1. Glenn L. DANIEL was born on NOV 26 1947 in Jonesville,
Virginia.
2. David Ernest DANIEL was born on SEP 13 1925 in Rose Hill, Virginia. He was married to Mary Jane ELY on OCT 25 1943 in Tazewell, Tennessee.
3. Mary Jane ELY was born on FEB 19 1926 in Harlan,
Kentucky. David Ernest DANIEL and Mary Jane ELY had the following children:
i. Larnie W. DANIEL was born on APR 5 1945 in Jonesville, Virginia.
iii. Bruce L. DANIEL was born on JUL 7 1956 in Jonesville, Virginia.
4. Jasper DANIEL was born on JUL 22 1903 in Kentucky. He died on SEP 16 1982 in Jonesville, Virginia. He was married to Mary COTRELL on DEC 15 1924 in Cumberland Gap, Tennessee.
5. Mary COTRELL was born on SEP 23 1910. Jasper
DANIEL and Mary COTRELL had the following children:
2 i. David Ernest DANIEL
6. Charlie ELY was born on JAN 9 1888 in KY.. He died on APR 21 1972 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was married to Lillie Mae LEDFORD on JUL 15 1907.
7. Lillie Mae LEDFORD was born on MAR 15 1890 in KY.. She died on MAY 22 1978 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Charlie ELY and Lillie Mae LEDFORD had the following children:
8. Stephen DANIEL was born in MAR 1881.
9. Catherin HOWARD was born on APR 18 1888. She died on SEP 29 1955. Stephen DANIEL and Catherin HOWARD had the following children:
11. Nancy JOHNSON. Wright COTRELL and Nancy JOHNSON had the following children:
12. William ELY IV was born on MAY 6 1850 in Kentucky. He died on DEC 11 1910. He was married to Livina GREEN in 1870.
13. Livina GREEN was born on OCT 6 1845. She died on FEB 15 1927. William ELY IV and Livina GREEN had the following children:
15. Sarah Elizabeth HEDRICK was born on JAN 27 1857. She died on OCT 14 1896. Stephen LEDFORD and Sarah Elizabeth HEDRICK had the following children:
There was a circuit-riding preacher who use to come and hold revivals up and down Martin's Fork. He preached in the tradition of the old timey preachers who often preached half of the day and into the night.. When he came to preach, he stayed with one family or the other and took his meals and board with them while he was holding services.
This particular preacher had a habit of getting carried away while He was preaching and saying, 'l wouldn't care if Gabriel would blow his trumpet right now!'
Uncle Jasper heard his mike this statement so many times that he
decided to do something about it. He took a fox horn and climbed up in
the rafters OF the old log church before the folks began to gather in for
the service, He stayed up there, quiet am a mouse, waiting for just the
right moment. Sure enough, the preacher got in a big way of preaching and
he said,
'l wouldn't care if Gabriel would blow him horn right now!' That
was the moment Uncle Jasper had been waiting for, He blew that fox horn
with all of his might. The congregation scattered in all directions - some
under the pews and some out the doors. The last thing the preacher said
in that service was 'Oh, Gabriel Can't you take a joke?
The old tradition of keeping bees was to take a log and hollow it out through the middle. They would then burn the inside of the tree out, to kill the weevils. When the section log was ready to house the bees, They set it on a rock or a pile of gravels, leaving room for the bees to enter and leave. The top was covered with boards to keep the rain and weather out.
Bees would swarm in the mountain in a hollow tree. When their nest was over populated with two queen bees, part of the bees would take the new queen and start a new swarm. People would watch and listen for bees to swarm on the bee gum they were already keeping. When the bees were getting ready to make a new swarm, they would settle on the outside of the bee gum. This is what you watched for.
When they left the old gum for the new nest people would start ringing cowbells to make them settle, They would settle on a tree limb and someone had to climb the tree and cut the limb off of the tree. Someone would be waiting with a new bee gum and make a pecking mound on it, The bees would leave the limb and go in the new bee gum.
Bees have always been important to mountain people. The honey collected from bee gums sat on every table in the mountains. Honey was used in home medicines, used in cooking and served raw on hot biscuits and butter. Some folks say that a teaspoon of honey a day is as good as taking vitamins.
