late 1700s were a bit futile. When I am able to get clarity, I can revisit and update the references. I am building the timeline for how Douglass’ deed eventually came to be owned by Pleasant Cook, my 2nd great grandfather.

Words I can decipher – James Douglass, 1,000 acres, the District of Kentucky, 5 or 6 miles below Hickman creek, head of Jessamine Creek, a remarkable camping place.

[ARTIFACT] 1906 Deed: Corman, Henry H. to James M. Lowry, Jessamine Co, KY

The transcription below is my attempt to decipher the handwriting and legal jargon of the late 1800s. You will notice question marks and placeholder text that informs my research. Additionally the FAN (friends, acquaintances, neighbors) approach yields rich opportunities with the names of Stifers, Rhorer, Welch, Campbell, etc.

The deed is the third in a series of entries pertaining to a certain tract of land in Jessamine County that passed in 1873 from Francis Grow and Amanda J. Grow, his wife, to my 2nd-great-grandfather, Henry Harden Corman and Sophia Smith Dean, his wife. Henry and Sophia had one child, Surber Harden Corman, my great grandfather (see image below).

Surber Harden Corman (1867-1948) (father), Martha Jane Bradshaw Corman (1881-1963) (mother) and, I have tentatively concluded, Fanny Dean Corman (1901-1976), Surber and Martha’s first child.

Surber was the only child of Henry (1835-1909) and Sophia (1836-1910) and presumably heir to his parents’ estate. They sold the property (in part or in total) in 1906 to James M. Laury.

Mortgage

Corman, Henry H

To

Lowry, James M.

Acknowledged before me by

Henry H. Corman and

Sophie Corman his wife

March 8 1906

N. A. Dierarson J. C. C. ?

By James M. Lowry

Recorded in Mortgage Book 19

Page 174

The Jessamine Journal Print, Nicholasville, KY.

? ? paid (2 b) ?

This Indenture, made and entered into this 8th day of March 1906 between Henry H. Corman and Sophie Corman his wife of the County of Jessamine State of Kentucky parties of the first part and James M. Lowry of the County and State aforesaid County of the second part

Witnesseth, that the parties of the first part, for and in consideration of the sum of one dollar to _____? In hand paid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, and the further consideration hereinafter mentioned, do hereby sell, grant, and convey to the part of the second part, his heirs and assigns, the following described real estate, to-wit: all that tract of land except 10 acres more or less which was some time ago deeded to John P. Lowry record of which is in the office of the Clerk of the Jessamine County (branch?) lying and being in Jessamine County Kentucky on the waters of Jessamine Creek and formerly known as the (Tozier?) Mill property and (bordering) the lands of R. (Daversbooth?) Stifers, Rhorer, Lowry and the lands of (?) Welch and (something -ing) 40 acres more or less and being a portion of the same tract of land (conveyed) to Henry H. Corman by Rev P. Campbell and wife by deed of record in the Office of the Clerk of the Jessamine County Clerk in Deed Book No. 16 Page (638)

To have and to hold the same, with all the rights, privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging, or in anywise appertaining unto the second party, his his heirs and assigns forever, with covenants of General Warranty.

Nevertheless, it is understood between the parties thereto that this instrument is to operate as a Mortgage to secure the second party in the payment of a note of (even) date hereof for Two hundred dollars (?) and payable twelve months after date and bearing interest at the rate of seven per each (?) from date until paid – executed by Henry H. Corman and payable to James M. Lowry.

This Mortgage is intended to secure (…) or extrusions of the whole or any part of the above described note

Now, should said first parties well and truly pay off and discharge said note interest when the same becomes due and payable, then this Mortgage and all other writings as may exist as evidence of said debt shall become null and void, otherwise it shall remain in full force and effect and said grantor hereby especially waive and release all rights or claim they have or may have hereafter have, which arises out of or is given by the Exemption and Homestead Laws of Kentucky in and to the property hereby conveyed; also all right to dower in said property is included in and made part of this Mortgage and these covenants and conveyances are especially made part of this Mortgage.

Witness our hands the day and year first above written.

