Birthdays from my family tree for the week of May 11:
May 11
William Wilson (my 3G uncle on my mother's side), b. 1861 in The Narrows, Rowan County, Ky.; d. Jan. 30, 1896, in Sieview, Montgomery County, Ky. One of 14 children of Isaiah Wilson and Sarah Jane Wilson Wilson. His siblings included Dr. Jeremiah Wilson, a prominent (and one of the few) doctors in Rowan County around the turn of the 20th century; Dudley Boone Wilson, an accomplished civil engineer; and Abijiah Wilson, my 2G grandfather.
Ernest Leroy Tarter (my third cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1924 in Dearborn, Platte County, Mo.; d. 1972. Ernest is the son of Flem Charles Tarter and Mamie Zenith Wilson Tarter.
May 12
James Edmund Hall (my 4G uncle on my mother's side), b. 1847 in Morgan County, Ky.; d. April 27, 1932, in Cynthiana, Harrison County, Ky. James was the son of Isaac Jacob Hall Sr. and Anna Martin Hall. In 1868, Isaac and Anna’s son Isaac Jr. was shot and killed by Wiley C. Roberts, who was accompanied by a vigilante band of men that included Isaac's brother-in-law Frank Alfrey; his nephew, Ben; and James. Though arrested and charged, it seems likely those charged were not convicted — there are no court records after a preliminary hearing. Isaac was a Confederate veteran who had been prosecuted several times for robbery and once for murder, but never convicted. Some months before the vigilante action that led to his death, he had driven his widowed mother, two youngest brothers, his sister and her husband from the family home and was using it for his band of robbers and their women. Some of the family decided to arrest him and shoot him if he resisted arrest, according to this account by Teri Pettit, author of "The Family that Slays Together, Stays Together." Isaac was severely wounded in the initial confrontation as he ran back to the house to get his guns, Pettit writes. That night, the vigilantes returned and shot Isaac in his bed. His mother, Anna, was accused of conspiracy to commit murder because she consulted lawyers before the deed, asking about the legality should Isaac be killed while the vigilante group was attempting to arrest him.
Alex Wallace (husband of Fannie Gregory, my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1883 in Craney, Rowan County, Ky.; d. Dec. 24, 1969, in Rowan County, Ky.
Willie Elam (husband of Sarah Wilson Elam, my 2G aunt), b. 1891 in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky.; d. Feb. 9, 1971, in Lakeland, Polk County, Fla. Willie's wife, Sarah, was the sister of my great-grandfather, Burl Wilson.
Dewey Lee Stidham (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1902 in Kentucky; d. Aug. 6, 1988, in Mullens, Wyoming County, WVa. Dewey's parents were Serena Catherine Quesenberry and Brackston Jason Stidham. Dewey's sister, Adaline, was married to Jesse James Kidd, a first cousin once removed on my father's side.
Marvin Holt Wilson (my second cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1926 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. April 1, 2002. Marvin's father, Marvin Sr., was the son of Dr. Jeremiah Wilson and Virginia Lee Crawford Wilson. Virginia was Jeremiah's second wife. They had two children together. Jeremiah and his first wife, Anna Eliza Halley Wilson, had 12 children, including Bunyan Spratt Wilson, first mayor of Morehead, Ky.; and Cora Wilson Stewart, a renowned adult-literacy advocate of the Progressive Era. Marvin Hired by Morehead News in 1964 to help newspaper convert from hot type to cold type printing process, with new four-unit press, according to "Morehead Memories."
May 13
Mary Jane Johnson (mother of James Albert Lambert, the second husband of my maternal great-grandmother Nora Kendall Williams), b. 1863 in Elliott County, Ky.; d. May 10, 1933, in Rowan County, Ky. I don't know a lot about Mary Jane or her son, James. James and Nora married late in late, after she was widowed by Andrew Jackson Williams' death. After James died in 1964, Nora moved to the home of her daughter Leona and her husband Oliver Wilson.
