Those Places Thursday - "On the waters of Meadow Creek"

Monday, I posted the transcription of Bell family history (you can read it here), including mentions of several places bought and sold by Cicero Bell 1900 through 1910 or so.  On vacation this summer, I was able to visit the court houses in Monticello and Somerset Kentucky to look for deeds for these properties.  I give full credit to my husband for finding several and helping me get them. My experience in court house work is limited since they aren’t open on weekends.  Our first stop was the courthouse in Monticello for the Wayne county deeds.

Deed dated August 28, 1901, Deed Book 35 Pg 173-174

The heirs of Berry Rogers were the sellers (E. R. & Mattie VanHoozer, R. & H. A. Meadows, D. B. & Margaret Morris, John & Lizzie Chrisman, H. C. Rogers, David & Diza Rogers, Hettie & Edgar Matchett, John & Martha Rogers, W. B. & Eliza Jane White, G. W. & Mattie Rogers, Lenora & Rilley Correll, Barbara & H. M. Eads, Noah & Catherine Rogers, B. R. & Mollie Creekmore).  They conveyed to Allie (Allie mentioned first) & Cicero Bell, land in Wayne County, Kentucky "on the Monticello & Burnside Pike".  This image shows the confusing mess of compass points that is the metes & bounds system to describe the tract of land.  So different from the square sections we're used to in Nebraska.  To determine the exact location takes much more time, effort and information than I have now.  But the names of their neighbors and some landmarks mentioned are worth noting -  John Simpson's corner on the north side of pike, the old Daugherty line, school house, Tate's corner, J. C. Rogers corner, Dick's line, C. T. Willhite's corner, Tolegate lot, a coal house. Those will help if I ever work more to find the locations. 

So, this matches well with Oren's history: "we moved to a new farm which was located on the turnpike between Monticello and Burnside... and settled near Mill Springs...  This new farm was known as the Rogers farm.  Here we lived for a period of about 4 years.  During that period, Ben and Ed were born." 

We found more deeds than I expected, but later I realized there were two we didn't find.  The sale of the first farm that had belonged to Allie and her first husband.  Also, we didn't find a sale of the Rogers farm, unless the following deeds sold off portions of it and the original description no longer applies.  

Deed dated November 12, 1902, Deed Book 33 Pg 293-294

Cicero and Allie Bell sell to G. M. Muncy and R. F. Sloan "for the purpose of a joint road running from the Pike over the lands of first and second parties hereto to the lands of C. T. Willhite on Meadow Creek".  Some of the description includes:  "Beginning at a cedar on the south side of the Pike, J. C. Rogers corner...", mentioning Roger's corner several times, and "to a Hickory sd Roger's corner on Tate line...".  

Deed dated November 12, 1902, Deed Book 35 Pg 363-364

C. T. & Elzira Willhite sell to Cicero Bell and J. W. Bell (his brother John) "land in the County of Wayne, State of Kentucky, on the waters of Meadow Creek".  The description includes "Beginning at a small Sourwood, Millers corner on Muncy line..."  and "in the middle of Meadow Creek, then down the creek with the meanders thereof..." and it describes every twist and turn of the creek.  Coming to "a stone on north side of sd creek (Shearer's corner), then Shearer's line...", "to a stake on sd line, Miller's corner, then Miller's line...to the beginning".  

Deed dated April 16, 1904, Deed Book 35 Pg 474-475 

J. W. & Lizzie Bell and County of Boyle, State of Kentucky sell to Cicero & Allie Bell their part of the land bought in 1902.  It is the same description of land.  Looks like John and Lizzie were living in Boyle County at this time.

Deed dated November 21, 1904, Deed Book 36 Pg 349-350

Cicero & Allie sell their Wayne County farm to J. W. Simpson "it being the same tract of land conveyed to said Cicero & Allie Bell from J. W. Bell and wife by deed date of April 16, 1904."  

Downtown Monticello, Kentucky

These were all the deeds we found listed in the index for Cicero or Allie Bell.  After we left the courthouse, we went right next door to the Wayne County Historical Society.  Knowing there was a slim chance, I asked a woman there if they could give us an idea where the land was and showed her the deeds and the transcription of Oren's history.  As she was reading, she gasped and told another woman that the deeds were for property on Meadow Creek.  It just so happened that the Willhite's and Muncy's were her family.  She was able to tell us about where the property was - south of Mill Springs if I understood her correctly.

