Birthdays from my family tree for the week of June 8.
June 8
Willis Lambert (my 2G uncle on my father's side), b. 1898 in Sandy Hook, Elliott County, Ky.; d. Jan. 27, 1969, in Rowan County, Ky. Willis was the brother of my 2G grandfather, Henry J. Lambert. His mother and paternal grandmother were first cousins once removed, so Willis is also a third cousin.
Ruby M. Kidd (my second cousin once removed on my father's side), b. 1925 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. February 1987. Ruby was the great-granddaughter of Edmund Kidd, who is my 2G grandfather. Edmund also had a son named Edmund, who is my great-grandfather. Ruby was one of eight children -- but one of only two daughters -- of David and Elizabeth Martt Kidd.
Elizabeth Jean Collins Brinson (great-aunt-in-law of Deborah Renee Ray Kidd, my wife), b. 1933. I'm not sure if Elizabeth is still alive or not. I do not know a lot about her, except that she married Harold Mack Brinson, my wife's great-uncle. The couple had four children. Harold passed away in 1998.
Charles Raymond Kidd (my second cousin once removed on my father's side), b. 1934 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. June 8, 1934, in Rowan County, Ky. Charles' story is heart-rending, if a little vague.
He shares a birthday with his half-sister, Ruby, but died the day he was born. According to his death certificate, David Kidd was Charles' father. David was widowed when his first wife died while giving birth to their seventh child, son Zora, in January 1929. Zora died the same day.
I do not have a record of David's marriage to Charles' mother, Lizzie Mauk, but I know David is buried next to his first wife.
The Kentucky birth index lists Charles R. Kidd, born June 8, 1934, in Rowan Co., mothers maiden name Lizzie Walk. (According to notes on a family tree posted at Ancestry.com, her last name is an apparent mistranscription of Malk, in turn a misspelling of Mauk.)
His death certificate indicates he lived 30 minutes , and the cause of death was listed as premature birth, the informant as Amanda Lambert of Crix, Ky. Amanda Lambert also signed the medical attendant section; she was apparently the midwife.
I have no Amanda Lambert in my family records, but my paternal grandmother's maiden name was Lambert, and I'm fairly certain I'm related to Amanda somehow. David's son, Davis W. Kidd, married Myrtle Mae Lambert. If she was a neighbor, she did not live in close proximity — the 1930 and 1940 census sheets that list David Kidd's household, as well as the pages preceding and following them, do not contain any Lamberts. (A side note, however, the 1940 sheet lists Jesse and Vada Jennings, my maternal great aunt and her husband.)
Billy Ray Thomas (my first cousin once removed), b. 1948. Billy Ray is the son of my great aunt Verna Williams Thomas and her husband, Raymond Thomas.
Marine Lt. Col Clayton Ray Thomas, retired, (husband of Paula Jean Trent, my first cousin once removed on my mother's side), b. 1949. I don't think Billy Ray and Clayton are related by blood, but Clayton married Billy Ray's cousin, Paula Jean Trent. Happy birthday, Clayton.
Kelsey Harper Ison (my first cousin once removed on my mother's side), b. 1989. Happy birthday, Kelsey.
June 9
Matilda Jane Brown Foster (my 2G grandmother on my father's side), b. 1853 in Morgan County, Ky.; d. May 22, 1928, in Elliott County, Ky. Matilda was the grandmother of my grandmother, Lenore Lambert Kidd. Her daughter Cora celebrated a birthday June 13.
Serena Catherine Quesenberry Stidham (my 3G aunt on my mother's side), b. 1873 in Carroll County, Va.; d. Nov. 5, 1945, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky. Serena and I have several familial connections. Her sister, Nancy Abigail Quesenberry Hall, is my 3G grandmother on my mother's side. Her daughter, Adaline Stidham, married one of my first cousins once removed on my father's side, Jesse James Kidd. Another of her daughters, Mary Merida Stidham Wilson, married my maternal great uncle Lee Wilson, meaning she also was related to my mom on both sides of her family.
Additionally, Serena's mother, Mahala, was a Slusher; several in that family are related to me on both my mother's side and my father's. (See William Edmund Kidd under the June 13 birthdays.)
Melvin Dehart (ex-father-in-law of Bernice Kidd Dehart, my paternal aunt), b. 1902 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Dec. 31, 1993, in Clark County, Ohio. Melvin's son, Edgar, was married to my Aunt Bernice for 27 years, until their divorce in 1977.
Bonnie June Williams Cornett (my first cousin once removed on my mother's side), b. 1943. Bonnie is the daughter of Hobert Ray Williams and Ethel Lydia Click Williams. Hobert was my maternal grandmother's brother.
June 10
Nancy Jane Boggs Caudill (my 4G aunt-in-law on my mother's side), b. 1833 in Troublesome Creek, Knott County, Ky.; d. 1857 in Kentucky. Nancy was the first wife of John Maggard Caudill, brother of my 3G grandfather the Rev. Henry C. Caudill. Nancy died at age 24 after the couple had one child, Samuel B. Caudill. Eleven years after Nancy's death, John married Frances Pennington. I have no record of any other children or wives of John Caudill.
Barbara Ann Law Horn (or "Lawhorn") Crawford (mother-in-law of Dr. Jeremiah Wilson, my 3G uncle on my mother's side), b. 1853 in Leon, Carter County, Ky.; d. March 8, 1901. Barbara Ann was married to William Ralph Crawford. Their daughter Virginia Lee was the second wife of "Doc Jerry" Wilson, a prominent Morehead, Ky., physician. Jeremiah had 13 children by his first wife, Anna Eliza Halley Wilson, and two more by Virginia Lee.
