One side of my maternal line (Burgers) lived for many years in Kentucky, neighbors of the Rousey family. Through the years Rousey family became tangled with not only the Burgers, but many of my relatives from the Goode, Luster, and Swearengin families. None in my direct line, but by marriage, they share my DNA I do not share theirs but we are still genetic cousins.
The Rousey family, where to start. The first Rousey came to America in 1650. Ralph Rousey and his wife and brother Edward were from Kent England and arrived in Rappahannock Va with his half brother John Catlett. They had a patent on 400 acres of land along the south side of the Rappahannock River. Over the next few years, the Catlett and Rousey families became wealthy landowners in Essex and Lancaster Counties. By 1670 they held more than 10,000 acres. A significant acreage was occupied by a Native tribe and the Governor of Virginia enlisted the aid of the military to drive them off the land, to destroy them and take the surviving women and children to sell as slaves to help defray the cost. John Catlett who was now a Judge thought it was an excellent idea. When the family moved to Kentucky they didn’t bring slaves nor did they own them while there.
Leonard Rousey and his wife Elizabeth and her three brothers left Virginia for Kentucky about 1800 and settled in Lincoln County. Jordan Rousey Sr. was ten years old when his father died in 1808. His mother immediately remarried and had a second family, the Benedicts.
Jordan Rousey Sr. married Mary Elizabeth Coffman June 5, 1817, in Casey Kentucky. They settled into farming in Butchertown Casey County Kentucky. The farm was at the southern limit of The Knobs, a hilly stretch of land that was largely unfarmable. It wasn’t an easy existence. He built a small log cabin as stones and timber were plentiful.
Jordan Sr. had eleven children with Mary Elizabeth, four daughters and seven sons. Mary Elizabeth died in 1844 and Jordan Sr married Nancy Ellen Curry April of 1845, their first child, a boy, Camden “Cam” Rousey was born July of 1845. Two more sons and a daughter followed in the next few years.
The Rousey family is a bit of an enigma. The Rousey sons all served with the Union during the Civil War, the family, for the most part, was looked upon as upstanding citizens, smart, attractive, fair and honest. The kind of people who would give you the shirt off their backs. The boys for all they were outlaws in the press also fought against the rise of the KKK and the Regulators. The feuds we remember are family feuds, they are also the most senselessly destructive. Who would argue this was a righteous fight because it as over the protection and honor of their baby sister. In the end, it swept up the McGinnis, Shearin and Lamb families and innocent others.
Delilah K Rousey’s story, so much of the bloodshed swirled around her. She was born in 1839, the ninth child of Jordan Rousey Sr. When I started building my family tree I was fortunate enough to be contacted by Priscilla Burger, her grandfather was Delilah’s brother. Delilah was a very pretty girl. Curly dark hair and dark eyes with a slightly wild look, a petite charmer.
When Delilah was 12 or 13 she ran off with a boy whose name was not recorded in family lore. This would have been 1852-1853, about a year later she returned with an infant. Nothing was passed down as to where she had gone or why, if she was married or what happened to the father of her child. May 29,1854, she married John F Lamb, she was 15 and her husband was 19. There is no mention of her first child. Their only child together, John Jr was born in 1858. There was talk in the family of John abusing Delilah, John Lamb mysteriously disappeared, his date of death is listed as about 1860. It was common knowledge he was killed by Delilah’s brother John Rousey. It is also possible Lamb was seeing another woman.
August 25, 1859, Delilah married James Shearin. She and James Shearin had one child Jasper Shearin born in March of 1862. James Shearin fought in Company I of the 8th Kentucky Cavalry, he enlisted in August of 1862. He would have served with Smith Rousey, Delilah’s brother.
When you look at a census tract all of the players are neighbors. It seems John Jr was staying with the Lowery family, John Rousey’ s wife was a Lowery. It was not unusual for young men and sometimes children to live with family and friends as help. It seems while there he became involved with Rilda Lowery, who had a reputation of causing problems and was thought to be responsible for the death of one man already and may have been involved with the elder Rousey. This is an account from when it happened.
THE ROUSEY LAMB TRAGEDY.
