Captain Cader Edwards
An account of the life and public service of Captain Cader Edwards, a native of Wales and a soldier of the American Revolution, who died in the Holston Settlements, in what is now Sullivan County, Tennessee, in the month of March 1782, with some mention of his numerous descendants as far as known to the writer hereof.
By his great grandson
CYRUS EDWARDS
Owing in part to the restless disposition and migratory habits of the ancestors of most of our people since about the middle of the eighteenth century---since the time when the movement began from Pennsylvania and Maryland into the Shenandoah Valley, and up the same and across the mountain divides into the upper valleys of the New and Holston Rivers—most of the personal history of the families who took part in this great movement, even such accounts as were reduced to writing, have been lost.
The first settlers of Kentucky were mostly the children or grand children of the pioneers of the Shenandoah, and for a time the early history of their families was preserved by tradition; but when the family history was not put into writing, and the writing preserved until our earlier histories were printed (which was seldom the case), the traditions of the elders were finally lost sight of almost entirely.
This is particularly to be regretted, as no higher type of emigrants ever went into any wild land than the people composing the bulk of these early settlers. They were mostly of English, Scotch, Irish and Welsh ancestry, with a sprinkle of Hollanders and French, and mostly of the highest type of those races, physically, mentally and morally, and in all that pertains to the best type of Manhood and womanhood they were far ahead of the broken down aristocrats and court favorites and criminals who first settled in the tidewater region of Virginia and along the coasts of the Carolina; and their descendants to this day, in the mountain and hill regions of the Virginians; in western North Carolina and in eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, are noted as the purest type of Americans.
Many of these early settlers were well educated and only a few were illiterate. Many of them wrote out the principal events of their family history but, as above stated, most of these writings have long since disappeared, and only a few were printed. To have descended from such ancestors, who were many of them distinguished far above the average for patriotism, bravery and love of country, learning, morality or public service rendered, is something to be proud of without vanity or egotism, and it is a duty and is right and fitting that the history of such ancestors, as far as known, should be put into permanent form and carefully preserved. To be able to claim such descent is indeed an honor, and I have met with few people who are so low and debased as not to appreciate such good fortune.
It happened that my great grandfather did, during the last year of his life, write out a fairly good account of his eventful career, and that after his death his oldest son added to it a supplement which gave the history of his last days and his death, and of the removal of the family to the Kentucky Settlements immediately afterward. This writing was afterward (with some other valuable papers) stolen, and was supposed to have been destroyed, but long afterward it re-appeared (but in the hands of one who would not part from it or allow it to be copied) and in my boyhood I read it. This caused me to make inquiries among all of the older ones of the Edwards family who were then living in my section of country, and to gather up their traditions of the family history. The information thus gathered was written out from time to time, but without any connection, and was never taken up with any idea of being put in form until recently. I also had the advantage in my boyhood of hearing my grandfather, the last one of the original family to die, tell many stories of the olden times which were connected with the family history. I am, so far as I know, the last one now living who saw and read the papers above mentioned, or who has heretofore reduced any of the old family history to writing, and I have concluded to put what I have learned, as above stated, concerning the early history of the Edwards family, into some regular form, in order that it may possibly some time be printed, and that all knowledge of our ancestors may not be forever lost, as in the case of so many other honorable and even distinguished families.
My great grandfather, Cader Edwards, was born in the year 1705 in a small fishing village on the seacoast of Wales. In my childhood I often heard the name of the village mentioned, but the pronunciation was then too much for my ability, and anyone who has heard the Gaelic tung spoken, or has seen the language in print, will readily understand why I am not able to spell its name.
At this village there was only a very narrow strip of land, lying between the steep, barren mountains and the sea, and the houses were built in a curving line along the beach, and as close to the water as possible, in order to leave a little strip of ground back of each house for a garden. These garden plats ran back to the cliff, and varied in depth from about fifty to one hundred and fifty yards. The houses stood just far enough from the water to be out of reach of the waves in case of a storm at high tide, and each house had a width of land varying from about one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet, according to its depth, so that each family had very nearly the same area of land for a garden. There were about thirty of these lots, and by a law of the village only one dwelling house could be built on each lot, and the lots could not be subdivided. At each end of the little village the high cliffs ran into the sea and nearly enclosed the little harbor, which afforded a reasonable safe anchorage. The village thus situated was cut off from all communication, except by water, with other like settlements along the coast wherever there was enough land for a few houses and a possible landing place.
There were a few deep and narrow ravines leading to the steep slopes of the mountains, where there was sufficient grass to support in summer enough cows and goats to supply the villagers with milk, and occasionally a goat for food; but hay and grain for the cows in winter were brought mostly from England and the Netherlands. Fish for food was plentiful for home use and there was some for export, but all other food supplies, except the produce of the gardens, had to come by way of the sea. There were no horses, sheep or hogs and no wheeled vehicle had ever been seen in the village. The number of cows and goats allowed to each family was regulated by law, and only the small breeds of cattle were permitted. These laws were not tyrannical, but were necessary for the common interest under the circumstances. The cows and goats were herded in the daytime by girls and the smaller boys, and were brought home at night. Wool and flax were brought from Spain, France and Ireland, and the women wove and made all of the clothing needed at home, and even exported some of the finer goods.
The houses, stables and fences were all well built of stone and needed but few repairs, and the women and children and old men could cultivate the little gardens. There was consequently no employment for able bodied men in the village. The fishing was done by the larger boys, assisted and directed by men who had been disabled in the wars which were in full-blast on the mainland of Europe and on the seas, and there was little work for men to do in that portion of Wales except to work in the coal and iron mines, and, as a few other than the ignorant or poor spirited went to the mines, there was no avenue of employment open to the strong and capable, who had any ambition or hope of rising in the world, or even of making a decent living, except to go to sea.
The little bay had a good depth of water and afforded safe anchorage in foul weather for a few vessels, and was thus open on one side to the great world. The boys were employed in fishing in the Irish Sea from childhood, and were all sailors by both inheritance and training, and the consequence was that nearly every able bodied boy went to sea regularly by the time he was fifteen or sixteen years old, and earlier in case he was strong and well developed.
The inhabitants of this village all had the same family name, and most of the other little settlements along that rockbound coast were under the same conditions. This was a survival in part of the old Gaelic clan system of government, and was caused partly by the laws of primo-geniture then in effect in one way or another in all of the countries subject to the English laws. The land could not be sold, but descended always to the eldest son of the family, and personal property was divided among all of the children of the family of a decedent. In the few cases where there was no son or grandson to inherit, the land fell to the eldest daughter, and, as she was very apt to be married, sometimes to a man of a different name, and often to one who had some property rights elsewhere, she would often decline to give up her rights in the other village, and if she failed to take possession and reside on the homestead to which she had fallen heir she forfeited her right to it and it passed to others. In case a daughter thus inherited and took possession of land her husband took her family name, but I do not know that he was compelled by law so to do.
It was a rule of the church, then in force and strictly executed, that men and women should not intermarry when of the same blood and closer related than cousins twice removed, so that the young men often went to other villages for their wives, and many of the girls of a village would marry men from other parts. Very few of either sex married under the age of twenty-five years.
Owing to the scarcity of land no larger population could find homes on that then remote and rockbound coast, and therefore most of the surplus inhabitants went to England, the north of Ireland or to the American colonies, by way of the sea which was always open.
Most of the ancestors of the inhabitants of that barren coast had settled there in order to escape the grinding, hard and humiliating restrictions of the feudal system, preferring life with a little liberty, under hard conditions, to a greater plenty in the richer lands where a system little better than slavery prevailed.
The Edwards clan had lived on that coast for generations under the general conditions above described, not much differing from other families except that they had, as far back as tradition carried, been remarkable for their love of books and taste for learning, and for their educational attainments; and even in that dark period it appears that a little school was kept, and all the girls and boys were able to read and write.
My great great grandfather, David Edwards, and his father (Cyrus) before him were Masters of small vessels trading mostly with foreign parts, and David had a great desire that his children should have a better chance in the world than he had when young, and accordingly, on his return from one of his voyages, he brought with him an Irishman who had lost a leg in the wars in Flanders, and who was a man of good education and attainments (most teachers then were cripples), and employed him to educate his children, as well as other children in the village whose parents were not able to pay something for tuition.
My great grandfather was the youngest child in a large family, and when he was a small boy his older brothers had mostly gone to sea, and the family had also been reduced by one or two of the older girls getting married and going to other parts of the world. He was exceptionally bright mentally, and he had a taste for reading and a great thirst for knowledge, and, as the old Irishman still kept the little school, and made his home with the family, by the time the boy was fifteen years old he had acquired a good education in the literature of the Gaelic, Latin and English tongues, and was well enough grounded in Mathematics and Astronomy to be able to take observations and calculate the position of a ship in any portion of the then known world, and with these qualifications and a sound constitution, in addition to his practical knowledge of the sea gained in the fisheries, he went to sea as a common sailor.
He followed the sea for about thirty three years, visiting most parts of the then known and civilized world, and added much to his education, and accumulated a comfortable fortune for one in his station in life. Owing to his exceptional attainments, and his capacity and reliability as a business man, he rose rapidly as a sailor, and while quite a young man reached the rank of Master Mariner, and during most of his long service at sea he was Captain and Commander of the vessels on which he sailed. He must have been an unusually capable and successful officer, as during all this long period he never, when commander, lost a vessel or had one captured by warships or privateers during those troublous times, through he had been wrecked twice and captured by a privateer once while he was a common sailor and subordinate officer.
When his father became too old to longer go to sea, and had to go into retirement at the little village on the Welsh coast, the then young Captain (by which title we will henceforth call him) provided his parents, and a then unmarried sister, with all of the comforts of life and many of its luxuries, and claimed his home there as long as the old people lived, through he was seldom there, and was sometimes absent for several years at a time. His sister married some years later and settled with her husband, who was also a sailor, at Baltimore, Maryland, and when his mother died, about the year 1750, he changed his home to Baltimore, as he was then sailing mostly to and from American ports.
In his long knocking about the world he had added much to his education in nearly every department of human knowledge. He was particularly gifted as a linguist, and had become so familiar with the French tongue, both written and spoken, that he often in later years said that he could speak and write with equal facility and ease in either Gaelic, English or french, and he also had a fairly good speaking and writing acquaintance with Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, then the languages of commerce.
he had also in his extensive experience seen so much of tyranny and cruelty and oppression that he had acquired a bitter and deep seated hatred for the laws and customs of the----end of page 9
old world, and for its class distinctions, and he had often said that if he ever settled down permanently, and raised a family, it should be in the western wilds of America, where he thought that possibly class distinction, with all of its concomitants of land monopoly, oppression and tyranny might never reach.
He had accumulated what was for a man of his tastes, in his remaining days in freedom and ease, even with a family, and to reasonably secure him against the common helplessness of old age, so, in the spring or early summer of the year 1754, on his return to Baltimore from a voyage to the East Indies, he turned over his ship to its owners, much to their regret, and took his farewell of the sea forever.
