MISC: Early Settlements: Clark County, Kentucky -------------------------------------------- Contributed for use in USGENWEB Archives by: Darla Woosley Date: 20 June 1999 -------------------------------------------- **************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free genealogical information on the Internet, data may be freely used for personal research and by non-commercial entities as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format or presentation by other organizations or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for profit or any form of presentation, must obtain the written consent of the file submitter, or his legal representative and then 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. ***************************************************************************** Newspapers: Early Settlements: Clark County, KentuckyThe following is an article printed in "The Winchester (Clark County KY) Sun" under the title "Clark County Chronicles". These people are not ancestors of this transcriber. Begin article:(Editor's Note: In the early 1920s, The Winchester Sun began publishing a series of columns on Clark County history prepared by the Historical Society titled The Clark County Chronicles. The Sun is republishing the series, one a week until the reprinting is complete. The Chronicles have notbeen edited to conform to modern newspaper style-they are being reprinted in the original form.) EARLY SETTLEMENTS OF CLARK COUNTY THE LEWIS SETTLEMENT Col. Thomas Lewis, a Revolutionary soldier of Virginia, came with his wife and family to Fayette County, Kentucky in 1780, and settled on a large farm three miles west of Lexington, and resided there until his death. He was one of the representatives from Fayette County when Clark County was formed and in conjunction with Hubbard Taylor, and James McMillan, who then lived in that part of Fayette County now embraced in Clark County, and James Smith, of Bourbon, now influential in the creation of the new county, from Fayette and Bourbon. He was also a member of the Convention at Danville that framed the first constitution of Kentucky in 1792 and was then elected to the first legislature of the State.The second year after the creation of Clark County, he purchased the southhalf of the six thousand acre military survey and grant of Colonel Nathaniel Gist, on Stoner, Strode's, and Pretty Run Creeks, for which he paid only nine hundred pounds or forty-five hundred dollars in the money of that day, and now the tract would easily sell for three quarters of amillion dollars or more. This south half of the tract called for three thousand acres, but surveyed out five or six hundred acres more, as did many of the pioneer tracts. This Lewis tract was twelve hundred poles long and four hundred poles wide. It joined with the remainder of the Gist grant at the junction of the Pretty Run pike and ran withthe Winchester and Paris pike to the creek of that name and continuing the same course until it cornered with the James Stuart tract, at or near Dooley's scales and the present junction of Middletown pike and Grassy Licks pike. It then ran four hundred poles southeast to the Stephen D. Lewis corner, just east of Middletown pike and thence twelvehundred poles to or near the Sphar line and thence north to the beginning. No finer land could be found in Kentucky than was embraced in this and the Gist tracts. The tract was divided in 1829, among five of the heirs of Colonel Thomas Lewis, and Asa K. Lewis received five hundred acres, Douglas P. Lewis five hundred and sixty-five acres. Thornton Lewis five hundred and eighty acres. Stephen D.Lewis six hundred and ninety acres, and Alpheus Lewis one thousand acres, the preponderance of acreage being given to the latter on account of its largely embracing much of the hill country on Stoner that was not regarded so valuable as the remainder of the tract. Stephen D. Lewis in 1832, acquired a hundred and eighty-six acres from hisbrother, Douglas P. Lewis, and the latter sold the remaining three hundred and seventy-six acres to John Bean and moved to Bourbon county, where he was married.Colonel Thomas Lewis had in all thirteen children, the oldest son, Hector P. Lewis being given the home tract in Fayette county, and other children who reached maturity were given lands and property elsewhere. His oldest daughter, Nancy, married General James Garrard, of Bourbon county, a distinguished man in the history of Kentucky, a son of Governor James Garrard, twice governor of Kentucky. Sallie, the second oldest daughter married General Green Clay of Madison county. After General Clay's death, his widow married her brother-in-law, Jeptha Dudley, of Frankfort,who had before married her younger sister, Elizabeth Lewis. Colonel Thomas Lewis died in September 1809, at Olympia Springs in Bath county, having gone that far on an intended trip to Virginia on horseback. His children did not receive deeds to their property in this county under an order of partition until 1829, but had previously resided on the tracts which he had set apart for them. ASA K. LEWIS Asa K. Lewis, the