Birthdays from my family tree for the week of Sept. 7:
Sept. 7
Washington Wilson, (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1821 in Madison County, Ohio; d. Oct. 20, 1888, in Madison County, Ohio. Washington was the son of Valentine Wilson and the second of his three wives, Susan Humble Wilson. Valentine became a well-to-do landowner in Ohio after moving with his family from Virginia to Kentucky and then Kentucky to Madison County. Washington had three siblings and 15 half-siblings.
Oliver Quesenberry, (my 3G grandfather on my mother's side), b. 1842 in Dugspur, Carroll County, Va., d. Feb. 9, 1918, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky. According to John P. Alderman's annotated 1860 census of Floyd County, Va., Oliver served in the Civil War with Company G, 54th Virginia, and was later transferred to Company D, 29th Virginia. He was with the 29th as company drummer until the end of the Civil War. (Incidentally, Eli Lambert played the fife with him. Eli is a 3G uncle on my father's side, also born in Virginia, also eventually moved to Rowan County, Ky.)
Among Oliver's daughters was Nancy Abigail Quesenberry Hall — grandmother of my maternal grandfather, Oliver Wilson, who was almost certianly named for Oliver Quesenberry.
Nancy was about 12 — and the Civil War about 14 years past — when the family moved from Virginia to Kentucky. Oliver walked from Virginia to Kentucky to prepare a home, on land about a half mile northeast of the present Old Oak Grove Church, then he walked back to Virginia and retrieved his family, in 1878 or 1879, Nancy once told a relative.
Charles Byrne Carroll, (husband of Cynthia Calpernia Hall Carroll, my first cousin four times removed on my mother's side), b. 1863 in Leeslick, Harrison County, Ky.; d. May 30, 1950, in Cynthiana, Harrison County, Ky. In 1897, Charles married Cynthia Hall, a cousin of Nancy Quesenberry Hall's husband, George Washington Hall.
I'm not sure how Charles and Cynthia met. She was born in Mason County and was living in Robertson by 1880 (at age 6). I've not located 1890 census information for her, but by 1900, she is living in Harrison County, where Charles spent his entire life.
(Despite the similarities of the names, Cynthiana, the town in which Charles passed away, was not named for his wife. Rather, it was named for a daughter of Col. Benjamin Harrison, an early settler of the area and sheriff of Bourbon County.)
Leonidas Taylor Moody, (my wife Deborah Renee Ray's great grandfather on her mother's side), b. 1866; date of death uncertain. Leonidas married Lillian P. Moody, whose maiden name I do not yet know, in 1888. I probably know as little about Leonidas and his wife as any ancestor of his generation, but I did glean one bit of information second-hand information — he worked as a railroad engineer, according to once census report.
Sept. 8
Andrew Jackson Wilson, (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1824 in Madison County, Ohio; d. Dec. 11, 1852. Andrew was the younger brother of Washington Wilson, who celebrated a birthday Sept. 7. Valentine Wilson had a thing for naming his sons for famous Americans. In addition to Washington (presumably named for our first president) and Andrew, he had children named Alexander Hamilton Wilson and Daniel Boone Wilson.
Incidentally, several other relatives are named for the same forefathers. My great-grandfather also was named for Andrew Jackson. Interestingly, though, this A.J. was born two years before Jackson was elected president. Nonetheless, Jackson was likely well known in the still-burgoening country. He had served in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, led the U.S. to victory in the Battle of New Orleans, and killed a man in a duel over the honor of his wife, Rachel. He also helped form the state of Tennessee and was the son of Scotch-Irish immigrants who lived modestly as farmers. All of which would afford him hero status among the frontiersmen and small-scale farmers that make up so much of my family tree.
Sept. 9
Effie Jane Quisenberry Hamm, (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1895 in Hoggtown (later, Elliottville), Rowan County, Ky.; d. May 4, 1978, in Knightstown, Henry County, Ind. Effie was the granddaughter of Oliver Quesenberry, whose birthday was Sept. 7.
You'll recall that another of Oliver's children, Nancy Abigail Quesenberry, married George Washington Hall. Effie's father, Isaac, also married a Hall — George Washington Hall's sister, Lydia Alice Hall. So did George and Isaac's brother, Sam, whose third marriage was to Isacie Quesenberry.
The Halls are relatives from my mother's paternal line. Other Hall siblings are relatives on my mother's maternal line — three sisters married Caudills, brothers William and Benjamin, and their cousin Samuel B. (William was my 2G grandfather.)
