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 35
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After several months had been spent in indefatigable efforts to raise a force of two thousand men, for the enterprise against Detroit, the several corps destinet for the service were designated, and ordered to rendezvous on the 15th of Maret., 1781, at the falls of the Ohio, and Clark was raised to the rank of a brigadier general ; but unexpected and insuperable difficulties arose, and the ardent gent :+ of the commander was confined to defensive operations. This appears to My. been the turning point in the fortunes of the hardy warrior. He had set bis her! on destroying the British influence throughout the whole North-Western Ter - tory. Could he have had the means which he required, his advancement in roos would no doubt have been gratifying; but without a general's command, a gde eral's commission was of no value. Dangers and hardships would have been disregarded ; but with his small force to be stationed on the frontier to repel the inroads of a few predatory bands of Indians, when he was eager to carry the w !! to the lakes, was more than he could bear, and it preyed upon his spirit. Fra this time forth his influence sensibly decreased, and the innate force and energy of his character languished and degenerated.
He was a lion chained. but he was still a lion. and so the enemy found him in 1782. When the news of the disastrous battle of the Blue Licks reached limo. took immediate measures to rouse the country from that benumbed torpor of an- guish and despondency in which this great calamity had plunged it, and to carry
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the war once more into the enemy's country. In September, a thousand moun- ted riflemen assembled on the banks of the Ohio, at the mouth of Licking, and moved against the Indian towns on the Miami and Scioto. The Indians fra before them, and not more than twelve were killed or taken. Five of their tow ux were reduced to ashes, and all of their provisions destroyed. The effect of thus expedition was such that no formidable party of Indians ever after invaded Ken- tucky.
In 1786, a new army was raised to march against the Indians on the Wabash. and Clark, at the head of a thousand men, again entered the Indian territory. This expedition proved unfortunate, and was abandoned.
Several years elapsed before the name of General Clark again appeared in con- nection with public affairs. When Genet, the French minister, undertook to raise and organize a force in Kentucky for a secret expedition against the Spanish possessions on the Mississippi, George Rogers Clark accepted a commission as inajor general in the armies of France, to conduct the enterprise. But, before the project was put in execution, a counter revolution occurred in France, Genet was recalled, and Clark's commission annulled. Thus terminated his public career.
General Clark was never married. He was long in infirm health, and severely afflicted with a rheumatic affection, which terminated in paralysis, and deprived him of the use of one limb. After suffering under this disease for several years, it finally caused his death in February, 1818. He died and was buried at Locust Grove, near Louisville.
CLAY COUNTY.
CLAY county was formed in 1806, and named in honor of Gen- eral GREEN CLAY. It lies on the south fork of the Kentucky river -- and is bounded north by Owsley; east by Breathitt and Perry : south by Knox ; and west by Laurel. The face of the country is generally hilly and mountainous-the principal products, corn, wheat and grass; the latter growing spontaneously, in great abundance, on the mountains and in the valleys. Coal is abun- dant, and is used generally by the inhabitants for fuel. Salt is manufactured at fifteen furnaces in the county, producing it is supposed, from 150,000 to 200,000 bushels per annum, and of the very best quality. About nine miles from Manchester, there is a spring which produces an abundant supply of gas.
The taxable property in Clay county in 1846, was assessed at $513,303; number of acres in the county, 154,370; average value per acre, $1,55 ; number of white males over twenty-one years of age. 738; children between five and sixteen years of age, 1,180. Population in 1830, 3,549 -- in 1840, 4,607.
MANCHESTER is the seat of justice, and only town in the county .- about eighty miles from Frankfort. It is situated near Goose creek, and contains the usual public buildings, one seminary, one Methodist church, one Reformed church, two taverns, two store :, two groceries, two lawyers, two physicians, and seven or eight mechanics' shops. Population 100. Named for the great manu- facturing town of England.
