Birthdays from my family tree for the week of Nov. 9:
Nov. 9
Samuel Webb Caudill and Sarah Maggard Caudill, his wife.
Sarah Maggard Caudill, (my 4G grandmother on my mother's side), b. 1809 in Letcher County, Ky.; d. Jan. 18, 1898, in Rowan County, Ky. Sarah married Samuel Webb Caudill in Perry County, Ky., in 1825. She was 16.
Sarah was born in Letcher County, where the Caudills settled after moving from Wilkes County, N.C. The Caudills had large families, and over time many members spread to other areas — for instance, Greenup County, Ky., and Rowan County, Ky., where many of them became prominent citizens and married into other branches of my family tree. Incidentally, there are Tollivers in this week's birthday listings, and that family also moved from North Carolina — from Wilkes and adjacent Alleghaney county — into Letcher County, Ky. And like the Caudills, many of them spread to other areas of the state, including Rowan County, where one of their progeny, Craig Burton Tolliver, was a major player in the bloody Rowan County War.
Sarah and Samuel had 11 children and eventually settled in Rowan County, where they are buried. Among the many grandchildren was Samuel B. Caudill, who married Amanda Susan Hall, a member of the Hall clan related to my mother on her father's side. My mom also has Caudills on her maternal side — another of the couple's grandchildren, Rebecca Caudill, married my mom's maternal great-grandfather William Washington Williams.
Sarah R. Riddle Hall, (my 3G aunt-in-law on my mother's side), b. 1851 in Bath County, Ky.; d. March 1, 1933, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky. Sarah married William Thomas Hall, the brother of my 2G grandfather, George Washington Hall.
Willie B. Wilson, (my second cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1887 in Kentucky; d. April 4, 1908. Willie was the son, and one of 13 children, of William Monroe Wilson and Ella Byron Wilson. He was the grandson of Abijiah Brooks Wilson and Catherine C. Wilson Wilson, Abijiah's sixth cousin. Incidentally, Abijiah's brother, Isaiah, married Catherine's sister, Sarah Jane — another pairing of sixth cousins.
Oral Jonathan Carr, (husband of Bessie Lee Wilson, my second cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1896 in White Lick, Morgan County, Ind.; d. Aug. 3, 1972, in Sapulupa, Creek County, Okla. Oral married Bessie Lee Wilson, one of the 12 siblings of Willie B. Wilson.
Troy Thornsberry, (my second cousin once removed on my father's side), b. 1917 in Morgan County, Ky.; d. Nov. 23, 2003, in Blairs Mill, Morgan County, Ky. Troy is the son of James Thornsberry and Elizabeth Lykins Thornsberry. He is the grandson of Simpson Thornsberry and Amanda Kidd Thornsberry, the sister of my paternal great-grandfather Edmund Kidd.
Nov. 10
Daniel Funderburg, (my 5G uncle-in-law on my mother's side), b. 1789 in Germany; d. 1822 in Miami Township, Greene County, Ohio. Daniel married Mary Elizabeth Wilson Funderburg, the aunt of the Isaiah Wilson mentioned in the birthday entry for Willie B. Wilson. As noted there, two Wilsons married sixth cousins with the same surname. The branch that included Isaiah and Abijiah hailed were prominent landowners in the Miami Valley of Ohio.
Daniel was a native of Germany, who came to the Buckeye state in early manhood. He wedded Mary Wilson, whose father, H. Wilson, resided near Xenia, Ohio. I have sources that say they married in Greene County and others that say they married in nearby Madison County. (Mary's family lived in both counties at various times.) All sources say the marriage took place in 1810.
Daniel Peyton Gibson, (my 3G uncle-in-law on my mother's side), b. 1856 in Montgomery, Kentucky; d. June 20 or June 26, 1922, in Montgomery County, Ky. Daniel married Catherine "Callie" Wilson, a daughter of Isaiah and Sarah Jane Wilson, in 1882. Callie was the brother of my 2G grandfather Abijiah Wilson, who likely was named for Isaiah's brother, my 4G uncle. Though both branches of the Wilson family were rather nomadic during the 19th century, Callie, like Daniel, died in the county where she was born and lived her entire life. According to one family tree I discovered on Ancestry.com, Daniel was born Nov. 10, 1856, but another source lists his birthday as Sept. 16, 1857.
Clella Burns Porter, (my 2G uncle-in-law on my mother's side), b. 1888 in Kentucky; d. Oct. 22, 1978, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky. Clella married Adda Lacy Williams, sister of my great-grandfather Andrew Jackson Williams, in 1914.
Carmia Gregory, (my second cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1898 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. April 19, 1984, in Elliottville, Rowan County, Ky. Carmia was the daughter of John W. Gregory and Mary Ellen Blankenship Gregory, and the 2G granddaughter of Samuel Webb Caudill and Sarah Maggard Caudill, who celebrated a birthday Nov. 9. I never met Carmia, but it is quite likely some of my mother's immediate relatives did. In addition to being a distant relative, Carmia was born in Rowan County and died in Elliottville, which is the small crossroads town where my maternal grandmother grew up and many of her brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles lived.