Additional Particulars. Editor Interior Journal
The sun shone brightly Monday morning as John Lamb, a young man in the prime of life, 6 feet high, weighing 175 lbs with , handsome face, arose early and prepared to go to his work, little expecting that in a few hours his spirit would be in Eternity. On the other hand, John Rowsey. the slayer. 60 years old, and the last man any of us expected to kill a man, is up, shoulders a little shot-gun belonging to his grandson, not yet 10 years old, and proceeds to the house where one Lowry and his sister Rilda, (Lowry,) who is the cause of this difficulty, lives. The latter is, by the way, a notorious character, and haa caused the death one other before this, and to whom Rowsey has been giving much attention until recently John Lamb had gained her affections, and as this did not suit Rowsey very well, he ordered Lowry to leave his property. Rowsey arrives at the house, finds them not yet gone, and proceeds to set their plunder out in the yard. At this Rilda be comes indignant and tells him that he is in a damned big hurry, Mr. Rowsey again orders her out. Rilda siezes the Spencer rifle, belonging to Lamb, saying that she was going to get Lamb and have him blow his God damned brains out. It seems Rowsey expected a difficulty, as he went out and blew a horn, and in a short time his son George arrived armed to the teeth. Rilda had not been gone long before she returned accompanied by Lamb carrying the Spencer rifle. Rowsey motioned to Lamb, at the same time telling him to get out of the yard. Lamb gave no heed to this, and, Rowsey says, he raised his gun and was in the act of firing, when he (Rowsey) tired, sending a load of shot into his breast and throat. Lamb walked about twenty steps witbout speaking, and fell dead. The writer, accompanied by a half dozen young men of this place, left here to-day about 1 o'clock P. M. to see the body of John Lamb consigned to the tomb. Notwithstanding the rough road and the many hills we had to go over, the cool, shady way made us forget all this. On the road we observed many trees marked by bullets from the guns of the Rowsey boys; and as practice makes perfect, it is no wonder that they shoot so accurately. We arrived in time to assist in carrying the remains up the steep hill to the family burying-ground of the Rowsey family, where the grave was dug side by side of six other men who had met death in same way at the muzzle of a gun or pistol. Lamb, and his mother too, had requested that the Spencer rifle, which his uncle Arch had given him when on his death bed, be buried with him. The gun was placed under his arm in the coffin His mother who ia a stout woman,, seems to have given up, and is lying prostrated and speechless. The examining trial was postponed on account of absence of witnesses- until Thursday, at Danville. No one haa any idea aa to the result.
With no witnesses to call it murder he was acquitted, he murdered both John Lambs and seemingly got away with it, but the sentiment of the town had changed as it slowly did regarding the other brothers, cousins and nephews.
In October of 1882, Jasper Shearin married his uncle John Rousey’s daughter Bessie Margaret. Their only child Laura Bell was born in 1881. I hope Delilah’s first grandchild eased the pain of losing her oldest son.
Kentucky Advocate 15 February 1884
Another Tragedy. On Monday after noon Geo. W. Rowsey, two miles South bf this place, shot Jasper Shearin, (son of -Mrs. James Shearin, sister of Micajah “Cage”Rowsey.) Shearin died from the effects of the wound Tuesday night at, 9 o'clock. Tuesday morning we mounted our horse with the hope of. getting particulars of the tragedy, and had not gone far when Geo. Rowsey rode up at a rapid gait behind us. Requesting him to tell us about the shooting, he said that on the day previous he had started to go to a former home of his for the purpose of shelling some corn, and saw Jasper Shearin going through a field toward the house of John McGinnis, He said in the afternoon he made three attempts to go, home, each time being "cut off" by Shearin. The fourth time he saw Shearin was coming in ahead on his road homeland seeing his last resort, he made a noise, attracting Shearin's attention, and fired one load from a double-barreled shotgun, which took effect in Shearin's bowels and stomach. This, it seems, would have- unnerved most individuals, but Shearin, showing his wonderful pluck, fired his shot gun, but missed his mark. Rowsey fired his remaining barrel, some of the charge lodging in Shearin's hands, disabling him to such an extent that he tould not use his pistol. He then walked home, a distance of 200 yards. Rowsey claims to have used every effort to make friends with Shearin, all such effort proving futile. He said that Shearin had been carrying a shot gun and pistols for him ever since his father, John. Rowsey, killed John. Lamb, half-brother of Jasper Shearin, eighteen months since. In company with Dr. Brown we soon arrived at the bedside of the wounded man, who said be had been hunted down by Geo, Rowsey, and on the day of the difficulty had eaten breakfast at. home, gone to one Edmond Peaks', of color, from there home, and then to Granderson McGinnis'. Coming along home, not expecting any trouble, he was suddenly shot. The statements of Rowsey and Shearin conflict very much, but it seems that outside parties are much to blame, carrying news from both parties. In justice to all both Rowsey and Shearin had been armed to the teeth most all the time during the eighteen months, and while the afl'air has caused much comment; it was not by any means unexpected, Shearin-was buried in the old family burying ground on the Fork Wednesday afternoon.
George Rousey was charged with murder but because the feud between him and Shearin had been going on this the death of John Lamb and the two regularly shot at each other, both trials resulted in hung juries. Delilah had lost both of her sons and her husband James in less than two years. She eventually married Daniel Cox, although there is no record of exactly when. In August 1901 she married Daniel Rainy, she passed away in 1902 at the age of 55.
Next time I will cover the other Rousey brothers, cousins, and nephews who got caught up in the retribution and bloodshed.