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Note: On some documents, Henry Tanner's MIDDLE name is listed as "LEWIS" and on others it is listed as "LOUIS" His obituary in the newspaper lists his name as Henry LEWIS Tanner His death certificate lists his name as Henry LEWIS Tanner His gravestone has inscribed H.L. Tanner
****************************************************************************** Usual Occupation: Farmer
****************************************************************************** Notes per Michael Schmaltz: Notes for Henry L. Tanner Census 1860; Petersburg ,Boone Co., Kentucky. Living with Parents. Census 1870; Union, Boone Co., Kentucky. Living with Parents. Census 1880; Union, Boone Co., Kentucky. Farmer Census 1900; Florence, Boone Co., Kentucky. Farmer. Census 1910; Florence, Boone Co., Kentucky. Farmer. ****************************************************************************** From Hopeful Church Record Book #1 - Church Members record Page 49: Member name : Henry Lewis Tanner Admission mode: baptized Admission date : Nov 29, 1874 Removal mode: death Removal date : Nov 1931 from Hopeful Church Record Book #1, Page 154 taken from Election of Officers pages from the minutes of the Jan 6, 1892 eighty sixth annual congregational meeting > Bro. Henry L. Tanner was awarded the office of Sexton the ensuing year for the sum of $36.00. Meeting adjourned with Prayer by Uncle Noah Surface. Attest, B.A. Floyd, Secy (note : sexton is the employee or officer of a church who is responsible for the care and upkeep of church property and sometimes for ringing bells and digging graves.) ****************************************************************************** Per Paul Tanner's letter and notes to Sally Prather on June 24, 1994 - The below are his notes on published items in the Boone County Recorder NEWSPAPER :
BCR date
3-10-1886.....Henry Tanner gave his sister Miss Frances a birthday party on the 4th inst. All had a good time.
2-16-1897.....Henry Louis Tanner had a wood sawing on the 9th and 46 ate dinner with him. All had a fine time.
5-26-1897.....H.O. Rouse and wife, J.S. Robbins and wife, F. Borders and family visited Henry L. Tanner Sunday.
6-2-1897.......Henry L. Tanner and family visiting Jas. W. Utz. At the recent examinations, D. Irvin Tanner granted certificate to teach school. Hopeful Sunday School organized......includes Irvin Tanner, Secretary.
6-1-1898.......Henry Louis Tanner is renovating his dwelling house.
8-3-1904.......The young people from the neighborhood attended a delightful party at the hospitable home of Henry Louis Tanner of Gunpowder Saturday night. The party was given in honor of his daughter, Miss Ethel, who will go the the city the first of the week to learn millinery.(A milliner is a person, usually a woman, who makes, trims, or deals in hats, bonnets, headdresses, etc., for women)
12-7-1904.....Henry Lewis Tanner is adding considerable wire fence to his farm.
6-14-1905.....Henry Lewis Tanner has a new surrey.
6-21-1905.....Henry Lewis Tanner and daughter Miss Kittie were Sunday guests of A.C. Vaughn in Cincinnati.
7-12-1905.....Miss Ethel Tanner of Covington visited her parents Henry Lewis Tanner last Saturday.
9-6-1905.......For sale - 20 stock sheep and fresh cow. Henry Lewis Tanner near Hopeful Church.
9-29-1905.....Several of Henry Lewis Tanner family on sick list.
10-25-1905...Henry Lewis Tanner contemplates a visit to Georgia in the near future.
11-15-1905...George Barlow and Henry Lewis Tanner left Tuesday of last week for Spring Place, Georgia, to visit H.O. and John L. Rouse.
2-28-1905.....For Sale - Sow and Pigs. Apply to Henry Lewis Tanner, Gunpowder.
6-29-1906. ...E. H. Surface, Geo. Barlow and Henry Lewis Tanner sold their cattle at Union Stockyards.
7-25-1906....Henry Lewis Tanner lost a young mule -- cause unknown.
8-1-1906......Henry Lewis Tanner and wife and sons Lloyd and Fitzhugh were Sunday guests of JW Utz and wife.
