Susan Taylor

Susan Taylor was born on 3 February 1889 in Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle County, Kentucky, the second daughter of John Cook Taylor and Sarah A. Ramsey. Just days after Susie’s third birthday, her mother died on 12 February 1892, leaving Susie and her sister, Gracie, motherless.¹Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (KY, Loyall, 1969-1977), scanned copy of fill-in-the-blanks family history privately held by Linda F. McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY; Linda is Emma’s granddaughter.

John remarried in August 1894, but that marriage ended in divorce. He married a third and final time in January 1900, and Emma Jane Owens became Susie and Gracie’s step-mother when the girls were 13 and 10.²Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History,” 1969-1977. They were close to Emma Jane for the rest of their lives.³Linda F. McCauley, granddaughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

Susie married August Krueger on 7 September 1911 at John and Emma Jane’s house in Mt. Vernon.⁴FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/005557734 : accessed 7 Jan 2022), digital film 005557734, image 353, marriage records, Rockcastle County, KY, 12: 49, August Krueger & Susie Taylor, 8 Sep 1911. Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Memoir” (KY, Loyall, 1977), privately held by Faye Hopkins McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY; Faye is Emma’s daughter; wedding at John & Emma Jane’s house. August was born on 8 June 1879 to Fritz Krueger and Henrietta Pruesner.⁵“Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1222 : accessed 26 Sep 2005), death certificate no. 4371 (1927), August Krueger; from microfilm 994027–994058, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort.

The Krueger family (including August’s two brothers and a sister) immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1885.⁶1910 U.S. census, Rockcastle Co., KY, population schedule, Mt. Vernon, enumeration district (ED) 97, sheet 2B, dwelling 40, family 40, Fritz Krueger; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884 : accessed 2 Jan 2009); from NARA microfilm T624, roll 500; immigration year for Fritz, August, and William. Henrietta and the four children arrived in New York City on 30 April 1885 aboard the Werra. They departed from Bremen, Germany and Southampton, England.⁷“New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957,” digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7488 : accessed 6 Jan 2022), Date > 1885 > Apr > 30 > Werra > Hette Krueger and children Pauline, Fritz, August, & Wilhelm; from Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897, records of the U.S. Customs Service, Record Group 36, NARA, Washington, D.C. Fritz apparently came earlier as he is not on the passenger list for that sailing with them, however, he reported arriving in 1885 in the 1900 U.S. census.⁸1900 U.S. census, Rockcastle Co., KY, population schedule, Mt. Vernon, enumeration district (ED) 64, sheet 3A, dwelling 50, family 50, Fritz Krueger; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602 : accessed 15 Jun 2020); from NARA microfilm T623. Fritz became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1892, which also gave his children citizenship.⁹1920 U.S. census, Rockcastle Co., KY, population schedule, West Mt. Vernon Precinct, enumeration district (ED) 238, sheet 13A, dwelling 6, family 10, Fritz Krueger; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 2 Jan 2009); from NARA microfilm T625, roll 595.

The Kruegers first settled near Crab Orchard in the Ottenheim community in Lincoln County, Kentucky. They moved to Mt. Vernon in 1892, where Fritz started a brick and lime manufacturing business. Fritz also served as a contractor on building projects using his bricks and limestone.¹⁰“Fritz Krueger Dead,” Interior Journal (Stanford, KY), 12 Oct 1928, p. 10, col. 2; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 5 Jan 2022). August worked in his father’s business managing the brickyard.¹¹1920 U.S. census, Rockcastle Co., KY, population schedule, Mt. Vernon, enumeration district (ED) 238, sheet 13B, dwelling 15, family 19, August Krueger; digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 13 Aug 2008); citing NARA microfilm T625, roll 595. Krueger oversaw construction of many building in central and eastern Kentucky. Many courthouses, churches, and houses in central and eastern Kentucky were built with their brick.¹²“Fritz Krueger Dead,” Interior Journal, 12 Oct 1928.

Susie and August lived in a two-story brick house near the corner of West Main and Williams Street in Mt. Vernon.¹³Linda F. McCauley, granddaughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor. They had four children, all born in Mt. Vernon. Henrietta W. was born on 18 March 1914, Marie on 14 September 1915, John William (Bill) on 29 May, 1920, and Christine (Tiny) on 21 February 1922.¹⁴“Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1222 : accessed 28 Feb 2011), death certificate no. 20756 (1931), Henrietta Krueger; from microfilm 994027–994058, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort; Henrietta’s birthdate. “Kentucky, U.S., Birth Index, 1911–1999,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry/search/collections/8788 : accessed 7 Jan 2022), birth certificate no. 5853 (1915), Marie Krueger; birth certificate no. 7996 (1920), John W. Krueger; and birth certificate no. 05852 (1922), Christine Krueger; from Kentucky Birth, Marriage, and Death Databases: Births 1911-1999, Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort.

