WELCOME TO THE FORKLAND ABRAHAM LINCOLN MUSEUM
SITE
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Shirley Ellis Sheperson
"Kentucky has lost a great
friend to its history and genealogy researchers."
|
Shirley Ellis Sheperson passed away on Tuesday, 24 November 2020
at her home in Danville, Kentucky at the age of 90. She was born
to Cecil and Alma Whitehouse Ellis on 6 February 1930 in Gravel
Switch, KY.
Shirley was the widow of Louis Sheperson who passed away in 1990
after 38 years of marriage.
Surviving are four sisters, Jewell Deene Ellis, Kaye Ellis
Thurman, Karen Ellis Marsee and Marlena Ellis. Also surviving is
one brother, Dale Ellis. Shirley was predeceased by two sisters
and three brothers, Barbara Ellis Taylor, Wilma Ellis Ewbank,
Cecil Ellis, Jr., Darrell Ellis and Barry Ellis. She is also
survived by sisters-in-law Mildred Ellis, Margaret Ellis, Millie
Ellis and brother in-law Clifton Taylor, as well as, a host of
nieces and nephews, and great nieces and nephews.
Shirley grew up in the Forkland Community and graduated from
Forkland High School. She was a graduate of the University of
Kentucky and spent her 32-year career as a County Extension
Agent in Family and Consumer Science in Casey County.
She was the first chair of the Forkland Festival, a position
that she held for twenty-five years. She worked tirelessly to
establish the Forkland Lincoln Museum and was involved in many
local and state historical groups. One of her many passions was
genealogy. Her many awards included the Distinguished Service
Award from both the National and State Extension Service and the
Hall of Fame Award from the University of Kentucky School of
Human and Environmental Sciences. Shirley was a lifelong member
of the Church of Christ and a member of the Danville Church of
Christ for the last fifteen years.
A private graveside service was held Saturday, 28 November 2020
at Elder Cemetery in the Forkland Community. Casket bearers were
her nephews; Kevin Ellis, Scott Taylor, Chad Ellis, Steve
Taylor, Charlie Ellis, Tim Ellis, Brian Ellis, Aaron Marsee, and
Nick Marsee. Honorary casket bearers are her nieces: Darra
Thompson, Melissa Wells, Annette Scanlon, Lourrae Myers, Anne
Milburn, Pippa Hunt, Sara Comley, Polly Hosay, and Michelle
Word.
Memorial contributions in memory of Shirley may be made to the
Forkland Community Center or Elder Cemetery.
Walden Funeral Home in Perryville
was in charge of the arrangements. |
For those of
you who need help with genealogy, you may receive free help at the
Forkland Abraham Lincoln Museum on Saturdays from 12 noon to 4 pm or by
appointment at other times. There is someone at the center on
those Saturdays who can help you with your own genealogy, if you will
contact the center and let us know you are coming. Both the museum and
genealogy center are open every Saturday from May 4th - October 26.
For appointments call Wayne Thurman at 859-936-7489 or e-mail him at thurman3394@roadrunner.com.
You may also e-mail Carolyn Crabtree at ctree1492@ctreeacres.com.
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A regular Newsletters is sent out to
people who are interested in activities going on at the Forkland
Community Center.
To get on the list of subscribers, e-mail Pat Williams at
gwill@mis.net. If you would
like to contribute news or photos, send them to Pat.
To see a copy of the Newsletter, click here.
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Forkland Community Center in Southwestern Boyle County,
Kentucky
Located on KY 37, 30 minutes from Danville or Lebanon
Address: 16479 Forkland Road, KY 37
Gravel Switch, KY 40328
GPS Coordinates for the Forkland Community Center: N37.551286,
W084.985209.
Directions to Forkland Community Center: From Danville, go
south on US 127 to the traffic light at Junction City and turn right onto KY
300. Then just after the railroad tracks turn left onto KY 37 and stay on
KY 37 all the way (about 10 miles) to the Community Center on the right.
From Lebanon go east on US68, turn right on KY 243 (Gravel Switch turnoff).
Stay on 243 until KY 243 turns right over the bridge. Here you should go
straight on KY37. The Community Center is about three miles on the left.
See a video of the museum at
http://youtu.be/amniyCwhiJI
For more information, click
here.
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On March 1, 2008 the Forkland Abraham Lincoln Museum was
officially opened after receiving a grant from the Kentucky Abraham Lincoln
Bicentennial Commission and the Kentucky Historical Society. Lucey
Shipley Hanks, mother to Nancy Hanks Lincoln and grandmother to Abraham
Lincoln, moved to Kentucky after the death of her husband James Hanks.
She had been living with a sister Rachel Shipley Berry and her husband
Richard in the Forkland area of Mercer County (now Boyle) but in 1790 she
married Henry Sparrow, Sr. in Mercer County, Kentucky. Lucey's
daughter Nancy apparently moved to Washington County, Kentucky with her aunt
and uncle and their children. There she met and married Thomas
Lincoln. Nancy and Thomas were the parents of President Abraham
Lincoln. Lucey and Henry Sparrow lived on Scrubgrass Road in the
Forkland area of Boyle County for over 34 years and had eight children whose
descendants are scattered throughout Boyle, Mercer, Anderson, Washington and
other counties of central Kentucky. Because so little seems to be
known about the maternal side of President Lincoln's family, the Abraham
Lincoln Museum at Forkland was built. In the museum you will find
photographs of family members, Lincoln artifacts, and authentic newspapers
about the death of Abraham Lincoln. Other artifacts in the museum show
the life that people like Lucey and Henry Sparrow lived on the "Fork".
We welcome you to come and experience what life was like in the 1800s-early
1900s in the Forkland area. You may also do genealogy research in the
history room or purchase items in the gift shop. We welcome any
information about the families connected to this beautiful area of Kentucky.
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