This Week in the Family History: May 31–June 6

Feature: Madison Crawford Owens

184 Years Ago: Madison Crawford Owens was born on 4 June 1836 in Rockcastle County, Kentucky. Well, probably. That is the date on his headstone.¹Roberts/Old Freedom Cemetery (Rockcastle, Kentucky; turn onto Freedom School Road from Hwy 150, go about 1.5 miles, cemetery on right.), M. C. Owens marker, photographed by Linda McCauley, 18 Jan 2007. And it’s the date my grandmother (his granddaughter) recorded in her family history information, but I don’t know if she got her information from his headstone or knew it otherwise.²Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (fill in the blanks family history book, Loyall, Kentucky, 1976-1978); privately held by Faye Hopkins McCauley Mt. Vernon, Kentucky, 1978.  The question mark on the date comes from Matt’s obituary, published in the Mt. Vernon Signal, which says “Mr. Owens was born 1836 being eighty three years old on the fourth of last January.”³“Madison Crawford Owens (obituary),” Mt. Vernon (Kentucky) Signal, 26 Mar 1920. A death certificate might offer another source to evaluate, but, even though he died nine years after death certificates were established in Kentucky, I haven’t found one for Matt. So, I’ve gone with June as the most likely—but with an asterisk. (*2nd Great-grandfather, Taylor)

May 31

152 Years Ago: Margaret Lula Taylor was born on 31 May 1868 in Rockcastle County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of James Francis Taylor and Margaret E. Ramsey. (*2nd Great-aunt, Taylor)

June 2

173 Years Ago: Joseph Smith Lanier was born on 2 June 1847 in either Alabama or Georgia. He was the son of William Washington Lanier and Charlotte T. Jackson. (*Great-grandfather, McCauley)

June 5

32 Years Ago: Kathleen White Neely died on 5 June 1988 in Tylertown, Walthall County, Mississippi. She was the daughter of Virgil Slocum White and Hattie Eugenia Lanier. (*1st Cousin, once removed, McCauley)

 

*Each person’s relationship to me and the surname of the grandparent through which the relationship falls are in parentheses at the end of each item. Please email me for additional information. Additional sources available upon request.