Audrey Kay Lowenstein -- Young Victim of a Car Crash

 

Audrey Kay Lowenstein

Audrey Kay Lowenstein was born on March 5, 1977 in Cadiz, Kentucky.  She was the only child of Lloyd Martin Lowenstein and Janice Kay Allen Lowenstein. She had one half brother, Adam Matthew Gray, born in 1981, the son of Clifton Wade Gray and Janice Kay Allen Gray.  Audrey’s father was born in Germany in 1955, but grew up in Trigg County, Kentucky and worked with the Specialty Foods Groups in Owensboro, Kentucky as a utility worker. His parents were Jack Jacob and Mary Katherine Wallace Lowenstein. Jack died in Germany when Lloyd was only five months old and his mother, Mary Katherine, subsequently married Zelner Cossey.  . Audrey’s mother, Janice, was born in Cadiz in 1961, the daughter of James Willard and Mary Virginia Lawrence Allen and worked as a private and commercial housekeeper. 

Audrey grew up in Trigg County and attended Trigg County Schools.  She was an excellent student, often making the honor roll.  On May 19, 1995, as a high school senior, she was awarded the Kentucky Department of Education Secondary Vocational Education Certificate of Achievement at her high school honors award day.  She graduated from Trigg County High School in May of 1995.

After her high school graduation, Audrey worked as a nurse’s aide at the Shady Lawn Nursing Center.

On January 30, 1996, a winter storm moved in from the west and created bad weather conditions in the form of freezing rain which was prevalent over Trigg and nearby Christian County, Kentucky. On that afternoon, Audrey was alone in her vehicle and traveling westbound on highway 272 about eight miles west of Hopkinsville, Kentucky heading toward Trigg County.  Because of the icy conditions on the road, Audrey apparently lost control of her vehicle.  She crossed over into the eastbound lane and was struck head-on by a United Parcel Service van that was driven by 50 year old, Martha L. Allison of Hopkinsville. Unfortunately Audrey was not wearing a seat belt and the impact of the vehicle caused Audrey to be fatally injured in the accident. Ms. Allison, who was wearing a seat belt, was treated at the emergency room and released. The Kentucky State Police blamed ice as the contributing factor for the fatal accident. Audrey was only 18 years old at the time of her death.

Audrey’s funeral was on February 1, 1996 and she was buried in the Trigg Memory Acres cemetery in Trigg County, Kentucky.

 Audrey Lowenstein tombstone

LINEAGE:  (Audrey Kay Lowenstein was the daughter of Lloyd Martin and Janice Kay Allen Lowenstein.  Janice was the daughter of James Willard and Mary Virginia Lawrence Allen and the granddaughter of Robert Lee and Icie Drew Sholar Lawrence.  Robert Lee was the second child of James Waymon and Adelia Bell Hite Lawrence, James Waymon was the first child of John Labon Lawrence and Martha Frances Bridges  Lawrence.  Martha Frances was the first child of Starkie Thomas and Pruda Minerva Hixon Bridges. Starkie Thomas was the second child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

Nettie Carter Bridges Rivenbark -- Prisoner Advocate

 

Nettie Carter Bridges Rivenbark

Nettie Carter Bridges was born on October 17, 1916 in Canton, Kentucky.  She was the second of three daughters of Alvin Ghent Bridges and Bertha Tyner Major Bridges. Both Alvin and Bertha were natives of Trigg County, Kentucky and Alvin was a son of Ghent and Nettie Cunningham Bridges.  Alvin worked for the Army Corp of Engineers building locks and dams on the area bridges. Because of her father’s job, the family lived in eight different states while Nettie was growing up.  Nettie’s two sisters were  Eleanor Major Bridges, born in 1915 and married William Cleere and Edith Landis Bridges, born in 1920 and married Tudor Strang.

The family finally settled in Hopewell, Virginia where Nettie graduated from high school.  She later went to Nashville where she attended Hume Fogg Preparatory School studying journalism.

After returning to Hopewell, she met Wilburn Harley Rivenbark, Jr. of Norfolk, Virginia.  Nettie and Wilburn were married on October 6, 1935 in a ceremony at the home of the bride’s parents with a large number of friends and relatives witnessing the ceremony. Wilburn was born on April 11, 1915 in Burgaw, North Carolina, the son of Wilburn Harley Rivenbark, Sr. and Scenie R. McLendon Rivenbark, both natives of North Carolina.

Nettie and Wilburn lived in Hopewell after their wedding where Wilburn worked as a teacher. In 1943, they moved to Deland, Florida where Nettie lived for the rest of her life except for five years when she lived in Georgia.  Nettie volunteered as a worker with local prisoners to improve their care.  In 1979 and 1981 she received special awards from the Volusia County Florida Department of Corrections for a Spiritual Program she created for the local prisoners. She was also active in the Democratic Party and worked for the local Election Department.  Wilburn worked as a teacher and coach at the Seabreeze High School and later became dean of the Daytona Beach Community College.

