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 28
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
The procession was one of extraordinary proportions and impressiveness. Every drum, flag, banner, and emblem was draped in mourning. The marshals wore white scarfs and a black rosette, and a streamer of crape floated from each hat. The sables of woe were exhibited everywhere, but the decorations were particularly elaborate and beau- tiful upon Cheapside and Main streets. Every business house was closed, festooned and garlanded with black. Across Main street, at the intersection of Mill, an immense golden eagle, tastefully draped, was swung high in the air, and mourning banners and garlands floated down almost to the heads of passers-by, and waved gently and sadly in the breeze. The streets, windows, house-tops, and every available place of observation were ,densely packed with spectators, but good order and a decorous silence prevailed while the honors were being paid to the illustrious dead. The firing of minute guns and the tolling of bells signaled that the procession was put in motion. It moved slowly through the silent street to the sound of beautiful but mournful music; sable plumes nodded, a myriad of bayo- nets and ornaments glittered in the sunlight, and thus, with tens of thousands of his sorrowing friends about him, was Henry Clay borne to his rest. On the arrival of the pro- cession at the Lexington Cemetery, the exquisite and im- pressive burial service of the Episcopal Church, of which the great orator was a member, was read, after which the Masonic fraternity took charge of the body, and deposited it in the public vault, in accordance with the ancient forms
373
FUNERAL OF HENRY CLAY.
1852.]
and touching ceremonies of their order. During all of these last solemn rites, the tears of family and friends and mourning multitudes were falling, and the soft tolling of bells, and the sad booming of minute guns, sounded in the distance. When the mortal remains of the Sage of Ash- land were hidden from sight, the procession returned to the shrouded city in its original order, and after reaching the court-house, each committee and company filed off, and quietly dispersed. Thirty-one guns, fired at the setting of the sun, completed the obsequies.
374
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1853-56.
CHAPTER LXXI.
City Lighted with Gas- Sayre Institute-"Old King Sol- omon"-" Know Nothings."
AFTER several years discussion, gas works were at last established in Lexington, and, in 1853, the city took $10,000 worth of stock in the company. The city was lighted with gas, for the first time, on the night of Wednesday, July 27, 1853, and lard-oil lamps went out of use, greatly to the joy of the citizens, in general, and the policemen, in par- ticular.
The Sayre Female Institute, on Limestone street, estab- lished by David A. Sayre, was organized November 1, 1854, under Rev. H. V. D. Nevius. Subsequently, that accom- plished educator, the beloved and lamented Prof. S. R. Will- iams, became principal, and retained the position, with in- creasing reputation, for many years. It is at present in charge of Prof. H. B. McClellan, a scholar well fitted for the position.
"Old King Solomon," one of the kindliest souls, and one of the quaintest and most noted of Lexington institutions, died November 27, 1854, and not a few were saddened when they heard that he was gone. William Solomon, to call him by his proper name, was born in Virginia, in 1775, and always boasted that he and " Henry," as he familiarly called the Sage of Ashland, had been boys together. He ad- mitted, though, that "Henry" had risen somewhat higher than he-the "King" was a cellar-digger. Nobody knew when " King Solomon" came to Lexington-he seemed to have always been here; and no one ever saw him with new clothes-his " rig," as he called his clothes, appeared to have been old from the start. His same old hat always had the same old mashed look, and his pants were about as close- fitting as the hide on a rhinoceros. He was never known
-
375
"OLD KING SOLOMON."
1853-56.]
to catch cold from washing his face; his hair managed itself, and the button and button-hole of his shirt collar never met long enough to make the slightest acquaintance. "Old King Solomon" was never so happy as when, half-seas over, and provided with the stump of a cigar (he never had a whole one), he was allowed to smoke in peace upon a com- fortable rock-pile. But with all these eccentricities of genius, " Old Solomon" was none the less honest, upright, and industrious; and he had a stout and pitying heart withal, for many a grave he dug during the awful cholera days of 1833, when many a more boastful and better-dressed man had fled in terror from the city.