He had many books in many languages which he had picked up in various parts of the world, and he now purchased enough to fill out and complete a large library, and sat down to indulge himself in an extensive course of reading which he had long had in view. He enjoyed this quite and ease for a few months as might be expected of a man who had lived such a stirring life, and who had for so many years had so little leisure time in which to indulge his favorite pursuits; but ere long his steady course of reading was interrupted in a very unexpected way. His landlady was a very worthy widow who was well along in years and was an invalid, and the only other member of her family was an unmarried daughter about twenty five years of age. This daughter was tall and strong, and of fine form and comely appearance; was an excellent cook and housekeeper and manager, and was skilled in all kinds of work which fell to the part of woman in those days. She was of good family; was of good mind and manners, and was well educated for her day, and it was not strange that the steady reader after a while began to pay almost as much attention to her as to his books, or that she should admire the middle aged Captain of such fine appearance and manners, who was so well educated and knew so much, and who could tell such entertaining stories of the sights and happenings in the many lands that he had visited. He made known to her his determination to settle on the extreme frontier where he could be free, and she, being a daughter of the Highlands of Scotland, and almost as much devoted to liberty and freedom as was he, agreed to go with him if her mother could go too, and it was settled that the marriage should take place and the move be made early in the following spring. On the approach of winter the widow's health failed rapidly, and she was much troubled at the thought of leaving her daughter alone, so, at her request, the marriage took place about Christmas, and she died a few weeks later.
Early in the following spring the two Apostles of Liberty set out from the frontier, and were soon settled in a double log cabin in the mountains, on the headwaters of the James River, and in that vast domain then, or some time later, known as Greenbrier County, Virginia. The Captain managed somehow, at considerable expense, to have his books transported to this wild region, and then again sat down to his course of reading, and this time he was not interrupted much for some years. He had never in his life been on a horse. He did not know how to chop or split rails, or build fences, or to do any other of the many things needful about a home in the wilderness, and he never afterward tried to acquire such accomplishments. He however had money, which was then and there in much greater demand than was the ability to do farm work, and he had no difficulty in getting any needed work done promptly and at small cost. He was of a sociable disposition and greatly enjoyed the company of the rude frontiersmen around him, and was always glad to lay down his books and talk with them. He would lend his books to such as could read, and would teach the young people and the children of his neighbors, and of course he soon became very popular, and was of much service in his neighborhood; but he would not turn his hand to farm work of any kind unless it was something that was absolutely necessary to be done, and when there was no one else to do it. He said that he did not know how to work on land, and there was no deep water there for him to work on, and that he had done his full share of hard work long ago and did not propose at this time of life to learn any new trades. He was however that it was necessary to learn to ride and ------- end of page 11shoot in order that he might be able to do his full part in protecting the settlements against the Indians, who were then giving much trouble, and this duty he never attempted to shirk or avoid in any way; so he bought a horse and a rifle and began to practice, and afterward became a fairly good horseman and a good marksman.
Here he remained until the spring of 1764, when he went, with several families of his neighborhood, to found a new settlement on the head waters of New River, a wild region of high hills and narrow valleys, lying between the Blue Ridge and main range of the Alleghenies, and here he and his old neighbors built their cabins and proceeded to live in about the same simple manner as they had lived previously, in comfort and ease and contentment.
A few years later the old Captain again moved southwestward, crossing the mountain divide to the new Shelby settlements on the Holston, where he built a large and comfortable house, and much improved his surroundings from year to year. This settlement was in what is now Sullivan County, Tennessee (then North Carolina), and, as he was well acquainted with the Shelby family and with many of the older settlers, it did not seem this time like moving among strangers.
When his older boys grew large enough to work he had them trained in all kinds of work connected with the rude farming and stock raising practiced in the neighborhood, and when they were of a proper age he had each of them to be come well skilled in some trade or calling other than farming. He told them that their little Utopia could not exist always; that the tide of immigration would finally reach them or their descendants, and that they could not always get out of its reach, and that finally they would have to grapple with the world as he and others had done in the old world, and that the best possible preparation for that battle which must finally come was for each boy to become master of some useful trade, and for all, both boys and girls, to secure a good English education as early in life as possible (lest they might miss it by delay), and he advised them to get out of the mountains and get possession of some of the rich and level lands lying to the westward as soon as the condition of Indian warfare would permit.
He managed always to have a school kept in the neighborhood, to which the children of the poor could go free of charge, all others contributing according to ability, and when the brighter pupils advanced beyond the ability of the teachers to instruct them further, he would himself instruct them in the higher branches of education, whenever they seemed to have an ambition to get up higher. He was very reticent in regard to money matters, and no one hut his wife had any knowledge of the extent of his monetary resources, and she only enough for safety in case of his sudden death, through it was known that he had some money, and it was generally supposed that he was a secret contributor to these schools, outside of his open contributions, as without some outside help no such institution could have been maintained regularly in such a region. He was determined that his own children should have a chance for a good English education, and this was the only way that he saw to carry out his purpose. The teachers were generally from the North of Ireland and were above the average for that time and in that remote region.
He subscribed for such newspapers as were published in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Williamsburg, which were sent by some rude system then in vogue to Lynch's Ferry on James River, one hundred or more miles away, which was then the nearest market place in regular communication with points to the East and North, and they were sent from there by persons from the frontier settlements who went there for purposes of trade, and he generally received his papers about once a month, through sometimes the interval would be longer. In this way he kept in touch with the outside world to some extent, and was generally well posted in regard to the various political developments, both in the colonies and the mother country, which preceded the Revolution.
He was a ardent patriot and a supporter of the colonies against the mother country, and when the struggle was commenced he went to Williamsburg and offered to enlist in the first company raised there, but on account of his age, being then over seventy years old, he was not accepted. He came back home much depressed. He said that they would not receive him, and that his boys were under regular military age, but that he would send a substitute if possible, as he did not intend that the war for liberty should be fought without him or his family taking a part in it and sharing in the glory. Like many others, and at the beginning of all wars it is the same, he thought that the struggle would be over in a short time, before his boys would be of military age, but it lasted until three of them were old enough to serve against Cornwallis in the Carolinas, and were present at King's Mountain, at the Cowpens and at the siege of Yorktown.
He told of a certain gentleman named Lee at Williamsburg who was organizing a mounted company, in which each man was to furnish his own horse and complete outfit, with a view to service as a body guard and as couriers at Washington's headquarters, and every one of whom should be able to read and write and should be under thirty years of age, and he had much to say of the honor it would be for a young man to serve in such a company. Now it happened that there was in the neighborhood a poor widow named Craig, whose husband and two of her sons had been killed by the Indians in the border wars, leaving her youngest son, who was about twenty five years old, as her only support, and she was getting old and feeble, not feeble so much from age as from the hardships of a life in which misfortune had been her constant companion. her husband had taken the part of the Pretender in the revolution of 1745 in Scotland, and her father and one brother had lost their lives in the same cause. She and her husband had fled to the colonies and had tried to lose themselves on the frontier, but fate seemed to be against them, and she was now old and feeble, with only her son left to stand between her and her little grand-daughter and want. Her hatred of the whole English race was bitter and unrelenting, and when her son showed a desire to participate in the war and stated to some of the neighbors that only for the helpless conditions in which his mother would be left he would volunteer, she told him to go on; that she and her little grand-daughter would get along in some way, and that she had sooner perish than that the colonies should lose the services of such a man as he was on her account. Young Craig had heard of the proposed company at Williamsburg, and was anxious to join it, but, owing to his poverty and his mother's condition, it was out of the question, for although he was magnificent in his physical proportions; had sufficient education to stand the test, and his mettle had been tested in two Indian campaigns under Sevier and Shelby in which he had come fully up to the measure, yet he had no suitable horse or equipments, and had no money to purchase a suitable outfit.
When the old Captain heard of the young man's desire to enlist, and of his mother's heroic stand, he decided that the time had come when he could do something for the cause; so he rode over to see the family and told the young man that if he wished to go he would not be hindered by lack of a horse and outfit; that he would himself furnish him as good a horse as could be had in the settlements, with arms and a full outfit, and with sufficient money to enable him to make a respectable appearance at Williamsburg, and to live like a gentleman until he could be put regularly in the service, and that he would see that his mother and niece should lack for nothing during his absence.
The young man went off joyfully, and I may as well say here that he served continuously until the siege of Yorktown, where he was badly wounded and was discharged. He distinguished himself greatly and rose to the rank of Captain. He was supplied with clothes from the settlements during all these years, and, after his promotion, with money to enable him to maintain himself in a style suitable to his rank. The old widow died a few years later, and granddaughter was taken into the family of the old Captain permanently, and some years later was married to one of his sons.
On one of young Craig's visits home during the war the old Captain was surprised to learn, through it had long been known to his wife, that a very strong affection existed between his daughter, Sally, and the young soldier, and that it had been settled between them before he went to the war that they would be married as soon as their circumstances would permit. On learning this the Captain, with his usual promptness, insisted that the marriage should take place at once; that he would be proud of such a son-in-law, and that there was no doubt in regard to a man of Craig's mold being able to care for a family. There being no objection the marriage took place immediately, and the daughter remained with her parents during the remainder of the war. We will hear of this couple again at the siege of Bryan's Station in Kentucky.
The Indians, incited by the British and Tories, about this time determined to exterminate the settlers on the Holston, and it was about as much as the whites could do for a year or so to hold back the deluge. The Campbells, on the upper Holston, managed to hold in check the Indians from the Northwest, and thus protected the frontier of Virginia, while the fury of the storm, coming up the Tennessee and French Broad Rivers, was met and held back by the men of the Robertson, Sevier and Shelby settlements on the Holston and Nolichucky. It was a fearful struggle. The Indians would raid the lower settlements whenever they could find an opening, and the whites, always in larger forces, would burn and destroy their towns and take fearful vengeance. No prisoners were taken by the whites, all Indians being killed on sight, and the British and Tories were promptly hung without trial or a moments delay. The old Captain, with his two sons who were old enough for service, took part in several of these expeditions, and in the early winter of 1779 and '80 he returned for his last trip down the river. The hardships of the campaign had been too much for one of his advanced age and failing strength, and when he came back to his mountain home it was thought by his family and friends that it was only to die. He was sick for many months, during which time he was visited by most of the principal men of the region, and was highly complimented for his services. His superb constitution and temperate life, with his determined resolution to live to see the triumph of the Colonies, finally brought him back from the valley of shadows, and during the summer of 1780 he again able to mount his horse and visit the cabins and stations of the settlers on the upper Holston, and as far down as the Watauga, and did much to help the families (financially and otherwise) of the men who were away fighting the British, Tories and Indians.
Here, in September 1780, he was among the first to hear the message of Ferguson, the great leader of the British and Tories in the Carolinas, denouncing "the men of the western waters," and his treat to cross the mountains and hang their leaders; put to death all their fighting men, and utterly destroy their settlements with fire. He at once mounted his horse and helped to rally the force which Col. Isaac Shelby was to lead across the mountains, and announced that he himself proposed to be one of the party. All of the efforts of family and friends to change his purpose were in vain. He said that he would go willingly, even if it was known to him beforehand that he would perish, in the effort to destroy their hated enemy before he could cross the mountains; and on the day appointed he, with his two sons William and David, and his son-in-law McFarland, who had recently married his second daughter, joined the party at the Sycamore Shoals of Watauga. On account of his age Colonel Shelby would not let him be enrolled in the ranks, but accepted his services as an Aide on his staff. He had the best horse in the little army, and he managed to be of much service though duty was required of him except such as he volunteered to perform; and it was said afterward by Colonel Shelby and other officers, that the presence among the men of the old white headed sailor; his well known exalted patriotism; his silent and cheerful endurance, without complaint, of fatigue, rain, cold and hunger, and his constant exhortations around the camp fires to the young men to stand up like men, and never to turn back until Ferguson's army was overtaken and utterly destroyed, was worth more to the expedition than would have been the services of quite a number of able bodied men.
