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 29
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The handsome form, the eagle eye, and generous heart of Dr. Ethelbert Dudley will long be remembered in Lex- ington.
Samuel D. Mccullough, now one of the oldest natives of Lexington, was born June 26, 1803. His father, a native of Maryland, was one of the early settlers of Lexington. Major McCullough was graduated A. B., at Transylvania University, in 1824, and a few years after received the de- gree of A. M. In 1829, he married Miss Harriet Wallis, a great grand-daughter of Rev. Samuel Daviess, of Prince- ton College. After conducting a female academy for four- teen years, Major Mccullough inherited the secret, and for many years conducted the manufacture of Burrowes' world- renowned Lexington mustard. His love for painting, local history, and antiquities is well-known, but his particular forte is astronomy. "Mccullough's Almanacs," Map of the Heavens, and Text-book on Astronomy have more than a local reputation. The major has been one of the " lights" of the Masonic fraternity since 1824. He is a quaint relic
*Observer and Reporter.
388
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1861-62.
of the olden time of Lexington, and his warm heart and well-stored head, and his praiseworthy desire and efforts to save from destruction the monuments and memoirs of the past, justly entitled him to the name of "Old Mor- tality."
389
JUDGE WM. C. GOODLOE.
1863.]
CHAPTER LXXVI.
Banking House of Grinstead & Bradley-Wm. C. Goodloe.
THE banking house of Grinstead & Bradley, located on Upper, between Maine and Short streets, was established in 1863.
Judge William C. Goodloe removed to Lexington in 1863. He was born in Madison county, Ky., October 7, 1805 ;* graduated at the Transylvania Law School in 1824; commenced the practice of his profession in Richmond, and was soon after appointed commonwealth attorney by Governor Metcalf. In 1826, he married Miss Almira, daugh- ter of Governor William Owsley. He was appointed circuit judge in 1846, and served under the appointment until the adoption of the state constitution of 1850, when he was elected to the same office by the people. After that he was twice re-elected and continued in office until 1868, having been upon the bench for twenty-two consecutive years. At the time of his death, which occurred in Lexington, Aug. 14, 1870, he was a professor in the Law College of Ken- tucky University. Judge Goodloe was a fine lawyer, and possessed very extensive legal information. As a judge he was quick to comprehend cases and arrive at conclusions, and was exceedingly prompt and able in the dispatch and transaction of the duties of his office.
*Kentucky Statesman.
390
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1864.
CHAPTER LXXVII.
Jewish Church-James B. Clay-John H. Morgan.
THE Jews, the most ancient people of the Most High, are few in Lexington, and have no regular and established organization, but the requirements of their faith are not entirely ignored. In the year 1864, in their month of Tishri, they assembled at the residence of one of their brethren, and observed their Sabbath of Sabbaths, the great Day of Atonement, with fasting, humiliation, and prayer. From that time to the present, this, the most solemn day of the whole Jewish year, has been annually commemorated by the Israelites of Lexington.
James B. Clay, son of Henry Clay, died in February, 1864, in Canada, aged forty-seven. Mr. Clay was born in Lexington, and was educated for the bar, where, in time, he made a good reputation. Mr. Clay was the only mem- ber of the family that seemed to inherit any of the father's oratorical talent-he was a fine stump speaker. After filling the position of charge to Portugal, Mr. Clay ably represented his district in Congress. In the late war, he warmly espoused the cause of the Confederate States, and was on his way to join the Southern army, when he was arrested and exiled to Canada, where he died of consumption at the time stated above. His remains are buried in the Lexing- ton Cemetery. His residence was Ashland, which he pur- chased after his father's death.
General John H. Morgan, the Marion of Kentucky, and the most brilliant partisan leader of the late war, was killed by treachery at Greenville, East Tennessee, September 4, 1864. He was born at Huntsville, Alabama, June 1, 1825, and was a son of Calvin C. Morgan, and his wife, a daugh- ter of John W. Hunt, of Lexington, Kentucky. General
391
JOHN H. MORGAN.
1864.]
Morgan's parents removed to Lexington when he was a small child, and nothing of special interest occurred in his life until he arrived at the age of nineteen, when he en- listed in the Mexican war. On his return, he married Miss Bruce, and engaged regularly in business in Lexington.
