NameJohn Lafayette Link
Birth8 Jul 1836, Morgan Co., Kentucky
Death20 Jan 1929, Morgan Co., Kentucky
Marriageabt Jan 1900, Kentucky
SpouseNancy J. Cassity, 2C3R
Birth6 Mar 1884 (?), Morgan Co., Kentucky
Death29 Aug 1925, Morgan Co., Kentucky
Notes for John Lafayette Link
His death certificate (Vol. 15, #07312) records John L. Link, age 93 years 6 months 14 days, born 8 July 1836, died 20 Jan 1929 in Morgan Co., Ky, widowed, father Simon Link born in Pennsylvania, mother’s maiden name Mary Manhear born in Menifee Co., Ky, cause of death paralysis, informant Fannie Lewis, Blaze, Ky, burial in Lewis Cemetery.
His great-granddaughter Ethel (Brewer) Adkins said he lived to be 105, but apparently somewhere along the line his age got stretched.
Census
1850 census lists John as age 14, with his parents Simon & Mary Link. He is also redundantly recorded in Bath Co. with his mother’s brother Thomas C. Mynhier as John Link, age 14.
1860 census of Morgan Co., Ky records as family #70:
John Lynk, 24; Rodah A., 29; Mary C., 4; James B., 3; Casea W., 1. All born in Ky.
1870 census of Rowan Co., KY, Pearce prec., dated 15 June, lists on p. 123, family #10:
Link, John, 37, farmer; Rhoda, 38; James, 12; Cassandra, 10; Robert, 9; Nancy, 8; Simeon, 5.
Also listed with the family is Andrew Brown, 26, farm laborer. All born in Kentucky.
1880 census of Morgan Co., Ky, district 87 (Blair’s Mill), p. 19 (handwritten), p. 539A (stamped/microfilm), lists as family #154:
Link, John, 40, farmer, Ky Pa Ky; Rhoda, wife, 40; James, 23, son; Cassorette, 21, dau; Robert, 20, son; Nancy, 19, dau; Peter, 16, son; Emma, 9, dau. All except John born Ky Ky Ky.
1900 census of Morgan Co., Ky, District 6, enumerated 5 June, lists on p. 4B as family #67/68:
John L. Link, 64, b. July 1835, Ky/Pa/Ky; wife Nancy, 17, b. Sept 1882, Ky/Ky/Ky, married 0 years, mother of 0 children; son David H., 12, July 1887, Ky/Ky/Ky; boarder Preston Petitt, 26, Nov 1873, Ky/Ky/Ky.
The number of years married column for John has what looks like either 5/12 or 6/12, or even possibly 3/12, overwritten with a large 0. The left side of the 0 cuts through the number of months, so the only part of it that is legible is the lower loop.
Preston Petitt is very likely to be the Preston Link age 8 listed in the 1880 census of Morgan Co as a boarder with the family of Bluford Elliott. He is probably an illegitimate son of John Link and Lizzie Petitt. (David Hopkins Pettit b. ca 1905 son of John Link’s son John Tom Pettit, may have been named after the above David H. Link, who would be his half uncle.)
1910 census of Morgan Co., Ky, District 7 (Panthers Branch), enumerated 27 April, lists on p. 8A as family #108/109:
John L. Link, 74, b. Ky/Pa/Ky, farmer, 5th marriage, married 10 years; wife Nancy J., 25, b. Ky/Ky/Ky, 1st marriage, married 10 years, mother of 0 children; son David H., 22, b. Ky/Ky/Ky, married 1 year; dau-in-law Martha J., 15, b. Ky/Ky/Ky, married 0 years.
Note that the age for Nancy is two years younger than that implied by the 1900 census.
1920 census of Panther’s Branch, Morgan Co., Ky, enumerated 7 Jan, lists on p. 4A as household #63:
Link, John L., 84, Ky Pa Pa; Nancy, wife, 35, Ky Ky Ky.
The following household is that of Nancy’s parents, and the one after that is her sister Louisa with her husband Willie Johnson.
Notes for Nancy J. Cassity
Her death certificate states Nancy Link, age 41 years 5 months 15 days, born 6 March 1884 in Rowan Co., married, died 29 Aug 1925, age 41, in Blaze, Morgan Co., Ky, father J. W. Cassity born in Morgan Co., Ky, mother’s maiden name Marth Hall born in Morgan Co, cause of death tuberculosis of the bowels, informant Fannie Lewis, Blaze, Ky, burial in Lewis Cemetery.
Her birthdate was recorded as Sept 1882 in the 1900 census, but her age was given as 25 in the 1910 census and 35 in the 1920 census.
Notes for John Lafayette & Nancy J. (Family)
The 1900 census says that John and Nancy had been married 0 years, and the 1910 census that they had been married 10 years. Since their marriage does not appear in published compilations of Morgan Co. marriages up through 1899, it seems most likely that they were married in the first half of 1900, although a marriage in another county in late 1899 is a possibility.