Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II, Part 88

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 88

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542

MARION COUNTY.

and was addressing himself. They are full of mature thought, beautiful ex- perience, wise advice, and earnest entreaty. He wrote a number of skeletons of sermons, such as he intended to preach, if spared to enter the pulpit. But though his greatest study was the Bible and religious books, he was far from being a child of one idea. He read French with fluency, and books of travels, history, astronomy, natural philosophy, chemistry, mythology, logic, rhetoric ; had no taste for mathematics ; was quite skilled in drawing and landscape painting, learned to knit and to sew, had his pet birds and squirrels, and in other ways sought recreation in the tedious hours of his confinement. When at school, was remarkable for his declamations, which gave promise of great oratorical power in future manhood. All this before he was thirteen ; during the last two years of his life, he was so feeble and nervous as to be unable to read or write as much as formerly. It is curious to contemplate how vast his store of learning, if he had been blessed with vigorous health and long life. He was frequently visited by the Rev. Drs. Thos. Cleland, Robert J. Breckinridge, Edward P. Humphrey, Win. L. Breckinridge, and other great ministers of the Presbyterian church. Though a child, and always a help- less invalid, he was indeed a preacher of righteousness; his influence, and conversations, and writings were instrumental in a number of conversions, and many others derived from him spiritual instruction and consolation ; the Christian experience of his declining months, preserved in his diary, was rich and delightful. He was indeed a wonderful child. He died Feb. 20, 1859, aged 15 years and 3 months.

Gen. FRANCIS MARION, in honor of whom Marion county was named, was a partimn officer of the Revolutionary war, and one of the most distinguished and efficient of whom history gives account. He was born near Georgetown, South Carolina, 1732; engaged in seafaring, but to please his mother, gave it up and turned farmer; was elected to the provincial congress of South Carolina, 1775, but resigned during his term to become a captain in the second regiment of troops raised in that state; was promoted major, and then for gallantry in the engagement which followed the British attack on Sulli- van's Island made lieutenant-colonel; was defeated, under Gen. Lincoln and Count D'Estaing, before Savannah; after the fatal battle of Camden, fought on, desperately but hopefully ; as brigadier-general, was so successful at Eutaw that congress passed complimentary resolutions; was elected to the state senate, 1782, and to the convention which framed the state constitution, 1790, but thenceforward declined all public service. He died Feb. 27, 1795.

In person he was below the middle size, thin and swarthy. His nose was aquiline, his chin projecting, forehead high, and eyes dark and piercing ; he was capable of great and continued endurance, and inspired his troops with all his own fire and enthusiasm.

MARSHALL COUNTY.

MARSHALL county, the 92d formed in the state, was organized June 7, 1842, out of the northern part of Calloway county, and named in honor of Chief Justice John Marshall, then recently de- ceased. It is situated in the extreme s. w., and is part of the Jackson purchase ; is bounded . by Livingston and Lyon counties, E. by Lyon and Trigg, s. by Calloway, and w. by Graves and McCracken. Its N. and E. boundary line is the Tennessee river ; the East fork of Clark's river passes centrally through it, from N. W. to s. E. ; other streams are the West fork of Clark's river, and Jonathan, Cypress, Bear, and Sugar creeks. It contains 328 square miles of land, or 209,920 acres, generally level ; the soil

543

MARSHALL COUNTY.

is good, of the quarternary formation, and the timber of every variety, and excellent; the river bottoms are about two miles wide, and quite fertile. The principal productions are corn, oats, wheat, and tobacco.

Towns .- Benton, the county seat, named after the great U. S. senator from Missouri, Thos. Hart Benton, was incorporated Jan. 11, 1845 ; is 22 miles from Paducah by gravel turnpike, and 13 miles from Calvert city, on the Elizabethtown and Paducah rail- road, which passes across the northern part of the county ; has a Union church, a fine male and female seminary, 7 lawyers, 2 doctors, 4 stores, 1 hotel, 2 blacksmiths' shops, 1 tannery, 1 cot- ton-gin and wool carding machine, and 1 steam saw and grist mill ; population 158 in 1870. Birmingham, on the Tennessee river, 11 miles N. E. of Benton, and incorporated Feb. 27, 1860, has 1 hotel, 2 stores, a large tobacco warehouse, a large stave and heading factory, and a steam saw and grist mill ; population in 1870, 322. Calvert city, in the extreme N., has a hotel and 2 stores ; was incorporated March 18, 1871 ; population about 200. Briensburg, 4 miles E. of N. from Benton, incorporated Sept. 18, 1861, has 2 stores, a church, hotel, and tobacco warehouse ; popu- lation about 175. Egner's Ferry or Aurora, Fairdealing, Olive, Brewer's Mills, Palma, and Oakland are post offices and small places.

