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 22
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
279
BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS.
1815.]
=
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Battle of New Orleans-Captain S. W. Megowan-General George Trotter-Lexington Female Benevolent Society- Second Presbyterian Church-James Mc Chord-Pastors- Church Buildings-Division-Peace.
No regularly organized troops from Lexington partici- pated in the war with England, after the battle of the Thames, but this did not prevent her citizens from feeling the liveliest interest in the struggle. When the great Jackson achieved his glorious and extraordinary victory over the disciplined British regulars, who had fought against the first Napoleon, Lexington was beside herself with delight. The 22d of February was observed as a day of general thanksgiving for the brilliant ending of the war; salutes were fired, addresses delivered, and at night the whole city was illuminated. Licensed by the general joy, crowds of boys marched through the streets, singing, at the very top of their voices, this stanza, composed by a Lexington wit, and considered remarkably fine :
" In his last hopes on Orleans strand, John Bull was quite mistaken ; With all his skill in Packen-hams, He could not save his bacon."
The only man from Lexington known to have been in the battle of New Orleans was Capt. Stewart W. Megowan .* In 1812 he raised and commanded a company of volunteers from this city, and, under Colonel Lewis, joined General Harrison. In 1813 he raised another company, and called them the " Lexington Rifles." He again joined Gen. Har- rison, under Governor Shelby, from whom he had obtained
* Old Statesman.
280
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1815.
his commission of captaincy. Captain Megowan was in the battle of the Thames, when Tecumseh was slain; and was present when Proctor's troops surrendered. After serving out that campaign, Capt. Megowan again returned to Lexington, and hearing New Orleans was about being attacked by British troops, he endeavored to raise a third company, but finding he would not have time to do so, he started down the Mississippi river alone, to join General Jackson. After reaching New Orleans, he and a flat-boat captain, by the name of Twiggs, beat up for volunteers in the streets of that city, and raised a company composed of sailors and Kentucky flat-boatmen.
Twiggs was elected captain, and Megowan first lieuten- ant. . General Jackson gave the custom-house into their charge, and on the evening before the battle of New Orleans, Megowan obtained leave to take as many men as would go with him, and join General Jackson. Five Dutch sailors volunteered to accompany him, and although they neither understood the English language, nor were versed in mili- tary discipline, they followed him into the fight, and shared in the victory. Capt. Megowan died at the age of 79 years.
General George Trotter, a well-known native and citizen of Lexington, died October 13, 1815, aged thirty-seven. He was several times a member of the legislature from Fayette, and was noted for his gallant conduct in the war of 1812. He served with Colonel Campbell in the Missis- sinewa campaign, and was acting brigadier-general in the famous battle of the Thames. His residence was at "Wood- lands," and is now used by the Agricultural College.
The " Lexington Female Benevolent Society," now pre- eminent for its judicious charity, great usefulness, and blessed influence, was organized in 1815, and has been in active operation ever since. The following named ladies constituted one of its early board of officers : Mrs. John Norton, President; Mrs. Morrison, Mrs. Ross, Vice-Presi- dents; Miss Ridgely, Secretary ; Mrs. Ward, Treasurer. Managers, Mrs. Palmer, Mrs. Robert, Mrs. Bell, Mrs. Han- son, Miss Clifford, Mrs. Elliott, Miss Montgomery, Mrs. Beckley, Mrs. Stevens. The institution was not incorpo-
281
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
1815.]
rated until February, 1851. The charter members were: Mrs. John Norton, Mrs. John H. Brown, Mrs. James O. Harrison, Mrs. Wyett R. Higgins, and Mrs. Isaac W. Scott. Among other members of the society, who have greatly assisted in forwarding its noble objects, may be named Mrs. Thomas Skillman, who was connected with it for very many years, Mrs. A. V. Sayre, Mrs. Eliza Blythe, Mrs. Eliza Ross, Mrs. Thos. C. Orear, Mrs. M. P. Lancaster, Mrs. John Carty, Mrs. E. McCalister, Mrs. George Brand, Mrs. H. M. Skillman, Mrs. Montmollin, and many others.
The Second Presbyterian Church of Lexington was founded in 1815, and was first known as the " Market Street Church." It was built by the united efforts of a number of non-professing admirers of the Rev. James McChord, together with a few regular members of Presbyterian churches. The building committee was composed of John Tilford, T. H. Pindell, John McKinley, Alexander Parker, David Castleman, and Joseph C. Breckinridge. These, together with the following, were the signers of the church constitution, viz: C. Wilkins, Samuel Trotter, L. Mccullough, J. H. Hervey, M. T. Scott, Benj. Merrill, F. Dewees, Matt. Kenneday, W. H. Richardson, Thos. Jan- uary, Thos. T. Skillman, Wm. Pritchart, C. Logan, N. Bur- rowes, A. M. January, T. P. Hart, J. B. Boswell, R. S. Todd, B. Chambers, T. B. Prentice, W. W. Blair, E. Sharpe, Butler, J. Bruen, John McChord, W. B. Logan, James Trotter, R. H. Bishop. Only one of these signers (A. M. January) is now living.