At the beginning of the late war, he was captain of the noted "Lexington Rifles," and, espousing the cause of the South, escaped, by stratagem, with a number of that com- pany, on the 20th of September, 1861, and arrived safely at Green river. Shortly after, at Bowling Green, he was elected captain of a cavalry company, which was duly en- rolled in the Confederate service. From that time until the day of his death, he figured in great events, which made his name famous. As captain, colonel, and then brigadier- general, he led his rangers on rapid and astounding "raids," through the carnage of Shiloh, at the capture of Cynthi- ana, and in many a desperate contest. After the death of his wife, Morgan married again. His second wife was Miss Ready, of Tennessee. His daring raid through Ohio, his capture, imprisonment, and romantic escape, are too fresh in the public mind to need recapitulation.
This gallant leader and his famous band swept through Kentucky, in 1864, for the last time, and on the 10th of June were in possession of Lexington. In less than three months from that time, his knightly career was ended. His remains were buried first at Abingdon, Virginia, but in a short time were deposited in a vault at Hollywood Cem- etery, Richmond, where they remained until 1868. On the 17th of April of that year, his old comrades and soldiers, in the presence of a host of mourners, laid him to rest in the Lexington Cemetery, and gentle women of the South wreathed, with flowers and evergreens, the grave of one of the greatest partisan leaders named in the history of the world. Up to the time of his first marriage, General Mor- gan lived at his mother's residence, on the corner of Mill and Second streets. Just before the late war, he lived on the corner opposite his old home, in the house now occu- pied by Mrs. Ryland.
392
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1865.
CHAPTER LXXVIII.
First National and City National Banks-Centenary Metho- dist Church.
THE First National Bank of Lexington was organized in the spring of 1865, and commenced business in an office on Jordan's Row. Its first directors were Jacob Hughes, W. R. Estill, William Warfield, S. F. Tebbs, and B. F. Buckner; Jacob Hughes, president, and Thos. Mitchell, cashier. The office of the bank is now on Short street, between Upper and Market.
In the same year (1865), the City National Bank was established. W. C. Goodloe, president; A. M. Barnes, cash- ier; directors, G. W. Norton, W. S. Downey, Persicles Scott, J. B. Wilgus, and D. F. Wolf. Banking office loca- ted on corner of Main and Cheapside.
The Centenary Methodist Church of Lexington was or- ganized, in the fall of 1865, by a number of persons who seceded from the Southern Methodist Church on Hill street, for reasons intimated in the chapter on the latter named church. Members of the families of Persicles Scott, Hiram Shaw, L. P. and W. R. Milward, J. Gunn, J. W. Cannon, Dr. Bright, and others, combined to organize the new church, which met for a short time in the present city library building, with Rev. H. P. Henderson, of Ohio, as pastor.
On the 4th of January, 1866, the congregation engaged the city council room in Hunt's Row, and conducted wor- ship there for several years, under the ministry of Rev. Duke Slavin and his successor, Rev. J. R. Eads. Ably as- sisted by their next pastor, the Rev. Daniel Stevenson, formerly superintendent of public instruction for Kentucky, and a scholarly gentleman, the congregation, with great
393
CENTENARY METHODIST CHURCH.
1865.]
zeal, set to work to build a church, and on Sunday, July 24, 1870, the present elegant edifice on the corner of Broad- way and Church streets was dedicated. The dedicatory ex- ercises were conducted by the Rev. C. H. Fowler, assisted by the pastor, Mr. Stevenson. The Rev. George Strow- bridge, the present pastor, who is an exceedingly entertain- ing speaker, succeeded Mr. Stevenson. The affairs of the Centenary Church have been conducted with great energy and zeal; it has met with encouraging success, and is now in a most prosperous condition.
394
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1866-67.
CHAPTER LXXIX.
Kentucky Gazette-Red Men-Aaron Dupee-Kentucky States- man-Farmers' Home Journal-Poems by the Misses Wil- son-Good Templars-Fayette Farmers' Club-John Carty.
THE first number of the present Kentucky Gazette, H. H. Gratz, editor, appeared June 23, 1866.
Oceola Tribe, No. 8, Improved Order of Red Men, was constituted in Lexington, August 29, 1866, with the follow- ing officers, viz : James Chrystal, Sachem ; T. A. Hornsey, S. S .; B. P. Watkins, J. S .; D. A. King, P .; A. W. Tra- bein, C. R .; V. N. Gardner, K. W. The tribe was organ- ized in the third story of Viley & Co.'s drug store, on the corner of Mill and Short streets. It now uses the hall in Kastle's block, on Main street.
Aaron Dupee, well-known as the faithful negro servant of Henry Clay, died in February, 1866, at the age of eighty. He was buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery, and a neat headstone, with an inscription embodying these facts, marks his grave.
