SENIOR CITIZENS ENTER FLOAT IN JAMBOREE PARADE – Jessamine County Senior Citizens Center entered an “Autumn Memory” float in the Jamboree Parade, held here October 6. Tagging along behind the entry was a horse-pulled wagon carrying other seniors. Pictured on the float are O. F. Sanders, David Willhoite, Cleo Willhoite, Mary Shearer, Arval Durham, Violet McQuerry, Josie Tipton, Rose Stinnett, Hazel Phillips, Pearl Slugantz, Joe Slugantz, Bertha Cobb, Alberta Mosby, Frances Preston, Ruby Preston, Mary Bradshaw, Ruby B. Sanders, Christine McQuerry, Myrtle Goss, Juanita Corman, and Turley Curd. Pictured on the wagon are Mary Clark, Lyda Feck, Mary Middleton, Elizabeth Staley, Frank Teater, Al Staley, and Todd Warner.
Spot, the Faynes’ farm dog, from my grandmother’s youth. Violet Fayne and her family lived in and around Little Hickman along Sugar Creek Pike in Jessamine County. She was the middle sibling of the five children and was born in June 1913. If she was still living at home when this photograph was taken, it would be circa 1924-1929.
My great grandmother’s obituary produced as keepsakes by the local newspaper. It has been interesting to live as witness to the demise of the print journalism industry.
In Memoriam
HERALD-LEADER
Lexington, Ky. January 8 1963
Mrs. Martha B. Corman
Mrs. Martha Bradshaw Corman, 81, the widow of Suber* Corman, died at 7 p.m. Sunday at St. Elizabeth Hospital, South Fort Mitchell.
She was a native of Lexington. Mrs. Corman lived at 6 Floral Avenue in South Fort Mitchell and was a member of the Madison Avenue Christian Church there.
She is survived by five daughters, Mrs. Fanny Dean Mathews, Nicholasville; Miss Viola Corman and Miss Madeline Corman, both of South Fort Mitchell; Mrs. William Englett, Victorville, Calif., and Mrs. Joseph Neal, Kansas City, Mo; two sisters, Miss Susie Ghant, Nicholasville, and Mrs. Minnie Scanlon, Prineville, Ore; 12 grandchildren, and 21 great grandchildren.
The body was taken to the Allison and Rose Funeral Home in Covington.
It will arrive here at noon Wednesday and will be taken to Kerr Brothers Funeral Home where services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Burial will be in the Lexington Cemetery.
One of two examples of obituary keepsakes laminated and serve as bookmarks.
A TRIBUTE
published in the pages of
THE LEXINGTON LEADER
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY
JAN 7 1963
Memorial Obituary
Mrs. Martha B. Corman
Mrs. Martha Bradshaw Corman, 81, widow of Suber* Corman, died at 7 p.m. Sunday at St. Elizabeth Hospital in South Forth Mitchell.
A native of Lexington, Mrs. Corman had lived at 6 Floral Avenue in South Fort Mitchell and was a member of the Madison Avenue Christian Church there.
Survivors are five daughters, Mrs. Fanny Dean Mathews, Nicholasville; Miss Viola Corman and Miss Madeline Corman, both of South Fort Mitchell; Mrs. William Englett, Victorville, Calif., and Mrs. Joseph Neal, Kansas City, Mo., two sisters, Miss Susie Ghant, Nicholasville, and Mrs. Minnie Scanlon, Prinville, Ore.; 12 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren.
The body was taken to the Allison and Rose Funeral Home in Covington. It will arrive here at noon on Wednesday and be taken to Kerr Brothers Funeral Home where services will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Burial will be in the Lexington Cemetery.
