A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 91

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 91

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these pioneers returned to Kentucky and on the 3d of May, 1776, the Lyons company, con- sisting of ten persons, came from the old Keystone state to Hinkson's station, where at the instance of Colonel Hinkson, William Haskins conducted them to some rich lands which had not been taken up, the same being some miles to the east, probably in what is now Bourbon county. In June and July, how- ever, a great number of Indians came from Ohio to their old hunting grounds in Ken- tucky. Finding them occupied by white set- tlers they commenced their depredations on the 7th of July, 1776, and in the ensuing skir- mishes killed John Cooper, who was the first man to raise corn in Harrison county. Colo- nel Hinkson, together with the other settlers -nineteen in all-not being strong enough to resist the terrible onslaught of Indians, fled to McClellands fort at Georgetown, where they remained for a time, later returning to Harrison county. Colonel Hinkson was 'a gallant officer in several Indian wars and he was a leading spirit in this early attempt at civilization. He married Miss Margaret Mc- Cracken, of Pennsylvania, and of their chil- dren, Samuel, grandfather of John W., of this review, served as private under General Har- rison in the war against the British and the Indians under General Proctor and Tecumseh at Fort Meigs on the Maumee. General Har- rison was twice besieged. The enemy, twice repulsed, turned to attack Fort Stephenson on the Lower Sandusky, commanded by Ma- jor Croghan, with only one hundred and fifty men, but here they were summarily defeated and retired into Canada.

Samuel Hinkson was born at Bullets Lick and as a young man settled in what is now Harrison county, where he married Miss Nancy Wilson. Subsequently he went to Clinton county, Ohio, where his wife was summoned to eternal rest, and thereafter he returned to Harrison county, where was sol- emnized his marriage to Miss Susan Lyons, grandmother of the subject of this sketch. There were five children born to the first marriage and eight to the latter. Samuel Hinkson was very well-to-do at one time, but was unfortunate in business dealings later in life, dying poor. His son, Thomas Hinkson, was born in Harrison county, Kentucky, on the 12th of March, 1819, and he died at Cyn- thiana on the 28th of May, 1894. As a result of his father's reverses he received but mea- ger educational training in his youth and be- gan life as a poor farmer without means. In 1879. however, he left his farm and moved to Cynthiana, where he engaged in the distilling and wholesale liquor business. His distillery

was known as the Redmond Distilling Com- pany, to the conduct of which he devoted con- siderable time until his death. He was re- garded by all who knew him as a man pos- sessed of much more than ordinary business capacity and as the result of his activity and indomitable energy he eventually gained a competency and became a man of extensive influence in the industrial and commercial world. As time passed he accumulated a large landed estate, owning twelve hundred acres of most arable land south of Lair and five hundred acres north of Cynthiana. He also had extensive property holdings in Kan- sas and was the owner of a beautiful home in Cynthiana. He was a stockholder in the Cynthiana National Bank and had other in- terests of broad scope and importance in ad- dition to his whiskey and distilling business.

In his political faith Mr. Thomas Hinkson allied himself as a stalwart in the ranks of the Democratic party after the close of the Civil war. He had no political aspirations and consequently never held any public office other than that of councilman of Cynthiana. He was a devout member of the Presby- terian church and his widow is a member of the Christian church. On the 15th of August, 1862, was solemnized the marriage of Thomas Hinkson to Miss Susan Ritcheson, who was born in Harrison county, Kentucky, on the 4th of August, 1845, a daughter of John and Julia (Ecklar) Ritcheson. To this union were born five children, namely: John Wil- liam, the immediate subject of this review; Sterling P., who is an agriculturist in Har- rison county, Kentucky; Benjamin and Wyatt, who are deceased; and Ostera, who is now the wife of Howard Jett, resides at Cynthiana. The mother is living and main- taining her home at Cynthiana, Ky.

