USA > Kentucky > Trigg County > Counties of Christian and Trigg, Kentucky : historical and biographical > Part 36
USA > Kentucky > Christian County > Counties of Christian and Trigg, Kentucky : historical and biographical > Part 36
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27
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
each, crossing each other at right angles ; and it is further ordered that Sevier Tadlock, William Redd, Charles Jones, Absalom Leavills, David Cooper, Levi Harlan and James Harlan are hereby appointed Trustees of said town." From this date the history of Cadiz proper begins.
The county levy at this term was fixed at 75 cents, and the following allowances for the year entered upon record :
To the Clerk of the Court for ex-officio services rendered by him
within the last six months. $ 20 00
To the Commonwealth's Attorney for same time. 16 00
To the Sheriff for same time. 17 00
To Abraham Sevills for a Clerk's table. 8 00
To Elizabeth Bell for keeping John White, an infant. 5 00
To same for keeping, clothing an orphan one year from this date. 60 00 To James Thompson, Jailor, for attending court six days 3 00
To Francis Summers, a Deputy Surveyor, for running this coun- ty's lines as per act. filed. 46 50
To Abraham Humphries, Jr., for carrying chain 14 days 14 00
To William Watts for 13 days rendering same service. 13 00
To John McCaughn for 10 days making survey .. 10 00
To Robert Baker for cash paid by him to Commissioners in fixing the seat of justice. 102 00
To John McCaughn, Surveyor of the county, for laying off the town of Cadiz and other services rendered as per acts filed .... ..
27 50
To Abraham Boyd, Esq., for attending as Judge of the last elec- tion 3 days. 3 00
To James Daniel for same service. 3 00
To James Coleman for same service 3 00
To Commissioners for contracting and superintending the build- ing of the jail of this county.
200 00
A deposition of.
76 00
Amount to be collected $630 00
Say 840 tithables in this county for the present year, on which a levy of 75 cents is and shall be laid, making $630. No further business of im- portance was transacted at this term.
The following year, 1821, the levy was fixed at 432 cents, and the number of tithables was 940. The allowances at the October term of 1821 aggregated $411.25. For 1822 the levy was fixed at 432 cents per tithable, and $444.052 were collected, making the number of tithes that year 1,015. The allowances at the October term amounted to $506.452. At the April term, 1821, the county was laid off into four precincts for the purpose of appointing Commissioners of the Tax therein. Abraham Boyd was appointed Sheriff in 1822, with Charles Linn, George H. Gor- don and John Boyd, securities.
The following incident is related by Mr. Mckinney : " The 16th day of October, 1820, being the regular day in course, court was begun and held at the seat of justice; present, Abraham Boyd, presiding Justice, with
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
his usual attendants. After some minor orders had been made and whilst Matthew Mays, a young man then County Attorney, was making an ex- amination of the conveyances from Robert Baker to the county, the Clerk William Cannon was busily engaged in drawing up the order giving the present boundaries of the town of Cadiz, the proceedings were suddenly in- terrupted by a loud yell and the discharge of a rifle in the bottom just back of the present residence of Ed Summers. The bottom at that time was covered with a heavy growth of beech and cane. For a time little attention was paid to it. By-and-by, however, the cry of "bear, bear" was heard. This caused a universal commotion in the court room, all hands rushing to the door, upsetting chairs, stools, tables and inkstands as they went out. Maj. Mays in laughing over it used to say that everybody was excited to death about the animal except the Clerk, who quietly went to work righting up his table and books and cursing the d-n heathens for upsetting the ink on his papers. There had a very large crowd gathered that day, and on reaching the door a large black bear, badly wounded, suddenly emerging from the thicket came rushing through the crowd, scattering men and horses in promiscuous confusion as he went. He came within thirty yards of the little log room in which they had assembled to hold the court, and passing over the hill he hauled up at the head of the big spring. Here Tommy Wadlington, with a rifle he had caught up from Baker's store, got in another shot. Finding matters still growing warmer, bruin skipped from there, and crossing the river just below Lindsay's old fishing place, was dispatched by an old hunter on the opposite bank."
