John Jefferson and Albirtia Sholar Lancaster -- Farmer and Homemaker

 

Bird Sholar and Johnnie Lancaster

John Jefferson Lancaster was born on May 19, 1881 in Trigg County, Kentucky. He was the youngest of ten children born to Thomas Jefferson Lancaster and Margaret Frances Lawrence Lancaster.  Thomas was a farmer and both he and Margaret were natives of Trigg County.  John or Johnnie, as he was known, was a descendant of Jemima Bridges Sholar.

Johnnie’s siblings were Trimble Thomas Lancaster, born in 1859 and married Julia Porthena Flood; William Dorsey “Doss” Lancaster, born in 1861 and married Eliza Ann Lawrence; Josephus Lancaster, born in 1863 and married Judie Annie Broadbent; James Henry Lancaster, born in 1865 and married Mabel Louise “Mae” Hobbs; Ezekiel Allen “Zeke” Lancaster, born in 1867 and married Peachie Matilda Harrell and then married Virginia Nora “Jennie” Wiles; Peachy Ann Lancaster, born in 1870 and died at the age of two; Emma Elizabeth Lancaster, born in 1874 and married Thomas Allen Thomas; Mary Ida Lancaster, born in 1872 and married Joseph Richard Hughes; and Addie F. Lancaster, born in 1877.

Johnnie grew up in the Donaldson Creek community of Trigg County.  He attended the local rural schools and the highest level of school he attained was the fifth grade.  He then went to work as a farmer along with his father.

On June 2, 1901, Johnnie married Albirtia “Bird” Sholar.  Bird was born on March 31, 1884 in Trigg County.  She was the fifth of thirteen children born to Cornelius Sholar and Mary Adeline Bridges Sholar.  Cornelius was a farmer and both he and Mary Adeline were natives of Trigg County.  Bird was a descendant of Jemima Bridges Sholar and Orren Dates Bridges.

Bird’s siblings were Ada Sholar, born in 1877 and died at birth; Charles Sholar, born in 1878 and died at birth; Ollie Mae Sholar, born in 1881, and married John Frith and then married Charles Robert Radford; Rufus D. Sholar, born in 1882 and died at birth; Eliza Annie Sholar, born in 1886 and married James Irvin Cox; James Monroe Sholar, born in 1887 and married Ivy Wallis; Lula Grace Sholar, born in 1890 and married William Riley “Buck” Shelton; Tilmon Sholar, born in 1892; Sally Bessie Sholar, born in 1893 and married John Audra Dunn; Essie Sholar, born in 1895 and died at birth; Mattie Sholar, born in 1897 and married Oscar Freeman; and Lila Maxie Sholar, born in 1899 and married Hugh Richard Mitchell.

Johnnie and Bird lived most of their lives in the Oakland community of Trigg County where they were married for more than 69 years. John worked as a farmer and as a timberman until his retirement.  Bird worked as a homemaker as she helped to raise their large family.

Johnnie and Bird were the parents of eleven children, Myra Lou Lancaster, born in 1902 and died at the age of two weeks; Unnamed infant, born and died in 1904; Herman Crenshaw Lancaster, born in 1905 and died at the age of one year; Thomas Durwood Lancaster, born in1907 and married Sylvia Lorene Stallons; Johnny Claude Lancaster, born in 1911 and married Birdie Lois Francis; Wilton Henry Lancaster, born in 1912 and married Mildred Gustia Francis; Garnett Lee Lancaster, born in 1916 and married Destelle Alberta Green; Lula Pearl Lancaster, born in 1918 and married Robert Jesse Sholar; Beulah Frances Lancaster, born in 1920 and married Hershel Earl Gray; Joe Lacy Lancaster, born in 1922 and married Martha Gertrude Ezell and later married Lucy Elizabeth Lancaster; and Mary Bessie Lancaster, born in 1926 and married Clifton Meade Mize.

Bird died on February 1, 1971 at the age of 86 at the home of her daughter, Mary Bessie, in Trigg County.  She was buried in the Green Hill Memorial Gardens in Christian County, Kentucky.  Johnnie died on May 15, 1973 at the age of 92 at the Trigg County Hospital in Cadiz.  He was buried in the Green Hill Memorial Gardens next to his wife.