Before we left Monticello, we took a quick tour of the Wayne County Museum, then went on to Mill Springs.  The Brown-Lanier House wasn't open, but we walked down to the Mill.  Then we just drove around that area for a little bit.  

Next I will post the deeds we found in Somerset.

Amanuensis Monday - Oren Bell's Recorded History

Following is a transcription of an audio recording of the history of the Bell Family, or a portion of it.  That portion is mostly Cicero Bell and his family starting about 1890.  Cicero is my Great Grandfather, the audio recording is the voice of his second son, Oren Bell.  Oren was probably in his 80’s when he taped this, his memory still very good.  Mary Ann, who is the daughter of Ben, another of Cicero’s sons, had asked Oren to do this.  Virgil, Cicero's youngest son, gave me a copy of the tape several years ago and it is a treasured addition to the old trunk in the attic.  My Grandpa is Stan, another son, born 109 years ago today, August 1, 1907 on the "old Dutton farm".

It was this history that lead me to search for the deeds to the different properties Cicero & Allie bought and sold in a 10-15 year span in Wayne and Pulaski counties of southern Kentucky.  In Oren's words...

"Mary Ann, I’m going to attempt to give you the story of the Bell Family as I sit here beside my desk.  I’ll just give it to you as it comes to my mind.
 I want to begin the story by telling you about the marriage of my father and mother.  Cicero Bell married Mittie Ramsey in 1900.  The first thing that my father did after their marriage was to build a new home for them.  He built a log cabin on Pea Ridge in 1890, soon after their marriage.  My father built this log cabin out of poplar logs which were rather valuable, and they built it on Pea Ridge not far from his mother’s home.  The cabin was so constructed as to have two rooms.  While we lived in this cabin, my brother and I were born.  Frank was born February 7, 1892 and George Oren was born January 14^th, 1894.  Father was a kind of a restless man.  He was never satisfied to stay anywhere too long.  He never stayed too long in any place we lived.  He had an uncle who lived in Smith County, Texas and in 1895, he decided that he would go to Texas.  And so he gathered the family and off we went to Texas.  

When we arrived in Texas, we visited his uncle known as “Lishe” Bell.  We spent a little time with them, then my father rented a farm and began to do the kind of farming that they did in that part of Texas.  As I remember, the things that they grew were a little different than we were used to.  Now the crops that they had was cotton, goober peas and other small crops such as sweet  potatoes and things of that kind.  He continued to farm until 1900.  In the mean time, my little sister was born.  She was given the name of Leavey.  In September of 1900 tragedy came to our home.  My mother was again pregnant,  and on the 10^th of September my mother gave birth to a little boy.  But she was at the same time ill with malaria.  And the baby’s birth and the malaria was too much for her and she died.  Then the next day, the baby also died.  They were both buried in the same casket and buried in a little rural cemetery outside Flint, Texas.   Just a month after the burial of my mother, my little sister Leavey also died.  She had taken sick and was sick long enough that she could not survive.  They were all 3 buried in a country graveyard that was called the Rather Cemetery.
 My father was very discouraged after the death of the family and he decided to go back to the old home in Kentucky.  At that time, Grandma Bell and my Great Grandmother were living on Pea Ridge in their home and we returned to their home and for a time we lived with them.  We lived with them until my father married again.  In the fall, my father married a young widow by the name of Allie Vickrey.  She had a son that was born in 1899, Bill Vickrey.
 Living with a Great Grandma gave me an opportunity to find out some things about the eariler life of the Bells.  My Great Grandma was a very interesting person.  She was in her 90’s, but was very active and alert.  She loved to tell us about the early days of her girlhood days in Virginia and of the early days in Kentucky.  She and her family moved from Virginia to Kentucky in a real early day.  They moved into Kentucky by way of the Cumberland Gap into Southeastern Kentucky.  They moved westward along the south border of Kentucky through the Blue Ridge Mountains and along the southern border until they came to Wayne County, Kentucky.  In Wayne County they settled on a strip of land known as Pea Ridge.
 At the early day, this area of Kentucky was covered with forest.  The settlers had to clear the land before they could grow any crops.  The timber country was also filled with a great many wild animals.  The animals that were present in that part of Kentucky were bear, fox, wolves, panthers and other smaller animals.  These animals made it very difficult for the pioneers to have any domestic animals such as chickens, sheep, hogs or cattle.  The settlers had to devise some means of killing off the wild animals.  The plan they used was rather unique.  They would select a good size tree, climb up the tree about 15 feet, and saw it off.  And on top of the stump, they would build a platform.  The platform was so built that no one could go up the tree and get on the platform.  To get on the platform they had to use a ladder.  They would use the ladder and go on the platform, and take with them onto the platform their guns and some fresh meat.  The guns they used in those days were single loading, muzzle loading rifles.  They did not have the kind of modern rifles that we have.  The frest meat that they took up on the platform was smelled by the animals and caused them to gather around the platform.  The pioneers could shoot the animals without fear.  By this means, they were able to thin out the wild animals so that they could grow domestic animals and could care for them.  I was about 7 years old when we lived with Grandma.  She was a good story teller and I was an eager listener.  

