MISC FAMILY; GOLDSMITH Family of Bullitt County, KY ********************************************************************** USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net Transcribed by: Thomas Goldsmith" Date: 30 Sept 1999 *********************************************************************** Extracted from the book "Goldsmiths 200 Years In Kentucky" with permission of the author Gaylen Goldsmith. THE GOLDSMITHS OF BULLITT COUNTY As I said earlier, John Goldsmith came to Kentucky several years later than his brothers Vincent and Samuel. When John first came to Kentucky around 1795 he settled for a few years at Knob Lick Station. This was one of the earliest stations in Lincoln County and is now part of Casey County. When John, his wife Jane, and their three children, Samuel, Polly, and Mitty, left Virginia they probably came to Kentucky by the Wilderness Road, through the Cumberland Gap, into Lincoln County. John's children, Samuel was born in 1776 while John was in the army fighting the British with George Washington. Polly was born in 1779 and Mitty was born in 1786. While living in Lincoln County John and Jane had two more children. They were John Jr., born in 1799, and Matilda, born in 1800. While living in Lincoln County John's two oldest children were married. Samuel married Milly Sutherland in 1796 and Polly married a man by the last name of Nichols. Milly Sutherland's parents were William and Mary Sutherland. Milly had several brothers and sisters. Her brothers were Fendle, William, Owen, and George. Her sisters were Thursy, who married a Hawkins, Susannah, who married a Harper, Polly, who married a Jones, Jenny, and Nancy. While living at Knob Lick Station, Samuel and Milly had six children. They were Sally, born in 1797, Owen, born in 1798, Nelson, horn in 1803, Jane, born in 1807, Elizabeth, born in 1809, and David, born in 1812. Since there are no records showing John or Samuel owning land in Lincoln County, I suspect that they made a living by their brick mason trade. John and Samuel and their famlies left Casey County, which had been formed out of Lincoln County in 1806, and went to Bullitt County in 1814. John bought one hundred acres along Knob Creek, which lies in the western part of Bullitt County. Where John settled is about five miles northeast of West Point. In later years this area would be known as Cupio. Even though Samuel and his family lived on his father's farm, Samuel was not interested in farming at this time, he was more of an entrepreneur. He became a river trader, carrying merchandise from Pittstown and Sheperdsville to the settlers in southern Harrison County Indiana. Shepherdsville was the closest trading post to southern Harrison County in those days. Samuel would load his flatboat with flour, tea, gunpowder, and other items at Pittstown and take them out the Salt River and across the Ohio to various landings along the Harrison County bank. Some of the landings that Samuel stopped at were Colvins, at Rosewood, McCrea's Landing, across the river from Salt River, Flannagans, where Evans Landing would be established later, Brown's Landing, just down river from Flannagans, Tobacco Landing, Boones' Landing, Morvin's Landing, across from Brandenburg, Mauckport, and New Amsterdam. While making trips to Harrison County and talking to the settlers there, Samuel became interested in the county, and especially the town of Corydon. Corydon had become the capitol of Indiana in 1816 and Samuel saw much opportunity for him there with his building and brick mason ability. Because Samuel knew the town suffered from a shortage of housing and buildings for commercial use, there would be a demand for skilled carpenters and brick masons. So in 1818 Samuel purchased nine acres and a log house from Daniel Lane in Corydon. The property ran along Beaver Street west to Big Indian Creek. Beaver Street borders the public square in Corydon. Samuel brought his family here in this same year to live and work. This left John Sr. and Jane alone, except for John Jr., who was the only child at home now, Matilda had married William Hopewell, November 17, 1817 in Bullitt County. Samuel and his son Owen, who was twenty years old now, began contracting to build private residents for the increasing population brought on by state government business in the new capitol of Indiana. Samuel and Owen obtained county contracts also. These contracts included building walk ways around the public square and filling in the ponds that were in the public square. In 1826 Samuel acquired the contract to build a clerk's office building on the court house square. I have copies of pay vouchers to Samuel for doing the brick work and the plastering