John Robert Vinson, Sr. -- Banker and Mayor

 

 

John Robert Vinson, Sr. had family roots in Trigg County, Kentucky and later became a prominent citizen of the county, but he was born in Arkansas on December 5, 1871.

His grandfather, Thomas Allison Vinson was born in Stewart County, Tennessee and married Emeline Thomas of Trigg County in 1845.   John Robert’s father, Henry Cullen Vinson was born in 1847. Unfortunately Emeline died in 1852 at the young age of 24.  Thomas Allison subsequently married Alpha Gemima Sholar on March 30, 1853. After the Civil War, he moved his family to Arkansas. His son, Henry Cullen Vinson who had married Mary Catherine Sumner of Trigg County joined his father in Arkansas and it was there that John Robert was born on December 5, 1871 in the town of Austin, Arkansas located in Lonoke County.  His brother Jesse Monroe Vinson was also born in Arkansas. His two older siblings, Alfred Thomas Vinson and Alice Lula Vinson had been born in Kentucky, as later his youngest sibling Clyde Herman Vinson was born in Kentucky.

When John Robert was seven years old, his parents returned to Trigg County in a covered wagon. He became a graduate of the University of Kentucky.  He lived in the Warrenton Community and taught school for several years.

On November 10, 1898, he married Willie Armstrong and they had one daughter, Nora Lucille Vinson who was born in 1899.  After Willie died in 1902 at the age of 25, John Robert married his second wife, Gertrude Wilson on December 12, 1905. John Robert and Gertrude moved to Cadiz and they became the parents of two children, Henry Richard Vinson born in 1906 and John Robert “Jack” Vinson, Jr. who was born in 1912.

John Robert was associated with the Cadiz Bank and Trust Company for 30 years.  He served most of that time as a cashier and was acting president at the time the bank closed in 1932 in the middle of the Great Depression.  He had also operated an insurance agency in Cadiz which was established in 1906.

Mr.  Vinson was a prominent leader of the Cadiz city government for 28 years.  He served as a member of the City Council for eight years and then was elected mayor of Cadiz for which he served for two decades.

After his wife died in 1953, he made his home with his son, John Robert, Jr. and his family.  On December 31, 1962, John Robert died at the age of 91.  He was buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz, Kentucky with his wife, Gertrude.

LINEAGE: 

(John Robert Vinson, Sr. was the son of Henry Cullen and Mary Catherine Sumner Vinson, grandson of Thomas Allison and Emeline Thomas Vinson and great-grandson of Cullen and Elizabeth Futrell Thomas.  Cullen Thomas was the first child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Timothy Mark Crutchfield -- Amateur Writer

 

Tim Crutchfield was born on March 5, 1966 in St. Louis, Missouri, the oldest son of Dennis Crutchfield and Margaret Douthitt Crutchfield.  When he was two days old, they moved to Cape Girardeau, Missouri and when he was nine months old they settled in Graves County, Kentucky.

He graduated from Mayfield High School in Mayfield, Kentucky and went on to earn a degree in Criminal Justice from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau.  He later settled in Dexter, Missouri.

As a young child he was encouraged to read by his mother and was already reading at a 4th grade level by the time he was in the 1st grade. Even at a young age, he had a keen interest in political history as a hobby. He had the Presidents memorized by 3rd grade and the Prime Ministers of Canada memorized by 5th grade.  He started writing short stories at a young age and even created his own comic books. He became an avid reader with his reading interests including Stephen King and Edgar Allen Poe, but he read anything he could get his hands on. His reading frequently centered on politics and history.

In October of 2015, he published his first novel, Spirit and Image, which was self published and is available on Amazon. The story came to him 20 years before he published it but he had difficulty putting it into writing.  With encouragement from his fellow writers, he finished it after those 20 years of writer’s block.  The majority of the book was written while sitting beside his wife’s hospital bedside where she was in a coma after a car accident.  His wife was in the coma for over five years until her death.

Tim also had a great interest in cemeteries since he was a kid.  It always bothered his parents who called it a "morbid hobby".   But he felt his cemetery interest paid off, since cemeteries have helped his knowledge of History. As an adult when he visited a city he would visit their local cemetery or cemeteries and search for famous graves   He would then take pictures and post them to the Find-a-Grave website if they are not already posted.  Tim posted over 11,000 memorials to the Find-a-Grave website as well as adding over 15,000 photos.

