Kentucky African American Griots

County Collections

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Harriet Lewis Wilson and James Wilson family

Harriet Lewis was the daughter of Jim (Free Jim) Lewis a free black man residing in Montgomery County Tennessee and Eliza Lewis, a slave. As a small child, Harriet Lewis Wilson was a slave in Montgomery County Tennessee but was married to James Wilson in the mid 1870's and moved to Hickman Kentucky sometime thereafter. This picture was probably taken sometime in the early 1900s in or around Hickman, Kentucky where James and Harriet Wilson resided. The children of James and Harriet Lewis Wilson were William (b. 1876); George (1879); Wesley (1882); Mandy (1882); Bettie (1883); James Jr. (1885); Robert (1887); Herschell (1889); Finis (1891); Ruben (1893); Eliza (1895); Charlotte (1897); Benford (1900); Ramon (1903) and Allie (1906).

Several of the older Wilson brothers moved to Indiana and Illinois before 1920 but James and Harriet remained in Hickman. Harriet and James' daughter Charlotte was a school teacher in Hickman.

This photo of the Wilson family was provided from the collection of Mrs. Vera Lewis Hayes and was provided by her daughter Mrs. Lois Hayes Allums. Mrs. Vera Lewis Hayes is the great-granddaughter of Free Jim Lewis and the great-niece of Harriet Lewis Wilson. The research for this picture was provided by Joan Lewis-Osborne. Joan Lewis-Osborne, great-great-great granddaughter of Free Jim and 4th great niece of Harriet Lewis Wilson.

Photo courtesy of Lois Allums and Lillie Arredondo Lewis

Alphonse (Fons) Noonan and his wife Betty McConnell Noonan.

Bettie Noonan was the daughter of John McConnell and Sallie Barnes both of whom were slaves in Kentucky. According to the information provided by Bettie's daughter (Lida Noonan Johnson) on her death certificate, Bettie was born on June 6, 1853 in Fulton County, Kentucky and died on January 14, 1936 in Danville, Illinois. Bettie's parents, John McConnell and Sallie Barnes were both born in Fulton County Kentucky as well. Sallie Barnes and her children, Bettie, Callie (Caroline) Barnes Milner, and Mollie Barnes King were all slaves in Fulton County. In the 1870 census Bettie is listed as Betty Barnes, age 18 and is residing in the household of Henry Barnes, her stepfather and Sallie Barnes her mother. Other siblings of Bettie's are Henry (Hallie) Barnes and William Barnes. Alphonse Noonan was also from Fulton County Kentucky. He is listed as "mulatto" in the census, he was born about 1850. Since I saw no listing of him among free blacks in Fulton County I assume that he was a slave as well. The Noonans moved to Illinois in the early 1880s and in 1900 lived in Cairo, Illinois. By 1910 they had moved to Danville, Illinois apparently to be near the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers where Alphonse was being treated (he was probably a Civil War Veteran). From various censuses I have compiled the following list of Alphonse and Bettie's children. Walter, Emma, Mollie, Anna, Sallie, Alphonse, Robert, Lida, Flonoy? and Florence. Bettie McConnell Noonan was buried at Springhill Cemetery in Danville, Illinois on January 17, 1936.

This photo of the Noonans is from the personal collection of the late Mrs. Vera Lewis Hayes of Guthrie, Oklahoma and was provided to the researcher by her daughter Mrs. Lois Hayes Allums. Mrs. Vera Lewis Hayes was the great-niece of Bettie Noonan, Bettie's half-sister Callie Barnes Milner was Vera Lewis Hayes' grandmother. The historical research for this picture was provided by Joan Lewis-Osborne, the great-great granddaughter of Callie Barnes Milner and the 3rd great-niece of Bettie Noonan.

Submitted by Joan Lewis Osborn; jlo@myclearwave.net; 2/1/2007