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 45
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FLOYD COUNTY.
peril of the moment, his friend could not reject so passionate an appeal, but seizing him in his arms, he placed bim upon his back. and ran in that manner for several hundred yards. Horseman after horseman passed them, all of whom refused to relieve him of his burden.
At length the enemy was gaining upon him so fast, that Kennan saw their death certain, unless he relinquished his burden. He accordingly told his friend. that he had used every possible exertion to save his life, but in vain; that he must relax his hold around his neck or they would both perish. The unhappy wretch, heedless of every remonstrance, still clung convulsively to his back, and impeded his exertions until the foremost of the enemy (armed with tomahawks alone.) were within twenty yards of thein. Kennan then drew his knife from its sheath and cut the fingers of his companion, thus compelling him to relinquish his hold. The unhappy man rolled upon the ground in utter helplessness, and Kennan beheld him tomahawked before he had gone thirty yards. Relieved from his burden, he darted forward with an activity which once more brought him to the van. Here again he was compelled to neglect his own safety in order to attend to that of others.
The late governor Madison, of Kentucky, who afterwards commanded the corps which defended themselves so honorably at Raisin, a man who united the most amiable temper to the most unconquerable courage, was at that time a sub- altern in St. Clair's army, and being a man of infirm constitution, was totally exhausted by the exertions of the morning, and was now sitting down calnily upon a log, awaiting the approach of his enemies. Kennan hastily accosted him. and enquired the cause of his delay. Madison, pointing to a wound which had Wed profusely. replied that he was unable to walk further, and had no horse. Kennan instantly ran back to a spot where he had seen an exhausted horse graz- ing, caught him without difficulty, and having assisted Madison to mount, walked by his side until they were out of danger. Fortunately the pursuit soon ceased, as the plunder of the camp presented irresistible attractions to the enemy. The friendship thus forined between these two young men, endured without interrup- tion through life. Mr. Kennan never entirely recovered from the immense exer- tions which he was compelled to make during this unfortunate expedition. He settled in Fleming county, and continued for many years a leading member of the Baptist church. He died in 1827.
FLOYD COUNTY.
FLOYD county was established in 1799, and named in honor of Colonel JOHN FLOYD. It is situated in the eastern extremity of the State, and lies on the waters of Big Sandy river,-bounded on the north by Johnson : east by the Virginia line : south by Pike. and west by Breathitt. PRESTONSBURG is the seat of justice. about one hundred and sixty miles from Frankfort. The mean width of the county is about thirty miles : the surface mountainous. in some places reaching an elevation of five hundred feet, and abounding in rich and inexhaustible strata of stone-coal. The principal crop is corn, though wheat, oats and flax are also culti- vated. The mountains afford excellent range for sheep, hogs and cattle. Three thousand hogs are annually driven to market from this county, and wool is beginning to be an article of exporta- tion. Seventeen miles from Prestonsburg, there is a spring called the " Burning Spring," which constantly emits a thick sulphurous vapor, and instantly ignites on the application of fire.
Valuation of taxable property in Floyd county in 1846, $155 .-
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878; number of acres of land in the county, 96,732 ; average value of land per acre, $2,89 ; number of white males over twenty- one years old, 812 ; number of children between the ages of five and sixteen years, 1490. Population in 1840, 6,302.
Prestonsburg is situated on Big Sandy river, about seventy miles from its mouth-contains a brick court house, jail and other public buildings, one seminary, six stores, two groceries, two taverns, four lawyers, three doctors, three tan-yards and six mechanies' shops. Incorporated in 1818, and called in honor of Col. John Preston, of Virginia, who owned the land. Population-200.