The first number of the present Kentucky Statesman appeared January 1, 1867, William Cassius Goodloe and W. Owsley Goodloe being editors and proprietors; office on Short street, near the corner of Limestone, where it still remains. Subsequently, W. O. Goodloe became sole editor and proprietor. In January, 1871, he sold to Messrs. W. C. Goodloe and L. P. Tarleton. At the present time, the establishment is owned by a company, and the paper is ably edited by Mr. Samuel R. Smith. The Statesman is Republican, or Radical, in politics.
The Farmers' Home Journal was established in May, 1867, by J. J. Miller and J. R. Marrs, on Market street,
395
FAYETTE FARMERS' CLUB.
1866-67.]
near the Episcopal Church. It is now owned by Messrs. H. T. Duncan, Jr., and Hart Gibson; and Mr. J. A. Rey- nolds, who has been so long and so favorably connected with the Kentucky press, is its editor.
Miss Susie Wilson and Miss Belle Wilson, sisters, and both natives of Lexington, published in the newspapers, about this time (1867), as they have frequently since, poems of great sweetness, tender eloquence, and acknowledged merit.
The order of Good Templars originated in Lexington, with the organization of Arlington Lodge, November 22, 1867, in the building used by City School No. 2. Ashland Lodge of Good Templars was organized December 8, 1868. Both lodges now use the hall in Kastle's building, on Main, between Mill and Broadway.
On Saturday, the 19th of January, 1867, a meeting of farmers was held in the wareroom of J. M. Tipton, on Short street, between Limestone and Upper, to take steps toward organizing a Farmers' Club. General William Bryan was called to the chair, and E. C. Bryan was made secretary. A number of speeches were made, strongly in favor of the project, and the following committee was appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws for the proposed club, viz: W. B. Kinkead, J. J. Hayden, D. S. Coleman, S. Chew, and E. Allen. At a meeting held at the same place the suc- ceeding Saturday, January 26, the constitution and by-laws reported by the committee were adopted, the organization named " The Farmers' Club," and the following officers were elected : President, W. R. Estill ; vice-president, J. J. Hay- den ; corresponding secretary, William Warfield ; treasurer, D. S. Coleman ; recording secretary, J. M. Tipton. Those who subscribed to the constitution, at this meeting, were William Bryan, Samuel H. Chew, W. B. Kinkead, J. J. Hayden, W. R. Estill, W. Halley Smith, Edward Allen, D. S. Coleman, C. C. Gibson, Joseph S. Frazer, William War- field, David Prewitt, James W. Berry, Granville Smith, S. P. Kennedy, R. J. Spurr, William Cassius Goodloe, E. C. Bryan, Elisha Smith, John Clark, William D. Sutherland,
3
396
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1866-67.
J. M. Tipton, John L. Cassell, A. K. Marshall, S. M. Hibler, David Harp, and W. G. Anderson.
The club was established to advance the general interests of agriculture in this portion of Kentucky; to spread in- telligence of the markets for stocks and other products throughout the farming community, and by mutual con- sultation protect their interests against undue advantage being taken of them; to bring together experience as to the best method of cultivating the various crops; of breed- ing and raising stock of the various descriptions ; of the best farming implements, and embracing also the interests of horticulture, fruit raising, the dairies, etc.
The club has been in successful operation ever since its establishment. Its weekly discussions and proceedings, which have been exceedingly useful and interesting, have been given to the public in a clear, graceful, and able man- ner, by Mr. J. A. Reynolds, editor of the Farmers' Home Journal, and the authorized reporter of the club. In justice to itself and to the interests of agriculture in Kentucky, the club should, by all means, gather and preserve these re- ports in a durable volume.
John Carty, one of the most remarkable and successful merchants that Lexington has ever produced, died at his residence on Broadway, Monday, April 8, 1867, aged sixty- one. His father, John Carty, a soldier in the Revolution and in subsequent Indian wars, was one of the pioneer set- tlers of Lexington. His grandfather, John Carty, was a native of Burlington, New Jersey, and was of English de- scent. After spending several sessions at the Transylvania grammar school, Mr. Carty commenced life, at the early age of fifteen, as deputy of that elegant old Virginia gen- tleman, Captain John Fowler, then, and for many years after, postmaster of Lexington. Mr. Carty left the post- office to assist Mr. John McCauley, who, at an early day, was one of the extensive grocery dealers of Lexington. In this new capacity, his energy and business talents were so marked, and he exhibited financial sagacity of such a high order, that in a short time he was admitted as a full partner in the establishment. Subsequently, he conducted
397
JOHN CARTY.
