From: KyArchives [archives@genrecords.org]
Sent: Friday, March 16, 2007 1:10 AM
To: Ky-Footsteps
Subject: Ii.Some.Of.The.First-comers.1913.Muhlenberg.HISTORY-Books


Ii Some Of The First-comers 1913 
Muhlenberg County KyArchives History Books

Book Title: A History Of Muhlenberg County

II
SOME OF THE FIRST-COMERS

STATISTICS show that from the close of the Revolution to 1786 about 2,500
newcomers settled in Kentucky every year. After 1786 the army of emigrants
gradually grew larger until 1795, when the inflow increased to about 25,000
annually and continued at that rate for a number of years. In 1790 the
population of Kentucky was 73,677. By 1800 it sprang to 222,955. It was during
this big inflow of the last years of the Eighteenth Century that many of the
homeseekers drifted into the Green River country and became its first permanent
settlers.

   Under the heads of the various counties bordering on Muhlenberg I gather,
from Collins' History of Kentucky, the data here given relative to their first
settlements. About a half-dozen stations were established between 1780 and 1784
in what is now Logan County. Among them was one that, later, became
Russellville. In Ohio County the first settlements were Hartford and Barnett's
Station, both of which were settled "before 1790." As early as 1794 a
trading-post had been established at Berry's Lick, in Butler County.
"Hopkinsville was laid out in 1799." The beginning of Madisonville, Morgantown,
and Elkton dates back to the first years of the Nineteenth Century. Under the
head of McLean County, Collins says: "The first fort or station was built, where
Calhoon now stands, in 1788, by Solomon Rhoads, and called Vienna. In 1790 James
Inman built Pond station, a few miles southeast of Calhoon." That Caney Station
was what might be regarded as the first settlement in what is now Muhlenberg
County is only parenthetically stated by Collins, and without the date of its
beginning, which tradition says was about 1795: "One mile north of Greenville,
near old Caney Station-which was the first settlement in the county-are several
mounds."

   From the foregoing statements it will be seen that a few settlements were
made in this part of the State as early as 1780, and that most of the places
which became permanent settlements were begun during the last few years of the
Eighteenth or the first of the Nineteenth Century.

   Tradition does not say who were the first white people to come into what is
now Muhlenberg County. It is, however, probable that the first men who made this
locality their home were Revolutionary soldiers who wandered westward
immediately after that war. Tradition goes no further back than about 1784, to
which time a few of the families in the county can trace the arrival of their
ancestors.

   After Pond Station had been started and after Henry Rhoads began inducing
more German-Americans to locate near that station and in other sections of the
country, and while Caney Station was being built by Virginians, the inflow of
newcomers began to increase rapidly. A number of pioneers from North Carolina
and Virginia settled along Pond River. John Dennis and a few other North
Carolinians, some of whom probably came as early as 1785, settled in the Pond
Creek country. Kincheloe's Bluff or Lewisburg, on Green River, was settled and
made a "port of entry" before the close of the Eighteenth Century. It was there
that Thomas Irvin and his party of stone-cutters landed about 1797 and helped
open up the Nelson Creek country. Stum's Landing, now Paradise, was also a
well-known river point as early as 1798. It was during this period of the
country's history that the outlaw, Big Harpe, was killed near what has ever
since been known as Harpe's Hill.

   Jesse McPherson was one of the earliest settlers in the Clifty Creek country.
John Hunt and James Wood were among the influential first-comers in the Mud
River country. Among the first to settle in the Long Creek country were the
Drake, Duke, Welborn, and Wells families.

   A number of the pioneers, as already stated, were Revolutionary soldiers, but
more of them were sons of such veterans. The names of the Revolutionary soldiers
living in the United States in 1840 were compiled for the census of that year.
Collins gives the seven reported from Muhlenberg County: John Bone, Joshua
Elkins, Sihez Garriz, Andrew Glenn, William Hopkins, Benjamin Neal, and Britain
Willis. The average age of these seven in 1840 was eighty years. They must
therefore have been about twenty-one years old at the close of the war. Life
insurance statistics show that about 18 per cent of men who reach the age of
forty are likely to reach the age of eighty. At this rate, if seven
Revolutionary soldiers aged eighty were still alive in 1840, they represent what
were thirty-eight men, aged forty, in 1800. We may thus assume that there were
thirty-eight Revolutionary soldiers in Muhlenberg in 1800, who at the close of
that war were twenty-one years of age.

   On the supposition that the number of older soldiers who came here after the
Revolution and who died before 1800 is equal to the number of younger soldiers
who were still alive in 1800 and represented by thirty-eight men, we may infer
that about seventy-six Revolutionary soldiers were among the first settlers of
Muhlenberg. If we assume that each soldier was the father of five children, then
there were 380 sons and daughters of Revolutionary soldiers in the county in
1800. These children (380) with their parents (twice 76) make a total of 532.
According to Collins, the population of Muhlenberg in 1800 was 1,443. That being
the fact, we may infer that about 5 per cent of the pioneers who settled in
Muhlenberg in the Eighteenth Century saw service in the Revolutionary War, and
furthermore, that about one fourth of the pioneers were children of such soldiers.

   Although these figures, based partially on statistics, may be wrong, and
these conclusions be far from representing the actual but unrecorded facts,
these estimates nevertheless are more likely to be nearer correct than any based
on mere supposition or a groundless guess.

   The first of the early settlers of whom we have any tradition or history were
Henry Rhoads and his brothers, who settled Rhoadsville, which later became
Calhoun. Of the original party who began this station only a few remained
permanently in the immediate neighborhood. Henry Rhoads was probably the first
to leave it. After living a few years near what later became Hartford, Ohio
County, he settled in the neighborhood of what is now Browder, Muhlenberg
County. In 1790 James Inman left Rhoadsville and moved five miles south, where
he built Pond Station in the territory which, in 1798, became a part of
Muhlenberg County, and in 1854, when McLean County was organized, became in turn
a part of that county.

