Exploring Kyles Ford Along The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine - Part III

Part III - the rest of the pictures:

the iron bridge, a couple more buildings, my very first EVER gravestone photos, a roadside "fountain", and some interesting road signs....

No set of photos from Kyles Ford would be complete without a picture of the Edward R. Talley iron bridge. It's probably the most photographed item in the area and mine does not do it justice.

This building below has since been bought and made into a rather quaint little diner and mercantile of sorts. I'm not too sure I like the paint job they gave it but at least it didn't get torn down or remodeled past recognition. It is now called

River Place Market
For the past couple of years this has been the home of the annual Wallen reunion held in June.

A really old ramshackle barn. I can't imagine that could still be standing, but you never know!

Gravestone photos, my first! These three stones below were just south of Kyles Ford in Hawkins county just off the Lonesome Pine Trail. We took a tiny road up the side of a  wooded hill and back into the interior we spotted these stones in a lovely little meadow across the road from an old (but occupied) farmhouse. Using Google Maps I'm pretty sure I located the exact spot as being Gravely Valley Rd. I didn't know the two Wallens (father and daughter) buried here at the time but I knew they would be relations. And of course, after doing some research I proved myself correct. We do indeed share a common ancestor. The man buried here was the nephew of my Revolutionary War Veteran and as one of his two gravestones shows, he was a veteran of the Civil War: Company L, 8th Tennessee Calvary. A few days ago I named this little cemetery "Aaron V. Wallen Cemetery" after him and entered the information accordingly at Find A Grave

Daughter Hallie at the roadside "fountain"....be sure to click on this photo so you can get a little closer look...

Roadsigns! They make interesting reading....

And finally...a couple of scenery shots overlooking the valley!

And this concludes your 3 part tour of the rugged and beautiful Kyles Ford area of Appalachia, home of my ancestors!

Click here to go back to Part 1

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Headstones And Cow Pies - Cleaning up the family cemetery

Wallen/Francisco Cemetery - Wabd, Rockcastle Co., Kentucky

Back in May of 1999 my Mother (then age 75) and I took nearly 2 weeks out of our busy lives to take a genealogical vacation to Kentucky where my dad's family was from and to Indiana where her family was from and where some still live. We stopped in Kentucky first and visited many of the more well known cemeteries in Rockcastle and Pulaski counties. Then we drove and drove and we backtracked and drove some more, but the most personal cemetery, the family cemetery, eluded us over and over again. We traipsed up hills and down, we climbed fences and crossed creeks....and we drove some more, and we got ticks! The Wallen Francisco cemetery simply was not where the book said it was. Severely disappointed, we finally had to give up and go on to Indiana where we stayed until it was time to start our journey home.

On the return trip, as we once again entered Kentucky and approached Rockcastle county I began to get wistful.....as we approached the Mt. Vernon exit, I simply couldn't resist one more last ditch effort. They were calling me, I heard their voices. At the last second I whipped off onto that exit with a heart full of hope. If my mother was ever bored or doubtful she never let me know. She was a trooper and a delightful companion the whole time.

We went back to the same area and retraced our steps. We knocked on doors and we got one "wall, I thank it might could be o'er yon", pointing a finger...and we got some folks that jus didn't know fuh sure, but thought they had heard tell of a ol' graveyard nearabouts. After a few more hours we were thinking it just wasn't meant to be. Then, my mother said "pull down that driveway, I'm going up to that door". Glory be, this time someone knew right where it was! The woman was happy to help and took us to her side yard for a better view and pointed to three trees off in the distance (the Walnut trees the cemetery book said to look for) and she said "you'll have to drive around and pull off the road and park and then you'll have to climb the gate because there's cows in there. After you get over the gate then just follow the fence line on up the hill to those trees." Oh boy, was I excited! My heart was pounding with anticipation!

