USA > Kentucky > Trigg County > Counties of Christian and Trigg, Kentucky : historical and biographical > Part 37
USA > Kentucky > Christian County > Counties of Christian and Trigg, Kentucky : historical and biographical > Part 37
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61
38
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
from the court room, are two jury and one consulting rooms, all of which are furnished in the most artistic manner. On the first floor are the six county offices, three on each side of a wide hall running the entire length of the building. One of the most pleasing features of the structure is the beautiful tower, in which a magnificent clock has been placed by the citizens of Cadiz at a cost of over $600. The dials, four in number, are plainly visible from every possible approach to the town, and the music of the bell tolling the hours can be heard for many, many miles. The entire building was erected under the personal superintendency of John A. Scott, of Fulton, one of the most skillful practical builders in the State, and is complete in all its parts. The following notice of the building appears in the Old Guard of May 6, 1884 :
The carpenters' work on the new court house at this place is now com- pleted, and the present term of the Trigg Circuit Court is being held in the magnificent court-room above. The rooms of the county officers have not been taken possession of yet, but will be in a few days, or at least so soon as the necessary furniture can be moved into them. The build- ing is one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture in the State, and notwithstanding the work has been all done at less than one-fourth of the cost, it contains the same number of rooms as the court houses at May- field, Paducah, Hopkinsville and Owensboro, and the most inferior is quite superior to the best one of them.
The design of the house is sufficient of itself to make a character for Mr. Mckinnon its architect, and the good wishes of the county will fol- low Mr. W. L. Landrum the contractor wherever he may go, for the faithful manner in which he has discharged his obligations.
Jails .- The county was supplied with a jail some time before a court house was built. At the first session of the County Court, William Husk, Samuel Orr and Abraham Boyd were appointed Commissioners to con- tract for and superintend the construction of a jail, and at the September term following, the contract was awarded to John Williams, who agreed to erect the building for the sum of $500. It was built of hewed logs twelve inches square, and was constructed 26x16 feet in size, ten logs high, and contained two rooms ceiled with two-inch oak plank fastened to the walls with heavy iron spikes. Its architectural plan was simply that of a tight box with one outside door, one inside door and three small windows, each of which was only nine inches square. The two apartments were known as the debtor's and criminal rooms, one leading off from the other. The doors were made of heavy timbers, the windows guarded with strong iron bars, and taken all in all it was a very secure, though quite a cramped prison pen. It stood on the northeast corner of the public square, and served its purpose until about the year 1833, when
39
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
a lot was purchased where the present jail stands, and a larger and more substantial hewed-log building erected. The second jail was a square building, and contained the prison rooms, one of which was made very secure by being lined with a heavy iron cage. As the county grew in population and the criminal classes increased in numbers the place of limbo was found inadequate to accommodate the numerous guests that applied for admission, and in 1838 we find that plans and specifications were drawn up for a new stone jail to be eighteen feet square and two stories high. These plans were abandoned at the September term- of 1838, and it was decided to remodel the old building by adding extra room and weatherboarding, and otherwise improving the structure. This work was done, and the building thus rendered more secure and comfort- able stood until the year 1857, at which time it was agreed to erect a brick jail, and plans for the same were accordingly drawn up and sub- mitted. The contract was awarded to John McKintry, who for the sum of $1,600 agreed to complete the building according to specifications and have it ready for use by the second Monday in September, 1857. The structure was thirty-four feet in length, fifteen feet four inches in width, one story high and contained three rooms, one of which, the dungeon, was fitted up with the old iron cage between which and the brick walls was built a "pen " of solid post oak logs reaching to the ceiling, thus rendering the apartment doubly secure. The building, though well con- structed and sufficiently secure to prevent the escape of culprits confined within its walls, was found in a short time to be inadequate for prison pur- poses, and ten years after its completion the necessity of having a new jail began to be discussed. At the January term of 1867 it was decided by an almost unanimous vote of the Justices to erect the building, and A. B. Dyer, R. A. Burnett and M. S. Smith were appointed Commis- sioners to let the contract and superintend its construction. They were authorized to sell the bonds of the county to the amount of not more than $10,000, to be redeemed in not less than one year nor more than ten years, in order to secure the necessary funds for the prosecution of the anticipated work. A contract was entered into with F. W. Merz, of Louisville, to furnish the inside iron work for the sum of $4,500, and P. S. Pool being the lowest bidder for the brick and stonework was awarded the contract for the same, he agreeing to complete it for $3,520. The plans of the building were afterward changed so as to include a jailor's residence, the contractor agreeing to remodel the old building for the purpose at an additional cost of $600. According to the terms of the contract the prison was to have been completed ard ready for occupancy by the 15th day of May, 1867, but owing to some cause unknown it was not received until two years later, the plans in the meantime undergoing
40
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
several modifications. The building stands on the lot occupied by the old jail, and with the improvements added since its erection answers well the purposes for which it is intended.
