Thomas Gwinn Covington
Thomas Gwinn Covington was born in the area of Smyrna, TN in Rutherford County, TN to David Covington and Judith Kendrick. He married Matilda Caroline Payne in Christian County, KY on Aug. 26, 1852. She was the daughter of John L. Payne and Frances "Fanny" Thomasson of Christian County, KY. Frances is buried with other Paynes and allied families at Oak Grove Church Cemetery located a few miles from Mayfield, KY. She was born in 1808 and died in 1894.
Whenever my maternal grandfather, George Jenkins Covington, Sr., who was the youngest child of Thomas Gwinn and Matilda C. Covington, visited with his daughter in Nashville, TN, he would frequently ask for her to drive him downtown to see the capital, for he could remember his father describing to him how he had watched the columns of the capital being brought up the hill and put in place when he was a young boy living near Smyrna.
Thomas Gwinn Covington appears as a farmer on the 1850 census of Christian County, KY taken on Aug. 13, 1850. He appears with the family of John L. Payne when Matilda was only 12 years of age.
Thomas later appears as a carpenter on 1860 census of Trigg County, KY taken on Sept. 26, 1860. Trigg County was once a part of Christian County. Thomas is shown with wife and two children, M.F. Covington (Mary Frances) and S.N. Covington (Elnora Victoria).
The Covington family Bible indicates that Mary Frances "Fannie" was born on July 20, 1854 and died on May 15, 1949. She was married to Milton Hargrove from Graves County, KY and later resided in Weiser, Idaho where her son Claude was a realtor and owned a car dealership. She is buried in Idaho.
Nora Victoria Covington was born on Nov. 18, 1858 and died on May 1, 1934, according to family Bible. She was married to Tom Stephens. I do not know burial site.
Another child, Benjamin Franklin Covington, was born on July 8, 1856 and died on Oct. of 1857, according to family Bible. He would not have appeared on census data due to dates of birth and death. I do not know burial site.
Thomas Gwinn Covington appears later on 1870 census of Graves County, KY taken on Aug. 30, 1870 with his wife and six children. "Farming on leased land" was given as his occupation. Children recorded on this census are Fanny (Mary Frances "Fannie"), Nora (Elnora Victoria), John (John Morgan), Alley (Allie B.), Thomas (W. Thomas), and Joe Lee (female).
According to family Bible, John Morgan, who was born on June 19, 1862 and who died on Oct. 18, 1945, was named for John Hunt Morgan, an officer in the Confederacy. John was married to Nancy Cora Pryor. Both are buried at Highland Park Cemetery in Mayfield, KY.
John Morgan Covington's daughter, Frances Covington, enjoyed telling me a story back in July of 1982 that her father had told to her. One day he and his first cousin, Jeff Davis Wyatt, were walking down the road when some Union soldiers came along and asked them their names. When they told them their names were "John Morgan" and "Jeff Davis", the soldiers replied, "Well, you can tell they're d____ little rebels!" Jeff Davis' mother, Jack Payne Wyatt, was a sister to John's mother, Matilda Caroline Payne. Jack Payne Wyatt is buried at Lebanon Cemetery about four miles south of Mayfield, KY. "Jack" was probably a nickname, as I do not see that name in any of the census data.
Allie B. was born on Aug. 17, 1864 and died on Apr. 29, 1935. She is buried at Robbins Cemetery in Mayfield, KY. She was the second wife of Crawford Anderson, Sr. whose family was among the first to settle in Graves county, KY. She taught school at one time out West after the death of her husband who was much older than she. Her sister Joe Lee lived with her at that time.
W. Thomas was born on May 16, 1867 and died on Apr. 26, 1901. He is buried at Robbins Cemetery along with two infants, one of whom had died on Nov. 8, 1895 and the other on Sept. 28, 1899. He was married to Mary Jones. After his death, she remarried and is buried in a Catholic Cemetery in Paducah, KY.
Joe Lee was born on Apr. 10, 1869 and died on Aug. 14, 1938. She never married and spent much of her life caring for family members whenver they bacame ill. She lived out West when her sister Allie B. taught school and later lived with her in Mayfield. She is buried at Robbins Cemetery.
John Morgan Covington related to his daughter, Frances Covington, that a baby had died in Smithland, KY when family was moving from Trigg County, KY to Graves County, KY and was buried in Smithland. Baby's name was Tennessee Covington who was born on Apr. 26, 1861 and died on May 8, 1861, according to family Bible.
Children born to Thomas Gwinn Covington and Matilda Caroline Payne Covington after 1870 were Jim Davie Covington, Lan J. Covington, Rollie Covington, and George Jenkins Covington Sr.
Jim Davie was born on July 6, 1871 and died on Feb. 12, 1952. He was married to Lillian Wilkes first and to Ruth Wright after death of first wife. He had no children and his buried at the Methodist Cemetery at Wingo, KY.
Lan J. Covington was born on May 19, 1874 and died on Sept. 21, 1937. He was married to Maude Blalock and had no children. He is buried at Robbins Cemetery on South 10th St. in Mayfield, KY.
Rollie Covington was born on Feb. 28, 1876 and died when a baby. He is also buried at Robbins Cemetery.
George Jenkins Covington, Sr. was born on Apr. 28, 1878 and died on Jan. 17, 1975. He studied pharmacy in Louisville, KY later owning a drug story in Mayfield, KY before becoming a postmaster. He married Bessie Key on Oct. 10, 1909 who was the daughter of Lew Wallace Key and May Anna Carney. Both George J. and Bessie Key Covington are buried at Maplewood Cemetery in Mayfield, KY.
Thomas Gwinn Covington was active in organizing the Sharon Baptist church in Graves County, KY, according to notes housed in Baptist Seminary in Louisville, KY which cannot be copied due to such poor quality of the paper. This library which houses church notes from all over the country is an excellent source of genealogy.
Much can be learned about the Covingtons and allied families from the Mayfield Monitor newspapers dating from 1878 which can be accessed by microfilm housed at the Murray University Library in Murray, KY.
George Jenkins Covington had a double first cousin who lived in Mayfield named "Jim" who later moved to Fresno, CA, but nobody in my family can remember name of his father who was a brother of Thomas Gwinn Covington. Jim's mother was a sister of Matilda Caroline Payne. My branch of family has lost touch with this branch of family since death of Bob Covington and his wife. Bob was a son of Jim Covington.
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