Catherine MCkey (Vinyard)

Missouri death certificate no. 1837. Daughter of Charles Vineyard and Susan Cross.

Catherine Vinyard was born 1/24/1835, the first of eight children born to Charles C (probably Christian after his grandfather) & Susan (Cross) Vinyard. Her siblings were Henrietta, Mary Jane, Delila, John Charles, George Washington, Willis Henry & Alice V Vinyard.

On 10/23/1851 Catherine married Samuel McKee. Eight sons were born of their marriage -- Charles W (first name after her father), Levi Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John D, Lewis Alfred, Lemar Suber, Austin Jean and

Jesse Nathan - the youngest of them just six years old when Samuel died

After Samuel McKee's death, Catherine continued to run the farm with the help of her sons, most of whom remained single into their mid or late 20's

1880 Census, Valle Twp, Jefferson Co, MO pg 23d

McKEE, Catherine 44 MO TN MO widow, farm Charles W 27 MO MO MO son, single Levi F 24 MO MO MO son, single Thomas J 22 MO MO MO son, single John D 20 MO MO MO son, single Lewis A 17 MO MO MO son, single Lamar S 14 MO MO MO son, single Auston S 12 MO MO MO son, single Jesse 9 MO MO MO son

Catherine was still listed as "head of household" (out of respect or because she gave the information; Mom described her as a very proud person) on the 1900 census but was living with my grandfather, whose first wife had died, leaving him with a young crippled son to raise --

1900 DeSoto, Jefferson Co, MO HH#32

McKEE, Catherine Jan 1836 MO VA At Sea; widowed 8 children /all alive Louis Dec 1863 MO MO SC son, house carpenter Burk July 1896 MO MO MO grandson SKENS, Maggie Nov 1873 Eng Ire Eng boarder m/1885;15 yrs

By 1910 she was still living with Grandpa but he had remarried so Catherine no longer was shown as "head of household". Julia recalled that her grandmother was strong willed and had a "sharp tongue". She felt that Lewis' 2nd marriage married beneath him making cutting remarks to the effect that Hattie was just a common pot scrubber although the Judy/Tschudi credentials (Swiss nobles, owners of a sizeable tract which became part of downtown Baltimore, noted Revolutionary gunsmith, Civil War Vet) exceeded those the Vinyard's could claim

Buried on her birthday; her granddaughter [Julia McKEE ADAMS] recalled she was buried on a snowy day in January. They had to leave wagons at the base of the hill and walk up to the Victoria Cemetery. Date of newspaper not clipped with obit. but Mom believed her birthday was Jan. 24 Tombstone=A84 In 1917 1/22=Mon & 1/24=Wed; 1917 also agrees with Mom's own age - 13].

Coxwell Funeral Home record=died 22 Jan 1917 @ age 81Y 11M 29D; cause of death not given.

Mrs McKee Dead. Mrs McKee, widow of the late Samuel McKee, died Monday night at the home of her son, Lewis McKee, in this city. The funeral was held Wednesday, on which day, had she lived, she would have been 82 years old. The funeral was from the Christian Church and a large crowd was present to pay their last respects to a good woman. Revs. OA KIern, WJ Heys and RH Shute conducted the services. Lamar and Jefferson McKee of this city are sons of the deceased

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jan 24 2019, 3:25:33 UTC