   W. G. Stroud, of Semiway, McLean County, in a letter written to me in 1912,
says: "There is a tradition to the effect that at one time a party of Indians
came to the fort at Pond Station when it was occupied by only one man and
several women. The other men were out either hunting or at work. The Indians
made an attack on the fort, but were successfully repulsed by the occupants.
About the year 1850, when I was a boy of ten, Thomas Worthington told my father
that his grandfather was an inmate of the fort and that he (Tom) when a small
boy visited him there and saw fine corn growing on the site of the old pond. The
pond from which the Station took its name was made by beavers closing a gap in a
ridge with a dam, causing the water to cover about twenty-five acres of ground.
Local tradition gives no dates, and I am not able to give you, even
approximately, the time when Pond Station was discontinued as a fort or station."

   Pond Station was located on the east side of the Greenville and Rumsey Road,
on the lands now owned and occupied by J. W. West and R. D. H. Beasley. In 1840
the Baptists in that neighborhood organized a congregation and called their
church Old Station Church, in honor of Pond Station. Many years later a new
structure was erected by that organization on a site about a mile from the
original, and since known as Station Church.

   About the year 1795-that is, about five years after Pond Station had been
started and about two years after Henry Rhoads settled in Muhlenberg
County-Caney Station was started, near the present site of Greenville. This
forerunner of Greenville was established by Colonel and Mrs. William Campbell,
who with William Bradford and a few others, together with a number of slaves,
came from Lexington for the purpose of opening a settlement on General William
Russell's and Colonel Campbell's military grants. John C. Russell and Samuel
Russell, it seems, did not appear upon the scene until after Caney Station had
been begun by their brother-in-law and sister.

   Caney Station was located on a stretch of elevated and rolling ground,
semicircled by Caney Creek. It was about a mile and a half northwest of where
Greenville is now, and near what later became the Earles and Lower Madisonville
Road. A few log houses were erected. According to one version of this tradition,
a stockade was also built. However, this spot was not decided on for a permanent
home or future town. So, when the place for the courthouse had been selected
(June, 1799), the people of Caney Station were all more or less prepared to move
to the new town site.

   A few years after Greenville was started Caney Station was entirely
abandoned. In the course of time the few log houses began to tumble down, and
finally all traces of the old buildings disappeared. The only thing left to mark
this historic spot is an abandoned graveyard, which was used by a few of the
pioneer families for over half a century. Its dozen or more fallen tombstones
are almost hidden by briars and myrtle, running rampant under a few walnut trees
and old cedars.

   The square selected for the courthouse and the lots facing it were presented
to the county by Colonel William Campbell. John Dennis, it is said, offered to
donate the same amount of ground if any of his survey (about three miles
southeast of Caney Station) were chosen for the county seat. The pioneers
objected to Caney Station as a town site because the locality was then
considered as lying too low for such a purpose. The place selected for the
county seat was chosen because it was high and therefore more healthful, and
because near it were two good springs, and furthermore because two old trails
intersected upon it or not far from it.

   There is a vague tradition to the effect that an old trail ran from Hartford,
crossed Green River at Benton's Ferry (or Rockport), and running about two miles
south of what later became Central City, continued through or near Caney Station
or Greenville and crossed Pond River above Harpe's Hill, at what is now called
Free Henry Ford. At some point west of Greenville another trail branched off the
main route and extended through the Murphy's Lake country to the southwest, and
like the main trail connected with the trail that became the Highland Lick Road.
Another old trail started from Owensboro, or Yellow Banks, went through
Rhoadsville (Calhoun) and Pond Station to Caney Station or Greenville, and
passing the John Dennis house, continued to Russellville. It is probable that
these two main trails intersected near the spot where the courthouse was built,
and that they were old trails used by the Indians up to the time they stopped
passing through this section of the country. [1]

   General William Russell, to whom was granted the land on which Caney Station
and Greenville were built, was an officer in the Revolution. His regiment formed
part of General Muhlenberg's brigade, which at times was in General Greene's
division. General Russell participated in the Brandy-wine, Monmouth, and other
battles, and was present at the surrender of Yorktown. He also fought in the
French and Indian War, and led several expeditions against the Indians. General
Russell was born in 1735 and died in 1793. His first wife was Tabitha Adams; his
second wife was Mrs. Elizabeth Henry Campbell, widow of General William Campbell
and sister of Patrick Plenry. General Russell was the father of sixteen
children, many of whom came to Central Kentucky shortly after the Revolution.
His second son was Colonel William Russell, after whom Russell County is named.
Three of General Russell's children by his first wife, after a short stay in
Fayette County, located, as already stated, in Muhlenberg: John C. and Samuel
Russell and their sister Mrs. Tabitha A. R. Campbell.

   Tabitha Adams Russell Campbell was the wife of Colonel William Campbell, who
was a son of Patrick Campbell and a cousin of General William Campbell. General
William Campbell was the hero of King's Mountain, where he defeated the British
on October 7, 1780, and fought what proved to be "the turning in the tide of
success that terminated the Revolution." In the autumn of 1800, shortly after
Greenville's first courthouse was completed and the new town started, Colonel
William Campbell broke his leg and was obliged to ride in a saddle to Lexington
for medical treatment. There, in the home of his friend. Colonel Robert
Patterson, he died November 19, 1800, aged forty-one years. Distance and
transportation facilities were such that the body could not be brought from
Fayette County, and for that reason the Father of Greenville is not buried in
Muhlenberg.

   After Colonel Campbell's death his family continued to live in Greenville.
His widow, being a woman of education and means, was in a position to give their
five children many advantages. She died in Greenville, July 26, 1806. Their only
son, Samuel Campbell, married Cynthia Campbell. but had no children. Their
daughter, Elizabeth, became the first wife of Elder Barton W. Stone, and up to
the time of her death in 1810 traveled with her husband, who was then beginning
his great evangelizing work in Western Kentucky. The other three daughters
became the wives of some of Muhlenberg's most prominent men: Tabitha married
Judge Alney McLean. Anna S. married Charles Fox Wing, and Mary married Ephraim
M. Brank.

