| Notes |
- THE FOLLOWING IS A WORD FOR WORD COPY FROM SIX CLOSE TYPE WRITTEN PAGES, FADED AND HARD TO READ.
THERE IS NO DATE INDICATING WHEN THE ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN , BUT IT APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN IN THE MID-1970'S.
MELVIN OTHO RIDENOUR-JULY 1990
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CERTAIN RIDENOURS OF EASTERN TENNESSEE
BY LEON DENNY MOSES
FORWARD
MY MOTHER WAS LOUISA RIDENER (MRS. CALVIN MARTIN) MOSES, OF WHITLEY CO. KENTUCKY. SHE WAS BORN IN 1866. HER FATHER, WILLIAM HAMILTON RIDENER (RIDENOUR), BORN 1827, WAS SON OF WILLIAM RIDENOUR (RIDENHOUR), OF CAMPBELL CO. TENN. BORN 1800-1801. WILLIAM WAS ALMOST CERTAINLY SON OF MARTIN RIDENHOUR, OF CAMPBELL CO., PROBABLY BORN IN HAMBURG, GERMANY, 1770-1780. MOST OF THE INFORMATION FOR THIS HISTORY WAS TOLD BY MY MOTHER, SOMETIMES IN HER EXACT WORDS PUT IN QUOTATION MARKS. OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY & THE U.S. CENSUS HAVE BEEN DRAWN UPON OCCASIONALLY, & DULY ACKNOWLEDGED. STRANGE ENOUGH, THERE ARE FEW CONTRADICTIONS AMONG MY SOURCES.
ABOUT 175 YEARS AGO, APPARENTLY A CERTAIN YOUNG MAN WAS LIVING IN HAMBURG, GERMANY. HE WAS IN LOVE WITH A YOUNG FRAULIEN, BUT THEY COULD NOT MARRY IN GERMANY. MAYBE IT WAS BECAUSE THEY WERE FIRST COUSINS, BUT I THINK MY MOTHER SAID IT WAS BECAUSE SHE WAS TO YOUNG. THEY ELOPED TO NEW YORK TO GET MARRIED.
THE YOUNG GERMAN'S NAME WAS POSSIBLY REIDENHAUER( PRONOUNCED REEDEN-HOWER). WE MUST NOT TAKE THIS GUESS TOO SERIOUSLY, FOR I ONCE MET A MAN FROM HAMBURG WHOSE NAME WAS ALREADY RIDENAUR (PRONOUNCED LIKE THE TENNESSEE RIDENOUR). ANYWAY, IN AMERICA, THE NAME BECAME RIDENHOUR, RIDENHOWER, RIDENER, ETC. THEN MY GRANDFATHER WAS A RIDENER, WHEREAS HIS FATHER, HIS BROTHERS, & MOST OF HIS OTHER RELATIVES WERE RIDENOURS. RIDENOURS CAN BE MET IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE COUNTRY; MOST OF THEM HAIL FROM PENNSYLVANIA, MARYLAND, VIRGINIA & TENNESSEE BUT VERY FEW CAN TRACE FARTHER BACK THAN THEIR GRANDFATHERS.
WE ARE PRIMARILY INTERESTED IN THOSE RIDENOURS WHO LIVED IN CAMPBELL CO. TENN., ABOUT 25 CROWFLIGHT MILES NORTH-NORTHWEST OF KNOXVILLE & EIGHT OR TEN MILES SOUTHEAST OF JACKSBORO, THE COUNTY SEAT, WHERE VALUABLE RECORDS MIGHT BE FOUND BY GENEALOGISTS. CENSUS REPORTS SHED SOME LIGHT ON THE FAMILY HISTORY BUT THEY DO NOT TELL US HOW LONG IT TOOK OUR FAMILY TO REACH TENN. ALL CIRCUMSTANCES INDICATE THAT THE ORIGINAL GERMAN COUPLE WENT THERE A YEAR OR TWO AFTER THEIR MARRIAGE, & THAT WILLIAM RIDENOUR, MY GRANDFATHER'S FATHER , WAS THEIR SON. ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1850, HE WAS BORN IN LATE 1800 OR EARLY 1801, WHILE HIS MOTHER WAS STILL UNDER 20--THAT IS IF OUR GUESS HOLDS GOOD.
GRANDMOTHER RIDENER (B.1828) TOLD MY MOTHER THAT MY GRANDFATHER'S GRAND-PARENTS SPOKE A FOREIGN LANGUAGE WHEN QUARRLING, TALKING SECRETS IN THE PRESENCE OF CHILDREN, ETC. SHE DID NOT SAY GERMAN, BUT WE CAN GUESS IT. WE ALL KNOW THAT SOME CHILDREN OF GERMAN-AMERICAN SOMETIMES SPEAK SOME GERMAN, WHILE GRANDCHILDREN OF GERMANS PRACTICALLY NEVER SPEAK IT. THIS IS A FURTHER INDICATION THAT BOTH OF THE OLD FOLKS WERE BORN IN THE OLD COUNTRY.
