Notebook - Kentucky No. 4, Part 2

Gary, Cordelia. Abstracts of Will Books 1797-1900 Christian County, Kentucky, Hopkinsville, KY: Gray, nd

Will Book C, p. 331 - James Wilson, Will Aug. 9, 1820, probate Sep. 4, 1820, Heirs: widow Rachel, children: William, James, young, John, Winifred, Thomas, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, Eliza. executors: son James, nephews William & Matthew Wilson. Wit: Henry Myers, Zephiniah Lacy, William Barnes

Will Book H, p. 276 - Capt. Thomas Hopkins, verbal statement Oct. 6, 1834, died Oct. 9, 1834, heirs: children John, Benjamin, Anna Jane & Rufus C., widow Sarah. Servants to be set free and sent to Liberia. Wit: Sarah Hopkins, John Hopkins, Benjamin Hopkins, W.I. Dinwiffie, A. Webber, Anna Jane & Rufus C. Hopkins

Will Book H, p. 344 - Ruth Hopkins, will Aug. 7, 1833, probated Jan. 5, 1835, Executor: brother Thomas, heir: sister Ann Rice, widow of James, land in Virginia left by father John Hopkins, Wit: Edw. Morris, Joseph Williams, John McCarroll

Will Book L, p. 446 - John Galbreath, division of estate April 26, 1843. Heirs:
Robert A. Galbreath, Eliza A. Galbreath, Henrietta Galbreah, John B. Galbreath, Mary Jane Trice, John B. & Wm. Harrelson, heirs of Flora Galbreath Harrelson, James Galbreath, Emma Galbreath, widow Grissella

Will Book L, p. 589 - James Galbreath, division Sep. 2, 1844. Heirs: Laban Galbreath, John K. Smith, Elizabeth Galbreath, Affiah Galbreath. Executors: Benjamin C. Eldred, James T. Garnett.  Commissioners: Josiah Settle, Benjamin R. Rawlins, Zachariah Holland

Will Book M, pp. 16-20 - Daniel Galbreath, division, Oct. 7, 1844, Heirs: widow Mariah, Daniel W. Galbreath, Milton Cockrill & wife Martha, Caroline F. Galbreath, John Harrelson & wife Eliza, Mary A. Galbreath, Affiah Galbreath.  Commissioners: William Harrison, B. Bradshaw, Robert Harrison

Will Book R, p. 32 - Elizabeth Galbreath, widow of James, division Sept. 26, 1859. Heirs: S.M. Galbreath, C. W. Lunderman & wife Elizabeth, Joseph Jones & wife Effiah, James K. Smith husband of the late Catherine Galbreath Smith & guardian of James K. Smith, Mary Ellen Smith, William Smith, Laborn Smith, Frances Smith, Catherine Smith.  Wit: Waller Pendleton, John M. Carter, William Bronaugh

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Gorin, Sandy - Kentucky Genealogy Listserv Posts 1995-1996

Tidbit #1 - Kentucky Research - Deed Books

Power of Attorneys were needed when an individual in the county you are researching, needed some honest person to handle some business transactions for them, normally outside that county. For some reason he did not fee he was qualified, or could not pull up and travel great distances. So they hired a friend or relative to transact the business for them.  Many times, this involved settlement of wills or land transactions in the area where the family had come from. If the husband or wife was heir of someone in another county or state . . . If land needed to be divided between heirs . . . if the individual still owned land in his previous location and wanted to sell it . . . the power of attorney came in. 

Lastly, if the land being sold & bought involved a military grant, it's possible that the person served in the American Revolution or War of 1812 or purchased a grant from someone who did. There were certain districts set apart in Kentucky - Warren County, Barren County, Hart County - that were set aside for the soldiers of Virginia. The Virginia government could not afford to pay its soldiers so gave them land in lieu of payment. This land was held for them for a long period of time. Many chose not to move to this area and sold it to land speculators or to friends / family who wished to come here. . . .

Many of our ancestors didn't . . . care for or think about wills . . . They dispersed their property before they died to cut down on probate costs. So very often you will find a parent deeding land / goods to a child. The standard wording would be "to my son Hezekiah P. Whathisname, for love & affection . . . "  Slaves were often distributed this way.

Tip of the Week #2 

First of all Kentucky had some unusual land laws which will explain how the settlers received their land . . . 

Problems arose throughout the early years of settlement in relation to the claims for land. To be secure, claims had to be surveyed and registered. It was a difficult task for the surveyors; they called on all the deputies they could engage in order to meet the demands for surveys . . . In 1785, the Virginia requirement that the survey had to be filed within one year from the entry was repealed as too rigorous. By three separate acts of Virginia in 1786, 1788 and 1790 and two acts of Kentucky in 1792 and 1793, conditions to complete claims were extended.

Lands within the bounds of the Cherokee Indians on Tellico lands, or within the bounds of the Chickasaw Indians, or lands south of Green River were set apart for Officers and soldiers of Virginia for military service. . . . 

Headright Claims - 200 acres - In 1795 the Kentucky Legislature passed an act entitled For the Relief of Settlers on the South Side of Green River. It dealt with the settlers who squatted on vacant lands south of Green River believing the lands were no longer available for veterans . . . The law read that every housekeeper or other free person above the age of 21 years, who had actually settled on the land . . . on or before Jan. 1, 1796, would be entitled to hold 200 acres including such settlement provided that the land did not include any salt lick or body or ore. (Salt licks meant oil was likely present).  The act provided that the Governor would appoint 3 commissioners to act as a Court, the one in this area was held at Logan County Courthouse. these men had the right to determine settlement rights and grant certificates from which the surveyor would make his survey.

To prevent a squatter from obtaining all the rich bottom land . . . the act further provided that the settlement tract would not exceed in its longest part, twice the width of its narrowest part. A law in 1797 stated that the land would be as near a square as possible.

The Act of 1797 provided commissioners to meet in Lincoln, Green, Warren & Logan Counties. The settlers paid $60 per 100 acres for 1st rate land; $40 for lands of inferior quality. Barren County lands were considered second-rate. There was a $1 fee for the commissioner's certificate. The County Surveyor was required to obtain all the Virginia military boundaries in order not to overlap settlement rights. The settler was required to live on the property for at least one succeeding year or lose the land to the state. At every salt lick or salt spring the state reserved 1000 acres which could not be included in the settlement right. In 1798, the Kentucky legislature amended the headright law to include widows, free males over 18 years of age, and every free person having a family who "shall settle . . . on or before July next, clear and fence two acres and tend the same in corn." 

