USA > Ohio > Memoirs of the lower Ohio valley, personal and genealogical : with portraits, Volume II > Part 19
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L. H. COTHRON, farmer, and post- master at Smithland, Ky., was born within two miles of Grand Rivers, Livingston county, Ky., Jan. 20, 1868. He is the son of Morris and Pernecia (Fulks) Cothron, both natives of Kentucky; the former of Caldwell and the latter of Lyon county. The paternal grandfather of the subject, Thomas Cothron, came from Scotland to the United States in an early day, and located finally in Livingston county. The maternal grandfather was Noah Fulks. Morris Cothron began very poor in life, without even the advantage of an ordinary education, and yet accu- mulated more than a thousand acres of land on the Cumberland river, which he sold to the Grand Rivers Company. A Democrat before the war, he became a strong Republican after its close. Two of his brothers, Robert and William, served in the Federal army and both died while in service. He and his wife were members of the Chris- tian Union church. He died Dec. 29, 1892, and is survived by his widow. There were born to this couple nine children, five of whom are still living, four sons and one daughter. L. H. Cothron was reared on a farm and was educated in the public schools of Liv- ingston county. For four years he was in the retail liquor business and then followed farming until 1903, when he was appointed post- master at Smithland. He is a member of Mangum Lodge, No. 21, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Paducah, Ky., and of the Knights of the Maccabees. He and his wife are actively engaged in
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church work, both being members of the Baptist church. In 1890 he married Miss Lizzie Wilson of Livingston county, the daughter of G. M. Wilson and the granddaughter of Charles and Martha Ann Wilson, pioneer settlers in the county. Both died at an advanced age. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cothron: Effie May, born July 24, 1891 ; Thomas Hollis, born Sept. 11, 1893; George Morris, born Feb. 22, 1898. Two and one-half miles south- east of Smithland is located the old Mose Broomfield and T. J. Ward place, a farm of 200 acres, whose proud owner is no other than Mr. Cothron himself.
JOHN W. BUSH, a prominent lawyer of Smithland, Ky., was born in Eddyville, Lyon county, of that state, June 3, 1836. He is the son of Dr. Reuben R. and Louisa (Williams) Bush, the former born in Potosi, Mo., in 1810, and the latter in Lyon county, in 1820. John Bush, the father of Reuben R., was a native of Vir- ginia, who went from that state to Mis- souri in an early day. In 1820 he re- moved to Princeton, Ky., where he died in 1830. He was a prominent physician and surgeon in his time; was identified with the Whig party and the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife was a Miss Elizabeth Roland, a native of Virginia, who died in Missouri. The maternal grandfather of Captain Bush was John Williams, born in Newbury, S. C., where he died in 1825. His widow, Sarah (Young) Williams, afterwards married a Mr. Jones of that state, and died there in 1865. Dr. Reuben R. Bush was reared and educated in Missouri, whence he came with his father to Kentucky. In 1861 he removed to Fredonia in Caldwell county. Three years later he came to Smithland, where he died in 1879. His wife died just two weeks later. Dr. Bush served as a surgeon in the Federal army and practiced medicine in Kentucky for forty years. He was a Whig before the war and a Republican afterwards. Both he and his wife belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church South. They had ten children, only two of whom are living, Capt. John W. Bush, the oldest, and George Bush, the youngest. William R. Bush, a brother of Captain Bush, was a lieutenant in the Federal army and died while in the service. Captain Bush was reared on a