Nettie and Wilburn were the parents of four children, Wilburn Harley Rivenbark, III, born in 1936 and married Charlotte Loren Bowden and then married Nova Lacefield; Kenneth Forrest Rivenbark, born in 1938 and married Beverly Carol Bell and later married Sherry Lee Radtke; Patricia Anne Rivenbark, born in 1941 and married Edward Houston Hendricks; and Randi Diane Rivenbark, born in 1948 and married Edsel Wilkin Poole and later married Clare Eric Snell.  Nettie and Wilburn were divorced on July 25, 1977.

Nettie Carter Bridges Rivenbark died on April 7, 2003 at the age of 93 in the Deland Highlands community of Deland, Florida.  She was cremated and her ashes were buried in the Drury Bridges Cemetery in the Maple Grove community in Trigg County, Kentucky.

 Nettie Carter Bridges in 1934

Young Nettie standing on a car running board in Maple Grove in 1921

Nettie Carter Bridges Rivenbark tombstone

LINEAGE:   (Nettie Carter Bridges was the daughter of Alvin Ghent and Bertha Tyner Major Bridges and the granddaughter of Ghent Alford (Alfred) and Nettie Linden Cunningham Bridges.  Ghent was the third child of Cullen Thomas and Martha Virginia Thomas Bridges.  Cullen was the twelfth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

Doris Ann Clayton and Dustin Lee Fowler -- Young Victims of a Brain Tumor

 

Anita Clayton with her sister, Doris Ann Clayton

Doris Ann Clayton was born on June 26, 1942 in Trigg County, Kentucky, the second of three children born to Richard Boyd Clayton and Pauline Travis Clayton. Doris Ann’s siblings were Richard Gayle Clayton, born in 1936 and married Sylvia Jean Wallace and later married Cindy Lou Creekmore; and  Anita Joyce Clayton, born in 1943 and married Samuel Wilkinson "S.W." McNichols.

Because of their parent’s divorce, Doris Ann and her sister, Anita lived with their grandparents, Henry and Mamie Light Carloss on a farm in Trigg County, where she attended the local schools.  In the summer of 1954 when Doris Ann was 12 years old, she began to suffer severe headaches.  She was hospitalized at the Kosair Children’s Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, where she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Doris Ann went through surgery to have the tumor removed.  On Friday evening at 8 p.m. on July 16, 1954 Doris Ann died.

Doris Ann Clayton, age 12, was buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz, Kentucky.

Doris Ann Clayton tombstone

LINEAGE:  (Doris Ann Clayton was the daughter of Richard Boyd and Pauline Travis Clayton and the granddaughter of Carney Baccus and Mamie Adeline Light Travis.  Mamie was the tenth child of John J. and Emeline Catherine Thomas Light. Emeline Catherine was the seventh child 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.)

 

Dustin Ray Fowler

Dustin Ray Fowler was born on November 1, 1992 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, the only son of Jeffrey Ray Fowler and Rhonda Faye Swatzell Fowler.  He had one sister, Jessica Beatrice Lacy, born in 1989, a half-brother, Scotty Jones and a half-sister Madison Skinner.

Dustin attended school in the Trigg County system and in 2007, he was in the seventh grade at Trigg County Middle School in Cadiz, Kentucky where he was a member of the baseball team.  Dustin had been complaining of headaches and had been receiving treatments for a sinus infection.  In February of 2007, Dustin began to walk strangely as though he was having trouble keeping his balance.  Dustin begun to get extremely tired and would go to bed early which was unusual for a 14 year old boy and when he woke up he was still very tired.  After his headaches became almost unbearable, he was taken to the hospital in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.  It was there that a CAT scan revealed that he had a brain tumor. 

The doctors quickly referred Dustin to the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.  There, the doctors attempted to surgically remove his tumor, but were not able to remove all of it.  The family was told that the tumor was “very aggressive”.  During the initial 10-hour surgery, a blood clot formed next to Dustin’s heart and the surgeons went back into surgery to try to remove it. His blood pressure went down and he slipped into a coma from the physical trauma.  Dustin died at 2 p.m. on Thursday April 12, 2007.

Dustin Ray Fowler, age 14, was buried at the Caldwell Blue Spring Cemetery in Caldwell County, Kentucky.

