Chester Keidell Bridges -- City Employee and Cemetery Sexton

 

Keidell Bridges

Chester Keidell Bridges was born on January 14, 1925 in the Maple Grove Community of Trigg County, Kentucky. He was the second child of Peyton Thomas Bridges and Ida Crutchfield Light Bridges.  Peyton was a native of Trigg County and was a great grandson of William Bridges. Ida was the daughter of John J. and Emeline Thomas Light and was the great-granddaughter of Starkie Thomas. Keidell’s siblings were Alfred Wesley, born in 1922 and died in 1926 at the age of 4, Juanita Katherine, born in 1929 and Charles Kenneth, born in 1944.

Keidell grew up in the Maple Grove Community of Trigg County.  In his early school years, he attended a one room schoolhouse with his grandfather being the teacher.  He later attended Trigg County High School where he excelled in basketball.  In the mid 1940s, Keidell went for induction into the military service, but was turned down for service because of a heart condition.

On November 24, 1948 Keidell married Doris Dale Anderson in Piggott, Arkansas. Doris was born on February 2, 1933 and was the daughter of Raymond and Vera P’Pool Anderson of the Wallonia community. Raymond was a native of Corinth, Arkansas and Vera a native of Trigg County. Keidell and Doris were the parents of four children, Chester Dale, born in 1951; Timothy Allen, born in 1958; Jeannie Lynn, born in 1960 and Michael Wayne, born in 1968.

During the 1950s and early 1960s, Keidell worked at several jobs in Cadiz, Russellville and Trenton, Kentucky. He worked for several years at the Gulf Service Station in east Cadiz and later as a salesman for a wholesale snack company in western Kentucky.

In 1968, Keidell became an employee of the City of Cadiz in the city’s maintenance department. He later became in charge of the department and was responsible for maintenance and repairs of city streets, upkeep and replacement of street signs, the clearing of brush and leaves in the city and upkeep of the city-owned East End Cemetery. Keidell became well respected in his position as sexton of the East End Cemetery.

One of his proudest accomplishments at the cemetery was the discovery of the original entrance sign to the cemetery which had been torn down by the W. P. A. during the construction of the original rock fence that now runs in front of the cemetery and the nearby high school.  The sign was discovered covered in leaves and trash in an old gully behind the cemetery.  Keidell was instrumental in getting the old sign, repaired, repainted and made four feet wider due to the difference in the measurements of the old iron fence on which it originally stood and the presently standing rock fence. Keidell stated that he was very proud to have the old sign reinstalled as many people had questioned him concerning the name of the cemetery.  The sign clearly states East End Cemetery.

Keidell was also instrumental in bringing to the attention of the East End Cemetery Committee that there were up to 200 African-American citizens that were buried in the cemetery with only about seven of those graves having a marker. The area in the center of the cemetery that appears to be open space is the location of these graves. Many of the graves date from the origins of the cemetery in 1835. As a result of this revelation, an African-American Memorial was erected in the cemetery in 2014,  

Keidell retired in 1990 after serving the city of Cadiz for 22 years. Keidell died on July 10, 1991 of an apparent heart attack at his home. He was 66 years old.  He was buried in his beloved East End Cemetery in Cadiz.  Doris died on May 12, 2004 in Cadiz at the age of 71.  She was buried next to her husband in East End Cemetery.

Doris Anderson Bridges

Tombstone of Keidell and Doris Bridges

LINEAGE: (Chester Keidell Bridges was the son of Peyton Thomas and Ida Light Bridges and the grandson of Ghent Alfred and Nettie Cunningham Bridges.  Ghent was the third child of Cullen Thomas and 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.)

Mancil James Vinson -- State Government Agriculture Leader

 

Mancil James Vinson

Mancil James Vinson was born on October 4, 1924 in Calloway County, Kentucky.  He was the fourth and youngest child of Henry Cullen “Bub” Vinson and Amy Susan Knight Vinson. Henry was a farmer and a native of Trigg County, Kentucky. He died in an automobile accident when Mancil was 16 years old. His mother, Susan, was a native of Stewart County, Tennessee.  Mancil’s siblings included an unnamed infant, born and died in 1904; a sister, Wildy Lee, born in 1913 and died at the age of six; and a sister, Zelma Estelle, born in 1911.