Henry H. Corman

Sophie Corman

State of Kentucky,

County of Jessamine

I, N. R. Dickerson, Clerk of the County Court of the County aforesaid, do certify that the foregoing instrument of writing from Henry H Corman & Sophie Corman his wife

To James M. Loury

Was on the 8th day of March 1906 produced to me

In my office, and was acknowledged by Henry H. Corman and Sophie Corman his wife parties thereto

To be their act and deed, and was this day lodged for record by the grantee, which, together with this certificate, is duly recorded in my said office.

Given under my hand, this 26th day of March 1906

N. R. Dickerson C.J.C.C.

By James M. Loury (S.C.?)
Jessamine County Deed, Book 19, Page 714

PHOTO: Ring, the farm dog

Love of animals can be inherited, right? I did not have the experience of farm living as most of my extended family did. I did not get to know reliance on other creatures for living as on a farm. I speak from a place of recognition and honor of my own ignorance. I have enjoyed, though, many pets in my life.

My own first pet was a turtle. We got Toby, a Cock-a-Poo (cocker spaniel+poodle) for our family dog in the mid-1970s and numerous pets came and went thereafter. Often, my parents “hosted” – a somewhat reluctant state, if memory serves. An iconic black cat named Puddy Tat lived with me – and a few other kind souls – from new born kitten when I was in college until the birth of my second baby – a good long life of sixteen years. Then, I have a series of stories about the puppy tales from my years mothering my own young ones, but that is a different blog.

Looking at these old photos of family, some featuring the animals of the farm, I wonder about their natures – what manner of beasts. Of course they had personalities, and they had relationships with their humans. Dad has told us stories, like the one about his younger self (not more than 10yo) milking cows at 4am, running into a bull in the dark one morning, and the reaction they both had being startled. Some stories are poignant lessons of surviving on the farm, most are funny as to hear a Mathews tell it. Some are heartbreaking.

*From the family photo album circa 1930*

Take Ring, for example, featured in images from when Mr. and Mrs. John S. Mathews lived in the “big” house, as my Dad recalls first knowing it. Mr. & Mrs. Mathews – they were my Dad’s grandparents, who both died within a month of each other in 1940 when Dad was barely five. They lived to 76yo and 71yo, respectively. Ring served their farm and according to other photos in the family archive, there were possibly two other collie-type dogs well-loved on the farm after Ring.

I doubt Ring was an inside dog. I gather from my father that was NOT a thing back then and ESPECIALLY no where near any kitchen. So, likely Ring slept in the barn or some other cover when it was cold. Ring looks most like a border collie and herding IS a farm job. I imagine I would feel very affectionate for the dogs guarding the homeplace and alerting to visitors, dangers and otherwise. In my memory, there was a long drive from Harrodsburg Road back to the house and included more than one fence gate and crossing a bridge at the creek. In other words, some ground to cover as a runner, whether four or two feet.

Here’s my question: Why is Ring posed solo in a portrait? It suggests to me Ring wasn’t considered just an old farm dog to whomever took the photo. It looks like Ring is smart, eager to please, has something in the mouth and is wearing a collar with a tag. Maybe Ring knew a few tricks, too. “Sit” being a good bet.

Cut to modern days. Now we dress our pets for special occasions, the stores are filled with varying gourmet feed, toy and treat options. I do not leave my pup outside in the cold. He’s always been an inside dog and I have the traveling tumbleweeds of hair and dander to prove no matter how often I run the vacuum. He, too, is a smart dog and I have pictures and video on my phone as evidence. I am certain he would love to run himself out in farm living, as would I.

December 30, 2022

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A 6th-generation Kentuckian on a journey to find out – follow along

HEADSTONE: CORMAN, Eliza Murphy 1872-1896

*Headstone for Eliza Jane Murphy Corman, located at Corman Cemetery, Bethel Pike.*

ELIZA

WIFE OF

SURBER CORMAN

BORN

APRIL 2 1872

DIED

JULY 16 1896

This is a sad kind of realization. If this woman, Eliza Jane Murphy Corman, had not died prematurely, tragically – I would not be here (at least not as I am in this form). In being a mother and protecting the life of her child, she died. She sacrificed by instinct is my guess.

Eliza Jane Murphy was born 1872 in Pleasant Hill, Mercer County, KY. She was 16yo when she married 21yo Surber Corman in Wilmore, KY, January 1889. Their first child, Minnie Pearl, was born March 31, 1890, followed by Roy Sidney in January 1893.