MRS. NORA TATMAN GIVEN PARTY ON ADVENT OF 100TH BIRTHDAY – Mrs. Nora Tatman of Nicholasville turned 100 years old yesterday. Anticipating the century mark, for a revered lady, relatives of Mrs. Tatman organized a party and open house at Royal Manor Nursing Home Sunday. Sixty-eight signed the guest book. Cake, food and refreshments were served all. The Music Makers, a trio from Lexington, sang old favorites. Miss Heidi Rode McIntosh, Lexington, great-great niece of Mrs. Tatman, performed a brief ballet routine. the visitation extended over two hours Sunday afternoon. Nieces and nephews are picture with the honoree. Front row (from left) — Mrs. Violet McQuerry, Mrs. Tatman, Mrs. Ruby Sparks, Mrs. Allie T. Carter, and Billy Fayne. Back row — Joe Easley, Clinton, Iowa; Ray Fayne; Roger T. Easley; Mrs. Ella Mae Neimes, Lexington; Mrs. Fannie Shearer; John Shearer, Lexington; Ralph Fayne; George Ewlsh and Mrs. Hazel Phillips. Mrs. Anna Cooley, Lexington, and Mrs. Virginia Rose are not pictured.
The Jessamine Journal, August 6, 1981
My grandmother, Cutters, seated next to her maternal aunt, Nora Tatman. Aunt Nora would live another 15 months to the age of 101yo. Cutters was 68yo in this photo and would live another 33 years. I look into her eyes and wonder if she ever imagined living beyond 100yo herself, as she did.
The only images I have found thus far of VIOLA MURPHY, my 1st cousin 2x removed, are in her early youth. She was the only one of her three siblings to live beyond 10 years. As it was, she died at 31yo from tuberculosis.
Viola was the fourth child born to Daniel J. Murphy, Jr., and Mary Bell “Mayme” Bradshaw, both of Mercer County, Kentucky.
Left-to-right: Susie Bradshaw (standing), Mary Bell “Mayme” Bradshaw Murphy (seated in chair), Maudy May Murphy (seated on porch), Daniel Murphy (seated in chair) holding ViolaMurphy in his lap, and Martha Jane Bradshaw (standing). Circa 1898-99.
Just two and a half years before the birth of Viola, mother Mayme had a nervous breakdown. She refused to acknowledge the death of her 15-month-old daughter, Florence. Three years earlier, she had lost her first child, Surber, in infancy, also.
Parents Mayme Bell and Daniel Murphy lost 3 children in ten years.
Family records indicate Maudy May was handicapped in some way. Viola Murphy was only 2yo when her 8yo sister, Maudy May Murphy, died. Based on these facts, the family portrait on the porch must have been very close to the time Maudy May died. It was not a thing to smile in photographs but could this image have captured any more poignantly the layers behind those faces?
Baby Viola Murphy seated on lap of father Daniel Murphy.Viola Murphy from a tin-type
My grandmother, Martha Jane, came to live with Mayme, her eldest sister’s family, to care for them all. The 13yo Martha must have had a special relationship with her very young niece, as she named her second daughter Viola.
Adolescent Martha Jane Bradshaw, my great-grandmother.
And, in further layers of complexity, my grandmother’s manuscript recounts a falling out between Martha Jane and Daniel Murphy, her brother-in-law. Something happened when Martha Jane lived with the Murphys. It was a hurt that Martha Jane carried into adulthood.
The tragedy and sorrow of the Murphy family household – what a burden for a 13yo young woman to carry as her own caregiving yoke. What an introduction to mothering after losing her own mother when she was only 5yo.
When Viola Murphy died June 6, 1928, she was living in Danville, Boyle Co, KY. She had married Willie Duncan. There are records showing two children, Myrtle Chestnut and Annabelle. This is an area needing further research as I have since found refuting evidence.
Another ancestor I never knew existed in the Mathews with one “t” lineage, thank you Ancestry.com, was named Dr. Joseph McDowell Mathews. His grandfather is my 3rd great grandfather.
This example really floors me for not knowing or being known among family. Additionally, there is not much to commemorate him and his significance appearing in areas of public domain where I think there should be. This is another reason my passion has a purpose. This man deserves wider recognition. I mean, was he the first to say “Turn your head and cough”? If so, I rest my case.
Joseph M. Mathews, MD
With the help of online archives for The Kentucky School of Medicine, a predecessor to the University of Louisville School of Medicine, I located several images of Dr. Joseph McDowell Mathews. He served on faculty at least seven of the graduating class years between 1887 and 1903, but I plan to dig deeper on this point for clarification. Next research visits must include UofL archives.
low-quality screenshot of cropped image online Dr. Joseph McDowell Mathews
1847 Born New Castle, Henry County, Kentucky
He was the fifth child born to Caleb Moffett Mathews & Frances Ann Sullinger Edwards-Beasley Mathews, in Henry County, KY, on May 29, 1847. Father Caleb Mathews was a prominent attorney and judge for the county in the early formation of New Castle. The children of the Caleb Moffett Mathews family were considered “illustrious” and were presumably well-educated, as their father had been. There are references to the Henry Academy and its formation.