Colonel JOHN FLOYD, in honor of whom this county received its name, was a native of Virginia, as were most of the pioneers of Kentucky. Towards the close of the year 1773. as stated both by Butler and Marshall, or in 1774, according to the authority of Mr. Nathaniel Hart, Sen., Inte of Woodford county, he came to Kentucky on a surveying excursion. as a deputy of Colonel William Preston, principal surveyor of Fincastle county, of which the region in Virginia. west of the mountains, was then a part. He made many surveys on the Ohio. and be- longed to the party that was re-called by Dunmore, in consequence of the dangers attending the performance of their official duties. Colonel Floyd returned in 1775, and became a conspicuous actor in the stirring scenes of the times. Alter- nately a surveyor. a legislator and a soldier, his distinguished qualities rendered him at once an ornament and a benefactor of the infant settlements. No indi- vidual among the pioneers was more intellectual or better informed : none dis- played, on all occasions that called for it. a bolder and more undaunted courage. His person was singularly attractive. With a complexion unusually dark. his eyes and hair were deep black. and his tall spare figure was dignified by the accomplishments of a well bred Virginia gentleman. Connecting himself with the fortunes of the Transylvania company, he became their principal surveyor, and was chosen a delegate from the town of St. Asaph to the assembly that met at Boonesborough on the 21th of May, 1775. to make laws for the infant colony. He accompanied Boone in the pursuit and rescue of his daughter and her com- panions, whom the savages had decoyed and captured in July, 1976, and his contemporaneous account of that thrilling occurrence, does equal credit to his sul- diership and pen. In all the stations, civil and military. to which he was called. he acquitted himself with honor, and came at last to a violent death, by the hands of the savages, in 1783.
FRANKLIN COUNTY.
FRANKLIN county was formed in the year 1791, and named in honor of the distinguished patriot and statesman. Dr. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. It lies on both sides of the Kentucky river, and is bounded on the north by Owen; east by Scott : south by Ander- son and Woodford : and west by Shelby. The face of the chen try is diversified : a small portion gently undulating ; another part, inter-ected by the small streams which flow into the Ken- tucky, uneven and hilly ; while tall cliffs. in many places quite precipitous, rear their heads along the meandering course of that river through the county. The staple products of the county are wheat, corn and cats. Hemp is cultivated to a limited extent.
Number of acres of land, reported by commissioners, a- lying in Franklin, 120,231; average value per acre in 1846, $11,47 ;
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value of taxable property, $4,004,223 ; number of white males over 21 years of age, 1692 ; number of children between five and sixteen years old, 1537. Population in 1830, 9,251-in 1840, 9,420.
FRANKFORT is the seat of justice for Franklin county, and the capital of the state of Kentucky, being 25 miles from Lexington, and 550 miles from Washington city. It is beautifully situated on the Kentucky river, 60 miles above its mouth, and in the midst of the wild and romantic scenery which renders that stream so remarkable. From the summits of the overhanging cliffs which encircle the plains beneath like the ramparts of a mighty fortress, the city of Frankfort and the town of South Frankfort, with their public edifices and private residences, their spires and gardens, intermingled and occupying both banks, the meadows around, and the graceful stream itself as it sweeps through the verdant valley, are all mapped out to the eye in a single view of varied and picturesque beauty. The state house, with the pub- lic offices on either side of it, is situated on a slight eminence about midway between the river, which it fronts, and the north- ern termination of the valley. It is a large and very handsome structure, built of Kentucky marble, with a portico in front, sup- ported by six columns of the Ionic order. The senate and rep- resentative halls are in the second story-the former a capacious room, handsomely finished, with a portrait of General Wash- ington, large as life, immediately in the rear of the speaker's chair, and portraits of General Lafayette and Colonel Daniel Boone on the right and left. The senate chamber is a smaller room, also very neatly finished, and having a full length portrait of General William Henry Harrison suspended over the presi- dent's chair. The rooms on the lower story, are appropriated to the state library, court of appeals, federal court, &c. The pub- lic offices are plain, but neat and substantial buildings. The public grounds embrace an area of some four or five acres, and are studded with a variety of handsome shrubs and forest trees. In front of the capitol is a beautiful fountain, supplied with wa- ter conveyed through iron pipes from a large spring some dis- tance from the city. The governor's house is a large, plain build- ing of brick. The other public buildings are-a court house, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist and Episcopal churches, an acad- emy, and a banking house for the branch bank of Kentucky.
Frankfort contains, also, two newspaper establishments-the " Frankfort Commonwealth," and "Kentucky Yeoman." -- both weeklies, but the former published daily, as well as weekly, dur- ing the session of the legislature ; twenty lawyers, twelve phy- sicians, twelve dry goods' stores, two book stores, six grocery stores, two drug stores, two hardware stores, two jewelry stores. four commission houses, four taverns, three bagging factories. with a large number of manufacturing establishments and me- chanic shops. Population in 1×10, 1,917-in 1847, supposed to be about 2,600. The place is well supplied with water, of an
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THE PENITENTIARY.
excellent quality, conducted through pipes from a spring some one or two miles from the city. The improvement of the Ken- tucky river has greatly advanced the commercial importance of Frankfort, which must continue to grow with the increasing pop- ulation and wealth of the surrounding country.