work on this building. For his work on the clerk's building Samuel received $137.50 from the county. He also received money from the Pisgah Lodge of masons # 5 of Corydon. The second floor of this building was to be used as a lodge hall for the masons. I feel sure that Samuel aquired this contract because of his involvement in working for county government and the fact that he had long been a master mason in the Masonic Lodge. This building was 20 feet by 30 feet with walls nine inches thick. The building had a front and back door, with three windows in the front and back. The county clerk used this building until 1848 when more commodious quarters were furnished him in the new county office building. After this the downstairs floor was rented out to lawyers and various businessmen until 1879 when the Pisgah Lodge sold their portion to the county and the building was torn down. I am sure that while Samuel and his family lived in Corydon he had many opportunities to visit with his cousins John, William, and Daniel Goldsmith. These were the sons of his uncle Samuel Goldsmith from South Fork in Hardin County, who lived in different townships in Harrison County. Samuel and his family remained in Corydon until 1830 when they moved to New Albany to continue his occupation as builder and brick mason. The 1830 census list Samuel and Owen living in New Albany in different households. Owen had married his longtime sweetheart in Hardin County in a double wedding with his uncle John Jr. on February 15, 1819. The two brides were sisters and I have information that they were first cousins of Abraham Lincoln. However I have not tried to prove this information to myself yet. Owen married Polly Greenwood and John Jr. married her sister Ann. Now in 1830 Samuel and Milly had only two children at home. Nelson had married Nancy Davis September 11, 1823 in Corydon and had moved back to Bullitt County. Jane had married Robert Shields August 24, 1826 in Corydon, and Elizabeth had married Strawther French at Corydon August 8, 1826. Matilda and David still lived at home at this time. By now Owen and Polly had been married eleven years and had five children, all of them being born in Corydon. They were Lucinda, born October 20, 1821, Samuel R., born August 29, 1823, Harriet, born August 9, 1825, Nelson H., born January 6, 1828, and Mary E., born June 20, 1830. While living in New Albany Owen and Polly had one more child, named Jane Ellen, born November 3, 1832. In 1837 Samuel and Owen left New Albany, Owen returning to Bullitt County to farm and Samuel going to Spencer County Indiana to build a new court house there. In 1838 after the completion of the court house in Spencer County, Samuel and Milly and their two remaining children, David and Matilda, returned to his land in Bullitt County that he had purchased from John Logan in 1821. By now Samuel had accumulated a sizable fortune for his time. He had made a lot of money with his flatboat trade in the early days and he had made a lot of money from building in Corydon, New Albany, and Spencer County Indiana. He had also sold off some of his twelve hundred acres in Bullitt County and made money. By 1840 Samuel owned nine slaves. He probably acquired these slaves after moving back to Bullitt County to help him work his farm. While living in Corydon, Samuel's father John Sr. died at his house on Knob Creek, October 30, 1825. John's younger brother, Vincent had died in Washington County Kentucky in 1816. At the time of John's death he had one brother still living. This was Samuel who was living on his farm at South Fork in Hardin County. Just before his death John had applied for a pension in Bullitt County for his service in the Revolutionary War. John's application was filed May 2, 1825 and his pension began July 30, 1825. In his application John stated that he was sixty-eight years old and almost destitute. He said that he had sold his farm to pay doctor bills for his wife who was very sickly and weakly. He stated that he lived in a house on land that belonged to someone else. John said that he had two sons and three daughter from whom he received no support and that his mare, hogs, and house furnishings were worth 28 dollars and fifty cents. John further stated that he joined the service in Goochland County Virginia in February of 1776 in the 9th Virginia Regiment under the command of Captain Samuel Woodson and Colonel Matthews. John said that his first year of service was spent on the eastern shore of Virginia and the next year he was marched north to Pennsylvania and spent his remaining time there until he was mustered out of the service at Valley Forge in the winter of 1778. John received eight dollars