Jessamine County KyArchives Biographies.....Woodson, Tucker 1789 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ky/kyfiles.html ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com August 6, 2007, 5:16 pm Author: Bennett H. Young Tucker Woodson. At Chaumiere, in Jessamine county, in 1804, Tucker Woodson was born. It is a remarkable fact that he and his wife were born in the same house and in the same room. His wife was Evelyn Byrd, and she was a daughter of Sarah Meade, daughter of David Meade. He and his wife were both possessed of ample fortune. They received the best education that Kentucky could give. He chose the law as his profession but spent most of his life in care of his landed estates. He was a born politician, a man of the highest refinement of feeling, of the strictest integrity, the kindest heart and charming manners. He was a great Whig and a follower of Mr. Clay. He represented Jessamine county in the legislature in 1835, '36, '37 and '40. Was also in the senate in 1842-46 and 1853-7. He was always popular among his neighbors and friends and even his political opponents loved him. Of distinguished lineage, he was always the friend of the humbler people. He owned land in what was then known as the Plaquemine District which included Sulphur Well, now Ambrose. This was considered in early days the roughest district in the county, but it was there that Mr. Woodson had his warmest friends. In the great race for Congress between John C. Breckinridge and Robert P. Letcher, in 1853, in which Breckinridge was elected by 526 majority, Mr. Woodson had charge of the Plaquemine District, and for a long time it was remembered in Jessamine county how shrewdly and beautifully he played his opponents. A leading Democrat had been sent by Major Breckinridge to handle the money and control the votes in the Plaquemine District, in those days pecuniary inducements paid to voters were not looked upon in the same light in which they are now regarded. The idea that all things were fair in politics and war pervaded the public mind and the purchase of votes was carried on with a good deal of publicity and without any reproach or disapproval on the part of political opponents. The Democratic manager had been provided with a large number of new bills issued by the Northern Bank of Kentucky. They were fives and tens, for even in those days good prices were paid for votes, and especially in this election, which called forth the highest enthusiasm and the greatest devotion of the rank and file on both sides. Mr. Woodson saw with dismay the large amount of new notes which were being circulated by his political opponents, and lie turned over in his mind a plan by which the effect of this new money could be avoided. Taking one of the men aside whom he knew very well, and who had received already one of these new bills, he asked him if he was sure that it was good; saying, what was true, that there had been circulated a large number of counterfeit bills lately and that if he and his friends were taking money from the Democratic manager, Mr. Scott, they had better be very careful as to its genuineness. At the same time he pulled from his own pocket a roll of well-worn and old-time bills and placing the new and old bills side by side, commented upon some differences. The news spread like wildfire that the new bills were counterfeit and the floaters refused to receive them and turned in disgust from the Democratic manager, who only had new bills, and would receive nothing but the old time Whig money, which Mr. Woodson and his friends were ready, under proper conditions, to distribute. A strong pro-slavery man, he sided with the government in the Civil war. but it was conceded on all hands that he acted from conviction, and few men of his prominence and of his activity escaped with so small a number of enemies. In 1872 he was elected county judge on the Republican ticket and died in 1874. Hospitable, courteous, cultivated, honest, patriotic and true, he left behind him a large array of friends who mourned his death. .His home was always open to friends and strangers alike. Gifted in conversation, a capable raconteur, and full of the purest and gentlest kindness, he won the hearts of all who came under his roof. His wife, one of the housekeepers of those times which made Kentucky housekeeping renowned in all the civilized world, sympathized with the hospitable instincts of her husband, and united with him to make his home always pleasing and attractive. Some of the rich treasures of Chaumiere had descended to them and these, enlarged by contributions from other relatives and ancestors, gave their home a charm which will never be forgotten by those who entered its portals. For thirty years Judge Woodson and his family entertained more and more delightfully than any citizen of Jessamine county, and no couple ever left more delightful memories of real Kentucky home life than they. Chaumiere. In 1796 there was established in Jessamine county one of the most beautiful and attractive country homes in America. It was founded by David Meade, who was born in Virginia on the 29th of July, 1743. At seven years of age he was sent to England with the hope that change of climate might improve his health and also for the purpose of furnishing better means of education than were then in existence in America. Here he remained until 1761, when he returned to his native land. He had acquired only a general knowledge of mathematics, geography, French, grammar and drawing, but he had cultivated science and the elegant arts. He had two brothers, younger than himself, both of whom afterwards became distinguished in the American army. Richard Kidder, an aid de camp to General Washington, and who had charge of the details of the execution of Major Andre, and Everard, who was an aid de camp to General Lincoln, and he himself was subsequently raised to the rank of General. In his twenty-fourth year he married Sarah Waters, a daughter of Mr. William Waters, of Williamsburg, Virginia, and in 1769 he was elected to represent Nansemond county in the House of Burgesses. This was his first and only political experience. This assembly was dissolved by the representative of the crown on account of certain resolutions which it had passed upon the subject of the disagreement between England and the colonies. Prior to 1796 David Meade, a son of the founder of Chaumiere, came to Kentucky. He was attracted by the splendid climate, fertile soil, wonderful forests and charming surroundings, and induced his father to leave a beautiful home in Virginia, on the James river, and come to the wilds of Kentucky. He was captivated by the glowing description of the new land given by his son, and, though accustomed to all that wealth and culture could give, he was willing to abandon the comforts and the associations of his Virginia, home and build him a new one amid the forests of Kentucky. David Meade was a man of large fortune. Under the laws of primogeniture, then prevailing in Virginia, he inherited the major share of his fathers estate, and