USA > Kentucky > Trigg County > Counties of Christian and Trigg, Kentucky : historical and biographical > Part 31
USA > Kentucky > Christian County > Counties of Christian and Trigg, Kentucky : historical and biographical > Part 31
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Near the village of Bennettstown, about fifty years ago, occurred one of the most terrible tragedies which the annals of Christian County fur- nish. It was the killing of Garrison Fort, by John Covington. The killing occurred at the spring in the old Titherington field. Thomas Covington kept a small grocery there and these parties met, and in the course of a night's carouse Covington killed Fort by shooting him through the heart with a rifle.
One of the most notable schools in the Flat Lick settlement was es- tablished about the year 1845, near Bennettstown, and was known as " Pleasant Valley School." Milus E. Mckenzie was the first teacher, and he was succeeded by Edward Rudder, an old Virginia, old field school teacher, not especially celebrated for learning, but certainly one of the best disciplinarians that ever lived. He had a peculiar way of pun- ishing bad boys which he called " Riding Baldy." The manner in which " Baldy " was ridden, was for old man Rudder to take the refractory boy gently across his lap, give him a little jog-trot with his knees and then whip him until he could see all the stars in the firmament. Many gray- haired men now living in Christian County can recall the time when they took their first riding lesson in Rudder's school.
The church at Pleasant Valley, near Bennettstown, has long since fallen into decay. Forty years ago it was the center of a large Method- ist congregation. It was here that Branch Drinkard worshiped and Jack Harris prayed with a fervor that would melt the very stones. The site of the old church is now a cultivated field and most of the worship- ers have passed into the great beyond.
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The first postoffice in Lafayette Precinct was called " Mantua," and was located on the farm now owned by James E. Stevenson, about one mile northeast of Bennettstown. This was about the year 1820, and postage was then 25 cents per letter. The first Postmaster was James Stevenson.
Of the early settlers of Flat Lick there are but few descendants living in the vicinity to-day. The whole Marshall family are gone. But few of the descendants of the Forts, who were the very first settlers, remain, and only two of the McGees, George Washington McGee and Benjamin McGee, remain to represent a family which in the early part of this century could count on its muster-roll the names of fifty persons who lived in what is called " Flat Lick."
Garrettsburg is much more modern than Lafayette Precinct, both in organization and in settlement. Among those termed early settlers we may mention the following : Thomas, James, Robert and Stephen Rives, Garrett M. Quarles, Capt. Joseph Hopson, David Brame, Elijah Taylor, John McGee and wife, George and John Wills, George Gribbey, Wiley B. Jones, Dr. J. C. Boyd, Maj. James Ghoulson, Mrs. Miles Rives, George C. Boyd, etc., etc. There were four brothers of the Rives, and all settled in the southern part of the precinct. They were originally from North Carolina. Quarles was a lawyer, and came from Virginia and settled in the neighborhood of the Rives. Garrettsburg was named for him. Col. Hopson settled on the place afterward owned by G. M. Quarles east of Garrettsburg. David Brame came from North Carolina, ยท and settled on the place now owned by Mrs. M. E. Bacon, north of Gar- rettsburg ; Elijah Taylor settled one mile west of Garrettsburg on the place now owned by C. W. Brame. The McGees and Wills from Cum- berland County came very early. George Gribbey came from South Carolina and Wiley B. Jones from Tennessee. Dr. J. C. Boyd came from Virginia. Maj. James Ghoulson came early-he commanded a battalion in the battle of the Thames. George C. Boyd was a distin- guished lawyer, who afterward moved to Clarksville and became a law partner of Cave Johnson, Postmaster-General under President Polk.
Maj. John Poindexter came from Louisa County, Va., about 1830. He was in the war of 1812, and afterward reared a large and distinguished family. He lived on the place still owned by his descendants, southeast of Garrettsburg. J. Poindexter came about 1834 ; he was Captain of a battery in war of 1812; was Representative of Louisa County and was also Clerk and Sheriff of the same. His son, G. G. Poindexter, was Assistant Postmaster-General under President Buchanan. Other early settlers were Col. J. D. Morris, Ambrose Davie, Richard G. White, Sion Hunt, Henry Galbraith, David Wooten, George Fox, Nestor Boone, George
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Trible, Joseph and James Hutchinson, Elder Davenport, George N. Whitfield, M. K. White, John Wooldridge and many others whom space will not allow us to mention. Some of these became noted people in the history of the country. Maj .- Gen. William A. Quarles was a son of Col. G. M. Quarles, was born in 1825, and removed to Clarksville, Tenn., in 1847, where he practiced law ; Hon. J. M. Quarles is now Judge of the Criminal Court at Nashville, and former Congressman from that district.
