Digging Up Your Family

Well, Ain’t That Something!

I found something very interesting today while filling in the blanks on my tree:  my father and his adoptive father are third cousins once removed (I think I have that right!).  Wow!

 

My father’s birth family:

Roger Dale Ray (Robert Jewell Vincent, my father)

Elbert Tracey “Shorty” Vincent (his father)

Lucy Johnson Breedlove (his grandmother)

Margaret Stringer (his great-grandmother)

Gray Stringer (his 2nd great-grandmother)

Lawrence Stringer and Sallie Pitt (his 3rd great-grandparents)

 

My father’s adoptive family:

Roger Dale Ray (Robert Jewell Vincent, my father)

Omer Ellis Haynes "Buster" Ray (his adoptive father)

John Wilson Ray (his adoptive grandfather)

Margaret Miller (his adoptive great-grandmother)

Anzeline Stringer (his adoptive 2nd great-grandmother)

Lawrence Stringer and Sallie Pitt (his 3rd great-grandparents)

 

This also makes Anzeline Stringer my father’s 2nd great-grand aunt. 

And it makes my father his own 4th cousin through adoption.

It gave me the giggles.  He was adopted into his own family!

Martin Riley Vincent and Lucy Breedlove Marriage Record

Whew!  After searching for a while I was able to find the marriage record for Martin Riley Vincent and Lucy Johnson Breedlove.  I knew at some point it would be available somewhere!  I found it at Family Search.  I have transcribed it below.

There are some questions raised with this record.  The most glaring goes back to information presented to me by family that Martin Riley’s last name was originally “Vinson”.  As you can see below, he signed his named “Martin Riley Vinson”, not “Vincent”.  Another question raised is Lucy’s mother’s name.  By all records her mother is listed as Margaret Stringer.  Below her mother’s name is listed as “Kate”.  I have seen people who have her mother named as “Margaret K Stringer”.  So it’s possible that her mother may have gone by Kate, rather than Margaret or a variation.

Male

1. Date of Marriage-November 10th 1902
2. Name of Groom-Martin Riley Vinson
3. Residence of Groom- Muhlenberg Co. Ky.
4. Age of Groom-20 yr.
5. Number of Marriage of Groom-First
6. Occupation-Farmer
7. Birthplace of Groom-Muhlenberg Co. Ky.
8. Name and Birthplace of Groom’s Father-Iaasac Vincson(ent) Muhlenberg Co. Ky.
9. Name and Birthplace of Groom’s Mother-Emmie Stewart " " "

Bride

1. Name of Bride-Lucy Breedlove
2. Residence of Bride-McLean Co. Ky.
3. Age of Bride-21 yr.
4. Number of Marriage of Bride-First
5. Birthplace of Bride-McLean Co. Ky.
6. Name and Birthplace of Bride’s Father-John Breedlove Mclean Co. Ky.
7. Name and Birthplace of Bride’s Mother-Kate (~) " " "
8. Remarks-

To be married at- Grooms Residence –on the- 10th –day of- November – 190- 2.

I certify that the above is correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Witness my hand, this-10th–day of-November–190-2.

Martin Riley Vinson

Attest:

Ed S Wood–Clerk

Muhlenberg–County Court

By Fred Head D.C.

MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE

THIS IS TO CERTIFY, That on the-10–day of-November–190-2, the RITES OF MARRIAGE were legally solemnized by me between-Martin Riley Vinson–AND-Lucy Breedlove–at Isaac Vinson –in the County of-Muhlenberg–in the presence of-E.G. Raigon  Isaac Vinson

Signed,

J.V. McClearn M.G.

Benjamin A Moore

I have been skirting around writing about Benjamin A Moore in hopes of finding more information about him, but unfortunately I haven’t been able to…yet.  All of the records about him leave more questions and hopefully I will find out more soon!

Benjamin A Moore was born in Kentucky, most likely McLean County, in December 1863 according to the 1900 census.  There is a question as to who his parents are, but pretty much all census records, and his death certificate, list Margaret Stringer as his mother.