General GREEN CLAY, in honor of whom this county was named, was boru in Powhattan county, Virginia, on the 14th August, 1757. He was the son of Charles Clay, and descended from John Clay, a British grenadier, who came to
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Virginia during Bacon's rebellion, and declined returning when the king's troops were sent back. Whether this ancestor was from England or Wales, is not cer- tainly known, but from the thin skin and ruddy complexion of his descendants, the presumption is that Wales was his birth place. Green Clay came to Ken- turky when but a youth. His education was exceedingly limited. To read, write, and cypher, a slight knowledge of the principles of grammar, together with the rudiments of surveying, constituted his entire stock of scholastic learning. With some men, richly endowed by nature, these are advantages sufficient to in- sure distinction, or to command a fortune, both of which the subject of this notice effected. The first few years after his arrival in Kentucky, were spent in exam- ining the country, and aiding to expel the savages. He then entered the office of James Thompson, a commissioned surveyor, where he more thoroughly studied the principles and acquired the art of surveying. In executing the work assigned him by his principal, who soon made him a deputy, he became minutely acquainted with the lands in the upper portion of the (then) county of Kentucky. The power (at that time unrestrained ), to enter and survey lands, wherever ignorance of a prior location, or a wish to lay a warrant might incline, rendered the titles to land exceedingly doubtful and insecure. Many entries were made on the same land by different individuals, producing expensive litigation, and often occasion- ing the ruin of one of the parties. Entering and surveying lands at an early day was attended with great danger. The country one vast wilderness, with the ex- ception of a few forts which at rare intervals dotted its surface, was infested by innumerable hordes of savage warriors, wiley and full of stratagem, breathing vengeance against the invaders --- rendered the location of lands a perilous employ- ment. Surveying parties consisted generally of not more than four-the sur- veyor, two chain carriers and a marker-hence more reliance was placed in cau- tion and vigilance than in defence by arms.
Clay soon established a character for judgment, industry and enterprise, which drew to him a heavy business. His memory of localities was remarka- ble, and enabled him to revisit any spot he had ever seen, without difficulty. His position in the office-his access to books-his retentive memory-his topogra- phical knowledge-enabled him to know when lands were unappropriated. Hence his services were much sought, by all who wished to locate lands in the re- gion of country where he resided. Whilst the great body of land in Kentucky was being appropriated. it was the custom for the holders of warrants to give one half to some competent individual to enter and survey the quantity called for by the warrant. Much of this business was thrown into Clay's hands ; and he thus acquired large quantities of land. He also applied all his slender re- sources to increase this estate. An anecdote is related which evinces the high estimation in which he held this species of estate, and the sagacity and foresight of the young surveyor. Having gone to Virginia, soon after the surrender of Cornwallis, at a time when the continental paper money was so depreciated that five hundred dollars were asked for a bowl of rum-toddy, he sold his riding horse to a French officer for twenty-seven thousand dollars of the depreciated currency, and invested it in lands. The lands thus purchased, are at this day worth half a million of dollars.
After the land in the middle and upper parts of the State had been generally entered and appropriated, Clay went below, and on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers entered and surveyed large tracts of land for some gentlemen of Virginia. These surveys were made at a time when the Indians were in the exclusive occupancy rt those regions, and so perilous was the business that his chain carriers and mark. deserted him, without notice, before his work was entirely completed. Some of his field notes had become defaced, and after being thus abandoned by his com- panions, he was detained some weeks, revisiting the corners and other objects to renew and finish Kis notes. His danger in this lone undertaking was great; but notwithstanding all difficulties, so accurately did he accomplish his work, that subsequent surveyors have readily traced the lines, and found the corner trees and other objects called for. During this period he traveled mostly in the night, and slept during the day in thick cane hrikes, hollow logs, and the tops of trees. Notwithstanding his heavy engagements in the land business, he devoted several years of his life to politics. Before the erection of Kentucky into a State, he was elected a delegate to the general assembly of Virginia. He was a member
