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.
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.
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.
Many family members are interred in the Nicholasville cemetery, now known as Maple Grove Cemetery. I have been visiting Maple Grove since the 1970s on special occasions, funerals and otherwise. When I was very young, I could see the cemetery from the porch of Cutters & Granddaddy’s home on Richmond Ave. They lived in this house when they moved to town from Sugar Creek Pike. My grandmother (shown above) could see her own parents’ headstone from that porch. There is something sweet about that to me.
My cousin and I sitting on the porch together of Richmond Avenue home. If the photographer panned right, there you would see Maple Grove.
Maple Grove Cemetery was formed in May 1849 near downtown Nicholasville. The first person to be buried there is named Brown. He had a role in the formation of the cemetery, as well, prior to his death. The original entrance to the cemetery was from Richmond Avenue, known then as Union Mill Road. Very close to that entrance is where my paternal grandmother, a widow, and my maternal grandparents lived as neighbors for a time when my parents met.
Present-day view from the Fayne headstone looking back at the homes on Richmond Avenue, Nicholasville, Jessamine Co, KY
I captured images as I walked around the 20+acre grounds on a recent visit to Nicholasville, KY. Most visits, we follow a memorized route from Main Street to Cutters’ & Granddaddy’s headstone. Near there, we can walk to a few other family sites. More recently, I found there are many more ancestors than I’ve ever known buried there, including Cooks, Cormans, Mathews, McQuerrys, and more.
The condition of Brown’s grave fascinates me with its partially destroyed cover stone, the bright flowers and modern marker which was dedicated in 2007 by the Jessamine County Historical Society. I learned the style of stone that covers the entire grave is a full ledger marker. I wonder: were there words on that stone at some point?
Our regular family trips to Nicholasville ceased when Cutters passed in 2014 but I like to stop by Maple Grove whenever I am in the area. With the intention of honoring every single body that now forever rest at Maple Grove – including my ancestors.
Each step on this journey reveals excitement in discoveries but always with a bittersweet tinge for what is lost by never being recorded. The more I learn, the more I realize there is much I can never learn. That is inherent in the work of genealogy.
Here’s what I learned: These photos are all related and appear to be around the 1920s-1930s. Firstly, my grandmother Fanny Dean is in each one and she is approximately the same age in each. Also, three different members of the Bogie family are featured.
A quick check in ancestry.com & Google search located Betty Dean Bogie, mother of Rella, who lived in Nicholasville, KY the same time as my grandmother and who is buried in Maple Grove cemetery, as are many of my family members, including my grandmother.
My 28yo grandmother was a school teacher early in her career when in November 1930, she married a 36yo widower with a 5yo son. I do not know how they met or reconnected when she returned to Jessamine County from Missouri. Historically, rural one-room schoolhouses served concurrently varying ages of students from the adjacent communities. In those years teaching, Fanny Dean would board with families in a particular area where she taught. This period aligns with the timeline of her life as I understand it. Maybe she resided with the Bogie family during one of those stints. That is one theory.
Another is that Fanny “Dean” and Betty “Dean” may have been relations of some kind. Whether family or patrons, this family was significant to my grandmother. I did not find any references to Hughie in Fanny Dean’s writings but he is also the child of Betty according to some quick ancestry.com searching for connections.
Rella Bogie with Fanny Dean Corman (Jessamine County, KY)Fanny Dean Corman with Mrs. Betty Bogie (Jessamine County, KY)Fanny Dean Corman with Hughie Bogie (Jessamine County, KY)
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A 6th-generation Kentuckian on a journey to find out – follow along
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.
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A 6th-generation Kentuckian on a journey to find out – follow along
Ira Malcolm Corman, 2nd from right, my granduncle, died 1930 of typhoid fever at 26yo.
On reverse, the inscription reads:
This is the “Dauntless Four” as all the students call us. We all occupy the same room in the dorm. Reading from left to right we are as follows: Silas Mullen, Otis Marshall, Ira M. Corman and George E. Wilson.
Circa early 1920s. Likely Manhattan, Kansas where Ira attended Bible college.
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A 6th-generation Kentuckian on a journey to find out – follow along
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.
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 fathercirca 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
Cropped image of 1868 deed
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?
Clyde McQuerry (22 years old) married Violet Fayne (17 years old) on December 24, 1930 in Jessamine County, KY.
A Christmas Eve wedding
A courtin’ scene – Clyde Herbert McQuerry and Violet Sunbeam Fayne, my maternal grandparents circa 1928-30, Sugar Creek Pike, Little Hickman, Jessamine County, Kentucky
The phrase “don’t make ’em like they used to” comes to mind. I look at these young faces and see the beginning of a love story that spanned nearly a century. Look at their arms, hands. Entwined and naturally fitted together. A metaphor for their lives. Even after Clyde died from cancer in 1977, Cutters kept their connection a daily practice. She wrote to him in her diaries, everyday for 35 years until she could no longer see well enough to write. She reached 100 years before that happened.
