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Surnames: Calmes
Classification: Query
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/YOH.2ACEB/7.27.1
Message Board Post:
The property you have seen and are considering buying near Winchester, Kentucky, was the
farm of Henry Waller Calmes (9 April 1774-20 Sept 1831) and his wife, Elizabeth Griggs
Calmes (1 Jan 1777-23 Jan 1847). Both Henry and Elizabeth are buried in the small
cemetery enclosed by the rock wall you saw.
Also buried there are the following children:
Waller Marquis Calmes (5 Apr 1802-10 Sep 1820)
Elizabeth Waller Calmes (20 Aug 1820-26 Mar 1822)
Though we could find no stone, we believe that George Calmes (15 Jul 1817-15 Jul 1817) is
probably buried there as well
When we visited there about six years ago, it appeared that there were some additional
graves, possibly some of their slaves. As you may know, this was a fairly common
practice, though there is almost always some demarcation between family members and their
slaves.
Their eldest surviving son, Henry Waller, Jr., his wife, several of his children and their
wives are buried in the Winchester Cemetery under a huge stone labeled "Calmes."
Their eldest daughter, Alcinda, married Ambrose W. Wake. M.D., and died in Caldwell
County, KY. I believe she is probably buried there, but have not confirmed this as a
fact.
Their son, Fielding Calmes, was (so far as we know) the first Calmes to migrate to
California where lived, raised a large family and died in Colusa County.
Their final son was William Thomas Calmes, a farmer, in Fayette County, Kentucky,
Evidence points to the possibility that both he and his wife were buried on their farm.
FYI, Henry Waller Calmes was the eighth and youngest child, sixth son, of William Waller
Calmes, I and Lucy Neville Calmes of Frederick County, Virginia. Of Henry's five
brothers, three of them -- Marquis IV, George Gibbs and William -- fought in the
Revolution as officers of Virginia troops, Marquis, IV -- so named because he was the
fourth in family to bear the same name -- also served during the War of 1812 as a
brigadier general on Kentucky troops. Another brother, Spencer Neville Calmes, I, not in
the war, also settled in Kentucky in Christian County. The mother in this family, Lucy
Neville Calmes, has been designated by the DAR as a Patriot for assistance in providing
troops with food and forage.
Marquis, IV, and his wife, Priscilla Heale (pronounced Hale) move to Kentucky after the
Revolutionary War and settled in what is now Woodford County, Marquis IV was one of the
commissioners who laid out the town of Versailles which he named in honor of his wartime
friend, General Lafayette, with whom he had served. Marquis IV and Priscilla are buried
in a large stone mausoleum that now sits in the middle of a pasture of Ashview Farms,
about midway between Lexington and Versailles.
I sincerely hope you buy the property and are able to restore and maintain the cemetery as
much as possible it. The Calmes Family Association, formally known the Genealogical
Society of Versailles, usually holds its annual reunion in Lexington every few years. It
was during one such reunion that several of us visited the farm, toured the home and the
out buildings and took photographs of the stones in the cemetery.
Commercial: The GSOV will hold its reunion and annual meeting this year in New Orleans at
the NO Airport Holiday Inn, Friday and Saturday, June 18 and 19, with an optional day of
touring Mississippi River plantations on the 18th. There are many descendants of Henry
Waller's brother, William, who live in Louisiana, so we expect a sizable crowd in
attendance.
For those who have an interest, I have gathered much info on the Calmes family in America
and am happy assist others who may be tracing their families.
Jerry Dalton (Jerrydaltn(a)aol.com)
Brig. Gen., USAF Retired
President, Genealogical Society of Versailles