8-29-1906....Lightning struck and set on fire last Tuesday a large rick of hay for Henry Lewis Tanner of Hopeful. The rick burned for several days and was worth about $40.
11-28-1906...Mrs. Henry Lewis Tanner celebrated her birthday Sunday. Among those from a distance--Mrs. Senior and Elmo Vaughn of Pleasant Ridge, Ohio, and Mrs. and Mrs. (Ambrose) Easton and two children of Independence.
12-5-1906....Henry Lewis Tanner and family, Clinton and Ettie Beemon entertained at O.E.Aylor's Sunday.
1-9-1907.......Henry Lewis Tanner sold his tobacco last Monday at $10.50 for one grade and $8 for others.
1-30-1907.....Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lewis Tanner of Hopeful neighborhood entertained with a play party Saturday night in honor of their son Lonnie. All present had a delightful time.
4-24-1907.....Henry Lewis Tanner sold a load of hogs at Cincinnati stockyards for $6.70 per 100#.
5-8-1907.......Henry Lewis Tanner and family visited James W. Utz.
3-27-1924.....Mr. and Mrs. H.L. Tanner entertained Wednesday evening L.C. Acra & wife, Tommie Easton and wife, Ed Clarkson and wife, Ernest Horton and wife, Will Snyder and wife, Viola Horton, Minnie Beemon, Shelby Beemon, Everett Hay, Kenneth Rouse, and Robert Clarkson. 4-3-1924.......Henry L. Tanner broke a bone in one of his hands.
6-26-1930.....H.L. Tanner spent the day Friday with his sister Mrs. Fannie Utz, of near Florence.
10-29-1931...Henry Lewis Tanner passed away.
****************************************************************************** Per Paul Tanner's Notes "Some of My Kentucky Ancestors" (Henry Louis Tanner was Paul Tanner�s grandfather) :
On of my regrets is that I did not better know and understand �Grandpa Tanner�. He died when I was 19.
I do have a picture of the house taken about 1910 with he, Carrie, Ethel, Kittie, Lloyd and Fitzhugh lined up in their Sunday best by the grape arbor. It was a square frame house with a half upstairs, presumably a window at each end. It was probably unchanged in later years. This upstairs was where my father talked of sleeping with his brothers, listening to rain beating on the tin roof.
Henry Louis Tanner was born July 3, 1857 in the Gunpowder area. I do not know where. It could have been at the home of either grandparent�Llewellyn Tanner or Rolen Rouse. His parents (William Henry Tanner and Margaret) had been married 15 months and may have been living with either of their parents or renting at the time. William Henry purchased his first land (29 acres) in 1859. It was later sold and he was involved in several other land transactions. The record suggests that William Henry Tanner had financial troubles and Henry Louis� early childhood may have been marred by living in several different places.
In my early years, I was a little awed by him. He was one of the tallest people I knew (about 6' - 3") with a black beard. Until near the end of his days, he was an imposing figure.
Work was his motto. He worked his children also. His son, Alonzo's education was limited to three or four grades because school interfered with work on the farm. The other children received less education than many of their peers.
Perhaps this obsession with work�this desire to succeed at farming, the only occupation he knew�was to compensate for the traumatic events of his adolescence. His parents� marriage was a blending of two substantial neighborhood farm families. But it went sour. There were two children�Henry and a sister, Elizabeth Frances who was five years younger. Henry�s father abandoned the family for another woman when Henry was about twelve.
His mother was so embittered that she had his father indicted three times in Boone County. One of the charges was for stealing sheep�thereafter his father was known as �Sheep Bill� Tanner. (See his father notes under William Henry Tanner)
Some twenty-five years later, Henry Louis is reported to have visited his father at the Penitentiary. That may have been the only time he saw him after 1873.
At 18, Henry Louis was the son of a felon and a child of divorce. Both were rare in those days. There were five or fewer prisoners from Boone County in state institutions ad only three or four divorces a years were being granted in Boone County.
So, at 19, on February 22, 1877, he set out to make a life of his own by marrying a neighborhood girl, Carrie Naomi Vaughn. She was 18 years old. The marriage was performed at Aaron Zimmerman�s house by W. C. Barnett, M.G., in the presence of John W. Hogan and Ephraim L. Rouse (his uncle). It was a Thursday.