In April of 2000, he became the youngest elected Alderman in Dexter, Missouri and the second youngest Alderman to ever sit on the Council.  He also became the first Alderman to be of Native American Descent (He was 1/8 Cherokee.) He was also the first elected Republican from his Ward. He was reelected on April 2nd, 2002.  He lost in 2004, but was elected again in 2006.

Tim died on November 7, 2017. Tim’s obituary did not mention any of the accomplishments stated above. It simply said he was a cashier at the Wal-Mart in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.  He was buried in the Wingo Cemetery in Wingo, Kentucky.

The cover of Tim Crutchfield's novel Spirit and Image

Tim and his wife Tracy standing in front of the Woolridge Monuments in Mayfield, Kentucky, holding their local newspaper. They won a month’s free subscription to the newspaper for this photo.

LINEAGE:

(Timothy Mark Crutchfield was the son of Dennis Russell and Margaret Douthitt Crutchfield, the grandson of Louis Jesse and Reba Dean Martin Douthitt, the great grandson of William Luther and Ollie Esther Pritchard Martin and the great-great grandson of John Wesley and Dora Mae Bridges Pritchard.  Dora Mae was the third child of James C. and Mary Calhoon Bridges.  James C. was the sixth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Mary Thomas was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Hilda Williams Bridges -- Teacher and Genealogist

 

 

Forest Hilda Williams was born on April 7, 1918, in Trigg County, Kentucky at the family farm of her parents, Thomas G. and Vara T. Williams. The family farm is now the entrance to Lake Barkley State Resort Park on Highway 68, near Cadiz, Kentucky. She attended Canton Grade School, and graduated from Cadiz High School in 1936.  She later graduated from Murray State College, now University, in Murray, Kentucky.

Her first teaching assignment was at the one-room Crossroads School in rural southern Trigg County.   Later she was a faculty member at Uniontown and Morganfield Elementary schools, and Union County High School in Union County, Kentucky where she was responsible for developing and operating the first high school audio visual department in the region.

In February, 1945, she married Gilbert N. Bridges, also a native of Trigg County. His occupation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took them to Lock No. 49 near Evansville, Indiana, and Lock No. 49 in Union County, Kentucky. Upon retirement in 1974, they again made their residence in Trigg County. After Gilbert’s death in 2003 she made her home in Murray, Kentucky in 2007. 

Gilbert and Hilda were recognized for their historical and genealogical interests, having published a definitive Thomas and Bridges History. They were also contributing editors to The Trigg County History and she participated in preparing Canton on the Cumberland. They were among the 29 original organizing charter members of the Thomas-Bridges Association, both having served in supportive and leadership roles.

Hilda wrote the preface to her husband’s book, History of the Thomas Bridges Family, in which she vividly describes the early years of the Donaldson Creek area where the two families settled and tells of the hardships and drudgery of growing up in those pioneer times.  She ended her preface by asking our family to “…never, ever forget our ancestors and the role they played in bringing us, their descendants, into this land of milk and honey.”

Hilda was also known for her talent in voice and piano. She was a member of Cadiz Baptist Church, The James Thomas Chapter of the National Society for the Daughters of the American Revolution, Ophelia Chapter No. 55 of the Eastern Star, the Thomas-Bridges Association, the Trigg County Historical Society and other civic and benevolent organizations. 

At the age of nine, she witnessed the untimely death of her eldest brother, Gillis T. Williams and vowed to her mother she would name her first child in his honor.  In June 1946, Hilda gave birth to her and Gilbert’s only child and she fulfilled her promise to her mother by naming their son, Gillis Aaron Bridges after her brother.

Hilda died on May 2, 2012 in Murray, Kentucky and was buried with her husband in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz, Kentucky.

