West, Texas Explosion

Last week was a very bad week in the United States.  The Boston bombings and the fertilizer plant explosions in West, Texas will long be in our memories as a nation prayed for the families of those who died or were injured.  My family has a connection to the town of West, Texas.

Thomas Marion West was born November 5th, 1834 in Christian County, Kentucky. After moving to Texas he fought in the civil war becoming a Captain in the 19th Texas Cavalry Regiment. After the war he married Martha Jame Adams Steele in McLennan County, Texas. He was a farmer and later became the Postmaster at the Bold Springs train depot. The train depot was built on land originally owned by Thomas West. Later the depot with Thomas West as postmaster became known as the West Depot and in 1892 the area was incorporated as the town of West. Thomas West died on January 27, 1912 and is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Ross, Texas, about 5 miles south of West.

Thomas West was born in Christian Co., KY, the son of William Ellis West and Narcissa Stroud.  William Ellis West was a brother to my 3rd. great grandfather Jesse West, their father Charles H. West is a common ancestor for Thomas M. West and myself.  My 2nd. great grandfather was named for Thomas' father, William Ellis West.  He and Thomas M. West were first cousins.

Another son of Charles H. West was Thomas Allen West who also went to Texas settling in Denton County.

- Compiled by JGWest  [some of the above info was obtained from a web site supplied by Sandra Abbott yesterday http://www.west-tx.c­om/genealogy/ThomasWe­st/ including the grave marker photo (photo taken 7/5/2008 by bvm)... no contact info was available.]

A Very Vital... Vital Statistic!

Recently, I discovered a cousin that I did not know of before. This cousin, Bart Burke, is descended from my Thomas West, Jr. and from that line is my 6^th. cousin one generation younger than me. However, he also descends from Joseph Phipps and Margaret G. Woodis making him a 3^rd. cousin one generation removed. We made arrangements to meet at Willard Library for me to give him a lot of new information on these lines. While preparing my information & notes, etc. - I remembered some great new information on the Woodis line that I had found, basically by accident.

The incident occurred at least 20 years ago when I learned from Mary Lou Bevers at one of our genealogical meetings – this alone is justification for joining a genealogical society! I often got some great tidbits of information and “secrets” that helped me in my research and especially getting around brick walls. This one was a simple one about all of the Kentucky birth & death certificates available in the State Office of Vital Statistics up to a not so distant date from the current day were listed in large volumes and several counties throughout Kentucky had them available for viewing in the courthouse. Henderson County, KY was one of these wonderful counties which is just across the Ohio River from Evansville where I live. I went rushing over there the next day looking for the death certificate of my great, great grandmother Cincinnati O. Williams the wife of William Ellis West of Christian Co., KY.

She was not listed in any format or variation I could think of. I decided to look up other death certificates for other ancestors. Woodis was always a good one to check first because there were so few of them. The furthermost that I had gone back was Littleberry Woodis and his wife Luvana (maiden name unknown). One of their sons (in my direct line) was William H. Woodis and his wife Amanda. This William was born in 1818 and I suspected that he had died before the 1870 census, since only Amanda and the kids could be found. This William and Amanda had a son William; with this second one having a William, also - making it 3 generations in a row with a William Woodis. In the vital statistics books I found a William Woodis that died in 1913 in Christian County with his death certificate number. Since I was confident that the oldest William had died before 1870 and besides he would have been about 95 years old in 1913! The third William seemed too young and should have lived past 1913... maybe. So, I suspected this to be the middle William that I did not descend, but hopefully he would have his mother's full name (Amanda ?) listed on his death certificate. I sent off for it and was so excited to get it in the mail about a week later. But, when I opened it, I was confused as it said he was born in 1818 and died at age 95 with his father Littleberry Woodis and his mother was Luvana Blalock... this was William H. Woodis who I thought died in 1870 or earlier! Later, I found him in the census in Illinois and back to Kentucky for the other census that he would have been in. He had divorced Amanda Black and married Nancy Cannon before the 1879 Census.