Interestingly, two other Hall brothers married Riddle sisters, although the Riddles are not blood relatives. (One of the two was Sam, whose first wife was Ida Mae Riddle.)
As for Effie Jane, I don't know much about her life, but she lived in Rowan County through at least 1920. By 1928, she had married David Leslie Hamm in Wayne County, Ind., and was settled there, according to the 1930 census.
Estelle "Essie" McDonald Brinson, (wife of Joseph Brinson, my wife Deborah Renee Ray's 2G uncle on her father's side), b. 1896 in South Carolina; d. March 27, 1961, in Charleston County, S.C. Estelle lived most of her life in Charleston and neighboring Berkeley counties. I'm not sure when she married Joseph, who was the son of John James Brinson (my wife's 2G grandfather) and his first wife, Isabella Thornley Brinson. Joseph was
Sept. 10
John W. Gregory, (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1871 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Nov. 7, 1954, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky. John was the son of the Rev. James Henry Gregory and Sarah Ann Caudill Gregory. (By the way, Sarah Ann was a sister of William and Benjamin Caudill, mentioned in the entry for Effie Jane Quesenberry.)
John is pictured here, seated, along with his wife, Mary Ellen Blankenship Gregory, and an unidentified grandchild.
Leafie Jane McClain, (my wife of Bethel Hall, my 2G uncle on my mother's side), b. 1896 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. March 7, 1991 in Rowan County, Ky. Leafie was wed to my great-grandmother's brother. Like my great-grandmother, she lived into her 90s. She was born, married and buried in Rowan County.
Ina Wilson, (my second cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1904 in Kentucky; I have no details of her death. Ina was the daughter of William Monroe Wilson and Ella Byron Wilson. My 4G grandparents Isaac Wilson and Theodocia Lee Wilson were Ina's great-grandparents. Incidentally, I have a maternal aunt also named Ina Wilson.
Sept. 11
Laura Delilah Lambert, (my 2G aunt on my father's side and my third cousin three times removed on my father's side), b. 1885 in Sandy Hook, Elliott County, Ky.; d. Feb. 11, 1974, in Rowan County, Ky. Laura was the sister of my great-grandfather Henry Lambert. She is a double relative because her mother and her paternal grandmother were first cousins (and also in-laws.)
My paternal grandfather is shown here with his wife, Lenore "Nona" Lambert Kidd; his youngest son and my father, Elden Glenmore Kidd; and Edward Ray Kidd, his nephew and a neighbor.
Elmer Kidd, (my paternal grandfather), b. 1902 in Elliott County, Ky.; d. Feb. 5, 1983, in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio. My Papaw was the fourth of eight children — and first son — of Edmund Kidd Jr. and Louise Lewis Kidd. He lived most of his life near the border of Elliott County, in which he was born, and Rowan County, which contained most of his property.
He married my grandmother, Lenore "Nona" Lambert Kidd, Feb. 2, 1927, and they had four children, my father being the youngest by nine years.
In addition to farming his property of about 70 acres, he ran a country store for a while. Earlier this summer, at a party to celebrate my parents' 50th anniversary, one of my dad's childhood friends, Jackie Carter, told me a story about walking into the store several afternoons to find Elmer snoozing -- once for as long as 30 minutes. "Anyone could have walked in there and took anything they wanted," Jackie laughed, who indeed helped himself to a soda.
Papaw sold the farm in the mid- to late 1960s and moved to Soldier, Ky. (Incidentally, he sold it to the uncle of Ernestine Wilson, a maternal aunt by marriage.) A few years later, Elmer and Nona moved to Springfield, Ohio, near where his children had moved to find work. Elmer bought a two-bedroom house and a duplex next door and spent the last decade or so of his life playing landlord and turning out cabinets, spice racks and other nicknacks from the woodworking shop he set up in one of his garages. Among my favorites were a miniature covered wagon he made for me, complete with round wooden wheels that rolled true. I also loved to watch his wooden lawn ornaments, which he animated by attaching fan blades, so that when the wind blew, a horseman would whip his horse.
I'm left with only a few memories of my grandmother, who died when I was 4, but one of the most vivid is of her grabbing me up whenever Papaw hoisted me onto his lap to show me how a mule ate corn. (Apparently, mules eat a lot of corn by squeezing young'uns just above the knee, sending them into involuntary fits.) Granny always came to my rescue.