At the September term of 1820, John Mayberry was recommended to the Judges of the Court of Appeals and the Circuit Court of the Com- monwealth as " a gentleman who intended to apply for a license to prac- tice law, and is a gentleman of property and honest demeanor." Silas Alexander was appointed Captain, and Tom Thompson, John Patton, William Smith and Augustine W. Holland his assistants.
Linn Boyd having produced his certificate from the Governor, was allowed to qualify as Paymaster of the Seventy-second Regiment of Ken- tucky Militia, after giving bond in penalty of $1,000. On the 15th of December, 1823, he was appointed Deputy Sheriff of Trigg County ; and on the 24th of May, following, on motion of George Boyd, was re- appointed. " What a wonderful incentive this is to young men of the present day. This same Linn Boyd, Deputy Sheriff of Trigg County, served eighteen years as a member of Congress, four years as Speaker of the House of Representatives-third in the regular line of descent from the Presidency of the United States-and died Lieutenant-Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, mourned not only by the people of the State, but the nation."
29
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
Hon. Linn Boyd .- The following brief sketch of this distinguished gentleman is copied from Collins' History of Kentucky : "Linn Boyd was born in Nashville, Tenn., November 22, 1800. His educational advantages were limited, but he was a man of great force of character and strong native intellect. In early manhood he removed to southern Ken- tucky, and settled on the Cumberland River, in what is now Trigg County. He soon engaged in politics and took an active part in the early political struggles of the county. He was a Representative in the State Legisla- ture in 1827 from the counties of Calloway, Graves, Hickman and McCracken ; in 1828, from Calloway, and in 1831, from Trigg County. He represented the First District in Congress in 1835-37, and in 1839 was again elected, serving by regular elections until 1855, in all eighteen years, during four years of which he occupied the distinguished position of Speaker of the House of Representatives-an honor never conferred oftener or longer in eighty-three years except upon Nathaniel Macon, Henry Clay and Andrew Stevenson. In 1859 he was chosen Lieutenant- Governor upon the Democratic ticket, but when the Senate met was too ill to preside over its deliberations and died at Paducah, December 17, 1859. Mr. Boyd was distinguished in politics as a strict Constitutional Democrat."
Vote on Relocation of County Seat .- The location of the seat of justice at Cadiz did not meet general approval, and in December, 1821, an act was passed by the General Assembly authorizing the citizens of the county to fix upon a place for the permanent seat of justice, the same to be decided by ballot. At the March term of court, 1822, an election was ordered for the purpose of deciding the matter, and George Street, Richard P. Dawson and Beman Fowler were appointed Judges, and William Cannon Clerk for the same. The places competing for the honor were the following, to wit: Cadiz, Boyd's Landing (now Canton), Warrington and Center. The election was held in Cadiz on the 6th day of March, 1822, the friends of the rival cities being out in full force. The vote stood as follows : Cadiz, 295; Boyd's Landing, 204; Warrington, 69; Center, 59. Thus was the matter of locating the county seat effect- ually decided, although the town of Canton made several strenuous efforts to have it changed in later years.
Changes in the County Boundary .- As originally surveyed, the north- ern boundary of the county was very irregular-a fact which gave rise to much annoyance and dissatisfaction to the citizens of both Trigg and Caldwell Counties. To adjust the matter several "curtails " were added to Trigg from the former county, the first of which was made on the 17th day of April, 1826. In June, following, a second " curtail " of sixteen miles lying between the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers was added,
30
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
and in July of the same year a tract of land extending from the mouth of Hurricane Creek six and a half miles to the northeast was also added, thus making the northern boundary a comparatively straight line.
