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 67
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Judge JOHN COBURN was a native of Philadelphia, where he received an excel- lent education, and was bred to the bar. In 1784, under the advice of the distin- guished Luther Martin, Esq., of Baltimore, who cherished a deep interest for him, young Coburn emigrated to Kentucky. Abandoning the profession to which he had been reared, however, he located himself in Lexington, and commenced the mercantile business, which was at that time very lucrative. In August. 1786. he married Miss Mary Moss, of Fayette county. He seems to have been successful in mercantile operations, and remained in Lexington till about the year 1794, when he removed to Mason connty ; and, in partnership with Dr. Basil Duke, continued his mercantile pursuits. Shortly afterwards. he was appointed judge of the dis- triet court of Mason ; and, upon the reorganization of the courts, became a judge of the circuit court. which office he held till the year 1805.
He was appointed, by Mr. Jefferson, judge of the territory of Michigan, which office he declined, and was subsequently appointed to the judgeship of the terri- tory of Orleans, and held his courts in St. Louis. This office he resigned in 1809, and was afterwards app. inted. by Mr. Madison, during the late war, col- lector of the revenue for the fourth district of Kentucky. This office, which be held for several years, was his last public employment.
Judge Coburn was a man of most decided political principles, and stood high in the confidence of the democratic party. As early as 1785,-a few months after his arrival in the State,-he was elected a member of the convention, called at Danville in that year. to take preliminary steps to procure the admission of Ken- tucky into the Union. and for other purposes. In 1796, he was appointed a com- missioner. in conjunction with Robert Johnson, to run and settle the boundary line between Virginia and Kentucky, upon which subject he made a very able report. Upon its being intimated to the citizens of St. Louis that Judge Coburn intended to resign his office as judge of the Orleans territory. they addressed him a pett- tion complimentary of his "talents, industry, and conciliating manners," and urging him to relinquish the idea of resigning his office.
In 1813, Governor Shelby wrote him an urgent invitation to accompany him and become a member of his military family, which was accepted by the judge. although he held that post for on!y a short period.
To the able and indefatigable efforts of Judge Coburn is to be attributed. in a great degree, the act of Congress appropriating one thousand acres of land to Col. Daniel Boone. The judge was an ardent friend of the old pioneer, and address- ed to Congress some powerful appeals in his behalf.
Judge Coburn never practised law, although he took out license in 1988. He was one of the most indefatigable, efficient and accomplished political writers of his day, and was in close correspondence and intimate relationship with the lead- ing democratic statesmen of Kentucky. So high an estimate was placed upon his ability, that, as early as 1800, he was spoken of in connection with the ex-
4.15
AARON H. CORWINE.
alted station of senator in the congress of the United States ; but he declined his parteusions to that office in favor of his friend, the distinguished John frechin- ridge, who was elected to the senate at the succeeding session of the legislature. Judge Coburn died in February, 1823, aged about sixty years.
AARON H. CORWINE. a portrait painter of much character, was born on the 3ist day of Angust, 1802. at his father's farm. on what is called Jersey Ridge, in Ma- sou county, Kentucky. His father, Amos Corwine, emigrated to Kentucky from Huntington county, New Jersey, at a very early day, and settled in Mason county, where he resided until the period of his death. About the same time. the father of Thomas Corwin, late governor of Ohio, and now a member of the United States' senate froin that State, removed with his family from the same State, and settled in Mason county, near Mayslick. Preferring, however. to go further into the in- terior of Kentucky, he moved with his family to Bourbon county, where Thomas Corwin was born. Aaron H. Corwine was the youngest son, and early evinced a genius in drawing and sketching. It is said that in his tenth year, so fond was he ot drawing, he marked and scored his father's board fences and barn with gre- lesque figures of men, beasts and fowls. So faithful and striking were some of these figures as likenesses, they attracted his father's attention. and induced him to inquire which one of his boys had drawn them. Before then, young Aaron was a ploughboy, for which he never showed much taste, and had scarcely been off of the farm. His father determined to give him an opportunity to pursue the inclination of his mind ; and. after bestowing upon him as good an education as could be acquired. at that early day, in Kentucky, in a country school, he placed him with a portrait painter then located in Maysville, whose name was Turner. But