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farm and educated at Bethlehem academy. In 1856 he began to read law in the office of W. P. Fowler of Smithland. A year later he was admitted to the bar at Eddyville, where he practiced his profession until 1858, when he moved to Missouri. After an absence of two years in Missouri, where he practiced law, he returned to Kentucky in 1860, and afterwards enlisted in Company G, Forty- eighth Kentucky volunteer infantry of the Federal army, and served as captain until November, 1864. Returning home he resumed his law practice at Smithland, where he has since enjoyed a lucrative business. Twenty young men have read law in his office, all of whom are doing well. While never an aspirant for office, he has always taken an active interest in politics as a Democrat, making speeches for that party in various states. He is a Knight of Honor and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. His wife, whom he married in 1857, was a widow, her maiden name having been Sarah E. Holloway. They had two children, named William R. and James, the latter dying in infancy. William R. Bush was educated at Lexington, Ky., and choosing the law as his profession he located at Gainesville, Tex., where he built up a successful prac- tice. Returning to Kentucky he served one term in the legislature and died of consumption in 1892, aged thirty-four years. The first wife of Captain Bush died in 1860. One year later he married Miss Sarah A. Watkins, of Lyon county. This marriage has been blessed with ten children, seven of whom are living: Elizabeth Harris, a widow of Smithland; Pat. H., sheriff of Livingston county; C. H., superintendent of mines; Jettie, wife of J. A. Crenshaw, cashier of the bank, Newbern, Tenn .; Corrie, wife of C. C. Grassham, a dis- tinguished attorney of Paducah, Ky .; Janett, wife of Dr. Robert Rivers of Paducah, and Frank M., train dispatcher on the Illinois Central railway at Calvert City, Marshall county, Ky.
R. B. COWPER, liveryman and farmer, was born in Livingston county, Ky., Feb. 20, 1851. He is the son of William and Polly (Hawkins) Cowper, born respectively in Virginia and Kentucky. The father of the subject of this sketch came to Livingston county from Virginia when a lad eight years old. He received a liberal education and filled acceptably several positions of trust, among them being the offices of county judge and justice of the peace. In 1850 he was a delegate to the constitutional convention of the State of Kentucky. In religious matters both he and his wife were identi- fied with the Baptist church. Of the six children born to their
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marriage the subject is the only one living. Both parents were twice married. Two of the children, both daughters, born to his mother by her first marriage are still living. The father died in 1857 and the mother in 1871. R. B. Cowper was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools of his county. The fact that he has held a number of public offices demonstrates that he has taken an active part in politics. For three years he served as assessor of Livingston county, after which he was elected sheriff of that county, serving four years. In 1901 he embarked in the livery bus ness, without, however, neglecting his farming interests. He was nominated by the Democratic party for jailer in 1904. In 1875 he married Miss E. E. Nelson, the daughter of Washington Nelson, of Livingston county. Mr. and Mrs. Cowper have had three chil- dren: William Frederick; Christiana Richard, wife of Gilbert Pres- nell, of Paducah, Ky., and David. Mr. and Mrs. Cowper are earnest Baptists and take a deep interest in all branches of church work.
CHARLES H. WILSON, one of the most successful attorneys practicing at the Smithland, Ky., bar, and a member of the firm of Bush & Wilson, was born in Livingston county, of that state, Aug. II, 1872. His grandfather, Charles Wilson, came to America from Sweden in 1826, locating at Smithland, where he died in 1864. His wife, Martha Ann Walker, whom he married in 1840, lived until 1903. They had a family of eleven children, of whom five are now living. He was a Democrat in politics, a farmer by occupa- tion, owning a large tract of land, and, with his wife, identified with the Baptist church. His maternal grandfather, Reuben Coffer, born May 5, 1789, came from Virginia to Lyon county, Ky., where he died June 20, 1853. On Feb. 19, 1824, he married Elizabeth Ann Brewer, a native of Christian county. In politics he was identi- fied with the Whig party. He was a farmer, and, with his wife, a member of the Baptist church. They had seven children, of whom two are living. The parents of Charles H. Wilson were George Martin and Millie Frances (Coffer) Wilson, the former born in Livingston county Oct. 17, 1841, and the latter in Christian county
