Returning "Home" to Paintsville

This past weekend turned out to be a special treat as a colleague and I attended the Eastern Kentucky Genealogy and History Conference in Paintsville Kentucky! We not only manned the Kentucky Historical Society information table, but were doubly honored with invitations to speak. This event was already special in a personal way as my Grandmother's roots are very strong in this part of Kentucky. Since I had not been to the area since I was about 13, the excitement of going back was exhilarating. Within my presentation I had already planned on including a couple of slides outlining my family connections to the area in the hopes of finding some Pace, Connelly, Salyers, Musick, Caudill cousins. What I had not planned on was the cousin encounters that took place!

As I have explored previously in older posts, our family left the Magoffin, Floyd and Johnson County areas of Kentucky to re-settle in the Portsmouth Ohio area during the 1920s. The patriarch of the family, Albert Pace, had just died and our family seriously had a lot of mouths to feed. This,of course,would require more opportunities for work,which were just not available at the time. So, my great Grandmother, Fannie Connelly Pace took the family up north to create a new life. The group embraced Ohio and settled there permanently, but we never forgot our Kentucky connections.

Many of the Pace/Connelly descendants still reside in the Portsmouth Ohio area and to my surprise, I had some dear cousin connections beginning Saturday morning! As my colleague and I were setting up our KHS table on Friday evening, I noticed a table that was reserved for the Scioto County Genealogical Society. This piqued my interest immediately, and was eagerly anticipating the arrival of the folks who would be manning this table for the weekend. Ironically, the sweet ladies who arrived to perform this task on Saturday were none other than my close Pace cousins! Carolyn and her daughter Jodi are also descendants of Albert Pace and Fannie and have been our champions for the Pace/Connelly family reunions over the past several decades! In fact, if it was not for Carlolyn's dedication over the years, I'm sure this reunion would have faded away many years ago. These two also continue their faithful work in regards to the family by making several trips to the Paintsville area each year to help with cemetery maintenance and fostering family connections.

 

After our lovely surprise of being able to see each other and catch up with family gossip, we had the honor of meeting another Connelly cousin for the first time! Edward Hazelett was in attendance and related that he too was a descendant of our mutual ancestor, Captain Henry Connelly! At 86, he is quite the charmer and a wealth of information!

For anyone with Eastern Kentucky roots, you should really put this event on your yearly calendars! The folks responsible for this event are wonderful to work with and the attendees are so welcoming.....always hoping to make new cousin connections. Probably the most rewarding aspect of this conference: listening to the stories passed down through the varied generations. Kentucky is known for its strong oral traditions, and this conference is one of those places that allows you to bask in that tradition - transporting you back in time and celebrating our proud heritage!

BTW, as promised to my audience, here is the snap I took of your lovely faces!

For more information, visit their official website: http://ekygc.org/
or...."like" them on Facebook to view the very latest comments and announcements: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eastern-Kentucky-Genealogy-Conference/124723554244747?ref=stream

A Change of Pace

As this time of the year rolls around, a group of faithful family members gather for their yearly reunion up in the Portsmouth Ohio area. They are all descendants from one branch of the Pace family.....a branch that has two distinct histories....one in Eastern Kentucky and one in Southern Ohio.

The Pace family (L-R: Pearl, Albert, Challie, Fannie, Alberta, Vearl,
Dorie, Gracie Pace Adkins with Husband Raleigh Adkins and two children.)

This Pace story is one of hardship, determination, love and faithfulness. It begins in the Eastern Kentucky Mountains - and exemplifies the rich Appalachian spirit that is so often mocked simply because of their humble way of life. Within the areas of Magoffin, Floyd and Johnson Counties, the Pace and Connelly families united with my Great Grandparents, Albert Pace and Fannie Conley (Connelly). It is said that Albert was a descendant of the early pioneer Richard Pace of Jamestown Virginia, and Fannie the descendant of Captain Henry Connelly of the American Revolution. Within the mingled generations it has actually been discovered that both are descendants of the illustrious Captain, but very far back down ye olde family tree - I better not hear any Eastern KY snickering about that one!

