USA > Kentucky > Biographical cyclopedia of the commonwealth of Kentucky > Part 101
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His father was a native of Orange County, Vir- ginia, but was reared in Jefferson County, Ken- tucky, where he was one of the most progressive farmers of his time. He died in 1881, in the sixty- fourth year of his age. He was married (first) to a daughter of Caleb Dorsey of Jefferson County. She has two sons and one daughter: John D. Barbour, who has served two terms as Sheriff of
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Jefferson County, and is a resident of Louisville; Dr. Philip C. S. Barbour, a resident of Louisville, a practicing physician and superintendent of the Louisville City Hospital; and Mary, deceased, who married J. William Newman. His second wife, Fannie B. Newman, is the mother of eight children: James P. Barbour, deceased, who was cashier of the Bank of Louisville; William Scott Barbour, deceased, subject of this sketch; Rich- ard N. Barbour, general bookkeeper in the Fay- ette National Bank of Lexington; Sallie, de- ceased, who married Dr. Vansant of Mount Ster- ling; Maggie Pollock, wife of Dr. Willis H. Hob- son of Harrods' Creek, Jefferson County; Sheri- dan Lee, recently married to Maud Hill of Paris; Edward R. and Fannie B., who are unmarried and reside in the old homestead in Jefferson County.
Philip C. S. Barbour (grandfather) was born in Orange County, Virginia, and came to Kentucky in 1819, locating near the line between Jefferson and Oldham Counties, where he spent the re- mainder of his days on his farm. His death oc- curred in 1861, at the age of seventy-two years. He was a prominent member of the Christian Church, as were his wife and nearly all of his chil- dren and his children's children. He married Mar- garet Pollock of Orange County, Virginia. Her ancestors were from Scotland and the Barbours are of Scotch-Irish descent.
Fannie B. Newman Barbour (mother) is a na- tive of Orange County, Virginia. She still re- sides on the homestead near Louisville. Her father, James Newman, was a native of the same place. His home in Virginia is still known as Hilton, and is near the old home of President Adams, near Somerset, where he died. He was a very intelligent man; was educated for a profes- sion and studied law, but preferred the inde- pendent life of the farmer and never practiced at the bar. He was a frequent contributor to the agricultural papers, and did much for the ad- vancement of agriculture, in which he was deeply interested. His ancestors were English.
William Scott Barbour was born in Jefferson County, Kentucky, December 10, 1854, and re- ceived his education in the Lonsdale Academy in Madison County, Virginia, finishing at the Uni-
versity of Virginia. He taught school for some months after leaving school, and when eighteen years of age began the study of law under Wil- liam R. Thompson of Louisville and finished his law course under ex-Governor Porter of Ver- sailles, being admitted to the bar in March, 1877. He at once entered upon the practice of his chosen profession in Versailles and met with most flattering success. He was County Attor- ney for two terms, from 1882 to 1890, and was Master Commissioner of the Circuit Court from 1883 until the time of his death.
Mr. Barbour and Theresa Berryman, daugh- ter of Edward N. Berryman of Woodford Coun- ty, were married June 15, 1882.
He died at his home in Versailles, September, 1895, in the forty-first year of his age and in the prime of a busy and exemplary life.
L EONARD J. CRAWFORD, distinguished lawyer and leading Republican politician of Newport, son of Jacob H. Crawford and Mary Elizabeth Eckert, was born in Newport, Ken- tucky, April 29, 1860.
His father a native of Fleming County, re- moved to Newport when he was a young man and was a resident of that city at the time of his death. He was a pilot on steamers plying the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, and was high- ly esteemed by his numerous acquaintances along the river and by all who knew him. Mary Eliza- beth Crawford (mother) is a native of Campbell County, Kentucky, now residing near Newport, a devout Christian, member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a lady of the highest in- telligence, education and refinement.
L. M. Eckert (maternal grandfather), a native of Campbell County and for many years a resi- dent of Newport, retired from business and spent the latter years of his life on his farm in his na- tive county. During his residence in Newport he was president of the City Council through sev- eral terms and was otherwise prominent as a lead- ing and influential citizen. He was imposing in appearance, being six feet four inches in height and proportionately built; was very genial in his disposition and could tell a good story with great zest. He was a very strong and uncompromising
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Republican; a member of the Methodist Church and died in the Christian faith in 1876, aged six- ty-four years.
