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A HISTORY 
 
 i-^'iiS^ 
 
 OF 
 
 ESSAMiNE County, 
 
 KENTUCKY, 
 
 FROM ITS 
 
 EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO 1898. 
 
 By BENNETT H. YOUNG, 
 
 President Polytkchnic Society ; Member Filson Clib ; Member Constitutioxal 
 CoNVENTioN, 1890; Author History of the Constitutions of Ken- 
 tucky, OF "Battle of Blue Licks, etc.. etc. 
 
 S. M. DUNCAN, Associate Author. 
 
 "Every brave and good life out of the past" is a treasure -.vhich eannof 
 be measured in money, and slioiild be preserved with faithfidlest eare. 
 
 LOUISVILLE, KY.: 
 Courier-Journal Job Printing Co. 
 
 lSf)8. 
 
 INDEXED 
 
1 H^/ 
 
 \ -zj ^ _J ifi 
 
 \,M q (j a & 
 
TO 
 
 ifUv) Father, ^lahsrt 5lQ«i^9t 
 
 AND 
 
 I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME- 
 
 My father w^as a resident of Jessamine County for sixty-five years. He was 
 honest, upright, patriotic, public-spirited, and alw^ays the friend of the poor and 
 suffering. My mother God bless her name and memory !— had a heart full of 
 human sympathy and tenderness, and also of the love of Christ, whose teachings 
 she faithfully followed for sixty years, in the midst of the people of Jessamine. 
 Descended from Revolutionary sires, they both ardently loved the freedom of this 
 free land w^ith an unquenchable love, and taught their children, as the noblest aim 
 of life, to serve God and be true to the glorious liberty their ancestors had so cour- 
 ageously fought to w^in. They sleep in the cemetery at Lexington, Ky., and I 
 trust they have a kindly remembrance with the people among w^hom they lived 
 and died. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Jessamine count}- is one of the few great counties of the state 
 whose history remains unwritten. For a long time after its be- 
 ginning, it was overshadowed in many ways by Lexington, Dan- 
 ville, Paris. Ilarrodsburg, and Winchester. The county had no 
 postofifice until 1801. Mails were infrequent and carried by 
 hand. Lexington was the great town south of the Ohio and west 
 of the Alleghenies. When the county was organized, Lexing- 
 ton had a population of nearly 2,000, while Cincinnati had less 
 than 500, and was buying its merchandise in Lexington ; which 
 was alreadv the seat of a university ; it had churches and schools, 
 and was the great trading point for a large part of Kentucky, and 
 portion of Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee. 
 
 Brick houses had begun to be erected, and newspapers had 
 been published for eleven years, and being only twelve miles 
 from Nicholasville, it was inevitable that it should draw to it a 
 very large share of the trade of Jessamine. Lexington was then, 
 and remained for many years thereafter, the political, intellectual, 
 and commercial metropolis of Kentucky, and it necessarily 
 dwarfed the surrounding towns and attracted the best trade from 
 the counties within a radius of fifty miles. 
 
 Lexington, too. had the first railroad in the west. The linfe 
 to Frankfort was finished and operated in December. 1835. and 
 by 1 85 1, trains vvere run through from Lotiisville to Lexington. 
 In 1854, a train ran from Covington to Lexington, and from 
 Lexington to Paris in 1853. These railways diverted the trade 
 from the steamboats on the Kentucky river and they made Lex- 
 ington a great center. 
 
 The enterprise and courage of her people received a just and 
 ample reward. Fayette county and Lexington always exhibited 
 great enterprise as well as the highest public spirit, and in com- 
 merce as well as education they attained high rank, because they 
 had the sagacity and the enterprise to improve the opportunities 
 which presented themselves. 
 
 Jessamine county had no railway until 1857. From that time 
 Nicholasville assumed a new importance. Long the terminus of 
 
8 Prefme. 
 
 the Kentuokv Central, there eanie to it both travel and trade, and 
 it began to improve. T!ie loss of slaves and the destruction of 
 values ; the result of the war of 1861-65, greatly afifected both thts 
 town and the count)', but after the period necessary for a recu- 
 peration from these troubles, the county and town have developed 
 with steady and constant growth, and both are now taking the 
 position to which their natural advantages entitle them. 
 
 Jessamine county has never lacked in public spirit. She has 
 liberally responded to all calls for public improvement. She 
 never repudiated any of her obligations. She always paid what 
 she agreed to pay, and her subscription to the Kentucky Central 
 Railroad, to the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, to the improve- 
 ment of the Kentucky river, and to the Richmond, Xicholasville, 
 Irvine and Beattyville line ; is highest evidence of her sagacity 
 and generosity, and placed the county in the best possible position 
 for the development of all its resources. 
 
 Looking back one hundred years, the people of Jessamine 
 can feel a glow of honest ])ride at what a century has accomplish- 
 ed. The smallest, except fifteen, of the one hundred and nineteen 
 counties in the state, with an area of only 158 square miles, it has 
 always maintained a prominent place among the rich and large 
 agricultural counties. I-'or its population it is surpassed in 
 wealth by only a very few counties, and it ranks as one of the great 
 producing counties of Kentucky. Its land, per acre, has always, 
 for taxation, been valued at a very high rate. 
 
 In i8_)6 It was the sixth county in value of lands per acre, and 
 in 1870, notwithstanding the great cities in other counties, it stood 
 ninth ; and still maintains that place. 
 
 Led by the guiding hand of fate to make my home in the 
 greatest of all Kentucky's counties. Jefiferson, I have never lost 
 my love for Jessamine, and its capital city, Nicholasville ; and 
 oftentimes there creeps into my heart a longing to spend the 
 evening of life where I first saw the light, and an absence of thir- 
 ty-seven years, has neither destroyed nor dimmed my love for 
 the people who have always remembered me in my comings to the 
 old home place, with such generous hospitality and unchanging 
 kindness. 
 
 No one else offering to write a history of the county, I have 
 undertaken the task. The work has been done hurriedlv and 
 
Preface. 9 
 
 wliile under llie pressure of a l)usy professional life; Init it is a 
 labor of love, and if the story of the sacritices. courage, and patri- 
 otism of our forefathers who settled and organized the county, 
 shall be efficient in creating upon the jn-esent and future sons and 
 daughters of Jessamine higher love of their ancestors, great de- 
 votion to Kentucky, and better apprehension of the cost and value 
 of the freedom of our country, I shall l)e more than repaid for the 
 labor and cost of producing this volume. It does not contain all 
 that a historv of the count}' should include, but it does for the 
 first time put in permanent form the leading facts connected with 
 the organization of the county and accounts of the men wdio first 
 cut down the forests, grubbed the cane brakes and drove out the 
 savages who disputed its possession, and it will, at least be a help 
 to those who ma}- hereafter desire to write a more extended his- 
 tor}' of Jessamine and of its people. 
 
 Mr. S. M. Duncan, of Xicholasville, has for more than forty 
 years been gathering notes of the history of the people who have 
 lived in Jessamine. He has done more for the preservation of its 
 historv than anv one man who ever lived in the county. He has 
 generously given me the use of all his facts. I have bv research 
 gotten others and verified his, and I have, as is his just due, 
 I'tlaced his name upon the title page of this book as associate 
 author. Although the preparation and publication was assumed 
 bv me, I consider it both a privilege and a duty to thus connect 
 
 ]\lr. T3uncan with the first historv of the countv. 
 
 « 
 
 I beg to acknowledge with gratitude the assistance of Col. R. 
 T. Durrett, Rev. E. (). Guerrant, Sanmel D. Young, Miss Hen- 
 rietta W. Brown. Mrs. N'irginia Xoland, Robert G. Wright, Miss 
 Jessie W^oodson, Mrs. Anna Meade Letcher, Dr. L. B. Todd, J. 
 Willard ^Mitchell, Dr. Chas. Mann, ^'liss Josephine Mann, John 
 S. Bronaugh, X. L. Ih-onaugh, Henr\' Glass, iMelancthon Young, 
 Wm. L. Steele, V>. M. Arnett, and Emil Ilhardt, the skillful 
 photographer, wlio have spared no effort to help me place in 
 diu-able form the important events ui the historv of the county. 
 
 Bennktt H. Young. 
 
 Louisville, Ky., Sept. i6, 1898. 
 
History of Jessamine County, 
 
 In 1767 John l^'inley, a woodsman and hunter, from North 
 CaroHna, moved by a spirit of adventure and a love for hunting, 
 entered the country known as the Bluegrass region. He was 
 the first white man, history asserts, that ever penetrated the wil- 
 derness and forests of Kentucky sufificiently to see the central part 
 of the state. Who came with him, whither they went and how long 
 the party remained, neither traveler, legend, norwritten storytells. 
 It is most likely that they passed through Jessamine county and 
 were the first of their race to look upon its pristine beautv and 
 glory. Two years later, Finley returned with Daniel Boone to 
 that wonderful land he liad described to his neighbors and as- 
 sociates in North Carolina, with such eloquence and enthusiasm 
 as to arouse within them an inextinguishable desire to visit a land 
 which then was looked upon as "God's own country." What be- 
 came of him after this second visit is unknown, but it is a reason- 
 able conclusion that somewhere in the stillness and sul:)lime silence 
 of the great forests to which he had led the white man, the 
 red man took his life and left him as his shroud the leaves of the 
 forest and his moniunent the mighty trees which stood sentinel 
 for ages over the fertile and genial soil of Kentucky. 
 
 Dr. Thomas Walker, from A'irginia, had in 1750 explored a 
 portion of Kentucky, but he only skirted the Bluegrass and rode 
 over the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky, and what he saw 
 and reported, created no spirit of exploration and no desire of 
 emigration. I'inlev was the man who saw the hiuitsman's para- 
 dise, and whose soul was fired for its possession, and into whose 
 mind was burned memories which made life miserable awa)- from 
 the glories of the new land into which he had by accident come. 
 
 Some months after his return, while wandering along the 
 Yadkin river in North Carolina, Finley met a kindred spirit, one 
 of the master woodsmen of his age. In the solitude of the wilder- 
 ness of North Carolina, far out beyond the advance of civilization 
 
 (11) 
 
12 Hidorij of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 and settlement, he found a rude cabin, in wliicli dwelt a young 
 man, not much beyond his majority. By his side was a brave 
 woman, who, amid the dangers and hardships of the wild, wild 
 frontier, shared his life and hopes and brightened the solitude and 
 drearyness of his isolated home. By the humble, but hospitable 
 fireside of the young hunter, Finley was welcomed as a guest, an<l 
 again and again he told the story of his journey toward the north, 
 of the magnificent region where there would be an eternal feast 
 for the luuiter, where game was so abimdant that the droves of 
 bufifalo could be counted like herds of cattle, where deer licked the 
 hand of the intruder, and coons, 'possums, turkeys and pheasants, 
 were so plentiful as to obstruct the path along which men would 
 tread. 
 
 Finley had found a heart which would respond in fullest har- 
 mony to his words, a harp which answered his touch, and each 
 day gave back not only sweetest note, but varied and sympa- 
 thetic chords ; a man whose brave soul was devoid of all fear and 
 who wanted nothing better for time or eternity than that glorious 
 and distant region of which the new found friend spoke. A com- 
 pact, ofTensive and defensive, was then and there signed. Boone 
 had at last heard of a land for which his soul sighed, a land which 
 filled his ideal of a paradise and to see it, to tread its traces and to 
 enjoy its pleasure, he resolved to give up his home, his wife, his 
 children, and if need be to surrender his life. To once see such a 
 land as Finlev described, he felt Avould be com]:>ensation for all 
 that earth could bestow. 
 
 Sparse settlements along the Holston. 200 miles away, and the 
 forts on the Ohio at Pittsburgh and the few houses strung along 
 the line of the wilderness now were the closest neighbors to Ken- 
 tucky. 
 
 Boone came in 1769, and brought his family in 1775. 
 
 The founding of the Transylvania colony by Henderson, in 
 1775, gave an armed and trained force to meet Indian attack, and 
 Harrodsburg and St. Asaphs, or Logan's Fort, formed the mili- 
 tary triangle about which and in which the new settlers made 
 their homes. 
 
 The Transylvania land scheme of 1775 did not include Jessa- 
 mine county. Its lines followed the south or western side of the 
 Kentuckv river, and left the eastern boundarv alwavs in Mrginia. 
 
Hidorij of Jessamine Goiintu, Kentiickij. 
 
 13 
 
 When l)v act of the Xiroinia House of lUirgesses, in 1780. 
 Kentucky was divided into three counties, Fayette. Jefferson and 
 Lincohi' Jessamine was comprised within the Hmits of Fayette, 
 and so remained until, December 17, 1798. when it was separated 
 from the parent county, and became the thirty-sixth county of the 
 
 state. ^ 
 
 The initial lines of pioneer travel did not traverse Jessamme. 
 The Wilderness road, entering the state at Cumberland Gap, di- 
 vided at Rockcastle river, one branch going to Boonesboro, and 
 the other by Crab Orchard. Danville and P.ardstown. to Louis- 
 
 '' The persistent assaults of the Indians on the settlers in Ken- 
 tucky in 1782. caused the abandonment of all the forts m the 
 state east of the Kentucky, except five, Lexington. Bryants, Mc- 
 Connells, McClellans {Georgetown) and Boones. 
 
 The county of Kentucky was established in 1775. and divided 
 into three counties in 1780; and prior to 1792 six more were add- 
 ed making, at the inception of its statehood, nine m all. 
 
 Added^ Bourbon. 1 785 : Madison. 1 785 : Mason. 1 789 ; Mer- 
 cer, 1785: Nelson, 1781 ; Woodford, 1788. 
 
 The first fort and only fort m Jessamine county was estab- 
 lished by Levi Todd in i779- This was one year before Lexing- 
 ton was'built. The line of travel between Harrodsl)urg and the 
 Fayette county stations, passed through the northern and west- 
 ern parts of the county, and on this trace, near Keene, Todd's sta- 
 tion was built. 
 
 The isolation <^f the forts and the constant and destructive ma- 
 rauds of the Indians, now ofi^cered by Englishmen and provided 
 xyith improved arms, terrified the settlers east of the Kentiicky 
 river They were nearest to the homes of the Indians from the 
 northwest who had now become the most dreadful of all the sav- 
 ages who invaded the state, and 1780-81-82, they drove in the 
 outposts, and with great difficulty the white men were able to 
 maintain their stations at all in and around Lexington. It was 
 then that personal safety compelled Todd to abandon his Jessa- 
 mine holdings and take such help and protection as the four sta- 
 tions around Lexington offered to the almost hopeless men and 
 ^vomen who occupied the limited territory m hayette. which re- 
 
14 Hutory of Jesmmine Counti/, Kentucky. 
 
 mained after the terrible fatality of Ruddell's and Martin's stations 
 in June, 1780. 
 
 The land law enacted by the Mrginia Legislature, in the set- 
 tling of land made location easy and popular. The wonderful ac- 
 counts of the fertility, beauty and salubrity of Kentucky turned an 
 immense tide of immigration to the state. In 1782, the popula- 
 tion did not exceed 1500; in 1790, it had grown to 61,133 white 
 people; 114 colored free people, and 12,340 slaves ; a total of y;^- 
 Gyy, while ten years later, in 1800. it had 179,873 white, 739 free 
 colored, and 40,343 slaves; a total of 220,995, an increase in ten 
 years of 224 1-2 per cent. 
 
 Of this extraordinary improvement. Jessamine county re- 
 ceived a full share. In 1782. it had not a single settler, and vet in 
 1800, eighteen years thereafter, it had 5,461 inhabitants. This 
 was the first decade in which a census could be taken. Fayette, 
 from which Jessamine was entirely taken, had, in 1800, 18,410 in- 
 habitants, or one-fourth of the entire population of the state. As 
 a part of Clark was included in this enumeration, and assuming 
 that Jessamine had grown in proportion as other pairts of Fayette, 
 the count}- in 1790 had about 2,000 inhabitants. 
 
 A great proportion of Jessamine immigration, came from A^ir- 
 ginia. The Revolutionary soldiers were pouring into all parts of 
 the state, and Jessamine received her full share, and more than 
 one hundred of these brave and sturdy settlers found homes with- 
 in her borders. 
 
 No state could secure nobler treasure than were these Revolu- 
 tionary soldiers. Their splendid courage, exalted patriotism, 
 hardy natures, and noble characters, made them a worthy addition 
 to any community. The self-reliance, tact and enterprise engen- 
 dered by Revolutionary service, rendered them citizens of great 
 and unusual worth. Of the rich store given by Virginia, Penn- 
 sylvania, North and South Carolina, Jessamine received an ex- 
 traordinary proportion. 
 
 The most distinguished men of Revolutionary fame who came 
 to Jessamine, were George Walker, Joseph Crockett, Benjamin 
 Netherland, William Price, Percival Butler, William McKinney 
 and John Price. 
 
 These were not more patriotic or more loyal to the American 
 cause than the others, but they had in the war obtained positions 
 
History of Jesmmine Connfij, KeidKcki/. 15 
 
 which made them more prominent than their associates in the 
 early history of the county. A brief sketch of each is properly a 
 part of the history of Jessamine county. 
 
 Benjamin Netherland. 
 
 One of the most unique and extraordinary characters in the 
 history of Jessamine county in its early days was Maj. Benjamin 
 Netherland. He was born in Powhattan county, \'irginia, in 1755. 
 He went to Cuba as the agent of his father, to dispose of his 
 tobacco crop. There learning that Sir Peter Parker was to make 
 an attack on Charleston, he left his cargo and ran the l)lockade 
 into Charleston and helped to defend Fort Moultrie against 
 British assault. He accompanied La Fayette on his jonrney from 
 Charleston in 1777 as far as Mecklenburg county, North Carolina, 
 when the distinguished Frenchman was on his way to Philadel- 
 phia, to tender his services to Washington in behalf of American 
 liberty. Fie remained at Charlotte, North Carolina until 1781, 
 took part in the battle of Guilford Courthouse, and shortly after 
 this he drifted into Kentucky. In May, 1782, he was at Estill 
 station, and was with the Kentucky troops in the Estill defeat. 
 He took part in nearly all the Indian battles from 1781 to 1784. 
 He went with George Rogers Clark on his expedition in 1782 to 
 punish the Indians for the wrongs of Blue Licks. 
 
 Pie was with General Harmar in his defeat, and with (ieneral 
 Wayne in his victory at Fallen Timl)ers in 1794 and was instru- 
 mental in punishing the men who had perpetrated the slaughter 
 at Blue Licks. After seven years' absence in Kentucky, he re- 
 turned to North Carolina in 1788 and married his boyish sweet- 
 heart. Miss Theodosia Bramlette, who was a daughter of the 
 distinguished Revolutionary fighter Col. Bramlette. He had 
 lived in Fayette and Madison counties prior to his coming to 
 Jessamine, .\fter his marriage he settled on a farm five miles 
 east of Nicholasville, and in 1793 he removed to wliere Nicholas- 
 ville now stands, and built a hotel and called it Mingo Tavern — 
 this house he kept until his death in 1838. The house was torn 
 down in 1864. The author has often seen it when a boy, and the 
 picture of it in this history is from a drawing made in 1820. He 
 
Hiitori/ of Je<iomme Count if, Kentucky. 17 
 
 was chairman of the Board of Trustees of XicholasWlle, and was 
 prominent in its early history-, and his children were the first 
 white people bom \mhin its limits. He was the real hero of the 
 battle of Blue Licks. Robert \\ icklifFe. of Lexington, whose 
 second wife was the only daughter of Col. Todd, who was in com- 
 mand at the battle at Blue Licks, in a political speech in 1848 in 
 Xicholas^■ille said that the majority of men who escaped at Blue 
 Licks owed their presenation to Benjamin Xetherland and that 
 Xetherland was a fearless man. fruitful in resources and of mag- 
 nificent courage. 
 
 Col. Robert Patterson, writing to Xetherland in 1836. says, "1 
 can not forget the part you acted in the battle of Blue Licks." At 
 the time of this battle Xetherland was only twenty-seven years 
 old. and he went from Lexington as a member of Capt. Robert 
 Patterson's company. In the disastrous conflict he remained 
 mounted, and gained the ford over Licking in safety and crossed 
 the stream unhurt. As he reached the west bank he looked back 
 over his shoulder, and his soul was stirred with deepest emotion, 
 and his heart filled with grandest courage as he saw his comrades 
 struggling, swimming and plunging in the river, or rushing down 
 the bank pursued by the savage enemy with unsheathed knives 
 and uplifted tomahawks. He was a man of towering form, six 
 feet two inches in height. He dismounted from his horse, and 
 thro\\"ing the rein over his arm. in stentorian tone ordered his flee- 
 ing comrades to halt and fire upon the Indians and save those 
 who were still in the stream. His braver}- and his splendid 
 presence restored the spirits of his fear-stricken comrades. More 
 than a dozen men instantly obeyed his call, and facing about with 
 Xetherland and standing in line they opened a fatal and deadly 
 fire upon the foremost of the pursuing savages. The coimter 
 attack was so sudden and imexpected that it checked the fierce 
 pursuit of the Indians and they instantly fell back from the op- 
 posite bank. Xetherland and his men maintained their position 
 and drove the Indians to cover, while the wearied and almost 
 despairing footmen were enabled to ford and swim the river in 
 safety. Only a few minutes were necessary for those who could 
 reach the stream or who were in it to pass over. The footmen 
 as they left the bank quickly fled from the buflPalo trace and dis- 
 appeared in the thickets and started by circuitous routes to reach 
 
18 Hi><tory of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 some friendly station. So soon as these distressed and ex- 
 hausted or wounded footmen were enabled to secrete themselves 
 in the dense forests, large numbers of the Indians were seen 
 crossing both aib'ove and beloiw, and Netherland and his comrades- 
 mounting their horses galloped along the well-worn trace, and 
 reached Bryan Station that evening, without further loss. 
 
 Major Netherland always retained his old-time dress. He 
 wore a cut-a-way coat, short breeches with knee buckles, and 
 low shoes with silk lacers and silver buckles. His pants were al- 
 ways fastened with red bands, and his long queue was tied with a 
 red ribbon. From his entrance into Xicholasville early in 1791 
 for forty years he was prominent as a leader in all its affairs. He 
 was postmaster for about twenty-three years and always dis- 
 pensed the village hospitality with a lavish hand. Every man 
 who had fought in the Revolutionary war or in the Indian wars 
 either in Kentucky or in the Northwest, was his friend, and none 
 ever went from his door hungry or uncared for. 
 
 He was passionately fond of horse-racing, and owned some of 
 the great race-horses of Kentucky in the early part of the century. 
 He was a fair and just man in his dealings with his fellow-men. 
 He was not averse to a "good time," as people call it, and was 
 always, even toward the end of his life, considered "one of the 
 l^oys." He opened a race track on the Willoughby place near 
 Sulphur Well, and maintained it for many }ears. 
 
 In 1802 there was a quarter race on the track, and in the hear- 
 ing of the crowd, Major Netherland announced that on a certain 
 day (naming it) there would be another race for a purse of $50, 
 one mile heats, which was "free for anything with four legs and 
 hair on." At that time there was working on a farm a young- 
 man named Michael Arnspiger who had broken a bull to the 
 saddle, which he rode to mill. He immediately put the bull 
 in training and for several days gave him turns around the race 
 track. He used spurs on the bull and when these were dug into 
 his sides, he was accustomed to bellow. On the day of the race 
 Arnspiger appeared on the groimd with his bull. He had placed 
 a dried hide of an ox on the bull's rump, and he carried a tin horn 
 in his hands. He demanded of the judges the right to enter his 
 animal, to which the owners of the horses vehementlv objected, 
 but Arnspiger answered by appealing to Major Netherland it 
 
Hhtorij of Jessamine Coitnty. Kentuckij. 19 
 
 he had not said tliat the race was free to "anything with four legs 
 and hair on." Alaj. Xetherland admitted that he had, and ex- 
 plained that the bull had a right to enter. When the drum was 
 tapped. Arnspiger blew his horn, planted his spurs in the sides 
 of the bull, which bounded off with a dreadful bellow, with the 
 ox-hide flapping on his sides and presenting a spectacle, combined 
 with the noise, that had never been seen on the race track before. 
 The horses immediately flew the track, and Arnspiger galloped 
 home a winner. The losers contended that they were swindled 
 out of thir money; that Arnspiger should not have l)een al- 
 lowed to blow the tin horn, or use the ox-hide, and that but for 
 this he could not have won the race. Thereupon Arnspiger of- 
 fered to take the ox-hide ofi" and leave his tin horn at the stand 
 and run them from end to end. Mr. Willoughby and Air. Xether- 
 land were judges at the next start. Arnspiger again planted his 
 s])urs into the sides of the l)ull with redoul^led fury. The loud 
 bellow that followed drove the horses from the track despite the 
 exertions of the riders, and Arnspiger pulled in the second $50 
 purse. With the money thus obtained he purchased a black- 
 smithing outfit, working for many years at his trade near Wil- 
 more, and died there in the sixties, in the 85th year of his age. 
 
 Major Xetherland had a great fondness for race horses and 
 not only ran his own horses Ijut went to see everbody else's 
 horses wdio ran in the neighborhood. The race track in those 
 early days was on the Willougliby farm in the new field now 
 owned by Col. X". D. Allies. Alajor X'etherland owned a very 
 fast horse for those days, which he called by the name of Fear- 
 nought. He had secured this horse in \'irginia and brought him 
 across the mountains. The horse had been trained in Virginia 
 and made his first race at Fredericks1nu-g, in 1805. beating Gen- 
 eral Tracy's horse, Indian, in three heats. In those times four 
 mile races were run. The time given by Major Xetherland was 
 as follows : 
 
 First. 8 minutes. 29 seconds. Second, 8 minutes. 45 seconds. 
 Third, 8 minutes. 50 seconds. 
 
 Then people believed in bottom and horses had to run long 
 distances. This time was not u]) to that made by the great race 
 horse, Lexington, at Xew Orleans, where he beat the world's 
 record in 7 minutes, 193-4 seconds, but it was good running. 
 
20 History of Jemambie County, Kentucky. 
 
 F"eamought was the special pride of Major Xetherland. He 
 ran against a horse called Bald Eagle, who was owned by Daniel 
 Bradford, a son of John Bradford, the founder of the Kentucky 
 Gazette, and who wais for long time editor of that paper. The 
 Alexander Willoughby referred to was a Revolutionary soldier. 
 He came early to Kentucky and settled in Jessamine county oii 
 the Sul])hur Well road. He was the father of Mrs. Catherine 
 Slielby and died in 1837, in his eighty-fifth year. 
 
 General Samuel Hopkins was a Revolutionary soldier, a 
 native of Albemarle county, \'a. He was a distinguished officer in 
 the Revolutionary army, and none performed more active service 
 or enjoyed in a greater degree the confidence of Washington. 
 He caaiie to Kentucky in 1797 and settled on Green river, in 
 Green count}-. He was a member of Congress in 1813 and '15 
 and was engaged in the Indian wars in the west. He and Major 
 Netherland were great friends and General Hopkins himself had 
 a weakness for a good horse. The following letter describing 
 the race, is both interesting and unique : 
 
 Jessamine Countv, Kv., June 5, i8o5. 
 Gen. Sam'l Hopkins, 
 
 Dear Friend : I take my seat to inform you that Fearnought 
 is again winner of a purse of $100. In all the races which have 
 previously been run on this track, it has been a matter of much 
 inconvenience to the judges to make a fair decision without a 
 fuss, which often creates unnecessary excitement throughout the 
 day. But it did not in any manner afTect the nerve of Mr. Will- 
 oughby, who was one of the judges who started the horses. He 
 seemed to have a proper and just idea of the necessity of an even 
 start, and nothing else but an even start would suit him, and that 
 he gave. I wish all the other judges were as honest as he is. At 
 the tap of the drum Fearnought and Bald Eagle darted like 
 thunderbolts, each determined to win or die. Around the track 
 they sped like hell cats, not a shade between them. Up the back 
 stretch they Hew like doves escaping from a hawk. At the half 
 mile in 40 seconds, they locked around the turn. They tried it 
 again, a slight pull before reaching the home stretch, and with 
 renewed vigor. Fearnought in the lead. Bald Eagle renews his 
 extraordinary power, but Fearnought comes out with unfalter- 
 
History of Jesmmine County, Kentucky. 21 
 
 ing step and the race is decided in his favor. The question of 
 championship, }-oii will see at onice, gives Fearnought the palm. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF FEARNOUGHT. 
 
 Fearnought is rive years old last grass ; is a dark blood bay, 
 16 hands high, of superior bone and muscle, with fine limbs, lofty 
 carriage and elastic tread ; a star in his forehead, vividly lighting 
 up a countenance expressive of great superiority ; game head, 
 curved neck ; unusual depth of chest ; fine, broad shoulder; beau- 
 tifully inclining back, which gives him the appearance of a horse 
 of most wonderful strength and endurance. I expect to enter 
 him this fall for a purse of $1,000 at Fredericksburg, and the city 
 of Baltimore and Washington. Bald Eagle is now the property 
 of Daniel Bradford, and was trained in Maryland, and won many 
 races there, but, 1 think, his career upon the turf is over. 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 B. Netherland. 
 
 In another letter, written to General Hopkins in 1802, Major 
 Xetherland recites a most interesting incident. During that year 
 a party of Cherokee Indians from North Carolina stopped all 
 night at the Mingo Tavern, kept by Major Netherland. In the 
 morning one of them was very sick and unable to travel and in a 
 few days died at the hotel. He received the kindest possible 
 treatment from ?\Iajor Netherland and his family. In describing 
 this incident Major Netherland says : 
 
 "A few days ago four Cherokee Indians from Iredell county, 
 N. C, called at my home and remained over night. Next morn- 
 ing one of them was too sick to travel. All day his sufferings 
 were severe and painful. I sent for Drs. Gale and Peter Trisler, 
 who at once pronounced his case hopeless. After intense suffer- 
 ing for four days the poor Intlian died. His poor, disconsolate 
 friends were painfully grieved at the death of one of their num- 
 ber, who was a man of some notoriety among his people, particu- 
 larly as an expert hunter, having himself killed seventy-odd deer 
 while on the last (October hunt in the Cumberland mountains. 
 The dead body of the poor Indian was taken to the Kentucky river 
 clififs, eight miles south of Nicholasville, and interred in the earth 
 
2iJ Hidonj of Jemunlne Goititti/, Kentucky. 
 
 after the Indian custom, but instead of tilling- the vault with earth, 
 as is used with us, these poor Indians made a small frame work 
 of wood, like a steep roof, which they put round the mouth, and 
 reared up a heavy pile of earth, giving- it the appearance of a 
 potatoe heap. The three Indians who buried their comrade ap- 
 peared bowed with g-rief. One seated himself on the ground, 
 directing his face toward sunset, and extending his voice, made 
 a great and sore lamentation. As much as I hate these wild chil- 
 dren from the forest, I could not refrain from shedding tears 
 when looking on them in this honest grief at the loss of one who 
 was regarded as a good and true man. In four or five weeks after 
 the death of their comrade, the same party, with a brother of the 
 Indian, who' died, oame back and took his body in a small wa:gon 
 to North Carolina, a distance of more than 300 miles, and rein- 
 terred his remains in the land of his birth among his own people. 
 I have been much among the Cherokees of North Carolina. 1 
 consider them among the best of our Indian friends. They have 
 strange customs. I wish I had time to give you more correct 
 idea of their general character as compared with the other Indian 
 tribes of our country. 
 
 "Your old crony, 
 
 " B. Netherland." 
 
 Major Netherland died October 10, 1838, and was buried in 
 liis garden, which is now the lot on which the county jail is built. 
 Mr. los. Wallace, a remote kinsman, has, with most commendable 
 love and liberality and true spirit of kinship, erected a headstone 
 over the grave of Major Netherland and that of his wife, who, in 
 185 1, was laid beside her husband. At his death Major Netherland 
 was accorded a magnificent military funerail. The funeral sermon 
 was preached by Bishop Kavanaugh, who was then the Presiding 
 Elder of the district. Gen. Leslie Combs, Maj. D. B. Price, Gen. 
 lohn McCalla and Robert Wicklifife were his pall-bearers, and all 
 the leading military companies of the county turned out to do his 
 memory honor. 
 
 Major Netherland's experience in the battle of the Blue Licks, 
 justified him in his subsequent love of horses. 
 
 He bred a great many fine race horses in his day, and in a let- 
 ter written by him to Gen. John McCalla, in 1830, now in my pos- 
 
HI>4ori/ of Jr>imiiu)ie Coinity, Keiifiicki/. 23 
 
 session, he begs him to come to Xicholasville on the following 
 Suntlay to dine with him and promises to show him "the damnd- 
 est best three colts in the world." 
 
 Joseph Crockett. 
 
 Among the large train of Revolutionary soldiers who followed 
 tlie track of empire westwardly, was Col. Joseph Crockett, of 
 Albemarle connty. \ irginia. He was born in Albemarle county 
 in 1742. He received fairly good educational advantages for 
 •hat period. His father, John Crockett, came to X'irginia in the 
 first half of the century. He followed teaching as his profession 
 and taught a high school near Charlottesville. Joseph Crockett 
 was his oldest son. 
 
 In 1774 Joseph Crockett went as a private soldier with Gen. 
 Andrew Lewis and was engaged in the battle of Point Pleasant. 
 This was one of the most important of all the battles in the West. 
 Jt was there that Ceneral Lewis met the Indians under the 
 celebrated chief Cornstalk, and after a fight of nearly a whole 
 day the Indians were put to flight. 
 
 In 1775 the county authorities of Albemarle directed that two 
 com])anies be raised for the defense of the western section of 
 the state. ( )ne company was to be stationed at Point Pleasant, 
 where the Kanawha and Ohio rivers unite. Gen. William Rus- 
 sell was appointed captain of one of these companies and Joseph 
 Crockett lieutenant. In the winter of "75 they were discharged 
 and they were ordered to raise two new companies for the Con- 
 tinental army. Joseph Crockett was appioiiited captain of one of 
 these companies and on the 5th of May, 1776, served in Mrginia. 
 In 1776 the regiment was marched to Philadelphia. That year 
 he was appointed major and raised two companies for Gen. Daniel 
 ^Morgan's rifle regiment. He took part in the battle of Mon- 
 mouth, fought June 20, 1778, and after this battle was promoted 
 to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and so remained until October, 
 1780, when, by resolution of congress the army was reorganized 
 and Colonel Crockett was reduced to the rank of captain. He 
 was with Gates at the surrender of Burgoyne in 'yy. He was en- 
 gaged in the battles of Brandywine, Princeton and Trenton, and 
 
24 History of Jessamine Gonntij, Kentucky. 
 
 was with Washington at A'alley Forge, where there sprung up 
 between Colonel Crockett and General Washington a warm 
 friendship, which lasted until the end of their lives. He was 
 wounded in the arm at the siege of Yorktown in 1782. 
 
 In 1779 Colonel Crockett was directed by the state of Mr- 
 ginia to raise a regiment, of which he became lieutenant-colonel, 
 to proceed down the Ohio river to Kentucky and Illinois to as- 
 sist George Rogers Clark. He raised the regiment, which was 
 known as the Illinois or Crockett Regiment, and served for eigh- 
 teen months with General Clark. He was in many of the battles 
 with the Northwestern Indians on the Miami river, and helped 
 to destroy Chillicothe and other towns in the northwestern ter- 
 ritory on the Wabash. In one of the battles in which he fought 
 he had two horses shot under him by the sharpshooters, and it 
 was admitted that he had been in as many fights and skirmishes 
 as any officer in the Revolutionary army. 
 
 In 1784 he moved tO' Kentucky and settled first between 
 Cumberland Gap and Crab Orchard. He remained there only 
 a short time, and moved to Jessamine county and settled on lands 
 near the Union Mills. His son, Robert Crockett, built the Union 
 Mills and Col. Joseph Crockett built the old stone house on the 
 banks of Hickman creek, which is now standing and was latelv 
 occupied by Dr. Jasper, a descendant of Sergeant Jasper, who was 
 put to death at Savannah by the British. 
 
 Colonel Crockett was appointed by Mr. Jefferson as United 
 States Marshal for the district of Kentucky. He held this office 
 for two terms. When the applications were read to Mr. Jef- 
 ferson for this office, his eye dropped upon that of Joseph 
 Crockett. He said, "Joseph Crockett; honest Joseph Crockett; 
 you need go no further, he shall have the appointment." Im- 
 mediately after his removal to Kentucky he at once assumed a 
 prominent place in the development and in the government of the 
 new state. In 1786-1790 he represented Fayette in the Virginia 
 Legislature. He was also appointed magistrate of Fayette 
 county in 1792, along with Percival Butler. He was a member 
 of the first legislature from Fayette county, in 1792, '93, '94, and 
 '95. Under the Constitution of 1792 he was elected one of the 
 senators. These senators were chosen by electors elected for that 
 purpose. 
 
Hktory of Jessamine Goioifn, KeidKckji. 25 
 
 In 1792 a project was organized for the clearing- and improve- 
 ment of the Wilderness Road, under Col. John Logan and James 
 Knox. The suhscriptions for that purpose at that time would 
 probably be the highest evidence of public spirit. Among them 
 are the names of Isaac Shelby, for 3 pounds ; Robert Breckin- 
 ridge, 2 pounds 8 shillings ; George Nicholas. 2 pounds 8 shil- 
 lings ; John Brown, 2 pounds 8 shillings ; Joseph Crockett, I 
 pound 18 shillings; Robert Patterson, i pound 10 shillings; G. 
 M. r.edinger, 18 shillings ; Samuel McDowell, i pound 4 shillings, 
 and a large number of other prominent names. 
 
 He represented Fayette county in the convention called in 
 1788 at Danville, to consider separation from \'irginia. Al- 
 though at first opposed to separation, Colonel Crockett was con- 
 vinced by the arguments of John Marshall of the propriety of 
 this separation. 
 
 The question in this convention was, whether there should be 
 a violent separation frc^m X'irginia, or whether the separation 
 should be legal and on constitutional groiuids. It was in this 
 convention that Colonel Crockett became alarmed at the speeches 
 of John Brown and General Wilkinson. He left his seat in 
 tlie convention, hurried to Lexington and on Saturday, Simday 
 and Monday secured the signatures of several hundred citizens of 
 Fayette county remonstrating against separation from Mrginia 
 without her consent, when he returned and presented this petition 
 to the convention. After it was read General Wilkinson saw 
 that he was in opposition to the wishes of the people and yielded 
 to what was the inevitable. 
 
 Colonel Crockett, being then Fruited States Marshal, arrested 
 Aaron Burr in 1806, under proceedings by Joseph Hamilton 
 Daveiss against Aaron Burr. Colonel Crockett's commission 
 bore the signature of General ^Vashington and was handed to 
 him bv La Fayette, and when La Fayette visited Kentuckv in 
 1825 he threw his arms around Colonel Crockett at Frankfort 
 and they wept with each other like children. Col. Joseph 
 Crockett. Col. Anthony Crockett and Gen. Peter Dudley rode 
 in a carriage with La Fayette from Frankfort to Lexington. 
 Colonel Crockett introduced a large number of old Revolutionary 
 soldiers to General La Fayette at the reception given him l)y Mr. 
 Wicklifle. 
 
26 Hvitory of Jessamine Countij, Kentucki/. 
 
 As General La Fayette passed by a hotel in the parade, Maria 
 Henderson, a httle girl twelve years of age, a granddaughter of 
 Colonel Crockett, and from Jessamine county, from the window 
 of the hotel sang, "Hail to the Chief Who in Triumph Advances." 
 The fresh, young voice of the little girl had a wonderful at- 
 traction for General La Fayette. He requested that the carriage 
 should be stopped and as he listened to the song from the lips of 
 the child, tears streamed down his cheeks. He said that it was 
 the sweetest act of homage ever paid him. 
 
 Colonel Crockett was pensioned by the Lnited States Govern- 
 ment. In company with other soldiers in the Revolutionary war, 
 he received several thousand acres of land from the government 
 and shortly before his death his pension was increased to $600 a 
 year. He enjoyed it only for twelve months. When visiting his 
 daughter, Mrs. Augustine Bower, at Georgetown, he was seized 
 with a fatal illness and died there. 
 
 The following letter written by a Revolutionary soldier to 
 Maj. Daniel B. Price, will be interesting as it refers to many 
 characters prominent in Jessamine county at that time. 
 
 Near Georgetown, Scott county, Ky., 
 Nov. 20, 1829. 
 
 Dear Friend : I was pained that I had not the pleasure of 
 seeing you at the burial of Col. Joseph Crockett, six weeks ago 
 in Jessamine county. T have learned from your letter that you 
 were very sick at the time of his burial and unable to get out of 
 bed. He died at the home of Dr. Bower, his son-in-law. For 
 three weeks, or more, previous to his death, he repeatedly in- 
 formed his friends that he viewed himself as a dying man ; that he 
 was not afraid to meet death at any moment. A few days after 
 he was taken with his last illness, and while he was able to walk 
 about the room, his eye sight failed him. He took the Rev. 
 Isaac Reed to be vou and ordered him to bring your son, 
 Joseph, to see him, as he had not seen him for some months. 
 C^n my telling him that you were detained in Jessamine, but 
 would probably be up Friday, he quietly fell into a sleep. He slept 
 about an hour, and waked and had a severe coughing spell. It 
 was at this time that he drew his breath with great difficulty, and 
 the agony he was in was so great that in two hours after he had 
 
History of Jc-<mini)ie Couitty, Knitnchj. 27 
 
 awakened from sleep he died. Capt. William Christy, Maj. John 
 1'. Pratt. Maj. William Johnson, Capt. William Smith, of Bour- 
 l)on. and the Rev. John Hudson and Mr. Reed, were present in 
 the room when he died. 
 
 When he w^as dying I noticed him put his head a little back, 
 closed his eves as if going to sleep and expired, at the ripe age of 
 83. His remains were taken to his home in Jessamine and buried 
 with the honor suitable to the memory of a brave and patriotic 
 man. who served his country bravely in the Revolutionary war. 
 The order of procession to the grave was as follow^s : 
 
 The hearse with the military escort, attended by music, on 
 each flank. The relatives, the ladies, the citizens, the fine volun- 
 teer company from Georgetown, commanded by Maj. William 
 Johnson, with Capt. Thomas Cogar's company from Xicholas- 
 ville, the whole conducted by Col. John T. Pratt, marshal of the 
 day. At the grave the usual ceremonies took place by the firing 
 of thirteen rounds by Captains Graves and Leslie Combs, of 
 Lexington, who, at the head of the gun squad, fired at intervals 
 during the services at the grave. There were present more than 
 a thousand persons with carriages and horses. Such was the 
 good order and decorum preserved that not the slightest accident 
 occurred. At the close of the ceremonies the Rev. John Hudson 
 delivered a brief address touching the high character of Col. 
 Crockett as a citizen, neighbor and friend — a model of virtue and 
 morality, cherished in the affections of all who knew him. 
 Though his manly form lies low in death, his many virtues, his 
 patriotic example, shall continue to abide in the memory of the 
 living. Such, my dear friend, is a brief account of the burial of 
 your father-in-law, Col. Joseph Crockett. 
 
 Very truly your friend, 
 
 B. S. Chambers. 
 Daniel B. Price, Nicholasville, Ky. 
 
 Colonel Crockett was a man of splendid physique, six feet 
 three inches in height, spare but muscular, dark hair, sallow com- 
 plexion, with keen, piercing, black eyes ; roman nose and thin, ex- 
 pressive lips. The many ofifices to which he was elected in 
 Fayette and Jessamine counties evince in what high esteem he 
 was held by those who knew him. He always wore a long, blue 
 
28 Hidory of Jexmmine County, Kentuckij. 
 
 cut-a-\vay coat with brass buttons, with knee breeches and black 
 silk stockings and heavy silver shoe buckles. As was the custom 
 among- the gentlemen at that early period, he wore a cue falling 
 down his back between his shoulders, tied with a blue ribbon. 
 
 Colonel (,'rockett was buried on his old home place, where 
 had preceded him to the tomb his wife and children. The brick 
 house which he built in the early part of the century still stands 
 near the grave-yard, and is the property of Air. John Baker, form- 
 erly owned by Otho Roberts. A few years since, his grandson, 
 Col. Bennett H. Young, had erected around it an iron fence. 
 
 The following letter, written by Maj. Benjamin Netherland, 
 who was then a resident of Xicholasville, will be both amusing 
 and interesting : 
 
 Xicholasville, Ky., October 7, 1826. 
 
 M\ Dear Friend : I was very much pained on hearing that 
 vour cut on the leg has not improved since I was to see you in 
 April last. T was sorry that your vv'ounded leg prevented you 
 from being in Lexington last year, when the Marquis de la Fayette 
 was given one of the greatest and grandest receptions I ever wit- 
 nessed. More than ten thousand people marched in line to re- 
 ceive on the big road leading from Frankfort to Lexington. He 
 rode in a fine four-horse carriage accompanied by Governor 
 Deslia, Col. Anthony Crockett, Col. Joseph Crockett, Genl. Peter 
 r)udley, and many other gentlemen who rode on horseback and 
 acted as a guard of honor in the rear of the carriage. More than 
 forty-six years ago I was in Charleston when he landed there in 
 1777, a young man from France on his way to of¥er his services to 
 General Washington to fight for the liberties of the people of our 
 country. In Charleston he was received with becoming respect 
 and honor, the people everywhere were loud in their praise of the 
 \oung French soldier — but his reception was nothing in com- 
 parison to the reception given him by the patriotic people of Lex- 
 ington last ]May. When General La Fayette got into Lexington 
 the rush of many of the old soldiers was truly exciting. Every- 
 where his carriage was stopped by the surviving veterans who 
 had served with him and Washington at Monmouth, Trenton, 
 Brandy wine and Little York. Everyone was anxious to see La 
 Fayette. It just seemed that there was no other actor in the great 
 revolutionary drama who had been so near to the heart of Wash- 
 
History of ,/€■•<>« idi I ue Gotaity, Kciitucki/. 29 
 
 iiiLji'ton as (General La I'"ayette. When the great dinner given to 
 tlie general in the city Hniits was over, I went to Mr. WickHff's 
 honse with Cols. Joseph and /\nthony Crockett to pay my respects 
 to the young man, forty-seven years ago. I introduced to Col. 
 William Motiltry who was putting Charleston in fighting trim to 
 resist the liritish fleet which 1 learned while in Cuba was to sail 
 from Jamaca under Admiral Parker and bombard Charleston. I 
 brought this intelligence which T hastened to give Colonel Moul- 
 trie, who inunediately commenced j^utting the town in a proper 
 state for defending every place along the harbor. On arriving 
 at Mr. WickHff's house Joe Crockett first introduced me to 
 George Washington La Fayette, the son of the general. His 
 son looked like a man who had seen much mental trouble ; he 
 seemed to be pleased at the reception given to his father, but was 
 not a man to talk, was stiff and I thought not an intelligent man 
 whatever, Init a proud, weak man. Wlien Colonel Crockett 
 brought me into the parlor of Mr. Wickliff's house, General La 
 h^ayette, he introduced me as the yotmg man "Netherland" who 
 fortv-seven years before had made him known to Colonel Moul- 
 try who in 1776 and 1777 had command at Charleston. He re- 
 membered me introducing him to Moultry and my going as far 
 as Charlotte with him, as he went through Richmond to Phila- 
 <lel])hia, he received me ver}- warmly, shedding tears as he did 
 when meeting with Anthony and Joe Crockett. He asked my 
 age, I told him T was just in my seventieth year ; he then informed 
 me lie was 69 years of age and felt that his health had greatly im- 
 proved' since he had revisited America. \\'hen I bid him fare- 
 well L in companv with the two Crocketts and Robert B. McAfee, 
 lieutenant-governor, all went and bid the general a long farewell. 
 The general shed tears and in fact every one who was present 
 cried. Dosia, my wife, kissed the general and we separated, 
 never to see General La Fayette again on earth. Hundreds of 
 the people of Lexington in talking of La Fayette cried out aloud. 
 The ladies especiall}' shed tears when taking leave of the great 
 friend of Washington. 
 
 A'erv truly vour friend, 
 
 B. Netherland. 
 Capt. Thomas W. Ashford, 
 
 \'ersailles, Ky. 
 
30 History of Jessamine CoKnty, Kentucky. 
 
 John Price. 
 
 Col. John Price early settled in Jessamine county in what is 
 known as the Marble creek district. He came to Kentucky in 
 1788 and was one of the best educated of the Revolutionary sol- 
 diers who made the countv their home. His letters show that 
 he was man of fine mind and good scholarship and he influenced 
 a great many of his Revolutionary friends to settle in Jessamine, 
 Fayette and Woodford counties. He was one of the first men to 
 respond to the call to arms in the Revolutionary war. 
 
 While born in Alaryland he was descended from a distin- 
 guished A'irginia family. He was severely wounded at the bat- 
 tle of Brandywinej September ii, 1777. He was also at Mon- 
 mouth and Princeton and at the surrender of Cornwallis, at York- 
 town. He died at his residence in Jessamine county on the loth 
 of August, 1822. 
 
 He started the agitation for the creation of a new county. 
 He and his neighbors had been subjected to what they termed 
 petty persecution, on the part of the constables and sheriffs, or 
 their appointees, and as these all resided at Lexington and were 
 not elected by the people, the inhabitants of that part of Jessa- 
 mine became aggrieved at the conduct of these officers and this 
 dissatisfaction produced the movement which finally ended in 
 the organization of a county. 
 
 He was the first man to represent the county in the legisla- 
 ture and was elected late in 1798. It must have been a special 
 election called for the purpose of choosing a representative. As 
 the county was created on December 19th, 1798, and as the 
 elections for 1798 under the constitution, were in May of that 
 year, he must either have been appointed or elected as the first 
 member from the county. A letter which he wrote to Col. 
 Joseph Hamilton Daveiss on the 28th of Aug-ust, 1799, explains 
 much, about which there have been different statements in the 
 county, and shows that Col. Joseph Hamilton Daveiss and others 
 assisted Colonel Price in securing the creation of the new countv. 
 
 Colonel Price affiliated with the Baptist church. He was a 
 man of great kindness of heart and liberality. He was a friend 
 of all who needed his help and especially of the old Revolutionary 
 
Hktory of Jexmmiue Coioity, Kentuckij. 31 
 
 soldiers. lUiried upon the old homestead, his grave was not 
 marked. The place is now owned b>' a Mr. Hinds and while it is 
 known in what enclosure he was buried, there is no stone to desig- 
 nate his grave. 
 
 Manv of his descendants now reside in Indiana, Illinois, Mis- 
 souri and in the West, and the distinguished publisher John P. 
 Morton, of Louisville, was a grandson of Colonel Price. 
 
 William Price. 
 
 Col. \\'illiam Price, who was not related to Col. John Price, was 
 born in Fredericksburg, A'a., in 1755, and came with his family 
 to Jessamine county in 1787. Capt. James C. Price, who com- 
 manded the Jessamine Blues, at the battle of Raisin, on the 23d 
 of February, 1813, was his oldest son, and was born while his 
 father was absent in the American army. 
 
 Col. William Price was descended from Baptist ancestry, who 
 emigrated from Wales to Virginia, in 1720. When a mere lad, 
 only fourteen years of age, he had seen Revds. John Waller and 
 Louis Craig lodged in the Fredericksburg jail for preaching the 
 Baptist doctrine. This was before the passage of the Statute of 
 Airginia, granting religious liberty, in the passage of which, Thos. 
 Jefferson considered that he had achieved one of the greatest 
 triumphs of his long career. This produced a profound impres- 
 sion upon his mind, and he was never able to eradicate his preju- 
 dice against the Church of England, which had been instrumental 
 in the arrest of these preachers, and he became an inveterate 
 enemy of that church, and never brought himself to look with 
 complacency upon those who were connected with it. He came 
 to Kentucky with Louis Craig and his travehng church, in 1781, 
 and remained for three years. He then returned to Mrginia, 
 and in 1787 came back to Kentucky, settled in Jessamine count v 
 and made it his permanent home. 
 
 Colonel Price was in the Revolutionary war, from its ver\- 
 commencement until the end. He was a first Lieutenant in the 
 battle of Stony Point, July 16, 1799. and at the battles of Brandv- 
 v.ine, Germantown, Monmouth, and Princeton, he was acting as 
 Captain. He rose to the rank of Major, and was at Yorktown 
 
32 History of Jexmmine County, Kentucky 
 
 when Cornwallis surrendered October 19, 1781. He married Mary 
 Cunningham, in 1777, and three months after left his home and 
 young- wife to fight the battles of freedom. His first engage- 
 ment was in the battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777, and he 
 did not return to his family until the close of the war. The part 
 which most of the Episcopal clergy in A'irginia took against the 
 revolution, still further embittered Colonel Price against that 
 denomination. The following letter of his to Capt. Edward 
 Payne, dated December 20th, shows both his feelings to the 
 church, as well as to the character of the entertainments which 
 were given in those days. A similar iuAdtation was written to 
 Col. Luke Allen, in which a like prejudice crops out : 
 
 Price's Hall, Stafford county, Va. 
 December 20, 1787. 
 Capt. Edward Payne, 
 
 Overseer at Gunston Hall : 
 My Dear Sir — This note is to apprize you that I invite you 
 and all your Baptist friends to my house on Christmas day to 
 partake of a big dinner of turkey and oysters, and to conclude 
 with a dance at grandmother's in the evening. No Episcopalian 
 has been invited. Such people are too aristocratic and over- 
 bearing. The people who are communicants of that church try 
 to imitate their aristocratic brethren of England in almost every 
 act that they perform. I have no patience with such harpies as 
 the clergy of this establishment. Their titles, dignities and liv- 
 ings are too much like our late oppressors in the great war just 
 closed. They must now consider that the people of the country 
 now look chiefly to the practical and useful and not to mere empty 
 titles which serve no good purpose in a free country. What we 
 want in the church as well as in the state is plain, practical men, 
 devoted men, who know and mingle with the people as one of 
 themselves. We want no more English airs, no arrogance of de- 
 meanor among neighbors. Tell Robert Craig to bring his fiddle, 
 as we expect a good time generally. Tell Black Tom to come by 
 all Tueans. 
 
 William Price. 
 
 Colonel Price must have borne a distinguished part in the 
 battle of Stonv Point. The following letter, which he wrote to 
 
Hidorij of Jess<nnine Couiiti/, Kcntnckij. 33 
 
 l\Iaj. James Cluke. the day after this l^attle, will show that in that 
 battle he acted with great courage and his conduct was com- 
 mended by General Wayne himself : 
 
 Fort Stony Point, July 17, 1779. 
 To. j\laj. James Cluke: 
 
 Dear ]\Jajor — I wish that God would heal your wound and I 
 could once more see you among your brave comrades. On yes- 
 terday evening, July i6th, after marching over the roughest coun- 
 try I ever saw, through deep swamps and narrow roads, we got 
 \vithin. a mile of this fort, which is on the west bank of the Hudson 
 river. It was of vast importance to our enemies and had been 
 strengthened by every means of art that lay in their power. At 
 night our heroic commander, Brigadier Wayne, came among us 
 and told us that everything depended on secrecy, and, says he, 
 "I want you men who belong to the regiments of Colonel Butler 
 and Colonel Fleury to march with unloaded muskets and fixed 
 bayonets ; I will lead you myself," said he. The river had flooded 
 the swamps ^\•aist deep, but when we saw our beloved General go 
 forward, we sprang forward, and our advance of twenty men at 
 once attacked the double palisade. When one of the red-coated 
 sons of bitches shouted in great alarm, "Here comes the damned 
 rebels, shoot them." He was soon knocked on the head, biit a ter- 
 rible fire Avas opened on us as we advanced througii the swamps. 
 The guns from the fort spattered mud on us as well as dirtv water. 
 Their grape and canister did not damage more than to spatter 
 mud and water on our clothes. About this time our brave Gen- 
 eral was knocked on the head in the right temple by a spent ball. 
 I instantly raised him up. "March on. Lieutenant Price; carr)' me 
 to the fort; I will die at the head of my men." W& bore him for- 
 ward until we got near the center of the fort and both commands 
 met, when the shout of victory rent the air. Our victory was 
 complete ; we carried everything so rapidly that our enemies were 
 surprised. We lost about sixty men. Joseph Campbell, of 
 Fredericksburg, was killed ; also Private Clow and Richard 
 Climer was killed. He was from Philadelphia, was a brave 
 Dutchman, deeply religious. I hope he is safe in heaven. Hop- 
 ing that you will soon recover from your wound, T am, your friend, 
 
 William Price. 
 3 
 
34 History of Je^mm'nie Coioitij, Kentuchj. 
 
 He died at his residence, where he had settled when coming- 
 to Jessamine county, on the loth of October, 1808. at the age of 
 53 vears. He failed to reach that longevity which marked the 
 lives of most of the Revolutionary soldiers who were transplanted 
 to Kentucky, and especially Jessamine county. 
 
 He was a patriot of the greatest intensity and earnestness. 
 He earlv introduced in Jessamine county, celebrations of the 
 Fourth of July. He had such a celebration at his house on the 
 Fourth of Jul}', 1794. He invited a large number of his friends. 
 On the fifth of July, 1794, he wrote a letter to Governor Shelby, 
 and Revolutionary soldiers must have been abundant in those 
 days, for he said that he had forty at his table on that occasion. 
 The following is the communication which he made to Governor 
 Shelby : 
 
 Fayette county, Ky., July 5, 1794. 
 To His Excellency, Isaac Shelby, 
 
 Governor of Kentucky : 
 My Esteemed P^riend — I was greatly disappointed by your 
 not coming to my house on yesterday (July 4). We had a glori- 
 ous time and a big dinner. Forty men sat down at my tables, who 
 had served in the late struggle for our freedom and independence. 
 It was a glorious sight to behold, and I wish King George HI 
 and Lord North could have witnessed the scene in the wilds of 
 America. On the return of this glorious birthday of our free- 
 dom from British despotism, the heart of every patriot in the late 
 struggle may rightfully pour its highest tribute to God and the 
 great sages and soldiers who resolved to stake their lives and 
 sacred honor in maintaining the Declaration of Independence. 
 Throughout the limits of our country, from ^Massachusetts to 
 Georgia, the hearts of a free and happ}- people have been dedi- 
 cated on yesterday to the contemplation of the great blessings 
 achieved and becjueathed to us by such heroic leaders as George 
 Washington, Israel Putnam and Nathaniel Greene. Such brave- 
 leaders took their lives in their hands, and liberty or death was in- 
 scribed on their hearts. God, in the plenitude of His beneficence, 
 has generally chosen men qualified to resist kings and tyrants in 
 their attacks on the rights of the people. The history of our 
 mother country furnished full proof of this fact and our own 
 glorious country in the late war for independence is a more brill- 
 
HUtory of Je.-<!<aiiuiie ( hiiiit;/, Kcidackj/. i>5 
 
 iant illustration of the g^reat truth thai God hates all tyrants and 
 despotic rulers, and sooner or later overthrows all such rascals in 
 causing the people to rise up and cut their heads off. 
 Truly thy old friend, 
 
 William Price. 
 P. S. — I will be at Frankfort next Monday. 
 
 The house in which he lived has been changed so as to bear no 
 similarity to what it was when he resided in it, but the graveyard 
 on the place is still maintained in fairly good order, and a sub- 
 stantial stone wall surrounds the spot where he and his loved 
 ones rest. He had quite a number of children and some of his 
 descendants reside in Jessamine and Fayette counties now. 
 
 George Walker. 
 
 Gen. George Walker was one of the most distinguished gifts 
 of A'irginia to Jessamine county. He was the second man to 
 open a law office in the town of Xicholasville, which he did in 
 1799, Samuel H. Woodson having been the first man to open 
 such an office. George Walker owned the land upon which 
 Mr. Melanchthon Young now resides, and \vas buried in the or- 
 cliard about one hundred yards from the residence. 
 
 He was a man of great learning and great enterprise, as well 
 as great courage. Piorn in Culpeper county, Va., in 1763, he 
 settled in Jessamine county, in 1794. He married Miss Rachel 
 Coffee, of Xashville, Tenn., who was a daughter of Gen. John 
 Coffee, who bore a distinguished part with Gen. Andrew Jack- 
 son in the Indian wars in the South and West, as well as the war 
 of 181 2. He was a mere lad when he entered the ranks of the 
 Revolutionary army under Generals Green and Morgan, in the 
 campaigns of 1780-81, and was at the battle of Cowpens, Jan- 
 uary 17, 1781, and Guilford Court House. He was also at the 
 siege of Yorktown. 
 
 He was a man of noble physique and his appearance in- 
 dicated his intelligence as well as his high character. His de- 
 votion to his country and its cause knew^ no bounds. He was ap- 
 pointed to a seat in the United States Senate by Gov. Isaac Shelbv, 
 to fill a vacancv. 
 
36 Hidory of Jexmmine Count ii, Kentucki/. 
 
 David Meade was an uncle of Colonel Walker, his father hav- 
 ing married Colonel Meade's sister. He was in the battle of New 
 Orleans with the Kentucky troops, where he attracted the at- 
 tention of General Jackson by his superb bravery and his splendid 
 heroism. He was also in the battles of the Northwest and was 
 aide to Governor Shelby at the battle of the Thames. 
 
 He died in Nicholasville in 1819, at the house now owned by 
 Lewis C. Drake. Two of his sons emigrated to Texas and held 
 distinguished positions. One of his sons, Andrew Walker, was 
 a great friend of Quantrell, the celebrated Missouri soldier. 
 
 The exact location of the grave of Colonel Walker is now un- 
 known, but in his day he was one of the most prominent and re- 
 spected citizens. His youngest son, Courtney Meade Walker, 
 removed to Oregon, where he led the life of a hunter. He died in 
 1886, at an advanced age. 
 
 The first public service rendered by George \\ alker was as 
 one of the commissioners to run the lines between Kentucky and 
 Tennessee, and the boundary was known as Walker's Line. 
 Some extracts from Courtney Meade Walker's letters will be in- 
 teresting as showing the condition of affairs in olden times. He 
 says : 'T was in Nicholasville in August, 1826. Harrison Daniels 
 was a candidate for the legislature at that time. It was on the 
 last day of the election. There were some five or six fist fights in 
 the streets, but no one was injured or seriously hurt. I had come 
 up from Louisville, where I had been at school. I was at the 
 burial of Samuel H. W^oodson, in 1827, at the residence near 
 David Meade's." 
 
 Gen^I Percival Butler. 
 
 Gen. Percival Butler, was born in Carlisle, Pa., April 
 4, 1760. In 1778, he entered the American army as a lieutenant. 
 He was at A'alley Forge with Washington, at the battle of Mon- 
 mouth, and at the surrender at Yorktown. LaFayette was such an 
 admirer of the young man that he presented him with a sword as 
 a token of his friendship and esteem. He married a Miss Haw- 
 kins, of Virginia. Col. John Todd, who fell at Blue Licks, mar- 
 ried another sister. It was probably through this connection 
 
HiMonj of Jc-'saiiiiiH' Count If, Kciifiicli/. 37 
 
 that (ieneral lUitler settled in Kentucky. He came to Jessa- 
 mine county in 1784, and settled at the mouth of Hickman creek 
 and engaged in merchandise. This point was then one of great 
 importance. The Kentucky river was the outlet for a large pan 
 of Central Kentucky, and tlatboats ])lied up and down the stream, 
 carrying- the conmierce of the country tributary to it. The rich 
 lands lymg- in proximity were already producing large treasure 
 which found markets in the East and at New Orleans. Gen. James 
 Wilkinson had opened a large dry goods store at Lexington in 
 1784. Salt was carried out of the Salt river from Mann and Bul- 
 litt Licks in 1796 to Xashville, and the Kentucky river was also 
 sending" its tide of wealth to the outside world. 
 
 In 1785 a ferry had been established at the mouth of Hick- 
 man creek liy the A'irginia legislature, and in 1787 Wilkinson 
 had pushetl his trade down the ^Mississippi to New Orleans, and 
 the mouth of Hickman at once l^ecame a center of trade. 
 
 By this date roads were cut through from Lexington to Dan- 
 ville, Stanford and Lancaster, and the chartering of the ferry as 
 early as 1785 shows that a large trade crossed at this point. Prior 
 to this date no other ferry had been established by Virginia ex- 
 cept the one across the Kentucky river at Boonesboro (1779). 
 The next were those at the mouth of Hickman, the mouth of Jack's 
 creek, Aladison county, at Long Lick, and two at Louisville, to 
 the mouths of Silver creek and Mill Run. 
 
 Gen. Percival Butler remained at the mouth of Hickman until 
 1796, when he removed to the mouth of the Kentucky river, at 
 Carrollton. He was made adjutant-general of Kentucky in 1792 
 and took part in the war of 1812, and died in Carroll county, in 
 1821. 
 
 His eldest son, Thomas L. Butler, was born at the mouth of 
 Hickman, in 1780. He was an aide to General Jackson at the 
 battle of New ( Orleans in 1815, being then only twenty-six years of 
 age, and was left by General Jackson in command of the city, to 
 protect it against outbreaks. He represented Gallatin (then com- 
 prising Carroll) county in the legislature, in 1826, and Carroll 
 in 1848, and died at Carrollton in 1877, aged 88 years. 
 
 Gen. Wm. Orlando Butler, second son of Gen. Percival But- 
 ler, was born at the mouth of Hickman, April 19, 1791, and re- 
 mained there until he was five years of age; then went with his 
 
38 Hldorij of Jei<mmhie County, Keiducky. 
 
 father to CarrolltO'ii. He graduated at Transylvania University 
 at twenty-one years of age, and at once volunteered as a private 
 in the war of 1812, then in progress. He entered the service as a 
 private, in Captain Nathaniel G. Hart's company, the "Lexington 
 light infantry." Young Butler was made a corporal. This 
 company was in the battle of Raisin, fought January 22, 181 3. 
 Captain Hart was wounded in the leg in the fight. A British 
 officer named Elliott, who had been nursed by Hart's family dur- 
 ing a severe spell of illness, in Lexington, offered to protect Cap- 
 tain Hart, who was a brother-in-law of Henry Clay, but he basely 
 failed to redeem his promise, and Hart was massacred. In 
 both battles at Raisin, January 18th and 22d, Butler's conduct 
 commanded the highest praise. His courage, gallantry, and self- 
 denial elicited universal praise. He was wounded and taken 
 prisoner. 
 
 His heroic conduct at Raisin shows that he has had no su- 
 perior in courage and chivalry in the world's history, and one 
 event is thus told by F. V. Blair, Sr. : 
 
 "After the rout and massacre of the right wing, belonging 
 to the Wells command, the whole force of the r)ritish and Indians 
 was concentrated against the small body of troops under Maj. 
 Geo. Madison, that maintained their ground within the picketed 
 g'ardens, a double barn commanding the plat of ground on 
 which the Kentuckians stood — on one side the Indians, under the 
 cover of an orchard and fence, the British on the other side, being 
 so posted as to command the space between it and the pickets. 
 A party in the rear of the l)arn were discovered advancing to take 
 possession of it. All saw the fatal consequences of the secure 
 lodgment of the enemy at a place which would present every man 
 within the pickets at close rifle shot, to the aim of their marksmen, 
 Major Madison inquired if there was no one who would volunteer 
 to run the guntlet ot the fire of the British and Indian lines, and 
 put a torch to the combustibles within the barn, to save the rem- 
 nant of the little army from sacrifice. The heroic Butler, without 
 a moment's delay, took some blazing sticks from a fire at hand, 
 leaped the pickets, and running at his utmost speed, thrust the 
 fire into the straw within the barn. One who was an anxious 
 spectator of the event says that, although volley upon volley 
 was fired at liim, Butler, after making some steps on his wav 
 
Hidort/ of Jexsamiiif Coimfi/, Kentuchij. 39 
 
 back, turned to see if the tire had taken, and, not being satisfied, 
 returned to the barn and set it in a blaze. As the conflagration 
 grew, the enemy was seen retreating from the rear of the building, 
 which they had entered in one end, as the flames ascended in the 
 other. Soon after reaching the pickets in safety amid the shouts 
 of his friends, he was struck by a musket ball in his breast. Be- 
 lieving, from the pain he felt, that it had penetrated his chest, he 
 tin-ned to John M. McCalla, one of his Lexington comrades, and, 
 pressing his hand on the spot, said: 'I fear this shot is mortal, 
 but while I am able to move I will do my duty.' To the anxious 
 inquiries of his friends, who met him soon afterward, he opened 
 his vest, with a smile, and showed them that the ball had spent 
 itself on the thick wadding of his coat and on his breastbone. He 
 suffered, however, for many weeks." 
 
