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REUBEN  T.  DURRETT. 


President  of  the  Filson  Club. 


FILSON  CLUB.PUBLICATIONS  NO.  8. 
— 


THE  CENTENARY  OF  LOUISVILLE 


A  Paper  read  before  the  Southern  Historical  Association, 
Saturday,  May  ist,  1880, 


IN  COMMEMORATION  OF  THE 


ONE  HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY 


OF  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE 


CITY  OF  LOUISVILLE 


AS  AN  INCORPORATED  TOWN, 


UNDER  AN  ACT  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE  OF  VIRGINIA. 


BY  REUBEN  T.  DURRETT, 

President  of  the  Fllson  Club. 


LOUISVILLE,  KENTUCKY: 
JOHN    P.   MORTON    AND    COMPANY, 

to  l§e  Siteor;  €fu&. 
1893 


COPYRIGHTED  BY 

REUBEN   T.  DURRETT, 

1893 


I 


PREFACE. 

THE  historical  paper  read  by  Reuben  T.  Durrett, 
President  of  the  Filson  Club,  to  the  Southern 
Historical  Association,  May  i,  1880,  in  commemora- 
tion of  the  One  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  the  birth 
of  Louisville,  is  here  issued  as  No.  8  of  the  Filson 
Club  publications.  Last  year,  1892,  the  Club  published 
"The  Centenary  of  Kentucky"  as  Filson  Club  Publica- 
tions No.  7,  and  it  is  thought  that  "  The  Centenary  of 
Louisville,"  the  chief  city  of  the  State,  will  be  a  fitting 
companion.  Mr.  Durrett  has  revised  this  paper  so  as 
to  free  it  from  certain  omissions  and  mistakes  which 
appeared  in  the  newspaper  reports  at  the  time  it  was 
delivered.  It  was  too  long  for  our  daily  papers  to  print 
in  full,  and  the  attempt  to  condense  it  not  only  de- 
stroyed its  unity  but  marred  it  by  important  omissions. 
Its  publication  in  full,  with  foot-notes  and  appendices, 
will  restore  an  important  historic  document  to  what  it 
was  intended  by  the  author.  It  can  hardly  fail  thus 
published  to  be  grateful  to  the  descendants  of  the 


4  Preface. 

founders  of  the  city  whose  names  are  mentioned,  while 
it  must  be  invaluable  to  the  future  historian.  Indeed 
it  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  the  future  historian 
of  Louisville  and  the  biographer  of  its  founders  can 
not  faithfully  tell  the  story  of  the  city  and  its  pioneers 
without  either  this  publication  or  the  original  sources 
from  which  its  facts  are  taken,  which  sources  are  to  a 
large  extent  in  manuscript  in  the  possession  of  the 

author. 

THOMAS  SPEED, 

Secretary  of  the  Filson  Club. 
LOUISVILLE,  KY.,  1893. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


LOUISVILLE,  KY.,  April  24,  1880. 
COL.  R.  T.  DURRETT  : 

Dear  Sir :  At  a  meeting  of  the  Southern  Historical  Association, 
held  last  night,  the  undersigned  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
invite  you  to  read  before  our  association,  on  next  Saturday  even- 
ing, May  i,  1880,  at  eight  o'clock,  a  paper  upon  the  settlement 
and  early  history  of  Louisville,  that  being  the  one  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  birth  of  our  city.  This  request  has  been  made 
with  a  desire  to  preserve  for  our  association  and  for  history  all 
the  valuable  facts  and  incidents  upon  the  subject  which  you,  with 
a  taste  for  such  matters,  have  collected  during  all  the  years  of 
your  residence  in  this  city,  eminently  qualifying  you  for  this  duty. 
Earnestly  hoping  that  you  will  accept  the  invitation  it  affords  us 
so  much  pleasure  to  convey,  we  are,  etc., 

Yours  very  truly, 

E.  H.  MCDONALD, 

JOHN  S.  JACKMAN, 
R.  H.  THOMPSON, 

Committee. 

LOUISVILLE,  KY.,  April  24,  1880. 
MESSRS.  E.  H.  MCDONALD,  J.  S.  JACKMAN,  R.  H.  THOMPSON  : 

Gentlemen :  I  have  your  communication  of  this  morning,  invit- 
ing me  to  read  a  paper  before  the  Southern  Historical  Association 
next  Saturday,  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  Louisville,  as  a 


6  Correspondence. 

centennial  address.  While  I  would  have  preferred,  if  your  rules 
had  permitted,  to  deliver  an  address  to  reading  a  paper,  it  never- 
theless affords  me  great  pleasure  to  accept  the  flattering  invitation 
with  which  I  am  honored. 

Louisville  for  the  last  one  hundred  years  is  history,  and  yours 
being  an  historical  association  has  very  properly  determined  not  to 
let  its  one  hundredth  anniversary  pass  without  making  it  part  of  the 
society  records.  In  the  short  time  which  I  have  I  will,  therefore, 
endeavor  to  prepare  the  best  paper  I  can  on  Louisville  for  an  hun- 
dred years,  and  read  it  before  the  Southern  Historical  Association 
next  Saturday  evening.  Respectfully, 

R.  T.  DURRETT. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 


A'  its  May  session,  one  hundred  years  ago,  the  Leg- 
islature of  Virginia  passed  an  act,  which  took 
effect  on  the  first  of  May,  1780,  establishing  the  town  of 
Louisville  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio.  Previous  to  this 
date  there  was  a  settlement  here  known  as  the  "  Falls 
of  Ohio,"  and  indeed  one  known  as  Louisville,  but 
to-day  is  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth 
of  Louisville  as  an  incorporated  town. 

In  the  barbarous  ages  of  the  world,  periods  of  an 
hundred  years  came  and  went  without  any  remarkable 
changes  in  the  condition  of  man.  Even  under  the 
lights  of  early  civilization  centuries  dawned  and  faded 
without  the  effects  produced  in  modern  times  by  such 
periods.  We  of  to-day,  with  the  arts  and  sciences  to 
help,  crowd  into  a  single  year  what  our  ancestors  could 
accomplish  only  in  very  long  periods  of  time.  The 
contrast  between  the  Louisville  of  1880  and  the  Louis- 
ville of  1780  is  very  great;  but  between  our  city  of 


8  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

to-day  and  what  it  may  be  in  1980  the  contrast  must 
be  much  greater.  The  lightning  with  which  we  speak 
and  the  iron  horse  on  which  we  ride  are  but  emblems 
of  the  rapid  age  in  which  we  rush  on  to  grand  achieve- 
ments. 

As  we   stand  at  the  distance  of  one   hundred  years 
from    the    incorporation    of   the    town    of    Louisville    at 
the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  and  look  back  upon  the  changes 
that  have  occurred,  the   space  of  time   that   is   involved 
naturally    divides    itself   into    three    periods:    the    first, 
anterior  to  the    act  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  giving 
Louisville  legal  existence;    the  second,  the  time  during 
which    the    town    was    governed    by    trustees,    and    the 
third,  the   period   in   which  as  a  city  it  has  been  sub- 
ject  to   mayors   and   councils    under   charters.     Let   us, 
in   response   to   the   suggestions   of  the   occasion,  recur 
to    such    events    in    each    of   these    periods    as    may    be 
worthy    of    the    memory    of    the    actors    in    them    and 
explanatory    of    the    changes    which    have   brought    our 
city  from  what   it  was   to  what   it   is. 


FIRST  PERIOD. 

Enfmor  io  flje  3Tir»f  of  IDag,  1780. 


PREHISTORIC  RACES. 

WERE  we  disposed  to  look  deeply  into  the  distant 
past,  to  peer  into  a  time  to  the  confines  of  which 
neither  history  nor  tradition  reaches,  we  have  some  evi- 
dence to  show  that  when  all  was  dark  and  unknown 
the  place  now  occupied  by  the  citizens  of  Louisville 
was  possessed  by  a  race  of  human  beings  who  lived 
long  upon  the  earth,  progressed  in  some  branches  of 
the  arts,  and  passed  away  without  a  history,  a  tradition, 
or  a  name.  We  call  them  Mound-Builders,  and  besides 
attributing  to  them  certain  tumuli  and  works  found 
upon  the  surface  of  the  earth,  pieces  of  pottery  for 
domestic  use,  stone  hatchets,  flint  arrow-heads,  and 
numerous  articles  of  use  and  ornament  supposed  to 
have  been  made  by  them  have  been  found  mingled 
with  human  bones,  in  sinking  wells  and  excavating 
cellars,  deep  down  below  the  present  plane  upon  which 
Louisville  now  stands.  In  a  large  mound  *  which  stood 

*  St.  Paul's  Church,  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Walnut  and  Sixth  streets, 
stands  on  the  site  of  a  mound  which  also  extended  to  the  old  Graysou  House 


ro  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

at  the  intersection  of  Walnut  and  Sixth  streets,  and 
in  another*  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Main  and  Fifth 
streets,  human  bones,  stone  axes,  flint  arrow-heads,  and 
different  articles  of  use  and  ornament  belonging  to  the 
paleolithic  period  were  found.  In  cutting  the  channel 
of  the  canal  around  the  Falls  there  were  found  in  the 
alluvial  deposit,  twenty  feet  below  the  surface,  a  number 
of  implements  made  of  stone,  and  plummets  made  of  the 
hematite  of  iron,  and  a  hearth  made  of  flat  stones  with 
the  charred  ends  of  wood  upon  it,  and  human  bones  near 
to  it.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  at  the  still  greater 
depth  of  forty  feet  below  the  present  surface,  were  found 
a  stone  hatchet  and  pestle  near  a  hearth  on  which  lay 

on  the  north.  This  mound,  though  not  more  than  fifteen  feet  in  height  when 
first  known,  had  a  circumference  of  more  than  one  hundred  feet  at  its  base. 
In  182 .  it  was  dug  down  by  Frederick  W.  Grayson,  and  the  material  used  for 
filling  up  what  was  known  as  Grayson's  Pond.  This  pond  extended  from 
Walnut  almost  to  Green  and  from  Sixth  to  Center  streets,  and  was  one  of  the 
attractions  of  the  city  in  early  times,  on  account  of  its  clear  water  filled  with 
fish  and  the  fine  forest  trees  that  shaded  its  margins.  In  winter,  when  cov- 
ered with  ice,  it  was  the  skating-rink  of  the  city.  In  digging  down  this 
mound  many  prehistoric  relics,  such  as  axes,  arrow-heads,  pipes,  pieces  of 
pottery,  etc,  were  found,  also  human  bones  almost  gone  to  decay  The  skull 
of  a  supposed  "Mound-Builder"  and  a  number  of  paleolithic  specimens  from 
s  mound  have  been  preserved  and  are  now  in  the  possession  of  the  writer 
The  ground  on  which  the  old  Grayson  House  stands  is  considerably  above 
the  street  level,  and  is  the  only  survival  of  this  mound. 

'The  mound  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Fifth  streets  was  of  less  dimen- 
sions  than  the   one  at  the   corner  of  Walnut  and   Sixth,  and  yielded  fewer 
s  mound,  however,  was  probably  what  determined  the  beginning 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 


ii 


a  stick  of  wood  burnt  in  the  middle  across  the  hearth ; 
and  in  a  gravel  pit  at  the  corner  of  Fourteenth  and 
Kentucky  streets,  at  the  depth  of  twenty-five  feet  below 
the  surface,  was  found  the  tooth  of  a  mastodon  among 
human  bones  and  implements  of  the  Stone  Age.  Here 
we  have  facts  from  which  the  ethnologist  might  infer  that 
man  had  been  here  cotemporary  with  the  mastodon ;  that 
a  race  of  human  beings  dwelt  where  Louisville  now 
stands,  possibly  before  the  Pyramids  were  built,  and  that 
we  are  now  erecting  a  great  city  over  the  former  habi- 
tation of  men  so  long  passed  away  that  the  dust  of  ages 
has  accumulated  to  the  depth  of  forty  feet  above  the 
place  that  knows  them  no  more  forever. 

of  lot-numbering  in  the  city.  Lot  No.  I  was  located  at  the  northeast  corner 
of  Main  and  Fifth  streets,  where  this  mound  stood.  It  was  at  first  regarded 
as  a  natural  hill  by  the  pioneers,  but  was  of  such  regular  form  as  to  attract 
attention  to  the  place,  and  to  determine  the  point  where  the  city  should 
begin  to  be  laid  off.  In  its  immediate  vicinity  were  a  large  oak  and  a  huge 
poplar,  which  cast  their  shadows  upon  it  and  added  to  the  attractiveness  of 
the  locality.  Michael  Lacassagne,  the  first  postmaster  of  Louisville,  became 
the  owner  of  lot  No.  I,  after  several  previous  owners  had  possessed  it,  and 
erected  on  it  a  beautiful  French  cottage,  where  he  resided.  He  lived  in  lux- 
urious style  and  kept  open  house.  It  was  his  intention  to  preserve  this 
mound  as  one  of  the  picturesque  features  of  his  place,  but  he  died  in  1797, 
and  in  1802  the  last  remains  of  the  mound  were  removed  by  Evan  Williams, 
and  the  material  used  in  equalizing  the  grade  of  Fifth  Street  between  Main 
and  the  river.  In  removing  it  the  flint  arrow-heads,  stone  axes,  pieces  of  pot- 
tery, and  human  bones  found  in  it  decided  that  it  was  an  artificial  mound 
and  not  a  natural  hill. 


12 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 


THE  INDIAN  OCCUPANCY. 

The  Indians  who  claimed  the  possession  of  the  land 
when  the  first  settlers  came  to  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  had 
dispossessed  the  first  occupants  at  a  period  too  remote 
for  history,  but  their  traditions  tell  us  that  the  last  great 
battle  between  the  red  men  and  the  "  long  ago  people  " 
was  fought  on  Sandy  Island,  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio. 
Here  and  at  Clarksville,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river, 
the  first  settlers  found  great  quantities  of  human  bones 
in  the  confusion  in  which  the  last  struggle  for  life  would 
naturally  have  left  them,  and  the  Indians  claimed  that 
these  were  the  bones  of  the  "  long  ago  people  "  extermi- 
nated by  their  ancestors. 

THE  INDIANS'  GREAT  PARK. 

When  the  first  settlers  of  Louisville  came  to  the  Falls 
of  the  Ohio  the  whole  State  of  Kentucky,  except  that 
portion  known  as  the  Barrens,*  was  covered  by  the  pri- 

*The  Barrens  are  laid  down  on  Filson's  map  of  1784  as  lying  between 
Salt  River  on  the  north,  Green  River  on  the  south,  the  knobs  of  the  Mul- 
draugh  range  on  the  east,  and  the  Ohio  River  on  the  west.  Here  was  avast 
treeless  region  covered  with  coarse  grass  that  grew  as  high  as  a  man  on 
horseback,  and  over  which  roamed  great  herds  of  buffalo  and  deer.  It  was 
thought  to  have  been  caused  by  the  burning  of  the  trees  by  the  Indians  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  pasturage  for  these  animals.  This  would  seem  to 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  13 

meval  forest  and  set  aside  as  the  hunting-ground  of  the 
Indians.  No  wigwam  stood  within  its  boundaries  and 
no  crop  of  maize  grew  upon  its  soil.  It  was  a  park  ded- 
icated to  the  different  tribes  for  hunting  and  fishing, 
and  no  human  habitation  anywhere  desecrated  this  com- 
mon right  to  the  forest  and  stream.  A  great  flood  in 
the  Ohio  caused  the  Indians  to  erect  a  village  *  in  Ken- 
tucky, opposite  to  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto,  about  the 
middle  of  the  last  century;  but  it  passed  away  before 
Louisville  was  settled,  leaving  the  great  park  undis- 
turbed. It  was  such  a  park  as  no  civilized  nation  had 
ever  set  aside  for  angling  and  the  chase.  From  the 

have  been  the  cause,  from  the  fact  that  so  soon  as  the  Indians  were  driven 
from  the  country  this  region  was  covered  with  a  new  growth  of  young  trees. 
The  trees  here  are  not  so  large  as  in  other  parts  of  the  forests  of  Kentucky, 
because  they  have  had  but  about  a  century  of  growth.  Along  the  water- 
courses, however,  where  the  original  trees  were  protected  from  the  fire,  there 
are  some  of  the  giants  of  the  original  forest  yet  to  be  seen.  It  is  difficult  to 
understand  how  the  Indians  could  have  set  fire  to  an  original  forest;  but  if 
this  original  forest  had  been  once  destroyed  by  drouth,  insects,  or  any  other 
agent,  it  is  easy  to  conceive  how  they  might  have  kept  new  trees  from  growing 
by  the  use  of  fire.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  original  cause  of  the  Barrens, 
they  were  there  cotemporaneous  with  the  Indians,  and  when  the  Indians  were 
gone  the  trees  began  to  grow. 

When  Christopher  Gist  was  on  his  way  down  the  Ohio  to  select  lands 
for  the  Ohio  Company,  in  1750,  he  stopped  at  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto  River 
and  noted  in  his  journal  a  Shawnee  town  on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the  Ohio, 
containing  about  forty  houses.  George  Croghan,  in  his  journal  of  1765,  says 
this  town  on  the  Kentucky  side  was  built  on  the  high  lands  of  Kentucky  by 
the  Indians  because  of  a  great  flood  in  the  Ohio,  which  rose  nine  feet  over 
the  banks  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  and  rendered  uninhabitable  the 


14  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

rugged  mountains,  that  walled  it  in  on  the  east,  to  the 
mighty  Mississippi  and  the  lovely  Ohio,  which  bound  it 
on  the  west  and  north,  there  was  a  succession  of  lovely 
plains  and  gentle  hills  and  smiling  valleys  and  dark  for- 
ests and  sunny  canebrakes  in  which  game  of  every  kind 
abounded.  There  were  herds  of  buffalo  and  droves  of 
deer  and  flocks  of  turkeys  on  the  hills  and  plains  and  in 
the  valleys  such  as  mortal  eye  had  not  elsewhere  seen, 
and  in  the  rivers  and  streams  winding  through  every 
part  of  the  land  there  were  shoals  of  fish  that  it  seemed 
could  never  be  exhausted. 

old  Shawnee  town  which  stood  there.  The  banks  on  which  this  old  Shawnee 
town  stood,  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  were  forty  feet  high,  so  that  this 
flood  must  have  risen  to  a  height  of  about  fifty  feet  at  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto. 
Croghan  says  that  during  the  French  and  Indian  War  the  Indians  abandoned 
their  Kentucky  town  for  fear  of  the  Virginians,  and  rebuilt  on  the  plains  of 
the  Scioto.  James  McAfee  was  there  in  1773,  and  noted  in  his  journal  of  that 
date  that  some  of  the  houses  built  of  logs,  with  board  roofs,  doors,  and  chim- 
neys, were  yet  standing,  though  not  inhabited.  He  speaks  of  the  houses  as 
of  the  style  usually  built  by  the  French,  and  it  is  probable  that  this  Kentucky 
town  was  of  joint  French  and  Indian  origin.  Another  Indian  town  in  Ken- 
tucky is  laid  down  on  the  Pownal  edition  of  the  Evans  map  of  1755.  It  is 
called  Eskippakithiki,  and  is  between  the  Kentucky  and  Licking  rivers.  The 
Shawnees  at  an  early  date  no  doubt  had  other  villages  in  Kentucky,  as  indi- 
cated by  the  Indian  Old  Fields  in  Clark  County  and  other  remains  elsewhere. 
Dr.  Franklin,  in  his  answer  to  the  report  of  the  Lords  Commissioners,  in  1772, 
stated  that  the'Shawnees  had  a  large  town  on  the  Kentucky  River  in  1752,  and 
another  opposite  to  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto  in  1755.  All,  however,  had  van- 
ished before  our  pioneers  settled  in  Kentucky.  Nothing  remained  to  indicate 
previous  occupancy  that  was  so  conspicuous  as  the  mysterious  earthworks  of 
the  Mound-Builders. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  15 

The  work  of  the  first  settlers  of  Louisville  was  not 
therefore  to  dispossess  a  prior  people  of  their  ancestral 
homes,  but  to  turn  the  barrens  and  forests  in  which  they 
hunted  into  the  farms  and  cities  of  civilization,  and  to 
make  the  noble  rivers  in  which  they  fished  the  highways 
of  commerce.  Our  ancestors  found  here  in  1773,  on  the 
high  bank  of  a  noble  river,  a  fine  site  for  a  city,  with  a 
genial  sky  above  and  a  generous  soil  around,  which  was 
unoccupied,  and  at  most  only  visited  at  long  intervals 
by  roving  bands  of  savages  in  search  of  game,  or  on  the 
lookout  for  beings  of  their  own  kind  on  whom  to  make 
war. 

LA  SALLE*  THE  DISCOVERER  OF  LOUISVILLE. 

In  the  year  1808,  while  digging  the  foundation  of 
the  great  flouring  mill  of  the  Tarascons  in  that  part  of 
Louisville  known  as  Shippingport,  it  became  necessary 

*  Robert  Cavalier  de  La  Salle  was  a  Frenchman,  born  at  Rouen  in  1643. 
He  was  of  an  honorable  Burgher  family,  possessed  of  both  wealth  and  political 
influence.  He  was  educated  for  the  priesthood  of  the  Jesuits,  but  when  his 
education  was  completed,  and  he  had  reached  the  years  of  manhood,  he  found 
himself  utterly  unfitted  for  the  duties  of  the  followers  of  Loyola.  There  were 
blended  in  his  nature  an  invincible  inclination  to  think  and  to  act  for  himself, 
and  this  was  not  compatible  with  the  Jesuits'  rule,  which  required  all  subor- 
dinates to  follow  the  thoughts  of  their  superiors.  He  left  the  Jesuits  in  early 
manhood  and  made  his  way  to  Canada,  in  North  America,  in  1666.  He  prob- 
ably came  to  this  country  for  the  purpose  of  being  an  explorer,  and  with  the 
hope  of  finding  a  water-way  across  the  continent  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  He 


1 6  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

to  remove  a  large  sycamore  tree,  the  trunk  of  which  was 
six  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  roots  of  which  penetrated 
the  earth  for  forty  feet  around.  Under  the  center  of  the 
trunk  of  this  tree  was  found  an  iron  hatchet,*  which 
was  so  guarded  by  the  base  and  roots  that  no  human 
hand  could  have  placed  it  there  after  the  tree  grew.  It 

made  important  discoveries,  among  which  were  the  Ohio  and  Illinois  rivers, 
and  was  the  first  to  descend  the  Mississippi  from  the  Illinois  River  to  the  Gulf. 
After  a  failure  to  find  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  by  sea,  he  attempted  to 
reach  Canada  by  land,  and  was  murdered  by  his  own  employes,  in  1687,  on  a 
branch  of  Trinity  River  in  Texas. 

*  This  hatchet  when  found  passed  into  the  hands  of  Jared  Brooks,  an  early 
engineer  and  journalist  of  Louisville.  His  plan  of  a  canal  around  the  Falls, 
drawn  in  1806,  was  substantially  adopted  when  the  canal  was  made,  a  quarter 
of  a  century  later.  He  was  the  author  of  two  of  the  best  maps  of  Louisville, 
one  in  1806  and  the  other  in  1812.  We  are  indebted  to  him  for  the  only  scien- 
tific account  we  have  of  the  earthquake  of  1812,  which  formed  Reelfoot  Lake, 
and  changed  the  face  of  the  country  in  the  southwestern  portion  of  the  State. 
He  was  for  several  years  editor  of  the  Louisville  Gazette,  and  was  noted  for 
his  learning  upon  almost  every  subject.  He  died  in  1816,  and  after  his  death 
there  were  found  among  his  papers  crayon  likenesses  of  many  of  our  most 
eminent  pioneers,  and  drawings  of  a  number  of  the  early  buildings  of  the 
city.  He  seems  to  have  contemplated  and  been  at  work  upon  an  illustrated 
history  of  Louisville,  but  died  before  finishing  it.  He  was  a  man  of  sufficient 
learning  to  know  the  value  of  this  hatchet  as  an  historic  souvenir,  and  to  him 
it  is  possible  its  preservation  is  due.  He  got  it  from  Mr.  Tarascon,  on  whose 
premises  it  was  found,  and  afterwards  passed  it  to  Dr.  McMurtrie,  who  men- 
tioned it  in  his  history  of  Louisville.  When  Dr.  McMurtrie  returned  to  Phila- 
delphia it  passed  from  him  to  William  Marshall,  who  sold  it  to  the  present 
owner.  It  is  seven  inches  long  and  five  inches  wide  across  the  cutting  edge. 
It  is  of  light  make,  and  seems  to  be  of  French  manufacture.  When  found 
it  was  almost  consumed  by  rust,  but  the  flakes  which  came  off  when  it  was 
exposed  to  the  air  have  been  re-cemented  with  shellac,  and  the  hatchet  thus 
restored  to  its  original  appearance. 


RENE-ROBERT  CAVALIER.  SIEUR  DE  LA  SALLE. 


The  Discoverer  of  the  Site  of  Louisville. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  17 

must  have  occupied  the  spot  where  it  was  found  when 
the  tree  began  to  grow.  The  hatchet  was  made  by  bend- 
ing a  flat  bar  of  iron  around  a  cylinder  until  the  two 
ends  met,  and  then  welding  them  together  and  hammer- 
ing them  to  a  cutting  edge,  leaving  a  round  hole  at  the 
bend  for  a  handle.  The  annulations  of  this  tree  were 
two  hundred  in  number,  thus  showing  it  to  be  two  hun- 
dred years  old  according  to  the  then  mode  of  computa- 
tion. Here  was  a  find  which  proved  to  be  a  never-ending 
puzzle  to  the  early  scientists  of  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio. 
The  annulations  of  this  tree  made  it  two  hundred  years 
old,  and  so  fixed  the  date  earlier  than  any  white  man  or 
user  of  iron  was  known  to  have  been  at  the  falls.  One 
thought  that  Moscoso,  the  successor  of  De  Soto,  in  his 
wanderings  up  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  rivers,  might 
have  entered  the  Ohio  and  left  the  hatchet  there  in  1542; 
another,  that  it  might  have  come  from  the  Spaniards 
who  settled  St.  Augustine  in  1565 ;  another,  that  the 
Spaniards  who  went  up  the  Ohio  in  1669  in  search  of 
silver  might  have  left  it  where  it  was  found;  and  another, 
that  Marquette,  when  he  discovered  the  Upper  Mississippi 
in  1673,  or  La  Salle,  when  he  sailed  down  to  its  mouth 
in  1682,  might  have  given  the  hatchet  to  an  Indian,  who 
left  it  at  the  Falls.  But  from  these  reasonable  conjectures 
their  learning  and  imagination  soon  led  these  savants 

3 


1 8  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

into  the  wildest  theories  and  conjectures.  One  thought 
that  the  Northmen,  whom  the  Sagas  of  Sturleson  made 
discoverers  of  America  in  the  eleventh  century,  had 
brought  the  hatchet  to  this  country;  another,  that  Prince 
Madoc,*  who  left  a  principality  in  Wales  in  the  twelfth 
century  for  a  home  in  the  western  wilderness,  might  have 
brought  it  here ;  and  another,  that  it  might  have  been 
brought  here  by  those  ancient  Europeans  whom  Diodorus 
and  Pausanius  and  other  classical  writers  assure  us  were 
in  communication  with  this  country  in  ancient  times. 

X 

One  of  these  learned  ethnologists  finally  went  so  far 
as  to  advance  the  theory  of  the  Egyptian  priests,  as 
related  by  Plato,  that  the  autochthons  of  our  race  brought 
it  here  before  the  Island  of  Atlantis,  lying  between  Europe 
and  America,  went  down  in  the  ocean  and  cut  off  all 
further  communication  between  the  continents.f 

*See  Appendix  A. 

tThe  philosophers  of  Louisville  who  so  learnedly  discussed  the  iron 
hatchet  were  men  of  the  highest  standing  in  their  day.  They  were  Louis  A. 
Tarascon,  the  author  of  several  pamphlets  and  newspaper  articles  published 
here  in  early  years;  Jared  Brooks,  an  accomplished  engineer,  scientist,  and 
journalist;  Fortunatus  Cosby,  a  learned  lawyer  and  Judge  of  the  Jefferson  Cir- 
cuit Court;  Richard  Ferguson,  an  eminent  physician  and  surgeon;  Joshua  Vail, 
associate  editor  and  owner  of  the  Farmers'  Library,  the  first  newspaper  pub- 
lished in  Louisville;  John  J.  Audubon,  the  distinguished  ornithologist  and 
author;  James  C.Johnston,  a  learned  physician  and  accomplished  scholar,  and 
William  Marshall,  an  antiquarian.  Dr.  Johnston  was  the  youngest  of  the  party, 
but  he  made  up  in  brains  and  learning  what  he  lacked  in  years.  William 
Marshall  made  no  pretensions  to  culture,  but  he  was  an  antiquarian,  and  got 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  19 

This  hatchet,  however,  really  furnished  no  occasion 
for  such  strained  conjectures  and  wild  speculations.  If 
the  sycamore  under  which  it  was  found  was  two  hundred 
years  old,  as  indicated  by  its  annulations,  it  must  have 
begun  to  grow  about  the  time  that  Jamestown  in  Virginia 
and  Quebec  in  Canada  were  founded.  It  would  have  been 
no  unreasonable  act  for  an  Indian  or  white  man  to  have 
brought  this  hatchet  from  the  English  on  the  James,  or 
from  the  French  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  to  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio  in  1608,  just  two  hundred  years  before  it  was  dis- 
covered by  removing  the  tree  that  grew  over  it.  The 
known  habit  of  the  sycamore,  however,  to  make  more 
than  one  annulation  in  years  particularly  favorable  to 
growth  suggests  that  two  hundred  annulations  do  not 
necessarily  mean  that  many  years.  If  we  allow  about 
fifty  per  cent  of  the  life  of  the  tree  to  have  been  during 

admission  to  the  learned  circle  by  the  curious  specimens  and  souvenirs  he 
was  always  finding  and  showing.  He  got  hold  of  a  translation  of  the  Timseus 
of  Plato,  and  became  a  convert  to  the  theory  of  the  Sunken  Continent  as 
related  to  Solon  by  the  Egyptian  priests.  It  was  he  who  suggested  that  the 
hatchet  might  have  come  from  the  Island  of  Atlantis  before  it  went  down  and 
cut  off  all  communication  between  the  Eastern  and  Western  hemispheres.  He 
lived  to  extreme  old  age,  and  supported  himself  in  the  pinching  poverty  of 
his  last  years  by  the  sale  of  the  souvenirs  and  specimens  he  had  collected 
when  in  better  circumstances.  He  managed  to  get  possession  of  this  old 
hatchet  when  Dr.  McMurtrie  returned  to  Philadelphia,  and  held  it  for  a  long 
time  as  the  gem  of  his  little  collection.  He  finally  sold  it  to  secure,  as  he 
stated,  bread  to  save  him  from  starvation. 


20  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

years  exceptionally  favorable  to  its  growth,  and  assign 
double  annulations  to  these  favorable  years,  we  shall  have 
this  tree  to  have  made  its  two  hundred  annulations  in 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  years,  and  to  have 
sprung  from  its  seed  and  to  have  begun  its  growth  about 
the  year  1669  or  1670,  when  La  Salle,  the  great  French 
explorer,  is  believed  to  have  been  at  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio.  We  have  no  account  of  any  one  at  the  Falls  in 
1608,  or  about  this  time,  to  support  the  conjecture  that 
it  might  have  come  from  Jamestown  or  Quebec ;  but  we 
have  La  Salle  at  this  place  in  1669  or  1670,  and  it  is  not 
unreasonable  that  he  should  have  left  it  here  at  that  time. 
In  this  sense  the  old  rusty  hatchet,  which  is  fortunately 
preserved,  becomes  interesting  to  us  all  for  its  connec- 
tion with  the  discovery  of  Louisville.  It  is  a  souvenir 
of  the  first  white  man  who  ever  saw  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio.  It  is  a  memento  of  Robert  Cavalier  de  La  Salle, 
the  discoverer  of  the  site  of  the  city  of  Louisville.* 

'*  There  is  no  little  confusion  about  the  time  that  La  Salle  was  at  the  Kails 
of  the  Ohio.  That  he  was  the  discoverer  of  the  Ohio  River,  and  descended  it 
to  the  Falls  in  1669  or  1670,  is  generally  conceded;  but  whether  he  was  at  the 
Falls  in  1669  or  1670  is  in  doubt.  Francis  Parkman,  the  learned  historian,  with 
all  the  lights  of  modern  research  before  him,  was  to  the  last  in  doubt  whether 
it  was  1669  or  1670.  I  have  no  means  of  positively  determining  whether  it  was 
in  1669  or  1670,  but  I  want  a  fixed  date  for  the  discovery  of  the  site  of  Louis- 
ville, and  can  afford  to  reason  on  the  subject.  I  believe  that  La  Salle  was  on 
the  site  of  Louisville  late  in  the  fall  or  earl)'  in  the  winter  of  1669,  and  that  the 
evidence  that  we  have  will  justify  this  conclusion.  He  is  known  to  have  been 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  21 


OTHER  WHITE  PERSONS  EARLY  AT  THE  FALLS. 

After  La  Salle  discovered  the  Falls  in  1669  or  1670, 
no  white  man  is  known  to  have  done  more  than  to  pass 
the  site  in  ascending  or  descending  the  Ohio,  as  did  the 
French  in  military  movements,  and  the  traders  in  going 
from  place  to  place,  for  nearly  one  hundred  years.  In 
1766  Captain  Thomas  Hutchins  *  was  at  the  Falls  of  the 

at  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario  on  the  last  of  September,  1669,  on  his  way  to  the 
discovery  of  the  Ohio  River.  This  would  allow  him  two  months  to  find  the 
Ohio  and  descend  it  to  the  Falls  before  the  beginning  of  winter.  What  La 
Salle  himself  says  of  the  Falls  leaves  the  impression  that  he  visited  the  rapids 
when  the  river  was  low.  There  have  been  years  when  the  low  water  of  the 
Ohio  was  prolonged  through  the  fall  and  into  the  early  winter  for  want  of 
rains,  and  it  is  probable  that  1669  was  this  kind  of  year.  La  Salle  speaks  of 
the  Falls  as  a  "  tombe  de  fort  haut,"  a  sight  which  he  could  only  have  seen  at 
low  water,  if  indeed  he  could  have  seen  it  at  all.  The  place  where  the  hatchet 
was  found  was  on  the  Shippingport  point,  from  which,  looking  in  a  northwest 
direction  above  the  head  of  Goose  Island,  a  perpendicular  fall  of  eight  or  more 
feet  was  to  be  seen,  and  was  often  seen  at  a  later  date  and  until  the  United 
States  Government  began  to  change  the  character  of  the  falls.  It  is  not  likely 
that  this  fall  could  have  been  seen  in  the  winter  of  1670,  when  the  water  was 
presumably  high,  and  La  Salle  was  in  Canada  in  the  spring  of  1670.  I  am 
of  the  opinion,  therefore,  that  the  discoverer  of  the  Ohio  and  of  the  site  of 
Louisville  made  his  discovery  late  in  the  fall  or  early  in  the  winter  of  the 
year  1669. 

*  Captain  Thomas  Hutchius  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  where  he  was  born 
in  1730.  He  was  an  accomplished  engineer,  and  was  the  only  official  geogra- 
pher the  United  States  ever  had.  He  received  the  title  of  "Geographer  Gen- 
eral "  while  with  General  Greene  in  South  Carolina.  In  the  Revolutionary  War 
he  promptly  took  sides  with  the  Colonies,  and  on  this  account  was  impris- 
oned in  England,  and  lost  the  greater  part  of  his  fortune  while  incarcerated, 


22 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 


Ohio,  and  made  a  .sketch  of  the  place  which  was  en- 
graved for  his  Topographical  Description  of  Virginia, 
etc.,  published  at  London  in  1778.  This  picture  of  the 
Falls  did  more  to  call  attention  to  the  future  site  of 
Louisville  than  all  the  previous  descriptions  of  traders 
and  adventurers  and  explorers  combined.  It  was  a  strik- 
ing picture  of  a  broad  river,  with  sunny  islands  here  and 
there  in  its  midst,  and  noble  forest  trees  standing  upon 
its  shores  and  casting  their  huge  shadows  in  its  crystal 
waters.  It  is  a  striking  picture  even  to  this  day,  pre- 
senting as  it  does  the  original  Ohio,  with  its  forest-clad 
islands  and  shores,  and  its  ample  waters  rolling  over  the 
rocky  wall  that  causes  its  rapids,  before  a  tree  has  been 
cut  on  its  shores  or  islands,  or  any  thing  done  by  man 
to  mar  its  natural  grandeur  and  beauty.  This  picture 
was  copied  by  Imlay  in  his  Topographical  Description 
of  the  Western  Territory  of  North  America,  published 

Besides  the  book  mentioned  in  the  text,  he  was  the  author  of  a  "Topograph- 
ical Description  of  Louisiana  and  Florida,"  published  in  1784,  and  of  several 
valuable  articles  in  the  "Philadelphia  Transactions  "  and  in  the  "Transactions 
of  the  American  Society."  His  maps  and  drawings  of  different  parts  of  the 
country  were  much  used  by  the  Colonial  officers  during  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution. Before  the  rupture  between  the  mother  country  and  her  colonies  he 
was  a  captain  in  the  Sixtieth  Royal  American  Regiment.  He  was  assistant 
engineer  in  Boquet's  celebrated  expedition  of  1764,  and  furnished  the  maps 
and  plates  afterward  used  in  the  first  published  account  of  this  expedition. 
He  died  at  Pittsburgh  in  1789,  and  his  office  died  with  him,  as  no  Geographer 
General  lias  since  been  appointed  by  the  United  States. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  23 

at  London  in  1793,  and  in  subsequent  editions.  It  also 
appeared  in  the  same  year  in  the  Stockdale  edition  of 
the  History  of  Kentucky  by  John  Filson.  The  dispatches 
of  French  officers,  the  letters  of  Indian  traders,  the  jour- 
nal of  Gist  in  1750,  of  Croghan  in  1765,  of  Gordon  in 
1766,  and  indeed  the  accounts  of  all  early  writers  about 
the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  are  inefficient  in  comparison  with 
this  picture  by  Captain  Hutchins  and  his  description  of 
the  country  which  accompanied  it. 

CAPTAIN  THOMAS  BULLITT.* 

In  the  year  1773  Captain  Thomas  Bullitt,  of  Virginia, 
set  oiit  for  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  to  survey  lands  at  that 
point  for  Dr.  John  Connolly  and  others,  and  with  the 
intention  of  himself  becoming  a  permanent  occupant  of 
the  new  country.  Feeling  the  necessity  of  some  under- 
standing with  the  Indians,  who  claimed  as  their  hunting- 

*  Captain  Thomas  Bullitt  was  born  in  Fauquier  County,  Virginia,  in  1730. 
He  was  among  the  first  to  take  part  in  the  French  and  Indian  War,  as  well  as 
in  the  Revolutionary  struggle  which  followed.  He  commanded  a  company  in 
Washington's  regiment  at  the  Great  Meadows  in  1754,  was  with  Braddock  in 
1755,  and  with  Grant  in  1758.  After  the  defeat  of  Grant,  it  was  Bullitt  who 
saved  the  remnant  of  his  army  by  a  bold  and  well-conceived  attack  upon  the 
pursuing  victors.  After  the  peace  of  1763  he  was  retained  in  service  as 
Adjutant-General  of  Virginia;  and  when  the  Revolutionary  War  began  he  was 
continued  in  this  office  for  the  Southern  Department  of  the  United  States. 
He  was  at  the  battle  of  the  Great  Bridge  in  1775,  which  drove  Lord  Dunmore 


24  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

grounds  the  lands  he  was  about  to  survey,  he  went  to 
Chillicothe  on  his  way  down  the  Ohio  for  a  conference 
with  the  Shawnees  and  Delawares.  Captain  Bullitt  made 
known  his  wishes  in  the  following  speech  to  the  Indians  :* 

"  Brothers,  I  am  sent  by  my  people  whom  I  left  on  the  Ohio  to 
settle  the  country  on  the  other  side  of  that  river  as  low  down  as  the 
Falls.  We  come  from  Virginia.  The  king  of  my  people  has 
bought  from  the  nations  of  the  red  men,  both  north  and  south,  all 
the  land ;  and  I  am  expected  to  inform  you  and  all  the  warriors  of 
this  great  country  that  the  Virginians  and  the  English  are  in  friend- 
ship with  you.  This  friendship  is  dear  to  them,  and  they  intend  to 
preserve  it  sacred.  The  same  friendship  they  expect  from  you,  and 
from  all  the  nations  to  the  lakes.  We  know  that  the  Shawnees  and 
the  Delawares  are  to  be  our  nearest  neighbors,  and  we  wish  them  to 
be  our  best  friends  as  we  will  be  theirs. 

"  Brothers,  you  did  not  get  any  of  the  money  or  blankets  given 
for  the  land  which  I  and  my  people  are  going  to  settle.  This  was 
hard  for  you.  But  it  is  agreed  by  the  great  men  who  own  the  land 
that  they  will  make  a  present  to  both  the  Delawares  and  the  Shaw- 
nees the  next  year  and  the  year  following  that  shall  be  as  good. 

out  of  Norfolk.  He  afterwards  was  transferred  to  South  Carolina  in  1776, 
under  Colonel  Lee.  This  was  his  last  service.  He  resigned  because  he  did  not 
think  he  received  the  prompt  promotion  to  which  he  was  entitled,  and  retired 
to  his  home  in  Fauquier  County,  where  he  died  in  1778.  His  surveys  at  the 
Falls  were  under  a  commission  from  William  and  Mary's  College,  which  Colonel 
William  Preston,  as  County  Surveyor  of  Fiucastle  County,  where  the  lands  lay, 
refused  to  recognize,  and  the  lands  were  resurveyed  the  following  year  by 
deputies  of  Colonel  Preston.  Lord  Dunmore  made  a  deed  for  the  laud  sur- 
veyed by  Bullitt  for  his  friend  Connolly,  without  waiting  for  the  approval  of 
County  Surveyor  Preston. 
*  See  Appendix  B. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  25 

"  Brothers,  I  am  appointed  to  settle  the  country,  to  live  in  it,  to 
raise  corn,  and  to  make  proper  rules  and  regulations  among  my 
people.  There  will  be  some  principal  men  from  my  country  very 
soon,  and  then  much  more  will  be  said  to  you.  The  Governor 
desires  to  see  you,  and  will  come  out  this  year  or  the  next.  When 
I  come  again  I  will  have  a  belt  of  wampum.  This  time  I  came  in 
haste  and  had  not  one  ready. 

"  My  people  only  want  the  country  to  settle  and  cultivate.  They 
will  have  no  objection  to  your  hunting  and  trapping  there.  I  hope 
you  will  live  by  us  as  brothers  and  friends. 

"You  now  know  my  heart,  and  as  it  is  single  towards  you,  I 
expect  you  will  give  me  a  kind  talk,  for  I  shall  write  to  my  Governor 
what  you  say  to  me,  and  he  will  believe  all  I  write." 


THE  INDIANS'  REPLY  TO  CAPTAIN  BULLITT. 

To  this  speech  by  Captain  Bullitt  the  Indians  replied 
as  follows : 

"  Oldest  Brother,  we  heard  you  would  be  glad  to  see  your 
brothers,  the  Shawnees  and  Delawares,  and  talk  with  them.  But 
we  are  surprised  that  you  sent  no  runner  before  you,  and  that  you 
came  quite  near  us  through  the  trees  and  grass,  a  hard  journey, 
without  letting  us  know  until  you  appeared  among  us. 

"  Brother,  we  have  considered  your  talk  carefully,  and  we  are 
made  glad  to  find  nothing  bad  in  it,  nor  any  ill  meaning.  On  the 
contrary,  you  speak  what  seems  kind  and  friendly,  and  it  pleases 
us  well.  You  mentioned  to  us  your  intention  of  settling  the  country 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Ohio  with  your  people.  And  we  are  partic- 
ularly pleased  that  they  are  not  to  disturb  us  in  our  hunting,  for 
we  must  hunt  to  kill  meat  for  our  women  and  children,  and  to  have 


26  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

something  to  buy  our  powder  and  lead  with  and  to  get  us  clothing 
and  blankets. 

"All  our  young  brothers  are  pleased  with  what  you  said.  We 
desire  that  you  will  be  strong  in  fulfilling  your  promises  towards 
us,  as  we  are  determined  to  be  very  straight  in  advising  our  young 
men  to  be  very  kind  and  peaceable  to  you. 

"  This  spring  we  saw  something  wrong  on  the  part  of  our  young 
men.  They  took  some  horses  irom  the  white  people,  but  we  have 
advised  them  not  to  do  so  again,  and  have  cleaned  their  hearts  of  all 
bad  intentions.  We  expect  they  will  observe  our  advice,  as  they 
like  what  you  said." 

THE  CONNOLLY  SURVEY. 

Having  had  the  understanding  with  the  Indians 
indicated  by  these  speeches,  Captain  Bullitt  returned  to 
his  boat  on  the  Ohio  and  with  his  associates  made  his 
way  to  the  Falls.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  River 
he  met  a  large  body  of  Delaware  Indians  and  had  an 
understanding  with  them  like  that  at  Chillicothe.  Again, 
as  he  approached  the  Falls,  he  met  a  large  body  of 
Kickapoos,  with  whom  he  held  a  council  and  agreed 
upon  the  same  friendly  terms. 

On  the  8th  day  of  July,  1773,  Bullitt  moored  his 
vessel  in  the  harbor  of  Beargrass.  After  erecting  a  cabin 
for  shelter  on  the  point  near  the  mouth  of  Beargrass 
Creek  he  and  his  party*  began  the  surveying  of  lands. 