LINEAGE:

(Forest Hilda Williams Bridges was the daughter of Thomas Green and Johnnie Vara Thomas Williams, the granddaughter of William Henry and Sidney Dyer Thomas and the great granddaughter of Stanley and Emily Ann Light Thomas. Stanley was the second child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Mary was the seventh child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

Bertie E. Battoe -- A Tragic Teen Death

The following is the September 14, 1902 news article which tells the tragic death of Miss Bertie E. Battoe, one of our family members living in the Donaldson Creek community at that time. She was born in January 1887 in Trigg County, Kentucky and is buried in the Drury Bridges Cemetery in the Maple Grove Community.  Warning: some of the descriptions in the article are somewhat graphic.

Horrible Was the Death of Miss Battoe Last Sunday
Dragged By Run-away Horse
Caused By Firing Pistol On the Public Highway
And Two Young Men Charged With Murder Trial Today

The death of Miss Bertie Battoe, a young lady sixteen years of age, which occurred near Canton last Sunday, and the circumstances leading up to it, compose one of the most horrible deeds ever recorded in these columns.

On Saturday night Miss Battoe, in company with George D. Cunningham, son of Mr. Dab Cunningham, attended preaching at South Union, about three miles above Canton in the Donaldson Creek country.
About ten o'clock service broke up and this young couple like everybody else, started home. When a hundred or two yards from the church someone fired a pistol several times near them, causing the horse they were driving to run away. After going a short distance the buggy struck a bank and young Cunningham was thrown out and dashed against the ground several feet away. Miss Battoe remained in the buggy for several yards further, when she was also thrown out. No one absolutely knows, but from the circumstances, some of her clothing evidently caught in the buggy and she was dragged a hundred and twelve steps. It was a very rough road, and her body was horribly mangled. Her life had simply been beaten out against the ground as the horse ran. Her teeth were nearly all knocked out, locks of her hair were torn out by roots, her face cut and scarred, and her body bruised and mangled. She never regained consciousness and was removed to the home of William Upton nearby, where she died Sunday at twelve o'clock.

Warrants were issued Sunday night for the arrest of Berry (Pos as he is familiarly called) Hendon, son of Jim Hendon, who lives just across Cumberland River from the mouth of Donaldson Creek, and Joe Calhoon, son of Griff Calhoon, who lives on the east side of the river. They were charged with willful murder and with malice aforethought causing the death of the young lady. The warrants were placed in the hands of Constable Blair Guier, who made the arrest Monday and brought them to Cadiz. They were arraigned before County Judge Bingham and their examining trial set for today and the defendants sent to jail without bond. The boys deny that they did the shooting. Mr. Calhoon, the father of Joe Calhoon, accompanied the boys when the officer brought them to Cadiz, and says he will have no trouble in proving his son clear. Both of the boys are under twenty-one, and Hendon is very small to his age. Miss Battoe, was the eldest daughter of Edwin Battoe, of Maple Grove, and was a beautiful girl and a social favorite. The remains were buried Monday at the C. T. Bridges grave yard.


 

LINEAGE:

(Bertie E. Battoe was the daughter of James Edwin and Malinda Hawkins Battoe and the granddaughter of James J. and Charity S. Bridges Battoe.  Charity was the tenth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Mary Thomas was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Ghent Alfred Bridges -- Genealogist, Teacher and Businessman

 

Ghent Alfred  (G. A.) Bridges was born on May 3, 1867, the oldest child of Cullen T. Bridges and Virginia Thomas Bridges.  He grew up on Beechy Fork Creek in the Maple Grove Community of Trigg County.  On May 8, 1890, he married the former Nettie Linden Cunningham and they became the parents of four children, three boys and one girl.

Ghent A. Bridges is most noted for writing and publishing the first history of the Thomas- Bridges families of Trigg County.  His original book was only 84 pages long.  Ghent spent years of time-consuming and at times frustrating research on the book as he worked to make the book a reality.  Ghent became interested in learning more about the family history when he first read the sketch of the family history by Perry Thomas, his great uncle.  Perry wrote the sketch in 1886 just a few months before he died.  Ghent read the sketch when he was a teenager but it was not until several years later, in the 1920’s, that Ghent started his research work on the family.  He sent out letters to numerous folks with the Thomas or Bridges name that lived in North Carolina and finally to people all across the United States seeking to research and create the definitive family tree.  He only made one trip out of Trigg County to do his research and that was to visit the Old Brick Church in Smithfield, Virginia.  With the help of his cousin, Marston Thomas, a printer, he published the 84 page book which included 20 pictures and two pages of advertising.  The exact number of copies printed is unknown, but is thought to be less than 100 copies.  It had a soft, brown cover and was stapled together and was on sale at the 1928 Thomas-Bridges reunion for 75 cents.  Today original copies of the volume are hard to find and are considered family heirlooms.  The book was reprinted in 1960 and again in 2016 for later generation members.