Pace homestead in Bear Tree,
Magoffin County Kentucky

This couple produced many children, and several of their descendants were very faithful in interviewing the children of Albert and Fannie. According to some of the family interviews, Albert and Fannie were greatly admired for their hard work and love of family. They made their home near Salyersville, Magoffin County,Kentucky, in a small area known as Bare (Bear) Tree. Growing up, I always heard Great Grandpa Albert referred to as "Prince" Albert Pace. As an adult, this term always perplexed me because I was pretty sure that wasn't his real name. However, caveat observed - I don't have his vital records, so, Prince could really have been part of his name. Ironically, when a cousin passed along this photo of Albert, all fancied up, I wasn't surprised that the "Prince" portion stuck to his memory. Albert did not live to be an old man, but died rather young and with a full head of hair - which I thought was interesting, since he never looked like the Prince Albert tobacco can image - but when looking at a younger image of the real Prince Albert, the "Prince" label made complete sense!

Tale of two Princes: Prince Albert Pace (1874-1923) and Prince Albert of Great Britain

According to the oral accounts, Albert was a man of many trades. He worked in the "oil fields", he worked in the mines, he "stacked whiskey frames", and according to the census, he was a farmer. All of the accounts from his daughters describe a loving and cheerful man. His daughter Sarah remembered him as a very devout man: "Everyday before he walked the many miles to work he would go to a spot behind our little house, beside a big tree. There he would stop, on bended knee and pray for his family. The spot where he prayed was worn bare from the pressure of his knee on the ground. For many years after he died, the place stayed bare and the print of his knee was there. I always thought that meant he was still watching out for me." Unfortunately, Albert, aka "Poppy" as his children called him, died from an unknown illness in 1923 around the age of 51. At the time of his death, he left a pregnant wife, eight children and one grown daughter from a previous marriage with two+/- grandchildren.

Fannie Lou Conley Pace
Cottle Malone (1882-1956)

After the death of Albert, Fannie's life changed completely. She worked as many odd jobs as she could cram into one day while taking care of her children. The memories surrounding these years include the image of her staying up late at night to do mending by the fire as part of her local paid duties. Instead of marrying again right away, Fannie gave birth to Georgie, four months after Albert's death, but then had to bury Georgie, 22 months later. Not long after Georgie's death, Fannie's two oldest boys learned about work up in Ohio and convinced their mother to take the entire family to Wheelersburg, a suburb of Portsmouth Ohio. Historically, this was a common move for many in Eastern Kentucky at the time. Factories were growing by leaps and bounds up along the river, and the number of jobs grew right along with them.

Not long after settling with her young daughters in a small dwelling near Meade, Fannie married their landlord, Bill Cottle. During these years, she also ran a small store, and faithfully attended a local Pentecostal church in the area. After Bill died, she married a man by the name of Malone, but kept working hard until her death in 1956.

Meade Pentecostal Church

Another consistent memory associated with Fannie was her kind nature. All of her children remember her very fondly. And so, after this northern migration, all of her children and descendants stayed north of the river, for the most part. I think we might be the only ones who returned to Kentucky - many decades later. For this reason, the family reunion is always held near the Portsmouth area each summer. If you recognize this clan and wish to join in the reunion fun, just contact me directly and I can give you the particulars.

Many thanks to my Pace cousins for keeping our oral history alive: Carolyn, Jodi, Brenda, Marcia, Bob, etc. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't know the rich heritage that comes from this side of our family. For additional connections to this branch, the connected surnames include: Salyer, Caudill, Musick, Crace/Adkins.

Albert and Fannie's children at a Pace Reunion years ago.