Johnnie and Bird tombstone

LINEAGE:  (John Jefferson Lancaster was the son of Thomas Jefferson and Margaret Frances Lawrence Lancaster.  Margaret was the first child of Ezekiel M. and Polly Sholar Lawrence.  Polly was the second child of Allen and Jemima Bridges Sholar.  Jemima was the first child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

(Albirtia “Bird” Sholar was the daughter of Cornelius and Mary Adeline Bridges Sholar.  Cornelius was the second child of William Bridges and Mary E. Hutt Sholar.  William was the fourth child of Allen and Jemima Bridges Sholar.  Jemima was the first child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Mary Adeline was the fifth child of Orren Dates and Mary Elizabeth Hixon Bridges.  Orren was the first child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

Eura Wesley Thomas -- Prominent Trigg County Farmer

 

Eura Wesley Thomas

Eura Wesley Thomas was born on December 4, 1887 in the Oak Grove Community of Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was the third of ten children born to Wesley Gunn and Eliza L. Henderson Thomas. Wes and Eliza were natives of Trigg County and Wes was a farmer. Eura’s siblings were Mattie Pearl Thomas, born in 1882 and married Mason Hughes; Hazie Thomas, born in 1885; Leslie Edwin Thomas, born in 1889 and married Hazel Gibson; Annie Lurline Thomas, born in 1892 and married Garland Drew Bridges; Peachie Ethel Thomas, born in 1894 and married Lewis Smith Terrell; James Stone Thomas, born in 1896 and married Mabel Clara Timmons; Lucian Marquess Thomas, born in 1899 and married Mayma Lewis Boyd; Luther Thompson Thomas, born in 1902 and married Mary Grace Cunningham; and Berta Adeline Thomas, born in 1905 and married Clarence Averitt Francis. Eura was a descendant of Starkie Thomas.

Eura grew up in the Oak Grove community and according to the Trigg County census records, he attended the Thomas School, District 21.

Eura married Lucy Pearl Lawrence on December 22, 1912.  The ceremony was conducted by the Rev. R. C. Bogard. Pearl was born on  November 13, 1892 and was the daughter of Edmund C. and Mollie Heathcock  Lawrence.  Edmond and Mollie were both natives of Trigg County and Edmund worked as a farmer.  After their marriage, they settled on a farm belonging to Eura’s grandfather, Stanley Thomas where he became a tenant farmer.

Later Eura and Pearl moved to a farm in the Canton community and then to a farm on the Dover Road, south of Cadiz.  Eura then purchased a farm in the Oak Grove community near the home of his parents.  They lived in a log house on the property which later became the first house in the community to have carbide lights. The ownership of the home and farm later passed on down to members of the family

In the 1930s Eura’s home was one of the few homes that had a telephone on the Cumberland Telephone System which enabled them to call Cadiz.  The other folks in the Oak Grove community only had what was called a “grapevine” line which only allowed them to connect to each other. Eura’s phone had a switch which allowed him to connect his Cumberland line to one of the grapevine lines. Thus, essential messages from the grapevine homes were transferred to Cadiz through Eura phone system.

Eura and Pearl were the parents of four children, Ivy Elizabeth Thomas, born in 1915 and married Charles Edward Rogers; Leslie Edward Thomas, born in 1918 and died at the age of four; Virginia Dare Thomas, born in 1923 and married Rumsey Holt “Pete” Alexander; and Doris Jean Thomas, born in 1931 and married Wallace Clarence Skinner.

Eura died on January 3, 1938 of pneumonia at his home at the age of 50.  He was buried in the Lawrence Cemetery in Trigg County.  Pearl died on June 2, 1948 at the age of 55 at the Futrell Clinic in Cadiz after having suffering a stroke at her home.  She was buried in the Lawrence Cemetery next to her husband.

 Eura Wesley Thomas

 

Pearl Lawrence Thomas

 

Eura and Pearl tombstone

LINEAGE: (Eura Wesley Thomas was the son of Wesley Gunn and Eliza L. Henderson Thomas and the 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.)