   John C. and Samuel Russell were identified with the upbuilding of Greenville
and Muhlenberg County. John C. Russell, who married Anna Clay, died November 17,
1822; Samuel Russell, who married Lucy Roberts, died October 23, 1835. [2] These
two men were not represented in the county as long, nor as numerously, as the
descendants of Colonel William Campbell. The name of John C. Russell, who in
1805 located three miles southeast of Greenville, in what is now the Pleasant
Hill neighborhood, is still perpetuated in the traditions of the Russell Old
Field. Samuel Russell, in connection with other business, conducted the Russell
House, which after his death was continued by his widow, who was succeeded by
their son, Robert S. Russell. This well-known tavern was run until 1861, a
period of sixty-two years. It was a two-story log house, built in 1799, on Main
Street, due west of the Public Square. Samuel Russell's eldest son, Robert S.
Russell, was the last of the Russells to leave the county. He moved to Paris,
Tennessee, in 1860. [3]

   William Bradford, as already stated, accompanied Colonel William Campbell to
the unsettled country that later became Muhlenberg County, and helped to build
Caney Station. When Greenville was laid out, one of the streets was named after
Bradford. He was one of the first captains in the local militia, and held
various county offices in the early days, representing Muhlenberg in the
Legislature in 1801, 1803, 1810, and 1811. It is more than probable that William
Bradford was one of the most influential of the first-comers in the county. His
name, like the names of many of the other pioneers, appears here and there on
the pages of the old court records, and like the names of a number of his
contemporaries is now seldom heard. As far as I am aware, he is forgotten by all
the repeaters of local traditions except two-William A. Armstrong and Judge
William H. Yost.

   William A. Armstrong told me that about the year 1855 Charles Fox Wing,
speaking of local men who had died years before, referred to William Bradford as
a man who had spent the last years of his life trying to better the laws of the
State and improve the environment of the people of Muhlenberg. Captain Wing also
told him a story to the effect that Bradford showed heroism in battle on one
occasion. A bombshell had been thrown into a fort, and Bradford, while the fuse
was still burning, picked the shell up and threw it on the enemy outside the
fortification before it exploded, and thus saved the day for the Americans.
Armstrong's recollection as to where Captain Wing stated that this took place
was very vague. He, however, was of the opinion that it occurred during the
second war with England, if not during the Revolution or during General Anthony
Wayne's campaign in Ohio in 1791. I failed to find William Bradford's name on
the roster of officers and privates who enlisted in Kentucky during the War of
1812. However, since that list is far from complete, he may nevertheless have
served as a soldier from this State.

   Judge William H. Yost, in a letter sent to me recently, writes: "Some time
between the years 1870 and 1875, while the clerk's office in Greenville was
undergoing some repairs, Judge Charles Eaves and myself found in one of the old
record books two copies of a printed circular, written by William Bradford and
addressed to the voters of Muhlenberg County. It was headed 'In Prison Bounds.'
It announced his candidacy for the Lower House of the General Assembly at the
ensuing election. Judge Eaves told me Bradford was elected and his election took
him out of 'Prison Bounds.' Judge Eaves also told me that the judgment fixed
Bradford's 'Prison Bounds' to the limits of the Courthouse Square. I remember
how, in his circular, he mercilessly flayed his creditors for confining him to
'Prison Bounds.' I was told that their action resulted in his election, and that
during the rest of his life he did much toward repealing the old laws inflicting
imprisonment for debt."

   The old laws according to which men were sentenced to the State prison or
confined to local "prison bounds" for debt were modified during the years that
Bradford was a member of the Legislature. All of these laws, with the exception
of a few, were repealed by 1821, which in all probability was after his death.

   No one knows the place and time of William Bradford's birth or death. I find
no trace of any descendants and therefore infer that he was a bachelor or a
childless man. In his day he undoubtedly worked faithfully for the betterment of
the life and laws of his fellow-men, and having done what he regarded as his
duty, he probably was indifferent whether or not he would be remembered by
posterity. Nevertheless, like many others who have gone to their reward, if he
were to return to his earthly haunts he could but say, "How soon we are forgotten!"

  Jesse McPherson was probably the first of the first-comers who settled in the
southeastern part of the county. According to one tradition he arrived upon the
scene before either Pond or Caney stations were started. It is said that during
1790, or before, he left his wife and two or three children in Virginia and came
to Kentucky, and while looking for a place to settle selected a tract of land
three miles from what later became the town of Cisney or Rosewood. He spent the
winter and spring clearing two fields, one near the foot of a cliff facing a
valley leading to Clifty Creek, and another on the top of the same cliff. In the
meantime he lived in his "cave hut" near his bottom field. This improvised house
was made by erecting two short walls of logs in front of a small cove at the
foot of the cliff, and placed in such a way that the top of the concave opening
in the cliff served as a roof and the rock wall of the cliff and the two log
walls served as walls to the "cave hut." The following summer, after having set
out a crop of corn in each of his fields, he returned to Virginia for his
family. He brought them to Kentucky and they lived in the ''cave hut" until a
log cabin on the bluff was finished. A few years later, or about 1800, he began
building the spacious house known as the Jesse McPherson house, now occupied by
William II. Pearson and his wife, the latter a great-granddaughter of Jesse
McPherson. The log's used in the construction of the "cave hut" have long ago
disappeared, but the rock-roofed cove in "Cave Hut Cliff" has for more than a
century been used as a hay bin.