As to the way people lived in the pioneer days, it is given in other pages of this volume and need not be repeated here. They lived hard and had but few comforts-that is indisputable. They had to go twenty or thirty miles to mill, and could not always get grinding then without waiting for it several days. Other necessaries were equally as hard to obtain, except meat, which the forest furnished in the greatest abun- dance.
The church history of Garrettsburg and Lafayette Precincts dates back almost to the settlement of the whites. The Baptist Church was first organized at Noah's Springs near the Tennessee line about the year 1820, Elder Warfield, Pastor. The earlier members were Burgess Poole, Mrs. Betsey Poindexter, Col. William Atkinson and wife, John Clardy and wife, Jesse Giles, Samuel and Birch White, Mrs. Sophia Rives, etc. About 1830-31, a division took place, the church property passing to the followers of Mr. Campbell, and the Baptists building a small church north- west of Garrettsburg. In 1856, finding it was inconveniently situated, it was sold to John Fleming, and a new church-the present one-built on the Palmyra road, a half mile north of town. The building was deeded to A. G. Sims and J. B. White, Trustees for the church. Among the pastors of the old church were Elders Richard Nixon, R. T. Anderson and N. Lacy. The present pastor is J. G. Kendall ; the membership is about fifty persons.
A Methodist Church was built about 1855 on the Palmyra road near the site of the Baptist Church. Among the early members were John W. Woodson, William Kay, Mrs. Judith Woodson, Mrs. Martha Moore, Mrs. Sallie Moss, Thomas Adams and wife, Robert Ford and wife and daughter, and others. The members have died, scattered out among other churches, and otherwise disappeared, and the property suffered to fall into decay.
The following sketch of the old Presbyterian Church was furnished us by Mr. J. A. Boyd, and will be found of considerable interest :
Between the years 1814 and 1816 a large number of families, includ- ing the Stevensons, Sherrills, Mckenzies, Gilmours, Ewings, Boyds, Bronaughs, Callisons, etc., left Iredell County, N. C., and settled in Christian County, Ky. Having the blood of the Scotch Covenanters in
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their veins, they brought with them the Presbyterian faith and formed what was probably the first Presbyterian Church south of Green River, in the southern part of Christian County, near what is known as Sinking Spring, located on the farm now owned by Benjamin Coleman, about the year 1817 or 1818. The congregation had no regular place of worship, but met usually at a schoolhouse near the Sinking Spring, and sometimes at the houses of its respective members. It was organized under the pastoral superintendence of Rev. William K. Stuart, and its first Ruling Elders were James Gilmour and James Stevenson, with about thirty mem- bers. One of these Ruling Elders, James Gilmour, was probably the first Presbyterian who settled in southern Kentucky, his church member- ship extending through more than sixty years. He died in his ninetieth year in 1834. After an existence of about twelve years the church, then known as the Union Society of Sinking Spring, built a log church at Blue Water about one mile south of Sinking Spring which was called Blue Water Church, and was solemnly dedicated to the service of God on the second Sunday in May, 1830, with Rev. Thomas Caldwell as Pastor, and Robert Callison, James Gilmour, James Stevenson, Jacob Sherrill and George Gilmour as Ruling Elders and Deacons, and with a member- ship of thirty-five persons. The church prospered under the pastoral care of Rev. Mr. Caldwell until his death, which occurred November 5, 1843. After Mr. Caldwell's death, Rev. W. D. Jones became pastor, with W. W. Mckenzie, John W. Ewing and William L. Stevenson as additional members of the session. Subsequently, Moses Boyd, Dr. J. C. Metcalf and T. P. World were added to the corps of Elders. The church records, which are vague and badly kept, do not show how long Mr. Jones re- tained his pastorate, but he was succeeded by Rev. William Hamilton, about 1837.
About the year 1831 a new church was erected in Lafayette, and the congregation at Blue Water removed to that point, where they con- tinued to worship under the pastoral care of Rev. William Hamilton, Rev. B. H. McCown, Rev. F. G. Strahan, Rev. Fraser, Rev. S. W. Luckett, Rev. T. J. Bracken and Rev. W. Duncan, until within the last few years, when the church house became unsafe and was sold. The proceeds, together with general subscriptions on the part of many excellent people, were invested in the new church house in which we now worship. The records of this church organization show that its highest membership was in 1850 and numbered seventy-eight persons, and its lowest in 1873, and numbered eighteen persons.
