Elders Boat Trip to Kentucky in 1790's

J. D. Elder's great-grandfather, Patriot William Elder, was probably guided

by a map like this. (Click above image for clearer view)

William Elder, and his brothers, trip from Spartansburg, South Carolina,

as recalled by a descendant:

"coming over the mountains to the Holston River and down that and the

Tennessee in a flat boat to the Ohio. Up that river and the Cumberland by poling

the boat until opposite this place" (Today's Dycusburg).

J. D. Elder House - Cedar Street, Providence, Ky

History of J. D. Elder House:
This four-room frame house was bought in 1910 by J. D. and Juriah Elder. They moved with their five children from nearby Shady Grove where J. D. owned a drug store. J. D.‘s great-grandfather, Revolutionary War veteran William Elder, had settled in the area in 1797. The house on Cedar Street was within walking distance to
J. D. ’s new drugstore at the southeast corner of Main and Broadway - a building registered as a Kentucky Historic Structure. The area’s bustling coal industry was evidenced until the 1940’s by two “company stores” across the street from the drugstore.
Called “Papa” by his family and known to associates as J. D. or Jeff, he was born Jefferson Davis Elder on February 2, 1863 while Jefferson Davis was President of the Confederate States of America.
In 1923 J. D. enlarged the four-room house by expanding to the rear. Indoor plumbing and electricity were added. The remaining three elevations and landscaping remain as they were a century ago. The lot is the largest in the neighborhood, and J. D. and Juriah fed their growing family from a large garden and assortment of fruit trees.
Following J. D. ‘s death in 1940 Juriah stayed in the house and operated the drugstore another two decades. After Juriah’s death in 1961 her daughter Mary lived in the house until her death in 1987. Her two sons, who once lived in the house, own the house now and are maintaining the house and grounds in memory of the pioneer druggist Jefferson Davis Elder and Patriot William Elder.

Mrs. Juriah Simpson Elder is shown on the steps of the house in an early photograph.

The color photos shows the house today.

.

J. D. Elder's Neighbors

The 1930 Census identified the following four neighbors:
From the Historic J. D. Elder House, heading West, they were:
Photos (top to bottom) , taken in 2004:

Across their shared driveway (formerly a public alley to W. Main)
Duffy Brantley, age 39; Manager, Coal Yard
Edgar M. Young, age 42; Operator, Coal Mine
J. Ben Wallace, age63; Physician
House to left of High School;
Marion Simpson, age 32; Manager, Dept Store (Ruckmans)
Marion and his Father, J. B. Simpson (Brother of Juriah Simpson Elder)
are shown in the Providence Department Store (My Post, January 30, 2008)
Frances Jennings, age 52; Teacher, Public School (next door !)
The following link is to her photo in a 1918 Yearbook.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kywebste/prov/1918/1918faculty.htm


Bottom Photo: When Mrs. J. D. Elder moved from Shady Grove in 1910 she brought along her collection of quilts. A portion of one of the tops, not yet quilted, is shown here.

Ogilby's First Class Livery

Texts and Photo from Providence Enterprise 1940 (top), 1912

Providence Department Store

This was copied by Kodak Digital Camera, Model Z1275,

from The Providence (KY) Enterprise, August 13, 1912.

It was the Industrial, Historical Illustrated Edition.

Expect to see further articles from the Edition on this blog.

Your comments are invited, especially if you have further information on those named.

Click on image to get readable text.

News from elsewhere on October 1, 1910:

Los Angeles, California

UNIONIST BOMBS WRECK THE TIMES.

http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-ca-howard-blum21-2008sep21,0,255387.story

Crittenden County Natives with a Providence Business

This picture, made about 1914, shows a group of Crittenden County natives that at that time were identified with various business establishments in Providence. The picture was made in front of the Union National Bank, the building having been completed in 1913. J. D. Elder's drug store was in the side of the building later occupied by the post office.In the picture are : Front row, left to right,Miss Kattye Orr, Mrs. F. A. Casner, James Casner, Billie Baird,Fred Lemon, George Thomas, Kelly Simpson, Sam Asher, Sam Carnahan,Jack Ogilby.Back row, left to right, Otto Elder, J.D. Elder,W. B. Snow, F. A. Casner, Albert Orr, Rev. E. J. Simpson,Press Ford, Lynn Sigler, D. L. Ford and J. B. Simpson.Photo and this caption were published in the Centennial Supplement of the Providence Enterprise, July 18, 1940.

Shady Grove Druggist Moves to Providence

My maternal grandparents, Juriah Simpson (1873-1961) and Jefferson Davis Elder (1862-1940) were married in 1892 in Shady Grove. On March 31, 1896 Mr. Elder bought a drug store in Shady Grove from a Mr. Asher.
In 1910 Mr and Mrs Elder and their five children moved to Providence. Mr. Elder immediately opened a pharmacy in the grocery department of the Providence Department Store.