Orphans From Rockcastle Co., Kentucky 1873-1910

This article may be of interest to that part of my family who descend from, or are in some other way related to, Oliver Morton Wallen, my paternal great grandfather. It may also interest those doing research on other families who lived in Rockcastle Co., Kentucky. 

Along with the Wallen children and others listed here, are the Cress children who I am familiar with: Derrell Mitchell Cress, Eddie L. Cress, and Lizzie C. Cress. They are the youngest children of Derrell M. Cress Sr. and his third wife Sarah Elizabeth (Warren) Cress. Derrell Sr. is mentioned in Oliver's diary and Derrell Sr. and two of his daughters married distant relatives in our family.  The Wallen children listed in this article are James Hobert and his twin Charles Homer, Sula Susan and her twin Thomas Miller, and my grandfather William Jesse, all children of Sarah Frances (Davis) Wallen and her deceased husband Oliver.

From the Mt. Vernon Signal Newspaper dated 14 Jan 1910:

Article from the Mt.
Vernon Signal dated
14 Jan 1910

Orphans sent from Rockcastle county to Masonic Widows and Orphans Home, Louisville, beginning in the year 1873 are named below; Alice and Theodosia Denson were the first, Charles E. and Wm. C. Argenbright, Livingston; Goebel and Sherman Bowers, Jack Adams Carter and Mary Carter, Brodhead; Harrison Clark, Cline Clark, D. M. Cress, E. L. Cress, L. C. Cress, Ed Herron, John Herron, Hazel Salyers, James Scarbrough, Nora Scarbrough, Herbert (sic) Wallen, Homer Wallen, Susie S. Wallen, Thomas M. Wallen and Wm. J. Wallen, from Mt. Vernon. Many of these remained at the Home and received good educations and are today leading, business citizens in various states. Others were permitted to return to their former homes or homes found for them by their relatives before finishing their education. There are now remaining in the home nine Rockcastle children ranging in ages from 5 to 15, all getting along nicely and well satisfied with the kind treatment received and their progress in securing an education and learning various useful trades and callings.

The story (with photos) of Sarah and the children's return to Kentucky after Oliver's death in Texas, and the subsequent placing of the children in the Masonic Home, can be read here: Tombstone Tuesday: Oliver's Tomb, Then And Now ~ Sarah's Return.

A photo of Sarah and all five of the Wallen children at the Masonic Home and another photo of the exterior of the Masonic Home from the approximate time period can be seen here: Wordless Wednesday: At The Louisville Masonic Widows And Orphans Home

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Letter To The Editor 1921 - Sarah Writes Home

Both my maternal great grandparents, Oliver M. Wallen and Sarah F. Davis, grew up in Rockcastle Co., Kentucky in the 1870s and 80s but left for Texas in 1905 because of health issues. When Oliver died just two years later his family returned home to Kentucky. In 1916, nine years after Oliver's death, Sarah married John Lloyd Livesay. John's family had been residents of the county for several generations. His father and grandfather owned the George S. Livesay & Son general store in the tiny town of Wabd. After they married, John and Sarah remained in Kentucky only two years before making the decision to move their family to Randolph, McLean Co., Illinois. The following letter appeared in the local newspaper, the Mt. Vernon Signal, on January 28, 1921:

Jan. 23, 1921

Randolph, Ill

Dear Editor:

   If you will allow me a little space in the dear old home paper I would like to send a few lines. It has been about fourteen months since we left the beautiful hills of dear old Kentucky and came to this state to live.

   We live in McLean Co., said to be the best county in the state. It is almost a level prairie divided into well kept farms with modern homes, good schools and churches. The soil is black and fertile. Grains of all kinds grow well, also fruits but very little attention is given to the latter except berries of various kinds.

   We all like this country very well. We have good roads and traveling is done with much more ease and comfort than it is there but we haven't reached the "honey pond" yet. It's farther on.

   Yet with all of it's good roads and nice homes and rich rolling prairies our mind wanders to scenes of our earlier days where the rocks and hills look rough and rugged to many people but to me they are not only beautiful but show the hand work of the great Creator who had created only the beautiful and good. Now this does not mean that we are homesick but that we haven't forgotten home and friends.

   We are always glad to get the Signal. It's like getting a letter from home. It is perused by each member of the family and it's the one who gets it first that gets to read it first but that one is now allowed to tell what he reads or read aloud as every one wants to have the pleasure of reading the news himself or herself. We read the home news first, then begin to look for the letters. Level Green comes first naturally as it is the place where so many pleasant memories of our home and school days linger. Of course there are sad recollections too, as in all our lives, for, as the poet said, "There was never a life so happy but has had it's time of tears." Wish the correspondent from Level Green would send a letter each week.