Attorneys .- Among the list of prominent attorneys who have prac- ticed at the bar of Trigg County may be mentioned Hon. John J. Crit- tenden, Daniel S. Mayes (a brother of Matthew Mayes), .Joseph R. Un- derwood, Charles S. Morehead, Beverly S. Clark, Joseph B. Crockett, Robert A. Patterson, John W. Crockett, George W. Barbour and others. The present bar of the county is comprised of the following lawyers : Cadiz : T. C. Dabney, John R. Grace, W. F. Simms, Robert Crenshaw, J. E. Kelly, James Garnett, E. F. Dabney, Robert A. Burnett and H. B. Wayland. Linton, E. C. Spiceland. Golden Pond, Frank Oakley.
Maj. Matthew Mayes .- Prominent among the distinguished lawyers of Trigg County was Maj. Matthew Mayes, without a sketch of whom this history would be incomplete. The following sketch was prepared and kindly furnished by Mr. Mckinney : Maj. Mayes was a native of Kentucky, and was born in the shadows of the past or the early dawn of the present century. His father died when he was young, and not having been designed for the legal profession his early educational advantages were somewhat neglected. He lived on his mother's plantation until he arrived at the years of maturity, when, becoming dissatisfied with the drudgery of an agriculturist, he determined to change his vocation. He taught school for a short time, and commenced the study of law in the office of his brother, Daniel Mayes of Hopkinsville. He was not long in preparing for the duties of the profession, and having received his license to practice law in the courts of this Commonwealth, removed to Cadiz on the formation of the new County of Trigg, and was admitted to the bar of this court on the 23d day of August, 1820, and here his long professional career begins. It is not in the language of hyperbole, when his friends claim that he sprang at once to the very first position in the profession. Without the brilliancy of William T. Barry or the burning eloquence of Mr. Crittenden or the two Moreheads, he was the superior of them all, not only in the technicalities, but in the broad and comprehensive princi- ples of the common law. As a special pleader, those who were familiar with both, claim that he was the superior of his brother Daniel ; and when we take into consideration the fact that the former practiced law a number of years in Lexington, and held a professorship in the Law Depart- ment of Transylvania University, and afterward, having moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where we have the testimony of Senator Foote and Sargent S. Prentiss, that he was without an equal in the whole State, some conception may be had of Maj. Mayes' perfect knowledge of that intricate branch of the profession.
41
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
As a judge of law it was conceded that he had no equal in southwest- ern Kentucky, and but very few in the State. As a practitioner he was a model of professional decorum, and we have often heard Judge Hise, Mr. Sharp and James F. Buckner remark that they had never sprung a point on him that seemed at all to disconcert him or take him by surprise. As a speaker he was calm, clear and concise, and never at a loss for a word to express himself, but was never ornate nor eloquent. His speeches never were tedious and generally lasted from forty minutes to an hour, and every sentence was a legal maxim. His faithfulness and devotion to his clients amounted almost to stubbornness, so much so that when they found a gentleman who was immovable in his convictions, the members of the profession frequently taunted him with the charge that he adhered to his opinions as tenaciously as Mayes would cling to a client.
He was a constant reader, but, having very little taste for poetry, his- tory or the essays of great literary celebrities, confined himself almost exclusively to the Bible, his law books and novels ; the latter he would devour by the armful. He was very decided in his political opinions, despised the very name of Democrat, but it is thought it was more from prejudice than an enlightened conviction, for he frequently confessed that he had no taste and very little knowledge of political questions. He never attempted to make a political speech, except a few in the campaigns of 1844, and never recovered from the mortification excited by the result of the contest.
