Person Page - 40

     William Marcellus Bridgeforth was born on 28 August 1912. He married Carolyn Kennedy Thompson, daughter of William Lois Thompson and Leila Henrietta Prewitt, on 19 November 1938.^2,1

     Lucia Lee Bridgeforth was born on 7 July 1943.¹ She married Leonard William Cox on 24 May 1969.¹ Lucia Lee Bridgeforth died in July 1985.

     Leonard William Cox married Lucia Lee Bridgeforth, daughter of William Marcellus Bridgeforth and Carolyn Kennedy Thompson, on 24 May 1969.¹

     Sterling Price Taylor married Evelyn Prewitt Thompson, daughter of William Lois Thompson and Leila Henrietta Prewitt, on 2 January 1943.¹

     Josephine Mckenna was born on 11 April 1920 at Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.^1,2 She married William Wallace Thompson, son of William Lois Thompson and Leila Henrietta Prewitt, on 26 October 1940 at First Presbyterian Church, Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, in a ceremony performed by Rev. George S. Thomson in the presnece of Bascom Judy and William Bridgeforth.^3,4,1,2 Josephine Mckenna resided in 1951 at Mt. Sterling, Kentucky; Living with Paul K. McKenna and Lila Harper McKenna.² She married Robert Charles Gatewood on 14 December 1951 at Christian Chruch, Lancaster, Kentucky, in a ceremony performed by Rev. A. R. Roberts III.^3,5 Josephine Mckenna left a will at Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, on 27 November 1964.⁶ She died on 28 July 1966 at Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, at age 46.^6,7,2 She was buried after 28 July 1966 at Machpelah Cemetery, Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.^8,2 Her estate was probated on 4 August 1966 at Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.⁶

     Dr. James Nolte married Dr. Minerva Dudley Thompson, daughter of William Wallace Thompson and Josephine Mckenna, on 5 April 1967.¹

     Mark Dean Ison married Annette Orear Greene, daughter of Harold Lewis Greene and Katherine Prewitt, on 26 June 1993 at First Presbyterian Church, Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, A reception following the wedding was held at her parents' home, Mt. Airy.²

     Margaret Bogie was born on 12 December 1889 at Montgomery County, Kentucky.^2,3 She graduated in 1906 at Mt. Sterling High School, Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.⁴ She married B. Frank Perry before 1922.⁴ Margaret Bogie died on 6 April 1936 at Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, at age 46.^2,3 She was buried after 6 April 1936 at Machpelah Cemetery, Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.³

     John Pope married Sarah Calk after 1824.²

     Rebecca McChesney Ashton was born on 13 February 1827.^1,3 She married Thomas Calk II, son of Thomas Calk I and Elizabeth Keas, on 8 February 1866.^1,2 Rebecca McChesney Ashton was enumerated with Thomas Calk II in 1880 on the Census at Levee, Kentucky.⁴ Rebecca McChesney Ashton was enumerated with E. Price Calk on 1 June 1900 on the Census at Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.⁵ Rebecca McChesney Ashton died on 18 June 1903 at age 76; from acute indigestion.^6,7,3 She was buried on 19 June 1903 at Machpelah Cemetery, Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.³

     Amy O'Rear was also known as Aime'e.^2,3 She married Moir Lewis Shockley at Fort Amador, Canal Zone, Panama.^4,2 Amy O'Rear was born in February 1911 at Ft. Mott, New Jersey.² She was born on 4 February 1912 at Ft. Mott, New Jersey.⁴ She died in October 1992 at age 80.²

     Moir Lewis Shockley was an officer in the U. S. Air Force.³ He was born at Roanoke, Virginia.^3,2 He married Amy O'Rear, daughter of Col. John Thomas Hazelrigg O'Rear and Hazel Terhune Middleton, at Fort Amador, Canal Zone, Panama.^3,2

