Brandenburg FAMILY HISTORY: 1999 Meade Co., KY. ----------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, Mar 24 1999 From: "Virginia M. Finley" ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------- Submitted by: Brooks Hubler Article mentions Meade (Estill), Madison, Owsley & Lee Counties -------------------------------------------------------------- BRANDENBURG FAMILY Dictated by John H. Brandenburgh, II (Jr.) Madison County, Kentucky June 04, 1845 - December 30, 1924 (before his death) Writer unknown The most remote ancestor that I know anything of, was a German subject, bearing the name of Brandenburgh, who resided in luxury and ease upon a large and magnificent landed estate, "Brandenburg" in Germany until the time he refused and did not salute his sovereign in passing, which was an offense regarded as hostile to his reign, the punishment the loss of the head, and not being inclined to suffer the penalty, Brandenburgh made his escape and took refuge in crossing the great ocean, the Atlantic, to America, out of range of the emperor and to where his authority did not extend, whose word in his own realm was law, and so Brandenburgh made his permanent abode after this in this country and became a staunch supporter of the government of the United States of America and scorned that of the land of his nativity and this Brandenburgh became the founder of my branch of the Brandenburgh family in this country. The name of the wife or her pedigree is unknown to me, but I suppose this branch of the family would never have existed as it has if it had been different, but so it was, and couldn’t have been otherwise, for a kind Providence so ruled. The large and magnificent estate of the Refugee, "Brandenburgh", was confiscated and taken over and appropriated to and by the Crown, and from it not a mite has been received by the Refugee or any of his descendants and no effort made to recover same for such an effort would have been unavailing. A son and Solomon Brandenburgh (if a son, I do not know) accompanied the Refugee Immigrant to this land of freedom and liberty. Solomon Brandenburgh, after coming to this country, was raised to the rank of Colonel and he settled in Meade County, Kentucky, which is on the western border of the state, below Louisville, on the Ohio River, the river separating it from Indiana; the county seat, Brandenburgh, was named in honor of this Colonel Solomon Brandenburgh. The son who accompanied the Refugee to America, was named Matthias Brandenburgh. I do not know who Matthias married, but he was killed on Stoner Creek in Clark county, Kentucky, whilst running his horse and was thrown - his head striking a tree - knocking the life out of him. There was very little intercourse or communication, so far as I have been told, between Colonel Solomon Brandenburgh and the Matthias Brandenburgh branch who had settled in the middle eastern region of the state, and the history of the families was not very well kept up with and consequently lost to the posterity. Samuel Brandenburgh, a grandson of the German Immigrant and Refugee, married Miss Sarah Hanson, related to General Roger Hanson, the exact degree of kinship to me I do not know. He settled, probably, in Owsley County, Kentucky, or in the region that later was embraced within the bounds thereof. John H. Brandenburgh, (great grandson of the Immigrant Refugee, and a son of Samuel Brandenburgh and wife, Miss Sarah Hanson), married Deborah Bowman, daughter of Elijah Bowman, son of Mr. Cornealous Bowman and wife Miss Elizabeth Gentry, the latter who was an inhabitant of the Fort at Boonesborough, Kentucky. They settled in Owsley County, Kentucky, their old home being cut off into the bounds of Lee County when established. Miss Elizabeth Gentry who married Mr. Cornealous Bowman, the mother of Elijah Bowman (whose wife's name was also "Elizabeth") and the grandmother of Miss Deborah Bowman, and my great grandmother, was an inhabitant of the Fort at Boonesborough, Kentucky, during the stormy period of the fort's existence, and was intimately acquainted with the way they lived and all about the fort life, knew the old pioneers, Daniel Boone, Squire Boone, Simon Kenton, Flanders Calloway, Thomas Brooks, Jesse Copher, their wives and children, and many others who were inhabitants and defenders of the fort, hunters and scouts, some of the sojourners and visitors, and could relate many thrilling incidents that occurred. She remembered the commotion that was created when Jemima Boone and Betty & Fannie Calloway were captured whilst canoeing in the river near the fort, and taken away by the Indians, and the rapid movement of Daniel Boone, Flanders Calloway and others getting ready to pursue the Indians, which they did with success and when they returned from the pursuit with the girls, she heard them tell how, when approaching near the vagabonds, they crept up close and took a view of the situation and formed their branches and then made a double quick rush -- with their flintlocks and hunting knives in trim -- and dispatched the savages, and safely secured the girls and returned with them to Boonesborough, and of the great rejoicing in the fort on their return with them and she heard the girls tell their experiences whilst in captivity; how they tore strips from their aprons and broke twigs from the bushes and scattered them along the way and made impressions with the ground with the heels of their shoes, that the pursuers might more easily follow the trail, they having faith that pursuit would soon follow, and when the guns fired, Jemima Boone, recognizing Daniel Boone's gun, remarked, "That's father's gun!" She could tell many occurrences around about and in the fort that were thrilling in the extreme, that I cannot remember. She told that once Daniel Boone was absent on a scout and every morning early was heard gobbling, thought to be that of a turkey gobbler, and when Daniel Boone returned, he was told of it and he remarked, "I'll get him in the morning, he'll help make a good dinner tomorrow". And bright and early the next morning Daniel Boone took his gun and hunting knife and went down near the sycamore tree where it was thought the gobbling came from and hid under the bank of the river not far from the tree, and soon he heard the gobbling and directly discovered that it was an Indian imitating a gobbler, and he fired, the gobbling ceased, and that Indian never gobbled again. She knew of the marriage of Flanders Calloway to Miss Jemima Boone, and of Betty Calloway to Sam Henderson, and she related that Reverend Joe Procter, the noted scout, would never say that he had killed an Indian, had a younger brother in the fort name Page Procter, and once when Joe was about to start on a scouting, young Procter then only about 16 years old, begged to go along, and he let him, and whilst out, and Indian got after Page -- with tomahawk drawn in an attitude to strike -- and was uncomfortably close to Page, who quickly skedaddled, when Joe fired nothing more was known of that Indian. Page returned to his brother rather nervous and somewhat excited, and thought he had a narrow escape with his life, and sometimes would tell the younger set of this experience. She also said she molded bullets for the defenders of the fort -- more especially when besieged by Indians, often with whites aiding them -- Simon Girty, the renegade, was there with them once, and Elizabeth told of biting off the necks of the bullets with her teeth till her lips would get too sore to do so. ************************************************************************* 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. 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