*  Those  known  to  have  been  in  the  surveying  party  of  Captain  Bullitt 
were  James  Douglas,  James  Harrod,  John  Smith,  James  Sodousky,  Isaac  Kite, 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  27 

He  ran  the  lines  of  two  thousand  acres  lying  imme- 
diately opposite  to  the  Falls  for  Dr.  John  Connolly,  for 
which  Lord  Dunmore  issued  a  patent  on  the  roth  of 
December,  1773.*  On  the  upper  half  of  this  survey, 
beginning  on  the  river  bank  near  the  foot  of  First  Street 
and  running  down  the  river  to  a  point  nearly  opposite 
to  Twelfth  Street,  thence  in  a  southwesterly  course 
to  near  the  intersection  of  Broadway  and  Eighteenth 
streets,  thence  up  Broadway  to  near  the  intersection  of 
Shelby  Street,  and  thence  northwesterly  to  the  begin- 
ning, the  city  of  Louisville  was  laid  out.  Bullitt  laid 
off  a  town  on  this  Connolly  survey  in  August,  1773;  but 
none  of  his  papers  showing  the  plan  of  the  town  as  laid 
out  by  him  are  known  to  have  been  preserved.  The 
evidence,  however,  of  his  having  surveyed  this  land  and 
laid  off  a  town  upon  it  at  the  time  named  is  sufficiently 
attested.  In  April  of  the  following  year  Dr.  John 
Connolly  and  Colonel  John  Campbell  advertised  lots  for 

Abram  Haptonstall,  Ebenezer  Severns,  John  Fitzpatrick,  and  John  Cowan. 
There  may  have  been  others  whose  names  have  not  been  preserved.  All  of 
them  became  permanent  residents  of  Kentucky,  and  some  of  them  lived  long 
and  rose  to  prominence  in  pioneer  times.  Douglas  and  others  of  the  same 
party  returned  to  Kentucky  in  1774,  and  resurveyed  many  of  the  same  lands 
surveyed  in  1773.  This  was  done  because  Captain  Bullitt,  the  head  of  the 
surveying  party  of  1773,  was  not  a  deputy  of  Colonel  William  Preston,  the 
surveyor  of  the  county  where  the  lands  lay.  Colonel  Preston  required  the 
work  to  be  done  by  his  deputies  before  he  would  recognize  it. 
*  See  Appendix  C. 


28  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

sale  at  the  Falls,*  presumably  according  to  the  Bullitt 
plan,  and  in  1775  Sanders  Stuart  and  othersf  were  sent 
out  by  them  to  occupy  their  lands.  But  we  know  of 
nothing  further  that  was  really  accomplished  towards  the 
development  of  the  Bullitt  town,  or  the  laying  of  the 
foundation  of  Louisville,  until  1778.  Captain  Bullitt 
went  back  to  Virginia  in  the  fall  of  1773  with  the  inten- 
tion of  returning  himself  and  bringing  others  with  him 
to  settle  in  the  country,  but  he  was  detained  by  the 
Revolutionary  War,  and  was  finally  cut  off  by  death  and 
never  saw  his  projected  city  again.  Dr.  Connolly  busied 
himself  while  in  command  of  Fort  Pitt,  in  1774,  with 
schemes  which  led  to  the  Indian  war  of  that  year  and 
the  murder  of  the  family  of  Logan,  the  celebrated  Cayuga 
chief;  and  after  losing  command  of  Fort  Pitt  he  con- 

*  See  Appendix  D. 

t  There  is  some  evidence  that  there  were  people  living  at  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio  as  early  as  there  were  in  any  other  part  of  the  State— at  least  as  early  as 
1775.  Richard  Henderson,  in  his  Transylvania  Journal  of  1775,  says  that 
Captain  Linn  informed  him  in  July,  1775,  that  Captain  Bullitt  and  Dr.  Connolly 
had  sent  five  or  six  men  to  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  to  occupy  lands  there.  Hugh 
Hays,  an  old  citizen  of  Louisville  yet  living  and  full  of  interesting  memories 
of  the  past,  assured  me  that  Sanders  Stuart  told  him  he  catne  to  the  Falls  of 
the  Ohio  in  company  with  Peter  Casey,  David  Williams,  John  Heaton,  and 
Peter  Philips,  in  June,  1775,  and  took  up  his  abode  on  Corn  Island.  Daniel 
Boone,  in  his  autobiography,  published  in  Filson's  History  of  Kentucky,  says 
that  Boonesborough,  Harrodsburg,  and  Logan's  contained  all  the  white  people 
that  were  in  Kentucky  in  1777,  except  those  that  were  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio. 
These  statements,  taken  in  connection  with  the  fact  that  Dr.  Connolly's  land 


The  Centenary  of  Loiiisville.  29 

tinned  to  busy  himself  with  plots  to  unite  the  various 
Indian  tribes  against  the  Colonists  until  he  was  arrested 
and  thrown  into  prison,  from  which  he  did  not  escape 
until  others  had  undertaken  and  finished  the  work  of 
founding  the  city  of  Louisville. 

GENERAL  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

In  the  bright  month  of  May,  1778,  General  George 
Rogers  Clark,  under  orders  of  the  great  Patrick  Henry, 
then  Governor  of  Virginia,  set  sail  from  Redstone,  on 
the  Monongahela  River,  with  a  few  volunteer  troops  for 
the  conquest  of  the  British  Posts  in  the  territory  of  the 
Illinois.  Some  twenty  families,  who  were  emigrants  for 
Kentucky,  embarked  on  the  boats  which  bore  the  General 
and  his  soldiers,  and  all  came  down  the  Ohio  together. 
When  they  reached  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  which  was  on 
the  27th  of  May,  1778,*  General  Clark  landed  upon  Corn 

at  the  Falls  was  conveyed  to  him  upon  condition  that  he  should  clear  and 
cultivate  a  portion  of  it  before  1776,  and  that  he  would  forfeit  the  whole  unless 
he  so  cleared  and  cultivated  it,  make  it  reasonably  certain  that  there  were 
people  living  here  at  a  very  early  date — as  early  possibly  as  at  any  other  point 
in  the  State,  and  at  least  as  early  as  1775. 

*  This  date,  May  27,  1778,  is  not  taken  from  the  letter  of  General  Clark  to 
the  Hon.  George  Mason,  November  17,  1779,  which  became  his  journal  of  the 
expedition  which  brought  him  to  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  on  his  way  to  the 
Illinois  country.  General  Clark  does  not  in  this  journal  give  the  date  of  his 
arrival  at  the  Falls,  nor  does  he  in  his  memoirs,  which  I  have  in  manuscript, 
nor,  so  far  as  I  have  ever  seen,  give  this  date  in  any  subsequent  paper.  The 


30  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

Island  and  erected  block-houses  for  the  protection  of  his 
stores,  and  cabins  for  the  habitation  of  the  emigrants. 
Corn  Island  was  not  then  the  insignificant  pile  of  rocks 
and  sand  that  we  now  see  under  the  great  Ohio  bridge. 
It  was  a  large  island,  reaching  nearly  to  the  middle  of 
the  river  and  extending  almost  from  Fourth  to  Four- 
teenth Street.  On  it  grew  large  trees  and  rank  cane. 
It  had  a  rich  soil  above  high  water.  The  cane  was 
cleared  away  and  the  trees  cut  down  and  the  crop  of  corn 
was  planted,  which  some  have  supposed  gave  name  to 
the  island.  On  the  26th  of  June,  in  the  midst  of  an 
eclipse  of  the  sun,  General  Clark  started  with  his  troops 
for  his  destined  expedition,  and  left  the  families  in  the 
cabins  which  he  had  built  for  them  on  the  island.*  Here 

date  of  his  arrival  at  the  Falls  being  an  important  one  in  the  history  of  Louis- 
ville, I  tried  long  to  find  it,  without  success.  Finally,  in  examining  the  papers 
in  case  No.  531,  in  the  old  Chancery  Court  of  Louisville,  for  the  division  of  the 
estate  of  Colonel  John  Floyd  among  his  heirs,  I  came  upon  the  deposition  of 
Captain  James  Patton,  who  stated  that  he  reached  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  May  27, 
1778.  Knowing  that  Captain  Fatten  was  with  General  Clark  when  he  reached 
the  Falls  on  his  expedition  to  the  Illinois,  this  statement  of  his  fixed  the  date 
of  Clark's  arrival.  In  this  way  I  determined  the  271)1  of  May,  1778,  as  the  day 
on  which  the  families  with  General  Clark  landed  on  Corn  Island  and  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  city  of  Louisville.  Until  I  made  this  discovery  this  date 
was  never  known,  though  it  could  be  easily  approximated  by  allowing  General 
Clark  the  usual  number  of  days  to  float  from  Redstone,  which  he  left  May  12, 
1778,  to  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio.  This  trip  was  made  in  fifteen  days,  but  it  ought 
to  have  been  made  in  less  time,  and  would  have  been  but  for  the  day  or  two 
spent  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawha. 

*  The  cabins  erected  on  Corn  Island  were  on  the  lower  end  of  the  island 
where  the  land  was  highest  and  the  island  was  narrowest.     Here  the  water  was 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville,  31 

all  of  the  families  spent  the  summer  and  fall  of  1778, 
and  part  of  them  the  winter  of  1778-79,  not,  however, 
without  cheering  news,  for  it  was  not  long  before  it  was 
announced  to  them  that  General  Clark  had  conquered 
the  posts  against  which  he  had  gone,  and  that  from  these 
arsenals  no  more  supplies  would  be  furnished  the  Indians 
with  which  to  make  war  upon  the  settlers. 

From  the  arrival  of  these  families  with  General  Clark 
upon  Corn  Island  on  the  27th  of  May,  1778,  the  Falls 
of  the  Ohio  was  never  without  occupation  by  actual 
settlers.  In  the  winter  of  1778-79  and  the  spring  of 

deep  and  the  banks  high  and  steep  on  three  sides  of  the  island.  By  placing  a 
row  of  pickets  across  the  island  on  the  east  or  upper  side,  which  was  done,  the 
settlement  was  made  safe  from  sudden  assault.  A  short  distance  in  the  rear, 
to  the  west  of  these  pickets,  stood  the  block-houses  for  the  soldiers  and  stores. 
They  consisted  of  two  triple  cabins  with  a  passway  between,  opposite  to  a 
gate  in  the  picket  line.  In  the  rear  of  these,  on  each  side  of  a  passway 
between,  was  a  row  of  three  double  cabins;  so  that  there  were  eighteen 
cabins  in  all.  The  buildings  as  they  stood  upon  the  ground  were  in  the  form 
of  an  Egyptian  cross,  the  block-houses  forming  the  arms  and  the  cabins  the 
body.  They  were  made  of  rails  split  from  the  cottonwood  trees  on  the  island, 
were  covered  with  boards  of  the  same  material,  and  had  dirt  floors.  The  doors 
were  simply  openings  caused  by  the  absence  of  rails,  as  were  the  windows, 
and  the  chimneys  were  made  of  the  same  rails  daubed  with  clay  above  the 
fire-bed,  where  flat  stones  protected  the  wood  from  the  heat.  These  cabins 
were  too  far  from  shore  for  the  rifles  of  that  day,  and  the  water  was  so  swift 
around  the  island  that  it  was  difficult  for  any  but  the  experienced  to  approach. 
The  difficulty,  however,  of  getting  from  the  island  to  the  shore  to  hunt  and 
supply  the  settlement  with  game  was  so  great  that  the  islanders  were  glad  to 
leave  it  so  soon  as  it  was  deemed  safe  to  do  so.  They  preferred  the  freedom 
of  the  broad  shore  with  all  its  dangers  to  the  confinement  of  the  narrow 
island  with  its  safety. 


32  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

1779  they  moved  to  the  main  shore  and  occupied  a  fort 
which  had  been  erected  on  the  main  land  at  the  foot  of 
the  present  Twelfth  Street.*  On  the  25th  of  December, 
1778,  they  celebrated  their  first  Christinas  in  the  wilder- 
ness with  a  feast  and  a  dance  in  this  Twelfth  Street  fort. 
They  called  it  a  house-warming,  and  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  of  the  settlement  took  part  in  it.  A  French- 
man, who  happened  there  at  the  time,  attempted  to 
supply  the  music  for  the  dance,  but  he  was  too  scientific 
and  was  soon  supplanted  by  an  old  negro  named  Cato 
Watts,  whose  fiddle  gave  them  Virginia  reels  and  Irish 
jigs,  and  such  other  lively  tunes  as  they  wanted.f 

*  This  fort  stood  on  the  high  bank  of  the  main  land  at  the  foot  of  the 
present  Twelfth  Street.  It  was  quite  a  large  fort,  in  the  form  of  a  parallelo- 
gram, about  two  hundred  feet  long  and  one  hundred  feet  wide,  with  eight 
double  cabins  on  each  of  the  long  sides,  and  four  single  cabins  on  each  of  the 
short  sides,  and  a  block-house  at  each  of  the  four  corners.  The  cabins  were 
built  around  a  large  open  court  which  served  for  a  parade  ground,  a  place  for 
storage,  and  an  enclosure  for  horses  and  cattle.  The  cabins  formed  the  walls 
of  the  fort,  and  there  were  no  other  defenses.  It  was  built  by  Richard 
Chenowith,  and  was  used  by  the  first  settlers  until  Fort  Nelson  was  built. 
Being  the  first  fortification  on  the  main  land,  it  formed  the  nucleus  of  the 
first  settlement  at  the  Falls.  So  soon  as  the  settlers  dared  to  do  so  they  built 
their  cabins  near  it,  and  a  settlement  called  "White  Home"  soon  grew  up 
around  it.  Here  the  first  church,  the  first  school-house,  the  first  blacksmith's 
shop,  and  the  first  log  cabins  for  family  habitation  were  built  in  the  city  of 
Louisville  while  it  went  by  the  name  of  "  Falls  of  Ohio." 

t  This  Frenchman  was  named  Jean  Nickle.  He  was  on  his  way  from  Fort 
Pitt  to  Kaskaskia,  and  stopped  at  the  Falls  to  repair  his  boat,  and  thus  got 
into  the  celebration  of  the  first  Christmas  in  Louisville.  After  his  failure  to 
produce  the  kind  of  music  that  was  wanted  he  went  on  to  Kaskaskia,  but 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  33 


GENESIS  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  LOUISVILLE. 

The  first  official  step  toward  establishing  the  town  of 
Louisville  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  was  taken  on  the 
1 7th  of  April,  1779,  when  the  inhabitants  who  were 
there,  in  conformity  with  the  recommendations  of  the 
Court*  of  Kentucky  County  touching  the  establishing 
of  new  towns,  held  a  public  meeting  and  appointed 
trustees  for  that  purpose.  The  Trustees  selected  were 
William  Harrod,  Richard  Chenowith,  Edward  Bulger, 
James  Patton,  Henry  French,  Marsham  Brashears,  and 

returned  afterward  and  was  the  teacher  of  the  first  dancing-school  in  Louis- 
ville. Major  Erkuries  Beaty,  in  his  journal,  speaks  of  Monsieur  Nickle  as 
teaching  a  dancing-school  here  in  1786.  He  tried  to  introduce  the  dance 
known  in  Paris  and  Madrid  as  the  Braille,  the  chief  merit  of  which  was 
leaping  in  circles;  also  the  Minuet,  which  required  graceful  bowing  and 
walking ;  and  the  Pavane,  in  which  the  dancers  strutted  like  peacocks.  In  the 
Branle  the  boys  indulged  in  leap-frog,  in  the  Minuet  the  girls  held  their  linsey 
dresses  out  from  their  sides  like  sails,  and  skipped  across  the  floor  and  bowed 
their  heads  like  geese  dodging  stones  thrown  at  them,  and  in  the  Pavane  all 
strutted  and  cried  like  peacocks.  The  Frenchman  in  despair  wished  that, 
"  if  he  had  his  hat,  he  were  in  hell,"  and  yielded  the  fiddle  to  Cato,  who  soon 
had  himself  and  the  dancers  in  a  paroxysm  of  joy.  This  negro  fiddler  was  the 
property  of  John  Donne,  and  was  the  first  man  ever  hung  in  Louisville.  He 
killed  his  owner  as  he  claimed  by  accident,  but  was  tried  and  hung  for  the 
crime.  He  was  hanged  to  the  limb  of  a  large  oak  tree  which  stood  on  lot  No. 
275,  opposite  to  the  present  jail  on  Jefferson  Street.  This  lot  was  then  a  part 
of  the  public  square  on  which  the  court-house  now  stands.  The  hanging  was 
in  1787,  and  much  to  the  sorrow  of  the  young  people  who  enjoyed  his  music  at 
their  dances. 

*  See  Appendix  E. 

5 


34  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

Simeon  Moore.  These  Trustees  then  met  and  adopted 
rules  for  their  government.  They  agreed  upon  a  plan  of 
the  town  to  be  called  Louisville,  laid  off  the  ground  they 
selected  along  the  river  into  half-acre  lots,  made  a  map 
of  their  work,  and  appointed  April  24,  1779,  for  each 
inhabitant  to  draw  one  lot  in  a  public  lottery.  This 
drawing  occurred  according  to  appointment,  and  the 
citizens  thus  became  owners  of  lots  in  a  town  formed 
under  the  common  law  of  Virginia.* 

THE  FIRST  MAP  OF  LOUISVILLE. 

The  first  map  of  Louisville  shows  that  the  first  lots 
laid  off  and  occupied  were  along  both  sides  of  Main 
Street  from  First  to  Twelfth,  and  then  along  the  river 

*  The  following  is  a  copy  of  an  old  manuscript  in  my  possession,  showing 
what  these  first  Trustees  of  Louisville  did  at  their  first  meeting  : 

"Falls  of  Ohio,  April  24th,  1779.  William  Harrod,  Richard  Cheuowith, 
Edward  Bulger,  James  Patlon,  Henry  French,  Marsham  Brashears,  and  Simeon 
Moore,  Trustees  chosen  by  the  intended  citizens  of  the  town  of  Louisville  at 
the  Falls  of  Ohio,  met  the  I7th  day  of  April,  1779,  and  came  to  the  following 
rules,  to  wit : 

"  That  a  number  of  lots,  not  exceeding  200  for  the  present,  be  laid  off,  to 
contain  half  an  acre  each,  35  yards  by  70  where  the  ground  will  admit  of  it, 
with  some  public  lots  and  streets. 

"  That  each  adventurer  draw  for  only  one  lot  by  equal  chance.  That  every 
such  person  be  obliged  to  clear  off  the  undergrowth  and  begin  to  cultivate 
part  thereof  by  the  loth  of  June,  and  build  thereon  a  good  covered  house,  16 
feet  by  20,  by  the  25th  of  December.  That  no  person  sell  his  lot  unless  to 
some  person  without  one,  but  that  it  be  given  up  to  the  Trustees  to  dispose  of 
to  some  new  adventurer  on  pain  of  forfeiture  thereof. 

"MARSHAM  BRASHEARS,  Secretary." 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  35 

in  its  northward  bend  as  low  down  as  Fourteenth  Street. 
They  were  all  half-acre  lots,  and  were  one  hundred  and 
sixteen  in  number.  The  numbering  began  with  No.  i, 
at  the  northeast  corner  of  Main  and  Fifth  streets,  and 
proceeded  up  the  river  to  First  Street,  and  then  returned 
on  the  south  side  of  Main  Street  to  Fifth.  Here  it  began 
again  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Main  and  Fifth  with 
lot  No.  33,  and  proceeded  down  the  river  to  Ninth  Street, 
where  it  again  crossed  to  the  south  side  of  Main  and 
went  back  to  Fifth  Street.  It  then  returned  to  the 
northwest  corner  of  Main  and  Ninth,  beginning  with  lot 
No.  65,  and  proceeded  down  the  river  to  Eleventh  Street, 
where  it  again  crossed  to  the  south  side  of  Main  and 
returned  to  Ninth  Street.  It  then  again  began  on  the 
northwest  corner  of  Main  and  Eleventh  streets  with  lot 
No.  81,  and  proceeded  down  to  Twelfth  Street,  where  it 
again  crossed  over  Main  and  went  back  to  Eleventh 
Street.  If  the  design  had  been  by  this  numbering  to 
produce  a  numerical  puzzle  the  success  was  perfect,  but 
how  its  authors  expected  such  numbering  of  city  lots  to 
endure  and  be  understood  is  more  than  a  puzzle.  The 
lots  along  Main  Street  were  eighty-eight  in  number,  and 
those  below  Twelfth,  in  the  angle  formed  by  the  sudden 
bend  of  the  river,  were  twenty-eight,  making  one  hun- 
dred and  sixteen  in  all. 


36  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

On  the  lots  laid  down  on  Bard's  map  were  the  initials 
of  the  names  of  the  parties  who  drew  them,  but  it  is 
no  longer  a  certainty  to  arrive  at  the  full  names  of  all 
represented  by  these  letters.  Some  are  easily  enough 
supplied  by  the  names  of  known  citizens  at,  the  time,  and 
yet  others  by  the  records  of  the  Trustees,  who  required 
persons  who  sold  the  lots  they  drew  to  make  written 
transfers  before  deeds  could  be  gotten  from  the  Trustees.* 
No  lots  are  laid  off  in  the  space  bounded  by  Main  Street 
on  the  south,  Twelfth  Street  on  the  west,  the  river  on 
the  north,  and  Tenth  Street  on  the  east,  where  the  first 
fort  was  built  on  the  main  land,  and  it  is  possible  that 
this  space  was  left  for  the  purpose  of  the  fort,  and 
intended  to  remain  as  public  property.  The  numbering 
of  the  city  lots  was  subsequently  changed,  and  this  old 
map  is  valuable  only  as  a  relic  of  antiquity.  It  was  the 
work  of  John  Corbly,  an  early  surveyor  at  the  Falls  of 
the  Ohio,  whose  name  is  attached  to  it  with  the  date 
April  24,  1779.  There  was  a  similar  map  about  the 
same  time  made  by  William  Bard,  but  the  Corbly  map 
was  the  one  adopted  by  the  Trustees.  Corbly's  map  was 
officially  recorded  in  Kentucky  County,  and  a  copy  of  it 
is  still  preserved,  certified  by  Levi  Todd,  the  clerk. 

The  second  map  of  the  town  was  probably  made  by 

*  See  Appendix  F. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  37 

George  May,  the  County  Surveyor,  in  1781,  when  the 
Trustees  directed  him  at  their  first  meeting  to  run  the 
division  line  between  the  upper  and  lower  half  of  the 
Connolly  land.  The  third  was  the  work  of  William 
Pope,  by  order  of  the  Trustees  in  1783.  He  laid  off  the 
town  into  half-acre  lots  as  far  as  Jefferson  Street.  In 

1785  William  Shannon  laid  off  the  balance  of  the  one 
thousand  acres  into  five-acre  lots  between  Jefferson  and 
Walnut,  ten-acre  lots  between  Walnut  and  Chestnut,  and 
twenty-acre   lots   between    Chestnut   and    Broadway.     In 

1786  William  Peyton  was  employed  by  the  Trustees  to 
lay  off  the  town.     In   1802  Alexander  Woodroe,  and  in 
1812  Jared  Brooks,  each  made  a  map  of  the  town.     All 
of  these  early  maps  have  perished  except  such  as  are  in 
private  hands.     The  city  has  no  map  earlier  than  that 
of  Jared  Brooks,  in  1812. 

FAMILIES  WHO  CAME  WITH  GENERAL  CLARK 
TO  THE  FALLS. 

The  names  of  only  a  part  of  those  who  accompanied 
General  Clark  and  became  the  first  settlers  of  Louisville 
have  been  preserved.  Indeed,  much  dispute  has  arisen  as 
to  the  number  who  did  accompany  him.  Mr.  Marshall, 
whose  history  of  Kentucky  first  appeared  in  1812,  makes 


38  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

the  number  thirteen,  and  Doctor  McMurtrie,  the  first 
historian  of  Louisville,  whose  book  appeared  in  1819, 
gives  the  number  as  six.  Butler,  Casseday,  and  subse- 
quent historians  have  followed  McMurtrie,  but  it  would 
seem  more  reasonable  to  take  the  number  given  by 
General  Clark  himself,  who  brought  the  families  to 
the  Falls  and  landed  them  on  Corn  Island.  General 
Clark,  in  his  letter  to  the  Hon.  George  Mason,  of  Vir- 
ginia, dated  November  19,  1779,  when  the  facts  were 
fresh  in  his  memory,  stated  that  about  twenty  families 
accompanied  him  and  his  soldiers  to  the  Falls. 

NAMES  OF  THE  FIRST  SETTLERS. 

Of  these  first  settlers  of  Louisville  only  the  names 
of  James  Patton,  Richard  Chenowith,  William  Faith, 
John  Tewell,  and  John  McManness  have  been  preserved 
by  Doctor  McMurtrie  and  subsequent  historians.  In 
1852  an  elderly  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Kimbley, 
then  living  in  Orleans,  Indiana,  stated  that  his  father, 
Isaac  Kimbley,  came  to  the  Falls  in  1778  with  General 
Clark,  and  that  he  himself  was  born  on  Corn  Island 
in  the  year  1779.  The  venerable  Dr.  C.  C.  Graham,  still 
living  in  Louisville,  in  his  ninety  -  seventh  year,  says 
that  his  father,  James  Graham,  came  to  the  Falls  with 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville,  39 

General  Clark,  and  afterward  lived  at  Worthington's 
Station,  near  Danville,  where  he  was  born.  Dr.  Graham 
is  also  authority  for  the  statement  that  Jacob  Reager 
and  Edward  Worthington,  with  their  families,  came  to 
the  Falls  with  General  Clark.  Thomas  Joyes,  an  intel- 
ligent citizen  and  son  of  one  of  the  earliest  settlers, 
stated  in  1842,  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  John 
Donne,  jr.,  that  the  deceased  came  to  the  Falls  with 
General  Clark,  in  company  with  his  father's  family  and 
the  family  of  Joseph  Hunter,  his  grandfather,  Neal 
Dougherty,  Samuel  Perkins,  John  Sinclair,  and  Robert 
Travis.  It  is  not  likely  that  we  shall  ever  know 
with  a  certainty  who  were  all  of  the  first  settlers  of 
L/ouisville  who  landed  on  Corn  Island  with  General 
Clark  and  his  soldiers  May  27,  1778;  but  the  follow- 
ing list  will  add  many  to  the  half  dozen  previously 
published,  and  be  gratefully  received  by  their  descend- 
ants on  this  centennial  anniversary  of  the  city  they 
founded : 

James  Patton,  his  wife  Mary,  and  their  three  daugh- 
ters, Martha,  Peggy,  and  Mary. 

Richard  Chenowith,  his  wife  Hannah,  and  their  four 
children,  Mildred,  Jane,  James,  and  Thomas. 

John  McManness,  his  wife  Mary,  and  their  three 
sons,  John,  George,  and  James. 


40  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

John  Tewell,  his  wife  Mary,  and  their  three  chil- 
dren, Ann,  Winnie,  and  Jessie. 

William  Faith,  his  wife  Elizabeth,  and  their  son  John. 

Jacob  Reager,  his  wife  Elizabeth,  and  their  three 
children,  Sarah,  Mariah,  and  Henry. 

Edward  Worthington,  his  wife  Mary,  his  son  Charles, 
and  his  two  sisters,  Mary  (Mrs.  James  Graham)  and 
Elizabeth  (Mrs.  Jacob  Reager). 

James  Graham  and  his  wife  Mary. 

John  Donne,  his  wife  Martha,  and  their  son  John. 

Isaac  Kimbley  and  his  wife  Mary. 

Joseph  Hunter  and  his  children,  Joseph,  David, 
James,  Martha  (Mrs.  John  Donne),  and  Ann. 

Neal  Dougherty,  Samuel  Perkins,  John  Sinclair,  and 
Robert  Travis. 


GENERAL  CLARK,  THE  FOUNDER  OF  LOUISVILLE. 

He,  therefore,  to  whom  we  owe  the  honor  of  first 
selecting  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  for  the  site  of  Louis- 
ville, is  no  less  a  personage  than  General  George  Rogers 
Clark.  While  on  his  way  from  Fort  Pitt  to  Fort  Massac, 
in  1778,  he  had  hundreds  of  miles  of  river  bank  from 
which  to  choose  a  place  for  depositing  his  stores  when 
he  went  to  the  attack  of  Kaskaskia.  The  wonder  is 


.he  Oli 

m  Ger 


GENERAL  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 


Founder  of  the  City  of  Louisville. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  41 

that  he  did  not  at  first  move  on  down  the  Ohio  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Wabash,  or  the  Tennessee,  or  even  to  the 
Mississippi,  as  the  base  of  his  operations.  He  chose 
the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  however,  and,  having  made  the 
choice,  fixed  the  location  of  the  city  which  has  since 
risen  under  the  name  of  Louisville.  To  him  belongs 
the  honor  of  settling  our  city  as  clearly  as  belongs  to 
him  the  glory  of  the  capture  of  Vincennes,  Kaskaskia, 
and  Cahokia.  From  his  conquests  in  the  Illinois  terri- 
tory he  returned  to  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  where  he 
not  only  attended  to  military  affairs,  but  assisted  the 
settlers  in  their  efforts  to  establish  a  town  at  the 
Falls.  He  found  time  to  plan  the  new  town  and  to 
make  a  map  of  it,  which  were  far  superior  to  the  plan 
and  map  adopted  by  the  early  Trustees.*  Here  were 

*  When  General  George  Rogers  Clark  returned  from  the  conquest  of  the 
Illinois  country  in  the  fall  of  1779,  and  took  up  his  abode  in  Louisville,  he 
drew  a  plan  of  the  proposed  town  of  Louisville,  and  made  a  map  of  the  public 
and  private  divisions  of  the  land  as  he  thought  they  ought  to  be  established. 
This  map  is  still  preserved,  and  it  shows  the  wonderful  sagacity  of  General 
Clark.  From  his  little  room  in  the  fort,  at  the  foot  of  Twelfth  Street,  he 
looked  far  into  the  future  and  saw  the  need  of  public  grounds  for  breathing- 
places  when  the  city  should  become  populous.  His  map  shows  all  the  ground 
between  Main  Street  and  the  river,  from  First  to  Twelfth  streets,  marked 
"  public."  Also  a  strip  of  ground  half  a  square  in  width,  just  south  of  Jefferson 
Street,  running  the  whole  length  of  the  town,  marked  "  public."  Also  two 
whole  squares,  where  the  Court-House  now  stands,  marked  "  public."  If  this 
plan  of  the  town  had  been  accepted  by  the  Trustees  and  adhered  to  by  their 
successors,  Louisville  would  be  one  of  the  handsomest  cities  on  the  continent 

6 


42  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

his  headquarters  in  the  old  Twelfth  Street  fort,  in  the 
midst  of  the  first  settlers,  called  "White  Home,"  until 
Fort  Nelson*  was  erected  in  1782,  north  of  Main, 
between  Seventh  and  Eighth  streets,  on  the  site  of  the 
residence  of  the  late  Richardson  Burge.  He  lived  in 
Louisville  and  its  vicinity  until  the  i3th  of  February, 
1818,  when,  in  the  sixty-sixth  year  of  his  age,  he 
closed  his  career,  and  was  buried  at  Locust  Grove. 
On  the  29th  of  October,  1869,  his  remains  were  re- 
moved to  Cave  Hill  Cemetery.f  He  was  a  man  of 
quick  perception,  strong  mind,  unmeasured  courage,  and 
untiring  energy;  and  his  capture  of  the  British  posts 
in  the  Illinois  country  with  an  inadequate  number  of 
undisciplined  troops  ranks  him  among  the  first  captains 
of  his  age.  None  but  a  military  genius  of  the  first 

to-day.  The  Trustees,  however,  either  for  want  of  capacity  to  see  the  advan- 
tages of  holding  this  property  for  the  public,  or  from  necessity  to  pay  debts 
against  it,  sold  all  this  property  except  the  Court-House  square  and  the  grave- 
yard. It  brought  but  little  when  sold.  It  would  be  worth  millions  now  in  the 
shape  of  park  property,  with  a  number  of  grand  old  forest  trees  upon  it. 
This  map  of  General  Clark  only  extends  to  Jefferson  Street,  but  tradition  says 
that  it  was  a  part  of  his  plan  to  have  the  strip  of  ground  it  shows  south  of 
Jefferson  repeated  at  intervals  of  every  three  squares  as  the  city  should  enlarge. 

*  See  Appendix  G. 

t  The  grave  of  General  Clark  had  been  so  long  neglected  in  the  family 
burying-ground  at  Locust  Grove  that  it  was  exceedingly  difficult  to  find  his 
remains  for  re-interment  in  Cave  Hill  Cemetery.  The  vicinity  of  his  grave 
was  known,  but  there  were  a  number  of  unmarked  graves  close  to  it  with 
nothing  to  indicate  which  was  his.  Eight  graves  were  opened  without  finding 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  43 

order  could  have  planned  and  executed  the  capture  of 
Vincennes  in  the  winter  of  1779.  It  required  a  bold 
and  comprehensive  military  mind  to  see  and  determine 
that,  unless  he  should  capture  Governor  Hamilton  at 
Vincennes  during  the  winter  of  1779,  that  same  Gov- 
ernor Hamilton  would  capture  him  at  Kaskaskia  so  soon 
as  the  spring  opened.  Having  reached  his  conclusion, 
neither  the  drowned  lands  of  Illinois,  over  which  he  had 
to  march  the  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  from  Kas- 
kaskia to  Vincennes,  nor  the  disparity  of  numbers  could 
swerve  him  from  his  purpose.  He  and  his  soldiers  had 
to  wade  through  overflowed  lands  breast-deep  and  swim 
rivers  raging  with  icy  waters  until  they  reached  their 
object.  It  was  one  of  the  boldest,  most  trying,  most 
difficult,  and  most  hazardous  expeditions  ever  under- 

a  skeleton  with  an  amputated  leg,  which  was  the  test  of  identity.  At  last  a 
ninth  grave  was  opened,  and  in  it  found  a  skeleton  which  answered  the 
requirements,  with  the  left  leg  amputated  above  the  knee.  This  was  the  leg 
which  Dr.  Richard  Ferguson  had  amputated  in  1809,  on  account  of  its  having 
been  seriously  burned  when  the  General  fell  from  his  arm-chair  into  the  fire. 
While  this  leg  was  being  amputated  Qeneral  Clark  had  a  drum  and  fife  at  the 
door  of  the  house,  making  the  kind  of  music  he  loved.  These  martial  sounds 
seem  to  have  put  him  in  a  state  of  feeling  in  which  he  was  indifferent  to  the 
pains  of  amputation.  His  bones  and  hair  and  some  brass  buttons  were  all  that 
were  found  in  the  grave.  The  coffin  and  cerements  had  all  perished.  The 
skeleton  was  perfect,  however,  except  as  to  the  part  of  the  amputated  limb. 
The  hair  of  his  head,  which  was  white  when  lie  was  buried,  had  assumed  a  dull 
red  color  in  the  grave,  possibly  from  being  stained  by  the  surrounding  clay. 
Could  it  be  that  his  hair  in  the  grave  was  seeking  the  original  sandy  or  red 
color  which  it  had  before  it  turned  gray? 


44  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

taken  and  pushed  to  a  successful  conclusion.  Louisvil- 
lians  are  justly  proud  to  be  of  a  city  which  can  assign 
its  origin  to  such  a  hero. 

ORIGINAL  FOREST  TREES. 

But  little  was  done  by  the  pioneers  of  Louisville, 
beyond  making  a  settlement  at  the  Falls,  before  the 
close  of  the  first  of  the  three  periods  into  which  we  have 
divided  the  time  to  be  gone  over.  The  plain  on  which 
the  infant  city  was  to  grow  was  covered  by  a  dense  forest 
of  oak,  hickory,  walnut,  hackberry,  locust,  cherry,  maple, 
buckeye,  and  gum,  with  here  and  there  huge  poplars  and 
sycamores  towering  above  the  surrounding  growth  like 
giants  of  old.  A  few  of  these  original  trees  are  yet 
standing  to  connect  us  with  the  distant  past.  An  oak 
in  the  back  yard  of  Mr.  Bottsford,  on  Chestnut  Street, 
another  in  that  of  Mr.  Lindenberger,  on  Fourth,  and  a 
honey  locust  in  front  of  the  residence  of  Mr.  Brannin, 
on  Broadway,  have  come  down  to  us  from  olden  times. 
In  the  yard  of  Mr.  Caperton,  the  old  Guthrie  residence, 
on  Walnut  Street,  there  is  the  branchless  trunk  of  a 
noble  beech,  which  died  a  few  years  ago,  which  stood 
there  when  Louisville  was  founded ;  and  in  Central  Park 
are  a  few  hoary  sentinels  which  have  watched  over  us 
for  a  century. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  45 


THE  FISH-PONDS  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

Besides  subduing  a  forest  of  formidable  growth  before 
planting  their  gardens  and  cultivating  their  fields,  the 
first  settlers  saw  the  necessity  of  filling  up  or  draining 
a  number  of  ponds,  which  gave  the  landscape  the  appear- 
ance of  an  archipelago  of  land  filled  with  islands  of 
water.  One  of  these  ponds  extended  from  Sixth  along 
Jefferson  and  Market  to  Sixteenth  Street,  and  was  so 
deep  that  horses  swam  in  it,  and  its  bed  is  yet  visible  in 
the  alley  between  Market  and  Jefferson  streets  ;*  another, 
known  as  Grayson's  Pond,  extended  from  Green  Street 
almost  to  Walnut,  and  from  Center  to  beyond  Sixth ; 
another  on  Market  from  Third  to  Fifth,  another  on  Third 
from  Market  to  Green,  and  so  on  without  number  were 
they  to  be  seen  in  every  part  of  the  plane  of  the  contem- 
plated city.  The  waters  of  some  of  them  abounded  in 
excellent  fish,  which  made  them  rather  the  friends  than 
the  enemies  of  the  early  settlers.  Indeed  it  may  be 

*At  the  lower  end  of  this  pond  was  established,  in  1815,  the  Hope  Distil- 
lery. One  hundred  thousand  dollars  were  expended  in  erecting  this  estab- 
lishment for  making  whisky;  and  the  company  which  owned  it,  and  which  was 
incorporated  by  the  Kentucky  Legislature  in  1817,  had  large  expectations  of 
making  a  fortune  out  of  the  enterprise.  The  establishment,  however,  was  not 
financially  successful;  it  was  too  big  an  undertaking  for  the  times.  Like  the 
great  Tarascon  flouring-mill  at  Shippingport,  it  was  in  advance  of  the  age. 
The  little  distilleries  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  with  their  hand-made 


46  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

doubted  whether  our  city  could  have  gone  on  in  its  un- 
interrupted habitation  by  the  white  man  had  it  not  been 
for  the  fish  of  the  waters  and  the  game  of  the  woods. 
The  Indians  would  not  have  permitted  the  raising  of  food 
enough  to  support  the  emigrant  population  until  a  much 
later  period,  without  the  supply  which  nature  had  lav- 
ished so  abundantly  in  the  waters  and  the  forests. 

COLD  WINTER  OF  1779-1780. 

The  terrible  winter  of  1779-80  came  upon  our  fore- 
fathers when  they  were  ill-prepared  for  it  in  their  frail 
and  open  cabins.  From  the  middle  of  November  to  the 
last  of  February  the  ground  was  covered  with  snow  and 
the  rivers  bound  fast  with  ice.  The  ponds  and  creeks 
were  congealed  to  the  bottom,  and  over  the  Ohio  men 
and  animals  passed  as  if  on  dry  land.  No  rain  fell,  and 
water  for  drinking  and  cooking  had  to  be  procured  from 
melted  ice.  Snow-storms,  accompanied  by  piercing  north- 
west winds,  constantly  occurred,  and  the  wild  animals  of 

mash  and  copper  stills  heated  by  fire,  made  the  whisky  that  was  demanded, 
and  made  it  better  than  this  huge  concern.  Anyhow,  the  people  who  drank 
the  whisky  thought  the  product  of  the  small  distilleries  best,  and  bought  it 
and  drank  it  to  the  neglect  of  the  monster's  product.  This  Hope  Distillery 
lingered  for  a  few  years,  aud  was  finally  abandoned.  The  whole  capital  of 
$100,000  was  sunk,  and  the  New  Englanders,  who  furnished  most  of  it,  went 
back  to  their  rum  and  left  Kentuckians  to  their  whisky. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  47 

the  woods  came  to  the  settlements  to  shelter  themselves 
behind  the  cabins  from  the  freezing  storms.  Thousands 
of  buffalo  and  deer  were  found  frozen  to  death,  and  the 
wild  turkeys  and  birds  dropped  from  the  trees  on  which 
they  had  gone  to  roost. 

LOUISVILLE  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  FIRST  PERIOD. 

A  block-house  and  group  of  eighteen  log  cabins  on 
Corn  Island,  a  small  fort  at  the  foot  of  Third  Street, 
erected  by  Colonel  John  Floyd  in  1779,  but  already  aban- 
doned ;  a  large  fort  on  the  east  side  of  a  ravine  that 
entered  the  Ohio  at  Twelfth  Street,  and  a  few  rude  log 
cabins  scattered  through  the  woods  near  the  Twelfth 
Street  fort,  all  occupied  by  about  one  hundred  *  inhabit- 
ants, who  had  cleared  and  cultivated  garden-spots  around 
their  humble  cabins,  was  all  there  was  of  Louisville  at 
the  close  of  the  first  period  into  which  we  have  divided 
the  time  to  be  gone  over.  All  else  was  the  primeval 
forest,  with  its  panthers  and  bears  and  wolves  and  wild- 

*Mann  Butler,  in  his  sketch  of  Louisville  published  in  the  Directory  of 
1832,  estimated  the  population  of  Louisville  at  only  thirty  in  1788.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  1788  was  a  misprint  for  1778;  but  even  if  this  mistake  occurred,  the 
estimate  was  still  too  low.  There  are  sufficient  reasons  for  believing  that 
the  population  of  Louisville  was  considerably  above  thirty  in  1778,  and  still 
greater  in  1788.  The  original  citizens  who  landed  on  Corn  Island  May  27,  1778, 
including  men,  women,  and  children,  numbered  at  least  fifty.  -  The  map  of 
William  Bard,  showing  the  lots  and  those  who  drew  them  on  the  24th  of  April, 


48  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

cats.  The  familiar  song  of  the  Falls  was  sometimes  dis- 
turbed by  the  yell  of  the  savage,  but  all  else  bore  the 
solemn  silence  of  the  deep,  dark  woods  around.  None  of 
those  who  were  then  here  are  now  known  to  be  among 
the  living.  All  have  been  laid  to  rest  in  the  early  bury- 
ing-grounds  of  the  city,  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Tenth, 
and  on  Jefferson  between  Eleventh  and  Twelfth,  or  in 
foreign  graveyards,  and  time  has  obliterated  all  indica- 
tions of  the  last  resting-places  of  most  of  them.  They 
sleep  their  last  sleep,  not  in  the  hallowed  graves  of  pio- 
neers, dear  to  the  memory  of  the  living,  but,  with  the 
exception  of  Clark  and  Patton,  as  undistinguished  com- 
moners, without  even  a  head-stone  to  tell  where  their 
ashes  repose.  Captain  James  Patton  rests  in  the  old 
graveyard  on  Jefferson  Street,  between  Sixteenth  and 
Eighteenth,  with  a  respectable  stone  monument  over  his 
remains,  and  his  grave  has  not  been  forgotten  to-day. 
Could  we  have  gone  to-day  to  the  graves  of  all  the  others 
and  strewn  fresh  May  flowers  over  them,  it  would  have 

1779,  has  the  initials  of  the  names  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen  persons.  The 
petition  to  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  bearing  date  May  i,  1780,  has  the  names 
of  thirty-nine  citizens  attached  to  it.  While  it  will  not  be  claimed  that  all 
who  are  represented  by  initials  on  this  map  of  Bard  were  citizens,  surely 
enough  of  them  were  citizens,  after  excluding  such  as  were  embraced  in  the 
families  on  Corn  Island  and  those  who  signed  the  petition,  to  bring  the  num- 
ber up  to  one  hundred  —  one  inhabitant  for  every  year  of  the  existence  of  our 
city  as  an  incorporated  town,  from  the  beginning  to  this  centennial  day. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  49 

been  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  pioneer  dead. 
We  know  where  repose  all  that  is  mortal  of  the  greatest 
of  them  all,  General  George  Rogers  Clark,  the  real  hero 
of  our  city ;  and  to  -  day  garlands  and  wreaths  of  fresh 
flowers  woven  by  tender  hands  have  been  laid  upon  his 
grave,  and  his  illustrious  deeds  called  back  to  memory. 
He  was  not  only  the  founder  of  the  city  of  Louisville, 
but  his  victorious  arms  conquered  that  vast  territor}'-  out 
of  which  the  great  States  of  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  Mich- 
igan, Wisconsin,  and  that  part  of  Minnesota  on  this  side 
of  the  Mississippi  were  made.  His  wonderful  insight 
into  Indian  character  won  hostile  tribes  to  the  Revolu- 
tionary cause  in  spite  of  the  lavish  gifts  of  the  British; 
and  if  his  splendid  military  genius  had  had  the  support 
it  deserved,  his  victories  on  this  side  of  the  Alleghanies 
would  have  shortened  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  His 
remains  repose  in  an  humble  grave  on  the  lot  of  his 
nephew,  Isaac  Clark,  in  Cave  Hill  Cemetery,  with  noth- 
ing but  a  simple  head-stone  bearing  this  inscription : 

GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  : 
Born,  O.  S.,  Nov.  9,  1752;  died,  Feb.  13,  1818. 

The  time  must  come,  however,  when  a  grateful  people 
will  recognize  his  glorious  deeds  by  erecting  to  his  mem- 
ory a  monument  worthy  of  his  fame. 


SECOND  PERIOD. 

3Trom  Mag  1,  1780,  ID  Sitoarg  13,  1828. 


PETITION  FOR  THE  TOWN  OF  LOUISVILLE. 

