Family-tree birthdays for the week of Dec. 29:
Dec. 29
• Anne Owen Constable (my 10G grandmother on my mother's side), b. 1615 in Clouster, England; d. Oct. 6, 1706, in Divided Creek, Northcumberland, Va. According to a few genealogical histories, she is the daughter of famed London publisher Francis Constable. She married Col. Richard Henry Lee, "The Immigrant," patriarch of the American line of Lees that includes Henry Lighthorse Lee and Robert E. Lee. Though both Constable and her husband were born in England, they did not come to the colonies as a married couple. They were wed in 1691 in Jamestown, Va.
• Amanda Susan Hall Caudill (my 3G aunt on my mother's side), b. 1859 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. May 18, 1950, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky.
• Raymond Thomas (my great uncle in-law) in 1921; d. June 30, 1958. My Great Aunt Verna's first husband.
• James Lewis Williams (my second cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1925 in Cynthiana, Harrison County, Ky.; d. May 7, 2005, in Maysville, Mason County, Ky.
Dec. 30
Mary Ann Hall (my 2G aunt on my mother's side), b. 1889 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. July 1, 1890. I'm not sure the circumstances of her death, but I've long wondered about them. She is buried in the George Washington Hall Cemetery, where my grandparents and Aunt Vada Wilson Caudill also are buried. She is one of two people who died very young, were buried in the cemetery and have headstones there. The other, coincidnetally, is next on the list and died the same day of the year, two years later.
Odessa Hall (my ), b. 1900 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Sept. 6, 1902. Little Odessa was the sister of Mary Ann Hall, who also died as a toddler, two years earlier. The shared birthday and shared fate is so coincidental, I wondered if the dates on the current headstones, which clearly are not the originals, were perhaps carved in error.
Deloris Firn Brooks (cousin of my half uncle, Ronnie Jackson Brooks, on my mother's side), b. 1931 in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio; d. Jan. 18, 1978. She died at age 46. I'm not sure of the cause.
Dec. 31
Daisy Rice (wife of my second cousin Leander Kidd), b. 1900 in Floyd County, Ky.; d. Nov. 7, 1987.
Kimberly Susan Walters (my second cousin). Happy birthday, Kim.
Jan. 1
Sidnia Lucinda Creger (mother of my 3G aunt-in-law Melvina Catron Lambert, on my father's side), b. 1811 in Wythe County, Va.; d. Feb. 8, 1893, in Rural Retreat, Wythe County, Va.
Martha Jane Wells (mother-in-law of my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side William Harrison Hall), b. 1834 in Kentucky; d. July 28, 1913, in Scott, Ky.
Mahala Slusher (my 3G grandmother), b. 1841 in Floyd County, Va.; d. Oct. 4, 1922, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky. Six women in my family tree carry the first name "Mahala." She was the first.
Eli Franklin Prather (father-in-law of my 3G uncle on my mother's side Albert David Hall), b. 1848 in North Carolina; d. Feb. 14, 1936, in Rowan County, Ky.
Eliza Jane Hall (my 3G aunt on my mother's side), b. 1858 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Oct. 1, 1908, in Menifee County, Ky.
Nancy Ellen Caudill (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1887 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Feb. 13, 1887. Lived just more than a month.
Nella Kidd (my second cousin on my father's side), b. 1908 in Blairs Mills, Rowan County, Ky.; d. July 3, 1965.
Jerry K. Brooks (cousin of my half uncle on my mother's side, Ronnie Jackson Brooks), b. 1932 in Clark County, Ohio; d. Nov. 11, 1944, in Clark County, Ohio.
Vera Viola Ray (my wife's first cousin once removed on her father's side), b. 1952 in Camden, Kershaw County, S.C.; d. May 1, 2012, in Cassatt, Kershaw County, S.C.
Jan. 2
Mahala Jane Hall (my 3G aunt on my mother's side), b. 1856 in North Fork, Morgan County, Ky.; d. 1889 in Rowan County, Ky.
William Dallas Brown (my first cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1897 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Nov. 6, 1971, in Oroville, Okanogan, Washington.
Shelby Brooks (uncle of my half uncle on my mother's side, Ronnie Jackson Brooks ), b. 1916 in Tennessee; d. Jan. 4, 1937. Died two days after his 21st birhtday. He was killed by a stranger who knocked on his door and shot him when he answered. According to my Great Aunt Norma Trent, he was engaged to my grandmother, Leona Williams, who wound up marrying his brother, Otis, who also died young.
Jan. 3
James Lowery Arnsparger (husband of my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side, Ester Wilson), b. 1902 in Paris, Bourbon County, Ky.; d. May 5, 1996, in Paris, Bourbon County, Ky. Arnsparger was the son of Clifton Arnsparger and Ruby (Lowery) Arnsparger. In 1930, James married Esther Wilson, the daughter of noted civil engineer Dudley Boone Wilson, nee Isiah, Jr. Wilson and Gillie Anne (Peyton) Wilson. James ans Esther Wilson Arnsparger spent their marrried life in Paris, Ky. James Arnsparger's brothers were Sheriff of Bourbon County, and his niece was also in law enforcement. His nephew Bill Arnsparger coached at Ohio State University and in the NFL for several teams, including a stint as the New York Giants' head coach.
Wilburn Caudill (my second cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1924 in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky.; d. July 11, 1990, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky.
Jan. 4
Elizabeth Gregory (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1869 in Elliott County, Ky.; d. Nov. 25, 1944, in Fayette County, Ky.
Taulbee Gibson (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1885 in Montgomery County, Ky.; d. Aug. 12, 1968, in Kentucky.
Adam Lee Preseley (husband of my cousin Mahala Susan Wilson)