A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 96

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 96

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Dr. Bosworth married, in 1903, Mary E. Neale, who was born in Lexington, which was also the birthplace of her father, Hon. William L. Neale. Her grandfather, James Neale, was born in Richmond, Virginia, and on coming to Kentucky located in Lexington, where his death occurred when he was but twenty-five years old. He married Ann Rainey, a native of Mount Sterling, Kentucky, and to them two children were born. Hon. William L. Neale learned the printer's trade when young, and for a time was associated with Cassius M. Clay, having been in his office when he was attacked. He published a paper in Lexington for a number of years, and was quite prominent in public affairs. He

served three terms in the state legislature, and for one term was state treasurer. He after- ward lived on a farm in Madison county for a few years, and then returned to Lexington, where he resided until his death. He married; Carrie Goodloe, a daughter of Hon. William C. and Almira Goodloe, of whom a sketch may! be found on another page of this work. She survived him, and is now living with her only child, Mrs. Bosworth. Her other child, Wil- liam G. Neale, died at the age of twenty-five years. The union of Doctor and Mrs. Bos- worth has been brightened by the birth of two children, Carolyn Goodloe and Nathaniel Lewis. Jr.

Dr. Bosworth is a member of Lexington Lodge, No. I, A. F. & A. M .; and of Lex- ington Lodge, No. 89, B. P. O. E. He be- longs also to the Fayette County Medical So- ciety, of which he is an ex-president; to the Kentucky Midland Medical Society; to the Kentucky State Medical Association, and to the American Medical Association. Dr. Bos- worth is a member of the First Baptist church, and Mrs. Bosworth is a member of the Presby- terian church.

GENERAL ROGER D. WILLIAMS, of Lexing- ton, Kentucky, was born in Bourbon county, August 29, 1856. He is a descendant of Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. His great-grandfather, General Roger Williams, was born in March, 1770; in 1794 married Mary Kerfoot, born in 1773; and came from Virginia to Kentucky in the very early days of its settlement. General Roger Williams was the son of George and Catherine (Taylor) Williams, of Frederick county, Virginia, and served in the Second Virginia regiment dur- ing the Revolutionary war. Major George W. Williams, grandfather of General Roger D. Williams, immediate subject of this review, was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, Octo- ber 7, 1801 ; in March, 1824, married Winifred Webb, daughter of Charles and Mary (Ware) Webb; and became prominently identified with the history of the state. He was a graduate of Transylvania University in the palmiest days of that institution. Very popular in his home county, he was repeatedly elected without a single defeat to the legislature and senate, serv- ing in this capacity for over twenty years. He was a leader in the movement for constitu- tional reform, and as a delegate to the Con- stitutional Convention of 1849 contribued largely to the formation of the platform of the New Constitution party, of which, as state senator, he became the champion. After great and good service to the commonwealth he vol- untarily retired. He was a Whig and attached himself to the American party until the out-

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break of the war. He freed his slaves, being strongly opposed to secession and slavery and was an uncompromising Union man through- out the struggle. In 1864 he was made perma- nent president of the first Republican state con- vention at Louisville, and in 1868 was a strong party candidate for the office of judge of su- preme court. He died in Paris in January, 1870, widely respected for his learning and public service, professional probity and piety. (Extended mention is made elsewhere in this work. )

Benjamin Franklin Williams, son of the foregoing, was born in Bourbon county in March, 1827 ; was graduated with high honors at Bethany College, Virginia, and up to the date of his death, in 1908, was a fine Greek and Latin scholar. While a lawyer, he never practiced his profession, confining himself to mercantile and manufacturing business. He married Mary Gates Massie, daughter of Jon- athan and Mary Massie, who came from Fred- erick county, Virginia.

Roger D. Williams, eldest son of Benjamin Franklin and Mary ( Massie) Williams, spent the greater part of his boyhood in Cincinnati and Chicago, to which latter city his parents removed during the Civil war. Upon his re- turn to his native state he attended the Ken- tucky University, now Transylvania Univer- sity, and at that time was the youngest stu- dent who had ever matriculated at the insti- tution. After two years in the government service, in the pension and internal revenue departments, he was seized with the gold fever and sought a more exciting life in the Rocky Mountains and the far west. He was one of the pioneers in the Black Hills country, being one of the first of a party of fourteen that in 1874 penetrated this unexplored section and occupied a stockade near the present site of Custer City, notwithstanding the efforts of the Indians to dislodge them. He was later one of the first miners to locate in Leadville, Colorado. For three years he followed the occupation of a gold miner with varying suc- cess, generaly in new mining sections, includ- ing British Columbia, Arizona and Mexico, and much of the time was spent in hunting big game. During the Sioux war campaign in 1876 he saw much service and was with Gen- eral Crook's command as special war corre- spondent of the Denver Tribune at the time of the Custer massacre and the battle of Slim Buttes. Tiring of his romantic life, he went to California in 1877, and for two years was a valued member of the celebrated California Theater Company and of the supporting com- panies of Lawrence Barrett, Thomas Keene, Joseph Jefferson and Fannie Davenport. Re-