In the weeding out of the broken down men and horses at Green River and the Cowpens he refused to be left behind, and he was with the advance on the whole of the dark, rainy night before the battle. A little before daylight he was struck by a limb of a tree, under which his horse had carried him, and which he could not see, and fell to the ground, landing on his right side and across a small log, and was for a short time unconscious. He soon rallied and was helped on to his horse and overtook the command, and insisted that he was not much hurt. On arriving at the foot of King's Mountain he dismounted with the rest and joined the ranks, and took part in all of the charges and retirements of Shelby's column, and was with the advance when it finally reached the summit of the mountain and captured the British camp. As soon as the excitement of the fight was over his strength failed, and he suffered much during the following night from the hurt in his side. One son was wounded in the fight, but was able, with a little help from willing comrades, to care for himself, leaving his oldest son, William, and his son-in-law, McFarland, to care for the old Captain. He was assisted to his horse the next morning, and every morning thereafter, and received every possible attention, but the pain in his side grew worse continually, and he suffered much on the homeward march of two hundred miles or more and across the mountains.
My grandfather was a small boy at the time, but remembered well the departure and return of his father and brothers and brother-in-law on the King's Mountain expedition, and I have heard him relate it more than once. He said that very few men were left at home except the old and infirm, and the settlers were considered to be in much danger from the Indians during the absence of their ablest defenders. The few able bodied men left behind to protect the settlements directed others, getting three or four families together when possible, in order that one or two active men, if possible, with a few of the larger boys, could be with each party. In this way some eight or ten persons of different families, in addition to the Captain's own family, were collected at his house. When the first news was brought that Ferguson was killed and his whole army killed or captured, and that the men were on their way home, there was wild excitement and joy, which would have been unrestrained had it not been for the terrible fear of each one that his or hie loved ones might be among the killed. When the little party of warriors from that neighborhood arrived at the old Captain's home they were met there by most of their mothers, sisters, wives and children, who were overjoyed to find that none were missing, and the old Captain was helped from his horse for the last time, and was able to walk to the door, with the assistance of one of his daughters on each side. His clothing was changed and he was put in bed and made as comfortable as possible, but he would not try to sleep until he had described the battle at great length.
He was never able to leave home again, and was not strong enough to leave the house for several months, and then he could only walk in the yard occasionally with the assistance of another person. The pain in his side was constant and severe, and finally an abscess formed, which came to a head but never healed. He was confined to bed for several months and was unable to read, and the latter was to him almost as great an affliction as the pain in his side; but toward spring he was able to sit in a chair, which was made to suit him, and after this he had the comfort of his books and was able to write some, and during that spring he wrote, for the information of his children and grand children, the history of his family, and of his own life up to the time of his settlement on the Holston, supplemented by a short account of his last expedition against the Indians on the French Broad River, and of the participation of himself and his sons, William and David and his son-in-law McFarland, in the King's Mountain campaign. During the winter, while he was confined to bed, he had members of the family to read to him every line of such papers as could be procured, and thus managed to keep in touch with the progress of the war. About the first of the following autumn he began to fail steadily in strength, and he was himself the first to notice it. He told his wife and older children that his time was up, and that the end was not far off. He said that his house was in order, except a few little matters of business which he would have ample time to arrange, and said, then and afterward up to the end, that he had no more fear or dread of death than of the coming on of darkness of a summer's evening, and regarded it in much the same light, and that he did not wish to live longer than such time as he could be sure of the success of the Revolution, which he thought was close at hand. It was then known that the armies of the Americans and French, and the French navy, were closing in on Cornwallis in Virginia, and it was believed that he would be crushed, and that his defeat would practically end the war, and the old Captain had a consuming desire that he might live and retain his right mind until he could hear of the victory.
His ardent wish was gratified sooner than he expected, for the news soon came that Cornwallis was shut up in Yorktown and sorely beset on all sides, and a little later came news of the surrender of his whole army. There was then indeed wild joy in all of those remote valleys, even greater than the year before on the return of the King's Mountain expedition, and it was correctly assumed that the war was practically over and independence gained.
The old sailor was wild with excitement and joy. To be sure the same messenger that brought the first circumstantial account of the victory also brought the news that his son-in-law, Captain Craig, was severely wounded; but the old man took a hopeful view of that fact from the start. A few days later there came news that he was supposed to have a chance for recovery if he could have good care, and at once his wife, Sally, with a young brother for company, started on horseback on the long journey to his side. She was well supplied by her father with money, and instructed not to spare it if necessary to her husband's comfort, and about Christmas they returned with Captain Craig in an ox cart which had been purchased in Virginia. The old Captain had all the news from Virginia carefully sifted and compared with a view to get at the real facts, and in all of the statements he heard much of the exploits of General Lafayette, and he gave him, and the French army and navy, most of the credit for the great victory, which would indeed have been impossible without them, and insisted that every one should in some way express the public and individual gratitude of the Americans. In the latter part of November and unexpected opportunity occurred to communicate through a reliable channel with the seaboard. The Shelby family had some business of importance in Maryland that had long been neglected on account of the war conditions, and now, when the road was open and safe, they sent a trusty and capable messenger, the Rev. Samuel Doak, to deliver some papers to their agents there, and to bring back a statement of the conditions of their business. The old Captain took advantage of this chance to have some of his own business in Baltimore attended to, and to write a letter to General Lafayette, hoping that the latter might some time reach him, but little dreaming that it would go directly to him and that he would answer it at once. It was his last writing in the world, and when the letter was finished he laid down his pen forever. He write while propped up in his chair before the fire, and the writing tool several days. When tired out he would be put back in bed, and was not able to resume work generally until the next day.
He wrote of his own long service on the sea; of his long and intimate acquaintance with the ports and people of France; of his hatred of tyranny and despotism in every form; of his coming to America and of his lifelong devotion to liberty, and expressed the deep and heartfelt gratitude of himself and his people in the mountains to Lafayette, and to the army and navy and people of France, for their patriotic and effectual assistance to the cause of liberty in its direst straits; ventured the prophecy that, while Lafayette might, and doubtless would, achieve great distinction in the world, he would be remembered in history more on account of his contribution to liberty in the New World than for anything he might do beyond the seas, and that his name would live for ages in the affections of the people whom he had so nobly served; and the letter wound up with the fervent prayer that the spark of liberty, which Lafayette and his countrymen had so nobly assisted in lighting here, might in time light up the old world, and sweep away all tyranny and oppression everywhere, and that France might be the next to experience its blessings. He said but little of his own services in the cause, merely saying that he had graciously been permitted in his old age to help a little and that he had done what he could; and, as an especial mark of honor and respect for Lafayette, he wrote in the French language.
The Rev. Doak read and translated the letter to Col. Shelby who, on noticing that the old man had passed so slightly over his own services, added a statement as to the learning, character, standing, patriotism and services of the writer, and stating that he was then on his deathbed as a result of injuries received in the King's Mountain campaign.
The trusty messenger left about the first of December and returned in the latter part of February. He attended to the business that had been intrusted to him, and then made a short visit to his old home in New Jersey, where he met with General Lafayette, and had the pleasure of delivering the letter into his hands. He said that the young man seemed much affected on reading the letter, and asked many questions concerning the writer, and asked the messenger to call at his quarters the next day for a letter that he would write in answer. He called and received the letter, and in due time the letter from the hands of the old preacher, with the statement that it was received by him from General Lafayette's own hands, he sat for a while as if dumfounded. He then opened it and read it carefully through to himself, the family all assembled around him, and waiting patiently until such time as it would be translated to them, and looking upon it with as much respect and awe as if it had been one of the original tables of the ten commandments, and he then went back and read it aloud, translating each sentence as he went into English, and occasionally rendering a sentence into the Gaelic tong (with which all present were familiar) when the English equivalent was involved or obscure. The old Captain was now failing very fast, so he asked the old preacher to write out a careful English translation of the letter, and to be present and read it at a celebration of the victory at Yorktown for which he had prepared, and which was to come off the next week.
Barbecues in honor of the event had been given in several neighborhoods, at the Wolf Hills; at old Evan Shelby's, and on the Nolichucky, but the feeble old man could not attend to take part in the rejoicing; so he determined to have a celebration at his own home where he could, even in his feebleness, take some part. Cattle and sheep, and other necessary supplies, including wild meats, were provided, entirely at his own expense, and even a few pounds of powder for fireworks was added to the supplies. The cooking was done in front of the house, just outside of the yard fence, and tables, of splitboards from the near by forest, were set in the yard. All of the men, women and children in the valleys for many miles around attended. During the forenoon the celebration was mostly of the semi-religious type, singing and prayer being sandwiched in between short patriotic talks, and the services were held on the front porch, in order that the Captain, who lay on his bed just inside, might hear everything. After the bountiful dinner was properly disposed of the Captain directed that his large chair be placed on the edge of the porch, and to was carried out and seated in it, well wrapped in blankets and furs. He said that he had ordered dinner much earlier than usual on such occasions in order to have plenty of time for all of the distinguished men present to be heard from; that he himself would make a short talk and that immediately afterward the letter of General Lafayette would be read, and that then he would give the further control of the meeting entirely into the hands of his guests. He had all of the girls and boys to come to the front and, to the surprise of every one, addressed his remarks entirely to them and said little about the war, only speaking of what its results would be, and of the glorious future that he foresaw for them and their descendants, if they would only live up to the splendid opportunities that would soon open to them. He spoke of the cramped condition of his own native land, even if it might be called a land, where the only chance for even the most able bodied to make a living was to go to sea and wrest a scanty livelihood in commerce with foreign countries, and he compared the pitiful little garden patches of the old world with the millions of square miles of the richest lands in the world which lay to the westward and close at hand, and which they, even then, could have by merely taking possession and living on them. He advised them to embrace every opportunity of improving their education, in order that they might be fit for the grand future that was certainly in store for some of them; to acquire and on all occasions to use good language and manners; to marry when old enough and go upon their own land and be independent even if poor; exhorted the girls to learn and practice strict economy and cleanliness in housekeeping, and advised the boys to use liquors very sparingly, if at all, whenever it might be necessary, and all to look forward and upward to the time, which would surely come some day, when there would be no more slavery, or tyranny of classes, or pretension of divine right to rule others, or despotism of any type, in the whole world. Rev. Samuel Doak then told of his visit to Lafayette, and when he read the wonderful letter, which was in part addressed to the heroes of King's Mountain, and was unstinted in their praise, and of the importance of aroused. A great many of them, with their families, were present, and when it came to where the letter stated that "but for King's Mountain there could have been no Yorktown," the sentence had to be re-read several times.
After this day the old Captain became to show signs of speedy departure. During the last two weeks of his life he was practically free from pain, and was able to talk to his family and friends to the last. He died as he had lived, in his right mind and without fear. He had Lafayette's letter read to him every day during his last week, and on the day before his death he repeated, in presence of the whole family, the direction he had long before given to his wife in regard to the removal of the family to Kentucky as soon as he should pass away, and as to the education of the younger children. He died early in March, and was buried at the foot of the mountain, just back of the garden. His burial was attended by all of the notable men of the Holston settlements, and by a vast crowd of men, woman and children from the adjoining neighborhoods. His religion was a mixture of the old stern and unyielding Presbyterianism of his ancestors with the principles of philosophy, and mixed also heavily with his devotion to the Rights of Mankind, and an unyielding hatred of tyranny and oppression in every form.
In order to understand the particulars of the removal of the family to Kentucky, and of their settlement here and their later dispersion, it will be necessary to go back some years, and give a short account of a very extraordinary man who had become identified with the family, and who remained and claimed his home with some of its members until his death somewhere about the year 1820.