You can read more about Caleb and his two Mathews brothers, Joseph & William. These were the only sons of John Mathews, the first Mathews ancestor to settle in Kentucky, and his wife Sarah McDowell Mathews. These three brothers were all younger than ten years old when their father John died. A guardianship arrangement was established with George Moffett in 1816.
If Ancestry.com connections are valid, the McDowells and Moffetts were Revolutionary War Patriots and offer rich layers of exploration along a separate rabbit hole.
Education to physician educator
After his youth spent in Henry County having attended New Castle Academy (a.k.a., Henry Academy?), Mathews attended the medical school in Louisville, KY and graduated at 20yo in 1867. There is more than one reference to him studying medicine in Europe (either London or Germany…or both). His career flourished over the next nine years. He served on faculty of Kentucky School of Medicine, as president of the state board of health, and as chairman of surgery for Medical College of Louisville.
1876
The first reference to Dr. Mathews’ residence and practice as listed in the Louisville city directory was in 1876. Then, the following year, he married Sarah “Sallie” Trumbo Berry of Versailles, Woodford County, KY, on May 29, 1877. They were married in Midway, Woodford County.
Sallie was a 29yo widow and the mother of William F. Berry, born 1867, who Dr. Mathews later adopted. The origin story of William F. was tragic for Sallie, too. Sallie may have had a tumultuous first marriage as indicated by a newspaper clipping reporting when her father, Adam Trumbo, murdered her first husband, William T. Berry, when son William was 5yo. There is more to that story, to be sure. Search in blog for Trumbo for the next installment on this.
Louisville practice
The Louisville City Directory shows Dr. Mathews’ lived and practiced in Jefferson County between 1876 and 1914. Dr. Mathews lived in Louisville as shown in the census records of 1880, 1890, 1900 & 1910.
Between 1876 and 1914, Dr. Mathews’ Louisville practice was located at: 747 Walnut Street, 647 Walnut Street, 289 5th Street, 580 4th Street, 10 Warren Bldg, 342 W. Walnut Street, Mathews & Asman, 411 Masonic Temple, 308 Masonic Temple, 316 West Chestnut Street and, finally, 308 Masonic Temple.
In the same timeframe, the home residences noted in city directories of Dr. Mathews were located: 19th Street, Broadway, Alexander’s Hotel, 518 W. Breckinridge, 923 4th Street, 500 Belgravia Ave, and Louisville Hotel.
By 30yo, Dr. Mathews began narrowing his practicing interests to colon and rectal diseases. What might have triggered such drive? When New York City did not provide for his pursuits, he then went to London to study at St. Marks Hospital. Determination. In 1879, Dr. J. M. Mathews became “the first US physician to limit practice to colon and rectal disease.”
1880
The 1880 US Census shows Joseph M. Mathews, doctor, 33yo, Sallie, 32yo, and William, 13yo, living at “house #186, South Side Jefferson Street” in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, USA. With Dr. Mathews on faculty at Kentucky School of Medicine, Louisville, Jefferson County, KY.
1896
Dr. Mathews served as editor for the Mathews’ Medical Quarterly.
1898
Dr. Mathews elected President of the American Medical Association.
Joseph McDowell Mathews, M.D.
THE MEANING OF THE HONOR
Dr. Mathews is Now President of America’s Greatest Medical
Association and One of the Most Splendid
In the World.
Dr. Joseph M. Mathews of this city who was elected President of the American Medical Association at Denver Wednesday has in that election xxx on of the highest that be paid a physician as this is a national body and comprises every State and Territory in the Union. Dr. N. ??? of Chicago was the President last year, and Dr. ?name, Surgeon General of the army, is the retiring President. Dr. Mathews has had many honors conferred upon him in the past. He is ex-President of the Mississippi Valley Medical Association, President of the Kentucky State Medical Society, President of the State Board of Health of Kentucky, and has this year been First Vice President of the American Medical Association, the great body of which he has just been elected President. A few weeks ago a Pennsylvania university conferred upon him the degree of X.X.D.
