Bill H. Sumner -- Grocery Store Owner and Farmer

 

Bill H. Sumner

Bill H. Sumner was born on February 10, 1940 in Trigg County, Kentucky, the oldest of two children born to Bayliss Hugh Sumner and Ruby Helen Calhoun Sumner.  Bayliss and Ruby were both natives of Trigg County. Bayliss grew up in the Donaldson Creek community and was a farmer.  He was a descendant of both Drewry Bridges and Perry Thomas. Bill’s only sibling was Bobbie Nell Sumner, born in 1942 and married Harlan Calhoun.

Bill grew up on his father’s farm on Donaldson Creek and attended the Upper Donaldson Grade School.  He went on to attend Trigg County High School in Cadiz where he graduated in 1958.

On October 6, 1959, Bill was drafted into the U.S. Army.  He was sent to Fort Jackson, South Carolina where he received two months of basic training.  He was then transferred to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas where he received two months of medical training.  On February 20, 1960 he was sent to Fort Campbell, Kentucky where he worked at the U.S. Army Hospital in medical supply for two years. Bill was scheduled to be discharged on October 7, 1961 but because of the Berlin Crisis his term of duty was extended for 120 days.  He was honorably discharged on February 5, 1962 with the rank of a Private First Class.

Bill married Brenda Shemwell on December 7, 1963 at the Julien Baptist Church in Julien, Kentucky.  Brenda was born on March 13, 1945, the daughter of Delmar Lloyd Shemwell and Iva Beatrice Sumner Shemwell, both natives of Trigg County, Kentucky. Delmar was a farmer.  Brenda grew up on her father’s farm near the Caledonia community of Trigg County.  She graduated from Trigg County High School in 1963.

After the completion of his military service, Bill returned to Trigg County where he was employed with the Christian County Soil Conservation Service in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. After two years, he went to work for Thomas Industries in Hopkinsville where he was employed for sixteen years.  In 1980, Bill became the owner and operator of Sumner’s South Road Market.  The market was on the same site on the South Road in Trigg County of an earlier grocery owned by Bill’s uncle which was well remembered as the “Ted Thomas Grocery.” In addition to operating the market, Bill returned to farming which included raising cattle.  Brenda worked in several positions over the years including the medical records section of Jennie Stuart Memorial Hospital and bookkeeper for W. Jeff Hammond Moving and Storage, both in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.  She worked in the Trigg County Government with the County Judge, Trigg County Sheriff as Deputy Sheriff and bookkeeper for the sheriff’s office.

Bill and Brenda were the parents of two children, Tamara Lynn Sumner, born in 1966 and married John Perry Fourqurean, Jr.; and John Kevin Sumner, born in 1967 and married Amy Elizabeth Stagner.

Bill died on December 18, 2015 at the age of 75 in the Jennie Stuart Medical Center in Hopkinsville, Kentucky as a result of a farm accident.  He was buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz.

 Bill's tombstone

 

Bill's military tombstone

LINEAGE: (Bill H. Sumner was the son of Bayliss Hugh and Ruby Helen Calhoun Sumner and the grandson of Thomas “Tommie” Darnell and Lula Bell Thomas Sumner.  Tommie was the third child 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.  Lula Bell Thomas was the fifth child of Chilton Allen and Martha Ann Duncan Thomas.  Chilton was the tenth child of Perry and Elizabeth Josephine Bridges Thomas.  Perry was the third child of James and Mary Standley

D.B. and Bessie Sumner Redd -- Carpenter and Housewife

 

D.B. and Bessie Sumner Redd

 

D.B. Redd was born on June 22, 1902 in Trigg County, Kentucky, the fourth of nine children born to Walker Redd and Amelia Eudora Williams Redd.  Walker was a native of Trigg County and a prominent farmer and carpenter in the Donaldson Creek community.  Amelia was also born in Trigg County and died at the early age of 36. Following Amelia’s death, Walker married Etna Thomas, who was born on November 3, 1897 in Trigg County and was the daughter of Chilton Allen Thomas and Amanda Ellen Chewning Thomas. Walker and Etna had two daughters, who were half-sisters to D.B. They were Rebecca Ellen Redd, born in 1925 and married John Primm Adams and Geneva Ann “Jan” Redd, born in 1928 and married Charles Edison Ahart and then married Jockney Gerald Eichelberger.

D. B. grew up in the Donaldson Creek community and when entering young adulthood, he became a farmer. He also learned to be a carpenter from his father.  His father was known throughout Trigg and the nearby counties as excellent builder of barns.  The carpentry trade became D. B.’s main career.

On Sunday, May 6, 1923 D.B. married Bessie Marie Sumner in Stewart County, Tennessee.  Bessie was born on February 1, 1903 in Trigg County, the second of five children of Thomas “Tommie” Darnell Sumner and Lula Bell Thomas Sumner.  Tommie was a farmer in the Donaldson Creek community.  He was a native of Trigg County and a grandson of Drewry Bridges.  Lula was also a native of Trigg County and was a granddaughter of Perry Thomas. Bessie’s siblings were Beulah Sumner, born in 1900 and married Ted Thomas; 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.