The edifice was built after the peculiar and substantial style of the day, and occupied the site of the present church building, on Market, between Church and Second streets. The walls were two and a half feet thick, the pul- pit was in the middle of the front end of the house, and the seats were arranged in ascending tiers, facing the doors, so that persons entering found themselves confronted by an army of gazers. The church called the Rev. James McChord to be its first pastor, and he preached the dedica- tory sermon, July 30, 1815, at which time the church was opened for worship.
282
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1815.
James McChord was born in Baltimore,* in 1785, and removed with his parents to Lexington, in 1790. After re- ceiving a liberal education at Transylvania University, he studied law with Henry Clay, but after mature thought, abandoned that profession for the ministry, and entered a theological seminary in New York, where he held the fore- most rank. In 1809, he was licensed, and in 1811, ordained. He published a treatise in 1814, on the nature of the church, which was condemned by the Associate Reformed Presby- tery, whereupon he sent in a declinature of their authority, and connected himself with the West Lexington Presby- tery. He was pastor of the Market Street Church only four years, but in that short time he became famous. To his great intellect was added not only brilliant scholarly at- tainments, but the most powerful and thrilling eloquence, which carried all before it as the sweeping of a mighty wind. Some of his congregation, who had come only to enjoy and admire, were converted. Others who desired nothing more serious than entertaining preaching, and who, unfortunately controlled the financial affairs of the church, took the alarm, and the gifted pastor was soon made so uncomfortable; that he resigned, and for a year managed to subsist by ; teaching a school. His highly sensitive nature never recovered from the blow, and sad and broken- hearted, he died far too young, May 26, 1820. Love and attention revived with his death. His admirers changed the name of his late charge to " McChord Church ;" his re- mains were interred beneath the pulpit, and a marble tab- let bearing his name, the date of his birth and death, and the inscription, "the resurrection of the just shall unfold his character," was set in the wall. The memory of this good man is still reverently cherished in Lexington. Mc- Chord's sermons, including his " last appeal to the Market Street Church," have received great attention both in this country and in England.
Mr. McChord's residence was on Limestone, between Fourth and Fifth streets-the same afterward occupied by
*Davidson's History.
tId
283
PASTORS.
1815.]
Mr. Armant. During the time which intervened between the resignation of Mr. McChord and the accession of the next regular pastor, the Rev. John Breckinridge, the pulpit was supplied by the accomplished Rev. William Wallace and Father R. H. Bishop, who was for some time professor in Transylvania University, and afterward became the founder and president of Oxford College, Ohio.
Rev. John Breckinridge, who succeeded Mr. McChord in 1823,* was a son of Attorney-General John Breckinridge, and was born near Lexington, Kentucky, July 4, 1794. Like McChord, he turned from the law to the ministry, and, like him, captivated the hearts of his hearers by his charm- ing eloquence. After serving the Second Church three years, he accepted the chair of pastoral theology at Prince- ton, which he held a short time. He was an advocate of colonization. At the time of his death, which occurred August 4, 1841, he was president-elect of Oglethorpe Uni- versity, of Georgia.
In 1828, the Rev. John C. Young, D. D., became pastor of the church. Dr. Young was born in Pennsylvania, August 12, 1803, and, after graduating, was licensed to preach in 1827. In 1830, he resigned the pastorate of the Second Church, and accepted the presidency of Centre College, which prospered under his ripe scholarship and efficient administration. Dr. Young died in Danville, Ken- tucky, June 23, 1857.
The Rev. Robert Davidson, son of President Davidson, of Dickinson College, succeeded Dr. Young in 1832. Mr. Davidson was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, February 23, 1808, and graduated at Princeton. He is extensively known as the author of an exceedingly interesting "History of the Presbyterian Church in Kentucky." He was pastor of the church until 1840, when he was elected president of Transylvania University. He was afterward tendered the position of superintendent of pub- lic instruction, but declined it. In 1869, he was one of the delegation to the general assembly of the Free Church of
*Davidson.
284
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1815.
Scotland. He lives, at present, in Philadelphia, where he is greatly esteemed. Dr. Davidson has been a laborious and useful writer.