Late in the afternoon of a cool day in the month of November 1765, my great grandfather was sitting by a comfortable fire engaged in reading, at his home in the New River settlements, when a stranger called at the yard fence and asked for lodging for the night. My great grandmother, who answered the call, told him that they never turned off any traveler, and that they would be glad to entertain him, as he could probably give them the news from other parts. He was apparently about thirty years old and was of fine appearance; carried a rather heavy pack and a fine looking rifle, and was dressed in a style that would indicate at that time a hunter or trapper of the better sort, or possibly a trader. He stated that his name was Henry Skeggs; that he was a hunter and trapper; that he had been in Canada during the French War, which had recently ended, and that he was then on his way to Louisiana or the Spanish possessions with a view of locating there. After supper he and the old Captain talked until very late, and each was surprised to find in the other a man of fine education and a general knowledge of the world; and the stranger was amazed to find on this remote frontier a man who had apparently been everywhere, and a collection of books which would have been a credit to the grandest mansion in the American colonies. The next morning he said that, as he was a little footsore, and as he could not proceed farther until he could meet with some party of traders who were on friendly terms with the southwestern Indians, he would like to stay a few days, or perhaps weeks, and he was invited to stay; but eh insisted then, and afterward, on paying a liberal and stipulated sum each week for his board. He remained for week to week, and seemed to greatly enjoy the chance to renew his acquaintance with books. Some days he would read nearly all day, and on other days he would go out on the mountains and kill a bear, or a deer or some turkeys. He set out a string of traps and collected some fine furs during the winter, and it was seen that he was an accomplished hunter and trapper. he never read after supper, but he and the Captain would sit up late almost every night, talking of the great world of which they both knew so much; of science, literature and art; of history, philosophy, religion and politics, and of a thousand other matters of interest to both; but in all of their talk in the presence of others, and of Skeggs with other persons, then and even afterward, he never said one word even that gave any clue as to where he came from originally, or of anything connected with his life previous to his arrival in the New River settlement on that November afternoon. He never said anything more about going to Louisiana or the Spanish possessions; but early in the following spring he took his rifle and a good supply of ammunition and crossed the mountains to the Holston valley. Before leaving on this trip he placed in the Captain's hands a large sum of money, and some of this money was never called for up to the time of the death of the latter, and was then placed in the hands of others of the family, and was in the hands of my grandfather at the time of Skeggs' death over half a century later. He was gone several months, and when he returned he had a pack of very fine furs which he said he had bought of the Cherokee Indians. He said that he had met some Creole traders who were acquainted with the Cherokees, and he had gone with them down the Holston and Tennessee rivers two or three hundred miles to the Indian towns; that he had made friendly trading arrangements with the Indians, and would go back there and trap the next winter.
From this time until 1769 he made occasional trips down the Holston, French Broad and Tennessee rivers, always returning with several packs of fine furs which he would send to Lynch's Ferry for sale. He explored the country as far as Cumberland Gap, and as far beyond as the forks of the Cumberland River, and down the Tennessee as far as the mouth of the Sequatchie River, and he gained the confidence of the Cherokees, by fair and honest treatment, to such an extent that, even in time of war with the whites, he could go among them with perfect safety to himself and others who might be with him. He never would sell them any war supplies of any kind, but would, when they were in the right of any controversy, stand for their rights and help to get justice for them. He was on intimate terms with Sevier, Robertson, and of her leaders of the settlers on the Holston, and his influence helped much in the peace negotiations after each of their many wars. He had succeeded in restoring to their friends many women and children who were in captivity among the Indians.
In the Spring of 1769 he went with a large party of hunters and trappers through the Cumberland Gap and down the Cumberland and Green Rivers to the "Barrens," in what is now Green, Metcalfe, Hart, Barren, and Warren counties in Kentucky. They made a camp in Green County, and with that as a base they scattered out in parties of two or three, trapping and hunting. This party was afterward known as the "Long Hunters," and their names will be found in most of the early history of the State. Some of the party went back the next year and some remained two or three years, and a few went to the French settlements on the Mississippi. Skeggs and two comrades spent most of the winter of 1770 and '71 trapping beaver at the big beaver dam on Beaver Creek, on the Glasgow and Munfordville road where it crosses said creek. Their camp was near the old Garnett homestead, homestead, where Adolphus Depp now resides, and about fifty years ago the spot was pointed out to me, and signs of the camp were at that time plainly visible.
In the Spring of 1771 the members of the party who had remained found themselves with many hundred of the skins of the beaver, otter and mink, which were of great value, besides deer skins by the ton, and they first thought of returning to the eastern settlements to dispose of them. When enough had been packed up to load all their horses it was decided to send for supplies and remain and trap another year, and Skeggs, with three men who did not wish to remain longer, was selected to take the skins to the settlements and dispose of them and to bring back powder and other needed supplies. He reached the settlements without trouble or delay and sent the furs to the Virginia markets by an experienced trader, who disposed of them for a large sum, and returned with a supply of ammunition, clothing, blankets and other articles needed by the trappers, he remaining with the old Captain and enjoying a much needed rest. Daniel and Squire Boon had passed through the Watauga settlements, a few weeks before Skeggs' party reached the Holston, on their return from a two years stay in Kentucky, and Skeggs here first learned that they had been in the cane lands while he and the other Long Hunters had been on the border of the barrens, and heard their stories of the beauty and richness of the cane lands.
With a few man who were eager to join him he made the return trip safely, and early in the Fall he rejoined his companions in Green County, bringing them abundant supplies for the coming winter. They then broke up into small parties and trapped until spring, and during the following summer returned to the settlements.
In the spring of 1773 Skeggs went with a small party to explore the country that Boone had described, and traveled extensively therein, taking a circuit from Cumberland Gap to the Licking River; thence to the Kentucky River near Frankfort; thence to the Ohio Falls; thence south to the Rolling Fork and up same to the mountains, meeting the McAfee brothers, Captain Thomas Bullitt and other surveyors and locators.
On his return and during following winter he and the old Captain selected the region thus explored as their future home, and decided to settle there as soon as the region could be considered safe for a residence. Skeggs took out large parties to the new land nearly every spring thereafter for seven or eight years, returning and spending the winters with the Captain, and it thus happened that he was with his old friend when the end came, and he promised him that he would pilot the family to Kentucky in the spring. As soon as the old Captain was buried his widow took immediate steps to dispose of all property that could not be carried on pack horses, and by the first of April she, with all of her family and quite a number of other emigrants, was ready for the road. All of the cattle were driven by boys on foot. When the old Captain's money was counted there proved to be about six thousand dollars in gold, and it was put, well packed, into a very strong pair of saddle bags on which the widow rode to Kentucky, on the fine saddle horse that the Captain had rode at King's Mountain. The auto-biographical sketch which has been heretofore, and will be hereafter, mentioned, from which I learned many of the facts herein stated, gave no intimation of how the old sailor had managed to securely keep the remnant of his fortune, in gold, during the years of the Revolution, and nothing learned from other sources gave me any information in regard thereto, or respecting how much money he had when he quit the sea. He must have been remarkably far seeing, careful and secretive, and must have monopolized most of the financial ability intended for several generations of his descendants, as well as his own share, as few of them, so far as I know, have shown any ability to accumulate and hold much more of the world's goods than was necessary for a comfortable and independent living.
The party of emigrants passed without notable incident across the numerous mountains, valleys, creeks and rivers of what is now East Tennessee, and into Kentucky. At Cumberland Gap they met a small party returning from Kentucky, and learned from them that a large party of emigrants had, a few days previously, been attacked by Indians near the Rockcastle River; that they had beaten the Indians off, but had lost some stock and had one man severely wounded; that the Indians were from the Ohio county; that there had been raids...........end of page 29made already on several settlements in Kentucky, and that much trouble was expected during the spring and summer.
Skeggs held his party here several days in order to give the pack horses a rest and to enable another small party of emigrants to join his band. After crossing the Cumberland River party was fired on by the savages, and one horse was killed and two men and a boy were slightly wounded, but they succeeded in killing one of the Indians and wounding another who barely made his escape. From this time they were constantly annoyed by the Indians, and made but slow progress, having to stop at all of the dangerous places until skirmishers were sent out in front and on the flanks to clear the road. It was noticed by the old campaigners that the savages seemed to be working more toward delaying the whites than toward a general attack, and they therefore concluded that the Indians were being reinforced by small parties, and that they were only waiting to concentrate their whole force before making a regular attack. The whites lost two horses, and had several men slightly wounded in this advance, and finally, after crossing the Laurel River, went into camp later one afternoon in a valley where several narrow, wooded ravines came together. Skeggs here called a council of all of the experienced men present and told them that the country from there to the Rockcastle River was very difficult and dangerous under the circumstances, but that if they could reach the "Hazel Patch," near said river, he would consider them safe; that the Indians force how seemed to be very strong and that they would certainly make an attack the next day; that the northern Indians rarely moved during the early part of the night, and he advised a forced night march in order to leave them well in the rear. He added that he had some hope of overtaking the large party reported as being ahead, as they would probably stop at the "Hazel Patch" to rest their horses and to care for the man who was so severely wounded.
His advice was unanimously approved, and he at once gave orders for all to cook and eat supper and to put out all fires before dark, and as soon as it was dark for the heaviest articles, and those of least value, to be taken out of the packs and secreted in the ravines, where the Indians in their haste would not be apt to find them; and then to pack up silently and with the horses relieved of much of their burdens, to make a forced march for the "Hazel Patch." The older men, and the boys and women, were to take principal charge of the stock, leaving most of the able men and the larger boys to protect the flanks and rear of the party.
After getting well started on the road the horses were whipped up to a good speed, and during the whole of the cold, frosty night, this speed was maintained without a halt, through the wild, rocky and rough region which is now known as Laurel County, and where it looks like, even at this time by daylight, such speed would be none too safe. It seemed that the savages did not discover the flight of the emigrants for at least several hours, for their advance runners did not overtake the rear guard until a little after daylight, when they had reached a point within a few miles of "Hazel Patch." Skeggs, who had been with the advance mostly through the night, engaged in keeping orders among the women and boys in charge of the stock, and in pushing the column ahead steadily all night without confusion or delay, now dropped to the rear and took charge there, leaving Captain Craig, who was now able to ride on horseback, to preserve order in front, and to prevent a panic in case of attack, which he expected very soon. He told Craig to look out particularly at a place ahead where there was a bend on the road around a hill, as the Indians might attempt to make a cut-off and attack the column in the center, which would, if successful, be well nigh fatal. The Indians began firing on the rear guard as soon as they could see to shoot, and a running fight was kept up for a mile or more, and while seemingly beginning a regular attack on the rear, they sent a strong party forward by a path which made a cut-off, where the main road ran around a hill, and intersected the road at the mouth of a ravine leading into it; by Captain Craig, who was a close observer and a capable commander in every way, had taken notice of this ravine and selected it as the higher point; so he divided his advance guard and sent more than half of his men, under a reliable commander, with orders to go up the ravine and secrete themselves, and to hold it at all hazard, if attacked, until the rear guard came up. This party had barely gotten into position behind trees on one side of the ravine, when the Indians were seen coming down the path in a run and in strong force. The first fire of the emigrants, being at close range and with cool deliberation, was deadly, and a number of savages fell, a few being wounded, but the most of them killed dead, and the rest were for the moment thrown back in confusion; but they noticed that the whites were greatly outnumbered and soon came on again, this time taking cover. Their confusion had given the whites time to re-load, and now a regular Indian battle began, both sides taking trees and every possible advantage but the narrowness of the ravine was in favor of the smaller force of the whites, and they held the savages back until help reached them, which had been started by Skeggs from the rear as soon as he heard the firing ahead. When thus reinforced they held the ravine until the rear guard came up. The Indians had been too severely punished to launch another general attack, but still followed and gave some trouble. One man had been killed and several wounded in the fighting, but the dead man's body and the wounded men were brought forward and put on horses, so the savages got no scalps, Soon great cheering was heard in front, and word came back that a small party of white men had met the head of the column and bought the joyful news that a large party of emigrants were encamped near by. About an hour after sunrise, but before the sun's rays had reached the valleys, the advance guard came in full view of a beautiful, open valley in which the emigrants were camped. In this valley there were many patches of hazelnut bushes, which gave it its name of "Hazel Patch," and as the whole valley was now covered with a heavy coating of frost, it, and the friendly camp near its center, constituted a beautiful and welcome sight to the tired and war worn party.