Tip #3

. . . let's take a look at the tax records that are available here in Kentucky . . . Each county maintains what are normally called Order Books. . . . they contain the recorded business transactions of the county at their regular meetings. . . .  The county determined the tax base for land, property and the poll tax and then named the collectors to go out and collect the taxes. . . . 

In most counties, the tax man broke down his records into districts, seemingly military districts with one man's name listed in the far left column. The entries listed to the right of that man's name were most likely neighbors or lived close by.  . . . These were the heads of households. 

Next came a description of the type of land, normally shown as 1st, 2nd or 3rd rate. First rate land was rich bottom land near a river or stream. The taxes were higher for this land. Then came the less fertile land called 2nd rate and really rough land called 3rd rate. 

Next - the location of the land. It was always shown in reference to the nearest waterway . . . descriptions can vary from year to year with different tax collectors.

The acreage was shown. This can vary from year to year as land was bought and sold. 

There are columns for patented land.

Until 1809, there were several categories of people who were taxed. A tax was paid for every white man 21 and over. This is normally the head of household. They had to pay taxes on any white male over 16, but this was done away with ca. 1809.  Next came the count of slaves. 

Other taxed items included billiard tables, carriages, buildings, horses, etc. 

Why can you find your ancestor in some years but not others. Did they move in and out of the county?  Perhaps. Possible reasons:

1. Accidentally entered on wrong page
2. Multiple listings for some counties.
3. Some people paid late and are at the end of the tax list
4. Names misspelled, e.g. Ennis / Innis
5. Tax waivers for people who help with elections, men over a certain age, over payment the year before
6. Delinquent taxpayers
7. Death 
8. Women - generally widow - would be paying for the males in her household
9. Didn't own land or anything else that would be taxed, no one in the household meeting the poll tax requirements
10. Living near a county line and owning land in both. May have paid in the other county.  

Tip #4 - Definitions of Old Terms

• ad litem - for the duration of the trial, normally referring to a guardian appointed for a child
• alias spa - second subpoena
• chattels - personal property, could include slaves
• consumption - tuberculosis
• consort of - used in obituaries and tombstones, indicates the spouse of the person who died when spouse is living
• demise - to convey an estate for years or life
• dropsy - disease causing fluids in the serous cavities
• erysipelas - acute infectious disease - recognized by a deep reddening of the skin
• flux - dysentary
• infant - child up to age 14
• infant of tender age - child age 14 to 21
• mortification - gangrene
• noncupative will - deathbed will orally given in front of witnesses
• relict of - indicates the spouse of the person who has already died
• scrofula - a type of tuberculosis
• spa - subpoena
• surety - one legally liable for another. 

TIP #5 - More Land Records

1. Virginia Land Grants 1782-1792 - earliest records of Kentucky, includes military warrants for French & Indian War and America Revolution. 
2. Old Kentucky Grants 1793-1856 - military warrants, seminaries, academies, treasury warrants, pre-emption grants
3. Grants South of the Green River 1797-1866 - headright claims bounded by the Green River and on the southeast course from the head of this river to the Cumberland Mountains, along this line to the Carolina line, the Cherokee / Tennessee River, with this river to the Ohio and back to the Green River. 
4. Tellico Grants 1803-1853 - lands ceded to U.S. by the Cherokee in 1805, 572 grants in the Big Sandy Valley and Eastern Kentucky
5. Kentucky Land Warrants 1816-1873 - vacant lands east of the Tennessee River
6. Grants West of the Tennessee River 1822-1858 - land b/t Tennessee River and the Mississippi from the Chickasaw Indians aka the Jackson Purchase. Modern counties: Calloway, Graves, Fulton, Hickman, McCracken, Carlisle, Ballard & Marshall.
7. Grants South of Walker's Line 1822-1923 - south of Walker's Line and north of the 36'30" parallel
8. Warrants for Headrights 1827-1849 - 55 grants
9. County Court Orders 1836 - counties lying north and east of Tennessee River were given all the vacant land within their borders in 1835
10. Registers of  Vacant Lands 1795-1806 - gives date, number, county, acreage for non-residents
11. Resident Lands Forfeited to the State 1853-1916
12. Treasurer's Land Records of Green River Settlers 1796-1824
13. Non-Resident Lands Forfeited & Sold for Taxes 1792-1827
14. List of Proprietors of Surveys Giving Locations of Land, Etc. 1805-1812; 1835-1845
15. Record of Land Sold by Original Owners 1796-1816
16. Records of Green River Settlers 1796
17. Misc. Land Office Records - headrights 1825-1837, warrants 1827-1832, land payments 1801-1807
18. Headrights
19. Vacant Lands
20. Land Payments
21. Index only of Green River Settlers Records
22. List of Proprietors of Non-Resident Lands & Remarks as to the Distribution of Land 1792-1843; List of Proprietors of Non-Resident Lands 1796 & List of Non-Resident Lands Stricken off to the State for Non-Payment of Taxes, 1816
23. Resident Lands Sold for Taxes 1833-1868
24. Report of Payments Made by Green River Settlers 1799-1814
25. List of Delinquent Chargeable with Tax & Insolvencies & Removals from the State of Persons Not Found Returned 1796-1806
26. Land Office Ledgers 1796-1809
27. Cash Receipts of Land Office 1884-1891
28. Fee Books of the Land Office of Kentucky 1794-1817
29. Lincoln, Fayette Military & May Entries
30. Military Entry - date, name, warrant number & description
31. List of Deeds Recorded ini the General Court & County Courts 1783-1834
32. Old Kentucky Grants - book is a mess
33. Old Kentucky Land Grant Surveys Nos. 1-722 & 1035-7667 - includes plats
34. Green River, Land Grant Surveys South of - Nos. 1-16661
35. General Index to Land Grants, Kentucky Military District, Kentucky, Lincoln, Fayette, Nelson, Bourbon, Jefferson, Woodford, Mercer, Madison & Mason Counties 1779-1801; Lands Claimed by Settlers in Kentucky 1781
36. Land Grants Issued to County Court Warrants 1836-1956
37. Surveys & Grants Covering Lands in Adair, Allen, Barren, etc. 1827-1849
38. Tellico Grants 1803-1853
39. Tennessee River, Grants West of 1820-1900
40. Virginia Grants 1782-1792
41. Virginia Land Grant Surveys Nos. 1-9365
42. Walker's Line, Grants South of 1825-1924
43. Walker's Line, Land Grants Surveys of Vol. 1, Nos. 1-904
44. Kentucky Court of Appeals Deed Books 1708-1909
45. Kentucky Land Warrant Grants 1812-1873