Mancil attended schools in Calloway County and earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education from Murray State University in 1949.  He went on to obtain his Master of Science Degree in Agriculture from the University of Kentucky in 1960. He was awarded membership in Gamma Sigma Delta fraternity for his high scholarship and outstanding achievement in Agriculture Science.

He was a World War II veteran serving in the United States Air Force He had the honor of being assigned as a guard at the Nuremberg Trials and witnessed the testing of the first atomic bomb in New Mexico.

On January 4, 1950, Mancil married Pearl Anne Stephens at the Porter Memorial Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. Mancil had met Anne while working on his graduate degree at UK.   She was the daughter of Lewis and Christine Welch Stephens of Lexington. After their marriage, Mancil and Anne made their home in Hopkinsville, Kentucky where he had begun his career as an agriculture and science teacher at the Sinking Fork High School.

From 1956 until 1968, Mancil  was  associated with  the  State of Kentucky  Department  of Agriculture,  first  as  director  of marketing  and  then  as  assistant commissioner. During  his  years   with   the department,  he  was  active  in the  development  and  expansion  of the  market  news  system  and special  market  promotions  and services  that  were  designed  to improve  the  efficiency  of  the marketing  channel. He served 16 years with the state Agriculture Department, serving longer than any other individual and under five commissioners, both Democrats and Republicans

On October 15, 1968, Mancil returned to his home town of Murray to become the become director of alumni affairs for Murray State University.  He served at MSU for 13 years.  He ended his career as a representative for the Kentucky Independent Bankers Association.

He was the first recipient of the Outstanding Agriculture Alumnus Award presented by the Murray State University Department of Agriculture and was awarded the Golden Horseshoe Award from Murray State University for his dedicated service to the university. Mancil also served on the Murray City Council for two terms in the 1970's.

Mancil died on June 13, 2015 at his home in Murray at the age of 90. He was buried in the Murray City Cemetery.

 Tombstone of Mancil J. Vinson

LINEAGE:  (Mancil James Vinson was the son of Henry Cullen and Amy Susan Knight Vinson and the grandson of James Henry and Martha Alice Futrell Vinson.  James Henry was the first child of Baylous Prent and Amanda Jane Thomas Vinson.  Amanda was the fifth child of James, Jr. and Margaret Ethridge Thomas.  James, Jr. was the sixth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Mary Louise Sumner Thomas -- Beloved Second Grade Teacher

 

Louise Sumner Thomas

Mary Louise Sumner was born on April 28, 1911 in her parents' home on U. S. 68 in the western section of Trigg County, Kentucky.  She was the second of five children born to Derwood Floyd Sumner and Lillie Jane Thomas Sumner.  Her siblings were Ernest Raymond, born in 1908; Thomas Howell, born in 1917; Nella Agnes, born in 1920 and Eugene Lewis, born in 1927.

Louise attended the one-room Oak Grove School and in the fall of 1925, she entered Cadiz High School where she graduated in May 1929.  She then enrolled in Murray Teacher’s College, now Murray State University, for her teacher and school administration training.  In the fall of 1935, Louise had only completed a year and a half of college when she left the school and began teaching all eight grades in a one-room school in Hickory Grove, Kentucky.

After she had been at Hickory Grove for a year, the school building burned and the school was closed.  She then began teaching at another one-room school, the Delmont School in Trigg County where she taught from 1936 to 1938.  In 1939, she taught at the Siloam School for one year and the last one-room school where she taught was her home school at Oak Grove where she taught for three years, making a total of seven years of teaching in one-room schools.

During the early 1940s, Louise was able to return to Murray State University where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education and was also certified in administration and supervision in May 1941.

In 1943, Louise joined the faculty at the Cadiz Graded School in Cadiz. The school had been the high school where Louise attended and had been converted to an elementary school in 1938.  Louise’s position in the school was as a second grade teacher where she taught for 20 continuous years.  In 1962, the Cadiz Graded School was closed and the students moved to a new Trigg County Elementary School.  In the spring of 1963, Louise was appointed as the principal of the new elementary school.  She served as the principal for three years.  She then requested that she be allowed to return to the second grade position because she did not like the long hours required of the principal and because of the illness of her mother. Louise continued to teach until 1971 when she retired from teaching after spending 36 years in the classroom.