second son, was educated at the Transylvania University and afterwards graduated at Princeton University, both in the classical and law departments and was a man of more than ordinary talent and ability, and with very refined and polished manners and was very popular. He practiced law for a short time in Mt. Sterling, but then retired to his farm in the county and served for several terms as one of the old Court of Quarter Sessions and as a member of the legislature. He was also a major in the War of 1812 and gained great reputation for bravery and military skill at the Battle of Dudley's Defeat. He was a very prominent Mason, holding the highest offices in that order,including that of Grand Master and on his death in 1850, he was buried with imposing Masonic ceremonies.He was very fond of hunting and fishing in the mountains and would spend much time in this enjoyment, owning a large tract in Eastern Kentucky, given him by his father. On one of these trips he met a handsome mountain girl, Miss Peggy Ellerzley, whom he married in 1820, though eighteen years the senior of his bride, and brought her to his home in Clark county on horseback. Mrs. Lewis carried with her a large elm riding switch, which she planted at her new home and it in time grew to be a large tree and is still living. He built a fine brick mansion, after his marriage, the walls of which are still standing, the roof and interior having burned two or three years ago. The place is now ownedin art by J. Warwick Gay and his sister, Mrs. Lula Gay Burnam and they also own a large portion of the original Douglas P. Lewis tract. The late James H. Bean acquired the northwest portion of the Asa K. Lewis tract and resided there until his death some years ago.Asa K. Lewis' son Hector Lewis moved to Arkansas and became a very wealthy planter in that State. His daughter Mary married Captain Matt Clay of Bourbon county and lived at the fine mansion on the Winchester pike, a short distance out of Paris. Another daughter, Sarah, married Shelton Oldham of Fayette county, and after his death marriedJ.G. Lipscomb of Arkansas. The second son, Henry Lewis, was gallant soldier in the Southern Army and was killed in the battle near Gallatin, Tennessee, while leading his men. Sidney, the third son, also served in the Southern Army, and moved to Arkansas, about 1871 and it is said that he left the home of his brother one day on a hunting expeditioninto the swamps, singing "Major Andre's Lament", and never returned, and it is thought that he became drowned or mired in the quicksands of the swamp.The remains of Asa K. Lewis and his family were removed from the old family graveyard in the garden of his home, to the Paris cemetery and now rest there. STEPHEN D. LEWIS Stephen D. Lewis resided on his fine farm on Pretty Run and died there in 1870 at the age of eighty-one. He was educated at Transylvania University, but located at the age of twenty-one on his farm, where he resided until his death. He did not marry until he was nearly sixty years of age, and had no children, but adopted his wife's niece, Miss Anna Stith, whose name was changed to Lewis by the terms of his will she inherited his entire estate. She married Charles Swift, of Lexington, and was a very handsome and charming woman.Stephen D. Lewis was a man of more than ordinary capacity and fine education, had a fine library, and read a great deal of history and scientific literature. He possessed great ingenuity and inventive ability; was very dexterous with the use of tools and could make nearly anything of wood, iron, brass or silver that he wished. He also located sulfur springs, being known as "witch water", on every farm on Pretty Run. He was also very fond of a game of chess, and he and Dr. A.S. Allan would play for days and nights at a time. THORNTON LEWIS Thornton Lewis, the fifth son of Colonel Thomas Lewis, was educated at Transylvania University and moved to his farm in Clark county as he became of age, and resided there until 1860, when he purchased the old Samuel Hanson residence, in Winchester, where he resided until his death. The old home afterwards became the property of Major F.M. Lowe and his wife (who was a sister of General John S. Williams), and was then owned by her niece, Mrs. Fannie Bean until she sold it last year to the County Board of Education and the present high school building occupies the site.Thornton Lewis married Miss Emma Wright, daughter of Captain Thomas Wright, a Revolutionary soldier of Clark county, who owned and lived on another portion of the Gist grant on Pretty Run near the Bourbon line. His oldest son, Thomas Wright Lewis, was born in 1833 and after maturity acquired his grandfather Wright's old place, and became a noted livestock breeder and farmer. He was a graduate of Frankfort Military Institute and married Miss Pauline Young,of Bath county. As an instance of his determination to excel in all lines of livestock breeding, he is said to have paid a thousand dollars for an imported Angora goat, these animals then being in great demand for their wool bearing qualities.After Fort Sumpter was fired upon in 1861, he