STATISTICS OF MARSHALL COUNTY ..

When formed See page 26 | Tobacco, hay, corn, wheat .. ... pp. 266, 268 Population, from 1850 to 1870 .. p. 258 Horses, mules, cattle, hogs .. p. 268

16 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 Latitude and longitude. .p. 257

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

Distinguished citizens. .see Index.

MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE FROM MARSHALL COUNTY.

Senate .- Jesse C. Gilbert, 1871-75. From Marshall, Calloway, and Trigg counties- Alfred Boyd, 1842-46. From Marshall and Calloway counties-Alfred Johnson, 1850.

House of Representatives .- Robert O. Morgan, 1851-53 : Jas. Brien, 1853-55, '65-67 ; Willie Waller, 1855-57, '63-65 ; Thos. L. Goheen, 1859-61 ; Jesse C. Gilbert, 1861-63, expelled " because connected with the Confederate army," Dec. 21, 1861, succeeded by Willie Waller, 1862-63 ; Basil Holland, 1867-69. From Marshall and Calloway counties-Alfred Johnson, 1845, '46, '47.

Antiquities .- Near Brewer's Mill, in the s. w. corner of the county, are the remains of an Indian town. On a hill at the Bird Griffith place, 4 miles N. W. of Benton, are a mound and Indian burying ground-where stone vessels and implements. human remains, and shells are found in abundance.

A Sink-Hole, or Lake (for it is filled with water), about 60 yards in di- ameter, is on a high hill 3 miles s. of Benton; its depth is not known; the water neither rises nor falls, and stands some 50 feet above the bed of the creek below.

There is a Mineral spring-whose waters contain sulphuretted hydrogen, carbonic acid gas, sulphate and chloride of lime magnesia, and iron-near the E. & P. railroad, 3 miles below Calvert city.

Marshall County was settled in 1816 or 1818.

JOHN MARSHALL, chief justice of the United States, was born in Virginia, on Sept. 24, 1755 ; and as early as the summer of 1775, received a commission as lieutenant of a company of minute-men, and was shortly afterwards engaged in the battle of Great Bridge, when the British troops under Lord

514

MARTIN COUNTY.

Dunmore were repulsed with great gallantry. He was subsequently engaged in the memorable battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth, and in 1780 obtained a license to practice law. He returned to the army shortly after, and continued in the service until the termination of Arnold's invasion.

In the spring of 1782, he was elected a member of the state legislature, and in the autumn of the same year a member of the executive council. He married in 1783. In 1788 he was elected to represent the city of Richmond in the legislature, and continued to occupy that station during the years 1789, 1790, 1791, and upon the recall of Mr. Monroe as minister to France, Presi- dent Washington solicited Mr. Marshall to accept the appointment as his successor, but he respectfully declined. In 1799 he was elected and took his seat in congress, and in 1800 was appointed secretary of war.

On the 31st of January, 1801, he became chief justice of the supreme court - of the United States, which distinguished station he continued to fill with un- sullied dignity and pre-eminent ability until the close of his mortal career. He died at Philadelphia on the 6th of July, 1835. .

MARTIN COUNTY.

MARTIN county, the 116th and last county formed in the state, was established in 1870, out of parts of Pike, Johnson, Floyd, and Lawrence counties, and very appropriately named in honor of Col. John P. Martin, of all men probably the most favorably known to most of its citizens for over 27 years. It is situated in the extreme eastern part of the state, and is bounded N. by Lawrence county, E. by the state of Virginia, s. by Pike and Floyd, and w. by Johnson county. . Its boundary line on the E. is the Tug fork of Big Sandy, and its creeks Rockcastle, Wolf, Daniels, and their tributaries. The face of the country is hilly and mountainous, with some rich coves and extensive river and creek bottoms.