Frankfort was established by the Virginia legislature in 1786, though the first survey of 600 acres was made by Robert M'Afee on the 16th July, 1773. The seat of government was located here in 1792, and the first session of the assembly was held 1793. The public buildings not being ready, the legislature assembled in a large frame house belonging to Major James Love, which is yet seen on the bank of the river in the lower part of the city.
The State's Prison or Penitentiary, is located at Frankfort. The penitentiary system was established in Kentucky in 1798; the legislature which adopted it being moved by feelings of the most benevolent character. The prisoners were, for some years, allowed to appropriate to their own use, the excess of their earn- ings, above the costs of prosecution and after making restitution to those they had injured. This system was repealed in 1805. Under the operation of subse- quent acts of the legislature, no revenue was derived to the state from the peni- tentiary ; indeed, for twenty years, it was a dead expense. In the year 1825, Mr. Joel Scott was appointed agent and keeper by act of assembly, who entered upon his duties in the nature of a contract with the state, stipulating to pay to the state one half the profits, and guarantying they should not fall below a spe- cified sum. To him is due the credit of introducing the Auburn system, under which the Kentucky penitentiary has long been the most prosperous institution of the kind in the United States or the world. He was appointed for two teinis of five years each, but relinquished the last year of his last term on account of ill health. The average number of prisoners during his term of nine years, was about 85, and the clear average earnings of the prison, over and above expenses, was $70,000.
Dr. T. S. Theobalds succeeded Mr. Scott in 1834, upon the same terms. He conducted the institution on the same general principles, but changing somewhat the employment of the prisoners, and introducing additional machinery. The heaviest branch of business is the manufacture of bagging and rope. During his first term, the earnings above expenses, were about $80,000; during the second, ending March, 1844, about $120,000. The number of prisoners from 1834 to 1839, ranged from eighty to one hundred and forty ; and from the latter year to 1846, from one hundred and forty to one hundred and eighty. The present keepers (Messrs. Craig and Henry ) were appointed for five years, on the same terms as their predecessors, except that they stipulate to pay the state two-thirds of the net profits earned, at the same time guarantying a certain annual profit of not less than $5,000.
The distinguishing disciplinary feature of the institution is silence by day and solitary confinement by night. The convicts are employed in associated labor by day, but not allowed to talk together except about the business in hand. They have two meals a day, of plain, coarse, but wholesome fare, each eating as much as he likes of bread, various meats, vegetables and soups. They have divine service every Sabbath, and the ignorant are taught letters and learning ; and those who can read, are required to choose books for perusal from a good library of moral books, provided by the State. Their heads are shaved every Saturday, a disagreeable punishment, but deemed a necessary safeguard. Their hair is allowed to grow four months before expiration of sentence. On discharge, each prisoner is entitled to five dollars cash, and a comfortable suit of new clothes. The audi- tor, treasurer, land register and attorney general of the State, are inspectors, required by law to examine the institution, condition of the prisoners, their treat- ment, clothing, food, &c. monthly. The buildings of the penitentiary are exten- sive, and well arranged alike for the security and comfort of the convicts. The office of the keeper is an elegant building of cut stone, ornamented with two bex- agonal gothic towers.
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FRANKLIN COUNTY.