 He Avas a captain in the battle of New Orleans, December 14, 
 1814, and on January 8, 1815, was brevetted Major for his gallan- 
 try, and (leneral Jackson commendefl his conduct in the highest 
 terms. He was an aide on the staiT of General Jackson, in 1816 
 and 1 81 7, but resigned to study law. He married a daughter of 
 General Robert Todd. He represented Gallatin county in the 
 legislature in 1817, was elected to Congress in 1839, and served 
 four vears, refusing a re-election. In 1844 he was the Demo- 
 cratic candidate for Governor and reduced the Whig majority to 
 4. GOO. 
 
 On June 2Q, 1846. President Polk appointed General Butler a 
 major general of voltuiteers, and on the same date Zachary Tay- 
 lor, major general in the regular army. 
 
 On the 23d of T'ebruary. 1847, the Kentucky legislature pre- 
 sented him a sword for his gallantry in ]\Iexico. He bore a dis- 
 tinguished part in many of the battles of that war. He was 
 wounded in the battle of Alonterey in September, 1846. On Feb- 
 ruary' 18, 1848, he succeeded General Scott in the chief com- 
 mand of the American army in ]\Iexico, and remained in such po- 
 sition until the declaration of peace, ]\Iay 29, 1848. In that year 
 he was nominated for Vice-President of the United States on the 
 ticket with Gen. Cass; but they were defeated by Taylor and Fill- 
 more. He received the full vote of his party for United States 
 Senator in 1851, but failed of election. He was one of the six Peace 
 Commissioners from Kentuckv in lanuarv. 1861, and thereafter 
 
40 History of Jessamuie Coiiidi/, Ketducky. 
 
 he remained in the quiet seckision of his home, at Carrolkon, and 
 died August 6, 1880, in his 89th year. He rests in a sepulchre 
 overlooking the splendid scenery where the waters of the Ken- 
 tucky and the Ohio unite — a fit resting-place for him who did so 
 much to wrest Ohio and the NortliAvest from the savage and ^o 
 make still greater, the renown of the great commonwealth which 
 had given him birth. 
 
 He was a man of the highest courage, truest patriotism, noblest 
 public spirit, thorough culture and splendid talent. His poem, 
 "The Boatman's Horn," induced by the associations and mem- 
 ories of his childhood on the Ohio, when listening to the large 
 and sonorous horns the boatmen were accustomed to 1:)low to 
 announce their coming to the landing places on the river, is a real 
 poetic gem : 
 
 The Boat Horn* 
 
 O boatman, wind that horn again, 
 
 For never did the list'ning air 
 
 Upon its lambent bosom bear 
 So w^ild, so soft, so sweet a strain. 
 
 What though thy notes are sad and few, 
 By every simple boatman blown. 
 
 Yet is each pulse to nature true 
 '.'JK^id melody in every tone. 
 
 How oft in boyhood's joyous day, 
 Unmindful of the lapsing hours. 
 
 I've loitered on my homeward way 
 By wild Ohio's brink of flowers, 
 
 While some lone boatman from the deck 
 Poured his soft numbers to that tide. 
 
 As if to charm from storm and wreck 
 The boat where all his fortunes ride ! 
 Delighted nature drank the sound, 
 Enchanted — echo bore it round 
 In wdiispers soft, and softer still. 
 From hill to plain and plain to hill, 
 
Hldorij of Je-'^xaimiir Cotoiiij, Kentiickij. 
 
 41 
 
 Till e'en the thoughtless, frolicking boy, 
 
 Elate with hope and wild with joy, 
 
 Who gamboled by the river side 
 
 And sported with the fretting tide. 
 
 Feels something new pervade his ^breast. 
 
 Chain his light step, repress his jest, 
 
 Bends o'er the flood his eager ear 
 
 To catch the sounds, far ofif, yet near — 
 
 Drinks the sweet draught, but knows not why 
 
 The tear O'f rapture fills his eye; 
 
 And can he now, to manhood gTOwn, 
 
 Tell why those notes, simple and lone. 
 
 As on the ravished ear they fell. 
 
 Rind every sense in magic spell? 
 
 There is a tide of feeling given — 
 
 To all on earth — its fountain. Heaven, 
 
 Beginning with the dewy flower 
 
 Just ope'd in Flora's vernal bower. 
 
 Rising creation's orders through 
 
 With louder murmur, brighter hue, 
 
 That tide is sympathv ; its ebb and flow 
 
 Gives life its hues of joy and woe ; 
 
 Music, the master spirit that can move 
 
 Its waves to war. or lull them into love ; 
 
 Can cheer the sinking sailor 'mid the wave 
 
 And bid the soldier on , nor fear the grave ; 
 
 Inspire the fainting pilgrim on his road, 
 
 And elevate his soul to claim his God. 
 
 Then, boatman, wind that horn again! 
 
 Though much of sorrow mark its strain. 
 
 Yet are its notes to sorrow dear. 
 
 What though they wake fond memory's tear; 
 
 Tears are sad memory's sacred feast. 
 
 And rapture oft her chosen guest. 
 
 HOATMANS HORN. 
 
42 Hi4ovy of Jexxam'ine County, Kentucki/. 
 
 First Settlers. 
 
 John Hunter, Jacob Hunter and Samuel Hunter came to 
 Jessamine county in the spring of 1779. Jacob was the oldest 
 and was born in 1753. They first stopped at Boonesboro in 1778 
 and were employed by Elias Hite, son of Abraham Hite, who 
 was at that time engaged in the surveying of lands in Kentucky. 
 The father of these young men died at Boonesboro. They had 
 two sisters. They had been employed by Mr. Hite as chain- 
 carriers, and they all settled close to each other on Hickman 
 creek. The following letter shows when they were dismissed : 
 
 Thursday, April i, 1779. 
 Dear Father : Dismiss the chain carriers, John Hunter, 
 Samuel Hunter and Jacob Hunter ; pay them six shillings per 
 day for three months' services on Boone and Hickman creeks. 
 
 Isaac Kite. 
 
 Tell Mr. Douglas to go at once to Boonesboro. 
 
 Here, in 1780, was born Joseph Hunter, who was the first 
 white child born in the j^resent 1)oundary of Jessamine 
 county. Joseph Hunter lived to be quite an old man. 
 He died in 1858. The old home of these first settlers em- 
 braced about 900 acres of land, which has now been in cultivation 
 120 years and is still fertile and productive. The old house for 
 a long time was the property of John Portwood, who was a son- 
 in-law of John Hunter. The farm is situated about six miles east 
 of Nicholasville on the pike leading to Boone's Ferry. 
 
 When John Portwood died, Dudley Portwood, his son, sold 
 a part of the farm containing 200 acres to Jessamine county for 
 the erection of a poor house. 
 
 The Hunter homestead \\'as built of brick and is still standing, 
 and w^as erected about 1798. One of the bricks in the chimneys 
 has this date upon it. 
 
 Jacob Hunter left Jessamine county and went to Owen 
 county, where he died after attaining the extreme age of one 
 hundred years. 
 
 Samuel Hunter settled some miles above these other two 
 
Hidorii of Jemunine County, Kentucky. 43 
 
 KENTUCKY PIONEER'S DRESS. 
 
44 Hi4ory of Je^mmbie Couidij, Kenttickij. 
 
 brothers, on Hickman creek, and they were unquestionably the 
 first white men who ever undertook a permanent setdement in 
 Jessamine county. They did not build forts or blockhouses, and 
 were doubtless driven in about 1782, ^vhen the Indians were so 
 determined in their assaults on the Kentuckv settlers. 
 
 Early Settlers on Jessamine Creek. 
 
 The early settlers on Jessamine creek were mostly German 
 Protestants who came in large part from Pennsylvania and Mary- 
 land, with a few from A'irginia. The following- letter written by 
 Dr. Peter Trisler to Rev. David Zeisberger in 1794, from Jessa- 
 mine county, will prove valuable, historically : 
 
 Jessamine Creek, September 4, 1794 
 Dear David : I am exceedingly sorry that you did not come 
 along with your father during his recent visit to this delightful 
 country. The sun shines brighter in this country, and the skies 
 are more blue, than the damp, moist atmosphere at the mouth of 
 the Cuyahoga. A good school is needed among us, and I invite 
 you once more to leave that inhospitable country of savages and 
 cold winds. 
 
 Faithfully yours, 
 
 Peter Trisler. 
 
 From most reliable records Rev. Jacob Rhorer was the founder 
 of the first Moravian church on Jessamine creek, in 1794, and 
 the building was used as a Moravian church by the Rhorer family 
 up to near the beginning of the Civil AVar. 
 
 The following are the names of the early settlers who were of 
 German parentage and belonged to the Moravian Church, or 
 "United Brethren" : Arnspigers, Alcorns, Cormans, Bowmans, 
 Bruners, Earthenhousers, Easleys, Funks, Fraziers, Growls, Gil- 
 mans, Goforths, HifTners, Howsers. Harbaughs, Horines, Rit- 
 ters, Rices, Masners, Zikes, Ketrons, Waggamans. Warmslys, 
 Overstreets, Quests, Yosts, Hoovers, Trislers, Turks, Turpins, 
 Shreves, Veatches, \"antresses. Naves, Cogars. Crows. Cooleys, 
 Cawbys, and Schmidts. Nearly all of these names were in the 
 list of German settlers in the western part of Jessamine county, 
 
Hidortj of Jessamhie County, Kentncky. 45 
 
 who were largely the followers of John Huss. They were men 
 of great common sense, good judgment, honesty, a high sense 
 of morality, and great lovers of freedom, and their descendants 
 still reside in that part of Jessamine county which their ancestors 
 in the early history of the state settled. 
 
 In 1884 John Cawby had a fjible which was printed at Wit- 
 tenberg in 1440. This Bible was brought from Germany to 
 Maryland in 1780, by Peter Trisler, who, in 1794, settled in the 
 present limits of Jessamine count}', where h^ died April 22, 1821. 
 This old Bible was the property of l\Irs. Nancy Horine, who was 
 a grandaughter of Dr. Trisler. 
 
 Dr. Peter Trisler was born in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1745. 
 He came to Hagerstown, Maryland, when a very young man, 
 and settled on Jessamine creek in 1791. When he came from 
 Germany he brought the old Bible above referred to, and this 
 book contained records of a large number of the families above 
 named. From this stock German settlers have gone through- 
 out the West and South, and they usually became men of thrift, 
 energy, character and brains. Some now in Illinois and manv in 
 Missouri have carried away with them the splendid qualities of 
 these early settlers, and in their new homes have shown the 
 sterling qualities of their ancestors, who did so much to create and 
 promote the best interests of the new state they helped to found 
 in the then wilderness of Kentucky. 
 
 Names of those who settled in other parts of Jessamine from 
 1782 to the close of the century: 
 
 Archibald Bristow ; Manoah Singleton; Elder Michael Rice; 
 Jacob Howser; David Watson, Sr. ; Jacob Sedowski, afterward 
 removed to Bourbon county; James McKinney ; Jeremiah King; 
 Col. Jos. Crockett; A1)raham Howser; Jacob Rhorer; John 
 Welch; Jacob Bruner; James Overstreet; Chris. ]Mason ; Wm. 
 Moss; Jno. Thornton; Patrick W'atson ; Fielding Pilcher; Shad- 
 rach Pilcher; Samuel Rice; Minor Young; Rev. Jno. Hudson; 
 Jeremiah Dickerson ; Wm. Fletcher; Wm. Bowman; John 
 I'wo Nine Scott; Col. Byrd Prewitt ; Jno. Johnson; Jno. Lowry; 
 Thos. Caldwell; Col. Geo. Walker; John Lewis; James Duncan; 
 Chas. Duncan ; Jonas E)avenport ; James McCabe ; Jacob Rice ; 
 Rev. Nathaniel Harris; Col. Wm. Price; Col. Jno. Price; Major 
 
46 History of Jemamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 Netherland ; Benj. Blackford; Benj. Adams; Jno. Todd; Robt. 
 Campbell ; Abraham Cassell ; Francis Lowers ; Thos. Shanklin ; 
 Kobt. Shanklin: Daniel Mitchell; Thomas Rowland; Thomas 
 Overstreet. 
 
 Black^s Station. 
 
 , It is strange that, from the time of the settlement at Harrods- 
 burg in 1774 down to 1779, there were no stations established in 
 Jessamine county. In Mercer, Boyle, Fayette, Woodford, Mad- 
 ison, Scott and Franklin, numerous stations were erected, but 
 with all the richness of the land in Jessamine county, none came 
 to found a fort within its midst. There were surveys made in the 
 county during this time, one of which, the Abram Hite survey of 
 2,000 acres on Marble creek, was both permanent and important, 
 and discussed in the fort at Harrodsburg in 1774 and 1775. A 
 Mr. Black established a station on what is known as the G. B. 
 Bryan farm, half way between Nicholasville and Brookline on 
 the Harrodsburg turnpike. It was on the old trace which led 
 through the county along the waters of Jessamine creek to the 
 w^aters of South Elkhorn. There were several large boiling 
 springs in the locality, and as these were always in demand for 
 settlements. Black located his station there. It was composed of 
 several cabins, and the land was originally part of what is known 
 as the "Craig Survey," and was subsequently owned by Archibald 
 Logan, who was a rich tanner and had an establishment in Lex- 
 ington. 
 
 Logan conveyed this land to his daughter, Airs. Hord, when 
 he left Jessamine county in 182Q. and the house known as the 
 Patterson House is where Logan lived. Mrs. Hord conveyed 
 the place to her daughter. Mrs. Worley. and she conveyed it to 
 others, and it is now ow^ned by the Bryan's heirs. 
 
 Beginning with 1783, this station became quite an important 
 one, and was one of the stopping places for those who followed 
 the trace from Mercer and Boyle to Franklin and Woodford 
 counties. The difificulty in obtaining water in this general section 
 was very great, and Joel Watkins, in his diary, says : June 24 — 
 "Forded river at mouth of Hickman ; after travelling seven or 
 eight miles on the road that leads from the river to Lexington I 
 
HIstori/ of Jessamuie CoKHttj, Kcntiwkii. 47 
 
 turned to the left of said road and crossed a water course called 
 East Jessamine ; after leaving- the said creek, the land is very level 
 and of a very pretty mulatto soil and the growth is black and white 
 oak, hickory, and some walnut and sugar trees, and the under- 
 growth ha/cl nut and red bud, till I arrived at West Jessamine. I 
 proceeded up said river to head, the land altering as I proceeded 
 up said creek until I came near the head springs, the land there 
 appearing very rich till I struck the waters of South Elkhorn. 
 This day I passed several good farms, and especially John Craig's, 
 badlv watered between the two Jessamines, so much so that 
 people settled only along the said creeks." This scarcity of 
 water was doubtless one of the reasons for establishing the sta- 
 tion at Black's. 
 
 Watkins says August i8. 1889: "Passed Dick's river at Mc- 
 Guir's, from thence we proceeded to Curd's Ferry on Kentucky, 
 which is at the mouth of Dick's river — the latter we forded — 
 (here the clitts are of amazing heig'ht); we proceeded towards 
 Lexington about eight miles ; we turned to the left of said road 
 past Black Station on the waters of Clear creek, proceeded on- 
 ward, the land lying very well, but the growth indicating the rock 
 being nigh the surface of the earth ; we crossed several forks of 
 Clear creek ; we came to Captain Woodfolk's mentioned on page 
 22 ; from this place the land continued very slightly, both soil and 
 Growth, to Mr. Watkins'. at which place we arrived about dark — ■ 
 received very kindly." 
 
 He also says. August 24: "Monday, after breakfast witli 
 Mr. W.. set out for the south side of Kentucky river, agreeing 
 with the aforesaid gentleman at parting to keep up a literary cor- 
 respondence, past Black Station again and crossed the two 
 forks of Jessamine and arrived at Kentucky river at the mouth of 
 Hickman, wliich 1 forded, and arrived at Mr. Walker's at two 
 hours besun." 
 
 It will be seen that the trace along b}- r>lack"s Station was the 
 read usually traveled by those who passed from (iarrard and 
 I\Iercer and Boyle to Woodford and Franklin. 
 
 Another station in Jessamine county was built by Levi Todd 
 a little northwest of Keene — its exact location can not now be de- 
 termined — it, is. however, laid down upon Filson's map. but was 
 abandoned. This was a fort. The road from Harrodsburg to 
 
48 H'ldonj of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 Lexington doubtless passed by Black's Station, and from 
 this on to Todd's Station. There was also another route 
 by which they crossed the river to the moutli of Hick- 
 man, followed Hickman for some distance, and then 
 turned northeast towards Lexing'ton, then their route fol- 
 lowed Hickman for several miles, then struck East Jessamine 
 and followed it to its Head at Mrs. Horine's on the Southern Rail- 
 road, about a mile east of Nicholasville, and from this over to the 
 headwaters of Jessamine, and from this along the general route 
 of the Lexington and Harrodsburgh turnpike to Lexington. 
 This is shown by deposition of David Williams, which was filed 
 in the case of Manson's Executors vs. Craig Williams, in which 
 Williams deposes as follows : 
 
 "He was well acquainted with Hickman's creek from a small 
 distance above the survey, 'Abram Hite,' to the head of the creek, 
 and that the east fork of Jessamine was as-well known to the peo- 
 ple of Harro'dsburg as Hickman's creek was. The east fork of 
 Jessamine lay more out of the course generally taken by hunters 
 in traveling from Harrodsburg to the waters of the Licking; they 
 commonly fell on main Jessamine above the mouth of East Fork ■, 
 thence up the main Jessamine spring; thence crossing the waters 
 of Hickman to Boone's creek, and over to the head of Stroud's 
 creek, where there were roads leading down most of its branches 
 to the Salt Licks. It was also common to pass by main Jessa- 
 mine above the East Eork and by Todd's station on the waters 
 of Hickman to go to tlie headwaters of South and North Elkhorn. 
 This deponent, with others, frequently took this road to avoid 
 large canebrakes." 
 
 The Last Indians. 
 
 The high clififs, covered with dense forests of cedar and other 
 timber, along the Kentucky river, and their utter inaccessibility, 
 rendered them excellent hiding places for the Indians who dis- 
 turbed the settlers as late as the end of 1792. No great incur- 
 sion of the Indians into Kentucky happened after thebattle of Blue 
 Licks, in 1782, but predatory bands, consisting of four or five 
 meri hers, both from the south 'and from the north, gave the set- 
 tlers o"reat disturbance and uneasiness and murdered a gfreat 
 
Hlxtonj of ,Jt's.-<(iiii!iif (nit lit 11, Keiifuckij. 4!l 
 
 many ^\()men and children. Shortl}' after the battle of l>lue Licks 
 the people abandoned the forts and scattered otU in their log 
 cabins over the state. Fear of Indian raids had been removed 
 and the immense tide of settlers which came into the state dur- 
 ing this period took up lands in every part, but as late as 1792 
 many people were killed in Garrard. Lincoln, Madison and Jessa- 
 mine. On July 6, 1793, Major Benjamin Netherland wrote the 
 following letter to Governor Shelb}-, which gives a contemporane- 
 ous account of these troubles : 
 
 "Mingo Tavern, Fayette county. Ky., 
 
 "July 6, 1792. 
 "To His Excellency, Isaac Shelby. 
 
 "(Tovernor of Kentucky: 
 
 "Dear Sir — Your letter cf the 2gth of June, was handed to me 
 on yesterday by John Wilson. I tender to }-ou my hearty, warm 
 thanks for the good opinion you express concerning my poor 
 services in the defense of our beloved cotmtry. To enjoy your 
 confidence and friendship may well be considered a distinguished 
 honor, and I shall at all times consider it a pleasure to he of serv- 
 ice to you. 
 
 There have but few depredations occurred in these parts of the 
 countv. Last year it was reported three men were killed by a 
 ])arty of Shawnees. They were pursued, overtaken and two of 
 them were killed the following day at Boonesboro. About three 
 months ag'O two Indians crossed the Kentucky at the mouth of ti)e 
 Dix river, and came among the settlers, as they said, for trading. 
 I was not pleased at seeing such treacherous enemies, and gave 
 orders to Tom Lewis and his father to keep a watch on them. 
 They spoke English very well and were trying to make the im- 
 pression that they were our best friends. \\'hen they left the 
 next morning they met one of the settlers named ^Michael Hififner, 
 who had been to see Thomas Rowland, who settled on a planta- 
 tion some miles above. The Indians told Hififner he must let 
 them have his horse. This he refused, when he heard the snap of 
 a gun. He at once jumped from the horse and stabbed the In- 
 dian to the heart. He then turned upon the other, who shot him 
 in the ami and ran ofT into the timber. Hififner, being a good In- 
 dian fighter and a brave and active man. pursued him. and before 
 i 
 
50 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 the Indian could reload his gun Hififner caught him and knocked 
 his brains out with a club, and threw his body down the high 
 cliffs into the river. The body of the Indian he stabbed to death 
 was buried. A party of Wyandots killed a man at the mouth of 
 Jessamine last spring. At the various crossings Indian tracks 
 have been discovered. At Paint Lick two years ago two men 
 were killed by this same party of Indians. It is my opinion that 
 if 50 mounted men were employed to scour the Kentucky river 
 cliffs during the fall, I feel sure no more of our people would be 
 ambushed and killed. These hills and cliffs. Major Whitley says, 
 are good hiding places for Indians to do us much injury. I must 
 urge you to appoint Tom Wilson captain and lieutenant of this end 
 of the county. He is young and active and can run like the wind, 
 and such service would be in keeping with his nature, which is 
 daring and full of adventure. I would seek the place myself, 
 but I have so long neglected my private affairs that it would be 
 ruinous for me to put my affairs into the hands of others, who seek 
 their own interest to the neglect of mine, besides I have now the 
 high and responsible duties of husband and father, which I can 
 not throw aside without doing great injustice to the innocent who 
 look to me for protection as husband and father. 
 "Your old friend, 
 
 " B. Netherland." 
 
 All sorts of "varmints"' were plentiful in the days of the early 
 settlers. Bears and rattlesnakes were in great abundance. On 
 the farm of Mr. Alexander Willoughby, near Sulphur Well, one 
 of the great curiosities was a place known as "Rattlesnake Spring." 
 When the land was first settled this spring was a great resort for 
 these snakes. The water issued from a large crevice in a lime- 
 stone rock, overlaid by a bold bank. Near the spring was a 
 cave. Major Netherland, who visited the place in 1796, says: 
 "In the fall of the year they w'ould crawl from the cave to the 
 spring and enter the crevice of the rock, where they remained 
 torpid during the winter. When the warmth of spring revived 
 them they would emerge from the crevice and the cave and bask 
 in the warm sun. At this season they fell an easy prey to the 
 destroyer. Henry Allsman, wdio is now^ living on this portion of 
 Mr. Willoughby's land, told me he and his family have killed 
 
Hidorij of Je>^!<ainine Coiodi/, Kentacki/. 51 
 
 hundreds of them in the last week. He would pile them up on a 
 log- heap and Ijurn them. By this wholesale slaughter, this enemy 
 of God and man was extirpated, and in another season of spring 
 and summer nothing- will ren-iain of that representative of the 
 transgression but his hateful name." 
 
 The man Allsman here referred to was the father of the no- 
 torious Andrew Allsman, who caused General McNeil to shoot 
 ten innocent n-ien at Palymra, Mo. He was born on this farm in 
 1805 and left home in 1829. Allsman boasted on the streets of 
 Palmvra of causing the death of these men. The next day after 
 he made this dreadful confession his dead l)ody was found himg 
 and i-iddled with bullets. He had been put to death by Col. Joe 
 Porter's i-i-ien in the neiuhborhood. 
 
 The First Powder Mill 
 
 Erected in Jessamine county was located on Hickman 
 creek, near the old Union Mill. The old powder houses remained 
 there as late as the year 1850. These powder mills were owned 
 by Richard Lafifoon, but the powder house was erected by Robert 
 Crockett, and after he left the country, it fell into the hands of 
 the Laffoons. It was stn^ck by lightning and destroyed in 1837. 
 
 The first paper mill in Jessamine, was erected on Jessamine 
 creek at the old Glass ^lills by Thomas r)ryan in 1837, ^""^^ 'i^ 
 carried it on until 1848. 
 
 The first burr mill-stones ever imported to Jessamine, came 
 from France in 1837. '^"'^^ were used by Bryan in w"hat is known as 
 the Henrv Glass Mills. 
 
 The First Mill. 
 
 The first mill built in Jessamine county was constructed by 
 ■Meredith Wright, father of Mr. Robert Wright, who still lives 
 in Nicholasville at the advanced age of eighty-one years. Mere- 
 dith Wright was the first millwright in the state, and the mill he 
 built was Haydon's Mill, afterward run by Mr. Gavin Steele. 
 Mr. Wright also built the Union Mills and the Torbett Mills. 
 He was amone: the earliest settlers in Kentuckv, and came from 
 
IHMiirtj i)f Jr.inaiii'Dlt' Out lit i/, Keidiicl-ij. 53 
 
 Culpeper Courthouse, iu \ irj^iuia, and immediately settled in 
 Jessamine county. His mills were used generally by the early 
 settlers, and the one used by David Trabue in Jessamme coimtv 
 was among- the first and nu)st primitive. The process of grind- 
 ing' was very slow : each man's or boy's grist was ground in its 
 turn, and sometimes a wait of twelve hc^urs was required before 
 the flour could be taken home. 
 
 Thomas Berry, brother of Joseph and Lewis Berrv, ran the 
 paper mill on Jessamine creek, where the character of paper made, 
 was good for the opporttmities of manufacture. It was deep 
 blue and broadly lined, but it was smooth, with a good polish, 
 and held the marks distinctly. 
 
 In 1825 James Wilson owned and ran a powder mill on Clear 
 creek. The power used was horse power, and the mortars and 
 pestles were operated by this jiower. Powder was then worth 
 $1 a pound. 
 
 At this time a fine flour mill was operated also on Clear creek 
 by ^Ir. Campbell Steele, who was the grandfather of Wm. L. 
 Steele, of Xicholasville, and ]\Ir. John Steele; and a hominy mill 
 was operated by Samuel Rufifner on Clear creek. The pestles 
 were operated by horse power. 
 
 Early Houses. 
 
 House building in Jessamine county in early days was not a 
 very expensive or protracted work. The houses were rude and 
 simple structures of hewn logs and the chinks stopped with mud 
 or filled with stone and then plastered with mud on the otitside. 
 Idle roof w"as made of clap-boarding about three feet long and 
 four inches wide, and along these were placed poles supported 
 by blocks of wood and these were weighted so as to hold the clap- 
 boarding in place. There was rarely more than one window, 
 which was at the side of the door. In early daAS it had no glass 
 but w'as closed by a wooden shutter made of heavy oak boards. 
 The floors were made of logs or puncheons hewed smooth on one 
 side with an adze. The logs were generally split to a convenient 
 size and length, and then hewed flat. The doors were made of 
 riven boards fastened together with wooden pins to wooden 
 
Hixfort/ of Jesxainiw Coioifi/, Koitiickij. 55 
 
 slabs. Ihese doors always had the latch on the inside and a 
 hole was bored above the latch about 4 inches, throiiii^h which a 
 leathern stringy passed and so fastened to the latch on the in- 
 side. When this string was taken in there was no way to open 
 the door from the outside. In the morning the string was passed 
 l)ack from the inside so that any party who desired to enter could 
 raise the latch. P>om this comes the Kentucky proclamation of 
 hospitality, "You will always find the latch-string on the outside." 
 The chimne\s were made of logs plastered with mtid. The back 
 and jambs were either covered with mud or stones were placed 
 on the inside to keep the heat from setting them on fire. The 
 fire places were often 10 or 12 feet wide, and while they consumed 
 an enormous quantity of wood, they made jolly good fires, which 
 lent cheerfulness and comfort to the whole hotise. Weather- 
 boarding was not ttsed until about 1815. Some of these houses 
 are still standing in the county, and in some of the brick houses 
 which were erected in early times, the doors were made withotit 
 nails. ( )ne of the earliest brick houses erected in Jessamine 
 count V was that of ^\'illiam Shreve, which was l)tiilt in 1793 and is 
 now owned by Mrs. John Simms, a short distance west of the Cin- 
 cinnati Southern depot, and it is still in a good state of preserva- 
 tion. 
 
 The First Vineyard. 
 
 John Frances DeFoure was a native of \'evay, Switzerland, 
 and planted the first vineyard west of the Alleghanies, in Jessa- 
 mine countv in 1796. The land was patented by William Hazel- 
 rigg in 1785. The place is ten miles southeast of Nicholasville, 
 and is the land on which Col. IVrcival Butler lived when Gen. 
 ^^'m. O. Butler was born in 1791. Col. Percival Butler had 
 moved to this section because the Indians were less dangerous 
 than in the northwest territory. The DeFoures, purchased the 
 land from Colonel Hazelrigg, who lived and died in Bourbon 
 countv. They afterwards settled in \^evay, Indiana, and named 
 the county Switzerland. They were very successful in Indiana, 
 and became very wealthy. The deed and agreement between 
 the DeFoures and Hazelrigg is recorded in Deed Book i. page 
 34. in the Jessamine county clerk's office. 
 
Hi4ori/ of ,h'.-<x(())iiiif' (hioifi/, Keiitiickij. 57 
 
 The land chosen did not suit the varieties of the grape in- 
 troduced. Hybridizing and crossing had not yet developed the 
 excellent varieties of grapes which can now be grown in all parts 
 of the United States. The European grapes were not adapted to 
 the soil of Kentucky. All other fruits in the early settlement of 
 the state, were produced in perfection. The cherries from \lr- 
 ginia and Pennsylvania, the apples and peaches from A'irginia 
 and North Carolina, and the pears from A^irginia grew with 
 marvelous rapiditv, and were free from all diseases, and in twenty 
 years after the settlement of Kentucky magnificent orchards were 
 abundant in all parts of the Commonwealth. The Janet or 
 Jeniton, the Limber Twig, the Horse apple, the Spice apple, the 
 Pryor Red, Morton's I'earmain. the summer apple, propagated 
 by slips brought over the mountains or produced from seed; found 
 in the virgin soil of Kentucky, a vigor and an abuiidance of 
 crops which satisfied the fullest wants of the new communities ; 
 but the grapes found wild in the forests of either Mrginia or Ken- 
 tucky were not utilized, or domesticated, and for a long while but 
 few grapes were grown. 
 
 The Kentucky Mneyard Association was organized in Lex- 
 ington in 1799, and seven hundred and fifty acres of land "lying 
 in the big bend of the Kentucky river near the mouth of Hick- 
 man creek," were secured as the site for planting the vineyard. 
 Great expectations were created. There was supposed to be no 
 limit to the products and production of the state and if Europe 
 could grow grapes, it was confidently assimied Kentucky could do 
 likewise an'd better. The announcement of the association de- 
 clared that, "in dess than four years, wine may be drunk on the 
 banks of the Kentucky, produced from the European stock." 
 
 The experiment was a dismal failure. Down in the swamps 
 of Xorth Carolina on the banks of the Catawba river was then 
 growing the splendid Cata^vba grape and on the islands in James 
 river in the midst of the forests and dense thickets the Norton's 
 A a. (A'irginia seedling) was yearly producing prolific crops, 
 either of which, if transplanted to Kentucky, would have pro- 
 duced a vintage which would have done all the promoters of the 
 Kentucky A'ineyard Association desired and prophesied, but 
 these early grape growers went to Europe rather than unto the 
 
History of Jessamine ('ountij, Kentucky. 59 
 
 forests of America for their plants, and misfortunes were the 
 result. 
 
 Another vineyard was started by some Swiss settlers on the 
 banks of Jessamine creek near the Crozier Mill, but these, after 
 some ^ears of cultivation of the European varieties, abandoned 
 their vines and homes and sought success in more congenial 
 climes. 
 
 James DeFoure, who was at the liead of the vineyard at 
 mouth of Hickman creek, after his failure there, had the sagacity 
 to discover that the Euroj^ean varieties were not adapted to this 
 portion of the country. Alexander, a gardener for (jovernor 
 Penn, had proi)agate(l before the war of the Revolution, a grape 
 now called by his name, which was thought to be the celebrated 
 grape of the Constantia colony from the Cape of Good Hope, 
 but which in realit}' was a native variety. It was called also the 
 Cape grape. DeFoure planted this vine at \ evay, Ind., and made 
 the first successful attempt to establish a vineyard in America. 
 His experiments in Jessamine county at least showed him the 
 true path to success and wealth at Vevay. 
 
 Kentucky Pioneers. 
 
 God always provides men for occasions. In emergencies 
 thev invariably arise to fill the measure of the hour. Men are 
 fashioned by their surroundings and they must be judged by the 
 same standard. 
 
 The settlement of Kentucky and it- wresting from the savage, 
 made an unusual demand upon the Ruler of the Universe. It 
 required a man unknown in the past history of the human race. 
 It nmst be a man devoid of fear, filled with love of adventure, 
 ^\•ith an instinct of freedom as strong as that of the eagle ; as self- 
 reliant as the king of beasts, as hospitable as the Aral) — who in 
 the mighty desert des])ises the yoke of the oppressor and who pro- 
 tects with his life the guest who sits at his board ; as patriotic as 
 the Roman, as enterprising as the Carthaginian, as fearless as the 
 Saxon, as defiant of death as the Turk ; and, with all these, the 
 subtle instincts of the Indian and his heroism under misfortune. 
 
 The A'irginia cavalier, with his superb gallantry, ennobled bv 
 
60 Hlxtortj of Jesmmi)if County, Kentnckij. 
 
 his lofty, gentlemanly instincts, would not meet the requirements. 
 The Pennsylvania settler, with his indomitable patience and un- 
 failing courage, fell short of the demands, and the sturdy Scotch- 
 Irishman of North Carolina, with his unquenchable love of free- 
 dom backed by his superb bravery and uplifted by his abiding 
 faith in God, was not equal to what the time and circumstances 
 exacted of the men who should undertake the seemingly impos- 
 sible task of conquering Kentucky. 
 
 As we turn backward one hundred years to commemorate the 
 character, lives and virtues of our forefathers and to understand 
 their sacrifices, their valor and their splendid achievements, 
 let us briefly picture their surroundings. 
 
 These Kentucky pioneers were to conquer a land four hundred 
 miles away from help or succor. It was an untrodden forest, 
 with no roads or path except such as the bufifalo in his migrations 
 had trampled through the canebrake, or beasts of prey had 
 traced in their seach for food. It had no human inhabitants, 
 and its defense was by common consent imposed upon the sav- 
 age red men, who claimed as their lands that vast country which 
 stretches from the great lakes in the Northwest to the waters of 
 the Tennessee, the Cumberland. ( )hio, and Mississippi rivers ; 
 covering an area of over 300,000 square miles. No survey had 
 marked its lines ; he who traversed the solitude and depths of the 
 forest must rely upon the stars, or nature's marks upon the trees, 
 as his guide. All supplies must be carried on pack-horses or 
 pack-men ; powder and lead were to be transported over six 
 hundred miles ; not a single blade of wheat or stalk of corn as yet 
 had sprung from its virgin and fertile soil. He who entered its 
 domain must always be prepared to meet an alert, savage, brave 
 and merciless foe. The cooing of the babe, the wail of defense- 
 less women, or the appeal of the helpless prisoner, found no 
 sympathy or response in the foe who defended this land. Death 
 by the tomahawk or at the stake was the punishment the In- 
 dian meted to those who invaded his beloved hunting ground. 
 As he asked and expected no quarter for himself, he gave none to 
 his white foe. By day and by night the merciless warfare was 
 to be waged. The coming of the morning sun only quickened 
 and vitalized anew his ibarbarous plans, and its departure at night 
 
Hidorij of Jexsamhie County, Keutucki/. 01 
 
 only gave time for more relentless resolve to drive out the in- 
 truder. 
 
 What race, what country, could produce men for such a task? 
 
 The settlement of Kentucky and its possession and the main- 
 tenance of the white man's supremacy was a part of God's plan to 
 make the colonies free and to form in America a republic — a 
 government of the people by the people, which was to be the great 
 beacon light of freedom and the vanguard of mankind for the 
 establishment in the world of true national liberty. 
 
 The thousand pioneers flung out into the wilds of Kentucky, 
 with their log stations and forts, close by the homes of the savages, 
 whom England was arming and teaching to slay white men and 
 white women and white children — with their skill as woodsmen, 
 with their courage as soldiers, and with their endurance as 
 frontiersmen, and with their fierce hatred of the barbarous In- 
 dians, were worth ten thousand men on the Atlantic under leaders 
 as great as even Washington, Greene, or La Fayette. 
 
 These Kentucky pioneers stayed savage invasion of Virginia 
 and Pennsylvania. They kept back the herd of marauders and 
 murderers, which in the wilds of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, 
 Icnged for an opportunity to imbrue their hands in white men's 
 blood, and the savage wrath which would have poured itself with 
 irresistible tide over the settlements of the upper Ohio, Monon- 
 gehela and the Kanawha, turned its savage and bitter force upon 
 the stations in Kentucky. The thousands of brave and noble 
 men, and still braver women, who from 1775 to 1783, died in the 
 Kentucky wilderness, surrendered their lives to protect A^ir- 
 ginia and Pennsylvania and stood the red men at bay, while the 
 colonists were enabled to fight and defeat the British soldiers 
 along the Atlantic coast. 
 
 Creation of the County of Jessamine. 
 
 1798 was the banner year for the creation of new counties. 
 In 1792 seven had been fomied, in 1793, one; in 1794 two, in 
 1796 six had been formed, and in 1798 thirteen were made, of 
 which Jessamine was one, and the thirty-sixth in the state. It 
 was carved entirely out of Fayette, and given one representative 
 
62 Hhtori/ of Jefixamine Comdij, Keiducky. 
 
 in the Legislature; while Fayette county retained six representa- 
 tives, the number to which it had before the separation been en- 
 titled. The inequality of representation had not then been so 
 fully recognized as afterwards. The whole population of Fay- 
 ette county at the time of the division was about 18,000. Jessa- 
 mine took ofT at least one-fourrh of the population of Fayette and 
 was given one member, while Fayette, wnth only three times the 
 population of newly made Jessamine, had six, or twice the voice 
 in legislation that was given her newly sent out daughter. 
 
 The creation of some counties was fought for years, but that 
 of Jessamine produced but little hai-d feeling. Fayette had al- 
 ways been generous in the partition of territory. With 264,000 
 acres, after some protesting and legislative discussion, she sur- 
 rendered 101,000 of it to create another county. Doubtless the 
 retention of her six representatives had something to do with 
 accjuiescence in the division. 
 
 The men in the Senate those days, were men of wide, broad 
 views. They were chosen not by districts, but from the state at 
 large by the Commission formed for that purpose under the terms 
 of the Constitution of 1792. The Senate then consisted of only 
 eleven members. The Senator representing Favette was James 
 Campbell. Tn the House, Col. Rol)t. Patterson, John McDowell, 
 John Parker, Walter Carr, Thos. Caldwell. McGregor, 
 
 These were wide-gauge men, and private interest was subordi- 
 nated to public interest and local benefit. 
 
 The real cause leading up to the formation of the Cvounty. was 
 some friction between the officers of Fayette county and the peo- 
 ple in the Marble creek neighborhood. 
 
 New counties were already being rapidly formed. Starting 
 with nine in 1792, by the beginning of the session of 1798, sixteen 
 new ones had been created, five of which — Scott, Shelby, Clark, 
 Franklin and Montgomery — had been created close to Fayette. 
 
 Col. John Price was then a resident of the Marble creek dis- 
 trict and he set about securing the formation of a new county. 
 His influence with the Revolutionary soldiers, who then consti- 
 tuted so large a share of the legislators, was very strong. The 
 battle over the act (creating the new county) continued from No- 
 vember 15 to December 19, 1798. 
 
 The journal of the House shows that the petition for the act. 
 
Hixtori/ (if Jcxmiiihir County. Kentucki/. 63 
 
 signed liy the citizens demanding suoh an act, was on November 
 9, 1798, read and referred to the proper committee. The copy of 
 the record and the extracts from the minutes of the Palla(hum 
 teU the story of the struggle. They are as follows : 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Page 24. Thursday, November 15, 1798. 
 
 Resolved, that the petition of sundry inhabitants of Fayette 
 countv. whose names are thereunto sul)scribed. setting forth 
 that thev labor under great inconveniences from their detached 
 situation from their present seat of justice; and praying that the 
 said county may be divided, agreeably to certain lines therein 
 proposed, is reasonable. 
 
 The said resolution being read, was ordered to lie on the table. 
 
 Pages 8o-8r. Tuesday, December 18, 1798. 
 
 Several petitions from sundry inhabitants of Fayette county, 
 in opposition to the division thereof, were presented and ordered 
 to lie on the table until the end of the present session. 
 
 The house then took up the bill for the division of Fayette 
 county. 
 
 Page 85. Wednesday, December 19, 1798. 
 
 Mr. Slaughter, from the joint committee of enrollments, re- 
 ported that the committee had examined the enrolled bill entitled 
 "An act for the division of Fayette county," and that the same 
 was truly enrolled. Whereupon the speaker signed the said en- 
 rolled bill. 
 
 Ordered, that Mr. Slaugfhter inform the senate thereof. 
 
 Extracts from the Minutes of the Kentucky Legislature 
 of J 798, in the Palladium. 
 
 November 9, 1798. A petition from Fayette praying for a 
 division of that county, was read and referred to the proper com- 
 mittee. 
 
 November 20. Several reports w-ere made and the following 
 petitions were read and referred to the committee on propositions 
 
64 History of Jexmminf (hiiiitji, Kentuchj. 
 
 and grievances : A petition praying that a division of Fayette 
 county may not take place. 
 
 November 23. The foUowing biUs were reported and read a 
 first time : A bill for the division of Fayette. 
 
 November 24. In committee of the whole went through the 
 bill for the division of Fayette, which, after some amendments, was 
 ordered to be referred. 
 
 November 26. A bill for the division of Fayette was read a 
 third time and passed. Yeas 24, Nays 15. 
 
 December 4. Concurred in the senate's amendments to the 
 bill for the division of Fayette. 
 
 December 18. Several petitions from P'ayette against the 
 division of that county, were laid on the table to the end of the 
 session. 
 
 Took up the bill for the division of h^ayette with the governor's 
 objections, which were agreed to. 
 
 Some very important assistance must have been rendered in 
 securing the necessary legislation tor the creation of the county 
 by Col. Joseph H. Daveiss; for, in a letter written to him eight 
 months after the passage of the act, Col. John Price pro- 
 ceeds to thank Colonel Davis for his services in this regard. 
 
 At this time Colonel Daveiss was a resident of Frankfort and 
 later was United States District Attorney for Kentucky. 
 
 Extracts from Acts of the Legislature. 
 
 CHAPTER CNLIIL 
 
 An Act for the Division <)i I-'a^-ette County. 
 
 Approved December 19, 1798. 
 
 Section i. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That from 
 and after the first day of February next, all that part of the coun- 
 ty of Fayette, included in the following bounds, to wit : Begin- 
 ning on the Woodford line, where it strikes the Kentucky river, 
 near Todd's ferry ; thence along said line half a mile north of John 
 Allin's military survey; thence to the seven-mile tree, on Curd's 
 road ; thence to the eight-mile tree on Tate's creek road ; thence 
 along said last mentioned road to the Kentucky river; thence 
 
History of Jexmmine County, Kentucky. 65 
 
 down the Kentucky river to the beginning, shall be one distinct 
 county, and called and known by the name of Jessamine. 
 
 Sec. 2. A court for the said county shall be held by the Jus- 
 tices thereof, on the fourth Monday in every month (except those 
 in which the court of quarter sessions are hereafter directed to be 
 held) after said division shall take place, in like manner, as is 
 provided by law in respect to other counties, and as shall be by 
 their commissions directed. 
 
 Sec. 3. The Justices to be named in the commission of the 
 peace for the said county of Jessamine, shall meet at the house of 
 Fisher Rice, in the said county, on the first court day after said 
 division shall take place, and having taken the oaths prescribed 
 by law, and a sheriff being legally qualified to act, the justice-^ 
 shall proceed to appoint and qualify a clerk, and shall, together 
 with the Justices of the court of quarter sessions for said county, 
 fix upon a place for holding courts therein ; then the courts shall 
 proceed to erect the public buildings m such place ; and until such 
 buildings are completed, shall appoint such place for holding 
 courts as they may think proper ; provided, always, that the ap- 
 pointment of a place for erecting the public buildings shall not be 
 made unless a majority of the Justices of the said courts concur 
 therein. 
 
 Sec. 4. It shall be lawful for the sheriff of the county of Fay- 
 ette to collect and make distress for any public dues or officers' 
 fees, which shall remain unpaid by the inhabitants of the county 
 at the time of such division, and shall be accountable for the 
 same in like manner as if this act had not been made. 
 
 Sec. 5. The court of Fayette shall have jurisdiction in all ac- 
 tions or suits in law or equity, that shall be depending therein at 
 the time of such division, and shall try and determine the same. 
 issue process ,and award execution thereon. 
 
 Sec. 6. The court of quarter session for the said county of 
 Jessamine, shall be held, annually, on the fourth Monday in Jan- 
 uary, March, July and October. 
 
 Sec. 7. The said county of Jessamine shall send one repre- 
 sentative to the General Assembly, and the county of Fayette 
 shall retain six representatives. 
 
 This act shall commence and be in force from and after the 
 passage thereof. 
 5 
 
()6 Hidory of Jes^mmine Conniij, Kcntiickii. 
 
 f>om \'ol. XI. of the Statute Law of Kentucky, printed at 
 Frankfort in 1810. 
 
 CHAPTER CCllI. 
 
 An Act to Amend the Act, Entitled "An Act for the Division of 
 
 Fayette County." 
 
 Approved December 19, 1799. 
 
 Whereas, it is represented to this General Assembly, that 
 disputes have arisen between the inhabitants of the counties of 
 Fayette and J essamine, in ascertaining the true line of division ; an',1 
 also in the collection and manner of appropriating that part of the 
 levy w'hich was levied by the County Court of Fayette, on the in- 
 habitants now in the county of Jessamine ; for remedy whereof — 
 
 Section i. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that the 
 dividing line run by the surveyor of Jessamine county, is hereby 
 ratified and confirmed. 
 
 Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, that the County Courts of 
 Fayette and Jessamine, shall, on their respective parts, in the 
 month of March, next, appoint, each, a commissioner, who are 
 hereby authorized to examine the records of Fayette count}^, and 
 enquire into the situation of levies and appropriations heretofore 
 made by the County Court of Fayette ; and if upon such examina- 
 tion, it shall appear to the said commissioners, that there is, or 
 otight to be. a deposit, amounting to more than the claims given 
 into the said County Court of Fayette, the said court of Fayette is 
 hereby required to pay to the court of Jessamine county, for the 
 use of said county, their proportion of said deposit. 
 
 This act shall commence and be in force from and after the 
 first day of February next. 
 
 The establishment of the new county demanded a name. 
 
 Up to this time the thirty-five counties created had all been 
 named for soldiers, pioneers, or a statesman, with one exception, 
 and that was Ohio county, the thirty-fiftli. which w-as named for 
 the great river which marks the northern boundary of Kentucky 
 for 700 miles and had been called by the Indians, the Ohio. "The 
 Beautiful River." Cumberland was called for Cumberland river, 
 l:)Ut the river had before been named by Dr. Thos. Walker for the 
 Duke of Cumberland. Such names as Jefferson. Fa3^ette (La 
 
Hidoni i[f Jcxxanilitc ('ountij, Kentiirl-ij. (J7 
 
 Fayette), Lincoln, Nelson, 3*Iercer, Madison, Mason, Woodford, 
 Washington, Scott, Shelby, Logan, Clark, Hardin, Greene, 
 Franklin, Campbell, lUillitt, Christian, Bracken, Warren, Gar- 
 rard, Fleming, Pulaski, Pendleton, Boone, Henr}', Gallatin, and 
 ]\Iuhlenberg, represented a full share of the patriotism, glory, 
 l^raverv, \\isdoni and exploits of the people of the United States 
 prior to 1798, and, with so many great heroes still unrewarded, it 
 required both determination and courage to break away from the 
 long line of precedents and call the county by the sim])le and 
 l^eautiful name of a flower. 
 
 To Col. John Price was undoubtedly given the privilege of 
 naming the new municipality. 
 
 Jessamine creek — one hundred years ago a stream of large 
 volume and great beauty — rises near the line of the R. N. L & B. 
 Railroad, close to the station called Xealton and about half a 
 mile from where the Xicholasville & A'ersailles turnpike crosses, 
 and on the land now owned by Pleasant Cook, Esq. Along its 
 banks grew the jessamine in richest profusion. This flower was 
 found in great aljundance in many parts of the territory embraced 
 l)y the new county. The name had been given to the creek by 
 the pioneers, and the beauty of the plant and the beauty of the 
 name so impressed the early settlers that they called this beautiful 
 stream Jessamine creek. It is about twenty miles long and 
 empties into the Kentucky river. 
 
 Colonel Price asked that the new county should be called 
 Jessamine. 
 
 The county, always full of romance, in some way heard the 
 s.tory of Jessaaiiine Douglas, Avhich was to the efifect that Jessa- 
 mine Douglas, the beautiful daughter of a Scotch settler, was one 
 day sitting upon the bank which overhangs the source of this 
 creek, and while, in maidenly contemplation, gazing into the 
 depths of the water, an Indian cautiously and silently stole upon 
 her and sunk his tomahawk into her head and then tore her 
 beautiful auburn locks from her head, with his scalping knife. 
 
 This story is given the flavor of truth by its insertion in 
 Collins' History of Kentucky. See \^ol. 2, page 399. The author 
 goes on to say that the land about the head of the creek was 
 settled by the father of Jessamine Douglas. There is no founda- 
 tion for that pathetic and dramatic incident. The land at the 
 
68 Hldonj of Jesmmiiie Gouniij, Kentucky. 
 
 head of Jessamine creek was not settled by Douglas, but by 
 Michael Cogar. and this historical tradition has not even a shad- 
 ow of fotmdation. 
 
 The letter of Col. John Price, quoted below, written within 
 eig-ht months of the legislative creation of the county, settles, 
 beyond all cavil, that the county was called from Jessamine creek 
 and the flower, and not from Jessamine Douglas. The story of 
 the beautiful Scotch girl and her tragic end, has been told so 
 often and has been so honestly and faithfully believed by the 
 people of the county, and it has in it so much of that tragic and 
 bloody character which marked Kentucky's early history, that 
 it is both ungenerous and unkind to destroy and disrupt the faith 
 which for nearly one hundred years has reposed with unfaltering 
 trust in the pathetic story. 
 
 As Colonel Meade did not come to Jessamine county until 
 1796, and as both the East and West Forks of Jessamine creek 
 were known and traveled in 1774 and 1775 and on down to 1790, 
 and lands described and surveyed by the creek, and its course and 
 meanderings laid down on Filson's and other maps and plats long 
 prior to 1790; it is impossible for the creek to have been named 
 for Jessamine Douglas, who, under no circtmistances, did she 
 come with Colonel Meade, could have arrived in Kentucky prior 
 to 1796. The Williams deposition, the Watkins journal, and Fil- 
 son's map show that Jessamine creek was a well known and 
 named stream prior to 1789. 
 
 The Price Letter about the Formation of the County. 
 
 Barbour Home, Jessamine county, 
 November 13, 1820. 
 
 My Esteemed Friend : I have read your favor of October 
 6th with much pleasure. The county of Jessamine was surveyed 
 by my friend, Maj. Frederick Zimmerman. I think he com- 
 menced his work in May, 1796, but the county was not organized 
 as a county until February 14th. In August the next year I was 
 chosen as a member of the General Assembly by the county — 
 without opposition. 
 
 The name Jessamine was selected from a flower that grows 
 on many creeks in the county. 
 
History of Jessamine County, Kcntnckij. 69 
 
 The villainy practiced in the Marble creek neighborhood by 
 the constables and other petty officers of Fayette county, in- 
 duced me to make an effort to form a new county, as I had known 
 for several years that it was becoming- impossible for my neigh- 
 bors to get along on peaceable terms with officers who took 
 pleasure in arresting and putting in prison men and women for 
 the pitiful sum of $5. The only bed of straw, the only horse, the 
 only cow, or pig of a neighbor, was leveyed on and sold at Lex- 
 ington by the sheriff, but we now have a new set of officers and 
 they are much better men than the others, who have so long an- 
 noyed my neighbors with their villainy. 
 
 Present my compliments to Mr. Bowman and John Marshall. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 John Price. 
 
 Col. John Price induced many of his Virginia friends to settle 
 in the ^larble creek neighborhood. The following letter to 
 Lewis Tapp will be extremely interesting, as he has many de- 
 scendants in Jessamine county : 
 
 Lexington, Ky., May 10, 1805. 
 
 Dear-Sir and Friend: I have received yours of April 2d. T 
 take preat pleasure in informing you that if you have a desire to 
 leave Virginia and settle in Kentucky I would advise you to pay 
 a visit to this portion of Kentucky. Jessamine county was formed 
 eight years ago. I settled in the limits of the county in 1788 
 The population is 5.400. The surface of the land for the most part 
 gently undulating, rising here and there into hills and moderate 
 elevations. The timber is white ash, hickory, hackberry, elm. 
 white oak, also white and black walnut. Besides this variety of 
 timber in the county, cedar trees, yellow poplar, beech and cherry 
 is scattered over various parts of tlie county. The principal 
 creeks in the county are Hickman and Jessamine. There are 
 also numerous smaller streams well distributed throughout the 
 county. You can buy good land in this town for $20 per acre 
 and in Elkhorn first-class land is worth from $10 to $12 per acre. 
 
 As I am just in the act of going to Xashville in Jesse Cogar's 
 flat-boat at Frankfort, I trust you will make us a visit soon. 
 
 Your old friend, 
 
 John Price. 
 
 Lewis Tapp, Staunton, Augusta county, A'a. 
 
70 History of Jessamine Comity, Kentucky. 
 
 In response to this invitation Lewis Tapp came to Kentucky 
 and settled in the Marble creek neighborhood, four miles from 
 the residence of Colonel Price. He raised a large family of great 
 respectability, and died in 1822. Tapp's Branch is named in 
 memory of him. 
 
 On the 22d day of April, 1799. an order was entered fixing the 
 seat of justice for Jessamine county at the place now occupied by 
 the town of Nicholasville. The following order, entered by six 
 of the justices of the peace, determined the count}^ seat: 
 
 "At a court began and held for the county of Jessamine at the 
 house of Jonas Davenport in said county, on Alonday, the 22d 
 day of April, 1799, 
 
 "Present,- Lewis, Thos. Caldwell, Gal^'l Mattison, Geo. 
 
 Walker, Jas. Johnson and Price, gentlemen justices. 
 
 "Ordered that the seat of justice for Jessamine county be per- 
 manently fixed on the lands of Thos. Caldwell and Chefley Gates 
 on the Hickman road." 
 
 The blank l)efore the name of Lewis should have been filled 
 with \\'illiam, and the blank before the name of Price should 
 have been filled with the name of \\'illiam. 
 
 x'Xs there were nine justices, it required five for a majority. 
 
 The original act creating Jessamine county, directed that the 
 location of the county seat should be determined only by a ma- 
 jority of the justices. William Scott, Hugh Chrisman, and John 
 Freeman were not present at the time of the entering of this order, 
 but Thos. Caldwell, one of the justices who voted, was joint 
 owner with Chesley Gates of the twent\-five acres which had been 
 laid out by Rev. John Metcalf, on the i6th of September, 1798. 
 
 The county had not been formed at the time of the first survey 
 of Nicholasville, but was only created on the T9th of December, 
 three months afterwards ; nor had the town of Xicholasville been 
 officially recognized until the 26th day of August, 1799. On that 
 day, proceeding under the statutes of Kentucky then in force for 
 the establishment of towns, another order was entered, on the mo- 
 tion of Thos. Caldwell and Chesley Gates, which is as follows : 
 
 At a court begun and held for the county of Jessamine at the 
 court house thereof on Monday the 26th day of August, 1799. 
 
History of Jexsaiii! lie Coioiti/, Kentxcki/. 71 
 
 Present, Will Lewis, James Johnston, Lieo. Walker and John 
 Lewis, gentlemen, justices. 
 
 On the motion of Thomas Caldwell and Chesley Gates it is 
 ordered that a town be established on their lands lying on the 
 Hickman road, at the place where the seat of justice for said 
 county is established, to be called and known by the name of 
 Nicholasville and bounded as follows to wit : Beginning at a 
 stake in Caldwell's field running W. 12 deg. E. 87 poles to a stake; 
 thence S. 78 deg. E. 36.84 poles to a stake ; thence S. 12 deg. W. 
 42 poles to a stake; thence S. 78 deg. E. 14 poles; thence N. 12 
 deg. E. 2 poles; thence S. 78 deg. E. 3 poles; thence S. 12 deg. 
 W. 5 poles ; thence X. 78 deg. W'. 17 poles ; thence S. 12 deg. W. 
 42 poles; thence X. 78 podes W. 36.84 poles to the beginnmg. 
 And it is further ordered that Joseph Crockett, William Shrieve, 
 Richard Young, James Johnson, Gabrl. Madison, William 
 Robards, Xicholas Lewis, James Davenport, Patrick Gray, Phil. 
 Webber and Chesley Gates be appointed trustees of the said 
 town. 
 
 These trustees were simply appointed for the benefit of the 
 land owners. It was their duty to make disposition of the lots 
 in the town of Xicholasville, which now for the first time was 
 officially recognized as the name of the county seat ; so that in 
 celel:irating the centennial of Xicholasville on September 16, 
 1898, it is a celebration of the centennial of its survey, rather than 
 of its first official existence and recognition. 
 
 The contest in regard to the location of the seat of justice be- 
 gan even before the creation of the county by legislative authority. 
 The establishment of a new county had been under discussion 
 throughout the territory for quite a while. The petition which 
 had been prepared for the legislature and the agitation of the 
 question concerning the existence of a new county, had been more 
 or less discussed by the people within the limits of the proposed 
 county. It was difficult, of course, to determine exactly where 
 the line would run, l)ut the tremendous l)end in the Kentucky 
 river — which forms almost a horse-shoe — rendered the location 
 of the county line very easy, as it was only necessary to run from 
 the Kentucky river on the one side, to the Kentuckv river on the 
 other side, in order to cut off a county of reasonable proportions. 
 
72 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 Quarter Session Judges. 
 
 The first session of the Court of Quarter Sessions was held 
 at the house of Plsher Rice, in the county of Jessamine, on the 
 25th day of March, 1789. Governor Garrard commissioned 
 Joseph Crockett, Wilham Shreve and Richard Young as justices 
 of the Court of Quarter Sessions. 
 
 Tlie Court of Quarter Sessions then heard all matters except 
 criminal matters, and these were heard in the District Court at 
 Lexington. These three gentlemen were all present at Fishet 
 Rice's on the said day, and they unanimously appointed Samuel 
 H. Woo'dson, clerk of the Jesisamine County and Quarter Session 
 Court. Mr. Woodson immediately entered upon the discharge 
 of his duties, with Joseph Crockett as his security, his bond being 
 in the sum of $1,000. Joshua Lewis was on the same day ap- 
 pointed by the Court of Quarter Sessions state's attorney to prose- 
 cute causes for the Commonwealth within Jessamine county. 
 
 The first lawyers to qualify in the county for the practice of 
 law were Joseph Lewis, William McDowell, Samtiel Venable. 
 and Fielding L. Turner. These were all on that day qualified for 
 practice in the Quarter Session Courts. Fielding L. Turner 
 was the father of the Hon. Oscar Turner, so long a distinguished 
 member of Congress from the First District of Kentucky. He 
 removed from Kentucky to New Orleans, where his son Oscar- 
 was born in 1829. 
 
 On the following day, March 26, 1799, the first session of the 
 court was held, the members of the court liaving qualified on the 
 previous day. 
 
 The house of Fisher Rice was used as a place for holding 
 Quarter Session Courts for several years. Courts were also held 
 at the house of Samuel H. Watson, the clerk of said court, who- 
 then lived on the farm now the property of the Shelys. 
 
 In those days it was necessary to appoint commissioners to- 
 value certain lands taken by the sherifif under execution. Johm 
 Hawkins, Patrick Gray, Joseph Chrisman, John McKinney, and 
 Jonas Davenport were appointed said commissioners, and this 
 was the first order ever made by court of record in Jessamine 
 county. 
 
 The second grand jury of Jessamine county empaneled in 
 
History of Jesmmixe Coiiiitij, Kentucky. 73 
 
 the summer of 1799, had for its foreman Manoah Singleton, and 
 among its members were Francis Lowens, Benjamin Netherland 
 and Samuel Rice. The first indictment for selling whisky was 
 found at this term of court against William Patterson, and the 
 information on which this presentment or indictment was found 
 was given by two members of the grand jury, Frances Lowens 
 and S. Walters. 
 
 The first man who ever took out license to keep a tavern in 
 Jessamine county was Alaj. Benjamin Xetherland. A free negro. 
 Bob Speed, was also a prominent caterer in those days, and he 
 also took out a license to keep tavern, and some of the most 
 prominent men. especially among the lawyers, have dined at Ivs 
 tavern, which was at a corner on Main street immediately op- 
 posite the court house. 
 
 First Court, 
 
 The first court held in Jessamine county was on the 25th of 
 February, 1799. The members of the court assembled at the 
 house of Fisher Rice, who lived in the field opposite the Kleber 
 Price place, and where Mrs. Bridget O'Connell now lives. The 
 record says: ".\t said time and place commissions were pro- 
 duced from Governor Garrard, directed to William Lewis, Thos. 
 Caldwell, William Scott, Gabriel Madison, George Walker, Will- 
 iam Price. James Johnson, John Lewis, John Berry, Hugh Chris- 
 man and John Freeman, appointing them Justices of the Peace in 
 and for the county of Jessamine, whereupon William Lewis, Esq., 
 first named in the commission aforesaid, administered the several 
 oaths prescribed by law, to Thomas Caldwell, A\'illiam Scott, 
 Gabriel Madison, George Walker, William Price. James Johnson, 
 John Lewis, John Berry, Hugh Chrisman and John Freeman ; 
 and Thomas Caldwell, Esq., administered the said oaths to Will- 
 iam Lewis, and then the court was held for the said county." 
 
 "Present the gentlemen within named. Charles W^est, Esq., 
 produced a commission from the Governor, James Garrard, ap- 
 pointing him sheriiT for the county aforesaid, which, being read, 
 the said West took the several oaths prescribed by law, and, to- 
 gether with Major Dickenson, Frances Lowens, Patrick Gray and 
 
74 Hidoi~y of Jesmmlne Connty, Kentnchj. 
 
 John Scott as sureties, executed their bond to the Governor of 
 the Commonwealth, in the penalty of $3,000, conditioned as the 
 law directs for the due performance of duties." 
 
 The court then proceeded to the appointment of a clerk, one 
 Samuel Hughes Woodson, who \vas appointed Clerk, pro tem., 
 who, thereupon, took the several oaths prescribed by the laws of 
 this state, and the Constitution of the United States, and, to- 
 gether with Joseph Crockett and Andrew ]\IcGill entered into 
 bond to the Governor in the penalty of $1,000. as the law directs, 
 which bond was ordered to be recorded." 
 
 "County .Surveyor, Frederick Zinmierman, produced in court 
 a commission from Governor Garrard, appointing him surveyor 
 of this county, whereupon he executed bond in the penalty of 
 $2,000, with James Curtin and Frances Lowens as securities, con- 
 ditioned according to law. He took the several oaths prescribed 
 by the laws of this state and the Constitution of the United 
 States." 
 
 At this meeting the first bridge ever constructed in Jessa- 
 mine county was ordered to be let. The minutes says : 
 
 "John Lewis and Benjamin Bradshaw are appointed to^ let and 
 contract for the building of a bridge on Curd's road, near the 
 ferry, which contract to be made by letting to the highest bidder." 
 Curd's Ferry had been established at the mouth of Dick's river 
 by the general legislature in 1786. Daniel Mitchell presented his 
 commission as coroner, and cjualified as such. 
 
 The first lawyers admitted to practice in the Jessamine County 
 Court were Joshua Lewis and Fielding Turner, who separately 
 produced in court, on the above day. their license, properly au- 
 thenticated, as the law directs, and were, thereupon, admitted to 
 practice. 
 
 First Circuit Court. 
 
 The Jessamine Circuit Court was organized in 1803, and its 
 first order was the appointment of a clerk. Samuel H. Woodson 
 received this appointment, and held the office until 1819, when he 
 resigned. The following orders will sliow the Constitution of the 
 court, and also the first petition filed in the court: 
 
Hldory of J('!<sainiue Coimti/, Kuntuckij. 75 
 
 '"xApril Circuit Court, 1803. 
 
 "lie it reiueuibered that in ])ursuance of an act of the General 
 Assembly, entitled, "An Act to establish Circuit Courts, and an 
 act entitled an act to amend an act entitled an act to establish 
 Circuit Courts,- the Honorable Samuel McDowell, Circuit 
 Judge, attended at the court house of the county of Jessamine, on 
 the i8th day of April, 1803, being- the third Monday. Present, the 
 Honorable Samuel McDowell, Circuit Judg-e. 
 
 "It is ordered that Fielding- L. Turner, Esq.. be appointed 
 clerk, pro tempore, to this court, who. theretipon. took the sev- 
 eral oaths prescribed by law, and executed his bond, with Samuel 
 H. Woodson and Joseph Crockett his security in the penalty of 
 £ 1000, conditioned as directed by law. 
 
 "It is ordered that Samuel H. Woodson be appointed clerk to 
 this court, and that the pro tempore appointment made by the 
 court this day, be discontinued, and. thereupon, the said Samuel 
 H. Woodson took the several oaths required by law. and executed 
 his bond, with Joseph Crockett and William Lewis his securities, 
 in the penalty of £1,000. 
 
 First Order Entered in Civil Action. 
 
 "At a Circuit Court, began and held for the county of Jessa- 
 mine, at the court-house thereof, on the i8th day of July, 1803 : 
 Present, the Honorable Samtiel McDowell, Circuit Judge, and 
 Richard Young-, Esq.: 
 
 James Dunn. 
 
 vs. 
 Nicholas Lewis. 
 
 Debt. 
 
 Be it remembered that heretofore, that is to say. on the 13th 
 day of Jime. one thousand, eight hundred and two. James Dunn, 
 by Wm. McDowell, his attorney, applied for and obtained from 
 the clerk's office of the late court of Quarter Sessions for the 
 county aforesaid, the Conmionwealth's writ of capias ad respond- 
 endum, which, together with the motion of plaintiff, by his at- 
 
76 Hidory of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 torney aforesaid, it was ordered that the said Deft, should appear 
 at the next rules, enter special bail and plead to the plaintiff's 
 action, or that judgment would be granted the plaintifT for the 
 debt in the declaration mentioned and what damages he hath 
 sustained in the premises and a writ of enquiry awarded him to 
 have the same assessed by a jury of the bystanders at the next 
 court." 
 