They had a total of 11 children of which 8 of them made it to adulthood.
Aaron Zimmerman was the nearest to a grandfather that Carrie ever knew. Her grandfather Vaughn died before she was born. Presumably, also, her grandfather Reed. Her grandmother Talitha Reed was a ward of Aaron Zimmerman for years before her marriage to John G. Vaughn. There is no record of the Zimmermans having any children.
Aaron Zimmerman must have approved fully of the tall young farmer with the tarnished ancestry. Eight months later (Dec. 11, 1877) he made a will leaving half of his property to Carrie and her sister Martha. Henry L. Tanner was to appointed executor. The will was unchanged when he died in 1893.
Henry Louis� grandfather, Llewellyn Tanner, died March 13, 1876. April 12 his widow, Eliza, deeded one-half of 51 acres to her grandchildren Henry Louis (18) and Elizabeth Francis (13). They were to pay her $30 a year for life. The same day William N. Smith was appointed guardian for the two children. May 1 the land was surveyed and divided�29 acres to Henry Louis Tanner and Elizabeth F. Tanner. Eliza died October 27, 1876, without collecting any $30 payments.
The guardian reported that all the property that had come into his possession was �a tract of land on Gunpowder worth about $1,000, the rental value of which is about $30 per year.�
A �first settlement� as of December 25, 1877, showed receipts of $61.00 and expenses of $12.25�a balance of $48.75.
A final settlement as guardian for Henry Louis was filed Dec. 2, 1878. He had reached 21 on July 3: � Balance 12/1/1877�������$24.37 Interest 12/25/1777 to 10/11/1778��.... .11 � Rent of land���������� 32.48 Subtotal�������������56.96
� bill for repairs and work on farm��.. 4.35 � making plank fence�������. 18.24 � grass seed and sowing�������3.37 � allowance to guardian�������2.50 � judge�s fee�����������..1.00 � clerk�s fee�����������.. .50 Subtotal�������������29.96 Total��������������.27.00 Settlement Book 1 Page 345
The 29 acres was divided between Henry Louis and his sister sometime after 1878.
Henry Louis may not have enjoyed living in his grandmother Rouse�s household which included his divorce mother, two maiden aunts and several grandchildren. Unmarried uncle Henry Orin also lived there and operated the farm.
Perhaps the February wedding date was chosen to be a new farming venture. March 1 was the customary date for movement of tenants. We do not know where they first lived. Perhaps with Aaron Zimmerman who was 74 and would need help on the farm.
In the 1880 census Henry Louis is listed as head of household, with Carrie and Frances (Linnie) 2 and David Irvin 1.
By deed dated Nov. 3, 1882, he sold his 14-1/2 acres inherited fro Llewellyn to his uncle Ephraim Leonard Rouse for $725.
March 1, 1884, he purchased the first part of his homestead, 53 acres from Benjamin Rouse for $3189.60. He paid $1339.60 in case plus 6% notes as follows: $250 due March 1, 1885; $400 due March 1, 1886; $400 due March 1, 1887; $400 due March 1, 1888; and $400 due March 1, 1889. On March 1, 1889, all principal and interest was acknowledged as being paid.
In 1885 he paid $7.75 in taxes.
By the 1888 tax roll he had prospered, being listed with the 53 acres, 3 horses, 3 cattle, 10 sheep, 6 hogs, wagons, 2000# tobacco, 3 tons of hay, 8 acres of corn, 4 acres of meadows and 4 acres of woodland.
His grandmother Ellen Rouse died in 1892. His divorced mother, Margaret, had been living with Ellen, her mother. After some trading, his mother Margaret received 40 acres adjoining her son, Henry Louis. While Margaret retained title until her death in 1902, Henry seems to have farmed it for her.
Aaron Zimmerman died May 7, 1893. By will, he left a quarter of his property to Carrie Tanner. Her father, John G. Vaughn, bought Aaron�s last 19 acres and by deed dated Nov 23. 1893, transferred 4 acres to Carrie. Henry Louis included these 4 acres (and 4 adjoining ones Carrie bought in 1906) as part of his farm.
