Bullitt County GenWeb

Bullitt County Biographies M-R

Biographical information about people who resided in Bullitt County (or had strong connections to those who did)

  THOMAS A. MASON was born in the city of Newport, Ky., September 16, 1845, and is a son of John Mason, who was born in England in 1812. He married Mary Williamson, also of England, and came to the United States in 1844, settling in Newport, and died there in July, 1858; his wife died September 16, 1869. There were three children born to this couple, two of whom died in infancy. Thomas A. Mason, the subject of this sketch, is one of the leading and substantial farmers of Bullitt County, and was married to Miss Rebecca Jeans February 17, 1864. In connection with his farming interests he is also engaged in the saw-mill business. He has had ten children, of whom eight are living.

Kentucky: A History of the State, Perrin, Battle, Kniffin, 8th ed., 1888, Bullitt Co.


 HOWARD LEE MATTHEWS was probably called to the pastorate of the Green River Church in the month of July, 1950. It became his first Church to serve in this capacity. He was born in Ohio County, Kentucky, on January 14, 1931, near Fordsville.

He is the son of the late Ira Matthews (b. January 5, 1902 - d. August 7, 1983) and Mary (Walker) Matthews (b. October 18, 1901 - d. August 22, 1983). His father was born at the Falls of Rough, Breckinridge County, Kentucky, and died at Fordsville, Ohio County, Kentucky. His mother was born at Pellville, Hancock County, Kentucky, and died only fifteen days after her husband, at Brook's Station, Bullitt County, Kentucky. Both of them are buried in the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in northeastern Ohio County, near Fordsville, where they held membership for years and where they served the Lord. Mrs. Matthews was a prominent teacher of children in Sunday School for years, while Brother Matthews served as a Deacon and Song Leader. They became the parents of five children - two sons and three daughters. Both sons became Baptist Ministers. Harold Matthews has been a missionary of the Southern Baptist Convention in the Philippines since 1957.

A Sesquicentennial History of the Green River Missionary Baptist Church 1836 - 1986, Written and Compiled by Wendell Holmes Rone, Sr., For the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Founding of the Church, 1987. By permission of author. Ohio County


 THE MAY FAMILY Maysville derived its name from John May, who was killed by the Indians on a boat, March 20, 1790, near the mouth of the Scioto. The town was established by an act of the legislature on one hundred acres of land, owned by John May and Simon Kenton. Mayslick, twelve miles west, was named for John May, former owner of the land. George May, surveyor and brother of John, arrived from Virginia and opened his office at Cox Station, then Jefferson, now Nicholas Co. George was killed by Indians near Shepherdsville, in Bullitt Co., in 1795. His field notes were preserved and sustained by the superior court of Ky. The first clerk of Lincoln Co. was William May (brother of John and George), January 1787, who resigned in 1793. In 1794, Charles May, (another brother) was dispatched by Gen. Wayne with five others as spies to bring in an Indian to find out the intention of the enemy. Samuel, son of Charles May was a senator from Floyd and Pike Counties in 1834-1839. David, son of Samuel May, was representative from Pike Co. in 1861-3; was expelled for aiding the Confederates August 29, 1862. Gabriel, brother of John, George, William and Charles was born in 1751; married Sallie Stokes, niece of Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Gabriel May came from Pittsylvania Co., Va. in 1788, with his wife and seven children, four others being born in Kentucky. Their names were Humphrey, Stephen, Allen and Gabriel. Seven earlier children not known. Humphrey, son of Gabriel, 1757, was born in Pittsylvania Co., Va. in 1782 and married in Elizabeth Co. Their daughter, Sallie, born in Spencer Co. Ky., November 28, 1814, married Thomas Stone, by whom she had eight children. Stephen May, son of Gabriel May, 1751, married Elizabeth Berkly and had two children, Jonathan who never married and Malinda born in 1802 who married Eli D Stone: no issue. Gabriel May (son of Gabriel, 1751) married Gilla Stigler and had ten children, viz: Nancy, Susan, Gilla, Matilda, Charles Allen, Humphrey, Gabriel and Henry. His brother Gabriel is still living in Dupont, IN. Allen May (son of Gabriel, 1751) married Miss Dorsey, had seven children. Burr Harrison May (named for Burr Harrison of Nelson Co., senator from 1811-15, and representative for six terms), married Charlotte Wilson, whose mother was a Logan; B. H. May had eight children, four still living. Allen May, Jr., was a Colonel of an Indian regiment during the Mexican War. He had six children. Ware S. May, son of Allen May, Sr. is still living in Illinois.

May Kenton Stokes Allen Stone Berkly Stone Stigler Dorsey Harrison Wilson Logan = Jefferson-KY Nicholas-KY Shepherdsville-Bullitt-KY Lincoln-KY Floyd-KY Pike-KY Pittsylvania-VA Elizabeth-VA Spencer-KY IN Nelson-KY IL

Taken from old clippings dealing with Kentucky family history, newspaper unknown. These clippings are about 100 years old (1997). Reprinted in Kentucky Explorer, Volume 10, Number 5 - October, 1995. p. 96. Mason County.


 JAMES M. MAY, born in Nelson County, Ky., Dec. 27, 1815, is a son of John W. May, a native of Virginia, who brought his family to Daviess County in 1820, and settled in Knottsville Precinct. Mr. May is the only one left of a family of twelve children. His father kept a tavern in an early day on the place where our subject now lives which is ten miles east of Owensboro, on the Hardinsburg road. He has been married three times and is the father of six children. He is a member of the Baptist church and the Masonic fraternity.

May = Nelson-KY VA

History of Daviess County, Kentucky, Inter-State Publishing Co., Chicago, 1883. Reprinted by McDowell Publications, Utica, KY, 1980. p. 620.


 WILLIAM McBRIDE, late of Knottsville Precinct, was born in Nelson County, Ky., in February, 1808, and was a son of John McBride. He was married Feb. 4, 1841, to Deborah Taylor. Seven children were born to them, five now living--William R., John C., Robert A., David M. and George T. Mr. McBride came to this county in 1842, where he died May 2, 1852. Mrs. McBride was a daughter of Benjamin L. Taylor, and was born in Washington County, Ky. She now resides with her son, John C., who carries on the home farm. He was born July 29, 1844. His education was necessarily limited, having early to devote his time to the farm. He was married April 18, 1880, to Louisa, daughter of Samuel Smith. The family are members of the Catholic church.

McBride Taylor = Nelson Washington

History of Daviess County, Kentucky, Inter-State Publishing Co., Chicago, 1883. Reprinted by McDowell Publications, Utica, KY, 1980. p. 621.


 JOHN MCCROCKLIN was born in 1816, in Spencer County, Ky., a son of William and Nellie (Beard) McCrocklin. William was a son of Jesse McCrocklin, was born in Shelby County, but was a farmer in Spencer County. Mrs. McCrocklin was a daughter of Alexander Beard, who came from Ireland when quite young. John is the fifth of nine children, was reared on a farm, and has followed agricultural pursuits all his life, is the owner of about 1,300 acres in Spencer County, and has been successful by dint of hard labor. In 1837 he married Elizabeth, daughter of James Wakfield [sic] of Spencer County, and of a large and influential family. She was born in 1819, and died in 1867, a member of the Baptist Church. Eight children were born to their union: James, Jesse, Frank, Louise, Victoria, Annie, Bettie and Mattie. Mr. McCrocklin's second marriage occurred in 1872 with Mrs. Relief Wells, widow of Edrington Wells, a merchant of Fairfield, Ky. Mrs. McCrocklin is a daughter of Benjamin and Sallie (De Witt) Flanders, of Nelson County was born in 1822, and was twice married before her union with Mr. McCrocklin. Mrs. McCrocklin's first husband was James Weaver, to whom she bore two children: Mary K. and Nannie J. Her father was born in New York in 1800, and died in Nelson County in 1856. Mr. and Mrs. McCrocklin reside on the old McCrocklin homestead, the house being seventy-six years old.

McCrocklin Beard Wakfield Wells Flanders De_Witt Weaver = Shelby Ireland Nelson NY

Kentucky: A History of the State. Perrin, Battle & Kniffin, 6th ed.,1887, (Spencer)


 ROBERT MCGREW was born in Spencer County, Ky., December 7, 1821. He is the tenth of a family of twelve children born to George and Elizabeth (Cravison) McGrew. George was a stone mason by trade, but was also engaged in agricultural pursuits. Our subject was married in February, 1842, to Miss Minervia C. Collins, daughter of George Collins. Two children have blessed their union: Susan E., who married R.S. Gilbert, and has four living children: Kate, Everett, Ella and Jesse; and Joseph W., who married Irene Alloway and has four living children: Iva, William, Bettie and Robert. Our subject received a common-school education, and has always been engaged in the pursuits of the farm, and now owns 318 acres near Waterford. He and his wife are strict members of the Plum Creek Baptist Church, in which he has been deacon for twenty years. He is also a Master Mason.

McGrew Cravison Collins Gilbert Alloway = none

Kentucky: A History of the State. Perrin, Battle & Kniffin, 6th ed.,1887, (Spencer).


 DAVID MILLER was born in Nelson Co. Ky., July 13, 1793. His father, Jacob Miller, was a native of Pennsylvania, and, it is believed, was of German extraction. He emigrated to Kentucky, in 1785, and settled in Nelson county. All his family were Baptists, as are most of his numerous posterity. The subject of this sketch professed religion and united with Otter Creek (now Rolling Fork) church, in what is now LaRue [sic] county, in 1809. He was licensed to preach, in November, 1835. He was now in his 43rd year, and the development of his gifts was so slow, that he was not ordained till August, 1838, at which time he was solemnly set apart to the full work of the ministry, by Johnson Graham, D. S. Colgan, Horatio Chandler and John Miller. He was soon called to the care of the Middle Creek church, in LaRue [sic] county, and Good Hope church, in Taylor county. To the former he preached 20 years, in which time 71 converts were baptized into its fellowship; the latter he served 19 years, and baptized for its membership over 100 converts. He preached to several other churches, during briefer periods. Of him G. H. Hicks, one of his co-laborers says: "Brother Miller possessed only ordinary talents, but was blessed with extraordinary zeal and deep-toned piety. He was generally foremost in contributions to benevolent objects. He was an indefatigable laborer in the cause of his Master." After suffering severely with dyspepsia, nearly twenty yers, and from dropsy, about three years, he died of a violent attack of pneumonia, March 20, 1872. His faithful wife, with whom he had lived nearly 56 years followed him to his final rest, the 7th of May, of the same year.

Miller Graham Colgan Chandler Hicks = PA Larue-KY Taylor-KY

A History of Kentucky Baptists From 1769 to 1885, Including More Than 800 Biographical Sketches, J. H. Spencer, Manuscript Revised and Corrected by Mrs. Burilla B. Spencer, In Two Volumes. Printed For the Author. 1886. Republished By Church History Research & Archives 1976 Lafayette, Tennessee. Vol. 2, pp 207-208. [Nelson County]


 FRANCIS M. MILLER was born in Shelby County, Ky., February 19, 1834, and is a son of Fleming and Susan (Holloway) Miller, natives of Virginia. He was brought up on the farm and received such an education as could be obtained in the public schools of that county. Upon attaining his majority he came to Bullitt County, and after remaining here a few years he removed to Illinois and settled in Christian County, but a few years later he returned to Kentucky, and located upon the same farm that he left on going to Illinois, convinced him that Kentucky is the best State in the Union after all. Mr. Miller was married in December, 1862, to Miss Mary Jane Miller, born December 10, 1843, and a daughter of James H. and Louisa Miller. They have one child, born February 16, 1864.