Being first known as the Union Society of Sinking Spring, next as Blue Water Church, next as Lafayette Church, it is now to be known as " Mckenzie's Chapel or Kirk," in honor of W. W. Mckenzie, who was
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present at its organization and who has been a member of it since 1829. He has been for more than half a century a Ruling Elder in its service. The present Elders are W. W. Mckenzie and J. A. Boyd.
Of the early schools of Garrettsburg we know but little, but no doubt they were similar to those in other portions, and particularly to the south- ern portion of the county. Louis E. Duke was an excellent teacher in the early times, and taught at Col. Quarles' residence. Among the noted men who may be mentioned among his pupils are : G. G. Poindexter, W. A. and J. M. Quarles, Dr. Edmund T. Wilkins, Superintendent of Insane Asylum of California ; Dr. J. N. Metcalf, and M. H. Johnson, late editor of the Memphis Avalanche; M. D. Davie, Austin Peay, present State Senator, and Capts. C. and Darwin Bell, and many others.
The village of Garrettsburg was first settled about the year 1834 by Albert L. Jones. He built a small story and a half house with a frame shed, and brought on a small stock of goods. N. B. Dixon now lives in the house. Mr. Jones sold residence and store to Richard Hester, and about 1840 built further down the Palmyra road. The dwelling still stands and is occupied by J. E. Bazley. In 1835 J. B. White came, and in 1841 removed with his family to Garrettsburg, built the residence where they now reside, and a blacksmith shop in which he followed his trade. In 1856 he commenced merchandising in the storeroom formerly owned by S. R. White, and in 1862 built the storeroom in which he now does business. About 1845, L. F. Chilton removed to Garrettsburg from Shelby County with his family and commenced building the residence now owned by Dr. J. M. Metcalf and occupied by Dr. J. R. Payne. In 1836, H. E. Bacon, then about seventeen years of age, came to the vil- lage and began clerking for Mr. Jones, and continued until in 1846, when he began business for himself. About 1854 he built a storehouse on the west side of the road, into which he removed and continued busi- ness till 1880. Just before his death he built a large frame residence, into which he removed but a short time before he died. In 1854 William Kay built a store on the west side of the road, in which he did business for two or three years. N. B. Dixon owns and does business in it.
The little village has witnessed some stirring scenes. In 1867 A. L. Jones was shot and killed by Dr. J. N. Metcalf in a personal rencounter in front of his store. Jones fired the first shot, striking the Doctor in the leg just above the knee. The Doctor returned the fire with one barrel of his shot gun, hitting Jones in the thigh, who fell to the ground, and almost immediately received the contents of the other barrel about the head and face, and from the effects died in a few minutes.
During the late war, perhaps in 1862, some four or five of Col. Woodward's men rode into town from the west and attacked about the
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same number of Col. Ransom's command, who were having their horses shod at George Wills' shop. The Federals charged them in turn and routed them, but with the loss of two of their number killed, one of the rebels slightly wounded. The same evening about supper time Col. Ran- som attacked Col. Woodward, who had gone into camp on Maj. John Thomas' place, surprising him, and killing some five or six of his men. Mrs. Elizabeth Clardy, mother of Dr. Flem Clardy, went the next day and had the dead coffined and buried on Thomas' place, whence they were afterward removed by their friends .- Perrin.
nelle
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CHAPTER XIV.
MOUNT VERNON, WILSON, FRUIT HILL AND STEWART PRECINCTS-EARLY SETTLERS IN MOUNT VERNON-TOPOGRAPHY OF NORTHEAST CHRIS- TIAN-SETTLEMENTS IN FRUIT HILL-THE ROBINSONS-WILSON PRE- CINCT PIONEERS-THE SETTLING OF STEWART PRECINCT-CHURCHES, AND THEIR EARLY WORKS IN THIS PORTION OF THE COUNTY-THE HARD-SHELLS AND UNIVERSALISTS -- SCHOOLS-COAL, ETC., ETC.
T THERE is much of romance in the story of the first settlers who came to these Western wilds. They were allured by the spirit of adventure as well as the hope of bettering their condition, and to attain the realization of their dreams they braved the perils and privations of the journey to this vast Western wilderness. And what a journey ! From Virginia and from North and South Carolina to Kentucky. Surely only stout hearts and brave spirits dared make the venture. Braver spirits and stouter hearts never dared the perils of the way or faced the onset of a foe, than these same sturdy pioneers into the wilderness of the then " far West." They took their lives in their hands, and with their wives and families, on foot, on horseback and in rude wagons, made the journey. This, it is true, was " the dark and bloody ground," but this also was the " happy hunting ground " and the very " Canaan of Prom- ise " to their imaginations. Dangers might lie on every side, and painted warriors lurk behind each tree, but beyond was a land of inviting plenty and abundance-beyond was a land of more than fabled wealth. Here were lands for the mere having-homes, food, raiment and freedom. Here were forests of fine timber, streams of flowing water and broad stretches of fertile prairie lands, deer, buffaloes, bears, turkeys and all the smaller game.