AFTER  the  town  of  Louisville  had  been  laid  out 
under  the  general  municipal  laws  of  Virginia,  its 
inhabitants  began  to  fear  that  the  titles  they  had  got- 
ten to  their  lots  were  not  as  good  as  they  might  be. 
The  land  had  been  patented  to  Dr.  John  Connolly,  and 
there  was  no  conveyance  from  him ;  but  he  was  a  loyal- 
ist, and  his  estate  was  liable  to  confiscation  under  an 
act  passed  for  the  punishment  of  just  such  enemies  of 
the  united  Colonies.  They  therefore  petitioned  the  Vir- 
ginia Legislature  to  confiscate  the  lands  of  Connolly  to 
establish  the  town  of  Louisville  thereon,  and  to  confirm 
their  titles  to  the  lots  they  had  drawn  in  the  lottery  of 
April  24,  1779.  Their  petition  bore  thirty -nine  signa- 
tures,* and  was  dated  May  i,  1780.  The  legislature 
granted  the  prayer  of  the  petition,  and  passed  an  act 
appropriating  one  thousand  acres  of  the  Connolly  land 
for  the  town  of  Louisville. 

*  See  Appendix  H. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  51 

Just  why  this  location  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  should 
have  been  selected  for  the  town  of  Louisville  will  never 
be  known,  as  General  Clark  did  not  disclose  his  reason 
for  his  choice.  When  the  canal  was  being  made,  how- 
ever, the  hack -drivers  and  dray -drivers  contended  that 
the  selection  had  been  made  for  the  purpose  of  enabling 
them  to  haul  passengers  and  freight  around  the  Falls, 
and  that  the  canal  would  deprive  them  of  this  right,  and 
leave  them  nothing  to  do  but  to  sell  their  hacks  and 
drays  and  seek  other  employment. 

THE  ACT  OF  INCORPORATION.* 

By  this  act  of  the  Virginia  Legislature,  not  signed 
by  the  Speakers  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Delegates 
till  July  i,  1780,  but  which  by  parliamentary  rule  became 
a  law  on  May  ist,  the  beginning  of  the  session,  the 
town  of  Louisville  was  established  at  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio  and  nine  trustees  appointed  for  its  government. 
These  trustees  were  John  Todd,  jr.,  Stephen  Trigg, 
George  Meriwether,  George  Slaughter,  John  Floyd,  Will- 
iam Pope,  Andrew  Hines,  James  Sullivan,  and  Marsham 
Brashears.  The  act  authorized  the  Trustees  to  lay  off 
one  thousand  acres,  the  forfeited  property  of  Dr.  John 

*See  Appendix  I. 


52  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

Connolly,  into  half-acre  lots,  with  convenient  streets  and 
public  lots,  and  to  sell  them  to  the  highest  bidders,  on 
condition  that  each  owner  was  to  erect  a  house  thereon, 
sixteen  feet  by  twenty,  with  a  brick  or  stone  chimney, 
within  two  years  from  the  date  of  purchase.  Those  who 
had  drawn  in  the  lottery  of  April  24,  1779,  were  to  retain 
their  lots  on  paying  thirty  dollars  for  each  half  acre  and 
improving  them  as  required  of  others.  Of  course  these 
thirty  dollars  for  each  half-acre  lot  made  sixty  dollars 
per  acre,  a  very  high  price ;  but  it  was  paid  in  the  paper 
money  of  the  times,  of  which  it  required  sixty  of  paper 
to  equal  one  silver  dollar.  When  the  depreciated  cur- 
rency was  reduced  to  coin,  each  lot  cost  only  fifty  cents.* 
The  Trustees  were  empowered  to  make  deeds  to  the  lots 

*  By  an  act  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  at  its  November  session,  1781,  the 
following  scale  was  adopted  for  the  settlement  of  contracts  made  at  different 
times  in  paper  money.  It  will  be  found  in  Henning's  Statutes  at  Large,  Vol. 
10,  page  472 : 

1777-  January,  one  and  a  half;  February,  one  and  a  half;  March,  two ; 
April,  two  and  a  half;  May,  two  and  a  half;  June,  two  and  a  half;  July,  three  ; 
August,  three ;  September,  three ;  October,  three  ;  November,  three ;  December, 
four. 

1778.  January,  four;  February,  five;  March,  five;   April,  five;   May,  five; 
June,  five ;  July,  five ;  August,  five ;  September,  five ;  October,  five  ;  November, 
six ;  December,  six. 

1779.  January,   eight;   February,   ten;   March,   ten;   April,   sixteen;   May, 
twenty;  June,   twenty;  July,   twenty-one;   August,   twenty-two;    September, 
twenty-four;  October,  twenty-eight ;  November,  thirty-six;  December,  forty. 

1780.  January,  forty-two;  February,  forty-five;  March,  fifty;  April,  sixty; 
May,   sixty;  June,   sixty -five;   July,  sixty -five;   August,   seventy;   September, 


The  Centenary  of  Lotiisville.  53 

and  to  settle  all  disputes  concerning  boundaries  and  im- 
provements, and  the  owners  were  given  all  the  rights, 
privileges,  and  immunities  of  other  towns  existing  in 
Virginia  without  special  legislative  acts.  If  the  lots 
were  not  improved  as  required,  within  two  years,  they 
might  be  reclaimed  by  the  Trustees.  But  the  time  for 
improving  the  lots  was  again  and  again  extended  until 
1801,  when  the  restriction  was  annulled. 

Such  was  the  act  under  which  our  city  began  its 
chartered  existence  this  day  one  hundred  years  ago. 
The  act  of  incorporation,  however,  was  not  known  at 
the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  for  some  time  after  its  passage, 
and  the  first  meeting  of  the  Trustees  under  it  did  not 
occur  until  the  yth  of  February,  1781.*  During  the 

seventy -two;  October,  seventy  -  three  ;  November,  seventy -four;  December, 
seventy-five. 

1781.  January,  seventy-five;  February,  eighty;  March,  ninety;  April,  one 
hundred;  May,  one  hundred  and  fifty;  June,  two  hundred  and  fifty;  July,  four 
hundred;  August,  five  hundred;  September,  six  hundred;  October,  seven  hun- 
dred ;  November,  eight  hundred ;  December,  one  thousand. 

*The  first  meeting  of  the  Trustees  was  held  in  the  old  fort  at  the  foot  of 
Twelfth  Street,  on  the  7th  of  February,  1781,  and  was  attended  by  John  Todd, 
jr.,  Stephen  Trigg,  George  Slaughter,  John  Floyd,  William  Pope,  and  Marsham 
Brashears.  They  resolved  that  the  county  surveyor  should  run  a  line  sepa- 
rating the  upper  half  of  the  Connolly  land  dedicated  to  Louisville  from  the 
lower  half;  that  the  owners  of  lots  drawn  on  the  24th  of  April,  1779,  should 
give  thirty  feet  on  the  south  side  of  Main  Street,  so  as  to  make  that  street 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  wide ;  that  the  county  surveyor  should  lay  oft' 
the  balance  of  the  thousand  acres  taken  from  Connolly  into  town  lots ;  that 
Captain  Meredith  Price  should  be  clerk,  and  give  notice  of  a  sale  of  lots  at 


54  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

succeeding  forty -eight  years  the  city  was  governed  by 
Trustees  either  appointed  by  the  legislature  or  elected 
by  the  people,  and  although  its  progress  was  slow  under 
their  rule  its  population  increased  from  about  one  hun- 
dred to  nearly  ten  thousand,  and  many  measures  had 
their  origin,  which  not  only  served  the  purpose  for  which 
they  were  intended  but  exerted  such  a  continuous  influ- 
ence upon  the  growth  of  the  city  as  to  be  worthy  of 
notice  on  this  occasion. 

FORFEITURE  OF  THE  CONNOLLY  LANDS. 

The  land  on  which  the  city  of  Louisville  was  laid 
out  had  a  double  forfeiture  from  Dr.  John  Connolly,  to 
whom  it  originally  belonged.  It  was  forfeited  by  the 

the  next  April  term  of  court;  and  that  George  Slaughter,  William  Pope,  John 
Floyd,  and  Marsham  Brashears  should  act  as  a  committee  to  arrange  with 
Jacob  Myers  for  cutting  a  canal  and  erecting  a  grist-mill.  If  the  Trustees  had 
adhered  to  their  resolve  to  make  Main  Street  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
wide  instead  of  ninety,  they  would  have  shown  a  broader  sense  of  municipal 
wants  than  they  did  in  certain  other  acts.  Their  resolve  to  lay  off  the  balance 
of  the  thousand  acres  into  town  lots  caused  them  and  their  successors  much 
trouble.  They  appointed  and  paid  no  less  than  half  a  dozen  surveyors  to  lay 
off  the  town  and  make  maps  of  it;  and  when  the  work  was  finally  done  all  the 
lots  laid  off  were  sold,  except  the  court-house  square  and  the  graveyard,  and 
they  owned  neither  a  lot  in  the  town  nor  even  a  map  of  it.  They  resolved 
to  have  a  sale  of  lots  at  the  next  April  court;  but  the  Indians  had  not  been 
consulted,  and  they  not  only  had  no  sale,  but  did  not  meet  again  until  June 
4,  1783.  It  does  not  appear  what  canal  was  to  be  cut  for  the  mill  of  Jacob 
Myers,  but  tradition  says  it  was  a  canal  on  the  Shippingport  point  to  utilize 
the  fall  of  the  rapids,  as  was  done  later  by  the  Tarascons  for  their  flouring- 
mill  in  Shippingport. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  55 

Virginia  Legislature  vesting  it  in  Trustees  for  the  town 
of  Louisville,  and  it  was  forfeited  by  the  verdict  of  an 
escheating  jury  on  the  ist  of  July,  1780.  On  this  last 
named  date  George  May,  as  escheator,  assembled  a  jury 
at  Lexington,  Ky.,  consisting  of  Daniel  Boone,  John 
Bowman,  Nathaniel  Randolph,  Waller  Overton,  Robert 
McAfee,  Edward  Gather,  Henry  Wilson,  Joseph  Willis, 
Paul  Froman,  Jerry  Tilford,  James  Wood,  and  Thomas 
Grant,  who,  being  sworn  to  try  whether  John  Connolly 
took  sides  with  the  British  against  the  Colonists  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,  and  whether  he  had  any  lands  at  the 
time,  rendered  a  verdict,  that  on  the  i9th  of  April,  1775, 
the  said  Connolly  was  a  British  subject,  who  of  his  own 
free  will  departed  from  the  States  and  joined  the  sub- 
jects of  His  Britannic  Majesty,  and  that  on  the  Fourth 
of  July,  1776,  the  said  Connolly  was  possessed  of  two 
thousand  acres  on  the  Ohio  opposite  to  the  Falls.* 

*  Dr.  John  Connolly,  who  was  the  first  owner  of  the  land  on  which  our  city 
was  laid  out,  must  always  be  an  interesting  character  to  Louisvillians.  He 
was  a  bold,  shrewd,  and  unscrupulous  man ;  but  neither  for  these  nor  for  any 
other  qualities  can  his  connection  with  the  origin  of  the  city  of  Louisville  be 
ignored.  He  was  born  in  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania,  toward  the  middle 
of  the  last  century,  and  at  an  early  age  became  connected  with  the  Royal 
troops  as  Surgeon's  Mate.  For  this  service  he  was  given  two  thousand  acres 
of  land,  which  he  located  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio.  He  was  an  intriguer  by 
nature,  and  when  Lord  Dunmore  placed  him  in  charge  of  Fort  Pitt  he  soon 
got  into  quarrels  which  led  to  the  Indian  troubles  of  1774  and  the  battle  of 
Point  Pleasant.  In  1775  he  undertook  to  organize  a  band  of  Indians,  renegades, 
and  tones,  to  be  called  the  "  Loyal  Foresters,"  to  be  used  against  the  revolting 


56  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

This  act  of  escheat  by  the  jury  was  supposed  to  be 
in  the  County  of  Kentucky,  but  it  was  a  mistake.  Ken- 
tucky was  originally  a  part  of  Fincastle  County  of 
Virginia,  and  on  the  3ist  of  December,  1776.  the  County 
of  Kentucky,  comprehending  the  present  State  of  that 
name,  was  carved  out  of  Fincastle.  On  the  ist  of  May, 
1780,  the  act  of  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  dividing 
Kentucky  County  into  Jefferson,  Fayette,  and  Lincoln 
counties  took  effect,  so  that  this  act  of  confiscation  really 
occurred  in  Fayette  County.  A  singular  coincidence  was 
the  final  step  of  the  legislature  at  Richmond  confiscating 
the  Connolly  property  and  the  verdict  of  the  escheating 
jury  at  Lexington,  five  hundred  miles  distant,  on  the 
same  ist  of  July,  1780. 

Colonies  in  the  West.  He  was  arrested  near  Hagerstown,  while  on  his  way  to 
the  West  to  execute  his  plans,  with  his  instructions  from  Lord  Dunmore  con- 
cealed in  the  handle  of  his  portmanteau.  He  was  imprisoned  and  kept  con- 
fined until  the  Revolutionary  War  was  nearly  at  an  end.  Under  pretense  of 
looking  after  his  lands  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  he  was  in  Kentucky  in  1788, 
and  conferred  with  some  of  our  leading  citizens  about  help  from  Great  Britain 
for  the  Kentuckians  to  take  the  Spanish  possessions  at  the  South  and  open 
the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  River.  He  was  one  of  the  best  informed 
men  of  his  times  about  western  lands,  and  had  in  mind  the  seating  of  a  colony 
in  this  region,  with  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  as  headquarters.  It  was  with  this 
view  that  he  located  his  two  thousand  acres  at  the  Falls.  Lord  Dunmore  was 
his  strong  friend,  and  there  is  no  calculating  what  he  might  have  accom- 
plished had  not  the  Revolutionary  War  broken  up  his  far-reaching  and  deep- 
scheming  plans. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  57 


INDIAN  CONFLICTS. 

Our  fathers  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  had  no  great 
Indian  battles  to  fight,  as  did  their  brethren  at  Boones- 
borough,  Harrodsburg,  Bryant's,  and  other  stations.  The 
few  savages  who  did  mischief  would  come  either  singly 
or  in  squads,  and  generally  the  contest  with  them  was 
man  to  man.  The  presence  of  General  Clark,  who  was 
a  terror  to  the  Indians,  may  have  had  some  influence  in 
keeping  off  large  parties  of  them,  and  hence  they  only 
approached  the  Falls  by  stealth  instead  of  open  battle; 
yet  the  annoyances  they  gave  the  early  settlers  were 
neither  few  nor  trivial.  The  conflicts,  however,  were 
sometimes  as  much  calculated  to  excite  merriment  as 
sorrow. 

In  the  fall  of  1780  two  brothers,  Adam  and  Jacob 
Wickersham,  went  to  their  garden  to  get  a  mess  of 
pumpkins.  Jacob  had  filled  his  bag  and  had  it  on  his 
shoulder  when  an  Indian  sprang  upon  him,  tomahawk 
in  hand,  with  the  purpose  of  making  him  a  prisoner. 
Jacob  at  once  threw  his  bag  of  pumpkins  on  the  Indian, 
which  brought  the  savage  to  the  ground  with  the  bag 
across  his  body.  Before  the  Indian  could  get  rid  of  his 
load  Jacob  was  well  on  his  way  to  the  fort  at  the  foot 


58  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

of  Twelfth  Street,  and  could  not  be  overtaken.  In  the 
mean  time  another  Indian  had  taken  in  hand  to  capture 
Adam.  They  were  on  different  sides  of  the  fence  that 
surrounded  the  pumpkin  patch,  and  thus  ran  parallel 
with  one  another  until  they  came  to  a  deep  ditch,  which 
Adam  cleared  with  a  bound.  The  Indian  could  not  make 
the  leap,  and,  despairing  of  capturing  his  prisoner  alive, 
threw  his  tomahawk  at  him  on  the  other  side  of  the 
ditch  and  struck  him  with  the  handle  instead  of  the 
blade.  The  blow  simply  gave  Adam  an  additional  impe- 
tus in  the  way  he  was  going  to  the  fort,  where  he  soon 
arrived  in  safety  and  joined  his  brother. 

In  March,  1781,  quite  a  large  party  of  Indians  came 
over  to  Louisville  and  killed  Colonel  William  Linn, 
Captain  Abraham  Tipton,  Captain  John  Chapman,  and 
several  other  persons.  Captain  Aquila  Whitaker  raised 
a  company  and  went  in  pursuit  of  them.  A  part  of  them 
were  trailed  to  the  river  below  the  Falls,  and,  it  being 
supposed  that  they  had  crossed  the  river,  Captain 
Whitaker  and  his  men  took  canoes  to  cross  in  pursuit. 
They  were  scarcely  out  from  the  shore  when  the  Indians, 
till  then  concealed  on  this  side  of  the  river,  fired  upon 
the  boats  and  wounded  nine  of  the  party.  The  boats 
put  back  to  the  shore  and  the  Indians  were  attacked  and 
dispersed. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  59 

In  1781  the  largest  body  of  Indians  that  had  yet 
threatened  Louisville  were  hovering  around  Squire 
Boone's  Station,  where  Shelbyville  now  stands.  To 
aid  the  inhabitants  of  the  beleaguered  station  to  escape 
to  the  stronger  forts  on  Beargrass  Creek,  Colonel  John 
Floyd,  with  a  company  from  his  own  and  other  stations 
on  Beargrass,  marched  to  the  rescue.  He  was  defeated 
by  overwhelming  numbers  and  lost  half  of  his  men.  In 
this  disastrous  conflict  some  of  the  best  citizens  of 
Louisville  and  the  adjacent  stations  lost  their  lives. 

Two  years  afterwards,  in  1783,  while  Colonel  Floyd 
was  riding  from  Spring  Station  to  his  own  station  on 
Beargrass  Creek,  he  was  shot  by  an  Indian  in  ambush. 
His  brother  Charles,  who  was  with  him,  abandoned  his 
own  horse  and,  leaping  up  behind  the  wounded  man,  held 
him  in  the  saddle  and  spurred  his  horse  to  the  station. 
Here  Colonel  Floyd  soon  afterwards  died  of  the  wound, 
and  thus  perished  one  of  the  most  useful  men  of  the 
infant  settlement.  He  was  a  man  of  liberal  education 
and  of  superior  mind,  and  had  he  been  spared  would 
have  helped  Clark  and  Logan  and  Shelby  and  Innes 
to  shape  the  destinies  of  young  Kentucky. 

In  1784  William  and  Asahel  Linn,  sons  of  Colonel 
William  Linn,  in  company  with  William  Wells  and 
Nicholas  Brashears,  went  out  from  the  city  to  hunt.  A 


60  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

cub  bear  was  killed,  and,  while  William  Linn  was  strap- 
ping the  bear  to  his  shoulders  to  carry  it  home,  a  party 
of  Indians  sprang  upon  him  and  the  other  boys  and 
bore  them  all  prisoners  to  White  River  in  Indiana. 
Here  they  remained  until  the  fall  of  the  year,  when 
Wells  was  carried  to  another  town  by  his  captors.  The 
two  Linn  boys  and  Brashears  now  determined  to  make 
their  escape.  At  night  they  rose  and  stunned  by  blows 
the  old  squaw  with  whom  they  were  living.  They 
traveled  by  night  and  hid  by  day  until  they  reached  the 
Ohio  where  Jeffersonville  now  stands.  Here  they  hal- 
looed and  made  signs  for  help,  but  their  friends  on  this 
side,  thinking  it  was  an  Indian  ruse,  paid  no  attention 
to  them.  Fearing  to  be  overtaken  by  their  pursuers,  the 
three  boys  bound  some  logs  together  with  grape-vines, 
and  the  two  Linn  boys,  not  being  able  to  swim,  were 
placed  upon  the  frail  raft,  while  young  Brashears  swam 
and  pushed  it  across  the  river.*  Wells  did  not  get 
home  for  several  years  afterwards,  but  his  stay  among 
the  Indians  taught  him  their  language,  which  proved 

*  In  the  matter  of  the  four  Louisville  boys  captured  by  the  Indians  in  1784, 
I  have  followed  the  original  account  as  given  by  Mann  Butler  in  the  Directory 
of  1832.  I  do  not  believe,  however,  that  the  Linn  boys  were  not  able  to  swim. 
They  were  raised  on  Beargrass  Creek,  near  the  Ohio,  and  it  is  not  likely  that 
they  had  not  learned  to  swim  in  the  waters  so  near  to  them.  In  fact  I  have 
heard  from  old  citizens  who  knew  them  that  they  could  swim  like  ducks,  and 
the  probability  is  that  young  Brashears  rode  on  the  raft  for  want  of  being 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  61 

useful  to  General  Wayne  in  his  campaign  of  1794 
against  the  Indians. 

In  the  following  year,  1785,  a  man  named  Squires 
went  out  for  a  hunt  in  the  suburbs  of  the  town.  A 
slight  snow  had  fallen  upon  the  ground,  and  an  Indian 
tracked  him  to  a  sycamore  tree,  near  the  mouth  of  Bear- 
grass  Creek,  where  Squires  had  treed  a  raccoon  and  was 
preparing  to  secure  it.  The  Indian  came  suddenly  upon 
Squires  at  the  base  of  the  tree,  and  then  a  race  began 
around  the  tree,  the  Indian  after  Squires  and  Squires 
after  the  Indian.  Finally  both  became  weary  of  the 
chase,  and  each  at  the  same  time  taking  the  idea  of 
escape  by  leaving  the  tree,  the  Indian  shot  off  in  one 
direction  and  Squires  in  another,  much  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  both.  Neither  seemed  disposed  to  renew  the 
tread-mill  chase  around  the  tree,  but  pursued  the  course 
he  had  taken  unmolested  by  the  other.  The  Indian 
lost  his  prisoner  and  Squires  his  raccoon,  but  both  no 
doubt  were  satisfied  with  the  loss. 

In  1793    a   party  of  Indians   captured   a  boy  named 

able  to  swim,  while  the  I/inn  boys  swain  by  its  side  and  pushed  it  across  the 
river.  I  have  also  heard  from  old  citizens  that  this  Brashears  boy  was  not 
named  Nicholas,  but  was  named  Walter,  and  that  it  was  he  who  afterwards 
became  famous  for  amputation  at  the  hip-joint  in  1806.  His  father,  Nacy 
Brashears,  came  from  Maryland  to  this  country  the  year  in  which  this  capture 
was  made,  and  young  Walter  was  then  about  the  right  age  for  being  captured 
by  Indians  and  ridden  on  a  raft  by  his  comrades. 


62  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

Abram  Keller  at  Eastern's  mill,  and  by  some  strange 
fancy  gave  him  a  scalping-knife,  a  tomahawk,  and  a 
pipe  and  turned  him  loose  with  this  equipment.  What 
use  the  boy  made  of  these  instruments  of  war  and  peace 
in  after  years  is  not  known.  His  father  lost  his  life 
in  the  Illinois  campaign,  and  the  son,  having  thus  felt 
the  evils  of  war,  may  have  preferred  the  friendly  pipe 
to  the  hostile  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife. 

As  evidence  of  the  annoyance  of  the  people  of 
Louisville  and  its  vicinity,  and  the  late  day  at  which 
it  was  kept  up  by  the  Indians,  it  may  be  stated  that 
in  1795  a  number  of  citizens  of  Louisville  and  Jefferson 
County  bound  themselves  by  a  written  contract  to  pay 
the  sum  set  opposite  to  their  names  for  Indian  scalps 
taken  within  the  vicinity.  To  this  contract  appear  the 
names  of  some  of  our  best  known  pioneers.* 

Our    first    inhabitants,    though    comparatively    little 

*  The  following  is  a  copy  of  an  old  manuscript  contract  by  which  our 
citizens  bound  themselves  to  pay  for  Indian  scalps: 

"  We,  the  subscribers,  promise  to  pay  the  sum  annexed  to  our  respective 
names  for  every  Indian  scalp  taken  in  the  County  of  Jefferson,  on  the  west  of 
the  main  road  leading  from  Louisville  to  Shepherdsville,  within  ten  months 
from  date — loth  March,  1795. 

£     s  £     s 

James  Asturgus,  jr.,  Pd,     ...    3  Joseph    Brooks,   if   taken    be- 

James  Isle, 12  tween    the    road    from    the 

Con  Cumins 12  Falls  to  Shepherdsville  and 

Perry  Guld 2    8  the  mouth  of  Salt  River  and 

Isaac  Laif,  Pd i   10  the  Ohio I   10 

Math.  Love,  Pd, 12  John  McKindo, 18 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  63 

punished  by  the  Indians,  had  more  serious  difficulties 
to  contend  with  in  establishing  their  town  at  the  Falls 
than  attended  similar  enterprises  at  other  points.  Be- 
sides clearing  away  a  dense  forest  with  thick  under- 
growth, they  had  to  fill  up  deep  ponds  and  drain  wet 
lands,  and  contend  with  malarial  diseases  which  were 
more  formidable  than  savages.  The  right  men,  however, 
for  the  work  to  be  done  came  to  the  infant  settlement 
and  overcame  all  difficulties ;  and  we  are  here  to-day 
to  recall  their  hardy  deeds  and  to  pay  fitting  honors 
to  their  memories. 


EARLY  HOTELS  AT  THE  FALLS. 

Important  persons  in  all  new  settlements  which  are 
to  become  permanent  and  prosperous  are  landlords, 
mechanics,  preachers,  doctors,  lawyers,  merchants,  and 
manufacturers.  The  pioneers  of  Louisville  had  a  double 


£     S 

James  Quartimas, 12 

Robt.  McLeland,  Paid 10 

Joe  Robb i     4 

Thos.  Donnohue 12 

Joseph  Boninun 12 

Leonard  Colland 12 

James  Kerlin, 12 

John  Kidd i    4 

Garet  Pendergrast, 15 

W.  Sullivan,  for  one  scalp,  paid,  12 


£  s 

Charles  Beeler,  Paid, 10 

Alexander  Graham,  Paid,  ...  12 

James  Adams,  Paid, 12 

Joseph  Dannaker, i 

Richard  Parks, 12 

Geo.  Spaw, 6 

John  Quelim 12 

Samuel  Welsh, 6 

Joseph  Delany 6 

Sept.  Black-well,  Pd 6 

Thos.  McKenney,  Pd, 18 

Thos.  M.  Winn,  Pd 12 


64  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

reason  for  having  an  abundance  of  hotels.  By  an  old 
law  of  Virginia,  which  had  existed  since  1663,  no  charge 
could  be  made  for  entertainment  in  a  private  house 
without  a  special  contract;  and  the  emigrants,  taking 
advantage  of  this  law,  often  imposed  upon  the  hospi- 
table settlers.  The  only  remedy  was  to  have  a  tavern 
license,  which  was  authority  for  charging  for  food  and 
lodging.  The  numbers  of  immigrants  landing  at  the 
Falls  as  a  starting  point  for  other  localities  made 
numerous  hotels  absolutely  necessary  for  their  mainte- 
nance. Hence,  as  soon  as  the  people  left  the  forts  and 
erected  their  dwellings  outside  of  the  stations,  we  find 
many  good  citizens  turning  their  residences  into  hotels. 
Among  the  most  distinguished  landlords  of  Louisville 
in  the  infancy  of  the  town  were  Mark  Thomas,  Patrick 
Joyes,  Edward  Tyler,  John  Harrison,  Andrew  Heth, 
Robert  Elliott,  William  Pope,  James  Fontaine,  and 
James  Winn.  Mark  Thomas  was  probably  the  most 
famous  of  all  our  early  hosts.  His  table  was  so  entic- 
ing with  its  well -served  game  that  even  the  Trustees 
of  the  town  were  on  one  occasion  drawn  out  of  their 
official  way  to  enjoy  a  good  meal  at  his  table  at  the 
expense  of  the  town. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville,  65 


OUR  FIRST  MECHANICS. 

In  the  beginning  of  Louisville,  as  in  the  origin  of 
other  places,  almost  every  man  had  to  be  a  mechanic. 
Houses  had  to  be  built;  and,  as  they  required  no  par- 
ticular skill  in  the  style  and  structure,  all  able-bodied 
citizens  could  join  in  their  construction.  Now  and 
then,  however,  there  was  something  for  the  professional 
joiner  to  do,  and  a  carpenter  by  the  name  of  Joseph 
Cyrus  became  famous.  There  was  thought  to  be  some- 
thing about  the  pitch  of  the  board  roofs  and  the  location 
of  the  glassless  windows  and  the  elevation  of  the  wooden 
chimneys  of  the  log  cabins  built  by  Cyrus  that  favor- 
ably distinguished  them  from  all  others.  All  could  not 
readily  see  these  particular  advantages,  but  whether 
they  could  or  not  Cyrus  was  the  fashionable  mechanic, 
and  the  fashionable  emigrant  had  to  have  his  fashiona- 
ble services  about  his  fashionable  house,  even  if  it  was 
nothing  but  rough  logs. 

EARLY  PREACHERS. 

There  was  no  effort  on  the  part  of  the  pioneers  to 
carry  religion  to  the  Falls,  as  did  the  Spaniards  and 
the  French  to  their  missions.  Nevertheless  preachers 


66  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

were  early  and  abundant  in  Louisville.  The  names  of 
Squire  Boone  and  William  Marshall,  both  Baptist 
preachers,  appear  to  the  petition  of  1779  to  the  Legisla- 
ture of  Virginia  for  establishing  the  town  of  Louisville 
at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio.  And  in  a  few  years  there- 
after William  Whitaker,  Tera  Templiii,  Elijah  Craig, 
William  Hickman,  and  sixteen  others  had  preached  in 
Louisville.  They  had  no  churches  in  which  to  preach, 
but  first  from  platforms  in  the  courts  of  the  stations 
and  then  from  stumps  in  the  surrounding  forests,  as 
well  as  from  the  floors  of  private  houses,  they  preached 
as  earnestly  and  as  proudly,  and  at  as  great  length,  it 
may  be  added,  as  if  they  had  stood  in  paneled  pulpits 
beneath  gilded  domes. 

OUR  FIRST  PHYSICIANS. 

Doctors  also  came  early  to  the  Falls,  and  there  was 
need  of  them.  George  Hartt  was  among  the  signers 
of  the  petition  in  1779  for  the  settlement  of  Louisville. 
He  did  not  long  remain  in  Louisville  before  going  to 
Nelson  County  for  permanent  residence,  but  was  here 
long  enough  to  make  some  curious  charges  for  practice. 
In  May,  1780,  he  made  out  a  bill  against  George  Clear 
for  $240  for  eight  doses  of  calomel,  and  $240  more  for 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  67 

four  blistering  plasters,  making  a  total  of  $480  for 
eight  doses  of  medicine  and  four  plasters.  Of  course 
the  pay  for  such  charges  must  have  been  in  continental 
money,  then  as  sixty  to  one  less  valuable  than  silver. 
Dr.  Alexander  Skinner  came  soon  after  Doctor  Hartt, 
and,  besides  being  an  excellent  physician,  bore  himself 
as  a  wonderful  stickler  for  professional  terms.  He  was 
even  so  formal  as  to  carry  his  Latin  prescriptions  into 
the  bills  he  made  out  against  his  patients.*  He  was  a 
fine  doctor,  but  so  given  to  cursing  things  in  general 
and  particular  that  in  May,  1784,  he  was  indicted  by 
the  grand  jury  for  profane  swearing.  Soon  after  Hartt 
and  Skinner  came  such  physicians  and  surgeons  as 

*  In  1784  Doctor  Skinner  made  out  an  itemized  account  against  James 
Whin  for  professional  services.  The  account  is  too  long  for  insertion  here, 
but  the  following  items  taken  from  it  will  indicate  a  peculiarity  of  medical 

practice  at  that  early  date : 

£  s     D 

August  17.     To  Visit  V  S  B  &  Hemit.  Sudor  febrif., 18 

19.  To  Visit  and  pilul.  Specif.  No.  X,  II, I  10 

20.  To  Visit  and  prescription, 12 

20.  To  Advice  &  Anodyne  Mixt., 12 

21.  To  Visit  &  Attendance, 12 

Sept.         2.     To  Advice  &  Bleeding, 12 

6.    To  Visit  &  febrif.  Mixture, 18 

To  Pilul.  purg.  Specif., 10 

10.     To  Pulv.  Linofic.  Comp.  No.  X, 6 

12.  To  Visit  &  pulv.  Ipic., 18 

13.  To  Laud.  Liquid 6 

14.  To  Visit,  Pilul.  Specif.  No.  IX  &  Elixer  Vitriol, i     26 

18.  To  Visit  &  pilul.  Antidysont  No.  V,  1 15 

19.  To  |iss  Manna, 6 


68  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

Richard  Ferguson,  W.  T.  Gait,  James  C.  Johnston,  and 
others  worthy  to  lay  the  foundation  for  the  great 
medical  reputation  the  City  of  the  Falls  has  since 
maintained.* 

OUR  FIRST  LAWYERS. 

There  was  need  also  for  lawyers  in  early  Louisville, 
and  they  were  not  slow  in  appearing.  Besides  the 
troubles  which  grew  out  of  conflicting  land  titles,  the 
pioneers  would  fight  and  sometimes  bite  off  one  another's 
ears  and  gouge  out  one  another's  eyes.  They  also 
amused  themselves  by  talking  about  one  another  in 
any  but  complimentary  terms  when  they  had  nothing 
else  to  do.  The  early  records  of  our  courts  show  suits 
for  slander  and  libel  as  well  as  for  assault  and  battery. 
Almost  every  immigrant  who  came  to  the  Falls,  whether 
to  remain  or  to  remove  to  another  point,  wanted  legal 
advice  about  his  real  estate  or  his  personal  property, 
or  his  neighbors  or  himself,  and  the  infant  town  was 
a  rich  field  for  lawyers.  One  of  the  first  dozen  suits 
brought  was  by  Eli  Cleveland  against  General  George 
Rogers  Clark.  Andrew  Scott  was  Cleveland's  lawyer, 
while  James  Berwick  appeared  for  Clark,  and  the  suit 
was  brought  for  the  September  term,  1781.  Cleveland 

*See  Appendix  J, 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville,  69 

had  a  keg  of  whisky  which  General  Clark  wanted  for 
himself  and  soldiers  in  the  expedition  of  1780  against 
the  Ohio  Indians.  Cleveland  liked  his  whisky  too  well 
to  sell  it,  and  General  Clark  impressed  it.  Cleveland 
afterwards  sued  General  Clark  for  the  whisky,  and  one 
of  the  amusing  features  of  the  suit  was  the  old  style 
pleadings  used  by  Lawyer  Scott.  The  declaration 
stated  that  Cleveland  casually  lost  his  keg  of  whisky 
and  that  Clark  opportunely  found  it.  Lawyer  Scott  was 
famous  for  substituting  such  names  as  Dreadnaught, 
Seekright,  Badtitle,  etc.,  for  John  Doe  and  Richard  Doe 
in  land  suits.  Other  distinguished  members  of  the 
Louisville  bar  were  John  Todd,  jr.,  Benjamin  Sebastian, 
Gabriel  J.  Johnston,  Walker  Daniel,  Stephen  Ormsby, 
and  John  Rice  Jones.  In  these  early  times,  however, 
lawyers  went  from  one  bar  to  another,  and  at  one  time 
or  another  most  of  the  learned  lawyers  of  the  State  prac- 
ticed in  Louisville.  The  names  of  Christopher  Greenup, 
George  Muter,  James  Hughes,  William  McClung,  Will- 
iam Murray,  Buckner  Thruston,  Thomas  Todd,  Ninian 
Edwards,  and  others  who  made  fame  at  other  points,  all 
appear  upon  the  list  of  early  lawyers  sworn  in  at  the 
Louisville  bar.  The  first  suits  were  tried  in  the  old 
fort  on  the  river-bank  at  the  foot  of  Twelfth  Street.  In 
1783  a  court-house  was  ordered  to  be  built,  and  in  1784 


70  The  Centenary  of  Loidsmlle. 

it  was  ready  for  use.  It  was  not  much  improvement, 
however,  upon  the  rude  rooms  used  in  the  fort.  It  was 

a  one -story  log  house,  twenty  feet  long  by  sixteen  feet 
wide,  with  board  roof  and  puncheon  floor.  Two  ells 
alike  roughly  built  served  for  jury-rooms.  It  stood  near 
where  the  present  court-house  stands,  and  within  those 
rough  walls  the  lawyers  pleaded,  the  ministers  preached, 
and  the  politicians  harangued  until  1788,  when  a  new 
Temple  of  Justice,  forty  feet  square  and  two  stories  high, 
was  built  of  stone.  The  first  court-house  was  burnt  in 
1787,  and  with  it  were  consumed  many  of  the  early  rec- 
ords of  Louisville  and  Jefferson  County. 

FIRST  DRY  GOODS  STORE. 

In  1783  Daniel  Broadhead  opened  the  first  dry  goods 
store  in  Louisville.  It  was  called  a  dry  goods  store,  but 
it  contained  every  kind  of  thing  that  was  bought  or 
sold.  Most  of  the  goods  were  carried  from  Philadelphia 
to  Pittsburgh  on  pack-horses,  and  then  in  flatboats  to 
Louisville.  Here  the  belles  soon  began  to  appear  in  gor- 
geous calico  dresses,  with  straw  bonnets  on  their  heads 
and  cotton  handkerchiefs  in  their  hands.  It  must  be 
said,  however,  that  in  this  early  store  were  to  be  found 
silks,  satins,  and  broadcloths.  When  St.  John  de  Creve- 


The  Centenary  of  Loiiisville.  71 

couer  landed  at  Louisville,  in  1784,  he  saw  a  boat  at  the 
wharf  bearing  a  party  of  seventeen  persons  on  a  pleas- 
ure excursion,  and  all  the  gentlemen  wore  silk  stock- 
ings, while  all  the  ladies  had  parasols  over  their  heads. 
This  Broadhead  store  was  a  double  log  cabin,  with  board 
roof  and  puncheon  floor,  on  the  north  side  of  Main 
Street  between  Fifth  and  Sixth.  Here  the  women  from 
the  surrounding  country  brought  their  home-made  linen, 
linsey,  jeans,  and  maple  sugar,  and  the  men  their  tobacco, 
corn,  pork,  and  peltry,  and  exchanged  them  for  such 
store  articles  as  they  wanted.  Every  thing  needed  by 
the  pioneers  could  be  had  at  this  store  —  dry  goods  and 
groceries,  china  and  glassware,  hardware  and  medicines, 
pewter  ware  and  wooden  ware,  liquors  and  trinkets,  im- 
plements and  furniture  being  sold  over  the  same  board 
counter.  For  some  time  Broadhead  had  a  monopoly  of 
the  trade.  The  only  opposition  was  from  John  Sanders, 
who  had  moored  a  flatboat  on  the  corner  of  Third  and 
Main  and  turned  it  into  a  store.  Sanders,  however,  only 
dealt  in  peltry,  while  Broadhead  traded  in  every  thing 
handled  by  the  merchant  or  produced  in  the  country. 
His  sugar,  coffee,  tea,  etc.,  were  brought  from  New 
Orleans,  where  a  trade  was  kept  up  with  the  Spaniards. 
A  flatboat  would  go  down  loaded  with  tobacco,  corn, 
pork,  skins,  etc.,  and  a  keel  would  come  up  loaded  with 


72  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

groceries,  hardware,  and  other  articles  too  heavy  to  be 
brought  from  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  over  the  moun- 
tains. 

THE  FIRST  GUNSMITH. 

An  all-important  industry  to  a  settlement  which  de- 
pended much  on  hunting  for  sustenance  was  that  of 
the  gunsmith.  Hence  in  1782  we  find  Michael  Humble 
with  his  gunsmith's  shop  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  and 
a  lad  named  John  Stewart  bound  to  him  by  order  of  the 
County  Court  to  learn  gunsmithing.  Humble's  shop 
was  on  Twelfth  Street,  under  cover  of  the  guns  of  the 
fort,  and  here  in  1782  he  made  a  rifle  for  Daniel  Boone 
which  still  exists.  It  was  a  flint-lock  gun  with  a  ham- 
mered barrel  almost  as  long  as  its  owner.  It  was  thought 
in  those  early  times  that  the  longer  the  barrel  the  more 
accurate  the  carrying  of  the  bullet.  Boone  could  stand 
up  without  bending  and  blow  into  the  muzzle  of  his 
rifle  when  he  wanted  to  clear  it  of  smoke  after  firing. 

FIRST  SOCIAL  PARTY. 

Life  in  Louisville  among  the  pioneers,  though  very 
different  from  what  we  see  it  now,  had  its  enjoyments 
as  well  as  we  have  ours.  The  first  social  party  of  which 
we  have  any  record,  except  what  was  called  a  house- 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  73 

warming  at  the  Twelfth  Street  fort  on  the  25th  of  De- 
cember, 1778,  to  celebrate  the  first  Christmas,  was  in 
honor  of  the  first  crop  of  wheat  that  was  raised  at  the 
Falls,  in  1783.  The  wheat  when  ripe  was  cut  with  a 
reap-hook,  threshed  with  a  flail,  ground  on  a  hand-mill, 
and  bolted  through  a  gauze  handkerchief  which  Mrs. 
Martha  Donne,  wife  of  Captain  John  Donne,  who  gave 
the  party,  brought  from  Pennsylvania.  The  flour  thus 
made  was  shortened  with  raccoon  fat  and  baked  upon 
a  skillet,  and  the  elite  of  the  town  invited  to  feast  upon 
a  flour  cake.  Of  course  they  had  a  dance  after  the  feast, 
and  midnight  found  them  cutting  pigeon  -  wings  and 
trotting  jigs. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTS  OBTAINED  BY  THE  TRUSTEES. 

While  Louisville  was  under  the  government  of  Trus- 
tees the  legislature  was  called  upon  for  but  few  laws  to 
enable  them  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  city.  The 
common  law  then  in  force  seems  to  have  afforded  these 
early  guardians  of  our  municipal  rights  nearly  all  the 
authority  they  needed.  All  the  laws  they  asked  of  the 
legislature  during  the  forty-eight  years  they  ruled  would 
not  cover  the  space  upon  the  statute  book  of  a  few  ordi- 
nary amendments  to  a  modern  charter.  And  they  would 


72  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

groceries,  hardware,  and  other  articles  too  heavy  to  be 
brought  from  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  over  the  moun- 
tains. 

THE  FIRST  GUNSMITH. 

An  all-important  industry  to  a  settlement  which  de- 
pended much  on  hunting  for  sustenance  was  that  of 
the  gunsmith.  Hence  in  1782  we  find  Michael  Humble 
with  his  gunsmith's  shop  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  and 
a  lad  named  John  Stewart  bound  to  him  by  order  of  the 
County  Court  to  learn  gunsmithing.  Humble's  shop 
was  on  Twelfth  Street,  under  cover  of  the  guns  of  the 
fort,  and  here  in  1782  he  made  a  rifle  for  Daniel  Boone 
which  still  exists.  It  was  a  flint-lock  gun  with  a  ham- 
mered barrel  almost  as  long  as  its  owner.  It  was  thought 
in  those  early  times  that  the  longer  the  barrel  the  more 
accurate  the  carrying  of  the  bullet.  Boone  could  stand 
up  without  bending  and  blow  into  the  muzzle  of  his 
rifle  when  he  wanted  to  clear  it  of  smoke  after  firing. 

FIRST  SOCIAL  PARTY. 

Life  in  Louisville  among  the  pioneers,  though  very 
different  from  what  we  see  it  now,  had  its  enjoyments 
as  well  as  we  have  ours.  The  first  social  party  of  which 
we  have  any  record,  except  what  was  called  a  house- 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  73 

warming  at  the  Twelfth  Street  fort  on  the  25th  of  De- 
cember, 1778,  to  celebrate  the  first  Christmas,  was  in 
honor  of  the  first  crop  of  wheat  that  was  raised  at  the 
Falls,  in  1783.  The  wheat  when  ripe  was  cut  with  a 
reap-hook,  threshed  with  a  flail,  ground  on  a  hand-mill, 
and  bolted  through  a  gauze  handkerchief  which  Mrs. 
Martha  Donne,  wife  of  Captain  John  Donne,  who  gave 
the  party,  brought  from  Pennsylvania.  The  flour  thus 
made  was  shortened  with  raccoon  fat  and  baked  upon 
a  skillet,  and  the  klite  of  the  town  invited  to  feast  upon 
a  flour  cake.  Of  course  they  had  a  dance  after  the  feast, 
and  midnight  found  them  cutting  pigeon  -  wings  and 
trotting  jigs. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTS  OBTAINED  BY  THE  TRUSTEES. 

While  Louisville  was  under  the  government  of  Trus- 
tees the  legislature  was  called  upon  for  but  few  laws  to 
enable  them  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  city.  The 
common  law  then  in  force  seems  to  have  afforded  these 
early  guardians  of  our  municipal  rights  nearly  all  the 
authority  they  needed.  All  the  laws  they  asked  of  the 
legislature  during  the  forty-eight  years  they  ruled  would 
not  cover  the  space  upon  the  statute  book  of  a  few  ordi- 
nary amendments  to  a  modern  charter.  And  they  would 


74  The  Centenary  of  Loitisville. 

have  been  fewer  still  but  for  the  efforts  of  Colonel  John 
Campbell  to  get  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  to  pass  acts 
in  his  own  favor.  Some  of  them,  however,  relate  to  sub- 
jects the  benefits  of  which  we  yet  enjoy,  and  they  may 
be  properly  enough  referred  to  here. 

ORIGIN  OF  TOBACCO  INSPECTIONS. 