     Edward Clay O'Rear II was a civil engineer.^3,4 He was born on 19 July 1913 at Ft. Crockett, Galveston, Texas.^1,2,5 He is documented as arriving on 21 August 1933 in USAT Republic at New York City, New York, from Cristobal, Canal Zone.⁶ Because he was very interested in his family's history, much of the information concerning the O'Rears comes from work done by Judge O'Rear and his grandson, Edward Clay O'Rear II as they continued the early work of their kinsman, Dr. Ernest Day Everett. Judge O'Rear prepared a paper entitled "The Orear (O'Rear) Family" to accompany his grandson's short genealogical table of the family as known at the time. This paper was prepared for an O'Rear family reunion held about 1947 in Indiana, but copies have surfaced in many genealogical libraries throughout the United States.⁷ He married Eleanor Hume Offutt on 26 June 1948 at Frankfort, Kentucky.^3,2,4 In 1978, Edward Clay O'Rear II wrote in Sketches of the O'Rear Family of Prince William County, Virginia in a sketch entitled Martin O'Rear Loved His Land:

     The O’Rears have long been tillers of the soil, and owners of the land they tilled. Our branch of the family is no exception. It was said at one time one could travel all of the way from Frankfort, in Franklin County to Versailles, in Woodford County, Kentucky and never be out of sight of land owned by some member of the O’Rear family.

     They always had great regard for conservation long before it became popular and would refuse to do anything that would hurt their land. This was brought to my attention when as a young man I bought my first farm, “Stony Lonesome” in Woodford County, Kentucky (I still live there). My Aunt Hazel O’Rear Bradley and Uncle Bill Bradley were kind enough to come by and help me get my place ready for occupancy. Aunt hazel horrified me by severely pruning back the bushes and vines by the house and when I remonstrated that she was killing my bushes, she said: “You are just like all of the O’Rears. They don’t want to cut any of the living things because they think this will hurt their land.” She then explained to me that plantings grow and multiply and if not pruned back would soon defeat their ornamental purpose, besides, they would grow back all too soon.⁸ He resided circa 1985 at "Lemon Hill Farm", Lexington, Kentucky. He witnessed the death of Eleanor Hume Offutt on 6 November 1988 at Lexington, Kentucky.^9,2 Edward Clay O'Rear II died on 5 June 1998 at Lexington, Kentucky, at age 84.^4,5 He was buried on 9 June 1998 at Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, Kentucky.⁴

     Florence Smith married Col. John Thomas Hazelrigg O'Rear, son of Edward Clay O'Rear and Virginia Lee Hazelrigg, after 1914.^2,1

     Eleanor Hume Offutt was born on 23 November 1925 at Baltimore, Maryland.^1,3 She married Edward Clay O'Rear II, son of Col. John Thomas Hazelrigg O'Rear and Hazel Terhune Middleton, on 26 June 1948 at Frankfort, Kentucky.^4,2,5 Sketches of the O'Rear Family of Prince William County, Virginia includes the following sketch:

     Antiques I have known. (Eleanor O’Rear and the Wilderness Trail) A Book Review.

     Published in 1961 by Fredrick Fell, Inc. N.Y.C. this is an interesting and moving account by Corinne Griffith of her antique collecting experiences. The chapter on “Southern Accent” includes the following typical account:

     “After tea I insisted that Sergeant Jarvis stop at the Wilderness Trail Antique Shop, the one pointed out to me by Louise the previous day.

     I stepped up three brick steps to the entrance door. Inside the shop held everything from simply everything to simply everything and as I stepped in, a very lovely young lady rose from a small spindle back pine rocker. “I’m Mrs. O’Rear” she said and smiled. “This shop was left me by my mother.”

     “I’m just looking,” I explained to the lovely Mrs. O’Rear “I’m not going to buy a thing.” a remark which seemed to impress the lovely Mrs. O’Rear not at all. “This little comb back rocker,” she pointed to the one she had just vacated, with seven pine spindles forming the back and an additional set of five pine spindles on top of the back, “was photographed in the Stony Lonesome House and will be published in this coming May issue of the Ladies Home Journal.”

     “The Ladies Home Journal!” I was surprised. “What a coincidence! The Journal published my cookbook, Eggs I have Known” I told Mrs. O’Rear. but again Mrs. O’Rear seemed only unimpressed. “So, out of loyalty to the Journal...” And that unnecessary sense of loyalty just cost me one hundred and twenty five dollars.

