Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II, Part 89

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 89

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).

* Communication in Maysville Eagle, Aug. 8, 1827.

+ Letter to the author from Wm. D. Frazee, grandson of Samuel Frazee, Aug., 1872.

549

MASON COUNTY.

Town (now Portsmouth, Ohio), they set out through Lewis county s. 45° w. down the river 8 miles, then s. 10 miles; next day, s. 15 miles; next day, s. 5 miles, s. w. 10 miles, " to a creek so high they could not get over that night "-probably Cabin creek, in the E. edge of Mason county. Next day, Saturday, March 16, 1751, they traveled s. 45° w .* about 35 miles-on that day passing entirely through the N. border of Mason and nearly through Bracken county. It says nothing of the country passed over. They re- turned to s. E. Virginia, up the valley of the Cuttawa (Kentucky) river.

The Second White Visitors and First White Females upon the soil of Mason county, were Mrs. Mary Inglis and an elderly Dutch woman, name unknown, in 1756. (See detailed account of same under Boone county, ante, page 000.)

In 1773, Several Companies of adventurers and explorers visited what is now Mason co. Gen. Wm. Thompson, of Pennsylvania, at the head of a com- pany (whose names we have not ascertained with certainty) landed at the mouth of Cabin creek, and made a survey, on July 23, 1773, on Mill creek, which they divided into fifty-three parts; and on Nov. 20, 1773, made another survey on Lee's creek, a mile or two north of Mayslick. Their course of surveys was quite extensive, and embraced the rich lands on the North fork of Licking and its tributaries. t

Capt. Thos. Bullitt, and his company of surveyors and assistants, sent out to the Falls by Gov. Dunmore, of Virginia, and also the MeAfee company, going together down the Ohio, reached the mouth of Limestone creek, where Maysville now is, on June 22, 1773, and remained two days. In the former company were Abraham Haptonstall, John Fitzpatrick, Jacob Drennon, Ebenezer Severns. John Smith, Isaac Hite, and several others; in the latter, James McAfee, Geo. McAfee, Robert McAfee, James McCown, Jr., Samuel Adams, Matthew Bracken, Peter Shoemaker, and Hancock Taylor, the sur- yeyor.t Robert McAfee left the party temporarily, went alone up Limestone creek to the waters of the North fork, and down that stream (see Collins' Annals, page 17, vol. i.)

Still earlier in this same year, a company of ten-among them Capt. Thos. Young, Capt. John Hedges, and Lawrence Darnall-came down the Ohio river from Pittsburgh-one of the company leaving, near Sandy river. The other nine encamped for several days at the mouth of a creek, where Mays- ville now is, to which Capt. Hedges then gave the name of Limestone, which it has borne ever since. A few days after, Darnall's first name (Lawrence) was given by the same company to the first large creek below, and that name also soon became notorious.||

In July, 1773, John Finley was doubtless in the eastern part of Mason county, as he passed from the Ohio river out to the Upper Blue Lick spring, and some of the same party discovered the Lower Blue Lick spring. They were probably a portion of Gen. Thompson's party-as both were from Penn- sylvania .¿

In the year 1774, Wm. McConnell explored the land on Lawrence creek, and " was desirous of improving for himself at the liek near where the town of Washington now stands." So say several depositions of Alex. MeClelland, in 1803 and 1804. It is not known that any other explorers were out in the county during that year, although Harrod's and Hite's two companies of 42 men passed down the Ohio, and up the Kentucky, into what are now Mercer and Boyle counties-so thoroughly was the spirit of adventure checked, that season, by the Indian hostilities, which culminated in the great battle at Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Kanawha river, Oct. 10, 1774.

Several Companies of Improvers, in 1775, visited Mason county, selecting, and in some cases surveying the rich cane lands. In April, Chas. Lecompte,

* While Mr. Gist's distances are not very far wrong, his courses are in great error. t Withers' Border Warfare ; Marshall, i, 11; Bradford's Notes on Kentucky ; and Depositions.

f Journals of the McAfee Brothers ; also, Depositions of James McAfee and Samuel Adams, May, 1797.