After their marriage, D.B. and Bessie lived on his father’s farm in Trigg County except for two short periods when they moved to Akron, Ohio and to Benton, Kentucky.  In 1945, they moved to Canton, Kentucky which became their permanent home.  D.B. accepted a position with the Trigg County Board of Education where he worked for 28 years until his retirement.

D.B. and Bessie were the parents of five children.  They were Chappell Blane Redd, born in 1924 and married Anna Vernell Johnson; Jewell Grace Redd, born in 1928 and married John J. Bentley and then married Richard Haydon Miller; Freda Merle Redd, born in 1930 and married Frank Thomas McAtee; James Bernard Redd, born in 1935 and married Mary Lou Stillmaker; and Billy Randall Redd, born in 1937 and married Catherine Frances Rives.

Bessie died on January 14, 1997 at the age of 93 in the Jennie Stuart Medical Center in Hopkinsville, Kentucky and was buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz.  D.B. died exactly one year later on January 14, 1998 at the age of 95 in the Trigg County Hospital in Cadiz.  He was buried in the East End Cemetery next to his wife.

D.B. tombstone

 Bessie tombstone

 

LINEAGE: (D.B. Redd was the husband of Bessie Marie Sumner.  Bessie was the daughter of Thomas “Tommie” Darnell and Lula Bell Thomas Sumner.  Tommie was the third child of James Edmond and Mary Louisa Bridges Sumer.  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. Lula Bell Thomas was the fifth child of Chilton Allen and Martha Ann Duncan Thomas.  Chilton was the tenth child of Perry and Elizabeth Josepine Bridges Thomas.  Perry was the third child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Eugene Lewis Sumner -- Farmer, Carpenter and Electrician

 

Eugene Lewis Sumner

Eugene Lewis Sumner was born on November 10, 1927 in the Oak Grove community of Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was the youngest of five children born to Durwood Floyd Sumner and Lillie Jane Thomas Sumner.  Floyd was a farmer and Lillie was noted as an excellent seamstress. Both were natives of Trigg County.  Floyd was a descendant of Drewry Bridges and Lillie was a descendant of Starkie Thomas.

Gene’s siblings were Ernest Raymond Sumner, born in 1908 and married Mayme Piercy; Mary Louise Sumner, born in 1911 and married John Alex Thomas; Thomas Howell Sumner, born in 1917; and Nella Agnes Sumner, born in 1920, and married Louis P. Conner and later married Roy Edward Wilburn. 

Gene was born in the same house built in 1899 by his grandfather on the same site that his great-grandfather Starkie Thomas had built the original family home. He lived nearly his entire life, except for a five-year period, on the family farm. He was the fourth generation to live there and his children and grandchildren were the fifth and sixth generation to live on the same farm.  Gene spent his elementary school years at the one-room Oak Grove School and graduated from Trigg County High School in Cadiz in 1946.

Gene was inducted into the U.S. Army on November 2, 1950 and was sent to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky where he was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division.  He was discharged from the army on March 5, 1951 after he was injured in an accident when jumping from an airplane during a parachute jump training exercise.

On May 25, 1951, Gene married Frieda Nell Bridges in Corinth. Mississippi.  They had traveled to Mississippi to get married as Mississippi had no waiting period and was a popular place for couples to get married.  Frieda was born on May 25, 1933 in Trigg County, the daughter of  Ira Clifton Bridges and Flo Templeton Bridges Bridges.  Ira worked primarily in construction of large river projects and Flo was a homemaker.  Both were natives of Trigg County.  Ira was a descendant of Drewry Bridges and Flo was a descendant of Cullen Bridges.

After they were married Gene worked on the farm and he and Frieda lived in a small house on his mother’s farm which had been built for his grandparents in the early 1920s.  Just after five years later they moved into the family house where Gene had been born.  Gene worked as a farmer, carpenter, plumber and was a self-taught electrician.  In 1952 he left the farm to work at Fort Campbell, Kentucky as a carpenter. He later returned to farming and then worked at Central Tool and Die and Phelps-Dodge Company in Hopkinsville. He subsequently worked in electrical maintenance at Reed Crushed Stone in Lake City, Kentucky.  Around 1974, he opened his own electrical business, Sumner’s Electric and in 1978 moved the business to Lake City and established it as Twin Lake Electric, Inc.

Gene and Frieda were the parents of three children, Elizabeth Janie Sumner, born in 1953 and married Dale Woodson Harper and later married Robert Lacy Wall; Ernest Lewis Sumner, born in 1956 and married Suzanne Rachael Kovary and later married Kathleen Futrell Haney; and Eugene Christopher Sumner, born in 1959 and married Danita Dawn Williams.

