HISTORY: Big South Fork Salt Works, William Conwell Deposition, Wayne Co, Ky Date: Sat, 17 Oct 1998 15:26:00 -0400 Submitter: Lanny R. Slavey Part 1 of 2 The Deposition of William Conwell, from the Case of Conn v. Francis, Wayne Co. KY (Note: this deposition took place just prior to the one taken of Richard Slavey at the same place and day, posted by me a couple of days ago. Lanny) The deposition of William Conwell taken at the house of Martin Beaty on the big South fork in Wayne County Kentucky on the 17th day of January 1822 between the hours of 8 OClock in the morning and six OClock in the evening to be read as evidence in a Suit in Chancery now depending in the Wayne Circuit Court wherein Stephen T. Conn is complaintant & John Frances is defendant. The said deposition taken agreeable to a notice. The Deponant being of lawful age & first duly sworn deposeth & sayeth- 1st Question by Defendant-Was you or was you not a constant hand hired by Stephen T. Conn to work at the well on the big South fork of Cumberland River when Stephen & myself commenced boring for Saltwater and did you not continue in his imploy untill I sold out to Beaty and Quit the well Answer-I was 2-Question by same-How long was Conn and myself boring for Saltwater before I sold out to Beaty- Answer-About one year & nine months 3-Question by same-How many hands was there imployed to bore at the well from the time I commmenced with Conn untill I sold out to Beaty-? Answer-Three hands 4-Question by same-Was or was not James Ryal (my hand) a good Black Smith and did he not do almost all the Smith work that was done for the use of the well whilst Conn & myself were boring together at the well Answer-He was a good Smith and did do almost all the work in the Shop that was done for the well 5-Question by same-Was there or was there not considerable time lost by the hands from work in consequence of Conn's not furnishing Iron to make the auger as he was bound to do by the contract with me-? Answer-There was. 6-Question by same-Did or did not Conn keep 2 Smiths fires going at the well making up the Iron he brought there in to Axes, Hoes, Pot Racks & Chains and did he not sell it for his own private benefit when made up & not for the use of the well? Answer He did 7-Question by same-Did or did not Conn use of the coal that was burnt by the hands for the use of the well to make up the Tools above mentioned? Answer-He did 8th-Question by same-Did or did not Conn have wooden auger joints made to bore with in place of Iron joints contrary to his cobtract with me Answer-He did 9th-Question by same-Was there or was there not much time lost by consequesnce of the badness of the Iron Conn got to make Ribbits for the joints constantly giving way & breaking-? Answeer-there was 10 Question by same-How much time was lost by Conn & his hands from work at the well? Answer-Upwards of 4 or 5 weeks and about Two weeks at one time for want of Iron to make auger joints. 11th Question by same-Could or could not the hole have been bored much deeper whilst Conn & myself were in partership if he had kept up, and made the auger he was bound to do by his contract to me? Answer-It could 12-Question by same-How deep was the auger hole when I quit and sold out to Beaty? Answer-It was between one hundred & seventy & eighty feet deep- 13 Question by same-How much would it cost to bore an Auger Hole the depth that we had bored when I sold out to Beaty and Quit the well? Answer-About four hundred Dollars 14-Question by same-Did or did not Conn tell you or some of the hands that if Saltwater was struck in his absence to keep it a secret for (from?) me and keep me out of the well by force if necessary? Answer- He did and offered to give each of us five hundred Dollars if we would keep it a secret and let W. Parmly know who he said was to send his son express to Abingdon with the news to Conn- 15th Question by same-Did or did not James Ryal Henry Frances, Andrew MCosland (?) & Henry Clinard working for me at the well with you & Conn's hands? Answer-I did They did 16-Question by same-Did or did not my hands do a good third part of the work from the commencement at the well untill I sold out to Beaty and quit it- Answer-They did and more for they done one half of the work untill Slavey came in as a partner which was about four months afer you & Conn began to bore or work 17th Question by same-Did you or did you not hear Conn say he was to pay Slaveys one third part of the expences from the commencement of the well? Answer.I did 18-Question by same-Was or was not James Ryal ( my hand) the only Black Smith at the well to dress and keep the auger in repair for nearly the whole of the time that Conn & myself was boring- Answer-He was nearly the whole time- ========================================================================== 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 noncommercial 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.