turning to Kentucky in 1879, he settled down to a mercantile manufacturing life and estab- lished the Kentucky Copper Works and Iron Foundry, which was later merged into the Lexington Engine and Saw Mill Works, this being the only iron foundry in central Ken- tucky. This business he has successfully con- ducted for the past thirty years, giving em- ployment to a number of skilled workmen.

In 1887 General Williams married Minnie Lyle Sayre, youngest daughter of Ephraim Danforth Sayre. Ephraim Sayre was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, in September, 1820, the son of James C. Sayre and his wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth P. Hamilton, they being natives of New Jersey. Ephraim Dan- forth Sayre was a banker and for many years had the oldest and best known private bank west of the Alleghanies. General and Mrs. Williams have two children, Roger, Jr., born in 1895; and Mary Sayre, born in 1892. Mrs. Williams' mother was Mary E. Woodruff, daughter of William and Elizabeth ( Britton) Woodruff, who were born in New Jersey in 1826, and she was married to Mr. Sayre in 1850.

Roger D. Williams has held several posi- tions of honor and trust and has served his state and home city faithfully in several hon- orary appointments, among them that of com- missioner of the Eastern Asylum for the In- sane and as park commissioner for the city of Lexington. His title of general was obtained in the National Guard, in which he was in active command of the entire militia of the state. Up to the present time he has had thirty years of service, fifteen of this as com- manding colonel of the Second Regiment. Dur- ing this time his services were found invalu- able by the different governors in suppressing the mountain feuds, lawlessness and night riding, particularly during the tobacco trou- bles. He commanded the forces in possession of the state capital during the troublous times following the assassination of Senator Goebel, and by his fairness and rare judgment pre- vented further bloodshed. During the Spanish- American war, at the earnest solicitation of his friend. Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, he raised a troop of cavalry for the Rough Rid- ers, but the sudden termination of the war prevented their seeing any service.

As a writer of sporting books and a con- tributor to magazines, General Williams has been quite successful, and his book, "Horse and Hound," now in its third edition, is con- sidered an authority on the subject and will stand as a record of the fox-hunting days in which we live. As a fox-hunter and hunter of big game he has a national reputation, and

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his inherent qualifications, augmented by wide experience and unlimited opportunities have made him an unique character in this particu- lar line of sport. President Roosevelt, in his book, "The Wilderness Hunter," says: "Gen- eral Roger D. Williams, more than any other American, is entitled to speak upon hunting big game with horse and hound." He was the organizer and is president of the National Fox- Hunters' Association, is a charter member of the Boone and Crockett Hunt Club; is vice president of the Society of American Officers; a member of the National Geographic Society ; director of the National Rifle Association ; member of the Sons of the American Revolu- tion, and of many other clubs and associations, a majority of which are devoted to sports and to all of which he has lent encouragement and support. Though many events have been crowded into his strenuous life, he has found time to become an extensive traveler both in America and abroad.

WILLIAM DAVID WATTS .- A prominent and highly esteemed resident of Lexington, Wil- liam David Watts has been intimately asso- ciated with the growth of the agricultural pros- perity of the Blue Grass state during his active career and is widely known as proprietor of one of the most highly improved farming estates of Fayette county, which has been his abiding place through life. He was born Octo- ber 2, 1851, in Fayette county, which was like- wise the birthplace of his father, David Twy- man Watts, and of his grandfather, Garrett Watts.

David Watts, his great-grandfather, was born April 28, 1761, in Albemarle county, Vir- ginia, where he was bred, educated and mar- ried. Not long after his marriage he started westward, coming in the year 1780, or 1781, to that part of Virginia that is now included within the boundaries of Fayette county, Ken- tucky. Purchasing a tract of land on the Athens and Winchester road, he cleared a good farm, which he managed with good suc- cess until his death, December 13, 1835. His wife, whose maiden name was Ruth Twyman, was born in Albemarle county, Virginia, June 17, 1757, and died in her Kentucky home June 6, 1837.