Depositions of Capt. Thos. Young, Nov. 24, 1804, Aug. 13, 1810, etc., and of Simon Kenton, Aug. 15, 1814.

2 Depositions of John Finley, June 22, 1802, etc.

550

MASON COUNTY.

Wm. McConnell, Alex. McClelland, Andrew McConnell, Francis McConnell, John McClelland, and David Perry, came from the Monongahela country to Kentucky to improve lands-first, up the Kentucky river to the Elkhorn country. In June, they set out to return-the last five across the country to the mouth of Lawrence creek, which they reached in advance of the others, who came by canoe to the same point. They went up that creek, and, near Washington, and on other forks of the creek, made improvements-two of the cabins of split ash and logs, some of the logs quartered, the roof or ribs of round poles. Their appointed place of meeting was " the Indian camp," near where Kenton's station was afterwards built .*

In May, 1775, a company of 10 young men-Samuel Wells, Haydon Wells, Thos. Tebbs, John Tebbs, John Rust, Matthew Rust, Thos. Young, Win. Trip- . lett, Richard Masterson, and Jonathan Higgs-came from Virginia to Mason county, to survey and improve lands. They went on below to Bracken county, then ieturned to their camp at Limestone creek, whence in June they explored, and then surveyed between 12,000 and 20,000 aeres lying between the Ohio river hills and the North fork, from the mouth of Wells' creek to above Mill creek. They built for each of the party a cabin, covered with bark, and deadened trees around them; Higgs' cabin was near the east end of York street, in Washington. John Rust and Haydon Wells had a fight so des- perate and prolonged that Matthew Rust, in his deposition, spoke of it as a ' damnation fight." From that circumstance, the creek on which it occurred was for some years known as " Battle creek," but since as Wells' creek.j

It appears from depositions that James Gilmore, Ignatius Mitchell, Col. Calamore's company, and several others, were in Mason county in 1775.

In the year 1776, what is now Mason county fairly swarmed with visitors. and " improvers " from Virginia and Pennsylvania-in most cases, of the lat- ter class, many of whom came to select their future homes, while others " improved " for friends or for speculation. As already stated, these improve- ments varied greatly ; from deadening a few trees and marking initials upon them, up to a log cabin, sometimes covered with bark, but generally uncovered, clearing a patch of ground and planting corn. The men remained generally from two to four weeks.

Two of these companies came in the latter part of January. One-com- posed of David Perry, John Lafferty, Hugh Shannon [one of the company who, in June, 1775, had given the name of Lexington to the spot where that beautiful city was founded in 1779], Joseph Blackford, and John Warfield- improved on Lawrence creek, where Joseph Wilson found them. Another company-Wm. Watkins, Jas. Thomas, Andrew Zane, Wm. White, and -. Blair -- had preceded them a few days, landing at Limestone .;

In February, came a 3d company, of 10-Samuel Wells, Haydon Wells, Thos. Tebbs, John Tebbs, Matthew Rust, John Rust [it is thus observable how the early adventurers came in families, often brothers-in-law and consins, as well as sons or brothers], Thos. Young, Wm. Bartlett, Richard Masterson, and John Heggs (or Higgs)-who improved mainly on the North (then called the East) fork of Licking, between the mouths of Lee and Mill creeks; building 10 cabins, one for each of the company, on as many improvements, usually half to three quarters of a mile apart .;

Other companies in 1776, were : One of 7-Samuel Boggs, Win. Lindsay, Joseph Lindsay, John Vance, David Vance, Andrew Steele, and Wm. Bartlett- who built 2 cabins for each, thus making 14 improvements, mainly on Mill creek and its small branches. While thus improving, Bartholomew Fitz- gerald (a member of another company ) paid them a visit, and selected a site where he afterwards built a mill-dam, well known in 1796 as his Fitzgerald's company-John Simrall, John MeGrew, John Williams, Thos White, and perhaps others-also improved upon and near Mill creek, and kept an accu- rate journal of their improvements, which they used and all parties relied upon, when the permanent surveys were made in 1784. When they reached

* Depositions of Alex. MeClelland, May 26, 1797, Oet. 18, 1503, April 5, 1804.

t Depositions of several of the company, 1795 to 1804.