 "Jessamine county. Set. : 
 
 "James Dunn, by his attorney, complains of Nicholas Lewis 
 ' in custody, etc., of a plea that he render to him the sum of seventy- 
 two pounds, current money, current money of Kentucky, which 
 he owes and unjustly detains, for that, whereas, the said defendant 
 on the thirtieth of May, 1800, at the parish of Kentucky, and 
 county aforesaid, by his certain note, in writing, sealed with his 
 seal and to the court now here shown, eighteen months after the 
 date aforesaid promised and obligated himself to the plaintiff 
 to pay him the sum of thirty-six pounds, for the payment of 
 which said sum the said defendant bound himself in the penal sum 
 of seventy-two pounds like money, yet said defendant not regard- 
 ing his obligation hath not paid the said sum of thirty-six pounds, 
 although often required, by means whereof an action hath accrued 
 to have and demand of him the said sum of seventy-two pounds. 
 but the said defendant, to pay the same or any part thereof, al- 
 though often required the same to pay, hath hitherto refused, and 
 still doth refuse, wherefore the said James Dunn says he is in- 
 jured and hath sustained damage to the value of ^2 pounds, and 
 therefore, he sues, etc. Wm. McDowell, A. P. ; Jno. Doe and R. 
 Roe, P. P." 
 
 First Will 
 
 The first will recorded in Jessamine county was that of 
 Charles Weber. It is only interesting because the first of its 
 kind ever placed upon the records : 
 
 First Will, recorded August, 1779. 
 
 "In the name of God, Amen. Charles Weber, of Jessamine 
 county and state of Kentucky, being in sound mind, praised be 
 
History of Jef^mmine County, Kentucky. 77 
 
 God for the same, do give and dispose of all my worldly goods 
 and estate in a manner and form as follows : 
 
 ''First, my desire is that all my just debts be paid by my ex- 
 ecutors, hereafter mentioned, and in the following manner: First 
 1 wish my mare and colt to be converted to my debts, and if they 
 should not be sufficient, my negro fellow, Booker, is to be hired 
 for the balance till paid, as my executors think most expedient. 
 Then the said negro to be hired on till the profits amount to sixty 
 pounds. The first forty pounds arising is to be delivered to my 
 l)rother William Webber, for his own use and his heirs forever. 
 The other twenty pounds to be given ^o my brother, Philip Weber, 
 for his own use and his heirs during life, and then the said negro 
 to be delivered to my brother John Webber, for his use and 
 his heirs during the life of the said negro, or the said Jolm Webber 
 or his attorney. 
 
 "Applying for the same, I do also give and bequeath unto 
 my l:)roither Archie Webber, my negro boy by the name of Bill, 
 to him and his heirs forever. I also appoint and ordain James 
 Owens, and Robert Cohoun, of Jessamine county, executors ot 
 this, my last will and testament, desiring that the acting ex- 
 ecutors to my estate shall, in lieu of my expenses to them, recover 
 with my other debts that is to be paid, twenty dollars each for 
 their services in cash out of my estate. 
 
 "Tn witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed 
 my seal this the seventeenth day of June, one thousand, 
 seven hundred and ninety-nine. Signed, sealed and published, 
 and do declare this to be mv last will and testament, revoking all 
 other wills before named by or for me. 
 
 "Charles Webber. (Seal.) 
 "Rosin Brashers, 
 
 "Jacob Rice, 
 
 "Peter Akins." 
 
 The First Marriage. 
 
 Jesse Hughes and Alary Nicholson were married bv Xathan- 
 iel Harris on March 14, 1799. 
 
78 Histonj of Je^fsainine Couiiti/, Kentucky. 
 
 The First Baptist Meeting-house, 
 
 It is difficult to establish the exact location of a Baptist church 
 in the very earliest settlement of the county near Clear creek. 
 This was the church at which Lewis Craig- frequently preached ; 
 it is near what is now known as the Jack Cunning"hani property, 
 or the Fisher place. It was called Mount Moriah, and in early 
 times was a very important burying-ground. Joel Watkins, in 
 his diary, mentions the fact of having attended services at that 
 point several times, and there seeing large congregations. It 
 was established about the same time as the Ebenezer church, but 
 the latter is undoubtedly the oldest church organization in Jessa- 
 mine countv. 
 
 County Judges under the Constitution of 1849, 
 
 Alexander Wake, served eight years ; W. S. Scott, died in 
 office; John A. Willis, appointed, served from 1858 to 1859; 
 Henry J. Campbell, elected, and served four years; Richard Fer- 
 guson, served one term ; Melvin T. Lowry, served four years ; 
 James G. Bruce, served one term, died in office ; Tucker Wood- 
 son, elected in 1872, died in office in 1874; W. H. Phillips, present 
 County Judge, has held the office for twenty-three years. 
 
 County Attorneys: John Dishman, John S. Bronaugh, 
 Wm. R. Welch, W^m. Byrd Woodson, Geo. R. Pryor, Benjamin 
 P. Campbell, Benjamin A. Crutcher, John H. Welch, E. B. Hoo- 
 ver, N. L. Bronaugh, J. ^^'illard Mitchell. 
 
 Under the Constitution of Kentucky in 1799, the oldest Justice 
 of the Peace was made Sheriff. Charles West, first Sheriff; Bar- 
 tholomew Kinnard, deputy; Benj. Nicholson; Thos. Butler, dep- 
 uty ; Lewis Singleton, Andrew McCampbell ; James H. McCamp- 
 bell ; John Perry, Sr. ; James Wilmor:' ; Campbell Wilmore ; Har- 
 rison Daniel ; W. P. Daniel ; William Bronaugh ; W^ P. Daniel ; 
 Jerry Dickerson ; Newton Dickerson ; John Butler , deputy ; M. T. 
 Lowry; Thomas E. W^est, his deputy; Geo. T. Chrisman. 
 
Hidori/ of Jex-^idniiie Cottnti/, Kciitnckij. 79 
 
 Members of the Kentucky Senate and House of 
 Representatives. 
 
 Senate of the Conimonwealtli of Jventucky : Joseph Crock- 
 ett, 1800-1804; WilUam Bledsoe, 1806-1810; George WaH^er, 
 1810-1814; George I. Brown, 1829- 1834; WilHam Chark, 1838- 
 1842; Tucker Woodson, 1842-1846. 1853-1857; A. L. McAfee. 
 1869-1873: E. R. Sparks. 1882-1886; Thos. R. Welch, 1896-ii 
 From Tessamine and Woodford counties, Wm. Vawter, if 
 Richard C. Graves, 1850. 
 
 House of Representatives, Commonwealth of Kentucky: 
 Joshua Lewis. 1799, 1803. 1804; John Scott, 1800; George Walk- 
 er, 1805, 1807. 1808, 1809. 1810: Wiliiam Price. 1801, 1802: John 
 Hawkins. 1806, 1811 : AMlliam Caldwell, 1812, 1813. 1814, 1815, 
 1816. 1818. 1820. 1822: A\'m. Walker, 1817; Samuel H. Wood- 
 son. 1819-25: James Clarke. 1820; Richard E. Meade, 1822; 
 George I. Brown, 1824. 1829, 1832, 1850; Harrison Daniel. 1826- 
 27: John Cunningham, 1828; Courtney R. Lewis, 1830; David M. 
 Woodson, 1831 : Dr. J. \\'. S. Mitchell, 1833-34; Tucker \\'ood- 
 son, 1835-36-37-40: George S. Shanklin. 1838-44-61-65; Alexan- 
 der Wake. 1839: George T. Chrisman, 1841 ; James McCampl^ell, 
 1842-45-55-57: James H. Lowry. 1843: Joseph W. Thompson, 
 1846; Joseph C. Christopher, 1847-49; John M. Reynolds. 1848: 
 James C. Wilmore, 1851-53; Larkin Fain, 1853-55 - Allen L. Mc- 
 Afee, 1857-59; Wm. Fisher, 1859-61-65-67; Thomas T. Cogar, 
 1867-71; James H. McCampbell, 1871-73: died December 25, 
 1872, was succeeded by Wm. Brown, 1873 > ^ • D. Miles, 1874-75 ; 
 Samuel R. Overstreet. 1875-77: Dr. John C. Welch, 1871-78-79- 
 80: J. N. Mattingly. 1881-82; E. T. Lillard. 1883-84; Thomas A. 
 Davis. 1885-86; W^ T. Jones. 1887-88; J. H. W^elch, 1889-90-91- 
 92; George W. Goode, 1893-94; R. S. Perry. 1895-96; C. A. Wil- 
 son, 1897-98. 
 
 Nicholasville. 
 
 On Saturday. September 16, 1798, Rev. John Metcalf took the 
 initial steps to locate Nicholasville. At the time of the location of 
 the town he called it after Hon. George Nicholas. At that time 
 several roads, well-located, converged at the point. The settlers 
 
80 
 
 Hidory of Jexmmine Cotoity, Kentucky. 
 
 from Jessamine and Hickman creeks, which were then the most 
 thickly populated parts of the territory embraced in Jessamine 
 county, were in the habit of traveling between ithese two creeks. 
 The road which then ran to Lexington ran sul)stantiallv on the 
 line of the turnpike and its traces are still distinctly visible to the 
 eye at various points along- the turnpike. This was true of the 
 roads which ran from Nicholasville and what is known as Rus- 
 sell's tavern. In the location cf the turnpike, very little of this 
 
 WM. O. BUTLKR. 
 
 old line was used. This was equally true of the road to Sulphur 
 Well, but the roads crossed at that time north and south and east 
 and west, exactly where Main street and Maincross street now in- 
 tersect each other. 
 
 Tlie inducing- causes which led to the location were, first, fou'- 
 large springs, which were presumed then, to be never-failing. 
 These all were within the limits of the twenty-five acres laid oui 
 into the town, and second, to the fact of the road passing from 
 Lexington and Danville, and from East Hickman to Jessamine, 
 
History of J&fsamine County, Kentucky. 81 
 
 crossing" at right angles at the point. Little Jessamine, or East 
 Jessamine, was then a stream of more importance than now. Ris- 
 ing about a mile above and fed by other streams along the line, it 
 became quite a volume for a creek by the time it passed through 
 tlie borders of the newly laid out village. 
 
 It was quite a while after the town was established before 
 much trade centered within its limits. The people who first lived 
 in the town were farmers in the immediate neighborhood. 
 
 There was no post-office in Nicholasville for several years after 
 its location. The mails were carried on horseback between Lex- 
 ington and Danville and Lancaster and Harrodsburg. Its loca- 
 tion was not made without clashes of personal interest. Samuel 
 H. Woodson, who was then a lawyer, desired to establish the town 
 where the Shely place now stands, about one mile south of the 
 ]:)resent location, while Frederick Zimmerman sought to have the 
 town estabhshed. about three-quarters of a mile north, on top of 
 the hill, just beyond the Duncan farm. It required several years 
 to get the matter finally settled, and it was largely due tO' the great 
 mfluence as well as the persistent efiforts of Rev. John Aletcalf 
 that the town was laid out in its present location. 
 
 A large proportion of the settlers in Xicholasville were from 
 the state of Mrginia, and a few from North and South Carolina. 
 
 Nathaniel McLean, who married Catherine Blackford in 
 Morris county. New Jersey, was a brother-in-law of Benjamin 
 Blackford. McLean built the first log cabin in Nicholasville on 
 the lot now owned by Mr. Burdine. Blackford himself had set- 
 tled on the farm just north of Nicholasville, now owned by his 
 grandson, Robert Duncan, in 1783. 
 
 John McLean, Associate Justice of the United States Su- 
 preme Court, lived for quite a while in his youth on the Duncan 
 farm. When four years old his father moved to Morgantown, 
 Ya., and thence came to Nicholasville, Ivy., and subsequentlv 
 moved to W^arren county, Ohio. He remained in Jessamine un- 
 til he was about sixteen years of age. In 1812 he was eected to 
 Ci^ngress from the Cincinnati district. He refused the nomina- 
 tion for the United States Senate in 181 5, but was elected a Judge 
 of tlie Supreme Court of Ohio, in 1816. In 1821 he was ap- 
 pointed postmaster general and in 1829 he was appointed As- 
 •.sociate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was a 
 6 
 
82 Hidonj of Jexmmine thioitt/, K('nfiick[/. 
 
 man of great ability and great force of character. He delivered a 
 dissenting opinion in the Dred Scott case, declaring that slavery 
 was contrary to right and that it had its origin in power alone, 
 and that in this country it was sustained onl\- b)- local law. He 
 died in Cincinnati on the 4th of April, 1861. 
 
 Within the memory of persons living, there was an old well 
 dug by Judge McLean's father on the Duncan place. It w^as 
 east of the hoiise about 200 yards. 
 
 I'he next settler in the town was Maj. Benjamin Xetherland. 
 Shortly after the l^attle of Blue Licks, in 1782, he put up a log 
 cabin on the lot now occupied by the county jail, and adjoining it 
 shortly afterwards, another log cabin. This was subsequently re- 
 placed l\v the Mingo tavern. The tavern house he erected in 1793. 
 and it was still used ]\v him as a hotel at the time of his death, in 
 1838. Previous to October, 1801, there was no post-office nearer 
 to Nicholasville than Lexington. On the first of September of 
 that year Major Xetherland wrote to the postmaster general urg- 
 ing the establishment of a mail road from Lexington, Nicholas- 
 ville Lancaster and Harrodsburg. and by way of Frankfort and 
 Richmond. 
 
 Joseph Habersham, of Georgia, was postmaster-general. He 
 wrote the follow^ing letter to Major Net'herland : 
 
 "Your letter was received. Enclosed you have an advertise- 
 ment, inviting proposals for carrying the mail from Nicholas- 
 ville to Lexington, PYankfort, Lancaster and Richmond, and 1 
 shall be glad to receive yours. Mr. Clay has recommended your 
 appointment to the office of postmaster of Nicholasville. and 1 
 have decided upon your appointment unless you decline, and wish 
 to avoid the trouble. I am 
 
 "Your obedient servant, 
 
 "J. Habersham, P. M. G." 
 
 This letter Alajor Netherland answered as follows : 
 
 "Nicholasville, Ky., Sept. 21, 1801. 
 "Your favor of the 4th of August came to hand while I was in 
 Lexington, wnth enclosed advertisement for carrying the mails 
 from Nicholasville to Lexington, Frankfort, Richmond, Harrods- 
 burg and Lancaster. It is the earnest wish of all the inhabitants 
 
Hlstori/ of Jexfainine Coiiidi/, Kcutiifki/. S3 
 
 of this county that a j^ostoffice be estal)hshe(l in Xicholasville, 
 which is twelve miles from Lexington, over a totorous mud road, 
 in winter. If it should be thouglit expedient to establish a post- 
 office in the village and my name annexed to it, I will accept. 1 
 am, sir, 
 
 "Your obedient servant, 
 
 "B. Netherland." 
 
 In answer to this jNTajor Netherland received the following 
 letter : 
 
 "Washington City, Sept. 20, 1801. 
 "Major Benjamin Xetherland: 
 
 "From informaition I have received 1 conclude it will be agree- 
 able to you to accept the office of postmaster at Xicholasville. 
 You will receive herewith two packets containing a cop}- of a law 
 for regulating postoffices, with forms and directions, a key for 
 unlocking the mail portmanteau, a table of postoffices, and the 
 necessary blanks. The enclosed bond you will l)e pleased to 
 execute with sufficient surety or sureties and then return the same 
 together with a note, after they have been duly certified by the 
 Justice of the Peace, before wdiom you shall take and subscribe 
 them. When the}' are received at this office a commission will 
 be dtily forwarded. You can commence business as soon as your 
 bond is executed and forwarded, if you think proper 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 "J. Habersham, P. M. G." 
 
 It is evident that these two letters crossed each other on the 
 post road, between Washington and Xicholasville. Major XTeth- 
 erland remained postmaster at Nicholasville for more than twenty 
 years, and kept the postoffice in the Mingo tavern. 
 
 Col. George X^icholas and Rev. John Metcalf were close 
 friends. Four years before Xicholasville was located he wrote 
 Colonel Xicholas the following letters: 
 
 "January 14. 1794. 
 "Hon. Geo. Nicholas: 
 
 "I have lately received from you two of your kind utters and 
 would have answered them before now, but I have taken charge 
 
84 H'mtory of Jesmmine County, Kentucky. 
 
 of Bethel Academy, and have been so confined for the last two 
 weeks in fitting up suitable places of abode for some of my pupils 
 that I have greatly neglected my private affairs, and especially 
 that portion of them which you are attending to in Lexington." 
 
 "Jessamine county, Ky., Sept. i6, 1798. 
 "Hon. Geo. Nicholas: 
 
 '"It afforded me great happiness to hear that you had returned 
 in safety and health to your family and friends. I expected to 
 hear from you more frequently, but, I suppose, the multiplicity of 
 care and busines prevent your devoting much of your time to let- 
 ters, save what you wrote to me and Joseph Crockett. But now 
 that you have arrived at home I shall expect to hear from you 
 soon and as often as usual. I must inform you that I have 
 named our county seat Nicholasville in honor of you. I was all 
 day laying off three streets to-day, and my nerves are very much 
 affected by the severe labors in the wet weather. These being 
 the circumstances under which I write you this hasty note, I fear 
 it will have but poor claims upon your time, but I can not help it. 
 
 "Your friend, 
 
 "John Metcalf." 
 
 The contest about the location of the county seat must have 
 been carried on for some time and quite vigorously. On the 7th 
 of October, 1803, Mr. Metcalf wrote the following letter: 
 
 "Charles West, High Sheriff, 
 
 "Jessamine county : 
 "My Dear Sir — I write to assure you that we have succeeded, 
 amid much foolish opposition from Samuel H. Woodson, County 
 and Circuit Court Clerk, and Air. Frederick Zimmerman, County 
 Surveyor, in locating our county seat. Mr. Woodson wanted to 
 locate the town near his residence, one mile south of the first sur- 
 vey, which I made six years ago, including twenty-five acres. 
 Mr. Zinmierman wanted the town to include the residence of 
 Fisher Rice, which is one mile north. I am now convinced that 
 through your efforts and Mr. Caldwell's and mine, I have de- 
 feated Mr. Woodson and Mr. Zimmerman in their foolish oppo- 
 sition to the present location, which is more suitable and more 
 
History of Jexmmine County, Kentucky. 85 
 
 convenient to roads east and west to the Kentucky river. A sup- 
 ply of good water was another great advantage which we had ovei 
 the other two places. There are four good springs of water that 
 never run dry. This convenience to good water, more than any 
 other consideration, caused me to select this location in preference 
 to the other places. I thank you for the assistance you gave me 
 in defeating a claim as foolish as it was selfish. I am pleased to 
 learn that Mr. Zimmerman, as 'legal surveyor,' has surveyed 
 tlie present site, which was legally recorded last year (1802). We 
 have twenty heads of families erecting houses on a ntunber of lots. 
 Come and see me soon.'' 
 
 First Charter, 
 
 The first charter of Xicholasville was passed in 1812, and is as 
 follows : 
 
 CHAPTER CCCCIV. 
 
 An act authorizing the trustees of the town of Nicholasville 
 to sell real property in said town, under certain restrictions : 
 
 Approved February 8, 1812. 
 
 Section i. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the 
 Commonwealth of Kentucky, that the trustees of the town of 
 Xicholasville, in the county of Jessamine, shall have power to 
 levy a tax on the real property in said town, in proportion to the 
 value of lots, not exceeding one hundred cents for every hundred 
 dollars; and the trustees, or a majority of them, shall have power 
 to cause an assessment to be made of the lots in said town, in or- 
 der to enable them to fix the sum to be paid by the proprietors or 
 occupants of the lots, provided, however, that a majority of the 
 trustees shall concur in levying the tax. 
 
 Sec. 2. And the trustees, or a majority of them, may appoint 
 some fit person to collect the tax ; and should the owner or occu- 
 pant, refuse to pay the tax for the space of three months after the 
 amount of the tax is fixed as herein provided, in that case the 
 collector shall, after giving thirty days' notice by advertisement 
 at three of the most public places in said town, expose for sale the 
 lot or lots, or so much thereof, as will be suf^cient to pay the tax 
 and cost of sale; but the owner or owners of the lot or lots, his, 
 
86' Hidortj of Jesi^amine CoKnti/, Kentitckij. 
 
 her or their heirs, executors or administrators, shall have twelve 
 months from the time of sale of the lot or lots, or parts of lots, to 
 redeem the lot or lots, or part of lots, by paying to the purchaser 
 {he amount of the lot or lots, or pait of lots sold, with lOO per 
 cent thereon ; and the collector shall be entitled to 7 per cent on 
 the amount of the tax collected under this act. 
 
 Sec. 3. And the trustees of the town shall have full power to 
 convey to the purchaser, by deed or deeds of conveyance, the lots, 
 or parts of lots, sold under the provisions of this act. and not re- 
 deemed within the time allowed for redemption, which shall vest 
 in the purchaser, his, her or their heirs, or assignee, or assigns, all 
 the right, title and interest of the owner, or owners, in and to the 
 lot or lots, or parts of lots, saving, however, to infants, femes co- 
 vert, and persons of unsound minds, a right to redeem within 
 three years after their several disabilities shall be removed, or 
 come of age ; provided, however, that the collector shall not be 
 allowed to sell any lot or part of a lot where sufficiency of personal 
 estate can be found on such lot or lots, or parts of lots, to satisfy 
 the tax due ; which the collector is hereby authorized to seize and 
 sell. 
 
 Second Charter. 
 
 The second charter of Nicholasville was passed in 1823. It 
 was as follows : 
 
 CHAPTER DXLVII. 
 
 An Act to Regulate the Town of Xicholasville. 
 
 Approved Xovember 18, 1823. 
 
 Section i. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the 
 Commonwealth of Kentucky, that the free, white male inhabitants 
 of the town of Nicholasville, who shall have attained the age of 
 tweny-one years and upwards, shall meet annually in each year, 
 at the court-house in said town, on the first Monday in May, and 
 elect seven trustees for said town, which trustees shall possess the 
 qualifications hereinafter mentioned ; and a majority of them so 
 elected, shall be sufficient to constitute a board, who shall be, and 
 they are hereby, authorized to make such by-laws for the govern- 
 "lent and regulation of said town as to them shall seem proper. 
 
History of Jexmvdue County, Kentucky. 87- 
 
 not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of this state. The 
 said trustees shall have full power and authority to impose a poll 
 tax annually, on the male inhabitants of full age, not exceeding 
 one dollar each. 
 
 Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, that the said trustees shall ap- 
 point their clerk or any other officer they may think proper, who 
 shall continue in office for and during the time for which the trus- 
 tees, who appointed them, shall remain in office, and the said 
 trustees shall have power and authority to remove any officer by 
 them appointed, for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, and 
 appoint an_\- other instead of the person so removed. 
 
 Sec. 3- Be it further enacted, that the trustees of said town or 
 a majoritv of them shall have full power and authority to levy a 
 tax annually, on the real property in said town, in proportion 
 to the value of the lots in their improved state, not exceeding one 
 hundred cents for every hundred dollars' value, and the trustees 
 or a majoritv of them, shall have power to cause an assessment to 
 be made of the value of the lots in said town by some person or 
 persons, appointed l)y them, in order to enable them to fix the sum 
 to be paid by the proprietors or occupants of said lots ; provided, 
 however, that a majority shall concur in laying the tax. 
 
 Sec. I/. Be it further enacted, that the said trustees shall, be- 
 fore thev can recover any fine or fines for a breach of their by- 
 laws or ordinances, have a fair copy of their by-laws set up at 
 three of the most public places in said town at least three weeks. 
 Sec. 19. Be it further enacted, that it shall be the duty of the 
 trustees, annually, at the August County Court of Jessamine, to 
 make a settlement with the County Court and pay over any mon- 
 evs that mav be on hand, to their successors, and in case of failure 
 the Countv Court is hereby authorized to summon them to appear 
 at their next or succeeding term to make a settlement and to en- 
 ter up judgment against them for any sums that may appear 
 against them and award executions thereon. 
 
 Sec. 20. Be it further enacted, that the first election under 
 this act shall be held by two Justices of the Peace, for the county 
 of Jessamine, and the Clerk of the Board of Trustees, at the time 
 said election takes place. 
 
 Sec. 21. Be it further enacted, that all laws of a special na- 
 ture heretofore enacted, applying to Nicholasville. be, and the 
 
88 Hidorij of JeKmmine County, Kentucky. 
 
 same are hereby, repealed from and after the first general elec- 
 tion under this act. 
 
 The first election was held on the 31st of Alay, 1824. A cer- 
 tificate of this was in the following words : "We do certify that 
 we have this day caused an election to be held for trustees of the 
 town of Nicholasville. agreeably to an act of the legislature of the 
 state of Kentucky, approved the 18th of November, 1823, when 
 the following gentlemen were duly elected trustees for the said 
 town for the ensuing year, namely: B. Xetherland, Sr., Har- 
 rison Daniel, Levy L. Todd, Win. Perkins, John ^lessick. James 
 Lusk, \\n\. Cox. Given under our hands this 31st day of May, 
 1824. 
 
 " George Brown, John Bowling, 
 "Two of the justices of the peace of jessamine county. 
 
 "Attest : H. Daniel, clerk B. T. T. N." 
 
 A meeting of the Board of Trustees of the town was held on 
 the 19th day of June, 1824, at ^Nlingo Tavern. On that day the 
 report of James Wolmore, Waddell G. Bruce and Benjamin 
 Netherland. Jr., as commissioners, and W. G. Bruce was allowed 
 $2 as assessor for making out a list of taxable property in the 
 year 1823, and B. Netherland, Jr., was allowed $105 for services 
 as assessor for one year. The tax rate was fixed at 30 cents on 
 each $100 worth of value on the valuation fixed. by the com- 
 missioners. On the 27th of September, 1824, another meeting 
 was held, when the treasurer was directed to pay Wm. Overstreet 
 $10 for his services as town sergeant and market master, and Wm. 
 Campbell, who was the father of the late Henry J. Campbell, 
 county judge, who died in 1866, was allowed $15 for his services 
 as town sergeant for six months. 
 
 An ordinance on the subject of dogs was also passed. It was 
 known as a by-law and declared "That any person in the town 
 of Nicholasville who shall keep more than one dog or bitch shall 
 be fined $1 for every twenty-four hours he shall retain the same 
 after the loth day of Alay next," and that it should be the dutv ol 
 the town sergeant to enforce this by-law on all alike. It was also 
 ordered that Wm. Cox be allowed $13 for whipping thirteen 
 
Historij of Jesxaiiiliic Coioify, Kcniiickij. 
 
 m 
 
 slaves, according to the ])y-la\vs of the town, and that the treas- 
 urer be autliorized to pay the same. 
 
 In the days of slavery in Kentucky all the towns and county 
 seats adopted ordinances or by-laws preventing negro slaves or 
 free negroes from visiting the towns after the hours of lo o'clock, 
 either in the streets or collecting on street corners or at the 
 kitchens of others than their owners. If they had a written per- 
 mit from their owners stating their business in town after lo 
 o'clock at night they were permitted to go free and were not ar- 
 rested and whipped. The author remembers when a boy very 
 often to have used his father's name to a great many of these per- 
 mits in the town of Xicholasville for his slaves, and in return to 
 have received numerous pies and cakes and frequently btmdles ol 
 stick candy, which the grateful recipients of the order brought 
 back as an assurance of their gratitude and as the means of secur- 
 ing further indtdgences. 
 
 The following list of property for the year 1831 affords curious 
 readingf : 
 
 The report of the Coiniuissioiiers appointed to value the houses and 
 lots and slaves in the town was received, adopted and ordered to be re- 
 corded, which is done as follows : 
 
 45 
 
 29 . . 
 
 45 
 
 30 . . 
 
 45 
 
 31 • • 
 
 50 
 
 32 . . 
 
 150 
 
 33 • • 
 
 45 
 
 34 • • 
 
 55 
 55 
 
 35 • • 
 
 36 . . 
 
 30 
 30 
 30 
 
 37 • • 
 38. . 
 
 38^. 
 
 500 
 
 39 • • 
 
 75 
 
 40 . . 
 
 400 
 800 
 
 41 . . 
 
 42 . . 
 
 175 
 
 43 • • 
 
 70 
 60 
 60 
 
 44 • • 
 
 45 • • 
 46. . 
 
 50 
 65 
 
 47 • - 
 48. . 
 
 200 
 
 49 
 
 150 
 
 50 . . 
 
 50 
 
 51 • ■ 
 
 50 
 
 52 • 
 
 50 
 
 53 
 
 300 
 
 54 
 
 30 
 
 55 • 
 
 \ 800 
 
 300 
 125 
 125 
 225 
 450 
 
 1,800 
 2,000 
 
 800 
 
 I.5C0 
 
 750 
 
 800 
 
 2,700 
 2,500 
 2,000 
 3.000 
 
 2,500 
 
 900 
 
 500 
 
 1,200 
 400 
 400 
 
 650 
 250 
 
 200 
 
 750 
 
 250 
 
 575 
 
 56 . . 
 
 57 
 
 58 . . 
 
 59 
 
 60 . . 
 
 61 . . 
 62 
 
 63 . . 
 
 64 . 
 
 65 . . 
 66 
 
 67 & 68 
 
 70 . . 
 
 71 . . 
 
 72 • • 
 
 73 • • 
 
 74 • • 
 
 75 • • • 
 76 
 
 77 • • 
 
 78 . . 
 
 79 • • 
 
 80 . . 
 
 81 . . 
 
 82 . . 
 
 83 . . 
 84 
 
 85 • 
 
 F 125 
 no 
 
 75 
 
 i.Soo 
 
 60 
 
 65 
 
 175 
 
 750 
 
 1.500 
 
 750 
 
 1,600 
 
 3,000 
 
 3,800 
 
 2,000 
 
 1.500 
 
 600 
 
 1.500 
 
 900 
 
 1,400 
 
 1,800 
 
 300 
 
 600 
 
 600 
 
 700 
 
 125 
 
 100 
 
 150 
 
 250 
 
 86 
 
 y- 
 "/ 
 
 88 
 89 
 90 
 
 91 
 92 
 
 93 
 94 
 95 
 96 
 
 97 
 
 98 
 
 99 
 
 too & lOI 
 102 & 103 
 104 
 
 105 
 
 106 
 
 107 
 108 
 
 109 
 no 
 
 f 300 
 
 200 
 
 600 
 
 40 
 
 400 
 
 800 
 
 75 
 
 75 
 
 500 
 
 125 
 
 600 
 
 600 
 
 600 
 
 160 
 
 950 
 
 2.150 
 
 300 
 
 60 
 
 70" 
 
 60 
 
 700 
 
 800 
 
 50 
 
 $68,065 
 
90 
 
 Hixtort/ of Jef^mmine Coiinfij, Kentucky. 
 
 NEGRO SLAVES. 
 
 Henry Burch, man and woman $ 700 
 
 B. Netherlaud, Sr., boy, girl, woman and child 1,050 
 
 The same, administrator of P. Netherland, woman .... 300 
 
 James Norvell, woman, child and 2 men 600 
 
 B. Netherland, Jr., man, woman and child 900 
 
 Wm. Shreve, 2 men, 2 women and 3 children 1,550 
 
 David Crozer, i woman, 2 girls 800 
 
 Thos. J. Brown, i man, i boy, 3 girls, i woman 1,905 
 
 Robt. Young, i boy 350 
 
 James Lusk, i girl 300 
 
 James Hill, 2 women, 2 girls 900 
 
 David Majors, i girl 300 
 
 Henr}' Ball, i girl 200 
 
 James McCabe, woman, girl and boy 725 
 
 Charles M. Davenport, man, woman and child 800 
 
 James L. Peak, i girl 275 
 
 John Downing, woman, boy and girl 650 
 
 William Campbell, i boy ; 200 
 
 William White, woman and 2 children 600 
 
 Alex Wake, 2 women, 2 bo3's and girl 1,000 
 
 George Cunningham, woman 250 
 
 Henry Metcalf, woman and man -. 700 
 
 Joseph Carson, girl 325 
 
 James C. Wilmore, girl 225 
 
 Jerome B. Sparks, boy 350 
 
 James Mars, i girl 225 
 
 Richard Reynolds, girl 300 
 
 Levi L- Todd, woman and girl 350 
 
 Joseph Maxwell, 2 girls 600 
 
 Samuel Rice, man, woman and girl 450 
 
 1 17,880 
 68,065 
 
 Total value lots and slaves f85>945 
 
 TITHES. 
 
 Henry Btirch, B. Netherland, Sr. , Robt. McMiirtr3% Jame.s 
 Norvell, B. Netherland, Jr., James Downing, Emmanuel Messick, 
 William Shreve, Woodson Dickerson, David Crozer, George W. 
 Elley, J. M. Spraggins, Miller Messenner, Ezekiel Btirch, George 
 Davenport, Robt. Voting, David Shook, John W. Bourne, 
 Churchill Fatilconer, Wm. Fatilcon'er, Charles Gibson, James 
 Hill, David Majors, James Majors, Henry Ball, James McCabe, 
 Jas. E. Peak, Chas. M. Davenport, George B. Nelson, Joseph 
 Rutherford, Henry R. Roland, William H. Mathews, Jas. Eusk. 
 
Hidofji of Jexs(imlii>' GomUy, Kentucki/. 
 
 91 
 
 David Bowman, John Downing, William Campbell, Alex. Wake, 
 George Cunningham, Henr}- Metcalf, Joseph Carson, James C 
 Wilmore, Jerome B. Sparks, James Mars, Richard Reynolds, 
 Joseph Maxwell, Sanuiel Burch, Samuel Rice, William Cox, 
 Joseph Easle}', Levi h- Todd, T. J. Browning. Total, 51. 
 
 DOGS. 
 
 H. Burch I 
 
 James Norvell ■. . 2 
 
 B. Netherlaud, Jr i 
 
 E. Messick 2 
 
 Will. Shreve i 
 
 Jas. Downiug ........ i 
 
 T. J. Brown 6 
 
 Robt. Young 1 
 
 Frie Fanny 1 
 
 Jas. Hill 2 
 
 David Majors i 
 
 C. M. Davenport 2 
 
 Sucky East 2 
 
 John Downing i 
 
 B. Netherland, Sr 4 
 
 No. 
 
 Win. Campbell 2 
 
 Alex Wake i 
 
 G. Cunningham i 
 
 Henry Metcalf 2 
 
 Elizabeth Buskett 2 
 
 Joseph Carson i 
 
 Metcalf's Charlotte ..... 2 
 
 James C. Wilmore ... . . i 
 
 Jerome B. Sparks i 
 
 Jos. Maxwell i 
 
 Samuel Burch 2 
 
 Wm. Faulconer i 
 
 Samuel Rice i 
 
 Total No. dogs . 
 
 46 
 
 VALUE OF TAXABLE PROPERTY IN NICHOLASVILLE. 
 
 185S ;?246,300 
 
 1874 261,075 
 
 1882 336,260 
 
 1888 566,920 
 
 1S92 799.475 
 
 1894 853,600 
 
 1898 976,860 
 
 A'arious either legislative enactments were passed from time to 
 time, until 1884 the town first had authority to choose a Mayor, 
 together with a Board of Councilmen. In that year, Hon. John 
 S. Bronaugh was elected first Mayor of Nicholasville ; he served 
 eight years, but declined re-election. He was on every hand re- 
 garded as a most valuable ofilicial, and brought the affairs of the 
 town into splendid condition. He was succeeded by Dr. Charles 
 Talbert, who served two years, and he by William L. Steele, the 
 present Mayor. 
 
 Under the Constitution of Kentucky, of 1890, providing for 
 the classification of all the towns and cities of the state, Nicholas- 
 
92 History of Jesxamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 ville became a city of the fourth class. It has now a population 
 within its limits of over 3.000. 
 
 At the close of its centennial year, its Mayor and Councilmen 
 are as follows : 
 
 ^Fayor — William Steele, grandson of Samuel ^IcDowell, born 
 1843. Councilmen — Jephtha D. Hughes, born in 1852; Charles 
 ■Mitchell, born in 1856; Frank Smith, born in 1870; Charles Ev- 
 ans, born in 1852 ; Andrew McAfee, colored, born in 1861 ; Adam 
 Adcock, born in 1851. 
 
 No city in Central Kentucky has grown more rapidly or has 
 more beautiful streets or a better city government. The little 
 village of 1798, with a few straggling log houses has become in 
 1898 a thrifty, energetic and enterprising city of 3,500 people, 
 with 8 miles of streets, with handsome residences, with impos- 
 ing public buildings and with every comfort and convenience 
 which enter into modern city life. 
 
 Upon the looth anniversary of its existence, the following are 
 the physicians in Nicholasville : 
 
 Dr. Chas. Alann, Dr. Joshua S. Barnes, Dr. Thomas R. ^^'elch, 
 Dr. \\m. H. Fish, Dr. Jos. A. A'anarsdale, Dr. D. A. Penick, Dr. 
 William H. Mathews. 
 
 And'the following constitute the members of the local bar : 
 
 John S. Bronaugh. N. L. Bronaugh, James W. ^Mitchell, John 
 H. Welch, George R. Prvor, Everet B. Hoover. 
 
 George Nicholas* 
 
 On the occasion of a centennial which Xicholasville celebrated 
 on September 16, 1898. the history of the man for whom the coun- 
 ty seat was called, becomes profoundly interesting. 
 
 George Nicholas was born August nth, 1753, in \Mlliams- 
 burg, \'a. His father was Robert Carter Nicholas, a prominent 
 lawyer, a member of the Mrginia House of Burgesses (Legis- 
 lature), connected with the Colonial Government of Mrginia, 
 and Colonial Treasurer. He became a captain in the Continen- 
 tal army, and practiced law in Charlottesville after the war. Of 
 the \'irginia Convention, called to consider the Constitution of 
 the United States, he was a member, and he ablv and earnestlv 
 
 ^ 
 
Jlidory of Jcxmmiue Goimtij, Kentucky. 93 
 
 advocated its ado]:»ti(Mi. wliich prevailed l)y a vote of 88 for and 
 78 against, and tliat only after a lengthened and even acrimonious 
 <liscussion. 
 
 This ratification was made by the convention on June 26th, 
 1788 ; A'irginia ])eing the tenth state to adopt the instrument. 
 
 ( )n October 24th, 1788, Colonel Nicholas advertised in the 
 Kentucky Gazette, as follows: 
 
 "Richmond. \^., ( )ct. 24th, 1788. 
 "I propose attending the General Court in the District of 
 Kentucky, as an attorney, and shall be at the next March term, if 
 not prevented by some unforeseen event." 
 
 He came in the following year and settled in what is now 
 Bovle but was then Mercer county. (Boyle county was not es- 
 tablished until 1842.) 
 
 As Harrodsburg and Danville were, in pioneer days, places for 
 the most important conventions, and the seat of the county, it was 
 doubtless for the purpose of being near the seats of justice which 
 induced Colonel Nicholas to find a home in Mercer. 
 
 The act admitting Kentucky as a state was passed June ist, 
 1791, but it was not to go into effect until June ist, 1792. 
 
 In December, 1791, a convention was elected to meet in 
 Danville April 3d, 1792, to frame a State Constitution. George 
 Nicholas w^as one of the men elected a member of this convention 
 from Mercer county. He was the greatest lawyer in this body. 
 His experience as a member of the Virginia Convention, in the 
 discussion of the Constitution of the United States, and his superb 
 legal training, combined with his logical! and analytical mind, 
 and liis power of accurate statement, made him the man of and for 
 the occasion. 
 
 In his fortieth year, in the full tide of his mental and physical 
 powers, and with a ripe jitdgmcnt. the result of military, civil and 
 judicial experience, combined with a peculiarly philosophical and 
 analytical mind ; it was both reasonable and proper that he should 
 be tlie dominant spirit of the body. Experience subsequently 
 showed that many of the provisions of the Constitution adopted 
 at his suggestion, were not adapted to the conditions surrounding 
 Kentucky. It onlv remained in force seven years, and was then, 
 by almost the unanimous will of the people, set aside in 1799. 
 
94 History of Jes.'<amlnr County, Kerdncky. 
 
 No forty-iive men ever assembled together who were more 
 patriotic and who more faithfully endeavored to discharge the 
 trust confided to their keeping. Benjamin Logan, Alexander 
 Bullitt, Robert Breckinridge, David Rice, Samuel McDowell, Ca- 
 leb Wallace, were a part of that distinguished convention, and in 
 that period of Kentucky's history, they represented a courage, 
 fidelity, patriotism and loyalty to the people which reached the 
 highest limit of human attainment. 
 
 The perfect knowledge Colonel Nicholas had obtained of 
 the Constitution of the Ignited States and his admiration of its 
 provisions, created l)y his splendid defense of it in the Virginia 
 Convention, were largely used in the creation of Kentucky's first 
 Constitution. His superb legal attainments, his varied knowl- 
 edge, his judicial mind, his unbounded patriotism, and his thor- 
 ough conception of the true principles of government, made him 
 an unquestioned leader in such a body. 
 
 The Constitution was framed and adopted in seventeen days, 
 and in thirty days from the assembling of the convention a Gov- 
 ernor was elected, and in sixty days a Legislature assembled un- 
 der its provisions. 
 
 Colonel Nicholas was married to Mary Smith, of Baltimore. 
 One of her brothers, Sanuiel Smith, was a member of the House 
 of Representatives and United States Senator for twenty-nine 
 years, and another, Robert Smith, was Secretary of the Navy 
 imder President Jefferson, and Secretary of State under Presi- 
 dent Madison. One of his sons, S. S. Nicholas, was one of the 
 most distinguished lawyers of the state. He was a Judge of the 
 Court of Appeals, Judge of the Louisville Chancery Court, and 
 one of the Commissioners appointed in 1850 to revise the laws ot 
 Kentucky. His youngest daughter, Hetty Morrison, was the 
 wife of Hon. Richard Hawes. of Paris. Ky.. at one time Provis- 
 ional Governor of Kentucky. Avhile under the control of the Con- 
 federate States; and he represented the Ashland District in Con- 
 gress. 1837-1 841. He opened a law school at his own house, and 
 taught gratuitously such men as Joseph Hamilton Daveiss. John 
 Rowan, Martin D. Hardin, Robert Wickliffe. William T. Barry, 
 Isham Talbott, and John Green. He moved to Bath county in 
 1794, to which his interests in the old slate furnace, which was 
 operated from 1790 to 1839, and was for nearly 50 years one of the 
 
Hiitoyy of JeKxamUw Coiaiti/, Kentnekt/. 95 
 
 great industries of the state. Later he came to Lexington to de- 
 vote himself to the practice of law. 
 
 In 1799 he was elected Professor of the Law Department then 
 added to Transylvania University, then in the zenith of its glory, 
 but h(> died shortly afterwards, in Jul)', 1799, iu his forty-sixth 
 _\ c:ar. 
 
 The capital of Jessamine is named, as will be seen, from one 
 of the really great men of his period. It was called for Colonel 
 Nicholas throug-h the partiality of Rev. John Metcalf, who held the 
 highest admiration for Nicholas, and who had known him in Vir- 
 ginia, before his removal to Kentucky. 
 
 Militia of Jessamine County. 
 
 Even to the soldiers who participated in great battles in ]Mex- 
 ico or the recent war there was never any military experience which 
 left so charming memories as that of service in the old state mili- 
 tia, commonly known as the "Corn Stalk Militia." It was called 
 the Corn Stalk Militia because there were no arms for the troops 
 and very frequently they used corn stalks in the place of guns. 
 The state militia grew up with the early settlement of Kentucky. 
 In those times every man was a soldier and was ready to respond 
 to such call as might be made in defense of his home or in pun- 
 ishment of the Indians, \vho had invaded the state. 
 
 From 1775 down to 1793. every able-bodied man was of neces- 
 sity connected with some military command. A while after the 
 Indian peace of 1794, the militia organization slackened a little, 
 yet it never died out as a state institution until after the Consti- 
 tution of 1849-50 was enacted. 
 
 L'p to that time every male citizen from the age of twenty-one 
 to forty-five was to report for duty at all drills, in default of which 
 a fine was adjudged. 
 
 Jessamine county had two regiments, formed in different parts 
 of the county, and they were required to assemble in the spring 
 for battalion drill. In Septemlier they had what was called a 
 "big muster," which was a brigade drill, called in that day "The 
 Evolution of the Line." 
 
 Nicholasville, the county seat, as the central point, was selected 
 for this armv movement. The uniform of the officers, from briga- 
 
ATTEnmONT ! I 
 
 Mh Regiment M, M. 
 
 COMPAJ^Y ORDERS, 
 
 Jhe foliowlg Csttrt t:^^ 'V'^'" 
 mj2- "^"'s ^"usiero m the present year^ 
 
 REGIMENTAL MUSTER on the 10th 
 of October, at Nichoiasville, To o'cl<S 
 
 BATTALLfON MUSTER on ttltg ai 
 Maj at Nicholasville, I0 o'clock ^ 
 
 f :OMPANY MUSTER on the U Sa^m. 
 
 No guns required. By order of 
 
 MS, ^mTEzm.ofs^^^^^ '^^''^'^^ 
 
 MILITIA NOTICE, 1832. 
 
Hidonj of Je>^mmine County, Kentucky. 97 
 
 dier-general down, consisted of epaulets, sword, red sash, high hats 
 with plumes tipped with white, and a black cockade on one side. 
 The great day in the county was the big muster, and from all parts 
 of the county, not only the soldiers but the citizens came to 
 Xicholasville, and these military ofhcers were as proud and well 
 satisfied with their appearance as any army officer equipped with 
 gold and tinsel, under the forms prescribed by General Miles of 
 the present day. 
 
 The drills were great occasions and were especially attractive 
 to the boys, who would post themselves along the roads and watch 
 the incoming of the ofificers. Standing on the fences and on high 
 steps they would wait with keen zest for the uniformed men, 
 and as they would see an officer coming up in his splendid attire, 
 they would yell out with delight and enthusiasm : "Here comes a 
 muster man." The band was not composed of scientific musi- 
 cians or many pieces ; it included a tenor and bass drum and a 
 fife, all of 'vbich were played by the negroes. 
 
 The hand vrould begin the march around town playing martial 
 airs, early in the morning, and they would march up and down 
 the streets and thrill the crowds with their soul-stirring strains. 
 First, the musicians, then the companies would fall in. 
 
 After marching around the town, the musicians would halt at 
 the court liouse, the music would cease and the orders would be 
 given : 
 
 "Fall in. Captain Crozier's Company ; fall in, Captain Hoo- 
 ver's Company; fall in Captain Rohrer's Company." 
 
 And so on, until all the companies of the regiment had been 
 called and had taken their places in the line. 
 
 When the line had been formed, the captain would go up 
 and down and dress the men with his sword or cane. After the 
 alignment of the companies, they would form in regiments and 
 move in column to a field or pasture near the town. .\t the head 
 of this cavalcade would march Brigadier-General Horine. The 
 troops would move along without keeping step, some with um- 
 brellas raised, some with coats, some without coats, and many 
 smoking, and the brigadier-general commanding would have his 
 cob pipe in his mouth — thus unconsp<5us of his military position 
 and unconscious of his military bearing, as he sat on his horse 
 with his back bent and his head inclined forward. 
 7 
 
IIi4i>fi/ of Ji'-o'niiilnc ( '(Hiiiti/, Kciitiicki/. 09 
 
 On reaching" the field, the great and striking manenver would 
 be to form a hollow square. The use of this by the British 
 troops had impressed it upon the soldiers' minds as a most im- 
 portant accomplishment. It took a long time to get the square 
 formed and sometimes took a still longer time to unform. After 
 squaring and unsquaring, the command would come to parade 
 rest and then would l)e extended an opportunity for notices to be 
 given by the farmers — such as "farms for sale or rent, stock for 
 sale, or lost live stock." After this the square would be formed 
 again and from this a battle line would be stretched; then a 
 counter-march would be ordered. 
 
 ( )n one occasion General Horine had his command in line 
 of battle, but not remembering to reverse or about face when 
 they had almost reached a high worm fence which enclosed a 
 thirty-acre field, he called out : "Pull the fence down or climb 
 it." As, under the orders of the commanding general, it had 
 been left discretionary with them what course to pursue, they 
 pulled the fence down. 
 
 After two or three hours of drilling they would march back 
 to town and were dismissed. 
 
 Small boys and all the idlers about town moved up and down 
 with the line and became as profoundly interested in the evolu- 
 tions as the soldiers themselves. 
 
 These occasions were always splendid opportunities for great 
 profit of the vendors of watermelons, ginger cake, and sweet 
 cider. Few Jessamine men of that day will forget Aunt Milly 
 Howard and Aunt Fannie Mason as they sat at their tables and 
 dispensed such ginger cake and fried chicken and fried ham as 
 the world has never surpassed. 
 
 Notwithstanding the slackness of the Corn Stalk Militia in 
 Jessamine county, there were organizations of special companies 
 wliich acquired great proficiency in drilling and were not only 
 efficient but beautifully uniformed. 
 
 One of these companies, raised by Capt. George S. Shanklin, 
 attained great skill and was thoroughly drilled, as much so 
 as any modern militia. 
 
 Capt. Thompson Worley had a cavalry company which was 
 perfectly trained. The men liad good horses, took pride in 
 them, and wliile they had nothing l)Ut sabres and flintlock pistols, 
 they performed cavalry evolutions in a most creditable manner. 
 
100 Hidory of Jessamine County, Kenhichj. 
 
 Capt. William R. Kean organized an infantry company known 
 as the Jessamine Grays. This command for a long time had 
 great celebrity. The uniform was of gray cloth, with frock coat, 
 the breast of which was ornamented with silver braid, and had 
 silver stripes down the sides of the trousers. The hat was of 
 black leather with a drooping red and white plume. 
 
 Capt. J. D. Hill was in command of this company for many 
 years. He was succeeded by Capt. Tucker Olds, of Nicholasville. 
 The company was long the pride of the citizens of the county 
 and it was not disbanded until near the beginning of the late war. 
 
 Patriotic Celebrations. 
 
 The early settlers on the Fourth of July were accustomed to 
 have patriotic celebrations. They invited each other to their 
 homes and in sumptuous repasts and neighborly communion cele- 
 brated the important events, not only in their own history, but in 
 the history of their country. Tn 1794 Col. William Price had 
 such celebrations at his house. As early as 1802 formal meetings 
 were held to glorify the Fourth of July. There are in existence 
 now the minutes of a meeting called on the 12th of June, 1802, 
 to take formal action upon the celebration of the Fourth of July 
 for that year. The following copy of the doings of that meeting 
 will show the character and nature of the ceremony : 
 
 At a meeting of the citizens of Nicholasville on the 12th of 
 June, 1802, Maj. Benjamin Netherland in the chair, Col. John 
 Price, secretary, it was resolved, that the 26th anniversary of the 
 Independence of our beloved country be celebrated on the Fourth 
 of July next in Nicholasville. Thereupon, a committee of ar- 
 rangements was appointed, who, in accordance with the resolu- 
 tions of the meeting, present the following as the order of the day : 
 
 Procession. 
 
 I St. The Military Jessamine Blues, under Capt. James Price 
 and Lieutenant Caldwell, will be drawn up between the residence 
 of the Rev. John Metcalf and Mrs. Dillard's gate, in double file, 
 wnth music on their right, will move down Main street, when the 
 
Hidory of Jesmmine Coioittj, Kentrnkij. 101 
 
 procession will be formed by each class, or division, falling in the 
 rear of its preceding class, or division, according to the subse- 
 quent arrangement, the front class falling in the rear of the mili- 
 tary. 
 
 2nd. Rev. Mr. Metcalf's school children in the following or- 
 der: No. I, at the Methodist Episcopal church. Rev. John Met- 
 calf, marshal ; No. 2, at the quarter session court house. Col. John 
 Price, marshal ; drawn up in front of the school room of Mrs. 
 Nanc}' Lafevers, with their right on Main street. 
 
 4th. The ladies dressed in white, at Downing & Evans' store,, 
 with their right on ]\Iain street, Michael Horine, marshal. 
 
 5th. Ladies of the town and vicinity, citizens and farmers of 
 the county, in double file, at Mr. Metcalf's corner, with right on 
 Main street, near Mr. Netherland's stable lot, Benjamin Hughes,. 
 Stephen Frost, Col. John Mosley, marshals. 
 
 The procession vvill move off at slow time at nine o'clock, a. 
 m., to the woodland east of the town where the ceremonies of the 
 day will proceed in the following order: 
 
 First. Prayer by the Rev. John Metcalf. 
 
 Second. ]\Iusic. 
 
 Third. An address by the Rev. John P. Campbell. 
 
 Fourth. Alusic. 
 
 Fifth. Reading Declaration of Independence by Samuel H. 
 Woodson. 
 
 Sixth. An oration by Rev. Robert Stewart. 
 
 Seventh. Prayer by Rev. John Shackelford. 
 
 The procession will again form in the same order and return 
 to town, dispersing at the points where they joined the proces- 
 sion in the morning and in the same order. 
 
 Michael Horine, Col. John Price and William Caldwell are 
 appointed marshals. 
 
 The ladies and gentlemen of Jessamine county are most re- 
 spectfully and earnestly invited to celebrate our Independence 
 like patriotic men whose fathers were engaged in a bloody civil 
 war for seven years. 
 
 Many of the old soldiers who served their country in the 
 armies of Washington and Greene are among us and will be pres- 
 
Hl^ovij of Jexxaiii'uK' Cinditij. Koducki/. lOrJ 
 
 cnt and participate in celebrating- the 26th anniversary oi' the free 
 dom and independence of onr country. 
 
 John Price, 
 
 Coh Wm. Price, 
 
 Hugh Chfisman, 
 
 MichaH Horine, 
 
 John Metcalf, 
 
 Joseph Crockett, 
 
 Robert Crockett, 
 
 Caleb McDowell, 
 Committee of Arrangements, June 12, 1802. 
 
 The Michael Horine referred to in these proceedings, was an 
 uncle of the late Henry Horine and John Horine. Michael Hor- 
 ine married a sister of General Muhlenberg, a Revolutionary 
 soldier, and for whom Muhlenberg" county, in this state, is named. 
 He settled in Jessamine county in 1799 and afterwards moved to 
 Ohio, in 1808, where he became principal of a female school. 
 
 The Hugh Chrisman mentioned is the ancestor of the large 
 Chrisman family in Jessamine county. He was born in Rock- 
 ingham county, \a., in 1769, and died in 1849. His son. General 
 Henry Chrisman, long lived in Jessamine as one of its most dis- 
 tinguished citizens and died in 1876. He lived on Hickman 
 creek, a few miles from Nicholasville. 
 
 Men in Indian Wars Antedating 1812. 
 
 James Hemphill, an uncle of Andrew Hemphill, served under 
 General Wayne in the campaign agamst the Indians, and was in 
 the battle of the Fallen Timbers, August 20, 1794; Terrence Mc- 
 Grath. who was the father of the late horseman. Price McGrath, 
 lived in Jessamine county, and was also in that campaign. In 
 this battle General Wayne relied upon the charge of the Kentucky 
 mounted infantry to draw the fire of the Indians, and then sent in 
 his foot men, with the bayonet, before which the Red Men precip- 
 itately fled. The blow inflicted secured peace and forever stopped 
 Indian incursions into Kentucky. 
 
 Price McGrath, the son of Terrence McGrath, was born in 
 >s'ich(!lasville, and in his boyhood learned the tailor's trade. He 
 
104 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 subsequently moved to Louisville, and while there he became in- 
 terested in the horse business, which he so successfully man- 
 aged, and afterward founded his splendid breeding establishment 
 for race horses in Fayette county, near Lexington. 
 
 Soldiers in the War of 18J2. 
 
 Jessamine county sent soldiers to the war of 1812, commanded 
 by the following captains : Capt. Jas. C. Price, Capt. Mason Sin- 
 gleton, Capt. Richard Hightower, Capt. Patrick Gray, Capt. Thos. 
 Lewis, Capt. Robt. Crockett, Capt. Augustine Bower. Quite a 
 large number of Captain Price's company were killed at the bat- 
 tle of the River Raisin, while Capt. Tlios. Lewis' company was in 
 Dudley's defeat at Fort Meigs, May 15, 1813, and there lost a 
 large number of its members, who were either killed during the 
 fight or murdered by the Indians after the surrender. 
 
 The following letter, written by a member of Captain Bow- 
 ers' company in the battle of the Thames, will be of interest to 
 those whose ancestors were engaged in that fight. It was written 
 by Nathaniel Adams, who died some years since in Pulaski county, 
 and was the maternal uncle of S. M. Duncan. There are parts 
 of it that relate to purely personal matters, which are omitted 
 from the text as published : 
 
 MR. ADAMS' LETTER TO MISS NANCY STINSON. 
 
 Put-In-Bay, on the Shore of the Great Lake. 
 Oct. 15, 1813. 
 My Dearest Nancy : 
 
 I reached this muddie den of a village on Monday, the nth. 
 I was in the battle on Tuesday, October 5th, and was not hurt by 
 the bullets of the British and Indians, though I was in ver\' great 
 danger, as the company I was in formed the second line when 
 Colonel Johnson made his men charge the enemy. The Indians 
 raised a loud yell and opened a severe fire on our advance. 
 About seventy or eighty red-coated British soldiers and am equal 
 number of Indians opened a heavy fire on us again, emptying 
 eighteen saddles, killing twelve and wounding more than thirty 
 of our men in the front line. Captain Bowers rushed up in a 
 moment and ordered our coinpany to advance instantly. Our 
 
H!4ory of Jesmmlne County, Kciducki/. 105 
 
 men rushed forward in a rapid gallop over the front line of the 
 British, who stood their ground like men wlio preferred being 
 shot down rather than surrender. Our company killed several 
 British soldiers who had surrendered, and who attempted to es- 
 cape. When we dispersed their arni}^ in the charge, we cap- 
 tured over five hundred prisoners. I saw a large Indian wander- 
 ing along the river with two guns and a bag of fried fish. I 
 called the attention of Captain Boiwers to the Indian, w-ho, to all 
 appearances, was going to steal a horse that belonged to one of 
 Colonel Trotter's men. Captain Bower ordered three of the men 
 to catch him. All three of us dashed at him. He raised one of 
 the g"uns and fired; the ball came very close to my left ear. In- 
 stantly John Doolin shot him dead. He had fried fish in a dirty 
 bag, and six scalps were in the bag, separated from his dinner of 
 fish by a dirty, old towel, which was marked by stains of blood. 
 We scalped him and left him lying on his back. John Doolin 
 wanted to cut a razor strap from his thigh, but I objected to this 
 and as we were picking up our wounded and sending them 
 across the lake, I saw no more of the Indian. 
 
 War of I8I2-J8I5. 
 
 The War of 1812 was one in which Kentucky figured more 
 prominently than any other state. The warlike spirit had been un- 
 daunted by Indian aggressions on the frontier from 1783 down 
 to i8ti, when the men of Kentucky fought at Tippecanoe, and 
 where the iDrilliant and popular Joseph Hamilton Daveiss and 
 other gallant Kentuckians gave their blood for the defense and 
 preservation of the Northwestern territory. Kentucky, ofi and 
 on, had in this war over 25,000 soldiers. She gave some of her 
 noblest blood in the battles it produced and manifested a patriot- 
 ism and valor A\hich gave her increased renown. To this war 
 Jessamine county sent, first and last, 600 soldiers. 
 
 England had never accepted gracefully the result of the 
 Revolutionary War. The Northwestern Indians were fed and 
 maintained by the British of^cials in Canada. They wore 
 British clothes, used British guns and knives and traded with and 
 for British gold. The war was brought about by a series ol 
 events, but there were two principal causes : 
 

Hixtonj of Jemiutinr County, Keiduchi. 107 
 
 First. England claimed the right to stop and examine, any- 
 where on the high seas, American vessels engaged in commerce, 
 and to take from such vessels all British subjects. 
 
 "Once a subject, always a subject," a favorite maxim of John 
 Ihill, was interpreted in the most offensive sense and any man 
 who was supposed to be an Irishman, Scotchman, etc., was taken 
 and forced to serve in the British navy, even though he was an 
 American citizen. Diplomacy, always slow to redress wrongs, 
 was in these cases extremely tardy, and thousands of American 
 citizens were thus relentlessly forced to serve a country whose 
 allegiance they repudiated. The necessities of the English 
 government were very great. Its navy, greatly increased by the 
 war with the French people led by Napoleon, could only be main- 
 tained by impressment, and these American ships were most at- 
 tractive places for that sort of work. It took the news of these 
 seizures a long time to reach home, and then a long time to get 
 to the State Department, and then there was a long correspond- 
 ence before even a hearing could be obtained. In the mean time, 
 the men w^ere in the navy and driven 'by the lash. or other more 
 dreadful punishment to this hateful service. 
 
 Second : The United States, in the thirty years that had 
 passed since the Revolutionary War, had built up a large ocean 
 carrying trade. England, through the ibilockade of European 
 ports, claimed the right to seize all American ships and cargoes 
 l)'3und for any blockaded port in Europe (and they were nearly all 
 blockaded) unless these ships, going to or returning from such 
 ports, first e'ltcred an English port and registered and obtained 
 license to prosecute their voyage. 
 
 With such clain:s on the part of any government, war could 
 not long be avoided, and so on the i8th of June, 1812, Congress 
 declared war. 
 
 As soon as the news of the war reached Kentucky and before 
 the President's recjuisition came to the Governor, volunteer com- 
 panies all over the state rushed to offer tJhemselves to the Gov- 
 ernor. Kentucky's quota was 5.500 of the 100,000 called for. 
 Weeks before the actual declaration of war had been made, re- 
 cruiting" ofihces had been opened and war meetings throughout 
 the state gave assurance that however lukewarm Xcw Entrland 
 
108 Hidovy of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 might be, Kentucky would give the government the heartiest 
 support. 
 
 By August the T4th, the Kentucky quota was ready. Jes- 
 samine sent two fuH companies and scattering soldiers into other 
 commands. 
 
 One of these companies was commanded by Capt. James C. 
 Price, a son of Col. William Price. The other was commanded 
 by Capt. Patrick Gray. The roster of these two companies was 
 as follows : 
 
 Roll of Capt, James C, Price^s Company. 
 
 Lewis' regiment, Kentucky A^olunteers. War of 1812. 
 
 Captain — James C. Price. Lieutenant — William Caldwell. 
 Ensign — Daniel Bourne. Sergeants — William E. Price, David 
 Richardson, John Shanklin, John Scott. Corporals — Nathaniel 
 H. Caldwell, John Ficklin, Solomon Smith, Elisha Williams. 
 
 Privates — Barkleye, William; Barr, George; Bennett, James;. 
 Brice, John T. ; Brown, Thomas; Carlton, Isaac; Carlton, Noah; 
 Carlton, George ; Callender, Jacob ; Conner, Rice ; Daugherty, 
 John ; Dedman, James ; Easley, Pleasant ; Edwards, Thos. ; Elkin,. 
 Benj. ; East, Elijah; Finney, James; Forset, James; Forsee^ 
 Stephen ; Farrow, John ; Goin, John ; Haggard, John ; Hicks, 
 James; Hews, Charles, Hushman, Matthew; Kindred, Edward;, 
 Krickbaum, John ; Lewis, Wm. A. ; Moss, Pleasant ; Morgan, W. ; 
 McGrath, Terrance; McConnell, M. G. ; Neal, George; Nether- 
 land, John; Overstreet, W. ; Rice, Joseph; Rice, Geo. W. ; 
 Richards, Alexander ; Ramsey, John ; Richa:-J!:on, Robt. ; Scott, 
 Joseph ; Scott, Joseph ; Simmons, David ; Skeene, William ; Tay- 
 lor, John; Underwood, Edward; Woodson, Obediah ; Wilson, 
 Thos.; Ward, William; Webber, Benj.; Walker, James; Ward, 
 Geo. S. ; Young, Joel ; Young, Richard. 
 
 Roll of Capt. Patrick Gray^s Company. 
 
 Lewis' regiment. Kentucky Volunteers. War of 1812. 
 Captain — Patrick Gray. Lieutenant — James Fletcher- 
 Ensign — James Clark. Sergeants — William Sechrest, Thomas 
 
Hidory of Jei^samine County, Kentucky. 109 
 
 Reed, John Batts, Geo. Chrisman. Corporals — Robt. Dun- 
 Aviddie, Sam'l Huckstep, James Norrel. 
 
 Privates — Anderson, Oliver ; Armstrong, Livy ; Arnett, John ; 
 Bagwell, Cary ; Bishop, John ; Brown, Samuel ; Bradshaw, 
 Smith; Biirk, Benj.; Campbell. James; Cardwell, Sam'l; Card- 
 well, James; Cary. Melford ; Clark, Geo. W. ; Croslin, Benj.; 
 Downes, Penore P. ; Dickerson, Wm. ; Dickerson, David ; El- 
 more, Edward; Howard, Achilles; Hopkins, Thos. ; Hutcherson, 
 Sam'l ; Hunter, Chas. ; Jeter, Henry ; Jimerson, David ; Jimerson, 
 Wm.; Jimerson, John; Johnson, John; Kennady, Wm. ; Lana, 
 Henry; Leon, Moses; Lusk, James; Marshall, James; Marshall, 
 Wm. ; May, Lindsay; Messick, Nathan; Morris, Henry; Myers, 
 John; Miller, Francis; McClure, Martin; Nevens, Henry; Newal, 
 Armstrong ; Patterson, John ; Pilcher, Louis ; Read, Peter ; Rob- 
 inson, Michael ; Rusk, Robert ; Sales, Thos. P. ; Spencer, Ab- 
 salom ; Spiers. Greenbery ; Summers, James ; Summers, Thos. ; 
 Smith, Peter ; Stype, John ; Shelton, Thos. ; Thompson, Pitman ; 
 Venable, Hamden S.; Waters, Lewis; Wallace,' James ; Whorton, 
 Joseph; Wallace, Abraham; Welsh, Alexander; Willis, John; 
 Willis, William ; Wager, Absalom. 
 
 These companies were part of the 5th Kentucky Regiment, 
 commanded by Lieut.-Col. William Lewis and Majors Joseph 
 Robb and Benjamin Graves. The other companies constituting 
 the regiment were those of Captains Hart, Hamilton and Me- 
 gowan from Fayette, Captain Williams, from Montgomery, and 
 Captains Martin and Brassfield from Clark. They were ordered 
 to assemble in Lexington on the 14th of August. They were en- 
 listed on the 15th at Georgetown. 
 
 An immense concourse, estimated at 20,000, greeted the 
 soldiers of this regiment at Lexington. Revolutionary sires, 
 hoary with age, wives whose hearts were filled with apprehension 
 and dread, sweethearts whose trustful and tearful eyes told the 
 story of love for men in the ranks, children who looked with 
 strange wonder upon the brilliant scene of these uniformed 
 soldiers passing in review before the vast and sympathetic 
 crowd, came from far and near to say good-bye and god-speed to 
 the country's defenders. Each company paraded in its own 
 uniform, and each vied with the other in evolution and manlv 
 
Hldorij of Jei^Mim'uie Couiifi/, Kt'nfnckij. Ill 
 
 bearing". None surpassed the Jessamine lilues under Captain 
 l*rice and the other Jessamine company under Captain Gray, and 
 the vast crowds of their fellow citizens felt a just pride at their 
 splendid appearance as they marched so promptly at their 
 country's call. 
 
