USA > Kentucky > Historical sketches of Kentucky : embracing its history, antiquities, and natural curiosities, geographical, statistical, and geological descriptions with anecdotes of pioneer life, and more than one hundred biographical sketches of distinguished pioneers, soldiers, statesmen, jurists, lawyers, divines, etc. > Part 32
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Value of taxable property in 1846, 8860,004 ; number of acres
224
CAMPBELL COUNTY.
of land in the county, 235,736 ; average value per acre, $1,78 ; number of white males over twenty-one years of age, 1,191; children between five and sixteen years old, 1,966. Population in 1840, 9,794.
There are three towns, Murray, New Concord, and Wadesbo- rough, in Calloway. MURRAY, the county seat, is about two hun- dred and fifty miles from Frankfort-contains a handsome brick court-house and jail, a Christian church, four stores, two taverns, three lawyers, three doctors, five mechanics' shops, with 200 in- habitants-named after the Hon. J. L. Murray. New Concord is a small village in the south-eastern part of the county, contain- ing two doctors, one store, one tavern, a few mechanics' shops, with 60 inhabitants. Wadesborough was formerly the county seat -contains one store, two taverns, one doctor, one smith, one tanyard-population 70. Named after Mr. Banister Wade.
This county was called after Col. RICHARD CALLOWAY, who removed with his family to Kentucky in 1776. He speedily became an efficient actor in the affairs of the infant settlements, and his services were numerous and valuable. As early as 1777, he and John Todd were elected the first burgesses to the general assembly of Virginia ; while, in the spring of the same year, he had been appointed a justice of the peace. In 1779. he, with others, under an act of the Virginia legis- lature, was appointed a trustee to lay off the town of Boonsborough. The trustees declined to act; others were appointed. Mr. Morehead, in his eloquent Boonsborough address, classes Col. Calloway among the law-givers and deten- ders of the frontier. His career in the new settlements, however, was short. Like a great many other daring spirits of the times, he was killed before he had an opportunity of very greatly distinguishing himself.
CAMPBELL COUNTY.
CAMPBELL county was formed in 1794, and named in honor of Colonel JOHN CAMPBELL. It is situated in the north part of the State, and lies on the Ohio, immediately above Licking river : Bounded on the north and east by the Ohio river ; south by Pen- dleton, and west by Licking river, which separates it from Ken- ton. ALEXANDRIA, the county seat, is about eighty miles from Frankfort. The face of the country is diversified-the river bot- toms being level, rich and productive, while the uplands are andu- lating or hilly. The staple products are corn, wheat, tobacco and pork.
The taxable property of Campbell in 1846, was valued at $1,668,757 ; number of acres of land in the county, 77.20: average value per acre, $11,56 : total number of white males over twenty-one years of age, 1,472; children between five and sixteen years old, 1,4444. Population in IS40, 5,214.
NEWPORT is the principal town of Campbell. It is situated on a beautiful bottom on the Ohio, immediately above the junction of the Licking with that noble river, and opposite the city of Cincinnati. It contains five churches of different denominations,
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BATTLE WITH THE INDIANS.
one seminary of learning, five private schools, five lawyers, five physicians, six stores, twenty-three groceries, two lodges of Ma- sons, one lodge of Odd Fellows, one division of the Sons of Temperance, one rolling mill, one cotton factory, one rope waik, one silk factory, three blacksmith shops, twelve carpenter and joiners' shops, two tailor and two saddler shops, two taverns, one court-house, one market-house-with two hundred and fifty brick and one hundred and seventy-five frame houses. Population about 4,000. Newport is rapidly increasing in population and wealth, and her trade and manufacturing establishments have more than doubled within the short period of five years.
ALEXANDRIA is the county seat of Campbell, situated about thir- teen miles from Newport, and about eighty miles from Frankfort. It contains a court-house and the usual public buildings, with a small population.
The county of Campbell, as originally organized, comprised the territory at present embraced by Campbell, Pendleton, Boone, Kenton and part of Grant. The justices of the first quarter ses- sion court of the new county, were-Washington Berry, presi- dent, Captain John Craig and Charles Daniel, sen. The county court justices, were-Robert Benham, Thomas Kennedy, John Hall, John Bush, John Cook, John Ewing and Thomas Corwin. The first courts of the county met, by law, at Wilmington. on Licking river, about twenty-two miles from Newport, but the county seat was afterwards located at Newport.