he did not remain with him long. He soon mastered all that Mr. Turner knew, and, by the advice of that good man, he was induced to seek other sources of instruction, and a wider field in which to pursue his profession. Cincinnati was then the largest town in the west, and even at that early day was famed for the fostering care her wealthier citizens extended to young artists. Whilst he was yet in his teens, young Corwine sought a home in the Queen City. Like the majority of the children of genius, he had but a scanty proportion of this world's goods, when he reached his new home ; no knowledge, whatever, of mon ; and no friends whose wealth and influence could bring him business, or make bin known to those who would encourage him by giving employment to his yet im- mature pencil. Nothing daunted at this gloomy prospect, young Corwine applied himself assiduously to such business as was thrown in his way, until his glow- ing and life-like pictures attracted the attention and won the admiration of those citizens of Cincinnati who were able and willing to contribute their means. and loan their influence, to lift the young artist into notoriety and business. Amongst these was Nathan Guilford, Esq., who was the first friend of the young artist in that city. These early friends never deserted him ; and as he rose, step by step. in his profession, they stood by him-cheering him with their smiles, and strength- ening him with their counsel, in the devious and slippery pathway to fame. By their advice. he sought the instruction of that master in his profession. Thomas Sally, then residing in Philadelphia. After a few years spent in the studio of Mr. Sully, young Corwine returned to Cincinnati, where he continued to ap- ply himself to his profession until the year 1828. About this time it was found that his close application to his easel for many years, had seriously impaired his health. For the twofold purpose of improving his health and studying the ma -- try in the old country, he departed for Europe. When he reached London, he deposited all his means with a banker of reputed wealth, who soon after f . 1. leaving Corwine in a strange city, without means and wholly destitute of fien |s. to struggle for the necessaries of life. His courage and his genius rose with the creation. He visited all the galleries in London, that were accessible to one sa poor and friendless. He caught the spirit of the mighty masters, and soon his own canvass was made to glow with the genius and taste of Italy and England's mighty dead. The high-born and the noble of England sought bis rooms, and the faithful likenesses, the accurate delineations, and the animated and life-like coloring of the young American, were appreciated, and he was rewarded by nu- merous orders for the most costly pictures. But the close application consequent upon this state of the affairs of Mr. Corwine, was too much for his already en-
446
MCCRACKEN COUNTY.
feebled constitution, and his friends were pained to see him gradually wasting away under the influence of disease. He turned his face towards his native land. to die amongst his friends and in the arms of his kindred. But, alas! this last and dearest hope he was destined never to realize. When he reached Philadel- phia, he was borne from the vessel to his lodgings, and, after a few days' strug- gling, died in that city, on the 4th day of July, 1830, in the twenty-eighth year of his age.
Many of the early productions of Mr. Corwine adorn the parlors of his Cin- cinnati patrons. Had he lived a few years longer, Mr. Corwine would have stoud at the head of his profession.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY.
MCCRACKEN county was formed in 1824, and named in honor of Captain VIRGIL MCCRACKEN. It is situated in the extreme western part of the state, and lies on the Ohio and Tennessee rivers- bounded on the north by the Ohio river ; east by Marshall ; south by Graves, and west by Ballard. Tobacco is the staple of the county, but grain is generally cultivated, and hogs are exported in considerable quantities.
Number of acres of land in McCracken county, 147,918 ; aver- age value of land per acre, $2.28 ; total valuation of taxable prop- erty in 1846, 8902,633 ; number of white males over twenty-one years of age, 652 ; number of children between five and sixteen years old, 861. Population in 1840, 4,745.
PADUCAH, the seat of justice and only town of any size in MeCracken, is situated at the mouth of Tennessee river, two hun- dred and seventy-nine miles by land from Frankfort. It contains four churches, three schools, eight lawyers, six physicians, ten stores, six groceries, three taverns, and a large number of me- chanies' shops. In 1830, the population was 105-in 1845, 1500 -in 18 47, supposed to be nearly 2000. It was laid out in 1827, by General Clark, of St. Louis, and named after the celebrated Indian chief Paducah.
There is a prevailing opinion that there is silver ore in MeCracken county, and considerable time and money have been expended in searching for it: hitherto, however, with but very partial success. Lead ore, it is believed, abounds in the county.