A more everlasting, incorruptible, and Jackson-defying Whig than " Old King Solomon " never lived ; he clung to "Henry" through thick and thin, and no one ever mourned him more sincerely. He was one of the most independent voters in Fayette. A candidate, on one occasion, gave him some money and advised him to go and vote. Old Sol- omon pocketed the money, and straightway did vote, but voted against his benefactor, who was not of his party and principles.
At one time-how it happened, we know not-“ King Solomon " was very strangely and unfortunately mistaken for a vagrant, and was arrested and sold to an old negro woman for eighteen cents. He proved to be a good invest- ment, for he brought her in seventy-five cents per day.
How Solomon got to be a "King," happened in this wise: One day, when he was not as sober as a judge, he was em- ployed to trim a tree in the court-house yard. He got astride of a big limb, and, while in a meditative mood, he trimmed it so closely and so deeply between himself and the trunk of the tree, that it snapped off, and landed him suddenly and short of breath on the ground. The rare wisdom he displayed as a trimmer gained for him at once the title of "King Solomon," after the wisest man that ever lived.
When the quaint old soul went to his rest, he was ten- derly interred in the Lexington Cemetery. Fortunately,
376
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1853-56.
while he was in the heyday of his attractions, an admirable picture of him was painted by Colonel Price. He was in- duced to sit for it by being provided with the wherewith to make himself comfortable on his favorite seat-a rock-pile.
During the years 1855 and 1856, popular attention was largely directed to the "Know Nothing," or American party, which came into existence in 1853. The rise and fall of the "Know Nothings" was attended with great excite- ment, during which such party names as "Say Nichts," "Dark Lanternites," and "Blood Tubs" prevailed.
377
LEXINGTON RIFLES, ETC.
1857.]
CHAPTER LXXII.
Lexington Rifles -- Rosa's Poems -- Ceremonies Incident to Laying the Corner-stone of the Clay Monument-Description of the Monument.
THE "Lexington Rifles," organized in 1857, was the first military company in Kentucky to report to the governor as a part of the state guard in 1860. The armory of the "Rifles" was in an upper story of the building lately replaced by the bank, on the corner of Main and Upper. The first officers of the company were: John H. Morgan, captain ; Chas. H. Brutton, first lieutenant; J. H. Shropshire, second lieutenant; Joseph R. Gross, third lieutenant ; Richard Cox, ensign; C. W. Kennedy, first sergeant; R. C. Morgan, sec- ond sergeant ; Hiram Reece, third sergeant; Harry Browne, fourth sergeant; Wm. M. Yates, first corporal; Jas. Dud- ley, second corporal; C. H. Dobyns, third corporal ; H. A. Saxton, fourth corporal ; Thos. Wilson, quartermaster.
A volume of poems of much beauty, tenderness, and power was published, in 1857, by Mrs. Rosa V. Jeffrey. In 1870, her "Daisy Dare," appeared. Mrs. Jeffrey was born at Natchez, Miss., but has spent the most of her life in Lexington.
On the 4th of July, 1857, the corner-stone of the Clay monument, in the Lexington Cemetery, was laid with im- posing ceremonies under the auspices of the Monumental Association, which consisted of James O. Harrison, H. T. Duncan, Henry Bell, Benjamin Gratz, and H. B. Hill. The day was beautiful, business was suspended, the city was crowded with spectators, and the houses leading to the cemetery were adorned with flowers, evergreens, flags, streamers, and banners.
378
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1857.
The procession moved from headquarters, opposite the Phoenix Hotel, amid the thunder of artillery and the en- livening music of four splendid bands .* The Masonic fra- ternity, to whom the ceremonies were intrusted, and the Odd Fellows were out in full dress regalia. The Union and Lafayette fire companies of Louisville, together with all the Lexington companies, were present. The military or- ganizations in the procession were the Guthrie Grays and Continentals, of Cincinnati; an artillery company from Frankfort; the Falls City Guards, of Louisville; National Guards, of St. Louis; Independent National Guards, of In- dianapolis ; City Guards, of Baltimore, and the Madison Guards, of Richmond, Ky.