Miller Holloway = Christian-IL VA

Kentucky: A History of the State, Perrin, Battle, Kniffin, 8th ed., 1888, Bullitt Co.


 JAMES MILLER, a prominent farmer of Bullitt County, Ky., is a native of Jefferson County, Ky., and was born April 29, 1860, and is a son of Thomas Miller, who was also born in Jefferson County, November 29, 1831, and married Miss Narcissus Jeans, April 6, 1856. James Miller, the subject of this sketch, is the second born of eleven children. His ancestors, who first settled in Kentucky, were from North Carolina. He was liberally educated in the country school, and was married to Miss Alice Furganson, daughter of Hamilton Furganson, July 8, 1880, and has two children living--Mattie Lee and Henry Thomas, born respectively September 24, 1883, and February 14, 1886.

Miller Jeans Furganson = Jefferson-KY

Kentucky: A History of the State, Perrin, Battle, Kniffin, 8th ed., 1888, Bullitt Co.


 JOHN MILLER, a brother of the above [David Miller], was born in the county, Dec. 26, 1805. He received only a moderate common school education. He obtained hope in Christ during the revival of 1828, but, being doubtful of the genuiness of his conversion, he did not make a public profession of religion, till the fall of 1829, when he was baptized into the fellowship of Otter Creek church, of which the family of his parents were members, by Johnson Graham. He was licensed to preach, Nov 8, 1835. He at once commenced the exercise of his gift, and his progress was so satisfactory that he was ordained to the work of the ministry, on the 2nd of December, of the following year, Johnson Graham, Horation Chandler and Wm. M. Brown, forming the presbytery. He was a man of fair talent, of excellent practical judgment, and of deep, earnest piety. Not far from the time of his ordination, he made the following entry in his private journal: "To Thee, O Lord, I look; for without thee, I can do nothing. Keep me humble, and make me holy, give me an understanding of thy Word. And oh, may my object be to preach Jesus, and not myself, that I may gloriy thy name, and win souls to thee, the living God. These favors I ask for Jesus' sake, unto whose name be everlasting praises: Amen." A deleation of his ministerial and christian character could not be better portrayed, than it is in this simple prayer. Every petition in it seems to have been literally answered.

Mr. Miller, was, at different periods, pastor of the churches at Hardin's Creek, in Washington county; Stewarts Creek, in Marion; Middle Creek, Rolling Fork and Hodgenville, in LaRue [sic]; Brush Crek, in Green; Friendship, in Taylor, and Union Band in Nelson. He was instrumental in raising up Middle Creek and Union Band, and was a member of the latter, at the time of his death. He was a humble, pious christian, a good strong, plain preacher, a wise counselor, and an excellent disciplinarian, and doubtless, would have exerted a much more extended influence but for the fact of his becoming a confirmed dyspeptic, in the early part of his ministry. He frequently resigned the pastor office, on account of ill health; but would resume that relation, as soon as his health was sufficiently improved. This will account for his having been pastor of so many churches. But with all his afflictions, during a period of about 20 yers, God wrought a good work by him. He baptized over 350 converts.

A History of Kentucky Baptists From 1769 to 1885, Including More Than 800 Biographical Sketches, J. H. Spencer, Manuscript Revised and Corrected by Mrs. Burilla B. Spencer, In Two Volumes. Printed For the Author. 1886. Republished By Church History Research & Archives 1976 Lafayette, Tennessee. Vol. 2, pp 208-209. [Nelson County]


 SAMUEL M. MILLER was born in Nelson County, Ky., January 27, 1856, and is a son of Irvin Miller, also a native of Nelson County, born January 13, 1834; his wife, the mother of the subject, was Judith W. Ross. Samuel M., the subject, was educated in his native county, and removed to Bullitt County, where he was married, December 20, 1877, to Miss Cora Bell Greenwell, a daughter of Robert and Elizabeth E. Greenwell. They have two children, viz: Harry M., born September 15, 1878, and Ollie Lee, born July 25, 1882. Mr. Miller is one of the young and enterprising farmers of Bullitt County.

Miller Ross Greenwell = Nelson-KY

Kentucky: A History of the State, Perrin, Battle, Kniffin, 8th ed., 1888, Bullitt Co.


 LEWIS T. MOBBERLY, merchant and postmaster at Long Grove, Hardin Co., Ky., is one of a family of twelve children born to William Mobberly and Sarah Curtsinger. His father was born in Maryland in 1808, and removed to Nelson County, Ky., and is now living with his son, Matthew M., in Taylor County, Ky. His wife died in 1876. Eight of their family are living, viz.: Mary E., Lewis T., John W., N.B., William M., Sarah E., Susan E. and Matthew M. Mobberly. The subject of this sketch was born in Washington County, Ky., August 26, 1835. He was reared to manhood in his native county, and at the age of twenty-one years removed to Hardin County, his present home. In early life he learned the trade of blacksmith, to which he has devoted sixteen years of his time. He is now engaged in merchandising, and for the past ten years has been in the employ of the Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern Railroad Company, as their agent at Long Grove. November 5, 1856, he married Miss Siothia Meece, who died February 28, 1870, leaving four children: Elza D., William E., Emma L. and Sallie M. Mobberly. His present wife, to whom he was married March 14, 1873, was Eliza, a daughter of D. A. and Nancy Lawson. Their union has resulted in the birth of one son, Edward Thomas Mobberly.

Mobberly Curtsinger Meece Lawson = MD Nelson-KY Taylor-KY Washington-KY

Kentucky: A History of the State, Battle, Perrin, & Kniffin, 3rd ed., 1885, Hardin Co.


 AARON MOORE is a native of Pendleton County, Ky., and was born September 17, 1842. He is the son of John F. and Nancy (Smith) Moore, the former a prominent minister of the Methodist Church for many years; the mother was the daughter of Amos Smith before marriage. John F. Moore was the father of sixteen children. Aaron Moore, the second child of John F. Moore, was brought up in a country home. When the war broke out in 1861 he chose the Union side of the matter, and enlisted in Company B, Fifty-ninth Ohio Infantry, and participated in many of the hard-fought battles of the war, among them Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga, Rocky Face Ridge, Perryville, etc. He was married to Miss Annie Hockersmith. Aaron Moore removed to and is now living in Bullitt County, Ky. He is also a minister of the Methodist Church.

Moore Smith Hockersmith = Pendleton-KY

Kentucky: A History of the State, Perrin, Battle, Kniffin, 8th ed., 1888, Bullitt Co.


 JAMES T. MOREHEAD, governor and United States senator, was born May 24, 1797, near Shepherdsville, Bullitt county, Kentucky. He attended school at Russellville and completed his education at Transylvania University. He studied law with Judge H. P. Broadnax. In the spring of 1818 he settled at Bowling Green and entered upon the practice of his profession; was elected to the legislature in 1828, and re-elected; was a delegate to the convention at Baltimore, which nominated Henry Clay for the presidency; was elected lieutenant governor of Kentucky in 1832; in February, 1834, on account of the death of Governor John Breathitt, he was inaugurated governor and filled the position to the end of the term; in 1836 he resumed the practice of law, at Frankfort, and in the following year was elected to the legislature; and in the winter of 1839 he was appointed by the legislature, in connection with Hon. John Speed Smith, commissioner to the state of Ohio, to secure the passage of a law protecting the slave property of Kentuckians. He was United States senator from 1841 to 1847, and was prominent in congress as a debater, being a fluent and graceful speaker. In the latter year he entered upon the practice of his profession at Covington, where he died, December, 1854. He was one of the most able lawyers of the state, scholarly in his attainments, careful and painstaking as a writer. He gave much attention to matters pertaining to the early growth of the state, and made many valuable contributions in the nature of biography and adventure of the historic pioneer settlers. He gave considerable time to literary pursuits and by his efforts in that direction did much in giving permanency to the early history of his state. His own name will continue to occupy a place in the hearts of all who love true nobleness of character and appreciate its worth.

Morehead Broadnax Smith = Bullitt-KY Logan-KY Fayette-KY Warren-KY Franklin-KY

Lawyers and Lawmakers of Kentucky, by H. Levin, editor, 1897. Published by Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago. Reprinted by Southern Historical Press. p. 119. Kenton County.


 SOLOMON R. NORMAN was born in Spencer County, Ky., in 1823, and is a son of Abner Norman, who at the age of four years came with his parents to Kentucky from North Carolina, in which latter State he was born in 1789. Abner's parents were Isaac and Hannah (Gage) Norman, and on their arrival in Kentucky settled on Elk Creek in Spencer County. The father was of French descent, and the mother, Hannah Gage, was a relative of Gen. Gage, of Revolutionary fame, and of English descent. Abner Norman was a farmer and horticulturist of the highest order, and died in Kentucky January 2, 1856. The mother of Solomon R. Norman, Mrs. Frances Norman, was a daughter of Solomon and Mary (Northmore) Redman, who was born in Virginia in 1788, and died in Kentucky in 1764 [sic]. Solomon R. Norman was the fourth in a family of five children: Amelia, Mary, Martha, Solomon and Sarah. He was reared to farming, and is now the owner of 400 acres in the precinct where his grandparents first settled. He has been a leading citizen in all internal improvements, educational institutions and public and private charities of the county. He has for twenty years been a justice of the peace, and for the same length of time a Master Mason. For thirty years he has been a member of the Baptist Church at Elk Creek, established in 1794, of which church Isaac Norman was one of the first officers. In 1846 Solomon R. Norman married Lucinda W., the only daughter of Richard Van Dyke, of Spencer County, and of Dutch descent, and are now owning and occupying land deeded to her grandfather in 1792. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Norman have been born fourteen children, only five of whom are now living: Richard V., Abner E., Amelia A., Mary E. and Martha F. Norman; the rest nearly all died in infancy.

Norman Gage Northmore Redman Van_Dyke = NC VA

Kentucky: A History of the State. Perrin, Battle & Kniffin, 6th ed.,1887, Spencer Co.