 

Dustin Ray Fowler tombstone

LINEAGE:  (Dustin Ray Fowler was the son of Jeffrey Ray and Rhonda Faye Swatzell Fowler and the grandson of William Ray and Frances Nell Sholar Fowler and Charles Edward and Charlene Kelly Swatzell.  William Ray was the sixth child of William Terry and Mallie Helen Williams Fowler.  Mallie was the fifth child of Robert Henry and Lucy Agnes Adams Williams. Lucy was the first child of John Wylie and Martha Jane Coleman Adams.  Martha was the second child of Alfred Boyd and Alpha Thomas Coleman.  Alpha was the second child of Perry and Elizabeth Bridges Thomas. Perry was the third child of James and Mary Standley Thomas;    Charles Edward Swatzell was the first child of Thomas Lowell and Edith Beatrice Sumner Swatzell.  Edith Beatrice was the third child of William Averitt and Mary Virginia Wilson Sumner. William Averitt was the first child of William Lowery and Mary Jane Thomas Sumner.  Mary Jane was the seventh child of Rufus King and Alvie Adeline Dunn Thomas.  Rufus was the fifth child of Perry and Elizabeth Bridges Thomas.  Perry was the third child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Clyde Roger Vinson -- United States District Court Judge

 

Judge Roger Vinson

Clyde Roger Vinson was born on February 19, 1940 in Trigg County, Kentucky, the youngest of six children born to Carey Thomas Vinson, Sr. and Mallie Mae Guier Vinson.  His parents were both natives of Trigg County and his father was a well-known farmer of the county. His siblings were Lula Vinson, born in 1919 and married Lawrence Allen Wilson; June Theresa Vinson, born in 1921 and married Johnny Edmond Yeates, Jr.; Jesse Stanley Vinson, born in 1923 and married Kathryn Constance Sweeney; James Monroe Vinson, born and died in 1925 and Carey Thomas “Tom” Vinson, Jr., born in 1926 and married Winnie Nell Petty.

Roger attended a one-room school house in his early years, but he excelled academically, skipped the sixth grade and graduated from Trigg County High School at the age of 17.  Roger went on to spend a year at the University of Kentucky. He then received a congressional appointment as a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. There he earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1962, Roger entered flight training at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, a city that he would later call him home.  Despite a promising future in aviation, Roger decided to pursue a career in law.  In 1968 he enrolled at the Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville.

After graduating from law school in 1971, Roger joined the law firm, now known as Beggs & Lane which was Florida’s oldest law firm.  He practiced general civil law for them for twelve years. In the early 1980’s, Roger was nominated for a judicial position with the Northern District of Florida by President Ronald Reagan.  He was speedily confirmed by the U. S. Senate and was sworn in as a federal judge on November 4, 1983, at the age of 43.

Perhaps Judge Vinson’s most widely known ruling was in 2010 when he concluded that the legislation creating the Affordable Care Act, the legislation commonly known as Obamacare violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. After the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Judge Vinson’s ruling, it went before the U.S. Supreme Court. While a majority of justices agreed with Judge Vinson’s analysis and ruling, the act was ruled constitutional on separate grounds not raised before Judge Vinson

On December 14, 1963, Roger married Marcia Randolph Dean in Pensacola.  They were the parents of two children, Matthew Dean Vinson, born in 1969 and Benjamin Todd Vinson, born in 1972.  Roger and Marcia’s marriage ended in divorce and on June 9, 1978, Roger married Ellen Hawley Watson.  They were the parents of a son, Roger Joseph Vinson, and two step children, Catherine Jennings and Patrick Jennings, from Ellen’s earlier marriage.

Roger was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997, but after treatment, he was cancer free for 22 years.  The cancer returned in 2019 and by 2021, his prognosis was poor. Roger volunteered for clinical trials for new cancer treatments.  Although these trials could not save his life, he felt his participation would help future cancer patients.  Roger died on April 1, 2023 in Pensacola at the age of 83.  He was buried in the Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola.

LINEAGE:   (Clyde Roger Vinson was the son of Carey Thomas and Mallie Mae Guier Vinson and the grandson of Jesse Monroe and Forrest May Thomas Vinson.  Jesse was the fourth child of Henry Cullen and Mary Catherine Sumner Vinson.  Henry was the first child of Thomas Allison and Emeline Vinson Thomas.  Emeline was the fifth child of Cullen and Elizabeth Futrell Thomas.  Cullen was the first child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Forrest May Thomas was the first child of Jonathan Starkie and Julia Dyer Thomas.  Jonathan was the third child of William Bridges and Nancy Jane Rogers Thomas.  William was the first child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas. Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

William Forrest and Mary Thomas Mize -- Trigg County Farmers

 

William Forrest Mize, Sr.