Well, Uncle Jasper Daniels, happened to have a new bee gum empty one-day and decided to have a little fun out of it since the bees hadn't started to swarm yet. He turned it upside down so that the closed end was on the bottom. Somehow, he persuaded one of his friends to get down in that bee gum. As soon as he did, he capped a lid over it and nailed it down with the man inside.
He gave it a shove down the mountain with the man inside, rolling
and screaming all the way. Uncle Jasper laughed his head off. But the other
man wasn't laughing when he finally got out. He was covered in bruises
from head to foot.
That was one time Uncle Jasper had to figure out how to get the
bees in the gum all by himself.
He was married to Margaret HOWARD on NOV 21 1872 in Harlan, Kentucky.1
17. Margaret HOWARD was born in 1854. She died on MAR 18 1940. Jasper "Joking" DANIEL and Margaret HOWARD had the following children:
19. Elizabeth(Lizabeth) UPTON. Britt HOWARD and Elizabeth(Lizabeth) UPTON had the following children:
21. Minny "Minnie" LONG. Bill COTRELL and Minny "Minnie" LONG had the following children:
23. Sarah KING. Bob JOHNSON and Sarah KING had the following children:
24. John ELY. He was married to Nancy WILDER on MAR 22 1846.
25. Nancy WILDER was born in 1827. John ELY and Nancy WILDER had the following children:
27. Katherine BURKHART. Andrew Jackson GREEN and Katherine BURKHART had the following children:
29. Jane STEPP was born in 1822. Alias LEDFORD Jr. and Jane STEPP had the following children:
31. Sarah "Sallie" SMITH was born on MAR 29 1834. She died on MAR 17 1922. Peter HEDRICK III and Sarah "Sallie" SMITH had the following children:
32. MT.Steve DANIEL(1834) was born in 1834. He died in 1922 in Harlan, Kentucky. He was married to Mary Ann HENSLEY.
33. Mary Ann HENSLEY was born in 1835. MT.Steve DANIEL(1834) and Mary Ann HENSLEY had the following children:
35. Minerva LEE died on FEB 11 1889. James T. HOWARD(1833) and Minerva LEE had the following children:
48. William ELY Jr.. He was married to Mary Rebecca SAYLOR on AUG 18 1890.
49. Mary Rebecca SAYLOR. William ELY Jr. and Mary Rebecca SAYLOR had the following children:
55. ? ?. George BURKHART and ? ? had the following children:
57. Elizabeth Betsey Ann FARMER. Alias "Aley" LEDFORD Sr. and Elizabeth Betsey Ann FARMER had the following children:
59. Rachel BEDDINGFIELD. Robert STEPP and Rachel BEDDINGFIELD had the following children:
61. Elizabeth DAVENPORT. John HEDRICK and Elizabeth DAVENPORT had the following children:
63. Nancy LEDFORD. Nobel SMITH and Nancy LEDFORD had the following children:
64. Pearson DANIEL(1800) was born in 1800 in Virginia.
He died in 1861. He was married to Frances "Fanny" SLUSHER(1802) in 1827.
65. Frances "Fanny" SLUSHER(1802) was born in 1802. She died in 1867. Pearson DANIEL(1800) and Frances "Fanny" SLUSHER(1802) had the following children:
69. Peggy HENDRICKSON. Phillip HOWARD and Peggy HENDRICKSON had the following children:
71. Joyce NAPIER. Stephan LEE and Joyce NAPIER had the following children:
96. Willian "Warrior Bill" ELY Sr. was born on
MAR 25 1753. He died between 1850 and 1853 in Lee County, Virginia.
Note for Warrior Bill. WIILLIAM "WARRIOR BILL" ELY
"William Ely, 2nd son of Thomas and Jane, was born March
25 1753, according to his statement made when making application for a
pension. His declaration for a pension, File No. S 39 493, Is preserved
in the Revolutionary War Section, Pension Bureau, Interior Department,
Washington, D.C., together with other papers relating to his claim... He
stated that he enlisted under Captain Thomas Helms on February 15, 1779,
and served 18 months or 2 years as Private with the Virginia Troops under
Captains Hughes Woodson and Lawson and Colonel Abraham Buford. He was in
the battle, May 29, 1780, when Buford was defeated at a place called Hanging.
Rock (South Carolina.), in which battle he was severely wounded in the
head and shoulder by a sabre. He was taken prisoner by the British but
since he was badly wounded he was paroled in a few days and was permitted
to return home. He was pensioned for two years service. (It is said that
he had a silver plate in his head.)