In 1841, Rev. John D. Matthews (see chapter on First Church) was called to the pulpit, which he filled for several years.
The Rev. John H. Brown, D. D., succeeded Mr. Matthews in 1844, and was pastor until 1853, when he resigned, and settled in Chicago, Illinois, where he died, February 23, 1872, afier a successful ministry in that city.
The present elegant and tasteful church edifice was built on the site of the old building in 1847. After the erection of the church, the remains of the gifted McChord were again deposited beneath the pulpit, where they now rest. Rev. Robert G. Brank, a native of Greenville, Kentucky, a graduate of Centre College, and an exceedingly graceful and effective speaker, succeeded Mr. Brown in 1854, and remained pastor of the church for fourteen years, during which time he made himself greatly beloved by his faithful and efficient ministry.
At the close of the late war, the Second Church, like its sister churches, was filled with dissension between the two parties then formed in it-the Southern Assembly party, with Mr. Brank as pastor, and the General Assembly party, with Rev. E. H. Camp as pastor.
In May, 1869, both of these ministers resigned, and the church troubles were adjusted (see chapter on First Pres- byterian Church). The Rev. Nathaniel West filled the pulpit of the church during the winter of 1869-70, after which the present regular pastor, Rev. Mr. Burch, took charge of the church, which continues to prosper under his earnest and efficient ministry.
285
EASTERN LUNATIC ASYLUM.
1816.]
CHAPTER XL.
Luxurious Lexington-Eastern Lunatic Asylum-List of Contributors - Superintendents - Improvements - Present Condition.
LEXINGTON, in 1816, was known as the most elegant and fashionable city in the West. Great attention was given to music, dancing, and all the lighter accomplishments ; pleasure gardens and other places of amusement were liber- ally patronized, and social entertainments were the order of the day. A visitor, at that time, says :* "Lexington is as large as Cincinnati. The inhabitants are as polished, and, I regret to add, as luxurious as those of Boston, New York, or Baltimore, and their assemblies and parties are con- ducted with as much ease and grace as in the oldest towns of the Union. A summer view of Lexington is inexpress- ibly rich, novel, and picturesque, and the scenery around it almost equals that of the Elysium of the Ancients."
The Eastern Lunatic Asylum, founded in 1816,f under the name of the "Fayette Hospital," was the first institution of the kind established in the western country, and the second state asylum opened in the United States. The projector of this now magnificent public charity was Andrew McCalla,¿ one of the early settlers of Lexington, and a man noted for his kind heart and benevolent deeds. He was assisted by many other citizens of like character, and all of them were incorporated early in 1816, under the name of " The Contributors to the Fayette Hospital."
The names of these contributors, as far as known, are: Alex. Parker, Trotter, Scott & Co., John W. Hunt, Geo. Trotter, Jr., Thomas January, Lewis Sanders, J. & D. Mac-
*Brown's Gazette.
tOld Kentucky Gazette.
#Collins.
286
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1816.
coun, Andrew McCalla, T. D. Owings, Sam. Trotter, F. Ridgely, John Bradford, R. Higgins & J. D. Young, David Williamson, Mrs. Eleanor Hart, Benjamin Stout, William Morton, Thos. H. Pindell, William Leavy, John Pope, E. Warfield, Daniel Bradford, Patterson Bain, Michael Fishel, Adam Rankin, Robert Miller, L. M'Cullough, Tandy & Castleman, Robert Frazer, Robert H. M'Nair, J. Postle- thwait, John H. Morton, John Hart, Jas. B. January, Sam'l Ayres, Asa Farrow, Thomas Tibbats, E. W. Craig, Robert Holmes, Sanford Keen, J. & B. Boswell, Maddox Fisher, E. Yeiser, David & J. Todd, Fisher & Layton, C. Coyle, James Wier.
On the 1st of March, the contributors organized under the charter, and shortly after purchased the "Sinking Spring " property, on which the present buildings are located. The site selected owed its name to a peculiar spring, still used, which has its origin in an immense sub- terranean volume of water, from which, it is said, the "Big Spring" at Georgetown flows. There is a tradition* that a quantity of chaff, emptied into the "Sinking Spring," came out, some hours after, at the "Big Spring."
On Monday, June 30, 1817, on the occasion of the laying of the corner-stone of the "Fayette Hospital " building, a procession marched from the court-house to the Sinking Spring, in the following order, viz :
Two Civil Officers of the County, Judge of the Circuit Court, Justices of the Peace and Bar.