The family carriage, presented to Mr. Clay, in 1833, by the citizens of Newark, N. J., which was the only one ad- mitted into the cemetery grounds, was ornamented with white funeral plumes and wreaths of flowers and ever- greens. It was occupied by Aaron Dupuy, an old negro servant of Mr. Clay, who had been in his service for many years. In the back seat was a bust of Mr. Clay and an engraving of his leave-taking in the senate.
Long before the procession arrived at the cemetery, a large concourse had assembled to witness the interesting ceremonies.
Upon the platform, near the foundation of the monu- ment, were the members of Mr. Clay's family, consisting of Thos. H. Clay and James B. Clay and their families, Isaac Shelby and family, and others.
The following distinguished gentlemen were observed on and in the vicinity of the platform : John C. Breckinridge, Vice-President of the United States; Governor Morehead, Senator Crittenden, Hon. James Guthrie, Hon. Garrett Davis; Ex-Gov. Trimble, of Ohio; Chief Justices Geo. Robertson and T. A. Marshall; J. B. Huston, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Kentucky; Hon. James Harlan, Attorney-General; Hon. Richard Hawes; Dr. Green, of the Normal School ; President Bartlett, of the American
*Association Pamphlet.
379
CLAY MONUMENT.
1857.]
Council of the United ; States Hon. Oscar F. Moore, of Ohio; Roger W. Hanson, Esq .; Zophar Mills, Esq., of New York, and the president and directors of the Clay Monu- ment Association.
The Masonic fraternity occupied the inclosure where the ceremonies were performed, while the military, firemen, and the rest of the procession, selected such positions in different portions of the grounds as they preferred.
The president of the association assigned to the M. W. Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, Mr. T. N. Wise, the duty of laying the corner-stone.
In the stone was placed a box hermetically sealed; in a glass jar, a history of the occasion, with the names of the president and vice-president of the United States, the gov- ernor of Kentucky, the names of the officers of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, and of the president and directors of the Clay Monumental Association ; a copy of each of the papers of the city of Lexington; a picture of Cincinnati in 1802, published in the Cincinnati Gazette ; also a parch- ment prepared by the Cincinnati Guthrie Grays, in testi- mony of their appreciation of the man who preferred to be right rather than to be president of the United States; a medallion in copper, struck from the die of the Clay gold medal, presented by the Clay Festival Association of New York, with a copy of all the festive songs and odes sung and read before that association for the last twelve years, and giving a history of that association ; also a beautiful medallion likeness of Mr. Clay, by C. Younglove Haynes, Esq., of Philadelphia, together with copies of Philadelphia papers from the same gentleman, with coins of the present day (American), in gold, silver, and copper; a Bible, and other articles.
The stone was laid to its place, and pronounced by the grand master well formed, true, and trusty, when corn, wine, and oil were poured upon it, and the ceremonies con- cluded by prayer. During and preceding the ceremonies, the Newport United States band discoursed the sweetest music, and salutes were fired.
380
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1857.
After laying the corner-stone, the procession was re- formed and proceeded to the fair grounds, whose vast am- phitheater was soon filled to repletion with the gathered beauty, intellect, and worth of Kentucky.
After prayer by Rev. E. F. Berkley, of the Episcopal Church, Dr. R. J. Breckinridge, orator of the day, deliv- ered an address in every way worthy its great subject and the occasion. Dinners and picnics in the beautiful groves followed, and at four o'clock there was a grand review of the military by Governor Morehead, the Newport band discoursing beautiful music, and the regular proceedings of the day closed.
The Clay monument,* some 120 feet in height, is built of the magnesian limestone of this state, which resembles very much the famed Caen stone of Normandy, and is a column modeled after the Corinthian style of architecture, consisting of a stereobate, pedestal base, shaft and capital, the whole surmounted by a statue of the statesman.
