Muhlenberg County, Kentucky - The whole text, 1913 (part 1 of 13)

Preface

The gathering and compiling of the traditions and history of Muhlenberg County has occupied much of my time for some years. These pages have been written solely because of the pleasure and interest I have taken in the work, and are here presented in book form that they may be read not only by those who are now interested in the subject, but that they may be preserved al.so for future generations. I found JIuhlenbcrg's history a very fascinating subject. All Muhlenbergcrs, with few e.xceptions, are interested in the history and traditions of the county, but I dare -say the subject appealed to me, a newcomer, more than it would to most of the men and women who were born and reared in the county. To them it had become somewhat familiar and commonplace, while to me it is new and filled with the picturesque. I am, in a sense, a stranger in Muhlenberg. My first trip to the county was made in the fall of .1902, for the purpose of looking after some land my father had bought there a few years before. During that first trip 1 saw comparatively nothing of Greenville, but passed my time in the country, occupying my leisure hours with hunting, and listening at night to the traditions and reminiscences of old residents. Out of these began to develop a strong desire to call up the stories that would begin with "I've often heard my grandfather say that when he was a boy," etc. I was in the presence, it seemed to me, of pioneers them.selve.s, once or twice removed. Their very words were coming to me through the lips of those that had picked them up from novv-.silent voices, and who had cherished them through the long years.

One night in the fall of 190.5 a number of us were sitting near the old Stack of the long-abandoned Huekner Furnace - in the upper Pond Creek country, in the neighlmrhood to which my annual visits up to that time had been confined - when the vague traditio!is of that old landmark again became the subject of discussion. All agreed it was unfortunate that the Story of The Stack had never been written. Alvin L. Taylor, my host, suggested that since the object of my hunting was apparently drifting from "digging out foxes to digging up facts," I .spend the remaining half of my visit in gathering the traditions of The Stack. The novelty of the suggestion appealed to me at once. The next day I began a .s.vsteraatic investigation of the subject. In the course of two weeks I spent a day or more with every "oldest citizen" in the neighborhood, and from them and some of their children and grandchildren I gathered the materials from which was written the first version of "The Story of The Stack." This was publi.shed in the Greenville Record in the spring of 1906.

In the fall of 1906. shortly after returning to Muhlenberg, I found that there still lingered a longing to hear the horn of the hunter and the trailing of the liounds, for one niglit the "call of the wild" led me three miles from the Buckner Stack to the Russell Old Field. There, while listening to the musical hark of tlie running dogs, I began an investigation of the traditions of the Rus.scll Race Track and Mii.ster Field. A few weeks later the results were published in the Greenville Record. And so, fall after fall, I drifted into new fields in the southern part of the county, and submitted various sketches to the local press. In 1!*10 the pleasure had be<*ome a preoccupation of deep interest, and 1 deluded to eoinpile a history of the county and publisli it in liook form. That fall and the two following 1 laid aside gun and lantern, tcxik eameni and note-liook, and spent a total of about six months making pilgrimages, through rain and shine, to every place in the county where there might be gathered facts worth preserving in a printed history. On returning to Louisville I began arranging iny notes, and took up the lalwrious but absorbing ta.sk of searching through books for any .Mulilenhcrg history they might contain. The results of these years of earnest effort to produce a volume that would be worthy the memory of the valiant and resolute men and women who settled and e.stahlisbed Muhlenberg County are contained in this comphded Isiok. While it is submitted with proper diffidence as to my ability to do the subject full justice, it is nevertbeless presented ns an honest effort in which' no difficulty has been evaded or shunned.

This volume pertains principally to the history of the county from its beginning down to 1875, but is extended more or le.ss briefly in some practical aspects from 1875 to the present day. Much remains for a later historian to write about the wonderful advancements Muhlenberg has made during the past twenty years. The events of general interest during the past (piarter of a century are not only fresh in the memory of many of the men and women of to-day, but are likely to be remembereii or handed down until a history is written eovering that period, whereas much of the material I am here trying to preserve would otherwise, in all probability, ,s<Min pass away with the many otlii-r local traditions and iinreeordi'd facts that have already disappeared and are forgotten.

The records of the county and circuit courts from the beginning have been preserved in the courthouse at Greenville, and in all pnibahility will always be preserved. 1 have, therefore, made no attempt to write a history based principally on these ever-avaihible records, but have confined my work as mneb as possible to collecting the now vanishing traditions and to pri'scnting the less available material. Much of this heretofore unpublished as well as published material is woven into this volume. 1 found in printed Isioks comparatively little that bore on Muhlenberg's past. Practically all I found in print I quote, and thus give the reader an opportunity to rend the statements in the langiiagi> in which they were originally recorded, preferring this to expressing the facts in my own words.

Of the more than two hundred illustrations here pre.sented, eompnra lively few are of modern buildings or of active men and women of to-day. Most of the pictures are of some of the old citizen.s. the old houses, and the old landmarks. More than one fourth are copies of pictures made between 1817 and 1872. All except those taken in 1911 and 1912, which comprise about one half, are dated. It is a well-known fact that the portraits and biographies that appear in many county histories are published in consideration of a stipulated price, and it may therefore not be amiss to state that this absolutely has not been done in this book.

I have, either in the te.xt or in some of the foot-notes, given the names of the children of a number of pioneers, and have thus laid a foundation for those of their descendants who may desire to compile a family tree. 1 made no attempt, except in a few eases, to procure the names occurring in the third and succeeding generations. I feel that the lists of names for the second generation are in most instances complete, for only such of the many lists as I have been able to verify, to a greater or less extent, are printed in this volume. Very few of these lists were copierl from written records; most of them were compiled for me within the past few years by men and women who dependerl on their memory, family traditions, and tombstones upon the graves of their ancestors for their data. Any one who has given his family tree even comparatively little thought will realize the difficulty of preparing an a<-eurate list from such sources, if he but attempt to recall and record the names of the brothers and sisters of any of his four grandparents, and he will also realize that omissions and other errors are likely to occur in any first-published list.

Jinny of the local traditions woven into the various chapters of this history arc seldom heard beyond the immediate ncighlmrliood to which they belong, while some of the other local stories and incidents arc familiar to practically every Muhlenbcrger. A few of the traditions have almost as many versions as they are years old. Where various versions are in circulation I have accepted the one that, in my opinion, seemed the most authentic.

1 here express my thanks to Mr. Richard T. Martin, of (ireenville, and to the many other JIuhlenbcrgers who.se aid and encouragement in gathering data have made the writing of this history of Muhlenberg County not only a po.ssibility but a pleasant occupation; also to Mr. Oeorge E. Cros.s, of TiOuLsville, for copying old oil paintings, daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, and photographs, and for preparing many photographic views for reproduction; to Mrs. Jennie C. Morton, of Frankfort; to Jmlge Lucius P. lottle, of Owenslwro, and Doctor Samuel A. Hraun, of Iiouisville, for material bearing on the subject.; to Colonel Reuben T. Durrett, of Louisville, for many suggestions and for the use of his large library on Kentucky hi.story; and last, but by no means lea.st, to Mr. Young E. Allison, of Louisville, for suggestions growing out of his experience as an editor in preparing matter for the pre.ss.

Introduction

Before taklug up the liistory and traditions of Muhlenberg County it may be well to recall a few dates pertaining to the beginning of the nation, and also to review some of Kentucky's history to the time of the organization of Muhlenberg County in 1798.

