T74 
 
 r 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 014 611 474 A 
 
 p6i2nuli[^4 
 
 pH83 
 
F 451 
 .T74 
 Copy 1 
 
 Bl0r^ of t\^t Mmhtimlmh 
 
 Short Studies in Kentuckiana 
 
 By John Wilson Townsend 
 
LORE OF THE MEAUOWLAND. 
 
Hor^ of tije Heabflmkttli 
 
 John Wilson Townsemd 
 
 Author of 
 "Richard Hickman Menefee" 
 
 'KeNTUCKIANS in iilSTORY AND LITERATURE" 
 
 "Life of Jamks Fran'Cis Leonard" 
 "Kentucky: Mother of Governors," etc. 
 
 pRKS.i OF 
 
 J. L, RiCHAitutJON & Co. 
 
 LKXINGTON. KY, 
 1911 
 
K 
 
 .^^ 
 
 ^^K 
 
 / 
 
 // 
 
1/ 
 
 TO 
 
 James Lane Allen 
 affectionately 
 
A NOTE. 
 
 Contrary to public impression, Kentucky does not 
 mean "dark and bloody ground," but it is a word origin- 
 ally used by the Iroquois Indians to signify the "hunting 
 grounds;" or, a much better word, "meadowland." This 
 in justification of my title. 
 
 "Lore of the Meadowland" may be considered as sort 
 of a sequel to my "Kentuckians in History and Literature," 
 a book, I trust, that is not as bad as its name. At any rate, 
 it found favor with quite a number of readers, and its com- 
 panion is now sent forth with the hope (as all first-book 
 authors have it) that it, too, may prove worth while, and 
 finally find an humble place in the great world of books. 
 
 J. W. T. 
 Lexington, Ky., 
 
 February 25, 1911. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Horace Holley, LL. D 11 
 
 Joseph S. Cotter 23 
 
 Reverend London Ferrill 28 
 
Two hundred and fifty copies of this pamphlet were 
 printed in April, 1911, of which this is number y^"^ y'^ 
 
 -7 1 
 
HORACE HOLLEY, LL. D. 
 
 The Third President of 
 Old Transylvania 
 
 [Read upon the Celebration of the One Hundred and Thirtieth Anniversary of His 
 Birth, in Morrison College, on February 14, 1911.] 
 
 One hundred and thirty years ago yesterday, Horace 
 Holley was born. In a most direct line he was descended 
 from the famous Edmund Halley, the English astronomer, 
 whose comet, like many another good thing, went wrong 
 last year. The American founder of his family, John Hol- 
 ley, was one of the big men of Seventeenth century Con- 
 necticut ; and his father, Luther Holley, was a business 
 man of ability, around whose memory lingers the excellent 
 tradition that he, like Lord Macaulay, could repeat the 
 whole of "Paradise Lost." Horace HoUey's mother was 
 Sarah Dakin, one of the Dresden china type of women, 
 reminding one of a delicate piece of porcelain. And these 
 two, Luther and Sarah (Dakin) Holley, were not only the 
 parents of him whom we remember to-day, but of their eld- 
 est son, Myron Holley, the famous New England reformer, 
 occupying a larger place in American history than does his 
 younger brother. 
 
 The little town of Salisbury, Connecticut, is the place, 
 and February 13, 1781, is the date of Horace HoUey's 
 birth. In school before he was four years old and finishing 
 it when he was ten, Horace spent the next three or four 
 years in study at home and in business with his father. His 
 mind becoming more and more engrossed in intellectual 
 pursuits, it was finally decided to give him a college educa- 
 
12 Lore of the Meadowland 
 
 tion. So, in 1797, at the age of sixteen years, he entered 
 the preparatory department of Williams College, Williams- 
 town, Massachusetts. Here he spent'two years, at the end 
 of which time he went to New Haven and matriculated as a 
 Freshman at Yale. Yale was then flourishing under the 
 auspices of its great President, Timothy Dwight, and the 
 brilliant youngster and the old poet-president became boon 
 companions, a friendship that was only terminated with 
 Dwight' s death. Holley was an excellent student, besides 
 being one of the best speakers in the college, and the 
 social star of the town. In 1803, as the class orator, the 
 degree of Bachelor of Arts was conferred upon him. 
 
 The great religious revival that swept over New Haven 
 in 1803, found many converts in the men of Yale; and 
 among them, as you have anticipated, was Horace Holley. 
 This awakening left its impress upon him, and, though he 
 went to New York City soon after graduation to study law 
 in the office of Riggs and Radcliff, he could not get away 
 from his conversion, if we may so term it. For several 
 months he devoted himself assiduously to the law, but it 
 soon became so distasteful to him that he gave it up and 
 returned to New Haven to study theology under President 
 Dwight. Though bred a strict Calvinist, Holley soon 
 became a Unitarian as exemplified in the teachings of Will- 
 iam Ellery Channing and the other New England preachers 
 of this faith. He pursued his studies with great enthusiasm 
 and rapidly finished his course. 
 
 On January 1, 1805, Horace Holley married Mary Aus- 
 tin, of New Haven, who was to afterward become his best 
 biographer, and the author of the well-known "History of 
 Texas." From their union two children were born, the 
 eldest of whom died some ten years ago. 
 
 On September 13, of this same year of 1805, Holley 
 was ordained at Greenfield Hill, Connecticut — the lovely 
 little town that Dwight celebrated in his pastoral poem of 
 that name, a poem that was read more a century ago than 
 it is to-day — by the Western Consociation of Fairfield 
 County, Connecticut; and the Society "voted to give Mr. 
 
