William Wallace Cessna was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, and died in Larue County, Kentucky. He was the youngest of the nine children of Judge William Cessna and Sarah Wallace, who was born in Scotland and died in Kentucky. He married Marion Wallace Coombs, daughter of Samuel H. Coombs and Susan Williams. Both of Marion's grandfathers were from Loudoun County, Virginia.

We know next to nothing about William and Marion, but a little more about their generation. One of William's seven sisters, Sarah Cessna, married a man named Joseph Walters, and one of their daughters eventually married one of William’s sons, making Walter and Sudie Cessna first cousins.

William’s only brother, Jonathan Friend Cessna, was a farmer, slave owner and lawyer. He was elected as the first sheriff of Larue County, a position he held for twelve years. Jonathan was also elected as a County Judge, and as a bonded official he preformed marriages.

Notes on the children of William Wallace Cessna and Marion Wallace Coombs: William (Billy) Cessna was in the horse breeding business with his brother Walter. In 1920 he was living with his sister Ella, her daughter Carrie Ermine Smith-Cox and her husband John William Cox, and the three Cox daughters, Freeda Nell Delena Cox, Ruby Kate Cox and Stella Rose Cox. Samuel and his family relocated to Oklahoma for a decade or so as part of the oil boom; his son William was born there. By 1920 they were back east. Samuel's oldest son Walter died when the Cessna houshold was struck by lightening. He was in the attic, and it is said that the nails in his shoes melted. Mollie Cessna and family were residents of Louisville, Kentucky, and Sally Cessna's three children were born in Kansas.

Cessna Mystery Photos

These first three photographs, along with many others, were possessions of Vera Rudick-Bourdon, daughter of Mary Alice Cessna, and granddaughter of Walter Coombs Cessna.

The first photo has driven me crazy for several years now. More than one person has told me that they think the guy in the lower left is Howard Cessna. Maybe it's another Cessna lad in the upper left. The rest is still guesswork. My current thinking is that this is some combination of first cousins, sometimes once removed. The Craig children come to mind. Then there are the Border, Byrds and Gollahers, but nothing there matches well either. The kid is certainly Walter Rudick, Vera's older brother, but who are all of those other people?

The young man in the middle photo, and the woman in the third one are unknowns.

Considering that I've met several people who have helped a lot with this Cessna branch research, it seems odd that I have never been contacted by anyone looking into Sudie Cessna's side: Susan had a handful of sisters and a brother, and some of those folks had large families. So a few of the people in these photographs might have been named Walters.

Vera Rudick and her sister Dorothy (my grandmother) knew much more. Please label your photos, friends...someday someone will thank you for it!

The porch shot is most likely in a large city, possibly Detroit or Louisville, and it might be Howard near the center. The girls in the middle photo are mysteries, though the shadowy man in the background is possibly Walter Cessna, or maybe his brother William, who looked a lot like him from a distance.

As for the school photo, since the negative came from Howard Cessna, it's possible that he's in there somewhere. One thought is that this is East Lynn College, located next to the Buffalo Elementary School, Buffalo, Kentucky. Perhaps it's the other way around, since the group definitely looks like elementary school kids.

Guesswork is all I have here, but here goes. The houses in the first and second photos seem to be one and the same. It looks to me that the two oldest boys in the second photo are brothers, and I imagine that it's them again in the third photo. There's a possible sister kneeling in the first photo and in the back row of the second. The one with the glasses is also in the porch photo, one row up. Could these be some of the Craig family?

Cox Family Photos

The first photo shows all five brothers and sisters: Will Cox with his wife Carrie Ermine Smith on the left, then half-sister Mary Ellen Cox and her husband Pete Houk (seated, with crutch). On the right, siblings Katie, Susan, Sam and Bruce. John R. Cox and Emily both died of typhoid fever in August of 1900. Their children left Hart county and moved to Larue county, where their grandmother Polly Cessna was from. Katy died in 1905.  Sally, Sam & Bruce, none of whom ever married, lived in a house on the old Cessna farm, across McDougal creek from where John Will Cox  & Carrie Ermine Smith lived.Seated in the first photo are the parents, John R. Cox and Emily Jane Hodges. Their children, left to right, are Roger Bruce Cox, Samuel H. Cox, John William Cox (Will), Katie C. Cox and Susan J. Cox.

The next photo captivated my imagination, a musical family. Left to right: father John R. Cox, Bruce, Sam, Susie, Katie and mother Emily. Will Cox, not present, also played the banjo. Music in their family continues to this day, with my fourth cousin Jim playing the mandolin.

My sole connection to these folks would seem at first to be Carrie Ermine Smith-Cox, upper left in the first photo, my great-great-grandfather Walter Cessna's niece. But there is another connection here which Jim Poteet might be the only other person on Earth who understands without getting a headache. Emily Jane Hodges, matriarch of this little clan and seen in the third photo, was also the daughter of Mary "Polly" Cessna, who was an aunt of Walter Coombs Cessna. Whew!

And a bit More....

Cousin Jim had these photos in his collection, and we came to call the subjects the "Ox Cart People," and by extension, the "Ox Cart People in a Tobacco Patch." At present, the thought is that they are the Pete Houk family, plus spouses and more. The tobacco picture is the only aerial view family photo on my website!

While these last photos are far off of the main branches of my tree, they give us a glimpse into Kentucky at the time, and they help to round out the "Cessnas in Kentucky" chapter of my research.

Any Ideas? Help!