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Elizabeth Reynolds (1837-1896)
Birth, Parents & Siblings
Bettse was born on April 15, 1837, in Hart County, Kentucky. Her parents, Caleb Reynolds and Perlina (Paulina) King were 38 and 37 years old, respectively at that time and were both born in Bedford, Virginia in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
Bettse was the second to last of at least five children, including William (1829), Andrew (1830-1916), Caleb II (1835-1919) and Areha (1840). There may have been as many as five additional children born between 1830 and 1835. According to Ancestry.com, her brother Andrew was born in Ballingarry, Limerick County, Ireland and her father, Caleb, died in Ballingarry, the birthplace and original home for her husband, Thomas. Ballingarry was a small village of less than 500 residents located about 20 miles southwest of Limerick City and about 12 miles south of the village of Adare. This suggests that her parents travelled back to Ireland at least twice while living in the U.S.
Growing up
Her father died in 1847, when she was 10 years old. To date there are no other records or anecdotes available regarding her childhood years.
Marriage & Children
According to a book titled Wilcoxson & Allied Families by Dorothy F. Wulfeck, her eventual husband, Thomas drove a stagecoach between Louisville and Nashville down the Lincoln Highway which passed the home of Elizabeth (Bettse) Reynolds. Elizabeth (Bettse) would wave to Thomas as he passed her house.
On March 25, 1858, Bettse married Thomas Francis Riordan in Hart County, Kentucky when she was 21 and he was 27 years old.
They had nine children, including James Edward (1859-1921), Archibald Wilder (1861-1937), Thomas Hooker (1863-1930), Mary Catherine (1865-1949), Albert Emmett (1868-1905), John Porter (1870-1947), Aden (1872-1931), Samuel Tilden (1875-1896), Elizabeth (1878-1899).
Three of the children were born during Civil War from 1861 to 1865. Their son, Archibald “Archie”, relocated to Hot Springs, South Dakota where he became a popular mayor and the owner of a bottling works “which make and places upon the market all kinds of soft drinks”, also according to "History of Dakota Territory" by George W. Kingsbury.
Adulthood
According to Wilcoxson & Allied Families by Dorothy F. Wulfeck, after Thomas and Elizabeth were married, they built a home across the road from the Reynolds home. Margaret Wilson was told there were two log cabins in Canmer on Highway 31-E. One was the home of Thomas and Elizabeth, and the other log cabin was a church. There is one log cabin still standing in 2012, but it is not known if this was the church or Thomas Riordan’s home.
It is likely that her husband, Thomas shifted his occupation from his role as a stagecoach driver to farming as they were getting married. In the late 1850s a new train service linking Louisville and Nashville became available, which resulted in the abandonment of the stage lines by January 1, 1860.
According to "History of Dakota Territory" by George W. Kingsbury. “About 1858 he [Thomas] was married [to Bettse] in the Blue Grass state and settled upon a farm which remained his [their] home until his death.”
In the Hart County, Kentucky, 1860 census Thomas was listed as a farmer, with wife Elizabeth age 23, their first child, James Edward, age 1, and his brother Michael (Mike) age 24, who was listed as a farm laborer.
In the Hart County, Kentucky 1870 census, Thomas is listed as Thomas Raradon age 37, with wife, Elizabeth age 33, occupation listed as “farming house”, James Edward, age 11, Archa (9), Thomas Hooker (8), Mary (5), Robert (2).
In the Hart County, Kentucky 1880 census Thomas is listed as farmer. Wife, Elizabeth, age 33, occupation listed as “farming house”. It indicates that Thomas cannot read or write and that Elizabeth can only write. Children: James Edward (21), Archa (19) no longer listed at home. At home: Thomas Hooker (18), Mary (15), Robert (12), John Porter (10), Aden (8 - shows as attending school), Samuel T (4), Elizabeth (2). In the Hardyville, Hart County, Kentucky 1880 census, Thomas is listed as having a 100-acre farm in the Schedule 2 – Productions of Agriculture.
Her mother died in 1883, when she was 46 years old.
Because the 1890 census was destroyed by fire, no information exists about Bettse at that point.
Death
Bettse died on March 6, 1896, in Hart County, Kentucky at 58 years old. She is buried in the Edmond Riordan Family Cemetery, Canmer, Hart County, Kentucky, along with her husband. She survived her husband by another four years.
Capturing Memories: An Ancestral Photo Album
Thomas Riordan Dwelling and Church