   Jesse McPherson was one of Muhlenberg's best-known pioneers. When the county
was organized he was appointed one of the justices of the peace. He ran a
tanyard, horse mill, and distillery for many years. Tradition says that he
feared nothing. On one occasion his neighbor Billings was attacked by a bear
whose cub he had taken. McPherson, hearing the cry for help, rushed to the
rescue and killed the animal with a hickory club. A few years later McPherson
took a trip to Arkansas, and upon his return showed Billings some hickory nuts
he had brought from that State. Billings suggested that they plant one of the
nuts where McPherson had saved his life from the ferocious bear. This was done,
and to-day a large hickory tree, standing near the "Cave Hut Cliff," marks the
spot where, as one of the local oracles puts it, "Billings came near getting the
stuffings squeezed out of him by a big bear." [4]

   Among other pioneers in the southeastern part of the county were John Hunt
and James Wood. Hunt, a Revolutionary soldier, came to Muhlenberg from North
Carolina about the year 1806 and settled in that part of the Mud River country
known ever since as the Hunt Settlement. The house erected in 1825 near Gus by
his son, Jonathan Hunt, was later occupied by the latter's son, Jefferson Hunt,
and he in turn was succeeded by his son Amos L. Hunt, who now lives in this
well-preserved landmark.

   About the year 1816 James Wood, also of North Carolina, settled a few miles
above the Hunt Settlement, north of what is now Dunmor. Many of the descendants
of John Hunt and James Wood still live in the Hunt Settlement and other parts of
the Mud River country, where they are highly respected farmers.

   Among the children of James Wood was Zillman Wood, who was born in 1814 and
died in 1859, and who in his day was one of the most influential men in the Mud
River country. One of the sons of Zillman Wood is James Willis Wood, a Federal
soldier, who was born in 1841 and who all his life did much for the good of the
county. Among the sons of J. W. Wood is Ed S. Wood, who was county clerk from
1898 to 1906. [5]

   Richard C. Dellium and James Forgy were among the pioneers of the Mud River
country, in Butler County. Forgy's Mill on Mud River was among the first mills
built along that stream. Dellium owned much land in Muhlenberg, and about 1815
built a large log house which, although no longer used as a residence, is still
standing, one mile west of Gus. Collins, in his "History of Kentucky," under the
head of Butler County, says: "Richard C. Dellium carried on a trading station at
Berry's Lick, and James Forgy settled near there, about 1794. They had to go to
Nashville to mill along a footpath through a solid canebrake."

   Judge William Worthington was one of the most influential first-comers in
that part of Muhlenberg which later became a part of McLean County. He owned a
large tract of land on what, for more than a century, has been known as the
"Island"-a territory of about eight square miles, surrounded during high water
by back water from Green River, the Thoroughfare, Black Lake, and Cypress Creek.
His home was about a half mile north of what is now the town of Island.  The
post-office for that section of the country was at his residence for many years,
and bore the name of Worthington up to about 1860, when it was transferred to
Point Pleasant on Green River. When the Owensboro & Russellville Railroad was
built, a station was erected near the old Worthington place and a new
post-office established. This was appropriately called Island Station, and
formed the nucleus of the town now known as Island, which in 1910 had a
population of 547. A more appropriate name, however, would have been the former
name of Worthington, for no pioneer in Muhlenberg was more worthy of having his
name perpetuated in that manner. Worthington's Chapel, three miles west of
Island, called so in honor of his son Thomas, who gave the land on which this
church is built, is now the only place that bears the name of this pioneer family.

   William Worthington came to Muhlenberg about fourteen years before the county
was organized. He took part in many of the early county court meetings and often
presided over the court of quarter sessions and a number of the circuit court
meetings. He was a member of the State Senate from 1814 to 1826. About the year
1830 his residence burned, and practically everything in it was destroyed. Among
the few things saved was the cane presented to him a few years before by his
fellow-members of the State Senate. This walking-stick is now owned by T. M.
Worthington, of Dallas, Texas.

   About the year 1845 Judge Worthington moved to Point Worthington, a
plantation in Mississippi owned by one of his sons, and a few years later died
there. His body was packed in salt and shipped by boat to his old home in
Kentucky, where he had spent more than sixty years of his life, and was there
buried by the side of his wife. Two stone-walled graves, each covered with a
marble slab, mark the last resting-place of the old judge and his wife. On one
is carved, "Wm. Worthington, Died June 5, 1848, aged 87 years."-on the other,
"Mary Worthington, Died August 25, 1827, aged 66 years."

   Judge and Mrs. Worthington were the parents of a number of children. Two of
them lived and died in Muhlenberg or McLean counties, near Worthington's
Chapel-Mrs. Elizabeth Kincheloe and Thomas Worthington. One daughter, Mrs. Polly
Wickliffe, lived in the South. [6]

   The Kincheloes, like the Worthingtons, were among the most influential and
highly educated first-comers in the Green River country. Local tradition,
however, is very vague regarding the history and genealogy of this family,
although the name of Kincheloe, like that of Worthington, is very familiar to
those who are versed in local traditions. It is quite probable that Lewis
Kincheloe, who lived at Kincheloe's Bluff for many years and who took part in
the battle of the Thames, was a brother of Reverend William Kincheloe, who
married a daughter of Judge William Worthington, and that he was also a brother
of Thomas Kincheloe, whose son Jesse W., of Breckinridge County, was elected
circuit judge in 1851 in the district then embracing Muhlenberg County. One of
the pioneer Kincheloes, who lived in Muhlenberg, died, it is said, on his way to
Tippecanoe in 1811. He was probably a brother of Lewis, Reverend William, and
Thomas. One tradition has it that all the pioneer Kincheloes were soldiers in
the War of 1812 and were sons of Lieutenant William Kincheloe, who fought in the
Revolution and died in Western Kentucky about 1798.

   Among the many other first-corners were Arington and Robert Wickliffe and
their nephews, Colonel Moses Wickliffe and J. W. I. Godman. Arington and Robert
Wickliffe were sons of John Wickliffe, of Prince William County, Virginia. They
settled in northeastern Muhlenberg about 1800, where Robert died in February,
1820. Both were influential pioneers.