Clergy. Trustees and Professors of Transylvania University. Students of Transylvania University. Trustees of the Town. Physicians. Students of Medicine. Music. Architects of the Building. Orator of the Day. Hospital Committee. Contributors. Citizens.
*Dillard, R. T.
287
EASTERN LUNATIC ASYLUM.
1816.]
In the presence of a large concourse of spectators, after an appropriate prayer by Rev. Robert M. Cunningham, the corner-stone was laid, and in it were deposited the news- papers of Lexington for that week, some silver and copper coins of the United States, two publications in favor of the institution, and a brass plate bearing the name of the en- graver and the following inscription :
State of Kentucky, LEXINGTON, June 30th, A. D. 1817. Deposited in the Corner-stone of the FAYETTE HOSPITAL. The first erected west of the Apalachian Mountains.
Built by Contribution, under the Direction of AND'W M'CALLA, THOS. JANUARY, STEPHEN CHIPLEY, STERLING ALLEN, RICH'D HIGGINS,
Building Committee of the Contributors.
Also, the 5th verse of the 11th chapter of Matthew, in the original.
The ceremony was concluded by a powerful and eloquent oration by Henry Clay.
By the time the hospital was roofed in, a financial crisis defeated the plans of the building committee, and in 1822, it was found best to tender the property to the state, which purchased it the following year, gave it the name of the "Kentucky Eastern Lunatic Asylum," and appropriated $10,000 for its benefit. The asylum was formally opened May 1, 1824, and the first patient admitted was "Charity,"* a negro woman from Woodford county. For twenty years after its opening, the attending physicians were Dr. S. Theobolds, Dr. Louis Decognets, and others, assisted by the medical faculty of Transylvania University. In 1833, and at several different times after, the cholera raged with fatal effect in the asylum, and several times it has been visited by destructive fires, in one of which a number of
*Superintendent's Report.
288
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1816.
patients were consumed. In 1844, the custodial manage- ment of the institution was changed for an enlightened one .* Dr. J. R. Allen was made the first superintendent under the new order of things. Chains and jailers rapidly disappeared, and the institution soon wore a civilized appear- ance. Dr. Allen held his office for ten years, giving great satisfaction to all concerned, and gaining for himself an enviable reputation.
In 1850, a liberal bequest was made to the asylum by James S. Megowan, "for the purpose of adding to the com- fort and amusement of the patients."
Dr. W. S. Chipley, who for many years made mental diseases his special study, succeeded Dr. Allen in 1855, and continued as superintendent for fourteen years. Under his very efficient management, improvements were made in almost every respect, and the institution attained a position of usefulness second to none in this country.
The capacity of the asylum was greatly increased in 1867, by an appropriation of $150,000 by the legislature. The new buildings erected, gave the institution two hun- dred and fifty additional rooms.
In 1869, Dr. Chipley resigned, and Dr. John W. Whit- ney became superintendent, a position which he still holds. The institution has never been more prosperous, or its affairs more efficiently managed, than since the induction of the present able and skillful superintendent. His assist- ants are Drs. Dudley, Layton, and Rogers.
Since 1822, the state appropriations to the asylum have amounted to nearly a million of dollars. The little patch of ground it then owned has been increased to three hun- dred acres; nearly three thousand five hundred patients have been admitted to the institution, of whom largely over a thousand have recovered, besides very many who were so much improved as to justify their restoration to society. The asylum is supplied with every convenience, comfort, and medical and scientific arrangement calculated to benefit its inmates ; and stands in the first rank among like institutions in the United States.
# Report.
.
289
CARRIAGES-NEGROES.
1817.]
CHAPTER XLI.
Carriages-Negroes-Branch United States Bank.
LEXINGTON was noted, as early as 1817, for her number of carriages, which was twice that of any other town of its size in the United States .* This peculiarity has distin- guished her ever since, and so much so in late years, as to gain for her, from a pungent writer, the name of "the city that goes on wheels."
The prices of negroes rose in 1817, young men being worth from $500 to $700.
A branch of the United States Bank went into operation in Lexington, January 27, 1817. The directors were James Morrison, William Morton, John W. Hunt, Alexander Parker, John Tilford, A. S. Bartow, Cuthburt Bullitt, John H. Hanna, James Taylor, W. T. Barry, John T. Mason, and John H. Morton.
#Palmer.
290
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1818.
CHAPTER XLII. Relics of the Olden Time-Leslie Combs.
THE quaint and beautiful costumes of the old colonial days were not quite extinct, even in 1818. At entertain- ments, and on full dress occasions in Lexington, at that date, old gentlemen were frequently seen arrayed in all the magnificence of square coats, ruffled shirt-bosom, court vest, lace cuffs, short breeches, knee-buckles, and white stockings; and elderly ladies looked grand in wonderfully long-waisted dresses, with immense ruffles about the elbows, and with their powdered hair towering aloft on cushions.