Early Marriages .- During the first two years after the county was created there were twenty-nine marriage licenses issued, as follows : Isaac Lockhart and Polly Williams, June 10, 1820 ; William Bridges and Polly Thomas, Samuel Fowler and Jane Bratton, Matthew Williams and Sally Jones, Thomas Skinner and Susanna Bryant, John Beardon and Nelly Young, John Walker and Sally Tedford, Samuel McClure and Patsey Bretton, William Miller and Elizabeth Grace, Alison Williams and Sally Barndale, Larkin Gilbert and Valley Coffield, William Clark and Sophia Dawson, William Jones and Nicy Howard, Needham Cole- man and Mary Tart, James Bayless and Delia Noel, Basil Holland, Jr., and Elvira Cooper, Thomas L. Baker and Malinda Cunningham. The contracting parties to the first marriage in 1821 were Perry Thomas and Elizabeth Bridges, both of whom are yet living. Then appear the names of James Tart and Polly Lawrence, Joseph Mckinney and Betsey Wick- er, George Bratton and Polly Bratton, Jackson Allen and Susannah Stames, William Daniel and Huldah Chapman, Aaron Collins and Susan- nah Watts, James Knight and Nancy Cotton, Levin Ross and Susan Anderson, Newton Davenport and Ellender Morris, Meredith Brown and Sarah Boyd, William Goode and Gincy Walker. The first license issued in 1822 was to Moses McWaters and Telitha Tanner.
Census of the County .- In 1820 the county had a population of 3,870 souls. The population in 1830 was 5,916; in 1840, 7,716; in 1850, 10,129; in 1860, 11,051; in 1870, 13,686. The following was the population in 1880 by magisterial districts : District No. 1, 1,995; No. 2, including Rock Castle, 1,603; No. 3, including Wallonia, 1,788; No. 4, 2,259; No. 5, including Canton, 1,819; No. 6, including Cadiz and Montgomery, 4,220; No. 7, 755. Total, 14,489.
Statistics .- The total amount of taxables returned by the Assessor in 1820 was $960,000. The number of tithables in the northern district that year was 422; in the southern, 397. In 1883 the legal voters in the county, distributed among the precincts, were as follows :
Cadiz 477
Canton
163
Rock Castle 134
Caledonia 104
Laura Furnace
89
Montgomery 89
Cerulean Springs 154
141
Linton.
Roaring Springs 326
31
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
Bethesda.
108
Ferguson Springs
134
Golden Pond. 189
Wallonia.
116
Total. 2,279
Number of children in the county between the ages of six
and twenty-one .. 3,122
Number of acres returned for taxation 252,592
Assessed value of lands. $1,201,323
Number of town lots.
228
Value of lots.
$123,608
Number of horses
2,278
Value of horses
$115,295
Number of mules
2,289
Value of mules.
$138,083
Number of sheep
5,400
Value of sheep.
$11,777
Number of hogs.
13,071
Value of hogs.
$28,573
Number of hogs over six months old.
3,923
Number of cattle.
5,206
Value of cattle.
$16,198
Number of stores.
55
Value of stock carried by stores.
$81,125
Value of pleasure carriages, barouches, etc.
$131.46
Value of gold and silverware ...
$12,677
Total value of taxables at 472 per cent per $100.
$1,963,667
Number of pounds of tobacco raised 4,724,745
Number tons of hay .. 973
Number bushels of corn
626,564
Bushels of wheat
125,924
Tons of pig iron.
800
County Officers .- Senators-The names of all the Senators for Trigg County were not learned, not do those that are given below appear in their regular order. In the year 1826, George L. Locker was elected State Senator for the Counties Todd, Christian and Trigg. Francis Summers represented the same counties in 1827 and 1831. After Summers, the following persons represented Trigg in the upper house of the Legislature, viz., Alfred Boyd, Isaac Burnett, George W. Barbour, Ira Ellis, T. W. Hammond, James Bryan, - Irwin, G. A. C. Holt, James B. Garnett, J. H. Wilkinson and Robert Burnett.
Representatives .- The following are the names of the Representatives of the county and the years they served: Thomas Caldwell, 1824-25; George Street, 1825-26; Abraham Boyd, 1827-28; George Venable, 1829; Lipscomb Norvell, 1830; Linn Boyd, 1831; James E. Thomp- son, 1832; Isaac Burnett, 1833-34-51-53; Sinco A. G. Noel, 1835;
32
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
Lisenby Nance, 1836-40 ; George W. Barbour, 1837 ; Thomas B. Redd, 1838-39 ; Allen T. Noe, 1841-42-43-48; Charles Humphries, 1844- 53-55; John C. Whitlock, 1845; William Sorley, 1846-47 ; Stanley Thomas, 1849; Daniel Landes, 1850; Gordon B. Grasty, 1855-57 ; John Roach, 1858-59 ; Young A. Linn, 1859-61; John W. Gaines, 1861-62, resigned January 20, 1862, and was succeeded by John Humphries ; Samuel Larkins, 1863-65; Fenton Simms, 1865-69; G. W. Quick, 1869-71; M. E. Mckenzie, 1871-73 ; Matthew McKinney, 1873-75-76 ; R. A. Burnett, 1877-79 ; Jabez Bingham present incum- bent elected in 1882. The representatives from Christian and Trigg Counties in 1820 were James Ruffin and J. C. Cravens. George Daniels represented the same counties in 1821 and 1822.
