USA > Kentucky > Fayette County > Lexington > History of Lexington, Kentucky : its early annals and recent progress, including biographical sketches and personal reminiscences of the pioneer settlers, notices of prominent citizens, etc., etc. > Part 12
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*Cist Papers, 12.
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HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1788.
cinnati was long known to the pioneers of the West. After effecting the settlement, Colonel Patterson returned to Lexington, where he continued to reside until 1804.
Freemasonry in Kentucky, and in all the region west of the Alleghany mountains, had its commencement in "Lodge No. 25," established in Lexington, District of Ken- tucky, November 17, 1788, by the Grand Lodge of Vir- ginia. "Masons' Hall," in Lexington, was at that time a small house of primitive style, located on the same lot where the present hall stands, on the corner of Walnut and Short streets. The ground on which it stood was donate" to the lodge by William Murray, the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky. In 1796, the hall was im- proved from funds realized from a lottery gotten up for the purpose, and the membership of the lodge had so increased by 1799, that St. John's day was celebrated with consid- erable display .* On the 8th of September, 1800,t a con- vention of delegates from all the lodges in Kentucky met at " Masons' Hall," to consider the propriety of separating from the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, and forming a Grand Lodge in Kentucky. James Morrison, of "No. 25," was chairman. The delegates at this conven- tion from "Lexington Lodge, No. 25," were Thomas Bod- ley, Alexander McGregor, and James Russell. Separation was determined upon, and was agreed to by the Virginia Grand Lodge; and on Thursday, October 16, 1800, in Ma- sons' Hall, in Lexington, the representatives of the lodges of Kentucky opened a Grand Lodge for the State of Ken- tucky, " the first on the great American roll of the nine- teenth century." Nearly half the officers of the Grand Lodge were selected from "No. 25," viz: Alexander Mc- Gregor, Deputy Grand Master; James Russell, G. Sec- retary; John Bobbs, G. Tyler. At this first session, the seal of Lexington Lodge, No. 25, was adopted by the Grand Lodge, and used for some time. "No. 25" was also placed first in the order of subordinate lodges, in deference to its priority of age, and then became " Lexington Lodge,
*Kentucky Gazette.
+Proceedings of G. L.
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FREEMASONRY.
1788.]
No. 1," by which title it has been known ever since that time .* Among the distinguished men who were members of Lodge No. 1 may be named Henry Clay, W. T. Barry, Joseph H. Daviess, Jesse Bledsoe, George M. Bibb, Felix Grundy, and B. W. Dudley. In 1806, Lodge No. 1 sent Daniel Bradford and John Bobb as delegates to the con- vention, which met in Lexington that year to frame a Grand Lodge constitution. At the meeting of the Grand Lodge, August 27, 1812, in Lexington, an imposing funeral ceremonial was performed in honor of the heroic Grand Master, Joseph H. Daviess, who fell at the battle of Tippe- canoe, November 7, 1811. The pall bearers were eight Master Masons of Lodge No. 1.1
Daviess Lodge was erected this year (1812) by a num- ber of the members of Lodge No. 1, and was duly char- tered by the Grand Lodge. It was named in honor of the lamented hero, to whom funeral honors had just been paid, and formed the first instance, in Kentucky, of a lodge being named after an individual. David Castleman was first master, and John Pope, one of the first members, repre- sented it at the next session of the Grand Lodge.} The sword of Colonel Daviess, incased in a casket made of the wood of the oak under which he was standing when he re- ceived his death wound, was presented to the Grand Lodge in October, 1858, by Levi L. Todd. Daviess Lodge ranks third in age among the lodges now in existence in Kentucky.
In 1813, the propriety of erecting a grand hall in Lex- ington was first discussed in the Grand Lodge; and in 1817, Lexington Lodge, No. 1, presented to the Grand Lodge its lot on Walnut street as a site on which to build the new temple, "No. 1" reserving to itself the privilege of meeting in said temple.§ The donation was accepted, but it was finally concluded to erect the hall on East Main street, west of Broadway, below what is now known as "Cleary's corner." The building was commenced in 1824, and was dedicated, with appropriate ceremonies, October 26, 1826. The hall was a handsome one, three stories high, and cost between $25,000 and $30,000. It was in this hall that
* Pro. G. L. TOld Journals. #Robert Morris' Hist.
¿Pro. of G. L.
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General Lafayette was received by the Masons of Lexington in 1825. Two Indians-one of them the celebrated Colonel Ross-were duly examined, introduced and welcomed to the Masons in this hall. They were the only full-blooded In- dian Masons ever thus received in Lexington. The hall was used as a hospital during the terrible cholera season of 1833.