Lore of the Meadowland 13 
 
 Holley five hundred and sixty dollars per year for his ser- 
 vices in the ministry, so long as said society and Mr. Hol- 
 ley could agree." For three years they did agree, at the 
 end of which time the pastor, looking for fairer financial 
 fields, let his eyes behold Marblehead, Massachusetts, but, 
 after a few weeks, he pronounced it not good, and decided 
 to look further. Middletown, Connecticut, and Albany, 
 New York, made him offers, which he declined, and 
 descended upon Boston. There he preached in the Old 
 South church to crowded congregations for a time. After 
 several trial sermons, which were declared excellent, the 
 great Hollis Street Unitarian church invited him to become 
 its pastor, and this he did. 
 
 Installed on March 8, 1809, Holley spent the next nine 
 years of his life, the most pleasant years he was to spend in 
 the world, as pastor of this church. There was a thorough 
 and most cordial understanding and sympathy between min- 
 ister and people, and we may well believe that he was 
 happy. 
 
 It was while at Hollis Street, that to all intents and pur- 
 poses, Holley admitted to a company of clergymen his 
 disbelief in the divinity of Christ to the extent "that the 
 being," as he phrased it, "called Jesus Christ, who lived, 
 and walked about, and ate, and drank, and died, on this 
 earth, was verily the eternal God, the great First Cause of 
 all things." And then to illustrate what a nice mind he 
 had, he said in a sermon, "What is Christian faith? The 
 intelligent and honest acknowledgment that Jesus is the 
 Christ. What is the term of Christian communion in the 
 article of faith? The same acknowledgment that Jesus is 
 the Christ." This distinction is one of the paradoxies of 
 Unitarianism, you may say, and you may be right! Of 
 course, in this he denied the doctrine of the trinity; and 
 he clave unto all the other principles of his church. Truth 
 was what he most desired, and if he saw it in Unitarianism, 
 why, that was his affair, not ours. Surely, though, we can 
 all come in on his definition of religion as the love of God 
 
14 Lore of the Meadowland 
 
 and man, as it is the same definition that the Savior gave 
 centuries ago. 
 
 Besides his pastoral duties, Holley was a member of 
 the Board of Overseers of Harvard College, of the Boston 
 school committee, and of many other literary and benevo- 
 lent institutions. To all of them he gave himself unstint- 
 ingly. 
 
 And then, at the acme of his power as one of the great 
 pulpit orators of the whole country, when his influence for 
 good was greatest, like a bolt from the blue he heard the 
 call of the wild, the great West began its pounding in his 
 pulses, a pounding that never ceased until he went to the 
 undiscovered country. 
 
 In 1815 Dr. Holley — for he was now wearing the de- 
 gree of Doctor of Laws— was elected to the presidency of 
 Transylvania University, but he was then wise enough to 
 ignore the siren's voice. The Trustees camped on his trail, 
 however, and, in November, 1817, he was again unani- 
 mously invited to accept the office. Their perseverance, 
 perhaps as much as anything else, kindled his curiosity, 
 and so, in March of the following year, he left Boston for 
 the capitol of Blue Grass Kentucky. He stopped in 
 Washington, where he met many members of Congress, 
 and delighted them with his power as a preacher (and, by 
 the way, we want to remember that Holley was a man of 
 great eloquence, a genuine orator). Journeying through 
 Virginia he visited in Richmond, and then tarried awhile 
 with Jefferson at charming "Monticello." 
 
 Arrived in Lexington he was greeted with real acclaim 
 as the one man who could bring sanity and wisdom, which 
 spelled success, into the management of the university. 
 Carefully considering the institution, the town, the country, 
 Holley sent his acceptance to the Board on April 7; and a 
 short time thereafter they met and unanimously elected him 
 president of Transylvania. 
 
 While in this city looking over the field. Dr. Holley 
 wrote some very delightful letters home, and from one of 
 these we desire to read this: 
 
/ 
 
 Lore of the Meadowland 15 
 
 "Lexington, May 27th, 1818. 
 
 "The town and vicinity are very handsome. The 
 streets are broad, straight, paved, clean, and have rows of 
 trees on each side. The houses are of brick almost univer- 
 sally, many of them in the midst of fields, and have a very 
 rural and charming appearance. The taste is for low houses, 
 generally two, sometimes even but one story high, like 
 English cottages. 
 
 "In the afternoon I walked about town with Mr. Clay, 
 and called at a few charming houses. I visited also the 
 Athenaeum, an institution not yet furnished with many 
 books, but well supplied with newspapers, and the best peri- 
 odicals. I find everything of this sort, which is valuable, 
 from Boston and the other Atlantic cities. 
 
 "This morning I breakfasted at Mr. Clay's, who lives a 
 mile and a half from town. He arrived here only three 
 days before me. Ashland is a very pleasant place, hand- 
 somer than I anticipated. The grounds are beautiful, the 
 lawns and walks extensive, the shrubbery luxuriant, and the 
 garden well supplied. The native forest of ash in the rear 
 adds a charming effect to the whole. After breakfast Mr. 
 Clay rode with me and we went with the trustees, by 
 appointment, to the college to visit the professors and stu- 
 dents. They were all collected in the largest hall to receive 
 us. I made a short address, which was received in a kind 
 manner. I was then conducted to the library, the appa- 
 ratus, and the recitation rooms. The library is small, and 
 the apparatus smaller. There is no regular division of stu- 
 dents into classes as in other colleges, and but few laws. 
 Everything is to be done and so much the better, as noth- 
 ing is to be reformed. Almost the whole is proposed to be 
 left to me to arrange. I am now making all necessary 
 inquiries, and a meeting of the trustees is to be called next 
 week. 
 
