Green County Genealogical Society

06/11/2026

The Society’s next meeting will be Saturday, June 13 at Green County Public Library. We’ll start at 10:00ct that morning. We hope this change from our regular Thursday evening meetings will be more accommodating for current and prospective members. All are welcome!

06/11/2026

*History Blast*
Summersville Students
Laura Johnson, Green County Public Library

One of the most serious automobile accidents Green County had faced up to that time occurred on Tuesday afternoon, July 31, 1926, when a truck carrying Summersville schoolchildren overturned in Greensburg. Teachers, Mrs. Earl Henderson and Miss Katy Cox, had arranged transportation for nearly twenty pupils so they could attend a Chautauqua program in town.
As the truck, driven by Ray Henderson, rounded the corner by the Presbyterian Church, a front tire suddenly burst. The vehicle, loaded with children, veered sharply across the street toward the Baptist Church and crashed into a tree only a few feet from the building, a collision that likely prevented an even greater tragedy. The truck overturned, and almost everyone inside suffered some degree of injury.
Several passengers were badly hurt, including Mrs. Henderson, Miss Cox, Miss Perkins, Miss Chaudoin, Miss Druin, Miss Gumm, Miss Scott, Ray Henderson, and Finis DeSpain. Others received minor injuries, though their names are not known.
With no hospital in Greensburg, town residents quickly stepped in. The injured were carried to the nearby home of Woodson Lewis and to the Presbyterian parsonage, home of Rev. J. A. Circle, within minutes of the crash. Physicians from Greensburg, Summersville, and Campbellsville worked together to quickly treat the wounded. Citizens gathered to assist in any way they could, offering supplies, comfort, and steady hands. Doctors believed all would eventually recover.
By Wednesday morning, all but four of the injured had been taken home. Those still receiving care included Miss Cox and Miss Druin at the Presbyterian parsonage; Finis DeSpain at the home of J. H. Woodward; and Mrs. Henderson at the home of A. L. Perkins.
Though the wreck shattered an afternoon meant for laughter and learning, in the hours and days that followed, Green County proved once again that its greatest strength lies in its people.

Photo:
Summersville School, 1925. First row, from left - Edgar Milby, Carl Hudgins, Cecil Price, Howell Milby, Dennis Hall, Harold Chaudoin, Frank Hudgins, Garland “Cotton” Chaudoin, George Arnold Bloyd, Eugene Milby, Eudell Milby, unidentified, Joseph DeSpain, Dencil Milby, Moss Milby, Frank Price, Leon Milby. Second row - First two boys are unidentified, Ted Towns, Mildred Price Vaughn, Ida Lue Hudgins Milby, Dorthy Mays Brandon, Joyce Mays Witzel, Dorthy Larimore, Irene Risen, Sybill Henderson Urban, Cleo Hall Judd, Aleen Hall Pierce, Adell Mears Mays, Viven Mears Bell, Darlene Walker Koranchan, Dennis Chaney. Third row - Oma Price Skaggs, Mildred Whitlow, Lillie Price, Myrtie Price Pierce, Elaine Mays Henderson, Christine McCubbin Jones, Charlie Thomas DeSpain, Finis DeSpain, Arvin Cantrell, Rollin Bloyd, Eva Nelson, Christine Hall DeSpain, Olla Mears Caven, Mathus Warren Donan, Marie Risen, Miss Hudgins, Lotton Gumm Jr. Fourth row - Lillian Hall Warren, Josie Chaney Marcum, Nellie Milby Taylor, Valera Gumm Puckett, Marvin Milby, James Milby, Carl Milby, Paul Larimore, Elbert Donan, Arvin Hall, Flossie Gumm Strader. Fifth row - Johnnie Price, Helen Drewin, Maude Perkins Dobson, Alice Drewin, Icy Milby Thompson, Lyda McCubbin Caven, Lettie McCubbin Milby, Hazel Marcum Garr, Lillian Hudgins Bloyd, Howard McCubbin, George Warren, Roy Milby, Harry McCubbin and Ray Henderson. Standing in the door are teachers, Mr. Earl Henderson and Nancy Young Henderson, his wife.