L. J. Crawford was educated in the Campbell County schools and in Hughes' High School in Cincinnati, from which he graduated in 1880; read law with Ben Butterworth and graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in 1882; located in Newport during the same year, where he has practiced law ever since, with the exception of one year's practice in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has a large business of the most lucrative charac- ter, and is one of the best known attorneys in Kentucky; is very prominent in politics and a leader in the Republican party, not only in his city and county, but throughout the state; was the candidate of that party for Attorney-General in 1891; was presidential elector for the state at large in the campaign of 1892; was president of the Republican State League for three consecu- tive terms, 1892 to 1895, and delivered the ad- dress of welcome in behalf of the Kentucky Re- publicans at the National League Convention held in Louisville in 1893.
He is not only a lawyer and politician of wide- spread reputation, but a man of affairs and of means; director in the Newport National Bank and in the Covington Trust Company. He is a member of the Methodist Church, and in all of his relations to the legal profession, his political party, his business interests, the church and in society he is known and respected as a good and true citizen.
Mr. Crawford was married in 1883 to Ella J. Horner of Campbell County, and they have two sons: Leonard J. and Clay Crawford. As this goes to press he is conducting the defense of Scott Jackson in the celebrated case of the Con- monwealth of Kentucky vs. Jackson in the Camp- bell Circuit Court at Newport.
B ERRY LEWIS LITSEY, president of the First National Bank of Springfield, son of Uriah Litsey and Ellen Lewis, was born in Wash- ington County, Kentucky, August 3, 1842.
Prominent among the early residents of Ken- tucky was Randolf Litsey, who came from Mary- land and located near Springfield prior to the be-
ginning of the present century. He was engaged in farming and later in the distillery business. He was born in 1770 and died in September, 1849. His wife, Mary Gregory, daughter of Richard Gregory, died in 1859.
Uriah Litsey, father of B. L. Litsey, was born October 15, 1813, and died in July, 1886. At the age of twenty-seven he purchased a farm on the Beech Fork, adjoining the farm on which stands the house where Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks were married. He was married to Ellen J. Lewis, daughter of Berry and Mary Hays Lewis, October 7, 1841. Uriah Litsey was origi- nally a Whig in politics, but after the dissolution of that party, identified himself with the Demo- crats. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church at Pleasant Grove.
Ellen Lewis Litsey (mother), now living in the family homestead near Pleasant Grove, is the mother of ten children, only one of whom, the eldest, is living. She is a devout member of the Presbyterian Church and a faithful Christian woman, who has seen much sorrow, but whose faith in a wise Providence is unshaken.
Berry Lewis Litsey was reared on a farm and attended the common schools at Pleasant Grove; also attending several sessions at the Taylorsville High School. Choosing agriculture, he pur- chased a farm in 1868 on the Beech Fork; was successful in farming and in 1878 purchased the farm on which he now lives near Pleasant Grove.
In August, 1890, he was elected Probate Judge of Washington County for a term of four years; was a delegate to the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1892, representing the Fourth Con- gressional District, and has served his party and the public in various other capacities; was elected president of the First National Bank of Springfield in 1892; was elected by the people Judge of the Washington County Court in 1890 and held that office until January, 1895.
He is still engaged in farming near Pleasant Grove, having never lost interest in or failed to give attention to his farm, while serving in office or as president of the bank.
Judge Litsey was united in marriage February 3, 1870, with Catherine Hays, daughter of David R. Hays and Mary McMaken Hays of Pleasant
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Grove neighborhood. She is a graduate of Naz- areth College in Nelson County. Her parents were of Scotch-Irish extraction. The children of Judge Litsey and Catherine Hays are: Mary, wife of Jas. I. Martine of New York; Nellie Rebecca, Katie Bell and David R. Litsey, all of whom are at home except Mrs. Martine. Judge Litsey and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. He cast his first presidential vote for George B. McClellan.
JEFFERSON DAVIS PRYOR, M. D., of Mayfield, son of James Calvin and Emma Goodwin Pryor, was born July 5, 1861, in Graves County, Kentucky. He was educated in the Graves County schools and Clinton College, Hickman County; studied medicine at the Uni- versity of Louisville, graduating in 1890; came to Mayfield and for three years was in partner- ship with Dr. Boyd; since then he has practiced medicine alone; is a member of the Graves Coun- ty Medical Society and Southwest Kentucky Med- ical Society; a Democrat in politics and a mem- ber of the Missionary Baptist Church. He is also a Knight of Pythias, a Mason and Odd Fellow. He was married June 22, 1895, to Annie Watts, daughter of N. B. Watts of Mayfield, Kentucky. She was educated at Southwest Kentucky Col- lege, Mayfield, and is a member of the Christian Church. Dr. Pryor has a good practice, and is financially prosperous. He stands very high pro- fessionally and socially in Mayfield, takes great pride in his profession, and keeps well posted in the progress in medical science.