 "After this visit, I went with a party of ladies and 
 gentlemen nine miles into the country to the seat of Colonel 
 [William] Mead [situated just off the Harrodsburg pike], 
 where we dined and passed the day. This gentleman, who 
 
16 Lore of the Meadowland 
 
 is near seventy, is a Virginian of the old school. He has 
 been a good deal in England in his youth, and brought 
 home with him English notions of a country seat, though 
 he is a great republican in politics. He and his wife dress 
 in the costume of the olden time. He has the square coat 
 and green cuffs, the vest of the court, short breeches, and 
 white stockings, at all times. Mrs. Mead has the long 
 waist, the white apron, the stays, the ruffles about the 
 elbows, and the cap of half a century ago. She is very 
 mild and ladylike, and though between sixty and seventy, 
 plays upon the piano-forte with the facility and cheerfulness 
 of a young lady. Her husband resembles Colonel Pickering 
 in the face and the shape of the head. He is entirely a 
 man of leisure, never having followed any business, and 
 never using his fortune but in adorning his place and enter- 
 taining his friends and strangers. No word is ever sent to 
 him that company is coming. To do so offends him. 
 But a dinner — he dines at the hour of four — is always 
 ready for visitors; and servants are always in waiting. 
 "Twenty of us went out to-day without warning, and 
 were entertained luxuriously on the viands of the country. 
 Our drink consisted of beer, toddy and water. Wine, being 
 imported and expensive, he never gives; nor does he allow 
 cigars to be smoked in his presence. His house consists of 
 a cluster of rustic cottages, in front of which spreads a 
 beautiful, sloping lawn as smooth as velvet. From this di- 
 verge, in various directions, and forming vistas terminated 
 by picturesque objects, groves and walks extending over 
 some acres. Seats, Chinese temples, verdant banks and al- 
 coves are interspersed at convenient distances. The lake, 
 over which presides a Grecian temple, that you may im- 
 agine to be the residence of the water nymphs, has in it a 
 small island, which communicates with the shore by a white 
 bridge of one arch. The whole is surrounded by a low rus- 
 tic fence of stone, surmounted and almost hidden by honey- 
 suckle and roses, now in full flower, and which we gathered 
 in abundance to adorn the ladies. Everything is laid out 
 for walking and pleasure. His farm he rents, and does 
 
Lore of the Meadowland 17 
 
 nothing for profit. The whole is in rustic taste. You enter 
 from the road, through a gate between rude and massive 
 columns, a field without pretension, wind a considerable dis- 
 tance through a noble park to an inner gate, the capitals to 
 whose pillars are unique, being formed of the roots of trees, 
 carved by nature. The rich scene of cultivation, of verdure 
 and flower-capped hedges, bursts upon you. There is no 
 establishment like this in our country. Instead of a des- 
 cription, I might have given you its name, 'Chaumiere du 
 Prairies.' 
 
 Wouldn't you like to know what part, if any, this great 
 lord of the land played in the little tragedy we are now 
 about to stage, which may be entitled "The Power of 
 Darkness?" 
 
 Immediately after his election, HoUey informed the 
 Hollis Street church of his determination, and he travelled 
 home at once to make preparations for the removal of his 
 family. He preached a great valedictory sermon to his 
 congregation, gathered his family around him, together 
 with two graduates of Harvard, and in September he was 
 off again for Kentucky. He arrived in Lexington in the late 
 autumn, and his presence was welcomed by the illumina- 
 tion of the college building, and many other manifestations 
 of great joy. 
 
 On December 19, 1818, Dr. HoUey was inaugurated as 
 third President of Transylvania University, and he at once 
 entered upon the arduous task of converting a grammar 
 school into a university. He had everything to plan, but 
 he set himself to the work like the wonderful man he was. 
 His heart and soul he dedicated on Transylvania's altar. 
 
 In order to get the proper perspective, we must go back 
 a bit. Transylvania University is the result of the consolid- 
 ation of two preparatory schools: Transylvania Seminary 
 of Lexington, founded in 1785, and Kentucky Academy of 
 Pisgah, founded in 1795. The union of these two took 
 place in 1798, and the next year the Rev. James Moore, the 
 famous flute-playing parson, whom Mr. James Lane Allen 
 has so exquisitely interwoven into his Kentucky tales and ro- 
 
18 Lore of the Meadowland 
 
 mances, became the first president of the infant University. 
 
 President Moore, though a most charming gentleman, 
 was not a great college president. So, after five years, he 
 was succeeded by Dr. James Blythe, a man more interested 
 in the chemistry of matter than in the matter of men. 
 President Blythe continued as head of the University in 
 embryo for fourteen years, during which time he succeeded 
 most admirably in keeping it in all sorts of religious tangles 
 and warm controversies of various kinds. The curriculum 
 was a pathetic joke, and during the first twenty years of its 
 existence, that is throughout the reigns of the parson and 
 the physician, the little college graduated exactl} twenty- 
 two men. 
 
 The Kentucky Presbyterians seemed to think that the 
 University belonged to them, and with their abominable 
 sectarianism they had torn the institution well-nigh asunder. 
 Though the State legislature ousted their board and elected 
 a new board composed of several of the distinguished men 
 of the Commonwealth, who were anxious to work hand in 
 hand with Holley, they yet endeavored to hold on to the 
 University : the Lexington Presbyterians were the last to 
 welcome the new president, and an Ohio Presbyterian 
 weekly was always his harshest critic. Centre College of 
 Danville is a most magnificent memorial to the Plolley cru- 
 sade. This is history, not prejudice. 
 
 President Holley, having partly finished the work of 
 regeneration and overhauling, within three years students 
 from all over the Mississippi Valley were crowding the halls 
 of the institution; the intellectual life of the whole Western 
 people was quickened; European gazetters began to refer to 
 Lexington as the seat of Transylvania University, "The 
 Athens of the West" — a sobriquet that Horace Holley had 
 more to do with winning for this city than even the mighty 
 Henry Clay. The future was indeed bright; State and 
 Church in the administration of Transylvania seemed to be 
 at last separated; the new president was, as we put it to-day, 
 "making good." His faculty was composed of famous 
 men, at the head of whom stood Constantine Samuel Rafin- 
 
Lore of the Meadowland 19' 
 
 esque, the scientist and historian, "the most learned man in 
 America," to revive the characterization of his contempora- 
 ries. 
 
