Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II, Part 102

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co.
Number of Pages: 1654

USA > Kentucky > Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II > Part 102

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Residents in 1777-78 .- From " an account-current of provisions purchased by Joseph Lindsay, commissary, for the use of the garrison at Harrodsburg, from Dec. 16, 1777, to Oct. 16, 1778," we gather the names of part of the residents of the fort at Harrodsburg and of that neighborhood at that early day :

Elisha Bathy,

Edward Davis James Davis,

John Bayley,

James Berry,

John Denton,

Squire Buone, William Field,

Isaac Bowman,

Col. John Bowman,

John Brand,

Edward Bulger,

Pat. Calihan,

Joseph Cartwright,

Ambrose Coffey,

William Combs,

Abram Hite, Isaac Hite,

John Hogan, Richard Hogan, Andrew Johnston, Joseph Lindsay, Richard Major, Robert MeAfee, James McColloch, James McCauley, Hugh McGary, Robert MeKim, William Myers, John Montgomery, Reuben Moscore,

Margaret Pendergrast Aun Poague, ~

Robert Pruett, Nat. Randolph, George Ruddle, John Severns, John Shelp, Glenn and Stuart, Abraham Taylor, Daniel Turner, John Williams,

Lot Wood, Edward Worthington.

Cornelius Coplin,

David Glenn, John Gordon, John Grisim, Silas Harlan, James Harrod, John Hays, Mary Hendrix,

The First Grist Mill driver by water-power in Kentucky was about 1782, that of Capt. John McMurtry, near Shakertown, in Mercer county. Capt. MeM. owned and was the first person to settle upon the land upon which was afterwards built the village of the Shakers, by them called " Pleasant Hill," or " Union Village," but most generally known by others as Shaker- town. The stones used in that mill were still preserved in 1871, in the yard of James MeMurtry, in Garrard co., Ky.

The Second Town Site surveyed in Kentucky, and the first actually built upon and settled permanently, was Harrodsburg, on June 16, 1774-Louisville having been surveyed in August, 1773, although not settled for six years after. (See page 605, under this county, and a full account of the first set- tlement of Kentucky at Harrodsburg, under Madison county, page 517.)

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MERCER COUNTY.

JOSHUA FRY was born in Virginia, about the year 1760. He was the grand- son of Joshua Fry, who, as colonel, commanded the Virginia troops in the war against the French and Indians in 1754, and dying whilst in the service, in May, 1754, was succeeded in command, by his Lieut. Col. George Wash- ington. Young Fry volunteered as a common soldier in the war of the Revolution at the age of 14, and was present when Cornwallis surrendered, 1781.

. Mr. Fry married a daughter of Dr. Thomas Walker, the first white man of any distinction-indeed the first white man at all-who is known to have penetrated towards the interior of Kentucky, before the visits of John Finley and Daniel Boone in 1767 and 1769. As early as 1750, Dr. Walker was in Kentucky as far as the Hazel Patch in Laurel county, and thence to the Kentucky river (probably in Owsley or Estill county), which he called the Louisa river ..

Joshua Fry was remarked through life as a man of great charity and benev- olence ; and it was these traits of character that brought him to Kentucky with his family, in 1788 or 1789. . Inheriting large landed estates and many negroes, he found he could not make a comfortable living for himself and his slaves by the tread-mill mode of farming then in vogue, the cultivation of tobacco. He settled in Mercer county. Finding the facilities for education exceedingly limited, and being himself well educated, the instincts which prompted him to leave Virginia induced him to aid as far as he could in the education of those around him. He therefore opened a school, at his house, for the children of his neighbors. Those who were able to pay, he charged a reasonable tuition, and those who were not, were as cheerfully taught as the more fortunate. He had a very happy, and consequently a very success- ful manner in the management of his pupils, who all left him with an undying attachment for him.‹