Warfield, the county seat, is on the Tug fork, about 48 miles from Catlettsburg, has a temporary court house, 2 stores, and about 150 inhabitants. In good stages of water, steamboats reach this point, and occasionally go 25 miles above. Considerable quantities of coal and salt are shipped by flat-boat from this neighborhood.

STATISTICS OF MARTIN COUNTY.

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

Population, in 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 Latitude and longitude. .p. 257

white inales over 21. p. 266

children bet. 6 and 20 yrs. p. 266

Distinguished citizens .... .see Index.

Martin county, in the short period since its formation, bas had no resident senator or representative in the legislature.

Col. JOHN P. MARTIN-by admiring friends sometimes called the Rob Roy of Kentucky, because the true-hearted Democracy of eastern Kentucky rallied to his standard with the like enthusiasm which gathered the clans of MeGregor around the Scottish mountaineer-was born in Lee co., Virginia, Oet. 11, 1811, and died at Prestonsburg, Ky., Dee. 23, 1862-aged 51. In 1828, he removed to Harlan co., Kv., and when only 19 years old ran for the legisla- ture against John Bates, who was elected by only 37 votes, much less than the usual party majority. In 1835, he removed to Floyd co., which was

545

MASON COUNTY.

thenceforward his home; was elected to the house of representatives, 1841 and 1843-where, on Feb. 23, 1842, he cast a solitary vote for Judge Richard French, in opposition to John J. Crittenden, and was hissed for it. In the majesty of one conscious that he was voting for eternal principles, he rose and prophesied that he would yet live to stand upon the floor of the legisla- ture when the majority would be Democrats-which came to pass in 1857-61, when he was elected, by over 2,000 majority, the senator from Floyd, Morgan, Johnson, and Pike counties. He was elected to congress for two years, 1845-47, beating Adams and McKee, in a district where the party majority was some 3,500 against him; in 1849, he was beaten for congress by Judge Daniel Breck, by only 900 votes-having reduced the Democratic majority from 3.500 to 900. In 1848, as the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, he was beaten only 7,722 votes by John L. Helm (carrying his own district by a handsome majority), whereas his distinguished co-nominee, Lazarus W. Powell, was beaten 8,521 votes by John J. Crittenden. In 1856, he was a delegate from the state at large to the Democratic national conven- tion at Cincinnati ; and advocated the claims of his warm personal friend, Linn Boyd, for the presidency, in preference to James Buchanan. His efforts and influence turned the tide in the mountains against Know-Nothingism. In 1860, he was on the Democratic ticket for the Peace convention, and can- vassed a large portion of the state-then returned to his home, and quietly observed the logic of events, until his death in 1862. Col. Martin was a gentleman of high social qualities, fine intellect, extensive information, and generous heart. Few men had so great influence with the masses, and none equaled him in personal popularity in the eastern or mountain portion of Kentucky. His son, Col. Alex. L. Martin, represented Floyd county in the legislature of 1867-69, and is now (1873) in the middle of a term in the state senate, where he is recognized as one of the leaders of that body and one of the ablest young men of the state.

MASON COUNTY.

MASON county-established in 1788 by the legislature of Vir- ginia, and named after George Mason, one of her most eminent lawyers and statesmen-was the 8th formed, of the nine which existed in 1792, when Kentucky was separated from the mother state and admitted into the Union. It was formed out of all that part of the then county of Bourbon which lay to the N. E. of Licking river, from its mouth to its source ; thence, by a direct line to the nearest point on the Virginia state line and county line of Russell ; thence along said line to Big Sandy river, down that river to the Ohio, and down the Ohio to the mouth of Lick- ing-embracing all the territory out of which have been formed the following counties : Campbell (part) in 1794, Bracken in 1796, Fleming and part of Pendleton in 1798, part of Floyd and part of Nicholas in 1799, Greenup in 1803, Lewis in 1806, Lawrence and part of Pike in 1821, part of Morgan in 1822, Carter in 1838, Johnson in 1843, Rowan in 1856, Boyd and Magoffin in 1860, Robertson in 1867, Elliott in 1869, and Mar- tin in 1870-nineteen in all.

