Eliza Udella (Maggard) Harmon (1917 - 1985)

Born 17 Feb 1917 in Cutshin, Leslie County, Kentucky

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 26 Jan 1985 at age 67 in Cinda, Leslie County, Kentucky

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Biography

During the 1920 US Census:

Matilda Maggard, age 39, owns her farm free of mortgage on Coon Creek Road located in Cutshin, Leslie, Kentucky, with her children

Hershel Maggard, Son, age 4 years 4 months

Eliza Maggard, Daughter, age 2 years 4 months

Dwelling #119 Family #132, race: white. All family members were born in Kentucky. Matilda is widowed and she can read and write. Matilda's occupation is Farmer of General Farm on Own Account.

Kentucky Birth Record Still born birth:

Eliza Maggard mentioned in the record of Baby Maggard

Name Eliza Maggard

Gender Female

Husband Unknown

Son Baby Maggard

Name Baby Maggard

Event Type Death

Event Date 1939

Event Place Hyden, Leslie, Kentucky, United States

Gender Male

Father's Name Unknown

Mother's Name Eliza Maggard

^[1] Eliza Udella Maggard Harmon holds a very special place in this writer's heart and soul. I have tears as I write. Eliza had Usher's Syndrome Type 1 (USH1), which is a genetic disorder causing deafblindness (deaf-blind is more commonly written, but I combine the two sensory losses due to the fact that the combination causes a different set of needs for the individual). I know how this happened in my genealogy. Eliza's mother, Matilda Miniard, married Samuel "Red Sam" Maggard and they were first cousins. They both carried the autosomal recessive genetic disorder and their carrier-ship came from, for Sam, his mother, Rutha Miniard, and for Matilda, her father, Joseph Miniard. Joseph and Rutha were siblings, both children of Israel Miniard and Mary "Polly" Turner. This writer is proud to be here and would not be so if Sam and Matilda never married and had their daughter Eliza. I do not know if the USH1 genes were passed from Israel or Mary.

It happened again, the USH1. Eliza never met her great-granddaughter, for the sake of privacy I'll refer to her as Eliza Jr. Eliza Jr. is affected with USH1. Eliza has been in the heart and soul of this writer for the duration of me raising her great-daughter. This writer has much to say here in due time.

Eliza attended the Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD) in Danville, Kentucky for all her educational years.

Family Fokelore: It was said that if a child was born after their father passed that they could cure the (oral) thrush. Eliza was known to have that ability. People from near, and others that came from far, claimed to be cured of the thrush by Eliza. The curer simply blows in the mouth of the affected person and the thrush disappears. I thought that was funny/silly until my sister, who lost her father prior to her birth, cured the thrush for my baby after the medication failed to do so. Defies all logic, I know. I was just really happy for my baby.

I remember asking child of Eliza, Nora Rose, all I could think to ask about Eliza, and about what her grandmother, Matilda, would have told her about her mother, Eliza. Nora Rose explained that the family had to work the farm and would leave her alone at the age of about 2 when they went out to the fields to do farming. Nora Rose was known to stretch any story but, also, times were different with respect to child rearing and work load to survive in life. Somehow, it seems plausible, yet, I can't imagine any comfort doing the same with Eliza JR. when she was age 2. I think about Matilda, being widowed, having two young children, and the role that Johnnie Morris may have played in their lives.

Children of Eliza called her 'Liza, 'Lizy (like lie-zee). I think they rarely called her mom while Matilda was living. Matilda, their grandmother, is the one they called 'mom'. Except for being in Danville for school, Eliza forever resided with her mother, Matilda. They were very close. Personally, I can't imagine it being anything less for the two of them. Envision the communication barriers for Eliza. Eliza used American Sign Language (ASL) as her primary mode of communication as she was taught at KSD. I do believe that Eliza had little opportunity to communicate with people using ASL following completion of her educational years when she returned home to Cutshin. USH1 is a very isolating condition and Eliza and husband, Tommy, did not have opportunities I would wish for them if that were possible.