A story is told of one of his pupils, Gov. Robert P. Letcher, whose father was a hard-working man, a brick-maker. " Bob had to work in the brick- yard, and of course picked up many of the vices and habits of those he worked with. All efforts to educate him, even in the simplest manner, had proved ineffectual ; as his mischievous disposition got him into all sorts of scrapes, and as a consequence forced him from school. By some sort of fatuity he took up the impression that if he could get into Mr. Fry's school he could learn something. Of his own accord he went to his house, from his work in the briek-yard, barefooted and perhaps bare-headed, and accosting Mr. Fry, told him he wanted to come to his school, that he thought he could manage him, for he had been compelled to leave other schools because the teachers could not. Mr. Fry said he did not doubt but that he could manage him, and consented to take him. From that day until the death of Mr. Fry, did Gov. Letcher ever speak of him as one of the best and noblest men living. Chief Justice George Robertson also was one of his boys, and after the judge had attained distinction and wealth, delighted in relating how he went to Mr. Fry, and told him of his poverty, and that he would, some day, pay him for his tuition and board if he would only take him as a scholar.

Many other of Mr. Fry's scholars have attained distinction besides the two just named-among thein, Judge John Green, Rev. Lewis W. Green, D.D., Hon. Win. J. Graves, Col. Wn. R. McKee, Judge Geo. R. MeKee, Gen. Cas- sius M. Clay, Hon. Joshua F. Bell, Col. John Speed Smith, Chief Justice Thos. A. Marshall, Judge Samuel S. Nicholas, and Dr. Chas. W. Short.

Mr. Fry died at Danville, about 1839, aged 79 years, beloved and honored by all who knew him. Few so quietly and yet so surely left the impress of a great soul upon many of the best citizens of his adopted state.

Of Mr. Fry's children-two sons and five daughters-Dr. John Fry died, near Danville, several years before his father; Thomas Walker Fry moved, late in life, to Indiana, and died soon after his father; Lucy married Judge John Speed, of Jefferson county; Patty married David Bell, a merchant of Danville; Sally was the first wife of Judge John Green, of Danville ; Susan died about the time she was grown ; and Aune is the wife of Wm. C. Bullitt, of Jefferson county. Hon. James Speed, ex-U. S. attorney general, Joshua Fry Speed, ex-Chief Justice Joshua Fry Bullitt, John C. Bullitt, Thos. Walker

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TIFFICE

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METCALFE COUNTY.

Bullitt, Hon. Joshua Fry Bell, all distinguished as lawyers and citizens, are among the worthy descendants of that noble ancestry.

Gen. HUGH MERCER, of Virginia, from whom this county received its name, was a native of Scotland, and graduated at an early age in the science of medicine. At the memorable battle of Culloden, he acted as assistant sur- geon, and with many of the vanquished sought a refuge in America. In the Indian war of 1755, he served as a captain, under Washington. For his gallantry and military skill in this war, the corporation of Philadelphia pre- sented him an appropriate medal. In 1775, he was in command of three regiments of minute-men ; and in 1776, was made colonel in the army of Virginia. Having joined the continental army, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, and served in that capacity with efficiency and distinc- tion, until his death, which occurred in the battle of Princeton, where he fell, mortally wounded, while leading the van-guard of the American forces. He survived nine days.

METCALFE COUNTY.

METCALFE county, the 106th formed in the state, was estab- lished in 1860, out of parts of Barren, Green, Adair, Cumberland, and Monroe, and named in honor of Gov. Thomas Metcalfe. It is situated in the south central portion of the state, almost equi- distant between the E. and w. extremes; and is bounded N. by Green and Adair counties, E. by Adair and Cumberland, s. by Cumberland and Monroe, and w. by Barren. It is watered by the South, Middle, and East forks of Little Barren river, and their various tributaries. The county has every variety of soil ; much of the land lies well, and is gently rolling, while the southern part is hilly and broken. Tobacco and corn are the leading crops.

Towns .- Edmonton, the county seat, is near the center of the county, 19 miles E. of Glasgow, and 20 miles s. E. of Cave City, on the Louisville and Nashville railroad ; population in 1870, 146, and in 1860, 70. The other post offices in the county, several of which are small villages, are : Center, Cross Plains, East Fork, Glover's Creek, Knob Lick, Pace's, Randolph, Rock- land Mills, and Willow Shade.