As  early  as  the  year  1795  an  act  was  passed  sup- 
pressing the  tobacco  warehouse  owned  by  Colonel  John 
Campbell,*  in  Shippingport,  and  establishing  in  its  place 
a  new  one  located  near  the  mouth  of  Beargrass  Creek, 
where  inspectors  were  to  be  appointed  by  law  and  their 
inspections  governed  by  law.  From  this  time,  therefore, 
we  may  date  that  policy  which,  protected  by  law  and  con- 

*  Colonel  John  Campbell  was  an  Irishman  by  birth,  but  came  to  America 
when  quite  young.  He  became  interested  in  the  town  of  Louisville  as  early 
as  the  nth  of  February,  1774,  when  he  and  John  Connolly  jointly  bought  the 
Warrendorff  tract  of  two  thousand  acres  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  Falls.  At 
the  same  time  Campbell  secured  one  half  of  the  Connolly  tract  of  two  thou- 
sand acres  immediately  opposite  the  Falls.  A  town  had  been  laid  off  on  this 
Connolly  land  in  1773  by  Captain  Thomas  Bullitt,  and  in  1774  Campbell  joined 
Connolly  in  advertising  lots  for  sale  in  this  town.  In  1779  Campbell  was 
taken  prisoner,  while  on  his  way  from  Louisville  to  Pittsburgh,  by  the  Indians 
who  defeated  Colonel  Rogers  at  the  mouth  of  the  Miami,  and  was  detained 
in  Canada  until  1784.  On  being  released  he  came  immediately  to  Kentucky 
and  made  the  work  of  the  Trustees  to  establish  Louisville  hot  and  hard  by 
compelling  them  to  pay  him  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  lots,  as  fast  as  the 
lots  could  be  sold,  in  liquidation  of  debts  he  held  against  Connolly  and  McKee. 
He  was  several  times  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  from  Kentucky, 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  75 

ducted  on  sound  business  principles,  has  made  Louis- 
ville the  largest  and  most  important  of  tobacco  mar- 
kets—  a  market  in  which  no  less  than  seventy  thousand 
hogsheads  of  leaf  tobacco  are  now  annually  sold. 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  FIRE  COMPANIES. 

In  1798  an  act  was  obtained  for  the  establishing  of 
fire  companies.  Our  first  settlers  had  no  idea  of  steam 
fire-engines,  nor  even  of  the  old  hand  engines  which 
immediately  preceded  them.  The  first  companies  used 
buckets  only,  and  battled  with  fires  as  best  they  could 
by  forming  men  in  rows  from  the  water  to  the  fire  and 
handing  full  buckets  from  one  to  another  to  pour  upon 
it.  Old  things  have  passed  away,  and  we  now  have  ten 
steam  engines,  one  chemical  engine,  and  two  hook-and- 

and  wielded  such  an  influence  in  that  body  as  to  get  all  the  acts  that  he  wanted 
passed  against  Louisville  and  in  his  interest.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
convention  which  formed  the  Constitution  of  1792,  and  had  the  honor  of 
attaching  his  name  to  the  celebrated  Kentucky  Resolutions  of  1798  as  Speaker 
of  the  Senate.  He  died  in  Payette  County  in  1799,  and,  being  unmarried  and 
without  children,  his  large  estate  went  by  will  to  Allen  Campbell,  his  half- 
brother.  Allen  Campbell  next  died,  and  at  his  death  the  property  went  to  his 
half-brother,  Robert  Campbell,  and  his  half-sister,  Sarah  Beard.  Next  Robert 
Campbell  died,  and  his  part  of  the  estate  going  to  Sarah  Beard,  she  had  the 
whole  of  it.  Fortunatus  Cosby  in  1806  bought  out  Mrs.  Beard  and  became  the 
owner  of  all  the  estate  that  was  left.  He  paid  for  it  the  sum  of  $10,000,  and 
it  placed  him  in  possession  of  so  many  vacant  lots  that  he  is  said  by  tradition 
to  have  sometimes  put  them  up  as  stakes  in  a  social  game  of  poker,  of  which 
he  was  very  fond. 


76  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

ladder  trucks,  which  render  property  comparatively  safe 
from  the  ravages  of  fire.  Our  fire  department  costs  the 
city  about  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  per  year;  but 
it  controls  fires  so  that  it  is  seldom  that  a  house  is  con- 
sumed, and  still  more  seldom  that  the  flame  passes  from 
one  building  to  another. 

FALLS  PILOTS  AUTHORIZED. 

In  1797  the  office  of  Falls  pilot  was  established  by 
law,  and  the  authority  given  to  the  County  Court  to 
appoint  none  but  competent  men  to  the  place.  Captain 
James  Patton  was  the  first  pilot  to  hold  this  office  and 
to  officially  conduct  a  boat  over  the  falls.  The  wisdom 
of  this  law  was  soon  shown  by  the  lives  and  property 
saved  in  the  dangerous  passage  of  the  rapids. 

ORIGIN  OF  OUR  POLICE. 

In  1 8 10  the  Trustees  awoke  to  the  necessity  of 
appointing  policemen  for  the  protection  of  the  lives 
and  property  of  the  citizens,  and  John  Ferguson  and 
Edward  Dowler,  on  a  salary  of  $250  per  year,  were 
the  first  guardians  of  the  city  who  ever  acted  in  this 
capacity.  From  this  humble  beginning  the  police  force 
of  our  city  has  grown  into  a  chief  at  a  salary  of 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  77 

$1,800,  four  lieutenants  at  $840  each,  and  a  force  of 
one  hundred  and  forty-four  sergeants  and  policemen, 
all  costing  the  city  about  $100,000  per  year,  and  affording 
our  city  protection  equal  to  that  of  any  municipality 
in  the  country. 

BEGINNING  OF  STREET  PAVING. 

In  1813  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  paving 
of  Main  Street  from  Third  to  Sixth.  Previous  to  this 
time  there  was  no  authority  for  a  paved  street  in  the 
city.  Planks  were  laid  along  the  sidewalks  for  footmen, 
but  the  streets  were  then  knee  deep  in  mud  in  winter 
and  dust  in  summer,  and  passage  through  them  by 
man  or  beast  was  often  attended  with  great  difficulty. 

We  now  have  about  two  hundred  miles  of  paved 
streets,  some  of  which  are  as  well  done  as  any  in  the 
country. 

BEGINNING  OF  CHARITABLE  INSTITUTIONS. 

In  1817  the  legislature  incorporated  the  Louisville 
Hospital,  an  institution  which  reflects  much  honor  upon 
the  charity  of  Thomas  Prather  and  Cuthbert  Bullitt, 
who  donated  the  land  on  which  it  was  erected.  The 
many  strangers  without  homes  or  friends  whom  it  has 


78  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

rescued  from  disease,  or  whose  final  struggles  with  death 
it  has  mitigated  with  kind  attention,  will  forever  reward 
the  charity  which  established  it. 

CANAL  AROUND  THE  FALLS. 

In  1825  the  canal  around  the  Falls  was  authorized 
by  the  legislature,  and  thus  a  great  obstruction  to  the 
navigation  of  the  Ohio  overcome.  It  required  five  years 
of  heavy  work  and  the  expenditure  of  $750,000  to  finish 
it  sufficiently  for  the  steamboat  Uncas  to  make  the 
first  passage  through  it,  December  21,  1830;  but  the 
benefits  to  commerce  justified  all  the  time  and  money 
spent.  The  necessity  of  such  a  work  was  understood 
by  the  first  settlers  of  the  city,  and  as  early  as  1793  a 
plan  of  the  Falls,  with  the  course  of  the  canal  nearly 
as  it  now  runs,  appears  upon  the  map  of  Captain  Imlay, 
published  in  London. 

FIRST  ENLARGEMENT  OF  THE  CITY. 


In  1827  the  last  act  °f  the  legislature  affecting  our 
city  under  the  rule  of  the  Trustees  was  passed.  It  was 
an  act  to  add  Preston's  enlargement  to  the  city.  The 
Preston  tract  from  which  this  enlargement  came  was  a 
thousand-acre  survey,  immediately  to  the  east  of  the 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  79 

Connolly  forfeiture,  which  was  patented  to  William 
Preston,  grandfather  of  our  present  General  William 
Preston,  July  17,  1780.  Since  that  time  numerous  en- 
largements have  been  made  to  our  city,  all  of  which 
have  swelled  its  area  many  times  beyond  what  it  orig- 
inally was. 

INTRODUCTION  OF  STEAMBOATS. 

But  the  one  great  event  which  pushed  forward  the 
interests  of  Louisville  while  governed  by  Trustees  was 
the  application  of  steam  to  the  propulsion  of  vessels 
on  water.  Previous  to  this  discovery  flats,  barges,  and 
keel-boats  did  all  the  carrying  trade  of  our  city,  as  well 
as  that  of  others  on  the  Ohio.  One  ship  is  recorded 
to  have  sailed  upon  the  waters  of  the  Ohio,  and  to 
have  reached  our  city  from  the  Monongahela  River, 
where  she  was  built  in  June,  1800.  She  went  on  her 
way  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  with  a  cargo  of 
peltry,  meat,  flour,  etc.,  to  the  Gulf,  and  made  a  number 
of  trips  between  New  Orleans  and  New  York.  She 
was  never  suited,  however,  for  the  trade  of  the  Ohio, 
and  our  commerce  before  steam  navigation  depended 
upon  the  old-fashioned  keels,  barges,  and  flats,  which  so 
often  became  the  prizes  of  outlaws  who  dwelt  in  bands 
on  the  western  waters  and  followed  piracy  as  a  pro- 
fession. 


8o  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 


FIRST  STEAMBOATS  ON  THE  OHIO. 

In  1811  the  first  steamboat  that  ever  moved  upon  the 
Ohio  was  the  Orleans,*  built  at  Pittsburgh  by  Fulton 
and  Livingston.  In  October  she  arrived  at  Louisville 
in  the  night,  and  aroused  the  inhabitants  from  their 
slumbers  by  the  loud  puffings  of  her  steam.  She  was 
wrecked  near  Baton  Rouge  in  1814  by  a  sunken  tree. 
The  Comet  appeared  in  1813,  the  Vesuvius  and  the  En- 
terprise in  1814,  and  the  ^)tna,  Dispatch,  and  Buffalo 
in  1815. 

CAPTAIN  SHREVE  ANNULS  FULTON'S  PATENT. 

In  1816  Captain  H.  M.  Shreve,  a  citizen  of  Louis- 
ville, brought  out  the  steamboat  Washington  and  placed 
her  in  the  trade  between  this  city  and  New  Orleans. 

*  The  Orleans  appeared  at  Louisville  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Roosevelt,  with  George  Baker  as  engineer,  Andrew  Jack  as  pilot,  and  six  hands 
to  serve  as  firemen  and  for  all  other  purposes.  She  was  a  side-wheel,  single- 
deck  vessel,  with  a  capacity  of  two  hundred  tons.  She  was  built  in  the  ship- 
yard of  Fulton  and  Livingston,  at  Pittsburgh,  and  launched  on  the  isth  of 
October,  1811.  She  had  but  one  boiler,  and  that  was  placed  in  the  hull  of  the 
vessel.  The  paddle-wheels  were  without  boxing,  and  in  their  revolutions 
reminded  one  somewhat  of  a  windmill.  Her  smoke-stack  rose  from  the 
center  of  the  hull,  and  she  had  a  mast  in  the  front  and  rear.  Her  cabin 
covered  about  three  fourths  of  the  deck,  leaving  the  other  portion  vacant  at 
the  stern.  She  had  a  low-pressure  engine,  made  by  Watt  &  Bolton,  which 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  81 

To  the  resistance  which  this  gentleman  made  to  the 
monopoly  claimed  by  Fulton  to  the  navigation  of  our 
western  waters  by  steamboats  we  owe  the  rapid  develop- 
ment of  steamboat  navigation.  Captain  Shreve  launched 
his  vessel  in  defiance  of  the  patent  of  Fulton,  and  when 
he  arrived  at  New  Orleans  his  boat  was  seized,  as  he 
expected.  He  replevied  his  steamer  and  tested  the  valid- 
ity of  the  patent  in  the  courts.  He  won  the  suit,  and 
the  patent  of  Fulton  was  gone  forever.  From  this  time 
forward  navigation  by  steam  was  free  to  all,  and  steam- 
boats multiplied  on  the  Ohio  with  wonderful  rapidity. 

FITCH  THE  INVENTOR  OF  STEAMBOATS. 

The  truth  is,  Fulton  was  not  the  inventor  of  the 
steamboat,  and  had  no  just  right  to  the  patent  he 
claimed.  The  high  honor  of  successfully  applying  steam 

afforded  power  enough  to  drive  her  from  Pittsburgh  to  Louisville  in  four  days. 
She  was  built  for  the  Mississippi  between  Natchez  and  New  Orleans,  but  was 
delayed  by  low  water  when  she  reached  the  Falls  and  ran  between  Louisville 
and  Cincinnati  until  the  water  rose  high  enough  for  her  to  pass  the  rapids, 
which  was  not  until  the  middle  of  December.  This  delay  gave  her  the 
opportunity  of  being  in  the  midst  of  the  greatest  natural  convulsion  that  has 
occurred  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  during  the  historic  period.  She  rode 
through  the  raging  waters  of  the  earthquake  of  December,  1811,  which 
changed  the  face  of  the  country  in  southwestern  Kentucky  and  in  parts  of 
Tennessee  and  Missouri.  A  lake  fifty  miles  in  length  and  twenty  in  breadth 
was  formed,  and  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  so  changed  by  submerged 
portions  that  pilots  had  to  learn  anew  their  landmarks. 

II 


82  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

to  the  propulsion  of  vessels  upon  water  belongs  to  John 
Fitch,  one  of  the  Kentucky  pioneers.  He  came  here 
as  a  surveyor  of  lands  in  1778,  and  during  that  year 
secured  one  thousand  acres  for  himself.  As  early  as 
1785  he  showed  models  of  his  boat  to  different  States, 
and  asked  exclusive  privileges  for  his  invention.  In 
1787,  1788,  and  1789  he  so  far  perfected  his  boat  as 
to  make  passages  between  Philadelphia  and  Burlington. 
There  were  difficulties,  however,  which  he  had  not  over- 
come, and  he  had  not  the  means  to  remove  them.  He 
became  despondent,  took  to  drinking,  and  left  others  to 
make  fame  and  fortune  out  of  a  discovery  which  had 
only  brought  him  poverty  and  disappointment.  Having 
gone  through  with  all  of  his  property  except  his  land, 
he  bargained  with  his  tavern-keeper  to  give  him  one 
half  of  it  if  he  would  board  him  the  balance  of  his  life 
and  allow  him  a  pint  of  whisk}'  per  day.  The  pint  per 
day  failing  to  quench  his  thirst,  he  bargained  for  more 
and  increased  the  quantity  of  land  to  pay  for  it.  He 
died  in  1798,  and  was  buried  at  Bardstown,  Ky.,  where 
"  unhonored  and  unsung"  repose  the  remains  of  him 
whose  genius  did  away  with  the  old  craft  that  crept 
lazily  along  the  current  of  our  rivers,  and  gave  us  in 
their  stead  those  leviathans  of  the  waves  which  rush 
along  with  unfelt  burdens  against  wind  and  tide  and 
current. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  83 

We  claim,  therefore,  among  those  whose  memory  we 
would  honor  on  this  occasion,  the  pioneer,  John  Fitch, 
and  the  native-born  citizen,  H.  M.  Shreve  —  the  first  the 
inventor  of  the  steamboat,  and  the  second  the  destroyer 
of  the  monopoly  which  burdened  its  beginning  with 
unjust  imposts.  Nor  should  we  omit  the  name  of  James 
Rumsey,  another  of  our  inventive  citizens,  who  as  early 
as  1784  exhibited  to  General  Washington  the  model  of 
a  steamboat  for  stemming  the  current  of  our  rivers,  nor 
Edward  West,  who  in  1794  made  a  small  steamboat  which 
moved  successfully  upon  the  waters  of  the  Elkhorn  at 
Lexington,  Kentucky.  Wherever  the  armaments  of  war 
and  the  fleets  of  commerce  move  by  steam  upon  the 
waters  of  the  world,  these  distinguished  names  should 
not  be  forgotten.  No  discovery  in  modern  or  ancient 
times  has  made  a  mightier  revolution  in  the  carrying 
trade  of  the  world  and  in  the  mode  of  travel.  It  has 
shortened  the  distance  between  continents  and  con- 
tracted the  length  of  rivers.  It  has  overcome  the  winds 
and  the  waves  of  the  seas,  and  brought  back  the  scat- 
tered nations  of  the  earth  into  one  family. 

How  OUR  ANCESTORS  LIVED  AND  DRESSED. 

The  first  inhabitants  of  Louisville  dwelt  in  cabins 
built  of  logs  laid  one  above  the  other,  with  a  space 


84  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

between  filled  with  clay,  and  the  roof  of  boards  held  in 
place  by  poles  across  them.  The  light  entered  by  a  hole 
from  which  a  section  of  one  of  the  logs  had  been  cut  on 
the  side  opposite  to  another  hole  cut  for  a  door,  which 
was  a  larger  opening  sawed  through  several  of  the  logs 
and  closed  by  puncheons  on  wooden  hinges.  Occasion- 
ally four  posts  were  planted  in  the  ground,  and  the  sides 
boarded  up  with  planks  cut  by  hand  with  the  whipsaw 
or  obtained  from  flatboats  that  had  come  down  the  river. 
But  such  houses  were  a  luxurious  scarcity.  The  furni- 
ture consisted  of  wooden  spoons  and  forks  and  noggins 
and  pails  and  plates  and  dishes  made  in  the  country, 
and  ovens  and  case-knives  of  iron  brought  at  great  labor 
and  expense  from  the  old  country.  The  dining-table  was 
a  slab  set  on  four  sticks,  and  the  bed  either  a  buffalo 
robe  laid  on  the  floor  or  on  two  poles  with  one  end  in 
a  crack  between  two  logs  and  the  other  in  the  prong  of 
a  wooden  fork  fastened  in  the  floor,  upon  which  boards 
were  laid  to  receive  the  bedding.  The  rifle,  the  powder- 
horn,  the  bullet -bag,  the  tomahawk,  and  the  hunting- 
knife  were  parts  of  the  furniture  of  every  house,  and 
usually  occupied  the  most  conspicuous  place  on  a  rack 
made  of  the  horns  of  the  deer.  Generally  the  floor  of  a 
house  was  the  native  soil  leveled  and  well  packed;  and 
if  there  was  a  wooden  floor,  it  was  of  logs  split  in  half 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  85 

and  the  flat  sides  hewed  smooth  with  an  adze  or  a  broad- 
axe.  The  men  hunted  the  game,  cleared  the  land,  raised 
the  crop,  pounded  the  grain  in  the  mortar  or  ground  it 
on  the  hand-mill,  fought  the  Indians,  and  did  the  out- 
door work  in  general.  The  women  milked  the  cows, 
spun  the  yarn,  wove  the  cloth,  knit  the  socks,  made  the 
garments,  cooked  the  meals,  and  attended  to  all  house- 
hold work.  If  a  new  house  was  to  be  raised  in  the 
neighborhood,  all  the  men  joined  to  help,  and  if  a  new 
quilt  was  to  be  made,  all  the  women  assisted  in  the 
stitching.  The  hunting-shirt,  a  kind  of  blouse  reaching 
from  the  neck  to  the  knees,  with  large  sleeves,  hanging 
cape,  and  a  belt  to  fasten  it  around  the  waist,  was  worn 
by  all  the  men.  Breeches  made  of  buckskin  or  linsey,  a 
cap  of  raccoon  skin,  leggins  and  moccasins  made  of  deer 
skin,  and  a  shirt  of  such  cotton  or  linen  as  could  be 
gotten,  completed  the  dress  of  the  men.  The  women 
wore  linen  sunbonnets,  linsey  dresses,  woolen  stockings, 
cotton  handkerchiefs,  and  home-made  shoes ;  and  if  now 
and  then  a  ruffle  or  a  buckle  appeared,  it  was  a  relic  of 
olden  times  brought  from  the  mother  country.  Wool 
hats  were  a  rarity  to  the  men,  and  straw  bonnets  only 
worn  by  ladies  who  could  afford  something  better  than 
the  home-made  hood.  The  food  of  all  were  the  game  of 
the  forest,  milk,  butter,  cheese,  cornbread,  hominy,  mush, 
the  wild  nuts  and  the  wild  fruits  of  the  country. 


86  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 


FIRST  BRICK  HOUSE. 

In  1789  the  pioneers  began  to  live  better,  and  Fred- 
erick Augustus  Kaye,  weary  of  logs  and  boards,  erected 
the  first  brick  house  in  Louisville.  It  stood  on  the 
south  side  of  Market  between  Fifth  and  Sixth  streets, 
and  the  bricks  of  which  it  was  constructed  came  from 
Pittsburgh.  It  was  a  two-story  parallelogram,  with  two 
rooms  above  and  two  below  on  the  side  of  a  hall.  It 
was  pulled  down  in  1835,  and  some  of  the  bricks  are 
now  in  the  pavement  around  the  house  of  B.  F.  Rudy, 
on  First  Street. 

FIRST  NEWSPAPERS. 

During  the  reign  of  the  Trustees  a  number  of 
newspapers  were  established  in  Louisville,  but  none  of 
them  now  exists.  In  the  year  1801  the  Farmers' 
Library,  the  first  newspaper  in  our  city,  was  issued  by 
Samuel  Vail,*  and  continued  until  1808,  when  it  was 
succeeded  by  the  Louisville  Gazette.  In  1806  the 
Western  American,  the  second  newspaper  in  our  city, 
was  begun  by  F.  Peniston.  It  was  of  short  duration, 
and  its  editor  went  to  St.  Louis  the  same  year.  In 
1810  the  Western  Courier  was  established  bv  Nicholas 

•/ 

*See  Appendix  K. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  87 

Clark.  About  the  same  time  the  Louisville  Corres- 
pondent was  started  by  Colonel  E.  C.  Barry.  On  the 
first  of  July,  1818,  the  Public  Advertiser  was  first  issued 
by  Shadrack  Penn.  In  1826  Doctor  Buchanan  and 
W.  W.  Worseley  began  the  publication  of  the  Focus, 
which  was  afterwards  merged  in  the  I/ouisville  Journal. 
Not  long  after  this  started  the  first  of  the  three  great 
daily  papers,  which,  on  the  8th  of  November,  1868,  were 
consolidated  into  the  present  Courier-Journal.  These 
were  the  Journal,  first  issued  November  24,  1830,  the 
Courier,  June  3,  1844,  and  the  Democrat,  July  17,  1844.* 
When  George  D.  Prentice  began  the  Journal,  Shadrack 
Penn  was  at  the  head  of  the  Advertiser,  which  he  had 
established  twelve  years  before.  The  war  which  was  so 
fiercely  waged  between  these  two  great  editors  began 
soon  and  lasted  long.  Prentice  led  the  Whig  party  and 
Penn  the  Democratic,  and  no  two  editors  in  this  country 
ever  conducted  their  papers  with  more  ability.  They 
sparkled  with  wit,  burned  with  satire,  glowed  with 
eloquence,  and  gave  forth  able  specimens  of  as  good 
English  as  had  ever  appeared  in  a  daily  paper. 

*  The  newspaper  men  who  conceived  and  accomplished  this  great  combi- 
nation were  Walter  N.  Haldeman  and  Henry  Watterson.  Mr.  Haldeman  had 
then  been  in  the  newspaper  business  ever  since  1843,  when  he  bought  the 
Daily  Dime  to  secure  a  debt  due  to  him,  and  had  had  the  experience  which  a 
quarter  of  a  century  at  the  head  of  the  old  Louisville  Daily  Courier  had  given 


88  The  Centenary  of  Louisville, 

Each  party,  the  Whig  for  Prentice  and  the  Democratic 
for  Penn,  claimed  the  victory  for  its  favorite ;  but  it  may 
be  doubted  if  Penn  or  any  other  writer  for  a  daily 
political  paper  in  this  or  any  other  country  ever  sur- 
passed George  D.  Prentice.  His  wit,  his  drollery,  his 
humor,  his  satire,  his  logic,  his  eloquence,  and  his 
learning  were  equal  to  all  occasions,  and  he  wrote  the 
English  language  with  such  purity,  such  precision  and 
force  as  to  express  every  thought  with  the  best  effect. 
Numerous  other  publications,  daily,  weekly,  monthly,  and 
quarterly,  some  political,  some  literary,  some  religious, 
and  some  scientific,  have  since  been  started  in  our  city, 
but  the  only  dailies  now  issued  are  the  Courier-Journal, 
the  Commercial,  and  the  Post,  in  English,  and  the 
Anzeiger  and  Volksblatt,  in  German.  Of  those  now 
being  issued  bi-weekly,  weekly,  and  monthly  there  are 
over  forty,  whose  aggregate  circulation  is  very  great — 
a  single  one  of  them,  the  "  Home  and  Farm,"  claiming 
a  circulation  of  seventy  thousand. 

him.  He  was  a  veteran  newspaper  man  and  had  the  foresight  to  know  that  a 
combination  of  the  Journal,  the  Courier,  and  the  Democrat  would  prove  suc- 
cessful. Mr.  Watterson,  not  so  old  in  years,  had  had  sufficient  experience  as  a 
journalist  to  feel  and  know  that  his  brilliant  pen  would  do  its  full  share 
towards  the  success  of  the  great  combination.  The  twelve  years  which  have 
passed  since  the  Courier-Journal  began  from  this  combination  are  proof  suffi- 
cient that  Haldeman  and  Watterson  did  not  miscalculate  when  these  three 
daily  papers  were  consolidated  into  one.  The  Courier-Journal  now  ranks  great 
among  the  great  newspapers  of  the  world. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  89 


FIRST  CHURCHES. 

In  1811  the  first  Catholic  Church  was  built  in 
Louisville,  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Tenth  and  Main 
streets.*  The  lot  on  which  it  stood  was  used  as  a 
burying  -  ground,  and  years  afterwards,  in  excavations 
for  buildings  on  the  adjacent  streets,  human  skeletons 
were  found  in  unknown  graves.  In  1812  the  first  Meth- 
odist Church  was  erected  on  the  north  side  of  Market 
between  Seventh  and  Eighth  streets.  In  1816  the  first 
Presbyterian  Church  was  erected  on  the  west  side  of 
Fourth  Street  between  Market  and  Jefferson.  In  1825 
Christ  Church,  the  first  Bpiscopal  edifice  in  the  city, 
except  a  small  house  in  which  Williams  Kavanaugh 
preached  in  i8o3,f  was  erected  where  it  now  stands  on 
Second  Street  between  Green  and  Walnut.  All  of  its 
predecessors  have  passed  away,  and  it  stands  to  -  day, 
though  changed  by  modern  art,  as  the  oldest  church  in 

*  This  first  Catholic  Church  in  Louisville  was  built  on  a  lot  which  belonged 
to  a  Frenchman  named  Antoine  Ganier,  who  lost  his  life  in  the  expedition 
of  Colonel  Bowman  against  the  Ohio  Indians  in  1779.  At  Ganier's  death  it 
descended  to  his  only  child,  a  daughter  named  Elinor,  who  knew  nothing  of 
it  and  never  claimed  it.  Michael  Troutman  got  what  he  thought  was  a  good 
title  to  it  from  a  man  named  Wiest,  and  then  sold  it  to  Father  Badin  for  the 
Catholic  Church.  Father  Badin  afterwards  learned  that  his  title  was  bad,  and 

tSee  Appendix  L. 

13 


90  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

our  city,  with  its  venerable  rector,  the  Rev.  James  Craik, 
full  of  pious  years  and  Christian  honors,  a  pioneer  herald 
of  the  Cross.  More  recently  noble  church  edifices  have 
risen  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  among  which  the 
Cathedral,  the  Synagogue,  the  Tabernacle,  St.  Paul's, 
the  Baptist,  on  the  corner  of  Walnut  and  Fourth,  and 
the  Christian  opposite,  the  Second  Presbyterian,  and 
the  Broadway  Baptist  may  be  named  as  fine  specimens 
of  ecclesiastical  architecture.  Louisville  may  not  be 
entitled  to  the  name  of  the  City  of  Churches,  but  she 
has  more  than  an  hundred  of  these  edifices  within  her 
limits,  some  of  which  have  large  congregations,  presided 
over  by  the  most  gifted  ministers  of  the  age. 

ISSUE  OF  SHINPLASTERS. 

In  1822  the  Trustees  resolved  to  issue  town  notes  in 
denominations  from  six  and  one  fourth  cents  to  one 
dollar.  This  was  the  age  of  shinplasters,  and  the  Trus- 

fortified  it  as  well  as  he  could  through  the  Chancery  Court.  A  brick  chapel 
in  the  Gothic  style  was  built  on  the  lot  in  1811,  and  completed  far  enough  for 
the  church  to  be  opened  for  worship  on  Christmas  day  of  that  year.  It  was 
not  finished,  however,  for  some  time  afterwards.  The  money  to  build  it  came 
principally  from  the  French  Colony  at  the  Falls,  consisting  of  John  A.  and 
Louis  Tarascon,  James  and  Nicholas  Berthoud,  James  and  Morius  Offand, 
Daniel  and  Samuel  Raymond,  John  and  Fortunatus  Gilly,  John  A.  Honore, 
M.  DeGallon,  M.  Cirode,  M.  Dupont,  Eugene  Perot,  John  J.  Audubon,  and 
John  D.  Colinesnil. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  91 

tees  seem  not  to  have  been  able  to  resist  the  temptation 
to  do  as  others  were  doing.  The  country  was  full  of 
worthless  fractional  currency,  and  specie  was  unknown. 
Merchants,  to  attract  customers,  sometimes  advertised 
that  they  would  exhibit  a  Spanish  dollar  free  of  charge ; 
and  when  the  show  was  made  it  was  usually  upon  a  pile 
of  fractional  currency,  to  indicate  how  many  bad  dollars 
one  good  dollar  would  weigh  down.* 

PORTER  THE  GIANT. 

Louisville,  among  other  great  things,  has  produced 
one  giant.  James  D.  Porter,  though  born  in  Ohio,  was 
brought  to  Louisville  in  1811,  when  only  one  year  old,  • 
with  his  parents,  who  settled  at  Shippingport.  Until 
he  was  seventeen  years  of  age  he  was  small  and  delicate, 
and  for  his  diminutive  stature  he  was  employed  to  ride 
races  at  the  old  Elmtree  Garden.  His  growth  began 

•On  the  8th  of  March,  1822,  the  Trustees  passed  a  resolution  to  issue 
$4,000  in  fractional  currency,  ranging  from  six  and  one  fourth  cents  to  one 
dollar.  They  were  to  be  received  for  taxes  and  town  dues,  and  the  property 
and  credit  of  the  town  were  pledged  for  their  redemption.  The  paper  of 
the  Commonwealth's  Bank  was  bought  to  print  them  on,  and  Shadrack  Penn 
employed  to  do  his  best  job  of  printing.  The  number  of  tickets  printed 
was  14,360,  and  the  cost  of  the  paper,  printing,  signing,  etc.,  $149.75.  Other 
issues  were  afterwards  made,  but  the  Trustees  soon  found  them  a  losing 
business.  The  paper  issues  were  paid  out  at  par  for  work  and  material, 
and  it  soon  appeared  that  two  prices  were  paid  for  each  item.  Then  the 


92  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

about  the  age  of  seventeen,  and  was  so  rapid  that  it 
could  almost  be  seen.  He  was  a  cooper  by  trade,  but 
soon  grew  too  tall  for  making  barrels  and  was  put  to 
work  upon  hogsheads.  He  finally  reached  the  extraor- 
dinary height  of  seven  feet  nine  inches,  and  weighed 
three  hundred  pounds.  He  had  a  sword  and  cane  and 
gun  proportioned  to  his  size,  the  sword  being  five  feet 
long,  the  cane  four  and  a  half,  and  the  gun  eight.  He 
died  April  24,  1859,  after  having  followed  the  trade  of 
race-rider,  cooper,  showman,  hack-driver,  and  barkeeper. 

HISTORIANS  OF  LOUISVILLE. 

In  1819  Dr.  H.  McMurtrie*  published  his  Sketches  of 
Louisville,  which  was  the  first  history  of  the  city.  Much 
of  the  book  was  devoted  to  other  parts  of  Kentucky,  and 
even  to  other  States,  and  not  a  little  to  the  geology, 
mineralogy,  zoology,  ichthyology,  conchology,  fossils,  and 

property  owners  bought  up  the  issues  at  half  price  and  paid  their  taxes 
with  them  at  par;  so  that  the  city  lost  heavily  both  in  putting  out  its 
shinplasters  and  in  taking  them  in.  On  the  i6th  of  January,  1824,  the 
Trustees  borrowed  of  the  Commonwealth's  Bank  $2,000  with  which  to  begin 
taking  up  these  shinplasters,  and  by  the  26th  of  November,  1826,  all  of  them 
were  redeemed  and  burnt. 

*  Dr.  H.  McMurtrie  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1793.  He  was  educated 
at  William  and  Mary  College  in  Virginia.  After  leaving  college  he  graduated 
in  the  Medical  Department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  During  the 
war  of  1812,  while  acting  as  Surgeon  and  Supercargo  on  the  ship  Penrose, 
he  was  captured  with  his  vessel  by  the  British  and  taken  to  the  Isle  of 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  93 

flowers  of  the  region,  but  it  nevertheless  contains  the 
history  of  Louisville  up  to  the  time  of  its  publication, 
and  must  always  be  a  pleasing  source  from  which  the 
early  history  of  our  city  is  drawn.  In  1832  the  second 
history  of  our  city  was  written  by  Mann  Butler,  in  a 
scholarly  and  fascinating  style,  and  published  in  the 
directory  of  that  year  gotten  up  by  Richard  W.  Otis. 
In  1847  Lewis  Collins,  of  Maysville,  published  a  history 
of  Kentucky,  the  plan  of  which  required  a  separate 
history  of  each  county  in  the  State.  Under  the  head 
of  Jefferson  County  appeared  a  sketch  of  Louisville, 
and  in  1874  his  son,  Richard  H.  Collins,  published  a 
new  edition  of  his  father's  work,  in  which  the  sketch 
of  Louisville  was  more  fully  drawn  out.  Indeed,  this 
last  work  of  Mr.  Collins'  is  a  rich  store-house  of  his- 
toric facts,  and  but  little  is  wanted  outside  of  its  pages 
for  future  writers  to  make  up  a  history  not  only  of 
Louisville  but  of  almost  any  city  or  town  in  the  State. 

France,  where  he  remained  a  prisoner  for  two  years.  After  his  release  from 
prison  he  returned  to  Philadelphia,  and  in  his  twenty-second  year  married 
Miss  Newnhatn.  He  then  set  out  with  his  young  wife  for  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio  to  make  his  fortune  in  the  growing  West.  His  scholarly  accomplish- 
ments and  scientific  attainments  soon  brought  him  into  notice,  and  he 
promptly  took  a  high  stand  both  socially  and  professionally.  The  climate 
did  not  agree  with  him,  however,  and  he  soon  made  up  his  mind  that  he 
would  have  to  return  to  Philadelphia.  While  here  he  wrote  his  History  of 
Louisville,  which  was  printed  by  Shadrack  Penn  at  the  office  of  the  Public 
Advertiser.  It  was  the  first  book  of  any  importance  published  in  Louisville. 


94  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

In  1852  Benjamin  Casseday  published  his  history  of 
Louisville,  which  brought  the  story  down  to  that  date 
in  a  well-arranged  plan  and  pleasing  style.  In  1875 
M.  Joblin,  in  a  publication  of  the  lives  of  the  citizens 
of  Louisville,  living  and  dead,  prefaced  the  work  with 
a  sketch  of  the  city,  and  in  several  of  the  directories 
published  before  and  since  that  time  have  appeared 
sketches  of  the  city  gotten  up  with  more  or  less  merit. 
And  yet,  among  all  these  histories,  it  can  not  be  said 
that  there  is  one  as  elaborate  as  the  subject  would 
justify,  or  which  traces  the  rise  and  progress  of  our 
city  from  its  infancy  onward  with  the  elaboration  and 
detail  which  the  most  important  city  in  the  Common- 
wealth demands. 

EARLIEST  NOTICES  OF  LOUISVILLE. 

Other  writers,  earlier  than  any  of  our  historians, 
have  given  accounts  of  Louisville  which  we  find  in 
none  of  their  histories.  St.  John  de  Crevecoeur,  a 

While  here,  and  confined  to  his  house  by  malarial  fever,  he  also  translated 
Baron  Cuvier's  "  Regne  Animale."  He  was  also  the  author  of  the  "  Lexicon 
Scientiarum,"  published  at  Philadelphia  in  1847.  When  he  returned  to 
Philadelphia  he  became  Professor  of  Anatomy,  Physiology,  and  Natural 
History  in  the  Central  High  School  of  that  city.  In  this  position  he  rose 
to  prominence  as  an  educator  and  made  a  lasting  reputation  for  scientific 
learning.  He  died  in  1865,  much  regretted  by  a  community  in  which  he 
was  esteemed  both  for  his  moral  and  scientific  worth. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  95 

Frenchman  from  Normandy,  was  in  our  city  in  1784, 
and  published  a  three-volume  work  at  Paris  in  1787,  in 
which  he  stated  that  there  were  here  in  August,  1784, 
sixty-three  finished  houses,  thirty-seven  houses  in  proc- 
ess of  construction,  twenty-two  houses  with  the  walls 
up  without  being  covered  with  roofs,  etc.  Captain 
Gilbert  Imlay,  a  surveyor  residing  in  our  city  in  1784, 
published  a  second  edition  of  his  Topographical  De- 
scription of  the  Western  Territory  of  North  America, 
in  London  in  1793,  in  which  he  stated  that  there  were 
then  two  hundred  houses  in  Louisville.  Captain  Imlay 
accompanied  his  work  with  a  drawing  showing  the 
Falls  of  the  Ohio  and  the  city  as  then  located.  It 
seems  from  this  picture  that  the  houses  then  in  the 
city  straggled  along  Main  Street  from  First  to  Twelfth, 
and  then  ranged  along  the  river  in  a  kind  of  triangle 
formed  by  Main  Street  on  the  south,  the  river  on  the 
north,  and  Fourteenth  Street  on  the  west.  In  1785 
General  Richard  Butler  was  here,  and  recorded  in  his 
journal  his  delight  at  the  river  and  its  islands  and 
rapids;  but  also  noted  that  a  boat  with  people  in  it  got 
fast  on  the  falls,  and  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  town 
played  cards  and  speculated  in  lots  and  drank  whisky 
instead  of  promptly  going  to  their  relief.  Major 
Erkuries  Beatty  was  here  in  1787,  and  wrote  kindly 


g6  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

in  his  journal  of  a  dancing  -  school  taught  by  a  Mr. 
Nickle,  and  a  barbecue  on  Corn  Island,  and  the  hospi- 
table treatment  he  received  from  General  Clark  and 
others ;  but  he  also  noted  what  he  saw  of  the  horrid 
practice  of  biting  off  ears  and  noses  and  gouging  out 
eyes  in  a  fight  between  two  bullies. 

THE  PARK  WE  OUGHT  TO  HAVE  HAD. 

The  original  plan  of  Louisville,  as  well  as  the  act 
establishing  the  town,  provided  for  public  lots,  and  but 
for  a  great  neglect  of  the  Trustees  we  should  now  have 
parks  in  which  the  noble  trees  of  the  original  forest 
would  be  preserved,  and  in  which  the  pure  air  of  heaven 
could  be  breathed  by  our  citizens.  As  the  city  after  its 
incorporation  in  1780  was  laid  out,  a  strip  of  land  be- 
tween Green  and  Walnut  streets  one  hundred  and  eighty 
feet  wide,  and  extending  from  Floyd  Street  on  the  east 
to  Twelfth  Street  on  the  west,  where  it  connected  with 
another  large  body  of  land  of  a  triangular  shape  bounded 
on  the  north  by  Grayson,  on  the  east  by  the  Twelfth 
Street  lots,  and  on  the  west  by  the  old  town  line,  were 
to  have  been  public  property.  While  the  Trustees  had 
not  adopted  General  Clark's  suggestion  to  hold  the  lands 
north  of  Main  Street  for  public  property,  they  had  not 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  97 

sold  these  lots  as  they  had  others,  and  this  fine  river 
front  yet  belonged  to  the  city.  What  a  noble  system  of 
intramural  parks  these  lands  would  have  made  with  the 
original  forest  trees  upon  them!  Early  in  May,  1786, 
however,  the  Trustees  passed  a  resolution  for  the  sale  of 
these  public  lands.  This  may  not  have  been  their  own 
free  choice,  for  Colonel  John  Campbell  was  pressing  them 
without  mercy  for  the  sale  of  lots  to  pay  his  mortgage 
against  the  Connolly  land.  After  getting  about  four 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  for  this  mortgage,  he  brought 
in  another  debt  of  about  six  hundred  pounds  which  he 
claimed  the  renegade  McKee  owed  him,  and  the  Legis- 
lature of  Virginia  allowed  him  to  collect  it  from  the  sale 
of  Louisville  lots.  There  seemed  to  be  nothing  for  the 
Trustees  to  do,  therefore,  but  to  sell  lots  and  to  pay 
Campbell  with  what  they  brought.  The  whole  Connolly 
tract  of  one  thousand  acres  had  been  laid  off  into  three 
hundred  half-acre  lots  and  twenty  five-acre  lots  and  sev- 
enteen ten -acre  lots  and  twelve  twenty -acre  lots,  and  a 
dozen  or  more  fractional  lots.  All  were  sold  before  the 
close  of  the  year  1786  at  public  auction,  except  the  grave- 
yard on  Jefferson  between  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  and  the 
court-house  square  on  Jefferson  between  Fifth  and  Sixth. 
It  all  brought  about  one  thousand  pounds,  which  would 

equal  about  thirty -three  hundred  and  thirty -three  dol- 

13 


98  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

lars.*  And  thus  vanished  all  hopes  of  a  park  out  of  the 
original  domain  of  Louisville.  We  have  no  park  now 
except  the  House  of  Refuge  grounds,  used  for  other  pur- 
poses, and  are  not  likely  to  have  one  until  wiser  and 
better  men  get  control  of  our  city  affairs. f 

LOUISVILLE  IN  1828. 

At  the  close  of  the  second  period  into  which  we  have 
divided  the  time  to  be  gone  over,  Louisville  had  added 
to  her  original  territory  the  Preston  enlargement,  which 
consisted  of  a  triangle  bounded  on  the  north  by  Wash- 
ington Street,  on  the  east  by  Preston  Street,  and  on  the 
south  and  west  by  the  dividing  line  between  the  Con- 
nolly and  Preston  survey.  The  population,  increased 
from  about  one  hundred  to  ten  thousand,  still  preserved 
the  old-fashioned,  go-easy  characteristics  which  they  had 
brought  from  Virginia  and  other  Colonies.  They  had  not 
entirely  recovered  from  the  terrible  effects  of  the  mala- 
rial fever  of  1822,  but  were  earnestly  engaged  in  the 

*  See  Appendix  M  and  Appendix  N. 

tin  1851,  while  Thomas  Crawford  was  mayor,  the  city  of  Louisville 
bought  of  Thomas  Brown  eighty-two  and  one  half  acres  of  ground  lying 
from  D  to  K  streets,  north  and  south,  and  from  Third  to  Brook,  east  and 
west,  for  $10,000.  It  was  bought  for  the  purpose  of  a  public  park,  but  in 
1860,  when  a  place  was  wanted  for  the  House  of  Refuge,  the  city  conveyed 
this  eighty-two  and  one  half  acres  to  that  institution,  reserving  only  the 
right  of  having  forty  acres  of  it  turned  into  a  park.  If  this  eighty-two  and 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  99 

various  pursuits  of  life  by  which  they  hoped  to  rise 
from  village  conditions  into  cityhood.  The  entire  one 
thousand  acres  of  Connolly  had  passed  under  the  com- 
pass and  chain  of  the  surveyor,  and  had  been  divided 
into  streets  and  squares  and  laid  off  into  lots,  and  the 
lots  sold  and  the  proceeds  spent.  The  principal  build- 
ings occupied  the  space  between  First  Street  on  the 
east,  Eighth  Street  on  the  west,  Main  Street  on  the 
north,  and  Jefferson  on  the  south.  Business  had  not  yet 
asserted  its  exclusive  right  to  locality,  and  residences 
were  mingled  with  stores  and  factories  on  Main  and  Mar- 
ket and  Jefferson  and  the  principal  cross-streets.  Some 
of  the  original  log  cabins  were  still  to  be  seen,  but  most 
of  the  buildings  were  of  boards  or  brick,  and  the  prevail- 
ing style  of  the  best  residences  was  a  single  two-story 
house  with  basement,  and  steps  in  front  leading  to  the 
first  story.  The  stores  were  not  unlike  those  of  the 
present  day,  except  in  the  want  of  size  and  front  orna- 
mentation. The  Court-house,  the  third  which  had  been 
built,  was  a  two -story  brick  with  somewhat  imposing 

one  half  acres  had  been  made  into  a  public  park  according  to  the  original 
intention  it  would  have  been  a  very  good  beginning  in  that  direction. 
Instead,  however,  of  its  becoming  a  place  for  the  dwellers  in  the  city  to 
breathe  pure  air  and  sport  among  shady  trees,  it  became  a  kind  of  prison 
to  keep  the  bad  boys  and  girls  of  the  city  out  of  mischief.  This  was  the 
nearest  our  city  fathers  ever  came  to  giving  the  people  a  public  park,  and 
it  was  certainly  far  enough  from  any  thing  of  the  public  park  kind. 


ioo  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

Corinthian  columns,  and  in  one  of  its  upper  rooms  was 
the  library  of  the  "Louisville  Library  Company,"  con- 
sisting of  about  five  hundred  volumes.  The  other  public 
buildings — the  Marine  Hospital,  the  Jefferson  Seminary, 
the  Post-office,  the  County  Jail,  and  the  Poor-house  — 
were  structures  severely  plain  in  their  architecture,  but 
answered  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  intended. 
Such  quasi  public  buildings  as  the  Catholic,  the  Epis- 
copal, the  Presbyterian,  the  Methodist,  and  the  Baptist 
churches,  the  Washington  Hall,  the  Columbian  Inn,  and 
the  Union  Hall,  the  United  States  Bank,  and  the  Bank 
of  the  Commonwealth,  the  market-house,  and  the  thea- 
ter, were  unpretending  in  their  architecture,  but  were 
substantial  and  well  up  to  the  fashion  of  their  times.  The 
entire  taxable  property  within  the  city  limits  was  assessed 
at  about  two  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and 
there  was  a  total  revenue  therefrom  of  about  thirty-five 
thousand  dollars.  There  were  sixty-five  stores  licensed 
as  such,  and  as  many  small  establishments,  such  as  tin- 
shops,  furniture  factories,  and  hat  stores,  where  the  man- 
ufacturers sold  what  they  made.  Of  manufactories  upon 
a  larger  scale  there  were  one  woolen  factory,  one  cotton 
factory,  two  potteries,  one  steam  grist-mill,  two  foundries, 
one  planing-mill,  three  breweries,  two  lead  factories,  four 
rope-walks,  and  fifteen  brick-yards.  There  was  a  branch 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  101 

of  the  Commonwealth's  Bank,  and  also  a  branch  of  the 
old  Bank  of  Kentucky;  but  both  were  in  liquidation,  and 
the  principal  banking  business  was  done  through  a 
branch  of  the  United  States  Bank,  located  where  the 
Bank  of  Kentucky  now  stands,  with  a  capital  of  $1,250,- 
ooo.  There  were  six  insurance  companies,  four  turnpike 
companies,  one  theater,  and  three  public  gardens.  There 
were  six  churches,  one  Bible  society,  five  Sunday-schools, 
one  temperance  society,  one  musical  society,  three  liter- 
ary societies,  five  benevolent  societies,  and  five  Masonic 
lodges.  There  were  five  engine  companies  and  two  mili- 
tary organizations.  There  were  fourteen  principal  teach- 
ers with  a  number  of  assistants  in  the  various  schools 
to  educate  the  children,  and  nine  preachers  in  the  dif- 
ferent churches  to  minister  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the 
entire  population.  By  a  strange  coincidence  there  were 
thirty-eight  lawyers  to  attend  to  the  unhealthful  business 
of  these  ten  thousand  citizens,  and  the  same  number  of 
doctors  to  look  after  their  diseased  bodies.* 

*See  Appendix  O. 