John William Hinkson was born on a por- tion of the farm on which he now resides, in Harrison county, Kentucky, the date of his birth being November 22, 1863. He spent his early boyhood on the home farm and re- ceived his preliminary educational training in the district schools. He accompanied his parents on their removal to Cynthiana in 1879 and there completed his education with a course in the local high school. Thereafter he was identified with his father in the whole- sale liquor business and for three years after his father's demise he continued to conduct the distilling business, eventually disposing of it. In 1897 he turned his attention to farm- ing and although he continued to maintain his home in Cynthiana until December, 1905, he finally built a beautiful home on his fine es- tate, Lynnhurst. south of Lair, where he has

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since resided. He owns and operates a farm of six hundred acres, devoting considerable time to the raising of high-grade stock, grain and tobacco. The modern and substantial buildings in the midst of highly cultivated fields indicate the great thrift and industry of a practical, businesslike owner. Mr. Hink- son has a large brick business block in Cyn- thiana and is recognized as a man of influ- ence and marked executive ability. In poli- tics, although he has never manifested aught of ambition for the honors or emoluments of public office, Mr. Hinkson accords an un- swerving allegiance to the cause of the Dem- ocratic party and he is ever on the alert to do all in his power to advance the general welfare of the county and state at large. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. He and his wife are active and zealous members of the Presby- terian church and they hold a high place in the confidence and regard of their fellow citi- zens.

On the 26th of May, 1897, Mr. Hinkson was united in marriage to Miss Florence Browning Grose, who was born at Green- field, Indiana, on the 5th of October, 1875. She is a daughter of Elijah B. and Cerena (Taylor) Grose, the former of whom is a native of Virginia and the latter of Lockport, Kentucky. They are now living at Green- field, Indiana. To Mr. and Mrs. Hinkson have been born four children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here en- tered: Ruth Ann, April 2, 1900; William Grose, April 21, 1906; John Thomas, Sep- tember 12, 1908; and an infant, deceased.

FELIX STERLING ASHBROOK .- The essential limitations in a volume of this character for- bids aught but a mere outlining of the life and labors of Felix Sterling Ashbrook, late of Cynthiana, Harrison county, but even a brief sketch cannot fail to be rich in interest and incentive. Remarkable in his breadth of wis- dom, in his indomitable perseverance and in his strong personality, he utilized his God- given talents in directing his efforts along lines where good judgment, wise discrimina- tion and high moral principles led the way, becoming noted for his integrity of purpose, his fidelity to. trusts and his rare Christian charity. A life-long resident of Cynthiana, his birth occurred February 27, 1862, and his death November 18, 1910, while yet in man- hood's prime. The representative of an early pioneer family of Kentucky, he was of Vir- ginia ancestry, having been a lineal descend- ant in the fifth generation from Aaron Ash- brook, of Virginia, the line of descent being

as follows: Aaron, Felix, Aaron, Thomas V'each and Felix Sterling.

Aaron Ashbrook was born and lived and died in Virginia, but little of his life history being known to the writer of this sketch. Felix Ashbrook was born and bred in the Old Do- minion. Migrating to Kentucky in early pioneer days, he helped defend the old fort at Boonesborough in a bloody battle. Locating in Harrison county, Kentucky, he resided there until his death, in 1843, at the age of seventy-five years. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Todd, was born in Vir- ginia and died in Harrison county, Kentucky, in September, 1838, aged seventy years.

Aaron Ashbrook was born in 1796, in Fay- ette county, Kentucky, and died in Harrison county, Kentucky, in 1855, of cholera. Be- ginning life in humble circumstances, he was first engaged in farming on Madison creek, meeting with good success in his labors. In 1821 he had accumulated a sufficient sum of money to warrant him in buying a good farm, and he removed to Harrison county, purchas- ing a tract of wild land on Mill creek. For- tune smiled upon his industrious efforts, and there before his death be became an extensive landholder, and to each of his children deeded four hundred and fifty acres of land, in ad- ition to which seven hundred acres more were divided among his heirs by will. He mar- ried Sallie Veach, a daughter of Thomas and Jane (Huff) Veach, and a granddaughter of John and Jane (Stewart) Veach.

Thomas Veach Ashbrook was born August 22, 1828, near Cynthiana, Kentucky, and died September 3, 1874. in Cynthiana. Brought up on the home farm and educated in the dis- trict schools, he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1869, when he, in company with his brother Felix G. Ashbrook, established in Cynthiana the business now carried on under the name of the "Ashbrook Distillery Com- pany," building up a large plant and an ex- tensive and remunerative business. Eminent- ly trustworthy in all matters, he became promi- nent in municipal affairs, and served as mayor of Cynthiana, and as president of its school board, for a number of years. In the home, on the farm, as a business man, as a city of- ficial, and in the church, he was loyal, honest and true. Born and reared in the Demo- cratic fold, he was true to his convictions, and during the Civil war, was threatened with arrest if he dared vote. Notwithstanding the threats, he walked to the polls, cast his bal- lot, and, having been arrested, was kept under a negro gun for a short time.