William H. Woodis Obituary: Hopkinsville Kentuckian Mar. 25, 1913 PIONEER CITIZEN

W. H. Woodis Dies Near Laytonsville, Aged 95, among the oldest citizens of the county died Fri. night at the home of his son-in-law W. H. Woodford, near Laytonsville. Death was caused by pneumonia and resulted after an illness of only 5 days. The deceased was born in this county June 9, 1818, and he was therefore nearly 95 years old. His parents were natives of NC . Mr. Woodis had resided in Christian all of his life, excepting about two years which were spent in Illinois. He is survived by three children: Mrs. Woodford, of Laytonsville; W.R. Woodis of Todd Co. and T.A. Woodis of Lewisburg, Logan Co. His wife passed away about a year ago. Mr. Woodis was a member of the Methodist Church, having professed religion during a revival at Vaughn's Grove last summer. He had been twice married, his first wife died many years ago. The interment took place at Ebenezer Saturday.

- Written by JGWest

Tombstone Thursday

West Cemetery

Ovil, Christian County, Kentucky

Charles P. West

1828-1875

Four brothers are buried in this small cemetery: Charles, Francis, William and Henry Harrison West.  William Ellis West is my great, great grandfather.  These four were sons of Jesse West (1798-1843).  William's mother, Mary Bright Rogers, died shortly after his birth and Jesse married second to Martha Pruitt (Prewit) who is the mother to the other 3 brothers.  Henry Harrison West was the youngest born about 1842 and does not have a grave marker.  Of the 8 grave markers (there are 7-10 unmarked field stones) Charles Patterson West has the best preserved stone.  The largest marker is over 6 foot tall... Nancy the wife of C.P. West died in 1913 and appears to be the last buried here.  W.E. West (1822-1896) is at the front of the cemetery, while Francis M. West (1835-1898) is in the back row.

West Cemetery is on private property and is located in the woods that is reputed to be infested with rattlesnakes. Please get permission from the property owner, Richard Maywald, to visit the cemetery.  His son took us back to the cemetery.  This cemetery has not been visited by many since 1966 when it was copied and published in a cemetery inscription book for Christian County.

- Photo taken and submitted by Indiana Bones.

[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated in memory of

Donald G. West 1952-2000]

Indiana Bones and the Lost Cemetery

The Adventures of Indiana Bones  

“The Quest for the Lost West Cemetery”

Indiana Bones has been roaming around “cemetery hopping” in Christian Co., Kentucky looking for the burial grounds for the West & allied families. After going through Ebenezer Church Cemetery, the O'Daniel & then the Cowan Cemeteries, Indiana Bones decided to locate the lost West Cemetery. Calls were made to local cousins in hopes of finding this cemetery... no luck, although, Tommy Henderson tried to figure out where it was. Tommy thought that maybe the cemetery near Frog Hop Road just south of Weathers (Withers) Branch (of Buck Creek) might be West Cemetery. This cemetery turned out to be the Withers (Weathers) Cemetery. At Tommy's suggestion Indiana had talked with Teddy Morgan, left a message with another cousin Eddie Deason and stopped by to see Doris West. No luck with any of these possibilities. Ray Matthews was with the roofers that were working at Doris West house and he suggested talking with the Powell brothers up the road. Well, they were too busy to stop and talk. By this time, Indiana had decided he was going to find this cemetery, no matter what! The 1966 directions had said that this Withers Cemetery was 3.3 miles along Frog Hop Road while the West Cemetery was 3.9 miles and said to follow an unused trail with the cemetery in the woods. After being at Withers Cemetery and taking a few pictures, Indiana Bones decided to see just exactly where this unused trail might be at 0.6 miles from the Withers Cemetery. Just about the location of the Tucker home (name on the mailbox) and a couple of old abandoned homes, was close to the point where the trail was supposed to be. With the passing of 46 years, that trail was long gone (the trail was probably an old logging road). [Continued below, click on photos for a larger image that will make it easier to see.]

 Cincinnati O. Williams (married William Ellis West) is buried in O'Daniel Cemetery.

 F. M. Cowan is buried in Cowan Cemetery which is not far from O'Daniel Cemetery.

 Indiana Bones posing by John G. West's  Grandfather Warner West's grave in Ebenezer Church Cemetery.

Becky West posing next to John G. West's Great Grandparents John William West and Hester A. Martin in Ebenezer Church Cemetery.

Indiana Bones in the Withers Cemetery south of Withers Branch of Buck Creek.