THE CENSUS OF1830 SAYS THAT MARTIN RIDENHOUR (PROBABLY PRONOUNCED RIDENHOWER) WAS LIVING IN CAMPBELL CO. TENN. HE WAS 50-59; HIS WIFE 40-49. THEY HAD 5 BOYS UNDER 20, & A DAUGHTER 10-14. I BELIEVE SHE MARRIED A GRANT. IF SHE SEEMS TOO YOUNG TO BE THE GRANDMOTHER OF BILL GRANT, REMEMBER THAT BILL'S SON HARRISON WAS UNDER 16 & HIS WIFE UNDER 15 WHEN THEIR FIRST CHILD WAS BORN. NEXT TO MARTIN (LIKE A SON) WAS WILLIAM RIDENHOUR, 20-29, WITH A WIFE 20-29. THEY HAD 4 BOYS UNDER 10, A GIRL 5-9, & ANOTHER GIRL TO OLD TO BE THEIR DAUGHTER. PRIOR TO 1850 THE NAMES OF FAMILY MEMBERS WERE NOT GIVEN & WE DO NOT KNOW WHETHER THEY WERE WIVES, CHILDREN, HIRED HANDS, ETC. IT HURTS GENEALOGY.
IN 1840 WILLIAM RIDENOUR APPEARS, STILL IN CAMPBELL CO. HE IS NOW 30-39, & SO IS HIS WIFE. THEY NOW HAVE 6 BOYS UNDER 20 & A NEW GIRL UNDER 5. THE GIRL "TO OLD TO BE THEIR DAUGHTER" IN 1830 HAS DROPPED OUT. AS A GUESS, SHE MIGHT HAVE BEEN HIS WIFE'S SISTER, MAIDEN NAME GRANT. THE GIRL OF 1830 IS NOW 15-19, JUST THE RIGHT AGE TO MARRY JOHN. BUT THAT WILL COME LATER IN THE HISTORY.
IN 1840 MARTIN RIDENHOUR DOES NOT APPEAR, BUT A JEREMIAH DOES. & HIS WIFE ARE BOTH 20-29. THEY HAVE THE SAME CHILDREN THAT MARTIN HAD IN 1830--EACH OF THEM 10 YEARS OLDER--PLUS A GIRL UNDER 5, & A WOMAN 50-59, WHO WAS THE AGE THAT MARTIN'S WIFE WOULD HAVE BEEN. WE CAN ASSUME, THEREFORE, THAT MARTIN HAD DIED IN THE 1830'S, & THAT JEREMIAH, ALMOST CERTAINLY HIS SON, HAD MOVED IN AS HEAD OF MARTIN'S HOUSEHOLD, INCLUDING HIS WIDOW. I THINK I HAVE HEARD OF MY GRANDFATHER'S UNCLE JEREMIAH, BROTHER OF WILLIAM. I AM RATHER SURE THAT JEREMIAH WAS FATHER OF OLIVER RIDENOUR, WHO VISITED US ABOUT 1908, & DISAPPEARED FOREVER ON HIS WAY HOME. HE WAS AROUND MY MOTHER'S AGE, BUT WAS NOT HER FIRST COUSIN. THREE OTHER CAMPBELL COUNTY RIDENOURS THAT YEAR ARE JOHN, A.T. & WILLIAM C. OF COURSE WILLIAM C. WOULD NOT BE A BROTHER TO WILLIAM, BUT I THINK I HAVE HEARD OF MY GRANDFATHER'S UNCLE JOHN. (YES, MEMORY CAN & DOES PLAY TRICKS ON US.) BUT I KNOW THAT WILLIAM HAD A SISTER WHO MARRIED A GRANT, & A BROTHER WHO WAS FATHER OF KIZZIE RIDENOUR. KIZZIE WAS THE PRONUNCIATION; THE SPELLING MAY HAVE BEEN KEZIA, LIKE THE DAUGHTER OF JOB IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
SOME DAY I HOPE TO LOOK UP JEREMIAH IN THE 1850 CENSUS TO SEE WHETHER HE HAD A DAUGHTER NAMED KIZZIE, ALSO WHETHER THE ELDER WOMAN IN HIS 1840 HOUSEHOLD (IF STILL LIVING) HAD A NAME WHICH WOULD RING THE BELL IN MY MEMORY. AND IF SHE WAS BORN IN GERMANY, IT WOULD PROVE BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT THAT MARTIN RIDENHOUR WAS INDEED THE YOUNG GERMAN FROM HAMBURG & CONSEQUENTLY MY GERMAN SPEAKING GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER.
