Person:Johnson Gaddie (1)

Conflicting evidence in the Rhoton to Abshier letter of March 2003 states that Johnson Barves was born in Madison County KY. This may stem from the fact that his father, Francis, was listed as a taxpayer in Madison County one year earlier. This census page was found on Ancestry.com at the Carlsbad CA Library Genealogy section in March of 2003. It was erroneously labeled in 'Ancestry' as being from Greenup County, Ky, which is odd becauseGreenup is quite a distance from Green and Taylor Counties, where Johnson was located in the 1830 and 1850 census' respectively. Thankfully, there was an original note on the census page that correctly identified those listed as being from Green County, Northern Division. The census page stated that Johnson was a farmer, and that he owned $417 worth of real estate.

A notation in the information sent from Trudy Rhoton to J. Abshier in March 2003 stated that Johnson was buried in Gaddie Cemetery #2, in Taylor County Kentucky. Conflicting information in the Rhoton packet also states that Johnson died on 20 March, instead of 30 March. Johnson's tombstone, when viewed in July 2003 by Jerry D. Abshier and son Kye T. Abshier, was located on a small knoll in a cow pasture. There was a small clump of trees nearby, and (friendly) cows were roaming the area. The headstone had been knocked over, probably by the cows, and it was split into pieces. The words were still legible, but were somewhat difficult to make out. The dates and name were clear however. The inscription read:

A faithful husband and

       father dear
  In sweet repose is
     sleeping here
  His painful loss we
      deeply feel
 But God can all our
    sorrows heal

The marriage bond that John B. Osborn took out prior to marrying Anna Caroline Gaddie stated that the birthplace of Anna Caroline's mother (Anna Shoffner) was Green County, Kentucky. Further evidence of Johnson's wife (and Anna Caroline's mother) can be found on the 1880 census in Oak Hill, Taylor County Kentucky, where 76 year old "Anna Gaddie" is listed as the head of the household. Finally, Urban Bowen, Gr. Gr. Grandson of Johnson Gaddie, who lived in Elizabethtown Kentucky in November 2002, stated in a letter to Jerry D. Abshier on 11/02 that Johnson Gaddie's wife was indeed named Anna. The letter also states that she was born in 1805. The Gaddie family Bible (copies of selected pages in the possession of J.D. Abshier) shows an Anna Gaddie that was born on 6 March 1811. It is unclear why the Anna Gaddie in the 1880 census and the one mentioned in the Gaddy Bible have different birhtdates, but they are clearly the same person. The 1811 DOB is clearly wrong, becasue Anna couldn't have married Johnson Gaddie at age 11. When I located a copy of the 1850 U.S. Census for the Johnson Gaddie family on 25 March 2003, it helped clear up the issue. It appears that I may have misread Anna's birthdate in the family bible. It looked like 1811, but it may have been a poorly written "1806". Anna was listed under Johnson Gaddie in the 1850 Census and was shown as being 45 years old. This information fits with the information supplied by Urban Bowen and with the 1880 Census - especially since Johnson died in 1875.

1. ↑ Osborn, John B. & Caroline Gaddie Marriage Bond. (Dated 12 October 1875).
2. ↑ Gaddie Family Bible.
3. ↑ Gaddie, Johnson Barves; tombstone inscription.
4. ↑ Gaddie Family Bible.
5. ↑ Gaddie, Johnson Barves; tombstone inscription.
6. ↑ Gaddie, Johnson Barves; tombstone inscription.
7. ↑ 1830 U.S. Census, Green Co., Kentucky. (National Archives Microfilm M19, Roll 37, page 15).
8. ↑ 1840 U.S. Census, Green Co., Northern Division, Kentucky. (Heritagequest online)
   pg 212.
9. ↑ 1840 U.S. Census, Green Co., Northern Division, Kentucky. (Heritagequest online).
10. ↑ 1840 U.S. Census, Green Co., Northern Division, Kentucky. (Heritagequest online)
    pg 212.
11. ↑ 1850 U.S. Census, Taylor Co., Division 2, Kentucky. (National Archives Microfilm M432 219).