When these two parties were united they were strong enough to defy the Indians; so a strong mounted force, with enough pack horses, was sent back for the goods that had been hidden in the ravines at their last camp. They found the articles undisturbed, and saw no Indians on the trip. After resting a day or two, and grazing the stock in the little valley, the whole party moved on together, seeing no further signs of Indians, and in due time arrived at the settlements around Lexington. The men were all very anxious to get located at once in order to plant garden seeds and corn, but, owing to the fact that so many Indians were prowling around the settlements, it was not then considered safe for women and children to venture into new neighborhoods where there were no Stations for their protection, and arrangements had to be made for them to remain where they might be considered as safe until the men could locate and plant crops. A man named Kennedy, who was an old neighbor of the Edwards clan in the New River settlements, had a few years before, settled, with his wife and one son and three daughters, in what was then known as the "Craig Settlement," on the headwaters of North Elkhorn, about seven or eight miles northeastward of Lexington, and near Bryan's Station, where he had put up a double log cabin with shed room and passage, and other improvements. His children had all married and gone to other settlements, and his wife had recently died, and he was making arrangements to go to Logan's Fort to live with his youngest daughter. He came down to see his old neighbors as soon as he heard of their arrival, and offered the window the use of his house until such time as she could make permanent arrangements, and to let her cultivate his cleared land until such time as he could sell it. Captain Craig, who had married her daughter Sally, had only partially recovered from his wounds received at Yorktown, and the hardships of the trip of Kentucky had so exhausted him that he was at the time almost helpless; so it was arranged that the widow and her four boys, who were to young to take up land, and the Craigs, should move into Kennedy's house and cultivate his farm, and her other daughter and the wives of her married sons, with their children, would remain with her until the men could plant crops and build cabins.
The widow told those who were going away that her husband had asked her to give each one of them a little money when they made a settlement in the new land, if she thought she could spare it; but to be sure above all things to keep enough to maintain herself comfortably, and to give the younger children as good education as had been given the older ones, better if possible; and she told them that when they bah built their cabins and put in crops, for all to come back together and she would give each one of them a hundred dollars in gold.
As soon as there arrangements were made Skeggs tool all of the men of the party, except Captain Craig, to the lands which he had already selected, and located them, each one on two hundred acres, and had the lands surveyed and properly entered of record, and the men at once planted garden seed and corn, and then erected cabins on each tract.
About the first of July the men returned for their women and children, and such stock and property as they had; and when all were assembled, and no one present but members of the family, the widow took out the saddlebags in order to distribute some of the money as she had promised to do. When the first pocket was opened it was found to contain closely wrapped chunks and bars of lead instead of the gold that was put into it on the Holston, but the gold in the other pocket was found to be intact.
Three thousand dollars in gold in the Kentucky settlements at that time was a comfortable fortune, and the consternation and grief of the old widow at the loss of such a sum can better be imagined than described. She had planned to do so much for her children with this sum, thinking that one half of the money left her would be enough to maintain herself and educate and care for her boys until they could care for themselves.
It was at once decided to say nothing about the loss, as the tale if told would inform every one that the widow still had a great sum of gold, and she and her family would no longer be safe, as there were many desperate characters on the frontier at that time.
The widow gave fifty dollars each to her sons William, David, Alexander, and Thomas and to her daughters Sally and Rachel, and all of them, except Sally, went to their new settlement in what is now Woodford County. The settlement was known for many years as the "Edwards Settlement," and the lands in that neighborhood were said to be as good as any in Kentucky. In locating the lands Skeggs had selected a tract for the widow and one for Captain Craig, the widow's tract being entirely surrounded by the others, but the widow never settled on her claim, and it was a few years later, occupied by her son Ninian when he became old enough to hold it. Captain Craig soon found himself pleasantly situated, as the Craigs, for whom the settlement on the Elkhorn was named, proved to be related to his father. They were worthy people and wished him to remain among them, so the following autumn he exchanged his claim in Woodford County for an improved tract between the Craig Settlement and Lexington, and the widow bought a small tract about three miles from Lexington and adjoining Craig. Her reason for settling there was that a good school was then opened at Lexington, and it was thought that it would be much improved later on, and would afford a chance for the education of her boys. Her wisdom in this decision was vindicated a little later, when the best schools west of the Alleghenies were to be found at Lexington, and here her four boys, and the daughter of her son William, were able to acquire as good an education as could then be obtained anywhere westward of Philadelphia; and here in these same schools, during the following ten years, the first Kentucky Generation of the Marshals, Todds, Prestons, McDowells, McConnells, Harlans and Johnsons, and other noted families were educated.
Soon after the young men and their families left for their new homes there began to come into the Elkhorn settlements alarming rumors of Indian outbreaks, and about the tenth of August it was deemed prudent for the women and children to move into Bryan's Station, taking with them their most valuable goods, as well as the best horses, with supplies for both men and animals, while the men would pass in and out during the day, but would all be in the Station at night. It was thus that, when Caldwell and McKee, with their large party of Canadians and Indians, appeared before the Station early on the morning of August 16th, with the evident purpose of attacking it, the widow and her four boys, and Captain Craig and his wife and child, with the old Captain's war horse, were comfortably situated in the stockade. Before leaving the Holston, Skeggs had advised every man to take with him as much powder and lead as possible; telling them that it would be badly needed, and that the price in Kentucky was very high. The consequence was that possibly no other party of emigrants had brought as much ammunition into this region, and the widow, in addition to the stock purchased on the Holston, had also the large lot of lead which had been exchanged at par for her gold.
I presume that all for whom this writing will be of interest have read the history of the siege of Bryan's Station, which has a prominent place in all histories of Kentucky that are worth reading, but if any reader hereof is not familiar with such history I would suggest that he or she at once procure and read a good history of that event, and of the battle of the Blue Licks which immediately followed it, before reading further in this narrative, and, presuming that they will do so, I will say as little about the well known facts of those notable events as is consistent with giving an account of the part taken therein by the members of our family.
At the first appearance of the Indians around the stockade it was rightly concluded that they were only the advanced scouts of a large force and that a great struggle was at hand, and when the women were called on to go to the spring outside of the fort for a supply of water, the old widow picked up a large bucket and was among the first to volunteer to go. Advancing age had brought her rheumatism to the point of lameness, and her daughter Sally told her that she was too old and lame to go; that she would take her place and bucket as well as her own; that she was not afraid of capture; that she was as strong as any of the savages and almost as swift on foot, and would make her escape if attacked unless she was killed. She then handed her baby to her mother and picked up the two buckets and a long hunting knife (the later of which she concealed about her person) and, asking her mother to care for her baby in case she should be killed, marched out of the gate among the very first, and returned among the last of the party, bringing the two buckets full of water.
The attack soon commenced in ernest and lasted through the long day and the following night. Captain Craig was now able to walk, and of course did his part in the defense as far as possible, and the two older boys assisted in every way possible, such as cleaning guns, carrying water, food and ammunition to the men at the portholes and other things needed, and the two smaller boys, Robert and Cader, did what they were told to do, but were not allowed to go near the portholes. They however found some small cracks or holes in the walls of the cabins, or the timbers between them, and thus managed to see much that was going on outside, and in his last days I have heard my grandfather tell it all at great length, including the dialogue between Simon Girty and Aaron Reynolds, which he heard.
During the night, while the savage were making onslaughts and yelling, like demons which they were in fact, and trying to build fires against the walls and pitching lighted torches inside, Sally Craig and the wife of Jacob Stucker were engaged together in molding the widow's large supply of lead into bullets, and kept steadily to their work all night. The guns were of various calibers, so they would send the two larger boys to the men at the portholes to get the bullet molds of any man who was short of bullets. They would then make a number of bullets with each mold and the boys would return them with the molds to the men, in order that no mistake might be made in the right size bullets.
I will say here that the most of the common school histories of Kentucky that I have examined are in such abridged form that they are worthless concerning colonization of the State, except for the purpose of getting the child's mind interested in the subject, and some of the later books on a larger scale have made statements quite different from the first writers, and with few, if any, authenticated facts to back them. In such cases it is best to hold to the old landmarks, unless a statement is plainly opposed to reason and common sense, which is sometimes the case. It seems that many of our writers wish to take a chance, possibly in order to attract attention, or to fortify some preconceived notion of their own.
In this narrative I have no theory to support, and no desire to magnify the achievements of my people, and am only giving the reliable traditions of our family. They were not the principal figures in those heroic days, and only performed their duty in a plain way, but they were truthful, well educated and with good memories, and I think that their statements are as well entitled to credit as those of any other participants. After all history is only statements of some persons who told their stories to the writers, and our people are as much entitled to credence as any others.
The savages gave it up and withdrew during the next afternoon, and late in the afternoon, when reinforcements arrived, preparations were made for pursuit the next day. The widow had never allowed any one but her own family to ride her husband's horse, but she now rose to the occasion and voluntarily offered her horse, with Captain's saddle and pistols, to an officer who had come with the reinforcements and whose horse was too lame for the expedition.
Captain Craig had acquitted himself well in the fight, and his reputations as an officer under Washington was so well known, that he was selected to command at the Station during the absence of the regular commander. The disastrous battle of the Blue Licks was fought the next day, and in the wild confusion of the retreat across the river the widow's horse was shot and very badly wounded, but the officer managed to bring him back alive, with the saddle and pistols, and after some months of careful nursing he began to improve, and finally reached his old standard of activity and style and beauty. Before bidding farewell to this horse I will tell the story of his proudest day and greatest triumph. When Kentucky was admitted into the Union, and Col. Isaac Shelby was elected as the first Governor, his old Revolutionary comrades arranged to escort him from his home near Stanford, through Danville and on to Lexington to be inaugurated, and to make it a kind of triumphal procession. Shelby had always, and very justly contended that his greatest claim to fame rested on his record at King's Mountain, and was anxious that this record should be put prominently to the front on the assumption of his new honors; so he sent a special messenger with his compliments to the widow and asked for the loan of her horse for the occasion. It is probable that no other man in Kentucky would have been granted the favor, but she sent the horse, saddle and pistols, and they formed a very important feature of the procession and attracted much attention. Shelby had the news circulated that he would ride to the inaugural on a horse and saddle that had been ridden by his aide at the battle of King's Mountain, and would carry the pistols used by him in the battle; that the horse had been ridden by a well known officer, and was terribly wounded, at the battle of the Blue Licks, but had recovered, and was well known as the best saddle horse then in Kentucky.
