A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 93

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 93

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Jacob Sodowsky, Jr., a part of whose life record is given in the preceding paragraph, was born in Virginia in 1750. Soon after the close of the Revolutionary war he returned to Kentucky and located in Jessamine county. where he had a grant of a thousand acres of land, his brother James receiving a similar grant in Bourbon county, Kentucky. Improv- ing a homestead from the wilderness, he was here engaged in tilling the soil the remainder of his long and busy life, passing away in 1832. He married Jemima Voss, who was born in Virginia and died in Kentucky about 1830. Her father, Captain William Voss, whose surname . was sometimes spelled "Vouse," served in the Revolutionary war, be- ing a captain in the Eighth Virginia of Foot, commanded by Colonel James Wood, serving from May, 1777, until May, 1779.

Ephraim Sodowsky, son of Jacob Sodow- sky, Jr., was born October 1, 1779, and spent his entire life on the parental homestead in Jessamine county, his death occurring Sep- tember 1, 1854. He succeeded to the owner- ship of the farm which his father hewed from the forest, and carried on a substantial busi- ness as a farmer and stock raiser. At his death his body was laid to rest in the family burial plot on the farm. The maiden name of his wife was Ann Evans. She was born in what is now Brown county, Ohio, June 15, 1784, and died in Jessamine county, Kentucky. on the home farm, December 24, 1843. Her

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father, John Evans, was a pioneer of the Northwest Territory and one of the first set- tlers of that part of Ohio now included within the limits of Brown county.

John Evans Sandusky received good edu- cational advantages and as a young man taught school a number of terms. He subse- quently bought a tract of land about a mile from the parental homestead and was there actively and successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising until his death, which occurred in 1872. He married, July 4, 1842, Hannah Sodowsky, who was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, January 23, 1824, and was a lineal descendant of Jacob Sodow- sky, the emigrant ancestor, her father, Jacob Sodowsky, having been a son of James So- dowsky, referred to above, and grandson of Jacob, the emigrant. She passed to the life beyond July 20, 1892. Her children, eight in number, were as follows: Jacob, Chilton A., John William, Inez Bell, Glendora, Isaac, Lulu V. and Mary E. The names of these children and the dates of their births were all recorded in the Family Bible by the father, the last name retaining its original spelling, "Sodowsky," until the birth of Isaac, when it was changed to its present spelling, "San- dusky."

Isaac Sandusky, the sixth child and young- est son of his parents, was a life-long resident of Jessamine county, where he was success- fully engaged in agricultural pursuits, being an industrious and prosperous farmer and stock-raiser. He married, January 27, 1881, Susan H. Hardwicke, who was born in Court- land, Alabama, a daughter of William Hard- wicke. Mr. Hardwicke was born of early English ancestry, in Virginia, and as a young man moved to Courtland, Alabama, where he was engaged in mercantile business for many years, residing there until his death, at the comparatively early age of fifty-two years. He was one of the leading merchants of the place and took an intelligent interest in the public affairs of his adopted city, which he served as mayor. He married Ann E. Follis, who was born in Virginia and was connected with many of the best families of the state, being related to the Paine and Wells families and being a collateral descendant of Thomas Jefferson. She died at the age of forty years, leaving two children, William and Susan H., now Mrs. Sandusky. William, the only son, attended Center College, in Danville, and studied law in Philadelphia. After his ad- mission to the bar he practiced law for a while in Courtland, Alabama, and then migrated to Texas, where he died, unmarried, when but thirty years of age.

Mrs. Sandusky has one daughter, Kather- ine, wife of Dr. Henry Foushee, a well-known physician in Lexington, Kentucky. Mrs. San- dusky is a member of the Presbyterian church, to which her husband also belonged.

MAJOR HENRY CLAY MCDOWELL, who died on his fine estate, "Ashland," near the city of Lexington, Fayette county, on the 18th of November, 1899, was a scion of a family whose name has been one of marked distinc- tion in connection with the annals of Amer- ican history and one of special prominence in the state of Kentucky. A man of high char- acter and exceptional ability, Major McDowell left a definite and benignant impress upon the history of Kentucky, and his influence penetrated into the industrial and civic affairs of the state in no uncertain way. He was an able member of the state bar, was called upon to serve in various positions of public trust and was a potent factor in connection with various lines of productive enterprise after his virtual retirement from the work of his pro- fession. He well upheld the prestige of the honored name that he bore and such were his life and labors that it is altogether consonant that in this publication be entered a tribute to. his memory and a brief record of his career, which was one of signal usefulness and dis- tinction.