April 11, 1902, his sister Lizze F. (nee Tanner) Utz and Husband James W. Utz conveyed her one-half interest in Margaret�s 40 acres to Henry Louis for $950. His operations were now complete�about 101 acres. This remained intact until his death in 1931.
Henry Louis had a reputation as a good hard-working farmer. Keeping his lands free of weeds and bushes was almost a phobia. My cousin Dorothy McHenry who visited him often as a child, tells of seeing him cut out the roots of a single Black-eyed Susan as they walked across a meadow. Alonzo often talked about how clean his father kept the farm.
In the 1900 census he had a full house with 8 children ranging from 2 to 22 plus Hattie, the first wife of his oldest son. My father said that Margaret lived with them also, although it may have been in a separate building.
In addition to work on the farm, Henry had two important interests: 1. Road Work 2. Hopeful Church
In spite of Henry Louis being a hard worker and taskmaster to his family, there was a lot of social life at the house down by the creek, especially on weekends. The Boone County Recorder newspaper is replete with mention of parties or visitors for a day, a night, or more. A lot of the visitors were the children, their families and Carrie's relatives from the city. There was an exchange of visits and dinners with neighbors in the custom of the day. Upon his 2nd marriage, Martha's relatives and friends from the city came to visit. Henry made several trips to Georgia and points South to visit relatives.
Most of the Tanners shared a love of music. They would gather around the organ, singing hymns and folk songs. Kittie was an organist at Hopeful Church before she married and moved to Covington. Issues of the 1910 Boone County Recorder mention her efforts at soliciting funds for a new church organ. Fitz sang frequently at church gatherings. I am told that my father (Alonzo), one of the less musical ones, was director of the church choir for one year.
From about 1850 until after World War I maintenance on the county roads other than turnpikes was performed by a system of supervisors or overseers. Each magistrate was granted funds annually to the overseers of the road districts in their areas. Over the years, the number of overseers ranged from 30 to 50. In 1912, for example, the county road fund of $7500 was allocated to the eight magistrates who in turn apportioned it among overseers in their districts. The Florence magistrate received $865. There were 34 overseers county-wide --Henry L. Tanner was appointed overseer for Florence #4. In 1910 he was the overseer for Florence #3. Some of the rules for overseers in 1910 were : ---Roads to be graded by July 1. ---Metal (rock) to be spread by November 1. ---Overseer could work for $1 a day and receive $1.50 a day when overseeing four or more. ---They could be paid Jan., Apr., July and Oct. for labor and material used. ---Overseer may do as much work himself as he saw fit.
I feel sure that Henry Louis, with the help of his sons, did as much of the work as possible.
I find the following payments to Henry Lewis in the County Court order books: 1909................$157.85 1910..................206.75 1911..................224.20 1912..................208.29 1914 ...................84.25 1915..................147.60 1916..................144.70 1917..................162.35 1918....................10.15
In addition, his son Chester Tanner received $13.45 in 1912; $55.00 in 1913; $13.50 in 1914; $40.35 in 1916; and $13.00 in 1917. Henry may have been living in Erlanger in 1913.(??) His son Lloyd Tanner received $13.75 in 1918.
In April, 1916, an improved road was built from Burlington Pike to Hopeful Church. The construction committee consisted of Henry L. Tanner, Robert Snyder and Ezra O. Rouse.
Henry Lewis and his family were very active in Hopeful Lutheran Church. They often walked the mile or so to church affairs. He was sexton (janitor) for a number of years. I found mention thereof in 1896 and 1911 and 1912.
In February 1896, a series of Sunday night 'cottage prayer meetings" was scheduled to rotate among the homes of seven families. They Henry L. Tanner house was to be the site on February 9.
For at least twenty years after 1897 the children were active in various church organizations (Luther League, Sunday School, etc.) David Irvin, Linnie, Chester and Lonnie were officers at one time or another. Kittie was organist for several years before marrying and moving to Covington.
The next decade (1910-20) would see profound changes in Henry Louis� life.
Many of the children married and by 1913 only the two teenage boys remained at home.
Henry�s first wife Carrie had been through eleven pregnancies in the first 22 years of their marriage. Two died as infants; Carlos, next to my father, had died at two; and eight survived her. She had been the typical hardworking, self-effacing farm wife of the era.
