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.

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History of Lexington Kentuckv : its ear

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HISTORY

LEXINGTON

KENTUCKY

|Tg ^ARLY ^NNALg AND f^ECENT f ROQREpg

INCLUDING

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF

THE PIONEER SETTLERS, NOTICES OF PROMINENT

CITIZENS, ETC., ETC.

By GEORGE W. RANCK

CINCINNATI
Robert Clarke & Co

1872

I

Entered according to Act of Congress,
In the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two,

By G. W. RANCK,
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

TO MY 'WIFE

A DESCEKDANT OF EARLY SETTLERS OF LEXINGTON AND FAYETTE

COUNTY, AND THE ONE WHO SUGGESTED THIS WORK

AND WAS THE CAUSE OF ITS COMPLETION

THESE PAGES ARE
AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED

PREFACE.

1^0 American city of its age has clustering around it
more interesting associations than Lexington. Founded in
the midst of a great revolution ; built up by daring men
in the heart of an almost boundless wilderness, and nur-
tured and protected through years of hardship and Indian
warfare, she played the most prominent part in the early
and tragic days of the Dark and Bloody Ground. Lexing-
ton then was substantially Kentucky herself. She was more. /
She was the Jamestown of the "West; the advance-guard/
of civilization ; the center from which went forth the con- j
querors of a savage empire.

During another long and eventful era, she was the polit-
ical, literary, and commercial metropolis of "the great
Northwest." She was crowded with men who made her
famous.

She has now entered upon the third epoch of her exist-'
ence, an epoch material, during which steam will give her
an industrial prosperity proportionate to her great natural
advantages.

Very much of the rich past of Lexington has died with
her founders. Even the traditions of her pioneer days are
dim, and the old landmarks are being rapidly obliterated.
Realizing these sad truths, and appreciating Lexington's
history, the author of this book resolved to save for those
who will come after us all that could be gathered from this

PREFACE.

wreck of time. These pages are the result of his efforts.
If he has preserved something which ought not to have
heen lost, or if his work will encourage some abler hand
to gather and perpetuate other annals of our city which
he overlooked or slighted, he will have attained his object.

The author has used every means to make his work ac-
curate. If it is not entirely so, the fault is to be attributed
to the peculiar disadvantages which always surround the
local historian. In the preparation of these pages, he has
consulted many of the oldest and best-informed inhabitants
of Lexington and Fayette county, and also every other at-
tainable authority considered reliable. For reasons obvious
to every fair-minded persop, he has ignored the many ex-
citing events which occurre4 in Lexington duri^ig the late
war between the States. It i^ to be hoped that they will
receive attention of a chronicler in the unprejudiced future.
As propriety required as little extei^ded njention of the
living as possible, the writer confined himself, in that re-
spect, to sketches of a few aged citizens, and brief notices
of ministers of the gospel and persons in some official
connection.

As it is the work of the local historian to furnish the
first elements of general history, to record facts rather than
deductions from facts, the author has contented himself
with a plain statement of past events, to the neglect of or-
namental rhetoric and romantic conclusions.

Lexington, Ky., August, 1872.

History of Lexington.

CHAPTER I.

Ancient Lexington,

The city now known as Lexington, Kentucky, is built of
the dust of a dead metropolis of a lost race, of whose
name, and language, and history not a vestige is left.
Even the bare fact (\f the existence of such a city, and such
a people, on the site of the present Lexington, would never
have been known but for the rapidly decaying remnants
of ruins found by early pioneers and adventurers to the
" Elkhorn lauds."

But that these remains of a great city and a mighty
people did exist, there can be not the shadow of a doubt.
The somewhat notorious Ashe, who published a volume of
travels in 1806, says : "Lexington stands on the site of an
old Indian town, which must have been of great extent
and magnificence, as is amply evinced by the wide range of
its circumvallatory works and the quantit3'- of ground it
once occupied." These works he declares were, at the time
he saw them (1806), nearly leveled with the earth by the
ravages of time and the improvements that had been made
by the settlers. The testimony of the learned Prof. 0. 8.
Rafinesque,* of Transylvania University, fully corresponds
with this, and proves the former existence in and about the
present Lexington of a powerful and somewhat enlight-
ened ante-Indian nation. Other proofs are not wanting.

* Western Review, 1820.

HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.

The first settlers of Lexington found here a well, regularly
and artificially built with stone,* a domestic convenience
unknown among the American Indians, and they plowed
up curious earthen vessels,! such as could only have been
manufactured by at least a semi-civilized people. In 1790,
an old lead mine, which had every appearance of having
been once worked and abandoned, was opened near this
city.t Kentucky's first historian^ tells us of stone sepul-
chres, at Lexington, built in pyramid shape, and still ten-
anted by human skeletons, as late as two years after the
siege of Bryant's Station. " They are built, " says he, " in
a way totally different from that of the Indians." Early
in this century, a large circular earthen mound, about six
feet in height, occupied a part of what is now called Spring
street, between Hill and Maxwell. It was located between
the property of Dr. Bell and the rear outbuildings of Mr.
P. Yeiser. In course of time it was leveled, and was
found to consist of layers of earth of three different colors.
In the center was discovered an earthen vessel of curious
form and a quantity of half-burnt wood.§ The mound is
supposed to have served the purpose of a sacrificial altar.
A stone mound, which stood not far from Rassell's cave, in
this county, was opened about 1815 and found to contain
human bones.*

These well-attested facts, together with the tradition re-
lated to this day of an extensive cave existing under the
city of Lexington, relieve of its improbable air the state-
ment that a subterranean cemetery of the original inhab-
itants of this place was discovered here nearly a century
ago.f In 1776, three years before the first permanent
white settlement was made at Lexington, some venturesome
hunters, most probably from Boonesborough, had their curi-
osity excited by the strange appearance of some stones they
saw in the woods where our city now stands. They removed
these stones, and came to others of peculiar workmanship,

* Morse. t Ira'ayi page 369. J Old Kentucky Gazette, 1790.

U John Filson. g Beuj. Keiser. * Prof. Eafinesque.,

t Letter to Eobt. Todd, published in 1809.

ANCIENT LEXINGTON. 3

which, upon examination, they found had been placed there
to conceal the entrance to an ancient catacomb, formed in
the solid rock, fifteen feet below the surface of the earth.
They discovered that a gradual descent from the opening »
brought them to a passage, four feet wide and seven feet
high, leading into a spacious apartment, in which were
numerous niches, which they were amazed to find occupied
by bodies which, from their perfect state of preservation,
had evidently been embalmed. For six years succeeding
this discovery, the region in which this catacomb was
located, was visited by bands of raging Indiatra and aveng-
ing whites ; and during this period of blood and passion,
the catacomb was dispelled, and its ancient mummies, prob-
ably the rarest remains of a forgotten era that man has
ever seen, were well nigh swept out of existence. But not
entirely. Some years after the red men and the settlers
had ceased hostilities, the old sepulchre was again visited
and inspected.* It was found to be three hundred feet
long, one hundred feet wide, and eighteen feet high. The
floor was covered with rubbish and fine dust, from which
was extracted several sound fragments of human limbs.
At this time the entrance to this underground cemetery
of Ancient Lexington is totally unknown. For nearly
three-quarters of a century, its silent chamber has not
echoed to a human footfall. It is hidden from sight, as
efiectually as was once buried Pompeii, and even the idea
that it ever existed is laughed at by those who walk over
it, as heedless of its near presence as were the generations
of incredulous peasants who unconsciously danced above
the long lost villa of Diomedes,

That Lexington is built upon the site of an ancient
walled city of vast extent and population, is not only evi-
dent from the facts here detailed, but the opinion becomes
almost a certainty when viewed in the light of the historic
proofs that can be produced to support the claim, that all

* Ashe.

BISTORT OF LEXINGTON.

the region round about her was at a distant period in the
past the permanent seat of a comparatively enlightened
people. As early as 1794,* it was well and widely known
that in the neighborhood of Lexington there existed two
distinctly defined fortifications furnished with ditches and
bastions. One of these ancient monuments was visited in
1820 by Rafinesque, the celebrated professor of natural
history in Transylvania University, a gentleman whose
opinions on the subject of the ancient remains in the Mis-
sissippi Valley are so often quoted by historians and so
much respected. His map and plate of the remains near
Lexington constitute one of the most valuable features of
the " Smithsonian Contributions."t He saysj of the forti-
fication already named:

"I have visited, with a friend, the ancient monument
or fortification situated about two and a half miles from
Lexington, in an easterly direction, and above the head of
Hickman creek; and we have ascertained that it is formed
by an irregular circumvallation of earth, surrounded by an
outside ditch.

"The shape of this monument is an irregular polygon
of seven equal sides. The whole circumference measures
about sixteen hundred of my steps, which I calculate at
nearly a yard, or three feet each ; or, altogether, four thou-
sand eight hundred feet — less than a mile. The difi:erent
sides measure as follows : west side, three hundred and sixty
feet; southwest side, seven hundred and fifty feet; south
side, seven hundred and fifty feet ; east-southeast side, six
hundred and sixty feet ; east-northeast side, one thousand
and eighty feet ; northeast side, six hundred feet ; north-
west side, six hundred feet. Total, 4,800 feet.

"The angles are rather blunt. Two of the angles have
deep ravines ; one lies at the angle between the west and
the southwest sides, and the other between the east-south-
east and the east-northeast sides. This last is the largest
and deepest — it reaches to the limestone, and had water in

» Imlay's Weatern Territory, page 368. t Vol. I, page 27.

X "Weatern Eeview, April,

ANCIENT LEXINGTON.

it. It forms a brook running easterly, and is formed by
two rills meeting near tbe angle and nearly surrounding
the central. Another ravine comes out near the north cor-
ner. All these originate within the circumvallation, which
incloses one of the highest grounds near Lexington, and
particularly a large, level hill which is higher than any in
the immediate neighborhood, and stretches, in part, toward
the northwest.

"The sides are straight. The earthen walls are raised
upon a level or raised ground, and are nowhere lower than
the outside ground, except for a few rods toward the north-
east side. The situation is, therefore, very well calculated
for defense, and it is very probable that there were for-
merly springs within the walls.

" The whole surface is covered with trees of a large
growth, growing even on the walls and in the ditch ; ex-
cepting, however, a small corner toward the northwest,
which is now a corn-field. It may include from five to six
hundred acres.

"At present the heighth and breadth of the wall and
ditch are variable — from eight to sixteen feet in breadth,
and from two to four in depth, the average being twelve
in breadth and three in depth ; but these dimensions must
have been greater formerly. The wall was probably six-
teen feet broad throughout, and four feet high, while the
ditch was rather narrower, but deeper. The walls are
made of the loose earth taken from the ditch. There is
only one large distinct gateway, on the northeast side,
where there is no ditch and hardly any wall."

After this survey some little interest was excited in the
subject, and other remains were visited and inspected.
Several in the vicinity of the one described ; another, a
square indosure, west of Lexington, "near the northern
Frankfort road ; " many mounds and graves south of the
city, and two groups lying on the south side of l^orth Elk-
horn, about a mile from each other. Extraordinary as it
may appear, these monuments, though so near our city,
and as singular as any on this continent, were never sur-
veyed till as late as 1820. Somo months after he had ex-

HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.

amined and described the fortification at the head of Hick-
man creek, Prof. Eafinesque surveyed the upper group on
E'orth Elkhorn, near Russell's cave, or what is now known
as the West place. We quote his description of it, which
will be read with more and more interest and wonder as
time passes, and slowly but surely levels with the earth and
blots out forever all that is left to remind us of a lost race,
whose stupendous structures covered the fertile tract which
afterward became the favorite hunting ground of savage
tribes. He says :*

"I visited this upper group of monuments, a fevr days
ago, in company with two gentlemen of Lexington. They
are situated about six miles from this town, in a north-
northeast direction, on the west and back part of Colonel
Russell's farm, which stands on the road leading from Lex-
ington to Cyiithiana.

"The ground on which they stand is a beautiful level
spot, covered with young trees and short grass, or line turf,
on the south side of a bend of North Elkhorn creek, nearly
opposite the mouth of 0[iossum run, and close by Hamil-
ton's farm and spring, which lie west of them. They ex-
tend as far as Russell's cave, on the east side of the Cyn-
thiana road.

"No. 1, which stands nearly in the center, is a circular
inclosure, six hundred feet in circumference, formed of four
parts : 1. A broad circular parapet, now about twenty feet
broad, and two feet high. 2. An inward ditch, now very
shallow and nearly on a level with the outward ground.

3. A gateway, lying due north, raised above the ditch,
about fifteen feet broad, and leading to the central area.

4. A square central area, raised nearly three feet above the
ditch, perfectly square and level, each side seventy feet
long and facing the four cardinal points.

" No. 2 lies northeast of No. 1, at about two hundred and
fifty feet distance; it is a regular, circular, convex mound,
one hundred and seventy-five feet in circumference, and
nearly four feet high, surrounded by a small outward ditch.

•Western Review, 1820, page 53.

ANCIENT LEXINGTON.

" No. 3 lies nearly noifth of No. 1, and at about two hun-
dred and fifty feet distance from No. 2. It is a singular
and complicated monument, of an irregular square form,
nearly conical, or narrower at the upper end, facing the
creek. It consists: 1. Of a high and broad parapet, about
one hundred feet long and more than five feet high, as yet,
above the inward ditch on the south base, which is about
seventy-five feet long. 2. Of an inside ditch. 3. Of an
area of the same form with the outward parapet, but
rather uneven. 4. Of an obsolete broad gateway at the
upper west side. 5. Of an irregular raised platform, con-
nected with the outward parapet, and extending toward
the north to connect it with several mounds. 6. Of three
small mounds, about fifty feet in circumference, and two
feet high, standing irregularly around that platform, two
on the west side and one on the east.

" No. 4. These are two large sunken mounds, connected
with No. 3. One of them stands at the upper end of the
platform, and is sunk in an outward circular ditch, about
tvyo hundred and fifty feet in circumference, and two feet
deep. The mound, which is perfectly round and convex, is
only two feet high, and appears sunk in the ditch. An-
other similar mound stands in a corn-field, connected by a
long raised way to the upper east end of the parapet in
No. 3.

"No. 5 is a monument of an oblong square form, con-
sisting of the four usual parts of a parapet, an inward
ditch, a central area, and a gateway. This last stands
nearly opposite the gateway of No. 3, at about one hun-
dred and twenty-five feet distance, and leads over the ditch
to the central area. The whole outward circumference of
the parapet is about four hundred and forty feet. The
longest side fronts the southwest and northeast, and is
one hundred and twenty feet long, while the shortest is
one hundred feet long. The central area is level, and has
exactly half the dimensions of the parapet, being sixty
feet long and fifty wide. It is raised two or three feet as
well as the parapet. The end opposite the gateway is not
far from Hamilton's spring.

8 EJSTORY OF LEXINGTON.

"l^To. 6 is a mound without a ditch, one hundred and
ninety feet in circumference, and five feet high. It lies
nearly west from ISo. 1.

" 1^0. 7 is a stone mound, oii the east side of Russell's
spring, and on the brim of the guUey. It lies east Irom
the other monuments and more than half a mile distant.
It is ten feet high and one hundred and seventy-five feet in
circumference, being formed altogether by loose stones
heaped together, but now covered with a thin soil of stone
and grass.

"No. 8 is a similar stone mound, but rather smaller, lying
north of STo. 7, at the confluence of Russell's spring with
North Elkhorn.

"Among the principal peculiarities, which I have no-
ticed in this .group of monuments, the square area of No.
1, inclosed within a circular ditch and parapet, is very in-
teresting, since it exhibits' a new compound geometrical
form of building. The ditch must have been much deeper
once, and the parapet, with the area, much higher; since,
during the many centuries which have elapsed over these
monuments, the rains, dust, decayed plants, and trees must
have gradually filled the ditch, etc. I was told by Mr.
Martin that witiiin his recollection, or about twenty-five
years ago, the ditch in the monument at the head of Hick-
man's creek was at least one foot deeper. "Whenever we
find central and separated areas in the Alleghawian monu-
ments, we must suppose they were intended for the real
places of worship and sacrifices, where only the priests and
chiefs were admitted, while the crowd stood probably on
the parapet to look on; and, in fact, these parapets are
generally convex and sloping inward or toward the central
area.

" The ditched mound, No. 2, is remarkable, and must
have had a peculiar destination, like the sunken mounds.
No. 4, which difter from No. 2 merely by being much
lower, and appearing, therefore, almost sunk in the ditch.

" The stone mounds, Nos. 7 and 8, are also peculiar and
evidently sepulchral. But why were the dead bodies cov-
ered here with stone instead of earth? Perhaps these

ANCIENT LEXINGTON. 9

mounds belonged to different tribes, or the conveniency of
finding stones, in the rocky neighborhood of Russell's
cave and spring, may have been an inducement for employ-
ing them."

Some of these mounds described by Rafinesque were
visited in 1846, and found to be nearly obliterated ; others,
however, near the dividing line between the old military
survey of Dandridge and Meredith, were still distinct, and
were described in 1847* as follows, viz : " The most east-
erly work is on the estate of C. C. Moore. It is on the top
oi a high bluff, on the west side of ]!!forth Elkhorn, in the
midst of a very thick growth, mostly of sugar trees, the
area within a deep and broad circular ditch is about a quar-
ter of an acre of land. The ditch is still deep enough in
some places to hide a man on horseback. The dirt taken
from, the ditch is thrown outward ; and there is a gateway
where the ditch was never dug, some ten feet wide on the
north side of the circle. Trees several hundred years old
are growing on the bank and in the bottom of the ditch
and over the area which it incloses, and the whole region
about it. There is another work a quarter of a mile west
of the above one. It commences on the Meredith estate
and runs over on the Cabells' Dale property, and contains
about ten acres of land. The shape of the area is not unlike
that of the moon when about two-thirds full. The dirt
from the ditch inclosing this area is thrown sometimes out,
sometimes in, and sometimes both ways. An ash tree was
cut down in the summer of 1845, which stood upon the
brink of this ditch, which, upon being examined, proved to
be four hundred years old. The ditch is still perfectly dis-
tinct throughout its whole extent, and in some places is so
deep and steep as to be dangerous to pass with a carriage.

A mound connected with this same chain of works was
opened in the summer of 1871. It is situated about half a mile
west of the earthwork already described as on top of the
bluff", and about a quarter of a mile north of the larger oval
one. It is on the farm of Mr. James Fisher, adjoining the

* Collins.

10 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.

plantation on which Dr. Eobert Peter at present resides,
and is part of the old Meredith property before mentioned.*
The mound has a diameter of about seventy feet, and rises
with a regular swell in the center to the height of three and
a half to four feet above the general level of the valley pas-
ture on which it is located, only about fifteen feet above
low water in the North Elkhorn creek, and about three
hundred and twenty-five feet south from its margin. Mr.
Fisher made an excavation into the center of this mound
about four to five feet in diameter and about three and a
half feet deep, in which, in a bed of wood-ashes containing
charred fragments of small wood, he found a number of in-
teresting copper, fiint, bone, and other relics of the ancient
Mound Builders, which were carefully packed by Dr.
Robert Peter (who resides on the adjoining Meredith farm),
and transmitted to the Smithsonian Institute, at "Washing-
ton, for preservation.

The copper articles were five in number; three of which
were irregularly oblong-square implements or ornaments,
about four inches in length and two and one-eighth to three
and three-quarter inches wide and one-quarter inch thick at
lower end (varying somewhat in size, shape, and thickness) ;
each with two curved horns attached to the corners of one
end, which is wider and thinner than the other end.
These were evidently made of native copper, by hammer-
ing, are irregular in thickness and rude in workmanship,
and have been greatly corroded in the Japseof time, so that
they not only have upon them a thick coating of green car-
bonate and red oxide of copper, but the carbonate had
cemented these articles, with adjoining flint arrow-heads,
pieces of charcoal, etc., into one cohering mass, in the
bed of ashes, etc., in which they were found lying irregu-
larly one upon the other.

The other two copper implements were axes or hatchets ;
one nearly six inches long, the other nearly four inches ;
each somewhat adze-shaped wider at one end, which end
had a sharp cutting edge.

* Description by Dr. Peter.

ANCIENT LEXINGTON. H

With these were found nearly a peck of flint arrow-heads,
all splintered and broken, as by the action of fire ; also, three
hemispherieal polished pieces of red hematitic iron ore about
two inches in diameter; some door-button shaped pieces of
limestone, each perforated with two holes; several pieces of
sandstone, which seemed to have been used for grinding
and polishing purposes ; and many fragments of bones of
animals, mostly parts of ribs, which appeared to have been
ground or shaped ; among which was one, blackened by
fire, which seemed to have been part of a handle of a dag-
ger; also, some fragments of pottery, etc. The fragments
of charcoal, lying near the copper articles, were saturated
with carbonate of copper, resulting from the oxidation of
the copper articles, parts of which were oxidized to the cen-
ter, although a quarter of an inch in thickness ; and many
pieces of this coal and portions of flint arrow-heads remain
strongly cemented to the copper implements by this carbo-
nate.

To what uses these rude, oblong- square horned copper
articles were put, except for ornament, can not be conjec-
tured. No inscription or significant murk was found on any
of them.

1^0 human bones could be distinguished among the
fragments found, but only the immediate center of the
mound was opened.

The citizens of Lexington may, in truth, muse among the
ancient ruins and awe-inspiring relics of a once mighty
people. "Who and what were the beings who fought with
these weapons, ate from these vessels, built these tombs and
mounds and altars, and slept at last in this now concealed
catacomb? Where existed that strange nation, whose
grand chain of works seemed to have Lexington for its
nucleus and center? We can only speculate! One* inclines
to the opinion that they were contemporaries of the hardy
Picts. Anotherf declares them identical with the Allegha-
wians or progenitors of the Aztecs, and cites as proof, the
remains of their temples, which are declared to be wonder-

* Imlay, page 369. t Kafinesque.

12 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.

tully similar to those of the tincient Mexicans described by
Baron Humboldt. The earthen vessels here plowed up
from the virgin soil, he says, were like those used by the
Alleghawians for cooking purposes. Still another writer,*
dwelling upon the mummies here discovered, sees in the
original inhabitants of Lexington, a people descended from
the Egyptians. Other authors, eminent and learned, almost
without number, have discussed this subject, but their
views are as conflicting as those already mentioned, and
nothing is satisfactory, except the negative assurance that
the real first settlers of Lexington, the State of Kentucky,
and the entire Mississippi valley, were not the American
Indians, as no Indian nation has ever built walled cities,
defended by entrenchments, or buried their dead in sepul-
chres hewn in the solid rock.

"Who, then, were these mysterious beings? from
whence did they conie? what were the forms of their
religion and government? are questions that will probably
never be solved by mortal man; but that they lived and
flourished centuries before the Indian who can doubt?
Jlere they erected their Cyclopean temples and cities, with
no vision of the red men who would come after them, and
chase the deer and the bufi'alo over their leveled and grass
covered walls. Here they lived, and labored, and died, be-
fore Columbus had planted the standard of old Spain upon
the shores of a new world ; while Gaul, and Britain, and
Germany were occupied by roving tribes of barbarians,
and, it may be, long before imperial Rome had reached the
height of her glory and splendor. But they had no litera-
ture, and when they died they were utterly forgotten.
They may have been a great people, but it is all the same
to those who came if they were not, for their greatness

was never recorded. Their history was never written

not a letter of their language remains, and even their name
is forgotten. They trusted in the mighty works of their
hands, and now, indeed, are they a dead nation and a lost
race. The ancient city which stood where Lexington now

*Josiah Priest's " American Antiquities."

ANCIENT LEJCINGTON. 13

stands, has vanished like a dream, and vanished forever.
Another has well said: "Hector and Achilles, though mere
barbarians, live because sung by Homer. Grermanicus lives
as the historian himself said, because narrated by Tacitus;
but these builders of mounds perish because no Homer
arid no Tacitus has told of them. It is the spirit only,
which, by the pen, can build immortal monuments."

14 BISTORY OF LEXINGTON.

CHAPTER II.

The Indian Ocetipation.

It is a favorite theory of many that the Indians of N"orth
America migrated from Asia; that the once noble race, which
has almost melted away, was descended from the ten tribes
of Israel* which were driven i'rom Palestine seven hun-
dred years before the birth of Christ. But this is a theory
only. The advent of the Indians and the stock from which
they sprung will never be determined ; but that they came
after the "Mound Builders" is evident. The appearance
of the Indians was the death-knell of that doomed race
whose rich and beautiful lands and spoil-gorged cities in-
flamed the desperate and destitute invaders. The numer-
ous tumuli which yet remain attest the fierceness of the
conflict which ensued. A great people were swept out
of existence, their cities disappeared, the_^ grass grew
above them, and in time the cauebrakes and the forests.
Out of all this vast extent of conquered territory, the In-
dians selected a portion as a hunting-ground and called it
" Kantuckee," because it had been in truth to them a
"dark and bloody ground." It was a shadow-land to the
Indians. In 1800, some Sacs who were in St. Louis said of
Kentucky that it was full of the souls of a strange race
which their people had long ago exterminated.! They
regarded this laud with superstitious awe. Here they
hunted and here they fought, but no tribe was ever known
to settle permanently in it.J And while they hunted and
roamed and paddled here their bark canoes, unknown cen-
turies rolled away, Jamestown, the gerrp and herald of a

* Eoger Williams, Dr. Boudinot. and others. tPriest's Antiquities

t Hall's Sketches.

THE INDIAN OCCUPATION. 15

mighty empire was building, and royal colonies of their
future enemies waxed strong, while they sported and slept ;
and even when their brethren " across the mountains "
were falling like ripe grain before the reaper, while forests
were disappearing, and villages, and towns, and churches,
and mills, and colleges were raultipljnng, they built their
camp-fires undisturbed where Lexington now stands — for
even to Virginia, the vast area since called the Northwestern
Territory was then an unexplored and unknown country.
But the handwriting was upon the wall, and the same fate
to which the Ked Men had consigned the Mound Builders
was in waiting for them also.

16 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.

CHAPTER III.

Coming of the White Man.

The genius of civilization pointed out to her chosen
pioneer a savage land to be reclaimed; and on the ever
memorable 7th of June, 1769 * Daniel Boone, the " Colum-
bus of the land," stood upon a lofty cliff' which towered above
a branch of the Kentucky river, and gazed enraptured
upon the Italy of America, and feasted his eyes upon the
beauty and fatness of a country celebrated now the wide
world over in story and in song. The conqueror of the
wilderness had come, a vast army was following at his back,
and the future of the Dark and Bloody Ground was decided.
In 1770,t the Long Hunters crossed the rocky barrier which
shut out the old settlement from the wilderness, and pene-
trated the fabled region, and in 1773 they were followed by
a band of Virginia surveyors appointed by Lord Dunmore. J
Parties of colonial soldiers from the Old Dominion came
cut in search of homes. Cabins were erected and corn
raised at Old Town, now Harrodsburg, in 1774,§ and the
spring of the year following found Boone building on the
Kentucky river the log fort and capital of the famous
Transylvania Colony. " "With this year," (1775,) says
Marshall, " begins the first permanent and real settlement
of Kentucky," an event which'filled the Indians with rage.
To them the white men were invaders and robbers. From
their first appearance they had tracked them with torch
and tomahawk and scalping knife, never doubting but that
by bloodshed and cruelty they would be able to drive them
from their hunting-ground ; and now when they saw them

* Filson. t Annals of the West, 110.

t Marshall. § Butler.

COMING OF THE WHITE MAN. 17

deliberately preparing permanent settlements, their indig-
nation and mortification knew no bounds. They resolved
to utterly exterminate their persistent foes, to repossess
every foot of soil so daringly appropriated — and from this
time for many a long year after were enacted scenes of
blood and horror, the recital of which is enough to sicken
the stoutest soul.
2

18 EJSTORT OF LEXINGTON. [l''T6.

CHAPTER IV.

Discovery and Naming of Lexington.

Until the year 1775, no white man is positively known to
have visited the place now called Lexington, but in that year,
says General Robert McAfee, in his history of the war of
1812, "Robert Patterson, Simon Kenton, Michael Stoner,
John Hiiggin, John and Levi Todd, and many others took
possession of the north side of the Kentucky river, includ-
ing Lexington. " Fortunately the names of a few of those
included in the indefinite phrase, "many others" are pre-
served. They were John Maxwell, Hugh Shannon, James
Masterson, William McConnell, Isaac Greer, and James
Dunkin. * They were sent out from the fort at Harrods-
burg. Clothed in their quaint pioneer style of buckskin
pantaloons, deerskin leggins, linsey hunting-shirt, and
peltry cup, and armed each with a trusty liint-lock rifle, a
hatchet and scalping-knife, they toiled through the track-
less woods and almost impenetrable cane-brakes in the
direction of the future Lexington. On or about the 5th of
June, the approach of night ended one of their solitary
and dangerous marches; and glad to rest, the tired hunters
camped on a spot afterward known successively as McOon-
nell's Station, Royal's Spring, and the Headly distillery prop-
erty. It is only a few steps from the present " Old Frank-
fort road," and is nearly opposite the beautiful Lexington
Cemetery.f The spring from which the pioneers drank
and watered their horses still exists, with a stream as cool,
clear, and grateful as then. After posting one of their
number on the "look out" for the "redskin varmints,"
who were ever on the alert to slay the "pale-face," the^
rest seated themselves around a blazing brush-heap on logs

*Bradford'a Notes.

tBradford's Notes, and Observer and Beporter of July 29, 1809.

1775.] DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF LEXINGTON. 19

and bufl'alo hides, and, with hunger for sauce, supped with
gusto upon the then inevitable "jerk" and parched corn.

While eating their simple meal, they talked with enthu-
siasm of the beautiful country they had just traveled over,
and surprised and delighted with the prospect about them,
they determined that their place of settlement should be ■
around the very spot where they were then encamped.
And no wonder they were delighted with their new-found
home, for of all the broad rich acres they had seen in all
"Kan-tuck-ee, " these were the fattest and most fertile.
Never before had their eyes feasted on such an untold
wealth of blue grass pasture. The deer, the elk, the bear,
and buffalo crowded the woods with juicy food. They
forgot the skulking savage and the dangers on every hand,
and glowed with the excitement which only a hunter can
feel, as they surveyed the virgin glories of the red man's
most cherished hunting-grounds, and realized the full truth
of the wondrous tales they had heard of a distant El
Dorado.

The hunters assisted William McConnell to build a rude
little cabin on their camping-ground as the foundation for
a title, for Virginia as early as the year 1774, had offered
four hundred acres of land to each person who cleared a
piece of land, built a cabin, and raised a crop of Indian
corn.* The name of the settlement that was to be, was
discussed with animation. One suggested " York, " another
" Lancaster, " but both were dropped with a shout for " Lex-
ino-ton!"t as the conversation tm-ned to the strange news
that had slowly crept through the wilderness, and which,
after being weeks on the way, they had just heard, of how
"King George's troops, on the 19th of April, had called
American 'rebels,' and shot them down like dogs at Lex-
ington, in Massachusetts colony." The story of Lexing-
ton's christening — the historic fact of how she got her
name, is as romantic as the legend of the beautiful Princess
Pocahontas, and is an incident far more interesting, because
more true than the fabulous one told of the founding of
ancient Rome.

sjnilfv. tBradford's Notes.

20 EISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1775.

So the hunters called the new settlement Lexington, in
memory of that bloody field hundreds of miles away, and
some of them soon after joined the Continental army, and
fought long and bravely to avenge the minute men who
fell that day. How strange the story of that pioneer camp !
Here almost a hundred years ago, when Kentucky was a
wilderness territory of the royal province of Virginia;
here, far away from civilized life, in the heart of an un-
broken forest, at the dead of night, a little band of adven-
turers erected the first monument ever raised on this conti-
nent in honor of the first dead of the revolution ! It is true,
the ceremonies of its dedication were not attended with
glittering pomp or show, for the officials were only clad in
buckskin and honest home-spun, and the music of their
choir naught but the scream of the panther, the howl of
the wolf, or the far-off yell of the savage ! But it was con-
secrated by the strictest virtue and truest patriotism, and
nature smiled benignantly upon it from an Eden of luxu-
riant beauty. Those pioneers have long since passed away,
and some of their graves are still to be seen not far from
the spot where they encamped on that memorable occasion.

1776.] LEXINGTON AN INDIAN CAMPING GROUND. 21

CHAPTER V.

Lexington an Indian Camping Ground.

The frail and hastily-built little hut of McOonnell gave
Lexington her name, and that was all, for no settlement
was eflected until four years after its erection. The sum-
mer of 1776 found no white man in all the length and
breadth of the present Fayette county. McConneli's^
cabin was deserted and falling to pieces, and the would-be
settlers of Lexington had all retired to the much needed
protection of the lew log forts then in ^^istence-. The
American Revolution had now fairly ope|!ed.^Ticonderoga
had been captured, the battle of Bunke*.'s Hill had been
fought, and one of the saddest trageSres of that eventful
struggle had been enacted upon the Plains of Abraham.
The Indians, consistent with the policy they ever pursued
of leaguing with the strongest, had early enlisted on the
side of England, and the northwestern tribes in particular
were not slow to act. They came to Kentucky with the
buds of spring, and summer had not commenced before all
Fayette county and the adjoining region were filled with
roaming bands of angry Shawanese, Cherokees and their
associates.* All ideas of attempting to make new settle-
ments were abandoned by the whites, personal safety was
the one thing thought of, and fear and anxiety prevailed,
for the savages clearly indicated that they had not aban-
doned their cherished desire of driving their enemies from
the country. Settlers were killed every few days ; on the
14th of July two of Colonel Calloway's daughters and one of
Daniel Boone's were captured within rifle shot of Boones-
borough, and about the same time Hinkston's settlement on

» Western Annals, 154.

22 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. 1^^^'^^^

Licking creek was brolsen up. Dark days had come and still
darker were ahead, and many even of the stoutest-hearted
settlers left the country entirely.*

The wilderness country heretofore a part of Fincastle
county, Virginia, was formed into " Kentucky county," on
December 7, 1776,t but the protection of the " Old Do-
minion," whose forces were needed to lead the van of the
continential army was barely felt in the newly-creaeted
department. The handful of brave pioneers struggled
with their savage foes alone and unaided, and to their suf-
ferings were adde'd the horrors of the winter of starvation,
which marked the opening of the year 1777. The succeed-
ing spring and summer gave them as little encouragement.
To attempt to raise corn was certain death, game was shot
at the peril of the hunter's life. Harrodsburg, Booues-
borough, and Logan's fort were constantly watched, and
each in succession attacked by the Indians ; and at this
time the whole military force of the newly-made Kentucky
county amounted to only one hundred and two men.J
Fortunately Colonel Bowman arrived from Virginia early in
he fall with a hundred men, and hope rose again in the
hearts of the almost despairing settlers. The prospect con-
tinued to brighten during the year 1778. The well-planned
and swiftly-executed movenients of that brilliant soldier
and remarkable man. Colonel George Rogers Clark, against
the British posts of Kaskaskia and Vincennes, met with
wonderful success ; the grand attack of an overwhelming
force of Indians and Canadians, under Du Quesne, upon the
heroic little garrison of Boonesborough, signally failed,
confidence was restored, immigration again commenced,
and the settlers once more ventured out to "possess the
land."

*Col. Floyd's Letter. tMorehead's Address. j:Butler and Marshall.

17V9.] SETTLEMENT OF LEXINGTON. 23

CHAPTER VI.

Settlement of Lexington — The Block-House — The Settlers —
Col. Robert Patterson — John Maxwell — James Masterson —
The McConnells and Lindsays — John Morrison — Lexing-
ton Fort — McConneU's Station — Bryant's Station — Its Set-
tlers — Grant's Station — Col. John Grant and Capt. Wil-
liam Ellis — Natural Features about Lexington Station —
Soil, Forests, Game, and Flowers.

In the latter part of March, 1779, Col. Robert Patterson,
since distinguished as the founder of two cities, was again
ordered from the fort at Harrodsbiirg, to establish a garri-
son north of the Kentucky river,* and this time he was
successful. At the head of twenty-five men he commenced
his march for the beautiful and fertile gardeu spot he had
visited four years before, and which he had never forgotten.
The party reuched its destination the last day of the month,
and encamped, for rest and refreshment, at a magnificent
spring, whose grateful waters, in an unusual volume,
emptied into a stream near by, whose green banks were
gemmed with the brightest fiowers. The discovery of
this spring determined the location of the little garrison,
and bright and early on the morning of the next day, the
1st of April,t the axes of the stout pioneers were at work;
trees were felled, a space cleared, and a block-house, sur-
rounded by a stockade, and commanding the spring, was
soon under headway. This rude but powerful defense was
quickly completed, as no unnecessary labor was spent upon
it. The logs for the walls were chopped out, provided with
ports, and " raised;" the long and wide clapboards, rough

* McAfee. t Butler and Marshall.

24 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1770.

from the ax and firmly secured by wooden pins, formed the
roof; trees split in two, and cut to the proper length, made
the floor; a substantial slab door was provided, and these,
together with openings to admit the light and carry oft" the
smoke, constituted the block-house.

The ground upon which this block-house was erected,
and which is now so rich in historic associations, is at
present occupied by the "Carty Building," on the corner of
Main and Mill streets, and upon no other spot has the pro-
gress of Lexington been more distinctly indicated. The
infancy of our city was here shown, in 1779, by the rude
block-house; this was succeeded, in 1788, by a frame one;
in 1807, what was then called " a splendid two-story brick,"
was erected, and in 1871, this gave place to the four-story
iron front which now marks the spot where the settlement
of Lexington commenced, and is, at the same time, an ap-
propriate monument to commemorate the beautiful char-
acter of one of her greatly beloved and respected citizens —
the lamented John Carty. The spring near the block-
house was the principal one of the series of springs now
concealed by a number of buildings on Main street, which
have been erected over them. When Lexington grew to
be a "station," the spring was embraced within the walls
of the stockade, and supplied the entire garrison with
water, and when the fort was removed, the spring was
deepened and walled up for the benefit of the whole town,*
a large tank for horses was made to receive its surplus
water, and for many years, under the familiar name, " the
public spring," it was known far and wide.

As soon as the block-house was completed, it was occu-
pied by Col. Eobert Patterson, John Maxwell, James Mas-
terson, William and Alexander McConnell, and James and
Joseph Lindsay, who proceeded to raise a crop of corn on
the ground now covered by Cheapside, the court-house,
and a part of Main street, and all other necessary prepara-
tions were made to insure a permanent settlement, f The
year 1779, thanks to the pioneer successes we have meu-

* City Kecords. t Butler, Marshall, and old documents.

1779.] SETTLEMENT OF LEXINGTON. 25

tioned, was one of comparative peace. Immigrants came
to Kentucky in increasing numbers, eager to be in time to
get the benefit of the " settlement right," under which Vir-
ginia guaranteed them a magnificent estate, which "right"
was to cease in 1780.* A few of the bolder of these new
comers ventured, during the summer, to the solitary block-
house at Lexington, " the forlorn hope of advancing civil-
ization," and built cabins adjoining its protecting walls.
In the autumn, a little company, of which John Morrison
and his wife were a part, removed from Harrodsburg, and
still further additions were made to the defenses of the set-
tlement. The fort, which had by this time become a place
of some importance, had assumed the shape of a parallelo-
gram, two sides of which were formed by the exposed
walls of two rows of cabins, the extreme ends of the fort
being defended by stockades of sharpened posts fixed se-
curel_;: in the ground, and furnished with ports. The pickets
and walls were about ten feet high.

Another row of cabins stood in the center of the in-
closed place, which was large enough to shelter, not
only the settlers and new comers, but also all the live stock
which might, at any time, have to be driven in trom
the reach of their destroying foe. The fort had but one
gate, a large slab one, and it was on the side of the station
which extended from the block-house, on Carty's corner,
to about the center of West Main street, near or on the
site of the building now occupied by Celia Allen, between
Mill and Broadway, where James Masterson's house once
stood. t The station embraced and inclosed a part of Main
street between the two streets just named, and a good por-
tion of the ground now covered by business houses on East
Main, included between the same streets. While this little
outpost was being established on the extreme frontier of
Virginia, a large part of her territory, nearer home, was
being devastated by an enemy but little less savage than
those who were the terror of her distant county of Ken-
tucky, and great events, brilliant, disastrous, and moment-

* Filson 1784. t Butler and old inhabitants.

26 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [I'?f9.

ous, were rapidly occurring and shaping the destiny of a
nation, of whose future greatness no mind was so daring
as to dream,

Lexington was founded in the midst of a mighty revo-
lution, and her founder was a man suited to the time and
born for the purpose. Col. Robert Patterson was of Irish
parentage, and was born March 15, 1753, near Cove Moun-
tain, Pennsylvania. He came to Kentucky in 1775, and
settled at Harrodsburg,and in that year, as we have already
related, he visited Fayette county. In 1776, he assisted in
building a fort at Georgetown. During the years which
intervened between this time and the settlement of Lexing-
ton, he figured conspicuously as a gallant Indian lighter.
As Captain Patterson, he served under Clark in his expe-
dition against the Shawanese, on the Little Miami. He
was promoted to a colonelcy for important services, and
was second in command in the terrible battle of Blue Licks.
He was badly wounded in 1786, while with General Logan,
in his expedition against the Shawanese towns. Subse-
quently, he became the owner of a third of the original
town plot of Cincinnati, and may be called the founder of
that city also. In 1783, Col. Patterson built him a log
house, on the southwest corner of Hill and Lower streets,
near or on the site of the present residence of S. T. Hayes.
The large tract of land owned by Col. Patterson in that
part of the city, included the present property of M. C.
Johnson. The log house was, in course of time, succeeded
by a substantial two-story stone one, which stood there for
many years. In 1804, Col. Patterson removed to Dayton,
Ohio, where he died, August 5, 1827. In person, Col. Pat-
terson was tall and handsome. He was gifted with a fine
mind, but like Boone, Kenton, and many others of ^is
simple-hearted pioneer companions, was indulgent and neg-
ligent in business matters, and, like them, lost most of his
extensive landed property by shrewd rascals.

Those who aided Col. Patterson in founding Lexington
are not to be forgotten ; and of these, none are more wor-
thy of mention than John Maxwell. He was born in Scot-
land, in 1747, and was brought to America by his parents

HTg.] SETTLEMENT OF LEXINGTON. £7

while in the fourth year of his age. He was one of the
early adventurers in the wilds of Kentucky, arriving before
a solitary station or even a cabin existed within its limits.
In pioneer days, he owned a large part of the land now in-
cluded in the city limits of Lexington, but, true to the old
hunter nature, it rapidly slipped from his grasp. He and
Sarah, his wife, were the first persons married within " the
fort." John Maxwell was the first coroner of Fayette
county ; was one of the original members of Dr. Rankin's
Presbyterian church; was one of the founders of the old
St. Andrew's Society, and from him "Maxwell's spring"
gets its name. This useful and greatly respected citizen
died in 1819, and was buried in what was then "Maxwell's
Graveyard," but which now forms part of the neijlected
old City Cemetery, on Bolivar street, in which stands the
"Mission Church."

James Masterson, after whom "Masterson's station," five
miles west of this city was named, was a genuine specimen of
the pioneer type. He was straight as an Indian, and de-
voted to the woods and the excitements ot a woodman's
life. Long alter Lexington had become an important town,
he continued to dress in the primitive hunter style, and in-
variably wore his powder-horn and carried his rifle. He
loved to tell of the dangers which threatened " the fort"
when he was married in it, and the number of deer and
bufl'alo he had killed between it and the present " Ash-
land."* His walking ability and powers of endurance
may be inferred, from the fact that he undertook to go to
a point considerably below the falls of the Ohio and return,
in " a day or so," with a big bag of salt. He returned in
the time specified with the bag of salt on his back. It
was the first used in the fort,t and was welcomed with a
shout. He lived to a green oM age.

The McCounells and Lindsays were among the first ad-
venturers who followed Boone out into "the wilderness."
They assisted Col. Patterson in several dangerous enter-
prises, and shared in the perils of the Blue Licks disaster.

* McCullough, S. D. t McCabe.

28 HISTORY OF LEXIN0TON. jlltQ

William McConnell established "McConnell's station," at
" Royal's spring," in 1783, but it was soon merged in Lex-
ington station. McConnell's station stood on the ground
lately occupied by Headiey's distillery,* on the old Frank-
fort road, and the fine spring there (" Koyal's ") was, at an
early day, the favorite resort of the people of Lexington
on public occasions. Alexander, the brother of William
McConnell, was the hero of the thrilling adventure nar-
rated in another chapter, in which he proved himself, un-
aided, a match for five Indians. The McConnells and
Lindsays were buried in the " Station Graveyard," opposite
the present Lexington Cemetery. ^he _wife of Major Mo r^
rison, already^ mentioned wasjhe first white female 'tha t set-
«iied in,"Jhe. fort," aiid'her smi,^apt. Johu__Morri.soft,-«ljo
fell at D udiey's defeat^ in 1S13, was the first native of Lex-_^
ine-ton.f

One of the results of the increased immigration to Ken-
tucky, in the fall of 1779, was a settlement, made at a point
about five miles northeast of the Lexington "fort," and
known as " Bryant's station."! The immigrants were
principally from ISorth Carolina, the most conspicuous of
whom were the family of Bryants, from whom the place
took its name. There were four brothers, viz.: Morgan,
James, William, and Joseph, all respectable men, in easy
circumstances, with large families of children, and mostly
grown. William, though not the eldest brother, was the
most active, and considered their leader. His wife was a
sister of Col. Daniel Boone, as was also the wife of Mr.
William Grant, who likewise settled in Bryant's station, in
1779. The death of William Bryant, who died of a wound
received near the mouth of Cane run, so discouraged his
friends that they returned to North Carolina, and the
greater part of the population from that State left the fort
about the same time, which would have so reduced the
strength, as to compel the remainder also to remove, if the
' fort bad not acquired new strength, in a number of families
from Virginia. Hobert Johnson (the father of the Hon.

*'S. McCallie. tMcCabe, page 6. ^Bradford's Notes.

1779.] SETTLEMENT OF LEXINGTON. 29

Richard M. Johnson), the Craigs, Stackers, Hendersons, and
Mitchells were among the number who removed to Bry-
ant's station, and kept up the strength of the place at
what it had been, if not greater than at any former period.

A bufialo " trace " fortunately ran from this station close
to Lexington, and the settlers of both places joined forces
in clearing it of logs, undergrowth, and other obstructions ;
a wise measure, as subsequent events proved, for, owing to
it, the troops from Lexington that went to the assistance
of the besieged station, in 1782, were enabled to reach it
much sooner than they could otherwise have done.

One day, late in September, 1779, a little caravan of
armed and watchful hunters, leading their loaded and tired
pack-horses, stopped for a night's rest at Lexington fort.
They were all up and moving bright and early the next
morning, and before the week closed had established Grant's
station, in what is now called the Hufiman, Ingels, and
Hardesty neighborhood, five miles from Bryant's, in the
direction of the present town of Pe^ris. The settlement
was made under the direction and leadership of Col. John
Grant, of North Carolina, and Capt. William Ellis, a native
of Spottsylvania county, Virginia, and grandfather of
Mrs. John Carty, of Lexington. The station was, subse-
quently, greatly harassed by the Indians; in 1780, they
made pioneer life such a burden to the settlers, that they
returned to Virginia. Capt. Ellis entered the Continental
army, and commanded a company until the close of the
Eevolutionary war, when he and Col. Grant came again
to Kentucky, and Col. Grant settled permanently at
the old station. Capt. Ellis, Timothy and James Parrish,
and a number of other Virginians, settled a fertile tract
of country on the head waters of Boone's creek, in Fay-
ette county, near their old neighbor from Spottsylvania,
the Rev, Lewis Craig, the most prominent of the early
Baptist preachers in Kentucky. In 1786, Capt. Ellis mar-
ried Elizabeth Shipp. Subsequently, he was with St. Clair
in the terrible " defeat," of November 4; 1791. After arriv-
ing at an advanced age, the old pioneer died, and was buried
in the county he had helped to settle. lie was a man of great

30 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1779.

energy, liberality, and hospitality. The strength of his
mind and the integrity of his character gained for him
the respect and esteem of all who knew him.

With the building of "the fort," at Lexington, came
also the cutting of the caue, the girdling of the trees, and
the opening of the land for cultivation ; and civilization
had never before demanded the sacrifice of the primeval
glories and wild beauties of such a region as that of which
Lexington was the center. Eoone styled Kentucky " a
second paradise," and if its general characteristics merited
such a eulogy, what must have been the virgin charms of
the country around Lexington, which is conceded by all to
be the finest in the State. John Filson, the biographer of
Boone, and who was himself one of the early settlers and
residents of Lexington, refers to it as the most luxuriant
portion of " the most extraordinary country on which the
sun has ever shone." The black and deep vegetable mold,
which had been accumulating for untold centuries, made it
" a hot-bed of fertility," and an early traveler says of it,*
"in the spring no leaves are found under the trees, for the
ground is so rich and damp that they rot and disappear
during the winter," It was in such a soil as this that the
founders of our city raised their first crop of corn, the
only grain cultivated at that time. The surrounding for-
ests abounded in game, and it was an unusual thing for the
fort not to be well stocked with the meat of the deer, buf-
falo, bear, elk, and minor animals. The thick canebrakes,
though the chosen retreat of the panther and the wildcat,
were thronged with birds prized by the hunters. Provender
for the horses and cattle was not wanting. They waded, up
to their knees, in native clover; they reveled in waving
oceans of wild rye and bujffalo grass, and grew fat upon
the young shoots of the nourishing cane. The earth
glowed with the beauty of numberless natural flowers,
many of which are now rarely, if ever, seen here. Lilies,
daisies, pinks, wild tuhps, and columbines delighted the eye;
beds of sweet violets and fragrant wild hyacinths perfumed

'American Museum.

1770.] SETTLEMENT OF LEXINGTON. 31

the air, and the brilliant cardinal flower and the admired
crown imperial grew spontaneously here, in greater beauty
than in any other part of the world.* A scene of wild
and picturesque loveliness, such as is rarely accorded to men,
must have greeted the eyes of the settlers of Lexington ;
and it had not lost all of its natural charms, even as late as
1794, when visited by Captain Imlay, an oiBcer of the
Revolutionary army, if his florid language is an indication.
He says, "Lexington is nearly central of the finest and
most luxuriant country, perhaps, on earth. Here, an eter-
nal verdure reigns, and the brilliant sun, piercing through
the azure heavens, produces in this prolific soil an early
maturity, which is truly astonishing. Flowers, full and
perfect as if they had been cultivated by the hand of a
florist, with all their captivating odors, and with all the
variegated charms which color and nature can produce,
here, in the lap of elegance and beauty, decorate the smil-
ing groves. Soft zephyrs gently breathe on sweets, and
the inhaled air gives a voluptuous glow of health and
vigor, that seems to ravish the intoxicated senses. The
sweet songsters of the forest appear to feel the influence of
the genial clime, and in more soft and modulated tones,
warble their tender notes, in unison with love and nature.
Everything here gives delight, and in that wild eff"ulgency
which beams around us, we feel a glow of gratitude for
the elevation which our all-bountiful Creator has bestowed
upon us."

Fortunately for the settlers at Lexington, the winter suc-
ceeding their arrival was a peaceful one,t and they took
advantage of it. They strengthened the fort and increased
its comforts, with the wise design of attracting settlers,
and their eflcorts were rewarded.

«Im]ay. tColHns, page 388.

-^e^^^^^0^^

32 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [I'^SO-

CHAPTER VII.

The Indians— John and Levi Todd— Life in the Fort— Inci-
dents and Tragedies— A Terrible Winter— Fayette County
Formed— Early Cemeteries-First Schools— Transylvania
University— Its Origin— Incidents— George Nicholas— Pres-
idents Moore, Blythe, Holley, Woods, Peers, Coit, Davidson,
Bascom, Green — Professors of the Academical, Medical,
and Law Colleges — Fires, Buildings, Donations, Sectarian
Contention — James Morrison, Peter, Hunt, and others —
Normal School — Decline of the University — Consolidation
— Kentucky Unioersity — Origin — Removal to Lexington —
Eegent Bowman — Organization of Various Colleges — Presi-
dents, Professors, and Officers, Milligan, Johnson, Harrison,
Gratz, Beck, and others.

The spring which succeeded the peaceful winter of 1780
as usual brought with it the Indians, small parties of whom
almost constantly watched the traces leading to Lexington
station, and the settlers were frequently fired upon. At
this time game, and particularly the buffalo, was the chief
dependence of the garrison for food, bread being a rare
luxury until corn was fit to make meal of; and in order to
get the much-needed game, and at the same time escape
the Indians, the hunters found it necessary to start early
enough to get out in the woods three or four miles before
day, and on their return, to travel a like distance after
night.*

Colonel John and Levi Todd came to Lexington this
year, where they had located large tracts of land some time
before. Colonel Todd was at this time- military governor

*Bradford's Notes.

1T80.] LIFE IN THE FORT. 33

of Illinois, and although he settled his newly married wife
in the fort here, he was soon compelled to leave her, to at-
tended to the affairs of that new county of Virginia. He
managed, however, to pass a good part of his time at Lex-
ington, and in 1781, made it his permanent home, and was
one of its most prominent and highly esteemed citizens.
He commanded the Lexington militia in the battle of the
Blue Licks, 1782, and died gallantly fighting at their head,
leaving his wife and one child (a daughter), who afterward
became the wife of Robert "Wicklifl'e, Sen.*

Levi Todd came from Virginia to Harrodsburg, in 1775,
and some years after attempted to settle a station in Fay-
ette county, but being compelled by the Indians to aban-
don it, he came to Lexington. He was the first county
clerk of Fayette; represented her in conventions and in
the legislature, and was long one of her most useful and
respected citizens. f

Life in the fort in 1780 was more picturesque than easy
and delightful. The men "by turns" stood guard, and
kept up a sharp lookout for the enemy ; while those off
guard risked their lives in hunting to supply the garrison
with food, cleared the land, planted, plowed, brought in
the cows, and did mending, patching, and all manuer of
work. The women milked the cows, cooked the mess, pre-
pared the flax, spun, wove, and made the garment of linen
or linsey, and when corn could be had, ground it into meal
at the hand-mill, or pounded it into hominy in the mortar.
Wild game was the prinCtpal food, and that was eaten
most of the time without salt, which was seldom made at
the "licks" without loss of life. Sugar was made from
the maple trees, coffee was unknown, but fine milk sup-
plied its place as long as the Indians spared the cows.

Wooden vessels,! either turned or coopered, were in com-
mon use as table furniture. A tin cup was an article of
delicate luxury, almost as j-are as an iron fork. Every
hunter carried his knife; it was no less the implement of a
warrior. Not unfrequently the rest of the family was left

»Collins, 536. fCollins, page 274. JMarshall.

34 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1T80.

with but one or two for the use of all. The cradle was a
small rolling trough, A like workmanship composed the
table and the stool— a slab hewn with the ax, and sticks
of a similar manufacture set in for legs supported both.
Buffalo aod bear-skins were frequently consigned to the
floor for beds and covering. When the bed was by chance
or refinement elevated above the floor and given a fixed
place, it was often laid on slabs placed across poles, sup-
ported on forks set in the earthen floor; or, where the floor
was puncheons, the bedstead was hewn pieces pinned on
upright posts, or let into them by auger holes. Other
utensils and furniture were of a corresponding description,
applicable to the time. The now famous Kentucky hunting-
shirt was universally worn by the settlers. It was made
either of linsey or dressed deerskin, and provided with a
pocket in the bosom for tow used in cleaning the rifle.
Every hunter carried a tomahawk and scalping-knife, wore
deer-skin breeches, moccasins of the same material, and
generally a bear-skin hat. The little money in circulation
was depreciated Continental paper.

The spring of 1780 marked the beginning of an era in
the history of Lexington, so rich in deeds of daring, and
so fraught with thrilling adventures, experiences of intense
suff'ering, and incidents of danger and of blood as to rival
in romantic interest the days of Wallace, or the times of
the hunted Huguenots. Could a record of all the forgotten
events of this eventful period be gathered and combined
with those that are preserved, Lexington, and the region
round about it, would in time become as favorite a theme
for the poet and the novelist as are now some of the story-
lands of the old world.

As the spring advanced, the number of the Indians in-
creased, and several parties of hunters pursued by them
were compelled to take refuge in the fort. One of the set-
tlers named Wymore, having ventured out alone, was killed
and scalped by the Indians near where the Masonic Hall,
on Walnut street, now stands, and another barely escaped
a like fate near the present residence of Mr. F. K. Hunt,

1780.] INCIDENTS AND TRAGEDIES. 35

where he had been waylaid by an Indian, who was quietly
awaiting his chance to slay him. He discovered his foe
barely in time to save his life; shot him just as he was
preparing to throw his tomahawk, and carried his reeking
scalp in triumph to the station.* One of the saddest trag-
edies of the year took place about the first of May. A
very young man, brave as he was handsome, and greatly
beloved by the settlers, was mortally wounded by a band of
the savages, who fired upon him while he was driving up
the cows, and pursued him nearly to the fort. He staggered
up to the gate, which a pitying and courageous woman
who loved him unbarred with her own hands, and covered
with blood, he died a few minutes after, clasped in her last
fond embrace.f Closely following this was the attack on
Strode's station, near the present town of Winchester, by
a large body of Indians,! and the news of this event in-
creased the gloom at Lexington, caused by anxiety and an-
ticipations of evil. These forebodings were not without
foundation, and were only providentially kept from being
realized. Suddenly, in June, the settlers discovered the
woods about the station swarming with Indians, who de-
stroyed their corn, drove oft" all the horses that were not
hurriedly sheltered within the walls of the fort, and then
without doing further damage, (disappeared as quickly as
they had come. The astonishment of the alarmed garri-
son at this unaccountable proceeding was increased ten-fold
on hearing faint but unmistakable reports of distant artil-
lery, the first sounds of that kind which had ever awak-
ened the echoes of the dark and bloody ground. Anxious
but determined, the little force remained closely within the
stockades, with ready rifles, watching and wondering day
and night until all was explained, and the dark cloud lifted
by the arrival, foot sore and hungry, of the brave Captain
John Hinkston, who had just escaped from the retreating
Indians, who constituted a large part of the formidable
force under Colonel Byrd, during this, his celebrated inva-
sion of Kentucky. Captain Hinkston gave the settlers the

*01d Journal. tTradition. tOollins, 234.

36 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. Ll'^O.

first news of the capture of Buddell's and Martin's sta-
tions * both of which were distant only a few hours march
from Lexington. The discouraged inmates of Grant's sta-
tion, which was between Bryant's and the present town of
Paris, dreading a like fate, abandoned it and sought refuge
in the more secure fort at Lexington, where some of them
remained during the winter. But the immediate danger
was now over. Colonel Byrd, either from disgust and in-
dignation at the barbarous conduct of his savage allies, or
through fear of the sudden falling of the waters of the
Licking, hastily retreated without an attempt at the capture
of Lexington and Bryant's stations, though strongly urged
by the elated Indians to move against them.f The effect
of this invasion was the rapid formation of another expe-
dition of retaliation -by the Indian's dreaded foe, Colonel
Gr. Rogers Clarke, who again swooped down upon them
like an eagle. Lexington was largely represented in this
campaign, which was made against the Indians of Ohio.
It was secret, short, and so decisive, that no large bodies of
the enemy invaded Kentucky during the whole of the next
year.

The hardships and sufferings of the Puritans, in the two
first years of the Plymouth settlement, were not greater than
those of the founders of Lexington for a like period in her
infancy. To the wearing anxieties, constant alarms, and
bloody afflictions, endured by the inmates of the fort, must
be added the privations of the terrible winter which fol-
lowed Byrd's invasion.J It was a season not only of intense
sufferings, but of protracted suffering. The pioneers had
never known a winter in Kentucky to set in so early, and
to continue so long. Snow and ice were on the ground
without a thaw from November to the succeeding March.
The small streams were solid ice. Snow fell repeatedly,
but as it did not melt it became almost impassible for man
or beast, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that the
hunters were able to find such of the wild animals as had
not been starved or frozen to death. § As the corn had been

»Collins, 343. fW. 342. {Boones Nar. ^Marshall,

l'?80.] FAVETTE COVNTY FORMED. 37

destroyed in the summer, bread was rarely seen in the fort,
and when it was, a single johnnie-cake was divided into a
dozen parts, distributed and made to serve for two meals*
The use of bread ceased entirely, long before the winter was
over. On one occasion when Colonel Todd returned to the
fort almost famished, the provisions were so nearly exhausted
that his wife could offer him nothing but a gill of milk and
a little piece of hard bread two inches square, and this was
turned over in silence to his starving servant.f The cattle,
after starving to death for want of fodder, were devoured by
the inmates of the station, and from the time the cattle died
until spring the settlers subsisted upon venison carefully dis-
tributed, and water ; clothing was insufficient, the roughly-
built cabins let in the piercing cold, and the firewood was
chopped from trees incased in walls of snow and ice. Freez-
ing and starving — such was the condition of the heroic
settlers of Lexington, through this long and fearful winter
of suffering.

In the month of November of this year (1780), Virginia
formed Kentucky county into a district, composed of the
three counties of Payette, Lincoln, and Jefferson.J The
new county of Fayette was given the name of that dis-
tinguished friend of "Washington, General Gilbert Mortier
de La Fayette, and was defined as " all that part of the said
county of Keutucky which lies north of the line, beginning
at the mouth of the Kentucky river, and up the same and
its middle fork to the head, and thence south to the Wash-
ington line."|| Fayette then included more than a third of
the present State of Kentucky, and since that time she has
enjoyed the proud distinction of being the mother of great
counties and populous cities, and her sons have helped to
lay the foundations of many of the empire states of the
mighty "West. The organization of the county was not
completed until the next year (1781).§

The settlers killed by the Indians, in the summer of 1780,
were sadly and reverently carried, by an armed band of

•Davidson^ 62. tCollins, 536. JCoUins, 24. ||Marshall. ^Sutler.

38 EISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [l'^"'

their surviving companions, along the cow-path which ex
tended by the side of the fort, on to what the garrison called
the "first hill," now known as the Baptist charchyard, on
Main street * A small space on this hill was cleared of
cane, and here, after a silent prayer, the earliest settlers of
Lexington were hiiried. This ground was afterward set
aside by the trustees of the town for religions purposes.f
This was the first cemetery used, and was for a long time
the only one. During the fatal cholera season of 1833, when
the citizens of Lexington were swept oft' by the hundreds,
tier upon tier of bodies were buried iu this graveyard, and
it ceased to be used after that terrible time. The next
earliest graveyard established was that of the McConnells,
opposite the present Lexington cemetery, and between
Main street and the track of the Louisville, Lexington and
Cincinnati Kailroad, and there many of the pioneers of the
city and county rest in obliterated graves. The Maxwell
burying-ground, on Bolivar street, was used shortly after
that of the McConnells. In 1834, the city bought the
ground adjoining the Maxwell graveyard, and the two were
merged in what is now called the "Old City Graveyard."
Here the mother of John Maxwell was buried in 1804, his
wife in 1811, and the old pioneer himself in 1819. In this
neglected spot the ancient tablets are broken and crumbling,
and upon one of them can scarcely be made out the in-
scription :

John Maxwell, sr.,

Died July 13th, 1819.

Aged 72 years.

Emigrated from Scotland to the United States in 1751, and to

the wilds of Kentucky in 1774.

The Catholic cemetery, on Winchester street, was conse-
crated about forty years ago. Dr. Samuel Brown, Judge
Hickey, Annie Spalding, the first superioress of St. Catha-
rine's Academy, are among the sleepers in this last resting
place. The Episcopal cemetery had its origin in 1837. Many
prominent persons are buried there, and there are few Lex-

•Old Journals. TCity Eeoords.

1780.] FIRST SCHOOLS. 39

ington families that have not a sad interest in its sacred
ground. The same can be said of the Presbyterian burying-
ground established shortly after the last mentioned. The
large trees which now throw so grateful a shade over it, owe
their presence to the mournful interest of Dr. Daniel Drake,
whose wife was buried there. He raised the means to pay
both for the trees and their planting. For history of Lex-
ington cemetery, see year 1849.

The history of education, in Lexington, dates from the
comnieucement of the city itself ; and the germ of that
which afterward made her the literary and intellectual
center of the state was laid with her foundation. Because
the settlers of Lexington were out on " the frontier," because
their life was one of hardships, and because their rude huts
were destitute of costly adornments, did not prevent many
of them from being what they certainly were, men of cul-
ture, education, and refinement, and endowed with all the
ease and polished manners of the best society of Virginia,
North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. The fort had its little
school as early as 1780, taught by John McKinney, who
had settled at Lexington the year before, at the solicitation
of Colonel Patterson ; and Transylvania Seminary, which
was subsequently located here, was chartered by the legisla-
ture of Virginia the same year. After the close of the
Kevolutionary war, when the British and Indians ceased to
annoy and distress the settlers, McKinney moved out of the
fort and taught in a log school-house, erected on the site of
the pump on the present Cheapside.* It was in this house
that his famous fight with the wildcat took place, an ac-
count of which will be found in the chapter on 1783. The
first trustees of the town took an early opportunity to lay off
and reserve ground for "Latin and English schools,"! and
this encouragement brought to Lexington, in 1787,t Mr.
Isaac Wilson, of Philadelphia College, who established the
"Lexington Grammar School." He informs the citizens,
in his advertisement, that " Latin, Greek, and the different
branches of science will be carefully taught. Price of

«-Mi.Cabe, 9. tOity Records. tOM Guzette.

40 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [I'^O.

tuition four pounds, payable in cash or produce, and board-
ing on as reasonable terms as any in the district." The fol-
lowing spring "John Davenport" opened in what was then
known as Captain Young's house, which stood on part of
the ground now occupied by Jordan's Row,* the first dancing
school Lexington ever had, and from that day to this the
saltatory art has had a host of admirers in this city. In
1788, Transylvania Seminary was opened in Lexington,
and from this day forward schools accumulated, and the love
of literature grew, gaining for the city an enviable fame
throughout the country.

Transylvania University was the first regular institution
of learning founded in the mighty West. The influence it
has exerted, both morally and intellectually, has been im-
mense, and its name is not only venerated and respected in
all civilized America, but is well known in Europe. Its
history begins with the history of Lexington, and its estab-
lishment has been attributed to t|ie enlightened exertions
of Colonel John Todd, then a delegate from the county of
Kentucky in the Virginia General Assembly — the same
Colonel Todd who soon afterward fell at the disa,?trous
battle of Blue Licks. In 1780, nearly twelve years before
Kentucky became a member of the Union, the legislature
of Virginia passed a law to vest eight thousand acres of
escheated lands, formerly belonging to British subjects, in
the county of Kentucky, in trustees for a public school ; in
order, says the preamble of the bill, " to promote the dift'u-
sion of useful knowledge even among its remote citizens,
whose situation in a barbarous neighborhood and savage
intercourse might otherwise render unfriendly to science. "f

In 1783, the school was incorporated, and styled Tran-
sylvania Seminary; the name "Transylvania" — a classical
rendering of "the backwoods" — being the same that Co'-
onel Richard Henderson & Co. applied to the proprietary
government they attempted to establish in Kentucky, in
1775, regardless of the authority of Virginia. The teach-
ers and pupils were exempt from military service. At the

♦McCate, 8. tActs Virginia Assembly.

1T80.] TRANSYLVANIA UNIVERSITY. 41

time of its incorporation, the seminary was endowed with
twelve thousand additional acres of land.

After Kentucky was erected into a state, laws were
passed exempting lands from e?cheat, the effect of which
M'as to deprive Transylvania Seminary of all the escheated
lands with which she had been endowed by the State of
Virginia, except eight thousand acres, from the sale of
which she received thirty thousand dollars. This sura of
money was afterward invested in the stock of the Bank
of Kentucky. The legislature repealed the charter of that
bank, by which a loss is alleged to have been subsequently
sustained by the "university" of twenty thousand dollars.

The trustees of the seminary met at Crow's station, in
Lincoln county, November 10, 1783, when the Rev. David
Rice was elected chairman, and the enterprise was en-
couraged by the donation of a library (the nucleus of the
present one), from the Rev. John Todd, the first Professor
of Sacred Literature in the seminary, and uncle of the
above-named Colonel Todd.

In February, 1785, the seminary was opened, in the
house of Mr. Rice, near Danville, and that gentleman be-
came its first teacher, the endowment being too unproduct-
ive to afford more than a scanty salary for one professor,
" Old Father Rice," who was one of the very first pioneer
Presbyterian ministers who emigrated to Kentucky, was
born in Hanover county, Virginia, December 20, 1733, and
was educated at " Nassau Hall," now Princeton College.
He was ordained in 1763, and came to Kentucky in 1783.
He was largely instrumental in raising up both Transyl-
vania Seminary and its subsequent rival, Kentucky Acad-
emy. After a long life of ministerial usefulness, he died,
June 18, 1816, iu Green county, Kentucky.*

In 1787, Virginia further endowed the seminary with
one-sixth of the surveyor's fees in the District of Kentucky,
formerly given to William and Mary College. This law
was repealed by the legislature of Kentucky in 1802.

In 1788, the school was located in Lexington. " Tuition,

*Davidson.

42 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. l^^'^^"'

five pounds a year, one-half cash, the other in property.
Boarding, nine pounds a year, in property, pork, corn, to-
bacco, etc." John Filson, to whom Daniel Boone dictated
a memoir of his life, was a zealous friend and advocate of
the school. Being a northern man, he favored the em-
ployment of teachers from that section, which caused a
correspondent of the old Kentucky Gazette to ask him the
very sensible question: "What peculiar charm have
northern teachers to inspire virtue and suppress vice that
southern teachers do not possess?"*

The first building used by Transylvania Seminary, in
Lexington, was a plain two-story brick one. It stood on the
north end of the " college lawn," facing Second street, and
with the present Third street in its rear. The lot on which
it was erected, was donatedf by a number of citizens of
Lexington, who were anxious to have the school in their
midst. Isaac "Wilson, of Philadelphia, was a teacher in
the seminary at this time.

Another teacher was added t > the seminary upon its
removal to Lexington, its course was extended, and nothing
occurred to mar its prosperity until 1794, when the trustees,
with John Bradford as chairman, elected as principal
Harry Toul&^iiji, a talented Baptist minister, with strong
inclinations to the priestly school of theology, and who
subsequently became' secr'etary of state under Governor
Garrard. Sectarian jealousy was at once developed. The
Baptists claimed equal rights in the seminary, as a state
institution. The Presbyterians claimed control, on the
ground that its endowment was due to their exertions, and
they finally withdrew their patronage from the school, and,
in 1796, established and supported " Kentucky Academy,"
at Pisgah, near Lexington.

Fortunately, the troubles between the rival institutions
were adjusted, and, in 1798, both schools were merged in
one, under the name of " Transylvania University," with
Lexington as its seat. But one department of the univer-
sity, the academical, was' in existence in 1798. The first

*01d Gazette. tPresident's Report.

1^80.] TRANSYLVANIA UNIVERSITY.

43

president of the united institutions was the Rev. James
Moore * noticed at length in the chapter, in this volume,
on ('hrist Church. His colleagues were the Rev. Robert
Stuart and the Rev. James Blythe.

In 1799, the institution was given the appearance of a
regular university, by the addition of law and medical de-
partments.

Colonel George Nicholas,t who became the first profes-
sor in the law department, was an eminent lawyer of Vir-
ginia, who had served as colonel in the Revolutionary war,
and came to Kentucky at an early day. He was an influ-
ential member of the Virginia Convention which adopted
the Federal constitution, and was one of the most promi-
nent spirits in the convention which framed the first con-
stitution of Kentucky. This able man, whose statesman-
ship was long prominent in this commonwealth, was for
many years a citizen of Lexington. His residence was on
the site of the present Sayre Institute. He died at about
the age of fifty-five, shortly after he accepted the law pro-
fessorship in Transylvania University.

Colonel Nicholas was succeeded in the chair of law by
Henry Clay, James Brown, John Pope, and "William T.
Barry (of whom see biographical sketches in this volume).
In 1819, when Ur. Holley became president of the univer-
sity, the law college was regularly organized with three
professors, and it soon attained a reputation co-extensive
with the country, and no similar college in the United
States was considered its superior in reputation, the ability
of its teachers, and the number of its students. Its law
society was noted. Its library, donated by the city of Lex-
ington, was, at that time, the best one of the kind in the
West. The following professors have adorned the law
department since the incumbency of those already named,
viz: Jesse Bledsoe, John Boyle, Daniel Mayer, Charles
Humphreys, George Robertson, Thomas A, Marshall, and
A. K. Woolley. (See biograpical sketches in this book.)
The earliest professor of medicine in Transylvania and

•Davidson. tCollins.

44 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1180.

in the West was the distinguished Dr. Samuel Brown,*
who was born, January 30, 1769, and was a son of the Rev.
John Brown, and Margaret, his wife, residents of Rock-
bridge county, Virghiia. After graduating at Carlisle Col-
lege (Pa.), he spent two years studying medicine in Edin-
burg, after which he removed to Lexington. He was pro-
fessor of medicine in the university until 1806, when he
resigned, but was again appointed in 1819. He died in
Huntsville, Alabama, January 12, 1830. Dr. Brown was a
man of unusual learning and scientific attainments.

His name appears among those of the contributors to
the American Philosophical Transactions, and to the med-
ical and scientific periodicals of the day, in this country
and in Europe. He is specially noted as the first introducer
of vaccination into the United States.f

The first place where medical instruction is believed to
have been given to students, in Lexington, was in the orig-
inal old University building.

Dr. Frederick Ridgely, who was appointed a medical
professor very shortly after Dr. Brown, was the first who
taught medicine by lectures in the West. He was appointed
surgeon to a Virginia rifle corps in the Revolutionary army,
when nineteen years old, removed to Kentucky in 1780,
was one of the founders of the medical college, and was
one of the early preceptors of the distinguished surgeon,
Dr. Ben. W. Dudley. Dr. Ridgely lectured his class at
one time in a room in " Trotter's warehouse," which stood
on the site of the present china store, on the corner of
Mill and Main.

The first president of Transylvania University, Rev.
James Moore, was succeeded, in 1804, by Dr. James Blythe.
Rev. James Blythe, M. D., was born in l^orth Carolina, in
1765, and was educated for the Presbyterian pulpit at
Hampden- Sidney College. He came to Kentucky in 1791,
and two years after was ordained pastor of Pisgab and
Clear Creek churches. He continued to preach up to the
time of his death. Por six years before his accession to the

*Annal3 of Transylvania University. fMichaux 1802,

[1780. TRANSYLVANIA UNIVERSITT. 45

presidency of the university, he was professor of mathe-
matics and natural philosophy, and often supplied the
pulpit of the First Presbyterian church. He was president
for nearly fifteen years, and after his resignation, filled
the chair of chemistry in the medical college until 1831,
when he accepted the presidency of Hanover College (Indi-
ana), which prospered greatly under his charge. He was a
faithful and animated preacher and fine debater. He died
in 1842.

The first academical degree was conferred in 1802.

In the spring of 1804, a party of Shawunese Indians
placed their children at Transylvania University to be in-
structed.

In 1805, Rev. James Fishback, M. D., was appointed to
the chair of the Theory and Practice of Medicine. It was
in the oflice of Dr. F., that Dr. Ben. Dudley studied the
rudiments of physic. At this early period, the medical
department met with but small success, and in 1806,* the
professors resigned.

An effort was made to organize a full faculty and estab-
lish a medical school in our university, in the year 1809.
Dr. B. W. Dudley was appointed to the chair of Anatomy
and Surgery; Dr. Elisha Warfield, to that of Surgery and
Obstetrics; the noted Joseph Buchanan, referred to in an-
other chapter, to that of the Institutes of Medicine, and
Dr. James Overton, to that of the Theory and Practice of
Medicine.

It does not appear, however, that any lectures were de-
livered at this time. In 1815, Dr. "William H. Richardson
was added to the medical faculty, and his connection with
the school continued until his death in 1835. Dr. Daniel
Drake was appointed to the chair of Materia Medica in
1817. Dr. Drake resigned in a short time, and afterward
became a professor in the Cincinnati Medical College. He
died in 1852. The class of 1817 numbered twenty pupils.

The degree of M. D. was conferred, at the end of this
course, in 1818, for the first time in the West, perhaps, on a

*Dr. Peters' Lecture.

46 EISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1^80.

citizen of Lexington, one of this class, John Lawson
McCullough, brother of our worthy fellow-citizen, Samuel
D. McCullough.*

In 1817, a large and handsome college building was
erected in the college lawn and in front of the old edifice.
The house and lot known as the Blythe property was bought
and donated to the university by a number of liberal gen-
tlemen, Mr. Clay being among the number. The grounds
of the institution were beautified with trees, flowers, and
shrubbery, and a determined eftbrt was made to greatly in-
crease the usefulness of the university. The trustees of
the institution and the citizens of Lexington labored to-
gether in the work of its up-building, and Dr. Horace Hol-
ley, then of Boston, was invited to the presidency, which
he accepted, and was inducted into oflice, December 19,
1818, and voted a salary of three thousand dollars.

Dr. Holley, the third president of Transylvania Univer-
sity, was born in Salisbury, Connecticut, February 13, 1781.f
He assisted in the store of his father (who was a self-
taught and self-made man) until he was sixteen, when he
was sent to Yale College, where he graduated, in 1803, with
a high reputation for talents and learning. Soon after, he
studied theology with Dr. Dwight, and, in 1809, accepted
the pastorate of the Hollis-street church, in Boston, and
such was his popularity that a larger and more elegant
edifice was soon rendered necessary. In this charge he re-
mained nine years, greatly admired and beloved. To a re-
markably fine person was added fascinating manners and
brilliant oratory. His eloquence may be inferred from the
fact that, during one of his sermons delivered before the
ancient artillery company of Boston, he extorted a noisy
demonstration of applause, the only instance known of a
staid New England audience being betrayed into forgetful-
ness of their wonted propriety.J

Dr. Holley was welcomed to Lexington with the most
flattering attentions, and immediately set to work to make
the university a success. The institution was at once thor-

•Peters' Lecture. tCaldwell's Memoir. jPierpont.

ITSO.] TRANSTLVANIA VNIVERSITT. 47

oughly reorganized, and the medical school in particular
dates its astonishing progress from this time, when the
eminent surgeon, Dr. B. W. Dudley, the apostle of phre-
nology in the "West, Dr. Charles Caldwell, and the learned
antiquarian. Dr. C. S. Rafinesque, were called to its chairs.
These gentlemen are specially mentioned in other chapters
of this hook. At this time, lectures were delivered to the
medical class in a large room in the upper story of a then
tavern building, on Short street, between Upper and Market,
now occupied by banks.

The events which took place during Dr. Holley's presi-
dency are full of interest.

In the year 1819, the legislature of Kentucky appropri-
ated the bonus of the Farmers and Mechanics' Bank at
Lexington, for two years, to the use and beneiit of Tran-
sylvania Dniversity, which amounted to the sum of $3,000.
In 1820 the sum of $5,000 was appropriated to the medical
department.

In the year 1821, an act was passed appropriating one-
half of the clear profits of the Branch Bank of the Com-
monwealth of Kentucky at Lexington to the university,
from which it is stated the sum of $20,000, in the paper
of the said bank, was received — equal to $10,000 in specie
— and there was a grant of twenty thousand dollars from
the state treasury in 1824. All ot which sums of money
were expended in the purchase of books, philosophical ap-
paratus, and in the payment of the debts of the institution.

There was probably no college library in the United
States superior to that of Transylvania University in 1825.
In addition to the books purchased through the liberality
of Lexington and the State, the library had been enriched
by a handsome donation from the British government, and
by contributions from many private individuals, among
whom may be named Edward Everett, who presented a
collection of fine classical works which he had personally
selected in Europe. The medical library selected by Pro-
fessor Caldwell, in Prance and England, was the best in the
country at that time. The university was visited by Pres-

48

BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. ["^*-

ident Monroe, General Jackson, Governor Shelby, and
others, in 1819. In 1825 it was visited by Marquis de La^
fayette, at which time it was the center of attraction in the
entire West to all scholars and eminent characters, both
native and foreign. About this time, also. Lord Stanley,
afterward Earl of Derby, made a personal examination of
the institution. At the time of his visit. Judge Barry, one
of the law professors, was absent. Dr. HoUey, in addition
to his regular duties, temporarily filled the judge's chair,
and lectured the class before the distinguished visitor, on
the subject of the similarity of the governments of the
United States and England as regards the responsibility of
public agents to the people.*

The rise and prosperity of the medical college of the
university was remarkable. In 1818, the class numbered
twenty, with one graduate, and in 1826, it numbered two
hundred and eiglity-one, with fifty-three graduates.f In
1827, the medical college had attained such a position and
celebrity as to be regarded as second only to the University
of Pennsylvania. It was complete in its corps of eminent
professors, and in its magnificent library and chemical and
anatomical apparatus. In addition to the distinguished
men already mentioned, the following professors had been
connected with the medical college up to 1827, and some
of them remained in it for years after, viz: Dr. John Estin
Cooke, of Virginia, author of the celebrated congestive
theory of fevers; Dr. Lunsford P. Yandell, editor of the
Transylvania Journal of Medicine, founded in 1827; Dr.
H. H. Eaton, of New York, who greatly improved the
chemical department, and Dr. Charles W. Short, who re-
signed in 1838.