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of the convention which formed the present constitution of Kentucky. After the admission of Kentucky into the union, he represented Madison county wany years in each branch of the legislature. He took a prominent and leading p rt in all the important legislative measures of his day. The records of the country bear abundant evidence of his great industry, strict attention, capacious intellect, and uniform patriotism. He was particularly observant of the local and personal interests of his immediate constituents, without permitting them to interfere with his general duties as a law maker and statesman. When the last war between Great Britain and the United States was declared, he was a major general in the militia of Kentucky. Determined to lend his service to his country, !! this, her second struggle for independence, he adjusted his private affairs pre- paratory to an absence from home. After the defeat of General Winchester. and the wanton butchery of our troops, who had surrendered under promise of safety and good treatment, the first call for volunteers was responded to from Kentucky, who had been a principal sufferer in that bloody catastrophe. by a general rush to the scene of hostilities. It was necessary to succor fort Meig .. and reinforce General Harrison, to enable him to retake Detroit and invade Can- ada. For this emergency Kentucky furnished three thousand troops, and placed them under the command of General Green Clay, with the rank of brigadier general. General Clay made all haste to the scene of action, and arrived at fort Meigs on the 4th of May, 1813, cutting his way through the enemy's lines into the fort. It does not consist with the character of this work to narrate the incidents attending this celebrated siege. They belong to the public history of the country, where they may be found related at large. Suffice it to say, that General Clay inspired General Harrison with such confidence in his eminent mil- itary abilities, that when that great warrior left fort Meigs, he placed that post under the command of General Clay. In the autumn of 1813, the garrison was besieged by a force of fifteen hundred British and Canadians, and five thousand Indians under Tecumseh ; but fearing to attempt its capture by storm, and failing in all their stratagems to draw the garrison from their entrenchments, the enemy soon raised the siege. After this, nothing of special interest occurred until the troops of the garrison were called out to join the army prepared for the invasion of Canada. The term of service of the Kentuckians expiring about this time, they were discharged ; but General Clay accompanied the army as far as Detroit, when he returned to his residence in Madison county. He devoted the remaining years of his life to agricultural pursuits, and the regulation of his estate.
General Clay was more robust than elegant in person-five feet eleven inches in height-strong and active-of remarkable constitution-rarely sick, and capa- ble of great toil-submitting to privations without a murmur. No country ever contained, according to its population, a greater number of distinguished men than Kentucky. At an early day, and among the most distinguished, General Clay was a man of mark. He was a devoted husband-a kind and affectionate father-a pleasant neighbor-and a good master. He died at his residence on the 31st of October, 1826, in the seventy-second year of his age.
CLINTON COUNTY.
CLINTON county was formed in 1835, from Wayne and Cumber- land, and called for Governor DE WITT CLINTON, of New York. It is situated in the southern part of the State, and bounded on the north by Russell, east by Wayne, south by the Tennessee line, and west by. Cumberland. Albany is the seat of justice, about 126 miles from Frankfort.
The taxable property in Clinton, as given in the auditor's re- port for 1846, is $445,909 ; number of acres of land in the county
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86,610 ; average value per acre, $2,68 ; number of white males in the county over twenty-one years of age, 739; number of children between five and sixteen years old, 1,235. Population in 1840, 3,863.
ALBANY, the county seat, contains a court-house and other pub- lic buildings, a United Baptist church, one school, three stores, two taverns, three lawyers, two doctors, fifteen mechanics' shops, and one hundred and thirty inhabitants. Seventy-Six is a small village, containing a lawyer, post office, tannery, saw and grist mill, and twenty-five inhabitants.
A spur of the Cumberland mountain, called Poplar mountain, penetrates this county, and terminates about two miles west of its centre. In its windings, this mountain makes a beautiful curve, and the valley on the eastern side and within the curve, called Stockton's valley, is fertile limestone land. The elevation of Poplar mountain above the valley is from one thousand to fifteen hundred feet. Coal in abundance, and of the best quality, is found in the mountain, in strata of about four feet. On the top of this mountain, about four miles from Albany, there are three chalybeate springs, which have been visited more or less for eight or ten years. These waters, combined with the purity of the atmosphere, have proved of immense benefit to invalids who have resorted there for their health. From these mountain springs, a most extensive and magnificent view of the sur- rounding country is presented. On a clear morning the fog seems to rise on the water courses in the distance, and stand just above the trees, when the eye can trace the beautiful Cumberland river in its windings for at least one hundred miles, and may distinctly mark the junction of its tributaries, in a direct line, for thirty miles. The springs are about ten or twelve miles from the Cumberland, and it is believed that, in the hands of an enterprising proprietor, they would soon become a place of great resort. The elevation of the mountain, and the consequent purity of the atmosphere-the beauty and magnificence of the scenery and prospect daily presented to the eye of the visitor, combined with the medici- nal virtues of the water, a good host, and intelligent and refined association, would make these springs a most desirable point for a summer excursion.