Acts of Honor

As we celebrate Veterans Day this year, I spent some time trying to remember all of the members of my family that spent some time serving in the military. As it turns out, my Father's side of the family is the one that remains heavily devoted to serving our country. From the American Revolution, to the Civil War, to WWII, to the Korean War, to the current conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, this side of the family has had very strong ties to the military.

In remembrance of those who have honorably served our country, I will list their names, and a link back to their entry on FindaGrave, if they have one. As an act of honoring our relatives who served and have already passed, perhaps this is the perfect opportunity give them a small honor on that site? There are a few ways to accomplish this: add the entry if the Veteran has not already been added to the database; add a note or two about their service if you have that information ; add a flag or flower to their entry in honor of this special Holiday. These are our heroes and we should make every effort to keep their memories alive....be sure to celebrate their acts of honor today!

My Military Family:

Daniel Estle 1745-1821: American Revolution - Pennsylvania Militia

Henry Connelly 1751-1840: American Revolution - Captain - North Carolina Cavalry

Henson Mockabee 1792-1880: War of 1812 - Kentucky Militia

Madison Daniels 1838-1913: Civil War - Ohio Infantry

Myron Beyersdoerfer 1907-1979: WWII US Army

Charles C. Daniels 1911-2004: WWII, Korean War - LTC US Army (Grandpa)

Charles C. Daniels Jr. 1939-Present: Army Reserves - LTC (Dad)

Plus some other living relatives (Uncle Jeff, Uncle Bruce, Cousin David, Cousin Bobby, Cousin Eddie, Cousin Harold, etc.). Sadly, as I go through some of the old family photos, I see some other valiant men who served, but I do not know their names.....for all the Veterans out there, we say "Thank You for securing and preserving our freedom!!"

The photo above, is my Dad and Grandpa....we are very proud of these two Lieutenant Colonels! Grandpa was so proud of his only son who chose to follow in his footsteps and as you can see, he was there to celebrate his milestones at every opportunity. Dad still enjoys Veterans Day and will celebrate tonight by visiting the local Veterans in one of the Nursing Homes near his home in Georgetown. Sadly, we lost Grandpa in 2004 at the age of 93. The man who also took incredible delight in the Christmas season chose Christmas Day as his time of departure. Below is a picture of his flag as displayed at his wake in Cincinnati.

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!"
Maya Angelou

CD 11/11/10

Allender Case Update

I finally beat that clever and often evil opponent procrastination by travelling north a few weeks ago to take a closer look at the Connelly Cemetery which I mentioned in my previous post: The Allender Case. I described the location of the cemetery in northeastern Pendleton County as being just within the entrance to Thomas Road up near the town of Mount Auburn. All of this was remembered correctly as we drove right to the cemetery with no trouble.

The cemetery has very easy access when the weeds are down. This time of the year, conditions are prime for exploration. The cemetery is behind a fence, but the fence is along side of the road and does not encircle the stones. The beginning of the fence is pretty even with the beginning of the cemetery, so you can walk around the beginning of the fence, right into the grouping. The trees along the fence obscure the cemetery fairly well from the road, but if you drive slow, and watch for the beginning of the fence on the right-hand side, you should find it relatively easily. The picture below is how the cemetery looks as you come around the fence and head toward the stones.

So, what did we find as we explored? Sadly, we found only one stone fully intact, and it did not belong to a Connelly at all. The stone below is the most prominent stone and the one you can just barely see from the road if you look closely. It belongs to Martha Hart - and I have no idea how she fits into this family.

The other some fragments did answer some of our questions. The two subsequent pictures are of Enola and Elizabeth's stones. As you can see, they have become very hard to read, and will soon be illegible.

The only other stone in the group was that of Margaret Connelly. She was quite a surprise as I later learned she was Thompson (Tobe) Connelly's mother, whose maiden name was Bonar - a very prevalent name in Pendleton County. Her stone, as seen below, was also fragmented, but the bottom half did give the accurate information for her, and was quite handy in making a match.

