Forest Martin Hedges: Hedges Genealogy

1898 - 1903 (5 years)

Generation: 1

Forest Martin Hedges was born on 10 Apr 1898 (son of Charles Martin Hedges and Ida A. Helvey); died on 5 Jun 1903 in Weir City, Cherokee County, Kansas; was buried in Hosey Hill Cemetery, Weir, Cherokee County, Kansas.

Notes:

Died.
Forest M. Hedges, the five year son of Mrs. Joe Morgan, died at their home Friday, June 5, 1903, of diphtheria. The funeral services were held at the home on Saturday at 2 o’clock, conducted by Rev. M.D. Stout and the remains were laid to rest in the Weir City cemetery.
Weir Journal, Weir, Kansas. Friday. 12 June 1902.

Forest Martin Hedges, the only son of Mrs. G.C. Morgan departed this life at Weir City, Kans., Friday, June 5, 1903, age 5 years, one month and 26 days. The funeral services were held at the resident on West North street Saturday at 2 o’clock p.m. conducted by the writer. The text matt. 18:14 – “Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” The little one was interred in the Weir City cemetery.
With asking hearts and troubled minds
To see him in the grave confined.
In behalf of the bereft Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, we express our heartfelt thanks to the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs and their friend for the tender care and sympathy throughout their deep affliction.
While lonesome and along
We shall think of the dear one.
And amidst this deep sorrow of woe
Our tears for him will overflow.
Yet bear up we know we much
Than only in Lord can we trust;
That when the darkest mist clar away
Again we shall see him some bright day.
M.D. Strout, M.E. Pastor.
Weir Weekly Tribune, Weir, Kansas. Friday. 12 June 1902.

Buried:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51157406/forest-m-hedges

Generation: 2

Charles Martin Hedges was born on 25 Oct 1869 in Fithian, Vermilion County, Illinois (son of Peter Thompson Hedges and Mary Ann Vawter); died on 28 Jul 1922 in Canton, Lewis County, Missouri; was buried on 30 Jul 1922 in Forest Grove Cemetery, Canton, Lewis County, Missouri.

Other Events:

Census: 1900, Delaware, Jefferson County, Kansas
Census: 1910, Canton, Lewis County, Missouri
Census: 1920, Canton, Lewis County, Missouri

Notes:

MHR note: At age 20 Charlie got into a scrape with a girl who was half-witted. He skipped out with a horse and buggy. The horse was mortgaged but he sold it, and when questioned by A. V., said it had broken through a bridge and broken its leg and he'd had to kill it. Uncle Cappy [Peter Thompson Hedges] had to pay the money. He had to give the girl money and took her to an aunt in Florida. After they arrived, her father had her swear that she and Cappy had been registered as man and wife at a hotel on the way and extorted more money from him. He sold his farm and moved.

Charles is buried in Forest Grove Cemetery next to his parents.

Miss Ida A. Helvey, daughter of Chas. Helvey, was married at Leavenworth, July 26 (Sunday) to Chas. M. Hedges, an attorney, who has had an office at Horton. They will make their home in Kansas City, where Mrs. Hedges will open an office. Mrs. Hedges has many friends here who will wish all possible happiness.
Troy Times, Troy, Kansas. Friday, 31 July 1898, page 4.

30 November 1898
Charles M. Hedges, manager of the American Law association at Kansas City, Mo., is mysteriously missing.
The Atchison Daily Champion, Atchison, Kansas. Wednesday, 30 November 1898, page 2.