The question of removing the Grand Lodge from Lex- ington to Louisville was first agitated in 1830, and in 1833 it was located in Louisville, after having existed it Lexing- ton thirty-three years.
The Grand Hall on Main street was destroyed by fire in 1837. This event caused the question of the location of the Grand Lodge to be again agitated. The lot of No. 1 was again tendered to the Grand Lodge on the original terms, again accepted, and with the understanding that the sessions of the Grand Lodge would be permanently held in Lexington, another hall, the present one, costing $25,000, was erected upon the site of the first building devoted to masonic purposes in Kentucky. This hall was solemnly dedicated to masonry, according to the ancient form and usage, September 1, 1841, and the next day the Grand Lodge " ordered that its annual communication should be held in the city of Lexington."
Devotion Lodge was chartered in September, 1847, Oliver Anderson being first master.
In August, 1848, Good Samaritan Lodge was chartered, Samuel D. McCullough, first master.
The Grand Lodge was again removed from Lexington to Louisville in October, 1858, and its sessions are still held in that city. Lexington was the meeting-place of the Grand Lodge, including both times of its occupation, for sixty years.
The high character of the masonic lodges of Lexington is known everywhere, and is abundantly attested by the great number of officers they have furnished to the Grand Lodge. The lodges, at present, are fully up to the old standard of merit and prosperity.
The art annals of Lexington are not to be despised.
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NATIVE AND RESIDENT ARTISTS.
1788.]
William West, who came to this city in 1788, was the first painter that ever settled in the vast region "this side the mountains." He was the son of the then rector of St. Paul's Church, Baltimore, and had studied under the cele- brated Benjamin West, in London. His family was a talented one. His brother, Edward West, who had pre- ceded him to Lexington three years before, was the won- derful mechanical genius who invented the steamboat in this city in 1793 (see chapter of that date), and his son, William E. West, is now remembered for the portrait he painted of Lord Byron, at Leghorn. William West painted but few pictures, and they were of only moderate merit. He is best known as "the first painter who came to the West." He died in New York.
Asa Park, a Virginian, was the second painter who set- tled in Lexington. He was an intimate friend of William West, in whose family he lived, greatly beloved, for years. He died in the year 1827, and was buried by the West family on their lot, near the corner of Hill and Mill streets, opposite the present Letcher property. Though Mr. Park attempted portraits, his best productions were fruit and flower pieces. His pictures, like West's, owe their value mainly to the fact of his having been one of the pioneer painters of Lexington. One of the very few of Park's productions is still in existence, and in the possession of Mrs. Ranck. It is an oil portrait of her grandfather, Lewis Ellis.
Mr. Beck, erroneously mentioned in Dunlap's Arts of Design as "the first painter who penetrated beyond the Alleghanies," settled in Lexington about the year 1800. He belonged, at one time, to a company of scouts under General Anthony Wayne. He and his wife conducted a female seminary in this city for many years, in which paint- ing was a prominent feature. Mr. and Mrs. Beck were both artists of some ability, and painted many pictures, principally landscapes. W. Mentelle, S. D. McCullough, John Tilford, Mrs. Thomas Clay, and many others own pictures by Beck. Mr. Beck died in 1814. His wife sur- vived until 1833.
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HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
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In 1818, John Neagle, afterward known as the painter of "Pat Lyon, the Blacksmith," visited Lexington with the intention of settling, but he found Jouett so far his superior that he left and settled in Philadelphia. He came to this city again in 1844, at the instance of the Whigs of Philadelphia, to paint for them a full length portrait of Henry Clay, which he did, Mr. Clay sitting for L'n at the Phoenix Hotel. In November of that year, he presented to Daviess Lodge, of this city, a portrait of Colonel Joseph H. Daviess, from the original by Jouett. The picture is now owned by Major S. D. Mccullough.
Chester Harding, a native of Montgomery county, Ken- tucky, and who afterward acquired a national reputation, painted some excellent portraits here in 1819. Mrs. H. J. Bodley, Mrs. Wm. Preston, Mrs. Woodward, Mrs. A. H. Woolley, and others have pictures by him. Harding's studio was in "Higgins' Block."
Louis Morgan, a native of Pittsburg, settled in Lexing- ton in 1830, and remained here for many years. He painted pictures which evinced a very high order of talent, and it was only the lack of energy that prevented him from be- coming noted. His best effort is his well-known portrait of Simon Kenton from life. He was gifted with exquisite taste and remarkable feeling for color. He died about the year 1860. Dr. Robert Peter owns some of his pictures.