In 1823, the " Morrison Professorship," in the academical
department, was endowed and established by a bequest of
twenty thousand dollars from Colonel James Morrison,
of whom mention will again be made in this chapter.

The grand design of Dr. HoUey was to make Transyl-
vania a genuine university, complete in every college, and

*0b3erver and Reporter. ftJollege Eeoords.

1780.] TRANSYLVANIA UNIVERSITY. 49

liberally sustained by a great endowment. Under great
disadvantages he accomplished much of his work, but his
own imprudent conduct and Jlnitarian sentiments, together
with prejudice and sectarian animosity, prevented its com-
pletion. His religious opinions and his love of amuse-
ments were unceasingly discussed and denounced by secta-
rians, who were disappointed in obtaining control of the
institution. Finally, a storm of opposition was raised,
which was continued with great bitterness by ministers of
all denominations,* until Dr. Holley was forced to resign
the presidency, which he did in 1827, to the great regret
of a majority of the citizens of Lexington, and the sorrow
of his pupils, a large number of whom immediately left
the university. Two facts speak volumes for Dr. Ilolley's
administration. When he came to the university, it was
comparatively little known — when he left it, it was cele-
brated all over this country and Europe. During the six-
teen years before he came, twenty-two students had grad-
uated in it — in the nine years of his presidency, the insti-
tution turned out six hundred and sixty-six graduates.f

Immediately after his resignation, Dr. Holley was en-
gaged as president of the College of K"ew Orleans, and
was meeting with the most flattering success when he was
prostrated by fever. Upon his recovery he embarked for
the North, in hopes that the sea air would benefit him.
On the voyage he was seized with yellow fever, and, after
sufi'ering intensely for five days, he died, and on the 31st of
July, 1827, the body of this distinguished man was com-
mitted to the deep. The scholar's cloak was his winding
sheet, the ocean is his grave, and the towering rocks of the
Tortugas are his monument.

The academical department, or college of arts, of Tran-
sylvania University was crowded with students during Dr.
Holiey's administration. Its corps of instructors, near the
close of his term, were: President Holley, Professor of
Philology, Belles-lettres, and Mental Philosophy; John
Eoche, Professor of Greek and Latin Languages; Eev.

*I'lint's Mississippi Talley, 1826;. fCaldwell's Memoir.

50 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [I'^SO.

George T. Chapman, Professor of History and Antiquity;
Thomas J. Matthews, Morrison Professor of Mathematics;
Rev. Benjamin 0. Peers, Professor of Moral Philosophy.

The resignation of Dr. Holley was a heavy blow to the
university; but the trustees were not idle. On the 16th of
April, 1827, the corner-stone of a new medical hall was
laid by the Masonic fraternity, on the site of the present
City Library, on the corner of Market and Church streets.
The eloquent William T. Barry delivered 'an appropriate
oration before the immense crowd assembled. The trustees
of the university, at that time, were John Bradford, Thomas
Bodley, Charles Humphreys, Benjamin Gratz, Elisha War-
field, James Pishbaek, John W. Hunt, James Trotter,
Elisha I. Winter, George T. Chapman, William Leavy,
Charles Wilkins, and George C. Light.

In June, 1828, the trustees called to the presidency of
the university the Eev. Alva Woods, D. D.,* who was then
at the head of Brown Univiversity. Dr. Woods was a
Baptist clergyman, and the oldest child of Rev. Abel
Woods, of Massachusetts, and had a high reputation for
learning and liberality. He was president of Transylvania
for but two years, when he resigned, and accepted the
presidency of the University of Alabama. A few years ago
he was still alive and residing at Providence, Rhode Island.

On the night of May 9, 1829, during Dr. Woods' admin-
istration, the principal building of the university, together
with the law and societies' libraries, was destroyed by fire.
The exercises of the institution were not interrupted a
single day, nor did a solitary student leave in consequence
of the disaster.

The Transylvania Literary Journal, Professor T. J. Mat-
thews, Editor, was established in 1829.

In 1832, Dr. Robert Peter, the present able and noted
Professor of Chemistry, became connected with the univer-
sity, and has continued to reflect honor upon it for forty
years. Dr. Peter was born in England, in 1805. He is a
graduate of the Transylvania Medical College.

*Observer and Keporter.

1780.] TRANSYLVANIA VNIVERSIT7. 51

The fifth president of Transylvania was the Rev. Benja-
min O. Peers, an Episcopal minister, who was born in
Loudon county, Virginia, in 1800, and brought to Kentucky
in 1803. After graduating at Transylvania, he studied
theology at Princeton, after which he joined the Episcopal
Church, and located in Lexington, where he established the
Eclectic Institute, which soon became one of the most val-
uable educational establishmenta in the "West. He did
much to bring about the present common school system of
Kentucky, for which, together with his sound learning and
ardent piety, he will long be remembered. Mr. Peers was
president of Transylvania about two years. He died in
Louisville, in 1842. The assistants of President Peers, in
the academical department of the university, were Profes-
sor S. Hebard, of Amherst College, and Professor John
Lutz, of the University of Gottingen.

During the Peers term, the present Morrison College
building was completed, and on the 14th of November,
1833, it was thrown open, with appropriate inauguration
ceremonies, at which time the oath of office was adminis-
tered to Mr. Peers by the chairman of the university board
of trustees. While Mr. Peers was president, a theological
department, under the auspices of the Episcopal Church,
was opened in the university.

Morrison College was founded through the liberality of
Colonel James Morrison, who was born in Cumberland
county, Pennsylvania, in 1775, and was the son of an
humble Irish immigrant. After serving in the war of the
Eevolution, he came to Kentucky, and settled in Lexington,
in 1792. Possessed of strong sense, energy, and decision
of character, he rapidly elevated himself. He became, in
succession, state representative from Fayette, quartermas-
ter-general, president of the branch of the United States
Bank, and chairman of the board of trustees of Transyl-
vania University. He acquired immense wealth, much of
which he used in the promotion of letters. He died, in
Washington, D. C, April 23, 1823. Whether he was a
Unitarian or a Presbyterian is undecided. He bequeathed
twenty thousand dollars to establish a professorship in

52

BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. l^''^"-

Transylvania University, and a residuary legacy of forty
thousand dollars, with which the present Morrison College
edifice was established.*

The societies flourishing in the University, in ISdd, were
the Union Philosophical, the Whig, and the Adelphi

Alpha. , . .

The public exercises of the institution, at this time, were
always conducted with much dignity and state. Probably
no state governor in this country has ever been inducted
into office with more imposing and impressive ceremonies
than those formerly attending the inauguration of a Tran-
sylvania president. The long procession, composed of stu-
dents, alumni, college societies, city associations and orders,
members of the bar, members of Congress, governor and
stafl; banners and music, the immense crowd of eager citi-
zens, strangers, and beautiful women, the solemn oath of
office, delivery of university keys, address to the president
and his reply, all made up a scene of surpassing interest
and brilliancy.

Amon o- the number of those who have acted as tutors in
the university, we find the names of Jesse Bledsoe, Daniel
Bradford, Mann Butler, C. S. Morehead, and James Mc-
Chord.

Rev. Thomas W. Coit, D. D., another Episcopalian di-
vine, became the sixth president of the university, in 1835.
Dr. Coit came from New England, in 1834, to fill a profes-
sorship in the Episcopal Theological Seminary, in Lexing-
ton. He acquired some celebrity for his writings in favor
of Trinitarianism, and for his pungent essays on the history
of the American Puritans. He presided over Transylvania
for nearly three years. At present, he is rector of St.
Paul's church, Troy, New York.

In 1837, an eiiort was made by a majority of the faculty
of the medical college, to remove it bodily to Louisville.
They were unsuccessful, and such was the public indigna-
tion, that the enemies of the Lexington College found it
convenient to resign.

'■Davidson's History.

1T80.] TRANSYLVANIA VNIVERSITY.

63

The Medical College suffered by the treachery of pre-
tended friends and open enemies, but it speedily recovered.
The faculty was at once reorganized, and the following
gentlemen were elected :

To the chair of Anatomy ai?d Surgery, B. "W. Dudley,
M, D., Professor, and J. M. Bush, M. D., Adjunct Professor;
Institutes of Medicine and Medical Jurisprudence, James
C. Cross, M. D. ; Theory and Practice of Medicine, John
Eberle, M. D.; Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and
Children, William H. Richardson, M. D.; Materia Medica
and Therapeutics, Thomas D. Mitchell, M. D.; Chemistry
and Pharmacy, Robert Peter, M. D.

The interest of the entire community was strongly
awakened, and a united effort made to increase the en-
dowment of the tmiversitj'. In 1838-39, the city of Lex-
ington donated $70,000; seventy gentlemen, incorporated
February 20, 1839, by the name of the Transylvania Insti-
tute, contributed $35,000, out of part of which fund the
present dormitory building was erected; aend the profes-
sors of the medical department, by private contributions,
purchased the lot of ground on which a new medical hall
was soon built. These gentlemen also paid, out of their
own funds, residuary debt on that building to the amount
of more than $15,000.

The libraries, museums, chemical and philosophical appa-
ratus, and the means of instruction generally, were greatly
increased, and the university was put on a more favorable
footing than it had ever been. The new medical hall re-
ferred to was built on the corner of Second and Broadway,
and occupied the site of the present residence of Dr. Bush.
The corner-stone was laid July 4, 1839, and the oration was
delivered by Robert Wickliffe, Jr.

In 1838, after the resignation of Dr. Coit, the Academical
Faculty consisted of Dr. Louis Marshall, President pro tem.,
and Professor of Ancient Languages; Rev. Robert David-
son, Professor of Moral and Mental Philosophy; Dr. Arthur
J. Dumont (who succeeded Mr. Priczminski), Professor of
Mathematics ; Robert Peter, M. D., Professor of Natural

54 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1780.

History and Experimental Philosophy; Rev. Charles Crow,
Principal of Preparatory Department.

Rev. Robert Davidson, D. D., a Presbyterian minister,
referred to more especially in the chapter in this volume on
the Second Presbyterian Church, was the seventh regular
president of Transylvania University, and was inaugurated
in l^ovember, 1840.

In the fall of 1842, the Methodist Church was given the
control of the university, which by this time had become
considerably prostrated, particularly in the literary and
academical department. The eloquent and untiring bishop,
Henry B. Bascom, D. D. (see chapter on First Methodist
Church), was made president of the institution, and it soon
prospered as it had not done for years. There were four
times as many students in it two years after the Methodists
obtained control than there was the year before they took
possession. Bishop Bascom resigned in 1849, and the uni-
versity again reverted to the state.

Professor J. B. Dodd, well known as the author of a
number of mathematical works, succeeded Dr. Bascom,
and acted as president pro tern, up to the reorganization of
the university in 1856. Professor Dodd died in G-reeusburg,
Kentucky, March 27, 1872, aged sixty-live.

In 1855, the chairs of the Law College were filled by
Professors G-eorge Robertson (see chapter on year 1835);
George B. Kinkead, a native of "Woodford county, Ken-
tucky, Secretary of State under Governor Owsley, and dis-
tinguished both for his high-toned character and legal
ability ; and Francis K. Hunt, born in Lexington, a gradu-
ate of Transylvania Law School, a gentleman of rare graces
and culture, and one of the first lawyers in Kentucky.

The university was I'eorganized in 1856,* and in connec-
tion with it, a normal school, for the education of teachers,
was established, under the patronage of the state, as an
indispensable aid to the common school system of Kentucky.
The scheme was a noble one; the legislature appropriated
$12,000 per annum to its support, and the cause of popular

*Acts Legislature.

nso.] TRANSrLVANIA VmVERSITY. 55

education in Kentucky never looked more promising. Rev.
Lewis W. G-reen, D. D., was called to the presidency, and
the university opened March 4, 1856, with eighty pupils.

Dr. Green, the ninth and last regular president of Tran-
sylvania University, was the son of Willis and Sarah Reed
Green, and was born near Danville, Kentucky, January 28,
1806.* He was a student at Transylvania for some time,
but graduated at Centre College, in 1824, after which he
entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton, studied for
the Presbyterian ministry, and was finally ordained. He
spent two years in Europe, at the Universities of Bonn and
Halle, and while studying biblical literature and the oriental
languages, enjoyed the instructions of Neander, Hengsten-
berg, and other distinguished scholars. When called to
Transylvania, he was president of Hampden Sidney College,
Virginia. He labored, with satisfaction and success, at
Lexington, for two years, at the end of which time, for
some reason, the legislature withdrew the yearly appropria-
tion for the normal school, and abandoned the project. Dr.
Green accepted the presidency of Centre College, entered
upon his duties there in January, 1858, and filled the posi-
tion up to the time of his death, which occarred May 26,
1863. He was buried in the Danville cemetery. Dr. Green
was an eloquent divine, and, in point of learning, had few
equals in the Presbyterian Church in the West. His fine
character and amiable disposition always gained for him
the sincere love of his pupils.

The Medical School continued to exist with varying suc-
cess up to the commencement of the late war between the
States. In 1859, its faculty was composed of Drs. Ethel-
bert L. Dudley (see year 1862), S. L. Adams (see First
Methodist Church), W. S. Chipley (see Lunatic Asylum),
B. P. Drake, S. M. Letcher, H. M. Skillman, and J. M. Bush.

Dr. Drake is a graduate of this school, and now hves in
Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.

Dr. Letcher, a native of Lancaster, Kentucky, was also a
graduate of the Transylvania Medical College. He is well

*J3iogi'aphy.

56 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1T80.

remembered, not only as a fine physician, but as a fine in-
structor in his department. He died in Lexington, in 1862.

Dr. Bush, born in Frankfort, Kentucky, and Dr. Skill-
man, a native of Lexington, are both graduates of the
school in which they were teachers, and both now stand in
the front rank of their profession in Kentucky.

From its founding up to its dissolution, at the beginning
of the late war, the Medical College had conferred the de-
gree of M. D. upon nearly two thousand graduates.*

The university, which had been declining for years, sunk
hopelessly after the failure of the normal school. The
academical department struggled on for a few years, owing
its existence mainly to that superior instructor, Mr. Abram
Drake. It settled into a grammar school, during the, late
war, under whose depressing influences all educational in-
stitutions languished, and through that period its principal
was Professor J. K. Patterson, the present accomplished
presiding oiEcer of the Agricultural and Mechanical College
of Kentucky University.

In January, 1865, the trustees of Transylvania, desiring
to perpetuate for Lexington her character and usefulness
as an educational center, conveyed the entire property of
the institution to, and consolidated it with Kentucky Uni-
versity, on the condition of its removal to Lexington.
From 1865, the history of Transylvania University blends
with that of Kentucky University, of which it now forms
a part.

The record of Transylvania, both at home and abroad
is a proud one. Among the names of her thousands of
graduates, appear those of Jefferson Davis, Thomas F.
Marshall, Dr. B. "W". Dudley, Richard H. Menifee, John
Boyle, James MeChord, Dr. Joseph Buchanan, Richard M.
Johnson, John Rowan, W. T. Barry, Jesse Bledsoe, 0.
B. Morehead, Elijah Hise, "Duke" Gwin, C. A. Wickliffe,
and a host of others — with cabinet officers, foreign minis-
ters, governors, generals, physicians, divines, and men of
every grade and business of life. There is scarcely a town

*Biography.

1780.] KENTUCKY VNIVERSITY. 57

of any size in all the West and South that does not con-
tain one or more of her graduates.

The power that Transylvania has exerted will be felt for
generations to come.

Kentucky CTniversity, the successor and perpetuator of
Transylvania, was incorporated in February, 1858, and
located in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Tts endowment then
consisted of $150,000, obtained by Mr. John B. Bowman,
from members of the Christian Church and other liberal
friends of education. At the same time, it received the
funds and property of Bacon College, an institution founded
by the Christian Church in 1836, in Georgetown, but which
was removed to Harrodsburg in 1840, and finally failed for
want of a sufficient endowment.*

John B. Bowman, the founder of Kentucky University,
its present regent, and the one to whom its efficiency and
prosperity is so largely due, was born at Bowman's station,
near Harrodsburg, Kentucky, October 18, 1824. His grand-
parents were among the first settlers of Mercer county.
His father, born near Lexington, is probably the oldest liv-
ing native of Fayette county. Regent Bowman gradu-
ated at Bacon College under President Shannon, and in
February, 1846, married Mary D., daughter of Dr. Charles
Williams, of Montgomery county, Kentucky. The accom-
plishments and self-sacrifice of Mrs. Bowman have had no
little to do with the success of Kentucky University. From
the time he left college, up to the year 1855, Mr. Bowman
was occupied in farming, but ever since that year, his life
has been devoted to the up-building of the great institution
of which he is the head. He is a man of extraordinary
energy, executive ability, and financial sagacity.

" Taylor Academy," a preparatory school ot the univer-
sity, was opened in the old Bacon College building, at Har-
rodsburg, in September, 1858, with nearly one hundred
students in attendance.

The College of Arts, the first regular department of the
university to go into operation, was opened in September,

*Uiiiversity Kecords.

58 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1T80.

1859, under the presidency of Robert Milligan. Pesident
Milligan is a native of Ireland, and is now in the fifty-ninth
year of his age. He is a graduate of Washington College,
Pennsylvania, and was at one time Professor of Mathe-
matics in Bethany College. His colleagues at Harrodsburg
were Professors E.. Richardson, Robert Graham, L. L.
Pinkerton, Henry White, and J. H. l^eville. All of the
professors with one exception (Professor Richardson) sub-
sequently taught in the university after its removal to Lex-
ington. There were about two hundred students in the
university during its first session.*

In February, 1864, the old edifice of Bacon College, used
by the university at Harrodsburg, was destroyed by fire,
together with its apparatus and library. At this juncture,
it was found that the trustees of Transylvania University
were willing to convey the gounds and buildings of that
institution to the curators of Kentucky University, on the
condition of its removal to Lexington. The board left the
whole question of removal and location to a committee, of
whom Mr. Bowman was chairman.f

Accordingly, Mr. Bowman called the committee to meet
at Frankfort, in January, 1865 ; but an expected denouement
followed. While there, the proposition of Congress to do-
nate to Kentucky 330,000 acres of land, for the purpose of
agricultural and mechanical education, came up for consid-
eration. The state was not prepared to accept the grant
with the conditions imposed, and the munificent provision
of Congress seemed likely to be lost to the state. Mr.
Bowman proposed to make the State Agricultural College
a department of Kentucky University, and to consolidate
into the great institution the University of Harrodsburg,
Transylvania, and the Agricultural College, and the whole
to be located at Lexington. He further proposed, if this
should be done, to provide an experimental farm, and all the
requisite buildings, and to give gratuitous instruction to
three hundred students, to be selected by the state ; and
he furthermore pledged, that the board of curators would

♦University ^Records. tlil.

1780.] KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY. 59

cany out, in the agricultural department, the spirit and
intent of the act of Congress encouraging the education of
the industrial classes.

A bill to this efl'ect was accordingly drawn up, and, after
long and animated discussion in the General Assembly, it
was passed by a large majority, and Kentucky University
was removed from Harrodsburg, the grounds and buildings
and endowment of Transylvania were transferred, and the
State Agricultural College was made a part of the univer-
sity, with an aggregate capital of more than one-half
million of dollars. As a condition of this removal, the cura-
tors of Kentucky University bound themselves to refund
to citizens of Mercer county $30,000 which they had con-
tributed to the institution, and also furnish |100,000 more,
to be invested in an experimental farm and buildings.
Mr. Bowman set to work at once to secure the amounts
needed, and the following gentlemen, in a printed address,*
strongly urged the people of Lexington to assist him, viz :
M. C. Johnson, John Carty, Benj. Gratz, J. G. Chinn,
John B. Tilford, J. G. Allen, H. T. Duncan, Jr., John B.
Payne, Jr. In three months the money was obtained by
subscription, principally from the citizens of Lexington
and vicinity, of all creeds and denominations.

The first session of Kentucky University, at Lexington,
commenced on Monday, October 2, 1865,* with formal and
appropriate exercises, in the chapel of Morrison College.
Four other departments, in addition to the College of Arts,
had, in the meanwhile been createJ, and went at once into
active operation. At its opening in Lexington, therefore,
the university consisted of the College of Arts, the Law
College, the Agricultural and Mechanical College, the
Bible College, and the Academy.

The college of arts, up to the present time, has had
four presidents, viz : E. Milligan, 1859; R. Graham, 1865;
J. Aug. Williams, 1868; Henry H. White, 1870. The old
Morrison College building is used by the college of arts.
Henry H. White, Professor of Mathematics, and John H.

*0b3erver and Reporter. tid.

60 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1780.

J^eville, Professor of Greek Language and Literature,
have long reflected credit upon this ably conducted col-
lege of the university. Dr. Peter, so long associated
with Transylvania, is the distinguished Professor of Chem-
istry in this college.

The organization of the Agricultural and Mechanical
College VFas the work, to a very great extent, of its thor-
oughly accomplished first president, John Augustus Will-
iams, now the head of Daughter's College, at Harrodsburg,
and noted as having few equals in the "West as an educator.
His successors were J. D. Pickett, 1867; Henry H. White,
1868, and J. K. Patterson, 1870. This department enjoyed
for some time the services of Professor A. Winchell, now
the well-known geologist of Michigan University. The seat
of the Agricultural and Mechanical College was purchased
in 1866, and cost one hundred and thirty thousand dollars.
It consists of " Ashland," the homestead of Henry Clay,
and the adjoining estate of " Woodlands," which extends
within the limits of the city of Lexington. The entire
tract contains four hundred and thirty-three acres of land,
unsurpassed for beauty and fertility. Four brick build-
ings, for the use of officers and students, were erected at
" Woodlands," during the, year 1867. The large and hand-
some edifice, used by the mechanical department, at "Ash-
land," was built in 1868.

The Law College is the full equal of its famous Transyl-
vania predecessor. Madison C. Johnson was elected its
president in 1868, and still occupies that position. Major
Johnson is a graduate of the Transylvania Law College, and
was one of its professors in 1850. His strong mind and
laborious application have placed him in the front rank at
the Kentucky bar.

Of Judge W. C. Goodloe, professor in 1865, see chapter
on year 1863.

Judge R. A. Buckner, also a professor in 1865, is a na-
tive of Green county, Kentucky. He was circuit judge
by appointment of Governor Letcher; speaker of the Ken-
tucky House of Representatives in 1859, and is at present

1780.] KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY. 61

engaged as one of the commissioners appointed by Governor
Leslie and the Supreme Court to revise the Kentucky Code
of Practice. Judge Buckner's legal attainments are of the
first order.

General John B. Huston, who succeeded Judge Buekner
as professor, in 1865, and who still retains the position, is
a native of Nelson county, Kentucky, and a graduate of
Center College. He represented Clark county in the legis-
lature, and was speaker of the house. He removed to
Lexington in 1863. General Huston is greatly gifted, both
as a lawyer and a speaker.

James 0. Harrison, elected professor in 1870, was born
in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, in 1804, and, after graduating
at the Transylvania Law College, settled in Lexington, in
1824. Though he has, at difl'erent times, been tendered
high official appointments by the general government, Mr.
Harrison has confined himself strictly to his professional
duties. He is distinguished for his integrity, literary cul-
ture, and superior legal attainments.

The Bible College has had but one president, viz : Robert
Milligan, from its organization, in 1865, to the present
time.

The academy had three principals during its existence,
viz: A. E. Milligan, 1866; G. W. Ranck, 1867; D.
G. Herron, 1869. This department was discontinued in
1870.

The principals of the commercial department, since its
organization in 1867, are named in the order of their suc-
cession, viz : J. P. Marquam, W. H. Marquam, A. HoUings-
worth, H. P. Perrin.

The societies of the university, viz : the Periclean, Cecro-
pian, Union Literary, Christomathean, and Pliilothean, have
reflected no little honor upon the institution, and are rapidly
attaining literary efficiency and celebrity.

In 1870, Congress appropriated twenty-five thousand dol-
lars to the university, to compensate for the destruction,
by fire, of the Transylvania Medical College building,
while in the possession of Federal troops, during the late
war.

62 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1780.

The present executive committee of the university is
composed of J. B. Bowman, Benjamin Gratz, Joseph
Wasson, Joseph Smith, and Joseph S. Woolfolk. The
oldest member of the committee, Mr. Gratz, was born in
Philadelphia, September 4, 1792, and settled in Lexington
in 1819. He became a trustee of Transylvania in the dis-
tinguished Dr. Holley's time, and has been connected with
that institution and its successor, Kentucky University, for
nearly half a century, and has always been known as one
of the firmest and most influential friends of education
and public improvement in Lexington.

James B. Beck, the present distinguished congressional
representative from the "Ashland district," is a member
of the board of curators of the university. Mr. Beck is a
native of Dumfriesshire, Scotland, but came to the United
States at the age of sixteen, and settled in Lexington,
where he graduated at the Transylvania Law College. He
was elected to Congress in 1867, and has been returned
at every succeeding election. Mr. Beck overcame many
very discouraging obstacles in early life, and is a self-
made man of the best type. His mind is of extraordinary
strength and clearness, and is only matched by his energy
and industry.

The various libraries of Kentucky University comprise
about ten thousand volumes, and the anatomical museum,
the museum of natural philosophy, and the collections of
chemical, astronomical, and philosophical apparatus are
large and valuable. In June, of the present year, ap-
peared the first number of "The Collegian," a monthly,
established and ably supported by the literary societies
of the university. The endowment and real estate of
the institution now amount to eight hundred thousand
dollars; and as many as seven hundred and seventy-two
matriculates have attended its various colleges in one
session.

The States of Virginia and Kentucky, the city of Lex-
ington, individual members of all parties and sects, and
the United States Government, have all contributed, at
various times, to this consolidated fund and this great

irso.] KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY. 63

success; and if the institution is governed and directed as
it should be, in accordance with these facts; if its econ-
omy is liberal and generous, and free from sectarian
bigotry and shortsightedness, it will continue to grow, and
will become the full equal of any institution of learning in
this country.

64 HISTORY OF LEXINOTON. ["81

CHAPTER VIII.

First Trustees of Lexington— Adventures of MoConnell, Bry-
ant, and Began — County Government— List of Clerks and
Sheriffs— Charles Car r— Court-. Ho uses— Toivn of Lexing-
ton Laid off— First Lot Owners.

The blow given by Clarke to tbe Miami Indians pre-
vented any formidable invasion during this year (1781), but
it could not keep out small bands of the enemy, who con-
stantly hung upon the outskirts of the settlements, and
captured or killed many of the pioneers. But, despite
their savage enemies and all other drawbacks, the inhab-
itants of Lexington station persisted in the up-building of
their village. The terrible winter gave place to a delight-
ful spring ; game for the settlers and food for the live stock
were abundant, and energy came with renewed hope. Early
in the spring more land was cleared ; planting was com-
menced as soon as possible ; a road (Main street) was cut,
cleared, and extended some distance from the gate of the
fort, and the settlers assembled and elected their first board
of trustees, composed of Robert Patterson, Levi Todd,
Henry McDonald, David Mitchell, and Michael "Warnock.*
The trustees held their first meeting, March 26, in one of
the log cabins of the fort, and, with an eye to the growth
and prosperity of Lexington, acted with a most commend-
able spirit of enterprise and liberality. By this time, the
first court of Fayette county had been formed, and one of
the first resolutions of the trustees was, "To inform the
court of Fayette county that, if they should deem Lexing-
ton a proper place for holding courts in the future, the sum
of £30 in gold or silver, or the value thereof in continental

*City Eecords.

1T81.] ADVENTURE OF MeCONNELL. 65

currency, will be granted by the trustees for public build-
ings."* At this meeting it was also, " Ordered that the town
land be laid off in lots, the in-lots to contain one-third part
of an acre each ; and that they be granted to each free
male person above the age of twenty-one years, and each
widow ; every young man who can make it appear he acts
in his own behalf, and not under the immediate control
and jurisdiction of some other person, who, at the time of
layingthem ofl and distributing them, appears to be an actual
resident within the place, subject to such conditions and
penalties as shall be hereafter required ; that a number of
lots, not less than thirty, be reserved for public uses, and
such other purposes as may hereafter berequisite."t Proper
persons were selected for the work of laying off the town,
but the plan was not adopted for nine months after this
meeting. Whether the Indians were the cause of the
delay or not, we can not speak positively ; but that they
continually harassed the settlers ot all the stations in Fay-
ette county during the entire spring and summer, we
know.

One charming day in April, Alexander McConnell took
his rifle and went out from the fort to hunt deer, in the
woods near where Mr. Frank McCallie now lives, on the
Versailles turnpike. He soon killed a large buck, and re-
turned to the station for a horse, in order to bring it in.
During his absence, a party of five Indians, on one of their
usual skulking expeditions, accidently stumbled on the
body of the deer, and perceiving it had been recently
killed, they naturally supposed that the hunter would speed-
ily return to secure it. Three of them, therefore, took
their station within close rifle shot of the deer, while the
other two followed the trail of the hunter, and waylaid the
path by which he was expected to return. McConnell, sus-
pecting no danger, rode carelessly along the path which
the two scouts were watching, until he had come within
view of the deer, when he was fired upon by the whole
party, and his horse killed. While laboring to extricate

*City Kecords. fib.

66 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1781.

liimself from the dying animal, he was seized by his ene-
mies, instantly overpowered, and borne ofl" a prisoner. His
captors, however, seemed to be a merry, good-natured set
of fellows, and permitted him to accompany them unbound;
and, what was rather extraordinary, allowed him to retain
his gun and hunting accoutrements. He accompanied
them with great apparent cheerfulness through the day,
and displayed his dexterity in shooting deer for the use of
the company, until they began to regard "him with great
partiality. Having traveled with them in this manner for
several days, they at length reached the banks of the Ohio
river. Heretofore, the Indians had taken the precaution
to bind him at night, although not very securely ; but on
that evening he renioustrated with them on the subject,
and complained so strongly of the pain which the cords
gave him, that they merely wrapped the buflalo tug loosely
around his wrists, and having tied it in an easy knot, and
attached the extremities of the rope to their own bodies, in
order to prevent his moving without awakening them, they
very composedly went to sleep, leaving the prisoner to follow
their example or not, as he pleased.

McConnell determined to efl'ect his escape that night, if
possible, as on the following night they would cross the
river, which would render it much more difficult. He
therefore lay quietly until near midnight, anxiously rumi-
nating upon the best means of effecting his object. Acci-
dentally casting his eyes in the direction of his feet, they
fell upon the glittering blade of a knife, which had escaped
its sheath, and was now lying near the feet of one of the
Indians. To reach it with his hands, without disturbing
the two Indians to whom he was fastened, was impossible,
and it was very hazardous to attempt to draw it up with
his feet. This, however, he attempted. With much diffi-
culty he grasped the blade between his toes, and, after re-
peated and long-continued efforts, succeeded at length in
bringing it within reach of his hands.

To cut his cords was then but the work of a moment,
and gradually and silently extricating his person from the
arms of the Indians, he walked to the fire and sat down.

1T81.] ADVENTURE OF McCONNELL. 67

He saw that his work was but half done. That if he should
attempt to return home, without destroj'ing his enemies,
he would be pursued and probably overtaken, when his fate
would be certain. On the other hand, it seemed almost im-
possible for a single man to succeed in a conflict with five
Indians, even although unarmed and asleep. He could not
hope to deal a blow with his knife so silently and fatally,
as to destroy each one of his enemies in turn, without
awakening the rest. Their slumbers were proverbially
light and restless; and if he failed with a single one, he
must instantly be overpowered by the survivers. The knife,
therefore, was out of the question.

After anxious reflection for a few minutes, he formed his
plan. The guns of the Indians were stacked near the fire;
their knives and tomahawks were in sheaths by their sides.
The latter he dared not touch for fear of awakening their
owners ; but the former he carefully removed, with the ex-
ception of two, and hid them iii the woods, where he knew
the Indians would not readly find them. He then returned
to the spot where the Indians were still sleeping, perfectly
ignorant of the fate preparing for them, and taking a gun
in each hand, he rested the muzzles upon a log within six
feet of his victims, and having taken deliberate aim at the
head of one and the heart of another, he pulled both trig-
gers at the same moment.

Both shots were fatal. At the report of their guns, the
others sprung to their feet, and stared wildly around them.
McConnell, who had run instantly to the spot where the
other rifles were hid, hastily seized one of them and fired
at two of his enemies, who happened to stand in a line
with each other. The nearest fell dead, being shot through
the center of the body; the second fell also, bellowing
loudly, but quickly recovering, limped off into the woods
as fast as possible. The fifth, and only one who remained
unhurt, darted off like a deer, with a yell which announced
equal terror and astonishment. McConnell, not wishing to
fight any more such battles, selected his own rifle from the
stack, and made the best of his way to Lexington, where
he arrived safely within two days.

68 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1781-

Shortly afterward, Mrs. Eve Dunlap, who had been
several months a prisoner among the Indians on Mad
river, made her escape, and returned to her home at Lex-
ington station. She reported that the survivor returned to
his tribe with a lamentable tale. He relates that they had
taken a fine young hunter near Lexington, and had brought
him safely as far as the Ohio ; that while encamped upon
the bank of the river, a large party of white men had fallen
upon them in the night and killed all his companions, to-
gether with the poor defenseless prisoner, who lay bound
hand and foot, unable to either escape or resist.*

A large pignut tree, under which McConnell was cap-
tured by the Indians, was carefully preserved for a long
time by the father of Mr. Frank McCallie, who subsequently
owned the land upon which it grew.f

After the capture of McConnell, the Indians annoyed the
stations in Fayette county greatly. They lurked in the
canebrakes, waylaid the traces, stole horses, butchered
cattle, and not unfrequently killed and scalped indiscreet
settlers. Finally, the Indians became so Ijold and haras-
sing, that it became necessary for hunters to go out in bands
so as to be able to repel attacks.

One afternoon, about the 20th of May, "William Bryant,
at the head of twenty men, left Bryant's station on a hunt-
ing expedition. T^hej moved with caution, until they had
passed all the points where ambuscades had generally been
formed, when, seeing no enemy, they became more bold,
and determined, in order to sweep a large extent of country,
to divide their company into two parties. One of them,
conducted by Bryant in person, was to descend the Elk-
horn on its southern bank, flanking out largely, and occupy
as much ground as possible. The other, under the orders
of James Hogan, a young farmer in good circumstances,
was to move down in a parallel line upon the north bank.
The two parties were to meet at night, and encamp together
at the mouth of Cane run.

Each punctually performed the first part of their plans.

*McClung'b Slceti-'lies, t^'cUallie, F.

1V81.] ADVENTURE OF BRYANT AND HOQAN. 69

Hogan, however, had traveled but a few hundred yards,
when he heard a loud voice behind him exclaim in very
good English, "stop, boys!" Hastily looking back, they
saw several Indians on foot, pursuing them as rapidly as
possible. Without halting to count numbers, the party put
spurs to their horses, and dashed through the woods at full
speed, the Indians keeping close behind them, and at times
gaining upon them. There was a led horse in company,
which had been brought with them for the purpose of
packing game. This was instantly abandoned, and fell
into the hands of the Indians. Several of them lost their
hats in the eagerness of flight ; but quickl}' getting into
the open woods, they left their pursuers so far behind that
they had leisure to breathe and inquire of each other,
whether it was worth while to kill their horses before
they had ascertained the number of the enemy.

They quickly determined to cross the creek, and await
the approach of the Indians. If they found them superior
to their own and Bryant's party united, they would imme-
diately return to the fort ; as, by continuing their march to
the mouth of Cane run, they would bring a superior enemy
upon their friends, and endanger the lives of the whole
party. They accordingly crossed the creek, dismounted,
and awaited the approach of the enemy. By this time it
had become dark. The Indians were distinctly heard ap-
proaching the creek upon the opposite side, and after a
short halt, a solitary warrior descended the bank and began
to wade through the stream.

Hogan waited until they had emerged from the gloom
of the trees which grew upon the bank, and as soon as he
had reached the middle of the stream, where the light was
more distinct, he took deliberate aim and fired. A great
splashing in the water was heard, but presently all became
quiet. The pursuit was discontinued, and the party, re-
mounting their horses, returned home. Anxious, however,
to apprise Bryant's party of their danger, they left the fort
before daylight on the ensuing morning, and rode rapidly
down the creek, in the direction of the mouth of Cane run.
When within a few hundred yards of the spot where they

70 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1781.

supposed the encampment to be, they heard the report of
many guns in quick succession. Supposing that Bryant
had fallen in with a herd of buffalo, they quickened their
march in order to take part in the sport.

The morning was foggy, and the smoke of the guns lay
so heavily upon the ground that they could see nothing
until they had approached within twenty yards of the
creek, when they suddenly found themselves within pistol
shot of a party of Indians, very composedly seated upon
their packs, and preparing their pipes. Both parties were
much startled, but quickly recovering, they sheltered them-
selves as usual, and the action opened with great vivacity.
The Indians maintained their ground for half an hour with
some firmness, but being hard pressed in front, and turned
in flank, they at length gave way, and being closely pur-
sued, were ultimately routed with considerable loss, which,
however could not be distinctly ascertained. Of Hogan's
party, one man was killed on the spot, and three others
wounded, but none mortally.

It happened that Bryant's company had encamped at the
mouth of Cane, as had been agreed upon, and were unable
to account for Hogan's absence. That, about daylight they
had heard a bell at a distance, which they immediately rec-
ognized as the one belonging to the led horse which had
accompanied Hogan's party, and which, as we have. seen,
had been abandoned to the enemy the evening before. Sup-
posing their friends to be bewildered in the fog, and unable
to iind their camp, Bryant accompanied by Grant, ohe of
his men, mounted a horse and rode to the spot where the
bell was still ringing. They quickly fell into an ambus-
cade and were fired upon. Bryant was mortally, and Grant
severely wounded ; the first being shot through the hip and
both knees, the latter through the back. Both being able
to keep the saddle however, they set spurs to their horses
and arrived at the station shortly after breakfast. The In-
dians, in the meantime, had falleti upon the encampment
and instantly dispersed it, and, while preparing to regale
themselves after their victory, were suddenly attacked, as
we have seen, by Hogan. The timidity of Hogan's party

1T81.] CLERKS AND SHERIFFS. 71

at the first appearance of the Indians, was the cause of
Bryant's death. The same men who fled so hastily in the
evening were able the next morning, by a little firmness,
to vanquish the same party of Indians. . Had they stood
at first, an equal success would probably have attended them,
and the life of their leader would have been preserved.*

During the summer, and in the midst of trials and blood-
shed the organization of the government of Fayette county
was completed. Governor Jefferson, of Virginia, appointed
John Todd colonel, Daniel Boone lieutenant-colonel, and
Thomas Marshall surveyor of the county.f John Max-
well was made coroner.^ Levi Todd was chosen as clerk of
the county court, and held the office for twenty-five years
after.|| The successors of Todd were John D. Young, 1807;
James C. Rhodes, 1817 ; James A. Qrinstead, 1845 ; Sanders
D. Bruce, 1849 ; Joseph R. Gross, 1862 ; Ernest Brenuan,
1863; Allie G. Hunt, 1866.

The justices of the county court were successively sher-
iffs of the county until the law was changed in 1792. § The
first sheriff under the succession rule was Charles Carr.
Mr. Carr was a native of Virginia, and emigrated to this
state when he was but ten years of age. He was a private
soldier in the American army, under General Anthony
Wayne, in 1794, and took an active part in his celebrated
campaign against the Indians.

In the war of 1812 he served as captain, and was at one
time a prisoner. Subsequently he was a member of the
state legislature. He died in Fayette county, at an ad-
vanced age. His successors as sheriffs were Thomas Clarke,
J. C. Richardson, Leonard Young, A. Young, James Wood,
W. R. Morton, Edward Payne, John Bradford, G. W.
Morton, Waller Bullock, A. Thomson, Oliver Keene, T. S.
Redd, R. S. Todd, T. A. Russell, M. Flournoy, J. R. Sloan,
Moses Ellis, J. B. O'Bannon, Waller Rhodes, Abraham
Dudley, Joseph Gross, C. S. Bodley, Thomas Nichols, W.
W. Dowden, R. S. Bullock.

*McClung's Sketches. tMarshall, 140. JKy. Gazette.

llCounty records. ^Marshall.

72 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [I'^Sl.

The proposition of the trustees of Lexington to the
county court was accepted, and in December, 1781, "the
trustees agreed to pay the commissioners appointed by the
court a sum sufficient to build a court-house, prison, and
office to answer the present necessity, and grant one square
for that purpose."*

But the "present necessity" was such that the court
could not wait until buildings were erected, and its sessions
for some time were held in one of the cabins within the
station. The next house used was a log one, erected about
two years after this, on the corner of Main and Broadway,
now known as " Yeiser's corner." It was still standing in
1796, and was used at that time by William McBean, as a
dry goods store.f A small stone court-house was erected
about the year 1788, on the square granted by the trustees,
and where the present one stands. Levi Todd, the first
county clerk, had his office separate from this building, and
used a little 12 by 15 one which stood on what is now called
the WicklifFe farm, on the Richmond turnpike. This was
destroyed by fire on the night of January 31, 1803, and
with it most of the records of the county.J The following
commissioners were appointed by the governor, " with full
powers and authority, to meet at some convenient place,
and adjourn from time to time, as they shall think fit, and
to summons, hear, and examine witnesses, at the instance
of any person who has been or may be injured by the de-
struction of the records of county courts," viz: Thomas
Lewis, Robert Todd, Henry Payne, Thomas Bodley, James
Trotter, John A. Seitz, Walker Baylor, John Bradford,
John Richardson. This calamity, and the rapid growth of
the city, now necessitated the erection of a larger building,
and in 1806 the present brick court-house was built. About
the year 1814 it was remodeled and the town clock was
put up, and now altogether constitutes the venerable disfig-
urement at present so unpleasantly prominent upon the
public square and so disgraceful to the county. The court-
house can boast of nothing but its associations. Its walls

*Oity records. tOld Gazette. ^Gazette.

1781.] FIRST LOT OWNERS. Y3

have echoed to the voices of Clay, Barry, Bledsoe, Crit-
tenden, the Wickliffes, Menifee, R. J. and John C. Breckin-
ridge, Thomas F. Marshall, and a host of other distinguished
men hoth living and dead.

On the 26th of December, 1781,* the trustees of Lexing-
ton station adopted a plan for the town, and the lots defined
in it were disposed of by them to the inhabitants, who " were
required to pay a proportionable part of the money neces-
sary to build the public houses and expenses arising toward
good order and regularity in the town."

The names of those who secured lots at that time are
recorded as follows in "the Trustees' Book:" James Master-
son, William McDonald, Henry McDonald, Samuel McMul-
lins, David Mitchell, Thornton Farrow, Nicholas Brobston,
James McBride, William Henderson, Samuel Martin, John
Torrence, William Martin, Sen., John Clark, William Nib-
lick, Francis McDonald, Francis MeConnell, Daniel Mc-
Clain, Robert Stanhope, John Wymore, Hugh Martin, Da-
vid Vance, William Mitchell, Timothy Payton, Elisha
Collins, John Morrison, Stephen Collins, Levi Todd, Eph-
raim January, Alexander McClain, Caleb Masterson, Sam-
uel Kelly, Joseph Turner, Samuel Kelly, John Wymore,
William MeConnell, John McDonald, Joseph Lindsey, Jane
Thompson, John Todd, James Lindsay, Alexander Me-
Connell, Hugh Thompson, James Morrow, Robert Thomp-
son, Hugh McDonald, James McGinty, John Martin, Sam-
uel Johnson, James January, James Wason, William
Haydon, Josiah Collins, Matthew Walker, James Me-
Connell, John M. McDonald, Michael Warnock, William
Martin, James McDonald, Alexander MeConnell, William
MeConnell, a clergyman, John Williams, Peter January,
Joseph Waller, John Niblick, Charles Seaman, Francis
McDermid.

*City Records.

74 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1782.

CHAPTER IX.

Trouble with the Indians— Incidents— The War Closed — Lex-
ington Incorporated — The Great Invasion — Siege of Bryant's
Station — Aaron Reynolds — Battle of the Blue Licks — Ben-
jamin Netherland — 2''he Terrible Defeat — Burial of the Lead
— Sorrow and Gloom — The Women of Lexington — James
Morgan — Clark's Expedition — John Filson — Thomas Mar-
shall.

The year 1782 was one of excitements, stirring events,
and mournful disasters to Lexington and Fayette county.
The outlook, so bright with hope to others, was gloomy
indeed to them. Far across the Atlantic, even from the
commencement of the year, the British House of Commons
had been ringing with eloquent demands for a termination
of the war against the American colonies; but here, on this
side of the great ocean, even while those cries for peace were
going up, the tribes of the great Ilforth west were gathering
their incensed and desperate warriors, to strike what they
hoped would be a final and crushing blow at the frontier
settlements. Ifumerous small scouting parties of Indians
were ordered to Kentucky, and soon the woods teemed
with savages, and no one was safe beyond the walls of a
station. Late in March, a hunter from the fort at Lexmar-
ton was killed by some Indians in ambuscade near the
present Lexington Cemetery,* and a few weeks after, an-
other settler was shot and dangerously wounded in a field
where the jail now stands, and his savage foe was running,
knife in hand, to scalp him, when he was himself shot by
a skillful marksman then on watch in the block-house, and

*Traditiou.

1782.] LEXINGTON INCORPORATED. 75

fell dead upon the body of his wounded enemy.* It is
strongly intimated by one historianf that the marksman
who made this famous shot was the celebrated Daniel
Boone himself. Certainly, the "picking off" of an Indian
at such a distance, while he was kneeling above the fallen
settler, and a shot so directed as to kill the one without
injury to the other, was a feat not unworthy the grand old
pioneer. In May, a courier brought the news to Lexington
of Estell's defeat, a calamity which made a profound sen-
sation in every settlement, and the more because the bold
and masterly movement of the Indians which decided the
fate of the day, indicated an advance in military science,
which presaged no good to the settlers. Lexington and
Bryant's stations were now the most exposed points in
Kentucky, and as Estell's defeat confirmed the general im-
pression that another Indian invasion was imminent, the
settlers were weighed down with anticipations of evil.

At this gloomy juncture, the second board of trustees of
Lexington received a copy of the law passed by the Vir-
ginia Assembly, at Richmond, on the 6th of May, incorpo-
rating Lexington. J The law was entitled, "An act to
establish a town at the court-house, in the county of Fay-
ette," and was worded as follows, viz:

" Whereas, It is represented to this assembly that six
hundred and forty acres of unappropriated laud in the
county of Fayette, whereon the court-house of said county
stands, has been by the settlers thereon laid out into lots
and streets for a town; and that the said settlers have pur-
chased seventy acres of land lying contagious to the said
six hundred and forty acres, being part of a survey made
for John Floyd ; and whereas, it would tend greatly to the
improvement and settling of the same if the titles of settlers
on the lots were confirmed, and a town established thereon:

Be it therefore enacted. That the said sevea hundred and
acres of land be and the same is hereby vested in fee simple
in John Todd, Robert Patterson, William Mitchell, Audrew
Steele, William Henderson, William MeConnell, and Will-

•Boone's Narrative. tBogart, 226. ^Trustees' Book.

76 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [l'i'82.

iam Steele, gentlemen trustees, and established by the name
of Lexington.

And be it further enacted, That the said trustees, or any
four of them, shall, and they are hereby empowered and
required to make conveyance to those persons who have
already settled on the said lots, as also to the purchasers of
lots heretofore sold, agreeable to the condition of the con-
tracts, and may also proceed to lay off" such other parts of
the said land as is not yet laid off and settled into lots and
streets ; and such lots shall be by the trustees sold or other-
wise disposed of for the benefit of the inhabitants of the
said town, and convey the same in fee simple agreeable to
the condition of the contract : Provided, always, that the
lots in the said town which have been laid off' and set apart
for erecting thereon the public buildings of the said county
shall be and remain to and for that use and purpose, and
no other whatever.

And be it further enacted. That the said trustees, or the
major part of them, shall have power from time to time to
settle and determine all disputes concerning the bounds
of the said lots, and to settle such rules and orders for the
regular building of houses thereon as to them shall seem
best and most convenient. And in case of the death, re-
moval out of the county, or other legal disability of any of
the said trustees, it shall and may be lawful for the remain-
ing trustees to elect and choose so many other persons in
place of those deceased, removed, or disabled, as shall make
up the number; which trustees so chosen shall be, to all
intents and purposes, individually vested with the same
power and authority as any one in this act particularly
mentioned.

And be it further enacted, That the settlers, as well as pur-
chasers of lots, in the said town, so soon as they shall have
saved the same according to the conditions of their respect-
ive deeds of conveyance, shall be entitled to have and enjoy
all the rights, privileges, and immunities which the free-
holders and inhabitants of other towns in this state not
incorporated by charter or act of assembly have and enjoy.

1T82.] THE GREAT INVASION. 77

And be it further enacted, That the said trustees shall cause
the survey and plat of the said town to be recorded in the
court of the said county of Fayette, leaving to all persons
all such right, title, and interest which they, or any of them,
could or might have to the lands, or any part thereof, hereby
vested in the said trustees as if this act had never been
made."

The Indian invasion, so dreaded by the infant settlements,
was now near at hand. Most of the summer following
Estell's defeat had been spent by the savages in perfecting
a plan by which they hoped to regain for themselves the
possession of their lost hunting grounds in the West.

Early in August, detachments of Indian warriors from
the Cherokee, Wyandot, Tawa, and Pottowatomie nations,
as well as from several other tribes bordering on the lakes,
assembled in grand council at Chillicothe, where they were
met by Simon Girty, James Girty, and M'Kee, three rene-
gade white men, who urged them to proceed at once to
the step tbey so much desired to take.

The advice of the white savages was quickly acceded to,
the council ended with a war whoop, and the Indians, with
a few Canadian allies, took up the line of march for Ken-
tucky, with the understanding that Bryant's station should
be taken first, and then Lexington station, after which
they were to act as circumstances should direct. The force
in this noted expedition has been variously estimated from
six hundred to one thousand.

Of the two stations marked out for destruction, Lexington
was the strongest. Its garrison consisted of about sixty
effective men,* and it enjoyed the very superior advantage
of an abundant and never-failing supply of water inside its
walls. Bryant's station stood on a gentle rise on the south-
ern bank of the Elkhorn, a few paces to the right of the
road from Maysyilie to Lexington, and consisted at this
time of about forty cabins, was built in the usual parallelo-
gram shape, was about two hundred yards long by fifty wide,
strengthened with block -houses at the angles, and where the

"Bradford's Notes.

78 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1782

cabins did not join, the vacancies were filled with strong
pickets. The garrison consisted of forty-four men. Unfor-
tunately, there was no supply of water within the fort, and
the only dependence was a spring on its northwestern side.
The station was situated on a tract of land admired by all
the settlers for its natural beauty, and it doubtless merited
the glowing praise of the poet*, who speaks of

" A picketed station on fair Blkhorn,
Surrounded by groves of the milk-white thorn,
And paw-paw, with long and silvery stem,
And dogwood of beautiful diadem ;
Green meadows with antlered deer yet dotted,
And lawns with flowers the loveliest spotted."

The savage array entered Kentucky, and penetrated with
celerity and great secrecy into the very heart of the district.
A party was at once sent out to demonstrate against Mc-
Gee's and Strodes' stations, with the object of drawing
away from their posts the garrisons of Bryant and Lexing-
ton stations. On the morning of the 14th of August, this
party defeated Captain Holder, and the stratagem of the
wily red men barely escaped being crowned with complete
success, as subsequent events will show. The main body
of the Indians moved carefully forward, and on the night
of the 14th gathered as silent as the shadows around Bry-
ant's stationf. The great body of Indians placed them-
selves in ambush in some high weeds, within pistol shot of
the spring, while one hundred select men were placed near
the spot where the road now runs after passing the creek.
Providentially for the garrison, a messenger had arrived just
before night with the intelligence of Holder's defeat, and
they set to work immediately to prepare for an early march
in the morning to the general rendezvous at Hoy's station.
The Indians seeing the lights glancing from block-houses
and cabins, and hearing the bustle of preparation, believed
that their approach had been discovered, though the settlers
were utterly unconscious of their presence. Under the im-
pression that their stratagem to decoy the garrison from the

*W. D. Gallagher. fMcOlung's Sketches.

1782.] SIEGE OF BRTANT'S STATION. 79

fort bad failed, the band of a hundred men was ordered to
open a brisk fire early in the morning, and show themselves
to the garrison on that side of the station, for the purpose
of drawing them out, while the main body held themselves
in readiness to rush upon the opposite gate of the fort, hew
it down with their tomahawks, and force their way into the
midst of the cabins. Day stole through the forest, the set-
tlers rose from their brief slumbers, took their arms, and
were on the point of opening the gates to march, under the
command of Captain Elijah Craig, to the assistance of their
friends, when the crack of rifles, mingled with yells and
howls, told them in an instant how narrowly they had es-
caped captivity or death. The former practice of this fort
was known, and the Indians expected every man to run to
the spot where the firing commenced, which would leave it
undefended on the side where the main body lay ; but the
number of guns discharged, and the near approach of the
party, convinced the people of the fort that it was a plan to
draw the men out ; and, instead of falling into this trap, the
opposite side of the fort was instantly manned, and several
breaches in the picketing at once repaired.* Their greatest
distress rose from the prospect of sufi:ering for water.

The more experienced of the garrison felt satisfied that
a powerful party was in ambuscade near the spring, but at
the same time they supposed that the Indians would not
unmask themselves until the firing upon the opposite side
of the fort was returned with such warmth as to induce the
belief that the feint had succeeded.

Acting upon this impression, and yielding to the urgent
necessity of the case, they summoned all the women, with-
out exception, and explaining to them the circumstances
in which they were placed, and the improbabihty that any
injury would be oflered them until the firing had been re-
turned from the opposite side of the fort, they urged them
to go in a body to the spring, and each to bring up a bucket-
ful of water. Some of the ladies, as was natural, had no
relish for the undertaking, and asked why the men could

•Bradford's Notes.

80 EISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1782

not bring water as well as themselves, observing that they
were not bullet-proof, and that the Indians made no dis-
tinction between male and female scalps!

To this it was answered that women were in the ha.bit of
bringing water every morning to the fort, and that if the
Indians saw them engaged as usual, it would induce them
to believe that their ambuscade was undiscovered, and that
they would not unmask themselves for the sake of firing
at a few women, when they hoped, by remaining concealed
a few moments longer, to obtain complete possession of the
fort ; that if men should go down to the spring, the Indians
would immediately suspect that; something was wrong, would
despair of succeeding by ambuscade, and would instantly
rush upon them, follow them into the fort, or shoot them
down at the spring. The decision was soon made.

A few of the boldest declared their readiness to brave
the danger, and the younger and more timid rallying in the
rear of these veterans, they all marched down in a body to
the spring, within point-blank shot of more than five hun-
dred Indian warriors ! Some of the girls could not help
betraying symptoms of terror, but the married women, in
general, moved with a steadiness and composure which
completely deceived the Indians. I^ot a shot was fired. The
party were permitted to fill their buckets, one after another,
without interruption, and although their steps became
quicker and quicker on their return, and when near the gate
of the fort degenerated into a rather unmilitary celerity, at-
tended with some little crowding in passing the gate, yet
not more than one-fifth of the water was spilled, and the
eyes of the youngest had not dilated to more than double
their ordinary size.*

Being now amply supplied with water, they sent out thir-
teen young men to attack the decoy party, with orders to
fire with great rapidity, and make as much noise as possible,
but not to pursue the enemy too far, while the rest of the
garrison took post on the opposite side of the fort, cocked
their guns, and stood in readiness to receive the ambuscade

*McClung and Bradford.

1782.] SIEOE OF BRVANT'S STATION. 81

as soon as it was unmasked. The firing of the light par-
ties on the Lexington road was soon heard, and quickly
became sharp and serious, gradually becoming more distant
from the fort. Instantly, Girty sprung up at the head of
his five hundred warriors, and rushed rapidly upon the west-
ern gate, ready to force his way over the undefended pali-
sades. A small body of the most daring reached the fort,
and set fire to a few houses and stables, which were con-
sumed; but the rest of the fort and the lives of the people
were saved by an easterly wind, which drove the flames from
the houses. Into the immense mass of dusky bodies the
garrison poured several rapid volleys of rifle balls with de-
structive effect. Their consternation may be imagined.
"With wild cries they dispersed on the right and left, and in
two minutes not an Indian was to be seen. At the same
time, the party who had sallied out on the Lexington road,
came running into the fort at the opposite gate, in high
spirits, and laughing heartily at the success of their ma-
neuver.

A regular attack, in the usual manner, then commenced,
without much eflfect on either side, until two o'clock in the
afternoon, when a new scene presented itself. Upon the
first appearance of the Indians in the morning, two of the
garrison, Tomlinson and Bell, had been mounted upon fleet
horses, and sent at full speed to Lexington, announcing the
arrival of the Indians, and demanding reinforcements.

Upon their arrival, a little after sunrise, they found the
station occupied only by some women and children and a
few old men, the rest having marched to the assistance of
Holder. The two couriers instantly followed at a gallop,
and, overtaking them on the road, informed them of the
danger to which Bryant's station and Lexington were ex-
posed during their absence. The whole party, with some
volunteers from Boone's station, instantly countermarched,
and repaired, with all possible dispatch, to Bryant's station.
They were entirely ignorant of the overwhelming numbers
opposed to them, or they would have proceeded with more
caution. The couriers had only informed them that the sta-
tion was surrounded, being themselves ignorant of the numr

82 BISTORY OF LEXINGTON. ["82.

bers of the enemy. At about two p. m. the men from Lexing-
ton and Boone's station arrived in sight of the fort, at the mO'
mentthe firing had ceased, and no indications of danger ap-
peared. The reinforcement believed it had been the victim of
a false alarm, and the sixteen mounted men approached the
fort the usual route along a narrow lane, which was lined for
more than one hundred yards by the enemy on both sides, who
commenced a fire unperceived at a few feet distance. It is
believed the great dust which was raised by the horses' feet
in a considerable degree protected the party; they got safely
into the fort without the slightest wound on man or horse.*
The men on foot were less fortunate. They were advancing
through a corn-field, to the left of what is now the Mays-
ville and Lexington road, and might have reached the fort
in safety but for their eagerness to succor their friends.
"Without reflecting that, from the weight and extent of the
fire, the enemy must have been ten times their number,
they ran up, with inconsiderate courage, to the spot where
the firing was heard, and there found themselves cut off
from the fort, and within pistol shot of more than three
hundred savages.

Fortunately the Indian guns had just been discharged,
and they had not yet had leisure to reload. At the sight
of this brave body of footmen, however, they raised a
hideous yell, and rushed upon the Lexington infantry,
tomahawk in hand. Nothing but the high corn and
their loaded rifles could have saved them from destruction.
The Indians were cautious in rushing upon a loaded rifle,
with only a tomahawk, and when they halted to load their
pieces, the Kentuckians ran with great rapidity, turning
and dodging through the corn in every direction. Some
entered the wood and escaped through the thickets of cane,
some were shot down in the corn-field, others maintained a
running fight, halting occasionally behind trees and keep-
ing the enemy at bay with their rifles; for, of all men, the
Indians are generally the most cautious in exposing them-
selves to danger.f A stout, active young fellow was so hard

•Bradford's Notes. fid.

1782.] SIEGE OF BRFANTS STATION. 83

pressed by Girty and several savages, that he was compelled
to discharge his rifle (however unwilling, having no time
to reload it), and Girty fell.

It happened, however, that a piece of thick aole-leather
was in his shot-pouch at the time, which received the ball,
and preserved his life, although the force of the blow felled
him to the ground. The savages halted upon his fall, and
the young man escaped. Although the skirmish and the
race lasted for more than an hour, during which the corn-
field presented a scene of turmoil and bustle which can
scarcely be conceived, yet very few lives were lost. Only
six of the white men from Lexington were killed and
wounded, and probably still fewer of the enemy, as the
whites never fired until absolutely necessary, but reserved
their loads as a check upon the enemy. Had the Indians
pursued them to Lexington, they might have possessed
themselves of it without resistance, as there was no force
there to oppose them ; but after following the fugitives for
a few hundred yards, they returned to the hopeless siege of
the fort.

It was now near sunset, and the cattle and stock, while
attempting to return, as usual, to the fort, were mostly
killed; the few sheep were totally destroyed.

By this time the fire on both sides had slackened. The
Indians had become discouraged. Their loss in the morn-
ing had been heavy, and the country was evidently arming,
and would soon be upon them. They had made no ini-
pression upon the fort, and without artillery could hope to
make none. The chiefs spoke of raising the siege, but
Girty determined, since his arms had been unavailing, to
try the efficacy of negotiation. He approached, under cover
of a thick growth of hemp, to a large stump of a tree,
which stood not far from the spot where the dwelling-house
of Mr. Rogers was afterward erected, and hailed the fort,
demanding a surrender, stating that the forces were com-
manded by him, and inquired if he was known to the peo-
ple of the fort. He declared that the prisoners should be
protected if they would surrender, which was out of his
power if the place was taken by storm, as it would be that

84 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.

night, on the arrival of his cannon and strong, reinforce-
ments, which were hourly expected.* This language from
airty, and the recollections by the people in the fort, that
cannon were employed in the reduction of Euddle's and
Martin's stations, was calculated to create considerable
alarm. But one of the garrison, a young man by the name
of Aaron Eeynolds, remarkable both for wit and courage,
and afterward distinguished for a noble act at the battle of
the Blue Licks, perceiving the effect of Girty's speech, took
upon himself to reply to it. To Girty's inquiry, " whether,
the garrison knew him," Eeynolds replied "that he was
very well known ; that he himself had a worthless dog to
which he had given the name of ' Simon Girty,' in conse-
quence of his striking resemblance to the man of that
name ; that if he had either artillery or reinforcements, he
might bring them up and be d — d; that if either himself
or any of the naked rascals with him found their way into
the fort, they would disdain to use their guns against them,
but would drive them out again with switches, of which
they had collected a great number for that purpose alone ;
and, finally, he declared that they also expected reinforce-
ments ; that the whole country was marching to their as-
sistance; and that if Girty and his gang of murderers
remained twenty-four hours longer before the fort, their
scalps would be found drying in the sun upon the roofs of
their cabins."

Girty took great offense at the tone and language of the
young Kentuckian, and retired with an expression of sor-
row for the inevitable destruction which awaited them on
the following morning. He quickly rejoined the chiefs;
and instant preparations were made for raising the siege.
The night passed away in uninterrupted tranquillity, and
at daylight in the morning tlie Indian camp was found de-
serted. Fires were still burning brightly, and several pieces
of meat were left upon their roasting-sticks, from which it
was inferred that they had retreated a short time before
daylight, f

*Bradford'8 Notes. tMcClung.

1V82.] SIEGE OF BRYANT'S STATION. 85

And thus ended one of the most remarkable and cele-
brated sieges known in the history of Indian warfare, and
one crowded, brief as it was, with strange and thrilling
events. The firing in the morning was in time to prevent
the march of nearly all the men to a distant point, and the
enemy so far overrated their plan, that instead of drawing
the men out, every one prepared for a siege. Then there
was the providential circumstance of the wind springing up
from the east, and saving the place from the flames. Add
to this, the almost miraculous escape of the two couriers to
Lexington, the daring charge of the sixteen death-defying
heroes from Lexington through a cross-fire of hundreds of
Indians, and their entrance into the fort unhurt, and the
escape of their gallant comrades on foot, with a loss of only
six killed and wounded, when all of them seemed doomed
to utter destruction, and we have a chapter of truths stranger
far than many a page of highly-wrought fiction. Only two
persons, Mitchell and Atkinson, were killed in the fort.
One of the most heroic of the brave little garrison, Nicho-
las Tomlinson, was slightly wounded in the arm. He was
one of the most active defenders of his country, and was
employed in Harmer's expedition, in 1790, as a spy. At
the defeat of a detachment of the army under Colonel John
Hardin, on the Oglaze, the daring Tomlinson, being in ad-
vance, was literally shot to pieces by an ambuscade of more
than one thousand Indians.*

The loss of the Indians in the seige of Bryant's station
has never been accurately ascertained, but it is known to
have been very considerabl'i. The residence and improve-
ments of Mr. Charlton liogers now (1872) cover part of the
ground upon which the fort stood. The famous spring, from
which the heroic women of the garrison drew water, still
pours forth a grateful stream.

Swift couriers carried the news of the presence of the
Indian army to the various stations, and while the savages
were retreating, the hunters were rapidly gathering at Bry-
ant's station, to pursue them. Colonel Daniel Boone ac-

«13radford's Notes.

86 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1782.

companied by his youngest sun, Isaac, and Samuel, the
brave brother of the old pioneer, headed a strong party from
Boonesborough, Colonel Stephen Trigg brought up the
force from Harrodsburg, and Colonel John Todd com-
manded the Lexington garrison. Todd and Trigg, as senior
colonels, took command.*

Dispatches had been sent to Colonel Benj. Logan, in Lin-
coln county, during the seige, and he had hastily collected
about three hundred men, and started upon his march, but
before he was able to reach Bryant's station, the Indians
had raised the seige and gone. Colonel Logan followed as
fast as possible, in the hope of coming np with those who
marched from the neighborhood of Lexington before they
overtook the Indians, but met them not far from Bryant's
on their return. In the midst of trying scenes of tears
and sadness, the misgivings of the wife, and the forebod-
ings of the mother, the brave men made every preparation
for the march. On the morning of the 18th of August,
their force amounted to one hundred and eighty-two men,t
and though it was well-known that the numbers of the
enemy were overwhelmingly superior to this, the pursuit
was urged with that precipitate courage which has so often
been fatal to Kentuekians, and on the afternoon of the
same day, the march was commenced.J

The Indians had followed the buffalo trace, and the Ken-
tuckians had not proceeded more than nine or ten miles,
before the lynx-eyed Boone discovered certain signs on the
route indicating a willingness on the part of the Indians
to be pursued, which was plainly evinced by their leaving
a plain trail. Notwithstanding, they evidently used all
the means in their power, to conceal their number, for
which purpose they marched in single file, treading in each
other's footsteps.

The pursuing force, after a hard march, camped that
night in the woods only a few miles distant from the now
sadly famous battle-gound, the appearance of which, at
that time, is thus quaintly described by one§ who fought

•&. Rogers Clark. tBradford'a Notes. JMcClung. Bradford.

1782.] BATTLE OF THE BLUE LICKS. 87

upou its sanguinary soil: "The Blue Licks are situated
about forty miles from Lexington, and about thirty -five
from Bryant's station. The Licking river at this place is
about three hundred feet wide at common water, and forms
a semi-elipsis, which embraces on its northeast side, toward
Limestone, a great ridge of rocks which had been made
bare by the stamping of buffalo and other game, drawn
together from time immemorial to drink the water and
lick the clay. Two deep ravines, heading in this ridge
near each other, and extending in opposite directions,
formed the longest diameter of this elipsis. This ridge had
very little timber on it, and what it had was very indiffer-
ent, and exhibited a very dreary appearance; but the ravines
were furnished not only plentifully with timber, but with
a thick brushwood also."

On the following day, by an easy march, the Kentuck-
ians reached the lower Blue Licks, where for the first time
since the pursuit commenced, they came within view of an
enemy. As the miscellaneous crowd of horse and foot
reached the southern bank of Licking, they saw a number
of Indians ascending the rocky ridge on the other side.

They halted upon the appearance of the Kentuckians,
gazed at them for a few moments in silence, and then calmly
and leisurely disappeared over the top of the hill. A halt
immediately ensued. A dozen or twenty officers met in
front of the ranks, and entered into consultation. The
wild and lonely aspect of the countfy around them, their
distance from any point of support, with the certainty of
their being in the presence of a superior enemy, seems to
have inspired a portion of seriousness, bordering upon awe*
All eyes were now turned upon Boone, and Colonel Todd
asked his opinion as to what should be done. The veteran
woodsman, with his usual unmoved gravity, replied :

" That their situation was critical and delicate ; that the
force opposed to them was undoubtedly numerous and
ready for battle, as might readily be seen from the leisurely
retreat of the few Indians who had appeared upon the
crest of the hill; that he was well acquainted with the
ground in the neighborhood of the lick, and was appre-

EISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1^82.

hensive that an ambuscade was formed at the distance of
a mile in advance, where two ravines, one upon each side
of the ridge, ran in such a manner, that a concealed enemy-
might assail them at once, both in front and flank, before
they were apprised of the danger.

" It would be proper, therefore, to do one of two things.
Either to await the arrival of Logan, who was now un-
doubtedly on his march to join them, or if it was deter-
mined to attack without delay, that one-half of their num-
ber should march up the river, which there bends in an
elliptical form, cross at the rapids, and fall upon the rear of
the enemy, while the other division attacked in front. At
any rate, he strongly urged the necessity of reconnoitering
the ground carefully before the main body crossed the

river.

">|c

Such was the counsel of Boone. And although no meas-
ure could have been much more disastrous than that which
was adopted, yet it may be doubted if anything short of
an immediate retreat upon Logan, could have saved this
gallant body of men from the fate which they encountered.
If they divided their force, the enemy, as in Estill's case^
might have overwhelmed them in detail ; if they remained
where they were, without advancing, the enemy would cer-
tainly have attacked them, probably in the night, and with
a certainty of success. They had committed a great error
at first, in not waiting for Logan, and nothing short of a
retreat, which would have been considered disgraceful,
could now repair it.

Boone was heard in silence and with deep attention.
Some wished to adopt the first plan; others preferred the
second ; and the discussion threatened to be drawn out to
some length, when the boiling ardor of McGary, who could
never endure the presence of an enemy without instant
battle, stimulated him to an act, which had nearly proved
distructive to all. He suddenly interrupted the consulta-
tion with an Indian war whoop, spurred his horse into the

•Bradford and McClung.

1782.] BATTLE OF THE BLUE*LICKS. gg

stream, and shouted aloud, " Let all who are not cowards,
follow me."

The rashness of McGary was contagious. He was fol-
lowed in quick succession by the whole party, who crossed
the river in great disorder and confusion, whilst the officers
were reluctantly borne along in the tumult. After cross-
ing the river, no authority was exercised, nor any order
observed in the line of march, but every one rushed for-
ward, tumultuously pursuing the road over the rocks to
the end of the ridge of hills, where a forest of oaks and deep
ravines, with underwood, concealed the enemy from view,
who awaited in their ambuscade to receive them.

McGary lead the van of the army, closely followed by
Major Harlan and Captain William McBride, supported by
the men on horseback. They reached the spot mentioned
by Boone, where the two ravines head on each side of the
ridge, when Girty, with a chosen part of his tawny host,
rushed forward from their covert, and with horrid shrieks
and yells, attacked them with great impetuosity., The con-
flict instantlj' became hot and sanguinary. The advan-
tageous position occupied by the Indians enabled them to
assail the whole of the whites at the same moment. The
officers suffered dreadfully, and many were already killed.

The Indians gradually extended their line to turn the
right of the Kentuckians and cut oft' their retreat. This
was quickly perceived by the weight of the fire from that
quarter, and the rear instantly fell back in disorder, and
attempted to rush through their only opening to the river.
The motion quickly communicated itself to the van, and a
hurried retreat became general. The Indians instantly
sprung forward in pursuit, and falling upon them with their
tomahawks, made a cruel slaughter. Prom the battle-
ground to the river, the spectacle was terrible. The horse-
men generally escaped, but the foot, particularly the van,
which had advanced farthest withiu the wings of the net,
were almost totally destroyed. Colonel Boone, after wit-
nessing the death of his son and many of his dearest friends,
found himself almost entirely surrounded at the very com-
mencemeat of the retreat.

90 HiSrour of Lexington. [I'sa

Several hundred Indians were between him and the ford,
to which the great mass of fugitives were bending their
flight, and to which the attention of the savages was prin-
cipally directed. Being intimately acquainted with the
ground, he, together with a few friends, dashed into the
ravine which the Indians had occupied, but which most of
them had now left to join in the pursuit. After sustain-
ing one or two heavy fires, and baffling one or two small
parties, who pursued him for a short distance, he crossed
the river below the ford, by swimming, and entering the
wood at a point where there was no pursuit, returned by a
circuitous route to Bryant's station. In the mean time, the
great mass of the victors and vanquished crowded the bank
of the ford.

The slaughter was great in the river. The ford was
crowded with horsemen and foot and Indians, all mingled
together. Some were compelled to seek a passage above
by swimming; some, who could not swim, were overtaken
and killed at the edge of the water. One of the Lexington
militia, by the name of Benjamin K"etherland, who had
formerly been strongly suspected of cowardice, here dis-
played a coolness and presence of mind equally noble and
unexpected. Being finely mounted, he had outstripped the
great mass of fugitives, and crossed the river in safety. A
dozen or twenty horsemen accompanied him, and having
placed the river between them and the enemy, showed a
disposition to continue their flight without regard to the
safety of their friends who were on foot and still strug-
gling with the current. E"etherland instantly checked his
horse, and in a loud voice, called his companions to halt,
fire upon the Indians, and save those still in the stream.
The party instantly obeyed, and, facing about, poured a
close and fatal discharge of rifies upon the foremost of the
pursuers. The enemy instantly fell back from the opposite
bank, and gave time to the harassed and miserable footmen to
cross in safety.* The check was, however, but momentary,
The Indians were seen crossing in great numbers above and

•Bradford's Notes.

1''82.] AARON REYNOLDS. 91

below, and the flight again became general. Most of the
footmen left the great buffalo track, and plunging into the
thickets, escaped by a circuitous route to Bryant's station.

But little loss was sustained after crossing the river,
although the pursuit was urged keenly for twenty miles.
From the battleground to the ford the loss was very heavy,
and at that stage of the retreat, there occurred a rare and
striking instance of magnanimity, which it would be crimi-
nal to omit.* Aaron Reynolds, already famous for his
reply to Girty at Bryant's station, after bearing his share
in the action with distinguished gallantry, was galloping
with several other horsemen in order to reach the ford.
The great body of fugitives had preceded them, and their
situation was in the highest degree critical and dangerous.
About half way between the battle-ground and the river,
the party overtook Colonel Patterson, of Lexington, on foot,
exhausted by the rapidity of the flight, and in consequence
of former wounds received from the Indians, so infirm as
to be unable to keep up with the main body of the men on
foot. The Indians were close behind him, and his fate
seemed inevitable. Reynolds, upon coming up with this
brave officer, instantly sprung from his horse, aided Patter-
son to mount into the saddle, and continued his own flight
on foot. Being remarkably active and vigorous, he con-
trived to elude his pursuers, and turning oft' from the main
road, plunged into the river near the spot where Boone
had crossed, and swam in safety to the opposite side. Un-
fortunately, he wore a pair of buckskin breeches, which
had become so heavy and full of water as to prevent his
exerting himself with his usual activity, and while sitting
down for the purpose of pulling them oft', he was overtaken
by a party of Indians, and made prisoner.

A prisoner is rarely put to death by the Indians, unless
wounded or infirm, until they return to their own country;
and then his fate is decided in solemn council. Young
Reynolds, therefore, was treated kindly, and compelled to
accompany his captors in the pursuit. A small party of

»Bradford.

92 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1782.

Kentuckians soon attracted their attention, and he was
left in charge of three Indians, who, eager in pursuit, in
turn committed him to the charge of one of their number,
while they followed their companions. Reynolds and his
guard jogged along very leisurely; the former totally un-
armed; the latter, with a tomahawk and rifle in his hands.
At length the Indian stopped to tie his moccasin, when
Reynolds instantly sprung upon him, knocked him down
with his fist, and quickly disappeared in the thicket which
surrounded them. For this act of generosity, Captain Pat-
terson afterward made him a present of two hundred acres
of first rate land.

Late in the evening of the same day, most of the survivors
arrived at Bryant's station ; but many familiar forms were
missing. Colonel John Todd, of Lexington, had fallen fight-
ing to the last, with the blood flowing from many a wound.
Colonel Stephen Trigg, Majors Silas Harlan, Edward Bulger,
Captains John Gordon and William McBride, together with
Isaac Boone, son of Colonel Daniel Boone, had all fallen.*
Sixty men had been killed in the battle and flight, and
seven bad been taken prisoners,f part of whom were after-
wards put to death by the Indians, as was said, to make
their loss even. This account, however, appears very im-
probable. It is almost incredible that the Indians should
have suft'ered an equal loss. Their superiority of numbers,
their advantage of position (being in a great measure shel-
tered, while the Kentuckians, particularly the horsemen,
were much exposed), the extreme brevity of the battle, and
the acknowledged bloodiness of the pursuit, all tend to con-
tradict the report that the Indian loss exceeded that of the
Kentuckians.

At Lexington, Boone tells us, " many widows were made,"
and the whole station was given up to the most frantic
grief. It was the same at Bryant's station, and soon the
melancholy news spread throughout the country and the
whole district of Kentucky was covered with mourning for
many a long and dreary day. Colonel Logan, after being

•Bradford. tBradford.

1782.] TBE BATTLE OF BLUE LICKS. 93

joined by many of the friends of the killed and missing
from Lexington and Bryant's station, continued his march
to the battle-ground, with the hope that success would em-
bolden the enemy, and induce them to remain until his
arrival.

On the second day after the battle, in solemn silence the
whole party reached the field. The enemy were gone, but
the bodies of the Kentuckians still lay unbnried on the spot
where they had fallen. Immense flocks of buzzards were
soaring over the battle ground, and the bodies of the dead
had become so much swollen and disfigured, that it was im-
possible to recognize the features of the most particular
friends. Many corpses were fioating near the shore of the
northern bank, already putrid from the action of the sun,
and partially eaten by fishes.* The whole were carefully
collected by order of Colonel Logan, and interred as de-
cently as the nature of the soil would permit. Being sat-
isfied that the Indians were by this time, far beyond his
reach, he then retraced his steps to Bryant's station, and
dismissed his men.

>The fatal battle of the Blue Licks like the massacre
of Wyoming and Braddock's defeat, which it so much
resembled, brought misery and slaughter when least ex-
pected, and like them, will be read of with increasing in-
terest as time advances. The last great blow struck by the
Indian for the recovery of his favorite hunting grounds,
will become adorned by age, with a golden halo of roman-
tic attractions not less bright than that which now encir-
cles the last struggle of the chivalric old Moors for the
possession of Spain.

The women of Lexington — women like the one who
came to the rescue of the dying hunter at the gate of the
fort — were not idle during this time of siege, and battle,
and retreat. "With tearful hearts, but brave words, they
hastened on their husbands and brothers to the aid of Bry-
ant's station, and with but feeble help, guarded the fort
until relieved by the footmen who escaped from the savages

•Bradford's Notes.

94 HJSTORr OF LEXINGTON. [1782.

who surrounded that apparently doomed place.* They
tenderly dressed the wounds of the brave fugitives with
many a thought of liuddell's and Martin's station, shud-
dering at the sound of the distant war whoop, and praying
for the defeat of the savage army. The seige was raised.
Elated with success, the settlers, young and old, abandoned
Lexington to join the force now wild to pursue the In-
dians ; and again the fort was left to be garrisoned this
time, almost entirely, by the brave women who were fit
companions of the men who charged through twenty times
their number, to aid the little band in Bryant's station. Who
can picture the hours of watchfulness and solicitude, the
alarms, the terror, and the heroic conduct of these true, de-
voted, and undaunted mothers of Lexington, while dis-
charging their sublime duty. The pioneer women of Lex-
ington, may we not class them with the patriotic women
of the Eevolution ? Were the women of old colonial Lex-
ington stouter-hearted than those of the Lexington of the
savage wilderness?

" The mothers of our forest land,

Their bosoms pillowed men ;
And proud were they by such to stand

In hammock, fort or glen,
To load the sure old rifle,

To run the leaden ball.
To watch a battling husband's place,

And fill it, should he fall." t

One of the most thrilling and remarkable incidents in
the entire history of border life and warfare, occurred at
this time.J A settler named James Morgan, with more
daring than prudence, lived with his wife and one infant
child in a cabin outside the fort at Bryant's station. When
he discovered the presence of the Indians by their firing on
the fort, he raised one of the slabs of the cabin fioor, con-
cealed his wife under it, strung his baby to his back, and
unbarred the door to escape. As he bounded out he was
attacked by several Indians. He killed two of them and

*Bradford. tW. D. Gallagher. JWestern Monthly, 1833.