STATISTICS OF METCALFE COUNTY.

When formed. page 26 Tobacco, hay, corn, wheat ... pages 266, 268

Population, in 1860 and 1870. .p. 258

Horses, mules, cattle, hogs. ...... page 268

whites and colored. ·p. 260 Taxable property, in 1870. .. p. 270

towns .p. 262 Land-No. of acres, and value of .... p. 270

white males over 21. .. p. 266

children bet. 6 and 20 yrs. p. 266

Latitude and longitude .. .p. 257

Distinguished citizens .... .see Index.

MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE FROM METCALFE COUNTY.

Senate .- This county has had no resident senator.

House of Representatives .- Marion N. Carr, died Nov., 1861, succeeded by Jas. A. Rousseau, Dec., 1861-63, '65-67; C. C. Harvey, 1863-65, '73-75 ; Dr. A. M. Jones, 1867-71; S. C. Bell, 1871-73.

An Innocent Man Hung .-- The Danger of Circumstantial Evidence .- It has been sneeringly, and with much force, said that a man of high social position and wealth could not be hung in Kentucky for crime, by the verdict of a jury. Better, far better, that this be true in fact and without exception, than that

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METCALFE COUNTY.

the life of one innocent man be taken in the name of justice, as in the follow- ing case :*

In the year 1817, Dr. John P. Sanderson was murdered, in that part of Barren county which is now Metcalfe county; and John C. Hamilton, a wealthy citizen of the neighborlicod, was tried, convicted, and hung for the murder-upon evidence wholly circumstantial, but of so remarkable a char- acter as to convince the jury and the whole population of his guilt, notwith- standing Sanderson was his friend, his fellow-traveler, and his father's guest. Hamilton was an uncle of the Hamiltons of Bath and Montgomery counties, of a wealthy, proud, and aristocratic family; indeed, it is alleged that his case was prejudiced somewhat by the prevailing feeling of envy towards the family.

It appeared upon the trial, that Hamilton was a trader, driving stock to Mississippi to sell. His companion on a return trip, which had been quite successful, was Dr. Sanderson, a wealthy planter residing near Natchez-who visited Kentucky to purchase slaves for his plantation. He brought with him a large sum of money, of which Hamilton was apprised. Their route, which was on horseback, lay through a wild and sparsely settled portion of the " Indian Territory," and Dr. Sanderson was very sick during the greater part of the journey. On their arrival in Barren county, they went to the residence of Hamilton's father, where Dr. Sanderson remained for several weeks, until he recovered his health. Shortly thereafter, the two left the house in com- pany, Hamilton going, as guide for nine miles only, to a point where the road forked, one branch of which led to a neighboring county, where Sanderson was to attend a sale of negroes at public auction. The two were seen to- gether at various points on the road ; the last time, at a point three-quarters of a mile from the forks. Shortly after, Hamilton returned alone, and the night following the horse of Sanderson came up riderless to the house of Hamilton's father.

Sanderson was never again seen alive. Several days elapsed, and suspicions were aroused that he had been foully dealt with. The neighborhood en masse made search for his body. It was found near the road, covered with brush and briars. His hat was discovered in a hollow stump, and, under a log close by, a brass horse-pistol with the hammer broken. In the head of the . murdered man was found a number of shot, and a piece of the hammer of the pistol. Under the lining of the hat was a list of thirty-three $100 Mis- sissippi bank bills, the numbers thereof, and to whom payable.

When Hamilton was arrested, the bills corresponding with the list were found in his possession. It was shown that he had borrowed the pistol from Col. Gorin, of Glasgow; that the shot in the head of Dr. Sanderson corre- sponded in size with the shot purchased a few days previous by Hamilton ; that Hamilton's sherry-vallies or overhauls were concealed in his father's barn, and there was blood upon them; they were fully identified by his sister. This was the evidence introduced by the state.