and Captain RoyStuart Cluke, a gallant and experienced soldier of the Texan and Mexican Wars, organized a company of sixty men, Cluke being chosen captain and Thomas W. Lewis first lieutenant, and began drilling them for service. In August 1861, while drilling them as a cavalry company in apasture on the Lexington pike, near the place where W.M. Robb now lives, he was accidentally shot and was instantly killed, by a pistol in the hands of one of the men. The accident caused such grief throughout the company that it disbanded at once, but very soon afterwards Captain Cluke received a colonel's commission from the Confederate Government and raised a regiment of Clark and adjoining counties, in which a majority of the men who composed the first company joined.Thornton Lewis' oldest daughter, Amelia C. married B.F. Van Meter, one of the noblest and best men in Clark county has ever produced and they lived happily together for over sixty-seven years, until her death two years ago in Lexington. Mr. Van Meter was for many years a member and chairman of the Democratic county committee and oneof the most noted short horn breeders and importers in America, having made many trips to England for this purpose. He is also noted as an author and has written several books. He is still living in Lexington, Ky., in his ninetieth year. His grandson Archie L. Hamilton, has been for several years past the representative from Fayette county, and is now the Democratic candidate for state senator from Fayette without opposition in his own party.Mr. Van Meter's oldest son, Everett Van Meter, is a leading business man and banker in Ogden, Utah and Chicago, Illinois. Another son, Joseph C. Van Meter, is a widely known and popular business man and farmer and was a candidate for State Treasurer some years ago. Another son, T.W.L. Van Meter, frequently accompanied his father to England and is now a Clark county farmer, and married to Miss Mary Holloway, daughter of Colonel James H. andMollie Williams Holloway and granddaughter of General John Stuart Williams. Another son, Dr. B.F. Van Meter, Jr.is a leading physician of Lexington. Another, Frank B. Van Meter, was a successful race horse owner and breeder until his death some years ago. The oldest daughter, Emma, married the late A.L. Hamilton, Sr. and spends her winters in California. The second daughter, Annette, married the late Mr. Pettit, of Lexington and lives in that city, and theyoungest daughter, Maybelle, is unmarried and lives with her father.Dr. Francis M. Greene, who married Theodosia Ann, third daughter of Alpheus Lewis, w as a very prominent physician and was a son of Dr. R. D. Greene, a pioneer physician of Montgomery county near the Clark county line, who married a daughter of Captain Thomas Wright. Captain Wright that portion of the Gist grant where Pretty Run crosses the line into Bourbon county, and left a large family of descendants , who will [be] mentioned hereafter.Dr. Francis M. Greene, after his marriage resided on the Middletown pike, nearly opposite Mt. Carmel church, and practiced medicine there very successfully for many years before moving to Fayette county. Shortly after his removal to Fayette county the construction of the Southern Railway, then known as the Cincinnati Southern, was commenced and he was very influential in securing the right-of-way in his end of the county and gave the right-of-way through his ownfarm. In recognition of his services the railroad gave him a station on his farm and named it Greendale. In addition to being a fine physician, Dr. Greene was quite an amateur archaeologist and while living in Clark conducted on his own account many explorations and excavations in the great prehistoric burying ground at what is now known as the"Devil's Backbone", on Stoner Creek, on the Lewis lands and those of the Gay estate. These graves had stone slabs for floors, sides and covering, but were only half the usual length of graves, owing to the fact that the bodies were buried in a sitting position. Many of these graves contained skeletons of the prehistoric race, that were still in a fair state of preservation, though most of them crumbled to dust when exposed to the atmosphere. These tombs also containedvarious articles of jewelry made from Mica, copper and other mineral substances. Some of the skeletons were preserved by Dr. Greene for several years and were donated by him to several others. The Clark County Historical Society has promise of one or more of these, including some of the jewelry to place in its collection.Dr. Greene, after his wife's death, removed to Lexington and resided there until his decease. His grandfather, Thaddeus Greene, came to Kentucky from Georgia and was a relative of the famous Revolutionary general, Nathaniel Greene, who removed from Rhode Island to Georgia after the Revolutionary War, the State of Georgia having grantedhim an entire island off the coast and a large landed estate in recognition of his brilliant services in the war.One of Dr. Francis M. Greene's daughters is Miss Nancy Lewis Greene, the talented young author and writer, of Lexington, whose literary