CENSUS REPORTS SHOW OTHER RIDENOURS IN OTHER COUNTIES, BUT I STILL BELIEVE THAT MARTIN RIDENOUR WAS FATHER OF WILLIAM RIDENHOUR, WHO BECAME WILLIAM RIDENOUR. HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN AKIN TO THOSE OTHER RIDENOURS, BUT I HAVE NO PROOF. CERTAINLY THE EVIDENCE IS NOT AS STRONG AS IT IS THAT WILLIAM WAS SON OF MARTIN. AFTER ALL, WE DO NOT KNOW THAT OUR GERMAN ANCESTOR (MARTIN ?) WAS THE ONLY RIDENOUR, OR THE FIRST WHO CAME OVER TO THE U.S. MAYBE THOSE OTHER RIDENOURS BECAME THE ANCESTORS OF THOSE "OTHER RIDENERS" IN THE WEST END OF WHITLEY ( NOW McCREARY CO., KENTUCKY, WHO WERE "NO KIN TO US" WHEN I WAS A BOY. ABOUT 60 YEARS AGO MY MOTHER'S BROTHER, DANIEL BERRY RIDENER, DID CLAIM KIN WITH THEM WHILE HE WAS RUNNING FOR COUNTY OFFICE. HE WAS PROMPTLY ACCUSED OF SOLICITING VOTES UNDER FALSE PRETNESES! ( YES, HE WASN'T ELECTED.)
OLD WILLIAM RIDENOUR'S SON WILLIAM H., MY MOTHERS FATHER, CHANGED HIS NAME TO RIDENER SOON AFTER MOVING TO WHITLEY CO. KENTUCKY, ABOUT 1855, AT AGE ABOUT 28. OLD WILLIAM HAD 8 SONS & 2 DAUGHTERS. ALL OF THE BOYS & THE YOUNGER GIRL SHOW UP IN THE 1850 CENSUS. SHE LATER MARRIED OLIVER MYNATT, ALMOST CERTAINLY SON OF THOMAS MYNATT, & BECAME THE MOTHER OF DONAD MYNATT. DONALD MARRIED MY MOTHER'S YOUNGEST SISTER, REBECCA DELILAH RIDENER, & THEY HAD A LARGE FAMILY. ONE SON CARROLL (CARL) NEWTON MYNATT, SWAPPED LETTERS TILL1967. IF I AM NOT SADLY MISTAKEN, THE OLDER DAUGHTER WAS NAMED MARY (& CALLED "POLLY" AS USUAL) & MARRIED JOHN HOLLINGSWORTH, OF CAMPBELL CO. THIS IS INDICATED BY THE FACT THAT 50 ODD YEARS AGO MY SISTER WAS SWAPPING LETTERS WITH "RIDENER KINFOLK" NAMED HOLLINGSWORTH, WHO LIVED IN THE OLD RIDENOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. I AM ALL BUT SURE THAT THEY WERE DESCENDENTS OF JOHN & POLLY HOLLINGSWORTH.
IT IS FURTHER INDICATED BY WHAT MY MOTHER USED TO CALL " AN OLD RIDENER STORY" . AROUND 1850, APPARENTLY, THE GOLD FEVER HAD SPREAD FROM CALIFORNIA TO EAST TENN., & JOHN HOLLINGSWORTH CAUGHT IT. POLLY WOULD NOT LET HIM TO GO TO THE GOLD FIELDS. ONE DAY SHE SENT HIM TO DRIVE THE GEESE HOME SO SHE COULD PICK THEIR FEATHERS OFF. HE DIDN'T COME BACK. THEY HUNTED THE FIELDS & FISHED THE STREAMS BUT COULDN'T FIND JOHN'S BODY. POLLY KEPT ON LIVING AT THE SAME PLACE. THREE OR FOUR YEARS LATER, SHE WAS WORKING AT SOMETHING ON THE PORCH. A FLOCK OF GEESE ENTERED THE YARD, DRIVEN BY A MAN WHO CALLED OUT, " HERE'S YOUR GEESE, POLLY!" WELL, POLLY & JOHN LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER, & I THINK SOMEWHAT RICHER ON ACCOUNT OF HIS ADVENTURES IN THE GOLD FIELDS. (NOTE: A FEW YEARS AGO I READ A STORY MUCH LIKE THIS. COULD LIGHTNING HAVE STRUCK TWICE) NOW, I CAN'T SAY POSITIVELY THAT MARY "POLLY: HOLLINGSWORTH WAS THE DAUGHTER OF OLD WILLIAM RIDENOUR, BUT FOR THE LIFE OF ME I CAN'T FIGURE THE STORY OR THE KINSHIP OUT IN ANY OTHER WAY. I BELIEVE I'M RIGHT, BUT I'M FRESH OUT OF MARRIAGE RECORDS, ETC., TO BACK ME UP. DOCUMENTS WOULD BE MOST WELCOME.
OLD WILLIAM RIDENOUR LIVED WHERE POWELL RIVER RUNS INTO THE CLINCH; HE OWNED THE FARM BETWEEN THE RIVERS AT THIS POINT. IT IS VALUED AT $1000 IN 1850; WHEN MOST EAST TENN. FARMS RAN $100 TO $300. MY MOTHER NEVER SAID THAT THE POWELL RUNS INTO THE CLINCH; YOU SEE, HER GRANDMOTHER CROLEY WAS ELISABETH POWELL OF POWELL RIVER VALLEY! THE PLACE IS A SHORT DISTANCE ABOVE NORRIS DAM & MOST OF IT IS NOW COVERED BY WATER. 80 YEARS AGO THERE WAS A NEARBY VILLAGE CALLED FORKVALE.
