Who am I?
That's a very good question. You must be wondering or you wouldn't be here reading this page. When I was a small child I was known as Wanda Doris Thomas. As a teenager, I met a young man named Danny Joe Flesher. We married and now I'm known as Wanda Thomas Flesher, living in the great state of Washington, having been transplanted from Ohio, and I'm blooming where I'm planted. I've been tracing my roots, off and on, since I was a kid. It was called - doing genealogy - back then. Now it's called Family History, but it's all the same. I'm the primary researcher for this page, although daughter, Becky, researches Flesher and allied lines from time to time. Becky is also the Webmaster for this site. She works full time as a tech specialist, and has many talents. She's a great mother to a special little boy, as well.Dann and I have fourteen grandchildren now. What joys they are! More branches on our family tree. Each one is unique and very special. We started with three children, a boy and two girls. For the most part, I've been a stay at home mom, although I've dabbled in business here and there. My greatest achievement has been to raise our children to be upright before the Lord, and to be productive members of Society. Our children, in turn, are raising their children to be so. We're very thankful for the blessings our family brings.
We're also very thankful for the foundation our ancestors laid for us. Most of our direct line ancestors were here in this country long before the Revolutionary War, and some fought in that war so that we could be free in this great land. Others provided supplies and shelter for the troops. But some did fight for the other side. Sometimes father was against son, and brother was against brother. It was a trying time for families in that part of our history. We're grateful that freedom prevailed and that we've been able to raise our children in this good land.
Who is my family?
These are our direct lines. All other names in the index are allied families.Flesher Line: Flesher, Gray, Kerr, Kirkpatrick, Lasure, McFadden, Sasser, Spurgeon, Van Horn
Thomas Line: Barbary, Bird/Byrd, Boian/Bowen, Dillingham, Eubanks, Finney, Harris, Holliday, Jacks, Logsdon/Logston, Mercier, Miller, Mills, Park/Parke/Parks, Rawlins/Rawlings, Richardson, Thomas, Wagers, Widener
Riddell Line: Asbell, Bryant, Coyle, Dudley, Hiatt, Kirby, Lewis, Rice, Riddle/Riddell, Rucker, Smith x 3, Winkler.
Thomas The Thomas' were in Washington County, Virginia by about 1787, and our direct line stayed there until the mid-1800's when they moved to the Tazewell area of Claiborne County, Tennessee. They were on the 1860 Claiborne County census. Not too long after that census, they moved again to Estill County, Kentucky.
Family members were numerous, and many stayed in Estill County. Others, toward the latter 1800's, migrated to Texas, into Oklahoma and Missouri, and…….. My father, Henry Thomas, left Kentucky about 1925, going to Hamilton, Ohio where he could find work in the factories. He didn't want to be a farmer, as his father, and his father, etc, had been before him. His two younger brothers followed suite, also settling in Hamilton. They broke the chain of farmers in these lines.
My great, great, great grandfather was David Thomas, son of Lewis of Washington County, Virginia, son of Reuben. There's now a quest to find where Lewis came from before going into Washington County, and to eventually determine who our immigrant ancestor was.
Several of us 'cousins' have found each other, each a descendant of David and Margaret Barbary Thomas' sons, Peter, George Washington, Ryburn, and Wesley David. As a result, we have excellant genealogies covering the descendants of these four brothers. Pictures of three of them can be found in the Family Picture Album.
We are seeking descendants of the other brothers and sisters to improve this history, namely - Allen, b. 1820; William, b. 1829, no further record; Susan, b. 1829, no further record; Martin V., b. 1833 (Killed at Lookout Mtn, Tennessee); Luvisa, b. 1844, wife of Aquilla E. Riddell; David Campbell, b. 1846; and Easter E., b. 1848/52, wife of Humphrey Riddell. If you're a descendant of one of the above, please e-mail me, and join our group of 'cousins'. I'd like to work with you to graft your branch onto the tree. We're also looking for pictures of these siblings. If you have one and are willing to share a copy, we'd like to put it on-line with Peter, George, and Wesley for everyone to enjoy.