Well, we got up to the gate and the darn thing was 5' high at least and we had to carry tools and camera; both of us had our hands full. Somehow we managed to get over it without a mishap. At the time, I wasn't even thinking about how old my mom was. She's always been an active and limber person and "75" just didn't enter my mind. 

Oh, what a glorious afternoon it turned out to be! Of course, many of the headstones were laying down and had thick dried cow pies on them, that part wasn't so glorious, but I didn't mind. We scraped those off and pulled some of the grass from around the stones before photographing each one. Every few minutes I had to stop and gaze in all directions. From this hill you could see all around for miles and miles; what a lovely peaceful spot and I could just imagine my great grandfather, his parents, his grandparents and other family members burying their kin and coming to visit and clean and reset stones from time to time. It almost seemed that I could feel their presence! We had honored them by our perseverance and tenacity and they cherished our visit, I just knew it!

My great grandfather was Oliver Morton Wallen. He left us a diary and in it he often wrote of the burials at the old family burying ground. His mother and most of his siblings were buried there, all having died fairly young. 

"December 23, 1904 - I finished up some work at the old family burying ground, which is about 3/8 of a mile from my present home and 1/4 mile from Wabd Post Office.  These are the relatives we have buried there:

Grandfather Wallen born Sept. 26, 1827, died Sept. 30,1877

Uncle Willie Sutton - Cousin Harvy Sowder, no dates

Mother Serena Susan born Mar. 20, 1851, died Jun. 28, 1886

Sister Mary Hayes born Jan. 31, 1872, died Mar. 27, 1895

Sister Emiline Wallen born about 1876, died about 1879 

Sister Lieuesa Wallen born Aug. 25, 1877, died Dec. 11, 1896

Sister Lucy Wallen born Aug. 15, 1883, died Mar. 15, 1901

Sister Mary's daughter, Ora born Oct. 15, 1891, died Jan. 6, 1893"

While we worked the cows decided to pay us a visit. The walnut trees offer the only shade in the pasture so I don't know if they came for the shade or came because they had visitors and were curious about us. Every time we looked up the line of cream colored cows was a little closer. Now, I'm a "wanna-be-farmer city girl" so my mother who was raised on a farm, assured me they meant no harm and wouldn't stampede us or anything...I had to ask just to make sure, you know. Kinda spooky how they just got closer without appearing to actually move....and how they just stared at us and chewed.

As we left for home I said a little prayer...."Thank you Lord for seeing that we found the family cemetery! The long and arduous hunt made it all the more precious!" 

More information on all known persons buried in the Wallen/Francisco Cemetery:

Jesse B. Wallen - son of William & Elizabeth Bloomer Wallen, md. Louisa Tyree

William R. Sutton - son of Uriah & Euna Delaney Sutton, md. Lucy Jane Wallen daughter of Jesse B. & Louisa Wallen

Harvey Sowder - son of Madison U. & Sibby Jane Owens Sowder

Serena Susan Sutton Wallen daughter of Uriah & Euna Delaney Sutton, md. William M. Wallen son of Jesse B. & Louisa Wallen

Mary J. Wallen Hayes - daughter of Wm. M. & Serena S. Wallen, md. James Luther Hayes

Ora Hayes - daughter of Mary J. & James Luther Hayes

Emiline Wallen - daughter of  Wm. M. & Serena S. Wallen

Louesa Wallen - daughter of Wm. M. & Serena S. Wallen

Lucy Wallen - daughter of Wm. M. & Serena S. Wallen

Sarah Elizabeth Wallen - daughter of Wm. M. & 

Serena S. Wallen

Sarah Jane Wallen - daughter of Isaac & Elizabeth Bloomer Wallen - Isaac was son of William & Elizabeth Bloomer Wallen, married his first cousin, another Elizabeth Bloomer.

W. Bloomer - I believe this to be Wisdom Bloomer, son of Nehemiah & Jane Payne Bloomer.

Thomas Graves - Husband of Sarah Matilda Grider, b. 1814 d. 1887

Sarah Francisco - Daughter of Jasper & Sarah E.