 It was not long, however, and more's the pity, 
 before President Holley had raised up a coterie of ene- 
 mies determined to destroy him. These enemies, in many 
 instances the recipients of hospitality in home and kind- 
 nesses from his hand, began to circulate all sorts of 
 silly stories about the man, the preacher, the professor, 
 and the president. He had a small bust of a Grecian 
 goddess in the nude in his home, and because it "was not 
 covered to the very ears in an 'inky cloak,' it was 'worse 
 poison to men's souls' than a pagan idol, or a 'Druid's 
 oak.' " This was one of the proofs that Dr. Holley was no 
 Christian 1 Of course, his maligners were ignorant of the 
 views of the Unitarian, and so again, of course, Holley was 
 an infidel, a most dangerous instructor of youth. The 
 government of the University was represented to be lax, 
 the students an idle, dissipated set of ne'er-do-wells; the 
 University was a "rich man's institution," and, if it were, 
 it could not well be otherwise with practically no endow- 
 ment or State aid. And so, with damning falsehood, 
 denunciation, malice — all "modes of moral assassination" 
 known to men, were used to dethrone the character of 
 Transylvania's great president. 
 
 yolley's mistake in dealing with his enemies was this: 
 like the Standard Oil Company, he maintained a "dignified 
 silence," seldom replying to pamphlet, newspaper or mag- 
 azine criticisms, or public denunciation, hoping always, and 
 always in vain, to "kill false accusations with silence." His 
 enemies, like the very dogs of war, were united; he stood 
 alone, with only an occasional friend to speak a word for 
 him in printer's ink. His wife thought that he should have 
 established "an academical paper," which, Wisely con- 
 ducted, would most probably have saved him and the Uni- 
 versity he loved so well. Dr. Holley did not seem to real 
 ize with Joseph Addison that "envy is a tax which a man 
 owes to his contemporaries tor the privilege of being dis- 
 
20 Lore of the Meadowland 
 
 tinguished;" and had he done so, the end of this story- 
 would be more remote. 
 
 A tactless political speech, delivered by one of the stu- 
 dents, and without the president's knowledge; the denun- 
 ciation of an unspeakable Desha, whom the people of this 
 State were at one time so unfortunate as to elect Governor 
 of Kentucky; and the accumulated criticisms of a half- 
 dozen years, convinced HoUey that he was not appreciated 
 and he decided to resign. Nine of the best years of his 
 life were given to Transylvania, 'his "favorite foster-child." 
 In January, 1826, he had asked the Board of Trustees to 
 accept his resignation, but they declined to do so. Now, 
 however, in the early spring of 1827, he insisted that his 
 resignation take immediate effect; and it was done. 
 
 In making his final report to the Trustees, President 
 Holley pointed out some interesting facts. During the 
 session just closing two hundred and eighty-six students 
 were matriculated in the University; attention was called to 
 the excellent condition of the grounds and buildings — "in 
 the whole establishment there is not a pane of glass out;" — 
 the condition of the libraries, apparatus, and cabinet, was 
 noted; the course of study was wisely commented upon; 
 the number of degrees conferred from the beginning of his 
 incumbency (1818) to the present time (1827): six hundred 
 and sixty, forty of which were honorary, as against the 
 twenty-two that were granted from 1802 to 1818; some of 
 the wants of the University: the revival of the law school; 
 chairs of French and Spanish; a gymnasium; a provision to 
 increase the libraries; an art gallery. 
 
 This resignation and report was dated "Lexington, 
 March 24, 1827," and, if all other evidence were lacking, 
 this alone would prove Holley' s great worth and success as 
 a college president, and, also, that he was thinking fifty 
 years or more in advance of his time; but, because he saw 
 no harm in a horse race, a toddy, a dance, a hearty laugh, 
 an excellent theatrical performance; because, in sooth, he 
 was "a good fellow," believing that it was quite possible 
 for one to keep Christ in one's heart without wearing crepe 
 
Lore of the Meadowland 21 
 
 on one's countenance, his power as a pulpit orator, his won- 
 derful work forTransylvania, all, all his series of signal suc- 
 cesses were forgotten, and he was utterly damned! 
 
 Speaking for the Board of Trustees, old John Bradford, 
 Kentucky's pioneer journalist, penned these prophetic sen- 
 tences : "Within the walls of Transylvania the fond recol- 
 lections of her polite, kind, generous, learned, accomplished 
 and much loved President will never perish. The patronage 
 of the Commonwealth may be withdrawn, the institution 
 may decline, the walls themselves may be crumbled; but so 
 long as the name remains there will be associated with it 
 the most affectionate remembrances that flow from mutual 
 attachments, or have a habitation in the hearts of those who 
 are susceptible of the emotions of gratitude. To whatever 
 clime your destiny may direct you, you will be pursued by 
 the esteem and confidence of those who have been so long 
 and so intimately associated with you, and whom we on 
 this occasion represent. Farewell." 
 
 A valedictory address must, of course, be delivered to 
 his friends, and in this two-hour discourse he touched upon 
 everything from his report to the trustees to females, happi- 
 ness, immortality, politics, and his return. He seems to 
 have held, like many another man, that he "could come 
 back." 
 
 Leaving Lexington on March 27, 1827, he was accom- 
 Danied by his friends and admirers for several miles out of 
 town, the last expression of their love and esteem. 
 