WILLIAM MARRIED ELIZABETH GRANT. HER BROTHER MARRIED WILLIAM'S SISTER, & THEIR SON WAS FATHER OF BILL GRANT, WHO MARRIED MY MOTHER'S OLDEST SISTER, EMMALINE RIDENER. HE TOLD ME THAT THE EARLIEST GRANTS HE KNEW ABOUT WERE 3 BROTHERS, JOHN, JAMES & JESSE. I AM 99% SURE THAT HE SAID JAMES WAS THE ONE WHO MARRIED WILLIAM RIDENOUR'S SISTER. ANYWAY, UNCLE BILL'S FATHER & WILLIAM HAMILTON RIDENER WERE DOUBLE COUSINS. IN MY BOYHOOD WE USED TO SAY THAT UNCLE BILL & AUNT EMMALINE WERE FIRST COUSINS BECAUSE THEIR FATHERS WERE DOUBLE COUSINS. (BUT PERHAPS THE NAMES JAMES & JOHN SHOULD BE REVERSED.) HE WAS A FEW YEARS YOUNGER THAN AUNT EMMALINE (BORN1849); THE 1860 & 1870 CENSUS MIGHT TELL HIS FATHER'S NAME.
THE GRANTS & RIDENOURS DISAGREED ON THEIR RELATION TO GENERAL (PRESIDENT) U.S. GRANT, (THEY CALLED HIM ULYSSUS.) HIS ANCESTORS LIVED IN CONNECTICUT; ELIZABETH GRANT RIDENOUR WAS BORN IN CONN. HIS GRANDFATHER, GREAT-GRANDFATHER & GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER WERE NAMED NOAH; A BRANCH OF HER FAMILY WAS NAMED NOAH. HIS FATHER WAS JESSE; SHE HAD A BROTHER JESSE. IF THE SAME JESSE, THEN GRANT WAS FIRST COUSIN TO WILLIAM RIDENOUR'S CHILDREN. ONE OF GRANT'S GREAT-GRANDFATHERS & HIS YOUNG SON WERE KILLED BY INDIANS. NOW, SOMEWHERE IN OUR ANCESTRAL LINE IS THE NAME STRAWN; WHICH MY MOTHER'S OLDER SISTER MRS. MARY ANN THOMAS SAID WAS STRONG. SO HERE IS THE STORY " BETSY STRAWN & THE INDIANS"
AT A CERTAIN TIME & PLACE, OUR EVER-SO-GREAT-GRANDFATHER & HIS YOUNG SON WERE WORKING IN THE CORNFIELD NEAR THE CABIN. BETSY, HIS WIFE, SAW A BUNCH OF INDIANS SWOOP DOWN & KILL & SCALP THEM. SHE GRABBED HER BABY SON & CLIMBED UP INTO THE LOFT MADE OF LOOSE SPLIT BOARDS, LEAVING A KEG OF WHISKEY SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FLOOR. SHE GAVE HER BABY THE BREAST, THEN PUT HER FINGERS GENTLY ON HIS THROAT SO SHE COULD CHOKE HIM TO DEATH IF HE STARTED MAKING A NOISE. THE INDIANS RUSHED IN, SAW THE KEG OF WHISKEY, & IMMEDIATELY STARTED DRINKING. OUR BABY ANCESTOR SAVED HIS LIFE BY GOOD BEHAVIOR.
THE INDIANS SOON PASSED OUT ON THE FLOOR, DEAD DRUNK. THEN BETSY CLIMBED DOWN OUT OF THE LOFT, CARRIED THE BABY OUT TO THE EDGE OF THE YARD, WENT BACK IN & TOSSED A BURNING CHUNK OF WOOD FROM THE FIREPLACE ONTO THE BED, WENT OUT, BARRED THE DOOR, PICKED UP THE BABY, & STRUCK OFF TOWARD THE NEAREST WHITE SETTLEMENT. SHE SAID LATER THAT SHE "NEVER HEARD SUCH SCREAMS IN ALL HER LIFE AS THOSE BURNING INDIANS UTTERED." IF THIS STORY SOUNDS TOO AWFUL, PLEASE REMEMBER THAT INFANT NATIONS HAVE SELDOM BEEN RAISED ENTIRELY ON "THE MILK OF HUMAN KINDNESS."
GRANT'S FATHER, JESSE, WAS A TANNER & DEALER IN HIDES & LEATHER. BIOGRAPHERS TELL US THAT GRANT WOULDN'T LET HIM HAVE THE SKINS OF ANIMALS SLAUGHTERED FOR THE ARMY. NEVERTHELESS, THE FAMILY STORY IS THAT HE DID HELP MY GRANDFATHER GET A GOOD JOB AS A CARPENTER AT SOME SORT OF MILITARY CONSTRUCTION. I DON'T KNOW WHERE. WAGES WERE VERY HIGH & OLD BILLY RIDENER WORKED LONG, HARD & WELL. BESIDES, HE WAS MARRIED TO A CROLEY & CROLEYS KNOW HOW TO EARN 4 & SAVE 5. HE WAS NEVER AGAIN REGARDED AS A POOR MAN. WITH A GLEAM IN THE EYE, HE ONCE SHOWED MY FATHER HIS OLD JACKPLANE. I HAVE HEARD OTHER STORIES ABOUT GRANT'S SOLICITUDE FOR MY GRANDFATHER, BUT IN MY OPINION THEY ARE SPURIOUS & NOT WORTHY OF A PLACE IN OUR HISTORY.