On September 3, 1857, Thomas Veach Ash- brook married Artemesia Belles, who was born

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near Indianapolis, Indiana, February 10, 1832, and died in Cynthiana, Kentucky, October 7, 1904. Of their union seven children were born, namely: Sallie Veach, of Cynthiana; Dorcas Sanders, wife of R. B. Hutchcraft, of Paris, Kentucky, of whom a brief sketch may be found elsewhere in this work; Felix Ster- ling, the subject of this brief record; Sudie, deceased ; Elizabeth, deceased ; Earl, deceased ; and Mary E., wife of James C. Dedman, of Cynthiana.

John James Belles, father of Artemesia Belles, was born October 26, 1781, and died June 5, 1839. His wife, whose maiden name was Dorcas Sanders, was a daughter of John and Sarah (Grant) Sanders, and grand- daughter of William Grant, who married Elizabeth Boone, a sister of Daniel Boone, the noted Kentucky pioneer. Her grandfather, William Grant, was born in Pennsylvania in 1726, in February, and died in Kentucky in 1804. Her great-grandfather, William Grant, Sr., was born and reared in Scotland, where for a deed of bravery, he was given a grant of land, and his name, which was originally Will- iam Douglas, was changed to William Grant. He married Mrs. Marjory Varnon, a widow with one son. She was born in Ireland, where her father was a man of much fine linen and many servants. Because of unkind treatment at home, she escaped, came to America, and here met and married William Grant, Sr.

Felix Sterling Ashbrook was brought up in Cynthiana, attended the public schools until seventeen years old, acquiring a practical edu- cation that well fitted him for a business career. The ensuing five years he was book- keeper in the Cynthiana National Bank, after which he became interested in the Van Hook Distillery, in Cynthiana. In 1898 he organ- ized the F. S. Ashbrook Distillery Company, in which he was the controlling stockholder, and of which he was vice-president and treasurer until his death. For a number of years he owned much land in Harrison county and was much interested in farming and stock raising.

One of the most distinguished and influen- tial citizens of Cynthiana, Mr. Ashbrook served the city in various capacities, and in the better- ment of public affairs, spared neither time nor money. As a member of the City Council, he aided in the establishment of beneficial enter- prises, endeavoring at all times to perform his duty towards the people to the best of his ability. In 1888 he was elected mayor of the city, and with the exception of four years held the office until a short time prior to his death, when he refused to become a candidate for re-election. While he held the mayor's chair,

the Cynthiana Water Works system was in- stalled, being built at a comparatively small expense to the tax-payers. True to the politi- cal faith in which he was reared, he was a staunch member of the Democratic party, sup- porting its principles by voice and vote. Fra- ternally, Mr. Ashbrook was a member of Cynthiana Lodge, B. P. O. E., No. 438, with which he united in 1901, and which had charge of the burial services when his body was laid to rest in the Battle Grove cemetery Relig- iously, he was a faithful member of the Christ- ian church.

The personal record of Mr. Ashbrook would be incomplete did we not speak of his char- acteristics as a man, which are dimly shadowed in the lines above. Strong in his individuality, he never lacked the courage of his convictions, but the dominating elements of his personality were a lively human sympathy and an abid- ing charity, which left their impress upon the public. His death, which was caused by an affection of the heart, was quite sudden, and a shock not only to his immediate family and friends, but to the whole community. The funeral services at his home on the following Monday, conducted by his pastor, Rev. W. E. Ellis were indeed a tribute of honor to the. memory of a noble man. The pall bearers, R. V. Bishop, George M. Dickey, J. H. Holla- day, W. R. Curle, Dr. Patterson, H. F. Wilson, J. J. Curle and Clyde Girard, were life-long friends and boys with whom he grew to manhood. Resolutions of sympathy were adopted by Cynthiana Lodge, B. P. O. E., copies of which were sent to the bereaved family and also published in the local papers.

Mr. Ashbrook married, December 18, 1884, Miss Nancy Megibben, a daughter of the late Hon. T. J. Megibben, of whom a brief sketch may be found on another page of this volume. Four children were born of their union, name- ly : Betsy, wife of Thomas Allen, of Paris, Kentucky; James Reid, who has succeeded to his father's position in the F. S. Ashbrook Distillery Company ; Artemesia, living at home, and Thomas, who is twelve years of age, also residing with his widowed mother.

