USA > Kentucky > Henderson County > History of Henderson County, Kentucky > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81
523
Harrison, Ben .. :
.232, 234, 342, 348
Hart, Richard J.
266
Hart, David. 176
Ha' t Family. 575
Hatchitt, James D 183, 216, 236
Hatchitt, William.
412
Hatchitt, Rev. A
737
Hazelwood, E. T .. 82, 190
Hanssman, John. 27,50, 94
99, 788
Henderson, Archibald.
99
Henderson, Old Diek
819
Herndon, David.
176
Herndon, Thos. H 279
Hicks, Wm. S 184, 190, 218
Hicks, S. S.
205
Hillyer, James
563
Hillyer, P. H.
186, 263, 283, 299, 323
Hodge, Dr. J. A 224, 225, 721
Hodge, Thomas 516
Hoffman, P. 334
Holloway, John. .68. 114
Holloway, John G 78, 183, 186, 309, 740
Holloway. Jas. H. 202, 207, 229. 742
210
Holloway, W. S .... 216, 232, 243, 261, 311, 323
254
Hopkins, Saml ..
Hopkins. Saml. Jr.
74
Hopkins, Edm'd H.78, 79, 117,285, 286, 292, 297 Hopkins, F.
229
Hopkins, W. A 229, 247,
330
Hopkins, Gen, Sam'1 .. 99, 103, 106,114,119, 796
Husbands, John ... .29, 49, 51, 65, 94, 106, 107
Husbands, Polly. 106. 281
Husbands, John, Jr 108
Hutchen, C. W
70. 84, 198, 219
Ingram, Wiatt ...
169, 261, 283, 284, 297, 677
Ingram, Mrs. Jane 308
Jenkins, T. M. .333, 348
Jenkins, Dr. Amon
808
Johnson, Charles W. 791
Johnson, Isom. .71, 184, 236
Johnson, J. M 71
Johnson, Elliott
Johnson, Gen. Adam R. 218, 713
Johnson, Wm. S. .202, 304, 348
Johnson, Col. Sam 234, 235
Johnson, Dr. Thos. J. 166
Johnson, C. H .. 657
Johnson, Jas. H. 330
.Johnson, Pirant P 754
Johnston, Eugene 811
Johnston, Joe. B 807,
811
Johnston, Philip Ludson 810
Jones, Fielding
124
Jones, Dr. Levi. 278
Dixon, Hon. H. C ..
.588
Held, Hon. Jacob. 243, 323, 363, 805
Henderson, Richard.
Holloway, John G. Jr.
Holloway, George
45, 51, 65, 76, 259, 260
Eastin, Robert.
Evans, Rev. Thomas
Fisher, Renz
202
Gibson, B. F. 247 11 ..
.327, 333, 606, 610
Hancock, M. S 185, 186, 284, 287
15
GENERAL INDEX.
Keach, Richard. 84
Kennedy, A. F.
363
Mullin, Joshua. 173, 287
Murrell, Jno. A. 26
Murray, Gen. Eli H
231
Nesler, Solomon. 116, 301, 303
Newman, Jacob 94
Norris, John S. 205
558
O'Byrn, John.
348, 363, 739
Orr, Samuel. 277
O-good, Rev. Nathan 166
Outlawry ..
818
739
Parker, A.
71
Pennell, C. M. 212, 279, 297, 316
Perkins, Capt. C. G.
216, 218, 219, 247, 749
Pernet, John ..
350
Peter, Hon. Jacob 755
Pierman, G. L.
199
Pitcairne, Hugh.
345
Pollit, J. B ..
166
Posey, Gen. Thomas
648
Posey. Fayette
68
Powell, James.
78
Powell, Gov. L. W .. 82, 172, 181, 186, 204,-
244, 290, 297, 591
Powell, Dr. J. N
730
Powell, Herbert A. 190
763
Powell, J. Henry 304,
765
Prentice, Geo. D
188
Priest G. M ... 184, 186, 222, 236, 240, 244,-
247, 301, 330, 333, 342
Priest, W. C
216
Priest, J. A.
71
Lyne, Leonard. 162, 163
Lyne, James, Jr 176
Lyne, L. H.
202, 222, 247, 356, 443, 512
Lyne, George 640
Lyne, Henry
301, 511
640
Manion, Edward 690
Marrs; Paul J. 233, 646
Marshall, W. J 632
Martin, Leroy 337
Martin B. F
82, 736
May, Samuel 21.