Sidney Alma Williams Guier -- Homemaker and Farmer's Wife

 

Alma and Pink Guier

Sidney Alma Williams was born on November 27, 1901 in Trigg County, Kentucky. She was the oldest of eight children born to Thomas Green Williams and Johnnie Vara Thomas Williams.  Thomas Green was a farmer and both he and Johnnie were natives of Trigg County.  Alma was a descendant of Starkie Thomas. 

Alma’s siblings were Annie Lucille Williams, born in 1903 and married Robert Elliott Malone; Gillis Thomas Williams, born in 1905 and married Kittie Hendricks; Lillie Roberta Williams, born in 1908 and married Olive James  “Ollie” Cunningham; Loys Lamont Williams, born in 1910 and married Mary Leta Boyd; Geneva Evelyn Williams, born in 1913 and married Earl Wane Simmons; John Cullen Williams, born in 1915 and married Audrey G. Forrest and later married Vera May Cox Gibbs; and Forest Hilda Williams, born in 1918 and married Gilbert N. Bridges.

On April 24, 1920, Alma married Pink Harrell Guier.  Pink was born on May 23, 1893 in Trigg County.  He was the son of Edwin R. Guier and Mary “Molly” Tyler Harrell Guier.  Edwin was a farmer and both he and Mary were natives of Trigg County.

Pink served his country during World War I.  He was inducted in the U.S. Army on May 34, 1918 and was trained at Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville.  He was assigned to the 4th Company, 1st Battalion, 159th Depot Brigade, but he did not serve overseas.  Unfortunately, Pink suffered from the measles, mumps, and typhoid fever, in addition to other diseases he contacted during the service.  The diseases left him with a crippled left arm and he was given a disability discharge on June 8, 1919, with the rank of private.

Alma and Pink settled in their first home which was the old Toll-Gate building on Highway 68 about two- and one-half miles west of Cadiz in the Warrenton community.  They later erected a new frame home and the Toll-Gate building was relocated to the side of the yard and was used as a work shop throughout Pink’s life.  Pink and Alma had one of the first wind-powered radio sets and first oil-powered refrigerators in Trigg County in the days before rural electricity was established.

As a farmer, Pink was a forerunner of trying new products, implements and methods of farming. He was one of the first to use crushed lime on his farm, working through the University of Kentucky.  Along with being a grain and tobacco farmer, Pink raised hogs as well as beef cattle.  His farm was recognized as a model farm that used some of the most modern practices in producing top grade crops year after year.

Alma and Pink were the parents of two sons, Lacy Elarth Guier, born in 1921 and married Macie Juanita Stone and Pink Harrell Guier, Jr., born in 1924 and married Betty Sue Green.

Pink died on April 27, 1967 at the age of 73 at the Trigg County Hospital in Cadiz.  He was buried in the Green Hill Memorial Gardens in Hopkinsville.  Alma died on March 28, 1978 at the age of 76 at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville.  She was buried in the Green Hill Memorial Gardens in Hopkinsville next to her husband.

Alma tombstone

 

Pink tombstone

LINEAGE:  (Sidney Alma Williams was the daughter of Thomas Green and Johnnie Vara Thomas Williams.  Johnnie was the third child of William Henry and Sidney Dyer Thomas.  William Henry was the third 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.)

Lucille Vinson Futrell -- Wife of a Progressive Farmer

 

Nora Lucille Vinson was born on October 11, 1899 in Trigg County, Kentucky, the only child born to John Robert Vinson and Willie Armstrong Vinson.  John Robert was a native of Austin Station, Arkansas.  He had moved to Trigg County at an early age and was a prominent banker in Cadiz as well as serving as Mayor of the city for several terms.  He was a great-grandson of Cullen Thomas. Willie was a native of Trigg County and was a granddaughter of Starkie Thomas. 

Lucille’s mother, Willie, died in 1902 when Lucille was only two years old.  As a result, she went to live with her grandmother, Mary Thomas Armstrong, who raised Lucille from infancy. She lived with her grandparents until her marriage.

John Robert, Lucille’s father, married for a second time to Gertrude Wilson.  This marriage produced two half-brothers for Lucille, Henry Richard Vinson, born in 1906 and married Geneva Robin Broadbent and John Robert Vinson, Jr., born in 1912 and married Doris Davis Peal.