The 1870 census is the first time Benjamin appears.  He is found living in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  He is listed as Benjamin Stringer, age 6 years.  The adults living in the household are Joseph C Moore (farmer, age 54 years) and Elizabeth Moore (age 53 years).  Elizabeth Moore is Elizabeth Pitt (maiden name) who was married first to Gray Stringer, second to Joseph C Moore.  The other children living in the household are Elizabeth’s children from her marriage to Gray: Virginia Stringer (age 18 years), Sallie Stringer (age 16 years) and John Stringer (age 13 years).  Based on this census it would appear that Benjamin is also one of Elizabeth’s children with Gray.  But we can’t stop here!  It’s about to get interesting! 

I have searched and searched, but I have been unable to find Benjamin on the 1880 census.  I don’t know which name he went by (you’ll understand shortly) or if he was even in Kentucky at the time.  Looking up “Benjamin Moore” born around the same time in Kentucky gave me a lot of records, but none appear to be him right off. 

(note:  Elizabeth is listed on the 1880 census as widowed and she is living alone.  Elizabeth’s daughter Margaret Stringer is on the 1880 census with her husband John J Breedlove and their children, though I question whether Erma/Emma is actually a Breedlove based on her age.  Benjamin is about 16 years of age at the time, not living with either of them.)

There is, of course, no census for 1890.

In 1900 Benjamin is found on the census living in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  He is now listed as Ben A Moore, a farmer, age 36 years.  This is the census that tells us he was born in December of 1863.  This census also lists him as single.  He is living with Elizabeth Moore, age 82 years (birth recorded as December of 1817) and widowed.  I’m not sure what last name had been recorded for Elizabeth first, but “Moore” is written over whatever it was very boldly.  Benjamin is listed as Elizabeth’s grandson on this census.  So this is the first time we see him recorded as Moore rather than Stringer. 

I am supposing that Elizabeth had passed away prior to the 1910 census enumeration, since I cannot find her anywhere.  Benjamin is found in 1910 living in…you guessed it…Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  He was originally listed as Benjamin A Moore, but Moore was scratched out and his name was recorded as Benjamin A Breedlove.  He is 47 years of age and listed as single.  He is listed as the step-son of John J Breedlove (head of household, age 62 years) which would make him the son of John’s wife Margaret Breedlove (née Stringer, age 67 years).  So though the 1900 census showed us that Elizabeth is not his mother, this census shows us that her daughter Margaret is his mother.  Also living in the household are George W Lee (age 63 years) and Sarah Lee (age 64 years).  (note:  George and Sarah were living with their family next door to Elizabeth and Benjamin in 1900)

On the 1920 census Benjamin is living in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  He is listed once again as Ben A Moore, age 56 years, single, a farmer and head of household.  Listed directly beneath his name is Margaret Breedlove.  She is shown as 76 years of age, widowed and mother of head of household, Benjamin.  Also listed in the household is Virginia Gross, age 67 years, single and the sister of the mother of head of household.  I believe this is Virginia Stringer that was listed on the 1870 census, too. 

In 1930 Benjamin is found on the census living by himself in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  Margaret had passed away in 1924.  Benjamin is listed as Ben Moore, age 66 years, single and head of household.  Interestingly enough the Oscar Gross family is living next door to him.  I’m not sure if they are related to his Aunt Virginia or not, though.

I am awaiting the release of the 1940 census in April 2012.

Benjamin a Moore died on May 18, 1944 in Island, McLean County, Kentucky.  His cause of death was congestive heart failure due to hypertrophy and myocarditis.  He also suffered from aortic stenosis and hypertension.  I cannot make out the name of the informant, but they did not know his date of birth and his age is listed as “about 80”.  To me the last name of the informant looks like “Plain”.  In 1910, 1920 and 1930 there were several Plain families that were his neighbors.  He was still single at the time of his death.  His mother is listed as Margaret Breedlove, which leads me to believe that the informant was not a family member since death records ask for the mother’s maiden name.  His father is listed as Joseph Moore.  Yes, you read that right.  His father is listed as the man his grandmother was married to on the 1870 census.  I’m not sure if this is correct, however.  I can’t imagine why it would be wrong.  He obviously took JCM’s last name.  But then again, perhaps he saw JCM as a father figure?  Unless someone knows more about him we may never know.   