Mary Elizabeth "Mae" Thomas Mize

Willam Forrest Mize, Sr. was born on March 30, 1917 in Trigg County, Kentucky, the youngest of two children born to William David Mize and Gertrude Thomas Mize.  William David and Gertrude were both natives of Trigg County.  William David was a farmer and Gertrude who was born in the Oak Grove community was the daughter of Francis Marion “Fant” Thomas and Mary Forrest Rogers Thomas.  Fant was the seventh child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.

William’s one sibling was Thomas Edward Mize, who was born in 1912 and married Mary Catherine Hughes.  Mary Catherine was also a descendant of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.

William Forrest was educated in the Trigg County Schools.  He worked for the County Highway Department and the State Park System.  He also worked as a carpenter, but his primary occupation was as a lifelong farmer.

On February 26, 1938 when William was 21 years old, he married Mary Elizabeth “Mae” Thomas in Princeton, Kentucky at the home of Rev. Olen Sisk.  Mae who was also 21 years old was born on January 23, 1917 on the Riley Hollow Road in Trigg County.  She was the fourth of eight children of Hugh Early Thomas and Georgia King Boyd Thomas, both natives of Trigg County.  Hugh was a descendant of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Mae’s siblings were Edna Earl Thomas, born in 1911 and married Luther Bertram Hughes; Eliza Pearl Thomas, born in 1913 and married Thomas Aaron Dunn; Rosie Delle Thomas, born in 1915 and married Millard Otis Munger and then married Artie Ray Cunningham; Louise Thomas, born in 1920 and married Douglas Hopson Thomas; Huel Early Thomas, born in 1923 and married John Thomas “Toppy” Edwards; Imogene Thomas, born in 1925 and married John Douglas Wetton; and Martha Nell Thomas, born in 1932 and married Charles Owen Bush.

Mae’s parents moved from Trigg County to Christian County in 1918 when Mae was a year old. She grew up on a farm in Christian County and attended the county schools, attending Walnut Grove School, completing the eighth grade at Newstead and graduating from Hopkinsville High School in 1934.  

William and Mae went on to own and operate what was known as the Toll Gate Farm, which was located at the site of the old toll gate on Highway 68 east of Cadiz. William had a passion for agriculture, conservation and farm education.  His family hosted the 4-H Farm Safety Day each year on the family farm to help educate children on farms and farm safety.

William and Mae were the parents of one child, William “Bill” Forrest Mize, Jr.  Bill was born in 1940 and married Annette Trickett.  They were divorced and he later married Cynthia Jane Hatfield.    

Mae died on December 9, 2015, at her home at the age of 98.  She and William had been married for 77 years. She was buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz.  William died on November 19, 2016, at his home at the age of 99.  He was buried in the East End Cemetery next to his wife.

LINEAGE: (William Forrest Mize, Sr. was the son of William David and Gertrude Thomas Mize. Gertrude was the eighth child of Francis Marion “Fant” and Mary Forrest Rogers Thomas.  Fant was the seventh child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas. Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

(Mary Elizabeth “Mae” Thomas was the daughter of Hugh Early and Georgia King Boyd Thomas.  Hugh was the sixth child of Robert Allison and Emma Nora Cunningham Thomas.  Robert was the fifth child 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.)

Dale Thomas Calhoun -- First Woman to Serve on Trigg County Fiscal Court

 

Dale Thomas Calhoun

Velva Dale Thomas was born on August 13, 1939 in Trigg County, Kentucky.   She was the third of four children born to Homer Blane Thomas and Beulah Louise Bridges Thomas.  Her parents were both natives of Trigg County and her father was a farmer.  Her siblings were Robert Blane Thomas, born in 1937 and died in 1938; Dora Larue Thomas, born in 1938 and married Lewis O. Sharp and later married E. W. Oliver; and Sue Anna Thomas, born in 1941 and married Emlis H. King.

Dale started school at the Oak Grove School and later attended the Maple Grove School.  She then went on to attend the Cadiz Graded School in Cadiz.  She attended high school at Trigg County High School.  She graduated from Trigg County High School in 1957 as an honor student.

In 1961, Dale began working for the S. H. Kress and Co. department store in Hopkinsville, Kentucky where she worked until 1965.  While working at the Kress store, she attended a vocational school during the fall of 1964 and spring of 1965.  In the fall of 1965 she began a new job with Collins Buick in Hopkinsville. The following year she returned to Trigg County to work, accepting a position with Hoover Ball and Bearing, Co. where she worked until January 1972.

On May 10, 1957 Dale married her first husband, William Hawkins Smith, Jr. in Robertson County, Tennessee. William, a Trigg County native, was born on May 10, 1939.  William and Dale had a son, William Dale Smith who was born on May 6, 1958. Dale’s marriage to William ended by divorce in 1963.  William Dale died on August 21, 1975 in a tragic farm tractor accident which occurred on his great uncle’s farm in the Maple Grove community.  He was buried in the Drury Bridges Cemetery.

