ll10

LFGA Line 10.

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Line 10. Michael Lay, born in PA, married Elizabeth Martin in 1808 in Frederick Co., VA.
Son Eli, b. 1819, Frederick Co., VA. Moved to St. Charles, MO., to Ill., to Sycamore KS., to Chauauqua, KS.

CONTACTS

Betty Pederson

Jack and Betty (Dickey) Pederson

Betty Pederson graduated from the University of Oregon, and is a retired Home Economics teacher. She married Jack Pederson in 1948, and they have daughters Susan and Nancy, and three grandchildren. Betty is an avid genealogy researcher, and is proud of all her ancestors, particularly those paternal ancestors who came over the Oregon Trail, and settled in the Mollala, Oregon area.

Michael and Elizabeth Martin Lay

by Betty Pederson

Michael Lay, my great-great-grandfather, was born in Pennsylvania and married Elizabeth Martin, widow of Thomas Martin, with a marriage bond dated December 10, 1808 in Frederick County, Virginia. Elizabeth was born in Virginia. The dates of birth and death for Michael and Elizabeth are unknown. Michael had probably been previously married, too, and both parties brought their children into the marriage.

The 1810 Federal Census of Frederick County, Virginia credits them with seven children, four boys and three girls. This would include Rebecca (Becky) Lay, born 1802 and the couple's baby, James Hamilton Lay, born in 1809. In that census Michael was in the over 45 age group and Elizabeth in the 26-44 age group. If the records are correct, Michael would have been born in 1765 or earlier.

They had the following children, all born in Frederick County, Virginia and all moved west to St. Charles, Missouri in about 1838:

Rebecca (Becky) Lay born 1802, married Bartholomew Smith in 1825 in Frederick's County, Virginia. They had one child, Jemima Smith born in 1835, Frederick County, Virginia.

James Hamilton Lay, born in 1809, died in 1844, married Lydia Deakon (or Deacon). They had children: Stephen Lay, born in 1836 in Virginia, Bartholomew Lay, born 1838, in Virginia, Sarah (Sallie) Lay, b. 1839 in St. Charles County, Missouri; married Marcus Pasley; and Ann Rebecca Lay, born in 1842, St. Charles County, Missouri, married William Burke. Tolliver Lay, b. 1817, died before 1838, in Virginia.

Thomas Marcus Lay was b. 1817 in Virginia. He married, but wife and child died, and he never remarried. He lived most of his life with the Eli Lay family, and died in Kansas.

Eli Lay, my great-grandfather, was born 3 May 1819, in Virginia, died 25 March 1898 in Chautauqua County, Kansas. He married Emily Ann McCormick July 22, 1847, in St. Charles County, Missouri. Emily Ann McCormick was born 6 Jan 1822 to Eli and Jane (Craig) McCormick in Cabell County, Virginia. Emily died 28 September, 1894 in Chautauqua County, Kansas. They had children:

James Darst McCutchen Lay, my grandfather, born 26 May 1848, in St. Charles County, Missouri, died 21 September 1927, in Clackamas County, Oregon. He married Elizabeth Jane Blair 15 December 1875, in Independence, Kansas. They had children: Jane E., b. 11 August 1849, married William Skinner; Jemima A. born 16 August 1851, married Ellis K. Krone; and Mary Lydia Lay, born 19 March 1853, died age nineteen months on 17 October 1854. 

John W. Lay, born 4 February, 1855, died 1 on 1856..

Isabella Lay, born 18 April 1857, married John Miller.

Eli McCormick Lay born 7 October 1861, died age nine months. Margaret R. Lay, born 22 March 1863, married Richard Davis.

Isaac William Thomas "Will" Lay, born 22 January 1870, never married.

Lucy Catherine "Kate" Lay, born 1 April 1866, never married.

Great-grandfather Eli Lay was nineteen when he moved with his brothers and sister to St. Charles, Missouri, where he would later marry Emily Ann McCormick.  The young couple bought a farm from James Darst and the name Darst was bestowed on their first born child, James Darst McCutchen Lay, my grandfather. Eli and his brother-in-law, William Friedly, owned and operated a saw-mill, grist-mill, a brick kiln, and a blacksmith shop on their two farms in St. Charles County, Missouri. William Friedly was the husband of Emily Ann's sister, Mary. In 1865, the Eli Lay family moved to Macon County, Illinois where their two youngest children were born.

Frank Eli, born 1880, married Mable Miller. Children: Elbert and Roy.

Charles William (Bill) born 1881, never married.

Five years later, in 1870, the family moved again, this time by wagon train to Montgomery County, Kansas. They started from Blue Mound Township near Decatur, Macon County, Illinois. They crossed the Mississippi River by ferry boat at Jersey Landing, near New Mella; then stayed for a visit with Eli's sister, Rebecca Lay Smith in St. Charles County, Missouri. They crossed the Missouri River on a Ferry at Rocheport, continued through Missouri and entered Kansas north of Ft. Scott. They continued on to St. Paul and Independence.

Between St. Paul and Independence, they stopped at the "notorious Bender Farm" to buy feed for their horses. This farm must have been located near the path of the wagon-train, and they offered food and lodging for travelers and their horses, and cattle. Supposedly, the owners often robbed and sometimes killed the unwary travelers. Fortunately, they did not plan to spend the night. The story of the Bender farm was the basis for an episode in the 1960 TV series, The Big Valley. In 1885 Eli and Emily moved one more time, from Montgomery County, to the neighboring county, Chautauqua County, Kansas.

My Grandfather James Darst McCutchen Lay, the eldest of the children of the Eli Lays, was a farmer and lived in the area of Elk City, in Montgomery County, Kansas. He and wife Elizabeth Jane (Blair) had eight children. In 1895 tragedy struck the family when Elizabeth Jane died, leaving a grieving husband and children. Hulda was the oldest child, age sixteen, and Sarah the youngest, not yet age two. The children were:

Hulda Anne born 1878, never married.

alter Stanley, born 1883, married Myrtle Osborn. Children: Willis, and Arlene.

George Alfred, born 1884, married Myrtle Wilson. Children: Clyde, Betty, and Robert.

Myrtle Edna born 1887, never married.

Curtis Earl, born 1889, never married.

Sarah Emma Kate, born 1893, married Leslie Dickey. Children: Blair, and Betty Ann.

In 1801 James Darst McCutcheon Lay and the eight young Lay children moved to Oregon. Some of their Kansas friends and family, including James' sister Jane Lay Skinner, had previously gone to Oregon. They wrote back to James that the Oregon country was exceptionally green, lush, fertile, and beautiful. These glowing descriptions convinced James to sell out and move to Oregon.

They came by train (one week of travel) via the southern route to San Francisco, then north to Canby, Oregon. For the next few years the family rented farms in and around Canby, Carus, Barlow, and Molalla areas, and in 1917 purchased a large farm near Molalla.

All the children of James Darst and Elizabeth Jane Lay lived into their 80s, except Myrtle, a retired school teacher who died at age 70 and Sarah, the youngest, who lived to age 98

Lay of the Land 12/96

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