 HoUey had a dream for the sons of the Southern plan- 
 ters, and it was this : he desired to take a goodly company 
 of them to Europe, living most of the time in Paris, and 
 then to educate them with books and travel on the conti- 
 nent and in England. He went to New Orleans, where he 
 hoped to gather his boys together, and to sail from that 
 port. On arriving in New Orleans, however, he found him- 
 self welcomed almost as cordially as he had been in Lex- 
 ington some ten years before He was offered the Presi- 
 dency of the re-organized College of New Orleans, and he 
 at once accepted it abandoning his idea for the sons of the 
 
21 Lore of the Meadowland 
 
 planters at the same time. The Louisianians exhibited 
 unlimited faith in the late President of Transylvania, prac- 
 tically agreeing to build him a university, and then, if he 
 would only accept it, to ultimately present it to him. He 
 acceded to their wishes and at once set the wheels of regen- 
 eration into motion. 
 
 But the summer wore on apace, and it is a deal warmer 
 on Canal street than it is on Market. Holley, exhausted 
 with work and overcome with lassitude, finally decided to 
 drop the rein for awhile and take a long rest. Passage on 
 the packet "Louisiana" was engaged, and the tedious trip 
 to New York City was begun. For the first few days all 
 went well, and then, "Yellow fever aboard !" was the awful 
 cry. Holley was stricken, and on the last day of July, 
 1827, he died. His body was consigned to the waters of 
 the Gulf of Mexico; but the flight of years seem to serve 
 as guardians of a memory perennially green. 
 
 And this, my friends, is the imperfect tale of the years 
 of Horace Holley, the famous, the much-maligned Presi- 
 dent of old Transylvania. 
 
KENTUCKY'S DUNBAR 
 
 Josef>h Seamon Cotter 
 
 Let no catholic-minded Kentuckian point the finger of 
 scorn at me because I see fit to make an appreciative 
 note on Joseph S. Cotter, the Louisville Negro poet. If 
 one will read the two lyrics of Cotter's that are here repro- 
 duced, one will agree with the present writer that, although 
 the poet's color be black, he deserves a deal of recognition 
 from those who care for clever verse, if not poetry of the 
 highest order. 
 
 The Kentucky Negro, it is interesting at this time to 
 note, has his representatives in the major departments of 
 literature. In history and biography he is represented by 
 John H. Jackson and William J. Simmons ; in fiction by 
 W. W. Brown and A. A. Whitman ; and in poetry, both 
 lyric and dramatic, by George M. McClellan, Henry A. 
 Laine, and Joseph S. Cotter. 
 
 Joseph Seamon Cotter, the ablest Negro writer Ken- 
 tucky has produced, was born near Bardstovvn, Ky , in 186L 
 He had not a Tuskegee to attend, so he worked at the hard- 
 est manual labor in the day and attended a night school in 
 Louisville. He has educated himself so successfully that he 
 is at the present time Principal of the Eighth Street Colored 
 School in Louisville. He has won the respect of many of 
 Louisville's foremost citizens by his modest life and poetic 
 output. 
 
 Cotter has published three books. His first, entitled 
 "Links of Friendship," appeared m 1898; his second, 
 called "Caleb, The Degenerate," is a four-act drama; and 
 
24 Lore of the Meadowland 
 
 his latest book, issued in 1909, "A White Song and a Black 
 One." A rather creditable showing for a Kentucky Negro, 
 is it not ? 
 
 From "A White Song and a Black One," this little 
 lyric is selected for reproduction — the very cleverest thing 
 that Cotter has done. 
 
 NEGRO LOVE SONG. 
 
 I lobes your hands, gal ; yes I do. 
 
 (I'se gwine to wed ter-morro'). 
 I lobes your earnings thro' an' thro'. 
 
 (I'se gwine ter wed ter-morro'). 
 Now, heah de truf. I'se mos' nigh broke; 
 I wants ter take you fer my yoke; 
 
 So let's go wed ter-morro'. 
 
 Now, don't look shy, an' don't say no. 
 
 (I'se gwine ter wed ter-morro'). 
 I hope you don't expects er sho' 
 
 When we two weds ter-morro'. 
 I needs er licens — you knows I do — 
 I'll borrow de price ob de same frum you. 
 
 An' den we weds ter-morro'. 
 
 How pay you back ? In de reg'ler way. 
 
 When you becomes my honey 
 You'll habe myself fer de princ'pal pay, 
 
 An' my faults ter de interes' money. 
 Dat suits you well ? Dis cash is right. 
 So we two weds ter-morro' night, 
 
 An' you wuks all de ter-morro' s. 
 
 Shortly before his death the greatest of Negro writers — 
 if we except the French Dumas and the Russian Pushkin — 
 Paul Lawrence Dunbar, came to Kentucky and gave readings 
 from his poems in the principal cities of the State. When 
 he returned to his home in Dayton, Ohio, he wrote this 
 poem, now published in his 'Lyrics of Lowly Life": 
 
 AFTER A VISIT. 
 
 I be'n down in ole Kentucky 
 
 Fur a week er two, an' say. 
 'T wuz ez hard ez 'oreakin' oxen 
 
 Fur to tear myse'f away 
 
Lore of the Meadowland 25 
 
 Alius argerin' 'bout fren'ship 
 
 An' yer hospitality — 
 Y' ain't no right to talk about it 
 
 Tell you be'n down there to see. 
 
 See jest how they give you welcome 
 
 To the best that's in the land, 
 Feel the sort o' grip they give you 
 
 When they take you by the hand. 
 Hear 'em say, "We're glad to have you, 
 
 Better stay a week er two; " 
 An' the way they treat you makes you 
 
 Feel that ev'ry word is true. 
 
 Feed you tell you hear the buttons 
 
 Crackin' on yore Sunday vest ; 
 Haul you roun' to see the wonders 
 
 Tell you have to cry for rest. 
 Drink yer health an' pet an' praise you 
 
 Tell you git to feel ez great 
 Ez the Sheriff o' the county 
 
 Er the Gov'ner o' the State. 
 