General Leslie Combs settled in Lexington in 1818, and has made it his home ever since that time. General Combs was born in Clark county, Kentucky, November 28, 1793. His father was a Virginian, and his mother a Marylander. During the war of 1812, General Combs, at the age of nineteen, distinguished himself by his courage and gal- lantry. In the campaign which ended at Raisin, he was sent with a dispatch from General Winchester to General Harrison, and in the execution of his trust, traversed the pathless wilderness through snow and water for a hundred miles, and endured privations which nearly cost him his life .* In April, 1813, he was commissioned Captain of scouts, and was attached to the force under General Green Clay, which had been ordered to the relief of Fort Meigs. Captain Combs volunteered, with the assistance of an In- dian guide and four men, to carry the news of Clay's ap- proach to Harrison. He succeeded in threading his perilous way through swarms of hostile savages, and had arrived in sight of the closely invested fort, when he was attacked
*Lossing.
291
LESLIE COMBS.
1818.]
by Indians, one of his men killed, another wounded, and he and the rest of his little band, after intense suffering, escaped, in a starving condition, back to Fort Defiance.
Subsequently, he took a gallant part in the disastrous defeat of Colonel William Dudley, on the 5th of May, was wounded, taken prisoner, and compelled to run the gaunt- let at Fort Miami.
After the war, General Combs settled in Lexington, where he practiced law for nearly half a century. In 1836, General Combs raised a regiment for the southwestern frontier, at the time of the Texas revolution. As a lawyer, trustee of Transylvania University, member of the legis- lature, railroad pioneer, state auditor, and a brilliant and sparkling speaker, General Combs has stood in high repute among his fellow-citizens. After a long and eventful life, the "boy-captain of 1812" is still among us. He resides on Main, between Limestone and Rose, and adjoining the First Christian Church.
292
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1819.
CHAPTER XLIII.
Monetary Troubles-Parody- Visit of Monroe, Jackson, and Shelby-Dr. Charles Caldwell.
THE year 1819 found Lexington suffering from the finan- cial derangement and demoralization which extended over the whole country. The multitude of newly created banks which had been thickly planted throughout Kentucky, had been so badly managed as to excite universal contempt. The following quaint effusion, printed in the Reporter of 1819, indicates the state of feeling at that time in regard to the banks :
" To the Editors of the Reporter : I have ventured to send you another squib at the banks. Nothing, I conceive, can be more injurious to the country than the toleration of swindling and bankrupt moneyed institutions.
" It is high time our non-paying money shops were closed-their credit is irretrievably lost.
" PARODY.
(Oh ! blame not the Bard, if he fly to the bower, etc.)
"Alas! for the banks, their fame is gone by- And that credit is broken, which used but to bend;
O'er their fall, each director in secret must sigh, For 'tis interest to love them, but shame to defend. Unprized are their notes, or at ten per cent. selling, Unhonor'd at home, unredeem'd on demand; But still they've a merit-I joy in the telling- They 're taken for pork, though rejected for land.
" But their glory is gone !- ev'ry dog has his day- Yet their fame (such as 'tis) shall abide in my songs ; Not e'en in the hour when my heart is most gay,
Will I cease to remember their notes and their wrongs.
293
DR. CHARLES CALDWELL.
1819.]
The stranger in passing each village shall say, (As he eyes the sad spot with his hand on his breast,) THERE ONCE STOOD A BANK !- but, unable to pay, It suspended itself, and, thank G-d, is at rest ! ! "
President Monroe and General Jackson, accompanied by Governor Shelby, visited Lexington, Friday, July 3, 1819,* and were escorted to Keen's tavern by the old infantry, several rifle and artillery companies, and a large and enthu- siastic crowd of citizens. Salutes were fired, both when they entered town, and when they arrived at the tavern. They visited the university, and were addressed by Dr. Holly and some of the students, after which they went to Jouett's studio. The next day they " attended the Fourth of July festival at Dunlap's." Sunday, they attended church. Monday, they were given a public dinner at Keen's tavern by the citizens, who addressed the Presi- dent through Colonel Morrison. The distinguished guests left town the next day.
Dr. Charles Caldwell, well known in medical circles in both America and Europe, settled in Lexington in 1819. He was born in Caswell county, North Carolina, in 1772. At the age of fourteen, he had mastered Latin and Greek, after which he opened a grammar school, taught three years, then studied medicine, and graduated under Rush in Philadelphia.
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.