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I'm not sure how David Kendall and Lewis Frank Templeman met, only that they grew up only a few miles apart in rural Rowan County, Ky. Neither do I know many details of their lives or deaths, except that friendship and fate bound them in ways both sweet and tragic. David was my great-great grandfather and Lewis my 4G uncle. For decades, their families lived near each other — they are listed on adjacent pages in the 1860 census and one page apart in the 1870 enumeration. By 18

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of Sept. 28: Sept. 28 Myrtle Kidd, (my first cousin once removed on my father's side), b. 1917 in Rowan County, Ky.; details of death uncertain. Myrtle is the daughter of John William Kidd and Dora Kidd Kidd. Dora was the sister of my grandfather Elmer Kidd. Dora and John shared a surname and were second cousins. Sept. 29 Martha Susan Hall, (my first cousin four times removed on my mother's side), b. 1854 in Morgan County, Ky.; d. 19

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of Aug. 3: Aug. 4 Melvina Manerva Catron Lambert, (my 3G aunt-in-law on my mother's side), b. 1842 in Wythe County, Va.; d. Aug. 11, 1876 in Moccasin Precinct, Elliott County, Ky. Melvina married Elias Lambert, who died in 1926 in Rowan County, Ky., at age 89. My paternal grandmother was a Lambert and likely a relative of Elias, but I've not established the connection. Rather, Melvina is the grandmother of Alexander Lambert, who marr

Birthdays from my family tree from the week of July 20: July 20 Dudley Boone Wilson, (my 3G uncle on my mother's side), b. 1865 in the Narrows, Rowan County, Ky.; d. Dec. 31, 1906, in Montgomery County, Ky. Dudley was born to Isaiah Wilson and Sarah Jane Wilson Wilson. His given name was Isaiah — he appears in the 1870 census report as "Isah," age 4, and several other genealogical sources say he was born Isaiah Jr. At some point, he changed his name, however. He was one of 14

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of June 29: June 29 Joseph Harrison Coyle (father-in-law of James Edmund Hall, my 4G uncle on my father's side), b. 1814 in Bath County, Ky.; d. Sept. 6, 1875, in Robertson County, Ky. James Edmund Hall married Joseph's daughter, Elizabeth Jane Coyle, in 1870. James and Elizabeth gave Joseph nine grandchildren. Surena Katherine Hall (my 2G aunt on my mother's side), b. 1891; d. Sept. 1, 1981, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky. Surena Hal

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of June 22: June 22 Emile Roscoe Brinson (my wife Deborah Renee Ray Kidd's great uncle on her father's side), b. 1917 in South Carolina, d. Oct. 13, 1959, in Charleston, Charleston County, S.C. Emile was the brother of my wife's paternal grandmother, Ruth Augusta Brinson Ray. I've heard at least two stories about how Ruth met her husband, Clarence Richard Ray, and one of them involves Emile. It goes like this: Clarence grew up in Ker

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of May 25: My grandfather, Oliver Wilson, bounces me on his knee, not long after my parents adopted me. May 25 Oliver Wilson (my maternal grandfather), b. 1918 in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky.; d. Nov. 19, 1988, in Bath County, Ky. My papaw was never famous, never earned a college degree (or a high school diploma, for that matter), and couldn't bankroll a library or hospital. But he worked hard, loved his family and helped take care of

Birthdays in my family tree for the week of May 18: May 18 Delphina Kidd (my first cousin twice removed on my father's side and my first cousin three times removed on my father's side), b. 1926 in West Liberty, Morgan County, Ky.; d. Dec. 11, 1980, in Lytten, Elliott County, Ky. Delphina's grandfather, Peter Fannin-Kidd, was the half brother of Edmund Kidd, my 2G grandfather. May 19 Mary E. Jennings (wife of Marion Kidd, my first cousin twice removed on my father's side), b.

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of April 27. My Uncle Kenny, at Christmas in the living room of the farmhouse where he grew up. He's holding his oldest son — my cousin, Kenneth Lee — and his mother — my granny, Leona Williams Wilson — is holding present in the background. Kenny has a fantastic memory, particularly when it comes to family history. He doesn't write anything down; he just remembers it. And it's uncanny how many times a story he's told me has been ver

Birthdays from my family tree from the week of April 6. April 8 Jacob Wilson (my 5G uncle on my mother's side), b. 1779 in Berkeley County, Va.; d. 1824 in Nevada, Mercer County, Ky. Jacob Wilson, the first-born of 13 or 12 children of Jacob Wilson and Mary Fritz Wilson. The younger Wilson was born in Virginia 13 years before Kentucky, at the time of his birth a county of Virginia, became a state. Berkeley County is now part of West Virginia. At some point, Wilson moved to Ke

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of March 8. March 8 Andrew Catron (father-in-law of Elias Lambert, my 3G uncle on my father's side), b. 1809 in Wythe County, Va.; d. Nov. 5, 1862 in Rural Retreat, Wythe County, Va. Genevieve Lambert (my first cousin twice removed on my father's side), b. 1905 in Elliottville, Rowan County, Ky.; d. Nov. 25, 1978, in Dayton, Ohio. Effie Mae "Ellen" Lambert (my first cousin twice removed on my father's side), b. 1909 in Morehead, Rowa

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of March 2. March 2 Mary A. Brinson (my wife's 3G grandmother on her father's side), b. 1844 in St. Stephen's Parish, Charleston County, SC; d. April 20, 1918, in Bonneau, Berkeley County, SC. Married Thomas W. Brinson and had at least two children. One, John James Brinson, was married three times and has 12 children. March 3 • Adda Lacy Williams Porter (my 2G aunt on my mother's side), b. 1896 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Dec. 1, 1974.

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of Feb. 16. Feb. 16 Henry Buchanan "Buck" Catron (husband of Genevieve Lambert Catron, my first cousin twice removed and my fourth cousin twice removed on my father's side), b. 1902 in Elliottville, Rowan County, Ky.; d. Sept. 26, 1976 in Olive Hill, Carter County, Ky. Doc. A. Hill (my wife's 2G uncle on her father's side), b. 1904; date of death uncertain. Doc was a child of Adrian and Hester Smith Hill. I've not yet learned much ab

This week's birthdays from my family tree: Dec. 9 John William Kidd (my second cousin once removed on my father's side, and my granduncle in-law), b. 1885 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Jan. 3, 1975 in Rowan County, Ky. John married his first cousin once removed, Dora Kidd, in about 1916. He was 30, and she was 21. Chad Allen Williams (my fourth cousin on my mother's side) Dec. 10 Lula M. Lewis (my 3G aunt), b. 1891 in Morgan County, Ky.; d. April 12, 1963. There are two Lula Lewis