1 December 1898
No Trace Found of Charles M. Hedges
Whereabouts of the Missing Attorney Still Shrouded in Mystery – Police Are Puzzled.
“Where is Charles M. Hedges? Has he met with foul play?
These are the questions which the police and the fiends of the missing man are asking themselves. His whereabouts is as deep a mystery as when he first dropped out of sight last Sunday. The police are puzzled over th case.
As told exclusively in yesterday’s Times, Charles M. Hedges was a manager of the American Law association in the Nelson building and disappeared last Sunday afternoon. He was last seen at the Leland hotel in Liberty as he was starting to the depot to catch the 7:45 train over the Hannibal and St. Joseph road to this city. He lived with his wife and 7-months-old child at 1622 Broadway and went to Liberty last Sunday morning to visit his uncle, the Rev. Mr. Vawter, pastor of the Christian church of that town. His uncle was in Platte City and was not to return until the next day so Hedges went to the Leland hotel to stay until train time.
He left the hotel about ten minutes before the time for his train to start, saying that he “must go home and see his wife and baby.” That was the last anyone remembers seeing of him.
Hedges rented desk room in the law office of Charles H. Winston in the Nelson building and was well known to the business men of the city as a collector. Mr. Winston can find no trace of Hedges, and he believes that the missing man has been foully dealt with. Last night he said: “I am doing everything in my power to find Hedges. I knew him well and can not account for his continued absence.”
Hedges brother, the Rev. T.A. Hedges, a Christian minister at Lancaster, Mo., was in the city all day yesterday trying to find the missing man. The conductor and brakeman of the Hannibal and St. Joseph train on which Hedges is supposed to have come from Liberty last Sunday were seen and questioned, but neither remembered anything of a man who answered the description of Hedges. The Rev. Mr. Hedges left for Lancaster last night and will wait until something turns up.
Hedges is 25 years old, of medium height and weight and was well dressed when he disappeared. His friends say that he left money on deposit here in the National Bank of Commerce, and that his business was prosperous. None of his friends can account for his absence.
The Kansas City Time, Kansas City, Missouri. Thursday, 1 December 1898, page 6.

18 December 1898
Hedges Case Baffles Them
Police Can Not Penetrate The Mystery Surrounding It.
For More Than a Month Charles M. Hedges Has Been Missing, and Not the Slightest Trace of His Whereabouts Has Been Found – His Wife Still Has Hopes of His Return, and Continues His Business.
In an office on the sixth floor of the Nelson building a woman with traces of suffering in her finely-chiseled face, sits all day at a desk and carries on the business which her husband built up during five years of constant toil in the face of many difficulties. She is the wife of Charles M. Hedges, the manager, of the American Law association, who disappeared as mysteriously on November 27 last as if the earth had opened and swallowed him from sight.
This woman is carrying on the business of the association as if nothing the world had happened and as if she had been doing it for years. The desk where her husband sat is loaded down with just as many papers as when he was there. Business men of the city who have had occasion to place any of their affairs in the hands of this woman say that she is as much a manager of affairs as was ever her husband.
Before her husband disappeared he was a collector of other men’s bills. As manager of the American Law association he solicited unpaid bills from business men and by letters to the delinquent ones tried to get them to settle the bills. Those who knew him best say that he kept a record of every man who paid a bill which had been entrusted to him for collection and that this list was sent monthly to the business firms of the city so that these firms might know who the men were who could pay the bills they had contracted. In writing these letters to the men who owed money to business firms, Hedges would state that if the bills were paid the man’s name would be place on this list and the firms of the city would thereby know whom to trust in selling goods on time. Friends of the missing man say that Hedges never had the bills in his possession, but would simply write the letters to the debtors and collect his commission from the creditors in the event of the bill being paid as a result of his efforts.
Mrs. Hedges Still Has Hope.
Writing letters is the task which Mrs. Hedges has during all of each day. Every morning when the mail is delivered to the office she tears open each letter with a look of hope in her face. “There may be a letter from Charlie, and he may be sick some out-of-the-way place and can’t come home,” she says. Although disappointed at every mail, she has not give up all hope. “He will come back sometime.” That is what she lives for.
While this woman thumps diligently away at a typewriter, a little baby boy plays around on the floor of the office. This child was the delight of Hedges, and when he left his home for a day’s visit at Liberty, he kissed the child good-by. All remembrance of its father leaves the child for days at a time. Sometimes this little boy asks for him, but these requests are becoming fewer and farther apart as the days go by.
“The boy has almost forgotten that he ever had a father,” the mother says. “I suppose the child would recognize him if he would come back, but I am not so sure of it.
The search for Hedges is still on, but not even the shadow of a suspicion of his whereabouts has been learned of by the police or the missing man’s friends since he dropped out of sight. Hedges’ disappearance is the strangest case the local police have ever been called upon to unravel. To drop out of sight as completely as if a fire had consumed every atom of one’s body is a thing seldom heard of hearabouts. Although nearly a month has passed since Hedges disappeared, not one man has been found who remembers seeing him or anyone who looked like him since he left the Leland hotel at Liberty to catch the 7:45 o’clock train to this city on the night of November 27.
The police, the missing man’s lodge of the Odd Fellows and a dozen close friends have done everything possible in the search for him, and none has found the slightest trace. Hedges’ accounts were as straight as a string, and he owed no man, as far as his friends here know. He left a wife and a child, both of whom he is said to have loved dearly. His wife says that there was never anything but the happiest of relations in the family home, and that her husband was a sober, studious man.
The Kansas City Time, Kansas City, Missouri. Sunday, 18 December 1898, page 5.