Otis E. Brooks (father of Ronnie Jackson Brooks', my half uncle on my mother's side), b. 1918 in Claiborne County, Tenn.; d. My grandmother's first husband and the father of my Uncle Jack. Leona Olive Williams Brooks Wilson met Otis while staying in the Springfield, Ohio, home of her brother, Bill, with her sister-in-law Geneva after Bill was called to duty with the Navy. Otis died in his mid-20s of complications from a brain tumor. My grandmother and Jack moved back to my grandmother's hometown, Elliottville, in Rowan County, Ky. She met and married my grandfather — my mother's father — soon thereafter.
Virgil Nelson Cornett (husband of my first cousin, Bonnie June Williams), b. 1944.
Kelli Marie Caudill (my cousin on my mother's side), b. 1978 in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky. Happy birthday, Kelli. Hope you have a great day.
May 14
Jarvey Hamilton (father of Lula Bell Hamilton, second wife of Edward Lambert, my 2G uncle), b. 1856 in Floyd County, Ky.; d. Aug. 4, 1922, in Rowan County, Ky. I don't know much about Jarvey, but his daughter Lula married William Lewis Fultz, with whom she had nine children. After his death in 1921, she married Edward — Uncle Edd, to my father — who had eight children by his first wife, making for a heckuva big, blended family.
Bertha Irma Wilson (my third cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1871 in Greene County, Ohio; d. Dec. 27, 1934, in Harveysburg, Warron County, Ohio.
The family of Samuel B. Caudill and Amanda Susan Hall Caudill, both seated. Their children, from left, are Benjamin Franklin Caudill, Oliver Simpson Caudill, Lindsay Caudill (on Samuel's lap), Alvin Caudill, Mary Caudill on Susan's lap, Mary Caudill and Ida Caudill.
Alvin Caudill (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side and my second cousin three times removed), b. 1883 in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky.; d. March 7, 1965, in Rowan County, Ky. Alvin was one of 10 children of Samuel B. Caudill and Amanda Susan Hall Caudill. Samuel was related to my mother on her mother's side, and Susan was related to my mother on her father's side, making Alvin a double relative.
Grace Lyon Williams (my first cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1904 in Morgan County, Ky.; d. July 1987, in Tampa, Hillsborough County, Fla. Grace was the daughter of John Henry Williams and Alice McClain Williams. John Henry was the brother of my great-grandfather, Andrew Jackson Williams.
May 15
Myrtle D. Hall (wife of Henry William Hall, my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1899 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. June 21, 1958. William was the nephew of my 2G grandfather George Washington Hall.
Clella B. Kidd (my second cousin twice removed on my father's side), b. 1917 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. May 11, 1983, in Rowan County, Ky. Clella had a twin sister named Della. ... and married a woman named Stella.
Della C. Kidd (my second cousin twice removed on my father's side), b. 1917 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. July 27, 1979, in Rowan County, Ky. Twin of Clella. Not sure if she married a "Fella."
Kurt Douglas Bubp (my ), b. 1952. Happy birthday Kurt. Hope you have a great day.
May 16
Mary Susan Hall (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1878 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Sept. 10, 1972, in Kettering, Montgomery County, Ohio. Mary was the daughter of William Thomas Hall and Sarah Riddle Hall.
Ida Merle Brinson (my wife Debi's first cousin twice removed on her father's side), b. 1935; d. March 23, 2008, in North Charleston, Charleston County, S.C. Ida was the daughter of Thomas Marion Brinson and Blanche Inez Wyndham Brinson.
May 17
Brackston Jason Stidham (my 3G uncle-in-law on my mother's side), b. 1869 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. April 30, 1948. Brackston married Serena Catherine Quesenberry Stidham.
Rufus Humphrey Brown (my 2G uncle-in-law on my mother's side), b. 1872 in Olive Hill, Carter County, Ky.; d. Feb. 15, 1944, in Carter County, Ky. Rufus married Amanda Melvina Williams, sister of my great grandfather Andrew Jackson Williams. They are pictured at left and lived on Williams Branch, the area in Elliottville, Ky., where Amanda's father, William Washington Williams, and his wife purchased a plot that included a house built by an Indian settler. That house remained in the family for three generations and is still standing.
Joan Elise Ray (my wife Debi's aunt on her father's side), b. 1955. Happy birthday Joanie. Hope you have a great day.