Ghent along with his brothers operated a business known as the Bridges Brothers Nursery, which helped to supply many an orchard in Trigg County with fruit trees. This nursery, located on the farm of Ghent’s father, Cullen T.  Bridges, in the Maple Grove community, was operated by his sons

The nursery supplied a wide variety of fruit trees including apple, pear, peach, plum and cherry and in addition, it also supplied grapevines, rose bushes and ornamental shrubs.  The Bridges brothers did their own grafting and set the seedlings out to grow to suitable size for transplanting.  The business was established prior to 1908 and closed before World War I.

Ghent was also noted as an early photography expert.  He and his wife, Nettie, maintained a photography studio in their home which included a darkroom where they could develop their own film.  Ghent loved to experiment with photography and several of his photos show double images of his subject. He liked to develop photos on surfaces other than paper.  In particular he developed photos on cloths which could be framed.  He developed large two by three feet photos that were especially suitable for a wall frame.

Another job in Ghent Bridges resume was that of a school teacher.  Ghent began teaching in 1886 in the county public schools when he was only 19 years old.   Upon his death, he was said to have been the oldest active teacher in point of service in the county as he had taught for forty-seven school years.

In the 1800’s and early 1900’s teachers were not required to have formal training. These early grammar school teachers rarely had any education beyond what they have acquired in the very schools where they have to teach.  And this was the case with Ghent Bridges when he taught in the one room school house at Maple Grove School. For many years Ghent taught at this school as well as other schools in the county. 

Ghent liked to keep records.  He maintained meticulous accounting records for the family nursery business.  He also recorded a journal or diary of events in Trigg County from the late 1890’s up until his death in 1938.  His journal included a recording of all the deaths that occurred in the county during that period as well as his comments on the weather, local fires that took place, prices of food and agricultural products and current events. An example of his diary was this entry for October 8, 1918 at the end of World War I and the developing flu epidemic:

         This month in the good year 1918 will go down in both national and local history
         as having more happy and tragic events that has transpired in many months before.
         The greatest war which humanity has even known came to a close in this month.
         Preliminary articles of peace and a complete surrender was signed by Germany and
         on the eleventh, hostilities ceased.  The call for soldiers were immediately
         suspended and plans for disbanding a great many soldiers were begun. There was a
         new outbreak of Spanish flu and many persons died.  Five of the family of Mrs. J. L. B.
         Darnell died including Mrs. Darnell herself.  Four boys out of John Randolph’s family
         died.  John W. Kelly and Daniel H. Hillman also died about the same time and many
         others died In other parts of the county.

Ghent A. Bridges died on April 15, 1938 and is buried along with his wife Nettie in the Drury Bridges Cemetery in the Maple Grove Community.

First Maple Grove School in the 1800s

 

LINEAGE:

(Ghent Alfred Bridges was the son of Cullen Thomas and Martha Virginia Thomas Bridges and the grandson of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Mary Thomas was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Virginia Thomas Alexander -- Civic Leader and Businesswoman

 

 

 

Virginia Dare Thomas was born on June 24, 1923 at home on the Thomas family farm, 3 1/2 miles west of Cadiz, on the Maple Grove Road.  She was one of four children of Eura W. and Pearl Lawrence Thomas. Virginia finished 7th grade of school at Warrenton Grade School, and later graduated from the 8th grade at Cadiz Grade School. After graduating from Trigg County High School, she enrolled in Newton's Business College in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

On April 8, 1949, Virginia married Rumsey H. "Pete" Alexander. They had no children, but always cared for the three children of Virginia's sister, Doris Thomas Skinner, as their own children.