   Arington Wickliffe was born in Virginia in 1750. He was an officer in the
Revolutionary army, and took part in many of the battles. Shortly after the
Revolution he married Catherine Davis, daughter of Captain Jesse Davis, of
Virginia. In the winter of 1819-20 he rode from Muhlenberg to his old home in
Virginia on horseback and returned a few weeks later; he died, as a result of
the exposure, in March, 1820. He was the father of ten children, one of whom was
William B. Wickliffe, who was born near South Carrollton February 15, 1808, and
died in Greenville, July 12, 1892. William B. Wickliffe was at one time a large
landowner and slave-holder. He was the father of William A. Wickliffe, of
Greenville.

   Colonel Moses Wickliffe was born in Virginia in 1779 and settled in
Muhlenberg about 1795. A few years later he made a trip to Virginia to report to
some of his kinsmen and friends the condition and prospects of the Green River
country. In 1799 or 1800 he came back to Muhlenberg accompanied by his two
uncles, Arington and Robert, and their families. They brought with them J. W. I.
Godman, then a child about a year old. Colonel Wickliffe did much toward
encouraging not only some of his kinsmen, but many others, to settle in
Muhlenberg. His integrity and his interest in the development of the community
soon placed him among the best-known men in the county. Tradition says that
during the War of 1812 and again during the Mexican War he organized a company
of soldiers, but in each case, just as he was ready to leave with his men for
the scene of action, he received news that peace had been declared. He often
served as magistrate. He represented the county in the Legislature from 1816 to
1819 inclusive. He was always ready to lend a helping hand, and never hesitated
to express his opinion when he thought that by so doing he could benefit any
one. It is related of him that, although not a member of the Nelson Creek
Baptist Church, he often presided over the business meetings held by that
congregation. On one occasion he rebuked the members present, saying, "Unless
you work in peace and harmony the devil will never let loose his hold on this
church. I tell you the devil himself is in this church now, and right here in
your own pulpit this very moment!" One of the members called the attention of
the audience to the fact that Colonel Wickliffe himself was at that moment
occupying the pulpit. The Colonel, nevertheless, finished his argument, and soon
restored peace and harmony in the congregation.

   In 1814 Colonel Wickliffe married Nancy Young, of Muhlenberg. They were the
parents of ten children, all of whom were well-known citizens of the county. He
died in 1854 at his home near what is now known as Bevier. [7]

   J. W. I. Godman was not only a kinsman but a protege of Colonel Moses
Wickliffe. Although an infant when brought from the old settlements by the
Wickliffes, the Godman baby was nevertheless one of Muhlenberg's first-comers.
This baby boy was carried in the arms of one of the women of the party who, in
1799 or 1800, rode horseback from Virginia to Muhlenberg. It is an interesting
fact that about fifty years later this infant first-comer became Muhlenberg's
first elected county judge.

   Judge John Wickliffe Israel Godman was born in Virginia, December 8, 1798. He
was the only child of John Allen Godman and his wife Susan (Wickliffe) Godman,
both of whom died shortly after he was born. He was named for his two
grandfathers, John Wickliffe and Israel Godman. When his mother's family moved
to Muhlenberg he was reared by his grandparents and his cousin, Colonel Moses
Wickliffe. Young Godman's early education was limited to such learning as the
schools of his neighborhood then offered. This, however, he supplemented with
extensive reading, and became one of the best read and most practical men in the
county. He was universally regarded as a superior man. Among other things, lie
read law and medicine. At one time he intended to take up law as a profession.
In the absence of lawyers and physicians he practiced, gratuitously, both
professions among his neighbors. After his marriage he settled on a large tract
of land in the northeastern part of the county, near Green River, where he spent
most of his time farming and merchandising. Through these he accumulated a good
estate. He made trips to Louisville to buy goods, and also to New Orleans to
sell produce. Henry Clay, some time between 1825 and 1830, visited him in
Muhlenberg, and engaged him to look after the Blackburn lands lying near the
Godman farm and belonging to a ward of Clay's. In this way the two men became
the best of friends and carried on an extensive correspondence. The letters
received from Clay, although preserved by the family for many years, can not now
be found.

   Godman was for long a justice of the peace, and being skilled in the writing
of legal documents he was for many years the only man in his section on whom the
people relied for the preparation of their most important papers. At the first
general election held under the Constitution of 1850, which took place on the
second Monday in May, 1851, he was elected county judge, and thus became the
first man elected to that office in Muhlenberg. He was devoted to his family,
and when attending court at Greenville, discharging his official duties, he made
it a rule to ride home every night, a distance of fifteen miles. In this way,
through exposure to inclement weather, he contracted a severe cold, from the
effects of which he died December 23, 1852. He was buried in the private
burying-ground near his home, where a large marble slab marks his grave. That
Judge Godman was "the right man in the right place" is a statement made by those
who are familiar with the lives of the county's most influential men, and is
verified by his record as a citizen and judge. He left no portrait. He had one
made a few years before he died, but permitted it to be erased in order that the
plate might be used to make a portrait of one of his children.

  Judge Godman married Elizabeth Nicholls, who was born in Muhlenberg December
2, 1801, and died February 6, 1891. She was a daughter of pioneer James Nicholls
and his wife Margaret Randolph, a daughter of Captain John Randolph, who was a
cousin of the celebrated John Randolph of Roanoke. Captain John Randolph was
also the father of pioneers Robert [8] and John Randolph, jr., and Mrs. John
Reno. Judge and Mrs. Godman were the parents of three children: Sarah Jane, who
married Edmund M. Blacklock [9]; Mary Eliza, who married William Johnson Dean
[10]; and John Allen, who died in 1854.