26 December 1898
Hedges Is Still Missing
His Wife Has Given Up All Hope of His Ever Returning to Kansas City.
It has now been a month since Charles M. Hedges, manager of the American Law Association, mysteriously disappeared. His young wife and 9-month-old baby boy, having waited in vain for him to return, will leave Kansas City today for Lancaster, Mo., where Rev. Mr. T.A. Hedges, a brother of the missing man, resides.
Mrs. Hedges sate with the baby in her lap feeding it bread and milk when a report for The Journal called at 2201 McGee last night. She said she had not expect particularly that Mr. Hedges would come home at this time and make a Christmas present of himself to his wife and baby. She had got ready to leave Kansas City, she said, and was going.
“I have not found the slightest trace of my husband,” she said quite calmly. “He has never written me a line since he left, and I do not know whether he is alive to write.
“When he left Kansas City n the morning of November 27, the last day that I saw him, he kissed me and the baby good-by just as usual, and started for a visit to his uncle at Liberty, MO. Arriving there, he found that his uncle was out of town, and he waited about the Leland hotel all day for the train back to Kansas City. At 7:35 p.m. he left the hotel to take the 7:45 train for home. That is the last ever seen of him. I went to Liberty and made inquiries and a thorough search, but could trace him no farther.”
Mrs. Hedges denies that her husband was short in his accounts or that his business affairs were tangled. She says she cannot imagine any motive he could have had in going away. She became acquainted with Mr. Hedges at Horton, Kas.
Kansas City Journal, Kansas City, Missouri. Monday, 26 December 1898, page 5.

15 January 1899
They Are Still Missing
Many Sudden Disappearances Are Yet Unexplained
[long article about several area disappearances, including Charles]
One of the mysterious disappearances the police of Kansas city have been called upon to unravel is that of Charles M. Hedges, manager of the American Law association. Hedges dropped out of sight on November 27, at Liberty, Mo., while there on a day’s visit to his uncle, an elder of the Christian church. Not even a suspicion of a trace of him has ever been found, although the police, the missing man’s lodge of the Odd Fellows and numerous friends have all joined in the search for him. Hedges is said to have loved dearly his young wife and infant child, who were left alone in the world. He kissed them goodby on the morning of Sunday, November 27, and said he would be back again at night. That was the last either of them ever has seen of him.
The Kansas City Time, Kansas City, Missouri. Sunday, 15 January 1899, page 5.

Rock Creek, Kan., Feb. 23, 1900.
Editor Headlight,
Dear Sir. – Some time ago I believe I saw a local in your paper in regard to the mysterious disappointment [edit – disappearance] of one Charles M. Hedges of the American Law Association of Kansas City, Mo., formerly located at Horton.
Now to come to business I am in search of Mrs. Hedges address. Could you throw any light on the matter? Could you inform me of either Mrs. Hedges address or that of her parents.
Thank you in advance for your kindness, which shall be appreciated most highly.
Yours Humbly, Percy G. Hawley.
P.S. Please do not fail me in this matter as this is very important, in fact grave. Yours, P.G. Hawley.
The Horton Headlight-Commercial, Horton, Kansas. Thursday, 8 March 1900, page 5.

Died:
Missouri death certificate
https://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1922/1922_00022591.PDF

Buried:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30069609/charles-martin-hedges

Charles married Ida A. Helvey on 26 Jul 1896 in Leavenworth, Leavenworth County, Kansas. Ida was born on 18 Jan 1874 in Clinton County, Missouri; died on 19 Nov 1938 in Cherokee County, Kansas; was buried in Hosey Hill Cemetery, Weir, Cherokee County, Kansas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ida A. Helvey was born on 18 Jan 1874 in Clinton County, Missouri; died on 19 Nov 1938 in Cherokee County, Kansas; was buried in Hosey Hill Cemetery, Weir, Cherokee County, Kansas.