James Calvin Pryor (father), now a resident of Graves County, was born in Logan County, Ken- tucky, February 3, 1820; removed to Graves County when quite young; was educated there, and has been a farmer since reaching his major- ity. During the war he was not in the service, but was in sympathy with the South. His broth- er, Jack Pryor, was captain of a company in the Confederate army. James Calvin Pryor (father) is living on the homestead where he settled fifty- two years ago.
James Pryor (grandfather) was born in Logan County, Kentucky, and was one of the earliest settlers in Graves County, removing there in
February, 1821, and his name appears among the first entries in the court records. He settled six miles east of Mayfield on Panther Creek, now known as Pryor's Precinct. He married a Miss Phelps. He loved the forests and was a great hunter in his younger days.
Jonathan Pryor (great-grandfather) settled at Pryorsburg, Graves County; owned many fine horses; was actively engaged in the improve- ment of land, opening roads, etc. He was a man of broad sympathies and was so recognized and sought by all who needed advice and assistance. The Pryors are Irish and belong to the same fam- ily as Judge Pryor of the Supreme Bench of Ken- tucky.
Emma Goodwin Pryor (mother) was born in Henry County, Tennessee, March 9, 1826, and removed with her father, Jesse Goodwin, to Graves County, where he was a farmer. His wife, Sukie Butler, was a woman of strong native intelligence, and her memory to the last was a veritable chronological table of events in Ken- tucky history. She was a member of the Primi- tive Baptist Church.
Mr. Goodwin (great-grandfather) was an Eng- lishman, who served in the War of 1812.
L AWRENCE B. ANDERSON, General In- surance agent at Mayfield, son of Ervine Anderson and Eliza Lockridge, was born Febru- ary 1, 1860, in Graves County, Kentucky; edu- cated at the seminary in Mayfield, Kentucky, and taught school after graduating; was admitted to the bar in 1886, and elected County Judge in 1890, and since 1894 has been engaged in insur- ance work in Mayfield, Kentucky. He was mar- ried August 11, 1888, to Miss Daisy D. Bolinger, daughter of J. F. Bolinger, one of the leading men of Mayfield, and they have three children: Robert, John and Elizabeth. Mr. Anderson is a Democrat and a Knight of Pythias, and he and liis wife are members of the Baptist Church.
He was indefatigable in the discharge of his duties while he held the office of County Judge; merited and won the esteem of his associates in the law and of the community at large.
Ervine Anderson (father) was born January 21, 1820, and was the first white child born in Graves
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after it was formed into a county; was educated in the common schools, and afterwards appoint- ed deputy and circuit clerk-the two offices be- ing together at that time-under his father. When twenty-two years of age he was appointed clerk of the County and Circuit Courts, and held that position until the war, being frequently elect- ed. During the war he began to practice law, having studied under his father. With the change in the Constitution he was again elected county and circuit clerk; was a member of the Legisla- ture from Graves County in 1871-2, and contin- ued in the practice of law until his death, July II, 1876. He was a Cumberland Presbyterian, a Ma- son, and a Democrat, being especially strong in his Southern sympathies. Before the war he was a very wealthy man, and after it had some fortune left. He had an abiding interest in the reputation and welfare of Graves County, and wielded a won- derful influence in the politics of the county.
John Anderson (father of Ervine Anderson) was born in what is now Albemarle County, North Carolina, and came to Kentucky after being educated in North Carolina. The purchase was not then incorporated into counties. He cleared up his farm, and in 1821, just as Graves County was formed, was elected clerk of the County and Circuit Courts, and held these offices until his death, in 1842. He studied law and practiced ir- regularly; was a man of great natural ability, and stood very high in the community. He was in the War of 1812; in politics a Whig. He married Re- becca Davenport in North Carolina. She died in 1866. The following is an extract from an old record made by John Anderson: "Emigrated from Caldwell County, Kentucky, to the district of country west of Tennessee River, and settled on Mayfield Creek in the woods, two and a half miles north of the present site of the town of Mayfield. We had to make our way through the woods from Tennessee River and were three days on the route, encamping in the woods of nights, and threading our way through the thicket by day. We arrived on the 27th of October, 1819, at our place of future residence, and pitched our camp. I built cabins and cleared land, and re- sided at that place until December, 1824, when the county of Graves having recently been organ-
ized, and myself appointed clerk of the County and Circuit Courts, I moved to the town of May- field, where I have resided ever since."