The Declaration of Independence wa.s adopted in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. The first battle in the American Revolution wa.s fought at Lexington, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775, and the surrender of Cornwallis took place at Yorktown, Virginia, on Oetolwr 19, 1781. Washington was President of the United States from April 30, 1789, to March 4, 1797, and John Adams from 1797 to March 4, 1801.

Doctor Thomas Walker, in 1750, passed through Cumberland Cap, and was probably the first white man to wander within the present borders of Kentucky. In 1751 Colonel Christopher Gist traveled over the eastern part of the State. In 1769 Daniel Boone made his first trip to the Dark and Bloody Ground. The "Ijong Hunters" started on their expedition in 1770. Simon Kenton began his explorations in 1771 . In 1775 the Transylvania Company appeared on the scene with Daniel Boone as their chief guide and pathfinder, and opened up land offices and attempted to form a proprietary colony or government in the territory lying between the Kentucky and Tennessee rivers, which territory they had purchased from the Cherokee Indian.s, who claimed to have the right to dispose of it.

At Ilarrodstown, afterward Harrodsburg, the first permanent wdiite settlement was begun in 1774. The first fort was built at Boone.sboro in 1775 and a town started. lK)uisvillc, although partly laid out on paper by Captain Thomas Bullitt as early as 1773, was not settled until 1778. when George Rogers Clark and other pioneers built a few houses on Corn Island, opposite the site of the present city - an island in the rushing waters of the Ohio which has long since disappeared. As time rolled by many other settlements were made.

In 1778 George Rogers Clark traveled down the Ohio, landed at Port Massac, opposite the mouth of the Cumberland, and thence began his celebrated and eventful march to Kaskaskia and Vincennes. In 1780 he went down the same river, built Fort Jefferson at Iron Banks, on the pre.seut Kentucky shore of the Missi.ssippi, five miles below the mouth of the Ohio, within the Chickasaw country. After Clark had erected this fort ho proceeded with two men on foot to Harrodsburg. They crossed the Tennessee River, met a few hunters and trappers (Butler's History of Kentucky, page 115), and then continued their tramp through the territory which later became the original Logan County. (Smith's History of Kentucky, page 174.) The hunters they then met were probably some of the " Long Hunters" who entered Western Kentucky about 1771, or other pioneers who followed a few years later. The account of Clark's trip is probably the

In 1783 Transylvania Seminary, the first .school for higher eilucation in the West, was founded in Danville, and six years later was removed to Lexington; in 1798 it received the name of Transjdvania University.

In 1784 John Filson wrote the first liistory of Kentucky. On his "Map of Kentiicke" Filson gives the names and general course of all the rivers and many of the creeks in the District, and shows alxmt twenty roads, a niimlH'r of springs and licks, and locates about fifty of the settlements and mills and the eight towns then in existence. In his history Filson says, on page 11: "There are at present eight towns laid off, and building; and more are proposed. Louisville, at the Fulls of Ohio, and Heardstown, are in Jefferson county; Ilarrodshurg, Danville and lloons-hurrow, in Lincoln county; Lexington, Lees-town, and Orccnville, in Fayette county; the two last being on Kentueke river." The Oreenville and Leestown here referred to were located a short distance below where Frankfort now stands. This Oreenville passed out of existence before the close of the Kighteenth Century, before the beginning of Oreenville in Muhlenberg County; Leestown was abandoned during the early part of the Xincteenth Century.

After ten years of debating and delaying Kentucky was finally admitted into the Union on Juno 1, 1792, and became the fifteenth State of the new confederation. Vermont was the fourteenth, and Tennessee, in 1796, became the sixteenth. The administration of Lsaac Shelby, the first OoveiTior of Kentucky, extended from June 4, 1792, to January 1, 1796, and the two terms of Oovernnr James Oarrard from 1796 to 1804. During the closing years of the Kighteenth Century the political doctrine of Niillilieation, as embodied in the Kentucky llesolutions of 1798 and 1799, was warmly debated throughout the Union.

Up to alKHit the year 1800 many of the pioni-ers experienced much trouble with the hostile Indians, but after that date no mns.sacrcs or battles of any great eon.sefpience took place in the State, for by that time most of the Indians had been killed or driven out of the Dark and lllowly Ground. The homeseekers from the old colonies emigrated into Kentucky in larger niimhei-s during the last fifteen years of the Kighteenth Century and began many permanent settlements. l.iocal traditions and records show that among these newcomers were .some German-Virginians who. as early ns 1784 or before, located in the country a part of which later became the northern section of .Muhlenberg County. These German-A'irginians were soon followed by other Virginians, some of whom, after building temporary homes at fancy Station aliout the year 1795, started the town of Greenville in the spring of 1799. Many of the earliest settlers in the .southern part of the county came from North Carolina during the Inst years of the Kighteenth and the first quarter of the Nineteenth Century.

The great increase in population throughout Kentucky resulted in the creating of many new counties out of parts of the older ones. Kentucky was originally a part of Finca.stle County, Virginia. In 1776 Fincastle was divided and the County of Kentucky was estahlishcel. The new county embraced all that is now included in the State. In 1780 the ('ounty of Ken- tucky was divided into Jefferson, Fayette, and Lincoln counties. Jefferson included the country between Kentucky and Green rivers; Fayette the land north of Kentucky River, and Lincoln the remaining territory. In 1784 all of Jefferson County south of .Salt River became Nelson County. In 1785 Bourbon County was formed from part of Fayette, and during the same .vear Mercer and Madison imunties sprang from parts of Lincoln. In 1788 Mason County was formed from part of Bourlxin and Woodford County from part of Fayette, making up to that date a total of nine counties in the District of Kentucky.

In 1792, the year Kentucky was admitted into the Union, seven new counties were established, among them being Logan, which was formed from part of Lincoln. Logan, was the thirteenth county organized in the State. It was then the most westerly county, and endiraced practically all that part of Kentucky lying west of Green and Barren rivers. During the ne.xt two years three more counties were laid off in various parts of the State. In 1796 six new ones were started, including Christian, which was formed from part of I.«gan. In 1798 thirteen more sprang into existence, among them being Muhlenberg, the thirty-fourth, which was formed from parts of Christian and Ix)gan. In the course of years many others were formed from Ix)gan County or its former territory. By I860 the original Logan County was divided into twent.v-nine counties. The State of Kentucky now contains one hundred and twenty counties.

The seven counties bordering on Muhlenberg were organized as follows: Logan in 1792; Chri.stian in 1796; Ohio in 1798; Hopkins in 1806; Butler in 1810; Todd in 1819; McLean in 1854. Of the.se, Christian, Hopkins, and Butler counties were named after officers of the Revolutionary army ; .Muhlenberg was also so named, in honor of General John Peter Gabriel iluhlenberg, one of Washington's brigadier-generals.

A History General Muhlenberg

Muhlenberg county was so called in honor of General John Peter Gabriel Mnhlenl)erg, an officer of high distinction and patriotism in the American Revolution.'

General Muhlenberg made two trips to Kentucky in 1784, but did not see any part of that section which fourteen years later was formed into a county and named after him. It is more than probable that he did not visit any section of the Green River country. Ilis life, however, is part of the history of Muhlenberg County, not only because the county is a name- .sake of his but also because many of its pioneers fought under him in the Revolution. General Muhlenberg's career is woven into the history of the Revolution and into the hi.story of the nation during the first quarter of a century following that struggle. A volume entitled "The Life of Major- General Peter Muhlenberg, of the Revolutionary Army,'' was published in 1849 by Henry A. Muhlenberg, a nephew of the distinguished soldier. From this work I gather the following facts.