FEMALE HEROISM .- The facts in the following account of an attack on Innia settlement, near Frankfort, in April, 1792, are derived from the Rev. Abraham Cook, a venerable minister of the Baptist church, himself a pioneer, now upwards of eighty years of age, and the brother of Jesse and Hosea Cook, the husbands of the two intrepid and heroic females whose bravery is here recorded :
Some five or six years previous to the occurrence of the event named, a settle- ment was commenced on South Elkhorn, a short distance above its junction with the North fork, which, though not very strong, was considered a sort of asylum from Indian invasion. About Christmas in the year 1791, two brothers, Jesse and Hosea Cook and their families, their brothers-in-law, Lewis Mastin and family, and William Dunn and part of his family, with William Bledsoe and family, moved to Main Elkhorn, about three miles from the above named place, and formed a settlement in a bottom there, known as Innis' bottom. A man by the name of Farmer, with his family, shortly after made a settlement a short distance lower down the creek ; and an overseer and three negroes had been placed on an improvement of Colonel Innis' a short distance above. The new settlement was between three and four miles from Frankfort, at that time containing but a few families. It was composed of newly married persons, some with and others with- out children. They had been exempt from Indian depredations up to the 28th of April, 1792, although a solitary Indian on horseback, had passed it in the night, during the preceding winter. The two Cooks settled in cabins close together ; Mastin and Bledsoe occupied double cabins some three hundred yards from the Cooks; the cabin of Dunn was about three hundred yards from those above named, and Farmer's about the same distance below the Cooks : while Innis' overseer and negroes were located about three-fourths of a mile above.
On the day above mentioned (the 28th of April, 1792), an attack was made on three several points of the settlement, almost simultaneously, by about one hun- dred Indians. The first onset was made upon the Cooks. The brothers were near their cabins, one engaged in shearing sheep, the other looking on. The sharp crack of rifles was the first intimation of the proximity of the Indians ; and that fire was fatal to the brothers-the elder fell dead, and the younger was mortally wounded, but enabled to reach the cabin. The two Mrs. Cooks, with three children. (two whites and one black), were instantly collected in the house, and the door, a very strong one, made secure. The Indians, unable to enter, dis- charged their rifles at the door, but without injury, as the balls did not penetrate through the thick boards of which it was constructed. They then attempted to ent it down with their tomahawks, but with no better success. While these things occurred without, there was deep sorrow, mingled with fearless determination and high resolve within. The younger Cook, mortally wounded, immediately the door was barred, sunk down on the floor, and breathed his last: and the two Mrs. Cooks were left the sole defenders of the cabin, with the three children. There was a rifle in the house, but no balls could be found. In this extremity, one of the women got hold of a musket ball, and placing it between her teeth, actually bit it into two pieces. With one she instantly loaded the rifle. The Indians, failing in their attempts to cut down the door, had retired a few paces in front, doubtless to consult upon their future operations. One seated himself upon a log, apparently apprehending no danger from within. Observing him, Mrs. Cook took aim from a narrow aperture and fired, when the Indian gave a loud vell, bounded high in the air, and fell dead. This infuriated the savages, who threat- ened (for they could speak English) to burn the house and all the inmates. Sev- eral speedily climbed to the top of the cabin, and kindled a fire on the boards of the roof. The devouring element began to take effect. and with less determined and resolute courage within, the certain destruction of the cabin and the death of the inmates, must have been the consequence. But the self possession and intrepidity of these Spartan females were equal to the occasion. One of them instantly as- cended to the loft, and the other handed her water, with which she extinguished the fire. Again and again the roof was fired, and as often extinguished. The water failing, the undaunted woman called for some eggs, which were broken and the contents thrown upon the fire, for a time holding the flames at bay. Their next resource was the bloody waistcoat of the husband and brother-in-law, who lay dead upon the floor. The blood with which this was profusely saturated, checked the progress of the flames-but, as they appeared speedily to be gather-
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REMAINS OF BOONE.
ing strength, another, and the last expedient * * .
* proved successful. The savage foe yielded, and the fruitful expedients of female courage triumphed. One Indian, in bitter disappointment, fired at his unseen enemy through the boards, but did not injure her, when the whole immediately descended from the roof.
About the time the attack commenced, a young man named McAndre, escaped on horseback in view of the Indians, who, it was supposed, would give the alarm to the older neighboring settlement. As soon as they descended from the house- top, a few climbed some contiguous trees, and instituted a sharp look-out. While in the trees, one of them fired a second ball into the loft of the cabin, which cut to pieces a bundle of yarn hanging near the head of Mrs. Cook, but withont doing further injury. Soon after, they threw the body of the dead Indian into the adja- cent creek, and precipitately fled.