Tip #7 - Burned Courthouses

• Allen - formed 1815, fired 1902
• Ballard - formed 1842, fire 1880
• Bath - formed 1811, fires 1864, 1964
• Bell - formed 1857, fire 1917
• Bourbon - formed 1785, fire 1872
• Breckinridge - formed 1799, fires 1864, 1958
• Caldwell - formed 1809, fire 1864
• Christian - formed 1792, fire 1864
• Clinton - formed 1835, fire 1865
• Crittenden - formed 1842, fires 1865, 1870
• Cumberland - formed 1796, fires 1864, 1865, 1933
• Daviess - formed 1815, fire 1865
• Elliott - formed 1869, fire 1957
• Fayette - formed 1780, Levi Todd's house burned 1803, other fires 1821, 1897
• Floyd - formed 1799, fire 1808
• Graves - formed 1823, fire 1864
• Grayson - formed 1823, fires 1864, 1894
• Greenup - formed 1803, flood 1937
• Hardin - formed 1792, fires 1832, 1864
• Harlan - formed 1819, fire 1863
• Hart - formed 1819, 3 fires in 1828
• Hopkins - formed 1808, fire 1864
• Knox - formed 179?, fire nd
• Larue - formed 1843, fire 1865
• Marshall - formed 1852, fire 1913
• Marion - records destroyed 1865
• McLean - formed 1854, fire 1908
• Metcalfe - formed 1860, fire 1867
• Monroe - formed 1820, fires 1863 & ?
• Montgomery - formed 1796, fire 1864
• Morgan - formed 1822, fires 1865 & 1925
• Ohio - formed 1797, fire 1864
• Oldham - formed 1823, fire 1874
• Owlsey - formed 1843 - fires 1929, 1967
• Powell - formed 1852, fire 1864
• Rowan - formed 1856, fires 1864, 1882
• Scott - formed 1792, fire 1833
• Simpson - formed 1819, fire 1881
• Spencer - formed 1824, fire 1865
• Taylor - formed 1848, fire 1864
• Trigg - formed 1820, fire 1864
• Washington - formed 1792, fire 1797 & 1812
• Whitley - formed 1818, fire 1929
• Wolfe - formed 1860, fires 1860 & 1913

Tip #8 - How They Got Here

Buttermilk Road - north/south old post road between Henderson & Nashville, TN.  Henderson Co., KY to Dixon to Madisonville to Hopkinsville to Clarksville, TN, to Cheatham Co., to Nashville, TN. Part of Indian Trail from Great Lakes to Gulf of Mexico.

Smith's Wagon Road - by 1816 part of a national post road between Zanesville, OH and Florenca, AL. The section in Kentucky: Maysville to Nicholas Co. to Lexington to Jessamine Co. to Harrodsburg to Boyle Co. to Washington Co. to Bardstown to Hodgenville to Hart Co. to Cave City to Edmonson Co. to Bowling Green to Logan Co. to Todd Co. to Christian Co. to Trigg Co. to Benton to Paducah

Wilderness Road - cut in spring and summer of 1796 in Kentucky from Crab Orchard to Cumberland Gap. Other names include Wilderness Turnpike, Shelby's Wilderness Road. Middlesboro to Knox Co. to Laurel Co. to Rockcastle Co. to Lincoln Co.

Mayo Trail - follows Hwy. US23 very closely. From Scioto, OH to South Portsmouth, Ky to Ashland to Catlettsburg to Paintsville to Prestonburg to Pikeville to Norton, VA.

Pound Gap - another way into Kentucky through the Cumberland Mountains, also called Sounding Gap. 20 1/2 miles west of Norton, VA.

Lusk's Ferry, Livingston Co. - opposite Golconda, IL on the Ohio. 

Ohio River - used only certain times of the year. August to October the water was low enough to ford above Louisville. April to June water was high enough to navigate with boats. 

Tip #14 - Stations &  Early Settlements

• Ballard's / Bland's Station, Shelby Co., usually called Tyler's.
• Bryan's Station, Fayette Co., about 5 miles northeast of Lexington on southern bank of north fork of Elkhorn 1779
• Cane Run, Presbyterian Meeting house in Lincoln Co., 1784
• William Casey's Station, Lincoln Co., 3 miles west of Stanford, 7 miles east of Danville on Hanging Fork of Dick's River
• Crab Orchard, Lincoln Co., 12 miles from Lancaster, 10 miles from Stanford on the old pioneer road to Cumberland Gap
• Crow's Station, old Lincoln Co., 2 miles east of Danville
• Elk Fork of Red River, Logan Co., 1785
• Falls of the Ohio, first fort built on Corn Island, 1778; moved to end of what is now Twelfth Street in Louisville 1838
• John Fleming's, Fleming Co., 1790
• Floyd's Station, mouth of Beargrass, Louisville, corner of 3rd & Ohio River
• Floyd's Station, middle fork of Beargrass, 6 miles from the Falls of the Ohio, 1775
• Floyd's Fork Station, Oldham Co., near Pewee Valley, 18 miles east of Louisville
• Forks of Dick's River, Presbyterian meeting place, 1784 now in Lincoln Co.
• Georgetown, Scott Co., formerly McClelland's Fort
• Glover's Station, on the Green River, now Greensburg, 1780
• Harlan's Station, on Salt River, Mercer Co., 7 miles southeast of Harrodsburg, 3 miles southwest of Danville, 1778 
• Kilgore's Station, 1782 north of Cumberland River, south side of Red River, attacked by Indians the same year and broken up. Probably in southern part of Logan county near the state line, maybe in Tennessee.
• Leitch's Station, about 6 miles above the mouth of the Licking River on east bank in current Campbell Co., 1790
• Logan's Fort aka St. Asaph, 1 mile west of Stanford, Lincoln Co., 1775
• Meek's Station,  waters of Drennon's Lick, 20 miles from the Ohio river at the mouth of 18 Mile Creek
• Owen's / Bracket Station, near Shelbyville, 1782
• Salt River Garrison before 1780
• Squire Boone's Station, Shelby Co., near current Shelbyville on Clerk Creek, barnch of Brashear's Creek 1780
• George Stockton's Station, Flemingsburg, Fleming Co., 1787
• Tyler's Station, Tick Creek, 4 miles east of Shelbyville, named for Robert Taylor
• Samuel Well's Station, 3 1/2 miles northwest of Shelbyville
• Whipporwill Creek, Logan Co., settled 1784 by Maulding Family
• Whitley's Station, Lincoln Co., 2 miles southwest of Crab Orchard 1779
• Wilson's Station, Mercer Co., branch of Salt River, 2 miles northwest of Harrodsburg
• Wilson's Station, Lincoln Co., fork of Clark's run 1785