I did not find Thompson Connelly in this cemetery as the family lore had stated. Not only had Pearl Allender's note said all three were buried there, but the Barton Papers also repeated the same information. Of course, the Barton Papers are interviews of local people, so the same story could have been spread among the Allender clan. I would like to go back and take a look at the Connelly section of those papers to see what oral tradition existed among that family unit.

I would also like to go back and do a full exploratory analysis of the cemetery site. Based on the fact that there are two clumps of trees together in this level part of the field that have never been plowed, I suspect that the cemetery is rather large, with many stones broken off and resting just under the soil surface. Of course, that would involve talking to the land owners prior to heading to their cemetery with shovels. As a reminder, I don't necessarily need permission to explore like that as the family buried there is technically related to me, and under Kentucky law, the family has a right to enter and maintain the space. However, the people of Pendleton County are a very nice bunch, and it would be a more rewarding experience if the locals were involved and informed ahead of time.

I went ahead and added this cemetery to FindaGrave earlier today. I also stumbled upon Thompson Connelly's gravestone in Illinois. I am pretty certain this is the same guy based on the birth date, other research entries and census records from Pendleton County, so I added the photo of him to the FindaGrave entry in the hopes that the family he created with his second wife will find him and get back in touch.

Based on the sad condition of the cemetery I am very glad we took a trip up there this year. At least what is left has been recorded. It will not be long before they fade away along with the others.

CD 10/16/10

Sepia Saturday - The Allender Case

The title for this week's Sepia Saturday post is a small play on words. I refer to both a physical photo case as well as a bit of a mystery. My maternal great grandmother, Nellie Cox Beyersdoerfer, of Pendleton County Kentucky, was the keeper of the family photos. She had a ton, and some from the mid-nineteenth century. Among her plethora of tintypes and carte de visites is only one set in a double case, reminiscent of the daguerreotype or ambrotype presentations. This sixth plate sized double tintype portrait of a young couple came with a note from one of Nellie's unmarried cousins written in 1958. Pearl Allender, the author of the note, would have been the niece of the female subject. According to Pearl's note as seen here, the subjects were Tobe Conley, his wife Elizabeth Allender and their daughter Enola. The note includes Elizabeth's parentage (James Jackson Allender and Mary Stout) as well as the sad report that baby Enola died not long after this photo was taken. Pearl also goes as far as identifying the burial place of all three subjects. The location she gives is described in typical country style, by listing the current farm owners: "along side of road between Roy Biddles & George Norris." Thankfully, my mother who is from the area, had grown up knowing exactly where this was, because Nellie took her on little family field trips, detailing important locations - I like to think of her as the equivalent of a family history GPS system. She knew where each little event happened and was quick to sound an alarm instructing you to "turn here!"

In modern terms, this little family cemetery along side of the road would be on Thomas Road, just after it forks off of Hickory Grove Road, which is off of Highway number 10. The cemetery is nothing more than a farming family's plot, under an old tree grove, as owned years ago by the Conley or Connelly clan. I cannot locate a submission for this cemetery on Findagrave, and any pictures I took of the stones years ago are probably sitting on undeveloped 35mm film rolls. So, hopefully, when I head to the Kentucky Wool Festival in Falmouth in two weeks (October 1-3), I will head up the hill to snap some photos for submission.....if they can still be read. It's been years since I've seen them, but I will try nonetheless.

The case as seen above is one of those embossed faux leather pieces with a detailed scotch thistle in the middle on both sides - with the family name of Connelly, I'm not surprised at the motif choice! The portraits themselves are beautifully crisp and clear after so many years. Elizabeth is holding something in her hand to attract Enola's attention while the photo is being taken. Post production meant someone adding a little gold paint to the object, thus obstructing our view enough to prevent identification. Whatever it was, it must have worked because Enola is only blurred a little bit.