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Feb. 9, 1844. George W. Wilson was educated in the public schools of Livingston county, one of his teachers having been Capt. J. W. Bush. His occupation was farming and stock raising, in which he was remarkably successful. He now lives a retired life on his farm of 1,000 acres. The Democratic party has a strong supporter in the person of Mr. Wilson, who served in the Confederate army, and as constable and coroner of his home county. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson had eleven children, of whom seven are living. They are: Lizzie, wife of L. H. Cothron, a sketch of whose life appears else- where in this work; Charles H .; George Martin, Jr., whose life sketch also appears in this work; Thomas Henley, a farmer and stock dealer; Hattie May; Martha Ann and Harry Winfred. His wife dying June 2, 1896, Mr. Wilson, in November of the same year, married Mrs. Delia Fort, who has borne him one son, Floyd A. Charles H. Wilson, the subject of this sketch, received his common school education in the public schools of Livingston county. In 1894 he graduated from Princeton collegiate institute of Princeton, Ky., his wife graduating in the same class. Beginning the study of law in the office of Col. J. C. Hodge, of Smithland, he was admitted to the bar Dec. 5, 1895. For two years he served as city attorney of Smithland, when he was elected attorney of Livingston county. In 1901 he was re-elected and is now serving in that capacity. Mr. Wilson is a memper of Smithland Lodge, No. 138, Free and Accepted Masons, and of the Knights of the Maccabees, being commander of Smithland Tent, No. 120. In politics he is a Democrat and in church relationship a Baptist. He married Miss Saidee Eliza Polk, born in Louisville, Ky., April 21, 1873. She is the daughter of Dr. Edward Theodore Polk, a distant relative of ex-President James K. Polk, and his second wife, Emma Sophronia (Hooten) Polk, who was born in Louisville Oct. 19, 1853, and died Aug. 19, 1875. By his first wife, Elizabeth (Marshall) Polk, Doctor Polk had three children: Elizabeth Marshall, wife of George Fulton, who was born Jan. 4, 1843, and died Aug. 30, 1899; Betsey Marshall, wife of Capt. Alexander Lawson, who was born Jan. 6, 1845, and Attorney John R. M. Polk, who married Miss Addie Rice of Lou- isville, Ky., was born Sept. 19, 1851, and died Dec. 24, 1894. His wife died about five years later. On the death of his second wife, Doctor Polk married her sister, Mrs. Eliza Hooten, the widow of Captain Frisbee, and by this marriage to Captain Frisbee she has one daughter, Ella Frisbee Coleman, the wife of Benjamin Tyler Coleman, of Middletown, Ky. She was born May 9, 1872, and has
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two sons, Frisbee and Charles Tyler Coleman. Dr. Polk was born in Woodford county, Ky., June 12, 1813, and died Feb. 27, 1891, in Jefferson county, Ky. His third wife, Eliza Ann Polk, was born in Louisville, Ky., Sept. 23, 1843, and still survives. Charles H. Wilson and wife have had a family of four children. They are Ruby Frances, deceased; Ella Christine; Mildred Kathleen, and Sarah Pauline.
GEORGE MARTIN WILSON, JR., one of the most successful young men of his county, was born in Livingston county, Ky., April 6, 1877. His grandfather, Charles Wilson, came to America from Sweden in 1826, locating at Smithland, where he died in 1864. His wife, Martha Ann Walker, whom he married in 1840, died in 1903. They had a family of eleven children, of whom five are now living. He was a Democrat in politics, a farmer by occupation, owning a large tract of land, and, with his wife, identified with the Baptist church. His maternal grandfather, Reuben Coffer, born May 5, 1789, came from Virginia to Lyon county, Ky., where he died June 20, 1853. On Feb. 19, 1824, he married Elizabeth Ann Brewer, a native of Christian county, Ky. In politics he was identi- fied with the Whig party, was a farmer by occupation, and, with his wife, a member of the Baptist church. They had seven children, of whom two are living. The parents of George Martin Wilson, Jr., were George Martin, Sr., and Millie Frances (Coffer) Wilson, the former born in Livingston county Oct. 17, 1841, and the latter in Christian county Feb. 9, 1844. Mr. Wilson was educated in the public schools of Livingston county, one of his teachers having been Capt. J. W. Bush. His occupation is farming and stock rais- ing, in which he has been very successful. He is a stanch Democrat, and was a soldier in the Confederate army. He now lives a retired life on his farm of 1,000 acres. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson had eleven children, of whom seven are living. They are: Lizzie, wife of L. H. Cothron, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this work; Charles H., whose sketch also appears in this work; George Martin, Jr .; Thomas Henley, a farmer and stock dealer; Hattie May; Martha Ann and Harry Winfred. His wife died on June 6, 1896, and Mr.