 JOSEPH THOMAS O'NEAL, of Louisville, was born in Woodford county, Kentucky, on the 7th of February, 1849, and is descended from one of the pioneer families of Virginia, where in 1701 located three brothers of the name who had emigrated from the Emerald Isle to secure homes in the new world. From one of these brothers was descended Louis O'Neal, who was born in Virginia and served as a soldier in the colonial army during the war of the Revolution. He became the founder of the family in Kentucky, locating in Jessamine county during the closing years of the eighteenth century. His son, George O'Neal, the grandfather of Joseph T., was born in Jessamine county in 1789, and the father, Merrit Singleton O'Neal, became one of the leading farmers of that county. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Younger Arnold, a farmer of Woodford county, where his parents had located in pioneer days on their emigration from the Old Dominion. Thus Joseph T. O'Neal is connected with two families of long identification with the history of his native state. He attended the common schools of Woodford county until fifteen years of age, when he became a student in the Woodford Academy, of Versailles, Kentucky, an excellent institution of learning under the direction of Professor Henry. He afterward pursued his education in the Kentucky University in Lexington and subsequently matriculated in the law department of the Michigan University, where he was graduated with the class of 1873. In the fall of that year Mr. O'Neal came to Louisville and entered upon the practice of law in the office of Judge John Roberts. He has since been a member of various well-known and prominent law firms. His first partnership was with William L. Jackson, Jr., and Zach Phelps, under the firm name of O'Neal, Jackson & Phelps; this was succeeded by the firm of O'Neal & Phelps; and the next change was made by the admission of Joseph Pryor to an interest in the business, under the name of O'Neal, Phelps, Pryor & Seligman, but in October, 1894, by the withdrawal of two members, the firm became O'Neal & Pryor, and January 1, 1897, Judge W. S. Pryor, formerly chief justice of the court of appeals, was admitted to the firm which is now Pryor, O'Neal & Pryor, Judge W. S. Pryor having an office at Frankfort. Since his admission to the bar Mr. O'Neal has given his entire attention to the practice and has succeeded in securing a large and lucrative clientage. Many of the cases which he has handled have been of a very important character. The characterizing elements of his professional career are indefatigable industry and the most thorough preparation of his cases. Thus sure of his position, with an accurate knowledge of the authorities and precedents which make firm the position he has taken, he proves a formidable opponent in forensic encounters. He has never laid aside professional duties to seek the honors and emoluments of political preferments, having been once a candidate before the people. He was named for judge of the court of appeals, at the primary election of the Democratic party, but was defeated by a small vote of two hundred. Mr. O'Neal married Miss Lydia E. Wright, daughter of Joseph and Ellen (Briscoe) Wright. Her father is a prominent merchant and distiller, operating the Sugar Valley distillery in Bullitt county, Kentucky. The Wrights were of English descent, through the Hedges of England, and came to America in the early part of the eighteenth century locating in Virginia, whence they removed to Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. O'Neal have four children: Meritt D., Joseph T., Goodloe and Emmett. Mr. O'Neal holds membership in the Baptist church and belongs to the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of the Ancient Essenic Order.

O'Neal Arnold Wright Briscoe Hedge = Jessamine-KY Bullitt-KY Woodford-KY MI VA England Ireland

Lawyers and Lawmakers of Kentucky, by H. Levin, editor, 1897. Published by Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago. Reprinted by Southern Historical Press. p. 211. Jefferson County.


  John A. OVERALL, farmer and Stock raiser, of Lincoln County of which he is a native, was born in 1838, and is the seventh of ten children born to William O. and Elizabeth (CRENSHAW) OVERALL. They were born in Nelson and Bullitt Counties, Ky., and were reared and married in their native State. They came to Lincoln County, Mo., about 1837, and here spent the remainder of their days, dying in 1869 and 1877, respectively. John A. OVERALL, their son, attended the, district schools of his county in boyhood, and remained with his parents until he attained his majority, when he began farming for himself, and in 1868 was married to Ellen ARGENT, and by her became the father of seven children, six living: John William, Ida E., Albert S., Rolla H., Francis M. and Jessie B. Mr. OVERALL has spent his entire life on the farm of his birth, and now has over 1,000 acres in different tracts. He takes great interest in raising fine cattle, hogs and sheep, and is one of the extensive and prosperous farmers of the county. He votes the Democratic ticket, and his first presidential vote was cast for Breckinridge in 1860. His wife died in 1881. She was a member of the Baptist Church, and was an earnest Christian, and devoted mother and wife. Her parents, John and Nancy ARGENT, were born in England and Maryland, respectively. The father's birth occurred in 1808 near London, and at the age of twelve years he came with a married sister to the United States, settling in St. Louis, and later in Troy. He was married in St. Charles County, and was twice married after his first wife's death. He died in 1871.

File submitted to HERITAGE PAGES of LINCOLN COUNTY, MISSOURI by Phyllis Lake, 21 October 1998. Link change or update: 23 May 2000

 JONATHAN PADDOX was among the earliest preachers of Russells Creek Association. He was a native of Pennsylvania, from whence he moved to Kentucky, before it was a state, and settled in Bourbon county. Here he united with a Separate Baptist church called Huston, by which he was licensed to preach, in 1792. About the year 1800, he moved to what is now LaRue [sic] county, and united with South Fork church. Here he labored with the old pioneers, in laying the foundation of some of the early churches of that region. He assisted Allexander [six] McDougal in gathering Nolin church, in 1803; and preached some years to the church of which he was a member. In 1814, he moved to Harrison county, Indiana, and settled near Corrydon [sic]. Two years later he returned to Kentucky, and took charge of South Fork church, which had been divided on the subject of slavery, under the ministry of Thomas Whitman, their former pastor. Under the care of good old "father Paddox," the church was soon restored to harmony. But the aged minister was not becoming too feeble to labor, and, about 1820, he returned to his children, in Indiana, and soon afterward went to his final Rest.

Paddox McDougal Whitman = PA Larue-KY Corydon-Harrison-IN

A History of Kentucky Baptists From 1769 to 1885, Including More Than 800 Biographical Sketches, J. H. Spencer, Manuscript Revised and Corrected by Mrs. Burilla B. Spencer, In Two Volumes. Printed For the Author. 1886. Republished By Church History Research & Archives 1976 Lafayette, Tennessee. Vol. 2, pp 203-204. [Bourbon County]


  MOSES PIERSON was born 9 Jun 1765 Somerset County, New Jersey. He died Feb 1834 Pierson Township, Vigo County, Indiana. Cemetery is now in middle of Amax Coal strip mines. He married 19 Feb 1787 Nelson County, Kentucky first to Dorcas Taylor the daughter of William and Rachel (Thompson) Taylor, died about 1823 Nelson County, Kentucky and second to Eunice. Children by first, no issue by the second, all children born in Nelson County, Kentucky, exact order not known. John born about 1821 married 30 Sep 1811 Sally McDonald; Rachel born about 1834 married 22 May 1812 Gerard Briscoe; Eunice born about 1834 married first 13 Dec 1818 James Vittitow and second 7 Sep 1819 Elijah Middleton; Isaac died prior Nov 1834 Sullivan County, Indiana married 18 Feb 1819 Bullitt County, Kentucky Nancy Grundy; Wyllys/Willis born about 1798 died prior 21 Sep 1827 Shelby County, Kentucky married 2 May 1820 Mary Jane Stone; Elizabeth born 27 Jun 1796 died 3 Sep 1876 Vigo County, Indiana married 5 Dec 1822 Owen Thomas; Mary born 11 Sep 1801 died 12 Feb 1889 Vigo County, Indiana married 27 Sep 1824 John C. Fosworthy; Sarah married 23 Dec 1816 Jesse Whitaker; Moses born 1805 died 1845 New Orleans married 19 Jan 1826 Vigo County, Indiana Mary Liston; Taylor born 17 Apr 1808 died 26 Oct 1875 Vigo County, Indiana, married 31 Jul 1827 Ruth Crawford; Margaret married 11 Jan 1827 Vigo County, Indiana Jacob Kester. All children except John, Rachel and Eunice came to Indiana. Source Page 39, Roster of Soldiers and Patriots of the American Revolution Buried in Indiana, 1980.


  WILLIAM POGUE. This gentleman was born in Fairbanks Township, Sullivan Co., Ind., December 17, 1821. He is the second son in a family of nine children born to James and E. (Thomas) Pogue, natives of Kentucky and Ohio respectively. James Pogue came with his mother to Knox County, Ind., in 1815, and after a residence there of two years moved to Sullivan County, where James was brought up on a farm, receiving but a limited education. He was a man of much more than ordinary ability and natural powers of mind, and was well and favorably known to the early settlers of Sullivan and adjoining counties. William Pogue was brought up as most farmer's boys--working upon the farm, and attending school a few weeks during the winter season. Soon after attaining his majority he was united in marriage with Miss Julia Ann, daughter of James D. and Eleanor Piety. This occurred March 30, 1843. From this union there are three children--Riley, born March 24, 1845; George W., March 24, 1848, and Eliza, April 24, 1850. Riley married Miss Lizzie Denny, and Eliza, Mr. Peter S. Kester; George W. died February 6, 1870. Mr. Pogue is a Republican in politics, and he and wife are prominent members of the church of Christ. They are reading and well-informed people, and have the confidence and respect of all who know them.

"History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana, From the Earliest Time to the Present; Together With Interesting Biographical Sketches, Reminiscences, Notes, Etc." Chicago: Goodspeed Bros. & Co., Publishers. 1884.Sullivan Co., In, Fairbanks Twp., Page 819.


  CHRISTINA POLK, daughter of Deliah (Tyler) Polk, wife of Isaac McCoy, and daughter of Capt. Chas. Polk of Shelby Co., Ky. was born in Shelby Co., Ky on the 18th day of November 1787, and married on the sixteenth year of her age. She was a member of the Baptist church, and in her, God gave her husband just such a helper as he needed to aid and comfort him in all his subsequent labor, provations and sufferings. The Indian Advocate of July 1846 says of her, "No other woman we apprehend, could or would have so cheerfully met all the trials which befell her in those long years of suffering and toll, in her efforts to aid and sustain her husband in prosecuting his benevolent plans in behalf of the aborigines of America. But she seems to have drank and zealously into all his plans and labors, in behalf of the Indians, as he did himself"

Twelve years after their marriage, her husband in his autobiography wrote of her, "Of all the earthly blessings which God has bestowed upon me, she is most precious. Her uncommon fortitude and mild disposition have often cleared the clouds of despair which have hovered around, and caused me to forget my troubles." (Page 26)

Years afterwards, when Isaac McCoy located his Carey Mission among the Indians, near Niles, Michigan, he pitched his camp near a beautiful stream and lake, both now known as Christiana. John C. McCoy, his son and early pioneer of Kansas City, Mo., left written on the page of an old book, the following: "My father, Isaac McCoy, named a little stream in northern Indiana, in Elkhart County, hitherto unnamed for my mother, Christiana. He said the clear, placid cheerful brook made him think of his wife, of her buoyant, unruffled nature." He wrote further -- "Christiana Creek"

"This is the name of a bright sparkling stream that empties into the St. Joseph river a mile or two above the mouth of Elkhart river, on the north side and twelve or fifteen miles from and above South Bend, Indiana. Unlike the turgid, sluggish streams of Missouri and Kansas, its waters are clear and sparkling, leaping ad bubbling over its Sandy pebble bottom in a swift rapid current, and to me the name which this bright beautiful stream bears has a peculiar attraction, for it is the name of my sainted Mother, and it was to commemorate her bright, cheerful, hopeful, loving nature that honored it with the baptismal name of Christina, Sixty years have passed since it was named, and yet what a flood of memories crowd back upon me at its mention. I was then a stipling less than ten years old, and now have nearly numbered my three score years and ten. Oh, how vividly and mournfully pleasing are the recollections of that event. From my father, Isaac McCoy, it received its name under peculiar circumstances, and he knew and understood and only properly estimated her sterling worth, her devotion to him, her children and her God."