Reverend Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg, the father of General Muhlenberg, emigrated to Pennsylvania from Hanover, Germany, in 1742. He founded the Lutheran Church in America, and died at Trappe, near Philadelphia, on October 1, 1787. His son, J. Peter G. Muhlcnl>erg, was born at Trappe, Penn.sylvania, on October 1, 1746. At the age of sixteen Peter was sent to Halle, Germany, to be educated. 'While in Europe he incidentally gained a little knowledge of military drills that was, in later life, of great advantage to him. In 1767 he rcturnetl to America and became a minister in the Lutheran Church, serving as a pastor to various congregations.

' The pronunciation of the name of the county doubtless Rave rise to the difference among early historians as to the, correct spelting. I^wis Coliins (1847) followed the pronunciation, and spells the name uniformly Muhlenhurg; Richard H. Collins (1874) corrects the error when referring to the man but not when referring to the county, and this error has been repeated in his various editions. The name is also occasionally misspelled In some of the early maps and county records, but never in those of a later day. The proper spelling of the name Is as here given.

order that the rector could enforce the payment of tithes, it was necessary that he should have been ordained by a Bishop of tlie English Church, in which case he came under the provision of the law, although not a member of the established church," To meet these diftlculties Muhlenberg decided to be ordained in the official church. In 1772 he went to England, where he was "ordained by a Bishop of the English Church," and then returned to Virginia and preached at Woodstock until the Revolutionary War broke out. In the early part of 1776 he organized a regiment of soldiers, the Eighth Virginia, known as the "(ierman Regiment." He participated in the tights at Charleston and .'Sullivan's Island. On February 21, 1777, he was made brigadier-general and took charge of the Virginia line under Washington, and was in chief comtnand in Virginia in 1781 until the arrival of Baron Von Steuben. He was in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth, and was also at the capture of Stony Point. He was second in command to LaFayettc in resisting the invasion of the State by Cornwallis. He took j>art in the siege of Yorktown, and was present when Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781. On September 20, 1783, he was promoted to the rank of major-general. A few months later the army was formally disbanded, and he returned to his family in Woodstock. In N'ovembcr he moved to Trappe and shortly afterward made Philadelphia his home.

In 1784 he made two trips to the Falls of the Ohio, to superintend the di.stribution of lands in Kentucky granted to him.self and other officers and soldiers of the Virginia army. His diary kept on these trips shows that he did not go down the Ohio below Louisville. In the fall of 1785 General Muhlenberg was elected Vice-President of Pennsylvania, Benjamin Franklin being at the same time chosen President. He was reidected to that office every year until 1788, when he was eho.sen one of the members of the First f'ongres.s, to serve fi'om March 4, 1789, to .March 4, 1791. He also served in the Third Congress and in the Fourth Congress. His brother, Frederick Augustus, .served as Speaker of the First Congress a.ssembled under the Constitution. In February, 1801, General Muhlenberg was elected Cnited States Senator from Penn.sylvania. On the 30th of June, 1801, having been ap[)ointed Supervisor of Internal Revenue for Pennsylvania, he resigmsl his seat in the Senate. In duly, 1802, he was appointed Collector of the Port of Philadelphia, which office he held up to the time of his death, October 1, 1807. He is buried at Trappe, Pennsylvania, where rest al.so the remains of his father.

He was one of those characters which in a revolution always find their level. He was by nature a soldier. . . . He entered the ehimdi, doubtless, with as sincere and honest purposi^ as any of her ministry, but the agony of his countrj' called him from the altar with a voice that toucluHl every chord of his soul. The lime for fighting had come - the time to try men's souls. His whole heart was with his country ; rebellion again.st tyrants was obedience to G(h1. and so feiding and so thinking, he went forth from the temple to the field. He was brave and giuierous to a fault, a pn>pcr brigadier to Greene, who lornl him. Cool in danger, sotind in judgment, indifferent to fame, zealous in duty : tliese \viTi" liis ilistinpuisliinK traits as a soldier. Ilis virtues in private and ]K>litieal life were all cognate to these.

Such, in brief, was the career of General Muhlenberg. Many inten*sting incidents occurred during his life, the details of a number of which are re corded in his biography. Among them is the dramati<- event that took place at Woodstock, Virginia, in the early days of " 76." Times, as Muldenberg was wont to remark, had been "troublesome," and the colonies were preparing to declare and fight for their independence. Muhlenberg was ap- pointed colonel of the Eighth Regiment, which was then far from fully organized. His acceptance of this office necessitated his resignation as pastor of his churches. The scene that took place when this "fighting parson" delivered his farewell sermon is thus described by his biographer:

Upon his arrival at Woodstock, his different congregations, widely scattered along the frontier, were notified that upon the following Sabbath their beloved pastor would deliver his farewell sermon. Of this event numerous traditionary accounts are still preserved in the vicinity in which it took place, all coinciding with the written evidence. The fact itself merits a prominent place in this sketch, for in addition to the light it sheds upon the feelings which actuated the American people in the commencement of the Revolutionary struggle, it also shows with what deep earnestness of purpose Mr. Muhlenberg entered upon his new career.

The appointed day came. The rude country church was filled to overflowing with the hardy mountaineers of the frontier counties, among whom were collected one or more of the independent companies to which tlie forethought of the Convention had given birth. So great was the assemblage, that the <piiet burial-i)lace was filled with crowds of sti-rn, excited men, who had gathered together, believing that something, they knew not what, would he done in l>ehalf of their .suffering country. We may well imagine that the feelings whieh actuated the asseml)ly were of no ordinary' kind. The disturbances of the country', the gatherings of armed men, the universal feeling that liberty or slavery for themselves and their children hung upon the decision the colonies then made, and the dccide<l step taken by their pa.stor, all aroused the patriotic enthusiasm of the vast multitude, and rendcrcil it a magazine of fiery passion, which needed but a spark to burst into an allconsuming flame.

In this spirit the people awaited the arrival of him whom they were now to hear for the last time. He came, and ascended the pulpit, his tall form arrayed in full uniform, over whieh his gown, the symlwl of his holy calling, was thrown. He was a plain, straightforward speaker, whose native eloquepce was well suited to the people among whom he lalsjured. .\t all times capable of commanding the deepe.st attention, we may well conceive that upon this great oeeasion. when liigh. stern thoughts were burning for utterance, the pwple who heard him hung upon his fiery words with all the intensity of their souls. Of the matter of the sermon various accounts remain. All concur, however, in attributing to it great potency in arousing the military ardour of the people, and unite in de,s<Til)ing its conclusion. After recapitulating, in words that amused the coldest, the story of their sufferings and their wrongs, and telling them of the sacred character of the struggle in which he had unsheatluHl his .sword, and for whieh he had left the altar he had vowed to wrve, he said "that, in the language of Holy Writ, there was a time for all things, a time to preach and a time to pray, but these times had pas-sod away"; and in a voice that rei-choed thmugh the church like a triimj)et-blast, "that there was a time to fight, and that time had now come ! ' '

The sermon finished, he pmnounced the benediction. A breathle.ss stillness brooded over the congregation. Deliberately putting off the gown, which had thus far covere<l his martial figure, he sto<id ls;fore them a girded warrior; and di«cending from the pulpit, ordered the drums at the churchdoor to beat for recruits. Then followed a scene to which even the American Revohition, rich as it is in bright examples of the patriotic devotion of the people, aflfords no parallel. His audience, excited in the highest degree by the impas.sioned words which had fallen from his lips, flocked around him, eager to be ranked among his followers. Old men were seen bringing forward their children, wives their husbands, and widowed mothers their .sons, sending them under his paternal care to fight the battles of their eountry. It must have been a noble sight, and the cause thus supported could not fail.