   Andrew and Peter Shaver were among the prime movers in what was for many
years called the "Dutch Settlement," now known as the Bremen country. These two
pioneers did not appear upon the scene until about twenty years after the county
had been organized. A number of German-Americans and other Virginians had
already settled in the northern part of Muhlenberg. Among the pioneers who
appeared during or before the coming of Andrew and Peter Shaver were Benjamin
Coffman, Reverend Samuel Danner, Jacob Garst, the seven Gish brothers, John
Gossett, Rudolph Kittinger, Jacob. Daniel, and Doctor John Noffsinger, Lot
Stroud, the three Vincent brothers, and Jacob Whitmer. [11]

  Andrew and Peter Shaver were sons of Andrew Shaver, sr. (originally spelled
Schaber), who was born in Bremen, Germany, came to America shortly after the
Revolution, and died in Virginia from wounds received during the War of 1812, in
which war he had fought, together with his son Peter. John, Jonathan, and David
Shaver, sons of Andrew Shaver, sr., settled in Muhlenberg some time between 1820
and 1825, but left the county before 1840. Parthenia, who married John
Kittinger, and Mary Magdalene, or Polly, who married Jacob Garst, were daughters
of Andrew Shaver, sr., and like their brothers Andrew and Peter Shaver are
to-day represented by many descendants in Muhlenberg. Mrs. Andrew Shaver, sr.,
died in Muhlenberg about 1840, and is buried near Shaver's Chapel.

   Andrew Shaver, jr., married Susan M. Bower in Virginia, and came to
Muhlenberg about the year 1820. He was a successful farmer and did much toward
encouraging others to settle in the "Dutch Settlement." His career,
unfortunately, was a short one. One day two strangers, passing through the
country, came to the Andrew Shaver home and asked for supper and lodging. They
were admitted, for in the olden days strangers were welcomed in the homes of the
pioneers, if for no other reason than for the news they might bring from the
outside world. Although the wanderers complained of being ill, they nevertheless
gladly told the news they had heard along the road. The next morning it was
discovered, to the surprise of all, that one of the men had smallpox. His
companion nursed him through the siege, and although every precaution was taken
to prevent the disease from spreading, Andrew Shaver contracted smallpox and
died. He was born November 5, 1793, and died June 13, 1837. His wife, Susan
Shaver, was born February 14, 1791, and died May 8, 1874. [12]

   Peter Shaver was born in Virginia January 18, 1790, and died November 17,
1866. His wife, Nancy Peters, daughter of pioneer Christian Peters, was born
December 25, 1798, and died September 21, 1879. Peter Shaver came to Muhlenberg
about 1815, and was regarded as one of the best educated men in the "Dutch
Settlement." He did much toward the moral, educational, and industrial
development of the northern part of the county. It was he who, in honor of his
father's birthplace, had the post-office called Bremen, a name it still bears.
He was a progressive farmer, and wielded the axe, the hammer, and the pen with
equal grace. A letter written to his son, Benjamin J. Shaver, in 1861, is quoted
elsewhere in this volume. The day he and his wife celebrated their golden
wedding they had their portraits made. On the same day he recorded the following
in their family Bible: "November 30, 1865: Peter Shaver was married to Nancy
Peters November 30, 1815. We. the above-named Peter and Nancy Shaver, have,
through the blessing of God, lived fifty years in the state of matrimony and are
this day in good health and able to take care of ourselves.   God be praised for
his mercy and goodness." [13]

   Such, as I have given it, is a glimpse at some of the first-comers. But there
were many other prominent pioneers. The Muhlenberg men who fought in the War of
1812, the first settlers in the Pond River country, the Paradise country, and
the Rhoads and the Weirs, were among the other first-comers. The part taken by
these pioneers in the settling and upbuilding of the new county is recorded in
some of the other chapters in this history. They, like the men and women
referred to in this chapter, helped to make Muhlenberg what it is to-day.

ENDNOTES

   [1] I am informed by Julian W. Allen, of Ennis, that about two and a half
miles above the mouth of Rocky Creek are evidences of an old buffalo trail,
three or four feet wide, and that where it crossed the creek it is now worn down
to a depth of about six feet. This trail apparently led from the barrens in
Christian County through, the Mud River country of Muhlenberg, crossed Mud River
about eight miles below Mud River Mine, into Butler County to Conley's Lake,
which, before the dam was built at Rochester, was a salt lick. This salt lick,
in the olden days, covered the ground (about twenty acres) where the lake now
is. It is said this "worn-down area was formed by buffaloes and other animals
trampling and wallowing on the ground while there for the purpose of licking
salt. From a point on the Muhlenberg side, near the Mud River crossing, the main
trail followed the general course of Mud River down toward its mouth. An old
road that led from Bowling Green to Owensboro followed this trail through the
Mud River bottoms from the lick, over the old Mud River crossing into
Muhlenberg, and then continued over the hills toward the north. Evidences of
this old buffalo trail can also be seen in some of the woodlands between Dunmor
and Penrod. There are indications that below the Mud River country a trail led
off from the main buffalo trail toward Greenville, through what is now the
Pallas Dwyer farm. Since some of the old surveys refer to this main trail as the
Old Buffalo Trail, it is more than likely that traces of it were far more
apparent in the days of the first-comers than they are now. Evidences indicate
that another old trail ran from Berry's Lick, Butler County, crossed Mud River
about a mile below Mud River Mine, intersected the Old Buffalo Trail south of
Rocky Creek, and then continued over the Muhlenberg hills toward Christian County.


   [2] After the death of Mrs. Tabitha A. R. Campbell in 1806, Mrs. Lucy Roberts
Russell, wife of Samuel Russell, became "The Mother of Greenville." She died in
the famous Russell House in 1851. A number of years later Mrs. Lucy Wing Short
Yost became known as "The Grand Old Lady of Greenville."


   [3] Robert S. Russell was born in Greenville November 13, 1810. In 1839 he
married Celia McLean, daughter of Doctor Robert D. McLean. They were the parents
of Lucy R., Rebecca W., Samuel, and Edward M. Russell. In 1850 he was a member
of the State Senate. He represented Muhlenberg's southern sympathizers in the
Confederate Legislature at Russellville in November, 1861. He died in Paris,
Tennessee, October 4, 1873. Edward M. Russell, of Paris, Tennessee, in a letter
to me, writes: "Except for the eyes, the enclosed photograph of my father, made
in 1870, is a very good likeness. He had large gray eyes, but during the last
few years of his life they were very much weakened by disease. . . . I have
often heard my father speak of the howling of the wolves in Greenville at night,
so wild and unsettled was the country when he was a young man."