Henry Clay McDowell was born at Fin- castle, Botetourt county, Virginia, on the gtlı of February, 1832, and was a son of Dr. Wil- liam Adair and Maria Hawkins (Harvey) McDowell. Dr. McDowell was one of the distinguished representatives of the medical profession in Kentucky and was engaged in practice in the city of Louisville for a number of years. He made a special study of pul- monary tuberculosis, commonly designated consumption, and was particularly successful in the treatment of this dread disease. A treatise which he prepared "On the Cura- bility of Consumption in All Its Stages" at- tracted bitter and condemnatory attention on the part of the medical profession of Louis- ville. But long after his death it was recog- nized as the first specific work ever published concerning tuberculosis and its treatment. It was written long before the distinguished Ben- net published his views on the subject. This valuable work was published in 1843. Dr. William Adair McDowell was born near Harrodsburg. Mercer county, Kentucky, March 21, 1795. After his mother's death his early boyhood was passed with his uncle, Dr. Ephraim McDowell, whom he later assisted in many of his operations. He received an excellent education along both general and professional lines, and graduated in the Med-

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ical School of Philadelphia. He finally re- tired from the practice of his profession so far as possible and he passed the closing three years of his life in Indiana, at his country home on the Ohio river, where he died in 1853, at the age of fifty-eight years, secure in the high regard of all who knew him. His appointment as surgeon of the Marine Hos- pital of Indiana reached him just after his death. His wife was born in Fincastle, Vir- ginia, and was a daughter of Matthew and Magdalene (Hawkins) Harvey. She sur- vived him by more than a score of years and was summoned to eternal rest in 1876, at a venerable age. They reared eight children to maturity, namely : Sarah Shelby, Mary, Ann, Henry Clay, Magdalene, John (died in New Orleans), Major William Preston ( wounded severely at Perryville, served till the end of war), and Captain Edward Irving (killed at Resaca, Georgia, in 1864, aged twenty-one).

The lineage of the McDowell family is traced back to staunch Scotch-Irish origin and representatives of the same established homes in America in the Colonial epoch of our na- tional history. The founder of the family in Kentucky was Colonel Samuel McDowell, who was born in Virginia, in 1735, and who passed the closing years of his life near Dan- ville, Boyle county, Kentucky, where he died in 1817. He was a son of John McDowell, whose father, Ephraim McDowell, emigrated to America from Ireland in 1729. He re- mained for a number of years in Pennsyl- vania and then removed to Virginia, where he continued to reside until his death. Colonel Samuel McDowell was reared and educated in Virginia, and, as has well been said, he was the "founder of a family of patriots." He was a valiant soldier in the French and Indian wars and served under General Washington in the campaign of the Monongahela valley in 1755; in this connection he received com- mission as captain of his company. In 1775. in recognition of his effective military services, a large tract of land in Fayette county, Ken- tucky, was surveyed and awarded to him. When the war of the Revolution was pre- cipitated he promptly tendered his services in the cause of independence. He was com- missioned colonel and assigned to the com- mand of a regiment of militia from Augusta county, Virginia. His regiment was with forces of General Nathaniel Greene at Guil- ford Court House, North Carolina, with which it was also present at the surrender of General Cornwallis, at Yorktown. He proved a gal- lant commanding officer in the Continental line and took part in a number of the impor- tant engagements marking the progress of the

great struggle which hurled oppression back and gained the boon of national liberty.

