Comfort Daniels

1848 - Aft 1940  (~ 92 years)

• Name	Comfort Daniels
  Born	ca 1848	Pike Co. KY
  Gender	Female
  Died	Aft 21 Jun 1940	West Virginia
  	Have been unable to locate her death certificate in West Virginia Vital Records on line doing a search for all counties 1935 to 1945. Undocumented sources across the web put her death as 1941 in Ben Creek, Mingo Co. WV. At this point we know it was after 21 Jun 1940 when the census was taken, most likely in WV. But she could have died in KY in the household of one of her children.
  Notes	CENSUS RECORDS 1850 United States Federal Census Name: Comfort Daniels Age: 2 Birth Year: abt 1848 Birthplace: Kentucky Home in 1850: Pike, Kentucky Gender: Female in household of Rachel Daniels. Family Number: 555 Household Members: Rachel Daniels 27 Lewis Daniels 7 Floyd Daniels 5 Richard Daniels 4 Comfort Daniels 2 Margaret Daniels 1 Elizabeth Daniels less than year Elizabeth Daniels 60 [probably her mother] 1860 United States Federal Census Name: Comfort Daniels Age in 1860: 12 Birth Year: abt 1848 Birthplace: Kentucky Home in 1860: District 1, Pike, Kentucky Gender: Female Household Members: Rachal Daniels 32 Lewis Daniels 16 Floyed Daniels 14 Richard Daniels 13 Comfort Daniels 12 Margret Daniels 11 Elizabeth Daniels 9 Nancy Daniels 8 Lydia Daniels 7 Peter Daniels 6 Patty Daniels 5 Charles Daniels 3 Henry Daniels 2 Elizabeth Daniels 69 [Note: Speculation on who was the father or fathers of Rachel Daniel's children. Source: http://genforum.genealogy.com/daniels/messages/1640.html I was recently told by another researcher that a Charles Mounts was listed as the father of at least one child. It was probably Comfort as half of my family remembers her as Comfort Mounts and the other half as Comfort Daniels. The WV death certificate of her daughter, Nannie Christian Jenkins, has her name as Comfort Mounts. http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=2627819&Type=Death So Comfort's father is undetermined. She used the last name of Daniels for her marriage record. Source: http://genforum.genealogy.com/daniels/messages/1366.html It's always a possibility that Rachel married another Daniels, but I haven't found anything to show that. One researcher told me she found Gestus Murphey as the father of several of Rachel's children (records found in Frankfort, KY), but I've not been able to confirm that... 1880 United States Federal Census Name: Comfort Christen [Christian] Age: 30 Birth Year: abt 1850 Birthplace: Kentucky Home in 1880: Peters Creek, Pike, Kentucky Race: White Gender: Female Relation to Head of House: Wife Marital Status: Married Spouse's Name: Nathan R. Christian Father's Birthplace: Virginia Mother's Birthplace: Virginia Occupation: Works On Farm Household Members: Nathan R. Christen 34 Comfort Christen 30 Daniel Christen 13 Luvicey Christen 11 Richard Christen 9 Margaret Christen 7 Mary Christen 5 Charley Christen 4 Hiram Christen 2 Moses Christen 6 months 1900 United States Federal Census Name: Comfort Christian Age: 46 Birth Date: 1854 Birthplace: West Virginia Home in 1900: North Fork, McDowell, West Virginia Race: White Gender: Female Relation to Head of House: Head Marital Status: Widowed Marriage Year: 1869 Years Married: 31 Father's Birthplace: Virginia Mother's Birthplace: West Virginia Mother: number of living children: 11 Mother: How many children: 16 Household Members: Comfort Christian 46 Moses Christian 19 Lizzia Christian 16 Noah Christian 14 Thos Christian 11 Willis Christian 9 1910 United States Federal Census Name: Camfort Christain [Comfort Christian] Age in 1910: 65 Birth Year: abt 1845 Birthplace: West Virginia Home in 1910: Stafford, Mingo, West Virginia Race: White Gender: Female Relation to Head of House: Self (Head) Marital Status: Widowed Father's Birthplace: West Virginia Mother's Birthplace: West Virginia Household Members: Name Age Comfort Christain 65 Thomas Christain 20 Willis Christain 18 Maud Christain 5 [possibly a granddaughter] 1920 United States Federal Census Name: Comfort Christian Age: 80 Birth Year: abt 1840 Birthplace: West Virginia Home in 1920: Sandy River, McDowell, West Virginia Race: White Gender: Female Relation to Head of House: Mother Marital Status: Widowed Father's Birthplace: West Virginia Mother's Birthplace: West Virginia Able to Read: No Able to Write: No Household Members: Noah Christian 34 [31] Martha Christian 26 Russel Christian 10 Mary Christian 8 Herbert Christian 6 Andrew Christian 3 Ethel Christian 9 months Comfort Christian 80 1930 United States Federal Census Name: Comfort Christian Age: 90 Birth year: 1840 Birth place: Kentucky Home in 1930: Sandy River, McDowell, West Virginia Gender: Female Race: White Marital status: Widowed Relationship to head of household: Head Father's birthplace: Virginia Mother's birthplace: Kentucky 1940 United States Federal Census Name: Comfort Christian Temporarily Absent: Yes Age: 112 Gender: Female Race: White Birthplace: Kentucky Marital Status: Widowed Relation to Head of House: Head Home in 1940: Sandy River, McDowell, West Virginia Farm: Yes Inferred Residence in 1935: Sandy River, McDowell, West Virginia Residence in 1935: Same House Household Members: Comfort Christian Note: Other census information includes she is renting her home, she never attended school, she didn't work, and had no income. Her son Noah Christian lived next door to her. As to her age, she was at least 100 years old. We don't know who gave the information to the census taker since she was absent. But who ever provided the information, regarded her as ancient. NEWSPAPER ARTICLE McDowell Woman, 109, Given Pension By West Virginia. Oldest Person to Receive State Aid Mrs. Christian left home last November to Vote for Roosevelt. Charleston, W.Va., June 4 (AP)-Comfort Daniels Christian, 109 year old mountain woman who left her native fastnesses but once in the past forty years has a new claim to fame. She is the oldest person in West Virginia receiving a grant from the Public Assistance Department, it was disclosed today. Mrs. Christian, the mother of 16 children, first came into the public eye in 1932, when she left her little McDowell county cabin to vote for President Roosevelt. The records of the Public Assistance Department show she was born in Mingo county in 1828, before Andrew Jackson assumed the presidency and more than 20 years before the fist California gold rush. She lives one mile west of Panther, W.Va., on Panther Creek. The aged woman, her hair a snowy white and her face deeply furrowed was discovered by a party of Welch Kiwanis Club members who distributed Christmas baskets of food to residents of her section several years ago. Mrs. Christian has 84 grandchildren, 66 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. -------- Welch Daily By Brenda West When the WDN Coal Edition was published March 30, one section featured an unidentified photo captioned "Way Back When" We printed the picture hoping someone in our circulation are could provide some information. By the following Monday morning the photo mystery was solved. Mrs. Ethel Christian Manes, 71 of Coon Branch near Ieager, said excitedly "That's my grandmother, Comfort Mounts Christian and the child on her lap is a granddaughter, Louis Christian Chafin of Matewan. I was just thrilled to see that in the paper after all these years! "The photograph was made when Granny went to vote for Roosevelt. I don't recall which election it was, but because of her age it was the first and last time she ever went to the polls. She wanted to voter for Roosevelt because he had been responsible for her receiving a pension check. Originally Published in 1936 --------------- The old photo was used in connection with a news item pertaining to the reelection of President Franklin Roosevelt when he sought a second term in office. Roosevelt won by a sweeping victory. Publication date was Nov. 4 1936 and it reads as follows: Mrs. Comfort Christian, 109, went two miles to a voting booth at Panther election day, to cast her first vote. When she got there she was told that she had not been registered. Mrs. Christian remarked to precinct workers: 'I'll come back tomorrow.' The aged woman said she had always been registered a Republican, but that her husband , who had been dead 40 years, was a Democrat and she knew how he would have voted had he been alive. 'He would have voted for President Roosevelt,' she remarked. 'Because he is a good man and has helped me.' Mrs. Christian lives alone. Despite her age she works her small garden each year and looks after her house. She was taken to the voting place to cast her ballot by her son, Mose, who lives on Huff Creek. Mose said his mother had asked that she be taken to the voting place to cast her ballot. She said the reason she had never voted before was that she was registered a Republican and 'didn't want to vote opposite my husband.'" When Comfort's story appeared in the newspaper, she lived at Panther near the old Lathor Coal Co. tipple. Prior to that she was among the early homesteaders of Christian Ridge on the Wilmore side. During our phone conversation, Ethel revealed that all the family knew Comfort as "Granny." Stories of the bristly mountain woman's colorful lifestyle had persisted since her death nearly 50 years ago. Subsequently, Ethel invited me to her home to hear more. Cathy Patton, also a history buff, graciously accompanied me. Present that afternoon were Ethel's cousins, Pearl Moore of Matewan; Lucy Bailey, 74, of Hanover; her daughters, Deloise Morgan of Garden Gap and Janet