Family tree birthdays for the week of Jan. 12:

Jan. 12

• Ardillo Perry Heffley (my second cousin four times removed on my mother's side), b. 1846 in Summerford, Madison, Ohio; d. July 12, 1880, in Summerford, Madison County, Ohio.

• Cordelia Hall (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1892 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Feb. 18, 1982, in Rowan County, Ky.

• Clemant Fultz (my half first cousin twice removed on my father's side), b. 1915 in Breathitt County, Ky.; d. May 1983 in Gary, Lake County, Ind. Clemant was one of at least nine children born to William Lewis Fultz and Lula Bell Hamilton. After William died in 1921 at age 38, Lula remarried to Edward Lambert, my paternal grandmother's uncle. It also was Edward's second marriage. He had eight children by his first wife, Pearl Belle Lowe Lambert, who was 40 when she died in 1948 of influenza.

• Jack V. Hall (my second cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1928 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. April 25, 2003, in Nicholasville, Jessamine County, Ky.

• Kenneth B. Kidd (my third cousin once removed on my father's side), b. 1929 in Morgan County, Ky.; d. May 12, 2007, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky.

• Ruth Ernestine Wilson (my aunt-in-law). Happy birthday, Aunt Ernie! Hope you have a great day.

Jan. 13

• Ida Nanny Wilson (my second cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1891 in Kentucky; d. 1903.

• Nellie Virginia Caudill (my second cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1904 in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky.; d. March 9, 2000, in Santa Ana, Orange County, Calif.

• Clyde Caudill (my second cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1910 in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky.; d. Jan. 5, 1922, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky. Died eight days short of his 13th birthday. I don't know the cirucmstances.

Jan. 14

• John William Lykins (father-in-law of my John Booth Kidd, my first cousin twice removed on my father's side), b. 1867 in Kentucky; d. April 12, 1904, in Morgan County, Ky.

• Chapman Gibson (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1887 in Montgomery County, Ky.; d. May 13, 1985, in Montgomery County, Ky.

• John Wesley Quesinberry (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1904 in Hoggtown, Rowan County, Ky.; d. Sept. 9, 1981, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky. One of 12 children of Isaac and Lydia Quesenberry. Some of the Quesenberrys in my family tree spelled their last name with a second "e" instead of the "i." I have records indicating his father and a few of his siblings spelled the last name with the e, while records indicate John Wesley and a few other siblings spelled it with an "i." I'm not sure this is a conscious decision. Vagaries of recordkeeping and limited literacy sometimes mean records contained several different name spellings even for the same person.

Jan. 15

• Virginia Alice Wilson (my second cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1853 in Ohio; d. March 17, 1854, just past her first birthday.

William Washington Williams feeds the chickens on his Williams Branch property in this undated photo.

Jan. 16

• William Washington Williams (my 2G grandfather on my mother's side), b. 1848 in Morgan County, Ky.; d. March 29, 1940, in Rowan County, Ky. My maternal grandmother's family history is fairly well-documented and has provided some of the most interesting tales in my genealogical research. William Washington was my grandmother's, grandfather. An article in the 1956 Centennial Edition of the Rowan Co. News contains an article on the family's homeplace, and it reads in part:

"I will now drop back to Mrs. Adda Williams Porter, wife of C..C. Porter. She was born March 3, 1896, the youngest child of a family of nine children of William Washington and Rebecca (Caudill) Williams, who were married April 5, 1873, [showin in photo] and set up housekeeping in a log house beautifully located about one mile from Elliottville, which he had purchased in 1871 from an Indian, Mr. Jackson. They continued to live here until their deaths in 1940 and 1941 respectively." My grandmother grew up there, and the Williams Branch property remained in the family after the death of William and Rebecca.

The article continued:

" 'Uncle Bill' was one man of whom even the vilest never said aught. He was born Jan. 16, 1848 in Morgan County, the son of Ambrose J. Williams, who was the son of one of the first settlers in Morgan County, John Williams, who came as a teen-age boy with his father, the Rev. Daniel Williams, from North Carolina about 1770 and settled first at Boonesboro, where he helped build the Fort there and fought with Daniel Boone against the Indians."

• Stanely Luther Prows (husband of Mae Elliott, my second cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1906 in Cynthiana, Harrison County, Ky.; d. July 2, 1981, in Berry, Harrison County, Ky.

Jan. 17

• Clover V. Perry (my second cousin four times removed on my mother's side), b. 1853 in Rushcreek Township; d. Nov. 15, 1855, in Rushcreek Township. Died at age 2.

• Cora Wilson Stewart (my first cousin three times removed), b. 1875 in Jeffersonville, Montgomery County, Ky.; d. Dec. 2, 1958, in Tryon, N.C. Where to start with a description of Cora Wilson Stewart? She was the first female county schools superintendent in Kentucky, even before women could vote. She became a champion of adult literacy and founder of of the Moonlight Schools, which began in Rowan County, Ky., and eventually became global in scope. Jane Addams, Carie Chatman Catt, Ida Tarbell were among her advisors in planning a national crusade against adult illiteracy — the National Illiteracy Crusade. She spoke regularly to national and international conferences on adult literacy, held a post in the Hoover administration, and once received a nomination vote at the Democratic National Convention. She also was an avid photographer, whose work can be seen here. I'll soon be writing a series of blog posts about Cora Wilson Stewart's life.

• Lacy Wilson (my second cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1922 in Kentucky; d. June 8, 1997, in Wayne County, Mich.

Jan. 18

Infant son Lambert (my 2G uncle on my father's side), b. 1874 in Sandy Hook, Elliott County, Ky.; d. Jan. 1874. Son of Julian Delaney Lambert and Eliza Leedy Delaney died shortly after birth.

Lola Maxine Wilson (my second cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1930 in Herndon, Wyoming County, West Virginia; d. Aug. 18, 1995, in Sacramento, Calif.