Notes:

State of Kansas, Cherokee County, ss.
In the District Court in and for the county and state aforesaid, sitting in Columbus.
Ida A. Hedges, Plaintiff, versus C.M. Hedges, Defendant
Sate of Kansas to C.M. Hedges, defendant. You are hereby notified that you have been sued by the above named plaintiff, by filing her petition in the District Court for Cherokee County, Kansas, sitting in Columbus, on the 27th day of August, 1901, asking for a divorce on the grounds of abandonment for more than one year, and unless you answer or plead to said petition on or before the 10th day of October, 1901, said petition will be taken as true and a judgment rendered against you forever divorcing you from the above name plaintiff and forever holding the bonds of matrimony heretofore existing between you and this plaintiff for naught. Ida A. Hedges
By her attorney, R. W. Emerson.
Attest: J.M. Wales, Clerk Dist. Court.
By Hattie Campbell, Deputy
(First published in the Columbus Courier, August 28th, 1901.)
Columbus Courier, Columbus, Kansas. Thursday, 29 August 1901, page 2.

District Court
[list of actions]
Ida A. Hedges vs C.M. Hedges, divorce granted plaintiff.
Modern Light, Columbus, Kansas. Thursday, 9 January 1902, page 3.

Married at the Tremont
George C. Morgan and Mrs. Ida Hedges, Both of Weir City, Wedded Last Night by Rev. Newlin.
Last night at 8 o’clock, at the parlors of the Tremont hotel, George C. Morgan and Mrs. Ida Hedges, both of Weir City, were united in marriage by Rev. O.A. Newlin, pastor of the Church of God. The couple arrived in this city yesterday and went to the home of Mr. Smallwood, the well known fruit grower east of the city. They were driven to the Tremont early last night, where in the presence of a few relatives, they were made man and wife. Mr. Morgan is a well known business man of Weir City, where he has resided for years. He is about 40 years old, while the bride is 28. The newly wedded couple spent the day at the Smallwood home and will return to Weir City tonight, where they will take up their residence.
Fort Scott Weekly Monitor, Fort Scott, Kansas. Saturday, 24 May 1902, page 3.

Buried:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/182043041/ida-a-mcdaniel

Children:

1. Forest Martin Hedges was born on 10 Apr 1898; died on 5 Jun 1903 in Weir City, Cherokee County, Kansas; was buried in Hosey Hill Cemetery, Weir, Cherokee County, Kansas.

Generation: 3

Peter Thompson Hedges was born on 29 Jan 1831 in Fleming County, Kentucky (son of William Ribelin Hedges and Malinda Russell Cassity); died on 12 Jun 1924 in Tilton, Vermilion County, Illinois; was buried on 15 Jun 1924 in Forest Grove Cemetery, Canton, Lewis County, Missouri.

Other Events:

Occupation: farmer
_MILT: Civil War
Census: 1860, Rowan County, Kentucky
Census: 1870, Oakwood, Vermilion County, Illinois
Census: 1880, Oakwood, Vermilion County, Illinois
Census: 1900, White Post Township, Pulaski County, Indiana
Census: 1910, Canton, Lewis County, Missouri

Notes:

Enlisted on 9 October 1861.
Mustered in 31 December 1861, Lexington, Kentucky
as Captain into what was first called Captain Hedges' company of the 24th Regiment.
Later named Company G, 24th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry.
Reassigned on 5 July 1864 because of wounds received in action.
Discharged in 1864 of wounds received in the battle of Resaca, Georgia while serving under Sherman on the march to the sea.

A brief history of the regiment states "The 24th Regiment of Kentucky Volunteer Infantry was organized in the fall and winter of 1861, under Colonel Lewis B. Grigsby, and was mustered into the United States service on the 11th of December 1861 at Lexington, Kentucky, by Captain Bankhead, United States Mustering officer. Soon after its organization it joined the main army, and was engaged in many of the most severe battles of the war, and did arduous duty in eastern Kentucky and Tennessee. It would fill pages of the Report to give in detail all the places trough which the regiment marched, and the various difficulties and hardships with which it had to contend. At the muster-out at Covington, Kentucky on the 31st January 1865, the recruits were transferred to Company K, 6th Kentucky Veteran Cavalry. It participated in the following battles, in which loss was sustained, viz; Shiloh, Tennessee; Siege of Corinth, Mississippi; Perryville, Kentucky; Knoxville, Tennessee; Resaca, Georgia; Lost Mountain, Atlanta, Georgia and Jonesboro".

We can assume that Peter Thompson Hedges would have been in all of the above up to Resaca Georgia.

