| Notes |
- MHR note: He may have been named "Levi" Monroe Hedges as a "Levi Hedges", brother of Sarah (Hedges) Gilkison used to visit her at times, walking in and was from some distance away - said Martin "Luther" Gilkison to MHR on his 82nd birthday. He said he had supposed his father, Levi "Monroe" Gilkison, had been named for that brother, who did not enjoy being scuffled with by Luther and his brothers, and "Luther", himself was a small tike. He thought the great uncle looked about 65 years old. He would say "Get away; get away; get away" when they wanted to scuffle.
LKH note: MHR only listed three children: Francis M. Hedges, Hiram C. Hedges, and James Hedges. She gave estimated birth years all prior to 1850. However only Francis M., age 10, and Hiram C. Hedges age 6 appear in the 1850 census record. However, James Hedges age 14 does appears in the 1860 census record.
LKH note: information for all other children born after James are added from census information from 1860 and 1870.
[3, 8]
- 1869 news article
Brutal Outrage. - On the night of Thursday, 19th inst., between 12 and 1 o'clock, Wm. Beckley, John Maloney and Ed. and John Larkin went to the premises of an old man named Monroe Hedges in the neighboring town of Washington, and took form the adjoining lot two horse and a spring wagon, with which they departed in the direction of Maysville, but stopped to drink at a groggery kept by McCarty in the outskirts of the place. Hedges and his son followed the men, and just as the pursuers reached the groggery, John Larkin called out to his companions to shoot and kill them. All four of the ruffians then rushed out and assailed Hedges and his son with rocks, knocking down the old man, breaking his arm and otherwise brutally injuring him. Young Hedges was also badly beaten with rocks. Mr. Hedges and his son managed to escape from their assailants by taking refuge in the house of Mr. Blackett. In the meantime the four ruffians returned to the house of Hedges and made most outrageous and indecent assaults upon his wife, daughter-in-law and daughter, the last a little girl not more than ten years of age. The women were shamefully abused by language and act, John Larkin swearing that he would take the life of Mrs. Hedges unless she submitted to his licentious embraces. The women resisted and finally escaped to the second floor of the building and locked themselves in. Just at this time Hedges and his son returned home, and one of the brutes asked the old man what was the matter with him. He replied that he was badly hurt. They asked him if he knew who had hurt him. Fearing that if he betrayed his knowledge that they were the assailants they would murder him, he answered that he could not them certainly tell who had done it. John Larkin than said that the negroes had done it, and to tell him whom they were and he would fix them. They then left the house. The next day the men were arrested and tried before Esquire Steele. The above facts were fully proven in the trial. Wm. Beckley, John Maloney, and Ed. Larkin were fined each $20 and sentenced to fifteen days imprisonment. They are all now in the Maysville Jail, where they will be kept until their fines are paid or work them out by breaking rock.
Mr. Hedges will sue the parties for breaking his arm, and the trail will be had at the Maysville Court House before Judge Sumrall on next Tuesday. The women have made affidavits that the men attempted to ravish them, and they will also be tried on this charge. they will also be prosecuted for stealing the horses and wagon. If they escape the penitentiary, it will be because Mason county has queer men on juries sometimes. George R. Gill prosecuted there men before the examining magistrate, and we learn made a very able speech.
The Weekly Maysville Eagle, Maysville, Kentucky. Wednesday, 1 September 1869, page 3.
[7]
- 1869 news article
The Mason County Court. - The September session of the Mason County Court was held last week, J.K. Sumrall as Judge.
. . . several actions . . .
The sum of $15 was appropriated to Monroe Hedges, pauper.
. . .several actions . . .
The Tri-Weekly Maysville Eagle, Maysville, Kentucky. Tuesday, 21 September, 1869, page 3.
[7]
- 1870 news article
LKH note:
Right name, time and location to be Monroe Hedges.
Belligerent People - Between the hours of nine and ten o'clock, last Saturday night, a number of warlike men engaged in their usual pastime of fighting and shooting. The "little unpleasantness" occurred at the house of Monroe Hedges on the suburbs of the city. Several parties, Lewis, Cook and Ramsey, by name, having made an assault upon his house were resisted and at first repulsed by Hedges. The desperate trio determined to renew the battle, however, and immediately made an impetuous charge, breaking a door, and meeting their enemy in a hand-to-hand combat. Several pistols were fired at this time, but nobody hurt by them. Fists and clubs, however, did bloody work, and when the combat ended, by the subjugation of Hedges, it was discovered that he and one of his opponents were painfully though not mortally wounded.
