Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. I, Part 97

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452

USA > Kentucky > Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. I > Part 97

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

The First Judges of Oyer & Terminer were, June 28, 1792, George Muter (succeeded, Dec. 9, 1792, by John Allen), Samuel McDowell, and Christopher Greenup (succeeded, Dec. 19, 1792, by John Coburn); their salary was fixed at $100.

The First Judges of District Courts, appointed Dec. 19, 1791, were : Samuel McDowell, John Coburn, Buckner Thruston, Stephen Orinsby, James G. Hun- ter, Thomas Todd; Dec. 11, 1796, John Allen.

The First Circuit Court Judges, appointed Dec. 24, 1802, were: Samuel McDowell, John Coburn, Buckner Thruston, Stephen Ormsby, James G. Hunter, John Allen, Ninian Edwards, Christopher Greenup, Allen M. Wake- field.

The First Increase of Salaries of public officers was made Dec. 21, 1795. The three columns below show the salaries paid to the officers named, in

Jan. 1874.

Governor

June, 1792. $1,000

Jan. 1796. $1,333%

$5,000

Secretary of State.

33315

600

1,500

Auditor.

33316

600

2,500

Treasurer

333%

600

2,400

Attorney-General

333%

and fees-2,161

Members of Legislature, per day.

Court of Appeals Judges

6663%

5,000

But Kentucky had her FIRST THINGS long before she became a State. Among them were the following:

The First White Persons who ever saw any part of Kentucky as now bounded, or are claimed to have seen it, were the Spanish explorers or ad- venturers, under Moscoso, the successor of De Soto, and who continued his expedition, in 1543. '[See Annals of Kentucky, ante, p. 14.] It is not, however, positively authenticated, that the Spaniards were so high up the Mississippi as the southern boundary line of Kentucky.

The story of the Spaniards coming up the Mississippi and Ohio in 1669 [see Annals p. 14, ante] has received credence; but a letter to the Author from John G. Shea, LL. D., the most learned collator of recently discor- ered French books and documents, as also of Spanish documents, says "it has not a particle of authentic historical documents to build upon."

The same pains-taking explorer says "he does not believe that Marquette ever saw the shore of Kentucky." [See Annals, p. 14, ante. ]

There is doubt, too, and some confusion, as to whether certain Englishmen,

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FIRST THINGS IN KENTUCKY.

for whom it is claimed that they saw Kentucky in 1654 and 1670, really were within its borders or in sight of it. [See Annals, p. 14, ante. ]

But it is well authenticated and beyond cavil that, in Feb. 1780, Robert de la Salle, with a company of twenty-one Frenchmen, passed down the Mississippi (or Colbert) river to its mouth-claiming possession of the whole country, on both sides, for the French king, Louis the Great, after whom he named it Louisiana. They delayed a few days at the mouth of the Ohio, and made arrangements for trade and intercourse with the In- dians; and as a portion of the latter lived in that part of now Kentucky. south and west of the Tennessee river (commonly known as Jackson's Pur- chase, because bought from the Indians in Oct. 1819, at a treaty where Gen. Andrew Jackson was the most prominent of the commissioners), it is not improbable that the party of Frenchmen were actually upon Kentucky soil, if indeed they did not first land and remain there during the whole time.

Between 1680 and 1730, but in what years or whether at all before about 1700 is not certain, French Catholic priests passed down the Oubache (now Wabash) river in western Indiana, thence into and down the Ohio river (which was supposed to be a continuation of the Wabash), and into and down the Mississippi. The settlement at Vincennes as early as 1712 meas- urably confirms this.

In 1739, a party of Frenchmen (perhaps of French troops) under M. Longueil crossed from Canada to the Ohio river, and down that stream-vis- iting Big Bone Lick in now Boone county, Ky. [See Annals, pp. 15, 16, ante.

The First White American known to have been in western Kentucky was John Salling, of Virginia, while a prisoner among the Cherokee Indians, about 1730. [See Annals, p. 16, ante.]