On the 14th day of August 1909, Orville T. Chamberlain, a prominent citizen and attorney for many years in Elkhart County, prior thereto, wrote me, - "Christiana Creek, which runs South from Christiana Lake in Ontera Township, Cass County, Michigan to Elkhart, Ind. About ten miles and empties into St. Joseph River at Elkhart, Ind. was named by Rev. Issac McCoy, in honor of his wife. This stream furnishes power for a gristmill at Adamsville, Cass. Co., Michigan, and about thirteen miles west of Adamsville, Michigan, at the place where Christiana Creek leaves the lake. The Carey Mission was abandoned when the United States Government removed the Potawattama Indians from the vicinity, to the Indian Territory. Jacob Ellis, who died at Elkhart some years ago, was one of the men who escorted the Indians to their new home. The removing party was under the charge of Alexis Coquillard of South Bend, Indiana, and was called "Cutte-aw" by the Indians.

Soon after the death of Isaac McCoy, there appeared in the Indian Advocate the following:

"The death of our late Corresponding Secretary, Elder I. McCoy, having left his venerable companion in her old age among us, a bereaved and afflicted monument of the sacrifices to missionary life common among missionaries, especially of those who have labored to the red man's welfare.

We concluded that the following narrative of the sufferings of Sister McCoy's mother and brother and sisters in childhood from the Indians might interest friends of the Indian Missions. In view of the sufferings of her family from Indian cruelty, and her own sacrifices for their good, we have a most sublime exhibition of the effects; of our holy religion, which can thus render a person unmindful of injury, and influences them to toil and suffer for the welfare of those from whose hands they receive nothing but evil. Such a spectacle is exhibit in the life of Sister McCoy. She is the seventh child of Mrs. Polk, the wife of Capt. Polk, who was the principal sufferer in the long and dreary captivity, which the following narrative reveals. She was the second child born after her release from captivity and was born four years after that gloomy event, yet Sister McCoy had devoted the best days of her life to the welfare of the Indians and still feels as anxious to do as she did in her younger years"

William Polk, who wrote this account of the captivity of his mother, shared it with her and was the little boy that the Indians dressed in Indian apparel and styled him "The son of the Chief."

Excerpt from this narrative:

Capt. Charles Polk, the father of Mrs. Christiana McCoy, with his family, consisting of his wife and four children, in the year 1781 settled at Linns Station about twelve miles from Louisville, Ky and having taken alarm at the depredations of the Indians in the neighborhood, took up their abode in one of the three forts in the vicinity, which were situated some fifteen miles apart for protection. While Captain Polk and his men were seeking to protect another fort, the Indians made their appearance before William Polk; the captive boy thus describes the one in which the mother and children had sought refuge, and the attack, long after he became a man.

"On a clear and bright morning, the moon shining in her meridian splendor, the 31st of August, 1782, about one hour before the break of day, the first alarm to the unfortunate inmates was the war-whoop of the Indians as they assailed the fort from different quarters and obtained immediate possession by climbing the walls and unroofing the cabins. Descending from the outside, one man defended his house until his wife and one child were killed, when seizing his other child, a boy about fours years old, he made his escape. The remaining inmates, about thirty in number were taken prisoners and the fort burned. It was known for many years afterwards as the "Burnt Station". On the evening of the day of our calamity, Co. Floyd was advised to consult what course would be proper to pursue, and the general opinion was in favor of an immediate pursuit. To this, Capt. Polk strongly objected, urging that a pursuit would tend to the massacre of all the prisoners, as the Indians would keep scouts in their rear, on their retreat, so that a surprise could not be calculated upon and that as it was it might be possible for him some time to recover his family. Known as he was for his determined bravery, perseverance and patience and from his amiable and conciliatory course, being universally beloved, a pursuit was not attempted.

The Indians after taking whatever of the property of the inhabitants they could travel (rest torn off) after sunrise they commenced their retreat with their prisoners, in all about thirty, including Mrs. Polk and her four children, the eldest a boy of seven years of age, the others daughters, the youngest two years old and herself in that situation that but faint of a forced march through the wilderness, which the reader will understand when informed that her second son was born at Detroit on the 27th of the ensuing October. On the first day of their captivity, circumstances occurred which though of minor importance, it is believed, from what was afterwards learned from the Indians, influenced their treatment to Mrs. Polk and her children, and probably was the means of preserving her life, which will be detailed in a manner that may appear tedious and unnecessary.

The apology is that it is given as an illustration of the Indian character to show that even among the untutored savages there are traits of benevolence and humanity that are worth to be preserved.

At the first assault of the fort, Mrs. Polk having her two youngest children in the same bed with her, immediately arose taking a child under each arm attempted to wake her two eldest children, but before she succeeded the Indians broke into the house, seized her two children, hurried her out and shortly after to their camp within about half a mile of the fort.

After daylight, in looking over the encampment, she discovered all prisoners taken except her own two children, from which she inferred that the had not been discovered in the darkness within the house and (rest of line torn off) to her affliction, that she had not succeeded in wakening them out of their sleep.

It will here be proper to mention that the Indian Chief had arrived in the vicinity of the fort, previous to the departure of Capt. Polk and his men from their hiding places and has witnessed his leaving for the purpose of joining Col. Floyd. One of the first inquiries in the morning after arriving at their encampment was for the Chief's squaw and papooses. When pointed out to them, they appeared much pleased that they had taken them prisoners - said the Chief would be much disappointed on his return to find his family all taken away from him.

I have heard Mrs. Polk say she could observe a marked difference in the treatment of her children and the others taken. On the second morning they painted her son in Indian style, decorated him in feathers and some Indian trinkets and called him "The Young Chief of the Long Knife", the name given the Kentuckians by the Indians of that day.

Shortly after sunrise they commenced their march, Mrs. Polk carrying her youngest child and Mrs. Ash (whose family had been taken the preceding year, as I have previously named) carrying hers, only a few months old. After travelling a short distance, the Indians took their children from them (for the purpose, as they supposed, of murdering them) and directed them to march, Mrs. Ash observing if they killed her child she would go no farther with them. They rapidly pursued their journey for about twelve miles, when they halted. In a short time the Indian, who had taken Mrs. Polk's child (rest of line torn off) time since their captivity, which much relieved her anxiety on their account. Mrs. Ash repeated that as they had murdered her child, she would go no further.

Having crossed no stream of water thus far, Mrs. Polk, form her anxiety, fatigue and thirst, was so exhausted that she could scarcely breathe. The Indians had brought with them many watermelons from the fort and while refreshing themselves with them, she held out her hand as a request for a part to relieve her thirst, which was answered by a general laugh and shout of approbation, and some ten or twelve of them handed her slices, which she divided among the prisoners around her, offering Mrs. Ash a part, saying it would relieve her thirst, which she refused by a shake of the head, without speaking. The Indians' countenances immediately changed to anger; they began a conversation among themselves, when one came forward, stripped her of her upper garments, and in a few minutes started the prisoners, making signs to Mrs. Ash to take her child, a boy two years old and march. After they had proceeded a short distance they distinctly heard the tomahawk strike her head, she uttered a scream simultaneous with their war-whoop and all was silent. They continued their march until near sunset, traveling this day about thirty miles before they encamped for the night. The Indian who claimed Mrs. Polk and her youngest child her prisoners, being of a surly temper, proposed killing her that night, saying she could not travel as far next day as they wished to go, to which proposal his brother, of a more humane disposition, objected and proposed to defer the (three word torn off) the next evening (line torn off) a reason why she should be saved, the circumstance of the watermelon, as related above.

The next morning the Indian who had first proposed saving her life in the council of the preceding evening, by signs informed her that in two days they would cross the big water and they called the Ohio River, where they had horses and should ride then. Thus encouraged and stimulated to go as far as she could, a mother's desire to know what would be the fate of her children, the second day passed off as the first, by rapid march and contrary to her expectation she made the journey as the day before. The same Indian who had interceded for her in council the previous evening again prevailed in suspending a decision until the next evening.

The third day passed off in the same manner until late in the afternoon, when within a few hundred yards of the Ohio River, her foot slipped in a small hole in the ground and being unable to extricate herself, she quietly sat down to await her fate, which she believed would be immediate death. Her ill disposed master, with a slight kick and surly voice, ordered her to march; she shook her head signifying she could not. He immediately drew his tomahawk from his scabbard and raised it over his heard for the purpose of dispatching his victim at a single blow, but his more humane brother, who was immediately behind him, caught it in his hand as he drew it back and commenced a conversation in an earnest tone of remonstrance with which Mrs. Polk though continued two or three minutes before he let go of the tomahawk which (rest of line torn off) had crossed the river in their advances and concealed a short distance up the Kentucky River, above its junction with the Ohio. He assisted her on board and observing her feet and legs much swelled, he took his knife and ripped open her moccasins, which they had given her to put on at the commencement of the journey and which, on account of the swelling, could not be gotten off in any other way. On taking them off, her toe nail came off with a large portion of the skin on the bottom of her feet, which appeared to excite the sympathy of the Indians in the canoe; he then directed her to bathe her feet by pouring water on them while crossing. Having crossed over, he assisted her up the bank and brought her child and blanket to her; hen went and brought some oil, or rather marrow procured from the bones of the buffaloes which a few Indians, who had been left to hunt and take care of the canoes had procured and directed her to rub her feet with the marrow. He then handed her a large, soft pair of moccasins to put on after which he said she could sleep and would be better in the morning. From her pain and sufferings, she had but little hopes of living to see the morning light; but to satisfy the kind Indian who appeared to take such an interest in preserving her life, she did as he directed and contrary to her expectations the remedies applied so far relieved her that for the first night during her captivity she slept soundly and was so far relieved that I have many years afterward often heard her declare that the whole scene of that afternoon and night still appeared to her a most extra ordinary and miraculous interposition of Divine goodness for her preservation. (Part of this line torn off) another council to decide on her fate, believing that she could not live to travel to their villages. At this council and elderly Indian who had not before interfered was the first to object, saying she had lived and traveled so far that he believed the Great Spirit would not permit them to kill her and if they attempted it he would be angry with them and they could not prosper; being joined by others, his advise prevailed and from this time they gave over all thought of killing her under any circumstances. This day being the fourth of their captivity, they traveled but a few miles, before they arrived at a camp, where a few old men had remained to hunt during their absence on their war excursion, where thy remained the balance of the day and here were the horses which has been named to Mrs. Polk as an ecouragement for her to pursue the journey. From this point, the next morning, being the fourth of Septemberm, the Indians separated into small bands for the convenience of hunting for their support on their journey, Mrs. Polk and her two youngest children being attached to one band and her two eldest belonging to another, they were separated, much to the grief of the afflicted mother.