The present county of Mason lies in the northern section of the state ; is bounded N. by the Ohio river for 17 miles, E. by Lewis and Fleming counties, s. by Fleming and Robertson, and w. by Robertson and Bracken ; and measures about 221 square

11 ... 35

546

MASON COUNTY.

miles. It is watered by Cabin, Bull, Kennedy's, Limestone, Beasley's, Lawrence, and Lee's creeks, which flow into the Ohio river on the north; and the North fork of Licking river in the center and south, with its tributaries, Mill, Wells', Lee's, Shan- non, and Bracken creeks. The surface of the country is generally uneven, part of it hilly and broken, most of it gently undulating ; the soil, based upon limestone, is deep, rich, and highly product- ive, except in the N. E. and s. w. ; much of it is the finest quality of bluegrass land, not surpassed in the world. The largest pro- ductions are corn, wheat, hemp, tobacco, mules, cattle, and hogs. It was once the largest, now the 6th, hemp-producing county. In amount of taxable property it is the 8th largest county in the state, in average value of land the 6th ; while in population it has fallen, by the more rapid increase of others, to the 12th.

Towns .- Maysville, on the Ohio river, at the mouth of Limestone creek (from which the landing or town was generally called Lime- stone until about 1793), is 65 miles from Lexington by the Mays- ville and Lexington railroad (Northern Division), and by the Ohio river 4053 miles below Pittsburgh, Pa., 91 below Catletts- burg, Ky., at the mouth of Big Sandy river, 52 below Ports- mouth, Ohio, 61 above Cincinnati, 193 above Louisville, and 562 above Cairo at the mouth of the Ohio ; was established as a town by the legislature of Virginia, Dec. 11, 1787, incorporated as a city in 1833, and became the county seat, April 1, 1848; is beautifully situated on one of the highest spots along the bank of the Ohio, only a small part of which was overflowed by even the great flood of 1832; is handsomely and compactly built, and contains a brick court house and fire-proof clerk's offices, 13 churches (2 Presbyterian-one connected with the northern and one with the southern General Assembly-Baptist, Methodist Episcopal South, 2 Methodist Episcopal, German Methodist Episcopal, Reformed or Christian, Protestant Episcopal, German Lutheran, Roman Catholic, and 2 for colored people, Baptist and Methodist), 3 banks, 24 lawyers, 11 physicians, 4 newspaper and printing offices (Eagle, Bulletin, Republican, and Ohio River Traveler), city high school and 3 district public schools, 5 semi- naries (2 male and 3 female), several other private schools, gas works, 2 wholesale and 7 retail dry goods stores, 2 drug stores, 5 tinware and stove stores, 2 hardware stores, 4 hotels, and a large number of other business houses, shops, and small factories-be- sides 2 steam flouring mills, 2 steam saw mills, 2 planing mills, 2 very large and several small plow factories, 1 large cotton- spinning factory, 1 piano-forte factory, 1 chair factory, 1 foundry, 1 very large and several small cigar factories, 2 carriage factories, 1 brewery, 1 railroad car shop, and 1 pork-packing establishment; population in 1870, 4,705, of whom 681 were colored. Washing- ton, the ancient county seat (from 1788 to April 1, 1848), 33 miles s. w. of Maysville, on the turnpike to Lexington (see sketch in succeeding pages) ; has 3 churches (Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist) ; population in 1870, 240, of whom 106 whites, 134

CITY OF MAYSVILLE (From the Germantown Turnpike Road).

547

MASON COUNTY.

colored. Mayslick, on same pike, 12 miles w. of s. of Maysville, was named after John May, of Virginia, the former proprietor of the land and of a famous lick near the place (hence its original name May's Lick) ; has 3 churches (Baptist, Reformed or Chris- tian, and Presbyterian), and a number of stores and shops ; incor- porated Feb. 1, 1837 ; population in 1870, 199, whites 128, colored 71. Dover, in importance the second town in the county, in the extreme N. w. corner, on the Ohio river 11 miles below and N. w. of Maysville, and 1 mile from the Bracken county line ; is the largest tobacco prizing and shipping point, and has a number of business houses ; incorporated Jan. 20, 1836 ; popula- tion in 1870, 532, whites 465, colored 67. Minerva, 4 miles s. w. of Dover and 10 miles from Maysville ; incorporated Jan. 31, 1844 ; population in 1870, 159. Germantown, 11 miles s. of w. of Maysville, lies partly in Mason and partly in Bracken county ; established in 1795 ; population in 1870, 351, of which 160 in Mason and 191 in Bracken (33 colored). Sardis, 14 miles s. w. of Maysville ; population in 1870, 149. Lewisburg, 7 miles s. of Maysville, on the turnpike to Flemingsburg ; population in 1870, 151. Helena, 11 miles w. of s. from Maysville, Mount Gilead, 9 miles E. of s., Murphysville, 9 miles s. w., and Orange- burg, 8 miles s. E., are small villages, with one or two stores and churches each, and a population of 40 to 100 each. Woodville and Chester are growing suburbs of Maysville, recently laid off.