Captain VIRGIL MCCRACKEN, in honor of whom this county received its name, was a native of Woodford county, His father, Cyrus MeCracken, was one of the first adventurers to Kentucky. In conjunction with Hancock Lee, he rated cabins one mile below where Frankfort stands, and named it Leestown. Captain MeCracken was an intelligent. patriotic and fearless young man; and when, in 1812, war was declared by the United States against Great Britain, and a cad made upon Kentucky for volunteers, he raised a company of riflemen, and joined the regiment of the lamented Colonel John Allen. In the battle of the river Raisin. on the 22d of January, 1813, he fell at the head of his company, while bravely maintaining the honor of his native state on that fatal field.
447
MEADE COUNTY.
MEADE COUNTY.
MEADE county was formed in 1823, and called for Capt. JAMES MAADE. It is situated in the north-west middle part of the State, and lies on the Ohio river-bounded on the north by the Ohio river; east by Bullitt ; south by Hardin and Breckinridge, and west by Breckinridge and the Ohio river. The Ohio river oppo- site Meade makes a great bend, and skirts the county on the north, north-west and west about sixty miles, while the Rolling fork of Salt river forms its eastern boundary. The face of the country, with the exception of the river bottoms, is rolling ; about two- thirds of the county is what is commonly termed." barrens." inter- spersed with a few groves of fine timber, the remainder wood land. The soil is based upon clay, with a limestone foundation, and is generally rich and fertile. The principal productions of the county are hemp, tobacco, pork. beef, wheat, corn and oats.
Number of acres of land in Meade county, 152,719; average value per acre, $4.39; total valuation of taxable property in the county in 1846. $1,307,740 ; number of white males over twenty- one years of age, 1,034 ; number of children between five and sixteen years of age, 1,360. Population in 1840, 5,780.
There are six towns in the county, viz :- Brandenburg, Big Spring, Concordia, Grahampton, Garnetsville and Rock Haven. BRANDENBURG, the seat of justice, is situated on the Ohio river, forty miles below Louisville and ninety miles from Frankfort. It con- tains a court-house, two churches (Baptist and Methodist), ten lawyers, seven doctors, ten stores, one drug-store, three groceries, three taverns, one steam and one water flouring mill, four ware- houses, one tobacco inspection and eighteen mechanics shops. Population 600. Incorporated in 1825, and named after Colonel Solomon Brandenburg, the proprietor.
Big Spring is situated at the extreme southern border of the county-and contains a Methodist church, five stores, three tar- erns and a number of mechanics' shops-the population embra- cing about twenty families. The town derives its name from a large spring which bursts from the earth near the centre, and flows off two or three hundred yards in a stream of sufficient size to turn a mill, when it sinks beneath the surface, and alto- gether disappears. At this spring, three counties have their cor- ner, viz : Hardin. Breckinridge and Meade-and this neat little village not only enjoys the luxury of an abundant supply of cold and delicious water, but possesses the rare felicity of incorpora- ing within its bounds, a portion of the territory of three counties.
Concordia is a small village, situated immediately on the bank of the Ohio river, two miles above Flint Island -- and contains one store, one doctor, and six or seven families. Grahampton is Situated at the falls of Otter creek, five miles from the Ohio- contains one tavern, two stores, one Methodist church, one com- thon school, one grist mill, a large cotton and woolen factory,
448
MEADE COUNTY.
with twelve power looms in constant operation, and three or four mechanics' shops. Garnetsville is three miles from the Ohio, on Otter creek, and contains one Methodist church, (and there are two Baptist churches in the vicinity,) two doctors, two stores, one tavern, one water grist and saw mill, and five mechanics' shops. Rock-Haven is situated at the Narrows, on the Ohio river, and contains two stores and groceries, and several mechanical trades.
There are several caves in Meade county, but they have not been explored to any extent. In some of these human bones have been discovered of an extraor- dinary size. A skull bone, sufficiently large to encase the head of a living man of ordinary size, was found in a cave on the lands of Captain Nathan D. An- derson, near Brandenburg.
There are several " Knobs" and " Groves" in Meade county, which are places of considerable notoriety, viz :- The Indian Hill, on Otter creek ; Jennie's Knob : Bee Knob : Buck Grove; Jackey's Grove; Hill Grove; Indian Grove, and Hogback Grove. These places lie very nearly in a range a few miles back or south of the Ohio, and stretch from the mouth of Salt river to the mouth of Sink- ing creek, a distance of forty miles by land and about eighty miles by the river. These knobs and groves being well known to many individuals before the settle- ment of the county, especially to the spies. they became points of observation. with the view of detecting the approach of Indians, and giving the alarm to the settlements in Hardin county .* The spies sent out from these settlements, were directed to traverse the country lying between Salt river and Sinking creek, these " knobs " and " groves " serving as places of observation, and giving direction to their course ; and thereby they were enabled to discover the trails of the Indi- ans as soon as they crossed the Ohio river, on their route to attack the settlements. In this way, the Indians were generally discovered and routed, and the settle- ments protected from their incursions.