Dale’s second marriage was on August 17, 1968 to Marvin Cloud “Goober” Calhoun.  Goober was born on July 6, 1940 in the Donaldson Creek community, the son of James Monroe Calhoun and Mary Lucille Noel Calhoun.  Goober attended the Graham School and the Linton School.  He worked as a farmer and then worked with the Fourshee Building Contractors where he was a backhoe operator and a painter.  In July 1966 he went to work at the Hoover Ball and Bearing Company until June 1967, when he partnered with Freddie Bryant to form their own business, the Calhoun and Bryant Excavating Company.  Later he was the owner and operator of Marvin Calhoun Backhoe Service.

On November 5, 1985 Goober was elected as the magistrate for the Trigg County Fiscal Court representing the Sixth District.  The Fiscal Court serves as the legislative body for the governance of the county.  He served from 1986 to 1990.  In May 1993 he was elected again for a five-year term as county magistrate.

Dale and Goober lived on a farm on Beechy Fork Creek in Trigg County which they bought in 1971.  Along with this farm, Goober also operated the farm belonging to Dale’s parents.  On March 20, 1997, Goober died as a result of an apparent heart attack at the age of 56.  He was buried in the Lucian Thomas Cemetery in Trigg County, Kentucky.

A history-making event occurred on April 30, 1997 when Kentucky Governor Paul Patton appointed Dale to serve out the remaining term of her husband’s tenure as magistrate from the Sixth District on Trigg County’s Fiscal Court. Dale became the first woman to serve on the County’s Fiscal Court.  She was sworn in to the position left vacant as the result of her husband death.   Trigg District Judge Chappell officiated over the swearing in ceremony at the Trigg County Courthouse on May 1, 1997. 

Dale died on July 12, 2010 at the age of 70.  She was buried in the Lucian Thomas Cemetery next to her husband.

Dale Thomas Calhoun tombstone

LINEAGE: (Velva Dale Thomas Calhoun was the daughter of Homer Blane and Beulah Louise Bridges Thomas and the granddaughter of Lucian M. and Inez B. Crews Thomas and John Trice and Maggie Dora Cunningham Bridges.  Lucian was the fourth child of Jonathan Starkie and Julia Dyer Thomas. Jonathan was the third child of William Bridges and Nancy Jane Rogers Thomas.  William was the first child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  John Trice was the sixth child of Cullen T. and Martha Virginia Thomas Bridges.  Cullen was the twelfth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

 

 

Robert Cary Mahan -- Professional Ski Instructor

 

Robert Cary Mahan was born on August 11, 1969 in Columbus, Ohio.  He was the oldest of four children of Daniel Mark Mahan and Susanna Wilson Davis Mahan. Susanna was a descendant of Perry Thomas and her family had lived in Ashland, Kentucky for several generations, after having moved from Mayfield, Kentucky.  Rob had two brothers, Benjamin Cade Mahan and Case Mahan and a sister, Colleen Mahan.

 Rob grew up in Ashland, Kentucky and graduated from the Paul G. Blazer High School in 1987 where he had been a member of the Ski Club.  Growing up with the nearby West Virginia ski resorts as his playground, Rob grew to love the sport of snow skiing.  

After graduating from high school, Rob moved to Snowshoe, West Virginia to pursue a career as a skiing professional.  Rob became an experienced ski racer and worked as an instructor at the Snowshoe Resort’s Ski and Snowboard School for many years.  He later became the Director of the school.

Rob was a professional athlete of the highest caliber. In addition to his ski career at Snowshoe, he was a PGA teaching professional for the Hawthorne Valley Golf Club of Snowshoe Resort. 

In 2004, Rob moved to Colorado to become a supervisor of training for ski instructors at the Beaver Creek Resort in Avon, Colorado. At Beaver Creek, Rob was a member of the National Champion Beaver Creek Synchronized Ski Team. He also competed with that team in the Synchronized World Championships for several years in Switzerland. Rob skied all over the world, from Australia and New Zealand to France, Italy and Austria. Rob became the director of training for ski instructors at Vail Resorts in Vail, Colo., and the largest ski school in the world.

Rob was an active member of the Professional Ski instructors of America. (PSIA) He achieved the highest level of certification awarded by that institution. In addition, he was an examiner and trainer for PSIA and a member of their Eastern Regional Demonstration Team, traveling and representing PSIA around the country.