On September 17, 1919 Lucille married Joseph Jonathan Futrell at her grandmother’s home in Trigg County. Joe Futrell was born on November 23, 1892 in Trigg County, the son of Daniel Worth Futrell and Sarah Jane Scott Futrell, both natives of Trigg County.  Daniel was a successful Trigg County farmer.  Joe was a veteran of World War I, serving near the end of the war at Camp Taylor, Kentucky (now Fort Knox) from May 24, 1918 to December 18, 1918.

After Lucille and Joe were married, they went to live on a large farm in the Roaring Spring community that had been given to Lucille by her grandfather, William Thomas “Tom” Armstrong.  The farm had been bought by Tom in 1892 and was the farm where Lucille and Joe lived for their 51 years of married life.

Joe was a very progressive farmer.  He used mules and a pond scraper to clear ground and built levees and ponds to hold back water to prevent soil erosion.  He rotated his crops and grew red clover to make the ground stronger.  In 1925 he bought his first tractor which was a steel wheel Fordson.  In the summer when crops were completed, Joe would use his tractor and a rock crusher to make lime from limestone that he had blasted from the banks of Casey Creek.  He used the lime to spread on his fields.  He also raised Hereford cattle and Hampshire sheep on the farm, often selling the rams to his neighbors.

Lucille and Joe were the parents of four children, Thomas Jonathan Futrell, born in 1920; John Worth Futrell, born in 1922; Henry Scott Futrell, born in 1923 and died at 10 months; and Mary Jane Futrell, born in 1925 and married Carl Mount Wright.

Lucille died on June 9, 1971 at the age of 71 at the Trigg County Hospital in Cadiz.  She was buried in the Futrell and Wright Cemetery which was a family cemetery located at the Futrell home.  Joe died on February 8, 1977 at the age of 84 in the Brookfield Manor Personal Care Home in Hopkinsville.  He was buried in the family cemetery next to his wife.

 Tom and Lucille tombstone

 

LINEAGE: (Nora Lucille Vinson was the daughter of John Robert and Willie Armstrong Vinson.  John was the third child of Henry Cullen and Mary Catherine Sumner Vinson. Henry was the first child of Thomas Allison and Emeline Thomas Vinson.  Emeline was the fifth child of Cullen and Elizabeth Futrell Thomas.  Cullen was the first child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Willie Armstrong was the second child of William Thomas and Mary Jane Thomas Armstrong.  Mary Jane was the eleventh child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Hattie Marie Bridges Fort Hammortree -- Homemaker and Waitress

 

Hattie Bridges Fort Hammortree

Hattie Marie Bridges was born on September 3, 1923 in Trigg County, Kentucky. She was the youngest of five children born to William Durwood Bridges and Ruth Alida Cunningham Bridges.  William Durwood was a farmer and both he and Ruth were natives of Trigg County.  Hattie was a descendant of Drewry Bridges and Starkie Thomas. 

Hattie’s siblings were Mahalia Irene Bridges, born in 1912 and married Morris Henshaw Bradford; Gilbert N. Bridges, born in 1915 and married Forest Hilda Bridges; Amos Taylor Bridges, born in 1920; and David Stanley Bridges, born in 1921 and married Ruby Lee Bennett.

Hattie grew up in the Canton area of Trigg County and attended the local rural schools there.  During World War II, Hattie worked in national defense in Evansville, Indiana.

While working in Evansville, she married Wilton Blane Fort in a ceremony in St. Louis, Missouri on December 20, 1943.  Wilton was a sergeant in the Army Air Corps.  He was on furlough visiting relatives and friends in Trigg County when the couple went to St. Louis for their marriage.  The young couple left immediately after the ceremony to live in Amarillo, Texas where Wilton was stationed.

Wilton was born on July 16, 1913 in Trigg County, the son of William Thomas Fort and Ambelina “Ambie” Adams Fort.  William Thomas was a farmer and both he and Ambie were natives of Trigg County.  Wilton was drafted in the U.S. Army Air Corps on August 12, 1941.  After serving at several U.S. locations, he was sent overseas to the South Pacific area where he served for four years including in the Philippines, Netherland Indies, Maylasia, New Guinea and Okinawa.  He was honorably discharged on October 22, 1945 as a staff sergeant.