In his defense, it was alleged that for years he and Sanderson had been intimate friends; that they had traveled together for many days through a wild country ; that a little neglect during his sickness would have insured Sanderson's death, and Hamilton could thus have secured the money. Missis- sippi money was at a discount in Kentucky, and Kentucky money at a dis- count in Mississippi ; Hamilton was about to return to Mississippi where he could use the money of that state, while Dr. Sanderson wanted the Kentucky money to buy negroes; and Hamilton said that for mutual accommodation and profit, they had exchanged money. He proved that he borrowed $1, 000 of the bank in Glasgow, to make up the sum required for the exchange. As to the pistol, he said he borrowed it from Col. Gorin to lend to Dr. Sanderson, who desired it for his personal protection, and that in parting with him at the forks of the road he had given it to bim. Ile alleged that his negro servant had stolen his sherry-vallies, gone to a dance, where he got into a fight, and concealed them in the barn, until he (the negro) could have an

# Condensed from an article in the Louisville Courier-Journal, Nov., 1870.

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METCALFE COUNTY.

opportunity to clean the blood from them. His statements were not cor- roborated, and he was convicted and hung.

The celebrated John Rowan was his chief counsel, and defended the un- fortunate man with marked ability; but the evidence was so strong that he felt he presented a hopeless cause. Indeed, he subsequently declared that with one exception he never had a case possessing as few points for a suc- cessful defense. Solomon P. Sharp, whose tragic fate a few years later sent a thrill of horror throughout the state, prosecuted Hamilton, and being thoroughly convinced of his guilt, showed him no mercy. Hamilton's family alone believed him the victim of circumstances. The accused died protesting his innocence.

Now for the sequel. In the year 1869, Hon. Richard H. Rousseau, of Kentucky, then U. S. minister to Central America, was visited at Tegucigulpa, Honduras, by Col. Gibson, a rich planter residing near Vicksburg, Missis- sippi-who told him that, some thirty or thirty-five years ago, a man was executed for murder in the eastern part of Mississippi, and that while under the gallows he heard him confess that he and a comrade, both fugitives from justice, were hid at the head of the ravine where the body of Sander- son was found. They saw him as he approached; dashed out and seized and dragged him from his horse ; he endeavored to use his pistol, which they wrenched from his hand; they then struck him with the pistol and broke the hammer, which remained in his head; they robbed him, concealed his body and fled. They afterwards heard that Hamilton was hung for their crime, but the facts had never been made known until that time. This man's comrade had met his death by the hangman for another murder, but died without disclosing his connection with the foul deed, and it rested with him alone to reveal the true story. Mr. Rousseau was requested by Col. Gibson to make known these facts-that they might reach Hamilton's rela- tives, and wipe out from the dead and the living the stain which rested on them.

The tenth governor of Kentucky, Gen. THOMAS METCALFE, in honor of whom this county was named, was born in Fauquier co., Va., March 20, 1780. His mother was the Sally Metcalfe who was shot from her horse, on the 19th of January, 1781, by a British sentinel-whilst endeavoring to make her escape from the Elk Run neighborhood, in that county, where the American traitor, Gen. Benedict Arnold, with 1,800 British soldiers, was " exercising the most unheard of cruelty, indiscriminately on men, women, and children, and com- mitting wanton destruction of every kind of property."* She recovered from the wound, and with her brave husband, a captain in the Revolutionary war, and "an acquaintance of George Washington," emigrated to Kentucky in 1785, and settled in Fayette, but removed in a few years to Nicholas county. They were poor and humble. In his early youth, young Metcalfe was sent to school ouly long enough to obtain a knowledge of the rudiments of an English education-sufficient, however, to inspire an ardent love for knowl- edge. At 16, he was apprenticed to an elder brother, a stone-mason. While learning his trade, his otherwise leisure hours were assiduously devoted to study and to books. What to other boys was labor and irksome, was to him relaxation and full of promise in the future. At 19, his father died; and upon him fell a large portion of the burden-to him a cherished filial privi- lege-of caring for his mother and several children. As a mason he built, of stone, several court houses-at West Union, Adams co., Ohio, at Greens- burg, Green co., Ky., in 1806 (still standing in 1873), and others, and laid the foundation of that at Paris, Bourbon co., which was burnt down May 8, 1872, but of which his uncle John Metcalfe built the superstructure. From his trade, and his great earnestness afterwards as a public speaker, he re- ceived the sobriquet of the " Old Stone Hammer," by which he was familiarly and proudly known for 45 years.

