Welcome to my genealogy page.

What you will find here is information on the Corbin Genealogical Society and its Our Heritage  publication, some links to extensive data on the Selvage and Selvidge families of America, and lastly a long list of the surnames we are interested in. At the present time, our master genealogy file now exceeds 72,000 individuals, with another 6000 persons represented in our secondary genealogy files. All of this information is available through RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project web site although dates and notes for living individuals are suppressed.

Corbin Genealogical Society

© 1988-2001 Corbin Genealogical Society.

Our Heritage   is a publication of the Corbin Genealogical Society and concerns Knox, Laurel, and Whitley Counties.  If you have ancestors who settled in southeastern Kentucky, then this publication will be of value to you.

Surname Indices to Our Heritage

Cumulative Index for Volumes 1 - 10, 1988 - 1998:

Surnames A - C  

Surnames D - K 

Surnames L - R  

Surnames S - Z

Surname Index for Volumes 11 -13, 1998-2001

Corbin Genealogical Society
99 Boone Avenue
Corbin, Kentucky 40701.

Alternatively, copies of references from this index may be obtained by mail from

Carol Pace
Corbin Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 353
Corbin, Kentucky 40702.

e-mail: [email protected]

Fee: $5.00 for up to 5 references plus a SELF- ADDRESSED STAMPED ($0.56) long envelope, submitted with the inquiry. Depending on the materials requested, an additional photocopy fee may be required.

To help you decide what information to request, check the Table of Contents of the issues you are interested in. 

Go to the GENWEB Whitley County, Kentucky, Home Page.

Selvage and Selvidge family data base

The Selvage and Selvidge families, most of whom we believe to be related, first appeared in eastern Tennessee and Kentucky in the last decade of the eighteenth century.  By the year 1800 we know of some dozen individuals who were present on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains.  The origin of the family in the Old World and the time and place of its emigration to this country, however, have yet to be established.  Selvages and Selvidges of this early era for whom genealogical data are available include the following individuals, among others:

Surnames of Interest to Us

Abrahamsson -- Malexander Parish, Ostergotland, Sweden -> St. Louis, Missouri
Jacob, Gustaf, Alfred and Carl Johan Abrahamsson (my great-great-grandfather) came to America with their parents in 1852, settling briefly in St. Louis. Their surname was changed for unknown reasons to Peterson, with the latter two brothers moving to Springfield, Illinois. Jacob died in Jefferson County, Illinois, apparently before 1860 as his wife and family are found there in the 1860 census (listed as Margaret Abraham), but he is not. His son Charles Jacob Peterson (born late 1857) was living in Chicago about 1900, as was a cousin also named Charles (born circa 1884), son of Gustaf Eric (who may have changed his name to Edward). Jacob's son Oscar W. Peterson is believed to have been in California in 1900, but has yet to be found. We would very much like to discover descendants of these immigrant brothers.

Baldwin -- England -> Connecticut -> Ohio -> Fulton County, Illinois -> Vernon County, Missouri
Our surname linkage to Baldwin is broken with Jeremiah Baldwin who is believed to have been born in Newtown, Connecticut, where he married Lavinia Sanford. Jeremiah took his family to Hackettstown, New Jersey, where he probably died about 1818. His widow and children moved to Richland County, Ohio.

Barnes -- Guernsey County, Ohio -> Fulton County, Illinois
Who were the parents of Jesse Barnes born about 1815 in Ohio? He married Mary McIlyar in Guernsey County in 1840.

Bishop -- South Carolina -> Lawrence County, Mississippi -> Attala County, Mississippi -> Sunflower County, Mississippi
Our earliest proven Bishop is Ellison Bishop who appears in Lawrence County, Mississippi, in the 1830 census. What is his relationship to Edmund, William, and James Bishop who also lived in Lawrence County? Is he related to the Empson Bishop who lived in Dickson County, Tennessee?

Blessing -- Yarmouth, England

Cochrell -- Guernsey County, Ohio -> Fulton County, Illinois
Our Cochrell family line traces back to Nathan Cochrell who first appears in Guernsey County in 1850. Who were his parents?

Dunman -- St. Clair County, Alabama

Fay -- Massachusetts -> Genesee County, New York -> Jones County, Iowa -> Oregon

Jacobsson -- Malexander Parish, Ostergotland, Sweden -> St. Louis, Missouri
We would very much like to contact other descendants of the Jacobsson family who lived in Malexander Parish. Abraham Jacobsson, son of Jacob Jacobsson, immigrated with his family to America in 1852. for unknown reasons, the children of Abraham adopted the surname Peterson in the New World.

Hickey -- Campbell County, Tennessee
Who were the parents of Parmelia Hickey who married Henry D. Richardson? She may have been orphaned as a young girl and raised by relatives.

