My Memories of Nicholas County, Kentucky

I remember traveling to Nicholas County for visits with my family. I would have to guess that these took place before the age of fourteen and then once again around twenty three. We would visit with my grandparents (Alice Mae Ashley and William "Bill" Short. My family would simply call it taking a trip "down in the country". For most of these visits, I was too young to appreciate the significance or understand the meaning of my family heritage. From a young age I was always interested in discovering my family tree, but at this point I had not made the connections of the places and people I was visiting people two generations before me without realizing it. My favorite person to visit was my Aunt Pearl (Pearl Vaughn Crump). She was so nice and I loved visiting her home. She made wonderful food and I loved her china and her green beans. She would tell me stories about growing up in the country and I think she loved to embellish the ones about slaughtering the chickens just to watch me squirm. She would take the feathers and make pillows and that is what I grew up sleeping on as child. I loved the pillows my great aunt pearl made me! I also remember visiting her sister who lived next door.


Later on when I visited at the age of 23, I went with my parents to visit Wilma McClanahan. I don't remember meeting her until this visit, but she seemed like such a nice person. We spent the whole day at her home and it seemed really out in the country to me. I remember on her wall she had a huge collection of thimbles from places where she had been or some that were sent to her. I decided at that point to start a collection like that of my own and try to pick up a thimble when traveling. Wilma took us around Nicholas County and showed my family where all the family farms used to be. My mother, Sharon Short Merritt, spend many summers on the farm of Sherman Crump. It was a beautiful area and I remember feeling quite nostalgic that my family had once resided here even though now there was no evidence of it. That is one of my favorite memories of visiting Nicholas County as I can make some connections to my ancestors. I did not know that my 3rd great grandfather (John Kincart) founded the town of Carlisle or that my 2nd great granfathers (James Peyton Ashley and Absalom Parker Crump) fought in the civil war and were buried here. Such a rich and beautiful history from such a nice and friendly town!