"William Ely was married October 23, 1780, in Bedford
County, Virginia to Mary Rallings (Rawlings, Rollings), a daughter of Anthony
and Mary Rawlings...
"William Ely moved from Bedford County, Virginia with
his mother and brothers to Montgomery County, where he purchased land adjoining
his mother's land, lying at the mouth of Bear Springs, a branch of New
River. He sold his land in Montgomery County later and moved with ·the
family to Lee County, Virginia, 1796-1798, and settled on Sugar Run.
"William Ely with others became the owners of thousands
of acres of land by survey and entry, lying in Kentucky on the Cumberland
River, on Sandy Ridge, in the Cumberland Mountains, North Fork of Clinch
River, and in Lee County as evidenced by the Entry and Survey Books. Much
of this land, if not all, ...later sold for delinquent taxes.
"...Later William Ely returned to Lee County (from Knox
County), Virginia, where he again became a land owner, bought and sold
land, and spent the remainder of his life in the County...
"After the Elys came to Lee County they became members
of the Thompson Settlement Baptist Church...
"William Ely died after 1850, in the year 1853 or before.
He is buried somewhere near what is now Hagan in Lee County, and it is
said that a headstone marks his grave."4
(Source: Early Settlers of Lee County, etc,. p. 438)
He was married to Mary RAWLINGS on OCT 23 1780 in Bedford County, Virginia.
97. Mary RAWLINGS. Willian "Warrior Bill" ELY Sr. and Mary RAWLINGS had the following children:
121. ? ?. Captain Peter HEDRICK and ? ? had the following children:
128. John DANIEL(1770) was born in 1770. He died in 1840. He was married to Catherine Napier.
129. Catherine Napier died between 1830 and 1840. John DANIEL(1770) and Catherine Napier had the following children:
137. Phoebe SLUSHER. Phillip Slusher, who married
Judith Howard daughter of: (Thomas Howard & Letty Durham-Deerham),
was the brother of Phoebe Slusher who married Benjamin Howard son of :
(Thomas Howard & Letty Durham-Deerham)
Benjamin HOWARD(1780) and Phoebe SLUSHER had the following
children:
139. ? WILSON. Joshua HENDRICKSON and ? WILSON had the following children:
192. Thomas ELY was Killed in The Revolutionary
War.
Note for Thomas.4
Thomas Ely the ancestor of the branch of the Ely family in Southwestern Virginia, was among the early emigrants of the name to the American Colonies and came about the middle of the eighteenth century. According to tridition, Thomas was a young man about twenty-four years of age when he left England for America, and on shipboard met an Irish girl by the name of Jane Smith...born in Dublin, Ireland, whom he fell in love with and they were either married aboard ship or shortly after they arrived at the port of entry
"There is some evidence that they remained in Pennsylvania for a few years after their marriage, until after the birth of their two oldest sons, before coming to Virginia. After moving to Virginia they settled in Stafford County where they remained for a few years. The loss of the Stafford County records elim-inates forever the evidence that would establish more accurately Thomas Ely's place or places of residence during these early years.
"Thomas Ely was a soldier in the war between Great Britain and France and received a Land Office Warrant for fifty acres of land to be surveyed in any county within the Commonwealth, for his military service. The place of his residence when he was engaged in this war is not definitely known, but most probably (was) in Stafford County. He was under the command of Colonel Byrd...
"The first established place of residence of Thomas Ely in Virginia was not confirmed with documentary proof until 1772. November 23, 1772, Thomas Ely (Eally) of Bedford County purchased land in Bedford County from John Caffery and wife Elizabeth...
"Thomas Ely and family were residents of' Bedford County, Virginia during the Revolutionary War, and Thomas and three of his sons were soldiers in this war. Thomas Ely, Sr. served as private in the 5th Virginia Regiment, Continental Line under various Captains under the command of Colonel Josiah Parker and Colonel Abraham Buford...Thomas Ely, Jr., presumably the eldest son, was killed in this war."
Memorandum from Lutz Wahl, Brigadier General, Acting Adjutant General, showed that Thomas Ely served for approximately two years from February 25, 1776 until discharge.