 They formed on Water street in Lexington and then marched 
 into Alain street and from thence out to the Georgetown road. 
 They marched only about four miles and then camped for the 
 night and next day went into camp at Georgetown. The Lewis 
 Regiment was reinforced by those of Col. John M. Scott and Col. 
 John .\llen, and the\' were formed into a brigade under Gen. 
 John Payne. 
 
 On the following Sunday the brigade was reviewed by Gov. 
 Charles Scott and Generals John Payne and James Winchester, 
 After the review the soldiers and the crc>wd assembled and listened 
 to an address from Henry Clay and a sermon from the eloquent 
 Dr. James Blythe, who was then president of Transylvania. Mr. 
 Clay reviewed the causes of the war and set forth the many and 
 unbearable grievances which had forced the government to de- 
 clare war. and closed with an appeal to the troops to remember 
 that Kentucky was renowned for the bravery of her people and 
 that they nuist remember that they had both the glory and the 
 prestige of Americans and Kentuckians to maintain. The vast 
 crowd departed after these patriotic, soul-stirring words and the 
 soldiers went into camj), and a few days after marched to New- 
 port to receive their arms and equipment. The most of the 
 march was made in drenching rains, which were ominous of the 
 hardships and misfortunes which awaited them in the campaigns 
 upon which they had entered. 
 
 Dudley^s Defeat. 
 
 A part of the Jessamine troops were in what was known as 
 Dudley's defeat, which was fought on May 5, 1813, on the left 
 bank of the Maumee river, opposite to Fort Meigs, a few miles 
 south of Toledo, Ohio. 
 
 Col. William Dudley's regiment was part of Gen. Green Clay's 
 brigade of Kentucky volunteers. After leaving Newport, tiiev 
 
112 Hidory of Je.'<mmine County, Kentucky. 
 
 had a fatiguing march for men and ammunition, and they found 
 these on approaching the open boats lodged on the left bank of 
 the Maumee river, within hearing of the cannon of Fort Meigs, 
 where General Harrison was then besieged by the British and a 
 large force of Indians. 
 
 At twelve o'clock on the night of May 4th, when General Har- 
 rison was informed of General Clay's approach, he directed Gen- 
 eral Clay to land 700 men on the west side where the British were, 
 charge their batteries, spike their cannon, and immediately re- 
 turn to their boats and cross over to the American fort. The 
 remainder of Clay's troops were to land on the east bank and force 
 their way into the fort by sorties from the garrison. Dudley's 
 regiment was ordered to perform the first service. They were 
 successful in the beginning, but the bravery of the Kentuckians 
 and a misunderstanding of orders drew them into an ambuscade 
 where they were cut oiT and surrounded by overwhelming num- 
 bers, and the apparent victory was turned into dreadful defeat. 
 
 When the Kentuckians landed they marched at once toward 
 the battery. This battery was taken without a struggle. It was 
 left in possession of two companies, but it was shortly after taken 
 by the British and forced to retreat to their boats and cross the 
 river, when they reached Fort Meigs in safety. 
 
 The Kentuckians advanced and charged the Indians, and after 
 seeing that they were outnumbered they attempted to retreat to 
 the battery. They found this no longer in possession of their 
 friends, but manned by British soldiers in large numbers, who 
 opened fire upon them. Arriving without order and being taken 
 completely by surprise, they were compelled to surrender or be 
 shot down. They surrendered. They were robbed by the In- 
 dians, who inflicted blows upon the prisoners at their pleasure. 
 Most of the Americans were stripped of their clothes, and they 
 were told by the British soldiers that the Indians intended to 
 make them run the gauntlet, and just before the Americans 
 reached the fort, the Indians taking advantage of their helpless 
 condition, whipped and bruised and killed them as they pleased. 
 xA. large number of them were shot down and scalped. One In- 
 dian shot four prisoners and scalped them in the presence of their 
 comrades, and in the presence of the British ofificers these Ken- 
 tucky troops were subjected to all sorts of indignities, and even 
 
Hutory of Jexxamine County, Kentucky. 113 
 
 nuirdered. Captain Lewis was killed in the battle, together with 
 a number of the men from Jessamine county. 
 
 Battle of the Thames. 
 
 The blundering and misfortunes and the disasters which at- 
 tended the War of 1812 in the Northwest, in the end took a turn. 
 The American arms were at last to receive some reward. The 
 great naval battle fought on Lake Erie, on the loth of September, 
 1813, had destroyed the British fleet under Captaim Barclay; not 
 a single ship escaped. The gallant Perry had grandly ac- 
 complished his task and told his owai story of the victory and 
 success in those glorious words. "We have met the enemy and 
 they are ours." 
 
 More than a hundred Kentuckians who knew nothing of ships 
 and had never sailed on any water but rivers, volunteered to serve 
 •on the vessels under Perry, and they deserved part of the credit 
 for that superb victory. 
 
 (ieneral Proctor and his Indian allies under Tecumseh, after 
 tlie destruction of the British Heet, were safely shut in upon 
 English soil. General Harrison was not slow to avail himself 
 of the effect this naval victory had secured, and he at once 
 •crossed into Canada and commenced his pursuit of Proctor and 
 Tecumseh. 
 
 The horses of the Kentucky troops were corralled on the 
 Michigan shore ; they were surrounded by brush and trees cut 
 down and pickets driven so as to make a complete enclosure. 
 When the pursuit was determined upon it was impossible to se- 
 cure guards for the horses and camps other than by draft. No 
 man was willing to accept such inglorious service unless by com- 
 pulsion. 
 
 The capture of the British vessels enabled General Harrison 
 to make an immediate crossing and with five brigades of Ken- 
 tuckians and 120 L^nited States regulars, he landed on the Canada 
 side on the 27th of September. 
 
 Col. Richard M. Johnson's Kentucky mounted infantry was 
 the only cavalry in the invading army. It was a splendid regi- 
 Jiient of thirteen companies and contained nearly 1,400 men. 
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Hidory of JexMn^iUic Goiod;/, Kentnclaj. 115 
 
 With this regiment was detailed one of the Jessamine companies 
 under Captain Bower. 
 
 The river Thames is a small stream rising in Canada east of 
 Detroit and emptying into Lake St. Clair. About forty miles east 
 of Detroit there was a small Moravian settlement, and after a 
 dreadful and tiring- march of a week, late in the afternoon of Oc- 
 tober 5, 1813, the American army was in such close pursuit that 
 Proctor and Tecumseh were forced to ofifer battle. 
 
 Proctor had 600 British regulars and Tecumseh had 1,500 
 Indians. Tliev were formed along the river bottom, with Tecum- 
 seh on the left, and there awaited the approach of the American 
 armv, which was composed almost entirely of Kentuckians. 
 Governor Shell)y had abandoned his duties as governor and as- 
 sumed the place of commander-in-chief of the Kentucky forces. 
 Both he and General Harrison had upon their staffs some of the 
 most brilliant men of the state — Geo. Walker, William T. Barry, 
 John Speed Smith, Gen. John Adair, J. J. Crittenden and Percival 
 Butler. 
 
 Colonel Johnson had during the previous months trained his 
 regiment to charge on horseback, and so soon as General Har- 
 rison learned that the British were formed in open order he di- 
 rected Colonel Johnson to charge with his regiment mounted. 
 
 Colonel Johnson discovered that the front of the British 
 regulars was too narrow for the use of all his men. Pie divided 
 his regiment, gave half of it to his brother, James Johnson, Lieut. - 
 Colonel. Colonel Johnson called for an advance guard of 
 twenty men to move in advance of the troops. He had promised 
 the wives and mothers and sweethearts and friends of his troops, 
 when they assembled at Stamping Ground to start for the war, that 
 lie ^^'ould in ever\- way protect their lives in the campaig"n on whicli 
 the\' had entered with him. He conceived the idea that if he could 
 draw the fire of the Indians upon an advance guard, that the main 
 force could charge and ride over the enemy's line before it could 
 reload, and that, though he might sacrifice the twenty men he 
 would save heavy mortality among the remainder of his force. 
 
 It was a heroic thought, and it was carried out in a heroic 
 way. Nineteen men gallantly volunteered to ride with Colonel 
 Johnson in advance on the enemv : of these onlv ten are known. 
 
116 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 The advance was placed under the command of Col. William 
 Whitley, who was a private in Captain Davidson's company. Of 
 the members only the following names are known : Lieut. 
 Samuel Logan, Coleman's company ; L. L. Mansfield, Stucker's 
 company; Benjamin Chambers, quartermaster; Robert Payne, 
 Stucker's company ; Dr. Samuel Theobald, Coleman's company ; 
 William Webb, Stucker's company; Garrett Wall, forage major; 
 Eli Short, forage master. 
 
 Lieut. -Col. Johnson at once charged the British regulars. 
 He passed through their line, then turned and fired upon them 
 in the rear. They immediately surrendered. Col. Richard M. 
 Johnson, with half the regiment, with the advance guard in front, 
 charged the Indians who at once poured in a deadly fire upon the 
 advance guard, all of whom were either killed, wounded, or had 
 their horses shot under them, except Dr. Samuel Theobald, of 
 Lexington. The brave and heroic William Wdiitley was killed 
 at the first fire on the advance guard. 
 
 In these later days, when acts of heroism are applauded with 
 such vigor and enthusiasm, it is well to remind the world of such 
 deeds as those of Gen. William O. Butler and Johnson's advance 
 guard at the river Thames. These lose nothing in comparison 
 with the conduct and courage of any men of any age. 
 
 Proctor's regulars were all captured, the Indians were routed, 
 Tecumseh was killed, his force was scattered, and peace in the 
 Northwest was at once assured. Proctor himself abandoned his 
 men, his carriage and baggage, and fled precipitately from the 
 field. His guilty conscience smote him as he heard the Ken- 
 tucky hosts on entering the battle, with mighty shout cry out, 
 "Remember the Raisin." He knew that his perfidy and bar- 
 barity deserved the death that the comrades of the murdered 
 lieroes of Raisin ^vloulld inflict upon him, and like a coward he fled 
 from the just wrath of the American soldiers. 
 
 In this splendid battle a large number of the men from Jessa- 
 mine participated, and part of its glory belongs to those who com- 
 posed the Jessamine troops. 
 
 The accompanying letter written by a Jessamine man who 
 ])articipated in this conflict will be Doth interesting and historical : 
 
Hidory of Jexsamiiie County, Kentucky. 117 
 
 "Bass Island, Lake Erie, October lo, 1813. 
 
 "My Dear Father: I have only time to inform you and my 
 friends that I am now confined to my bed with severe rheumatism 
 in my legs. I am unable to walk, but am very kindly treated 
 Frenchman who served in our armies under General Washington 
 and received a severe shot in the left hip joint at the battle of 
 Princeton, he has lived in this dreary country thirty years en- 
 gaged in fishing on the lake. Our company under Captain 
 Bowen was in the battle of Thames river on the 5th. A cannon 
 ball killed Captain Bowen's horse in the beginning of the battle, 
 but he soon got another one much stronger and active than the 
 horse he brought from home. After Commander Perrie gained 
 the victory on the lake, the Barbarian Proctor abandoned the 
 post at Maiden and took a ; position on tlie river Thames. His 
 rapid movements, we have leamed since the battle, was very an- 
 noying and displeasing to his Indian allies. This morning Cap- 
 tain Bowen called to see me in company with Captain Danfield 
 of the British army. I heard Captain Danfield say that the In- 
 dian chief Tecumsey was very mad at General Proctor for leaving 
 his Indian brethren exposed to the vengeance of our soldiers. 
 Danfield said that he heard the Indian chief address Proctor in 
 very severe language about his leaving Maidens. It was also 
 stated by the English ofihcer that Proctor was fairly outgeneraled 
 by Harrison and was unable to escape with all his baggage, be- 
 ing hard pressed by him in every move up the Thames. After 
 a great deal of heavy marching and loss of sleep both armies met 
 in the vicinity of a Dunkard settlement called Moravian town, 
 which was deserted, not a human oeing in it when the fight took 
 place October 5th. The battle did not last very long, but it was 
 fierce and savage. The Indians under their Chief Tecumsey 
 were in possession of a thick woods, who, with the British in- 
 fantrv had formed their line of battle on ground which gave them 
 some advantage over our troops. When the fight opened I saw 
 Gen. Harrison with Commodore Perrie who was in the battle and 
 was acting as aid, he and Captain Butler. Colonel Cass who was 
 a very large man had the post of honor and led the front line. 
 Colonel Johnson, of Scott county, with the mounted men was or- 
 dered to charge at full speed, and break their line. Johnson 
 
History of Jemdiihie Countij, Kndiicki/. 119 
 
 e 
 
 rushed along- the hue hat off and gave command in a loud voic 
 that now was the time to fight, and m an instant his mounted men 
 including Captain Bowen's company were rushing on the lines 
 of the enemv. At first our horses recoiled on receiving the heavy 
 fire from the British and Indians, yet it was only momentarily, the 
 voice of Colonel Cass and our Colonel Trotter was heard amid the 
 roaring of musketry, the enemy run in every direction, we were 
 completely victorious. Governor Shelby whose presence on the 
 field was greeted by thousands. The Indian chief Tecumsey 
 was killed, over 500 of the enemy were taken in by our men, 80 
 of the English were killed and over 100 Indians were left on the 
 field. Come to Newport after me and bring three feather beds in 
 the wagon, as I can not bear jolting. Your son, 
 
 "George T. Chrisman. 
 "Hugh Chrisman, Jessamine Co., Ky." 
 
 The following extracts from a letter, written by John Nether- 
 land, who was a son of Maj. Benjamin Netherland, will prove in- 
 teresting and show how the men from Jessamine acted in the 
 battle of the Thames : 
 
 "On the Thames, October 7, 1813. 
 
 "My Dear Parents : I never wanted to see you so badly in 
 mv life. After the massacre of so many of the company of the 
 brave Captain Price at the river Raisin, I succeeded in making 
 mv escape, after running seventeen miles in snow over two feet 
 deep. I joined the main body of the army under General Har- 
 rison and served with Colonel Johnson in the battle which took 
 place day before yesterday. I stood on the shore of lake Erie on 
 Sunday, the loth of September, and saw Captain Perry whip hell 
 out of the British fleet on the lake. As soon as they were whipped 
 on the water, General Harrison made us all get on board of the 
 ships of Captain Perry and sailed to Canada. When the army 
 landed we marched in pursuit of the d — d murderers and cut- 
 throats. We came up with them at the river Thames on the 5th 
 of October, gave the devils a sound thrashing and took over seven 
 liundred prisoners and shot to death five Indians for breaking 
 their paroles five days before the battle. It took old Governor 
 Shelby a long time to keep our company from scalping twenty 
 
120 Hidory of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 English soldiers for giving rum to the Indians and furnishing 
 them with guns and powder to murder our people. We are now 
 burying the dead and will leave here as soon as we can hunt up 
 all who are wounded and unable to get home. When I come 
 home I can tell you of as much suffering in this army as you ever 
 suffered in the Revolutionary War. I must say that every man 
 and ofhcer from Jessamine was game and did his duty without 
 fear or favor. Billy Caldwell and Lieut. Ebenezer Price, brother 
 of Captain Price, was like a mad bull in battle. He 
 was brave on all occasions and he and Billy Caldwell 
 could hallo louder than any men in the army. They 
 were ever ready to fight. I send you this letter by Noah Carlton, 
 who goes to Newport and who will send it to you from Lexington. 
 Don't let brother Ben go frollicking about on my horses. Be- 
 fore I left home he was in the habit of letting the young women 
 have my horses to hunt grapes and persimmons on Hickman 
 creek. I will be at home in five weeks. 
 
 "Your oldest son, 
 
 "John Netherland." 
 
 Jessamine County Soldiers who Battled at Thames. 
 
 Jessamine county had two companies in the battle of the 
 Thames, fought June 13, 1813. The two companies were 
 mounted men and were in Col. George Trotter's regiment. Capt. 
 Gustavus Bower commanded one of these companies. He was 
 born near Fredericksburg, Ya... in 1786 and settled in Nicholas- 
 ville in 1810, as a physician. When the War of 1812 was de- 
 clared he raised the following company, which was in the battle 
 of the Thames: 
 
 Captain — Gustavus Bower. Lieutenant — Bartholomew Kin- 
 dred. Ensign — Smith Bradshaw. Sergeants— Joshua High- 
 tower 1st, R. Michael Bower 2d, Peter Withers 3d, Robt. D. 
 Overstreet 4th. Corporals — Geo. T. Chrisman ist, Reuben 
 Bennett, 2d, Wm. Wilson 3d, Benj. Bradshaw, Jr., 4th. 
 
 Privates — Allison, Jno. ; Bird, Jno. ; Bourne, Daniel ; Brad- 
 shaw, Benj.; Bustard, David; Campbell, Jno.; Campbell. Wm.; 
 Carroll, Jno.; Cobb, Thos. ; Connor, Rice; Connor, Wm. R. ; 
 Corr, Jas. ; Casby, Chas. ; Casby, James ; Crockett, Jno. W. ; 
 
History of Jessamine Goinifi/, Kentucky. 121 
 
 Crutcher, James; Davenport, Jno. F. ; Davidson, Richard; Davis, 
 James ; DeMoss, Asa ; Dickerson, Fontaine ; Dickerson, James ; 
 Dougherty, James ; Duncan, James ; East, James ; Fitzgerald, 
 Francis; P^assee, John; Gihiian, James; Gray, David; Haggard, 
 Jno.; Hawkins, Thos. ; Fligbee, James H.; Higginbotham, Jesse; 
 Hunter, Davidson ; Johnson, John G. ; Lewis, Daniel ; McCarly, 
 Dennis; McConnell, Andrew; McCune, Jno. L. P.; McDaniel, 
 Thos.; Miles, Benj.; Miles, James; Murrain, Wm. ; Pennington, 
 Saml. ; Moss, Wm. ; Powers, Samuel ; Reynolds, Wm. ; Rice, 
 Thos. N. ; Richards, Alexander; Robertson, Michael; Scott, 
 James ; Shaw, John ; Shearer, Caleb ; Shelton, Wm. ; Sike, David ; 
 Smith, Adam; Smith, Alexander; Stipe, David; Stipe, Henry; 
 Stipe, Jacob ; Taylor, Samuel ; Taylor, William ; Thompson, 
 Alex.; Thornton, Elijah; Trister, Peter; Turner, Robt. ; Walker, 
 Reuben ; Wallace, Thomas ; Walters, Thomas ; Ward, Geo. S. ; 
 Welch, Alexander; Willis, Drury; Wilson, W. M. S. ; Woods, 
 James ; Zimmerman, John. 
 
 Capt. Mason Singleton, of the Keene neighborhood, also 
 raised a company which was in Trotter's regiment. The follow- 
 ing is a list of the company : 
 
 Capt. Alason Singleton's Company. 
 
 Captain — ]\Iason Singleton. Lieutenant — Benj. Williams. 
 Ensign — Thomas Haydon. Sergeants — Joel Turnham ist, 
 Wm. Scott 2d, Jesse Hayden 3d. 
 
 Privates — Sallee, Edward ; Burton, Thos. ; Conklin, Hugh ; 
 Ellison, Thos.; Evans, Andrew; Ficklin, Thomas; Frost, Jno.; 
 Gatewood, Gabriel; Hampton, Stephen; Haydon, Ezekiel ; Hav- 
 don. Jno.; Holloway, Samuel; Hughes, Chas. ; Hundley, Jno.; 
 Lambkins, Daniel ; McVey, Jno. ; Moore, Joel P. ; Alorrow, Jno. ; 
 jMoseley, Ewd. ; Xeal, Jno.; Proctor, Isaiah; Proctoi, Thos.; 
 Reed, Phillip ; Reynolds, Drake ; Rice, Richard ; Richardson, 
 Jesse ; Poper, Jesse ; Schofield, Samuel ; Sharewood, Wm. ; 
 Singleton, Lewis; Smith, James; Smith, Wm. ; Starr, Henry; 
 Steel, Darbey G. ; Webster, Christopher ; Wells, Jacob ; Williams, 
 Elijah ; Williams. Thos. ; Willis, Lewis ; Wilson, Nathan ; Wilson, 
 Alex.; Woods, Richard; Woods, Christopher; Young, Lewis; 
 Fizer, Jacob ; Jenkins, Henry. 
 
Hidorif of Jr!=.mi)\in(' Coindij, Knitucki/. 123 
 
 These captains, as well as their men. all acted a courageous 
 and handsome part in the battle. Captain Bower, after the war, 
 married a daui^hter of Col. Joseph Crockett, and went to George- 
 town to practice medicine. Me subsequently removed to Pal- 
 myra. Mo., where he died in 1869. 
 
 The following is also the list of the company of Capt. Richard 
 H. Hightower, in 17th C'nited States, engaged in the War of 1812: 
 
 Captain — Richard Hightower. 1st Lieutenant — Thomas C. 
 Graves. Sergeants — Lucius C. Pleasants 1st, Benj. Segar 2d, 
 Jesse Denilhess, 3d. 
 
 Privates — Acton, \Vm.; Alison, Jno. ; Andrews, Robt.*. Bar- 
 ton, Karswell ; Bates. Alfred ; Black, Beverly A. ; Blythe, Williani 
 pjyron. Jno.; Camp, Wm. ; Carter, Jno.; Casey, Joshua; Cesgar 
 Thos. ; Childers, Thos. ; Cooly, Jno. ; Cook, Matthew ; Craig 
 Walter ; Davis, William ; Delaney, Willis ; Denore, Baldwin 
 Dobbs, Jno. ; Dyne, Andrew ; Emmerson, Wm. ; P'arrow, Isham 
 Fisher, Jno.; Fowler. James; Fowler, Thos.; Gentry, Zebedee 
 Gohagen, Wm. ; Goodlett, Wm. ; Grindstaff, Isaac; Ingsley. Jas. 
 Hanley, Thos. H.; Hobson, Bennett; Hope, Geo.; James, Saml. 
 Johnson, Wm. ; Lane, Jno.; McCarty, David; McDaniel, Wm. 
 McKenzie, Jno.; Martin, Jas.; Mathews, Philip; Maxwell, Jno. 
 Mayfield. Sutherland; Morgan, J.; Murphy, David; Murrane, J. 
 Murrane, Mark. ; Murrane, Tom ; Pagget, James ; Pagget, Thos. 
 Pogue, Jno.; Ihxwitt. Edmund; Price, Jno.; Ralston, Alex. 
 Reed, Adam ; Reed, Robt. ; Scroggins, Wm. ; Shaw, Jno. ; Shimp, 
 Geo. ; vShover, Simon ; Smith, Richard ; Stewart, Rice ; Sumer- 
 field, Ephraim ; Thompson, James; Tiller, Jno.; Walker, Jere- 
 miah ; Webb, Adam ; ^^dlite. Chas. ; Williams, Silas ; Winchester, 
 Peter ; W^ood, Tno. 
 
 Roll of Capt. Robert Crockett^s Company. 
 
 Roll of Capt. Robert Crockett's Company, Kentucky Mounted 
 Volunteer Militia — Commanded by Lieut.-Col. James Allen. 
 War of T 8 12. 
 
 Captain — Robert Crockett. Lieutenant — John C. Morrison. 
 Ensign — Henry Lindsey. Sergeants — Jonathan Robinson, ist, 
 Alexander Logan, 2d, William Mead, 3d, John Lawny, 4th. 
 
124 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 Privates — Armstrong", Sanniel ; Bank, Ephraini ; Baxter, 
 Samuel; Brownlee, John; Bobb, William; Butler, Samuel; Bond, 
 Corntlii's; Crockett, John W.; Crockett, Samuel C. ; Carr, 
 Thomas ; Cloud, Sam'l G. ; Decreet, Joseph ; Duncan, James ; 
 Dougherty, James; Fracher, Charles; Fink, John; Fracher, 
 John; Gaunt, William; Harrison, Jos. C. ; Jewet, Matthew; 
 Logan, Samuel; Moore, Angus; Messock, Isaac; McCall, Will- 
 iam ; McCornell, William ; Parmer, James ; Rankin, Adam ; 
 Roberts, John; Ramsey, Robert; Royall, William; Smith, John; 
 Tadloer, Andrew ; Talbot, Jonathan ; \'enable, James ; Villers, 
 George ; Wardlow, John ; Walker, Matthew ; Young, Leavin. 
 
 Roll of Capt, Thomas Lewis^ Company. 
 
 Roll of Capt. Thomas Lewis' company of infantry of the Ken- 
 tucky Militia, detached — Commanded by Lieut.-Col. William 
 Dudley. War of 1812. 
 
 Captain — I'homas Lewis. Lieutenant — George S. Herndon. 
 Ensign — William Sally. Sergeants — William Moss ist, Henry 
 King, 2d, William Roach, 3d, Newton H. Tapp, 4th. Corporals 
 — William Dunn, ist, Thomas Payne, 2d, Eliphalet Roan, 3d, 
 George Doxen, 4th. 
 
 Privates — Acres, Larkin ; Aldridge, Joshua ; Anderson, 
 James; Attsman, Henry; Baker, Lewis; F>all, Henry; Baxter, 
 James ; Bourne, John ; Bowman, John ; Brockman, Aaron ; 
 Brooner, Davis ; Brown, Samuel ; Buskitt, David ; Busley, Wil- 
 liam; Butler, Wm. W. ; Castle, John; Clark, James; Cromwell, 
 Oliver ; Davis, Jarred ; Dunnegan, David ; Easley, Obediah ; 
 xj^isher, James; Frazier, Jeremiah; George, Ellis; Green, James; 
 Green, John; Hampton, Thos. ; Hendricks, Michael; Flitt, Elias ; 
 Houser, Isaac ; Hughes, Thomas ; Hunter. John ; Hynes, Alex- 
 ander R. ; Keen, John; Lewis, Adam; Lockhart, Silas; Master- 
 son, Moses ; May, Solomon ; McAtee, Abednego ; McCune, 
 Samuel; McDaniel, Alexander; McDougal, James; Mifford, 
 Joseph ; Moon, Zachariah ; Morris, Jesse ; Morrow, James ; Moss, 
 Pleasant ; Myers, Jacob ; Mutter, William ; Ritter, Michael ; 
 Romans. John ; Ronyan, Francis ; Rutherford, Archibald ; Ruth- 
 erford, Jesse; Rynolds, Samuel; Sandusky, Jacob; Scanlan, 
 Travis; Scott, Matthew T. ; Sergeant, Wm. B.; Shannon, Jacob; 
 
Hutonj of Jessamine County, Kenhtchj. 125 
 
 Shrewsberry, Nathaniel ; Simpson, Nathaniel ; Skewens, Clay- 
 ton ; Spencer, Charles ; Starr, Christopher ; Starr, John ; Ateward, 
 John ; Tapp, Nelson ; Taylor, Conrad ; Twindle, Alexander ; 
 Triplett, Fielding; True, John; Truit. John; Ungles, Hillery ; 
 Wallace, Thomas ; Waters, John ; Williams, Lewis ; Williamson, 
 Richard; Wilson, James; Wilson, William. 
 
 The subjoined names were taken from recent transcripts fur- 
 nished by the War Department : 
 
 Baum, Whitfield ; Baines, Zachariah ; Beeler, Henry ; Brown, 
 Joel ; Bunds, Geo. S. ; Burchum, Jos. ; Corn, James ; Corn, Hiram ; 
 Davis, James ; Damele, Spencer ; Dixon, Geo. ; Dornell, William ; 
 Erwin, Stephen ; Fitzjarrell, Silas ; Fizer, Jacob ; Gardner, 
 Francis; Hanes, Simeon; Jack, Andrew; Kendrick, Michael; 
 Lee, Achilles, mvisician ; Lowry, Stephen; McClain, James; Mc- 
 Alillen, William ; Alofford, James ; Overtums, Garland ; Parish, 
 Price ; Pierson, Allen ; Paxton, Joseph ; Pilcher, Shadrach ; 
 Rankins, John ; Right, Jonathan ; Singleton, Daniel ; Smith, 
 John; Stewart, Gehew; Stewart, William; Walker, David T. ; 
 sergeant ; Walker, Matthew ; Wallace, Robert ; Wallem, John ; 
 Wilsom, Gabriel. 
 
 River Raisin. 
 
 General Hull, in conmiand of the Ohio troops, on the i6th of 
 August, 1 812, surrendered at Detroit. His army composing the 
 army of the northwest, together with Detroit, had been turned 
 over to the British. This conduct aroused the keenest indigna- 
 tion. No sooner had the news reached Kentucky than all the 
 volunteers that the state and government desired pressed forward 
 at once and offered themselves for the purpose of wiping out the 
 disgrace which General Hull had inflicted upon the American 
 army. 
 
 The two troops from Jessamine county in the regiment of 
 Colonel Lewis, marched from Cincinnati towards Detroit and 
 finally reached Fort Winchester. Here their baggage was trans- 
 ferred to canoes upon the Maumee river. The road was difficult 
 and long. The troops, starting from home with their summer 
 clothes, had not yet been provided witli their winter outfit, and this 
 amid the fierce climate of the northwest presented most serious 
 
COURT HOUSE, NICHOLASVILLE. 
 
Hidonj of Je.<'<amine Coiuitij, Kcntiiclaj. 127 
 
 difficulties. In a little while the provisions failed and for fourteen 
 days the Kentucky troops subsisted on hickory roots, elm bark 
 and the beef of a few cattle, which were killed in a half-starved 
 state. In the midst of the winter a supply of warm clothing- was 
 received, and this gave the troojxs new courage and animation. 
 
 A small force of regulars had been united with the Kentucki- 
 ans in this march. The Kentuckians received their winter 
 clothing first, and it was quite a while before the regulars were 
 supplied, and, with the chivalry and generosity which marked men 
 of that period, these gallant Kentuckians demanded that the regu- 
 lars should be exempted from camp duty, and all military serv- 
 ice recpiired should be performed by them. 
 
 On the 8th of January they were ordered to march to the 
 rapids. Upon reaching this point the officers were informed that 
 in the village called French Town, the inhabitants were terrified 
 at the approach of the English and the Indians. French Town 
 is on the River Raisin, a small stream emptying its waters in 
 Lake Erie. (General Winchester promptly sent forward Col- 
 onels Lewis and Allen, with six hundred men. They reached 
 the River Raisin on the i8th of January, 1813, and met the com- 
 bined English and Indian force, about 500 strong, under Majoi 
 Reynolds, of the Canadian militia, and drove them from the place. 
 The people of French Town were delighted with the result. A 
 few days before they had feared the tomahawk of the Indian, and 
 now they rejoiced at the presence of their Kentucky defenders. 
 Those who had been assigned to march with Colonel Lewis's regi- 
 ment were delighted that glory was placed in their grasp, while 
 those who remained behind felt as if a great sorrow had come into 
 their lives. 
 
 On the 2ist of January. 1813. General Winchester moved for- 
 ward and reinforced Colonels Lewis and Allen. This reinforce- 
 ment consisted of 300 regulars, conmianded by Colonel Wells. 
 Colonel Lewis, who was an experienced officer in Indian serv- 
 ice, had ]DOsted his troops in an enclosed garden, with an open 
 field on his right. Colonel W'ells outranked Lewis as an officer 
 of the regular army, as Lewis was only a volunteer, and he de- 
 manded the position on his right. This placed Colonel Wells in 
 the open field, while Lewis and Allen still remained in the en- 
 closed garden, with a picket fence as their protection. Colonel 
 
128 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 Lewis strongly insisted that Colonel Wells should be placed in 
 the same garden on his left, but General Winchester, yielding to 
 the exactions of the regular army officer, ordered that Colonel 
 Wells be placed in the open field on the right. 
 
 General Proctor, who was in command of the British at Mai- 
 den, pushed forward with all his force. He prepared for an as- 
 sault on the dawn of the 22c\. It was hardly light, when, with 
 his artillery covering his right, and both his flanks protected by 
 Indian marksmen, he advanced upon the Americans. But no 
 sooner had he reached within musket shot of the Kentuckians, 
 than he was met by such g"alling and incessant a fire that part of 
 his army fell in confusion. Discovering the exposed position of 
 the army under Wells, the British general rushed forward all his 
 force against him. A'olley after volley of musketry broke the 
 stillness of the morning air, and the whoop of the Indians and the 
 cheers of the Kentuckians sounded on every side. But the 300 
 regulars could not withstand the assault of the entire Britisdi force. 
 After the battle had lasted twenty minutes. General Winchester 
 saw ll'iat he i;iust relieve Wells and place him within the en- 
 closure occupied by General Lewis. The moment an order was 
 given for thit' purpose the British and Indians redoubled their 
 forces and pressed the Americans so hard that the line fell in dis- 
 order. A panic seized the regulars and they rushed towards the 
 river to cross the rapids, where the remainder of the Kentucky 
 army was in camp. The British and Indians pursued them, toma- 
 hawking and scalping all who came in their way. 
 
 General Winchester, although incompetent, was brave. He 
 endeavored to reform his men. Colonels Lewis and Allen each 
 took a company of fifty men, rushed out of their enclosures, 
 and did their best to check the defeat and rout. Nothing would 
 avail ; nothing could prevent the disaster. Colonel Allen was 
 killed and General Winchester and Colonel Lewis taken prison- 
 ers. The two Kentucky companies that had come with the regu- 
 lars were swept away. It was here that the Jessamine troops in- 
 terposed with superb courage and bravery. Captain Price was 
 killed, together with a large number of his company. Some fell 
 by rifle balls, some were scalped, others were left to perish in the 
 cold. 
 
 In tlie fight thus far Proctor had lost one-fourth of his force. 
 
Hidonj of Jexmnihte County, Kentiicki/. 129 
 
 but he was delighted to know that General Winchester was 
 among the prisoners. Sending- for General Winchester he re- 
 counted the savageness of the Indians, and the difficulty which 
 he would have in restraining them if the battle was continued. 
 He said that he could set fire to every house in the village and this 
 he would probably have to do and that as a result the innocent 
 M'onien and children would be massacred by the Indians. He 
 then asked General Winchester to direct his men to surrender. 
 General Winchester consented to advise surrender, but when 
 the message was carried to the Kentuckians and handed to Major 
 jMadison, who w^as the ranking officer after the capture of Co'lonel 
 Lewis, informing him that he and the Kentuckians with him 
 had been surrendered by General Winchester, Major Madison 
 refused to recognize General Winchester's authority to command 
 his surrender while a prisoner, and declared his determination to 
 die with the Kentuckians unless favorable terms of surrender 
 were given. 
 
 At last General Proctor entered into an agreement that all 
 private property should be respected, that sleds should be sent the 
 next morning to remove the sick and wounded to Amherstburg, 
 that the prisoners should be guarded from the. savages and that 
 the side arms of the officers should be restored to them next 
 morning. Major Madison finally did reluctantly surrender. He 
 w^as induced to do this by the failure of ammunition. 
 
 That night the prisoners, 600 in number, were carried to Am- 
 herstl)urg. They were put in a wood-yard, exposed to a pelting 
 rain, without sheds or blankets or fire. Instead of the sleds, 
 wliich were to come for the wounded, came 200 savages, who 
 rushed in the houses where the wounded lay and killed them, 
 scalped them and set the houses on fire. In the smouldering- 
 ashes the bones of 64 men were consumed. 
 
 The bodies of the Americans were denied sepulture and were 
 left a prey to the animals of the village. Afterwards thev were 
 placed in the ground and the following summer, when the Ameri- 
 can amiy passed the same way, their bones were again exposed. 
 They were buried once more, but there went up from the heart 
 of every Kentuckian the stirring cry of "Remember the Raisin." 
 
 The night before this awful battle Captain Price had written 
 to his father-in-law. He had a premonition of his death. 
 9 
 
Hi.ftory of Jexsaniiiie CoimU/, Kcniiichij. 131 
 
 Capt. James C. Price was the fatlier of tlie late Kleber F. 
 Price, of Jessamine county, who died at his residence, above Nich- 
 olasville, in 1864. The accompanying letter of Captain Price was- 
 addressed to his wife, and was, doubtless, the last letter he ever 
 wrote to his family. He was killed in the battle of Raisin, January 
 22, 181 3. He was a gallant and chivalrous soldier and a man oi 
 noble and generous impulses. His body was never recognized 
 and his remains, with those of his compatriots, who died in that 
 dreadful conflict, rest in unmarked graves, in the soil of the state 
 they died to redeem and defend. He connmanded the Jessamine 
 P.lues, wbich was one of the most noted military companies in 
 its day. The uniform was blue, with light facings, and was con- 
 sidered, in those days, a marvel of beauty. 
 
 "In Camp, near Raisin River, 
 "Jan. 16, 1813. 
 
 "Dear Susan : I have only time to inform you that we ex- 
 "pect to have a battle tomorrow with the British and Indians. 
 "On the eve of battle I have believed it proper to address you 
 "tliese lines. As you are aware that the object nearest to my 
 "heart is your welfare and that of my children, and so far as I 
 "have been able I have provided everything in mv power for 
 "your comfort and that of my children. I feel in no unhappy 
 "mood about my girl children; I know they are in. 3'our coni- 
 "pany at all hours of the day. You know where they visit and 
 "who are their associates. My only son, I feel a great interest 
 "in his future life and welfare. Early impressions are lasting 
 "and often, perhaps always, tend to give a permanent cast to the 
 "leading principles of the heart, and to the general character of 
 "the mind. Teach my boy to love truth, to speak truth at all 
 "times. He must not be allowed to associate with children or 
 "other persons who indulge in swearing or misrepresentations. 
 "He must be taught to bear in mind that 'an honest man is the 
 "noblest work of God ;' he must be rigidly honest in his dealings. 
 "He must be taught to attend church every Sabbath. Never 
 "allow him to run about on Sabbath days, fishing. Teach my son 
 "the habits of industry. Industry and virtue are twin brothers, 
 "but indolence and vice are closely connected. Indolence leads to 
 "every vice and every other evil. Industry leads to virtue and 
 
132 Hidonj of Jei<smnine County, Kenkicl-y. 
 
 "every other good. Not a day must be lost in teaching him how 
 
 "to work, and the great principles of our holy religion must be 
 
 "on all occasions impressed on his mind. It may be possible I 
 
 "may fall in battle and my only boy must know that his father, 
 
 "next to God, loves his country, and is now risking his life in de- 
 
 "fending that country against a barbarous and cruel enemy. Be 
 
 "sure and teach my son, with Pope, to say and feel that — 
 
 "Vice is a monster of such frightful mien 
 
 "As to be hated needs but to be seen. 
 
 "Yet seen, too oft, familiar with her face, 
 
 "We first endure, then pity, then embrace. 
 
 "Teach him these lines of the great poet; they will do him 
 "good when he grows older. Pray for me that you may be with 
 "me once more. 
 
 "Your affectionate husband, 
 
 "James C. Price. 
 
 *'Susanah Price, 
 
 "Near Nicholasville, Ky. 
 "Post Script. — The snow is two feet deep, the crust is very 
 "hard and we walk over it and ride upon it on horseback. We 
 "often sleep under such deep snow, we cover up in our blankets 
 "and we sleep warm during the night. Eb. has been sick, but is 
 "now on duty. '*J. C. P.'' 
 
 In Camp, Near Newport, Ky. 
 February 20, 181 3. 
 Mrs. Mary Price : 
 
 You will, long before this reaches you, have received the pain- 
 ful intelligence of the death of your brave and gallant son. Capt. 
 James C. Price, who was killed and scalped by the Indians on 
 the morning of January 22d. He had been engaged in a 
 severe skirmish early on the morning of the 17th. At ten o'clock 
 he was ordered by General Winchester to bring in all the wounded 
 men and carry tliem in all the sleds beyond the reach of the In- 
 dians. In the discharge of this duty Captain Price and myself, at 
 tlie head of fifty men of our company, were attacked by a large 
 bodv of Indians, who had concealed themselves in the timber, on 
 the river bank. The Indians had succeeded in breaking the crust 
 
Hixtory of Jexmmine County, Kentucky. 133 
 
 of the deep snow a mile above our camp, on the river, which was 
 the only road through which we could reach the command of 
 General Winchester, who had retreated about three miles, and 
 was awaiting the arrival of General Harrison. As soon as the 
 Indians opened a heavy fire on us we returned their fire and con- 
 tinued a rapid retreat to the main army, under General Winches- 
 ter, over the only road on which the Indians, under their chief, Te- 
 cumseh, had early on the morning of the i8th succeeded in break- 
 ing the thick crust of the snow, which was two feet deep. In 
 this trap we were caught. In getting away from the river many 
 of our men were killed, and scalped before we got out of the 
 deep snow. Captain Price was shot in the right shoulder by a 
 musket ball, which disabled his right arm ; he was attacked by 
 three Indians; he ran his sword through the heart of one of them, 
 but was soon overpowered, killed and scalped. Eight of our 
 company, besides Captain Price, were brutally massacred; more 
 than thirty got away and reached the command of General Win- 
 chester in safety. I had five bullet holes in my hat and clothing. 
 The force of General Winchester was 350 and we were attacked 
 again early on the morning of January 22d by a large force of- 
 British and Indians. We were completely routed and all of our 
 army taken prisoners. General Proctor, the British commander, 
 sufifered the savages to kill and scalp more than twenty of our sol- 
 diers after we had surrendered. About twelve o'clock we were 
 marched ofif. Dr. Todd and Dr. Augustine Bower of our regi- 
 ment were left with the sick and wounded. x\bout sunrise the 
 next day, instead of sleds coming to convey the sick and wounded 
 to Maiden, a large body of Indians m.ade their appearance, paint- 
 ed black and red. They began to plunder, and the sick and wound- 
 ed were scalped. (Jne Indian had. the scalp of Captain Price.. I, be- 
 ing next in command of the company from Jessamine, tlie sav- 
 age showed the scalp to me, but I knew he was lying for Captain 
 Price was very baldheaded on the top of his head. The few who 
 were able to be sent to Maiden were saved, but all who gave out 
 were killed on the way and were left lying on the road in the 
 deep snow. General Proctor, after he had promised us protec- 
 tion before our surrender, never named, nor did he pay any atten- 
 tion to our sick and helpless soldiers. General Winchester and 
 Major Madison repeatedly told him of it, but he paid no atten- 
 
NICHOLASVILLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 
 
Hlstonj of Je,^6amlne County, Keidackii 135 
 
 tion to them whatever. Capt. ElHott, a cowardly British officer, 
 said to Major Madison and Winchester, in my hearing, that "the 
 Indians were very excellent surgeons and ought to kill all the 
 officers and men." I have, as you well know, passed through a 
 terrible winter in suffering for our country. We have all been 
 exchanged, and will be at our homes the tenth of March. I re- 
 joice that we have done our duty to God and our country. Ebe- 
 nezer is now lieutenant in my place. Look for us on the tenth. 
 Your friend and neighbor. 
 
 William Caldwell, 
 Acting Captain of the Blues. 
 
 Conduct of the Kentuckians at Raisin. 
 
 The conduct of the Kentucky troops under their own officers 
 evinced the highest order of courage and gallantry. They were 
 worthy of the state whence they came and worthy of all the ex- 
 pectations of those who had sent them to this war. 
 
 General Winchester, in speaking of the Kentucky troops, said : 
 
 "On them too nnich praise can not be bestowed. Assailed 
 bv numbers greatly superior, supported by six pieces of artillery 
 constantly employed, t-iey gallantly defended themselves with 
 small arms alone for over four hours of constant battle. No 
 troops ever behaved with more cool and determined bravery, from 
 the commanding officer down to the common soldier. There was 
 scarcelv a single abandonment of duty. At last, when their 
 anmumition was nearly exhausted and they were surrounded by 
 the enemy, greatly superior in numbers and the means of war, 
 they surrendered with a reluctance rarely to be found on similar 
 occasions." 
 
 Had the regulars under Colonel Wells sustained themselves as 
 did the volunteers under Lewis and Allen, the awful tragedy ot 
 the Raisin would have been avoided, and instead of defeat and 
 massacre and broken faith, there would have been a glorious 
 victory. The Kentuckians beat off Proctor and his Indians. 
 "At ten o'clock in the morning," says Butler, in his history, 
 "Proctor, finding it useless to sacrifice his men in a vain attempt 
 to dislodge this little band of heroes, withdrew his forces to the 
 heights, intending to abandon the contest or to await the return 
 
136 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 of the Indians who had pursued the retreating party. The loss 
 sustained by our men was inconsiderable and when Proctor with- 
 drew they employed the leisure it afforded them to take breakfast 
 at their posts." 
 
 Their surrender was only obtained by Proctor taking ad- 
 vantage of General Winchester's capture and b}' basely misrepre- 
 senting a message which he had sent to these Kentucky troops- 
 within the enclosure. 
 
 Civil War. 
 
 At the commencement of the Civil War, the people of Jessa- 
 mine county were divided in sentiment, and many of its citizens 
 took up arms both in the Federal and Confederate armies. 
 
 Company K, of the 20th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry, com- 
 manded by Col. Sanders Bruce, was almost altogether composed 
 of Jessamine county men, and they were in the service three 
 years. 
 
 Andrew McCampbell, captain, resigned June. 1862; Charles 
 R. West was elected captain May 24, 1863, served three years; 
 George W. Baker, first lieutenant, resigned in 1862; Ben Thorn- 
 burg, Joseph Lewis, afterward William L. Steele; Samuel ]\I. 
 Anderson was made first lieutenant September 29, 1862 ; Allen A. 
 Burton and S. T. Corn, now of Corlinville, 111., were first and 
 second lieutenants ; William Plumblee, first sergeant ; Levi Rey- 
 nolds, second sergeant ; Oliver Davis, first corporal ; Jonathan 
 White, second corporal. 
 
 Names of Men of the Company: 
 Albertson, Adam ; Bailey. E. Hayden ; Bailey, Robt. ; Baker. 
 Benedict ; Barnes, David ; Barnes, Geo. W. ; Brennan, John 
 Bright, Benj.; Brown, S. S. ; Brumfield, James; Bruner, Tilford 
 Bruner, M.; Burch, James; Burgess, M'm.; Coleman, Francis 
 Courtney, Jno. F. ; Crow, Zebedee ; Dean, Wm. ; Dobson, Elias 
 Dobson, Pleasant ; Easley, Jno. T. ; English, W. T. ; Fain. Jno. K. 
 Foster. Frank ; Foster. James ; Gifford, Jabez ; Gilride, Thos. 
 Green, Corydon B.; Henderson, S. M.; House, Benj.; Hocker- 
 smith, Edward ; Howard, James W. ; Hunter, Jos. W. . Hersey, 
 Jno. ; Land. James ; Land. Robt. ; Letcher. Alex. ; McKane, 
 
Hidory of Je.<sa)nine Coiniti/, Kentitckij. 13^ 
 
 James; McMurty, Robt. L. ; Masters, F'rank ; Masters, Henry 
 W.; Murphy, Chas.; Phillips, Dr. H. H.; Plumbly, Wiley; 
 Preston, Alfred; Preston, Samuel; Ramsey, Samuel; Ramsey, 
 Jno. F. ; Reynolds, Henry; Reynolds, James; Reynolds, W. H.; 
 Rhorer, Hardin; Riley, Henry; Sharp, Thos. ; Short, James M.; 
 Thornbro, Robt. ; Tredway, David ; Tredway, Wm. ; Turpin, 
 Jno.; Walters, Bluford; Walters, Geo.; Woods, Jess. 
 
 The following' is a list of the colored soldiers who served in 
 the United States Army in Company L, Fifth Cavalry, Capt. J. 
 S. Caldwell, Bowen's Regiment, J. S. Brisbin's Brigade: 
 
 Allen, Dudley ; .Anderson, Jefiferson ; Ballard, Wilson ; Bal- 
 ard, Geo.; Berry, Chas.; Bowen, James; Baggs, Geo.; Burley, 
 Frank; Berry, Edmund; Bell, A. Travis; Brown, Richard; 
 Brown, David; Brown. Sidney; Brown, Sandy; Bowles, Jack; 
 Blackburn, Chas.; Bush, Jos.; Black, Jacob; Brown, Perry; 
 Bryant, Green; Burnside, Jno.; Campbell, Alexander; Carter, 
 Jos. ; Carson, Wm. ; Clay, Ambrose ; Clay, Henson ; Coleman,. 
 Samuel; Davis, David; Denny, Ben; Douglas, Ned.; Favors, 
 Jos.; Fry, Louis; French. John; Gable, Green; Grodon, Marion; 
 Dr. Garnett ; Gatewood, Thos.; George, Lewis; Garvin, Henry; 
 Gess, Frank; Bfamilton, Flenry; Hamilton, Perry; Hamilton, 
 Sanford; Hanson. Robt.; Howard, Adam, (died 1882, 99 years 
 old); Hood. Daniel; Hunt, Jack; Jackson, Alex.; King, Hiram; 
 King, Milo ; Kyle. Orange ; McConnell. Geo. ; McDowell, 
 Bacchus; Mason. Robt.; Massie, Jos.: Martin, Edward; Moran, 
 Anderson ; Oldham. Thos. ; Overstreet, Burd ; Owsley, Branch ; 
 Peniston. James ; Priest, Stephen ; Ridgeley. Dick ; Scott. Alfred ; 
 Scott, Charles: Scott. King; Smith. Jos.; Smith. Wm. ; Spillman. 
 Alex.; vStout, Isaac; Stuart, John; Thomas. James; Thompson. 
 Frank; Walker. Edmund; Walker. WHiitfield. 
 
 Confederate Monument. 
 
 The handsomest public monument in Jessamine county is 
 that erected by the Jessamine Confederate Memorial Associa- 
 tion, to the Confederates buried in Maple Grove cemetery, Nich- 
 olasville. This monument reflects great credit on the Confed- 
 erate soldiers and friends who built it. The work was started 
 
CONFEDERATE MONUMENT. 
 
DR. CHAS. MANN. 
 
Hixtori/ of Jesxam'nie Coiiuiij, Kt'iitKcki/, 139 
 
 in iS8o; the monument was dedicated on the 15th of June, 1896, 
 and stands in the court-house yard. The platform was erected 
 in the court-house yard as the place for the dedicatory ceremo- 
 nies. Special trains ^\■ere run on all the roads entering the city, and 
 the delegation from Louisville, headed by Col. Bennett H. Young, 
 brought the largest number of persons. The city of Nicholas- 
 ville royally entertained all those who came to unite in the cere- 
 monies. At one o'clock they began. Dr. Charles Alann, presi- 
 dent of the association, presided. Capt. John H. Leathers and 
 Col. Bennett H. Young, of Louisville, were the orators of the day. 
 The monuiuent was unvailed by Miss J(jsephine Mann and Master 
 Lawson Oxley. of Cynthiana, son of JefTerson Oxley, the first 
 president of the association. The exercises were opened with 
 prayer by Rev. F. W. Noland, a member of the Eighth Kentucky 
 Confederate Cavalry, and the Confederate Glee Club of Louis- 
 ville, sang a beautiful and appropriate selection ; the closing song, 
 "Tread Lightly. Ye Comrades," produced a profound impres- 
 sion upon the audience. The history of the work of the asso- 
 ciation, in connection with the monument, was read by Prof. A. 
 X. Gordon, its secretary and treasurer. 
 
 In 1862. Dr. Charles Mann, then a surgeon in the Confed- 
 erate Army, was ordered by Gen. Kirby Smith, to gather and care 
 for the sick and wounded who had been left about Camp Dick 
 Robinson. About eighty of these, he brought in private convey- 
 ances to Nicholasville, where they were nursed and cared for by 
 the ladies of the community ; those who died there were buried in 
 the Nicholasville cemetery. After the war, Dr. Mann, with the 
 aid of James S. McKenzie and Charles Oldham, gathered other 
 Confederate dead, including those who had been buried in the 
 Federal cemetery at Camp Nelson, and brought them to the 
 cemetery at Nicholasville. where a lot had been generously do- 
 nated by the Cemetery Company for that purpose 
 
 The original headboards, having rotted down, were replaced 
 by Col. Bennett H. Young, and these, in turn, by beautiful granite 
 tablets, which now mark them 
 
 Jefferson O.xley. long a leading merchant in Nicholasville. 
 and as true, brave and chivalrous a soldier as ever wore the gray, 
 did as much as. if not more than, any one man to secure the funds 
 necessarv to construct the monument. He died when success 
 
140 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 was in sight, but before he saw the work accompHshed. His 
 ccnirades, and those whose dead the monument commemorates, 
 will long keep green his memory. 
 
 Dr. Chas. Mann, the president, was the surgeon of the Fifth 
 Kentucky Confederate Infantry, and rendered distinguished serv- 
 ices in the Army of Tennessee. He was frequently detailed to 
 important positions, and returned from the war with highest com- 
 mendations of his skill and efficiency as a surgeon and man, since 
 which time he has practiced his profession in Jessamine county. 
 
 Prof. A. N. Gordon, a moving spirit in the erection of the 
 monument, was a brave and gallant soldier in the Confederacy, 
 for many years the brilliant leader of educational work in the 
 county, as principal of Bethel Academy, and now principal of 
 Allegan Academy for Boys, near Lexington. 
 
 The following is a list of the Confederate dead buried in the 
 cemetery, in whose honor the monument was erected : 
 
 John Martin, 30th Alabama ; A. L. Hale, 39th North Carolina ; 
 Henry Rice, 42d Georgia; W. H. Wallace, 6th Florida; J. E. D. 
 Morris, 6th Florida ; W. J. Hale, 40th Georgia ; W. B. Carter, 9th 
 Georgia; Peter Guin, C. S. A.; W. L. Cooley, 2d Kentucky; B. 
 F. Kernan, 6th Kentucky; Eugene Dickson, 42d Georgia; Capt. 
 Samuel Scott, Louisiana; C. R. Richardson, C. S. A.; W. H. 
 Yarbrough, ist Alabama; J. W. Washam, 17th Mississippi; W. 
 E. Copeland, 3rd Alabama; John A. Bass, C. S. A.; S. M. Wil- 
 son, 53d Georgia; D. Campbell, 63d Virginia; J. R. Cox, 59th 
 Georgia; J. Brock, i8th Georgia; W. M. Boge, i6th Georgia; O. 
 W. White, 41st Alabama ; L. Johnson, 6th Georgia ; J. A. Bowles, 
 59th Georgia; J. B. Hale, 2d Georgia; E. Willoughby, ist 
 Georgia; Geo. W. Trabue, C. S. A.; H. Owenby, 39th North 
 Carolina. 
 
 The peroration of Colonel Young's dedicatory address, was 
 as follows : 
 
 "Nor can I close this address without some reference to the 
 v\'omen of Jessamine county, who, with such patience, such in- 
 dustry, such zeal and such unselfishness, have labored so long 
 to erect this monument to our beloved dead. Many who helpea 
 at the inception of the undertaking have been denied the happi 
 ness of seeing its fulfillment, but we feel the sweet presence of 
 their spirits, though they passed over the river before success had 
 
Hidorij of Je>immuie County, Kentachi. 141 
 
 crowned the labors of the association. If they are not here, we 
 shall, at least, in love and gratitude, remember them and their 
 work for this cause, and their absence alone mars the complete- 
 ness of this occasion. The noblest and highest of the war's de- 
 mands was to be worthy of the faith and trust of the Southern 
 women, and it mitigated the anguish and bitterness of defeat to be 
 able through manly tears to look down into the tear-dimmed 
 eyes of the women of the South and tell them that in the suffer- 
 ings, sacrifices and privations of all that weary struggle, there had 
 been nothing done or left undone which rendered the men of the 
 Confederacy unworthy of what was rec|uired by its women, and 
 now% after the lapse of long years, we find the same gentle, loving, 
 beautiful, brave, and unselfish women,, with all the enthusiasm of 
 their nobler nature, rearing these memorials to those of our com- 
 rades who went down amid the storms of war, and thus keeping 
 the record of those heroes who gave their blood as a seal of their 
 loyalty to the land of their love and of their troth. We vitter 
 benediction for such women. May the angels of blessing and 
 peace hover over and around them in this life and at its end bring 
 them peacefully to that place where there will be no wars, where 
 monuments are not required, where death and sorrow never 
 come. With reverent homage we stand by these graves of our 
 heroes. They are hallowed in our hearts and souls, and w'e will 
 honor and adore them forever. These are the men who fought 
 with the Johnstons, Lee, Jackson, Breckinridge, Morgan and 
 Polk, and Bragg and Hardee and Hood, and Forrest and Hill, and 
 Cheatham and Cleburne, and hosts of immortal heroes. These 
 are the partakers of the sublime glory of the Confederate armies, 
 and we come in tenderness and devotion and affection to mark, 
 beautify and bless the soil that garners their dust, and to declare 
 by this monument, which we trust will remain forever, that the 
 memories of the virtues, of the courage, of the chivalr}^ and of the 
 bravery, of the sacrifices, of the sufferings, of the renown of our 
 departed comrades shall be as deathless, as their deeds were illus- 
 trious. 
 
 '"By fairy hands their knell is rung 
 
 By forms unseen their dirge is sung. 
 Here honor comes — a pilgrim gray — 
 To bless the turf that wraps their clay. 
 And Freedom doth a while repair, 
 To dwell, a weeping hermit, there." 
 
142 Hidory of Jc^mmlnc ('(iiinfj/, Keiitiickij. 
 
 Capt. James White, a son of Elder William \Miite, in 1862, 
 when General Brag-g invaded Kentucky, recruited a company of 
 infantry, which was in the Fifth Kentucky Regiment Confederate 
 Infantry, commanded by Col. Hiram Hawkins. Part of the men 
 in this company were recruited from Grant county and were in 
 all the great battles of the Atlanta campaign, and surrendered at 
 Greensborough, X. C, in 1865. The following is a list of the 
 meml^ers from Jessamine county, in Captain W'hite's company, 
 and in Company B, Capt. Wm. Lewis, Eighth Kentucky Cavalry, 
 commanded by Col. Roy S. Cluke : 
 
 Adams, Thos.; Arnspiger, Geo.; Blackford, Benj.; Bowman, 
 Sanford; Bowman, Robt.; Bowen, Harrison.; Brower, Edw. A.; 
 Brown, Samuel M.; Burch, Courtney L. ; Campbell, Fernando 
 Wood; Campbell, Peter; Campbell, Richard; Campbell, Stephen; 
 Chrisman, Benj. ; Cleveland, John ; Cogar, John ; Cook, John W. ; 
 Cook, T. B.; Cooley. W. L. ; Corman, Geo.; Corman, Grattan ; 
 Daniel, W'. H. ; Davis, James ; Davis, John P. ; Davis, ^^"illiam ; 
 Deboe, Wesley; Drake, John; Elgin, Jno. S. ; Elmore, Fletcher; 
 Foster, Dr. T. W. ; Funk, Henry, killed at Chickamauga ; Gooch, 
 James ; Gordon, Prof. A. N. ; Gregg, S. S. ; Gwuyn, Edw\ ; Hanly, 
 Samuel ; Harris, J. W. ; Hawkins, Jno. T. ; Hayden, W. A. ; Hol- 
 loway. Dr. Jno. ; Hollway, Wm. ; Jones, Jonathan, at that time 62, 
 died in '91 ; Jones. A. D. ; Jones. James B. ; Jones, O. A. ; Knight. 
 Campbell ; Lampkins. Jno. B. ; Lear, John T. ; Lear, Jos. R. ; Lear, 
 Wm. ; Lee, Melvin ; Livingston, James; Lindsey, Jos.; Lowry, 
 David; Lowry, Samuel; McAfee, Maj. Allin L. ; McAfee, Capt. 
 Jno. J. ; McBrayer. Frank ; McDavitt, Chas. ; McKinzie, Edw. O. ; 
 McKenzie, James; McKenzie, Jno. FL ; Mann, Dr. Chas.; Met- 
 calf, Geo. W. ; Musselman, Henry; Myers. W. E. ; Nave. Samuel ; 
 Nave, Tilford; Noe, James; Nolan, Rev. Wm. ; Patten, ^^'m. ; 
 Phelps. Edw.; Price. Louis S. ; Reynolds, Geo.; Robinson, Jacob 
 Creath ; Roberts, Rankin ; Roberts, Jas. A. ; Rowland, G. T.; Rue, 
 Allen ; Rue, Frank ; Sandusky, Jacob ; Sandusky, L. E. ; Scott, 
 Robt.. killed at Strawberry Plains ; Scott. Samuel ; Sparks, 
 Moreau ; Stine, Jno. G. ; Soper. David ; Si-)ears. Christopher, died 
 from wounds in Camp Douglas ; Steele, Atlas ; Vantries, Emanuel, 
 killed at Chickamauga; Walls, Newbold C; Walls, Benj. J.; 
 Warner, Wm.; Welch, James M.; W^oods, Thos. J.; Young,, 
 Bennett H. 
 
Hlstoyij of Jcsxaiiiliir ('oinifi/, KcntHchij. 143 
 
 Scenery, 
 
 Jessamine county has some remarkable natural scenery. The 
 Hudson and the Rhine have nothing- so beautiful, majestic or 
 grand as tlie clift's along the Kentuck}- and Dix rivers. If they 
 had been open so as to have been accessible, they would have 
 made Jessamine county famous ; but for many years they could 
 not be reached by railroad and only a part of them were within 
 the limits of navigation on the Kentucky river, and the small 
 boats and the slow time rendered the journey unattractive to the 
 traveling public. With swift boats operated upon the river now 
 that it is locked and dammed to the extreme limits of Jessamine 
 count}', a great tide of visitors will flow in to see these wonderful 
 natural curiosities. The first complete American geography, 
 written by Jedediah Morse and published in 1789 at Elizabeth- 
 town, Xew Jersey, gave a description of the scenery. It savs : 
 
 "The banks or rather the precipices of the Kentucky and Dix 
 rivers are to be reckoned among the natural curiosities of this 
 county. Here the astonished eye beholds three or four hundred 
 feet of solid perpendicular rocks, in some parts of the limestone 
 kind and in others of fine white marble curiously checked with 
 strata of astonishing regularity. These rivers have the appear- 
 ance of deep, artificial canals. Their high, rocky banks are cov- 
 ered with red cedar groves. The accounts of the fertility of the 
 soil have in some instances exceeded belief and probably been ex- 
 aggerated. The high grounds of Kentucky are remarkably good. 
 The lands of the first rate are too rich for wheat, but will produce 
 fifty to sixty, and in some instances one hundred, bushels and even 
 more of good corn an acre. In common the land will produce 
 thirty bushels of wheat or rye to the acre. Barley, oats, cotton, 
 hemp, flax, and vegetables of all kinds common in this climate 
 yield abundantly. The old \'irginia planters say, if the climate 
 does not prove too moist, few soils known will yield more or bet- 
 ter tobacco." 
 
 Dr. Christopher Graham prepared for Collins' History a 
 description of some of these curiosities in Jessamine county, and 
 described them in a most effective and attractive way. He says : 
 
 "After much vexation and annoyance, occasioned by the dif- 
 ficulties of the road, we arrived near the object of our visit, and 
 
METHODIST CHURCH, SOUTH. 
 
Hidorij of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 145 
 
 quitting- our horses, proceeded on foot. Upon approaching the 
 break of the precipice, under the direction of our guide, we sud- 
 denly found ourselves standing on the verge of a yawning chasm, 
 and immediately beyond, bottomed in darkness, the Devil's 
 Pulpit was seen rearing its black, gigantic form, from amid the 
 obscurity of the deep and silent valley- The background to this 
 gloomy object presented a scene of unrelieved desolation. Clifif 
 rose on cliff and crag surmounted crag, sweeping off on either 
 hand in huge semicircles, imtil the wearied eye became unable to 
 follow the countless and billowy-like mazes of that strange and 
 awful scene. The prevailing character of the wliole was that of 
 savage grandeur and gloom. A profound silence broods over the 
 place, broken only by the muffled rushing of the stream far down 
 in its narrow passage, cleaving its way to its home in the ocean. 
 Descending by a zigzag path to the shore of the river, while our 
 companions were making preparations to cross, I strayed through 
 the valley. The air was cool, refreshing and fragrant, and vocal 
 with the voices of many birds. The bending trees, the winding 
 stream with its clear and crystal waters, the flowering shrubs, and 
 clustering vines walled in by these adamantine ramparts — which 
 seem to tower to the skies — make this a place of rare and pictu- 
 resque beauty. The dew drops still hitng glittering on the leaves, 
 the whispering winds played with soft music throitgh the rust- 
 ling foliage, and the stmbeams struggling through the overhang- 
 ing forest kissed the opening flowers, and all combined made up 
 a scene of rural loveliness and romance, which excited emotions 
 of unmingled delight. The boat having arrived, the river was 
 crossed without difBculty, and we commenced the ascent, and after 
 measuring up two hundred and seventy feet, arrived at the base 
 of the 'Pulpit.' Fifty paces from this point, and parallel with it. 
 in the solid ledge of the cliff, is a cave of considerable extent. At 
 its termination there passes out like the neck of a funnel, an 
 opening, not larger than a hogshead. Upon pitching rocks into 
 this cave, a rumbling was heard at an immense distance below the 
 earth. Some are of the opinion that this cave contains a bottom- 
 less pit. We now ascended the cliffs some fifty feet further, 
 clambering up through a fissure in the rocks, having the Pulpit 
 on our right, and a range of cliffs on our left. To look up here 
 makes the head dizzy. Huge and dark masses roll up above you, 
 10 
 
146 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 upon whose giddy heights vast crags jut out and overhang the 
 valley, threatening destruction to all below. The floating clouds 
 give these crags the appearance of swimming in mid air. The 
 ascent of these rocks, though somewhat laborious, is perfectly 
 safe, being protected by natural walls on either side, and form- 
 ing a perfect stairway, with steps from eigiht to ten feet thick. At 
 the head of this passage, there is a hole through the river side of 
 the wall, large enough to admit the body, and through which one 
 may crawl, and look down upon the rushing stream below\ At 
 the foot of the stairway stands the Pulpit, rising from the very 
 brink of the main ledge, at more than two hundred feet of an 
 elevation above the river, but separated from the portion which 
 towers up to the extreme heights. The space is twelve feet at 
 bottom, and as the clifif retreats slightly at this point, the gap is 
 perhaps thirty feet at the top. The best idea that can be formed 
 of this rock is to suppose it to be a single column, standing in front 
 of the continuous wall of some vast building, or ruin, the shaft 
 standing as colonnades are frequently built upon an elevated 
 platform. From the platform to the capital of the shaft is not 
 less than one hundred feet, making the whole elevation of the 
 'Devil's Pulpit' three hundred feet. It is called by some the 
 inverted candlestick, to which it has a striking resemblance. 
 There are two swells, which form the base moulding and occupy 
 about forty feet of the shaft. It then narrows to an oblong of 
 about three feet by six, at which point there are fifteen distinct 
 projections. This narrow neck continues with some irregularity 
 for eight or ten feet, winding of¥ at an angle of more than one 
 degree from the line of gravity. Then commences the increased 
 swell, and craggy oltsets, first overhanging one side, and then the 
 other, till they reach the top or cap rock, which is not so wide as 
 the one below it, but is still fifteen feet across." 
 