The guilty parties were afterwards arrested by the city authorities, and confined in the Court House cate.
On Sunday night they attempted to make their escape, and nearly succeeded. They managed to cut a hole nearly through the thick wall of their cell before they were discovered.
Maysville Bulletin, Maysville, Kentucky. Thursday, 13 October 1870.
[7, 8]
- 1870 news article
Riot. - Logan Cook, Jesse Ramsey, and Wm. Lewis went to the house of Monroe Hedges who lives on the Lexington pike, on Saturday night, and conducted themselves in so rude a manner that Hedges ejected them from the premises. They then broke down the door and made a forcible entrance. Several shots were fired at Hedges, none of which struck him, and he was knocked down and badly beaten. He managed to deal Mm. Lewis a sever blow over the head with a club, but the other ruffians were unharmed. Cook and Ramsey were arrested on Sunday and confined in the vault under the Court House steps. The iron door of one of the windows had not been locked, and at night they wrenched it from its hinges, and used it as a pick against the wall. They succeeded in cutting a large hole nearly through the wall, but the guard came in a little too soon in the morning for their escape. Twenty minutes later and it would have been effected. Cook and Ramsey, both of whom are old offenders, were fined $50 each for riotous conduct and $25 each for defacing the public buildings. Not having greenbacks to that amount about their persons they were placed in the vault to board it out. Lewis was fined $50 for riotous conduct, and he also is in the vault. Monroe Hedges is the man who was driven away from Washington some months ago by a band of rowdies. He certainly has had a bad streak of luck.
The Tri-Weekly Maysville Eagle, Maysville, Kentucky. Tuesday, 11 October 1870, page 3.
[7]
- 1871 news article
Monroe Hedges recovered the small sum of $50 against John Larkin for cruelly beating him and breaking his arm more than a year ago.
The Tri-Weekly Maysville, Eagle, Maysville, Kentucky. Saturday, 28 October 1871, page 3.
[7]
- 1899 news article
LKH note: Article about centenarians in Indiana includes description of Monroe Hedges.
Some Centenarians
Five Pioneers Who Found Indiana’s Climate Conducive To Longevity.
Some Centenarians
Anderson special: Action has been brought by one of Alexander Ferguson’s daughters to have a guardian appointed for him. Ferguson lives in Gilman. He has just passed his one hundred and seventh birthday. The action for the guardian has brought to light the fact that there are five people in this (Madison) county who have passed the hundred-year mark. Ferguson is the dean of the men, and his sister, Mrs. Bettie Carrolton, who lives near Franklin, heads the women with 111 years to her credit. Summitville claims the next distinction, presenting Thomas Wells, age 104. Wells was born in Falmouth, Pendleton county, Kentucky, in 1793, but has lived in Indiana since 1824. Monroe Hedges was 105 years of age on the 11th of last February, and he looks it. He has been a cripple for fifteen years, and is scarcely able to move. Mentally, however, he is active and he sees the bright side of life. He is poor and lives with his eighty-year-old wife and two sons. He is a Kentuckian by birth.
[article continues with descriptions of Julia (Owens) Hamilton, age 100; and David Lynch, age 119, who died recently.]
Boonville Standard, Boonville, Indiana. Friday, 17 February 1899.
[7, 8]
- 1899 news article
LKH note: Monroe's age and certain facts about his life change in different news articles.
Whipped His Baby
Monroe Hedges, 106 years old, whipped his 80-year-old son Hiram at Indianapolis the other day and placed him in the hands of surgeons. The father lives in a little house in Anderson, Ind. He claims the distinction of being the man who drove the first spike on the first railway ever constructed in Indiana. His 89-year-old wife died recently. His strength and metal activity was something marvelous. Hiram was one of the babies of the family.
The Hamilton County Ledger, Noblesville, Indiana. Friday, 13 October 1899.
[7, 8]
- 1899 news article
LKH note:
news article gives some details about how the family was living.
Centenarian Dying.
Monroe Hedges is Said to be 105 Years Old.