In the spring of 1916, on the occasion of the Department Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic held at Lexington, I, with the following named old army comrades, viz: J. T. Burton of Scott County, W. H. Dickinson of Hart County and Captain S. D. VanPelt of Danville, visited the site of Bryan's Station. It is about six or seven miles northeastward of Lexington, and the ground which was enclosed by the old stockade is now occupied by the house and grounds of Mr. W. H. C. Wood, a cultivated and hospitable young gentleman who owns about eight hundred acres of the surrounding lands. His house stands on the top of a low, and rather narrow ridge, at a point which must have been closed to the end of the stockade nearest to the spring. The spring from which the women carried the water is at the foot of this end of the ridge, and the slope toward the spring here is a little steeper than elsewhere, but still only a moderate slope, and is on the bank of a small stream which is said to be the North Fork of Elkhorn. This spring was walled around with marble some thirty or more years ago by the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the names of as many of the defenders of the Station, and of the women who carried the water, as could then be ascertained, are cut in the marble. Close to the top of the list of the water carriers I was gratified to see the name of Sally Craig. I presume that her husband's name is among those of the defenders; there are a number of the names of Craigs, men and women, but, much as I have no recollection of ever hearing his first name mentioned, he was always spoken of as Captain Craig. I saw there the name of Jacob Stucker of whom I have heard so much from our family in my boyhood; he was a brave man; a noted Indian fighter; a good citizen, and had the reputation at that time of being the best marksman, and for carrying by far the best gun in Kentucky.
After the battle of the Blue Licks it was not deemed prudent for the women and children to leave the Station for several months, as small parties of riding Indians were constantly making forays in all parts of the District. In October Colonel Benjamin Logan raised a force of several hundred men, among whom were Alexander and Thomas of the Edward clan and their brother-in-law McFarland, who joined Gen. George Rogers Clark at the mouth of Licking River, and in November took part, under his command, in the destruction of the Indian towns on the upper Miami River. After this expedition quite generally prevailed, settlers came in great numbers, and our people were never afterward in any great danger from savage inroads. The boys were kept in school about half of the year, and worked on the farm, and each one at learning a trade, the balance of the time. In this way by the time they were eighteen years old they all had acquired a good English, and a fair classical, education. Robert had learned the trade of a cooper, and Cader that of carpenter. I do not know what trades or professions the others had learned, except that William was a doctor and Ninian afterward became a lawyer. Ninian took part in the last expedition of George Rogers Clark against Vincennes, and on his return he married and moved to the Edwards settlement in Woodford county. In the summer of 1790 John and Robert took part, under Gen. Charles Scott, in the battle with the Indians at the mouth of the Scioto, and in the following spring they were with Gen. Scott in his expedition against the towns on the Wabash, and Robert was with St. Clair in his ill starred campaign the following autumn, and participated in the terrible defeat of his army in November 1791, he however coming out unharmed. About this time John Married a girl in Bourbon county and settled there. Captain Craig finally recovered from his Yorktown wounds, and afterward became quite prosperous and was a man of influence in his neighborhood. The families in Woodford increased rapidly in numbers and to a reasonable extent in a financial way, but none of them, except William, had much money, in fact there was but little money in the country. Henry Skeggs still made his home with the widow and her boys, but was absent most of the time except in winter, and was engaged nearly altogether in the location of lands, and as a guide for land hunters and speculators. A few years later he took quite a liking for the "Barrens," and spent much time in looking up lands there, and in helping to locate the large military warrants issued to the officers of the Revolution; but up to the year 1790 he had not advised any one to settle south of Green River, as he considered the region as too much exposed. He had often described to the families of the clan the lands on the borders of the barrens, which could then be had for about ten cents an acre and the cost of surveying and patenting, but had always advised them to say where they were; but in the fall of 1790 Alexander concluded to go with Skeggs and see these lands. There were then few settlements south of Green River, except cabins near the river which were occupied for a few days at a time occasionally in order to hold head right claims, and he had pick and choice of several counties, except the best lands along the water courses which had been taken up under military warrants. After examining many locations he finally made an improvement near the spring where uncle Jimmy Bradley afterward lived for many years, near the point afterward known as "Chicken Bristle" but now known as Savoyard, in Metcalfe county, and on his return home he sold his land in the bluegrass at three and a half dollars per acre, and later settled at that place. He soon greatly improved his surroundings, as he was an industrious man and a good farmer, but for a few months he had few neighbors nearer than Green River and Little Barren. In the latter part of the summer and fall many settlers came in, many going much farther south than his location. About eighteen months after he settled in the barrens a party of Indians murdered some immigrants at the Oven Springs, in what is now Hart County, and they were pursued and all killed, and two prisoners recaptured, he being one of the pursuers. They were no murders by Indians in his section afterward.
About the first of June 1794 Robert and Cader enlisted in Gen. Scott's body of mounted riflemen and joined Gen. Anthony Wayne's army at Greenville, Ohio, a few weeks before he left there on his campaign against the Indians on the Maumee River. They took part in the battle of the Fallen Timbers, and in the destruction of the houses and stores up to the walls of the British fort, and afterward in the capture and destruction of the Indian towns at and around the junction of the St. Marys and St. Joseph rivers, where the city of Fort Wayne now stands. On this campaign they made the acquaintance of Nimrod Crain, a noted scout for Gen. Wayne, and after their discharge from the army, on the invitation of young Crain, they visited him at his father's home on the bank of the Licking River, about one and a half miles above its junction with the Ohio. Here Cater first met Elizabeth (Betsy) Crain, who was then a beautiful girl about fifteen years old. Cader was employed by a boat building firm that had commenced business at the mouth of the Licking River, and on both sides of same, where the cities of Newport and Covington now stand, and he remained there, working at his trade, until the spring of 1797. During this time he visited his mother regularly every few months as long as she lived, and it happened that he was on one of these visits at the time of her death. Robert had remained with her after his last return from the army, but after her death the family was broken up and he joined his brother Alexander in what is now Metcalfe county.
After the year 1782 the widow's health was good, except occasional spells of rheumatism which had seriously interfered with her ability to walk; but she could ride well, and she rode much about the neighborhood on her fine saddle horse. She visited each one of her children who lived in adjoining counties, once each year as long as she lived, and on all of these visits made each one of them a present, always in money and to each the same. Her daughter Rachel had moved to a farm near Stanford, in Lincoln county, and when she visited her she always visited Colonel (later Governor) Shelby, who was an old neighbor on the Holston. On the day before her death, in the year 1796, she rode into Lexington, in company with her daughter Sally, and made some purchases at the stores and attended to some other business. She was sick only a few hours before her death. She left directions as to the disposal of her little property, and as she was buried her wishes were carried out. Her remaining money, amounting to about twelve hundred and fifty dollars, was divided equally among her ten children, and her remaining property was divided by mutual agreement, and all were satisfied except in one particular; she had always been a strong believer in the old country clan idea, and of the propriety of the law of primogeniture, and had directed that it should prevail in regard to all of the papers and particularly personal belongings of her husband. Under this law they would go to the new head of the clan, which in this case at her death would be William, the oldest son. This was particularly against the wish of all the others. It was particularly unfortunate, for several reasons well known to all, that she had so directed, and a strong effort was made to induce the eldest son to relinquish this old country preference and let those relics be divided, but he was stubborn in the matter, and his father's horse, arms and equipments; his certificates of military service in the Revolution (including the King's Mountain campaign); the autobiographical sketch which he had written during the last year of his life, with the supplement thereto written by one of his sons, bringing the history of the clan down to their arrival in Kentucky; the original La Fayette letter with ........end of page 43a translation of same by Rev. Samuel Doak; the Family Bible, and other family and historical papers, all went to the new head of the clan. A fatality seemed to attach to them. The horse died within a month, and all of the papers were supposed to be destroyed, but many years later the autobiography and the translation of the La Fayette letter reappeared, but in the hands of one who would not part from them, and in a sadly worn mutilated condition, and I heard them read once in my childhood. They were never seen afterward so far as I know.
Some years later William came down to the barrens to visit his brothers residing there, and he was so charmed with the location and improvements of his brother Alexander that he bought him out at a high price for that time and place, and also bought about six hundred acres of wild land adjoining, paying spot cash for all, and in the following spring moved to his new purchase. He was, so far as I have been able to learn, the first regular, practicing physician to settle in that section of country. The spot cash was a great inducement at that time, as money was very scarce. Alexander went about a mile west and bought two hundred acres of land and build again, this time a much larger and better house, at what was in later years known as the George Bradley place, where Whit Thompson now resides, and here he remained until his death in the year 1816, and his family lived there for a number of years after his death.
William, the oldest son of the old sea Captain, was carefully educated, in part by his father and partly at the academy of the Rev. Samuel Doak on the Holston, with a view to the practice of medicine, for which he expressed a strong preference in his boyhood. In the early part of the eighteenth century ships at sea were not always furnished with physicians and surgeons as at the present time, and it was necessary for officers to have some knowledge of medicine and surgery, and to have a supply of medicines and instruments aboard, as it was seldom that a long voyage was ended without sickness or injury requiring a resort to the medicine chest or the tools of the surgeon. Under such conditions the Captain in his long service at sea had acquired some knowledge of these professions, and had read such medical works as were then to be had. With the knowledge of medicine which William had gained from a careful study of these books, and what he had learned from his regimental surgeon under whom he served in the Revolution, first in the capacity of what we now call Hospital Steward and later when commissioned as a Assistant Surgeon, he began the regular practice of medicine on his arrival in Kentucky, and soon acquired the reputation of being a good doctor. In his youth he took part in two campaigns, under Shelby, Sevier and Robertson, against the Indians and Tories on the French Broad and Tennessee Rivers; married in the summer of 1780; served under Shelby in the King's Mountain campaign, and then enlisted in a regular regiment in which he served as Hospital Steward and Assistant Surgeon, in North Carolina and Virginia until the siege of Yorktown, where he was wounded and soon after discharged.
He was very unfortunate in his marriage; for while his wife was a beautiful woman, and was gifted intellectually far beyond the average, she soon developed a furious temper, and bought to her husband and her family much trouble and humiliation, and general turmoil in her neighborhood. When he settled in the barrens he bought and paid for a thousand acres of land, thinking to give good homes to all of his children, and seemed to have plenty of money left. He always had a good medical practice which yielded him enough for a far better living than he ever had, but yet he seemed to go down gradually from year to year until his property mostly disappeared in his old days, when too old and feeble to longer practice his profession. His oldest son, named for him, was an unusually bright boy and was the pride of his father's heart, but he died when about twenty years old, and with his death seemed to go out every hope of the father for better things.
About the year 1835, of a little later, he sold out what little he had left except two wagons and cattle to pull them, and with most of his family, went to Illinois. Very little was heard of him afterward until his death a few years later. His half pay as a Revolutionary officer was sufficient to maintain him in common comfort in his last days, and it was learned that his neighbors, because of his patriotic service to his country, had him laid away at the last decently and with honor and respect. He left several children I have heard, but nothing is known of them or their descendants.
Alexander, the third son of the old sea Captain, when a mere boy took part in an expedition against the Indians on the French Broad River, and in the winter of 1781 was sent to General Greene's camp in North Carolina with a letter to his brother David stating that his (David's) wife was so sick that her life was despaired of, and asking that he get a furlough to visit her if possible. The two brothers went to the Colonel of the regiment and asked for the furlough, but the officer said that it was impossible to spare a good soldier at that time, as a battle was expected and that every man would be needed, but said that if he could get a substitute he might have leave for a few days. Alexander offered to take his place and was accepted. On reaching home the wife was found to be in a serious condition, but his presence was helpful and after a few days she seemed to be out of danger and David rejoined his command. The battle had been fought and the Colonel on releasing Alexander gave him a certificate stating that he had been regularly enrolled in hid command in an emergency; that he had served sixteen days and had taken part in a battle with the British forces at the Cowpens and had conducted himself creditably. I saw in my youth a certified copy of this certificate in the hands of his daughter Susan. In 1792 he went under Captain William Edgar in his attack on five of the Indians who had murdered the immigrants at the Oven Spring, and was present when they were all killed at the Elk Spring, between the present village of Park and Three Springs.