 Miss Jessamine Woodson, a descendant of distinguished Jessa- 
 mine ancestors, and who was named for the county, prepared for 
 the Acme Club a history of the county, and some of her descrip- 
 tions are so vivid and so exquisitely penned that they deserve pres- 
 ervation, in more permanent form than newspaper columns ; and 
 the author can not refrain from inserting two paragraphs : 
 
 Beautiful and highly favored for situation, and beautiful and 
 
History of Jexmmliie Count ij, Kextuckt/. 147 
 
 symmetrical in form, bounded on three sides by the Kentucky 
 river, making a horseshoe, which is for luck as well as beauty, we 
 behold beautiful and highly improved farms, well watered and 
 drained by three pretty creeks and intersected by 130 miles of 
 smooth, well-kept turnpikes made of the blue limestone, which 
 can not be found of the same hard quality anywhere else in the 
 world, and these roads, with the thoroughbred horses, the product 
 of the bluegrass and limestone water, is the most attractive feat- 
 ure of this region. Jessamine is better supplied with these roads 
 than her neigh1)ors. We also see her important railways cross- 
 ing each other in the center of the county and diverging to the 
 four points of the com])ass, fifteen or more churches and schools, 
 sixteen postoffices and country stores, seven railway stations, 
 three or four villages, besides the county seat, and many a neat, 
 comfortable farm house, and a number of large and elegant coun- 
 try seats, some of tiiem dating back to ante-bellum days. We see 
 waving fields of grain, hemp and tobacco and woodland pastures, 
 carpeted with green, velvety grass, and trees that are tall and 
 straight and of great variety and of wondrous beauty, and under 
 these and in the meadows are groups of fat sheep. Jerseys and 
 Shorthorns, thoroughbred horses, Berkshire pigs and Southdown 
 sheep. Thrifty fruit orchards we see, too, and green hedges of 
 osage orange, and stone fences and barn-yards with all sorts of 
 pretty domestic fowls. 
 
 Our bluegrass pasture lands are our special pride. Cirass as 
 soft as velvet, and with blades often a yard long, and as fine as a 
 siken cord, without a weed, growing close to the very trunks of 
 the tall, wide-spreading elms, walnut, oak and maple trees. Here 
 is the home of the dryads and wood nymphs, and here the poet 
 must have been inspired to write, "The Groves were God's First 
 Temples," and these actually were to the noble army of pioneers 
 who first set up "The Banner of the Cross" while building their 
 log cabins with rifles in their hands. The country is gently un- 
 dulating, with hill and dale, meadow and wood, giving variety 
 and sparing the eye from monotony until you approach the river, 
 when it becomes more rugged, but always grander and more 
 wonderful in beauty and sublimit}'. It is well and beautiful- 
 ly watered, everywhere unfailing springs of clear, cool water, 
 gushing out from rocky ledges or bubbling out of a mysterious 
 
148 History of Jeammine Gonniij, Kentiichj. 
 
 cave, overtopped with waving elm, beach or sugar maple trees. 
 A most welcome sight these were to the pioneers who knew noth- 
 ing of cisterns and microbes, and they invariably decided the 
 site of the homestead. Near many of these are still to be seen 
 the old, moss-covered spring-house, so suggestive of cool, rich 
 cream and firm, golden butter, and of primitive arcadian life. 
 Such a spring is Jessamine, the source of the creek of the same 
 name, and of Hickman and Sinking creek, which Mr. Collins tells 
 us is a remarkable natural curiosity. It rises near the Fayette 
 line, about a mile north of Providence church, runs west through 
 the beautiful I.afon, Blackford and Sandusky farms, and unites 
 with a smaller. Sinking creek, from the north in Woodford, form- 
 ing Clear creek. It sinks four times, running under ground from 
 one quarter to a mile each time. At times in the winter and 
 spring, when the water can not sink as fast as it falls, it is fifty 
 feet deep and a mile wide. There are many wonders and curiosi- 
 ties under crround besides these streams. 
 
 Jessamine Creek. 
 
 Jessamine creek rises in the northern part of Jessamine county 
 and flows in a southern direction emptying into the Kentucky 
 river a few^ miles above High Bridge. It rises about two and a 
 half miles above Keene, on the farm now belonging to Mr. Pleas- 
 ant Cook, which was early settled by the Singletons and Chown- 
 ings. There are two large springs f:om which the \\'ater comes 
 up, but both of these have been very much changed in later years. 
 
 One of the recent owners of the land on which is the creek 
 head, finding the sources of the stream practically bottomless, and 
 tliat his stock would sometimes fall in between the ledges, which 
 created a sort of chasm from which the water rose, hauled four 
 or five hundred loads of loose stones and threw them into this 
 opening, thus endeavoring to make it safe, so that stock might 
 walk over it. The result has been that when heavy rains fall, the 
 water boils up on both sides within twenty or thirty feet of the 
 spring itself. It has never been known to go dry. It comes out of 
 the side of the hill, the rocks of which overhang the spring about 
 ten feet high. Two large oak trees grow immediately over the 
 spring, and rise out of the cliff overhanging it. While the stream 
 
Hidory of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 149 
 
 has never gone dry within the memory of the young men, the 
 current of water has very much decreased in the last fifty years. 
 
 The headwaters of Jessamine creek are in the midst of one of 
 the most fertile portions of Jessamine county. The Singletons, the 
 Cokers, the Sanduskys, the Chownings, and the Barclays settled 
 in this neighborhood. Jeremiah Singleton, one of the earliest 
 settlers on Jessamine creek, built a mill about half a mile below 
 the mouth of the creek. It was used both as a saw and a grist 
 mill. The dam was built first of stone, and afterw^ards lined with 
 brick laid in cement. The mill itself was built of stone. Steam 
 with its accommodating powers, which could be located on roads 
 or in cities, superseded these old mills, and, about fifteen years 
 ago, the mill was torn down and the bricks in the dam removed 
 and used for other purposes. 
 
 Beginning at its very mouth, the creek passes through some 
 of the finest land in Kentucky, which is admirably adapted for 
 corn, btit principally for hemp. Beautiful farms with elegant 
 and tasteful residences are seen on every side, and the great fall 
 which it is necessary for the stream to make in order to reach 
 down to the bottom of the tremendous clifTs on the Kentucky 
 river, furnishes magnificent mill sites, and there were no less than 
 six mills along this stream. That part of the stream called the 
 "Narrows," near Glass' mill, has some most beatitiful and pictu- 
 resque scenery. 
 
 The creek makes a horseshoe bend, the points of the shoe 
 being very close together. Between these the earth rises several 
 hundred feet high, and, standing on either side, you can look far 
 down below upon the stream windmg its way in silence and 
 grandeur to its resting place in the bosom of the Kentucky River. 
 High up on the cliffs on the west side of the stream near the 
 "Narrows" is the famous Chrisman Cave. This cave extends a 
 great distance back from the entrance, running in a northwestern 
 course, and it is a neighborhood wonder and attracts many 
 visitors from all parts of the country. 
 
 A short distance below Spark's Ford is a natural curiosity, 
 known as the "Little ^Mountain." It is a mound standing out 
 separate and single and having no connection with the cliffs. 
 There by the action of the water, or by some upheaval of nature, 
 it has cut loose from all surroundings, and stands out alone and 
 independent. 
 
History of Jexmmine CoKHti/, Keutucki/. 151 
 
 The creek was given its name prior to 1774, and prior to that 
 time it had been mentioned at Harrodsbtirg. There are two 
 branches of the creek known as "Main Jessamine" and "East 
 Jessamine." The East Jessamine rises about three-fourths of a 
 mile above Xicholasville, between the Cincinnati Southern and 
 the R. N. I. & B. R. R., on what is known as the Horine Place. 
 It passes through the town of Nicholasville, and, keeping to the 
 east of the Danville Turnpike, enters the main branch about three 
 miles below Nicholasville. 
 
 The stone mill, known now as "Glass' Mill," three miles from 
 the Kentucky river, is certainly over one hundred and ten (no) 
 years old. It is supposed to have been laid out as a mill-site 
 as early as 1782. It was subsequently turned into a paper mill 
 which was operated as late as 1849. The rag-house and office 
 still stand in a perfect state of preservation. Subsequently it was 
 turned into a distillery, run by a gentleman named Bryan, and is 
 now owned by Mr. Henry Glass. It has water power sufficient to 
 operate the mill seven months in the year, and yields 72-horse 
 power. It is a most admirable site, and is as picturesque and 
 beautiful as it is useful. 
 
 Jessamine creek is about thirty miles in length. 
 
 Hickman Creek. 
 
 Hickman creek rises in Fayette county not far from Lexing- 
 ton, and after running through Fayette and the eastern half of 
 Jessamine county, empties into the Kentucky river near what is 
 known as "Boone's Knob." It is a larger stream than Jessamine 
 creek, and was named for Rev. John Hickman, a pioneer Baptist 
 preacher. It has an east and west branch, and each of these has 
 numerous tributaries, which pass through high clifTs and ridges, 
 rivaling at times the cliiTs on the Kentucky river itself. The 
 country 'between the two branches of Hickman creek is one of 
 the most fertile in Jessamine county. The section drained by 
 Hickman creek is well timbered, and has still a superb growth of 
 oak, hackberry. ash, and hickory, with a sprinkling of maple. 
 Along this creek the earliest settlements of Jessamine county were 
 made, and some of the best citizens who ever came to Jessamine, 
 made their homes in this locality. Mr. Philip Swigert, who was 
 
152 History of Jesmmine County, Kentncky. 
 
 born September 2/, 1798, came from this neighborhood. When 
 quite a young man he became a deputy in the Woodford Circuit 
 Court Clerk's office, under John McKinney. who formerly re- 
 sided in Jessamine. He afterwards removed to Frankfort and 
 died in 1 871, in the 74th year of his age. He was one of the most 
 distinguished Masons in the state, a self-made man. and by his 
 native force, great good sense, and indomitable perseverance, ac- 
 quired a large fortune and also secured a high standing with the 
 best men of the state. He was born on the old farm near Marble 
 Creek schoolhouse. once the property of A. P. Davis. 
 
 Jas. Rutherford, Sr., was another of the early settlers. He 
 was a man of native force, strong friendships, great will, and a 
 large number of his descendants still live in that portion of the 
 county. 
 
 Abram Vince, who was born in Pennsylvania, in 1784, and 
 died January 17, 1874, was also one of the settlers in this district. 
 He came to Jessamine in 1803 ; he was a descendant of the Swiss 
 emigrants who settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, the first 
 half of the eighteenth century. He was a man of high character, 
 great industry, and has left for himself and those who bore his 
 name a goodly heritage. 
 
 Harrison Daniel also owned property in this section, and long 
 bore honorable and honored part in the government of Jessamine 
 county. He was sherifif of Jessamine county under the Consti- 
 tution of 1799, as also a Justice of the Peace. He was a man of 
 good education and strong mind. He was a member of the legis- 
 lature in 1836 and '37. 
 
 The Bridge at the Mouth of Hickman. 
 
 The bridge at the mouth of Hickman was long considered one 
 of the engineering wonders of Kentucky. It was part of the 
 structure of the turnpike between Lexington. Nicholasville and 
 Pancaster. It was projected when the state was interested in in- 
 ternal improvements, and was lending its credit and its money to 
 the construction of railroads, canals and turnpikes. It cost 
 $30,000. The length of a span was 270 feet, which was unusual 
 for a wooden bridge. Garrard county paid a part of the cost of 
 the structure. It required six months to build it, and about 
 
IHxtnry of Je!<xaniine County, Kentucky. 153 
 
 eighteen w orknien were employed upon it — a large proportion of 
 these were unskilled and received a dollar a day. It was erected 
 in 1838 by Lewis B. Wernwag, a native of Pennsylvania; he died 
 in Lexington, Mo., in 1874, aged seventy-six years. For the 
 time and with the materials at hand, it is a wonderful structure. 
 It has now remained intact for more than sixty years ; it has car- 
 ried all the traffic required on a great thoroughfare, and during 
 the war it was considered so important that a regiment was sta- 
 tioned on either side to protect it from destruction. It ;s not only 
 a unique piece of engineering, but, in view of the advances in en- 
 gineering since that time, was a signal triumph ; and, while it has 
 long been one of the curiosities of Jessamine, it also stands as 
 a monument to the engineering skill, enterprise and courage of its 
 constructors. It was built some distance above the site and 
 floated down the river on rafts- in sections, and when put to- 
 gether in position it was so accurately constructed that not even 
 a hammer was required to adjust its parts. 
 
 High Bridge. 
 
 One of the most noted of the engineering feats in the past 
 thirty years, is the celebrated High Bridge, across the Kentucky 
 river, at the mouth of Dick's river. It was built in 1876. The 
 railway' approaches the span from either direction along a ledge 
 of rocks several hundred feet above the° river, and the perpendic- 
 ular clififs run from the track to the water's edge for a mile on 
 either side. Where the bridge crosses the Kentucky river it has an 
 elevation of 276 feet above the river bed. At one time it was the 
 highest bridge on the continent, and at the period of its con- 
 struction was a marvel of ingenuity. A great many distinguished 
 engineers of the country pronounced the work an impossibility. 
 It was necessary to build the structure without trestling, and for 
 that reason the cantilever principle was introduced. By this 
 principle one span is erected, and from the end of this span is 
 built out into space part of another span. The length to which 
 such spans may be extended out into the air without support is 
 fixed by the weight of the span from which it is built, and these 
 spans from which the cantilevers are extended are generallv 
 weiehted so that thev carrv tremendous burdens. Manv dis- 
 
154 History of Jesmmine County, Kentucky. 
 
 tinguislied engineers of America pronounced the plan of C. 
 Shaler Smith, who constructed this bridge, visionary, and de- 
 cided that it was not feasible in this way to construct a bridge at 
 this point; but Mr. Smith was a skilled, learned and practical 
 Ijridge engineer. 
 
 At this point the Kentucky river with its channel had cut 
 down through the stone clififs to a depth of about 290 feet. It 
 was necessary to construct the bridge without trestles, and this 
 Mr. Smith undertook to do. He assumed the responsibility of 
 the construction personally, and in the end his designs and his 
 calculations were found to be correct. The great cantilever 
 arms stretched out from the piers on either side, reaching the 
 middle of the channel, and when the last bolt, which was to hold 
 them in place, was driven, it was said that they did not vary i-ioo 
 of an inch from the calculations which this man had made one day 
 in his ofifice in Baltimore. He immediately sprang into prom- 
 inence as one of the great bridge engineers of the world, and since 
 then others have followed his ideas and adopted his plans. 
 
 The bridge known as Young's High Bridge, named in honor 
 of Col. Bennett H. Young, over the Kentucky river at Tyrone, 
 has a span 200 feet longer than the one constructed at the mouth 
 of Dick's river. It is built upon the same principle, and thus over 
 the Kentucky river are two of the great cantilever bridges of 
 America. , 
 
 At the time the Lexington & Danville Railroad was to be 
 built, a suspension l^ridge was designed to cross this chasm, but 
 the railway company failed after the piers had been erected, and 
 these towers stand as a monument to the genius of John A. 
 Roebling, who had the contract from the president of the Lex- 
 ington & Danville Railroad, Gen. Leslie Combs, to build a 
 suspension bridge, and about $100,000 were spent in the erection 
 of the towers and anchorage for the construction of the suspen- 
 sion bridge which it became necessary to abandon because of the 
 lack of financial support. On one of the towers is this inscrip- 
 tion : "Gen. Leslie Combs, born in Clark county, Kentucky, 
 November 28, 1793." 
 
 The old Cincinnati Railroad from Cincinnati to the South, was 
 at first proposed as an outlet from the Ohio Valley to the south- 
 
History of Jesxamine County, Kentucky. 155 
 
 eastern seaboard. The enormous cost of constructing the rail- 
 road through the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee, de- 
 terred private means from undertaking such a task, and the city 
 of Cincinnati, after full investigation, in the summer of 1869, un- 
 dertook to build a trunk line of railroad from Cincinnati to Chat- 
 tanooga, in order to give Cincinnati proper connectipns with all 
 the southern railway systems which centered at Chattanooga, 
 and also to open up to the Cincinnati markets portions of Ten- 
 nessee and Kentucky. 
 
 This line passes through Jessamine county for 17 miles, and 
 is now one of the great American railway thoroughfares. To 
 build it, Cincinnati paid out $20,000,000, but it has proven a good 
 investment, and though it will pass from under the control of the 
 citv which built it the cost has been amply returned in the bene- 
 fits it has bestowed. 
 
 Kentucky River Improvements. 
 
 The Kentucky river flows through Jessamine county for 
 nearly twenty-five miles. It bounds the county on almost one- 
 half of its border lines. The state undertook to improve the 
 Kentucky river, but it abandoned the work, and the locks never 
 reached farther than Frankfort. 
 
 In 1865 the Kentucky River Navigation Company was incor- 
 porated by the Legislature, for the purpose of building new locks 
 and dams, and extending the navigation of the river through 
 Jessamine county. At the September term of the Jessamine 
 Countv Court, in 1865, John S. Bronaugh was appointed a com- 
 mission to subscribe for $35,000 of stock in the Kentucky Rivet 
 Navigation Company, and in November, 1867, he was further 
 directed to subscribe for $65,000 additional stock in the com- 
 pany. The company failed and its creditors attached these sub- 
 scriptions. Their validity was attacked. The courts relieved 
 ]\[ercer and Garrard counties of their subscriptions, but Jessa- 
 mine county was held for a large proportion of hers and com- 
 pelled to pay it. 
 
 The river has been ceded to the United States .The old locks 
 have been enlarged and repaired and new ones built. Naviga- 
 tion is now assured to the mouth of Hickman all the year round. 
 
History of Jeammine County, Kentucky. 157 
 
 Another lock in process of construction will give navigation 
 throughout the entire river border of the county and in a few 
 vears the system of locks will reach the coal fields on the North 
 Fork of the Kentucky and secure to Jessamine county the ad- 
 vantage of river transit for the entire year from the coal fields to 
 the mouth of the river at Carrollton. 
 
 Turnpikes. 
 
 Few counties in the state are better supplied with turnpikes 
 than Jessamine. They are built partly by private subscriptions 
 and partly by county aid. There are about 175 miles of turnpike 
 in the county, and when it is remembered that it only has 158 
 square miles, it will be seen that the county is most thoroughly 
 supplied with first-class roadways. At this time there are not 
 ten miles of leading roads in the county that are not macadamized. 
 The county has bought the turnpikes and hereafter they will be 
 free. 
 
 Ferries. 
 
 Two of the earliest ferries established in Kentucky were with- 
 in the limits of Jessamine county. 
 
 The first ferry in Kentucky was across the Kentucky river at 
 Boonesboro. authorized in October, 1779. by the Legislature of 
 A'irginia, on the farm of Col. Richard Calloway; while the second 
 ferry established by legislative authority in Kentucky was at the 
 mouth of Hickman creek in 1785. The act was as follows: 
 
 "Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that public ferries 
 shall be constantly kept at the following places and the rates for 
 passing the same be as followeth, that is to say : from the land of 
 James Hogan in the county of Lincoln across the Kentucky river 
 at the mouth of Hickman's creek to his land on the opposite shore 
 in the county of Fayette, for a man four pence, and for a horse the 
 same." 
 
 \Jp to 1786, only five ferries had been established in Kentucky ; 
 two across the Ohio river and three across the Kentucky river. 
 Tn 1786, two more were established, one of which was the ferry at 
 the mouth of Dick's river, the legislative act for which was as 
 follows : 
 
158 Hidorij of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 "Section I. Whereas, it has been represented to this present 
 General Assembly that it would be of public utility to establish 
 a warehouse for the reception and inspection of tobacco on the 
 land of John Curd in the county of Mercer ; 
 
 "Sec. II. Be it therefore enacted that an inspection of to- 
 bacco shall be and same is hereby established on the land of John 
 Curd lying at the mouth of Dick's riven in, the county of Mercer, 
 to be called and known by the name of Curd's warehouse': 
 
 "Sec. \ . Be it further enacted that a public ferry shall be con- 
 stantly kept at the following places and the rates for passing the 
 same as followeth, that is to say: Upon the land of the said John 
 Curd in the county of Mercer across the Kentucky river to the 
 opposite shore, for a man four pence, and for a horse the same, 
 and for the transportation of wheeled carriages, tobacco, cattle 
 and other beasts at the place aforesaid, the ferry keeper may de- 
 mand and take the same rates as are by law allowed at other fer- 
 ries. If the ferry keeper shall demand or keep from any person 
 or persons whatsoever any greater rates than are hereby allowed, 
 he shall for every ofifense forfeit and pay to the party aggrieved 
 the ferriage demanded or received and ten shillings, to be awarded 
 with costs before the justice of the peace of the countv where the 
 offense shall be committed." 
 
 The Largest Corn Crop. 
 
 Jessamine county, it is claimed, has produced the largest yield 
 of corn ever known. 
 
 In 1840, Gen. James Shelby, of Fayette county, received from 
 the Agricultural Society a premium for the most productive five 
 acres of corn. The five acres yielded 550 bushels, or no bushels 
 per acre ; but in the same year Walter C. Young, of Jessamine 
 county, who then lived in the eastern part of it, gathered, by dis- 
 interested parties, from two acres of a field of corn, the enormous 
 yield of 195 and 198 1-2 bushels, respectively, which stands, so 
 far as known, as the largest yield ever obtained from a similar 
 area. 
 
 Hemp Manufacture. 
 
 The manufacture of hemp begun in Kentucky as early as 1796, 
 and was introduced bv Nathan Burrows, of Lexington, who after- 
 
History of Jessamine Counti/, Kentuckij. 
 
 159 
 
 wards produced Burrows' mustard, which received the premium 
 for excellence at the World's Fair in England in 185 1. 
 
 The growth of hemp conmienced with the earliest days of the 
 settlement of Kentucky. It came with the corn and fiax, among 
 the first products of the state. The soil of Jessamine county 
 has always been extremely favorable to the. production of this 
 plant. The black loam, so general throughout many parts of 
 
 GKORGE BROWN. 
 
 the county, produces hemp of very heavy and excellent fibre, and 
 Jessamine county stands among the greatest hemp-producing 
 counties of Kentucky. Per acre, no county in the state produces 
 a larger yield. 
 
 Melanchthon Young, who resides about a mile from Nicholas- 
 ville. on the Harrodsburg pike, has 1)een one of the great hemp 
 
160 
 
 Hidonj of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 growers of the county and in the last quarter of a century has 
 rarely failed to secure fine crops. The introduction of Chinese 
 hemp seed thirty years ago stimulated hemp product. As show- 
 ing the extreme fertility of Jessamine county soil, the land upon 
 which Mr. Young has been growing his hemp, a portion of it at 
 least, has been in cultivation for more than one hundred vears. 
 
 MELANCHTHON YOUNG. 
 
 and the yield, after a century of use, of the ground is greater than 
 when the crop was first planted in the virgin soil. 
 
 Jessamine county has always been one of the great hemp coun- 
 ties of the state. Clark, Fayette, Scott, Bourbon, Woodford 
 and Jessamine; grow the bulk of the hemp crop raised in Ken- 
 tucky, and in the earlier period of manufacture in the state this 
 staple produced great profits and brought large gains to those 
 
Hi4orij (if JeKxamuie County, Kentucky. 161 
 
 who were engaged in it. Among the pioneer manufacturers of 
 bagging and rope were George I. Brown, ]\[oreau Brown, George 
 Brown, Henry Metcalf, WilHam Scott and Col. OHver Anderson. 
 iVIr. Cleveland, in Keene, also manufactured rope and bagging. 
 [Most of the people engaged in this business amassed large for^ 
 tunes. The bagging was used at that time in baling cotton 
 throughout the Southern States, and there was no other substi- 
 tute, prior to the fifties, for the Kentucky bagging. 
 
 This bagging was generally carried to the Kentucky river and 
 shipped by steamboat to Louisville, and thence distributed 
 throughout the South. \'ery few white men were ever employed 
 in this manufacture. Most of those who' operated the factories, 
 owned in large part the negroes necessary to carry on the busi- 
 ness, and where they did not have sufficient hands, thev hired 
 them from the surrounding farmers, by the year. 
 
 The hacking of the hemp was done in open sheds, and the 
 dust, which has, in close factories, been so detrimental to health, 
 was not considered injurious by those engaged in the manu- 
 facture in Jessamine county. 
 
 The hemp crop in Jessamine was not sufficient to supply all 
 the factories operated, and much of the staple was purchased and 
 bought in parts of Garrard, Mercer and Woodford and hauled to 
 Nicholasville and there manufactured. Geo. L Brown was prob- 
 ably the pioneer of hemp manufacture in Jessamine. He was a 
 man of fine personality and a strong intellect. He repre- 
 sented Jessamine county in the Senate in 1829 and 1834, and in 
 the House of Representatives in 1829 and 1832. 
 
 Robert Crockett, a son of Col. Joseph Crockett, built what 
 is now known as the Union Mills, five miles northeast fro^m Nich- 
 olasville on Hickman creek. The buildings were constructed 
 about 1803, and comprised a grist mill, a saw^ mill and a powder 
 mill. This mill has continued in operation down to the present 
 day. The old stone house near it. which Avas erected at the same 
 time, is still one of the most substantial houses in the countv. 
 
 Nicholasville Beginnings. 
 
 Maj. Anderson Miller, in 1805, made up a large lot of gun- 
 powder, at his father's residence in the northern part of Jessa- 
 11 
 

 •;/ N^Vw^, ^-^t.^*^ 
 
Hidory of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 1 63 
 
 mine ; he hauled it by wag-ons to Louisville, bought tiatboats and 
 shipped it to New Orleans. The venture was largely remunera- 
 tive. 
 
 In July. 1824, a capillary steam engine, invented by Dr. Joseph 
 Buchanan, was used in working Jackson's cotton factory in 
 Nicholasville. 
 
 In early days cotton was grown quite extensively in Ken- 
 tucky, in sufficient quantity to meet all the wants for family use. 
 
 Dr. Joseph Buchanan ^vas a professor in Transylvania Uni- 
 versity, and this engine was a remarkable piece of work. It was 
 claimed for it that it was perfectly safe and that one cord of wood 
 would sustain a seven-horse power for twenty-four hours. In- 
 ducements were offered to owners of steamboats to avail them- 
 selves of this capillary arrangement, because of its great power in 
 proportion to its weight, to enable boats to outrun all competi- 
 tors by changing the l)oiler for a generator, thus converting the 
 boilers then in use into capillary engines. 
 
 The first shoemakers in Nicholasville were Samuel Peake, 
 Thomas Dunbar and a colored man named Martin. Also James 
 Lusk, who carried on the business until 1837. 
 
 The first saddle and harness-maker in Nicholasville came in 
 181 2, and was named Edmund Phipps. David Majors was an- 
 other person, who carried on a saddlery and harness business 
 three-quarters of a century ago. 
 
 Early in the twenties Edmund Emanuel Hart established a 
 cabinet-making shop and his son, Joseph Hart, settled in Nich- 
 olasville as a cabinet-maker in 1834. 
 
 The first hat-makers were Thomas Foley and Stephen Guy, 
 and they made wool hats in a house on the lot now occupied by 
 the hemp factory of E. R. Sparks, and on the corner lot of Dr. 
 Tall^ert, John Fritzlen carried on the making of silk and fur 
 hats. It was with him that Robert Young learned this business 
 of manufacturing silk and fur hats and opened a factory in Nich- 
 olasville, in 1825. 
 
 John La Fevers, of French Huguenot extraction, had a pot- 
 tery establishment on the lot of the late ]Mrs. Eve. His daughter, 
 Nancy La Fevers, was the first person to open a school in Nicho- 
 lasville, in 1802. 
 
 Miles Greenwood, of Cincinnati, v ho was a dav laborer on the 
 
16-1 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 Lexington and Danville turnpike in 1831 and '2>^, helped to dig- 
 the land down on a level with the pike where the court house now^ 
 stands. He w^orked with James Gooch, who had undertaken to 
 build a section of the pike running thiough Nicholasville, two 
 miles each way from the town. Mr. Greenwood afterwards be- 
 came one of the most distinguished men in the business world at 
 Cincinnati. 
 
 Postmasters of Nicholasville. 
 
 The postmasters of Nicholasville have, some of them, held 
 unusually long terms. Benjamin Netherland held the office 
 from i8or to 1822; Dr. Archibald Young from 1822 to 1826, and 
 Wm. Rainey, from 1826 to 1835. He was succeeded by Jas. 
 Lusk; ihe by James A. Welch, he by David P. Watson, and he by 
 Jas. A. Welch. In 1848 D. P. Watson was again appointed post- 
 master, and was succeeded by R. A. Gibney, who held the office 
 until 1856, when he was succeeded by Joseph P>itzeen. After 
 him, Thos. Payton held the office for eight years, then H. C. Ro- 
 denbaugh, who remained postmaster for eight years. Then fol- 
 lowed W. J. Denman ; he was succeeded by Samuel ]M. Anderson 
 who held the office for eight years, and was succeeded by John 
 B. Smithers, who held it for four years, and he gave place to W. 
 L. Bviford, who now holds the place. 
 
 Court House in Nicholasville. 
 
 The first court house erected in Xicholasville was built in 1823. 
 In earliest times the quarter session judges who represented the 
 Circuit Court held their sessions in sheds or stables, or in par- 
 lors of their private homes. Judge William Shreve, the last of 
 the quarter session judges, often held court in a shed attached 
 to a large stable on the ground where the Jessamine Female In- 
 stitute is now built. The court house of 1823 was a brick build- 
 ing and was used until 1878. It had thus served the people fifty- 
 five years. It was erected by Thompson Howard, who removed 
 to Missouri, and died there in 1836. It was inconvenient and un- 
 comfortable, but it served well in its day, and the men of the 
 present generation have many delightful and pleasing memories 
 
History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 165 
 
 connected ^^■ith the old red brick edifice in which they have often 
 listened to the great men who made Kentucky history, for the 
 half-century following- 1820. 
 
 The first work on the present court house was done Septem- 
 ber 5, 1878. The new building cost $38,385, and is a superb 
 structure of modern style. The magistrates composing the 
 County Court, when the question of either repairing the old court 
 house or putting up a new one was first advocated by Hon. W. 
 H. Phillips, the present County Judge, were : Dudley Portwood, 
 John J. Cobbman, E. J. Young, Charles McDavitt, Mordecai 
 Crutchfield, Richmond Plunter, George T. Nave, R. J. Scott, 
 Isaac Bourne and Edmund E. Horine. A commission had been 
 appointed, consisting of G. B. Bryant, J. L. Logan and W. G. 
 A\'oods, to examine the old court house. They reported that it 
 could not be repaired. Thereupon the construction of a new 
 court house was undertaken. It may stand for a hundred years 
 as a monument to the public spirit and wisdom of the officers who 
 laid before the people the necessity and the advantages of a new 
 structure, which in all its appointments is creditable to a great 
 county. 
 
 It has all modern appliances and conveniences, it was pro- 
 vided for by taxation and the obligations of the county have 
 long since been paid ofT. It was opened for the public in 1878. 
 The ministers resident of the town of Nicholasville, were invited 
 by County Judge Phillips to dedicate the structure with re- 
 ligious ceremonies, which occurred at nine o'clock on Monday 
 morning. The following ministers were present : Rev. A. D. 
 Rash, Baptist; W. F. Taylor, Methodist Episcopal, South; T. F. 
 Farrell. Methodist Episcopal; Rev. Russell Cecil, Presbyterian; 
 also the venerable John T. Hendricks, of Paducah, who died onlv 
 a few months since in Texas. 
 
 Judge Phillips first spoke in the new building. He announced 
 the purpose of the meeting. After the reading of scripture. Dr. 
 Hendricks took the ten commandments as the basis of his ad- 
 dress on "The Law ^^'hich Should Govern Men and States." The 
 members of the bar at the opening of the court house in 1878 
 w-ere: George S. Shanklin, Benj. P. Campbell, J. S. Bronaugh, 
 H. A. Anderson, T. U. Wood, M. T. Lowry, A. L. McAfee, W. S. 
 Holloway, George R. Pryor, L. D. Baldwin, J. C. Wicklifife, W. 
 
Hixtorij of Jpsxainine County, Kentveky. 167 
 
 H. Crow, G. B. Letcher, Ilenjamin A. Crutcher. On tlie same 
 day Circuit Court met. Honorable Joseph D. Hunt. Judge of 
 the court, arrived at noon and at one o'clock opened court, with 
 Charles J. T.ronston, Connnonwealth Attorney, who had been 
 recently elected to that position. 
 
 Of the sixteen grand jurors who were then empaneled only 
 five remain: Lee Reynolds. G. W. Goode, W. J. Dennan and 
 G. S. Moseley. 
 
 Hotels. 
 
 Xicholasville in its earliest days had distinguished men as pro^ 
 prietors of its hotels. In those times keeping hotel was a much 
 more important business than in later years. Immediately after 
 the cessation of the Indian raids in Kentucky, there was such a 
 tremendous influx of travelers that almost everv gentleman took 
 out tavern license. The prices were not very extravagant, but 
 it was more to accommodate friends and to show hospitality than 
 to make profits. The uniform price was. for each meal of victuals, 
 25 cents ; for lodging and a bed at night. 12 1-2 cents ; horse, 121-2 
 cents ; horse with corn and fodder at night. 18 3-4 cents. Whisky 
 and brandy were plentiful, as the prices show at tins time. The 
 price was. for whisky or peach brandy, 18 3-4 cents per pint, apple 
 brandy and cherry bounce, 4 pence a drink. 
 
 Joshua Brown was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He 
 married Margaret Mansel. He was in the siege of Yorktown, 
 and served for six months under the immediate supervision of 
 General Washington. He came from Baltimore. Maryland, and 
 landed in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1789. He had four 
 sens: Col. Washington Brown, Preston Brown, Samuel 
 Brown, and Col. Thomas Jefiferson Broiwn. The twoi latter 
 were both graduates of the Transylvania University. Wash- 
 ington studied and practiced law. He married (len. Hugh 
 Chrisman's daughter Alatilda ; Lieneral Chrisman then lived on 
 Hickman creek, at the old stone house, the last building erected 
 by Gov. Thomas IMetcalf in the county. Col. Geo. W. Brown 
 settled in Nicliolasville in 1825. He twice represented the county 
 in the legislature. He was an enterprising citizen and a suc- 
 cessful manufacturer of hemp. He left Kentucky in 1837 and 
 
1G8 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 moved to Charleston, South CaroHna, where he died in 1862. 
 Alexander Campbell said of him that he was the most perfect and 
 courtly gentleman that he had ever met. The names of these two 
 sons, Washington and Thomas Jefferson, evinced a high degree 
 of patriotism ; one being named for George Washington and the 
 other for Thomas Jefferson. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson Brown came to Nicholasville and took charge 
 of the hotel in 1836. He was a man of splendid appearance, six feet 
 two inches in height, and on county militia davs, in his fine uni- 
 form, and on his thoroughbred horse, in a suit of blue, with a red 
 silk sash and golden epaulets, he impressed all who saw him 
 with his superb physique. He studied medicine, but did not 
 practice. He married Miss Alary J. Wallace, of Jessamine, and 
 settled in Nicholasville, taking charge of the Central Hotel, where 
 he died in 1849. He was reckoned as one of the most courteous 
 men of the county. His kindly heart prompted him to many 
 generous deeds and his helpfulness to the struggling and de- 
 serving left him many grateful and sincere mourners. He first 
 urged the necessity of a public cemetery in Nicholasville, helped 
 to lay off Maple Grove cemetery, and was the first person buried 
 there. He and his wife dispensed kindly hospitality. They 
 were charitable and humane, and created pleasing impressions 
 on all who visited Nicholasville. They left a family who have al- 
 ways been prominent in county affairs. Miss Henrietta Brown, 
 Mrs. Virginia Noland, and Mrs. \lctoria Alitchell were daugh- 
 ters of Col. Brown. 
 
 Public WelL 
 
 The Public W^ell on the corner of Main and Maincross 
 streets in Nicholasville is one of the most remarkable in Ken- 
 tucky. Twice during the Civil War and in very dry seasons it 
 had its capacity tested to the fullest extent. The Ninth Army 
 Corps, commanded by General Burnside, encamped for three 
 weeks around the town and the entire division used the water 
 from this well night and day. Several thousand of General 
 Bragg's army also encamped near Nicholasville and used water 
 from the well in September, 1862, and even these were unable to 
 reduce the strength and power of its flow. This well is t8o feet 
 
Hidovij of Jeiimmine County, Kentucky. 169 
 
 deep and was bored by John W. Charlotter, a blind man. The 
 weU was put down in the year 1846, and afiter blasting- down to 
 the unusual depth of 180 feet a stream of water was struck. Tt 
 gushed up ten feet high and from that time to this has furnished 
 all who demanded of it, clear, cool, refreshing drink. No drouth 
 and no call upon its resources has ever lessened its flow, and 
 after more than half a century of usefulness it is yet the pride and 
 comfort of the citizens of the town. 
 
 Bethel Academy. 
 
 The Legislature of A'irginia in 1780 set apart 8,000 acres of 
 land for the establishment of schools in Kentucky. The Ken- 
 tucky Methodists early took measures to secure part of the land 
 appropriated to this purpose. P3ishops Coke and Asbury attend- 
 ed a conference held at McKnight's, on the Yadkin river, North 
 Carolina, in 1789. Here the Kentucky Methodists, by letter and 
 messenger, recjuested direction. The response to this petition 
 was that during the next year Bishop Asbury would visit Ken- 
 tucky, and if the petitioners could secure a grant of 5,000 acres oi 
 land from the state or individuals, a college should be completed 
 within ten years. Early the next spring Bishop Asbury, accom- 
 panied by his friend, Richard Whatcoat, who was himself after- 
 wards made a Bishop, came through from Virginia on horseback 
 to Kentucky. They stopped on their way in Southwestern Vir- 
 ginia, and there waited for an escort from the friends in Ken- 
 tucky. The Kentucky guards did not appear as soon as had been 
 expected, but 011 a certain Monday morning Bishop Asbury re- 
 lated to Mr. Whatcoat that the night before in a dream he had 
 seen the friends for whom they had been waiting. After break- 
 fast they retired to the banks of a small stream nearby for prayet 
 and meditation. While engaged in these services he saw ap- 
 proaching over the hills two men. He felt at once that these were 
 the Kentuckians coming for him. This proved to be the fact. 
 These men were Peter Massie, afterwards known in Kentucky as 
 the "Weeping Prophet," and John Clark. They delivered the 
 Bishops their credentials and told them that they had left a guard 
 of eight men in the valley below, ready to start for Kentucky, as 
 
Hidori/ of Jexsamliie Conntu, Kcntiichj. 171 
 
 soon as was liis pleasure to beg-in the journey. The following 
 is the entry that IHshop Asburv made in his journal: 
 
 "After reading the letters and asking counsel of God, I con- 
 cluded to go with them." 
 
 They left Southwestern Mrginia early in ^lay. 1790. with six- 
 teen men and thirteen guns. They were to make a journey of 
 more than 200 miles through a wilderness constantly waylaid 
 with savages. Three times a day the}' halted to feed and refresh 
 themselves, and each time they sought God's protection and guid- 
 ance in prayer. The first day they rode 35 miles, the second 45 
 and the third 50. This rapid travel proved a little inconvenient 
 to the Bishop, who complained that he could neither sleep nor eat. 
 He says : "\\'hile in camp some were on guard, while others 
 rested." The}' frequently passed the graves of those who had 
 been slain l)y the savages. In one camp he saw 24 graves. 
 
 They arrived in Lexington on the 12th of May. On that day 
 the Bishop preached and then held a conference in the house of 
 Richard Masterson. Constant services were held ; ministers were 
 ordained. Francis I^oythress, the Bishop declared, was nmch 
 alive to God, and they arranged for a school to l)e known as 
 Bethel Academy. 
 
 They rode to the land of Thomas Lewis, at the bend of the 
 Kentucky river, near High Bridge, and ]Mr. Lewis there offered 
 the Bishop a hundred acres of land as a site for Bethel Academy. 
 The Bishop remained in the vicinity nearly two weeks, preaching 
 every day, making acquaintances and many friends for the pro^ 
 jected scheme. 
 
 His principal asistants in establishing Bethel Academy were 
 Rev. Francis Poythress and Rev. John Metcalf. A brief sketch 
 of Mr. Poythress will not be out of place. 
 
 He belonged to an old and distinguished family of A irginia. 
 He sought the instructions of a minister of the church of Eng- 
 land, and in 1773 he was led to the Saviour and connected him- 
 self with the Atethodist church. 
 
 In Xorth Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee and A'irginia he did 
 si)lendid work for the church to which he had made his allegiance. 
 Whenever there was danger he was always ready to go where 
 duty called. Whenever there was a difficult commission he 
 would sav : "Here am I, send me." He traveled over a large 
 
172 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 part of these states, preaching under the trees and in cabins, en- 
 during all the hardships of the settlers in their Avilderness homes. 
 A man of some scholarship, he was easily enlisted in the work of 
 building Bethel Academy, in which he was not altogether suc- 
 cessful and was unjustly censured. His health failed and his 
 mind gave way. He removed from Kentucky afterwards to 
 North Carolina. He never entirely recovered either his spirits 
 or his health or his energy. He returned to Kentucky in 1801, 
 but no work was assigned to him. He made his home in Nich- 
 olasville. In 1810 Bishop Asbury saw him and was deeply dis- 
 tressed at his condition. 
 
 In 1792 Bishop Asbury made his second visit to Kentucky 
 and he entered in his journal: "I wrote an address on behalf of 
 Bethel School," and later on he says, "I find it necessary to 
 change the plan of the house to make it more comfortable for thfe 
 scholars." Rev. Thomas Hinde, a contemporary of Bishop As- 
 bury, makes this entr}^: "Bethel Academy. Our conference for 
 1797 was held at Bethel School, a large three-story building 
 erected by Mr. Poythress on the bank of the Kentucky river, in 
 Jessamine county." 
 
 The work of building had progressed so that in the year 1794 
 a school was opened. The following letter from Rev. Jno. Met- 
 calf , will be interesting : 
 
 Nicholasville, Jessamine Co., Ky. 
 June 13, 1794. 
 Hon. George Nicholas: 
 
 I have lately received from you two of your kind letters and 
 would have answered them before now, but I have taken charge 
 of Bethel Academy and I have been so confined for the last two 
 weeks in fitting up suitable places of abode for some of my pupils 
 that I have greatly neglected my private afifairs, especially that 
 portion of it which you are attending to in Lexington. 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 John Metcalf. 
 
 The Kentucky conference of the Methodist church in 1797 
 met in Bethel Academy. The Rev. Mr. Metcalf was principal 
 until 1803. For a while Bethel School was a competitor of 
 
Hutory of Je!<samine County, Kentucky. ■ 173 
 
 Transylvania Academy, at Lexington, then under control of Pres- 
 l^yterians. The original site of Bethel Academy was chosen for 
 its wonderful beauty and for its adaptability for a village. The 
 lines of travel and lines of settlement could not then be deter- 
 mined. It ought naturally to have been the county seat of the 
 county. 
 
 In 1799 Rev. \^alentine Cook took charge of the literary de- 
 partment with Rev. Francis Poythress as assistant. Mr. Cook 
 was a man of scholarly attainments and was a distinguished grad- 
 uate of Cokesburg College, at Abbington, Md. He remained 
 with the school one year. His anti-slavery views induced his re- 
 moval. 
 
 In 1803 Rev. John Metcalf moved to Nicholasville and open- 
 ed in his own house a school which he called Bethel Academy, 
 Mr. Harris maintaining Bethel School on the Kentucky river as 
 a neighborhood school until 1805. In 1798 Mr. Metcalf pur- 
 chased several lots in the village of Nicholasville and erected a 
 good log house, which still stands and is the property of his 
 grandson, John Metcalf. At this house Bethel Academy w-as 
 continued until 1820, when a new brick building was built and the 
 school was contin.ued in it under the name of Bethel Academy. 
 
 About this time Mr. Metcalf died, in the sixty-third year of 
 his age. 
 
 In 1798 the Legislature of Kentucky passed an act incorporat- 
 ing Bethel Academv. The first section of the act is as follows : 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 An Act Establishing Bethel Academy, and Incorporating the 
 Trustees Thereof. 
 
 Approved Feb. 10, 1798. 
 
 I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that the Rever- 
 end F'rancis Poythress, John Knobler, Nathaniel Harris, John 
 Metcalf, Barnabas McHenry, James Crutcher, James Hord and 
 Richard Masterson, shall be, and they are hereby, constituted a 
 body politic and corporate, to be known by the name of trustees 
 of Bethel Academy, and by that name shall have perpetual suc- 
 cession, and a common seal, with power to change the same at 
 
I 
 
History of Jeffmnihie County, Kentucky. 175 
 
 pleasure ; and as such shall be authorized to execute all powers 
 and privileges that are enjoyed by trustees, governors or visitors 
 of any college or university within this state, not herein limited 
 or otherwise directed. 
 
 Section 6 j^rovides as follows : 
 
 "The President of said academy shall be a man of most ap- 
 proved ability in literature." 
 
 For five years from 1841 Professor A. R. Xorthup, A. M., a 
 graduate of the VVesleyan L'nivcrsit} . was at its head. He was 
 succeeded by Charles F. Smith. In the early part of the century 
 a grant of 6,000 acres of land was made by the state of Kentucky 
 to Bethel Academy. In 1876 Professor A. M. Gordon was 
 elected principal. He was the ablest teacher ever in charge of 
 the school. In 1877 the property of the academy was leased to 
 Professor Gordon for ten years, Professor Gordon introducing 
 the condition that five indigent, sprightly boys should attend the 
 academy each year free of charge for tuition. 
 
 Under the direction of Professor Gordon Bethel Academy 
 attained high rank as a school. The buildings as uiodernized 
 are in the middle of five acres of ground, and they are large and 
 elegant, and were erected in 1878 at a cost of $7,000. After the 
 abandonment of the site on the Kentucky river the one hundred 
 acres of land given by Air. Lewis reverted to his estate, but por- 
 tions of the material of the Imilding were taken to Nicholasville 
 and used in erecting a school building there. At the end of 105 
 years Bethel Academy has been turned over to Nicholasville. and 
 is now a graded school. It is used for the public benefit. It has 
 lost its denominational control, and i.i part of the great system of 
 the general education of the masses in the State of Kentucky. 
 
 The first site of Bethel Academy is still easily found. On the 
 splendid eminence overlooking the mighty banks of the Ken- 
 tucky, one can stand on the ruins of the ancient building, in which 
 was begun the life of this school, and for miles around can see 
 what a hundred years of cultivation and growth have wrought. 
 The school is gone. The structure, then palatial as an educa- 
 tional home, has crumbled and decayed, but as the eye takes in 
 the picturesque and charming landscape, covering parts of Gar- 
 rard, Jessamine, Woodford and Mercer counties, with fertile 
 farms, happy homes, large families, loyal and true citizens, all 
 
176 History of JesKamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 contented in their abiding places and all busy and satisfied with 
 their places in life, the saddening memories of the old school, are 
 hushed by admiration for the prosperity, peace and industry 
 which rise up to tell that the work of a century is not lost, but 
 that the grandsons and great-grandsons of these educational pio- 
 neers are not unworthy of the founders of this ancient school, in 
 which were centered the hopes and aims of the brave and liberal 
 men who gave it a name and being: in the wilds of a wilderness. 
 
 Jessamine Female Institute. 
 
 One of the most important and successful of all the enterprises 
 in the county has been Jessamine Female Institute. In 1854 an 
 act of the Legislature was passed allowing the organization of a 
 company for the purpose of conducting a female school of a high 
 character; such as would attract patronage from abroad, as well 
 as give the highest facility for education in the town. The capital 
 stoick was fixed at $2,500 in shares of $100 each. The articles of 
 incorporation under this act were signed by Alexander Lyle, 
 Thos. E. West, L. H. Chrisman, J. D. Hii, R. E. Woodson, Her- 
 vey Scott, Robt. Young, D. B. Price, J. A. Scrogin, J. P. Letcher, 
 W. C. Letcher, M. T. Lowry, G. M. Barkley, Isaac Barkley, J. 
 F. Barkley, C. F. Smith, A. L. McAfee, M. T. Young, Samuel 
 McDowell, Wm. McDowell, Jas. H. McCampbell. 
 
 After this, in 1855, the schbol was reorganized, and Rev. M. 
 Branch Price, a Presbyterian minister, was elected principal. 
 After some years of successful administration he was removed b\ 
 death, and was succeeded by Mrs. Jacob Price, wife of the Rev. 
 Jacob Price, a Presbyterian minister. In 1857 she was succeeded 
 by Rev. Mr. Frazee, a Presbyterian divine, and he in turn, bv 
 Mrs. Browning, who presided one year. 
 
 In i860 Rev. Joseph McDowell Matthews, of Hillsboro, Ohio, 
 rented the ground and building and conducted the school under 
 the name of the Jessamine Female College. The incorporators 
 of this collge were J. C. Wilmore, Henry M. Chrisman, J. B. 
 Cook, T. J. Cas'seU, Moreau Brown, S. S. Mizner, J. S. Bronaugli, 
 J. W. Olds, R. M. Messick, John ^IcMurtry, P. H. Smith, W. R. 
 Welch, Wm. Brown, Thos. B. Crutcher and J. S. Alitchell. 
 
 At the end of the term of 1862 Dr. Matthews returned to Ohio. 
 
Hixtorij of Jexmmine County, Kentucki/. 177 
 
 In 1863-64 Rev. J. E. Spilmau, then pastor of the Presbyterian 
 church, conducted the school for several years. 
 
 In February, 1866, the Legislature of Kentucky granted a 
 charter for the Jessamine County Female Institute, with the fol- 
 lowing incorporators : Robert Young, George Brown, Dr. 
 Joseph P. Letcher, T. B. Crutcher and J. S. Bronaugh. Under 
 this charter the school was to be non-sectarian. In 1881 the 
 school was closed for want of patronage and in September of that 
 year Miss M. F. Hewitt took charge of it as principal. Under 
 her management it was highly successful for twelve years. In 
 the very beginning of her administration the number of pupils 
 was largely increased, and it became necessary to erect new and 
 more commodious buildings. 
 
 In 1 88 1 the Board of Trustees determined to erect the present 
 building, at a cost of $20,000. This money was almost altogether 
 subscribed by the citizens of the town and county. 
 
 There have been a large number of graduates from the school •, 
 several hundred, all of whom occupy either as teachers or in so- 
 ciety, most prominent and distinguished positions. 
 
 Miss Hewitt was compelled to resign her position as principal 
 by reason of declining health, and in 1893 Mrs. B. W. Vineyard, 
 the present principal, assumed control of the institution. Lender 
 her conduct the reputation of the school has not declined and the 
 condition of the buildings has been greatly improved. It now 
 stands as one of the leading institutions in the state, has a large 
 patronage from all parts of Kentucky and the South. The curri- 
 culum is wide enough and broad enough for all purposes and 
 the patronage has met the expectations of all connected with the 
 management and control of the institution. 
 
 Newspapers. 
 
 There are two newspapers puljlished in Jessamine countv; 
 the Jessamine Journal and the Xicholasville Democrat. The 
 Jessamine Journal was founded by J. M. Parish, who came from 
 Mt. Sterling in 1872, and was its editor and owner. For several 
 years it was printed on a Washington hand-press and had a hard 
 struggle for its existence. It changed owners seven or eight 
 times, and the office was destroyed l)y fire in 1886. At the time of 
 12 
 
Ili/itoni ol' JisMinliii (\tiiiitii, KiiilKckii. 
 
 I7!t 
 
 lliis till' 11 w.is well ot|iiippril with .i l.u l;^ pown pn-ss .nid ,i tiist 
 rlass oultil ol l\p(.\ I, M, l\on, who puuh.isrd tlio pi. ml lioiii 
 (.'. \\ . NKmvmIi attor llio I'lir, ran ii on a small simK- lor a short 
 limo and in iSS;-sohlil lo Tol. II. M. ,\K-(. an \ , w ho w as ono ol' 
 tho most sucoosslnl and distim^nislu'd jtuirnalists in kriitiirkv. 
 Ilo was sv\MtMar\ ol st.iti' iiiuKm ( io\ rrnor knott, and hold other 
 
 i.ons rnAiiiiK. 
 
 positions oi distiiuMion, llan\ Mci. art \ , one of iho editors, w a;> 
 the junior inomhor of tho oompanx , 
 
 \l this tinio its odittu-ials were ipiotoil \er\ lari^oh throiij^houl 
 the state. At the death ol I ol. Me(.'art\ in tSoi his interest was 
 s*»ld to V. II. Morris, who w.is eonneeted with the paper until 
 lSi).|. w hvMi he disposed oi his interest to J. I!. Slears. 
 
 The paper is now edited h\ Mr. llarrv Mel'arlN and Mr. 
 Stears. It has a wide eireulatii>n. denuK'ratie in its j^olities. 
 
380 History of Jessamine Count i/, Kentnehj 
 
 The Nicholasville Democrat, an eight column foHo, was estab- 
 lished in June. 1888. At that time it was the property of Louis 
 Pilcher, the present editor and proprietor, and his brother Thomas 
 Fielding Pilcher. After a short time a job printing plant was 
 established. For eight years its office was in the old historic 
 building erected by Judge Wake. 
 
 Thomas F. Pilcher and his brother, Louis Pilcher, assumed 
 the management of the paper. The former assisted in establish- 
 ing the Lexington Argonaut. He did his first newspaper w^ork 
 on the Lyceum Debater, afterward on the Central Courier, and 
 was for five years the correspondent of the Cincinnati and Louis- 
 ville dailies. He was one of the promoters of the Lexington 
 Advertiser. Later he edited the Nicholasville Star. \n 1895 he 
 established "The Coming Nation," which absorbed the Illustrated 
 Kentuckian, and these two were merged into the Argonaut. He 
 afterward founded the Blue Grass World and then returned to his 
 present position as editor and proprietor of the Nicholasville 
 Democrat. 
 
 Mr. Pilcher lias had a wide experience as a new^spaper man. 
 In the Cleveland campaign, he did work on the Louisville Courier- 
 Journal, paragraphing and producing comic articles with Donald 
 Padman. He was born in Nicholasville, July 11, 1855, opposite 
 where the newspaper oflfice now stands. 
 
 The first paper published in Nicholasville of political char- 
 acter was the Nicholasville Democrat, in 1857 to i860. It was 
 strongly anti-slavery, and the office w^as raided and the type pied 
 and dumped in the streets. Samuel Leffingwell and the late Dr. 
 Jno. C. Welch were its editors. For a while, from 1871 to 1875, 
 Nicholasville was without a paper. The Central Courier was 
 established by Samuel Owens in 1875 and subsecjuently con- 
 solidated with the Jessamine Journal, and was known as the 
 Journal-Courier. In 1875 the late L. D. Baldwin purchased a 
 plant in Frankfort and edited a paper for one week. He sold it 
 to W. T. Jones, who never printed an issue. At this time Col. 
 ]McCarty came to Nicholasville and secured the necessarv means 
 to establish the Jessamine Journal. 
 
 In 1895 the third paper was started, with M. E. Wilhoit as 
 editor. It was printed in Lexington. This paper passed into 
 the hands of J. T. Farrow and shortly afterward suspended. The 
 
Hidort/ of Jessamine Gountij Kentucky. 181 
 
 Nicholasville News was published in 1878 by A. W. Huggins 
 for a brief period. The first paper ever pubhshed in Nicholas- 
 ville was a religions publication under Presbyterian auspices and 
 was founded in early years, it is said. Others deny the whole 
 story. 
 
 Sulphur Well 
 
 Sulphur \\q\\, about five miles from Xicholasville in the south- 
 eastern part of the county, was for many years a prosperous vil- 
 lage. The discovery of a well of sulphur water gave this town its 
 name. For a long time many persons frequented the place to 
 have the benefit of the waters, which were supposed to have 
 medicinal value. It is on the main road from Nicholasville to 
 Hickman creek. The first settler in the village was John Walters, 
 a Baptist minister, and he succeeded in having a Baptist church 
 built there in 1813. Mr. Walters and Robert Ashurst preached 
 to the church for several years. 
 
 Of late years, the village has had its name changed to Am- 
 brose. It is improved very much, and the buildings in the village 
 are neat and tasteful, and the people knid and hospitable. 
 
 Wilmore. 
 
 The following history of the ambitious and thriving city of 
 A\'ilmore was prepared l)y Wm. G. Wilhite, and it is inserted as 
 written by him : 
 
 The village of Wilmore. the second in population in Jessa- 
 mine county, is situated on the Cincinnati Southern railway, five 
 miles southwest of Nicholasville and about the same distance 
 north of the celeljrated High Bridge, where the railway crosses 
 the Kentucky river. 276 feet above the water. Although bui 
 eight years old, it contains a population of about 600, and is prob- 
 ably groiwing more rapidly than any little town in Central Ken- 
 tucky. A steady and constant increase, without any inflation 
 or boom methods, has made a stable population of healthy growth. 
 There is not a vacant house in the town today, and as fast as built 
 a house is occupied. Its existence practically began with the 
 foundation of Asbury College, which started September 2, 1890, 
 
182 Histori/ of Jesmmlne Comity, Kentucky. 
 
 in four rooms, with two teachers and eleven pupils. Its growth 
 has been, to a large extent, coexistent with the growth of this col- 
 lege, botl: in Ijuilding and increase of faculty and students. 
 
 In the first year there were enrolled 70 pupils. In the second 
 year, 120. The highest number enrolled in any year was 160. 
 In the eight years of its existence there have been over 1,000 
 students enrolled and 25 graduates. Sixty ministers of the gos- 
 pel have also been sent out from this school to various parts of 
 the country in this time. Students from 20 states and from Can- 
 ada, England, Japan and Persia have attended here, and its in- 
 fluence has been widespread and is growing. 
 
 Organized just 100 years after the founding of Bethel Acad- 
 emy, the second chartered institution of American Methodism, and 
 within four miles of the original site; it has renewed the work of 
 its venerable predecessor with vigor and grown into a power. 
 
 There are now six buildings, with the president's house, and 
 a Icirge chapel, on six acres of campus. The college has a capac- 
 ity for teac'hing 300 students and boarcUng 100, with a faculty of 
 eight teachers. 
 
 This remarkable growth is due in a large measure to the en- 
 ergy, ability, and foresight of Rev. J. W. Hughes, the founder 
 and president since its organization, whose constant labors have 
 made Asbury College a strong and worthy monument to him- 
 self, and a power for good in the community and abroad. * * 
 
 BUSINESS, 
 
 Its nine business houses, carrying almost everything in stock 
 that is needed or used, draw a trade far beyond its limits, and from 
 three counties. Two drug stores and three doctors, insure the 
 continuance of a healthy community: three blacksmith and car- 
 riage repair shops, find profitable employment ; one leather and 
 harness shop is kept busy supplying everything in its line, from 
 a buckle to a buggy top ; two butcher shops, and three large 
 stores of clothing, dry goods, g-eneral merchandise and hardware 
 supply the general needs of the outer and inner man. 
 
 The Glass Milling Company was established here on July i, 
 1891. Its mill, which ground 60,000 bushels of wheat last year, 
 with a capacity of sixty barrels of floiu- per day, is one mile from 
 the railway station. Its offices and warehouses, in Wilmore,. 
 
HENRY GLASS. 
 
Ilisfori/ of Je.<.-<iiiniiif (Joimty, Kciitiickij. 1H3 
 
 were built February, 1897, and since then all its business has been 
 transacted from this point. This company also deals in coal and 
 lumber, and since its establishment, in the town, has handled 
 over 2,000 tons of coal. 
 
 Th(. Saegerser Mill Company has a grist mill in the town, 
 run bv a gasoline engine, and does general grinding, and deals in 
 meal, feed-stuiTs, etc. 
 
 A good livery stable, well-patronized, is one of the conveni- 
 ences. 
 
 Wilmore is an important shipping point on the railway, as 
 evidenced by the amount of freight received and forwarded. The 
 receipts to the railway companies amount to about $25,000 per 
 annum for freight and about $3,000 for passengers. Large 
 ainounts of grain, cattle, hogs, produce, etc., are both shipped 
 from and received here, in addition to merchandise, coal, lumber 
 and articles of domestic consumption. 
 
 It is essentially a moral and religious community, and the in- 
 fluence of its churches and missionary work is felt widely beyond 
 the limits of Jessamine county. 
 
 The Presbyterian church, with a handsome place of worship, 
 and a membership of 150, presided over by Rev. Dr. E. O. Guer- 
 rant, himself a noted preacher and evangelist, in addition to hand- 
 somely supporting itself and him, keeps at its own expense, five 
 missionary ministers in the mountains of Kentucky, a record not 
 equalled by any church in Central Kentucky. In addition it has 
 educated two young men for the ministry, keeps up a perma- 
 nent contribution to an orphan asylum in South Carolina, and 
 giv 's largely to charity and foreign and home missions. Its record 
 for liberality and quick response to worthy appeals is noted in 
 its presbytery. Its pastor is a man celebrated throughout the 
 South and East as a powerful and successful evangelist, both in 
 the large cities and in the most remote mountains. 
 
 The Metiiodist church adjoins Asbury College. It is also a 
 commodious and handsome building. Its history and work is 
 almost coexistent with that of Asbury, and much that has been 
 said of the college in a former paragraph, applies also to the 
 church. It was fcasnded fifteen years ago, and is the oldest and 
 also the largest congregation in Wilmore, with a membership of 
 225. This church is also in connection with Asbury College, 
 
184 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 noted for its evangelistic work and spreads its influence through 
 and beyond the state. The Rev. E. S. Savage, who has lately 
 succeeded Rev. J. A. Sawyer, is the regular pastor, whose hands 
 are worthily upheld by his congregation. 
 
 The Christian church, though the youngest (founded in 1888}, 
 is second in membership, having 150 communicants. The church 
 has probably the handsomest interior of all. Rev. Mr. Robinson, 
 lately appointed minister, is popular with his congregation. 
 
 A colored church, with forty members, completes the list of 
 houses of worship in the town, though two miles east is the thriv- 
 ing and steady Mt. Freedom Baptist church. It is the oldest of 
 the churches in the immediate neighborhood and numbers its 
 members a generation back. 
 
 With a well-conducted public school of seventy-five pupils, in 
 a new and commodious schoolhouse; with handsome, modern 
 dwellings,, and with social and educational advantages unex- 
 celled anywhere in the state, it is not necessary to "boom" Wil- 
 more, as a desirable place to reside or do business in. and we can. 
 therefore, rest on the statement on which the Declaration of In- 
 dependence was founded: "Let facts be submitted to a candid 
 world." 
 
 Church Land. 
 
 Judge Tucker Woodson's place was for a long time known 
 as "Church Land." and the origin of the name was interesting. 
 An English gentleman of finished education and culture, of 
 scientific tastes and talents, was a guest at Chaumiere, and be- 
 came in time almost a part of the household. His name was 
 Church. He had been with Robert Fulton experimenting with 
 steam, and came from Pittsburgh down the Ohio river to 
 Maysville on the first steamboat that ever ran on the river. 
 From Ma}'sville he came to Lexington, and thence to Maysville, 
 and made many experiments in his endeavors to perfect this 
 wonderful invention and its application to the movement of 
 vessels. He finally returned to England, married and brought 
 his wife to Jessamine county to be near Colonel Meade and family. 
 He was a man of independent means and built a quaint English 
 
Hidory of Jexminiiie Coiittfi/, Kentucky. 185 
 
 cottage on the Woodson estate in the place now occupied by Mr. 
 Jesse Bryan and Hved there some years, and from this circum- 
 stance the place was always called Church Land. After some 
 years Mr. Church removed to Lexington and died there. 
 
 Camp Nelson. 
 
 Camp Nelson has become quite an important village in the 
 last few years. It is at the mouth of Hickman creek, near the 
 wooden bridge, that spans the Kentucky river, on the line of the 
 Lexington and Danville turnpike. It was established in 1863, 
 and was the principal point for the concentration of Federal forces 
 and munitions of war on the line of the CunHberland river. It was 
 named in honor of Gen. William Nelson, who was born in Mason 
 county, was a distinguished soldier, and was killed in Louisvdlle 
 by Gen. JelTerson C. Davis, whoaii he had grossly insulted. 
 
 It remained a militan,' camp until the close of the war, and has 
 a fortified circumference of about ten miles formed, in large part, 
 by the high hills and clififs of the Kentucky river, and partly by 
 breastworks thrown up, that yet remain. On the land has been 
 established a L^nited States mihtary cemetery, in which are in- 
 terred over 5,000 Federal soldiers. The population of the village 
 is, at this time, about 200, mostly colored people, who have set- 
 tled on the cliffs and hills near the Kentucky river. 
 
 Ariel College is located at Camp Nelson. This is an institu- 
 tion for the education of colored men and women. It is officered 
 h\ white teachers, and has been the source of great good and 
 help to the colored people. 
 
 Rev. John C. Randolpli was the first native Kentuckian who 
 enlisted negro soldiers in Jessamine county. A copy of the fol- 
 lowing letter written by him to Gen. Burbridge is interesting, 
 historically : 
 
 Nicholasville, Ky., June 9, 1864. 
 Gen. S. G. Burbridge, 
 
 Conmiander, Department of Kentucky: 
 Sir — There is a slave in the county jail here, confined 
 for no civil crime, but because his master feared he would run off. 
 The bov has told me he wishes to volunteer as a soldier. Have 
 
—".-J-t.. ->i4 
 
 . - A*-. 
 
 COLORED BAPTIST CHURCH. 
 
Histori/ of Jesscunuie Count i^, Kcntuckij ]S7 
 
 I the right to take him from the county jail and let him come into 
 the army in the state? Most respectfully, 
 
 J. C. Randolph. 
 Deputy Marshal and Superintendent of Colored Enlistment at 
 Camp Nelson. 
 
 Another letter written about this time from Nicholasville will 
 prove interesting. It was sent to the postmaster at Keene, and is 
 as follows : 
 
 Office Provost Marshal, 
 Nicholasville. Ky., July i8, 1863. 
 To the Postmaster of Keene, Ky. : 
 
 I am informed that the Cincinnati Enquirer is distributed at 
 your office. Military authorities forbid its circulation at vour 
 office. You will stop it at once, or }ou will be arrested by the 
 military authorities. 
 
 John Pendleton, 
 Captain and Provost Marshal. 
 
 Keene. 
 
 This village is about six miles northwest from Nicholasville. 
 on the \ ersailles turnpike. It was laid out in 1813 and called 
 North Liberty, but its name was changed to "Keene." in 1848. 
 through the influence of Thoanas Jones, a hatter, who came and 
 settled in the village about the year 1845. His native town in 
 New Hampshire was Keene. and through his influence North 
 Liberty Avas blotted out, and Keene was established. About the 
 time of the cliange of the name, in boring for a well a fine stream 
 of sulphur water was found. In those days, sulphur water, 
 uherever found, was supposed to have valuable medicinal prop- 
 erties, and. during the prevalence of cholera, in Lexington, about 
 this time, a large number of people came to Keene and lived dur- 
 ing the panic, occasioned by tliis disease in Lexington and sur- 
 rounding towns. Keene had several stores and a very nice hotel •. 
 and its stores do a first-class local business. It is within sight of 
 the ]\It. Pleasant Baptist church. 
 
 The neighborhood surrounding- Keene was settled bv some 
 of the best men who in early times came to Jessamine county. 
 
188 Hutory of Jexmm'me County Kentuchj. 
 
 There is an old stone-mill at Keene, which was built in 1794. In 
 the last few years it has fallen into decay. This mill was provided 
 with a combination of horse and water power, and was erected by 
 Manoah Singleton. 
 
 The Singletons were among the best people who came to 
 Jessamine, and were good farmers and enterprising men, and they 
 built this stone mill, which was a fine structure in its day. It has 
 been operated until within the last twenty years. It relied for its 
 water power upon a large spring, which was located about a 
 mile and a half away, upon a place formerly owned by Mr. Robert 
 Young, and sold by him to Mr. Andrew Hampton. This spring 
 rises up in the valley, and runs down into a large cave, which w^as 
 a habitation for the Indians before the advent of the white man in 
 this section of Kentucky. This spring reappears some distance 
 from Keene, and this and the water that flowed from other small 
 streams in the neighborhood, supplied the power for the opera- 
 tion of the mill at Keene. 
 
