Happy 223rd Statehood Admission Day, Kentucky!! - June 1, 1792

I have been a little homesick for family lately so I guess I will have to post on the beautiful state of Kentucky today. I lived in Kentucky from 2001-2013. I met my husband at Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky. Our only child was born in Campbellsville, Kentucky. Campbellsville is the geographic center of the state of Kentucky so I thought it may be a good idea for Kentucky to be to focus of today's blog post.

This day, 223 years ago, Kentucky became a state. At that time, there were about 100,000 residents. But since then, the state has blossomed to about 4,339,367 residents. Of those residents, I am most likely related to quite a few. My mother's mother's family hails from Jackson, Breathitt County, Kentucky. My father's maternal grandparents also hail from Wayne and Pulaski Counties in south central Kentucky. I have many family members who still reside in this beautiful state today.

Map of Kentucky from the actual survey of Kentucky by Elihu Barker in 1793.
Royalty free provided by Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.

Here are a few of my relatives that lived in Kentucky around the time Kentucky became a state:

Gilbert Elam was born around 1794 in Wythe County, Virginia. He and his family, including 12 children, moved to Morgan County, Kentucky sometime in the 1830's. Gilbert Elam was my maternal 4th Great-grandfather. 

John Back was born on November 19, 1774 in Culpeper County, Virginia. He moved with his family to Breathitt County, Kentucky, in 1836. John Back, Sr. was my maternal 5th great-grandfather. 

William Koger was born around 1784 in Augusta, Cumberland County, Virginia. He and his wife were married in Wayne County, Kentucky, on 22 Aug 1810. Their exact date of migration to Wayne County is unknown at this time. William Koger was my paternal 5th great-grandfather.

William Logsdon was born around 1736 in Virginia. He and his family settled in what would later become Nelson County, Kentucky, before the birth of their daughter Mary Logsdon, in 1786. Mary Nelson was the wife of Rev. Hiram Gregory. Hiram and Mary were my paternal 5th great-grandparents.

Here are a few databases that you may find useful in finding you Kentucky ancestors: 

FamilySearch.org (Free)

Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960

Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979

Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954

Kentucky Deaths and Burials, 1843-1970

Kentucky Death Records, 1911-1961

Kentucky Probate Records, 1727-1990

Kentucky Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865

Kentucky Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865

Kentucky Confederate Pension Applications, 1912-1950

Ancestry.com ($$)

Kentucky, Birth Records, 1852-1910

Kentucky, Birth Index, 1911-1999

Kentucky Marriages, 1802-1850

Kentucky Marriages, 1851-1900

Kentucky, Marriage Records, 1852-1914

Kentucky, Marriage Index, 1973-1999

Kentucky, Death Records, 1852-1953

Kentucky Death Index, 1911-2000

Kentucky, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1890

Kentucky, Land Grants, 1782-1924

Kentucky, Tax Lists, 1799-1801

Kentucky pioneer and court records

Kentucky, Naturalization Records, 1906-1991

Kentucky, Confederate Pension Records, 1912-1930

Other Websites Helpful in Kentucky Research:

Cyndislist Kentucky Page

FamilySearch Wiki

Ancestry Wiki

KYGenWEb

Kentucky Genealogical Society

Kentucky Department of Library and Archives

Wordless Wednesday

Photo of the Koger Family taken in the early 1950s.
Courtesy of my own collection.

Travel Tuesday

I had never realized how much my great-grandparents traveled until I started going through Grandma Koger's photo albums recently. I found pictures from all over the US and a few foreign countries. On a trip to Arizona in September of 1952 to visit their son, Ralph, my great-grandparents took a trip to Mexico. Here are a few photos that I found that were taken in Nogales, Mexico and made into postcards.

Grandma Koger in Mexico

Grandpa Koger in Mexico

My Great-Grandparents while in Mexico in 1952

My great-grandmother, Ina Koger, also traveled to the Holy Land a couple of times.  Most of the photos taken on her trips were put into a sticky photo album and they can not be removed without damaging them. The following are a few postcards she purchased while on her trips.

Postcard of the Palace of Knossos on the Isle of Crete.

Postcard from Corinth

Postcard from Jericho

Postcard from Rhodes

Postcard Overlooking Jerusalem

All Pictures are courtesy of the author's collection. 