*Surber Harden Corman with first wife Eliza Jane Murphy*

The story goes that 3yo Roy fell into Jessamine Creek, that ran across their family farm, and in attempting to retrieve him, Eliza – who was pregnant with their third child – fell in but saved Roy. She died in July 1896, as did the unborn child, from complications caused by the accident. After only 7 years of marriage, Surber was a widower at 28yo with two young children.

At 34yo, Surber married his second wife, 20yo Martha Jane Bradshaw, in 1901. These were my great-grandparents.

December 27, 2022

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Prescience was it, Pleasant?

Assembling the “ol’ homeplace”

My paternal 2nd great-grandfather was named Pleasant Cook. Not a name I think I’ve ever heard before until researching. But, pleasant. Is it possible to live up to it, though?

He was born at home in 1832 at the Cook Family Home, Harrodsburg Road on the border of Woodford and Jessamine Counties. His mother, Nancy Easley, died when he was 8yo and his father remarried to Pauline Bryant in 1841.

*inscription on back: “farm with Pleas Cook in front of house” circa 1910-1917*

Pleasant worked for 21 years as a carpenter following an apprenticeship to Woodford County carpenter Barry Holloway that began in 1847 when he was 16yo. In 1850, he was employed by Holman R. Crow as a carpenter along with Aaron Crow, George Crow, William Trisler and Neal Wilson.

Two years later, when he was 21, he went out on his own professionally and married Mary Chowning in October, 1852. Over the next 17 years, they had four children: John, Melvin, James, Charles and Mayme (my great grandmother). They farmed 230 acres at this homeplace he assembled over time in the same area as his in-laws.

*My great-great grandparents, Mary Ann Chowning and Pleasant Cook. The image, therefore, appears to be a middle-aged period based. Best guess: circa 1880-1890.*
*If you ask me, his hands suit his vocation. And, it may have been something for mother to hold a handkerchief, book or something – can’t distinguish.*

Pleasant outlived Mary by 8 years after she died in 1909 at 75yo. His wife’s obituary includes a reference to the Cook family as “one of the oldest families of the county.” Pleasant lived to be 86yo and died in August 1917. Grandson Pleas had just registered for the US draft in June 1917.

*The “ol’ homeplace” on Jessamine Creek in Jessamine County, Kentucky*
*at the time of my grandparents raising their children, including my father* *circa late 1940s*

With confidence in research validations, I know Pleasant Cook and Mary Chowning to be my great-great grandparents. From Pleasant, I am working my way further along his tree including his father named Thomas Cook, mother Nancy Easley (surname also found in my maternal grandmother’s tree) and possibly three siblings or more. From the family artifacts collection, there is a handwritten listing of Chowning family and their respective birth, death and marriage dates which will come in handy when I get to that stage of research. The Chownings, along with the Singletons, were early settlers of the area and presumably purchased from surveyor and settler James Douglass. *Research topic for later

According to Jessamine County land records, Pleasant Cook, at 37 yo, was first recorded in 1868 as a grantee of 10 acres for $1,000 by William Singleton. From that date, there are six entries in which Pleasant was a grantee. By tallying the descriptions in those deed records, he acquired more than 222 acres in the 34 years between 1868-1902.

He worked with his hands, creating things of utility and beauty both in the fields and in the workshop. I have been fortunate to have been gifted several pieces that belonged to “the Cooks” as Dad says he was told. Perhaps Pleasant made one of them himself . . .?

I wonder: Did Pleasant have his eye on this particular land for his assemblage into a farm for his family and subsequent generations? Was it the realization of his goals and dreams?

December 24, 2022

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OBITUARY 1940: MATHEWS, Mrs. John S. (Jessamine County, KY)

Mayme Cook Mathews, my great-grandmother born 1869 and died 1940 in Jessamine Co

MATHEWS

Mrs. John S. Mathews, 71, died at her home on Brown street here Monday after a two-day illness. She is survived by her husband and two sons, Pleas C. and John Mathews, both of Nicholasville.

Deceased was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Pleas Cook one of Jessamine county’s oldest families. She was a kind Christian woman and was loved by a large host of friends and acquaintances.