The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Saturday Morning, June 11, 1898
1899
From Mathews to the Millennium – A Century of Achievement
A History of the American Society of Colon & Rectal Surgeons, 1899-1999
Written & Edited by J. Byron Gathright, Jr. M.D. and Richard S. Bragaw
1900
The 1900 Census shows their residence as 923 Fourth Avenue, Louisville, Jefferson County, KY. A search for this address turned up in a parking lot adjacent to Spalding University properties, downtown Louisville. I have yet to find images of the house. It is possible there were photos taken by municipal entities prior to the razing.
By this year, son William T. Berry was considered an invalid brought on by illness. He would die from pneumonia in March of the following year.
In 1900, there were at least two other Mathews with one “t” living in Louisville, Kentucky. As of now, I do not find evidence of a connection to these families.
One other juxtaposition of note that I plan to pursue in research: In the 1900 US census, the enumerator lists residents living at 921 Fourth Avenue, presumably next door to the 923 Mathews Family residence. Headed by 58yo Henrietta Long Miller, Samuel A. Miller’s widow of five years, along with their 28yo daughter Eleanor Everhart Miller Bingham, her husband of four years, Robert Worth Bingham, 29yo, and their child, Robert, 3yo.
Much has been written about the Millers, Longs, Binghams in their situations marked by tragedy and grief. Was Dr. Mathews a neighbor of the family that would become pivotal to the development of Louisville as a city? What if any interaction was there? Would any journals they kept hold clues to my own ancestors? Would their family photo archive show their home?
According to the Pewee Valley Historical Society, the Miller family home located at 921 Fourth Avenue was razed to make way for building The Puritan Apartments, which opened in 1917. It stands to reason the house located next door would also have been impacted by the sizeable land project of an apartment building.
1901
Burying babies
And, in further sadness, according to this obituary below, Sallie lived to bury her only son, William F. Berry. His obituary opens up several lines of inquiry, including athletics and baseball in Louisville, a career in Philly and end of life as an invalid.
WILLIAM F. BERRY DEAD
Formerly An Athlete, But Recently An Invalid
William F. Berry, thirty-two years of age, died of a complication of diseases at the home of Dr. J. M. Mathews, 923 Fourth avenue, at 3:xx o’clock yesterday morning. Mr. Berry, formerly one of the best-known baseball players and athletes in Louisville, was an invalid for three years. He first became ill in Philadelphia. After leaving Louisville, he went to the Pennsylvania metropolis and engaged in business. He suffered an attack of the grip, and pneumonia, which later developed, brought an ailment which wrecked his constitution. He was compelled to retire from business.
Mr. Berry was the son of Mrs. J. M. Mathews. The funeral will take place from the residence this afternoon at 3:3o o’clock. The Rev. Carter Helm Jones will conduct the services.
THE COURIER-JOURNAL, 6 MAR 1901 – PAGE 10
1902
Joseph McDowell Mathews, physician, surgeon, author, was born May 1, 1847, in New Castle, Ky. He is president of the Kentucky state board of Health. He is the author of Mathews on Disease, of the Rectum and Sigmoid Flexure.
Herringshow’s Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth Century (1902)
The US Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929, Dr. Mathews was an “Allopath” with practice specialties and places including in: Louisville, KY, May 5 1911, Los Angeles, CA, November 25, 1915, Seattle, WA, Jan 20, 1925. Licenses: KY, 1893. Professorship: Louisville and Hospital Medical College, Louisville surgery, JAMA Citation 91:1910
Sometime after 1901, Dr. & Mrs. Mathews changed their residence to Los Angeles, CA. Did Sallie need to change her scenery following the death of her son? Dr. Mathews’ practice sites included: Seattle, Los Angeles, Louisville. Was he in demand as the foremost practitioner on his area of focus?
1920
The 1920 Census Los Angeles Assembly District 64, Los Angeles, California; Page 13B; Enumeration District: 228. Joseph M. Mathews, 72yo, living on So Carondelet Street as Head of House, married to Sara E. Mathews, 68yo. Renting.
