A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 106

Author: Johnson, E. Polk, 1844-; Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 860

USA > Kentucky > A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III > Part 106

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

For generations past Mr. Wakefield's people on both sides of the family have been com- municants in the Presbyterian faith. He is a member of the Masonic order, which he joined when he was twenty-one years of age. He married Katie K. Beard, who was born in Fisherville, Jefferson county, Kentucky, the daughter of S. T. Beard, who was born in Spencer county, Kentucky. They have had children as follows: John B., born October 25, 1872, 'who married Georgia Rice, and is in the hotel business at Versailles, Kentucky; Lucy T., who married Charles N. McMakin and is engaged in agriculture; Mary E., who died at the age of fourteen years; James Heady, single, has the management of the Ho- tel Armstrong; Mark married Irene Bailey, daughter of the Rev. B. B. Bailey, and is as- sociated in the management of the Hotel Arm- strong with his father and mother; M. Louis,

clerk in the Hotel Armstrong; William Har- bison ; and Morry T., who married Josephine, the daughter of Luther C. Willis, a prominent attorney of Shelbyville. Mr. Wakefield has led an active and busy life, with all his days filled with occupation ; has reared a large fam- ily, all of whom do him credit; has been a man of affairs; and has the respect of his numerous friends.

CHARLES SCOTT BRENT, the third of that name in direct descent and of the fifth gen- eration of the Brent family in Kentucky, was born in Paris, Bourbon county, Kentucky, on February 20, 1881, coming from pioneer stock of Virginia ancestry.

The Brents originally were of English ex- traction and during the seventeenth century there emigrated to America several families of that name, some settling in Maryland, others in Virginia.

It was during the latter half of the eigh- teenth century that the Brents first emigrated from Virginia to Kentucky, one of the first of that name to come to Kentucky being Major Hugh Brent, from whom the present Charles Scott Brent is descended, the line of descent being as follows: (1) Hugh Brent, (2) Hugh Brent, (3) Charles Scott Brent, (4) Charles Scott Brent, and (5) Charles Scott Brent.

(1) Major Hugh Brent, the third son of Charles Brent of King George county, Virginia, who married Hannah Innes, of Richmond county, was born in Stafford county of that colony, to which place his parents had moved shortly after their marriage. He lived the greater part of his life in Prince William county and there in 1764 married Elizabeth Baxter. During the Rev- olutionary war he was an officer of the Vir- ginia militia from Prince William county and saw active service in a number of battles. Toward the latter part of his life he became imbued with the restless spirit characteristic of so many Americans of that period, and in 1791 he emigrated to Kentucky, where he settled upon a large tract of land in Bourbon county, upon which he resided until his death in 1813. His children were Margaret, who married Thomas Young, Hannah, who married Duval Payne; Hugh who married Elizabeth Lang- horne; Elizabeth, who died unmarried ; George, who also died unmarried; and Mary, who married Hugh McIllvaine.

(2) Hugh Brent, a son of Major Hugh Brent and Elizabeth Baxter, was born in Prince William county, Virginia, in 1773. In 1789 he emigrated to Ken- tucky and first settled near Lexington, but later moved into Bourbon county, where he became an extensive land owner and a

1662

HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS

prominent citizen. In 1798 he returned to Virginia and brought back to Kentucky as his bride the beautiful Elizabeth Trotter Lang- horne, daughter of John Langhorne of Virgini ginia, and by her he had six children, namely, Hugh Innes, who married first Miss Arm- strong, and afterward Maragaret Chambers; Thomas Young, who married first Elizabeth Arnold, and for his second wife Elmira Tay- lor ; John Langhorne who died in youth; Sarah Bell, who married Isaac Lewis; Charles Scott, mentioned below; and Elizabeth Langhorne, who married Henry Clay Hart. Hugh Brent died in Bourbon county in 1848.

(3) Hon. Charles Scott Brent was born near Paris in Bourbon county in 1811, and there spent his entire life, passing away in 1881. He was a man of much ability and carried on a substantial business both as a merchant and as a banker. As natural to one of his mental cali- ber, he took an active part in public affairs and in 1840 represented his county in the State Legislature. He was a strong Union sympa- thizer and during the Civil war had four sons in the Union army. He was married three times. By his first wife, Susan Taylor, he had one son, Hugh Taylor, who married Caroline Russell. In 1835 Charles Scott Brent mar- ried Matilda Chambers, of Mason county, a daughter of Governor John Chambers, the second territorial governor of Iowa. There were born to this marriage eleven children, as follows : John Chambers, who mar- ried Martha Nicholas Ford; Elizabeth, who married John Marshall; Sprigg married Jose- phine Harris; Belle Hart married Charlton Alexander ; Charles Scott married Lizzie Todd Young ; Hannah died in infancy ; Thomas Innes married Mary Flemming ; James Arnold died unmarried ; Matilda married Frank F. Wood- all; Henry Chambers married Binnie May Schaeffer ; and Kelley married Maria Dudley Talbot. Charles Scott Brent's third wife was Mrs. M. H. Ford, and their union was with- out issue.