26
Mayer, V. M.
205,501, 807
Mayer, G. A. 275, 806
Mayer, J. F 422, 505, 807
Mathews, Hon. P. B
35, 323, 329, 372, 655
McBee, Squire ..
70, 262,
McBride, Daniel.
McCormick, Jno. S.
241
McClain, Jas. A.
212
McClain, Jackson
71, 813
McClain, James. 166
McCallister, Aeneas
27,30,49, 51, 106, 133
McCallister, John E. 215, 334, 356, 617
McClure, George W. 730 Ruby, J. T.
McFarland, Thomas 385
McLean, Alney 159
McGary, Robert. 116
McGary, William.
116
McGary, Hugh, Jr 116
McGary, Hugh .
116
Sandefur, C. T 222
Sandefur, W. H. 323,
356
Sclilesinger, H.
216
Mitchuson, Ning. 694 Schlamp, Martin 356
Mitchuson, Charles 695 Sechtig, Chris ... 221
Morris, George.
281
Morrison, Dr. A. J 315, 533
Moss, Hugh. 190
Kerr, Henry 218
Kerr, Hugh. 291
King, Sam'l E. 735
King, Geo. W
172
King, John
260
King, P. H.
348
Kitchell, Dr. N. A.
670
Kleiderer, Fred.
356, 695
Knight, Thos. S.
330
Kreipke, Fred .. 356
Kriss, J. J. 83
Kossuth, Louis
182
Kuykendall, John 27
116
Kuykendall, Amos 116
Kyle, Peter
727
Labrey, Wmn. E 726
Ladd, W. H.
323
Lame, Jesse
85
Lambert, Joel .. 122, 143, 223, 281, 283, 297, 797
Lambert, John H.
69, 298, 301
Lambert, W. E.
190
Langley, Sam'l W
296
Landers, Abraham.
65, 103
Lancaster, Wm. L.
202
Lewis, W. H. 355
Lewis, H. E. 660
Leslie, A. T.
331
Lockett, W. M
Letcher, Dr. Ben 22 ₺ 241 Porter, J. W. 782
Lockett, P. H.
70, 84
Lockett, Judge J. F
685
Lockett, D. P 176
Lyne, Jas. B 70, 229
Lyne, H. James 107, 278
Pritchett, Green W 71.
780
Purviance, Henry.
99
Racing Horses. 130
Rafinsque, Constantine S. 156
Rankin, Dr. Adam .. 26, 66, 114, 117, 120,-
146, 259, 789
Rankin, William
.78, 297
Rankin, Adam.
84
Rankın, Samn. W.
202
Reutlinger Wn ..
337, 350
Reeve, Maj. Jno. J
654
Rice, J. Willy.
274
Ricketts, James E.
176
Rice, Dan (clown).
274
Robards, J. D. 759
116 Robertson, Edmund. 183
Robinson, Jesse.
222
298 74 Ross, Moses. 300
Rouse, R. G. Jr 310
332
Rouse, James
.79, 16º, 280, 286, 298, 301
Rowdin, A. J.
202
737
Royster, C. S. 71, 84,
185
Rucker, M. P
793
Rudy John
241
Rudy. C. A ..
224
Ruggles, N. F 278, 282
McGready, Rev. James 34, 105 McMullin, John. 169 Sandefur, W. A. 330
Merritt, Hon. M. 656
Semonin, Peter.
186,
323
Semonin, Paul F 310
687
Rowan, Andrew .. 49, 106, 107
Royster, Wilkins N.
McBride, Capt. Ed
McCullogh, John
173, 412
Rouse, H. E.
Rankin, James E 216, 219,288, 301, 547
Lyne, W. S.
Norwood, Dr. W. A
Knox, Hugh.
.96,97,103, 114, 122, 123, 166
Owen, Hon. J. V
Kuykendall, Abner
Powell, Col. E. D.
16
GENERAL INDEX.
Shelby, Moses 95
Shelby, William W 71,84, 733
Shingler, Jack .. 201, 296
Shackelford, Gen. J. M 306
Shook, Major
213
.. 266, 287, 781
Tramp, First.
131
Trafton, L. W.
191, 204, 304, 380, 751
Toy, J. F. 71, 80, 84
Tunstall, H. R 326, 371
Turner, Hiram. 71
Turner, Hon. H. F .. .83, 84, 85, 230, 236, .