Both families were members of Wesley Chapel on Sugar Creek Pike, Cutters was born next door to their church, which is where they met, although they did attend different schools. The McQuerrys lived on a large, likely multi-generational farm south on the banks of the Kentucky River. Up the hill from there on Sugar Creek Pike was (and is) Wesley Chapel and neighboring Fayne family. Her utter goodness must have shot through him like a lightning bolt. Or, what if it was a slow burn, like they played together as kids? Both born and raised in a rural church community, it is within the realm of possibility. (I will ask Daddy Mac & ‘Tuh.)
She carried a quiet wholeness and holiness, fingers ever in motion creating something for sharing like legendary bread and crocheted afghans. Cutters, as I knew Violet much later in her life, had this look at times of a far away thought. Her pause was nearly always just to the point you felt the need to pick up a dropped thread. You’d even inhale to speak, then suddenly, she released, nailing the reply. She reflected before speaking her wisdom and I suppose it was by the lessons along the way. She knew EXACTLY what was going on but she had to reflect and, in doing so, to compel you the same. In her presence you’d welcome the pause. She also delivered zingers with impeccable timing. Very clever. It was fun to giggle with Cutters.
The Cutters I knew also carried a sadness reminiscent of long-suffering as in The Bible. She carried it selflessly, though. She could experience joy and you can be sure if you were in her presence the light of that joy was always bright and it shone on you. Always, even in pain and brokenness, she spread light. And, she knew brokenness.
The proximity of Wesley Chapel to the house where Cutters (Violet Sunbeam Fayne McQuerry) was born on Sugar Creek Pike, Jessamine County, KY. Photo: C. Mathews taken on a Ya-Ya’s trip in 2020, 107 years after.
But, in this moment, Clyde, my grandfather at 22 years-old, and Violet, my grandmother at 17 years-old, were in love and embarking together on the future. Christmas Eve. It was a Wednesday. It was 1930. Was it magical? How I hope there may have been a photo I might discover. When did Clyde know she was an angel walking among us? Did he whisper to her “I want to marry you on Christmas?”
The McQuerry-Fayne marriage ceremony was conducted at the parsonage of Rhodes Thompson, minister of the Nicholasville Christian church. [NOTE: I would like to locate this minister’s home address in future research.] You might wonder why the wedding ceremony did not take place at their own church, nor with their own minister. I wonder about that, also. Maybe these “crazy kids” had a reason.
Shirley (unk), Mary C (unk), Clyde & Violet date unrecorded, circa 1928
She had graduated from high school in the summer. She was a teenager, they were young’ns. So, you graduate high school and you plan to be married at Christmas? Don’t you wonder what the “kids” talked about then? Their connection to the outside world was through radio, newspapers, telegrams and word of mouth. The Wall Street Crash had occurred in October 1929 and now, one year later, people were IN the Great Depression. Also, prohibition was in effect, but I don’t think either of them drank alcohol ever.
In the photograph of four friends, you can see what looks like a buckboard in the corner, a fence and a large wooden gate. It reminds me of watching Little House on the Prairie growing up. Cutters liked to watch the TV show, also. I have a litany of “LHotP” stories. That Pa, though. More for another time.
Certificate of Person Performing Marriage Ceremony
TO BE DELIVERED TO PARTIES MARRIED
I, Rhodes Thompson, minister of the Nicholasville Christian Church or religious order of that name do certify that on the 24th day of December 1930 at Nicholasville Kentucky, under authority of a license issued by E. H. Fuller, Clerk of County Court of Fayette County (or city), State of Kentucky, dated the 23rd day of December 1930, I united Clyde McQuerry and Violet Fayne Husband and Wife in the presence of Arab Madilla Herrin(sp?), Henry Lester McQuerry Given under my hand this 24th day of December 1930.
Person Performing Ceremony, Sign Here – Rhodes Thompson
Title of Office – minister
Witnessed by two people: A. M. H. (need help deciphering what is both hard to read and completely unfamiliar) and Henry Lester McQuerry. Should I expect to see a vouchsafe for the bride (because I do)? Where is the implication for her parents’ permission in this process? Or, was that not a thing? Their minister and her family are not represented on the certificate. I mean, where were HER people? Where was Big Mother and Ol’Daddy?
Celebrating Christmas for me was never complete until going with family to “Cutters’ Christmas.” I would venture to guess any of the cousins would say the same. The annual tradition remained a deeply special occasion for decades and maybe that was how Violet chose to honor their special day and her love Clyde each year.
Merry Christmas Eve and Happy Anniversary to you, Clyde and Violet. May you be entwined around each other celebrating for eternity.
![[ARTIFACT] 1906 Deed: Corman, Henry H. to James M. Lowry, Jessamine Co, KY](https://thatkentuckygirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/img_7926.jpg?w=1200)
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