Nearly three hundrtHl men of the frontier churches that day enlisted under his banner; and the gown then thrown off was worn for the last time. Heneefortb his footsteps were destined for a new career.

This event occurred almut the middle of January. 1776; and from that time until March, Colonel Muhlenberg .seems to have been busily engaged in recruiting. After the great impulse already received, it is natural to suppose that his success was rapid ; and such accordingly we find to be the fact. It was probably the first of the Virginia regiments ready for service, its ranks being full early in March. Hy the middle of that month he had already reported this faet to the Governor, and received orders to proceed with his command to Suffolk. On the 21st the regiment commenced its march for that place.

Iii.Storv Of Muui.Enbeku Coenty

A little less tlinn a half ccutiiry after the death of General iMuhlenherg, and about five years after his biography was written, a poem, based on the incident that took place at the church in Woodstock, was published by Thomas Buchanan Read. This poem, "The Rising," is printed in McGuffey's old Fifth Reader, where most of us have read it, and from which I (piote a few lines:'

General .Muhlenberg was less than forty years of age when he left Virginia and returned to Pennsylvania, where he spent the last twenty-two years of his life in the upbuilding of his native State and the new nation. Penn.sylvania has expre.ssed her appreciation of his great work by placing a statue of him in Statuary Hall, Washington, D. C. His memorial stands in the southea.st corner of the Hall, and although a graceful piece of work, the sculptor, Blanche Nevin, evidently was not familiar with the stature and physiognomy of her subject. Muhlenberg's biographer and other writers

'This and other Incidents In the life of General Muhlenberg are the subjects of a number of poems written In German by German-Americans. Among them are the following, which are published In the records of the German Society of Pennsylvania. and for copies of which I am Indebted to Mr. C. K. Huch, of Philadelphia, the custodian of the archives of that organization; "Peter Muhlenberg" and "General Peter." by Joseph kentmaycr; ".Muhlenberg," by F. Moras; "Peter Muhlenberg." by Philip Haiuibach, and "The Farewell Sermon." by William Miller. Mr. Huch also Informs me that Genera! Muhlenberg Is the subject of two dramas that were written In German and are occasionally produced by German dramatic companies: "Peter Muhlenberg, or Ilible and Sword." In live acts, by Frederich H. Ernst, of New York, and "Cowl and Sword, or General Muhlenberg." by Victor Precht.

describe him as "tall in person." wliich statement is verified not only by paintings now extant but also by tradition. Nevertheless the sculptor represents Muhlenberg's height as not much more than five feet. His face, in this marble statue, looks more like that of a poet or musician, and not like that of a preacher and still less like that of a soldier. On the ba.se of the statue is carved the name jtum.ENBEao ; the pedestal is marked I'ENNSyi.VANU.

In October, 1910, the German Society of Pennsylvania erwted a statue to General Muhlenberg in Philadelphia on the City Hall Pla/a. It is a good likeness and a masterly piece of work by J. Otto Schweizer, of Philadelphia, one of the foremost sculptors in America. A portrait of this statue is here reproduc'cd. Every detail of this line work of art is true to its subject and is based on paintings and descriptions still preserved.

The relief on the face of the pedestal of this statue is by the same artist, and is probably the best work of that character in the country. The elevations are so delicately balanecal that the depth of the church with all pews and people comes within a thickness or height of only an inch and a half. The .scene represents Muhlenberg in the act of finishing his farewell sermon. The church depietetl is the old one in Trappe, near Philadelphia, which has been preserved unchanged since the middle of the Eighteenth Century, and is the sjime in which Genenil Muhlenberg and his father often preached.

In the Pennsylvania Capitol a large painting was recently finished by Edwin A. Ablmy, syml)olizing the "Apotheosis of Pennsylvania." .\mong the celebrities who appear in this large picture is General Muhlenberg.

Such, as 1 here give it, is a glimp.se of the life of the man after whom Muhlenherg County is named, and also a glimpse of the esteem in which he was and still is held. As already stated. General Muhlenberg probably never visited any part of the county that now helps perpetuate his name, nor es'cn saw any part of the Green River country. Nevertheless, pioneer Henry Rhoads, in 1798, very fittingly procured for the entitlement of the connt.v the name of the man who was a friend, pastor, and general to many of its earlie.st settlers

Some Of The First-Comers

Statistics show that from the dose 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 aprang to 222,9.55. It was during this big inflow of the last years of the Eighteenth Century that itiany of the homescckers drifted into the Green River country and became its first permanent settlers.

Under the heads of tlie various counties bordering on Aluhlenberg 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 (.'ounty. Among them was one that, later, became Ru.s.sellville. 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 e.stahlished at Berry's Lick, in Butler County. "Hopkinsville was laid out in 1799.'' The beginning of Madisonville, Morgantown, and Elkton dates hack 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 .lames Inman built Pond station. a few miles southea-st of Calho<jn.'' Tliat Caney Station was what might be regarded as the first settlement in what is now .Muhlenberg County is only parenthetically .stated by (,'ollins. and without the date of its beginning, winch tradition says was about 1795: "One mile north of Greenville, near old (.'aney Station - which was the first settlement in tlie county - are several mounds.''

Fn)in the foregoing stateincut-s 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.

Tnidition does not say who were the first white pt>ople 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 imme<liately after that war. Tradition goes no further hack than about 1784, to which time a few of the families in the county can trace the arrival of their ancestors.

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 Lauding, now Paradise, was also a well-known river point as early as 1798. It was during this period of the country's his-

Jesse McPherson was one of the earliest settlers in the Clifty Creek country. John Hunt and James Wood were among the influential firstcomers in the Mud River country. Among the first to settle in the Ix)ng Creek country were the Drake, Duke, Welljorn, and Wells families.

A number of the pioneers, as already stated, were Revolutionary soldiers, but more of them were sons of such veteran.s. 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 Xeal, 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 reprraented by thirty-eight men, we lUiiy infer that alwut seventy-si.x Revolutionary soldiers were among the first .settlers of Muhlenberg. If we a.ssume that each soldier was the fatlier of five children, then there were 380 sons and daughters of Revolutionary soldiers in the county in 1800. These children (380) with their parents f 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 the.se figures, based partially on statistics, may be wrong, and these conclusions be far from representing the actual but unrecorded facts, these estimates neverthelc-ss are more likely to be nearer correct than any based on mere supposition or a groundlc.ss guess.

The first of the early' settlers of whom we have any tradition or history' were Henry Rlioads 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 neighlwrluwd of wliat is now Browder, MuhlenlH*rg County. In 17!>0 James Inman left Rhoadsville and moved five miles .south, where he built Bond Station in the territory which, in 1798, became u 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 Bond Station when it was occupied hy 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 sucee.ssfully 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 alwiit twenty-five acres of ground. lx)cal tradition gives no dates, and I am not able to give you, even approximately, the time when Bond Station was di.scontinued as a fort or station."

Some Of The First-Comeks

Pond Station was located on tlie 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 nciffhhorhood organizetl 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, alx>ut five years after Pond Station had been started and al>out 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 Camplwll, who with William Bradford and a few others, together with a number of slaves, came fiom Lexington for the purpose of opening a settlement on General William Rus.seirs and Colonel Campbell's military grants. John C. Russell and Samuel Russell, it seem.s, 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, semicireled by Caney Creek. It was about a mile and a half northwest of where Greenville is now, and near what later became the Karles and Ix)wer 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, 17991, 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.

Old Oanet Station Obaveyabd, Neab Obegnville

OLD OANET STATION OBAVEYABD, NEAB OBEGNVILLE The ebaft on the right marks the grave of Edward Rumaey, the stone on its right the grave of Oharlee Fox Wing. These stones have long since fallen, hot were temporarily raised to mark the graves for this picture.

The pioneers ohjecfed to Caney Station as a town site las-ause the locality was then eonsidered as lying too low for such a purpose. Tlie place selected for the county seat was chosen heeause it wius 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, cnis.sed (Ireen Hiver at Henton's Kerry (or Kockport '. and running about two miles south of what later became Central City, continued through or near Caney Station or (irccnville and cro.s"cd Pond River alwve Ilarpe's Hill, at what is now calleil Kree Henry .\t some point w<>st of fireenvillc another trail branched off the main route and e.xteuded through tlie Murj>hy's Lake country to the soutliwest, and like the main trail conneetcd with the trail that became the Highland Lick Road. .Another old trail started from Owensboro, or Yellow Banks, went through Khoadsvillc (Calhoun) and Pond Station to Caney Station or Greenville, and passing the John Dennis house, continued to Bussellville. 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.^

General William Kussell, to whom was granted the land on which Caney Station and Greenville were built, was an officer in the Itevolution. His regiment formed part of General Muhlenberg's brigade, which at times was in General Greene's division. General Ilussell participated in the Brandywine, Monmouth, and other battles, and was present at the surrender of Yorktown. lie 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. Kliznbeth Henry Campbell, widow of General William Campbell and sister of Patrick Henry.' General Rus.sell 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 Ru.s.seH'.s children by his first wife, after a short stay in Payette County, located, as already stated, in Muhlenberg: John C. and .Samuel Rmssell and their sister Mrs. Tabitha A. R. Campbell.

Tabitha Adams Rus.sell 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 eompleted and the new town started. Colonel William Campbell broke his leg and was obliged to ride in a saddle to Lexington for metlical treatment. There, in the home of his friend, Colonel Robert Patterson, he died

' 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 w'here 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 I-ake, 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 bills 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 lo 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.

November lit, 1800, iijted forty-one years. Di.stanee and transportation facilities were such that the body could not he brought from Fayette County, and for that reason the Fatlier of Oreenville is not buried in Muhlenberg.

After Colonel Campbell's death his family continued to live in Oreenville. His widow, being a woman of education and means, was in a position to give tlieir five children many advantage.s. She died in Greenville, July 2fi, 1806. Their only son, Samuel Camphcll, married Cynthia Campbell, hut had no children. Their daughter, Klizuheth, became the first wife of Elder Barton W. Stone, and up to the time of her death in 1810 traveled with her hu.shand, who was then beginning his great evangelizing work in AVestern Kentucky. The other three daughters heeame the wives of some of Muhlenberg's most prominent men: Tahitha married Judge Alney .MeLean. Anna S. married Charles Fox Wing, and Mary married Ephraim M. Itrauk.

John C. and Samuel Hu.s.sell were identified with the ' upbuilding of Greenville and Muhlenberg County. John C. Russell, who married Anna Cla.v, died November 17, 1822; Samuel Russell, who married Luey Roberts, died October 2J, 18J5,- These two men were not represented in the eount.v as long, nor as numerously, as the des* *>endants of Colonel William Campbell, The name of John C. Rus,sell, who in I8O0 located three miles .southeast of Greenville, in what is now the Plea.sant Hill neigliliorhood. is still perpetuatwl in the traditions of the Russell Old Field. Samuel Rmssell, in eonneetion with other husine.ss, conducted the Russell Ilou.se, 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 sixt.v-two .vears. It was a two-.story log hou.se, built in 17!>!l, on Main Street, due west of the Public Sipiare. Samuel Rus.seH's eld('st son, Robert S. Ru.ssell, was the last of the Russidls to leave the county. He moved to Paris, Tennessee, in 186.7.''

Mbs. Samuel Bussell

= After the death of .Mrs. Tahitha 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 I.,ady of Greenville."

- Robert S. Russell was born In Greenville November 1.1. 1810. In 1839 he married Celia McLean, daughter of Doctor Robert D. McLean. They were the parents of Lucy R.. Rebecca W.. Samuel, and Kdward M. Ritssell. In 1850 he was a member of the Slate Senate. He represented Muhlenberg's southern sympathizers In the Confederate Legislature at Russellville In Novemb<'r, 1861. He died In Paris,

Some Ok The Kirst-Comers

William Bradford, as already stated, accompanied Colonel William Campbell to the unsettled country that later became Muhlenberg Conuty, and helped to build Caney Station. Wlien Greenville was laid out, one of the streets was named after Bradford. lie was one of the first captains in the local militia, and held various county offices in the early days, representing Jluhlenberg in the Legislature in 1801, 180H, 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 tlie other pioneers, appears lierc and there on tlie 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 Judg>' William II. Yost.

William A. Aniustrong 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 sbell up and threw it on the enemy outside the fortification before it cxplodetl, and thus .saved the day for the Americans. Armstrong's rceolleetion 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 Hngland. if not during the Revolution or during General Anthony Wayne's campaign in Ohio in 1794. 1 failed to find William Bradford's name on the roster of officers and i>rivates 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 II. 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 hooks two copies of a printed circular, written by Wil-

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 e.ves, but during the last few years of his life they were very much weakened by disease. ... 1 have often heard my father speak of the howling of the wolves In Oreenvllle at night, so wild and unsettled was the country when he was a young man."

liam 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.' 1 was told that their action resulted in his election, and that during the re.st 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 j)rison 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 lie undoubtedly worke<l 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 he 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 arc 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 17!)0, 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 tbe town of ('isney or Ro.sewood. He spent the winter and spring clearing two fields, one near the foot of a cliff facing a valley leading to Cliffy Creek, and another on the lop of the same cliff. In the meantime he lived in his ''cave hut" near his lx>ttom field. This improvised house was made by erecting two short walls of logs in fn>nt 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. lie brought them to Kentucky and they lived in the "cave hut" until a log cabin on the bluff was fini.shcd. A few years later, or al>out 1800, he began building the spacious house known as the Jesse McPherson house, now occupied hy William II. Pearson and his wife, the latter a great-granddaughter of Jesse JlcPherson. The logs used in the construction of the "eave hut" have long ago disappeared, but the rock-roofed cove in "Cave Hut Cliff" has for more than a century lieen used as a hay bin.

Jesse McPherson was one of Muhlenberg's best-known pioneers. When the county was organized he was apjiointed one of the justices of the peace.

He ran a lanyard, hoi'se mill, and distillery for many years. Tradition says that he fearctl nothing. On one occasion his neighbor Hillings was attackeil by a bear whos(' cub he had taken. McPherson, hearing the cry for help, rushed to the re.scue 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. Hillings 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 if. "Hillings came near getting the stuffings .squeezed out of him hy a big bear."'*

Among other pioneers in tlie 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 mile.s alx)ve the Hunt Settlement, north of what is now Dunmor. Many of the de.scendants of John Hunt and James Wood still live in the Hunt Set-

The Jonatban Hunt House, Near Ous

Among the children of James Wood was Zillman Wood, who was horn in 1814 and di«l in 18.59, and who in his day was one of the most influential men in the Mud River country. One of the sons of Zillman Wowi is James Willis Wood, a K«leral .soldier, who was Imrn in 1841 and who all his life did much for the good of the county. Among the sons of J. W. Wood is Kd S. Wood, who was county clerk from 1898 to 1906.'''' burled 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: I^ewis, John, Alexander, Amos, Alney, and Jesse McPherson, and Mrs. Nancy (Samuel) Davenport.

" 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. Sallj (Enoch, son of Jonathan) Hunt, Zillman, John, Mrs. Mary (Daniel, son of Elijah) Hunt, and Mrs. Elizabeth (J. S.) Hughes.

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 Kentueky," 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, aliout 1794. They had to go to Nashville to mill along a footpath through a solid canebrake.''

Judge William Worthington was one of the most infiuenlial firsteomers in tliat part of Muhlenberg whicli later became a part of Mc- Lean County. He owned a large tract of land on what, for more than a eentur.v, has been known as the "Island" - a territory of almut eight S(|uare mile.s, surrounded during high water by back watt'r from Green River, the Thoroughfare.

Black Lake, and Cypress Creek, llis home was altout 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 I860, 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 bwii 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 liefore the county was organized. lie 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. Alwut the year 18.'!0 his residence burned, and practically everything in it was destroyed. .Among the few things saved was the cane prc.sented 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 si.xty 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. Wortliington, Died June 5, 1848, aged 87 years." - on the other, "Mary Worthington, Died August 25, 1827, aged 66 years."

Qbaves Of Judge And Mbs. William Wobthinoton

® Elizabeth Worthington married Reverend William Kineheloe. They lived on a farm about two miles southeast nf Judge Worthington's home. William Klncheloe 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 ol 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 Now Orleans and return. R. M. Kineheloe, 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.

The Kincheloes, like the Worthingtons, were among the most influential and highly edueated first-comers in the Green River country. Ijocal 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

Kincheloe' S Bluff. Obeen Kiveb

Kincheloes. who lived in Muhlenberg, died, it is .said, on his way to Tippecanoe in 1811. lie was probably a brother of Lewis, Reverend William, and Thomas. One tradition has it that all the pioneer Kinehelot's were soldiers in the War of 1812 and were sons of Lieutenant William Kincheloe, who fought in the Revolution and died in Western Kentucky alx)ut 1798.

with their two Bmall 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 Wlckllffe. 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.

Ainoog the many other first-eoiners were Arington and Robert Wickliffe and their nephews, Colonel Moses Wiekliffe and J. W. [. Godman. Arington and Robert Wickliffe were sons of John Wiekliffe, of Prince William County, Virginia. They settled in northeastern Muhlenherg alwut 1800, where Robert died in February, 1820. Roth were influential pioneers.

Arington Wickliffe was Ixirn 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 1810-20 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 e.\posure, in March, 1820. Tic was the father of ten children, one of whom was William IJ. Wiekliffe, who was liorn near South Carrollton February 15, 1808, and died in Greenville, July 12, 1892. William H. Wickliffe was at one time a large landowner and slave-holder. lie was the father of William A. Wiekliffe, of Greenville.

Colonel Moses Wiekliffe was born in Virginia in 1770 and settled in Muhlenherg about 1795. A few years later he made a trip fo Virginia to report to some of his kinsmen and friends the condition and prospects of the Green River country. In 1709 or 1S(K) he came back to Muhlenberg accompanied by his two uncles, Arington and Robert, and their familie.s. They brought with them J. W. 1. Godman, then a child about a year old. Colonel the biLsiiiess meetings held by that congregation. On one occasion ho relinked the members present, saying. " Cnless you work in peace and harmony the devil will never let loose his hold on this elinreh. I tell yon the

Wiekliffe did much toward encouraging not only some of his kinsmen. but many others, to settle in .Muhlenherg. 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 siildicr.s, but in each ease, just as he was ready to leave with his men for the .scene of action, he received news that peace had been (hs'lansl. He often .served as magistrate. He represented the county in the Degislatiire from 1816 to 1810 inclusive. He was always devil himself is in this church now, and right here in your own pulpit this very moment!" One of the memhers called the attention of the audience to the fact that Colonel Wickliffe himself was at that moment occupying the pulpit. The Colonel, ncverthelcs.s, finished his argument, and soon restored peace and harmony in the congregation.

In 1814 Colonel Wickliffe married Nancy Young, of Muhlcnljerg. 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.^

J. W. I. (lodir.an was not only a kinsman hut a protege of Colonel Moses Wickliffe. Although an infant when brought from the old settlements by the Wiekliffes, the Oodman baby was nevertheless one of Muhlenberg's firstcomers. This baby l»y was carried in the arms of one of the women of the party who, in 1799 or 180(1, 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 Godtuan was lairn 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 Imrn. He was named for liis two grandfathers, John Wickliffe and Israel Godman. When bis mother's family moved to Muhlenberg he was reared by his grandparents and his cousin. Colonel .Moses Wickliffe. Young Godman's early education was limittsl 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 mo.st j)ractical iium in the county. He was universally regarded as a superior man. Among other things, he read law and medicine. At one time he intended to take up law as a profe.ssion. In the absence of lawyers ami phy.sieians he praeticisl, gratuitously, both profc-ssions among his neighimrs. 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 merehandising. Through these he accumulated a good estate. He made trips to l/ouisville to buy goods, and also to New Orleans to sell produce. Henry Clay, .some time between 1825 and 1830, visited him in Muhlenberg. ;md engaged him to look after the Blackburn lands lying near tbe Godman farm and belonging to a ward of Clay's. In this way the two men became the best of friemls and carried on an extensive correspondence. The letters reccivid from Clay, although preserved by the family for man.v years, can not now be found.

Godman was for long a justice of the peace, and la-ing .skilled in the writing of legal documents he was for many years the only man in his section on wlmm the people relied for the preparation of their most impor-

' Colonel and Mrs. Moses Wickliffe were the parents of (1) Aaron, (2) W'illiaiii Y., (3) Mrs. Susan Jane (William Y.) Cundlff, whose hushand was a son of pioneer Bryant Cundiff. (4 and 5) Benjamin Slnsleton and Robert Mcl-ean, 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 I>eglslature in 1889-'S1, (9) John Kincheloe, a Confederate soldier killed during the war, and (10) Miss Mary Frances Wickliffe.

tant papers. At tlie first general election held under the Constitution of 1850, which took place on the second Jlonday 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 oflieial 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. lie 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 hy 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 he erased in order that the plate might he used to make a portrait of one of his children.