A very few years ago, I came upon quite a surprise while I was reading the 1850 Breathitt County, Kentucky census. I was (and still am) looking for a link to one of my Smith lines. I found Peter and Allen Thomas, sons of David and Margaret, living with the Valentine Crawford family. Peter and Allen were school teachers teaching in Breathitt County. Then, there was a William Thomas, b. 1829, living with William Haddix, Sr. and family. Susan Thomas, b. 1829, was found in the household of James Markum and the Charles B. McQuinn family. All of the Thomas' and associated families were from Virginia. *There are no other Thomas' in Breathitt County on the 1850 census, except one, and the parents there are from North and South Carolina, children born Kentucky. *
I believe the three brothers and one sister went to Breathitt County together; Peter and Allen to teach school, William to labor, possibly in the mines, and Susan may have been a tag along. She may have been a young widow or divorcing. Why did they go to Breathitt County? Perhaps they had family there - the Haddix's or Crawford's who told Peter and Allen about the availability of teaching jobs. The other Thomas could be family as well. After all, Margaret Barbary Thomas was from North Carolina, too. These other families haven't been tied into our Thomas family thus far, so all we can do at this point, is to speculate until we have more information.
The best evidence so far, that William and Susan are indeed children of David and Margaret, is found in the 1830 Washington County Virginia census. Until the number of children were actually counted in this census, it was supposed that Peter and Allen were the only children prior to George's birth. In 1830, David and Margaret's young family consisted of 2 males und age 5 (William, b. 1829 and Allen, b. 1829); 1 male 5-10 (Peter, b. 1 Jan 1826. He should be in the und 5 catagory, however the 1850 census lists him as 25 or b. 1825 which agrees with the 1830 census.); 1 male 20-30, (David, b. 1808) - l female und 5, (Susan, b. 1829); l female 20-30, (Margaret, b 1803). **This shows that David and Margaret had three children under the age of five: Allen, William, and Susan, and one in the 5-10 range, Peter, who was really 4 ½.
The 1840 census shuffles the age groups of Allen, William, and Susan, confusing the issue, but it does list eight children for that family, giving "inclusiveness" to the two extra children (William and Susan). As in the 1830 Washington County Census, their ages agree again in the 1850 Breathitt County census - age 21, or b. 1829. After Allen, William, and Susan's birth, Father and Mother didn't have any more children until 1833, four years later, when George was born.
More to come about the brothers George W., Ryburn, and Wesley D. Thomas.
Riddle & Hyatt The Riddle's and Hyatt's (Hiatt, Hiett) were in Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina before settling in Estill and Madison Counties, Kentucky, and eventually parts further North and West. The Hiatt's were Quakers, and moved about between Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina. Robert and Mary Hyatt were married in Stokes County, North Carolina in 1799. The story is told that Robert (not a Quaker) desired the hand of Mary. Her parents objected, and so packed up and left the area of their residence. Robert sold all his possessions and overtook them. The marriage may have been consented to at that point since a John Hiatt signed at the marriage with Robert (Ridle) Riddle. Mary's father's name was John Hiatt. The counties and paths they followed before Robert overtook them, has been interestingly accounted for by Larry Anderson of Idaho.Mary and Robert were in Madison County prior to Estill County being formed in 1808. Shortly after settling in Kentucky, Robert's family changed the spelling of their name from Riddle to Riddell., and most of his line still spell it that way today.
A large volume on the Hiatt family by Johnson was printed in the 1950's and is on microfilm at LDS branch libraries. *Larry Anderson has also reprinted the book, AND he has published two new volumes on the John Hiatt, Jr. lines carrying some lines down to the current generations. These are huge volumes and very well done. He can be e-mailed:
LarryAndy@aol.com or contacted via regular mail at 14223 West Promise Lane, Chubbuck, Idaho, 83202.
