A grandfather shares his love of Kentucky genealogy on a memorable family vacation in this three-part story.
Part 1 – Crossing the Ohio
“Dad, could you take my family on a Kentucky history trip?” my daughter asked last year. She remembered our family tour of Kentucky historical sights we made for my mother’s 80th birthday. My kids were young teens then, but it left an impression. She wanted her husband and 8-year-old daughter to learn about our Kentucky heritage Thrilled with this interest, I said, “Let’s do it!”
We had ten months to plan. A concern was how to keep my granddaughter, a second grader, engaged with this history “stuff.” A bored child could spoil everyone’s experience. Before the trip, my wife, Rita, found age-appropriate books to “prime the pump.” How did pioneer children live? What were their chores, their toys, and what did they wear? We gave our granddaughter How Did Pioneer Kids Live? by Megan Quick (Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2024). While not focused on Kentucky, it served to introduce her to pioneer life for kids.
PRIMING THE PUMP – The book How Did Pioneer Kids Live? by Megan Quick acquainted our granddaughter with kids’ pioneer experiences.
Booking in Advance is Key
If you want to make a tour of places important in your family history, planning your itinerary and booking reservations well in advance is key to success. This is especially true if you want to stay in historical bed-and-breakfasts or other historical spots like Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. We sought history themes for our eight-day tour, even if some weren’t part of our family history.
We made initial plans and shared them with our daughter and son-in-law. They had suggestions and requests. We checked to see what days certain places were open and what special events might be occurring in the week they could get away. This planning was really helpful in making a fun trip for everyone.
Finally, the day arrived for our long-anticipated family history tour.
Our daughter’s family joined Rita and me in Southern Indiana where, ironically, we began in Vincennes. You’ve heard about George Rogers Clark, who commanded the Kentucky Militia during the Revolutionary War and captured Vincennes from the British in 1779. For that feat, he is memorialized in the George Rogers Clark National Memorial in Vincennes. The Visitor Center’s exciting movie of that capture definitely caught and held my granddaughter’s attention.
My fifth great grandfather, Hugh McGary Sr., was a fellow officer in Vincennes. I shared his story supported by a militia pay roster from the archives signed by both Clark and McGary. Having made that ancestral connection, we headed over to the McGrady-Brockman House, the Knox County Public Library’s genealogy center, and looked at Hugh McGary Sr.’s will. (Around 1805 Hugh Sr. moved from Henderson, Kentucky, into Indiana.) While talking with the docent, we figured out that we are distant cousins. Even more amazing, he extended Hugh’s lineage back four generations, and across the ocean, which I had never done. Eureka!
With that great success, we headed south to Evansville, Indiana, for a quick stop before crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky. But first we needed an ice cream break. With kids, it’s helpful to have ice cream stops in your itinerary.
Evansville was first known as McGary’s Landing and was founded by Hugh McGary Jr., born in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and son of Hugh Sr. In 1812, he walked more than 50 miles to the land office in Vincennes to buy this riverfront land. We were amazed by his long walk; we had just taken more than an hour to drive from Vincennes. In Evansville we visited Oak Hill Cemetery, historical markers, and the Willard Library’s genealogical center to flesh out Hugh Jr.’s story.
After crossing the Ohio River, we arrived in Henderson, Kentucky, where Hugh Sr. kept a tavern from 1801 to 1805. Then on to my hometown, Madisonville, which was co-founded in 1807 by Daniel McGary, my fourth great grandfather, another son of Hugh Sr.
Day Two: Into Kentucky
On Day 2, we visited four Hopkins County cemeteries.To make this interesting for our granddaughter, we bought lots of flowers for her to use to decorate ancestors’ graves. This really worked! She was very particular about selecting and arranging flowers for each grave. The anvil atop one gravestone marked a blacksmith in the family. We had thought about other gravestone activities such as etching or cleaning, but the flowers were easier logistically and, I believe, more meaningful.
Amid the four cemetery stops, our itinerary included a playground stop at Madisonville’s Mahr Park Arboretum, which provided an active break. Knowingly, we had included this in our itinerary. (For bathrooms and drinking fountains, too!)
FRIENDS FOREVER – My granddaughter enjoys a break from cemeteries in a playground at Mahr Park Arboretum in Madisonville.
In the evening, we hosted a family dinner for 10, including a McGary third cousin who also is descended from Hugh Sr. and Daniel. My kids reveled in our stories, laughs, and deep sense of family. We had a peaceful setting at the historic Ruby Lodge of Spring Lake Woods. This 80-year-old estate house was restored in 2007 as a secluded B&B.
Day Three: Log Cabin Life and Heavy Lifting
On Day 3, we visited the Historical Society Museum of Hopkins County, browsing through artifacts and records. A highlight was a tour in the log cabin in which Kentucky’s 43rd governor, Ruby Laffoon, was born in 1869. After the tour, my granddaughter reckoned she could handle the challenges of log cabin life if necessary, as our Kentucky ancestors did. That was an answer I didn’t expect.
CABIN LIFE – My granddaughter and I look at a baby crib in the restored log cabin where Kentucky’s 43rd governor, Ruby Laffoon, was born in 1869. (Photo by Rita Oates)
We also stopped by the Hopkins County Genealogical Society and the County Clerk’s office to show the family what Rita and I do on research trips. I was glad my son-in-law was with us to get those large, heavy deed books down from high places. The size and quantity of these books from 1807 forward was an eye-opener for the family.
WEIGHTY RESEARCH – My son-in-law returns a heavy deed book to its place in the Genealogy Room at the Office of the Hopkin County Court Clerk while his daughter cheers him on (lower right).
In Part 2, we will have a surprise as we head east to Mammoth Cave, Lexington, and the Battle of Blue Licks Battlefield State Park.