THIRD  PERIOD. 

Jrom  1828  to  1880. 


THE  FIRST  MAYOR  AND  COUNCIL. 

^  I  \HE  third  period,  embracing  the  last  fifty-two  years 
during  which  Louisville  has  been  governed  by 
mayors  and  councils  under  three  different  charters  —  the 
first  adopted  in  1828,  the  second  in  1851,  and  the  third 
in  1870  —  is  the  time  in  which  have  been  inaugurated 
and  developed  the  leading  characteristics  of  our  city. 
It  would  not  be  practicable  in  going  over  this  period  to 
enter  as  nmch  into  detail  as  has  been  done  in  the  other 
two  periods.  Should  such  an  attempt  be  made,  the 
length  of  this  paper  would  far  transcend  the  limits  pre- 
scribed. We  can  only  deal  with  generalities,  and  even 
these  must  be  of  the  leading  kind. 

Our  first  Mayor  was  John  C.  Bucklin,  and  our  first 
Council  consisted  of  George  W.  Merriwether,  B.  G.  Weir, 
James  Guthrie,  James  Rudd,  J.  P.  McClary,  Jacob  Miller, 
Robert  Buckner,  F.  A.  Kaye,  J.  M.  Talbott,  and  W.  Alsop, 
all  elected  on  the  first  Monday  in  March,  1828.  There 
was  no  Board  of  Aldermen  until  1851.  Under  these  and 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  103 

subsequent  mayors  and  councils  have  originated  our  gas- 
works, water-works,  merchants'  exchange,  and  clearing- 
house ;  our  sinking  fund,  and  the  various  new  depart- 
ments of  the  city  government ;  our  Polytechnic  Institute, 
Louisville  Library,  and  Law  Library;  our  courts,  divided 
into  Equity,  Common  Law,  and  Criminal ;  our  telegraph, 
telephone,  steam  fire-engines,  large  stores  in  which  all 
kinds  of  articles  are  sold  over  the  same  counter  as  in 
pioneer  times,  elevators,  cotton  compress,  extramural 
cemeteries,  street  railroads,  daily  mails,  and  our  new 
system  of  architecture,  which  has  improved  and  rendered 
metropolitan  both  our  public  buildings  and  our  private 
residences. 

PUBLIC  SCHOOLS,  COLLEGES,  ETC. 

Within  this  period  have  grown  up  our  public  schools, 
in  which  the  learning  of  the  past  and  the  present  is  im- 
parted to  our  youth  as  free  as  the  air  and  the  light  of 
heaven.  The  germ  of  our  free  school  system  was  im- 
planted in  our  charter  of  1828,*  and  the  old  Jefferson 

*  The  earliest  legislation  in  Kentucky  for  free  schools  was  in  the  Louis- 
ville Charter  of  1828.  Several  of  our  governors  in  their  messages  had 
something  to  say  about  educating  those  who  were  not  able  to  educate 
themselves,  but  nothing  was  done  by  our  State  legislature  until  after 
Louisville  had  taken  the  initiative.  At  the  close  of  the  eleventh  section  of  the 
Charter  of  1828  the  following  will  be  found:  "The  Mayor  and  Councilmen 
shall  have  the  power  and  authority  to  establish  one  or  more  free  schools  in 


104  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

Seminary  of  that  day  has  expanded  into  a  male  high 
school,  a  female  high  school,  and  twenty -nine  ward 
schools,  in  which  twenty  thousand  of  our  sons  and 
daughters  are  now  being  annually  educated  and  fitted  for 
the  important  duties  of  life.*  Our  University,  with  its 
famous  schools  of  law  and  medicine ;  our  three  medical 
colleges,  our  Theological  Seminary,  and  our  numerous 
private  schools  and  academies  all  had  their  origin  within 
this  period;  and  the  young  of  the  age,  whom  they  are 
yearly  fitting  for  professions  and  sending  out  into  the 
world,  whose  future  they  are  to  help  to  shape,  suffi- 
ciently attest  the  enviable  reputation  they  enjoy  at  home 

each  ward  of  the  city,  and  may  receive  donations  of  real  and  personal  estate  to 
erect  the  necessary  buildings  and  to  provide  the  necessary  revenue  for  their 
maintenance,  and  may  supply  the  funds  from  time  to  time  by  a  tax  on  the 
ward  where  such  school  or  schools  shall  be  established."  The  next  year, 
1829,  the  first  mayor,  John  C.  Bucklin,  an  excellent  citizen  and  a  lover  of 
education,  in  a  special  message  called  the  attention  of  the  Council  to  this 
provision  of  the  charter,  and  recommended  the  adoption  of  some  specific 
plan  for  the  opening  of  free  schools.  The  first  fruit  of  this  charter  pro- 
vision was  a  free  school  on  the  monitorial  plan  in  1829.  It  was  opened  in 
the  upper  story  of  the  old  Baptist  Church,  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Fifth 
and  Green  streets,  with  Mann  Butler,  the  historian,  as  principal,  and  Edward 
Baker  assistant.  The  school  began  with  two  hundred  and  fifty  pupils,  and 
the  following  year  was  moved  to  a  house  erected  for  it  on  the  southwest 
corner  of  Fifth  and  Walnut.  Such  was  the  humble  and  imperfect  beginning 
of  the  free  school  system,  now  the  pride  of  our  city. 

*In  1798  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky  gave  to  the  county  of  Jefferson  six 
thousand  acres  of  land  to  establish  a  seminary.  Nothing  of  any  consequence 
was  done  until  1813,  when  the  Trustees  purchased  of  Richard  C.  Anderson 
two  and  one  half  acres  on  the  west  side  of  Eighth  between  Green  and  Walnut 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  105 

and  abroad  as  institutions  of  learning.  The  lawyers,  the 
doctors,  the  theologians,  the  scientists,  and  the  scholars 
who  yearly  go  forth  from  the  various  institutions  in  our 
city  compare  favorably  with  those  of  any  in  the  land. 

CHARITABLE  INSTITUTIONS. 

Our  charitable  institutions  —  all  of  which,  except  the 
City  Hospital,  had  their  origin  in  this  period  —  extend 
their  benevolence  to  the  poor  and  afflicted  of  every  age 
and  clime  who  come  within  their  broad  reach.  Helpless 
infancy  and  declining  old  age,  the  poor,  the  sick,  the 
blind,  and  all  on  whom  unkindly  stars  have  shed  their 
baneful  beams,  find  in  one  or  the  other  of  our  charitable 
institutions  the  home  and  help  they  need. 

BANKS  AND  BANKERS. 

All  of  the  banks  and  banking  institutions  now  doing 
business  in  our  city  are  of  recent  origin.  None  of  them 
dates  back  to  the  charter  of  1828.  They  do  business 

streets,  and  erected  a  two-story  brick  building  thereon,  known  as  the  Jefferson 
Seminary.  In  1830  the  trustees  of  the  Seminary,  pleased  with  the  idea  of  free 
education  as  indicated  in  the  charter  of  1828,  conveyed  the  seminary  property 
to  the  city.  The  city,  after  trying  a  college  for  a  number  of  years,  with  reg- 
ular professors  and  curriculum,  at  last  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  present 
Male  High  School  was  nearer  what  was  wanted,  and  hence  the  old  Jefferson 
Seminary  and  its  successor,  the  Louisville  College,  finally  disappeared  in  our 
Male  High  School. 

14 


io6  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

according  to  a  theory  and  practice  essentially  different 
from  the  banks  previous  to  1828.  In  times  of  prosperity 
and  in  times  of  depression  they  have  wielded  a  mighty 
influence  upon  the  condition  of  our  city.  From  the  time 
they  began  they  have  continually  increased  in  number 
and  power.  There  are  now  as  many  as  twenty-two  *  of 
them,  holding  in  their  vaults  a  capital  of  nine  millions, 
with  which  the  great  commercial  and  manufacturing 
business  of  the  city  is  principally  done.  In  the  times 
of  our  forefathers  banks  as  we  now  have  them  were 
unknown,  and  so  was  credit.  Every  man  generally  paid 
as  he  went  for  what  he  bought,  either  in  tobacco  or  some 
other  commodity.  The  pioneer  age  was  one  of  barter, 
and  tobacco  and  beaver  skins  were  a  legal  tender  for 
almost  every  thing  that  changed  hands. f  The  Bank  of 
Louisville,  chartered  in  1833,  is  the  oldest  bank  in  our 
city,  but  the  Bank  of  Kentucky  and  the  Northern  Bank 

*  See  Appendix  P. 

tA  crude  kind  of  banking  was  conducted  in  Louisville  in  early  times  by 
a  man  named  John  Sanders.  In  the  spring  flood  of  1780  a  large  flatboat  was 
floated  to  the  lot  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Main  and  Third  streets.  Sanders 
made  the  boat  fast  to  a  tree,  and  when  the  water  subsided  it  rested  on  dry 
land.  Sanders  then  put  a  roof  on  the  boat,  and  prepared  it  with  doors  and 
windows  for  a  kind  of  warehouse,  which  he  called  his  keep.  Here  he  would 
receive  the  skins  of  fur-bearing  animals  from  the  pioneers,  and  issue  receipts 
for  them,  which  we  would  call  certificates  of  deposit.  These  certificates  circu- 
lated as  a  kind  of  currency,  and  really  did  the  work  of  modern  bank-notes. 
As  the  skins  would  accumulate  the  stock  was  depleted  by  traders,  who  readily 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  107 

of  Kentucky  came  so  soon  after  it  that  there  is  practi- 
cally no  difference  in  their  beginning.  These  venerable 
institutions  have  weathered  financial  storms  that  swept 
away  others  of  their  kind ;  have  risen  superior  to  the 
robbery  of  individuals  and  the  pillage  of  armies,  and 
stand  to-day  clothed  with  hoary  honors  as  models  of 
sound  and  conservative  banking. 

MANUFACTURERS. 

Manufactories  of  various  kinds  have  sprung  up  in 
our  city  in  the  last  half  of  the  century  with  wonderful 
rapidity.  Our  ancestors,  who  found  it  difficult  to  make 
the  hunting  -  shirts  and  buckskin  breeches  they  wore 
with  the  simple  instruments  they  used,  would  be  startled 
at  the  number  and  quantities  of  the  articles  now  man- 
ufactured here.  We  have  the  largest  plow  factory  in 
the  world,  and  in  the  making  of  furniture,  wagons,  and 

bought  them,  or  they  were  sent  to  the  markets  of  the  East  or  South  as  oppor- 
tunity offered.  When  the  skins  for  which  a  certificate  had  been  issued  were 
sold,  the  certificate  was  called  in  and  paid  off.  The  skins  of  the  beavers  were 
the  favorites,  and  these  animals  were  abundant  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Falls  for  many  years.  The  remains  of  their  work  in  enlarging  some  ponds 
and  diminishing  others,  and  in  making  dams  across  Beargrass  and  other 
creeks,  are  still  visible  in  the  neighborhood  of  Louisville.  A  beaver  skin  was 
the  unit  of  value  in  those  early  times,  just  as  a  silver  dollar  is  now.  A  horse, 
a  cow,  or  any  thing  for  sale  was  worth  so  much  in  beaver  skins,  and  so 
understood  by  everybody. 


io8  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

leather  only  a  few  others  on  the  globe  equal  us.  But 
besides  these  mammoth  establishments  we  have  millions 
of  capital  employed  in  the  making  of  the  various  useful 
and  ornamental  things  of  life.  There  are  no  less  than 
twelve  hundred  manufacturing  establishments  of  various 
kinds  now  in  our  city,  in  which  a  capital  of  $21,000,000 
is  invested.  They  employ  twenty-two  thousand  hands, 
and  use  raw  material  to  the  value  of  $22,000,000,  and 
turn  out  manufactured  articles  to  the  value  of  $50,000,- 
ooo  per  year.  Our  ancestors  had  sometimes  to  take 
the  skin  of  the  animal  with  the  wool  on  it  to  make  a 
single  garment.  We  now  pass  the  fleece  through  one 
of  our  woolen  mills  and  it  comes  out  cloth  enough  to 
clothe  a  family.  The  tree  from  which  Joseph  Cyrus 
could  only  get  puncheons  enough  for  the  floor  of  a 
cabin,  we  now  pass  through  one  of  our  saw-mills  and 
it  conies  out  boards  enough  to  make  a  house.  In  most 
of  our  factories  machinery  is  doing  the  labor  of  man. 
The  steam  engines  at  work  in  them  are  doing  the  labor 
which  it  would  require  more  than  our  entire  popula- 
tion to  do  without  them.  Nor  do  these  engines  weary 
of  their  toil ;  they  work  on  by  day  and  by  night,  in 
sunshine  and  in  storm,  through  heat  and  cold,  and 
know  not  weariness.  When  they  have  toiled  through 
the  long  day  and  night  they  are  as  fresh  the  next 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  109 

morning  as  if  young  life  had  just  begun  with  them. 
The  work  of  man  is  but  to  guide  the  movements  of 
these  mighty  laborers  as  they  do  the  task  of  thousands. 
Our  manufacturers  have  done  their  full  share  towards 
swelling  our  population  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
thousand,  and  our  trade,  as  shown  by  the  movements 
of  banking  capital  through  the  Clearing  -  House,  to 
$210,000,000. 

RAILROADS. 

Perhaps,  however,  no  one  thing  has  done  more 
toward  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  our  city  than  the 
locomotive.  Our  people  were  among  the  first  to  grasp 
the  idea  of  railroads,  and  anticipate  the  wonders  they 
were  to  perform.  Indeed,  a  native  -  born  Kentuckian 
was  among  the  first  of  the  great  inventors  to  make  a 
locomotive  upon  such  principles  as  to  prove  successful. 
This  was  Thomas  H.  Barlow,  whose  invention  was  upon 
exhibition  in  this  city  in  1827.  He  was  a  man  of 
wonderful  inventive  genius.  He  was  the  maker  of  the 
Planetarium  now  in  our  Polytechnic  Institute.  In  1830 
the  railroad  from  Lexington  to  Louisville  was  chartered, 
and  work  upon  it  was  begun  in  the  following  year. 
In  1835  the  cars  were  running  at  both  ends,  from  Sixth 
Street  to  Portland  at  the  Louisville  end,  and  from 


no  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

Lexington  to  Frankfort  at  the  other  end,  but  the  gap 
between  was  not  closed  and  the  locomotive  driven  over 
the  whole  line  until  1851.  The  Portland  end  of  this 
road,  however,  was  but  short  lived.  Our  citizens  showed 
such  hostility  to  the  passage  of  the  locomotive  through 
the  lower  part  of  the  city  that  in  a  few  years  that  portion 
of  the  road  was  abandoned  and  the  depot  established  on 
Jefferson  Street  above  Brook.  Louisville  has  been 
liberal  in  her  contribution  to  the  railroads  which  she 
thought  would  be  of  benefit  to  her  citizens.  She  has 
furnished  $800,000  to  the  Louisville  &  Frankfort, 
$200,000  to  the  Jeffersonville,  $2,000,000  to  the  Louis- 
ville &  Nashville,  $1,825,000  to  the  Lebanon  Branch, 
$300,000  to  the  Memphis  Branch,  $190,000  to  the 
Shelbyville  Branch,  $100,000  to  the  Richmond  Branch, 
$2,000,000  to  the  Paducah  road,  $500,000  to  the  St. 
Louis  Air  Line,  and  $275,000  to  the  Louisville,  Cincin- 
nati &  Lexington — in  all  $8,190,000.  Without  the 
liberal  aid  thus  given  by  our  city  some  of  these  roads 
could  not  have  been  completed  —  and,  indeed,  all  are  not 
yet  finished.  While  these  and  other  roads  of  the  State 
go  rushing  over  the  country,  traversing  great  agricul- 
tural districts  and  penetrating  rich  mineral  regions, 
stretching  through  forests  of  valuable  timber  and  leap- 
ing over  hills  of  inexhaustible  coal  and  iron,  they  are 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  1 1 1 

returning  to  our  citizens  good  dividends  upon  their 
investments.  None  can  foresee  the  ultimate  end  of  the 
vast  combinations  of  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  road, 
to  which  and  its  branches  our  city  has  contributed 
more  than  the  half  of  all  its  railroad  investments ;  but 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  instead  of  being  weighed  down  by 
the  pressure  of  the  lines  which  its  managers  are  trying 
to  secure  to  carry  it  to  the  Lakes  on  the  north  and  the 
Gulf  on  the  south,  to  the  Atlantic  on  the  east  and  the 
Mississippi  on  the  west,  it  may  bear  its  burden  nobly 
and  with  young  and  buoyant  bounds  rush  on  to  all  that 
its  friends  anticipate. 

PRIVATE  RESIDENCES. 

In  the  year  1796  Michael  Lacassagne,*  a  Frenchman, 
who  fled  from  the  storms  of  his  own  country  to  find 
repose  in  our  own,  was  the  owner  of  the  property  on 
the  north  side  of  Main  Street,  extending  from  Fifth  to 
Bullitt.  Here  stood  his  typical  French  cottage,  around 
which  was  a  rich  display  of  bluegrass  and  fruit  trees 

*  Lacassagne  was  a  man  of  superior  mind  and  broad  information,  yet  he 
was  a  dreamer.  He  owned  many  acres  of  wild  lands  in  Kentucky  and  in  other 
States,  and  attached  to  them  a  present  value  which  they  could  only  have  in 
the  future.  He  supposed  himself  immensely  rich  when  he  willed  his  prop- 
erty to  Robert  K.  Moore,  to  be  held  for  a  long  period.  He,  however,  owed  a 
few  debts  at  his  death,  for  which  all  of  his  lands  were  sacrificed.  There  was 


ii2  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

and  shrubbery  and  flowers.  So  much  was  he  enamored 
of  his  ample  lot  and  green  grass  and  blooming  trees 
and  fragrant  flowers  that  he  bequeathed  the  property  to 
his  friend,  Robert  K.  Moore,  on  condition  that  he  was 
not  to  sell  it  until  the  year  1860,  and  in  the  mean  time 
his  trees,  etc.,  were  to  be  cared  for  with  the  same  kind 
attention  that  he  had  bestowed  upon  them.  This  love 
of  a  home  surrounded  by  airy  grounds  and  beautified 
with  green  grass  and  trees  and  shrubbery  and  flowers 
found  not  a  lodgment  in  the  heart  of  the  Frenchman 
alone.  Indeed,  this  love  of  an  attractive  home  was 
learned  by  this  Frenchman  from  our  people,  and  has 
constantly  manifested  itself  in  Louisville  from  that  day 
to  this.  There  is  no  city  in  our  country  that  can 
present  such  a  number  of  private  residences  with  vacant 
grounds  around  them,  rendered  lovely  by  shade  trees 
and  shrubbery  and  flowers  and  bluegrass.  In  other 
cities  the  houses  cover  all  the  ground  of  the  owners,  and 
there  is  scarcely  room  to  breathe  between  them,  much 
less  to  look  upon  turf  and  foliage  and  flowers.  But 

one  piece  he  owned,  however,  which  did  not  pass  from  him,  and  that  was 
Corn  Island  in  the  Ohio  opposite  to  Louisville.  This  island  descended  to  his 
heirs,  and  they  could  have  recovered  it  at  any  time  before  the  lapse  of  years 
made  good  the  adverse  possessor's  title.  He  provided  in  his  will  that  his 
body  was  to  be  carried  to  Richmond,  Virginia,  for  burial ;  but  I  have  never 
been  able  to  learn  what  became  of  it  after  its  interment  at  Vincennes,  Indiana, 
where  he  died. 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  113 

here  every  one  has  his  own  park  around  him,  and  from 
his  own  window  looks  out  upon  the  charms  of  the  land- 
scape. Even  the  sidewalks  of  the  streets  outside  of 
the  principal  business  range  are  abundantly  shaded  with 
sycamores,  maples,  poplars,  elms,  and  other  beautiful 
trees  from  our  native  forests,  and  the  famous  Linden 
Street  in  the  city  of  Berlin  affords  nothing  more  lovely 
than  the  square  on  Gray  between  Brook  and  Floyd, 
where  the  European  Linden  is  seen  in  all  the  glory  of 
its  symmetrical  form  and  ample  shade.  In  many  yards 
the  magnolia  grandiflora  cheers  the  landscape  with  its 
green  leaves  during  the  winter  and  its  glorious  flowers 
during  the  summer,  and  everywhere  may  be  seen  the 
rose,  the  coleus,  the  geranium,  the  verbena,  the  phlox, 
the  heliotrope,  the  petunia,  the  peony,  and  the  chrysan- 
themum from  the  smiles  of  spring  to  the  frowns  of 
winter. 

LOUISVILLE  IN  1880. 

At  the  end  of  an  hundred  years  of  progress  Louis- 
ville proudly  occupies  the  high  bank  of  the  noble  Ohio, 
beyond  the  reach  of  destructive  inundations,  in  the 
midst  of  a  landscape  of  charming  beauty  and  geological 
wonders.  Beneath  the  deep  foundations  of  its  firm 

houses  the  Ohio  once  ran  in  an  ancient  channel,  which 

15 


ii4  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

had  shifted  from  the  south  as  its  eroding  waters  cut 
their  way  to  the  north  in  the  progress  of  countless  ages. 
At  this  point  an  uplift  in  the  strata  in  the  far  distant 
past  presented  a  barrier  to  its  further  progress  to  the 
north,  but  in  vain.  Its  waters  cut  through  the  rocky 
wall,  and  in  rapids  yet  roll  down  the  western  slope  of 
its  anticlinal  to  the  level  below.  To  the  north  the 
Silver  Creek  hills  alternate  their  misty  peaks  in  a  west- 
erly trend  until,  severed  by  the  Ohio,  they  leap  to  the 
Bullitt  County  knobs  and  become  lost  in  the  Muldraugh 
range.  Forbidden  progress  to  the  north  by  the  Ohio,  a 
vast  plain  expands  to  the  east,  to  the  south,  and  to  the 
west,  in  which  the  great  city  of  London  might  be  laid 
down  and  yet  leave  room  for  indefinite  extension  in 
these  directions.  Its  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thou- 
sand inhabitants  occupy  twenty-five  thousand  houses, 
spread  over  thirteen  square  miles  of  territory,  bisected 
at  right  angles  by  four  hundred  paved  streets  two  hun- 
dred miles  in  length,  along  which  shade  trees  from  our 
native  forests,  robed  in  their  emerald  garb  on  this  glori- 
ous May  day,  remind  us  of  a  gleam  of  Valombrosa.  It 
stands  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  domain  of  rich  agricultural 
lands  and  inexhaustible  forests  of  timber  and  mines  of 
coal  and  iron,  the  natural  center  of  the  river  system  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  with  thirty-five  hundred  miles  of 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville,  115 

railroads  binding  it  to  every  part.  With  such  a  location, 
and  an  exceptionally  healthy  climate  that  limits  our 
death-rate  to  only  twelve  in  the  thousand,*  our  citizens 
can  have  none  but  bright  hopes  for  the  future.  The 
marvelous  health  and  prolonged  life  of  its  citizens  are 
evidenced  by  the  number  of  septuagenarians  and  octoge- 
narians and  nonogenarians  here  present  participating  in 
this  celebration.f 

OUR  OLD  CITIZENS. 

A  few  of  these  venerable  citizens  have  lived  lives 
which  cover  the  whole  period  since  our  first  charter  in 
1828,  and  some  of  them  reach  still  further  back  toward 
the  first  settlement.  From  the  first  directory  of  the 
city,  published  in  1832,  nearly  fifty  years  ago,  is  taken 
the  following  list  of  names  of  those  still  living,  most 
of  whom  are  with  us  on  this  occasion:  James  Anderson, 
A.  W.  R.  Harris,  David  L,.  Beatty,  Edward  Hobbs,  James 
Bridgeford,  H.  W.  Hawes,  Cuthbert  Bullitt,  James  W. 

*  The  following  table  will  show  the  death-rate  per  thousand  of  other  cities 
as  compared  with  Louisville  : 

Louisville, 12.61  Boston 20.36 

Cincinnati, 17.23  Pittsburgh 21.16 

Philadelphia, 17. 97  New  York 24.93 

Baltimore 18.44  Washington 26.59 

Providence 19-75  New  Orleans, S0-1? 

Brooklyn 20.15 

tSee  Appendix  Q. 


n6  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

Henning,  T.  M.  Irwin,  W.  F.  Bullock,  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, James  A.  Barnett,  G.  P.  B.  Johnson,  George  H.  Cary, 
Richard  Lightburn,  James  L,.  Campbell,  John  P.  Morton, 
Jesse  Christer,  Hamilton  Pope,  Joseph  Danforth,  Samuel 
K.  Richardson,  George  Davis,  Edward  Stokes,  John  M. 
Delph,  W.  P.  Thomasson,  Henry  Dennis,  George  L. 
Douglas,  Richard  Ferguson,  George  Fetter,  Aaron  Foun- 
tain, James  Harrison,  William  Talbott,  Henry  Woolford, 
Charles  Woolford,  G.  A.  Zeumna,  and  Talbot  Vernon. 


THE  OLDEST  BORN  AMONG  Us. 

Among  these  the  name  of  James  Harrison  stands  as 
the  representative  of  the  first  born  citizen  of  Louisville 
known  to  be  now  living.  Mr.  Harrison  was  born  in  1799, 
in  the  third  brick  house  erected  in  Louisville,  which 
stood  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Main  and  Sixth  streets. 
He  has  filled  many  places  of  honor  and  trust  without  a 
stain  upon  his  bright  escutcheon.  He  was  for  eighteen 
years  a  magistrate,  for  ten  years  a  member  of  the  City 
Council,  once  in  the  State  legislature,  once  sheriff  of 
the  county,  and  once  judge  of  the  City  Court.  In  1839 
he  published  the  first  digest  of  the  city  laws  that  were 
ever  collected,  and  he  is  now  practicing  his  profession 
of  law  in  the  different  courts  of  our  city.  In  the  long 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  117 

life  he  has  lived  he  has  seen  the  original  forest  cleared 
away,  and  the  population  increase  from  600  in  1800  to 
1,357  in  fSio,  4,012  in  1820,  10,341  in  1830,  21,210  in 
1840,  43,194  in  1850,  68,033  in  1860,  100,753  i°  T87O,  and 
125,000  in  1880.  The  house  in  which  he  was  born  has 
long  since  passed  away,  but  it  will  be  interesting  to  note 
the  different  owners  of  the  lot  on  which  it  stood,  and 
the  various  prices  at  which  it  has  been  conveyed  at  dif- 
ferent times  as  parts  of  the  real -estate  history  of  our 
city.  This  lot  was  drawn  by  Thomas  Bull  in  the  lottery 
of  April  24,  1779.  Bull  transferred  it  to  Jacob  Reager, 
and  Reager  to  Richard  Eastin,  and  Eastin  to  Henry  Reid 
before  a  deed  was  obtained  from  the  Trustees.  After 
Reid's  death  it  was  deeded  to  George  Wallace,  executor 
of  Reid,  by  the  Trustees,  on  the  i6th  of  August,  1808. 
Wallace,  as  the  executor  of  Reid,  transferred  it  to  John 
Harrison,  the  father  of  the  -James  Harrison  of  whom  I 
am  speaking,  on  the  gth  of  April,  1810,  for  the  consid- 
eration of  six  hundred  pounds.  It  remained  in  the  Har- 
rison family,  and  was  conveyed  backward  and  forward 
among  them  until  the  26th  of  April,  1832,  when  it  was 
conveyed  to  James  Hewitt  and  L.  L.  Shreve  for  $14,200. 
On  the  3ist  of  July,  1839,  L,.  L.  Shreve  conveyed  his 
interest  to  James  Hewitt,  and  on  the  I2th  of  November, 
1839,  Hewitt  conveyed  the  whole  to  Jacob  Beckwith  for 


u8  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

$55,000.  On  the  6th  of  June,  1853,  Jacob  Beckwith  con- 
veyed it  to  William  B.  Reynolds  for  $65,000.  At  the 
death  of  William  B.  Reynolds  it  descended  to  his  son, 
J.  W.  Hunt  Reynolds,  to  whom  J.  W.  New  and  others, 
on  the  23d  of  April,  1874,  conveyed  the  interest  which 
they  had  acquired  while  it  was  in  the  Harrison  family, 
and  which  they  had  not  conveyed  before,  for  $5,000.  On 
the  24th  of  April,  1879,  J.  W.  Hunt  Reynolds  conveyed 
it  to  H.  Victor  Newcoinb  for  $58,000.  The  lot  is  now 
owned  by  Mr.  Newcomb,  and  has  a  front  of  sixty-three 
feet  on  Main  Street  by  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and 
forty  feet  on  Sixth  Street,  covered  by  three  handsome 
brick  stores  five  stories  in  height. 

OUR  OLDEST  CITIZEN. 

We  have  among  us  some  older  citizens  than  James 
Harrison,  but  none  of  them  has  been  so  long  in  Louis- 
ville. They  have  gathered  here  from  different  parts  of 
the  State  and  from  other  States,  in  youth  and  in  man- 
hood, while  the  whole  life  of  Mr.  Harrison  extends  in 
an  unbroken  chain  its  full  length  of  eighty -one  years 
in  our  city.  We  have  venerable  citizens  dear  to  this 
occasion  whose  names  are  not  in  the  directory  of  1832. 
Among  them  may  be  named  B.  F.  Avery,  Dr.  T.  S.  Bell, 


The  Centenary  of  Louisville.  119 

Noble  Butler,  Rev.  James  Craik,  David  Frantz,  James  C. 
Ford,  William  Hurst,  Samuel  Hillman,  A.  G.  Hodges, 
John  Knox,  Monroe  Lampton,  Thomas  H.  Martin,  J.  B. 
Mcllvain,  J.  S.  Lithgow,  R.  A.  Robinson,  B.  F.  Rudy, 
James  Trabue,  B.  H.  Thurman,  and  J.  B.  Wilder.  Our 
citizen  oldest  in  years  is  Dr.  C.  C.  Graham,  whose  remark- 
able life  dates  back  to  the  icth  of  October,  1784,  when 
he  was  born  in  Worthington's  Station,  near  Danville. 
Four  years  more  will  make  him  a  centenarian,  and  yet 
he  moves  along  the  streets  every  day  with  the  elastic 
step  of  manhood's  prime,  and  the  eagle  eye,  which  made 
him  in  youth  the  finest  rifle-shot  in  the  world,  is  shorn 
but  little  of  its  unerring  sight.  He  was  a  practicing 
physician  three  quarters  of  a  century  ago,  and  is  the 
author  of  several  learned  books  of  a  professional  and 
philosophical  character.  His  health  is  yet  good,  his 
faculties  well  preserved,  and  he  seems  to-day  more  like 
a  man  of  sixty-nine  than  ninety-six.* 

May  the  kindly  stars  preside  over  the  last  years  of 
these  old  citizens.  They  are  the  golden  links  in  the 
chain  that  binds  us  to  the  hallowed  past.  With  their 

*  The  age  of  Dr.  Graham  has  led  to  some  dispute  of  late  years.  When 
the  Doctor  was  no  older  than  other  people  he  cared  but  little  for  his  age, 
and  allowed  himself  to  have  been  born  in  1787.  As  years  gathered  upon  him, 
however,  and  his  birthday  became  a  matter  of  curiosity  to  others  as  well  as 
interest  to  himself,  he  made  a  search  into  the  family  records  and  found  that 


xao  The  Centenary  of  Louisville. 

eyes  we  see  the  primeval  forest,  and  with  their  ears 
hear  the  dying  echo  of  the  Indian's  war-whoop.  It  will 
not  be  long  before  none  of  them  is  left  to  tell  us 
how  our  city  rose  from  a  few  log  cabins  to  its  present 
twenty -five  thousand  houses.  Death  has  of  late  been 
busy  among  the  little  band,  and  soon  all  will  be  gone 
from  among  us  forever.  They  have  fought  the  good 
fight,  they  have  finished  their  course,  and  the  time  of 
their  departure  is  at  hand.  May  their  last  days  be 
peaceful,  and  when  they  are  gathered  to  their  fathers 
may  the  good  lives  they  have  lived  and  the  good  deeds 
they  have  done  ever  grow  green  in  our  memories. 

he  had  been  born  in  Worthington's  Station,  near  Danville,  Kentucky,  on  the 
loth  of  October,  1784.  This  made  him  three  years  older  than  he  had  been 
considering  himself,  especially  while  a  widower,  and  the  dates  were  corrected 
accordingly.  If  he  lives  four  years  more  he  will  be  a  centenarian,  and  there 
is  every  reason  for  believing  that  he  will  not  only  live  these  four  years  but 
that  he  will  add  others  to  the  burden  which  weighs  other  old  men  down,  but 
which  seems  to  be  of  no  concern  to  him  in  his  vigorous  health. 


APPENDICES, 


16 


APPENDIX  A. 

THE  WELSH  INDIANS  IN  AMERICA. 

The  belief  of  our  pioneers  in  the  old  Welsh  Chronicle,  that 
Prince  Madoc  left  Wales  in  the  twelfth  century  and  settled  a  col- 
ony in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  was  widespread  and  deep-set.  John 
Filson,  the  first  historian  of  Kentucky,  seems  to  have  believed 
in  it,  and  so  did  many  of  our  wise  and  learned  forefathers.  As 
late  as  1804  the  Hon.  Harry  Toulmin,  one  of  our  most  learned 
citizens,  published  in  the  Palladium,  at  Frankfort,  Ky.,  December 
22d,  a  long  account  of  a  visit  made  to  the  Welsh  Indians  on  the 
Upper  Missouri  River,  about  the  year  1784,  by  a  man  named 
Maurice  Griffith.  They  were  described  as  living  like  other  In- 
dians, but  had  white  skins  and  spoke  the  Welsh  language.  The 
veracity  of  Griffith  was  vouched  for  by  John  Childs,  a  prominent 
citizen  of  Jessamine  County,  and  in  turn  Judge  Toulmin  vouched 
for  Mr.  Childs. 

This  account  of  Griffith  is  not  unlike  that  of  the  Rev.  Morgan 
Jones,  published  in  the  Gentlemen's  Magazine,  in  London,  in  1740. 
Jones,  in  an  excursion  from  Virginia  to  Port  Royal  in  1660,  got 
among  what  he  called  Welsh  Indians,  not  on  the  Missouri  River, 
but  upon  what  he  called  the  Pontigo  River,  near  Cape  Atros, 
both  unknown  names  in  modern  geography.  On  an  old  map 
by  Popples,  in  1733,  the  river  Pamticough,  emptying  into  Pamti- 
cough  Sound,  in  North  Carolina,  is  laid  down,  and,  as  the  direc- 


124  Appendix  A. 

tion  of  the  expedition  was  in  this  way,  it  is  possible  that  Jones' 
colony  of  Welsh  Indians  were  found  upon  this  river,  correspond- 
ing to  the  Pamlico  and  Tar  rivers  of  modern  geography.  Espe- 
cially is  this  supposition  reasonable  when  he  mentions  Cape 
Atros,  which  might  easily  be  a  Welsh  or  Indian  pronunciation 
of  Cape  Hatteras,  off  Pamlico  Sound.  This  locating  of  the  Welsh 
Indians  on  the  Upper  Missouri  by  Griffith  and  on  Pamlico  River 
by  Jones  made  the  distance  between  them  very  great;  but  there 
was  more  than  an  hundred  years  between  the  two  adventurers, 
and  the  roving  Indians  might  have  gone  over  much  ground  in 
that  period.  It  is  hard,  however,  from  the  similarity  of  the  ac- 
counts, to  avoid  the  suspicion  that  Griffith  may  have  in  some 
way  become  acquainted  with  the  story  of  Jones,  which  got  into 
print  twenty-four  years  before  Griffith  dates  his  expedition.  Both 
of  the  adventurers,  according  to  their  own  accounts,  would  have 
been  scalped  except  for  their  opportunely  speaking  the  Welsh 
language,  which  the  Indians  understood.  These  Welsh  Indians 
are  reported  by  John  Filson,  the  first  historian  of  Kentucky,  to 
have  come  from  their  distant  Missouri  homes  to  Kaskaskia,  in 
Illinois,  as  late  as  1779,  and  there  to  have  conversed  with  Welsh 
soldiers  in  the  company  of  Captain  Chaplain.  It  is  a  pity  that 
a  story  so  full  of  romance  should  have  been  deprived  of  so  much 
of  its  possibility  by  the  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clark  up  the 
Missouri  River  to  its  source  in  1804.  These  explorers  found  no 
white  Indians  in  that  region  who  spoke  the  Welsh  language. 

In   1819,  May  i5th,  there   was  published   in   the   Louisville 
Public  Advertiser  an  account  of  an  interview  with  a  Welsh  Indian 


Appendix  A.  125 

by  Lieutenant  Joseph  Roberts.  Roberts  was  a  Welshman  from 
Hawarden,  in  Flintshire,  in  North  Wales,  and  held  the  rank  of 
lieutenant  in  the  British  army.  The  interview  occurred  in  Wash- 
ington City  in  1801.  The  Indian  and  the  Welshman  were  at 
home  in  the  Welsh  language,  and  many  meetings  and  much  talk 
are  recorded  by  Roberts.  The  Indian  located  his  tribe  some 
eight  hundred  miles  southwest  from  Philadelphia,  and  called 
them  Asguaws. 

The  most  startling  of  all  accounts  of  Welsh  Indians,  so  far 
as  Kentucky  and  Kentuckians  are  concerned,  are  given  in  a  letter 
of  Thomas  S.  Hinde,  written  in  1842,  to  the  editor  of  the  Western 
Pioneer.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  this  letter: 

I  have  a  vast  quantity  of  western  matter,  collected  in  notes  gath- 
ered from  various  sources,  mostly  from  persons  who  knew  the  facts. 
These  notes  reach  back  to  remote  periods.  It  is  a  fact  that  the 
Welsh,  under  Owen  ap  Zuinch,  in  the  twelfth  century,  found  their 
way  to  the  Mississippi,  and  as  far  up  the  Ohio  as  the  falls  of  that 
river  at  Louisville,  where  they  were  cut  off  by  the  Indians ;  others 
ascended  the  Missouri,  and  were  either  captured  or  settled  with  and 
sunk  into  Indian  habits.  Proof:  In  1799  six  soldiers'  skeletons  were 
dug  up  near  Jeffersonville.  Each  skeleton  had  a  breastplate  of  brass, 
cast,  with  the  Welsh  coat  of  arms,  the  mermaid  and  harp,  with  a  Latin 
inscription,  in  substance,  "  Virtuous  deeds  meet  their  just  reward." 
One  of  these  plates  was  left  by  Captain  Jonathan  Taylor  with  the 
late  Mr.  Hubbard  Taylor,  of  Clark  County,  Kentucky,  and  when 
called  for  by  me,  in  1814,  for  the  late  Dr.  John  P.  Campbell,  of  Chilli- 
cothe,  Ohio,  who  was  preparing  notes  of  the  antiquities  of  the  West, 
by  a  letter  from  Hubbard  Taylor,  jr.  (a  relation  of  mine),  now  living, 
I  was  informed  that  the  breastplate  had  been  taken  to  Virginia  by  a 
gentleman  of  that  State,  I  suppose  as  a  matter  of  curiosity.  Proof 


126  Appendix  A. 

second :  The  late  William  Mclntosh,  who  first  settled  near  this,  and 
had  been  for  fifty  or  sixty  years  prior  to  his  death,  in  1831  or  1832,  a 
western  Indian  trader,  was  in  Fort  Kaskaskia  prior  to  its  being  taken 
by  General  George  Rogers  Clark  in  1778,  and  heard,  as  he  informed 
me  himself,  a  Welshman  and  an  Indian  from  far  up  the  Missouri 
speaking  and  conversing  in  the  Welsh  language.  It  was  stated  by 
Gilbert  Imlay,  in  his  History  of  the  West,  that  it  was  Captain  Abra- 
ham Chaplin,  of  Union  County,  Kentucky,  that  heard  this  conversa- 
tion in  Welsh.  Doctor  Campbell  visited  Chaplin,  and  found  it  was 
not  him;  afterwards  the  fact  was  stated  by  Mclntosh,  from  whom 
I  obtained  other  facts  as  to  western  matters.  Some  hunter,  many 
years  ago,  informed  me  of  a  tombstone  being  found  in  the  southern 
part  of  Indiana,  with  initials  of  a  name  and  1186  engraved  on  it. 
The  Mohawk  Indians  had  a  tradition  among  them  respecting  the 
Welsh,  and  of  their  having  been  cut  off  by  the  Indians  at  the  Falls 
of  the  Ohio.  The  late  Colonel  Joseph  Hamilton  Daviess,  who  had 
for  many  years  sought  for  information  on  this  subject,  mentions  the 
fact  of  the  Welshmen's  bones  being  found  buried  on  Corn  Island;  so 
that  Southey,  the  king's  laureat,  had  some  foundation  for  his  Welsh 
poem. 


APPENDIX  B. 

THE  INTERVIEW  BETWEEN  CAPTAIN  THOMAS  BULLITT  AND  THE 
INDIANS  AT  CHILLICOTHE. 

I  have  used  the  speeches  of  Captain  Bullitt  and  the  Indians, 
as  given  by  Humphrey  Marshall  in  his  History  of  Kentucky, 
because  Marshall  says  that  he  copied  them  from  Bullitt's  journal. 
At  the  same  time  I  was  aware  of  a  fuller  account  of  this  inter- 
view in  the  journal  of  James  McAfee,  which  has  never  been 
published,  but  which  I  have  in  manuscript.  The  speeches  are 
substantially  the  same  in  Marshall's  history  and  in  McAfee's 
journal.  Marshall,  however,  says  that  Girty  delivered  the  Indian's 
speech  interpreted  by  Butler,  while  McAfee  says  the  Indian's 
speech  was  delivered  by  Chief  Cornstalk.  It  seems  to  me  that 
McAfee  is  more  likely  to  be  right,  because  if  Girty  had  delivered 
the  Indian's  speech  he  would  have  needed  no  interpreter  as  stated 
by  Marshall.  He  was  a  white  man  who  well  understood  the 
Indian  language  by  long  residence  among  the  savages.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  Cornstalk  had  delivered  the  speech,  he  would  have 
needed  an  interpreter  as  stated  by  McAfee.  The  McAfee 
account,  moreover,  contains  a  letter  from  Butler,  which  is  an 
interesting  part  of  the  proceedings  omitted  by  Marshall.  I 
therefore  here  give  McAfee's  account  of  the  proceedings  from 
his  journal : 


128  Appendix  B. 

LETTER  OF  RICHARD  BUTLER. 

CHILLICOTHE,  June  10,  1773. 

GENTLEMEN  :  I  have  been  present  as  a  witness  and  interpreter 
between  Captain  Bullitt  and  the  Shawanoes  and  a  part  of  the  Dela- 
wares.  I  believe  (and  not  without  some  surprise  that  I  acquaint  you) 
that  his  progress  in  treating  with  these  people  has  exceeded  the 
expectation  of  most  people,  as  they  claim  an  absolute  right  to  all 
that  country  that  you  are  about  to  settle.  That  it  does  not  lie  in 
the  power  of  those  who  sold  it  to  give  this  land,  and  as  I  am  a  well- 
wisher  to  your  undertaking,  I  can  do  no  less  in  justice  to  Captain 
Bullitt  than  to  acquaint  you  that  it  is  in  my  opinion  that  it  lies  in 
your  power  to  fulfill  every  engagement  he  has  made  in  your  behalf, 
by  endeavoring  to  make  good  order  amongst  you  and  a  friendly  coun- 
tenance to  your  present  neighbors,  the  Shawanoes.  I  do  assure  you 
it  lies  in  your  power  to  have  good  neighbors  or  bad,  as  they  are  a 
people  very  capable  of  discerning  between  good  treatment  and  ill. 
They  expect  you  will  be  friendly  with  them  and  endeavor  to  restrain 
the  hunters  from  destroying  the  game,  and  that  the  young  men  who 
are  inclined  to  hunt  will  be  regulated  by  the  law  of  the  colony  in 
the  case.  And  as  I  dare  say  it  is  not  to  hunt  the  land  but  to  cultivate 
it  that  you  are  about  to  settle  it,  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  to  restrain 
those  that  would  hunt  and  cause  your  infant  settlement  to  be 
disturbed.  Although  I  am  at  present  a  stranger  to  you  all,  I  beg 
leave  to  subscribe  myself  your  well-wisher  and  humble  servant, 

RICHARD  BUTLER. 

To  the  gentlemen  settlers  below  the  mouth  of  Sciota. 

CAPTAIN  BULLITT'S  SPEECH  TO  THE  CHIEFS  OF  THE  SHAWANOE  NATION, 
MADE  IN  THE  COUNCIL  HOUSE  IN  CHILLICOTHE,  JUNE  9, 1773. 