I suppose that technically, Barbara Ann was never actually Jeremiah's mother-in-law — she died about three months before the couple was married in June 1901.
Jesse Bowles Peers (husband of Flora Wilson, my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1884, Kents Store, Fluvanna County, Va.; d. Nov. 30, 1959, in Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Ark. Jesse married Flora Wilson, the daughter of Dr. Jeremiah Wilson and Anna Eliza Halley Wilson. I'm not sure how Jesse and Flora wound up in Pine Bluff, Ark., but I know they made quite a bit of money there. Jesse ran a lumber company with partner Edgar Boone McGlone, who was married to Flora's sister Stella.
June 11
Nancy Donnels Roberts Wilson (my 5G aunt-in-law on my mother's side), b. 1807 in Columbiana, Ohio; d. Jan. 24, 1894. Nancy was the third wife of Valentine Wilson, a wealthy Ohio farmer who was 22 years her senior. Nancy was the daughter of John J. and Margaret H. Roberts. She came to Madison County, Ohio, with her father in about 1818, according to a clipping of an obituary from an unnamed newspaper posted to Ancestry.com. Most of her early life was spent between Plain City and Amity, Ohio. In 1823, the family moved to the Hill, one mile north of Sommerford.
Valentine was born in Harper's Ferry, Va., moved to Kentucky with his father in 1790, then came to Ohio in 1802.
Nancy wed Valentine June 18, 1927, and they eventually had nine children together. But Nancy entered a home with 10 stepchildren, six by Valentine's first wife and four by his second. They ranged in age from 20 to less than 3. All but one of the 19 children lived to adulthood.
"Entering this large family at the early age of 20, by her unfailing tact, kindness and love she won the hearts and affections of all. ... (N)o evidence could ever be shown that she loved her own better than those motherless ones committed to her care."
Her obituary noted the work that must have been entailed tending to such a large family — washing, ironing, mending, baking, making butter, spinning wool and flax.
Nancy's obituary also complemented her for her judgment, intellect and vigor. "In addition, she possesed that invaluable possession, a remarkably retentiive memory," it read.
She outlived Valentine by more than 38 years. Nancy's funeral services took place the old homestead, one mile north of Somerford, on a Tuesday afternoon. It was largely attended, and her remains were laid to rest next to Valentine's in the family cemetery adjoining the Wilson home, on the banks of Deer Creek.
June 13
James Daniel Kendall (my 3G uncle on my mother's side), b. 1861 in Morgan County, Ky.; d. March 9, 1949, in Putnam County, Ind. James was the brother of David Kendall, my 3G grandfather.
William Edmund McBrayer (my first cousin twice removed on my father's side), b. 1883 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Aug. 16, 1972, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky. William was the son of Lewis Parker McBrayer and Martha Jane Kidd McBrayer. Martha Jane was the sister of my great-grandfather, Edmund Kidd, for whom William might have received his middle name. (His grandfather also was named Edmund Kidd.) William married Samantha Susan Slusher — another connection to that surname.
Cora Foster Lambert (my great grandmother on my father's side), b. 1885 in Elliott County, Ky.; d. July 28, 1951, in Rowan County, Ky. Her death certificate records Cora Lambert, age 66 years, 1 month, 15 days, died near Elliottsville, Rowan Co., Ky. The cause of death uremia due to hypertensive arteriosclerosis, and the informant was her husband, Henry Lambert. She is buried in Caudill Cemetery in Sharkey, Ky.
Osbal Wesley Caudill (father-in-law of Vada Louise Wilson Caudill, aunt on my mother's side), b. 1910; d. March 2, 1984. I've also seen his name recorded as "Oswald." He and his wife, Wilma Maxine Hurt Caudill (1920-1999) married in 1940. Their son, Leroy Caudill, married my Aunt Vada.
There are many Caudills in my maternal grandmother's family, although I've not yet been able to trace them to Osbal's parents, John Caudill and Elizabeth Ann Sparks Caudill.
Howard Cornelius Hall (my 2G uncle on my mother's side), b. 1914 in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky.; d. Feb. 4, 1994. Howard was the brother of my great-grandmother, Mahala Susan Hall Wilson. However, he was closer in age to Mahala's son — my grandfather, Oliver Wilson — and they were good buddies. My mother recalls that Oliver often called him "Cat."
He was born to the George and Nancy Quisenberry Hall. A member of the Church of God, he was employed at the Lee Clay Products Co. as a yard foreman for more than 30 years at the time of his death, and he was a former distributor for Cedar Hill Dairy and former security guard at St. Claire Medical Center in Morehead. He was also a veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving in World War II.
He was survived by his wife, Gertrude Workman Hall, whom he married Nov. 28, 1936; six sons, Clifton Hall of Nashville, Tenn.; Asa G. Hall of Cincinnati, Ohio; Nathaniel L. Hall of Dayton, Ohio; Kenny Hall of Morehead; Howard C. Hall Jr. of Brooksville, Ky.; and John David Hall of Lexington, Ky. He also had two daughters, Loreda Hall of Clearfield, Ky., and Dr. Mauverine Hall Napier of Hickory, N.C.
June 14
Sarah Mitman Wilson (wife of William Harvey Wilson, my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1825; d. July 21, 1880, in Fairfield, Greene County, Ohio. William was the grandson of Jacob Wilson (1759-1813), my 5G grandfather.