Tip #15 - County Information

Adair County - 45th county formed from Green Co., 1801, Columbia, county seat, Battle of Gradyville 1861. 

Bath County - 55th county formed from Montgomery Co., 1811, Owingsville county seat, first settlers 1775, Civil War battles in 1863 & 1864 

Bourbon County - 5th county formed from Fayette Co., Hopewell / Paris county seat

Boyle County - 94th county formed from Lincoln & Mercer, 1842, Danville county seat, James Harrod first settler 1774

Butler County - 53rd county formed from Logan & Ohio 1810, Morgantown county seat

Campbell County - 19th county formed from Harrison, Mason & Scott, 1794, Leitch's Station first settlement, Newport first county seat, Visalia 2nd county seat, Alexandria 3rd county seat

Casey County - 46th county formed from Lincoln 1806, Liberty county seat, first settled 1779

Christian County - 21st county formed from Logan 1796, first settled 1784. Trail of Tears went through the county

Daviess County - 58th county formed from Ohio 1815, Owensboro settled 1797

Fayette County - one of original 3 counties, 1780 from VA, Lexington county seat settled 1782, early pioneers 1774

Fleming County - 26th county formed from Mason Co., Flemingsburg county seat 

Franklin County - 18th county formed from Mercer, Shelby & Woodford 1794, Frankfort county seat / state capitol, settled 1775

Grayson County - 54th county formed from Hardin & Ohio, 1810, Leitchfield county seat

Green County - 45th county formed from Lincoln & Nelson 1792, Greensburg county seat, 1770

Hardin County - 15th county formed from Nelson 1792, Elizabethtown county seat, settled 1776

Hart County - 61st county formed from Hardin & Barren 1819, Munfordville county seat, settled ca. 1794

Henry County - 33rd county formed from Shelby 1798, New Castle county seat 

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Jackson, Ronald. Index to Kentucky Wills to 1815 the Testators, Salt Lake City, UT: Accelerated Indexing Systems, 1977

• Map of Kentucky Counties
• Map Wilderness Road & Kentucky 1774-1785
• Map of Western Settlements Proposed or Organized 1775-85

• Column 1 - Name of testator
• Column 2 - County
• Column 3 - Page # of Original Will Book
• Column 4 - Volume #
• Column 5 - Year

• Fitzgerald, Daniel - Franklin - 64 - B2 - 1834
• Fitzgerald, James - Shelby - 402 - 5 - 1822
• Fitzgerald, James - Fleming - 23 - D - 1829
• Fitzgerald, Thomas - Washington - 520 - C - 1823
• Hopkins, Catharine - Henderson - 44 - A - 1805
• Hopkins, Charles - Nelson - 183 - 1 - 1833
• Hopkins, David - Bath - 369 - C - 1836
• Hopkins, Edmund - Henderson - 57 - B - 1826
• Hopkins, Elijah - Woodford - 332 - D - 1815
• Hopkins, Ephraim - Logan - 408 - B - 1821
• Hopkins, Frances - Bath - 358 - A - 1823
• Hopkins, John - Green - 96 - I - 1813
• Hopkins, John - Bourbon - 48 - E - 1814
• Hopkins, Mary - Mercer - 284 - B - 1825
• Hopkins, Neal - Hickman - 226 - B - 1840
• Hopkins, Robert - Nicholas - 226 - B - 1824
• Hopkins, Robert - Adair - 141 - A - 1808
• Hopkins, Ruth - Christian - 344 - H - 1834
• Hopkins, Samuel - Henderson - 28 - C - 1840
• Hopkins, Susan - Trigg - 504 - F - 1832
• Hopkins, Thomas - Christian - 276 - H - 1834
• Hopkins, Wallace - Muhlenberg - 15 - 3 - 1835
• Hopkins, William - Nelson - 230 - I - 1833
• Hopkins, William - Nicholas - 148 - C - 1832
• Hopkins, William - Shelby - 73 - 19 - 1849
• Runyon, Daniel Sr. - Mason - 218 - D - 1818
• Runyon, J.H. - Fayette - 236 - B - 1811
• Runyon, James - Mason - 255 - K - 1835
• Shepherd, William - Henry - 311 - 2 - 1824
• Shepherd, William - Henry - 309 - 2 - 1824
• Shepherd, William - Mercer - 130 - 3 - 1805
• Stout, Eli - Owen - 330 - C - 1845 - late
• Stout, James - Shelby - 119 - 1 - 1799
• Stout, James Sr. - Spencer - 535 - B - 1845
• Stout, John - Spencer - 326 - B - 1841
• Stout, Milton G. - Shelby - 104 - 19 - 1849
• Stout, Rachel - Mason - 231 - H - 1830
• Stout, Susan - Owen - 399 - C - 1846
• Stouts, Peter - Shelby - 121 - 11 - 1835

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Kozee, William. Pioneer Families of Eastern & Southeastern Kentucky, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1973