Garrett Watts was born on the parental homestead in Fayette county April 20, 1796. When ready to establish a home of his own he purchased land on the Cleveland and Athens and Winchester road and began the improve- ment of a farm. Prosperity smiled upon him, and in 1816 he erected a substantial brick house from bricks made on his farm, and the structure is still standing. He carried on gen- eral farming with the assistance of slaves,

making corn and hemp his principal crops. He used to break and hackle the hemp, which was spun and woven by the women of the house- hold into fabrics for the use of the family, making linsey, jeans and cotton tow. He also employed a shoemaker, who did all the cob- bling for the occupants of his large plantation. He passed away February 3, 1873, aged seven- ty-seven years. He married, first, Martha Twyman, who was born in Albemarle county, Virginia, December 29, 1801, and died in Fayette county, Kentucky, March 30, 1842. He married, second, in December, 1842, Mrs. Lucinda (Darnaby) McCann. By his first marriage two children were born and reared, as follows: David Twyman; and Lucy R., born March 13, 1819, married a Mr. Ferguson and moved to Missouri, where her death oc- curred July 27, 1841.

David Twyman Watts, born on a farm in Fayette county, April 11, 1831, was reared to agricultural pursuits, and on marrying lo- cated on the old homestead. In the fall of 1854 he was stricken with a fever, and on October 14, 1854, was called to the life beyond, being then but twenty-three years of age. His wife, whose maiden name was Talitha Quisen- berry, was born December 19, 1824, on a farın five miles southeast of Winchester, Clark county, where her father, Joel Quisenberry, born January 31, 1784, lived and died. Her mother was Elizabeth Haggard, and among her brothers and sisters were Roger, Jolin, James, Thomas Jefferson, Jane, Joyce, Pa- melia and Talitha. She subsequently married for her second husband Silas Evans, whom she survived, spending her last years with her youngest son, Garrett, in Clark county, where she died February 3, 1885. She reared two children, namely: William David, the subject of this brief sketch, and Garrett, a prosperous farmer of Fayette county. She was a descend- ant of John Quisenberry, the emigrant an- cestor who came to America with two brothers from England and located in Virginia prior to 1651. (See genealogy of the family.)

In his boyhood days William David Watts assisted his step-father on the farm, in the meantime obtaining his elementary education in the common school and completing his stud- ies at Georgetown College. After his gradua- tion he located on the ancestral homestead, the farm upon which he was born and which was then occupied by his grandfather, Garrett Watts. His grandfather, dying soon after, Mr. Watts succeeded to the ownership of the es- tate, and as he had been well trained in the science of agriculture by his step-father. he was successful in its management from the very start. He added to the original tract by

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purchase of adjoining land, and made exten- and have reared their children in the same sive improvements on the place, including the religious belief. repairing and erection of new farm buildings, each year enhancing the value and attractive- ness of his property. In 1905 Mr. Watts, hav- ing built a fine residence in Lexington, re- moved to this city, retaining, however, the en- tire management of his farm, which he visits daily, supervising its work with characteristic ability and judgment.

Mr. Watts married, February 10, 1880, El- nora Chenault, who was born in Madison county, Kentucky, a daughter of Hon. Waller Chenault and granddaughter of William Che- nault, who was prominent in the affairs of Kentucky in the early part of the nineteenth century. The emigrant ancestor from whom she is descended was one Stephen Chenault, who was born, it is supposed, in England, of French Huguenot ancestry, and settled in Vir- ginia in early Colonial times. William Che- nault, Sr., Mrs. Watts's great-grandfather, was born in Virginia, and served in the Revolu- tionary war under General Washington. About 1786 he came to Kentucky, purchased a tract of land near the present site of the city of Richmond, in Madison county, and there spent his remaining days. The maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth Mullins. Their son, Wil- liam Chenault, Jr., was born in Albemarle county, Virginia, and was a boy of thirteen years when brought by his parents to Madi- son county, Kentucky. He was a man of marked ability and became influential in public affairs, in 1822 serving as a representative in the state legislature. He married Susanna Phelps, a daughter of Josiah Phelps, another pioneer of Madison county. Waller Chenault spent his entire life in Madison county, his birth occurring in 1803, and his death in 1861. He, too, took an active part in public matters, and in 1848 represented his district in the Ken- tucky legislature. He married Talitha Harris, a daughter of Overton and Nancy (Oldham) Harris, and granddaughter of Christopher and Agnes (McCord) Harris, pioneers of Madison county. Twelve children blessed their union, namely : William, Elizabeth, Susan, Joseph, Carlisle, Christopher D., Waller, Nancy, Over- ton, Laura, Ella and David.