# Letter of Capt. Horace Randall to Gen. George Washington, Philadelphia, dated Jan. 20, 1781. It was found at the home of Washington, Mt. Vernon, in reptiring, in 1853, a mantel-piece behind which it had fallen. What was most remarkable, thu writer, Mr. Randall, was still living close by, 105 years old ; and upon being shown the letter, related many other circumstances which happened at that time.

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MONROE COUNTY.

In 1809, he made his first public speech. A requisition had been made upon the state, to vindicate the honor of the nation in the contemplated diffi- culties with old Spain. His own fire and enthusiasm was quickly communi- cated to the crowd, and volunteers flocked to his standard in numbers above his complement. He had twice before raised volunteers for contemplated service against Spain, and now for the third time was disappointed. He quietly doffed his military title, and took up his stone-hammer. In 1812, he was elected to represent Nicholas county in the lower branch of the Ken- tucky legislature; and re-elected, 1813, '14, '15, '16, and 17-in 1813, while absent as a soldier, receiving every vote in the county but thirteen ! In the spring of 1813, he raised a company of volunteers, and at the battle- of Fort Meigs, was under Col. Boswell, on the left flank of the line on this side of the river, which defeated more than .double its number of Indians; his intrepidity and gallantry secured the favorable notice of the commander- in-chief, Gen. Wm. H. Harrison, afterwards president of the United States. In 1818, he was elected to congress, and re-elected four times; but during the last term, in 1828, he resigned to make the race for governor as the candidate of the national republican (or Adams) party-being elected by 38,940 votes, to 38,231 for the able and popular Maj. Win. T. Barry, the Jackson candidate. 'The latter party elected John Breathitt lieutenant governor, over Judge Jos. R. Underwood, by 1,087 majority.

In Feb., 1827, Gen. Metcalfe was challenged to fight a duel, by Geo. McDuffie, of South Carolina, for offensive language used in a newspaper article ; he accepted, and named rifles as the weapons, at 90 feet. McDuffie, insisting on pistols, dropped the matter, rather than fight with rifles.

Gov. Metcalfe served four years in the state senate, from Nicholas and Bracken counties, 1834-38; in 1840, and for some years, was president of the state board of internal improvement; and in 1848-49, filled by appoint- ment of Gov. Helm the unexpired term of John J. Crittenden in the U. S. senate. He died at his home at Forest Retreat, of cholera, Aug. 18, 1855, aged 75 years. (See, under Nicholas county, the incident of an extraor- dinary race.)

MONROE COUNTY.

MONROE county, formed in 1820 out of parts of Barren and Cumberland counties, and named in honor of James Monroe (who had just been re-elected president of the United States, receiving every vote in the electoral college but one), was the 65th in order of formation. It is situated on the southern border of the state, and lies on the head waters of Big Barren river, while the Cum- berland river passes through its s. E. corner ; its other streams are McFarland's, Long Fork, East Fork, Line, Sulphur Lick, and Indian creeks ; it is bounded N. by Barren, Metcalfe, and Cumberland counties, E. by Cumberland, s. by the Tennessee state line, and w. by Allen and Barren counties. The face of the country is quite diversified-level, undulating, and hilly ; the principal growth on the wild lands, poplar, walnut, oak, and beech ; for a few years past, a number of citizens have been ex- tensively engaged in transporting poplar and walnut logs to Nash- ville, Tennessee. Tobacco, corn, wheat, and oats are the principal products; hogs are exported in considerable numbers.