1782.] ADVF.XTURE OF JAMES MORGAN. 95

outstripped the rest, but an Indian dog pursued him with
all the ferocity of a wild cat; he finally succeeded in kill-
ing him : and then looking back for the first time, saw his
cabin and part of the station in flames. In agony at the
impending fate of his tenderly beloved wife, but utterly
unable to assist her, he watched his burning dwelling until
he was on the point of being captured, when he again re-
treated, and finally arrived at Lexington.

When the Indians raised the seige he left his baby in the
care of one of the sympathizing women in Lexington
station, and hastened with a throbbing heart to the spot
where his cabin had so lately stood. He found a heap of
ashes, some smoldering embers, and a few poor charred
bones which he reverently' gathered and buried, almost in-
sane with grief and the desire for revenge. He went to
the Blue Licks, and while rushing into the midst of the
conflict, he saw an Indian wearing a handkerchief which
he recognized as his wife's. He raised his rifle and killed
him with savage joy. During the retreat he was wounded,
and after dragging himself some distance from the scene
of conflict, he had laid himself down to die, when he was
discovered and rescued by the wife he had mourned as
dead. It turned out that the Indians who rushed into his
cabin after his escape, quarreled over the little spoil in it,
got to fighting, and one of them was killed. In her fright,
Mrs. Morgan screamed, was discovered, and was carried a
captive along with the retreating savages, but managed to
escape, and at once set out to find her husband and child.
The bones found and buried by Morgan, were those of the
Indian who was killed by his comrades.

Clark and retribution followed the Indians after the
battle of the Blue Licks, as Sullivan and extermination fol-
lowed them after the massacre of Wyoming. The call of
the Lion of Kentucky for troops was promptly answered
by a thousand mounted riflemen, a number of whom were
from Lexington, and in September, after a rapid march
under their brilliant leader, they penetrated the heart of

96 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1782.

the Indian country* Five of the Chillicothe towns, where
the savages liad gathered before starting to Bryant's station,
were reduced to ashes, their crops were destroyed, the
country for miles around made desolate, and such of the
swiftly-fleeing Indians as were overtaken met with no
quarter at the hands of the enraged avengers of the pioneers
who were slaughtered at the Blue Licks. The Indians
were disheartened. They had dealt their heaviest blow,
and it had rebounded against themselves. They now dis-
paired of ever recovering Kentucky, and no great body of
them ever after invaded the state. But though they came
not with an army, the rifle, tomahawk, and scalping knife
of the plundering and murdering Indian was not yet en-
tirely banished from the now truly Dark and Bloody
Ground.

Lexington station gained another school-teacher this
year, in the person of John Filson, the author, in 1784, of
the first history ever written of Kentucky. He afterward
gave to Cincinnati her first name, " Losantiville." Filson
was an early adventurer with Daniel Boone, and after the
discoverer of Kentucky returned to Lexington, in October,
from the Chillicothe towns, Filson wrote, at his dictation, the
only narrative of his life extant from the old pioneer's own
lips. This narrative was indorsed at the time by James
Harrod, Levi Todd, and Boone himself. Filson taught in
Lexington /or several years, and did no little to secure the
early organization of Transylvania Seminary.f He was
killed by the Indians near Cincinnati, in 1789.

In the ITovember after the Blue Lick's massacre. Colonel
Thomas Marshall, 'surveyor of Fayette county, opened an
office in Lexington, and a calamitous scramble for land re-
commenced.J Colonel Marshall was a Virginian, had dis-
tinguished himself in the war of the Revolution, and soon
became one of the leading citizens of Kentucky.

*Butler and Marshall. tOld Gazette. tButler.

1T83.] HOSTILITIES CEASED. 97

CHAPTER X.

Peace — McKinney and the Wild Cat — The Old Fort — Lot
Owners and Early Settlers — Christopher Greenup, Humph-
rey Marshall, John Sharp, Robert Todd, John Cariy, Sen.,
Benjamin Howard, William Dudley, William Eussell.

On the 20th of January, 1783, Hostilities ceased between
the ai^mies of the United States and England, and the news
was received with great joy by the settlers in Fayette
county. This much desired event did not necessarily bring
with it security from the Indians, but the pioneers hoped
it would. At any rate Clark had demoralized the savages,
so that this year was on e of comparative peace. The Lexing-
ton settlers were now, for the first time, encouraged to build
cabins outside the walls of the fort, and the land which they
had bought with the heavy price of blood and suffering
they commenced to occupy and improve. Some attention
could now be paid to gardening; vegetables and other
comforts of civilized life began to appear. The live stock,
unmolested by the Indians, fattened and multiplied, and
the settlers, free from the prison-like restraints of the fort,
felt a new pleasure in life.

A log school-house, located on Cheapside, was one of the
first buildings erected outside of the fort walls, and here,
early one morning in June,* Mr. John McKinney, the
teacher, became the hero of a now celebrated combat. He
was sitting at his rude desk waiting for the appearance of
his little band of pupils, when a wild cat of uncommon size
made its appearance at the door, and, without seeming to
notice him, suddenly leaped into the room, snapping its
jaws and foaming at the mouth. On observing it, his first

* Western Review.

HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1^83.

thought was, what fine sport it might aflbrd him, if he had
a good dog and the door was closed.

But, to his great surprise, on casting its eyes around and
seeing him, instead of precipitately retreating as he had
expected, it advanced toward him in a menacing manner.
He instantly reached forward to a table near him, and at-
tempted to grasp a ruler, but before he had obtained it,
the animal was upon him, and seized him by the teeth
on the collar bone near his throat. "With some difficulty,
by striking at it upward under his jacket, he relieved
himself from this grasp, but the enraged animal instantly
caught him by the right side, and, with its long crooked
tusks, pierced through his clothes, and penetrated between
his ribs, where it held him so fast that he found it impossi-
ble to extricate himself. At the same time its sharp claws
were employed with astonishing rapidity in cutting ofi" his
clothes, and tearing the flesh from his side. From its sit-
uation he was unable to strike it with any considerable
force, but, in the eflwrt, only wounded his own hand against
the table. Finding he could do nothing in that way, he
seized the animal with both arms, brought its hinder part
between his thighs, and pressed it with all his force against
the table. It struggled violently, and fearing it might es-
cape from his grasp and again attack him with its claws,
he now for the first time made an exclamation, in the hope
that some one might come to his relief. The ladies, who
were engaged near the place milking their cows, were most
of them alarmed at the cry, and ran precipitately into the
fort, exclaiming that something was killing Mr. McKinney
in the school-house. Three of them, however, Mrs. Mas-
terson, Mrs. Collins, and Miss Thompson, being less timid
than the rest, ran toward the house, and after some delib-
eration among themselves as to who should venture to look
in first, entered the door. Mr. McKinney, perceiving that
they were females, and knowing Mrs. Masterson to be in a
delicate state of health, was fearful of alarming them, and, ■
notwithstanding his own dreadful situation, assumed an air
of composure, and, with a smile, observed : " Do n't be
alarmed, it is only a cat I have caught, and I want some

1783.] McKINNET AND THE WILD CAT. 99

person to assist me in killing it," He was thus careful not
to inform them, as he might have done with far greater
correctness, that the cat had caught him. The ladies then
boldly advanced toward him, and one of them, stooping
down and observing the size of the animal, exclaimed,
" what a monster !" ran to the door and called a gentleman
who happened to be passing by. He came in, and proposed
cutting off" the claws of the cat, but Mr. McKinney, per-
ceiving it to lie perfectly still, concluded he had killed it,
which, on rising, he found to be the fact. They then en-
deavored to draw out the animal's teeth from Mr. McKin-
ney's side, but finding them so hooked in between the ribs
that they could not extricate them, the whole party left the
school-house, and advanced toward the fort, to which, by
this time, the alarmed and excited people were rushing in
crowds, under the impression that the Indians were about
to attack the place. After reaching the fort, new feff'orts
were made to relieve Mr. McKinney from the tusks of the
cat, which were at length rendered successful by placing its
head in the same position as when it made the attack.

I^otwithstanding his wounds, Mr. McKinney attended
his school that morning, but at noon found himself so ex-
hausted, and his pain so extreme, that he was compelled to
dismiss his scholars and resort to his bed. By proper ap-
plications, however, he was soon relieved; his -wounds
healed rapidly and his usual health was speedily restored.
McKinney afterward settled in Bourbon county, and lived
to a green old age, and the account here given is an almost
verbatim, statement made by him in 1820.

The alarm occasioned by the wild cat's attack upon Mc-
Kinney was the last one that ever brought the garrison
tosrether in arms within the fort. The block-house re-
mained standing for several years after this, however, as
the settlers never knew at what time they might need the
protection of its friendly walls. At last, the only vestige
of the " Old Lexington Fort " went down before the power
of advancing civilization, but the memory of the trials and
sufferings endured within it, recollections of Boone, Ken-
ton, Harrod, G. Rogers Clark, Patterson, Todd, and many

100 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1783.

Others it had sheltered, and remembrances of the days of
grief and anguish that hung like a pall over all its inmates
after the bloody ambuscade at the Blue Licks, consecrated
it till death in the hearts of the pioneers of Lexington.

In this year (1783), the trustees reserved three lots
" where the garrison stands," for public use, and other lots
were disposed of to the following persons,* viz : Humphrey
Marshall, Benjamin I^etherland, Caleb Williams, Robert
Todd, John Carty, Martin Dickinson, Samuel January,
Christopher Greenup, Wm. Anderson, John Sharp, Thomas
Marshall, Patrick Owens, Robert Parker, Valentine Dick-
inson, Widow McDonald, Christopher Kirtner, George
Shepherd, John Mikins, Archibald Dickinson, Andrew
Steele, John McDowell, William Steele, Stoffre Zunwalt,
James Mitchell, Benjamin Haydon, Jane Todd, David
Blanch ard. Widow Kirtner, Amor Batterton, John Brooke,
Matthew Patterson, William Galloway, Adam Zunwalt,
Jacob Zunwalt.

The names of many of these lot owners are linked with
the history of the state. Christopher Greenup, who had
been a soldier in the war of the Revolution, settled in Ken-
tucky, together with many of his comrades in arms, at the
close of that struggle. When he located in Lexington, he
had just been sworn in as an attorney at lawin the old dis-
trict court. He was elected governor of Kentucky in 1804,
and died in ISlS.f

Humphrey Marshall, eminent in his day as a land lawyer,
represented Fayette in the Danville convention of 1787, and
in the Virginia convention which ratified the constitution
of the United States. His duel with Mr. Clay is well known.
He subsequently removed to Franklin county, and was long
one of its most distinguished citizens. After having served
as Uuited States Senator, he published a well-known and
greatly esteemed, though rather partisan history of Ken-
tucky. He died at the residence of his son, Thomas A.
Marshall, in Lexington.J

Major Ben. ISTetherland, named in the above list of lot-

*Trustee3' Book. tCollins, 332. tCollins, 317.

1783.] LOT OWNERS AND EARLY SETTLERS. IQl

owners, who had made himself noted by his gallant con-
duct at the Blue Licks battle, was born in Powhatan county,
Virginia, on the 27th day of February, 1755. During the
war of the Revolution he volunteered his services as a
private soldier in the army of the South, under General
Lincoln, and was taken a prisoner of war at the siege of
Savannah, where he was kept in close confinement for ten
months. At the end of this time he made Kis escape, but
was retaken again as a prisoner of war, and confined at San
Augustine, a British post in Florida. Whilst the American
army was in full retreat from Savannah, he again attempted
to make his escape, and was successful. He joined the
army at Beaufort, in South Carolina. After he had served
twelve months as a private soldier, he was promoted to a
lieutenancy. He came to Kentucky in 1781, settled at Lex-
ington station, and became a prominent actor in all the In-
dian wars that for so long a time deluged Kentucky in
blood. He finally removed to Jessamine county, where he
died, in October, 1838, and was buried with the honors of
war.*

John Sharp, whose son was afterward jailer of Fayette
county, was one of the Lexington militia ambuscaded at
Bryant's station. He was pursued by several Indians, but
managed to keep them at bay with his rifle, until he es-
caped in a cane thicket.

Robert Todd was senator from Fayette in the first ses-
sion of the legislature; was for a long time circuit judge,
and held other important positions.

John Carty, Sen., was born in 1764,t in Burlington, New
Jersey, of which place his parents were old citizens. His
young school-days were interrupted by the bloody struggle
of the colonists for independence, and while yet a boy, at
the age of seventeen, he assisted at the repulse of the Brit-
ish at Springfield, in his native state, and shortly after
shared in the campaign which ended in the defeat and sur-
render of Cornwallis. At the close of the war he joined
the host of westward bound emigrants, and settled perma-

*01d Kentucky Statesman. fFamily Eecord.

102 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1783.

nently at " Lexington station," together with a number of
his comrades in arms. His wife, Mary Ayers, was born
near Annapolis, Maryland.

The freaks of fortune are marvelous. Shortly after his
arrival, the young settler was offered a large tract of land
comprising several " out-lots," then thickly covered with
cane and forest trees, in exchange for his well-worn old
fashioned "bull's eye" watch; but, as the ancient time-
piece had been his father's, and as he had already one lot
to improve, he refused to exchange it for " cheap cane-
brakes."* Much of the best part of Hill street now occu-
pies the refused " canebrakes," and is valued at several
hundred thousand dollars.

John Carty, Sen., was one of the organizers of the
"Society of the Cincinnati," established at a very early
day in Lexington, by citizens who had participated in the
Revolutionary war;t and he and the elegant and amiable
Waldemarde Mentelle, Sen., introduced into Kentucky the
manufacture of earthenware.J which, in that day of slab
tables, wooden spoons, and horn cups, was welcomed with
gratitude by the pioneers, and soon became an important
branch of trade. John Carty, Sen., was with General
Anthony Wayne in his celebrated Indian campaign oi
1794, and participated in the decisive victory of August 20,
near the river Miami of the lakes. During that war, he
was sergeant of a company of which the afterward " Gen-
eral" Harrison was then lieutenant. Mr. Carty lived to
see an elegant and flourishing city take the place of the
canebrakes and the old fort. He died at his residence in
Lexington, November 25, 1845, at the green old age of
eighty-one, and was buried in the family lot in the Episco-
pal Cemetery. He was mourned by a multitude of friends,
by whom he had long been greatly beloved and respected.
One of his sons, Henry Carty, died a glorious death on the .
bloody field of Buena "Vista, and now sleeps under the
shadow of the state military monument at Frankfort.

John Carty, the successful merchant and true man, who

*01d Inhabitants. fOM. Gazette. JS.'D. McCullough.

1783.] HOWARD, DUDLEY, AND HVSS ELL. 103

died April 8, 1867, was another son, whose rare sagacity and
noble qualities will long be remembered by Lexington.

Benjamin Howard, a native of Goochland county, Vir-
ginia, was another soldier of the Revolution, who settled in
Fayette about the year 1783. He received five wounds at
the battle of Guilford Court-house. One of his daughters
was the first wife of Robert Wickliff'e, Sen., and his only
son, Benjamin, was governor of Missouri. This venerable
pioneer died at the extraordinary age of one hundred and
three years, in Lexington, at the residence of Major Wool-
ley (who married a grand-daughter), after having been a
member of the Presbyterian Church for upward of eighty
years.*

Colonel William Dudley, of Spottsylvania county, Vir- •
ginia, emigrated to Kentucky when quite young, and
settled at an early date in Fayette. His tragic fate is well
known. He served under General Harrison in the cam-
paign of 1813, as colonel of Kentucky militia. On the 5th
of May in that year, he was sent with some raw troops to
silence a British battery opposite Fort Meigs. He suc-
ceeded in spiking the guns, and then, in a moment of rash
gallantry, attacked some troops in the vicinity, was sur-
rounded by the Indians, and terribly defeated. Weak and
disabled by wounds. Colonel Dudley defended himself des-
perately against a swarm of savages who closed in upon
him. He fell at last, and his body was mutilated in a most
barbarous manner.f The disastrous fate of this brave man
and his command will cause "Dudley's defeat" to be long
remembered by Kentuckians.

Colonel William Russell, one of the most distinguished
of the settlers of Fayette county, arrived in 1783. ' He was
a native of Culpepper county, Virginia, and was born in
1758. He served his country well in the revolutionary
struggle, and bore a valiant part in the glorious and deci-
sive victory of King's Mountain. After removing to Ken-
tucky, he successively held posts of danger and honor un-
der Scott, Wilkinson, and Wayne, in their expeditions
against the Indians; was made colonel in the regular

♦Collins. tCombs and Collins.

104 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1T83.

army ; was a prominent actor on the bloody field of Tippe-
canoe; was assigned the command of the frontier of In-
diana, Illinois, and Missouri, and led several successful ex-
peditions against the Indians. He represented Fayette
repeatedly in the legislature, and was always one of her
most useful and honored citizens. Russell county, in this
state, was, with great propriety, named in his honor.*
Colonel Kussell died, July 3, 1825, at his old home in the
county he had served so well.

•Collins.

1784.] FIRST IMPROVEMENTS OF LEXINGTON. 105

CHAPTER XI.

The Village of Lexington — First Dry Goods Store — A Dis-
ciple of Tom Paine — The First General Election — James
Wilkinson — John Coburn — First Presbyterian Church — The
Rankin Schism — Pastors — Church Edifices — Incidents.

By this time (1784), Lexington had assumed the appear-
ance of a frontier village. The few cabins which existed,
were all log ones, and very much scattered ; Main street
was extended a short distance through and beyond the fort,
in the direction of the present Lexington Cemetery, but it
was sadly obstructed by roots and stumps, and in bad
weather was almost impassable ; the favorite paths of the
settlers were "traces" made as hard as modern roads, by
the wild animals which had traveled over them for centu-
ries. There was a one-story log school-house, but no church
building, and most of the present city was then occupied
by groves, corn-fields, cow pastures, and patches of cane.
But the coming and going of emigrants made the village
look lively in spite of disadvantages, and as the emigrants
frequently brought with them articles much needed by the
settlers, and as game was abundant, and the soil was being
successfully cultivated, the inhabitants began to live better,
and they even found time for amusements. Trials of skill
with the rifle, horse and foot races, and dancing were the
pastimes, as most of them are yet, in modern Lexington;
"bouse raisings" are not to be forgotten, nor "fives," nor
" long bullets," a game iu which the sturdy settlers vied
with each other, in eftbrts to jerk a cannon ball to the
greatest distance. Much to the delight of the inhabitants,
particularly the female portion, that extraordinary and
welcome novelty, a dry goods store, was opened in the vil-

106 BISTORT GF LEXINGTON. [1784.

lage by General James Wilkinson, in the spring of 1784*
It was the second one of the kind opened in Kentucky,
and the gaudy calico and other " store finery," gave im-
mense satisfaction. The goods came from Philadelphia to
Pittsburg by wagon, from thence by flat-boat to " Lime-
stone," now Maysville, and from thence to Lexington on
pack horses, which traveled slowly in single file over the
narrow " trace " which connected the two settlements.

A novel trial took place in the village of Lexington, in
the latter part of May, 1784, caused by the appearance of
a disciple of Tom Paine, named Galloway, who propagated
the doctrine of his master, that Virginia had no right to
the lands of Kentucky, which ought to be taken possession
of by Congress. Encouraged by Galloway, several persons
actually took preliminary steps toward appropriating their
neighbors lands, under an act of Congress which he assured
them would soon be passed. A great hubbub was the re-
sult, and Galloway was arrested; but upon what ground
could he be punished, was the perplexing question. For-
tunately, after much searching, an old law of Virginia was
found, which inflicted a penalty in tobacco at the discre-
tion of the court, upon the " propagation of false news, to
the disturbance of the good people of the colony." Gal-
loway was quickly fined a thousand pounds of tobacco, but
as it was impossible to get so much tobacco at that time in
Kentucky, he had a fine chance to spend some time in the
stocks. At last he was let off on condition that he would
leave the district, which he joyfully did without loss of
time.f

During the summer, at the suggestion of prominent cit-
izens of Kentucky, the militia companies of Fayette and
of the other counties of the district each elected a delegate
to meet in convention, at Danville, to consider the subject
of self-defense,J as it was believed at that time that the
Indians were preparing to again invade Kentucky. The
election was accordingly held, and the convention met,

♦Marshall. tid. Jld.

1784.] GENERAL JAMES WILKINSON. 107

December 27, 1784. This convention proved to be the
entering wedge to separation from Virginia.

General James "Wilkinson, whom we have already men-
tioned as having settled in Lexington this year, was prob-
ably the most eminent of the many distinguished officers
and soldiers of the Revolution, who had so much to do with
the rapid advancement which Lexington made in refine-
ment and intelligence. General "Wilkinson was born in
Maryland, in 1757. He went into the American army at
the very commencement of the Revolution, and was ap-
pointed captain when but eighteen. He served with Arnold
in Canada, was on Gates' staff as lieutenant-colonel, was
brevetted brigadier-general in 1777, was at the surrender of
Burgoyne, and subsequently served in the legislature of
Pennsylvania. "When he came to Lexington, at the clos5
of the war, he represented a large trading company formed
in Philadelphia. From this time forward, he was one of
the most energetic and influential of the leaders in the
early civil and military conflicts of Kentucky. In 1784,
he made a speech in Lexington, urging the immediate sep-
aration of Kentucky from Virginia, headed the "country"
party which favored it, strongly opposed the "court"
party led by Colonel Thomas Marshall, and was twice a
delegate from Fayette to Danville conventions. His ap-
pearance at this time is thus described by one with whom
he was by no means a favorite :*

" A person not quite tall enough to be perfectly elegant,
was compensated by its symmetry and appearance of health
and strength. A countenance open, mild, capacious, and
beaming with intelligence; a gait firm, manly, and facile;
manners bland, accommodating, and popular; an address
easy, polite, and gracious, invited approach, gave access,
assured attention, cordiality, and ease. By these fair forms
he conciliated ; by these he captivated. The combined effect
was greatly advantageous to the general on a first acquaint-
ance which a further intercourse contributed to modify."

During the summer of 1787, General 'Wilkinson origi-

«H. Mnrahall.

108 EISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1784.

nated and opened up trade between Lexington and New
Orleans. He subsequently commanded successful expedi-
tions against the Indians, was made brigadier of regular
infantry, and commanded the right wing of Wayne's army
in the battle of the Maumee. In 1796, he was appointed
general in chief of the northwestern army, and in 1806,
governor of Louisiana Territory. It was while he occu-
pied this last position, that he was charged with favoring
Burr's designs to form a new empire, of which J^ew Orleans
was to be the capital, but an investigation demanded by
himself cleared him of these allegations.* In 1816, he
wrote his voluminous "Memoirs," another example of his
great physical and mental energies. This enterprising man
and distinguished soldier, who did so much for the material
welfare of Lexington, and reflected so much honor upon
his adopted home, died near the city of Mexico, Decem-
ber 28, 1825. General Wilkinson's residence in Lexington
was on the site of the house now standing on the corner
of Main and the alley next the negro Baptist church,
between Broadway and Jefferson.

The prospects of Lexington as a future mercantile point
gave her another accession in 1784, in the person of Judge
John Coburn, who afterward became an influential demo-
cratic politician, judge of the territory of Michigan, and
one of the most efficient political writers of his time in
this state. He was a citizen of Lexington for ten years,
during which he married Miss Mary Moss, of Fayette. He
finally settled in Mason county, and died there in 1823.f

The first Christian church established in Lexington was
organized in 1784, by the Presbyterians,| who were more
numerous in the village at that time than any other relig-
ious people. They secured a lot and erected a log house
of worship, on the southeastern corner of Walnut and
Short streets, where city school No. 1 now stands, and
called to the pastorate of the church, the Rev. Adam
Rankin, of Augusta county, Virginia, who arrived early in
October of the same year (1784). The church was first

*Am. Ency. tBisliop and Davidson. JId.

1784.] THE RANKIN SCHISM. XQQ

known as " Mount Zion," but is now more generally recog-
nized as " Mr. Rankin's Church."

Mr. Rankin's call was the signal for strife. The Pres-
byterian churches at that time were convulsed with dis-
putes upon Psalmody, one party strongly claiming that the
literal version of the old Psalms of David should be used,
and the others as stoutly demanding the version of Dr.
Watts. Mr. Rankin was a declared enemy of the "Watts'
version, and finding it in use in Mount Zion church on his
arrival, labored earnestly for its expulsion. In course of
time, two parties were formed, and the congregation was
soon in the same distracted condition as many bodies of
their brethren. Finally, in 1789, charges were preferred
against Mr. Rankin, before the presbytery of Transylvania,
one of them being, that he had " debarred from the table
of the Lord, such persons as approved Watts' psalmody."
Mr. Rankin made a trip to London about this time, and
his case was not tried until April, 1792, when he protested
against the proceedings of the presbytery, and withdrew
from it, carrying with him a majority of his congregation
which sustained and indorsed his action, and claimed and
held the meeting-house, on the corner of Walnut and Short.
In May, 1793, Mr. Rankin and adherants joined the Asso-
ciate Reformed Church, and remained connected with it
for twenty-five years, but at the end of that titae, broke
off from it and became independent. After Mr. Rankin
resigned the pastorate of Mount Zion, in 1825, the church
rapidly declined, and after struggling on for some years,
finally became extinct.

Mr. Rankin *w'as a nMive of Pennsylvania, and was born
in 1755. He graduated at Liberty Hall (now Washington
and Lee University), in 1780, and two years after married
Margaret McPheeters, of Augusta county, Virginia. He
was a talented, intolerant, eccentric, and pious man, and
was greatly beloved by his congregation, which clung to
him with a devoted attachment through all his fortunes.
After leavino- Lexington, he set out on a tour to Jerusalem,
but died on the way, in Philadelphia, liTovember 25, 1827.

The party in Mr. Rankin's church favoring Watts'

110 EISTORF OF LEXINGTON. [1784.

psalms, and adhering to the presbytery, gave up Mount
Zion church to the seceders, and took " the new meeting-
house," a half-finished frame building commenced some
time before the church trouble had culminated. This edi-
fice stood ou the corner of Short and Mill streets, fronted
on Mill, and the lot on which it stood, which had been
"granted to the Frisbyterians"* by the trustees of Lex-
ington, extended back to the present Cheapside. The sub-
scriptions for building this house were mostly paid in ba-
con, hemp, and corn.f By 1795, through the exertions of
Robert Patterson, John Maxwell, James Trotter, Robert
Megowan, Robert Steel, and other members of the church,
the building was put in a comfortable condition, and the Rev.
James Welsh, of Virginia, was called to fill its pulpit, and
was ordained the succeeding year first pastorj of what is
now called the First Presbyterian Church. Ministers of
all churches were so poorly paid at that day, that most of
them had to resort to other means than preaching to obtain
a living. Mr. Welsh was no exception to the rule, and was
obliged to practice medicine to support his family, and did
so up to 1799, when he was appointed professor of languages
in Transylvania University. In that year, also, the church
edifice was farther improved, a gallery was made, a cupola
raised, and a bell hung. Mr. Welsh continued in the pas-
torate of the church up to 1804^ after which the pulpit was
temporarily filled by Dr. James Ely the, then president of
Transylvania University ; Rev. Robert Stuart, nearly forty
years pastor at Walnut Hill, and the faithful and earnest
John Lyle, all of whom served at different times until the
installation of the second regular pastor, the Rev. Robert M.
Cunningham, of Pennsylvania, in 1807.

Just before Mr. Cunningham came, the church leased or
sold its property on Mill and Short, and commenced the
erection of a brick house of worship on the southwest
corner of Broadway and Second streets. This house was
opened and the pews rented in the summer of 1808.||

Mr. Cunningham remained in charge of the church until

^Trustees' Book. tKentucky Gazette. {Davidsons.

llOld Journal.

1784.] PASTORS. m

1822. He died in Alabama, in 1839. Mr. Cunningham's
pulpit was frequently filled by Rev. William L. McCalla, then
a young minister, and also by Dr. John Poage Campbell.
Mr. McCalla was the son of that good man, Andrew McCalla,
of Lexington, Kentucky. He was at one time chaplain to
the navy of the Republic of Texas, and was noted for his
powers as a debater. Dr. Campbell (whose father was one
of the early settlers of Lexington) was born in Virginia in
1767, and lived to be one of the most brilliant and scholarly
ministers of his church in Kentucky. Grifted as he was, he
was compelled to eke out a living on a miserable salary, and
at one time his family existed for six weeks on pumpkins
only; but so proud and sensitive was he, that the fact did
not become known until accidentally discovered by his
neighbors.* He died in 1814, from disease contracted by
exposure while preaching. In 1815, the Second Presby-
terian Church was founded, and its history will be found
under that date. In July, 1817, during the pastorate of
Mr. Cunningham, while the congregation was at worship,
the church was struck by lightning, and two ladies were
killed.

The Rev. IN'athan Hall, of Garrard county, Kentucky,
succeeded Mr. Cunningham in 1823. He was the initiator
of the protracted meetings which resulted in the great re-
vival of 1828, which gave the finishing blow to infidelity,
which before that had been only too prevalent in Lexington.
Mr. Hall was a powerful exhorter, and on one occasion, after
several vigorous efforts, admitted over a hundred persons to
the church. Mr. Hall was pastor of the church for twenty-
three years, during which time it greatly prospered ; but,
unfortunately, just a little while before he resigned his
charge, a number of his congregation became dissatisfied,
seceded, and united with the McChord or Second Church.
Mr. Hall died in Columbus, Missouri, June 22, 1858.

Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge, long the most prominent
minister of the Presbyterian Church of Kentucky, followed
Mr. Hall in 1847, and continued in the pastorate until 1853,

*Davidsou's History-

112 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1784.

when he removed to Danville, having been appointed pro-
fessor in the Theological Seminary at that place. Dr.
Breckinridge was a son of Hon. John Breckinridge, and
was born in Fayette county, Kentucky, March 8, 1800,
graduated at Union College in 1819, commenced the prac-
tice of law in Lexington in 1823, after which he repeatedly
represented Fayette county la the Kentucky legislature.
In 1828 he connected himself with the Second Presbyterian
Church of Lexington, retired from political life, devoted
himself to the study of theology, and in October, 1832,
was ordained pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of
Baltimore, where he became distinguished as a minister,
and noted for his anti-slavery views and for his bold and
uncompromising opposition to Roman Catholicism. During
his pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church of Lexing-
ton, he wrote his work on the "Internal Evidences of
Christianity," and a few years after, published his "Theol-
ogy, Objectively and Subjectively Considered," which are
considered his most able productions. At the beginning
of the late war. Dr. Brecken ridge and others established
the Danville Review, which strongly supported both the
Federal Government and the General Assembly. Dr.
B. died December 27, 1871, and was buried in the Lex-
ington Cemetery.

The successor of Dr. Breckinridge was Rev. J. D. Mat-
thews, whose ministry was so acceptable to the congregation
that he was for many years retained as pastor, and much
beloved and esteemed. In 1853 he succeeded Dr. Breckin-
ridge as Superintendent of Public Instruction. In 1857,
while Dr. Matthews had charge of the church, the old
house of worship, which had been used for fifty years, was
torn down, and the building now owned and used by the
Broadway Christian Church was built, and all went on
harmoniously and prosperously until the beginning of the
late war. All during the war, trouble was brewing from
causes too recent to require mention, and resulted, at the
close of that terrible struggle in an open rupture in both
the First and Second Churches, and the formation of two
congregations in each church. In the First Church, Dr.

1784.] CHURCH EDIFICES. 113

Matthews was the pastor of the Southern Assembly party,
and Eev. R. Valentine pastor of that of the General As-
sembly. In May, 1869, the difficulty was adjusted, and the
church property distributed. The pastors of the several
churches resigned. The two congregations adhering to
the Southern Assembly united, and the other two adhering
to the General Assembly did the same, forming two churches
out of four. The property of the churches was valued and
divided in proportion to membership. The Broadway
property fell to the Southern Assembly party, now known
as the First Church, and the Market street house to the
General Assembly adherents, or the present Second Church.
In March, 1870, Eev. William Dinwiddle, of Virginia, the
present efficient and beloved pastor of the First Church,
commenced his ministerial labors in Lexington. In May
of the same year, the church on the corner of Second and
Broadway was sold to the Christian congregation, and a
new, large, and handsome edifice was commenced on Mill
street, between Church and Second, and completed in the
spring of 1872.

114 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1785.

CHAPTER XII.

Town Forlc — Taverns — Streets — Elections — Bourbon County
Created — Mrs. Vaughn, the First White Woman born in
Kentucky.

The state of aflFairs in Lexington, in the year 1785, may
be inferred from a number of things. " Main Cross street,"
now Broadway, was opened. The trustees ordered " all
cabins, cow-pens, and hog-pens to be removed from the
streets."* Notice was given that all vacant lots would be
reclaimed, " if not improved in one year by the erection
of a good hewed log-house on the same."t Robert Parker
was appointed the first surveyor of the town, and clerk of
the trustees, and allowed four shillings and sixpence for
every deed by him drawn."! Boys were prohibited from
obstructing the "gangway" over Town Fork, when fishing
in that stream, which was then of quite a respectable size,
in fact, frequently when there was a " rise," it would cover
the entire width of the present Vine and Water streets.

The first tavern of which Lexington could boast, was
opened about this time. It stood on West Main street, " be-
tween Main Cross (Broadway), and the graveyard" (Baptist
churchyard). A little swinging sign in front of the com-
fortable size log-house bore the coat of arms of Virginia,
and the ambitious announcement, " Entertainment for man
and beast, by James Bray."

The early taverns of Lexington were veritable old En-
glish " Inns," with quaint signs, smiling bonifaces, and every-
thing to match. Robert Megowan's tavern, sign of the
" Sheaf of Wheat," was the second one built. It was a two-

•Tru'^tees' Book. tid. Jld.

1785.] EARLY TAVERNS OF LEXINGTON. 115

story log-house, stood on Main street, between Upper and
Limestone, occupying the site of the hnilding now used by
Thomas Bradley. In 1792, the first State Treasurer's office
was temporarily in this tavern. These taverns were suc-
ceeded by " The Buffalo," kept by John MclSTair, on Main
street, opposite the present court-house, and Kiser's " Indian
Queen," which stood on the corner of Hill and Broadway,
on part of the lot now owned by Mr. John T. Miller. This
"house of entertainment" was kept by the grandfather of
our highly respected fellow-citizen, Mr. Ben. Kiser, now
probably the oldest native resident of Lexington. Ayers'
tavern, sign of the " Cross Keys," was on the corner of
Spring and Main. Satterwhite's "Eagle" tavern was on
Short, back of the court-house. Usher's "Don't Give up
the Ship," stood on Short, near the Lusby house, and the
noted old Brent tavern was on Jordan's Row, near the corner
of Upper and Main. The PhcEuix Hotel is the oldest house
of entertainment now in existence in Lexington. It was
first known about the year 1800, as " Postlethwaite's tavern,"
and then as "Wilson's." The famous Aaron Burr was its
guest at one time during Wilson's proprietorship. His pres-
ence was first detected by a young boy,* who saw him as
he entered town on horseback, followed by his white man-
servant, and recognized him by a wonderfully faithful rep-
resentation he had seen of him in a collection of wax
works exhibited in Lexington, a short time before. The
tavern was next known as " Keene's," and then as "Postle-
thwaite's and Brennan's," since which time it has been
kept by Messrs. John Brennan, Chiles, Worley, Robinson,
and others, and under the name of " Phoenix Hotel," has
for many years been known far and wide.

We might mention here, that Mill street, which was not
opened for some time after "Main Cross," received its
name from a cow-path which led out to a wind-mill, which
stood near the present work-house. Limestone street was
opened still later, and was so called from the fact that it
was part of the road leading to " Limestone," now Mays-

*Beii. Kiser.

116 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1785.

ville. This street is now inappropriately and unfortunately
called " Mulberry."

A new county was created by Virginia, in 1785, out of
the immense territory of Fayette, and given the name of
Bourbon. Two elections were also held in Fayette this
year, to choose delegates to the second and third Danville
conventions, which assembled in May and August respect-
ively. The delegates elected to the second convention
were : Eobert Todd, James Trotter, Levi Todd, and Caleb
Wallace. Those elected to the third one were: James
Wilkinson, Levi Todd, Caleb Wallace, and Eobert Pat-
terson.

The first white woman born in the savage wilds of Ken-
tucky lived for many years in Lexington. Here she died,
and here she sleeps. Many now living still remember the
venerable Mrs. Rhoda Vaughn, the first born of the wil-
derness. She was the daughter of that Captain John
Holder, spoken of by Boone in his narrative, as the man
who pursued the Indians who had attacked Hoy's station
in August, 1782. Captain Holder was one of the old pio-
neer's earliest companions. He assisted in building and
defending Boonesborough fort ; and within the palisades
of that noted stronghold, and about the year 1776, his
daughter, afterward Mrs. Vaughn, was born. Her earliest
recollections were of savages, suft'erings, alarms, and blood-
shed ; and she passed her infant years in the midst of mem-
orable sieges and desperate conflicts. When she grew to
womanhood, and was married, her father started her in
life with a home and servants, but she lost both in a few
years, by her husband's mismanagement, and after his
death, times with her grew worse and worse.

At a very early day, she settled in Fayette county, and
subsequently made Lexington her home, and here she re-
mained and raised her children. One of her sons was the
gallant adjutant, Edward M. Vaughn, a Lexington volun-
teer, who fell upon the bravely contested field of Buena
Vista, in 1847. His blood-soaked gauntlets were carried
reverently to his mother, and they told at once, to her
stricken heart, the same tragic and eloquent story that the

1T85.] MRS. VAV6HN. 117

armless and battered shield expressed to the Spartan mother
in the classic days of old. Other afflictions and misfortunes
followed; and destitute and desolate, the brave old lady
struggled on through a life, not unfrequently made brighter
by kind and sympathetic friends. Mrs. Yaughn lived for
some time in the residence lately occupied by Kev. J. D.
Matthews, on Winchester street, between Limestone and
Walnut. She died, however, at the residence of Mrs. Susan
Craig, on the south side of Short street, between G-eorge-
town and Jefferson street, in the month of June, 1863, aged
about eighty-seven years, and was buried in the Whaley lot,
in the Episcopal Cemetery, where her remains still repose.

The only relic of the venerable heroine known to be in
existence is a patch-work quilt which she made with her
own hands, and gave to a sympathetic lady of Lexington,
who was a friend to her in her days of sorrow and af-
fliction.

That Mrs. Vaughn was the first white woman born in
Kentucky, there can not be the slightest doubt ; the fact is
placed beyond dispute by the frequent declarations of many
of the earliest settlers of this state to persons still living.
Mrs. Vaughn, herself, always declared that she had never
heard a statement to the contrary.

Mrs. Vaughn was a woman of excellent mind, warm
heart, and sincere piety; and neither her true pride, nor
the beautiful characteristics of her christian life, were
abated by her poverty and misfortunes. How strange were
her experiences. The fate-star of sorrow, which beamed
upon her birth, seemed ever to follow her with its saddening
influence. She was born when the tomahawk and the torch
were busiest; the hope of her declining years died upon a
field of battle, and she breathed out her own life in the
midst of a terrible civil war. Her parents helped to reclaim
and settle an empire; their daughter died without a foot
of land that she could call her own. Will justice, even
now, be done to her memory? Will the state appropriately
mark the spot where rest the mortal remains of the first
white womau born in the now great Commonwealth of
Kentucky.

118 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1'86.

CHAPTER XIII.

Baptist Church— Pastors— Incidents— The Creath, Fishback,
and Pratt Troubles — Fires.

The Baptists were the pioneers of religion in Kentucky,
and were the most numerous body of Christians in the early
settlement of the state ; but, as we have seen, they were not
the first to found a church in Lexington. But they were
not far behind, for a little baud of them were meeting,
from house to house, as early as 1786,* and were frequently
preached to by Elder Lewis Craig, who, in 1783, had organ-
ized, in Fayette eounty, on South Elkhorn, the first wor-
shiping assembly in the state.f This valiant soldier of the
cross was born in Spottsylvania county, Virginia, and was
several times imprisoned, in the Old Dominion, for preach-
ing contrary to law. He was greatly gifted as an exhorter,
and his constant theme was, " practical godliness and every-
day Christianity." He died in 1827, aged eighty-seven
years, sixty of which he spent in the ministry. In 1787,
Elder John Gano, of E'ew York city, settled in Central Keu-

tucky,J and, in conjunction with Elder Payne, aided

greatly to build up the church in Lexington. In 1789, the
congregation erected a log meeting-house on the>same lob
where the present church stands, in the "old Baptist grave-
yard," and Rev. John Gano became its first pastor. Mr.
Gano, who was born at Hopewell, N". J., July 22, 1727, had
been a chaplain in the American army during the Revolu-
tionary war, was one of the most eminent, eccentric, and
successful ministers of his day, and was personally known
almost throughout the United States. Elder Gano, after
being connected with the Lexington church for many years,

*01d Journal. tTaylor's History. t^^enediut.

1786.] BAPTIST CHVRCB. Jig

moved to Frankfort, and died there in 1804. He was buried
at Harmony Church, Woodford county, Kentucky.

The Baptist Church in Lexington had its troubles, too,
and early in its history. In 1799, Arianism crept into the
flock, and created some dissention, but finally died out
under the vigorous blows of Elder Gano, who, upon one
occasion (while a cripple from a fall), was held up in the
arms of his friends to. preach against it. But the Arian
trouble had hardly died out before another one came up.
In 1804, the " Emancipators," who claimed that no fellow-
ship should be extended to slaveholders, commenced to dis-
tract the church with their zealous efforts, and the mischief
grew into a mountain in 1807, when the notorious difficulty
about a negro trade took place between Jacob Creath, Sen.,
and Thomas Lewis ; and great party strife and injury to
the church ensued. At last peace came with the secession
of the " Emancipators," who formed a separate association,
long ago extinct, but the church was greatly weakened.
It languished on with decreasing numbers until 1817, when
prosperous times dawned upon it. In that year, on the 4th
of January, a number of its best scattered members assem-
bled and reorganized the church, with the assistance of
Elders Toler, Jacob Creath, Sen., ^nd Jeremiah Vardeman ;
Berry Stout being moderator, and Samuel Ayers, clerk. On
the church list of members about that time, we find, among
others, the names of James Trotter, R. Higgins, William
C. Warfield, Walter Warfield, W. H. Richardson, William
Stone, Matthew Elder, William Payne, Edward Payne, J.
H. Morton, J. C. Richardson, Gabriel Tandy, Thomas Lewis,
and William Poindexter.

The congregation met at this time in the chapel of Tran-
sylvania University, but immediate steps were taken to
build a new house of worship. It was completed and occu-
pied in October, 1819,* and was located on North Mill street,
opposite the college lawn. It was a substantial two-story
brick, provided with galleries, and is noted as being the
building in which the first general Baptist Convention of

•Church Eecords.

120 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1T86.

Kentucky was organized. Immediately after the reorgani-
zation of the church, Dr. James Fishback, who had just
been ordained to the Baptist ministry, was called to the pas-
torate, at a salary of four hundred dollars per year, a sum
considered at that time quite extraordinary for a preacher's
services. A quaint feature of the day was the custom, kept
up for a long time in the Mill Street church, of giving out
hymns line after line.

In 1826 the influence of the religious movement headed
by Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell caused the intro-
duction of a resolution into the Pirst Baptist Church, to
change its name to "the Church of Christ,"* which was ad-
vocated and opposed by the two parties which had then
formed in the church. After a prolonged discussion, the
party favoring the resolution " swarmed out," under the
the leadership of Dr. Fishback, and organized " the Church
of Christ," and worshiped in the building now known as
the Statesman office, on Short street, between Upper and
Limestone. This church was eventually dissolved. Many
of the congregation went back to the First Baptist Church,
and the remainder connected themselves with the body now
called the " Christian Church."

When Dr. Fishback left the First Baptist Church, Eev.
Jeremiah Vardeman was called to the pastorate. Mr. Var-
deman was born in Wythe county, Virginia, July 8, 1775,
and came to Kentucky in 1794. He was a faithful and
laborious minister of the gospel, and in the pulpit was clear,
earnest, fervid, and convincing.-}- He was often assisted by
Elders W. C. Breck and J. B. Smith. Mr. Vardeman was
pastor up to 1831.

Eev. R. T. Dillard was the next incumbent. Mr. Dillard
was born in Caroline county, Virginia, November 17, 1797,
served in the war of 1812, came to Kentucky, and settled
at Winchester in 1818, and began the practice of law, which
he abandoned in 1825, when he was licensed to preach.
He came to Fayette in 1828, and was for very many years
pastor of David's Fork and East Hickman Baptist Churches.

♦Church Kecord. tSprague's Annals.

I'^se.] BAPTIST CBVRCH— PASTORS. 121

111 1838 he traveled in Europe for his health. Ho was sub-
sequently Superintendent of Public Instruction, lias mar-
ried six hundred and seventy couples, and is at present a
resident of Lexington.

Rev. Silas M. N'oel* succeeded Mr. Dillard, in October,
1835. Dr. Noel was born August 12, 1783, in Essex county,
Virginia, and was educated for the bar. He came to Ken-
tucky in 1806, and practiced law until 1811, when, after
much study of the subject of religion, he united with the
Baptist Church, and was ordained to the ministry in 1813.
Being poorly paid, like all the Western preachers of that
day, he accepted, in 1818, the position of circuit judge in
the Fourth Indiana district, without relinquishing his supe-
rior office. Mr. Noel was the originator of the Baptist
Educational Society of Kentucky. He was a man of much
more than ordinary powers, and as a speaker was noted
for his fluency, chasteness, and elegance. He died May 5,
1839, and was buried near Frankfort, Kentucky.

Mr. Noel's successor was Eev. "W. F. Broadus, who was
born in Culpepper county, Virginia, about the year 1802.
He was descended from a preaching family, and was himself
a laborious pastor and excellent preacher. He filled the pul-
pit in this city until 1845, after which he became president
of a female college, in Shelbyville. He is now one of the
prominent Baptist ministers of Virginia.

The church called Rev. "William M. Pratt, of New York,
in 1845. During his administration the congregation
worked together with harmony, its eflbrts were attended
with great success, and in 1854, the old church opposite the
college lawn was sold, and a handsome new one erected
on Mill, between the present new First Presbyterian house
of worship and Church street. It was dedicated the 19th
of November, 1855, the regular pastor, Mr. Pratt, being
assisted by Rev. R. T. Dillard and Dr. S. W. Lynd, then
president of the Theological Seminary at Georgetown. This
house was unfortunately destroyed by fire, January 1,-1859,
but in the May following the erection of another one was

*Spragae's Annals.

122 niSTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1786.

commenced in the old churchyard, on Main, the site of the
pioneer Baptist Church of Lexington. "While digging the
foundation many relics of the old settlers and citizens were
exhumed, and all not identified were buried in a vault
under the church. This house was dedicated January 1,
1860. President Campbell, of Georgetown, Eev. G. 0.
Lorrimer, and the pastor officiating.

In 1863, after having been pastor for seventeen years,
Mr. Pratt resigned, and the Rev. "W. H. Felix, a native of
Woodford county and graduate of Georgetown College, was
called. Some months after Mr. Felix came the church was
again burned, but mainly through his efibrts another one
was built on the same spot, and dedicated August 20, 1865,
only to be visited by fire again in February, 1867. The
untiring congregation set to work once more, and the pres-
ent building was completed in a short time after the disas-
ter. Even at this late date the war feeling had not entirely
died out. A little while after the last fire, Mr. Pratt, "W".
E. Bosworth, and others asked and were given letters of
dismission, and they proceeded to organize a "Second
Baptist Church." The little congregation met for some
time in the City Library building, but is now disbanded,
most of the members having returned to the First Church.
Mr. Felix resigned his charge in April, 1869, and was suc-
ceeded the June following by Rev. George Hunt, the
present faithful pastor, a native of Fayette county. The
Baptist Church has exhibited great energy under many
misfortunes, and is now enjoying the abundant prosperity
it so well deserves.

iTsr.] CONVENTIONS, ETC. 123

CHAPTER XIV.

Paint Lick Expedition — Delegates to Conventions — Society for
Promoting Useful Knowledge — Old Kentucky Gazette — The
First Western Newsjpaper — Lexington Racing Clubs — Ken-
tucky Association — Fo under s — Incidents — Officers — Great
Horses — Lnprovements — Turfmen — Breeders — The Great
" Lexington,"

The events of the year 1787, if not of great importance,
were of more than ordinary interest. The Indians con-
tinued to show great restlessness and dissatisfaction. On
information given by some friendly Shawanese that a party
of Cherokees, at Paint Lick, were meditating a prefatory
raid, Colonel Robert Todd made an expedition against them
and dispersed them, killing three, and taking seven pris-
oners, who escaped the next day after capture.*

Fayette sent two delegates to the Virginia convention,
which in this year ratified the constitution of the United
States. The delegates were Humphrey Marshall and John
Fowler.f

Another convention, the fifth, met at Danville, in Septem-
tember, 1787, and Fayette was represented by Levi Todd,
Caleb "Wallace, Humphrey Marshall, John Fowler, and
William Ward.J

A number of gentlemen, alive to the interests and ad-
vancement of the district, assembled in the month of De-
cember, 1787,11 and arranged for the establishment of the
" Kentucky Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge." At
least half of the members of the society were citizens of
Lexington, and many of them were afterward counted

«Marshall. tButler- JOld Gazette. ||Gazette.

124 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [l'?87.

among the most eminent men of the state. We give the
names of all the members. They were: Christopher
Greenup, Humphrey Marshall, J. Brown, Isaac Shelby,
James Garrard, Charles Scott, George Muter, Samuel
McDowell, Harry Jones, James Speed, "Wm. McDowell,
Willis Green, Thos. Todd, Thos. Speed, G. J. Johnson,
Joshua Barbee, Stephen Armsby, J. Overton, Jr., John
Jewett, Thos. Allen, Robert Todd, Joseph Crockett,
Ebenezer Brooks, T. Hall, Caleb Wallace, Wm. Irvine,
James Parker, Alex. Parker, John Fowler, John Coburn,
George Gordon, A. D. Orr, Robert Barr,. Horace Turpin,
Robert Johnson, John Craig, David Leitch.

The first newspaper ever published west of the Alle-
ghany mountains was established in Lexington, in 1787,
by John Bradford. It was then called the Kentucke Ga-
zette, but the final e of Kentucky was afterward changed
to y, in consequence of the Virginia legislature requiring
certain advertisements to be inserted in the Kentuckt/ Ga-
zette. This paper was born of the necessities of the times.
The want of a government independent of Virginia was
then universally felt, and the second convention that met
in Danville, in 1785, to discuss that subject, resolved, "That
to insure unanimity in the opinion of the people respecting
the propriety of separating the district of Kentucky from
Virginia and forming a separate state government, and to
give publicity to the proceedings of the convention, it is
deemed essential to the interests of the country to have a
printing press." A committee was then appointed to
carry out the design of the convention ; but all their
eftbrts had failed, when John Bradford called on General
Wilkinson, one of the committee, and informed' him that
he would establish a paper if the convention would guar-
antee to him the public patronage. To this the convention
acceded, and in 1786 Bradford sent to Philadelphia for the
necessary materials. He had already received every en-
couragement from the citizens of Lexington, and at a
mectiijg of the trustees in July, it was ordered "that the
use of a public lot- be granted to John Bradford free, on

1787.] FIRST NEWSPAPER. 125

condition that he establish a printing press in Lexington ;
the lot to be free to him as long as the press is in town."
Mr. Bradford's first office was in a log cabin, on the corner
of Main and Broadway, now known as " Cleary's," but
then known as " opposite the court-house." He subse-
quently used a building on Main, between Mill and Broad-
way, about where Scott's iron front building stands.

At last, after being months on the route, the precious
printing material arrived, and on August 18, 1787, ap-
peared the first number of the first newspaper ever pub-
lished in the then western wilderness. It was a quaint
httle brown thing, about the size of a half sheet of com-
mon letter paper, " subscription price 3 8 shillings per
annum, advertisements of moderate length 3 shillings."
It was printed in the old style—/ being used for s. The
first number is without a heading, and contains one adver-
tisement, two short original articles, and the following
apology from the editor :

"My customers will excuse this, my first publication, as
I am much hurried to get an impression by the time ap-
pointed. A great part of the types fell into pi in the car-
riage of them from Limestone (Maysville) to this office,
and miy partner, which is the only assistant I have, through
an indisposition of the body, has been incapable of render-
ing the smallest assistance for ten days past.

" John Bradford."

ITo wonder " the types fell into pi," for they had to be
carried from "Limestone" to Lexington on pack-horses,
that had swollen streams to cross, fallen trees to jump, and
many a terrible " scare " from the sudden crack of Indian
rifles, for there was not a half mile between the two places
unstained with blood. The Gazette of 1787 is the only
indicator extant of the size and importance of Lexington,
at that time. We are able to surmise some things, at least,
after looking over the first volumes of the Gazette. They
are adorned with rude cuts and ornaments gotten up by
Bradford himself. It is well known that he cut out the
larger letters from dog-wood. In these volumes we find

126 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1787.

advertised, among other things, knee-bnckles, hair-powder,
spinning wheels, flints, buckskin for breeches, and saddle-
bag locks. "Persons who subscribe to the frame meeting-
house can pay in cattle or whisky." In another place the
editor condemns the common practice of " taming bears,"
and also that of "lighting fires with rifles." Proceedings
of the district convention are published, l^o. 5, of volume
1, contains the constitution of the United States just framed
by the " grand convention " then in session. Notice is given
to the public not to tamper with corn or potatoes at a cer-
tain place, as they had been poisoned to trap some veg-
etable stealing Indians. In another number, "notice is
given that a company will meet at Crab Orchard next Mon-
day, for an early start through the wilderness; most of the
delegates to the State Convention at Kichmond (to adopt
constitution of United States), v^ill go with them." Chas.
Bland advertises, "I will not pay a note given to Wm.
Turner for three second-rate cows till he returns a rifle,
blanket, and tomahawk I loaned him." Later, the names
of Simon Kenton and 'Squire Boone appear. The columns
of the Gazette are enriched with able and well-written ar-
ticles, full of that mental vigor and natural talent for
which our pioneer fathers were so justly celebrated; bat
"locals" are vexatiously scarce. Still the editor got up
some. He often speaks of stealing, murdering, and kid-
napping by Indians. At one time he speaks of a wonder-
ful elephant on exhibition in a certain stable, an'd at another,
"the people of the settlement are flocking in to see the
dromedary" — quite a menagerie at that day. "We must re-
member, if we think his " items " scarce, that at that time
steamboats didn't explode, nor cars run off the track, for
none of these, or a thousand other modern item-making
machines, were in existence.

Still the Gazette must have been read with the most in-
tense interest ; in fact, a writer in one of its earliest num-
bers says : "Mr. Bradford, as I have signed the subscription
for your press, and take your paper, my curiosity eggs me
on to read everything in it." And no wonder, for all docu-
ments of public interest had up to this time been written,

1787.] FIRST NEWSPAPER. 127

■were often illegible, and one copy only was to be seen at
each of the principal settlements. And then it was the
only paper printed within five hundred miles of Lexington,
and there was no post-ofiice in the whole district. It was
published, too, at a time of unusual interest in politics, and
while party spirit ran high. The old national government
was crumbling to give place to the new ; the settlements
were distracted by French and Spanish intrigues; the peo-
ple were indignant and hot-blooded over the obstructed
navigation of the Mississippi, and convention after conven-
tion was being held to urge on the work of separation
from Virginia. What a treat the Gazette was to the pioneers !
Often when the post-rider arrived with it at a settlement,
the whole population would crowd around the school-
master or " 'squire," who, mounted in state upon a stump,
would read it, advertisements and all, to the deeply inter-
ested and impatient throng.

Bradford's editorial situation, contrasted with the mag-
nificent surroundings and princely style of a New York
journalist of the present day, was quite interesting. His
steamboat, railroad, telegraph, and mail carrier was a pack
mule. His office was a log cabin. His rude and unwieldy
hand-press was of the old-fashioned style, that for centuries
had not been improved, and, in addition, it was a second-
hand one. He daubed on the ink by hand with two an-
cient dog-skin inking balls, and probably managed to get
sixty or seventy copies printed on one side in an hour. If
he wrote at night, it was by the light of a rousing fire, a
bear-grease lamp, or a buflalo tallow candle; an editorial
desk made of a smooth slab, supported by two pairs of
cross legs ; a three-legged stool, ink horn, and a rifle com-
posed the rest of the furniture of his office. The Gazette
was, for some time, in its early history, printed on paper
made near Lexington, at the mill of Craig, Parker & Co.
This pioneer journal of the West existed for nearly three-
quarters of a century. There is no greater treasure in the
Lexington library than the old files of the Kentucke
Gazette.

128 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1^87.

John Bradford became a citizen of Lexington in 1786.
This useful man, whose name is so closely linked with the
early history of our city, was born in Fauquier county,
Virginia, in 1749, and married Eliza, daughter of Captain
Benj. James of the same county, in 1761. He took part
in the Eevolutionary war, and was also in the battle with
the Indians at Chillicothe. In 1785, he brought his family
out from Virginia, and settled in Fayette county. He founded
the Kentucke Gazette in 1787, and published the next year
the Kentucke Almanac, the first pamphlet printed west of
the mountains. Mr. Bradford was chairman of the Lex-
ington Board of Trustees, which welcomed Governor
Shelby, in 1792, to our city, which was then the capital of
the state. He was the first state printer, and received from
the legislature one hundred pounds sterling. He printed
books as early as 1794, and some of them of that date are
still to be seen in the Lexington library. He was at one
time, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Transylvania
University, and filled many places of trust and honor in
Lexington. He was greatly respected, and after leading a
life of much usefulness, went to his rest, sincerely mourned
by all who knew him. His residence was on the corner
of Mill and Second streets. It was built by Colonel Hart,
and is the same one now occupied by Mrs. Ryland.

The center of "the garden spot of Kentucky," justly
famous the world over for its magnificent blood stock, was
devoted to the turf while Lexington was scarcely a village.
As early as 1787, " the commons," as our present "Water
street was then called, was a favorite resort of horsemen
when their charming pastime of racing through Main
street was interfered with by the troublesome trustees of
the rising town.* The settlers pursued pleasures under difii-
culties in those days, as the "red-skin varmints" had all
by no means disappeared from the state. In August, 1789,
the only newspaper published in Kentuckyf contained the
following notice, which we give verbatim, viz : " A purse-
race will take place at Lexington, on 2d Thursday in Octo-

*Trustees' Book. tOld Kentucke Gazette.

1787.] LEXINGTON RACING ASSOCIATION. 129

ber next, free for any horse, mare, or gelding ; weight for
age agreeable to the rules of New Market (three-mile
heats), best two in three. Each subscriber to pay one
guinea, and every person that enters a horse for the purse
to pay two guineas, including his subscription. The horses
to be entered the^ day before running with Mr. John Fowler,
who will attend at Mr. Collins' tavern on that day. Sub-
scriptions taken by Nicholas Lafon, Lexington." Races
were pretty regularly kept up after this time. Simeon
Buford and Colonel Abraham Buford owned the winning
horses in 1795. In 1802, races were in full blast in Lex-
ington, and in 1809, the Lexington Jockey Club was organ-
ized. It existed until 1823, and held its meetings near
Ashland. The report made by the secretary, W". Q. Wilson,
of its final October meeting, is as follows :*

" The first day's purse, for the four-mile heats, was taken
by Mr. Burbridge's gelding. Tiger by Tiger, 5 years old, at
two heats, beating Captain Harris' b. h. Paragon, by Whip,
4 years old, and Colonel W. Buford's s. m. Carolina, by Sir
Archie, 4 years old. Paragon was drawn the second heat.
Time of the first heat, 8:15; of the second heat, 8:25.

" The second day's purse, three-mile heats, was won by
Mr. Watson's s. h. Sea Serpent, by Shylock, beating Mr.
Blackburn's Sophy Winn, by Whip, at two heats. Time
of the first heat, 6:7 ; of the second heat, 6:10.

" The third day's purse, two-mile heats, was won by Mr.
Barnett's s. h. Diamond, by Brilliant, 3 years old, at three
heats, beating Mr. W. Sanders' Stifler, by Ex-Emperor, and
Mr. Harlan 8 gelding. Black Snake, by Sky Lark. The
Black Snake won the first heat and was drawn the third
heat. Time of the first heat, 4:2 ; of the second heat, 4:8 ;
the third heat was won by Diamond with ease.

"The Handy Cap purse on Saturday, one mile heats, best
three in five, was won by Captain Harris' Paragon, beat-
ing the Irishman and Virginia. Time of the first heat,
1:52 ; of the second heat, 1:51 ; of the third heat, 1:53 ; each
heat was closely contested by the Irishman and Virginia."

•Lexington Paper.

130 BISTORT OF LEXINOTOHT. [1787.

The present noted Kentucky association was organized
at Mrs. Keene's inn^ Lexington, July 29, 1826, by about
fifty of the prominent turfmen of Central Kentucky,
among whom were E. "Warfield, T. H. Pindell, Jas. K.
Duke, Leslie Combs, J. Boswell, R. Downing, J. L. Down-
ing, Geo. H. Bowman, John Bruce, John Tilford, B. W,
Dudley, W. R. Morton, E. J. Breckinridge, Wm. Buford,
John Brand, and Eobt. Wicklitfe.* The object of the
association, to use the words of the original agreement,
was " to improve the breed of horses by encouraging the
sports of the turf." The first racing meeting held under
the arrangement commenced October 19, 1826, on the old
"Williams' track, which was on what is now known as the
Lee property, near the Lexington Cemetery. The first
race was for a purse of $300; four started; was won
by Andrew Barnett's Diomed gelding, Sheriffe, in two
straight heats. For the second day's purse of $200, three
started. "Won by Ralph P. Tarlton's horse, Old Count.
The third and last day's racing, for the purse of |100, was
won by Ludwell Berkley's gelding. Sir Sidney. For this
purse, five horses started. The time is not given. f

For the year 1827, the race for the first day was for a
purse of $150, for two miles and repeat; the second day, a
race of four miles and repeat, for a purse of $400, and the
third day a race of three miles and repeat, for a purse of
$250. The first was won by Willa "Vilfey's b. m. Mariah,
in 4:15. The time of second heat not given. The four
mile race was won by E. B. Tarlton's s. s. Old Count, in
8:17, 8:48. The three-mile race was won by Sidney Bur-
bridge's b. m.. Limber. The heats were broken. The
time as follows : 6:09, 6:07, 6:46, 6:18. A sweepstakes was
opened for the following day, one mile, best three in five,
which was won by Willa Viley's Mariah. Time, l:53i,
l:52i, 1:511 i:5i, IjSI.j

The old "Williams' track was used by the association
until 1828, when the present track, at the east end of
Fifth street, was bought by John Postlethwaite. In 1834,

*Associatiou Kecords. f Observer and Reporter. Jld.

1787.] LEXINGTON RACING ASSOCIATION. 131

a tract of land adjoining the course, was purchased from
Jeremiah Murphy, and added to the original purchase.
The association now own about sixty-five acres of land, all
of which is inclosed with a high plank fence. In this
year (1834), it was ordered that the wieghts heretofore
adopted, be changed to conform to those established by
the Central Course of Maryland. It was also ordered that
Wm. Buford, W. Viley, J. K. Duke, A. K. WooUey, and
Leslie Combs, be appointed a committee to apply to the
legislature for a charter.*

A motion was adopted instructing the secretary to have
a bulletin of the races published every morning, giving a
description of horses and rider's dress, which is carried out
to this day.

An early frequenterf of the course says of this period
(1834) : " We can recollect when nothing but an old post
and rail fence inclosed the track ; the judges' stand stood
at the cow-pens, and the grand stand was an old*, rickety
building, with high steps, which stood on top of the hill
in the center of the course. Admittance to the course
was free, to the stand twenty-five cents. John "Wirt was
secretary. We recollect seeing Woodpecker, the sire of
Gray Eagle, ran. We remember vividly the race between
Dick Singleton and Collier, when the latter sulked, and
John Alcock rode Collier and broke a beautiful ivory whip
over the head of the obstinate beast.

"We can recollect when the judges' stand was placed
where the timing stand is now, when Rodolph ran at Lex-
ington, aim subsequently defeated the great Tennessee
crack Angora, at Louisville, Kentucky, in 1836. The year
the course was fenced in, about 1835, we witnessed the
great sixteen-mile race between Sarah Miller, Jim Allen,
and Gray foot; the great apd exciting struggle between
May Dacre (afterward Belle Anderson, the dam of Zenith)
and Susette, three-mile heats; the brilliant promise of Gray
Eagle, as a three-year old, in 1838, and his subsequent de-
feat by the renowned ^ Wagner, at Louisville, in 1839.

«A6Sooiation Kecorda. fSee Turf, Field, and Farm, April, 1872.

132 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [178T.

These two great races between Wagner and Gray Eagle
excited the highest interest throughout the country."

The year 1840 was memorable at Lexington for the great
three-mile heat race, in which nine stallions started,
Blacknose, by Medoc, out of Lucy, by Orphan, won the
first heat in 5:40, the fastest and first time 5:40 had been
made in America. Ked Bill, another son, of Medoc, won
the second and third heats in 5:48, 5:49. The following
year, 1841, was no less memorable, when Jim Bell, by
Frank, ran a second heat in 1:46, the fastest mile up to
that time ever run in America. This time stood for many
years before it was beaten. In 1842 the great match be-
tween Zenith and Miss Foote was made. Zenith broke
down in training, and Miss Foote walked over. The last
of the same meeting Miss Foote beat Argentile and Alice
Carneal, the honored dam of the unapproachable Lex-
ington, four mile heats, in 7:42, 7:40, the best time ever
made in Kentucky before.*

In 1843, the Great Produce Stakes for three-year olds,
seventy-two subscribers, at $500 each, $100 forfeit, with a
gold cup valued at $500 added, was won by Ruffin, by imp.
Hedgford, dam Duchess of Marlborough, by Sir Archy.
This was one of the most valuable stakes ever run for in
Kentucky.

In 1836, the date previously fixed to be taken in deciding
the age of horses, was changed to the Ist of January. The
months of May and September were decided upon in 1844,
as the times for the spring and fall meetings, and have been
adhered to ever since.

The fastest time for three-quarters of a mile ever run on
the association course is 1:18J.

The fastest time for one and one-quarter miles is 2:14J.

The fastest time for one and half miles is 2:38, which was
made by Exchange in the spring of 1870. This time has
never been beaten on any course except by Glenelg, who
ran in 2:37f .

The fastest time for two and one-half miles is 5:22J,

•Turf, Field, and Parm.

1787.] LEXINGTON RACINO ASSOCIATION. 133

The following is the number of races run on the course
since its organization up to 1871, for the different distances :
Three-quarters of a mile, 4 races ; one mile, 213 races ; one
and a fourth miles, 2 races ; one and a half miles, 3 races ;
two miles, 141 races; two miles and a half, 2 races; three
miles, 49 races ; four miles, 23 races ; hurdle races, 2.*

The following is a list of the presidents and secretaries
of the association from the date of its organization, in 1826,
to the present time, viz :

Presidents.— 1S26, Wm. Pritchart; 1830, E. J. "Winter;
1833, Thos. H. Pindell ; 1845, Thos. H. Hunt ; 1848, Charles
Buford ; 1853, Leslie Combs ; 1855, John E,. Viley ; 1864, B.
G. Bruce; 1866, John R. Viley; 1871, John R. Viley;
1872, John C. Breckinridge.

Secretaries.— 1S26, John Wirt ; 1837, Thos. P. Hart ; same
year, Richard Pindell ; 1845, J. R. McGowan ; 1850, E. E.
Eagle; 1857, Charles Wheatly; 1865, E. E.Eagle; 1869, H.
Rees ; 1871, T. J. Bush.

The efficiency and accomplishments of Captain Bush in
his department are too well known to require comment.

The Kentucky Association is the oldest living club in
America, and General Combs is believed to be the only
living representative of the original fifty subscribers who
formed it.

That it is the fastest course in America can easily be
demonstrated.! Fadladeen and Salina each ran a mile on
this course in 1:43, in 1871. Frogtown ran one and one-
quarter miles in 2:09 J, in 1872. Exchange ran one mile and
a half in 2:38, in 1871. Frogtown ran one mile and three-
quarters in 3:07, in 1872. Lyttleton ran two miles in 3:34J,

in 1871.

The time here given is the fastest and best on record.
It is true that Glenelg ran two miles in 2:37| with 100 lbs,;
but Exchange, carrying 110 lbs., ran the same distance on
this course in 2:38, which makes his tjie best time. Hegira
ran two miles on the Metairie course, carrying 71i lbs., in

•Observer and Reporter, 1871. tHome Journal.

134 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1787.

3:34J, butLyttleton, with 104 lbs., made it on the Kentucky
Association course in 3: 34 J.

This old course has been the scene of the debut and sub-
sequent renown of the most noted horses that have figured
on the American turf for the last thirty years. Here Jim
and Josh. Bell, Sarah Morton, Rocket, Motto, Grey Medoc,
Euffin, Ludu, Alaric, Darkness, Doubloon, Florin, Louis
D'Or, Rube, Zampa, Star Davis, Sally Waters, Frankfort,
Blonde, the renowned Lexington, Wild Irishman, Charley
Ball, Dick Doty, Vandal, Balloon, Princeton, Daniel Boone,
Ruric, Bonnie Lassie, JSTantura, Lavender, Satellite, Mollie
Jackson, Lightning, Thunder, Asteroid, Lancaster,, Sherrod,
Colton, Magenta, Solferino, Mammona, Bettie Ward, Good-
wood, Li]Ia,Herzog, Versailles, Fadladeen, Littleton, Long-
fellow, Enquirer, and a host of others, first gave promise of
their after fame and renown.

Extensive improvements were made by the association
in the spring of 1872.* The track was regraded and
widened to about double its former width. It is now just
one mile and six inches long. The old stands have been
torn down and new ones erected. The grand stand, which
is built twenty-seven feet back from the track, is a model
building of its kind, being one hundred and fifty by thirty
feet, and about thirty-two feet high. The lower story is
built of brick. Immediately in front of the grand stand,
and just at the edge of the track, is the judges' stand, an
octagon building, with a small room below, where the scales
are placed to weigh the riders. Just across the track is the
timers' stand. The old distance stand has also been re-
moved, and a new one erected. Where the old stand M'as,
there has been built a substantial frame building, which is
intended to accommodate all those who formerly went to
the field. The cooling ground has been changed from the
rear to the front. There are eleven stables on the ground,
in which more than seventy -five horses can be accommo-
dated.

The association course is now one of the handsomest in

•Daily Press.

1787.] LEXINGTON RACING ASSOCIATION. I35

the United States. , Captain O. P. Beard, who directed and
personally superintended these improvements, was presented
with a fine timing watch, ordered from England, by his
friends, as a token of their appreciation of his taste and
untiring energy.

Nearly a hundred horses owned near Lexington were
present at the last spring meeting of the association. The
stables in attendance belonged to J. A. Grinstead, B. G.
Thomas, H. P. McGrath,'^ohn Clay, Zeb. Ward," J. F. Rob-
inson, A. Bufordj'^George Cadwallader, John Harperj'Daniel
Swigert, J. W. Hunt Reynolds, "Warren Viley, A. K. Rich-
ards, Caleb Wallace, and others.

We may mention with propriety, in this connection, that
in addition to the twenty-five or thirty regular breeding
establishments in Fayette county, nearly every farmer in it
is to some extent a breeder, and the whole county is one
vast stock farm. Here was bred, by Dr. Elisha "WarfieM,
the world-renowned " Lexington," and this county is the
native place of the famous thorough-breds, " Grey Eagle,"
bred by H. T. Duncan, Sen. ; « Daniel Boone," " Kentucky,"
and " Gilroy," bred by John M. Clay ; " Herzog," bred by
B. G. Thomas ; " Fadladeen," bred by Mr. McFadden ; and
" Frogtown," bred by William Stanhope and H. A. Head-
ley. At the head of the list of noted fast trotters that were
bred in Fayette are Dunlap's "Lady Thorn," William Brad-
ley's "John Morgan," Enoch Lewis' " Ericson," Andrew
Steele's " Blackwood," and Dr. L. Herr's " Mambrino Ber-
tie." The following is a list of the principal breeders and
the names of the stallions at the head of each stud, viz :

Thoroughbreds John M. Clay, " Star Davis ;" J. A. Grin-
stead, " Lightning" and " Gilroy ;" H. P. McGrath, " Blar-
ney Stone;" B. G. Thomas, ; J. R. Viley, ; Zeb.

"Wsird, ; George Cadwallader, .

Trotters. Dr. L. Herr, "Mambrino Patchin;" Enoch

Lewis, "Ericson;" Drs. S. and D. Price, "Sentinel;" R.
Lowell, "Abdallah Pilot;" Hunt Brothers, "Darlboy;"
Thomas Coons, "American Clay;" John Mardis, "Clark
Chief, Jr.;" Charles Headley, "Banquo;" A. Coons, ;

336 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1T87.

"W. J. Bradley, ; Alexander Brand, ; K. & J. Tod-
hunter, Jos. Bryant, Jr., .

The names of the professional trainers in Fayette are:
Thomas Britton, C. B. Jeffreys, B. J. Tracy, R. Lowell,
James Chrystal, W. E.. Brasiield, A. L. Bice, H. Lusby, and
W. J. Bradley.

The history of the Kentucky Association, and also of
Fayette county, " the breeder's paradise," would never be
considered complete without a sketch of the pride of both,
viz : the famous race-horse, " Lexington," the blind old
Milton of the turf, and the king of coursers. "Lexington "
was bred by Dr. Elisha Warfield, of Lexington, Kentucky,
and was foaled in 1850, at his home, " The Meadows,"
which is about half a mile frorn the association grounds.
"Lexington"* was by Boston, out of Alice Carneal, by
Sarpedon, dam Rowena, by Sampler ; great granddam Lady
Gray, by Robin Gray. Boston was by Timoleon out of
Robin Brown's dam, own sister to Tuckahoe and Revenge,
by Florizel. Alice Carneal, Lexington's dam, was foaled
in Kentucky, in 1836, and although she ran second in the
first heat of a four-mile race to Miss Foote in 7:42, being
distanced in the second heat, she never won a race. Lex-
ington was first known on the turf as Darley, and under
that name won his first race, a three-year old stake, at the
Lexington, Kentucky, May meeting, 1853, mile heats, beat'
ing thirteen opponents. He was purchased on the evening
after this race by Mr. Ten Broeck, and his name changed
to Lexington. At the same meeting he won a two-mile
heat race for three-year olds, and his owner soon after
matched him to run a three-mile race against the four-year
old filly, Sally Waters, by Glencoe, out of Maria Black,
for $8,500 ; the backers of the filly staking $5,000 to $3,500
on Lexington. The race occurred on the Metairie course,
'Eew Orleans, December 2, 1853, and Lexington won, dis-
tancing Sally Waters in the second heat. The time was
6:23i and 6:24J, and the track very heavy. His next en-
gagement was in the three-year old stake, at New Orleans,

'''^Ciiiciiiiiati Commercial.

1787.] THE GREAT "LEXINGTON." 137

January 7, 1854, two-mile heats, but being amiss, he paid
forfeit to Conrad the Corsair, Argent, and Hornpipe. The
following April, on the same course, he won for Kentucky
the Great State Post Stake, for all ages, four-mile heats,
beating Lecomte, the representative of Mississippi, second
in both heats, Highlander, of Alabama, and Arrow, of
Louisiana. Highlander was distanced in the second, and
Arrow in the first heat ; time 8:081, 8:0-4, and track heavy.
The next meeting of Lexington and Lecomte was on April
8, over the same track, for the Jockey Club purse of $2,000,
four-mile heats, and here Lexington sustained his only, de-
feat, Lecomte winning two straight heats in the fastest time
ever made up to that date, viz: 7:26, 7:38f. Lexington
was second in both heats, and Eeube, third on the first,
was distanced in the last heat, l^otwithstanding his horse's
defeat, Ten Broeck oft'ered to run him against Lecomte's
best time or against Lecomte himself for $20,000, four-mile
heats. Eventually, a match was made for $20,000, Lexing-
ton to run against the fastest time, at four miles, that is^
Lecomte's 7:26, over the Metairie course, New Orleans.
This memorable race occurred April 2, 1855, and Lexington,
carrying 103 pounds — three pounds over- weight — and' rid-
den by Gilpatrick, won in 7:19f, which, for seventeen years,
has never been equaled. The time was l:47i, 1:52J, l:51i,
and l:48f ; total, 7:19|. Not satisfied with this. General
"Wells started Lecomte against Lexington for the Jockey
Club purse of $1,000, with an inside stake of $2,500 a side,
four-mile heats, April 24, 1855, on the Metairie course, and
this time Lexington obtained a decisive victory over his
old conqueror, winning the first heat in 7:23|, and gallop-
ing over in the second heat, as Lecomte had been with-
drawn.

Lexington soon after broke down, and, being withdrawn
from the turf, was purchased by the late R. A. Alexander,
of "Woodburn, Woodford county, Kentucky. He is now
blind, and has been so for some years. Mr. Alexander
paid Mr. Ten Broeck $15,000 for "Lexington," and was
ridiculed for giving so large an amount; but subsequent
events justified his foresight. A few years later, Lexing-

138 EISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1787.

ton's son, "IsTorfolk," won the two stakes for three-jear olds
at St. Louis, and was then sold for $15,000. Since then,
another son, "Kentucky," sold for $40,000, and double that
sum would not purchase " Harry Bassett," the greatest of
bis progeny.

My-

1788.] FIRST CELEBRATION OF TBE FOURTH OF JULY. I39

CHAPTER XV.

Mist Celebration of the Fourth of July — Convention Election —
Woodford County Formed — Cincinnati Settled — Free Ma-
sonry in Lexington — Native and Resident Painters: West,
Joueti, Frazer, Bush, Price, and others.

The first regular and formal celebratioa of Independence
Day in Lexington took place in 1788. The 8cene then ex-
hibited stands in striking contrast with modern usage, and
the toasts and sentiments of the occasion not only show at
once the native strength and clearness of the pioneer mind,
but the condition and feelings of the people on the state of
affairs in the then District of Kentucky.

At one p. M. on the day mentioned, a large company of
ladies and gentlemen assembled at what was then known as
Captain Thomas Young's tavern, where an elegant enter-
tainment and feast of fat things had been prepared, and an
hour was passed in festive enjoyment. After dinner an ode
composed by a Lexington gentleman was sung to the tune
of "Rule Britannia," the entire company joining in the
chorus —

"Hail Kentucke, Kentucke, thou shall be
Forever great, most blest and free."

This unique production was a poetic embodiment of the;
universal desire of the people for a separate state govern-
ment, and was sung with the greatest spirit and enthusiasm.

The following toasts and sentiments were then drank,
with a discharge of fourteen rifles at each interval :

The United States of America.

The illustrious George Washington, Esq.; may his serv-
ices be remembered.

140 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1788.

The Western World : perpetual union on principles of
equality or amicable separation.

The navigation of the Mississippi at any price but that
of liberty.

Harmony with Spain and a reciprocity of good offices.

May the savage enemies of America be chastised by arms,
and the jobbing system of treason be exploded.

" The Convention of Virginia." May wisdom, firmness,
and a sacred regard for the fundamental principles of the
revolution, guide her councils.

Trial by jury, liberty of the press, and no standing army.

May the Atlantic States be just, the Western States be
free, and both happy.

ITo paper money, no tender laws, and no legislative inter-
ference with private contracts.

The above presents a perfect picture of affairs in Ken-
tucky at that date, and at no subsequent period in her
history up to the eve of the late war has our state been so
strangely situated. While Kentucky was struggling for
separate state sovereignty the ruins of the old confederation
were lying all around her. The Virginia Convention to
deliberate on the constitution of a new union was then in
session, listening to the eloquent wisdom of Henry, Mason,
Pendleton, Grayson, and its other great and sagacious states-
men, and Kentucky was watching with the most eager in-
terest for its decision. Here, in the very infancy, or rather
at the very birth of the republic, we see the Yankee at
work. Louisiana was then a Spanish province, and Don
Gardozni, Minister from Spain, was making every exertion
to effect a political union between the West and Louisiana,
and Kentucky was being tempted with the free navigation
of the Mississippi; and to all this may be added the rav-
ages of the Indians and the dissensions among her own
citizens. Kentucky has never celebrated a much more mo-
mentous " Fourth."