Eliza Lockridge (mother) was born in Graves County, Kentucky, May 8, 1829. She was mar- ried to Ervine Anderson October 15, 1844. She is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and is now living in Mayfield. They had nine children, four sons and five daughters: Lawrence, John, married to Miss Martha Leach; Wiley, to Miss Annie Bray (now deceased); An- nie, married Robert T. Albritton; Amelia, mar- ried Judge W. W. Robertson; Edith, married Stephen Carney; Emily, married J. R. Jamison; Albert, married Martha Grider, and Hester, mar- ried Gus G. Coulter.
Mrs. Anderson's father was Robert D. Lock- ridge, born in Lexington, Kentucky, November 5, 1805. He married Elizabeth Buchanan of Logan County in 1827. He was a physician, and died in Graves County in September, 1876. His father was also Robert Lockridge and owned a great part of the land that Lexington is built on, but sold it and went to Murray Coun- ty, Tennessee, when his son Robert was a lad. He married a relative, Jane Lockridge. Robert (grandfather) married Miss Buchanan in Murray County, Tennessee. Eliza (mother) was the first white child born in Feliciana, Graves County, Kentucky. The Anderson name has been a pow- er for good in that county for almost three-quar- ters of a century. The record of the father and grandfather of Judge Anderson is a priceless leg- acy to their children and grandchildren.
W ILLIAM B. MOODY, an able young law- yer of New Castle and ex-County Attor- ney of Henry County, son of William Harvey and Virginia O'Bannon Moody, was born in Henry County, Kentucky, April 8, 1852. He was edu- cated in the public schools of his native county and in the Baptist Seminary at Eminence, leaving the latter institution on account of poor health and taught in the public schools of Henry Coun- ty for four years.
While teaching he read law, first with Judge Warren Montfort and then with Judge Barbour, who was at one time Judge of the Superior Court
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of Kentucky; was admitted to the bar in Octo- ber, 1874, and began to practice at New Castle, June 1, 1875. From 1878 to 1886 he was County Attorney of Henry County; in 1880 began to edit and publish a Democratic paper, entitled "The Henry County Local."
He united with the Baptist Church when he was fourteen years of age, showing that his mind was early tinged with religious sentiment.
Mr. Moody was married December 25, 1876, to Carrie Belle Price, daughter of William B. and Anna (Ellis) Price, who was born in 1854 and educated at New Castle and Hillsboro, Ohio. They have one child, Anna Virginia.
William Harvey Moody (father) was a native of Henry County, Kentucky, and was educated in the schools of that county. In religion he was a Baptist, in politics a Democrat, by occupation a farmer; married Virginia O'Bannon, and they had five children: William B., George T., P. N., John E. and Emma, who married Dr. Rees. Wil- liam H. Moody died in 1884.
His wife was educated at the Henry Female College at New Castle, and was a member of the Baptist Church. Her father, William O'Bannon, was a native of Virginia, and a pioneer of Ken- tucky.
Richard Moody (grandfather) came to Ken- tucky from Virginia, and married Lucy Wood- sides. They were communicants of the Baptist Church.
H ENRY SCOTT ROBINSON, a distin- guished criminal lawyer of Campbellsville, son of John R. Robinson and Malvina (Scott) Robinson, was born in Campbellsville, Kentucky, June 6, 1861, and was educated in the schools of that place. He performed the duties of the farmer boy until he was nineteen years of age, and then read law with his father and Judge Mon- tague; received his license in January, 1882, at Greensburg, Kentucky, and at once began the practice of law in Campbellsville; was elected county attorney of Taylor County in 1884 and re-elected in 1890, serving until January 1, 1895.
While discharging the duties of his office as county attorney with fidelity and industry, he was also engaged in the general practice of law,
and has won distinction as a criminal lawyer of unusual ability, having been engaged in all mur- der trials of note in the district since his admis- sion to the bar. He enjoys a large general prac- tice, and is a man and a lawyer in whom the people have implicit confidence. His reputation is not merely local, but he is one of the best known of the younger attorneys in central Ken- tucky.
Mr. Robinson was united in marriage, August 26, 1883, with Hattie Taylor, daughter of Daniel G. Taylor and Lou Cowherd. She died Septem- ber 25, 1889, leaving no children.
He was married (second) in October, 1892, to Minnie Sharp, daughter of William Sharp and Sue M. Pruitt; and they have one child (born September 21, 1893), Malvina, who is named for Mr. Robinson's mother.