BROTHERS  :  I  am  sent  with  my  people  to  settle  the  country  on 
the  Ohio  River,  as  low  as  the  Falls,  the  King  has  bought  of  the 
Northern  and  Southern  Indians,  and  I  am  desired  to  acquaint  you 


Appendix  B.  129 

and  all  the  people  of  this  great  country  that  the  English  are  and 
intend  to  live  in  friendship  with  you  all,  and  expect  the  same  from 
you  and  them ;  and  as  the  Shawanoes  and  Delawares  are  to  be  our 
nearest  neighbors,  and  did  not  get  any  of  the  pay  given  for  it,  it  is 
proposed  and  agreed  by  the  principals  of  those  who  are  to  be  the 
owners  of  the  land  to  contribute  to  make  your  two  tribes  a  present, 
to  be  given  you  the  next  year  and  the  year  after.  I  am  appointed 
to  live  in  the  country.  I  am  sent  to  settle  it  in  order  to  keep  proper 
regulation,  and,  as  I  expect  some  more  principal  men  out  of  my 
country  in  a  short  time,  there  will  be  something  more  to  say  to  you. 
And  the  Governor  was  to  come  through  this  country  last  year  had 
he  not  been  taken  sick,  so  that  he  may  be  out  this  or  the  next  year, 
as  he  is  desirous  of  seeing  you  and  the  country.  I  will  have  a  belt 
of  wampum  when  we  have  any  thing  more  to  say.  As  the  King  did 
not  buy  the  country  for  any  other  purpose  than  his  people  to  live 
on  and  work  to  supply  his  country,  therefore  we  shall  have  no 
objections  to  your  hunting  or  trapping  on  it.  We  shall  expect  that 
you  will  live  with  us  as  brothers  and  friends.  I  shall  write  what 
you  say  to  my  Governor  and  expect  it  to  be  a  good  talk. 

THE   ANSWER  OF  THE  CHIEF  CORNSTALK. 

OLD  BROTHER,  THE  BIG  KNIFE  :  We  heard  you  would  be  glad 
to  see  your  brothers,  the  Shawanoes  and  Delawares,  and  talk  with 
them.  We  are  a  little  surprised  that  you  sent  no  message  before 
you,  but  came  quite  near  us  and  them  through  the  woods  and  grass, 
a  hard  way,  without  our  knowledge,  till  you  appeared  among  us  quite 
unexpected.  But  you  are  now  standing  among  your  brothers,  who 
think  well  of  you  and  what  you  have  said  to  us.  We  have  considered 
your  talk  carefully,  and  we  are  pleased  to  find  nothing  bad  in  it  or 
no  ill-meaning,  but  what  seems  pleasing,  kind,  and  friendly.  You 
have  mentioned  to  us  your  directions  for  settling  of  people  over  the 
river  on  the  opposite  side  to  us,  and  it  is  not  the  meaning  of  your 

17 


130  Appendix  B. 

King  and  Governor  to  deprive  us  of  the  hunting  of  the  country  as 
usual,  but  that  your  directions  are  to  take  proper  care  that  we  are 
not  disturbed  in  our  hunting  for  what  we  stand  in  need  of  to  buy 
our  clothing,  all  of  which  is  very  agreeable  to  your  young  brothers. 
Your  young  men  we  desire  will  be  strong  in  the  discharge  of  your 
directions  toward  us,  as  we  are  determined  to  be  strong  in  advising 
our  young  men  to  be  friendly,  kind,  and  peaceable  to  you.  This 
spring  we  saw  some  wrong  by  our  young  men  in  disturbing  your 
people  by  taking  their  horses,  but  we  have  advised  them  to  the 
contrary  and  have  cleaned  their  hearts  of  bad  intentions,  and  expect 
it  will  be  hearkened  to  by  them,  as  they  are  pleased  with  what  has 
been  said. 


APPENDIX  C. 

THE  CONNOLLY  PATENT. 

The  following  conveyance  from  Lord  Dunmore  to  Dr.  John 
Connolly,  for  the  land  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  is  copied  from 
an  old  manuscript  which  bears  evidence  of  being  genuine.  It 
will  be  found  to  differ  somewhat  from  the  patent  of  record,  and 
especially  in  the  date  it  bears : 

George  the  Third  by  the  Grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britain,  France, 
and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  etc.  To  all  whom  these 
presents  shall  come,  Greeting :  Whereas,  by  our  royal  proclamation, 
dated  at  Saint  James'  the  seventh  day  of  October,  1763,  in  the  third 
year  of  our  reign,  for  regulating  the  cessions  made  to  us  in  America 
by  the  last  treaty  of  peace,  we  did  command  and  empower  our  gov- 
ernors of  our  several  provinces  in  North  America  to  grant  without 
fee,  as  reward  to  such  reduced  officers  as  had  served  in  North  Amer- 
ica during  the  late  war,  and  to  such  private  soldiers  as  had  been 
or  should  be  disbanded  in  America  and  are  actually  residing  there, 
and  should  personally  apply  for  the  same,  certain  quantities  of  land, 
subject,  at  the  expiration  of  ten  years,  to  the  same  quit-rents  as 
other  lands  are  subject  to;  and  it  being  sufficiently  proven  to  our 
Lieutenant  and  Governor  General  of  our  Colony  and  Dominion  of 
Virginia  that  John  Connolly,  late  a  surgeon's  mate  in  the  General 
Hospital  of  our  forces  in  America,  is  entitled  to  two  thousand  acres 
of  land  under  our  royal  proclamation  aforesaid,  Know  Ye,  therefore, 
for  the  consideration  aforesaid,  we  have  given,  granted,  and  con- 
firmed, and  by  these  presents  for  us,  our  heirs,  and  successors,  do 
give,  grant,  and  confirm  unto  the  said  John  Connolly  one  certain 


132  Appendix  C. 

tract  or  parcel  of  land,  containing  two  thousand  acres,  lying  and 
being  in  the  County  of  Fiucastle,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Ohio 
River,  opposite  to  the  falls  thereof,  and  bounded  as  follows,  to  wit : 
Beginning  at  a  hoop-ash  and  buckeye,  the  lower  corner  of  Major 
Edward  Ward's  land,  on  the  bank  of  the  same  river,  thirty-five  poles 
above  the  mouth  of  Beargrass  Creek ;  thence  down  the  said  river 
south  eighty-three  degrees  west  thirty-five  poles;  thence  north  eighty- 
seven  degrees  west  one  hundred  and  twenty  poles  ;  thence  north  fifty 
degrees  west  one  hundred  and  ten  poles ;  thence  north  one  hundred 
poles ;  thence  north  thirty-three  degrees  west  two  hundred  and  twelve 
poles ;  thence  north  twenty-two  degrees  west  eighty  poles ;  thence 
north  thirty-five,  west  thirty-one  poles ;  thence  north  sixty-three,  west 
thirty-two  poles ;  thence  north  seventy-five  degrees  west  twenty-five 
poles;  thence  south  fifty-six  degrees  west  one  hundred  and  one 
poles ;  thence  south  eighty  degrees  west  one  hundred  and  seven- 
teen poles  to  a  beech  and  buckeye  and  black  oak,  the  upper 
corner  of  Charles  de  Wahrmsdorff's  land;  and  thence  by  his  line 
south  ten,  east  six  hundred  and  ninety-three  poles  to  a  black  oak, 
sugar-tree,  and  buckeye,  the  south  corner  of  said  land;  thence  by 
the  lines  of  Laughlin  McClain,  Thomas  Douglass,  and  Charles  de 
Wahrmsdorff,  south  eighty -eight  degrees  east  seven  hundred  and 
sixty -nine  poles  to  a  black  oak  and  sugar -tree  in  Major  Edward 
Ward's  line ;  then  by  the  same  north  thirty-seven  degrees  west  three 
hundred  and  ninety  poles  to  the  beginning.  With  all  woods,  under- 
woods, swamps,  marshes,  low  grounds,  meadows,  feedings,  and  his  due 
share  of  veins,  mines,  and  quarries,  as  well  discovered  as  not  discov- 
ered, within  the  bounds  aforesaid,  and  being  part  of  the  said  quan- 
tity of  two  thousand  acres  of  land,  and  the  rivers,  waters,  and  water- 
courses therein  contained,  together  with  the  privileges  of  hunting, 
hawking,  fishing,  fowling,  and  all  other  profits,  commodities,  and 
hereditaments  whatever,  the  same  or  any  part  thereof  belonging  or 
in  anywise  appertaining,  to  have,  hold,  possess,  and  enjoy  the  said 
tract  or  parcel  of  land  and  all  the  other  before  granted  premises, 


Appendix  C.  133 

etc.,  every  part  thereof,  with  each  and  every  of  their  appurtenances, 
unto  the  said  John  Connolly  and  his  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  to 
the  only  use  and  behoof  of  the  said  John  Connolly,  his  heirs  and 
assigns  forever,  to  be  held  of  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  as  of  our 
manor  of  East  Greenwich,  in  the  County  of  Kent,  in  free  and 
common  socage,  and  not  in  capite  by  knight's  service,  yielding  and 
paying  unto  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  for  every  fifty  acres  of 
land,  and  so  proportionably  for  a  lesser  or  greater  quantity  than  fifty 
acres,  the  fee  rent  of  one  shilling,  to  be  paid  upon  the  feast  of  St. 
Michael  the  archangel,  next  after  ten  years  from  the  date  of  these 
presents;  and  also  cultivating  and  improving  three  acres'  part  of 
every  fifty  of  the  tract  above  mentioned  within  three  years  after 
the  date  of  these  presents ;  provided  always  that  if  three  years  of 
the  said  fee  rent  from  and  after  the  expiration  of  the  ten  years 
aforesaid  shall  at  any  time  be  in  arrear  and  unpaid,  or  if  the  said 
Connolly,  his  heirs  or  assigns,  do  not  within  the  space  of  three 
years  next  coming  after  the  date  of  these  presents  cultivate  and 
improve  three  acres'  part  of  every  fifty  of  the  tract  above  mentioned, 
then  the  estate  hereby  granted  shall  cease  and  be  entirely  deter- 
mined, and  thereafter .  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  our 
heirs  and  successors  to  grant  the  same  lands  and  premises,  with 
the  appurtenances,  unto  such  other  person  or  persons  as  our  heirs 
and  successors  shall  think  fit. 

In  witness  whereof  we  have  caused  these  our  letters  patent  to 
be  made.  Witness  our  trusty  and  well  beloved  John  Earle  of  Dun- 
more,  our  Lieutenant  and  Governor  General  of  our  said  Colony  and 
Dominion  of  Virginia,  being  under  the  seal  of  our  said  Colony,  the 
tenth  day  of  December,  1773,  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  our  reign. 

DUNMORE. 


APPENDIX  D. 

CAMPBELL  AND  CONNOLLY'S  ADVERTISEMENT. 

The  following  advertisement  for  the  sale  of  lots  in  a  town 
at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  in  1774  is  copied  from  an  old  manu- 
script. It  will  be  found,  however,  in  the  American  Archives, 
fourth  series,  Volume  i,  page  278: 

The  subscribers,  patentees  of  land  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio, 
hereby  inform  the  public  that  they  intend  to  lay  out  a  town  there 
in  the  most  convenient  place.  The  lots  to  be  eighty  feet  front 
and  two  hundred  and  forty  deep.  The  number  of  lots  that  shall 
be  laid  off  at  first  will  depend  on  the  number  of  applications.  The 
purchase  money  of  each  lot  to  be  four  Spanish  dollars,  and  one 
dollar  per  annum  quit  rent  forever.  The  purchasers  to  build, 
within  the  space  of  two  years  from  the  first  day  of  December 
next,  on  each  lot  a  log  house  not  less  than  sixteen  feet  square, 
with  a  stone  or  brick  chimney;  and,  as  in  that  country  it  will  be 
necessary  the  first  settlers  should  build  compactly,  the  improvements 
must  naturally  join  each  other.  It  is  further  proposed  for  the  con- 
venience of  the  settlers  that  an  out-lot  of  ten  acres,  contiguous  to 
the  town,  shall  be  laid  off  for  such  as  desire  the  same  at  an  easy 
rent  on  a  long  lease. 

Attendance  will  be  given  by  the  patentees  at  Pittsburg  till  the 
middle  of  June,  at  which  time  one  of  them  will  set  off  to  execute 
the  plan.  The  advantageous  situation  of  that  place,  formed  by 
nature  as  a  temporary  magazine  or  repository  to  receive  the  pro- 
duce of  the  very  extensive  and  fertile  country  on  the  Ohio  and  its 


Appendix  D.  135 

branches,  as  well  as  the  necessary  merchandise  suitable  for  the 
inhabitants  that  shall  emigrate  into  that  country  (as  boats  of  fifty 
tons  may  be  navigated  from  New  Orleans  up  to  the  town),  is  suffi- 
cient to  recommend  it ;  but  when  it  is  considered  how  liberal,  nay, 
profuse,  nature  has  been  to  it  otherwise  in  stocking  it  so  abun- 
dantly that  the  slightest  industry  may  supply  the  most  numerous 
family  with  the  greatest  plenty  and  amazing  variety  of  fish,  fowl, 
and  flesh;  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  facility  of  cultivation  that 
fit  it  for  producing  commodities  of  great  value  with  little  labour; 
the  wholesomeness  of  the  waters  and  serenity  of  the  air  which 
render  it  healthy ;  and  when  property  may  be  so  easily  acquired  we 
may  with  certainty  affirm  that  it  will  in  a  short  time  be  equalled 
by  few  inland  places  on  the  American  continent. 

JOHN  CAMPBELL, 
WH.LIAMSBURG,  April  7,  1774.  JOHN  CONNOLLY. 

There  is  an  old  map  which  shows  lots  laid  off  on  the  high 
bank  of  the  river  between  Twelfth  and  Eighteenth  streets. 
They  are  different  from  the  lots  on  Main  Street  between  First 
and  Twelfth,  as  laid  down  on  the  Corbly  map  of  1779,  and  it 
has  been  thought  that  these  lots  below  Twelfth  Street  may  be 
the  ones  that  Captain  Bullitt  laid  off  here  in  1773.  If  this  be 
so,  it  is  quite  likely  that  they  are  the  same  lots  that  Connolly 
and  Campbell  advertised  in  1774.  There  is,  however,  no  known 
copy  of  the  map  that  may  have  been  made  of  the  town  by 
Bullitt  in  1773;  neither  is  there  any  known  map  of  the  Con- 
nolly and  Campbell  lots  advertised  in  1774.  Assigning  these 
lots  below  Twelfth  Street  either  to  Bullitt  in  1773,  or  to  Con- 
nolly and  Campbell  in  1774,  has  nothing,  therefore,  to  support 
it  but  conjecture.  Every  lover  of  Louisville  would  like  to 


136  Appendix  D. 

know  of  the  Bullitt  plan  of  the  town  in  1773  as  the  earliest 
starting  point  of  the  city,  but  historians  can  not  afford  to  deal 
in  conjectures.  They  should  confine  themselves  to  facts,  and 
when  this  is  done  the  Bullitt  plan  of  the  town  and  his  map 
made  in  1773  must  be  abandoned. 


APPENDIX  E. 

DIRECTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTY  COURT  FOR  SETTLERS. 

These  directions,  issued  by  the  County  Court  of  Kentucky 
County  in  1779  to  new  settlers  on  the  western  waters,  are  copied 
from  an  old  manuscript : 

At  a  court  continued  and  held  for  the  County  of  Kentucky, 
April  the  7th,  1779, 

Ordered  that  the  Clark  of  the  Court  send  to  the  several  Towns 
and  Garrisons  at  least  one  attested  Copy  of  the  following  Entry : 

The  Court  of  Kentucky  doth  recommend  to  the  inhabitants 
that  they  keep  themselves  as  united  and  compact  as  possible,  one 
other  year  settling  themselves  in  Towns  and  Forts;  and  that  they 
may  for  their  greater  encouragement  procure  therein  a  permanent 
property  to  the  soil  and  improvements,  they  recommend  that  the 
intended  Citizens  choose  three  or  more  of  the  most  judicious  of 
their  body  as  Trustees,  who  shall  be  invested  with  authority  to  lay 
off  such  Town  with  regularity,  to  prescribe  the  terms  of  residence 
and  building  therein,  to  adjudge  adequate  and  just  compensation  to 
any  person  who  may  necessarily  be  aggrieved  thereby,  and,  to  deter- 
mine all  disputes  among  the  Citizens  in  consequence  thereof,  that 
they  return  to  this  Court,  to  be  recorded,  a  fair  plan  of  their  Town 
with  their  proceedings  as  soon  as  may  be. 

And,  whereas,  the  new  adventurers  may  be  tempted  to  run  too 
great  risques  in  making  new  settlements  under  the  resolve  of  the 
assembly  made  the  24th  day  of  January,  1778,  the  Court  doth  recom- 
mend that  they  make  on  their  new  Claims  only  some  moderate 
improvements,  registering  such  place  with  the  Surveyor  of  the 
County  or  in  the  Court  thereof;  they  further  recommend  to  the 

18 


138  Appendix  E. 

new  adventurers  that  they  be  cautious  of  encroaching  upon  the 
right  and  property  of  the  old  Settlers  who  have  in  an  exemplary 
manner  defended  that  property  during  a  bloody  and  inveterate  war. 
The  Claims  of  numbers  who  have  long  ago  deserted  their  Claims, 
and  in  an  unfriendly  manner  left  but  a  few  to  bear  the  burthen  of 
the  war,  will  be  more  than  sufficient  for  all  the  new  adventurers. 
And  we  recommend  to  the  old  settlers  that  they  give  advice  and 
assistance  to  the  new  adventurers  in  exploring  the  Country  and 
discovering  unappropriated  lands. 

A  Copy,  Teste,  LEVI  TODD,  Cl.  Court. 

These  instructions  of  the  County  Court  of  Kentucky  em- 
bodied the  rules  by  which  most  of  the  towns  laid  out  in  Ken- 
tucky had  been  governed.  Nearly  all  of  them  had  been  started 
by  adventurers  who  first  selected  the  sites  of  their  towns,  laid 
them  off  into  lots,  drew  for  the  lots,  and  then,  having  become 
the  owners  of  town  lots,  afterwards  applied  to  the  legislature 
for  acts  of  incorporation.  Such  was  the  origin  of  Boonesborough, 
incorporated  in  1779;  Lexington,  1782;  Harrodsburg  and  Ship- 
pingport,  1785;  Washington,  Frankfort,  and  Stanford,  1786; 
Danville,  Warwick,  Beallsborough,  Charlestown,  and  Maysville, 
1787;  Bardstown,  1788;  Hopewell  and  Milford,  1789;  and  George- 
town, 1790.  The  County  Court  in  its  recommendation  simply 
gave  emphasis  to  rules  which  had  been  adhered  to  in  all  the 
early  stations  and  towns.  Louisville  was  a  town  by  the  act  of 
the  settlers  on  Corn  Island  in  1778,  and  it  was  a  town  by  the 
act  of  the  inhabitants  on  the  main  land  in  1779,  and  it  was 
nothing  more  than  a  town  by  the  act  of  incorporation  of  the 
legislature  in  1780. 


APPENDIX  F. 

NAMES  OF  THOSE  WHO  DREW  LOTS  IN  1779,  AND  THE  NUMBERS 
OF  THE  LOTS  THEY  DREW. 

All  of  those  who  drew  lots  in  Louisville  on  the  24th  of  April, 
1779,  were  not  probably  citizens  of  the  place.  It  was  pretty 
well  understood  at  the  different  stations  that  a  permanent  settle- 
ment was  being  made  at  the  Falls,  and  the  drawing  for  lots  had 
been  sufficiently  advertised  at  Boonesborough,  Harrodsburg,  St. 
Asaphs,  and  other  places  to  bring  some  of  their  citizens  to  the 
drawing. 

All  that  a  person  had  to  do  to  entitle  him  to  the  privilege 
of  drawing  for  a  lot  was  to  manifest  his  intention  of  becoming 
a  citizen  of  the  place.  This  was  easily  enough  done  in  that 
changeful  community  where  everybody  was  seeking  a  home, 
and  but  few,  if  any,  could  feel  that  they  had  one.  It  is  not 
likely  that  there  were  lots  enough  to  be  drawn  on  this  occasion 
to  furnish  every  one  at  the  Falls  with  a  home.  Those,  there- 
fore, who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  draw  and  secure  desirable  lots 
had  no  difficulty  in  disposing  of  them  to  others  who  had  none. 
Hence  very  few  of  the  lots  that  were  drawn  were  conveyed  by 
the  Trustees  to  the  parties  who  drew  them.  In  some  instances 
there  were  half  a  dozen  transfers  between  the  original  drawer 
of  a  lot  and  the  party  who  got  the  deed.  The  Trustees  also 


140  Appendix  F. 

undertook  to  keep  these  transfers,  which  they  required  to  be  in 
writing;  but  many  of  them  were  lost,  and  for  this  reason  it 
is  by  no  means  an  easy  task  to  determine  who  were  the 
original  drawers  of  the  first  one  hundred  and  sixteen  lots  in 
Louisville. 

The  Trustees  have  preserved  a  paper  purporting  to  contain 
the  names  of  those  who  drew  the  first  twenty-eight  lots ;  but 
beyond  the  information  given  by  this  paper  there  is  no  way  of 
arriving  at  the  names  except  by  consulting  Bard's  map  giving 
initials  of  the  owner  on  each  lot,  and  making  a  search  of  the 
records  of  the  Trustees  and  of  the  Jefferson  County  Court. 
It  is  believed,  however,  that  the  following  list  will  give,  as 
accurately  as  it  can  be  done,  the  names  of  those  who  drew  the 
lots  and  the  numbers  of  the  lots  they  drew. 

It  must  be  stated,  however,  that  most  of  the  lots  lying  below 
Twelfth  Street,  in  the  bend  of  the  river,  were  on  the  land  of 
Colonel  John  Campbell,  and  those  who  drew  them  lost  them. 
The  line  between  the  Connolly  and  Campbell  land  was  about 
at  Twelfth  Street,  and  Campbell  was  not  the  man  to  give  up 
any  thing  that  he  could  hold.  There  were  eighty-eight  lots 
above  Twelfth  Street  and  twenty-eight  below. 

Those  who  drew  these  twenty-eight  lots  below  Twelfth 
Street  generally  got  their  pains  for  their  labors,  and  among 
them  was  my  grandfather.  After  going  through  the  Illinois 
campaign  with  General  Clark  he  drew  this  lot  which  he  did 
not  get,  and  that  was  about  the  sum  of  his  gains  for  his 
soldiering.  There  was  quite  a  large  pond  on  the  lot  he  drew, 


Appendix  F. 


141 


and  he  consoled  himself  for  the  loss  of  it  with  the  philo- 
sophical conclusion  that  he  would  not  have  to  raise  frogs  for  a 
living,  as  he  might  have  done  if  he  had  held  this  lot. 


BY  WHOM   DRAWN. 

NUMBERS. 

BY  WHOM   DRAWN. 

NUMBERS. 

OLD. 

NEW. 

OLD. 

NEW. 

Thomas  Bard  .... 

I 

Thomas  Moore,    .    .    . 

28 

8s 

Richard  Wood,     .    .    . 

2 

, 

Isaac  Bowman,     .    .    . 

29 

VO 

84 

Francis  Daniel,    .    .    . 

3 

.      . 

William  Kincheloe,     . 

30 

83 

Michael  Wolf,  .... 

4 

.      . 

Richard  Chenowith,    . 

31 

82 

Arthur  Lindsay,  .    .    . 

5 

.      . 

Wm.  Anderson,    .    .    . 

32 

81 

John  Donne,     .... 

6 

.      . 

Abraham  James,     .    . 

33 

21 

John  Shurrer    .... 

7 

Joseph  Hunter,    .    .    . 

^J. 

22 

Stephen  Archer,  .    .    . 

8 

Jonathan  Boone,  .    .    . 

O*r 

35 

23 

Andrew  Steele,    .    .    . 

9 

•      • 

Thomas  Whiteside,     . 

36 

24 

Matthew  Caldwell,  .    . 

10 

.      . 

Alexander  Cleland,     . 

37 

25 

Isaac  McDonald,     .    . 

ii 

John  Fleming,  .... 

38 

26 

Jacob  Light  

12 

.      . 

William  Helm,     .    .    . 

39 

27 

David  Hunter,     .    .    . 

13 

•      . 

Nicholas  Merriwether, 

40 

28 

James  Beatty,  .... 

X4 

.      . 

George  Wilson,    .    .    . 

4i 

29 

15 

.      . 

George  Hartt  

42 

30 

Adam  Grant,    .... 

16 

•      • 

James  Kenney,    .    .    . 

43 

31 

John  Dickey,    .... 

17 

96 

James  Patton,  .... 

44 

\2. 

Harmon  Consella,  .    . 

/ 

18 

7 

95 

Benjamin  Roberts,  .    . 

^T 

45 

o 

33 

IQ 

94 

™" 

William  Toole,     .    .    . 

46 

^A 

Ash  Emerson  

;/ 
2O 

Q^ 

John  Paul      

T"w 

47 

OT~ 
-1C 

Wm   Bard      

21 

"*? 

92 

Thomas  Hughes,     .    . 

T-/ 

48 

<JJ 

36 

John  Reburn,   .... 

22 

91 

Meredith  Price,    .    .    . 

49 

65 

Hugh  Thomson,  .   .    . 

23 

90 

Marsham  Brashears,  . 

50 

66 

Robert  Thomson,    .    . 

24 

89 

Squire  Boone,  .... 

5i 

67 

James  Bard   

25 

88 

Val.  T.  Dalton,     .    .    . 

52 

68 

Joseph  Archer,    .    .    . 

26 

87 

Margaret  Pendergrast, 

53 

69 

John  Newell,    .    .    . 

27 

86 

George  Holman,  . 

U 

70 

142 


Appendix  F. 


BY   WHOM    DRAWN. 

Simeon  Moore,  .  .  . 
Peter  Hildebrand,  .  . 

John  Tewell 

Joseph  Roberts,  .    .    . 

Josiah  Phelps 

Thomas  Bull,  .  .  .  . 
George  Payne, .  .  .  . 
John  Conaway,  .  .  . 
Zebulon  Headington,, 
Samuel  McMullen, 
John  Townsend,  .  .  . 
John  Crawford,  .  .  . 
William  Swan,  .  .  , 
Samuel  Harrod,  .  .  . 
Antoine  Ganier,  .  .  . 
Waller  Overton,  .  .  . 
John  McManness,  .  . 
Alexander  Callender, 

John  Helm 

George  Owens,    .    .    . 

Jacob  Pyatt, 

William  Harrod, .  .  . 
William  Faith,  .  .  . 

Moses  Morris 

Charles  Curd,   .    .    .    . 

Benj.  Pope 

John  Eaton 

John  Hawkins,  .  .  . 
William  Heth,  .  .  . 
Samuel  Strode,  .  .  . 
John  Baker, 


NUMBERS. 

OLD.     NEW. 


NUMBERS. 

OLD.   NEW. 


72 
73 
74 
75 
76 
77 
78 
79 
80 

37 
38 
39 
40 


55 
56 
57 
58 

59 
60 
61 

62 

63 
64 

65 
66 
67 
68 

69  41 

70  42 

71  43 

72  44 

73  57 

74  58 

75  59 

76  60 

77  61 

78  62 

79  63 

80  64 

81  45 

82  46 

83  47 

84  48 


54 
55 
56 
49 


BY  WHOM  DRAWN. 

Edward  Bulger,  ...  86 
John  Crittenden, ...  87 
Fred  Honaker,  ...  88 
Jacob  Myers,  ....  89 
William  Linn,  ....  90  50 

James  Harris 91 

Henry  French,     ...    92 
Thomas  Christy,  ...    93 
James  Withers,  jr.,      .94 
John  Sanders,  ....    95 
Edward  Worthington,    96      .    . 
Isaac  Kimbley,     ...    97 
Archibald  Lockhart,  .98 
William  Marshall,   .    .    99 
Jacob  Reager,  ....  100      .    . 
Adam  Wickersham,    .  101      .   . 

George  Clews 102      .    . 

William  McBride,  .  .  103  .  . 
Andrew  Scott, ....  104  .  . 
Neal  Dougherty, .  .  .  105  .  . 
George  Dickens, .  .  .  106  .  . 

William  Rice 107      .    . 

Bland  Ballard 108 

Francis  Durrett,  .  .  .  109  .  . 
Michael  Humble,  .  .  no 

Joseph  Cyrus in 

Robert  Travis, .  ...  112 
Jacob  Wickersham,  .113 
Samuel  Perkins,  ...  114 
James  Graham,  ...  115 
John  Sinclair,  .  .  .  .  116 


Appendix  F. 


ALPHABETICAL  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  NAMES  OF  THOSE  WHO  DREW 

THE  FOREGOING  LOTS  WITH  THE  NUMBERS  OF 

THE  LOTS  DRAWN. 


BY  WHOM   DRAWN. 

NUMBERS. 

BY   WHOM    DRAWN. 

NUMBERS. 

OLD.     " 

NEW. 

OLD.     " 

JNKW. 

Anderson,  Wm.,  .    .    . 

32 

81 

Cyrus,  Joseph  

III 

.       • 

Archer,  Joseph,    .    .    . 

26 

87 

Dalton,  Val.  T.,    .    .    . 

52 

68 

Archer,  Stephen,  .    .    . 

8 

•    • 

Daniel,  Francis,   .    .    . 

3 

•    • 

Baker,  John,     .... 

85 

53 

Dickens,  George,  .    .    . 

1  06 

Ballard,  Bland,  .... 

108 

Dickey,  John,   .... 

17 

96 

Bard  David,  

IS 

Donne,  John,    .... 

/ 
6 

:s 

Bard  James      .... 

<J 

2^ 

88 

Dougherty,  Neal,     .    . 

1015 

Bard,  Thomas,  .... 

*O 

I 

Durrett,  Francis,     .    . 

±wo 
109 

.       . 

Bard  Wm      

21 

Q2 

Eaton,  John,     .... 

81 

A^ 

Beatty,  James  

14 

ym 

Emerson,  Ash,     .    .    . 

20 

TO 

93 

Bowman,  Isaac,    .    .    . 

29 

84 

Ervin,  Joseph  

19 

94 

Boone,  Jonathan,     .    . 

35 

23 

Faith,  William,    .    .    . 

77 

61 

Boone,  Squire,  .... 

5i 

67 

Fleming,  John,     .    .    . 

38 

26 

Brashears,  Marsham,  . 

50 

66 

French,  Henry,    .    .    . 

92 

Bull,  Thomas,  .    .    .    . 

60 

76 

Ganier,  Antoine,  .    .    . 

69 

4i 

Bulger,  Edward,  .    .    . 

86 

54 

Graham,  James,   .    .    . 

U5 

Caldwell,  Matthew,  .    . 

10 

.    . 

Grant,  Adam  

16 

.    . 

Callender,  Alexander, 

72 

44 

Harrod,  Samuel,  .    .    . 

68 

40 

Chenowith,  Richard,  . 

3i 

82 

Harrod,  William,     .    . 

76 

60 

Christy,  Thomas,     .    . 

93 

Harris,  James  

9i 

.    . 

Cleland,  Alexander,    . 

37 

25 

Hartt,  George,  .   .    .    . 

42 

30 

Clews,  George,     .    .    . 

1  02 

Hawkins,  John,    .    .    . 

82 

46 

Conaway,  John,    .    .    . 

62 

78 

Headington,  Zebulon, 

63 

79 

Consella,  Harmon,  .    . 

18 

Q^ 

Helm,  John       .    .    .    . 

77 

C7 

Crawford,  John,  .    .    . 

66 

y  J 

38 

Helm,  William,    .    .    . 

/  o 

39 

O/ 

27 

Crittenden,  John,     .    . 

8? 

55 

Heth,  William,     .    .    . 

83 

47 

Curd,  Charles,  .    .    .    . 

79 

63 

Hildebrand,  Peter,  .    . 

56 

72 

Appendix  F. 


BVWHOMORAWK. 


BVWHOMDRAWN. 


Holman,  George,     .    . 

54 

70 

Perkins,  Samuel,  .    .    . 

114 

•     • 

Honaker,  Fred,    .    .    . 

88 

56 

Phelps,  Josiah  

59 

75 

Hughes  Thomas,    • 

4.8 

16 

Pope    Benj     

80 

64 

<r*J 

o^ 

^T 

Humble,  Michael,    .    . 

no 

Price,  Meredith,  .    .    . 

49 

65 

Hunter,  David,     .    .    . 

13 

.    . 

Pyatt,  Jacob  

75 

59 

Hunter,  Joseph,   .    .    . 

34 

22 

Reburn,  John,  .    .    .    . 

22 

9i 

James,  Abraham,     .    . 

33 

21 

Reager,  Jacob,  .... 

100 

.    . 

Kincheloe,  William,    . 

30 

83 

Rice,  William,  .    .    .    . 

107 

•    • 

Kenney,  James,   .    .    . 

43 

31 

Roberts,  Benjamin,     . 

45 

33 

Kimbley,  Isaac,   .    .    . 

97 

Roberts,  Joseph,  .    .    . 

58 

74 

Light,  Jacob  

12 

•     • 

Scott,  Andrew,     .    .    . 

104 

•    • 

Lindsay,  Arthur,  .    .    . 

5 

Sanders,  John,  .... 

95 

.    . 

Linn,  William,  .... 

90 

50 

Shurrer,  John  

7 

Lockhart,  Archibald,  . 

98 

•     • 

Sinclair,  John  

116 

.    . 

Marshall,  William,  .    . 

99 

Steele,  Andrew,    .    .    . 

9 

McBride,  William,  .    . 

103 

•     • 

Strode,  Samuel,    .    .    . 

84 

48 

McDonald,  Isaac,     .    . 

ii 

Swan,  William,    .    .    . 

67 

39 

McManness,  John,  .    . 

7i 

43 

Thomson,  Hugh,  .    .    . 

23 

90 

McMullen,  Samuel, 

64 

80 

Thomson,  Robert,    .    . 

24 

89 

Merriwether,  Nicholas, 

40 

28 

Townsend,  John,  .    .    . 

65 

37 

Moore,  Simeon,    .    .    . 

55 

7i 

Travis,  Robert,     .    .    . 

112 

.    . 

Moore,  Thomas,  .    .    . 

28 

85 

Tewell,  John,    .    .    .    . 

57 

73 

Morris,  Moses,  .... 

78 

62 

Toole,  William,    .    .    . 

46 

34 

Myers,  Jacob,  .... 

89 

Whiteside,  Thomas,    . 

36 

24 

Newell,  John,   .... 

27 

86 

Wickersham,  Adam,  . 

IOI 

Overton,  Waller,  .    .    . 

/ 

70 

42 

Wickersham,  Jacob,   . 

113 

.       . 

Owens,  George,    .    .    . 

74 

58 

Wilson,  George,  .    .    . 

4i 

29 

Patton,  James,  .... 

44 

32 

Withers,  James,  jr., 

94 

.    . 

Paul,  John,    

4.7 

^ 

Wolf,  Michael  

A 

Payne,  George,    .    .   . 

T1/ 

61 

oo 

77 

Wood,  Richard,    .    .    . 

T- 

2 

.       t 

Pendergrast,  Margaret, 

53 

69 

Worthington,  Edward, 

96 

, 

APPENDIX  G. 

FORT  NELSON  AT  THE  FALLS  OF  THE  OHIO. 

Fort  Nelson,  so  named  in  honor  of  Governor  Nelson  of 
Virginia,  was  the  strongest  fortification  built  by  the  pioneers  in 
the  western  country.  It  was  only  surpassed  in  strength  by  Fort 
Chartres,  built  by  the  French  on  the  Mississippi.  It  covered  an 
acre  of  ground  on  the  bank  of  the  Ohio  at  the  foot  of  Seventh 
Street,  and  was  supplied  with  cannon  as  well  as  small  arms. 
It  was  built  by  the  soldiers  stationed  at  the  Falls,  who  were 
assisted  by  the  citizens  of  L/ouisville  and  its  vicinity.  It  was 
surrounded  by  a  ditch  ten  feet  wide  and  eight  feet  deep,  in  the 
middle  of  which  was  a  row  of  sharp  pickets.  The  dirt  dug  from 
the  ditch  was  thrown  into  log  pens,  which  formed  the  outer 
wall  of  the  fort.  In  this  outer  wall  was  a  row  of  pickets  ten 
feet  high.  In  1850  one  of  the  pickets  of  this  old  fort  was  dug 
up  and  made  into  canes,  as  souvenirs  of  the  place.  The  fort 
was  used  until  Fort  Finney  was  established  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river,  where  Jeffersonville  now  stands.  In  1785  Nicholas 
Meriwether  wrote  to  the  Trustees  of  Louisville  that  the  fort  was 
no  longer  used,  and  that  he  wanted  to  be  put  in  possession  of 
the  lot  on  which  it  stood,  as  it  was  his  property. 

This  fort  was  never  attacked  by  the  enemy,  but  it  was  the 
intention  of  the  British  and  Indians  to  assault  it  in  1780.  The 
attack  was  abandoned  on  account  of  the  supposed  strength  of 
the  place,  and  Ruddles'  and  Martins'  suffered  in  its  place. 

19 


146  Appendix  G. 

The  little  square  fort  at  the  mouth  of  Beargrass  Creek,  which 
was  built  by  Colonel  John  Floyd  in  1779,  could  not  have  resisted 
cannon  for  a  moment.  Neither  could  the  fort  at  the  foot  of 
Twelfth  Street  have  stood  against  cannon.  Fort  Nelson,  how- 
ever, was  supposed  to  be  cannon  -  proof.  The  wall  formed  by 
pens  filled  with  dirt  dug  from  the  ditch  could  not  have  been 
penetrated  by  any  cannon-balls  in  use  in  the  West  at  that  time. 
It  was  never  put  to  the  test  of  cannon,  and  probably  for  the 
reason  that  it  was  deemed  impregnable. 

In  this  fort  General  Clark  had  his  headquarters  after  he  left 
the  fort  at  the  foot  of  Twelfth  Street.  The  courts  of  Jefferson 
County  were  also  held  here  until  a  court-house  was  built.  It 
was  also  a  receptacle  for  criminals  until  a  jail  was  built.  There 
was  plenty  of  room  in  the  fort  for  the  garrison  and  for  the  other 
uses  to  which  it  was  appropriated. 

The  following  inventory  of  its  armament,  copied  from  an  old 
manuscript  of  1783,  shows  that  it  was  pretty  well  supplied  with 
cannon  and  small  arms  and  ammunition  for  a  frontier  fort  among 
the  Indians  at  that  early  day. 


INVENTORY  OF  ORDNANCE  AND  MILITARY  STORES  AT  FORT  NELSON,  TAKEN 

THE  FIRST  OF  OCTOBER,  1783,  BY  CAPTAIN  ROBERT  GEORGE 

AND  LIEUTENANT  RICHARD  CLARK,  PER  ORDER 

OF  MAJOR  GEORGE  WALLS. 

1  Brass  Six  Pounder.  i  Budge  Bag. 

2  Ditto  Three  Pounders.  i  Budge  Barrel. 

i  Iron  Two  Pounder.  3  Covered  Magazines. 

8  Ditto  Swivels.  2  Carrying  Ammunition  Boxes. 


Appendix  G. 


80  Rounds  Six  Ib.  Case   Cart- 
ridges. 

3  Ditto  Ditto  (Damaged). 
239  Ditto  Six  Ib.  Ball  Cartridges. 

26  Ditto  Six  Ib.  Case,  without 

Powder. 

60  Six  Ib.  Balls  with  Formers. 
400  Six  pound  Balls. 

27  Rounds  Three  Ib.  Case  Cart- 

ridges. 

ii  Ditto  Ditto  (Damaged). 
104  Ditto  Three  Ib.  Grape  Cart- 
ridges. 

124  Ditto  Three  Ib.  Ball  Ditto. 
96  Ib.  Grape  Shot. 
34  Three  Ib.  Balls. 
39  Royal    Case    for    5}4    Inch 

Howitz. 

132  Shells  for  Ditto. 
13  Hand  Grenades. 
25  Two  Ib.  Cartridges  without 

Ball. 

386  Swivel  Cartridges. 
6  Quire  Ditto  Ditto. 
y/3  Ditto  Ditto  (Damaged). 
550  Sheets  Cannon  Ditto. 
41  Ditto  Ditto  (Damaged). 

22  Do.  Meal  Powder, 
i  Elevating  Screw. 

Yz  Ditto  Ditto  (Damaged), 
i  Box  Damaged  Tubes. 
30  Lbs.  Slow  Match. 

23  Ditto  Do   (Damaged). 


4  Pair  Drag  Ropes  (Damaged). 
3  Sets  Men's  Harness. 

150  Muskets. 
124  Ditto  (out  of  repair). 
123  Bayonets  with  Scabbards. 
1556  Gun  Flints. 

74  Bayonets  without  Scabbards. 
385  Bayonet  Belts. 

21   Ditto  Ditto  (Damaged). 

20  Sword  Belts. 
313  Cartouch  Boxes. 

43  Rifle  Guns  (out  of  repair). 

17  Rifle  Barrels. 

12  Light  Horse  Swords. 

5  Ditto  Ditto  (Damaged). 

13  Pair  Pistol  Holsters. 
5  Ditto  Pistols. 

5  Pistols  (out  of  repair). 
57  Small  Hangers. 

14  Granadiers'  Swords. 

i  Ditto  Ditto  (Damaged), 
i  Stand  of  Old  Colours. 

3  Reams    Musket     Cartridges 

Paper. 

95 1/3  Dozen  Musquet  Cartridges. 
3171  Lbs.  Gun  Powder. 
33  Empty    Cannon     Cartridge 

Cases. 

io}4  Dozen  Sticks  Port  Fire. 
25  Melting  Ladles. 
14  Badges  for  Grenade  Pouches. 

4  Cart  Saddles. 
17  Pair  of  Haims. 


148 


Appendix  G. 


i  Ladle  for  Six  Pounder.  15 

1  Charger  for  Ditto.  <$% 

2  Screws  or  Worms  for  Three  1 2 

Pounders.  5 

2  Spunges   for  Ditto   (out  of  2 

repair).  i 

3  Worms  for  Swivels.  i 
i  Ditto  for  Two  Pounders. 

i  Swivel  Ladle.  2 

3  Ditto  Ditto  (out  of  repair).  2 

4  Spunges  for  Swivels  (out  of  2 

repair).  2 

7  Lin  Stocks.  7^ 

6  Port  Fire  Stocks.  134 


Horse  Collars. 

Pair  of  Chains. 

Back  Bands. 

Belly  Bands. 

Cruppers. 

Copper  Hammer  and  Driver. 

Pair  Copper  Scales  and  Set 

of  Weights. 
Pair  Bullet  Moulds. 
Ditto  N. 

Gunners'  Belts,  8  Pickers. 
Priming  Horns. 
Lbs.  Twine. 
Lbs.  Lead. 


The  foregoing  is  true  Inventory  of  the  Ordnance  and  Military 
Stores  at  Fort  Nelson  the  date  above  mentioned — which,  being  com- 
pared with  a  former  Inventory  taken  by  Captain  George  and  Lieu- 
tenant William  Clark,  the  3d  of  May  last,  and  Mr.  Miles'  Book  of 
Issues  and  receivals  since  that  time,  There  appears  to  be  a  defi- 
ciency of  four  hundred  and  twelve  pounds  of  Gun  Powder,  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  pounds  of  Lead,  twenty-one  dozen  of  Musket 
Cartridges,  twelve  dozen  and  eight  Ditto  damaged,  and  thirty-three 
Gun  Flints  not  accounted  for  by  Mr.  Miles. 

ROBT.  GEORGE,  Capt. 

R.  CLARK,  Lt. 


APPENDIX  H. 

PETITION  FOR  ESTABLISHING  THE  TOWN  OF  LOUISVILLE. 

The  following  petition  of  those  who  contemplated  becoming 
citizens  of  the  town  of  L/ouisville,  to  be  established  at  the  Falls 
of  the  Ohio,  is  copied  from  an  old  manuscript.  It  bears  thirty- 
nine  signatures,  and  among  them  will  be  found  the  names  of 
some  of  those  pioneers  who  were  the  founders  of  families  here 
and  whose  descendants  yet  dwell  among  us.  We  do  not  find 
as  signers  of  this  petition  a  number  of  persons  known  to  have 
been  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  at  its  date.  Why  these  residents 
should  have  failed  to  sign  the  petition  it  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand. Some  of  them  are  known  to  have  been  with  General 
Clark  in  the  Illinois  campaign,  and  others  may  have  been  for 
one  reason  or  another  at  different  stations  in  the  country. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  cause,  it  is  clear  that  only  a 
part  of  the  then  residents  at  the  Falls  signed  the  petition  for 
the  establishing  there  of  the  new  town  to  be  called  Louisville. 

To  the  Horible,  the  Speaker,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Delegates  : 
The  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  County  of  Kentucky,  liv- 
ing at  the  Falls  of  the  River  Ohio,  humbly  sheweth: 

That  your  petitioners  have,  at  great  risque  and  expense,  re- 
moved to  this  remote  part  of  the  State,  and  from  the  advantageous 
situation  of  the  place,  both  for  trade  and  safety,  were  induced  to 
settle  here,  and  having  laid  out  a  town  under  directions  of  persons 


Appendix  H. 

appointed  for  that  purpose  by  the  Court  of  Kentucky  (a  plan  of 
which  we  have  sent  to  be  laid  before  you),  and  when  laid  out  we 
cast  lots  for  the  choice  of  the  lots  in  the  said  town,  have  improved 
and  settled  on  some  of  the  lots,  and  some  have  sold  their  houses 
and  lots  to  persons  who  have  come  here  since  the  town  was  laid 
out,  who  are  still  adding  to  our  improvements ;  but  the  uncertainty 
of  the  title  thereto  prevents  some  from  settling  here  that  are  in- 
clined, thereby  making  less  secure  from  any  attack  of  the  Indians, 
for  we  are  informed  that  the  land  we  have  laid  out  for  a  town 
above  the  mouth  of  a  gut  that  makes  into  the  river  opposite  the 

Falls  was  surveyed  and  patented  for  Connolly,  who  we  have 

understood  has  taken  part  with  the  enemies  of  America,  and  agree- 
able to  a  late  act  of  Assembly  the  land  we  expect  will  be  escheated 
and  sold. 