A regular old " five days election " for delegates to tlie
Seventh Danville Convention was held in Lexington and
Fayette county this year, and was an unusually spirited one.
Colonel Thomas Marshall, at the head of the "Court"

1788.] CINCINNATI SETTLED. 141

party, and General Wilkinson, the leader of the " Country"
party, labored with unusual zeal. The " Court" won, and
sent Thomas Marshall, Caleb "Wallace, William Ward, and
John Allen to the convention. General Wilkinson was the
only one on the " Country" ticket elected.

Virginia contracted the wide borders of Fayette consid-
erably this year, by organizing Woodford county out of
part of her territory.

The city of Cincinnati was settled by a company from
Lexington ; two citizens of Lexington owned most of the
ground on which it stands, and one of them gave it its
original name, " Losantiville."* The following notice, which
we give verbatim, was published in the old Kentucky
Gazette, September 6, 1788 :

" !Cf OTiCE. — The subscribers, being proprietors of a tract
of land opposite the mouth of the Licking river, on the
northwest side of the Ohio, have determined to lay off a
town upon that excellent situation. The local and natural
advantages speak its future prosperity, being equal, if not
superior to any on the bank of the Ohio between the
Miamis. The in-lots to be each half an acre, the out-lots
four acres ; thirty of each to be given to settlers, upon pay-
ing one dollar and fifty cents for the survey and deed of
each lot. The 15th day of September is appointed for
a large company to meet in Lexington, and mark a road
from there to the mouth of the Licking, provided Judge
Symmes arrives, being daily expected. When the town is
laid off, lots will be given to such as may become residents
before the first day of April next.

" Matthias Denman,
KoBEET Patterson,
John Filson."

The road was marked, the present site of Cincinnati
was duly visited, and a settlement was made there by Col-
onel Patterson's party, in December, 1788. In the follow-
ing June the little village was strengthened and protected
by the building of Fort Washington, by which name Cin-

«Ci3t Papers, 12.

142 EISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1T88.

cinnati was long known to the pioneers of the West. After
efl'ecting the settlement, Colonel Patterson returned to
Lexington, where he continued to reside until 1804.

Freemasonry in Kentucky, and in all the region west
of the Alleghany mountains, had its commencement in
"Lodge ISTo. 25," established in Lexington, District of Ken-
tucky, JSTovember 17, 1788, by the Grand Lodge of Vir-
ginia. "Masons' Hall," in Lexington, was at that time a
small house of primitive style, located on the same lot
where the present hall stands, on the corner of Walnut and
Short streets. The ground on which it stood was donated
to the lodge by William Murray, the first Grand Master of
the Grand Lodge of Kentucky. In 1796, the ball was im-
proved from funds realized from a lottery gotten up for the
purpose, and the membership of the lodge had so increased
by 1799, that St. John's day was celebrated with consid-
erable display.* On the 8th of September, 1800,f a con-
vention of delegates from all the lodges in Kentucky met
at " Masons' Hall," to consider the propriety of separating
from the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, and
forming a Grand Lodge in Kentucky. James Morrison,
of "No. 25," was chairman. The delegates at this conven-
tion from "Lexington Lodge, No. 25," were Thomas Bod-
ley, Alexander McGregor, and James Russell. Separation
was determined upon, and was agreed to by the Virginia
Grand Lodge ; and on Thursday, October 16, 1800, in Ma-
sons' Hall, in Lexington, the representatives of the lodges of
Kentucky opened a Grand Lodge for the State of Ken-
tucky, " the first on the great American roll of the nine-
teenth century." Nearly half the officers of the Grand
Lodge were selected from "No. 25," viz: Alexander Mc-
Gregor, Deputy Grand Master; James Russell, G. Sec-
retary; John Bobbs, G. Tyler. At this first session, the
seal of Lexington Lodge, No. 25, was adopted by the
Grand Lodge, and used for some time. " No. 25 " was also
placed first in the order of subordinate lodges, in deference
to its priority of age, and then became " Lexington Lodge,

*Kentucky Gazette. tProcecdings of G. L.

1T88.] FREEMASONRY. ' I43

No. 1," by which title it has been known ever since that
time.* Among the distinguished men who were members
of Lodge No. 1 may be named Henry Clay, W. T. Barry,
Joseph H. Daviess, Jesse Bledsoe, George M. Bibb, Felix
Grundy, and B. W. Dudley. In 1806, Lodge No, 1 sent
Daniel Bradford and John Bobb as delegates to the con-
vention, which met in Lexington that year to frame a
Grand Lodge constitution. At the meeting of the Grand
Lodge, August 27, 1812, in Lexington, an imposing funeral
ceremonial was performed in honor of the heroic Grand
Master, Joseph H. Daviess, who fell at the battle of Tippe-
canoe, November 7, 1811. The pall bearers were eight
Master Masons of Lodge No. l.f

Daviess Lodge was erected this year (1812) by a num-
ber of the members of Lodge No. 1, and was duly char-
tered by the Grand Lodge. It was named in honor of the
lamented hero, to whom funeral honors had just been paid,
and formed the first instance, in Kentucky, of a lodge being
named after an individual. David Castleman was first
master, and John Pope, one of the first members, repre-
sented it at the next session of the Grand Lodge.J The
sword of Colonel Daviess, incased in a casket made of the
wood of the oak under which he was standing when he re-
ceived his death wound, was presented to the Grand Lodge in
October, 1858, by Levi L. Todd. Daviess Lodge ranks third
in age among the lodges now in existence in Kentucky.

In 1813, the propriety of erecting a grand hall in Lex-
ington was first discussed in the Grand Lodge; and in
1817, Lexington Lodge, No. 1, presented to the Grand Lodge
its lot on Walnut street as a site on which to build the new
temple, "No. 1" reserving to itself the privilege of meeting
in said temple.§ The donation was accepted, but it was
finally concluded to erect the hall on East Main street, west
of Broadway, below what is now known as " Cleary's
corner." The building was commenced in 1824, and was
dedicated, with appropriate ceremonies, October 26, 1826.
The hall was a handsome one, three stories high, and cost
between |25,000 and $30,000. It was in this hall that

*Pro. G. L. tOld Journals. tKobert .Morris' Hist. JPro. of U. L.

144 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1''88.

General Lafayette was received by the Masons of Lexington
in 1825. Two Indians— one of them the celebrated Colonel
Ross— were duly examined, introduced and welcomed to
the Masons in this hall. They were the only full-blooded In-
dian Masons ever thus received in Lexington. The hall was
used as a hospital during the terrible cholera season of 1833.

The question of removing the Grand Lodge from Lex-
ington to Louisville was first agitated in 1830, and in 1833 ,
it was located in Louisville, after having existed in Lexing-
ton thirty-three years.

The Grand Hall on Main street was destroyed by fire in
1837. This event caused the question of the location of
the Grand Lodge to be again agitated. The lot of No. 1
was again tendered to the Grand Lodge on the original
terms, again accepted, and with the understanding that the
sessions of the Grand Lodge would be permanently held in
Lexington, another hall, the present one, costing $25,000,
was erected upon the site of the first building devoted to
masonic purposes in Kentucky. This hall was solemnly
dedicated to masonry, according to the ancient form and
usage, September 1, 1841, and the next day the Grand
Lodge " ordered that its annual communication should be
held in the city of Lexington."

Devotion Lodge was chartered in September, 1847, Oliver
Anderson being first master.

In August, 1848, Good Samaritan Lodge was chartered,
Samuel D. McOullough, first master.

The Grand Lodge was again removed from Lexington
to Louisville in October, 1858, and its sessions are still held
in that city. Lexington was the meeting-place of the
Grand Lodge, including both times of its occupation, for
sixty years.

The high character of the masonic lodges of Lexington
is known everywhere, and is abundantly attested by the
great number of officers they have furnished to the Grand
Lodge. The lodges, at present, are fully up to the old
standard of merit and prosperity.

The art annals of Lexington are not to be despised.

1788."] NATIVE AND RESIDENT ARTISTS. 145

"William West, who came to this city in 1788, was the first
painter that ever settled in the vast region " this side the
mountains." He was the son of the then rector of St.
Paul's Church, Baltimore, and had studied under the cele-
brated Benjamin West, in London. His family was a
talented one. His brother, Edward West, who had pre-
ceded him to Lexington three years before, was the won-
derful mechanical genius who invented the steamboat in
this city in 1793 (see chapter of that date), and his son,
William E. West, is now remembered for the portrait he
painted of Lord Byron, at Leghorn. William West painted
but few pictures, and they were of only moderate merit.
He is best known as " the first painter who came to the
West." He died in New York.

Asa Park, a Virginian, was the second painter who set-
tled in Lexington. He was an intimate friend of William
West, in whose family he lived, greatly beloved, for years.
He died in the year 1827, and was buried by the West
family on their lot, near the corner of Hill and Mill streets,
opposite the present Letcher property. Though Mr. Park
attempted portraits, his best productions were fruit and
flower pieces. His pictures, like West's, owe their value
mainly to the fact of his having been one of the pioneer
painters of Lexington. One of the very few of Park's
productions is still in existence, and in the possession of
Mrs. Kanck. It is an oil portrait of her grandfather,
Lewis Ellis.

Mr. Beck, erroneously mentioned in Dunlap's Arts of
Design as "the first painter who penetrated beyond the
AUeghanies," settled in Lexington about the year 1800.
He belonged, at one time, to a company of scouts under
General Anthony Wayne. He and his wife conducted a
female seminary in this city for many years, in which paint-
ing was a prominent feature. Mr. and Mrs. Beck were
both artists of some ability, and painted many pictures,
principally landscapes. W. Mentelle, S. D. McCuUough,
John Tilford, Mrs. Thomas Clay, and many others own
pictures by Beck. Mr. Beck died in 1814. His wife sur-
vived until 1833.

146 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1788.

In 1818, John ISTeagle, afterward known as the painter
of "Pat Lyon, the Blacksmith," visited Lexington with
the intention of settling, but he found Jouett so far his
superior that he left and settled in Philadelphia. He came
to this city again in 1844, at the instance of the Whigs of
Philadelphia, to paint for them a full length portrait of
Henry Clay, which he did, Mr. Clay sitting for him at the
Phoenix Hotel. In November of that year, he presented
to Daviess Lodge, of this city, a portrait of Colonel Joseph
H. Daviess, from the original by Jouett. The picture is
now owned by Major S. D. McCullough.

Chester Harding, a native of Montgomery county, Ken-
tucky, and who afterward acquired a national reputation,
painted some excellent portraits here in 1819. Mrs. H. J.
Bodley, Mrs. Wm. Preston, Mrs. "Woodward, Mrs. A. H.
Woolley, and others have pictures by him. Harding's
studio was in " Higgins' Block."

Louis Morgan, a native of Pittsburg, settled in Lexing-
ton in 1880, and remained here for many years. He painted
pictures which evinced a very high order of talent, and
it was only the lack of energy that prevented him from bfe-
coming noted. His best eftbrt is his well-known portrait
of Simon Kenton from life. He was gifted with exquisite
taste and remarkable feeling for color. He died about the
year 1860. Dr. Robert Peter owns some of his pictures.

The greatest painter that Kentucky has yet produced,
and one whose name has shed no little lustre upon the art
annals of America, was Matthew H. Jouett. He was born
near Lexington, in 1783, and educated for the bar. After
participating in the war of 1812, he returned to Lexington,
where he attempted to practice law, but being devoted to
art, and rendered dissatisfied by the aspirations of his
genius, he abandoned his profession, and in 1817 went to
Boston and studied under the noted Gilbert Stuart. In
less than five years from that time, lie was celebrated as
the best portrait painter west of the Alleghany mountains.
His studio in Lexington, was first in a two-story brick build-
ing, which formerly stood on Short street, between the
Northern Bank and the residence of the late D. A. Sayre.

1T88.] NATIVE AND RESIDENT ARTISTJ I47

Subsequently he used a room above the first National Bank
on the same street. Among his best pictures are those of
Henry Clay, Joseph H. Daviess, Dr. Holley, Major Morri-
son, Governor Letcher, John J. Crittenden, Isaac Shelby,
and the full length portrait of the Marquis Lafayette,
now owned by the State of Kentucky. Mr. Jouett died in
Lexington, August 10, 1827, having just returned from a
professional trip to the South. Mr. Jouett was tall and
thin of form, gifted with great taste, rare humor, and
splendid conversational powers, and his literary and social
culture was only second to his great artistic genius.
Nearly half a century has elapsed since Jouett's death, but
his superior as a portrait painter has never yet arisen in
the West.

Oliver Frazer, another artist-son of Lexington, was born
February 4, 1808, and studied for sevei'al years under
Jouett. After the death of his distinguished instructor,
Mr. Frazer, in company with George P. Healy, went to
Europe, where he remained for four years, studying the
great works of the old masters. On his retun, he married
Miss Martha, daughter of Dr. Alexander Mitchell, of
Frankfort, and achieved flattering success as a portrait
painter. He died, April 9, 1854, and was buried in the
Lexington Cemetery. Unfortunately, his eyesight became
injured some years before his death, which prevented him
from being a prolific painter, but the few productions of
his pencil are of rare merit. His portrait of Clay, and a
family group in the possession of Mrs. Frazer, are consid-
ered among his best efforts. Mr. Clay spoke in the strongest
terms of satisfaction of his portrait by Frazer, who received
a number of orders for copies of it. Others of Mr. Frazer's
pictures are owned by Major Lewinski, F. K. Hunt, Mrs.
M. T. Scott, Wm. War&eld, Judge Robertson, Mrs. W.
A. Dudley, J. S. Wilson, Mrs. A. K. Woolley, J. J. Hunter,
and others, and are characterized by their delicate coloring
and accurate delineation. Another has well said that Mr.
Frazer was a true artist, aud loved his profession for its
own sake. He was honest, kind, and true, and was de-
voted to the retirement of his happy home. He was greatly

148 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1T88.

gifted in conversation, well read in the best art and other
literature, and his taste was exceedingly delicate and correct.

Another artist, Joseph H. Bush, made Lexington his
home for many years. Mr. Bush was born in Frankfort,
Kentucky, in 1794, and was the son of Philip and Eliza-
beth Bush. At the age of eighteen, he went to Philadel-
phia, under the care of Mr. Clay, and remained there three
years, studying under the celebrated artist, Sully, after
which he pursued his profession in New Orleans, Yicks-
burg, Louisville, and Lexington, and attained an enviable
distinction. How skillfully he handled his pencil is evi-
denced in the reputation of his full-length picture of General
Zachary Taylor, and the coloring and the beautiful effect
of light and shade in his portraits of Dr. Ben. Dudley,
Mrs. Fanny Bullitt, and the rest of his numerous produc-
tions. Mr. Bush died in Lexington, January 11, 1865,
only a few mouths after the decease of his fellow-artist,
Oliver Frazer.

Mr. Bush was a man of deep religious feelings, ana ex-
tensive reading and culture, and was most genial and com-
panionable with those he knew well. His studio was in
an upper room over Sayre's banking house, corner of Mill
and Short,

In 1867, Mr. Alexander painted some fine pictures in
Lexington, one of General John C. Breckinridge, and
another of Judge W. B. Kiukead, being among the
number.

Since Jouett's time, a number of artists have either
sojourned in Lexington temporarily, or made it their home.
John Grimes, who excelled in delicate forms and colors,
painted here, for several years anterior to 1832, at which
time he died in Lexington, and was buried in the Episcopal
Cemetery. His studio was in the building on Main street,
now occupied by Mr. Thomas Bradley. Several of his pro-
ductions are in the possession of his aunt, Mrs. Thos. Grant,
and Mrs. Fannie Dewees and J. J. Hunter each have one.

The well-known miniature engravings of Clay and Jack-
son are from original portraits by Dodge, who resided for
some time in Lexington.

1788.] NATIVE AND RESIDENT ARTISTS. I49

J. H. Beard, the American Laadseer, during a visit to
Lexington, painted portraits of the late Eobert Alexander,
Colonel W. S. Price, and one or two others.

William Ver Bryck, who has since attained much celeb-
rity, executed some very fine portraits in this city, in 1868,
one of Mrs. Dr. Whitney, one each of Mr. and Mrs. John
Carty, and portraits of several members of Dr. H. M. Skill-
man, and Mr. Isaac Scott's families. No visiting artist
ever met with as much success in Lexington as Mr. Ver
Bryck. His studio was in the Phoenix Hotel. He come
to Lexington from the city of New York.

Mr. B. F. Ehineheart, in 1869, had a temporary studio
in the present Library building, and painted in very supe
rior style, portraits of General John C. Breckinridge, Gen-
eral Jolin H. Morgan, Mrs. Basil Duke, Dr. and Mrs,
Warren Frazer, Mr. Thos. Mitchell, and others. His chief
excellences are fine modeling and coloring. Mr. Ehineheart
is a native of Ohio.

Mr. E. Troye, who was born in England, but has long
been a resident of New York, has painted a number of fine
animal pictures. Some of his best eflbrts — pictures of
blood horses — are in the possession of Messrs. J. A. Grin-
stead, A. K. Eichards, A. Buford, M. Alexander, of Wood-
ford, and others. As an animal painter, Mr. Troye has no
superior in this country. He has, as yet, attempted but
few composition pictures, the " Dead Sea " being one of
them.

General W. S. Price is one of the most promising resi-
dent painters Lexington has had since Jouett. He is a
son of the late Daniel B. Price, of Mcholasville, Ky., and
was a pupil of the lamented Oliver Frazer. His first effort,
made at the age of seventeen, was a portrait of "Old King*
Solomon," the unterrified grave-digger during the cholera
of '33, and long one of the "institutions" of Lexington.
This picture merits the celebrity it has attained. Another
early picture is a fine portrait of Postmaster Ficklin. The
portrait of President Fillmore, in the Phoenix Hotel dining-
room, is by Price, and was painted in 1855. One of his
most successful efforts is a large picture of General George

150 EISTOKY OF LEXINGTON. [1T88.

H. Thomas, which has become extensively known. Mr.
Price has received letters highly complimenting his work
from both Mr. Fillmore and General Thomas. A striking
likeness of Judge Kobertson must not be forgotten. Lat-
terly, General Price has attempted composition pictures,
and with marked success. The "Night before the Battle
of Chiekamauga," the "Young Artist," and "Caught
Napping," indicate the latitude, as well as the superiority
of his talents. He has reflected honor upon the art history
of his state. His studio is in the second story of the Post-
office building, on the corner of Mill and Short streets.

Mrs. Eliza Brown, widow of Professor John Brown, of
Transylvania University, who died in 1855, has painted a
number of beautiful landscapes, the merit of which is
heightened by the fact that Mrs. Brown commenced with
the pencil at a time of life when art eflbrts generally cease.
A Rhineland scene, the " Yosemito Valley," a Canadian
landscape, and an exquisite bit of Minnesota rock and
water, are worthy of special mention. Mrs. Brown, who
is now nearly seventy, attempted a few months ago, and
for the first time, portrait painting, and with extraordinary
success, considering her age. Her residence and studio is
on the corner of Short and Upper streets.

Mr. Stuart, a South Carolinian, but now a resident of St.
Louis, painted some excellent portraits in this city last
spring; one each of Mrs. Rosa Jeffrey, Mr. Cooper, city
Librarian, and K. A Buckner, Sen., deceased.

1789.] TOWN AFFATKS-JAMES BROWN. 151

CHAPTER XVI.

Town Affairs — James Brown — The Methodist Church — Father
Foythress — The Cloud — Adams and Centenary Seces-
sions — Pastors and Incidents — The Lexington Light In-
fantry — Its Brilliant Record — Share in the War of 1812 —
Death of Hart and Searles — The Killed — Incidents — The
Man who smoked out the Indians — List of Captains.

In 1789, the trustees of Lexington, with an eye to the
public comfort and welfare, directed " all fences to be re-
moved from the streets," and prohibited " the cutting and
removing of timber from the public grounds." A curious
phenomenon caused great anxiety among the good citizetis
this year. It was so dark in the afternoon of October 31,
that the people had to dine by candle-light, and the dark-
ness lasted nearly three hours.*

James Brown, wh@ became one of the eminent public
men of this county, settled in Lexington in 1789. He was
born in Virginia, September 11, 1766, and was educated at
William and Mary College. He commanded a company of
Lexington riflemeu, in Wilkinson's expedition against the
Indians, in 1791. At the organization of the common-
wealth in this city, the next year he became the first secre-
tary of state of the new government, which subsequently
necessitated his removal to Frankfort. Soon after the ces-
sion of Louisiana, he removed to that state, and was twice
elected to the United States Senate. He was also minister
to France from 1823 to 1829. He died in Philadelphia, in
1835, distinguished for his eloquence and legal ability.
When Mr. Brown lived in Lexington, his residence was

•Old Gazette.

152 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1789.

on the corner of Mill and Short streets, on the site of t'he
building now owned by Mr. Wolverton.

The Methodist Church commenced its history in Lexing-
ton, in 1789, with a feeble but devout little band of
Christians, who assembled at times in a dilapidated log
cabin which stood on the corner of Short and Dewees
streets, where the Colored Baptist church novsr stands.
Two years before this, the first Methodist church built in
Kentucky (a log one) had been erected at Masterson's station,
five miles northwest of Lexington, and in 1790, the first
annual conference of the church in Kentucky was held
there, and had the great and good Bishop Francis Asbury
as its presiding officer.* The father of the little church at
Lexington was the impassioned, the self sacrificing, and
the unfortunate Francis Poj'thress, who went from station
to station, preaching and toiling and suffering in silence.
At a conference in Baltimore, in 1776, Father Poythress
had been admitted into the traveling connection, and in
1778 he was sent to Kentucky. As a preacher, few, in
those days, excelled him. His voice was clear and musical,
his knowledge of the Scriptures vast and accurate, and his
sermons fell as the dews of life upon the hearts of his con-
gregation. His mind finally gave way, from the excessive
draughts made upon it, and he never preached again after
the fall of 1800. He died and was buried near Nicholas-
ville.f John Page, James O'Cull, and Thomas Allen
preached at various times to the Methodists in Lexington,
from 1792 to 1800, when Lewis Hunt, a Virginian, was ap-
pointed to "Lexington town," where he labored with much
acceptability to his little flock. In 1803, the church at
Lexington was detached from the circuit, and organized
into a station.

This was the first Methodist station in Kentucky, and
comprised seventy-seven members, forty-seven white and
the rest black. Thomas "Wilkinson was pastor at that
time. He was succeeded by Nathaniel Harris and Burwell
Spurlock. Dr. Caleb W. Cloud was assigned to, the care

*Redford's History. tCollins, 126.

1789.] THE METHODIST CHURCH. 153

of the church in 1811, at which period he was one of the
moat able and prominent preachers in the state. Dr. Cloud's
ability and piety was only equaled by his eccentricity and
independence, and his elaborate "spencer," nick-tailed
horse, and imprudent language soon occasioned trouble
among the members of the church, which, at that day, was
noted for its great simplicity.

An incident, characteristic of the man, occurred when
Postlethwaite's tavern was burned. The doctor, who was
then an enthusiastic officer of a fire company, saw a man
sitting on a horse amusing himself by watching the fire.
He ordered him to assist at the engine ; the man declined,
saying that he was a " county " man, and " did n't have to
help at town fires." Without more ado, the doctor, with
words more plain than elegant, pulled him from his horse
and made him " help."

The church became so dissatisfied with the doctor's
"ways," that, in 1812, he withdrew from it, carrying a
number of the members with him, and formed the Inde-
pendent Methodist Church. After preaching for several
years at his own house, he built "St. John's Chapel," on
Main street, where Douglass' carriage factory now stands.
The doctor officiated gratuitously, and often invited the
various denominations to worship in his chapel. After
preaching independently for a long series of years, he at
last went back to the church he had left. He died May 14,
1850, aged sixty-nine, and was followed to his grave by the
Masons, the medical profession, and a large number of
other citizens.

But to return. After the withdrawal of Dr. Cloud, the
church was blessed with the services of Mr. Akers, but the
congregation, crippled by the secession of the independent
doctor and his adherents, languished until 1820, when it be-
gan to grow under the pastorate of Edward Stevenson, and
was still further enlarged by Eichard Tydings. Its pros-
perity was such in 1822, that a new church building was
erected on Church street, between Tipper and Limestone,
at a cost of $5,000, and was dedicated in that year by
Bishop George. It was a plain, well-finished, brick edifice,

154 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1789.

nieasuriug fifty by sixty feet. It held seventy-five pews on
the ground floor, and was provided with a gallery above.
T. P. Satterwhite, Stephen Chipley, I^icholas Headington,
John Shrock, T. K. Layton, Thomas Gibbons, James Ham-
ilton, J. W. Russell, Harvey Maguire, and B. W. Ehoton
were members of the church at that time. In 1829, William
Holman was pastor. His successor was Bishop H. H.
Kavanaugh, who was born January 14, 1802, in Clarke
county, Kentucky. He joined the Methodist Church at
the age of fifteen, was licensed to preach in 1822, and was
regular pastor of the Lexington church, both in 1830 and
1847. He was elected bishop at the general conference of
the Methodist Episcopal Church South, at Columbus,
Georgia, in 1854. Bishop Kavanaugh was a resident of
Lexington for many years, and was greatly beloved and
esteemed.

Among the ministers who succeeded him may be named
George C. Light ; the worthy and useful Spencer Cooper,
who died in 1839, and the eccentric, widely-known, and
now aged Peter Cartwright. The wonderfully eloquent
Maffit conducted a revival in the church on Church street
in 1834. Immense audiences were entranced by his glow-
ing words, and many connected themselves with the church.
Maflit preached in Lexington again in 1887.

The present church edifice on Hill street, between Upper
and Mill, was commenced in 1841, and dedicated by the
gifted bishop, Henry B. Bascom, in 1842. Bishop Basoom
was born in New York, May 27, 1796. His boyhood life
was a hard one, and his early manhood full of trials and dis-
couragements, but surmounting every obstacle, he lived to
gain from Henry Clay the eulogy, " He is the greatest nat-
ural orator I ever heard." He was appointed chaplain to
the House of Representatives in Congress in 1841, but soon
resigned, and accepted, in 1842, the presidency of Tran-
sylvania Hniversity, which position he held for seven years.
In 1849, his volume of sermons was published. He died
in Louisville, Kentucky, September 8, 1850.

On the division of the Methodist Church in the United

1789.] LEXINGTON LIGHT INFANTRY. 155

States, in 1844, the church in Lexington connected itself
with the Southern Conference, and it had abundant; pros-
perity until 1856, at which time a dispute arose, concerning
the power of the officers of the church, and ended in the
secession of a large number of the members, under the
leadership of Samuel Adams and Nicholas Headington.
The seceders bought the old medical hall lot, on the corner
of Church and Market streets; built the house now known
as the City Library with subscriptions raised from the
general public; organized an independent church, and made
Samuel Adams their pastor. The church was called
"Morris Chapel," after Bishop Morris, of Ohio. A disa-
greement between the congregation and the officers of the
new church resulted in the resignation of Mr. Adams and
the calling of C. B. Parsons, who failed to give satisfaction,
and at last, after existing independently for eight or nine
years, most of the members returned to the "church on the
hill," and deeded their property to the Church South.

The names of some of the ministers who labored for the
Hill Street church before this secession are "William Gunn,
L. D. Huston, S. Adams, T. C. Shelman, J. H. Linn, E. P.
Buckner, R. Heiner, "W". C. Dandy, Mr. Spruell.

The Methodist Church, like the Baptist and Presbyterian,
had its war troubles also, which grew worse and worse,
until they culminated, in September, 1865, in an open rup-
ture, when the party favoring the Northern Conference se-
ceded, and formed what is now called the Centenary Meth-
odist Church (see chapter on 1865). Since that time the
Hill Street church has enjoyed the services of the following
pastors, viz : H. P. Walker, B. M. Messick, R. K. Hargrove,
S. X. Hall, H. A. M. Henderson, and "W. S. Rand, the
present untiring and acceptable minister. No church in
Lexington has had more discouraging circumstances to con-
tend with than the Hill Street church, but she has come
out nobly from them all, and is now rapidly growing in
strength and usefulness.

The Lexington Light Infantry, of glorious memory, and
the oldest military company in Kentucky, and perhaps in

156 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [l'?89.

this country, was organized in 1789.* Its formation was due
to a threatened Indian invasion, and to the martial passion
of General James Wilkinson, who was chosen its first captain.
Its first ensign was John Fowler, afterward postmaster of
Lexington. Since that time a host of stirring associations
have clustered about the simple name " Old Infantry," for
it has been connected with victories and defeats, conflicts
and massacres, and with some of the most brilliant military
achievements recorded in the annals of Kentucky. It was
led by Wilkinson in successful expeditions against the In-
dians; shared in the disastrous defeats of Harmar and St.
Clair ; bore a gallant part in the victorious campaign of
"old Mad Anthony" Wayne against the Sciota and other
Indians,! and, in 1792, escorted Governor Shelby into Lex-
ington, then the capital of the state, and assisted in the
ceremonies of his inauguration. These were the days when
the "Old Infantry" delighted in flint-lock muskets, and in
tinder-boxes and steel.

In 1803, the company was called out by President Jeffer-
son to go to Louisiana, but the purchase of that state by
the government superseded the necessity. It was about
this time that the well-known and historic uniform suit of
the company was adopted. It consisted of a blue cloth coat,
with cufis, breast, and collar faced with red and ornamented
with bell-buttons. The pantaloons were of blue cloth, the
hat black, and the plume red. The favorite parade ground
of the company, at this time, was a beautiful level spot back
of, and belonging to the property of Mrs. John Carty, on
Broadway. Subsequently, the Maxwell Spring grounds
were used. A "turn-out" of the Old Infantry in early
days was a grand event in Lexington, and was always wit-
nessed by a large and admiring crowd of natives of all
ages, sexes, colors, and conditions.

The Lexington Light Infantry was one of the first com-
panies to volunteer in the war of 1812, it having organized
for the campaign on the 11th of May of that year, with
E". S. G. Hart as captain. The " silk-stocking boys," as

•Old Journals. tGuzette, and Ob. and Bep.

"89.] LEXINGTON LIGHT INFANTRY.

157

the members of the company were then often called, were
attached to the Fifth Regiment of Kentucky Volunteer
Militia, commanded by Colonel William Lewis, and marched
for the Northwestern army in August, 1812. On the march
to Fort Wayne an incident occurred, which, amusing aa it
may appear, speaks volumes for the principles which ac-
tuated the men. A member of the company having stood
manfully up under the severe fatigues of the march until
the last day, at length, sank on the grass of the prairie
through which the company was marching, and, whilst his
comrades were passing rapidly on, he shed bitter tears at
his condition. An officer* approached him, in company
with one or two others, to aid him to one of the few wagons
that attended the march, and on inquiring the cause of his
tears, he earnestly exclaimed, " What will they say in Lexing-
ton when they hear that James Huston gave out ?"

The glorious share which the "Old Infantry" had in the
terrible battle and sickening massacre at Frenchtown, on
the river Eaisin, in this campaign, is told in our chapter on
the year 1812. At that river of death, the heroic band lost
half its members in killed, wounded, and prisoners; the
brilliancy of their uniform causing the men to be readily
picked ofi' by the enemy. The gallant captain of the com-
pany, who was wounded and disabled in the battle, was
barbarously murdered by the savages after having trusted
himself to the protection of his pretended friend, Captain
Elliott, of the British army, who infamously abandoned
him to the mercy of the Indians.f

The heroic death of Charles Searles, another gallant mem-
ber of the Light Infantry, wounded in the battle of the
18th, should never be forgotten.f On the morning of the
23d, by strong exertion, he was able to walk, and so to con-
ceal his wound, that he was allowed to accompany his cap-
tors unmolested, until they stopped for the night. No
doubt the fatigue, aided by the sufierings from his wound,
at length revealed to the savages his disabled condition, and
marked him out as a victim. He, with several other prison-

*Gen. J. M. McCalla. fWestcrn Annals. tMcCalla's Address.

158 HISTORY OF LEXINGTOir. [1789.

ers, was seated on the ground, partaking of some food,
when one of the savages rose up, and drawing his toma-
hawk, approached Searles from behind.

The prisoner marked the movement, and apprehending
his intention, watched the descending blow, and tried to
catch it in his hand, but only partially succeeded, the weapon
inflicting a deep wound in the shoulder. Rising to his feet,
he seized his antagonist, who was unprepared for such a
bold resistance, and snatching the tomahawk from his hand,
was about to inflict a deserved vengeance on his cruel as-
sailant, when Dr. Bower, of the regiment, told him that if
he struck the Indian all the prisoners would be murdered,
and his death, now inevitable, would not be prevented. As
soon as he found that he might endanger his comrades by
resisting, he dropped the uplifted arm, let fall the weapon,
and, without a murmur or a complaint, waited until the as-
tonished savage picked up the tomahawk, and coolly and
deliberately dispatched his victim.

Can Roman or Grecian annals display a more sublime in-
stance of manly generosity and magnanimity than this ?

It was at the battle of Frenchtown that a member of the
"Old Infantry" company, James Higgins,* astonished even
the boldest of his comrades by his daring contempt of death.
Vain eflEbrts had been made to dislodge a large number of
Indians from a barn, into which they had crowded, and
from which they were pouring a destructive fire into Colonel
Lewis's command. The soldier we have mentioned asked
permission to " smoke 'um out." It was granted. He then
coolly picked up a large blazing " chunk " from a camp fire,
deliberately walked up to the barn in the very face of a hail
storm of bullets, and applied the " chunk." The barn was
soon one mass of flames, and the brave infantryman quickly
had the satisfaction of seeing all the Indians " smoked out."
The most remarkable feature of the case was that the man
had always been regarded at home as ridiculously timid,
and had often been imposed upon, both by his neighbors
and conu-ades in arms. But after this bold deed, the past

*G-eneral S. L. Williams and T. P. Dudley.

1789.] LEXINGTON LIGHT INFANTRY. I59

was forgotten, and it was not safe for any one to say any-
thing in the presence of the "Old Infantry" against the
man " who smoked out the Indians." James Higgins, the
hero of this glorious incident, was born near Side View,
Montgomery county, Kentucky, but removed to Lexington,
and was one of her citizens when he enlisted in the Old
Infantry. This gallant man died many years ago.

A few names of the killed of this company have been
preserved, viz : IS". S. G. Hart, Charles Searles, J. E. Blythe
(son of President Blythe, of Transylvania University), Jesse
Cock, Alexander Crawford, Samuel Elder, William Davis,
Jesse Riley, Armston Stewart, George Shindlebower, Sam-
uel Cox, and Charles Bradford.

On the 11th of September, 1839, the Light Infantry cele-
brated in Lexington its fiftieth anniversary. At eleven
o'clock A. M., a procession, consisting of the Louisville
Guards, Captain Anderson ; the Volunteer Artillery, Cap-
tain Trotter; the Mechanics Infantry, Captain Forbes; and
the "Old Infantry," under Captain G. L. Postlethwaite,
marched to the beautiful woodlands of John Love (now
J. H. Mulligan's, adjoining the Maxwell Spring grounds),
where an exceedingly appropriate and interesting address
was delivered by General John M. McCalla, after which
came a banquet, and then the survivors of the war of 1812
reviewed their hardships and dangers, and fought their bat-
tles over again.

At the commencement of the war with Mexico, the Light
Infantry again took the field, under the command of Captain
Cassius M. Clay, and was known in the army by the remai'k-
able name of the "Lexington Old Infantry Cavalry." In
that war, the Kentucky cavalry used as its regimental flag
the colors which the ladies of Lexington had presented to
the " Old Infantry," some years before, on an anniversary
of the battle of the Raisin.

In times of peace, the company amused itself with target
shooting at Maxwell's spring. On one of these occasions,
Captain Richard Parker, then commanding the Old Infan-
try, but now one of our oldest citizens, was accidentally

160 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1T89.

shot in the hip, and he still sutlers from the wound then
received.

In 1860, the Old Infantry took its stand in the Kentucky
State Guard, with the following officers, viz: Captain,
Samuel D. McCuUough ; First Lieutenant, George W. Did-
lake; Second Lieutenant, S. W. Price; Third Lieutenant,
J. B. Norton; Ensign, E. H. Prewett; Surgeon, Dr. G. W".
McMillin; Right Guide, Charles Dobyns; Left Guide, W".
W. Dowden; Third Sergeant, B. W. Blincoe; Fourth Ser-
geant, Charles Schultz ; Fifth Sergeant, M. Hogarty.

In the memorable summer of 1861, just before' Kentucky
was drawn into the gigantic civil contest then waging, the
Old Infantry held a reunion in the densely crowded Odd
Fellows' Hall, on the corner of Main and Broadway. The
company was conducted to the hall by those two noted or-
ganizations, the " Lexington Rifles " and the " Chasseurs,"
headed by the splendid ITewport band. An opening address
was delivered by JudgeL. L. Todd, of Indianapolis, a former
captain of the Old Infantry, after which a new flag was pre-
sented to the company by General Combs, in behalf of the
donor, Mr. David A. Sayre. The old flag of the Old In-
fantry, which had gone through the leaden storm of Buena
"Vista, was then unfurled, a roll of all the captains called,
and the Star Spangled Banner sung, after which the meeting
adjourned.

Many of the members of the company served gallantly
on either side in the terrible war between the States, and
fully maintained the ancient renown of the venerable or-
ganization, which, for the credit of Lexington, should never
be permanently abandoned.

From the year 1789 to the present time, the Lexington
Light Infantry has been commanded by the following cap-
tains, viz : General James "Wilkinson, 1789 ; James Hughes
and Samuel "Weisiger, 1791 ; Cornelius Beatty, 1793; John
Postlethwaite, 1797; Thomas Bodley, 1803; IST. S. G. Hart,
1811-12; and since the last date by Daniel Bradford, J. G.
Trotter, Adam Beatty, "William Logan, Levi L. Todd, '
Robert Megowan, Richard Parker, G. L. Postlethwaite, T.

1789.]

LIST OF CAPTAINS.

161

P. Hart, Thomas Smitli, R. Morrison, John M. McCalla,
Lawrence Daly, James O.Harrison, T. Monks, T. W. Lowry,
W. Allison, Lewis Barbee, F. G. West, Joseph Hoppy, G.
L. Postlelhwaite, J. B. Clay, C. M. Clay, S. D. McCullough,
S. W. Price.

162 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1T90.

CHAPTER XVII.

Town Affairs — Earmar's Defeat— John Pope— The Jail-
Fire Companies.

"While the actual population of Lexington, in 1790, was
not large, the town was a place of some importance as a
stopping point for traders, as it was on the line of com-
munication between the East and the West. In this year,
the trustees ordered a " canal " to be dug to carry the
water of the " Branch " straight through town. They also
made the announcement that "the town commons shall i
hereafter be known as Water street." Lexington's encour- '
agement of art in 1790 is exhibited in the eagerness of the
citizens to obtain " black profile likenesses, taken by the
physiognotrace."

In July of this year, the delegates from Fayette attended
the eighth convention, held at Danville. At this convention,
an act of separation, passed by the Virginia legislature,
was finally accepted, and a ninth convention, to form a
state constitution, was called for April, 1791.

Incursions and murders by the Indians had now become
so frequent and unbearable that the new general govern-
ment, which had just gone into operation, sent out a mili-
tary force to protect the frontier. In the fall. Colonel
Trotter, with some volunteers from Lexington, went to
Fort Washington (Cincinnati), and joined the expedition
of General Joseph Harmar against the Miami towns. The
campaign ended disastrously.

That distinguished statesman, John Pope, came to Lex-
ington in 1790, at which time he was about twenty years
of age. He lived in this city for many years. Mr. Pope
was born in Prince William county, Virginia, and emi-

1T90.] JOHN POPE— THE JAIL. 163

grated to Kentucky while quite a boy.* He was a man
of great ability and remarkable talents, and was one of the
most formidable opponents Mr. Clay ever had ; and, like
Mr. Clay, he attained distinction by his own exertions.
Mr. Pope was often a member of the Kentucky legislature,
was for mariy years a representative in Congress, was
United States Senator in 1807, and was for six years gov-
ernor of the Territory of Arkansas. He died in "Vyash-
ington county, Kentucky, in 1842, aged seventy-two. He
built and resided in the house now occupied by Joseph
"Wolfolk, near the junction of Rose and Hill streets.
When Mr. Pope ran against Mr. Clay, in the Lexington
district, it was in the vigor of their days, when each one
was able to do his best. It was Wagoner and Gray Eagle
against each other. Mr. Clay was the winner, but did not,
we believe, distance his competitor. The I'ace was honor-
able to both, and if Mr. Pope had had the same passionate
determination, and the same fiery and never-relaxing am-
bition of Mr. Clay, there would have been two Clays in
the state without room enough to hold them. An amus-
ing incident occurred during this race.f Mr. Pope had but
one arm. On the approach of the contest, Mr. Clay called
upon an Irishman in Lexington, who had been his political
friend heretofore, but now declared his intention to go for
Pope. Mr. Clay wanted to know the reason. The answer
was, " Oeh, Misther Clay, I have concluded to vote for the
man who has but one arm to sthrust into the sthreasury."

A log jail succeeded the pillory and the stocks in Lex-
ington in 1790, and stood near the first court-house on
Main, not far from the corner of Broadway.J In these
early days, when imprisonment for debt was in vogue, the
"jail bounds," or the precincts within which a debt pros-
oner could walk, was marked on the pavements and the
houses near the jail by^a broad stripe of black paint. A
larger jail was erected in 1797, on the same ground where
the present jail stands, was destroyed by fire in 1819, and
another one was completed the next year. The building

*Collins. tOorrespondence Cincinnati Gazette. t^'^ Gazette.

164 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1790-

of the present prison commenced in 1850. The fol-
lowing is an incomplete list of those who have filled the
office of jailer, viz: Innis B. Brent, Clark, Bar-
ker, Wm. Bobbs, Nathaniel Prentiss, Eichard Sharp,

Joseph K. Megowan, T. B. Megowan, "White, Ben.

Blincoe, "W". H. Lusby, and Thos. B. Megowan. Including
all the terms he has served, Mr. T. B. Megowan has been
a jailer for nearly forty years.

Lexington's first regular fire company was organized at
Brent's tavern in 1790, with John Bradford as secretary.
It was styled the Union Fire Company, and used buckets
only. Before this, in case of a fire, each citizen was re-
quired, when the alarm was given, to attend with a bucket
filled from his own well. The Union company's " bucket-
house " was a building on Main, near Scott's block. Later,
it was on Water street, and was finally converted into an
engine house. In 1805, the officers of the " Union" were:
Captains — Dan'l Bradford, Christopher Keiser ; Directors —
William Macbean, George Anderson, John Jones, Alex-
ander Frazer, Thomas Hart, Jr., John Jordan, Jr., Thomas
Bodley, Alex. Parker, Charles Wilkins, Lewis Sanders,
William Boss, Thomas Whitney, Maddox Fisher. The
trustees passed a resolution in 1812, authorizing a committee
"to procure four additional ladders, four fire-Oiooks, three
rope-ladders, and three tubs to put under the pumps, all to
be marked with the name of the company, etc., and a fine of
ten dollars imposed on any person who will use them, un-
less in case of fire." In 1818, two little " newly-invented"
engines were bought by the town authorities. They at-
tracted great attention and admiration.

The fire department was organized in 1832, when the city
was incorporated. In 1840, the city could boast of the
" Eentuckian," "Lyon," and "Resolution" hand-engines,
and others were added from time to time. The period in-
cluded betwee.4 1850 and 1860 was the golden age of the
tire companies in Lexington. Then the Fourth of July was
the day of their glory, and the old Lyon, Clay, Eentuckian,
and other engines, with their hose carriages, were resplen-
dent with beautiful decorations fashioned by the ladies of the

1T90.] FIRE COMPANIES. 165

city. Three hundred firemen have been known to turn out
in procession on such occasions, presenting a splendid ap-
pearance with their brilliant uniforms and gay trappings.
But these are memories of an age which ended with the
purchase of the first steam fire engine, in March, 1864.
The "Lyon" engine house was on Limestone street, near
the corner of Hill ; the " Clay," on Broadway, between
Short and Second, now known as Pruden's marble works ;
the " Union," on Short, between Upper and Limestone, is
now the headquarters of the steam fire department.

166 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1T91.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Survey of Lexington — Expeditions of Soott and Wilkinson —
St. Clair's Defeat — Delegates to the Ninth Conoeniion.

During the spring of 1791, the trustees of Lexington
made war on " wooden chimneys," the use of which, for
the future, was prohibited. They also ordered "all the
post and rail fences across Short street to be taken down."
In the latter part of March, the following survey of the
town was made, the report of which we give verbatim, with
the drawing which accompanied it.*

" Surveyed by order of the trustees of the town of Lex-
ington, 204 acres of land, including the court-house of
Fayette county in the center, in a circular figure of two
miles in diameter. Beginning at A, one mile southeast
from the said court-house, at a post on the northeast side
of the road, running thence south 56J, west 125 poles
to a post crossing Tate's creek road at 85 poles ; thence
south 78f, west 125 poles to a post, thence north 78|, west
125 poles to post ; thence north 56^, west 125 poles to post
crossing the Hickman road at 25 poles, thence north 33|,
west 125 poles to post crossing Craig's mill road at 45
poles ; thence north 11 J, west 125 poles to a stake in
Hackney's field, about 40 poles southeastwardly from his
house; thence north llj, east 125 poles to post; thence
north 33f, east 125 poles to post 15 poles northeast of the
old Leestown road, crossing the head of McConnell's mill
pond at 45 poles ; thence north 56^, east 125 poles to post,
passing and leaving out Eckle's and Brown's plantations ;
thence north 78|, east 125 poles to post, crossing John-
ston's mill road at 35 poles ; thence south 78f , east 125

•Trustees' Book.

1791.]

SVRVET OF LEXINGTON.

167

poles to post, leaving out Irvine's house, 14 poles ; thence
south 56i, east 125 poles to post crossing Russell's road at
75 poles; thence south 33f, east 125 poles to post near
Springle's house in the survey, and crossing Bryan's road
at 25 poles; thence south 11}, east 125 poles to post;
thence south Hi, west 125 poles to post near Captain Wil-
son's house, leaving him in the survey ; thence south 331,
west 125 poles to the beginning, leaving Javell 14 poles in
the survey, and passing Masterson, and leaving him out."

W. 'i

1 <•

1,1-

'?\

\ SATri-RWHltE.

HACKNEY'S

The Indians, greatly emboldened by their success over
Harmar, extended their incursions, and immigrants were
killed by them even in the neighborhood of Lexington.
In May, General Charles Scott organized an expedition of
mounted volunteers to punish the Indians on the Wabash,
and General James Wilkinson, who was appointed second

168 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1791.

in command, augumented the force with a number of men
from Lexington. The troops began their march from Fort
Washington, May 23, 1791, and early in the following June,
destroyed three Kickapoo towns, killed thirty warriors, and
took fifty-eight prisoners, without the loss of a man.* By
the 18th of June, all the volunteers from Lexington had re-
turned, highly elated at their success. It is a matter of
great regret that only the following few namesf of soldiers
from this city have been preserved, viz : Thos. Allen, Jas.
M'Dowell, Jas. Brown, Wm. M'Millin, John E. King, Sara' I
Patterson, Jos. Jones, Kich'd Bartlett, John Peoples, John
Arnold, Benj. Gibbs.

In July, General Wilkinson was appointed by Governor
St. Clair to complete the work so successfully commenced
by Scott. He organized his expedition in Lexington, and
engaged the celebrated Indian-hunter, Bland Ballard, as his
guide. He started for the Wabash country August 1st, and
on the 7th, surprised and burned the town of Kathtippeca-
munk, not far from the ruins of which afterward stood
the celebrated Prophet's town destroyed by General Har-
rison in 1811, killed six braves, and took thirty-four pris-
oners, for all of which he was duly thanked by his country.
Wilkinson's loss was two killed and one wounded. The
prisoners taken justified their defeat by constantly declaring
" Kentucky too much." Only the following names of the
volunteers from Lexington and Fayette in this expedition
are extant, viz :J James McDowell, Levi Todd, F. M'Murdie,
Jos. Logsdon, Dav. Caldwell, W. M'Dowell, Wm. Lewis,
Wm. Berry, Thos. Atkins, Rich. Bartlett, Moses Caldwell,
Patrick Burk, Philip Phillips, John Arnold, Chas. Snedeger,
Samuel Harrod, Wm. Clark, Thos. Bruer.

During the entire spring, and while these expeditions
were in progress, preparations for the great invasion of the
Indian country by General St. Clair were progressing. As
early as May, St. Clair had come to Lexington in person to
get the aid of the militia; but the infirm old man, with his
well-known character for rigid discipline and bad luck,

*01d Gazette. tOld Gazette. JKentnoky Gazette.

1791.] DELEGATES TO mNTB CONVENTION. Igg

met with very small encouragement. One company of
sixty men, under William Ellis* (one of the founders of
Grant's station), comprised all the volunteers from the
whole of Lexington and Fayette county. The balance of
the troops obtained by St. Clair from Kentucky had to be
drafted, and they, without confidence in their commander's
ability, and regarding the regular force which they were
compelled to serve with as doomed to destruction, deserted
every day.f Beset by a combination of unfavorable cir-
cumstances, St. Clair, with his disaffected troops, commenced
his march from Fort Jefferson against the Miami villages,
and on the 4th of November, while encamped on a tribu-
tary of the Wabash, was suddenly attacked hy twelve hun-
dred Indians, and suffered one of the most terrible and
overwhelming defeats recorded in the annals of savage
warfare. The news o' this great disaster brought sorrow
to many a household in Fayette county; but no record of
her loss is known to be in existence. In an old journal,!
mieution is casually made that " Israel Hart, William Bryan,
Charles Bland, William Lee, Matthew Eobinson, Noble
Wood, and James M'Farin had been paid for their services
during St. Clair's campaign." An incident of the day was
the arrival in Lexington of a band of friendly Chickasaw
warriors on their way to join the army of St. Clair, who
had been defeated just the day before they got to this city.
In December, 1791, Fayette elected the following dele-
gates to the convention to form a constitution for Kentucky,
viz : Hubbard Taylor, Thos. Lewis, George S. Smith, Robert
Frier, and James Crawford. This was to be the last of the
long series of Danville conventions, as Congress, on the
4th of the preceding February, had admitted Kentucky
into the Union.

*St. Clair's Report. tCollins, 44. JKentueky Gazette.

170 HIHTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1792.

CHAPTER XIX.

Indian Depredations — First Session of the Kentucky Legisla-
ture: Proceedings, Addresses, Ceremonies, and Appoint-
ments—Removal of the Capital— List of Public Officers since
1792 — Circuit Judges and Clerks — State Representatives and
Senators — United States Representatives and Senators.

The spring of 1792 had hardly come, before the Indians,
exulting in St. Clair's defeat, renewed their incursions, and
the danger soon became such that immigrants and settlers
were compelled when traveling to go in armed bands.
About the first of March, the Indians burnt two houses,
and killed a man and woman on North Elkhorn, and
shortly after, as if determined to aggravate their white foes
by every possible means, they crept even nearer to Lexing-
ton, and stole negroes, carried them off and sold them.*
The last man killed by the Indians, in the vicinity of Lex-
ington, was shot and scalped in the spring of 1792. His
body was brought to town, and was prepared for burial in
a house on Hill street, between Spring and Merino. Bad
as matters were, no expeditions against the Indians were at-
tempted, as fruitless efforts were then being made by the
government to effect a peace with the enraged savages.

The ninth and last convention met in Danville, April 1st
of this year, and on the 19th of the month, and the seven-
teenth anniversary of the battle of Lexington, Massachu-
setts, the first constitution of Kentucky was adopted, to go
into effect on the 1st of June following. In May, the gov-
ernor and other officers, and the members of both houses
of the legislature, were elected. On the 4th of June, 1792,t
commenced in Lexington the first session of the Kentucky

*01d Gazette. tState Papers, and Old Gazette.

1792.] FIRST SESSION OF TUK LEGISLATURE. \1\

legislature, and the organization of the state government.
Early in the morning of that eventful day, the infant cap-
ital of the new state presented a scene of unusual bustle
and excitement. The streets were crowded with citizens
and soldiers. Men, women, and children, arrayed in the
gayest pioneer fashion, poured in from the country in every
direction. Orderlies dashed about, drums beat, sabers clat-
tered, and ramrods rattled, and such a cleaning of rifles,
patching of buckskin suits, snapping of flints, and gather-
ing of provisions, was wonderful to behold. The day was
well worthy of the attention it received. It had been
eugerly and anxiously desired by the people of Kentucky
for years, and was destined to be an era in their history, for
on that day Isaac Shelby was to take the oath of office as
governor of a commonwealth then but three days old, and
the work of setting up the political machinery of the new
state was to be regularly begun.

As the morning waned, news came in that the governor,
then being escorted from Danville by a detachment of the
Lexington troop of horse, was approaching the town, and
forthwith the " county lieutenant," the board of trustees,
the members of the legislature who had arrived, and a large
number of prominent gentlemen, went out to meet him.
At the corner of Main and Broadway, he was received with
military honors by the " Old Infantry Company,'" and, in
the midst of enthusiastic cheers from the great crowd there
assembled, was presented by the chairman of the board of
trustees of Lexington with the following written address :

" To His Excellency, Isaac Shelby, Esq., Governor of the State
of Kentucky:

" Sir : The inhabitants of the town of Lexington beg leave
through us to present to your excellency their sincerest
congratulations on your appointment to the office of chief
magistrate of the State of Kentucky.

" Truly sensible that no other motive than a sincere de-
sire to promote the happiness and welfare of your country
could have induced you to accept an appointment that must

172 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1792.

draw you from those scenes of domestic ease and private
tranquillity which you enjoy in so eminent a degree.

"Having the fullest confidence in your wisdom, virtue,
and integrity, we rest satisfied that under your administra-
tion the constitution will be kept inviolate, and the laws so
calculated as to promote happiness and good order in the
state.

" In the name of the inhabitants of Lexington, we bid
you welcome, and assure you that we, and those we repre-
sent, have the warmest attachment to your person and char-
acter.

"May your administration insure blessings to your
country, and honor and happiness to yourself.

" By order of the trustees of Lexington.

"John Bradford, Chairman"

After the presentation of this address, the oath of office
was administered; then the horse and infantry paraded on
the public square, and, after firing alternately fifteen rounds,
a general discharge of rifles was given in honor of the new
governor, who was escorted to his lodgings by the largest
and most picturesque procession that the western cpuntry
had then known. " Store clothes" were scarce in that mul-
titude, while tow-linen shirts, powder-horns, moccasins,
buckskin pants, and coonskin caps were abundant.

Later in the day the following reply to the address of
welcome was sent by Governor Shelby :

" To Mr. John Bradford, Chairman of the Board of Trustees
of Lexington :
" Sir : I receive, with the warmest sentiments of gratitude
and respect, your very polite and genteel address, which , added
to the friendly treatment exhibited by you this day in con-
ducting me to this place, commands my most cordial respect
and esteem ; and, although I am thoroughly sensible of my
want of experience and abilities to discharge the very im-
portant duties committed to me, the warm congratulations
only of my country induce me to come forward, with some
hope that by a strict attention to the duties of my ofiice.

1792.] FIRST SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE. 173

and a firm adherence to public justice (both of which, I
trust, are in my power), I may in some degree merit a part
of that confidence which they have placed in me.

" Unacquainted with fiattery, I only use the plain lan-
guage of truth to express my warm attachment to the in-
habitants of this place, and assure them, through you, sir,
that I shall be happy to render them any service in my
power which may not be incompatible with the interests of
our common country.

" I have the honor to be, with great regard and esteem,

sir, your most obedient servant,

"Isaac Shelby."

This address was read to the citizens, and also the
announcement of the appointments, by the governor, of
James Brown as secretary of state, and George Nicholas,
attorney-general.* The legislature met and organized by
electing Alexander S. Bullitt, of Jefierson county, speaker
of the senate ; Eobert Breckinridge, speaker of the house,
and John Logan, of Lincoln, state treasurer, after which
it adjourned, and the rest of the day was spent in rejoic-
ing and in interchange of courtesies between the citizens
and their distinguished guests.

On the 6th of June, after the general assembly had been
fully organized, the members of both houses assembled in
the senate chamber of the state-house, a two-story log
building of the regular old pioneer type that stood nearly
in the center of the east side of Main street, between Mill
and Broadway. At twelve o'clock, Governor Shelby entered
the hall, attended by the secretary of state, and was imme-
diately conducted to a position on the right of the speaker
of the senate, where, after respectfully addressing, first the
senate and then the house, he proceeded to read the com-
munications he had prepared. He was listened to with the
deepest attention, and amid the most profound silence on
t^e part of the mass of the legislators and citizens, who
filled almost to suffocation every nook and corner of the
gloomy but substantial edifice. At the close of his address,

♦Kentucky Gazette.

174. BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1792.

the governor delivered to each speaker a copy of the man-
uscript, and retired aa he had entered. The two houses
then separated, and, after voting an address in reply to that
of his excellency, adjourned.* What a scene for a painter,
what a subject for a glowing pen, was that of the opening of
the first session of the Kentucky legislature, where the
courtly practice of the British kings and colonial governors
appeared in such strange and striking contrast with the
rude and simple surroundings of early western life. The
pomp and state of the house of lords in a log cabin, the
royal ermine, and the republican coonskin, European refine-
ment and elegance, western simplicity and virtue. Proba-
bly just such another scene has never been enacted before
or since. The example set by Governor Shelby, of ad-
dressing the legislature in person, was followed in Kentucky
up to the time of Governor Scott, when it was changed to
the present one, in accordance with a precedent established
by President Jefferson.

The legislature was engaged during its first session in
organizing the government, the judiciary and revenue re-
quiring much of its attention. The session lasted twelve
days. The first bill that secured the sanction of the gov-
ernor was entitled " an act establishing an auditor's office
of public account8."f Acts were passed " establishing the
town of Versailles, at Woodford court-house;" and form-
ing the county of Clark from a part of Fayette. Bills
were passed establishing the various courts, and taxes were
imposed on land, carriages, cattle, billiard tables, ordinary
licenses, and retail stores. Commissioners were appointed
by the house of representatives to select a permanent seat
of government, then a matter of great jealousy and con-
tention between the people of the opposite sides of the Ken-
tucky river.J Five gentlemen were chosen, any three of
whom might fix upon a location. Their names were Robert
Todd, of Fayette; John Edwards and John Allen, of
Bourbon ; Henry Lee, of Mason ; and Thos. Kenneday, of
Madison. The commissioners met soon after their appoint-

*E;entuoky Gazette. tState Papers. JButler.

1792.] F IRST SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE. 175

ment, when it was fouod that two were in favor of Frank-
fort, and two for Lexington. The matter was decided by
the vote of General Robert Todd for Frankfort. "Why
General Todd decided against his own town has long been
a mystery to many, but it is known that he regarded his
position as a delicate one, inasmuch as he owned a large
amount of land in this vicinity, and feared if he gave his
vote for his own place of residence, it might be attributed
to motives of personal interest. Modern legislators are
seldom troubled with such acute sensibilities. What a pity
it is that General Todd listened to the seductive voice of
old Mrs. Grundy. But he did, and Lexington lost the
capital.

Some of the first "appointments in the militia made by
the governor were those of Benj. Harrison, Thos. Kenne-
day, and Robert Todd, as brigadier-generals; /William
Russell, James Trotter, Henry Lee, William Steele, and
Levi Todd, lieutenant-colonels; James McDowell, John
Morrison, and John McDowell, majors. Robert Parker
was appointed surveyor of Fayette county.*

The members of the assembly received one dollar per
day for their services, and as no revenue had yet been col-
lected, the treasurer had to borrow that, and when they
were at last paid they had to rest content with " cut money;"
silver dollars cut into convenient "change," sometimes
counted, but oftener weighed.f Old time wages of a dollar
per day in "cut money," would not be extravagantly rel-
ished, we imagine, by our present public servants. The
office of the first state treasurer, who had neither treasure,
nor building to put it in if he had, was in " the big log
tavern" of Robert Megowan, deceased, then the tavern of
this place, which stood on the spot now covered by Mr.
Thomas Bradley's hardware store on Main street.J

At the time of this first session, Lexington was the
largest town in the state, and CQnta.ined one thousand in-
habitants, the population of the entire commonwealth
being about ninety thousand. The nine counties then in

*State Papers. fj^Iarshall. JOld Inhabitants.

176 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1792.

existence were Fayette, Mercer, Madison, Lincoln, Jefter-
son. Mason, Bourbon, Ifelson, and Woodford.

As we said above, this first meeting of the Kentucky
legislature was an event of great moment and heartfelt
satisfaction to the people. The infant republic of the vast
wilderness had seen nothing but trials, vexations, and dis-
heartening obstacles in its way from the time it was a dis-
trict of Virginia till it became an independent state. Ifine
conventions met and toiled before the much-desired result
was obtained. The whole work was done over and over
again. They were aggravated by the tardiness of Virginia
to complete the work of separating the district from the
mother State. The old Congress of 1788 declined emphat-
ically to act on Kentucky's petition to be received into the
Union. The distinguished John Brown, first and only
member from Kentucky in the old Congress, said that "the
New England states wanted no new Southern states ad-
mitted.*

Here was another delay. Kentucky had to wait till the
old crumbling government had dissolved, and the new one
had gone (into effect. To these repulses may be added the
other troubles of French, Spanish, and English intrigues,
the ambitious and disturbing conduct of some of her own
statesmen, and ever recurring Indian troubles. But all
difficulties were overcome. The first legislature met, and
the citizens of the new commonwealth rejoiced with ex-
ceeding great joy.

The magistrates composing the Fayette court of quarter
sessions in 1792 were Thomas Lewis, John McDowell, and
Robert Todd ; and those of the county court were James
Trotter, Walter Oarr, Percival Butler, Edward Payne,"
Joseph Crockett, William Campbell, Abraham Bowman,
Hubbard Taylor, and James McMillan. The other public
officers who have served the town and county since the
organization of the state government are as follows, viz:

*Gaaette.

1792.] JUDGES, CLERKS, AND REPRESENTATIVES. I77

CIRCUIT COUET JUDGES.

Samuel McDowell, Buekner Thurston, John Coburn,
Thomas Lewis, Robert Todd, Benjamin Howard, Henry-
Payne, Johii Monroe, John McDowell, John Parker, Will-
iam Warren, Benjamin Johnson, Benjamin Mills, Jesse
Bledsoe, T. M. Hickey, Daniel Mayes, A. K. WooUey,
Richard A. Buekner, W. C. Goodloe, C. B. Thomas.

CIRCUIT COURT CLERKS.

Thomas Bodley, H. I. Bodley, T. S. Redd, James Wood,
J. B. E^orton, J. B. Rodes.

STATE REPRESENTATIVES.

First Representatives of Payette in Legislature of Ken-
tucky, May 1, 1792 — William Russell, John Hawkins,
Thomas Lewis, Hubbard Taylor, James Trotter, Joseph
Crockett, James McMillan, John McDowell, Robert Pat-
terson.

1793. David Walker, James Hughes, Edmund Bullock,
Joseph Crockett, John South, Thomas January, Robert
Frier, Reuben Searcy.

1794. Joseph Crockett, E. Bullock, John McDowell, J.
Hughes, D. Walker, J. South.

1795. E. Bullock, J. Crockett, John Parker, J. Mc-
Dowell, J. Hughes, D. Walker.

1796. Bullock, Parker, William Russell, Hughes, Mc-
Dowell, Walker, Walter Carr.

1797. McDowell, Bullock, Parker, Russell, John Brad-
ford, Thomas Caldwell, James Morrison.

1798. Bullock, C. Beatty, J. Parker, J. H. Stewart, R.
Patterson, McGregor, Carr, Breckinridge, H. Harrison,
McDowell, Thomas Caldwell, W. Russell.

1799. W. Russell, John Breckinridge, John Bell, John
South, Hez. Harrison, W. Carr.

1800. W. Russell, John Breckinridge, John Parker,
Hez. Harrison.

1801. Benjamin Graves, James Hughes, Benjamin How-
ard, John Bell.

178 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1792.

1802. Benjamin Howard, Wm. Kussell, James Hughes,
John Bradford.

1803. Wm. Russell, Jas. Hughes, James True, Henry Clay.

1804. Henry Clay, Wm. Eussell, Benj. Graves.

1805. Henry Clay, Wm. Eussell, Grimm R. Tompkins.

1806. Henry Clay, Wm. Russell, John Pope.

1807. Henry Clay, Wm. Russell, John Pope.

1808. Henry Clay, John Parker, James Fishbaek.

1809. W. T. Barry, H. Clay, Alfred W. Grayson, Geo.
Trotter (elected to fill vacancy by Clay resigning, who
went to United States Senate).

1810. David Todd, John H. Morton, Joseph H. Hawkins.

1811. George Trotter, David Todd, J. H. Hawkins.

1812. J. H. Hawkins, David Todd, Jesse Bledsoe.

1813. D. Todd, J. H. Hawkins, Robert Russell.

1814. W. T. Barry, Henry Payne, T. T. Crittenden.

1815. H. Payne, James True, Levi L. Todd.

1816. Jos. C. Breckinridge, J. Parker, J. True.

1817. Jos. C. Breckinridge, J. Parker, W. T. Barry.

1818. Jos. C. Breckinridge, Thos. T. Barr, Thomas T.
Crittenden.

1819. J. Parker, H. Payne, R. WicklifFe.

1820. Percival Butter, H. Payne, George Shannon.

1821. Jas E. Davis, John R. Witherspoon, Matthias
Plournoy.

1822. James Trotter, Geo. Shannon, J. R. Witherspoon.

1823. Wm. Russell, R. Wickliffe, James True.

1824. H. C. Payne, R. Wickliffe, James True.

1825. R. J. Breckinridge, H. C. Payne, J. True.

1826. R. J. Breckinridge, M. Flournoy, J. True.

1827. R. J. Breckinridge, Leslie Combs, J. True, Jr.

1828. R. J. Breckinridge, Leslie Combs, J. True, Jr.

1829. Edward J. Wilson, Combs, and True.

1830. John Curd, Combs, and True.

1831. H. E. Innis, Chas. Carr, R. H. Chinn.

1832. A. K Woolley, J. R. Dunlap, H. E. Innia.

1833. L. Combs, G. R. Tompkins, J. R. Dunlap.

1834. G. E. Tompkins, J. R. Dunlap, A. K. Woolley.

1835. Jacob Hughes, John Curd, Eobt. Wickliffe, Jr.

1792.] STATE SENATORS. 179

1836. H. Daniel, W. Rodes, E,obt. Wickliffe, Jr.

1837. H. Clay, Jr., W. Rodes, Robt. Wickliffe, Jr.

1838. H. Clay, Jr., W. Rodes, Larkin B. Smith.

1839. Jacob Huglies, Rich'd Pindell, J. Q. McKinney.

1840. C. M. Clay, J. Curd, Clayton Curie.

1841. l^eal McCann, Robt. S. Todd.

1842. R. S. Todd, E. A. Dudley, 0. D. Winn.

1843. T. S. Redd, EHsba Hogan, C. R. Thompson.

1844. Robt. S. Todd, Thos. A. Russell.

1845. L. Combs, G. "W". Darnaby,J. Cunningham.

1846. L. Combs, Richard Spurr.

1847. L. Combs, D. L. Price.

1848. George Robertson, R. J. Spurr.

1849. H. C. Pindell, John C. Breckinridge

1850. R. A. Athey, C. C. Rogers.

1851. Changed to two each second year.
1853. M. C. Johnson, F. K. Hunt.
1855. R. J. Spurr, R. W. Hanson.
1857. Leslie Combs, M. C. Johnson.
1859. T. H. Clay, R. A. Buckuer.
1861. R. A. Buckner.

1863. R. J. Spurr.
1865. J. C. Yanmeter.
1867. R. C. Rogers.
1869. D. L. Price.
1871. W. Cassius Goodloe.

STATE SENATORS.

1792, Robert Todd and Peyton Short; 1796, James
Campbell; 1800, James Trotter; 1805, Edmund Bullock;
1809, Edmund Bullock; 1813, Edmund Bullock; 1817, W.
T. Barry; 1821, Matthias Flournoy; 1825, Robert Wick-
liffe; 1829, Robert Wickliffe; 1833, R. H. Chinn; 1837, A.
K.WooUey; 1841, William Rodes; 1845, R. S. Todd ; 1849,
Oliver Anderson ; 1851, Elihu Hogan ; 1853, J. F. Robin-
son; 1857, W. S. Darnaby; 1859, W. S. Darnaby; 1861, J.
F.Robinson; 1865, W. A. Dudley; 1867, W. A. Dudley;
1869, A. L. McAfee.

180 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1792.

CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES.

1796, John Fowler; 1804, John Fowler; 1806, Benjamin
Howard; 1808, Benj. Howard; 1810, W. T. Barry; 1812,
Henry Clay; 1814, Henry Clay; 1816, Henry Clay; 1818,
Henry Clay; 1820, S. H.Woodson; 1822, Henry Clay; 1824,
Henry Clay; 1825, Herman Bowmar; 1827, James Clarke ;
1829, James Clarke; 1831, James Clarke; 1833, Chilton
Allen; 1835, Chilton Allen; 1837, K. Hawes; 1839, R.
Hawes; 1841, Thos. F. Marshall; 1843, Garret Davis; 1845,
Garret Davis; 1847, C. S. Morehead; 1849, C. S. More-
head; 1851, J. C. Breckinridge; 1853, J. C. Breckinridge;
1855, A. K Marshall; 1857, J. B. Clay; 1859, "W. E. Sims;
1861, R. A. Buckner ; 1863, Brutus Clay; 1865, G. S. Shank-
lin; 1867, J. B. Beck; 1868, J. B. Beck; 1870, J. B.Beck.

UNITED STATES SENATORS.

The following citizens of Fayette county have served
terms in the Federal Senate, viz : 1792, John Brown ; 1796,
Humphrey Marshall, John Brown ; 1801, John Breckin-
ridge, Buckner Thruston; 1813, Jesse Bledsoe, John Pope;
1818, Henry Clay; 1825, Henry Clay; 1836, Henry Clay;
1861, John C. Breckinridge.

^^

1793.] LEXINGTON INDIGNANT, ETC. Igl

XX.

Lexington Indignant — A Virginia Town — Democratic Society
Founded — John Breckinridge — Inventors and Inventions —
West and the First Steamboat — Barlow's Planetarium —
Music of Light — Speeder Spindle — Burrowes' Mustard —
Locomotive — Vaccination.

The removal of the state capital to Frankfort, in 1793,
caused great disappointment in Lexington, and no little
indignation, as Lexington was at that time the most impor-
tant settlement on the frontier. A few months after the
removal, and while the general assembly was in session in
Frankfort, the Indians drove some hunters within five
miles of the town, and shortly after actually penetrated
into the place.* These incidents formed a standing sub-
ject of wit and ridicule among disappointed Lexingtonians
for weeks after their occurrence.

Lexington, in 1793, was a perfect type of the Yirginia
towns of that period. The manners, tastes, and appear-
ance of the people, and the general characteristics of the
place were "Virginian, and though many of the citizens
were emigrants from Marj'land, North Carolina, l^ew
Jersey, and Pennsylvania, the great mass of them had
come from the Old Dominion. The grand old customs and
distinguishing features of the mother of states and states-
men, then impressed upon Lexington by her children, are
happily not yet extinct.

Early in the summer of 1793t was founded the "Dem-
ocratic Society of Lexington," John Breckinridge being
president, and Thomas Bodley and Thomas Todd, clerks.

»01d Gazette, August 2, \1Bi. tButler.

182 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [im.

This society was noted for its hostility to ferleralism, its
efforts to secure the free navigation of the Mississippi river,
and its passionate sympathy for the young republic of
Prance. The members of the society, which embraced all
the democrats in Lexington, wore tri-color cockades, and
planted poles, surmounted with the cap of liberty, on every
corner. One of these " liberty poles " remained standing
for several years, on the corner of Main and Cheapside.
The federalists, to show their aversion of the tri-color, wore
a black cockade with an eagle button on the left side of
the hat. Party spirit was high and fierce, and if the dem-
ocratic society of Lexington, with little regard for the gen-
eral government, encouraged the agents of the French re-
public in their efforts to organize a force to wrest from
Spain her Louisiana territory, it is not to be wondered at
when we remember that Spain stubbornly refused the
western people an outlet to the ocean, and the federal gov-
ernment, in addition to the almost studied coldness shown to
Kentucky, was remarkably slow in bringing Spain to terms.

John Breckinridge, president of the Democratic Society,
had arrived in Kentucky just a few months anterior to
the formation of the society. He was born in Augusta
county, Virginia, December 2, 1760. His father's early
death compelled him, while but a boy, to labor hard to sus-
tain his widowed mother and her impoverished family.
Under these discouraging circumstances, Mr. Breckinridge
practiced law in Albemarle county, Virginia, from 1785,
until his removal to Kentucky, and as a lawyer, no man of
his day excelled him, and but few could compare with him.
"While a member of the Kentucky legislature, he inaugu-
rated the movement against the alien and sedition laws,
and was prominent and influential in the convention which
framed the state constitution of 1799.

As a senator in Congi-ess, as attorney-general of the United
States under Jefferson, and as a great leader of the old
democratic party, he displayed the qualities of a patriot,
and made himself famous as a statesman. He resided for
some time in a house which stood in the rear of the present
residence of Mr. B. Gratz, fronting on Broadway, and be-

1793.J THE FIRST STEAMBOAT. 183

tween Second and Third. He died near Lexington, Decem-
ber 14, 1806. Mr. Breckinridge was the grandfather of
our distinguished fellow-citizen, General John C. Breckin-
ridge.

With the year 1793 commences the history of invention
in Lexington, for at that time, in all reasonable probability,
was invented the first steamboat that ever successfully
plowed the waters of the world. The inventor, Edward
West, was a Virginian, and moved to this city in 1785.
He was the first watchmaker who settled in Lexington.
His shop and residence both were near the corner of Mill
and Hill streets, opposite the present residence of Mrs.
Letcher, Mr. "West was a hard student and close investi-
gator. He spent all his leisure time in experimenting with
steam and steam machinery of his own construction, and
the little engine that so successfully propelled his little boat,
was the result of years of untiring industry. He obtained
a patent for his great invention, and also one for a nail-
cutting machine, the first ever invented, and which cut
5,320 pounds in twelve hours, the patent for which " he sold
at once for ten thousand dollars."* Models of both inven-
tions were deposited in the patent office, but they were un-
fortunately destroyed when Washington was burned by
the British in 1814. It is said that John Fitch, of Pennsyl-
vania, made the initiatory step in steam navigation in 1787,
but it is also known that he had no success till August, 1807,
while West's boat was notoriously a success as early as
1793, years before Fulton had built his first boat on the
Seine. In that year (1793), in the presence of a large
crowd of deeply interested citizens, a trial of West's won-
derful little steamboat was made on the town fork of Elk-
horn, which was damned up near the Lexington and Frank-
fort freight depot for that purpose. The boat moved
swiftly through the water. The first successful application
of steam to navigation was made, and cheer after cheer
arose from the excited spectators. A number of our most

*Miohaux.

184 BISTORT of' LEXINGTON. [1793.

respected and venerable citizens remember witnessing this
experiment when boys. In confirmation of the early date
of this invention, we quote the following editorial notice
from the old Kentucky (gazette, dated April 29, 1816 :

"Steamboats. — A steamboat owned by a company of
gentlemen of this town (Lexington) was to sail for New
Orleans yesterday, from near the mouth of Hickman creek.
We are informed that she is worked on a plan invented
by Mr. West, of this place, nearly twenty years ago, and
in a manner distinct from any other steamboat now in use.
On trial against the current of the Kentuckj-, when that
river was very high, she more than answered the sanguine
expectation of her owners, and left no doubt on their minds
that she could stem the current of the Misassippi with
rapidity and ease."

, The editor settles the question of the antiquity of the
invention, but speaks indefinitely. John B. West, the
inventor's son, states decidedly that it was in the year 1793.
The memory of Edward West should be cherished by all
his countrymen; for to his genius is due one of the
grandest inventions recorded in the " geographical history
of man," since Jason sailed in search of the golden fleece,
or the Phcenicians crept timidly along the shores of the
Mediterranean, in their frail, flat-bottomed barges. The
time when steam was first used as a motive power will
form an era in the world's history, for the revolution it
has worked has been a mighty one, and a hundred years
from now, the little stream called the " Town Fork of Elk-
horn" will have become classic. The identical miniature
engine that West made and used in 1793 is now in the
museum of the lunatic asylum in this city. Edwin West
died in Lexington, August 23, 1827, aged seventy.

In 1796,* Nathan Burrowes, an ingenious citizen of Lex-
ington, introduced the manufacture of hemp into Kentucky,
and also invented a machine for cleaning hemp. Like
many other inventors, he was betrayed, and derived no

*S. D. MuCui lough.

1T93.] INVENTORS AND INVENTIONS. 185

benefit from either. He afterward discovered a superior
process of manufacturing mustard, and produced an article
wMch took the premium at the "World's Fair, in London,
and which has no equal in quality in existence. The secret
of its compounding has been sacredly transmitted unre-
vealed. It is now three-quarters of a century since " Bur-
rowes' Mustard " was first made, and it is still manufactured
in Lexington, and has a world-wide celebrity. Mr. Bur-
rowes settled in Lexington in 1792, and died here in 1846.

At the beginning of the present century, John Jones,
who died in Lexington in 1849, at the advanced age of
ninety years, invented a speeder spindle and a machine for
sawing stone, which were afterward " caught up " by eastern
impostors.

Though not an invention, it may not be inappropriate
here to state that vaccination had been introduced for sev-
eral years in Lexington by Dr. Samuel Brown, of Transyl-
vania University, when the first attempts at it were being
made in I^Tew York and Philadelphia.* Up to 1802, he
had vaccinated upward of five hundred persons in Ken-
tucky.

In 1805, Dr. Joseph Buchanan, long known as one of the
most remarkable citizens of Lexington, invented, at the age
of twenty, a musical instrument,! producing its harmony
from glasses of different chemical composition, and origi-
nated the grand conception of the music of light, to be ex-
ecuted by means of harmonific colors luminously displayed;
an invention which will, if ever put in operation, produce
one of the most imposing spectacles ever witnessed by the
human eye.

About 1835, Mr. E. S. l^oble, of Lexington, invented an
important labor-saving machine, for the purpose of turning
the bead on house-guttering.

One of the greatest mechanical geniuses, or inventors,
that Lexington has produced, and one who has done honor
to America, was Thomas Harris Barlow. His shop was, for
a long time, located on Spring street, between Main and

*Michaux'B Travels. tOollins, 559.

186 BISTORY OF LEXINGTON. \11^3.

Water. He settled in Lexington in 1825, but first attracted
public attention in 1827, by making a locomotive which
would ascend an elevation of eighty feet to the mile, with
a heavily-laden car attached.* He, at the same time, con-
structed a small circular railroad, over which the model lo-
comotive and car ram successfully in the presence of many
spectators, some of whom are still alive. This model is yet
in existence in the Lunatic Asylum of this city. Lexing-
ton can claim, therefore, the Urst railroad and the first loco-
motive ever constructed in "Western America. After this,
Mr. Barlow invented a self-feeding nail and tack machine,
which was a success. He sold it to some Massachusetts
capitalists. In 1855, he invented and perfected a rifled per-
cussion cannon, for the testing and experimental manufac-
ture of which Congress appropriated $3,000.t This gun
attracted the attention and admiration of the Russian min-
ister at Washington during the Crimean war, which was
then raging, and is believed to be the pattern which subse-
quent inventors of rifled guns have more or less followed.
It weighed seven thousand pounds, the bore was flve and a
half inches in diameter, twisting one turn in forty feet. It
was cast at Pittsburg.

His last, and greatest achievement, and one that will long
cause his name to be gratefully remembered by the learned
and scientific throughout the world, was the invention of
the planetarium, now so celebrated, both for the wonderful
ingenuity of its harmonious arrangement and working, and
for the ease and accuracy with which it represents the mo-
tions and orbits of the planets. The planetarium was the
result of ten years' patient study and labor, having been
commenced in 1841, and finished in 1851. J It was finally
perfected and exhibited in a room in the upper story of the
building which formerly occupied the site of the present
banking-house, on the corner of Main and Upper streets.]]
The first planetarium Mr. Barlow made, was purchased
for Transylvania University. The instrument is now used
at Washington, West Point, and in most of the great ed-

*Obs. and Bep. tMilton Barlow. JId. ||Wm. Swift.

1^93.] INVENTORS AND INVENTIONS. 187

ucational institutions of this country. At the late grand
Exposition at Paris, in 1867, Barlow's planetarium was ex-
amined with delight and admiration by the savants of
Europe, and received a premium of the first class. Mr. Bar-
low was born in ITicholas county, Kentucky, August 5,
1789, and died in Cincinnati in 1865.

188 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1794.

CHAPTER XXI.