After the war, Wilton went to Murray, Kentucky where he operated a grocery store.  Later, he went to Cadiz and joined his brother, Willie Fort, to form a partnership to operate a grocery in Cadiz.  After many years, Wilton bought the Cadiz Restaurant which he operated until his retirement after spending thirty-five years in this profession.  Hattie spent most of her time as a homemaker, but later worked at several restaurants as a waitress.

Hattie and Wilton were the parents of one child, a son, Carl Blane Fort, who was born in 1952.

Hattie and Wilton were divorced and she married her second husband, Clarence Hammortree in 1972.

Wilton died on September 24, 1997 at the age of 84 at the Trigg County Hospital in Cadiz of an apparent heart attack.  He was buried in the Jesse Adams Cemetery in Trigg County.  Clarence Hammortree is also deceased.

Hattie died on June 14, 2017 at the age of 93 at the Princeton Health and Rehabilitation Center in Princeton, Kentucky.  She was buried in the Trigg Memory Acres cemetery in Trigg County.

Wilton

 

Wilton tombstone

LINEAGE: (Hattie Marie Bridges was the daughter of William Durwood and Ruth Alida Cunningham Bridges.  William Durwood was the first child of Durwood Stanley and Jane Thomas Bridges.  William Durwood was the sixth 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. Jane Thomas was the eighth child of William Bridges and Nancy Jane Rogers Thomas.  William Bridges was the first child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Lou Belle Thomas Davis -- Homemaker and wife of a Farmer

 

Lou Belle Thomas was born on March 10, 1905 in Trigg County, Kentucky.  She was the youngest of eight children of Seldon Trimble Thomas and Martha Elizabeth “Bettie” Bridges. Seldon Trimble was a farmer and both he and Bettie were natives of Trigg County.  Lou Belle was a descendant of Starkie Thomas and Drewry Bridges.

Lou Belle’s siblings were Lillie May Thomas, born in 1888 and died at 2½ years old; Lola Maude Thomas, born in 1890 and married James Edward Rogers; Edwin Doris Thomas, born in 1892 and married Rubye Pearl Sholar; Carlisle Clyde Thomas, born in 1894, and married Willie Grace Stewart; James Garnett Thomas, born in 1895 and died in World War I; Bluford Earl Thomas, born in 1899 and married Mildred Hawkins; and Cecil Seldon Thomas, born in 1902 and married Dorothy Arlene Clark.

On December 30, 1922, Lou Belle married Alfred Leroy “Bill” Davis.  Bill was born on September 1, 1899 in Trigg County, the son of John Forrest Davis and Julia Ella Sumner Davis.  John Forrest was a farmer and both he and Julia were natives of Trigg County.

Bill’s parents purchased a farm on the Old Dover Road and moved their family to the Oak Grove/Dyers Chapel community in 1904 and this was the area where Bill grew up.  Several years later, Bill purchased a farm just down the road from his father’s farm and this was where he and Lou Belle raised their family.  In the early 1920s, Bill and Lou Belle moved to Detroit, Michigan where he worked in the automobile industry and Lou Belle worked in a bakery.  They returned to Trigg County to farm, but returned to Detroit again during World War II to again work in the automobile industry.   After the war, they returned and settled on the farm in Trigg County for the rest of their lives.  Bill was a lover of horses and mules and was very active in the Trigg County Fairs held in the 1940s and 1950s,  He participated in many horse shows during that period.  Lou Belle was a homemaker and also a talented artist.

Lou Belle and Bill were the parents of three children, Carey Thomas Davis, born in 1923 and married Marian Louise Rye; Ruby Joyce Davis, born in 1928 and married John Turner Banister; and Carl Gary “Ned” Davis, born in 1938 and married Martha Ann Rhea.

Lou Belle died on December 14, 1972 at the age of 67 at the Trigg County Hospital in Cadiz.  She was buried in the Lawrence Cemetery in Trigg County.  Bill died on February 10, 1981 at the age of 81 at the Pinecrest Manor Nursing Home in Hopkinsville.  He was buried in the Lawrence Cemetery next to his wife.

