Mattie Light Hughes -- Matriarch of the Trigg County Light/Hughes Family

 

Mattie Patterson Light was born on June 13, 1879 in Trigg County, Kentucky.  She was the first of fourteen children born to John J. Light and Emeline Catherine Thomas Light. Her father, John Light was a farmer in the Oak Grove Community of Trigg County where he lived his entire life. His obituary stated that he was a most honored citizen of the county and stood high in the estimation of his neighbors and friends. Her mother, Emily was a member of Trigg’s oldest families and lived a conscientious Christian life.

On December 21, 1902, Mattie married Luther Lee Hughes.  She was 23 years old at the time of her marriage.  Luther or “Luke” as he was known was born on February 13, 1875 in the Warrenton Community of Trigg County to Hampton “Ham” and Mary Della Guier Hughes. Luke and Mattie lived in the Warrenton Community where he was a successful farmer. Luke also served on the Trigg County Board of Education in the 1920’s.

Luke and Mattie were the parents of ten children.  All of these children were born in the Hughes home place on their farm located on Highway 68 west of Cadiz.  All ten of the Hughes children grew to adulthood. All were married except for one daughter. Four of the children married into distant relatives of the Thomas-Bridges Family.  They all grew to be well known and respected citizens of their community.

The ten children were:

Harmon Hughes was born on October 18, 1903. He married Georgia Lyle New, his first wife and Mary Clayton, his second wife.  Harmon lived primarily in Henderson, Kentucky.

Elizabeth Hughes was born on November 7, 1904 and married Clinton Harrell Stalons.  She and Clinton lived in Trigg County, Kentucky.

Mary Catherine Hughes was born on February 3, 1906.  She married Thomas Edward Mize.  She lived in Trigg County, Kentucky.

Gertrude Hughes was born on May 18, 1908. She married John Robert Flood and they lived in Trigg County, Kentucky.

Bertram Hughes was born September 25, 1909.  He married Edna Earl Thomas and they lived in Trigg County, Kentucky.

Edna Hughes was born on February 7, 1912.  She married Charles Calvert Flood. They resided in Trigg County, Kentucky.

Richard Hughes was born on February 17, 1914, He married Avernell Boyd.  They lived in Trigg County, Kentucky, but later made their home in Nashville, Tennessee.

Raymond Hughes was born on March 5, 1916.  He married Susie Hammond.  They resided in Trigg County, Kentucky.

Loutisha Hughes was born June 10, 1919.  Loutisha was the only one of the Hughes children to remain single.

Alton Hughes was born on October 18, 1921.  He married Hazel Lancaster and they resided in Trigg County, Kentucky.

Mattie Hughes died on July 30, 1944 in Trigg County of heart failure at the age of 65.  She was buried in the Lawrence Cemetery.  Luke Hughes died ten years later on January 2, 1954 of a heart attack at the age of 78 and was also buried in the Lawrence Cemetery.

Tombstone of Mattie Light Hughes and Luke Hughes

LINEAGE:  (Mattie Light Hughes was the daughter of John J. and Emeline Catherine Thomas Light, the granddaughter of Stanley and Emily Ann Light Thomas and the great-granddaughter 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.)

Preston Hoover Thomas -- Land Surveyor

 

Preston Hoover Thomas was born December 2, 1904, the second child of James Payton (Buck) and Avia F. Eggner Thomas.  He grew up on Donaldson Creek on a farm.  On June 30, 1928, he married Mary Pauline Bridges, daughter of John T. and Maggie D. Cunningham Bridges of Maple Grove.

After marriage, they moved to Akron, Ohio where he was employed by Goodyear Rubber Company for two years, after which they returned to Donaldson.  He helped his father farm and also did some barbering.

In the spring of 1940, he and his family moved to Maple Grove.  He got a job as foreman on the W.P.A. for a period of time, also raised tobacco for his father-in-law.  Later he did carpentry and assisted Mr. Bridges in surveying land.

His interest in surveying grew and at Mr. Bridges’ death he became the county surveyor. As times grew better, people started buying and selling land so surveying turned into a full time job.  Laws changed so he had to go to the University of Kentucky and take a test to become licensed. With only an eighth education, he passed the test with honors.  He then became a partner in the engineering firm of Gammel, Travis and Thomas.  By this time he had surveyed almost all of Trigg County including sub-divisions and land for the Lake Barkley Lodge.

He always charged a very minimal fee for his work and when his children confronted about it he said “I only want to make a living, not get rich.  I’d rather have friends than money.”**

Preston and Mary Pauline were the parents of five children, Harry Clifford Thomas, born in 1929; Bobby Gene Thomas, born in 1931; Nina Beatrice Thomas, born in 1933; Buster James Thomas, born in 1935; and Michael Lane Thomas, born in 1946.  Preston died on December 12, 1982 at the Trigg County Hospital.  He was buried in the Drury Bridges Family Cemetery in Maple Grove, just down the road from his home.

**Biography from the Preston H. Thomas Memorial, “Trigg County History, Cadiz, Kentucky, Volume Two” published 1987.

Tombstone of Preston H. and Mary P. Thomas

LINEAGE:  (Preston Hoover Thomas was the son of James Peyton and Avia Franklin Eggner Thomas, grandson of James Dillard and Sarah Armentia Sholar Thomas and great-grandson of Peyton and Sarah Ethridge Thomas.  Peyton was the third child of Cullen and Elizabeth Futrell Thomas.  Cullen was the first child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Robert Cletus Baker --Alaska Tragedy

 

Robert Cletus “Bob” Baker was born on April 26, 1917 in Tuttle, Oklahoma.  His parents, Zee Y. Baker and Judith Idella Aldridge were both born in Trigg County, Kentucky and his grandmother was Sarah Adeline Thomas. Prior to 1910, Zee and Della left Trigg County to settle In Oklahoma. After Bob was born in 1917, Zee and Della moved their family to the state of Washington.  They settled in Tonasket, where they lived until their deaths.