per month until his death in October, a total of thirty-two dollars for his service in the army. It is unknown for sure when his wife Jane died, but she probably died shortly after John died, for John stated in his pension application that she was very sickly and nearly his own age. When Samuel and Milly and their two children, David and Matilda, returned to his farm along Salt River in 1838 Samuel was probably getting too old to do construction and brick work.He was sixty-two years old now. He probably intended to finish out the rest of his life on his farm. Originally his farm comprised an area from about three miles west of the mouth of the Rolling Fork River, along the north side of Salt River to just below the community of Cupio. The place where Samuel built his house was at the eastern end of this property. This area in later years would be known as Chappel Ridge and is on the Fort Knox Reservation. Nelson and Owen had returned to Bullitt County before Samuel and were already working the farm when Samuel and Milly returned. Nelson and his wife Nancy Davis had two more children by now. They were David R., born in 1832, and Abigail, born in 1834. Altogether Nelson and Nancy had thirteen children. For a complete list of Nelson and Nancy's children and their marriages, refer to the group chart for Nelson Goldsmith. Owen and Polly had added two more children to their family by the time of Samuel's return also. They were Ann C., born April 8, 1837, and Joseph E., born February 11, 1839. Owen and Polly would have one more son, born December 8, 1839. His name was Stanford W. John Jr. and his wife Ann Greenwood had moved away from his father's farm on Knob Creek shortly after their marriage in 1819. In 1826 John Jr. bought 247 acres of the 1200 acres that his brother Samuel had purchased in 1821 along Salt River. John Jr. farmed this land until his death in 1842. Like Samuel, John Jr. was a flatboater also. Much of the farm produce that John Jr. raised was stored in warehouses through the fall and winter until the river was high enough in the spring to take his flatboat load of produce down the river to New Orleans. The warehouse that John stored most of his produce was owned by Coleman Lewis in West Point, at the mouth of the Salt River. At the time of John's death Coleman Lewis held a note on John for thirty dollars for storage. This warehouse sat on the north-west corner of second and Elm Streets. In April of 1842 John Jr. left West Point with a load of farm produce, bound for New Orleans. Something happened on the Mississippi River at Memphis. It is uncertain what happened, but John Jr. was drowned there. My information tells me that John was buried near Memphis Tenn. His grave site is unknown. John left his widow Ann and ten children. One of these children was an infant named Jerush M., borned in February of 1842. For a complete list of John Jr.'s children, their births and marriages, refer to his group chart in this book. Along with running his farm when Samuel returned to Bullitt County, he applied for and received a license to operate a ferry across Salt River near his home. This license was granted in 1838. In later years after Samuel's death this ferry would be known as Key's Ferry. A list of rates for taking the Goldsmith Ferry across Salt River is as follows. Four wheel wagons with six horses was one dollar, four wheel wagons with four horses was seventy-five cents, four wheel wagons with two horses was fifty cents. Carts and other two wheel vehicles with two horses or oxen was fifty cents. Carts or carriages with one horse was thirty-seven and a half cents. Samuel charged twelve and a half cents for a man and his horse to ride the ferry. A single person cost six and a quarter cents. He charged three cents for each head of cattle and two cents for each head of sheep. Samuel's ferry boat was forty feet long and ten feet wide. As I said earlier, Samuel was a man of business and ambition. Besides his farm and his ferry business Samuel operated a tavern out of his home on Salt River. Samuel owned a large still and manufactured his own whiskey and brandy. His tavern house also provided lodging for travelers who were traveling by water or those who traveled the road from Shepherdsville through Pitts Point, and on to West Point and the L&N Turnpike. In those days highway 44 did not exist. The road from Shepherdsville to West Point ran along the north bank of the Salt River intersecting with the L&N Turnpike at West Point. The L&N Turnpike was built in 1833 and went north to Louisville or south to Elizabethtown and Nashville. This turnpike is now known as the Dixie Highway or 31W. Samuel continued to run his farm and operate his