Sheriffs .- Thomas Raleigh, 1820 ; George Daniel, 1820-21; Abra- ham Boyd, 1822-23; Ferdinand Wadlington, 1824-25; William Scott, 1826-29 ; Presley Slaughter, 1830-31 ; James Daniel, 1832-33; R. S. Dawson, 1834; Levi Lancaster from June, 1834 to 1836 ; William Hop- son, 1837 ; W. C. Haydon, 1838 ; Cullen Thomas, 1840 ; William Mc- Waters, 1842-43; T. W. Hammond, 1844-47; J. J. Morrison, 1848; James Garnett, 1849; John Humphries, 1850; Stanley Thomas, 1851- 52-53-54; A. B. Dyer, 1855-56-57-58-63-64-66-69-70; John L. Humphries, 1867-68 ; John J. Dyer, 1859-60-61-62; R. W. Major, 1871-72-73-74; W. M. Campbell, 1875-76-77 ; William Peal, 1879, short term. The present Sheriff is Thomas Boyd.
Circuit Judges .- Benjamin Shackelford, Henry Brown, H. J. Stites, Collins D. Bradley, George B. Cook, N. E. Gray, T. C. Dabney, R. T. Petrie and John R. Grace.
Circuit Clerks .- William Cannon, J. E. Thompson, H. C. Burnett, R. A. Burnett, B. J. Wall, Isaac Burnett and John Shaw.
County Clerks .- William Cannon, J. E. Thompson, A. S. Dabney, A. B. Dyer, Matthew McKinney, and C. C. Hook. The present in- cumbent is John G. Jefferson who has held the office continuously since 1869.
County Judges .- T. C. Dabney, J. E. Thompson, J. R. Grace, J. H. Wilkinson, A. B. Dyer, J. E. Kelly and Robert Crenshaw.
County Attorneys .- Matthew Mays, C. G. Bradley, J. M. Burnett, John S. Spiceland, James B. Garnett, Robert Crenshaw, J. E. Kelly, J. R. Averitt and J. C. Dabney.
Assessors .- Mayfield Johnson, Alfred M. Brown, Peter Nance, Col- lins D. Bradley, Perry Thomas, Jesse Cameron, C. C. Bogerd, C. Hum- phries, G. B. Grasty, Elliott Grace, Thomas Humphries, B. F. Caldridge, E. Wade, John Dyer, Barnett Guyer, R. H. Averitt, A. J. Cherry, J. F. Green and J. E. Edwards.
33
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
Jailors .- James Thompson, Carter T. Wood, Jonathan Smith, Par- ham Randall, Moses Barbour, F. Y. Lawson, John D. Searcy, Daniel Davis, John Cameron, Sydney Hopson, T. R. Russell, J. E. Edwards, W. H. Jefferson and G. J. Shoemaker.
Surveyors .- John McCaughan, Kain McCaughan, John Mabry, James Richardson, Henry Burress, B. B. Mart and E. Brandon.
School Commissioners .- Thomas C. Dabney, James B. Wallis, M. E. Mckenzie, F. F. Jones, John S. Spiceland, James B. Garnett, Robert Crenshaw, J. H. Wilkinson, J. R. Averitt and C. H. Major.
First Board of Justices or Magistrates .- Abraham Boyd, Ferdinand Wadlington, John Goode, Samuel Orr, William Scott, Presley Slaughter, James Daniel, Beman Fowler and Richard Dawson. The other magis- trates who served prior to 1830, were the following, to wit .: John P. Wilkinson, George Street, Lipscomb Norvell, Levin Lancaster, George H. Gordon, Stephen Landers, David Glass, John B. Hindley, Nathan Fu- trell, Thomas McFarlan, Philemon C. Frayser, Cullen Thomas, William C. Haydon and James J. Morrison.