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Wilson, in November of the same year, married Mrs. Delia Fort, who has borne him one son, Floyd A. The subject of this sketch was educated in the common schools of Livingston county, graduating from the Smithland graded school in 1896. In 1898 he received from Mr. R. B. Cowper (high sheriff) the appointment of deputy sheriff of Livingston county, and was again made deputy sheriff under Mr. P. H. Bush in 1901, which position he still holds. On Sept. 3, 1904, the Democratic party nominated him for the office of high sheriff. On Dec. 29, 1901, he married Miss Linnie Belle Crewdson, who was born in Pope county, Ill., and came when a child with her parents, Green and Susan (Scott) Crewdson, to Livingston county. Green Crewdson died in Louisville, Ky., in 1893 and was followed by his wife in October, 1901. Two children were born to this family: Harry J. Crewdson of Smithland, Ky., and Linnie B., the wife of the subject of this sketch. George Martin Wilson, Jr., is the father of two sons, Cecil Crewdson and Charles Edwin. The grandfather of Mrs. Wilson, Rev. J. W. Crewdson, a noted Baptist minister of Illinois and Kentucky, died in Livingston county about 1895. Hon. S. R. Crewdson, circuit judge of the Seventh Kentucky district (Russellville), is a great-uncle of Mrs. Wilson.
WILLIAM THOMAS THRELKELD, of Smithland, Ky., jailer for Livingston county, was born in Crittenden county of that state, Jan. 31, 1849. He is a son of Willis and Sarah (McCullum) Threlk- eld, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of South Carolina. They came to Kentucky in 1848, where the father became a prosper- ous farmer and stock dealer, owning a large amount of land and a number of slaves. He took an active part in politics as a Democrat ; was for a number of years deputy county clerk; was a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was a regular attendant at the Baptist church, to which his wife belonged. They had a family of three sons and three daughters. One son, Dr. John B. Threlkeld, is a prominent physician of Salem and a stockholder in banks at that place, Marion and Dawson Springs. He is one of the directors of the bank at Salem. The mother died in 1855 and the father married Susan Foster. To this second marriage there were born one son and two daughters, one daughter now living. He died on May 2, 1864. The paternal grandfather, Thomas Threlk- eld, was a Virginian who came in an early day to Allen county, Ky., removed from there to Crittenden county and died near Salem in 1850.
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He was married three times. His first wife was a Miss Duncan and to this marriage were born two children: the father of the subject of this sketch and Jeannette, who married P. C. Barnett and is now deceased. The second wife was also a Miss Duncan and the third a Mrs. Hodge. No children were born to the second and third marriages. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Threlkeld was Aaron McCullum, a native of Ireland. He died about 1862 and his wife in 1870. Wil- liam T. Threlkeld was educated in the public schools and upon reach- ing manhood became a farmer. He now owns a fine farm of 500 acres on the Ohio river, three miles from Smithland, where he carries on a general farming business and devotes considerable attention to stock raising. Ever since he became of age he has been active in pro- moting the interests of the Democratic party. In 1897 he was elected jailer for the county and re-elected in 1901. He is a member of Smithland Lodge, No. 138, Free and Accepted Masons, and Carrs- ville Lodge, No. 145, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1882 he married Miss Viola, daughter of W. and Sallie (Davis) Thomas. She was born in the State of Tennessee, her parents both being natives of that state, but removed to Livingston county about 1874. Her father was a farmer, a prominent Democrat, a Free Mason, and both her parents belonged to the Christian church. During the war her father served in the Confederate army. He died in 1876 and his wife in 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Threlkeld are both members of the Christian church. Their children are Lucy Maud, Sallie, Willis, Lula, Leon and Lillian, the last two being twins.
