Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
The beginning...
Ben and Ann Risk Case (later the "I" in Caise was added later down the line) were born slaves in Kentucky in the first quarter of the 1800s. Ben ca 1820/1821 and Ann ca 1822/23. Ben died in Woodford County on January 12, 1893, and Ann died in the same county on April 9, 1894. Ben was a tall big black man who was so big that he had to have a special chair made to sit in. He was also illiterate but, according to family traditional history he learned to read the Bible after praying to the Lord to teach him. Ben and his mother belonged to a particularly cruel master who beat his slaves frequently. One day, during such a beating, Ben’s mother, who, evidently, was a large, strong woman in her own right, had enough and grabbed her master by the beard and beat him then ran away. The next day, the mother returned to the field and hid in some corn and beckoned for her young son Ben to come away with her. But young Ben was too frightened to join her so she left, never to be seen again.
Ann Risk was a small, light skinned woman with long hair. She was said to be part Indian, perhaps even half-Indian, but the exact amount and what tribe is unknown. She and Ben got together while they were still slaves. Their story is interesting because of the contrasting roles played by their respective masters.
The story goes like this: Ben belonged to a cruel master (whether the same one of his youth or a different one is unknown), and Ann belonged to a man who apparently was kinder and treated his slaves much better. He and Ben’s owner were neighbors and, evidently, had had some run ins and didn’t get along. Ben used to go over to the next farm and fix the slaves’ shoes. When Ben’s owner found out what he was doing, he beat him severely and told Ben he didn’t want him fixing the shoes of the other owner’s “niggers.” Ben told Ann and Ann told her master, who knew that the difficult neighbor wouldn’t sell Ben to him, so he a had a third party make the purchase and brought Ben to his farm.
Some family members say Ben and Ann came from Casey County, Kentucky and moved to Woodford/Jessamine County area later. To date there is no evidence to prove or refute this claim. In 1870 census, Ben and Ann were working on a farm in Clover Bottom District of Woodford County that was owned by James P. Ford, and by the 1880 census, they had their own farm. Ben and Ann had eight children, comprising seven girls and one boy, listed in the following order: Mary,
Lizzie, Martha, Nannie, Jacob, Eliza, Dicey, and Emma.The three oldest daughters—Mary, Lizzie, and Martha—moved West during the Oklahoma Land Rush of the late 1870s. Family tradition suggests they were inspired by exaggerated tales of the land’s bounty. According to one story, a preacher described the land as so fertile that "pigs walked around with knives and forks on their backs and hollered ‘eat me, eat me!’” and that “pancakes fell from the trees into rivers of syrup.” Despite these colorful accounts, little has been heard from these three branches of the family since their relocation.
Mary married a man named with last name Diggs, Lizzie married a Tucker, and Martha married Ernest Chinn. All three had children. Mary had a son named George Diggs and a daughter named Nannie. There is also a child in question named Anna Diggs. Mary’s whereabouts are unclear after her move; she disappears from census records until 1900 when she reappears as Mary Daniels, living with her husband Miles Daniels. At that time, Miles is 65 years old, and Mary is 45. They have one child together, named Nannie Daniels. In the 1880 census, George Diggs, aged three, is listed as a grandson living with Ben and Ann. Ernest E. Chinn was born on December 22, 1850, in Mortonsville, Woodford County, Kentucky. He married Martha Caise in 1875, and they moved to Kansas in 1879. Ernest found his true calling in farming and, through hard work, purchased a 160-acre farm near Wakarusa, Kansas, in 1898. He lived
there contentedly until his death.
As a husband and father, Ernest was exemplary—congenial, loyal, and devoted to his family. Despite lacking formal education, he was a great historian and mathematical scholar with a strong knowledge of the Bible. He contributed to his church whenever needed. In his later years, as his health declined, he spent Sundays reading the Bible and historical books. During his illness, he would gather his family to read favorite Bible passages, pray, and sing hymns, including his favorite song which he requested to be sung at his funeral. Ernest and Martha had ten children: Benjamin, Mary, William, Nannie, Bertha,
Myrtle, Hattie, Nora, Archie, and Chester. Ernest passed away on September 9, 1925, two months and two weeks before his seventy-fifth birthday. He was buried in Wakarusa Cemetery. Of their children, Hattie Chinn returned to Kentucky to attend the historically Black college now known as Kentucky State
University in Frankfort. According to family history and records, Martha lived to be nearly 100 years old, passing away on March 16, 1954.
Nannie, the next daughter, married Robert Williams, and together they had ten children: Rev. Simeon Williams (who married Lillian), Annie Catherine, Julia, Martha, Jacob (Jake), Lottie, Hattie, Horace (who died as a baby), Violet, and Louisa. In 1880, at the age of 16, Nannie was listed as a house girl living with
a white family in Keene, KY. The family consisted of a farmer named G.W. Mosely, his wife Hattie, and their two daughters. By 1887, Nannie had married Robert
Williams, a farmer who owned the land he worked. The couple initially lived in Clover Bottom, KY, before moving to Troy in Woodford County.