Gene died on January 8, 1985 at the age of 57 of cancer at the Jennie Stuart Medical Center in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.  He was buried in the Starkie Thomas Cemetery in Trigg County.  Frieda died on September 18, 2017 at the age of 84 at the Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, Kentucky.  She was buried in the Starkie Thomas Cemetery next to her husband.

 Gene Sumner

 

 

Frieda and Gene Sumner

 

Gene and Frieda tombstone

LINEAGE: (Eugene Lewis Sumner was the son of Durwood Floyd and Lille Jane Thomas Sumner and the grandson of Benjamin Miles and Henrietta Gabrella Bridges Sumner and Starkie Armstead and Inez Miller Thomas.  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.  Starkie Armstead was the tenth child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Henrietta Gabrella Bridges Sumner -- Wife of a Tenant Farmer

 

Henrietta Gabrella Bridges Sumner

Henrietta Gabrella Bridges was born on March 14, 1853 on Beechy Fork Creek near “the Little Spring” in the Maple Grove Community of Trigg County, Kentucky.  She was the oldest of eleven children born to Drewry and Peachie Ann Tart Bridges and was a granddaughter of William Bridges. Drewry and Peachie were natives of Trigg County and Drewry was a farmer.

Henrietta’s ten siblings were Mary Louisa Bridges, born in 1855 and married James Edmond Sumner; James Filmore Bridges, born in 1857 and died at the age of one;  William Henry Bridges, born in1859 and married Sarah Elizabeth “Sadie” Lancaster; John Richard Bridges, born in 1862 and married Nancy Bell Meador; Durwood Stanley Bridges, born in 1866 and married Jane “Jennie” Thomas; Martha Elizabeth “Bettie” Bridges, born in 1868 and married Seldon Trimble Thomas; Drewry E. Bridges, born in 1870 and died at the age of three months; Creta Bridges, born in 1871 and died at the age of four days; Peachie Ellen Bridges, born in 1874 and married Thomas Haywood Lawrence; and Eddie Adeline Bridges, born in 1876 and married Meridith Clay Carr.  Henrietta’s father, Drewry Bridges was married for a second time to Nannie Gresham.  This marriage resulted in half-brothers for Henrietta, Garland Drew Bridges, born in 1888 and married Annie Lurline Thomas and later married Joy K. Sutton and Hugh Bridges, born in 1890 and died at birth.

Henrietta or Rett as she was known grew up on a farm located about a mile from the farm settled by her great-grandfather, Drury Bridges, who came from North Carolina in the early 1890s and was the first Bridges settler in the community.  On December 21, 1874 she married Benjamin Miles Sumner.  Miles was born on February 5, 1849 in the Maple Grove community and was the son of Alfred and Martha Lancaster Sumner who were both natives of Trigg County.

Miles and Rett settled on a farm located on a hilltop in Maple Grove.  However, their home ownership was short lived as Miles lost the farm in a lawsuit. Miles swore he would never lose any more land and that was because he never again owned any land. At that point he became a tenant farmer, which meant that he farmed only on land he rented from a landlord. Miles was successful as a tenant farmer and at one time operated the county’s “poor farm” where poor people who had no jobs or a place to live, lived.  Rett was a hard-working woman and helped her husband on the tenant farms.  At one time she raised a granddaughter in her home when she was a few months old until she was thirteen.  This was in addition to Miles and Rett’s own big family. 

Miles and Rett were the parents of nine children: Julia Louise Sumner, born in 1873 and married Starkie William Thomas; Emma Lee Sumner, born in 1875 and married Nathan Stanley Guier; John Calvin Sumner, born in 1877 and married Lucy Ethel Lawrence; James Ottawa Sumner, born in 1880, and married Martha Miller Thomas; Durwood Floyd Sumner, born in 1882 and married Lillie Jane Thomas; William Elmer “Elmo” Sumner, born in 1885 and died at the age of ten years; Nora Pearl Sumner, born in 1888 and married John Starkie Armstrong; Beulah May “Eula” Sumner, born in 1890 and married Joshua Light; and Mattie Maud Sumner, born in 1893 and married Starkie Thomas.

In their elder years Miles and Rett moved into a home built by their son, Floyd, located on the farm originally owned by Starkie Thomas in the Oak Grove community. On the property was located a brick kiln where bricks were made for the chimneys for many homes in the Oak Grove community that are still in use to this day.

Rett died on December 29, 1929 at the age of 76 at her home.  She was buried in the Starkie Thomas cemetery in Trigg County.  Miles died on July 10, 1933 at the age of 83 of a stroke.  He was buried in the Starkie Thomas cemetery next to his wife.

 Rett and Miles

 

Rett and Miles with some of their grandchildren

 

Rett and Miles tombstone

LINEAGE: (Henrietta Gabrella Bridges was the daughter of Drewry and Peachie Ann Tart Bridges.  She was the granddaughter of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)