Cumberland River at Mill Springs, July 6, 2016

After my father’s second marriage, we moved to my step-mother’s acreage, which was located on Otter Creek about 5 or 6 miles from my Grandma’s home.  The acreage was too small to sustain a family, so the folks sold the acreage and we moved to a new farm which was located on the turnpike between Monticello and Burnside.  It was sold and we moved to this new home on the turnpike and settled near Mill Springs.  They bought an old farm that had a big house on it that had been used as a hospital during the Civil War.  This new farm was known as the Rogers farm.  Here we lived for a period of about 4 years.  During that period, Ben and Ed were born.  We lived there for sometime and we were on the move again.  The farm was sold and we moved to Somerset.  Here father bought a general merchandise store.  After about a year in the store, my father was dissatisfied with that and wanted to go back to the farm.  So the store was sold.
 Now mother had a sister that lived in Tallulah, Illinois and they had been corresponding and her sister had been telling her about the opportunities in the state of Illinois.  So off we went to Illinois.  After a visit with the Bryant’s we settled in a little town by the name of Farmers City.  We didn’t find much work there, only a few odd jobs.  So after a short time, my father decided to move again.  We moved to the town of Champaign.  Now Champaign and Urbana are twin cities.  My father rented a home in-between the two towns, and found work in a railroad shop near Urbana.  We rented a home and lived there for a few months.  My father worked in the railroad shop and earned a fair salary for those days.  He earned $2.00 a day.
 After a few months, his earnings were sufficient to take us back to Kentucky.  So off we went, back to Kentucky.  The folks settled in a little village south of Somerset known as Ferguson.  I didn’t stay with the family that time, I went on down to my mother’s sister in Wayne county and went to school for one term.  While I was away, my father worked in the railroad shop and in his spare time, built a new home in Ferguson.  But after a while, my father preferred the farm rather than the shop, so he sold his new home and bought another farm.  This time north of Somerset, about a mile and a half out of town.  It was known as the old Dutton farm.  Here we lived for some time.  I was now 15 years of age.  I got a job with a store in Somerset, and for a year or two I delivered groceries for a company by the name of Carter and Ham.  The folks sold the Dutton farm , however it was here that Virgil and Stanley were born.  After about 4 years, they sold the Dutton farm and bought another one not far away.  The farm was known as the old Tom Meese place.  At this farm, the boys attended school and we continued to work in the town of Somerset. 