The stereobate, or subbase, some 20 feet in height, and 40 feet square, is in the Egyptian style, plain and massive, and has its appropriate cornice of very simple character throughout its whole circuit, broken on each side around a projecting facade in the same style, but of more elaborate finish. In the center of the southern face is an entrance to a vaulted chamber, of the dimensions 12 by 24 feet, and 16 feet high in the center, lighted from above by heavy plate glass fixed in bronze frames in such manner as to be unseen from without. The chamber is of polished marble of Kentucky, appropriately finished as a receptacle for sarcophagi, and, if desirable, a life-size statue. The open- ing is closed by a screen of bronze. The remaining space within the subbase is a closed vault, access to which is had by means of a doorway, ordinarily closed with masonry.
Above the stereobate or subbase is the pedestal of the column, divided horizontally into two members, each with its base and cornice. The lower one is 82 feet in height, and the upper 14 feet in height. The faces of both mem-
*Description from Association Pamphlet.
381
CLAY MONUMENT.
1857.]
bers of the pedestal are in sunk panel, to be filled ulti- mately with bas reliefs in bronze, if desirable.
Above the pedestal rises the shaft, which, with the base and capital, is 69 feet in height; the lower diameter being 6 feet 8 inches, and the upper 5 feet 10 inches, built solid. The shaft, instead of the ordinary 24 flutes, with their in- termediate fillets, is composed of a cluster of thirteen spears (one for each of the "Old Thirteen "), the heads of which, of bronze, interlaced and grouped with corn leaves and appropriate national emblems, form the capital of the column, conformable, in outline and proportion, to the best examples of the order. On the abacus of the capital rests an acroter of bronze, of a parabolic contour, and formed of ash and ivy leaves, serving as a pedestal to the statue.
382
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1858-59.
CHAPTER LXXIII.
Sons of Malta-M. T. Scott-Change in City Government- Robert Wickliffe, Sen.
HELMET LODGE, No. 1, Sons of Malta, was organized in Lexington, April 3, 1858, and held its meetings in an upper story of the building, on the corner of Main and Mill streets, known as Whitney & Co.'s drug store.
Matthew T. Scott, who filled for many years the posi- tion of president of the Northern Bank of Kentucky, died in Lexington, in the seventy-second year of his age, Au- gust 21, 1858. He was a man of rare financial sagacity and of irreproachable integrity, and had been identified with the banking interests of Kentucky for more than forty years.
In 1859, the Democrats obtained control of the city government of Lexington, after it had been in the hands of their variously-named opponents for nearly a quarter of a century.
Robert Wickliffe, Sen., died at his residence in Lexington, September 1, 1859, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. Mr. Wickliffe came from Virginia at an early day, and by his energy, persistent labor, and ability, gained a conspicuous position at the bar. He repeatedly represented Fayette in the legislature, was chairman of the board of trustees of Transylvania University, filled other important public offices, and was for half a century one of the leading spirits in state politics. Mr. Wickliffe was one of the shrewdest and ablest land lawyers in Kentucky, and as such made himself rich. He was twice married. His first wife was Margaretta Howard, and his last, Mary O. Russell. He was buried at "Howard's Grove," Fayette county, Kentucky. Mr. Wickliffe resided on the corner of Second and Jefferson streets, where General William Preston now lives.
800
383
POPULATION-PARTIES, ETC.
1860.]
CHAPTER LXXIV.
Population-Parties-St. John's Academy-Lexington Chas- seurs-List of Officers and Privates.
THE population of Lexington, in 1860, was nine thou- sand five hundred and twenty-one, and that of Fayette county, twenty-two thousand five hundred and ninety-nine.
The political parties which acted so prominent a part on the eve of the great struggle between the North and the South, were the Douglas Democrats, Breckinridge Demo- crats, the Bell and Everett, or Union party, and the Repub- lican or Abolition party.
St. John's Academy, a Catholic parochial school con- nected with St. Catharine's Academy, on Limestone street, was established in 1860, mainly through the efforts of Father McGuire.