Toler of Hanover. The latter two had scant knowledge of their family tree, and were eager to hear the tales unfold. After introduction, conversation began in earnest. "Granny was tiny but tough," said Lucy. "She had to be to raise a bunch of kids (12 of her own, and four grandchildren). She couldn't have been more than four and a half feet tall, but she was full of spunk. "Yeah," chimed in Ethel, "if you did something she didn't like, she took that cane you see in the picture and whacked you across the hand or on top of the head. Once when I climbed the fence to pick her gooseberries she took the cane to me. I never bothered the berries again," she added ruefully. "Hey do you recall how she would shake the grate in the stove and grab a live coal out of the bottom to light her pipe" queried Ethel. "Sure," answered her cousins. "Not only that, she would put the glowing ember back and never get burned." Ethel continued, "In the winter, Granny used to take flat irons,heat them the stove, and wrap them in wool to keep her feet warm at night. She always had a remedy for everything. Like when she wanted us kids to go home if we overstayed our welcome. She would tell us all kinds of scary things. Then we'd race for home, our feet barely touching the ground." "I loved how Granny used to spin the yarn about the near in the tree," reminisced Pearl. "One day she'd been out gathering chestnuts, her apron almost full. She was lost in thought, when all of a sudden she noticed the limbs in top of the tree just above her were shaking real hard. Granny said 'I looked up in that tree and there was the biggest bear I ever did see. I had woke him up. I was so scared, I forgot all about the chestnuts. I dropped everyone of 'em and got out of there quick as I could." "Granny wasn't scared of anything," Ethel emphasized. "She had a rough life, caring for such a large family, and under trying conditions. I've heard her talk about how she even crawled into a panther's cave to collect fur the animal had shed. "Old folks learned the habits of panthers, so they knew when the dens were empty. Granny would sneak in, grab the fur and scoot out. She wove the fur on a loom to make socks and other things. She also pieced a lot of quilts and raised all of her food." According to her descendants, Granny was as rugged as the land that sustained her. She endured bitter sorrow: tragically widowed while pregnant with twins; their subsequent still births; a son murdered while lodged in jail; another lost in a coal mining accident; her family's involvement in a clash similar to that of the Hatfield-McCoy feud. On two separate occasions Comfort suffered personal injury when struck by a shifter (slow moving coal engine). She had been picking up coal along the tracks where she lived. After her injuries healed, the feisty woman was forced to slow down, relying on a cane for mobility. Ethel laughed, "I used to watch fascinated when Granny marched out into her garden slinging weeds with a hoe in one hand and a cane in the other. She never let anything defeat her."
  Person ID	I18418	Master File
  Last Modified	24 May 2015

  
  

  Family	Nathaniel Robert CHRISTIAN,   b. 1847, Tazewell Co. VA ,   d. 1892, Tazewell Co. VA  (Age 45 years)
  Married	25 Jul 1867	Pike Co. KY
  	"Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979"; LDS Web Site. Nathaniel R. Christian; age 23; married Comfort Daniels; age 20 on 25 Jul 1857 in Pike Co, KY.
  Children	+ 1. Daniel (Bud) CHRISTIAN,   b. Jan 1869, Pike Co. KY ,   d. 24 May 1911, Williamson, Mingo Co. WV  (Age ~ 42 years)   2. Louvicy CHRISTIAN,   b. ca 1868, Pike Co. KY ,   d. 16 Nov 1951  (Age ~ 83 years)   3. Richard (Dick) CHRISTIAN,   b. 1871, Pike Co. KY ,   d. 25 Jun 1951, Lewis Co. WV  (Age 80 years)   4. Margaret CHRISTIAN,   b. 1873, Pike Co. KY   5. Mary CHRISTIAN,   b. 1875, Pike Co. KY + 6. Charles Wallace (Charley) CHRISTIAN,   b. 18 May 1874, Pike Co. KY ,   d. 26 Sep 1963, Mingo Co. WV  (Age 89 years)   7. Hiram CHRISTIAN,   b. 1878, Pike Co. KY + 8. Moses John CHRISTIAN,   b. 14 Jun 1880, Tug River, WV ,   d. 21 Dec 1959, Boone Co. WV  (Age 79 years) + 9. Nannie CHRISTIAN,   b. 24 May 1881, Kentucky ,   d. 21 Feb 1956, Princeton, Mercer Co. VA  (Age 74 years)   10. Lizzie CHRISTIAN,   b. Aug 1883, West Virginia ,   d. Aft 1900  (Age ~ 17 years) + 11. Hiram M. CHRISTIAN,   b. ca 1884, McDowell Co. WV + 12. Noah CHRISTIAN,   b. 11 Mar 1887, Greenbrier Co. WV ,   d. 20 Mar 1965, McDowell Co. WV  (Age 78 years) + 13. Thomas Everett (Tom) CHRISTIAN,   b. 12 Jun 1889, McDowell Co. WV ,   d. 25 Jun 1968, Pike Co. KY  (Age 79 years) + 14. Willis (Willie) CHRISTIAN,   b. 01 Jul 1891, McDowell Co. WV
  Last Modified	24 May 2015
  Family ID	F9080	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart