From: KyArchives [archives@genrecords.org] Sent: Monday, August 06, 2007 6:33 PM To: Ky-Footsteps Subject: Cawbey.John.Jessamine.BIOS John Cawbey Jessamine County KyArchives Biography Author: Bennett H. Young John Cawbey. John Cawbey was a resident of Independence, Mo. In September, 1884, he wrote to S. M. Duncan a letter which contains many interesting facts in regard to some of the olden time people in Jessamine, and also some reminiscences in regard to Dr. Trisler, the first physician in Jessamine, and which indicates that Dr. Trisler was something of a medium and fortune teller and practiced these arts in addition to medicine. For many years, traditions have been floating among the people of pristine Jessamine, in regard to the marvelous power of Dr. Trisler and his possession of mysterious powers in locating disease, finding lost property, and in early days there were many who accredited the good, old doctor with the highest order of supernatural vision. Mr. Cawbey says: "My mother died at Franklin, Ind., in her 70th year; my father died in his 47th year; my grandfather, John Cawbey, lived to the age of 87 years. His wife, my grandmother, lived to the age of 105 years, and died in Mercer county, Ky. My grandfather was born in Lincoln county, Kentucky, and settled in Jessamine county in 1808, where he spent all his life, and was buried at old West Union church lot, better known as the "Hoover graveyard." In this old lot lie my first wife, her brother, father, and grandfather, Conrad Earthenhouse, the father of the late venerable Elizabeth Bowman, who lived to reach the great age of 108. She died in 1886. I have in my keeping Dr. Peter Trisler's German medical works, printed in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1442, which makes 442 years since they were printed. (Printing was invented in 1440.) I have also the Bible of Dr. Trisler, which is 400 years old and a commentary over 300 years old, in the German language. The first or his medical books contains 1,180 pages, the second book, 1,342 pages. I send you this information for the purpose of giving you a correct account, and the dates that I found concerning the first settlers on Jessamine creek, among my papers which I sent to Missouri several months before I left Jessamine county. When I have more time it will afford me pleasure to give you many more interesting facts concerning the old settlers along Jessamine creek and their occupation. Beginning on the west side of Hickman road, running down Jessamine creek, there was the home of Joseph Wallace, who was a farmer and tanner. Next was John Carroll, farmer and auctioneer; Peter Funk, farmer and distiller: Michael Ritter, fanner and vender of crockery ware, etc.; Samuel Walls, farmer; Thos. Reynolds, father of Barney Reynolds, farmer and distiller, and spent much of his life fishing; Jacob Myers, father of the late W. B. Myers, was a manufacturer of gun powder on the farm where Wm. Mathews now lives; Richard West was a gunsmith and farmer, and owned the farm where Wm. Bourne is now living; Christopher Arnspiger lived on the other side of the creek, was a farmer and cooper; next came the old Howser mill property, owned by Abraham Howser and George Mason. Both had an equal share in the mill, and each one had his part of the farm, and both carried on a distillery of their own ; next was the Bennett farm— this old Mr. Bennett fell down from his barn loft and killed himself. He was an old bachelor, and would often hide himself when ladies passed his house; Conrad Earthenhouse was a farmer and weaver, and also had a distillery: George Smith, the grandfather of Willis B. Smith, lived on the farm now occupied by Willis; he was a farmer and distiller. On that old farm in his grandfather's lifetime, I ground corn for the said distillery in the year 1827. At old Thomas Haydon's mills, now owned by James Lewallen, formerly by Frank Grow, there was a distillery attached to this property. It has passed through many hands since I first knew the place; the next farm on the creek was the old Crozier mill and cotton factory. This property, like many others in those days, had a distillery on it. It was here on this farm that the first steam engine was ever used in Jessamine county. Mr. Crozier and James Hill ran it for nineteen years. The next place was that owned by Mr. Womack and Thos. Bryan, who owned the old paper mill and grist mill built by old John Lewis. This mill was the first one erected in Jessamine county, and had the first French buhr stones brought to Jessamine county, which cost Mr. Lewis $1,200. The old mill is now owned by John H. Glass. "Before closing this long letter I will relate some of Dr. Trisler s strange performances. He would sometimes invite his neighbors to see him. He would then disappear in the very presence of the company, and none could tell what had become of him. He could stop the flow of blood from any wound by giving the initials of the proper name of any man or women—this was all that was required. He could tell where stolen property was concealed. He could light a candle in a large room by rubbing his hands together. He could tell the exact number of pigs a sow would have at a litter. These are matters of fact and have been tested and are well known as facts, among the early settlers of Jessamine county. I remember, myself, there lived a man on the farm of Thomas Gordon, about one mile south of Nicholasville, who had a horse stolen. He came to see Dr. Trisler, three times before he would tell him where the horse was. On the third day Dr. Trisler met the owner of the stolen horse and told him to go to the town of Lancaster, in Garrard county, and near the county jail he would find the horse hitched to a fence; he added: "But the man that took the horse from your stable has been killed in a drunken frolic." This may appear unreasonable, but I know it to be true. Very truly, your friend, JOHN CAWBEY. Submitted by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com Additional Comments: Extracted from: A HISTORY OF JESSAMINE COUNTY, KENTUCKY, FROM ITS EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO 1898. By BENNETT H. YOUNG, PRESIDENT POLYTECHNIC SOCIETY; MEMBER FILSON CLUB; MEMBER CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1890; AUTHOR HISTORY OF THE CONSTITUTIONS OF KENTUCKY, OF "BATTLE OF BLUE LICKS, ETC, ETC. S. M. DUNCAN, ASSOCIATE AUTHOR. Every brave and good life out of the past is a treasure which cannot be measured in money, and should be preserved with faithfullest care. LOUISVILLE, KY.: COURIER-JOURNAL JOB PRINTING CO., 1898. 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