 Wife, she sez I must be crazy 
 
 'Cause I go on so, an' Nelse 
 He 'lows, "Goodness gracious ! daddy, 
 
 Cain't you talk about nuthin' else?" 
 Well, pleg-gone it, I'm jes' tickled, 
 
 Bein' tickled ain't no sin; 
 I be'n down in ole Kentucky, 
 
 An' I wan o' go ag'in. 
 
 cotter's response to DUNBAR. 
 
 Here is Cotter's reply to "After a Visit:" 
 
 So, you be'n to ole Kentucky, 
 
 An' you want to go ag'in? 
 Well, Kentucky '11 doff her kerchief 
 
 An' politely ask you in. 
 An' she'll loosen from her girdle 
 
 What perhaps you didn't see — 
 Keys that fit the other cupboards 
 
 Of her hos[)itality. 
 
 Not that she's inclined to liold back 
 With the good and give the worst; 
 But, you know, in all fair dealin'. 
 
26 Lore of the Meadowland 
 
 What is first must be the first. 
 So, when she takes key the second 
 
 An' gives it a twist er two 
 (Maybe I ought not to say it), 
 
 It'll most nigh startle you. 
 
 An' then keys the third and fourth, sir, 
 
 (Not to speak of all the rest) 
 Wouldn't stop at crackin' buttons, 
 
 They'd jest smash that Sunday vest. 
 And your happiness would find, sir, 
 
 A momentum then and there 
 That would carry it a-sweepin' 
 
 Through the stronghold of despair. 
 
 Now, the grippin' o' the liand, sir. 
 
 An' the welcome that you say 
 Was so firm an' true an' all that 
 
 Has a kind o' curious way. 
 At the first it's sorter slow like. 
 
 Till it forms a league with you. 
 Then it makes a kind o' circuit 
 
 That jest thrills you thro' an thro'. 
 
 But it may be I had better 
 
 Not discuss this aftermath 
 Fur it might stir up your feelings 
 
 To the righteous point of wrath 
 As you brood o'er what you lost, sir, 
 
 By not stayin' with us longer. 
 Ah, well, come to see us often, 
 
 Ole Kentucky '11 make you stronger. 
 
 So, you be'n to ole Kentucky, 
 
 An' you want to go ag'in ? 
 Well, Kentucky's standin' waitin' 
 
 Jest to take you wholly in. 
 An' she'll loosen her vast girdle 
 
 So that you can fully see 
 All the roots, fruits, leaves, an' branches 
 
 Of her hospitality. 
 
 Charles J. O'Malley, the Kentucky poet and critic, 
 stated the difference between Dunbar and Cotter : ' 'Dunbar, 
 perhaps, displays more of the poet's stock-in-trade, blue 
 skies, bird-songs, brooks, roses, green grass; Cotter, we 
 
Lore of the Meadowland 
 
 27 
 
 incline to think, soberer thought, deeper philosophy, and 
 certainly a clearer spiritual insight." Alfred Austin, Israel 
 Zangwill, and Madison Cawein have also praised Cotter's 
 work. 
 
 Daniel W. Davis, the Virginian, William Stanley Braith- 
 waite, the New Englander, and Joseph S. Cotter, the Ken- 
 tuckian, compose the trio of American Negro poets that is 
 entitled to be regarded as Dunbar's only real successor in 
 song. 
 
REV. LONDON FERRILL 
 
 Kentucky s 
 Greatest A^egro Preacher 
 
 London Ferrill, the most noted Negro preacher that 
 Kentucky has produced, was born in Hanover county, Vir- 
 ginia, in 1789. His birthplace was a short distance from 
 the old home of Henry Clay. Ferrill was the slave of Mrs. 
 Ann Winston, and his mother was the property of Richard 
 Ferrill. Mrs. Winston's brother, Richard Ferrill, was born 
 in England but early came to America, where he accumu- 
 lated a large estate. At his death his property went to 
 Mrs. Winston. Her slaves bore her maiden name of Ferrill, 
 and she gave the subject of this sketch the Christian name of 
 London, in honor of the city of her birth, London, Eng- 
 land. 
 
 When London Ferrill was nine years of age his mistress 
 died, and he was sold to Colonel Samuel Overton, an old 
 Virginia gentleman of the black stock, for six hundred dol- 
 lars. Colonel Overton did not buy London's mother, so 
 parent and child were separated for many years. 
 
 At the age of eleven years, London and a companion 
 came very near being drowned in a little river near Colonel 
 Overton's estate. They were rescued, however, and left the 
 river with profound thoughts of life, death, eternity, surg- 
 ing in their minds. The experience straightened London 
 out in his moral life, and gave him his first thoughts of the 
 ministry as a life work. This recalls the old story of John 
 Wesley, who was saved from the burning rectory at Ep- 
 worth, England, a few moments before the roof fell. 
 
Lore of the Meadowland 29 
 
 Some months after this episode, Ferrill was bound out 
 to Edmund Daily to learn the house-joinery business. Dur- 
 ing his apprenticeship he was converted to the Christian 
 religion, and at the age of twenty he was baptized by the 
 Rev. Absalom Waller. From that date began his church 
 career, which concluded only with his death. He soon 
 began to preach, and was known throughout the Slashes as 
 "as great a preacher as Andrew Broaddus" — an able Vir- 
 ginia divine. 
 
 Colonel Overton heard of his slave's promising work, 
 and decided to give him a systematic education. But his 
 decision was never carried out, as he died shortly after hav- 
 ing made it. Ferrill, however, added line upon line, pre- 
 cept upon precept, and it was not long before his discourses 
 were highly intelligent. 
 