ORIE LEBUS .- The subject of this sketch is one of the most prominent men in the county, well-known and trusted, as is evi- denced by the positions requiring competency and reliability that he has occupied, and the handsome fortune that he is worthily enjoy- ing.

Orie Lebus was born at Oddville, Harrison county, Kentucky, on October 13, 1860, the son of Lewis Lebus, born in 1834 in Columbiana county, Ohio, a son of Seraphin and Anne LeBus (the name LeBus originally spelled

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with a capital B), and a great-grandson of Louis LeBus, of Alsace, France.

Lewis Lebus' parents came to the United States in 1828 and settled on a small tract of unbroken land six miles west of Lisbon, the county seat of Columbiana county, Ohio. Here the subject's father was born in 1834 and grew to manhood, attended the county school during the winter months and remained at home until twenty-one years of age. When he was seventeen years old he attended a classi- cal school at Salem, Ohio, and then taught school in his native county for three years. He then heard of the greater opportunities in the then west, so accordingly came to Harrison county in 1855 and for the following five years taught school here. On January 12, 1860, he married Martha Cole Garnett, the eldest daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Garnett and a granddaughter of Rev. Josiah Whitaker, a pioneer Methodist Episcopal minister of Harrison county.

Mr. Lebus, by the most rigid economy and hard work during vacation time, bought a small farm near Oddville, Kentucky, and be- gan to buy and sell stock. He was a young man twenty-one years of age when he came to Kentucky and readily adopted the ways and manners of the Kentuckians. He became a leader among men, and as a student and teacher, he had a natural taste for its pur- suance as well as being a natural born math- ematician. His advice on all matters was eagerly sought by his friends and especially by young men starting out for themselves. When the Civil war was inaugurated, he fur- nished horses to the government which were much needed for cavalry service. About this time he was made sheriff of Harrison county and afterwards was selected by the governor as United States deputy collector for internal revenue for the Covington district. In 1888 Mr. Lebus was a delegate to the national con- vention that nominated Benjamin Harrison for President of the United States.

Mr. Lebus was a farmer and stock raiser and one of the largest ever in Harrison county, and he owned a thousand acres of Blue Grass land. He was a delegate to the national con- gress of farmers held at Washington, D. C., and was often asked to give his opinion by the United States Department of Agriculture, and was an authority on farming and stock raising. He was a large owner of property in Califor- nia, and dealt in stocks and bonds, but was by nature conservative. In 1893, he removed to Los Angeles, California, and became a power in financial circles in Southern Cali- fornia. He spent much of his time in Cvn- thiana, Kentucky. He was a very methodical

man, every transaction being made clear and everything kept in writing and often in margin notes, and his Harrison county estaste, after his death, which occurred on October 31, 1905, was settled without delay or quibble of any kind, and only two small notes that were not paid, and these were considered worthless by Mr. Lebus before his death.

Mr. and Mrs. Lebus were the parents of seven children, and his widow is still living in Los Angeles, California. The names of their children are as follows: Orie, the subject of this sketch; Clarence, president of the Burley Tobacco Society, residence in Cynthiana and Lexington; Fannie, deceased, was the wife of Rev. F. M. Warrington; Leona, deceased ; Bertha, in California; Prentice, in California ; Elizabeth, wife of C. S. Holman, in California. The death of Mr. Lebus was due to an acci- dent, owing to his being thrown out of a buggy, which caused a fracture of his hip.

Orie Lebus, the subject of our sketch, was reared on a farm in Harrison county, and from January 19, 1880, to August 1, 1880, was engaged as a clerk in a general store for his uncle (W. D. Hickman), and attended the common and graded schools and graduated from the Cynthiana graded city school on June 17, 1881. On August 1, 1881, he was appointed a special deputy internal revenue collector of the Covington (Kentucky) dis- trict, before he was twenty-one years old, and was made a special collector until he was of age. On October 19, 1881, he was appointed a regular deputy internal revenue collector for the Covington (Kentucky) district, and held this position until 1885, under Collector John W. Finnell. On January 1, 1885, he was made secretary of the Central Kentucky Ex- portation and Guaranty Company, which posi- tion he held until March 31, 1891. In the spring of 1889 he was again appointed a deputy internal revenue collector for the Covington (Kentucky) district, under Col- lector John J. Landrum, and held this posi- tion until May 1, 1891. On June 4, 1892, he was elected individual bookkeeper in the Na- tional Bank of Cynthiana, Kentucky, and held this position until October 1, 1900. He has been a director of the Cynthiana Build- ing and Savings Association of Cynthiana, Kentucky, since December 30, 1895, and a member of the Board of Education of Cyn- thiana, Kentucky, since January 7, 1902. On July 23, 1898, he was appointed colonel on the Governor's staff by Governor W. O. Brad- ley, and held this position during the admin- istration of Governor Bradley.