Qame — Wayne's Victory — Lexington Post-office — Incidents,
and List of Postmasters — The Catholic Church — Father
Badin — Pastors.

Game, once so abundant about Lexington, had greatly
diminished by the year 1794. Teal and duck were still
plentiful, and the deer had not left the forests, but the
buffalo and the elk had disappeared, and wild turkeys were
never seen. Immense numbers of quails, which before the
settlement of Kentucky had been unknown, now migrated
from the other side of the mountains, following up the
grain scattered by emigrants.

Kelief from the plundering and murdering Indians was
now at hand. General Anthony Wayne, the successor of
the ill-fated St. Clair, after having organized his forces with
great care and deliberation, moved against the Miami sav-
ages in the summer of 1794. General "Wilkinson, Robert
Todd, and Thomas Lewis, and a large number of mounted
volunteers from Lexington and Fayette county, constituted
a part of the army, and participated in "Wayne's brilliant
and decisive victory over the Indians at the rapids of the
Miami, August 20, 1794. A few months after the battle,
peace was effected with the northwestern tribes, and, after
long years of bloodshed and misery, anxiety and watching,
the settlers of the Dark and Bloody Ground had rest from
their savage foes, who never again ventured upon Kentucky
soil.

The Lexington post-office was established about the year
1794, the inefficiency of the old confederation and the
incomplete organization of the new government rendering
it impossible until that late period. Before that time, all

1794.] LEXINGTON POST-OFFICE. 189

letters and papers received by the citizens were obtained
through the kindness of friends and innniigrants, or came by
private enterprise. A lady in Lexington, at that early day,
whose husband had gone to Crab Orchard, received a letter
from him which he had intrusted to a party of settlers who
intended to go through Lexington on their way west. In
passing through the ""Wilderness," the Indians attacked
the party, killing the man who had the letter, and his com-
panions carried it to the anxious wife stained with his
blood.*

In 1787, Bradford's "post-rider" brought letters to the
citizens, and in 1790 to still further accommodate them, he
opened a letter-box in his office where all letters and papers
brought to town could be deposited, and he published a
list of them in the Gazette once a month.* The first post-
master, Innis B. Brent, who was also jailer, had his office
in the log jail building which stood on Main street, between
Graves' stable and the corner of Broadway. It was next
located in " Postlethwaite's tavern " (Phoenix). In 1808, it
was in a building with immense hewed log steps, which oc-
cupied the site of the new Odd ^Fellows Hall, on Main. Mr.
Jordan was then postmaster, and our venerable fellow-
citizen, Mr. Ben Kiser, was his deputy.

In the year 1812 and for some time after, the post-office
was located in a little red frame-house which stood on the
site of Hoagland's stable, on Main, between Limestone and
Kose. Persons are still living who remember when the
news came to Lexington that the war with England was
over. The post-rider, with the mail bag strapped behind,
him, and furiously blowing his horn, dashed up to the post-
office door with the word "Peace" in big letters upon the
front of his hat.

At a later period the post-office was near the old Ken-
tucky Gazette office, near Clark & Bros, grocery, on Main.
In 1861, it was removed from the building now known as
Eule's cigar store, on the corner of Main, to its present lo-
cation, on the corner of Mill and Short streets.

*Cist, 129. tOld Gazette.

190 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1794.

Joseph Fickliu, who was appointed postmaster in 1822,
is believed to have held the office longer, and through more
presidential administrations than any other postmaster in
this country. The names of the postmasters of Lexington,
in order of their succession, are Innis B. Brent, Peter G.
Voorhies, John W. Hunt, John Jordan, Jr., John Fowler,
Joseph Ficklin, Thomas Redd, Squire Bassett, Jesse Wood-
ruff, L. B. Todd, S. W. Price.

The Catholic church in Lexington owes its establish-
ment to the self-sacrifice and untiring energy of the Rev.
Stephen Theodore Badin,* who commenced, in January,
1794, to gather together the few Catholics then in the town.
Father Badin was a native of France, and had been a sub-
deacon of the diocese of Orleans. He escaped from Bor-
deaux in 1792, while the furious Jacobins were murdering
his fellow-priests, and sailed for the United States. He
was ordained in Baltimore, by Bishop Carroll, the following
year, being the first priest of his church ever ordained in
this country, and shortly after set out for Kentucky. He
journeyed from Limestone (Maysville) to Lexington on
foot, and passed over the field of the disastrous battle of
Blue Licks, and though the defeat had taken place more
than eleven years before, the scene of it was still marked
by the whitened bones of the massacred settlers. For a
number of years after his arrival in Lexington, Father
Badin, like the majority of the pioneer preachers, fared
badly.

A little hut was his home ; he ground his own corn with
a hand-mill, and once had to go several days without
bread.f Father Badin celebrated mass in private houses
until the year 1800, when his congregation erected a log
church in a corner of the lot on which the First Baptist
Church, on Main, is now located. Here he officiated until
1812, when the wants of his flock demanded a larger house.
A gothic chapel of brick was accordingly built in the old
Catholic graveyard, on Winchester street, and was dedicated
May 19, 1812. J The subscription for this new church was

*Spalding. tDavidson. tM^cCabe.

1''94-] FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH.

191

opened on St. Patrick's day in 1810, at which time the Rev.
F. O'Flynn preached in the court-house an eloquent pan-
egyric on Ireland's patron saint. Three hundred dollars
were subscribed on the spot, and enough was raised shortly
after to commence work on the chapel.

Father Badin labored in Lexington for many years, be-
loved by his congregation, and respected by all who had
the good fortune to know him. This early and zealous
missionary, whose goodness, learning, and wit would have
made him an ornament in the most polished society, spent
his life with hunters and hardy settlers, in doing what he
believed to be the best for his fellow-men. In 1822 he went
to Paris, France, and while there published a book entitled
" Early Catholic Missions in Kentucky." In 1832 he labored
among the Potawatomie Indisms. After traversing Ken-
tucky and other states on missionary duty a hundred times
through rain and storm, and heat and cold, he went to
his rest at last in 1853.

Eev. G. A. M. Elder, born in Marion county, Kentucky
in 1793, succeeded Father Badin. He was a student at
Emmettsburg College, Maryland ; was ordained by Bishop
David in 1819, and is noted as the founder and first presi-
dent of St. Joseph's College at Bardstown. He was a man
of strong mind and unconquerable energy. Rev. Elder died
September 28, 1828, in the institution he had established,
and which remains as his monument.

St. Peter's Church, on Limestone street, was built during
the pastorate of Eev. Edward McMahon, a native of Ire-
land, and was dedicated December 3, 1837. On Sunday,
August 13, 1854,* just a few moments after the congrega-
tion had retired from this building, the entire ceiling fell
in with a crash that would have carried death and destruc-
tion with it if it had occurred a little while before. Fathers
Butler, John Maguire, and Dismarias succeeded each other.
Father Diemarisewas an Italian, learned and scholarly, and
endowed with unusual philosophical talents. He died in

*Observer and Keporter.

192 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON: [1794.

Philadelphia, a few years ago. In 1859, Rev. Peter Mc-
Mahon and Rev. JE. G. Allen were the resident priests.

Rev. John H. Bekkers, a Hollander, took charge of the
church in 1864, and has remained its faithful and efficient
pastor ever since. Under his direction, the present hand-
some and commodious St. Paul's Church, on Short street,
between Broadway and Spring, was completed. The corner-
stone of this church was laid by the Rt. Rev. Gr. A. Carroll,
on Sunday, November 12, 1865, and was dedicated, with
impressive services, October 18, 1868, by Archbishop Purcell.

1T95.] BRICK HOUSES, ETC. 193

CHAPTER XXII.

Brick Houses — Immigration — Infidelity— Free Navigation of
the Mississippi — German Lutheran Church — Lexington Li-
brary, Founders, Incidents, Librarians.

Brick houses began to take the place of wooden ones in
Lexington in 1795. The first one erected is believed to have
been the one built by Mr. January in the back part of the
lot, betv7een Mill and Broadway, on which the residence of
Mr. Benjamin Gratz now stands.*

The fear of all future invasions by the Indians having
been removed by the decisive campaign of General Wayne,
immigrants in great numbers poured into Kentucky, and
many of them settled in Lexington, whose substantial
growth dates from this year. Unfortunate!}', some of the
newcomers were admirers of Thomas Paine, and exerted
themselves to spread his peculiar views through the com-
munity, and being aided by the existing partiality for French
ideas, met with some success, and laid the foundation of the
infidelity and lax morality which became unpleasantly
prominent shortly after.

There was great rejoicing in Lexington, in the fall of 1795,
over the welcome news that a treaty had been coneinded
with Spain, by which the United States was conceded the
free navigation of the Mississippi river to the ocean, with
a right of deposit at New Orleans.

About this time (1795), the organization of a German
Lutheran church was eflFected in Lexington, mainly through
the efibrts of Captain John Smith, Jacob Kiser, Casper
Kernsner, and Martin Castel.f Money enough was secured,
by means of a lottery, to purchase the lot on Hill street, be-
tween Mill and Upper, on which the Southern Methodist

*M.cCabe. fOld Kentucky Gazette.

194 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [^95.

Church now stands, and to erect a story and a half frame
building, which was used both as a church and school-house.
The pastor of the church was the Rev. Mr. Dishman, the
teacher was Mr. Leary. The congregation was composed
almost entirely of Germans, among whom were Henry
Lanckart, Jacob Springle, John Kiser, Adam Webber,
George Adams, Haggard, Edward Howe, Malcolm Myers,
and Mr. Bushart. Many members of the Lutheran Church
were buried in their old graveyard, which is still to be seen
back of the present Hill Street Methodist Church.

About the year 1815, the little frame Lutheran church
was destroyed by fire, and no other was ever erected. The
congregation became scattered, and finally died out, even
from the memory of many. "When the old church lot was
sold to the Lutheran Methodists, only one trustee of the
Lutheran Church, Adam Webber, was still alive.

The Lexington Library, the oldest institution of its kind
in Kentucky, if not in the West, commenced its existence
in this year (1795). On New Year's day, a number of gen-
tlemen met in the " old state-house " to consult in regard to
establishing a library for the benefit of the citizens of Lex-
ington and the students of Transylvania Seminary. It was
resolved to organize such an institution, to be called " Tran-
sylvania Library," and the following citizens were appointed
a committee to perfect the work, viz : Robert Barr, John
Bradford, John Breckinridge, James Brown, R. W. Down-
ing, Thomas Hart, Thomas January, James Parker, Samuel
Price, Fred. Ridgely, H. Toulmin, and James Trotter.

So earnest were these gentlemen in the good work to
which they had been called, that in a few days they had se-
cured subscriptions from the public amounting to five hun-
dred dollars. A purchasing committee was appointed, and
the money forwarded for the books.* At this time, Tran-
sylvania Seminary, as the present university was then called,
was a small school, with no collection worthy the name of
" library," and there were no private libraries in the city,
though it could boast, even at that early day, of many citi-

*Keutucky Gazette.

1795.] LEXINGTON LIBRARY. 195

zens of culture and education, who no doubt waited with
the greatest impatience for the infant library. Patience
was needed, for it took nearly a year to collect and transport
the books to Lexington. But they came at last (four hun-
dred volumes) in January, 1796, and were placed for safe
keeping in the seminary building.

In 1798, when the Presbyterian grammar school, "Ken-
tucky Academy," was merged in Transylvania Seminary,
lorming Transylvania University, the library was increased
by the addition of the little library of Kentucky Academy.
By this means, the library came in possession of valuable
theological works, obtained through the generous exertions
of Rev. Doctor Gordon, of London,* and also books bought
by subscriptions obtained by Eev. James Blythe from
President Washington, Vice-President Adams, Aaron
Burr, and other distinguished gentlemen. The library now
numbered over six hundred volumes, and the committee,
believing it could be made more useful if placed in a more
central location, removed it to the drug store of the first
librarian, Andrew McCalla, which was located at that time
on the corner of Market and Short streets, where the Daily
Press office now stands, and its name was changed to
" Lexington Library." By this name it was incorporated
November 29, 1800. The shareholders named in the
charter are : Thomas Hart, Sen., James Morrison, John
Bradford, James Trotter, John A. Seitz, Eobert Patterson,
John McDowell, Robert Barr, "William Macbean, James
Maccoun, Caleb Wallace, Fielding L. Turner, Samuel Pos-
tlethwait, and Thomas T. Barr. At a general meeting of
the shareholders, held at the house of John Mcl*?^air, on
the first Saturday in January, 1801, a complete organiza-
tion under the charter was effected by the election of a
board of directors.

In 1803, the library contained seven hundred and fifty
volumes, and had been removed to a room in the old state-
house on West Main street, between Mill and Broadway.
The juvenile library of one thousand one hundred and

*Wmterl)otham's History, vol. iii, p. 155.

196 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1T95.

thirty-five books, which had been collected by an associa-
tion of ambitious and energetic boys, was consolidated
with the Lexington Library in 1810. It was further in-
creased by donations and sales of shares, until, in 1815, it
had grown to two thousand five hundred and seventy-
three volumes. La 1824, the books of the Lexington
Athseneum were turned over to it. Small as it was, the
Lexington Library was now the largest and most prominent
one in the western country, and it received frequent con-
tributions of books, pamphlets, journals, and documents
from various literary, scientific, and philosophical societies
throughout the country, not to mention many donations
of books from private citizens of Lexington and Fayette
county. The library numbered over six thousand volumes
in 1837, and was increased the next year through the
eftbrts of Henry Clay, Eobert "Wickliffe, Jr., and A. K.
Woolley, who addressed public meetings in its behalf. In
1839, Leslie Combs gave one thousand three hundred dol-
lars in turnpike stock to the institution. At present, the
number of books in the library is estimated at ten thou-
sand, a small number when the age of the library is con-
sidered, but its smallness is due, to some extent, to the
vicissitudes it has encountered during an eventful history.
It has suffered from frequent removals, from fire, and from
water. At one time, the books were kept in the old Odd-
Fellows' hall, on Church street, between Upper and Lime-
stone. The building was destroyed by fire, and the books
sadly damaged. They were then removed to the Medical
hall, which at that time occupied the site of the present
library building, on the corner of Church and Market
street. This hall was also destroyed by fire, and many
books were lost. The library found another refuge in the
new Medical Hall, erected on the corner of Broadway and
Second streets, but still the fire fiend pursued it ; the hall
was burned, and the books, for the third time, were dam-
aged, both by the fire itself and water from the engines.
That the library was not scattered and almost entirely de-
stroyed, Lexington may thank the watchful care of our late
fellow-citizens, Leonard Wheeler, and also William A.

1795.] LEXINGTON LIBRARY. I97

Leavy, Lyman W. Seeley, and John S. Wilson. The
library finally landed in the house now owned by the
library company, on Jordan's row, and at present occu-
pied as the internal revenue ofELce.

In 1865, the present library building was bought by
money raised from issuing bonds of the company for six
thousand dollars, and the books were forthwith removed to
it. This important occasion is the result of Mr. Thomas
Mitchell's enlightened exertions.

The following bondholders have, up to the present time,
given up their bonds, and have accepted, instead, perpetual
shares, viz: Benjamin Gratz, M. C. Johnson, Mrs. John
Curty, D. A. Sayre, Wm. Warfield, H. T. Duncan, Jr., E.
D. Sayre, J. B. Payne, J. S. Wilson, J. M. Elliott, W. W.
Bruce, M. P. Lancaster, B. S. Thompson, J. B. Morton,
M. E. Graves, C. W. Fouschee, M. G. Thompson, J. W.
Berkley, J. W. Cochrane, J. W. Cochran.

At the meeting of the Kentucky Press Association in
Lexington, in January, 1870, the editors in attendance re-,
solved to send their various journals free to the library.
The Lexington Library is an exceedingly valuable one,
abounding as it does in rare old works, which can not now
be obtained elsewhere for any consideration, and the good
that it has done can not easily be overestimated. The
names of the librarians, in the order of their succession,
are : Andrew McCalla, Lewis H. Smith, David Logan,
Thomas M. Prentiss, James Logue, Lyman W. Seeley,
James Logue, Wellington Payne, William M. Matthews,
Henry C. Brennan, Allie G. Hunt, Joseph Wasson, William
Swift, and J. B. Cooper. The oflice was held longer by
James Logue than by any other librarian. He was custo-
dian of the books for more than twenty-five years. Mr.
Swift will be remembered for his accurate and extensive
information and for his extraordinary memory. The in-
stitution has never had a librarian more devoted to its in-
terests than the present one, Mr. Cooper.

198 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON: [1^96.

CHAPTE;R XXIII:

Episcopal Church — Mrst Building — Bev. James Moore —
Early Members — The " St Paul" Schism — List of Rectors
of Christ Church — Present Condition.

The history of the Episcopal Church in Lexington com-
mences with the year 1796, when a feeble little band or-
ganized the present Christ Church, in a dilapidated frame
house which stood on the site of the present church, on the
corner of Market and Church streets. Rev. James Moore,
who was the first minister of the Episcopal Church of the
United States who settled permanently in Kentucky, was
the first rector of Christ Church. He came from Virginia
to Lexington in 1792,* and was at that time a candidate for
the ministry in the Presbyterian Church, but shortly after,
considering himself too rigorously treated by the Transyl-
vania Presbytery, he connected himself with the Episcopal
Church. He was a man of learning, great piety, and beau-
tiful manners. In 1798, he was appointed acting president
of Transylvania University, which oflice he held for several
years. He died June 22, 1814, at the age of. forty-nine.

A little brick house succeeded the frame one, in 1808
and was furnished by means of a lottery, of which William
Morton, "Walter Warfield, Daniel Sheely, and John Wyatt
were managers.f Among others, who were either members
of the church at that time, or were adherents of it, may be
namedj John D. Clifford, Thomas January, John Bradford,
Henry Clay, John W. Hunt, Thomas B. Pinkard, Frederick
liidgely, John Jordan, Elijah Craig, Alexander Parker,
John Postlethwaite, William Essex, John Brand, Matthew,
Elder, Matthew Shryock, and T. King.

»Conins. tOld Gazette. JChurch Eecords.

1T96.] THE EPISCOPAL GHURCB. 199

The Rev. John "Ward succeeded Mr. Moore in November,
1813. Mr. Ward conducted a successful female school in
Lexington for many years. He died in this city in 1860,
aged eighty-two. After performing the duties of the rec-
torship for six years with great acceptability, he was suc-
ceeded, in September, 1819, by Rev. Lemuel Burge, who
officiated as pro tern, pastor for five months, when he was
called to the church eternal.

The zealous and talented Dr. George T. Chapman, who
is still living, at a very great age, in Massachusetts, became
the next regular rector, in July, 1820. His volume of " Ser-
mons to Presbyterians of all Sects," which was published in
1828, passed through several editions.* He was rector of
Christ Church for ten years.

During Dr. Chapman's ministry, the little brick chapel
gave way to a larger and more church-like edifice, which
was built on the same spot which had been occupied by
both of its predecessors. The building was of brick, stuc-
coed to imitate stone, and the aisles and other parts of it
were, in time, strewn with memorial slabs and tablets to
those who were buried in and around the edifice. This
church building was badly constructed, audit became more
and more insecure every year. A knowledge of this fact
made the growth of the congregation very slow as long as
it was occupied.

The present bishop of the diocese, the Rev. Benjamin
Bosworth Smith, was called to the rectorship of Christ
Church in November, 1830. Bishop Smith was born June
13, 1794, in Bristol, R. L, was graduated at Brown Univer-
sity in 1816, ordained priest in 1818, and consecrated bishop
in St. Paul's Church, New York city, October 31, 1832.
This learned, faithful, and now aged minister, resigned the
rectorship in October, 1838, since which time he has been
constantly employed in a laborious oversight of the diocese.
In addition to publishing several sermons and charges,
Bishop Smith has contributed largely to religious journals.
Dr. Henry Caswell,t an English clergyman, was assist-

*Caswell. tB. B. Smith.

200 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1796.

ant rector of Christ Church for a part of Bishop Smith's
term. In 1834, he was called to the professorship of Sacred
Literature in the Episcopal Theological Seminary, then just
established in Lexington, which position, with that of assist-
ant rector, he held for three years. In 1839, he published a
volume entitled "America and the American Church," and,
about the same period, returned to England, and was for
ten years vicar of Figheldean, Diocese of Salisbury. He
came back to the United States a few years ago, and sub-
sequently died in Franklin, Pennsylvania.

In 1837, Christ Church became divided* upon some com-
paratively unimportant questions, and a part of the congre-
gation organized a church, which they named " St. Paul's."
They worshiped in Morrison College, but only for a short
time. The trouble was soon settled, and the seceding mem-
bers renewed their connection with Christ Chi.rch.

For a short time after the resignation of Bishop Smith,
the amiable Rev. Edward Winthrop, a native of ITew Haven,
Connecticut, was temporary rector. He died in l^ew York,
in 1865.

The regular successor of Bishop Smith was Rev. Edward
F. Berkley, who entered upon the duties of the rectorship
in January, 1889. Mr. Berkley was born in "Washington
City, September 20, 1813. He came to Lexington in 1835,
was for three years a member of the Episcopal Theological
Seminary in this city, and was ordained to the ministry in
Christ Church in December, 1838. Mr. Berkley's fine qual-
ities of head and heart so endeared him to his congreo'ation
that he was retained in the service of the parish for nearly
nineteen years. He resides at present in St. Louis, Mis-
souri.

On the 17th of March, 1847, the corner-stone of the
present tasteful and elegant church edifice was laid, with
appropriate ceremonies, and a dedicatory address was deliv-
ered by the Rev. James Craik, of Louisville. The remains
of those buried in and around the ,church were subsequently
removed to the Episcopal Cemetery. The memorial tablets

*Uhurch Beoords.

1T96.] THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. £01

of Mr. Moore, first pastor of the church, and Mr. John D.
Clifford, one of its early and generous benefactors, were
preserved through the provident attention of Mr. John 8.
Wilson, and, in 1858, when the church was still further im-
proved, they were set in the wall of the building, where
they still remain.

Mr. Berkley resigned in November, 1857, and was suc-
ceeded, in March, 1858, by the Eev. James H. Morrison, of
Pemberton, Virginia, a gentleman of superior scholarly
attainments.

The present rector, the Eev. Jacob S. Shipman, took
charge of Christ Church on the 14th of October, 1861. Mr.
Shipman was born in Niagara, New York, November 30,
1832. In completing the Yale College course he enjoyed the
special instruction of Dr. Joseph M. Clark. Mr. Shipman
was ordained to the priesthood in 1858, and had been rector
of two churches successively before he was called to Christ
Church. Scholarly and original, possessed of a cultivated
mind and a warm and generous heart, Mr. Shipman has
gained the highest esteem of his congregation, which has
enjoyed abundant peace and prosperity under his efficient
ministry.

Christ Church, has been steadily increasing in membership
amd influence for many years, and its present very flourish-
ing condition is a source of great gratification to all christian
people.

202 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1T9T

CHAPTER XXIV.

Lexington Immigration Society — Size of Town — Town Prop-
perty — Market Houses — Theater — Henry Clay: His Char-
acter as an Orator, Statesman, and Man — Incidents.

The year 1797 produced an association in Lexington,
whose influence was so salutary that it was soon imitated
in other places ; and this was the " Lexington Immigration
Society." Strong exertions, and successful ones, were made
by it to induce industrious farmers and mechanics to re-
move to this region. Publications were made and circu-
lated full of information regarding the amount of the or-
dinary products of the soil per acre, the common prices
of marketing, the various species of mechanical labor, and
productions, etc. Of this society, Thomas Hart was presi-
dent ; John Bradford, secretary.

The following particulars from one of these documents
are extracted for the benefit of the curious :

AVEKAGE PKODUCB OF ONE ACKE OF LAND.

Of wheat sown in corn-ground, 25 bushels ; in fallow-
ground, 35; corn, 60; rye, 25; barley, 40; oats, 40; pota-
toes, Irish, 250 — sweet, — ; hemp, 8 cwt. ; tobacco,! ton;
hay, 3 tons.

LEXINGTON MAKKET PRICES.

"Wheat, per bushel, |1 ; corn, 20 cents ; rye, 66 cents ;
barley, 50 cents; oats, 17 cents; potatoes, Irish, 33 — sweet,
$1 ; hemp, per ton, $86.66 ; tobacco, per cwt., |4 ; hay,
per ton, $6.

The establishment of this society shows that our enter-
prising ancestors were determined to build up their flour-
ishing town, which consisted of sixteen hundred inhabit-

1797.] MARKET HOUSES— THEATER. 203

ants, and over two hundred houses,* a few of them brick
ones, many of them frame, but the most of them log ones,
with chimneys built on the outside. A town lot was
worth thirty dollars, and good farms in the vicinity could
be bought for five dollars per acre.f The best farmers lived
in log cabins, and even whea they went " to town " wore
hunting-shirts and leggings. The then beautiful vale
through which town fork poured, was variegated with
corn-fields, meadows, and trees. The means used for car-
rying on the town government were not as extravagant
then as those of modern times, as all the town property
in the hands of the trustees consisted of " two oxen, a cart,
a wheelbarrow, sledge, mattock, crowbar, shovel, and a
two-foot rule. "J

By this time, the ground-room of the old state-house,
which had been converted into a market-house, had become
entirely too small for the ambitious citizens of Lexington
and a subscription was raised, which resulted iti the build-
ing of a substantial market-house on the public ground,
between the present court-house and Cheapside, from
which circumstance Market street derived its name.

In 1814, a market-house was built on Water street, but
the Cheapside structure was not removed until 1817. The
market-house now in use was built in 1844,

How Lexington supported a place of amusement in 1797,
we are not prepared to say, but she certainly had one. "An
exhibition-room, adjoining Coleman's tavern," was erected
by George Saunders, and opened to the public Monday
evening, June 5th. "Admission at sunset; performance
to begin at dark ; pit, 3s. 9d. ; gallery, 2s. 3d."§ A theat-
rical performance was held in the court-house in 1798. In
1807, Melish, the traveler, was in Lexington, and visited
the theater, which then stood on the corner of "Water and
Limestone, but his metropolitan tastes were not entirely
gratified, as he said afterward, that " the performance did
very well, but there was a deficiency of actresses, and one

*Joseph Scott's Directory. fBrown's Gazetteer, JTrusteea' Book.

gold Gazette.

204 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [179T.

of the men had to play a female part, which did not suit
my taste at all."

In 1812, "Macbeth" was played at the "Hotel Theater,"
atid on the evening of May 30th, in that year, " John
Bull," a comedy, was performed before a packed audience,
by Thespian amateurs belonging to the " Old Infantry" com-
pany, in honor of the Lexington volunteers for the war
against England. A goodly sum was realized, and used to
buy arms, clothing, and camp equipage for the soldiers.*

" Usher's Theater" was built about the year 1816.t It
was located on the old Bruen property, at the corner of
Spring and Vine streets, and, though it was on a small
scale, it could boast of regular boxes, a pit, and a gallery.
The celebrated Drake family constituted one of the first
regular companies which appeared in the theater. Edwin
Eorest, who had before played minor parts in Philadelphia,
made his debut as a leading actor in " Usher's Theater."
He was brought out by Collins and J ones. J Sol. Smith,
the noted comedian, who died in St. Louis in 1869,
raised his first theatrical company in Lexington, and played
in this theater for several weeks previous to his first tour.

In 1832, and frequently thereafter, the Masonic Hall was
used for theatrical purposes. The theater was located, in
1837, on the lot now occupied by John 8. Wilson's resi-
dence, on Upper street, and here the noted Mrs. Duff made
her first appearance in Lexington. The remarkable GrUS
Adams charmed a crowded audience, in 1840, in a building
neither very large nor very pretentious, which the citizens
dignified with the name "Theater." It stood on Short
street, between Broadway and Jefferson, opposite the resi-
dence of J. B. Wilgus.

After this time, Melodeon Hall and other rooms were
used; but for the last fifteen years, the Odd Fellows' Hall,
corner of Main and Broadway, has been " the theater."
The followers of Thespis and Orpheus who have visited
Lexington would make an army, and we can only mention,
in addition to the distinguished artists already named, the

^Observer and Eeporter. tBenj. Kiser. JMarsh.

^''^''■1 HENRY CLAY. 205

famous elder Booth, the great pioneer actor Cooper, Julia
Dean, Murdoch, Mrs. Lander, Joe Jefferson, Sontag, Patti,
Parodi, Brignoli, and Ole Bull.

Henry Clay, whose greatness is crystallized in history,
and whose name is the most illustrious one associated with
Lexington, came to this city in November, 1797, and made
it his home for the rest of his life, a period of more than
half a century. Here he struggled. Here he triumphed.
Here he sleeps.

On the 12th of April, 1777, in the " Slashes " neighbor-
hood, of Hanover county, Virginia, in the midst of a great
revolution, Henry Clay was born. His father, a Baptist
minister, died when Henry was four years old, and left his
family no legacy but poverty and toil. Fortunately, the
mother of Henry was a woman of vigorous intellect and
great energy, and she managed to maintain her large family
in comparative comfort. Both parents were natives of Vir-
ginia. The early years of the future orator were years of
much labor and little education, and it was then that he
was known as "the mill- boy of the slashes,"* from the fact
that he was often seen, when the meal-barrel was low, going
to and fro between his mother's house and the mill, on the
Pamunky river, mounted on a scrub pony, with a meal-bag
for a saddle and a rope for a bridle. Up to the age of
fourteen, he had received three years' "schooling," in a log
house of the period, and from Peter Deacon, of whom little
is known, except that he was the only teacher of Henry
Clay. He was now placed by Captain Henry Watkins,
whom his mother had married, in the store of Richard
Denny, of Richmond. At the end of a year, Peter Tinsley,
of Richmond, clerk of the high court of chancery of Vir-
ginia, gave him a situation in his office, and about the same
time, namely 1792, his mother removed with his stepfather
to Kentucky, and settled in Woodford county, where she
died in 1827.

While engaged in the chancery court office, Henry Clay
attracted the attention of Chancellor Wythe, who engaged

*Oolton Papers, 19.

206 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [179T.

him as an amanuensis, assisted him in mental improvement,
and encouraged him to study law, which he subsequently
did, in the office of Robert Brook, then attorney-general of
Virginia.

Mr. Clay, having obtained a license to practice law from
the judges of the court of appeals of Virginia, immigrated
to Lexington, Kentucky, in N'ovember, 1797. Here (to use
his own words), *" I established myself, without patrons,
without the favor of the great or opulent, without the means
of paying my weekly board, and in the mid?t of a bar un-
commonly distinguished by eminent members." Lexi ngton
was then the metropolis of the "West, claiming sixteen hun-
dred inhabitants, and George Ificholas, Joe Daviess, James
Brown, John Breckinridge, William Murray, and James
Hughes were the leading lawyers. Mr. Clay, at this time,
seemed to be in bad health.f He was delicate in person
and slow in his movements ; but he quickly rallied. His
first speech in Lexington was made in a young men's de-
bating club. I'he smiles provoked by his awkward begin-
ning were succeeded by cordial cheers and congratulations. J
The first fee Mr. Clay received was fifteen shillings. His
first public speech he made at the age of twenty-one, in the
summer of 1798. The news had just arrived in Lexington
that Congress had passed the infamous alien and sedition
laws, and while crowds of excited and indignant men were
discussing the news on Main street, a cart was drawn out,
and Clay was put in it and told to " speak." He did speak;
and the brilliant and crushing eloquence of his denuncia-
tions of those odious enactments, revealed his genius to the
people, and laid the foundation of his fame. He rose rap-
idly in his profession. In 1799 he married Lucretia,
daughter of Thomas Hart, one of the earliest citizens of
Lexington. The marriage took place in the house on the
corner of Mill and Second, now occupied by Mrs. Ryland.
Mrs. Clay was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, 1781.

As we have seen, Mr. Clay united himself at an early
period with the Jeffersonian or Democratic party. In

*Speech at Lexington, 1842. tCollins. |Colton.

179?.] BENRY CLAT. 207

1803, he was elected from the county of Fayette to the
lower house of the Kentucky legislature, and was re-elected
to that body every succeeding session, until 1806, when he
was chosen United States senator, to fill out the unexpired
term of General Adair. The rapidity with which these
favors were showered upon Mr. Clay evidence how soon he
had gained a strong hold upon the popular heart. After
serving during the session for which he was elected, Mr.
Clay resumed the practice of his profession in Lexington.
He was now thirty, the leader of the bar, and overwhelmed
with important cases.

In the summer of 1807, he was again sent to the state
legislature, and was elected speaker of the house. He was
continued in the assembly until 1809, when he was returned
to the United States Senate to fill out the unexpired term
of Buckner Thurston. He bore a conspicuous part in the
discussion of the great national questions before the senate.
His first speech of the session foreshadowed the outlines
of that vast scheme of " protection," known as the "Amer-
ican system," of which Mr. Clay has been called the
" father." His powerful eflbrts in favor of the " protection "
of domestic manufactures, on the " line of the Eio Per-
dido," and in opposition to the rechartering of the United
States Bank, stand pre-eminent in congressional history.
Mr. Clay subsequently changed his opinion, and urged the
chartering of the United States Bank, and gave his reasons
for the change with characteristic force.

In 1811, Mr. Clay was elected to the lower house of Con-
gress, and entered on the great period of his life, commenc-
ing with his election as speaker of the house of represent-
atives, and terminating with his death, during which all
his great endowments became so conspicuous through
services and eflbrts so illustrious.* He had never before
been a member of that house, which renders it still more
remarkable that he should have been elected its speaker on
the day he took his seat. He was re-elected speaker six
times, and after occupying the chair about thirteen years,

*Addres3 of Dr. R. J. Breckinridge.

208 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [179T.

left it to become secretary of state in the cabinet of the
younger Adams, in 1825, which situation he held till the
close of that administration in 1829. He was out of Con-
gress during two short periods ; first in 1814-15, while en-
gaged as one of the American commissioners in negotiat-
ating the treaty of Ghent, and again in 1820-22, when the
condition of his private affairs obliged him to return to the
bar. After the close of his service as secretary of state,
in 1829, he remained in private life till the autumn of 1831,
when he was elected to the senate of the United States for
the third time, and commenced a senatorial career even
more protracted and glorious than his previous career in
the more popular branch of Congress. He was elected to
the senate the fourth time in 1837. In March, 18i2, after
twelve years continuous service in the senate, covering six
years of the administration of General Jackson, the whole
of Mr. Van Buren's administration, and the first two years
of Mr. Tyler's, he resigned his seat in the senate, and re-
tired, as he supposed, finally to private life. In 1848, he
was elected to the senate for the fifth time, and was a mem-
ber of it till his death, in 1852. From bis entrance into
public life, just fifty years had expired at his death; and
of these more than forty years had been passed in the most
laborious public service. From his entrance into the house
of representatives, in 1811, he had served thirteen years as
a speaker of that house, about sixteen years as a senator,
and four years as secretary of state, thus occupying far the
greater part of the last forty years of his life in a career
unsurpassed by any statesman of his era.

That career of forty years was as diversified as it was
brilliant.* During the war of 1812 he was " the master spirit,
around whom all the boldness and chivalry of the nation
rallied. He was the life and soul of the war party in Con-
gress." In 1815, we find him one of a commission con-
cluding a treaty of peace with England, in the ancient city
of Ghent, and shortly after enjoying the society of the most
noted characters in Europe. Then comes his review of the

*!N'iles' Eegister and Congressional Globe.

1797.] HENRY CLAT. 209

Seminole war; his triumphant eftbrts in behalf of internal
improvements, and for the recognition of the South Ameri-
can republics ; his Herculean labors to avert the convulsion
which threatened the nation in 1821, on the application of
Missouri for admission into the Union ; his eloquent appeals
in behalf of Greece; his achievements in the protection
battles of 1832-33 ; opposition to the sub-treasury system
in 1836; thrilling farewell scene in the senate in 1842; re-
tirement to Ashland; practice of his profession; recall to
the senate in 1848 ; and the mighty efforts of " the old man
eloquent " during the perilous slavery excitement in Con-
gress in 1850-52.

Mr. Clay was thrice a candidate for the presidency; first,
in 1825, when his opponents were Andrew Jackson, John
Quincy Adams, and W. H. Crawford. The people failed to
make a choice. The election was thrown into the house
of representatives, where Mr. Clay gave his vote and influ-
ence for Mr. Adams, who thus became President. Upon
the inauguration of the new President, Mr. Clay was made
secretary of state. The course pursued by Mr. Clay on this
occasion subjected him to the bitterest denunciations and
abuse. It was charged that he had bought his seat in the
cabinet, and the cry of "bargain and corruption" was re-
peated over and over again, to the end of his life, and de-
feated him in every subsequent race for the presidency.
Where now is the man |Who may hope to keep his greatness
and purity undeliled from the ever accumulating filth of the
political arena? Slander is the soul -scorching price of po-
litical eminence. In a speech delivered at Lexington, Ken-
tucky, September 9, 1842, Mr. Clay said: "My error in
accepting the office tendered me arose out of my under-
rating the power of detraction and the force of ignorance,
and abiding with too sure a confidence in the conscious in-
tegrity and uprightness of my own motives." It is enough
to say that the life-long friends of Mr. Clay, those who
knew, indeed, the integrity and clearness of his inner life,
have always scouted this charge with scorn and contempt.

In 1832, Mr. Clay, who had disconnected himself from
the Jeffersonian Democrats, was again nominated for the

210 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1T97.

presidency by the "National Kepublicans," or Whigs (as
they were beginning to be called), a new party, mainly
created by himself. His great antagonist was General Jack-
son, the candidate of the "Democratic" party. .This con-
test was one of the fiercest and most stubborn that had yet
been waged in America, and never did the energy and genius
of Mr. Clay shine out more resplendent. Mr. Clay's tri-
umph was complete in his own state, but the indomita-
ble old hero of New Orleans was re-elected President. The
"Whig party, of which Mr. Clay was the idol, passionately
desired to lift him to the chief magistracy of the nation,
and again nominated him in 1844. He was opposed by
James K. Polk, the Democratic candidate. Mr. Clay was
powerfully and almost successfully supported by his party.
The contest, which was remarkably close and long, seemed
doubtful, and was decided by the vote of New York, and
the prize fell to Mr. Polk, while apparently within the very
reach of Mr. Clay.

On the slavery question, Mr. Clay was conservative.
"While deprecating the evils of African slavery, and favoring
its gradual abolishment, he invariably denounced the wild
and violent sentiments of radical abolitionists.

Mr. Clay was engaged in two duels. The first was with
Humphrey Marshall, author of the History of Kentucky.
Mr. Clay was wounded in this duel. The second was with
John Randolph.

The voice of the world has pronounced Mr. Clay a great
man — great as a statesmen, and pre-eminently great as a
lawyer; but it is as an orator that he will live longest in
^he memory of men. The accompaniments of his great
intellect were a finely-formed, graceful, and commanding
person, fascinating manners, a piercing eye, and a voice of
wonderful melody and power. Upon great occasions, he
was all earnestness, all feeling, body and soul seemed merged
in one spiritual essence, and from his lips flowed a stream
of irresistible eloquence, which has given him a place in
history as one of the grandest orators the world has ever
produced.

I

l'?97.] BENRT GLAT. 211

Mr. Clay's personal appearance in 1845 is thus described :*
" He is six feet and one inch in height; not stout, but the op-
posite ; has long arms and a small hand ; always erect ia
carriage, but particularly so in debate; has a well-shaped
head and a dauntless profile; an uncommonly large mouth;
upper lip commanding, nose prominent, spare visage, and
blue eyes, electrical when kindled; forehead high, hair nat-
urally light, and slow to put on the frosts of age ; a well-
formed person, and an imposing aspect." Taken as a whole,
his appearance and bearing were singularly impressive. His
presence was always felt.

Mr. Clay was accurate in business, and exceedingly care-
ful to attend to the little things of life.f If he casually
borrowed even a dime, he returned it punctually and scru-
pulously. He met all his obligations, and expected every
one else to do the same. He was always neat in his dress.
He sent for a barber on the morning of his death, and was
cleanly shaved at bis own expressed desire. He always
showed great respect for religion. He was born with an
appreciation of the courtesies due on all occasions. He was
a hard worker. He pre.pared himself for all public occa-
sions. His speeches were the result of study and fore-
thought. While he was ready at all times to defend his
honor at the pistol's mouth, he was magnanimous and gen-
erous, and if, in the heat of the moment, he gave unmerited
offense, he was quick to apologize and ask forgiveness.
He was great everywhere. He towered when among the
most distinguished. One of Mr. Clay's most remarkable
traits was his power over men. He was born to command.
On one occasion, after the burning of the old court-house,
and while court was being temporarily held in the " old
Eankin Meeting-house," which stood on the site of the
present city school-house, on the corner of Walnut and
Short streets, Mr. Clay was called upon to defend a pris-
oner. Mr. Clay demanded the warrant, looked at it, found
it defective and illegal, and turning at once to the prisoner,
said to him, "Go home, sir!" The man hesitated. "Go

*Oolton. tJames O. Harrison, executor of Mr. Clay.

212 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [I'^S*

home!" thundered Mr. Clay. The man jumped up at,
once and "put out," without an effort on the part of the
astounded sheriff or judge to stop him. IJfo one thought
of resisting that imperial personal power.

On the 25th of June, 1847, Mr. Clay united with the
Episcopal Church in Lexington.

The tremendous exertions made by Mr. Clay in 1849-50,
in behalf of the compromise measures, which employed
his whole heart and brain, night and day, sapped his
vital powers. The excitement while it lasted kept him
alive, but bodily decay soon followed. The last summer
Mr. Clay spent with his family and friends in Lexing-
ton was in 1850. His health was quite delicate. He
looked like a victim of consumption.* Returning to "Wash-
ington city, "broken with the storms of state," and scathed
with many a fiery conflict, Henry Clay gradually de-
scended toward the tomb. After the month of March, 1852,
he wasted rapidly away, and for weeks lay patiently await-
ing the stroke of death. For some days before his death^
he was not allowed to walk, even with the support of
others. His phj'sician, the eminent Dr. Jackson, of Phila-
delphia, told him on one occasion not to attempt to walk,
that if he stood erect he would faint, and that if he should
faint he would breathe no more. "Why is this?" asked
Mr. Clay. " Because there is not enough of vitality in
the heart to give circulation to the blood." " Has it then
come to this," said Mr. Clay, and for a moment sorrow-
fully. And seeing the necessity, he suffered himself to be
borne like a child to and from his bed.

On the morning of June 28, the great change commenced,
and found him ready. The dying statesman whispered to his
friend, the Eev. Dr. Butler, " I have an abiding trust in
the merits and mediation of our Savior." At night he
was calm, but his mind wandered. In a low and distinct
voice he named his wife and son and other relatives in a
disconnected manner. On the morning of the 29th, he
continued perfectly tranquil, though exceedingly feeble,
and manifesting a disposition to slumber. About ten

*Joiirnal3.

1797.] HENRY CLAY. 213

o'clock he asked for some cool water, which he was in the
habit of taking through a silver tube ; upon removing the
tube from his mouth, he appeared to have more difficulty
in swallowing than previously. He turned to his son and
said, " Do n't leave me." Soon after he motioned to have
his shirt collar opened, and then added, " I am going soon."
Serenely he breathed his last, at eleven o'clock a. m., in the
presence of his son Thomas, Governor Jones, of Tennessee,
and his favorite servant, Charles. His last moments were
calm and quiet, and he seemed in full possession of all his
faculties, and apparently suffering but little. His counte-
nance to the last indicated a full knowledge of his condition.

He had long since made every preparation for his death,
giving his son full instructions as to the disposition of hia
body and the settlement of his worldly affairs.

The sad news was at once flashed to Lexington, when
every place of business was immediately closed, and the
solemn tolling of the bells announced the great grief that
had fallen upon the home of Clay. After every tribute of
respect and love had been rendered the illustrious dead in
Washington, solemn and impressive funeral honors and
services were conducted in the senate chamber at twelve M.
of June 31, in the presence of the President and his cabinet,
both houses of Congress, the diplomatic corps, and a host
of distinguished men from all parts of the country. After
laying in state in the capitol building until four o'clock
p. M., the body was placed upon a train for Baltimore, but
did not reach Lexington until the whole nation, by the
most extensive and beautiful demonstrations, had evinced
its love and sorrow for the departed sage.

On the morning of Saturday, July 10, his funeral took
place at his home, Lexington. (See chapter on 1852.; In
the presence of a mighty concourse of the sorrowing, at
the sound of the dirge, the minute guns, and the tolling
bells, a great procession of his mourning fellow-citizens car-
ried him tenderly, and with every token of love and respect,
from the old house at Ashland to Christ Church, and from
thence to the Lexington Cemetery. Mr. Clay's body was
first deposited in the public vault, afterward it was in-

214 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1797.

terred by the side of his mother, and lastly, in 1857, it was
incased in a beautiful marble sarcophagus, and placed per-
manently in the chamber of the Clay monument, then
completed. On one of the last days of his life, he said to
Judge Underwood, his colleague in the senate, " There
may be some question where my remains shall be buried.
Some persons may designate Frankfort. I wish to repose
in the cemetery at Lexington, where many of my friends
and connections are buried."* And so it is this day.
Upon the marble sarcophagus, in enduring letters, can be
seen these memorable words, uttered by Mr. Clay :

"I can, with unshaken confidence, appeal to the Divine
Arbiter for the truth of the declaration that I have been
influenced by no impure purpose, no personal motive, have
sought no personal aggrandizement, but that, in all my
public acts, I have had a sole and single eye, and a warm,
devoted heart, directed and dedicated to what, in my best
judgment, I believed to be the true interests of my country."

Another marble sarcophagus rests near that of Mr,
Clay. It contains the remains of his wife and life-long
companion, Mrs. Lucretia Clay, who died in April, 1864,
aged seventy-three.

Mr. and Mrs. Clay had eleven children — six daughters
and five sons. Two daughters died in infancy. Lucretia
died at Ashland, aged fourteen. Eliza died at the same
age, while en route for Washington city. Mrs. Duralde
only lived to be twenty. Mrs. Irwine died in 1835. Henry,
Jr., was killed at Buena Vista, in 1847. James B. died in
Canada, in 1864, aged forty-seven. Theodore died in 1871,
at the age of sixty-nine. Thomas H., born in 1803, died
in 1872. John M. Clay, born in 1821, is the only surviving
child of the Cicero of the West. All of the deceased mem-
bers of the household sleep in the family lot in the Lexing-
ton Cemetery, where also repose the remains of Elizabeth
"Watkins, the mother of the great Clay.

Ashland, for nearly half a century the home of Mr. Clay,
is situated about a mile and a half from the Lexington

•Judge Underwood.

1797.] HENRY CLAT. 215

court-house, on the southwest side of the turnpike leading
to Bichmond. The grounds are beautiful, and the forest
trees magnificent. The land, which is not surpassed for
richness in the famous " Blue Grass Region," cost Mr. Olay
about ten dollars an acre, in 1805 or 1806. The " old house "
which Mr. Clay occupied, stood on the site of the present
beautiful residence, which was erected by James B. Clay, in
1857. The "old house" was a spacious and comfortable
brick mansion, devoid of architectural adornment. Here
Mr. and Mrs. Clay entertained, with simple elegance, Daniel
Webster, Lafayette, President Monroe, Mr. Lowndes,
Martin Van Buren, Mr. Politica (the Russian minister).
General Bertrand, Lord Morpeth, and a host of other dis-
tinguished men of this and foreign countries.

Mr. Clay's law office* was, for a long time, in the house
now occupied by Dr. Bruce, on Mill, between Church and
Second streets. He, and his son James, also used the office
now occupied by Judge Carr, on Short, between Upper and
Limestone streets. Some of Mr. Clay's grandest oratorical
eftbrts were made in the present court-house, and in the
yard suirounding it. Before Mr, Clay purchased Ashland,
he lived in a house erected on the site of the Hunter resi-
dence, on Mill street, and opposite his old law office.

*Jas. O Harrison and Wm. Swift.

216 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1'"'8.

CHAPTER XXX.

Resolutions of " '98 "St. Andrew's Society : List of Members-
Caledonian Club — Jesse Bledsoe.

Nowhere in the United States was the administration of
President John Adams more odious than in Lexington,
and when, on the 9th of ifovember, 1798,* the Kentucky-
legislature passed the resolutions introduced by John Breck-
inridge, of Fayette, protesting against the notorious alifen
and sedition laws, the gratification and excitement of the
citizens was intense. Liberty poles and tri-color cockades
were more numerous then in Lexington than in any other
place in the whole country.

The Scotchmen of Lexington organized an association
on the 17th of November, 1798,t which they entitled the " St.
Andrew's Society of Lexington, in the State of Kentucky."
John Maxwell was the chairman of the meeting of organiza-
tion, and George Muter, afterward one of the judges of the
supreme court of the state, was elected the first president.
The objects of the society, as stated verbatim in the pre-
amble to its constitution, were : " To promote philanthropy
amongst those of the natives of Scotland who have chosen
as their residence different parts of the State of Kentucky,
and to promote a friendly union and intercourse with the de-
scendants of parents who came originally from that coun-
try; desirous, also, to extend the benevolent hand of relief
to such of this description, whether presently residing in
said state, or who may hereafter arrive therein."

The first anniversary meeting was held in Megowan's
tavern, on Friday, November 30, 1798, when a dinner was

*BuUer. tSociety Keoords.

1798.] JUDGE BLEDSOE. 217

given, which was enjoyed by the members of the society,
and a number of invited guests. The original members
of the society were Alexander McGregor, John Cameron,
William McBean, John Maxwell, David Keid, Richard
Lake, John Arthur, "William Todd, Thomas Reid, George
Muter, Miles McCoun, James Russell, Alexander Springle,
and James Bain. Up to 1806, the following additional
names had been added to the roll of the society, viz: Rob-
ert Campbell, Allan B. McGruder, John Bradford, Daniel
McBean, John Brand, John Ferrier, Thomas Bodley, E.
Sharpe, William Miller, George Anderson, John Jackson,
and Joseph McClear. The St. Andrew's Society has been
succeeded by tbe present " Caledonian Club," which regu-
larly celebrates the birthday of Robert Burns.

About the year 1798, Jesse Bledsoe commenced the study
of law in Lexington.* Judge Bledsoe was born in Cul-
pepper county, Virginia, April 6, 1776, and was the son of
Joseph Bledsoe, a Baptist preacher, and Elizabeth Miller,
his wife. Judge Bledsoe was brought by an elder brother
to the neighborhood of Lexington when a boy, and was
sent to Transylvania Seminary, where he soon made him-
self conspicuous by his talents, industry, and scholarly
attainments. After completing his collegiate course, he
studied law, and commenced its practice with success and
reputation. About this time, he married the eldest daughter
of Colonel Nathaniel Gist.

He early attracted popular attention and favor, and was
frequently elected to the Kentucky legislature. He was at
one time state senator from Bourbon county, after which
his superior abilities caused him to receive the appointment
of secretary of state under Governor Charles Scott. In
1812, while a member of the legislature, he was elected to
the IJnited States Senate, the distinguished John Pope
being his colleague. He was appointed circuit judge in
the Lexington district, by Governor Adair, in 1822, where-
upon he removed to, and settled permanently in Lexing-
ton; where, before, he had only resided at times. Simul-

»Collins.

218 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1''98.

taneous with his appointment as judge, he was made pro-
fessor of law in Transylvania University, and after ably
filling both places for a number of years, he resigned, and
resumed the practice of liw.

Subsequently, he abandoned his profession for a short
time for that of the ministry; and in 1831,* he preached
the dedication sermon on the opening of the Christian
Church, on the corner of Mill and Hill streets. In 1833,
Judge Bledsoe removed to Mississippi, and from thence, in
1835,t to Texas, and was gathering materials for a history
of that new Republic, when he was taken sick and died,
June 25, 1836, at Nacogdoches. Judge Bledsoe was a man
of powerful intellect, no little eccentricity, and remarkable
eloquence. His speeches were noted for strength, wit,
originality, and fire, and rarely failed to carry conviction
with them. In his best days, but few men were considered
the mental equals of Judge Bledsoe. Amos Kendall, who
knew him in his palmiest day, said of him : J " Mr. Bledsoe
was a man sui generis. He was endowed with splendid
talents, and with the exception of Henry Clay, was the
most eloquent man in Kentucky. His manner was slow
and deliberate, his language beautiful, his gestures graceful,
and his thoughts communicated with the utmost clearness."
Judge Bledsoe's residence in Lexington was, at one time,
on the place now occupied by Mr. A. M. Barnes, fronting
on Fourth street, and at the head of Walnut. At another
time, he lived on Short, between Walnut and Dewees
streets, and in the house now occupied by Mr. Armstrong.

*Observer and Reporter. tCollins. JKendall's Biography.

1799.] STREET IMPROVEMENT, ETC. 219

CHAPTER XXVI.

Street Improvement — Second Constitutional Convention — Ken-
tucky Vineyard Association.

The first improvement of the streets of Lexington com-
menced in 1799, in which year a part of Main street was
paved. Up to this time, the citizens had contented them-
selves with narrow " log-walks," with here and t)iere a
hroad, fiat stone. Macadamized roads were unknown, and
mud-holes were so deep and numerous on Main street and
the "public square," that the trustees had a "bridge" ex-
tended from the court-house to what is now called Carty's
corner.* The " Branch," or as it was then frequently
called, the " Canal," rose so high in 1799, that it overflowed
the bridge which extended across it on Upper street.

It did not take the people of Kentucky many years to
discover that they wanted a more democratic constitution
than that of 1792, and a convention to revise it was
accordingly called by the legislature. In May, 1799,
the following delegates were elected in Fayette to the
convention, which met the succeeding June, viz: John
McDowell, Buckner Thurston, John Breckinridge, W. Carr,
and John Bell. The convention framed the second consti-
tution of Kentucky, which went into effect in June, 1800.

The Kentucky Vineyard Association was formed in Lex-
ington in 1799, and seven hundred and fifty acres of land,
"lying in the big bend of the Kentucky river, near the
mouth of Hickman creek," were purchased. The asso-
ciation assured the public that, " in less than four years,
wine may be drank on the banks of the Kentucky, pro-
duced from European stock." This was, probably, the
first regular attempt to cultivate a vineyard in America.

•Trustees' Book.

220 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1800.

CHAPTER XXVII.

Population of Lexington — Death of Washington — The Great

Sevival.

In the year 1800, Lexington was the rising town of the
West. Her population amounted to two thousand four
hundred, while the adjacent village of Cincinnati, which
bought much of its merchandise in Lexington, could only
claim a population of seven hundred and fifty.

The news of the death of Washington, which occurred
December 14, 1799, was a long time in creeping "out West;"
but as soon as it was known in Lexington, due respect was
paid to the memory of the Father of his Country. On the
22d of January, 1800,* the town council unanimously "Re-
solved, That the trustees of Lexington will join the pro-
cession on Saturday next from respect to the memory of
George Washington, as commander-in-chief of the Revo-
lutionary army of the United States, who led his country
to independence, and then resumed his station as a private
citizen in 1783." The " procession " formed at Masons' Hall,
at twelve o'clock m., on Saturday, January 25, 1800, and was
composed of military with arms reversed, musicians, trustees,
president, professors and students of Transylvania Univer-
sity, Masons in regalia, clerk of the town and board of
trustees, clergy, justices of the peace, and private citizens. To
the measure of a solemn dirge, the procession slowly moved to
the frame Presbyterian church on Cheapside, when an ap-
propriate address was delivered by Professor James Brown,
of Transylvania University.f

The remarkable religious excitement which had com-
menced in the Green river country some time before, reached

*Town Keoords. tOld Gazette.

1800.] THE GREAT REVIVAL. 221

Lexington and Fayette county in 1800. It was confined to
Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists, and before the
" great revival," as it is called, had ended, the most aston-
ishing events transpired. At Lexington and "Walnut Hill,
meetings were commenced which frequently extended
through entire days and nights. The people attended in
vast crowds from all the surrounding country, on foot, on
horseback, and in every imaginable vehicle, bringing with
them tents, provisions, and cooking utensils for a protracted
visit, and often a camp-meeting concourse would number
from ten to twenty thousand persons. The wildest excite-
ment, and the most ridiculous extravagances, characterized
these meetings. A hymn or an exhortation was the signal
to the living mass of humanity to shout and groan and laugh
and scream until the noise was almost equal to the ocean in
a storm. Visions and trances were of frequent occurrence.
In Lexington,* a woman swooned, and when she awoke, said
she had been walking on the tree tops. One fainted and had
a vision of heaven, and another had a view of hell. These
epileptic evidences of piety were succeeded by growling
and barking, kissing and hugging,,danciDg, jerking, falling,
rolling, and tumbling. The influence of the imagination
on the nervous system has never been more strikingly
illustrated than during the "great revival" of 1800.

•Lyle, 7.

222

BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [IS"!-

CHAPTER XXVIII.

The First Kentucky Bank— Nail Factory.

The first bank chartered in Kentucky was the Lexing-
ton Insurance Company, which was incorporated by the
legislature in 1801 * and inadvertently with banking privi-
leges. The clause giving it such powers was not per-
ceived or understood by the members, and they voted for
the bill, while they were bitterly hostile to all banks. The
officers of "the bank," as the institution was always called
in early days, were : President, "William Morton ; directors,
John Jordon, Stephen Waute, Thos. Hart, and Thomas
Wallace; cashier, John Bradford; clerk, Wm. McBean.
The bank was located on Main, between Mill and Broad-
way, about where the Scott bakery now stands, and issued
bills of various denominations. The bank was subsequently
located on the site of Thompson and Boyd's saddlery store,
on Main, between Upper and Limestone. The institution
exploded in 1818.

A cut-nail manufactory, the first one in Kentucky, was
established in Lexington, by George Norton, in 1801. Ten-
penny nails were sold at one shilling fourpence per pound,
and six pennies at one shilling sixpence. Cincinnati
bought all her nails in Lexington, and purchasers often
came from points two hundred miles distant for Lexington
nails, and carried them home in saddle-bags on horseback.
In fact, Lexington was then the metropolis of a great ter-
ritory, and was noted among other things forf her stores,
manufactories, newspaper, taverns, paper and powder mills,
tanyards, and her two rope-walks, which supplied the ship-
ping on the Ohio.

♦Acts Legislature. tMichaux.

1802-3-4.] MEDICAL SOCIETY, ETC. 223

CHAPTER XXIX.

Medical Society — Members — Musical Society — Lorenzo Dow —
Miscellaneous — 6r. M. Bibb — Dr. Joseph Buchanan.

The "Lexington Medical Society" was in active opera-
tion in 1802, and numbered among its members Drs. B.
"W. Dudley, Samuel Brown, Frederick Ridgely, Walter
Warfield, J. L. Armstrong, and otbers.*

Thomas Paine's writings aftbrded Lexington subjects for
long and animated discussions in 1803. In this year, a
musical society was formed. The excitement in regard to
the acquisition of Louisiana was such that "volunteers for
New Orleans" paraded on the streets.f

The citizens of Lexington celebrated the annexation of
Louisiana, in the spring of 1804, by a grand barbecue, at
Maxwell Spring, at which patriotic toasts were given, and
salutes were fired by four military companies. In June,
twelve splendid looking Indian chiefs of the Osage nation,
passed through the city on their way to Washington, to
try to effect a treaty with the United States. The noted
and eccentric Lorenzo Dow arrived in Lexington, on foot,
October 3d, and preached a characteristic sermon.

In 1804, and for several years after, the late distinguished
George M. Bibb was a member of the Lexington bar. He
was a native of Virginia, and a graduate of Princeton.
He died April 14, 1859, aged eighty, after having been
successively senator in Congress, chief justice of Ken-
tucky court of appeals, and secretary of the treasury under
Tyler. Hon. John J. Crittenden studied law in Lexington,
under Mr. Bibb, in 1805.

*01d Kentucky Gazette. tid-

224 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1802-3-4.

Dr. Joseph Buchanan* settled in Lexington in 1804,
and soon became noted as one of her tnost extraordi nary-
citizens. He was born in "Washington county, Virginia,
August 24, 1785, but spent his boyhood in Tennessee,
where he attended a grammar school, and astonished every
one by his remarkable progress. In the course of nine
months, in 1803, he mastered the Latin language. He was
so fond of originality in all his essays, that he would not
even condescend to write on any subject on which he had
ever read anything.

He entered Transylvania University at the age of nine-
teen,! and was so delicate and diffident that he passed for
a simpleton, until he detected and ofl'ered to demonstate an
error in his mathematical text-book (Ferguson on Optics),
which brought him into direct collision with the professor
of mathematics. During the vacation of the college, he
published a mathematical pamphlet of twenty pages, in
which he demonstrated the sufficiency of gravitation for
all the celestial motions, and showed the inaccuracy of some
of the hypotheses of the very distinguished Sir Isaac Ifewton,

In 1805, he commenced the study of medicine with Dr.
Samuel Brown. Eemoving to Port Gibson, Mississippi
Territory [then], in 1807, in order that he might, by med-
ical practice, obtain means to complete his medical educa-
tion in Philadelphia, Dr. Buchanan then wrote a volume
on fevers, which, while it defeated his first object, that of
earning money, was his favorable introduction to the dis-
tinguished professors of the University of Pennsylvania
and especially to Professors Barton and Rush. But his
means being insufficient for the completion of his medical
studies there, as well as for the publication of his book, he
walked back to Lexington, in 1808, in twenty-seven days,
where the degree of A. B. having been conferred on him,
at the instance of President Blythe, he was, in 1809, ap-
pointed to the chair of the Institutes of Medicine in the
university.

In 1812, he published an able volume on the "Philosophy

»Uinversity Eecords. tCollins.

1802-3-4.] DR. JOSEPH BUCHANAN. 225

of Human Nature," and almost immediately abandoned
the medical profession, to visit the East to learn the new
Pestalozzian system of education, and to introduce it into
Kentucky. Subsequently, he invented a " capillary" steam
engine, with spiral tubes for boilers; and in 1825, he made
a steam land carriage which attracted general attention in
Louisville, through the streets of which city it was run ;
and, we are told, discovered a new motive principle, de-
scribed as being derived from combustion, without the aid
of water or of steam.

This remarkable philosophical, mathematical, and in-
ventive genius died in Louisville, in 1829, " little known,
except as a writer, to more than a small circle of friends."

In the language of his biographer, "the life of Dr.
Buchanan affords an instructive moral," to young men, we
add, showing that for success in this world, talents of the
highest order, industry the most untiring, or self-denial the
most strict, are not alone sufficient, unless combined with
steadiness of purpose and unvarying concentration of
effort in the right direction.

226 HISTORY OP LEXINGTON. [1805.

CHAPTER XXX.

Burr's Visit — Trustee Chronicles — William T. Barry.

Aauon Buek, one of the most extraordinary men of his
age, made his first visit to Kentucky in 1805, arriving in
Lexington, August 19th, and attracting universal attention.
After a stay of several days, he went south, but returned
again, and remained a considerable time in Lexington. It
was at this time that Colonel Burr commenced, it is be-
lieved, to lay his unsuccessful plans for the erection of a
magnificent Southern empire. He was met in Lexington
by the studious and accomplished Blannerhasset and his
gifted wife, around whose lives fate wove so strange and
sad a web.

The trustees of Lexington distinguished themselves, in
1805, by prohibiting the citizens from keeping " pet pan-
thers;" by encouraging the introduction of "chimney
sweeps," and by indorsing the "Bachelors' Society for
the Promotion of Matrimony," which met weekly at Wil-
son's tavern. For the sum of five dollars, they " allowed
Thomas Ardon to shew his lyon," which constituted the
first menagerie that ever visited Lexington.

"William Taylor Barry commenced the practice of law in
Lexington in 1805. This illustrious orator and statesman was
born in Lunenburg county, Virginia, February 15, 1784.*
His parents, who were respectable, energetic, and poor,
emigrated to Kentucky in 1796, and settled first in Fayette
and then in Jessamine county; and conscious that they
could not give their son wealth, resolved to educate him.
Young Barry was sent to the Kentucky Academy in Wood-
ford, and finishing his collegiate course at Transylvania

♦Observer and Beporter.

1805.] WILLIAM TAYLOR BARHT.

227

llDiversity, after the union of the Kentucky and Transyl-
vania Academies.

After he left the university, he commenced the study of
law with the Hon. James Brown, minister to France, and
finished his law studies at William and Mary College in
Virginia. Then, like his great competitor of after years,
Henry Clay, he commenced life in Lexington at the age of
twenty-one— young and poor, with neither family nor in-
fluence to bring him into notice, and with nothing to rec-
ommend him but his virtues and attainments. Shortly
after, he commenced business he married the daughter of
Waller Overton, of Fayette county. His first wife dying
in 1809, in 1812, he married again, in Virginia, a daughter
of General S. T. Mason.

From the year of his arrival in Lexington to the time of
his death in a foreign land, the life of the gifted Barry was
a brilliant panorama of success. Soon after he came to
the bar, he was appointed attorney for the commonwealth,
which ofiice he filled for several years, and in 1807 he was
for the first time, elected a representative from Fayette
county, and was re-elected for several years in succession
almost without opposition. He rose rapidly in his profes-
sion ; soon took the first rank as a great lawyer and an
eloquent advocate, and in a little while was the recognized
peer of Eowan Bledsoe, Haggin, and " Harry of the West."
In 1810, Mr. Barry was elected a representative to Con-
gress from the Ashland district, and distinguished himself
by his eloquent denunciations of the aggressive insults then
being offered to the United States by England. After the
declaration of war in 1812, he not only strongly advocated
its vigorous prosecution, but took the field as an aid to
Governor Shelby, and served during the severe and glorious
campaign, which resulted in the capture of the British
army, the death of Tecumseh, and the conquest of a large
part of Upper Canada.*

In 1814, Mr. Barry was again sent to the state legislature
by an almost unanimous vote; was made speaker of the

•Collins.

228 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1805.

house, and shortly after elected to the United States Sen-
ate, -where he remained for two sessions. Here occurred
one of the most remarkable events of his life. He resigned
his seat in the senate, to accept the position of circuit
judge with a meager salary. Public men rarely abandon
national honors, position, and pay so easily at this day. It
was during Mr. Barry's judgeship that a tipsy mountaineer
stalked into the presence of the court shouting : " I am a
horse ! " " Sheriff," said Judge Barry, "take that horse to
the stable."

In 1817, he was forced by the people to become a mem-
ber of the state senate. "While in the legislature, Mr.
Barry, who was ever alive to home interests, was actively
engaged in promoting the success of Transylvania Univer-
sity', and was persevering in his efforts to have it endowed,
and to bring it under the patronage of the state.* He suc-
ceeded in his undertakings, for his struggles and his elo-
quence principally induced the legislature to give the insti-
tution about $20,000, and the name of Wm. T. Barry gave
it free passport among the people. The law department of
this institution, with which, by his profession, he was more
particularly connected, also commanded his attention. He
was instrumental in giving it funds sufficient to purchase a
good library. In this department he was the first regular
professor and law lecturer after the reform in the uni-
versity. Under his management it prospered beyond ex-
pectation, and surpassed the most sanguine anticipation of
its friends.

In 1820, he became a candidate for the office of lieuten-
ant-governor. The people recollected his services and his
struggles in their cause, and gave him an overwhelming
vote. At this period he decidedly stood foremost in the
affections of the people of Kentucky. Subsequently, he
was made secretary of state during the administration of
Governor Desha, and after the appellate court of the state
was reorganized, he was appointed chief justice. In the
change of parties in Kentucky in 1825, produced by Mr.

*0b3erver and Eeporter.

1805.] WILLIAM TAYLOR BARRY. £29

Clay's adherence to Mr. Adams,* Major Barry became the
leader of the Democratic party in the state, and was de-
voted to its principles to the day of his untimely death.

In 1828, Mr. Barry was the Democratic candidate for the
office of governor, while Mr. Clay was the champion of
the opposing party, and it was during that bitter and hotly
contested struggle that Barry exhibited so powerfully the
wonderful resources of his great intellect, and achieved
his greatest triumph, for though he was defeated by a small
majority for governor, it was mainly through his almost
superhuman exertions in that campaign that the vote of
Kentucky was given to General Jackson in the presidential
election which followed. Mr. Barry's astonishing oratori-
cal powers were all brought out in this campaign. As a
speakerf he was full of energy, action, and fire, and on the
stump, filled as he always was, on such occasions, with
eloquence and majesty, he seemed every inch a towering
tribune of the old Roman commonwealth. The rare pecu-
liarity of Mr. Barry's style was, that, instead of conmiencing
a speech with deliberation and coolness, and gradually
warming up with his subject, he launched out at once with
words as bold and eloquent as those which invariably
attended his blazing perorations. One of Judge Barry's
finest efforts was made in 1828, when standing upon a table
placed against the rear wall of the present court-house, he
defended himself, before an immense crowd, against some
partisan charges made by his political opponents.

Mr. Barry was called to "Washington in 1829, as post-
master-general, which office he held until unable, from
physical disability, to discharge its onerous duties. Ardently
hoping that a milder climate would restore the now shat-
tered health of this ornament of his cabinet. President
Jackson appointed him minister to Spain, for which coun-
try Mr. Barry sailed in 1835. He was destined to never
reach Madrid. His health rapidly declined, and Barry, the
great orator, the favorite of fortune, the idol of the people,
died a few days after reaching Liverpool.

•Collins. tJames O. Harrison.

230 EJSTORV OF LEXINGTON. [1805

It has been truly said that " no man who has figured so
largely in the well-contested arena of western politics ever
left it with fewer enemies or a larger number of devoted
friends than "Wiiiiam T. Barry." His great abilities and
lofty virtues made him the hero of his party, and his politi-
cal opponents loved him as they felt the singular charm of
his mild and conciliating disposition, and the influence of
his generous and exalted soul.

In our court-house yard stands an unpretending, weather-
beaten monument of granite, surrounded by a plain iron
railing. It has been there so long, and has such an old-
fashioned look, that hundreds pass it daily without once
giving it so much as a glance, and without the thought
once occurring to them that it stands there to remind them
of one of the loftiest spirits that ever did honor to Lexing-
ton and our commonwealth. The rains and snows of many
winters have descended upon it, but the angel of immor-
tality has shielded that old shaft with her protecting wings,
and it still tells its proud story.

On one side is the inscription:

" To the memory of William Taylor Barry this monu-
ment is erected by his friends in Kentucky (the site being
granted by the county court of Fayette), as a testimony of
their respect and admiration for his virtues."

On another side is carved this beautiful sentence:

"His fame lives in the history of his country, and is as
immortal as America's liberty and glory."

Mr. Barry lived in the house now owned by Joseph
Wolfolk, near the corner of Hill and Rose streets.

The remains of Barry, after reposing nearly nineteen
years in a foreign land, were brought back to Kentucky, by
act of the legislature, and reinterred in the State cemetery
at Frankfort, with many honors and great respect, Novem-
ber 8, 1854. The eloquent Theodore O'Hara, who was
the orator of the occasion, concluded his eulogy upon Barry
in these burning words :

" Let the marble minstrel rise to sing to the future gen-
erations of the commonwealth the inspiring lay of his high
genius and lofty deeds. Let the autumn wind harp on the

1805.] WILLIAM TAYLOR BARRT. 231

dropping leaves her softest requiem over him ; let the win-
ter's purest snow rest spotless on his grave; let spring
entwine her brightest garland for his tomb, and summer
gild it with her mildest sunshine, and let him sleep em-
balmed in glory till the last trumph shall reveal him to us
all radiant with the halo of his life."

232 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1806.

CHAPTER XXXI.

Currency — Stray Pen — JFelix Grundy.

The currency used in trade in Lexington, in 1806, was
miscellaneous in its character. Kaecoon and other skins
were given in exchange for goods, but Spanish dollars, cut
into halves, quarters, and eighths, were mostly used, while
very small change was effected by means of papers of
needles and pins. In this year a Lexington merchant
carried one hundred pounds of " cut silver " with him to
Philadelphia.

The Lexington " stray pen " was located about this time,
on Market street, near the present Press office.

Felix Grundy, long eminent as a Democratic leader and
statesman, was a resident of Lexington and a trustee of
Transylvania University in 1806, and for some time anterior
to that date. He was born in Berkley county, Virginia,
September 11, 1777, came to Kentucky when a boy,
studied law, and soon acquired a high reputation as an
advocate in criminal cases. Before his removal to Nash-
ville in 1808, he had served in the Kentucky legislature, and
as chief justice of the court of appeals. He died December
19, 1840, after filling the positions of representative and
senator in Congress, and attorney general of the United
States.

1807.] THE OBSERVER AND REPORTER. 233

CHAPTER XXXII.

The Observer and Reporter — Editors — Biographical Notices —

Incidents.

The Observer and Reporter, now the oldest newspaper
in existence in Kentucky, if not in the "West, was founded
in 1807,* by William W. "Worsley and Samuel R. Overton,
and was first called the " Kentucky Reporter." Their first
office, as the early copies of the paper state, was opposite
Mr. Sanders' store," and therefore occupied the site now
filled by Clark & Bro.'s warehouse, on East Main street,
and was between the first capitol building of the infant
commonwealth of Kentucky, and the Free and Easy tavern,
so notorious in the early history of Lexington. Near it
was a rakish-looking craft of a building, nine feet wide and
forty feet long, then commonly called the " Old Gun-boat."
This was the first silver-plater's shop used in this city by the
late David A. Sayre, and there the ring of his busy ham-
mer was often heard far into the night.

Mr. "Worsley came to this place from Virginia at an early
day, and married a sister of Thomas Smith, at that time
editor of the Kentucky Gazette, and afterward editor of
the Observer. Aside from his capacity as a writer and pub-
lisher, Mr. Worsley was noted for his strict integrity and
remarkable amiability. Mr. Overton, who was connected
with the Observer only a few months, and in a business
way, was a son of Waller Overton, of this county.

The Observer commenced its career as a strong Jeffer-
sonian Democratic organ, or rather " Republican," as the
party was then called. Its first prospectus contains this

*0b. and Eep. in Lex. Lib.

234 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1807.

language :* " The character of the Reporter witji relation
to politics shall be strictly republican. Highly approving
of the principles of the revolution, as contained in the fed-
eral constitution, and duly 'appreciating the enlightened
policy pursued by the present administration, it shall be the
undeviating object of the editors, as far it may come within
the sphere of their influence, to contribute to the promotion
and preservation of the former, and embrace every oppor-
tunity of testifying to the virtue and faithfulness of the latter.
Whenever we may discover ourselves deviating from the
principles held sacred by the people, we shall invariably be
disposed to retrace our steps and make such assertions as
may clearly and satisfactorily present themselves. We shall
also rely with confidence on the vigilance of the people to
point out those errors to which we may be subject and in
which their interests may be involved." The public is also
informed that " for the more speedy conveyance of the Re-
porter, the editor has established at great expense some
private posts."

Mr. Overton retired from the paper, and left Mr. Wors-
ley sole proprietor until February, 1816, when he took into
partnership his brother-in-law, Mr. Thomas Smith. Mr.
Smith married Miss iN'aunette Price, a niece of Mrs. Henry
Clay. He was at one time president of the Frankfort and
Lexington railroad. Smith bought out Worsley's interest
in 1819, and conducted the paper alone until April, 1828,
when he took in James W. Palmer as a partner. Mr. Palmer
was an Englishman, whose beautiful disposition and en-
gaging manners made him exceedingly popular. He wrote
elegantly, but not strongly. He was a devoted Episco-
palian, and for years, as was then the custom here, made
the responses at public worship in behalf of the congrega-
tion. He was well known as the calculator of the almanacs
for Kentucky. Mr. Palmer was connected with the Re-
porter about a year, after which Mr. Smith had entire charge
again, until March, 1832, when the paper passed into the
hands of Edwin Bryant and 'E. L. Finnell, who united

*See files Observer and Reporter.

1807.] TEE OBSERVER AND REPORTER. 235

with it the " Lexington Observer, the consolidated papers
being called " The Kentucky Reporter and Lexington Ob-
server."* Mr. Smith removed to Pewee Valley, where he
died only a few months ago. On his retirement from the
paper the gentlemen of Lexington gave him a public recep-
tion.

Mr. Finnell came to this place from Georgetown, and had
published a paper in "Winchester. He was the father of
General J. W. Finnell, of Covington, and a practical printer,
and often stood at the case and " set up" his own editorials.
He was a sprightly writer, and a man of great energy.
"When his connection with this paper ceased, he, with con-
siderable enterprise, established and labored hard to keep
up " The Lexington Atlas," a daily paper, but without suc-
cess. His subscription list became quite extensive, but the
expenses of the establishment were so great that he was
compelled to give up the attempt, after several months of
disastrous experience. He died near Frankfort, in 1853.

Judge Edwin Bryant came from the old Berkshire hills
of Massachusetts, to this city, when but a boy, and was
soon a Kentuckian, both in sentiment and by adoption. He
was an editor of signal ability, courtesy, and success. After
the Observer, he assumed the management of the "Louis-
ville Dime," in connection with Mr. W. N. Haldeman, of
the present Courier-Journal.

In 1847, failing health induced him to take an overland
mule-back journey to the Pacific, and he joined Fremont in
one of his famous expeditions. He assisted in the capture
of California, and was the first American alcalde (judge)
who ever administered justice on that then far distant coast.

Returning home. Judge Bryant published a volume en-
titled, " "What I saw in California," which had a very extraor-
dinary sale.

He resided in Pewee Valley, Kentucky, until the time of
his death, which took place in December, 1869.

Robert Nelson "Wickliflre, brother of D. C. Wickliffe, suc-
ceeded Bryant in 1833. He graduated with distinguished

♦Observer and Beporter.

236 BISTORT OF LEXIN&TON. [1807.

honors at Transylvania University, was admitted to the
bar, and in all subsequent oratorial efforts evinced a rare fer-
tility and resource of scholarship and literary knowledge.
As an editor, he was fully equal to Prentice, and as an
orator, was considered by many to be the peer of Clay.

Mr. "Wickliffe represented his county in the legislature,
was a delegate to the conventiou which framed the present
state constitution, and in 1851 was Democratic candidate for
lieutenant-governor,* but he never attained the position his
extraordinary powers entitled him to, as he lacked ambi-
tion, and was totally indifferent to political and professional
honors. For years after his official connection with the
Observer had ceased, Mr. "Wickliffe contributed to the ed-
itorial department. He died at the age of fifty, February
26, 1855.

In September, 1838, Hon. D. C. Wickliffe became sole
editor and proprietor of the Observer and Eeporter.f

Daniel Carmichael Wickliffe was born in Lexington,
Kentucky, on the 15th of March, 1810. He was educated
at Transylvania University, and graduated with much honor
at the very early age of seventeen. He adopted the law as
his profession.

On the 25th of November, 1844, Mr. Wickliffe married
Miss Virginia Cooper, a daughter of the Rev. Spencer
Cooper, widely-known local Methodist minister of this city.

Anterior to his marriage, and in September, 1838, Mr.
Wickliffe succeeded Mr. IST. L. Finnell as editor and pro-
prietor of the Observer and Reporter, and he gave all the
rest of his active life to the profession of journalism, not
even excepting the period when he was secretary of state
of Kentucky, during Governor Robinson's executive term
He was editor of this paper for nearly twenty-seven years,
and in very many respects was the ablest one that ever
wielded a pen in the whole commonwealth of Kentucky.
He gave Mr. Clay no weak support,

Mr. Wickliffe, to his great honor be it said, was almost en-
fold Kentucky Statesman. tObserver and Exporter,

1807.] THE OBSERVER AND REPORTER. 237

tirely a self-made man. In June, 1865, Mr. "Wickliffe sev-
ered his connection with the press. He died May 3, 1870.

John T. Hogan became associated with Mr. Wickliffe in
the editorial department in 1855, and filled the position for
four years.

In September, 1862, the Observer office was used by Gen-
eral John Morgan as his headquarters, and in 1864 it was
occupied by federal troops.

The establishment was purchased by a number of gentle-
men in 1865, and the concern was styled the " Observer and
Eeporter Printing Company," with William A. Dudley as
editor. Mr. Dudley resigned the editorial chair for a seat
in the senate of Kentucky. He died March 19, 1870, at
the age of forty-six, after an exertion of energy in connec-
tion with, first, the Lexington and Frankfort, and then the
Short Line railroad, that made him most widely known.

W. C. P. Breckinridge succeeded Mr. Dudley, having
been elected by the company in July, 1866. The author
of this volume succeeded Colonel Breckinridge in July,
1868, and became sole editor and proprietor of the Ob-
server and Reporter. In April, 1871, he disposed of the
establishment, which is at present owned and managed by
a company. Dr. Thomas Pickett, of Maysville, Kentucky,
succeeded the writer as editor, and he in turn was succeeded
by the present editor, Mr. J. S. Smith.