The Lexington Chasseurs, one of the most noted of the military companies ever raised in Lexington, was organ- ized May 9, 1860, in the grand jury room of the present court-house, and in a very short time was fully equipped. On the 4th of July, 1860, in the presence of the largest crowd ever assembled on the old fair grounds (now the city park), Miss Abby Stewart, in behalf of the ladies of Lexington, presented the Chasseurs with a beautiful flag. The reply to the presentation address was made by Mr. O. L. Bradley, in behalf of the company. The reading of the declaration of independence by D. C. Wickliffe, an oration by R. W. Cooper, and a handsome barbecue given by the Chasseurs and their many friends concluded the ex- ercises of the day.
The brilliant uniform and splendid evolutions of the Chasseurs now constitute one of the most charming me-
384
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1860.
moirs of the days " just before the war." The Chasseurs were the favorites of everybody, and the company rarely had a parade that it was not invited to partake of the hospital- ities of some private residence. In 1861, a silver canteen was presented to the company, to be the prize of that mem- ber of the Chasseurs who should prove himself the best rifle shot, and to be retained by him until won by another. On one side is the inscription :
Lexington Chasseurs, Organized May 9, 1860. Non nobis sed patriæ.
The other side bears the name of the giver, and also those of the winners of the prize, viz:
Presented February 22, 1861, by John G. Kiser, Esq. Private R. T. Anderson. Corporal L. P. Milward, July 26, 1861. Private David Prewett, June 16, 1868.
The hiatus from 1861 to 1868 represents a period too well and too sadly remembered to need explanation.
The Chasseurs were not simply peace soldiers. At the beginning of the late terrible war, a large majority of this favorite company volunteered and served gallantly in one or the other of the contending armies. The members of the old Chasseurs fought bravely on many a bloody field; not a few attained an enviable distinction, while others " sleep their last sleep" from wounds inflicted or diseases contracted in that desperate struggle.
The following is a list of the first officers elected by the Chasseurs, and the names of all the privates who have ever belonged to the company :
Captain, S. D. Bruce; first lieutenant, J. C. Cochran; second lieutenant, W. F. Matheny; third lieutenant, C. H. Harney ; first sergeant, James Dudley ; second sergeant, L. W. Ealier; third sergeant, T. D. Carr; fourth sergeant, Charles Swift; fifth sergeant, T. J. Nicholas ; first corporal, John B. Castleman; second corporal, J. M. Yates ; third corporal, L. P. Milward; fourth corporal, T. J. Bush ; sur- geon, Dudley Bush; clerk, G. R. Letcher; bugler, C. H.
385
LEXINGTON CHASSEURS.
1860.]
Brutton ; color bearer, J. Munos. Privates-R. T. Ander- son, J. W. Alexander, O. L. Bradley, E. Brennan, B. W. Blincoe, H. C. Brennan, F. W. Brodie, John Bryan, L. Brechus, J. Bright, L. C. Bruce, G. R. Bell, W. Bright, D. M. Craig, J. Cochran, A. B. Chinn, C. Coleman, A. Clark, R. W. Cooper, B. T. Castleman, J. Clark, E. Cropper, G. Castleman, H. G. Craig, J. Cooper, H. Castleman, S. Dudley, E. S. Duncanson, H. C. Dunlap, J. G. Dudley, G. A. Doll, J. Dillon, J. Dill, G. Dozier, H. T. Duncan, Jr., J. W. Dil- lard, T. P. Dudley, Jr., C. Ely, W. Ferguson, R. Ferguson, N. Ferguson, R. Foley, W. F. Fulton, J. L. Gilmore, S. C. Graves, W. D. Gilmore, C. Goodloe, F. Gilmore, D. S. Goodloe, Jr., Z. Gibbons, H. B. Hill, Jr., J. O. Hill, F. X. Hollerger, D. M. Hawkins, F. A. Hanson, P. B. Hunt, P. C. Hartnell, J. Hayes, T. Hawkins, L. Harris, S. Hawkins, J. A. Harper, M. Hebrati, C. C. Johnson, Jas. Johnson, John