In personal appearance and intellectual vigor we know of no one who reminds us so much of him as the present Speaker of the House of Feder- al Representatives. He had the size, carriage, complexion and every make- up of speaker Carlisle, and we can recall, at this day, but one difference in the two men. Mr. Carlisle is very calm and deliberate in social disputa- tion, but warms up into a perfect furor of excitement the very moment he mounts the stand ; while Maj. Mayes was fully as excitable in the social circle as Mr. Carlisle is upon the hustings; he was calm and as gentle when he arose to address the court or jury as if the court-room were a parlor filled with ladies.
Judge C. D. Bradley .*- The name of but few men living or dead will excite in the people of Trigg County a more pleasant remembrance than that of Judge Bradley. He settled in Cadiz soon after the forma- tion of the county, and up to the breaking out of the war, except when he was on the bench, was the great law rival of Maj. Mayes. They were on one side or the other of all important suits, and all important cases of other courts, and if one chanced to be retained it almost insured a fee for the other on the opposite side, for notwithstanding there were better
* By Maj. Mckinney.
42
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
speakers, for profound, comprehensive knowledge of the law it was very generally conceded that they ranked all other lawyers in this end of the State. Mr. Bradley was a great favorite in Cadiz ; everybody loved and respected him, and though many differed with him very positively on questions of public policy, there was not a citizen of the town identified with the opposition who would not have risked his own life in his defense. Yet he conceived the idea that there were persons here who were devising means to have him assassinated, and the belief took such possession of his mind that he actually moved away from the town, and was never back here but once afterward. As a matter of course his apprehension was all imaginary, but no one who was at all familiar with him doubted for a moment that he honestly believed that people plotted his death. He was eccentric in all things, but withal the most delightful companion for young men in the world. One would suppose that half the object of his life was devoted to devising plans for improving the morals, the intelli- gence, and contributing to the pleasure of the young men of the town. He organized reading clubs, debating societies, moot courts and social games for young people, and would enter into them with all the enthusiasm and spirit of a boy of eighteen. If an old attorney was leading a young man into a snare in the trial of a case in court, you would find Bradley flying to the assistance of the young attorney, if the old one was representing the cause of one of the most intimate friends he had on earth. He would listen to the story of a school boy who had gotten into trouble with his teacher, and with too much prudence to let the boy know it, he would never lose sight of it until he arrived at the true facts of the case, then if he found the boy in error, he told him of it, and if the fault was the teacher's he was just as sure to hear it as the boy. His excitement was so intense that he took part in every dog fight that occurred upon the street, and if a social game of " seven up " was going on between the boys, he was sure to be one of the party, and would become as much in- terested and excited as if he had £1,000 at stake. He was very systematic and thought himself the most methodical man in the world. He had a theory for everything and arrived at all conclusions purely upon theoretical principle. He had a theory for loading a gun, the scent of a staghound, or the speed of a race-horse, and whenever one of them failed to exemplify itself in practice, he accounted for the failure by its being an exception to the general rule.
He had him a rifle made especially for target-shooting, and paid a certain man $150 for a scrub colt, because by every principle and theory of locomotion he was compelled to make the fastest running horse in the world. Yet he was always beaten at the shooting matches, and Dr. D. Maxwell, now of Paducah, upon one occasion made a bet with him to run
1
43
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
himself a foot-race against the horse, which he did do and actually beat him. Judge Bradley took an active part in political matters, and was a stanch Union man during the war. He served a term on the bench of this district, and no man living or dead ever had a doubt of his splendid capacity and his integrity as an upright and impartial Judge.
Political History .- Much of what appears in the following pages is taken from Maj. Mckinney's excellent historical sketches, and his accounts of the early elections are appropriated entire. The first recorded vote in the county was for members of Congress and for members of the Legisla- ture at the August election of 1822. The candidates for Congress were Robert P. Henry and Dixon Given. The former received in the county 271 votes, and the latter 107. The candidates for the Legisla- ture were Benjamin Patten, Nathan O. Haden, Thomas Raleigh and Thomas Barnett.