Mount Vernon Precinct .- To this part of the county of which we now write came principally emigrants from the Carolinas. They were a brave, adventurous set, and were well worthy to become the progenitors of so hardy a race as the present population of northeast Christian. The first, or one among the first, who came to the Mount Vernon Precinct was not from either of the Carolinas, nor from Virginia, but from the good old State of Pennsylvania, the Germany of America. He was a sturdy old German named Fritz, and located on the West Fork of Little River, where he carried on a blacksmith shop for many years. He had four sons, Solomon, William, Michael and John, and as many daughters,
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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY.
Polly, Betsey, Susan and Melinda. Sol was a gunsmith and a good one too, and was highly appreciated for his skill in this line by the hunters for miles around. Altogether they were an industrious, worthy family. They came as early as 1790-91, and perhaps earlier, and opened up the farm now owned by Messrs. Steele, Dulin and Shaw.
Another family that came about the same time but not from the same place, and settled on the West Fork, was that of William Shaw. At an early day he built a horse-mill on his place, which was resorted to from far and near. He had two sons, James and William, twins, and four or five daughters. The Shaws came from South Carolina. George Shaw, a grandson, still lives at the old place. William Cannon, a Carolinian, came about 1790 also, and located on the East Fork of Little River, about one mile north of Benjamin Harned. He remained till about 1812, when he and his family removed to the Wabash country, where, shortly after, he and his son Isaac and his son-in-law John Starks, were mur- dered and scalped by the Indians, and his wife and two daughters car- ried into captivity. Mrs. Cannon and her two daughters, after suffering many indignities and cruelties, were upon the conclusion of peace ex- changed and restored by the Indians to their friends.
Several years later Joseph Hays moved in from either North or South Carolina, itis not now certain which, and settled on a place between the two forks of Little River, Eastand West Fork. He was a Methodist, perhaps one of the very first of this persuasion to settle in the neighborhood, and was highly esteemed for his piety and good works. He had a large fam- ily of daughters, one of whom, Polly, was an old maid. One day Larkin Harned, who was a youth just budding into manhood, and who was desir- ous of taking a lesson in love-making from some experienced hand before making his debut among the girls, called on Miss Polly. After hemming and hawing and blushing and stammering for a while in the vain effort to acquaint her with the object of his mission, he finally succeeded, when, much to his discomforture, she leaned toward him with a peculiar gesture and a most maternal air, and said, "Larkin, I guess you need a little milk, son." Whether the youth improved upon the suggestion or not does not appear, but the lesson was effectual nevertheless, at least Larkin did not enter the lists again for several years. About the year 1800 there was quite an influx from Georgia, Virginia and the Carolinas into the county. Among others were William Warren, an old Revolutionary soldier, who bought the old Cannon place; Gideon Tighlman, a bachelor ; Ezekiel Wood, Thomas and James Vaughn, and William Morrow, a brother-in-law of the Vaughns. Wood was a saddler, James Vaughn ran a distillery and Morrow was a farmer. The latter built on the present site of Mount Vernon. James Crabtree, a North Carolinian, in 1800
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settled on the place where John Harrison now lives. He brought some fifty slaves with him, much fine furniture and silver plate, and maintained quite an air of state. Besides running a blacksmith shop and his farm, he is said to have manufactured both castor and linseed oils. He owned more than 1,000 acres of rich land, and besides was rich in sons and daughters. Their descendants still live in the county.