California to paradise, but Kentucky remains
1928
After an illustrious career and presumably a choice retirement, Dr. Mathews died from pneumonia at 80yo in Los Angeles, CA, on December 2, 1928. He and Sallie were living in the Shoreham Hotel, Carondelet Street in their eighteenth year as California residents. Would the Shoreham be as swanky back then? I suspect so. OG swanky.
Obituary, 1928
DR. JOSEPH MATHEWS DIES
LOS ANGELES – Dr. Joseph McDowell Mathews, 81, former president of the American Medical Association died here . Dr. Mathews came to Los Angeles 18 years ago from Kentucky, where he began his career after he was graduated from the University of Louisville. Born at New Castle, Ky., Dr. Mathews went to London in 1879 and on returning to Louisville became a pioneer in proctology and was the first presidnet of the American Proctologic Society.
Lexington Herald-Leader, December 3, 1928 (their typo, not mine)
She was 78yo. His wife, Sallie, died 18 days later and her funeral services were held at Little Church of the Flowers, Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, CA. Dating back to 1906, the Glendale location was the first Forest Lawn Memorial property. Of the network of parks, this original location today features the Forest Lawn Museum.
Obituary, 1928
MATHEWS, December 20, 1928, at the Shoreham Hotel, Mrs. Sallie E. Mathews, widow of the late Dr. Joseph M. Mathews.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, December 22, at 11 a.m. at the Little Church of the Flowers, Forest Lawn Cemetery. A. E. Maynes of the George A. Fitch, Inc., director, (Seattle and Louisville papers please copy.)
The Los Angeles Times, December 22, 1928, Page 16
“Dr. Mathews wrote a booklet on Proctology, a subject he originated and was the first Orthodox physician in the world to adopt proctology as a field of practice.”
Dr. & Mrs. J. M. Mathews were cremated and without memorialization, now side-by-side at Cave Hill Cemetery. A brief stop at the office confirms by map their location adjacent to the drive just up the hill from this administrative building. Their sites are without markers but aside the headstone for William F. Berry. They are there with the son but anonymous in the deep ground around. They left no children, also referred to as “without issue” which makes me wonder if they were close to their nieces and nephews?
Was that no-marker decision rooted in humility, anonymity or something else? No will of either among my records yet.
1938
According to the February 1991, every other year beginning in 1938, the American Proctology Society commemorates founder Dr. Joseph McDowell Mathews with The Joseph M. Mathews Oration.
What did the society publish? Where are those records? Was this a convention event?
Another doctor in the family
The Henry County Historical Society has been in transition recently but I plan some summer 2023 research road trips that will allow me to move closer in my understanding of the Mathews family in New Castle. And then, Danville.
Next, I will share about the connection to Dr. Ephraim McDowell, another cousin, 6x removed from me, who is famous as a pioneer surgeon for performing the first ovariotomy in Kentucky.
that.Kentucky.girl
A 6th-generation Kentuckian on a journey to find out – follow along
February 3, 2023 is the 78th anniversary of the death of this person – Dr. Mathews – my ancestor I never knew I had. He is on a branch of my paternal family tree – Mathews with one “t” as we say, that I discovered only through my Ancestry.com research.
William H. Mathews II, MD
Here’s what I compiled from resources: He was born 5th of 11 siblings to William H. & Sarah Ann Porter Mathews, in Nicholasville, Jessamine Co, KY. He was the older brother of John Shanon Mathews, my dad’s grandfather. He was uncle to Pleas Cook Mathews, my grandfather.
Dr. W. H. Mathews II was born, was raised and later settled his family and his medical practice all in the proximity of the location noted on map as “W. H. Mat(t)hews” (see “C” in Chattersville)
Medical education in late 1800s
William H. Mathews, II attended medical school in Louisville, KY, in September 1881. Other names affiliated with his education include Kentucky School of Medicine and Hospital Medical College, from which he graduated in 1883. His obituary makes reference to an additional course in microscopy. I’d like to know what medical school was like in the late 1800s.
He married Fannie Scott of Nicholasville in 1884. The 1900 & 1910 Census records show they lived in Nicholasville, Jessamine Co, KY. They had two children Thomas Scott Mathews and Wm. H. “Doc” Mathews III.
