PIONEER HISTORY: ROBERTSON, Dicky Diary Interview

This is the interview given by David Columbus ROBERTSON's son
Allen E. ROBERTSON, 1898 Clay Co. Kty. ..........

My fathers name was David ROBERTSON; he died in Clay County KY 18 Or 20 of June 1872 
or 73 age 103 and from Feb to June. HIS father was Samuel ROBERTSON. He was born in the 
Highlands of Scotland. His wife, Elizabeth HARRIS and his brother William came over with 
him. I do not know when they came nor whether either was married when they came, though I 
think, they were. My grandfather left Moraviantown and settled two miles southeast of 
Richmond, KY where the water works now are, in 1777. I have heard my father say it was two 
years after BOONE went into the Fort at Boonesborough. Col. ESTILL settled near him about 
the same time, I think the same year. My grandfather lived and died near there, a mile near 
Richmond, adjoining Judge GOODOE's then called the John RIGG Farm. My father David 
Columbus Robertson was the eldest. He was born at or near the mouth of Dan River, VA, at a 
little town called Moraviantown. He had a brother, John, who went to Jackson County, Missouri. 
William, James and Alex settled in Indiana. James in Shelby County. The others in Morgan 
County at Martinsville. Sally married a GORDON and went to Mississippi. Esther married 
George BAKER and went with others to Indiana. Mary married a METCALF and went to 
Indiana. Jessamine went to Indiana unmarried. Martha married William MOBLEY and died in 
Madison County, KY. My father married Alie ALLEN. Daughter In 1839 he moved from Otter 
Creek to Clay County and located on Goose Creek opposite the mouth of Beech Creek. He said 
he came to this part of the State to hunt, in an early day, when little Goose Creek was the line 
between the whites and the Indians before a treaty was made between them. He hunted with 
John BAKER Sr., father of "Julius" Bob and "Durkham" John, George BAKER who married 
Esther ROBERTSON, my aunt, and was a Methodist preacher; and James called "Claybank" 
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a great fighter, "ClayBank" was the father of Billy BAKER Sr. was called "RENTA" and 
has a brother, Bowling BAKER and a brother George BAKER. George was the father of John
BAKER called "Cana" the rhymer, who made rhymes on Col Felix GILBERT and "Dry" John 
BAKER when John ran for the Senate and was elected and when FELIX ran for Representative 
and was defeated by Elhanon MURPHY. BOWLING Jr. son of BOWLING Sr. was bound to 
Daugh WHITE to learn salt making and killed Morgan DEZAM with a single barrel pistol with 
two balls in it. He fled the country and never returned. Georges descendant disappeared. The 
BAKERS came from North Carolina to Madison County and lived in Forts there. Another of the 
hunters of the Blue Grass was William MORRIS called 'Cuddy' who settled in the forks of Goose 
Creek and Red Bird. These Renta BAKER and his Three sons, George, John and "Julius" Bob. 
MORRIS, Jack HARRIS, 
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Elisha HARRISON with my father David ROBERTSON made the 8 hunters who visited these 
regions. Beng LANGFORD and a man named LYONS first made salt for commerce. I have seen 
40 boat loads of salt, 2,500 bushels tied up at my father's place at the mouth of Beech Creek 
from 1837 to 1844. There were 18 furnaces in blast above Manchester, besides Francis CLARK's 
two furnaces, one coal and the other wood. Francis CLARK got his 1000 acres at the mouth of 
Bull Skin by a "Head Right" from VA. I think it was patented in his father's name. Salt was 
worth 75 cents. The Goose Creek furnaces made about 90 bushels a day and the Bull Skin about 
60 bushels and they would average 200 days a year. My mother was an ALLEN. She was a 
daughter of Adoniram ALLEN. He was nicknamed "Tediuoooooooooous" because he was so 
particular. The two creeks called "Teges" were named for him; he was born in New Hampshire 
near 
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the Vermont line. He was a Captain in Col. CLEVELAND's regiment at the battle of King's Mtn 
where three Colonels commanded alternately. He settled in Augusta, GA. He was a mechanic. 
He was first a ship builder. At Augusta he put up iron works for some parties there. He also did 
some work of that kind in Sparta GA. He emigrated to KY but stopped in NC fut stayed there 
only a year to put up a mill, perhaps. (James and The. GARRARD, James and Daugh WHITE) 
were commissioners who expended $20,000 in South Fork and Goose Creek and Red Bird. This 
was about 1856-7. Eighteen years ago Judge HYDEN got an appropriation of, $6, 000 which 
General GARRARD and myself expended in the narrows or from the mouth of Crain Creek to 
Turkey Gap, a distance of five miles by land. Most of it was put in Chute. The "Basin" is 27 feet 
deep. We put blasts in the bottom of the narrows. There have been perhaps 100 salt boats sunk in 
the "Basin" but no one was ever lost there till 1871.
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Several have been drowned since. Pilots used to charge $5.00 for taking boats through the 
narrows. There were 300 guards at the jail at one time when Dr BAKER was in prison here. I 
was a guard from June to October. I was one of the eight inside guards. I was always present 
when any of Dr BAKER's friends came in to see him. I was a late comer into the county and all 
parties had confidence in me. While the 300 county guards were on duty; the State sent 300 
guards; so that there were 600 at one time. Judge ROBERTSON and Judge KAINKADE, both of 
Lexington were retained for the defense. Joseph MOORE of Mt Vernon was Commonwealth's 
Attorney, Dr. CALDWELL's father assisted in the prosecution. Dr BAKER was a monomaniac 
on the subject of his wife. He would talk with perfect coherency in any other subject, but the 
moment his wife was mentioned he was wild, looked wild, talked incoherent, Daniel BATES 
made a will 
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after Dr BAKER shot him, willing $10, 000 for the prosecution of Dr BAKER. He died inside of 
24 hours after he was shot. He was sitting in his chair, asleep, at the salt furnace, when BAKER 
shot him. Milt RICE, afterwards Congressman from the 9th Dist, located at Barbourville, I think 
it was, to practice law. His brother located at Irvine and married a Miss SMITH. They were 
Irishmen who located first in NY then came to KY. Rice had not gotten any practice when a suit 
came up. Commonwealth against "Boston" Bob BAKER... a misdemeanor. He had no counsel 
and the Judge appointed Rice to defend him. Silas WOODSON, afterwards Gov of MO and John 
M. ELLIOTT, afterwards Judge of the Court of Appeals were prosecuting. They made BAKER 
out terribly guilty. Hi CORNETT was also before the Court for the same offense; the difficulty 
had been between them. In the latter case they changed sides. Now CORNETT was an angel. 
RICE said that in NY they did not practice law by telling anecdotes but as it was so common in 
KY he would indulge. He said he was reminded of WOODSON's position in this case of a 
church trial. END 

Samuels death is recorded in the Lexington Reporter 8/28 as:
Samuel Robertson of Madison Co, Kty died in August 1826.

Contributed by Margaret Robertson (Shearies@mswin.net)

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