| Birth: | Sep. 12, 1914 | | Death: | Oct. 25, 2011
Carrollton
Carroll County
Kentucky, USA | 
Kathryn Salyers, a noted authority on local history and genealogy in Carroll County, Kentucky, died at her home in Carrollton on Tuesday, October 25, 2011. She was 97 years old.
She was born Sara Catherine Salyers on September 12, 1914 in a farmhouse on Meeks Road, just outside of Dry Ridge in Grant County, Kentucky, the youngest daughter of William Tandy Salyers and Emma Dunlap. Her family ties in Grant County are deep; her earliest memories were living on Easy Street in Dry Ridge.
Her father, a tenant farmer, later moved the family to a number of homes in and around Carrollton and Madison, Indiana; she attended school in Madison as a child.
In 1929 the family settled into the Carrollton home of Kathryn's recently-widowed grandmother, Sarah Spoonmore Salyers Haggard. Sarah Haggard had been the child bride of George W. Salyers, an aged Union veteran of the Civil War. Upon his death in Boliver, Missouri in 1886, Sarah returned to Kentucky and married John Haggard the following year. John Haggard built the brick home on the northeast corner of Seventh and Hawkins Street in 1908. Kathryn Salyers moved into this house at the age of 14 and would live there the rest of her life.
Kathryn was a 1932 graduate of Carrollton High School. She worked in Carrollton stores and restaurants in her youth, but eventually she found employment as a bookkeeper for a local tobacco warehouse, and worked for a number of warehouses until she retired.
In 1938 she was briefly married to James Blackwell Jackson of Shelbyville. He was later killed in France during World War II.
In 1943 she married Paul Godman. She shared an interest in genealogy and local history with Godman's mother, Mayme Bowie Godman. When Kathryn's marriage ended she returned to her maiden name.
For decades she was well-known as an authority on local history and genealogy, filling file cabinets full of handwritten notes on local families and local subjects, such as banks, churches, distilleries, and tobacco warehouses.
Coming from a time that pre-dated practical copying machines, she would borrow and copy verbatim many old books of records in a plain but legible handwriting.
She surveyed many Carroll County family cemeteries east of the Kentucky River, an effort mirrored by the late Sherman Dunn for the cemeteries west of the river. Their efforts became part of Kentucky Historical Society records, and were eventually published by the Trimble County Historical Society.
She was often called upon by visiting genealogists and historians, as well as reporters seeking background information on local subjects. The local library frequently referred such inquiries to her. She has been the subject of a number of newspaper articles and has been featured in several locally-produced documentaries.
In 2003 her friend Gene Taylor prevailed on The Church of Latter Day Saints to microfilm the surname genealogy portions of her records, resulting in 17 rolls of microfilm that can be borrowed through LDS branch libraries throughout the world.
Kathryn's contributions were further recognized when she was the subject of an entry in The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky, which was published in 2009. The editors had a rule against entries about living persons unless they were nationally famous, but made an exception to this rule to include her.
In February of 2009 Miss Salyers suffered a stroke that left her unable to speak or write. After months of recovery time in hospitals and nursing homes she was able to return home. Though somewhat improved, her ability to communicate remained impaired until her death. She was able to live alone for a few months, but eventually a grand-niece, Tandy Milks, came from Michigan to live as her companion.
Kathryn was the survivor of several past occurrences of cancer. When it was discovered in 2010 that cancer had returned, she opted against any treatment for it and continued to live at home. At the end of her life she was being cared for by her grand-nieces Tandy Milks and ChrisAnn Hayes, with assistance from Hospice of the Bluegrass Northern Kentucky.
Kathryn was a life-long member of the Carrollton Christian Church and a member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, The Daughters of the American Revolution, the Port William Historical Society, the Carrollton Women's Club, and the Caby M. Froman Club.
She was survived by a number of grand-nieces-and-nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and two sisters, Nina Alice Poosch, and Nannie Beatrice Sebree Gettys. Upon cremation by the Cremation Society of Greater Cincinnati her ashes will be interred in her parents' lot in Carrollton IOOF Cemetery. A memorial was at 2 pm, Saturday, November 12th, at the Carrollton Christian Church. In lieu of flowers, contributions were requested to go to the Carrollton Christian Church.
A stone for Kathryn's grave was commissioned and put in place in November of 2012. The design for the stone was executed by local artist Robb Boswell. In that same month Kathryn's personal copies of her microfilmed genealogy records were placed in the Carroll County Public Library, for the benefit of the public. The LDS church has indicated that these records will eventually be viewable online.
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Two videos online show Kathryn being interviewed back in 2003:
http://youtu.be/j-IFC5onNyE
http://youtu.be/qrkViLBx81Y
These links are not clickable at this time. Copy and paste the links into your browser to see them.
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Family links:
Parents:
William Tandy Salyers (1872 - 1958)
Emma Price Dunlap Salyers (1879 - 1942)
| | | Burial:
Carrollton IOOF Cemetery
Carrollton
Carroll County
Kentucky, USA |
Created by: Bill Davis
Record added: Oct 26, 2011
Find A Grave Memorial# 79347139 |
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Kathryn was a dear friend, long before she married Paul Godman. She and I walked the garden in my home in Sanders and talked of gathering greens. We were always going to do that. How many of the younger generation knows about that?She pointed me to my gr...(Read more)
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geneva pettit
Added: Dec. 1, 2012 |
Your work has been a great help to me, even after your passing.. thank you
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Robb Boswell
Added: Oct. 27, 2012 |
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Deekay
Added: Jul. 18, 2012 |
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