Born in Bourbon county in 1844, (4) Charles Scott Brent received his early education in that county and later entered Center College at Danville, Kentucky. At the age of eighteen he withdrew from college and enlisted in Com- pany G. Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, of which company he was commissioned second lieu- tenant. He was later promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, and served in that capacity until the close of the Civil war. Returning home after the war he was engaged in business in Paris, Kentucky, until about 1866, when he moved to Covington, Kentucky, where he was for several years in the whole- sale feed business. Later he returned to Paris

and re-entered business there. In 1871 he mar- ried, in St. Louis, Missouri, Lizzie Todd Young, a daughter of Colonel Alfred Morris Young, an extensive land owner and plan- ter of Louisiana, and of Mary Carr, the daughter of Judge Charles Carr, of Fay- ette county, Kentucky, a descendant of General Levi Todd, one of the most distinguished of the first pioneers in Ken- tucky. Charles Scott Brent moved with his family from Paris to Lexington in 1882 and established there a wholesale grain and seed business, which he conducted successfully until his death, in 1903. He was for many years a director of the Fayette National Bank of Lexington, was president of the Board of Alderman of the city for one term and was identified with various interests in the city during his residence there. Of the union of Charles Scott Brent and Lizzie Todd (Young) Brent four children were born, namely : Alfred Chambers, Henry Kelly, Charles Scott (mar- ried Anne Mason) and Elizabeth Todd (mar- ried M. Don Forman).

After attending private schools in Lexington (5) Charles Scott Brent was fitted for college at St. Albans, a preparatory school in Virginia. He subsequently entered the academic depart- ment of the University of Virginia and later its medical department, from which he was graduated with the class of 1906. Returning to Lexington, he decided to enter upon a mer- cantile career in preference to a professional one, and with his brother Alfred Chambers Brent he succeeded to the wholesale seed busi- ness established by his father. He is a direc- tor of the Fayette National Bank and is active- ly identified with the Lexington Commercial Club, of which he has been vice-president. He is a member of Lexington Lodge, No. I, A. F. & A. M., Lexington Lodge, No. 89, B. P. O. E., and of the United Commercial Travelers of America.

In 1907 Charles Scott Brent married Anne Penn Chew Mason, of Charlestown, West Vir- ginia, a daughter of Hon. James Murray Mason, of Virginia, and Eliza Hill, of North Carolina, and a granddaughter of United States Senator James Murray Mason, later Commis- sioner from the Confederate government to Great Britain, whose wife was Eliza Chewa, descendant of Chief Justice Chew of Pennsyl- vania. George Mason, author of the "Decla- ration of Rights" adopted by the Continental Congress, and a man of much influence during the period of the American Revolution, is an ancestor of this branch of the Mason family.

To Charles Scott Brent and his wife, Anne Mason Brent, there has been born one child, a daughter, Anne Mason Brent.

1663

HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS

HUGH C. DUFFY .- A prominent farmer and the present representative of Harrison county, Kentucky, in the state legislature, Hugh Cor- nelius Duffy was trained for the profession of law in which he was engaged in active prac- tice at Gallatin, Tennessee, for a number of years. He had experienced remarkable suc- cess and was becoming widely known as one of the able members of his profession when failing health compelled him to give up his life work.