# Depositions of Joseph Wilson, Ww. Bartlett, Richard Masterson, Matthew Rust, Simon Kenton, Andrew McConnell, Thos. Tebbs, and 21 others.

551

MASON COUNTY.

the mouth of Mill creek, they found an improvement had already been made there.

In March, 1776, Wm. McConnell (at whose cabin, improperly called a station, near where Lexington now is, that city was so happily named, in the June preceding), Francis MeConnell, Sen., Francis McConnell, Jr., Alex. McClelland, and David Perry, built several cabins and deadened timber on the head waters of Lawrence creek, w. and N. w. of Washington. One of these, which fell by lot to Francis McConnell, Sen., he exchanged with Col. Robert Patterson for an improvement the latter had made, 2ths of a mile below Lexington, on the waters of the Town fork of Elkhorn. Thus early was the trading of lands initiated by the trading of improvements, which were really only land-claims. It was at a later date, however, that some analytical mind, regarding the predisposition to trade as an innate principle, described man as the " trading animal."

In April, 1776, Geo. Stockton, John Fleming, Sam. Strode, and Wm. McClary, passed through the eastern end of Mason county, and made several improvements in what is now Fleming county. They also improved for Strode, in Mason county, the spot on Strode's run, a branch of the North Fork, where he afterwards settled and had a small station.

In the beginning of April, 1776, John McCausland, Wm. Biggs, Geo. Dea- kins, and James Duncan came down the Ohio, and spent about 10 days in what is now Mason county. Landing at Limestone, they "were met by a man who called himself Simon Butler, the same now called Kenton ;"* who conducted them out from the river, along a war path for some distance, then turned off to a camp he had on Lawrence creek, where they staid some time; thence he conducted them to a canebrake (now Washington), and to other places. At several places, they made improvements and built cabins. None but Kenton had ever been in Kentucky before.

In the same month, April, 1776, a company of 9-John Virgin, Rezin Virgin, Thos. Dickerson, Henry Dickerson, James Boggs, John Lyon, James Kelly, Wm. Markland, and Wm. Graden-came down the Ohio, to the mouth of Cabin creek, where they met Simon Kenton, who piloted them down to the mouth of Limestone creek, and thence to his camp on Lawrence creek, and to the " canebrake where Washington now stands." They established a, " station camp" near the head of the right hand fork of Wells' creek; and after improving around there, and finding that several companies had pre- ceded them and selected many choice spots, they went into what is now Bourbon county, and improved on Stoner. The company, except Deakins and Graden, returned up the Ohio, in June.

In May, 1776, John Fitzgerald, James Batterton, and Richard Masterson came down the Ohio, made cabins and deadened trees on the s. side of the North Fork.

In June or July, 1776, Patrick Jordan, James Waters, Thos. Clark, and R. Hendricks built a few rounds of a cabin on a branch of Johnson's fork of Licking, belted a few trees, and marked a white oak tree, R H 1776. This was afterwards known as James Waters' entry.

In June or July, 1776, Simon Kenton and his employe, Thos. Williams, went with Geo. Deakins, "a stranger in this country," to show him where he might improve safely, on Kenton's run, a small branch of the North Fork. Kenton left Williams to assist Deakins in building a cabin.