     ... Above the square door frame was a large round clock about sixteen inches across, with big black hands and enormous numerals, obviously handmade. The frame around the clock, about three inches wide, still boasted some once upon a time white paint and gold trim that was grey and worn looking now.

     “That’s an odd looking clock,” I observed and would have passed on, but as Mrs. O’Rear glanced upwards, I detected a look of reverence in her eyes.

     “That clock once graced the Grand Saloon of the famous Robert E. Lee steamboat when it was first built,” she stated and her eyes fairly glowed. “My mother purchased it at the auction of Captain Cannon’s estate at Midway, Kentucky.”

     “Captain Cannon?”

“John Cannon was Captain of the Robert E. Lee. He was a Kentuckian, a former Frankfort man. The clock was bought by him when he first took command of the Lee.” And I raised my eyes in reverence, too. “Captain Cannon was living in retirement in Midway, Kentucky when the end came. Many articles from the Lee were sold among his effects. This clock was considered the most valuable, historically.”

     “When was the Robert E. Lee built?”

     “I don’t remember the exact date. Both the Lee and the clock are over a hundred years old. The records are all packed away in Mother’s effects. But I’ll get them for you if you are interested...”

     “Interested? I’ve got to have that clock if I have to build a steamboat to house it!”

     “I have a paper here,” and Mrs. O’Rear unfolded a yellow page of an old newspaper. She read: “The famous race between the steamboats, The Natchez and The Robert E. Lee began June 30, 1870, at New Orleans. The Lee reached its destination, St. Louis, over six hours ahead of the Natches!” And again Mrs O’Rear’s eyes fairly glowed. “The race was so publicized,” she continued, “(although both captains denied they were racing) that hundreds of thousands of dollars were bet, won and lost, both here and abroad.” Mrs. O’Rear handed me the yellowed paper. “This belongs to you, now. And this, also.” And she handed me a signed affidavit confirming all that she had said. “Do you know one of the ways they knew that The Robert E. Lee had beaten the Natchez by over six hours?”

     “No, I haven’t the faintest idea.”

     “They timed it with this clock.”

     Then Mrs. O’Rear said, “What are you going to do with it?”

     Seems Mrs. O’Rear can ask silly questions, too.⁶ Eleanor Hume Offutt died on 6 November 1988 at Lexington, Kentucky, at age 62.^7,2 She was buried on 8 November 1988 at Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, Kentucky.²

     Edward Clay O'Rear III was born on 14 November 1949 at Lexington, Kentucky.^1,2,3 He resided in 1999 at Netherlands. He died on 13 May 2000 at Netherlands at age 50.⁴

     Pamela O'Rear Shockley was born at Jonesville, Virginia.¹ She was born at Richlands, Virginia.² She married James Larson on 18 August 1956 at San Bernardino, California.²

     James Larson was born on 31 January.¹ He married Pamela O'Rear Shockley, daughter of Moir Lewis Shockley and Amy O'Rear, on 18 August 1956 at San Bernardino, California.¹

     Mary Kay Hill married John Offutt O'Rear, son of Edward Clay O'Rear II and Eleanor Hume Offutt, on 24 October 1992 at Pisgah Presbyterian Church, Pisgah, Kentucky.¹

     Virginia Tobin was born on 28 August 1891 at Frankfort, Kentucky.^1,2 She married Prentice O'Rear, son of Edward Clay O'Rear and Virginia Lee Hazelrigg, on 12 August 1913 at Jefferson County, Kentucky.^3,1,2 Virginia Tobin died on 10 December 1962 at Frankfort, Kentucky, at age 71.^3,1,2

     John Thomas Hazelrigg O'Rear II was born on 13 August 1915 at Columbus, Mississippi.^2,3 He graduated in 1938 at Georgia Institue of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia. He died on 15 June 1944 at age 28; killed in action over Japan during World War II while flying as a Lieutenant in the U. S. Army Air Force.^1,2