The vote stood as follows: Patten, 233; Haden, 202; Raleigh, 161 and Barnett, 103. Henry was elected to Congress, and Patten and Barnett were elected to represent Christian and Trigg Counties in the Legislature. In the winter of 1823 the Legislature granted to Trigg County a separate representative in the lower house. The contest at the August election for that year was hotly contested. The candidates for the Legislature were Charles Caldwell and Thomas Raleigh. Caldwell received 250 votes, and Raleigh 248; majority for Caldwell two. There were three candidates for Governor that year, and the vote in this county stood as follows : Joseph Desha, 328 votes ; Christopher Thompkins, 136, and William Russell, 4. For Congress, Robert P. Henry received 477 votes.
In the year 1825 Maj. George Street, father of John L. Street, defeated Col. Caldwell for the Legislature. There were three voting pre- cincts then, and the vote stood as follows :
Cadiz.
Street. 289
Caldwell. 30
Canton.
60
84
Burnett's Precinct.
6
188
355
302
Maj. Street receiving a majority of 53 votes he was re-elected the fol- lowing year over Thomas Raleigh, by a majority of 34 votes.
This last election seemed to have stirred up something of a sectional hostility in the county that has continued more or less to the present day. Maj. Street lived in the eastern portion of the county, and Col. Caldwell, near the elbow, on the opposite side of the Cumberland River. Street was therefore a Cadiz man and Caldwell a Canton man. Street had defeated Caldwell for the Legislature, and the following year defeated his friend
44
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
Raleigh for the same office. This, as was very natural, created animosity between the two sections, and hence arose the question of the removal of the county seat from Cadiz to Canton. Matters were pretty warm next year, and as both parties were marshaling for a vigorous struggle, they concluded to select from each section new men, against whom no prejudice had been aroused by previous conflicts. The Cadiz people selected George Daniel and the Canton party selected as their champion Abra- ham Boyd, the father of the county, and ancestor of Hon. Linn Boyd. The result was notwithstanding the great personal strength of Mr. Dan- iel that the Canton men were victorious. Boyd was elected by the scant majority of 46 votes.
In 1828 the contest between the two contending factions culminated in the re-election of Abraham Boyd over James Coleman, by a majority of 35 votes. But things began to show a change in 1829. The contest that year was between Dr. George Venable and Abraham Boyd. Dr. Venable was elected by only 13 votes. This ended the serious agitation of the removal of the county seat from Cadiz to Canton. The next year Lipscomb Norvell was elected over A. Samuel, by a majority of 82 votes out of the 100 cast. The next year Linn Boyd and Joseph Waddill were candidates for the Legislature, and a full vote of the county was polled, Boyd receiving 543 and Waddill 348. None of the county officers except the members of the Legislature were elected by the people. The magis- trates were commissioned by the Governor, and the oldest in commission succeeded to the Sheriffalty, retaining the office for two years. William Scott by virtue of being the oldest magistrate succeeded to the office twice, the first time in 1826 and again in 1840. Dick Dawson was the Presiding Justice of the County Court up to the year 1831.
The year 1832 was the Presidential year of the great contest between Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay. It was the first year, too, that the parties were distinctly arrayed under the old familiar appellation of Whig and Democrat. No conventions were held those days, but a universal popular applause for great party leaders pointed out the candidates in the place of a convention. Still in that year, to secure a more perfect organiza- tion a congressional caucus had nominated each. Martin Van Buren was on the ticket with Gen. Jackson, as a candidate for Vice President, and John Sargent for the same place, on the ticket with Mr. Clay. The pol- iticians of the State seemed to have selected their subordinates with a view of meeting the exigencies of the great struggle that was approaching. Among the distinguished men that appear on the electoral ticket with Mr. Clay, were E. M. Ewing, John J. Marshall, William Ousley, Ben Hardin, Theodore Chilton and M. V. Thompson. On that of Gen. Jackson were found the names of William O. Butler, John Speed, Smith-
1
45
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
James Guthrie, T. S. Slaughter and Matthew Lyon. The vote in Trigg County stood at the close of the polls, November 7, 1832, as follows :
Jackson.
Clay.
Cadiz
.177 301
Canton.
