USA > Kentucky > Boyle County > Danville > The Political Club, Danville, Kentucky, 1786-1790. Being an account of an early Kentucky society from the original papers recently found > Part 6
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GABRIEL JONES JOHNSTON.
Gabriel Jones Johnston went from Virginia to Ken- tucky in the early days. He removed to Jefferson County from Danville, and in ISoo was a member of the State Legislature. He afterward lived in Louis- ville, where he was a practicing lawyer until his death in ISI5.
He bore the name of one of the most eminent men of his time-Gabriel Jones, who was a distinguished lawyer in Virginia, known as the "Valley Lawyer." It is probable they were nearly connected.
His brother, Will Johnston, also lived in Louisville, being the first Clerk of the Jefferson County Court. The son of Will Johnston was Doctor James C. Johnston, a distinguished physi- cian and accomplished gentleman whose descendants now live in Louisville.
The traditions of Gabriel Jones Johnston represent him as a very accomplished man, scholarly in his tastes, fond of anec- dote, and a genial companion. His descendants were in Louis- ville until a little while before the Civil War, when they removed south.
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JOSHUA BARBEE.
Joshua Barbee was the son of Jolin Barbee, and was born in Virginia in 1761. John Barbee removed with his family from Culpepper County, Virginia, to Kentucky, and settled at a place called Stony Point, about three miles north of the site of Danville. The children of Jolin Barbee were Thomas, Jolin, Daniel, William, Joshua, and Elias. Of these, Jolin was the father of Honorable John Barbee, who was Mayor of Louisville in 1855, and father of Mrs. General John B. Castleman, of Louisville; hier sister was the wife of Bishop Galla- gher, of New Orleans. A sister of John Barbee married Doctor Claiborne Pirtle, a brother of Chancellor Henry Pirtle; his son is Captain John B. Pirtle, of Louisville, who was a distinguished officer in the Confederate serv- ice. Elias, the youngest, removed from Danville to Green County, and was a number of times in the State Senate and House between the years ISoo and IS25. Several of the sons of John Barbee, including Joshua, served in the Revolutionary War. It was a wealthy family, owning very large tracts of the finest Bluegrass land. The brothers were all well educated, and Joshua throughout his life was a promoter of educational insti- tutions. He was a trustee of Center College, and a
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large contributor to it. He was a very elegant and courtly gentleman, and adhered to the old -style dress of ruffled shirt, knee breeches, silk stockings, and silver shoe- buckles. He was an officer of a military company raised in 1791 by Captain James Brown for service against hostile Indians. He also served in the State Legislature. He died October S, 1839.
It will be seen from the minutes of the club that some of its meetings were held at the house of this member.
Joshua Barbee married Elizabeth Hobson. The children born were two, Thomas and Sarah. The latter inarried James Hopkins, who was a half-brother of Colonel Jolin Speed Smith and Elizabeth Smith Fry, wife of Thomas Walker Fry. Thomas Barbee was the well-known and greatly-esteemed Colonel Thomas Barbee, of Dan- ville. At that place he was born in 1806. There he resided until his death, aged eighty-three, in 1889. He married Nannie Fry, daughter of Thomas Walker Fry and granddaughter of Joshua Fry.
The children of Colonel Thomas Barbee were Fannie, who married Mr. Talbott; Joshua, a Presbyterian minister in Missouri; Lucy Gilmer, who was the first wife of the present Governor of Kentucky, John Young Brown; Sallie Hopkins, who married Doctor Best; Thomas F., now a lawyer in Iowa, who married Henrietta Buford, daughter of Charles Buford, of Rock Island, Illinois; Nannie and Alice, who now live in Danville.
JOHN AND JAMES OVERTON.
At a very early day four Overton brothers came to Kentucky from Virginia. They were natives of Louisa
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County, Virginia. Clough Overton was killed at the battle of Blue Licks. Waller Overton settled in Fayette County. James and Jolin Overton resided at Danville. They were sons of James Overton and grandsons of Will- iam Overton, who emigrated from England about 1670.