Nov. 11
Syntha Ann Hall Caudill, (my 3G aunt on my mother's side and my 4G aunt-in-law on my mother's side), b. 1850 in Morgan County, Ky.; d. Oct. 13, 1911, in Rowan County, Ky. Syntha is one of several Halls (maiden name of my mother's paternal grandmother) who married Caudills (maiden name of my mother's maternal great grandmother.) Syntha is the sister of my 2G grandfather William Washington Williams. Her husband, Samuel C. Caudill, is the son of the aforementioned Samuel Webb Caudill and Sarah Maggard Caudill.
Wardie Taylor Brooks, (uncle of Ronnie Jackson Brooks, my half uncle on my mother's side), b. 1908 Lee County, Va.; d. Oct. 14, 1985, in South Charleston, Clark County, Ohio. Wardie was one of the older brothers of Otis Brooks, my maternal grandmother's first husband, who died of complications from a brain tumor at age 25. William Tipton Brooks and Margaret Alice Estep Brooks lived for a while in Lee County, Va., then in Claiborne County, Tenn., where nine of their 10 children were born. They moved them all to Ohio in the 1920s. Wardie was the third oldest and married Bessie Audrey Dewitt.
Foster John Brooks, (uncle of Ronnie Jackson Brooks, my half uncle on my mother's side), b. 1927 Claiborne County, Tenn; d. Dec. 21, 1952. Foster was another of the brothers of Otis Wilson, born on the same day as Wardie Brooks, but 19 years later. He was the youngest of William and Margaret's children. He served just more than a year as a private in the Army Air Corps, from Jan. 14, 1946, to Jan. 30, 1947.
Foster died at age 25, though I'm not sure how. He was one of several siblings to suffer an early death. In addition to Otis, Shelby Brooks died in 1937 two days after his 21st birthday.
Nov. 12
Ethel Lydia Click Williams, (my great aunt-in-law on my mother's side), b. 1922. Ethel married my maternal grandmother's brother, Hobert Ray Williams (1921-2003).
Nov. 13
James Henry Tolliver, (brother-in-law of Benjamin Franklin Hall, my 3G uncle on my mother's side), b. 1861 in Letcher County, Ky.; d. Feb. 6, 1935. James Henry was the brother of Mary Clementine Tolliver Hall, who married James Franklin Hall. Normally, I wouldn't include such a distant relative in these birthday lists, but the Tolliver family is connected to one of the more infamous events in the history of the county where so much of my family grew up or still live. Craig Burton Tolliver, a first cousin, was a major player in the bloody Rowan County War. That feud stemmed from the death of Tolliver's brother, Floyd, who killed the friend of a political rival in an Election Day misunderstanding, and ended with Craig's death in 1887, when an informal, armed militia drove the Tolliver faction out of Morehead. In between, Morehead and much of Rowan County were plunged into violence that drew statewide and, eventually, national attention.
I have Tolliver relatives on both sides of my family. In addition to Mary Clementine Tolliver, who married Benjamin Franklin Hall, brother of my 2G grandfather George Washington Hall. One of Craig's nephews, William Tolliver, married Elizabeth Kidd, my first cousin twice removed on my father's side.
Grant Tolliver, (twin brother of James Henry Tolliver), b. 1861 in Letcher County, Ky. Presumably, Grant and James were twins. I have no record of his death, marriage, etc. He, James and Mary Clementine were among the seven children of Lightwell Henry Burton Tolliver and Nancy Arnett Privette Tolliver. Lightwell's father, James Franklin Tolliver, was the brother of Hugh Burton Tolliver, who was the father of Craig Tolliver. Got all of that?
Sara Clark Hall, (wife of Howard Cornelius Hall, my first cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1944. I've never met Sara and do not know if she is still living. My Papaw was an in-law and good friend of her husband's father, Howard "Cat" Sr. If Sara is still among us, I wish her a great, big happy birthday.
Deborah Renee Ray Kidd. (My wife.) Happy birthday, honey. I hope you have an outstanding day.
Nov. 14
Robert E. Caudill, (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1867 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. 1930. Robert is another in the family full of blood relatives and in-laws. But that's not the most interesting thing about Robert. He is an identical twin — John T. Caudill, whose entry follows, is his brother. But that's not the most interesting thing about him, either.
Robert and John had another set of twin siblings, Samuel M. and Sarah W. Caudill. And that still isn't the most interesting thing. He and his twin were red-heads. They married red-head twins, Calah and Mahala Wells, respectively. Between the couples, they had six red-headed children, none twins but all resembling each other.
I'd say that is the most interesting thing about him.
John T. Caudill, (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1867 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Nov. 17, 1920, Shelby, Ky. See above.
Minnie Frances Moore Lambert, (wife of Dulaney Lambert, my first cousin three times removed on my father's side), b. 1888 in Elliott County, Ky.; d. Sept. 5, 1970, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky. Minnie married Dulaney Lambert, who likely was named for my 2G grandfather and his uncle, Julian Dulaney Lambert. Julian's granddaughter Lenore Lambert married a Kidd — my grandfather, Elmer. Minnie and Dulaney's daughter also married a Kidd — Davis William Kidd, Elmer's first cousin once removed.
Fred Caudill, (my second cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1905 in Kentucky; d. 1985 in Florida. Fred was the great-grandson of the Rev. Henry C. Caudill, a child of Samuel Webb Caudill and Sarah Maggard Caudill, who celebrated a birthday Nov. 9.
Nov. 15
Verna Iva Williams, (my great aunt on my mother's side). Happy birthday, Aunt Verna!
Ayden Harper, (my first cousin once removed on my mother's side). Happy birthday, Ayden. I hope it's a great one.