We decided to stop by the Tuckers and see if they might know about the West Cemetery – they were not at home! We went back toward Withers Cemetery to check with the few homes along there that might have someone that knew about an old abandoned cemetery in the woods. Indiana stopped in at Rick Maywald's home. We mentioned that we had been to Withers Cemetery, but was looking for a West Cemetery. Rick said: “I know where it is.” Indiana said that this was an old abandoned cemetery in the woods with the last known burial in 1913. Rick said: “I know where it is!” Indiana continued - stating that W.E. West, Francis M. West, Charlie P. West (brothers) and a few others were buried there. Rick said, “Yes, and C.P. West's wife is buried there and a few years ago after a big tree knocked down her grave marker we removed the tree and set the marker back up.” Indiana with a weak, cracking voice said, “you... actually... know... where this cemetery is?” “I can take you there” was the response, “it is on my father's property.” Rick is a very nice young man of about 35 years of age who suggested that Becky could visit with his mother while he took Indiana back through the cow pastures, ford a creek and follow a more “modern logging road” back to the cemetery. We were told that this Ovil area is rattlesnake infested! He had a nice John Deere “Gator” that was a great all-terrain vehicle to take us back there. It was a good distance to the dry creek bed (there has been very little rain for some time this year). The creek, by the way, is Weathers (Withers) Branch and we crossed over to the north side of it. We continued back into the woods quite a distance and suddenly, we saw a few tombstones a little ways to the left of us. IT WAS THE WEST CEMETERY!

 Above is one of the lost graves in the West Cemetery.  This is the grave marker of John G. West's Great, Great Grandfather William Ellis West born 1822 and died 1896.  Below Indiana bones is posing with the marker for W. E. West.

 Below you can just barely see some of the markers in the West Cemetery in the woods... photo taken from an old logging road.  Some of the markers look like tree trunks.  There is no fence or sign to help in seeing the cemetery.  The cemetery is located a long way from any sort of clearing like a field or pasture.

 Rick Maywald was my guide who took me back to the cemetery on a four-wheeled vehicle.  He is standing in the rocky dry bed of Withers Branch of Buck Creek.  When the water is flowing this area is a waterfall.  Rick was gratius enough to take the time for me to visit my Great Great Grandfather William Ellis West's grave.  The cemetery is located on his father's property and they clean it up from time to time to keep it from being completely over grown.  They have no family or connections to this cemetery, but since it is on their property they watch over it... God bless Rick and his parents for preserving this cemetery for a little longer!

Rick Maywald in the dry bed of withers Branch.

The tombstones are in remarkable shape and readable! Indiana Bones was clearly excited about the find, visibly shaking as he takes photos of John G. West's Great, Great Grandfather - William Ellis West's grave marker (W.E. West 1822-1896). The lost cemetery was no longer lost, thanks to Rick Maywald and his parents.  

- Written by Indiana Bones, a “Cemetery Geek”

"It Can't Be This Easy!"

.

As a kid of about 12...

I started asking relatives about our family. Who were they, where did they live, where did they come from, what did they do in their lives? Dad knew his great grandfather William Ellis West and Cincinnati, his wife - plus several of William's brothers. This would prove very helpful many years later. It was well known that the courthouse in Christian County, Kentucky was burnt down during the Civil War. He assumed all of the records were lost forever. A few years after Dad died his Aunt Eva died intestate (without a will) in Christian Co., KY. A legal problem surfaced concerning the estate that led me to an attorney in Hopkinsville for advice. As I left his office across the street was the courthouse with a large Historical Plaque. I decided to read it. The courthouse was burnt down during the Civil War, but the townspeople knew in advance... all records were saved back to the forming of the county in 1797 and still intact today! I checked records for William Ellis West using the index. In the first book he was listed with all of his siblings (several I knew from Dad) as heirs of their deceased father's interest in his father's share of the estate of his father! So, this one document stated that William Ellis West (with wife Cincinnati & his siblings and spouses) were the children of Jesse West, their father, who was the son of Charles H. West (Jesse's father) whose share of his father's (Thomas West) estate was the subject of this document. I thought this can not be this easy! I told the clerk of my discovery. A lady overheard me and told me about Shirley West Cain - a Christian County WEST expert! I called Shirley and gave my descent from William Ellis West to my grandfather Warner West. She asked that since Warner only had one son, Gaither, which of his kids was I... Glen, John or Don? She confirmed my whole line back to Thomas West and that I was qualified for Sons of the American Revolution (SAR)!

-Submitted by JGWest