     Dr. Richard Gill Elliott II was born on 11 November 1907 at Lexington, Kentucky.^1,2 He was a pediatrician.^1,3 He married Virginia Tobin O'Rear, daughter of Prentice O'Rear and Virginia Tobin, on 30 July 1947 at Frankfort, Kentucky.^1,2 Dr. Richard Gill Elliott II died on 25 February 1962 at Lexington, Kentucky, at age 54.^4,5

     Richard Caswell Saufley was born on 1 September 1885 at Stanford, Kentucky.¹ He graduated in June 1908 at United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland. He was commissioned an Ensign in June 1910 in the United States Navy. He married Helen O'Rear, daughter of Edward Clay O'Rear and Virginia Lee Hazelrigg, in April 1911.^1,2 Richard Caswell Saufley returned to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland for for training in aviation in June 1913 and designated as Naval Aviator No. 14. He was promoted to Lieutenant (Junior Grade) in June 1913 in the United States Navy. In 1915 Helen O'Rear was the first woman to fly over New York. Her husband, Richard Caswell Saufley
was testing an invention of Lawrence Sperry in a Curtiss flying boat when he asked if she wouldn't like to try it. Warmly dressed for a ride in a motor car, with no special or complicated costume, she agreed and took the controls,
though this was only her fourth trip in an aeroplane, and the air currents above new York are variable and treacherous. Flying under and past the Manhattan and East River bridges and flew as far south as the Narrows, she reversied course, returning high above the bridges. Northward it flew, then northwesterly, above the Harlem River and the Ship Canal, where at a height of 1,200 feet it swung in a wide lazy circle round and round, far above the head of Liberty herself. Then she descended and landed upon the surface as gracefully as a gliding swan.
After a few moments, she rose again, headed along the Hudson, then swung away for the lower side of New York, crossed diagonally, flew over the East Park and Manhattan Bridges, and settled down in a long graceful easy spiral to its nest in the Navy Yard.

Mrs. Saufley’s eyes were brighter, and her cheeks were rosier as she stepped out on the prosaic land, but her breathing seemed not a bit faster, nor was there any tremor in her voice or hand, or any other sign, ever so slight, of the excitement.

“That is the most exhilarating ride I have ever taken,” she said earnestly and quite simply. “What a picture New York is on a perfect afternoon. My husband tells me we were up forty minutes. It seems like forty seconds. And I never realized New York is so beautiful.”.³ He died on 9 June 1916 at Pensacola, Florida, at age 30; was killed in the crash of the airplane he was flying while attempting to set an altitude and endurance record having previously established the record.¹ He was buried after 9 June 1916 at Buffalo Spring Cemetery, Lincoln County, Kentucky.¹ He was honored posthumously when at Naval Air Sation Saufley Field, Pensacola, Florida, was named for him.^1,2

     William Scruggs married Helen O'Rear, daughter of Edward Clay O'Rear and Virginia Lee Hazelrigg, after 1917.¹

     Giles Singleton was born on 15 August at Clemson, South Carolina.^1,2 She married Richard Gill Elliott III, son of Dr. Richard Gill Elliott II and Virginia Tobin O'Rear, on 28 August 1982.¹

     Agnes Todd Saffell was born on 1 March 1895 at Frankfort, Kentucky.^1,2,3,4 She married James Bigstaff O'Rear, son of Edward Clay O'Rear and Virginia Lee Hazelrigg, on 25 June 1913 at Springfield, Kentucky.^5,1,4 Agnes Todd Saffell resided before 11 May 1990 at Frankfort, Kentucky; Last residence ZIP: 40601.³ Her Social Security Number was Social Security #: 400-54-7826 before 11 May 1990 at Kentucky.³ She died on 11 May 1990 at Frankfort, Kentucky, at age 95.^6,1,2,3,7

     Charles R. Perry was born on 21 December 1910 at Russellville, Kentucky.^1,2 He married Agnes Saffell O'Rear, daughter of James Bigstaff O'Rear and Agnes Todd Saffell, on 7 May 1938.¹

     H. P. Birmingham married Barbour Lee Perry, daughter of Charles R. Perry and Agnes Saffell O'Rear.¹

     Glenn Salchi married Nancy DeLime Dunstall, daughter of Donal Murray Dunstall and Frances Allen Taylor O'Rear, before 1966.^1,2