I have lots more memories of Papaw — after Grandma died, he always kept the refrigerator stocked with 7Up and individually wrapped Reese's Cups. He fed himself with a butter knife, neatly stacking his food on the blade and carefully lifting it to his mouth. He sipped his coffee from a saucer after pouring it from his cup to cool. He made cole slaw with vinegar and pepper — no mayonnaise — more or less like what most Southerners would call chow-chow. Elmer kept a bottle of rubbing alcohol on an end table next to his favorite recliner and sniffed it to clear his sinus passages every so often. (At least I think that is what he was doing.)
Elmer lived in good health most of his life but developed colon cancer in the early 1980s. He came home after surgery but died of complications not long afterward.
I sure miss him. If I had him back, I'd love to spend a day with him in his woodshop.
Sept. 12
John Sutton Wilson, (my 5G uncle on my mother's side), b. 1781 in Berkeley County, Va.; d. April 9, 1852, in Putnam, Ind. John was a son of Jacob Wilson and Mary Lee Fitz Wilson, who moved the family from Virginia to Kentucky in 1790, then from Kentucky to Ohio in 1802. They settled with their on the headwaters of Beaver Creek in Bath township, Greene County, Ohio, near present-day Fairfield. One son, also named Jacob, stayed behind and became a wealthy landowner and slaveholder in Kentucky. Another sone, Valentine, because a wealthy landowner in Greene County.
John and another brother, James, emigrated to Indiana. I don't know much about his life there, but he married Sarah Lemon of Berkeley, Va., in 1806 — long after his own family would have left Virginia — and he died in 1852. However, he was brought back to Greene County for burial in a family cemetery.
Emeline Wilson Richmond, (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1831 in Madison County, Ohio.; d. Feb. 10, 1916, in Madison County, Ohio. Emeline was a daughter of the aforementioned Valentine Wilson and niece of John Sutton Wilson, who celebrated a birthday the same day. I have few details about her life, but she was one of the 19 children her father had by three different wives. Emeline was one of nine children Valentine had by his second wife, Nancy Donnels Roberts Wilson. Emeline married Hiram W. Richmond in 1856.
Maude Quesinberry, (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1909 in Hoggtown (later, Elliottville), Rowan County, Ky.; d. Feb. 6, 1987, in Iron River, Iron County, Mich. One of 12 children of Isaac and Lydia Alice Hall Quesinberry. That makes her another of the grandchildren of Oliver Quesenberry, who had a birthday Sept. 7, and another sibling of Effie Jane Quesinberry, who had a Sept. 9 birthday.
As an aside, you might have noticed the different spellings of Maude's sirname. Those are not typos — at some point, some folks in the clan simply began spelling their name differently on official documents. I'm not sure why, if illiteracy played a role, or what. I just know it happened.
Clarence James Fielder, (my great-uncle-in-law on my mother's side), b. 1916; d. June 11, 1970. Clarence married my maternal grandmother's sister Verna Iva Williams. I don't know a ton about him, except that he was Aunt Verna's second husband.
Sept. 13
John Adrin Hall, (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1882 in Cynthiana, Harrison County, Ky.; d. June 16, 1924, in Liberal, Seward, Kan. John was a son of James Edmund Hall and Elizabeth Jane Coyle Hall. He was born in Kentucky but by the 1910 census was living in Kansas. I'm not sure what took him there. I do know his wife, Rhoda Virginia Maxwell Hall, was born in Missouri, same as her mother, and her father was born in Virginia.
Noi Harriett Wilson, (my second cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1905 in Clarkson, Grayson County, Ky.; d. Jan. 31, 1931, in Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Ark. "Hattie" was from Morehead, Ky. and the daughter of Dr. Burwell Clefford Wilson and Lula Nelson Wilson.
Hattie met her husband, Emmett Ballard, while visiting paternal aunts, Stella and Flora, in Pine Bluff, Ark., who has moved there from Kentucky. She died in 1931, before her 26th birthday, though I've not been able to learn a cause of death — and believe me, I've looked high and low. Also unclear is how Emmett wound up in Kentucky at this death 60 years later. He lived in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1935, and the 1940 census indicates that at that time, Emmett was living with his mother and brother in Lufkin, Texas, where he was employed as a salesman.
Gretta Linville Williams, (my great-aunt-in-law on my mother's side), b. 1910; I'm not sure about details of her death. Gretta married my grandmother's brother Cleo in 1938. They had three children — James Lee, James Jackson and Rachel Ann — but each died before their first birthdays and possibly were stillborn.