USA > Kentucky > Jessamine County > A history of Jessamine County, Kentucky, from its earliest settlement to 1898 > Part 3
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History of Jessamine County, Kentucky.
ington as General La Fayette. When the great dinner given to the general in the city limits was over, I went to Mr. Wiekliff's house with Cols. Joseph and Anthony Crockett to pay my respects to the young man, forty-seven years ago. I introduced to Col. William Moultry who was putting Charleston in fighting trim to resist the British fleet which I learned while in Cuba was to sail from Jamaca under Admiral Parker and bombard Charleston. I brought this intelligence which I hastened to give Colonel Moul- trie, who immediately commenced putting the town in a proper state for defending every place along the harbor. On arriving at Mr. Wickliff'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, but a proud, weak man. When Colonel Crockett brought me into the parlor of Mr. Wickliff's house, General La Fayette, he introduced me as the young man "Netherland" who forty-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- delphia, he received me very warmly, shedding tears as he did when meeting with Anthony and Joe Crockett. He asked my age, I told him I was just in my seventieth year ; he then informed me he was 69 years of age and felt that his health had greatly im- proved since he had revisited America. When I bid him fare- well I, in company 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 especially shed tears when taking leave of the great friend of Washington.
Very truly your friend,
B. NETHERLAND.
Capt. Thomas W. Ashford, Versailles, Ky.
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History of Jessamine County, 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 county 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 Maryland he was descended from a distin- guished Virginia family. He was severely wounded at the bat- tle of Brandywine, 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 10th 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 August, 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 county.
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
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History of Jessamine County, Kentucky.
soldiers. Buried upon the old homestead, his grave was not marked. The place is now owned by a Mr. Hinds and while it is known in what enclosure he was buried, there is no stone to desig- nate his grave.
Many 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. William Price, who was not related to Col. John Price, was born in Fredericksburg, Va., 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 Virginia, 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 traveling church, in 1781, and remained for three years. He then returned to Virginia, and in 1787 came back to Kentucky, settled in Jessamine county and made it his permanent home.
Colonel Price was in the Revolutionary war, from its very commencement until the end. He was a first Lieutenant in the battle of Stony Point. July 16, 1799, and at the battles of Brandy- wine, Germantown. Monmouth, and Princeton, he was acting as Captain. He rose to the rank of Major, and was at Yorktown
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History of Jessamine 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 Virginia 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 invitation 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 means.
WILLIAM PRICE.
Colonel Price must have borne a distinguished part in the battle of Stony Point. The following letter, which he wrote to
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History of Jessamine County, Kentucky.
Maj. James Cluke, the day after this battle, 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. Maj. James Cluke :
Dear Major-I wish that God would heal your wound and I could once more see you among your brave comrades. On yes- terday evening, July 16th, after marching over the roughest coun- try I ever saw, through deep swamps and narrow roads, we got within 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 waist 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, but a ter- rible fire was opened on us as we advanced through the swamps. The guns from the fort spattered mud on us as well as dirty 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 ; carry me to the fort; I will die at the head of my men." We 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, I am, your friend,
WILLIAM PRICE.
3
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History of Jessamine County, Kentuckg.
He died at his residence, where he had settled when coming to Jessamine county, on the Ioth of October, 1808, at the age of 53 years. 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 early introduced in Jessamine county, celebrations of the Fourth of July. He had such a celebration at his house on the Fourth of July, 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 Friend-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 III 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 happy people have been dedi- cated on yesterday to the contemplation of the great blessings achieved and bequeathed 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-
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History of Jessamine County, Kentucky.
iant illustration of the great truth that 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 Virginia to Jessamine county. He was the second man to open a law office in the town of Nicholasville, 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 was buried in the or- chard about one hundred yards from the residence.
He was a man of great learning and great enterprise, as well as great courage. Born in Culpeper county, Va., in 1763, he settled in Jessamine county, in 1794. He married Miss Rachel Coffee, of Nashville, 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 1812. 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 Shelby. to fill a vacancy.
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History of Jessamine County, Kentucky.
David Meade was an uncle of Colonel Walker, his father hav- ing married Colonel Meade's sister. He was in the battle of New Orlean's 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 Walker 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 : "I 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. Woodson, in 1827, at the residence near David Meade's."
Gen'1 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 Valley Forge with Washington, at the battle of Mon- mouth, and at the surrender at Yorktown. La Fayette 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
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History of Jessamine County, Kentucky.
that General Butler 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 part of Central Kentucky, and flatboats plied up and down the stream, carrying the commerce of the country tributary to it. The rich lands lying 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 Nashville, 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 by the Virginia legislature, and in 1787 Wilkinson had pushed his trade down the Mississippi to New Orleans, and the mouth of Hickman at once became 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, Madison 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 1789. 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
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History of Jessamine County, Kentucky.
father to Carrollton. 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, 1813. 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- ccnial 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. P. Blair, Sr. :
"After the rout and massacre of the right wing, belonging to the Wells command, the whole force of the British and Indians was concentrated against the small body of troops under Maj. Geo. Madison, that maintained their ground within the picketed gardens, 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 barn 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 him, Butler, after making some steps on his way
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History of Jessamine County, Kentucky.
back, turned to see if the fire 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 turned 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 was a captain in the battle of New Orleans, December 14, 1814, and on January 8, 1815, was brevetted Major for his gallan- try, and General Jackson commended his conduct in the highest terms. He was an aide on the staff of General Jackson, in 1816 and 1817, 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 years, refusing a re-election. In 1844 he was the Demo- cratic candidate for Governor and reduced the Whig majority to 4,000.
On June 29. 1846, President Polk appointed General Butler a major general of volunteers, and on the same date Zachary Tay- lor, major general in the regular army.
On the 23d of February, 1847, the Kentucky legislature pre- sented him a sword for his gallantry in Mexico. He bore a dis- tinguished part in many of the battles of that war. He was wounded in the battle of Monterey in September, 1846. On Feb- ruary 18, 1848, he succeeded General Scott in the chief com- mand of the American army in Mexico, and remained in such po- sition until the declaration of peace, May 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 Kentucky in January, 1861, and thereafter
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History of Jessamine County, Kentucky.
he remained in the quiet seclusion of his home, at Carrollton, 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 Northwest from the savage and to make still greater, the renown of the great commonwealth which had given him birth.
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