On Sunday, May 17, 1914, his wife Carrie of 37 years was stricken about 8:00 pm when she became ill during an evening service at Hopeful Lutheran Church. She was carried by friends across the street to the home of Ernest Horton where she died in a very few minutes.
The once crowded house now contained only a widower in his late fifties and two teenage boys.
Sometime before World War I, Henry Louis began the selling of eggs, fruit and vegetables in Covington. He would make the day-long trip into Covington by wagon, some 24 miles round trip, selling from house to house and to people in some businesses.
One of his customers was Martha Guy Johnston of Newport, Ky. who worked in the office of the Singer Sewing Machine agency.
The following Johnston family is listed in the 1910 census in Newport: Edwin A. Johnston���.30, millwright Martha��������27, wife, born in Indiana, married 6 years Aline���������6, daughter Harry Guy������..23, brother-in-law, Pressman Harden Guy������21, brother-in-law, Press feeder Allen Guy�������18, brother-in-law, Clerk for Steam Railroad
Martha Johnson filed suit for a divorce from her husband Edwin Johnson in Campbell County in 1911 (Suit #16741). Their names appear as �Johnson� in the Circuit Court order book. The decree was granted Nov. 18, 1911. She was awarded $2 a week for the maintenance of their minor child until said child became 16. (Aline was 7). Her husband paid the court costs.
In the next few years, she changed from a housewife for her family and brothers to a bookkeeper in the Singer Sewing machine office in Covington.
I know nothing of their courtship. They were a strange paid�the tall, bearded country farmer and the much younger city woman. Perhaps each needed the other�he seeking a housekeeper and companionship and she seeking security for herself and daughter. There were not too many opportunities for working women in the years before World War I. The $2 a week child support (if paid) helped little.
Kenton County records show that Henry L. Tanner 58, Florence, married Martha Johnson, 33, Newport, on July 26, 1916. The marriage was performed by Rev. N.H. Carlisle, 633 Greenup St, Covington, KY. Witnesses were Allen C Curry and Albert F. Guy.
One wonders why Martha, an attractive pleasant woman of thirty-three, would forsake her city life for an isolated farm, with a house down by a creek about a half mile from a little traveled road. There was not another dwelling within sight. She was to move into the house that Carrie had lived in even before Martha was born. She was to make a home for an authoritative man twenty-five years her senior and two boys in their late teens.
There was also the hostility, open or covert, of his married children�three of who were at least as old as she. My father seemed to get along with her well enough. He called her �Marthy�. I cannot remember calling her anything. I was four when they married.
Martha moved in, bringing some of her furnishings and 12-year-old Aline. She set out to be a good farmer�s wife. In many ways she succeede
Sons, Lloyd and Fitzhugh, both married Stevenson sisters in the year 1917.
Henry Louis bought a 1920 Ford touring car, but he did not drive. Martha drove him around, including to town on their huckster route.
The Jan 1, 1920 Boone County, KY. Census on Hopeful Lane lists : Henry 64, Martha 35, and Aline 16.
Aline left the farm, getting a job in the city and boarding there. So for some eight years or so Henry and Martha were pretty much alone down on the farm. He had occasional help on a day-to-day basis.
Martha was a wonderful cook and loved to entertain family and friends with delicious Sunday dinners. I can remember several of them.
He and Martha would visit us occasionally. I have one very vivid memory. On a cold December night in 1923 or 1924, they arrived with a flour sack of candy. We poured it in a dish pan in the middle of the living room floor. I have never before or since had so many kinds of Christmas candy at one time.
In 1928, there was considerable tension in the family over the Presidential Election. My father remained Democratic and supported Al Smith; most of his brothers and sisters bolted to Hoover because of the religious issue.
The farm depression of the 20's merged into the big depression. Henry Louis was in his 70's and his health was failing. He had to depend on hired help. There was little income. I suspect he was very unhappy. Being a perfectionist about the farm, he was unhappy about the things he could no longer fix or care for.