William, the emigrant, was a son of Colonel Overton, a distinguished soldier in the Parliamentary War. His- tory first takes note of him in a letter of October 2, 1647, from Lieutenant-General Oliver Cromwell to Sir Thomas Fairfax, General of the Parliamentary forces, recom- mending that Colonel Overton, then commanding a regiment in the field, be appointed Governor of Hull, an important fortress and depot of supplies. The appointment was made, and Colonel Overton remained in command of Hull and its garrison until the breaking out of the second Parliamentary War, when he again took the field, commanding a brigade at Dunbar and Inverkeithing, in which latter "mercy," as Cromwell called his victories, he won flattering mention in one of Cromwell's pious letters to Speaker Lenthal, of the House of Commons.
Colonel Overton was, however, a Presbyterian and "friend of Milton," as Carlyle says, and was suspected of sympathy with his brother Covenanters in his quarrel with Cromwell and the Puritans.
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After the conquest of Scotland he was sent for to Whitehall and admonished; and again in December, 1654, he was sent for and questioned about a reported con- spiracy to depose General Monk and place him (Colonel Overton) at the head of the army then in Scotland. The end of this last "lecture" was a commitment to the Tower, where he probably died.
Colonel Overton's son William was born in 163S. He married Mary Waters, a young lady of Roman Cath- olic faith and considerable fortune, and these two, Presbyterian and Catholic, left England after the Resto- ration and settled in Virginia on a grant of five thou- sand acres in Hanover County, which they named Glen Cairn.
The following inscription on the tomb of one of their daughters is still legible: "Here lies the body of Temperance Harris, deceased the 19th of February, 1710."*
One of their grandsons, John Overton, was an officer in the Revolutionary Army and father of the late William Overton, of Green Springs, in Louisa County, Virginia, a country gentleman of wealth and social position, widely
* A descendant of Mrs. Temperance Harris is Judge W. Overton Harris, of the Louisville Bar, to whom I am indebted for this account of the Overton family.
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known for the virtues and graces which belonged to that class .*
Four other grandsons were the John, James, Waller, and Clough who removed to Kentucky. Waller became a noted citizen of Fayette County, where his descend- ants still reside. His daughter married the celebrated lawyer, William T. Barry, and a daughter of this marriage became the wife of Colonel James Taylor, of Newport, Kentucky. It is an interesting fact that Waller Overton was on the jury with Daniel Boone, in 1780, which escheated the lands of John Connolly, where the city of Louisville now stands. George May was the escheator of the court at Lexington, and the jury found that Connolly of his own free will had joined with the Brit- ish forces.
James and Jolin Overton were both lawyers. While they lived at Danville they practiced in the courts in other parts of the State. James was sworn in as an attorney at Louisville, April 5, 1786. While both were marked men, John was destined to the greater success and distinction.
After practicing in Kentucky some years John Over- ton removed to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1789, where he
* In Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry is an account of a very interesting interview between Patrick Henry and Colonels Samuel and John Overton at the home of the latter.
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entered upon a career as lawyer, judge, and man of affairs of constant and unbroken success. He served as Commissioner of the Revenue under a commission from General Washington, and afterward as Judge and Reporter of the Court of Appeals of Tennessee.
Shortly after his removal to Tennessee Andrew Jack- son also removed there, and between the two there sprang up a friendship and close business connection which lasted until Judge Overton's death.
In 1794 Overton and Jackson as partners purchased the land at Chickasaw Bluff, then far beyond the con- fines of white settlements, and there in IS20 Overton founded and laid off the city of Memphis.
Judge Overton died April 12, 1833, sending with his last breath a message to his friend, Andrew Jackson, then President of the United States: "Write to the General and tell him I die as a hero should die."
James Overton remained in Kentucky, and at his death left the bulk of his estate to Center College.
Judge John Overton married Mary White, daughter of General James White, of the Revolutionary Army, and the founder of the city of Knoxville, Tennessee. One of their sons, John Overton, still survives and dispenses at the paternal homestead near Nashville, called "Travellers' Rest," a bountiful hospitality. A daughter of Judge Overton married Judge John M. Lea, and a granddaughter is the wife of Judge John M. Dickenson.
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A son of James Overton accompanied General Jackson as aide- : wmp to Florida, and remained there until Florida was admitted .to the Union, when he was appointed United States District Attorney for that State.
BAKER EWING.