   [4] Jesse McPherson was born in Virginia February 15, 1765, and died May 14,
1849. His wife was born February 16, 1772, and died August 25, 1822. Both are
buried near their old home near Rosewood. They were the parents of seven
children, all of whom lived in the southeastern part of Muhlenberg County, where
they were well-known citizens: Lewis, John, Alexander, Amos, Alney, and Jesse
McPherson, and Mrs. Nancy (Samuel) Davenport.


   [5] Pioneer John Hunt and his wife, Charity Hunt, were the parents of
Jonathan, John, Elijah, Owen, Daniel, and Gasham Hunt, Mrs. Charity Davis, and
Mrs. Joan Whitaker.
   Pioneer James Wood and his wife, Susan Wood, were the parents of Mrs. Sally
(Enoch, son of Jonathan) Hunt, Zillman, John, Mrs. Mary (Daniel, son of Elijah)
Hunt, and Mrs. Elizabeth (J. S.) Hughes.


   [6] Elizabeth Worthington married Reverend William Kincheloe. They lived on a
farm about two miles southeast of Judge Worthington's home. William Kincheloe
was for many years one of the few preachers in that neighborhood. After his
children became large enough to go to school he employed a teacher for them and
extended an invitation to the boys and girls of his neighbors to attend this
school at his expense. He ran a store for many years, and in that connection
made a number of trips by boat to New Orleans and return. R. M. Kincheloe, of
Sacramento, who represented McLean County in the Legislature in 1891 and 1892,
is a grandson.
   Thomas Worthington, son of Judge Worthington, was born May 27, 1786, in Fort
Vienna, now Calhoun. There is a tradition to the effect that his parents, with
their two small daughters, had a few weeks before gone to the Fort for
protection from the Indians. In 1808 he married Elinore Barnes, of Ohio County,
and shortly after settled near Cypress Creek on a farm that had been presented
to him by his father. He, like his brother-in-law William Kincheloe, was a
preacher, and also maintained a school in his neighborhood at his own expense.
He died near Worthington's Chapel in 1853. Shortly after his death his wife and
all their children, except three daughters, moved to Mississippi. These three
were Mrs. Matilda (W. B.) Lawton, the mother of Alexander Lawton, of Rumsey;
Mrs. Caroline (James) Henry, the mother of Joseph G. Henry, of McLean County;
Mrs. Emily (Joseph L.) Gregory, who is the mother of Reverend Thomas Gregory,
now of Marshall County.
   Polly Worthington, the second daughter of Judge Worthington, married Aaron
Wickliffe. They moved to Greenville, Mississippi, and there he became one of the
wealthiest planters in the South. They had no children, and left their estate to
one of Judge Worthington's grandsons, whom they had adopted.


   [7] Colonel and Mrs. Moses Wickliffe were the parents of (1) Aaron, (2)
William Y., (3) Mrs. Susan Jane (William Y.) Cundiff, whose husband was a son of
pioneer Bryant Cundiff, (4 and 5) Benjamin Singleton and Robert McLean, twins,
the two well-known bachelors, (6) Moses, a bachelor, who resigned as sheriff of
the county to join the Confederate army and who later often served as a
magistrate. (7) Mrs. Agnes Elizabeth (John F.) Davis, (8) Charles Bryant, who
served as sheriff and who represented the county in the Legislature in 1889-'91,
(9) John Kincheloe. a Confederate soldier killed during the war, and (10) Miss
Mary Frances Wickliffe.


   [8] Pioneer Robert Randolph died in 1817. He was the father of (1) Ashford
D., who married Geraldine Oates, daughter of William Oates and among whose
children are John R. and E. M. Randolph, (2) Elizabeth, who married Bayless
Oates, son of William Oates, (3) Robert, jr., who married Harriet Oates,
daughter of Jesse Oates.


   [9] Mr. and Mrs. Edmund M. Blacklock were the parents of seven children, all
of whom spent the greater part of their lives in Muhlenberg: (1) Mrs. Elizabeth
(Benjamin E.) Young, whose second husband was Judge Q. B. Coleman, (2) Mrs. Mary
C. (Allison) Kincheloe, (3) Mrs. Sue M. (William) Leiter, (4) John A., (5) Mrs.
Lena (Jacob) Kittenger, (6) Miss Jennie, and (7) Edmund Blacklock.


   [10] Although William Johnson Dean was born in Breckinridge County (January
17, 1827), where he spent his entire life and where he died (October 10, 1901),
he was nevertheless identified with Muhlenberg County. He had an uncle (Charles
F. Robertson) living in Muhlenberg, and often visited the county both before and
after his marriage. He cultivated the acquaintance of the prominent men of the
county, and always took much interest in its affairs. He supervised the farming
and other business operations of Judge Godman's widow, and spent much time in
the county. His wife was born (August 12, 1829) near what is now Moorman, and
lived there until her marriage, November 14, 1849. Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Dean were
the parents of nine children, all of whom lived to be grown: (1) Godman S., of
Greenville, the father of Harry M. Dean, (2) John Allen, the well-known lawyer
of Owensboro, (3) Summers, (4) William Johnson, jr., (5) Mrs. Mary Elizabeth
(David C.) Herndon, (6) Miss Amanda R., (7) Mrs. Jennie L. (Charles M.) Reid,
(8) Mrs. Margaret W. (Charles L.) Cornwell, and (9) Charles Wickliffe Dean. Of
these, two sons, Godman S. and Summers, have lived in Muhlenberg for many years,
and are among the best-known men in the county.