Prior to the Revolution Colonel McDowell had several times represented Augusta county in the Virginia house of burgesses, and when the revolutionary measures were brought for- ward he was a delegate from his county to the convention held at Richmond, Virginia, on the 20th of March, 1775, as was he also to the later convention which assembled at Wil- liamsburg and formulated definite plans for the impending conflict. He was a member of the state council of Virginia after the close of the war and was appointed surveyor of public lands in Fayette county, Kentucky, a section then comprising about one-third of the pres- ent area of the state, which continued to be a county of Virginia until 1790. In 1783 Colo- nel McDowell established his home in Ken- tucky and entered upon the active discharge of his official duties. In the same year he was appointed one of the judges of the first dis- trict court held in Kentucky, and from the beginning of his residence here he was one of the most prominent and influential citizens of the state, in whose organization as an inde- pendent commonwealth he played a most con- spicuous part. He was president of the con- vention of 1782, which framed the first con- stitution of Kentucky as an independent terri- tory, and he was not only one of the first to serve as judge of the circuit court in the new territory, but also one of the first district judges of Kentucky, under the federal juris- diction, his appointment to this office having been made by General George Washington, who was then president of the United States.

Colonel McDowell married Miss Mary Mc- Clung, who was born in Ireland and who was of staunch Scotch ancestry. They became the parents of seven sons and four daughters. The eldest son, Major John McDowell, well upheld the military prestige of the name through his services as a gallant officer in the war of 1812, and the latter's son, Dr. Joseph N. McDowell, of Missouri, became one of the most distinguished surgeons of the United States. Colonel James McDowell, the sec- ond son of Colonel Samuel McDowell, was another of the patriot soldiers of the family. He not only served in the Continental line in the war of the Revolution but was also an officer in the war of 1812. The third son. William, became a representative member of the bar of Kentucky. The sixth son, Dr. Ephraim McDowell, attained high distinction in the medical profession and gained in that connection the title of "father of ovariotomv." He was educated at the University of Edin- burgh, Scotland, and engaged in the practice of

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his profession at Danville, Kentucky, where he was the first to perform a successful op- eration for the removal of ovarian tumors. This operation, the first of the kind ever per- formed-after much persecution at home- attracted widespread attention on the part of the medical profession both in America and foreign countries, and in recognition of his distinguished services the representatives of his profession in Kentucky erected to his mem- ory, fifty years after his death, a fine monu- ment at Danville, where he had continued to reside until his death. He was born in Rock- bridge, Virginia, November II, 1771, and died in Kentucky, June 25, 1830. He married Sarah, daughter of Isaac Shelby, first Gov- ernor of Kentucky.

Colonel Samuel McDowell, Jr., the fourth son, and the grandfather of H. C. McDowell, was another who added laurels to the patriot crown of the family. He was born in 1764 and thus was a mere youth at the time when he entered the ranks of the revolutionary forces. He served in the command of Gen- eral LaFayette and was present at the sur- render of General Cornwallis, the capitulation that marked the close of the great struggle for independence. He, like his father, received supplementary honors after the close of the Revolution, as in 1789 he received from Pres- ident Washington appointment as the first United States district marshal of the district of Kentucky. He retained this position also during the administration of President Adams and during a part of that of President Jeffer- son. At the time of the inception of the Civil war twelve grandsons of Colonel Samuel Mc- Dowell, Jr., were living and all of the number were in sympathy with the cause of the Union, though nine of the number were residents of southern states. One was killed by "bush- whackers" at his home in Missouri at the be- ginning of the war; nine served as officers in the Federal armies; one was physically in- capacitated for military service ; and the last of the twelve was too young for enlistment. One of the sons, Abram, was the father of Major General Irvin McDowell, of the United States Army, and the fourth son was Dr. William A. McDowell, father of him to whom this memoir is dedicated.

Major Henry C. McDowell was afforded excellent educational advantages in his youth and he thoroughly fortified himself for the work of his chosen profession, in which con- nection it should be noted that he was gradu- ated in the Louisville Law School, from which he received his degree of Bachelor of Laws. He forthwith engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Louisville,

where for a number of years he was asso- ciated with his brother-in-law, Judge Bland Ballard, under the firm name of Ballard & McDowell. He was a man of broad mental ken and mature judgment and he soon gained a place of prominence as one of the represent- ative members of the Kentucky bar. He was known as a versatile and resourceful advo- cate and was identified with much important litigation in both the state and federal courts prior to the Civil war. He was among the first in Kentucky to tender his services in de- fense of the national integrity after the dark cloud of civil conflict obscured the country's horizon. Early in 1861, in response to Presi- dent Lincoln's first call for volunteers, he en- listed in a Kentucky regiment and was soon afterward commissioned assistant adjutant general by President Lincoln. In this capac- ity he served on the staffs of Generals Rous- seau and Boyle, and in 1862, suffering from effects of camp fever, he resigned the office to accept that of United States marshal for Kentucky. This appointment was conferred by President Lincoln, and as incumbent of the office which had been held by his grandfather many years previously Major McDowell did fully as effective service in behalf of the Union as he could have given as an officer with the military arm of the government service.