All that I knew of him up to the time he settled at the old George Bradley place has been stated in the foregoing pages. He built a large and comfortable house and good outbuildings; was a good farmer and stock raiser and a good manager, and soon reached a condition of ease and plenty. He raised a large family and provided well for them. His later life was as quit and uneventful as his early life had been stirring. He was a man of many excellent qualities; well educated and of refined manners; honest; intelligent; charitable to the poor, patriotic and peaceable; attended well to his own business and let other people's alone, unless his interference was necessary in order that the right might prevail. Of such a life and character there is little more to write. He was buried at his old home (where Wit Thompson formerly resided), in the field, about two or three hundred yards northward of his old mansion. The graveyard has been plowed over for many years and little remains to point out its location except the gravestone of his first wife, with the initials of her name and date of death (R. E. 1810).
Robert, the seventh son of the old sea Captain, and generally known as "The Major," or "Major Edwards," was the soldier of the family, even in a family where all of the men had been soldiers. He was, when a boy, with his mother in Bryan's Station during the siege. He was well educated in the schools at Lexington, and learned the trade of a cooper. In the summer of 1790 he took part, under General Charles Scott, in the battle with the Indians at the mouth of the Scioto, and in the following spring he was in the expedition, under the same commander, against the Indian towns on the Wabash. He was under General St. Clair in his Campaign in the same region the following fall, and in November of that year was present and took part in the disastrous battle with the Indians and the retreat which followed, generally spoken of as "St. Clair's Defeat." Except when in the army at different periods he lived with his mother up to the time of her death, and after her death he made his home with his brother Alexander, in Barren County, for several years, working at his trade. He married Jennie Black, daughter of Jessie Black, a Revolutionary soldier who lived on the bank of Blue Spring Creek, above the old Dale Mill, and after the death of Black and his wife he lived at their old homestead a few years. He was a fine musician and acted, as Drum Major for several years. During the war of 1812 he again enlisted in the army, this time as Drum Major, and on May 5, 1813 he was in the terrible defeat and massacre known as "Dudley's Defeat," where he greatly distinguished himself by helping several others to escape at the peril of his own life, and by making his own escape by swimming the Maumee River after being severely wounded. He soon recovered sufficiently to perform his duties; was in Fort Meigs during the siege of that post by the British and Indians, and was discharged at the end of his term of service, having declined a discharge before his time was out. On his return home he was received with great honors, and many people came to see him in order to hear, if possible, how their loved ones had perished. After he left the Black farm he purchased a tract of land adjoining the farm on which the father of the writer afterward lived and died, and there he remained until his death about the year 1851 or 1852.
His only child, Rachel, married Evan Shaw and raised a large family but she died before the death of her father, and her children went to Cumberland County. Her daughter, Jane, married Evan Shaw Jr. and lived for some years near Hiseville. I have heard nothing from any of the family for many years, but presume that some of them are in Cumberland County. The Major was a universal favorite with children and young people on account of the wonderful stories that he could tell so well. In his old days he married a second time, and among the earliest of my recollections of anything away from home is of sitting in his wife's (Aunt Peggy's) lap and listening to the stories he was telling to my sisters and some other children.
Cader, the youngest child of the old sea Captain, and the grandfather of the writer, was with his mother at the siege of Bryan's Station in 1782, and served under General Wayne in his expedition against the Indians on the Maumee, and against the Indian towns on the Wabash, in 1794, and afterward worked at his trade on the Ohio River, as has been related in the preceding pages.
In the year 1797 he came to the "barrens" on a visit to his brother Alexander and Robert. Soon after his arrival some settlers of means, who were prepared to build good houses, heard that he was a fine carpenter, and he was urged to work for them at higher wages than he had ever before received, as carpenters able to do the finer work on good buildings were then very scarce in that section. He hired a man with an ox cart to go to Newport for his tools, and wrote to Captain Craig at Lexington to purchase for him a large lot of glass, nails, hinges, locks and other supplies needed in his business, which could be bought at Lexington but could not be found here at any price.
After his marriage to Betsy Crain, about 1799 I think, he lived in the little village of Frederick (Lafayette) for two or three years, and then settled on two hundred acres of land west of Knob Lick Creek. During this two or three years he was away from home most of the time working at his trade, and this arrangement was convenient for his wife, as she could have company in the village when he was at work, and they remained there for two or three years. When he settled on his land he did not farm much until his boys were large enough to work. He was doing well in his business, was doing most of the fine carpenter's work for miles around, did not like to work on the farm and in fact took little interest in it except his house and grounds and outbuildings, which he always kept in excellent condition. He was making money steadily and I cannot see why he wanted to live on a farm unless he thought it best for his children. He was a good financier and handled his means well, and was never in debt, and never out of ready money except temporarily when he had loaned his last dollar to some one in hard lines (sic). He seemed to be gifted in the management of every kind of business except farming, for which he had no gift or liking.
He quit contracting and work as a carpenter when about fifty years of age, and from that time until his death he devoted much time to settling disputes among his neighbors and friends, and nearly every one in trouble for miles around called on him for advice, and it was often said that he carried, and kept inviolate, the secrets of his whole section of country. He lived plainly and plentifully in the old fashioned way; provided well for his family; gave his children as good education as was possible in his neighborhood; gave much to the poor (for whom he always had a small special store); had the reputation of being the best educated and most useful man in his own or the surrounding neighborhoods; was never sick (except slight attacks of rheumatism) until a few hours before his death; raised a large family, and at his death still had a little money to divide among his children. He sold his farm after all his children left him, and bought and moved to a small place near some of them, and later sold this place and moved to a house near his oldest son, where he and his wife could have assistance in case of accident or sickness. The sickness however never came until death came with it, as my grandmother died, as my grandfather did a few years later, after only a few hours sickness.
After the death of my grandmother he spent the remainder of his life, about three years, with his children; visiting around among them, but not often spending more than a week or ten days with any one of them when on his visits; and during these years, by listening carefully to him when he talked of the olden times, I gathered most of the facts related in these pages which were not included in the writings heretofore referred to. Later in life, but while his children were yet living, I talked with most of them, and with other old members of the clan, in regard to many things that I had not thoroughly understood when a boy, and in this way I think I have given a correct and true statement of what I gathered from his abundant knowledge. He always used the purest of English in his conversation, and he was the best and most interesting fireside talker that I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. I have always thought that in keeping his money absolutely under his own control until his death, instead of giving it to his children and then depending on them to support him, as too many others have done to their sorrow, was the strongest possible proof of the superior wisdom for which he was generally given credit. He died on the 25th day of February, 1855, and he and my grandmother, and his brother Robert and his first wife, were buried at the family graveyard at my father's home on Blue Spring Creek.
Of the lives and families of the six brothers and sisters of my grandfather who did not settle in Barren County I can tell but little. Mail routes were few and post offices far away in those days, and, when too widely separated for occasional visiting, families soon lost sight of one another, and it was some years later before there was much writing of letters. My grandfather kept in touch to some extent with his brothers and sisters as long as they lived, and in my younger days I heard him and others speak of them, but there was never much related in my presence that interested me greatly at the time, and in consequence what little I heard did not impress itself upon my young mind sufficiently to fix the facts in my memory. I do not now call to mind hearing of much visiting among the family generally after the dispersion in 1796, except as follows:
About 1799 or 1800 one of the brothers (I do not know which one) sold out in the bluegrass section and moved to what is now Todd County, and there went with him two cousins of the same family name who had come with the clan to Kentucky, and they and their families stopped on the way for a few days visit with the families of the clan then in Barren County, and Henry Skeggs went with them to their destination. The last heard of them was that they had been mostly very prosperous and had raised large families, and I have heard that many of their descendants lived in that and the surrounding counties.
About the year 1820 my grandfather had business that took him to Cincinnati and the East, and on the trip he visited his brothers and sisters who were then living in the upper counties of the State. He found them all prosperous and mostly with large families. Sally Craig and her husband were at that time still living on their homestead in Fayette County, near Lexington; Rachel McFarland and her husband were in Lincoln County; one of his brothers was near Mt. Sterling and the other near Harrodsburg, but I do not know which one was at either of the two places. I have heard nothing of their families since that date.
Ninian went to Illinois after the dispersion, where he afterward became prominent as a lawyer. He afterward went to Iowa, where he died leaving a large family. He was distantly related to the Ninian Edwards who was the first Territorial Governor of Illinois and later a United States Senator from the State, and studied law under him while he was a Judge at Lexington, Kentucky.
My great grandfather had several brothers in America before he came, and four of his nephews afterward settled near him on New River and the Holston, and two of these, with their families, came with our clan to Kentucky and settled in Mercer or Woodford counties. My grandfather, on his visits to his mother while he worked at and about Newport, made the acquaintance of several families of our name who were then residing on the Licking River, whose ancestors came from the village of our clan in Wales, and they were of course related to us. I know but little of their descendants, but there are many of our name in that portion of the state. The Edwards families all came from Wales originally, and all of the name with whom I have talked, whose families are old residents of Kentucky and who know much of their ancestors, are descendants of the sailors of the little villages along the Welsh coast.
There were doubtless many of the Edwards name in other parts of Wales, and I have met with many of them among coal and other miners, and have talked with and noticed them carefully, and have found them to be on an average noting like the equals of the descendants of the maritime clans, in either personal appearance or mental capacity. The reason for these differences is doubtless the fact that, even if all were originally the same, which is probable, the more energetic and capable of them would not endure the slavery and degraded conditions of life in the interior during the feudal ages and gradually, or sometimes by sudden flight, escaped their hopeless surroundings and took refuge in the then isolation of the rockbound and inaccessible western coast, where, though they and their descendants for ages endured the extremes of cold and hunger, and every hardship, they were at least free, and they maintained their freedom against all comers. Their maritime life brought an acquaintance with other people, and an increase in knowledge of the world, and it is no wonder that they were so great a factor in creating and building up the English maritime supremacy. They were the backbone of the English navy in its infancy, and in my grandfather's manuscript he states that in the fleets that destroyed the great Spanish Armada nine vessels of all sorts and sizes there represented were commanded by Welsh Masters, several of whom were from our ancestral village. For their services their and in other wars they were given exemption from many taxes, and practical religious freedom, at the time that nearly all other parts of the world were suffering persecution. It is not strange that such a life, and such surroundings for several hundred years, would eliminate the weak and feeble, and would raise the standard above that of those who remained in the miserable and degraded surroundings from which the more energetic and capable had fled.
My great grandfather, Cader Edwards, had seven or eight brothers and several sisters. Their names were all given in his manuscript which was written the last year of his life, as well as a statement of where they all settled in America. Owing to my inability to remember names I cannot recall all of their names, but remember that among them were William, Thomas, Robert, David and Cyrus, and of the girls Rebecca, Mary, Rachel and Sally, all names that have been continued in the family. All that I can remember of the statements of the manuscript above mentioned as to their places of settlement is that they settled in various town on the Atlantic coast from Baltimore to Boston.