Virginia was offered a job as secretary at the Trigg County Extension Office in the courthouse in early 1941. She also served as secretary of Trigg County Farm Bureau and Trigg County Soil Improvement Coop, Inc. Eleven years later, Virginia became a member of the Trigg County Democratic Party. She was appointed for a two year term to fill the unexpired term of R. C. Burnett, the Trigg County Circuit Court Clerk at the time.

On August 5, 1953 Virginia was the first woman elected to hold the office of Trigg County Circuit Court Clerk. She was never opposed in this office for a span of 20 years. During this time, she served as Master Commissioner of the Court, appointed by Circuit Judge Stephen White. In 1953, she was also named as secretary/treasurer of Trigg County American Red Cross, a position she would hold until 1994. Additionally, Virginia was also the first woman to serve as president of the Cadiz-Trigg County Chamber of Commerce.

Virginia continued her political pursuits by serving as local chairwoman for many state and national candidates, including John F. Kennedy for President, Lawrence Weatherby, Bert Combs, and Ned Breathitt for Governor of the Commonwealth. In 1973, Virginia ran for the office of Trigg County Clerk, an office which she easily won. She ran for her fourth term as Trigg County Clerk, but unfortunately lost this election. Disappointed, but not discouraged, she ran and won a two year term as a member of the Cadiz City Council with the largest number of votes in that election. This enabled Virginia to continue her volunteer work for the people of Trigg County, thus ending her political career of 40 years.

One of the great projects of Virginia's life was being one of ten business women in Trigg County to found the Barkley Lake Broadcasting Company - Radio Station WKDZ. Virginia and a group of retail merchants organized the Cadiz Retail Merchants' Association in the late 1950's. In 1962, the Retail Merchants' Association was disbanded, and the Trigg County Chamber of Commerce was organized. Virginia served as secretary until 1974, and in 1991 and 1992, she served as Vice President and then President of the Chamber of Commerce.

Another great progress for Trigg County in which Virginia was involved was the founding of the Trigg County Hospital in the early 1950's. She served as secretary to the hospital committee. Virginia also served as a member of the Trigg County Sesquicentennial Committee. At the time, she was acting president of the Trigg County Business and Professional Women's Club, and in 1976, the group elected Virginia as Business Woman of the Year, honoring her during the Sesquicentennial.

Virginia also was a charter member of the Thomas-Bridges Association and served as President of the organization as well as other offices. She had a keen interest in the genealogy of her family and the perpetuation of the legacy of the Thomas-Bridges family. She was also very influential in the local and state chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Virginia Dare Thomas Alexander died on May 16, 2019, and was buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz, Kentucky.

 

LINEAGE:

(Virginia Dare Thomas Alexander was the daughter of Eura Wesley and Lucy Pearl Lawrence Thomas, the granddaughter of Wesley Gunn and Eliza L. Henderson Thomas and the great-granddaughter of Stanley and Emily Ann Light Thomas.  Stanley was the second child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Mary was the seventh child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

The Champion Murders -- A Family Tragedy

 

Joy Allen and Lindsey Champion both attended and knew each other at Trigg County High School in Cadiz, Kentucky.  Soon after they graduated they were married.  Joy became a school teacher and Lindsey worked with the Farm Credit Services Office in Cadiz. The Champions had difficulty having children so in 1979, they adopted a son they named Ryan.  Fortunately, a few years later they were able to have a daughter, who was born in 1983 and was named Emily.

The Champions were a well-respected family in rural Trigg County outside of Cadiz. Lindsey Champion was active in the farming community; his wife was a former Teacher of the Year in the local public schools. Emily Champion had graduated Western Kentucky University and had completed her studies to become a veterinarian at Auburn University. 

On Sunday morning, October 26, 2014, Joy and Lindsey returned from church to their country home.  Their two adult children had not attended church with them and were alone at their home.

Police authorities were called to the Champions' home shortly before noon on that Sunday. There, Emily Champion, 31, who had worked five years as a veterinarian in Louisiana; her parents, Lindsey, 62, and Joy, 60, Champion; and an apparent assailant, 22 year-old Vito Riservato, were found dead.  All four bodies were found in or around the home, all suffering from gunshot wounds.  Emily had been restrained by duct tape during the attack.