An interesting sidenote about his death certificate is that the funeral home, Tucker Funeral Home, is listed in Central City, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.  However, when I called them they explained that they actually had several funeral homes, one in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky and Central City was only put on the death certificate because that is the main office.  I also asked of Tucker Funeral Home about the place of burial only listed as Station.  I was given the phone number for the undertaker of Station Baptist Church Cemetery in McLean County, Kentucky.  When I called he told me that off the top of his head he couldn’t remember that name on a headstone.  He said that he would walk out there any other day to check for me, but the wind is blowing hard and it’s snowing there right now.  I told him not to worry about it, that in Spring I would try to get up there and look for myself.  He then told me that Island, McLean County, Kentucky used to be called Station way back in the way back and that there were several cemeteries there.  I looked on Find A Grave, but couldn’t find Benjamin anywhere.

I find it awfully sad that no one had bothered to put all of his records together before.  My mom pointed out that he appears to have been single with no children his whole life, so no one would have been searching for him anyway.  That thought is terribly depressing.  Hopefully someone out is actually looking for him and just wasn’t able to find him before.

(another note concerning the 1880 census: though Elizabeth was living alone, her daughter Sallie had apparently married a man by the name Bowman and their family lived next door to Elizabeth.  Benjamin is not living with them.  John Stringer is living with his family on the other side of the Bowman's and Benjamin is not living with them, either.  I’m going to continue searching for him, however.)

Elizabeth Pitt

My relationship to Elizabeth Pitt:

Me

Roger Dale Ray (Robert Jewell Vincent, father)

Elbert “Shorty” Tracey Vincent (grandfather)

Lucy Johnson Breedlove (g-grandmother)

Margaret Stringer (gg-grandmother)

Elizabeth Pitt (ggg-grandmother)

 

(note:  I found all of these records on Ancestry)

 

Elizabeth Pitt was born December of 1817 in Kentucky to parents Joseph R Pitt (1762-1836) and Elizabeth Waller (1776-1839).  She more than likely was born in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky given that in 1810 her parents were living in Isle of Wight County, Virginia and had moved to Lewisburg, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky by 1820. 

 

Elizabeth married Gray Stringer on December 28, 1837 in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.

 

I can’t find them on the 1840 census, so they may have been living with relatives, possibly Gray’s parents.

 

In 1850 the Stringer family lived in Subdivision 2, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.  Gray, age 41 years, was a farmer.  Elizabeth, age 32 years, kept house.  The children in the household were America (age 11 years), Lucy (age 9 years) and Margaret (age 7 years).  There was also a young man named Balis Stringer (age 15 years) listed as a laborer.  I haven’t yet figured out how he is related to the family.  If he were a son he would have been listed before America.  Since he is last on the family list he may be a nephew.

 

Gray died in 1857 leaving Elizabeth a widow.  In 1860 she is found living in McLean County, Kentucky.  Here she is 40 years of age.  The children living in the household with her are Virginia (age 8 years), Sally M (age 6 years) and John S (age 3 years).  Also living with the family are John D Beasley (farmer, age 20 years) and Lucy E Beasley (age 18 years).  I think that Lucy may be Elizabeth’s daughter, but I couldn’t find a marriage record for Lucy Stringer and John Beasley.  I did, however, find a marriage record for America Stringer and Johnson Beasley.  I thought that maybe America had passed and her husband remarried to her sister, but there are several America Beasleys on later census records who are widowed.  Any one of them could be her!

 

The 1870 census shows Elizabeth remarried and living in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  Her husband Joseph C Moore is shown as head of household, a farmer and age 54 years.  Elizabeth is listed as 53 years of age.  The children living in the household are Virginia Stringer (age 18 years), Sallie Stringer (age 16 years), John Stringer (age 13 years) and Benjamin Stringer (age 3 years).  We will find in a later census record that Benjamin Stringer is her grandson.  We will also end up being very confused by Benjamin Stringer.  Also, I haven’t found a marriage record for Elizabeth to Joseph.

 

I assume by 1880 Joseph C Moore has passed.  Elizabeth is shown living in District 19, Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky by herself.  She is listed as Elizabeth W Moore, age 58 years.

 

No census for 1890…of course.