According to census records, Robert passed away between 1900 and 1910. By 1910, Nannie, now a widow, was residing in Versailles on Troy and Munday Landing Turnpike, where she owned her home and lived with seven of their children. In 1914, Nannie relocated to Lexington, KY, where she lived at 757 Charles Ave. By 1920, she had moved to 502 Georgetown Street, working as a laundress and renting her home. In the 1930 census, she was residing at 411 Oak St., Lexington, KY, where she owned the property. Nannie passed away on October 22, 1939, in Lexington, KY.
The only son Jacob, whom we don’t have a picture of, was described as having pretty curly hair and black gums, and he married America Wheat. Together they had 12 children: Mary Emma, James, Bessie, Lizzie, Martha, Ora, John, Louis, Benjamin, Andrew, William, and David Lee. Daughter Eliza was married three times to Charles Walker, Peter Levingston, and Rice Turner. She had Nannie and Mary by Charles Walker. She also had a child named Helen who was by Peter Levingston. In 1900, the census worker recorded that Eliza was living in Nicholasville, Ky on North Cross ward 3, with her 3 children Nannie B. Levingston (16 yrs old), Mary B. Levingston (14 yrs old) and Helen Levingston (7 yrs old). The home they lived in was rented and it was a house not a farm. Eliza could read and write. She was born according to the census in December 1865.
There is no information on Dicey’s husband or husbands but she had for children: Dollie, Benjamin, Emma, and Hobert.
The youngest child, Emma, married Henry Williams, brother of Robert who married Nannie. She had one child, Jo Lenis, who married Earl Miller. In 1930, Emma was able to read and write and was living next door to her sister Dicey. The census worker recorded that she didn’t have an occupation at age 59. And
was the head of household, living with her was her brother-in-law, Jim Williams. Emma owned her home and it was valued at $400 dollars, that’s $6,396 in today’s dollars. In 1940, Emma was still living with her brother-in-law James ‘Jim’ Williams. She was sixty years old, working at a school cafeteria as a cook
(a government employee). She still owned her home which was right close to Dicey, Emma and Dollie at 238 Lincoln Street in Nicholasville, KY, her home was valued at $475 which is $906 today and her income was $144. Emma died on February 23rd, 1967 in Fayette County.
Three of the sisters, Nannie, Eliza, and Dicey, all worked as cooks at the Walker Hotel, the largest in Nicholasville at that time. It was while working there that Eliza met her future third husband Rice Turner. Eliza married Rice Turner on July 12th, 1909 in Franklin, Ohio. In 1930, Dicey wasn’t attending school. She wasn’t working in 1930, she owned her home and it was valued at $400. That’s $6,396 in today’s dollars. Her home didn’t have a radio and she was living at 127Lincoln Street in Nicholasville, KY. She was able to read and write. In 1930, Dicey was a widow and the head of household, living with her, was her daughter Emma J. Guyn and her granddaughter Dolly A.Guyn. Dolly A. Guyn was 13 yrs. old, attending school and could read and write.
Her daughter was Emma J. Guyn, the census worker recorded that she was 26-year-old single woman and her occupation was a teacher working for the city school. In 1940, Dicey’s citizenship status wasn’t recorded on census record. While African Americans were granted citizenship in 1869, their legal and civil rights were severely restricted for decades after. The highest grade of education completed was 4th grade. In 1940 according to census records Dicey was living with her daughter Emma at 238 Lincoln Street which was valued at $800, today that’s $15,260. Emma J, graduated from high school and her income was $675 in 1940, she was a school teacher paid by the government at a college public school in Jessamine County. Also in the
house was Emma’s daughter Dolly, who didn’t have an occupation recorded and had only completed 3 years of high school. She had also been married and her last name was Wade. Her four-year son lived with them as well. His name was Thomas Wade. Dicey was born on April 1st, 1869 and died on July 11, 1954. Dicey had lived in Nicholasville for 50 years according to her death certificate. She was never married. After working at the hotel for a number of years she began doing domestic private home work.
The Caise women are known to be tough and strong-willed, as evidenced by the three who headed West to settle new territory. Another story tells how Eliza drove Dicey and her dead infant in a horse and buggy from Nicholasville to Elm Bend so the infant could be buried on the family homestead. Some of
the Caise women earned money by plaiting rags into wicks and putting them in iron holders containing grease. The descendants of Ben and Ann Caise have distinguished themselves in various endeavors and professions and include university professors, ministers, artists, and teachers. As one cousin has stated, “The Caises are people that don’t sit down for anything or anyone.”