Lumber used in Harlan County's second courthouse was sawed from logs of B.A. Rice's sawmill, the first such mill in this vicinity.

"Grandpa" Rice,as he was affectionately known, and his wife, Zelphia, lived in a small log house on Main Street, about where Bower's Department Store is now.

The mill was used also to grind corn and wheat. The logs had to be sawed when the river was high.

Many times the logs would be stacked high waiting for the tide so the mill could run. It was at this saw mill that he sawed the lumber to build the second court house where Scotts Store is today. The first court house burned during the Civil War.

One of the Rice Children was Mary Esther, who married Cam Hurst. She was know as "Aunt Pop". Their four children were John, Ella, Florence, and Cam Jr. One day Cam Sr. was trying to seperate two men who were fighting near a lot on Main Street and was stabbed to death.

"Aunt Pop" later married Joe Kelly. Their children were Jim, Boyd, Sallie, May, and Mattie. The third descendent shown in the picture of generations is Ella hurst, who married Judge A.B.Cornett. She was a child bride of 14.

Ella Hurst Cornett could have easily been called "the good samaritan" she went about over the county helping the sick. Sometimes she brought them to her home and cared for them until they were able to leave. Beside the nine children of her own, she aided many othere.

The Harlan Methodist Church was called the Ella Cornett Memorial in honor of Mrs. Cornett.

Judge and Ella Cornett's home was on the corner at Main and Mound Street and a favorite stopping place for "circuit riders". naturally when the preachers came for dinner the children had "to take an old cold tater and wait".

Denver, one of the Cornetts small children, stood in the door way and watched the preachers devour the chicken. His father was saying "have more, have more". Denver could almost taste the chicken. He could stand it no longer.

"Yeah, have more, have it all", he blurted. That was one of the hardest spankings his father ever gave him.

Marries At 15

Ollie Cornett, shown third in the picture, was the oldest of the nine children. She was married to W.W. Lewis at the age of 15. Another child bride. He was 18. School teaching was his profession and he had saved a twenty dollar gold piece from his salary for their honeymoon.

They began their life down on a farm near Emerling. She dried apples and pieced quilts while he plowed and worked on the farm. After saving a little money he went away to take a three month course in banking.

They moved to town and opened the first bank in Harlan near the site of the Margie Grand Theatre. It was called The First State Bank. For many months he worked alone.

Take Money Away

One day their little daughter, Ella Lewis, and Ella Cornett played around the bank. They drug out some large bags filled with currency. Down the street they went swinging their bags merrily.

At the next corner they met her grandfather who questioned them and finally paid them a nickle for the bags with hundreds of dollars in currency.

W.W. Lewis was elected judge and was the youngest in Kentucky. The baby and last member of the five generations was Fred Lewis. He was a great baseball enthusiast and enjoyed umpiring. He umpired many games at Lynch, Benham, Coxton, and Harlan.

One day the Harlan semi-pro team played the Chicago Bloomer Girls. Fred umpired and his sister, Ella, pitched for the local team. Incidentally, Earl Combs was on second in that agame.

Judge Insulted

The manager of the Chicago Bloomer Girls called Judge Lewis that night and wanted to take his daughter along to play with the Bloomer Girls, Judge Lewis was rather insulted.

In later years Fred Lewis married Thelma Duffin. We're sure there are several five generation pictures all over the county today but maybe there are only a few as old as this one.

picture.....PIONEER FAMILY---It is not too often that five generations get together for a group picture especially long ago when cameras were few. It wasn't so easy to go down to the studio even after the family assembled. B.A. Rice shownleft to right here, had an outstanding role in the history of Harlan. He came here at an early age from Jonesville, Va., as most of the early settlers did. other members of the family, left to right, are: "Aunt Pop" Hurst Kelly, Ella hurst Cornett, Ollie Cornett Lewis, and Fred Lewis.

Sunday April 19, 1953

Volume 52 Number 91

page 1 & 8

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