James Taylor (the present venerable General James Taylor of Newport), was elected the first clerk of both the county and quar- ter sessions court, and Captain Nathan Kelly the first sheriff of the county. When the county of Kenton was stricken off from Campbell, the county seat was removed to Alexandria.
In the autumn of 1779, two keel boats, laden with military stores, bound from New Orleans to Pittsburgh, under the command of Colonel Rogers, were ascend- ing the Ohio river ; and when near the sand-bar, above where the city of Ci- cinnati now stands, called four mile bar-they discovered a number of Indians on rafts and in canoes coming out of the mouth of the Little Miami river, which stream was then very high, and shot its waters, together with the Indian eratt, nearly across the river. Colonel Rogers immediately landed his boats, and the crew, to the number of seventy men, advanced secretly through the woods and willows that grew thickly on the sand bar which here joined the Kemincky shore, expecting to attack the Indians, when they should land, by surprise. Bour". however, Rogers had succeeded in reaching the point where he presumed ne would encounter the savages, he found himself suddenly surrounded by a tre of more than trable his numbers. The Indians instantly poured In a close charge of rifles, and then throwing down their guns, fell upon the survivors wah the tomahawk! The panie was complete, and the slaughter prodigious. Voor Rogers, together with forty-tive of his men, were almost instantiy destruyed. The survivors made an effort to regain their boats, but the five men who had toen left in charge of them, had numediately put off from shore in the hindmost boat. and the enemy had already gained possession of the other. Disappointed in the attempt. they turned furiously upon the enemy, and aided by the approach of darkness, forced their way through their lines, and with the loss of several severely wounded. at length effected their escape to Harrodsburgh.
Among the wounded was Capt. Robert Benham. Shortly after breaking through the enemy's line, he was shot through both hips, and the bones being shattered, 15
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CAMPBELL COUNTY.
he instantly fell to the ground. Fortunately, a large tree had recently fallen near the spot where he lay, and with great pain. he dragged himself into the top, and lay concealed among the branches. The Indians, eager in pursuit of the others, passed him without notice, and by midnight all was quiet. On the following day. the Indians returned to the battle ground, in order to strip the dead and take care of the boats. Benham, although in danger of famnishing. permitted them to pass without making known his condition, very correctly supposing that his crippled legs would only induce them to tomahawk him on the spot, in order to avoid the trouble of carrying him to their town.
He lay close, therefore, until the evening of the second day, when perceiving a racoon descending a tree, near him, he shot it, hoping to devise some means of reaching it, when he could kindle a fire and make a meal. Scarcely had his gun cracked, however, when he heard a human cry, apparently not more than fifty yards off. Supposing it to he an Indian, he hastily reloaded his gun, and re- mained silent, expecting the approach of an enemy. Presently the same voice was heard again, but much nearer. Still Benham made no reply, but cocked his gun, and sat ready to fire as soon as an object appeared. A third halloo was quickly heard, followed by an exclamation of impatience and distress, which con- vinced Benham that the unknown must be a Kentuckian. As soon, therefore, as he heard the expression, " whoever you are, for God's sake answer me." he replied with readiness, and the parties were soon together.
Benham, as we have already observed, was shot through both legs. The man who now appeared, had escaped from the same battle, with both arms broken ! Thus each was enabled to supply what the other wanted. Benham, having the perfect use of his arms, could load his gun and kill game with great readiness, while his friend, having the use of his legs, could kick the game to the spot where Benham sat, who was thus enabled to cook it. When no wood was near them, his companion would make up brush with his feet, and gradually roll it within reach of' Benham's hands, who constantly fed his companion, and dressed kis wounds as well as his own-tearing up both their shirts for that purpose. They found some difficulty in procuring water at first; but Benham at length took his own hat, and placing the rim between the teeth of his companion, direc- ted him to wade into the Licking up to his neck, and dip the hat into the water by sinking his own head. The man who could walk, was thus enabled to bring water by means of his teeth, which Benham could afterwards dispose of as was necessary.
In a few days, they had killed all the squirrels and birds within reach, and the man with broken arms was sent out to drive game within gunshot of the spot to which Benham was confined. Fortunately, wild turkies were abundant in those woods, and his companion would walk around, and drive them towards Benhant, who seldom failed to kill two or three of each flock. In this manner they sup- ported themselves for several weeks, until their wounds had healed so as to ena- ble them to travel. They then shifted their quarters, and put up a small shed at the mouth of the Licking, where they encamped until late in November. anxiously expecting the arrival of some boat, which should convey them to the falls of the Ohio.