 

In 1900 Elizabeth is head of household in District 98, Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  Her last name is not legible at all, so I don’t know if she remarried after Joseph C Moore died.  She is listed as 82 years of age and widowed.  Living with her is Ben A Moore, her grandson, age 36 years.  Ben A Moore is the same person as Benjamin Stringer listed in the 1870 census.  If we go back and look at the records for Elizabeth’s daughter Margaret then we will see that Benjamin is her son, but I don’t know who his father was.

 

Elizabeth Pitt died sometime after the 1900 census, but I am not sure when.  I cannot find any death or burial records for her.  Her parents are buried in McLean County, Kentucky, but she doesn't appear to be buried in the same cemetery.  Like I said, I don’t know if she ever remarried after Joseph died, nor do I know if she and Joseph were actually married or if they were common law married.  Either way, I haven’t yet found her grave.

My Breedlove Line

I’m wading my way through the Hope Perry Breedlove book slowly.  It has a ton of information and I am trying to make sense of it all (lucky for me Joni Breedlove, who transcribed the book, offered to answer any questions I may have, so I will probably be taking her up on that soon!  Thanks, Joni!).  I’m going to post what I have found and I will get into the details at a later date.  I will take this down as far as Lucy Breedlove, my great-grandmother.

So far I have gone back as far as my 6th great-grandfather, Thomas Breedlove, born roughly about 1730 possibly in Essex County, Virginia.  I say “roughly” and “possibly” because the book doesn’t come right out and say it, but it seems that many of the Breedloves in Virginia were, at some point, in Essex County.  I haven’t figured out who Thomas’ parents are yet, though I can see in most places people have them listed as Charles Breedlove and Mary Parr.  Like I said, though, I haven’t really gotten down and dirty into the Breedlove Genealogy Book yet.  Thomas married Sarah Broaddus (Broadus), daughter of Richard Broaddus and Bridget Vaughan.  For the record, I can see on Ancestry that they married, however it doesn’t tell me exactly when they married.  Thomas and Sarah had the following (known) children: John Breedlove, Charles Breedlove, Thomas Breedlove, Cornelius Breedlove, William Breedlove, Philip Breedlove, Benjamin Breedlove and Madison Breedlove.  Thomas Breedlove died about 1795 in, I believe, Albemarle County, Virginia.

To save time I am going to follow my line of Breedloves from here.  Mentions of others will be made, however.

My 5th great-grandfather William Breedlove was born about 1762 (according to his marriage record) in Albemarle County, Virginia.  William married Mary Watts, daughter of David Watts, Jr and Sarah Unknown.  William and Sarah had several children, one of which was my 4th great-grandfather, David Watts Breedlove.  William Breedlove died about 1838 in Simpson County, Kentucky.

UPDATE:  I believe Sarah Unknown was actually Sarah Eliza Bush.  Sarah Eliza Bush was born about 1735, married David Watts and had several children, including a Mary Watts born in 1865-the same year my Mary Watts was born.

David Watts Breedlove was born about 1786 in Albemarle County, Virginia.  He married Nancy Breedlove, who I believe was his cousin.  David and Nancy had several children including my 3rd great-grandfather, Cornelius Vaughan Breedlove.  David Watts Breedlove died about 1836 in Simpson County, Kentucky.

Cornelius Vaughan Breedlove was born in 1812 in North Carolina, according to census records.  Cornelius married first Celia Brown on January 31, 1836 in Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky.  He married second Elizabeth Crissman on August 15, 1845 in Todd County, Kentucky.  He had no (known) children with Celia.  Cornelius and Elizabeth had the following children:  William F Breedlove, Jesse T Breedlove, Henry J Breedlove, Mary A Breedlove, John J Breedlove, Sarah Breedlove, Nancy F Breedlove.  Cornelius Vaughan Breedlove died in 1880 in McLean County, Kentucky. (note:  I can find the marriage records on Family Search, but not on Ancestry)

My great-great-grandfather John J Breedlove was born in Todd County, Kentucky on August 7, 1848.  He married Margaret Stringer *about* 1870.  John and Margaret had the following children (possibly more): Mary Jane Breedlove, Ona L Breedlove, William M Breedlove, Lucy Johnson Breedlove and Drusie Breedlove.  John J Breedlove died October 12, 1912 in McLean County, Kentucky.