Kerr -- Washington County, Pennsylvania
Who were the parents of James and Isabella Kerr? Their father reputedly died in an Indian attack near Marietta, Ohio, in 1808.

Kibbe -- Connecticut

Kilgore -- Scotland -> Maine
The descendants of Joseph Kilgore of Maine have been well researched by Roy E. Killgore, 794 Riverside Road, Nipomo, California 93444.

Kundert - Switzerland -> Minnesota
Our Kunderts came from Switzerland and were in Minnesota. Other Swiss Kunders were in Minnesota and neighboring Michigan -- how they are related?

Langford -- South Carolina -> St. Clair County, Alabama -> Mississippi
How is our John T. Langford related to Champ Langford and the other Langfords of St. Clair County?

Maisel -- Bavaria? -> Cole County, Missouri -> Springfield, Illinois
Our Maisels came to America about 1847, possibly to join other Maisel relatives in Jefferson City, Missouri. Where in Bavaria did they come from?

McCauley -- Ireland? -> North Carolina -> Amite County, Mississippi-> Marshall County, Mississippi
John McCauley is believed to have come from Ireland in the late 1700s; his family has been well researched.

McHann -- Lancaster County, Virginia -> Middlesex County, Virginia -> Rutherford County, North Carolina -> Mississippi
Our files contain the largest public collection of information on related Machan, McHan, McHann, McKann, and Mackan families, but we still have many unconnected cousins whom we would like to link to the family.

McIlyer -- Scotland? -> Pennsylvania -> Guernsey County, Ohio
Who were the parents of Thomas McIlyer who settled in Guernsey County in the ealry 1800s?

Melton -- Albemarle County, Virginia -> Rutherford County, North Carolina

Merithew -- New York -> Minnesota -> California
Our earliest documented ancestor is Jeremiah Merithew in New York. Who were his parents?

Mixon -- Virginia ->South Carolina -> Mississippi
Our Mixon ancestry is taken back to our immigrant ancestor.

Peterson -- St. Louis, Missouri -> Springfield, Illinois

Richardson -- North Carolina -> Campbell County, Tennessee
Our Richardsons appear to be the descendants of Amos Richardson who came to Campbell County, Tennessee, in the early 1800s. Who were his parents? Many of his descendants were to Kansas.

Sanford -- England -> Massachusetts -> Newtown, Fairfield County, Connecticut

Selvage -- Whitley County, Kentucky -> Kansas -> Montana -> Washington
Who were the parents of Miles Selvage born about 1806 in Whitley City, Kentucky, and John Selvage born about 1800? Circumstantial evidence appears to link Miles and John to Thomas Selvage and Elizabeth Morford who married in Mason County, Kentucky, in 1796. We need proof of this family link -- in fact, we need any other record for Thomas Selvage.
Our Selvage family has been of major interest. We would very much like to connect our Selvages with the several other Selvage and Selvidge families all of whom appear in the late 1700s in eastern Kentucky and Tennessee.

Thompson -- North Carolina -> Amite County, Mississippi -> Attala County, Mississippi
Who were the parents in North Carolina of Lemuel Burkett Thompson who founded Burkettsville in Attala County?

Torrey -- England -> Massachusetts -> Windham County, Connecticut -> Genesee County, New York

Towne -- Yarmouth, England -> Massachusetts -> Maine -> Iowa -> Oregon -> Washington
For more information, contact the Towne Family Association, Jean L. Towne, 20 Savoy Road, South Hamilton, Massachusetts 01982; membership $15/year, application to Sandra J. Gardner, 7219 West 130th Street, Parma, Ohio 44130-7814

Upchurch -- Virginia -> North Carolina -> Alabama -> Mississippi
For more information on the Upchurch family and the Upchurch Bulletin, contact Robert Phillip Upchurch, 351 Shetland Valley Court, Chesterfield, Missouri 63005-4840. The Upchurch Bulletin includes over 50,000 descendants of Michael Upchurch, our immigrant ancestor.

Uptegroves -- Pennsylvania -> Delaware -> Virginia -> Rutherford County, North Carolina
Our Uptegroves are almost certainly descendants of the Op den Graeffs who came to Germantown in the late 1600s, but the specific link between Edward Uptegroves and his father remains unproven. The Op den Graeffs in turn descend from Herman Op den Graeff, the first Mennonite Bishop in Germany. His ancestry and hypothetical link to German royalty represents one of the most contentious issues in our ancestry.

Wells -- England -> Maryland -> Dover, Delaware -> Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -> Rutherford County, North Carolina -> Mississippi
Our Wells lineage seems relatively well established.

This page maintained by Charles J. Peterson.

My e-mail address is [email protected]