.241, 330, 348, 732
Unselt, David H 301
Upp, John. 27, 206
Urso, Camille. 311
Van Bussum, Philip .80, 384
Vance, S. B. 198, 236, 345
Sprinkle John ..
66
Staples, J. G.
757
Stapp, Jno. C. 316, 330, 342
Standley, John.
.66, 139
Starling, Edmund L.
243, 287, 636
Starling, Chas. T.
202,303, 640
Starling, E. L .... 202, 203, 204, 247, 337 ,341, 351 Starling, E. L. Jr ... 643
Starling, Stewart.
644
Starling, Lyne.
640
Steele, Wn. 229,
238
Steele, Cyrus
210
Steele, George.
356
Steele, Capt. O. B.
210, 225, 228; 332, 703
Stegall, Moses
512
Stites, Sam'l ..
.276, 278, 297, 801
Stewart, Thos. J 643 Stites, Richard. 372
Stewart, John H 799
Stone James M.
71,184
Sublett, John A. 278 Worsham, E. W. 247, 301,330, 342, 623
Sugg, Calvin. 282
Sugg, Willie. 79. 183
Swigert, Jacob.
641
Talbott, A. H. .310, 334, 372. 422
Talbott, Edmund 50
Taylor. Brookin 107
Taylor, Maj. Walker 216, 227
Taylor L. D. .
287
Taylor, Jas. M.
327
297
Taylor. Col. Chas. M. 786
Terry, N. D ...
189
Tillotson, James
192
Thespians Theatrical.
312
Thompson, Dr. P. 334, 351. 718
Thornberry, R. R. 184
towles, Thos. Jr. 288
Towles, Judge Thomas, .. 78, 120, 147, 261,-
Simpson, Robert.
96
Smith, Col. Robert Smith, A. L.
143, 260, 672
Sneed, S. K. 304, 356
Soaper, William
299. 770
Soaper, Richard H.
771
Soaper, Thomas.
334, 351, 773
Soaper, William, Jr
774
Soaper, Harry.
775
Soaper, Robert.
771
Spalding, Sam. P
186
Spidel, John ..
.263,
287
Sprinkle, Michael 27,259, 313
Sprinkle, Jacob. 27,
124
Vandzandt, W. B. .298, 299. 305
Walden, D. N .184, 190, 219
Walker, F. E. .70,84, 85
Walker, Thos. G 122
Walker, Cora .. 818
Ward, Thos. E. 784
Ward, Judge E. C. .412, 374, 668
230
Watson, Thos. P. 80
219
Weaver, Littleberry
Webster, W. H ..
675
White, Larkin 79, 738
205
White, George ...
205
Wigal, James P 789
Williams, John. 99
Wise, D. F. 723
Woodruff, W. B. .217, 342, 343
Worsham, Andrew J 626
628
Worsham, D. W. C.
630
Worsham, William.
631
Wright, Captain ...
232
598
Yarber, Lieutenant. 213
Yates, Capt. Dick. .215, 219
Yeaman, Harvy.
198, 202, 236, 247, 347
Yeaman, Malcolm
349, 356, 644
Young, Judge Milton 210
Young, S. A.
3
Young, Milton. 697
Wathen, John N
Williams, Jenks W 223, 330, 334, 809
White, John L
Worsham, Ludson.
Woodbridge, Rev. Jahleel
Taylor, James (Two Horse)
412
HISTORY
OF
HENDERSON
AND
HENDERSON COUNTY, KY.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS.
R. COLLINS says the first white person history tells of having discovered the Ohio River as low down as Henderson, was Col- onel George Croghan, who, in 1765, passed down the Ohio to the mouth of the Wabash. Captain Harry Gordan, in 1776, surveyed in some crude way the entire length of the Ohio. The land warrants or bounty in lands given to the Virginia soldiers, who had served in the old French War, were to be located on the " Western Waters," hence the military survey so often referred to in title deeds recorded in the Henderson County Clerk's Office.
In the summer of 1774 parties of surveyors led by Colonel John Floyd, Hancock Taylor, James Douglas, and two parties of hunters and explorers under Captain James Harrod and Isaac Hite, came into Kentucky. The town of Harrodstown (now Harrodsburg) was laid off, and the settlement of Kentucky began. On Thursday, June 16, 1774, Daniel Boone, himself being present and assisting, four or five log cabins were built, and immediately and permanently occupied.
2
18
HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY.
COLONEL RICHARD HENDERSON'S PURCHASE.