The Indians that harassed these settlements were in the habit, uniformly, of crossing the Ohio river between the points before named. On one occasion, they were discovered after they had got some miles into the country, and pursued back to the river at the point where Brandenburg is now situated. They had secreted their bark canoes at the mouth of a small creek, and when the pursuing whites reached the river, the Indians were just landing on the opposite shore. One Indian was seen standing erect in a skiff, having on a red cont, when some one of the party exclaimed, "down with the red coat." Joe Logston, a noted Indian fighter at that time, instantly elevated his rifle, and fired at the red Indian. He fell forward into the river, causing quite a splashing of the water around him. and as he was not seen to rise again, the inference was irresistible that Joe's bul- let had provei fatal .;
This county received its name in honor of Captain JAMES MEADE, a native of Woodford county, Kentucky. Captain Meade, when quite a youth. volunteered his services under the lamented Colonel Joseph H. Daviess, in the Wabash expe- dition, and fought side by side with that gallant officer in the battle of Tippeca- noe. For his bravery on this occasion, combined with his intelligence and mili- tary qualifications. he was promoted to the rank of captain in the regular service. In 1s13, at the battle of the river Raisin, where so many of the gallant young men of Kentucky tound a bloody grave, the company of Captain Meade com- posed a part of the regular force. He occupied a very exposed position. and teu at the head of his company, while gallantly leading them on, early in the action
* These settlements comprised several stations and many highly respectable families-among theth. the Hynes. the Helms. the Rawlings, the Millers, the Ventrees, the Vanmaires. the Haris. the Fairleighs, the Lardes, the Hodgetts, &c., &e .. and extended into what is now Larue county
This individual was no doubt Big Joe Logston. See an account of his rencounter with two Indians under the head of Greene county.
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1
VIEW OF HARRODSBURG SPRINGS, PY.
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419
MERCER COUNTY.
MERCER COUNTY.
MERCER county is one of the nine counties formed by Virginia in 1786, and received its name in honor of General HEGH MERCER. It is situated near the centre of the State, on the waters of the Kentucky river-bounded on the north by Anderson, on the east by Woodford, Jessamine and Garrard, on the south by Boyle, and on the west by Washington. The surface is undulating, and the land generally of a good quality-some portions very rich, and the whole finely watered. Mercer is a heavy grain growing and stock raising county, and before Boyle county was stricken from it, produced a much larger quantity of corn than any other county in the State. In 1840, Mercer gathered 3,397,406 bushels of corn, while Harrison, the next highest on the list, gathered 1,716.184 bushels. This county, being settled at the very earliest period of the history of Kentucky, has been finely improved ; and the population, consisting principally of the descendants of pioneer families, are generally in independent circumstances, well edu- cated and intelligent.
Number of acres of land reported in Mercer, 153.923 ; average value of land per acre, $14.32 ; valuation of taxable property in 1846, $4,026,469; number of white males over twenty-one years of age, 2,027 ; number of children between the ages of five and sixteen years, 2,037. Population in 1840, 12,353.
The towns of Mercer consist of Harrodsburg, the seat of jus- tice, Pleasant Hill, Salvisa, Lucto, Cornishville, and Oregon.
HARRODSBURG is situated on a commanding eminence, thirty miles from Frankfort, eight miles from the Kentucky river, one mile from Salt river, and near the geographical centre of the State .* Contains a court-house, five churches, (Methodist, Pres- byterian, Baptist, Christian, and African), one college, two fe- male academies. one male seminary, ten lawyers, ten physicians, five taverns, eighteen dry goods stores and groceries, two book and drug stores, one printing office, two hemp factories, two wool carding establishments, and forty-five mechanics' shops, embrac- ing all the industrial trades-population 1,700. Named after the Harrod family.