ferry and tavern until he became ill in June of 1850. On June 28 Samuel died at his home on Salt River. He was seventy-four years old. After Samuel's death Milly lived the rest of her life with their son Nelson. She died May 10, 1852. At Samuel's death all of his lands, slaves, and personal possesions were auctioned off and the proceeds went to Milly and his children. Along with the standard funeral, Samuel received a Masonic funeral at his home, conducted by the brothers of Barker Lodge, # 129 at West Point. Samuel had been a charter member of this lodge when it was formed in 1843. His son Nelson became a master mason in the lodge in 1844. At this date, 1998, I am the fourth generation of Goldsmiths to be a master mason in Barker Lodge #129 at West Point Kentucky. By 1857 Owen Goldsmith had grown tired of fanning and moved up Salt River about three miles to the town of Pitts Point. By now Pitts Point had become a busy river town, being the shipping point for farm produce from Bullitt County. The Salt River was not navigable all the way to Shepherdsville unless the water was high in the river, so the farmers in Bullitt County brought their produce to Pitts Point to be shipped to market. The town was originally called Pittstown. In 1796 three brothers, Archibald, Thomas, and Robert Pitt came here from Man/land with their wives and bought 600 acres and operated saw mills on this site for several years. Originally an early pioneer fort occupied this site. The fort was called Fort Nonsense and had been built in 1785 and used until about 1790. This place was at the junction of the Salt River and the Rolling Fork River. By 1842 a post office had been established in the town and the first public school was opened in 1850. When Owen moved to Pitts Point, he and his son Samuel R. purchased lot # 4 from John Greenwell for 350 dollars. On this lot Owen and Samuel R. built a log building and opened a liquor business here. In 1860 they bought lot # 33 from J. Froman and operated a fish market here. In 1860 the population of Pitts Point was 300 people and the following businesses were listed in G. H. Howe's Kentucky State Gazetteer And Business Directory. N. D. Benett- physician Wm. H. Boyer-carpenter Butler Lodge # 194-masonic lodge Carpenter & Conell- Franklin Hotel Caswell # Co.- bakers Wm. Chaddie- surveyor S.W. Collins - saddle & harness maker Collins & Meyer - coopers J.C. Cornell- carpenter C.F. Dantic - rope maker J.B. Dayle - attorney at law J.V. Froman - steam flouring and saw mills Samuel Goldsmith - fish dealer Goldsmith & Son - merchants J.J. Greenwell - proprietor ofPitts Point House Wm. Greenwell - cabinet maker Greenwell & May - plow makers Holtclaw & Gunsales - stoves and tinware C Hardesty- physician George Elder Hicks - Baptist minister John H. Holoway - mason and builder Levy & Bro. - merchant Harvey May - blacksmith G.W. Miles- dentist J.W. Miller - ambrotypist & dauguerren artist and constable Hark Raney - chair maker Miss Ellen Stiles - Rolling Fork Seminary Samuel Runner- tailor Z.P. Snellen - mason & builder W.D. Sutlan- painter C.B. Tydings- physician During the Civil War Pitts Point was regarded as a Union town since several of the young men from there went to fight for the Union. In 1865 a band of Confederate guerrillas led by two Wiggington brothers attacked the town causing a lot of damage. During the fighting one of the Wiggington brothers was killed. I am sure that Owen and Samuel R. stood their ground in this fight since they had seven close kin folks off fighting in the war. Soon after this trouble with the band of outlaws the town returned to normal. The Wiggington brothers were from nearby Hardin County. They lived in the Pleasant View Church area about three miles south of West Point. Some of the Goldsmiths that served in the Civil War from Pitts Point and Bullitt County were Henery Goldsmith, who was in Co. B, 23 Ky. Infantry as a private. He was the son of William and Elizabeth. James S. Goldsmith, he served in Co. D, 4th Ky. Cavalry and was captured at the battle of Chickamauga Georgia September 19, 1863. Along side him in this battle was a distant cousin from Mauckport Ind., Marion Goldsmith, who served in the Indiana 38th Vol., Co. B. This was the battle in which Marion was wounded. Nelson Goldsmith also served in the 4th Ky. Cavalry, in Co. A.He was discharged before the end of the war because of illness. He was the son of Nelson and Nancy. Joseph E. Goldsmith was a sargent in the 1st Battalion, Louisville Provost Guard, Ky Vol. He was the son of Owen and Polly. Walter Goldsmith was a private in the 1st Battalion, Louisville Provost Guard, Ky. Vol. Along side his cousin Joseph E. He was the son of John Jr. and