John R. Robinson (father), son of Robert Rob- inson and Miss Rice (whose mother was a Pur- year), was born in Taylor County, Kentucky, February 22, 1823. He worked on a farm until he was twenty-one, enjoying very little schooling, and then went to Campbellsville and was em- ployed by his uncle, Pleasant Saunders, at eight dollars a month, in the tobacco business. Out of this small salary he saved money enough to en- able him to attend school until he had acquired a fair education; read law with Judge E. L. Bar- bee of Campbellsville and soon after receiving his license to practice law was elected county attor- ney. He was the first magistrate in his district; was engaged in all of the important land cases, of which there were many in his earlier days, and was known all over the state as one of the ablest lawyers, not only in that particular line of business, but as a general practitioner of the highest ability. He is now well advanced in years and has retired from active practice; is a man of strong religious convictions, a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and a highly esteemed citizen, in whom all who know him have the utmost confidence.
He was captain of Company E, Twenty-seventh Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, Union army, in the Civil war, having recruited the company him- self; but, owing to the ill health of his wife, he resigned and returned home.
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He married Malvina Scott of Greensburg, daughter of John Scott, who came to Louisville with his parents from Culpeper County, Virginia, when the present metropolis of the state had only a few shingle-roofed houses. He subsequently removed to Greensburg, which was then the larger city. His father, Randolph Scott, and his wife are buried a little south of Alcorn, where they settled and lived as pioneers and finally paid the debt of nature.
Malvina Scott Robinson (mother) was edu- cated at Greensburg, and was a member of the Baptist Church. She was the mother of two chil- dren, the subject of this sketch and Malvina, who died August 23, 1864. Mrs. Robinson died June 30, 1864.
John R. Robinson was married (second) Octo- ber 1, 1867, to Lydia Ann Barbee, daughter of Jolin Barbee and Mary Ray, and a sister of Judge E. L. Barbee of Campbellsville. There were four children by this union: Nannie, wife of W. L. Young, master commissioner of the Taylor Cir- cuit Court, also attorney-at-law and ex-school commissioner at Campbellsville; Bettie Robin- son, the first woman who ever took the degree of A. B. at Georgetown College; Pleasant Saun- ders Robinson, engaged in the sawmilling and lumber business near Campbellsville, and Joe E. Robinson, a student in Center College.
The Robinson family is of Irish extraction, the progenitor having settled in Virginia on his ar- rival in this country before the Revolutionary war.
C HARLES W. SHORT, lawyer, editor, real estate dealer and judge of the Police Court of Pineville, son of Jonathan Short and Lucy Wing, was born in Greenville, Muhlenberg Coun- ty, Kentucky, June 24, 1850. His father was a native of Muhlenberg (now McLean) County, and died in Greenville in 1883, aged sixty-one years. He was a merchant in Greenville during the greater part of his life, a member of the Pres- byterian Church, and a most worthy and honored citizen.
David Short (grandfather) was born in Virginia in 1810, came to Kentucky and located in (now) McLean County, and was a farmer there until the time of his death in 1848. His father was a
native of Germany and for many years a resident of Virginia.
Lucy Wing Short (mother), now residing in Greenville in her sixty-eighth year, was born in that city and has lived there all her life. She has been active as a member of the Presbyterian Church for many years, and is a woman of more than ordinary intelligence and of strong Chris- tian faith.
Charles F. Wing (grandfather) was a native of New Bedford, Massachusetts, who came to Ken- tucky in the latter part of the eighteenth century, and upon the erection of Muhlenberg County in 1798 was made clerk of the Circuit and County Courts, which offices he held for many years; was circuit clerk until 1856, or a period of forty- eight years; was a captain in the War of 1812, serving in Canada under Gen. William Henry Harrison. He died in 1861, aged seventy-six years. He belonged to an old and respected fam- ily of Puritans in Massachusetts.
Charles W. Short was educated principally in the Greenville College, for boys, under the able teaching of Professor Hall, finishing his literary and scientific studies in the Kentucky State Col- lege in Lexington, following which he was deputy county clerk at Greenville for six years, reading law at the same time. In 1878 he was elected county superintendent of schools, holding that office for seven years, being three times elected. In January, 1885, he purchased the Muhlenberg Echo, a weekly Democratic newspaper, which he edited with ability for two years; sold the paper to W. H. Eaves and engaged in the tobacco business in Greenville in partnership with E. L. Younts; was in that business for three years, when, in 1890, he came to Pineville with the first boomers and engaged in the practice of law and dealing in real estate. In 1891 he was elected police judge, of which office he is the present incumbent, his term expiring in 1898. On the first of January, 1896, he organized the Cum- berland Courier Publishing Company, and be- gan the publication of a Republican weekly news- paper, of which he is the business manager.
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