On Indian creek, about three miles from the mountain springs, there is a per- pendicular fall of ninety feet. Above the great falls, for the distance of about two hundred yards, the fall of the stream is gradnal, and several fine mills have been erected on it. There are three large springs in the county : one on the south, and two at Albany, which send forth volumes of water sufficiently large to turn a grist mill or other machinery. Wolf river runs through a part of the county, and the Cumberland touches it on the north-west. The face of the coun- try is undulating in some portions of the county ; in others, hilly and broken. Besides coal, iron ore abounds, and plaster of Paris, it is reported, has been re- cently discovered in the hills.
DE WITT CLINTON, whose name this county bears, was a native of New York, and one of the most distinguished men in the United States. He was born at Little Britain, in Orange county, on the 2d of March, 1769. He was educated at Columbia college, and studied law with the Hon. Samuel Jones. He early imbibed a predilection for political life, and the first office he held was that of private secretary to his uncle George Clinton, then governor of New York. In 1:97, Mr. Clinton was elected a member of the New York legislature, where he espoused the political sentiments of the republican or democratic party. Two years after, he was elected to the State senate. In 1801, he received the appoint- ment of United States' senator, to fill a vacancy, where he served for two sessions. After that period, he was chosen mayor of New York, and remained in this pu- sition, with an intermission of but two years, until 1815. In 1817, he was elected, almost unanimously, governor of his native State -- the two great parties having combined for the purpose of raising him to that dignity. He was re- elected in 1820, but declined a candidacy in 1822. In 1824, he was again notil- nated and elected to the office of governor, and in 1826 was re-elected by a large
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majority. He died suddenly, while sitting in his library, on the 11th of Febru- ary, 1828, before completing his last term of office. Mr. Clinton was the pro- jector and the active and untiring friend of the canal system of New York, which has been instrumental in adding so largely to the wealth and population of that great State. He was a man of very superior literary attainments-exten- sively versed in the physical sciences, and a fine classical and belles-lettres scholar. He was a member of most of the literary and scientific institutions of the United States, and an honorary member of many of the learned societies of Great Britain and the continent of Europe. His moral character was excellent, and his personal appearance commanding, being tall and finely proportioned.
CRITTENDEN COUNTY.
CRITTENDEN county was formed in 1842, and named for the Hon. JOHN J. CRITTENDEN. It is situated in the western part of the State, on the Ohio river-bounded on the north by that river, east by Hopkins, south by Caldwell, and west by Livingston. Coal abounds in the county, and lead and iron ores are found in inex- haustible quantities. In the vicinity of the mines the surface is hilly, but the greater portion of the county is level or gently un- dulating, and very productive. The principal articles of export are coal, tobacco, corn, wheat, oats, and pork.
The taxable property in 1846 was valued at $666,014; num- ber of acres of land in the county, 162,960 ; average value, $2,00; number of white males over twenty-one years of age, 948 ; num- ber of children between the ages of five and sixteen years, 1,316.
MARION, the seat of justice for Crittenden, contains a new brick court-house and other public buildings, six stores and gro- ceries, one tavern, two houses of entertainment, four lawyers, three doctors, and four mechanics' shops-population 120. Or- ganized in 1842, and named in honor of General Francis Marion. Clementsburg is a very small village, situated on the Ohio river.
JOHN JORDAN CRITTENDEN, in honor of whom this county was named, was born in the county of Woodford, within a few miles of the town of Versailles, on the 10th of September, 1786. He is the son of John Crittenden, a revolutionary officer, who emigrated to Kentucky soon after the conclusion of the war. The character of the father may be judged of from the virtues of the children ; and applying this rule to the present instance, no man could wish a prouder eulogium than is due to the elder Mr. Crittenden. His four sons, John, Thomas, Robert. and Henry, were all distinguished men-the three first were eminent at the har. and in public life; and the last, who devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, was nevertheless so conspicuous for talent that his countrymen insisted on their right occasionally to withdraw him from the labors of the farm to those of the public councils. They were all remarkable for those personal qualities that constitute the perfect gentleman. Brave and gallant as the sire from whom they descended. accomplished in mind and manners, men without fear and without reproach, they have made their name a part and parcel of the glory of this commonwealth.