First Explorations - About 1763 Englishmen from the Crown colony of Virginia, under the patronage of Colonel Abraham Wood, whose fort stood at tidewater on the James River, were toiling through the Appalachian and the Blue Ridge Mountains in search of a short trading route to the west. In the year 1671, Captain Thomas Batts and Robert Fallam had pushed their way over the great Appalachian divide and had discovered the middle waters of the Kanawha River in present West Virginia. They returned to the east flushed with their success, and Colonel Wood, sensing the possibilities of a companion tour of exploration directed in a more southwesterly direction, sent out in 1763 James Needham and Gabriel Arthur who penetrated to the headwaters of the Tennessee River. Needham was killed by the Indians and Arthur, while accompanying a warring party of Cherokee Indians in 1764, was wounded and taken captive by a band of Shawnees between the mouths of the Big Sandy and Little Sandy Rivers. He was taken northward across the Ohio River to the Shawnee town on the lower Scioto River and was there adopted by the tribe who, when his wounds had healed, released him to return to the Cherokees in eastern Tennessee.  After crossing the entire eastern part of Kentucky, apparently over the Warriors Trail, he rejoined the Cherokee tribesmen and finally made his way back to the home of his patron, Colonel Wood.

Ohio Company - In 1748 George II granted to a number of wealthy Virginians, organized as the Ohio Company, a tract of 500,000 acres of land on the Ohio River of which 200,000 acres were to be located on the south side of the Ohio between the Kanawha and Monongahela Rivers and 300,000 acres on the waters of the Ohio lower down, on either side. Thomas Lee was the projector of the Company but its affairs were later conducted by Lawrence Washington, half-brother of George. Other copartners were the then Governor of Virginia, Robert Dinwiddie, Augustine Washington, another half-brother of George, Arthur Dobbs, Samuel Smith, James Wardrop, Chapel Hanbury, John Taylor, Presley Thornton, Nathaniel Chapman, Jacob Giles, Thomas Cresap, John Mercer, James Scott, Richard Lee, Robert Carter and George Mason who was Treasurer. The area was extended from time to time and the Company finally, in 1773, merged into the Walpole grant under the name of the Great Ohio Company which included within its limits all that part of Kentucky east of the Kentucky River. The conditions of the grant were that 100 families should be settled on it, a fort built and a garrison maintained.

Christopher Gist was selected by the company to explore and locate its lands. He set out from the Potomac, October 3, 1750, and passing over the Forbes Road to Ft. Pitt (now Pittsburgh), he came through Ohio and down the Scioto River to its mouth and swam his horses across the Ohio there, entering Kentucky at the northern terminus of the Warriors Trail. The night of Tuesday, March 12, 1751, he selpt in an old Indian cabin on the site of present Fullerton, Greenup County. Turning to the west the next morning, he traversed the present counties of Lewis, Mason, Harrison, Nicholas, Bourbon, Scott, Franklin, Shelby, Woodford, Fayette and Clark. Turning southeast, he probably took up an old Indian trail near present Mt. Sterling which led him through Indian Valley into eastern Menifee County to the upper waters of Red River in central Wolfe County; thence crossing the watershed, he came onto the waters of the North Fork of the Kentucky River, along which he followed a very difficult Indian trail, passing through the site of present Jackson, Hazard and Whitesburg; then he crossed over Pine Mountains through Pound Gap and made his way back to his home in the Yadkin River valley in North Carolina. 

Colonel Gist, surveyor, farmer, diplomat to Indians, and brave soldier, was of English extraction and a native of Maryland, his grandfather having immigrated to that colony from England. He had retired and removed to the Yadkin River,  North Carolina, where he was a friend and neighbor of Daniel Boone.  

Loyal Land Company - In 1749 the Loyal Land Company was chartered in London, England, under royal grant, to survey and locate 800,000 acres north of latitude 36°30' in the territory of Kentucky, then a part of Fincastle County, Virginia.

On December 12, 1749, Dr. Thomas Walker of Castle Hill, Albemarle County, Virginia, contracted with the land company "to go to the westward," for the purpose of discovering a proper place for settlement. Leaving his home at Castle Hill, March 6, 1750, Dr. Walker, accompanied by a party of five; Ambrose Powell, William Tomlinson, Colby Chew, Henry Lawless and John Hughes, crossed the valleys of the Clinch and Holston Rivers and going down the Powell River came to the present Cumberland Gap on the 13th, which Dr. Walker called Cave Gap. he called the mountain Steep Ridge. Proceeding through the gap, they discovered and Dr. Walker named the Cumberland River in honor of William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, son of George II and Queen Caroline, who, on the 16th day of April, 1746, in the battle of Culloden, defeated with great slaughter the Highland forces which supported the cause of the Young Pretender. Proceeding down the Cumberland they crossed that stream on the 23rd at a place called Swans Pond, about four miles from present Barboursville. Dr. Walker proposed taht with two of the company he would proceed and that the other three should remain there until his return, which proposition was agreed to; and lots being drawn as to who should proceed, Ambrose Powell and Colby Chew were the fortunate ones, and the other three remained and built a small, rude structure just eight by twelve feet, cleared and broke up some ground, and planted corn and peach stones. This was the first house built in Kentucky by white men of which there is any record. It was occupied, with additions, until 1835. Lands including the site of the settlement have been set aside as the Walker State Park and a replica of the original log cabin erected on the site. 

Dr. Walker, Powell and Chew continued the exploration northwest and westerly for about 35 miles when Dr. Walker concluded to return to the settlement which was reached on the 28th. After remaining at the settlement a short time, Dr. Walker and companions proceeded to Flat Lick and took the well marked Warriors Path northward to the vicinity of Red River. Despairing of finding good open meadow land, though being unknowingly near it, they then turned to the east and at length found an old trail, probably in the vicinity of Hazel Green in present Wolfe County. This prehistoric route they took to the east, past the site of present Salyersville to an old Indiana rendezvous at Mud Lick and Paint Lick, which were then notable primeval places, close to present Paintsville, Johnson County.  Continuing east they came to and crossed the middle waters of the west fork of the Big Sandy River, spending the period June 6-19, 1750, in exploring the valley. Dr. Walker on Thursday, June 7, 1750, named the main or west fork of the Big Sandy, the Louisa River, according to his diary. Continuing and passing over the divide to the waters of the Tug Fork they encountered the age-old Big Sandy Trail and thus returned to their homes in Virginia. 