MY MOTHER SAID THERE WERE LETTERS BETWEEN THE GENERAL & HIS TENN. RELATIVES. AUNT MARY ANN THOMAS SAID THAT GRANT'S WIFE, JULIA, WROTE TO MY GRANDFATHER ABOUT A SORE AT THE ROOT OF GRANT'S TONGUE. WE KNOW HE DIED OF THROAT CANCER IN 1885. SHE SAID THE LETTER WAS IN THE HANDS OF SOME SORT OF COUSIN NAMED ULYSSES STEPHENS. I MET HIM ONCE, OVER 60 YEARS AGO; IF LIVING, HE IS NOW IN HIS 90'S. ( ALL THIS IS MORE BELIEVABLE BECAUSE MY MOTHER & AUNT MARY ANN WERE NOT STUDENTS OF HISTORY & BIOGRAPHY).
YES, I BELIEVE WE ARE AKIN TO U.S. GRANT, BUT I HESITATE TO GUESS HOW CLOSE. I AM INCLINED TO BELIEVE, THOUGH, THAT HIS FATHER JESSE WAS BROTHER TO ELIZABETH GRANT RIDENOUR, WHICH WOULD MAKE HIM FIRST COUSIN TO HER SONS, ALEX, WILLIAM H., HENRY, HARVE, ETC. WE MUST ADMIT THAT THERE COULD HAVE BEEN OTHER JESSE GRANTS IN THOSE DAYS, FOR JESSE WAS A MIGHTY POPULAR NAME 175 YEARS AGO. THE JESSES OUTNUMBERED THE DAVIDS BY 2 TO 1.
IN 1850, JAMES H. GRANT, ABOUT 40, LIVED NEAR THE WILLIAM RIDENOUR ( I FAILED TO TAKE CAREFUL NOTES). IN HIS HOUSE LIVED CYNTHIA GRANT, 66, BORN CONN.; ALSO ABIGAIL GRANT, 60, BORN MASS. THE CENSUS DIDN'T SAY MRS. OR MISS. I CAN'T HELP FEELING THAT THIS JAMES H. WAS WILLIAM RIDENOUR'S BROTHER-IN-LAW. THE GRANDFATHER OF UNCLE BILL GRANT & HIS YOUNGER BROTHER JESSE, BOTH OF WHOM LIVED LATER IN WHITLEY CO. MOREOVER I BELIEVE THAT CYNTHIA GRANT WAS MOTHER OF JAMES & ELIZABETH GRANT, & THEREFORE MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER. (CYNTHIA WAS ABOUT 15 YEARS OLDER THAN ELIZABETH).
AUNT MARY ANN THOMAS SAID THERE WAS AN EVANS IN OUR ANCESTRAL LINE. I FORGET WHERE, BUT I SUSPECT IT IS ON THE CROLEY SIDE. I KNOW THAT THE POWELLS WERE ON THAT SIDE. I ONLY LOOKED INTO THE CENSUS OF SOUTH CAROLINA FOR WM. POWELL, I FOUND ABOUT 16 OF THEM, PLUS 6 OR 8 OTHER WILLIAMS WHO HAD MIDDLE INITIALS. NOW THAT'S WHAT I'D CALL A GENEALOGICAL BRICK WALL!
TODAY, ABOUT 120 YEARS LATER, VERY FEW PEOPLE KNOW HOW WILLIAM & ELISABETH GRANT RIDENOUR DIED. WELL, ON ONE HOT SUMMER DAY, IN OR SOON AFTER 1850, THEY WERE STACKING FLAX IN THE FIELD. WILLIAM'S NIECE, KIZZIE RIDENOUR, WAS HELPING THEM. STACKING FLAX WAS "THE HOTTEST JOB A FARMER HAD TO DO;" SO ALL THREE BECAME VERY HOT & THIRSTY, & CALLED ONE OF THE BOYS ( UNCLE DAN,I THINK ) TO FETCH SOME WATER. IN " AN OLD-FASHIONED COFFEE POT WITH A SPOUT OUT ON THE SIDE", HE BROUGHT THEM " HALF A GALLON OR THREE QUARTS" OF VERY COLD SPRING WATER FROM A SPRING AT THE FOOT OF A BIG CLIFF. ALL THREE DRANK VERY HEARTILY, & IN A FEW MINUTES BECAME VERY SICK. THEY SENT FOR THE DOCTOR-- I PRESUME IN JACKSBORO 8 TO 10 MILES AWAY. ALL THREE OF THEM DIED, EITHER THAT DAY OR WITHIN A FEW DAYS. THE DOCTOR SAID " THEY WERE SO HOT & THE WATER SO COLD THAT IT CHILLED THE BLOOD AROUND THEIR HEARTS. " I DESCRIBED THE CASE TO MY SON, DR LYDON DENNY MOSES. HE COULD NOT BE 100% SURE, OF COURSE, BUT HE DID VENTURE AS ONE DIAGNOSIS " HEART ATTACK FROM SUDDEN CHILL CAUSING SUDDEN CONSTRICTION OF ARTERIES IN THE UPPER HALF OF THE BODY." WILLIAM & ELIZABETH " WERE BURIED SIDE BY SIDE, & KIZZIE AT THEIR FEET." THEIR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDAUGHTER, EVA THEZIEHLKE, TOLD ME RECENTLY THAT ALL THREE HAVE BEEN MOVED & REBURIED IN La FOLLETTE, TENN. ( WHICH IS 6 OR 8 MILES ABOVE JACKSBORO, AS I REMEMBER.) HOW MANY RIDENOUR & GRANT GRAVES ARE UNDER WATER NO ONE KNOWS, OR EVER WILL.