The Hon. Mr. Duffy was born at Harts- ville, Sumner county, Tennessee, December 31, 1853, his parents being Michael and Cor- nelia (Read) Duffy, the former of whom was born in county Donegal, Ireland, and the latter of whom was a native of Sumner county, Ten- nessee. When a child nine years of age Michael Duffy came to the United States with his uncle, Hugh Ragan, his parents being de- ceased, and the ancestral estates near Ulster, county Tyrone, division of Ulster, having been seized as forfeited. The paternal grand- mother of the subject, whose maiden name was Nellie Cannon, was closely related to the O'Neal whom Cornwallis first deceived and then butchered. Michael Duffy and his uncle made location in Sumner county, Tennessee, where the former was reared to maturity and where was solemnized his marriage to Miss Cornelia Read. He died at the residence of his brother, Frank, in Todd county, Kentucky, in 1859, and his wife, who long survived him, passed away in 1901, at the age of eighty- one years. The subject's grandfather on the paternal side was Charles Duffy, who died in Ireland and who was the father of five sons, one of whom, Patrick, was a gallant soldier in the Mexican and Civil wars, and another, Frank, who settled in Todd county, Kentucky. The others never married and died young. Michael Duffy was a farmer, merchant and extensive dealer in tobacco during his active career. He was a slave owner and prominent and well-to-do. He served as assessor of Sum- ner county, Tennessee, and represented Sum- ner county in the Lower House of the State Legislature. After his death his widow mar- ried George W. Terry, of Sumner county, Tennessee. To the first marriage were born five children, of whom are living Hugh C., of this review, and Michae T., who married William Satterwhite, of Nashville, Tennes- see. By her second marriage she had one child, who died at the age of five years.

Hugh C. Duffy, the immediate subject of this review, lived on the farm which his mother' inherited from her father, William Read, until after her second marriage. He then resided with his step-father, G. W. Terry,

near Hendersonville, Sumner county, Tennes- see, until sixteen years of age. Although never punished in the slightest measure at school he experienced a great aversion to the first schools he attended, so great an aversion, in fact, that he could not be driven to school. His mother whipped him severely to make him attend, with so little success that she fin- ally abandoned all effort in that line, saying, "If you ever wish to go to school I shall en- deavor to send you, but I shall never again ask you to go." In order that the abundant energies of her sons might be employed, the mother bought a farm and placed William R. and Hugh C. upon it to make their livings, the former being fifteen and the latter eleven years of age. At the age of fourteen years, Hugh experienced "a change of heart" and asked his mother to send him to school and she accordingly made arrangements for him to enter the school of Captain J. B. Howison at Hendersonville. There he pursued his studies until Captain Howison went to Galla- tin to teach, and he then enjoyed the instruc- tion of Professor C. W. Callender, continuing under his tutelage until prepared for the Uni- versity of Virginia, to which his mother had promised to send him in the ensuing fall. Finding herself unable financially to fulfill this promise without injustice to her other children, upon young Hugh's request, she granted him the privilege of working out his own destiny. He visited Professor C. W. Cal- lender and stated his circumstances to him and his desires, and Professor Callender re- ceived him in his school upon condition that the tuition should be paid after he had had an opportunity to make the necessary money. Both Captain Howison and Professor Callen- der were well educated men, the former a graduate of the University of Virginia and the other bearing the degree of Master of Arts from Harvard. A gentler, more noble man never lived than C. W. Callender, his conduct toward one he believed deserving be- ing ever affectionate and parental.

About the time Mr. Duffy finished his aca- demical studies free schools were established in the South and he successfully passed an ex- amination which made him eligible for teach- ing. He secured a position as first assistant in the high school at Gallatin, retaining that position for a period of three years, and at the expiration of that time he entered the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, in the law department of which excellent insti- tution he was graduated with the class of 1877. Although eligible to the degree of bachelor of laws, he did not receive it be- cause he could not spare the necessary money

1664

HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS

-- fifteen dollars-to pay for a diploma. He possesses, however, his certificate of gradua- tion and a letter from O. Southal asking him to send for his diploma. The reason Mr. Duffy did not become a student at Vanderbilt University, an institution of learning within fifteen miles of his home, was that its rules compelled those matriculating to attend the Methodist church Sunday nights. He had voluntarily attended the Methodist church and Sunday-school all his life, but would not be compelled to attend either. Immediately after graduation Mr. Duffy located at Gallatin, where he succeeded in building up a large and lucrative practice and where he rapidly gained recognition as one of the ablest and most versatile lawyers in Sumner county. His close application to work, alas, soon impaired his health and in 1883 he was forced to give up the practice of law, for the study of which he had previously made such great sacrifices. In 1885, shortly after his marriage, he re- moved to Kentucky.