On the 27th of November, they observed a fiat boat moving leisurely down the river. Benham instantly hoisted bis hat upon a stick, and hallooed londly for help. The crew. however, supposing them to be Indians-at least suspreti : them of an intention to decay them ashore, paid no attention to their signs of distress, but instantly put over to the opposite side of the river, and manning er- ery oar, endeavored to pass them as rapidly as possible. Benhamn beheld them pass him with a sensation bordering on despair. for the place was much frequen- ted by Indians, and the approach of winter threatened them with destructi 1., unless speedily relieved. At length, after the boat had passed him nearly h.h a mile, he saw a canoe put off from its stern, and cantiously approach the hen- tucky shore. evidently reconnotering them with great suspicion.
He called loudly upon them for assistance, mentioned his name, and made known his condition. After a long parley, and many evidences of reluctance ." the part of the crew, the canoe at length touched the shore, and Benham and his friend were taken on board. Their appearance excited much suspicion. They were almost entirely naked, and their faces were garnished with six weeks
227
GENERAL JAMES TAYLOR.
growth of beard. The one was barely able to hobble on crutches, and the other could manage to feed himself with one of his hands. They were taken to Lou- isville, where their clothes (which had been carried off in the boat which deserted them) were restored to them, and after a few weeks confineinent. both were per- fectly recovered.
Benham afterwards served in the north-west throughout the whole of the Indian war, accompanied the expeditions of Harmar and Wilkinson, shared in the dis- aster of St. Clair, and afterwards in the triumph of Wayne. Upon the return of peace, he bought the land upon which Rogers had been defeated, and ended his days in tranquility, amid the scenes which had witnessed his safferings.
The county of Campbell received its name in honor of Colonel JOHN CAMP- BELL, a native of Ireland. He came to Kentucky at an early period. Having received a grant of four thousand acres of land from the commonwealth of Vir- ginia, which was located immediately below, and adjoining the grant on which Louisville stands, Col. Campbell became an extensive landed proprietor, and a very wealthy man. He was a member of the convention which formed the first constitution of Kentucky, from Jefferson county. During the same year. he was elected one of the electors of the senate from Jeffersor, and in the electoral col- lege was chosen the senator from Jefferson county, in the new State legislature. He was a large man, of fine personal appearance, and strong mind, but rough in his manners. He never married, and having died intestate, his large estate passed into the hands of many heirs.
General JAMES TAYLOR, one of the pioneers of Kentucky, resides in Newport. He has attained his seventy-eighth year, and is remarkably active and sprightly for a man of his age. His venerable consort, to whom he has been united for upwards of half a century, and who came to Kentucky in the midst of Indian troubles, still retains much of the vigor of her youth, and attends strictly to her household affairs. The mansion of these venerable pioneers, "Belleview," one of the most beautiful and costly in Kentucky, has long been distinguished for ele- gant hospitality.
Mrs. Taylor removed to Kentucky in 1784, in company with a large party of emigrants, among them the Rev. Augustine Eastin, of Bourbon county, who married an eider sister. In their progress through the wilderness, and after they had made their encampment for the night, the party of Mr. Eastin were overta- ken about night-fall by a large body of emigrants, who were seeking new homes in Kentucky. Mr. Eastin advised the party to encamp with him, as Indian signs had been discovered through the day, and there were strong reasons to ap- . prehend an attack. The party, however, disregarded the warning, and having traveled about a mile further, made their encampment. From some unex- plained cause-probably incredulous of danger-they retired to rest without sta- tioning a single sentinel to guard their camp, or warn them of the approach of an enemy. In the midst of the night, when the fatigued and jaded travelers were wrapped in the most profound sleep, the savages attacked them, and killed and scalped more than half of the company, numbering altogether about forty per- sons. A man, his wife, and two children, of this company, became separated at the instant of alarm. The mother, with her youngest child, effected her escape to the woods, and made her way back to the camp of Mr. Eastin. The father also escaped. and in a short time afterwards reached the settlements ; the eldest child was slain. Two weeks after the arrival of Mr. Eastin's party in Kentucky. the husband and wife were re-united, each supposing, up to the period of their meeting. the other to be dead.