A few years ago I accidentally got into communication with Mr. J. B. Edwards of Abilene, Kansas, who has traced his linage back to one Thomas Edwards of Connecticut, who, on May 14, 1720, married Mary Dorothy Billings at Norwich, Connecticut. Their son William married Mary Avery, on May 31, 1745, and to them were born several children, among whom the names of Jasper, Mary, William and Cyrus appear. Jasper was born Feb. 29, 1748, and went to sea at the age of 16 as a cabin boy, and followed the sea for ten years. About 1774 or 1775 he married and moved, with a colony of Connecticut people, to the northeast part of Pennsylvania, near the Delaware River. He joined the Minute men of Sussex County, New Jersey; was called to Washington's army in December 1776, and took part in the battle of Trenton. Some months later he was, while at home on leave and getting logs to his sawmill, with two or three others, captured by the Indians and sold by them to the British in Canada, where he was held to the end of the war. He died in 1832, and being a man of good education, he wrote out a history of his life, and of his ancestors back to their homes on the Welsh seacoast, giving all of their names and stating where they settled in America, but this manuscript was, as is usual with such family papers when not printed, destroyed through ignorance and carelessness. This Jasper Edwards left a son Milton, who settled in New York and raised a large family, one of his sons being the J. B. Edwards above named who went to Abilene, Kansas, in 1870 and still resides there. From a long correspondence with him I have become well satisfied that the Thomas Edwards above mentioned was my great grandfather's brother of the same name. The traditions of the two families certainly correspond to a remarkable degree. They were all seafaring people and came from the west cost of Wales; were as a rule well educated; all came to America in the early part of the eighteenth century, and the family names were common to both families for several generations.
In regard to the Revolutionary records of our family I will say that when I heard my grandfather tell about their army experiences I was quite young, and at that time I had no knowledge of army records or the importance of them, and did not know that it was almost impossible to trace an army record unless you have as a starter the man's company and regiment. Many companies raised in emergencies, such as the King's Mountain campaign, even had no muster rolls, and no records were filed at the close of the war. It was long after the war, and many of the soldiers were dead, before the survivors and widows were pensioned. When service pensions were granted many of the soldiers had to furnish proof of their service, there being no records in writing in many cases. As a rule the service in such cases could be proven by comrades who knew the facts, and many of the rolls now on file in Washington were completed, and in some cases made up altogether, in this way. Many soldiers who had died left no widows to file claims, and in such cases their names were never put on the rolls, though they had served faithfully, and in some cases had certificates of service or honorable discharges. My grand uncles, William and David, were pensioned in their old days, but I do not know in what regiment or commands they served except that both of them were at King's Mountain. In the case of my great grandfather it is possible that his name may not be found. Some time between 1775 and 1779 he succeeded, notwithstanding his age, in getting regularly enrolled in some command that served against the British and Tories in the Carolinas, where he was in several actions, but I do not remember hearing of his participation during this service in any of the greater battles there, only in skirmishes and mostly with shall commands. He was in this service off and on for several years, but whether in a North Carolina or Virginia command I never heard. In his Journal he touched very lightly on his own services, merely mentioning this service, and saying little about his distinguished service against the Indians and at King's Mountain. He had proper certificates of all of his army service, which were lost or destroyed as heretofore stated. He died before the end of the war and his widow died many years be fore widows of soldiers were pensioned, and there was no call to put his discharges or certificates of service on record, even if there had been any department in which to record them. When I was young I could have learned most of the particulars of the services referred to if I had then understood their importance. All the written evidence that I ever saw concerning my great grandfather's services, which has not been mentioned in this manuscript, was a letter which was in the possessions of an aunt of mine in her old age, and which was shown to me in my youth on several occasions. I was at the time old enough to well understand it and to realize to some extent its importance. I asked my aunt to give me the letter and she, saying that I was the only one of the family who seemed to take much interest in the matter, said that at her death I should have it, and she so instructed her daughter. When she died I was away from the State, and when I returned, both she and her daughter were dead and I could find no trace of the letter. It was written in a good hand, on rather rough paper, and was yellowed by age and much worn by handling, but was complete except a few words in the folds where the paper had worn through. It was written and signed by Governor Isaac Shelby in the year 1796, and addressed, on the inside, to "The family of Mrs. Mary Edwards, dec. Lexington," and stated that he had received, by messenger, word of her death in time to have been present at her burial if he had been able to ride, but that he was laid up from an accident and unable to walk or ride, and was not able to get out of the house at the time of writing. He said that he greatly regretted not being able to attend the burial of his old friend and neighbor, and to stand uncovered at her grave as he had done at the grave of her distinguished husband, with whom he had the honor of having served in at least two expeditions against the Indians and Tories on the "lower rivers" during the Revolution, and who did served as a volunteer Aide under his command in the campaign against Ferguson, and who had so gloriously given his life (as it proved in the end) for the cause at King's Mountain. The loss of this letter, and of the autobiography of my great grandfather, and of the certificates of his services in the Revolution, has caused me to begin to take some steps in my now old age, to guard against the like loss of my statement of the facts herein stated, lest they be forever lost.
As Henry Skeggs was always considered as almost one of the clan, and was certainly devoted to the interests of the Edwards family, I cannot in justice to him close this writing without giving an account of his latter days. As soon as my grandfather commenced housekeeping at Lafayette, Skeggs came, and, as room could be provided, had his books and belongings brought there, and he remained with the family until his death over twenty years later. In the new house a room was built, adjoining the family room, especially for him, and here, by a good fire in winter, with his books and papers around him, he spent the cold and bad weather for the balance of his life. The land business had begun to decline, the bulk of the good lands having been taken up, and after a few years he retired from the business as a regular vocation, but still occasionally selecting lands for particular friends. On good days in winter he would sometimes go out and kill a deer or turkey, and sometimes tool dinner with a neighbor, but always come home at night. He was very liberal to the poor and gave them much help. He was still strong and active, and during the spring, summer and fall spent much of his time away from home, on business or visiting old friends, and would sometimes go a hundred miles on these trips. He subscribed for most of the papers then published in Kentucky, and some from other parts, having them sent to Glasgow, the nearest post office. He was of a sociable disposition and loved company.
In the statement of his activities in Kentucky in the seventies I failed to mention his military services. He took part in several of the military expeditions against the Indians of the North, and helped to defend several of the forts and stations when besieged, but would never serve against the southern Indians, for reasons already stated.
In June 1778 he was at the Falls of the Ohio and joined George Rogers Clarke in his expedition against Kaskaskia and the other British posts in Illinois.
When he first came to make his home with my grand father he told him that he had selected him, as being in his estimation the most prudent of the family, to attend to certain things of great importance after his (Skegg's) death, and he then acquainted him with the history of the mystery that surrounded his early life (which no one but the old Captain had hitherto known), and later, from time to time, informed him of the whereabouts of certain property and money that was to be disposed of in certain ways after he should pass away, and this confidence was never betrayed.
About the year 1820, late in the fall, he left home with the intention of visiting a few old friends before cold weather should set in, and on the third evening thereafter a little after sunset, he come to the house of Lowery Bishop, where Mr. J. W. Irwin now resides, near Park, in Metcalfe County, bringing with him a wild turkey which he had killed and which he presented to Mrs. Bishop. He seemed well and hearty; ate a fairly good supper and afterward sat up late talking with the family, and seemed to enjoy himself quite well. He said that he would go home the next day and would not leave any more until spring. He went to bed in an adjoining room, and about midnight called Bishop, saying that he was quite sick, although feeling but little pain, and Bishop and his family did what they could to help him. He said that he would die and asked that messenger be sent at once for my grandfather, and a young man was sent on a good horse for him. He reached Bishop's house before daylight and Skeggs asked for a few minutes private talk with him. After this he said in Bishop's presence that my grandfather understood how he was to be buried and would take possession of all of his effects, and a little after sunrise he died. My grandfather said that Skeggs had told him long before that he had lived in the woods and he hoped to die there; that if he died in the woods he wished to be buried where death overtook him, and that if he should die elsewhere he must be taken to the nearest woods and buried. During the day my grandfather walked out to the nearest woods and selected a place on a knoll, about forty or fifty rods southwestward of the house, and had a grave prepared, and there the next afternoon, after a funeral sermon by the Rev. Jacob Locke, who happened to be in the neighborhood, in the presence of a large crowd of people, including many of his comrades of the Revolution, the old soldier, and hunter and trapper, and man of mystery, was laid away.
The grave was shown to me when a child and I have often seen it since. Three tracts of lands came together there, and in two of the deeds a call was made for the corner "at Skegg's grave," and I have run the lines to that point. A few years ago I was at Mr. Irvin's house and he asked me to show him the grave, saying that many people had asked about it. The stones and trees around it have disappeared, but I was able to locate the spot to my satisfaction. It is at the side of a lane and partly under a fence. Mr. Irvin will show the spot to any one who might wish to see it.
Soon after this my grandfather prepared for a trip which he said was for the purpose of carrying out instructions given him by Skeggs. He said that he might be gone for some time, but that he would write every week in order that his whereabouts might be known. At that time travel was partly by water and partly by stages, and was generally slow by either mode of travel. He wrote from various places, some as far away as New York and Quebec. He said on his return that he had carried out the directions given him in every particular, and afterward, up to the time of his death, often spoke of his experiences on this trip, but never a word about the business on which he went. He said that he knew the life secret of Skeggs, which explained his strange life, but that Skeggs bad always been faithful and true to him, and to all of the Edwards family, and that he would never betray his trust, and that when he should die all knowledge of the life story of that strange man would be gone.
To prevent any misunderstanding I will say that there was another Henry Skaggs who was a hunter and trapper in the barrens at an early day, whose real name was Skaggs, and whose name I have seen as a chain carrier on several old Surveyor's reports. He was a cousin to old uncle Tommy Skeggs, or Skaggs, a noted preacher of the early times in Green County, and was a man of very limited education and attainments, but said to have been a good man. Historians not well acquainted with the life of either have made a sad mixture of the careers of the two men.SUPPLEMENT
The foregoing statement of what I have learned of the history of my ancestors, for the century and a half ending in the year 1855, was written a little at a time over a number of years, with little thought of publication. As it is possible that it may be put in permanent form I have concluded to add thereto what I have been able to learn of the descendants of my great grandfather Edwards, confined almost entirely to descendants of my grandfather and of his brother Alexander. The list is far from complete. I wrote many letters to persons who I thought would take enough interest in their families to answer my inquiries, but most of those addressed, not expecting an inheritance or pecuniary reward, did not take sufficient interest to reply, even when return postage was furnished. Many however have given me all the information obtainable, and have expressed a desire that the family traditions be published, and that they may be able to get a copy of the publication at almost any price. To these I am sincerely grateful and, in order to help them trace their linage, I have attached numbers in parenthesis to most to the names, in order to avoid confusion in dealing with many persons of the same name.
Captain Cader Edwards, of Wales (1)
Mary, his wife, of Scotland (2). She belonged to the Clan GORDAN of the Scottish Highlands, and was I believe married under the name of Mary Gordon, but I am not certain as the name.Their Children:
Sally (3), Rachel (4), William (5), David (6), Alexander (7), Thomas (8), Ninian (9), John (10), Robert (11), and Cader (12).
81. Mary Gordon
Exerpt from the book "The History of the Edwards Family" written by CyrusEdwards.
Descendents of Alexander Ban Donaldson was received from
David Moore.
"David Moore"
114. Alexander Walker
Alexander Walker died abt 1796 inper filing of will. He marriedElizabeth (?)
Information from Glenn Blevins. Awaiting to see where he obtained thisinformation.
8/27/2000
116. Thomas Cartmill
Land Book, Augusta Co. VA
1786-1797
118. Henry McDonald
Children found by Cousin Paula from West VA. Will Book D Page 3, FayetteCounty Court House, Ky. Deed Book 10 Page 55. Thomas and Patsy Carmillform Bath County sold to John McNab of Morgan County Ky., land bequeathedto them from Henry McDonald in Fayette County Ky. 12 Apr. 1834.