Present Board .- C. C. Flora, J. W. Nunn, Blake Baker, Jr., Sam- uel F. Baker, John Taylor, T. G. Guthrie, W. G. Blane, Almont Daw- son, Sandy Joiner, Sanford Spiceland, T. N. Ingram, F. T. Watson and Abner W. Tuttle.
Early Constables .- Robert Hawkins, Whitmill Shake, Armstrong Noe, Jonah Boyd, Richard Ricks, Starkie Thomas, A. C. Davis, John Jennings, Alfred Boyd, Samuel Northington, Thomas Thompson, Lakin Gilbert, Jonathan Cudd, David Grace, Reulen Linn, William Fowler, Charles G. Linn, Sevier Tadlock, Alfred Wimberly and Alfred Brown.
Constables for 1884 .- Henry B. Wilkinson, Thomas Faulkner, W. W. Jones, J. L. Ahart, J. W. Wallace and - Lancaster. The fore- going comprises as complete a list of county officers and representatives as it is possible to make it.
B3
35
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
CHAPTER III.
MATERIAL PROSPERITY OF THE COUNTY-ERECTION OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS- THE FIRST COURT HOUSE-OTHER TEMPLES OF JUSTICE-JAILS -- ATTOR- NEYS PAST AND PRESENT-MATTHEW MAYES-JUDGE BRADLEY-POLIT- ICAL HISTORY-HOW THE COUNTY HAS VOTED FROM ITS ORGANIZATION TO THE PRESENT TIME-ASPIRANTS WHO WERE ELECTED AND DEFEATED -ROADS AND HIGHWAYS-TURNPIKES-SOME THAT HAVE BEEN BUILT AND SOME THAT WILL NOT BE-RAILROAD HISTORY, WHICH IS " SHORT AND SWEET"-SUMMARY, ETC., ETC.
T HE county grew in prosperity and developed rapidly under individ- ual organization. Soon after the location of the seat of justice ar- rangements were entered into for the erection of public buildings. To this character of internal improvement, a brief space will now be devoted.
First Court House .- Official dignity in the early days was of a home- spun kind, and required no great expense to provide appropriate sur- roundings. The first building in which the Board of Justices met, or, in other words, the first court house, if the term is not too dignified to be applicable, was the log structure at Warrington, occupied as a residence by Samuel Orr. This building was a rude affair, and was used by the court but a single day. The next house, as already stated, was the dwell- ing of Robert Baker, at Cadiz, which was used for general court and county purposes until the fall of 1821, at which time a temple of justice more in keeping with the dignity and growth of the new county was erected. The order for the first court house bears date of January 21, 1821, and the material part of it reads as follows :
"It is ordered that the building of a court house for this county be let to the lowest bidder on the first day of the next term of this court, of the following dimensions, to-wit: A frame building of good sound ma- terials, with a floor paved with bricks, the whole house to be 24x36 feet, and 12 feet pitch; two jury-rooms of 12 feet square, and the court-room to be 22x24 feet of the pitch aforesaid; to be finished in workmanlike manner, according to the plan then to be furnished." The original plan of the building was subsequently changed, so as to make the length 36 instead of 24 feet.