The party with Mrs. Polk proceeded to their villages on the Auglaise River, where they arrived on the 10th of Spetember, where after remaining four days, they started for Detroit with their prisoners, retaining her youngest daughter, as they informed her, to raise as one of their own squaws, which much increased her grief. At the rapids of the Miami or Roche De Bout, as it was called, they rested one day. Here was a trader from Detroit who had been acquainted with Capt. Polk previous to the commence (rest of the line torn) the Indians related the result of their council in determining on Mrs. Polk's case, who informed her thereof and pointed out to her the Indian who eloquently pleaded in her behalf at the last council. While waiting here, the Indians came up with Mrs. Polk's son, having disposed of her daughter to the Shawnees at one of their villages in the vicinity of Piqua, on the Great Miami, she having been taken sick and as they said, they were afraid she would die on the journey and they would get nothing for her. From here they proceeded to Detroit where they arrived about the 25th of September and gave up suck prisoners as they brought with them to Co. De Peyster, the Commander of the British forces at that point, who treated them with the kindest of attention and humanity. A comfortable house was provided for Mrs. Polk and her two children, in common with a small and excellent family of prisoners, who had been taken by Co. Bird in his celebrated expedition against Riddles & Martin Station in Kentucky, in the year 1780, where she lived as comfortable as the nature of the case would permit; but the situation of her two children left with the Indians, her anxiety on their account and her sufferings and exposure on the journey had much impaired her health, so that fears were entertained for her life. For a short time after her arrival, on the 27th of October, as before stated, her second son was born, after which her attention to her infant so engrossed her mind, together with the assurance of Col. DePeyster, the commander and Col. McKee, the Superintendent of the Indian Department, that they would procure the release of her children from the Indians, she became more reconciled to her situation and her health improved. By industry and economy with the use of her needle, she was supplied with provisions by the British Government. She lived much more comfortable during the winter than could have been anticipated. Early in the spring messengers were dispatched to he Indian Country by Colonels De Peyster and McKey in search of her children and such others of the prisoners as the Indians had retained and on the 1st of July she had the pleasure of receiving her children under her own maternal care, where we will leave them in the full enjoyment of their happiness for the present and return to Capt.Polk. No immediate pursuit of the Indians havging been attempted, fearing it would lead to a massacre of the prisoners, Capt. Polk, with a few friends about ten days afterwards, followed on the trails with a view of ascertaining, if practicable, the fate of the prisoners. He found the remains of three children and Mrs. Ash, who were the only prisoners murdered after they left the fort. From the decayed teeth, he was able satisfactorily to ascertain that it was not Mrs. Polk who had been murdered.

General Clark having determined on a campaign against the Shawnee villages on the Great Miami, Capt. Polk was among the first to approve of the measure and he commanded a company in that expedition.

The Indians having discovered the advance of Gen. Clark's army, a few miles from their villages, fled without making any resistance, so that but few were either killed or taken prisoners. (first word torn off) were sent in pursuit to destroy the different villages and their corn and vegetables being the onlymethod whereby they could be made to feel the distress of war. Capt. Polk took an active part in these excursions, in hopes of recovering some of his family, but was disappointed; a few prisoners were taken and their villages destroyed. In one of thses excursions Co. Mc Kee, the Superintendent of the Indian Department, narrowlyescaped being captured, as he afterwards informed Capt. Polk when at Detroit after his family.

On the return of Gen. Clark to his headquarters at Louisville, Kentucky, he was advised there were strong hopes during the winter of pearce being confirmed. He immediately dispatched a messenger with a flag., accompanied by one of his Indian prisoners, and a letter to Col. McKee, proposing an exchange of prisoners, first of all to release


 HENRY POLLOCH of. Jeffersonville, Clark county, Ind., was born in the City of Louisville, Kentucky, February 27th, 1835. His father, William Polloch, was born in county Mayo, Ireland, April 7th, 1798. The family have no record of the time he emigrated to the United States. He was married in this country in 1833, and died in 1876. He was the father of five sons and one daughter, of whom four sons and one daughter survived him, to wit: Henry the subject of our sketch, Thomas, William and John, and Mrs. Mary E. Polk. His mother's maiden name was Judith Merritt. She was a native of Kentucky, having been born in Bullitt county, that State, August 11th, 1804, and is still alive and in good health, at the advanced age of eighty-five years. She is the mother of ten children. His father, William Polloch, came to Clark county, Indiana, in the year 1838 and located on a farm, when Henry Polloch, the subject of this sketch, was but five years of age, and he remained there, helping and assisting on the farm until he was seventeen years old. He then went to Charlestown in 1852 and set in, with John Cowling to learn the carpenter's trade, with whom he remained and served faithfully three years. All the schooling he ever received, he obtained in the free public schools of Clark county, Indiana. After his apprenticeship with Mr. Cowling expired, he went to Louisville where he, worked at his trade of house carpenter. He remained there two years, when he came to Jeffersonville and entered into a co-partnership with his old boss, John Cowling, to engage in the carpentering business. They remained together, doing a prosperous business in their line until 1866, when the co-partnership, by mutual consent, was dissolved, Mr.Cowling retiring from the business. He then became a contractor and builder on his own account and has built some of the finest buildings in the city of Jeffersonville, and has continued in the business ever since. In connection with that of contractor and builder. He has studied and learned architecture and drawing and stair building and makes and furnishes plans and designs for all kinds of houses and public buildings. He is considered one of the finest and most reliable builders around the Falls. Mr. Polloch was married to Miss Frances Brisby on the 12th day of July 1857. She was born in Jefferson county, Kentucky, February 21st, 1835. They have two children, both girls, Anna Belle and Alice Everett. Alice is married to W. F. Clark, son of Prof. Joseph Clark, of the city of Jeffersonville, and Anna Belle is single and living at home with her parents. . His first wife, Miss Francis Brisby, and the mother of his two daughters, died March 24th, 1884, in the forty-ninth year of her age. On the 7th of April 1885, he was married the second time to Maggie E. Polk. She was born in Winchester, Clark county, in the State of Kentucky, April 14th, 1845. Mr. Henry Polloch is a man of good, strong native sense; while it cannot be said that he is an educated man, yet he will be found well informed upon all public matters. His honesty and integrity no man ever questioned. Everybody that knows him has the utmost confidence in him in any matter of importance. He is one of our best and most reliable citizens.

Biography provided by Volunteer: James D. VanDerMark; Source of Biography: Biographical and Historical Souvenir, Clark County, Indiana, published by James M. Greesham & Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1889, Date Biography provided: July 2002.


 JOHN POPE, a distinguished politician and statesman, was for many years a resident of this county, where he died in 1842. He was a native of Prince William county, Virginia, where he was born about the year 1770, but emigrated to Kentucky while quite a boy. In early life he had the misfortune to lose his arm, from a severe wound received while attending a cornstalk mill. Owing to this accident, he was induced to turn his attention to the profession of law, and being a man of great native vigor of intellect, soon attained eminence. He first settled in Shelby county, but afterwards removed to Lexington. He was frequently a member of the legislature, in which body his great talents rendered him eminently conspicuous and influential. In 1807, he was elected to the senate of the United States, and was for many years a distinguished member of the house of representatives. In 1829 he was appointed governor of the territory of Arkansas, which office he held for six years. He died at his residence in Washington county, in the year 1842. In early life, Mr. Pope belonged to the federal party; but in after years attached himself to that party which has assumed to itself the name of democratic, and of which General Jackson was the founder.

Pope Jackson = Prince_William-VA Shelby-KY Lexington-Fayette-KY AR

Historical Sketches of Kentucky by Lewis Collins, Maysville, KY. and J. A. & U. P. James, Cincinnati, 1847. Reprinted 1968. Washington County.