WILLIAM RIDENOUR & HIS FAMILY APPEAR IN THE 1850 CENSUS OF CAMPBELL CO. 49, B0RN TENN., FARM WORTH $1000, WIFE-ELIZABETH,51, BORN CONN.( WE KNOW HER NAME WAS ELIZABETH GRANT). THEIR CHILDREN, ALL BORN IN TENN.; ALEXANDER S., 19; HENRY L.,17; DANIEL, 15; CHARLES W., 13; ELIZABETH A.,11; PATTON H., 7; HARVEY G., 5.
LISTED NEXT TO WILLIAM ARE WILLIAM H. RIDENOUR, 23; JANE,22; & MARTHA E. 8 MONTHS. COURSE, THESE WERE WILLIAM HAMILTON RIDENER, JANE CROLEY RIDENER, & MARTHA EMMALINE, MARRIED BILL GRANT. NEXT TO WILLIAM H. ARE GEORGE E. RIDENOUR, 29; SARAH, 23; & 3 LITTLE GIRLS, NAMED CYNTHIA, EMILY J., & ELIZABERTH. SINCE THESE 2 RIDENOUR SONS DID NOT OWN LAND, WE ASSUME THAT THEY WERE TENANTS ON LAND BELONGING TO THEIR FATHER WILLIAM. THESE ARE ALL THE CHILDREN OF OLD WILLIAM THAT I EVER HEARD OF, EXCEPT ( PROBABLY) MARY ( CALLED POLLY), WHOM I HAVE ALREADY GIVE IN MARRIAGE TO JOHN HOLLINGSWORTH, ESQ. I BELIEVE THAT SHE WAS YOUNGER THAN GEORGE & OLDER THAN WILLIAM H. BESIDES, THE 1840 CENSUS LISTS A BOY 15-19 & A BOY 10-14 ( MY GRANDFATHER). ALL THE CHILDREN HAVE MIDDLE INITIALS. APPARENTLY THE PARENTS HAD NO MIDDLE NAMES.
WHEN I LOOKED AT THIS LIST FOR THE FIRST TIME, I REMEMBERED ALL THE NAMES EXCEPT PATTON. MAYBE HE WAS TO YOUNG TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION ON MY GRANDPARENTS BEFORE THEY MOVED TO KENTUCKY ABOUT 1855. A FEW MINUTES LATER, THOUGH, I THOUGHT I REMEMBERED HIM; BUT THAT JUST MIGHT HAVE BEEN SUGGESTED BY 2 SONS BELONGING TO AN AUNT--PAT & DAN. ( NOW LAUGH) MY COUSIN , JOHN N. THOMAS, TOLD ME ABOUT VISITING CAMPBELL AROUND 1910 (?). HE SAW UNCLE HENRY & 2 BROTHERS, I SUPPOSE UNCLE HARVE & UNCLE ALEX.
IN THE EARLY 1880'S MY MOTHER'S FIRST COUSIN, RUSS RIDENOUR, THE SON OF WHOM I KNOWNOT, MOVED TO WHITLEY CO., CHANGED HIS NAME TO RIDENER, & MARRIED MY FATHER'S COUSIN LOUISE MOSES. MY FATHER USED TO SAY HE GOT EVEN WITH RUSS BY MARRYING RUSS'S COUSIN LOUISA RIDENER! I ALSO HAVE AN 1884 TINTYPE OF MY MOTHER WITH THE WIFE OF ANOTHER RIDENER COUSIN WHOSE NAME HAS SLIPPED. UNCLE ELIC'S DAUGHTER EMMA MARRIED MY COUSIN JOHN N. THOMAS. THESE THREE & MY GRANDFATHER ARE THE ONLY FOUR THAT I EVER HEARD OF MOVING FROM TENN. TO KENTUCKY.