There was little reason to continue living there. The roads were not too good in the winter. He was prone to �heart� spells at night. Martha would call the McHenry�s (Kittie) and they would go down there to stay the rest of the night. By moving to Florence, they would be near the doctor.
I began to keep a diary on March 1, 1930.
September 18, 1930, my father went there with my uncle Lloyd. Henry Louis was preparing to leave the farm.
October 11, 1930, Henry Louis� widowed sister, Fannie Utz had a sale and moved off her farm.
October 16, 1930, they mortgaged the farm for $3500. It was to rent for $35 a month ($420 a year). Interest was $210 a year. Insurance and taxes were nearly $100. There wasn�t much left for upkeep.
October 23, 1930, he had the sale. They must have sold everything pertaining to the farm. I have no record of the sale. It is likely that the proceeds from livestock, equipment and some furniture helped them live through the next year.
About November 20, 1930, they moved to Florence. Henry Louis was 73 years old. They purchased the Marksberry house on Banklick Street in Florence. The house they purchased was on a lot 48' by 100' --scarcely one-tenth of an acre. One wonders if this confinement affected him--we know he lived a year.
They had virtually no income. In those days there was no social security or any program to help the aged and indigent. If he had lived a few more years, he would have had to depend upon help from his children and Martha�s people. It was a tragic situation for a proud man who had labored so hard for more that a half century.
November 23, 1930, I walked down to visit them. Grandpa Tanner was ailing. Several of Martha�s relatives were there. Somehow, I came away with an uncomfortable feeling. My diary records that he was quite sick shortly thereafter, was doing better (12-11-1930). My father went down to visit him on Christmas Day.
By February 22, 1931, he was well enough to walk down to see us�a distance of perhaps three city blocks. It was a Sunday. He knew that was the only day of the week my father would be home.
August 23, another Sunday, he walked down to see us. It was to be his last visit.
October 22, 1931, I took Bob�s wagon down to his place to get some apples that had come from the farm. It was the last time I was to see him alive.
About 11 o'clock on the night of October 29, 1931 they called my father to tell him that Henry Louis had passed away. My father spent the rest of the night down there.
I saw him the next day. He looked quite natural. The casket was silver finish metallic, relatively expensive. The children insisted that he be put away nice. Martha knew there was little money, but she let them have their way. The casket was extra-length because of his height. He was kept down at the house. It was over Halloween.
The funeral was Sunday, November 1 at Hopeful. My father, his four brothers and Martha�s son-in-law were the pallbearers. Bob was sick and he and my mother did not go. There was a large crowd, many people not being able to get into the church. The funeral notice said he was survived by 8 children, 16 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.
The next night the children met at their Aunt Fannie�s to discuss the estate. They doubted that there was little remaining.
November 12, 1931, J.G. Renaker, Cashier of the Florence Deposit Bank, was appointed administrator�there being no will. The Florence Deposit Bank held the mortgage on the farm.
November 13, 1931, appraisers Lute Aylor, John L. Jones and Ezra Rouse filed an inventory of his personal property. It was a pitiable amount for one who had worked so hard and so long. Rug in front room, 2 small rugs....................................5.00 Settee and 3 chairs.......................................................4.00 Iron bedstead, springs and bedding...........................8.00 Linoleum.......................................................................1.00 Kitchen Cabinet, table, 2 chairs, small table...............5.00 Coal range, cooking stove.......................................... 10.00 Kitchen linoleum............................................................1.00 Dishes, pots, pans........................................................1.00 Silver knives, forks, spoons..........................................2.00 Congoleum rug, 9 x 12..................................................2.00 Sideboard.......................................................................2.00 Folding bed.....................................................................3.00 Dresser table, 2 chairs, rocking chair, carpet.............5.00 Rag carpet......................................................................1.00 Kitchen table, oil stove, wash stand.............................3.00 Feather bed, quilts, pillows, blankets..........................10.00 Junk in basement..........................................................1.00 Coal in basement..........................................................5.00 19 chickens.....................................................................8.00 1920 Ford touring car...................................................10.00 10 bushels apples, 1 bushel pears..............................2.00 Porch rocker................................................................... .50 Cash in Florence Bank.................................................84.84 Note: Lloyd E. Tanner, int. from 8/11/1930, 5%......150.00 Junk at farm....................................................................5.00 Rent due from Harry M. Barlow, 3 months................105.00 TOTAL...........................................................................435.34
This was the bottom of the depression. The values must have been realistic. A sale of personal property (other than the cash, note and rent) yielded $98.30.