Funeral services will be held at 10 o’clock Wednesday morning at the Baptist church, the Rev. J. A. Stallings officiating. Interment in Maple Grove cemetery here.

Mamie Mathews’ death certificate is missing details and has her name misspelled. Was the authorizer hurried? The cause of death is noted as “cerebral hemorrhage” which could be due to an injury or a stroke. The Lexington obituary cites paralysis, which again leads me to believe she had a stroke.

Nicholasville Resident Succumbs to Paralysis

Nicholasville, Ky., April 16 (Special) – Mrs. Mayme Cook Mathews, 72, of Nicholasville, died at her home at 5 o’clock Monday afternoon after a short illness of paralysis. She was a daughter of the late Pleas Cook of Jessamine county. She is survived by her husband, John Mathews; two sons, John and Pleas Mathews, Nicholasville; a brother, Melvin Cook, Jessamine county, and six grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 10 o’clock Wednesday morning at the Nicholasville Baptist church with the Rev. John T. Stallings officiating. Burial will be in the Maple Grove cemetery.

The Lexington Leader, Lexington, KY, Tuesday, April 16, 1940 – Page 11

Maple Grove Cemetery, Nicholasville, Jessamine County, KY
image borrowed from Find A Grave

FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Why is her address listed as Brown Street? Brown Street is in town and runs off Main Street near where the new library was opened. I thought John & Mayme Cook Mathews lived on the farm until John died, ironically about a month after Mayme died.

December 19, 2022

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PHOTO: Architectural poetry in Jessamine County

Imagery telling stories better than words.

I made a visit to the home place of four family generations just up the hill from Jessamine Creek spring sometime in the 1990s.

The camera I carried with me was disposable and, truthfully, might never have been processed to the light of day. (I believe I still have undeveloped Kodak 35mm rolls from my youth somewhere in my boxed packrat tendencies. The canister with lid tale-tale (but not always of the contents, iykyk.))

Fortunately, I took those pictures that day – long before the genealogy bug bit down or the common use of cellphones, for that matter. And, not long before the building was razed. It had fallen into disrepair and sadly is no more.

My memory of visits to the home I called “Uncle Johnny’s” began when a very young child. The more prevalent in memory are those visits with Cutters, my mother Phyllis’ mother. I may have visited Grandmother Mathews more often than I have memories but they followed my grandmother’s move into town when she sold the property to eldest child, her step-son John Shepherd Mathews. Johnny’s wife Nannie Katherine died way too young in September, 1974. He and their four daughters stayed on the farm. Cousin Susan is a sweet wealth of stories from her life on the farm.

This picture is the view at the back, and I believe an east-southeast-facing side of the house just above the kitchen. I THINK and my Dad will hopefully correct me when he reads this if not. A second-story bedroom above is where my cousin Angie and I had spent hours jumping out of a closet loft onto a bed.

At the time of this photo, the floor was strewn with remnants of the lives that had made this home along with leaves and other debris blown in from the outside through the missing window pane. Perhaps you can imagine pausing amongst the random relics, and glancing out an opening between peeling wallpaper and broken beams and witness the irony in its framing the exterior beauty of Kentucky blooming and a farmhouse in the distance.

If you came across Abandoned Kentucky (@Abandoned.ky), this would have been a perfect feature, had timing been different.

December 18, 2022

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PHOTO: The Corman Carers

You might say educating is in my blood and these women were paramount in my own formation. Educators, living their Christian service and love instilled by the Shaker-educated youth of Martha Jane Bradshaw Corman, mother, and three of her daughters – Madeline, Viola & Fanny Dean. Two of the sisters taught school at the elementary and middle grades in northern Kentucky while the other, my grandmother, taught in one-room school houses throughout the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, specifically Jessamine County, with names like Sweet Home and Oak Hill.

Fully enjoying summers traveling, they invited the grandchildren-age generation of cousins on their annual summer trips across all these United States. The ORIGINAL aunt camp (*credit: S. C. Mathews – I see you Pebby). And, the original Ya-Ya’s, as we say in our family.

Photo: (left to right) Iva Madeline Corman, Martha Jane Bradshaw Corman, Viola Josephine Corman, and Fanny Dean Corman Mathews, my grandmother.