In a ramshackle hut in the rear of 1012 Rhode Island street, lies an old man, who says he is 105 years old, at the point of death. The old man is Monroe Hedges, known in the part of the city in which he lives as “Granddad Hedge.” The house in which he lives, with several sons, was, at one time, a stable. It has since been turned into a house of two small rooms. Until Tuesday of last week the old man retained all his faculties, and pulled himself about the small, dirty yard in a chair. In someway (the sons could not explain) blood poisoning affected his right arm and leg and gangrene developed.
Hedges has five sons and one daughter living, the oldest son, Hiram Hedges, being seventy-one years’ old. The youngest member of the family is James Hedges. Another member of the family says James is about forty years old. The names of the other children are Jonas, Roe, Dudley and Louanna. The old man is said to have been born in Flemingsburg, Ky., on the site of the court-house, 105 years ago the 11th day of last February. He has often spoken of fighting in a war, but the members of the family cannot tell in what war he served. They think, however, that it was the Mexican war.
Hedges moved with his family to this city twenty-two years ago. His wife died about three months ago, eighty-seven years old. The family lives on a pension paid to Monroe Hedges for the death of a son in the civil war.
The Indianapolis News, Indianapolis, Indiana. Wednesday, 18 October 1899.
[7, 8]
- 1883 news article
LKH note:
Article names son of Monroe Hedges as Jonas Hedges, leading one to assume this is our Monroe Hedges.
A Disgraceful Row.
A row occurred yesterday afternoon about 3 o'clock at a picnic of thirty or forty drunken men and women in the woods north of the Insane Asylum, which came near resulting in another Sunday murder. The crowd was composed of a very disreputable class, which had gone to the woods with two kegs of beer for the deliberate purpose of getting drunk. About 3 o'clock Monroe Hedges, an old man, who had taken a part of the crowd out in this wagon, began hitching up the team, and announced his intention of coming to town. George Barnaby declared that he should not leave until the rest were ready to go, and a fight followed, in which Barnaby knocked the old man down with a club. A general fight ensued, in which nearly the whole crowd took a hand. It was at first supposed that Hedges had been killed, and a telephonic message to that effect was sent to town. The superintendent of police and several officers went out to the place, but found that Hedges had recovered consciousness, and no one was dangerously injured. George Barnaby had an ugly gash cut in his forehead, where he had been struck with a whip-stock by Jonas Hedges, a son of the old man, with whom the fight begun. One shot was fired, but no one was wounded. The police returned to the city without making any arrests, but all who participated in the row will probably be prosecuted before the justices this morning.
The Indianapolis Journal, Indianapolis, Indiana. Monday, 2 July 1883.
[7]
- 1899 news article
Dying of Gangrene.
Indianapolis, Ind., Oct. 19. – Monroe Hedges, 105 years old, is dying of gangrene. He is a native of Kentucky, a soldier of two wars and quite recently he came into particular prominence by knocking out one of his sons, 70 years old, who came home intoxicated and attempted to whip his wife. It was the old man’s boast that he had “never been licked and never expected to be.” His wife died six months ago. She was 87 years old.
The Richmond Item, Richmond, Indiana. Thursday, 19 October 1899.
[7]
- Indianapolis Sentinel---October 19, 1899
MONROE HEDGES IS DEAD
RELATIVES CLAIM HE WAS 105 YEARS OLD
Monroe Hedges, who was thought to be the oldest person in Indianapolis, died at 3o'clock yesterday afternoon in a ramshackle hut in the rear of 1012 Rhode Island Street. His relatives claim that he was 105 years old.
Hedges was known in the part of the city where he lived as "Granddad Hedges." He was a familiar figure about the streets and enjoyed good health until a few weeks ago. Until Thursday of last week he retained his mental faculties and was able to pull himself about the small, dirty yard in a chair. Blood poisoning set in, however, and gangrene affected his right arm and leg. Hedges leaves five sons and one daughter. The oldest son is seventy-one years old and the youngest about forty-five years old.
He was born in Flemingsburg, KY., on the spot where the court house now stands. He was a soldier in the Mexican War and was also a member of the "home guards" during the Civil War. He located in Indianapolis shortly before the war broke out and he delighted to tell of the skirmishes the guards had with the "guerillas."