August died of heart failure on 16 February 1927 at the hospital in Berea, Kentucky, leaving Susie with four children under thirteen years old.¹⁵“Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1222 : accessed 26 Sep 2005), death certificate no. 4371 (1927), August Krueger; from microfilm 994027–994058, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. Four years later, their oldest daughter, Henrietta, died of influenza.¹⁶“Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” death certificate no. 20756 (1931), Henrietta Krueger. August and Henrietta were buried in the Krueger plot at Elmwood Cemetery in Mt. Vernon.¹⁷Elmwood Cemetery (Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle Co., KY), August Krueger marker and Henrietta Krueger marker, photographed by Linda McCauley, 20 Mar 2003.

Susie married Harvey Owens, the son of James W. Owens and Averill Laswell, on 31 October 1937 in Brodhead, Rockcastle County.¹⁸“Kentucky, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1783-1965,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61372: accessed 25 Oct 2020), Harvey Owens and Susie Krueger, 31 Oct 1937, Brodhead, Rockcastle Co., KY; from Marriage Records, courthouses, various counties in KY. It was also a second marriage for him. Harvey married Lula Debord in 1906, and she died in 1936.¹⁹“Kentucky, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1783-1965,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61372: accessed 7 Jan 2022), Harvey Owens and Lula Deboard, 6 May 1906, Rockcastle Co., KY; from Marriage Records, courthouses, various counties in KY. Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com : viewed 7 Jan 2022), memorial 6962273, for Lula A. Debord Owens, (Piney Grove Cemetery, Brodhead, Rockcastle County, KY), digital image, 4 Dec 2002, by Sheila Kidwell; double headstone for Harvy and Lula Owens.

Susie and Harvey didn’t stay married long, but a divorce record has not been located. They lived in Ohio for a short time but by 1940, Susie was back in Mt. Vernon living in her house on West Main Street with Bill and Tiny.²⁰Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor; lived in Ohio. Susie’s last name was Krueger in that year’s census record, and she went by Krueger for the rest of her life.²¹1940 U.S. census, Rockcastle Co., KY, population schedule, Mt. Vernon, enumeration district (ED) 102-1, sheet 8B, household 185, Susie Krueger; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2442 : accessed 4 Apr 2012); from NARA microfilm 627, roll 1353.

Susie’s health was failing in 1964. One day, her niece Faye stopped by to see her. Susie told Faye she was craving a blackberry pie. Faye told her she had some blackberries in the freezer and would go home and make her a pie. After Faye left, Dr. Griffith came by to check on Susie and told her he thought she needed to be in the hospital. She told him Faye was bringing her a blackberry pie, and he said she could go to the hospital after she had a piece.²²Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor. Susie died of pneumonia and heart disease a few days later on 14 February 1964 at the Rockcastle County Baptist Hospital in Mt. Vernon.²³“Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1222 : accessed 6 Dec 2021), death certificate no. 4246 (1964), Susie Krueger; from microfilm 994027–994058, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort.

Susie’s funeral was held on 16 February at Cox Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon with Bro. Howard Ray, minister of 1st Christian Church, officiating.²⁴“Mrs. Susie Krueger Funeral Held Sunday,” Mt. Vernon (KY) Signal, Feb 1964, scanned clipping held by Linda F. McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY, 2003, original saved by Betty Mulliner Taylor. She was buried in the Krueger plot in Elmwood beside August and Henrietta.²⁵Elmwood Cemetery (Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle Co., KY), Susie Krueger marker, photographed by Linda McCauley, 20 Mar 2003.

Henrietta Krueger

Henrietta, who was named for August’s mother, died nine days after her seventeenth birthday.²⁶“Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” death certificate no. 4371 (1927), August Krueger; mother’s name Henrietta. She had been ill with influenza for five days when she died at home on 27 March 1931. Mastoiditis contributed to her death.²⁷“Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” death certificate no. 20756 (1931), Henrietta Krueger. Henrietta was buried in the Krueger plot in Elmwood Cemetery in Mt. Vernon.²⁸Elmwood Cemetery (Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle Co., KY), Henrietta Krueger marker.