A strong family bearing the Ewing name removed to the West from Virginia at an early day. Baker Ewing was in Danville in 1785, and about the same :le General Robert E. Ewing located in Tennessee. From 1793 to ISoo Charles Ewing represented Wash- agton County in the Kentucky Legislature. Reuben Ewing and Young Ewing were members of the second Constitutional Convention. Reverend Fines Ewing was i noted Presbyterian minister in ISIo. Baker Ewing, who was a member of The Political Club, was sent to the Virginia Legislature as the member from Lincoln County, Kentucky, in 1778. He was further honored in 1792 by appointment as Register of the Land Office, being the first incumbent of that office. In 1802 he represented Franklin County in the Kentucky Legisla- ture. The Ewing family was one of great prominence in Russellville. Ephraim M. Ewing, a son of General Robert E. Ewing, located there, and was a leading lawyer. From 1835 to IS46 he was Judge of the Court of Appeals. His son, Presley Ewing, a brilliant young 13
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man, died before he attained his prime, but not until he had been sent as a representative to the National Con- gress. Doctor U. E. Ewing removed from Russellville to Louisville, where for many years he was a distinguished physician and most useful citizen. A son of Doctor Ewing bore the name Baker Ewing. The daughters of Doctor Ewing all married distinguished men.
General Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, was born in Vir- ginia in 1789, and no doubt belonged to the same family with those who came to Kentucky. Many of the most prominent men in the country are connected by marriage or blood with the Ewing family. Among them may be named Honorable Adlai Ewing Stevenson, Vice-Presi- dent of the United States; Honorable James S. Ewing, Minister to Belgium; Honorable Andrew Ewing and Edwin H. Ewing, of Tennessee, the former being the father of Mrs. Henry Watterson, of Louisville. General W. T. Sherman married a daughter of General Thomas Ewing, of Ohio.
BENJAMIN SEBASTIAN.
Benjamin Sebastian was educated for the ministry, and went to England for "orders" on account of the refusal to send bishops to this country. He officiated for a time as an Episcopal minister, but turned his
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attention to law. His talents were recognized, and he became a Judge of the Court of Appeals. Unfortunately his integrity did not equal his ability. It was discovered that, while on the bench, he was receiving a regular pension from the Spanish Government in consideration of services to that power. His downfall is a well-known fact in Kentucky history. He was elected a member of the club near the close of its existence, and only attended one meeting.
JOHN BELLI.
John Belli was one of the originators of The Political Club. While but little can now be told concerning him, it is certainly very significant as to his character and standing that he was associated with Samuel McDowell, Harry Innes, Thomas Todd, Robert Craddock, Jolin Brown, and Christopher Greenup in organizing the club. John Belli had been a lieutenant in the Revolu- tionary Army, and among the manuscript documents in the possession of Colonel R. T. Durrett the fact is shown that he was a paymaster of United States troops. A letter dated 1796, written by him, has been found by Colonel Durrett, which will here be given entire. It shows that he was at the time associated in some way with General Wilkinson. It has never been published,
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and has an interest in connection with that remarkable man. There seems to be no record of his subsequent movements :
"CINCINNATI, June 7, 1796.
"DEAR GENERAL: To my great surprise I received last night a most extraordinary letter from Mr. Charles Wilkins, dated ist inst. He says: 'Mr. Hollingsworth has just informed me that you deny in your letters to General Wilkinson being an agent but a partner in the contract, and assert that I am the agent and accountable to the contractors for the whole business in this department.'
"That I have informed you, Sir, confidentially, that Mr. Wilkins was the acting agent is a fact. It was his brother's wish that he should do the business in Kentucky, but, Sir, I never mentioned to you that he was responsible for his transactions. It is foreign, and I don't think I ever wrote you any thing of the kind, therefore I am certain you did not say so. But, Sir, supposing for a moment I had actually written you so, would it be kind-is it common -among friends to show confidential letters to others? Have I not numbers of yours in my possession, and which, by being shown to certain characters, would cause trouble? Recollect how often you have made me your confidante, and have I ever betrayed you? Recollect, a few days before you left liere, what you told me about a certain young man, with whom it seems you now are intimate; would it have been clever in me to mention what you then told me? Have I not been your friend on every occasion in your absence? Perhaps I don't frequent your table as often as some folks do, but does that show any ill-will? Was it because I did not immediately go to camp when you wrote to me? and which, if I had, I would probably have lost a boat-load of flour, which sank about that time at Columbia, and which I saved by great exertions. My God! is it possible that General Wilkinson would give up confidential letters? In short it is impossible. How many times have I heard you make
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observations condemning Colonel Muter for publishing a certain letter in Kentucky of Mr. Brown? In short I can't believe that you have done any such thing. You must recollect a variety of things you told me of when I came down last fall, but further it did not go, nor never shall. You will therefore be good enough to let me know how this matter stands.