 WORDEN POPE. Pope's Creek is situated in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Here, in the year 1772, Worden Pope, who was the son of Hon. Benjamin Pope was born. It was here also that Gen. Washington was born. Irving, in his life of the great man, states that he was born at Bridge Creek. In this, it is submitted with great reverence, he was betrayed in error. It seems clear from Hower's History of Virginia, that Washington was born on Pope's Creek, where G. W. Custis has placed a stone, with a simple inscription, to commemorate this interesting event. The spot is one of great natural beauty, commanding a charming view of the shore of Maryland, and of the Potomac River for many miles in its majestic course toward the Chesapeake Bay. There are many other associations connected with Pope's Creek which would be of interest, but they are not within the scope of this little sketch. John Washington and his brother Andrew arrived in Virginia in 1657, and settled in Westmoreland County. John married Miss Anne Pope, who was the near kinswoman--probably the daughter of Nathaniel Pope, and by this marriage she became the great-grandmother of Gen. Washington. One of the many evidences of the friendship and intimacy which arose from the kinship between the Washington and Pope families is found in the will of Thomas Pope, executed in 1684, and now on record in Virginia. The Popes of North Alabama also emigrated from Pope's Creek. They first went to Petersburg, and from there LeRoy Pope emigrated to Louisiana, where he established the first bank organized in that State. Subsequently he was in North Alabama, where being impressed with the beauty of the country, he acquired a large tract of land, upon which he laid out a town, naming it Twickenham, after the villa of the poet Pope on the Thames. Afterward, by a vote of the people, the name was change to that of Huntsville, and so remains to this day. LeRoy Pope was the grandfather of LeRoy Pope Walker, (an eminent lawyer and the first Secretary of War in the cabinet of Jefferson Davis,) and of Richard W. Walker, a Senator from Alabama in the COngress of the Southern Confederacy. It appears from Dr. Borck's Extract from the Land Office of Virginia that Nathaniel Pope, in the year 1654, three years before the arrival of the Washingtons in the colony, settled upon the banks of the creek which has just been mentioned, and to which he gave his name. He seems to have been a man of great vigor of character and strength of mind. It is needless to trace from father to son the descent of Worden Pope, the subject of this sketch, from Nathaniel Pope. It would be tedious and uninteresting to do so. In 1779 three brothers, Benjamin Pope, William Pope and Alexander Pope, having disposed of their estates in Westmoreland County, emigrated from Pope's Creek to Kentucky County, then a County of Virginia. In 1780 Kentucky County was divided into Jefferson, Fayette and Lincoln Counties. The brothers crossed the mountains of Virginia, reached the Ohio River and came down with the current of that beautiful stream to the Falls, where the city of Louisville no stands. It was then a most dismal spot, full of swamps and ponds, and quite unhealthy. Not a house was to be seen. Nothing was visible but a fort, which was built in the early spring of 1779, and known as Patton's Fort, situated at what is now the corner of Main and Seventh streets, and in immediate proximity to the Union Depot of the Chesapeake & Ohio and other railroads. The Popes were camped outside the fort and narrowly escaped massacre (by taking refuge in the fort) from the Indians, who crossed from the Indiana side and made a determined attack upon the little garrison. At this time Worden was in his eighth year, and witnessed the onslaught of the savages. His elder brother, Nathaniel, for a time was missing, and it was feared that he had fallen a victim to the tomahawk, but happily no such fate had overtaken him. The depreciated value of Continental currency at this period is shown by the fact that the Popes paid $150 for a bushel of corn. About this time General Clarke took the British Forts of Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Vincennes, which checked the incursions of the Indians and afforded to the country about the Falls comparative security. In 1779, or early 1780, Benjamin Pope removed his family to a forth which stood on the north bank of Salt River, now a part of Bullitt County. It was here and on the path leading to the ferry, about to be mentioned, that George May, a surveyor of Jefferson County, and a party of followers, excepting one, were waylaid and murdered by the Indians. The escape of the one man, whose name was Hardin, would furnish a thrilling episode, but it would perhaps be a digression to insert its details in this narrative. It was in the midst of such stirring scenes that Worden Pope passed his boyhood and early manhood. Benjamin Pope resided here with his family for several years, and in 1787 bought a tract of land on Salt River, opposite the Fort, which is now owned and cultivated by James Y. Pope, one of the first citizens of Bullitt County, and a cousin of Worden Pope. Benjamin Pope established a ferry at his house, which carried passengers across Salt River, and was much traveled by persons going to Bardstown and other points. Worden Pope was put in charge of the ferry. In those days lawyers of reputation, living at Louisville, found lucrative employment at Bardstown and similar places. Among these was Stephen Ormsby, then clerk of the Jefferson Courts, a lawyer of distinction and who later on in life adorned both the bench and a seat in the Federal Congress at Washington. At this period, in the history of the State, the clerks of the important courts, generally speaking, were fine lawyers; and although not permitted to practice in the courts of which they were clerks they could practice in all other courts in the Commonwealth. Now a clerk of the court is rarely or never a lawyer. Among those who regularly attended and practiced in the courts at Bardstown was Stephen Ormsby, and in going and returning between that place and Louisville, he was ferried across Salt river by Worden Pope. In this way he became acquainted with the young helmsman. Judge Ormsby was endowed with a profound insight into character, and he soon discovered that Worden was no ordinary youth, clad, as he was, after the manner of the pioneers, in his leather breeches and coon-skin cap. He saw that there was a career before him for future usefulness and eminence, and conceiving for him an affection and friendship, he induced Worden to come with him to Louisville, where he at once installed him as deputy in his office. Worden soon acquired a knowledge of its duties; and on the resignation of Ormsby, he was appointed clerk of the Circuit Court, also of the County Court. The former he held until 1834, when he resigned, and his third son, Edmund Pendleton, was appointed; but the county clerkship he held until 1838, when he died, and his fourth son, Curran Pope, succeeded him. In the commencement of his career as clerk, Worden Pope studied law, and to the day of his death was always an ardent and methodical student of jurisprudence. Being forbidden to practice in Jefferson County, the county of his office, he practiced in Oldham, Nelson, Hardin, Bullitt and Meade, but, as he grew older, he confined his practice to Oldham and Bullitt. The Hon. J. R. Browne, of Washington County, says when Ben Hardin was a candidate for congress, he was rebuked by his clients for his consequent inability to defend large ejectment cases brought for their lands in Washington County; he replied: "I have asked my friend Worden Pope, who is the greatest land lawyer in Kentucky, to represent me." Mr. Pope justified the high estimate of his distinguished friend by successfully defending all of the actions. His practice in the federal courts was large and lucrative, and after his resignation of one of the clerkships was also large and lucrative in the Chancery Court at Louisville. Mr. Pope's contemporaries at the bar often spoke in terms of the warmest praise of the masterly ability and the profound learning he displayed for the defense in the well known case of Beard vs. The City of Louisville, and others, in which was an array of counsel rarely exceeded at any time or in any place. It was Mr. Pope, Wm. Pope and Alexander Pope that brought out Gen. Jackson for the presidency. The meeting at which Jackson's candidacy was initiated by the Popes was held at the house of Alexander Pope on the south side of Jefferson, between Sixth and Seventh streets, in Louisville, Ky.; where, also, for many years Edmund Pendleton Pope resided, and where his second son, Judge Alfred Thurston Pope, was born. Governor John Pope, a man commanding talents, who had served with distinguished ability a number of terms in the lower house of congress from 1837 to 1843, and in the senate of the United States from 1807 to 1813, was a close kinsman of Mr. Pope. He had made the race for congress in the Ashland district against Henry Clay. It was a tilt of giants. Governor Pope, being a man of stubborn convictions, refused in that canvass to bend to the popular will. He was defeated and burnt in effigy at Lexington. Worden Pope, whether he was right or not, believed the great Clay could have prevented this outburst of popular feeling. And it was the indignation which Worden Pope and his family left at this insult to their kinsman, as well as the warm and devoted attachment which Mr. Pope cherished fro Gen. Jackson, that led him to urge upon the country the name of the latter for the office of chief executive. In the canvass which followed Mr. Pope gave Jackson a most loyal and devoted support. The Advertiser, then the oldest and most influential newspaper in the West, was edited by Shadrach Penn. In the columns of this journal Mr. Pope furnished a series of articles, over the nom de plume of "Publicola" advocating the claim of Gen Jackson, which created something of a stir and sensation, and excited widespread comment and discussion. Judge Little, in his life of Ben Hardin, states: "To the Pope family, in Kentucky, Gen. Jackson owed his majority in that State in 1828. When Gen. Jackson became President, he tendered any office within his gift to Worden Pope, but Mr. Pope, whilst appreciating the action of his friend, declined to accept any appointment, for the reason that he was quite nearsighted and not able to see at night. Gen. Jackson, however, appointed John Pope Governor of Arkansas; and Curran Pope, who afterward with heroic valor fell at the head of his regiment at Perryville, as a cadet to West Point." The contest which took place between the old and new court parties was one of the most able, bitter and determined controversies which has ever occurred in this country. With his characteristic frankness and boldness Mr. Pope without hesitation threw the whole weight of his ability and personal influence on the side of the old court party. Again the productions of his pen were a feature in the canvass. He was in the very front of the fight and helped lead the forces with consummate ability. In a historical sketch of the "Pope Family" by the Hon. Wm. R. Thompson, that admirable and forcible writer says: "Worden Pope was an eminent lawyer--but few his equal in Kentucky--a great politician, and the life-long and unswerving friend of Gen. Jackson, and though he acquired an immense property, he died by no means owning a fortune. His munificent liberality and generosity, which is a trait of many of the Pope family, caused him to give away in his lifetime several fortunes. The Pope family, taken all in all, is one of the most distinguished families in he history of Kentucky from the day Boone passed the Allegheny gap to the present time. Mr. Pope's death came unexpectedly to his friends. He was making an argument in an important land suit in the court house at Louisville when he was seized with a sudden illness. Judge J. J. Marshall immediately adjourned the court. Mr. Pope, however, rallied and went to this home, which then embraced what is now between Fifth and Tenth and Walnut and Broadway streets, in Louisville, Ky. He never recovered, and after a brief illness he passed peacefully away. Dr. Nat. Field, of Indiana, in his interesting little volume on "The Pope Family," states that "The name of Worden Pope was a household work in Jefferson and adjoining counties. His name was a synonym of honesty and benevolence. He died in a good old age, laden with the honor esteem of all who knew him. His funeral was the largest ever seen in Louisville. It was an outpouring of all classes of people to do honor to a great and good man." The late Coleman Daniel, a stanch Methodist, one of the purest citizens of Louisville, used to say that when he would hand the box around in his church for charitable purposes, Worden Pope would empty his purse, not knowing what he gave, and that for the sake of curiosity Daniel would count it, and the contribution "would amount to hundreds of dollars." A write of a recent sketch of Worden Hope [sic], who knew him well, does not employ the language of exaggeration when he states: "His home was always open to the poor and needy and his ear to the cry of distress. He was, it may be said, the adviser of his county, and in the advice he gave the utmost confidence was placed. He never charged a widow, orphan or minister of the gospel or a young lawyer. He adjusted difficulties amongst his friends and prevented litigation by his counsel. In his practice he aided young lawyers, devoting his abilities to them, rejoicing in their success, but refusing fees they insisted on sharing with him." The Hon. John Rowan, a Kentuckian whose biography should be written, eloquently said of Worden Pope that "he was the oldest number of the bar . . . Endowed by nature with a good constitution and a vigorous mind, he improved the former by manly exercise and enriched the latter by zealous and unremitting devotion to the attainment of solid and useful information. Without the aid of classical learning he acquired a very thorough and accurate knowledge of English literature. He was temperate in all his enjoyments, patient of labor and research in whatever he was engaged; benevolent and charitable in a high degree, of high moral firmness, of sincerity in his friendships, his enmities were slow in forming and swift in fading. His moral habits were exemplary; his manners were neither gracious nor repulsive. He had an habitual aversion to artificial or fictitious mannerism. His manners and morals were founded in the old school where the solid was preferred to the showy, and where simulated courtesies were rebuked by honesty and sincerity of sentiment. Influenced through life by sentiments of that school and the inherent benevolence of his own heart and feelings, his powers and attachments were devoted more to the benefit of society than of himself. As a clerk of the courts of Jefferson County he was in a position to be consulted by the widows, the orphans, and the indigent; and his knowledge of law enabled him to obey the kind impulses of his nature most beneficially to the applicants. The young men who officiated as deputies under the influence of his example and benign instructions went hence into society with good habits and qualified for usefulness . . but the deceased was as remarkable for his exemption from sordid and selfish influences as any man of the age in which he lived. As a clerk of the County Court he had the custody of the books, papers, and records of the trustees of Louisville from its origin, which afforded him an opportunity of becoming blamelessly rich. He resided in the town from its first establishment, with but little exception, until his death, without speculating in town property, while other men by such means under his eye were acquiring great wealth. Although he possessed the facilities for such speculations beyond anybody else, he never touched them; so that it might be said of him emphatically that he lived for others, not for himself. The facts of his life constitute his best eulogy, and the more his loss will be deplored and his memory revered. A pocket edition of the Bible was his constant companion. His daily life was controlled by its precepts, and he tried to live and be governed by its beneficent teaching. It was his daily habit to turn to its pages and he seemed to be supported and sustained by its comforting words. In 1804 Worden Pope married Elizabeth Thruston, a lineal descendant of the Thruston of the revolution, an eloquent divine who left his pulpit and fought gallantly in the Colonial ranks against Great Britain and who in consequence of his courageous service has ever since been known by the sobriquet of "The Warrior Parson." She was a daughter of John Thruston, who represented Kentucky in the Virginia Legislature before the former became a State, and also the niece of Judge Buckner Thruston, who was one of the first two United States Senators from Kentucky. She was also the sister of Charles M. Thruston, of Louisville, a great lawyer and a speaker, who, when in the mood or aroused, was the equal of any one. The fruit of the marriage of Worden Pope with Elizabeth Thruston was a large family. Of all the children, thirteen in number, Hamilton Pope alone has reached an old age. He has enjoyed a long, successful and most honorable career at the Louisville Bar, and is a man of decided ability and marked characteristics. Averse to public life, he has never sought office; indeed, he has declined several times the nomination for Congress tendered him by the Whig party, although in early life he was induced to serve the people of Louisville in the Legislature and in the Senate at Frankfort. Had he chosen to follow the paths which lead to public honor, he would have achieved a national fame and been eminent in the councils of the Nation. Standing six feet and four inches high, he is a man of commanding presence, of the very purest private and professional character, of an integrity that has never been sullied, and is possessed of a magnetism which has made his personality potent in its influence with all those with whom he has come in contact. In the fall of 1855 he was married to Mrs. Prather, of Washington County, Kentucky, the daughter of Mr. Samuel Booker, and a woman of many personal attractions, of brilliant attainments and gifted with rare conversational powers. Patrick Pope, the eldest son of Worden Pope, died in his thirty-fourth year. Graduating as valedictorian from St. Joseph's College, Bardstown, Kentucky, he began the practice of law in the city of his birth, in 1827. He speedily rose to distinction in his profession. By his ability and eloquence he overcame a Whig majority of one thousand, being elected to the Legislature over the beloved and talented Henry Crittenden. When he made this brilliant canvass he was not yet twenty-five years of age. He ably co-operated with his father and the other members of his family in bringing out General Jackson for their presidency. Declining the place of Secretary of State, tendered him by Governor Breathitt, he was elected in his twenty-eighth year to Congress, which position he filled with credit and reputation to himself and with acceptance to his electors. He died May 4, 1840. Notwithstanding his premature death Mr. Pope had attained an enviable public rank. His conversational powers, integrity of character and eloquence, made him one of the first lawyers of his time. Edmund Pendleton Pope, who was generally known as Pendleton Pope, was the third son. He was tall and slender, with a strong and most pleasing face, and graceful person; graduated with honor in the regular course at Transylvania University; was, like his brother patrick, gifted with rare conversational power, and inherited the constitutional intrepidity of his father. He was for fifteen years clerk of the Circuit Court, and afterward practiced law with great success to the day of his death, which occurred in his forty-seventh year. More than thirty years ago the writer heard his argument in defense of Johnson, who killed Lawrence, and so great was the impression then made, that the more eloquent parts of his speech remain in the memory of the write to this day. He married Nancy, the daughter of Colonel James Johnson, of Scott County, Ky., and has three sons--Judge Alfred Thruston Pope, Captain James Worden Pope and Hamilton Pope, Jr., who survive him. Curran Pope, the fourth son, graduated at West Point in 1836, and after a short service in the army he resigned to take one of the clerkships made vacant by his father. He held the office for seventeen years, the last four of which were by election by the people. He was a citizen of much of much public spirit; one of the original projectors and directors of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad; one of the main promoters of Louisville Water Works; devoted much of his time as trustee of Danville College, and as trustee of various educational institutions of Louisville especially to a seminary organized and established by himself and others in the old homestead of his father; served for eleven years in the General Council of Louisville; and on the breaking out of the late war he espoused the cause of the Union. He raised the Fifteenth Kentucky Regiment, which, after a varied service, was decimated in the battle of Perryville, which, for the number and length of time engaged, is said to have been the bloodiest battle of the war. Early in the action Colonel Pope's horse was killed under him, and toward the close of the engagement he was shot through the shoulder. E.P. Humphrey, D.D., LL.D., the scholarly author of "Sacred History from the Creation to the Giving of the Law" who was the co-laborer in many fields of usefulness with Colonel Pope, and who was his life-long friend, thus writes of him a short time after Colonel Pope's death: . . "through his father, the late Worden Pope, Esq.--in his day one of the foremost citizens of the commonwealth--and through his excellent mother and amiable wife as well, he was allied to some of the most influential families in the country. . . His ample private fortune released him, in a large measure, from professional labor; so that he was able to devote the last twelve years of his life to the general interests of society. As an office-bearer in one of our largest city churches, and in many other positions, he rendered the most important services. He brought to all his trusts a fine capacity for business, public spirit, unwearied diligence, habits of system, order, and punctuality, and a nice sense of duty. Few men of his generation here have performed as much gratuitous and arduous labor for the common good. It happened to him to be of the number of those in whom all the great issues of life flow together in a single hour of supreme necessity and peril; when the high qualities, which have been for nearly fifty years slowly maturing within them, are brought to a final and fiery test, and suddenly emerge all aglow with consummate splendor. Colonel Pope met that hour on the bloody slopes of Perryville, and took the crown. The writer of these lines was during the whole day within hearing distance of the artillery and musketry; was at one time on the outskirts of the field, and before the dead were all buried he carefully surveyed the ground on which the battle was fought. The carnage over, the whole field was frightful, and Colonel Pope stood in one of its hottest positions. His regiment was posted upon the brow of the hill; the enemy was arrayed in two lines on the slope below him, one of these lines being partially concealed in a field of standing corn, the other protected by a substantial stone-wall. The positions of the rebels being down the hill gave them this important advantage. They would not be likely to fire too high, while Pope's troops, being so much above them, could hardly avoid that mistake. Besides, the foremost rebel line had the stone-wall in their rear, to the cover of which they could at any time retreat, and to which, in point of fact, they did retreat under the fire of our gallant Fifteenth. Furthermore, the right of the regiment rested on a barn, which, early in the action, was set on fire by s shell from the enemy, so that our troops on that wing were nearly roasted by the flames. And, more than all, the brave Jouett and Campbell were shot down in the very beginning; the noble McGrath, who went to Jouett's assistance, was instantly killed. Pope's horse was shot under him; he himself was wounded, and his men were falling in heaps around him. Colonel Pope stood near the center of the column, about four feet from the line of battle giving direction to every movement. Just in front of the position was a low rail fence; further down the hill are two trees, the trunks of which are about the size of a man's body. The bullet marks in trees and in the rails leave us in wonder how any human being standing in that line of battle could have escaped death. Yet such was the intrepidity of the regiment and of its commander that they held their ground, until ordered to another position, when they filed out into the road and marched off in perfect order. Colonel Pope, on reaching his new position, ordered his men to lie down under the brow of the hill as a protection from the enemy's shells. General Rousseau, observing some change in the field, rode up and suggested to Colonel Pope the propriety of showing his forces to the enemy. Colonel Pope instantly gave the order; the men sprang to their feet and marched in line to the battle, to the top of the hill. The General was so much struck with their promptness and discipline, that he put his cap on his sword and waved it with the cry, 'Hurra for Kentucky!' Night soon set in; and, of the Fifteenth, seventy-two slept in death, about a hundred and seventy staunched, as best they could, their bleeding wounds, and the others rested on their arms. Colonel Pope remained with the army a few days and joined in the pursuit of Bragg, who fled to the mountains; but, finding himself utterly exhausted, he returned to Danville, where he lingered three weeks and died. He looked forward to the eternal world with pious composure, and expressed his unwavering confidence in the Savior. But for this opportunity on the field of battle, none, not his most intimate friends even, would have known the man. In him we have an instance pointing out the fine distinction between certain brutal ferocity, which sometimes passes by the name of courage, and that more humane and exalted sentiment which springs out of a nice sense of honor, the love of country and the fear of God. Such was Colonel Pope's quiet, and amiable, and even diffident manner in society, that no man, not even he himself, knew what a brave and gallant heart was hidden in his bosom, patiently waiting the hour of his grant manifestation. The hour came; the man was fully revealed to the homage of his countrymen, and his life was finished, wearing "the beauty of a thing completed" a good work well done. He name is enrolled with the dead heroes of the Commonwealth. She will never suffer his memory to perish." Wm. R. Thompson, in his "Historical Sketch of the Pope Family," thus speaks of Colonel Pope: he "was the idol of the men he commanded. Though of a very gentle and inoffensive disposition, he was one of the bravest, most resolute men in the Union army, equally ready to oppose and smite a giant, or to soothe and protect a child, and many a tear was shed by his brave and scar-covered soldiers when he had to leave them. The writer of this, who saw Colonel Pope Monday after the battle Perryville, has heard many of his soldiers say that after a long and tiresome march, when night came and they went into camp, other officers sought a house to sleep in, but Colonel Pope laid down upon the ground with his men, and took their fare. He looked upon them as a father looks upon his children, and he said it was his duty to be with them and take care of them. He never sought or claimed any better fare than his soldiers got; hence his immense popularity with his men who revere his memory to this day with the affection of a child for its father. When you meet one of the Fifteenth Kentucky who fought at Perryville, ask him what he thinks of Colonel Curran Pope, and he will give you a better eulogy than I can write, more graphic and to the point; he can tell facts I know not in his undying praise and he will love to talk to you about him. The writer of this article was well acquainted with Colonel Curran Pope before the war, and saw him several times in his camp after he entered the army, and he can bear witness to his great worth as a man, citizen and soldier. The slaughter of Pope's regiment at Perryville was so great, that afterward it was given the sobriquet of the 'Bloody Regiment.'" General Sherman succeeded General Anderson to the command in Kentucky in the earliest stage of the war. His headquarters were at Louisville, and there he often met Colonel Pope, who had already determined to enter the army of the Union. General Sherman had abundant opportunity to form a correct estimate of Colonel Pope's character, a correct estimate of Colonel Pope's character, both as a soldier and as a gentleman. A few days after he learned through the public prints of the death of Colonel Pope, although he was burdened with the absorbing responsibilities of a great military command, he wrote Colonel Pope's widow the following letter:

"Headquarters, Memphis, Tenn., November 10, 1862.

Kentucky: A History of the State, Perrin, Battle, Kniffin, 8th ed., 1888, Jefferson Co.


 WILLIAM GUTHRIE POTTS: This minister of the Gospel was born in Shelby County, Kentucky at Todd's Point, on July 2, 1887, and is the son of Jesse P. and Mary Carter Potts. He was reared on a farm and followed that occupation for several years. He was converted at Mt. Pleasant Church, Shelby County, Kentucky, in October, 1900, and was baptized into the fellowship of the Church by Rev. Walter Ellis Powers, the famous Kentucky Baptist Pastor and preacher. Rev. Phillip Jenkins was aiding the pastor in a series of evangelistic services at the time.

Our brother attended the common schools at hand and took some high school courses. He received the B.O. and B.L. Degrees from Hall-Moody Institute, Martin, Tennessee, and also received the Th.G. Degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky.

"A HISTORY OF THE DAVIESS-McLEAN BAPTIST ASSOCIATION IN KENTUCKY, 1844-1943" by Wendell H. Rone. Probably published in 1944 by Messenger Job Printing Co., Inc., Owensboro, Kentucky, pp. 409-410. Used by permission. [Daviess]


 E. G. QUICK was born in Bullitt County, Ky., December 11, 1860; his father was Wm. Quick, who was born in Bullitt County also, September 15, 1815, and married Elizabeth Baxter, January 2, 1845. Wm. Quick was a farmer all his life, and died in Bullitt County August 9, 1885. To William and Elizabeth Quick were born nine children, viz: Remina A., born December 19, 1838; Richard E., born August 6, 1840, died May 21, 1879; Preston H., born August 12, 1846; W. T., born August 26, 1849; Mary A., born November 29, 1851, died August 10, 1871; Sarah, born March 24, 1854; Elizabeth C., born August 28, 1855; Johnathan, born June 30, 1858; Ephraim G., born December 11, 1860; Emily A., born November 9, 1866; Elizabeth C., born November 9, 1866, died July 29, 1867. Wm. Quick was first married to Mary Ann Farguson, February 25, 1838. Remina A. and Richard E. were children of this marriage. Mrs. Mary Ann Quick died in April, 1841.

Quick Baxter Farguson = none

Kentucky: A History of the State, Perrin, Battle, Kniffin, 8th ed., 1888, Bullitt Co.


  GEORGE K. RATLIFF, who has been a prominent citizen of Parsons, Labette county, Kansas, since 1878, is the leading real estate dealer of the city. He is an excellent business man, and possesses much shrewdness and foresight, as is evidenced by his many important transactions. He was born in Princeton, Caldwell county, Kentucky, in 1851, and is a son of R. B. Ratliff, president of the First National Bank of Princeton, Kentucky.