Major McDowell did not resume the prac- tice of his profession after the close of the war, but located on a farm in Franklin county, where he remained until 1883, when he re- moved to "Ashland," the fine old estate for- merly owned by Henry Clay, in Fayette coun- ty, where he gave his attention to the raising of thoroughbred horses during the remainder of his active career. He became one of the representative breeders of fine horses in Ken- tucky and in this line did much to uphold the high reputation so long enjoyed by this com- monwealth in this interesting field of enter -. prise. Major McDowell was a man of fine intellectual powers and had those sterling characteristics that ever beget popular confi- dence and esteem. He was progressive and public-spirited and gave his executive and capitalistic support in the promotion of many enterprises tending to advance the general welfare of his state. For a number of years he was president of the Kentucky Union Rail- road, now the Lexington & Eastern Railroad Company, of which his son William A., of Lexington, is now general manager, and as a man of prominence and influence he left a beneficent impress upon his day and genera- tion, the while he ever held secure vantage ground in the confidence and regard of his fellow men. He was a staunch and effective

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exponent of the principles and policies of the Republican party and was identified with various social organization of representative order.

On the 21st of May, 1857, was solemnized the marriage of Major McDowell to Miss Anne Clay, who was born in the city of Lex- ington, this state, and who is a daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Clay, the third son of the illustrious statesman, Hon. Henry Clay. Colonel Clay was graduated with high honors in the United States Military Academy at West Point, as a member of the class of 1830, and later he studied law and was admitted to the Kentucky bar. He engaged in the prac- tice of his profession in Louisville, and upon the outbreak of the war with Mexico he was commissioned lieutenant colonel of a Ken- tucky regiment, with which he proceeded to the front and in command of which he con- tinued until the battle of Buena Vista, in which he met his death. He was born on the Ioth of April, 1811. In 1832 Colonel Clay married Miss Julia Prather, daughter of Thomas and Matilda (Fountain) Prather, of Louisville, and she preceded him to the life eternal. Of the three children who survived the devoted mother Mrs. McDowell is now the only one living. Henry, the elder of the two sons, served as captain in the Union army during the Civil war, and the younger son, Thomas Julian, was a captain in the Con- federate service, in which he continued until his death. Mrs. McDowell still remains at "Ashland," the old family estate of her dis- tinguished grandfather, Henry Clay, and one of the finest in the entire state of Kentucky. Its material attractions are on a parity with its great historic interest and the place is en- deared to Mrs. McDowell by the gracious memories and associations of the past.

In conclusion of this brief memoir is entered an eptimoized record concerning the children of Major and Mrs. McDowell: Nanette is the wife of Dr. Thomas S. Bullock, a representa- tive physician and surgeon of Lexington, Ken- tucky, and they have one son, Henry Mc- Dowell Bullock. Henry Clay McDowell. Jr., was a distinguished member of the bar of the state of Virginia, and resides in the city of Lynchburg, Campbell county, where he is now serving on the bench of the United States dis- trict court ; he married Miss Elsie Clay and they have no children. William A. McDowell is one of the influential citizens of Lexington, Kentucky and, as previously stated, is general manager of the Lexington & Eastern Railroad. He married Miss Alice Dudley and they have one son, William C. Thomas Clay McDowell, the fourth of the children of Major McDowell.

resides in Lexington and is one of the promi- nent and successful breeders of thoroughbred horses in this section of the state. He married Miss Mary Goodloe, and they have two chil- dren, Anne Clay and Goodloe. Julia P., the fifth child, is the wife of William Brock of Lexington, Kentucky, and they have two sons, William and Clay. Madeleine is the wife of Desha Breckinridge, of Lexington. Ballard, the youngest of the children, died at the age of four years.

GEORGE W. HEADLEY .- Distinguished not only for the honored pioneer ancestry from which he was descended, but for his own good life and work, George W. Headley, late of Lexington, was a prominent farmer and in- fluential citizen of Fayette county, where his entire life was spent, his birth occurring Feb- ruary 23, 1828, and his death September 11, 1906. He was a son of James Headley, Jr., and a grandson of James Headley, Sr., Ken- tucky pioneers.