Jessamine Co histories and his obituary place Dr. Mathews’ forty-four acre farm and practice located 3 miles south of Nicholasville, Jessamine Co., on Lexington and Danville Turnpike where he was born. He farmed and practiced as a physician at his homeplace. He was noted as a member of the Methodist Church. [Question to answer: Which one?] He provided care to the residents of Jessamine County for what might have been more than 40 years. [Another question.]
Concurrent storylines
Dr. Mathews II died at 88yo in Nicholasville, KY, on February 3, 1945. Across the county not far north, my dad was about to turn 10yo in a couple months and Pleas’ Jessamine Co tobacco farming family looked very much like this (see photo). Dr. Mathews may have checked in on his nephew Pleas’ family of five young children. Right? Would there have been any law against family treating family then?
The Mathews Family around 1945 or so (front) Bobby, Marita, Kenneth, (back) Marjorie, Fanny Dean holding David, and Pleas. I stare and stare at this image and ponder how much alike my father and his father appear here. Look at them – similar stance, far-off eyes squinting, head tilted at the sun.
The various Mathews relations likely all gathered at the funerals for Mayme Cook Mathews in March 1940, or that of her husband, John Shanon Mathews, who died a month later, April 1940. William would have attended his younger brother John’s funeral, I say. And yet, I have not found anything to corroborate.
Perhaps it was timing and geography that had something to do with a tradition of not knowing the family members. Maybe they just did not have anyone to carry forward all their stories to the younger generations. Was there a falling out of some sort, somewhere along the tree branches? Could it have been that Pleas returned from WWI combat without that connection?
I have not been searching long enough to have a true basis for these theories and yet I am not deterred. I will continue to seek more stories to live through my study and my imagination. I strive to be a giving ancestor by capturing what I can while I can as best I am able.
Other physicians in the tree
UP next (or soon, anyway) Dr. Mathews II’s first cousin (also my first cousin, 3x removed), Dr. Joseph M. Mathews, was a notable physician teaching and practicing in Louisville, Jefferson County, KY. Then, there is evidence of a connection to Danville’s Dr. Ephraim McDowell, a first cousin 6x removed from me, who is famous as a pioneer surgeon. More to follow from these rabbit holes.
that.Kentucky.girl
A 6th-generation Kentuckian on a journey to find out – follow along
Hazel, daughter, Manford Fayne, father and widower of nine years, and Violet, daughter. And, unless my mind is playing tricks, there is a little person peeking through the arched shrubbery or tree there behind where they stand.
Manford Fayne and Daisy Easley had five children, two daughters and three sons. Manford Fayne was nine years a widower in this photo following the death of wife Daisy Easley Fayne in 1946. From what I can sense over my lifetime, Ole’ Daddy led a close family and adored his girls, Hazel and Violet. He died in 1971 when I was 4yo, but I remember him. His light. His smile.
According to the 1950 US Census, Manford Fayne was a 65yo farmer living on Lock 8 in Jessamine County as the head of household. Also in the household, his son-in-law Clyde (41) & daughter Violet (36), and grandchildren Ronald (16yo), Phyllis (8yo) and Herbert (4yo). Multigenerational family farm living.
This photo is dated January 1955, at which time Hazel was 50yo and had been married to farmer Henry Thomas Graham for 34 years. They married when Hazel was 16yo and Henry was 24yo. They had no children which leads me to wonder whether they were able to conceive. She would be a widow at 52yo. Henry would die at the age of 60yo in November 1957 – nearly two years after this photo.
Violet (standing far right in the photo) had been married to Clyde for 25 years and at the time was mother to Ronnie (22yo), Phyllis (12yo) and Herbert (9y0). They were living with Ole’ Daddy and, to whatever extent he needed, were providing him care. I need to find out what year the Clyde McQuerry family moved from Lock 8 to Richmond Avenue near downtown Nicholasville, KY. It seems to me it was after 1971, which is when Ole’ Daddy died. I may not be accurate in piecing together a correct timeline..
The first child of Clyde & Violet, Ronnie, and his wife, Alice, were living in Virginia while Ronnie was serving in the US Marine Corp, Quantico, VA. Phyllis and Herbert were in school, I presume. Based on the 1950 Census and the probability they were living the same five years later, this photo was taken at either the Graham’s or the Fayne’s homeplace. I love the white picket fence.
