Hello everyone. Welcome to this episode of “Laurel’s Legacies,” a podcast about Laurel County, Kentucky’s history, highlighting its people, places and events, presented by the Laurel County History Museum and Genealogy Center in London, Kentucky.
I’m your host, Danna Estridge, a former journalist turned historian with a passion for local history.
As you know, March is Women's History Month, and this month I’m spotlighting some of Laurel County’s amazing women from the past.
In this episode I want to tell you about a very talented woman who grew up in Laurel County and went on to achieve success on many levels.
Elizabeth Kathleen Lewis was much more than a talented soprano with “a deep, rich voice of rare melody,” and “which has been trained to a high degree of perfection.”
But let’s begin at the beginning – with the birth of Elizabeth Kathleen Lewis on December 10, 1886 in Liverpool, England.
Yes, the same Liverpool that is most well known as the hometown of the Beatles.
Elizabeth Kathleen was the first child born to Sarah Hannah Georgina Campbell Lewis, who was usually known simply as Georgina, and her husband, James Crowe-Campbell Lewis, usually known simply as J. C.
Georgina was born in 1864 in Liverpool, England, and J. C. was born in 1856 in Ireland, but he moved to London, England while a young man in order to attend college in London.
The couple was married on December 29, 1885 at Fairfield in Lancashire County, England, which is near Liverpool.
Kathleen, as I said, was born a year later, in December 1886.
A second child, this time a son, James Alfred Campbell Lewis, was born in 1888.
Both Georgina and J. C. were well educated for the time.
She held an Associate of Arts degree from the University of Oxford, England, the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and one of the leading universities in the entire world.
He was a graduate of University College of Bristol, England, which existed from 1876 to 1909, and was the predecessor to the University of Bristol, which gained a royal charter in 1909.
Today, the University of Bristol is one of the most popular and successful universities in the United Kingdom, ranked 55th in the world in the QS World University Rankings for 2024.
J. C.’s education eventually landed him a job as professor of Natural Science at Ogden College in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
He emigrated to the United States in 1889, leaving Georgina and their two children in England until he could get settled into his new job and set up a home for his family.
Georgina, Kathleen and James arrived in New York City on August 9, 1890 aboard the ship City of Chicago.
The family was reunited in Bowling Green and settled down to domestic life in Kentucky, which must have been somewhat of a culture shock for Georgina and J. C., but to 4-year-old Kathleen and 2-year-old James it must have seemed like the beginning of a grand adventure.
If you want to learn all about their grand adventure, be sure to listen to this episode.
If you like this episode, be sure to tune in again next Thursday for another interesting story from Laurel County’s past.
And if you did enjoy this episode, please tell your friends about this podcast, presented by the Laurel County History Museum and Genealogy Center at Heritage Hills off Tom Jensen Highway in London.
The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to acquire and preserve historical documents and artifacts related to the rich history of Laurel County and Southeastern Kentucky.
You can get directions to the museum and genealogy center on their website at laurelcokyhistorymuseum.org or call 606-862-1693. They’re open 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and by appointment.
Hello everyone. Welcome to this episode of “Laurel’s Legacies,” a podcast about Laurel County, Kentucky’s history, highlighting its people, places and events, presented by the Laurel County History Museum and Genealogy Center in London, Kentucky.
I’m your host, Danna Estridge, a former journalist turned historian with a passion for local history.
As you know, March is Women's History Month, and this month I’m spotlighting some of Laurel County’s amazing women from the past.
In this episode I want to tell you about a very talented woman who grew up in Laurel County and went on to achieve success on many levels.
Elizabeth Kathleen Lewis was much more than a talented soprano with “a deep, rich voice of rare melody,” and “which has been trained to a high degree of perfection.”
But let’s begin at the beginning – with the birth of Elizabeth Kathleen Lewis on December 10, 1886 in Liverpool, England.
Yes, the same Liverpool that is most well known as the hometown of the Beatles.
Elizabeth Kathleen was the first child born to Sarah Hannah Georgina Campbell Lewis, who was usually known simply as Georgina, and her husband, James Crowe-Campbell Lewis, usually known simply as J. C.
Georgina was born in 1864 in Liverpool, England, and J. C. was born in 1856 in Ireland, but he moved to London, England while a young man in order to attend college in London.
The couple was married on December 29, 1885 at Fairfield in Lancashire County, England, which is near Liverpool.
Kathleen, as I said, was born a year later, in December 1886.
A second child, this time a son, James Alfred Campbell Lewis, was born in 1888.
Both Georgina and J. C. were well educated for the time.
She held an Associate of Arts degree from the University of Oxford, England, the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and one of the leading universities in the entire world.
He was a graduate of University College of Bristol, England, which existed from 1876 to 1909, and was the predecessor to the University of Bristol, which gained a royal charter in 1909.
Today, the University of Bristol is one of the most popular and successful universities in the United Kingdom, ranked 55th in the world in the QS World University Rankings for 2024.
J. C.’s education eventually landed him a job as professor of Natural Science at Ogden College in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
He emigrated to the United States in 1889, leaving Georgina and their two children in England until he could get settled into his new job and set up a home for his family.
Georgina, Kathleen and James arrived in New York City on August 9, 1890 aboard the ship City of Chicago.
The family was reunited in Bowling Green and settled down to domestic life in Kentucky, which must have been somewhat of a culture shock for Georgina and J. C., but to 4-year-old Kathleen and 2-year-old James it must have seemed like the beginning of a grand adventure.
If you want to learn all about their grand adventure, be sure to listen to this episode.
If you like this episode, be sure to tune in again next Thursday for another interesting story from Laurel County’s past.
And if you did enjoy this episode, please tell your friends about this podcast, presented by the Laurel County History Museum and Genealogy Center at Heritage Hills off Tom Jensen Highway in London.
The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to acquire and preserve historical documents and artifacts related to the rich history of Laurel County and Southeastern Kentucky.
You can get directions to the museum and genealogy center on their website at laurelcokyhistorymuseum.org or call 606-862-1693. They’re open 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and by appointment.