In the final part of this series about Joseph Ketchum, let’s take a look at his presumed children and what became of them. His family has become somewhat of a ragtag collection.

Children of Joseph and Sarah King:

1. George, aged 10-14 (born 1816-1820); married Susan Miller, 15 August 1841, Estill County, Kentucky
2. John, aged 5-9 (born 1821-1825); at home in 1850, possibly in both his mother’s and father’s homes to help out. No further record.
3. Sarah Ann, aged 5-9 (born 1821-1825); married Andrew Friley, c1845 as his second wife, per birth record of their daughter
4. Alcey, aged 5-9 (born 1821-1825); married Moses Dunaway, 18 August 1842, Estill County, Kentucky
5. Daughter, aged under 5, (born 1826-1830); no further record
6. Marietta, aged under 5, (born 1826-1830); at home in 1850 with mother; no further record.
7. Susan, born c1832, Kentucky; married G.W. Hounshell, 7 July 1857, Breathitt County, Kentucky
8. Eliza, born c1834, Kentucky; married Lewis Haddix, 12 September 1853, Breathitt County, Kentucky
9. Jane, born c1836; at home with mother in 1850; no further record.

Child of Joseph Ketchum and Nancy Briant:

1. Isham, born 11 November 1855, Breathitt County, Kentucky

Children of Joseph Ketchum and Fanny Barret:

1. Hiram, born 1858, Breathitt County, Kentucky
2. Margaret, born c1861, Kentucky

Working from eldest to youngest child, we have:

I. George, born c1819, Estill County, KY; died after 1880, probably Breathitt County, KY; married Susan Miller, 15 April 1841, Estill County, KY. She was born c1826, KY; died after 1880. George was a coal miner.

Children:

1. Marcus W., born c1846; died after 1880
2. Jeremiah, born c1847; died after 1900; married Anna Bennett, 3 September 1877, Lee County, KY. She died before 1900, but they had at least four children. He was a coal miner.
3. Ellen, born c1850; died 19 May 1931, Carter County, KY; married William J. York, c1870.
4. Armina, born 28 October 1851, KY; died 19 November 1909, KY; married Ransom Botner, c1875
5. Eliza, born c1855; married Randall Smallwood, c1880
6. Martin, born 24 December 1856, Breathitt County, KY; died 15 June 1915, Owsley County, KY;
7. Jefferson, born c1860; died after 1870
8. Douglass (female), born c1863; nickname was Spicy; married George Abston
9. Nancy, born c1867; died after 1880

III. Sarah, born c1825; married Andrew Friley as his second wife. He married (1) Eda Hamilton, 5 September 1839, Estill County, Kentucky. He died in March 1860 of tuberculosis. Sarah hasn’t been found after the 1860 census.

Children:

1. Rebecca, born c1847; died after 1860; no further record
2. Susan, born c1849; married Nimrod McIntosh
3. Rachel, born c1851; married William Turner
4. Armina, born c1853; died after 1860; no further record
5. James B., born c1855; died 26 March 1919, Laurel County, KY; married Violet Fletcher, 9 July 1877, Breathitt County, KY
6. Araminta, born c1857; died after 1860
7. Elizabeth, born c1859; died after 1860

IV. Alcey, born 1820s; died after June 1890 veteran’s census; married Moses Dunaway, 18 August 1842, Estill County, Kentucky. He was born c1819; died 2 January 1863 of a gunshot wound in Tennessee during the Civil war. Alcey received a widow’s pension. Moses was a coal miner.

In 1880, Alcey was noted to have bleeding lungs. She lived with Mason, unmarried head of household, and Milo, again noted as an idiot.

Children:

1. William, born c1849; died after 1910; married Quintilla Ann Estes, c1871. She was a widow when she died in 1929 in Lee County, Kentucky.
2. Mason Berry, born 25 March 1854; died 10 April 1917, Lee County, KY. he was a coal miner and never married.
3. Milo, born c1858; noted as an idiot in 1860 census; died after 1880 when he lived at home.

VII. Susan, born c1832, Indiana; died after 1880; married George W. Hounshell, 7 July 1857, Breathitt County, Kentucky. He was born c1829, Virginia. this family hasn’t been found in 1870 and Susan was either widowed or divorced in 1880.

Children:

1. Mortie, born c1855; died after 1880
2. Granville, born 12 July 1858, Breathitt County, Kentucky; married Martha Spencer
3. Jane, born c1864
4. Andrew J., born c1866
5. Vicy (Luvicy?), born c1868

The 1860 census shows the Hounshell and Haddix families living side by side:

Breathitt County, KY 1860 Census
Source: Ancestry

VIII. Eliza, born c1834; married Lewis Haddix, 12 September 1853, Breathitt County, Kentucky. Eliza was the apparent caretaker for her father in the mid-1870s, when he was noted as a pauper in court records. Lewis died during  the Civil War. He was in Co. C TN Cavalry and Eliza applied for a pension on 31 March 1866.

Children:

1. Susan F., born c1854
2. Sarah, born 15 June 1856; Breathitt County, KY
3. Samuel, born c1858
4. Silas, born c1860

The 1870 census is rather confusing as Susan is not at home, but instead Eliza has Sarah, Samuel and Silas along with James, born 1862, Samuel, born 1856, Charley, born 1858, Levi, born 1863 and Pearl, born 1856. Was Pearl the same child as Susan F. and why is Samuel listed twice with different birth years?

Of Joseph’s apparent children born after he and Sarah split up, we have Isham and Hiram. That is another mystery as Isham Ketchum and Hiram Ketchum are not very common names. Two men with these names are found living in Laurel County, Kentucky, a few doors from each other, in 1880. Hiram married Louisa Combs on 15 November 1879, Lee County, Kentucky. Isham married Dora House on 24 November 1887 in Jackson County, Kentucky. The strange part about the 1880 census is that Isham is living with his mother, Margaret, aged 67. If these are Joseph’s sons, who in the world is Margaret??? His mother is named as Nancy Briant on his birth record.

In any case, Joseph Ketchum most definitely has descendants out there. If you are descended from this man, I would love to share info with you, since he is a half brother of my Stufflebean family.