KENTUCKY & TENN. ARE ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE, & IN 1860 HAD ALMOST THE SAME POPULATION. WHEN WE MAKE ADJUSTMENTS FOR POPULATION, THE CIVIL WAR(1861-1865) WAS BLOODIER THAN ALLOUT OTHER WARS PUT TOGETHER--INCLUDING THE REVOLUTION & VIET NAM (1775-1972.) WELL, IN THE CIVIL WAR, KENTUCKY WAS A BORDER STATE NORTH, WHILE TENN. WAS A BORDER STATE SOUTH. IN ROUND NUMBERS, EACH GAVE 140,--- SOLDIERS TO THAT WAR. KENTUCKY GAVE 105,000 TO THE UNION SIDE & 35,000 TO THE CONFEDERATE SIDE. TENN. GAVE 100,000 TO THE CONFEDERATE SIDE & 40,000 TO THE UNION SIDE. FOUR OF THESE UNION SOLDIERS WERE SONS OF WILLIAM & ELIZABETH RIDENOUR. NOW LET ME INTRODUCE MY GREAT-UNCLES & GREAT-AUNTS, THE CHILDREN OF WILLIAM & ELIZABETH.
GEORGE E. RIDENOUR WAS IN THE UNION ARMY. AFTER THE WAR HE MOVED TO CHILLICOTHE, PEORIA CO., ILL, (PRONOUNCED EEL-A-NOISE). WHILE MY MOTHER WAS A GIRL. PROBABLY IN THE MIDDLE TO LATE 1870'S, HE MADE TRIPS BACK TO GOD'S COUNTRY. THE L & N RR DIDN'T GET TO WHITLEY CO. TILL 1884. ANYHOW, UNCLE GEORGE CAME IN TWO WAGONS. HE LOADED THEM UP WITH CURIOS FROM THE HILL COUNTRY--PINE KNOTS, PECULEAR ROCKS, STRANGE GROWTHS OF TREES, MOSS, EXOTIC FERNS, SHRUBS, ETC. IN ILLINOIS HE POLISHED & TENDED THEM IN HIS SHOP; THEN HE SOLD THEM TO THE "NATIVES" AS DECORATIONS & ORNAMENTS. APPARENTLY HE MADE A NEAT SUM ON THE DEAL. MY MOTHER & THE FAMILY SWAPPED A FEW LETTERS FOR AWHILE. AT A SCOTTISH RITE MEETING A FEW YEARS AGO, I MET A RIDENOUR FROM THAT AREA, BUT HE DIDN'T KNOW WHO HIS GREAT-GRANDFATHER WAS.
HIS OLDER SISTER HAS BEEN INTRODUCED AS PROBABLY MARY (POLLY) HOLLINGSWORTH THE GRANDMOTHER OF "RIDENER KINFOLKS" WHOM MY SISTER CORRESPONDED WITH AROUND & SOON AFTER WORLD WAR I.
WILLIAM HAMILTON RIDENOUR, MY GRANDFATHER, WHO MOVED TO KENTUCKY & BECAME A RIDENER, WILL BE DISCUSSED AT GREATER LENGTH IN THE 2ND CHAPTER OF THIS HISTORY.
ALEXANDER S. BECAME THE FATHER OF EMMA ( MRS JOHN NEWTON) THOMAS, OF WHITLEY CO. I BELIEVE HE LIVED & DIED IN CAMPBELL CO.
HENRY L. SERVED IN THE UNION ARMY, & AFTER THE WAR REMAINED IN CAMPBELL CO.. WILL TELL MORE ABOUT HIM IN THE SKETCH OF UNCLE HARVE.
DANIEL H. IS ONLY A NAME WHICH I HAVE HEARD--"UNCLE DAN."
CHARLES W. SERVED IN THE UNION ARMY. AFTER THE WAR HE "WENT WEST." ALONG ABOUT 1882 OR 1883 A MAN FROM MONTANA CAME THROUGH & SPENT A NIGHT OR 2 AT MY GRANDFATHER'S HOUSE. HE SAID HE KNEW UNCLE CHARLES VERY WELL. HE SAID UNCLE CHARLES WAS " ONE OF THE RICHEST MEN IN MONTANA," BUT I DONT REMEMBER WHAT HE DID FOR A LIVING. HE SAID ALSO THAT UNCLE CHARLES WAS NOT MARRIED. HE SAID THAT UNCLE CHARLES WAS "THE SPITTIN' IMAGE" OF MY MOTHER AT THE TIME. ( THIS WAS SAYING HE WAS MIGHTY GOOD LOOKING!) WELL, SHE GOT UNCLE CHARLES'S ADDRESS, & THEY WROTE A FEW LETTERS BACK & FORTH; THEN NO FURTHER NEWS. SHE SOMETIMES DAY DREAMED THAT HE WOULD REMEMBER HER IN HIS WILL.
ELIZABETH A. MARRIED OLIVER MYNATT. SHE HAS BEEN SKETCHED ALREADY.
PATTON H. AS I HAVE SAID, IS ONLY A NAME IN THE 1850 CENSUS OF CAMPBELL CO.