238 HHTORV OF LEXINGTON. [1808-9.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Miscellaneous — Sheep Excitew.ent — Dr. Ben. W. Dudley.

In 1808, and long after, it was the custom in Lexington
to call the hours from twelve o'clock at night until daylight.

All Lexington and Fayette county was excited in the
summer of 1808 over a " living elephant," the first one ever
seen in the community. One of the newspapers of the
town urged every one to go and see it, as " perhaps the
present generation may never have the opportunity of
seeing a living elephant again."

A long list of " school-books manufactured in this place,"
was advertised in a Lexington newspaper in 1809.

At an early period, probably at this time (1809), a great
excitement was created about Merino sheep, which suddenly
acquired an enormous value, and the few in the country
were sought after with the most ridiculous avidity. The
extent of the speculation may be inferred from the tradition
that a master mechanic actually received three merino sheep
from Mr. Samuel Trotter as payment for building for him
the residence now owned, by Judge Robertson, and situated
at the corner of Hill and Mill streets.*'

Dr. Benjamin "W". Dudley, who afterward became so fa-
mous as a surgeon, commenced his public career in 1809,
in which year he was appointed to the chair of anatomy
and surgery in Transylvania University.

Dr. Benjamin Winslow Dudley! was born in Spottsyl-
vania county, Virginia, on the 12th day of April, 1785; was
brought by his parents to Kentucky county, where they
landed six miles east of Lexington, on the 3d day of May,

»Benjamin Kiser. tObserver and Reporter.

1808-9.] DR. BEN. W. DUDLEY. 239

1786. His earlier education was obtained at country schools,
and finished in Transylvania University. He came to Lex-
ington in 1797, and for a time -worked in the store of Samuel
and George Trotter. He studied medicine with the late
Drs. Ridgely and Fishback, after which he attended medi-
cal lectures in the old school of Philadelphia, graduated in
1806, and returned to Lexington, where he continued the
practice of medicine, and acted as professor in the medical
college until 1810, when he visited Europe, and spent four
years, profiting by the instructions of the most distinguished
medical and scientific teachers. During his stay in London,
he was made a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.

Returning to Lexington, he soon stood in the front rank
of the profession. In 1818, on the reorganization of the
medical college of Transylvania University, he was recalled
to the chair of surgery and anatomy, and remained in that
connection for forty years, during which time the college
acknowledged no superior on this continent. Its great suc-
cess was largely due to Dr. Dudley, whose professional fame
spread throughout the civilized world. He attended a la-
borious practice for about fifty years, when he contracted
poison in performing a surgical operation, from which he
suflEered greatly, and never recovered. He died suddenly,
after about two hours of illness, at a quarter to one o'clock,
on Thursday morning, January 20, 1870, of apoplexy.

Dr. Dudley's achievements in the operation of lithotomy
alone are so great as to be actually incredible to the most
distinguished surgeons of Europe, and are sufiicient of
themselves to hand his name down to a distant posterity.
He operated for stone in the bladder about two hundred
and sixty times, losing only two or three patients. He op-
erated upon the eye in numerous cases, and frequently per-
forated the cranium for the relief of epilepsy. In spite of
the fact that he left no production of his pen behind, his
scientific triumphs will long cause him to be remembered
as the great surgeon of Kentucky. Dr. Dudley's ofiice was
on the corner of Mill and Church streets, and occupied the
site of the present residence of E. Say re.

240 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1810-

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Great Prosperity of Lexington in 1810 — Center of theWestern
Trade — Manufacturers and Business — Decline — Lexington
Bible Society — Freshets.

Lexington was at the zenith of her commercial pros-
perity in 1810. Situated on the great line of communica-
tion between the older settlements of the East and the fer-
tile West, she was benefited by every great wave of immi-
gration that swept into the wilderness. Since 1800, her
growth had been so rapid that her population had tripled
itself, and was now eight thousand, while that of Fayette
county was twenty-one thousand three hundred and seventy.
By this time, almost the entire trade of the "West centered
in Lexington, which had also become the grand depot of
supplies for emigrants, and the great manufacturing point
of an immense region. It is said that in 1810 the sales
of the most extensive business house in Lexington
amounted to one hundred thousand dollars per month. A
careful eye witness of the prosperity of Lexington at this
time said :* " Main street presents to the eye as much
wealth and more beauty than can be found in most Atlan-
tic cities. A prodigious quantity of European goods are
displayed and retailed to the crowds of customers who re-
sort here from the neighboring settlements."

A tolerably correct estimate of the business and manu-
facturing importance of Lexington in 1810 is extantf Its
enumeration is as follows, viz: four paper mills, two
tobacco factories, three nail factories, one mustard factory,
four cabinet shops, six powder mills, five wool-carding

*Brown's Emigrant Directory. tCumming, 160.

1810.] LEXINGTON'S DECLINE. 241

machines run by horse power, one sail-duck factory, one
brush factory, one reed factory, one umbrella factory, one
white lead factory, four chair factories, one oil-mill, thirteen
rope-walks, seven brick-yards, five hat factories, ten black-
smith shops, seven saddlery shops, ten tailor shops, fifteen
boot and shoe shops, three blue dyers, two copper and tin
shops, two printing establishments where books were made,
one bindery, seven distilleries, four billiard tables, five paint
shops, one looking-glass factory, one Venetian blind fac-
tory, two foundries, three cotton mills, five bagging fac-
tories, and five coarse linen factories. One steam flour mill,
the first in Kentucky, had just been erected by Stevens &
Winslow. Twenty-five large stores are mentioned. Ne-
groes from fourteen to thirty years of age quoted at from
three hundred and fifty to four hundred dollars. " Vaux-
hall" is described as "a public garden, kept by Mr. Terasse,
from St. Bartholomew, with summer-houses, and arbors
illuminated every "Wednesday evening with variegated
latnps, a fashionable resort for music, dancing, and feast-
ing." In Lexington and Fayette there were one thousand
looms, which wove two hundred and seven thousand yards
of hemp, flax, and cotton cloth. " Lexington," says a
traveler,* " is expected to become the largest inland town
of the United States. Perhaps there is no manufactory in '
this country which is not known here."

The trade and population of Lexington, after 1810, de-
clined, and did not begin to grow again until about the
year 1820. The cause of this decline is easily accounted
for. It commenced with the successful opening of steam
navigation upon the Ohio river, an event which revolution-
ized the trade and trade channels of the western country.
The same cause which produced this decline in Lexington,
made Cincinnati, with its favorable location, an important
city. In 1810, when Lexington had eight thousand inhab-
itants, Cincinnati had but two thousand five hundred ; but
the steamboat came, and, in 1820, Cincinnati had grown to
four times the size of Lexington. The prosperity of Lex-

*Cumming.

242 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1810.

ington in' the future will largely depend upon the use she
makes of the same great agent which has operated against
her. Steam, upon artificial highways, can bring back to
her much of what it carried away upon the natural chan-
nels of trade.

A "Bible Society" was formed in Lexington in 1810*
of which Robert M. Cunningham was president. It grew
and prospered, and, in 1820, its corresponding secretary,
James Blythe, supplied- many persons with Bibles printed in
Lexington. Its successor was the " Lexington and Vicinity
Bible Society," which was formed November 24, 1836,t
and its officers were: President, L. P. Yandell; Vice-pres-
idents, J. M. Hewitt, J. C. Stiles, Walter Bullock, D. M.
"Winston, George Robertson, R. T. Dillard, and Mr. Harris;
Executive Committee, James Eishback, Edward Stevenson,
T. K. Layton, M. T. Scott; W. A. Leavy, Corresponding
Secretary; Edward "Winthrop, Recording Secretary; Will-
liam Richardson, Treasurer. The object of this society, as
set forth in its constitution, is, "to aid in the circulation of
the Holy Scriptures, without note or comment. It inter-
feres with no man's views of truth and duty; requires no
sacrifice of principle; aims to establish no peculiar creed ;
but wants all to meet on common ground, to give the Bible
to their fellow creatures." The society is still in existence,
and doing a great work of usefulness and good.

Alarming freshets were not unfrequent at this period.
The miserable " canal " then in existence could not accom-
modate the water which ran from all the streets and high
lots, and collected in the " Town Fork of Elkhorn creek,"
and sometimes, after a rain, the water extended from tlie
present Phoenix Hotel far beyond "Water and Vine streets.^
A lead factory and a paper mill were on "Water street at
that time, near where the present Louisville freight depot
stands, and the mill-races were fed from the then flourish-
ing Town Fork, now so insignificant.

*01d Kentucky Gazette. tSociety Eecords. tMcCulIough.

1811.] EARTHqVAKE, ETC. 243

CHAPTER XXXV.

Earthquake — Battle of Tippecanoe — Jose-ph H. Daviess, His
Career and Gallant Death — St. Tammany Society.

On the morning of December 16, 1811, the citizens of
Lexington were startled and alarmed by several successive
shocks of an earthquake,* accompanied by a sound like
that of distant thunder. Fortunately no other damage was
done than the breaking of window glass and the disturb-
ance of a few bricks from chimneys.

In 1811, the Indians of the Northwest, incited by Tecum-
seh and the Prophet, who were encouraged by the British,
gave such marked evidences of hostility that General Har-
rison marched to the Wabash, where, shortly after, he was
joined by Colonel J. H. Daviess and a number of volua-
teers from Lexington. On the 7th of November, the mem-
orable battle of Tippecanoe took place, and Colonel Daviess
was numbered among the slain.

Colonel Joseph Hamilton Daviess was born in Bedford
county, Virginia, March 4, 1774.t His parents, Joseph and
Jean Daviess, emigrated to Kentucky when their son was
five years old, and settled near Danville. Young Daviess
received his education from his mother and superior
teachers of country schools, and became a proficient in the
Latin and Greek languages, and evinced a remarkable tal-
ent for public speaking. In 1792, he volunteered under
Major Adair, and served against the Indians, and distin-
guished himself by his daring conduct. After this, he
studied law under the celebrated George Nicholas, in a
class with Jesse Bledsoe, John Pope, Felix Grundy, an I
others who afterward became noted, and studied with the

»ObBerver and Reporter. tOollins.

244 BISTORT OF LEXIN&TON. [1811-

most untiring energy and perseverance. He was admitted
to the bar in 1795, and in his first case triumphed over his
learned old teacher. In 1801, he went to Washington
City, and was the first western lawyer who ever appeared
in the supreme court of the United States. There he
gained another legal victory, which placed him at once in the
foremost rank of his profession. He was married to Miss
Annie Marshall, sister of the United States chief justice,
in 1803, and in 1806, occurred his celebrated prosecution
of Aaron Burr, during which he confronted Henry Clay
and John Allin.

He removed to Lexington in 1809, and resided there up
to the time of his death. During that period, there was
hardly an important cause litigated in the courts where he
practiced that he was not engaged in. Colonel Daviess
was a federalist, but when the Indian war of 1811, which
was aggravated by England, broke out, he was one of the
first to enlist.* He was appointed major of cavalry, but
when he was killed in the battle of Tippecanoe, he was
fighting on foot in a charge made at his own solicitation.
He fell wounded in three places, and met death with great
calmness. General Harrison said of him :f " Major Daviess
joined me as a private volunteer, and on the recommenda-
tion of the officers of that corps, was appointed to com-
mand the third troop of dragoons. His conduct in that
capacity justified their choice; never was there an officer
possessed of more ardor and zeal to discharge his duties
with propriety, and never one who would have encoun-
tered greater danger to purchase military fame." Col-
onel Daviess was a man of remarkably fine personal ap-
pearance and impressive bearing. As a lawyer . he was
one of the ablest in the land, and as an orator he had few
equals and no superiors. His death caused a profound
sensation, and in Lexington imposing funeral ceremonies
were performed, and a Masonic lodge was formed and
named in his honor. Colonel Daviess lived in the house
now occupied by Mr. William Fishback, opposite the Chris-

*Davidson. tHarrison's Report, Battle Tippecanoe.

1811.] ST. TAMMANTS SOCIETY. 245

tian Church, and between Walnut and Limestone, on
Main.

A St. Tammany Society was instituted in Lexington
about this time (1811), and continued to exist up to 1820.
The " "Wigwam" was in the second story of " Connell's ale
shop," which stood on the site of the Cleary building, on
the corner of Main and Broadway. The sons of St. Tam-
many often paraded through the streets disguised as In-
dians, and magnificent in red paint, feathers, bows, toma-
hawks, and war clubs. It was one of the moat noted Dem-
ocratic organizations in the West. Thomas T. Barr, Rich-
ard Chinn, and others successively filled the office of
" Sachem." We give verbatim one of the society's
orders,* viz :

"St. Tammany's Day. — The Sons of St. Tammany, or
Brethren of the Columbian Order, will assemble at the
council fire of their great wigwam, on Tuesday, the 12th
of the month of flowers, at the rising of the sun, to cele-
brate the anniversary of their patron saint.

"A dinner will be provided at brother John Fowler's
garden, to which the brethren will march in procession,
where a long talk will be delivered by one of the order.

" An adjourned meeting of the society will be held on
to-morrow evening, at the going down of the sun. By
order of the grand sachem,

" IN". S. Potter, Sec.

" %th of the Month of Flowers, Year of Discovery, 326."

'Kentucky Glazette.

^^^^

246 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON: [1812.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

War with England— Bolls of Lexington and Fayette Volun-
teers—The Meeting and Farting at Lexington— The Review
and the March— EusselVs Expedition- Trotter s Fight with
the Indians — The Barracks.

The commencement of the year 1812 found Lexington
full of excitement. The frequent and long-continued out-
rages of England on American rights and property on the
ocean were denounced in the strongest terms by the Demo-
crats, and palliated by the Federalists. While the parties
hurled at each other the epithets of "Jacobin" and "Tory,"
a war with England was openly threatened, and on May 2d,
General James Winchester, an old officer of the Revolu-
tion, established a recruiting office in Lexington. Early in
June, an immense war-meeting was held in the court-house
yard, and deafening shouts of applause greeted one of the
il, sentiments proposed : " May the legs of every Tory be made
into drumsticks with which to beat Jefferson's march."*

War was declared by the United States on the 18th of
June, and Lexington greeted the news with a brilliant
illumination and great rejoicing, and as soon as it was
known that a requisition had been made upon Kentucky
for troops, and even before the governor's orders reached
Lexington, a company of volunteers had been formed, and
its services tendered to the state.f Six companies in all
were quickly raised in the city and county, and it is a matter
of the greatest regret that complete rolls of them are not
to be had, either in the state military office or in the war
department at Washington. Of one company, Captain
Arnold's riflemen, we could obtain no list whatever, and

*01d Gazette. tObserver and Reporter.

AK

1812.] VOLUNTEERS. 247

the following rolls, with the exception of that of Captain
Hart's company, are meager, confused, and unsatisfactory.
The subjoined fragments are all that could be gathered, viz :

hart's company.

Officers. — Captain, N. S. G. Hart ; Lieutenant, L. Com-
stock; Second Lieutenant, Geo. G. Ross; Ensign, J. L.
Herron ; Sergeants, Levi L. Todd, John Whitney, Chas.
F. Allen, Thos. Smith, Fielding Gosney, Thoa. Chamber-
lain ; Corporals, William 0. Batler, Chas. Bradford, Isaac
L. Baker, Jacob Schwing, Alex. Crawford.

Privates. — Andrew Allison, F. J. Allen, Francis Allen,
Hugh Allen, Thomas Anderson, T. J. Anderson, Daniel
Adams, Wm. Adams, James E. Blythe, Henry Beard, L L.
Baker, Wm. C. Bell, John Beckley, Robt. Campbell, R. T.
Campbell, Lewis Charless, Hiram Clines, Elisha Collins, R.
H. Chinn, Samuel Cox, Jesse Cock, Lawrence Daily, Will-
iam Davis, Phillip Dunn, Benj. Davis, Samuel Elder, Ed-
ward Elder, Thos. Fant, A. Ferguson, E. Francis, K. M.
Goodloe, R. W. Gilpin, James Huston, Jas. L. Hickman,
Bennet Hines, Samuel Holding, James Higgins, James
Johnston, Robert Kelley, Thomas King, S. Kalker, J. E.
Kelley, John Kay, Charles Lewis, John Linginfelter, Adam
Lake, D. Lingenfeltei-, John Maxwell, Jr., Thomas Monks,
J no. A. Moon, Peter Messmore, J. W. McChesney, Robt.
Mather, James Maxwell, James Feale, Chas. ]:!feil, Jas. P.
Parker, W. Pritchard, James Reiley, Robert Rolling, George
Rogers, Geo. Rolls, Charles Searls, Armstrong Stewart, Ste-
phen Smith, Thomas Smith, Valentine Shally, Geo. Shin-
dlebower, B. Stephens, V. Shawley, Daniel Talbott, J. Tem-
pleman, Sam'l B. Todd, R. S. Todd, — Townsend, Joseph
Vance, Derrick Vanpelt, T. Verden, Zephaniah Williams,
John Whitney.

mbgowan's company.

Oj^cers.— Captain, Stewart W. Megowan; Lieutenant,
Martin Wymore ; Ensign, Levi Todd; Sergeants, Richard
Roach, Barnet Harvey ; Corporals, T. H. Blackburn, John
McMakin.

248 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1812.

Privates. — Alexander Alsop, John Brown, Ezra Bowyer,
James Cummins, John Eaves, James Eear, Bernard Giltner,
T. R. Gatewood, — Griffin, John P. Hogan, John M. Ho^au,
Hiram Jeter, Bernard Jeter, Richie Jerrett, John P. Kin-
kead, Solomon Kolker, Zach. Kirby, Joseph Lankhart?
John Litterell, John Moon, John P. Miller, Wm. Mitchell,
Richard Masterson, Jr., S. McMakin, Jamee Ifapper, Tom
Petty, Lewis Pilcher, Beverly Pilcher, Geo. W. Shivery,
Greeu Spyers, John Shivel, James Schooley, David Weigert,
Hiram Worthen, Simon Waters.

m'dowell's cavalry.

Captain, James McDowell; First Lieutenant, Michael
Fishel ; Second Lieutenant, J. G. Trotter.

Privates.— W. W. Ater, Patterson Bain, W. P. Bryant, T.
M. Bryant, George Bowman, John Dishman, John Gist,
George Hooker, William Long, Joseph Lemmon, William
Montgomery, James McConnell, William McConnell, ¥.
McConnell, Samuel McDowell, Salem Piatt, Alexander
Pogue, Henry Riddle, William Royal, Thomas Royal, Byrd.
Smith, David Steel, William Tanner.

Edmonson's company — allbn's regiment.
Captain, John Edmonson.

Privates. — Richard Bledsoe, Walter Carr, Jr., R. P. Kin-
ney, Robinson Prewitt, W. D. Parrish, Dudley Shipp.

Hamilton's company.

Captain, John Hamilton ; Lieutenant, William Moore ;
Sergeants, Tobias Pennington, R. McCullough; Corporals,
Ira Barbee, Thomas Parker, Thomas Hamilton.

Privates. — Willis Calvert, Geo. Corman, Fathan Chinn,
Alfred Chinn, William Doyle, Luke Field, Michael Good-
night, James Gregg, Samuel Hicks, Philip Jones, Hartwell
Long, Wm. Musgrove, Andrew Meffiard, Jonathan McLain,
W. D. Patterson, Wm. Patterson, Thomas A. Russell, Jas.
Sanderson, William Sanderson, George Sanderson, Ander-
son Simpson, AnJi'ewSimson, Nelson Tapp, Linton Tandy,

1812.] VOLUNTEERS. 249

Willis Tandy, Thomas Venard, Absalom Venard, John
Wilhoite.

la addition to these participants in the war, the following
persons also went from Lexington or Fayette, viz : "Will-
iam 0. Butler, afterward general; Major Ben. Graves, on
the staff of Colonel Lewis; James Overton, aid to General
Winchester; Chas. Carr, paymaster of Dudley's regiment;
Charles S. Todd, then a young lawyer in Lexington, but
subsequently minister to Eussia; Thomas Bodley, deputy
quartermaster-general, who died June 11, 1833, aged sixty-
one; and Adjutant, afterward General, John M. MeCalla,
who was reported by his commander as "distinguished" in
the actions of the 18th and 22d of January, 1813. General
McCalla, now a venerable and highly esteemed citizen of
Washington, D. C, is a native of Lexington, and a grad-
uate of Transylvania TJniversity. He practiced law in this
city for many years prior to his removal to his present
residence, and was well known for his bold and skillful
support of the Democratic party. He was a clear, astute,
and efficient political debater, and is well remembered for
his earnestness, energy, atid integrity. General McCalla
erected and lived in the house now owned by Mr. Benjamin
Gratz, and situated on Mill street, opposite the college
lawn.

The Kentucky quota was rapidly organized for the field,
and the Fifth regiment, commanded by Col. William Lewis,
and composed of the companies of Capts. Hart, Hamilton,
and Megowan, from Fayette ; Capts. Gray and Price, from
Jessamine ; Capt. Williams, from Montgomery, and Capts.
Martin and Brassfield, of Clark, in obedience to orders,
assembled in Lexington on the 14th of August, to march
to the general rendezvous at Georgestown, at which place
it was to join the other regiments, and be put in motion
with them for the frontier.* It was a soul-stirring occasion,
and thousands of citizens assembled from all quarters to
witness the novel sight of a band of citizen soldiers march-
ing to the battle-field. Gray-haired veterans of the lievo-

♦Ueneral J. M. McCalla.

250 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1812.

lution, and their matron companions, came to behold again
what they often saw in former days ; the youth of both
sexes, the generation which had grown up since the storm
of the Revolution had passed away, were eager to behold
the unwonted spectacle, and all classes came to bid an
agitated adieu to friends, to sons, to brothers, to lovers, to
those whom they might never again behold. Many doubted
whether the youth and effeminacy of some of the troops
were not unequal to , the fatigues of the campaign ; all
felt for them the deepest interest, the keenest anxiety.
As the regiment took up the line of march from "the
common" (Water street), where it was formed, and wheeled
into Main street, at Postlethwaite's corner, such a spectacle
was there exhibited as Lexington had never seen before,
and probably may never behold again. The moving mass
of people filling the street; the windows, doors, and
even roofs of houses crowded; weeping females waving
their parting adieus from the windows; an occasional shout
from the crowd below; the nodding plumes and inspiring
music; the proud military step and glancing eye of the
marching soldier as he caught the last view of the girl he
left behind him, or looked his last farewell to his tender
mother or affectionate sister — neither language nor paint-
ing can portray the scene.

The troops marched a few miles that evening and en-
camped, and the next day reached Georgetown, where,
with Scott's and Allen's regiments, they were formed into
a brigade under General Payne. On the following Sunday
they were reviewed by Governor Scott and Generals Payne
and Winchester, accompanied by all the field oflicers. The
field was covered with the friends and relatives of our brave
soldiers who went to take their parting farewell. The
spectators, it is supposed by some, amounted to twenty
thousand persons.*

After the review was finished, the army and spectators
formed a compact'body and listened to an eloquent address
from Henry Clay, and an animated sermon from President

*01d Gazette.

1812.] RVSSELL'U EXPEDITION. 251

Blythe, of Transylvania University. Mr. Clay adverted to
the causes of the war, the orders in council, the previous
aggressions on American commerce, the impressment of
seamen, and the incitement of the savages to hostilities.
He concluded with a stirring appeal to the troops to remem-
ber that much was expected of them from abroad, that Ken-
tucky was famed for her brave men, and that they had the
double character of Americans and Kentuckians to support.

A few days after the review, the brigade was ordered to
Cincinnati to receive arms, ammunition, and camp-equip-
age. Hardships commenced at once, for heavy rains con-
tinued from the time the troops left Georgetown until they
reached Cincinnati. That was, however, but a trifle to the
labors which were awaiting them, when, having crossed the
Ohio under the gloom of Hull's surrender, and pressed for-
ward to Saint Mary's, they were ordered to leave their
heavy baggage, take six days' provision, and a supply of
ammunition, and by forced marches, to push on to relieve
Fort Wayne, then besieged by an allied Indian and British
force. Here en route, we leave them for the present.

On the 29th of September, General W. H. Harrison, who
had been appointed commander-in-chief of the Western
army, left Lexington for the seat of war.

Little was done by the American forces during the year
1812, after Hull's surrender; but what was done, was
largely participated in by the volunteers from Lexington.
In October,* Colonel William Russell, with four hundred
men, marched rapidly up the Illinois river until he got
within a mile of one of the Peoria towns. A brisk charge
was made upon the town defended by about one hundred
and fifty Indian warriors, who were put to flight, with the
loss of twenty-five found dead, besides a number carried
off. The women and children fled to a swamp at the flrst
approach of the men, and the warriors soon took shelter
under the same cover. Colonel Russell had only three men
wounded. Four prisoners were taken, and about sixty
horses prepared to remove the women and children, with

*Observer and Reporter.

252 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1812.

all their plunder, fell into his hands. The Indians of the
neighboring towns had heard of General Hopkins crossing
the Wabash, and seven hundred warriors marched to meet
him, leaving one hundred and fifty in charge of the women
and children, who were preparing to move off when Col-
onel Russell arrived. He destroyed everything in the town
which he could not bring away, and left it on the same
evening.

Captain George Trotter's company (McDowell Cavalry)
was in Campbell's expedition* against the Mississinawa
towns at the head of the Wabash, and was in the heat of
the action of the 18th of December, in which the Indians
were defeated. Two members of the company, viz : Cor-
poral Henry Riddle and Salem Piatt were killed, and Cap-
tain Trotter, Sergeant Byrd Smith, and David Steel were
wounded. When this company returned to Lexington after
the expiration of its term of enlistment, it was given a
public dinner.
ny Recruiting for the regular army was kept up in Lexing-
ton during the entire war. A rope-walk which was on the
"Woodlands'" property, and which ran parallel with the
Richmond turnpike, was converted into a barraeks.f and
used by the regular soldiers until the close of the struggle.
At this place, a deserter was shot and buried.

*0l3server and Keporter. fT. B. Megowan.

1813.] BATTLE OF FRENCETOWN. 253

CHAPTER XXXVII.

Battle of Frenchtown — The Baisin Massacre — Fate of Lexing-
ton Volunteers: Hart, Graves, Edmonson, and others — The
Pall of Grief — " Kentucky Squaw " — New Companies —
Incomplete Rolls — Dudley's Defeat — Thrilling Incidents —
Battle of the Thames — Great Rejoicing — Close of the Cam-
paign in the Northwest.

The year 1813 constitutes a tragic era in the history of
Lexington, that will long be reverted to with mournful
interest.

In the former chapter, we left the Kentucky troops on
their weary march toward the seat of war. After under-
going every kind of, hardship, they finally reached the
rapids of the Maumee where, broken down and disheart-
ened, they camped by the frozen river in snow two feet
deep. But soon the call of the suffering citizens of Prench-
town (now Monroe), on the river Eaisin, Michigan, roused
the feelings of the troops into zeal and ardor, and a detach-
ment of six hundred men, under Colonel Lewis, was sent to
relieve them. Two marches brought the detachment in
view of Raisin, and at last they were gratified with the
object of their desire, the sight of an enemy in battle array.
The skill of Colonel Lewis, and the bravery of the troops,
brought to a successful termination the battle of the 18th
January, 1813; and after contending with the enemy until
the darkness of the night separated the combatants, the
troops collected their wounded, and took up their position
on the spot from which the enemy had been driven.

On the evening of the 20th, General Winchester arrived
with two hundred regulars, and assumed command, but
took none of the precautions which military foresight
would have dictated, and at daylight, on the morning of

^'^

254 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. L1813-

the 22d, while in an exposed position, the little army was
suddenly attacked by two thousand British and Indians.
The scenes that followed, we describe, in the language of
an eye witness and participant:* " Upon the firing of the
first gun, Major Graves immediately left his quarters, and
ordered his men to stand to their arms. Very many bombs
were discharged by the enemy> doing, however, very little
execution, most of them bursting in the air, and the fight-
ing became general along the line, the artillery of the enemy
being directed mainly to the right of our lines, where
"Wells' command had no protection but a common rail
fence, four or five rails high. Several of the Americans on
that part of the line were killed, and their fence knocked
down by the cannon balls, when General Winchester or-
dered the right to fall back a few steps, and reform on the
bank of the river, where they would have been protected
from the enemy's guns. Unfortunately, however, that part
of the line commenced retreating, and reaching Hull's old
trace along the lane, on either side of which the grass was
BO high as to conceal the Indians. At this time, Colonel
Lewis and Allen, with a view of rallying the retreating
party, took one hundred men from the stockade, and en-
deavored to arrest their flight. Very many were killed and
wounded, and others made prisoners; among the former.
Colonel Allen, Captains Simpson, Price, Edmonson, Mead,
Dr. Irwin, Montgomery, Davis, Mcllvain, and Patrick ; and
of the latter, General Winchester, Colonel Lewis, Major
Overton, etc. The firing was still kept up by the enemy
on those within the pickets, and returned with deadly effect.
The Indians, after the retreat of the right wing, got around
in the rear of the picketing, under the bank, and on the
same side of the river, where the battle was raging, and
killed and wounded several of our men.

"It is believed that the entire number of killed and
wounded within the pickets did not exceed one dozen, and the
writer doubts very much whether, if the reinforcements had
not come, those w:ho fought the first battle, although their

\ *EeT. T. P. Dudley.

1813.] TffE RAISIN MASSACRE. 255

number had been depleted by sixtj'-five, would not have held
their ground, at least until reinforcements could have come
to their relief. Indeed, it was very evident the British verv
much feared a reinforcement, from their hurry in removing
the prisoners they had taken, from the south to the west of
the battle ground, and in the direction of Fort Maiden,
from which they sent a flag, accompanied by Dr. Overton,
aid to General "Winchester, demanding the surrender of the
detachment, informing them they had Generals Winchester
and Lewis, and in the event of refusal to surrender, would not
restrain their Indians. Major Graves being wounded, Major
Madison was now left in command, who, when the sum-
mons to surrender came, repaired to the room in which
Major Graves and several other wounded officers were, to
consult with them as to the propriety of surrendering. It
is proper here to state that our ammunition was nearly ex-
hausted. It was finally determined to surrender, requiring
of the enemy a solemn pledge for the security of the wounded.
If this was not unhesitatingly given, they determined^
to fight it out. But 0, the scene which now took place ! \
The mortification at the thought of surrendering the Spar- / -
tan band who had fought like heroes, the tears shed, the , '''
wringing of hands, the swelling of hearts — indeed, the
scene beggars description. Life seemed valueless. Our )
Madison replied to the summons, in substance, ' We will
not surrender without a guaranty for the safety of the
wounded, and the return of side-arms to the officers.' (We
did not intend to be dishonored.) The British officer
haughtily responded: 'Do you, sir, claim the right to dic-
tate what terms I am to offer?' Major Madison replied:
']S"o, but I intend to be understood as regards the only
terms on which we will agree to surrender.' Captain Will-
iam Elliott, who had charge of the Indians, it was agreed,
should be left with some men, whom, it was said, would
aSord ample protection until carryalls could be brought
from Maiden to transport the prisoners there, but the sequel
proved they were a faithless, cowardly set. The British
were in quite a hurry, as were their Indian allies, to leave
after the surrender. Pretty soon Captain Elliott came into

256 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1813.

the room where Major Graves, Captain Hickman, Captain
Hart, and the writer of this (all wounded) were quartered.
He recognized Captain Hart, with whom he had been a
room-mate, at Hart's father's, in Lexington, E^entucky.
Hart introduced him to the other officers, and, after a short
conversation, in which he (Elliott) seemed quite restless
and a good deal agitated, (he, I apprehend, could have
readily told why,) as he could not have forgotten the humil-
iation he had contracted in deceiving Hart's family pecu-
niarily. He proposed borrowing a horse, saddle, and bridle,
for the purpose of going immediately to Maiden, and hur-
rying on sleighs to remove the wounded. Thence assuring
Captain Hart especially of the hospitality of his house, and
begging us not to feel uneasy; that we were in no danger;
that he would leave three interpreters, who would be an
ample protection to us, he obtained Major Graves' horse,
saddle, and bridle, and left, which was the last we saw of
Captain Elliott. We shall presently see how Elliott's
pledges were fulfilled. On the next morning, the morning
of the massacre, between daybreak and sunrise, the Indians
were seen approaching the houses sheltering the wounded.
The house in which Major Graves, Captains Hart and Hick-
man and the writer were, had been occupied as a tavern.
The Indians went into the cellar and rolled out many bar-
rels, forced in their heads, and began drinking and yelling.
Pretty soon they came crowding into the room where we
were, and in which there was a bureau, two beds, a chair
or two and perhaps a small table. They forced the drawers
of the bureau, which were filled with towels, table cloths,
shirts, pillow-slips, etc. About this time Major Graves and
Captain Hart left the room. The Indians took the bed-
clothing, ripped open the bed-tick, threw out the feathers,
and apportioned the ticks to themselves. They took the
overcoat, close-bodied coat, hat, and shoes. from the writer.
When they turned to leave the room, just as he turned, the
Indians tomahawked Captain Hickman in less than six feet
from me. I went out on to a porch, next the street, when
I heard voices in a room at a short distance ; went into the
room where Captain Hart was engaged in conversation

1813.] THE HAISIN MASSACRE. 257

with the interpreter. He asked: 'What do the Indians
intend to do with us?' The reply was: 'They intend to
kill you.' Hart rejoined : 'Ask liberty of them forme to
make a speech to them before they kill us.' The inter-
preters replied: 'They can't understand.' 'But,' said
Hart, ' you can interpret for me.' The interpreters replied:
' If we undertook to interpret for you, they will as soon
kill us as you.' It was said, and I suppose truly, that Cap-
tain Hart subsequently contracted with an Indian warrior
to take him to Amherstburg, giving him six hundred dol-
lars. The brave placed him on a horse and started. After
going a short distance, they met another company of In-
dians, when the one having charge of Hart spoke of his
receiving the six hundred dollars to take Hart to Maiden.
The other Indians insisted on sharing the money, which
was refused, when some altercation took place, result-
ing in the shooting of Hart off the horse by the Indian
who received the money. A few minutes after leaving the
room where I had met Hart and the interpreters, and while
standing in the snow eighteen inches deep, the Indians
brought Captain Hickman out on the porch, stripped of
clothing, except a flannel shirt, and tossed him out on the
snow within a few feet of him, after which he breathed
once or twice and expired. While still standing in the
yard, without coat, hat, or shoes, Major Graves approached
me in charge of an Indian, and asked if I had been taken.
I answered, no. He proposed that I should go along with
the Indian who had taken him. I replied: ''So; if you
are safe, I am satisfied.' He passed on, and I never saw
him afterward."

The author of the above narrative was finally ransomed
by a generous British officer, who gave his Indian captor
an old pack-horse and a keg of whisky to release him.

Another witness* of the cowardly massacre at Raisin
gives the following experience, which particularly concerns
the volunteers directly from Lexington. He says :

" On the morning of the 23d, shortly after light, six or

•»&. M. i3ower, Amerifaii State Papers — 12.

268 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. HSIS.

eight Indians came to the house of Jean Baptiste Jereauuie,
where I was in company with Major Graves, Captains Hart
and Hickman, Dr. Todd, and fifteen or twenty volunteers.
They did not molest anything, or person, on their first ap-
proach, but kept sauntering about until there was a large
number collected, at which time they commenced plundering
the houses of the inhabitants, and killing the wounded
prisoners. The Indian who claimed me as his property,
commanded me to hold his horse, which was about tweuty
paces from the house. Shortly after going to the house, I
saw them knock down Captain Hickman at the door, to-
gether with several others. Supposing a general massacre
had commenced, I made an eflbrt to get to a house about
a hundred yards distant, which contained a number of
wounded; but on my reaching the house, to my great mor-
tification, found it surrounded by Indians, which precluded
the possibility of my giving notice to the unfortunate vic-
tims of savage barbarity. An Indian chief, of the Tawa
tribe, of the name of McCarty, gave me possession -of his
horse and blanket, telling me, by signs, to lead the horse to
the house which I had just before left. The Indian that
first took me by this time came up and manifested a hos-
tile disposition toward me, by raising his tomahawk as if to
give me the fatal blow, which was prevented by my very
good friend McCarty. On my reaching the house which I
had first started from, I saw the Indians take oft" several
prisoners, which I afterward saw in the road, in a most man-
gled condition, and entirely stripped of their clothing.

"Messrs. Charles Bradford, Charles Searls, Turner, and
Ebenezer Blythe, of Hart's company, were collected around
a carryall, wtiieh contained articles taken by the Indians
from the citizens. We had all been placed there by our re-
spective captors, except Blythe, who came where we were
entreating an Indian to convey him to Maiden, promising
to give him forty or fifty dollars, and whilst in the act of
pleading for mercy, an Indian, more savage than the other,
stepped up behind, tomahawked, stripped, and scalped him.
The next that attracted my attention was the houses on fire
that contained several wounded, whom I knew were not able

1813.] FATE OF LEXINGTON VOLUNTEERS. 259

to get out. After the houses were nearly consumed, we re-
ceived marching orders, and, after arriving at Sandy creek,
the Indians called a halt, and commenced cooking. After
preparing and eating a little sweetened gruel, Messrs. Brad-
ford, Searls, Turner, and myself received some, and were
eating, when an Indian came up, and proposed exchanging
his moccasins for Mr. Searls' shoes, which he readily com-
plied with. They then exchanged hats, after which the
Indian inquired how many men Harrison had with him,
and, at the same time, calling Searls a Washington or Mad-
ison, then raised his tomahawk and struck him on the
shoulder, which cut into the cavity of the body. Searls
then caught hold of the tomahawk, and appeared to resist,
and upon my telling him his fate was inevitable, he closed
his eyes and received the savage blow, which terminated
his existence. I was near enough to him to receive the
brains and blood, after the fatal blow, on my blanket. A
short time after the death of Searls, I saw three others share
a similar fate. We then set out for Brownstown, which
place we reached about twelve or one o'clock at night.
After being exposed to several hoursincessant rain in reach-
ing that place, we were put into the council-house, the floor
of which was partly covered with water, at which place
we remained until next morning, when we again received
marching orders for their village on the river Rouge, which
place we made that day, where I was kept six days, then
taken to Detroit and sold." -

The grief in Lexington and Fayette county, occasioned
by the Frenchtown defeat, and the cold-blooded massacre
after it, was as intense as it was widely spread. The em- /
blems of sorrow and afiliction were soon seen on every hand. '
The churches and newspapers were clothed in mourning,
and, amid the tolling of bells, the relatives and friends of
the murdered soldiers walked sadly in a funeral procession
to church, when the sorrow of a whole community was
poured out, and prayers were ofl^ered for strength to bear
the great affliction.

Captain John Edmonson, who fell in the battle of French-

260 BISTORT OF LEXINOTON. [1813.

town, was a native of Washington county, Virginia,* but
had settled early in Fayette county, Kentucky, where he
had resided for many years before his death. His company
of riflemen was connected with Colonel Allen's regiment.
Edmonson county, Kentucky, was named in his honor.

Major Benjamin Graves, one of the victims of the " mas-
sacre," after the battle of Frenchtown, was also a Virginian,
but had emigrated to Fayette county, Kentucky, when quite
young.f He was an amiable, shrewd, and intelligent man,
and represented the county several years in the legislature.
He was one of the first to volunteer in 1812, and was ap-
pointed major in Colonel Lewis' regiment, and proved
himself a cool, vigilant, and gallant officer. Qtraves county,
Kentucky, bears his name.

Captain Nathaniel G. T. Hart, whose tragic fate we have
recorded, and in whose honor Hart county, Kentucky, was
named, was born inTHSgerstowSTMaryland, but was brought
toTiexington, Kentucky, when a little child.J He studied
law, and practiced in Lexington, but abandoned the pro-
fession for mercantile pursuits. In 1812, at the age of
twenty-seven, he was commanding the celebrated "Lexing-
ton Light Infantry " company, and he and the company en-
listed as soon as war was declared. Henry Clay and James
Brown both married sisters of Captain Hart.

An amusing incident,|| toogood to be lost, occurred during
this tragic period. An adventurous and exceedingly useful
female, born in Fayette, went out with one of the Lexington
companies in the capacity of a washerwoman, shared the
captivity at Haisin, and marched with the prisoners to
Maiden, which was crowded with Indians, among whom
were a number of squaws. The appearance of the washer-
woman at once caught their attention, especially as she bore
on her back a large blanket, well filled with her baggage.
One of the squaws came up to her, and demanded the
bundle, which she very promptly refused to give up, but the
squaw seized it, and a struggle for its possession at once
drew a crowd of warriors around them, who formed a circle

*Collins. fid. tid. IIGcn. J. A.McCalla.

1813.] NEW COMPANIES.

261

to see fair play, and enjoy the sport. The pulling operation
not being sufficient, the female soldier determined to show
her Kentucky play, and attacked her with her fists, and,
pulled her hair with vigor, until at last her antagonist gave
up the attempt, and left her in possession of her bundle.
With laughter and huzzas for the "Kentucky squaw,"
the warriors declared she should not be disturbed again,
and she marched off in triumph to join her fellow prisoners.
The "Kentucky squaw" remained at Maiden about six
months, making money by her skill and industry, and then
marched back to Lexington in regular infantry style, on
foot, and lived for many years to enjoy the fame of her
brilliant victory over her rash and badly taken-in foe.

The following names, in addition to those already given,
of soldiers killed and wounded, have fortunately been pre-
served. They belonged to Captain Hart's company.
Killed— Alex. Crawford, Wm. Davis, Sam'l Elder, Thos.
King, "Wm. Lewis, Peter Mesner, Jas. Riley, Stephen
Smith, Geo. Shindlebower, B. Stephens, Armstrong Stew-
art, Thos. Fant. Wounded— Chas. Bradford, Thos. Cham-
berlain, John Beckly, Edward Elder, James Higgius, S.
B. Todd.

The butchery at Raisin excited a storm of the intensest -^
indignation and excitement throughout Kentucky, which
was the greatest sufferer by it. There was a general rush
to avenge the slaughter of the gallant men who had fallen,
and the tender of troops was largely in excess of the de-
mand. Lexington resounded with the notes of the bugle
and the beating of drums. Five companies of volunteers
were rapidly organized in the city and county, and camp-
fires blazed on every hand. The companies formed were
commanded by Captains Archie Morrison, John C. Mor-
rison, David Todd, Stewart W. Megowan, and M. Flour-
noy, and belonged to the regiment of Colonels Dudley and
Boswell. The following is a fragment of the roll of Cap-
tain Archie Morrison's company, viz : Thomas Christian,
A. F. Eastin, George Eave, Elijah Smith, Larkin Webster,
John Webster, and Thomas Webster.

We also append an incomplete list of unclassified ?oldiers,

262 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1813.

who served in the war, but .in what years and in whose
companies is not known. The list embraces :

Ashton Garrett, Thos. H. Barlow, Allen Baker, Thos.
Barr, Kobert Burns, Daniel Brink, Enoch Bryan, Landen
Carter, Wm. Clark, Horace Coleman, William Chinn,
Lewis Castleman, "W". E. Combs, PJnoch Ducker, J. K.
Dunlap, A. S. Drake, John Daroaby, Joseph Edger, Peter
Ealeman, Asa Farra, John Figg, John Figg, Jr., John
Graves, Thos. C. Graves, J. G. Goodin, John Gess, William
Gray, Abram Hicks, Jabez Jones, John Keiser, Jeremiah
Kirtley, Adam Lake, William Lewis, Jacob Markley,
Robert Masterson, James Masterson, Peter Metcalf, James
Megowan, C. C. Moore, C. S. Moore, S. Moore, T. R.
Moore, Thos. Mcllvaine, Charles Postlethwaite, Hugh
Paine, Francis Ratclift'e, Fielding Roach, James Sheely,
Samuel Smith, George Simpson, George Stipp, John Stere,
John Todd, Jacob Varble, Abram Ware, Joshua Webb,
Benjamin Wood, George Wheeler, George Yeiser, George
Yates.

The Kentucky volunteers were hurried to the relief of
Harrison, and succeeded in cutting their way through the
British and Indians to Fort Meigs. But the soldiers of
Lexington and Fayette seemed ever destined to reach vic-
tory only after repeated baptisms of blood. Another dis-
aster awaited them.

On the 5th of May, General Harrison sent Captain
Hamilton with an order to Colonel Dudley to land eight
hundred men on the northern shore of the Maumee, oppo-
site Fort Meigs, destroy the British batteries there, and
then immediately return.

Dudley succeeded perfectly in capturing the batteries,
but instead of instantly returning to his boats, suffered his
men to waste their time, and skirmished with the Indians
until Proctor was enabled to cut them off' from their only
chance of retreat. They were surrounded, taken by sur-
prise, defeated, and then came another repetition of the
Raisin massacre, in which Colonel Dudley, as already re-
lated in a former chapter, was barbarously mangled and
murdered, and only one hundred and fifty of his men es-

1813] DUDLEY'S DEFEAT. 263

caped captivity or death. "We insert for preservation the
foliovving comprehensive account of the disaster by one
who w&s engaged in it :*

"When Colonel Dudley attacked the batteries of the
enemy, opposite Fort Meigs, on the 5th of May, 1813, he
advanced in three columns. The right, led by himself,
carried them without the loss of a man. The middle was
the reserve. The left, headed by Major Shelby, formed at
right angles on the river, to protect from below. This ar-
rangement was scarcely made before the spies under my
command (about thirty in number, including seven friendly
Indians), who flanked at some hundred yards distance in
the woods, were attacked by part of the Indian force of
the enemy. Unacquainted with the views of Colonel Dud-
ley, they knew not but that it was their duty to fight.
For near fifteen minutes, with the loss of several killed
and wounded, they maintained an unequal conflict. In this
time. Colonel Dudley having effected his object, and fear-
ing their fate, had advanced to their relief with the right
column. The enemy retreated. Our troops, impelled
more by incautious valor and a desire for military distin-
guishment than prudence, pursued. He then stood firm for
a short time on his right, and gave way on his left, which
threw our lines with its back toward the river, so that
every step we tJvanced carried us farther from under the
protection of our fort. Whenever we halted, so did the
Indians, and renewed their fire— we charged on them.
They again retreated. In this way, with the loss of from
thirty to fifty killed on our side, and a number wounded,
was the battle fought for upward of three hours. How
much the enemy suffered during this time, 'twas impossible
to ascertain from the circumstance of their bearing off"
their dead. Soon after the commencement of the engage-
ment, we were forced to bring our whole force into action.
The enemy was, during this time, receiving large reinforce-
ments from the other side of the river, which enabled him
now nearly to surround us. Our troops were generally

•Capt. Leslie Comba' lieport to Gen. Green Clay.

264 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1813.

mucli exhausted, owing to the swampiness of the ground
over which they had fought, and many of them with their
guns wet, or without ammunition. In this situation, the
enemy in much force, fresh to the battle, pressed with a
most destructive cross-lire on our left. It gave way. Con-
scious of his advantage, with a desperate effort he advanced
on the remainder. These, disheartened and confused, were
ordered to retreat to the batteries. Unfortunately, this
retreat soon turned to flight, which all the eflorts of the
officers could neither prevent nor stop.

" The best disciplined troops in the world are sometimes
panic struck — then can it be surprising that militia, under
these circumstances, and who had seen scarce thirty days
service, should become so ? In small parties, by tens and
by twenties, they arrived at the batteries, thereby falling an
easy prey to the regular force of the enemy, who, early in
the action, had retaken them from the right column. Thus,
upward of eight hundred men, who had set out with the
most flattering prospect of success, led on by imprudence,
were overwhelmed by numbers, cut up, and defeated.
About one hundred and seventy only having made good
their retreat before the close of the battle, escaped across
the river in our boats.

" Immediately after the surrender, we were marched oft"
toward Fort Maumee, one and a half miles below, near the
British encampment. "We had gone but a short distance
before we met the head of the left line of Indians who had
been inclosing us. Having surrendered to Englishmen en-
tirely, I expected we should be treated with that tenderness
and humanity indicative of a noble mind, and always due
the unfortunate. What was, then, ray astonishment when, so
soon as we met the Indians, they began, in face of the En-
glish guard, of General Proctor, Colonel Elliot, and other officers
who were riding up the line, to rob us of our clothing, money,
watches, etc. Almost all lost in this way their hats and
coats, some even their shirts, and some their pantaloons
also. He who did not instantaneously give up his clothes,
frequently paid his life for it. No ditt'ereiice was made be-
tween well and wounded in this as well as what followed.

1813.] DUDLEY'S DEFEAT. 265

It would be almost impossible to I'elate all the acts of indi-
vidual outrage that took place. I shall never forget the
demoniac look of the villain who stripped me, nor shall I
soon forget those who encouraged, since, notwithstanding
my request, they did not hinder him from doing it. I
showed him my wound. 'T was vain ; before I could un-
fasten the bandage, regardless of my pain, he tore my coat
off from my shoulders. I had gone but little farther before
I saw ten or twelve men, lying dead, stripped naked, and
scalped. Near them were two lines of Indians formed
from the entrance of a triangular ditch in front to the old
gate of Fort Maumee, a distance, I think, of forty or fifty
feet. The idea immediately struck me that all the pris-
oners ahead of me had been massacred. I determined, if
such was the case, to go no further. Upon inquiring, a
soldier told me they were in the fort, and showed me the
way, which was between those two lines of Indians. Dur-
ing this moment's delay, a man who was walking behind,
stepped before me; just as we entered the defile, an Indian
put a pistol to his back, and fired — he fell. I ran through
without being touched. My feelings were somewhat re-
lieved at finding about two-thirds of the prisoners already
within. How many were killed afterward I am unable to
say. We heard frequent guns at the place during the
whole time the remaining prisoners were coming in. Some,
although not killed, were wounded severely with war clubs,
tomahawks, etc. The number who fell after the surrender
was supposed by all to be nearly equal to the killed in battle.
We now hoped, however, that we were secure from further
insult or injury — but no sooner had all the prisoners got in
than the whole body of Indians, regardless of the opposi-
tion of our little guard, rushed into the fort. There seemed
to be almost twice our number. Their blood-thirsty souls
were not yet satiated with carnage. One Indian alone shot
three, tomahawked a fourth, and stripped and scalped them
in our presence. It seems to me, even to this day, when-
ever I think of this circumstance, that I again see the
struggles of the dyiiig prisoner and hear him cry, in vain,
for mercy. The whole then raised the war-whoop and com-

^7

266 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1813.

menced loading their guns. "What were our feelings at
this moment, he, who has never realized, can not imagine.
A description is impossible. "Without any means of de-
fense or possibility of escape, death in all the horror of
savage cruelty, seemed to stare us in the face. Rendered
desperate hy this idea, and the perfect disregard which the
British evinced for that duty, held sacred by all civilized
nations (the protection of prisoners), much did we wish for
our arras, and had we then had them, they would have
been surrendered but with our lives. Or, had this been
carried much farther, the prisoners would, at any risk, have
sold their lives as dearly as possible. Tecumseh, however,
more humane than his ally and employer, generously inter-
fered and prevented farther massacre. Colonel Elliot then
rode slowly in, spoke to the Indians, waved his sword, and
all but a few retired immediately. After a short consulta-
tion with those who remained, they came and took from
among us a number of young men, of whom the British
said they wanted to make sons, but we feared they took
them as hostages for the lives of those Indians who were
wounded. Just at dusk, boats came up and carried us to
the fleet, eight miles below. Notwithstanding the naked
condition of the prisoners, and the disagreeableness of the
weather (which was rainy and excessively cold for the sea-
son), many of them were obliged to remain all night in the
open boats in ankle-deep mud and water. The wounded
were put into the holds of the different vessels, where their
only bed (and a good many had not even this), was the wet
sand thrown in for ballast, without blankets or any other
kind of covering. Provision was issued to them the next
day about twelve. Their treatment afterward was nearly
as good, I am induced to believe, as the British could aftbrd,
being themselves scant of provisions. I feel myself partic-
ularly indebted to some of the officers for their politeness
and attention.

" I can not conclude without testifying to the bravery and
carelessness of danger displayed by the troops throughout
the engagement. The only contest seemed to be, while
any hope of victory remaiued, who should first oust the

1813.] BATTLE OF THE THAMES. £07

enemy from his hiding places. And I am convinced, wIilmi
the retreat commenced, by far the greater part had no idea
of surrender, but exhausted, confused, and overcome, were
forced to it on their arrival at the batteries."

But an end came to defeats and massacres at last. On
the 10th of September occurred the splendid and decisive
victory of Perry over the British fleet, on Lake Erie. A i
thrill of joy vrent through Kentucky ; Lexington in particu- /
lar was given up to rejoicing. The city was illuminated,
bonfires were lighted, and all the bells rung out their mer-
riest peals. The Federalists of that day were most cordially
detested by a vast majority of Keutuckians, and a chroni- |
cler* does not fail to state that, " while the joy bells of
Lexington were ringing for Perry's victory, the bells of
Massachusetts were tolling in disappointment at the defeat
of the British."

Perry's success was the death knell of British power in the
Northwest, where hostilities ceased entirely after the battle
of the Thames. This glorious and eminently decisive vic-
tory occurred on the 5th of October, and in it the volun-
teers from Lexington and Fayette played a most gallant
and distinguished part, and sustained heavy losses. The
Forty-second regiment commanded by a Lexingtonian, Col-
onel George Trotter, who served in this campaign as a brig-
adier-general, was presented with a drumf taken at the battle
of the Thames. The drum was ornamented with the Brit-
ish coat of arms, and the inscription, "41st lieg." Before
being presented, the following was added to the inscription :
" Presented by General Harrison and Governor Shelby to
Colonel George Trotter, for the Forty-second regiment,
Kentucky militia, as a testimony of its patriotism and good
conduct, and for having furnished more volunteers than
any other regiment."

The success of General Harrison on the Thames gave
Lexington another occasion for rejoicing. The news was
announced to the citizens by the mail carrier, who galloped
into town with " victory," in big letters, exhibited on the

■^Observer and Kepoiter. tMcCabe.

268 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1813.

front of his hat, and thereupon all the schools were dis-
missed, business was suspended, and there was a grand
procession, speeches, and general rejoicing. The term of
service of the volunteers expired about this time, and their
return was the signal for balls, parties, and displays, in
their honor.

With the battle of the Thames, which closed the war in
the Northwest, Lexington and Fayette had no farther direct
share in the struggle, which became mainly confined to the
eastern and southern borders of the country. It was time
that Kentucky was allowed a little rest, for she may be said
to have almost fought through the two first years of the
war by herself. Virginia gave the Northwest to the nation,
and her daughter, Kentucky, saved it from conquest by
savage and foreign foes at the cost of her noblest blood.

1814.] BERO OF FORT STEPHENSON. 269

CHAPTEE XXXVIII.

Spotted Fever — The Hero of Fort Stephenson — Joy over Jack-
son's Victory — Drafted Men — Amos Kendall commences Life
in Lexington — Agricultural Societies — The Kentucky and
Mechanical Association, Officers — W. B. Kinkead — Present
Society — WUliam Preston — Leading Agriculturists.

Lexington was visited with spotted fever during the
month of March, 1814, and to such an extent did it rage
that from eight to a dozen persons died daily.*

On the 4th of September of this year, Major Greorge
Croghan, whose heroic defense of Fort Stephenson, in
August, 1813, forms one of the most brilliant chapters in
American history, was given a complimentary party in
Lexington, and was honored by the citizens as he deserved.
Congress, with her usual tardy justice, voted him a gold
medal twenty-two years after his wonderful repulse of the
British and Indians.

The patriotic citizens of Lexington indulged in an illu-
mination on the night of October 1st, in their joy at the
news just received of Jackson's victory over the British at
Mobile.f The "barracks" were resplendent with candles,
which were placed on the tops of the buildings, and other
lights were placed in the boughs and on the tops of the
trees surrounding the " barracks," making a most romantic
effect. Rows of caudles lined the windows of the houses
in the town, and a procession, with a thousand candles,
and headed by a drum and fife, paraded the streets. The
battle had taken place on the 15th of September, and it was
two weeks before Lexington got the news. In 1814, the tran-
sit of the ordinary mail from Washington to Lexington oc-
cupied twelve or thirteen days.

*Kendall'3 Journal. tid.

270 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1814.

Two companies of drafted men, under Captains James
Dudley and A. S. Drake, were raised in the fall of this
year, but peace was declared before they reached the seat
of war. The whole number of companies raised in Lex-
ington and Fayette, for the common defense, during the
war of 1812, was thirteen. This fact is, of itself, the high-
est tribute that can be paid to their gallant patriotism.

Amos Kendall, who afterward became postmaster-gen-
eral of the United States, and the devoted friend and right-
hand man of that just and unflinching old hero. General
Jackson, may be said to have commenced life in Lexington,
where he arrived, a young man, in the spring of 1814.*
He came poor and unknown, and at the instance of Judge
Bledsoe, whom he had met in Washington City when that
powerful orator was a member of the United States Senate.
Mr. Kendall walked from Maysville to Lexington. He
started as a teacher in the family of Mr. Clay, who was
then working at the peace negotiations at Ghent. At the
same time, he studied law, and subsequently took the pre-
scribed oath, and was qualified as an attorney in our pres-
ent old court-house. Mr. Kendall died November 12, 1869,
in Washington City, at the age of eighty, after attaining
a position before the nation befitting the high order of his
mind and talents. The teacher of the children of the great
and eloquent leader of the Whig party became one of the
most renowned Democrats of the old regime. The poor
tutor in Mr. Clay's family became one of the most honored
and respected members of the cabinet of his most formid-
able antagonist, "Old Hickory." Who will say that truth
is not romantic? Mr. Kendall was a native of Dunstable,
Massachusetts.

The unsurpassed natural advantages of the now famous'
"Blue Grass Region" for stock raising were quickly appre-
ciated by its settlers, who, at a very early day, turned their
attention to the raising and improvement of live stock of
various kinds. Horse and cattle "shows" were regularly
held at Lexington, even before the commencement of the

*Kendari's Biography.

1814.] KENTUCKY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 271

present century. But it was not until 1814 that the city
could claim to have a regular society for the improvement
of live stock and the promotion of kindred interests. In
the year named, the "Kentucky Agricultural Society"*
was organized in Lexington, and for many years held
annual exhibitions at " Fowler's Garden," on the Maysville
turnpike, the same property in which " Scott's Pond " is
now included, and which was then the favorite place of
public resort. The following programme of the societyf
will convey an idea of the character of primitive Lexing-
ton fairs :

"]S"oTiCE. — A meeting of the members of the Kentucky
Society for promoting Agriculture will take place at
Fowler's Garden, adjoining Lexington, on the last Thurs-
day in next September, and continue for three days, at
which time and place the society will award twenty-three
silver cups — one to each of the articles named below.
Members are requested to be punctual in their attendance.
" To the best gelding, a silver cup.

" " suckling colt, a silver cup.

" " imported or country raised bull, a silver cup.

« " " " " cow, a silver cup.

" " stall-fed bullock, silver cup.

" " country bred bull, silver cup.

« « " " between three and four

years old, silver cup.
" " country bred bull, between two and three

years old, silver cup.
« « country bred bull, between one and two

years old, silver cup.
a « bull calf, not exceeding twelve months old,

silver cup.
" « country bred cow, silver cup.
« « heifer, between three and four years old,

silver cup.

*Kentucky Gazette. tl<3.

272 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1814-

"To the best heifer, between two and three years old,
silver cup.
« « heifer, between one and two years old,

silver cup.
** « heifer, not exceeding twelve months old,

silver cup.
« " carpeting manufactured in private families,

silver cup.
« " hemp or flax linen manufactured in private

families, silver cup.
« « table linen manufactured in private families,

silver cup.
« " cloth manufactured in private families,

silver cup.
« « cassinett or jeans manufactured in private

families, silver cup.
« " whisky, not less than one hundred gallons,

of this year's make, silver cup.
« " cheese of the present year's make, silver

cup.
" " wheat, quality, quantity, and excellence of
crop will be considered, silver cup.
"It is confidently believed that much fine stock will be
exhibited, and much bought and sold within the three days
of the fair ; therefore, those who either wish to sell or pur-
chase will do well to attend. H. Taylor,

Jas. Shelby,

EOBT. "WlCKLIFPB,

RoBT. Crockett,
E. "Warfield.

" Committee."

In 1832, a fair was organized by the Kentucky Eacing
Association,* and in September, 1833, the first of a series
of annual exhibitions on the Association Course was given
under the management of a committee, consisting of Ben-
jamin "Warfield, James Shelby, Thomas Smith, John Brand,

'Association Becord.

18U.1 A WARD OF PREMIUMS. 273

and Walter Dunn. Referring to this fair, a Lexington
newspaper says :

"On tliis occasion will be assembled for exhibition, com-
petition, or sale, specimens of the most approved and cele-
brated breeds of English cattle, and we learn tliat breeders
and others will be thus enabled, by actual coniparisou, to
judge of the relative qualities of the cattle imported by
Sanders, Smith, and Tegarden, in 1817, and the short-horns
imported by Colonel Powell, of Philadelphia. Garcia, Lu-
cilla, and Pontiac, of the Powell stock, will be exhibited
for premiums, and some calves by Pontiac and Sultan, of
the Powell stock."

We append the list of awards for the 12th and 13th of
September, 1834, viz :

FRIDAY.

To President, a bull, by Cornplanter, he by imported Te-
cumseh, and out of Lady Monday, and she by San Martin,
and out of Mrs. Motte (imported), is awarded the first pre-
mium. The property of J. C. Talbott.

To Melville, a bull, by Haggiu's full-blooded Teeswater
bull, his dam by San Martin, is awarded the second pre-
mium. The property of E. Warfield.

To Pioneer, a two-year old bull, by Exchange, his dam
Beauty, is awarded the first premium. Bred by B. War-
field. The property of J. Scott.

To Slider, by Duroc, dam Lady Monday, is awarded the
second premium. Bred by and the property of James
Garrard.

To Clay, one-year old bull, by Accommodation, dam
Beauty, is awarded the first premium. Bred by and the
property of B. Warfield.

To Mordecai, by Sultan, dam , second premium.

Bred by and the property of Lewis Sanders.

To bull calf Accident, by Pioneer, dam Helen Eyre, is
awarded the first premium. Bred by B. Warfield. The
property of James K. Brown.

To bull calf , by Oliver, dam a Patton cow by Ma.

274 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1814.

rauder, second premium. Bred by H. Clay. The property
of L. P. Yandell.

To Lady Caroline, a cow of the Holderness breed, im-
ported, is awarded the first premium. The property of
Walter Dun.

To Lucilla, got by Memnon, imported, dam Virginia (be-
gotten in England), by General, second premium. The
property of George ^. Sanders.

To Cleopatra, a two-year old cow, by Accommodation,
dam Nancy Dawson, is awarded the first premium. Bred
by and the property of S. Smith,

To Silvia, by Contention, dam young Pink, second pre-
mium. Bred by and the property of Dan. Boyce.

To Helen Eyre, a one-year old heifer, by Accommoda-
tion, dam Pink, is awarded the first premium. Bred by B.
Warfield. The property of James N. Brown.

To Pocahontas, by Exchange, dam Nancy Dawson, sec-
ond premium.* Bred by and the property of S. Smith.

To Anna Fisk, a cow calf, by Oliver, dam Beauty, is
awarded the first premium. Bred by and the property of
B. Warfield.

To Mary Tilford, by Symmetry, dam Holderness cow,
second premium. Bred by and the property of Walter Dunn.

To Mr. Boyce is awarded the premium for oxen.

To James N. Brown is awarded the first premium for fat
bullocks.

To John Mng, the second.

We, the subscribers, appointed judges to award prizes to
cattle, on the 12th of September, 1834, have adjudged the
preceding. H. Clay,

James Eennick,
Jacob Hughes,
Isaac Vanmeteb,
Will. P. Hume.

September 12, 1834.

1814.] AWARD OF PREMIUMS. 275

SATURDAY.

Award on Horses.

To Lance, a stallion, the property of E. Blackburn, is
awarded the first premium.

To "Woodpecker, a stallion, the property of R. B. Tarlton,
is awarded the second premium.

To Sir Walter, a two-year old stallion, the property of
A. Stanhope, is awarded the first premium.

To Red Rover, a two-year old stallion, the property of
E. W. Hockaday, is awarded the second premium.

To Henry Duncaji's yearling stud colt is awarded the first
premium.

To Jas. Erwin's yearling stud colt is awarded the second
premium.

To Jas. Erwin's sorrel sucking colt is awarded the first
premium.

To Chas. Carr's young collier colt is awarded the second
premium.

To Susan Hicks, a mare, the property of E. Warfield, is
awarded the first premium.

To Letitia, a mare, the property of Jas. Erwin, is awarded
the second premium.

To Jas. Erwin's filly, out of Letitia, the first premium.

To G. N. Sanders' filly, , the second premium.

To "Wm. H. Eanes' gelding, , the first premium.

To Jos. L. Downing's gelding, , the second pre-
mium.

To Jas. Erwin's carriage horses is awarded the first pre-
mium.

To Jos. L. Downing's young carriage horses is awarded
the second premium.

We, the judges on horses, unanimously agreed to the
above award. C. Carr,

G-. D. Hunt,
John W. Mooke,
J. S. Berrtman,
John Hudson.

276 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. flSM.

Awards on Jacks, etc.

Best jack — Warrior, exhibited by P. B. Hockaday, first
premium.

Hector, exhibited by Eobt. C. Boggs, second premium.

Best jenny — Miss Palafox, exhibited by A. McClure, first
premium.

Calypso, exhibited by Henry Clay, second premium.

For best pair of mules — Brown mules exhibited by Isaac
Shelby, first premium.

For best two-year old mules — A. Brown, exhibited by
Isaac Shelby, premium.

For best year old mule — Awarded to Thos. H. Shelby's
brown mare mule.

For best sucking mule — Awarded to Isaac Shelby.

"We, the undersigned, appointed a committee to award
the premiums on the above stock unanimously'- agree in
awarding the above. ^ David McMuktry,

Lewis Dbdman,
James Shelby.

James Shelby agrees to the above, with the exception of
the mule colts, upon which he declines acting.

On Sheep and Swine.

To Henry Clay's Saxon ram is awarded the first premium.

To Bird Smith's boar is awarded the premium for boars.

"We, the judges, unanimously agree to the above award.

John IIakt,
Robert C. Boggs.

In 1850, the Maxwell Springs Company was organized
and incorporated,* and secured the grounds fronting on
Bolivar street, and including "Maxwell's Spring," and now
being converted by the city into a park. These grounds
are noted for their fine springs of water, as the time-hon-
ored gathering-place to celebrate the Fourth of July, and
as the spot where the " Old In''a,ntry " and other volunteer

* Acta Legislature.

1814.] AOKICULTVEAL SOCIETIES— OFFICERS. 277

companies that suffered at Raisin met and bade their friends
and relatives adieu, on starting to join Harrison. Here,
also, on public occasions. Clay, Barry, Scott, and a host of
other prominent men have addressed immense crowds.

The Kentucky Agricultural and Mechanical Association
was incorporated December 7, 1850,* and bought grounds
adjoining those of the Maxwell Springs Company, and in
July, 1853, the two societies entered into an arrangement
by which the Kentucky Agricultural and Mechanical Asso-
ciation obtained provisional use of the Maxwell Springs
Company's land, on which to hold annual exhibitions. The
entire grounds were then greatly improved, a handsome and
capacious amphitheater, and all other needed buildings,
were erected, trees and shrubs were planted, and the place
soon became noted far and wide for its extraordinary beauty
and convenience. The first officers of the Kentucky Agri-
cultural and Mechanical Association were elected April 13,
1850, as follows :

Benjamin Gratz, president; Henry C. Payne, vice-presi-
dent ; Jas. A. Harper, secretary; David A. Say re, treasurer.
Dr. R. J. Breckinridge, Abram Vanmeter, Henry T. Dun-
can, Edward Oldham, Joseph Wasson, Charles W. Innes,
James Kinnaird, Richard Allen, of Jessamine, James 0.
Harrison, and Isaac Shelby, were elected directors.

On the night of December 18, 1861, the splendid build-
ings of the association were destroyed by fire while being
used by federal troops. Ever since that calamity the
annual fairs have been held on the grounds of the Kentucky
Racing Association.

In 1868, W. T. Hughes was president of the association,
R. J. Spurr, vice-president, and Ernest Brennan, secretary
and treasurer.

The agricultural associations of Fayette county have had
no more energetic and valuable friend than Benjamin Gratz,
whose efitbrts contributed greatly to their success. (See
chapter on Transylvania University.)

Another public-spirited and most efficient president was

* Acts Legislature.

278 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. , [1814.

Judge "W. B. Kinkead, well known both as a lawyer and
an agriculturist. He was born in "Woodford county, Ky.,
and was appointed a circuit judge by Governor Letcher.
He has been a resident of Lexington for many years.

In the spring of 1872, the Maxwell Springs Company
and the Kentucky Agricultural and Mechanical Associa-
tion were dissolved to give place to a more effectual organ-
ization — The Kentucky Agricultural and Mechanical
Society, of which Gen. "W"m. Preston was made president.
General Preston was born in Louisville, but has long made
Lexington his home. He served in the Mexican war, has
represented his state in Congress, was United States min-
ister to Spain, and was a major-general in the service of
the late Confederate States. General Preston is a line
lawyer and a good speaker. He is a man of very superior
abilities, and his highly-cultivated mind is stored with
information.

The last exhibition of the society was held in the beauti-
ful grove at Ashland. Its future fairs are expected to be
held in an extensive amphitheater, to be erected on the old
historic grounds at Maxwell's Spring, which were so long
in use before the late war.

Among the agriculturists of Fayette — in addition to
those already named — who have encouraged and sustained
her associations, and have been awarded premiums, may be
mentioned those short-horn breeders, Messrs.Wm.Warfield,
Jesse H. Talbott, W. H. Richardson, W. B. Kinkead, J. G.
Kinuaird, Hart Boswell, C. W. Innis, John P. Innis, and
John Burgess. Among the association's other active friends,
representing various agricultural interests, are I. C. Van-
meter, R. J. Spurr, W. H. Smith, T. H. Shelby, Jr., J. K.
Viley,W. li. Estill, D. S. Coleman, H. A. Headley, William
Bryan, IST. P. Berry, Gran Weathers, E. 0. Bryan, J.W.
Berry, and David Prewitt.

1815.] BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 279

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 mistalcen ;

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

«01d 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 Missis-sippi river alone, to join General-
Jackson. After reaching jt^ew Oi'leans, 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 Sopiety," 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 Kidgely, Secretary; Mrs. Ward, Treasurer.
Managers, Mrs. Palmer, Mrs. Robert, Mrs. Bell, Mrs. Han-
son, Miss Clifibrd, Mrs. Elliott, Miss Montgomery, Mrs.
Beckley, Mrs. Stevens* The institution was not incorpo-

1815.] SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHVRCB. 281

rated until February, 1851. The charter members were:
Mrs. John Norton, Mrs. John H. Brown, Mrs. James 0.
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 BIythe, Mrs. Eliza
Eoss, Mrs. Thos. C. Orear, Mrs. M. P. Lancaster, Mrs.
John Carty, Mrs. E. McCalister, Mrs. George Brand, Mrs.
H. M. Skillman, Mrs. Montrnollin, 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-profeseing 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.
McCuUough, J. H. Hervey, M. T. Scott, Benj. Merrill, F.
Dewees, Matt. Kenneday, W. H. Richardson, Thos. Jan-
uary, Thos. T. Skillman, "W"m. 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 beheld 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 aft'airs of the church,
took the alarm, and the gifted pastor was soon made so
uncomfortablef 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. -fid

1815.] PASTORS. 283

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 1882. 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
3' ears.

The Kev. 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.
Eev. Robert G. Brank, a native of Greenville, Kentucky,
a graduate of Centre College, and an exceedingly graceful
and efl'ective 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 Eev. 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.

1816.] EASTERN LUNATIC ASYLVM.

285

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 i-ich, 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,J 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. tColIins.

286 EISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1816.

coun, Andrew McCalla, T. D. Ovvings, Sam. Trotter, F.
Eidgely, John Bradford, E. Higgins & J. D. Young, David
Williamson, Mrs. Eleanor Hart, Benjamin Stout, "William
Morton, Thos. H. Pindell, William Leavy, John Pope, E.
Warlield, Daniel Bradford, Patterson Bain, Michael Fishel,
Adam Eankin, Eobert Miller, L. M'Cullough, Tandy &
Castleman, Eobert Frazer, Eobert H. M'Nair, J. Postle-
thwait, John H. Morton, John Hart, Jas. B. January, Sam'l
Ayres, Asa Farrow, Thomas Tibbats, E. W. Craig, Eobert
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 chaflj 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 Oflicers 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. X.

1816.] EASTERN LUNATIC ASYLUM. 287

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
Apalachiau Mountains.
Built by Contribution, under the Direction of
AND'W M'CALLA, \

THOS. JANUARY, \ n -ij- n •» ^
STEPHEN CHIFLEY, [-BuiMing Committee of
STERLING ALLEN, | *^' Contributors.
RICH'D HIGGINS, J

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 difierent times after, the cholera raged with
fatal efl'ect in the asylum, and several times it has been
visited by destructive fires, in one of which a number of

♦Superintendent's Beport.

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. K. Allen was made the first superintendent
lander 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
aflairs 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.

'■'Uepnrl.

1817.] CARRIAGES— NEGROES. 289

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, rufiled 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 Kaisin, he was
sent with a dispatch from General Winchester to GenerS,!
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 hia
life.* In April, 1813, he was commissioned Captain of
scouts, and was attached to the torce under General Green
Clay, which had been ordered to the relief of Tort 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.

1818.] LESLIE COMBS. 291

by Indians, one of his men killed, another wounded, and
he and the rest of his little band, after intense suflering,
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, laken 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 Caldroell.

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-faying money shops were
closed — their credit is irretrievably lost.

" PARODY.
(Oh I 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,

Per 't is 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 I — ev'ry dog has his day —

Yet their fame (such as 't is) 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.

1819.] DR. CHARLES CALDWELL. 293

The stranger in passing each Tillage shall say,
(As he eyes the sad spot with his hand on his hreast,)

Thbke once stood a bank ! — but, unable to pay,
It suspended itself, and, thank G— d, is at rest 1 1 "

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. Tbe 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 E-ush in
Philadelphia.

In 1795, he commenced his career of authorship, which
has since made him so distinguished. He labored with
prodigious energy, and his literary and scientific writings
and translations are estimated at ten thousand pages.

Dr. Caldwell was the first prominent champion of phre-
nology in the United States, and was one of the few distin-
guished men who openly espoused the mesmeric theory in
the face of public ridicule. He bought, in Europe, the first
medical library of Transylvania University. Many of the
books he gathered in Paris from dealers to whom they had
been sold by once eminent and wealthy physicians, who
had been ruined by the French Revolution. By this means

*Gazette.

294 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1819.

he obtained many rare and valuable works, which made
the Transylvania Medical Library superior to any other at
that time in this country. The booka were brought from
Maysville to Lexington on pack-horses.

Dr. Caldwell was a resident of Lexington and professor
in the Medical College for sixteen years, at the end of which
time (after making himself very unpopular, by favoring
the removal of the college to Louisville,) he resigned, and
was largely instrumental in establishing the Louisville
Medical Institute. He died some years ago, leaving behind
him a wide-spread reputation as a clear writer, an able
teacher of philosophical medicine, and a man of enlight-
ened liberality in advance of his age.

1820.] RUSSELL'S SPJilNa. 295

CHAPTER XLIV.

liecuperalion—John D. Clifford — EussclVs Cave — Mrs. Lin-
coln's Birthplace.

In 1820, Lexington, which for several years had been
decreasing in population, commenced to grow again, and
business slowly but steadily increased.

John D. CiiiFord died in Lexington, May 8, 1820, aged
forty-two. Mr. Cliflord was noted for his love and knowl-
edge of the natural sciences; for being a public-spirited
friend of every learned and charitable institution, and for the
liberal support he extended to the Episcopal Church. He
was the president of the Lexington Athenaeum, in a room
of which institution he opened a museum of natural and
iintiquarian history, and just before his death he assisted
Professor Kafinesque to survey the ancient remains near
Lexington. Mr. Clifford married Mary S., daughter of
William Morton.

Eussell's spring and cave, in this county, were explored
by Professor Rafinesque, in 1820, and were thus described
by him :*

" Eussell's spring is a natural curiosity. It is a subter-
ranean stream of water issuing from a cave. Both have
been traced and followed for three-quarters of a mile, and
it is moreover connected with the sinks west of Eussell's,
since something thrown into them has been seen to come
out at the spring. The cave is crooked, narrow, and rather
shallow. As the stream often fills it from side to side, one
must often wade, to explore it, and even swim in some
places. Fishes are often found in it, such as suckers and
catfish. In freshets, the water fills the cavity. At tlie

* Western Keview, 1820.

296 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1820.

mouth the stream is usually one foot deep, and discharges
itself into the Elkhorn, about one hundred steps below.
The mouth of the cave is below a chain of rocky limestone
cliffs, where some organic fossils are imbedded. A large
and spacious hall lies next to it in the rock, forming another
cave, which is filled by rubbish at a short distance, but
communicates by narrow chasms with the other cave."

In 1820, Robert S. Todd, who died in 1849, lived on
Short street, in the house adjoining and belonging to St.
Paul's Church (Catholic), and at present occupied by Father
Bekkers. Colonel Todd's daughter. Miss Mary Todd, after-
ward the wife of President Lincoln, was born in this house.
Mrs. Lincoln was married November 4, 1842.

1821.] THE GREAT FINANCIAL CRISIS. 297

CHAPTER XLV.

Financial Crisis — Relief and Anti-Relief — Prevailing Prices
—Elder T. P. Dudley.

In 1821, Lexington, like the whole state of Kentucky,
was suffering from the financial distress which had been
growing worse and worse ever since the close of the war of
1812. The community was flooded with all sorts and sizes
of depreciated "shinpl asters," as they were contemptuously
called; business was ruined, everybody was in debt, and
every one was suing or being sued. During this terrible
depression and stagnation of commercial interests, all the
old political interests were lost sight of, and the crisis
brought into existence the now famous " Eelief" and
"Anti-Relief" parties, the first demanding a stay-law on
executions from the legislature, the last opposing it. The
contest was hot and protracted, and resulted in the still
more famous " Old Court" and " New Court" parties.

At this dark period all the farmer had to sell went at
ruinously low prices, and all he bought he got at the most
exorbitant rates.* Corn sold at twelve and a half cents per
bushel; wheat, thirty-seven cents ; flour at two dollars and
fifty cents per barrel; net pork at one dollar and twenty-
five cents per hundred pounds; butter at six cents per
pound, and eggs at three cents per dozen ; cottons, forty
and sixty cents, and prints, which would not be worn, at
seventy-five cents per yard. Tea retailed at three dollars
per pound, coffee at seventy-four cents, and Muscovado
sugar at thirty-seven cents per pound; and, as an instance
of the perverted taste of that day, it was the usual custom
to exchange two pounds of tree sugar for one of the Mus-

• Kentucky Letter in Cincinnati Gazette.

298 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1821.

covado. "Whisky — old copper-distilled Bourbon whisky —
sold at twenty-five to thirty cents per gallon. Milch cows
rated from seven dollars to ten dollars per head, and good
horses were often bought at twenty-five to forty dollars.

The venerable Elder Thomas P. Dudley, of Lexington,
entered the ministry of the Particular Baptist Oburch in
1821. He was born in Kentucky county, Virginia, May 3,
1792, and in a few days after was under the government of
the infant commonwealth of Kentucky. He enlisted for
the campaign of 1812 in Trotter's cavalry, but left the troop
at Fort Defiance to act as assistant commissary to the left
wing of the northwest army. He was in the battle and
massacre at the river Raisin, where he was captured. After
his release from captivity, he served as quartermaster-gen-
eral of the Kentucky troops sent to the aid of Jackson at
iNew Orleans, and was in the celebrated victory of the 8th
of January, 1815. After serving faithfully in the ministry
for more than half a century, Elder Dudley still survives,
and is one of the oldest and best known citizens of Lex-
ington. Mr. Dudley has been the pastor of the church at
Bryant's Station for many years. This church, which was
organized in 1786, has had but two pastors from that time
to the present, viz : Ambrose Dudley, and his son, Thomas
P. Dudley, the subject of this notice.

yj>r

1822.] GAMBLINO SUPPRESSED, ETC. 299

CHAPTER XLVI.

Gambling Suppressed — Female Bible Society.

Lexington was so grievously infested with gamblers in
the fall of 1822, that the citizens combined to crush them
out, and after an indignation meeting, a general attack was
made on the sporting characters, and many of them were
lodged in jail. A newspaper of the time,* "hoped that
persons at a distance would understand that the society of
Lexington does not tolerate any species of gaming."