Towns .- Tompkinsville, the county seat, is on Mill creek, 9 miles from Cumberland river, 140 miles w. of s. from Frankfort, and 35 miles E. of s. of Glasgow ; it was built upon land owned at the

630

MONROE COUNTY.

time by Samuel Marrs, the court house being on the spot where his orchard stood ; it was established in 1819, and named after Daniel D. Tompkins, vice president of the United States ; it con- tains, besides the court house, 2 churches (Presbyterian and Meth- odist), 6 stores, 5 mechanics' shops, 2 taverns, 4 lawyers, and 3 doctors, and a population in 1870 of 218 (just 2 less than in 1830, 40 years before). The other small villages and post offices in the county are-Martinsburg, on the Cumberland river, 20 miles from Tompkinsville; Johnstonville (incorporated Feb. 13, 1846), Center Point, Gamaliel, Hilton, Fountain Run, Meshach's Run, Mud Lick, Rock Bridge, and Sulphur Lick.

STATISTICS OF MONROE COUNTY.

When formed. See page 26 Hay, corn, wheat, tobacco ... pages 266, 268

Population, from 1530 10 1870 .. p. 258 Horses, mules, cattle, and hogs ...... p. 268

whites and colored. .. p. 260 Taxable property, in 1846 and 1870.p. 270

towns. .p. 262 Land-No. of acres, and value ....... p. 270

white males over 21 .. p. 266 Latitude and longitude .p. 257

children bet. 6 and 20 ..... p. 266

Distinguished citizens. .. see Index.

MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE FROM MONROE COUNTY.

Senate .- John S. Barlow, 1837-41, '53-57 (also from Barren county); Preston H. Leslie, 1851-53 (also from Barren county ); Jas. R. Duncan, 1863-65.

House of Representatives .- Jos. G. Hardin, 1824; Jas. McMillan, 1825, '26, '27; John S. Barlow, 1828, '29, '30, '31, '33, '45, '47, '48 ; Radford Maxey, 1832, '35, '42; Jas. Thomas, 1834 ; Wm. F. Evans, 1836, '37 ; Wm. G. Howard, 1838, '40; Geo. W. F. Randolph, 1839; Hiram K. Chistn, 1841 ; Wm. H. Wooten, 1843 ; Preston H. Les- lie, 1844, '50 ; Micajah Oglesby, 1846, '51-53 ; Samuel Ray, 1849; Daniel E. Downing, 1853-55, '59-63, '69-71; Greenberry Hicks, 1855-57; John H. McMillan, 1857-59 ; Hiram Hagan, 1863-65 ; John B. Riggs, 1865-67 ; Manlius T. Flippin, 1867-69, '71-73. From Monroe and Barren counties-Michael W. Hall, Jos. Winlock, 1820 ; Jas. G. Hicks, Waddy Thompson, 1822. From Monroe-Samuel Martin, 1873-75.

Zinc Ore was found-in 1856, at the time of the geological survey of the state-running in slender veins through limestone belonging to the De- vonian period, in the bed of Sulphur Lick creek in this county. The official analysis proved it essentially . a sulphuret of zinc, containing 51.77 per cent. of zinc. The sulphuret is combined in this ore with 17.48 per cent. of silica, besides 5.19 per cent. of carbonates of lime and magnesia, and a little disseminated sulphuret of lead. " If found in sufficient abundance, it might be profitably employed in the manufacture of zinc white paint." (Ky. Geol. Survey, ii, 68, 247.) " Imperfeet veins of sulphurets of zine and lead traverse the limestone under the black slate, in the bed of Sulphur Lick creek, in a direction S. 20° W." (Same, iii, 154.)

Limestone and Shale .- "The dividing ridge between Big Barren and Sul- phur Lick is about 600 feet above the Cumberland river. This ridge contains an immense mass of gray and green shales, overlying the black slate in the bed of the latter stream. The black slate is here about 25 feet thick, while the overlying shales seem to be 270 feet thick. . This immense mass of shaly rocks is ahnost wanting in Cumberland and Russell counties." (Ky. . Geol. Survey, iii, 152-3.)

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Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II, Part 102

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn Publication date: 1874 Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co. Number of Pages: 1654

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co.
Number of Pages: 1654