104 20
Roaring Springs
98
53
Totals.
439 374
Majority in the county for Jackson, 65 votes. £ The candidates for the Legislature that year were Judge James E. Thompson and Dr. Isaac Burnett. It was a strictly a political canvass with just enough personal matters thrown in to enable Judge Thompson's great personal popularity to bear him triumphantly through. He was elected by a majority of 52 votes. The next year Burnett was elected by a majority of 159 votes, over two competitors, Robert Baker and Col. T. W. Hammond.
In the Presidential campaign of 1836 Harrison and Granger were the candidates of the Whig party, and Martin Van Buren and Richard M. Johnson were candidates of the Democratic party. Van Buren car- ried the county by a majority of eighty-eight votes.
The year 1840 was one of the most notable epochs in the history of Kentucky, or perhaps in American annals. The political canvasses were vigorous, impressive, and very aggressive. Public meetings were held in various portions of the county, and clubs were formed, and more than one canoe or log-cabin was placed upon wheels and hauled around, and more than one barrel of hard cider was tapped to elevate the spirits of the en- thusiastic Whigs. John L. Murray and Robert Patterson were the Demo- cratic and Whig electors for the First District that year. Mr. Murray, whose health had already begun to fail, did not participate very actively in the canvass, but Patterson was everywhere, addressing the large audi- ences, giving free rein to acrimonious invective, the effect of which was said to have been wonderful. The result was, at the November election the county showed only a majority of nineteen votes for Van Buren and Johnson over Harrison and Tyler. The latter carried the State by a large majority, and were overwhelmingly elected to the Presidency and Vice-Presidency of the United States. This was the first Whig ticket that had ever been elected since the formation of the party, and unless we claim Gen. Taylor, who was voted for by the Whigs as a " no party man," it was destined to be the last.
But few persons living then will fail to recollect the exciting political events of 1844. It was about this time that the question of an increase of slave territory began to warmly interest the citizens of the country, and a limited abolition sentiment began manifesting itself in many of the Northern States. Early in 1844 it was well known that the efforts of the
46
HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY.
Democracy would be directed in the coming campaign toward the election of a President who favored the admission of Texas into the Union, and thereby an increase of slave territory ; while the Whigs on the contrary took an opposite stand, opposing the admission of Texas, in order to limit the domain of slavery, and they accordingly nominated Henry Clay, while the Democrats selected James K. Polk. These were the principal tickets, though not the only ones. The Liberty party placed in the field Birney and Morris, the platform differing somewhat from that of the Whigs, but resembling it in opposing an increase of slave territory. The vote stood in Trigg County as follows:
Cadiz.
Polk. 265
Clay.
397
Canton.
212
96
Roaring Springs
174
64
Totals.
651
557
A majority for Polk of 94 votes.
In the Presidential campaign of 1848 the first extensive Free-Soil movement was made. The violent debates in Congress on questions growing out of slavery attracted universal attention and interest. In 1846 David Wilmot, of Pennsylvania, had introduced in Congress what became known as the Wilmot Proviso, which prohibited slavery in any territory which might be acquired from Mexico or elsewhere. Though the measure was defeated finally, some of the most eloquent and passion- ate speeches in American history were delivered in Congress while it was pending. The interest in Trigg County led to the partial organization of a Free-Soil party, many citizens who had formerly figured prominently in both old parties joining its ranks. The Whig candidates were Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore. The Democrats nominated Lewis Cass and William O. Butler, while the Free-Soilers put in nomination Martin Van Buren. Unfortunately no record of the vote of Trigg County for that year was obtained, the poll book having by some means become misplaced.
In the year 1850 the present Constitution of Kentucky was adopted, and on Monday, the 12th of May, an election was appointed for the purpose of selecting persons to fill all the civil offices of the State. Previous to this time there had been no election of such officers by the popular voice of the peo- ple. The Judges of the Court of Appeals, Circuit Judges, Commonwealth Attorneys, Justices, etc., were all appointed by the Governor; the Clerk of the Court of Appeals by the Judges of that court; the Circuit Clerks by the Circuit Judges ; the County Clerk by the Justices comprising that court, and the Jailor, Assessor, Constables, etc., by the same.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.