Aquilla Riddell also went to Estill County (then Madison County) from North Carolina in the late 1790's or very early 1800's. Aquilla maintained the Riddle spelling of the name longer than Robert did, but in time, the Riddell spelling began to appear in Aquilla's family too, although some of his line still use the Riddle version of the name.
Aquilla's son Adam, married Robert's daughter Sally. I believe Robert and Aquilla are cousins. Their relationship hasn't been proven to my knowledge, at this time. Aquilla's wife is also a Riddle from North Carolina. It's my personal belief that Robert and Sally are brother and sister. It still has to be proven, and our Riddles in North Carolina seem to be an elusive bunch. But piece by piece it's coming together.
Wagers The Wagers and Wages family got it's start in this country, tradition says, when two brothers migrated by ship from Alsace Lorraine, France. They were supposedly running away from home, John Frances Xavior and William. The story goes that the Logsdon family was on the same boat. Frances (Frank) and Patience Logsdon met there and were later married, settling in Estill County, Kentucky. It's heartwarming and romantic but true. As with many traditions, the truth was lost somewhere along the way. Frances and Patience were married in 1791 in All Hallow's Parish, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Both the Wagers and Logsdon families were well settled in Baltimore County, Maryland and regions round about for many, many years before Frank and Patience were even born. Our Wagers cousin in Northern Kentucky, Kay Philpot, believes a similar story happened, but it was set earlier in time involving an older ancestor. Somehow the story became attached to Frances and Patience. She may well be right. I loved the story, and was disappointed when I found it didn't apply. But on the other hand, I was elated to find lots of new early ancestors who were still on American soil. It's been interesting to me, to watch the origins of all these old Estill County families who are my ancestors, and to note that they were on this continent from the earliest times.The Wagers' men and women, like so many of our other families, were prolific in populating this land of freedom, and so we find Wages/Wagers cousins scattered across the land. Many stayed in Kentucky. Quite a few went into Missouri, multiplied and dispursed from there. Many of the Missouri branch dropped the "r" from their name and became the Wages family. Our roots are all the same, however.
Winkler Our Winkler family has been researched forward and backward over many years, yet as with all family histories which have been well researched, there are still unsearched lines, dead ends, and blanks to be filled.Ludwig (Lewis) Winkler, b. about 1723, was our immigrant ancestor. He came to this country sometime between 1751 and 1755, as determined by the birth places of his children. Lewis was from Prussia, perhaps Silonia, since his last child before emigrating from Prussia, was born there. By 1755, he had settled at East Town or Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania where he stayed until at least 1769. His last child was born about that year in Easton. He was probably in Rowan County, North Carolina before 1778, the year his son Henry married in Rowan County. Lewis died there Jan. 1799. His wife's name is Unknown.
All of Henry's children were born in Rowan County, but sometime between 1801, when his last child Michael D. was born and 1813 when son Henry, Jr. married, Henry, Sr. took his family to Estill County, Kentucky. It is known that Henry Sr.'s son David, later went to Missouri and died at St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouori in 1840.
Son Michael J. Winkler stayed in Estill County and all his children married there. I descend through Michael Winkler, Jr. All twelve of Michael, Jr's children were born, married, and died in Estill County except Della who died in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. My grandmother was Ada, daughter of Mike, Jr. and his second wife, Caroline Riddell. The younger Mike was married four times. He had been married to Sarah Crim for over 20 years when Sarah died. Then he married again to Caroline Riddell. Mike and Caroline had six children before Caroline died in 1891, leaving seven children under twelve years old. My grandmother was about eight years old when her mother died. She remembered her as a good and kind mother.
Mike remarried after about nine months to a second Caroline Riddell, not to be confused with the first. This Caroline was a spinster, but still young enough to bear a few children, yet she never did. She and her widowed mother were neighbors of the Mike Winkler, Jr.'s family, but it wasn't until after her mother died that Caroline (II, as I call her for clarification), and Mike married in 1892. They were married at her residence. She had inherited her mother's property. Caroline II lived seven years after she and Mike married. And so within a year after Caroline II's death, Mike found his fourth and last wife, Margaret Crow. He still had a housefull of young girls, although the older ones were at marrying age. Nothing much is known about Margaret. We don't have a birth date, death date, or even a marriage record for her and Mike. We do know that the children didn't like her. They said she was mean to them. Mike died in 1910.