"Thomas Ely died... from the wound he received at Buford's Defeat. Apparently sometime after the death of Thomas, Jane Ely with her large family of children, left Bedford County, Virginia and settled in Montgomery County where they received small land grants, and where they lived for several years, until they sold their holdings and made the move to Lee County, Virginia, 1796-1798.
"...Presumably Jane Ely lived with her children after coming to Lee County since no records have been found showing that Jane was a land owner in the county. The date of Jane's death is not known nor the place of burial. She was most likely buried on Sugar Run in the old John Ely graveyard, in an unmarked grave...
Sources Early Settlers of Lee County, etc., p. 437
He was married to Elizabeth Jane SMITH in Pennsylvania.
193. Elizabeth Jane SMITH was born in Dublin, Ireland. She died in Likely Buried on Sugar Run/John Ely Cemetry. Thomas ELY and Elizabeth Jane SMITH had the following children:
195. Mary ?. Anthony RAWLINGS and Mary ? had the following children:
262. Thomas HOWARD(1720) was born in 1720 in NC.. He was married to Letty DURHAM-DEERHAM.
263. Letty DURHAM was born a Full Blood Cherokee. Thomas HOWARD(1720) and Letty DURHAM had the following children:
THE HOWARDS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY
From the book The Howards of Eastern Kentucky published by the
Magoffin County Historical Society, 1985
We may have more appropriately said "The Howard Families of America" as this illustrious family has dispersed itself so widely. Descendants of the early Howard settlers of Eastern Kentucky can be found in every state of the union.
Eastern Kentucky has been noted for its large clanish families. The Howard family may well rank among the largest of these families. It couldd be noted that the Howard's were great believers in populating the land, as they averaged ten or more offspring and some are actually credited with fathering more than twenty-five children.
The origin of the Howard name has been a challenge to previous publications and writers have offered differing viewpoints. This will be very lightly touched upon in this volume. There is speculation that the Howards are of the royalty of England through a Sir Thomas Howard.
The migration route of the Howards after their appearance in the new world of America was much the same pattern of other Eastern Kentucky settlers. They came from the Maryland, Virginia, and Carolina coasts thence deep inland into the frontier lands of North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia. They helped to tame the wilderness east of the great Cumberland barrier.
The Revolutionary Conflict came upon them in that locality, many of the Howard clan served or aided in the cause. These frontiersman and soldiers had probably seen or heard of the hunter's paradise that lay beyond the Cumberland range. Some land grants were obtained by having served in the Revolutionary War. As soon as it was considered safe to bring families into this new land, they began to spill across the great Cumberland through the same trails made by animals and traversed by the native red man in his search of game animals that he was so dependant on for survival.
After Kentucky County, Virginia was divided into three counties, the eastern section was known as Lincoln County, Kentucky. Lincoln County was divided into Floyd, Knox, and Clay counties with Howards showing in the very earliest census of each county. The 1810 census indicated the Howards had taken residence in these three counties. Counties were being formed from these counties---Harlan, Bell, Breathitt, Morgan, and finally Magoffin were formed. The Howards were instrumental in helping to formulate them and certainly to help populate them.
Some of the Howards took a more southerly route of migration west through Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. These Howard cousins may be included in this volume--they also helped to pioneer this great land.
Due to the atmosphere of the vast wilderness the Howards had to conquer in Eastern Kentucky, there was little written or recorded information kept. Much of the information in some of out courthouses has been lost or destroyed in time. Much of the heritage of this great family has been lost to time. The Howards did orally keep their heritage alive by word of mouth; thus forklore must be depended upon to a great extent in researching this family.
It has been accepted from forklore that the progenitator of the majority of the Howards of southeastern Kentucky was a Thomas Howard who was married to a Cherokee Indian woman. Others are of the opinion that a James Howard who died in 1823 in Floyd County, Kentucky (or possibly a brother of this James) is the ancestor of the Howard families of our area. The Indian ancestor legend is heard in most branches of the family and it is believed that her name was Letty Durham. The reader is advised to search out all possibilities and make a personal conclusion from their own viewpoint. Published material is accepted as being factual; however, the reader is cautioned to not be content to accept this material as being the final chapter to be written about their forefathers but that it will actually instill in their minds a desire to find new insights into the research of their forefathers.
Previous publications have indicated that Thomas Howard married a Cherokee Indian and that two of his sons, Thomas and James, claimed in their pension applications that their father was killed by Indians. Riley Howard, son of William, made application for Cherokee compensation in 1907 claiming his grandmother was a Cherokee Indian and that his grandfather was Thomas Howard.