Bob attended grade and high school in Tonasket and after becoming an adult he moved to Coulee Center, Washington where he made his home near the Grand Coulee Dam from 1937 to 1941.

In the early 1940s, Bob worked with a group of government engineers who were assigned to work in Alaska. His team was first assigned to work at Annette Island, Alaska which is about 250 miles south of Juneau in the Alaskan panhandle.  Later the team was assigned to an isolated area of Alaska known as the Excursion Inlet, about 40 miles northwest of Juneau.

While at Excursion Inlet, Bob worked as a truck dispatcher living with other workers in a barracks.  As the area was very isolated the workers, after several months, would chose any opportunity to get away for a change even if for a few hours. Bob was with a group of six men who chose to leave their camp by taking a boat trip across the strait to Hoonah, Alaska, on another island about 20 miles south of Excursion Inlet.

On June 5, 1943, the men chartered a boat known as the “Maybe” for their trip. The boat was piloted by a Mr. Clare who was known to be an able skipper.  The trip was to take about three hours and the men arrived early at the dock, all happy to be able to forget about their isolation for a short time. Unfortunately, the boat was in the middle of the icy strait when trouble struck.

Apparently a collar around the boat’s propeller shaft came loose, letting the packing out and allowing the water into their boat.  The men tried to bail the water out but were unable to keep up with the flow.  They managed to put on their life jackets, but the boat would sink in less than seven minutes.  The men pushed a small lifeboat over the side of the larger boat, but it turned upside down and the men were forced into the water.  They tried to set boat afire but were unable to do so because it sank so quickly.  They were in the water for about one and half hours.  Clare, the skipper, was able to keep all the men together and he tried to keep them moving their arms and legs to increase their circulation but the water was extremely cold and soon the men were overcome and their heads fell over into the water.  Bob held on to the last but not quite long enough.  Help arrived from a passing boat and the men were rushed back to Excursion Inlet for care, but it was too late.  Two of the men, including Clare the Skipper survived but the other four men including Bob died from exposure.

Bob, who never married was 27 years old at the time of his death.  His siblings were Calvert P. Baker, Lorine Baker, Irene Baker, Wilbert W. Baker, Joe W. Baker, Evelyn Baker and Adelyn Baker. Bob’s body was returned to his hometown of Tonasket, where he was buried.

 Tombstone of Robert C. Baker

LINEAGE: (Robert Cletus “Bob” Baker was the son of Zee Y. and Judith Idella Aldridge Baker, grandson of Samuel Freeman and Sarah Adeline Thomas Baker and great-grandson 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 Mary Cohoon Bridges.)

Francis Leadley Trice -- College Professor

 

 Francis Leadley Trice

Francis Leadley Trice was born on December 17, 1937 in St, Petersburg, Florida.  His parents were Leadley Dagg Trice and Frances Nedda Wood.  His father was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky and had moved to St. Petersburg in 1926. Dagg was a fourth generation banker and had served as president of the Madeira Beach Bank.  He was chairman of the board of the bank when he retired. Francis Leadley or Frank as he was known had one brother, Paul Trice and one sister Helen Trice Faulkner.

Frank attended the St. Petersburg High School where he graduated in 1955.  He enrolled at Florida State University in Tallahassee where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree.  He went on to attain a Master of Arts degree from the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York.  Frank then obtained his PhD from Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.

On August 11, 1961, Frank married Sandra Louise Ward.  They later divorced and Frank married Mary Ann Wright on August 19, 1978.  Frank and Mary Ann were the parents of four children, two sons, Andrew Leadley Trice and Stephen Charles Busby and two daughters, Jennifer Louise Trice and Robin Cressida Trice.

Frank devoted his career to higher education.  In 1968 joined the faculty of Alfred University, a private university in Alfred, New York where he taught Spanish.  In the mid 1970’s he was promoted to Associate Professor and then became Chairman of the Department of Modern Languages.  He was awarded full professor status in 1983 and held that position until his retirement in 1999.

In 1979, he began working part time with SUNY Empire State College where he was unit coordinator and student mentor.  His work as a student mentor with Empire continued for the rest of his life.

Frank was the founder of the Alfred University chapters of the Phi Sigma Iota International Foreign Language Honor Society and Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society.  He was also a member of the Cooperative Association of Western New York Colleges and University.

In addition to his wide achievements in the area of higher education, Frank had a personal interest in bluegrass music and had a vast knowledge of the genre. As a part of his bluegrass hobby which had become his passion, he loved to collect, restore and play vintage banjos.

Frank died on February 21, 2012 at the Highland Hospital in Rochester, New York.  He was buried in the Alfred Rural Cemetery in Alfred, New York.

Francis L. Trice Tombstone

LINEAGE: (Francis Leadley Trice was the son of Leadley Dagg and Frances Nedda Wood Trice, grandson of Francis Dagg and Katherine Quick Trice and great-grandson of John Carr and Martha Jane Thomas Quick.  Martha was the fourth child of Allison William and Catherine Elizabeth Carloss Thomas. Catherine is the third child of Perry and Elizabeth Bridges Thomas. Perry was the third child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Elizabeth was the sixth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)