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.)