Johnson, B. H. Johnson, E. Keene, T. J. Kelly, D. Kastle, J. Keene, G. Kinnear, J. G. Keiser, B. Letcher, S. Letcher, H. Luther, J. W. Lee, S. Lawless, J. P. Lawless, Linzen, E. Lewis, G. L. Lancaster, P. Lampher, W. Lock- hart, R. McCann, J. Munos, W. M. Matthews, R. Maguire, H. McManus, C. Milward, T. W. McCann, H. McCann, B. J. McCabe, T. D. Mitchell, T. McCaw, J. McNeal, W. McCracken, Monks, W. Montmollin, N. H. McClelland, G. McMurtry, F. Matthews, J. C. Morris, J. Montmollin, H. McKee, W. Maglone, J. R. Morton, S. Mahone, W. B. McIntire, L. C. Nicholas, J. C. Newcomb, J. Nemelly, M. Offutt, H. Oots, G. L. Postlethwaite, W. Postlethwaite, E. Payne, A. B. Pullum, W. Perkins, J. R. Price, J. C. Pierce, M. Reed, J. Reed, T. A. Russell, R. C. Scott, E. Swift, S. Swift, G. Sprague, J. P. Shaw, W. Spencer, J. Sellier, C. H. Swift, J. B. Steves, W. T. Scott, D. Scott, T. Scott, O. Saxton, L. Spurr, H. C. Stewart, C. Spillman, J. Shaw, J. Sepp, J. F. Thompson, B. F. Thompson, A. W. Trabien, R. Underwood, W. H. Varty, J. A. Vaughn, R. J. West, P. Wilging, D. V. Woolley, L. Warfield, C. Warfield, E. War- field, N. Williams, L. N. Walton, W. Wood.
386
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1861-62.
CHAPTER LXXV.
Fair Amphitheater Burnt-Pruden's Statue of Clay-Ethel- bert Dudley-S. D. Mccullough.
ON the night of December 18, 1861, the handsome am- phitheater on the magnificent fair grounds of the Kentucky Agricultural and Mechanical Association, near Maxwell's spring, in Lexington, was destroyed by fire, a calamity still deeply regretted.
In 1861, Mr. M. Pruden, whose talents as a sculptor are well known, executed a fine statue of Henry Clay, which is still in his possession. Several years before this, his ex- cellent busts of Mr. Clay and Judge Robertson were made. Mr. Pruden is a native of Pennsylvania, but has spent the most of his life in Lexington.
Dr. Ethelbert L. Dudley, son of Ambrose Dudley, died at the age of forty-five, of typhoid fever, at Columbia, Kentucky, February 20, 1862. At the time of his death, he was Colonel of the Twenty-first Kentucky (Federal) Infantry. Dr. Dudley was born near Lexington; was edu- cated at Harvard University, and graduated at the Tran- sylvania Medical College, in which he was afterward pro- fessor of the principles and practice of surgery. He was a physician by nature, talents, and education, and before the commencement of the late war, he had attained a prominence consistent with his rare abilities and skill. He seemed destined to take the first place in his profession in Kentucky. Dr. Dudley was not more admired as a phy- sician than he was beloved as a man. To the strength of his mind and character, there seemed added every knightly attribute and grace. He was brave and generous, quick to resent, and quick to forgive. He was big-hearted, kind,
387
DUDLEY-MCCULLOUGH.
1861-62.]
"sympathetic, and gentle. Littleness and meanness he despised unutterably, while his soul warmed instinctively to every high and noble action. His heart went out to his friends, and his multitude of friends clung to him with a devotion that is as rare as it was beautiful. No citizen of Lexington was ever more deeply and universally beloved than Dr. Dudley-perhaps none as much so.
The funeral services took place on Monday, the 24th of February, in the Odd Fellows Hall,* on the corner of Main and Broadway, which had been draped in mourning, and throughout the entire sad exercises could be heard the sobs of hundreds in the dense and sorrowing crowd. The re- mains of the greatly beloved physician were borne to the Lexington Cemetery, where they now sleep, followed by the "Old Infantry," the Chasseurs, the various orders and pro- fessions, and a multitude of other mourners of every rank and condition of life.
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.