Pioneer Settlers - From Whence & How They Came - As soon as the treaty of peace between England and America was signed (1783) there was a great inrush of newcomers into Kentucky. They came over the Wilderness Road; they came down the Ohio River; they tramped over the Cumberlands  population flowing in at a rate estimated at 8,000 to 10,000 a year. They were Anglo-Saxon stock; they were of English descent; descendants of Huguenots from France; from Germans from the Palatinate; of Scotch-Irish from Ulster, Northern Ireland; they were youths fresh from the Revolutionary War to whom land grants had been given; they came from Pennsylvania, Maryland and the Carolinas; and an important quota came from Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

The early settlers of the mountains of Kentucky were principally an overlow from the great stream of immigration westward bound from the seaboard towns of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Maryland and plantations of Virginia and the Carolinas. These people were for the most part home-seekers. Making their way up the great Valley of Virginia with the Blue Ridge to the East and the Alleghanies to the West, the most of these pioneers passed from the Shenandoah onto the headwaters of the New River, and thence to the Hoslton, the Clinch and Powell Rivers. From this point the principal trail led most of them through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky over the Wilderness Road. Some keeping on, however, followed down the Clinch and the Holston and made their way overland into Central Tennessee, while others continued to push even further into the Southwest. 

During the height of this great transmontane migration from 1785 to 1810 a few of the pioneers, annually, turned northward into the New River Valley and others left the trail for the North at Fort Chiswell (in present Wythe County, Virginia). These were principally Virginian and Carolinian, home-seekers, who were attracted by the reports of the rich bottom lands in the river valleys.  They made their way over the heads of the Kentucky, the Tug and the Levisa forks. Others, particularly those from New Jersey, New York and New England, continued westwardly to Pittsburgh and from thence they came down the Ohio River in flatboats. 

The First Settlers - There is no record of any white men having permanently settled in the mountain region of Kentucky prior to 1789. About this time emigrants began coming to the Big Sandy Valley from Virginia and the Carolinas and from parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland. In that year the Leslies attempted to form a settlement at the mouth of Pond Creek on the Tug River, but were driven out by the vigilance of the Indians. They returned however, in 1791; but instead of locating at the mouth of Pond Creek, they crossed over to Johns Creek and formed what was later known as the Leslie Settlement. About this time came the . . . Morgans . . . Williamsons . . . McDowells . . . Runyons . . . 

While these pioneer famlies were immigrating to the Big Sandy Valley the . . . Blackburns . . . Taylors . . . Wrights . . . were settling on the headwaters of the Cumberland and Kentucky Rivers. Many of these families also came to the Big Sandy. 

Settlements on the Lower Big Sandy & the Ohio - While the early settlements of the upper Big Sandy progressed through migration from the New, the Holston and the Clinch Rivers, the continued hostilities of the Shawnees made it impossible for settlers to gain a foothold in the lower part of that stream. In 1793, travelers passing down the Ohio River to central Kentucky found no inhabitants at the mouth of the Big Sandy, the town site of Catlettsburg; and the site of Ashland was then a primeval wilderness and gave no indication of the large settlement that was taking place in the upper part of the Big Sandy Valley. As late as 1796 and 1797 the banks of the Ohio from Pittsburgh to Maysville were almost uninhabited. It is said that at this time there were scarcely thirty families settled along this great stretch of over four hundred miles. Following the conclusion of peace with the Indians in 1795, however, immigration became rapid, and by 1802 log cabins of settlers dotted all along the Ohio and were frequently in sight of each other. . . . 

Finally, though not until about 1807, the strategic position of Catlettsburg at the mouth of the Big Sandy was seen. About that time two large houses - one of logs and the other clapboarded with a signpost before the door - stood at this point and marked the location of the future city. One good brick house also stood at the mouth of Keyes Creek on the Ohio, now known as Normal. A little farther down the Ohio on the Kentucky side opposite Hanging Rock a gentleman by the name of A.M. Colvin owned and lived in an excellent frame house. 

Pioneer Families - According to tax lists and other official records there were approximately 550 families living in Floyd County in 1810. Jonathan Mayo, assistant to Joseph Crockett, US Marshal for the District of Kentucky, enumerated the third decennial US census of the county and on December 24, 1810, he certified and reported that he had enumerated a total of 3,485. Of this number, 1,809 were white males, 1,561 white females, and 115 negro slaves. Below are given the names of the heads of families and or taxpayers as of the year 1810, together with the number of slaves owned by each slaveholder. 

• Blackburn, Thomas
• Blackburn, William
• Fitzgerald, William
• Hopkins, Gardner
• Hopkins, William
• Hunt, John
• McDowell, William
• Morgan, John
• Morgan, Nathan
• Meeks, James
• Runyon, Henry
• Speers, Thomas
• Speers, Spencer
• Slusher, Jacob
• Wilson, John
• Wilson, Harris

Marriage Licenses 1808-1844 - Marriage Records of Floyd County, from the earliest available records to 1844, as shown by ministers' returns, marriage licenses and / or marriage bonds. In a few instances the records do not disclose the name of the bride.  

• Blackburn, William & Jeney Maynor, 3/2/1809 by Simeon Justice
• Butler, George & Arte Herrell, 8/25/1825
• Butler, Samuel & Anna Collins 8/13/1829
• Fitzgerald, Thomas & Susannah Fitzgerald, 1/21/1822 by Wm. J. Mayo JP
• Fitzgerald, William & Catherine Gray, 3/4/1821 by Stephen Harper
• McDowell, John & Jenny Ramey, 8/3/1820 by Thos. C. Brown, JP
• Meek, Isaac & Sally Ward 6/19/1828
• Meek, James & Malinda Price 9/7/1815 by Sam Hanna
• Meek, William & Peggy McCord 1/24/1820 by Thos. C. Brown, JP
• Spears, Enoch & Jane Porter, 8/21/1831
• Spears, Robert & Elizabeth Waller 1/5/1814 by R. Haws
• Spears, Spencer & Talitha Young 6/24/1816 by R. Haws
• Spears, Spencer & Rosanna Wells, 11/13/1828
• Spears, Wm. G. & Rhoda Gerrell, 10/22/1840
• Stout, Eben & Levina Hanna 4/28/1825
• Stout, Jonathan & Margaret Hanna, 4/28/1825
• Wilson, Andrew & Esther Husk, 2/12/1819 by Daniel Williams
• Wilson, Andrew & Crecy Shepherd 10/2/1821
• Wilson, John & Nancy mead, 4/28/1824
• Wilson, Joseph & Polly Kash 12/27/1821 by Charles Harper
• Wilson, William & Rachael Hale 4/2/1822 by John Morris