The First White American Woman ever in any part of Kentucky, was Mrs. Mary Inglis, nee Draper, in 1756. The first in south-eastern or middle Kentucky, were the wife and nearly-grown daughter of Daniel Boone, and the wives of Hugh MeGary, Richard Hogan, and Thomas Denton-who came in company, reaching their future homes at Boonesborough and at Harrodsburg on Sept. 8, 1775. [See Vol. II of this work, pages 53, 518.]

The First White Visitor in south-eastern Kentucky, through Cumberland Gap, was Dr. Thomas Walker, in 1748; in his company were Cols. Wood, Paton, and Buchanan, Capt. Charles Campbell, and others. In his second expedition, in 1758, he passed Powell's Valley, across the headwaters of Clinch river and the Cumberland mountains, and traversed eastern Ken- tucky. Some doubt exists as to whether the first expedition was in 1748 or in 1750, and as to the extent they progressed toward the interior. [See Vol. II of this work, p. 415.]

The First White Visitor to southern and western Kentucky was Capt. James Smith, in 1766, with four others. [See Annals, p. 16, ante.]

The First White Americans who descended the Ohio river its entire length, to the Falls, and thence to New Orleans in 1769, were Hancock Taylor, his brother Col. Richard Taylor (father of President Zachary Taylor), and oth- ers; they returned to Virginia by sea.

The First Village in Kentucky was on the bank of the Ohio, river, in Greenup county, opposite now Portsmouth, Ohio-built after 1756 (except one cabin), by the Shawnee Indians and some French traders, when driven froin their own Shawnee town opposite, by probably the highest flood erer known in the Ohio. It only existed some twenty years-having, in 1773, 19 or 20 log cabins, with clapboard roofs, doors, windows, chimneys, and some cleared ground; but disappeared in a few years after. [See Vol. 11, pp. 53, 300, 495.]

The First Authorized Surveys, by official surveyors, and under which pat- ents were issued in 1772, were in the N. H. corner of the state, in now Law- rence and Greenup counties-one of them, in the name of John Fry, em- bracing the town of Louisa, in the former county. This survey, and one other for John Fry, had the corners marked with the initials "(. W .; " and it is generally believed and claimed in the neighborhood, that they were made by George Washington himself. None, however, of bis journals

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FIRST THINGS IN KENTUCKY.

or papers which have been published mention these surveys; and hence it is doubted whether he made the surveys in person.

The next surveys were in 1773, by several parties, some private and others official. But in 1774, many official surveys were made.

The First Settlement of Kentucky was on Thursday, June 16, 1774, at Harrodsburg. [See Vol. II, pp. 517-20.]

The First Families who settled in Kentucky were those of Daniel Boone at Boonesborough, and of Hugh MeGary, Thomas Denton, and Richard Ho- gan, at Harrodsburg, each on Sept. 8, 1775. They came from Virginia, in company, through Cumberland Gap. [See Vol. II, p. 518.]

The First Road, or (as it was properly called, in pioneer language) Trace, marked out was, in 1775, by Daniel Boone, the great Kentucky explorer and pioneer-from Cumberland Gap to Boonesborough, under contract with the new proprietary government of Henderson & Co. In 1874, ninety-nine years after, much of it was distinctly visible, and still known as Boone's Trace. [See Vol. II, p. 497, etc.]

The First White Americans made captive by the Indians, on the soil of Ken- tucky, were, on Dec. 22, 1769, Daniel Boone and John Stewart-two of the six hunters who, for seven months, had been "wandering" together over the "mountainous wilderness " and "beautiful level of Kentucky." They escaped, after seven days' confinement, only to find their "old camp plun- dered and the company dispersed and gone home."

The First White Man killed by Indians, in Kentucky, was this same John Stewart, some time in January or February, 1770.

The First Express Messengers were Daniel Boone and Michael Stoner, sent from Virginia, in June, 1774, by Gov. Dunmore, " to go to the Falls of the Ohio, to conduct into the settlement a number of surveyors who had been sent thither by him some months before." The tour of 800 miles occupied 62 days; and the warning of danger and order to return probably saved the lives of half the surveyors-one only, Hancock Taylor, falling a victim to the Indians "on the war path."