In the same month, Simon Kenton and Samuel Arrowsmith assisted Jacob Drennon to build a cabin on the waters of Mill creek. [This is the same Drennon for whom was named the spring where Kenton in 1784 built his station, that became the most celebrated N. of Bryan's station and Lexing- ton.] Arrowsmith at another place cleared about half an acre of land, and cultivated it in corn-the only crop known to have been raised in the county in that year. He was driven off by Indians, but the field was known for many years as "Smith's corn-field."

* John McCausland's deposition, Aug. 11, 1793. This entire narrative of explora- tion in 1775 and 1776 is made up from the depositions of the explorers themselves, in land suits in the courts of Mason, Bourbon, Fayette, and other counties.

552

MASON COUNTY.

During the same summer, on a branch of Lee's creek, itself a branch of the North Fork, another company-Isaac Pearce, Wm. Harrison, Robert Harrison, and Henry Byles or Boyle-built several cabins and made other improvements.

Ignatius Mitchell, Daniel Brown, -. Hunter, and a company of men, in the suinmer of 1776, were improving in the bottom immediately above the mouth of Lawrence creek-which several Indians at Fort Pitt had told Mitch ell were "the best banks they knew." Mitchell built a cabin and improved some; and, a few years later, settled and lived there for many years.

With the year 1776 ceased, in great measure, until the year 1784, this extraor- dinary fever for selecting lands, for future homes or for speculation, in the wilds of Kentucky. The spirit of "improving" was lost in the prudent re- gard for personal safety. With the Indians " upon the war-path," the whites were compelled to constant watchfulness. . Exposure without great care was to court almost certain death by the rifle and tomahawk, or by the gaunt- let and fire. So few white men visited this county, this year, and so great and pervading was the danger, that even that fearless woodsman and great lover of the wilds of nature, Simon Kenton, " from 1777 to 1781 generally resided on the south side of the Kentucky river."* In Jan. 1777, he was the pilot of the party which came from Harrodsburg to the Three Islands for the powder, which Geo. Rogers Clark and John Gabriel Jones had brought to that point and secreted (see full details under Lewis county). In 1778, he crossed the Ohio river at Limestone on a scout; and, later in that year, himself fell a prisoner to the Indians, and did not make his escape until the summer of 1779. Daniel Boone himself passed along Stone Lick, in the eastern end of the county, in Feb., 1778. In 1783, Simon Kenton landed at Limestone, and passed on by way of the Lower Blue Licks to Danville. In 1780, a few authorized surveys were made in the county ; an increased number in 1782-83; while in 1784-85 came the comparative flood of surveys, corresponding with the flood of improving companies in 1776.

The First Crop raised in Mason county was of corn, by Simon Kenton, in 1775. At the point below described-[why the spring was known as Drennon's, after Jacob Drennon, instead of Kenton's, after Simon Kenton, is not explained, except by the supposition that when here in 1773 Drennon may have followed up Lawrence creek until he discovered it]-Kenton and his companion, a young man named Thomas Williams, in May, made a camp, cleared with their tomahawks a small piece of ground, and from the remains of some corn procured from a French trader for parching, planted the first corn ever planted at any point on the north side of the Licking river. During the same season, several other "improvers " or explorers planted corn (and in one case snap beans) on or near Hinkson, the Town fork of Elkhorn, and Lulbegrud creeks-in Harrison, Fayette, and Clark counties. In 1776, Samuel Arrowsmith, as already stated, planted corn in Mason county-the only known instance in that year, or until 1784 or 1785. James Mckinley sowed the first wheat in the county, on the farm now owned by David Hun- ter, near Washington.

Fortified Possession of Mason county was not taken until the summer and fall of 1784. Once taken, it was never relinquished ; the power of the Indian was broken; his hunting ground, this favorite portion of it, was gone. Pos- session was not yielded without a struggle. Although the stations in this region were never regularly besieged, as had been the whole circuit of sta- tions in the interior, from 1777 to 1782, yet Indian forays for murder and horse-stealing were common. The first settlers knew no exemption from the most approved methods of savage aggression. As the mode of emigration in 1784 began to change somewhat-was enlarged from the canoe and periogue to the " Kentucky boat," " broadhorn," or cominon flat-boat of the present day-a new field of operations was opened to the Indian which he was not slow to cultivate.