In order to complete his duties, the administrator directed attorney B.H. Riley to file suit to settle the estate. Riley was my employer on a part time basis. The suit was filed February 26, 1932. Summons was issued to the heirs and known creditors. My father's youngest brother, Fitzhugh, was separated from his wife, who had left Florence. I personally delivered a summons to the courthouse in Covington to be served on Liberty Tanner.
April 8 the administrator filed his final settlement showing: Bank balance................................................................84.84 Sale of personal property............................................98.30 Harry Barlow, rent Aug, Sept, Oct ........105.00 ........................less: 6 days work ........... -12.00 .......................12 bu. apples .................. - 3.00......... 90.00 Lloyd Tanner, note and interest.................................162.27 Harry Barlow, rent Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb.....................140.00 .....................................................Subtotal...................575.41
Less: R. C. Lutes, clerking sale...............................................1.50 Lute Bradford, crying sale..............................................5.00 Fire insurance.................................................................5.30 Taxes.............................................................................98.48 Taliaferro, part funeral expenses..............................355.00 Appraisers......................................................................4.50 Court costs......................................................................5.70 Harvey Utz, digging grave............................................10.00 County clerk.....................................................................3.25 J.G. Renaker, admin. commission..............................28.75 ...................................................Subtotal.....................518.48
Balance paid to Master Commissioner......................56.93
Unpaid bills were: Taliaferro; Metallic casket, silver finish........................................325.00 Con-o-lite vault, air seal, silver...................................125.00 Embalming.....................................................................25.00 Hearse............................................................................16.00 Flowers...........................................................................10.00 Newspaper Notices.........................................................4.00 ...................................................Subtotal.....................505.00 ...................................................Paid 2/20/1932........365.00 ...................................................Balance.....................150.00
Dr. Gladys L. Rouse.......11/7/1930 - 10/29/1931: 29 visits at house 11 office calls Medicine..........................................72.75 Less paid 6/15/1931...................-10.00 Total due..........................................62.75 This doctor bill covered essentially the entire period after they moved to Florence.
April 13, the court directed that the property be sold at the courthouse door to pay outstanding debts, the principal one being the mortgage held by the Florence Deposit Bank.
After being duly advertised, the farm sold on June 6,1932. I was there on the courthouse steps. My father and brother had stopped by in the truck on his way to Idlewild.
It was bought by Henry's son Fitzhugh or $3900--not enough to meet the mortgage and expenses. My father turned sadly to me and said: "There goes an awful lot of hard work for nothing."
It was a sad example of the financial conditions of farmers. Henry Louis has paid $3189.60 for the 53 acres in 1884 and $950.00 for a half-interest in the 40 acres in 1902 (he had inherited the other half). I would assume the 40 acres had little or no buildings on it. In effect, he had nearly $5200 invested in the 93 acres. Consumer prices in the depression year of 1932 were nearly double those existing in 1884 and 1902, yet his land would sell for only $3900-- three-quarters of what he had invested in it.
Real estate was sold that day to settle eight other estates--only one paid out.
The purchaser gave two notes of $1950 each--one due in 6 months, one in 12.
December 16, after receiving payment of the first note, the master commissioner distributed the following: $ 56.93 to Taliaferro (balance of the administrator's funds) 337.50 for taxed costs and allowances 1674.20 to Florence Deposit Bank 2068.63 TOTAL
The taxed costs and allowances were: Clerk...............................................................25.00 Docket fee .......................................................5.50 Boone County Recorder, advert..................21.00 Deed.................................................................2.00 Added order.....................................................2.50 Appraisal of farm (L.T. Utz, J.L. Jones).........2.00 Sheriff............................................................. 12.00 Master Commissioner...................................55.00 Master Commissioner Sale..........................10.00 Advertising for claims......................................1.50 B.H. Riley, attorney.......................................200.00 TOTAL...........................................................337.50
August 23, 1933, Fitzhugh Tanner assigned his bid to Minnie Schadler. There was $2089.75 remaining in the estate--it was all turned over to the bank.