Capt. P.T. Hedges dies at Tilton
Pioneer resident of Oakwood township passes away at home of daughter
Capt. Peter T. Hedges, 92, for many years a resident of Oakwood township, who for the past two years had been making his home with his daughter Mrs. Ida Cronkhite, 1007 South H Street, Tilton, died late ….rsday afternoon at the home of his daughter, death being due to …. Ity and followed by a long illness … had been practically an invalid since 191…..
Funeral services were held at the residence Friday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock, in charge of Rev. A.F. deCafferly, pastor of the First Church of Christ. Burial will be in Canton, Mo. At one time the home of the deceased, his wife having been buried there a number of years ago. The body will leave over the Wabash railroad Saturday morning at 7:45 and funeral services will be held in the Missouri city Sunday.
Capt. Hedges was the father of eight children, two sons and six daughters. One son and five daughters survive, as follows: Rev. T.A. Hedges of Thomas, Okla; Mrs. Ida Cronkhite, Tilton; Mrs. Blanch Brown, Grenader, Miss; Mrs. Alice Firebaugh, Medaryville, Ind.; Mrs. Myrtle Denger, Orchard, Ia., and Mrs. Mattie Horn, Canton, Mo. He is also survived by two brothers, William R. Hedges, of Purdin, Mo. And Isaac A. Hedges, of Madera, Calif. Twenty-two grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.
Capt. Hedges was born in Fleming County, Ky. Jan. 29, 1831, being one of ten children of Mr. and Mrs. William R. Hedges. He grew to manhood in that county and united in Marriage with Miss Mary W. Vawter in 1857. When the civil war broke out he enlisted in the ….. Kentucky Volunteer …. And served until 1864 being discharged because of wounds received in the battle of Resaca, Ga. While serving under Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea.
Following his discharge from the Union army he came to Illinois, settling in Oakwood township in the fall of 1864, where he resided for 32 years, moving to Pulaski county, Ind. In 18 ….. After a residence of 12 years in Indiana the family moved to Canton, Mo., where the wife and mother died in 1912. Mr. Hedges came back to Illinois in 1922 and went to the home of his daughter in Tilton. He was a devout Christian and since he was 20 years old had been a member of the Church of Christ.

Transcribed from a photocopy of the newspaper clipping. The newspaper is not identified. Blank spots marked by “…..” above are areas where the paper was torn away before being photocopies or where type was unreadable.

Capt. P.T. Hedges Dies In Illinois
Deceased Was Father of Rev. T.A. Hedges, Pastor of Christian Church.
Capt. P.T. Hedges, aged ninety-three years, five months and seven days, died at his home in Danville, Ill., Thursday of last week. He was a father of Rev. T.A. Hedges, pastor of the First Christian church of Thomas.
Rev. Hedges left here June the 10th and arrived in Danville at 1 p.m. the following day. His father knew him and conversed with his son regarding that he would be kept on the go to return to Thomas in time to preach the following Sunday. Mr. Hedges emphasized the fact that he wished his son to carry on his preaching, consequently when Mr. Hedges died the Rev. Hedges left Danville and arrived home Saturday and delivered a sermon Sunday morning at a joint meeting of Thomas and Hydro Christian churches which was held on Bear creek.
Rev. A.A. Hedges of Hydro occupied the pulpit of the local Christian church Sunday night.
The Thomas Tribune, Thomas, Oklahoma. Thursday, 19 June 1924.

_MILT:
24th Regiment. Kentucky Infantry. Company G. Captain.

Buried:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7961138/peter-thompson-hedges

Peter married Mary Ann Vawter on 12 Mar 1857 in Rowan County, Kentucky. Mary (daughter of Pascal Vawter and Eliza Mavity) was born on 11 Dec 1836 in Jefferson County, Indiana; died on 15 Dec 1912 in Canton, Lewis County, Missouri; was buried on 17 Dec 1912 in Forest Grove Cemetery, Canton, Lewis County, Missouri. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Mary Ann Vawter was born on 11 Dec 1836 in Jefferson County, Indiana (daughter of Pascal Vawter and Eliza Mavity); died on 15 Dec 1912 in Canton, Lewis County, Missouri; was buried on 17 Dec 1912 in Forest Grove Cemetery, Canton, Lewis County, Missouri.