Marie Krueger

Marie graduated from Mt. Vernon High School in 1932. After attending Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College in Richmond for one year, she received her Teachers’ Certificate.²⁹“Marie Krueger Cox,” , copy from unidentified publication, 1989, privately held by Faye Hopkins McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY, copy provided by Cox; article written by Cox.

Her first teaching assignment was at Cummins, a rural school in Rockcastle County on what is now Highway 461. In 1933 it was a rocky road which was hard for horses to travel. Marie boarded in the district and rode horse back from home to school on Monday morning and back home on Friday evening. She had about forty students and earned $52.70 per month. The term was only six months that year.³⁰Marie Krueger Cox, 1989.

After teaching that one term, Marie returned to Eastern. She continued for two and a half years before becoming an adult education teacher through the W.P.A. Program.³¹Marie Krueger Cox, 1989. The Works Progress Administration, WPA, was an employment and infrastructure program created by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935, during the Great Depression. She next worked for the State Department of Education and in the Rockcastle County Superintendent’s office. Her duties included gathering county school statistics and long range planning for the county schools.³²Marie Krueger Cox, 1989.

In 1937, Marie was assigned the Durham school in the southeastern part of the county beyond Livingston. She again boarded in the district and walked a mile each way to and from school. In fall 1938, Marie was moved to the school at Wildie. She boarded with Florence Barnes on Brush Creek Road to be closer to school.³³Marie Krueger Cox, 1989. This assignment continued until at least 1940.³⁴ 1940 U.S. census, Rockcastle Co., KY, population schedule, Mag Dist. 4, enumeration district (ED) 102-12, sheet 2B, household 23, Florence Barnes; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2442 : accessed 6 Jan 2022); from NARA microfilm 627, roll 1353.

After Wildie, Marie taught at the Owen Allen, Long Branch, and Freedom schools, spending two years at Freedom. In the summer of 1944, many regular qulified teachers had taken jobs in city war plants and teach positions were filled by emergency certificates. Marie’s job was to help those teachers get started. She visited teachers with the least training, but also stop by schools that had qualified teachers as she passed them on her rounds.³⁵Marie Krueger Cox, 1989.

Marie graduated from Eastern State Teachers College in 1946. That fall she began teaching first grade at Mt. Vernon, a position she held until she retired in 1977.³⁶Marie Krueger Cox, 1989.

Her teaching career carried over to her churches. She taught Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and youth activities at the Presbyterian Church and later First Christian Church in Mt. Vernon for years.³⁷Marie Krueger Cox, 1989. Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor; names of the churches.

Marie was dating Henry Cox when they had a serious car wreck on 9 January 1954. Henry was driving north near Calloway in Rockcastle County around 10:30 p.m. when a car driven going south got into the wrong lane. Henry swerved to avoid a head-on collision but could not get out of the way. Marie was knocked unconscious and emergency personnel initially believed her to be dead. An ambulance transported her to Berea College Hospital in Berea, where she was treated for a concussion, shock, and bruises. Henry was shaken up, bruised, and had a broken little finger on his left hand. The other driver was not seriously hurt. Both cars were a complete loss.³⁸“Injured When Two Cars Collide on U.S. 25 near Calloway,” Mt. Vernon (KY) Signal, 14 Jan 1954; microfilm of Mt. Vernon Signal, Rockcastle County Public Library, Mt. Vernon.

Marie married Henry on 23 November 1955 in Mt. Vernon.³⁹FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/005686096 : accessed 1 Aug 2008), digital film 005698452, image 69, Rockcastle Co., KY, General Marriage Index, Henry H. Cox and Marie Krueger, 23 Nov 1955, 61: 366. Henry Huston Cox was born on 15 May 1916 in Rockcastle County, the son of Edward Cox and Mattie McFerron.⁴⁰“U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60901 : accessed 7 Jan 2022), Henry Huston Cox, SSN 400-14-0083; from Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936–2007. He worked for the City of Mt. Vernon Water Works.⁴¹Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

Marie and Henry did not have children.⁴²Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor. They had been married almost 38 years when she died on 10 November 1993 at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky.⁴³“Kentucky, U.S., Death Index, 1911-2000, database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3077 : accessed 7 Jan 2022), Marie Cox, 1992, Fayette Co.; from Kentucky Death Index, 1911-present, Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Frankfort. Henry died on 31 December 1999 in Danville, Boyle County, Kentucky.⁴⁴“Kentucky, U.S., Death Index, 1911-2000, database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3077 : accessed 7 Jan 2022), Henry H. Cox, 1999, Boyle Co.; from Kentucky Death Index, 1911-present, Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Frankfort. They are both buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Mt. Vernon.⁴⁵Elmwood Cemetery (Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle Co., KY), Henry H. and Marie K. Cox marker, photographed by Linda McCauley, 4 May 2005.

