There is a short hollow in Rush KY called Brazella Hollow. This hollow is on the left of KY SR 854 and 0.4 miles before you start to ascend Rush Hill to go to the Garner / East Fork side.
At the bottom of this article is a Google Maps link that shows the exact location of this hollow at the red teardrop marker (GPS 38.316191, -82.780235).
My maternal Grandparents, Lon Tiller (1901 – 1949) and Lillie Clark Tiller (1902 – 1970), lived near this hollow, and after their deaths other important relatives reside nearby. It seems that I have always been aware of the name of this hollow, but about 20 years ago I realized I was not sure how the hollow’s name was spelled, or the exact pronunciation.
I asked several older Rush relatives and other Rush locals, many were aware of the exact location of this hollow, but what they called it varied a bit from human to human. Most started the hollow’s name with a B sound, but occasionally some would serve up a name starting with a P sound.
So people talked about this hollow to others, but it seemed no one wrote the hollow’s name down. It was a place name with only an oral tradition. I could find no citations on the many maps of the area I have perused over the years.
So there was this hollow in Rush, many locals knew where it was, but what they called this hollow differed slightly from person to person. This slightly jumbled reality just existed in my brain for many years.
About 10 years ago I was visiting my family’s Tiller graves at Coalton Cemetery. I looked about and by absolute chance saw a gravestone with the very unusual name “Brazella”. The grave was for Brazella Alexander. I knew that other members of the Alexander family lived near this hollow with the jumbled name. Bingo.
From the 1920 US Census I determined that Brezella Jordan Alexander (1891 – 1952) and family with husband, Richard Alexander (1891 – 1961), lived in this area of Rush KY (based on my knowledge of others listed beside them on the 1920 Census).
So, I now had both the correct spelling, “Brezella”, and since this is such an unusual name, the origin of the name for that hollow. This hollow was named for Brazella Jordan Alexander.
Enjoy! Lon
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This is so neat. I grew up on Davis Road and still live on 854. I love learning about our history and you’ve mentioned many of my own family members on your site. If I didn’t have this site to refer to I wouldn’t know so much about where we started. Rush, Kentucky is forever my home. Great article! I never knew that road even had a name! The lady looks incredibly sweet as does her husband.
Sydney, thank you so much. I am glad you like “The Williams Creek Basin”. You father was a big help on the articles I wrote on the jet fighter crash at the head of Rush.
Enjoy! Lon