Lucy Johnson Breedlove, my great-grandmother, was born October 13, 1881 in McLean County, Kentucky.  She married Martin Riley Vincent on November 10, 1902.  Lucy and Martin Riley had the following children: Floella (Ella) Vincent, Edna M Vincent, Lillie Oleta Vincent, Elbert “Shorty” Tracey Vincent, Connie E Vincent, Everett Vincent, Vernie Vincent and Garland Kenneth Vincent (I think I got all of those right!).  Lucy Johnson Breedlove died February 14, 1971 in Stewart County, Tennessee.

A story I read somewhere online (which I cannot remember where I read it, or if it was even this family…but it is stuck in my head as a Breedlove story-why oh why didn’t I save it?) was something along these lines:  the father had at one point beat his son so severely that the son ran away to Tennessee.  Later in life the son was killed when his car hit a tree during a police chase while he was running moonshine.  Is that the Breedlove family?  I hope someone will come forward and let me know!

I have printed out the Hope Perry Breedlove book so that I can highlight my line and hopefully give more detail.  If you are researching the Breedlove family you should really get this manuscript.  It is a wealth of information.  It was written back about 1965, and an updated version is being written now, but it may take several years before it is finished.

Hopefully if I have something wrong on this someone will let me know!

Margaret Stringer

I have been putting off writing about Margaret Stringer day after day because there are so many odd things about this woman that I can’t make sense of it all.  And I want to blame the census records for this, but I don’t know if that’s the problem I am having.  The thing is, I can’t find her on the 1860 or the 1870 census.  At all.  Nothing, really.  I don’t know which name to look for, actually.  As in, I have looked for several names she may have gone by, but I can’t find any of them.  Of course, it could be a case where I am seeing it, like it’s right in front of me, and it just isn’t registering for some reason.

Margaret Stringer was born January 11, 1843 in Kentucky.  Her parents are Gray Stringer and Elizabeth Pitt.  Now, some of this is going to go into Elizabeth Pitt’s life, too, but stay with me here because it gets interesting.

In 1850 Margaret was living with her parents in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.  She was 7 years old.  Her siblings that lived in the home were: America (age 11 years) and Lucy (age 9 years).  There is also a Balis Stringer, age 15 years, living with the family, but I haven’t figured out how he is related to them yet.  I keep seeing websites that list him as the son of Gray and Elizabeth, but I don’t see the basis for that yet.  I searched for a death record for him, but was unable to find it.  AND usually the children on census records are listed in order of birth, oldest first.  On the 1850 census Balis is listed last.  He shows up 10 years later in Missouri as a 26 year old blacksmith, which kind of disproves the websites claiming him as the Stringer family’s son since they all claim he, too, was born in 1843 making him Margaret’s twin (or Elizabeth getting pregnant with him soon after Margaret was born).

As I said before, I cannot find Margaret Stringer on the 1860 or 1870 census.  I was told by a descendant of Margaret’s sister, Lucy, that Margaret married a John Pitt.  I found a marriage record for John S Pitt and MK Stringer in McLean County, Kentucky on May 24, 1850.  So that information matches up.  It’s kind of bizarre when you think about it though:  Gray Stringer’s mother was Sallie Pitt.  Gray married his cousin, Elizabeth Pitt.  Then Margaret married a cousin, John S Pitt.  Anyway, at some point Margaret and John S Pitt divorce and she may or may not have married a Moore.  (note:  keep this fact in mind:  after Gray Stringer died his wife Elizabeth married Joseph C Moore).  I haven’t found anything saying that she did, but there is a reason for this coming up (I promise).

By 1880 Margaret married John J Breedlove.  They show up this year on the census living in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  The children living with them are: Emma (listed as a Breedlove, but she is also listed as John’s stepdaughter…so she was either a Pitt or a Moore, but I am not sure which one, age 11 years), Mary Jane (age 7 years), Ona L (age 5 years) and William M (age 3 years).

No census for 1890.

