James W. Day a.k.a. Jilson Setters-One Fine Fiddler

Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953 about James William Day
Name: James William Day
Death Date: 6 May 1942
Death Location: Boyd
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: White
Birth Location: Rowan, Kentucky
Spouse's Name: Rosie Day
Spouse's Age: 64
Father's Name: Gilson Day
Father's Birth Location: Kentucky

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Thomas had first asked another Kentucky fiddler, Ed Haley, to take on the persona of a character she was creating, Jilson Setters. When Haley refused, Thomas turned to J.W. Day. He wasn’t blind from birth as she’d said, but his sight had failed while he was young, and Thomas had arranged to have the cataracts removed from his eyes.

There’s no such place in Kentucky as Lost Hope Hollow. Day was an itinerant town beggar who made money not by performing ancient ballads, but by playing a mix of topical songs of his own composition. And Thomas was not a circuit court stenographer, but a Hollywood scenario writer—albeit an amateur folklorist.

http://www.appalachianhistory.net/2009/05/singin-fiddler-of-lost-hope-hollow.html

Appalachian History » The Singin’ Fiddler of Lost Hope Hollow, a persona

www.appalachianhistory.net

Jean Thomas called him the “first primitive, unlettered Kentucky mountain minstrel to cross the sea to fiddle and sing his own and Elizabethan ballads in the

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Mary Ellen was married to the famous fiddle player James William Day (aka Jilson Setters, Blind Billy Day)

More About MARY ELLEN WIREMAN:

Burial: Crum Chapel Cemetary Ashland, K

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/l/e/t/William-J-Letsche/GENE2-0005.html

Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of William Wierman

familytreemaker.genealogy.com

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1920 United States Federal Census about James W Day

Name:  James W Day

Home in 1920:  Slade, Powell, Kentucky

Age:     57

Estimated Birth Year:    abt 1863

Birthplace:        Kentucky

Relation to Head of House:       Self (Head)

[Head]

Spouse's Name:            Mary E Day

Father's Birth Place:      Kentucky

Mother's Birth Place:    Kentucky

Marital Status:  Married

Race:    White

Sex:      Male

Home owned:   Rent

Able to read:    Yes

Able to Write:   Yes

Neighbors:        View others on page

Household Members:   

Name   Age

James W Day   57

Mary E Day     51

Bunyan Day      16

Goldie Day       14

Clay Day          12

Marie Day        10

Bernice Day     1

[1 9/12]

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Kentucky 1910 Miracode Index about James W Day

Name:  James W Day

Birthplace:        Kentucky

County:            Powell

Relatives:          Wife Mary E 41, Kentucky

Daughter Rosa V 20, Kentucky

Son Goble 14, Kentucky

Son Bunion 08, Kentucky

Daughter Sady 07, Kentucky

Son W Clay 05, Ohio

Daughter Mable M 02, Kentucky

Daughter Lula Bell NR, Ohio

Enumeration District:     0187

Visit:     0166

Color:   W

Age:     49

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1930 United States Federal Census about James N Day

Name:  James N Day

[James W Day]

Home in 1930:  Ashland, Boyd, Kentucky

View Map

Age:     66

Estimated Birth Year:    abt 1864

Relation to Head of House:       Father

Race:    White

Occupation:

Education:

Military Service:

Rent/home value:

Age at first marriage:

Parents' birthplace:

View image

Neighbors:        View others on page

Household Members:   

Name   Age

Bunyon Day     27

Della Day         20

Bettie J Day      4/12

James N Day    66

Clay Day          22