The First Contest or Skirmish with Indians in Kentucky, was just before day, on Saturday morning, March 25, 1775, about 5 miles s. of Richmond, Madison county. A black man was killed, and two white men dangerously wounded-one of whom, Capt. Win. Twetty, died. The whites sprang up and to their guns, rallying for a fight, but the Indians soon retreated. [See Vol. 11, p. 497.]

The First Fort built in Kentucky was Twetty's, or the Little Fort-near the spot of the night attack just mentioned. [See Vol. II, p. 520.]

The First Fortified Station was at Boonesborough-a small stockade fort which Col. Richard Henderson, on April 20, 1775, named Fort Boone, in honor of his pioneer path-finder, who built it, Daniel Boone. [See Vol. II, p. 520.]

The First Female Captives by Indians were three young daughters of Cols. Daniel Boone and Richard Callaway, from a canoe in the Kentucky river, near Boonesborough, on Sunday afternoon, July 14, 1776. They were res- cued unharmed near the Upper Blue Licks, in thirty hours, having walked over thirty miles-by a party of eight, Col. Boone, the three lovers of the three girls, and four other friends. [See Vol. II, p. 526.]

The First Marriage in Kentucky was in the fort at Boonesborough, August 7, 1776-Samuel Henderson, one of the three lovers just referred to, to the eldest of the three girls, Elizabeth (or Betsy) Callaway. The ceremony was performed-most probably without any legal license first obtained, because of the distance to the county seat of Fincastle county (of which all Ken- tucky was then the western portion)-by Squire Boone (a younger brother of Daniel), who was an occasional preacher in the Calvinistic Baptist church. [See Vol. 11, p. 521.]

The First White Child born in Kentucky, of parents who were married in Kentucky, was Fanny Henderson, of the marriage just mentioned, on May 29, 1777.

The First White Child born in Kentucky, it is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain with certainty, at this late day. The number for

512

FIRST THINGS IN KENTUCKY. .

whom the honor-which of right belongs to one-is claimed, is "legion;" and some have been weak enough to claim it for a child born as late as 1787, or twelve years after the state was peopled with families-as if emi- gration had changed the universal law of the marriage relation.

1. Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas, daughter of Win. Poague, who, when she was 11 years old, brought his family to Boonesborough, in company with that of Col. Richard Callaway, on Sept. 25, 1775 (the 5th and 6th families to enter Kentucky), and who removed, in March, 1776, to Harrodsburg, always said the first white child born in Kentucky was Harrod Wilson, at Harrodsburg. Date of birth not known.

2. Another source claims that the first child was William Hinton, who was born at Harrodsburg, and died about 1833, on Fox Run, in Shelby co., Ky. Date of birth not ascertained.

3. Others claim that the first child was Chenoe Hart (so called after the Indian name for Kentucky), daughter of Col. Nathaniel Hart, born probably at White Oak Spring, or Hart's Station, one mile above Boonesborough, where her father lived (or at Boonesborough) from 1775 to 1782. Miss Hart married Col. John Smith, three of whose sisters married James Blair, attorney-general of Kentucky from 1796 to 1816 or later, George Madison, who died while governor of Kentucky, in 1816, and Dr. Lewis Marshall, eminent as a college president and educator. Date of birth not ascertained.

4. A daughter of Daniel Boone, whose family reached Boonesborough on Sept. 8, 1775, was born there at an early day-claimed by some, as early as 1797, to have been the first white child born in Kentucky. Name and date of birth not ascertained.

5. Several persons living, aged 75 to 85 years, assure the Author that the first child born in Kentucky was Mrs. Levisa Mckinney, daughter of Col. Wm. Whitley, who fell as one of the " forlorn hope" at the battle of the Thames. His widow always claimed that she was the third white woman who crossed the Cumberland mountains-believing Mrs. Daniel Boone and her daughter to be the first two-and that her child (named Levisa after one of the names of the new country) was born in a short time after they came. The original Whitley family Bible is lost; but from partial copies kept by several of her daughters, we believe that Levisa Whitley was born Feb. 25, 1776-possibly a year later; she removed to Missouri in 1819, and died Feb. 14, 1853. The late Col. Daniel Garrard, himself one of the early born of the state, claimed that Levisa Whitley was the third child born in Kentucky.