The HARRODSBURG SPRINGS, one of the most fashionable watering places in ... State, have become deservedly celebrated for the medicinal virtue of the water, i and as a delightful summer resort, both to the votaries of health and pleasure. Dr. Christopher Graham, the amiable, enterprising and intelligent proprieter. ''s «mared no pains or expense in the preparation of accommodations for visitors, the improvements having already cost about $300,000. The main hotel is one of the
* The history of its settlement will be found in the succeeding pages, for which we are in- chilled to General R. B. MeAtce.
1 De Drake, in the Western Journal of Medical and Physical Sences, gives the following apple- .. in the water in one of the springs : 1. Salphate of magnesia, in large quantities: 2 Carbonate of minden small quantities. 3. Sulphate of soda, do. 4 Sulphate of Fame, do. 5. Carbonite of for a minute do: 6, Iron. do : " A minute quantity of sulphuretted hydrogen. There are even of eight springs at Harrodsburg, which vary somewhat in the character of their waters. The t- wan closely resembles that of the celebrated Seidlitz Springs, of Bohemia.
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450
MERCER COUNTY.
finest and most commodious buildings in the west, and the surrounding cottages are admirably arranged, alike to promote the comfort and convenience of the oc- cupants. The grounds are elevated and extensive; adorned with every variety of shrubbery grown in America, interspersed with some of the most beautiful and rare exotics from Europe and Asia, and traversed by wide gravel walks, in- tersecting and crossing each other in every direction. A small and beautiful lake, three hundred yards long, one hundred yards in width, and fifteen feet deep, lately excavated, is well stored with fish of the finest flavor, and its glassy sur- face enlivened by the presence of many wild and tame water-fowls.
BACON COLLEGE, HARRODSBURGH, KY.
BACON COLLEGE,* located in Harrodsburg, under the care of the Christan body. is a flourishing institution, with some eighty or one hundred students. 1 was founded in 1836. The Rev. JAMES SHANNON is president, assisted by four professors. The library contains fifteen hundred volumes. Commencement on the last Friday in September.
There are also in Harrodsburg, two flourishing FEMALE SEMINARIES-one Under the management of Mr. Mullens, of the Christian church. containing sixty or seventy scholars ; and the other under the care of the Rev. John Montgomery. of the Presbyterian church, with from one hundred to one hundred and twenty students.
· For a more fuil account of Bacon College, see article headed " Christian Church "
MAIN HOUSE AT SHAKER VILLAGE, KY.
1
451
PICTURESQUE SCENERY.
Pleasant Hill, or Union Village, is a small village of rare beauty and neatness, situated on a commanding eminence, about one mile from the Kentucky river, and seven miles from Harrodsburg. It belongs exclusively to that orderly and industrious society called Shakers, and contains between three and four hundred in- habitants, divided into families of from sixty to eighty each. Their main edifice is a large, handsome and costly structure, built of Kentucky marble ; the others, generally, are built of brick, and all admirably arranged for comfort and convenience. The internal and external arrangement and neatness of their dwellings-the beauty and luxuriance of their gardens and fields -the method and economy displayed in their manufacturing and mechanical establishments-their orderly and flourishing schools -their sleek and well fed stock, are all characteristic of this singular people, and evidence a high degree of comfort and pros- perity. Every important family arrangement is governed by the clock, and moves on with the harmony and regularity of clock-work, in BEAUTIFUL ORDER.
Salvisa is a handsome village on the turnpike road from Frank- fort to Harrodsburg, eleven miles from the latter place-contains four churches,* (Presbyterian, Christian, Baptist and Methodist), an excellent school, three physicians, four stores, one tavern, one woolen factory, and eight or ten mechanics' shops-population, 130. Laid out by general McAfee in 1816. Lucto and Cornishville are small places on Salt river, and Chupline has a post-office, mill and two stores. Oregon is a new village on the Kentucky river, at the head of slack water navigation, and promises to be a place of considerable trade. Seven or eight thousand hogs were slaugh- tered there in 1846.
The scenery on the Kentucky and Dick's rivers, is among the grandest and most picturesque in the United States. Next to the highlands of the Hudson, it is probably unequalled for its imposing effect. Those towering cliffs, rising in per- pendicular walls for many hundred feet above the beach, variegated by marble strata of every conceivable thickness and color, overpower the beholder with a sense of Nature's majesty. They look like the battlements of a world, standing there so stern and erect in their massive proportions, and as we gaze upon their bald fronts, against which the storms of ages have beaten, we can almost realize the fable of the Titans, and suppose they have been thrown up in some long-for- gotten battle of the gods.
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