 His master had not long been in his grave when Ferrill 
 determined to leave Virginia. He first thought of settling 
 in New York City or Philadelphia, but finally concluded to 
 make Kentucky his future home. He and his wife, who 
 had purchased his freedom, bought "a Yankee wagon and 
 two horses," and began the long journey over the old Wil- 
 derness Road to the baby Blue Grass State. There were 
 very few houses along the route of travel, and at night, 
 many miles away from any dwelling, he and his faithful 
 wife were often serenaded by the howl of wolf and bear. 
 They at length arrived in Kentucky and took up their abode 
 some four miles from Lexington. After a few months, 
 however, they moved into the little city. 
 
 Ferrlll's first preaching in Lexington was done in the 
 weaving-room of Thomas Hart, the father-in-law of Henry 
 Clay. One of these discourses was heard by a company of 
 white persons who admitted his accurate knowledge of the 
 Scriptures, but agreed that his grammar was incorrect. They 
 arranged a conference for him with the learned James Mc- 
 Chord, the Presbyterian pastor of this city, who told him 
 many things that were invaluable to him in his future career. 
 
 Ferrill frequently preached in private houses during his 
 first years in the "Athens of the West," and his fame soon 
 
30 Lore of the Meadowland 
 
 reached the ears of the Town Trustees, who engaged him 
 to minister to the entire colored population of Lexington. 
 The Sabbath following, their action was concurred in by the 
 Negroes themselves. Soon after, his congregation went 
 further and elected him as their pastor for life, but he 
 insisted on a clause in the contract that allowed him to sever 
 relations whenever dissatisfaction arose in the church, which 
 was agreed to. 
 
 The beginning of his ministry in Lexington was marked 
 by incidents that try men's souls. He had enemies galore, 
 but he also had many warm, devoted friends, who, with the 
 grace of God and his great will power, gave him victory. 
 During the first month of his pastorate he had thirty con- 
 verts, but he could not baptize them until he had been 
 regularly ordained by the Elkhorn Baptist Association, which 
 also gave him full power to perform any religious ceremony. 
 And on the next Sabbath, he buried his converts with Christ 
 in baptism. 
 
 A short time after this, Ferrill's arch enemy, Harry 
 Quill, attempted to have him sent back to Virginia under 
 the Kentucky law which allowed a free colored person to 
 remain in this State but thirty days, unless he or she was a 
 Kentuckian-born. But a few of his white friends — and he 
 had more than any Negro Kentucky has produced — pre- 
 sented a petition to the General Assembly asking that he be 
 permitted to remain in Kentucky, and it was granted. 
 
 On June 1, 1833, cholera came to Lexington, and Lon- 
 don Ferrill and Bishop Smith, of the Episcopal Church, were 
 the only ministers who remained in the city. While William 
 ("King") Solomon of Kentucky, was the real hero of the 
 plague, and throughout it "'he ruled like an unterrified king," 
 he was ably seconded by Ferrill, Smith, Benjamin Gratz, 
 General Leslie Combs, John Keizer, Jr., and others. 
 
 On June 11, Ferrill's wife died, and the next day saw 
 thirteen persons at her bier — the very largest funeral of the 
 entire cholera plague. 
 
 After killing some five hundred persons, the awful dis- 
 ease subsided in Lexington by the middle of July, and Fer- 
 
Lore of the Meadowland 31 
 
 rill went into Fayette county to aid the sick and dying and 
 to do whatever good he could. 
 
 London Ferrill was the founder and first pastor of the 
 First Baptist Church for colored people in Lexington, which 
 stands today at the corner of East Short and Deweese 
 streets. From 1833 to his death in 1854 "he continued to 
 preach, baptizing in the Ohio river at Maysville and Cov- 
 ington, in Elkhorn, Town Fork, and in all the ponds 
 for miles around Lexington." Throughout his ministry 
 he baptized about five thousand persons. 
 
 By his will he left his property to his adopted children. 
 This will, which was witnessed by James O. Harrison and 
 Francis K. Hunt, two of Lexington's great lawyers, is pre- 
 served in the Fayette county clerk's office. Shortly before 
 his death, he handed this prayer to his anonymous biog- 
 rapher : 
 
 "May the great Father of Heaven and earth 
 bless the citizens of Richmond, Virginia, for their 
 kindness toward me in my youthful days, but more 
 particularly, O Lord, be merciful to the citizens of 
 Lexington, Kentucky, and may it please Thee to 
 bless, preserve, and keep them from sin. Guide 
 them in all their walks; make them peaceable, happy 
 and truly religious; and when they come to lie down 
 on the bed of death, may Thy good Spirit hover 
 around ready to waft their ransomed souls to Thy 
 good presence. Lord, grant this for Christ's sake; 
 and O God, bless the Church of which I am pastor, 
 and govern it with Thy unerring wisdom, and keep it 
 a church as long as time shall last. And, O my 
 Master! choose, when I am gone, choose some pastor 
 for them who may be enabled to labor with more zeal 
 than your most humble petitioner has ever done, and 
 grant that it may continue to prosper and do good 
 among the colored race. And, Merciful Father, 
 bless the white people who have always treated me 
 as though I were a white man; and bless, I pray 
 Thee, all those who, through envy or malice, have 
 
32 Lore of the Meadowland 
 
 mistreated me, and save them — is my prayer. Bless 
 the Church of Christ everywhere — bless Christians in 
 every land — bless, O Lord, my two adopted children, 
 and keep them in Thy way — bring all sinners, in all 
 countries, to feel their need of a Savior, and par- 
 don all their sins; and when they come to die, take 
 them unto Thyself, and the glory shall be to the 
 Father, Son and Holy Ghost, forever and ever. 
 Amen." 
 
 London Ferrill died in Lexington, October 12, 1854, 
 about five weeks before King Solomon's death. And this fact 
 shatters the good old tradition that Ferrill pronounced the 
 benediction at Solomon's funeral. General Leslie Combs 
 may have delivered a brief eulogy at Solomon's grave, but 
 another than Ferrill pronounced the benediction. 
 