The greatest painter that Kentucky has yet produced, and one whose name has shed no little lustre upon the art annals of America, was Matthew H. Jouett. He was born near Lexington, in 1783, and educated for the bar. After participating in the war of 1812, he returned to Lexington, where he attempted to practice law, but being devoted to art, and rendered dissatisfied by the aspirations of his genius, he abandoned his profession, and in 1817 went to Boston and studied under the noted Gilbert Stuart. In less than five years from that time, he was celebrated as the best portrait painter west of the Alleghany mountains. His studio in Lexington, was first in a two-story brick build- ing, which formerly stood on Short street, between the Northern Bank and the residence of the late D. A. Sayre.
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NATIVE AND RESIDENT ARTISTS
1788.]
Subsequently he used a room above the first National Bank on the same street. Among his best pictures are those of Henry Clay, Joseph H. Daviess, Dr. Holley, Major Morri- son, Governor Letcher, John J. Crittenden, Isaac Shelby, and the full length portrait of the Marquis Lafayette, now owned by the State of Kentucky. Mr. Jouett died in Lexington, August 10, 1827, having just returned from a professional trip to the South. Mr. Jouett was tall and thin of form, gifted with great taste, rare humor, and splendid conversational powers, and his literary and social culture was only second to his great artistic genius. Nearly half a century has elapsed since Jouett's death, but his superior as a portrait painter has never yet arisen in the West.
Oliver Frazer, another artist-son of Lexington, was born February 4, 1808, and studied for several years under Jouett. After the death of his distinguished instructor, Mr. Frazer, in company with George P. Healy, went to Europe, where he remained for four years, studying the great works of the old masters. On his retun, he married Miss Martha, daughter of Dr. Alexander Mitchell, of Frankfort, and achieved flattering success as a portrait painter. He died, April 9, 1854, and was buried in the Lexington Cemetery. Unfortunately, his eyesight became injured some years before his death, which prevented him from being a prolific painter, but the few productions of his pencil are of rare merit. His portrait of Clay, and a family group in the possession of Mrs. Frazer, are consid- ered among his best efforts. Mr. Clay spoke in the strongest terms of satisfaction of his portrait by Frazer, who received a number of orders for copies of it. Others of Mr. Frazer's pictures are owned by Major Lewinski, F. K. Hunt, Mrs. M. T. Scott, Wm. Warfield, Judge Robertson, Mrs. W. A. Dudley, J. S. Wilson, Mrs. A. K. Woolley, J. J. Hunter, and others, and are characterized by their delicate coloring and accurate delineation. Another has well said that Mr. Frazer was a true artist, aud loved his profession for its own sake. He was honest, kind, and true, and was de- voted to the retirement of his happy home. He was greatly
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HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
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gifted in conversation, well read in the best art and other literature, and his taste was exceedingly delicate and correct.
Another artist, Joseph H. Bush, made Lexington his home for many years. Mr. Bush was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, in 1794, and was the son of Philip and Eliza- beth Bush. At the age of eighteen, he went to .Philadel- phia, under the care of Mr. Clay, and remained there three years, studying under the celebrated artist, Sully, after which he pursued his profession in New Orleans, Vicks- burg, Louisville, and Lexington, and attained an enviable distinction. How skillfully he handled his pencil is evi- denced in the reputation of his full-length picture of General Zachary Taylor, and the coloring and the beautiful effect of light and shade in his portraits of Dr. Ben. Dudley, Mrs. Fanny Bullitt, and the rest of his numerous produc- tions. Mr. Bush died in Lexington, January 11, 1865, only a few months after the decease of his fellow-artist, Oliver Frazer.
Mr. Bush was a man of deep religious feelings, and ex- tensive reading and culture, and was most genial and com- panionable with those he knew well. His studio was in an upper room over Sayre's banking house, corner of Mill and Short.
In 1867, Mr. Alexander painted some fine pictures in Lexington, one of General John C. Breckinridge, and another of Judge W. B. Kinkead, being among the number.
Since Jouett's time, a number of artists have either sojourned in Lexington temporarily, or made it their home. John Grimes, who excelled in delicate forms and colors, painted here, for several years anterior to 1832, at which time he died in Lexington, and was buried in the Episcopal Cemetery. His studio was in the building on Main street, now occupied by Mr. Thomas Bradley. Several of his pro- ductions are in the possession of his aunt, Mrs. Thos. Grant, and Mrs. Fannie Dewees and J. J. Hunter each have one.
The well-known miniature engravings of Clay and Jack- son are from original portraits by Dodge, who resided for some time in Lexington.
1
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NATIVE AND RESIDENT ARTISTS.