The main roads and nearly all the intersecting and neighbor- hood roads, in Mason county, are macadamized.

STATISTICS OF MASON COUNTY.

When formed. See page 26 Corn, wheat, hay, tobacco .. pages 266, 268

Population, from 1790 to 1870. .p. 258 Horses, mules, cattle, hogs. .p. 268

whites and colored .. p. 260 Taxable property, 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 66 children bet. 6 and 20 ..... p. 266 | Distinguished citizens. .see Index ..

MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE FROM MASON COUNTY.

Senate .- Alex. D. Orr, 1792 ; John Machir, 1796-1800 ; Philemon Thomas, 1800-03; Gen. Joseph Desha, 1803-07 ; De Vall Payne, 1807-11 ; Michael Dougherty, 1811-15 ; Jas. Chambers, 1815-19; John Pickett, 1819-22; Winslow Parker, Jr., 1822, '35 ; Jas. Ward, 1823-27 ; Robert Taylor, 1827-35 ; Adam Beatty, 1836-39 ; Thos. Y. Payne, 1839-43 ; Marshall Key, 1843-47 ; John D. Taylor, 1851-53; Win. H. Wads- worth, 1853-57 ; Harrison Taylor, 1857-61; Martin P. Marshall, 1861-65 ; Lucien B. Goggin, 1865-69, seat declared vacant Dec. 14th, 1865, succeeded by Win. C. Halber:, of Lewis co .; Emery Whitaker, 1869-73.

House of Representatives .- John Wilson, 1792; Wm. Ward, 1792, '93, '94, '95 ; John Machir, 1792, 93, '94, '95, '98, '99, 1800 ; John How, Winslow Parker. George Lewis, 1796; Philemon Thomas, 1796, '97, '98, '99; John Pickett, 1796, 1801,'02; Thos. Formar, 1797 ; Michael Cassidy, 1797, '98 ; Alex. K. Marshall, 1797, '98, '99, 1800 ; Gen. Joseph Desha, 1797, '99, 1800, '01, '02; John Graham, 1800; De Vall Payne, 1801, '02, '05, '17, '28 ; Michael Dougherty, 1801, '05, '06 ; John Kercheval, 1802, '03, '04, '05, '06 ; John Lamb, 1803; Alfred Wm. Grayson, Lewis Bullock, 1803, '01; Wm. Holton, 1806; John Shotwell, 180S; Jas. Chambers, 1808, '09, '11; Adam Beatty, 1809; Walker Reid, 1810, '11, '13, '17 ; Jas. Ward, 1810, '16, '18; Jas. Morris, 1812 ; John Chambers, 1812, '15, '30, '31 ; John McKee, 1813, '14; Jas. W. Coburn. 1814, '16, '18 ; Septimus D. Clarke. 1815, '19, '20, '21; Wmn. Worthington, 1819 : Walter Lacy, Wm. B. Phillips, 1820 ; Benj. Desha, 1821, '22 ; Col. Jacob A. Slack, 1821, '22, '24; Jas. C. Pickett, 1822; Robert Taylor, 1824, '25; Jas. W. Waddell, 1825, '26, '37, '38; Dr. Thos. W. Nelson, 1826; Adam Beatty, 1827. '28; David Morris, 1827, '32, '33; Jas. G. Bailey, 1829 ; Winslow Parker, Jr., 1829, '33 ; Jas. G. Marshall, 1830; Jasper S. Morris, 1831 ; Richard H. Lee, Thos. J. Pickett, 1832; Jas. Byers,

548

MASON COUNTY.