Notes:

Died:
Missouri death certificate
https://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1912/1912_00040002.PDF

Buried:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7961140/mary-ann-hedges

Children:

Thaddeus Arlington Hedges was born on 22 Aug 1859 in Rowan County, Kentucky; died on 29 Jun 1957 in South Haven, Sumner County, Kansas; was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, South Haven, Sumner County, Kansas.
Ida May Hedges was born on 30 Apr 1865 in Vermilion County, Illinois; died on 4 May 1952 in Center Point, Iowa; was buried in Stearns Cemetery, Fithian-Muncie, Vermilion County, Illinois.
Rosa "Blanche" Hedges was born on 9 Oct 1867 in Fithian, Vermilion County, Illinois; died on 19 Jan 1953 in Big Creek, Calhoun County, Mississippi; was buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park, Grenada, Grenada County, Mississippi.
2. Charles Martin Hedges was born on 25 Oct 1869 in Fithian, Vermilion County, Illinois; died on 28 Jul 1922 in Canton, Lewis County, Missouri; was buried on 30 Jul 1922 in Forest Grove Cemetery, Canton, Lewis County, Missouri.
Alice Felicia Hedges was born on 18 Jul 1872 in Fithian, Vermilion County, Illinois; died on 1 Sep 1951 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan; was buried in Medaryville Cemetery, Medaryville, Pulaski County, Indiana.
Mattie Dell Hedges was born on 20 Jan 1875 in Vermilion County, Illinois; died on 22 Aug 1942 in Canton, Lewis County, Missouri; was buried on 25 Aug 1942 in Forest Grove Cemetery, Canton, Lewis County, Missouri.
Myrtle Elicia Hedges was born on 21 Dec 1877 in Fithian, Vermilion County, Illinois; died on 28 Jul 1963 in Higginsville, Lafayette County, Missouri; was buried on 29 Jul 1963 in Fairview Cemetery, Dows, Wright County, Iowa.
Minnie Flora Hedges was born on 21 Dec 1877 in Fithian, Vermilion County, Illinois; died on 21 Feb 1915 in Biloxi, Mississippi; was buried in Embury Cemetery, Hope, Vermilion County, Illinois.

Generation: 4

William Ribelin Hedges was born on 14 Mar 1798 in Montgomery County, Kentucky (son of Levi Hedges and Rosannah Ribelin); died on 28 Nov 1885 in Rowan County, Kentucky; was buried in Three Lick Cemetery, Rowan County, Kentucky.

Other Events:

Occupation: farmer
Census: 1850, Fleming County, Kentucky
Census: 1850, Fleming County, Kentucky
Census: 1860, Rowan County, Kentucky
Census: 1860, Rowan County, Kentucky
Census: 1870, Cross Roads, Rowan County, Kentucky

Notes:

MHR note: Ida Cronkhite said (in pink letter of 28 December 1949) she thought that “Aunt Betty” Hopper (Eliz. B.1820) who was found with the William Ribelin Hedges family in the 1870 census, was a distant cousin through the Armstrongs. She cared for her mother who died when Betty was about 25 years old. Malinda Hedges needed help, so Betty made her home with them. She got board and room and one third of the wool. Betty was so shy she put on her sunbonnet before coming downstairs and few ever saw her face. Lonely widowers found her not only unresponsive, but unwilling to talk to them. When 81 and nearly blind, she fell downstairs and died shortly thereafter. She helped rear the second generation and “Uncle Will” said she'd been a second mother.

MHR Note: Letter from Melissa Lucinda Hedges, to her brothers, William R. Hedges, James A. Hedges and Levi M. Hedges and sister Philora (Allen) Hedges telling of their father's death. This letter was in the possession of Anna (Hedges) Bagley, Purdin, Missouri when Mary (Hedges) Reiner visited her in 1940. The heading “at home” refers to the home of William R. and Malinda R. Hedges on the bank of the Licking River at the mouth of the Bluebank, Fleming County, Kentucky, in the part of Fleming County.

At home, December 1, 1885.
Dear Brothers and Sisters:

It is with a sad heart I take up my pen to write the sad news of our dear father’s death. He departed this life Saturday, Nov. 28, at 25 minutes after six o’clock in the morning. After a serious illness of 12 day. He suffered more than tongue can tell. He lay in an unconscious state for several hours. He suffered greatly from the time he was taken. The doctor had to draw his water from him. Oh it was so hard to see him suffer so, but it had to be. Rose came to see him; staid several days then went home; came back after he was down. Ike got here after he was dead. Uncle Jesse staid with him all the time. We laid him in the old graveyard where sister Mary was laid, there to slumber till Gabriel’s trump and the voice of the Lord shall awaken the dead from the old churchyard.

I sent postals to you all when I found he was so bad, but I suppose it was not so any of you could come. He never talked about any of his children, but thought he could not live from the start. We done all we could for him but nothing done any good. He has done paid the debt we all have to pay and we can go to him; he cannot come to us; Oh how we miss him. Mother sits around and looks so sad. I can hardly bear it. She is not well. She send her love to you all.