At least four of the Howard brothers claimed service in the Revolutionary Conflict, namely--Thomas, James, John, and Benjamin. Not all actually received a pension for said services.
Moses Howard married in Floyd County, Kentucky to Ann Patrick and has been previously been listed as being a brother to the above mentioned children. Documents found in area courthouses place him as the son of Thomas and Francis Jackson Howard. Nearly all his descendants were residents of the Raccoon "Coon" Creek section of Magoffin County.
Editor's Note: Listed below is information on the above named brothers. There are other Howard families named in the book that may or may not have any connection. However, because of timing and spacing, I will only be listing the dealing with the four brothers who are:
I. THOMAS HOWARD married Francis Jackson and migrated to the part of Floyd County that later became Morgan County and later was to become Magoffin County in the area of Raccoon Creek. The major portion of the Howards in that vicinity can trace their lineage to this Thomas Howard who died in 1853 and is said to be buried at the Mouth of Coon Cemetery. Thomas received a Revolutionary War Pension.
II. JAMES HOWARD married Elizabeth Green and migrated to Breathitt County where he died in 1857. Several of this family migrated to the Upper Licking River in Magoffin County, Kentucky. James received a Revolutionary War Pension.
III. JOHN "WAR JACK" HOWARD married Mary Risner and his
children were shown to have been born in Tennessee, Knox County, Kentucky and Harlan County, Kentucky. "War Jack" died in 1824 and Mary married a second time (Jackson) in 1827 in Harlan County, Kentucky and several of the Magoffin County Jackson are descendants of this marriage.
IV. BENJAMIN HOWARD married Phoebe Slusher and he died in 1849 in Harlan County, Kentucky. Some of his children were listed as having been born in Tennessee but the younger ones were born in Harlan County. Benjamin's Revolutionary War Pension was rejected.
REVOLUTIONARY WAR PENSION APPLICATION
OF THOMAS HOWARD
From the book The Howards of Eastern Kentucky published by the
Magoffin County Historica Society, 1985
Thomas Howard, Private, in Company commanded by Capt. Evans of Reg. commanded by Col. Montgomery in the VA line. Inscribed on the Roll of Kentucky at $80 to commence on the 4th March 1831. Duplicate certificate issued Oct 28th 1851 and sent to L. F. I. Trabue, Frankfort, KY
THOMAS HOWARD states that he was born in Georgia in Wilkes County (now) on the 8th day of Jun 1750 and knows his age from his father having it set down in a book and having seen it often.
He lived in Montgomery Co., VA when called into service and moved here thirty seven years since the Revolutionary War and now lives in Perry Co., KY. It was a new county formed out of Floyd and Clay counties.
He enlisted for three years and was promised land when he enlisted which he never got. He stated that his brother, James, who was eighty-one years old in 1833 and a resident of Perry Co., KY served with him and that his father was murdered by Indians.
On Dec 24 1833, Thomas Howard aged 83 appeared in before a Justice of the Peace of Perry Co., KY and made declaration as to his Rev. War service.
Mr. William Coffee, a Clergyman, of Perry County and James Howard residing in the same certifies that they are well acquainted with Thomas Howard and believe him to be 83 years old and to have been a soldier of the Revolution.
Thomas Howard died 27 January 1853 in Morgan Co., KY. In Oct 1853, Frances or Franky Howard of Morgan Co., KY stated that she was the widow of Thomas Howard and she would be seventy-one years of age the next March and that she married the soldier in Washington Co., VA in 1794. In 1855, she stated she was 76 years old and that she married the soldier in the fall of the year and the following March she was fifteen years of age. It also stated that she married in Russell Co., VA. In Dec 1871, Frances Howard was living in Magoffin County, KY and stated she was 90 years old and that she married Thomas Howard 15 Aug 1796. In 1871, A. H. Howard and James Howard, Sr. were living in Magoffin Co., KY but their relation to the soldier was not given.
From A. D. Hiller, Asst. to Administrator
1. Vol. 2 page 256. Vol. 2 page 256.
2. Frances Yeager Durham. Howard's in SW KY. 1979.
3. Ibid. Pages 1-4.
4. Early Settlers of Lee County.
5. The "Howards of Eastern Kentucky"
published by the Magoffin County Historical Society