John William Krueger

Bill worked for the Louisville and Nashville (L&N) Railroad and lived in Independence, Kenton County, Kentucky.⁴⁶“Bill Krueger,” Mt. Vernon (KY) Signal, 29 Jul 1999; microfilm of Mt. Vernon Signal, Rockcastle County Public Library, Mt. Vernon. He married Leota Combs on 9 November 1944.⁴⁷Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (1969-1977).

Leota was born on 4 June 1908 to Matthew and Catherine Combs of Knox County, Kentucky.⁴⁸Find A Grave, memorial 148345579, for Leota C. Combs Krueger, (Floral Hills Memorial Gardens, Taylor Mill, Kenton County, KY), digital image, 26 Jun 2015, by Karen Simpson; birthdate. 1910 U.S. census, Knox Co., KY, population schedule, Mag. Dist. 6, enumeration district (ED) 111, sheet 10A, dwelling 192, family 192, Matthew Combs; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884 : accessed 7 Jan 2022); from NARA microfilm T624, roll 489. Bill and Leota did not have children, but she had a daughter from a previous marriage.⁴⁹Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

Bill died on 24 July 1999 at King’s Daughters Hospital in Madison, Jefferson County, Indiana, from injuries sustained in a car accident. The accident occurred in Milton, Kentucky, which is in Trimble County.⁵⁰“Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2011,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60716 : accessed 7 Jan 2022), death certificate no. 024458 (1999), John William Krueger; from Death Certificates, 1900-2011, State Board of Health, Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Indianapolis. Bill, who was suffering from dementia, had left home to cash a check at a Kroger store in Independence. Why he ended up sixty miles away is unknown.⁵¹Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor. Bill was buried on 27 July in Floral Hills Memorial Gardens in Kenton County, Kentucky.⁵²“Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2011,” death certificate no. 024458 (1999), John William Krueger. Leota died on 31 January 2001 and was buried beside Bill.⁵³Find A Grave, memorial 148345579, Leota C. Combs Krueger, gravestone photo by Karen Simpson.

Christine Krueger

Christine was known as Tiny to friends and relatives. Her college attendance and teaching career mirrored Marie’s. She attended Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College (now Eastern Kentucky University) for one year before her first teaching assignment. She attended college part-time while teaching and later graduated.⁵⁴Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

Tiny taught at five one-room schools in Rockcastle County before joining the faculty at Mt. Vernon Grade School as an 8th grade teacher in 1950. The one-room schools where she taught were Gum Springs, Boiling Springs, Sayre, New Chesnut Ridge, and Brush Creek. ⁵⁵Interview with Christine Krueger, 29 Jul 1979, digital recording; Pass The Word; Rockcastle County Oral History Project, Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort; copy held privately by Linda F. McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY. Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor. 

In an oral interview conducted as part of the Rockcastle County Oral History Project, Tiny told that rural teachers served as nurse, doctor, dentist, counselor, and sometimes playmate. At the beginning of the school year, rural teachers were provided a dipper, water bucket, erasers, and books by the Board of Education. She and other rural teachers held pie suppers to raise money for other supplies they needed.⁵⁶Interview with Christine Krueger, 29 Jul 1979, digital recording; Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort.

Tiny never married and did not have children. She enjoyed painting as a hobby, and several of her paintings still hang in her cousin Faye’s house.⁵⁷Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer D. Hopkins and Emma E. Taylor.

She died on 27 October 1998 at the Rockcastle Hospital in Mt. Vernon.⁵⁸“Christine Krueger,” Mt. Vernon (KY) Signal, 5 Nov 1998; microfilm of Mt. Vernon Signal, Rockcastle County Public Library, Mt. Vernon. Tiny was buried in the Krueger plot at Elmwood Cemetery in Mt. Vernon.⁵⁹Elmwood Cemetery (Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle Co., KY), Christine Krueger marker, photographed by Linda McCauley, 20 Mar 2003.

Cite this page: Linda F. McCauley, "Susan Taylor," Documenting the Details, 4 Feb 2022 (https://documentingthedetails.com/staylor : accessed [enter current date]).

Written by: Linda F. McCauley
Copyright © 2022 Linda F. McCauley. All rights reserved.

My Connection: John Cook Taylor and Emma Jane Owens (great-grandparents) > Emma Ewers Taylor (grandmother) > Uta Faye Hopkins (mother)