Eliza and Tommy met at KSD. Tommy's cause of deafness is unknown to me. I was told he had menengitis as a young child, about age 4 or 5, and I was told he fell down a flight of stairs and lost his hearing, and, also, I was told he was born deaf. Pick one!

NARA 1920 Census

NARA 1920 Census Sheet Number and Letter: 8A Household ID: 132 Line Number: 7 Affiliate Publication Number: T625 GS Film number: 1820586 Digital Folder Number: 004300931 Image Number: 00705

At the time of the 1920 census, 1. Matilda Maggard (age 39) was living alone with her two children on Cutshin, Leslie County, Kentucky. When Matilda was about three months pregnant with her daughter Eliza, Sam, her husband, passed. Eliza was 2 years at this time. Daughter to Eliza, Nora Rose, told me that she thought that it was first realized that Eliza was deaf when she was about age 2. Matilda was married once only and had two children:

2. Hershel Maggard (age 4) 3. Eliza Maggard (age 2)

Both children were born in Leslie County, Kentucky.

NARA 1930 Census Household ID: 23 Line Number: 99 Affiliate Publication Number: T626 Affiliate Film Number: 765 GS Film number: 2340500 Digital Folder Number: 004584849 Image Number: 00118

At the time of the 1930 census, 1. Matilda (age 48) maintains head of household status and they continue to live on Cutshin, in Leslie County, Kentucky. Matilda's mother, Louisa, has moved in with her and her children but she is erroneously listed as Maggard instead of Louisa Miniard. Also, John "Johnny" Morris is now a boarder at the home.

2. Herschel Maggard (age 14) 3. Liza Maggard (age 13) 4. Louisa Maggard *should say Miniard* (age 85) 4. Johnnie Morris (age 48), born in Kentucky.

Eliza was, at this time, a student at the Kentucky School for the Deaf in Danville, Kentucky.

NARA 1940 Census District: 66-7 Family Number: 18 Sheet Number and Letter: 2A Line Number: 12 Affiliate Publication Number: T627 Affiliate Film Number: 1329 Digital Folder Number: 005460789 Image Number: 00571

During the 1940 Census, 1. Matilda (age 60) lives with her daughter, 2. Eliza Maggard (age 23) and lodger, 3. John Morris (age 50) continues to reside with them. They reside in the Magisterial District 2, Leslie, Kentucky. This is most likely the same homestead in Cutshin where they have lived for years.

In the 1940 census, Eliza has the occupation of seamstress.

Sources

• 1920 US Census: "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHGJ-6YZ : accessed 28 July 2019), Hershel Maggard in household of Matilda Maggard, Cutshin, Leslie, Kentucky, United States; citing ED 158, sheet 8A, line 6, family 132, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 586; FHL microfilm 1,820,586.

• 1939 Kentucky Birth Record Still Birth: ["Kentucky Death Records, 1911-1961", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NSCZ-R8H : 12 December 2014), Eliza Maggard in entry for Baby Maggard, 1939.]

• 1940 US Census: "Kentucky, Vital Record Indexes, 1911-1999," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKHF-H459 : 11 February 2018), Nora R Harmon in entry for Eliza Harriet Lehman, 1966; citing Birth, Leslie, Kentucky, United States, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort.

1. Birth/Death SSDI; 2. Birth: Maggard, Lieniza, 2-17-1917, mother: Matilda Miniard, Vol 17, Cert. #8365, Vol. Yr. 1917 1911-1920 Birth Records: [1]

• Genealogy Bank: "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVS1-5DHM : accessed 15 July 2019), Tommy Harmon in entry for Eliza Maggard Harmon, SouthEast Central, Kentucky, United States, 28 Jan 1985; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Lexington Herald-Leader, born-digital text.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Entered by Tam X.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Tam X for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Tam and others.