Judge Godman married Klizaheth Xicholls, who was Imrn in .Muhlenberg December 2, 1801, and died Kehruary 6. 1801. She was a daughter of pioneer James Xicholls 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** and John Randolph, jr., and Mrs. John Reno. Judge and .Mrs. Godman were the parents of three children: Sarah Jane, who married KdmumI M. Jllaekloek*' ; .Mary Kliza, who married William Johnson Dean*"; and John Allen, who died in 1854.

Mk. And Mbs. Wiuuam J. Dean. In 18S0

* 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 H. .M. Randolph. (2) Elizabeth, who married Tlayless Oates, son of William Oates. (3) Robert. Jr., who married Harriet Oates, daughter of Jesse Oates.

- Mr. and Mrs. Edmund M. Blacklork 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) Belter. (4) John A., (5) Mrs. Lena (Jacob) Kittenger, (6) Miss Jennie, and (7) Edmund Blacklock.

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

Some Of The Fikst-Comers

Andrew and Peter Shaver were among the prime movers in what was for many years called the "Dutch Settlement," now known as the Bremen eountry. 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,

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 was nevertheless Identified with Muhlenberg County. He had an uncle (Charles F. Uobeitson) 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. 1S29) 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, ail 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. ]r., (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 Wlckllffe 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.

"-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) Nall, and Mrs. Sarah (Jefferson) Rust.

Reverend Samuel Danner, a Dunkard preacher, was horn April 1. 1784. came to Muhlenberg about the year 1800, and died near Bremen July 7. 1867. 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

Garst, were daughters of Andrew Shaver, sr., and like their brothers Andrew and Peter Shaver arc to-day represented by many descendants in Muhlenlxirg. Mrs. Andrew Shaver, sr., died in JIuhlenberg about 1840, and is buried near Shaver's Chapel.

Andrew Shaver, jr., married Susan M. Power 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 "Duteli 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. Althougli the wanderers cornchildren: Alfred, John, Philip P., .\ndrew. Jacob, jr., Mrs. Sarah (Samuel) Short, .Mrs. Mary Jane (David J.) Fleming, and Mrs. Margaret (Rudolph) Klttinger.

Christian Gish, during the year 18(10 or earlier, while on his way to Muhlenberg from Virginia, was killed in the Cumberland Mountains by a team of horses. His widow. Klizabeth 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 Noffslnger; David, to Lydia Wiley; Samuel, to Elizabeth Wiley; Abraham, to .Mrs, Francis Hill; Joseph, to Sarah Dandles, and Christian, to Susan Knave.

John Gossett, who was born in 1776 and died in 18St, married Mary Noffslnger 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) Dannei, Mrs. Polly (James) Miller, Mrs. Susan (Esi)uire John) Whltmer, jr., and Miss Kate Gossett.

The Klttlngers (six of the children of Jacob Klttinger, who was a native of Switzerland) came to Muhlenberg about 1820. They were Rudolph. Joseph, Martin, Jonathan. .Mrs. Ducinda (Jacob) Miller, and Mrs. Bcthcna (Martin) .Miller. Jacob and Martin Miller, who married Ducinda and Bethena Klttinger. were sons of pioneer Martin .Miller, sr.. who was a brother of Henry Miller, the great-grandfather of F. Marion Miller, of Bremen,

Jacob Noffslnger married Su.san ID Stoner, who was born In 1764 and died In 18,16. 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 Nolfsinger: Catherine, to Reverend Samuel Danner; Hannah, to Samuel Reid: Susan, to Bradford Rhoads, jr. ; Rebecca, to John Noffslnger; Sally, to George Humphry; Joseph, to Betsy Bowman; .Miss Rachael Noffslnger, and John Noffslnger. John Noffslnger was born in 1801, farmed east of Bremen, married Harriet Reno, and died in 1872. Mrs. Harriet R. Noffslnger was born in 1807 and died In 1897. A picture of Mr. and .Mrs. John Nolfsinger appears among the illustrations In this chapter,

Daniel and Doctor John Noffslnger were brothers of Jacob Noffslnger. Daniel Noffslnger's only child married Wilson Turner. Doctor John Noffslnger died about the year 1835. at the age of eighty. He was the father of a number of daughters, but only one son, John 11. Noffslnger.

Dot Stroud, who was horn February 8, 1778, came to Muhlenberg about the year 1800, and died Novimber 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.

John Whltmer 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. Rally (.\nlhony) Donahue, and Mrs. Dossett.

plained of being ill, they nevertheless gladly told the news they had heard along the road. The ne.xt 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. lie was horn November 5, 1793, and died June 13, 1.S37. His wife, Susan Shaver, was horn February 14, 1791, and died .May 8, 1874.*^

Mb. And Mbs. Feteb Shaveb. 1B6S

Peter Shaver was born in Virginia January 18, 1790, and diet! November 17, 1866. Ilis wife, Nancy Peters, daughter of pioneer Christian Peters, was bom December 25, 1798, and died September 21, 1879, Peter Shaver came to Muhlenberg alnnit 1815, and was regarded as one of tlie best educated men in the "Dutch Settlement," He did much fowartl the moral, educational, and industrial development of the northern part of the count.v. 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 jicn witli equal grace, A letter written to his son. Benjamin J. Shaver, in 1861, is ipioted el.sewhere in this volume. The day he and his wife celebrated their golden wedding they had their portraits made. On the same day he reeordeil 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 bles.sing of fiod, lived rifty years in the .state of matrimon.y and

'* .Mr. and .Mrs, Andrew Shaver, jr.. were the parents of eight ehlldren: Peter, who was married to I. Mclntlre: Jacob H., to Ann .Mclntlre, then to Harriett Mclntlre. then to Margaret Wilkins: Barbara Ann. to Michael Whitmer: Elizabeth Jane, to Bradford Noffslnger: Mary, to Felix Naul, then to Absalom Whitmer; Susan, to Joseph Hendricks: Caroline, to Wesley Hunt; and Nancy, to Martin KIrtley.

Such, as 1 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.

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

Henry Rhoads

AJIONG the pioneers who first settled that section of the Green River country which is included in what is now the northern part of Muhlenberg County were some who had fought in the Revolution under General John Peter Gabriel Muhlenl)erg. Most of the first settlers in the central and southern sections of the county were Virginians and Carolinians, mainly of English, Scotch, and Irish extraction.

Representatives of General Muhlenberg's army drifted to this part of the Green River country from Southern Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia. Most of General Muhlenberg's soldiers were born in America, but their fathers came from Germany and Holland long before the Revolution. Among these was Henry Rhoads, "the Godfather of Muhlenberg County,'' who not only procured the name of his general for the county but was also a prominent pioneer in We.stern Kentucky and identified with the early development of Muhlenberg and the entire western section of the Green River cou ntry.