06/04/2026

05/29/2026

*History Blast*
The Jewells: Love, Loss, and a Growing Family
Laura Johnson, Green County Public Library

Edward Loyd Jewell and Ada Lucy Fancher began their life together in 1898, newly married and building a home in the Donansburg area of Green County. Edward was the son of James Henry Jewell and Nancy Jo Ann Kessler Jewell of Green County, while Ada came from neighboring Metcalfe County, the daughter of Michael Hall Fancher and Sarah E. Houk Fancher. The couple was married on September 1 at the bride’s family home, with William M. Kidd officiating.
Their first child, Sarah Ann Jewell, was born the following year on September 17, 1899. She would be their only daughter and the first of what would eventually become a large family.
Little Sarah Ann must have been such a joy to Edward and Ada. Sadly, her life was all too brief. At just four years old, she died September 21, 1903, cause unknown. She was laid to rest in the Jewell Cemetery on Little Barren where her grandfather and other relatives were already buried. Her stone bore the inscription: “In love she lived, in peace she died. Her life was craved, but God denied.”
Her death was an early sorrow for Edward and Ada, one of several losses they would endure as parents in an era when childhood illness was often swift and unforgiving.
Despite this early tragedy, the Jewell family continued to grow. Over the next two decades, Edward and Ada welcomed eleven more children, all boys: Ezra Lee (1901–1960), Hova Gordon (1903–1982), William Garnett (1905–1990), Albert Cecil (1907–1917), James Hall (1909–1984), Wilson (1914–1916), William Holland (1916–1916), Maxie (1918–1992), and Lester Loid (1920–1986).
Albert Cecil died from spinal meningitis at age 9, Wilson died just days before his second birthday of membranous croup, and William Holland had mitral insufficiency, causing his death one day after his birth.
Census records from 1910 show the Jewell family living in Metcalfe County. By 1918, they were residents of Monroe in Hart County and Ed worked as a farmer in the Bale community of Green County. 1920 and 1930 census records have them as residents of the Donansburg area of Green County again, with Edward farming and Ada managing a bustling household filled with growing boys.
Both Edward and Ada lived into the mid twentieth century. Edward died November 24, 1945, and Ada on October 5, 1954. They were each buried at Houk Cemetery in Metcalfe County.
Though not all their children survived childhood, those who did carried on the Jewell name, establishing families across Green, Metcalfe, and Hart counties. The brief lives of the others remain preserved in early family records and in the small cemetery where they rest, a reminder of challenges faced by rural Kentucky families of that era.

Photo: Edward and Ada Jewell

05/25/2026

05/13/2026

*History Blast*
Wakefield: A Pioneer of Green County Law
Laura Johnson, Green County Public Library