Mr. and Mrs. Watts are the parents of three children, namely : Lillian, Ethel and Aileen. Lillian, widow of William C. Smith, has two children, Elnora and William C. Ethel, wife of Dr. Harry M. Blanton, has two sons, Wil- liam Watts and Harry M. Aileen married Harry Griswold Edwards, and they have one son, Harry Griswold, Jr. Reared in the faith of the Baptist church, Mr. and Mrs. Watts are among its most faithful and valued members,

JUDGE JOHN T. STEVENSON .- If it be true that a man's success is not measured by the lofty position which he may reach on the lad- der of attainments but by the number of rungs which he climbs during his progress along life's pathway, a brief resume of the life of the late Judge John T. Stevenson may be in- teresting and inspiring to the readers of this volume. Without other means than a clear head, a strong arm and a true heart, he con- quered adversity, and at the end of a long and busy career was numbered among the most highly esteemed and respected citizens of Fay- ette county, where his entire life was spent, his birth occurring here July 10, 1819. His father, Thomas Stevenson, was born on a farm two miles from Lexington, Fayette county, on what is now Russell Pike.

Judge Stevenson's paternal grandfather was born in Ireland, of Scotch ancestry. Emigrat- ing to America in early manhood, he became a pioneer of Fayette county, and here married a Miss McConnell, who was born in Ireland and belonged to the family of McConnells that settled in Lexington in pioneer days. He took an active part in the Indian war of 1782, and at the battle of Blue Licks lost his life.

Thomas Stevenson was reared to manhood on the two hundred and sixty-acre farm which his father had bought in Fayette county from the government, and became familiar with agricultural pursuits when a boy, and was engaged as a tiller of the soil during his entire life, his death occurring in 1832, in Fayette county. He married Emily Madison, a native of Kentucky, who died in early womanhood.

By the death of his father, John T. Steven- son was left an orphan when but thirteen years old, the death of his mother having oc- curred when he was an infant. Thrown thius early upon his own resources, he was brought up among strangers, working hard ior his board and clothes, in the meantime attending school whenever opportunity offered. An apt and ambitious scholar, he acquired sufficient education while yet in his teens to enable him to teach in a district school. With the money he thus obtained, Mr. Stevenson paid his way through Transylvania University, and after completing the course of study in that institu- tion taught school another two years. De- ciding then upon a professional career, he began the study of medicine with Dr. William H. Richardson, who after a while entrusted him with some of his minor cases, eventually turning over to him all of the night calls. Soon tiring of the arduous work devolving upon

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him as a physician's assistant, Mr. Stevenson turned his attention to agriculture, buying the Beard farm, which he occupied for some time. He then bought a part of the Milton Young farm, later purchasing the Taylor farm, some- times called the Sutton farm. This farm in- cludes two hundred acres of land that was presented to Aaron Reynolds by Colonel Pat- terson for his generosity in giving his horse to the Colonel when, at the battle of Blue Licks, that gallant officer was wounded and dismounted. Colonel Patterson escaped from the enemy on that horse, while young Rey- nolds made his escape on foot.

On that farm Judge Stevenson carried on general farming and stock raising for many years. In 1871 he was elected justice of the peace, and in 1874 was elected county judge of Fayette county and served four years in that capacity. He was beloved by the people, who framed the following resolution: "Resolved, that as a judge he has been considerate, labo- rious and impartial, and has merited and re- ceived the warmest personal friendship of every member of this Board of Claims. Well done, good and faithful servant."

Judge Stevenson married Emma M. Crom- well, who was born in Fayette county, Ken- tucky, a daughter of Vincent Cromwell. She, too, passed to the higher life. Six children blessed their union, namely: Vincent T. ; John W .; James B .; Richard H .; Charles C. and Elizabeth M., wife of William Granville Craig, of whom a brief sketch may be found on an- other page of this work.