We  are  well  assured  that  a  town  established  at  this  place  will 
be  of  great  advantage  to  the  inhabitants  of  Kentucky,  and  think 
the  plan  on  which  the  town  is  laid  out  will  conduce  towards  its 
being  a  populous  town  and  of  great  advantage  to  us,  as  many  of 
us  have  built  houses  according  thereto,  and  will  render  us  secure 
from  any  hostile  intention  of  the  Indians,  and  will  induce  merchants 
to  bring  articles  of  commerce  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  western 
part  of  the  State  stand  much  in  need  of:  Therefore,  pray  that  an 
act  may  be  passed  to  establish  a  town  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio 
River,  agreeably  to  the  plan  sent,  and  that  the  present  settlers  and 
holders  of  the  lots  in  the  said  town  may  have  them  confirmed  to 
them  on  paying  a  composition  that  may  be  thought  reasonable 
to  any  one  having  a  right  thereto  (if  thought  requisite)  or  to  the 
Commonwealth ;  and  not  let  us  be  turned  out  of  houses  we  have 
built,  and  from  lots  we  have  improved  and  are  about  to  build  on, 
and  thereby  lose  the  labor  we  have  performed  at  the  risque  of  our 
lives. 

All  these  several  matters  we,  your  petitioners,  beg  leave  to  lay 
before  your  Honorable  House,  and  hope  you  will  comply  with  our 


Appendix  H. 


request  in  adopting  the  prayer  of  our  petition,  or  some  other  method 
that  you  in  your  wisdom   may  think  proper,  that  will  conduce  to 
the  interest  and  security  of  this  exposed  part  of  the  State,  and  we, 
as  in  duty  bound,  shall  ever  pray. 
May  ist,  1780. 


JOHN  HAWKINS,  JR., 
NICHOLAS  MERIWETHER, 
WILLIAM  POPE, 
JOHN  HELM, 
BENJ'N.  ROBERTS,  JR., 
WILLIAM  TOOLE, 
EDWARD  BULGER, 
THOMAS  CHRISTY, 
JAMES  HARRIS, 
WILLIAM  HELM, 
MARSHAM  BRASHEARS, 
GEO.  HARTT, 
JOSIAH  PHELPS, 
JAS.  PATTON, 
JOHN  TOWNSEND, 
THOMAS  HUGHES, 
ABRAHAM  JAMES, 
HEN.  FRENCH, 
JOHN  TEWELL, 
SAMUEL  HARROD, 


Jos.  ARCHER, 
WILLIAM  L,INN, 
JOHN  CRITTENDEN, 
WILLIAM  KINCHELOE, 
JOHN  FLEMING, 
JAMES  WITHERS,  JR., 
CHARLES  CURD, 
SQUIRE  BOONE, 
JONATHAN  BOONE, 
JOHN  CONAWAY, 
GEO.  PAYNE, 
WALLER  OVERTON, 
MER'TH  PRICE, 
JOSEPH  ROBERTS, 
WM.  MARSHALL, 
WM.  MCBRIDE, 
ALEXANDER  CLELAND, 
THOMAS  WHITESIDE, 
JAMES  KENNEY. 


APPENDIX  I. 

AN  ACT  FOR  ESTABLISHING  THE  TOWN  OF  LOUISVILLE  AT  THE 
FALLS  OF  OHIO,  MAY  i,  1780. 

Whereas  sundry  inhabitants  of  the  County  of  Kentucky  have,  at 
great  expense  and  hazard,  settled  themselves  upon  certain  lands 
at  the  Falls  of  Ohio,  said  to  be  the  property  of  John  Connolly,  and 
have  laid  off  a  considerable  part  thereof  into  half-acre  lots  for  a 
town,  and  having  settled  thereon,  have  preferred  petitions  to  this 
general  assembly  to  establish  the  said  town,  Be  it  therefore  enacted, 
That  one  thousand  acres  of  land,  being  the  forfeited  property  of  the 
said  John  Connolly,  adjoining  to  the  lands  of  John  Campbell  and 

Taylor,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  vested  in  John  Todd,  Jun., 

Stephen  Trigg,  George  Slaughter,  John  Floyd,  William  Pope,  George 
Meriwether,  Andrew  Hines,  James  Sullivan,  and  Marsham  Brashiers, 
Gentlemen,  trustees,  to  be  by  them,  or  any  four  of  them,  laid  off  into 
lots  of  an  half  acre  each,  with  convenient  streets  and  publick  lots, 
which  shall  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  established  a  town  by  the 
name  of  Louisville.  And  be  it  farther  enacted,  That  after  the  said 
lands  shall  be  laid  off  into  lots  and  streets,  the  said  trustees,  or  any 
four  of  them,  shall  proceed  to  sell  the  said  lots,  or  so  many  as  they 
shall  judge  expedient,  at  publick  auction,  for  the  best  price  that  can 
be  had,  the  time  and  place  of  sale  being  previously  advertised  two 
months,  at  the  court-houses  of  the  adjacent  counties,  the  purchasers 
respectively  to  hold  their  said  lots  subject  to  the  condition  of  build- 
ing on  each  a  dwelling-house,  sixteen  feet  by  twenty  at  least,  with 
a  brick  or  stone  chimney,  to  be  finished  within  two  years  from  the 
day  of  sale.  And  the  said  trustees,  or  any  four  of  them,  shall  and 


Appendix  I.  153 

they  are  hereby  empowered  to  convey  the  said  lots  to  the  pur- 
chasers thereof  in  fee-simple,  subject  to  the  condition  aforesaid,  on 
payment  of  the  money  arising  from  such  sale  to  the  said  trustees 
for  the  uses  hereafter  mentioned,  that  is  to  say:  If  the  money 
arising  from  such  sale  shall  amount  to  thirty  dollars  per  acre, 
the  whole  shall  be  paid  by  the  said  trustees  into  the  treasury  of 
this  commonwealth,  and  the  overplus,  if  any,  shall  be  lodged  with 
the  court  of  the  county  of  Jefferson,  to  enable  them  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  erecting  the  publick  buildings  of  the  said  county. 
Provided,  That  the  owners  of  lots  already  drawn  shall  be  entitled 
to  the  preference  therein  upon  paying  to  the  said  trustees  the  sum 
of  thirty  dollars  for  such  half-acre  lot,  and  shall  be  thereafter 
subject  to  the  same  obligations  of  settling  as  other  lot-holders 
within  the  said  town. 

And  be  it  farther  enacted,  That  the  said  trustees,  or  the  major 
part  of  them,  shall  have  power  from  time  to  time  to  settle  and  deter- 
mine all  disputes  concerning  the  bounds  of  the  said  lots,  and  to 
settle  such  rules  and  orders  for  the  regular  building  thereon  as  to 
them  shall  seem  best  and  most  convenient.  And  in  case  of  death 
or  removal  from  the  county  of  any  of  the  said  trustees,  the  remain- 
ing trustees  shall  supply  such  vacancies  by  electing  of  others,  from 
time  to  time,  who  shall  be  vested  with  the  same  powers  as  those 
already  mentioned.  And  be  it  farther  enacted,  That  the  purchasers 
of  the  lots  in  the  said  town,  so  soon  as  they  shall  have  saved  the 
same  according  to  their  respective  deeds  of  conveyance,  shall  have 
and  enjoy  all  the  rights,  privileges,  and  immunities  which  the  free- 
holders and  inhabitants  of  other  towns  in  this  State  not  incorpo- 
rated by  charter  have,  hold,  and  enjoy.  And  be  it  farther  enacted, 
That,  if  the  purchaser  of  any  lot  shall  fail  to  build  thereon  within 
the  time  before  limited,  the  said  trustees,  or  a  major  part  of  them, 
may  thereupon  enter  into  such  lot,  and  may  either  sell  the  same 
again,  and  apply  the  money  towards  repairing  the  streets,  or  in  any 
other  way  for  the  benefit  of  the  said  town,  or  appropriate  such  lot 


154  Appendix  I. 

to  publick  uses  for  the  benefit  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  town. 
Provided,  That  nothing  herein  contained  shall  extend  to  or  affect 
or  injure  the  title  of  lands  claimed  by  John  Campbell,  Gentleman, 
or  those  persons  whose  lots  have  been  laid  off  on  his  lands,  but  that 
their  titles  be  and  remain  suspended  until  the  said  John  Campbell 
shall  be  relieved  from  his  captivity. 


APPENDIX  J. 

COMBINATION  OF  EARLY  LOUISVILLE  DOCTORS. 

In  1819  the  doctors  of  L/ouisville,  thinking  that  the  pay 
they  got  for  the  medicines  with  which  they  fed  their  patients 
was  not  fairly  proportioned  to  the  prices  they  had  to  pay  for 
what  they  bought  to  eat,  formed  an  association  for  mutual  pro- 
tection. It  does  not  appear  which  of  the  learned  doctors  wrote 
the  agreement  they  all  signed  and  published;  but  it  is  plain 
from  its  wording  that  there  was  at  least  one  doctor  in  Louis- 
ville in  1819  who  had  read  the  works  of  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson, 
and  admired  his  style  sufficiently  to  try  to  imitate  it.  The  card 
proceeds  on  stilts  over  a  rich  mosaic  of  high-sounding  words 
which  no  one  but  Dr.  Johnson  or  his  imitator  at  the  Falls  of 
the  Ohio  would  be  likely  to  have  used  on  such  an  occasion. 

The  following  is  a  copy,  from  an  old  manuscript,  of  the  card 
they  published  in  the  Public  Advertiser  of  February  24,  1819: 

To  THE  PUBLIC. 

The  subscribers,  resident  Physicians  in  Louisville,  have  formed 
themselves  into  an  association  for  the  advancement  of  professional 
science — and  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  their  fees,  so  as  to  grad- 
uate the  scale  of  honorable  remuneration  proportionally  to  the  ad- 
vance which  has  taken  place  in  every  item  of  human  subsistence. 

They  solemnly  disclaim  the  imputation  of  any  avaricious  mo- 
tive in  this  appeal  to  the  justice  of  a  high -minded  and  equitable 


156 


Appendix  J. 


community.  They  merely  claim  a  participation  in  the  general  privi- 
lege enjoyed  by  every  class  of  men  who,  if  employed  by  a  Physician 
in  their  various  occupations,  hold  a  mirror  to  his  Eye,  wherein  he 
sees  reflected  the  inequality  of  his  ground  with  regard  to  the  fruits 
of  his  own  laborious  avocations.  While  thus  reluctantly  announc- 
ing an  advance  of  fees,  created  by  the  circumstantial  necessity  of 
the  times,  they  unequivocally  pledge  themselves  as  a  body  to  be 
equally  prompt  in  retrograding  to  the  ancient  standard  so  soon  as 
there  shall  gleam  a  vista  of  hope  that  circumstances  may  return  to 
their  ordinary  level.  Perhaps  no  portion  of  the  western  world  so 
urgently  requires  the  medical  man  to  go  forth  on  his  walk  of  duty, 
fully  accoutered  in  the  Panoply  of  Charity — the  handmaid  of  the 
science — as  this  town,  the  depot  of  many  a  sick  and  indigent  mem- 
ber of  the  national  family  from  different  parts  of  the  Union.  If 
the  circumstances  of  the  Physician  then  are  not  honorably  easy,  it 
is  in  vain  for  him  to  profess,  for  he  can  not  practice  that  celestial 
virtue. 

They  therefore  trust  that  the  foregoing  exhibit  will  be  met  in 
the  spirit  which  dictated  it,  and  that  a  liberal  Public  will  not 
ungenerously  repine  at  an  alteration  so  evidently  founded  on  an 

imperious  necessity. 

W.  C.  GALT, 

W.  H.  HUGHES, 
H.  OLDHAM, 
THOMAS  BOOTH, 
N.  RAGLAND, 
G.  W.  SMITH, 
W.  M.  TAYLOR, 
RICH.  FERGUSON, 


JOHN  ROBERTSON, 
DANL.  WILSON, 
WM.  H.  ALLEN, 

W.    E.   N.    BURRELL, 
J.   MOSER, 

J.  C.  JOHNSTON, 
J.  L,.  MURRAY. 


APPENDIX  K. 

SAMUEL  VAIL. 

Samuel  Vail,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  first  newspaper 
published  in  Louisville,  was  born  in  Pomfret,  in  the  State  of 
Vermont,  June  i,  1778.  When  he  reached  the  age  of  manhood 
he  was  furnished  with  an  outfit  by  his  father,  who  charged  the 
articles  on  his  books  as  follows:  i  Hors,  ^"24;  i  Sadil,  ^*i  IDS; 
i  Bridal,  IDS.  On  this  horse  young  Vail  rode  to  Windsor,  where 
he  learned  the  printer's  trade  in  the  office  of  the  Vermont  Jour- 
nal. He  next  went  to  Fair  Haven,  where  he  made  the  acquain- 
tance of  the  Hon.  Matthew  Lyon.  Here  Lyon  was  the  editor 
and  proprietor  of  a  newspaper  called  "The  Scourge  of  Aristoc- 
racy and  Repository  of  Political  Truth."  He  made  from  bass- 
wood  the  paper  on  which  it  was  printed,  and  had  himself  cast 
the  type.  Vail  made  a  contract  with  Lyon  by  which  he  got 
the  use  of  Lyon's  types  and  printing  press  to  start  a  paper  at 
the  Falls  of  the  Ohio.  In  1801,  having  transported  his  press 
and  types  to  the  Falls,  and  bought  his  printing  paper  at  George- 
town, Ky.,  and  got  his  type  set  up  in  Louisville,  on  the  i8th  of 
January  he  issued  the  first  number  of  the  Farmers'  Library.  It 
was  a  little  folio  sheet,  19x11  inches,  printed  with  long  primer 
type  on  coarse  paper  more  yellow  than  white.  The  Farmers' 
Library  continued  to  be  issued  until  1808,  when  it  gave  place 
to  the  Gazette.  Vail  went  from  the  newspaper  business  into 


158  Appendix  K. 

the  army.  He  began  as  an  ensign  in  1808,  and  was  attached 
to  the  Seventh  Regiment,  stationed  in  the  South.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  battle  of  New  Orleans,  and  wrote  a  graphic  account 
of  it  in  1815.  He  was  promoted  to  second  lieutenant  in  1809, 
to  first  lieutenant  in  1811,  and  to  captain  in  1814.  For  his  gal- 
lant conduct  at  New  Orleans  he  was  breveted  major  in  1815, 
and  the  same  year  resigned.  He  then  went  to  planting  in 
Louisiana,  where  in  1821  he  was  married  to  Mary  Bird  at  Baton 
Rouge.  As  a  planter  he  was  successful,  but  in  merchandising, 
in  which  he  also  engaged,  he  was  a  failure.  He  attempted 
merchandising  on  too  large  a  scale  for  a  beginner,  having  one 
store  in  New  Orleans,  another  on  Mobile  Point,  another  at 
Petite  Coquella,  and  still  another  at  Baton  Rouge.  The  last 
known  of  him  he  was  on  his  sugar  plantation  near  Baton 
Rouge,  where  he  probably  died,  but  at  what  time  is  not  posi- 
tively known. 

He  was  a  jovial  companion  and  sought  amusement  in  what- 
ever came  along.  He  won  some  money  of  Charles  Quiry,  and 
not  being  able  to  collect  it  he  sued  Quiry  on  the  following 
account:  "Subscription  to  horse  race,  $i ;  and  cash  won  of 
you  at  Vantoon,  $45."  Of  course  he  meant  by  Vantoon  the 
French  game  at  cards  known  as  Vingt-et-une.  In  his  next  suit 
he  fared  worse  than  bad  spelling.  He  sued  Alfred  Sebastian 
for  $30,  and  went  with  the  sheriff  to  take  him.  Sebastian  was 
in  a  boat  with  a  hickory  stick  in  his  hand,  and  invited  Vail  and 
the  sheriff  aboard.  They  declined  to  enter,  and  the  sheriff  re- 
turned the  writ  with  this  indorsement:  "The  within  named 


Appendix  K.  159 

Alfred  Sebastian  would  not  be  taken  but  kept  me  off  by  force, 
namely,  with  a  cudgel  while  in  a  boat." 

In  early  times,  as  in  later,  newspaper  men  had  sometimes  to 
account  for  what  they  printed.  On  one  occasion  Vail  gave  in 
his  paper  an  account  of  a  fight  between  two  bullies,  and  named 
as  victor  the  one  that  got  the  worst  of  it.  The  next  day  the 
man  who  had  been  honored  in  the  paper  as  victor  came  to  the 
office  of  the  Farmers'  Library  and  demanded  to  see  the  editor. 
Vail  made  his  appearance,  and  the  bully  began  abusing  him  for 
printing  that  he  had  won  the  fight  when  he  had  lost  it.  Vail 
bore  his  abuse  for  a  while  and  then  ordered  him  out  of  the 
office.  The  bully  then  made  a  rush  at  Vail  and  struck  at  him 
with  a  fist  that  resembled  a  huge  maul  more  than  a  human 
clenched  hand.  Vail,  however,  had  anticipated  him,  and,  dodg- 
ing the  blow,  retaliated  with  the  barrel  of  an  old  horse -pistol 
which  lay  convenient.  The  bully  was  knocked  down  and  given 
a  beating  more  severe  than  the  one  which  had  been  published 
in  the  paper.  He  went  off  satisfied,  and  told  Vail  he  might 

print  what   he   d d   pleased   about  it,  even   to   making  him 

victor  again  if  he  liked. 


APPENDIX  L. 

THE  REV.  WILLIAMS  KAVANAUGH  AND  THE  FIRST  CHURCH  IN 

LOUISVILLE. 

That  Williams  Kavanaugh  was  an  Episcopalian  minister, 
with  a  church  in  Louisville  as  early  as  1803,  there  can  be  no 
doubt.  The  records  of  the  courts  show  that  in  the  case  of 
Carneal  against  Lacassagne,  Hite  against  Marsh,  and  in  other 
suits,  orders  were  entered  in  1803  requiring  notice  to  non-resi- 
dents, etc.,  to  be  read  "At  the  Rev.  Williams  Kavanaugh's  Meet- 
ing-house in  Louisville,  on  some  Sunday  immediately  after  divine 
service."  Williams  Kavanaugh  was  the  father  of  Bishop  Kava- 
naugh, of  the  Methodist  Church.  He  was  at  first  a  Methodist 
himself,  but  left  that  denomination  and  joined  the  Episcopal 
after  reaching  manhood  and  preparing  for  the  ministry.  He 
officiated  in  this  church  in  Louisville  until  1806,  when  he  went 
to  Henderson,  Kentucky,  where  he  died  the  same  year  in  charge 
of  the  Episcopalian  Church  in  that  city.  While  it  is  easy  to 
establish  the  fact  that  the  Episcopalians  had  a  church  in  Louis- 
ville as  early  as  1803,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Kavanaugh,  it  is  not  so 
easy  to  show  just  where  this  church  edifice  stood.  There  was 
a  pioneer  church  in  Louisville,  near  the  old  Twelfth  Street  fort, 
which  was  used  by  all  denominations  in  early  times.  It  stood 
at  the  northwest  corner  of  Main  and  Twelfth  streets,  on  a  lot 
which  belonged  to  Jacob  Myers.  Its  erection  on  this  lot  at  an 


Appendix  L.  161 

early  date  involved  the  title  in  a  cloud  which  was  not  dispersed 
for  many  years.  It  was  a  simple  structure,  made  of  unhewed 
logs  from  the  adjacent  forest.  It  was  thirty  feet  long  by  twenty 
feet  wide,  and  had  a  board  roof  and  belfry.  The  main  door  was 
in  what  would  be  called  the  gable  end,  which  fronted  on  Twelfth 
Street,  with  one  window  over  it  and  two  windows  on  each  of 
the  long  sides.  A  large  wooden  chimney  occupied  the  other  end. 
In  Captain  Imlay's  Topographical  Description  of  North  America, 
published  at  London  in  1793,  and  in  subsequent  editions,  there 
is  a  picture  of  Louisville  with  a  building  resembling  this  church 
in  this  locality.  It  is  possible  that  Mr.  Kavanaugh,  in  1803,  got 
possession  of  this  old  church,  and,  after  putting  it  in  order,  offi- 
ciated in  it  while  he  was  in  Louisville.  There  is  no  known 
account,  either  printed  or  written,  of  any  other  church  at  this 
early  date,  and  tradition  has  handed  down  nothing  relating  to 
another.  In  1812  the  lot  on  which  it  stood  was  sold  for  taxes, 
and  a  sufficient  title  gotten  thereto  by  William  Kirkwood  for  the 
removal  of  the  last  remains  of  the  old  church.  For  some  time 
before  its  final  removal  it  was  in  such  a  dilapidated  state  as  to 
be  unfit  for  use. 

The  Rev.  James  Craik,  in  his  sketch  of  Christ  Church,  pub- 
lished in  1862,  states  that  an  Episcopalian  minister  named  Kav- 
anaugh came  from  Virginia  with  Abraham  Kite  in  1784.  The 
probability  is  that  Mr.  Craik  got  this  date  wrong,  as  it  is  not 
likely  that  Williams  Kavanaugh  was  an  Episcopalian  minister 
officiating  here  at  so  early  a  date.  I  have  found  no  record  of 
him  here  earlier  than  1797,  when,  as  a  deacon  of  the  Methodist 


1 62  Appendix  L. 

Church,  he  was  performing  the  marriage  ceremony.  If  he  was 
a  deacon  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  1797,  he  could  hardly  have 
been  an  Episcopalian  minister  in  1784.  The  family  traditions  are 
that  he  passed  from  the  Methodist  to  the  Episcopalian  Church, 
and  not  from  the  Episcopalian  to  the  Methodist;  and  in  corrob- 
oration  of  this  the  records  of  our  courts  show  that  he  was  offici- 
ating as  an  Episcopalian  during  the  last  years  of  his  life  in 
Louisville  and  Henderson.  The  record  of  marriages  in  our  county 
court  shows  that  he  was  performing  the  marriage  ceremony  here 
in  1797  as  a  deacon  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and  afterward  as 
an  Episcopalian  minister. 


APPENDIX  M. 

A  NUMERICAL  LIST  OF  THE  LOTS  SOLD  IN  LOUISVILLE,  AND  TO 

WHICH  IS  ATTACHED  THE  NAMES  OF  THE  PURCHASERS 

AND  THE  PRICES  PAID  FOR  THEM. 

This  list  is  copied  from  an  old  manuscript  made  out  in  1786 
to  show  what  lots  the  Trustees  of  Louisville  had  sold,  to  whom 
they  had  sold  them,  and  what  prices  they  had  received  for  them. 
The  lots  sold  were  described  in  the  sales  as  of  seven  different 
kinds,  and  were  possibly  so  distinguished  on  the  maps  used 
at  the  sales. 

The  lots  are  here  listed  under  seven  different  heads  so  as 
to  correspond  with  the  different  kinds  of  lots,  each  kind  of  lot 
being  under  its  descriptive  head.  This  list  can  not  fail  to  be 
interesting  and  instructive  to  the  descendants  of  those  who  were 
the  first  owners  of  lots  in  Louisville.  The  list  does  not  represent 
all  who  were  lot  owners  in  Louisville,  for  many  owners  trans- 
ferred their  lots  to  others;  but  it  does  represent  the  first  owners 
to  whom  deeds  were  made  by  the  Trustees.  Many  of  those  who 
drew  lots  on  the  24th  of  April,  1779,  transferred  their  lots,  and 
the  parties  to  whom  the  transfers  were  made  received  the  deeds. 
Hence  the  names  of  some  of  the  original  owners  do  not  appear 
in  the  list  at  all.  It  is  nevertheless  a  valuable  and  interesting 
list,  which  is  well  worth  preserving  for  those  who  are  to  come 
after  us. 


164  Appendix  M. 

i.  The  twenty-acre  lots  between  Broadway  and  Chestnut 
streets,  beginning  with  No.  i,  near  the  intersection  of  Clay  and 
Broadway : 


NO.            ACRES. 

PURCHASERS'  NAMES. 

CONSIDERATION. 

£         S           D 

I                    18 

Jacob  Reager  

15  10    o 

2                 20 

James  Sullivan,  

15     6    o 

3                 20 

James  Sullivan,  

,    20    o    o 

4             20 

James  Sullivan,  

20     5     o 

5            20 

James  Sullivan,  

20    o    o 

6                 20 

Eliza  Moore,  , 

22       6      O 

7            20 

Adam  Hoops,     

20     6    o 

8                 20 

James  Sullivan  

22      O      O 

9             20 

James  Sullivan  

2O      I      O 

IO                 20 

James  Sullivan,  

i?    3    o 

II                 20 

James  Sullivan,  

16     i     o 

12                 20 

James  Sullivan,  

13    5    o 

13              8 

James  Sullivan  

710 

2.   The  ten-acre  lots  between  Chestnut 

and  Walnut  streets, 

beginning  with 

No.   i,   near  the   intersection  of  Chestnut  and 

Hancock  streets 

: 

NO.           ACRES. 

PURCHASERS'   NAMES. 

CONSIDERATION. 

£        S          D 

I»                IO 

James  Patton,     

6    12      O 

2                 IO 

James  Patton,     

720 

3            10 

Will.  Johnston,  

6     i     o 

4             10 

James  Sullivan,  

IO      O      O 

5             10 

James  Sullivan,  

14     i     o 

6             10 

David  Meriwether,     .... 

15    o    o 

7             10 

Edm'd  Taylor,    

16    6    o 

8             10 

Edm'd  Taylor,    

17     5     o 

9              9 

Adam  Hoops,      

1600 

Appendix  M. 


165 


NO.        ACRES.  PURCHASERS'  NAMES.  CONSIDERATION. 

£         S  D 

10  10  James  Sullivan, 12    o  o 

11  10  James  Sullivan, 16    o  o 

12  10  James  Sullivan 13     i  o 

13  10  James  Sullivan 15     o  o 

14  10  James  Sullivan, 15   n  o 

15  10  James  Sullivan, 15     3  o 

16  10  James  Sullivan, 13     o  o 

17  ii  James  Sullivan, 10  n  o 

3.  The  five-acre  lots  between  Walnut  and  Green  streets, 
beginning  with  No.  i,  near  the  intersection  of  Walnut  and  Jack- 
son streets : 


ACRES. 


I 

5 

2 

5 

3 

5 

4 

5 

5 

5 

6 

5 

7 

5 

8 

5 

9 

5 

10 

5 

ii 

5 

12 

5 

13 

5 

14 

5 

15 

5 

16 

5 

17 

5 

18 

5 

19 

5 

20 

2 

PURCHASERS'  NAMES.  CONSIDERATION. 

£         S  D 

James  Sullivan, 560 

Richard  Eastin 5  16    o 

James  Sullivan, 800 

James  Sullivan, 75° 

Will.  Johnston 77° 

James  Sullivan 7120 

Andrew  Hoops,      7  16    o 

Edmund  Taylor, 920 

Edmund  Taylor, ii   n     o 

Samuel  Kerby 6  10    o 

Jacob  Reager 6  10    o 

Benj.  Earickson 6  10    o 

James  Sullivan, 800 

James  Sullivan 800 

James  Sullivan, 800 

John  Dorrett 8  14    o 

James  Sullivan, 9  10    o 

James  Sullivan 9  19    o 

James  Sullivan, 810 

James  Sullivan, 250 


1 66  Appendix  M. 

4.  The  out  lots  or  commons,  three  of  them  making  the  slip 
of  land  between  Jefferson  and  Green,  and  the  fourth  being  a 
triangular  lot  at  the  west  end  of  the  city,  bounded  on  the  south 
by  the  five-acre  range,  on  the  west  by  the  old  town  line,  and  on 
the  east  by  the  Twelfth  Street  lots  from  Portland  Avenue  to  the 
range  of  five -acre  lots. 

NO.  PURCHASERS'   NAMES.  CONSIDERATION. 

£        s        D 

1  Out  lot.        Will.  Johnston, 8     i     o 

2  Will.  Croghan, 17     o    o 

3  George  Rice 17  10    o 

4  James  Sullivan, 12    o    o 

5.  The  fractional  squares  between  Main  Street  and  the  river, 
beginning  with  No.  i,  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  First  streets: 

NO.  PURCHASERS'  NAMES.  CONSIDERATION. 

£         S  D 

1  Fractional  square.     Buckner  Pittman o    o    o 

2  Andrew  Heth, 470 

3  James  Sullivan 10    o    o 

4  James  Sullivan 400 

5  James  Sullivan, 510 

6  John  Sinkler, 76    o    o 

7  Mark  Thomas, 20  to    o 

8  James  Morrison 130 

9  James  Morrison 410 

10  James  Sullivan, i     o    o 

11  James  Sullivan 200 

12  James  Sullivan 23    o    o 

6.  The  Point  made  by  the  river  and  Beargrass  Creek.  There 
was  but  one  lot  of  this  description,  which  was  purchased  by 
Daniel  Broadhead,  jr.,  for  ^"5  93. 


Appendix  M.  167 

7.   The  half-acre  lots,  three  hundred  in  number,  extending 

from  Main  to  Jefferson  and  from  First  to  Twelfth  streets: 

NEW  NO.    OLD  NO.  PURCHASERS'    NAMES.  CONSIDERATION. 

£        S       D 

1  i             Levin  Powell, 030 

2  2            Jacob  Myers, 030 

3  3            Simon  Triplett, 030 

4  4            Levin  Powell, 030 

5  5             Lewis  Myers, 030 

6  6            John  Todd, 030 

7  7            William  Pope, 030 

8  8            Will  Johnston 030 

9  9            Will  Johnston, 030 

10  10            Isaac  Bowman, 030 

11  ii            John  Clark, 030 

12  12            Daniel  Broadhead,  jr., 12     5    o 

13  13            John  Conway, 030 

14  14            Meredith  Price, 030 

15  15            Simon  Triplett, 030 

16  16            James  Patton, 73° 

17  .    .            Buckner  Pittman, 650 

18  .    .            Buckner  Pittman, 650 

19  .    .            Buckner  Pittman, 650 

20  .    .            Buckner  Pittman, 650 

21  33            Michael  Trouttnan, 030 

22  34            Samuel  Bell 030 

23  35             William  Christy, 030 

24  36            Jacob  Pyeatt 030 

25  37             Edward  Tyler, 030 

26  38            Edward  Tyler 030 

27  39            Nico.  Meriwether, 030 

28  40            Nico.  Meriwether, 030 

29  41            George  Wilson, 030 


1 68  Appendix  M. 

NEW  NO.    OLD  NO.  PURCHASERS'    NAMES.  CONSIDERATION. 

£          S         D 

30  42  George  Wilson 030 

31  43  John  Todd 030 

32  44  James  Patton, 030 

33  45  William  Oldham 030 

34  46  Heirs  of  Thos.  McGee 030 

35  47  Joseph  Sanders, 030 

36  48  Will  Johnston i    16     6 

37  65  Will  Johnston 030 

38  66  James  Patton, 030 

39  67  George  Wilson 030 

40  68  Will  Johnston,    . o  18    6 

41  69  Will  Johnston, 030 

42  70  George  Meriwether 030 

43  71  Michl.  Troutman, 030 

44  72  Michl.  Troutman 030 

45  81  Michl.  Troutman 030 

46  82  Michl.  Troutman 030 

47  83  Edwd  Holdman, 030 

48  84  Kerby  &  Earickson, 030 

49  85  Jacob  Myers, 030 

50  86  Will  Johnston, 080 

51  .    .  Parmenus  Bullitt, o  13    6 

52  .    .  James  Sullivan, 060 

53  .    .  James  Sullivan, 080 

54  .    .  Daniel  Nead o  10    6 

55  .    .  Daniel  Nead, 066 

56  .    .  Walter  Ed.  Strong 046 

57  73  Walter  Ed.  Strong, 030 

58  74  Henry  Floyd, 030 

59  75  Wm.  Stafford, 030 

60  76  Henry  Floyd,      030 


Appendix  M.  169 

NEW  NO.  OLD  NO.  PURCHASERS'  NAMES.  CONSIDERATION. 

£         S         D 

61  77  Geo.  Meriwether, 030 

62  78  William  Sevan, 030 

63  79  Will  Johnston, o  10    o 

64  80  Geo.  Wilson, 030 

65  49  Andw.  Hynes, 030 

66  50  Will  Johnston, o  16     6 

67  51  Will  Johnston o  14     6 

68  52  Patrick  Shone, 030 

69  53  John  Baker 030 

70  54  Danl.  Sullivan, 030 

71  55  Will  Johnston i  10    6 

72  56  John  O.  Finn, 030 

73  57  James  McCawley 030 

74  58  George  Wilson, 030 

75  59  George  Wilson, 030 

76  60  George  Wilson, 030 

77  61  Kerby  &  Earickson 030 

78  62  Jacob  Pyeatt, 030 

79  63  Jacob  Myers 030 

80  64  Henry  French, 030 

81  32  Simon  Triplett, 030 

82  31  Simon  Triplett, 030 

83  30  William  Heth 15    o    o 

84  29  Levin  Powell, 030 

85  28  Will  Johnston 130 

86  27  Will  Harrod, 030 

87  26  John  R.  Jones, 030 

88  25  Will  Johnston 030 

89  24  Jacob  Myers 030 

90  23  Dan  Broadhead,  jr., 500 

91  22  Levi  Theel, 030 


i  jo  Appendix  M. 

NEW  NO.    OLD  NO.  PURCHASERS'   NAMES.                      CONSIDERATION. 

£        S         D 

92  21            Levi  Theel 030 

93  20            Will  Johnston o  15     o 

94  19            Levi  Todd, o    3    o 

95  18            Will  Johnston, i     6    o 

96  17            Geo.  Meri  wether, 030 

97  .    .            Richard  Taylor,      220 

98  .    .            Richard  Taylor, 150 

NO. 

99  John  Donne, 300 

100  Will  Johnston, 6     i     o 

101  John  Donne, 170 

102  John  Donne i   10    o 

103  John  Belli, o  13    o 

104  George  Rice 150 

105  Andrew  Hare, 0160 

106  Jas.  Cunningham 160 

107  Jas.  Cunningham, i     o    o 

108  Richard  Taylor,      i     o    o 

109  Richard  Taylor o  19    o 

1 10  Jane  Grant, 030 

in             Will  Johnston, o  10    o 

112  John  Donne, 030 

113  John  Donne, 030 

114  James  Beard, 030 

115  Will  Johnston o  15    o 

116  Will  Johnston, 030 

117  Will  Johnston, o  10    o 

118,           Elisha  L.  Hall 030 

119  Elisha  L,.  Hall, 030 

1 20  John  Reyburn, 030 

121  Will  Johnston, 030 


Appendix  M.  171 

NO.  PURCHASERS'  NAMES.  CONSIDERATION. 

£         S          D 

122  Will  Johnston, 0160 

123  Richard  C.  Anderson, 500 

124  Will  Johnston, 030 

125  Phil  Waters'  Assee.,     030 

126  Andrew  Hare, ino 

127  Daniel  Henry, 106 

128  Joseph  Brooks, 030 

129  William  Croghan, 1160 

130  Margaret  Wilson, 030 

131  James  Morrison, 030 

132  James  Morrison 030 

133  James  Patton, 030 

134  James  Beaty, 030 

135  Samuel  Kerby, o  14    o 

136  Jane  Grant, 030 

137  John  Reyburn 030 

138  John  Reyburn, 030 

139  Irwin's  Heirs,     030 

140  Jean  Hambleton, 030 

141  Samuel  Kerby o  19    o 

142  Samuel  Kerby, o  14     6 

143  Samuel  Kerby, 076 

144  Samuel  Kerby o  13    o 

145  James  Sullivan, 080 

146  James  Sullivan, o  13     o 

147  George  Dement, 070 

148  George  Dement, 040 

149  John  Donne, 046 

150  John  Donne, 040 

151  William  Johnston 030 

152  William  Johnston 030 


172  Appendix  M. 

NO.  PURCHASERS'   NAMES.  CONSIDERATION. 

£         S          D 

153  George  Dement, 080 

154  George  Dement 040 

155  Will  Johnston o     3  10 

156  Jas.  F.  Moore, 050 

157  James  Sullivan, 060 

158  James  Sullivan 080 

159  James  Sullivan, 060 

160  Elijah  Phillips, 060 

161  Geo.  Dement, 070 

162  James  Sullivan 030 

163  Will  Johnston, 036 

164  William  Beard 030 

165  Burk  Reager 180 

166  Rice  Bullock, 106 

167  Benj.  Price i     i     o 

168  Benj.  Price, 150 

169  Edmd.  Taylor, 112     o 

170  Edmd.  Taylor, 1120 

171  Edmd.  Taylor, 2  10    o 

172  James  Sullivan 300 

173  James  Sullivan, 300 

174  James  Sullivan, 700 

175  Jenkin  Phillips, 710 

176  Richard  Terrell 10     5     o 

177  William  Pope, 10    o    o 

178  Jenkin  Phillips, 710 

179  Wm.  Payne 510 

180  Philip  Barbour, 710 

181  Robert  Neilson, 6  12    o 

182  Robert  Neilson, 4  13    o 

183  Robert  Neilson, 440 


Appendix  M.  173 

NO.  PURCHASERS'  NAMES.  CONSIDERATION. 

f         S          D 

184  Robert  Neilson,  ., 5     50 

185  William  Payne 520 

1 86  William  Payne, 400 

187  William  Payne 450 

188  William  Payne, 400 

189  Dan  Broadhead,  jr., 300 

190  Dan  Broadhead,  jr., 160 

191  Dan  Broadhead,  jr., 140 

192  Dan  Broadhead,  jr., i   18     o 

193  Robert  Neilson, 2  17     o 

194  Robert  Neilson 2  14    o 

195  Robert  Neilson, 2120 

196  Jenkin  Phillips 35° 

197  Stepn.  Ormsby 2  18    o 

198  John  Davis, 2  15    o 

199  John  Davis, 2  18    o 

200  Stepn.  Ormsby, 300 

201  Archibald  Lockhart, 2  15    o 

202  Geo.  Close, 2  14    o 

203  Samuel  Watkins 2  10    o 

204  Thomas  Brumfield, 2110 

205  Jacob  Reager, 120 

206  Robert  Neilson 200 

207  Robert  Neilson, 2  18    o 

208  Robert  Neilson 3    90 

209  Jenkin  Phillips, 520 

210  Adam  Hoops, 1110 

211  Adam  Hoops, in     o 

212  Richard  J.  Waters, 660 

213  Jenkin  Phillips, 5  17    o 

214  Paul  Blundell, 220 


174  Appendix  M. 


NO. 

PURCHASERS'  NAMES. 

CONSIDERATION. 

£ 

S         D 

215 

Edward  Tyler  

3 

5    o 

216 

James  Morrison,    

3 

I       0 

217 

Edward  Tyler,    

3 

15       0 

218 

Lawc.  Muse,    

3 

I      O 

219 

Jacob  Reager,     

2 

19    o 

220 

Edmd.  Taylor  

3 

12      O 

221 

Will  Johnston  

3 

IO      O 

222 

Adam  Hoops,  

4 

II      O 

223^1 

224  1 

Public  Square. 

225  1 

226  J 

227 

Adam  Hoops  

4 

2      O 

228 

James  Sullivan,  

4 

0      0 

229 

Edmd.  Taylor,    

3 

I      0 

230 

Will  Johnston  

i 

0      0 

231 

Will  Johnston  

i 

o    o 

232 

Richard  Taylor  

i 

0      0 

233 

Rice  Bullock  

i 

6    o 

234 

Benj.  Price  

i 

I      O 

235 

Walter  Davis  

i 

o    o 

236 

Walter  Davis,     

i 

o    o 

237 

Robert  Daniel,    

i 

2      0 

238 

Enoch  Parsons,  

i 

I       0 

239 

George  Slaughter  

0 

19    o 

240 

Charles  Bratton  

i 

13    o 

241 

James  Sullivan  

o 

2      6 

242 

James  Sullivan  

0 

3    o 

243 

James  Sullivan,  

o 

9     6 

244 

James  Sullivan,  

o 

5     o 

245 

James  F.  Moore  

o 

12       O 

246 

George  Rice,  

o 

7    o 

Appendix  M.  175 

NO.  PURCHASERS'   NAMES.  CONSIDERATION. 

£       3         D 

247  George  Rice, 076 

248  George  Rice,  .    .    . o  15    o 

249  Will  Johnston, o  12     6 

250  Will  Johnston, o  13     i 

251  Will  Johnston, 046 

252  Will  Johnston, 056 

253] 

Burying  Ground. 

00 

256] 

257  Henry  Pootzman, 070 

258  Will  Johnston, 068 

259  Jas.  Fr.  Moore, 0120 

260  Jas.  Fr.  Moore, 0151 

261  Thomas  Dalton, o  18    6 

262  Thomas  Dalton, i     i     o 

263  Mark  Thomas 100 

264  Rice  Bullock, o  19     o 

265  Benj.  Price .  i     i     6 

266  Benj.  Price, 126 

267  Benj.  Price, 100 

268  Benj.  Price, i     i     o 

269  Burk  Reager 130 

270  Burk  Reager, 106 

271  Josiah  Belt, 140 

272  Josiah  Belt, i   11     o 

273  Richard  Taylor, 2120 

274  John  R.  Jones 300 

275"] 

Public  Square. 

278  J 

279  John  R.  Long, 450 


176  Appendix  M. 


NO.  PURCHASERS'  NAMES.  CONSIDERATION. 

£         S          D 

280  James  Sullivan 320 

281  Richard  Taylor, 120 

282  Richard  Taylor 140 

283  Will  Johnston, i     i     o 

284  Will  Johnston,    .    .       i     o    o 

285  L,awc.  Muse, 120 

286  Lawc.  Muse, i     10 

287  L,awc.  Muse i     2    6 

288  Lawc.  Muse i     i     6 

289  Charles  Bratton, 150 

290  Charles  Bratton, 100 

291  Will  Johnston, o  18     6 

292  Richard  Eastin, 100 

293  John  Daveis, i     20 

294  John  Daveis, 0180 

295  Daniel  Henry i     o    6 

296  Daniel  Henry, 120 

297  David  Morgan 0180 

298  David  Morgan, o  19    o 

299  John  Daniel, i     i     o 

300  James  Morrison, o  15    o 


APPENDIX  N. 


AN  ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  THE  PURCHASERS  OF  LOTS  IN  LOUIS- 
VILLE, TO  WHICH  ARE  ATTACHED  THE  NUMBERS  AND 
KINDS  OF  LOTS 'PURCHASED  AND  THE 
PRICES  PAID  FOR  THEM. 


NAME  OF  PURCHASER. 

DESCRIPTION. 

NUMBER. 

s. 

s 

D 

Anderson,  Richard  C., 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

123 

5 

O 

O 

Baker  John   .... 

.  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

f  new  69  ) 
1  old    53  j 

o 

3 

0 

Barbour,  Philip      .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

1  80 

7 

I 

o 

Beard    James     .... 

Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

114 

o 

3 

0 

Beard,  William      .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

164 

o 

3 

o 

Beaty   James     .... 

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

134 

o 

3 

0 

Belli,  John      

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

103 

0 

13 

0 

Belt    Josiah    ... 

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

271 

I 

4 

0 

Belt    Josiah    

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

272 

J 

J  J 

Bell  Samuel  

Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

(  new  22  ) 
(.old    34) 

o 

3 

0 

Blundell,  Paul  

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

214 

2 

2 

o 

Bowman,  Isaac       .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

j  new  10) 
{  old    10  ) 

O 

3 

o 

Bratton   Charles    .    .    . 

Lot,   .    . 

289 

I 

5 

0 

Bratton,  Charles,   .    .    . 

Lot,   .   . 

2QO 

I 

o 

Q 

Bratton,  Charles,   .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

240 

I 

13 

o 

Broadhead,  Dan,  jr.,     . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

189 

3 

o 

o 

Broadhead,  Dan,  jr.,     . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

190 

i 

6 

o 

Broadhead,  Dan,  jr., 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

191 

i 

4 

0 

Broadhead,  Dan,  jr.,     . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

192 

i 

18 

o 

Broadhead,  Dan,  jr.,     , 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

(  new  90  ) 
(  old    23  j 

5 

o 

o 

Broadhead,  Dan,  jr.,     . 

.    .  Beargrass 

Point,    . 

5 

9 

0 

Broadhead,  Dan,  jr.,     . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

(  new  12  £ 

(old      12) 

12 

5 

0 

23 

i78 


Appendix  N. 


NAME  OF  PURCHASE 

K.                        DESCRI 

PTION 

NUMBKI 

I.             £         S         D 

Brooks,  Joseph,     .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

.      .                     128 

030 

Brumfield,  Thomas, 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

.      .                     204 

211       O 

Bullock,  Rice,    .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

.      .                    264 

o  19    o 

Bullock,  Rice,    .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

•      •                    233 

I       6      O 

Bullock,  Rice,    .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

.    .              166 

i     o     6 

Bullitt,  Parmenus,     . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

•    •               5i 

o  13     6 

Burying  Ground,  .    . 

•    •             253 

Burying  Ground,  .    . 

254 

Burying  Ground,  .    . 

•    •             255 

Burying  Ground,  .    . 

•    •             256 

Christy,  William,  .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

(  new  23 
jold    35 

030 

Clark,  John  

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

|  new  ii 
\  old    1  1 

030 

Close,  George,    .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

.    .             202 

2    14      O 

Conway,  John,   .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

j  new  13  1 
'   told    13, 

030 

Croghan,  William,    . 