6. Mrs. Rhoda Vaughn, a daughter of Capt. John Holder, of Boonesbor- ough, is claimed in Ranck's History of Lexington as the first white child born in Kentucky. She was the mother of the. gallant adjutant Edward M. Vaughn, who fell at the battle of Buena Vista, Mexico, in Feb. 1847; she died at Lexington, in June, 1863. It is probable that she was born early in 1777, but not probable that she was the first native child.

7. Judge William Logan, eldest son of Gen. Benjamin Logan, born in the fort at Harrodsburg, on Dec. 8, 1776, was the most gifted and eminent of the early born sons of Kentucky ; was twice a judge of the court of appeals, U. S. senator, and when he died, at 45, was looked forward to as the next governor. He is claimed by many as the first white male native; but we have the printed evidence of the late Gen. Robert B. MeAfee, lieutenant governor of the state in 1824-23, that Mrs. Elizabeth Poague Thomas, above mentioned, who was then, and for more than nine months previous, a resi- dent of that small fort, repeatedly told him that Harrod Wilson was the first child born in Kentucky. It must be remembered that Boonesborough and Harrodsburg were, until the summer or fall of 1776, the only two stations containing families; that Mrs. Thomas came to Buonesborough only seven- teen days after Daniel Boone's family (which was the only family that preceded hers,) and lived there for six months, until the last days of Feb- ruary, 1776; that she then removed to Harrodsburg, and continued to live there until 1785, and of course knew all the dwellers there in 1776 and 1777. The birth of a child in the forts, in those earliest days, was a re- markable event, and not easily forgotten by the residents; and the commun-

513

FIRST THINGS IN KENTUCKY.

ication between the forts so frequent and intimate that every matter of in terest in one was soon known and discussed in the other.

8. Ann Poague, daughter of William Poague, and sister of Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas above mentioned, was born in the fort at Harrodsburg, April 20, 1777-so says the family Bible record which we have examined. She mar- ried her relative, Gen. John Poague, and died at his residence in Greenup co. Ky., in 1847. It was for many years understood that she was the fourth child born in Kentucky.

9. Fanny Henderson, already mentioned above as the first child born in Kentucky of parents married in Kentucky, was the daughter of Samuel Henderson and Betsy Callaway, and born in the fort at Boonesborough- May 29, 1777. Two of her sisters and a brother were still living in Feb. 1873-one of them, Mrs. Sallie Rivers, with her son, Rev. R. H. Rivers, D. D., a distinguished minister of the Methodist E. Church South, in Louis- ville.

10. Enoch Boone, son of Squire Boone and nephew of Daniel Boone, was born in a canebrake near Boonesborough, Nov. 16, 1777; he died Feb. 8, 1862, aged S4, on the bank of the Ohio river, in Meade co., Ky., at the residence of his son-in-law, Judge Collins Fitch. Many persons believed him to be the first child born in Kentucky, and yet it is not improbable that fifteen were born earlier.

The First Census of any part of Kentucky was taken on May 7, 1777, and another on Sept. 2, 1777, of the population of the station at Harrodsburg [see it, in Vol. II of this work, pp. 616, 606], which latter gave 65 children under 10 years, 24 women, and 198 in all. Boonesborough was then nearly as large, and there were families at McClelland's (Georgetown), Logan's (near Stanford), and several other stations.

The First General Corn-Shelling was at Capt. Joseph Bowman's near Har- rodsburg, by a company of 37 men sent for the purpose; they were fired upon by Indians, 1 killed, and 6 wounded, of whom 1 died.

The First Town-plat laid off in Kentucky was Louisville, by Capt. Thomas Bullitt, in August, 1773. The second was Harrodsburg, in June, 1774.