"I have written to Mr. Wilkins that I did not inform you that he was the principal agent, but, respecting his responsibility, I observed to him I never wrote to you a word, neither that he was not one of the partners, which he certainly is.
"I have some letters from members in the House, dated 7th and 20th ult., and one from our friend, Mr. Brown, of the 20th. He says the military establishment is now under consideration of Congress. A reduction to about three thousand is agreed upon by both houses: that the House of Representatives say to be com- manded by a Brigadier; the Senate say by a Major-General and Brigadier. The dispute is still depending, and how it will be determined is as yet uncertain. Mr. Wilkins has purchased, I believe, a large drove of beeves, which he tells me will come forward in a few days. Every thing also to close the contract has been here for some time. My friend has not yet forwarded to me the 40,000 account of warrants, but I still expect them. Mr. Wilkins and A. Scott sent me about 6,000 account to lay for them immedi- ately. In hopes that I shall hear from you shortly, I remain, Dear General, yours,
"GENERAL WILKINSON."
"JOHN BELLI.
PETER TARDEVEAU.
Peter Tardeveau was an intelligent Frenchman who came to America from Bordeaux. He and another Frenchman, Mr. Honore, sought fortune in the western
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country, and Tardeveau resided for a time at Danville, engaged in merchandising. He had carried on trade from Bordeaux to the Colonics during the Revolution- ary War, and was regarded as extremely wealthy.
Among the papers of The Political Club are two letters from him bearing date Danville, February 7, 1787. One is addressed to Harry Innes and incloses the other, which is addressed to the President of the Club. They show that he had in some way given offense to two members at a club meeting, and had been censured for it. His letter to the President of the Club announces his withdrawal. He said his words had been interpreted contrary to the ideas that gave them rise, but he thought it best to "withdraw from a society where I got instruc- tion and amusement happily mingled together." He expresses his thanks to the members of the club by whose favorable acquiescence he was admitted, and for the honor done him as a member. On a very small slip of paper is found the following resolution, which is also found duly copied in the minutes :
"FEBRUARY 10, 1787.
" Resolved, that the secession of Mr. Tardeveau as a member of this club be received, and that the letters to the President and Mr. Innes on this subject, which have been read, be filed with the Secretary."
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Tardeveau removed from Kentucky to Louisiana, but at what date is not known.
ROBERT CRADDOCK.
Robert Craddock removed from Danville to the sontli- ern part of Kentucky and resided at Bowling Green. He acquired much property and owned many slaves. He died in 1837 in Bowling Green. By his will he emancipated all his slaves and made liberal provision for them both in money and land. He was the owner of lands in Logan County, including part of the town of Russellville. This and other property he devised in trust for the benefit of schools. He was unmarried.
JAMES NOURSE.
James Nourse came to Kentucky from Virginia and settled in Lincoln County. He resided at Danville and Harrodsburg, and subsequently removed to Bardstown. He was a lawyer, and was also interested in merchan-
*"In 1782-83 Messrs. Tardeveau and Honore left Redstone, Old Fort (now Brownsville, Pennsylvania), in the commencement of a trade to New Orleans, which they transferred to Louisville, and continued to the Spanish and French settlements of the Mississippi." (Collins' Kentucky, Vol. 2, page 358.) In the document transinitted by Lord Dorchester to Lord Sydney in England ( see "Political Beginuings," page 254,) it is said : "Lacassang & Co., at Louisville, and Tardeveaus, at Danville, are mercantile houses of note in the interest of
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dising. He was elected a member of the club Feb- ruary 7, 1789. His son, Charles Nonrse, was an honored citizen of Bardstown, where he spent a long life of rare usefulness and uprightness.