PATRICK H. BUSH was born in Livingston county, Ky., Feb. 26, 1870. He is the son of Capt. J. W. Bush, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this work. Patrick was reared in Smithland and educated in part in its public schools. He also attended Bethel college at Russellville and Kentucky State college at Lexington. After farming for a time he engaged in other pursuits. For two years he was a bookkeeper for the Grand Rivers Iron Company, and then for eighteen months worked in a railroad office at St. Louis, Mo. The Democratic party honored him with an election to the office of sheriff of Livingston county, Ky., in 1901. In 1904 he was nominee of the same party for the office of county clerk. Mr. Bush is a member of Smithland Lodge, No. 138, Free and Accepted Masons, and belongs to the order of Knights of the Maccabees. On Sept. 14, 1893, he married Ola Mitchell, of Livingston county, daughter of Will'am and Julia Mitchell, both deceased. To this
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marriage three children were born: Virginia Ogela, Edgar Bryan and Mary Musa. Mr. Bush has been quite successful in every enter- prise that he has conducted. His frequent election to positions of great trust shows that he enjoys the confidence and esteem of his fellow-men. In addition to a fine farm near Grand Rivers, he owns valuable property in Florida.
GEORGE W. LANDRAM, of - Smith- land, Ky., clerk of the Livingston county court, was born in that county July 6, 1859. He is the son of Hubbard and Clara E. (Barlow) Landram, the former a native of Culpeper county, Va., and the latter of Hawesville, Ky. Hubbard Landram, after operating a gold mine in Virginia for nine years, came to Living- ston county, Ky., in 1840, where he resided until his death in 1877. He was an engi- neer and was in chief control as such for two years at White's old furnace in Liv- ingston county until the furnace ceased operation. He was also a blacksmith, a farmer and a slaveholder. In religious matters he was identified with the Baptist church. He married his first wife, Mahala Darnell, in Virginia and to this union were born two sons who grew to manhood. They were William, a soldier in the Confederate army, who died in Camp Douglas, at the age of seventeen years, and Joseph L., a carpenter, who died in Texas in 1886. He married the second time in Kentucky and had a family of five children: two died in infancy; Agnes died at the age of four years, and Hubbard at the age of three ; the subject of this sketch being the only one now living. The mother of these children died in 1879, and was interred beside her husband in the old "Landram" cemetery on the Smithland and Dover road, ten miles from Smithland. George W. Landram was reared on a farm and in the blacksmith shop, and what little educa- tion he received was obtained in the public schools of the county, and one five months' term in "Hambleton" college at Elizabethtown, Hardin county, Ky., where he was under the care of Prof. J. W. Heagan. He learned the trade of wagonmaker and blacksmith. Under Cleveland's first administration he was appointed to an office in the internal revenue service at Owensboro, Kv. When Mr. Cleve- land was elected the second time, Mr. Landram received the ap-
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pointment of postmaster at Grand Rivers, Ky., which place he filled until August, 1897. During his term as postmaster he served as rail- road agent for the Illinois Central and as express agent for the Ameri- can and Southern Express Companies. Prior to this time he had suffered the loss of three fingers from his right hand, in a saw mill accident, and in 1892 he lost his left arm from blood poisoning; in spite of these terrible misfortunes he with a single finger and thumb discharged all the duties of these various positions, without aid or assistance from any one else. In 1897 he was nominated and elected on the Democratic ticket as clerk of the Livingston county court, and moved to Smithland in November, of that year. In 1901 he was renominated and re-elected to the same office. In addition to holding the office of county court clerk, he was, in 1904, at the April term of the Livingston