Everything I know about Melissa is from two census records. In 1860 and 1870, she lived with John R. and Margaret (Thomas) Petty. There is no actual proof that she was their daughter but I do have proof that the other children living with them in those years were their children. Melissa was born the […]
Archives for January 2013
Uncle Elvie’s Story: Part 2
After the war, Elvie apparently returned home to Hopkins County for at least a visit. A photo of Elvie with brothers Perry and John places him there sometime after the war and before 1922 when Perry died. But Elvie again headed west to work for the railroad. By the time the 1920 census was taken […]
Uncle Elvie’s Story: Part 1
Uncle Elvie was sort of a mystery man in my family. He left Hopkins County, Kentucky, as a young man and only occasionally returned. His Kentucky nieces and nephews knew very little about his life. When I became interested in the family history, I asked my four surviving aunts questions about my father’s side of […]
How Many Times Was Thomas Richard Hankins Married?
Two? That’s what the consensus seemed to be among family members. Dick Hankins married Bettie Smith on 1 March 1905 in Hopkins County, Kentucky. Bettie and their second child both died in 1909. Later he married Edith Rhea Jackson from Springfield, Tennessee. It appeared they were married before 16 May 1911 because this was published […]
Perry Hankins Has a Headstone!
For years I thought Perry Hankins did not have a headstone. I was wrong. Perry died in Denver Colorado in 1922, and his body was returned to Hopkins County, Kentucky, for burial. He was in Denver for treatment of Tuberculosis. According to his obituary, he was buried in “the Catholic Cemetery” but there is no […]