Today's Stroll Through Time - Birthdays - Week 2 - May 10 - 16

Sunday, May 10th, 2015

Ralph Wendell Koger (10 May 1931 - 15 Sep 1956) - Age 25
Great Uncle
Happy 84th Birthday!

Monday, May 11th, 2015

Grace Lucille (Friend) Stubbs (11 May 1909 - 12 May 1993) - Age 84
Great-Grandaunt
Happy 106th Birthday!

Tuesday, May 12th, 2015

Carrie Vernice Ash (12 May 1884 - 18 Nov 1885) - Age 1
4th Cousin 4x Removed
Happy 139th Birthday!

Wednesday, May 13th, 2015

Artie Mince Corder (13 May 1868 - 10 Jun 1934) - Age 66
2nd Great-Grandaunt
Happy 147th Birthday!

Thursday, May 14th, 2015

Charles Frank Stokes (14 May 1885 - 8 Jul 1962) - Age 77
Great-Granduncle
Happy 130th Birthday!

Friday, May 15th, 2015

Daniel Errol Traxler (15 May 1889 - 30 Sep 1937) - Age 48
3rd Cousin 4x Removed
Happy 126th Birthday!

Saturday, May 16th, 2015

Benjamin Franklin Elam (16 May 1856 - 7 Nov 1922) - Age 66
2nd Great-Grandfather
Happy 159th Birthday!

Disclosure - This post was written for the main purpose of finding long lost cousins. If any of these names sound familiar please feel free to contact me or leave a comment on this post.

Have a great day! Go celebrate life with someone you love!

Happy Mother's Day!!

A Photo of my brother and I, with our mother. Taken 31 Oct 1986.
Courtesy of author's own collection.

I have been thinking about how I wanted to celebrate Mother's Day here on my blog and I think the best thing I can do is talk about some of the mothers in my family tree. Here is a picture of my brother and I with our mother.

The first mother I am going to showcase is Sarah Jane (Dickerson) Hoppes. She was the mother of 12 children. She was born on July 31, 1869, in Indiana and died on October 25, 1967, in Marion County, Indiana, at the age of 98. She is one of my brick walls. I have been unable to find out much about her parents and family. Sarah Jane Dickerson was my paternal 2nd great-grandmother.

The next mother I am going to showcase is my maternal great-grandmother, Carrie Evaline (Elam) Back. Carrie was born on Apr 27, 1897, in Morgan County, Kentucky. She married Junius Back on May 19, 1915 in Morgan County, Kentucky. She was the mother of 11 children all of which lived long lives and 5 of which are still living today. The first child to pass away was in 2005 at the age of 76. Grandma Back lived to be 96 years old when she died on December 24, 1993. I was only 8 years old at the time of her death, but I still have many wonderful memories of her. She was a sweet and beautiful lady.

In contrast to the above mentioned mothers of large families I am going to mention another great grandmother, Ina Leah (Corder) Koger. She was born on October 5, 1909 and died on September 7, 2006 at the age of 96. Some of her story was detailed on a previous blog, Throwback Thursday. Grandma Koger had 3 children. Her first son Earl Winifred Koger was born and died on October 14, 1929, living only a few hours. He had something wrong with his heart. Her second son, Ralph Wendell Koger was born on May 10, 1931, in Fowler, Benton County, Indiana. Ralph served in the military and traveled the globe while serving this country. He went to Arizona, England, and Northern Africa, just to name a few. He loved photography and took pictures during his travels. He loved old cars. He purchased one when he got back home in 1956. He and my grandfather remodeled Ralph's 1932 Chevy.  On September 5, 1956, Ralph purchased an insurance policy on this vehicle. 10 days later he gets into this vehicle and never comes home. He sadly crashed not too far from his home.  He was only 25 years old. Grandma Koger's only daughter, my grandmother, is still living.  Sometimes I sit and wonder what she thought and how she felt every time Mother's Days came around. Was it a celebration or a time of mourning?

As I sit here writing this post, I contemplate my own feelings about Mother's Day.  On one hand I celebrate the fact that I am a mother of a handsome 7 year old boy. But on the other hand, I mourn for the children I have not had. My dream was always to be the mother of a large family, much like the first two mothers I showcased. However, I can relate a little more to Grandma Koger as I struggle with infertility issues. That being said, I appreciate everything all of the mothers that have come before me have done to shape who I have become. I will leave you now, to go celebrate with your mothers. Tell you mother, grandmother, aunt, wife, sister, or daughter, how much you love and appreciate them. Without mothers we would have no society, no freedom, no love, and no humanity.