In 1822, the Lexington Female Bible Society was organ-
ized. Mrs. Elizabeth Skillman, whose lovely character
will long be remembered by our citizens, was one of the
members of the first board of managers, and was president
of the institution for nearly forty years. She died Febru-
ary 18, 1872, in the eighty-sixth year of her age.

•Observer and Keporter.

300 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1823.

CHAPTER XLVII.

Thomas T. Skillman—D. A. Sayre ^ Co.— " Old Court"
and "New Court" Parties — The Contest in Lexington —
Incidents — Jos. C. Breckinridge.

The " Western Luminary," the first religious newspaper
published in the southwest, was established in Lexington,
by Thomas T. Skillman, in 1823, to aid in counteracting
the strong infidel tendency then manifested in the city.
Mr. Skillman was one of the best and most useful citizens
of his day. He died June 9, 1833, a victim of the terrible
cholera season of that year, and the loss which his church
and the community sustained, was felt to be such that it
deepened still more the sadness and gloom that pervaded
the suffering city.

The banking house of D. A. Sayre & Co., was founded
in 1823.

In 1823, the court of appeals of Kentucky made its cele-
brated decision that the "relief" statutes passed at prior
sessions of the legislature, retrospectively extending re-
plevins, were unconstitutional. This decision created an
immense sensation. The " lieliefs " now became known as
the "New Court" party, whose sole aim was to remove the
offending judges of the court of appeals, and substitute
new ones who would bend to the popular will. The "Anti-
Reliefs," or as they were soon called, the "Old Court"
party, formed the opposition. The struggle which ensued,
and which extended through three years, was the most vio-
lent and bitter one in the annals of the state, excepting the
one at the eve of the late war.

In no place in the state was the combat more fierce than
in Lexington, the home of several of the ablest leaders of

1823.] THE CONTEST IN LEXINGTON, ETC. 301

both the parties. Every weapon of political warfare was
called into play ; argument, and invective, and sarcasm, and
satire, and pasquinade, and ribaldry, were all exhausted
in the strife of words.

It was during this exciting period, that the famous brick-
bat war broke out on the streets of Lexington.* The
combatants in about equal numbers, were ranged on each
side of the street, and while pick and crowbar were kept
busy in tearing up pavements, the fighting men in the op-
posing ranks were equally busy for a full hour, by " Shrews-
bury clock," hurling missiles at each other. Broken heads
and bloody noses was the order of the day. When the
fight was raging most furiously, and all were expecting a
resort to firearms, R. J. Breckinridge and Charlton Hunt,
opposing candidates, both of them brilliant, rising young
lawyers, appeared on the street, with arm locked in arm,
each waving a white handkerchief, and Avalking boldly be-
tween the combatants. They thus ended the fray.

Another incident characteristic of the day and the people
deserves to be recorded. It was then the custom for success-
ful candidates at the close of the polls, to give a "big treat"
to their constituents. On one of these occasions, Robert
Wickliffe, Sr., "treated" to punch, a barrel of which was
set in the middle of Limestone street, opposite the place
now known as the Sayre Institute. A strong partisan on
the other side, a somewhat notorious character, who was
always after called "Dr." tapper, secretly dropped some
tartar emetic in the punch. Such a scene as ensued beg-
gars all description, and could hardly be limned with the
pencil of a Hogarth. The retching and heaving, the sput-
tering, and spewing, and spouting, with

" The two and seventy stenches,
All well defined, and several stinks,"

"Which assailed the olfactories of the passers-by was due
notice to give the participators in the debauch a wide berth.
That was the last general political treat given in the interior
of the state.

•Kentucky letter to Cincinnati Gazette.

302 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1823.

Joseph C. Breckinridge, oldest son of Hon. John Breck-
inridge, and father of Hon. John C. Breckinridge, was for
many years a citizen of Lexington. He died in Frankfort,
September 1, 1823, aged thirty-five. Mr. Breckinridge was
born in Virginia, graduated at Princeton, served in the war
of 1812, studied law and practiced in Lexington. At an
early age he was elected to the legislature from Fayette
county, and at the time of his death, was secretary of
state under Governor Adair.

m.

1824.] LEXIXGTON LYCEUM. 303

CHAPTEE XLVIII.

The "Athens of the West" — Lexington Lyceum — Botanical
Garden — Jefferson Davis.

The literary culture and educational advantages of
Lexington had become such by 1824, that the city was
spoken of far and wide as the "Athens of the West."*
Her claims to the title were by no means insignificant.
The society of Lexington was noted for its intelligence, ap-
preciation of literature, its good taste and elegance. The
pulpits of the city were adorned by able and eloquent men,
the newspapers were the leaders of the state press, and the
bar was probably the strongest one at that time in the
United States. Transylvania University, under the dis-
tinguished Dr. Holly, had attained even a European celebrity,
and the city was crowded with her learned professors, and
medical, academical, and law students. Lectures were fre-
quent and well sustained and the weekly discussions of the
Lexington Lyceum, which was composed of the best men
of all professions, were listened to by crowded audiences.
The city library was the largest in the west, and has never
been more liberally patronized. A botanical garden had
just been established; the pencil of Jouett had made him
famous and was now constantly engaged ; and scholars
and distinguished men from all parts of the country, vis-
ited Lexington to enjoy the society in the noted seat and
center of learning and intellectual culture in the west.

The Lexington Lyceum mentioned above was the suc-
cessor of the " Lexington Junto,"t the debating society in
which Henry Clay distinguished himself by the first speech
he made in Lexington, in the year 1798. The Lyceum

*Flint's Travels. tOld Kentucky Gazette.

304 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. ^1824.

met at one time in Satterwhite's tavern, and afterward in
the court-house. It existed for very many years and did
great good by means of lectures and public del)ates. The
Lyceum now in existence was chartered March 9, ]868.*
Its incorporators were : J. S. Phelps, J. R. Morton, H. M.
Buford, J. H. Webster, G. W. Darnall, F. W. WooUey, and
(Jr. W. Ranek.

The botanical garden established in 1824 was projected
by the learned Prof. C. S. Rafinesque of Transylvania
University, who became its first director and manager, as-
sisted by John W. McCalla, Thos. Smith, Joseph Ficklin,
and J. M. Pike.f The garden, which was, properly speak-
ing, a botanical, medical, and agricultural institution
founded to promote the natural sciences and a knowledge
of husbandry, was situated about where Judge S. S. Good-
loe now lives on the Richmond turnpike. It existed but a
few years, but is noted as having been the first institution
of the kind projected in the west, if not the first in the
United States.

Hon. Jefi'erson Davis, late President of the Confederate
States, and who will always occupy a prominent and illus-
trious place in the world's history, resided in Lexington in
1824, and was a member of the senior class in Transylvania
University. He is remembered as a slender, fair-haired
young man, quiet, unassuming, and of very studious habits.J
He boarded with Postmaster Ficklin, in the brick house,
still standing, on the southwest corner of Hill and Lime-
stone streets. The historic interest now attached to this
spot will deepen and increase with advancing time.

*Acls Legislature. tB. G. Becoida. ^Letter to ttie Author.

1825.] LAFAYETTE'S VISIT. 305

CHAPTEE XLIX.

Lafayette's Visit to hexington — Reception — Ceremonies and
Incidents — The Christian Church — First Meeting Places —
" Union of the Disciples and Christians" — Early Ministers —
Dr. Jas. Fishhack — Regular Pastors — Dissensions about
Ordination — The Campbell and Rice Debate — ^'■Excommuni-
cation" — Present Condition of the Main Street Church.

Probably the grandest gathering ever seen in Lexington
was on the occasion of the reception of General Lafay-
ette, May 16, 1825. In no place in this country did the old
hero recive a more cordial welcome than in the seat of the
county which was named in his honor. An immense con-
course of people from all parts of Kentucky and from sev-
eral other states, companies of infantry, artillery, and cav-
alry, Revolutionary soldiers, distinguished strangers, mem-
bers of all professions, went out to meet him, wearing " La-
fayette badges."

The announcement that the marquis and suite were in
sight was the signal for round after round of deafening
cheers, volleys of musketry, and thunders of artillery,
which only ceased long enough to give the following com-
mittee time to formally receive and welcome him to Lex-
ington, viz : John Bradford, William Morton, Dr. Eichard
Pindell, Dr. Walter Warfield, John Fowler, Alexander
Parker, Andrew McCalla, William Leavy, James Lemmon,
Charles Norwood, Col. James Trotter, and Gen. Thomas
Bodley.* The welcome address in behalf of Lexington was
delivered by John Bradford, and that in behalf of the
county by Leslie Combs. Formal replies were made by Gen.
Lafayette, after which, amid renewed cheers. and salutes, a

•Observer and Eeporter.

306 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1825.

grand procession moved through the principal streets of
the town to Mrs. Keen's tavern, where rooms were pre-
pared for the distinguished guests.

The procession marched in the following order:

First assistant marshal and staflj Col. McConnell.

Division of cavalry and mounted riflemen.

Marshal of the day and staff, Gen. McCalla.

Committee of Revolutionary officers and soldiers.

Sub-county committee.

State committee, with Colonel Wash from Missouri.

General Lafayette, with Col. Bowman, of the Eighth Vir-
ginia regiment in the Revolutionary army, in a barouche
drawn by four hay horses.

Col. G. "W". Lafayette, Col. Le Vasseur, and Count De
Syon, in a barouche also drawn by four bays.

Governors Desha and Carrol, with their suites, Colonels
Hickey and Rowan, and Colonels Shelby and Erwin.

Revolutionary officers and soldiers.

Trustees of the town.

Judges of the Federal and State courts, and members of
Congress and of the State legislature.

Officers of the army and navy.

Officers of the militia.

Second assistant marshal and staff, Col. Payne.

First division of the military escort on foot. .

Third assistant marshal and staff,, Col. Beard.

Second division of the military escort on foot.

Fourth assistant marshal and staff", Col. Dunlap.

President, Professors, and Trustees of Transylvania Uni-
versity, and the clergy.

Onion Philosophical and "Whig Societies of the Uni-
versity.

Students of the University according to classes.

Fifth assistant marshal and staff. Col. Prewitt.

Citizens on foot.

Sixth assistant marshal and staff', Lieut. Col. Dudley.

Citizens on horseback.

1825.J THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 307

Division of cavalry and mounted riflemen.

Seventh assistant marshal and staff, Lieut. Col. Combs.

Rest and then a sumptuous dinner followed the arrival
at the tavern, after which the afternoon was spent by the
marquis in a cordial reception of the enthusiastic multi-
tude which crowded in upon him. At night a grand com-
plimentary ball was given him in the then new Masonic
Hall, on Main, between Broadway and Spring streets, which
was beautifully decorated for the occasion. The managers
of the ball were : E. Warfield, J. H. Morton, J. W. Hunt,
J. W. Palmer, C. Wilkins, W. W. Worsley, B. Gratz, J.
Postlethwait, L. Combs, T. Smith, T. S. Caldwell, W.
Brand. General Lafayette was welcomed to the hall by
the Rev. John Ward in behalf of his Masonic brethren.

Before his departure, Lafayette reviewed the old sol-
diers of the Revolution, visited Mrs. Clay and the widow
of Governor Scott, and spent some time with Jouett, who
afterward completed the life-size portrait of Lafayette,
now owned by the State of Kentucky. One of the most
prominent features of the entertainment of Lafayette in
Lexington was a literary reception at Transylvania Uni-
versity. A classic address was made by President Holly,
and eulogistic orations and poems were delivered in French,
Latin, and English by the students.

In 1825,* two feeble little religious bodies, which occa-
sionally attracted attention on account of their " new
notions," struggled for existence in Lexington. The mem-
bers of one met at the residence of Mrs. Bell (mother of
Dr. T. S. Bell, of Louisville), who lived on Main street,
between Walnut and Rose, and nearly opposite Mr. S. S.
Thompson's planing mill. They called themselves " Chris-
tians," and their pastor was that learned, liberal, and great
man. Barton W. Stone, who had long been at the head of
a flourishing classical school in Lexington. The other
little fl.ock met in a house on Spring street, between Main
and Water, which afterward became the machine shop of
Thomas H. Barlow, one of the greatest inventors America

* Old Inhabitants.

308 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1825.

has ever produced. They called themselves "Disciples,"
and held the peculiar views advanced by Alexander Camp-
bell, who, two years before (1823), upon the occasion of his
first visit to Lexington, had created a great sensation by
his startling and powerful sermons. The " Disciples " were
occasionally addressed by that intrepid, original, and able
man of God, Elder John ("Raccoon") Smith, who now
sleeps in the Lexington cemetery. Elders "Wm. Poindexter
and Thomas Smith also labored for this church.

The "Christians" and "Disciples" agreed in most of
their religious opinions. They kept up separate organiza-
tions, however, for a number of years. The " Christians,"
or " Stoneites," as they were then often called, were par-
ticularly careful not to make immersion a test* of religion,
and it was their practice to receive unimmersed christians
of all denominations to their communion and fellowship.
It was this which prevented for some time the union of the
two bodies.

By the year 1831, the Christians had gathered strength
sufficient to erect a house of worship, which they built on
Hill street, near the corner of Mill, and opposite the pres-
ent residence of Judge Robertson. The church was a very
plain brick one, with an interior gallery, which, after the
old style, ran around two sides and the end of the building.
It was formally opened for worship on Sunday, October
16, 1831,t and the dedication sermon was delivered by the
eccentric and eloquent elder, Jesse Bledsoe, who, but a
short time before, had abandoned the bar for the pulpit.
The " Disciples," at this time, were meeting in a building
which stood near the present residence of Dr. H. M. Skill-
man, on Broadway.

On Saturday, January 1, 1832, the Christians and Dis-
ciples, between whom there existed a most fraternal feeling,
assembled, by agreement, in the Hill Street meeting-house,
to consider the probabilities of the union of the two bodies.
Candid and generous addresses were delivered by Elders
Barton Stone and John Smith; the members of both

*Christian Messenger, vol. v, p. 19. tObsei'ver and Reporter.

^^25.] THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

309

churches conferred together, harmony was arrived at, and
the hoped-for union was effected upon the broad ground
that the Bible was the only rule of faith and practice ; that
all should enjoy the right of private judgment, and that
the opinions of ecclesiastical leaders should not be allowed
to disturb the peace of the church. The united congrega-
tions adopted the name Christian for the church, and the
Hill Street house became the sole meeting-place.

Until the services of a regular pastor were obtained,
Elders Jacob Oreath, Curtis Smith, Thomas M. Allen, and
others preached at different times for the church.

One of the earliest and ablest of Bishop Campbell's
indorsers in Lexington was Dr. James Fishback,* who
subsequently became a member of the Christian ministry.
He was the son of Jacob Fishback, who came to Ken-
tucky from Culpepper county, Virginia, in 1783. Dr.
Fishback was educated for the medical profession, and
as early as 1805 filled the chair of " Theory and Practice"
in Transylvania University. In 1816, becoming dissatis-
fied with the stricter views of the Presbyterian Church,
of which he was a member, he connected himself with
the Baptists, and became one of their regularly ordained
preachers.

In 1823, when Bishop Alexander Campbell visited Lex-
ington for the first time. Dr. Fishback paid the closest
attention to the opinions and arguments he advanced, and
the impressions he then received influenced the balance of
his religious life. In 1827,t while pastor of the Baptist
Church on Mill street, he strongly advocated a change in
the name of the church from what it then was to that of
"Church of Christ." Many members of the church favored
it, and many denounced it as an "unnecessary change sug-
gested by the spirit of the 'Se-w Light heresy." The dis-
sension which ensued resulted in the exclusion of Dr.
Fishback, John M. Hewitt, Purnell Bishop, Alex. Gibney,
E. Chinn, A. Graham, and thirty others, "for contumacy
and disorderly conduct." In April, the excluded members,

•Davidson's History. tBaptist Church Becords.

310 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1825.

who claimed the ownership of the church building, met in
it, organized "the Church of Christ on Mill street," and in
turn excluded their excluders from the church. Dr. Fish-
back was elected pastor of the new church, the congreg-a-
tion of which met for some time alternately with the other
Baptists in the Mill Street church, but subsequently left
that place and worshiped in the building now known as
the Statesman office, on Short street. Most of this congre-
gation finally went back to the First Baptist Church, but
Dr. Fishback and others, after wavering for some time,
joined the Christian Church. Dr. Fishback was a promi-
nent preacher of this last-named body for a number of
years, and died connected with it in the summer of 1845.

Dr. Fishback was a preacher of superior talents, bold-
ness, and culture, a man of great information and fine per-
sonal appearance. He was a strong and able writer, as
evidenced by his " Philosophy of the Human Mind," pub-
lished in 1813, and his religious "Essays and Dialogues,"
of 1834. He was married twice. His first wife- was a
niece of Patrick Henry, and his last, a daughter of Gov-
ernor Shelby.

The first minister regularly employed by the United
congregations on Hill street was Elder James Challen. He
was born in Hackensack, ]!^ew Jersey, in 1802, came to
Kentucky at an early age, entered Transylvania University,
united with the Baptist Church in 1823, but a few years
after changed his ojiinion and entered the ministry of the
Christian Church. He became pastor of the Hill Street
congregation in 1834. He did much to perfect a thorough
organization of the church, and endeared himself greatly
to his brethren by his graces and virtues. This now
aged soldier of the cross is living at present in Davenport,
Iowa.

Dr. B. F. Hall, a native of Fleming county, Xentucky,
but who has long made Texas his home, succeeded Mr.
Challen. Dr. Hall was a speaker of moderate ability.
During his pastorate the church became divided on the
subject of ordination, the parties in the contention beino-
Dr. Hall, Dr. J. G. Chinn, and others, on one side, and

1825.] REGULAR PASTORS. 311

Poindexter and a few followers on the other. The breach
was finally closed.

In 1841, Dr. L. L. Pinkerton succeeded Dr. Hall as pas-
tor, and under his energetic ministry the church prospered,
and shortly after he commenced his labors (1842), the pres-
ent large church edifice on Main street was completed. Dr.
Pinkerton was born in Baltimore county, Maryland, January
28, 1812, and was trained in the Presbyterian faith, but in
1830 was baptized under the personal ministry of Bishop
Campbell. Before he began to preach, he practiced medi-
cine, having graduated in the Transylvania Medical College.
Dr. Pinkerton was pastor of the Main Street Church for
nearly three years, after which he was very largely instru-
mental in forming the Orphan School at Midway, Kentucky.
He was for five years professor of belles-lettres in Kentucky
University. Dr. Pinkerton is gifted with generosity, inde-
pendence, and liberality. His discourses are characterized
by elegance, vigor, and originality, over which is cast the
charm of a tender melancholy. A more uniformly inter-
esting speaker has never filled the pulpit of the Maia Street
Church.

In !N"ovember, 1843, the celebrated debate between those
distinguished champions, Bishop Alexander Campbell and
the Rev. N". L. Rice took place before densely packed audi-
ences in the Main Street Church. The moderators on that
occasion were Hon. Henry Clay, Judge George Robertson,
and Colonel Speed Smith.

After Dr. Pinkerton, Elders Newton Short, "William Clark,
A. W.' Robbins, and John I. Rogers became pastors of
the church. In 1860, W. H. Hopson, a native of Christian
county, Ky., was elected to the pastorate, which he filled
up to the year 1862, when J. W. McGarvey succeeded, and
he in turn was succeeded in 1867 by Elder Robert Graham,
who was born in Liverpool, England, and graduated at
Bethany College. L. B. "Wilkes, a native of Maury county,
Tennessee, became pastor in 1869.

During the ministry of Mr. Wilkes, a part of the congre-
gation, by the advice of its officers, commenced to meet for
worship in the Odd Fellows' Hall, on the corner of Main

312 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1825.

and Broadway, where service was held, for the first time,
on Sunday, January 2, 1870, and continued regularly until
May 1st of the same year, when the Tirst Presbyterian
building was bought by the Main Street church, and de-
voted to the use of its members meeting in the hull. The
government of two congregations under one eldership
created dissatisfaction among some members of the church,
andwaspubliclycondemnedbyoneofthem(Mr.EHy) as un-
scriptural, despotic, and dangerous. It was continued never-
theless, and, unfortunately, a spirit of illiberality at the same
time rapidly manifested itself among some of the preachers
and leaders of the church. Forced, by these combined
causes, and desiring peace and freedom of conscience, a
number of the members of the church, acting in accord-
ance with the long-recognized rights and usage of the
Christian body, quietly established, in the spring of 1871,
the " Second Church of Christ," or, as it was kindly and
very suggestively called by the public a* that time, the
"Little Church around the Corner."

In the summer of 1871, the members of the Main Street
Church meeting on Broadway were organized into an in-
dependent church, after having been nearly eighteen months
under the rule of the Main Street officers.

On the 22d of October, 1871, the Main Street portion of
the original double body, assumed to exclude from it (the
Main Street Church) such members of the Second Church
of Christ as had formerly belonged to both the Main Street
and the Broadway congregations. The ladies and gentle-
men supposed to be excluded, were charged with " disorder
and schism in withdrawing and setting up a new organiza-
tion without the consent of the church."

M. E. Lard, the present pastor, who took charge of the
Main Street Church late in 1871, is a native of Bedford
county, Tennessee.

The Main Street congregation has been rapidly increas-
ing in numbers for several years past, and is now very large
and prosperous. The church has lately been considerably
improved in appearance.

1826.] FUNERAL HONORS TO JEFFERSON, ETC. 313

CHAPTER L.

Funeral Honors to Jefferson, Adams, and Shelby.

The citizens of Lexington testified their sincere regret
for the loss of the patriots, Jeflerson, Adams, and Shelby,
by extensive and impressive funeral ceremonies on "Wednes-
day, August 15, 1826.

At eleven o'clock a. m., a procession formed at the Grand
Masonic Hall, under the direction of Thomas Bodley, chief
marshal ; Messrs. John M. McCalla, Jas. M. Pike, Leslie
Combs, C. "W. Cloud, and Joseph Eobb, assistant marshals;
and proceeded in the following order to the Episcopal
Church :

Fayette Hussars, Captain Pindell.
Light Artillery Cadets, Lieutenant Commandant, "W. B.

Collins.

Lexington Light Infantry, Captain "West.

Fayette Rifle Corps, Captain Dailey.

Other uniform companies of Fayette county.

Committee of Arrangements.

Officiating Chaplain and Orator of the day.

Eeverend Clergy.

BIER OF ADAMS,

supported by eight bearers, with white bands and sashes,

and followed by a led horse, suitably and

appropriately accoutered.

BIER OF JEFFERSON,

supported and followed in the same manner.
The two biers of the ex-Presidents, followed by twenty-four
misses dressed in 'white, with white veils and suitable
badges, representing the twenty-four states of the Union,

314 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1826.

BIER OF SHELBY,
supported by four bearers, and followed by a led horse ap-
propriately accoutered, and a female represent-
ing Kentucky, clothed in white, with
an appropriate badge.
Surviving officers and soldiers of the Revolution.
Major-general and his staff.
Trustees of the town, Treasurer and Clerk.
Militia Officers, General, Regimental, and Staff.
Members of Congress.
Members of the State Legislature.
Fayette Circuit Judge, Attorney, and Clerk.
Magistrates of the county, preceded by the High Sheriff
President, Trustees, and Professors of Transylvania Uni-
versity.
Principal, Visitors, and Teachers of the Lafayette Female

Academy.
Union Philosophical Society, "j
Whig Society, With badges.

Franklin Society, j

Teachers of the several Schools in Lexington and Fayette

county.
Citizens and strangers, four abreast.

After arriving at the church, which was crowded to excess,
a soft and beautiful dirge was played, and then, after a
touching prayer by the Rev. George T. Chapman, an elo-
quent and impressive funeral oration was delivered by
William T. Barry. The ceremonies concluded with an
anthem by the choir and a benediction.

-^^#V^

1827.] A GREAT RAIN. 315

CHAPTEE LI.

A Great Rain.

An extraordinary fall of rain occurred in Lexington, on
Sunday, July 25, 1827.* It commenced with a heavy thun-
der shower in the afternoon, and continued all night, and
hy morning so great had been the volume of water that
had fallen, that citizens going to their places of business,
were obliged to wade through the torrents of water which
poured through the streets. The cellars in the level parts
of the town were completely filled with water, causing great
losses to grocers and merchants. The damage done was
estimated at twenty thousand dollars. Several lives were
endangered by the sudden rise of the water. In one case
a black woman was very nigh drowned. She was sleeping
in a cellar kitchen. The water had arisen in the street till
it reached the cellar windows, when it rushed in so rapidly
that she either had not time or presence of mind to make
her escape, but catching hold of something above her,
cried for help. In a few minutes the cellar was filled, and
she must inevitably have been drowned had not some per-
son ventured in and brought her out.

•Western Luminary.

■^c^m^i^^^

316 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1828.

CHAPTER LII.

National Bepublicans and Democratic Republicans.

By the time the year 1828 rolled 'round, old state and
local issues were forgotten in Lexington. The Old Court
party was now known as the " l^ational Republican " party,
and the !N"ew Court as "Democratic Republican" party.
Lexington blazed with political excitement all through
this year, and it was at its highest pitch at the November
election, which resulted in Jackson carrying the state by a
majority of eight thousand over Adams.

1829.] FIRST ROAD MACADAMIZED. 317

CHAPTER LIII.

First Road Macadamized.

The macadamizing of the streets and roads of Lexing-
ton was agitated in 1829, and urged in particular by Henry
Clay. On the 30th of October, a large public meeting was
held, at which the McAdam plan was indorsed^ and steps
were taken to organize a company to construct a road
" connecting Lexington with the Ohio river." The follow-
ing committee was appointed to advance the interests of the
road, viz : Henry Clay, Charleton Hunt, Benjamin Gratz,
Richard Higgins, E. J. Winter, John Brand, Benjamin
Taylor, Richard Chinn, David Megowan, George Boswell,
and D. Sayre. Work was commenced shortly after, on
Limestone and Broadway streets, and on the road from
Lexington to Maysville, which is believed to have been the
first road macadamized in Kentucky.

318 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1830.

CHAPTER LIV.

The First Western Hailroad— Corporators— Officers— Inci-
dents— First American Locomotive — Charles Humphreys.

Lexington claims the honor of having constructed the
first railroad in the West, and the second one in America.
It was originally known as the " Lexington and Ohio Rail-
road," and was chartered by the Kentucky legislature,
January 27, 1830 ; and the corporators were* Messrs. John
W. Hunt, John Brand, Richard Higgins, Benjamin Gratz,
Luther Stevens, Robert WickliiFe, Leslie Combs, Elisha
"Warfield, Robert Frazer, James "Weir, Michael Fishell,
Thomas E. Boswell, George Boswell, Benjamin Taylor,
Elisha J. "Winter, Joseph Boswell, David Megowan, John
Norton, Madison C. Johnson, and Henry C. Payne. Elisha
J. "Winter was elected first president of the company. The
second president was Benjamin Gratz, of Lexington,
Kentucky.

Engineers, at that period, were not so lavish in their es-
timates of the cost of constructing railroads, as they have
become in modern times, as it is a matter of history that
the original estimate of the cost of the contemplated Lex-
ington and Ohio road, from Lexington to Portland, was
one million of dollars. Of this sum, about seven hundred
thousand dollars was promptly subscribed by citizens of
Lexington. f

The " corner-stone " of the road was laid on Water street,
near the corner of Mill, with great display, on the 21st of
October, 1831. Governor Metcalfe drove the first spike, and
an address was delivered to the assembled concourse by
Professor Charles Caldwell. Work on this pioneer road
was then commenced.

*Acts Legislature. tLouisville Courier.

1830.] FIRST AMERICAN LOCOMOTIVE. 319

The road-bed was as unique as it was substantial, and
consisted of strap-iron rails spiked down to stone-sills.
The cars were, for a long time, drawn by horses. The first
steam locomotive made in the United States ran over this
road. It had been invented by Thomas Barlow, of Lex-
ington, as early as 1827 or 1828, and was constructed by
Joseph Brueu, an ingenious mechanic, also a resident of
Lexington.* The original model of this locomotive is in
the museum of the Eastern Lunatic Asylum of this city. On
the night of December 21, 1834, a grand ball and supper
was given at Brennan's tavern, in Lexington, to celebrate
the opening of the road, and the rejoicing and festivity
was great.

An immense and excited crowd assembled at Lexington,
on Saturday, January 24, 1835, to witness the starting of
the first train for the "Villa." In the following December,
the first through train arrived at Frankfort from Lex-
ington.-j-

During the session of the general assembly of 1847,
the Louisville and Erankfort Railroad Company was or-
ganized and chartered, and at once became the purchasers
of that portion of the road lying between Louisville and
Frankfort. In 1848, the Lexington and Frankfort Rail-
road Company was organized, and in turn purchased from
the state that portion of the road between Lexington and
Frankfort,

Regular trains were first run through from Louisville to
Lexington in 1851.

In 1857, the management of the Louisville and Frank-
fort and Lexington and Frankfort railroads was consoli-
dated. The road is now known as the Louisville, Lexing-
ton and Cincinnati Railroad.

Charles Humphreys died. October 1, 1830, in the fifty-fifth
year of his age. He was a self-taught scholar ; was long a
law professor in Transylvania University, and was an able
and accomplished advocate and jurist. It is said that he
was not known to have had a single enemy.

•Observer and Keporter, 1833. tObserver and Keporter.

320 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1831.

CHAPTER LV.

Whigs and Democrats — Physicians.

In 1831, Henry Clay was nominated for the presidency
against Andrew Jackson, and the Whig and Democratic
parties in Lexington labored for their favorites with a pas-
sionate energy and fiery zeal never since surpassed. The
newspapers flamed with phillipics and denunciations.
Caucuses, speeches, clubs, barbecues, pole-raisings, and
mass meetings kept up a tempest of political excitement
in which all ages, sexes, and conditions took a part. De-
traction and bitter animosity accompanied the heated oppo-
sition of the parties, and when the contest ended with the
election of Jackson for the second time, the deep mortifi-
cation of one side was only equaled by the wild and tri-
umphant rejoicing of the other.

Among the prominent physicians of Lexington about
this time (1831) were Drs. Best, Holland, "William Pawling,
T. P. Satterwhite, and Richard Pindell, the last-named
gentleman was a native of Maryland, and had been a sur-
geon in the Eevolutionary army. He died March 16, 1833.

1832.] LEXINGTON A CITr— FIRST OFFICERS.

321

CHAPTER LVI.

Lexington a City— First Officers— Poor and Work-JIouse—
Trustees' Rooms and Council Chamber — List of Mayors-
Appearance of Lexington in 1832— Genera? Jackson's Visit.

Lexington became an incorporated city in 1832, and on
the 12th of January of that year, the first mayor and the
first board of councilmen were inducted into oifice.* The
brief ceremonies took place at the court-houge. The
oath was administered to the mayor, Charleton Hunt, by
Judge T. M. Hiekey, after which the mayor administered
it to the following gentlemen, who composed the council,
viz: William A. Leavy, Richard Higgins, Stephen Chip-
ley, Robert S. Todd, David Megowan, Richard Ashton,
Thomas P. Hart, Luther Stephens, Thomas M. Hiekey,
Leslie Combs, John Brand, and Benjamin Gratz. The
city was at once divided into four wards, a municipal seal
was adopted, a work-house established, and the general
machinery of the new government set in motion.

The first mayor of Lexington, Charleton Hunt, was the

oldest son of John Wesley Hunt, and was born December

3, 1801. After graduating at Transylvania University, he

studied law, and held a prominent position in his profession

at the time of his death, which occurred December 27, 1836.

He died just as a future full of promise was opening to

him. Few men have been more beloved in Lexington, and

his death produced a general sensation of regret and sorrow.

The first work-house was located on Limestone street,

adjoining the jail, and its first keeper was T. B. McGowen.f

In 1835 a poor-house was combined with the work-house,

and the buildings of the joint establishment were erected

*City Kecords. tid.

322 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1832.

on Bolivar street. The institutions were connected about
thirty-five years. The poor-house is now located in the
country. The work-house remains on Bolivar street, and
has lately been improved.

The trustees of the town of Lexington held their meet-
ings first in the fort, then in the first court-house, afterward
in a room in the old state-house, and then again in the
court-house.

The city council occupied the old Odd Tellows Hall, on
Church street, until it was destroyed by fire in 1854. The
Medical Hall, corner of Church and Market (now replaced
by the library building), was used for a long time. In
1865, the council took possession of its present hall, in
Hunt's row.

The following is a list of the mayors of the city, from
1832 to the present time, viz: 1832-4, Charleton Hunt;
1835-6, James E. Davis; 1837-8, J. &. McKinney; 1839-40,
C. H. Wickliffe; 1841, Daniel Bradford; 1842-5, James
Logue; 1846, Thomas Ross; 1847, John Henry; 1848,
George P. Jouett; 1849-50, 0. F. Payne; 1851-3, E. W.
Dowden; 1854, T. H. Pindell; 1855-8, William Swift; 1859,
T. B. Monroe; 1860-1, Benjamin P. Graves; 1862, C. T.
Worley; 1863-5, Joseph Wingate; 1866, D. W. Standiford;
1867, J. T. Frazer; 1868, J. G. Chinn; 1869-72, J. T.
Frazer.

The appearance of Lexington at the time it was incor-
porated as a city is thus described by an admiring visitor :*

" The town buildings in general are handsome, and some
are magnificent. Few towns in the West, or elsewhere, are
more delightfully situated. Its environs have a singular
softness and amenity of landscape, and the town wears an
air of neatness, opulence, and repose, indicating leisure and
studiousness, rather than the bustle of business and com-
merce. It is situated in the center of a proverbially rich
and beautiful country. The frequency of handsome villas
and ornamented rural mansions impart the impression of
vicinity to an opulent metropolis. A beautiful branch of

♦Flint's Mississippi Valley.

1832.] JACKSON'S VISIT TO LEXINGTON. 323

the Elkhorn runs through the city, and supplies it with
water. The main street is a mile and a quarter in length,
and eighty feet wide, well paved, and the principal roads
leading from it to the country are macadamized for some
distance. In the center of the town is the public square,
surrounded by handsome buildings. In this square is the
market-house, which is amply supplied with all the pro-
ducts of the state. The inhabitants are cheerful, intelligent,
conversable, and noted for their hospitality to strangers.
The professional men are distinguished for their attain-
ments in their several walks, and many distinguished and
eminent men have had their origin here. The university,
with its professors and students, and the numerous distin-
guished strangers that are visiting here during the summer
months, add to the attractions of the city. The people are
addicted to giving parties, and the tone of society is fash-
ionable and pleasant. Strangers, in general, are much
pleased with a temporary sojourn in this city, which con-
veys high ideas of the refinement and taste of the country.
There are now much larger towns in the West, but none
presenting more beauty and intelligence. The stranger, on
finding himself in the midst of its polished and interesting
society, can not but be carried back, by the strong contrast,
to the time when the patriarchial hunters of Kentucky,
reclining on their buffalo robes around their evening fires,
canopied by the lofty trees and the stars, gave it the name
it bears, by patriotic acclamation."

General Andrew Jackson visited Lexington the second
time on Saturday, September 29, 1832,* at which time a
grand barbecue in his honor was given by the Democrats
at " Fowler's Garden." General Jackson was then a candi-
date for re-election to the presidency, and Mr. Clay, selected
by the " Nationals," was his competitor. " Old Hickory"
was escorted into the city by an immense procession, com-
posed of military companies, various orders and societies,
several bands of music, and a concourse of horsemen and
footmen bearing banners, appropriately inscribed, and sur-

*Gazette.

324 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1832.

mounted by game cocks, which crowed lustily as they went
through the streets. General John M. McCalla, Benjamin
Taylor, and Abram Morton were marshals of the day.
Jackson rode in an open carriage with Governor Breathitt,
who had just been elected by the Democrats. The win-
dows and streets were crowded with people, to whom the
President continually bowed as they waved their handker-
chiefs and hickory branches, and gave him cheer after
cheer. The concourse, from the barbecue, attended the
President's levee, which was held that night at Postle-
thwaite's tavern. On Sunday morning, Jackson attended the
Pirst Presbyterian Church, corner of Broadway and Second
street, and listened to a sermon from the Eev. Ifathan Hall.
The house was crowded almost to sufibcation, and hundreds
were unable to enter. The curiosity to see the determined
old hero was intense, and he never walked the streets
unaccompanied by a crowd. On his way to church he
passed the branch of the United States Bank (now the
Northern Bank building), which had just been completed,
and was then considered a very fine edifice. An amusing
tradition, told with great gusto by old-time Democrats long
after the reputed occurrence of the incident, declares that
Jackson no sooner saw the bank than he gave it one of
his most withering glances, muttering, " By the eternal !"
and brought his cane down upon the pavement with a most
emphatic rap. The effect was, of course, fatal. Three
years from that time the bank ceased to exist. The story
indicates the intensity of party feeling at that periocL
Jackson and his suite left Lexington on horseback the
Monday succeeding his arrival, after having been given one
of the most enthusiastic receptions ever accorded to a dis-
tinguished visitor in Lexington.

1833.] CHOLERA. 325

CHAPTER LVII.

Cholera — Its Terrible Effects — Incidents — The Lexington Or-
phan Asylum — First Managers.

The terrible ravages of the cholera in 1833 will ever
keep that fatal year memorable in the annals of Lexington.
The devoted city had confidently expected to escape the
scourge on account of its elevated position and freedom
ft'om large collections of water, but an inscrutable Prov-
idence ruled it otherwise. About the 1st of June the cholera
made its appearance, and in less than ten days fifteen hun-
dred persons were prostrated and dying at the rate of fifty
a day.* An indescribable panic seized the citizens, half
of whom fled from the city, and those who remained were
almost paralyzed with fear. Intercourse between the town
and country was suspended for six weeks; farmers had to
abandon their grain to the stock for want of laborers; the
market-houses in the citj' were empty and desolate, and
fiimine would have been added to pestilence but for the
great activity of the authorities.

The streets were silent and deserted by everything but
horses and dead-carts, and to complete the desperate con-
dition of things three physicians died, three more were ab-
sent, and of the rest scarcely one escaped an attack of the
disease. f The clergy, active as they were, could not meet
one-third of the demands made upon them. Business
houses were closed, factories stopped, and men passed their
most intimate friends in silence and afar off', staring like
lunatics, for the fear of contagion was upon them. The
dead could not be buried fast enough, nor could coffins be
Lad to meet half the demand. Many of the victims were
consigned to trunks and boxes, or wrapped in the bed-

*Davidson's History. fid.

326 EisTonr of Lexington. [issa.

clothes upon which they had just expired, placed in carts,
and hurried ofl" for burial without a prayer being said and
no attendant but the driver. The grave-yards were choked.
CoflBned and uncoffined dead were laid at the gates in con-
fused heaps to wait their turn to be deposited in the long,
shallow trenches, which were hastily dug for the necessities
of the occasion. Out of one family of nineteen persons,
seventeen died.

The hitherto festival day, the Fourth of July, came, and
found the fearful pestilence abating, and was observed in
the churches with mingled tears, thanksgiving, prayers, and
supplications. The fell destroyer had swept overlive hun-
dred persons out of existence,* and the whole city was in
mourning. The terrors and sufferings in Lexington dur-
ing the fearful cholera season of " '33 " no pen can describe.

The Lexington Orphan Asylum originated from the cal-
amities occasioned by the cholera, which left children desti-
tute and unprotected. A public meeting was held at the
court-house on Wednesday, July 17, 1833,t to raise funds
to establish an asylum for these children. It was largely
attended, and |4,400 were collected for the purpose. A
house and lot, formerly the property of Dr. James Fish-
back, and located on Third street, between Broadway and
Jefferson, where the asylum has ever since remained,
was purchased, and on Wednesday, August 14th, the institu-
tion was organized with the following managers, viz : Mrs.
Wicklifte, Mrs. Sayre, Mrs. Tilford, Mrs. Gratz, Mrs. Er-
win, Mrs. Bruen, Mrs. W. Eiehardson, Mrs. Putnam, Mrs.
Chipley, Mrs. J. l^orton, Mrs. Graves, Mrs. Dewees, Mrs.
Ward, Mrs. L. Stephens, Mrs. J. W. Hunt, Mrs. Peers,
Mrs. Leavy, Mrs. Macalester, Mrs. Koss, Mrs. Geohegan,
Miss Edmiston, Miss Barry, Miss M. Merrill, and Mrs.
Short. The managers furnished the house, procured a
matron and an assistant, and gathered and sheltered all the
destitute orphans in the city who had been deprived of
both parents.

The institution has no permanent fund, and is supported

*City Keoords. tObserver iind Jieporter.

1833.] THE ORPHAN ASYLUM. 327

by subscriptions and donations from any who are disposed
to aid in the support of orphans.

The citizens of Lexington have never allowed it to lan-
guish for want of support, but the most liberal and sub-
stantial aid it has received since its establishment, was in
1866, when, by means of public liberality, its buildings
were greatly enlarged and improved.

328 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. 1834.

CHAPTER LVIII.

Great Revival — Branch Bank of Kentucky — St. Catharine's
Academy — City Schools — James 0. Harrison's Adminis-
tration.

The fearful cholera experience of Lexington was not
without its beneficial effects. Saddened and chastened, the
city turned to religion for consolation, and in 1834, a great
revival was the result. Meetings were held for nearly a
month, and four hundred additions were made to the
various churches.*

A branch of the Bank of Kentucky was established in
Lexington in 1884, its first board being Benjamin Gratz,
iiforman Porter, James Hamilton, Stephen Swift, Joseph
Bruen, W. H. Eainey, J. G. McKinney, David Heran.
After a successful existence of thirty-one years, the insti-
tution discontinued business March 13, 1865. The last
oflicers of the bank were Henry Bell, president; H. B,
Hill, cashier; H. B. Hill, Jr., teller; E. S. Duncanson,
book-keeper; John Carty, D. M. Craig, George Brand, M.
P. Lancaster, John G. Allen, directors.

St. Catharine's Academy, on Limestone street, between
Winchester and Constitution, was transferred to Lexington
in 1834,t from Scott county, Kentucky, where it had been
founded four years before. St. Catharine's is a branch of
the Roman Catholic Academy of Nazareth, near Bardstown,
in this state, and is conducted by sisters of charity. The
first superioress of St. Catharine's was Annie Spalding, a
relative of the late Archbishop Spalding, and a gifted and
accomplished woman. She was poisoned, in 1852, by a
negro woman owned by the institution, and who she had

«Davidsoii'8 History. tAcudamy llecords.

1834.] CITr SCHOOLS. 329

unwittingly offended. She was buried in the old Catholic
Cemetery on Winchester street. The academy has been
blessed with success and prosperity since its removal to
Lexington, and its buildings have been greatly enlarged
and improved. St. Jobn's Academy, located on the same
lot, was partially built from the brick that once composed
the walls of the old Catholic Chapel in which the celebrated
Father Baden officiated for so many years.

The first city school established in Lexington was organ-
ized in 1834, and, like the Orphan Asylum, resulted from
the devastations of the cholera, which left many children
unprovided with means of education. The old Kaukin
Church, on the corner of Short and Walnut streets, was
obtained by the city, and the school was opened on the
1st day of March, 1834, with one hundred and seven pupils
in attendance. Joseph Gayle was principal, assisted by
his daughter. The school committee appointed by the
council consisted of James 0. Harrison, William A. Leavy,
and Thomas P. Hart. The establishment of this school
was largely due to the exertions of Charleton Hunt, then
mayor of Lexington. In" 1836, William Morton, an old
and greatly respected citizen, left a legacy of $10,000 to
advance the interests of this school, which is now known
as "Morton School (No. 1)." The old schtol- house was
replaced by the present one in 1849. Harrison School (ISTo.
2), named in honor of James 0. Harrison, was organized
in 1849, and Dudley School (No. 3), so called in honor of
Dr. B. W. Dudley, in 1851.

In 1853, the public schools had attained a prosperity,
character, and efficiency greater than they ever enjoyed
before or since. The number of pupils at that time was
one thousand three hundred and seventy-eight,* and so
great was the public confidence in the schools, that not a
single private ichool for the education of boys was in exist-
ence 'n <:he city.f Everybody, without regard to either
ociai or financial distinctions, sent their children to the
city schools, and the processions, speeches, festivities, and

»City Keoords. tid.

330 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1834.

crowds which attended the closing exercises of the schools,
indicated the interest and pride that were taken in them by
the citizens. These gratifying results were mainly due to
the energy and enlightened management of James 0. Har-
rison, who was for a long time chairman of the school
committee, and who devoted a number of the best years
of his life to the upbuilding of the schools. At the present
time, the city schools, owing to various causes, are neither
as well attended nor as useful as they were twenty years ago.

1835.] NORTHERN BANK— JOEL T. HART. 33^

CHAPTER LIX.

Northern Bank — Joel T. Hart — James Haggin — George Rob-
ertson — John Boyle.

The E'orthern Bank of Kentucky was founded in June,
1835, at which time it purchased from the United States
Bank its branch house in Lexington, its debt and specie,
and became the agent to wind up the business of the con-
cern. The first directors of the Iforthern Bank were B.
W. Dudley, D. M. Craig, John Tilford, W. A. Leavy, P.
Bain, W. Dunn, B. Gratz, H. Johnson, and W. Barr.

The officers of the bank at the present time are M. C.
Johnson, president; A. F. Hawkins, cashier; E. Bacon,
teller; J. T. Davidson and C. Y. Bean, book-keepers.

The Northern Bank, ever since its establishment, has
used the old United States Branch Bank building, on the
corner of Short and Market streets.

The now justly famous Joel T. Hart dates his career
from 1835, in which year he settled in Lexington. This
great self-made man, who has reflected so much honor
upon our city, was born, poor and almost friendless, in
Clark county, Kentucky, in 1810. After going to school
for a short time, he was compelled, by necessity and
the unconscious promptings of his genius, to labor with
the stone-mason's hammer, and lived, up to the time of his
arrival in Lexington, by building stone fences and chimneys.
He was already twenty-five years old when he came to
this city, and obtained work in a marble yard, on the
corner of Upper and Second streets, where he cut his first
letters on a tombstone. His guardian angel, who had thus
pushed him one step in advance, placed him full in the
path of his great destiny two years after, when he met

332 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1835.

Clevenger, a young sculptor from Gincinnati, who discov-
ered in him a fellow artist, and kindly instructed him in
his high calling. In a short time, Hart was freed from the
weight that held him down. The rough stone-mason had
become what he was bora to be — a sculptor.

Hart's first studio was in a building connected with, and
in the rear of the present residence of Mr. Thomas Brad-
ley, on Second street, and his first effort, as an artist in
marble, was a bust of Cassius M. Clay. He soon attracted
great attention, and in a short time had made himself
famous by superbly executed busts of John J. Crittenden,'
Andrew Jackson, and Henry Clay. In 1849, Mr. Hart was
engaged by the ladies of Richmond, Virginia, to execute
the marble statue of Mr. Clay, which now adorns the capi-
tol grounds of that city. He went to Italy, and settled in
Florence, where he modeled the statue, and, at the same
time, invented two valuable instruments to be used in
his art. By means of one of these, the workmen are en-
abled to transfer the compositions of the sculptor from the
plaster to the marble, with a degree of precision utterly
impossible by the ordinary method of calipers. By means
of the other invention, the form of the living subject may
be transferred to the desired material, with an absolute
exactitude. As a consequence, therefore, any of the great
antique statues may be perfectly reproduced.

He went to London to obtain a patent for his invention,
and While struggling to effect his object, suffered the direst
extremes of poverty, until he fortunately attracted the at-
tention of some discerning and cultivated gentlemen, who
engaged him to make a bust of the noted Dr. Southwood
Smith. His success was such as to obtain for him the
patronage of the nobility of the realm, and give him a
European reputation. Shortly after this, he shipped to
America the marble statue of Clay, and also a bronze statue
of the same statesman which he had modeled for the city
of New Orleans.

Mr. Hart returned from Italy in 1860, and was received
by the city of Lexington with every demonstration of re-
spect and honor. At Frankfort, also, he met with distin

1835.] JOEL T. HART. 333

guished consideration, and the legislature, then in session,
appropriated $10,000 to complete the Clay monument in
this city, by surmounting it with a statue of Mr. Clay, to
be executed by his gifted fellow-townsman, Mr. Hart. A
compliment more just or deserved was never more grace-
fully paid by a state to its greatest ai'tist. But unfortu-
nately the Monumental Association found it necessary to
use six thousand dollars of the sum appropriated, to pay
expenses already incurred, and the remainder was paid
to a stranger for "the statue" which surmounts the Clay
monument.

In the fall of 1860, Mr. Hart returned to Tlorence, Italy,
where he still resides. He has never married. He is now
known, not only as a sculptor, but also as a philosopher, a
poet, a scientist. His poems, many of which have been
published anonymously in England and America, are char-
acterized by versatility, and considerable beauty and ele-
gance of style.

Mr. Hart is at present still working upon an ideal group,
the "Triumph of Chastity,"* which has engaged his
genius for several years, and which, in the opinion of noted
foreign and American critics, will be the most perfect
achievement of modern art. The conception is entirely
original. Cupid, fully armed and equipped, is ignomin-
iously defeated in an attack upon a virgin just arrived at per-
fect womanhood. The figures are nude. An artist who has
seen the group says : " It is scarcely too much to say that,
as a carefully studied composition, evincing a thorough
knowledge of anatomy and of the subtle laws of form and
curvature, there is no modern work which may challenge
comparison with the ' Triumph of Chastity.' "

Lexington may well be proud of her great genius, Hart.
He is famous throughout the old world and the new. The
splendid productions of his chisel drew from his gifted
fellow-artist, Hiram Powers, the lofty and generous eulogy,
" Hart is the best sculptor in the world."

Judge James Haggin, for many years a distinguished
member of the Lexington bar, died of bilious fever, August

*Cor. Evening Post.

334 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1835.

21, 1835. Judge Haggin was born in 1789, and re-
moved from Mercer county, Kentucky, to Lexington, in
1810. His wife was a Miss McBrayer. Although Judge
Haggin never filled any prominent public station but that
of judge of the court of appeals with Barry, in 1824, he
was none the less known, and his influence during some of
tlie most stirring periods in the political history of the com-
monwealth was commensurate with his talents, which were
of the first order. As a land lawyer, he had no superior in
Kentucky, and he was long considered one of the ablest
jurists in the western country. Judge Haggin's residence
was on the site of the present Hocker school building, on
Broadway, between Third and Fourth streets.

Judge George Robertson settled in Lexington on the
4th of July, 1835. His parents were Virginians of Irish
descent, and were both endowed with sterling qualities of
head and heart. They emigrated to the wilderness of Ken-
tucky, and settled at Gordon's station, in 1779.

Judge Robertson was born in 1790, in that part of the then
county of Mercer which is now known as Garrard county.
After obtaining a good English education at " neighbor-
hood schools," he spent a year at Transylvania University,
and then continued his classical studies under Rev. Samuel
Finley, at Lancaster, after which he assisted that gentle-
man in teaching.

In 1808, he commenced the study of law at Lancaster,
under Martin D. Hardin, and in 1809, Judges Boyle and
Wallace of the court of appeals granted him license to
practice.

At the age of nineteen, he married Miss Eleanor, aged
sixteen, a daughter of Dr. Bainbridge, of Lancaster. The
young couple commenced life under difficulties. Poor and
inexperienced, they suffered and struggled for a time, but
the young lawyer was energetic, and in two or three years
had a good practice. He worked on, and in 1816, was
elected a representative to Congress against strong opposi-
tion, and was subsequently twice re-elected without oppo-
sition.

1835.] JVD&E GEORGE ROBERTSOX. 335

"While in Congress, he took an active part in the legisla-
tion of the nation. He drew and introduced the bill to es-
tablish a territorial government in Arkansas. On that bill
the question of interdicting slavery was introduced, and
elaborately discussed. The restriction was carried by one
vote. A reconsideration was had and the bill finallj' passed,
divested of the restriction, by the casting vote of the
speaker, Mr. Clay.

He was the author of the present system of selling public
lands in lieu of the old system and two dollars minimum;
his object being to redeem the West from debt, and pro-
mote its settlement and independence. Upon considera-
tions of expediency, tbe bill was first carried through the
senate.

After his retirement from Congress, Governor Adair ten-
dered him the appointment of attorney-general of the
state, but he declined it to pursue his profession and secure
a competence for his family. In 1822, he was elected a
representative to the legislature by the people of Garrard,
in view of the all-absorbing and all-exciting relief ques-
tions. He was made speaker of the house in 1823, and
was re-elected every session afterward while he remained
in the legislature, except the revolutionary session of 1824.
He remained in the general assembly until the relief con-
test was settled in 1826-7, and during that memorable
period several of his speeches were extensively published.
He wrote the celebrated protest of 1824, signed by the
anti-relief party in the legislature, and was also the author
of the manifesto signed by the majority in 1825-6.

Appointments to the office of governor of Arkansas, and
subsequently as minister to Bogota, were tendered him by
President Monroe, and the mission to Peru by President
Adams, but all were declined. He accepted the office of
secretary of state under Governor Metcalfe, and for many
years was professor of constitutional law in Transylvania
University.

After the rejection of the nominations of Judges Mills
and Owsley to the bench of the court of appeals, he was

336 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1835.

confirmed as a judge of that court, and subsequently com-
missioned chief justice, which elevated position he held
until April, 1843, when he resigned it to return to the bar.

He was called again to the appellate bench in 1854, and
there remained for seventeen years, being chief justice
most of that time. In the summer of 1872, after more
than half a century of public life, Judge Robertson was
stricken with paralysis, and on the 5th of September of
that year, in the city of Frankfort, he resigned his elevated
position under most affecting circumstances, and now in the
eighty-second of his age, sufl'ering, but in full possession
of all his great mental faculties, he lingers yet a little while
on this side the Jordan, in the sunshine of an honored life.
He is the last survivor of the stormy and momentous con-
gressional session, which ended in 1821. All of his con-
temporaries and colleagues of that eventful period — presi-
dent, cabinet members, senators, and representatives — have
gone before him to the mystic land.

Judge Robertson has been a laborious and persistent
studeijt, a clear, skillful, and strong speaker, noted for his
wonderful command of language, his extensive informa-
tion, and the power and grasp of his intellect. But it is as
a lawyer that he is most distinguished. He studied law as
a philosophical system; he mastered it as a science; he
investigated, reasoned, and became one of the greatest
jurists of this country. In dealing with constitutional
questions of magnitude and difficulty, he was at home in
the lists with Webster, Clay, and the other giant associates
of his life. As a judge, his decisions are consulted and
quoted, not only in the United States, but in Europe. This
venerable and distinguished citizen of Lexington still lives
in the residence he has occupied for many years, on the
corner of Mill and Hill streets.

John Boyle, at one time sole professor of law* in Tran-
sylvania University, and for sixteen years chief justice of
Kentucky, died in 1835, aged sixty-one years. He was
horn of humble parentage, in Yirginia, but married, com-

1835.] JUDGE JOHN BOYLE. 337

menced the practice of law, and began life in Garrard
county. He was three times elected to Congress on the
Jeffersonian Democratic ticket, was appointed governor of
Illinois by President Madison, and commenced his connec-
tion with the Kentucky court of appeals in 1809. His
great abilities as a jurist may be inferred from the fact that
the appointment of associate justice of the Supreme Court
of the United States was twice within his grasp, but was
declined. At the time of his death he was district judge
of Kentucky.

•University Kecords.

338 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1836.

CHAPTER LX.

Hunt's Row — Runaway Negroes and Negro Jails — Thomas
A. Marshall.

"Hunt's Row" was built in 1836, and was named by the
city council in honor of Charleton Hunt, the first mayor
of Lexington. In the summer of this year the "Lexing-
ton Ladies' Legion," composed of volunteer emigrants, left
for Texas, after having been presented with a stand of
colors.

It was not uncommon at this period, and for many years
after, for advertisements like the following to appear in the
Lexington newspapers. A cut of a negro running, and
with his bundle tied to a stick and thrown over his shoulder,
always adorned the advertisement:

"Three Hundred Dollars Reward. — Ran away from the
subscriber, living near the city of Lexington, on the night
of the 4th inst., two negroes, one a bright mulatto boy,
named Isaac, about six feet high, about twenty-five years
of age, very bushy hair, and very likely; the other, his
wife, Celia, about twenty-one years of age, very dark com-
plexion, very likely, and pretty stout built. The man had
on a broad-brim black hat, with a beaver cloth overcoat;
his other clothing not recollected. The woman's clothing
is not known.

" I will give a reward of $10 for each, if taken -in this
county; $20 each, if taken in any of the surroundino-
counties; $100 each, if taken in any county bordering on
the Ohio river, and $150 each, if taken out of the state,
and delivered to me in Lexington, or secured in jail so that
I get them, and all reasonable expenses paid."

There were several negro jails, or pens, in Lexington.

1836.] JUDGE THOMAS A. MARSHALL. 339

where negro slaves were kept, bought, and sold. The old
theater on Short street, opposite the residence of J. B.
Wilgus, was converted into one. The building now used
as the Statesman office, on Short, near Limestone street,
was another, as was also the house on Main, between Lime-
stone and Rose streets, now used as a barracks for federal
soldiers.

Thomas A. Marshall, son of Humphrey Marshall, the
author of a history of Kentucky, settled in Lexington in
1836, and was for a long series of years professor of law in
Transylvania University. Judge Marshall was born in
Woodford county, Ky., January 15, 1794.* After gradu-
ating at Yale he studied law, married a niece of Mrs. Clay
in 1816, and moved to Paris in 1819, where he practiced his
profession until elected to Congress, in 1831. Judge Mar-
shall was four years in Congress, and the same length of
time in the Kentucky legislature. He adhered to the " Old
Court" party, and was influential as a Whig leader. In
1835, he was made a judge of the court of appeals, and
served in that capacity for twenty-two years, all his terms
included. During his judgeship he ignored politics alto-
gether. He removed from Lexington in 1857, and finally
settled in Louisville, where he died, April 15, 1871.

Judge Marshall was more eminent as a jurist than in any
other respect. Pure, logical, just, and honest, he was pecu-
liarly fitted by nature for high legal station. His decisions
are the best monument of his calm greatness. 'So other
man in Kentucky did more to shape the character of our
state laws. While residing in Lexington, Judge Marshall
lived at the head of Sixth street, on the place lately owned
by Mr. John Burch.

•Louisville Courier-Journal.

^

340 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1837-8.

CHAPTER LXI.

Independent Order of Odd Fellows — Friendship, Covenant,
and Merrick Lodges — Incorporators — Halls — Lexington
Aihenceum — Railroad Festival.

The history of Odd Fellowship, in Lexington, commences
with the founding of Friendship Lodge, Wo. 5, May 6,
1837, just eighteen years after the establishment of the
'Order in the United States. The charter members of this
lodge were John Candy, T. J. Harrison, Gabriel Beach,
William Wilson, N. P. Long, Abram Spolen, and A. Mayd-
well.* The lodge was organized in the room in the rear,
and on the second floor of the building now known as
"Whitney & Co.'s drug store, on the corner of Mill and Main
streets, and there its meetings were regularly held for sev-
eral years.

The growth and prosperity of the order was such that,
on the 4th of October, 1845, Covenant Lodge, i^o. 22, was
established, its incorporators being R. T. Timberlake, C. C.
I^orton, Jesse Woodruff, George StoU, Sen., C. G. Young,
W. S. Simpson, Josephus Happy, and W. H. Newberry.
The first meeting of this lodge was held in the hall on
the corner of Church and Market streets, where the library
building now stands.

The corporators of the third and last lodge established,
Merrick, No. 31, March 3, 1856, were Daniel W. Young,
W. S. Chipley, Edgar A. Brown, Joseph Lanckart, and A.
H. Calvin. The organization of this lodge was effected,
and its meetings were held in the same building first used
by Covenant Lodge.

The meeting places of the Odd Fellows have, at different

*I. O. O. F. Eecords.

1837-8.] BALLS— ATHEN^VM, ETC. 341

times, been in Hunt's row, on Water street, in the old
Methodist Church, on Church street, between Upper and
Limestone, which was converted into a hall, and in the
Medical Hall, where the library now stands. In 1856, the
large hall, on the corner of Main and Broadway, was com-
pleted. No better indication of the rapid progress of the
order in Lexington is seen than the Grand Hall on Main
street, between Upper and Limestone, now used by all the
lodges in the city. This handsome and commodious edi-
fice was dedicated with impressive ceremonies, in the pres-
ence of a large concourse, February 3, 1870, opening prayer
by the G. C, John W. Venable, dedication charge by the
R. W. G. M., Speed S. Fry, and the oration by P. G. M.,
M. J. Durham. There is probably no city in the United
States where Odd Fellowship is in a more flourishing con-
dition than in Lexington.

The "Lexington Athenseum," a literary association, was
established in Lexington, in April, 1838, and used a room
in a building in Jordan's row.

On Wednesday, August 29, a festival, in honor of the
president and directors of the Cincinnati and Charleston
Eailroad Company, was given by the citizens of Lexington,
at which an address was delivered by General Robert T.
Hayne, president of the company.

342 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.

CHAPTER LXII.
Richard H. Mennifee.

RiCHAKD H. Mennifeb, One of the most wonderful men
that Kentucky has ever produced, settled in Lexington in
1839. He was born in Bath county, Kentucky, December
4, 1809, and was left an orphan when but four years old,
to struggle with poverty and obstacles of the most discour-
aging kind. Endowed with an ambition second only to
his great gifts, he struggled on through a wretched boy-
hood. He longed for an education, and had succeeded at
twelve years of age in entering a school, but was compelled,
after a few months, to leave it and act as bar-keeper in a
tavern in Owingsville. At fourteen, he obtained some
" winter schooling," and, when but a boy of fifteen, he
taught a school to get means to prosecute his studies; and
thus he struggled and thus he studied until he succeeded in
entering Transylvania University, where he made the most
astonishing I progress. Subsequently, after obtaining some
assistance, he studied law with Judge Trimble, and his in-
tense energy and great ability soon gained for him the
smiles of fortune.

In the spring of 1832, he was appointed commonwealth's
attorney, and, in the fall of the same year, he married the
eldest daughter of the distinguished artist, Jouett. He
was elected to the Kentucky legislature in 1836, and there
exhibited talents of so high an order that he was sent as
representative to Congress the next year. He entered Con-
gress an obscure young lawyer; he left it famous, and ac-
knowledged as one of the great men of America. He burst
upon his countrymen like a meteor long in darkness, and at
once took his owa place. His genius and his marvelous

1839.] RICHARD H. MENNIFEE. 343

eloquence were upon every tongue. At the height of his
sudden and. deserved fame, he removed to Lexington, and
measured his strength at the bar with the greatest legal
minds of the state. Business rushed to him; wealth was
at his door, and the future seemed ready to repay him for
the bitter past. In the fall of 1840 he was engaged in a
case of great magnitude, in which Clay and Wickliife were
both employed against him. He exerted himself to the
utmost and accomplished wonders ; but his mind and body,
powerfully overtaxed, never recovered their natural tone.
He sank from that time, and died, " with all his blushing
honors thick upon him," at the early age of thirty-two. Mr.
Mennifee's residence was on the Harrodsburg turnpike, the
same now occupied by John B. Huston, and formerly by
John C. Breckinridge.

344 BISTORT OF LEXINOTON. [1840.

CHAPTER LXIII.

Fros ferity of Lexington — Trade and Manufactures — Capital
Invested — Captain John Fowler.

By the year 1840, Lexington had almost recovered from
the effects of the adverse circumstances that had caused her
decline, and was again prosperous. The Lexington and
Ohio Railroad was in active operation. Seven turnpikes
ended in the city, and there were six lines of stages run-
ning, severally, to Cincinnati, Louisville, !Nashville, Mays-
ville, Richmond, and Owingsville. Six newspapers were
published, viz : Kentucky Gazette, Observer and Reporter,
Intelligencer, Independent Press, Christian Preacher, and
Transylvania Journal of Medicine.* Seven associations of
skilled mechanics were in existence, and were entitled the
Lexington Typographical Society, Union Society of Jour-
neymen Saddlers and Trunk-makers, United Society of
Cabinet-makers, Hatters' Society, Tailors and Cordwainers'
Society, and Master Carpenters' Association. There were
in the city eighteen rope and bagging factories, with a cap-
ital of $1,300,000, and employing nearly a thousand men ;f
three wholesale dry -goods and china houses ; fourteen retail
dry-goods establishments ; nine wholesale and retail gro-
ceries ; five saddler shops ; twelve blacksmith shops ; one
insurance ofiiee ; twelve restaurateurs ; one portrait painter;
three dentists; one native sculptor; ten tailor shops ; one
bookbinding establishment ; four printing offices ; ten tav-
erns ; eight barber shops ; two renovating establishments ;
three coach repositories ; thirteen doctor shops ; nine livery
stables; two carriage-making establishments; two book-
stores , two gunsmith shops ; six silversmiths ; one silver

•ObserTer and Eeporter. tDireclorj-.

1840.] PROSPERITY OF LEXINGTON. 345

plater; three clothing establishments; four tin and copper-
smith shops ; eight mantua-making houses ; two exchange
offices; three cigar factories; three confectioneries; two
commission stores ; nine boot and shoe stores ; three leather
stores; two comb factories; three upholstering and mat-
tress makers ; one morocco factory ; one truss maker ; one
lottery office ; two auction stores ; four drug stores ; one
machine shop ; a large number of carpenters ; one looking-
glass manufactory ; one Bible depository ; nine law offices;
two bath houses; one brush factory ; one wheelwright ; five
woolen factories — four driven by steam ; two steam cotton
mills ; one steam flouring mill ; one extensive iron and brass
foundry; one large wholesale iron warehouse; three tan-
yards; one marble yard; six brickyards, manufacturing
about five million bricks annually ; five batteries, one of
them employing forty or fifty hands, and carried on by
steam; and one large brewery, producing about fifteen
hundred barrels of malt liquor per year.

The capital invested in the city was : In wholesale dry
goods, $200,000 ; in retail dry goods, $1,200,000 ; in whole-
sale groceries, $450,000 ; in retail groceries, $150,000 ; in
manufacturing establishments, banks, etc., $12,000,000.
Total, $14,000,000.

Captain John Fowler, a greatly beloved and respected
citizen of Lexington, died August 22, 1840,* at the ad-
vanced age of eighty-five. Captain Fowler commanded a
company in the Revolutionary war ; was the first member
of Congress elected from this district, and was for many
years postmaster in Lexington. He was one of the best
types of the true old Virginia gentleman, and was noted
for his mental culture, generosity, refinement, and gen-
tleness. A large procession of military, firemen, benev-
olent orders, and citizens, followed him to his last resting-
place in the old Episcopal Cemetery.

»Old Gazette.

346 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1841-45.

CHAPTER LXIV.

John W. Hunt — Thomas M. Hickey — Grand Jury sent to
Jail — Financial Distress — Thomas F. Marshall — His Ca-
reer and Character — The Clay and Polk Contest — Grand
Demonstrations — Daniel Mayes — Removal of the "True
American" — C. M. Clay.

John W. Hottt, father of F. K. Hunt, died in Lexington,
August 21, 1841, aged sixty-eight years. Mr. Hunt was
born in Trenton, 'Eew Jersey. He came to Lexington at
an early day and engaged in the manufacture of hemp, at
which he accumulated a fortune. He married Miss Catha-
rine Grosh. Mr. Hunt was for a long time the president
of the old Lisurance Company, the first bank chartered in
Kentucky, and was a liberal patron of the Orphan Asy-
lum. He was a man of rare business capacity, sterling
integrity, and decision of character. He died greatly
esteemed and respected by his fellow-citizens.

On the 27th of December, 1842, Thomas M. Hickey,
another prominent citizen, departed this life. Judge
Hickey was born in Lexington of Irish parentage, in Oc-
tober, 1797, and rose to position and usefulness by his own
energy and ability. He was educated at Transylvania
University, studied law with Judge Haggin and was his
partner in practice for some time. In 1828, he was ap-
pointed judge of the circuit court by Governor Desha,
which position he held for about ten years He was twice
married. His first wife was a daughter of Oliver Keene,
and his second the widow of William T. Barry. His mind
was specially adapted to close legal investigations, and as
a judge he was remarkable for his clear head and fine
reasoning powers. An amusing incident is connected with
the iudge. On one occasion, while the grand jury, of

1841-45.] TBOMAS F. MARSHALL. 347

■which Mr. Benjaniui Gratz was foreman, was ruaking ex-
aminations in regard to the existence of gambling-houses
in Lexington, two of the witnesses refused to testify. The
jury informed the judge of the fact and refused to proceed
in the matter unless the witnesses were compelled to answer
questions put to them. The judge construed the action of
the grand jury as contempt of court and sent them all to
jail, where they were kept for a day or two, much to the
amusement of the citizens, who nevertheless justified them
in their course.

In 1843, Lexington felt the full force of the financial
troubles which had been growing in intensity for many
years. Bankruptcies multiplied, all improvements were
suspended, the court dockets were cowded with lawsuits,
and heavy sacrifices of property were incurred by forced
sales under execution. It was only after much suffering
that business again became settled and prosperous.

That great and brilliant orator and erratic wonder,
Thomas F. Marshall, was long identified with the bar and
city of Lexington. In 1843, his law oflice was on the first
floor of the Press building, on the corner of Short and
Market streets.

Thomas F. Marshall, son of Dr. Lewis Marshall, was
born in Frankfort, Kj., June 7, 1801,* though his father's
home place was in Woodford county, Ky. His early edu-
cation was conducted by his mother, after which he was
trained by some of the best classical scholars, including his
father. He was never sent to college. His intense appli-
cation to books and study prostrated his health, and it was
not until he was twenty-five that he was able to commence
his favorite pursuit— the law. After studying for two years
under Hon. John J. Crittenden, he was licensed to practice,
and settled down in Versailles, the county seat of Wood-
ford; and, in 1832, as the friend of Henry Clay, was sent
for the first time to the legislature, where he at once ex-
hibited his astonishing gifts. Impelled by a restlessness
which never left him, he removed to Louisville in 1833,
intending to devote himself to his profession ; for he was,

•Barre.

348 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [184:-4B.

to use his own expression, " steeped in poverty to the very
lips." But he was soon again in political life, and twice
represented the city in the legislature.

In 1837, he ran for Congress against Mr. Graves, the
regular Whig nominee, and was, of course, beaten by an
immense majority. He returned at once to Woodford, was
elected the next year to the legislature, was rejected as
ineligible for want of a full year's residence, but was elected
again without opposition, and the next year also. During
all this time he was the staunch advocate in debate and
with his pen of the slave law of 1832.* He was elected to
Congress from the Ashland district without opposition in
1841. He spoke often in Congress, though but two of his
speeches were fully reported. Disgusted with the manner
in which his first speech was reported, with characteristic
irritability he insulted the reporters, and ordered them "not
to attempt again to pass upon the public their infernal gib-
berish for his English." The reporters revenged them-
selves by ignoring his speeches and squibbing him in their
letters from Washington. At this session, Mr. Marshall
would not support the Whigs in several important meas-
ures, and both voted and argued against Mr. Clay's bank bill.
He contended that the party had departed from its princi-
ples, and ridiculed the Tyler administration on the floor, say-
ing that when the history of the country was written, that
administration might be put in a parenthesis and defined
from Lindley Murray, " a parenthesis to be the clause of a
sentence inclosed between black lines or brackets, which
should be pronounced in a low tone of voice, and might be
left out altogether without injuring the sense."

In 1843, he pubHcly announced his resolution not to sup-
port Mr. Clay for the presidency ,t and from that time he
either acted with the Democratic party or in some other
connection opposed to the Whigs. In 1845, he ran for
Congress, but was beaten in the Whig stronghold by Hon.
Garrett Davis. Subsequently he raised a troop of cavalry
and served in the Mexican war. He edited the "Old

*Barre.

tid.

1841-45] THOMAS F. MAHSHALL. 349

Guard" in 1850, in opposition to the present constitution ;
opposed tlie American party in 1855, and removed to
Chicago in 1856, but returned the same year ; sojourned in
Lexington, and canvassed so energetically for Mr. Bu-
chanan as to again almost destroy his health.

Mr. Marshall spent the most of his time in Lexington
during the late war, and from its commencement warmly
advocated the cause of the South. So strenuously in fact,
that he was, at one time, under arrest in Lexington. The ex-
citements of the war and his own imprudences told rapidly
on his shattered constitution, and Mr. Marshall died of
disease of the heart and lungs, at his old home in Wood-
ford, on Thursday, September 22, 1864.

In person, Mr. Marshall was tall, very erect, and well
proportioned. In the latter part of his life, the hair upon
his expansive forehead was thin, his beard heavy, and his
fine eyes as full of lustre and of fire as of old.

"Tom" Marshall fought more duels, and said more good
things than any great man of his day. Had he been tem-
perate, had he been true and just to himself, and to the
high and noble faculties vouchsafed to him by God, he
would have fulfilled all the loftiest expectations entertained
of him. He would have been one of the master spirits of
this country. He was a fine scholar, and his knowledge of
the languages in particular, he always kept up. He was
thoroughly grounded in the principles of law, and was a
very giant at the bar. He was as great a writer as he was
a speaker, as the pages of the "Old Guard" will show.
His information was immense, and his knowledge of the
world's history and of the political history of the United
States was simply wonderful. Contrary to a popular fallacy
in regard to both himself and Mr. Clay, his speeches were
the result of hard study and labor, and not of extempore
inspiration.

His eloquence was full of glowing and tropical magnifi-
cence and luxuriance, and he painted word pictures upon
the minds of men, as Raphael painted upon canvas. While
he rarely moved the deepest feelings of the heart, he never
failed to excite almost idolatrous admiration. He was

350 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1841-45.

sometimes low when he should have been lofty, and often
grotesquely humorous, when he should have been great.
He was a wild, wayward, and wonderful man of talent and
genius. Prentice, his great contemporary, who knew him
so well and who resembled hira in so many particulars,
sums up the character of Thomas F. Marshall in these few,
but eloquent words : " The people seemed to think, and so
did he, that his greatest powers were wit, humor, fancy,
poetry, and eloquence. He had all these, but his chief
power was none of these. It was argument, logic— stern,
inexorable cast-steel logic. His other powers, great as they
were, served but as adornments of the limbs of his giant
logic. 'Eo orator had greater resources in debate. They
were inexhaustible, and rendered him unconquerable.
Men think of him and muse upon him as he appeared
to them in the long past, and they fancy themselves gazing
upon a bright star seen through a golden haze."

The political events of the summer of 1844, in Lexing-
ton, will long be remembered by all who participated in
the desperate struggle between Clay and Polk, in that
memorable presidential campaign. "Whigs and Democrats
labored faithfully night and day for their standard-bearers,
and barbecues, torch-light processions, pole-raisings, and
mass-meetings seemed destined to never end. The grand-
est political demonstrations ever witnessed in Lexington
took place in July, of this year. On Saturday, the 20th,
an immense procession of Democrats, with music, banners,
polk-stalks, military companies, and game " roosters,"
erected a lofty hickory pole, after which the assembled
concourse was addressed by those distinguished orators,
John Pope and Thomas P. Marshall.

The "Whigs were not to be thus outdone. The Clay
clubs of Fayette organized a grand tableaux procession,
which marched the next Saturday, with flags flying, drums
beating, and men screaming, " Hurrah for Clay ! " In this
brilliant display, every branch of industry in the county of
Fayette and city of Lexington was appropriately repre-
sented in wagons decked for the occasion. The chief

1841-45.] CASSIVS M. CLAY. 351

feature of the day was the presentation of banners to the
Clay clubs by the Whig ladies of the community.

Daniel Mayes, long a citizen of Lexington, judge of the
circuit court, and professor of law in Transylvania Univer-
sity, died in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1844. He married
the widow of Charles Humphreys. In pure law argu-
ments and clear analysis. Judge Mayes had no superior at
the Lexington bar of his day.

On the 18th of August, 1845, at a great meeting, in Lex-
ington, of the best citizens of Central Kentucky, irrespect-
ive of party, it was resolved that the press and materials
of the "True American," an anti-slavery newspaper con-
ducted in Lexington by Mr. Cassius M. Clay, should be
sent beyond the confines of the state. A committee was
accordingly appointed, which proceeded immediately to
Safely box up the articles, and ship them to Cincinnati,
after which, Mr. Clay was notified of the address of the
house to which they had been sent subject to his order,
with all charges and expenses paid. Mr. Clay subsequently
obtained a judgment for $2,500 against two of the com-
mittee, which amount was paid by citizens of Eayette and
adjoining counties. The office of the " True American"
was located on Mill street, in the rear part of the building
now known as Whitney's drug store.

Cassius Marcellus Clay is a son of General Green Clay,
and was born in Madison county, Kentucky, October 19,
1810. He was a student at Transylvania University, but
graduated at Tale College, in 1832. He has represented
Madison and Fayette each in the legislature. In 1839 he
removed to Lexington, and on June 3, 1845, issued the first
copy of the " True American," devoted to the overthrow of
slavery in Kentucky. He commanded the " Old Infantry "
in the Mexican War, was captured at Encarnacion, and
was a prisoner for some time. On his return home, he was
presented with a sword. Hubsequently, Mr. Clay was min-
ister to Russia. Mr. Clay is dauntless and unfaltering in
whatever he believes is right. He resides at present in
Madison county, Kentucky.

352 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1846.

CHAPTER LXV.

War with Mexico — Bolls of Beard's and Clay's Companies —
Incidents — W. Mentelle.

The trouble between the United States and Mexico,
growing out of the annexation of Texas, resulted in a dec-
laration of war by the Federal Congress, May 11, 1846,
and a call for fifty thousand volunteers. Hardly a week
after these exciting events, a great war-meeting was held
in Lexington, and the organization of a number of com-
panies was commenced. Only two companies, however,
were perfected, and these were only accepted on condition
of going as mounted infantry. The following are com-
plete lists of the officers and men belonging to the com-
panies, which were commanded respectively by Captains
Oliver H. P. Beard and Cassius M. Clay, and were attached
to Colonel Humphrey Marshall's regiment:

Captain Beard's Company. — Oliver H. P. Beard, cap-
tain; John H. Morgan, first lieutenant; Lowry J. Beard,
second lieutenant ; T. L. Campbell, first sergeant ; A. S.
Jouett, second sergeant ; N". B. Scott, third sergeant ; Ed-
mund Protzman, fourth sergeant ; C. F. Coppage, first cor-
poral; Kichard Adams, second corporal; Isaac Smith,
third corporal; S. 0. Berry, fourth corporal; James "W.
Forsee, first musician , Thomas Bryan, second musician ;
Isaac Sheppard, blacksmith; James F. Megowan, Calvin
C. Morgan, William Weigart, John M. Lowe, James M.
Taylor, Edward McCarty, Lawrence Daly, R. P. Whitney,
Henry Bitterman, Henry Parrott, Abner Hudgins, James
B. Harris, Edward Long, Samuel P. Bascom, George
Hampton, A. B. Weigart, Henry Carty, G. W. Carter,
Hervey Cummings, H. I. Mclntyre, John Dishman, W. W-
Bayles, M. W. McCracken, James Mahoney, William Bow-
man, Ezekiel Twaits, Henry Fox, R. H. Jeter, James Wait,

1846.] WAR WITH MEXICO. 353

C. Jackson, M. Barrone, C. Jones, William Rainey, B.
Castleman, S. R. Patterson, John Gallegher, A. G. Morgan,
J. J. Levasy, J. W. Levasy, Robert Anderson, James Moore,
Christopher Tempy, William Thomas, G. W. Runyan, S.
E. Roberts, George M. Gorham, James G. Martin, William
Fitzpatrick, David Sheppard, James Leonard, John Wise
Carver, Sylvester Conover, Samuel Byles, Joseph J. Pat-
terson, Thomas O'Haver, Thomas T. Hawkins, G. W. M.
Delph, William Twaits, Samuel Pigg, Eli Estill, John Shel-
ton, G. B. Williams, J. B. Callaghan, James G. Burch.