My love to you all. Write soon as you all are very close together. I want this letter to be read by all. I would love to see you and talk to you face to face but we are far apart. Yes we are scattered – we are scattered, though a joyous band were we. Now this letter is for one and all of you. Write as often as you can.
You sister, M. L. Stenrod

1850 US census, enumerated 20 August 1850
Division 2, Fleming County, Kentucky
William R Hedges, age 52, farmer, real estate $3000
Malinda R, age 44
Addison W, age 24, farmer
Viana J, age 22
Peter T, age 19, laborer
Levi M, age 17, laborer
Rosannn S, age 14, attending school
Malissa L, age 12, attending school
William R, age 9, attending school
James A, age 6, attending school
Isaac A, age 4
Mary Ann Crouch, age 26
Peter L Crouch, age 2
William N Cassity, age 18, laborer

1860 US census, enumerated 15 Aug 1860
Rowan County, Kentucky
W R Hedges, age 62, farmer, real estate $3000, personal property $1060
Malinda R, age 54
Viana J, age 31
Malissa I, age 21
William, age 19
James, age 16
Isaac, age
Elizabeth Hopper, age 40, domestic

1870 US census, enumerated
Cross Roads, Rowan County, Kentucky
William Hedges, age 72, farmer, real estate $5000, personal property $1000
Malinda, age 64, keeping house
Melissa Demere, age 30, domestic servant
Malinda Demere, age 5
Elizabeth Hopper, age 50, at home

In the 1870 census, four household are listed next to each other: William Ribelin Hedges and three of his sons: Levi, William R. and James Hedges.

Buried:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64939177/william-hedges

William married Malinda Russell Cassity on 22 Dec 1822 in Rowan County, Kentucky. Malinda (daughter of Peter Thompson Cassity and Mary "Polly" Melissa Armstrong) was born on 14 Oct 1805 in Montgomery County, Kentucky; died on 12 Sep 1887 in Rowan County, Kentucky; was buried in Three Lick Cemetery, Rowan County, Kentucky. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Malinda Russell Cassity was born on 14 Oct 1805 in Montgomery County, Kentucky (daughter of Peter Thompson Cassity and Mary "Polly" Melissa Armstrong); died on 12 Sep 1887 in Rowan County, Kentucky; was buried in Three Lick Cemetery, Rowan County, Kentucky.

Notes:

MHR note: Stories told by Ida M. (Hedges) Cronkite to Miriam Hickman. Malinda, daughter of Peter and Mary (Armstrong) Cassity married William Ribelin Hedges. "They used to say 'she lifted the limb of a tree it took two men to lift.' This is the true story. She and a small boy with his mother were hurrying to get home from a storm. Part of a tree blew down and caught the boy and pinned him down. Malinda lifted till the mother could drag him out. Next day two men went to clear the road and it took two men to lift it from the ground. This was my father's mother and he told me he had seen her lift an anvil off the block with one hand. She could weave four yards of jeans then walk four miles up hill to spend the night with a neighbor. When she was seventy, she was still spinning and weaving. The year she was eighty-two, 1887, your grandmother came with her to Illinois. They were two days on the train. There were four sons, two grandsons, and one granddaughter to visit, all in Vermilion County, but hard trips between in horse and buggy days. Then a train to Montezuma, Indiana to visit two nieces. Then to Louisville, Kentucky, where the youngest son met her with a lumber wagon to take her over a corduroy road sixteen miles to his home. Back again to Louisville and then the train on home at the mouth of Blue Bank on the Licking River near Farmers, Kentucky.

"About a week later she heard there was to be preaching at Slaty Point. This was about three miles away. There she had gone to church all her life. They had no conveyance but hadn't they always walked? So she went. At the church she got sick and they took her to the nearest neighbor and a day or two later she died. She was eighty-two years old. At the age of seventeen she went from her father's home to her husband. She moved from the old house to the new and lived sixty-five years on the same farm."