Fleming County Marriages 1798-1800 - Earliest Marriage Records of Fleming County, from the organization of the County March 1, 1798 to June 30, 1800, organization of Floyd County:

• Fitzherald, James & Fannie Hughes Apr. 27, 1800

Mason County Marriages 1789-1804 - A partial list of the marriages of Mason County, Kentucky from date of organization May 1, 1789 to February 1, 1804, the date of organization of Greenup County.

• Fitzgerald, Benjamin & Sally Chamberlin June 7, 1804
• Fitzgerald, Peter & Elizabeth Ackley Feb. 13, 1792
• Fitzgerald, William & Elizabeth Kiger/Keiger May 16, 1791
• Shepherd, Charles & Catherine Brandenburg May 14, 1802
• Shepherd, Thomas & Molly McFarland 1793
• Stout, Thomas & Margaret Colvin Nov. 17, 1789
• Wilson, Amos & Ann Mills June 24, 1791
• Wilson, James & Hannah Bailey Dec. 5, 1799
• Wilson, John & Polly Smoote Feb. 8, 1797
• Wilson, John & Rachael Plummer Mar. 22, 1798
• Wilson, John & Nancy Boyd Apr. 16, 1803
• Wilson, Moses & Nancy Dean, Sept. 24, 1801
• Wilson, Robert & Elizabeth Harris Feb. 22, 1803
• Wilson, Thornton & Elizabeth Fife Dec. 24, 1799
• Wilson, William & Judah Hensley July 29, 1802

Revolutionary War Officers & Soldiers Who Settled in Eastern or Southeastern Kentucky

Floyd County - William Fitzgerald, Garner Hopkins private of the New York Line

Greenup County - Jeremiah Butler, private Virginia line

Morgan County - John Butler, private, Virginia line

Revolutionary War Officers & Soldiers Whose Descendants Settled in Eastern or Southeastern Kentucky

Meek, Moses, private South Carolina light dragoons

---

Trapp, Glenda & Michael Cook. Kentucky Genealogical Index, Vol. I, Evansville, IN: Cook Publications, nd

• Vol. # followed by:
• a = Kentucky Ancestors
• e = The East Kentuckian
• g = The Kentucky Genealogist
• u = Kentucky Pioneer Genealogy & Records
• Issue # & page #