On March 17, 1775, Colonel Richard Henderson (for whom this county and city were called) and others, purchased from the Cherokee Indians the whole of that territory lying between the Cumberland and Kentucky Rivers, amounting to over 17,000,000 acres of land, upon which it was evidently his purpose to found a little empire of his own; but his object was frustrated by an act of the Virginia Legis- lature, which made void the purchase, claiming the sole right to pur- chase land from the Indians within the bounds of the Royal Charter. The great activity displayed by Colonel Henderson and his co-operators in taking possession of the Cherokee Purchase and granting land to new settlers, was-as we shall soon see-all set at naught. Daniel Boone was employed by Colonel Henderson to survey the country and select favorable positions, and early in the spring of 1775 the founda. tion of Boonesborough was laid under the title name of Henderson.
The present State of Kentucky was, prior to December 31, 1776, a part of the County of Fincastle, State of Virginia. By an act of the Virginia Legislature, from and after that day Fincastle County was divided into three counties, Kentucky County being one of the three. Kentucky having thus been formed into a separate county, she there- fore became entitled to a separate County Court, two Justices of the Peace, a Sheriff, Constable, Coroner and militia officers. Law, with its imposing paraphernalia, for the first time reared its head in the forests of Kentucky.
In the spring of 1777 the Court of Quarter Sessions held its first sitting at Harrodsburg, attended by the Sheriff of the county and its clerk, Levi Todd. The first court of Kentucky was composed of John Todd, John Floyd, Benjamin Logan, John Bowman and Richard Cal- loway. They had hardly adjourned when the infant Republic was rocked to its center by an Indian invasion. The hunters and survey_ ors were driven in from the woods and compelled to take refuge within the forts. Much injury was done, but the forts withstood their utmost efforts; and, after sweeping through Kentucky like a torrent for several weeks, the savages slowly retreated back to the North, leaving the agitated settlers to repair their loss as best they could.
VIRGINIA'S GRANT TO COLONEL HENDERSON.
On Wednesday, November 4, 1778, the Virginia House of Dele- gates-
Resolved, "That all purchases of lands made or to be made of the Indians within the chartered bounds of this Commonwealth, as described by the con -
19
HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY.
stitution or form of Government, by any private persons not authorized by pub- lic authority, are void.
Resolved, "That the purchase heretofore made by Colonel Henderson & Co., of the Cherokee Indians is void.
"But as said Richard Henderson & Company have been at very great expense in making the said purchase, and in settling the said lands, by which this Commonwealth is likely to receive great advantage by increasing its inhabitants, and establishing a barrier against the Indians, it is just and reas- onable to allow the said Richard Henderson & Co. a compensation for their trouble and expense."
On Tuesday, November 17th, these resolutions of the House were agreed to by the Senate and a few weeks afterwards-
It was enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, "That all that tract of land situate, lying and being on the waters of the Ohio and Green Rivers, and bounded as follows, to wit :
"Beginning at the mouth of Green River, thence running up the same twelve and one-half miles, when reduced to a straight line, thence running at right angles with the said reduced lines, twelve and one half miles each side of the river, thence running lines from the termination of the line extended on each side of Green River, at right angles with the same, till the said lines intersect the Ohio, which said river Ohio shall be the western boundary of the said tract, be, and the same is hereby granted the said Richard Henderson & Co., and their heirs as tenants in common, subject to the payment of the same taxes as other lands in the Commonwealth are, but under such limitations of time as to the settling of the lands as shall hereafter be directed by the General Assembly ; but this grant shall, and it is hereby declared, to be in full com- pensation to the said Richard Henderson & Co., and their heirs for the charge and trouble, and all advantage accruing therefrom to this Commonwealth, and that they are hereby excluded from any further claim to lands on account of any settlement or improvements heretofore made by them, or any of them, on the lands so as aforesaid purchased from the Cherokee Indians."
Thus by one sweeping act of the Virginia Legislature the pur- chase of one million, seven hundred thousand acres of land, from the Cherokee Nation, and the great proprietary Government organized for its better regulation, was declared null and void, the government of Boonesborough wiped out, and the Transylvania landed estate reduced to what was estimated to be two hundred thousand acres. This was called the Henderson & Co. Grant. Subsequently this grant was discovered to contain only one hundred and sixty thousand acres, when in order to gain possession of the full amount, the lines were extended a few poles on the three sides. The whole of this grant of land is included in the present boundary of Henderson County.