1866-67.]
the same kind of business with Mr. John Dudley and others, but for many years, and up to the time of his death, he was the sole proprietor of the leading grocery house in Lex- ington, which had also become, under his skillful manage- ment, one of the most extensive in Kentucky.
Mr. Carty was one of nature's noblemen, and the seal of a true man was impressed upon all he did. His business was conducted upon the highest principles of truth and honor. Though a patron of learning and of every deserving public enterprise, and the liberal benefactor of struggling merit, yet all was hidden under an extraordinary modesty, which was not the least beautiful of his characteristics. He was a man of remarkable judgment; he weighed every- thing in his finely balanced mind, and his opinions were rarely at fault and always influential. Mr. Carty was con- stitutionally incapable of injustice, and his views on all subjects were comprehensive, liberal, and charitable. His most distinguishing mental trait was financial sagacity, and in that respect, in particular, he was one of the most su- perior men in Kentucky. His old associates will never for- get his marvelously black, beautiful, and piercing eyes, the windows of a soul as gentle as it was brave, and as rare as it was exalted. His spotless life and admirable qualities gained him a host of friends. He was universally esteemed and beloved, and few men who have died in Lexington were ever more generally and sincerely mourned. The fol- lowing notice of his funeral, from a Lexington newspaper, indicates the public feeling at his loss :
"The funeral cortege of Mr. John Carty, on Wednesday last, was probably the largest which ever followed a private citizen of this city to the grave. He was interred with Ma- sonic honors, and the stores along Main street were closed as the procession passed by. This was an unusual testi- monial of respect to a private person; but it shows how he had won upon the respect and affection of his fellow cit- izens."
398
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1868.
CHAPTER LXXX.
Christ Church Seminary-Baptist Female College-W. S. Downey.
CHRIST CHURCH SEMINARY, Rev. Silas Totten, principal, was established in 1868.
The first session of the Baptist Female College, on Broad- way, between Hill and Maxwell streets, commenced in February, 1868, under Prof. A. S. Worrell. The college buildings are the same used by the Misses Jackson, who for years conducted a female school noted for its fine character and success. Rev. J. C. Freeman succeeded Mr. Worrell. The present president of this flourishing institution is Dr. Robert Ryland, formerly of Richmond, Virginia.
W. S. Downey died at the Phoenix Hotel, in Lexington, January 31, 1868, aged forty-seven .* Major Downey was born near Winchester, Kentucky, and having been bereft of his father at an early age, he was not only thrown upon his own resources, but was left in poverty, with a mother and two sisters to support. He tested freely "the good things that belong to adversity" in his early and youth- ful struggles. He was educated at St. Mary's College, and studied law with Hon. James Simpson. He was county attorney of Clark county for several years and up to his election as commonwealth's attorney for this judicial dis- trict, in 1856, which office he held, by successive elections, at the time of his death.
Major Downey was a self-made man, and rose to position by his own talents and industry. He was distinguished for correct taste and polite accomplishments in literature. His
*Observer and Reporter.
399
W. S. DOWNEY.
1868 ]
fine command of language, arising from an intimate ac- quaintance with the classics, active, quick, perceptive, and incisive cast of intellect, gave him the power of a formid- able and eloquent opponent at the bar.
400
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1869.
CHAPTER LXXXI.
Apostolic Times-Hocker School-The Great Eclipse of the Sun-S. S. Nicholas-Farmer Dewees.
THE Apostolic Times, R. Graham and others editors, was established in April, 1869; first office on Main, between Mill and Cheapside.
The Hocker Female School, on Broadway, opened in September, 1869, with Robert Graham as president. The school owes its establishment to donations and loans from liberal citizens.
On Saturday, August 7, 1869, occurred the great eclipse of the sun, and Lexington, being a most favorable point of observation, was visited by many strangers. The crowds, which commenced to gather on the streets at an early hour in the afternoon, grew larger and larger as the momentous period approched, and by the time the great celestial won- der began its sublime, visible work, it seemed that all living Lexington had abandoned shelter and emptied itself out into the main thoroughfares.
The weather all day was beautiful and clear, but cool, becoming even chilly as eclipse time neared. By four o'clock most of the best points had been secured. Every hand held a piece of smoked glass with which to take observa- tions. The first indications to the naked eye of the eclipse was the appearance of a little concave "gap" in the sun, a visible change began to take place in the color of things, and the atmosphere was the least bit hazy. Time passed, and the air took on a coal-smoky hue, the darkening sha- dows deepened, and our beautiful trees assumed a deeper and deeper green. In a little while only about four digits of the sun's face was yet uncovered, and from this time the circling birds, the domestic fowls and animals, showed most
401
THE GREAT ECLIPSE OF THE SUN.