Charles Nourse married Miss Logan, a sister of Chancellor Caleb Logan. One of his sons, James D. Nourse, married Miss Wickliffe, a daughter of Honorable Nat. Wickliffe, of Bardstown. He was an accomplished scholar, and author of an excellent histor- ical work, entitled "The Past and its Legacies." Another son was Charles E. Nourse, who married a daughter of Judge Brown, of Bardstown. Another son is Reverend. Wallace Logan Nourse, a minister of the Presbyterian Church in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. A daughter became the wife of Honorable Joseph Wilson, a prom- inent lawyer of Louisville. Other sons of Charles Nourse are Robert C., Virgil McKnight, and Joseph W. The latter is Superin- tendent of Public Schools in Spencer County, Indiana.
MAJOR DAVID WALKER.
David Walker was an officer in the Revolutionary Army, serving from the beginning until the close of the war with a Virginia Regiment. He was severely wounded at Savannalı. Removing from Virginia to France. The latter carried on a trade from Bordeaux to the States during the war, and are supposed once to have been prisoners at Halifax." It is an interesting fact that the family of Mr. Honore, with whom Tardeveau was associated in business, afterward became prominent in business circles in Louisville. Tu ISIS Messrs. Honore and Barbaroux were owners of one of the earliest steamuboats on the Ohio. Among his descendants are Mrs. Fred- erick D. Grant and Mrs. Potter Palmer.
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Kentucky, he settled at Danville. He afterward removed from Danville to Fayette County, and represented that county in the legislature from 1793 to 1796. In the year 1800 he went to Logan County. From IS17 to 1820 he was in Congress, being the successful competitor for that position against the celebrated Matthew Lyon. He died while a member of Congress. His dying request was that no public notice should be taken of his death by Congress. This request was complied with, except that his colleague, Mr. Quarles, announced his decease in a feeling speech, which was followed by appropriate remarks by the Speaker of the House, Henry Clay, and by John Randolph, of Virginia. The son of Major David Walker, James V. Walker, represented Logan County in the Kentucky Legislature in ISIO.
The records of the club show that these men were associated together for a practical and important purpose. The members were recognized leaders in the public affairs of the new western community. They were looked to for counsel upon the necessary duties of the hour in the formative period in Kentucky when population was rapidly increasing and local goverment had to be pro- vided. They felt the pressure of responsibility, and the work of the society was directed to the solution of those 14
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problems which had to be determined in laying the foundations of civic and social order. It was a period of constitution - making. It was the time when the Federal Convention sat at Philadelphia to frame the Constitution of the United States. The patient study the club members gave to that great instrument when it was first promulgated, as will be seen in these pages, is a monument to their zeal for the public welfare; and the fruits of their labors were inevitably great, as the members coming in contact with their fellow-citizens were able to disseminate an amount of political knowledge productive of enlightenment and a healthy public sentiment.
The influence of the members of the club in the public assemblies of the day was strong. Seven of these members were in the first convention of 1785, the whole number being twenty-eight. In the second con- vention of 1785, of the twenty-six members seven belonged to The Political Club. Ten were in the Convention of 1787, a body of thirty-eight members. As has been stated, some were in each convention, in- cluding the one of 1792, which framed the first consti- tution, and also the one of 1799, which framed the second constitution.
Full and complete biographies of some of the mem- bers would present a history of Kentucky from the
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beginning of its settlement past the first quarter of the ensuing century. They would show participation in all the events of importance for fifty years; through the contests with the Indians; through the separation strug- gle and the establishment of the State; through the eight years under the first constitution; through all the excitements of the Spanish conspiracy led by Wilkin- son; through the conspiracy of Aaron Burr; through the fierce resentment which flamed up at British impress- ment of American seamen, which led to the War of IS12; through that war, in which seven thousand Kentuckians bore an honorable part, from the battle of Tippecanoe to the battle of New Orleans; through the old court and new court controversy, and through the presidencies of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Jackson.
The changes in the material conditions of the coun- try, of which they were eye-witnesses, were greater than at any other period. They saw the primeval forest give way to cultivated farms, towns, and cities. They saw the blazed ways through the woods become turn- pike roads. They saw the introduction of steam navi- gation on the rivers and the beginning of railroad travel. They saw the western country fill up with inhabitants, and the addition of fourteen new States to the original thirteen.
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The lives of men who were actors through a period so eventful are worthy of study. The limits of this work do not admit of more extended mention than in the brief sketches given, but a volume of biography would fail to do justice to the public services and per- sonal worth of many of the members of The Political Club.
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