 The Lexington Observer and Reporter, one of the best 
 of the early Lexington newspapers, published this notice of 
 his passing : 
 
 "We are truly pained to be called upon to announce 
 the death of London Ferrill, the great colored minister of 
 the Gospel, so long a respected and venerable citizen of 
 this place. He departed this life on Thursday morning last, 
 at his residence near the African Baptist Church, of which 
 he had been pastor for over a quarter of a century, beloved 
 as he will be lamented by his numerous congregation and 
 by our community. He had been in feeble health for some 
 time, but continued to perform his pastoral duties till within 
 the last few days; and when his lamp of life went out, it 
 was with the full confidence that it would be relumed from 
 that everlasting luminary whose brightness will never dimin- 
 ish." 
 
 The other Lexington paper, the Kentucky Statesman, 
 for October 13, 1854, contained this obituary : 
 
 "death of a good man. 
 "On yesterday morning, the 12th instant, Rev. London 
 Ferrill, a colored man, died in this city, suddenly, from a 
 disease of the heart. The deceased, at the time of his 
 
Lore of the Meadowland 33 
 
 death, was pastor of the First Baptist Church of colored 
 persons in this city, and had labored in that capacity with 
 great zeal and much apparent profit to the cause of religion 
 for many years. He was a meek, earnest, consistent and 
 devoted follower of Christ and preacher of His word, and 
 had been so for about forty years, being at the time of his 
 death in the sixty-fifth year of his age. 
 
 "London Ferrill was born in Virginia, a slave; but 
 after his conversion obtained his freedom. He removed 
 from Virginia to Lexington over thirty years since; and by 
 his labors in the ministry has built up one of the largest 
 congregations, we presume, in the United States. His 
 communicants numbered, a short time since, eighteen hun- 
 dred and twenty; all, or most of whom, joined his church 
 under his preaching. The consistency of his conduct, and 
 his intelligent comprehension of the Scriptures, attracted 
 the attention of the Baptist Church in this city, a few years 
 after he came to Kentucky; and he was regularly ordained 
 to preach the gospel. During his ministry, from first to 
 last, he baptized upward of five thousand persons. 
 
 "But he rests from his labors, and his works do follow 
 him. He had justly acquired an immense influence among 
 the colored people of this city and surrounding country, 
 and he always exercised this influence with prudence and 
 for the furtherance of good morals and religion. It will be 
 difficult to supply his place. The branch of the church in 
 which he ministered has sustained in him a great loss which 
 will be severely felt by the colored people. He has gone 
 to meet his reward; and the reward is such as awaits the 
 good man." 
 
 A funeral notice, neatly printed on note paper with a 
 black border (a copy of which was preserved by Martha Lee, 
 deceased, for many years a respected colored woman of 
 this city, and who was a member of his church) reads : 
 
 "funeral. 
 
 "Yourself and family are requested to attend the 
 funeral of Rev. London Ferrill (Late pastor of the First Col- 
 
34 Lore of the Meadowland 
 
 ored Baptist Church), from his late residence on Short street, 
 to the Episcopal burying ground, on Sunday afternoon next, 
 at half-past two o'clock. 
 
 "Lexington, October 13, 1854." 
 
 Ferrill's funeral was the largest, save Henry Clay's, in 
 the history of Lexington. The Statesman for October 17, 
 said : 
 
 "The funeral of Rev. London Ferrill, the colored 
 preacher on Sunday last, was attended by an immense con- 
 course of colored people. There were about seventy carri- 
 ages and other vehicles in the procession, all filled to their 
 utmost capacity, besides a very lengthy procession of per- 
 sons on foot, four abreast, and some forty or fifty on horse- 
 back. It is thought there could not have been less than 
 from four to five thousand persons in attendance upon the 
 funeral, most of whom followed the remains of the deceased 
 to the grave. We have never seen a more orderly or better 
 behaved concourse of people on any occasion." 
 
 The little biography of Ferrill, of which mention has 
 already been made, was published a short time before the 
 death of its subject. But it was reprinted by the Kentucky 
 Gazette in 1878 ; and Martha Lee's copy lies before me now. 
 The Gazette for March 6, 1878, contained a notice of its 
 reprinting, and a short eulogy of Ferrill. The notice com- 
 mended the history of his "blameless and useful life" to the 
 generations since his death, and concluded with the recital 
 of this incident, which will also serve as our conclusion : 
 
 We well remember a conversation in reference to 
 Brother Ferrill and the institution of slavery which we had 
 on a Long Island Sound steamer with Sir William Howe, 
 Governor-General of the British Province of Nova Scotia, in 
 1857, and the matter in which he applauded Brother Ferrill's 
 marriage ceremony for slaves, uniting them "till death or 
 distance did them part." His Excellency said it evinced 
 wonderful good sense and a true and scriptural appreciation 
 of the marriage relationship. 
 
IMY 29 19! i 
 
1 
 
 
 — -_ 
 
 
 C^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 c * 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 01 
 
 ■"^ 
 
 
 -T'-V 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^::!? 
 
 
 ,:/ ^ 
 
 § 
 
 
 
 p 
 
 ^1 ^«- 
 p 
 
 
 
 H 
 O 
 
 ^ 
 
 CO 
 
 PI 
 m 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 PI 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 PI 
 
 S 
 m 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 •-1 
 
 n 
 
 3 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 m 
 
 CO 
 
 ' — ' 
 
 
 
 
 z 
 
 
 
 ~ — 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 PI 
 
 •n 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 z 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 in 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 tf) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 pi 
 
 r 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 z 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 hi 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 £ 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 w 
 
 
 •V 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CA 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 \. 
 
 W 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 'i 
 
 r 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 
 « 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 'v 
 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 014 611 474 P §