Gen. James Taylor is a native of Virginia. having been born at Midway. in Caroline county, on the 19th day of April, 1769. He was a quarter-master general of the north-western army in the late war, and was active in the discharge of the important duties which devolved upon him. When Gen. Huli surrendered De- troit to the British forces under General Brock, in August, 1812. General Tay- lor and Major (now General) Jesup, with other officers, were called upon to as- sist in drawing up the articles of capitulation ; but they all indignantly coinsed any participation in an act so disgraceful to the American arms. General Taylor had previously taken an active part in the plan concerted by the field officers to displace General Hall, and confer the command of the fortress on General McAr-
4
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CARROLL COUNTY.
thur. Had the latter, with his command, reached Detroit in time, the plan would have been consummated. In the course of a long life, General Taylor has accu- mulated a very large estate, and is probably one of the most extensive landed proprietors of the west.
CARROLL COUNTY.
CARROLL county was formed in the year 1838, and named in honor of CHARLES CARROLL of Carrollton. It lies on the Ohio and Kentucky rivers-bounded north by the Ohio river. east by Gal- latin, south by Owen and Henry, and west by Trimble county. The hills bordering the rivers are lofty, and in some places pre- cipitous ; back of them the surface of the county is rolling, and the soil of good quality. The staple products are corn, small grain, and Irish potatoes.
The taxable property of the county, according to the auditor's report of 1846, amounts to $1,310,213 ; number of acres of land in the county, 75,525 ; number of white males over twenty-one years of age, $$4 ; number of children between five and sixteen years old, 1,094. Population in 1840, 3,966.
CARROLLTON, (formerly Port William), the seat of justice, is about fifty miles from Frankfort. It is situated on the Ohio, im- mediately above the mouth of the Kentucky river-contains a fine brick court-house and jail, three churches, (Methodist, Presby- terian and Reformed), seven stores and groceries, four taverns, four lawyers, three physicians, one academy, one common school. two piano forte manufacturers, thirty mechanical trades, embracing every variety, two corn mills, one steam saw mill, one wool carding factory, and one rope walk with six spindles, working twenty tons of hemp per week. Population 800. It was incorporated as Port William in 1794; but received its present name from " Carrollton," the residence of Charles Carroll.
GUENT is a neat village, also situated on the Ohio river, oppo- site the town of' Vevay in Indiana. It contains one Baptist, one Methodist, and one Reformed church, one tavern, five stores and groceries, two physicians, one tobacco factory, and seven me- chanics' shops-population 300. Named after the city of Ghent in Europe, where the treaty of peace between Great Britain and the United States was signed. Preston is a small village situated below the mouth of the Kentucky, and opposite Carrollton-con- tains a store and tavern and about 100 inhabitants. Named after Col. Preston, of Virginia, who owned the land on which it is erected.
In March, 1785, a body of Indians surrounded the house of Mr. Elliott, situated at the mouth of' Kentucky river, and made a furious assault upon it. The mem- bers of the family generally made their escape ; but Mr. Elliott was killed and his house burnt by the savages. In 1786 or 's7, Captain Ellison built a block house on the point at the confidence of the Kentucky and Ohio river, and was successively driven from his post in the two succeeding summers, by a superior
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CHARLES CARROLL.
Indian force. In 1789-90. General Charles Scott built a block house on the second bank, in an elevated position, and fortified it by picketing. This post was occupied until 1792, when the town of Port William (now Carrollton) was first laid out. The Indians were then troublesome.
ANTIQUITIES .- About one-fourth of a mile from the Kentucky river, on the sec- ond bank of the Ohio, and about one hundred yards from the latter river, there are the remains of a fortification, of a circular forin, about one hundred and twenty feet in diameter, situated on level ground. About two miles from the mouth of the Kentucky, there are also the remains of what must have been a formidable fortification, situated on an eligible point, and of quadrangular form. The heavy embankment on which it was erected, is evidently of artificial construction, and must have been made at great labor and expense. It includes about an acre of ground, and is so graded as to throw the water from the centre in every direction. On the west and north of the fort, the paths, or roads leading to the water, and which were doubtless used for the general purpose of ingress and egress, are still distinctly marked and visible.