Graves Francisco, b. 1883 d. 1887

William T. Francisco - Son of Jasper & Sarah E. Graves Francisco, b. 1868 d. 1887

Eleanor Forgey, daughter of Archibald & Eleanor Roller 

Forgey, b. 1836 d. 1878, wife of William Tyree

Many others are certainly buried here but stones are missing or buried.

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A Bittersweet Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day Mom!  

Janet Eilene Runyan Wallen 
June 8, 1924 - March 30, 2010

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Things We Found Tucked In Granny's Bible

Florence Polly (aka "Granny Hide" or "Mamaw" to her grandchildren) 1903-1989 and her daughter Florence Edna ("Granny" to my children) 1922 - 2001. Just some prettys we found in their Bibles after they were gone.....

The three crosses are dated on the backs. The smallest "Have Faith In God" is dated 1905 and "To Elza from Russell" on the back. Elza was Florence Polly's second husband, Elza Chandler Scott, and the only grandfather my husband and his siblings ever knew. The "Happy Easter" cross is dated May 13, 1935 and also says "The Lord is risen, indeed. ~Luke 24:34" and "To Florence Edna from Pop Momma". The largest cross with the roses is dated Dec. 14, 1954 and says "To one of the best helpers I have ever had. God Bless You! S.M.J."

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Funeral Card Friday: Quaker Roots

Jane Woollen Whiteley 1820 - 1896

Jane Woollen was born in Dorchester County, Maryland in 1820. Her parents were Jacob and Nancy Cochran Woollen. She married Robert H. Whiteley in Maryland in 1837.  She joined the Methodist Church at the age of 13.  In 1848 she and her husband joined the Friends [Quaker] church.  She and her husband lived in Milton of Wayne County, Indiana but lived the greatest part of their life on the farm northest of Spiceland in Henry County, Indiana. The farm was located at what is today Interstate 70 and Highway 3.  She and her husband are buried in Circle Grove Cemetery in Spiceland.

Jane and Robert were my third great grandparents. Their daughter Frances Ann Whiteley married Michael B. Runyan; their son Robert Noah Runyan married Mary Elizabeth Darling; their son Lawrence Everett Runyan married Mary Fern Newby. Lawrence and Fern were my maternal grandparents. 

This funeral card was a very lucky eBay find for me just two weeks ago!

Spiceland Friends Church

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Knightstown Small Pox Epidemic Of 1902

Mary Fern & Phoebe Gertrude Newby

"In the summer of 1902, Knightstown, Indiana had an outbreak of smallpox. It was considered severe enough by the board of health, and the county commissioners, that the entire town and vicinity was quarantined. No one was allowed to enter or the leave the town for any reason. Despite the drastic measures, the disease continued to spread. Where twenty-six cases had been reported in June, fourteen more were added to the toll the first week in July. People panicked as they saw the silent killer stalk their friends and neighbors. Everyone wondered, "Who will be next?" By mid-July the Knightstown toll had shot to 81 cases. During the epidemic Knightstown was like a city of the dead. All business in Knightstown was paralyzed, weeds, corn and other vegetation grew up all over town, hitching racks in the town square were overgrown with weeds as tall as six feet. Hardly any business was transacted for nearly two and one-half months. By early August the epidemic seemed to fade. One by one the quarantines were lifted and normal life resumed."

[Excerpted from the New Castle Democrat, 18 July 1902]


My grandmother, Mary Fern Newby [above left] contracted small pox and was one of the survivors of this epidemic as was her great uncle, Senator Leonidas Perry Newby. My mother always told me my grandmother was scarred from the smallpox but I guess I never noticed. Her sister, Phoebe Gertrude didn't get the disease. Little Phoebe died in 1901 of "acute largyngitis" before the epidemic reached Indiana. She was six years old. 





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