Until recently Mr. Hedges boasted that he was never whipped in his life and made the assertion that he never expected to be. Recently his son Hiram got into an argument with his wife and decided to give her a whipping. His father interfered, however, and knocked him out with a cane. The incident caused considerable comment and New York and Chicago papers sent here for accounts of the old man. Mrs. Hedges died about six months ago at the age of eighty-seven years. The surviving children are: Hiram, James, Jonas, Ross, Dudley, and Louisa.
[1, 5]
- Indianapolis News---October 18, 1899
Monroe Hedges died late yesterday afternoon at his home in the rear of 1012 Rhode Island Street. His extreme age attracted many curious people to the ramshackle hut in which he lived. Members of the family say there is no doubt that he was nearly 106 years old, although they can not prove it.
Hedges often boasted that he had never been whipped in his life, and recently beat his seventy-one year old son with a cane. Undertaker Weiss said the dead man looked at least 106 years old. The funeral will be held tomorrow afternoon and the burial will be in Mount Jackson Cemetery, at the side of his wife, who died last May.
[1, 5]
- Monroe Hedges Dead.
Monroe Hedges, a Mexican war veteran, is dead. He was supposed to be over a hundred years old. His home was in the rear of 1012 Rhode Island street. He leaves five sons and a daughter.
The Indianapolis Journal, Indianapolis, Indiana. Friday, 20 October 1899.
[5, 7]
- 1897 news article
LKH note: this is a different Monroe Hedges
Mr. Monroe Hedges was pronounced insane and taken to the asylum last week.
The Public Ledger, Maysville, Kentucky. Thursday, 15 July 1897, page 4.
1898 news article
Thursday forenoon J. Monroe Hedges came in on the morning rain from Lexington Asylum, where he had been for some time past. He soon showed himself to be as crazy as ever, and was arrested and taken back to the asylum that afternoon by City Marshal Drenan. When he first became insane his hobby was religion, but now he swears like a trooper and puts in most of his time sawing a medley of tunes out of an old fiddle.
Flemingsburg Times-Democrat, Flemingsburg, Kentucky. Friday, 29 July 1898, page 3.
1908 article
Sent o Asylum Again.
Monroe Hedges was tried Saturday by a jury on a writ of lunacy in Judge Sousley's court and adjudged insane. He was taken to the Asylum Saturday afternoon. He has been there once or twice before.
Flemingsburg Times-Democrat, Flemingsburg, Kentucky. Friday, 10 January 1908, page 4.
[7, 8]
- Inquiry 330-71 = Seeking info on William Monroe Hedges, b. Flemingsburg, Ky. Feb.11, 1794, d. Indianapolis, Ind. Mar. 18, 1899. His mother was Rebecca Doyle from Ky., his father (?) said to be b. in England. Wm. m. Julia Ann Sparks also b. Flemingsburg ca. 1823, d. May 5, 1899. They m. Dec. 14, 1841. Julia's father was James Sparks of Campbell Co., mother was (?) Betsy Walls whose father was Richard Wells. Julia and Wm. M. had nine ch. Hiram m. Sarah Cook of Ohio, dau of Fred Cook, Monroe m. Mary Boyse in Flemingsburg on July 2, 1876. Jonas never m., Dudley and James, m. and d. in Indianapolis as did Hiram, Sarah, Monroe, Jonas. Have no info. on France M. Oliver or Lousia, other than they were alive in 1899. The first James was killed Craborchard, Ky., during Civil War. Send response to Donald L. Hedges, 1529 South East, Lebanon, Ind. 46052.
The Fulton Leader, Fulton, Kentucky. Friday, 3 December 1971, page 2.
Corrections
In query No.330-71, the date of death of William Monroe Hedges should have read Oct. 18, 1899 instead of Mar. 18.
The Fulton Leader, Fulton, Kentucky. Friday, 10 December 1971, page 2.
[7]
- James' parents applied for his civil war pension.
name of soldier: Hedges, James P.
name of dependent
widow -
mother Hedges, Julia A.
Father Hedges, Monroe
service H, 10 Ky Cav.
date of filing
1880 Feb 10 mother
1899 May 13 father
state from which filed: Ind.
[9]
|
1803 - 1899 (96 years)
[3] 
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set