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A few moments after the Cooks were attacked, Mastin, in conversation with Mc- Andre near his cabin, was fired upon and wounded in the knee ; but not so badly as to disable him. He commenced a rapid retreat to his house, but received a second shot, which instantly killed him. McAndre escaped on horseback, and carried with him to the old settlement one of Mastin's small children. Dunn and two of his sons, one aged sixteen and the other nine years, the only members of the family then in the bottom, not having been observed by the Indians when the attack commenced, escaped to the woods and separated. The old man made his way safely to the older settlement, but the boys were afterwards discovered by the Indians, and both murdered. One of the negroes at Innis's quarter, being sick, was killed, and the two others taken captive, (the overseer being absent). Of the captives, one died among the Indians, and the other returned to his mas- ter. The survivors of this infant colony were taken to the older settlement, and found all the kindness and hospitality so characteristic of pioneer life.
The alarm was quickly communicated to the adjacent settlements, and before night-fall, a body of from seventy-five to one hundred men were in hot pursuit of the retreating foe. The main body of the Indians, however, reached the Ohio and crossed it safely, in advance of the Kentuckians. A small party who had lingered behind and stolen some negroes and horses from another settlement, were overtaken on the succeeding morning, a short distance from the Ohio, by a por- tion of the pursuing force, among them the venerable William Tureman, of the city of Maysville, then a youth. The whites fired, and the hindmost Indian fell, severely wounded. One of the whites imprudently rushed his horse through the tall grass to the spot where the Indian fell, when the latter raised his rifle and shot him through the heart. He then rose to his feet, and attempted to reach the thicket to which his companions had retreated, but was fired upon and killed, some fifteen or twenty balls having been lodged in his body. .
REMAINS OF DANIEL BOONE .- At its session of 1844-45, the legislature of Ken- tucky adopted measures to have the mortal. remains of the celebrated pioneer, DANIEL BOONE, and those of his wife, removed from their place of burial on the banks of the Missouri, for the purpose of interment in the public cemetery at Frankfort. There seemed to be a peculiar propriety in this testimonial of the veneration borne by the commonwealth for the memory of the illustrious dead ; and it was fitting that the soil of Kentucky should afford the final resting place of his remains, whose blood in life had so often been shed to protect it from the fnry of savage hostility. It was as the beautiful and touching manifestation of filial affection shown by children to the memory of a beloved parent; and it was right that the generation who were reaping in peace the fruits of his toils and dan- gers, should desire to have in their midst, and decorate with the tokens of their love, the sepulchre of this primeval patriarch, whose stout heart watched by the cradle of this now powerful commonwealth, in its weak and helpless infancy, shielding it with his body from all those appalling dangers which threatened its safety and existence.
The consent of the surviving relations of the deceased having been obtained, a commission was appointed, under whose superintendence the removal was effec- ted ; and the 13th of September, 1845, was fixed upon as the time when the ashes of the venerable dead, would be committed with fitting ceremonies to the place of their final repose. It was a day which will be long remembered in the history
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of Franklin. The deep feeling excited by the occasion, was evinced by the as- sembling of an immense concourse of citizens from all parts of the State; and the ceremonies were most imposing and impressive. A procession, extending more than a mile in length, accompanied the coffins to the grave. The hearse, decorated with evergreens and flowers, and drawn by four white horses, was placed in its assigned position in the line, accompanied as pall bearers, by the following distinguished pioneers, viz. Colonel Richard M. Johnson, of Scott : General James Taylor, of Campbell; Captain James Ward, of Mason; General Robert B. McAfee, and Peter Jordan, of Mercer; Waller Bullock, Esq., of Fay- ette; Captain Thomas Joyce, of Louisville; Mr. Landon Sneed, of Franklin ; Colonel John Johnston, of the State of Ohio; Major Z. Williams, of Kenton; and Colonel William Boone, of Shelby. The procession was accompanied by several military companies, and by the members of the Masonic Fraternity, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in rich regalia. Arrived at the grave, the company was brought together in a beautiful hollow near the grave, ascending from the center'on every side. Here the funeral services were performed. The hymn was given out by the Rev. Mr. Godell, of the Baptist church ; prayer by Bishop Soule, of the Methodist Episcopal church; oration by the Honorable John J. Crittenden ; closing prayer by the Rev. J. J. Bullock, of the Presbyte- rian church ; and benediction by the Rev. P. S. Fall, of the Christian church. The coffins were then lowered into the graves. The spot where the graves are situated, is as beautiful as nature and art combined can make it. It is designed to erect a monument on the place.
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