Buried:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64939547/malinda-russell-hedges

Children:

Mary Ann Hedges was born on 26 Nov 1823 in Fleming County, Kentucky; died on 22 Sep 1854 in Fleming County, Kentucky; was buried in Three Lick Cemetery, Rowan County, Kentucky.
Addison W. Hedges was born on 13 Feb 1826 in Fleming County, Kentucky; died on 9 Aug 1863 in Rockwall, Rockwall County, Texas.
Vianna Jane Hedges was born on 4 May 1828 in Fleming County, Kentucky; died on 24 Jan 1911 in Pine Grove, Rowan County, Kentucky; was buried on 24 Jan 1911 in Pine Grove Cemetery, Cranston, Rowan County, Kentucky.
4. Peter Thompson Hedges was born on 29 Jan 1831 in Fleming County, Kentucky; died on 12 Jun 1924 in Tilton, Vermilion County, Illinois; was buried on 15 Jun 1924 in Forest Grove Cemetery, Canton, Lewis County, Missouri.
Levi Marion Hedges was born on 30 May 1833 in Fleming County, Kentucky; died on 28 Jan 1907 in Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas; was buried in Topeka Cemetery, Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas.
Rosannah Sarah Hedges was born on 1 Nov 1835 in Fleming County, Kentucky; died on 27 May 1924 in Jamaica, Vermilion County, Illinois; was buried on 30 May 1924 in Siloam Cemetery, Bluestone, Rowan County, Kentucky.
Melissa Lucinda Hedges was born on 17 Mar 1838 in Fleming County, Kentucky; died on 3 Mar 1899 in Farmers, Rowan County, Kentucky; was buried in Slaty Point Cemetery, Rowan County, Kentucky.
William Riley Hedges was born on 10 Mar 1841 in Farmers, Rowan County, Kentucky; died on 25 Oct 1925 in Purdin, Linn County, Missouri; was buried on 26 Oct 1925 in Purdin Cemetery, Purdin, Linn County, Missouri.
James Alva Hedges was born on 14 Sep 1843 in Fleming County, Kentucky; died on 3 Nov 1921 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois; was buried on 5 Nov 1921 in Fairfield Cemetery, Newman, Douglas County, Illinois.
Isaac Armstrong Hedges was born on 4 Mar 1846 in Fleming County, Kentucky; died in 1930 in Santa Paula, Ventura County, California.

10.

Pascal Vawter was born on 6 Jan 1813 in Madison, Jefferson County, Indiana (son of Beverly Vawter and Elizabeth Crawford); died on 26 Jan 1899 in Medaryville, Pulaski County, Indiana.

Other Events:

Census: 1850, Monroe, Jefferson County, Indiana
Census: 1860, Morehead, Rowan County, Kentucky
Census: 1870, Mowers Precinct, Lewis County, Kentucky
Census: 1880, Mowers Precinct, Lewis County, Kentucky

Pascal married Eliza Mavity on 1 Apr 1834 in Jennings County, Indiana. Eliza (daughter of John Mavity and Dorothy Reel) was born on 7 Dec 1813 in Kentucky; died on 11 Aug 1904 in Medaryville, Pulaski County, Indiana; was buried in Medaryville Cemetery, Medaryville, Pulaski County, Indiana. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

11.

Eliza Mavity was born on 7 Dec 1813 in Kentucky (daughter of John Mavity and Dorothy Reel); died on 11 Aug 1904 in Medaryville, Pulaski County, Indiana; was buried in Medaryville Cemetery, Medaryville, Pulaski County, Indiana.

Notes:

Mrs. Elia Vawter.
A former resident of Lewis County died August 11th at Medaryville, Ind.
Mrs. Eliza Vawter, for many years a resident of Lewis County, died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Mary A. Hedges, at Medaryville, Ind., Aug. 11th, in the ninety-second year of her age. Her husband, Pascal Vawter, preceded her to the grave five years. She was the mother of eight children, four of whom are living, - C.P. Vawter of Lexington (formerly of Springdale), Elder J. M. Vawter of Jeffersonville, Ind., Mrs. Jesse Truesdell of Cove Dale, Ky., and Mrs. Hedges. Mrs. Vawter left forty grandchildren, forty-one great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. She had been a member of the Christian Church seventy-five year.
The Evening Bulletin, Maysville, Kentucky. Monday, 15 August 1904.

Buried:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30556605/eliza-vawter

Children:

5. Mary Ann Vawter was born on 11 Dec 1836 in Jefferson County, Indiana; died on 15 Dec 1912 in Canton, Lewis County, Missouri; was buried on 17 Dec 1912 in Forest Grove Cemetery, Canton, Lewis County, Missouri.
Samantha Jane Vawter was born on 6 Feb 1841 in Jefferson County, Indiana; died on 29 Aug 1884 in Fithian, Vermilion County, Illinois; was buried in Embury Cemetery, Hope, Vermilion County, Illinois.

Hedges and Allen Families

Genealogy of William Riley Hedges and Sarah Lavina Allen

Forest Martin Hedges