Abraham Boyd, James Daniel, Richard Dawson and Ferdinand Wad- lington were appointed commissioners to let the contract and superintend the construction of the house. As they held out few inducements to
36
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
architects, the bidding of contractors was not very lively. William Pat- terson finally made satisfactory arrangements with the board, and was awarded the undertaking, he agreeing to complete the building for the sum of $1,575, the same to be paid out of money arising from the sale of the donation of land to the town of Cadiz. The building was finished and formally received by the commissioners on the 19th day of Novem- ber, 1821. Three years later an addition was made to the southwest cor- ner costing $384, and in 1824 the entire structure was painted, and the windows crossed with heavy wooden bars. From what can be learned of the building, it appears to have been illy arranged and poorly adapted for court purposes, and a few years after its completion the propriety of erecting a more commodious edifice began to be discussed. At the Octo- ber term of 1831 it was decided to put up a new brick building, and William Haden, James Garnett, Thomas McFarland, Thomas W. Ham- mond, Philemon Frayser, Lipscomb Norvell and William Cannon were appointed commissioners with full powers to fix upon that part of the public square which they should deem most eligible, and to adopt such plans for the building as they should mutually agree upon. The plan adopted by the board was a two-story building 40 feet square containing a court-room and two jury-rooms on the second floor, and the necessary county offices below; the entire structure to be completed according to specifications by the 20th day of May, 1833. A number of proposals for the work were made by different architects, the lowest responsible bidder being David Lotspeich, who was awarded the contract for $2,445. The house was ready for use by the time specified, and immediately there- after the old court house was ordered sold, which was done on the 8th of July, 1833, the county realizing from its sale the sum of $70.
As the business of the county continued to increase it was found that the offices were not sufficiently large, and in 1843 a clerk's office was erected, which is still standing in the rear of the new court house. The second court house served its purpose until during the civil war, when it was burned by a detachment of Confederate troops to prevent its falling into the hands of the Federals. Before its destruction, however, all the records and papers were removed to a place of safety, and aside from the building the county suffered no serious loss. The house was ordered re- built in June, 1865, and Thomas H. Grinter, R. A. Burnett and M. A. Smith were appointed Commissioners to let the contract and superintend the work. An ad valorem tax of 15 cents on each $100 worth of prop- erty was listed for the year 1866, for the purpose of securing a building fund. Messrs. Pool & Boyd were awarded the contract for $11,950, a sum which was afterward increased, and work on the building went vig- orously forward until its completion in 1866. The house was 52x40 feet
37
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
in size, two stories high, and surmounted by a dome 24 feet high. Al. though substantially constructed it was a very indifferent building and poorly adapted for the purposes for which it was designed. In 1881 a Committee composed of J. F. Gentry, John G. Jefferson and Fenton Simms was appointed to examine the condition of the building and report the same to the County Court. After a thorough examination they re- ported the house to be both dangerous and inadequate for court purposes, and recommended that steps be taken to rebuild it on a larger and more convenient plan. At the December term of 1881 the following action was taken concerning the matter: "Resolved, that our Representative and Senator in the General Assembly are hereby requested by the Trigg County Court of Claims to procure the passage of an act by the Legisla- ture of Kentucky authorizing this Court to issue and sell the bonds of Trigg County for the purpose of building new clerk's office by remodel- ing the court house or otherwise. Said bonds not to bear a greater rate of interest than 6 per cent, and to be redeemable at any time after ten years from their issual-to be sold for not less than par or face value; and also authorizing the Court to levy an ad valorem tax not to exceed 10 cents on the $100 worth of taxable property in the county, to pay the interest and redeem said bonds." At the same term W. G. Blane, Fen- ton Simms, John G. Jefferson, J. F. Gentry and F. C. Dabney were ap- pointed a committee for the purpose of ascertaining the best, most prac- tical, economical and substantial plans for the work, and to that end they were authorized to secure the services of some efficient architect and builder.
On the 11th of February, 1882, an act was passed by the General Assembly authorizing the county to issue and sell bonds to the amount of $10,000 for the purpose of securing a building fund. This sum was found to be insufficient, and a bill for an additional $2,500 was afterward passed and work on the house commenced. The design was drawn by D. A. Mckinnon, an experienced architect of Paducah, and on the 5th of April, 1883, Thomas E. Morgan, also of Paducah, was awarded the con- tract for $10,250. Mr. Morgan failing to give the necessary bond required by the court, another contract was entered into on the 12th day of March of the same year with Messrs. Cosby & Landrum, of Mayfield, Ky., who agreed to complete the work according to plans and specifica- tions for the sum of $11,400. This sum was afterward increased by the addition of $1,000. The seating and furnishing of the court-room and offices cost the sum of $1,600, and taken all in all the house is one of the most convenient, beautiful and imposing structures of its size and cost in the State. Its extreme length is ninety-five feet ; extreme width, sixty- five feet ; size of court-room, 62x62 feet. On the second floor, aside
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