Allen M. Wakefield, born about 1774, played a defining role in Green County’s early legal system, rising quickly from a young attorney to a respected public figure of his day.
His career began in 1795, when he was the first person admitted to the bar at Greensburg in November of that year. He then became the first county attorney appointed for Green County. He served in that role for several years, helping to guide the young county through its earliest legal proceedings.
For a short period, Wakefield also served as trustee to the town of Greensburg in 1796.
Wakefield’s responsibilities expanded again when Kentucky replaced the old Quarter Session Courts with the newly organized Circuit Court system. He was appointed as the first judge of the circuit that included the counties of Green, Adair, Barren, Cumberland, and Wayne, a position he held until his death. He was a capable administrator and a respected legal mind, widely regarded as a thorough businessman and a lawyer of notable skill for the era.
His influence extended beyond the courtroom. William B. Allen wrote in his history of Kentucky that more aspiring attorneys studied under Wakefield than under any other lawyer in the region at the time, suggesting that he played a major role in training the next generation of legal professionals in south central Kentucky.
Wakefield married Betsey Thurman on December 25, 1800, in Cumberland County. She came from a prominent and affluent family in the portion of Green County that was split off and became Cumberland in 1798. The couple had at least four children born to them.
One of those children, Emily, was named in an 1836 circuit court case. Another, John R. Wakefield, born around 1804, was identified in his 1858 death record as the son of Allen M. Wakefield. The names of his other children are not known at this time.
Although Wakefield was highly respected, surviving records also reveal the occasional human flaw. According to William B. Allen, an August 1800 court entry shows that Wakefield was indicted for profane swearing, a reminder that even well regarded public figures sometimes found themselves on the wrong side of the docket. The incident did not impact his strong standing in the community.
An untimely death came to Wakefield in January 1809, the cause unknown. He was only about 35 years old.
Wakefield’s estate provides a final glimpse into his character and interests. An appraisal conducted after his death by William Barret, Jonathon Cowherd, and William Barnett documented a substantial personal library containing works of poetry, philosophy, business, and law, evidence of a man committed to learning and intellectual depth.
Today, Wakefield rests in Greensburg Cemetery. No stone or marker identifies his grave, but his legacy endures in the institutions he helped build and the legal traditions he shaped during the earliest years of Green County’s history.

05/08/2026

The Society’s next meeting will be Saturday, May 16 at Green County Public Library. We’ll start at 9:00ct that morning. We hope this change from our regular Thursday evening meetings will be more accommodating for current and prospective members. All are welcome!

05/07/2026

*History Blast*
Ote, Where the Well Was Sucked Dry
Submitted by Laura Johnson, Green County Public Library

The following excerpt is taken from “History Among Us” by Lanny Tucker, published in 2007:
Late in the afternoon of Wednesday, April 3rd, 1974, tornadoes ripped through Green County. Thirty-eight homes were damaged, eighteen of them beyond repair. Forty-one barns were destroyed, twenty damaged. Two silos were destroyed, along with six broiler houses, one church, five mobile homes, and approximately one hundred outbuildings.
Much of the destruction occurred in and around the community of Ote. The force of the wind was so strong a well was sucked dry.
Ote — pronounced oat — is located on the Blowing Springs Road between Sardin Ford Bridge and Ebenezer. It was named for Overton "Ote" Hatcher, a storekeeper at the former C.C. Mitchell's Store. A gentleman visited the store, wanting the name of the community for a map. The area didn't have a formal name, so Ote gave it one.
For many years, the store was a hub of activity. C.C. Mitchell's Store contained a post office, and barber shop. The general store was open until 1996 under the ownership of C.C. Mitchell's son, Willard. The Springdale Farm Dairy, operated by Haywood Mitchell, delivered milk to Greensburg High School. The Mitchell Mill started in 1910. And within a few years a corn crusher, grist mill, and flour mill were added.
The Mitchells are direct descendants of early Green County settler, Thomas Mitchell. His brother-in-law was Thomas Crawford, whose wife was Jane Todd.
Slightly south of Ote was Moodyville, named for former residents of the area. Oral history indicates a tavern was located there, and evidence has been found indicating two blacksmith shops. North of Ote lays Candy Gap, where a traveling candy salesman is said to have been robbed and killed. And an early road to Greensburg concluded on what is now Hill Street.
The road on which Ote is located, Blowing Springs, derives its name from a feature which is discussed in William B. Allen's book: "About two and a half miles from Greensburg, on the Columbia road, is a very noted spring called the Blowing Spring, from the fact there is a continual strong current of air issuing from the cave out of which the spring runs. There is a large steam flouring and saw mill within forty yards of the mouth of the cave, and a large distillery being constructed..."

Photo: This painting by Sylvia Collings, completed in 2006, depicts the old mill at Ote.