Rob was diagnosed with a brain cancer in 2009, but he continued o work at his job as director of training for ski instructors at Vail Resorts in Vail.  He died on February 3, 2012 in Ashland, Kentucky at the age of 42.  Both of his parents were at his side at the time of his death.  He was buried in the Rose Hill Burial Park and Mausoleum in Ashland, Kentucky.

Rob Mahan tombstone

LINEAGE:  (Robert Cary Mahan was the son of Daniel Mark and Susanna Wilson Davis Mahan and the grandson of Billy Wilson and Susanna Roof Davis.  Billy was the first child of Homer Elijah and Opal Muriel Wilson Davis.  Opal was the second child of John William and Ora Avis Lancaster Wilson.  Ora Avis was the fifth child of James Edwin and Peachie Ann Coleman Lancaster.  Peachie Ann was the fourth child of Alfred Boyd and Alpha Thomas Coleman.  Alpha was the second child of Perry and Elizabeth Josephine Bridges Thomas.  Perry was the third child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

James Marshall Thomas -- Young Victim of a Car Crash

 

James Marshall Thomas was born on March 1, 1939 in Julien, Kentucky.  He was the third of five children born to Zealous Earl Thomas and Cora Patterson Thomas.  Zealous Earl was a native of Trigg County and had worked as an auto mechanic, a timber man and as a farmer.  His wife, Cora, was a native of Lyon County, Kentucky.  Marshall’s siblings were Preston Earl Thomas, born in 1932 and married Glenda Lorrell Cavanah; Albert Claude Thomas, born in 1936 and married Virginia Nell Skillion; Fred Allen Thomas, born in 1941 and married Vonnie Elaine Dalton; and Wanda Lee Thomas, born in 1948 and married Roy S. Rogers.

Marshall lived his early years in Christian County, but his family settled in Trigg County in the 1940s and he attended schools in Trigg County and graduated from Trigg County High School. He had worked as a truck driver for the Trigg County Trading Company.

On the evening of April 5, 1958, Marshall, who was 19 years old, was traveling in a vehicle westbound on US Highway 68 toward Cadiz, Kentucky with three of his friends, John Carroll Dawson, age 17, Ewin Futrell, age 16 and James Mathis, age 23.  Both Dawson and Futrell were still students at Trigg County High School. A little after midnight at approximately 12:05 am, their vehicle approached a curve at King’s Chapel Church, four miles east of Cadiz. The curve was noted as the scene of a number of serious car accidents in the past.

The boys’ 1957 model car belonged to John Carroll Dawson’s father and it is believed that young Dawson was driving the vehicle.  As it approached the sharp curve, it side-swiped an eastbound tractor-trailer truck.  It appeared the initial impact was made at the left front fender of the truck.  The car swiped past the door, then struck the rear dual wheels of the tractor-trailer with enough force to knock them from under the truck. The car then went out of control, left the highway and overturned, throwing all four occupants from the vehicle.

Three of the young occupants, Thomas, Dawson and Futrell were instantly killed as the result of the wreck. Young Mathis was the only survivor of the four.  He received a fractured pelvis, broken ribs and kidney bruises.  Mathis had lost an arm in a traffic accident a few years earlier.  The truck driver and a passenger in the truck were not injured.

James Marshall Thomas who died at the age of 19 in the early hours of April 6, 1958 was buried on April 7, 1958 in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Trigg County, Kentucky.

Marshall Thomas Tombstone

LINEAGE:  (James Marshall Thomas was the son of Zealous Earl and Cora Patterson Thomas, the grandson of Alfred Claude and Mamie Jane Stallons Thomas.  Alfred was the third child of Robert Allison and Emma Nora Cunningham Thomas.  Robert Allison was the fifth child 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 Mary Standley Thomas.)

Garnett Edward "Ed" Francis -- Electrical Engineer

 

Garnett Edward Francis was born on May 5, 1920 in Trigg County, Kentucky, the second of four children born to Homer Ervin Francis and Lola Francis Bridges. Homer was a farmer in the Donaldson Creek area of the county and Lola or “Fannie” as she was known was a housekeeper. Homer and Fannie had an unnamed infant who was born and died in 1919 and a daughter, Edith Lucille Francis born in 1922 and married Roy Vernon Witty and a second son, Lacy Rex Francis, born in 1927 and married Eva Marie Kennedy.

Ed grew up in rural Trigg County and attended school in the one-room Maple Grove School for his first eight years.  He later attended the Cadiz High School for one year and then on to Trigg County High School where he was a member of the basketball team and was a starter on the school’s first football team.  He graduated from TCHS in 1939.

On April 8, 1942, Ed enlisted in the United States Navy at Hopkinsville, Kentucky.  He was sent to boot camp at the Naval Training Station in San Diego, California.  Upon completion of boot camp, he was assigned aboard the heavy cruiser, the USS Northampton. The first assignment of the ship after Ed arrived on board was to escort the aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet to within flying  distance of Japan so its planes could bomb Tokyo for the first time.  