R. B. Ratliff was born in Meade county, Kentucky, in 1818, and was reared and educated in Bullitt county. He later became a banker of Princeton, and owned and operated a private bank for some years. He then organized the First National Bank of Princeton, of which he is president. He is a prominent Republican, and in early life was very active in politics.

George K. Ratliff attended the public schools and Forest Home Academy, and took a course in the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. In 1871 he became cashier in his father's bank at Princeton, where he continued until 1878, and then located at Parsons, Kansas. He first engaged in the hardware business and followed it with good results until 1882. In 1886, he opened a real estate office, and has continued in that line ever since. He is a man of strict integrity and reliable in every particular, and the citizens of the community have unhesitatingly reposed their confidence in him.

Mr. Ratliff was united in marriage, in 1877, with Miss T. L. Walker, of Alton, Illinois, and they have one daughter, Laura Alberta. The subject of this sketch is an active worker in the interests of the Republican party, and while not desirous of holding office, he attends the various conventions and assists in shaping the policies of his party. He served some years in the city council. Fraternally, he is a member of the B. P. 0. E.; Knights of Pythias; I. 0. 0. F.; I. 0. R. M.; A. 0. U. W.; and a number of other societies.

Transcribed from History of Labette County, Kansas and its Representative Citizens, ed. & comp. by Hon. Nelson Case. Pub. by Biographical Publishing Co., Chicago, Ill. 1901


 Lewis Reno Was Co-Establisher in 1882 With Mr. Hays of Bank of Greenville

LEWIS RENO was born June 25, 1847, in South Carrollton, Muhlenberg County, KY. He is the eldest of four children born to John E. and Adaline (Downer) Reno, natives of Muhlenberg and Todd Counties, KY, respectively, and of French and English descent. Subject's grandfather was Lewis Reno, a native of Pennsylvania, and married Mrs. Tyler, nee Sallie Kincheloe, sister of Gen. Kincheloe. Our subject's mother was the daughter of Benjamine Downer, who married a Miss Slaughter, both Virginians. The father of subject was a merchant in South Carrollton; was elected county judge, and also served two terms as county clerk. Subject's parents and grandparents were among the first settlers of Kentucky. Lewis Reno recieved a good education at the Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn. At the age of twenty-one years he engaged in general merchandising in Greenville. He also had the agency of the railway and express companies until 1881, when he went into the banking business. In 18822, with Mr. Hay, he established the Bank of Greenville, of which he is cashier and a director. Mr. Reno was married November 8, 1870, to Mary Short, of Muhlenberg County, a daughter of Jonathan and Lucy (Wing) Short, natives of Muhlenberg County, of German and Scotch descent. To Mr. and Mrs. Reno have been born three children: Lucy, Julia and Lewis. Mr. and Mrs. R. are members (he being ruling elder) of the Presbyterian Church, Greenville, KY. He is a member of the K. of H.

LDS film # 09962913, Excerpts from History of Kentucky, Illustrated, 1885, by Battle, Perrin, and Kniffin. Appeared in the Central City Messenger and Times-Argus, Central City, Kentucky, in seven installments during May, June, and July 1959.


  JACOB W. RIDGEWAY, farmer, P. O. Farmersburg, son of Levi Ridgeway, who was of Scoth-Irish origin, and one of the early pioneers of Sullivan County, Ind. He was a native of Bullitt County, Ky., where he was born in 1794, reared and married Lavinia, daughter of Capt. Jacob Peacock, under whom he had served at New Orleans during the war of 1812. Soon after marriage he removed to the Ledgerwood neighborhood, in Sullivan County, and after to Caledonia, where he boarded the hands who were engaged in building Neal's mill. He next removed to Curry Prairie, where he rented land and farmed. He afterward bought a farm a mile south and east of Farmersburg, where he continued to reside until his death in 1858. He assisted in the construction of the Evansville & Terre Haute Railroad. His wife survived him five years. He is the father of Jacob W., the subject of this sketch, who was born in Sullivan County, in 1824, reared upon his father's farm, and attended the common schools of the neighborhood. He married in 1846, Miss Julia Ann Glass, who died leaving four children, namely: Sarah T., Denton Levi C., Samantha E., Halberstadt and Charles A. His second marriage was with Julia A., daughter of Temple and Elizabeth (Moore) Shaw, natives of Spencer and Jefferson Counties, Ky., in which State Mrs. Ridgeway was born in 1840, and came with her parents to Sullivan County when twelve years of age. They have had three children, two only of whom are now living--Ora W. and Minnie E. Mrs. Ridgeway's parents were English. Subject's brothers and sisters are Julia A., Elizabeth F., Alexander F., Martha R., Steven S., James W., Margaret A., Mary J., Theodore S., Clara E. and Helen, all except two are living and married.

"History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana, From the Earliest Time to the Present; Together With Interesting Biographical Sketches, Reminiscences, Notes, Etc." Chicago: Goodspeed Bros. & Co., Publishers. 1884. Sullivan Co., In, Jackson Twp., Page 82


 JOHN RITCHIE Sr., Nelson Co.

John Ritchie was born in Scotland in 1752 and died in 1814 in Nelson County, Kentucky. He left Scotland and came to America while a mere youth and settled in Virginia. It is not known with whom or how he came to America, nor is it known just how long he stayed in Virginia but it is believed that he stayed about six years when his restless nature prompted him to seek new fields of excitement and thus he made his way west.

Before "White Man" had explored Kentucky the entire area was part of Augusta County Virginia. Later all of Kentucky was part of Fincastle, Virginia, then in 1776 Kentucky was designated Kentucky County, Virginia. In 1780 it was divided into three counties; Fayette, Jefferson and Lincoln. In 1790 those three counties were subdivided into nine and so on until on June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the fifteenth state admitted into the union.

John Ritchie went west to Eastern Kentucky County, Virginia. While there, he made the acquaintance of Benjamin LINN who was making up a company to defend themselves and families from the Indians and go even farther west. In this company was John GILKEY, the GOFFs, the KINGs and other families.

Before John left Eastern Kentucky he met Miss Jemima QUICK who would be called a "Yankee Girl" having been born in Jersey, then called the Island of Jersey. Jemima was born ca. 1753. She died in 1840 in Nelson County, Kentucky. Jemima was of Dutch descent, her ancestors from Naarden, Holland. Jemima and John were married on the banks of the Licking River.

Under the leadership of Benjamin Linn, John Ritchie, John Gilkey, the Goffs, Kings and others constructed a flotilla of five boats and with supplies started down the Licking river to the Ohio river, then on down to the landing place where Louisville now stands. There were only two log buildings at Louisville at that time, one being a Post Office and the other a small store. After a few days stay, they proceeded down the Ohio to the Salt river (now West Point, Ky) then up Salt river to the Rolling Fork and from the Rolling Fork into the Beech Fork to a small stream now known as Landing Run which is about five miles southeast of Bardstown. From here they journeyed through the wilderness about three miles and on the edge of a beautiful plateau, built a fort known Linn's Fort. The fort was located on the brow of a hill and commanded a full view of the rising and setting sun.

John Ritchie was the first man to build a house and leave Linn's Fort. He built his house two miles west of the fort near the Beech Fork River where he took up 650 acres (the original deed says 590 acres) of land and began to till the soil.

He built a distillery not 100 yards from the residence where he made the first sour mash whiskey ever made in Kentucky and perhaps the first made in the United States. During the year 1780, John Ritchie and companions loaded a flatbed boat with whiskey he had made at the distillery and together with other produce, made a trip to New Orleans where they sold their entire boat load at a good profit. After disposing of their stock, they all tramped back through the wilderness to Kentucky with a load on their backs.

Historians in the Ritchie family say they were many long weeks returning home and fought off Indians many times.

Upon their return to Linn's Fort, John Ritchie and John Gilkey concluded to go to the place where they first landed when they settled in Kentucky, which was at the mouth of a small branch. While standing there they spied a buffalo coming toward them. Ritchie fired and killed the buffalo. At this juncture three Indians jumped out of the thicket and shot at the white men with arrows, at the same time time running toward them with uplifted tomahawks. Mr. Gilkey who was armed with a good gun, kept them at bay while Mr. Ritchie ran for his life. Then Mr. Gilkey who was very fleet of foot, would run until he overtook Ritchie. This mode of proceedure was continued until the fort was reached, when the Indians disappeared and were seen no more.

The Creek where Gilkey and Ritchie started on the race for their lives was called Ritchie's Run and is still known by that to this day. The stream where they killed the buffalo was called Bull Run and it flows from the direction of New Haven, emptying into the Beech Fork at Buckman's fish trap.

John Ritchie built his house about 1778, it is located about 2 miles from Linn's Fort. The location is almost if not directly on a portion of land occupied by an Indian Village and burying ground. It is certain that both the Indians and John Ritchie drew water from the same spring.

The two room log house is still standing, with the marking "J.R. 1780" on a rock in the chimney. With additions to the rear and second floor, it is the home of Guy B. and Doris Ritchie a fifth generation descendant of the original builder and their son Gregory a sixth generation. It is located on what is known as Ritchie Road, one mile south of U.S. 31E.

Jemima Ritchie contributed her share toward making a home. The family wore plain clothes made of linen and woolen cloth called homespun. Jemima and her daughters knew how to hackle flax, spin and thread and weave the linen for sheets, pillow cases clothing etc. They carded wool and wove into blankets, spreads and clothing. Winter evenings found them home sitting by the firelight knitting socks and stockings and sewing for the entire family. They made soap and candles and were contented and happy living in their new home in the wilderness of Kentucky.

From the Filson Club is the story "Benjamin Linn...John Ritchie...John Gilkey and a story of an early distillery in Kentucky" dated Jan. 7, 1895 by M.L. Coomes.

JOHN RITCHIE Sr., Nelson Co.

"DeAnna Fisher"


 GEORGE W. ROBY, born in Nelson County, Ky., Aug. 7, 1823, was a son of Henry Roby, a native of Maryland. He was reared on a farm, and educated in the early subscription schools, his attendance at school being limited to fourteen months. He came to Daviess County in 1844, locating in Knottsville Precinct. He has lived on his present farm since 1849. Aug. 9, 1842, he married Catharine Harkins. Of their four children but two are living--Elizabeth A. and John H. Mrs. Roby died March 15, 1850, and in May, 1852, Mr. Roby married Elizabeth Smith. They had one child--Margaret Ellen. His wife died Jan. 19, 1873. Jan. 11, 1876, he married A. Rosalia Wathen. Three children were born to them, only two now living--Thomas Leo and Walter C. Mr. Roby owns a fine farm of 100 acres, all under excellent improvement. He is one of the model farmers of the county and has brought his farm from a wild, uncultivated state to its present condition. Mr. Roby and family are members of the Catholic church. He is a member of the Total Abstinence Society.

Roby Harkins Smith Wathen = Nelson-KY MD

History of Daviess County, Kentucky, Inter-State Publishing Co., Chicago, 1883. Reprinted by McDowell Publications, Utica, KY, 1980. p. 626.


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