* Depositions of Simon Kenton, June 5, 1824 ; of Daniel Boone, Sept. 22, 1817 ; and others.

553

MASON COUNTY.

Tecumseh in 1785, when about 17 years of age, manifested signal prowess in an attack on some family boats, on the Ohio river, near Maysville. The boats were captured, and the passengers all killed-except one person, who was burnt alive. Tecumseh was a silent spectator, never before having wit- nessed the burning of a prisoner. After it was over, he expressed his strong abhorrence of the act, and by his eloquence, young as he was, persuaded bis party never to burn any more prisoners.

The First Water Mill established in Mason county, with distillery attached, was probably that of Jolin Nichols, about the year 1787, on the N. side of the North fork of Licking, half a mile below the mouth of Mill creek.

The First Number of the First Newspaper ever printed in Kentucky or at any point west of Pittsburgh, was one-half set up in type, and the first form locked up, in Limestone (Maysville), early in August, 1787, by Fielding Bradford-while waiting for a wagon to transport the printing material to Lexington, where it appeared on Aug. 18th, as the KentuckE Gazette. The veteran printer was still living, in July, 1839, on his farm two miles from Georgetown, Ky. Singular to relate, John Bradford, the editor, in that first number announced that "in the carriage of them from Limestone, a great part of the types fell into pi "-the first dish of " printer's pi" in the now great west.

The Muster-Roll of the Spies employed against the Indians, from the county of Mason, by virtue of instructions from Brig. Gen. James Wilkinson, dated Fort Washington (now Cincinnati), March 31, 1792, is still preserved by the family of the late Gen. Henry Lee, then county-lieutenant of Mason county. The names of the spies were Mercer Beason, Archibald Bennett, Wm. Ben- nett, Henry Cochran, Samuel Davis, John Dowden, John Dyal, Matthew Hart, James Ireland, Ellis Palmer, Isaac Pennington, Cornelius (or Neal) Washburn. Most of them were employed from May 4th to Dec. 9th, 1792.

The First Grist Mill in Kentucky at any point north of Bryan's station, near Lexington, was at Limestone (now Maysville), about the year 1785, and is thus described in a letter from the Hon. George Corwine, of Portsmouthi, Ohio, written in 1842. He says: " It was made of timber, stone, and buffalo hides ; I am not sure there was any iron about it. It came not within the scope of things worshipped in idolatry, for it was like nothing else, either on the earth or in the patent office. It was to grind corn into meal to make mush and johnny-cakes. It was constructed of round logs, set in the ground to make them stand up. Over them a roof of bark, under which was an up- right shaft turning on a wooden gudgeon or pivot. Over the horse, for it was a horse-mill, extended arms from the upright shaft; and in these were holes like as you sometimes see in the arms of blades or swifts on which weavers put skeins of yarn to wind. In these holes were pins, over or around which was thrown a long buffalo hide tug, or rope, made by cutting hides round and round into long strips and twisting them. The different holes in the arms were for the purpose of tightening this tug or band. From these arms the tug extended to and around the trundle to which the running stone was attached ; and to prevent its slipping, the tug was crossed between the long arms and the trundle, which was a short log with a groove cut round it. More effectually to prevent slipping, a bucket of tar was kept ready to daub it. Still it was with great difficulty that the mill could be kept going, even when the horses moved, and it was sure to stop when they did. It required a man like Job to tend this mill, but the miller was not one of that tempera- ment. He always seemed to doubt or distrust the performance of his machine, and to be continually on the lookout for some disaster or disappointment. I was once present when he got in a team of fractious horses, which broke his tug and otherwise deranged the parts of his mill; which made him ex- claim, among other hard words, that such horses were enough to drive . Satan out of hogs.'