his wife also brought him no inconsiderable dowry. He came to Kentucky in 1796 and debated for some time whether he would settle on the forks of Elkhorn, in Franklin county, or in Jessamine county, but through his personal regard for Col. Joseph Crockett, who had come to Kentucky in 1784, and settled in Jessamine county, in 1787, he was induced to choose Jessamine as his future home. He purchased about three hundred acres of land from the Crocketts and Woodsons. This land is four miles from Nicholasville, on the turnpike which connects the Lexington and Danville, and the Harrodsburg and Lexington turnpikes, and is now owned in large part by Mr. John Steel. The beautiful forest trees attracted his admiration and won his affections. Sugar trees, poplar, ash, oak, hackberry and walnut, all growing in most superb profusion, determined his choice of residence. He had large tracts of land in other parts of Kentucky. He founded at this locality a home, called Chaumiere des Prairies, but it was familiarly known throughout the country as Chaumiere, which is the French for Indian Village. On this small place David Meade lavished vast sums of money. He had all the tastes of an educated and refined Englishman. Whatever could have induced such a man with such a fortune to have come down the Ohio river in a flatboat, and land at Maysville and suffer the inconvenience of travel and transportation from Nicholasville to Jessamine county, and to live in such a remote and unimproved district, is almost impossible to understand. He laid out a hundred acres of Chaumiere into a beautiful garden. He imported rare and exquisite plants. He made lakes, constructed water falls, shaped islands, built summer houses and porters* lodges, and in this backwoods wilderness created an ideal Englishman's home. He had a large retinue of liveried servants, splendid coaches, magnificent furniture, service largely of silver, and maintained in every way the style of a feudal lord. The house was one-story, built of various materials, stone, brick and wood, but all erected for comfort and for convenience. Here David Meade lived from 1796 to 1832. During his thirty-six years of residence in Jessamine county he made no change in his method or manner of living. His service, his carriages. his liveries, fashion of entertainment, his own personal dress and that of his wife, always elegant, were still maintained in true English style. Different from everybody else in Kentucky in his style of living, he never excited the envy of his less wealthy or less cultured neighbors. The hospitality and elegance of his home were the boast of Kentucky. No distinguished man ever came to the state who did not express a desire to see this wonderful place, and none were ever disappointed in receiving a cordial invitation for the enjoyment of its hospitality. No other home in Kentucky ever entertained so many Presidents, for at various times the roof of Chaumiere covered Monroe, General Jackson, General Charles Scott, and General Taylor. All the distinguished families of Kentucky were invited and always welcomed within its borders. Henry Clay was a constant visitor at this delightful residence, and a very funny story is told of the politeness of Mr. Clay and Mr. Meade. Mr. Clay had come to spend the night at Chaumiere. Mr. Meade was too polite to suggest to Mr. Clay that it was time to retire, and Mr. Clay was too polite to tell Mr. Meade that he desired to retire, and so they sat up and talked all night. Aaron Burr often visited Chaumiere. He was there again and again with Blennerhasset, and there is in possession of a member of the family a mirror before which Aaron Burr sat and had his hair powdered. After the arrest of Aaron Burr he was permitted to remain in custody at Chauhiere, and Col. Meade's son acted as chief of the guard during his stay. Mrs. Meade was as elegant, refined and cultured as her husband. They died within six months of each other. The costly furniture, cut glass and china, with which one hundred guests could at one time be served, have been scattered throughout the country. The lovely and beautiful bric-a-brac can be found in many homes, and there is still in Chillicothe, Ohio, a piano upon which Mrs. Meade, when three-score and ten, played, and it was the first instrument of its kind ever brought into the state of Kentucky. The eldest son had died young and unmarried. At Colonel Meade's death, none were able to maintain or to hold Chaumiere, and so it went under the hammer on the block and was bought by a plain, practical farmer. This surprised and distressed the citizens of Jessamine county, who had taken a just pride in this strange and beautiful home, and in a little while after the new owner of the place had been announced, there was placarded in large letters on the houses over the grounds the words "Paradise Lost." This caused the purchaser to become indignant, and in less than a week the beautiful flower gardens were filled with horses, cattle and hogs. The glorious forest trees were felled, lodges torn down, parks destroyed, and lakes drained. A portion of the house was pulled down, and in the rooms which were once the resort of fashion and made memorable by the presence of the most distinguished people in the land, were stored wheat and corn. Only three rooms now remain of this once magnificent home. On a hill overlooking Chaumiere in a neglected burying-ground, sleeps the dust of David Meade and his wife and a few of his family, but the memories of Chaumiere will long live in Jessamine county and in the West. Notwithstanding its, difference from the other homes in Jessamine county, and notwithstanding the difference between him and his neighbors, there was no jealousy. He did not interfere with his fellow-countrymen. He entertained their guests if they were refined and reputable, and he sought no political preferment, asked for no honors, only desiring to be permitted to live in his own way and to exhibit his own taste in his own home. It was arranged that General La Fayette should be entertained at Chaumiere, and for this purpose Colonel Meade constructed a beautiful octagonal room. This, with two other small rooms off of the octagonal room, are all that remains as a monument to the beauty and to the charming associations connected with this marvelous home in the wilderness. Additional Comments: Extracted from: A HISTORY OF JESSAMINE COUNTY, KENTUCKY, FROM ITS EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO 1898. By BENNETT H. YOUNG, PRESIDENT POLYTECHNIC SOCIETY; MEMBER FILSON CLUB; MEMBER CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1890; AUTHOR HISTORY OF THE CONSTITUTIONS OF KENTUCKY, OF "BATTLE OF BLUE LICKS, ETC, ETC. S. M. DUNCAN, ASSOCIATE AUTHOR. Every brave and good life out of the past is a treasure which cannot be measured in money, and should be preserved with faithfullest care. LOUISVILLE, KY.: COURIER-JOURNAL JOB PRINTING CO., 1898. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ky/jessamine/bios/woodson399gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/kyfiles/