James Headley, Sr., was born in the north of Ireland, of pure Scotch ancestry. In early manhood he emigrated to America, and for a number of years resided in Maryland, not far from Georgetown. Coming from there to Kentucky in 1797, he made his first stop in Lexington, putting up at the only hotel in tlie place, a rude log building standing on the south side of West Main street, between Mill street and Broadway. Looking about for a favorable location, he soon purchased a tract of land on Tates Creek Pike, about five miles from Lexington, and was there engaged in cultivating the soil the remainder of his days. He married a Miss Patterson, and they reared eleven children, namely : Polly, James, Betsey, Samuel, William, John, Francis, Rebecca, Marshall, Alexander and Nancy.

James Headley, Jr., a native of Maryland, was about four years of age when he was brought by his parents to Fayette county, where he was reared in true pioneer style. On attaining his majority he bought land near the parental homestead, on Tates Creek Pike, and there, with the help of slave labor, was pros- perously employed in general farming and stock raising until 1865 when he retired from active business, making his home with his sons until his death at the venerable age of ninety- one years. He married Malinda Atchison, who was born on a farm on Tates Creek Pike, where her parents, Hamilton and Isabel Lane (Dennison) Atchison, were pioneer settlers. She passed to the life be- yond at the early age of forty years, leaving four children, as follows: Hamilton Atchi- son, George W. (the special subject of this . brief sketch), James A., and William.

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George W. Headley received excellent edu- cational advantages for his day, attending first the private schools of Fayette county and later continuing his studies at the Kentucky Uni- versity. Following in the footsteps of his honored ancestors, he became a farmer from choice, and having succeeded to the owner- ship of the old homestead occupied it several years after his marriage. Selling it then, he purchased an estate situated about ten miles from Lexington, on the Russell Cave Pike, and there continued his operations as a gen- eral farmer and stock raiser until 1892, meeting with satisfactory results in his labors. Removing then with his family to Lexington, he lived retired from active husi- ness pursuits the remainder of his life, enjoy- ing a well-deserved leisure.

Mr. Headley married, April 15, 1852, Nancy Pettit, who was born October 25, 1832, in Fayette county, Kentucky, which was likewise the birthplace of her father. Harry Pettit. Her grandfather, Nathaniel Pettit, was an early pioneer of Fayette county, while her great- grandfather, Hezekiah Pettit, a native of Eng- land, came to America in Colonial days, and after living for a time in Pennsylvania re- moved to Virginia, where he settled perma- nently.

Nathaniel Pettit was born and bred in Vir- ginia, and there acquired a substantial edu- cation. As a young man he came to Fayette county, Kentucky, to teach school, being one of the early and successful educators of the state. He subsequently invested his earnings in land, buying a tract lying on Nicholasville Pike, about six miles from Lexington, where he was afterwards engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred while he was yet in manhood's prime. He married Rebecca Owens, whose parents were pioneer settlers of Kentucky, and she survived him, living to a ripe old age. Their children were: Nancy. Polly, Nathaniel. John, Harry and Rebecca.

Harry Pettit, the youngest son of the parental household, was brought up on the home farm, and in early life became familiar with the various branches of agriculture. When ready to establish a home of his own, he bought land near the old homestead, and there followed his chosen occupation the re- mainder of his life, passing away at the age of seventy-seven years. His wife, whose maiden name was Juliet Atchison, was born near Lexington, Kentucky, a daughter of John Atchison. Her grandfather, Alexander Atchi- son, was born in Ireland, of Scotch ancestry. He married Lady Mary Hamilton, and a few years later came to America on a prospecting

tour, coming to this county prior to the Revo- lution and being joined two years later by his wife and their two children, and by his brother Arthur, who enlisted for service in the Revo- lutionary war, and was never heard from after his enlistment. After spending a few years in Virginia he came with his family to Fayette county, Kentucky, and having purchased semi- nary land on Tates Creek Pike, he and his wife spent their closing days on the farm which they redeemed from its original wildness. They reared five children, namely : Hamilton, John, Kitty, James, and William.

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A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 93

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