Lou Belle and Bill

 

Bill and Lou Belle tombstone

LINEAGE:  (Lou Belle Thomas was the daughter of Seldon Trimble and Martha Elizabeth “Bettie” Bridges Thomas.  Seldon was the first child of James Jasper and Mary Magdaline Cunningham Thomas.  James Jasper was the fourth child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Martha Elizabeth was the seventh 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.)

Sarah Adelie Thomas Moore -- Wife of Noted Texas Civic Leader

 

Sarah Thomas Moore

Sarah Adelie Thomas was born on July 7, 1850 in Trigg County, Kentucky.  She was the youngest of three children born to Stanley Thomas and Sarah Thompson Rothrock Thomas. Stanley was a native of Trigg County and was the youngest child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Sarah was a native of Clark County, Kentucky and was the daughter of Thomas John and Nancy Carter Thompson.  Stanley had served as an acting sheriff, state representative and was a tavern owner.

Sarah’s siblings were Robert Baker Thomas, born in 1845 and Henry Clay Thomas, born in 1848 and married Mattie Narvie.

Sarah Adeline’s mother, Sarah died when Sarah Adeline was three years old and her father, Stanley died when she was seven years old. After her father’s death, she went to live with her aunt, Adaline Thompson Landes and her uncle Daniel Edward Landes in Galveston County, Texas. After leaving Trigg County, Sarah only returned to Kentucky one time and that was to attend the funeral of her brother, Robert Thomas, who died in 1913.

It was in Galveston that Sarah met  her husband, Thomas Oscar “T. O.” Moore, who lived in Tyler, Texas and was visiting Galveston on business in 1865.  Sarah and T. O. were married on January 3, 1867 at the Peachland Farm in Austin, Texas.  T. O. was born in Talladega, Alabama on April 11, 1842 the son of John Hartwell Moore and Mary A. Crutchfield Moore. John was a native of Oxford, Massachusetts and was a physician in Talladega and founded an iron works which failed and created a great loss to the family. Mary was a native of Firecastle, Virginia.

After T. O.’s father’s iron works business failed in 1854, the family moved to Hays County, Texas  south of Austin in 1855.  In the fall of 1857, the family moved to Tyler, Texas where T. O ran engines for his family’s mills.

After the Civil War began in 1861, T. O. joined the Confederate Army at Tyler in the company which later organized into the 7th Texas Volunteer Infantry.  In February 1862, the infantry went to Fort Donelson in Tennessee and fought in a battle against the Union troops led by General Ulysses S. Grant.  On February 16,1862, the Confederate troops surrendered and Moore was separated from his company and became a prisoner of the Union army.  In March. 1865, T. O. was granted a leave of absence because of an illness and was sent back to Tyler.

T. O. and Sarah moved to Comanche, Texas in 1872 where T. O. served in numerous community leadership roles.  He served as Assistant City Secretary  of Commerce, Director of the Comanche Foundry, an elected trustee of the public schools of Comanche and many other positions.  In order to heal some of the lingering sectional tensions over the Civil War, T. O. invited a Union soldier, Dr. James W. Thomas (no family relation) to Comanche so that T. O. could return a book belonging to Dr. Thomas that had been found on a battlefield in 1862 at the Battle of Shiloh.  When Thomas arrived, the town held a large celebration in his honor.  As a civic leader, T. O. played an important role in the post-Civil War growth and recovery in Comanche. TX.

Sarah and T. O. were the parents of ten children, Thomas Moore, born in 1867 and died at birth; Ida Kate Moore, born in1869 and married Oliver Maxwell Simmons; Robert Hartwell Moore, born in 1872 and married Fannie Theresa Holmsley; Charles Maxon Moore, born in1875 and married Ethel Hill; Mollie Evelyn Moore, born in 1877 and married Sanctus Wilbur Godbold; Henry Edward Moore, born in 1881; Susan Martin Moore, born in 1884 and married Claude William Meadows; Percy Adelle Moore, born in 1888 and married Walter Jack Cunningham; Stanley Thomas Moore, born in 1891 and married Louise Black; and Clara Edith Moore, born in 1893 and married James Dallas “J. D.” Slack.