 In the early davs, when steam was unknown, mill-sites were 
 very valuable. When the hunters and pioneers first came to 
 Kentucky, in crossing streams they would mark mill-sites, and 
 in their notes state that at such and such a place was a good mill- 
 site, and the lands that were contiguous to such sites were always 
 considered of great value, and were promptly taken up by the 
 settlers, or l\v their representatives. 
 
 Surveyors in these days would laugh at the preservation of 
 the water and its use in the operation of these mills, but in the 
 davs of our forefathers, it was either water power or horse power, 
 and horse power was extremely slow and inefifectual. and, as it 
 sometimes required a mill-race to run a mile and a half to get 
 the proper fall, opportunities were promptly and energetically 
 seized wherever a proper fall of water could be secured by dams 
 to operate these country mills. 
 
 Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, 
 
 One of the oldest churches in Jessamine county is Mt. Pleas- 
 ant Baptist church, near Keene. It is located in a fine neighbor- 
 hood, in the midst of rich lands, which were settled about 1790 
 
Hidonj of Jessamine County, Kentiicki/. 189 
 
 by some of the most enterprising- and best-educated people who 
 came to Jessamine county at that period of its history. From 
 time to time there had been preaching in this locahty by the Bap- 
 tists who were connected with the South Elkhorn church, which 
 was over the Fayette line, but in 1801 at tlie request of one hun- 
 dred members of the South Elkhorn church who were living; in 
 the neighborhood of JMt. Pleasant, application was made to or- 
 ganize a new congregation, and Rev. John Shackleford, Absalom 
 Bainbridge, and John Kellar were authorized to investigate and 
 constitute a church at this point. The South Elkhorn church 
 still exists, but is not so prosperous as its daughter, Mt. Pleasant. 
 
 The rules of the church which were adopted at this time were 
 very peculiar, and were headed. "Rules of the Church While Sit- 
 ting on Business" : 
 
 Tst. It is agreed that no motion be attended to withottt the 
 person making such motion addresses the ^Moderator standing, 
 and this proposition be seconded. 
 
 2nd. That no member speak while the church is on business 
 except to the Moderator, and then in a mild and Christian man- 
 ner. 
 
 3rd. That no member speak in church meeting to the same 
 matter more than twice without leave of the Moderator. 
 
 4th. That no meml)er leave his seat in time of business. 
 
 5tli. The Moderator sihall call to order, whenever these rules 
 are violated. Any member called to order has a right to a voice 
 of the church, if he chooses. 
 
 Among the first members were the Williamses, the Woods, 
 the Hugheses, the Smiths, the Singletons, the Haydons, the 
 Hamptons, the Sales, the Mosbys, the Barclays, the HoUoways 
 and the Proctors. 
 
 From its commencement Mt. Pleasant has always been one 
 of the most prosperous of the Baptist churches in the Bluegrass 
 section. The neighborhood, settled by Baptists, has been domi- 
 nated and controlled hx Ba]:>tists from the time of the organization 
 of this church down to the present. It is an evidence of the per- 
 sistence of the religious denomination in any community where 
 once fairly planted. 
 
 The first pastor was Rev. George Stokes Smith. He was a 
 man of strong individuality, great talent, and was a member of 
 
1 90 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 the convention which framed the Constitution of 1792, and 
 represented Fayette county in that body. He was prominent and 
 mthiential, and was pastor of the church from 1803 down to 1810. 
 In that year Edmund Waller, a nephew of Rev. G. S. Smith, was 
 called as pastor of the church, and remained with it until June, 
 1843. He was a man of oreat power, great earnestness, and 
 great consecration, and built up a very large congregation. The 
 church book shows that the deacons in memory of Mr. Waller 
 draped the pulpit in mourning for him who had been the true and 
 faithful pastor of the church for thirty-two years, and the first 
 Sabbath of July in that year w^as directed to be set apart as a day 
 of fasting and prayer. Edmund W^aller, who was the father of 
 John L. Waller, was born at Spottsylvania Court House, 
 \'a., in 1775. He was the son of Wm. E. Wallet 
 and brother of Wm. Smith Waller, the Lexington banker. His 
 mother was a sister of George Stokes Smith. 
 
 He was buried a few miles from Mt. Pleasant in one direction, 
 while his uncle Smith is buried three miles south. He served the 
 church longer than any other pastor. The church has had twen- 
 ty-one pastors, the minister being the Rev. E. W. Argabrite, and 
 under his ministration the church bids fair to have many years of 
 continued usefulness. 
 
 Nicholasville Presbyterian Church. 
 
 The Nicholasville Presbyterian church was organized June 12, 
 1820, by Rev. John Lyle. Alex. AIcFeeters, Samuel Rice and 
 James Ewing were chosen the Elders. Previous to this the 
 Presbyterian preaching place had been established about one and 
 a half miles from Nicholasville on the farm of Samuel McDowell, 
 which is now owned by his son, ^^'i]liam McDowell. 
 
 The first member to connect herself with the church was Mrs. 
 Jane Meaux. She was always one of its most faithful and liberal 
 supporters. She donated to the church the ground on which the 
 present church edifice and parsonage are situated. Rev. John 
 F. Coons supplied the church from 1839 to 1852. 
 
 The first church was erected when Rev. John Hudson was 
 ])astor. It was on the corner diagonally opposite the Jessamine 
 ]"emale Institute, occupied quite a large space, and had in con- 
 
Hixtoii/ of Jcxxaiiiliif Coimtij, Kcntiickij. 191 
 
 ricetion with it, a burying-ground. The building was completed 
 in 1825, but not dedicated initil ( )ctober 7, 1827. At this time a 
 protracted meeting was held, and the church received a great 
 out-pouring, and more than sixty persons were added to the mem- 
 bership. 
 
 This church has sent into the ministry an unusually large 
 number of men, among whom may be mentioned Rev-. John T. 
 Hendrick, Rev. Wm. G. Rice, Rev. Charles Sturtevant, Rev. M. 
 R. Price, Rev. Thomas R. Welch, D. D., Rev. Daniel P. Young, 
 Rev. Chas. W. Price, Rev. J. E. Spilman, Rev. Robert Mann and 
 Rev. Jas. Priest, who was a slave of ^irs. Aleaux, and who, aftei 
 his emigration to Liberia, was vice-president of that republic, 
 having gone there as a missionary. 
 
 The present cliurch building was dedicated on the 3rd of 
 Jaflnary, 1851, by Rev. R. J. Breckinridge, D. D. The present 
 ])astor is Rev. R. E. Douglass. The gentlemen who have served 
 as its elders have been among the most prominent citizens of 
 Jessamine during the past seventy-five years, in addition to 
 those already named, Ephraim Tanner, Dr. Archibald Young, 
 IMaj. Daniel P). Price, Reuben P). Berry, Wm. IL Rainey, Oliver 
 Anderson, Jas. Clement, Jas. ^IcKee, John L. Price, Otho Rob- 
 erts, Thos. E. West. Jas. Anderson, Wm. S. Scott, Chas. F. Smith, 
 John A. Scroggan, Wm. ~\l. Todd, Robt. Young, Jc^hn A. Willis, 
 Wm. Clark, W. D. Young, Harvey Scott, W. G. Woods, S. D. 
 Young, A. N. (iordon, Thomas Butler and John Steele. 
 
 Maj. D. B. Price was Clerk of the Session for thirty-two years, 
 Avhile John A. Willis has acted in the same caj^acity for thirty- 
 eight years. 
 
 This church is rega'-ded as one of the most liberal of the 
 Presbyterian churches in Kentucky. Its donations to Center 
 College, Central I^iiversity, Danville Theological Seminary, and 
 to all the causes of the church have been extremely generous, and 
 give the church a high standing among all Presbyterians. This 
 church is the mother of the church at Wilmore, the church there 
 having been supported and maintained by the Xicholasville 
 church until it became self-sup])orting. 
 
¥■¥ 
 
 Tui m p P. P| p 
 
 
 iiiniiltlMI 
 
 COLORKD CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 
 
i7/Vor// of J('xm))U)i(' Couulij, Kejdueky. 19H 
 
 Clear Creek Presbyterian Church. 
 
 One of the most interesting of the ancient structures in Jessa- 
 mine county, is Clear Creek Presbyterian church. It was erected 
 about 1829, and was organized by Rev. Nathan H. Hall. Among 
 the names of the foimders are those of Dr. Archibald Young, 
 James Carrothers, Ephraim Carter, David McKee, and Archi- 
 bald Logan. This old church is about a mile and a half from 
 Wilmore on the Xicholasville turnpike. It w-as abandoned some 
 years since, and sold to the colored people, who now use it as a 
 house of worship. At one time it was a very important 
 congregation, and a large and prosperous church. Its first pastor 
 \\as Rev. Simeon H. Crane, who served the church for one-third 
 nf his lUiie for $150 per annum. 
 
 It was built entirely of stone, and the old seats and floors and 
 pulpit are still intact. 
 
 In a little cemetery across the road sleeps the dust of many 
 pious members, whose faith found expression in song and prayer 
 in this old church. 
 
 St. Luke's Catholic Church. 
 
 l^he only Catholic church in Jessamine county is that of St. 
 Luke, in Nicliolasville, Ky. It was erected in 1866 on ground 
 deeded for that purpose by Moreau Brown. It was dedicated to 
 the service of God in 1866 by Rev. Father Willie, and in this the 
 Centennial year of Xicholasville has 156 members. 
 
 Bethany Christian Church. 
 
 One of the niost interesting church.es in Jessamine county is 
 Bethany Christian church. It was organized on the first of Feb- 
 ruary, 1845, through the ministration of Jacob Creath, Samuel 
 J. Pinkerton and James Simms. For a long time it was one of 
 the most prosperous and successful of the churches of that de- 
 nomination in the county, but has recently been reduced. It had 
 such members as Dr. James J. Burch. Samuel Muir, George S. 
 Bryant, Benjamin Robinson, Dr. John Bryant, \\'illiam H. 
 13 
 
194 Hidory of Je-immine County, Kentucky 
 
 Daniel, Benj. J. Mitchell, and other responsible and prominent 
 citizens. 
 
 The Northern Methodist Church 
 
 Was erected in Nicholasville in 1875. It is one of the hand- 
 some church edifices of the town, and was built almost altogether 
 throug-h the efforts of Moreau Brown, Esq., who was so long a 
 resident of Nicholasville, and one oi its most successful and 
 prominent members, and who died in 1886. 
 
 The present pastor of tliis church is the Rev. \'. T. Willis. 
 
 The Nicholasville Christian Church 
 
 Was organized in the spring of 1828 by Elder George W. Elley. 
 Mr. Elley had a religious debate with George W. Sturtivant, a 
 young Presbyterian minister and was engaged in the boot and 
 shoe business in Nicholasville in 1826, removing from there to 
 Lexington in 1829, where for 20 years he was engaged in bus- 
 iness and was a leading member of the Christian church. 
 
 The records of this church have been burned, and it is im- 
 possible to get all the data concerning its organization. Elder 
 Jacob Creath. in a letter written some years ago, says : "Brother 
 Campbell and myself went to Kentucky from Guyandotte, 
 Western \'irginia, which was in 1828. In Januar}^ 1829, I was 
 invited by my deceased uncle, J. E. Creath, Sr., to hold a meeting 
 in Nicholasville with Brother William Morton. We held the 
 meeting in the Presbyterian meeting house which was located in 
 the west end of the town. During the meeting it rained very hard 
 all day. I preached from John xx, 30 and 31. 'Many other signs 
 truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not writ- 
 ten in this book." " 
 
 The first church building of this congregation was erected in 
 1830. W^illiam Shreve and John Wallace were chosen elders 
 and James Simms and James Sale deacons. William White, 
 James Simms and Moses Hawkins were long leading and faithful 
 members of the church. The present handsome edifice was erected 
 in 1874 and is one of the most comfortable and convenient church 
 structures in the city. The congregation has a numerous mem- 
 bership and has a most influential position in the county. 
 
Histori/ of J('!<sa)nine (Jonidij, Kentucky. 1U5 
 
 First Baptist Church. 
 
 This church was organized on the loth of Feljruar}-, 1849, 
 by a commission composed of Rev. R. T. Dihard, Joseph R. Bar- 
 bee and E. Darnaby. Tliere were only seventeen members then 
 present. Stephen P. Waller was chosen clerk and Jonathan Baker 
 and E. A. Waller were chosen the tirst deacons. Its first pastor 
 was Rev. Thomas J. Drane. It has had a line of distinguished 
 ministers through the fifty years of its existence, and, while not 
 a verv large congregation, has always been an extremely faithful 
 and earnest one. The present pastor is Rev. William D. Now- 
 lin. The edifice in which the congregation worships was built in 
 the year 1852. 
 
 Ebenezer Church. 
 
 Ebenezer Presbyterian church was organized by the Rev. 
 Adam Rankin, somewhere between 1785 and 1790. He came to 
 Kentucky from Mrginia in October, 1784. This church is on 
 Clear creek close to the town of Troy. Change of roads and 
 lines of travel have rendered the location luisuitable. The first 
 church Avas built of logs, and the stone church, which was 
 ahandoned in 1876, was begun in 1805, and was used continuously 
 for nearly a century bv the descendants of the people who or- 
 ganized this congregation Among the first members were Wm. 
 Evans and wife, Thos. \\'oods and wife, Wm. Garrard and wife, 
 Robt. Gwin and wife, Ephraim Tanner and wife, Thos. Read and 
 wife. Robt. Black and wife, Jas. Black and wife. Hugh Garrett, 
 Robt. Lowrev, ]\Irs. Nancy Drake, and the Lambkins, Beattys, 
 Longs, Scanlands, Reamers, Hedges, Phillipses and Logans. 
 
 The descendants of maiiy of chese godly people remain in the 
 neighborhood and still support the church of their fathers. One 
 of the most useful and honored of all the ministers of Ebenezer 
 church \\as Rev. Xeal Gordon, who came from Georgia and sup- 
 plied the church for thirty years. He was a most zealous and 
 self-denving servant of Christ. His grave is close by the door of 
 the old stone church. In this old building are the straight 
 benches and the wh.ite ])ainted pulpit which were used for more 
 than fiftv vears. Around its deserted walls rests the dust of its 
 
196 HiMory of JeS'<amine County, Kentucky. 
 
 faithful supporters for one hundred years ; in silence and solitude 
 these graves still speak of the faithfulness and consecration of the 
 people of this church. 
 
 The members of the Ebenezer and the Clear Creek churches 
 tmited in 1870 and formed the Troy Presbyterian church, and 
 while Troy church is just over the Woodford line, quite a large 
 proportion of its membership resides in Jessamine. Rev. E. O. 
 Guerrant, D. D., was called as pastor of the Troy church in 1886. 
 He infused new life and energy into the organization. He has 
 since resigned the pastorate and taken charge of the church at 
 ^Vilmore, which by a large increase in membership demands the 
 whole time of the pastor. 
 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 
 
 The first church building erected in Nicholasville was by the 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal church in 1799. The frame 
 clhurch which stood on the same lot some twenty steps from the 
 present line building was erected through the labors of the Rev. 
 John Metcalf and the Rev. Nathaniel Harris. The house was 
 56x36 and had a room for the colored people 30 x 15. 
 
 One of the ablest ministers who preached in this church was 
 the Rev. Chas. Watson ; he was a successful and distinguished 
 evangelist. Oftentimes at meetings he took occasion to show 
 his brethren his ordination certificate which bore the autograph 
 of Bishop Asbury. These were considered most valuable me- 
 mentoes among the early Methodist people. 
 
 Bishop Asbury laid the foundation of the Methodist church 
 in America, and his piety, learning and consecration did much to 
 widely spread the doctrines of this denomination. The house 
 was dedicated by the Rev. Charles Chenowerth. 
 
 The following letter conveyed the invitation : 
 
 Jessamine county, Kentucky, Sept. 9, 1799. 
 Rev. Charles Chenowerth : 
 
 Dear Brother: Our meeting house is completed, and I in- 
 vite vou to be with us the second Sunday in October to preach 
 the first sermon in the new house. I have written several others 
 
History of Jexxanune Couidij, Kentucky. 15t7 
 
 to assist in holding" the revival, and am still living on the bank 
 of the Kentucky river, and preach every Sunday. 
 
 Yours trttly, 
 
 John Metcalf. 
 
 To which the following response was written : 
 
 Near Harrodshurg, Ky., Sept. 26, 1799. 
 Dear Bro. Metcalf: I was handed your letter to-day by 
 Bro. Rule, and will inform you that I will come if no unforeseen 
 ■occasion prevents me from doing so. 
 
 Truly yours in the Gospel of Peace. 
 
 Chas. Chenowerth. 
 
 Rev. John Metcalf was the first minister. He had preached 
 in Nicholasville for years before the erection of the church build- 
 ing. His preaching was often at the house of Elijah Wallace 
 who then lived where Judge Phillips now resides. 
 
 In 1789 Rev. Thomas Williamson succeeded Mr. Metcalf, but 
 Mr. jMetcalf returned in 1804. In 1805 Mr. Metcalf moved his 
 family to Nicholasville, as also Bethel Academy, which was then 
 carried on, on the banks of the Kentucky river. 
 
 In 1821 the distinguished Methodist, H. H. Kavanaugh, after- 
 ward bishop, filled the pulpit. In 1846 the old frame church was 
 torn down after standing forty-six years, and a new brick house 
 was erected, and a few years since the present beautiful and 
 •elegant structure was erected on the same ground. Rev. T. W. 
 Watts is the minister now in charge. The congregation has al- 
 ways been considered one full of faith and good works, and has 
 ■done efficient service for the cause of God. 
 
 In 1843, there was a great revival in the jMethodist church at 
 Nicholasvdle, which was under the conduct of Rev. Rice Harris. 
 The following preachers were in attendance: Jonathan Stamp- 
 •ers, Benjamin Crouch, Richard Deering, Charles Watson, B. H. 
 McCown, Tlios. N. Rawlston, Rev. Mr. Kelly. 
 
 The following letter w-ritten by David Crozer, who was the 
 -owner of and was operating Crozer's 'SWW on Jessamine creek, to 
 the Hon. Tucker Woodson, gives an account of this meeting: 
 
198 Hktory of Jesmnilne County, Kentucky. 
 
 "Jessamine county, Ky. 
 "Four miles east of Nicholasville, Feb. 13, 1843. 
 "Hon. Tucker Woodson : 
 
 "Dear Sir: Your esteemed favor of loth is received, and 
 having a little leisure I hasten to answer it. I was not aware of 
 the fact stated by you, that the roads 1 named to you were undei 
 the control of the local boards. I knew that there was a law ot 
 last session, authorizing the state board to take the management 
 of all the roads, and had understood that they had generally done 
 so. On the subject of the proposed bank. I am greatly at a losb 
 to give you my opinion, and can not exactly see and appreciate 
 your present position on this, only 1 know that you were elected 
 as opposed to relief measures. I am greatly astonished at the 
 news this morning from Nicholasville. There is a great revival 
 going on at the Methodist church ; more than thirty have been 
 added to the church. Among the converts are Thomas H. Bal- 
 lard, Stephen Spragens, Moreau Brown. Mrs. Keene, Mrs. Wil- 
 more (wife of T. D. VVilmore), Jacob Wilmore, Jr., Sandy Wake, 
 James Buskett and Wm. B. Payne. The Rev. Rice Harris was 
 greatly assisted in this meeting by his brethren from other cir- 
 cuits. 
 
 ''We must ourselves watch and avoid the careless side of life. 
 "Your friend, 
 
 "D. Crozer." 
 
 Mr. Crozer was mistaken as to Judge Wake. He never joined 
 the Methodist church. 
 
 African Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 This church is situated on East street in Nicholasville, and 
 was organized September 15, 1845, by Rev. Samuel ]\Hller, who 
 then erected the first house of worship that this congregation 
 ever had. The i^resent beautiful structure was built through the 
 labors of Rev. James Turner. This church has a very active 
 membership and a large, successful Sunday-school, which exerts 
 a fine influence throughout the members of the church. The 
 minutes show that it is one of the most liberal of the colored 
 churches, and that in thirty years it has contributed to benevolent 
 
m.^ori/ of Je>i>^amlne Conniij, Ki'idiickij. 109 
 
 objects about $18,000. Its membership inckules a very large list 
 of names. It present pastor is Rev. P. A. Nicholas, a native of 
 Harrison coiintv, Kv. 
 
 Colored Christian Church. 
 
 One of the handsomest colored churches in the county or 
 state, is the Colored Christian Church, Nicholasville, which was 
 erected in 1843 ^^^^^ ^or several years used as a house of wor- 
 ship, being- then known as the Union Church, where all the 
 colored people from time to time held their services. It was not 
 until the year 1867 that the officers of the church bought the 
 l^nion Church and became a separate organization. The pres- 
 ent pastor, the Rev. \V. H. Dickinson, came to the congregation 
 on the first of Septeml:)er. 1896. He is a native of Virginia. The 
 church building now in use was erected in 1890. It has a large 
 membership and is one of the most prosperotis of the colored 
 churches in Central Kcntuckv. 
 
 Colored Baptist Church. 
 
 The first colored llaptist church in Xicholasville was organ- 
 ized in 1846. ]"ew of its records have been preserved. Rev. 
 Robert Irvin was the first pastor, who remained in the church 
 fcur years. The present membership is 356. It has been pros- 
 perous and particularly so under the ministrations of its present 
 pastor, Re^ . John A\'illiam Clark. 
 
200 Hidonj of Jessamine Gotinty, Kenlnchj. 
 
 Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citi- 
 zens of Jessamine County* 
 
 James Irvin. 
 
 The last Revolutionary soldier to die in Jessamine county 
 was James Irvin. He was born in Alecklenburg county, Va., 
 in 1754, and died in Jessamine county in 1851, at ninety-seven 
 years. He served seven years in the Revolutionary war and was 
 badly wounded at the Battle of Guilford Court House, March 15, 
 1781 . He was shot in the left hip. He came to Jessamine count}- 
 in 1793 and raised a large family of daughters who all lived to be 
 over eighty-seven years of age. 
 
 He is the only Revolutionary soldier who very many of the 
 people in Jessamine county ever saw. When Gen. William O. 
 Butler was a Democratic candidate for Governor of Kentucky in 
 1844, James Irvin and four other Revolutionary veterans rode in 
 the carriage with General Butler from the place of Mr. John 
 Butler, on Jessamine creek, on the Danville pike, to Nicholasville, 
 where General Butler was to speak, in the field adjoining the 
 colored cemetery, close to the line of the R., N., I. c: B. R. R. 
 
 \Mien Irvin was wounded in battle he was left at the house of 
 the father of William A. Graham, the distinguished politician 
 of North Carolina, and Secretary of the Xavy under Millard 
 Fillmore. While sick he cut his initials on a stone and the date 
 of his wounding and brought this stone with him to Kentucky 
 when he emigrated to the state. He lived on the place now 
 owned by Mr. Dean, near Sulphur Well, and was buried in the 
 Hickman neighborhood. 
 
 Frederick Zimmerman. 
 
 r)ne of the strong characters in the early history of Jessaimine 
 county was Frederick Zimmerman, its first surveyor. His ances- 
 tors came from Salzwedel, Germany. His forefathers emigrated 
 
Hlxtovij of Je^^am'ine Countij, Kentucky. 201 
 
 to Xew York. After a passage of six weeks over the Atlantic 
 they settled on the Hudson river, at the village of Rheinbeck, in 
 Dutchess county. Remaining in Xew York four months two 
 brothers settled in Culpeper county, Mrginia, where was born 
 Frederick Zimmerman. He moved to Jessamine county prior 
 to 1792, and lived in the Marble creek district. He married Judith 
 IJourne, daughter of Henry Bourne. His work in the surveys of 
 Jessamine county shows that he w^as a coaiipetent and faithful offi- 
 cial. His sons and daughters have been indu'strilous, upright citizens 
 and have performed well the duties devolved upon them. John 
 Zimmerman, Daniel Zimmerman, Augustus Zimmerman and 
 Morton Zimmerman, long and favorably known in the county, 
 were sons of Frederick Zimmerman. A numerous posterity still 
 reside in the county which their ancestor helped to redeem from 
 the savages, and in the earlier history of which he was a strong 
 and influential factor. 
 
 Francis Phipps 
 
 ^^'as born on the 21st of October, 1751, and was for a long time 
 a resident of Jessamine county. He was engaged in surveying 
 the Lexington and Danville pike, by Col. W. R. McKee in 1829- 
 30. He resided at ]\Ir. Thos. Scott's house for several years, 
 at which place the letter, copied below, was found. References 
 are made to Rev. John Price, who, afterwards, came to Jessamine 
 countv. and was long a Baptist minister in this locality, and the 
 letter is otherwise full of interesting matter : 
 
 In IMess, No. 10, Colonel Hamilton's Regiment, Little York, 12 
 miles from Williamsburg, Oct. 21st. 1781. 
 
 ]\rv Dear Parents: I have only time to inform you that the 
 British army, under old Cornwallis. surrendered to General 
 Washington on the 19th. Capt. Charles Johnston, who will 
 leave for Mecklenburg to-morrow, w-ill give you full particulars 
 of this great and glorious achievement. 
 
 On the 25th of September our army, led by the beloved Wash- 
 ington, reached the headquarters of General La Fayette, at W^il- 
 hamsburg, and on the 30th, our army marched in a body to attack 
 York and Gloucester. On the 7th of October, Washington 
 opened the attack on Cornwallis with 100 pieces of cannon. It 
 
202 H'ldonj of Je!<!i(nniyie County^ Keiduchj. 
 
 was a most beautiful sight to see our bomb-shells bursting in the 
 midst of the enemy, tearing down whole companies of our ene- 
 mies — as we could see them from the high ground near the river. 
 During the siege, which lasted 17 days, two strong redoubts were 
 stormed by our regiment, led by Col. Hamilton. We were as- 
 sisted in the charge by the French. When within a few yards of 
 the redoubt. Col. Hamilton rode up to the regiment, and said in 
 a voice like the bursting of a shell: "Charge those men, my brave 
 comrades, who wish to make slaves of our people." W^e rushed 
 at them with a loud shout, and captured over two hundred — kill- 
 ing and wounding- aibout fifty. We lost about seventy-five of as 
 brave men as ever pulled a trigger at an enemy of our liberty. 
 Oin- French soldiers lost as many as we did. It would have done 
 the heart of every lover of li1:)erty good to have seen the red-coated 
 rascals surrender to our army on the 19th — old Cornwallis and his 
 army — numbering 8,coo muskets ; I counted fifty brass and one 
 hundred and sixty iron cannon. 
 
 At about 12 o'clock our army was drawn up in two lines, ex- 
 tending more than a mile in length. Our French fellow-soldiers 
 were placed on our left and h.eaded by tlieir General. At the head 
 of our ragged, but brave soldiers, I saw the nol^le Washington, on 
 his horse, looking calm and cool as he was when crossing the 
 Delaware river a few vears 1)efore. Alanv of the rustic people 
 of this part of \'irginia, consisting of old men, women and chil- 
 dren, assembled in numbers ecjual to the military, to witness the 
 surrender of the old murderer, Cornwallis. Every face beamed 
 with joy and gladness — but a profound silence prevailed ; no talk- 
 ing, no noise of any kind, save the slow, measured step of our 
 enemies, was heard. General Tarleton's troops at Gloucester 
 surrendered at the same time to our French soldiers. Everything 
 was done in a quiet manner. 
 
 After the surrender, I saw our beloved Washington and Col- 
 onel Hamilton talking with all the British oiificers. Old Corn- 
 wallis and Tarleton were very polite to our officers, and it was a 
 surprise to see old Cornwallis treating our beloved commander 
 and Colonel Hamilton with so much consideration'. Cornw^allis 
 is a large man, with dark l)rown hair, a ruddy face, good nose and 
 has tlie appearance of a man of kind heart and good intentions. 
 General Tarleton is also a lar^x man, Imt not so l)ig as old Corn- 
 
Hi4or(/ of Jes-Moiihie Coioifi/, Krntnckij. 20!> 
 
 wallis. His countenance is hard and tyrannical; and his mean, 
 dark eves are full of cruelty. Some few of the Carolinians saw 
 him after the surrender was over, and cursed him as he passed up 
 the road on liis way to the ship that was to take the British to 
 Xew York. \\'hen the boys cursed him he never made any re- 
 plv, but rode away, showing- no high temper, that he was known 
 to have by some Carolinians who remembered his cruelties in 
 South Carolina. 
 
 The Rev. John Price preached for the soldiers on Sunday last. 
 His sermon was listened to by many officers, such as General 
 Lincoln, Cols. Henry Lee, Hamilton and Woodford. My health 
 is good, and my wound in the arm is well. I can not tell you 
 where to send me a letter, as I have no means of knowing- where 
 our regiment is ordered to. Some say we are to go to New York, 
 and the rumor is that we are to remain in Mrginia. or at the town 
 of Trenton, in "the Jersies." Present my love to niy youngest 
 sister, also to Air. Watkins and family, and tell Mr. Watkins his 
 son is truly a self-denying soldier, one who loves his country and 
 is willing, if need be, to die in her defense. Pray for me that I 
 ma\' be spared to see }"ou once more alive. 
 
 Your loving son, 
 
 Francis Phipps. 
 
 Gen. Henry M. Chrisman. 
 
 General Chrisman, \\ho received his title from the militia 
 service, was the youngest son of Hugh Chrisman and was born 
 in the old stone house on the Hickman creek in 1800, and died 
 in Nicholasville, in 1876. His mother was a McKinney, and his 
 grandmother was a sister of Jas. McDowell who was in a cdui- 
 ]>anv of Colonel r3udley"s regiment in the war of 1812. 
 
 ( )ne of the most pleasant traits of General Chrisman's char- 
 acter was his hospitality clothed with kindness and benevolence. 
 He was foTid of company and his house was thronged with young 
 and old friends, and they made that ]:)art of Jessamine happy by 
 their constant courtesies to their neighbors. His wife died in 
 1852, he in 1876, and the_\- arc buried on the clifTs near the old 
 stone 1)uilding. This house was put up by Thomas Metcalf, who 
 was known as "the old stone hammer" governor, for which posi- 
 
204 Hldonj of Je><samme County, Kentucky. 
 
 tion he offered himself twenty-eight years afterward, when he was 
 elected, defeating Maj. Wm. T. Barry by a majority of only 709. 
 It is related of Governor Metcalf that at one time, when working 
 at Chaumiere, he was invited to take dinner with David Meade, 
 but he declined upon the ground that Mr. Aleade had not asked 
 his hands to dine with him. Colonel Meade then predicted that 
 the stone mason would become governor of Kentucky, and he 
 lived long enough to see this prophecy verified. 
 
 Peter Simpson 
 
 Was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1758. 
 He served two years in the Revolutionary war under General 
 AVaA^ne, was in several battles and skirmis'hes in New York and 
 New Jersey, and at the battle of Monmouth was slightly v;c uided. 
 He was visiting Jessamine county in 1794, and was present at 
 Colonel Price's Fourth of July celebration that year. He re- 
 turned to Virginia, and in 1802 removed from the valley in Vir- 
 ginia and settled in the Marble creek neighborhood, where he 
 lived until his death in 1835. 
 
 Col. John McKinney 
 
 AA'as one of South Carolina's contributions to Jessamine county. 
 He was born on the Pedee river, South Carolina, in 1756. and 
 served in the Revolutionary war, first under General Patterson, 
 and also under Gen. Francis Marion, Colonel Sumter, and Gen. 
 Flarry Lee. 
 
 He first settled on what is known as the Butler farm, in 1790, 
 and that year lie erected a log house on that place which was only 
 torn down a few years ago, and in this house most of his children 
 were born. His daughter, Mrs. Sallie Cloke, who died in Ver- 
 sailles some )'ears ago, at an advanced age, was born on this farm 
 in T704, while Mrs. Catherine Brown, wife of George I., was 
 born in 1802. 
 
 Colonel McKinney was a gentleman of the old school, an 
 enterprising farmer and a patriotic citizen. He removed to 
 Woodford county, where he spent the remaining years of his life, 
 and died at an advanced aee. 
 
Hidortj of JeAmmhie Count ij, Kcnfiirkif. 205 
 
 Col. John Mosely. 
 
 This gentleman was born in Buckingham county, Virginia, 
 in 1760, and settled in Jessamine in 1793. He served in the 
 Revolutionary war, and was a gallant soldier. He enjoyed the 
 distinction of having reared the largest family every known in 
 Jessamine — he had three daughters and eighteen sons. He was 
 extremely popular in his neighborhood, and his descendants in 
 Jessamine are very numerous and still live in the inmiediate 
 neighborhood where their brave and prolific ancestor settled. 
 
 Com. Daniel Boone Ridgeley. 
 
 Com. D. B. Ridgeley, who served with distinction in the 
 United States navy, was born in Jessamine county on the 30th of 
 August, 1813, and died in Philadelphia, May 5, 1868. 
 
 He entered the navy as midshipman April i, 1828. He par- 
 ticipated in the bombardment and capture of Vera Cruz and 
 other ^Mexican ports, and was connected with the Naval Observa- 
 tory at Washington in 1850-52. He conunanded the steamer 
 "Atlanta" in the Paraguayan expedition. He volunteered for 
 active service in the Civil war, and commanded the steamer "San- 
 tiago de Cuba." He conmianded a steamer in the Xorth Atlantic 
 squadron, and assisted in the bombardment of Fort Fisher, North 
 Carolina. He was a member of the Board of Naval Examiners 
 at IMiiladelphia, in 1868, at the time of his death. His mother was 
 a daughter of Col. John Price, who was chiefly instrumental in 
 organizing Jessamine county, and was born on the farm of his 
 grandfather in the Hickman neighborhood. He purchased the 
 McKinney farm in Jessamine in 1850. and passed his vacations 
 there. He always spoke with great pride of his native countv, 
 and held the old home place as a sentimental investment. 
 
 John Speed Smith 
 
 Was born on the Caspar Harbaugh place. Jessamine countv, 
 Julv 31, 1792. He esrved with distinction in the War of 1812 — 
 was at the battle of Tippecanoe, and was Aide to General Har- 
 rison at the battle of the Thames. 
 
20(1 Hidorij of Je^^miniiif Count tj, Keiduchij. 
 
 He removed to Madison county in his early manhood, where 
 he l:»ecame a distinguished lawyer. He represented Madison 
 county in the legislature in 1819, 'zj, "30. "3(), "41, and '45, and the 
 Senate in 1846 and '50. He was speaker of the House of Rep- 
 resentatives in 1827. He was a member of Congress in 1821-23, 
 and was Secretary to the Legation of the United States Commis- 
 sioners sent to the South American colonies. Jackson appointed 
 him United States District Attorne_v for Kentucky. In 1839 he 
 was made joint Commissioner with Gov. Jas. T. Morehead to 
 visit the ( )hio legislature to secure the passage of laws to pre- 
 vent the enticement of slaves and to provide a more efficient 
 means of returning slaves who had escaped ; the Commissioners 
 v.-ere successful in this work. 
 
 For several years prior to his death he was State Superin- 
 tendent of Public Works, and through his life was one of the 
 most prominent and popular men in Kentucky. 
 
 William T. Barry 
 
 Was one of the most brilliant and eloquent men wlio 
 made Kentucky so famous in the first thirty years of its ex- 
 istence. He was in his childhood a resident of Jessamine countv. 
 Born in Mrginia in 1783, he came, with his father, when a child 
 to Kentucky, and lived for a short while in Fayette, and theri 
 moved to Jessamine county, where he lived several years, when 
 the family returned to Lexington. After attending school at the 
 AV'oodford Academy he graduated i.t Transylvania University and 
 commenced the practice of law when twenty-one years of age. in 
 Lexington. 
 
 From 1805 to 1835, his life was a wonderful series of successes. 
 Fortune appeared to lavish upon him all of its choicest blessings. 
 
 He was, very early in his professional career, appointed At- 
 torney for the Commonwealth in Fayette county. His learning, 
 elocpience and industry at once gave him both popularity and 
 prominence. He was elected to fill a vacancy in the Legislature 
 from Fayette in 1807. He was again elected in 1809; chosen to 
 represent the Ashland district in Congress in 1810, he was again 
 elected representative in the Legislature in 1814. In the dis- 
 cussion of the matters which led up to the War of 1812, no man 
 
Hidory of Je!'!«()u'nie County, Kcitiiickij. 207 
 
 was more eloquent, earnest or wise, and by his l)rilliant, patriotic 
 speeches he won the admiration and confidence of ah parties. In 
 the war he exhibited a hig'h degree of courage and gallantry whnc 
 serving on the statT of Cjovernor Shelby, who, disregarding pre- 
 cedents, took the field as the Commander-in-Chief of the Ken- 
 tucky forces. He was in the battle of the Thames, which added 
 such splendid lustre and renown to Kentucky and her soldiers. 
 
 He became Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representa- 
 ti\es in J 814, and was elected to the Cnited States Senate while 
 holding that place. He represented Kentucky in the Senate for 
 two sessions, and then resigned to accept the Circuit Judgeship 
 upon a meager salary. In 1817, he was forced to stand as a can- 
 didate for the State Senate, and it was his magnetic power and 
 influence wdiich enabled him while in the Kentucky Senate, to 
 secure large aid to Transylvania L'niversity and afterwards he 
 became a lecturer in the Law Department. His name gave the 
 Taw School prestige and magnificent sticcess. In 1820 he was 
 elected Tieutenant Governor by an overwhelming majority of 
 T 1,000 votes in a total of 55.000, and at this time was unquestion- 
 ablv the most popular man in Kentucky. 
 
 Henry Clay, in 1825. accepted the place of Secretary of State 
 and identified himself with the Adams administration. This cost 
 ]\ir. Clay many friends in Kentucky, where the recollection of 
 Xew England's opposition to the admission of Kentucky into the 
 Union, had left great prejudice against it. Barry sided with those 
 opposed to Air. Clay. 
 
 !Mr. Barry was appointed Chief Justice of "The Xew Court" in 
 January, 1825. and held the place until a repeal of the X'ew Court 
 .-Vet, in 1826. He was a candidate for Governor in 1828, and was 
 defeated by only yoq votes, but his wonderful canvass and superb 
 eloquence caused tne state in the following year to cast its vote 
 for Andrew Jackson, by a majority of 7,934. Mr. Barry was ap- 
 pointed Postmaster General by Jackson, and held the office until 
 declining health forced him to surrender it. 
 
 In the hope that a change in location and a milder climate 
 might restore his health, the President nominated Mr. Barry to 
 be Minister to Spain. He sailed for his post, but died at Liver- 
 pool, England, in 1835. 
 
 Xineteen years later (18541. by an act of the Legislature, the 
 
208 History of Jesmmine County, Kentucky. 
 
 remains of Mr. Barr\^ were disinterred, broug-ht to Kentucky aiid 
 buried in the state lot, at Frankfort. His friends erected a mon- 
 ument to his memory in the court house yard in Lexington. 
 
 Theodore O'Hara, the brilhant poet, dehvered an oration 
 upon this occasion (Nov. 8, 1854), concluding with these thrilHng 
 words : 
 
 "Let the marble like a minstrel rise to sing to the future genera- 
 tions of the Commonwealth, the inspiring lay Oif ihis big-h genius 
 and lofty deeds. Let the autumn wind harp on the dropping 
 leaves, her softest requiem over him. Let the winter's purest 
 snow rest spotless on his grave. Let spring entwine her brightest 
 garland for his tomb, and summer gild it with her mildest sun- 
 shine, and let him sleep embalmed in glory till the last trump 
 shall reveal him to us, all radiant with the halo of his life." 
 
 Jessamine, as the scene of his earliest youth, claims a part in 
 the history of this child of most auspicious fate, whose career, for 
 splendid achievement, superb eloquence, courageous contest, un- 
 varying success, unchanging popularity, and wondrous influence 
 has no equal in the past of Kentucky and will have none in its 
 future. 
 
 Rev, John Metcalf. 
 
 To Rev. John Metcalf belongs the honor of laying ofi the 
 county seat of Jessamine, and also of naming the town. He was 
 a native of Southampton county, Virginia, and came to Kentucky 
 in the spring of 1790, bringing with him not only his credentials 
 as a minister, but also a heart full of love to God. Bethel Acad- 
 emy was established in 1790, and was opened for the reception 
 of pupils in January, 1794. It was the second institution of learn- 
 ing ever established by the Methodist church in the United States, 
 tlie one at Cokesburg being the first. The labors of Mr. ^letcalf 
 were confined largely to Jessamine county. He traveled a few 
 circuits in Fayette and Mercer, but his life work was connected 
 with Jessamine. He took charge of Bethel Academy at the re- 
 quest of Bishop Asbury. He began his work as founder and con- 
 tinued his lal>ors there as the principal of this school in the "wilder- 
 ness." He infused his own earnest and enthusiastic spirit into 
 the institution. He labored under tremendous dis-advantasfes in 
 
Hidori/ of Jcsamlne County, Kfnitncktj. 209 
 
 his work, but he overcame most of them, and brought success 
 where other men would have had only failure. 
 
 He was the first Methodist minister who ever preached a 
 sermon in Lexington. Pastoral work in those days was done un- 
 der great difficulties, traveling on horseback through the traces 
 with no weil-defined roads, and hunting up the pioneers in their 
 cabins, and far removed from neighbors in their loneliness and 
 their surrounding dangers, this man of (iod was ever ready to 
 discharge his duties. He was compelled to ride through the 
 canebrakes and woods and pathless forests, but he had the spirit 
 of his Master, and he never faltered in the work \vthich the Head 
 of the Church had given him to do. In his studies, in his pastoral 
 work and at the head of the school, he found enough in those 
 days to occupy the heart and hands of any man. Plain, practical 
 and earnest, he attracted attention and won hearts, and he gen- 
 erally drew large crowds of people, who w^ere glad to hear him. 
 He was largely instrumental in building up the Methodist church 
 in Jessamine county. He was born in 1758 and died at his home 
 in Nicholasville, in 1820, having reached his 6Tst year. It was 
 through his laibors that the white frame Methodist church, was 
 first erected in Nicholasville, in 1799. 
 
 Rev, Nathaniel Harris, 
 
 Few men have ever been better known in Jessamine county 
 than Rev. Nathaniel Harris. He was born in Powhattan county. 
 \"a., in 1759, of Presbyterian parentage. Being an only son, he 
 was indulged in many things, which in the end proved hurtful. 
 His intercourse with what were then known as the gentlemen of 
 the day, caused him to become both profane and wicked. 
 
 Shortly after his father removed from the old home place he 
 became a volunteer in the American army, and was in the battle 
 of Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina. 
 
 He w'as converted in August, 1783, and joined the Methodist 
 church, and the conviction forced itself upon his mind that he w^as 
 called to preach. He settled in Jessamine county in 1790, and he 
 was principal of the English department in the Piethel Academy. 
 
 He preached in the various towns in Central Kentucky, and in 
 administering to the affiicted and the sick none ever excelled him. 
 14 
 
210 Hidorij of Jemmnine County, Kentucky. 
 
 At marriages and funerals his presence was always sought, be- 
 cause of his tender sympathy and because of tlie love and con- 
 fidence manifested towards him. He founded several Methodist 
 churches in Jessamine county. 
 
 The last years of his Hfe were spent in \"ersailles, where he 
 purchased a home for himself and his two maiden daughters. He 
 died on the i2th day of August, 1849, lacking only a few days of 
 ninety years of age. He had been in the Methodist ministry for 
 more than sixty years. On the 26th of August. 1843, he entered 
 m his journal, "1 am this day eighty-four years old. 1 stand to 
 mv engagement to be holy for the Lord." 
 
 The records which contain the certificates of the earlier mar- 
 riages in Jessamine county, show that his services for these cer- 
 emonies were largely in demand. On the 14th of ^larch, 1799, 
 he married Jesse Hughes and Nancy Nicholson, and a very large 
 proportion of the carlv marriages celebrated in the county were 
 solenmized by him. He was a faithful, earnest, devout man of 
 God. Some might call his sphere humble, but his influence on 
 the religious and moral condition of Jessamine county will long 
 be fdt. and in it he has a monument, which should be both to his 
 church and to those of his name, a cause of unfailing pride. 
 
 Samuel H. Woodson. 
 
 Samuel H. Woodson was a step-son of Col. Joseph Crockett. 
 A\'hile in the military service in Albemarle county, A'irginia, and 
 guarding prisoners which had l)ecn surrendered by r)Urgoyne, 
 Colonel Crockett protected the property of Mr. and Mrs. Tuckei 
 Woodson. There resulted from this circumstance a warm at- 
 tachment lietween Mr. Woodson and ?\Irs. Woodson and the 
 young officer. Shortly after Colonel Crockett had l)een ordered 
 to come west and serve under George Rogers Clark, in command 
 of the Illinois or Crockett Regiment, which had been dispatched 
 by the state of Virginia to assist Clark in his contest with the In- 
 dians, Tucker Woodson died, and after Colonel Crockett returned 
 from the West he fell in love with the handsome young widow 
 and married her. 
 
 After this marriage, in 1783. Colonel Crocket came 
 to Kentuck\- and soon brought his family here, in 1784. and witli 
 
Iiixtort/ of Je^mmine Coiintij, Kentucki/. 
 
 211 
 
 him came out Samuel H. Woodson, his step-son. Colonel 
 Crockett gave him a father's love, aft'ection and attention. He 
 Avas prepared for the law and had every advantage the educational 
 facilities of Kentucky then could ofifer. 
 
 lie entered for his step-son about a thousand acres of land, 
 part of which is that now owned by Air. Jesse Bryant, on the pike 
 between Xicholasville and Lexington. 
 
 He read law with Col. deorge Xiclioias and named one of his 
 sons for Judge Nicholas. At the time of the formation of Jessa- 
 mine countA' he was chosen clerk for the comity. As he held his 
 office for life, it was considered a distinguished place. He built 
 the house on the .Sheeley place, about one mile from Xicholasville 
 on the Danville turnpike, and ke])t his office as clerk there. 
 There were no countA" buildings in tliose days and the judges and 
 clerks used tlieir residences for the discharire of their official 
 
212 History of Jesmmine Conntt/, Kentuekij. 
 
 duties. He married Annie Randolph ^Nleade, a daughter of Col. 
 David Meade, of Chaumiere. 
 
 He resigned the clerkship in 1819 and was succeeded by 
 Daniel B. Price. He was elected to congress from the district, 
 and moved to Frankfort in 1826. He came, in 1827, to attend 
 circuit court in Nicholasville and rode, in very warm weather, on 
 horseback from Frankfort to Nicholasville. During the term of 
 court he went out to Chaumiere, was taken suddenly ill and died, 
 in the forty-seventh year of his age. He was a man of great cul- 
 ture, superb integrity, nuich learning, and in his day was one of 
 the distinguished men of Kentucky. He left a large family, and 
 the people, not only of his district but of Jessamine and Franklin, 
 his adopted home, mourned his early death. He represented 
 Jessamine county in the legislature from 1819 to 1825. 
 
 Maj. Daniel B. Price. 
 
 Alaj. Daniel B. Price was born in Powhattan county, Virginia, 
 the nth day of May. 1789. His father, John Price, removed to 
 Kentucky in 1794, taking with him Daniel, his only son, and pur- 
 chased 1,200 acres of land in Bourbon county. The title proving 
 defective, he afterwards removed to Clark county, where he 
 lived to the extreme old age of ninety years. 
 
 When a boy. Major Price came to Nicholasville and was ap- 
 pointed deputy clerk for Samuel H. W^oodson, and when Mr. 
 Woodson resigned, in 1816, he succeeded him and held the office,, 
 giving entire satisfaction until 1851, a period of thirty-five years, 
 which is the longest period any one office was ever held by the 
 same man in the county. 
 
 In 181 3 he married Eliza Crockett, the fourth child of CoL 
 Joseph Crockett, who died during a cholera epidemic in 1832. 
 He subsequently married Miss .Stuart, daughter of Rev. Robert 
 Stuart. 
 
 He was a member of the Presbyterian church in Nicholasville 
 and for half a century a ruling elder. He was also a trustee of 
 Center College and one of the directors of the Theological Sem- 
 inary at Danville. Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge said of him: 
 ''Probably no citizen of Jessamine county was ever more gener- 
 ally and favorably known, and certainly no one was ever more 
 
Hidory of Jexsamine CoKutt/, Kentiiekij. 
 
 213 
 
 thoroughl}- respected. A man resolute for God's saving truth in 
 proportion as his meek and gentle spirit, he lived upon it as his 
 life and soul." 
 
 He won and retained the respect and confidence of the entire 
 
 connnunity. He was looked up to as a man of splendid judg- 
 ment and unswerving integrity. Xoble memories of his life and 
 character survive after a lapse of nearly forty years. 
 
 Tucker Woodson. 
 
 At Chaumiere. in Jessamine county, in 1804, Tucker Woodson 
 was born, ft is a remarkable fact that he and his wife were born 
 in the same house and in the same room. His wife was Evelyn 
 Byrd, and she was a daughter of Sarah Meade, daughter of David 
 Meade. He and his wife were both possessed of ample fortune. 
 
214 Hidory of Je.-<mmiiie Countij, KentKokif. 
 
 They received the best education that Kentucky could give. He 
 chose the law as his profession but spent most of his life in care 
 of his landed estates. He was a born politician, a man of the 
 highest refinement of feeling', of the strictest integrity, the kindest 
 heart and charming manners. He was a great Whig and a fol- 
 lower of Mr. Clay. He represented Jessamine county in the 
 legislature in 1835, '36. 'T,y and '40. Was also in the senate in 
 1842-46 and 1853-7. 
 
 He was always popular among his neighbors and friends and 
 even his political opponents loved him. Of disting-uished linea^^e, 
 he was always the friend of the humbler people. He owned land 
 in what was then known as the Plaquemine District which in- 
 cluded Sulphur Well, now Ambrose. This was considered in 
 earlv davs the roughest district in the county, but it was there 
 that Mr. Woodson had his warmest friends. . 
 
 In the great race for Congress between John C. Breckinridge 
 and Robert P. Letcher,' in 1853. in ^vhich Breckinridge was 
 elected by 526 majority, Mr. Woodson had charge of the Plaque- 
 mine District, and for a long time it was remembered in Jessa- 
 mine county how shrewdly and beautifully he played his op- 
 ponents. A leading Democrat had been sent by Major 1 Breckin- 
 ridge to handle the money and control the votes in the Plaque- 
 mine District. In those days pecuniary inducements paid to 
 voters were not looked upon in the same light in which they are 
 now regarded. The idea that all things were fair in politics and 
 war pervaded the public mind and the purchase of votes was 
 carried on with a good deal of publicity and without an\- reproach 
 or disapproval on the part of political opponents. 
 
 The Democratic manager had been provided with a large 
 numl)e ">* new bills issued by the Northern liank of Kentucky. 
 They v. er^ iTves and tens, for even in those days good prices were 
 paid for vutes, and especially in this election, which called forth 
 the highest enthusiasm and the greatest devotion of the rank and 
 iile on both sides. Mr. Woodson saw with dismay the large 
 amount of new notes which were being circulated by his ]iolitical 
 opponents, ancl he turned over in his mind a plan by which the 
 effect of this new mone}- could be avoided. 1'aking one of the 
 men aside whom he knew very well, and who had received al- 
 ready one O'f these new bills, he asked hiim if he was sure th.at it 
 
TUCKER WOODSON. 
 
m.-'tori/ofjc^xaiiiliif (nmifi/, Kiiitiicki/. 215 
 
 was g-ood; saying-, what was true, that there had l)een circulated 
 a large number of counterfeit hills lately and that if he and his 
 friends were taking money from the 1 )emocratic manager, Mr, 
 Scott, they had better be very careful as to its genuineness. At 
 the same time he pulled from his own pocket a roll of well-worn 
 and old-time bills and placing the new and old bills side by side, 
 commented upon some differences. The news spread like wild- 
 fire that the new bills were counterfeit and the tioaters refused to 
 receive them and turned in disgust from the Democratic manager, 
 who only had new bills, and would receive nothing but the old 
 time Whig money, which Mr. Woodson and his friends were 
 ready, under proper conditions, to distribute. 
 
 A strong pro-slavery man, he sided with the government in 
 the Civil war. but it was conceded on all hands that he acted from 
 conviction, and few men of his prominence and of his activity 
 escaped with so small a number of enemies. 
 
 Tn 1872 he was elected county judge on the Republican ticket 
 and died in 1874. Hospitable, courteous, cultivated, honest, 
 ])atriotic and true, he left behind him <i large arrav of friends who 
 mourned his death. 
 
 His home was always open t(^ friends and strangers alike. 
 Gifted in conversation, a capable raconteur, and full of the 
 purest and gentlest kindness, he won the hearts of all who came 
 under his roof. His wife, one of the housekeepers of those times 
 which made Kentucky housekeeping renowned in all the civilized 
 world, sympathized with the hospitable instincts of her husband, 
 an.d united with him to make his home always pleasing and attract- 
 i\ e. Some of the rich treasures of Chaumiere had descended to 
 them o.nd these, enlarged by contributions from other relatives and 
 ancestors, gave their home a charm which will never be forgotten 
 by those who entered its portals. For thirty years Judge Wood- 
 son and his familv entertained more and more delightfullv than 
 any citizen of Jessamine cotmty, and no couple ever left more 
 delic'htful memories c.f real Kentuckv home life than thev. 
 
 Chaumiere. 
 
 In 1796 there was established in Jessamine county one of the 
 most beautiful and attractive countrv homes in America. Tt was 
 
216 Hidory of Je.isamine County, KentKcki/. 
 
 founded by David Meade, who was born in Virginia on the 29th 
 of July, 1743. At seven years oi age he was sent to England \vith 
 the hope that change of climate might improve his health and 
 also for the purpose of furnishing better means of education than 
 were then in existence in America. 
 
 Here he remained until 1761, wdien he returned to his native 
 land. He had acquired only a general knowledge of mathemat- 
 ics, geography, French, grammar and drawing, but he had cul- 
 tivated science and the elegant arts. 
 
 He had two brothers, younger than himself, both of whom 
 afterwards became distinguished in the American army. Richard 
 Kidder, an aid de camp to General Washington, and who had 
 charge of the details of the execution of Major Andre, and Ever- 
 ard, who was an aid de camp to General Lincoln, and he himself 
 was subsequently raised to the rank of General. 
 
 In his twenty-fourth year he married Sarah Waters, a daugh- 
 ter of Mr. William Waters, of Williamsburg, Virginia, and in 1769 
 he was elected to represent Nansemond county in the House of 
 Burgesses. This was his first and only political experience. 
 This assembly was dissolved by the representative of the crown 
 on account of certain resolutions which it had passed upon the 
 subject of the disagreement between England and the colonies. 
 
 Prior to 1796 David Meaide, a son of the founder of Chaumiere, 
 came to Kentucky. He was attracted by the splendid climate, 
 fertile soil, wonderful forests and charming surroundings, and in- 
 duced his father to leave a beautiful home in \''irginia. on the 
 James river, and come to the wilds of Kentucky. He was capti- 
 vated by the glowing description of the new land given by his son, 
 and, though accustomed to all that wealth and culture could give, 
 he was willing to abandon the comforts and the associations of his 
 Virginia home and build him a new one amid the forests of Ken- 
 tucky. 
 
 David Meade was a man of large fortune. Under the laws of 
 primogeniture, then prevailing in Virginia, he inherited the major 
 share of his father's estate, and his wife also brought him no in- 
 considerable dowry. He came to Kentucky in 1796 and debated 
 for some time whether he would settle on the forks of Elkhorn, in 
 Franklin county, or in Jessamine county, but through his personal 
 reo-ard for Col. Joseph Crockett, who had come to Kentucky in 
 
Hidorij of Jes^mmlne County, Kenttickij. 217 
 
 1784, and settled in Jessamine county, in 1787, he was induced 
 to choose Jessamine as his future home. 
 
 He purchased about three hundred acres of land from the 
 Crocketts and Woodsons. This land is four miles from Nich- 
 olasville, on the turnpike which connects the Lexington and 
 Danville, and the Harrodsburg and Lexington turnpikes, and is 
 now owned m large part by Mr. John Steel. The beautiful forest 
 trees attracted his admiration and won his aiifections. Sugar 
 trees, poplar, ash, oak, hackberry and walnut, all growing in 
 most superb profusion, determined his choice of residence. He had 
 large tracts of land in other parts of Kentucky. 
 
 He founded at this locality a home, called Chaumiere des 
 Prairies, but it was familiarly known throughout the country as 
 Chaumiere, which is the French for Indian \'illage. On this 
 small place David Meade lavished vast sums of money. He had 
 all the tastes of an educated and refined Englishman. Whatever 
 could have induced such a man w^ith such a fortune to have come 
 down the Ohio river in a tlatboat, and land at Maysville and suffer 
 tlie inconvenience of travel and transportation from Nicholas- 
 ville to Jessamine county, and to live in such a remote and unim 
 proved district, is almost impossible to understand. 
 
 He laid out a hundred acres of Chaumiere into a beautiful 
 garden. He imported rare and exquisite plants. He made 
 lakes, constructed water falls, shaped islands, built summer houses 
 and porters' lodges, and in this backwoods wilderness created 
 an ideal Englishman's home. He had a large retinue of liveried 
 servants, splendid coaches, magnificent furniture, service largely 
 of silver, and maintained in every way the style of a feudal lord. 
 
 The house was one-story, built of various materials, stone, 
 bricl-: and wood, but all erected for comfort and for convenience. 
 Here David Meade lived from 1796 to 1832. During his thirty- 
 six years of residence in Jessamine county he made no change 
 in his method or manner of living. His service, his carriages, 
 his liveries, fashion of entertainment, his own personal dress and 
 that of his ^vife, always elegant, were still maintained in true 
 English style. Different from everybody else in Kentucky in 
 his style of living, he never excited the envy of his less wealtin- or 
 less cultured neighbors. The hospitality and elegance of his 
 home were the boast of Kentucky. No distinguished man evei 
 
218 Hlxioni of Jexxumhif (iuudij, Kfiititckii. 
 
 came to the state who did not express a desire to see this wonder- 
 ful place, and none were ever disappointed in receiving" a cordial 
 invitation for the enjoyment of its hospitality. 
 
 Xo other home in Kentucky ever entertained so many Presi- 
 dents, for at various times the roof of Chaumiere covered Monroe, 
 General Jackson, General Charles Scott, and General Tay- 
 lor. All the distinguished families of Kentucky were invited 
 and always welcomed within its borders. Henry Clay was a 
 constant visitor at this delightful residence, and a very funny 
 story is told of the politeness of Mr. Clay and Mr. Meade. Mr. 
 Clay had come to spend the night at Chaumiere. Mr. Meade was 
 too polite to suggest to Mr. Clay that it was time to retire, and 
 Mr. Clay was too polite to tell Mr. Meade that he desired to retire, 
 and so they sat up and talked all night. 
 
 Aaron l*>urr often visited Chaumiere. He was there again 
 and again with Klennerhasset, and there is in possession of a 
 meml)er of the family a mirror before which Aaron Burr sat and 
 had his hair powdered. After the arrest of Aaron Burr he was 
 permitted to remain in custody at Chaundere. and Col. Meade's 
 son acted as chief of the guard durmg his stay. 
 
 Mrs. Meade was as elegant, refined and cultured as her hus- 
 band. They died within six months of each other. 
 
 The costly furniture, cut glass and china, with which one hun- 
 dred guests could at one time be served, have been scattered 
 throughout the country. The lovely and beautiful bric-a-brac can 
 be found in many homes, and there is still in Chillicothe, Ohio, a 
 ])iauo iipon which Mrs. Meade, when three-score and ten, played, 
 and it was the first instrument of its kind ever brought into the 
 state of Kentucky. 
 
 The eldest son had died young and unmarried. At Colonel 
 Meade's death, none were able to maintain or to 'hold Chaumiere, 
 and so it went under the hammer on the block and was bought by 
 a plain, practical farmer. This surprised and distressed the citi- 
 zens of Jessamine county, who had taken a just pride in this 
 strange and beautiful home, and in a little while after the new 
 owner of the place had been announced, there was placarded in 
 large letters on the houses over the grounds the words "Para- 
 dise Lost." This caused the purchaser to become indignant, and 
 in less than a week the beautiful flower Q-ardens were filled with 
 
m^forii of .h'>immnt<' Coiintji, Kcntiickii. 219 
 
 horses, cattle and hogs. The glorious forest trees were felled, 
 lodges torn down, parks destroyed, and lakes drained. A portion 
 of the house was pulled down, and in the rooms which were once 
 the resort of fashion and made memorable by the presence of the 
 most distinguished people in the land, were stored wheat and 
 corn. Only three rooms now remain of this once mag;nificent 
 home. 
 
 On a hill overlooking Chaimiiere in a neglected burving- 
 giound, sleeps the dust of David Meade and his wife and a few of 
 his family, but the memories of Chaumiere will long live in Jes- 
 samine county and in the West. 
 
 Xotiiwithstanding its difference from the other homes in Jessa- 
 mine county, and notwithstanding the diiTerence between him and 
 his neighbors, there was no jealousy. He did not interfere 
 with his fellow-countr\nien. He entertained their guests if 
 they were refined and re]nital)le. and he sought no political pre- 
 ferment. asked for no honors, only desiring to be permitted to 
 live in his own way and to exhibit his own taste in his own home. 
 
 It was arranged that General La Fayette should be entertained 
 at Chaumiere, and for this purpose Colonel Meade constructed a 
 beautiful octagonal room. This, with two other small rooms ofT of 
 die octagonal room, are all that remains as a monument to the 
 beauty and to the charming associations connected with this 
 marvelous home in the wilderness. 
 
 John Cawbey, 
 
 John Cawbey was a resident of Independence. Mo. In Sep- 
 tember, 1884. he wrote to S. M. Duncan a letter which contains 
 many interesting facts in regard to some of the olden time people 
 in Jessamine, and also some reminiscences in regard to Dr. Tris- 
 ler, the first physician in Jessamine. 'and which indicates that Dr. 
 Trisler was something of a medium and fortune teller and prac- 
 ticed these arts in addition to medicine. For many years, tradi- 
 tions have been floating among the people of pristine 
 jessamine, in regard to the marvelous power of Dr. Trisler and his 
 possession of mysterious powers in locating disease, finding lost 
 property, and in early days there were many who accredited tht 
 good, old doctor with the highest order of supernatural vision. 
 
220 Hidory of Jessainiiie County, Kentucky. 
 
 Air. Cawbey says : "My mother died at PVanklin, Ind., in hei 
 70th year ; my father died in his 47th year ; my grandfather, John 
 Cawbey. Hved to the age of 87 years. His wife, my grandmother, 
 Hved to the age of 105 years, and died in Mercer county, Ky. 'My 
 grandfather was born in Lincoln county. Kentucky, and settled 
 in Jessamine county in 1808, where he spent all his life, and was 
 buried at old West Union church lot, better known as the 
 "Hoover graveyard." In this old lot lie my first wife, her 
 brother, father, and grandfather. Conrad Earthenhouse; the father 
 of the late venerable Elizabeth Bowman, who lived to reach the 
 great age of 108. She died in 1886. I have in my keeping Dr. 
 Peter Trisler's German medical works, printed in Wittenberg, 
 Germany, in 1442, which makes 442 years since they were printed. 
 (Printing was invented in 1440.) I have also the Bible of Dr. Tris- 
 ler, which is 400 }'ears old and a commentary over 300 vears old, 
 in the German language. The first of his medical books contains 
 1,180 pages, the second book. 1.342 pages. I send you this infor- 
 mation for the purpose of giving you a correct account, and the 
 dates that I found concerning the first settlers on Jessamine creek, 
 among my papers which I sent to Missouri several months before 
 I left Jessamine county. When I have more time it will afiford me 
 pleasure to give vou many more interesting facts concerning 
 the old settlers along Jessamine creek and their occupation. Be- 
 ginning on the west side of Hickman road, running down Jes- 
 samine creek, there was the home of Joseph Wallace, who was a 
 farmer and tanner. Next was John Carroll, farmer and auction- 
 eer ; Peter Funk, farmer and distiller; Michael Ritter, farmer and 
 vender of crockery ware, etc.; Samuel Walls, farmer; Thos. Rey- 
 nolds, father of Barney Reynolds, farmer and distiller, and 
 spent much of his life fishing; Jacob Myers, father of the late W. 
 B. Myers, was a manufacturer of gun powder on the farm where 
 Wm. Mathews now lives; Richard West was a gunsmith and 
 farmer, and owned the farm where Wm. Bourne is now living; 
 Christopher Arnspiger lived on the other side of the creek, was a 
 farmer and cooper; next came the old Howser mill property, owned 
 by Abraham Elowser and George Mason. Both had an equal 
 share in the mill, and each one had his part of the farm, and both 
 carried on a distillery of their own ; next was the Bennett farm — 
 this old Mr. Bennett fell down from his barn loft and killed him- 
 
Hidori/ of Jr!<m))i'nu' CoiDiti/, Kciifiirki/. 22\ 
 
 self. He was an old bachelor, and would often hide himself when 
 ladies passed his house ; Conrad Earthenhouse was a farmer and 
 weaver, and also had a distillery; George Smith, the grandfathei 
 of Willis B. Smith, lived on the farm now occupied by Willis; he 
 was a farmer and distiller. On that old farm in his grandfather's 
 lifetime, I ground corn for the said distiller}- in the year 1827. At 
 old Thomas Haydon's mills, now owned by James Lewallen, for- 
 merly by Frank Grow, there was a distillery attached to this prop- 
 erty. It has passed through many hands since I first knew the 
 place ; the next farm on the creek was the old Crozier mill and 
 cotton factory. This property, like many others in those days, 
 had a distillery on it. It was here on this farm that the first steam 
 engine was ever used in Jessamine county. Mr. Crozier and 
 James Hill ran it for nineteen years. The next place was that 
 owned by Mr. Womack and Thos. Bryan, avIio owned the old 
 paper mill and grist mill built by old John Lewis. This mill was 
 the first one erected in Jessamine county, and had the first French 
 buhr stones brought to Jessamine county, which cost Mr. Lewis 
 $1,200. The old mill is now owned by John H. Glass. 
 
 "Before closing this long letter I will relate some of Dr. Tris- 
 ler's strange performances. He would sometimes invite his 
 neighbors to see him. He would then disappear in the very 
 presence of the company, and none could tell what had become of 
 him. He could stop the flow of l^lood from any wound by giving 
 the initials of the proper name of any man or women — this was 
 all that was required. He could tell where stolen property was 
 concealed. He could light a candle in a large room by rubl)ing 
 his hands together. He could tell the exact number of pigs a sow 
 would have at a litter. These are matters of fact and have been 
 tested and are well known as facts, among the early settlers of Jes- 
 samine county. I remember, myself, there lived a man on the 
 farm of Thomas Gordon, about one mile south of Nicholasville, 
 who had a horse stolen. He came to see Dr. Trisler, three times 
 l)efore he would tell him where the horse was. On the third day 
 Dr. Trisler met the owner of the stolen horse and told him to go 
 to the town of Lancaster, in Garrard county, and near the county 
 jail he would find the horse hitched to a fence ; he added : "But the 
 man that took the horse from vour stable has been killed in a 
 
222 Hidory of Je><sainine County, Kentucky. 
 
 drunken frolic." This may appear unreasonable, but I know it to 
 be true. Very truly, your friend, 
 
 John Cawbey. 
 
 Alexander Wake. 
 