1833; Wm. G. Bullock, John Triplett, 1834; Gen. Richard Collins, 1834, '44, '47 ; Alex. Hunter, Chas. Mitchell, 1835; Peter Lashbrooke, 1835, '50 ; James W. Ander- son, 1836 ; Harrison Taylor, 1836, '61-65, '65-67 (speaker) ; John A. McClung, 1837, '38 ; Henry R. Reeder, 1839 ; Gen. Thos. Morgan Forman, 1839, '40 ; Col. Chas. A. Marshall, 1840, '55-59 : Perry Jefferson, 1841 ; Francis T. Chambers, 1841, '43, '44 ; Marshall Key, Wm. D. Coryell, 1842 ; Robert Humphreys, 1843 ; Henry Waller, 1845, '46 ; John M. Breeden, 1845; Jas. B. Hord, 1846 ; D. Rice Bullock, 1847 ; Wm. Bickley, John N. Jefferson, 1848; John McCarthey, Emery Whitaker, 1849 ; Thos. Y. Payne, 1850; Henry S. Johnson, John A. Keith, 1851-53 ; Lucien B. Goggin, John G. Hickman, 1853-55 ; Wm. B. A. Baker, 1855-57 ; Gen. Samuel Worthington, 1857-59; Geo. L. Forman, 1859-61 ; Lucien S. Luttrell, 1859-61, '63-65 ; M. Smith, 1861-63; Col. James W. Gault, 1865-67 ; Dr. Henry L. Parry, 1867-69; Elijah C. Phister, 1867-71 ; Dr. Robert L. Cooper, 1869-73; William W. Baldwin, 1871-73; Geo. L. Forman, W. W. Browning, 1873-75.

Antiquities .- On the plantation owned by Samuel Henderson, two miles N. of Mayslick, there were, in August, 1827, distinct traces of ancient fortifica- tions. The principal fort contained about one acre of ground; the others were not more than half so large. The walls of these entrenchments were quite plain ; as were the marks of trenches or subterranean passages leading to Lee's creek, 300 yards distant-apparently tunneled to provide a supply of water, secure from danger of a blockading enemy. On about 100 acres of land around, the soil to the depth of one to three feet was mixed with shells, flints, potter's ware, and bones of various descriptions-among the latter several entire human skeletons, besides fragments of others, lying without regularity as if . they had fallen in battle and been hastily and carelessly buried. The potter's ware, in shape somewhat resembling articles now in common use, was made of muscle shells and stones, pulverized and thoroughly mixed ; the vessels were carved on the outside, and remarkably strong, not- withstanding the exposure to the elements for centuries. All is conjecture as to the age of these fortifications -- the trees in the several forts and upon the walls being quite as large as in the surrounding forest .*

A Council Chamber of the aborigines-but who or what they were will always remain a sealed book-was plainly visible as late as 1823, on the east side of the farm of Samuel Frazee, 13 miles N. E. of Germantown, Mason co., Ky. It was sunk or excavated about eight feet beneath the surrounding surface. Around the sides of this large room were recesses in the walls, forming seats for the council. Here the chieftains of a hundred battles held their councils of war. Mounds and fortifications surrounded, but not imme- diately, this council chamber. Stone axes, trinkets, and implements were found in and around these ancient works. But the Indians had no knowl- edge by whom or for what purpose these were made; although they could go back with accuracy for many years, perhaps centuries, by their wam- pums-which was the Indian's book of history. f

The celebrated antiquarian, Rafinesque, in his enumeration in the year 1824, of the sites of ancient towns and monuments in Kentucky, has two sites and two monuments in this county, and a small teocalli near Washing- ton.

The First White Persons upon the soil of Mason county (omitting those who passed down the river in canoes or periogues without landing) were Christopher Gist (see his signature, page 000) and a boy, each on horse- back, and leading two pack-horses laden with provisions, surveying instru- ments, etc .- Gist having been sent out by the Ohio Company (of England) " to search out and discover the lands upon the river Ohio, take an exact account of the soil, quality, and product of the land, the width and depth of rivers, the courses and bearings of the rivers and mountains," with a view to find "a large quantity of good level land, such as will suit the company ;" then " measure the breadth of it in several places, and fix the beginning and bounds in such a manner that they may be easily found again by the description." His Journal records that on Wednesday, March 13, 1751, having crossed the Ohio river the evening before from the Shawane

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Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II, Part 88

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