In Perrin's "History of Kentucky," jiage !197, a brief .sketch of the life of Rhoads is incidentally introduced in a biography of Professor McHenry Rhoads, the well-known educator, who is a son of Absalom J. Rhoads, a grand.son of Solomon Rhoads, and a great-grand.son of Henry Rhoads.^ From this sketch 1 quote:

Henry Rhoa<ls was Iwrn in Germany in 17J9 and dietl iti Ijogan county in 1814. [lie died in Muhlenberg Count.v.] He and two of his brothers came to America aljout 1757 and settled in lledfonl county, Pennsylvania. In 1760 he married Elizabeth Stoner of Jlaiw'land. He fought for his adopted country througli the great struggle for Independence, under the leadership of General JIuhlenberg. After the war for Libert.v, ha^^ng lost heavily in the cause, he, with his two brothers and their families, came to Kentucky. They stopped first at Bardstown where they left their wives and children, and then went out in the wilderness to find a site to build a town. The place .selected was at the falls of Green river where they started a settlement and called it Rhoadsville. After three years of peaceable posses.sion an action was entered in the Ohio circuit court, styled "John Hanley vs. Henry Rhoads and others." for the po.s.scssion of the land on which the new town stood. The suit was gained by the plaintiff. Henry Rhoads and a few of his friends then removed to Barnett's Station, on Rough Creek, where he lived five years, during which time the present town of Hartford was laid out and a few houses built. He next moved to Logan county and settled . . . where he owned 7,000 acres of military land. He represented

' The name Rhoads Is occasionally spelled Rhoades and Rhodes, but pioneers Henry and Solomon Rhoads and their descendants never so wrote it.

the county [Logan and what became Muhlenberg] in the legislature of Kentucky in 1798, [and] on its formation [in December, 1798] as a county, named it in honor of General Muhlenberg.

Collins, in his " History of Kentucky," under the head of McLean County, says that the first fort or station in McLean County was built where Calhoun now stands, in 1788, by Solomon Rhoads, and called Vienna, and that in 1790 James Inman built Pond Station, a few miles southeast of Calhoun.

Other authorities and most traditions say that Henry Rhoads established a station some time between 1784 and 1788 where Calhoun now stands, and that he was assisted in this work by his brother Solomon Rhoads and another brother who.se name is usually given as David. At any rate, a few years after Henry Rhoads established or helped to establish Rhoadsville or F'ort Vienna, he lost the title to all his land in that vicinity, and after living for a while near Hartford he moved into what is now the Hrowder Mine ncighl)orhoo<l. in MuhlenlHTg County, which at that time was part of Logan County.

From a letter written to me by Judge Lucius P. Little, of Owenslmro, the highest authority on the history of the Green River country, I (|Uote;

"When Henry Rhoads came to this part of the Green River country he stopped at Itarnc tt's Fort, on Rough River, above Hartford. He first located his claim for land at the site of the present town of Calhoun, and laid out a town in 1784 and called it Rhoadsville. When Rhoads was de- feated by Captain John Hanley, agent for the Dorseys, of Maryland, the name of the town was changed to Vienna. Rhoads then went hack to Barnett's Fort for a short time and soon after located in the l)ounds of the present county of Jluhlenljerg, five miles from Paradise on Green River and a mile from the present town of Browder on the Ijouisville & Nashville Railroad.

"Simultaneously with the departure of the OerTnans to the south side of the river, they erected a fortification about five miles south from Rumsey for refuge in case of Indian attack. This was called 'Pond Station.' This was in Muhlenberg until the territory embracing it was made a part of Mc- Lean County. About the same time such of the residents of Fort Vienna as owned slaves quit the fort and opened up farms north of the river, where some of their descendants are still to be found.

"As late as 1840 the settlement south of Cypre.ss Creek and extending far enough south to embrace Sacramento and Bremen was commonly called 'The Dutch Settlement.' AVhile these people were thrifty, yet few of them owned slave.s.''

In 1798, a few years after settling in I/Ogan County, Henry Rhoads became a member of the State Legislature and on December 14, 1798, an act was pas.sed creating a new county out of parts of Christian and Logan. It was Henry Rhoads who i)roposed and secured the name of Muhlenberg for the new county. Ed 1'orti'r 'rhompson, in his "School History of Kentucky,'' |>age 1()2. says:

General Muhlenberg was at no time a resident of Kentucky. His name and his deeds, however, are of interest to us because some of the gallant members of his church who followed him when he left his pulpit to fight for independence, ha<l grants of hind for military service, which they located on and below Green River, soon after the elo.se of the Revolution, and made their homes in what are now Muhlenberg, McLean and Ohio counties. One of them, the Hon. Henry Rboad.s, was a member of the legislature in 1798 when Muhlenberg county was established, and procured it to lie named in honor of his pastor and general. . . . Thi-ough the influence of one to whom General JIuhlenlierg had been a pastor in peace and a valiant captain in the fight for freedom, his ever enduring monument (a county's name) was erected, not in his own land, but in the wilderness of Kentucky.

While faithfull}' and .sucee.ssfully serving the public, Henry Rhoads had, for a number of years, more or less trouble in establishing his claim to the land to which he was entitled and on which he lived after he moved info what later became a part of Muhlenberg. This land, of which he finally gained possession, lay in what was up to 1798 a part of Logan County. It was part of a grant of almost 7,000 acres which lie had surveyed in 1793 for General Alexander JlcClanahan, with the understanding that he was to receive part of it. It is possible that 1793 was the .vear Henry Rhoads first settled in what is now .Muhlenberg. In 1797 the State of Kentucky issued to McClanahnn and Rhoads a patent for this survey. In October, 1801. a commission of six men was appointed to divide this tract between the two and issue a deed to each for his share. Order Book No. 1, page 1, gives the names of tlu'se eominissioners, all of whom were prominent pioneers - John Dennis, Henry Keith, Matthew Adams, William Bell, Benjamin Tolbert, and Solomon Khoads Deed Book No. 1, page 66, sIiob-s that they granted Henry Khoads two tliousand aeres of the survey, for which he received a deed October 26, 1801. Thus, after a long and patient struggle, he held a title to land again.st which no priority of claim was ever brought. In 1798 he Imught an adjoining survey of five hundred acres that had been granted to Oeneral (l«>orge Matthews.

It was on this 2,500-acre tract that he built liis liome, shortly after liis arrival from Hartford. The original dwelling has undergone many changes, hut is still standing, near the (ireenville and Rochester Road about nine miles from (ireemille. The farm on which this house stands has pttssed from fatlier to son for iiion* than a century, and is now o w n e d b y Professor McHenrj' Rlioads. Near this historic house is the old family grave.vard. In it. among Hve generations of Rhoads buried there, is the grave of the "(iodfather of .Muhlenbi-rg County," on which was placed, almost a c'cntury ago, a sandstone altout two feet high and marked: "11. R., B. J. 5, 17.I9, I). .M. 6. 1814."

Henry Rhoads died on the 6th of .March or Ma,v, 1814. aged seventy live. His "last will and testament" was written April 15. 1812. witnessed by ".I. W. .McConnell and Wm. Sumner." It was recorded in 181.'1 and probated in .\ugiist. 1814, as attested by "C. F. Wing, Clerk," in Will Book No. 1, page 194:

In the name of (lod. Amen. I, Henry Rhoads, of the county of Muhlenberg and Slate of Kentucky, being weak in body but of jierfis-t mind and memory, do make and ordain this my last will and testament.

First, I r('eomm('inl m.v .soul to the Almighty (lod, and as touching iny worldl,v effects wherewith He has helped me, I give and dispose of them in the following manner.

First. I give and biMpiealh to m.v beloved wife Barba.v Rhoads all the propert.v she bniught with her after we were married, agreeable to contract, and one cow, a large bcifer and one iron pot and the corner cupboard and chest and m.v large Bible, and the low posted bedstead, one large and one small wheel including all the furniture we have got since we were marri<'d. 1 also give and be(|Ueath to m.v beloveil wife Barba.v all that is allowed to her agreeable to the courts of a bond on m.v son David Rhoads bearing date -August 23, 1810.