WILLIAM GRANVILLE CRAIG .- Noteworthy among the energetic and progressive men who have rendered practical assistance in advanc- ing the agricultural and financial interests of Fayette county is William Granville Craig, of Lexington. He is distinguished not only for his own good life and works, but for the honored ancestry from which he traces his descent, his more immediate ancestors having been the "Craig" preachers of Kentucky. He is a descendant in the sixth generation of Tol- liver Craig, of Virginia, his lineage being as follows: Tolliver (I), James (2), William (3), James William (4), James William (5), and William Granville (6).

Tolliver (1) Craig, who was of English parentage, was born in 1710 in Virginia, as were his three brothers, Lewis, Joe and Elijah. He married Polly Hawkins, and settled in Orange county, Virginia, where his sons, Tol- liver and James were born. Rev. James (2) Craig developed religious tendencies at an early age, studied for the ministry, and in 1759 became pastor of Saint Andrew's church in Brunswick, Virginia. He married, and

among his children was the succeeding an- cestor, William Craig (3). Other descend- ants of Tolliver (1) Craig acquired fame for their earnest and faithful labors in the Mas- ter's vineyard, both in Virginia and in Ken- tucky, it having been through their arduous ministerial works that the doctrine of the Bap- tist church has been perpetuated in America. While yet residents of Virginia some of the Craig ministers were accused of preaching the gospel contrary to the law, and were thrown into jail, where they preached to the prisoners behind the bars, producing a far greater and more lasting effect upon the people than they would if they had been at liberty.

Rev. James William (4) Craig was born Oc- tober 10, 1803, in Virginia, and died Septem- ber 18, 1853. Imbued with the same zeal and earnestness of spirit that characterized the brave ministers of olden days, he made a close study of the Bible, which was his guide through life, and though a cripple preached upon crutches and through prison bars. Faith- ful to the cause of Christ, he suffered much amid the fiery persecutions that tried men's souls. By his clear presentation of the Baptist doctrines he enkindled religious enthusiasm in the minds and hearts of his many hearers, and won many converts. He was a man of much ability, a good financier for his times, and ac- cumulated quite a fortune for those days. He married Mary C. Suggett, and to them one son was born, James William (5) Craig.

Rev. Elijah Craig, a brother of Rev. James William (4) Craig, came to Kentucky in pio- neer days, and was the first pastor of the Great Crossing church, in Scott county. He was a man of strong personality, a force- ful leader and during the stormy period that gave birth to the Campbellite doc- trines and ·weakened the churches of other denominations, he lost but sixteen of the six hundred members of his church, a record unequalled by any other minister of the gospel. He was a man of rare business qualifications and foresight. In 1786 Rev. Elijah Craig bought a thousand acres of land and laid out the town which was at first named Lebanon, but was afterwards called Georgetown. There he erected a saw mill and grist mill, and put up the first fulling mill in Scott county. He was very successful in the management of his mills, and subsequently built the first rope walks and the first paper mill in Kentucky.

James William (5) Craig, father of William Granville, was born in 1830, and died Novem- ber 18, 1893. He began life for himself as a merchant in Scott county, continuing thus en- gaged until 1859. Going then to Missouri, he

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bought land near Sedalia and began the im- provement of a farm. During the progress of the Civil war, his estate was devastated, and his live stock killed, while his negroes were spirited away. Returning to Scott county, Kentucky, he began life anew in Georgetown, and was there a resident until his death, carry- ing on a substantial mercantile business. He married Ellen Graves, a daughter of Jeffer- son and Ellen (West) Graves. She was born in 1836, in Fayette county, Kentucky, and died in Scott county, Kentucky, in 1897. Four children were born of their union, namely : Jennie, wife of Rev. Morgan Wells; Mary C., wife of Victor F. Bradley ; William Granville, the special subject of this personal review ; and Albert, who married Jeannette Hearne.

William Granville (6) Craig was born in Se- dalia, Missouri, July 19, 1861, and was reared and educated in Scott county, Kentucky. Suc- ceeding to the business established by his father, he conducted it successfully until 1889, when he bought the Steadman farm in Fayette county, about five miles from Lexington, on the Iron Works pike, and turned his attention to farming and stock raising. On this farm is one of the finest and most productive barytes mines to be found in America. From its prod- ucts many things of great value are manufac- tured, including lithophone, the best black dye known ; a laundry starch; a face powder; and a superior paint. Leaving the farm in 1903, Mr. Craig has since resided in Fayette Park, Lexington, where he has an attractive home.

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A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume III, Part 96

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