14A3-49 = Vol. 14 Kentucky Ancestors, No. 3, p. 49

• Cagle - 9a2-95 = Artie, Bertha M., F.M., Ida, Nancy, Pearlie
• Cagle - 7e2-6 = Jacob, Lucy Ann
• Cagle - 11a3-163 = Martha
• Calbraith - 14g2-56 = Eleanor, John
• Doggett - 11g2-46 = widow 
• Doggett - 7a2-85+ Benjamin, Cinthian, Elizabeth, Frankey H., Frankey Thomas, Thomas, Sarah
• Doggett - 14a4-209 Benjamin
• Doggett - 20g4-143+ Benjamin, Elizabeth, Richard
• Doggett - 2u4-212 Benjamin
• Doggett - 4A2-63 Richard
• Doggett - 7A4-194 Richard
• Doggett - 10g1-4 Richard
• Dove - 15a1-37 Alice
• Dove - 7g1-24 Francis
• Dove - 7g3-112 Francis
• Dove - 8g3-110 Francis 
• Dove - 10g3-102+ Francis, Sarah
• Dove - 15g4-149 Francis
• Dove - 19g1-35 Francis
• Dove - 1u4-6 Francis
• Dove - 4g1-17 G., Rodana, T. 
• Dove - 14a1-58 Julia
• Dove - 2e2-10 Santford
• Dove - 6g1-18 Sarah
• Durall - 15g3-115+ A.J., Mrs. A.J., J.W.
• Elston - 14a1-11 David, Joseph, Levi
• Elston - 14a2-84+ David, Elizabeth, Joel, Mary Elizabeth, Patience
• Elston - 12a1-30 Elizabeth E.
• Elston - 4a3-145 Jonathan
• Elston - 7g3-98+ Nancy, William
• Elston - 11a3-115 Thomas Maxwell
• Elston - 14a2-119 Thomas Sydenham
• Gentle - 5a2-64 William
• Hinkle - 19g4-155 Rev. A. 
• Hinkle - 3a1-39 Elizabeth
• Hinkle - 7a3-160 Elizabeth
• Hinkle - 10a4-214 Elizabeth
• Hinkle - 5a1-5 Elizabeth Ann
• Hinkle - 14a4-206 Jacob
• Hinkle - 6a4-183 John
• Mauldin - 12a1-47 - Denzil
• Mauldin - 9a4-217 Denzil
• Maulding - 10a3-164 Denzil, John West
• Maulding - 10a2-164 James
• Maulding - 3g2-68 West
• Morehead - 4a4-215 Armistead
• Morehead - 5a3-93+ Armistead, Charles
• Morehead - 1g3-93+ Armistead, Charles
• Morehead - 3g2-68 Armistead
• Morehead - 18g1-14 Armstead
• Morehead - 9a1-27 Charles
• Morehead - 1g2-26 Charles
• Morehead - 2g3-104 Charles
• Morehead - 4g1-25 Charles
• Morehead - 5g1-17 Charles
• Morehead - 5g2-50 Charles
• Morehead - 5g4-136 Charles
• Morehead - 17g4-127 Charles
• Morehead - 19g1-38 Charles
• Morgan - 7a1-26 Ann
• Morgan - 4e1-20 Ann
• Morgan - 4e2-21 Ann
• Morgan - 4g2-48 Mrs. Ann
• Morgan - 6a4-212 Charles
• Morgan - 9a1-1 Charles
• Morgan - 9a4-185 Charles
• Morgan - 10a1-4+ Charles
• Morgan - 10a3-125+ Charles
• Morgan - 10a4-182 Charles
• Morgan - 11a1-11+ Charles
• Morgan - 11a3-157 Charles
• Morgan - 12a2-84 Charles
• Morgan - 13a1-7 Charles
• Morgan - 15a4-218 Charles
• Morgan - 16a1-45 Charles
• Morgan - 3e3-8 Charles
• Morgan - 2g1-25 Charles
• Morgan - 5g2-55 Charles
• Morgan - 10g1-10 Charles
• Morgan - 10g2-59+ Charles
• Morgan - 12g1-22 Charles
• Morgan - 12g3-86 Charles
• Morgan - 9a1-26 Susanna
• Morgan - 9a2-82 Susanna
• Morgan - 13a2-87 Susanna
• Morgan - 14a3-158 Susannah
• Runion - 1u2-49 surname
• Runion - 3a3-100 A., Daniel
• Runion - 4a1-36 Jacob
• Runion - 7a1-7 John
• Runion - 12e1-10+ William, William Runnion
• Runnion - 5e4-16 Alaphar
• Runnion - 5e1-14 David
• Runnion - 8e2-9 Henry, John Runyan, 
• Runyan - 8a1-47+  Miss, Nancy
• Runyan - 10e2-5+ Aaron, George
• Runyan - 5a1-29 Ann Elizabeth, Grace, John, Peter, Vincent
• Runyan - 3a1-30 Charlotte
• Runyan - 11e1-19 Clyde
• Runyan - 11a7-78 George
• Runyan - 5e3-15 Suanna
• Runyan - 15a2-85 William
• Runyon - 8g1-33 A.R., Joseph
• Runyon - 1e1-5 Adron, Anne, Charity, John, Nancy 
• Runyon - 6e1-8 Adron 
• Runyon - 4e4-19 Arminta
• Runyon - 8g4-144+ Asa R., Daniel, Mary
• Runyon - 8e3-8+ Ballard Ira, Bobby Joe, Bryan, Jerry Ann, Joseph, Linda Caron, Lisa Carol, Michael Bruce, Nicole Lea, Robert Callahan, Roger
• Runyon - 8e2-23 Clyde
• Runyon - 2u3-165 Clyde
• Runyon - 14e1-5 Mrs. Clyde
• Runyon - 5a3-127 D.R.
• Runyon - 7g1-4 Daniel
• Runyon - 10g2-71 Daniel
• Runyon - 13g3-101 Daniel
• Runyon - 13g2-74+ David, David L. , Eliza, George, Lydia, Mary
• Runyon - 7a4-194 Ezekiel
• Runyon - 13g4-147+ Ezekiel, James H.
• Runyon - 10a2-88 Harriet
• Runyon - 1e1-5 Henry, Susannah 
• Runyon - 1e3-13 Henry
• Runyon - 4a4-170 James M. 
• Runyon - 7a1-7 John, mary
• Runyon - 2e3-14 John
• Runyon - 6e1-10 John 
• Runyon - 21g2-50 John
• Runyon - 2u3-119 John
• Runyon - 15a4-217 Joseph
• Runyon - 16e3-35 Martha
• Runyon - 2a1-9 Martin
• Runyon - 2e3-14 Nancy
• Runyon - 3e3-12 Nancy 
• Runyon - 5a4-214 Dr. Peter
• Runyon - 13g4-147 Susan Rebecca
• Runyon - 4a1-14 Susanna
• Runyon - 7a1-7 Vincent
• Runyon - 15a1-15 William
• Runyon - 16g4-130 William
• Runyon - 5e1-14 William
• Shepard - 9a2-67 Elizabeth 
• Shepard - 11g3-113 Elizabeth
• Shepard - 5e3-18 William
• Shepard - 2u4-237 William
• Shepherd - 2a4-150 Elizabeth
• Shepherd - 3a4-156 Elizabeth
• Shepherd - 9a4-201+ Elizabeth
• Shepherd - 10e4-6 Elizabeth, William 
• Shepherd - 11e2-4+ Elizabeth
• Shepherd - 13e4-15 Elizabeth
• Shepherd - 7g2-64 Elizabeth
• Shepherd - 1u2-22 Elizabeth
• Shepherd - 1u4-28 Elizabeth
• Shepherd - 4a1-39 Elizabeth H.
• Shepherd - 5a1-41 Elizabeth S.
• Shepherd - 14e2-12 William
• Shepherd - 16e1-32 William
• Shepherd - 6g4-148 William
• Shepherd - 7g1-24 William
• Shepherd - 7g4-137 William
• Shepherd - 11g1-21 William
• Shepherd - 6e4-14 William L. 
• Shepherd - 13e3-7 William R.
• Shepherd - 2a4-153 William S. 
• Shepherd - 3a4-156 William S. 
• Sheppard - 11a3119 Elizabeth
• Sheppard - 9a3-157 Elizabeth G.
• Spear 4a3-150 Argal, Bennet, Dow Greenup, Elizabeth Susan, Herbert, Homer, Levi Jr. , Margaret Marie, Vista 
• Spear - 6b1-38 Coatney Ann
• Spear - 6a3-137 Florence A. 
• Spear - 2a2-81 John
• Speare - 16a.2-95
• Spears - 2a2-81 John
• Spears - 7e3-12 John
• Spears - 3g2-55 John
• Spears - 2u4-213 John
• Speer - 1u2-61 [no first name]
• Speer - 5e3.18 Andrew
• Speer - 2a2-81 John, Samuel
• Speer - 14a2-78 John
• Speer - 15a4-210+ John
• Speer - 9e2-18 William
• Speers - 19g3-85 [no first name]
• Speers - 12g4-131 Moses
• Speers - 15g2-67 Solomon
• Speers - 1e3-13 Thomas
• Young - 7a4-215 Jacob, Michael
• Young - 14a4-253 Jacob
• Young -15a2-82 Jacob
• Young - 5e2-14 Jacob
• Young - 8e1-22 Jacob
• Young - 5g2-49 Jacob
• Young - 5g4-130 Jacob
• Young - 7g4-156 Jacob
• Young - 7e4-10 Michael
• Young - 2g2-52 Michael