   [11] Benjamin Coffman came to Muhlenberg in 1803, where he died in 1847. He
was the father of John L., Isaac, Benjamin F., Jacob, Joseph, Mrs. Katherine
(Daniel) Plain, Mrs. Betsy (Peter) Johnson, Mrs. Nancy Stoghill, Mrs. Hannah
(James) Nail, and Mrs. Sarah (Jefferson) Rust.
   Reverend Samuel Danner, a Dunkard preacher, was born April 1, 1784, came to
Muhlenberg about the year 1800, and died near Bremen July 7, 1857. Reverend and
Mrs. Danner were the parents of nine children: John and Samuel Danner, Mrs.
Susan (John M.) Gish, Mrs. Nancy (Jacob) Hill, Mrs. Elizabeth (William H.)
Kittinger, Mrs. Sallie (George) Branson, Mrs. Francis (David) Gish, Mrs. Mary
(Jacob L.) Groves, and Mrs. Harriett (John) Hendricks.
   Jacob Garst was born in 1795 and died in 1865. His wife, Mary Magdalene
(Polly) Shaver, was born in 1796 and died in 1871. They were the parents of
eight children: Alfred, John, Philip P., Andrew, Jacob, jr., Mrs. Sarah (Samuel)
Short, Mrs. Mary Jane (David J.) Fleming, and Mrs. Margaret (Rudolph) Kittinger.
   Christian Gish, during the year 1800 or earlier, while on his way to
Muhlenberg from Virginia, was killed in the Cumberland Mountains by a team of
horses. His widow, Elizabeth Stintz Gish, and her seven sons took the corpse
with them and upon their arrival at their destination, near Bremen, buried the
body. These seven sons were George, who was married to Betsy Peters; John, to
Betsy Noffsinger; David, to Lydia Wiley; Samuel, to Elizabeth Wiley; Abraham, to
Mrs. Francis Hill; Joseph, to Sarah Landies, and Christian, to Susan Knave.
   John Gossett, who was born in 1776 and died in 1854, married Mary Noffsinger
in Virginia and came to Muhlenberg about 1812. They were the parents of ten
children: Samuel, John, Isaac, Jacob, Daniel, Mrs. Betsy (Robert) Wright, Mrs.
Rachael (John) Danner, Mrs. Polly (James) Miller, Mrs. Susan (Esquire John)
Whitmer, jr., and Miss Kate Gossett.
   The Kittingers (six of the children of Jacob Kittinger, who was a native of
Switzerland) came to Muhlenberg about 1820. They were Rudolph, Joseph, Martin,
Jonathan, Mrs. Lucinda (Jacob) Miller, and Mrs. Bethena (Martin) Miller. Jacob
and Martin Miller, who married Lucinda and Bethena Kittinger, were sons of
pioneer Martin Miller, sr., who was a brother of Henry Miller, the
great-grandfather of F. Marion Miller, of Bremen.
   Jacob Noffsinger married Susan H. Stoner, who was born in 1764 and died in
1836. They came to Muhlenberg about the year 1800. The following is a list of
their children and to whom they were married: Nancy, to Mr. Cook, then to J.
Thomas Hill; Mary, to John Gossett; Samuel, to Sallie Rhoads; Betsy, to John
Gish; Jacob, to Mary Noffsinger; Catherine, to Reverend Samuel Danner; Hannah,
to Samuel Reid; Susan, to Bradford Rhoads, jr.; Rebecca, to John Noffsinger;
Sally, to George Humphry; Joseph, to Betsy Bowman; Miss Rachael Noffsinger, and
John Noffsinger. John Noffsinger was born in 1803, farmed east of Bremen,
married Harriet Reno, and died in 1872. Mrs. Harriet R. Noffsinger was born in
1807 and died in 1897. A picture of Mr. and Mrs. John Noffsinger appears among
the illustrations in this chapter.
   Daniel and Doctor John Noffsinger were brothers of Jacob Noffsinger. Daniel
Noffsinger's only child married Wilson Turner. Doctor John Noffsinger died about
the year 1835, at the age of eighty. He was the father of a number of daughters,
but only one son, John H. Noffsinger.
   Lot Stroud, who was born February 8, 1778, came to Muhlenberg about the year
1800, and died November 22, 1824. He settled in what was for many years called
Stroud, and is now known as Brucken. There he died November 22, 1824. He was the
father of six children: Mrs. Fanny (Richard) Morton, Reuben, Jesse, Asher, Mrs.
Edna M. (Samuel M.) Ross, and Isaac Stroud.
   Three Vincent brothers came to Muhlenberg about the year 1800. They were
John, Charles, and Thomas Vincent.
   John Whitmer was born June 24, 1752, came to Muhlenberg about 1795, and died
December 10, 1828. He was the father of eight children: Jacob, John, Michael,
Valentine, or "Felty"; Mrs. Eve (John) Phillips, Mrs. Susan (Martin) Miller,
Mrs. Sally (Anthony) Donahue, and Mrs. Dossett.


   [12] Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Shaver, jr., were the parents of eight children:
Peter, who was married to I. McIntire; Jacob B., to Ann McIntire, then to
Harriett McIntire, then to Margaret Wilkins; Barbara Ann, to Michael Whitmer;
Elizabeth Jane, to Bradford Noffsinger: Mary, to Felix Naul, then to Absalom
Whitmer; Susan, to Joseph Hendricks; Caroline, to Wesley Hunt; and Nancy, to
Martin Kirtley.


   [13] Mr. and Mrs. Peter Shaver were the parents of five children: Andrew, who
was married to Theodosia A. Timmens; Benjamin J., to Susan Jagoe, and then to
Ann Morehead; David, to Mildred Taylor; Polly, to Thompson Miller, and John M.,
to Catherine Welsh.


Submitted by: Joy Fisher
sdgenweb@yahoo.com



Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

A HISTORY OF MUHLENBERG COUNTY
BY

OTTO A. ROTHERT
Member of The Filson Club. Kentucky State Historical Society, American
Historical Association, International Society of Archaeologists, etc.

JOHN P. MORTON & COMPANY
INCORPORATED LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
1913


COPYRIGHT. 1913, BY OTTO A. ROTHERT


This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/kyfiles/