Mr. Duffy was married November 12, 1884, Miss Fannie Desha becoming his bride. Mrs. Duffy was born on the estate upon which Mr. Duffy and his children now reside, the date of her nativity being December, 1860. She was a daughter of General Lucius Desha and the scion of a fine Southern family. She was summoned to the life eternal in April, 1904, and, a woman of gracious charming personal- ity, her death was deeply mourned by a de- voted family and a large circle of warm and admiring friends. Mr. and Mrs. Desha became the parents of seven children, six of whom survive the mother and all of whom reside at home with their father, namely: Eliza M., Cornelia R., Frank L., Eleanor P., Margaret B. and Lucia Desha. Frank L. was grad- uated from the .Virginia Military Institute in the summer of 1911.

Since his marriage Mr. Duffy has devoted his entire time to farming and stock-raising on the old Desha estate, of which he is guard- ian in trust for his children, the farm having belonged to the mother. In politics Mr. Duffy is a loyal Democrat and in November, 1909, his party elected him to represent the seventy- sixth district in the State Legislature, in which connection he is discharging his duties in a faithful and enlightened manner. Mr. Duffy's bitterest disappointment in life was to give up his profession to which he had devoted so much time and for which he was particularly gifted. His whole ambition is now the education and training of his children to good citizenship. He is particularly cultured and well-read and his profound knowlege of the law has proved very useful, despite the

fact that he does not practice. He has never been a member of any fraternity, society, or- der or sect. He believes that he owes no duties save to the race at large and to the community of which he is a member in par- ticular. His children share his ideals and the above is true of all save one, who is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church.

It cannot be otherwise than appropriate to glance briefly at the history of the family of Cornelia (Read) Duffy, the mother of the Hon. Mr. Duffy. She was a daughter of Wil- liam and Mary Polly (Bledsoe) Read. The father was a pioneer of Tennessee and Ken- tucky and was wounded in the arm in a con- flict with the Indians. He had led a scouting party up the Cumberland river to thwart the movements of a band of redskins when he received the injury. As he was called Cap- tain Read it is probable that he bore such a commission. Isaac and Anthony Bledsoe, brothers, the first-named Cornelia's grand- father, were members of a band of men known in Tennessee and Kentucky history as the Long hunters. They both accompanied Isaac Shelby to the relief of the Americans at King's Mountain and participated in the battle that ensued. Isaac Bledsoe married Katherine Montgomery and they and their im- mediate ancestors or descendants were citizens of the colonies of Virginia and North Caro- lina. They and their descendants fought in many of the Colonial and Indian wars, in the Revolution and the Civil war, in the latter of which they supported the Confederate cause. The Hon. Mr. Duffy is thoroughly American, in his veins flowing the blood of many patrio- tic ancestors. His forbears were long iden- tified with America and her institutions, fight- ing in all of her wars and enjoying the bless- ings of her intervals of peace.

CLARENCE LEE GARNETT, who is closely as- sociated with the development of the agri- cultural and industrial prosperity of Harri- son county, is pleasantly situated on Two Lick pike, just opposite the crossing of the Falmouth and Two Lick pike, where his birth occurred on December 1I, 1864. His father, William Garnett, was born on the same home- stead June 20, 1817, and here spent his entire life, passing away March 31, 1890.

Harrison county is fortunate in having been settled by a remarkably enterprising, indus- trious and intelligent class of people, among the number having been Larkin Garnett, grandfather of Clarence Lee Garnett. Born in Virginia, February 2, 1782, Larkin Garnett came from there to Harrison county, Ken- tucky, in 1807, locating on Two Lick pike, on the site of the present home of the grandson

HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS

1665

of whom we write. He cleared a large tract of land, and in addition to farming with good success was engaged to a considerable extent in mechanical pursuits. By dint of industry and judicious management he accumulated a fair share of this world's goods and held high rank as a man of prominence and influence. He died October 6, 1856, having outlived the allotted three score and ten years of man's life. He married Elizabeth Bell, a native of Virginia, and they reared a family of six sons and six daughters.

Brought up in pioneer days, William Gar- nett received his schooling during the winter months of the district school, in the mean- time acquiring a valuable knowledge of agri- culture on the homestead. On marrying he began life for himself on a part of the old farm, which his father gave him. Devoting his time and energies to the care of his land, he prospered in his undertakings, from time to time adding to his acreage until he became possessor of fourteen hundred acres of land in this vicinity. He was a sound Democrat in politics, a loyal and esteemed citizen, and a man of substantial worth and integrity. Both he and his wife were active and valued mem- bers of the Union Baptist church.