HARVEY G. THE YOUNGEST CHILD, IS DUE A LONG SKETCH. WHEN HIS PARENTS DIED, HE WAS ONLY FIVE OR A LITTLE OLDER, & HIS RAISING WAS COMPLETED BY HIS BROTHER HENRY, WHO WAS 12 YEARS OLDER THAN HARVE & MAYBE MARRIED ALREADY. UNCLE HENRY'S WIFE HAD A DAUGHTER BY A PREVIOUS MARRIAGE; I THINK HER NAME WAS LUCINDA. THE TWO CHILDREN GREW UP TOGETHER. ONE DAY, I PRESUME AFTER THE WAR, UNCLE HARVE SAID " WE'RE A-GOIN' DOWN TO HAM GRANT'S TO GIT MARRIED." THE "OLD FOLKS" LAUGHED & THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD JOKE, BUT WHEN THE "YOUNG ONES" CAME BACK MARRIED, UNCLE HENRY & HIS WIFE "NEARLY HAD A FIT." OF COURSE THE BRIDE & GROOM WERE NO KIN AT ALL, BUT IT SEEMED LIKE A MARRIAGE BETWEEN BROTHER & SISTER. I THINK HE OUTLIVED HER; AT ANY RATE HE DIED ABOUT 1925.
WHEN THE CIVIL WAR BROKE OUT, UNCLE HARVE WAS 16. SOONER OR LATER HE ENLISTED IN THE UNION ARMY. I KNOW NOTHING OF HIS MILITARY LIFE EXCEPT THAT HE WAS TAKEN PRISONER BY THE CONFEDERATES & PUT IN A PLACE THAT LOOKS A GREAT DEAL LIKE ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. MY MOTHER NEVER MENTIONED THAT TERRIBLE PLACE, PROBABLY BECAUSE SHE NEVER HEARD OF IT. HE WAS STARVED & HIS FEET WERE FROSTBITTEN. AT THE END OF THE WAR HE WAS TURNED OUT TO LIVE OR DIE, IN SOME WAY UNCLE HENRY HEARD WHERE HE WAS, SO HE RODE "DAY & NIGHT" TO RESCUE HIM. IF THE TRIP WERE FROM CAMPBELL CO. TO ANDERSONVILLE, GEORGIA, THAT WOULD MEAN OVER 300 MILES EACH WAY, PLUS MANY MORE MILES TO ALLOW FOR CROOKED ROADES, OUT-OF-THE-WAY FORDS, ETC. SO I DOUBT THAT IT WAS ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. ( ANDERSONVILLE, A DOZEN MILES SOUTHWEST OF OGLETHORPE, HAD 263 PEOPLE IN 1960).
UNCLE HENRY FOUND UNCLE HARVE CRAWLING ALONG THE ROAD, EATING CORN PICKED OUT OF MANURE. HE BUNDLED THE POOR FELLOW UP, PUT HIM ON THE HORSE, & TOOK HIM TO A MEAL. WHEN UNCLE HARVE STARTED TO EAT, HE SAID, "NOW, HENRY, I DON'T WANT TO KILL MYSELF. WHEN YOU THINK I'VE HAD ENOUGH, TELL ME TO STOP." UNCLE HENRY ALWAYS SAID THE "HARDEST WORDS HE EVER HAD TO SPEAK" WERE "HARVE, I GUESS YOU'D BETTER STOP NOW & WAIT AWHILE."
WELL, ANDERSONVILLE OR NO, UNCLE HENRY GOT HIM HOME, WHERE, AS WE HAVE SEEN HE MARRIED UNCLE HENRY'S STEPDAUGHTER & LIVED AT THE FORKS OF CLINCH & POWELL. FOR MANY YEARS, IF NOT ALWAYS, IN THE WINTER TIME HE HAD TO WEAR MOCCASINS MADE OF GROUNDHOG SKINS WITH THE FUR ON THE INSIDE TO WARM & PROTECT HIS FORMERLY FROSTBITTEN FEET. NATURALLY, HE WAS VERY BITTER TOWARD ALL CONFEDERATE VETERANS, BUT OF COURSE HE KNEW THAT UNION PRISONERS WERE NOT THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO WERE GOING COLD & HUNGRY IN THE SOUTH AT END OF THAT TERRIBLE & TRAGIC LOST WAR.
IN THE SUMMER OF 1921, WHILE I WAS WORKING AT THE COAL MINES TO PAY PART OF MY EXPENSES IN THE 2nd YEAR OF COLLEGE, MY MOTHER VISITED HER UNCLE HARVE FOR ABOUT 3 WEEKS. SINCE I WAS WORKING OVERTIME, NIGH ONTO 65 HOURS A WEEK, I WAS TO TIRED TO DISCUSS OR REMEMBER ANYTHING ABOUT RELATIVES SHE HAD SEEN ON HER VISIT. UNCLE HARVE DIED 3 OR 4 YEARS LATER (c. 1925) ABOUT 60 YEARS AFTER UNCLE HENRY SAVED HIS LIFE.
I AM A STRONG BELIEVER IN PROBABILITY & CIRCUMSTANCES. IN THIS SKETCH, THEREFORE, I HAVE TOLD NOTHING THAT DIDN'T RING TRUE. IN SOME PLACES, NOTES & COMMENTS WERE VERY APPROPRIATE. MOST OF THE INFORMATION CAME FROM MY MOTHER LOUISA RIDENER MOSES. IN PLACES HER EXACT WORDS HAVE STUCK IN MY MIND. THESE I HAVE PUT INSIDE QUOTATION MARKS.
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1866 - 1925 (58 years)