Since these beautiful portraits never made it to my original web site, this is the first time they are being shown to the public, and as such, required further study as usual. Based on Elizabeth's style of dress, I was guessing Civil War era. I went back to my records to determine her age range at the time of the war, and this is the breakdown for the family:

Children of James Jackson Allender and Mary Stout:

Elizabeth b. 1835

Jane b. 1837

Angelina b. 1839

George b. 1842

William James b. 1846

Charles b. 1853

Benjamin b. 1859

As the oldest, her clothes and age would put me in right range, but knowing the little girl died, I decided to head in that direction. Little Enola Jane Conley or Connelly was born in 1857 and died in the fall of 1859. While digging for this information, I also came across some other info about her parents. Tobe was actually named Thompson and the former was merely his nickname. The couple was married October 9th, 1856, and sadly, Elizabeth followed Enola to the grave within the next year at around the age of 24. Apparently, Enola was Tobe and Lizzie's only child, and from other relative interviews from the 1940s and 50s, Tobe had to have followed his small family in death, since they are all buried at the family farm.

However, as I was reviewing the basics from my own Gedcom, I came across another researcher who claimed Tobe went on to marry another woman in the fall of 1861 and later moved all of them to Illinois. Tobe and Eliza Ann Fryer's subsequent children have been listed, with their first child being a little girl - whom they named Elizabeth.

I always find it intriguing when our family lore can be mostly spot on when the factual records are researched, but can then stray completely off course in some instances. The people reporting that Tobe and Elizabeth and Enola were all buried on the Connelly farm were nieces and nephews of Elizabeth, and not children, which might make a difference here. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I seem to remember not being able to find Tobe's grave among the others, but as proven with the story above, our memories can easily play tricks on us - the proof of our mettle lies in backing up those memories with documentation. I hope to provide the photos of that little cemetery within the next couple of weeks.

Until next time,

CD

9/18/2010

As a side note, I loved the flip side of Pearl's note....it was a receipt from the local grocers. Her bread was 48 cents, but she was credited for eggs worth $2.25. I love those little snippets of history....they too give us little insights.

For Those Who Mother Us...

In honor of Mother's Day, I pulled out this old family favorite from the Beyersdoerfer Collection. All of these women are Beyersdoerfer mothers holding, what appears to be, their children of near identical age. The photo was taken sometime around 1915 on the Beyersdoerfer family farm in Bracken County, Kentucky. I am very rusty on which woman is which, but I'll give it a shot: from R-L: Aunt Addie (Hiles) Beyersdoerfer, Aunt Rose (Beyersdoerfer) Pangburn, Aunt Nora (Beyersdoerfer) Reuss, Great Grandma Nellie (Cox) Beyersdoerfer, Can't remember the name of the lady with the cloth on her head - could this be Aunt Gladys - the wife of Uncle Charlie Beyersdoerfer?, Aunt Celia (Beyersdoerfer) Gosney. Needless to say, it must have been a long winter to have all of these babies born in the same season!

As an added highlight to this year's Mother's Day weekend, we are also celebrating the 90th birthday of my grandmother Bessie Louise (Pace) Daniels. She was born in Magoffin County Kentucky to Albert and Fannie (Connelly) Pace. Not only did she raise four of her own children, but in 1988 she (along with Grandpa Charles) was named Foster Parent of the year in the state of Ohio. Over the years she cared for over 60 foster babies.....and I mean babies - some newborn to a few months old! She's still going strong these days....going to church, shopping, and family functions.....and still playing mother to her Shih-Tzu - Sarah Jane.....you go Grandma!

Of course I mustn't forget my own Momma, Pamela (Watts).....the dearest, bestest and most loving Mother a kid could have! And believe me, my brother and I gave her fits while growing up! She too is still mothering us all the time while being very active in her church and tending to her half acre perennial garden. Being the daughter of farmers means she loves this time of year that allows her to be in the garden getting those fingers dirty!

So Happy Mother's Day to all those special mothers out there - those dear mothers of the past, or the dear ones of the present......we couldn't have done it without you!

C

5/9/2010