I remember visiting Frankenmuth, Michigan, as well as author and artist Gwen Frostic’s studio/visitor center in Benzonia. I have a beautiful collection of her work gifted to me, purchased by me and bequeathed to me through the estates’ transitions. It is on that trip with Aunt Vi & Aunt Madeline that I began with Christmas tree ornaments collecting as mementos from my travels.

It feels as though caring is woven in my DNA and was nurtured along by simply spending time with my great-aunts. My grandmother passed when I was in 4th grade living in Pittsburgh, PA, and my memories with her are fuzzy. When I look around my home, I pause to appreciate the things from my family, much of which ties back to them. Any artifact’s value perhaps felt priceless only to me, ultimately. It is the STORIES I crave and these hand-me-downs bring the memories and my soul to rejoice. I want to protect and preserve.

Maybe my heart’s call as service to others honors my ancestors, lives out in legacy. I can confirm I am a lifelong learner – and, most often the hard way. But, if it comes from the heart, is it ever wrong? Let me tell you, if you keep with these ancestry storylines I’m putting down – along the way, your heart will ache. Fair warning.

But, let’s first take a moment to reflect with some levity. Where my educators AT?!

Check out this excerpt from my WKU folk studies professor William Lynwood Montell’s 2011 publication, Tales from Kentucky One-Room School Teachers:

In 1872, the Kentucky State Legislature formally mandated its nine “Rules for Teachers”:

Teachers each day will fill lamps, trim the wicks and clean chimneys.
Each morning teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day’s session.
Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual taste of the pupils.
Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they attend church regularly.
After ten hours in school, the teachers may spend the remaining time reading the Bible or any other good books.
Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.
Every teacher should lay aside from each pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining years so that he will not become a burden on society.
Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good cause to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty.
The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of twenty-five cents per week for his pay, providing the Board of Education approves.

Okay, with so much to unpack here, is it even possible? Take a moment. Read it again. Read it aloud to someone. I wonder how much of this was still codified when my grandmother was a one-room school house teacher almost 50 years later.

December 17, 2022

Ever learning, ever loving

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S1:E4 ~ Spring of Jessamine Creek

I love this photo. It was taken at the head or spring of Jessamine Creek that I knew somewhat as a child and my father knew as part of his daily life at the old home place. An original of this image is among the family heirloom artifacts I am in the process of documenting, which leads me to wonder if these men are ancestors of mine. The slope of the hillside, stacked layers of limestone formation, trickling water you can almost hear, the majestic shade tree with exposed mature roots like tentacles and brush in the foreground. I easily wax romantic about the richness of the scene. Additionally, this image appears in History of Jessamine County, Kentucky reference found in the Jessamine County Public Library. There are many great resources there.

Can anyone help me estimate the date of the image? The original print I have is affixed to a kind of cardboard so I am not risking damage to examine the back for any notes or context. Does the attire of the two men seated amongst the exposed tree roots provide clues? The man in suspenders does not look significantly of any particular time period as white shirt, trousers and suspenders is fairly common men’s attire. To me, the man on the right in his suit and with his hat and cane astride his lap looks reminiscent of Abraham Lincoln but that is not my assertion for it to actually be him. He would need to be squatted well into that spot, if so. There are physical similarities to my ancestor Pleasant Cook but I doubt the alignment of time periods.

At closer examination of the background milieu, I see the repetition of pattern similar to a fence, a barn and perhaps a farmhouse. I am in the process of determining at what point the land was acquired into our family. A Jessamine County deed recorded in the mid-1800s shows Pleasant Cook (my 2nd great grandfather) purchased 53 acres along Jessamine Creek, among several other sizable property acquisitions. When he died in 1917, the creek property passed to his only daughter, Mayme Cook Mathews, my great grandmother. After her passing, the property was owned by my grandfather, Pleas Cook Mathews.

The image below shows my grandfather, his brother and their cousin standing together adjacent to the Jessamine Creek springs. I can estimate this image to be prior to 1917, which is when Pleas left for France in WWI. I wonder if this could have been taken at a special occasion, like a funeral. They are dressed in a way that makes me think it possible.

As another in this series, here is young Robert Ira Mathews, my uncle, at the same rocky crag as the other images. This image is circa 1935 based on the other artifacts of the same period. The Jessamine Creek spring was an integral part of my father’s family life growing up on the farm. More of those stories to come…