20
HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY.
LAND LAWS OF 1799.
The Legislative acts of 1799 were marked by the passage, by the Virginia Legislature, of the celebrated " Land Law of Kentucky," a historical analysis of which would have but little bearing upon the object in view in this publication. It is enough to say it was well intended and the settlement and pre-emption features were just and liberal. The radical and incurable defect of the law, however, was the neglect of Virginia to provide for the general survey of the coun- try at the expense of the Government, and its sub-division into whole, half and quarter sections, as has been done by the United States. Instead of this each possessor of a warrant was allowed to locate the same where he pleased, and was required to survey it at his own cost; but his entry was required to be so specific and precise that each sub- sequent locator might recognize the land taken up, and make his entry · elsewhere, required a precision and accuracy of description, which such men as the surveyors of that day could not be expected to pos- sess, and all vague entries were declared null and void. Unnum- bered sorrows, law suits, and heart rending vexations were, the con- sequence of this unhappy law.
In the unskillful hand of the hunters and pioneers of Kentucky, entries, surveys and patents were piled upon each other, overlapping and overcropping in endless perplexity. The full fruits of this were not reaped until the country became more thickly settled. The effects of this old law can be seen by reference to old land suits, and accom- panying depositions filed away in the Kentucky courts, perhaps as much for relics of primitive days, as for evidences of titles long ago settled and recognized as facts beyond further dispute. The imme- diate consequence of this law, however, was a flood of immigration. The hunters of the elk and buffalo were now succeeded by the more ravenous hunters of lands, in the pursuit of which they fearlessly braved the hatchet of the Indian and the privations of the forests, The surveyor's chain and compass were seen in the woods as frequently as the rifle, and during the years 1778, '80 and '81, the great and all- absorbing object was to enter, survey and obtain a patent for the rich- est sections of land. Indian hostilities were rife during this period, but these only formed episodes in the great drama. The year 1780 was distinguished by the vast number of immigrants who crowded to Kentucky for the purpose of locating land warrants.
21
HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY.
In November, of 1780, the County of Kentucky was divided into
THREE COUNTIES,
namely: Fayette, Lincoln and Jefferson. They had now three Quar- terly Courts, holding monthly sessions, three Courts of Common Law and Chancery Jurisdiction, setting quarter yearly, and a host of Mag- istrates and Constables. No court capable for trying for capital offenses existed in the country nearer than Richmond, the capital of Virginia. The Court of Quarter Sessions could take notice only of misdemeanors.
The year 1781 was distinguished by a still larger immigration to the new country. Kentucky being now divided into three counties, Fayette, Jefferson and Lincoln, the now County of Henderson formed a part of Lincoln In the year 1789 the people had become anxious to have a separate and independent State Government, so, in the month of May of that year, they elected delegates to the Convention as prescribed in the third Act of Separation from Virginia, and in July of the same year the delegates met in the town of Danville, now the county seat of Boyle County.
Their first act on assembling was to draw up a respectful memor- ial to the Legislature of Virginia, remonstrating against the new con- ditions of separation, which was promptly attended to by that State, and the obnoxious conditions repealed by a new act, which necessi- tated another Convention to assemble in 1790.
In the meantime the new National Government had gone into operation, General Washington was elected President, and the Con- vention was informed by the executive of Virginia that the General Government would lose no time in organizing such a regular force as would effectually protect Kentucky from Indian incursions. This had become a matter of pressing necessity, for Indian murders had become so frequent that no part of the country was safe. In July, 1790, the Eighth Convention assembled and formally accepted the Vir- ginia Act of Separation, which thus became a compact between Ken- tucky and Virginia. A memorial to the President of the United States and to Congress was adopted, and an address to Virginia, again praying the good offices of the parent State, in procuring their admission into the Union. Provisions were then made for the elec- tion of a Ninth Convention to assemble in April, 1791, to form a State Constitution. The Convention then adjourned.
In December, 1790, President Washington strongly recommend- ed to Congress the propriety of admitting Kentucky into the Union,
22
HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY.
and on the 4th day of February, 1791, an act for that purpose passed both houses, and received the signature of the President. Logan County, of which Henderson was a part, was one of the first seven counties organized immediately after the admission of Kentucky into the Federal Union as a State, and in the same year, 1792, was the thirteenth in order of formation, made from a part of Lincoln County, and embraced all of the States lying south of Green River. In the year 1796 Christian County was taken from Logan and made a separate and independent county. It was the twenty-first county established, and comprised all of that territory now claimed by Henderson, Hop- kins, Webster, Livingston, Union, Caldwell, Trigg, Hickman, Calloway, Graves, McCracken, Crittenden, Marshall, Ballard, Fulton, Lyon, a part of Todd and Muhlenberg, and the present County of Christian.
