Amanda Ervin

Amanda Ervin, my wife's great great grandmother and the mother of Jessie F. Kimbrough, was born in Illinois in May of 1858.  The town was Carthage in Hancock county, and was the site where Joseph Smith (founder of the Mormon church) was murder by a mob while in the local jail (shown left) several years earlier in 1844.  Amanda may have been born too late for that unhappy event but was born just in time to witness (from the arms of her mother) a speech by Abraham Lincoln on the grounds of the same jail during his Illinois Senate Campaign in October of 1858 (although I don't know she or her parent were actually there, but knowing small towns the way I do, I suspect everyone in town was there).

Her father was a miller in Carthage and later worked as a farmer.  Her mother died of consumption (tuberculosis) in 1867 when Amanda was 9 years old.  Her siblings were Willis, Sarah, Thomas, and William (who was only 13 months old at the time of his mother's death).  Amanda was married to Meredith Kimbrough who also lived in Carthage.  The year was 1878.  The Ervin and Kimbrough families had 6 marriages between them, and they all relocated together to Rich Hill, Missouri before 1900, having also lived in Kansas for a time around 1885.  Meredith ran a billiard hall in Rich Hill for a time.  Between 1915 and 1920 they moved to Spokane, WA where Meredith worked as a salesman and Amanda worked as a "lunch room helper".

Amanda lost her husband in 1934.  She continued to live on Garden Spring Rd in West Spokane until 1938.  I believe she passed away in 1938.

Meredith Arthur Kimbrough

Meredith Arthur Kimbrough, father of Jessie F. Kimbrough, and my wife's Great Great Grandfather was born on March 16, 1855 in Hancock county, Illinois.  He was one of 9 children.  He married Amanda Ervin on March 20, 1878 in Hancock county.  Amanda was one of 6 Ervins to marry a Kimbrough.  They resided in Carman Township, Henderson county which is a town so small it is still not officially incorporated, and lies on the banks of the Mississippi River.  Pictured to the left is the old Carman post office.  Meredith worked on the railroad.

After his father died, he and Amanda and their 1 year old daughter Bertha, along with all 8 of his siblings and their widowed mother moved to Rich Hill in Bates County Missouri.  Meredith and Amanda had three other children, Jessie, Thelma, and Gyneth.  Unfortunately Gyneth died as an infant.  In 1910, Meredith worked as the proprietor of a Billiard Hall.

The family moved to Spokane, WA about 1918 where Meredith took work as a Salesman for a grocery store.  By 1930 he and Amanda lived on Garden Springs Road in West Spokane where I believe their Grandson Otto was born.

Meredith died on Dec 26, 1934.