The Central Record, Lancaster, Garrard County, Kentucky

Friday, April 23, 1909

Mr. James Simpson, a reputable farmer, age 82 years, died on Thursday and was buried at the Chapel on Saturday.

The Central Record, Lancaster, Garrard County, Kentucky

Thursday, February 6, 1919

Mrs. Mary Simpson, wife of James Simpson, deceased, died at her home at Nina, after a long illness of heart disease on Friday, January 31st.  Mrs. Simpson was past 85 years of age.  Before her marriage she was Miss Mary Hill, a member of the well-known family of that name.  She leaves the following children to mourn her loss:  Mesdames John Davis, of Bohon; Bettie East, of Jessamine.  Messrs. Jones of Nona; John, of Teatersville; Elijah, of Round Hill; and Marion, of Decatur, Illinois.  Her remains were laid to rest beside her husband, at the Methodist Church Cemetery on Monday.

James Simpson, April 16, 1827 – April 15, 1909

Mary J., wife of Jame Simpson, May 14, 1835 – January 31, 1919

Buried at Gunn’s Chapel, Garrard County, Kentucky

According to my Family Tree Maker, Mary Jane Hill Simpson is my first great grand aunt.  I know that she was the sister to my great-grandfather, Isaiah Hill.  Their father, also named Isaiah, was killed on March 13, 1852, in the Hill-Evans Feud.  Since their mother died two years earlier during childbirth, the death of their father left 13 children orphans.  Mary was the eldest daughter, sixteen years of age.  I can only imagine the responsibilities that were hers after their father’s death, with six children under the age of ten.  I’ve always been fascinated with Mary, wondering about the choices she made for her life and the lives of her brothers and sisters.  

Mary was the daughter of Isaiah Hill and Lucy Murphy.  James was the son of Charles Simpson and Elizabeth Scott, all from Garrard County.