About the same time, 1800, Benjamin and James Colvin Harned, brothers, moved to the county, the former settling on the head waters of Little River, the latter near by. When a young man, Benjamin worked at the salt works in Western Virginia and made more than one narrow es- cape from the hostiles of that region. With his family, some time before the beginning of the present century, he moved from Kanawha to Hardin County. While there the Indians massacred a family in the neighbor- hood, and were pursued by a party led by Bob Samuels and Peter Ken- nedy. They came up with them about daylight, attacked and after a fight in which one of their number was killed, succeeded in killing all but two of the enemy. One of these was desperately wounded, and was tracked by the blood, which he vainly endeavored to stanch by wads of leaves pressed into the orifice of his wound. On coming up with him he was summarily dispatched. Thus all but one of the marauding party were killed, and even he it is supposed by some died near by of wounds received in the fight. Some years afterward the body of an Indian was found in a cave near the scene of conflict, and was supposed to be the body of the missing brave. After this, the last Indian raid into that part of the State, Harned moved with his family to Christian. Mr. Larkin Harned, who lives on the Russellville road four miles from Hopkinsville, is a son of the old pioneer. The old Harned place is now owned by the " eleventh " Wood. Dr. Pyles came about 1812 from South Carolina and settled on the Press Cushman farm. He raised a large family, and when not under the influence of intoxicants was esteemed by his neighbors as a good physician.
Farther up the country, in the precincts of Wilson, Fruit Hill and Stewart, and reaching to the extreme northern point of the county, where it wedges in between Muhlenburg and Hopkins, there were settlements made quite as early as those we have mentioned in the Mount Vernon Pre- cinct. Indeed, it is an unquestioned fact that these and the other hill- lands of the north part of Christian were the first to be generally popu- lated, and their settlement was only antedated by the immediate settle- ment of John Montgomery and James Davis on the West Fork of Red River. The reason for this preference for the northern portion of the county was, as has been intimated, the convenience of building material, fuel and water, and perhaps the greater abundance of all kinds of game.
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While that portion of the Mount Vernon Precinct lying immediately along the borders of Casky and Pembroke is very much of the same character topographically as those precincts, but a short distance to the north the country begins to take on less inviting and more rugged features. The gentle undulations gradually grow into pronounced hills, which increase in height and ruggedness till they rise to the apex of the water-sheds of Pond River and its tributaries. The character of the land also changes, the soil becoming thinner and less productive, and the sand- stone rocks cropping out nearer the surface. This is the general com- plexion of these precincts, but there are many rich and productive spots to be found interspersed here and there between the hills and ridges and along the many water-courses, and everywhere there is a superabundance of good timber and pure, good water. It is especially eligible for the growth of fruits, and as a horticultural district may yet become a source of greater revenue to the county than the southern precincts with their more level and richer lands.
Fruit Hill Precinct .- The first comers into the Fruit Hill Precinct whose names can now be recalled came, pretty generally, from the Car- olinas also, and a few from Georgia and Virginia about the year 1800. There were others doubtless who came earlier, but their names have been buried with them, and are lost to the pages of history. Thomas Barnett came either from Georgia or one of the Carolinas about the beginning of the century, and opened up a farm on the Hopkinsville & Greenville road, near where the Pleasant Hill Church stands. The last elk seen in Christian is supposed to have died on his place. Jerome Harned now owns the old place. About three miles north of Barnett's, near the head waters of Little Caney, is the old Mathew Wilson farm, now owned by his son James, and which was also settled about the same time. The Wilsons came from one of the Carolinas.
Col. James Robinson and his brothers Abner and Green Robinson were long prominent citizens of this part of the county, and came from North Carolina. The Colonel was in the war of 1812, and commanded a regiment at the battle of New Orleans under Gen. Adair. He was a brave, quiet man, low and compact in figure, and very strong. He had a memorable fist encounter with one Wilkins, who is said to have been badly worsted by his antagonist. Green, the younger brother, moved to Illinois, and was killed in the Black Hawk war. Abner married Nancy Duty, was a good farmer, and a successful stock-raiser. He bred fine horses and took them to Lexington, where he disposed of them at a fine profit, and by this means helped to pay for the large tract of land he had purchased. He would labor on his farm all day, and at night go two miles to Blue Lick and kill deer for the family. The father of these
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brothers was James Robinson, who came in 1788. He is written up in a preceding chapter. There were three daughters also-Patsy, Mahala and Nancy. The first married McFarland, the second Hugh Wilkins, and Nancy was killed by the falling limb of a tree when a child. The Meachams, John, Andrew, Willis, Edmund and Wyatt, five brothers from one of the Carolinas, came also before or with the dawn of the nine- teenth century, all settling in the same neighborhood on the Blue Lick of Pond River. They were Calvinistic or Hard-shell Baptists, and two of the brothers were preachers of that faith. John Spurlin, Quentin Stewart, a millwright, Rayford Petty and Matthew Wilson were also among the early pioneers. The latter was the father of James, Lemuel, William and John Wilson. The names of many of these old people, as the names of many others who came after them, are still preserved in their descendants, and their memories will ever be revered as the avants couriers of the present civilization.
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