 Alexander Wake was the first County Judge of Jessamine 
 county under the Constitution of 1850. He was born in Fau- 
 C[uier county, Virginia, in 1797, and died in Nicholasville in 1867. 
 Through his maternal and paternal ancestors, he inherited the 
 love of liberty, for both took part in the war for independence. 
 In the beginning of the present century. Judge Wake's father re- 
 moved to Woodford county. He brought with him from Vir- 
 ginia, a large number of slaves. Judge Wake commenced the 
 study of law and was admitted to the practice of his profession in 
 1820. In 1851, when he was elected County Judge, he refused 
 to grant license to sell liquor. Judge James Letcher, of Garrard 
 county, was the first judge who refused to grant such license, and 
 he was immediately followed by Judge Wake, of Jessamine. He 
 w-as a fearless man in the discharge of his official duty ; he knew 
 neither friend or foe on the bench ; he followed the dictates of his 
 conscience and his judgment, and commanded the respect and 
 confidence of his fellow-citizens. 
 
 John B, Cook, 
 
 In i8io Dawson Cook, who was a native of King and Queen 
 countw Virginia, removed to Nicholasville, bringing with him his 
 son, John B. Cook, then four years of age. Early in life Mr. Cook 
 entered business in Nicholasville, became a member of the Meth- 
 odist church, and in all the relations of life acted well his part. 
 He was kind, generous, thoughtful and courteous to his friends 
 and neighbors. One characteristic of his life was his devotion to 
 his church. For fifty-two years he was an earnest supporter of 
 the Nicholasville Methodist church, and was rarely, if ever, ab- 
 sent from his seat in the sanctuary. He died in 1886, in the sev- 
 enty-third year of his age. 
 
 r)ne of his sons, Rev. T. B. Cook, was adjutant of the Fifth 
 Kentuckv Confederate infantrv, and later a distinguished Meth- 
 
Hiftonj of Je>iA(imhie Coiiiifi/, Kndiickij. 2'l?i 
 
 odist divine. His sons, John, Edward, and Bush L. Cook, the 
 latter proprietor of tlie Hotel Nicholas, and one dau^^hter survive 
 him. His piety and his patriotism combined with his kind and 
 genial manners render him one of the best remembered citizens of 
 lessamine county. 
 
 Capt John Wallace 
 
 \\'as born in lUicks county, Pennsylvania, Dec. i8, 1748. His 
 father hatl come from Ireland in 1737. Captain Wallace served 
 in the Revolutionary armies under General Washington. He had 
 three brothers in his compau}-. He was with Wasliington when 
 he crossed the Delaware, and fought the battle of Trenton. 
 Colonel Rahl, the commander of the Hessians, in that battle, was 
 killed by one of the sharpshooters in Captain Wallace's com- 
 pany. There Captain W^allace took from one of the Hessia.i 
 officers a sword, which was kept in the family for eighty years, and 
 was taken by Federal soldiers from the house of the Rev. Joseph 
 Wallace, in Independence, Alissouri, during the late war. .Vfter 
 his marriage to Jane ImuIcv, in 1777. he removed to A'irginia, but 
 shortly after came to L^ayette county, Ky.. accompanied by sev- 
 eral members of his familw His son, Joseph Wallace, married 
 Sarah llarr, January 24, 1829, and shortly after this Captain Wal- 
 lace setded in Jessamine county, where the East Fork and main 
 Jessamine Creek unite, and carried on for more than forty years 
 an extensive tannerv. He was a most efficient business man, 
 kindl}- and considerate in all the relations of life, and was one of 
 the l:)est citizens that ever lived in Jessamine. He died at his 
 place, a few miles south of Xicholasville, Dec. 19, 1855, in the 
 76th year of liis age. Mrs. T. J. Brown was one of his daughters. 
 Scattered throughout Kentucky and Missouri are his descend- 
 ants. They carry witli them as their inheritance the manly, pa- 
 triotic, intelligent and Christian instincts which marked their an- 
 cestors. 
 
 A Romantic Story. 
 
 On the first day of January, 1841, a young man about thirty 
 years of age, made his appearance in Nicholasville, wliich then 
 had a population of only 550 inhabitants. His name was Ross 
 
224 Hidory of Jessamine CoiDitij, Kentucky. 
 
 Hughes, and he was a stage driver, a native of Ireland and a man 
 of pluck and energy. He obtained employment, and rented an old 
 house then belonging to Albert Young. He and his wife con- 
 stituted the family. He drove the stage from Xicholasville to 
 Harrodsburg, over rough roads in winter. After he quit driving 
 the stage, he one day told his wife that he must visit Louisville 
 and New Orleans. He remained away from home for a long time 
 and the gossips of the town made the young wife unhappy by 
 their disagreeable insinuations. After an absence of four months 
 the husband returned, but within a week he received a budget of 
 letters, and told his wife that he nuist go at once to St. Louis, and 
 iTx a few hours, he took his departure for the last time from Nich- 
 olasville, and gossip again turned its hateful tongue to the dis- 
 turbance of the life and heart of the young wife. The public felt 
 that she was deserted. Shortly after she became a mother, and 
 for eighteen months lived on in silence, hoping and trusting. At 
 the end of this time she received a letter from her husband di- 
 recting her to come at once with her child, which she did, after 
 disposing of her little household effects. L^pon reaching St. 
 Louis she found that her husband was the owner of a splendidly 
 furnished house with every convenience for her comfort, and 
 with colored servants ready to obey her wishes. In due time 
 the little girl born in the little log house on the 27th of January, 
 1 841, became a lady in fashionable society in St. Louis, and later 
 the wife of an English Lord, and the mistress of a superb man- 
 sion in London society. She died Lady Stirling, on the 6th day oi 
 September. 1889, ""^ London. Her first husband was a distinguished 
 Major General, in the Federal army. The old log house in 
 which Lady Stirling was born is still standing, and is the property 
 of Mr. Corrington. It has been altered and weatherboarded 
 anew, and is still one of the most comfortable residences in the 
 town. It was erected in 1804, and is on the corner lot in the rear 
 of Joseph Lear's livery stable. 
 
 Prolific of Statesmen. 
 
 In one corner of Jessamine county there were six neighbor- 
 liood boys, living almost in sight of each other, all of whom played 
 together and attended the same school. Four of these — George 
 
Hidory of Jesmmine County Kentucky. 
 
 225 
 
 S. Shanklin, Otho R. Singleton, Sam'l H. \\'oodson and A. G. Tal- 
 bott — became members of Congress ; the fifth — Jos. B. Crockett — 
 became one of the most distinguished state judges in America, and 
 was for many years Chief Justice of Cahfornia ; while the sixth — 
 Richard K. Call — was elected to Congress from Florida, in 1823. 
 He was Governor of Florida from 1836 to 1839, and again from 
 1 841 to 1844. Such a record of distinguished services from one 
 neighborhood is certainlv rare in this or anv other countv. 
 
 George S. Shanklin. 
 
 Hon. G. S. Shanklin was the youngest son of John vShanklin. 
 who was one of the early pioneers, emigrating from Pennsvlvania 
 
 to Kentucky. He settled in Jessamine county in 1785. He earl v 
 attended the celebrated school of Joshua Fry. He was not a 
 15 
 
226 Hutory of Jessamine Couidy, Kentucky. 
 
 politician or time-server. He was a man of a high sense of in- 
 tegrity, modesty, courtesy and of retiring disposition. He was 
 an able and successful practitioner of law. a man of most incor- 
 ruptible honor. He was elected to Congress in 1865. and repre- 
 sented Jessamine county in the lower house in 1838. and was 
 Presidential Elector in 1864. The latter years of his life were 
 spent upon his farm, about three miles from Nicholasville, on 
 the Versailles turnpike. He died April ist, 1883. seventy-five 
 years of age. 
 
 Otho R, Singleton. 
 
 One of the distinguished sons of Jessamine was Otho R. 
 Singleton. He was born near Keene, in 1816. In 1842 he 
 setded in the state- of Mississippi. He was a gifted man, of superb 
 presence, fine courage and attractive address, and in his adopted 
 state became very prominent. He was the son of Lewis Single- 
 ton, and nephew of Elijah Singleton. He attended Bardstown 
 Colleg,"e in his early life, and immediately after going to Missis- 
 sippi was elected and served two years in the legislature. He 
 afterwards served six years in the Mississippi vState Senate, and 
 in i8S2 was the presidental elector from Mississippi. He was 
 chosen as a mennber of the 33d, 35th and 36th Congresses. He 
 entereil the Civil War with a ^Mississippi regiment, and acquitted 
 himself with great gallantry. At the battle of Leesburg a 
 Federal officer from Boston — a Captain Watson — demanded his 
 surrender. At that time Mr. Singleton was a captain in the 
 Second ^Mississippi regiment. His resi)onse to the Federal 
 officer was a shot wliich killed him instantly. After the war Mr. 
 Singleton was elected a member of the 44th Congress, and 
 served in 1875 as a member of that Ijody. His father was an 
 extensive hemp manufacturer, and maintained his factory near 
 Keene. He died a few vears since at Jackson. ]\Iiss. 
 
 Rev, John T, Hendricks, D, D, 
 
 Mr. Hendricks was one of the most useful and also one of the 
 most distinguished men educated in Jessamine. Having united 
 with the Nicholasville Presbvterian church, the ol^cers of the 
 
H'lMonj of Jeiff^aiiiutf ('(nndij. Kentuckij. 227 
 
 congregation discovered that he was a man of fine mind and deej) 
 religious convictions. The church undertook liis echication for 
 the ministry, and amply did he repa\- it for the services rendered 
 hy it to him in his youth. 
 
 He was l)orn in Barren county in 1810. His father came from 
 A'irginia and settled in Kentucky in 1805, and died in Jessamine 
 county in 1839, two miles east of Nicholasville. His Avife who 
 V. as Mary Tilman, died at the same place in February, 1838. His 
 ancestors were staunch Protestants and served under William, 
 Prince of Orange, in the war waged by Philip H. of Spain 
 against tlie. Protestants of Holland, about the middle of the Six- 
 teenth century. 
 
 Wihile preparing for the ministry, he undertook the work of 
 colporteur in Jessamine county, and his report of his labors is 
 still in existence. He distributed 31 Bibles free, sold 15, do- 
 nated 25 Testaments, and sold 5. His report closes with these 
 words: "T have been engagCvd five days, finding my own horse, 
 "at one dollar per day, which I have received. 
 
 "March 6, 1830." 
 
 He visited in all 148 families in the territory bounded as fol- 
 lows : From Nicholasville with the Shaker road to Jessamine 
 creek, with the same to the river, up the river to the Paint Lick 
 road, to the beginning. 
 
 Dr. Hendricks died only a few months ago in the 88th year ot 
 his age. His services at Clarksville, Paducah and other portions 
 of the Presbyterian church in the Southern states, have given 
 him wide distinction as a man of great earnestness, and great 
 faithfulness in his ^Master's cause. 
 
 John Gorman. 
 
 John Gorman, a member of Captain Price's company, was a 
 native of Wavne county. Pa. He was born in 1792. He removed 
 to Kentuckv in very early life, and when the call was made for vol- 
 unteers, in 1812, he promptly ofifered his services. He was the 
 first man in Captain Price's command to fire a gun in the battle of 
 Raisin. He killed an Indian and a British soldier early in the 
 morning. 
 
 He long lived in the western part of Jessamine county as one 
 
228 Hidory of Jesmmine County, Kentucky. 
 
 of its best and worthiest citizens and died in 1876, in his eighty- 
 second year. He was brave, honest and patriotic. 
 
 Capt. Thomas T. Cogar. 
 
 Nature was generous to Capt. Thos. T. Cogar, and gave him 
 as his portion in Hfe, fourscore-and-six years. 
 
 His father, Michael Cogar, settled in Jessamine in 1790 at the 
 head of Jessamine creek, and there his son Thomas was born in 
 
 1796. 
 
 Captain Cogar was a man of strong mind and the kindest im- 
 pulses. His devotion to friends knew no limitations. He mar- 
 ried Miss Ruth Ewing in 1822, and 'n 1847 removed to the Ken- 
 tucky river, at Cogar's Landing, sometimes called Brooklyn. 
 Here he carried on a large trade and managed the shipping busi- 
 ness on the Kentucky river, from that point. 
 
 He became a distinguished Mason, and commanded, for many 
 years, one of the crack military companies of the county. He 
 managed to secure a large pork-packing establishment at his 
 landing and by his energy and popularity built up a remunerative 
 trade for such a locality. 
 
 He represented Jessamine county for two terms, in the legis- 
 lature of 1867-71, and died in Nicholasville in 1882. He was an 
 honorable man, a patriotic citizen, a loyal friend, and an intelli- 
 g'ent and faithful legislator. 
 
 John Barklcy, 
 
 In the earlier history of Jessamine county that portion of it 
 lying in the general neighborhood of Keene produced an unusual 
 number of very enterprising as well as very gifted men. Among 
 these was John Barkley, who held large landed interests in Jes- 
 samine county prior to 1834. At that time Mr. Barkley removed 
 to Boyle county, and established the first hemp 'manufactbry 
 south of the Kentucky river. He was largely engaged in mer- 
 chandise and was also one of the leading men in the develop- 
 ment of the state. He was born in Jessamine county in 1809. 
 
 He was the first President of the proposed railroad from Lex- 
 ingfton to Danville from the South. Railroad buildins: at that 
 
Hlftory of Jetixamine County, Kentucky. 229 
 
 period presented almost insurmountable difficulties. Mr. Bark- 
 ley went to New York and engaged a civil engineer to examine 
 the prospects for the construction of the road. The mighty 
 chasms of the Kentuck}- river stood in the way. Cantilever and 
 suspension bridges for railways had not then been used or even 
 invented, The construction of a railway was practically impos- 
 sible without a bridge which wouLl span the Kentucky river. 
 Air. Adams, the engineer, surveying the road from Lexington to 
 Danville, proposed to span the Kentucky at the point where the 
 Cincinnati Southern now crosses. 
 
 The engineering and iinancial difficulties would have defeated 
 most men, but they only aroused Air. Barkley to higher effort. 
 He was a man of great pluck, high order of talent, sparkling wit 
 and a fine conversationalist. He had received the best educational 
 advantages and had followed these with wide reading, especially 
 in English literature. 
 
 He represented Boyle county in the legislature in 1845, and 
 was a leader in all movements for the prosperity and development 
 of the county. 
 
 Prior to his death he had purchased one of the finest farms in 
 Boyle county, near Danville, and was residing there at the time 
 he undertook the construction of the Lexington & Danville Rail- 
 road. While on his way from Danville to Nicholasville, in com- 
 pany with Mr. Adams, the engineer, to arrange some matters in 
 connection with tlie enterprise, the horse, which he was driving, 
 became frightened on the cliffs of the Kentucky river, and ran 
 away, striking the vehicle against a rock on the side of the road. 
 He was thrown out and instantly killed. This occurred on the 
 21st day of January, 1853. 
 
 Few men at that time would have been a greater loss to Ken- 
 tucky. Air. Barkley was one of the master spirits of enter- 
 prise in that period when Kentucky, above all others, needed 
 men to lead, promote and advance internal improvements. 
 
 He left the work which he had inaugurated for others to com- 
 plete, but the boldness of his plans and the wisdom of his designs 
 have been vindicated in later years and that great thoroughfare, 
 the Cincinnati .Southern Railway, is the consummation of that 
 which Air. Barklev had devised at a time when other men would 
 
230 Hidonj of Je><mmine GoHntij, Kentucky. 
 
 have dismissed such a project from their minds as utterly im- 
 possible. 
 
 Joseph B. Crockett, 
 
 In 1808, Joseph B. Crockett was born at Union Mills, on 
 Hickman creek, A short while after, his father removed to Lo- 
 gan comity, and there the son attended a classical school. In 
 1827 he entered the University of Tennessee, at Nashville, but 
 in consequence of the straitened pecuniary condition of his 
 father, he was compelled to leave the University after one year. 
 He studied law^ at Hopkinsville with Governor Morehead. In 
 1830 he formed a partnership with Gustavus A. Henry, which, 
 after two years, was dissolved. In 1833, he was elected to the 
 legislature, where, at once, his talents and his industry gave him 
 a high stand. He was again elected to the legislature in 1836. to 
 fill a vacancy, and shortly after this he was appointed Common- 
 wealth's Attorney by Governor Clark. His career as a prosecu- 
 tor was brilliant and able, but the duties of the oflfice were uncon- 
 genial ; his talents led him to prefer the defense rather than the 
 prosecution, and he soon established a reputation for being one 
 of the ablest criminal lawyers ever known in Kentucky. 
 
 In 1840, he removed to St. Louis, Mo., where a most brilliant 
 success crowned his career, but, his health giving way, in 1852 
 he settled in California, and in a little while found himself in the 
 very front rank of the bar in that state. 
 
 His kindness of heart and his generous courtesy secured for 
 him the highest popularity. Upon the death of Judge Shapter, of 
 the Supreme Court of California. Mr. Crockett was appointed 
 to fill the unexpired term. He held the place of Chief Justice for 
 twelve years and retired in 1880 — the result of infirmity produced 
 by advanced years. He was regarde-I by the people of California 
 as one of the most brilliant, able and distinguished judges who 
 ever sat on the bench of the Supreme Court. 
 
 David Bowman, 
 
 One of the unique characters in the early history of Jessamine 
 county was David Bowman. He was born in Bucks county. Pa., 
 in 1784, and settled in Jessamine coimty, on Jessamine creek, in 
 
History of Jes^samlne GouMij, Kentiifk(/. 231 
 
 1800. His forefathers in Pennsylvania were members of the 
 Churcli of the United Brethren. Mr. Bowman united with the 
 Presbyterian church in Nicholasville in 1825, and was for more 
 than sixty-five years a faithful and devoted attendant. At the 
 time of his death in 1879, he was the oldest member of the church 
 and was the last of the old men born m the eighteenth century. 
 
 When a young- man he became addicted to the use of liquor ; 
 resolving to rid himself of this habit, he went to Lexington and 
 after a three days' walk in the mud, reached that city. There he 
 received the help of a gentleman, who aided him to go to New 
 Orleans on a fiatboat, and there he took service on a ship, which 
 plied between New Orleans and Havana, and followed the sea 
 for twelve years, and accimiulated quite a fortune. He returned 
 to Jessamine county, married, and on twelve acres of land always 
 had corn and wheat, and money to spare. 
 
 For many years he attended church in Nicholasville, coming 
 on horseback, with his wife behind him. He insisted to the time 
 of his death upon wearing a blue, spade-tail coat. 
 
 John Butler, 
 
 John Butler was the son of Thomas Butler, one of the old 
 sheriffs of Jessamine county, under the Constitution of 1779. He 
 was born in Jefferson county, A'a., in July, 1813, and was only six 
 years old when his father settled in Jessamine county. He was a 
 kind, honest and upright man. and commanded the respect and 
 confidence of his fellow-citizens. He was deputy sheriff two 
 terms, and died March i. 1870. He was one of the substantial 
 and enterprising men of Jessamine county. 
 
 James R. Davis. 
 
 James R. Davis was born near Nicholasville in 1809. He was 
 the third son of James Davis, and nephew of William Davis, two 
 brothers, who came from Culpeper Court House, \^a . and set- 
 tled in Jessamine county in 1798. James Davis was the son of 
 Henry Davis, of Culpeper county, Ya., who served in the Rev- 
 olutionary War, under General Washington, and General Wayne. 
 He died in Fayette countv in 1794. 
 
.'^32 H'tston/ of JeAmmine County, Kentucky. 
 
 James R. Davis lived in the Sulphur Wells neighborhood for 
 fifty years. He was a good and worth}' man. noted for his hospi- 
 tality. He died in 1886. 
 
 Samuel Woodson Price. 
 
 Samuel AX'oodson Price, son of Maj. D. B. Price and Eliza 
 Crockett, was born on the 5th of August. 1828, in Xicholasville, 
 Kv. He earlv exhibited a marvelous talent for drawing, and he 
 
 could draw the capital letters before he knew his alphabet. All 
 his holidays and Saturdays were spent in sketching on paper and 
 modeling in clay. \A'hen quite a boy he was sitting in the court 
 house at a famous trial. Thomas F. Marshall was addressing 
 the jury for the prisoner. During this speech the attention of 
 the young artist was drawn to an old and prominent farmer who- 
 
History of Jessamine Couufi/,, Kcntiiekii . l!33 
 
 was listening, with eager attention to the elocjuent words which 
 were being uttered. His head was resting on his hands, his 
 fingers along the side of his face, while his month was wide open. 
 ]n a little while the sketch was completed. He handed it to the 
 sheriff, who laughed aloud and in turn handed it to the judge, 
 who also was not able to suppress his mirth. It was passed from 
 neighbor to neighbor, and everybody laughed, and the speaker 
 was compelled to pause for a few minutes. 
 
 After attending the Nicholasville Academy he was sent to the 
 Kentucky Institute to complete his education. This was in the 
 fall of 18.46. He was at once made Professor of Drawing, with 
 the rank of First Lieutenant. In 1847 the University suspended 
 and he went at once to Lexington to pursue his studies with the 
 lenowned painter, Oliver Frazier. There he attained s])lendid 
 success. His painting, "Old King Solomon," is one of the most 
 noted ever produced in Kentucky. His portrait of Chief Justice 
 George Robertson, and the painting of Dr. J- J- Bullock and his 
 familv, rank among the masterpieces of the state. The Govern- 
 ment purchased from him a portrait of Major-General Thomas, 
 which is now in the National Gallery, at Washington. 
 
 At the beginning of the war he commanded an independent 
 com]:)any at Lexington. knc)wn as the Old Infantry. jMost of 
 this company entered the Federal service. He was afterwards 
 appointed Colonel of the Twenty-first Kentucky Infantry. He 
 brought this regiment to a high state of efificiency, and the service 
 it afterward performed in the Civil war. from '61 to '65, was 
 in considerable measure induced by his splendid training. At 
 tlie l:)attle of Stone River he made a heroic stand and was op- 
 posed to the Kentucky Confederate troops under Breckinridge. 
 
 General Price was badly wounded at Kenesaw Mountain 
 and taken from the field. This incapacitated him for further 
 active service. He was appointed commandant of the pt:)St at 
 Lexington, and was such at the close of the war. He was brev- 
 eted Brigadier-General for his gallant conduct at Kennesaw. and 
 afterwards was Postmaster at Lexington, which place he held for 
 two terms. Pie moved to Louisville after his retirement from the 
 position of Postmaster, to pursue his profession, portrait paint- 
 ing, but the loss of his eyesight prevented him from further work, 
 and he is now totalp- blind. He is a writer of vi^for and a mem- 
 
234 History of Jessamine Countt/, Kentucky. 
 
 ber of the Filson Club, for which he frequently prepares sketches, 
 which are greatly appreciated and highly valued. Several of his 
 jiaintings take high rank, and one, "Caught Napping," is a 
 masterpiece of its kind. The closing of his professional life by 
 the destruction of his sight, was a great loss, not only to Ken- 
 tucky but to all lovers of art. 
 
 William T. Willis. 
 
 Captain Willis was born on the loth of June, 1794, in Cul- 
 peper county, \'a.. and was killed at the battle of Buena \'ista, 
 February 23rd, 1847. He married tirst Hetty E. Howe, daugh- 
 ter of a Presbyterian minister. He had been educated at a semi- 
 nary taught l)y liis father-in-law. He was elected to represent 
 Green county in the Legislature several times, and also repre- 
 sented Green and Hart in tlie Senate in 1833 and 1838. He made 
 the race for Congress in that district in 1839. witb a majority of 
 2.000 against him, which he reduced to 200. At that time he was 
 believed to be on his death-bed, and this seriously affected his 
 vote. After his marriage he began merchandising, and shipped 
 large quantities of tobacco by flat-boat, and drove horses through 
 tlie countr}' to New Orleans. The partner, who he sent on one 
 of these expeditions, was taken sick after selling the horses and 
 tobacco, and died, and before Captain Willis could reach the place 
 of his demise, the proceeds of the sale had disappeared. Being 
 involved, he returned at once, sold out his stock, and commenced 
 studying law and practiced in Green and adjoining counties. Not- 
 withstanding that he had a large debt and a family of eight chil- 
 dren, and at that time was compelled to meet such men as Samuel 
 Brent. Ben Hardin. Judge Cnderwood and Judge Buckner, he 
 I succeeded admirably in his profession. In 1840 he removed to 
 Harrodsburg. remained there three years, and then came to Jes- 
 samine county. He was a man of singular energy and great abil- 
 ity. He had built up a large practice, and was regarded through- 
 out Kentucky as one of its most promising statesmen. Although 
 fifty years of age at the breaking out of the Mexican war. he at 
 once organized a company for service and his ardent patriotism 
 is best attested by the fact that with him. three of his sons volun- 
 
Hidori/ of Je^xamine County, Kentitcky. 235 
 
 teered as privates; the youngest of whom was barely fifteen years 
 of age. 
 
 The following is a list of his men : 
 
 Roll of Company "¥," Second Regiment, Kentucky Foot 
 Volunteers — Mexican War : 
 
 Wm. T. Willis, ist captain, killed at Buena Msta. 
 
 Captain — James C). Hervy. First Lieutenant — William R. 
 Keene. Second Lieutenant — Thos. J. Proctor. Second Lieu- 
 tenant — Wm. C. Lowry. Sergeants — William L. Smith ist, An- 
 drew J. Nave, 2d, Jno. C. Winter 3d, William Cox 4th ; Corpo- 
 rals — Edward P. Green ist, Dudley Portwood 2d, John A. Willis 
 3d, Chas. C. Hagan 4th. Drummer — Cortney L. I>urch. 
 
 Privates — Allen, Jno. H. ; Brown, Geo. W. ; Burchell, Daniel ; 
 Burton, Theodric ; Bruner, Thos. J.; Beymer, Saml. ; Castle, Au- 
 gustus 1j. : Crane, Asa C. ; Crane, Jno. P. ; Collin*;, William ; Dan- 
 iel, Wm. H. ; Dickerson, Woodson: Day, Wm.; Duman, James; 
 Easby, Andrew L. ; Easby, Josiah ; England, Jas. S. ; F'ain, John ; 
 Ford, Joshua (t. ; Ford, Edward D.; Garison, John A.; Graves, 
 Living; Gibony, William; (n-ant, Geo. W. ; Howard, Robt. S.; 
 Hamilton, William; Hunter, John; Hayden, Isah P.; Hill, 
 (ireensbury; Harve}', Trotter; Hawkins, James; Jackman, Jos.-, 
 Masters. Irvine; ^larvin, Wm. F. ; Masters, Jackson; Marks, 
 Geo. L; Martin, Robert; Moore, Andrew IC; ^IcCampbell, Jno. 
 G.; McConnel, Jas. A.; McMurtry, John; Nooe, Albert K. •, 
 O'Brien, William ; Overstreet, Saml. R. ; Page, Thos. C. ; Patter- 
 son, Wm. ; Roberson, Jacob C. ; Roberts, Andrew J. ; Rash, John ', 
 Saunders, Jno. A. ; Saunders, Geo. W. ; Sacre, John ; Sharp, Eze- 
 kiel K. ; Sweitzer, John ; Tutt, Wm. ; Thompson, Jno. T. ; White, 
 Jas. X. ; Wilson. John ; Willis. Edmond C. ; Willis, Jas. H. 
 
 Jacob Kreath Robinson, in the ofificia'l list spelled Robertson, 
 was one of the youngest men in this company. He was born in 
 1829. The oldest man in the company, John Hunter, was born 
 in 1804. and was the son of John Hunter, the first settler. He 
 was severely wounded in the leg at the battle of Buena Vista and 
 died in 1881. Robinson was also a soldier in the late war. passed 
 through all its hardships and dangers, endured its privations, and 
 now resides at Harrodsburg. Ky. 
 
 This company w'as ordered to report at I>ouisville to be mus- 
 tered into service. They assembled at Mundy's Landing on the 
 
236 History of Jessamine Coiodij, Kentucky. 
 
 Kentucky river ; some came on horseback, some in carriages, 
 and they were ordered there to meet the steamboat Blue \\'ing'. 
 When the company reached the river the steamboat was at 
 Brooklyn, and while coming down to Mundy's Landing ran into 
 a sandbar and stuck. Capt. Philip Thomson's company from 
 fiercer county, was also on the way to Louisville. With ropes 
 the soldiers pulled the steamer from off the sandbar twice, and, 
 after it had stuck the third time, Capt. Thomson went to Salvisa 
 and obtained wagons and drove through to Louisville, while Cap- 
 tain Willis's company took coalboats at Mundy's Landing, rowed 
 themselves down to Frankfort, and arrived there the next day. 
 After taking breakfast in Frankfort, the steamer arrived at the 
 landing and they took passage and reached Louisville, and were 
 mustered in by Col. George Croghan. From Louisville thev 
 were transported to New Orleans by steamers, and after re- 
 maining there a few da}'s, they, crossed the Gulf of Mexico in 
 some old British sailing vessels, and arrived at Brazos on the Rio 
 Grande river. A part of the regiment was engaged in the bat- 
 tle of Monterey. Shortly after this the regiment was ordered to 
 the city of Saltillo, and from thence, marching with General Tav- 
 lor. they engaged in the battle of Buena A'ista. This was one of 
 the most brilliant battles that crowned American arms, and it 
 was the only battle in which the entire regiment, with which Cap- 
 tain Willis' company was connected, was engaged. This regi- 
 ment was commanded by Col. W^illiam R. ]McKee. from Lancas- 
 ter; Henry Clay. Jr.. was Lieutenant-Colonel, and Carv H. Frv. 
 Major. The company was enrolled on the 21st of Alav. 1846, 
 in Nicholasville. and was mustered in at Louisville June 9. 1846. 
 and was mustered out at Xew Orleans June 9. 1847. 
 
 The story of this battle has always reflected great credit and 
 renown on Kentucky courage. The second Kentuckv Regiment 
 was on the right flank of the army and held it throughout the 
 battle, defeating the enemy opposite to them, which was twice 
 their number. At this time the left flank gave way. and its retreat 
 was only stopped by General Taylor and Jefferson Davis and the 
 cavalry, who drove them back to face the enemy. It was then th.it 
 Colonel Hardin, of the First Illinois, and Colonel McKee, of the 
 Second, made a disastrous charge against an overwhelming force. 
 This charge was made against the earnest protest of Colonel 'Mc- 
 
Hidory of Jexmmine County, Kentucky. 237 
 
 Kee and C^aptain Willis, but Hardin insisted upon making it, and 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Clay urged it, and the Kentucky boys, fear- 
 ing that the Illinois men would get the glor^', McKee then united 
 in the charge and was killed. Col. Henry Clay, Jr., was wound- 
 ed, and Captain Willis, with the high courage and no'ble generos- 
 ity which mark led. his wbOJe career, was urging his men to take the 
 Lieutenant-Colonel froiii the field, when the Mexican Lancers 
 came rapidly down and killed l)oth Colonel Clay and Captain 
 Willis. Harvey Trotter, a soldier from Jessamine, was killed at 
 the same time. James O. Llervey succeeded Captain Willis, and 
 only four of the men who were engaged in the battle of Buena 
 Vista in this company, now remain in Jessamine : John A. Willis, 
 William C. Lowrey, William Hamilton and David Switzer. Cap- 
 tain Willis' remains, as well as those of Trotter, were removed by 
 the State of Kentucky, and reinterred in the state ground in 
 Frankfort cemetery'. It was upon the occasiom of the reinter- 
 ment of these soldiers that Theodore O'Hara wrote his immortal 
 poem of " The i'ivouac of the Dead," commencing as follows : 
 
 "The muffled drum's sad roll has beat 
 The soldier's last tattoo ; 
 No more on Life's parade shall meet 
 
 That brave and fallen few. 
 On Fame's eternal camping-ground 
 
 Their silent tents are spread. 
 And glor}- guards, with solemn round, 
 The bivouac of the dead." 
 
 Robert Young. 
 
 Robert Young, a resident of Jessamine coimtv for more than 
 sixty-four years, was born in Fayette county, on Elkhorn creek, 
 not far from the Jessamine line, in 1803. His father, John 
 Young, was a Revolutionary soldier and served three years under 
 General Greene. At the breaking out of the war he Avas onlv 
 sixteen years of age. He was engaged in the battles of Eutaw 
 Springs, Monk's Corner, Guilford Court House, and at York- 
 town. Robert Young was the son of John Young by his second 
 wife, Cvnthia -^IcCuUoueh- 
 
Hldori/ of Jexsanune (oiinfij, Kenhicky. 239 
 
 He learned hat manufacturing witli his brother-in-law, Mr. 
 PVitzlen, at \'ersailles, and in 1825 established himself in Xicholas- 
 ville. He accumulated a moderate fortune and in 1848 purchased 
 a farm and retired from business as a manufacturer. 
 
 He married Josephine Henderson, a granddaughter of Col. 
 Joseph Crockett, and reared a large family. His oldest son, 
 Rev. Daniel P. Young, was one of the leading Presbyterian min- 
 isters of Kentucky ; his two sons, Robert and Melanchthon, two 
 of the county's most substantial and successful farmers and most 
 respected and loved citizens, while his other son, Col. Bennett H. 
 Young, resides in Louisville and is the author of this book. His 
 eldest daughter married Dr. Charles IMann and his youngest 
 daughter. Josephine, now resides in Xicholasville. 
 
 Robert Young was a man of high integrity and possessed all 
 the best and noblest cjualities of citizenship. His word was better 
 than his bond. Just, generous and conscientious in all his deal- 
 ings, he connnanded, as he deserved, the respect and confidence 
 of his friends and acquaintances. He was an earnest, faithful 
 member and officer of the Presb}terian church and was an hon- 
 ored member in many of its councils. Xo one ever questioned the 
 reality of his religion ; he carried it into all the dealings of his life. 
 He died X'ovember 2yth. 1889, beloved and deeply mourned by 
 tlie entire community. He never failed to help those who were 
 in want and the grateful remembrance of those who had received 
 of his liberalitv and kindness is a rich legacv for anv man. 
 
 Albert Gallatin Talbot 
 
 Was born in Jessamine county, in the Keene neighborhood, 
 where his father at that time resided. He subsequently removed 
 to Boyle county, and represented that county in the Legislature m 
 1869-73, a"<^^^ i" 1850 lit' was a member of the Thirty-fourth and 
 Tliirtv-fifth Congresses, and of the Constitutional Convention of 
 1849. 
 
 He was a man of idomitable energy, agreeable manners, and 
 was a successful politician. 
 
240 History of Jessamine Count t/, Kentuekij. 
 
 David Crozier. 
 
 Da\dd Crozier was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1795, 
 and came to Jessamine county when he was quite a young man. 
 He built what is known as Crozier's Mill, which is half stone and 
 half wood, on Jessamine creek. In 1845 ^^^ carried on a cotton 
 factory at his mill. He worked about forty hands, mostly boys 
 and girls, and manufactured cotton cloth and jeans. With the in- 
 troduction of railroads, and with the difhculty in getting materials 
 (for by this time Jessamine county had ceased to grow cotton, 
 and the supply of wool was never large enough to run the mill), 
 this mill was closed. Thereafter Mr. Crozier became associated 
 witli Dr. A. K. IMarshall in carrying the mails from Lexington 
 to Bean Station, Tenn. 
 
 He was energetic and enterprising and did much to foster and 
 Kicdntain the earlier manufacturing establishments of the county. 
 
 Dr. Francis Marion Jasper. 
 
 Dr. Francis Clarion Jasper, who died at Cincinnati on the 
 22nd of June, 1892, while not a native of Jessamine county, was 
 long one of its most successful physicians, and his descent entitles 
 him to more than passing notice. His Revolutionary ancestors 
 came from Wales. His great-grandfather, Abraham Jasper, 
 was born in Wales in 1728 and settled in Georgetown, South 
 Carolina. From there he moved to a residence on Cooper river, 
 near Charleston. His oldest son became a prominent Tory, while 
 his other sons, Nicholas Jasper, John Jasper and William Jasper, 
 were Ijrave and devoted soldiers in the cause of their country 
 during the Revolutionary war, having served under General 
 Sumter in North and South Carolina. 
 
 After the Revolutionary war, Nicholas Jasper settled in Pulaski 
 county, Ky., and became the father of a large family of brave 
 and i)atriotic sons. Nicholas Jasper was born near Charleston, 
 South Carolina, in 1752. Sergt. William Jasper was the youngest 
 child, born in 1757. He was not quite twenty years old during 
 the siege of Fort Moultrie, near Charleston, when the flagstaff 
 was broken by a shot from the British. On seeing the flag thus 
 lowered by a shot, Sergeant Jasper immediately sprang down 
 
HiKtory of Jefnamine County, KenfKcl'y. 
 
 241 
 
 and replaced the flag' amid a tremendous fire from the British fleet, 
 commanded by Sir Peter Parker. For his bravery on that oc- 
 casion Governor Rutledge, in the presence of the regiment, took 
 liis sword from his side and presented it to Sergeant Jasper. He 
 offered the brave sokHer a commission, which he refused. He 
 was killed in the assanlt on Savannah, Oct. 7, 1779, when he was 
 not (piite twenty-two years of age. 
 
 Capt. Thomas Jasper, who was the father of Dr. Francis Marion 
 
 Jasper, represented Pulaski count}' in the legislature of Kentuckv 
 in 1833, '34 and '35, and when the War of 181 2 was declared he 
 enlisted in the com])any commanded by Capt. Harrv James. 
 He was in the regiment of Colonel Simrall. He was at the battle 
 of the Thames and fought with splendid courage on that occasion. 
 J)r. Jasper practiced his profession in Jessamine county more 
 tlian thirty years. He answered every known call for his str- 
 16 
 
242 
 
 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 vices. He was kind, tender and gentle, and the question of 
 remuneration affected neither the length nor the ability of his 
 services. He was one of Jessamine's best citizens. 
 
 Henry Metcalf 
 
 Was the oldest son of Rev. John Metcalf, who surveyed Nicholas- 
 ville. He was born in the vear 1800, and died at his home in 
 
 Nicholasville, January 18, 1879. He passed his entire life in 
 Nicholasville. He was a useful citizen and a manufacturer of 
 ropes and bagging. He had a large factory which he operated 
 for a long time successfully. He was a man of extraordinary 
 sweetness of temper, and also of high character. He did the 
 right as he knew it. He opened the first Sunday-school in the 
 Southern Methodist Church in Nicholasville in the spring of 
 
Hidonj of Jex!<a)nuie Coiiidi/, Kcninclaj. 248 
 
 1843. '^"'^^ ^^'^^ '^'^^ long" years one of the stewards in that church 
 and was Hljeral in tlie su]:)port of liis church and earnest in its 
 cause. He married a daughter of John Fishhack. who settled 
 in Kentucky in 1790. in Jessamine county, where he died in 1845. 
 JNIr. John Metcalf. who still survives and lives in Xicholasville, 
 was his eldest son. George Metcalf. another son. now resides in 
 Lexington, and was a gallant soldier in the Fifth Kentucky In- 
 fantry, C. S. A., while Charles Metcalf, the youngest son, is one of 
 the leading lawyers in Tennessee, and President of the Tennessee 
 State Bar Association. John Metcalf and James Aletcalf, two of 
 his sons, are still living, while two of his daughters. ]\Iiss Sallie and 
 Miss Alice, now reside in Xicholasville at the old home place of 
 their grandfather, who laid out and named the town. 
 
 Louis H, Chrisman. 
 
 Among the men of Jessamine who were prominent in the first 
 fifty years of its existence was Louis H. Chrisman. He was 
 born in 1813 and died in 1866, at his home two miles north of 
 Nicholasville on the Lexington and Danville pike. He w'as al- 
 wavs active in politics, was a warm partisan, and after a heated 
 contest was elected sheriff of Jessamine county in 1858. He was 
 the voungest son of Joseph Chrisman, brother of Gen. Hugh 
 Chrisman. Joseph Chrisman was born in Rockingham county, 
 A a., in 1776, and came to Kentucky with his brother and settled 
 in Jessamine county in 1790. 
 
 Mr. Chrisman served as a volunteer aid on the stafT of Gen. 
 ^^'m. R. Terrell, of the Federal army, wlio was killed at Perry- 
 \\\\c. He was one of the leaders of the Whig partv in Jessamine 
 countA' and was always a delightful com])anion wherever he went 
 on account his fine social qualities. Fie was an extraordinary 
 whistler. He could carry the several parts while whistling a tune 
 and this made him a welcome guest at everv political meeting. 
 He was a kind neighbor, a sincere friend, a generous opponent 
 and a patriotic citizen. Mr. A. L. and George Chrisman, his sons, 
 still reside on the old homestead. 
 
244 Hidory of Jessamine Cov)ity, Kenhichj. 
 
 Daniel P, Young, 
 
 Rev. Stuart Rol)inson, in speaking- of Rev. D. P. Young, said: 
 
 "Mr. Young was perhaps the most successful of all the min- 
 isters of the Rresbyterian church in Kentucky in winning souls 
 to Christ. His greatness consisted in his wonderful skill in en- 
 gaging the attention, alike of the converted and unconverted, in 
 the Gospel way of salvation, and his eminent ability in expound- 
 ing the Scriptures, setting forth that way, and beseeching men in 
 Christ's stead to be reconciled to God. The secret of his suc- 
 cess was in large ]:)art that his heart was in his work ; and he was 
 a man who had a ver}' large heart, filled with the love of Christ 
 and the love of souls. Nobody who knew him ever doubted the 
 earnestness of his piety and holy zeal in the service of h.is Master. 
 The many people all over Kentucky, who these twenty years aftei 
 his death, grasp the hands of his children with a warmer clasp 
 when they know who they are, and who speak their afifection foi 
 liim with tears in their eyes, is the greatest evidence of the warm 
 ])lace he held in the hearts of those who came under his influence." 
 
 Daniel P. Young was the oldest child of Robert and Josephine 
 Henderson "S^oung, and on the lot where Jessamine Female In- 
 stitute now stands, was born on February 22d, 1833. 
 
 Under his mother's infliience he early consecrated his life to 
 Christ and resolved in his boyhood to devote himself to the gospel 
 ministrv. 
 
 After passing through the home schools he entered Hanover 
 College, at Hanover, Indiana, and graduated in the class of 1852. 
 After finishing his course there, he prepared to attend Transyl- 
 vania University to pursue the study of law, but while on his way 
 to Lexington he was induced by his conflicting emotions to 
 change his mind and turned back to Danville, Ky., where he 
 entered the I'resbyterian Theological Seminary. 
 
 ' His first charge was at Georgetown, Ky., where under his 
 ministry the membership of the church was largely augmented and 
 in an unusual degree he won the love and affection of his congre- 
 gation. 
 
 From there he removed to the renowned Providence church, 
 in Mercer countv, and from there he was induced bv the insistence 
 
Hixtonj of JeKxamine Coimfi/, Kentucky. 245 
 
 of friends to acce])t the charge of the Xicholasville church. In 
 both success crowned his efforts and he was blessed in the up- 
 building" of these churches. 
 
 In 1S78, he was called to the charg-e of the Presbyterian church 
 at Anchorage, and in conjunction with it the principalship of 
 IJellewood Seminary and Kentucky Presbyterian Normal 
 School. His eminent fitness for this position was recognized 
 on every hand, but, within a few months after he removed to 
 Anchorage, on June 30th, 1878. he ended the labors of his earnest, 
 useful and faithful life. 
 
 John Lafon, 
 
 The Lafons who came to American were refugees from France 
 during the Huguenot i)ersecution. The founders of the family 
 settled in South Carolina and A'irginia, and their descendant, 
 I^ichard I>afon, married Miss Anna Alaxey. removed to Ken- 
 tucky and settled in Jessamine count^■ in 1793. Thev came over 
 the Wilderness Road, with their herds and household effects and 
 slaves and settled, through a patent, a thousand acres, comprising 
 the original Fountain House tract, being the lands now occupied 
 by Rurrier, Phillips, Br}-ants, and Flkins and others, about two 
 and a half miles from Keene, toward Lexington. Richard Lafon 
 war. a man of unusual education for that period. He left a reason- 
 able fortune, although he died a comparatively yotmg man. He 
 l)uilt one of the first brick dwelling houses in the countv. 
 
 His son, John Lafon, was born December 4, 1800. He early 
 had every social and literary advantage, and traveled not onlv in 
 the United States but al)road. He was a man of unusual energy, 
 great ju.igment, broi'd and comprehensive views, and was a born 
 leader of men. As a result of his trading and manufacture he 
 spent his winters in Cuba and New Orleans and his summers in 
 Kentucky on his farm. At one time he leased all the hemp 
 factories in three counties and shipped their product to the South 
 bv way of the Kentucky and Ohio rivers. 
 
 He was a close friend of Henry Clay and in manv important 
 matters his adviser. He was the moving spirit and the president 
 of the Lexington & Harrodsburg Turnpike Company at the 
 period of its cpnipletion. The road was commenced in 1834, bv 
 
 / 
 
 ( 
 I 
 I 
 
246 
 
 Hidonj of Jesmmhie County, Kentucky. 
 
 the state, then abandoned and then leased by the state to Lewis 
 Singleton for twenty years. Singleton died shortly after the 
 acquisition of the road, and it was then taken up by John Lafon 
 and completed through to Perryville in 1847. The work near 
 the Kentucky river was done under Mr. Lafon's administration, 
 and required very large outlay and a high order of engineering 
 skill. He had tremendous difficulties, both physical and financial, 
 
 to overcome, but with his master mind he worked out a mag- 
 nificent success and in the completion of this turnpike rendered 
 Fayette, Jessamine. Mercer and Boyle counties an incalculable 
 benefit. 
 
 Backed i)v his energy and financial ability, this great thorough- 
 fare was built in the face of great difficulties. Such improve- 
 ments in those days could only lie carried on at large expenditure, 
 relatively much larger than now, and to undertake the construe^ 
 
Hidorii of Je^^Sioniite Goantij, Kentuehij. 247 
 
 tion of a graded road such as this pike, tliroug-li the country on 
 either side contiguous to the Kentucky river, demonstrates that 
 he was a man of a high order of moral courage as well as the 
 possessor of great sagacity and unyielding will. 
 
 He married Mary Ann Barkley, whose grandfather had been 
 compelled to leave Ireland, where a price had been placed on his 
 head. And in the struggle for Irish independence he was the 
 friend of Robert Enuiiett and devoted to the liberty of his country. 
 Mrs. Lafon was also a descendant of the Higbees and they came 
 from Xew Jersey. In early days they built boats on South Elk- 
 horu and hauled them to Brooklyn and other landings on the 
 Kentucky and laimched them, from whence thev were floated to 
 Xew ( )rleans. 
 
 A man of culture himself, possessed of a large estate, in- 
 herited l)Oth from his father and his mother, he made a home in 
 every wa} attractive and delightful. His hospitality was un- 
 bounded; he accumulated one of the best libraries in Kentucky, 
 collected curios, and by his intelligence, his enterprise and his 
 talents l)ecame associated with and was the friend of manv of the 
 leading men of the state. His home at one time almost rivaled 
 Chaumiere. He built a beautiful house, he laid out handsome 
 groimds. erected l^ath houses and spring houses, built laundries 
 with hot and cold ])ipes, constructed artificial lakes, and im- 
 proved charming drives. There was on his land an apparently 
 bottomless spring from which boiled up a great volume of water. 
 This, 1:)y a s])lcndid circular stone basin, he changed into a most 
 attractive fountain and called his home after it — Fountain House. 
 With these surroundings he founded an elegant and ideal home, 
 He secured rare flowers and adorned his yard with every variety 
 of tree that could 1)e grown in tlie locality. He died in 1848 in the 
 very meridian of his career. His early demise was a great loss 
 to his native county in its social, physical and educational interests. 
 
 Dr. John W. Holloway. 
 
 Dr. John \\\ Holloway. who represented Jessamine county in 
 the Constitutional Convention of 1890. and who took a promi- 
 nent ]:iart in the deliberations of that body, was a son of Spencer 
 TTolloway, and was born in the county on the 30th of April. 1823. 
 
248 History of Jesmmine County, Kentucky. 
 
 His grandfather, James Holloway. was a native of Virginia, and 
 was a captain in the Revolutionar}- war, and settled in Jessamine 
 county very early in its history. His son, Spencer Holloway, 
 was born in 1792, and died at the advanced age of 89, in the year 
 1883. His son, Joihn W. Holloway, passed his early life on a farm. 
 At 23 years of age he went to Louisville and undertook the study 
 of medicine under Dr. John L. Price and remained there three 
 years, and finally graduated in 1850, from the Medical Depart- 
 ment of the University of Louisville. 
 
 From that time on to the present he has practiced medicine at 
 Keene. He has met with uncjualified success in his profession as 
 well as in his conduct of a large farm. He is a man of strong 
 mental vigor, truest friendship, unflinching courage and highest 
 integrity. 
 
 In the Constitutional Convention he earnestly advocated 
 eqtial property rights for women and bitterly opposed the ballot 
 system. While the convention did not adopt his views they all 
 respected his sincerity, his integrity and his imusual courtesy. 
 
 Letcher Saunders, 
 
 Air. Saunders was born in Nicholasville on October 29, 1864. 
 His father, C. R. Saunders, died in Xicholasville in 1874. Air. 
 
 Saunders was educated in the common schools of Xicholasville. 
 He is one of the most expert penmen and careful clerks that have 
 ever served the people of Jessamine. He was a pupil of Prof. A. 
 N. Gordon, while principal of Bethel Academy, and when six- 
 
DR. J. W. HOLLOWAY. 
 
Hidoi'ii of Je-'<sandiie Omnfy, Ke)ituckij. 24i> 
 
 teen years of age, he entered the Circuit Court Clerk's office as 
 deputy of Lewis D. ]>akKvin. Subsequently he became clerk in 
 the general freight offices of the Louisville & Xashville R. R. Co., 
 at Louisville. He returned to Nicholasville in 1885, and one month 
 after his return he was nominated for Circuit Clerk at the Demo- 
 cratic primary, defeating his competitor by a handsome majority. 
 His conduct of the office was such that he was nominated without 
 opposition for a second term. As Circuit Clerk he took the front 
 rank in Kentucky. He married the daughter of Jas. W. Glass, of 
 Garrard county, January i, 1887. His grandfather, Austin 
 Smithers. during the epidemic of cholera in 1855 went through 
 the tents visiting the side and caring for the dead and dying. 
 White and black alike received his attention, and he never wearied 
 in waiting on those who needed his services during that terrible 
 scourge. Mr. Saunders comes of an ancestry full of humane and 
 noble characteristics, and his popularity is undoubtedly the result 
 of these inherited qualities. 
 
 G. W, Lyne. 
 
 Few men have done more for Jessamine county than Mr. G. 
 W. Lyne. He has been engaged in the real estate business, and 
 his enthusiasm and energy have enabled him during that period 
 I0 dispose of $2,000,000 worth of property and he has been in- 
 strumental in inducing a large number of strangers \o settle in 
 the county. Mr. Lyne is comparatively a young man, only thirtv- 
 one \'ears of age. He is a successful auctioneer and is the onlv 
 man who ever made the real estate business in Jessamine county 
 a success. 
 
 William W. White. 
 
 William W. WHiite, who died at his residence, in Xicholasville, 
 on Januar}' 5, 1887, in the 8oth year of his age, was one of the 
 most earnest supporters of the doctrines of Alexander Campbell 
 and was instrumental in buikling up several congregations of 
 that faith in the county. He organized what is known as the 
 Little Hickman church on the 27th of January. 1841. He was a 
 son of William G. White, who came from Culpeper Court House, 
 
250 Hidory of Jessamine Cotinty, Kentuckij. 
 
 Va. He became impressed with the doctrines propounded by 
 Mr. Campbell and from the time of his uniting vv'ith that denomi- 
 nation until the end of his life g-ave his time and talents and 
 energy to building up the church which adopted them. His 
 membership was in the Nicholasville Christian church. How- 
 ever people might differ with Mr. White in his theological views, 
 none ever doubted the earnestness and the faithfulness of his 
 Christian service and of the unselfishness of his ministration. He 
 was plain, simple-hearted and earnest. While engaged in othei 
 business, he preached always as occasion offered and never failed 
 to respond to such calls as his church made upon him. 
 
 Rev. Thomas R. Welch, D. D. 
 
 Rev. Thomas R. Welch, D. D., one of the leading Presby- 
 terian ministers of the Southern Presbyterian church, the son 
 of John Welch and B. J. Rice, was born near Xicholasville, Sep- 
 tember 15th, 1825. ]\Iost of his ministerial life was passed in 
 Arkansas, where he removed in 1851, and took charge of the 
 church in Little Rock. After a course in Bethel Academy, he 
 graduated from Center College in 1844, and in 1870, his Alma 
 Mater conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. Dr. 
 Welch was singularly honored by his church. He held many 
 positions of trust in its courts and institutions. He led a busy 
 and successful life. P*ossessed of a fine presence, genial manners 
 and ready sympathy, he found a welcome everywhere. Another 
 has said of him : 
 
 "By long residence, abundant labors, eminent administrative 
 ability, Dr. Welch is the Presbyterian Nestor of Arkansas, and no 
 man in the state is held in higher esteem or wields a stronger in- 
 fluence." 
 
 He died a few years since, deeply regretted by the people of 
 the great denomination to which he belonged and sincerely 
 mourned by the members of his own congregation at Little 
 Rock. 
 
 Mrs. Sarah Withers, an aunt of Dr. Welch, and long a resi- 
 dent of Bloomington, Illinois, was a most benevolent, charitable 
 and earnest Christian woman. At her death, a few vears since. 
 
Hidory of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 251 
 
 she made the officers of the Xicholasville Presbyterian church 
 her resichiarv legatees, and directed that tlie funds thus be- 
 Cjueathed should be used for the maintenance of a public library 
 in Xicholasville. Quite a large sum. estimated at about $20,000, 
 will be realized and it will l)e sufficient to equip and maintain a 
 comjilete and efficient librar}- in the city. 
 
 Maj. J. H. Hanly. 
 
 Alaj. John Hay Hanly, born in Seville, Spain, in 1784, wdio 
 settled in Jessamine county, in 1871, was the son of an officer of 
 the British army. 
 
 On his arrival at his new home, in what was then the far west, 
 he purchased a very large tract of land on the Kentucky river, 
 six miles south of Xicholasville. Hi.^ house, a frame cottage of 
 liberal dimensions, located on a bluff many feet above the river, 
 was appropriately named "Cliff Cottage." Its picturesque beauty 
 of location excited the admiration of the distinguished painter. 
 Mealy, who visited ]^Iaj. Hanly, when sent by the king, Louis 
 Pliillippe, of France, to paint the portrait of Henry Clay. On 
 entering the grounds, he is said to have exclaimed, "Grand and 
 beautiful." 
 
 It was at this home of beauty that the generous proprietor and 
 his estimable family dispensed old time Kentucky hospitality, dur- 
 ing a period of more than half a century. 
 
 Maj. Hanly was a very positive character, highly intellectual, 
 just in all his dealings, truthful, honest, and brave; he was, in all 
 the elements that constitute a gentleman of the old scliool, a man 
 to be admired and trusted. He was a firm believer in the Roman 
 Catholic faith and in the democracy of Andrew Jackson. He 
 was a fine shot, and prided himself upon the accuracy of his aim. 
 
 On one occasion. Col. David Goodloe, who had been chal- 
 lenged by Mr. White, '\[. C, of Madison county, to fight a duel, 
 came to Maj. Hanly to practice with the major's dueling pistols. 
 He became so expert, after considerable practice, as to hit the bull's 
 eye repeatedly. \\'hen the duel finally came off, his antagonist 
 stood with his back to a barn. Both gentlemen were game and 
 fired at the word. X either were hit, and much to their disgust, 
 
252 
 
 Hidory of Jessamine County Kentucky. 
 
 Major Hanly, after a most diligent search, failed to find that the 
 colonel's bullet had even struck the barn. 
 
 John A. Willis. 
 
 John A. Willis, son of Capt. W. T. Willis, while not a native of 
 Jessamine, has resided within its borders for fifty-five years. 
 He was born in Green county on the Sth dav of August, 1820; 
 
 attended a seminary at Greensburg, and afterwards at Munfords- 
 ville, and in 1839 attended St. Mary's College, near Lebanon. He 
 joined the Presbyterian church in Greensburg in 1840, came with 
 his father to Mercer county and studied law and obtained his 
 license in 1843, and moved with his father to Nicholasville in 
 1844. He enlisted in his father's company, gnd was appointed a cor- 
 
Hidori/'of JcMainlne Cotddi/, Kentucki/. 253 
 
 poral. He followed the Second Kentucky Regiment in all its 
 battles and marches, and was mustered out at New ( )rleans in 
 1847. While the regiment was stationed at Comargo, Mr. Willis 
 was stricken with fever, and all thought that it was impossible for 
 him to live. After the death of McKee and Clay and Captain 
 Willis, the regiment were anxious to be mustered out of the 
 service, and, at the expiration of twelve months, the time for 
 which they were enlisted, they were brought to New Orleans and 
 disbanded. 
 
 l\Ir. Willis, after taking a full course in the Commercial Col- 
 lege, in Cincinnati, returned to Nicholasville and taught in Keene. 
 After two years' service in the county schools, he became assistant 
 in Bethel Academy, in Xicholasville. After this time he was a])- 
 pointed Master Commissioner of tlic Jessamine Circuit Court l)y 
 Judge William C. (ioodloe, upon the unanimous petition of the 
 entire bar, eml:)racing l>otli W^iigs and Democrats. The place 
 was given to Mr. Willis without any solicitation on his part, and 
 he retained it for sixteen years. After the close of the civil war 
 he was elected twice as County Clerk, both times without oppo- 
 sition. A one-armed Confederate soldier was nominated against 
 him in the last race, but withdrew. 
 
 I'])on retiring from the Clerk's of^ce in 1871 with such citi- 
 zens as Mr. George Brown. Dr. Brown Young. G. S. Shanklin, 
 Samuel Muir, Charles h^arra. Hervey Scott, and William H. Hoo- 
 ver, he organized the First National Bank of Nicholasville. and 
 acted as its cashier from 1871 until 1881, when he was elected 
 president, and held this position until 1896. He was electe'l 
 elder in the Nicholasville Presbyterian church at the same time 
 with Roibert Young, in the year 1859. In i860 he was elected 
 clerk of the session, shortl}- before the death of Maj. D. B. Price, 
 and has been such clerk for thirty-two years. 
 
 Patriotic, honest, faithful, just, conservative and kindly, Mr. 
 Willis has been a leading citizen of Jessamine count}- since his 
 return from service in the Mexican War, to which he gave his 
 father and one vear of hard and trving service. 
 
254 Hidory of Jemamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 William Brown. 
 
 William Brown, the youngest son of George I. Brown, was 
 born in Nicholasville on the 23d of May, 1839; he died June i, 
 J 890. He was a man of brilliant parts. He allied himself with 
 the Republican party, and attained a high place in its councils. 
 Senator James B. Beck said of him that he was the strongest man 
 of his party with whom he had ever come in contact. He was a 
 warm, personal friend of James G. I'laine, who had a great ad- 
 miration for his talents and his ability. His mind was analytic, 
 comprehensive and logical. At school he did not appear to study 
 as other boys, btit he always knew his lessons and fuilv under- 
 stood every sul:)ject of which the text books treated. He was 
 fearless and on many occasions eloquent. Had he devoted him- 
 self to the law, his chosen profession, rather than to have entered 
 the domain of politics, he would have become one of the firsi 
 jurists of the country. 
 
 E. R. Sparks. 
 
 No history of Jessamine county would be complete without a 
 sketch of Hon. E. R. Sparks. His enterprise, coupled with his 
 faith in the future of Nicholasville, and his large investments, both 
 in manufactories and in tlie laving out of additions and construc- 
 tion of streets and houses, have been greatlv instrumental in in- 
 creasing the population of Nicholasville, and in widening its in- 
 fluence and trafhc. He was liorn al:)Out a mile east of Nicholas- 
 ville on the 31st of January, 1840, and was the son of Isaac and 
 Mary Ann Hendricks Sparks. His mother was a sister of the late 
 Rev. John T. Hendrick, D. D., the distinguished Presbyterian di- 
 vine. Mr. Sparks' father was born in Ohio and in early life moved 
 to Jessamine countv, where he lived until his death, on Jan. 28th, 
 1887, in his eighty-first year. Mr. Sparks was named for a dis- 
 tinguished iMcthodist minister. Rev. Edwin Roberts. From his 
 early manhood he has demonstrated himself to be the possessor 
 of great sagacity, and his uniform success in all his financial trans- 
 actions has given him a wide reputation for business capacity. 
 He has held few public offices. In 1882, he was elected State 
 
Hidory of Jessamine Counti/, Kentnckii. 
 
 255 
 
 Senator and served until 1886. In the Senate he was popular, 
 conservative, and secured the confidence and the respect of those 
 associated with him in that body. P^or years he was a council- 
 man, and was prominent in the city government of Nicholasville. 
 He has carried on a large manufactory for hemp in the county 
 
 seat, which gives employment to a number of hands. He is in 
 the highest degree public spirited, and is always helpful to his town 
 and his county in every public enterprise. 
 
 John Harrison Welch. 
 
 John Harrison Welch, although comparatively a young man, 
 has held quite a number of public of^ces in Jessamine county and 
 is at present Master Commissioner of the Jessamine Circuit 
 Court. He was born in Nicholasville. His great grandfather, 
 
256 
 
 HkUn-y of Jesmmine Cowdij, Kentucky. 
 
 John Welch, early settled in Jessamine county, having- removed 
 from Virginia to that county in 1782. Mr. Welch was educated 
 at Bethel Academy; was also a graduate of Kentuckv Weslevan 
 College, at Millers'burg, in 1877. He graduated from the Louis- 
 ville Law School in 1881, located in Xicholasville, where he has 
 since practiced his profession. At twenty vears of age, he was 
 elected Superintendent of common schools of Jessamine county. 
 
 He represented the county in the lower house of the General As- 
 sembly of Kentucky, in 1889 and 'go, in '91, '92 and '93, and has 
 been prominent in the county affairs since his majority. 
 
 Rev. George Stokes Smith. 
 
 Reverend George Stokes Smith was a l>aptist preacher and 
 was also a delegate to the convention, at Danville, in 1792, which 
 
History of Jexmmlne Gountif, Kfiitucky. 
 
 257 
 
 framed the first Kentucky Constitution. He was the maternal 
 grandfather of the large and numerous family of Moselevs, Wal- 
 lers and SmitliS, who live in the Keene neighborhood. He has 
 over 25c descendants in Kentucky, and was one of the men who 
 lived in ilie limits t>f Jessamine county in the earliest days of its 
 settlenieni. 
 
 Pie \\a> a .'ucco^sful I'aptist preacher, and served several 
 churches in Woodford and Mercer counties, and at the old Mount 
 Pleasant Churcli, at Keene. He led a useful, honiorafole and dis- 
 tinguished life. IrJis election to the Constitutional Convention 
 in 1792, shows his wkI'? popularity and his distinguished position. 
 Fayette county had five members, and among them men of high 
 standing, but none wielded more influence than their ministerial 
 colleague. 
 
 CHA.S. EVANS. 
 
258 
 
 HIdorij of Je.immhif Owiitij, Keiiiuck[/. 
 
 Hon. Thos. J. Scott. 
 
 Jessamine county is at present in a jnclicial district, composed 
 o[ Jessamine. Madison, Estill, Clark and Powell. The Circuit 
 Judge is Hon. Thomas J. Scott, who was born in Madison county, 
 but his father. Dr. John Scott, was a native of Jessamine county, 
 whence his father removed, when (|uite a young man. to Richmond, 
 
 Ky. His mother was a descendant of Col. Estill, one of the most 
 celebrated pioneers of Kentucky. Me was educated at Mount 
 Pleasant College, in Missouri, from which he graduated at the age 
 of nineteen. Tmmediatelv he returned to Richmond, where he 
 entered the law office of Maj. Squire Turner; in 1871 he was ad- 
 mitted to the bar. and in 1875 was elected County Attorney, to 
 which position he was re-elected twice without opposition. In 
 1886 he was elected Common Pleas Judge for the district com- 
 
Hidorij of Jc^mmiiic (Jontiiij, Kcntiickij. 251) 
 
 posed of the counties of Madison, Clark, Bourbon, ijath, and 
 iMontgomery ; and in 1892, he was elected Circuit Judge of the 
 Twenty-ninth judicial district without opposition, and has been 
 similarly re-elected for the second term. He is recognized 
 throughout the state as one of the ablest Circuit Judges. His 
 careful preparation, his studious habits and his sterling integrity 
 render him a model circuit judge. Although genial and kindly 
 in his personal relations, on the bench he knows nothing but the 
 strictest justice, and this has won for him the respect and admira- 
 tion of all the people of the district. 
 
 Rev, Stephen Noland, 
 
 This distinguished Methodist divine was born in Wayne coun- 
 ty, Indiana, on the 13th of May, 1818. His ancestors came from 
 Wales and settled in A'irginia twenty-five years before the war of 
 the American Revolution. In his seventh year, his mother died 
 and he was brought to Kentucky, and made his home with his 
 grandparents. In 1S34 he entered the clerk's ofifice in Richmond, 
 Ky., where he remained five years, He used all his leisure mo- 
 ments for the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1839. 
 He began the practice of his profession in Richmond, and shortly 
 removed to Irvine, Estill county, Ky., and there he sought licen- 
 sure in the Methodist ministry. In 1839 he married a sister of the 
 late Samuel F. Miller, one of the Associate Justices of the Su- 
 preme Court of the United States. Rev. Stephen Noland, 
 who succeeded his father in the banking business, was the sec- 
 ond son — his other son, Samuel H. Noland, removed to Texas. 
 Stephen Noland made the race for Commonwealth's Attorney in 
 the district, which then embraced seven counties, against C. C. 
 Rodgers, of Lexington, and defeated him by a majority of 800 
 votes. While holding the office of Commonwealth Attorney, 
 he became a terror to evil-doers throughout the district. All 
 sorts of influences were brought to bear to defeat Mr. Noland, 
 but they were without avail. In 1854 he came to Nicholasville, 
 and shortly afterwards assumed charge of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal church. South. Notwithstanding the variety of his occupa- 
 tions, he never gave up the preaching of the Gospel. 
 
 The first bank in Nicholasville was organized bv Mr, No- 
 
260 
 
 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 land in 1864. it was known as the Bank of Noland, Wilmore & 
 Co. He was a man of great sagacity and judgment in the con- 
 duct of his business; of wide benevolence and charitable impulses, 
 he has probably given away as much money in charitv as any man 
 who ever lived in Jessamine. His second wife, Miss Virginia 
 Brown, daughter of Thos. J. Brow:i, who inherited the many 
 
 excellent traits of her family, survived him. He died on the 27th 
 of January. 1890, after a lingering illness, and deeply regretted 
 by the entire community, among whom he spent the last forty 
 vears of his life. 
 
 The Duncans, 
 
 Among the earliest settlers in Jessamine county were James 
 Duncan and Charles Duncan. They located within the boundary 
 of Jessamine early in 1788. Charles Duncan was born in Cul- 
 peper county, Va., in 1761. He was the father of William Dun- 
 
History of Je><sa) nine Coioify, Kentucky. 261 
 
 can, so long known, who died at his home inmiediately above 
 Nicholasville in 1863. WilHani Dnncan's mother was Margaret 
 Burnside, sister of the Revolutionary soldier, Robert Burnside, 
 the great uncle of Gen. A. E. Buirnside. William Duncan was 
 born near Barclay's old mill in 1788. In 18 13 he married Nancy 
 Blackford, daugliter of Benj. Blackford. 
 