HENDERSON COUNTY FORMED.
Seven years after the admission of Kentucky into the Federal Union, Henderson County was formed of a part of Christian County, and was the thirty-eighth county organized in the State, and named in honor of Colonel Richard Henderson. Henderson County, at the time of its formation, embraced all of that territory now embraced in Hender- son, Hopkins, Union and Webster Counties; Hopkins was taken from Henderson in 1806, Union County in 1811, and Webster was formed in 1860, of parts of Henderson, Hopkins and Union.
CHAPTER II.
ABORIGINAL.
F Mr. Collins is correct in his excellent History of Kentucky, mod- ern Indians never inhabited Henderson County ; yet, all along the river front, and in many other interior localities of this county, the remains of some race of people are found in great numbers. The en- tire river front from First Street up five or six squares, seems to have been one vast burial ground, as hundreds of skeletons, bones and relics have been taken therefrom by excavators in the employ of the city. It is generally conceded, however, that the Indians were not the aborigines of Kentucky, but that there was, prior to their com- ing, a class of white people known as "Mound Builders," who inhab- ited the country lying between the Alleghany and Mississippi Rivers. Historians and learned antiquaries have proved, so far as tradition- ary and scientific evidence is to be taken, that before the Indians were those strange, mysterious people of the mounds, who left no literature and no monuments except forest-covered earth and stone works. As a race they have vanished utterly in the past, but the comparatively slight traces they have left behind tend to conclusions of deep interest and importance, not only highly probable, but rapidly approaching cer- tainty.
Correspondences in the manufacture of pottery, and in the rude sculptures found ; the use of the serpent symbol ; the likelihood that they were all sun-worshipers and practiced the rite of human sacrifice ; and the tokens of commercial intercourse manifested by the presence of Mexican porphyry and obsidian in the Ohio Valley mounds, satis- factorially demonstrate in the minds of antiquaries the racial alliance, if not the identity of our Mound Builders, with the ancient Mexicans.
€
24
HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY,
Their wars were fierce and doubtless long and bloody. They met the savages with a determined and skilled resistance, but the attacks of their ferocious enemies continued, perhaps throughout centuries, at last expelling the more civilized, and the Mound Builders vanished from this part of the great country.
Often, especially for the works devoted to religious purposes, the earth has not been taken from the surrounding soil, but has been transported from a distance. The civilization of the Mound Builders, as a theme, has furnished a vast field for speculation, and theorists have pushed into a wilderness of visionary conjectures. It is gener- ally agreed by learned theorists that Prof. Short's conclusions may be safely accepted-that they came into the country in comparatively small numbers at first, and during their residence in the territory oc- cupied, became extremely populous. They mined copper, which they wrought into implements of war, also into ornaments and articles of domestic use. They quarried mica for mirrors and worked flint and salt mines. Their trade extended from the Lakes to the Gulf.
Among all nations, in a simple and rude state, stories will be found current which pass from mouth to mouth without the least sus- picion that they are not absolutely true. They are not written, be- cause they date from a time when writing was unknown, and the mere fact of their being repeated by word of mouth causes a perpetual vari- ation in the narratives. In this, however, traditionary evidence respect- ing the aborigines of Kentucky, is so well founded in fact, and so well corroborated by historical evidence of a scientific nature, as to preclude the indulgence of historical skepticism.
MOUND BUILDERS.
It is undoubtedly true that the Mound Builders at one time inhab- ited Henderson County. Dr. - Stinson, an old resident of this county, and one who has devoted a great part of his life to the study of archaeology and archaeological investigations, in a letter written in 1876, says : " Having examined the camping grounds and graves of the Mound Builders of Posey and Vanderburgh Counties in Indiana, and learn- ing the peculiarities of burying their dead and disposing of their estates, etc., I became anxious to learn whether or not the aborigines of Hen- derson were of the same tribe and habits of those of the above-named counties across the river. Therefore I came into Henderson County and have examined the southwestern portion of it with the following results : I find that their mounds are similar, the mode of depositing or burying their dead do not differ materially. I visited twenty mounds,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.