   We read all the letters. We're glad to hear from Livingston again; we don't know so many people there now, but attended one very pleasant term of school there a few years ago under the tutorship of Prof. Dickerson whose death we hated so much to read of recently. I think the correspondents from Hopewell and Withers are old school mates of mine. I wish some one at Wabd and Maretburg would write every week.

   I expect this long letter of not much importance will find a resting place in the waste basket. If not I may write again someday.

   Very truly yours,

      Mrs. J. L. Livesay

Actual article may be seen by clicking here.

This was an exciting find and I couldn't wait to share it with Sarah and John's daughter Myrtle, my half grand-aunt, who is 90 years old and still a very sharp lady. Most of Myrtle's photos and mementos burned up when the family farmhouse burned down in 1958. She wrote me an e-mail not too long ago and at the bottom she wrote: 

"Thank you so much for loving genealogy and sharing it with me!"  

Not in her wildest dreams could she know how much I appreciated those words.

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Charged With Assault: Bedside Trial of Oliver M. Wallen

My great grandfather, Oliver Morton Wallen died in 1907 when he was just a young man of 37 years. Oliver was a farmer, a school teacher, and a Baptist Minister. He was considered by the locals as "one of the town's nice young men." From Oliver's diary it is easy to see that he was mild mannered, gentle, and compassionate. However, there were two or three incidents that proved he could be somewhat indignant over personal injustices...

On October 22, 1901 Oliver made this brief entry in his diary: "Had some trouble with J. G. Larkins Oct. 22, he quit school." Then we hear nothing about this incident until the day of Oliver's trial over this "trouble", approximately 6 weeks later. During this period, Oliver was thrown from his horse which resulted in a painful injury to his hip. This is the diary transcription of what took place starting with the day of the scheduled trial.

Dec. 9 [1901]  – My trial with John Larkins is set for today at Woodstock, Ky. I am in bed and not able to go. My Att. R. G. Williams offers to go into trial without me but they will not. Mr. Larkins is a very selfish man and John a very mean boy, they want to give me all the trouble they can when they know they are doing wrong. May God forgive them. A very rainy day. 

Dec. 10 – Sit up a little but not any better. 

Dec. 11 – Sit up some but still very sore. 

Dec. 12 – Bro. Lee Reynolds and Rila Reynolds brought me a load of lumber. I am still very lame and sore. 

Dec. 13, 14 – In bed most of the time. My hip is hurting me a great deal.

Dec. 15  – Sunday. I am not able to go any where. Several came to see me. 

Dec. 16 – In bed most of the day. 

Dec. 17 – A very cold day. I was tried at my home on the bed sick, for an assault upon one of my pupils John G. Larkins said to have been done Oct. 22, 1901. John Larkins disputed my word and I had to use harsh means to make him hush. He is a very bad boy and wants to give me all the trouble he can. J. N. Thompson has had a great deal to do in urging the thing on. He is a base hyppocrit pretending to be a Christian when his walks show that he is a vile son of Satan. He hates me because I would not lie for him when he got drunk. God will give all such men a just and honest judgement. All men will see who is wright and who is wrong. The jury promptly acquitted me, saying that I ought to have whipped John Larkins. My Att. R. G. Williams, of Rockcastle Co., very ably and eloquently showed the jury that I had been very badly treated and that it was nothing but malice that made them do what they did. He and papa eat dinner at my home. I think Messers Larkin and Thompson went home wiser and it is hoped better men from this days experience for the public was certainly very hard down on them for the way they treated me.   

The local newspaper for Rockcastle Co., Kentucky, the Mt. Vernon Signal, had long been transcribed from micro fiche by a fellow genealogist and placed on the county web site and I have not only had access to the transcription but I copied the entire thing (over 1000 pages 1887 - 1941) to my hard drive and over the years have studied it at my leisure. I never found anything about this trial due to the fact that most of 1901 was missing. The Mt. Vernon Signal newspaper is now online at two other places, The Library of Congress and The Kentuckiana Digital Library and I have found additional pages that were missing from the transcribed version. I am also able to view wonderful ads that could not be seen in the transcribed version that give additional clues to many of those local friends, neighbors and family members I've come to know so well! With a quick scan of these two newspaper holdings I was able to find a small piece on this trial at both sites this week.  

Mt. Vernon Signal Newspaper article December 20, 1901

I have often found newspaper articles that back up the information from entries in Oliver's Diary. This one was long coming.

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