Ann. Marcus Lafayette Goldsmith was in the 28th Ky. Infantry, Co. C. He was badly wounded on June 17, 1864 and was out of action until March 7th, 1865. His parents were John Jr. and Ann. John Rol Goldsmith served in Co. C of the 53rd Ky. Infantry as a private. His parents were also John Jr. and Ann. As we can see Ann Goldsmith had three sons off fighting in the war at the same time.Ann had been a widow for nine years when the war started and I am sure that this must have been a heavy burden to bear by herself. Her husband John Jr, had drowned in 1842. Owen and Nelson Goldsmith lived the rest of their lives in Bullitt County. Nelson and Nancy had thirteen children altogether. Nelson and Nancy died in the 1880's and are buried on the Fort Knox Reservation. Owen Goldsmith lived the rest of his life at Pitts Point after moving there in 1857. He died there July 12, 1889. Owen and Polly had nine children. Refer the group chart for Owen Goldsmith for a complete list of his children's births and marriages. Here I will mention a couple of Owen and Polly's children that lived in West Point.Their daughter Harriet was born in 1825 while they lived in Corydon, and married Judge George Fisher of West Point October 11, 1854. Harriet and George lived their entire married life in West Point and were well thought of and respected by people in town. From 1868 to 1874 they lived at 204 Elm Street. The author of this book purchased this house in 1985 and restored it to it's original grandeur and it was placed in The National Register Of Historic Places. This building was built in 1841 and became known as the Ditto House. In 1874 Harriet and George moved down Elm Street and bought the old Stacey Applegate house. Here they lived until their deaths after the turn of the century. In the 1860's George Fisher and Solomon Jenkins opened the mercantile firm of Fisher and Jenkins at 206 Elm Street, next door to the Ditto House. Part of this building is still standing today, and on this lot the author of this book lives now. Harriet and George are buried in the Pleasant View Cemetery on Fort Knox. Another child of Owen Goldsmith that lived in West Point was Nelson H. He lived here in the 1850's and lived with his sister Harriet and her husband George. The store building that later was occupied by Fisher and Jenkins was at this time owned by Julius Gutherie. Nelson H. worked as a clerk in this store and on December 10, 1854 Nelson H. was mounting his horse in front of the store when he was thrown to the ground and killed. Nelson H. was buried in the Bledsoe Kennedy Family Cemetery in the Younger's Creek section off Hwy. 583. There are many Goldsmiths buried in the numerous cemeteries throughout the Fort Knox Reservation and there are cemetery record books at the Filson Club and Louisville Free Library that list all the headstones on Fort Knox. I have visited several of these cemeteries on Memorial Days. Memorial Day is the only time of year that the public is allowed in these cemeteries. In this chapter I have tried to give you a picture of the early Goldsmiths of Bullitt County. Many Goldsmith decendents have come out of Bullitt County, and there are still some Goldsmiths there. Any Goldsmith that was born in Bullitt County in the last 180 years is most likely a descendant of John Sr. Goldsmith who came there in 1814. ************************************************** Correction added by "Barbara A. Jerabek" Just started to read this one, but noticed an error. Nelson & Nancy are my direct ancestors. They actually moved to Minnesota in 1863/1864. The Rardons, McAhrons,and nine of Nelson & Nancy's children and their families also moved to Minnesota. They all moved to Le Sueur County, Minnesota, near the town of Cleveland. (There is actually a Goldsmith Lake named after them. They farmed there. Nelson died on 08 March 1893 of "general debility" (C-30-2, Le Sueur Co. Courthouse records) and was buried in March of 1893 at the Savidge Lake Cemetery. The obituary stated he had a stroke of paralysis and was living with his son at the time. He was almost 90 years old. According to the land records of Le Sueur Co. Nelson first bought land on 15 June 1863. His brother Owen came up around 1860. Nancy Goldsmith died on 05 March 1884, also of general debility (B-94-2, Le Sueur Co. Courthouse records). She is also buried at Savidge Lake Cemetery. I have written from several sources (none original) that Owen died on 12 July 1879. Some of the Goldsmiths went back to Bullitt Co. after the civil war was over. I'm not sure where Owen and Polly died. I don't remember seeing their graves here, but many of the rest are at Savidge and at Meeker Cemetery on Scotch Lake in Le Sueur Co.