Ed experienced one of the most terrifying moments of his life on the night of November 30, 1943 when during the Battle of Guadacanal, the USS Northampton was fatally torpedoed by the Japanese and the crew was ordered to abandon ship.  About 50 men lost their lives, but Ed was among some 500 men rescued from the murky waters and was taken to the island of New Caledonia.  Ed was honorably discharged as an electrician’s mate first class on November 8, 1945 at Great Lakes, Illinois.

Ed returned to civilian life and enrolled at the University of Kentucky in Lexington where in 1949 he earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in agricultural economics.

On July 3, 1955, Ed married Mabel Evelyn Tuggle in Madisonville, Kentucky.  Mabel was born on February 14, 1919, the daughter of Norris H. and Emma Maude Randolph Tuggle of Trigg County, Kentucky.  Mabel was an elementary school teacher.   Ed and Mabel had one son, David Edward Francis, born in 1962 and married Tina Louise Delanoiz.  Ed was married for a second time on May 15, 1971 to Eunice Armento Wills Simmons.  Eunice was born on February 2, 1925 in Trigg County, the daughter of Henry Hill and Alice Louise Burks Wills and worked as a nurse’s aide.

Ed worked for fourteen years as a company representative in sales and service of farm and industrial equipment for Moline Farm Machinery Company. He then worked as an industrial residential electrician and as a maintenance supervisor along with working part time farming on his own farm.  Ed ran unsuccessfully for the position of Trigg County Property Valuation Administrator in 1981.

Ed died on April 24, 1993 at the age of 72 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.  He was buried in the Trigg Memory Acres Cemetery in Trigg County.  His wife, Eunice, died on April 30, 2005 at the age of 80 in Gahanna, Ohio.  She was buried next to her husband in the Trigg Memory Acres.

 

Ed and Eunice Francis tombstone

LINEAGE:  (Garnett Edward Francis was the son of Homer Ervin and Lola Frances Bridges Francis and the grandson of John Trice and Maggie Dora Cunningham Bridges.  John Trice was the sixth child of Cullen Thomas and Martha Ann Virginia Thomas Bridges. Cullen was the twelfth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

Nat Hartwell Godbold -- Nuclear Engineer

 

 

 

 

Nat Hartwell Godbold was born on January 31, 1908 in Comanche, Texas.  He was the youngest of three children born to Sanctus Wilbur Godbold and Mollie Evelyn Moore.  His father, Sanctus, was a proprietor of a hotel in Long Beach, California.  Mollie Evelyn Moore was a granddaughter of Stanley Thomas of Trigg County, Kentucky.  Nat's siblings were Sanctus Wilbur, Jr., born in 1899 and Mary Ida, born in 1904.

Nat grew up in Comanche and attended the local schools.  He enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin where he received his doctorate in physics in 1932. For two years in the late 1930s, he taught physics at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.  He then moved to Fort Worth where he became the head of the electrical engineering department at Freese & Nichols, an engineering, planning and consulting firm founded in 1894 and served clients across the southwest and southeast United States.  He worked with the firm from 1940 to 1942.

During World War II, Nat worked on numerous governmental projects.   He worked at the Pantex Nuclear Weapons Facility located 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, Texas.  The Pantex plant was America’s only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility.  He went on to work at the Harvard Underwater Sound Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  The sound lab was established in 1941 to research and design new equipment to improve underwater detections systems.  Also during the war, he worked at the Los Alamos Scientific Lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico. This lab was one of the world’s largest and most advanced scientific institution and was best known for its central role in helping develop the first atomic bomb. Nat’s  respected knowledge in the field of physics was critical in the nation’s war effort.

Following the war, Nat moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho where he lived until 1956 when he moved back to Fort Worth and worked as a nuclear engineer with the General Dynamics Corporation.  The company’s Fort Worth branch was involved primarily in aircraft production and became a part of Lockheed in 1993.  Nat worked at the company until his retirement.

While a student at the University of Texas, Nat met Evelyn Claudia Padgett of Houston, Texas. On March 27, 1932, Nat and Evelyn were married in Austin, Texas.  Evelyn was born on February 18, 1909 in Houston and was the daughter of Thomas Henry Padgett and Claudia Virginia Sullivan Padgett.  Nat and Evelyn became the parents of five children, Neil Hartwell, born in 1932; Mollie Jane, born in 1936; Virginia Lee, born in 1938; Sheryl Ann born in 1950 and Gary Thomas, born in 1951.