Mr. Lebus is a charter member and assisted in the organization of Quinby Lodge, Knights

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of Pythias, on December 3, 1887. He has been a member of the Masonic order since 1886; was secretary of St. Andrew's Lodge for several years ; recorder of Cynthiana Com- mandery for seven years, and was secretary of Cynthiana Royal Arch Chapter, No. 17, for twenty-three consecutive years.

On October 10, 1900, Mr. Lebus was ap- pointed special agent of the Cincinnati To- bacco Warehouse Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio, which position he held until November I, 1907. Since that time he has devoted his time to his farm of five hundred acres, which circles one-third of the distance around the town of Cynthiana. In politics he is a Re- publican, as was his father.

On December 25, 1888, Mr. Lebuis married Miss Bird Martin, born in Cynthiana, Ken- tucky, and to this couple have been born four children: Lewis Martin, Clarence Prentice, Curle Talmage, and Martha Thomas, all living at home, except Curle Talmage, deceased.

Mrs. Lebus is a daughter of Hon. Isaac T. Martin, who was born in Wysox county, Pennsylvania, on September 13, 1822, and died in Cynthiana, Kentucky, June 29, 1870. He married Miss Martha Washington Woodyard, who was born in Cynthiana, Kentucky, Feb- ruary 22, 1832, and died April 6, 1900. She was a daughter of Thomas B. Woodyard and Susanna Wetzel, both natives of Virginia. Mr. Woodyard was county clerk of Harrison county for thirty years, and died while in office. I. T. Martin and wife were the parents of seven children, as follows: Lizzie M., the widow of A. S. Carter, residence at Cynthiana, Kentucky ; Allie M., deceased, wife of L. Gar- nett ; Miss Lulu Martin, at Cynthiana, Ken- tucky; J. T., at Colorado Springs; subject's wife; Mattie, wife of J. R. Rigg, at Cynthiana, and Miss I. T., at Cynthiana.

The father of Mrs. Lebus, I. T. Martin, was apprenticed to learn the harness maker's trade in Virginia, and in 1850 came to Cynth- iana, Kentucky, married and established a hardware store with a small stock of groceries in Cynthiana. He became a prominent man in Cynthiana; was self-made and self-edu- cated, being a great reader and possessing a large library which he read and was familiar with. Mr. Martin was the founder of Battle Grove Cemetery and it was due to his efforts that Cynthiana has today the finest cemetery in Kentucky for a town of its size. He took an active part in city and county affairs and was elected state senator, and died while hold- ing that office. He was a prominent Mason, having joined that order in Virginia. He was a thirty-second degree Mason, and at the time of his death was getting ready to go to Eng-

land to take the thirty-third degree of the Scottish Rite. He had served as most excel- lent grand master of Kentucky Lodge and at the close of the Civil War he personally raised five thousand dollars and took it South and distributed it among the needy widows and orphans of Masons. He was one of Cynthi- ana's best citizens and his death was a blow to Harrison county.

GEORGE T. HIGGINBOTHAM, a prosperous and highly successful farmer living on the Newtown Pike, about two miles from the Court House, holds an honored position among the esteemed and respected residents of Fay- ette county. Of pure Scotch ancestry and the descendant of an early pioneer family of Ken- tucky, he was born September 26, 1850, in Garrard county, Kentucky, which was likewise the birthplace of his father, William Higgin- botham. His grandfather, Emanuel Higgin- botham, was born in Virginia, near Tazewell, where his parents settled on coming to Amer- ica from Scotland, their native country. Leav- ing Tazewell in 1786, he migrated to that part of Virginia now included within the boundar- ies of Kentucky, locating as a pioneer in Gar- rard county. This entire state was then in its original wildness, much of it being unexplored. Wild game, including bear and deer, was plen- tiful, and the Indians were still contending for this as a hunting ground. He settled on the line of Garrard and Madison counties, becom- ing owner of land on both sides of the line, and there improved a farm, which he operated with slave labor, continuing his residence there until his death, when upwards of ninety years of age. He married a Miss Reid, and to them six sons and four daughters were born.

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A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 91

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