 James Duncan, the grandfather of S. M. Duncan, was born 
 in Culpeper county, \'a., July 18, 1763, and was among the last 
 white men killed by the Indians. With two companions, John 
 Huckstep and Joseph Burnside, he w^ent to the mouth of Paint 
 Lick to get salt. They had made the salt and were returning 
 home, when suddenly the report of a gun was heard and Burnside 
 fell with a bullet through his heart. James Duncan was sliot bv 
 another Indian who had climbed up on a high bluff, and the bullet 
 entered the head of James Duncan, killing him instantly. Huck- 
 step escaped to Crab Orchard, where Col. Whitley sent out a party 
 in pursuit of the Indians and followed them to near Cumberland 
 Gap. They captured the horses of the two men who had been 
 killed, but the Indians made their escape. 
 
 Alexander C. Duncan, the father of S. M. Duncan, was the 
 oldest child of James Duncan, who was killed in his 28th year 
 and left three small children. When a small boy James Duncan 
 ran away from home in company witli Nathaniel Harris, the dis- 
 tinguished Methodist minister, and enlisted in the army of Gen- 
 eral Greene, and was at the battle of Guilford Court House and 
 at the siege of Yorktown. James Duncan was born July 18, 1763, 
 and was married to Mary Crockett, daughter of William Crockett, 
 of Wythe county, in 1787. One hundred years after the death of 
 Jan es Duncan, there came a great rise in the creeks which enter 
 Paint Lick. They disclosed a skeleton. On examination of this 
 skeleton a bullet hole was found in the head and the remains were 
 identified as those of. James Duncan, who had been killed and 
 buried at that point nearly a century before. Every bone was per- 
 fect with the exce])tion of the right foot. The remains were re- 
 moved to Nicholasville cemetery and laid to rest amid kindred 
 dust. 
 
 The descendants of James Duncan and his brother, who thus 
 early made their home in Jessamine county, in large numbers 
 still reside in the county and they have always been good citizens 
 and patriots. 
 
262 
 
 HUiorij of Jesmmiite Count ij, Koduckij. 
 
 S. M. Duncan. 
 
 Mr. S. M. Duncan, who has been one of the most diligent, and 
 faithful of all the antiquarians in Kentucky, was a son of Alex- 
 ander Crockett Duncan and Hannah N. Williams, the latter be- 
 ing- a native of Mecklenburg county North Carolina. She was 
 born March 8, 1793, and died in t86t. Mr. Duncan's father was 
 
 born in Fort Blackamore, Russell county, A'irginia, and came to 
 Jessamine county in 1788. He was an infant when his father, 
 James Duncan, settled within the limits of Jessamine county. 
 S. M. Duncan was born in Pulaski county, in 1830. He enjoyed 
 limited advantages oi education, but most wonderfully improved 
 tliem — lie only had three months' schooling. He worked for 
 thirty years at his trade as carpenter, and learned cabinet-mak~ 
 ing, which he followed five years, but afterwards gave that up and 
 
Hi^torij of Jes.^(())}l))e CoHntij Keiituckii- 263 
 
 returned to his original calling. Me has gathered together an 
 immense amount of material concerning" not onlv the earliest his- 
 tory of Jessamine county and its people, but in regard to the early 
 history of Kentucky. He has al\va\s had a passion for acquir- 
 ing old letters and documents, and. l)ut for his patience and care 
 and labor, not only in the finding, but in the preservation, of ma- 
 terials, it would have been impossible for any one to write a his- 
 tory of [essamine county. Mr. Duncan began this collection of 
 material when cjuite a young man. He talked with men who had 
 been in the Revolutionary War, and to those who had in their 
 minds fresh recollections of the struggles, trials and dangers of 
 l)ioneer life m Kentucky. He has written a great deal on the sub- 
 ject, and deserves the thanks of the people, not (jnly of Jessamine 
 count}', but of Central Kentucky. 
 
 Andrew Hemphill. 
 
 Andrew Hemph.ill was one of the most scholarly men that 
 lived in Jessamine coimty in its early davs. He lived in the 
 southern part of the coimty. settling there in 1823. He was born 
 in Tyrone county, Ireland, in iSoo. He obtained his education at 
 Trinity College. Dublin, and came to American in 1819, landing 
 at Philadelphia. In a very short time he was chosen as teacher 
 of Latin, in an acadeni}' in the city of Reading, in Berks county, 
 and subsequently became principal of the academy, which posi- 
 tion he held for two years. He settled in Jessamine county in 
 1823, and was married to Mildred Tapp. He came to Jessa- 
 mine county through his uncle James Hemphill who had pur- 
 chased a farm in that section of the county many years before. 
 In 1823 James Hemphill died and made Andrew his heir, devis- 
 ing to him 250 acres of land on Hickman creek six miles east of 
 Nicholasville. Mr. Hemphill through all his life retained his 
 scholarship. He read Latin and Greek with great fluency. He 
 died in 1863. 
 
 It was his custom for many years to visit the schools in which 
 the classics were taught. These comings were alwavs regarded 
 by the Latin and Greek scholars with fear and trembling. While 
 he was there he would call upon them to read selections from 
 the Roman and Grecian authors. The scholars imagined that 
 
264 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 they could never do the thing" just as Mr. Hemphill would do it; 
 }et he was always kindly, helpful and suggestive in his examina- 
 tions, and never went away from the schooils without saying 
 pleasant and agreeable words to the scholars. He was the 
 father of a large family of children, many of whom are now resi- 
 dents of Jessamine county, and are among its best and most sub- 
 stantial citizens. 
 
 Mr. John Henry Glass. 
 
 Mr. John Henry Glass, who now owns Glass Mills, near Wil- 
 more, was born in 1838, of C German parentage, in Jessamine coun- 
 ty. After going to school during his boyhood in Cincinnati, he 
 learned the trade of cabinetmaker, with Jiis father, wiho was one 
 of the most skilled mechanics who ever lived in Jessamine county. 
 In 1870 Mr. (ilass erected a mill in Lancaster, Ky., which is still 
 in successful operation. Afterwards he sold out to George 
 Denny, the president of the national bank, and moved back to 
 Jessamine and bought the property known as the old paper mill, 
 on Jessamine creek, about three miles above its mouth. This 
 mill had been operated for more than 100 years. After running 
 it about three years he tore part of it down and erected a new 
 building and put in new machinery, retaining, however, the water 
 power, which had been in constant use for more than a century. 
 
 This mill is ojjerated all the year round, has its office and 
 switch at Wilmore, Ky., and is one of the best manufacturing 
 enterprises in Jessamine county. It has a large trade up and 
 down the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, and its brands of flour 
 are considered among the very best manufactured in the West. 
 The principal of these, "The Daniel Boone," shows Mr. Glass' 
 patriotism. Mr. Glass has been instrumental in building ten 
 miles of turnpike in the western part of the county and in furnish- 
 ing a constant and liberal home demand for grain, which has 
 much increased land values in that section. Blessed with a large 
 family, he has trained them both to industry and morality, and he 
 is one of the useful men of the communitv. 
 
Hidory of JexKaminc Coniiti/, Kentnckij. 
 
 2U5 
 
 Benjamin A. Crutcher. 
 
 Uenjamin A. Criitcher. tlie present Commonwealth's Attor- 
 ney for the Twenty-fifth Judicial district, which includes Jessa- 
 mine, Madison, Estill, Clark, and Powell counties, was born in 
 Nicholasville, June 21, 1856. Elected County Attorney in 1884, 
 he resigned to become a candidate for Conuuonwealth's Attor- 
 
 ney. Ele was re-elected Conuuonwealth's Attorney in 1897. He 
 is a man of conservative instincts, careful preparation, unques- 
 tionable honesty and great industrw He has proven a most ad- 
 mirable Prosecutinf:^ Attorney, firm, faithful, yet considerate and 
 just, he represents the commonwealtli as if he were representing 
 his own afifairs, and the entire district recognizes his great effi- 
 cienc\- and abilitv. 
 
26G 
 
 History of Jemivilne Comihj, Kentucki/. 
 
 Thomas B. Crutcher. 
 
 The Hon. Thos. B. Crutcher is now Police Judge of Nicho- 
 lasville. He was born in Jessamine county in 1831. He is the 
 fatlier of Benj. A. Crutcher, the Commonweakh's Attorney for the 
 district. For a long time he was one of the leading merchants in 
 
 Jessamine. He is a man of the old school, upright, conscientious, 
 always considerate to others. For five years he has JDeen Judge of 
 the City Court of Nicholasville, and has made a most excellent 
 record. He is a member of the Plrst Baptist church and is one 
 of its most earnest and enthusiastic supporters. 
 
 John Spears Bronaugh. 
 
 John Spears Bronaugh was born in the Keene neighborhood 
 and spent his early years on his father's farm. With a vigorous 
 constitution as well as a vigorous mind, he improved all his edu- 
 
Hhtortj of Je.f^amliH' Coiatfi;,, Kmiiickij 
 
 2(57 
 
 cational advantages, and attended college at Transylvania Uni- 
 versity, at Lexington. He read law with Judge James Prior, 
 near Carrollton, Ky. Faithful, studious, patient and lahorious, 
 when admitted to the bar in 1847, ^^ Nicholasville, he was well 
 prepared for the practice of his profession. For more than half 
 a century he has lieen prominent in all the litigation wliich af- 
 fected the ])eople of Jessamine, and liy his good judgment, his 
 
 great learning and wise counsel, he has endeared himself to the 
 whole community, and secured a high place in the estimation of 
 his fellow-citizens. At a time when the government of Xicholas- 
 ville needed a strong hand and an economical administration, Mr. 
 Bronaugh was called by the voice of his townsmen to assume the 
 duties of the Mayoralty. He evolved order out of chaos, sys- 
 tematized all the afifairs of the city government and as executive 
 officer so conducted himself and the affairs of the town that it 
 
268 
 
 HUtovy of Je.<mmhie Coiuity, Kentucky. 
 
 was with difficulty he could avoid the solicitations of the voters 
 to hold the office always, and it was only his persistent refusal to 
 accept the office which caused the people of the town to elect an- 
 other man. He has always stood for the best interests of the 
 county and town, and while conservative, he had been enterpris- 
 ing and has been a leader in all that has brought the county to 
 its present prosperity and splendid development. The county 
 has trusted him in man}- important transactions and he has al- 
 ways conducted them with prudence, skill and ability. 
 
 THOS. J. BROWN. 
 
Hidonj of Je!<samhie Count y, KcntHcky. 
 
 2G9 
 
 Robert Curd^ Esq., 
 
 Is one of the ^Magistrates of the county and resides in the 
 neighborhood of Wihnore station. Successful in business, kind- 
 ly in manner, faithful in hrs of^cial life, he commands, as he de- 
 
 serves, the support and confidence of his district. Whatever is 
 for the best interests of the whole county always has his hearty 
 approval and assistance. 
 
 Levi Luther Todd. 
 
 The Levi Luther Todd referred to in the minutes of the 
 town of Nicholasville, was born in Lexington. Kv., July 26, 1791. 
 He was educated at Transylvania L^niversity, and practiced law 
 several vears. He served with distinction in the war of 1812. 
 
270 Hidori/ of Je.'<samiiie Count;/, Kentiickij. 
 
 He removed to Lafayette. Ind.. in 1833, and there held a dis- 
 tinguished judicial position. 
 
 In 1867 he came to Lexington and presented to the Masonic 
 Grand Lodge, of Kentucky, then in session there, the sword and 
 belt of Col. Joseph Hamilton Daveiss. which were worn by Col. 
 Daveiss when he was killed, in the battle of Tippecanoe, on the 
 7th of November, 1811. He died near Indianapolis, in 1867. 
 
 Dr. T. R. Welch. 
 
 C)n the one-hundredth anniversary of the existence of Nicho- 
 lasville. Jessamine county is part of the Senatorial district in 
 which are included Woodford and Scott counties. The Senator 
 from this district is Thomas R. Welch, AI. D., an able and success- 
 ful homeo])athic physician, now residing in Xicholasville, in 
 which place he was born on the 4th of February, i860. 
 
 He was educated at Bethel Academy under Professor Gordon, 
 and is a graduate of the Wesleyan College, He taught in the city 
 schools of Nicholasville and graduated from the Hahnemann Col- 
 lege in 1885, and from that time on has practiced in Jessamine 
 countv. He is a member of the Board of Examiners for the 
 schools of the county, of the Nicholasville Board of Education, 
 the State Homeopathic Association and of the American Institute 
 of Homeopathy. He is also a member of the Baptist church and 
 of the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias. 
 
 He has been earnest and faithful in the discharge of his duties 
 in his profession. In 1879 the Twenty-second Senatorial district, 
 of which Jessamine was a part, became a political battle-ground. 
 It was the home district of the Hon. J. C. S. Blackburn, and the 
 Hon. Henry L. Alartin was nominated on a platform antagonistic 
 to Senator Blackburn's views. Jessamine county, by courtesy, 
 was entitled to name the Democratic candidate, and a strong 
 popular man was required. By a unanimous demand Dr. Welch 
 was called to make the race for Blackburn. His majority in the 
 district was 2,454, an extraordinary manifestation of the confi- 
 dence of the people of the district. Jessamine county gave him 
 an almost unprecedented majority of 977 votes. His conduct in 
 the legislature justified the confidence of his district. He took a 
 prominent part in the deliberations of that historical legislature. 
 
DR. T. R. WELSH. 
 
Hixfoni of J('!<x(iiitinr Con lit ij, Kiiitnchij. .''271 
 
 Harrison Daniel. 
 
 Harrison Daniel was fcjr many years one of the most promi- 
 nent citizens of Jessamine connty. He was the grandson of Col. 
 John Price, and l)orn in 1 7yo. His father, John Daniel, was a 
 native of Orange connty, Mrginia, and came to Kentncky in the 
 year 1787. He was related to the Daniels in the northern neck 
 of \'irginia, and family history says that he served in the army 
 of General Washington at Brandywine, Trenton and Monmonth. 
 He settled on Alarble creek and here his son was born. In the 
 early history of Kentncky Mr. Daniel was a nseful and important 
 character. He was High Sh.eriff and represented Jessamine 
 connt}- in the legislatnre in 1826. He possessed extraordinary 
 mathematical talents. His son, William Daniel, went to the 
 Mexican war in the company of Captain ^^'illis. He had a won- 
 derful facult}- for making and keeping friends, and many of his 
 descendants still remain in Jessamine county, whose people their 
 ancestor so faithfully served. 
 
 Dr. John C. Welch. 
 
 Dr. John C. A\'elch was born in Jessamine county in 1823. 
 He practiced medicine for forty years in the county, except dur- 
 ing his service for four years as surgeon of the Twentieth Ken- 
 tucky volunteer infantry. In 1863 he was promoted to brigade 
 surgeon. In 1877 and 1879 he represented Jessamine county in 
 the lower house of the legislature. He was a brother of Dr. 
 Thomas Iv. Welch, the distinguished Presbvterian divine. 
 
 George Brown. 
 
 George I'rown was born in Xicholasville on February 28, 
 1819, and died October 30, 1897. He first attended school at 
 St. Joseph's, Bardstown, Ky., afterward at Center College, Dan- 
 ville and finally at Transylvania University in Lexington. Upon 
 leaving college he at once engaged in the business of the manu- 
 facture of hem]i. His father had been one of the pioneers in hemp 
 manufacture in Lexington and the son acquired a practical 
 
"272 History of Jesmmine County, Kentucky. 
 
 knowledge of the business in early life. Owning a large num- 
 ber of slaves, which he used in his business, he made it extremely 
 profitable and he continued in the manufacture of hemp for 
 many years. In the fall of 1853 ^'^^ moved to a farm oh Jessamine 
 creek, about two miles from Niclholasville, and in coiijunction 
 with his farm operated a hemp manufactory. He married Ann 
 M. Hemphill in 1843, "^^'^''o proved to him an afifectionate, faithful 
 and helpful wife. She was one of the model housekeepers of Jes- 
 samine county and as neighbor and friend had no superior. 
 
 Mr. Brown was a man of intense activity ; domestic in his 
 taste, he loved his home and added to it those things which made 
 it attractive. He was a model husband and father. When 
 twenty-two years of age, he united with the Nicholasville Presby- 
 terian church, in the faith of which he continued to the end of his 
 life, and at his death he was the oldest living member of the or- 
 ganization. He was converted under the preaching of Rev. 
 David Todd. He was ef^cient and earnest in his Christian work 
 and was always one of the liberal and helpful members of the con- 
 gregation. He was a pure, good man; long president of the 
 Jessamine County Bible Society, he was not only active but use- 
 ful in the Bible work and has left behind him no enemies and a 
 host of friends. 
 
 Gen. Samuel Dickerson Jackman. 
 
 Gen. Samuel Dickerson Jackman was a Brigadier-General in 
 the Confederate Army of Missouri. He was born in Nicholas- 
 ville in the brick house on the left hand side of the road leading 
 to Sulphur Well, and opposite the present house of Thos. B. 
 Crutcher, Sept. 18, 1825. He was a courageous soldier, vigorous 
 and active in the field, and was extremely successfuly in his raids 
 on the Federal lines in Missouri during the war. His mother 
 was the daughter of David Dickerson, and he served in the War 
 of 1812. His father. Dr. John Jackman, left Jessamine county 
 and settled in jNIissouri in 1831. General Jackman removed 
 from Missouri at the close of the war, to Texas, where he died in 
 1893. He amassed a large fortune and died childless. 
 
History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 278 
 
 Judge Wm. H. Phillips. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that every ofificehokler in Jessamine 
 county, upon the occasion of the centennial of its capital city, was 
 born and reared in the comity. Judge Wm. H. Phillips, who is 
 County Judge, has held that oflfice longer than any man who ever 
 had it. He was born in Jessamine county on the 30th of March, 
 1838. His education was received at the common schools, and 
 
 the early part of his life was passed on a farm. He attended 
 Bethel Academy as a student, coming from his father's home, in 
 Nicholasville. From the time of his earliest manhood to 1874 
 he was an industrious farmer, and he never sought office but was 
 a faithful and efficient worker for his father. In that vear he was 
 nominated for County Judge. The nomination was to some ex- 
 18 
 
274 Hisfori/ of Jexmmbie County, KentKcky. 
 
 tent unexpected by him and unsoug-ht. At that time tlie Demo- 
 cratic nominees were considered the leaders of a forlorn hope ; 
 the Republican party was organized and had able leaders, and all 
 the county offices were held by them ; but Judge Phillips was 
 elected by a majority of fourteen votes, and the Circuit Court 
 Clerk was chosen by the same majority. The rest of the Demo- 
 cratic ticket was defeated. In 1878 Judge Phillips was again 
 elected, although opposed by the strongest man in the Repub- 
 lican party, and also by an independent Democrat; then his ma- 
 jority was 26 votes. In 1882 he was elected without opposition, 
 and he has held the office of County Judge for 23 years. His an- 
 cestors were Huguenots, who came- from the James river, and set- 
 tled in Kentucky about 1790. His official career is unusual and 
 extraordinary, and manifests the high esteem in which he is 
 held by the people of his native county. His official acts have 
 stood the closest scrutiny, and his numerous endorsements by the 
 voters is a testimonial of the highest character. 
 
 Dr. Alexander K. Marshall. 
 
 Dr. Alexander K. Marshall was a member of Congress from 
 the Ashland Disirict in 1855. He was the third son of Dr. Louis 
 Marshall, who was the youngest brother of Chief-Justice John 
 Marshall. Louis Marshall lived in \\'oodford county, at a place 
 called Buck Pond. There Alexander K. Marshall was born the 
 nth of February, ]8o8. He studied medicine and at the age of 
 25 came to Nicholasville and practiced his profession, which he 
 did with marked success. He united with John G. Chiles in 
 1842, in operating a stage and mail line through the Kentucky 
 mountains to Bean Station, Tenn., and continued in this business 
 for more than 20 years. This, however, did not prevent him 
 from practicing his profession. 
 
 He was a man of fine presence and of courage in the state- 
 ment of his convictions. He represented Jessamine county in 
 the Constitutional Convention of 1849, defeating George I. Brown 
 by 80 majority. He was elected to Congress on the Know 
 Nothing ticket, defeating James O. Harrison, a distinguished 
 Lexington lawyer, by over 1,500 majority. He died ui Fayette 
 countv in 1886. 
 
History of Je.^mmine Coiiidy, Keidueki/. 
 
 275 
 
 James Willlard Mitchell, 
 
 The present County Attorne}', James Willard Mitchell, was 
 born in Nicholasville, in 1861. His father, Jas. T. Mitchell, was 
 eldest son of Dr. Geo. W. Mitchell ; his mother was the third 
 daughter of the late Thomas Jefterson and Mary Jane Wallace 
 Brown, \\ho was the eldest daughter of Joseph Wallace, son of 
 Capt John A\'allace. Captain John Wallace was one of the most 
 
 distinguished of the Revolutionary soldiers who came to Jessa- 
 mine. He served with General Washington and General Wayne ; 
 he was at the battles of Brandywine, Trenton, Monmouth, Long 
 Island, and was with Washington at Valley Forge. 
 
 No man in Jessamine county commands in a higher degree the 
 confidence of his fellow-citizens and no one is capable of arousing 
 more enthusiasm in his party and among his friends. He has 
 
276 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 great will force, unflinching energy, and has been often compared 
 to Gen. Joseph Wheeler, whom he is not unlike in stature and 
 appearance. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell was elected County Attorney by a large and flat- 
 tering majority. The County Attorneyship was the first position, 
 to which Mr. Mitchell was elected and he fills it wdth credit to him- 
 self and to his constituents. He is a man also of fine business 
 capacity, thorough reading and preparation, great punctuality in 
 the discharge of his official and personal business. Few men are 
 more eloquent or efifective on the stump. He understands hu- 
 man nature, and is destined if he chooses to follow public life, to 
 become a leader of men. 
 
 He married Miss Annie Anderson, daughter of Capt. Samuel 
 M. Anderson, He is thoroughly identified wath the people of 
 Jessamine, and they, in turn, feel a just pride in his success and 
 his attainments in his profession. 
 
 Francis M, Bristow 
 
 Was born in Clark county, Ky., on the nth of August, 1804. 
 He lived for twenty-six years on the farm now occupied by Mrs. 
 Mary Ann Bourne, three miles east of Nicholasville. He w^as 
 well educated, studied law, and divided his time between his pro- 
 fession and farm. He early moved to Todd county with his 
 father, who had settled in Jessamine county in the year 1790. 
 In 1830-31 Mr. Bristow was elected to the Kentucky Legislature, 
 in 1846 to the State Senate, and was a member of the State Con- 
 stitutional Convention in 1849. ^^ ^^^54 he was elected Repre- 
 sentative in Congress to fill the unexpired term of Presley Ewing, 
 and in 1859 was again elected as Representative from Kentucky 
 to the 36th Congress. 
 
 His son, Benjamin H. Bristow, served with distinction in the 
 Federal army, afterwards became Solicitor-General, W3.s a can- 
 didate for President before the Republican party, was long a. 
 resident of Louisville, but moved from that city to New York, 
 where he has achieved distinction and success in the practice ot 
 law. 
 
 Frances M. Bristow died at Elkton, Ky., January 10, 1864. 
 
History of Jemamine County, KeidKcky. 
 
 277 
 
 Curd Lowry, County Clerk. 
 
 Curd Lowry, the present county clerk of Jessamine county, is 
 the third son of the late Judge Melvin T. Lowry, who was county 
 and circuit clerk for twelve years prior to his death, in 1887. He 
 secured the office in opposition to Robt. S. Perry, who had held 
 it for sixteen years and his race in this respect was phenomenal. 
 
 He was born November 19, 1862, at the home of his maternal 
 grandmother, Mrs. Harrison Daniels. 
 
 He was for two terms deputy clerk under L. D. Baldwin. In 
 1887 he moved to Kansas City where he remained two years and 
 then returned to a position in the First National Bank. His 
 great-grandfather on his mother's side was John Daniels, who 
 settled in Fayette county in 1788 and married a sister of Col. 
 
278 
 
 Hldory of Jei^xam'nte Coiiidij, Kentucky. 
 
 John Price. His paternal grandfather settled in Jessamine 
 county long' before its organization. He comes of distinguished 
 parentage and lineage and his popularity is the result of his 
 kindly heart and gentlemany manner. 
 
 Magistrates of Jessamine County. 
 
 In this, 1898, Jessamine comity is divided into live magisterial 
 districts. .Vt the last Xovember election, the gentlemen chosen 
 to fill this responsible ofiice were as follows : 
 
 ROBERT CLEMMONS. 
 
 Mr. Clemmons resides at lirannon on the Cincinnati Southern 
 Railroad near Favette count v line. He is one of the leadiner 
 
 farmers in Jessamine coimty, and has been elected magistrate 
 for several terms He was born in Fayette count}', is about fifty- 
 five years of age, and is honest, clear-headed, and a faithful repre- 
 sentative of the interests which his fellow-citizens entrust to his 
 keeping. 
 
JUDGE A. W. ROBINSON. 
 
Hl4onj of Jesxainitie Coioiti/, Kciittickij. 
 
 JAMES T. BARKLEY. 
 
 He resides in Nicholasville. He was tlie son of Mason l>ark- 
 ley, who was a large farmer on the Harrodsburg Pike. He was 
 born in 1848, and is engaged in the hardware business in Nicholas- 
 ville. He is a man who is highly esteemed by his fellow-citizens. 
 
 ALLEN W. ROBINSON 
 
 Resides in the ^larble creek neighborhood. He was a grand- 
 son of John Robinson. He is a man who never shrinks from do- 
 ing his dut}', and has made a most efficient officer. 
 
 WILSON FAIN 
 Lives in the Hickman neighborhood. He is a son of Larkin 
 Fain, wdio represented Jessamine county in the Legislature in 
 1850-55. He enjoys to an unusual degree the confidence and 
 respect of his fellow-citizens in that portion of the county in 
 which he resides. 
 
 Col. Wm. A. Lewis. 
 
 Who commanded a regiment from Kentucky at the battle oi 
 the Raisin, in 1812, in which regiment were two companies, Gray's 
 and Price's, from Jessamine county, w^as long a resident in the 
 county. He was born in Mrginia, in 1778, and died in 1835. 
 His exposures in the War of 181 2 brought on rheumatism, anrl 
 the colds he contracted in the northwestern army settled in his 
 eyes and resulted in a total loss of eyesight. He was a gallant 
 soldier and a man respected and loved by all the people of the 
 county. In the terrible battle of Raisin he showed splendid 
 heroism, and a high order of courage, and had his advice been 
 followed, the terrible tragedy of that battle would have been 
 avoided. 
 
 Allen L. McAfee 
 
 Was long a prominent ])ublic man in Jessamine county. He died 
 of cancer of the throat March 16, 1888. He was the second son 
 of Col. Robert McAfee, and was born in McAfee, Mercer county, 
 on the 15th of August, 1825. He was admitted to the bar in 
 
280 Hidory of Jesmmine County, Ke)ducky. 
 
 Harrodsl)urg' in 1845, ^"^^ removed to Little Rock, Arkansas, 
 where he commenced the practice of his profession. About this 
 time the war with Mexico broke out, and he vohmteered as a pri- 
 vate in Captain Mean's company of cavalry, which was one of the 
 companies in the regiment of Col. Ambrose Yell, who was killed 
 at the battle of Buena Vista. In that battle Colonel McAfee bore 
 a prominent part in the charge of Humphrey Marshall and Col- 
 onel Yell against 6,000 lancers, led by General Mineon, who at- 
 tempted to take the American batteries. In the charge in which 
 McKee, Clay and Willis were lost, Colonel McAfee saw a Mexi- 
 can lancer in the act of killing a wounded soldier. He instantly 
 shot the Mexican. He used what was in those days a celebrated 
 gun knoAvn as the Mississippi rifle. 
 
 At the close of the Mexican w-ar. Colonel McAfee moved to 
 Nicholasville, and married Miss Elizabeth Shely. In 1857 he was 
 elected a member of the Kentucky legislature. Early in 1861 
 Colonel McAfee was arrested as a Southern sympathizer ; he was 
 taken from his home at T2 o'clock at night on the 21st of June, 
 and without warrant or charge was carried and lodged in prison 
 in Lexington. A writ of habeas corpus was taken out by Frank 
 Hunt, Esq., and W. C. P. Breckinridge, Esq., in order to get 
 Colonel McAfee before the Federal Court, then in session at 
 Frankfort, but the Fedenal officers suspended the writ of habeas 
 corpus. On the way to Camp Chase, in Cincinnati, he escaped 
 by walking away from the guards, passed through Central Ken- 
 tucky and reached the South. He was commissioned lieutenant- 
 colonel l)y James A. Seddon, Confederate Secretary of War. In 
 1864 he raised a battalion of 300 mounted men, and was with Gen- 
 erail Jones in Western Virginia, and helped to defeat General Av- 
 trill's rail on Harrodsiburg in 1864. He was severely w^ounded 
 in 1862 at Big Creek Gap. He was captured in 1864, and re- 
 mained in Camp Douglas until the close of the war. He was a 
 magnificent looking man in physical appearanice, and possessed 
 a high degree of courage. 
 
 In 1866 he was elected State Senator, defeating Richard Spurr, 
 of Fayette, by over 500 votes. 
 
Hhtorij of Jemnnine Counfii, Kcntndii. 
 
 281 
 
 Andrew McAfee. 
 
 Andrew ^IcAfee, who at present worthily represents his ward 
 in the city council, is one of the younger generation of colored 
 men, who bv his conduct and character has done much to dis- 
 
 sipate the i)rejudice against the education of his race. He was 
 educated in the local schools for his race, and by his energy and 
 determination has won the confidence and trust of his con- 
 stituents. 
 
History of Jessamine Couuti/, Kentuekij. 283 
 
 Hon. William R. Welch, 
 
 Long Judge of the Appellate Court of Illiuois, was the son of 
 John and Eliza Rice Welch, and was born in Jessamine county, 
 one mile south of Nicholasville, in January, 1828. He graduated 
 at Transylvania University, in Lexington, and earl}' in his pro- 
 fessional life was elected County Attorney of Jessamine county. 
 In 1864 he removed to Carlinsville, 111., where he entered upon 
 the practice of his profession and at once took high rank as a 
 lawyer. Three times he was elected Circuit Judge of the 
 district which comprised his home, and was twice appointed 
 Appellate Judge, which latter position he was filling at the time 
 of his death, in August, 1888. 
 
 A strong partisan, he was always an impartial judge, and it 
 was said of him that he had fewer reversals than any Circuit 
 Judge in this State. He married Miss Annie Corn, a most lovely 
 and charming woman, who also was born in Nicholasville, and 
 resided there at the time of her marriage. 
 
 Samuel Thompson Corn 
 
 Was liorn in Nicholasville in 1838. He graduated at Princeton 
 College, N. J. He served on Col. Sanders Bruce's staff during 
 the war, in the Federal Army, and at its close located at Carlins- 
 ville, 111., to which place his brother-in-law, Judge William R. 
 Welch, had preceded him. He was twice elected Common- 
 wealth's Attorney from his district, and was, in 1884, appointed 
 by Grover Cleveland a District Judge of Wyoming Territory. In 
 1896 he was elected Chief Justice of the State of Wyoming, and 
 now resides in Cheyenne, that state. 
 
284 
 
 Hixtori/ of Je><mmine Gountij, Kentucky. 
 
 Centennial Exercises, 1898. 
 
 The centennial of Nicholasville was celebrated by the citizens 
 of the town and Jessamine county, on the i6th da}^ of September, 
 1898. Both the countj^ and the cit)' made public subscriptions 
 to the fund necessary for the celebration. The event created un- 
 
 B. M. ARNETT. 
 Chairman Executive Committee. 
 
 usual enthusiasm among the people of the count}-, and one of the 
 largest crowds ever seen in Central Kentuckj' was assembled on 
 this occasion. 
 
 The procession, representing the industrial interests of the city 
 and county occupied the morning ; while historical and patriotic 
 addre-sses took up the afternoon. 
 
CHARI^ES DEERING. 
 
History of Je><'<a)nlne Countij, Ki'iitiichj. 
 
 285 
 
 Louisville, Ciiiciiiii»ti, Lexington, Danville, Versailles, Shelby- 
 ville, and other cities and towns sent large delegations to the 
 celebration. 
 
 The executive committee, consisting of B. M. Arnett, chair- 
 man ; W. L. Steele, J. D. Hughes, H. H. Lowry, Charles Deeriug, 
 and J. B. Stears, provided a most interesting program and con- 
 ducted the exercises in the most patriotic and pleasing manner. 
 
 Gh'O B. TAYLOR, 
 chief Marshal Centennial Celebration. 
 
 Committees of ladies from all parts of the county united in 
 completing the arrangements for the great occasion. These 
 committees were as follows : 
 
 Hanly— Mrs. Joe Wallace, Mrs. W. J. Wilmore. 
 
 Wilmore — Mrs. John B. Chambers, Mrs. James Hawkins. 
 
 Keene — Mrs. C E. Smith, Mrs. James Sallee. 
 
286 History of Je<mmi)ie County, Kentucky. 
 
 Nealton — Mrs. Annie Davis, Mrs. E- J. Young. 
 
 Brannou — Mrs. Chas. Smith, Mrs. Len Bryant. 
 
 Logana — Mrs. Chas. Spillman. 
 
 Ambrose — Mrs. Newton Davis. 
 
 Little Hickman — Mrs. J. H. Dean. 
 
 East Hickman — Mrs. Frank Mitchell, Mrs. Henry Muir. 
 
 The following was the program for the occasion : 
 
 1798-1898. 
 
 Jessamine bounty and nicboMsville Centennial 
 
 10/30 a. m.: Street parade under supervision of Chief Marshal 
 
 Geo. B. Taylor, and assistants. 
 12 m.: Dinner on Duncan Heights. 
 1:30 p. m.: Music by band — " My Country, ' Tis of Thee." 
 
 Prayer by Dr. E Beecher Todd. 
 
 Song, by quartette — "Auld Eang Syne." 
 
 Address of welcome, on behalf of Jessamine count}^ — Judge 
 W. H. Phillips. 
 
 Music by band — " Hail, Columbia! Happ}' Land." 
 
 Addre.ss of welcome, in behalf Nicholasville — Maj. W. E- 
 Steele. 
 
 Music by band — " Old Kentucky Home." 
 
 Address — Col. Bennett H. Young. 
 
 Song by quartette — " Star Spangled Banner." 
 
 Address — Hon. Evan E- Settle. 
 
 Music bv band — "Dixie." 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAdE. 
 
 Adams Mr. , letter un- 
 signed 104 
 
 African M. E- Church .... 19S 
 
 Argabrite, Rev. E. \V 190 
 
 Arnett, Chairuiau Board of 
 Managers Jessamine Cen- 
 tennial Committee .... 2S3 
 Asbury, Bishop M. E. Church, 
 
 His Dreams ..... 169 
 Asbury, Bishop ISI. E. Church, 
 
 In America 169 
 
 Asbury College, foutided 1S90 171 
 
 Allen, Colonel .... 128 
 
 Artist Price, The Blind, Gen. 
 
 Samuel Woodson . . 232-234 
 Act of County Division . . 66-67 
 Arnstiger, Michael .... 18-19 
 Academy of Bethel 169 
 
 Barry, William T 206-20S 
 
 Barkley, John 22<S-229 
 
 Barkley, James T. 279 
 
 Baptist Church of Nicholas- 
 ville . 156 
 
 Baptist Church, Mt. Pleasant, 
 with picture 170 
 
 Bethel Academy, Act Incor- 
 porating .... 173 
 
 Bethel School Board and Con- 
 ference of 1797 . . . 173-174 
 
 Bethany Christian Church Or- 
 ganization 193 
 
 Bishops Coke and Asbury in 
 1789 ... .... 169 
 
 Biographical Sketches of Emi- 
 nent Citizens 200-285 
 
 Bower, Capt. Gustavus, in 
 1812 104-120 
 
 Boat Horn, The, poem of . 40-41 
 
 Bragg. General Braxton, at 
 Public Well 168 
 
 Brown, Col. George W. . . . 167 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Brown, Joshua, Soldier, Land- 
 lord 167 
 
 Bronaugh, John S-, Commis- 
 sioner of Navigation of Ken- 
 tucky River . . 155 
 Bridge, Engineering of . 152-153 
 Bridge at the Mouth of Hick- 
 man Creek 152-153 
 
 P.oone, Daniel 12 
 
 Brown, William 254 
 
 Bronaugh, John Spears . . . 267 
 
 Brown, George 1 254 
 
 Brown, George 2'ji 
 
 Bristow,Francis M., Pioneer . 276 
 Brown, Thomas J., picture, 168, 268 
 Butler, William O., sketch . 80 
 Butler, William Q. . . 200 
 
 Burnside General , also 
 
 the Ninth Army Corps U. S- 
 
 at Public Well 168 
 
 Bvichanan, Dr. Joseph, his Ca- 
 pillary Steam Engine . . . 163 
 Buller, Gen. Percival, sketch 
 
 of 36-41 
 
 Burr, Col. Aaron 25 
 
 Butler, General William O., 
 
 37-41, 199-200 
 Burbridge, Gen. S. G. ... 185 
 Butler, General William Or- 
 lando 37-41 
 
 Blue Lick, battle of 17 
 
 Black's Station, early settle- 
 ment 46-47 
 
 Bowman, David 230 
 
 Butler, John 231 
 
 Buena Vista, Soldiers at and 
 
 battle of 235-237 
 
 Brown, George, picture . 271, 159 
 Barkle}', James T 279 
 
 Camp Nelson and Gen. Wm. 
 
 Nelson ... ... 185 
 
 Cambry, John, letter to Col. 
 
 S. M. Duncan .... 219-221 
 
Hldorij of Jemiunne Count;/, Kentucky. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Capillary Steam Engine and 
 
 Cotton Factory 163 
 
 Central Hotel 168 
 
 Central Courier 180 
 
 Centennial Exercises, 1898, 
 
 program . 283 
 
 Centennial Committee of 1S98, 284 
 Charter of Female College and 
 
 Incorporators 177 
 
 Charter, First, of Nicholas- 
 
 ville 65-66 
 
 Charter, Second, of Nicholas- 
 
 ville S6-87 
 
 Celebration, Fourth of 
 
 July 100-103 
 
 Cincinnati Railway, the 
 
 old . . 154-155 
 
 Civil War Officers from Jessa- 
 mine County .... 136-137 
 Civil War, 1861-1S65, Jessa- 
 mine County in the 136-137 
 Court of Quarter Sessions . 72-73 
 Circuit Court, the First . . 74-75 
 Commissioners' Report of the 
 
 (i83i)Town Property ... 89 
 Caldwell, William ... 120, 135 
 County Judges under the Con- 
 stitution of 3849 . . -78 
 County Judges, early ones . 78 
 Confederate Monument 137-138 
 Commissioners' Report of 
 
 Slaves, Tythes and Dogs . 89 91 
 Confederate Dead . . . . 140 
 Confederate Graves .... 139 
 Confederate Monument at 
 
 Nicholasvilie . . . 137-138 
 Combs, Gen. I^eslie, inscrip- 
 tion to . . 154 
 
 Cook, Rev. Valentine, his 
 anti-slavery views .... 173 
 
 Cook, John B. 222 
 
 Cook, Rev. Valentine ... 173 
 
 Cook, Dawson 200 
 
 Collins' History, Dr. Richard 
 
 Henry 143 
 
 Colored Baptist Church . . . 199 
 Colored Christian Church . . 199 
 Colored Baptist Church, pic- 
 ture of 186 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Colored Soldiers 137 
 
 Colored Christian Church, 
 
 picture of 193 
 
 Chenowerth, Rev. Charles 
 
 (1799) 197 
 
 Crozer, David 197-198 
 
 Christian Church of Nicholas- 
 vilie 194 
 
 Chrisman, George T. 118-119 
 
 Chrisman, Gen Henry M. . 203 
 
 Chrisman, Louis H 243 
 
 Charloter, John W., the Blind 
 
 Well Digger 169 
 
 Chrisman, George T., letter 
 
 of 117-119 
 
 Chambers, B. S, letter of . . 27 
 Churches— 
 
 African Methodist .... 198 
 
 Baptist, First 195 
 
 Baptist, Mt. Pleasant ... 188 
 Baptist Meeting House . . 78 
 
 Colored Christian 199 
 
 Colored Baptist 199 
 
 Methodist Episcopal 
 
 Church, North 194 
 
 Methodist Episcopal 
 
 Church, South 196 
 
 Nicholasvilie Presbyterian 
 
 Church . 190 
 
 Christian Church 194 
 
 Charter, the first of — county . 85 
 
 Charter, the second 86 
 
 Cherokee Indians 21-22 
 
 Church Land 1S4 
 
 Cincinnati PvUquirer, circula- 
 tion suspended in 1863 . . 187 
 Clark, Major James, letter to . 33 
 Clerks of the Presbyterian 
 
 Church 191 
 
 Clear Creek Presbyterian 
 
 Church 193 
 
 Crockett, Capt. Robert, roll 
 
 of his company in 1812 . 123-124 
 Crockett, Robert, of Union 
 
 Mills .161 
 
 Crockett, Joseph B., Chief 
 Justice of California . . . 230 
 
 Crockett, Joseph 23-27 
 
 Crozer, David, letter of . 197-198 
 
Hidonj of Jesmmine Gountij, Keniuclaj. 
 
 pac;e. 
 Crutcher, Benjamin A., Com- 
 monwealth Attorney . . 167. 265 
 Crutcher, Thomas B., Police 
 
 Judge 266 
 
 County Judge, W. H. Phillips 165 
 Court House of Nicholasville, 
 
 the old and new 164 
 
 Curd, Lowry 277 
 
 Curd, Robert 269 
 
 Curiosities of JessamineCoun- 
 
 ty 143-^45 
 
 Corman, John 227 
 
 Chaumiere, description . 314-316 
 Contributors to History . . 9 
 demons, Robert ..... 278 
 
 Coger, Thomas T., 228 
 
 Corn, Samuel T 283 
 
 County, creation of ... . 61-62 
 
 County, causes of 62 
 
 County, legislative action 
 
 in 63-64 
 
 County, act creating ... 64 
 County, act creating, amend- 
 ment 66-67 
 
 County, act creating name 
 
 of .' 66-67 
 
 Cawbey, John, 219 
 
 Crozer, David 19S, 240 
 
 demons, Robert, picture . . 278 
 
 Daniel, Harrison, pioneer of 
 
 1790, and legislator of 1826 . 271 
 Davis, Gen. Jefferson C. • . 185 
 Democrat, newspaper . . -.177 
 Dedication of the Book ... 6 
 Devil's Pulpit Rock in Jessa- 
 mine 145-146 
 
 Dogs, tax list of 1831 .... 91 
 Dudley's Defeat, the story 
 
 of iii-i 12 
 
 Dudley, Gen. Peter 25 
 
 Duncan, Hon. S. M., historian, 262 
 
 Also 8 
 
 Duncan, Jas. and Charles, 260-262 
 Durrett, Col. R. T., historian 
 
 Filson Club 7 
 
 DeFoure. John Francis . . 55-57 
 
 Davis, James R 231 
 
 Deering, Charles 284 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Early Things . . .45,46,53,163 
 
 Early Houses in Jessamine 
 county 53 
 
 Early Manufacturers and Fac- 
 tories 163 
 
 Early Settlers of the county, 
 list of 45-46 
 
 Ebenezer Church, Presbyte- 
 rian, 1785-1790 195 
 
 Entertainment for Man and 
 Beast 167 
 
 Elders of the Presbyterian 
 Church 191 
 
 Elley, Elder George W. . . . 194 
 
 Evans, Charles 257 
 
 First Things 51-76 
 
 Court 73-74 
 
 Circuit Court 73-74 
 
 Settlers 45 
 
 Marriage 77 
 
 Mill 51 
 
 Civil Order 75 
 
 Powder Mill 51 
 
 Vineyard 55 
 
 Will 76 
 
 First child, Jos. Hunter . . . 42 
 First Charter of Town . . . 85-86 
 
 First Order 75-76 
 
 First Court of Quarter Ses- 
 sions 73-74 
 
 First Vineyard 55 
 
 First Will of Record . . . .76-77 
 
 First Marriage 77 
 
 First Baptist Meeting House, 78 
 First Charter of Nicholas- 
 ville . 85-86 
 
 First Order in Civil Action . 75-76 
 First Baptist Chvirch .... 195 
 First Members of Ebenezer 
 
 Church (Presbyterian) . . . 195 
 First National Bank of Nicho- 
 lasville, organization of . . 253 
 First Bank of Nicholasville 
 
 (in 1864) 260 
 
 Fain, Wilson 279 
 
 Fa3'ette Count3% Act for Di- 
 vision of 66-67 
 
History of Jesmmine Cottntij, Kentucky. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Ferries of Jessamine County, 157 
 Female Institute of Jessamine 
 
 County 176 
 
 Female College, the Incorpor- 
 ators of, i860 ....... 176 
 
 Finley.John 11-12 
 
 Francis Phipps (see Phipps), 201 
 Fayette County, enterprise of, 7 
 Fearnought, the Race Horse 19-21 
 
 Glass, John Henry 264 
 
 Glass Mills 182 
 
 Gordon, Prof. A. N. ... 140, 175 
 
 Gordon, Rev. Neal 195 
 
 Goodloe, Col. David (as a 
 
 marksman) 251 
 
 Gray, Captain Patrick, Com- 
 pany Muster Rolls, War of 
 
 1812 108 
 
 Gray, Capt. Patrick's com- 
 mand 108-109 
 
 Graham, Dr. Christophus Co- 
 lumbus, Geologist, the cen- 
 tenarian 143 
 
 Grand Jurors of the First 
 Term of the New Court 
 
 House 167 
 
 Guerrant, Rev. Dr. E- O., Pres- 
 byterian Pastor ... . 183 
 German Settlers (the earl}'), 44-45 
 
 Habersham, Hon. J., Postmas- 
 ter General and letters 
 
 of 82-84 
 
 Hart, Kdtnond Emanuel . . 163 
 
 Hart, Joseph 163 
 
 Hanly, Major J. H 251 
 
 Harris, Rev. Nathaniel (1799) 196 
 Hamilton, Col. Alexander, 
 letter from his regi- 
 ment 201-203 
 
 Harris, Rev. Nathaniel, sketch 209 
 Hendricks, Rev. John T. . . 191 
 Hanly, J. H., sketch of . . . 251 
 Healy, the Painter, and Cliff 
 
 Cottage 251 
 
 Hemphill, James 263 
 
 Hemphill, Andrew 263 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Hemp Manufactures and 
 
 Corn 158 
 
 Hickman Creek, Bridge; 
 
 mouth of, sketch of . 151-152 
 High Bridge, Mouth of Dick's 
 
 River, Ky I53-I54 
 
 Hite, Abraham 42-48 
 
 High Bridge, cantilever . 153-154 
 Hotels and Landlords .... 167 
 Horn, The Boat, poem . . . 40-41 
 Hull, General, surrender of 
 
 Detroit in 1813 125-126 
 
 Hughes, Ross 224 
 
 Hughes, Rev. J. W., president, 
 
 etc 182 
 
 Hopkins, Gen. Samuel . . 20-21 
 Hunter; Jacob, John, Joseph, 
 
 Samuel . . 42-44 
 
 Hickman Creek 48 
 
 Hightower, Capt. Richard . 123 
 
 Hind, Rev. Thomas 172 
 
 Holloway, John W 247-248 
 
 Incorporators of Female Insti- 
 tute, list of 176 
 
 Indians, the last cliff lurk- 
 ers 48-50 
 
 Indian Wars, men in them 
 before 1S12-1815 . . 103-104 
 
 Industries of Nicholasville . 163 
 
 Irwin, James, the last Revolu- 
 tionary soldier 200 
 
 Jackson's Cotton Factory . . 163 
 Jessamine County, the for- 
 mation of 61-64 
 
 Jessamine Soldiers in the Bat- 
 tle of the Thames . . . 120-121 
 
 Jessamine Pastures 146 
 
 Jessamine Creek, the tradi- 
 tion of the name .... 14S-151 
 Journal, Jessamine C ou n ty, 
 
 newspaper 177 
 
 Johnson, Col. Richard Men- 
 tor 113-116 
 
 Jessamine County, area of . 8 
 Jessamine Blues and 
 Grays 100, 108, in 
 
History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 PAGK. 
 
 Jessamine Female Institute, 
 sketch of . . . ... 176 
 
 Jasper, Francis Marion . . . 240 
 Jackman, Gen. vSaniuel Dick- 
 erson 272 
 
 Kavanaugh, Bishop Hubbard 
 Hinde, see M. E. Church, 
 South 197 
 
 Keene Village .... 47, 187-18S 
 
 Kentucky Beginnings . . . 7-8-9 
 
 Kentuckians at River Raisin, 
 the conduct of [35 
 
 Kentucky River Improve- 
 ments 155 
 
 Kentuck}' River, ceded to tlie 
 United States 155 
 
 Kentucky Legislature, the 
 Journals, Minutes, and Acts 
 of, 1798-1799 63-66 
 
 Lafayette, Gen. M 25 
 
 Largest Corn Crop 15S 
 
 Legislature, county members 
 
 of 79 
 
 Legislative Acts creating the 
 
 County'of Jessamine . . . 64-65 
 Lewis, Capt. Thomas, the roll 
 
 of his company in 1812 . 124-125 
 Lewis, Col. William A., sol- 
 dier of 1812 .... 127-129, 279 
 Lewis, Col. William A. ... 128 
 Lewis, Thomas, donates site 
 
 of Bethel Academy .... 171 
 Lexington and Danville Rail- 
 way 154 
 
 Local Ministers of 1878 . 188-198 
 
 Little Mountain 149-150 
 
 Luke's, St., Catholic Church, 
 the organization of . . . 193 
 
 Lyne, G. W. 249 
 
 Lexington, settlement of . . 7 
 Leathers, General John H. . 139 
 
 Lafon, John 245 
 
 Lyne, George W 249 
 
 Lowry, Curd 277 
 
 Magistrates of the County at 
 the Centennial of 1898 . . 278 
 
 PACE. 
 
 Magistrates of 1878 165 
 
 Marshall, Dr. Alexander K., . 274 
 Mammoth Rocks of Jessa- 
 mine 145 
 
 Mann, Dr. Charles, Surgeon 
 
 C S. A., picture .... 139-140 
 Maple Grove Cemetery . . . 168 
 Massie, Peter, the Weeping 
 
 Prophet, and John Clark . 169 
 McCarty, Editor Henry, and 
 
 Mr. Stears 179 
 
 McAfee, Allen L., Mexican 
 
 War Veteran 279 
 
 McAfee, Andrew, colored 
 councilman, picture . . . 281 
 
 McKee, Col. W. R 201 
 
 Meade, David 204 
 
 Mexican War Soldiers and 
 Veterans . . . 252-253, 234-236 
 
 Metcalf, Henry . 242 
 
 Metcalf, Rev. Jno., sketch, 79, 208 
 Members of the State Senate, 49 
 Members of the State House 
 
 of Representatives .... 79 
 Members of the Bar in 1878 . 165 
 Metcalf, Rev. John, and Beth- 
 el Academy 171 
 
 Metcalf, Rev. John, letter to 
 
 George Nicholas . ... 172 
 Ministers and Elders of the 
 Presbyterian Church of 
 
 Nicholasville 191 
 
 Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, 
 
 history of 188-190 
 
 McKinney, Col. John .... 204 
 INIosel}', Col. John . . . . 205 
 
 Mitchell, James Willard . . 275 
 Miller, Major Anderson . 161 
 Militia, order and drills . ■ 95-99 
 Mingo Tavern, picture of . . 16 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 
 North, picture 174 
 
 McCalla, Gen. John 22 
 
 Meade, Col. David . . 68, 215-218 
 McLean, Nathaniel John . 81-S2 
 McGrath, Terrence and 
 
 Price 103-104 
 
 Meaux, Mrs. Jane . . 190-191 
 
 Mitchell, James Willard . . 275 
 
History of Jessamine Countij, Kentuchj. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Narrows of the Kentucky • • 149 
 Netherland, Major B., letter 
 
 of 49-50 
 
 Netherland, Major Benjamin, 
 
 letter to 1 19-120 
 
 Netherland, Major B., letters 
 
 about postoflfice ... S3-84 
 Netherland, Major B., letter 
 
 of 28-29 
 
 Netherland, Benjamin . . . 15-25 
 Netherland, John, letter 
 
 of 1 19-120 
 
 New Court, Wm. T. Barry, 
 
 Chief Justice of the State . 207 
 Newspapers, the two mod- 
 ern 178-179 
 
 Nicholasville, the location 
 
 of 79-S2 
 
 Nicholasville andHanly, Wil- 
 more, Keene,Nealton, Bran- 
 non, Logan, Ambrose, Lit- 
 tle Hickman, East Hick- 
 man, Centennial Commit- 
 tees of 284-285 
 
 Nichols, Hon. George . 79, 92-94 
 Negro Slaves, list of, 1831 . . 90 
 
 Negro Councilman 281 
 
 Nicholas, Hon. George, 
 
 sketch 92-94 
 
 Nicholasville Beginnings . . 161 
 Northern Methodist Church, 
 
 picture 174 
 
 Northern Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church, pastor. Rev. V. 
 
 T. Willis 194 
 
 Noland, Rev. Stephen . . . 259 
 Noland, Wilmore & Co., bank- 
 ers 260 
 
 Names of those who settled in 
 other parts of Jessamine from 1782 
 to the close of the century : Thos/ 
 Adams; Benj. Blackford; Wm. 
 Bowman ; Jacob Bruner ; Archi- 
 bald Bristow ; Benj. Caldwell ; 
 Abraham Cassell ; Col. Jos. Crock- 
 ett; Robt. Campbell; Jonas Da- 
 venport ; Jeremiah Dickerson ; 
 Chas. Duncan; James Duncan; 
 Wni. Fletcher; Abraham Howser; 
 
 Jacob Howser ; Rev. Jno. Hudson ; 
 Rev. Nathaniel Harris; Jno. John- 
 son ; Jeremiah King; James Mc- 
 Kinney; John Lewis; Francis 
 Lowers ; Jno. Lowry ; Chris. Ma- 
 son ; Elder Michael Rice ; Daniel 
 Mitchell ; Wm. Moss ; James Mc- 
 Cabe ; Major B. Netherland : 
 James Overstreet ; Thomas Over- 
 street; Fielding Pilcher ; Shad- 
 rach Pilcher; Col. Byrd Prewitt ; 
 Col. Jno. Price; Col. Wm. Price; 
 Samuel Rice ; Jacob Rice ; Thom- 
 as Rowland ; Jacob Rhorer; Jacob 
 Sedowski ; John Two Nine Scott ; 
 Robt. Shanklin; Thos. Shanklin ; 
 Manoah Singleton ; Jno. Todd ; 
 Jno. Thornton ; David Watson, 
 Sr.; Col. Geo. Walker; Patrick 
 Watson ; John Welch ; Minor 
 Youns:. 
 
 Old Presbyterian, George 
 
 Brown 272 
 
 Old Times and Things .... 7-9 
 Old Scenes, see illustrations. 
 
 Parish, Editor J. M 177 
 
 Patriotic Celebration, Fourth 
 
 of July 100-102 
 
 Patterson, Col. Robert ... 17 
 Peter, Simpson, see S. . . 204 
 Pioneers of Kentucky, charac- 
 ter of 59-61 
 
 Pioneer Hotel, prices .... 167 
 Pioneer Struggles and Hard- 
 ships 59-60 
 
 Pilcher, Thomas Fielding, ed- 
 itor 180 
 
 Phipps, Thomas 201 
 
 Proctor, British General . . 115 
 Postmasters of Nicholasville, 164 
 
 Powder Mill 151 
 
 Population, increase of . . . 14 
 
 Preface 7 
 
 Price, Capt. Thomas, com- 
 pany muster roll, War of 
 1812 108 
 
Hintorij of Je.^samine Countij, Kentucky. 
 
 PACE. 
 
 Price, Major Daniel B. . . . 26 
 
 Price, John 3°~3i 
 
 Price, William 31-33 
 
 Price, John, letter of, on the 
 
 county formation .... 68-69 
 Price, Gen. Samuel Wood- 
 son 232-234 
 
 Price, Capt. James, company 
 roll, War of 1812 . . .108-110 
 
 Price, Kliber F 131 
 
 Price, James C, company of, 
 
 letter of loS, 131-133 
 
 Price, Susanna, letter to . 131-132 
 Price, Mary, letter to . . 132-135 
 Price, Major Daniel B. . . 212 
 Price, Major Daniel B., pic- 
 ture 213 
 
 Price, Rev. Branch, principal, 176 
 Price, Mrs. Jacob . . ... 176 
 Poythress, Rev. Francis • . 171 
 Public W'ell, stories of the 
 
 unfailing 168 
 
 Phillips, Judge William H. . 273 
 Phipps, Francis, surveyor, 201-202 
 Presbyterian Church of 1820, 
 
 pastors and elders .... 190 
 Presbyterian Church of Nich- 
 
 olasville 162 
 
 Prolific of Statesmen . . 224-225 
 Program Jessamine Count}- 
 and Nicholasville Centen- 
 nial, 1 798-1 898 285 
 
 Poythress, Rev. Francis and 
 
 Bethel Academy • . 171 
 Patterson, Robert .... 17 
 Proctor, Gen. Henry A. (Brit- 
 ish) 113, 116-117 
 
 Quarter Sessions, Judges of, 72-73 
 Quarter Sessions, courts of, 72-73 
 
 Randolph, Rev. John C., let- 
 ter of — he enlisted first ne- 
 gro soldiers 185-1S6 
 
 Ranklin, Rev. Adam, 1785-1790, 195 
 Report of Commissioners on 
 town property in 183 t . . 89 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 River Raisin, battle 
 
 of . . 125-126, 12S-129, 131-132 
 Raisin, the battle of, same. 
 Roebling, John A, engineer, 154 
 Ruins of Bethel on the Ken- 
 tucky 175 
 
 Revival of 1843 and its preach- 
 ers 197 
 
 Ridgely, Commodore Daniel 
 
 Boone 205 
 
 Romantic Story 223 
 
 Robert demons, sketch —see 
 
 demons, C 278 
 
 Robinson, Allen W 279 
 
 Revolutionary Soldiers ... 14 
 
 Rhorer, Jacob 44 
 
 Rice, Fisher 72, 84 
 
 Robinson, Jacob Creath . . . 235 
 
 04, 108- 
 
 Saegerser IMill Co. . 
 Savage, Rev. E. S. . 
 Sawyer, Rev. J. A. . 
 Saunders, Letcher 
 Saunders, C. B. . 
 Scott, Hon. Thomas J 
 Soldiers of 1812 . . . 
 Shely, Elizabeth McAfee . . 
 Settlers, Early, of the County, 
 
 see names to 1800 
 
 Singleton, Capt. Mason— 1812 
 Scenery in Jessamine County, 
 
 description of 143- 
 
 Simpson, Peter 
 
 Singleton, Jeremiah, his will, 
 Shelby, Gen. James— 1840 . 
 Shelby, Governor Isaac . . . 
 Singleton, Otho R., M. C . 
 
 Singleton, Manoali 
 
 Smith, Prof. Rev. George 
 
 Stokes 189, 
 
 Smith, Gen. E. Kirby .... 
 Soldiers of 1812-1815 . . . • 
 Stone Mill of Keene, picture, 
 St. Luke's Catholic Church, 
 
 organization 
 
 Simpson, Peter 
 
 Smith, Rev. Geo. Stokes . . 
 Smith, John Speed 
 
 182 
 184 
 184 
 248 
 248 
 
 258 
 -III 
 280 
 
 45 
 121 
 
 -144 
 204 
 
 149 
 14 
 34 
 
 226 
 
 1 88 
 
 256 
 
 139 
 104 
 
 188 
 
 193 
 204 
 256 
 205 
 
History of Jesmmine Counti/, Kentiickij. 
 
 Sterling, Larly 224 
 
 Shanklin, George S 225 
 
 Sparks, Hon. E. R. . . 254 
 
 Sulphur Well, the village of . 181 
 
 Taxable Propert)' of the Town, 
 
 1S31 91 
 
 Taylor, George B., Centennial 
 
 Marshal, picture . 284 
 Taylor, George B., Chief Mar- 
 shal 284 
 
 Thames, the battle of . 113-119 
 Tythes, list of the payers, 
 
 1 83 1 90-91 
 
 Transylvania University and 
 Colony ....... 12 
 
 Todd, Levi Luther . . . 269-270 
 
 Todd, Levi 13 
 
 Trisler, Peter . . . 44-45, 219-221 
 The Great Hemp Center, or 
 
 the counties of . . .160 
 
 Trustees of Bethel Academy 
 
 in 1798 173 
 
 Troy Presbyterian Church in 
 
 1870-1898 . 196 
 
 Turnpikes, how built, now 
 
 free 157 
 
 Todd Station 13, 47-48 
 
 Talbott, A. G 239 
 
 Union Mills, picture . . . 98-99 
 
 Virginia Pioneers 7-8-9 
 
 Volunteers in 1812, rollsof the 
 Gray and Price companies . 108 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Watson, Rev. Charles, or- 
 dained by Bishop Asbury . 169 
 
 Watts, Rev. T. W 197 
 
 Wallace, Capt. John .... 223 
 Welch, Rev. Thomas R., D.D. 250 
 
 Wernwag, Louis D 153 
 
 Welch, John Harrison, Master 
 
 Commissioner 255 
 
 Well, the Public 168 
 
 Welch, Dr. Thomas R., 251, 270 271 
 
 Welch. Dr. John C 271 
 
 Welch, Hon. Wm. R 283 
 
 Wliatcoat, Bishop Richard, 
 and the 5,000 acres land 
 
 grant 169 
 
 White, William W 249 
 
 Whitley, William . . . .116, 142 
 White, Elder William . ... 249 
 White, Capt. James, the com- 
 pany of 142 
 
 Winchester, General .... 128 
 
 Wiliis.John A 252 
 
 Willis, Capt. W. T 234 
 
 Williamson, Rev. Thomas, 
 
 1789 197 
 
 Wilderness Road, the .... 13 
 
 Wilmore, Village of iSi 
 
 Wilmore, Business of ... . 182 
 W^oodson, Tucker, of Chau- 
 
 miere, in 1804 213-214 
 
 Woodson, Samuel H. . 72-73, 84 
 Woodson, Samuel H., 
 
 Sr., 216-21S 
 
 Woodson, S. H., Sr., stepson 
 
 of Col. James Crockett, 2 10-2 11 
 Woodson, Miss Jessie Doug- 
 las, romantic story of, 146-147 
 Wilderness Road 13 
 
 Walker, George .... 14, 35-36 
 
 Wallace, Joseph 22 
 
 Wake, Alexander, first county 
 
 judge 222 
 
 Watkins, Joel, diary of, 1783, 46-47 
 Walker, Dr. Thomas, 1750 . . ir 
 
 Walker, Edmund 190 
 
 Walker, George . . . . 14, 35, 36 
 W^ar of 1812-1815; causes of, 
 
 men in it . 45,103-107, 120-123 
 
 Young, Josephine .... 237-239 
 Young, Elder Rob't, sketch, 5, 253 
 Young, Elder Robert, dedica- 
 tion 2 
 
 Young, Melanchthon, sketch, 160 
 Young, Col. Bennett Hender- 
 son, frontispiece and title, i 
 Young, B. H., preface .... 7 
 
Hldofij of Je^mmlne Cotmty, Kentucky. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Young, Col. Bennett H., 
 speech at the Confederate 
 monument unveiling . . 140-142 
 
 Young, Col. Bennett H., 
 speech at the Centennial of 
 1898 154 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Young, Col. Bennett H., the 
 
 High Bridge 
 
 Young's Bridge, etc. . . . 154 
 Yoiing, Daniel P. . . 244-245 
 
 Zimmerman, Frederick, sur- 
 veyor 84, 201 
 
 Zeisberger, David .... 44 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Adcock, Adam 282 
 
 Ancient Paper Mill at Glass 
 
 Mills 52 
 
 Arnett, Chairman B. M., Cen- 
 tennial 283 
 
 Adcock, Aton Adam .... 282 
 
 Burial Place of Col. William 
 
 Price 118 
 
 Brown, Geo 159 
 
 Bronaugh, John Spears . . . 266 
 
 Brown, Thomas J 268 
 
 Baptist CI -irch 156 
 
 Baptist Church, Colored . . 186 
 
 Butler, Wm. O . So 
 
 Catholic Church of Nicholas- 
 
 ville . . 166 
 
 Churches- - 
 
 Catholic Church 166 
 
 Christian Church ... 134 
 
 Christian Church, Colored . 192 
 
 Colored Methodist ... 178 
 
 INIethodist, North .... 174 
 
 IMethodist, vSouth ... 144 
 
 Presbyterian 162 
 
 Mt. Pleasant ••.... 170 
 
 Colored Methodist Church . 178 
 Christian Church, Nicholas- 
 
 viile 134 
 
 Cook. B. T 282 
 
 Court House at Nicholasville. 126 
 
 Confederate Monument . . . 138 
 
 Cook, Hon. B. L 280 
 
 Crutcher, Benjamin A. . . . 265 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Curd, Lowry 277 
 
 Curd, Robert 269 
 
 demons, Robert 278 
 
 Deering, Charles 
 Duncan, Hon. S. M. 
 
 284 
 262 
 
 Ebenezer Presbyterian 
 
 Church J02 
 
 Evans, Charles 257 
 
 Frontispiece, Col. Bennett 
 H. Young I 
 
 Glass, Henry 182 
 
 Holloway, Dr. John W. . . . 248 
 
 Hughes, Hon. J. D 282 
 
 Hickman Bridge 122 
 
 High Bridge 130 
 
 Jessamine Creek Head . . . 106 
 Jessamine Female Institute 150 
 
 Mann, Dr. Charles . . 139 
 
 McCarty. Henry . . . 179-180 
 Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church . 170 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 
 South 144 
 
 McAfee. Andrew, colored . . 281 
 Mitchell, Hon C S. . . 282 
 
 MilitiaOrders, fac-simile, 1832, 96 
 Mitchell, James Willard 275 
 
 Mingo Tavern ... . . 16 
 
Hixtory of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Nicholasville Baptist Colored 
 Church 156 
 
 Old Stone Mill at Keene . . 115 
 
 Paper Mill 52 
 
 Pioneer Cabin 54 
 
 Pioneer's Dress 43 
 
 Presbyterian Church .... 162 
 
 Price, Wni., burial place . . 118 
 
 Pilcher, Louis 179 
 
 Phillips, Judge Wm. H. . . . 273 
 
 Robinson, Judge Allen W. 
 
 279 
 
 vSaunders Letcher ...... 248 
 
 vStears, J. B. 179-180 
 
 Stone House at Union Mills . 56 
 
 Stone Mill 114 
 
 Smith, Rev. George Stokes . 256 
 
 Smith, Frank D 282 
 
 Steele, Mayor W. J 282 
 
 Sparks, Hon. E. R 254 
 
 Union Mills at Hickman creek 98 
 
 Welsh, Dr. T. R 270 
 
 Wooden Kentucky River 
 Bridge — Hickman .... 122 
 
 Woodson, Samuel H 211 
 
 Woodson, Tucker 214 
 
 Willis, John A 252 
 
 Young, Melanchthon .... 160 
 
 Young, Robert . 238 
 
 Young, Josephine, double 
 picture 238 
 
 Mitchell. C. S., 
 Steele, W. J., 
 Smith, Frank D., 
 Hughes, J. D., 
 Cook, B. T., 
 Adcock, Adam, 
 
 Composite picture .... 2S2 
 
 X20 9- m 
 

 

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