1869.]
evident signs of uneasiness. The moon moved majestically onward, leaving only two digits unchanged, and the gath- ering darkness settled in ghastly shadows upon all men and things. The ladies drew their wrappings closer, the edges of the sun glowed strangely with fire, the excitement ran high, and at each advance made by the moon's shadow the intensity increased.
At 5:25 the silence and the darkness awed the expectant multitudes by their strange. and mysterious influence. Every eye was upon the sun, the horns of the crescent di- minished rapidly, and at last the crescent itself became dis- solved into a ball of fire. Rapidly it also diminished in size, and at last disappeared suddenly, like a candle blown out. Still, on the margin of the shadow lingered specks- little globules-two or three, or perhaps five of them, on the moon's northeast edge, like dazzling drops of dew. Suddenly they went out, and the merest golden edge re- mained a second and flashed out of sight, dropping a sud- den darkness on the earth. The stars flashed into the heavens as if they had but that moment been created. On the right was Mercury, on the left Venus, and still further left was Mars or perhaps Saturn.
Time, 5:30. The moment had arrived-such as will not occur again for a lifetime-the sun was eclipsed. And there was something indescribably awful and solemn in this vailing of his face in darkness.
Another has truly said of this moment:
" With the flash of darkness flashed out lines of golden clouds in the southwest and northwest of indescribable beauty. No night clouds, no clouds by twilight, no clouds at sunset, no clouds by day, ever resembled those. The relations of earth and air in color and light had changed night on the earth, twilight in the distant mid-air, and a daylight in the further upper air where the clouds were marshaled. Golden, orange, gray, crimson, lavender, and the tenderest hues of olive were seen mottled and pure in their coloring. They lay in ledges, the lower stratum resting on a bank of rich orange mist that deepened and deepened in color till it reached and disappeared beneath
402
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1869.
the horizon. In tone these clouds were unlike all other clouds one sees. Rich in color, beyond description of tongue, pen, or pencil, they were not ablaze as are the clouds of day, and appearing and disappearing like the pic- tures of a phantasmagoria."
Even while the entranced gazers are looking with wrapped eyes and with hearts moved to their deepest depths by the glory of the grandest work of the Omnipotent Creator, there comes a flash and a blinding, dazzling, over- whelming light. It is like nothing else than the breaking loose of great reservoirs that had long been dammed- grateful, warm, genial, blessed light, it came streaming forth, giving life and health and peace. It seemed like a resurrection. It seemed as if the habiliments of the grave had been thrown aside, and in the garments of youth the earth had been decked. The shadow fled away before the sudden burst, the old moon became the new, and once more it began its solemn movement around the earth, and with the earth around the sun. The eclipse was over.
Judge S. S. Nicholas, noted as a profound jurist and publicist, died in Danville, Kentucky, at the age of seventy- three, on Saturday, November 27, 1869. He was born in Lexington, on the corner of Short and Mill streets, read law with R. Wickliffe, Sen., practiced in Louisville, and rose rapidly to a high position. He served in the legis- lature, upon the appellate bench, and in preparing the re- vised code of Kentucky. He became particularly celebra- ted for his able essays on constitutional law. His father, Hon. George Nicholas, was one of the ablest men that ever lived in Kentucky, and was the leading member of the Lexington bar for a number of years.
Farmer Dewees, whose face had been familiar to Lex- ington for so many years, died at his residence, on Main street, July 28, 1869 .* Mr. Dewees was born near Mid- way, Kentucky, September 15, 1792, but settled in Lexing- ton in early life, and was identified with her banking institutions for nearly half a century. He was teller, at
*Kentucky Gazette.
403
FARMER DEWEES.
1869.]
one time, in the old branch of the United States Bank, and was subsequently the first teller of the Northern Bank, with which institution he remained connected until old age crept upon him. Mr. Dewees was distinguished for his gentle manners, amiable deportment, and quiet charity. He filled his allotted part in life with fidelity, and died with the Christian's hopes bright upon him.
404
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
[1870.
CHAPTER LXXXII.
Population-Charter Amendment-Irish Benevolent Associa- tion-Fayette National Bank-Lexington Daily Press- David A. Sayre-Fayette Historical Society.
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