On August 13, 1949, Louise married John Alex Thomas at the home of the officiating minister, Rev. J. T. Lewis in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.  John was born June 20, 1907 and was the son of Lucian M. and Inez Crews Thomas, He was a descendant of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas. John was a farmer and he and Louise lived on a farm in the Oak Grove community. Louise and John had no children but had a number of nieces’ and nephews who they considered as their own children.

John died on December 22, 1982 in Cadiz, Kentucky at the age of 75.  He was buried in the Starkie Thomas Cemetery in Trigg County.  Louise suffered a severe stroke on September 13, 1978, which left her right side paralyzed. Although her active life was ended, she continued to live in her home and enjoy her visitors.  She died on September 12, 2003 in her home at the age of 92.  She was buried in the Starkie Thomas Cemetery next to her husband.

Louise and John Alex at their 25th Wedding Anniversary

 

 Louise and John Alex tombstone

LINEAGE:  (Mary Louise Sumner Thomas was the second child of Derwood Floyd and Lillie Jane Thomas Sumner.  Derwood Floyd was the fifth child of Benjamin Miles and Henrietta Gabrella Bridges Sumner.  Henrietta was the first 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.)

Samuel Lee Baker -- Department Store Manager

 

Samuel Lee Baker

Samuel Lee Baker was born on September 30, 1899 in Cadiz, Kentucky, the son of Mark Smith Baker and Mattie Mae Ricks Baker.  Smith was a farmer and a native of Trigg County, Kentucky and his wife Mattie was also a native of Kentucky. Sam’s grandparents were Samuel Freeman and Sarah Adeline Thomas Baker.
Sam was the first of Smith and Mattie’s three children.  Sam’s had two younger brothers, Robert Adeline, born in 1904 and Clyde Edward, born in 1906.  Sam’s father, Smith, married for the second time, his second wife being Effie Oliver Reddick, also a native of Trigg County. This marriage produced a half brother for Sam, Harry Smith “Bud,” who was born in 1930.

Although born in Cadiz, Sam spent most of his early life in the Riley Hollow Community in Trigg County.  He worked as a farmer during his early years but by 1921, he had become the chief clerk in the post office in Cadiz.  On December 28, 1921 Sam married Vera Evelyn Cunningham at the Cadiz Baptist Church.  Rev. E. L. Andrews conducted the ceremony which was held in the church’s parsonage with only a few friends being in attendance.  Evelyn was born on July 31, 1899 in the Trigg Furnace community of Trigg County. She was the third of seven children of Gilford Wimberly “Gip” Cunningham and Cora Edith Cunningham, both natives of Trigg County, Kentucky.

In 1925, Sam became an employee of the F. B. Wilkinson’s Department Store in downtown Cadiz.   He soon rose to the position of manager of the store’s bargain basement. The basement also included the store’s toy department and Sam was responsible each Christmas of helping to set up the toy display in the store’s sidewalk windows. Sam worked in the department until his retirement in 1965, having served the store for 40 years.  Sam was considered a prominent citizen of Cadiz for his work at the department store.  Evelyn also worked as a nurse’s aide for several years at the Trigg County Hospital.

Sam and Evelyn were the parents of three daughters and one son.  Their children were Eris Elaine, born in 1923; James Minos “Jimmie,” born in 1925; Cora Mae, born in 1927 and Mary Ann, born in 1929.

After Sam’s retirement from the department store, he worked part-time at the Rawls Cee Bee Grocery Store.  In the latter part of January, 1966, an ice and snow storm hit the city of Cadiz.  The ice lingered for more than a week. Sam was walking on the sidewalk on Main Street near his home when he slipped and fell on the ice, sustaining a concussion from the fall.  He was admitted to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville on Thursday, February 3, from the injuries suffered from the fall and died the following morning on Friday, February 4, 1966.  Sam was 66 years old at the time of his death.  Evelyn had preceded him in death on May 24, 1964.  She died at their home in Cadiz at the age of 64.  Both were buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz, Kentucky.

 Sam and Evelyn Baker and their children

Tombstone of Sam and Evelyn Baker

LINEAGE:  (Samuel Lee Baker was the son of Mark Smith and Mattie Mae Ricks Baker and the grandson of Samuel Freeman and Sarah Adeline Thomas Baker.  Sarah was the first 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.  Mary was the seventh child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)