circuit court, appointed by Judge J. F. Gordon as master commissioner and receiver of said court. During all the years, from 1898 to 1904, except the year 1901, he has been the chairman of the Livingston county Democratic campaign committee. He is a member of Smithland Lodge, No. 138, Free and Accepted Masons, and a member of the First Baptist church of Grand Rivers, Ky. In 1879 he married Miss Rebecca A. Driskill of Livingston county. Five children were born to this union: Clarence E., now an ensign in the United States navy ; Ora Evelyn, assistant music teacher in the South Carolina Co-educational Institute; Lula A. G., wife of V. D. Pres- nell, a merchant of Smithland, Ky., and the mother of Bernadette; Beulah Ethel, who died in infancy, and Andrew Hudnall. After the death of his first wife in 1888, Mr. Landram married Miss Dora A. Mitchusson of Livingston county. Five children have been born to this marriage; Hubbard J .; John Lawson; Anna Blanche; Ellis Cole- man, and George Wheeler. Notwithstanding the fact that time, from a physical standpoint, has dealt rather heavily with Mr. Landram, he looks upon the bright side of the picture of life, and stands as a living example to the young men of the age, that "Where there is a will there is a way." He pushes along the road of life as though he was blest with all the hands and arms that are given to any man, and never grumbles or complains of his misfortunes. He is greeted daily by many, who assure him that if they were in his place they would give way to despondency and discouragement, but he does not look at matters in that light. He has many friends in the county and state, and also has many enemies, who take great delight in abus- ing him, but he is never disconcerted by them, and gives no attention to their criticisms ; he says life is too short to allow your enemies to
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disturb you, but enjoy the confidence of your friends and leave your enemies to take care of themselves.
THOMAS EVANS, of Smithland, Ky., judge of the county court of Livingston county, was born in Caldwell county of that state, May 3, 1861. He is the son of Ezer E. and Frances E. (Dawson) Evans, both natives of Christian county, Ky. The former was born on Sept. 8, 1838, and the latter on May 7, 1840. Ezer E. was the son of Ezer and Susan (Lind- say) Evans, the former born in North Carolina in 1792, and the latter in Ken- tucky in 1798. Ezer Evans died and was buried at Saltillo, Tenn., in 1838, and his wife died in Caldwell county in 1865. The paternal grand- father of Thomas Evans was Jesse Evans, who came to North Caro- lina from Wales in an early day, and died at Florence, Ala. The maternal grandfather, James W. Dawson, was a native of Virginia, who went to Tennessee and from there came to Christian or Trigg county, Ky., dying near Mayfield in Graves county in 1879. His wife, Sallie (Washburn) Dawson was born in Virginia and died in Chris- tian county, in 1841. Ezer E. Dawson was educated in the common schools of his native county and learned the trades of millwright and wagonmaker. He came to Livingston county in 1867, and on Janu- ary 14 of that year located at Salem. He was killed in a railroad accident at Malvern, Ark., Jan. 31, 1885. He was a Democrat, a Mason, an Odd Fellow, and he and his wife were members of the Christian church. They had eight children: four reached manhood and womanhood, and four died in infancy. Those now living are, Mrs. Dora Sherrill of Stevensville, Tex .; Charles Evans, principal of the Marion high school, a graduate of the Normal university of Lebanon, O., an active worker in the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation, an institute instructor for the State of Kentucky, a Democrat, a Knight of Pythias, and a member of the Christian church. He married Miss Mattie Blue, a daughter of the late John W. Blue, Sr., one of Marion's most popular lawyers. Two children have blessed this union, Charles Blue and Edward C. Thomas Evans, the third surviving child, was educated in the public schools of Salem, learned the trade of blacksmith and engaged in the hardware business in II-14
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