.    .    .  Out  Lot, 

.     .                       2 

17     i     o 

Croghan,  William,     . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

129 

I     l6      O 

Cunningham,  James, 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

.    .             106 

i     6    o 

Cunningham,  James, 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

.  .         107 

I      O      O 

Daniel,  John,  .... 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

•  •         299 

I       I      0 

Daniel,  Robert,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

•  •        237 

I       2      O 

Davies,  John,      .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

•  •         293 

I       2      O 

Davies,  John,      .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

294 

0180 

Davies,  John,      .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

.   .           198 

2    15      0 

Davies,  John,     .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

•  •         199 

2    18      0 

Davis,  Walter,    .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

•  •         235 

I      O      O 

Davis,  Walter,    .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

•  •          236 

I      O      O 

Dement,  George,  .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

147 

070 

Dement,  George,   .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

.   .           148 

040 

Dement,  George,  .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

153 

080 

Dement,  George,  .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

154 

040 

Dement,  George,  .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot, 

.    .              161 

070 

Appendix  N. 


NAME  OF  PURCHASER.  DESCRIPTION. 

Dolton,  Thomas, Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Dolton,  Thomas, Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Donne,  John,     Half-acre  Lot,   .  . 

Donne,  John,     Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Donne,  John,     Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Donne,  John, Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Donne,  John,      Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Donne,  John, Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Donne,  John, Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Dorrett,  John, Acre  Lot  (5  acres), 

Earickson,  Benj., Acre  Lot  (5  acres), 

Eastin,  Richard, Acre  Lot  (5  acres), 

Eastin,  Richard, Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Finn,  John  O Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Floyd,  Henry Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Floyd,  Henry Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

French,  Henry, Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Grant,  Jane, Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Grant,  Jane, Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Hall,  Elisha  L-, Half-acre  Lot,   .  . 

Hall,  Elisha  L-, Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Hambleton,  Jean Half-acre  Lot,   .  . 

Hare,  Andrew, Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Hare,  Andrew, Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Harrod,  Will Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Heirs  of  Irwin, Half-acre  Lot,   .  . 

Henry,  Daniel Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Henry,  Daniel, Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Henry,  Daniel, Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 

Heth,  William, Half-acre  Lot,    .  . 


NUMBER. 
26l 
262 

99 
101 
1 02 

112 

"3 
149 

150 
16 

12 

2 

292 

j  new  72 

(old  56 

(  new  60 

(old  76 

new  58 

old  74 

new  80 

old  64 

136 

1 10 

118 
119 
140 

105 
126 

f  new  86  ] 
( old  27  ) 
139 
295 
296 

127 

f  new  83  1 
(old    30] 


t         S         D 

0  18     6 

1  i     o 
300 
i     7     o 

I    IO      O 

030 
030 

046 
040 
8  14  o 
6  10  o 
5  16  o 


i 

o 


o    o 

3     o 


030 
030 

030 
030 
030 
030 
030 
030 
0160 

III       O 

030 
030 
i  6  o 
i  2  6 

100 

15    o    o 


i8o 


Appendix  N. 


NAME  OF  PURCHASER. 

DESCRIPTION.                       NUMBER. 

£ 

s 

D 

Heth,  Andrew  

.    .  Square  Lot,    .    .    . 

2 

4 

7 

O 

Holdman,  Edward,    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

T    .            J  new 
Lot'    '    "told 

47 
8* 

} 

o 

3 

O 

Hoops,  Adam  

.    .  Acre  Lot 

(20  acres), 

7 

20 

6 

0 

Hoops,  Adam,    .    .    .    . 

.    .  Acre  Lot 

(  9  acres), 

9 

16 

5 

o 

Hoops,  Adam  

.    .  Acre  Lot 

(  5  acres), 

7 

7 

16 

o 

Hoops,  Adam,    .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    .            210 

i 

n 

o 

Hoops,  Adam,    .    .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    .             211 

i 

ii 

o 

Hoops,  Adam,    .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    .             222 

4 

1  1 

0 

Hoops,  Adam,    .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    .             227 

4 

2 

o 

Hynes,  Andrew,    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

T    .            |  new 
Lot'    '    '  I  old 

65 
49 

} 

o 

3 

o 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .  Acre  Lot 

(10  acres), 

3 

6 

I 

0 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

f  new 
Lot'    '    '   {old 

8 

8 

! 

o 

3 

o 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .  Out  Lot, 

I 

8 

i 

o 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

T    .             f  new 
Lot,   .    .  1  Qld 

9 
9 

\ 

0 

3 

0 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

f  new 
Lot'    '    '   (old 

36 

48 

\ 

i 

16 

0 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

T    ,             f  new 
Lot'    '    '   iold 

37 
6s 

\ 

o 

3 

o 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    .            291 

0 

18 

6 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

new 
old 

40 

68 

\ 

18 

6 

o 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

new 
old 

4i 
6q 

\ 

o 

3 

o 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    .            124 

0 

3 

0 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

new 
old 

63 
79 

\ 

\ 

o 

10 

o 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

new 
old 

50 
86 

\ 

o 

8 

o 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

j  new 

Lot'  •  •  I  old 

66 

50 

\ 

o 

16 

6 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

new 
old 

67 
5' 

\ 

o 

14 

6 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

new 
old 

7i 

55 

\ 

I 

10 

6 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

new 
old 

85 
28 

\ 

I 

3 

o 

Johnston,  Will,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

new 
old 

88 
25 

\ 

0 

3 

0 

Appendix  N. 


181 


NAME  OF  PURCHASER. 

DESCRU 

"TION. 

NUMBER. 

£        S       J> 

Johnston,  Will  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

new  95 
old    1  8 

i     6     o 

Johnston,  Will  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

new  93 
old    20 

o  15     o 

Johnston,  Will,  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

H5 

o  15     o 

Johnston,  Will,  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

116 

030 

Johnston,  Will  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

in 

O    IO      O 

Johnston,  Will,  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

121 

030 

Johnston,  Will,  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

122 

0160 

Johnston,  Will  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

117 

O    IO      O 

Johnston,  Will,  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,  .   . 

IOO 

6     i     o 

Johnston,  Will,  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,  .   . 

151 

030 

Johnston,  Will,  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

152 

030 

Johnston,  Will  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

230 

IOO 

Johnston,  Will  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

231 

I      O      O 

Johnston,  Will  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

283 

I       I      O 

Johnston,  Will,  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,  .   . 

284 

IOO 

Johnston,  Will  

.  Acre  Lot 

(5  acres), 

5 

770 

Johnston,  Will,  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,  .   . 

249 

0    12      6 

Johnston,  Will,  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

250 

o  13     i 

Johnston,  Will  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,  .   . 

251 

046 

Johnston,  Will,  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,  .   . 

252 

056 

Johnston,  Will  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

163 

036 

Johnston,  Will,  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

155 

o     3  10 

Johnston,  Will  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

221 

3  10    o 

Johnston,  Will  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

258 

068 

Jones,  John  R  

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

274 

300 

Jones,  John  R.,     .    .    .    . 

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

(  new  87 
[old    26 

[        030 

Kerby,  Samuel  

.  Acre  Lot 

(5  acres), 

10 

6  10    o 

Kerby,  Samuel,     .    .    .    . 

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

135 

o  14    o 

Kerby,  Samuel,     .    .    .    . 

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

141 

o  19    o 

Kerby,  Samuel,     .    .    . 

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

142 

o  14     6 

Kerby,  Samuel,      .    .    . 

.  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

J43 

076 

182 


Appendix  N. 


NAME  OF  PURCHASER. 

DESCRIPTION. 

NUMBE 

*.             £         S         D 

Kerby,  Samuel  

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

144 

o  13    o 

Kerby  &  Earickson,    .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

new  48 
old    84 

030 

Kerby  &  Earickson,    .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

new  77 
old    6  1 

•           030 

Lockhart,  Archibald,    .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

201 

2    15      0 

Long,  John  R.,  

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

279 

45° 

McCawley,  James,     .    .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

'  new  73  ' 
.old    57 

030 

McGee,  Thos.,  his  heirs, 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    •    .  • 

new  34 
[old    46 

030 

Meriwether,  David,   .    .    . 

.  Acre  Lot  (10  acres), 

6' 

15     i     o 

Meiiwether,  George,    .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

new  61 
.old    77 

030 

Meriwether,  George,    .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    .   • 

new  42 
old    70 

030 

Meriwether,  George,    .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

new  96 
old    17 

030 

Meriwether,  Nicholas,  .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

new  27 
old    39 

030 

Meriwether,  Nicholas,  .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

new  28 
old    40 

030 

Moore,  Eliza  

.  Acre  Lot  (20  acres), 

6 

22       6      O 

Moore,  James  F.,  .    .    .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

156 

050 

Moore,  James  F.,  .    .    .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

245 

0    12      0 

Moore,  James  F  

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

259 

O    12      O 

Moore,  James  F.,  .    .    .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

260 

o  15     i 

Morrison,  James,  ..... 

.  Square  Lot,    .    .    . 

8 

I       3      0 

Morrison,  James  

.  Square  Lot,    .    .    . 

9 

4IO 

Morrison,  James  

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

300 

o  15    o 

Morrison,  James,  .... 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

131 

030 

Morrison,  James,  .... 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

132 

030 

Morrison,  James,  .... 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

216 

3     i     o 

Morgan,  David  

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

297 

o  18     o 

Morgan,  David,  

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

298 

o  19    o 

Muse,  Lawc.,  

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

218 

3     i     o 

Muse,  Lawc.,  

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

287 

I       2      6 

Appendix  N. 


183 


NAME  OF  PURCHASER.                           DESCRIPTION. 

NUMBER.         t 

s 

D 

Muse,  Lawc.,  .    .    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

288 

i 

I 

6 

Muse,  Lawc.,  .    •    • 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

285 

i 

2 

o 

Muse,  Lawc.,  .    .    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-  acre 

Lot,    .    . 

286 

i 

I 

o 

Myers,  Jacob,     .    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

j  new    2 
(old      2 

o 

3 

o 

Myers,  Jacob,     .    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

(  new  49 
(old    85 

o 

3 

o 

Myers,  Jacob,     .    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

j  new  79 
told    63 

o 

3 

0 

Myers,  Jacob,     .    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

inew  89 
old    24 

o 

3 

o 

Myers,  Lewis,    .    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

new    5 
old      5 

o 

3 

o 

Nead,  Daniel,     .    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

54 

o 

10 

6 

Nead,  Daniel,     .    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

55 

o 

6 

6 

Neilson,  Robert,    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

206 

2 

o 

o 

Neilson,  Robert,    . 

.    .        .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

207 

2 

18 

o 

Neilson,  Robert,    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

208 

3 

9 

o 

Neilson,  Robert,    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

193 

2 

17 

0 

Neilsou,  Robert,    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

194 

2 

H 

o 

Neilson,  Robert,    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

195 

2 

12 

0 

Neilsou,  Robert,    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

181 

6 

12 

o 

Neilson,  Robert,    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

182 

4 

13 

o 

Neilson,  Robert,    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

183 

4 

4 

o 

Neilson,  Robert,    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

184 

5 

5 

o 

Oldham,  William, 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

f  new  33 
(old    45 

t       o 

3 

0 

Ormsby,  Stephen, 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

197 

2 

18 

o 

Ormsby,  Stephen, 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

200 

3 

o 

o 

Parsons,  Enoch,     . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

238 

I 

i 

o 

Patton,  James,   .    . 

.    .    .    .  Acre  Lot 

(10  acres), 

2 

7 

2 

o 

Patton,  James,    .    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

j  new  16 
|  old    16 

7 

3 

o 

Patton,  James,   .    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

j  new  32 
(  old    44 

o 

3 

o 

Patton,  James,   .    . 

.    .    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

133 

o 

3 

0 

Patton,  James,    .    . 

.    .    .   .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

j  new  38 
(old    66 

i  • 

3 

o 

1 84 


Appendix  N. 


NAME  OF  PURCHASER. 

DESCRIPTION. 

NUMBER. 

£ 

s 

D 

Patton,  James,  .... 

,    .  Acre  Lot 

(10  acres), 

I 

6 

12 

O 

Payne,  William,     .    .    . 

Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

185 

5 

2 

O 

Payne,  William,     .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

1  86 

4 

O 

o 

Payne,  William,     .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

187 

4 

5 

o 

Payne,  William,     .    .    . 

.  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

188 

4 

o 

o 

Payne,  William,     .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

179 

5 

I 

o 

Phillips,  Elijah,     .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

160 

o 

6 

0 

Phillips,  Jenkin,    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

209 

5 

2 

o 

Phillips,  Jenkin,    .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

175 

7 

I 

o 

Phillips,  Jenkin,    .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

196 

3 

5 

o 

Phillips,  Jenkin,    .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

213 

5 

17 

o 

Phillips,  Jenkin,    .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

178 

7 

I 

0 

Pittman,  Buckner,    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

17] 

Pittman,  Buckner,    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

^ 

Pittman,  Buckner,    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

25 

12 

0 

Pittman,  Buckner,    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .   . 

2!i 

Pittman,  Buckner,    .    . 

.    .  Square  Lot,    .    .    . 

'] 

Pootzman,  Henry,    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

257 

0 

7 

0 

Pope,  William  

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

177 

10 

o 

o 

Pope,  William,  .... 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    .   ] 

new    7  ) 
old      7  I 

o 

3 

o 

Powell,  Levin,    .... 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   .  | 

new  84  [ 
old    29  ) 

o 

3 

0 

Powell,  Levin,    .    .    , 

Half-acre 

Lot,   .   .  | 

new    4  I 
old      4  j 

o 

3 

o 

Powell,  Levin,    ... 

Half-acre 

Lot,   .   .   < 

new    i  ) 
old      i  j 

o 

3 

o 

Price,  Benjamin,    .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

167 

I 

i 

o 

Price,  Benjamin,    .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

234 

I 

i 

0 

Price,  Benjamin,    .    .    . 

Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

1  68 

I 

5 

o 

Price,  Benjamin,    .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

265 

I 

i 

6 

Price,  Benjamin,    .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

266 

I 

2 

6 

Price,  Benjamin,    .    .    . 

Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

267 

I 

O 

o 

Price,  Benjamin,   .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

268 

I 

I 

0 

Appendix  N. 


185 


NAME  OF  PURCHASER. 

DESCRIPTION. 

NUMBER.          £       s       D 

Price,  Meredith,     .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre  Lot,    .    .   i  n,e,w  '4 

030 

I  oia    14 

Public  Square,  .... 

.    .  Lot,  

275 

Public  Square  

.    .  Lot,  

276 

Public  Square  

•    -  Lot  

277 

Public  Square,  .    . 

.   .  Lot  

278 

Public  Square  

.   -  Lot,  

223 

Public  Square  

.    .  Lot  

224 

Public  Square,  .... 

.   .  Lot  

225 

Public  Square,  .... 

.    .  Lot,  

226 

Pyeatt,  Jacob,    .... 

.    .  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

new  78 
old    62 

030 

Pyeatt,  Jacob,    .... 

.    .  Half-acre  L,ot,    .    . 

new  24 
old    36 

030 

Reager,  Burk,     .... 

.    .  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

165 

i     8    o 

Reager,  Burk,     .... 

.    .  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

269 

i     3    o 

Reager,  Burk,     .... 

.    .  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

270 

i     o    6 

Reager,  Jacob,    .... 

.    .  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

219 

2    19      O 

Reager,  Jacob  

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

205 

I       2      O 

Reager,  Jacob,   .... 

.  Acre  Lot  (18  acres), 

i 

15  10    o 

Reager,  Jacob,   .... 

.  Acre  Lot  (  5  acres), 

ii 

6  10    o 

Rice,  George  

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

104 

i     5    o 

Rice,  George,     .... 

.  Out  Lot  

3 

17  10    o 

Rice,  George,     .... 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

246 

070 

Rice,  George  

.  Half-acre  Lot,   .    . 

247 

076 

Rice,  George,     .... 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

248 

o  15     o 

Reyburn,  John,     .    .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

120 

030 

Reyburn,  John,     .    .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,   .    . 

137 

030 

Reyburn,  John,     .    .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

138 

030 

Sanders,  Joseph,    .    .    . 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

new  35 
old    47 

030 

Sevan,  William,     .    .    . 

.    .  Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

new  62 
old    78 

030 

Sinkler,  John,    .... 

.    .  Square  Lot,    .    .   . 

6 

76    o    o 

Shone,  Patrick,  .... 

.  Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  • 

new  68  " 
.old    52  J 

030 

i86 


Appendix  N. 


NAME  OF  PURCHASER.  DESCRIPTION. 

Slaughter,  George Half-acre  Lot,  .  . 

Stafford,  William, Half-acre  Lot,  .  . 

Strong,  Walter  Ed Half-acre  Lot,  .  . 

Strong,  Walter  Ed.,  ....  Half-acre  Lot,  .  . 

Sullivan,  Daniel Half-acre  Lot,    .    . 

Sullivan,  James Square  Lot,    .    .    . 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (5  acres), 

Sullivan,  James Square  Lot,    .    .    . 

Sullivan,  James Out  Lot, 

Sullivan,  James, Square  Lot,    .    .    . 

Sullivan,  James Acre  Lot  (5  acres), 

Sullivan,  James Square  Lot,    .    .    . 

Sullivan,  James Acre  Lot  (10  acres), 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (  5  acres), 

Sullivan,  James Acre  Lot  (  5  acres), 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (  5  acres), 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (  5  acres), 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (  5  acres), 

Sullivan,  James Acre  Lot  (  5  acres), 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (10  acres), 

Sullivan,  James Acre  Lot  (  5  acres), 

Sullivan,  James Acre  Lot  (10  acres), 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (  5  acres), 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (10  acres), 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (10  acres), 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (10  acres), 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (10  acres), 

Sullivan,  James Acre  Lot  (10  acres), 

Sullivan,  James Acre  Lot  (20  acres), 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (  8  acres), 

Sullivan,  James,    .....  Acre  Lot  (20  acres), 


NUMBER. 

2.39 

(  new  59 

(old    75 

56 

new  57 
old  73 
new  70 
old  54 

5 
19 


£       s       J) 

o  19    o 

030 
046 
030 


o 


3     o 
i     o 

I       O 


4 

4 

0 

o 

4 

12 

IO 

o 

ii 

2 

o 

0 

17 

9 

IO 

o 

3 

IO 

o 

o 

13 

15 

I 

o 

15 

8 

IO 

o 

14 

8 

IO 

o 

13 

8 

10 

o 

6 

7 

12 

o 

18 

9 

19 

o 

4 

7 

5 

o 

14 

15 

ii 

o 

3 

8 

16 

o 

ii 

16 

5 

o 

i 

5 

6 

o 

5 

14 

i 

o 

15 

15 

3 

o 

4 

IO 

i 

o 

IO 

12 

5 

o 

16 

13 

3 

o 

12 

13 

5 

o 

13 

7 

i 

o 

IO 

17 

3 

o 

Appendix  N.  187 

NAME  OF  PURCHASER.                         DESCRIPTION.  NUMBER.  £       S       D 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (n  acres),  17  10  n     o 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (20  acres),  n  16     i     o 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (20  acres),  2  1560 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (10  acres),  12  1310 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (20  acres),  9  20     i     o 

Sullivan,  James Acre  Lot  (20  acres),  8  22     6    o 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (20  acres),  5  20    5    o 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (20  acres),  4  20    5    o 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (20  acres),  3  20    6    o 

Sullivan,  James, Square  Lot,    ...  12  23     o    o 

Sullivan,  James Square  Lot,    ...  10  i     o    o 

Sullivan,  James, Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  228  400 

Sullivan,  James, Half-acre  Lot,   .    .  162  030 

Sullivan,  James, Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  280  320 

Sullivan,  James Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  157  060 

Sullivan,  James, Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  158  080 

Sullivan,  James, Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  159  060 

Sullivan,  James Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  145  080 

Sullivan,  James, Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  146  o  13    o 

Sullivan,  James, Acre  Lot  (2  acres),  20  250 

Sullivan,  James Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  52  060 

Sullivan,  James, Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  53  080 

Sullivan,  James Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  172  300 

Sullivan,  James, Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  173  300 

Sullivan,  James, Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  174  700 

Sullivan,  James, Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  241  026 

Sullivan,  James, Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  242  030 

Sullivan,  James, Half-acre  Lot,   .    .  243  096 

Sullivan,  James Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  244  050 

Taylor,  Edmund, Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  229  3     i     o 

Taylor,  Edmund, Half-acre  Lot,    .    .  220  312     o 

Taylor,  Edmund Acre  Lot  (10  acres),  7  1660 


1 88 


Appendix  N. 


NAME  OF  PURCHASER.                          DESCRIPTION.                       NUMBER. 

t 

s 

D 

Taylor,  Edmund,  .    . 

.    .    .  Acre  Lot 

(10  acres),              8 

17 

5 

O 

Taylor,  Edmund,  .    . 

.   .   .  Acre  Lot 

(  5  acres),               9 

ii 

II 

0 

Taylor,  Edmund,  .    . 

.    .    .  Acre  Lot 

(  5  acres),              8 

9 

2 

o 

Taylor,  Edmund,  .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   .            169 

i 

12 

o 

Taylor,  Edmund,  .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    .            170 

i 

12 

o 

Taylor,  Edmund,  .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   .            171 

2 

IO 

o 

Taylor,  Richard,    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   .            232 

I 

O 

o 

Taylor,  Richard,    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    .            1  08 

I 

O 

0 

Taylor,  Richard,    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   .            109 

O 

19 

0 

Taylor,  Richard,    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    .              97 

2 

2 

o 

Taylor,  Richard,    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .   .              98 

I 

5 

0 

Taylor,  Richard,    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    .            273 

2 

12 

o 

Taylor,  Richard,    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   .            281 

I 

2 

o 

Taylor,  Richard,    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    .            282 

I 

4 

o 

Terrell,  Richard    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   .            176 

IO 

5 

0 

Theel,  Levi,    .... 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

T    ,            f  new  91 
Lot,    .    .   <    ,, 
(  old    22 

} 

0 

3 

o 

Theel,  Levi,    .... 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

f  new  92 

1-/OT.,      .      .     "i       i  j 

| 

O 

T. 

o 

old    21 

\J 

Thomas,  Mark,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Square  Lot,    ...                7 

20 

IO 

o 

Thomas,  Mark,  .    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    .             263 

I 

o 

o 

Todd,  John  

.    .    .  Half-acre 

T    ,             (  new    6 
Lot,    •    •  -i    u      f 
(  old      6 

} 

o 

3 

0 

Todd,  John,    .... 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

new  31 

1  A 

| 

o 

3 

o 

,  old    43 

i 

Todd,  Levi,     .... 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

new  94 
old    19 

} 

o 

3 

o 

Triplett,  Simon,     .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

new  8  1 
old    32 

} 

o 

3 

o 

Triplett,  Simon,    .    . 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

new  82 
;old    31 

j 

o 

3 

o 

Triplett,  Simon, 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,    .    . 

new  15 
old    15 

! 

o 

3 

o 

Triplett,  Simon, 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

new    3 
old      3 

1 

o 

3 

o 

Troutman,  Michael, 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .   . 

new  21 
old    33 

i 

o 

3 

0 

Troutman,  Michael, 

.    .    .  Half-acre 

Lot,   .    . 

new  43 

1  j 

| 

0 

3 

o 

old    71 

) 

Appendix  N. 


189 


NAME  OF  PURCHASER.  DESCRIPTION. 

Troutman,  Michael,     .    .    .  Half-acre  Lot, 
Troutman,  Michael,     .    .    .  Half-acre  Lot, 

Troutman,  Michael,      .    .    .  Half-acre  Lot, 

Tyler,  Edward, Half-acre  Lot, 

Tyler,  Edward Half-acre  Lot, 

Tyler,  Edward, Half-acre  Lot, 

Tyler,  Edward, Half-acre  Lot, 

Waters,  Phil.,  Assignee,  .    .  Half-acre  Lot, 
Waters,  Richard  J.,  .    .    .    .  Half-acre  Lot, 

Watkins,  Samuel Half-acre  Lot, 

Wilson,  George, Half-acre  Lot, 

Wilson,  George Half-acre  Lot, 

Wilson,  George, Half-acre  Lot, 

Wilson,  George, Half-acre  Lot, 

Wilson,  George, Half-acre  Lot, 

Wilson,  George Half-acre  Lot, 

Wilson,  George, Half-acre  Lot, 

Wilson,  Margaret,     ...  Half-acre  Lot, 


NUMBER. 


new  44} 
old    72  j 

o 

3 

o 

new  45  \ 
old    81  \ 

0 

3 

o 

new  46  1 
old    82  J 

o 

3 

o 

215 

3 

5 

6 

217 

3 

15 

o 

j  new  25  ) 
(old    37} 

o 

3 

o 

j  new  26  ) 
(old    38} 

o 

3 

o 

125 

o 

3 

o 

212 

6 

6 

o 

203 

2 

10 

o 

1  new  39  ) 
(  old    67  j 

O 

3 

o 

j  new  29  j 
(  old    41  j 

O 

3 

o 

1  new  30  [ 
(  old    42  | 

O 

3 

o 

f  new  64  ) 

(old    80  j 

0 

3 

o 

(  new  74  ) 
(  old    58  \ 

O 

3 

o 

\  new  75  ) 
(old    59  j 

O 

3 

o 

1  new  76  ) 
(.old    60} 

O 

3 

o 

130 

0 

3 

o 

APPENDIX  O. 

THE  OLD  TRUSTEES  OF  LOUISVILLE. 

In  taking  leave  of  the  Trustees  who  governed  Louisville 
from  1780  to  1828,  we  bid  good  by  to  gentlemen  of  the  old 
school,  who  did  some  queer  things  in  an  odd  way,  but  who  seem 
always  to  have  aimed  at  the  best  they  knew  how  to  do.  When 
the  Jamestown  weeds  began  to  grow  in  the  streets  like  trees, 
and  they  saw  birds  roosting  in  them,  they  employed  men  to  cut 
them  down.  When  a  bridge  was  wanted  over  Beargrass  Creek, 
to  take  the  place  of  the  decaying  tree  that  had  been  fallen 
across  for  that  purpose,  and  they  had  no  money  to  make  it,  they 
put  out  a  subscription  paper  and  got  the  necessary  funds  con- 
tributed. For  some  unassigned  reason  they  forbade  the  landing 
of  millstones  at  the  mouth  of  Beargrass  Creek.  They  required 
the  owners  of  houses  that  rented  for  forty  dollars  per  year  to 
furnish  a  pair  of  fire-buckets  for  each  house,  and  thus  drew  upon 
themselves  the  curses  of  some  misers,  who  charged  that  it  was 
their  intention  to  make  the  rich  furnish  the  means  of  protecting 
the  houses  of  the  poor  as  well  as  their  own  from  the  ravages  of 
fire.  Drake,  the  proprietor  of  the  first  theater,  was  a  good  fellow 
and  on  good  terms  with  the  Trustees,  and  instead  of  making 
the  showmen  pay  a  license  fee,  they  contracted  with  him  for  a 
benefit.  How  many  of  them  went  free  to  the  benefit,  or  what 


Appendix  O.  191 

returns  were  obtained  for  fees  of  entrance  in  lieu  of  the  license 
tax,  does  not  appear  upon  the  record.  They  were  opposed  to 
fussy  negroes,  and  inflicted  a  punishment  of  fifteen  lashes  on 
the  bare  backs  of  those  who  in  numbers  exceeding  three  should 
assemble  at  the  market-house  and  make  a  noise.  They  must 
have  considered  the  graveyard  on  Jefferson,  between  Eleventh 
and  Twelfth  streets,  hallowed  ground,  as  they  forbade  the  bury- 
ing of  any  bodies  there  but  those  of  citizens,  and  left  the 
strangers  who  might  die  in  the  city  to  find  other  quarters  for 
final  repose.  When  money  grew  scarce,  and  they  wanted  it  for 
many  purposes,  and  could  not  get  it  by  taxation,  they  fell  into 
the  fashion  of  the  times  and  issued  fractional  currency.  It  is 
said  that  this  fractional  currency  got  the  name  of  shinplasters 
from  an  unfortunate  who,  after  accumulating  a  box  full  of  it, 
injured  his  leg  by  getting  stuck  in  the  mud  of  an  unpaved  street. 
After  extricating  himself  and  getting  home,  he  found  no  rag 
convenient  to  bind  his  leg,  from  which  the  skin  had  been  rubbed 
from  along  his  shin,  and  he  used  the  fractional  currency  for  that 
purpose,  plastering  his  shin  with  it  until  it  was  well  covered. 
In  1812  Jared  Brooks  made  a  map  of  the  city,  which  was  exceed- 
ingly well  done,  and  the  Trustees  were  so  well  pleased  with  it 
that  they  ordered  copies  of  it  to  be  made  on  parchment  for 
their  use.  The  map  was  large,  and  it  required  a  number  of 
skins  to  be  pasted  together  to  make  a  parchment  sheet  large 
enough  for  it.  The  rats  became  so  annoying  in  the  town  that 
the  Trustees  offered  one  cent  for  the  scalp  of  every  one  that 
was  killed. 


192  Appendix  O. 

When  the  Trustees  first  met  they  made  up  their  minds  that 
they  would  be  a  dignified  body  and  be  governed  by  fixed  rules. 
Hence  they  adopted  for  their  government  the  following  set  of 
rules : 

1.  The  Board  shall  appoint  a  Chairman  at  every  stated  meeting, 
who  shall  (as  far  as  it  may  be  in  his  power)  see  that  decorum  and 
good  order  be  preserved  during  the  sitting  of  the  Board. 

2.  When  any  member  shall  be  about  to  address  the  Chairman, 
such  member  shall  rise  in  his  place,  and  in  a  decent  manner  state 
the  subject  of  such  address. 

3.  No  member  shall  pass  between  another  addressing  himself  to 
the  C :  M :  and  the  Ch.  M.,  nor  shall  any  member  speak  more  than 
twice    upon    the  same   question   (unless   leave   be   granted   by  the 
Board  for  that  purpose). 

4.  No  member  shall  (during  the  sitting  of  the  Board)  read  any 
printed  or  written  papers  except  such  as  may  be  necessary  or  rela- 
tive [to]  the  matter  in  debate  then  before  the  Board. 

5.  Any  member,  when   in  Louisville,  absenting  himself  from  a 
stated  or  called  meeting  of  the  Board,  and  not  having  a  reasonable 
excuse  therefor  (which  shall  be  judged  of  by  the  Board),  shall  forfeit 
and  pay  the  sum  of  three  shillings,  to  be  collected  by  the  Collector 
and  applied  as  the  Board  may  thereafter  direct. 

6.  No  species  of  ardent  or  spirituous  liquors  shall  upon  any  pre- 
tense be  introduced  during  the  sitting  of  the  Board.     If  it  should 
be,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Ch :  man  to  have  the  same  instantly 
removed,  and  the  person  so  introducing  it  shall  be  subject  to  the 
Censure  of  the  Ch :  man  for  so  doing. 

7.  Upon  the  commission  of  the  same  act  a  second  time  by  the 
same  person,  he  shall,  besides  the  censure  af 'd  be  liable  to  pay  the 
sum  of  Six  Shillings,  to  be  Collected  and  applied  as  af 'd,  and  shall 
moreover  forfeit  the  liquor  so  brought  in  for  the  use  of  the  Board 
after  adjournment. 


Appendix  O.  193 

8.  No  member  shall  when  in  debate  call  another  by  Name.     If 
he  should  do  so  the  Ch:man  may  call  him  to  order. 

9.  If  two  or  more  members  should  rise  to  speak  at  the  same 
time,  the  Ch:  M.  shall  determine  the  priority. 

10.  All  personal  reflections  and  allusions  shall  be  avoided.     Any 
member  guilty  of  a  breach  hereof  shall  be  forthwith  Called  to  Order, 
either  by  the  Ch :  man  or  by  any  other  member. 

11.  No  person  shall  be  at  liberty  to  address  the  Chairman  but 
at  a  place  chosen  and  allotted  for  that  purpose  by  the  Chairman  or 
a  majority  of  the  Board  then  sitting. 

12.  No  person  belonging  to  the  Board,  or  immediately  concerned 
for  them  or  under  their  notice,  shall  make  use  of  indecent  language 
or  shall  profanely  swear.    Any  person  who  shall  presume  to  act  in 
any  manner  contrary  thereto  shall  be  subject  to  the  censure  of  the 
Chairman  and  all  members  of  good  Order  who  may  at  such  time  be 
one  of  the  members  of  the  Board,  and  that  no  person  shall  absent 
himself  from  [word  illegible]  without  permission  first  (for  that  pur- 
pose) obtained  from  the  Chairman. 

The  seventh  rule  above  given  will  strike  any  one  as  a  little 
peculiar.  The  whisky  that  might  be  brought  to  a  session  of  the 
Board  by  any  one  who  had  before  brought  some  was  to  be  con- 
fiscated for  the  use  of  the  members  after  adjournment.  A  good 
joke  has  been  handed  down  by  tradition  concerning  the  confis- 
cation of  some  whisky  brought  to  the  Board  by  Evan  Williams. 
Williams  was  a  distiller,  and  when  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  he  thought  he  would  do  the  handsome  thing  by 
bringing  a  bottle  of  his  own  make  of  whisky  for  the  members 
to  enjoy.  He  brought  one  bottle,  and  was  not  censured  therefor 
under  the  sixth  rule,  as  he  probably  would  have  been  if  William 

Johnston,  the  clerk,  had  been  present.     At  the  next  meeting  he 

25 


194  Appendix  O. 


brought  another  bottle,  and  it  was  regularly  confiscated  under 
the  seventh  rule.  When  the  members  got  to  tasting  it  after  the 
adjournment,  and  it  came  to  Johnston's  time  for  taking  a  dram, 
he  declared  it  was  too  mean  to  be  drunk,  and  that  Williams 
ought  to  be  expelled  from  the  Board  for  making  such  villainous 
stuff.  Johnston  was  surveyor  of  the  port  of  Louisville,  and  used 
to  having  on  his  table  the  foreign  liquors  of  an  excellent  grade 
that  were  imported.  Williams  tried  to  cover  his  mortification 
by  suggesting  that  Johnston  was  an  aristocrat,  with  taste  too 
refined  for  the  beverage  of  ordinary  mortals  ;  but  when  Johnston 
so  severely  criticised  his  whisky  no  other  member  of  the  Board 
came  to  its  defense.  The  bottle  of  whisky  it  must  be  said,  how- 
ever, which  Williams  brought  to  the  meeting,  went  home  empty, 
and  the  inference  is  as  strong  as  the  liquor  could  have  been 
that  it  was  drunk  by  the  members  in  spite  of  Johnston's  con- 
demnation of  it. 


APPENDIX  P. 

BANKS  NOW  AND  HERETOFORE  IN  LOUISVILLE. 

The  banks  now  doing  business  in  Louisville  are  the  fol- 
lowing : 

The  Louisville  Clearing  House ;  the  Bank  of  Kentucky, 
capital,  $1,645,100;  the  Bank  of  Louisville,  capital,  $750,000;  the 
Citizens  National  Bank,  authorized  capital,  $500,000,  paid-up 
capital,  $344,000 ;  the  Falls  City  Tobacco  Bank,  capital  paid  in, 
$400,000,  authorized  capital,  $1,000,000;  the  Farmers  and  Drov- 
ers Bank,  capital,  $319,000;  the  First  National  Bank  of  Louis- 
ville, capital  subscribed,  $500,000,  privilege,  $1,000,000;  the 
Franklin  Bank  of  Kentucky,  capital,  $200,000 ;  the  German 
Bank,  capital,  $232,000;  the  German  Insurance  Bank;  the 
German  National  Bank,  capital,  $251,500;  the  German  Security 
Bank,  capital,  $180,000;  the  Kentucky  National  Bank,  capital, 
$500,000 ;  the  Louisville  Banking  Company,  capital  and  surplus, 
$335,000;  the  Louisville  City  National  Bank,  capital,  $400,000; 
the  Masonic  Savings  Bank,  capital  $300,000;  the  Merchants 
National  Bank  of  Louisville,  capital,  $500,000 ;  the  Peoples  Bank 
of  Kentucky ;  the  Second  National  Bank,  capital,  $400,000 ;  the 
Third  National  Bank  of  Louisville,  authorized  capital,  $500,000, 
paid  in,  $200,000 ;  the  Western  Bank,  capital,  $250,000 ;  the 
Western  Financial  Corporation,  capital,  $800,000. 

The  banks  which  previous  to  the  year  1880  have  done  busi- 


196  Appendix  P. 

ness   in   Louisville,  and  which  for  one   cause   or   another  have 
ceased,  are  the  following : 

The  Old  Bank  of  Kentucky,  incorporated  in  1806  with  a 
capital  of  $1,000,000,  afterwards  increased  in  1815  to  $3,000,000; 
the  Commercial  Bank  of  Louisville,  incorporated  in  1818  with 
a  capital  of  $1,000,000;  the  Bank  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Ken- 
tucky, incorporated  in  1820  with  a  capital  of  $2,000,000;  a 
branch  of  the  United  States  Bank,  with  a  capital  of  $1,250,000, 
which  was  practically  the  only  bank  doing  business  here  just 
before  the  Bank  of  Louisville,  the  Bank  of  Kentucky,  and  the 
Northern  Bank  of  Kentucky  were  started. 

To  the  above  list  of  ancient  banks  that  once  did  business 
here  and  ceased  may  be  added  the  following  formidable  list  of 
modern  ones :  A  Branch  of  the  Northern  Bank  of  Kentucky,  the 
Mechanics  Savings  Institution,  the  Louisville  Gas  Company 
Bank,  the  Mechanics  Savings  Bank,  the  Louisville  Savings 
Institute,  a  branch  of  the  Commercial  Bank  of  Kentucky,  the 
Franklin  Bank  of  Kentucky,  the  Mechanics  Bank,  the  Merchants 
Bank  of  Kentucky,  a  Branch  of  the  Southern  Bank  of  Ken- 
tucky, the  Jefferson  Savings  Institution,  the  Franklin  Savings 
Institution,  the  German  Savings  Bank,  the  Savings  Bank  of 
Louisville,  the  Citizens  Bank,  the  Planters  National  Bank,  the 
Falls  City  Bank,  the  Masonic  Savings  Institute,  the  Freedmen's 
Savings  and  Trust  Company,  the  Central  Savings  Bank,  the  Bank 
of  America,  the  Manufacturing  and  Financial  Company,  the 
Traders  Bank  and  Warehouse  Company,  the  Exchange  Bank  and 
Tobacco  Warehouse,  the  Western  German  Savings  Bank. 


Appendix  P.  197 

Banking  in  Kentucky  was  the  creature  of  fraud  and  imposi- 
tion. Our  people  had  had  enough  of  paper  money  during  the 
Revolutionary  War.  The  united  Colonies,  through  Congress, 
had  issued  an  enormous  sum,  and  each  of  the  Colonies  had 
flooded  the  market  with  all  it  could  get  taken.  Virginia  alone 
had  during  the  war  issued  nearly  $100,000,000,  and  most  of  our 
people  having  come  from  Virginia  were  loaded  down  with  these 
issues.  Towards  the  end  of  hostilities  it  required  one  thousand 
of  these  paper  dollars  to  equal  one  silver  dollar,  and  finally  they 
became  of  no  value  at  all.  Our  people,  with  trunks  full  of  these 
worthless  paper  dollars,  went  back  to  first  principles  and  engaged 
in  barter.  Tobacco  was  a  favorite  medium  of  exchange,  and  was 
lawful  also.  Lands,  houses,  goods,  implements,  and  every  thing 
bought  and  sold  were  paid  for  in  tobacco.  Accounts  were  kept 
in  pounds  of  tobacco  instead  of  dollars,  and  everybody  under- 
stood that  mode  of  reckoning.  Indeed,  every  article  of  produce 
was  a  medium  of  exchange  by  barter,  and  no  one  wanted  paper 
money.  A  proposition  to  establish  a  bank  of  issue  would  have 
been  repudiated  by  a  very  large  majority  of  our  citizens. 

There  were  a  few,  however,  who  wanted  banks,  and  they 
devised  the  means  of  securing  them  by  fraud  and  deception. 
They  applied  to  the  legislature  in  1802  for  the  incorporation  of 
a  company  to  insure  cargoes  on  the  western  waters.  They  called 
their  fraud  the  Kentucky  Insurance  Company,  and  fixed  its 
capital  at  $150,000.  This  looked  well  enough  on  the  face  of  the 
papers,  because  no  one  in  the  legislature  or  out  of  it  could 
reasonably  object  to  a  strong  company  that  was  to  insure  against 


1 98  Appendix  P. 

loss  from  the  perils  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers.  In  the 
act  of  incorporation,  however,  as  it  was  drawn  there  were  these 
words,  hidden  away  in  a  dark  corner  as  it  were,  "And  such  of 
the  notes  as  are  payable  to  bearer  shall  be  negotiable  and  assign- 
able by  delivery  only."  By  this  provision  of  their  charter,  which 
no  one  but  themselves  understood  when  it  was  before  the  legis- 
lature, they  issued  regular  paper  money  so  soon  as  they  got  their 
company  incorporated.  They  issued  their  notes  abundantly,  and, 
finding  them  a  good  thing  so  far  as  their  own  profits  were  con- 
cerned, they  got  the  privilege  of  going  beyond  their  original 
capital  and  issuing  notes  to  the  amount  of  "  The  debts  due  them, 
the  money  in  their  vaults,  the  property  real,  personal,  and  mixed 
they  might  own,  and  their  capital  stock."  This  was  banking 
with  a  vengeance,  and  it  so  turned  out  in  the  end.  The  Ken- 
tucky Insurance  Company  began  in  fraud  and  ended  in  bank- 
ruptcy. Many  of  its  paper  dollars  are  yet  held  by  the  descendants 
of  those  they  defrauded  as  curiosities  of  the  times.  In  fact  a 
dollar  note  of  the  defunct  Kentucky  Insurance  Company  is  worth 
more  now  as  a  curiosity  than  it  ever  was  as  money. 


APPENDIX  Q. 

LIST  OF  OLD  CITIZENS  IN  1880. 

The  following  list  of  our  citizens  who  have  passed  the  scrip- 
tural age  of  three -score  and  ten  gives  some  indication  of  how 
long  people  can  live  in  the  genial  climate  of  Louisville : 

CITIZENS  OVER  NINETY. 

Dr.  C.  C.  Graham 96  Thomas  L>  Butler, 92 

H.  W.  Wilkes 94  Wm.  Givens, 92 

Asa  Emerson, 94  John  P.  Young 91 

Stephen  E-  Davis, 94 

CITIZENS  OVER  EIGHTY. 

Joseph  Danforth, 89  Joseph  Irwin, 82 

Wm.  Talbot, 89  Wm.  Hurst 82 

Wm.  Jarvis, 89  James  C.  Ford, 82 

Joseph  Swager 88  Samuel  Campbell 82 

E.  E.  Williams 86  Hon.  D.  L.  Beatty 82 

Wm.  W.  Williams 86  James  Anderson,  jr.,    ....  82 

Rev.  Joseph  A.  Lloyd,    ...  84  James  Harrison, 81 

Joseph  A.  Barnett, 84  Samuel  K.  Richardson,    ...  80 

James  Anderson 84  Dr.  M.  L.  Lewis, 80 

Joseph  J.  Sheridan, 83  I.  R.  Green, 80 

Hon.  Wm.  P.  Thomasson,  .    .  83  Rev.  Wm.  C.  Atmore,  ....  80 

CITIZENS  OVER  SEVENTY. 

B.  F.  Avery 79  Abraham  Myers, 78 

Samuel  Hillman, 79  William  Musselman,     ....  78 

J.  B.  Mcllvain 79  John  Lamborne, 78 

Edward  Stokes, 78  A.  G.  Hodges, 78 


200 


Appendix  Q. 


John  Felder, 78 

Herman  Eustis, 77 

A.  W.  R.  Harris, 77 

James  Hamilton, 77 

Thomas  Jefferson,     ....      77 

J.  M.  Monohan 76 

S.  S.  English 76 

W.  H.  Evans, 76 

Dr.  T.  S.  Bell, 75 

Hon.  John  M.  Delph,  ....  75 
Dr.  R.  W.  Ferguson,    ....  75 

T.  J.  Hackney 75 

R.  R.  Jones 75 

William  Kriel, 75 

Christian  Hatzel, 75 

R.  P.  Lightburn 75 

Luther  Wilson, 75 

R.  K.  White 74 

Henry  Wolford, 74 

David  Marshall, 74 

C.  C.  Green, 74 

John  Christopher, 74 

Rev.  James  Craik 74 

John  Adam 73 

Hon.  Wm.  F.  Bullock,     ...  73 

James  Bridgeford 73 

James  M.  Campbell,     ....  73 

H.  W.  Hawes, 73 

S.  G.  Henry, 73 

John  P.  Morton, 73 

Zenos  D.  Parker 73 

B.  F.  Rudy, 73 

Francis  Reidhar, 73 

Christopher  Steele, 73 

James  Trabue, 73 


G.  A.  Zeuma, 72 

I/.  L.  Warren, 72 

L.  A.  Tripp, 72 

George  Shoemaker,  .    .    .  •     .72 

R.  F.  Orr, .72 

Warren  Mitchell, 72 

Fount.  Lochry, 72 

Dr.  Wm.  H.  Goddard 72 

Thomas  J.  Gorin, 72 

George  L-  Douglass,     .    .    .    .72 

M.  Lewis  Clark,  sr. 72 

Charles  N.  Corri, 72 

Henry  Christopher 72 

W.  J.  Cornell, 72 

W.  P.  Benedict 72 

R.  M.  Alexander 72 

Archibald  Chappell,     .    .    .    .71 

Benjamin  B.  Hinkle 71 

Rev.  E.  P.  Humphrey,     ...  71 

M.  W.  Sherrill 71 

B.  H.  Thurman, 71 

Joseph  Wolf, 70 

Charles  Wolford 70 

G.  T.  Vernon, 70 

L.  D.  Pearson 70 

T.  C.  Pomeroy, 70 

Daniel  Lavielle, 70 

Henry  Kneaster 70 

Conrad  F.  Keiser, 70 

T.  M.  Erwin, 70 

Rev.  Hiram  A.  Hunter,   ...  70 

John  L.  Branham 70 

Tarleton  Arterburn,     ....  70 
Prof.  Noble  Butler, 70 


no. 8 


Filson  Club,  Louisville,  Ky. 
Publications 


PLEASE  DO  NOT  REMOVE 
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UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO  LIBRARY 


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