It appears that Taliaferro's balance of $93.07 was never paid, as was Dr. Rouse's bill of $62.75. The bank recovered the principal on its note, but not all of the interest.
Fitzhugh and T.E. McHenry (Kittie's husband) had hoped to resell the property at a profit. They advertised it as follows:
"102 acres at Auction. October 1, 1932. 3:00 PM fast time. The Henry Lewis Tanner homestead located 3 miles West of Florence, Ky. The owner of this property has authorized me to sell on the above date this wonderful farm at public auction on the premises. 7-room house in good condition, barn, smoke house, washroom, hen house, garages, large fruit cellar, plenty of fruit trees, water in house, plenty of shade trees. This farm has had wonderful care, practically all in grass, all can be plowed with tractor; this is one of the best producing farms in the county and without a doubt the best watered. 1/2 mile frontage on road. Drive to Florence, turn right about a mile on Burlington road, turn left to Hopeful Church, turn right 1/2 mile to farm. Possession immediately."
It brought $45 an acre at the sale. They made little. The house was located down by the creek because the old Limaburg-Gunpowder road followed the creek. It had 5 rooms downstairs--a big kitchen with two outside doors; a dining room; a master bedroom; a large sitting room with an organ, a day bed, small table and many rocking chairs; the parlor with the best furniture was rarely used. The upstairs consisted of two rooms, a side window in each. One room for the boys, one for the girls. My father talked about sleeping up there with the rain beating down on the tin roof.
Carrie's eight acres were included in the sale. My father received $50 for his one of her eight acres, which were never mortgaged. My father returned $10 of it on payment for a tombstone for Henry Louis.
The sum total of my father's monetary inheritance from his parents was $40 As best I can reconstruct, the farm was about as outlined on the next page. (see scanned copy)
****************************************************************************** Henry Lewis Tanner passed away on October 29, 1931 Age 74 Residence: Boone County Place Of Death: Boone County The below was printed in Boone County Recorder on November 5, 1931: Henry Lewis Tanner, aged 74 years passed away Thursday night at his home in Florence, Ky., after an illness of several weeks. Funeral services were conducted at the Hopeful Lutheran church Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock, by the Rev. Harold Beemon of Newcastle, Ind., in the presence of a concourse of relatives and friends, after which he was laid to rest in the nearby cemetery. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Martha Guy Tanner, whom he married in 1916, and eight children by a former marriage, three daughters, Mrs. T. E. McHenry, Mrs. Edward Herrman and Mrs. Ambrose Easton; five sons, Irvin, Lloyd, Alonzo, Fitzhugh and Chester, one sister, Mrs. J.W. Utz, several grandchildren and great grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends. The five sons and one step-son acted as pall-bearers. Funeral Director Philip Taliafero had charge of the funeral arrangements.
****************************************************************************** Ky. Certificate of Death 23466 County-Boone, City-Florence, Henry Lewis Tanner, Florence, Ky. Male, White, Married, Wife Martha Tanner Date of Birth- 7/3/1857 Age- 74 years, 3 months, 26 days Occupation- Retired Farmer Birthplace- Boone County, Ky Father's Name- Wm. L. Tanner, Birthplace-Boone County, Ky. Mother's Name- Margaret Rouse, Birthplace-Boone County, Ky. Informant- Chester L. Tanner, Florence, Ky. Burial- Hopeful Cemetery, 11/1/1931 Undertaker-Philip Taliaferro, Erlanger, Ky. Filed 11/1/1931, signed registrar Date of death- 10/29/1931 I hereby certify that I attended deceased from May, 1928 to Oct 29, 1931. I last saw him alive on Oct 29, 1931, death is said to have occurred on the date stated above at 11 p.m. Principal cause of death and related causes of importance in order of onset were as follows: Coronary Thrombosis - Date of Onset Oct 19 Contributory causes of importance not related to principal cause: Arterio-Sclerosis, Cardiac Asthma, Gladys? L. Rouse, M.D., Florence, Ky ******************************************************************************
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