There are a number of mounds in the county, but generally of small size. In 1837, one was examined, in which was found the skull and thigh bones of a hu- man being of very large frame, together with a silver snuff box, made in the shape of an infant's shoe. On an elevated hill, a short distance from the Kentucky river, in opening a stone quarry, the jaw bone and a large number of human teeth were found : and on the points of the ridges, generally, similar discoveries have been made. About four miles from Carrollton, on the Muddy fork of White run, in the bed of the creek, on a limestone rock, is the form of a human being, in a sitting posture; and near by, is the form of one lying on his back, about six feet long, and distinctly marked.
This county received its name in honor of CHARLES CARROLL, of Carrollton, one of the signers of the declaration of Independence, and the last of that immortal band of patriots who descended to the tomb. Mr. Carroll was born at Annapolis, Maryland, on the 8th of September. 1737, O. S. He received his literary educa- tion in France, and studied law in England. In 1764, he returned to Maryland, a finished scholar and an accomplished gentleman. He married in 1969. He soon became a distinguished advocate of popular rights, and ultimately an ardent and devoted friend of the independence of the American colonies. At one time the delegates from Maryland in the continental congress were instructed to vote against the declaration of independence ; but through his influence the decision was reversed, and under new instructions on the 4th of July, 1776, the votes of the Maryland delegation were given for independence. Mr. Carroll having been appointed a delegate, on the 18th of July took his seat in Congress. On the same day a secret resolution was adopted, directing the declaration to be engrossed on parchment, and signed by all the members, which was accordingly done on the 2nd of August. As Mr. Carroll had not given a vote on the adoption of that instrument, he was asked by the president if he would sign it; " most willingly," he replied, and immediately affixed his name to that "record of glory," which his endeared him to his country, and rendered his name immortal. He subsequently aided in the formation of the constitution of Maryland, was a member of congress, a member of the state senate, and a member of the senate of the United States. He retired from public employments in 1801, and spent the remainder of his days in private life. On the 11th of November, 1832, at the advanced age of 95, he was gathered to his fathers.
An anecdote is told of Carroll, illustrative of the fearlessness and firmness of the man, which may not be out of place here. Immediately after he placed his name to the declaration of independence, one of his friends jocularly remarked that if the British got hold of him, they would not know whether it were he, or the Charles Carroll of Massachusetts, who had signed the declaration; conse- quently, they would be at a loss which to hang as the rebel. " In order." says he, " that there may be no mistake about that, I will save them the trouble of hanging two of us," and instantly affixed his residence to his name, and by which he was ever afterwards known as " Charles Carroll of Carrollton."
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CARTER AND CASEY COUNTIES.
. CARTER COUNTY.
CARTER county was formed in 1838, and called in honor of Colonel WILLIAM G. CARTER, the then senator in the state legisla- ture from the counties of Lewis, Greenup and Lawrence. It is situated in the extreme eastern portion of the State, and is watered by Big and Little Sandy rivers and Tygart's creek: Bounded on the north by Greenup and Lewis ; east.by Big Sandy river, which divides Kentucky from Virginia ; south by Lawrence, and west by Fleming. GRAYSON, the county seat, is about one hundred and ten miles from Frankfort-contains a fine brick court-house and other public buildings, two stores, four lawyers, two doctors, and several mechanics. Named after Colonel Robert Grayson.
The taxable property of Carter in 1846, was assessed at $433,856; number of acres of land, 246,977; average value per acre, $1,13 ; number of white males over twenty-one years is given at 878; and number of children between five and sixteen years old, 1,194. Population in 1940, was 2,905.
The surface of this county, like most of the eastern counties, is very much broken; and except in the bottoms of the rivers and the numerous small streams by which it is watered, the lands are not well adapted for agricultural purposes. The hills, how- ever, abound in stone coal and iron ore ; and the mineral resour- ces of the county, when fully developed, will prove an inexhaus- tible source of wealth to its population. Salt, in considerable quantities, has been annually manufactured, at the Sandy Salines, for nearly half a century.
CASEY COUNTY.
CASEY county was organized in 1806, and named in memory of Colonel WILLIAM CASEY. It is situated in the middle part of the State, and lies on the head waters of Green river and the Rolling Fork of Salt river: Bounded on the north by Boyle : east by Lincoln ; south by Pulaski, and west by Adair. LIBERTY is the seat of justice. which stands on the bank of Green river, about sixty-five miles from Frankfort. The surface is high and broken -- corn, wheat, oats and potatoes, the principal productions.
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