The Prices of Provisions and country produce in 1790 are in astonishing contrast with those of the present day : Beef, at Washington, was then only 2 to 24 cents per pound, buffalo beef 14 cents, venison If cents, butter i to 8} cents, turkeys 12} to 163 cents each, potatoes 50 cents per barrel, flour $5 per barrel, beer 25 cents per gallon by the barrel, and whiskey 50 cents.

554

MASON COUNTY.

Robert Mc Clure .- Under an officer of the regular army, Major Hamtranek, a number of men were on an expedition near Maysville. They lost horses, every night, by the Indians, who followed cautiously. Robert MeClure (the same who had .the desperate adventure with Davis and Caffree, mentioned under Lincoln county ) proposed to take a scalp, if allowed ; and consequently left the camp a mile or so, concealing himself in the tall grass. At a suitable hour, he emerged near the path, and rang a bell, so as to imitate a belled horse; then hid, to watch. Soon an Indian came peering along, stretching his neck to see ; when MeClure shot him, ran up and tore off his scalp, and escaped to camp .*

The next night, McClure and two other men, one named Crary, put a bell on an old white horse of little value, and slipped out of camp with him to wait for Indian thieves. A gallon of rum being the prize for a scalp, they agreed to shoot at different parts of the body, so as to identify the successful one-MeClure agreeing to shoot at the loins, which would cripple him and thus prevent escape, Crary at the heart, and the third man at the head. They had not waited long, when a solitary Indian appeared, and all three fired; then, fearful of a party of Indians, hurriedly escaped to the camp. Next morning, a force was sent out. When near the spot, McClure called out, " Where are you, Indian ?" and he replied from his hiding place, " Here mne." One of the company shot him. It was soon apparent that he had been bleed- ing all night, from the wound in his loins. But Crary so positively claimed the successful shot that, as MeClure was careless about it, Maj. Haitranck gave to Crary the rum, but swore he believed that McClure had killed the Indian.

The First County Court in Mason County met at the house of Robert Rankin, in the town of Washington, May 26, 1789. Among other acts, they adopted the following rates for tavern-keepers : [A Kentucky shilling was 163 cents. ]

£ s. d.

A warm dinner 1 3

Corn, per gallon. .0 8

A cold dinner. 1 3

Whiskey, per half pint. .0

A warm breakfast, with tea or coffee, etc 1 3

West India Rum, per half pint ... 1 0

Continent Rum, .0 9

A cold breakfast, with tea or Apple or Peach Brandy, per half coffee, etc 1 0 pint. 0 9

Lodging, with clean sheets. 0 9

Madeira Wine, per quart 6 (

Stablage and hay, per night 1 3 Pasturage, per night. 0 6

Cider or Beer, per quart 0 9

An Expedition against the Indians, which started at Washington, about 1792, had a startling and terrible termination at the mouth of Limestone creek. Just after entering the boat to be ferried over the Ohio, and while it was still in the creek, the restlessness of some of the party upset the frail vessel, and carried them all down. Not more than half of the men rose to the surface and were saved-among the latter David S. Brodrick, for a short time a merchant and then one of the first tavern-keepers at Washington, and grand- father of the present Jos. Forman Brodrick, of Maysville. He was held under the water by the death-grip of a large and strong man, and only released and saved himself by the most remarkable exertions.

Simon Kenton had his peculiarities, one of which is nowhere better illus .. trated than in a letter now before the editor, written by S. Morgan to James Marshall, March 30, 1786-which says that Kenton, when sent to for pro- visions by a party who were employed by him to survey lands which he had contracted to survey, sent back word to Morgan that " he had no provisions for him, and would, the first time he could lay his hands on him, give him (Morgan) a flogging." He often disappointed such parties, and delayed them about furnishing the notes and directions for survey-even when in his power to obtain them by a little exertion.

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Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II, Part 89

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