News

On October 10, Mr. Hugh Anderson Moran IV of California gave an indepth presentation on the Moran family of Madison County.  The presentation included  numerous slides with photos of family mementoes, burial sites and former homes.

Through the efforts of board member, Rusty Rechenbach, there is now an interpretive marker in Union City to celebrate the life of Andrew Tribble who was born in the tiny community in 1876.  Andy was a performer on Vaudeville (along with his brother Amos) and is considered to be the founder of "comic black female impersonators".

On September 28th, board member Sharyn Mitchell led a tour of historic Berea Cemetery.  She was assisted by fellow board member, Bill Williams who shared information on Civil War graves.  Former mayor Steve Connelly and others added valuable information on the individuals buried in the cemetery.

Nationally known speaker and former NSDAR Registrar General Sharon Withers gave a presentation on DNA and genealogy entitled "Digging Up Grandpa (Without a Shovel)".  The information was extremely useful and led to many followup questions.

The Madison County Historical Society met at historic Mt. Zion Church on August 3 for the annual picnic meeting.  After a catered meal by Greg Tipton, we adjourned to the church sanctuary for the program presented in conjunction with the Kentucky Humanities Council.  Chautauqua speaker Obadiah Ewing-Roush gave a spirited presentation on Reverend John G. Fee.

On June 20, six individuals were honored by the Society for their significant contributions to preserving Madison County history.  Those honored were:

Robert Piper Boyce

Dr. John Fox

Loyal Jones

Lavinia H. Kubiak

Henry Allen Laine

Beulah Nunn

To find more information about these individuals, please look under our About link.

After the ceremony Jackie Couture, archivist for EKU, presented a talk on Dr. Jonathan Dorris.

 

Ann Johnson, former Kentucky Historical Society administrative assistant, worked in cemetery preservation and implemented two programs: the Kentucky Pioneer Cemetery Program and the Adopt a Cemetery Program.  She shared with us laws and attorney general's opinions pertaining to family cemeteries and abandoned cemeteries as well as stories of her efforts to protect cemeteries state wide.  

We welcome Mr. Bill Williams to our Board of Directors.  Bill moved back home to Madison County three years ago after retiring from UPS in Florida.  He is also a very active member of the Battle of Richmond Association and enjoys doing research.

On April 19, 2019, our presenter was Dr. Matthew Davidson on the topic of Iron Furnaces of Kentucky. Dr. Davidson is a district archaeologist with the Daniel Boone National Forest and a temporary visiting scholar with the University of Kentucky. In his position with the national forest he studies and documents Native American rock shelters and petroglyph sites.  He is currently working on developing an atlas of 17th and 18th century Native American settlements of Kentucky.

Mr. Rex Mann, a retired USDA Forest Service official, gave a presentation on his passion - restoration of the American Chestnut Tree.  This species of tree once spanned the east coast of the United States until a blight wiped it out.  Mr. Mann is now a private forestry consultant and is leading the charge to restore the tree.