1788.]
J. H. Beard, the American Landseer, during a visit to Lexington, painted portraits of the late Robert Alexander, Colonel W. S. Price, and one or two others.
William Ver Bryck, who has since attained much celeb- rity, executed some very fine portraits in this city, in 1868, one of Mrs. Dr. Whitney, one each of Mr. and Mrs. John Carty, and portraits of several members of Dr. H. M. Skill- man, and Mr. Isaac Scott's families. No visiting artist ever met with as much success in Lexington as Mr. Ver Bryck. His studio was in the Phoenix Hotel. He come to Lexington from the city of New York.
Mr. B. F. Rhineheart, in 1869, had a temporary studio in the present Library building, and painted in very supe rior style, portraits of General John C. Breckinridge, Gen- eral John H. Morgan, Mrs. Basil Duke, Dr. and Mrs. Warren Frazer, Mr. Thos. Mitchell, and others. His chief excellences are fine modeling and coloring. Mr. Rhineheart is a native of Ohio.
Mr. E. Troye, who was born in England, but has long been a resident of New York, has painted a number of fine animal pictures. Some of his best efforts-pictures of blood horses-are in the possession of Messrs. J. A. Grin- stead, A. K. Richards, A. Buford, M. Alexander, of Wood- ford, and others. As an animal painter, Mr. Troye has no superior in this country. He has, as yet, attempted but few composition pictures, the "Dead Sea " being one of them.
General W. S. Price is one of the most promising resi- dent painters Lexington has had since Jouett. He is a son of the late Daniel B. Price, of Nicholasville, Ky., and was a pupil of the lamented Oliver Frazer. His first effort, made at the age of seventeen, was a portrait of "Old King Solomon," the unterrified grave-digger during the cholera of '33, and long one of the "institutions" of Lexington. This picture merits the celebrity it has attained. Another early picture is a fine portrait of Postmaster Ficklin. The portrait of President Fillmore, in the Phoenix Hotel dining- room, is by Price, and was painted in 1855. One of his most successful efforts is a large picture of General George
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HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
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H. Thomas, which has become extensively known. Mr. Price has received letters highly complimenting his work from both Mr. Fillmore and General Thomas. A striking likeness of Judge Robertson must not be forgotten. Lat- terly, General Price has attempted composition pictures, and with marked success. The "Night before the Battle of Chickamauga," the "Young Artist," and "Caught Napping," indicate the latitude, as well as the superiority of his talents. He has reflected honor upon the art history of his state. His studio is in the second story of the Post- office building, on the corner of Mill and Short streets.
Mrs. Eliza Brown, widow of Professor John Brown, of Transylvania University, who died in 1855, has painted a number of beautiful landscapes, the merit of which is heightened by the fact that Mrs. Brown commenced with the pencil at a time of life when art efforts generally cease. A Rhineland scene, the "Yosemite Valley," a Canadian landscape, and an exquisite bit of Minnesota rock and water, are worthy of special mention. Mrs. Brown, who is now nearly seventy, attempted a few months ago, and for the first time, portrait painting, and with extraordinary success, considering her age. Her residence and studio is on the corner of Short and Upper streets.
Mr. Stuart, a South Carolinian, but now a resident of St. Louis, painted some excellent portraits in this city last spring; one each of Mrs. Rosa Jeffrey, Mr. Cooper, city Librarian, and R. A Buckner, Sen., deceased.
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TOWN AFFAIRS-JAMES BROWN.
1789.]
CHAPTER XVI.
Town Affairs-James Brown-The Methodist Church-Father Poythress-The Cloud-Adams and Centenary Seces- sions-Pastors and Incidents-The Lexington Light In- fantry-Its Brilliant Record-Share in the War of 1812- Death of Hart and Searles-The Killed-Incidents-The Man who smoked out the Indians-List of Captains.
IN 1789, the trustees of Lexington, with an eye to the public comfort and welfare, directed "all fences to be re- moved from the streets," and prohibited "the cutting and removing of timber from the public grounds." A curious phenomenon caused great anxiety among the good citizens this year. It was so dark in the afternoon of October 31, that the people had to dine by candle-light, and the dark- ness lasted nearly three hours .*
James Brown, who became one of the eminent public men of this county, settled in Lexington in 1789. He was born in Virginia, September 11, 1766, and was educated at William and Mary College. He commanded a company of Lexington riflemen, in Wilkinson's expedition against the Indians, in 1791. At the organization of the common- wealth in this city, the next year he became the first secre- tary of state of the new government, which subsequently necessitated his removal to Frankfort. Soon after the ces- sion of Louisiana, he removed to that state, and was twice elected to the United States Senate. He was also minister to France from 1823 to 1829. He died in Philadelphia, in 1835, distinguished for his eloquence and legal ability. When Mr. Brown lived in Lexington, his residence was
*Old Gazette.