 In the summer of 1910, the folks were on the move again.  They rented their farm, the old Tom Meese place, and I joined them and we moved to Oklahoma.  The Bryant’s, whom we had visited in Illinois, in the meantime had moved from Illinois to Oklahoma and they had settled near Wellston, a town about halfway between Tulsa and Oklahoma City.  We stayed with the Bryant’s for a while and picked cotton.  However, I found that my skill as a cotton picker wasn’t very good.  So, we decided to move on.  My father had a sister and her husband who lived in Kansas (now this was Carson Alcorn and Aunt Laura) and so we made the trip from Oklahoma to Kansas.  We went by train and arrived in Oberlin, Kansas and was met there by Uncle Carson who took us to his home and we lived with them for a short time.
 We then moved to a home that my father rented from Clum Rose north of Ionia.  We began to pay rent on various farms and searched around for a place to live.  Finally, my father rented a farm from a man by the name of John Stevens.  He farmed this farm for a year.  While he was farming the Stevens farm, I worked for a man by the name of Alvey Rose.  I started to work for him by cutting a half a mile of  hedge, getting posts out of the hedge rows.  After a year, my father was ready to go back to Kentucky.  So, they moved from Ionia back to Kentucky.  Frank and I stayed in Kansas.  I continued to work for Alvey Rose and Frank worked for Wiley Alcorn.  Alvey Rose’s wife was an M. D. but was no longer practicing.   She saw that I needed additional education and encouraged me to get back to school.  And in the spring of 1913, I went to a Teacher’s Normal in Mankato Kansas.  Under the tuterage of Mrs. Rose I had covered the material for the 7^th and 8^th grade during the winter of 1912.  In the summer of 1913, I attended this Normal school in Mankato and took a teacher’s examination.  I passed everything in the examination except Kansas history.  In the fall I took my grades from the teachers exam, presented them to the superintendent of  the high school of Mankato, a man by the name of J. J. Haney(?)  He looked over the list of grades and permitted me to enter high school.  I was then 19 years old.
 To provide my living while attending school, I worked in a store.  I clerked for S C Smith & Co.  out of the school hours and on the weekends.  I graduated from Mankato High school in the spring of 1917.  The folks, in the meantime, had to come back to Kansas and were living on a farm that belonged to Clum Rose.  In the fall of 1917, and the spring of 1918, I taught school.  Taught the harmony school,  which was right near the Rose family  stayed with the Roses.  I went to Camp Funston soon after my school was out, and joined the Army YMCA, and was made camp supply secretary.  There was a great stir about that time because the war was over.  War was over on November 11, 1918.  But I continued in Funston and helped to salvage the YMCA materials and to sell the Y building.  I came home from the war service September 1, 1919.  Then on September 7, Viola Noon and I were married.  The folks were in Kansas and a farm was rented to the folks by the Roses.  Frank and I were more or less independent.  Frank and Chloe wer married and their children were being born.
 All of the family moved to Nebraska.  First the Alcorns, then came the Bells.  They moved into an area known as Giltner.  I graduated from Cottner College in 1924.  Soon after, we moved to Norfolk.  As Pastor of the Park Avenue Christian Church.  Ben and Marie came to Norfolk and I married them.  By this time all of the family, the folks, Frank & Chloe, Ben & Marie, lived in Giltner.  Franks’s family were about all grown.  The boys had been in the war service, but were back at home in and around Giltner.  My father died in 1944 and was buried in Giltner.  Just 10 years late, Frank died of cancer and was also buried in the Giltner Cemetery.
 Mary Ann, from this time on, I’m sure know as much about the Bell family as I do.  So I’m going to close this at this point.  I hope that you get some good out of what I have said.  Thanks for asking me.  I’m glad to do it.  Oren Bell"

 Thank you, Mary Ann!

Read about the deeds from Wayne County - "On the waters of Meadow Creek"
Read about the deeds from Pulaski County - "On the waters of Pitman Creek"

Wedding Wednesday - July Weddings in my Family Tree

In order to determine the couple in my family tree who was married the longest, I need to know two things:  1) when they were married and 2) when at least one of them died.  So just looking at my direct ancestors who meet that criteria, the couple married the longest is my paternal Great Grandparents, Clarence & Cora Mann.  Married in Fairbury, Nebraska on July 5, 1899, they were married for 69 years until his death in October, 1968.  I'm not sure, but it seems like I remember hearing that their anniversary was mentioned by Paul Harvey on his radio show.  The Lincoln Journal Star even published an article about their anniversary in July of 1968. In 1949, they got their picture in the paper for their 50th anniversary.  Such media moguls! 

Less attention was probably given to my Seventh Great Grandparents Ebenezer Bliss & Joanna Lamb.  They were married in Springfield, Massachusetts on July 23, 1723 and until his death in November of 1761 - over 38 years.  They are also the Fourth Great Grandparents of Cora Mann.