Happy Mother's Day to All Who Mother!

Silly Saturdays! :)

I think for today I am going to try and lighten the mood a bit. I was mistaken a bit in a previous post. I always thought my great-grandfather Edgar Koger was a quiet and serious man. At least that is the image my 6 year old brain cooked up. But boy was I wrong. I was going through the collection of pictures that I received around Christmas time this past year and came across a few pictures that my great-uncle Ralph took or was in. They were wonderful. My uncle Ralph only lived 25 years, but in those years he did so much. He fought in the military and traveled the world. He was an airplane mechanic during the Korean war. 

Out of all the pictures in this collection a few stuck out because they were a little odd. Someone was doing something silly in each of them. So here they are. 

Photo of Ralph Koger and His Pit Crew. Take Circa 1951-1952.
Courtesy of author's own collection.

This first picture is a large print that was taken of Ralph and his crew buddies while in the Air Force. He enlisted in the Air Force on March 13, 1951. He was stationed first at Sheppard Air Field in Wichita Falls, Texas. He was transferred to Tucson, Arizona on January 2, 1952. While stationed at both locations his parents went to visit him. These following are pictures that were taken while on these two trips. 

Koger Family Circa 1952.
Courtesy of author's own collection.

Grandpa Koger Picking His Nose.
Courtesy of author's own collection.

Grandpa Koger Acting Silly.
Courtesy of author's own collection.

While stationed in Arizona Ralph and his parents decided to take a side trip to Mexico where they saw a bull fight. 

Bull Fight in Mexico.
Courtesy of author's own collection.

Photo of the Koger Family Circa 1952.
Courtesy of author's own collection.

Ralph Koger and his crew flew to England and Northern Africa during the Korean War. He was in England during the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June of 1953.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the funny pictures I have run across lately in going through my great grandmother's photo albums. Have a great weekend and Mother's Day!

To view full size of any of the included pictures just click on the picture and it will show the image in its original size. 

Throwback Thursday

Welcome to my new blog!!

I decided to start off with a picture of my paternal great-grandparents and myself taken in 1989. This photo was taken just after my 4th Birthday. That year Grandpa Edgar Koger and Grandma Ina Leah Corder Koger held my birthday party at their home.

Grandma Ina made a beautiful cake for me that year. Grandma was a babysitter, quilter, cake decorator, gardener, and avid watcher of Wheel-of-Fortune and Jeopardy.  I had sleep-overs at her house frequently growing up. My fondest memory was sitting in one of her closets for hours with a shoebox full of her old diaries, reading to my hearts content. Sadly, I wan't able to rescue these diaries before they were disposed of after her death. I remember she would detail the days weather, who she talked to on the phone or wrote to, if she received any letters, special family events that happened, if one of her grandkids came to visit, and so much more. Grandma passed away exactly 4 weeks after my husband and I got married in 2006. I received one of her beautiful quilts as a wedding present and it will be cherished for the rest of my life. Ina Leah Corder was born on 5 Oct 1909, in Monticello, Wayne, Kentucky. She was the 5th of 11 children born to James Granville Corder and Arbanna Bell.  She lived in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio during her lifetime. Her and her husband moved to Hamilton, Butler, Ohio, in the 1950's and lived there until her death on 7 Sep 2006. She suffered from Dementia for more than 10 years before her death at the age of 96.

Grandpa Edgar died just a couple years after this photo was taken so I didn't get to know him much sadly. I do remember him being very quiet.  A funny oddity about him is that he did not like stringy melted cheese. Edgar Koger was born on 14 Oct 1904, in Bell Hill, Wayne, Kentucky. He was the 4th of 6 children born to Calvin Corder Koger and Predence Coffey. He died on 18 Oct 1991 at his home in Hamilton, Butler County, Ohio.

Both of these grandparents were instrumental in their community and well loved. Grandma made many baby blankets for most of the children born into her church, Bible Way Missionary Baptist Church, in Hamilton, Ohio.

Hope you enjoyed meeting my GREAT-Grandparents, Edgar and Ina.