work has attracted marked attention, not only in Kentucky, but in other states.Another daughter of Dr. Greene is Miss Cora Greene, who is a prominent college woman.A fourth daughter of Alpheus Lewis, Nannie, married Charles B. Duke, of Nashville, Tennessee, and has three children, namely, May, Charles B., and Sophia Lewis Duke. Sally, the second child of Colonel Thomas and Elizabeth Lewis, married, first, General Green Clay of Madison county,who figured extensively in both military and political affairs in Kentucky in his day, and Clay county was named in his honor. General Clay's eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married Colonel John Speed Smith, of Madison county, a veryprominent lawyer and citizen of that county. The second daughter, Pauline, married Colonel William Rodes, a man of fine education and cultivation, who enjoyed great popularity in his community.General Cassius M. Clay was the son of General Green Clay and his wife Sally Lewis Clay, and became one of the most noted figures in the country. He distinguished himself as a soldier in the Mexican War and by his bravery saved the lives of his entire company, when they were cut off from the main army and captured by the Mexicans. He wasafterwards appointed Minister to Russia, by President Lincoln and while representing his country at the Russian court negotiated the purchase of Alaska by the United States and for which full credit has never been given him as he deserved. He was also a General in the Union Army and filled many positions of honor in his day. His son, Brutus J.Clay, still resides in Madison county and was Minister to Switzerland for four years. Miss Laura Clay, noted sufferage leader is a daughter of General Cassius M. Clay and is the present Democratic nominee for the state senate from the Madison district.Another son of General Green Clay was Hon. Brutus J. Clay, of Bourbon county, who was a member of Congress and a man of national reputation. One of Brutus J. Clay's sons was Hon. Cassius M. Clay, Jr., former state senator from the Bourbon, Clark, and Montgomery district, President of the last Constitutional Convention, and at one time a contending candidate for governor. "Auvergne," the beautiful old Clay homestead, near the Winchester and Paris pike is still in the family and owned by Mrs. Cassius M. Clay, Jor., and her two sons. Another son of Brutus J. Clay, Sr., was Colonel Ezekial F. Clay, a noted Confederate soldier and one of the most prominent thoroughbred horse breeders in t he country.Another descendent of Brutus J. Clay is Mrs. W. R. Shackelford, wife of the present Circuit Judge of our district, who is a daughter of Hon. Cassius M. Jr., Mrs. Bessie Benton, wife of Judge J. M. Benton, former circuit judge of this district, is also a descendent of General Green Clay and of Colonel John Speed Smith. Mrs. Benton's father being the late Dr. Curran Smith of Madison county. THOMAS WRIGHT Captain Thomas Wright, a Revolutionary soldier, was another resident of the Lewis and Gist Settlement and came from Virginia about the year 1780 and acquired a portion of the Gist tract on Pretty Run. This place is now owned owned by Mrs. John Evans and her son John O. Evans, who was nominated for the legislature last Saturday. Captain Wright was twice married, his first wife being Elizabeth Graves, and from this marriage raised five children, namely, Jefferson, Morgan, Dr. Connor, Elizabeth and Polly. His second wife was Mary Rice, and from this marriage raised fourchildren, namely, Lizzie, Pamelia, Emma, and William Henry Harrison Wright.Dr. Connor Wright was a very noted physician in Clark County, but left no children. Jefferson and Morgan Wright settled in Missouri. Elizabeth married R.D. Greene, of Montgomery County, and raised twelve children, namely,Pamelia, Lafayette, Dr. F. M., Susie, Nannie, Edward, Emma, Dr. Beale, Thomas, Bush, Elizabeth, and Alvius.William Henry Harrison Wright married Miss Sarah J. Halley, and the late Squire Lewis Connor Wright, of Montgomery County, was their son. Pamelia married Harvey Wilson, of Montgomery County, and they afterwardsmoved to Winchester. One of their daughters, Emma, married the late Waller Calmes, and now resides in Phoenix, Arizona. Emma Wright, another daughter of Captain Thomas Wright, married Thornton Lewis, and has been heretofore mentioned in this article. In our article of July 19, a slight error was made by our informant in saying that the accidental killing of Lieutenant Thomas Wright Lewis took place in a pasture near where Mr. William Robb now lives, when it should have been statedthat it was in a pasture near the residence of the late Thomas C. Van Meter, now owned by N. Prewitt Van Meter, and nearly opposite the former residence of Mr. Robb. Still another informant says the event took place in the big bottom orflat pasture now owned by Field Van Meter. We will shortly have an article from one of the four remaining eye-witnesses, giving his version of the exact spot and of the sad event in detail. Transcribed 1999 by Darla Woosley. This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives. AbneyWare@aol.com