On July 2, 1648, Thomas Sawyer married Mary Prescott in what is now Lancaster, Massachusetts.  Thomas died in 1706, so they were married for 58 years.  They are my Eighth Great Grandparents.  Their marriage is recorded in various books of transcribed Vital Records from Massachusetts towns.

Gabriel Mattingly & Ann Juliette Molohon were married on July 24, 1810 in Washington County, Kentucky.  This awesome, original but hard to read document is online at familysearch.  They are my husband's Second Great Grandparents.

The stats for July are 49 marriages, the 11th is the most popular date with four marriages on that day.  Probably not all of them got the media attention that Clarence & Cora Mann did. 

Newspaper Clippings - Peotone, Illinois, May, 1907

Here's one short column from the local news of the Peotone, Illinois Vedette.  Walter Jorgenson is my second Great Grandmother Lena Jorgenson's brother.  She was married to William Roscoe and living in Saline County, Nebraska by this time.  I would have loved to have found a mention of her paying a visit.  This is from microfilm, not a searchable, digital source. 

Peotone Vedette, May 17, 1907

L. J. Jackson of Piper City, Ills., painted his farm house this year.  Bought 17 gallons of Devoe lead-and-zinc, and hired Wm. Brown, painter, to put it on.  Returned 4 gallons; good job.  S. D. Culbertson & Son, dealers.
Mrs. Lee of New Holland, Ills., hired James Hughes, painter, to paint her house; got 15 gallons of Devoe lead and zinc paint; used only nine.
Devoe is economy.
Yours truly
F. W. DEVOE & Co,
New York and Chicago
HENRY AMMAN & SONS sell our paint.


Miss Ethel Parish, of Harvey, visited Miss Lois Imholz the first of the week.
Walter Jorgenson, of Chicago, accompanied his mother to Peotone Wednesday evening.
Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Pla??e of Harvey, visited their daughter, Mrs. L. E. Stassen, Tuesday.
Mrs. Oscar Fleischer visited with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. M. Kerger, in Kankakee, this week.
Mrs. Mamie Anderson, of Chicago, visited her mother, Mrs. A. Vinson, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Henry Houghton, who for several weeks was confined to his home with rheumatism is able to be out.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Collins entertained Mrs. A. N. Winkless, of Chicago, a day or so the first of the week.
Fred Wahls, who was called to Chicago by the illness of his son, Henry J., called on Peotone friends Monday.
Mr. and Mrs. W. Smit, of Kankakee, were the guests of Mrs. Smit's parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Meyer, Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Werner, of Beecher, were the guests of Mrs. Werner's sister, Mrs. L. E. Stassen, yesterday.
Hon. David Slush, of Detroit, the capitalist, who is backing the new electric road, was in town a few hours last evening.
W. H. Morrison was in Chicago on business a few days last week.  He and his family spent Sunday with friends at Oreana.
Hon. Fred Wilke was in town yesterday shaking hands with Peotone friends.  He was a welcome caller at The Vedette office.
Mrs. O. Jorgenson, who has been ill for many weeks at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Judson, of Chicago, returned to Peotone Wednesday evening.
John Kurtz, of Correctionville, Iowa, called on Peotone relatives and friends Tuesday.  He ran down from Chicago after marketing a lot of stock.
Chas. Dornbusch and family spent the past week in Peotone.  Today they leave for Wisconsin where business takes Mr. Dornbusch for the next two or three weeks.
John Hagenow entertained his sons, John and Christian, Rev. Geo. Schnessler and other relatives Monday.  They came to Peotone to attend the Singleman funeral.

Friday's Faces from the Past - Harvard Kid #3

This is a photo by G. G. Bruckert from Harvard, Nebraska with no identifying information.  His or her face is slightly blurry.  Written on the bottom of the left shoe is "09 / eu / 40".  