Nat died on June 5, 1993 at a nursing home in White Settlement, Texas at the age of 85. He was buried in the Laurel Land Memorial Park Cemetery in Fort Worth.  Evelyn died on August 8, 1995 at a nursing home in Fort Worth at the age of 86 and was buried in the Laurel Land Memorial Park Cemetery next  to her husband.

 

Nat and Evelyn tombstone

LINEAGE: (Nat Hartwell Godbold was the son of Sanctus Wilbur and Mollie Evelyn Moore Godbold and the grandson of Thomas Oscar and Sarah Adelie Thomas Moore.  Sarah Adelie was the third child of Stanley and Sarah Thompson Rothrock Thomas.  Stanley was the seventh child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Ted and Beulah Sumner Thomas -- Farmer and County Magistrate

 

Ted Thomas was born September 25, 1901 on Donaldson Creek in Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was the oldest of seven children born to Dallie Brown Thomas and Willie Mae Thomas Thomas.  Both of his parents were natives of Trigg County.  His father was a farmer.  His siblings were Elmer Rowden Thomas, born in 1904 and married Marie E. Lance; Stella Grace Thomas, born in 1906 and married Chester Allen Sumner and then married Ernest Clyde Finley; Lula Maude Thomas, born in 1908 and married James Preston Sumner and then married Charles Dell Taylor III; Edna Ruth Thomas, born in 1912 and married Lloyd Seldon Downs and then married Meredith Simmons Christian; Bessie Mae Thomas, born in 1915 and married Herman Taylor Adams; and James Amos Thomas, born in 1918 and married Virginia Frances Futrell.  He had two half-brothers, Dallie Brown Thomas, Jr., born in 1923 and married Virginia Lucille Gardner and Earl Benard Thomas, born in 1925 and married Mary Ann Sumner.  Their mother was Ollie Mae Downs, his father’s second wife.

Ted grew up in the Donaldson Creek community and attended the Upper Donaldson School.  But he only attended school for a few years. Ted worked as a sharecropper for many years He also worked in timber along with his farming.

On November 14, 1920, Ted married Beulah Sumner in Dover, Tennessee. Beulah was also born on Donaldson Creek on September 21, 1900.  She was the oldest child of Thomas “Tommie” Darnell Sumner and Lula Bell Thomas Sumner and was a descendant of Drury Bridges.  Her siblings were Bessie Marie Sumner, born in 1903 and married D. B. Redd; James Preston Sumner, born in 1906 and married Lula Maude Thomas and then married Marie Eakers; Thomas Herbert Sumner, born in 1909 and married Edna Lucille Thomas; and Bayliss Hugh Sumner, born in 1914 and married Ruby Helen Calhoun. Beulah grew up on Donaldson Creek and first attended Lower Donaldson School, but later attended Upper Donaldson School.

Ted and Beulah bought a rundown farm in the Oakland community of Trigg County, where they built their home.  They had to build a tobacco barn, a stock barn and all of the other outbuildings that were required to operate a farm.  And at that time there were no modern conveniences.  In 1945 they also built a county store which they operated until they sold it in 1963.

Ted became interested in the government of his county and in 1962, he was elected county magistrate to serve on the Trigg County Fiscal Court as the representative from the Sixth District. The Fiscal Court was the legislative body for the county.  Ted ended up serving five terms on the court, stepping down in 1982, after 20 years of service. His decision not to continue to serve was because of his age and his wife’s health.  Ted did not consider himself a politician even though he held one of the most influential positions in the county.  He loved Trigg County and served it well by supporting the county government, the roads, the local hospital and his church.

Ted and Beulah were the parents of four children, Wilford Allen Thomas, born in 1921, who married Vonnie Lorene Wallace; Wallace Hugh Thomas, born in 1923 and died in 1925 at the age of 2; Mildred Blanche Thomas, born in 1925, who married Thomas Catlett Carney; and Geneva Gray Thomas, born in 1927 and married Raymond Jackson Futrell.

Beulah died on October 27, 1982 in Trigg County at the age of 82 as a result of a heart condition. She was buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz.  Ted died the following year on November 4, 1983 in Cadiz at the age of 82 after a battle with cancer.  He was buried in the East End Cemetery next to his wife.

Ted and Beulah Thomas tombstone

LINEAGE: (Ted Thomas was the son of Dallie Brown and Willie Mae Thomas Thomas and the grandson of Rufus King and Alvie Adeline Dunn Thomas.  Rufus King was the fifth child of Perry and Elizabeth Bridges Thomas.  Perry was the third child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

(Beulah Sumner was the daughter of Thomas “Tommie” Darnell and Lula Bell Thomas Sumner and the granddaughter of James Edmond and Mary Louisa Bridges Sumner.  Mary Louisa was the second 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.)