I believe a multi-generational family experience can be such a gift. I take special delight in the relationships my children have with my parents. The fact that we live as neighbors is icing on the cake and my proof in the power of manifesting. I fall asleep at night dreaming of a Kentucky homeplace farm with wide open space where all my family could gather, enjoy food grown out the back door. In truth, I am not far from that now. Could it be this came from my ancestors’ DNA?
I also feel that continuing this tradition of caring for our elders is important. Caring for our people in their final days of walking on home changes you. I am blessed to have had that honor. And, it seems, so were my ancestors.
that.Kentucky.girl
A 6th-generation Kentuckian on a journey to find out – follow along
I access TV using a digital antenna because it is free on a relatively reliable signal. The upside is that KET offers a special variety of choices. BBC World News, Kentucky Edition and PBS NewHour is my preferred cocktail for evening media. Occasionally I stumble upon gold in my channel surfing and the series Headwaters by Appalshop is often the source.
This afternoon, I was able to catch some of “Justice in the Coal Fields” a 1995 documentary by Anne Lewis about the 1988 United Mine Workers (Virginia) strike against the Pittston Coal Company that explores a number of themes resonating for Kentucky, as well, including civil disobedience, right-to-work states, justice and the law. And, Appalachian history and culture.
Although dated in all aspects, the film’s interviews and images hit home for me. I do not know of any coal miners in our family, at least not yet in my research. It is more from the spirit and personalities of the people. The character and characters of the community, their sense of community – that is what I remember from my youth. I cannot yet articulate fully how but I am reminded of my family.
I am grateful there are resources featuring the history, both distant and recent, of the people of Appalachia and beyond. As I am working to create the threads of narrative about my ancestors, I appreciate how these stories are captured. Perhaps even one person will discover someday a missing piece of their own genealogical pursuits in what Appalshop has made available. And, you can stream and purchase episodes of the Headwaters series from KET Passport and from Appalshop.org.
Help with restoration of these treasures
Historic flooding in late July 2022 brought catastrophic damage to the resources held by Appalshop in Whitesburg, KY. Efforts are underway to recover as much as can be saved. Learn more and consider sending contributions to: Appalshop in Whitesburg, KY 41858
that.Kentucky.girl
A 6th-generation Kentuckian on a journey to find out – follow along
On this site stood Kentucky Academy one of the two first institutions of higher learning west of the Allegheny Mountains organized by the Presbytery of Transylvania in 1794 by donations received from George Washington, John Adams, John Jay and others. It was preceded by a school established in 1785.
Marker placed 4th July 1949 by Kentucky Society, Sons of the Revolution
Photo credit: C. Mathews, 2022
And there is more to this story. Pisgah Academy, Kentucky Academy – there are more than a few names used in reference to this institution of learning that ultimately joined with an early Transylvania University. Another nearby marker at the corner of Pisgah Pike (KY-1967) and Lexington Road (US-60) states:
My 3rd-great grandparents, John Mathews and Sarah Mathews Price, are buried in this church cemetery. I suspect their homestead settlement was somewhere in the vicinity of the church and am working to identify the specific location. The deed references South Elkhorn Creek and both Woodford and Fayette counties.
The three children of John & Sarah – my 2nd-great grandfather William and his two brothers – attended this school (in some iteration) around the 1820s. Would it be safe to assume the family attended this church? Was this the place John Mathews’ mourners gathered in 1814?
A paternal cousin I never knew was married at this church. Apparently a distant McDowell relation served as a minister at this church in the early 1900s. There are many more lines of inquiry to pursue here and I look forward to uncovering more.
Chalk it up to whatever, but for the many years of traveling to and from family visits in the Bluegrass, I have felt something when passing along US-60 where the Kentucky Castle prominently sits at that intersection. When very young, I would light up at seeing my birth year on the highway signage and there is no denying the impact of a castle on the hill. Beyond what is shiny, so to speak, the feeling is something I cannot explain. I have a connection to this area that my conscious mind has yet to identify but my soul already knows. Have you ever experienced this?
that.Kentucky.girl
A 6th-generation Kentuckian on a journey to find out – follow along
that Kentucky girl 