When I was looking for a picture of another child taken in this or a similar chair, I noticed something else.  Two things looked familiar with this photo from a post I wrote about Elvie and Elwin Megrue.  First, that furry stuff that the child above seems to be sitting on and this one is laying on.  Second, the gown both infants are wearing look alike, although it's hard to see very well.  I'm sure that those infant gowns were all pretty similar.  I just wondered if this gown was worn by siblings and is actually the same gown.  Elwin Megrue had an older sister named Vernie Faye.  Is the above photo possibly Vernie Faye taken when she was of age for the same gown?  Maybe their mother made them each a gown with the same trim.  What do you think?

These photos and others are in my possession and I would be glad to send them to family who wants them.  Check out all of my Friday's Faces from the Past posts by clicking the link below or under "Labels".  

Wedding Wednesday's - June Weddings in My Family Tree

Today, June 22nd, is my 25th wedding anniversary.  June's reputation as the "wedding month" holds true and IS the most popular month among all of the couples in my tree.  Sixty-five marriage dates in my tree are in June.  June 10th is the most popular day of the year, with six couples getting married on that date.  But besides me, only three sets of my direct ancestors chose to have June weddings.   

My marriage license is not as pretty as some of the old ones that I've found.  It's a bland typed-up, fill-in-the-blank form.  No elaborate fonts, no calligraphy, no pretty flowers.  At least with a typed form, everything is more legible than this old hand-written one.  

This is from the Marriage Register of the Whitestown Presbyterian Church in New York.  The bottom half of this says, "June 16 Mr       Lee to Miss Case, the former of Utica, the latter of Verona, $2.00".  The information is vague, but my cousin Linda also gave me a copy of the Family Bible which has the marriage recorded.  My copy is hard to read, but I have no reason to doubt that this is their marriage record.  Charles Lee & Susannah Case were married on June 16, 1845 in Whitestown, New York.  They celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary just two months before Susannah died of complications in childbirth.  They are my Third Great Grandparents. 


Two sets of my Sixth Great Grandparents were married in June.  Both couples are the Third Great Grandparents of my Great Grandma Cora (Gaisford) Mann.  On June 7, 1755, Thomas Cogswell & Grace Martin were married in Hilperton, Wiltshire, England.  The next year on June 10, 1756, Stephen Bliss married Katherine Burt in Massachusetts.  They were married 49 or 50 years, depending on his exact date of death.

We don't have a big celebration planned.  I will just drink a toast tonight to all the couples who came before me.  Cheers!

Tombstone Tuesday - Samuel Gaisford & Wives

Samuel Gaisford, brother of my second Great Grandfather Charles Gaisford, died December 3, 1921.  He was 64 years old and was laid to rest in the Prairie Home Cemetery north of Diller, Nebraska.  Born January 21, 1857 in Pascoag, Rhode Island, Samuel was a son of James and Anna (Rich) Gaisford.  The Gaisford family moved from Rhode Island to Minonk, Illinois when Sam was 12.  In 1870, at age 14, he was a farm hand for his brother-in-law, George Pickard in Woodford County. 

Ellen S. Wife of S. Gaisford, died Sept. 2, 1887, Aged 28 Years, Rest in peace

Samuel's first wife was Ellen S. Pickard.  They were married February 5, 1880 in Minonk, Illinois then moved to Nebraska in 1881 where he was a blacksmith.  From Sam's obituary in the Diller Record, December 9, 1921:  "On September 2nd, 1887, he was bereaft of his wife.  After her death he returned to Minonk, Illinois, and engaged in the barber business for a number of years.".  

Back in Gage County, Nebraska on October 5, 1885, Sam married Emma Emmerman (or Ammerman).  They had 3 children, Mabel, Lyle and Charley.  In 1900, Sam, Emma and son Lyle were living in Benton County, Arkansas.   

By 1910 Lyle was deceased, Sam is living back in Nebraska with his sister Hannah and his son Charley Gaisford, 2 years old, is then living with Emma Thompson who was a daughter of Sam's brother Charles.  Emma Gaisford.  I found Emma Gaisford in Little Rock, Arkansas in the State Hospital for Nervous Disorders.

Sam's second wife Emma died in 1916 at age 46, her son Charley was 9 years old.  She is also buried in the Prairie Home Cemetery.  In 1920, Charley was living with his mother's relatives.  Mabel is mentioned in her father's obituary, but is not listed on any census record.  I would guess that Mabel and Lyle are buried somewhere in Arkansas.