The First Survey of land, which was afterwards included in a town plat, was at Frankfort, on July 16, 1773-by Hancock Taylor, for one of the McAfee brothers. It was probably abandoned for richer land, as no record of the survey exists.

The First Powder was made by Monk, a noted slave belonging to Capt. James Estill, of Estill's station, 32 miles & E. of Richmond; he was taken captive by the Indians, in March, 1782, and was with them a few days after at the battle of Little Mountain (Mount Sterling), or Estill's Defeat; but made his escape during the battle, and aided several of the wounded from the field. For his noble services there he was set free, or at least no longer required to labor-so that, practically, he was the first Freed Slave in now Kentucky.

The First Wheat sown was in the fall of 1776, in a field of four acres w. of the fort at Harrodsburg. It was reaped July 14 and 15, 1777. [See Vol. 11, p. 616.]

The First Corn planted was in 1774, at Fontainebleau (or Fountain Blue as they called it,) on the bank of Salt river, about three miles below Har- rodsburg, by James Sodowsky, David Williams, and John Shelp.

The First Pumpkins were raised on "Hart's improvement," about 5 miles s. of Richmond, in 1779.

The First Turnips were sowed in the fall of 1775, by James Bridges, on & quarter acre cleared by him, 5 miles above the mouth of Muddy creek, in Madison county.

The First Watermelons and Muskmelons were raised on the s. bank of the Kentucky river, 6 miles above Boonesborough, in Madison county.

The First Peach Stones were planted in the fall of 1775, about 3 miles s. of Richmond, by John Boyle, father of the late chief justice John Boyle. The same year, Robert MeAfee planted Peach Stones and Apple Seeds on the land where he afterwards settled, a few miles from Harrodsburg.

The First Potatoes were planted in 1775, by William Steele, and also by I ... 33

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514

FIRST THINGS IN KENTUCKY.

Henry Thompson near by, both on the N. side of Hinkston creek, a few miles N. w. of Paris.

The First Beans (" roasting ears and snap beans" together) were raised, and Apple Seed sowed, by Joseph Lindsay, in 1775, on a fork of Elkhorn, 3 miles below Lexington. Next year he inclosed a quarter of an acre with a fence, and planted some fruit trees.

The First Seed Hemp was raised in 1775, by Archibald McNeill, on Clark's creek, not far from Danville.

The First Tannery was a very small one-a tan trough-made by Capt. James Estill, at his station near Richmond, in the spring of 1780.

The First Horse Races took place in April, 1783, at "Humble's race paths," and on May 10, 1783, at " Haggin's race paths," both near Harrodsburg. For betting a mare worth £12 at the latter, Hugh McGary was tried at Oyer and Terminer court in August, and found guilty. "The opinion of the Court was, that the said Hugh McGary, gentleman, be deemed an infamous gambler, and that he shall not be eligible to any office of trust or honor within this state-pursuant to an act of Assembly entitled An act to sup- press excessive gaming."

The First Road ordered to be "viewed" and opened, by Lincoln county court, was from Lincoln Court House (then Harrodsburg) to Boonesborough, in the fall of 1783.

The First Tar levied and collected by court in Kentucky was by Lincoln county, Nov. 21, 1783-a head tax of 10 pounds of tobacco per tithe.

The First Mill which leave was obtained from court to build, and also to condemn an acre of land on the opposite side, was by Francis Underwood, on Dick's river, in 1783.

The First Buckets, Milk-pails, Churns, Tubs, and Noggins, were made at Boonesborough, in Oct. 1775, by Wm. Poague. He also, during the ensu- ing winter, or after his removal to Harrodsburg, in Feb., 1776, made the wood-work of the first Plough and the first Loom. His wife (afterward Mrs. Ann McGinty, who lived to quite a great age, and was well remembered by old citizens still living in 1873 at Harrodsburg) brought the first Spinning Wheel to Kentucky, and made the first Linen (from the lint of nettles), and the first Linsey (from the same nettle-lint and buffalo wool). She also made the first Butter. Their family brought to Kentucky, in Sept. 1775, the first Hogs, Chickens, and Ducks; also cattle, but not the first.