Captain Clay's Company. — C. M. Clay, captain; Jesse
Woodruff, first lieutenant; Geo. M. Brown, second lieuten-
ant ; James B. Woodruff, first sergeant; Enoch Bryan, sec-
ond sergeant; Robert C. Richardson, third sergeant; Sam-
uel P. Wilmott, fijurth sergeant ; S. Lanckhart, first corpo-
ral ; J. M. Friday, second corporal ; W. H. MuUay, third
corporal; James Schooley, fourth corporal; W. D. Rad-
cliffe, farrier; Geo. Mason, musician. Privates — Alfred
Argabright, Wm. Beaver, Ambrose Burton, John W.
Bell, Henry C. Beaver, David Barry, A. G. Bryan, A. C.
Bryan, James Bailey, Geo. W. Benjamin, S. L. Barkley,
Hubbard Buckner, Dempsey Carroll, David Curtis, Nathan-
iel Crouch, B. A. Chapman, J. C. Currie, W. Duke, Charles
C. Ellis, Richard L. Ellis, John C. Faulkner, John J.
Finch, Henry M. Gaylord, R. M. Gaines, Jr., John Galla-
gher, Wm. Glass, Henry H. Hillox, Wesley Holley, Har-
rison Igo, James S. Jackson, Henry C. Jackson, David C.
Jones, G. Lanckhart, John W. Letcher, John McMain,
James McGuire, James H. Miller, Thomas Maupin, C. E,
Mooney, J. L. Merchant, Lewis H. Nicholson, W. S. Pren-
tiss, Thomas Powell, James Poindexter, J. J. Phillips, Sam.
E. Rogers, Wm. Ragin, John Richardson, Lewis H. Red-
man, Wm. Smith, Alexander Sumk, Geo. W. Snj'der,
Henry Seesill, Wm. Shaw, John Staflbrd, Geo. Step, John
H. Simpson, Charles Taylor, Jos. Thornton, Jackson Tay-
lor, James M. Taylor, Thomas Weigart, Thomas White,
Jackson Yarbour, Alfred Young.

On the 4th of June, the volunteers started for Louisville,
having accomplished their organization and equipment in

354 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1846.

less than two weeks. On the day the soldiers bade adieu
to Lexington, to which many of them were destined never
to return alive, they gathered at Morrison College and
were addressed by Professor McCown, and each man was
presented with a Bible. The reply to the address was made
by the adjutant of the regiment, E. M. Vaughn, who after-
ward fell so heroically at Buena Vista. The solemn and
affecting farewell ceremonies concluded with prayer by the
Eev. J. H. Brown, of the Second Presbyterian Church.

On the 9th of June, at Louisville, the companies were
mustered into service by the celebrated Colonel George
Croghan, and on the 4tb of July following, they embarked
on the steamer "Bunker Hill " for Memphis, from which
place they went overland to Little Rock, and through
Texas to Camargo, on the Rio Grande, when they entered
Mexico. There we leave them to rejoin them again in our
next chapter.

WaldemardeMentelle, an early resident and greatly re-
spected citizen of Lexington, died June 26, 1846. He was
born in Paris, France, in 1769 ; his father was a member
of the French National (scientific) Institute, and was the
author of a geography. His family adhered to the cause
of their unfortunate sovereigns, Louis XVI and his brave
and beautiful queen. Mr. Mentelle and his accomplished
wife fled from France at the commencement of the Reign
of Terror to escape the savage mob then in power, and,
coming to America, settled in Lexington, where they lived
until the day of their death. Mr. Mentelle was for many
years connected both with the old United States Bank and
Northern Bank, and is still well remembered as one of the
most amiable, polite, and cultivated gentlemen of the old
school. He preserved, to his latest days, all the virtues
and manners of the ante-revolution Frenchman.

184V.] BATTLE OF BVENA VISTA.

356

CHAPTER XLVI.

Battle of Buena Visfa—Incidents— The Charge on Marshall's
Regiment — Lexington's Dead— Return of the Volunteers-
Welcome Home — Honors to the Slain.

The volunteers from Lexington did not reach Mexico
until after the battle of Monterey, owing to unavoidable
delays incident to army organization and the error of going
by land. .Ifo incident vrorthy of special mention occurred
before the battle of Buena Vista, except the capture by the
Mexicans of Captain C. M. Clay and ten of his men, at
Encarnacion. Lieutenant Jesse Woodruff then took the
captain's place and commanded the company from that
time until its return home. The Encarnacion prisoners
were only released after a long and dreary confinement.

Both of the Lexington companies had a large and glorious
share in the bloody and gallantly contested battle of Buena
Vista, which occurred on the 22d and 23d of February,
1847, and to their share in the fight we confine ourself.
Marshall's regiment occupied the post of honor on the ex-
treme left of the line, on a plateau which had a ravine both
in the front and rear of the command. The men dis-
mounted and fought as infantry. It was in this position
that Marshall's regiment was charged upon by an over-
whelming force of Mexican lancers and hussars. We give
Captain Beard's account* of the scene which ensued :

" The enemy came rushing down the hill like so many
devils, cursing us, and crying no quarter! As soon as we
reached our horses we made for the plain, and when we
turned the foot of the mountain, we discovered about four
thousand lancers at full speed trying to cut us off. It beg-

*Letter in Observer and Reporter.

356' BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1847.

gars all description to relate what followed. We had a
deep ravine to cross, with rugged banks to climb, and only
one could pass at a time. In ascending, my horse reared
back and threw me within fifty yards of the enemy. I
succeeded in reaching the opposite bank," however, but was
compelled to witness the murdering of six of my best men,
without being able to render them any assistance, viz : A,
G. Morgan, Clement Jones, N"athaniel Kamey, "William
Thwaits, Henry Oarty, ^nd "William Bayles, all of whom
died with their faces to the enemy. They fought with
desperation, until, overpowered by superior numbers, they
were run through with the enemy's lances." In this terri-
ble charge. Adjutant E. M. Vaughn, of Lexington, and
private Thomas "Weigert, of Captain Clay's company, were
killed. Two other gallant sons of Lexington died upon
this sanguinary field. The brave Colonel "William "R. McKee
fell badly wounded, but struggled heroically until over-
powered by the enemy, who stabbed him to death with
their bayonets as he lay upon the ground. Lieutenant-
colonel. Henry Clay, or " Young Henry," as he was oom-
monly called, having been wounded, was being borne from
the field by a detachment of his men — by whom he was
greatly beloved — when a discharge of grape-shot from the
enemy's batteries killed three of the men, and inflicted
another and mortal wound upon him. He commanded his
men te leave him and save themselves. They did so, A
moment more, and a Mexican lance pierced his bosom
and his heart's blood sealed his devotion to his country. '
One of the thousand incidents of the battle has a home
interest. The Lexington boys had nothing to eat and but
little to drink for two days; but Lieutenant John H. Mor-
gan, afterward the famous cavalry leader of the South,
had succeeded in procuring a canteen of water. An officer
of an Indiana regiment saw the precious fluid, and, parched
with the thirst which then tormented all the army, eagerly
offered him "twenty-five dollars for a drink." Morgan
shared it with him, remarking that " a Kentuekian never
accepted money for water."

After the battle, the Lexington companies sadly gathered

1847.] LEXINGTON'S DEAD.

357

their dead heroes, whose bodies were found covered thick
with wounds from Mexican lances. No timber grew near
the battle-ground, so the brave volunteers were wrapped in
their soldier-blankets and buried in coffins made from the
sides and bottoms of army-wagons, and the same material
furnished the simple head-boards which bore their names
and marked their honored graves. They were buried near
the little blood-baptized village of Buena Vista, which
then became doubly fraught with mournful interest to
Lexington.

The news of the battle was received in Lexington while
the circuit court was in session. It was immediately ad-
journed in respect to the Kentucky slain, and the citizens
offered every token of sympathy and regard to the families
of the soldiers who had so gloriously fallen.

On the 12th of April, 1847,* a great public meeting was
held, at which tbe following committee on resolutions was
appointed, viz : John C. Breckinridge, M. C. Johnson, E.
A. Buckner, R. Wickliffe, Sen., Edward Oldham, Waller
Bullock, Geo. K Trotter, J. 0. Harrison, Robt. K Wick-
liffe, Edward A. Dudley, Jas. L. Hickman, and George B.
Kinkead. The committee reported as follows :

" The gallant deeds of our brave sons who shed their blood
on the glorious battle-field of Buena Vista, have added ad-
ditional lustre to the Kentucky character for courage and
patriotism, and it is just and proper that their dead bodies
should not remain in a foreign country and on an enemy's
soil, but that they should be removed to their native land,
and rest under the protection of their kindred and friends.

"Besolved, therefore, That while the citizens of Lexington
and Fayette county rejoice with those who survived that
memorable conflict of arms, and congratulate them on its
great result, they mourn and sympathize with the friends
and families of those who fell in battle, and will take im-
mediate measures to remove their bodies for interment in
Kentucky.

"Resolved, That Capt. George P. Jouett and Nelson Dud-

*Oity Papers.

358 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1847.

ley, Esq., be requested and appointed to proceed to the
battle-ground of Buena Yista in Mexico, and bring home the
bodies of Col. Wm. R. McKee, Lieut, Col. Henry Clay, Jr.,
Adjutant Edward M. Vaughn, and Messrs. A. G. Morgan,
"Wm. W. Bayles, Clement Jones, Nathaniel Ramey, Henry
Carty, "Wm. Thwaits, and Thomas "Weigert."

About the middle of June, 1847, the volunteers returned
to- Lexington, Captain Clay's company being under the
command of Lieutenant Jesse "Woodruff. Captain Beard's
company went out with seventy-eight men and returned
with forty-three. Captain Clay's, which had numbered
seventy-five, had fifty-four left. The soldiers were wel-
comed home by an enthusiastic crowd of citizens and mil-
itary, and were addressed by Judge George R. Trotter, and
soon after their return a grand barbecue was given in their
horior. Captain Clay, after a painful and protracted im-
prisonment, returned iu December and was warmly greeted
and congratulated.

The bodies of the heroes who had fallen, were tenderly
conveyed frbih their distant resting places to a glory bed
prepared for them in the Frankfort cemetery by the com-
monwealth, whose honor they had so nobly defended.

There, on Tuesday, July 20, 1847, an immense concourse
assembled at the spot where now rises the stately and beau-
tiful monument erected t6 the Kentucky soldiers who fell
in the war with Mexico. After appropriate and impressive
ceremonies, an oration was delivered by General John C.
Breckinridge and an address by Rev. John H. Brown. The
remains of the lamented dead were then borne to the
graves by the pall-bearers, and after a military salute of three
guns by the whole line of infantry and rifles, the ceremo-
nies were concluded by the Masonic fraternity. The bodies
were then lowered into the graves, and the most impressive
scene of the day transpired. By an apparently impulsive
movement, the large body of returned volunteers, headed
by Colonel Humphrey Marshall, formed in line, marched
around the graves uncovered, and in that way left the
grounds with slow and solemn tread, and with sincere sor-
row depicted in every countenance. It was a silent, but

184T.] HONORS TO THE SLAIN. 359

impressive manifestation of their feelings, which was com-
municated to all around. Three rounds of blank cartridges
were then fired from the whole line, and the burial was
completed. It was this solemn and beautiful occasion
which inspired the gifted Theodore O'Hara to pen that
unequaled martial requiem, the "Bivouac of the Dead,"
commencing with that sublime stanza :

" The muffled drum's sad roll has beat

The soldier's last tattoo;
Ko more on life's parade shall meet

That brave and daring few.
On Fame's eternal camping ground

Their silent tents are spread,
And Glory guards with solemn round

The bivouac of the dead."

360 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1848-49.

CHAPTER LXVII.

Telegraph — Kentucky Statesman — Cholera — Lexington Ceme-
tery — A. K. Woolley.

In 1848, a telegraph line was established between Lex-
ington and Louisville, and the first message was flashed
over the wires on the 6th of March of that year.

The Kentucky Statesman, a Democratic newspaper, was
established by a company in Lexington, and B. B. Taylor
became its first editor. The first number of the paper ap-
peared October 6, 1849. The Statesman existed about thir-
teen years.

The cholera appeared in Lexington again in 1849, and a
number of deaths resulted from it.

A revision of the State constitution was demanded by the
people in 1849, and a convention was accordingly ordered
for that purpose. The delegates elected from Fayette
county were James Dudley and Robert Nelson Wickliffe.
The convention assembled in Frankfort, and after three
months' discussion and consultation, anew form of govern-
ment was produced and the convention adjourned tempo-
rarily until the people pronounced upon it.

Though an act was passed by the legislature in Febru-
ary, 1848, incorporating the Lexington Cemetery, it was
really not established until the year following. At an acci-
dental meeting of Messrs. M. T. Scott, Benjamin Gratz, M.
C. Johnson, and Kichard Higgins, on the 23d of January,
1849, it was resolved that each one use every exertion to
obtain a sufficient sum by subscription for the purpose of
purchasing a suitable site for a cemetery and for the in-
closing and laying out of the same. Their eflbrts were suc-
cessful, and on February 12, 1849, the original charter was
amended with the following gentlemen as incorporators, viz :

1848-49.1 LEXINGTON CEMETERT. 361

Benj. Gratz, M. T. Scott, M. C. Johnson, Richard Higgins,
S. Swift, Joel Higgins, David A. Sayre, John Tilford, A, T.
Sisillman, E. K. Sayfe, Robert Wickliffe, T. Hemingway,
John W. Tilford, John Lutz, D. M.Oraig, A. F. Hawkins,
Benjamin "Warfield, Robert J. Breckinridge, E. Warfield,
G. W. Sutton, John Brand, H. T. Duncan, a^d Edward
Macalister.

Shortly after the passage of this act, the beautiful wood-
land of Thomas E. Boswell, containing forty acres, and in-
cluded in the present cemetery property, was purchased
for $7,000.

The grounds were rapidly improved, and, on the 25th of
June, 1850, the cemetery was solemnly dedicated. The
business houses of the city were closed, and an immense
procession, composed of the Masonic bodies. Odd Fellows,
Sons of Temperance, societies of Transylvania University,
and citizens in carriages and on foot, proceeded to the cem-
etery. An opening prayer, by the Rev. Dr. Miller, of the
Methodist Church, was followed by an ode, composed for
the occasion by Professor P. S. Ruter, of Transylvania
University, and concluding with this stanza :

"O thou God 1 our Friend and Father I
May the names these grave-stones bear,
When we all shall rise together,
In thy Book of Life appear."

The dedication sermon was by R. J. Breckinridge, pastor
of the First Presbyterian Cburch, and the closing prayer
was delivered by Rev. E. F. Berkley, of the Episcopal

Church.

Under the management of Superintendent Bell, the Lex-
ington Cemetery has grown more and more lovely each
succeeding year, until now, in point of beauty, it has no
superior in the United States. There many brave Confed-
erate and Federal soldiers sleep their last sleep, and there
repose a host of Kentucky's greatest and best children.

Judge Aaron K. WooUey was one of the victims of the
cholera of 1849. He was bora in New Jersey, and, after
completing his education at West Point, settled in Lexing-

362 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1848-49.

ton, and married a daughter of Robert WickliflFe, Sen. He
represented Fayette in the legislature in 1834; was for
some time judge of the circuit court, and also professor
in the law college of Transylvania CTniversity. He was a
good lawyer and a fine speaker, possessed of a strong,
clear intellect, and gifted with fine conversational powers.
He died aged about fifty years.

1850.] POPULATION. 363

CHAPTER LXVIII.

Population — New Constitution — County Court — B. F. Graves
—R. Wickliffe, Jr.

The population of Lexington in 1850 was seven thou-
sand nine hundred and twenty.

The constitution framed by the convention of 1849, was
approved by the people of Kentucky at the May election
of 1850, and, in June following, the convention reassem-
bled, and proclaimed the present constitution to be the
fundamental law of the state. The population of Fayette
county at this time was twenty-two thousand seven hun-
dred and thirty-five. In 1850, Benjamin T. Graves became
county judge, being the first judge elected in Fayette under
the present constitution of Kentucky.

Judge Graves was born in Fayette county, Kentucky,
February 16, 1802. His father, John C. Graves, a Vir-
ginian, was one of the earliest settlers of this county, having
immigrated to it in 1781. In early life, Judge Graves was
engaged in the hat, fur, and tobacco trade. He was fre-
quently elected a member of the city council. While
serving in this capacity, a subscription was asked of the
city for Transylvania University, and by him was made the
proposition that the University should give the city fifty-
five scholarships. The proposition was carried, and there
are to-day numbers of young men in this and adjoining
states, who, through his instrumentality, were enabled to
fit themselves for the positions of honor and trust they now

occupy.*

The best index to his character is the fact that he
commenced the study of law at the age of forty, per-

»Sketoh.

364 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [I860.

severed under many discouragements, and in due time
was admitted to the bar. In 1859, he was elected mayor
of Lexington. He has been four times elected judge of the
county court, and if he completes his present term, will
have been judge for sixteen years. Judge GraVes is a man
of no ordinary ability and character. Fayette county will
never have a more faithful judge.

Judges County Court— 1850, B. F. Graves; 1854, B. F.
Graves; 1858, 0. D. Carr; 1862, C. D. Carr; 1866, B. F.
Graves ; 1870, B. F. Graves.

Robert Wicklifi'e — son of Robert Wickliffe, Sen., the able
pioneer land lawyer — died August 29, 1850, at the early age
of thirty-five. R. Wickliffe, Jr., graduated at Transyl-
vania University, studied law, represented Fayette in the
legislature, and was charge d' affaires to Sardinia from the
United States. He worked hard at his profession, and
became a good lawyer and an effective speaker, but excelled
as a scholar, being specially accomplished in the ancient
and modern languages. Mr. Wickliffe was a man of un-
usually fine personal appearance. He was summoned to the
great beyond in his early manhood, when his life seemed
most full of promise.

1861.] RAILROADS. 365

CHAPTER LXIX.

Railroads — Lexington and Danville — Maysville and Lexing-
ton — Lexington and Covington.

The railroad subject interested Lexington and Fayette
county in 1851. On the 22d of March, |200,000 waa
voted to the Lexington and Danville Railroad, and the
same amount to the Maysville and Lexington road. The
first directors of the last-named road were Henry Waller,
J. W. Cochran, F. T. Hord, A. J. January, W. S. Allen,
and Christopher Shultz. The first train, from Lexington
to Paris, went over this road December 22, 1853. For years
no work was done on the Lexington and Maysville road,
and the only part of the road completed, viz : from Lex-
ington to Paris, was leased and finally purchased by the
Kentucky Central Company.

The sum of $200,000 was voted by Lexington and Fay-
ette to the Lexington and Covington Railroad, September
6, 1851. The road was completed from Cincinnati to Paris
by the fall of 1854, when the first through train from Cin-
cinnati arrived in Lexington. This road was advocated as
far back as 1841.

366 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1852.

CHAPTER LXX.

Visit of Scott and Wool — Lexington and Big Sandy Hail-
road — Failure and Revival of the Road — John C. Breckin-
ridge — Funeral of Henry Clay.

Generals Winfield Scott and "Wool arrived in Lexing-
ton September 29, 1852, and during their brief stay ad-
dressed a large crowd of citizens. This was during the
political campaign which resulted in the election of Pierce
for president, General Scott being the Whig candidate.

In January, 1852, the Lexington and Big Sandy Railroad
Company was incorporated by the Kentucky legislature, and
the following persons were appointed to receive subscriptions
to the capital stock : Eobert "Wieklifl'e, Thomas B. Megowan,
D. C. Payne, Jacob Hughes, and Thomas Hughes, of Fay-
ette county; Joseph H. Richard, A. Trumbo, John W.
Barnes, M. R. Conner, and John W. Richards, of Bath
county; B. J. Peters, W. H. Smith, Peter Everett, Joseph
Bondurant, and Burwell S. Tipton, of Montgomery county;
George W. Crawford, R. G. Carter, Jackson B. "Ward,
John K. Hord, and D. K. Wies, of Carter county; William
Hampton, John Culver, William T. Nicholls, William
Geiger, and Hugh Means, of Greenup county.

The company was organized with R. A. Apperson as
president, and on the 18th of September, 1852, the city of
Lexington subscribed, $150,000 to it. Ground was broken
at Cattlesburg, Saturday, November 19, 1853, and the work
was proceeded with. In the summer of 1854, application
was made by the company for the issuing of the bonds of
the city of Lexington for $100,000, which was refused, on
the ground that the railroad company had not complied
with the conditions of its contract. The company insti-
tuted proceedings in the circuit court, which ordered the

1862.] FUNERAL OF HENRY CLAY. 367

issuing of the bonds, which was done July 6, 1854, under
protest by the city authorities. Subsequently the company
failed, the whole amount was lost, work ceased on the road,
and in 1860 it was sold to a few gentlemen for $60,000.

For many years the whole project was substantially aban-
doned, but was finally revived under the charter of the
present Elizabethtown, Lexington and Big Sandy Railroad
Company, and on the 2d of August, 1869, Fayette county
and the city of Lexington each subscribed $250,000 to its
stock, the property and rights of the western division of
the old company were merged in the new one, work was
again commenced on the road in 1871, and on March 2,
1872, twenty years after the chartering of the original com-
pany, the first rail was laid on Water street, in Lexington.
The road is now completed to Mt. Sterling, and its affairs
and prospects are most satisfactory.

General John C. Breckinridge, the vice-president of the
Elizabethtown, Lexington and Big Sandy Railroad Com-
pany, was born near Lexington, January 21, 1821. He was
educated at Centre College, graduated at the Transylvania
law school, commenced the practice of his profession in
Lexington, and married Miss Birch, of Georgetown, Ken-
tucky. He served as major in the Mexican war, has been
a member of the legislature, representative and senator in
congress, vice-president of the United States, and major-
general and secretary of war of the late Confederate States.
The brilliant career of this distinguished Lexingtonian, in
the forum, in the field, and in the councils of the nation,
indicate the rare gifts and great endowments of the man.

Henry Clay died in "Washington City, Tuesday, June 2,
1852. The sad news was at once dispatched to Lexington,
and immediately upon its reception the bells were tolled,
the business houses were closed, badges of mourning
appeared on every side, and all ceased from their usual
avocations.* The mayor immediately issued a proclama-
tion for a public meeting of the citizens, which was accord-
ingly held in the court-house the next day, for the purpose

*0b8erTer and Keporter.

368 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1852.

of giving expression to their feelings of sorrow for the loss
of their distinguished fellow-citizen, to make arrangements
for the reception of his earthly remains, and to perform
such other acts as were deemed worthy of the occasion.

The meeting was called to order by Mayor E. "W. Dow-
den, and on his motion, Dr. Benjamin "W". Dudley was
appointed chairman, and Benjamin Gratz, secretary.

The meeting was opened with an appropriate prayer by
the E.ev. William M. Pratt, of the Baptist Church. Judge
George Robertson then rose and offered some eminently
appropriate resolutions, which he accompanied with a brief
but eloquent speech, in reference to the great loss which
had been sustained in the death of Mr. Clay. The question
was then taken, and the resolutions were unanimously
adopted.

During the meeting, initiatory steps were taken toward
the erection of a monument to Mr. Clay in the Lexington
Cemetery, and the following committee was appointed to
effect that object, viz : H. T. Duncan, M. T. Scott, Dr. E.
Warfield, Leslie Combs, H. B. Hill, John McMurtry, G. B.
Kinkead, Richard A. Buckner, J. R. Desha, Willa Viley,
John C. Breckinridge.

The committee appointed to repair to Washington and
accompany the body home was composed of George Rob-
ertson, H. T. Duncan, E. P. Johnson, R. Pindell, D. C.
Wicklifte, Henry Bell, James A. Grinstead, H. C. Payne,
Thomas S. Redd, Charles B. Thomas, C. C. Rogers, A.
Throckmorton, W. W. Worsley, and A. G. Hodges.

Messrs. B, Gratz, M. C. Johnson, E. W. Dowden, H. C.
Pindell, J. B. Tilford, J. O. Harrison, W. S. Chipley, S. D.
McCuUough, William A. Dudley, Thomas G. Randall, F.
K. Hunt, E. Oldham, and John R. Dunlap were appointed
a committee of arrangements for the reception and inter-
ment of the remains.

A resolution, offered by Major S. D. McCullough, request-
ing the ministers of the various religious congregations
in Lexington and Eayette county to deliver appropriate
addresses on the death of Mr. Clay, at their several places
of worship, on the following Sunday, was unanimously

1852.] FUNERAL OF HENRY CLAr. 369

adopted, as was also a motioa by Dr. S. M. Letcher to
transmit the proceedings of the meeting to Mrs. Clay. The
meeting then adjourned.

The body of the illustrious orator was detained in all the
larger cities through which it passed, en route to Lexington,
that the highest honors might be paid it, and it was not
until the evening of Friday, the 9th of July, that it arrived
in Lexington, accompanied by the senatorial committee,
consisting of Messrs. Underwood, Jones, of Tennessee,
Cass, Fish, Houston, and Stockton.

Mr. Underwood, the chairman of the committee, after a
brief address, which was replied to by Chief Justice E,ob
ertson, delivered the body into the care of the Lexington
committee. A procession was then formed, headed by a
cavalcade of horsemen, preceding the hearse to Ashland.
The old home was reached, and the silent mourners moved
through the grounds, guided by torches, and they laid him
reverently under the roof of the dwelling whose name he
had made a household word. The Clay Guard, of Cincin-
nati, watched all the night through beside his remains.

Long before daylight on the memorable funeral day,
Saturday, July 10, 1852, crowds of people poured into
Lexington by every avenue to the city. All the roads
were opened free to the public, and every hospitality was
extended to strangers. Soon the largest crowd of people
ever assembled in Lexington was gathered together— so
immense, in fact, that it was estimated at one hundred
thousand souls.*

At nine o'clock A. M., the funeral escort, composed of
the committee of arrangements, committee of the senate
of the United States, conmiittees from other states accom-
panying the body, committee of the city of Lexington
sent to receive the body, the Masonic fraternity, and pall-
bearers, formed on Main street, opposite the court-house,
under the direction of Marshals John E. Allen, George W.
Brand, K. J. Spurr, and E. L. Dudley, and from thence
proceeded to Ashland, whe re a large crowd had already

*IiOuisville Journal.

370 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1852.

^ gathered. On the porch, in front of the door of the states-
man's old residence, and resting on a bier cushioned with

■ fragrant and beautiful flowers, was the cofliri inclosing his
mortal remains, and all around it, and upon it, were the
floral and evergreen offerings of every place on the route,
from the capital of the nation to Lexington. The Rev.
Edward F. Berkley, then rector of Christ's Church (Epis-
copal), in Lexington, delivered the funeral oration. He was
equal to the occasion, and the effort was a splendid one.
He commenced his discourse with the following beautiful
words : "A nation's griefs are bursting forth at the fall of
one of her noblest sons. A mighty man in wisdom, in
intellect, in truth, lies in our presence to-day, inanimate
and cold, and the voice which was ever raised in behalf
of truth and liberty is silenced forever." After the sermon,
an address from the young men of Cincinnati was then
delivered by the chairman of the committee to Governor
Underwood, to be handed to Mrs. Clay.

The concourse was then dismissed with a benediction,
and the body was placed in a hearse beautifully decorated
with black cloth and crape, surmounted with a silver urn
and eagle, and drawn by six white horses. The funeral
escort was formed under the direction of the chief marshal,
General Peter Dudley, and it, together with the relatives
of Mr. Clay, the officiating clergyman, and the assembled
multitude, returned to the city, and took their places in the
grand funeral procession, which was formed on Main street
by the chief marshal, assisted by his aids, H. C. Pindell
and W. J. Talbot, and moved to the Lexington Cemetery
in the following order, viz:*

Marshals J. R. Dunlap and O. P. Beard.

Military in sections of six, in advance of the procession

with reversed arms, muffled drums, colors

furled, and draped in mourning.

Officers of the Army and ITavy of the United States.

Chief Marshal and Aids.

♦Observer and Keporter.

1852.] FUNERAL OF HENRY CLAT. 371

Committee of Arrangements.

Marshal Postlethwaite.

Committee of the Senate of the United States.

Committees from other States accompanying the body.

Committee of the city of Lexington sent to receive the

body.

Marshal C.W.Kennedy.

Masonic Fraternity.

OOKPSE AND PALL-BEARERS.

Pall-bearers.
, B. "W. Dudley, Benjamin Gratz, '^

M. T. Scott, D. Vertner,

George Robertson, Chilton Allan,
E. Warfield, R. Hawes,

Charles Carr, Garrett Davis, /

Roger Quarles, C. S. Morehead.

Family of Deceased, and officiating Clergyman.
Reverend Clergy of all denominations.
Marshal C. W. Dudley.
Governor and Heads of Departments of the State of
Kentucky.
Committee of cities, towns, and counties of the State of
Kentucky.
Marshal S. D. Bruce.
Mayor and Council of the city of Lexington.
President and Directors of Lexington Cemetery Company.
Trustees and Faculty of Transylvania University.
Marshal C. D. Carr.
Judges, Members of the Bar, and Oflicers of the Fayette
9 Circuit Court.

Judges of the Superior and Interior Courts of Kentucky

and Officers.

Judges of the United States Courts and Officers.

Members and ex-Members of the Congress of the United

States.

Marshal Silas Kenney.

Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, in sections of six.

Sons of Temperance, in sections of six.

Marshals R. W. Bush and M. B. Gratz.

372 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1852.

Fire Companies, in sections of six.

Members of the Senate and House of Eepresentatives of

the State of Kentucky.

Teachers of Schools.

Marshal Isaac Shelby.

Citizens on foot, in sections of six.

Marshals Clifton Weir and E. Todhunter.

Citizens and Strangers in carriages, two abreast.

Marshals Robert Bullock and J. Shropshire.

Citizens and Strangers on horseback, iu sections of four.

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
spectatots, 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
mouroful 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

1852.] FUNERAL OF HENRT CLAY. 373

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
shroudted city in its original order, and after reaching the
court-house, each committee and company filed ofi", 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."

Aftek 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 ISTovember 1, 1854,
under Eev. 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. ISTobody 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

1853-56.] " OLD KING SOLOMON." 375

to catch cold from washing his face ; his hair managed itself,
aiid 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 l^Tothing," or American
party, which came into existence in 1853. The rise and fall
of the "Know jN'othings" was attended with great excite-
ment, during which such party names as " Bay Nichts,"
" Dark Lanternites," and " Blood Tubs" prevailed.

1857.] LEXINGTON RIFLES, ETC. 377

CHAPTEE LXXII.

Lexington Rifles— Eosa'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 7. Jefi"rey.
In 1870, her "Daisy Dare," appeared. Mrs. Jeflfrey was
born at Natchez, Miss., but has spent the most of her Ufe
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 0. 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, w^ere 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; llTational
Guards, of St. Louis; Independent National Guards, of In-
dianapolis ; City Guards, of Baltimore, and the Madison
Guards, of Kichmond, Ky.

The family carriage, presented to Mr. Clay, in 1833, by
the citizens of Newark, 'S. 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 Ttios. H. Clay and James B. Clay and their families,
Isaac Shelby and familj', 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.
Kobertson 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.

1857.] CLAV MONUMENT. 379

Council of the United ; States Hon. Oscar F. Moore, of
Ohio; Roger W. Hanson, Esq.; Zophar Mills, Esq., of l^ew
York, and the president and directors of the Claj' 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. IT.
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 lifewport United States band discoursed the sweetest
music, and salutes were fired.

38T) BISTORT 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 IN'ormandy, 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 SJ feet in height,
and the upper 14 feet in height. The faces of both mem-

*Do3cription from Association Pamphlet.

1857.] CLAY MONUMENT. 381

bers of the pedestal are in suak 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 WicMiffe, Sen.

Helmet Lodge, 'Ho. 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 l^orthern 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.

Kobert 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. "Wicklifie was one of the
shrewdest and ablest land lawyers in Kentucky, and as
such made himself rich. He w&a 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.

I860.] POPULATION— PARTIES, ETC. , 383

CHAPTER LXXIV.

Population — Forties — St. John's Academy — Lexington Chas-
seurs — List of Officers and Privates.

The population of Lexington, in 1860, was nine thou-
sand live 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 Kepub-
lican or A bolitio n 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. Wicklifte, an
oration by E. 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. [I860.

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. la 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 patriffl.

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 ofiicers 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. P. 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.

I860.] LEXINGTON CSASSEURS. 385

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. E. Bell, W. Bright, D.
M. Craig, J. Cochran, A. B. Chinn, C. Coleman, A. Clark,
E. "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, E. Eergnson,
N. Ferguson, E. Foley, W. F. Fulton, J. L. Gilraore, 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. Hav/kins, 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, E. McCann, J. Munos, W. M. Matthews, E. Maguire,
H. MeManus, C. Milward, T. W. McCann, H. McOann, B.
J. McCabe, T. D. Mitchell, T. McCaw, J. McKeal, W.
McCracken, Monks, W. Montmollin, K H. McClelland, G.
McMurtry, F. Matthews, J. C. Morris, J. Montmollin, H.
McKee, W. Maglone, J. E. Morton, S. Mahone, W. B.
Mclntire, L. C. Nicholas, J. C. Newcomb, J. Nemelly, M.
Offutt, H. Cots, G. L. Postlethwaite, W. Postlethwaite, E.
Payne, A. B. Pull urn, W. Perkins, J. E. Price, J. C. Pierce,
M Eeed, J. Eeed, T. A. Eussell, E. C. Scott, E. Swift, S.
Swift, G. Sprague, J. P. Shaw, W. Spencer, J. Sellier,
C H Swift, J. B. Steve8,W. T. Scott, D. Scott, T. Scott, 0.
Saxton, L. Spurr, H. C. Stewart, C. Spillman J. Shaw, J.
SeoT) J F. Thompson, B. F. Thompson, A. W. Trabien, E.
Un'd^rwood, W. I Yarty, J. A. Vaughn K J Was, P.
Wilging D. V. WooUey, L. Warfield, C. Warheld, E. War-
field, N. Williams, L. K Walton, W. Wood.

386 HISTORV OF LEXINGTON. [1861-62.

CHAPTER LXXV.

Fair Amphitheater Burnt — PruderCs 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 Eobertson 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,

1861-62.] DUDLEY— McCVLLOVGH.

387

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. JSTo 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.

»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 "Wailis, 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 Ilea vens, 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

BISTORT OF LEXINGTON.

[1861-62.

of the olden time of Lexington, and his warm heart and
well-stored head, and his praiseworthy desire and eflforts to
save from destruction the monuments and memoirs of
the past, justly entitled him to the name of " Old Mor-
tality."

1863.] JVDQE WM. O. OOODLOE. 389

CHAPTER LXXVI.

Banking Souse of Grinstead ^ Bradley — Wm. C. Goodloe.

The banking house of Grinstead & Bradley, located on
Dpper, 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 Kichmond,
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 BISTORT 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. Prom 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 tiraei,
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

1864.] JOHN H. MORGAN. 391

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 waa 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
tlie 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. Goodioe, 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

1865.] CENTENARY METHODIST CHVRCH. 393

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 aflairs 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,

B. 8.; B. P. Watkins, J. S.; D. A. King, P.; A. W. Tra-
bein, 0. E.; 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 E. Smith. The Statesman is
Eepublican, or Eadical, in politics.

The Farmers' Home Journal was established in May,
1867, by J. J. Miller and J. E. Marrs, on Market street,

1866-67.] FAYETTE FARMERS CLUB.

395

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, N'ovember 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, stnd
E. Allen. At a meeting held at the same place the suc-
ceeding Saturday, January 26, the constitution and by-laws
reported by the coinmittee 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 Frewitt, James W. Berry, Granville Smith, S.
P. Kennedy, R. J. Spurr, William Cassius Goodloe, E. C.
Bryan, Elisha Smith, John Clark, William D. SutherlanJ,

396 BISTORT 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 j ustice
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

1866-67.] JOHN GARTY. 397

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 aflection of his fellow cit-
izens."

898 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [^S6a.

CHAPTEK LXXX.

Christ Church Seminary^— Ba'ptist 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 Jaqisson, who
for years conducted a female school noted for its fine
character and success. Bev. J. C. Freeman succeeded
Mr. Worrell. The present president of this flourishing
institution is Dr. Eobert 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 Keporter.

1868]

W. S. DOWNEY.

899

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 — Hacker School — I^he 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 Oheapside.

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

1869.] THE QREAT ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. 401

evident signs of uneasiness. The moon moved majestically
onward, leaving only two digits \inchanged, 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 fiashed 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 BISTORT 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 K. 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.

1869.] FARMER DEWEE8. 403

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. [18T0.

CHAPTER LXXXII.

Population — Charter Amendment — Irish Benevolent Associa-
tion — Fayette National Bank — Lexington Daily Press —
David A. Sayre — Fayette Historical Society.

The census report, and the report of the city assessor of
the population of Lexington for 1870, conflict, owing, in
part, to the unsettled condition of the negroes. A well-
informed citizen estimated the population at seventeen
thousand five hundred, which is believed to be about cor-
rect. The population of the entire county was twenty-six
thousand six hundred and fifty-six.

In January, 1870, the charter of the city of Lexington was
so amended as to require elections of municipal officers to
take place on the last Thursday in January, 1870, and
every third year thereafter.

About the first of March, in this year, the banking office
of Headley & Anderson, on Short street, was established.

The Irish National Benevolent Association of Lexington
was organized May 13, 1870, with the following officers,
viz: J. H. Mulligan, president; J. A. Geary, first vice-
president ; M. Clark, second vice-president ; T. J. Brogan,
recording secretary; J. Dowling, corresponding secretary;
A. J. Hogarty, treasurer. The objects of the association
are to promote the cause of Ireland's independence, to
assist distressed Irishmen in Lexington, and to honor the
memory of Saint Patrick by a proper celebration of his
anniversary. We may mention here, that the first observ-
ance of Saint Patrick's day in this city was the occasion
of a dinner at Megowan's tavern, in 1790.

The Fayette National Bank, corner of Short and Upper
streets, was organized September 8, 1870, by the election
of the following directors, viz: R. R. Stone, J. S. "Wool-

IS'^C] DAVID A. HAYRE.

405

folk, Horace Craig, J. M. Tipton, S. Bassett, J. Hooker,
E. McMiehael, and J. B. Morton.

The Lexington Daily Press, the first newspaper printed
in this city by steam, was established in October, 1870,
Messrs. Hart Gibson, H. T. Duncan, Jr., and J. J. Miller,
being proprietors. Office on the corner of Short and Mar-
ket streets. It is now owned by Gibson and Duncan only.

David A. Sayre died in Lexington on the 12th of Sep-
tember, 1870. Mr. Sayre was born in Madison, New Jer-
sey, March 12, 1793. He was a child of poverty, and the
hard labor of his youth left him little time for education.
He came to Lexington in 1811, a silver-plater's apprentice,
walking barefoot all the way from Maysville to this place,
with a meager pack upon his back, and only a half dollar
in his pocket. The young mechanic was thrifty and shrewd,
and while he labored he also saved and watched his oppor-
tunities. In 1823, while yet a journeyman, he concluded
to add the broker's calling to his regular business, and by
dint of close and careful dealing, he achieved great success
in amassing money, and in 1829, was enabled to open a
banking-office on the corner of Mill and Short streets. He
succeeded in his business, and long before his death was
known for his wealth; a considerable part of which was
devoted to public institutions connected with the Presby-
terian Church, of which he was a member, and to the bene-
fiting of his relatives, some of whom he raised from hum-
ble life to prosperity and wealth. " Uncle Davy," and his
faithful help-mate, " Aunt Abby," sleep side by side in the
beautiful Lexington Cemetery. Mr. Sayre was no ordi-
nary man ; he did great good, and the record of his life is
full of encouragement to ambitious strugglers with poverty.

The Historical Society of Fayette county was organized
in the Lexington Library building, June 7, 1870. The
object of the society is to procure and preserve whatever
may relate to the history of Fayette county, Kentucky,
viz : books, relics, and memorials, and also to collect and
publish manuscripts concerning the history of the county
and state. The first officers of the society were : President,
George liobertson; vice-presidents, James 0. Harrison and

406 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1870.

Robert Peter ; recording secretary, George "W. Ranck ; cor-
responding secretary, Joseph D. Pickett ; treasurer, John
S, Wilson, and librarian, J. B. Cooper. Messrs. Leslie
Combs, Benjamin Gratz, S. D. McCullough, Benjamin
Kiser, "William Swift, Richard Marsh, T. P. Dudley, and
others are members of this society.

The writer returns his thanks to the officers and mem-
bers of the Payette Historical Society, and to Richard H.
Collins, of Covington, (who is now revising and enlarging
his father's history of Kentucky,) for the valuable assist-
ance they rendered him in the preparation of this volume.

1871.] MISSION CHURCH, ETC. 407

CHAPTER LXXXIII.

Mission Church — Dollar Press — Broadway Christian Church
— Second Church of Christ— Meeting Places and Pastors —
Sugh McKee — Knights of Pythias.

The Mission Church on Boliver street, devoted to the
religious improvement of the unfortunate, was dedicated
Sunday, January, 1871.

The first number of the Dollar Weekly Press, published
by Duncan & Gibson, on the corner of Short and Market
streets, made its appearance January 21, 1871.

The Broadway Christian Church was organized, and
became independent of the Main Street Christian Church,
in July, 1871. (See Christian Church, 1825.) J. W. Mc-
Garvey was first regular pastor of the church.

The Second Church of Christ was established in the
spring of 1871, by a number of persons who desired free-
dom and rest from the intolerance and illiberality of cer-
tain leaders of the " Main Street Church," with which
they had been connected. (See Christian Church, 1825.)
The first regular meeting preliminary to organization was
held on the afternoon of March 19, 1871, in the upper
room of the library building, on the corner of Church and
Market streets. Present, Elder G. W. EUey, chairman; J.
S. Wolfolk, D. S. Goodloe, J. H. E"eville, J. B. Bowman,
G. W. Eanck> and others. In addition to these persons,
the following were among the earliest movers in the for-
mation of the new church, viz : J. D. Pickett, Mary E. Carty,
John . Shackelford, A. M. Barnes, Lulie Mays, Marcus
Downing and family, Helen C. llanck, John Curd, Sen.,
E. D. Luxon, "W". S. Lipscomb, N. Prall, John Curd, Jr.,
Mary D. Bowman, Joseph Wasson and family, Jas. Sulli-
van and family, B. E. Smith, S. D. Pinkerton, and others.

408 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1871.

The establishment of the church was duly perfected, and
on Sunday, April 2, the opening sermon was preached in
the library building, by Elder Elley.

The first pastors of the church were Elders J. D. Pickett
and John Shackelford, who acted jointly. After worship-
ing in the library building for some months, the congre-
gation fitted up a chapel on the second floor of the Carty
building, on the corner of Main and Mill streets. Services
were held in this chapel, for the first time, on the morning
of Sunday, February 4, 1872, the sermon being preached
by Elder R. C. Ricketts, of Harrodsburg. The congrega-
tion still worship in the Carty building. The pastor of the
church at this time is Elder John Shackelford, a native of
Mason county, Kentucky, a graduate of Bethany college,
and now a professor in the Agricultural College of Ken-
tucky University. This faithful and earnest minister ably
represents the charitable feelings and liberal opinions of
his little flock.

The gallant Hugh McKee, who was killed in the at-
tack made by the United States naval forces upon the forts
of Corea, Asia, June 11, 1871, was born in Lexington, on
the 23d of April, 1844, and graduated at Annapolis, in
1866. He was the first man to reach the fort, within which
he died as bravely as did his father, Colonel W. E. McKee,
upon the battle-field of Buena Vista. Admiral Rogers, in
his report of the fight said : " The citadel has been named
Fort McKee, in honor of that gallant officer who led the
assault upon it, and gave his life for the honor of his fiag."
This noble son of a noble sire sleeps in the Lexington
Cemetery.

Lodge No. 15, Knights of Pythias, was organized
in Lexington, October 25, 1871, with the following officers,
namely : J. T. Uppington, W, C. ; O. S. Wood, V. C. ;
Thomas Forman, R. 8.; G. C. Snyder, F. S. ; C. H. ISTor-
ris, "W. B. The order is a charitable one; its objects, ac-
cording to its constitution, being to "alleviate suflFering,
succor the afflicted and unfortunate, and care for the
widow and the orphan."

1872.] SOUTHERN RAILROAD, ETC. 409

CHAPTER LXXXIV-

Southern Railroad — J. B. Wilgus ^ Go's Bank — Sons of
Temperance — B. Gratz Brown — Business Statement — County
and City Officers.

In the latter part of January, 1872, the Kentucky leg-
islature granted the right of way through this state to the
Southern Eailroad, destined to extend from Cincinnati to
Chattanooga. -The event was celebrated with great enthu-
siasm by the citizens of Lexington, who regard the road
(which is now on the eve of being commenced) as another
great means of advancing the growth and prosperity of
their city. This important enterprise is not new in its
general outlines. Thirty-five years ago, a road from Cin-
cinnati to Knoxville, and thence to Charleston, South Car-
olina, was projected, and the right of way given by the
Kentucky legislature. From that time to the present, the
project has always been regarded with favor by Cincinnati
and Central Kentucky.

The banking house of J. B. Wilgus & Co. was established
February 7, 1872, and commenced business in Hoeing's
building, on Main street. The bank now uses an office in
the Wilgus building, on Main street, between Mill and
Broadway.

Lexington Division, I^o. 35, Sons of Temperance, was
organized on the night of Monday, July 29, 1872, in Kas-
tle's building, on Main street, where the division still meets

regularly.

Governor Benjamin Gratz Brown, of Missouri, and now
the Liberal Republican nominee for vice-president of the
United States, was born on the 28th of May, 1826, in Lex-
ino-ton, at the residence of his grandfather. Judge Bledsoe,
who lived at that time on Short street, between Walnut

410 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1872.

and Dewees streets, in the house now occupied hy Mr. Arm-
strong, and next to the residence of Mrs. Waters. Gov-
ernor Brown's father, Hon. Mason Brown, was a citizen
of Frankfort, and Mrs. Brown was on a visit to her parents
at the time of her son's birth.

The character and importance of Lexington, at this time
(1872), may be judged by the following:

The city contains eighteen churches, twenty schools, four
colleges, one university, eight newspapers, one public
library, three railroads, thirty physicians, forty-five lawyers,
five hemp and bagging factories, nine carriage factories,
twenty livery stables, four planing mills, ten saddle and
harness manufactories, eight banking houses, ten hotels,
thirty-five drinking saloons, twenty-one boot and shoe
establishments, fifteen confectioneries, one hundred and
twenty-five groceries, eight sewing-machine offices, twenty-
two dry goods houses, sixteen millinery houses, ten drug
houses, six blacksmith shops, one woolen mill, four flour
mills, ten clothing houses, fifteen dress-making houses, one
foundry, one mustard factory, four wagon factories, one
soap and candle factory, four mattrass factories, one plaster
ornament factory, one hoop-skirt factory, one agricultural
implement factory, two pump factories, two broom factories,
two cigar factories, three hair ornament factories, five
furniture houses, six bakeries, eight restaurants, ten coal
yards, one gas company, four dental offices, five hardware
houses, two gas and steam-fitting houses, three leather
houses, five furniture houses, four agricultural implement
houses, ten barber shops, five paint shops, six tin, copper,
and stove shops, two machine shops, one cooper shop, three
gunsmith shops, two locksmith shops, four lumber yards,
one book-bindery, one brewery, three marble works, seven
watch and jewelry houses, eight merchant tailor houses,
one bath house, one dye house, three photograph galleries,
four book-stores, six meat houses, three rag houses, one
public laundry, six insurance offices, three nurseries, eight
auctioneers, one lottery office, one omnibus line, four build-
ers, four public halls, one sculptor, two portrait painters, four
architects, several hundred carpenters, brick-masons, plas-

1872.] CITY AND COVNTT OFFICERS. 411

terers, and stone-cutters, two quadrille bands, one agricul-
tural and mechanical association, one racing association, one
park, one express office, two telegraph offices, one lunatic
asylum, one orphan asylum, one female benevolent society,
two Bible societies, one musical society, one theater, one
work-house, four Masonic lodges, three Odd-Fellow lodges,
two Good Templar lodges, one B-ed Men lodge, one Knights
of Pythias lodge, one Sons of Temperance lodge.

The officers of Fayette county at the present time are :
Judge of the Circuit Court, C. B. Thomas ; Common-
wealth's Attorney, J. L. Jones ; Circuit Court Clerk, J. B.
Eodes; Judge of County Court, B. F. Graves; County
Attorney, J. E.. Morton ; County Court Clerk, A. G. Hunt ;
Sheriff, R. S. Bullock; Jailer, T. B. Megowan; Assessor,
J. D. Sprake ; Surveyor, J. F. Slade ; Coroner, T. Logwood.

The city officers are: Mayor, J. T. Frazer. Councilmen
— Ward InTo. 1, M. C. Johnson, J. E.. Cleary, C. Randall ;
Ward Fo. 2, R. A. Gibney, T. W. Foster, J. Hoagland ;
"Ward Ifo. 3, H. Chiles, W. C. P. Breckinridge, J. Laude-
man ; Ward 'So. 4, Dennis Mulligan, J. F. Robinson, Jr.,
Robert Stone. Recorder, J. H. Mulligan; Clerk, J. W.
Cochrane; Attorney, John Webster; Physician, J. W.
Bruce, M. D. ; Treasurer, B. T. Milton ; Collector, J. F.
Robinson; Assessor, Jesse Woodruff ; Marshal, Wm. Til-
lett; Chief of Police, K Hendricks.

412 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1872.

CHAPTER LXXXV.

Fayette County — Wealth, Population, and Fertility — Soil and
Stock — Lexington — Situation, Trade, and A'ppearance —
Characteristics and Geology.

Fayette county, the center of the "Blue Grass Region,"
or "Garden of Kentucky," is situated in the middle of the
state, and lies on the waters of the Elkhorn and Kentucky.
It is bounded on the north by Scott county, on the south
by Madison and Jessamine, on the east by Bourbon, and on
the west by Woodford. It is twenty-five miles from north
to south, mean breadth eleven miles, and contains 275
square miles, or 176,000 acres. It is fair table land, gently
undulating; all the streams rise and flow from the center
of the county and empty into their common receptacle, the
Kentucky river.

The entire population of Fayette at present, including
Lexington, is estimated at nearly 30,000. The taxable
property of the county is valued at |1 4,790,457,* and is sec-
ond in amount only to Jefferson, including the city of
Louisville. The real value of all kinds of property in
Fayette, not including Lexington, is estimated at $25,000,-
000. The proverb, " as rich as Fayette county," is not
without point.

There is probably no richer or more productive soil on
earth than that of Fayette county. In pioneer days it was
a deep mass of rich, black, vegetable mold, the accumula-
tion of ages, which made it a perfect hot-bed for fertility.
This gradually changed after the original forests and cane-
brakes were cleared, and the heat of the sun and the full
influence of the atmospheric agencies were admitted to the
soil. But then came the rich and luxuriant blue grass, for
which this favored locality is noted the wide word over,*

*Auditor's Keport.

1872.] FAYETTE COUNTY. 413

and we were still left a region "beautiful as the vale of
Tempe and fertile as Sicily, that granary of Europe." The
soil of Fayette county now varies from a rich dark brown
or mulatto color to a light yellowish or reddish brown in
the upper soil, and a light brownish or reddish yellow in the
subsoil. The following analysis* exhibits the chemical
composition of the soil of Fayette county, viz :

Composition in One Hundred Parts. — Organic and vola-
tile matters, 8.000; alumina, 4.181; proxide of iron, 6.170;

sesquioxide of manganese, ; carbonate of lime, .494 ;

magnesia, .420; phosphoric acid, .460; sulphuric acid, -;

potash, .205 ; soda, .062 ; land and insoluble silicates, 79.910 ;
total, 99.882. Moisture, driven off from the air-dried soil,
at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, 4.44.

The wheat crop of Fayette is always an abundant one.
Of corn she averages more than a million bushels per year,
and her last crop of hemp reached the enormous amount
of 4,762,300t pounds, or very largely over one-third of the
amount produced by the entire state.

But with all this wonderful fertility, Fayette is properly
a stock-raising county. The soil and grasses are particu-
larly rich in the chemical elements necessary to the forma-
tion of bone and muscle, and has resulted in Fayettb's
becoming one immense aggregation of breeding establish-
ments. It is the native paddock not only of the peerless
"Lexington," that blind old Milton of the turf, whose
fame extends throughout Europe and America, but of a
multitude of other great and noted coursers. Her blood
horses and fine trotters are eagerly and constantly sought
after by appreciators of superior stock from every quarter.
Droves of mules and splendid herds of thorough-bred cattle
browse in her blue grass pastures, and Southdown and
Cotswold sheep, and Berkshire and Chestershire hogs,
abound upon her farms. It has been said of Fayette county,
and without exaggeration, that " the products of the tem-
perate zone and tropic climes here grow as if upon common
ground. From the stalk that forms the staple of Russia to

*Dr. Bobt. Peter in aeologioal f^urvey of Ky, tAuditor'a Report.

414 BISTORT OF LEXINGTON. [1872.

the vine that blooms in France and Italy, there is scarcely a
plant which does hot seem iudigeuous to the soil. From
the small grain and blood stock exported from England,
to the corn and tobacco leaf known only to tbe native ten-
ant of the West, there is scarcely an article which is neces-
sary to the subsistence, or which contributes to the comfort
of man, to which the soil and climate is not kind and
genial."

Lexington, the seat of government of Fayette county,
Kentucky, is situated on the headwaters of the town fork
of ^N'orth Elkhorn creek, 25 miles southeast of Frankfort,
the capital of the state ; 64 miles southwest of Maysville ;
77 southeast of Louisville; 85 south of Cincinnati, and
517 from "Washington city. Latitude 38° 6' north; longi-
tude 84° 18' west.

The city is located on the extensive table land, on which
Cincinnati is nearly centrally placed, formed by an uplift
of the lower silurian rock formation, and its elevation
taken at one of its lowest points, viz : the depot of the
Lexington and Louisville Railroad, is, according to the au-
thority of railroad engineers, 950 feet above the ocean level.

Although originally commenced immediately in what
Bancroft styles " the unrivaled valley of Elkhorn creek,"
and on the springs in which it takes its rise, the city has
extended up both the ascending sides of this valley and
over a considerable portion of the level grounds above, the
natural drainage of the place into the fork of the Elkhorn
is therefore excellent.

The population of Lexington at present is believed to be
between 18,000 and 20,000. The principal trade of the
city, and the heaviest capital invested, is in hemp- manu-
facture, groceries, dry goods, whisky, and live stock. The
taxable property in Lexington amounts to $7,000,000 ; the
real value of all kinds ot property is estimated at
$15,000,000, and that of the city and county together at
$40,000,000.

Lexington for a long time presented more of the appear-
ance of an opulent, stagnant, and contented old English
town than the air of a live American city ; but this is now

1872.] LEXINGTON. 415

changing. The railroads projected and in progress, the
growth of an enlightened public spirit, and the encourag-
ing prospects of Lexington have created a new era as well
as a new appearance for the city. Large and handsome
buildings are taking the place of small and dingy business
houses, modern, improvements are to be seen on all sides,
and the increase of mills and factories indicate the future
manufacturing importance of the place. The streets, which
are laid ofl' at right angles, are mainly well paved, and are
now in a better condition than they have ever been. Pine
macadamized roads extend through and from the city in
every direction, and constitute the trotting grounds of a
multitude of fleet and valuable horses, which are constantly
driven over them. Lexington can boast of alarge number
of exceedingly handsome private residences, beautified by
art and taste, and surrounded by extensive grounds luxu-
riant in flowers and shrubbery. She has long been justly
noted for the generous and refined hospitality of her citi-
zens, for her great educational advantages, the skill and
standing of her medical profession, and the learning and
ability of her pulpit. The Lexington bar, which has ever
been distinguished for its strength, is now not surpassed
and perhaps not equaled in this country, and there are few
places where the young members of the bar constitute a
body of such marked promise.

The pre-eminence which Lexington enjoys for elegant
society is due to the intelligence, culture, and refined beauty
of her women. The striking similarity of Lexington so-
ciety, in this respect, to that of a European capital, has
been more than once remarked by foreigners.

"Words can not be found too strong to express the rich-
ness and loveliness of the country about Lexington. The
landscape is soft, luxuriant, and picturesque ; the approaches
to the city are beautiful, and the rides and drives in every
direction are charming. Noble English-looking home-
steads, surrounded by evergreens and magnificent forest-
trees, 'dot velvet lawns of peerless blue grass and clover,
the emerald green of which covers every inch of ground,
save where the walks and carriage drives are cut through

416 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1872.

the thick turf. Stone fences and osage orange hedges, or
high snow-white pailings, inclose breeding establishments
of fine stock on every road. Splendid blood horses and
herds of thorough-bred cattle browse in the shade. The
land teems with fatness, and the eye is constantly refreshed
with scenes of plenty, comfort, and loveliness.

The geology* of Lexington and vicinity is interesting,
and is well worthy of careful consideration. The lower
Silurian rock strata, which underlie the city, are mainly
composed of layers, varying in thickness from less than an
inch to about two feet, of a dark grayish blue, changing
. into yellowish gray, granular limestone, usually quite fossi-
liferous, called by the Ohio geologists the blue limestone,
the layers being often separated by seams of marl, generally
of a lighter color. This limestone is much used in the
construction of the admirable turnpikes and macadamized
streets of this locality and city, and is valuable for building
purposes, especially in stone boundary walls, foundations,
and even walls of houses; the hard light-gray granular
layers being quite durable and making quite a handsome
structure, even in the undressed state, when skillfully laid
up in the wall with good mortar. It also yields very good
lime for building purposes, and the more earthy layers,
containing much magnesia and silica, might be calcined into
hydraulic cement.

This limestone, however, is generally quite shelly and
fossiliferous, and hence it readily and continually disinte-
grates, in place, under the influefice of the atmospheric
agencies, giving to the celebrated "blue-grass" soil, which
it produces, the superior fertility which characterizes it,
and keeping up its productiveness under a thriftless cul-
ture, in a most remarkable manner.

For the same reason, the water which comes in contact
with it is rendered " hard," and deposits, when boiled, a
crust on the boiler composed of carbonates of lime and
magnesia, with some little phosphate of lime, oxide of iron,
etc. The water of all the wells and springs, hence, is more

*Aaalysi3 by the well-known geologist and chemist, Dr. Bobert Peter.

1872.] OEOLOGT. 417

or less hard, causing the inhabitants to resort, very gener-
ally, to the use of rain-water collected in cisterns, lor culi-
nary and washing purposes as well as for drinking.

The very general use of t^iis hard limestone water is be-
lieved to have had something to do with the great preva-
lence of calculous disease here, in former times, during the
early surgical practice of the late distinguished surgeon of
Lexington, Prof. Benj. "W. Dudley, as the writer has at-
tempted to show, in his publication on the Urinary Calculi
of the Museum of Transylvania University ; and it may
also greatly aid, according to the theory of others, in the
very complete development of the bones and bodies of the
animals grown in this rich limestone county.

The waters of the deep springs and bored wells of this
geological region very frequently contain common salt and
other saline ingredients, as well as sulphureted hydrogen,
and carbanic acid gases, in greater or less quantity, vary-
ing from the celebrated salt-sulphur water of the "Blue
Lick" springs down to water containing a mere trace of
salts and having only a slight odor of sulphur, such as was
obtained by boring at MontmoUin's mill, on the town fork,
at the lower part of the city, which contains only one thou-
sandth of its weight of saline matters ; or that at the bored
well of the Lunatic Asylum, sunk one hundred and six feet
below the surface, and eighty-six feet through the solid
rock, the auger then dropping eighteen inches into a cavity,
and the water immediately rising fifty feet in the bore, a
soft, very weak, sulphur water, containing about one and
one-sixth grain of saline matters to the thousand of the
water. Most of the waters of bored wells have a smell of
petroleum at first, and in some cases, a considerable quan-
tity of combustible gas (light carbureted hydrogen) has
been given out from them for some time.

The irregular disintegration of the limestone layers has
caused the formation throughout the whole of -this region
of extensive caverns, and underground lakes and streams
of water, as well as numerous sink-holes. Such lakes and
streams doubtless exist under the valley of the town fork
of Elkhorn quite extensively, and more than one steam-

418 HISTORY OF LEXINGTON. [1872.

engine is supplied at the lower part of the city, by tapping
them, one of which is the bagging factory of Z. Ward.
This gentleman, in boring, also, some eighty or ninety feet
for water at his residence, on the high ground, near the
trotting track, in the southeastern part of the city, obtained
water, which was found, on chemical examination, to be
quite impure, it containing not only carbonate of soda and
nitrates and other salts, but also a notable quantity of fatty
organic matter, smelling somewhat like soap, and becoming
quite offensive on exposure, as though he had penetrated
into a cavern or stream in the sub-strata into which some
of the drainage of the city found access.

Another remarkable instance of the kind, observed
by me, was that of the weFl bored in 1852, by Mr. John
S. "Wilson, in the cellar of his drug store, on Cheapside,
in this city. He obtained water at the depth of forty feet
below the level of the street, after boring twenty-six and
a half feet through solid limestone, containing hard masses
of iron pyrites, and the water was such a strong chaly-
beate water, sparkling with carbonic acid gas, depositing
oxide of iron on exposure to the air, and containing quite
a variety of saline ingredients (as detailed in the chem-
ical analysis of it, published ia the first volume of the re-
ports of the Kentucky Geological Survey), that it soon be-
came quite popular as a mineral water. Not a long time
elapsed, however, before the changed odor of the water
gave evidence of the admixture of impurities, and pres-
ently it became so offensive from the undoubted presence of
town drainage, that Mr. "Wilson was obliged to discontinue
its use for any purpose, and to plug up the well.

These facts are not at all wonderful, when we know that
the whole of the drainage from the extensive State Lunatic
Asylum, with its five hundred patients and attendants, situ-
ated on the northwestern part of the city, is discharged,
through a natural underground channel, probably into sub-
terranean cavities so extensive, under the city, that they
never fill up nor become obstructed, notwithstanding the
immense and filthy torrent which daily flows into them

18T2.] GEOLOGY. 4I9

from the laundry, the water-closets, the culinary depart-
ment, the bath-rooms, etc., etc.

This may throw some light on the fact that every well
bored in the valley of the town fork, below the city, is a
saline sulphur water, for it is well known to chemists that,
the spontaneous fermentation of water containing impuri-
ties of the kind mentioned, produces, by their decomposi-
tion, sulphureted hydrogen, and carbonic acid gases and
nitrate. Hence is it important that the origin and source
of sulphur waters, found in the line of the drainage of
towns, should be carefully studied, more especially as it is
the result of experience that the habitual admixture of
even very small quantities of town drainage in the water
used for drinking is a fruitful source of disease, giving
rise to diarrhea, dysentery, and low fevers, and aggravating
the mortality of cholera and other epidemics.

A good exposure of the rock strata under the city may
be seen on the Elkhorn branch, just below its limits, espe-
cially at the old stone-quarry of Van Akin, and that higher
up, opposite the cemetery, near the Frankfort railroad.
At the first-named quarry, more than twenty feet perpen-
dicular of the rocks are exposed. The layers are from six
inches to one foot thick (thicker in the upper quarry). In
the lower beds some good specimens of that large trilobite,
the isotelus (asaphus) gigas, have been found ; and in those
above are to be seen those other characteristic fossils of
the lower silurian formation, the chatetes lycoperdon, leptcena,
alrypha, receptaculites ; also portions of small encrinital stems,
specimens of modiola, orthis, pleurotomaria, etc., etc.

In the quarries at the eastern end of the city, the
layers are usually thinner and more fossiliferous, containing
airypha, orthis, leptcena, etc., etc.

We append, in a tabular form, a statement of the chem-
ical composition of some few of the limestones of this re-
gion, as analyzed by Dr. Peter for the late Kentucky Geo-
logical Survey, and published in volume two of the reports
of that survey, as follows:

No. 507. Limestone— forming the thin, shelly upper layer
at Van Akin's quarry.

420

BISTORT OF LEXINGTON.

[1872.

No. 508. Limestone — forming a thicker layer below, used
for curb-stones, etc., in the city, and containing fossils
characteristic of the Trenton limestone of the New York
geologists.

No. 511. Limestone — an upper layer live inches to one
foot thick, at Grimes' quarry, on the Kentucky river ; not
used for building purposes, but which would probably make
hydraulic cement.

N"o. 512. Magnesian Limestone — from Grimes' quarry. A
very good and durable building stone, used in the construc-
tion of the Clay monument in our cemetery. This mate-
rial, of a pleasant buff-gray color, was also used in the Clay
statue, placed on the top of the column. Its fine granular
structure, and its freedom from cracks and fossils, adapt it
very well to the chisel of the sculptor.

COMPOSITION, ETC.

Specific gravity

Carbonate of lime

Carbonate of magnesia

Alumina, and oxide of iron and manganese

Phosphoric acid

Sulphuric acid

Chlorine

Potash

Soda

Silica and insoluble silicates

Loss

r-
o

1£3

00

o

f-4

s

O

o
>25

o

2.660

2.711

2.716

92.73

77.63

51.57

.63

10.00

29.33

2.42

3.23

3.57

.86

.70

.37

.34

3.12

.34

.05

not

estima

.23

.32

.71

.28

.15

.82

2.28

4.98

11.58

.28

1.71

100.00

100.13

100.00

2.703

55.54

0.80

.96

not est

.02

ted.

.36

.22

2.79

"With these remarks, we close our history of Lexington,
the ancient metropolis of the mystic Alleghan ; the hunting-
ground of the Indian ; the first capital of Kentucky ; the
home of Clay; the center both of the blood-stock region
of America, and of the " Garden Spot of the World."

INDEX.

Adventnre of MoConnell 65

" " James Morgan 94

Agricultural Societies !.'!.'.!!.'."."." 270

Agriculturalists of Payette '..'...'..'.'. 278

Agricultural and Mechanical College 60

Amusements, Early 105

Ancient Kemains,... 1

" Portifications 4

" Monuments in 1845 9

Anecdote of General Jackson 324

Apostolic Times 400

Artists 144

Ashland 60, 214

"Athens of the West" 303

A Virginia Town 181

Badin, Father 190

Bank, Pirst in Kentucky 222

Barry, W. T., Biography 226

" " " Monument 230

Battle of Prenchtown 253

Barlow, Thos. H 185, 319

Barracks 252, 269

Baptist Church 118

" Pemale College 398

Bascom, Bishop 54, 154

Battle of the Blue liicks 87-91

Barry and the Mountaineer 228

Benevolent Society, Female 280

Bekkers, Kev. J. H 192

Beck, J. B 62

Berkley, Rev. B. F 200

Bible Societies 299, 242

Bibb, G. M 223

Blood-stained Letter, incident 189

Bledsoe, Judge Jesse 217

Block House built 23

" " Great shot from 74

" " Abandoned 99

Blythe, President Jas 44

« B., Death of 258

Blue Licks, Battle of 87

Bourbon County created 116

Bowman, J. B 57

Boone, Daniel, discovers Kentucky - 1§

" " at Blue Licks 85

» " Death of son 92

Boone's Creek Settlement 29'

Boyle, Judge John 337

Botanical Garden 304

Bryant's Expedition and disaster 68

" Station settled 28

« " described 77

" " Seige of. ''8

" " Heroic Women of 79

" " Site of. 85

(421)

422 INDEX.

Bryant, Judge 235

Branch Bank of Kentucky 328

Brank, Eev. K. G 284

Brown, Dr. S 44

" James 151

B. Gratz 409

Brickbat War 301

Bradford, John 128, 171, 189

Breeders of Fayette 135

Breckinridge, John 182

" Rev. John 28.3

Jas. C 302

f John C 367

" Eev. R. J Ill

Buena Vista, Lexington Dead at 356-358

Buchanan, Dr. Joseph 45, 185, 224

Burr, Aaron 115, 226

Burrowes, N 185

Burial of Mexican Volunteers 358

Buel, J. H., (Artist) 148

" Dr. J. M 53

Burving Grounds, Early 38-40

Buokner, R. A 60

Byrd's Invasion 35

Catacomb, Ancient 2

Caldwell, Dr. Chas 47, 293

Carty, John, (Pioneer) 101, 102

" Building 24

" Henry 102, 356, 358

" John, (Merchant) 24, 396

Catholic Church 190

Carr, Charles, Sr 71

Capital removed to Frankfort 174, 181

Campbell, Rev. J. Poage Ill

Caledonian Society 217

Cemeteries 38-40

Cemetery, Lexington 260

Chapman, Eev. G. T 199

Church of Christ, Second 407

Chasseurs, Lexington, Officers and Privates .^ 383

Challen, Elder J 310

Cholera of 1833 325

Christian Church 307

" " Broadway 407

City Officers for 1872 411

" Schools 329

Circuit Judges 177

" Clerks 177

Cincinnati Settled.. 141

Clay, Henry, Biography 205-215

" " Law offices 215

" " and the Prisoner 2U

" " and the Irishman 163

" " Death of 212

" " Funeral 213, 367

" " Monument 377

" James B 390

" C. M 351

Clark, General G. Rogers 22, 36, 95

Clifford, J. D 295

Cloud, Dr. C. W 152

INDEX. ^23

County OfScers in 1872

Coburn, Judge 't\\^

County Clorks and Officers V, 2„

Judges LVZ.V.V.VZV \ll

Coming of the White Man ■■.'.■.■.■.■■.■ ,*

Court Houses \"\ i^

Coombs, Leslie '.!/.!!"""'.'.".'.".". oin

290
413

Crops of Payette.,

Croghan, Major G !!.."...!.!"!!!!!!.!!!.'."." "" 269

Craig, Eev. Lewis ///.".'."...".".'.'.'.'... 118

" Elijah "/"/""/"""/""........ 79

Dancing School, First ,f.

Daviess, Colonel Joe H "'.'..."."."."..'.'....... 143 243

Davidson, Eev. E '.".'..'.'.'.'.'.'.'..".'.'.'...'.".'.'.'.'."....... 53* 283

Davis, Hon. Jefferson .".."..'............ ' 304

Delegates to Conventions 106, 109, UB,' 123,'l40,'i62'"l70r2V9 360

Democratic Society, The .' jg^

Dewees, Farmer .."...".".."!" 241

Decline of Lexington Trade ....'.'.. 402

Dismarie, Father jg,

Dillard, Eev. E. T .\V.\V.".V.'.".".'.'.'."'.'..'.'.','.'.'.'.V. 120

Discoverers of Lexington _ jg

Dow, Lorenzo 223

Downey, W. S '.' '.'.'............... 398

Drake, Daniel . 39 45

B. P ."!..".'."!!'.".'.'.'.'.'.. ' 55

Dudley, Dr. Ben. W 45, 47^ 53^ 238

" Colonel Wm IO3, 262

« Eev. T. P ; 298

Dr. E.L 386

Dudley's Defeat 262

Eclipse of the Sun 400

Ellis, Captain Wm 29, 169

Elder, Eev. G. A 191

Episcopal Church igg

Fayette County formed and named 37

" » Court 64

" " described 31, 412

" National Bank 404

Farmers' Home Journal 394

" Club 395

Fertility of Fayette 412

Fire Companies 164

Fishback, Dr. James 45, 120, 309

Filson, John 96

Fii ancial Crises 292, 297

First Native of Lexington 28

" White Female Settler of 28

" Lot Owners of 73, 100

" Trustees of 64

" Brick House in 193

" Revolutionary Monument at 20

" Councilmen of 321

" Schools in 39

" Dry Goods Store in 105

" Session Kentucky Legislature in Lexington 170-174

" Fourth of July Celebration in 139

" White native of Kentucky 116

" Capital of " ITO

« Officers of " 173-175

» Baptist Covention in " 119

424 INDEX.

First Methodist Station in Lexington 152

" Koad Macadamized in " 317

" Nail Factory in " 222

" Western Railroad 315

" " Lunatic Asylum 285

" " Newspaper 124

" Locomotive in United States 186, 319

" Steamboat ever Invented 183

Planetarium " " 185

Fowler, Captain John 345

Fort Washington 141

Fort at Lexington built «.25, 31

" " " Life in 33

" " « Food in 32,37

« " " Suffering in 36

«' " « Outside Cabins 97

" " " Last Alarm of 99

Freemasonry in Kentucky 142

Frazer, Oliver 147

Funeral of Jefferson, Adams, and Shelby 313

Game 30, 188

Gano, Rev. John 118

Gas, City lighted by 374

Gazette, Kentucky, (old) 124

" " (new) 394

Geology of Lexine:ton, and vicinity 416

Girty, Simon 7. 77, 83

Good Templars 395

Goodloe, Judge W. C 389

Grundy, Felix 232

Great Bain 315

Graves, Major Ben 260

" Judge B. F 363

Grant's Station '. 29, 36

" Colonel John 29

Great Prosperity of Lexington 240

Gri n stead & Bradley's Bank 389

Greene, Dr. Lewis y 55

Greenup, Gov ,. 100

Hard Winter, Tiie 36

Haggin, Judge 334

Hart, Captain N. S. G 156, 256, 260

" Joel T., (Sculptor) 331

Hall, Rev. N Ill

Harrison, James J 61, 330

Heroic Era 34

Headley & Anderson's Bank 404

Hemp Manufacture 184, 241

" Crop of Fayette... 413

Hinkston's Escape 35

Higgins, James, Gallant conduct of 158

Historical Society of Fayette 405

Hogan, James 68

Horses, Noted 134

Howard, Benj 103

Holly, Dr. Horace 46, 48, 49

Hunt, John W 346

" Charleton 321, 329, 338

" F. K 54

Humphreys, Charles 319

Huston, J. B 61

INDEX. 425

Immigration Society 202

Inventions 183

Infantry, Lexington Light ^ 165, 204

Infidelity 193, 223

Incidents, Amusing 102, 15T

" Romantic 35, 37

Indian Fighters 168, 169

" Ravages in Kentucky , 21, 22

" Incursions to Lexington 35, 68, 74, 167

" Tragedies 34, 74

" The Great Invasion 77

" Steal Negroes 170

" Exterminate the AUeghan 14

Jackson's Visit 323

Jail and Jailers 163

Jewish Church 390

Jouett, Matt. H 146

Johnson, M. C 60

Kavanaugh, Bishop 154

Kendall, Amos '. 270

Kentucky Gazette (old) 124

11 11 (new) 394

" Racing Association 130

" Vineyard " 219

" University, Jlarly History of 57

II " Removal to Lexington 59

II " Donations 59, 61,62

II " Officers 59, 60, 62

« District of 37

" County Formed 22

" 1' Squaw," Amusing Incident 260

Kinkead, G. B 54

11 W. B 278

Know Nothings 376

Last Man Killed by Indians "0

Lafayette's Visit to Lexington 305

Letcher, Dr. S. M 55

Lexington Discovered r j^°

1' an Indian Camp -i

« Incorporated as a Town "5

11 " « City 321

Light Infantry '. 155

Lvceum 303

Library trt

" Orchan Asylum ^'°

Appearance of 19, 25, 30, 105, 202, 220, 285, 322

" in 1872 described *1*

.1 Character and Importance 4i0

II Daily Press ^"5

" Rifles " :■•■• f~7

" Lexington," The great Race Horse l^f, idT

Lindsays, The 33

Life in the Fort ^j3

Live Slock in Fayette _• ^jg

Liberty Poles..........— ••■■" jgg

Lincoln's, Mrs., Birthplace •■■••■• ^^°

Lunatic Asylum, B 285

Lutheran Church • '" 27

Masterson, James '..'.!'.'..".'..! 142

Masonic Lodges j^^

Maffitt's Revivals

426 INDEX.

Malta, Sons of 382

Marshall, Colonel Thos 96

" Humphrey 100

" Thos. A 339

" Thos. P 347

Mayors of Lexington 322

Mayes, Judge 351

Maxwell, John 26, 38

" Spring 27

" " Company 276

Market Houses 203

McGary's Rashness 88

McChord, Kev. James 282

McConnella, The 27

" Cabin 19

" Station 18, 28

McKinney, John 39

" and the Wildcat 97

MeCalla, General J. M 249

McCullough, S. D 387

McKee, Hugh 408

Mexican War 352, 355

'■ Volunteers from Lexington 352

Megowan, S. W 279

Mentelle, W 354

Medical Society 223

Methodist Church (First) 152

" " Centenary 185

" " Independent 153

" " Morris Chapel 155

Mennifee, E. H 342

Mission Church 407

Mound Builders, The 11

" Opened, and Contents 9,

Morrison, Colonel James 51

" Captain John 28

" Professorship 48

" College 48

Morgan, John H 399

" " "and the Officer 356

Moore, Eev. James 198

Netherland, Benj 90, 100

Negroes 289, 338

Nicholas, George 43

" S. S 402

Novel Trial, A 106

Noel, Eev. S. M 121

Northern Bank of Kentucky 331

" Old King Solomon " 374

Observer and Eeporter 233

Orphan Asylum 326

Odd Fellows Lodges 340

" Old and New Court" 300

Paint Lick Expedition 123

Patterson, Colonel Eobert, Settles Lexington 23

" " " Biography 26

" " " Anecdote of 91

Parker, Robert 114

" Eiohard 159

Peers, Eev. B. O ,.... 51

Peter, Dr. E 50, 53, 56

INDEX. 427

Physicians of Lexington 32o

Pioneer Women of Lexington 93

Pinkerton, Dr. L. L ". 311

Planetarium 185

Plan of Lexington Adopted 73

Poythress, Father 152

Tortrails 145-150

Pope, John 1(32

Population of Lexington and Fayette, 220, 240, 295, 363, 414, 412, 383, 404

Post OflBce 188

'• Musters , 190

Presbyterian Church, (First) 108

" " (Second) 281

Preston, Wm 279

Price, S. W 149

Prosperity of Lexington 240, 344

Pruden, M 386

Public Spring 24

Pythias, Knights of 408

Kafinesque, Professor C. S 4,47

Baisin Massacre 255

Eankin, Kev. Adam 108

Eailroads 318, 365, 366, 409

Bacing Associations 128

Beynolds, Aaron 84, 91

"Belief and Anti-Relief" 297

Beligious Excitement 220

" Revival 328

Bepresentatives in Legislature » 177

" " Congress 180

Bepublicans, National, and Democrats 316

Bed Men 394

Bice, Kev. David 41

Bidgely, Dr. F 44

Boyal Spring 18

Bosa's Poems 377

Robertson, Judge George 334

Bussell, Colonel Wm 103

Bussell's Expedition 251

" Spring and Cave 295

Sac Legend of Kentucky 14

Sayre, D. A 300, 405

" Institute 374

Scott, M.T 382

Senators, United States, from Fayette 180

" State " " 1'^

Searle, Charles, Heroic Death of 187, 259

Sheriffs, List of • "

Shackelford, Elder John 408

Sheep Excitement, Incident ^38

Shipman, Rev. J. S........ 201

Shelby's, Governor, Address m

Sinking Spring • .- ;; ^°°

Skillman's "Western Luminary 3U0

Smith, Bishop, B. B 19J

Sons of Temperance *"^

Society for Useful Knowledge 1^3

St. Clair's Defeat..... 168

r^. /-i_iU„-:«/>'o AnoHfimv -J^o

245

216

St. Catharine's Academy
St. Tammany Society.,
St. Andrews Society

428 INDEX.

streets Opened and Named 64, 105, 219, 114, 115, 203

Statesman, Kentucky (old) 360

" " (new) 394

Stallions, Fayette...: 135

Survey of Lexington 166

Taverns, Early 114

Tartar Emetic Treat, The 301

Telegraph 360

" The Man who Smoked out the Indians 158

Theaters 203

Town laid oflF 65

Todd, Bev. John 41

" Colonel John...." 32, 40, 92

" Kobert 101

" Levi 32

Town Fork 114, 162, 219, 203, 242

Tomlinson, N 85

Trade and Wealth of Lexington and Fayette 412

Trotter, General George 26T. 280

" Expedition 252

True American, Bemoval of 351

Transylvania University, Origin of 40

" " Removal to Lexington 41

" " Donations to 47,53,54

" Library 47, 53

" Holly's Term 46-49

Turfmen of Fayette 135

United States Bank 289

Yardeman, Bev. J 120

Vaughn, Mrs. Ehoda 116

" Adjutant E. M 116

Ver Bryck, Wm. (Artist) 149

Visit of Monroe, Jackson, and Shelby 293

Ward, Bev. John....". 199

War 1812 Commenced 246

" «' Incident of • 189

" " Soldiers of 247, 261, 262, 270

" " Killed of 159, 252, 254, 261

Washington's Funeral 220

Warfleld, Dr. E 45

Wayne's Victory 188

Welsh, Bev. Jas 110

West, Wm. (Artist) 145

" Edward (Inventor) 183

Whigs and Democrats 320, 350

Wilkinson, General James 106, 107, 108, 156, 167

Wilson's, Misses, Poems 395

Wileus & Co.'s Bank 409

Wickliffe, Kobert, Sen , 382

" " Jr 364

" D. C 237

« B. N 235

Women of Lexington 93

Woods, Rev. Alva 150

Woolley, Judge A. K 36i

Young, Bev. J. C 283

Sen. James B.Beck.

i.s3CiM«TOiir, Jtr.:
Friday MornlDK. m.ay Si, 1878.

Personal.

Mr. George Alfred Towcsend, who
is so well knoirn to our citizens
through his Washington City letters
to the Cir. jnati Enquirer, is on a
visit to Les gton, and is registered
at the Phot)/ix Hotel.

\,'tM4i**teiHWHii«diAiiiuL r,