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on the corner of Mill and Short streets, on the site of the building now owned by Mr. Wolverton.
The Methodist Church commenced its history in Lexing- ton, in 1789, with a feeble but devout little band of Christians, who assembled at times in a dilapidated log cabin which stood on the corner of Short and Dewees streets, where the Colored Baptist church now stands. Two years before this, the first Methodist church built in Kentucky (a log one) had been erected at Masterson's station, five miles northwest of Lexington, and in 1790, the first annual conference of the church in Kentucky was held there, and had the great and good Bishop Francis Asbury as its presiding officer .* The father of the little church at Lexington was the impassioned, the self sacrificing, and the unfortunate Francis Poythress, who went from station to station, preaching and toiling and suffering in silence. At a conference in Baltimore, in 1776, Father Poythress had been admitted into the traveling connection, and in 1778 he was sent to Kentucky. As a preacher, few, in those days, excelled him. His voice was clear and musical, his knowledge of the Scriptures vast and accurate, and his sermons fell as the dews of life upon the hearts of his con- gregation. His mind finally gave way, from the excessive draughts made upon it, and he never preached again after the fall of 1800. He died and was buried near Nicholas- ville.t John Page, James O'Cull, and Thomas Allen preached at various times to the Methodists in Lexington, from 1792 to 1800, when Lewis Hunt, a Virginian, was ap- pointed to "Lexington town," where he labored with much acceptability to his little flock. In 1803, the church at Lexington was detached from the circuit, and organized into a station.
This was the first Methodist station in Kentucky, and comprised seventy-seven members, forty-seven white and the rest black. Thomas Wilkinson was pastor at that time. He was succeeded by Nathaniel Harris and Burwell Spurlock. Dr. Caleb W. Cloud was assigned to the care
* Redford's History.
Collins, 126.
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THE METHODIST CHURCH.
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of the church in 1811, at which period he was one of the most able and prominent preachers in the state. Dr. Cloud's ability and piety was only equaled by his eccentricity and independence, and his elaborate "spencer," nick-tailed horse, and imprudent language soon occasioned trouble among the members of the church, which, at that day, was noted for its great simplicity.
An incident, characteristic of the man, occurred when Postlethwaite's tavern was burned. The doctor, who was then an enthusiastic officer of a fire company, saw a man sitting on a horse amusing himself by watching the fire. He ordered him to assist at the engine; the man declined, saying that he was a "county" man, and "didn't have to help at town fires." Without more ado, the doctor, with words more plain than elegant, pulled him from his horse and made him "help."
The church became so dissatisfied with the doctor's "ways," that, in 1812, he withdrew from it, carrying a number of the members with him, and formed the Inde- pendent Methodist Church. After preaching for several years at his own house, he built "St. John's Chapel," on Main street, where Douglass' carriage factory now stands. The doctor officiated gratuitously, and often invited the various denominations to worship in his chapel. After preaching independently for a long series of years, he at last went back to the church he had left. He died May 14, 1850, aged sixty-nine, and was followed to his grave by the Masons, the medical profession, and a large number of other citizens.
But to return. After the withdrawal of Dr. Cloud, the church was blessed with the services of Mr. Akers, but the congregation, crippled by the secession of the independent doctor and his adherents, languished until 1820, when it be- gan to grow under the pastorate of Edward Stevenson, and was still further enlarged by Richard Tydings. Its pros- perity was such in 1822, that a new church building was erected on Church street, between Upper and Limestone, at a cost of $5,000, and was dedicated in that year by Bishop George. It was a plain, well-finished, brick edifice,
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measuring fifty by sixty feet. It held seventy-five pews on the ground floor, and was provided with a gallery above. T. P. Satterwhite, Stephen Chipley, Nicholas Headington, John Shrock, T. K. Layton, Thomas Gibbons, James Ham- ilton, J. W. Russell, Harvey Maguire, and B. W. Rhoton were members of the church at that time. In 1829, William Holman was pastor. His successor was Bishop H. H. Kavanaugh, who was born January 14, 1802, in Clarke county, Kentucky. He joined the Methodist Church at the age of fifteen, was licensed to preach in 1822, and was regular pastor of the Lexington church, both in 1830 and 1847. He was elected bishop at the general conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, at Columbus, Georgia, in 1854. Bishop Kavanaugh was a resident of Lexington for many years, and was greatly beloved and esteemed.
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