In 1900 the Breedlove family was still living in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky.  Margaret is listed as Margaret K Breedlove.  The children listed on the 1880 census are no longer living with Margaret and John.  Two more daughters are on this census:  Lucy J (my great-grandmother, age 18 years) and Drusy B (age 15 years).  Also living with the family are two of Margaret’s grandchildren:  Magnola Lovell (age 4 years) and Mack Lovell (age 1 year).  According to Mack’s death certificate the parents of Magnola and Mack are Jim Lovell and Lulu Breedlove.  I’m not sure if Lulu is the nickname of one of the daughters listed or not.  This census also tells us that Margaret is the mother of nine children and only five are still living.  I haven’t figured out all of the children yet.  As you can see I have listed six of the children.

In 1910 Margaret and John are still in McLean County, Kentucky.  But a new person is on the census with them:  Benjamin A Moore.  Someone had scratched out his last name Moore, though.  So it looks as though he is a Breedlove.  But he isn’t (more on Moore in a second..haha).  Benjamin is listed as 47 years old, single and John’s stepson.  Margaret is still the mother of nine children of which five are still living.  So now we have 7 of her children listed:  Benjamin A Moore, Emma (last name?), Mary Jane Breedlove, Ona L Breedlove, William M Breedlove, Lucy J Breedlove and Drusy B Breedlove.  I do not have any clue who the other two are.  Lulu?  Perhaps, unless, as I said before, that is just a nickname for one of the children listed.

In 1920 Margaret is listed on the census as Margaret H Breedlove.  She is living with her son, listed as Ben A Moore, and her sister Virginia in McLean County, Kentucky.  She is widowed and her son is named as the head of household.

Margaret Stringer died on December 7, 1924 in Island, McLean County, Kentucky.  The cause of death was arteriosclerosis, which she apparently (according to the death certificate) had suffered from for several years.  The contributor to the cause was apoplexy (bleeding, which could have been anything).

Now, for a little something extra concerning Benjamin A Moore that is a little off:  Benjamin A Moore is shown living with Margaret’s mother and her second husband, Joseph C Moore, on several census records.  It isn’t until Elizabeth, Margaret’s mother dies, that he lives with Margaret.  On his death certificate it says that his mother is Margaret and his father is Joseph Moore.  So, did Margaret have a “thing” with her stepfather?  Or is it a different Joseph Moore?  Maybe the informant knew he was Margaret’s son, but didn’t know who the father was and just put Joseph’s name on the certificate knowing that Ben had pretty much been raised by him.  Why wasn’t Ben living with his mother growing up?  And who is Emma’s father?  Or what if Joseph C Moore wanted children and Elizabeth wasn’t able to have any more for some reason?  Would she have asked her daughter to surrogate for her?  Benjamin was born about 1864 (according to census records).  Emma was born about 1869 (according to the 1880 census record).  Could they have had the same father or different fathers?  Could Benjamin have been Margaret’s with John S Pitt and just took the Moore last name because he was raised by Moore?  I just don’t know. 

And I really wish I could find those census records.

Gray Stringer

Oh, another one of those ancestors, huh?

Something I continuously notice on ancestry that irks me to no end is when people put up random information that just does not fit with no explanation or source as to where they got the information.  And they don’t answer emails asking about their sources.  AND ten other people decide that since that person has far more information than they do then they must be right.  And I have seen many, many times that they are wrong.

I am only going to present the information that I know.  Which isn’t much, by the way.

(this might be a really short post)

I know that Gray Stringer was born sometime between 1807 and 1809 in Tennessee to Larry Stringer and S. Stringer (those names are listed on the death record).  Presumably his parents are Lawrence Stringer, of North Carolina, and Sallie Pitt, also of North Carolina.  Larry and Sallie married in Tennessee in 1796, according to the Family Data Collection.

Gray married Elizabeth Pitt, who I believe is his cousin, in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky on December 28, 1837.  The marriage was officiated by Reverend John Gray (Muhlenberg marriage Book Two).

The one and only census record that Gray Stringer’s name appears on is the 1850 census enumerated in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.  He is listed as 41 years old and a farmer.  He is living with his wife Elizabeth (age 32 years), daughter America (age 11 years), daughter Lucy (age 9 years), daughter Margaret (my great-great-grandmother, age 7 years) and a boy by the name of Balis Stringer (age 15 years) that I have seen listed on other’s family trees as Gray and Elizabeth’s son, along with a girl named Jennie as their daughter, but I have not seen how they came to this conclusion.  Balis is later seen on the 1860 census living in New Madrid, Missouri with William Douglass, a ship carpenter, and his family.  Balis is a blacksmith.

Gray Stringer passed on October 6, 1857 in McLean County, Kentucky.  The cause of death was apoplexy, which really could have been almost anything.

According to the 1860 census, Elizabeth was widowed, but she and Gray had three more children before he died:  daughter Virginia J (age 8 years in 1860), Sally M (age 6 years in 1860) and John S (age 3 years in 1860).

It’s pretty sad that I don’t have any other information to write about him.  Maybe someone out there has some stories!

John J Breedlove

(note:  birth and death records were not required by law in Kentucky until 1911.  it is fairly hard to track down exact birth and death dates prior to that year unless an obituary, Bible record or doctor’s notes were kept.  in some instances a birth may be written down in a church register or a book kept by an attendant.  death records were often kept in Bibles and church registers, and sometimes if a doctor attended at the time of death he may have recorded the date.  anything that requires legal filing, such as a marriage, can usually be easier to find, but not always)

John J Breedlove was the son of Cornelius Vaughan Breedlove (about 1812-about 1880), a farmer, and Elizabeth Crissman (about 1815-?).  He was born in Todd County, Kentucky on August 7, 1848, the fifth of, I believe, seven children.

The family was still living in Todd County, Kentucky 2 years after John was born.  On the 1850 census John is shown living with his father, mother and siblings: William F (age 15 years), Jesse T (age 9 years), Henry J (age 7 years), Mary A (age 5 years) and Sarah E (age 8 months).

In 1860 the family starts getting a little sketchy.  First off, the name recorded for the family is “Breadlove”.  It is also just their initials that are written, rather than their names.  John is 11 years old and living with his parents and siblings.  The other children listed are:  Wm F (age 26 years), JT (age 20 years), HJ (age 18 years), MA (age 14 years) and VACF (age 3 years).  Ok, now I realize that another sister had been born, as far as I know, in 1859.  And her name on other census records is Nancy.  So who is VACF?  And what happened to Sarah E?

Sigh.

So, I hunted down John J Breedlove in the 1870 census and I *think* that I found him.  That year there is a John Breedlove listed as living in Logan County, Kentucky with the Beauchamp family.  There is no occupation written in for him.  There are other boarders living in the house, but I can’t really figure out how he came to live there himself.

Another document I am still hunting down is his marriage to Margaret Stringer.  From what I understand they married sometime around 1869/1870.

In 1880 John shows up in McLean County, Kentucky with Margaret and their children: stepdaughter Emma (age 11 years), daughter Mary Jane (age 7 years), Ona L (age 5 years) and William M (age 3 years).  This census has Emma’s surname as Breedlove, but I think it might actually be Moore, as we see on later census records that John has a stepson by the name of Benjamin A Moore.

No census record available for 1890. (of course)

Apparently having set down roots, the family is still living in McLean County, Kentucky in 1900.  On this census it is shown that they are living with two children that had been born during the previous 20 years: Lucy J (age 18 years, my great-grandmother) and Drusy (Drusie, Drusey, Druse, age 15 years).  This census also states that Margaret is the mother of nine children, five of which are still living.  I don’t know if the two children that are no longer living are accounted for or not.  I also don’t know if they are John’s children or if they are children from Margaret’s previous marriage(s).  I do see that John and Margaret have two grandchildren living with them in 1900, Magnola Lovell (age 4 years) and Mack H Lovell (age 1 year), the children of Lulu Breedlove and Jim Lovell.  I’m not certain if Lulu is a nickname for one of the daughters accounted for or a different daughter all together.

The last census that John J Breedlove is found on is the 1910 census.  He is living with Margaret and stepson Benjamin A Moore (age 47 years).  John is a farm operator, as is Benjamin.  The family is still living in McLean County, Kentucky.

John J Breedlove suffered a tragic death 2 years after the 1910 census.  On October 12, 1912 in East Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky he was killed when a sawlog, the largest and heaviest part of the tree, fell on him.  I believe his death may have been instantaneous because no doctor attended to him.  I cannot give an exact location of burial.  The death certificate has the initials of the cemetery as M.E.C. Sacramento.

One of the more interesting stories of John J Breedlove’s life was told by his daughter, Lucy J Breedlove, to her grandson, Roger Vincent.  Lucy said that John was good friends with Buffalo Bill (William Cody).  Whenever Buffalo Bill would travel through Kentucky he would always stay with the Breedlove family for a few days.  John and Buffalo Bill would hunt together during his stays!

Stories of Lucy Johnson Breedlove

I was able to get a couple of stories about Lucy Johnson Breedlove to share!

These stories came from Thelma Dixon, Lucy’s granddaughter.  The photos are courtesy of Brenda Hollis, also Lucy’s granddaughter.

Lucy love Cockscomb and had many planted outside of her window.  She loved to sit and admire them.  One day when she was doing just that she saw one suddenly go down.  And then another went down, just fell down dead.  It turned out her son Garland, who was about 7 years old at the time, was shooting at them with a sling-shot he had made and was using those Cockscomb as targets!  Garland ended up murdering three of them.  Needless to say, he was in trouble.  He ended up having to stay inside without play and do housework for week.  And the sling-shot ended up as kindling for the cook stove.  Of course, he made more in the future.  I bet he never used the Cockscomb as targets again!

Another story was when Lucy gave a deer a heart attack.  The dogs had been out having fun chasing a deer around.  The deer came to a stop in the yard, just exhausted.  Lucy was out on the porch sweeping up and when the deer stopped she pointed the broom at it and said “bang!”.  The deer dropped to the ground dead!

I can’t wait to share more stories about Lucy and her family!

Lucy Johnson Breedlove

I am still researching Lucy Johnson Breedlove, but I will post what I know about her.

Lucy Johnson Breedlove is my Great-Grandmother from my father’s family. 

Lucy was born October 13, 1881 in McLean County, Kentucky to John Breedlove and Margaret Stringer.  I believe she was one of six children, Drusy (Drusie, Druse) Breedlove being the youngest. 

Due to the destruction of the 1890 census Lucy does not show up until the 1900 census, which proves to be interesting.  She is not on just one census, but on two.  I can’t imagine there was another Lucy J Breedlove born the same time in the same town, but it is possible. 

The first census was done on June 4, 1900 in Sacramento Town, District 2, McLean County, Kentucky and was enumerated by Garland Quisenberry.  In this census Lucy is living with the Bates Family, of which Alfred M, head of household, is a grocer.  Lucy is said to be 18 years of age, born October 1881, single and she is a servant in the Bates household.

The second census was done on June 12, 1900, eight days after the first, in Sacramento Town, District 2, McLean County, Kentucky and was also enumerated by Garland Quisenberry.  In this census Lucy is living with her parents and sister, along with two children listed as John Breedlove’s grandchildren.  Lucy is said to be 18 years of age, born October 1881, single and her occupation is left blank.

I can only assume that both 6/4 Lucy and 6/12 Lucy are the same person, however if anyone has anymore insight into this I would like to hear from you!

Lucy married Martin Riley Vincent (1881-1953) on November 10, 1902.  I have yet to find the marriage record, so I’m not sure where they married.  Lucy and Martin had, as much as I have gathered so far, eight children, one being Elbert Tracey “Shorty” Vincent, my grandfather.

Lucy died on February 14, 1971 in Stewart County, Tennessee.

She is buried at Fairview Cemetery in Dover, Tennessee along side Martin Riley Vincent.

From the small amount I have been told about Lucy, it is common family lore that she is either Full Blood or 1/2 Native American.  I haven’t yet found any proof as to this story, nor do I know which Tribe she might have been a member of, though I would love to find out more.  I seem to remember someone saying that somewhere is a picture of her in her full regalia.  If anyone has this picture (or any pictures of her, for that matter), or if anyone knows more about this, contact me and let me know!  I’m curious to learn more about Lucy and her family!

I have just, in the past 2-3 months, found this part of my family.  My father had been adopted when he was very young.  Lucky for me, my mom knew his birth name and that assisted me in finding aunts, uncles and cousins, with whom I am thrilled to be in contact with and they seem just as thrilled to be in contact with me!