Thomas Oscar Moore died on July 15, 1910 at the age of 68 while attending a meeting in Comanche.  He was buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Comanche.  Sarah Thomas Moore died on July 6, 1933 at the age of 82 at her home in Comanche.  She was buried in the Oakwood Cemetery.

 Thomas Oscar "T. O." Moore

T. O. during the Civil War

 

Newspaper article on meeting of T. O. and Dr. Thomas

 

Sarah tombstone

 

T. O. tombstone

LINEAGE: (Sarah Adelie Thomas was the daughter of Stanley and Sarah Thompson Rothrock Thomas. Stanley was the seventh child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Clifford William Thomas -- Clerk in the State House of Representatives

 

Clifford William Thomas

Clifford William Thomas was born on October 26, 1896 in Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was the oldest of seven children born to Bluford Ira Thomas and Alice Lula Vinson Thomas.  Ira Thomas was a prominent farmer of the Gracey community and a descendant of Starkie Thomas. Alice was a housewife and was a descendant of Cullen Thomas.  Clifford’s siblings were Henry Vinson Thomas, born in 1898 and married Artie Hembey; Mary Catherine Thomas, born in 1900 and married John William Stewart; Janie Thelma Thomas, born in 1902 and married Clifton Elliott Wright; Clyde S. “Sonny” Thomas, born in 1907 and married Mary Lillian Ladd; Inez Thomas, born in 1909 and married Archer Larkins Haydon and Lula Thomas, born in 1910 and married Marion Bell Ladd.

Instead of attending school in his home county of Trigg, Clifford attended and graduated from the Vanderbilt Training School for Boys in nearby Elkton, Kentucky.  The Vanderbilt Training School was a prep school founded in September 1892 and affiliated with Vanderbilt University.  However, the university relationship with the school was severed in 1914. At the time of Clifford’s graduation from the school on May 8, 1918, it was merely a private school but still retained its V. T. S. identity.

Following graduation from the Elkton school Clifford enlisted in the U. S. Navy on June 3, 1918 where he became an Apprentice Seaman.  He served over three years in the Navy and was discharged on September 30, 1921.

In January 1924 Clifford became the Assistant Clerk of the Kentucky House of Representatives in Frankfort after a spirited contest with his opponent from Crittenden County, Kentucky.  He continued to win re-election to the assistant clerk position until 1930 when he was nominated for the position of Chief Clerk for the House of Representatives.  On January 8, 1930, he was sworn into office by acclamation in the absence of Republican nominees.  In addition to serving in the clerk positions in the House of Representatives, Clifford served as the Journal Clerk in the Kentucky Senate for three terms.

Clifford’s involvement serving as the clerk positions in Frankfort caused him to want to serve as an elected official from his home town.  Relying on his experience in his various positions serving for the legislature in Frankfort, in August 1937, Clifford declared his candidacy as the State Representative for the ninth district of Trigg County in the Democrat primary.  He was opposed by three other candidates, Garland Cunningham, George L. Cunningham and Frank Ladd of Cadiz.  The Republican candidate was J. B. Alexander of Gracey, who ran unopposed.  Unfortunately, Clifford came in third in the race, effectively ending his political career.

In addition to his legislative and political career, Clifford worked in several other jobs during his life.  He worked for the Standard Printing Company of Louisville for a number of years and later with the Department of Revenue.  He also worked with the U. S. Postal Service from which he retired in 1970.  He also spent a lot of his time working with his father on their farm in the Gracey community.

In late April 1975 Clifford suffered a massive stroke and was sent to the St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville.  After ten days in Nashville, he was transferred back to the Trigg County Hospital in Cadiz where he died on May 2 at the age of 78. Clifford was single.  He was buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz.

Clifford in the Navy

Clifford's political ad

Clifford's tombstone

Clifford's military tombstone

 

LINEAGE: (Clifford William Thomas was the son of Bluford Ira and Alice Lula Vinson Thomas and the grandson of William Bridges and Nancy Jane Rogers Thomas and Henry Cullen and Mary Catherine Sumner Vinson.  William was the first child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Henry Cullen was the first child of Thomas Allison and Emeline Thomas Vinson.  Emeline was the fifth child of Cullen and Elizabeth Futrell Thomas.  Cullen was the first child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)