SUMNER,Sam - C.S.A.
January 7, 1920Samuel Sumner Born: 05/27/1845
Where: Trigg County Kentucky
Died: 06/07/1920
Where: Trigg County Kentucky
Buried: Delmont Baptist Church CemeterySamuel Sumner was born in Canton Precinct, Trigg County, on May 27, 1845. He was the son of Joel and Catherine Miles Sumner. His grandfather, Issac Sumner, was one of the first settlers of the county.
According to Trigg County Kentucky Court records, "On application of Isaac Sumner, a majority of the court being present, for a license to keep a tavern, satisfactory proof having been produced that said Sumner is provided with such accomodation … & that he is a man of good character & will probably keep and orderly house .. License is granted him to keep a tavern at his house … page 46 .. Monday, 18 June 1821." His grandson .. Samuel Sumner .. was to become a Baptist minister that served several churches in the county including Delmont even though Isaac was licensed to operate one of the first taverns in Trigg County.
Samuel was the youngest of eleven children, and remained at home until the age of eighteen. Soon after the breaking out of the Civil War, he enlisted in Captain Slaughter's company of Colonel Woodward's regiment. He had been out about four months when he was taken prisoner and sent to Louisville. After being confined there for some time .. he took the oath of allegiance and was permitted to return home. He next began working at the carpenter's trade and followed it in Canton and vicinity for about eighteen months. He then began farming near the old Sumner home place.
According to the obituary Samuel Sumner had been subject to heart attacks for several years. However, he lived to the ripe old age of seventy five which was well beyond the average life span for that time. He was said to have an aversion to being buried in the ground which motivated him to build a vault (see attachment). His intent was for himself, and some members of the immediate family to be interned on shelves in the structure following their death. The vault was made of concrete blocks and covered with a tin roof. Of course the vault was not airtight and could have created health problems whenever used. Following his death the family decided to bury Samuel in the ground because of the vault's shortcomings. Other members who had earlier been interned there were removed and buried in the ground at Delmont Church Cemetery. The only human remains that was not removed from the vault was an amputated leg belonging to one of Samuel's sons - Thedore. The leg was buried in the ground within the vault since the structure had no floor. According to Samuel Shelton, husband of Grace Sumner, he dug up the leg and repositioned it in the container after Thedore complained of a phantom pain in his amputated leg. The leg was again re-buried in the floor of the fault and Thedore's phantom pain disappeared. The vault is still standing as of August 2001.
Samuel participated in several of the Confederate Reunions that were held in the County over the years.
In a local paper, the following discribed one of the reunions as follows: "Thursday June 19, 1905 .. A large crowd attended the Confederate Reunion at Canton last Saturday. Probably a thousand or more attended the reunion at Holland's Spring two miles south of Canton. The weather was beautiful and the good order and the harmony that prevailed the entire assembly concludes that all succeeded in their determination. The officers elected were: Commander - R.W. Roach, Vice Commander - Henry C. Vinson, Adjutant - John H. Caldwell, Quartermaster - C.T. Bridges, Color Bearer - C. P.Dearing, and Chaplain - Rev. Samuel Sumner. " C. P. Dearing and Samuel Sumner are my great grandfathers.
Samuel was a Confederate civil war veteran and Baptist Minister, serving several churches in Trigg County Kentucky. He was also a farmer. He was a member of Canton Masonic Lodge No. 242. He served as Coroner of Trigg County for four years and in politics he was a Democrat.
Children of SAMUEL SUMNER and LUCY ROGRERS are:
i. GRACE4 SUMNER, b. April 25, 1885, Trigg Co, Kentucky; d. July 08, 1967, Christian County, Kentucky.
ii. THEDORE SUMNER, b. Unknown.
iii. ALVIN SUMNER, b. Unknown.
iv. VINE SUMNER, b. Unknown.
v. ETHEL SUMNER, b. Unknown.
vi. CHESSIE SUMNER, b. Unknown.
SAMUEL SUMNER'S VAULT
Delmont Baptist ChurchBurnett W. Porter, Jr.
3225 Happy Hollow
Hopkinsville, Ky. 42240
bjporter@apex.net
Prominent Citizen Found Dead in Field
Call Came Suddenly To Rev. Sam Sumner Near Roaring Spring
Born In County Seventy Five Years Ago And Spent Life Here
Rev. Sam Sumner, a local Baptist minister and one of the county's former citizens, was found dead on his farm in Roaring Spring district Monday afternoon about two o'clock.He had been plowing in the field and after the noon meal had returned to his work. A little neighbor boy passing through the field in the early afternoon found the lifeless body by his plow, the lines being still in his hand and the team standing by.
Every surrounding indicated that his passing away had been sudden and that he died soon after returning to his work.
He had been subject to heart attacks for some years, and it is supposed that one of these caused his death.
Mr. Sumner was born in Canton precinct, in Donaldson section, on the 27th day of May, 1845, and was a son of Joel and Cathrine (Miles) Sumner. His grand father, Isaac Sumner, was one of the county's first settlers, coming from North Carolina in early days. Rev. Sumner was the youngest of a family of eleven children and is the last of the family. At the age of eighteen and soon after the breaking out of the Civil War, he joined the Southern Confederacy as a soldier in Capt. Slaughter's company in Col. Woodward's regiment. After a service of several months he was taken prisoner by the Federals and taken to Louisville, where he was confined for many months. Afterward he took the oath of allegiance and was permitted to return home.
In 1872 he moved to the neighborhood where he died and where he had since lived.
On November 3, 1863, he was married to Miss Lucy L. Rogers, daughter of Joseph Rogers. A large family of children were born to this union and six are now living, as follows: Alvin and Theodore Sumner, Mrs. Stoney Mc Gee, Mrs. Sam Shelton and Mrs. Garland Sumner, of Trigg county, and Vine Sumner who has lived in California for twelve or fifteen years. The first wife died more than twenty years ago, and he married a second time to Miss Jane Futrell who lived only a short time. He afterward married Miss Della Pryor who also survives him.
He was a successful farmer and for more than thirty years had been a local minister of the Baptist church, holding pastorates in many of the surrounding churches until a few years ago, when he retired from active pastoral work on account of advancing years.
A man free spoken and frank in his dealings, he was nevertheless generous and kind, a good neighbor and a splendid citizen, and was always held in the highest esteem by his neighbors and associates.
He was instrumental in the organization of Delmont Baptist church near his home and was the largest contributor in the erection of the house of worship and had for many yeas held his membership there.
A large crowd of friends and relatives were present Tuesday afternoon at two o'clock to attend the funeral and burial. Services were held by his pastor, Rev. Noel of Cadiz and the remains were given final burial at the family vault at Delmont burying ground which he had erected a number of years ago.