The maiden name of the wife of William Garnett was Margaret Van Deren Newell. She was born near Robinson Station, Harrison county, Kentucky, December 16, 1822, and died on the home farm December 24, 1910, at a venerable age. Five children were born of their union, namely : Sallie E., widow of Paul King, resides in Harrison county; Larkin T., of Harrison county; Hugh N., who lives in Cynthiana, Harrison county ; William T., de- ceased; and Clarence Lee. Captain Hugh Newell, father of Margaret Van Deren New- ell, and grandfather of Mr. Garnett, was born in Harrison county, Kentucky, in 1793. Brave and patriotic, he fought with the Kentucky troops in the war of 1812, taking part in num- erous engagements, including the battle at Raisin river, in 1814. Returning to his home in Harrison county, Kentucky, he adopted the occupation to which he was reared, and was subsequently actively engaged in cultivating the soil.

Although his educational advantages were exceedingly limited, being confined to a knowl- edge of the three "r's," which he obtained in the pioneer district school, he was a keen ob- server and a good reader of the Bible and during his later years of the newspapers, in this way becoming familiar with the leading events of his day. He took a lively interest in public affairs, and was chosen by his party, the Democratic, as a representative to the

State Legislature, and was later elected state senator, his support at the polls being a high testimonial to his popularity and a tribute to his ability. Serving in the Legislature sev- eral terms, Captain Newell was ever a fear- less advocate or defender of measures which he deemed beneficial to the state, his clear judgment, honest integrity, and irreproachable character lending influence and weight in the solving of problems of importance. When near- ing the meridian of life he developed a latent talent for oratory, and without apparent effort made his mark as a stump speaker in political campaigns. In person the Captain was of commanding height, broad of shoulder, with his steady gray eye bright as an eagle's, his hair in his later years being of a deep iron gray, his entire personality on the platform being attractive and pleasant even to those most actively opposed to his opinions. Es- pousing the cause of his party, which sturdily opposed banking institutions, internal improve- ments and industrial protection, his addresses to the public on those subjects roused to a high state of enthusiasm vast audiences of men, educated and ignorant alike, his vigor- ous, brilliant figures of speech flashing through the minds of his hearers like a ray of light, being both effective and convincing. Even his most stalwart opponents awarded him much praise and commendation, acknowl- edging his brilliancy of thought, his honesty of convictions and his qualities of prudence, self-command and of forbearance, giving him his dues as a faithful citizen and a man of honor and worth.

Educated in the Cross Roads district school, as he says, Clarence Lee Garnett began as a boy to assist in the labors incidental to farm life, and when married was given by his father an interest in the home farm. The large old-fashioned brick house which he now occupies was built by his father soon after the close of the war and in it the father spent his last years, having moved into it with his family at its completion. Mr. Garnett has continued a tiller of the soil during his entire life, and is now devoting his two hundred acres of land principally to the raising of stock and the growing of tobacco, in both lines of industry carrying on a large and re- munerative business. Although a firm sup- porter of the principles of the Democratic party, Mr. Garnett has never aspired to offi- cial honors. Both he and his wife are mem- bers of Unity Baptist church, and for three years he has been superintendent of its Sun- day-school.

On February 24, 1887, Mr. Garnett was united in marriage with Mamie Katherine

the

5. -

te FE

en-

10 2

1666

HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS

Spilman, who was born in Campbell county, Kentucky, August 20, 1865, a daughter of Rev. Henry E. Spilman and granddaughter of Henry Erskin and Mary Frances Spilman, who were pioneer settlers of Kentucky, com- ing here from Virginia. Born in Campbell county, Kentucky, near Alexandria, Rev. Henry E. Spilman was educated for the min- istry at Georgetown, Kentucky, and for twenty years had charge of Union Baptist church in Harrison county. He subsequently accepted a call to Dayton, Kentucky, where he was pastor for fourteen years and where his death occurred. He married, March 22, 1830, Mary Frances Walker, who was born in Campbell county, Kentucky, where her par- ents, Henry and Caroline (Cooper) Walker, located on coming to this state from their na- tive home in Culpeper county, Virginia. She survived her husband, and is now living in Dayton, Kentucky. She is the mother of four children, as follows: Henry E., of Dayton, Kentucky ; Carrie E., of Campbell county ; Sue Walker, of Campbell county; and Mrs. Gar- nett. Mr. and Mrs. Garnett have five child- ren, namely : William H., Frances Margaret, Lee Walker, Sue Katherine and Martin Col- lard.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 106

Author: Johnson, E. Polk, 1844-; Lewis Publishing Company Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 860

Author: Johnson, E. Polk, 1844-; Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 860