This has been a sketch of my descending line of Winklers. It seems, however, that most of the Winkler offspring had many children, and so their progeny are numerous.
Finney The Finney's were in Amelia and Franklin Counties, Virginia for several years before their trek to Estill County, Kentucky. Many of the family stayed in Virginia, however. There are Genealogies which trace our Finney family further back than we include on this website. Because of a few obvious discrepancies which yet have to be resolved, we haven't entered all information that may be available. It is believed, however, that they were among the earliest settlers of this land, and some of the early Finney's are known to be Quakers.They were a close clan, often marrying cousins. After moving to Kentucky with his father, Joshua, Amos Finney returned to Virginia to marry his young widowed cousin, Elizabeth (Betsy) Prunty, taking her and her children with him back to Estill County.
Amos's brother Squire also went back to Virginia to marry Nancy Prunty, Betsy's sister.
Zachariah, another son of Joshua, died at Buchanan County, Missouri and son Bailey, died at Denton County, Texas. Most, but perhaps not all of Joshua's other children died in Estill or Madison County, Kentucky. Son Fountain is somewhat of a mystery. He is listed as Fountain Finnell on the records, yet he clearly signed his marriage liscence as Fountain Finney.
My great great grandfather, John J. Finney, son of Joshua, was said to be tall and had a very dark complection. Some claim he was Indian. I have not substantiated that claim.
Boian & Bowen Ephraim Bowen lived in Lunenberg and Albemarle Counties, Virginia that we are aware of, and he had five known children. One of these was my ancestor, James Bowen. For some reason, James and one of his brothers had a disagreement, and my great great great grandfather changed the spelling of his name from BOWEN to BOIAN. After James died in 1817, his widow, along with their children, forged through Cumberland Gap, and on up into Kentucky. She traveled with a group, as was usually the case in those days. Members of her Eubank family were among the group. Zera Eubank Boian settled in Monroe County, Kentucky, remarried and moved to Cole County, Missouri. Most of the children also moved on to Missouri, Cole, Morgan, and Moniteau Counties. Son John, married in Morgan County, Missouri. Then, a few years after his wife Rhoda died, he took the children west along the Oregon Trail. He wanted to go to the Oregon Territory, but he died on the prairie, somewhere along the trail. His children continued the journey, arriving in Oregon in the late summer of 1853. They changed their name back to BOWEN as did many who went into Missouri. John's story is found in "Boians of Estill County, Kentucky" (2nd version), by Eva Dean Boian Edwards of Estill County. However, it was our cousin, Louise Loebig of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, who did the research on our Oregon cousins and we can thank her for that.William Henry Boian, another of James and Zera's sons, went on into Estill County, married Mariah Parke and stayed there. He worked in the tanyard, and provided well for his family in this manner. He also farmed his land. Will, as he was known, maintained the BOIAN spelling. Since the daughters of James married - changing their names, and John's posterity returned the spelling to the original form, it's very likely that any BOIAN you meet will be a fairly close cousin. (However, somewhere out there, there will be an exception to the rule).
William Henry Boian homesteaded a piece of land in Estill County where he built a two story log home which still stands today (although the logs have been sided over). He had his tanyard there, and on a knoll out back, he provided ground for a family cemetary which is known as the Boian Cemetary.
When William and Mariah's daughter, Mary Ann, and her husband Guilford Wagers, died of measles within a week of each other, leaving a young family, they took the children into their home and finished raising them, even though William was 72 years old, and Mariah was 67. Guilford and Mary Ann Boian Wagers were my great grandparents.
The old homestead which has been very well maintained through the years has remained in the family, being passed down to Eva Dean Boian Edwards. Eva Dean died in 1999, after giving so much dedicated service to writing a Boian family history.