Of the early boyhood of Mr. Crittenden, there is but little that needs to be re- corded in as hurried a sketch as this must necessarily be. He received as good an education as could be obtained in the Kentucky schools of that day, and com- pleted his scholastic studies at Washington academy, in Virginia, and at the college of William and Mary, in the same State. On his return to Kentucky,
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he became a student of law in the office of the honorable George M. Bibb, and under the care of' that renowned jurist, he became thoroughly prepared for the practice of his profession. At that period the Green River country was the at- tractive field for the enterprize of the State, affording to the youth of Kentucky similar inducements to those that the west still continues to offer to the citizens of the older States. Mr. Crittenden commenced the practice of the law in Rns- sellville. in the midst of a host of brilliant competitors. He went there unknown to fame-he left it with a fame as extended as the limits of this great nation. All the honors of his profession were soon his, and while his accurate and thorough knowledge of the law gained for him hosts of clients, his brilliant oratory filled the land with his praise, and the pride of that section of the State demanded that he should serve in the legislative assembly. He was accordingly elected to the legislature from the county of Logan, in 1911; and that noble county conferred the same honor upon him, in six consecutive elections. In 1917, and while a re- presentative from Logan, he was elected speaker of the house of representatives, having thus attained the highest distinction in the popular branch of the legisla- ture of his native State. That same honest pride which had impelled the Green River people to press him into public life, had spread throughout the State, and the people of Kentucky resolved to place him where the eyes of the nation might be upon him-confident that he would win honor for himself and advance the fame of those he represented. He was accordingly, in 1817, elected a sena- tor in the congress of the United States, and although the youngest member of that body, no sooner had occasion presented, when it was meet for him to speak, than by the universal acclaim of the American people, he was hailed as among the foremost of our orators-as a fit colleague for Henry Clay himself-and as one who must take rank with our ablest statesmen. His private affairs requiring his unremitted attention, he withdrew from this theatre where he was winning golden opinions from all, to enter more vigorously upon the practice of his pro- fession. In order that he might be enabled to do this in the most favorable man- ner, he removed to Frankfort, in 1819, at which place the federal court and supreme court of the State are held. But here, again, the same popular love and enthu- siasm followed him, and he was compelled to yield a reluctant assent to the wishes of his friends, who desired him to serve them in the legislature. He was elected from Franklin. in 1825-a period memorable in the history of Kentucky. In the Old and New Court controversy, no man occupied a more conspicuous point than Mr. Crittenden, and as the advocate of the laws and constitution of Kentucky, and in the maintenance of a sound private and public faith, no man was more distinguished. He was three times elected to the legislature from Franklin, and during one of the periods, he was again chosen speaker of the house of representatives.
The troubles of that period having subsided, and the public service not requiring the sacrifice of his time and business. he again returned to private life, but was permitted a very short respite from the political arena ; for, in 1835, he was once inore sent to the senate of the United States, and held the office by re-election until the coming in of the administration of President Harrison. By that patriot presi- dent he was appointed attorney general of the United States. and the appoint- ment was hailed by men of all parties as the most appropriate that could have been made. The melancholy death of the president brought into power an admin- istration that forfeited the respect of honorable minds. Mr. Crittenden left it. and resigned bis office in a note which he sent to the President, that has been considered an admirable specimen of the manner in which a lofty mind can retire from place, when its possession cannot be held with self respect. But only 3 few months had elapsed before we find him again in the Senate of the United States, by another election from Kentucky, where he now stands, unrivalled in debate-the acknowledged leader of the great whig party, in an assemblage where the talent of a nation is concentrated. He has been five times elected to the senate of the United States from Kentucky-an honor of which no other cu- izen can boast. The history of congress, while he has been a member, cannot be written without his name standing forth in conspicuous prominence, for be bas heen truly great upon every question that has been of sufficient importance to interest the public mind. It may be said of him, that he never shrank from public duty, but was always ready to defend his principles and opinions as became a man.
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