Ryan Champion told police he was home at the time of the killings, and Riservato was initially identified as the killer. Ryan was treated and released from a local hospital that evening. He later talked with a local TV station about the case, saying only that he was home when the killings occurred and that he had "turned the tables" on the killer, Vito Riservato, of nearby Hopkinsville.

Through their weeklong investigation, KSP detectives realized that the events given by Ryan Champion did not “add up”.  By the end of the week, the Kentucky State Police arrested Ryan Champion, and formally charged him with the Sunday deaths of his sister and their parents. He was also charged with the death of Vito Riservato, 22, who police had earlier said was the Champions' suspected killer.  Ryan had apparently conspired with Riservato on a “murder for hire” plot to commit the murders, but later turned the tables and killed him.

Ryan was held for trial for the murders, but prior to the start of his trial in December, 2016, Ryan avoided the possibility of the death penalty by pleading guilty to four counts of murder.  He also pleaded guilty to kidnapping in an agreement that called for Champion to be sent to prison for life without the possibility of parole.

On January 27, 2017 Ryan Champion, was formally sentenced by his presiding judge to life with no chance of parole over the 2014 killings.  He did not show any sign of remorse during the sentencing, and refused to speak when asked to by the judge. 

 Ryan Champion at his sentencing before the judge

LINEAGE:

(Emily Kathryn Champion was the daughter of Boyd Lindsey and Joy Madolen Allen Champion. Joy was the daughter of John Henry and Madolen Rivers Downs Allen, the granddaughter of James Orval and Daisy Pearl Bridges Allen and the great granddaughter of William Henry and Sarah Elizabeth Lancaster Bridges. Sarah was the fourth child of Drewry and Peachie Ann Tart Bridges.  Drewry was the fourth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Mary Thomas was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Joe Myatt Mays, Jr. -- Actor

Joe Myatt Mays, Jr. was born to Joe Myatt Sr. and Nancy Belle Lay Mays in Little Rock, Arkansas on February 25, 1948.  He grew up in Marshall, Arkansas, a small town of about 1,300 people in Searcy County located about 80 miles from Little Rock.

Joe showed an interest in acting at an early age.  In 1969, he was a student at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas and had a major role in Hendrix College Player’s production of “Beggar on Horseback” and Somerset Maugham’s “The Circle” along with his fellow collegiate actors. In 1971, he continued his education at the University of Arkansas and toured Arkansas with the University of Arkansas Touring Children’s Theatre appearing in such plays as “The Mouse King” in which he played the part of “The dog”. 

 After college, Joe settled in New York City where he began his professional career as a stage, television and movie actor.  He initially began performing professionally in numerous off-Broadway shows. In 1977, he moved to Hollywood and became a frequent guest star on television.  He appeared in bit parts in several TV series including Rhoda, Happy Days, The Dukes of Hazzard, L. A. Law, Family Matters, The Golden Girls, Matlock, Jake and the Fatman and numerous others. Mays is probably best known as his role as the polygamist on L. A. Law.  His last TV appearance was in 1991 in an episode of The Golden Girls titled Rose Loves Miles in which he played the part of the Maitre D’.

He was a character actor who appeared in over a dozen feature films.  He can be seen in Angel on My Shoulder (1980), The Last Innocent Man (1987), Spontaneous Combustion (1990), The Seventh Sign (1988), and Future Kick (1991) along with numerous TV movies and mini-series. His final role was in 1992 in the movie, Mr. Saturday Night which starred Billy Crystal and Helen Hunt.

Joe Mays died on January 27, 1994 in Little Rock, Arkansas from complications of AIDS. He was 45 years old.  Survivors included his father, two sisters, a brother, two nieces and three nephews.  He is buried in the East Lawn Cemetery in his home town of Marshall, Arkansas.

LINEAGE:

(Joe Myatt Mays, Jr. was the son of Joe Myatt, Sr. and Nancy Belle Lay Mays, grandson of Buchanan Hammond and Claudia Elizabeth Myatt Mays, great-grandson of James Hardy and Permelia Emily Vinson Myatt and the great-great grandson of Thomas Allison and Alpha Gemima Sholar Vinson.  Alpha Gemima was the ninth child of Allen and Jemima Bridges Sholar.  Jemima was the first child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges)