Richard E. Duncan's Barn Burned

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019


For me, genealogy is so much more than collecting names and dates. Whenever possible, I like to flesh out the stories about my family. Newspapers are one way to that.

The following article about my great-grandfather Richard E. Duncan turned up this evening.

In the spring of 1933, in the first part of the Great Depression, his barn burned. In that fire, he lost almost all of his seed corn for the year. This would have impacted his crop for 1933 and for the following year. This is not a family story that I ever heard before, so I don't know what he did that year to make a corn crop. Regrettably, there's no one to ask.

John D. Lewis, 1810 Census

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

Traditionally, researchers have placed the John Lewis, presumed to have married Susan Daniel, in Pulaski County, Kentucky, and they have attributed the location of the elder Lewis children's birth as Pulaski County, Kentucky.

There's just one big problem with that. The John Lewis of Pulaski County, Kentucky does not have enough children. As a general rule of thumb, when looking at the early census, I want to see a head of household with at least as many children as have been documented to be the children of that individual and who can be documented to be living in that census year. An individual with more than the known number of children cannot be ruled out because of the high mortality rate. There were potentially more child than are known. However, an individual with too few children can be ruled out.

I found these individuals of Pulaski County, Kentucky to be of interest on the 1810 census:

Lewis, John 1001 - 1101
Lewis, Leonard 001 - 101
Lewis, Daniel 0001 - 1001
Lewis, Samuel 00301 - 000001

This John Lewis has in his household the following:

one male under age 10
one male age 26 - 44
one female under age 10
one female age 10 - 15
one female age 26 - 44

The elder children of John D. Lewis had these approximate birthdates, according to census records:

Wiley Lewis b. c. 1798 or 1799
William Henry Lewis b. c. 1799
Joel D. Lewis b. c. 1801
Celia (Lewis) Babb b. c. 1803
Matilda (Lewis) Mason b. c. 1807
Rebecca (Lewis) Mason b. c. 1809
Spencer P. Lewis b. unknown
Daniel A. Lewis b. unknown

The John Lewis of Pulaski County, Kentucky simply does not have enough sons and daughters to be our John D. Lewis.

From the 1810 Kentucky census, a better fit for our John D. Lewis is the John Lewis of Knox County. There are these individuals of interest on that census:

Joseph Daughtery 1001 - 11201       1 - slave
Robert Daniel 0011 - 2001
James Daniel 13001 - 00201
Abner Lewis 2111 - 3001
John Lewis 2201 - 3001

Knox County, Kentucky Census, 1810

This John Lewis has the following individuals in his household:

two males under ten = Joel D. Lewis and unknown
two males 10 - 15 = Wiley and William Henry Lewis
one male 26 - 44 = John Lewis
three females under 10 = Celia, Matilda, and Rebecca Lewis
one female 26 - 44 = Mrs. John Lewis

This John Lewis is a much closer fit for our John Lewis. Plus, he has the added advantage of being in the same location as those with the surname Daniel and Daughtery. I propose that if we want to be more successful in tracing the line of John D. Lewis and his supposed wife, Susan Daniel, that we shift our attention from Pulaski County, Kentucky to Knox County, Kentucky.

Other posts in this series:

Matilda (Lewis) Mason, Daughter of John Lewis

Elizabeth (Lewis) Babb - Obituary

John Lewis and the Blaine Deposition

Jane Lewis, Wife of Milton Wardlow

Rebecca Lewis, Wife of Aaron Rice

John Lewis, Reference to McNairy Co., TN Estate in Tishomingo Co., MS

John Lewis, Tishomingo Co., Mississippi Probate Court

Cawthon Sibling Obits - Children of Charlie Dallas Cawthon

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

Charlie Dallas Cawthon was the brother of my great-grandmother, Mary Charlotte (Cawthon) Chapman. He was born 21 March 1878 and died 19 April 1952 in Dallas County, Texas. His wife, Susie Lawrence Britt, was born 3 June 1887 in Arkansas and died 13 July 1961 in Dallas County, Texas. They had three daughters, who are the subjects of this obituary study.

Their know children were

1. Rosalie (Cawthon) Davis b. 3 August 1907 in Oklahoma.
2. Gracie Mae (Cawthon) Smith Hill b. 1 January 1909 in Texas.
3. Chloe Iris (Cawthon) Connell Kennedy b. 10 April 1910 in Mt. Pleasant, Texas.

Their obituaries in the order of their deaths:

Rosalie (Cawthon) Davis died 3 September 2004 in Dallas, Texas. No obituary has been found as yet.

Gracie Mae (Cawthon) Smith Hill died 8 March 2007 in Terrell, Texas:

Hill, Gracie Mae. Born January 1, 1909 in Mt. Pleasant, TX, and passed away March 8, 2007 in Terrell, TX. Survived by her sister Chloe Kennedy; niece Yvonne Butler; nephew Sam Davis. Graveside Service 2:00 p.m. Monday, March 12, 2007 at Restland Memorial Park.
[Source: Dallas Morning News; Dallas, TX; Sun. 11 March 2007]

Chloe Iris (Cawthon) Connell Kennedy died in Texarkana, Texas on  10 September 2018.

Chloe Iris Kennedy 108 years young passed away on Monday, September 10, 2018, in Texarkana, Texas. Chloe was born on Tuesday, April 12, 1910, in Mount Pleasant, Texas to her loving and thoughtful parents, Charlie Dallas Cawthon and Susis Laurence Britt. Ms. Chloe Iris Kennedy will be sincerely missed by her loving family, her devoted friends and all the wonderful individuals who knew and loved her.

The family will receive guests on Thursday, September 13, 2018, from 1:00 PM to 2:30 at Restland Funeral Home. Graveside service will be held at 3:00 PM in the Fountain View garden at Restland Memorial Park on Thursday, September 13, 2018.

Funeral arrangements for Ms. Chloe Iris Kennedy have been faithfully entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Cemetery, which is located at 13005 Greenville Ave., at the intersection of Restland Road, Dallas, Texas.
[Source: Restland Funeral Home]