The First Stage Route opened was in 1803, from Lexington, via Winches- ter and Mt. Sterling, to Olympian Springs in Bath county.

The First Store was opened in April, 1775, at Boonesborough, by Hender- son & Co., proprietors of Transylvania.

The First Fine House (frame) was built by Alexander Robertson, father of ex-chief justice George Robertson, about 1780, at Harlan's spring, the head of Cane Run, in Garrard county.

The First Stone House in Kentucky was that of the first governor, Isaac Shelby, in Lincoln county, about 4 miles s. of Danville, built in Aug., 1786. The property still (1874) remains in the family, being owned by one of his grandchildren, the wife of Col. J. Warren Grigsby; it is recorded as Entry No. I., in the books of the Land Ofice. The late. Col. Nathaniel Hart, of Woodford county, used to say that when it was reported that Col. Shelby had found stone suitable for building purposes, he received many letters from various portions of the state inquiring if it could possibly be true, as well as many visits to verify the fact; some from as great a distance as Mason county. This real scarcity of stone, then, seems almost incredible now-in view of the unlimited supply visible on all sides; but was doubtless due to the luxuriant growth of cane, and to the heavy foliage which so thor- oughly covered the ground when it fell.

The First Jail was built at Danville, in 1783.

The First Penitentiary was several years in building, and not completed ready for use until 1800. Its first Keeper or manager was Capt. John Stuart Hunter. The first Convict confined in it was John Turner, from Madison county, sentenced for two years for horse stealing, but recommended to mercy because his first offense. The second convict was Samuel Moss from

515

FIRST THINGS IN KENTUCKY.

Mason county, in 1800; he was pardoned by the governor, March 18, 1801- the first Pardon by that officer.

The First Surgical Operations of great note were: 1. About 1806, Dr. Brashear, of Bardstown, took off at the hip joint the thigh of a mulatto boy, belonging to the Catholic priest of that place-the first case of that.opera- tion in America. The patient recovered, and lived for many years. 2. In 1809, at Danville, Dr. Ephraim McDowell successfully removed from Mrs. Crawford, a large ovarian tumor-the first case in the world of that dan- gerous operation. He performed the operation 13 times, with eight recover- ies (over 62} per cent). Another Kentucky surgeon, who died in 1871, Dr. Joshua Taylor Bradford, of Augusta, excelled the whole world in the success with which he performed it-losing only 3 cases in over 30 (more than 90 per cent. recovering).

The First Physician who visited Kentucky was Dr. Thomas Walker, of Albemarle county, Va .- who came, however, as an explorer, in 1748, and again in 175S. He was the first white man ever in south-eastern and middle Kentucky.

The First Practicing Physician was Dr. Hart, who settled at Harrodsburg in May, 1775.

The First Clergyman ever in Kentucky was the Rev. John Lythe, of the Church of England, who came to Harrodsburg in April, 1775. This same preacher held the first Preaching, or divine service, at Boonesborough, on Sunday, May 23, 1775, under the shade of a magnificent elm tree-which thus became the first Temple of God or meeting-place for Christian worship in the state. [See Vol. 11, pp. 500, 501.]

The First Baptist Ministers in Kentucky were the Rev. Wm. Hickman, Sen., and Rev. Peter Tinsley, early in May, 1776; and the first sermon by either of them was by the latter, under the shade of a great elm tree, at the Big Spring, in Harrodsburg. [See Vol. II, p. 617.] The first organized Baptist church was that of Rev. Lewis Craig, which was constituted in Spottsylvania co., Va., and the members traveled together to their new home at Craig's station, on Gilbert's creek, in Garrard co., Ky., a few miles E. of where Lancaster now is. Wherever they camped for the Sabbath, while on their journey, they worshiped as a congregation, and could transact church business.

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Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. I, Part 97

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn Publication date: 1874 Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co. Number of Pages: 1452

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452