A New Blog

An interest in history has helped me to explore many facets of my own family tree climbing.  It has added depth and color to the leaves and branches.  Many of these branches have lead to Kentucky, its history, and early settlement. [Richard Henderson of Transylvania Company is a g.g....grandfather on the maternal side!]

A new blog titled: Historic Danville, KY gives me a way to express this interest by writing about the early history of Kentucky.  Moving to Danville some 12 years ago, I became interested in how it came to be named.   My years of research forms the foundation of this blog.  Come join me if you have an interest in this..."Dan(s)...ville".

Otter Creek

The fourth creek to have an impact upon my family's story was Otter Creek. After Richard Henderson was denied his investment into the foundation of Kentucky on 4 November, 1778, he registered surveys for 1400 acres on Otter Creek. This was just a hop, skip, and jump from the fort he established as part of his Transylvania Company. The surveys were dated 9 Feb. 1780 and 23 June 1780. The picture above again shows the Kentucky River (colored blue) and the outline of Otter Creek (colored orange). The little tags naming the rivers are scaled to represent three miles distance. The small pencil dot northwest of the mouth of Otter Creek is the location of fort Boonesborough. He did not move far up stream. The second picture shows a copy made by Richard Henderson himself of the fort he was responsible for building. A copy of his very signature is shown in the middle of the drawing. Henderson's cabin is of course numbered 1 and his kitchen is number 3. The original papers are now in possession of the Wisconsin Historical Library.

So there you have it. The Rivers were the roadways to our families' lands. Henderson on Otter Creek (my great grand mother's line), Jones on 4 Mile Creek (my Dad's family), Ewen on Red River (my Mom's side of the family)and at lot of others in between.

4 Mile Creek

William Carter Jones was the second of ten children. [Those Scottish women sure to how to have youngins!] The parents of W.C. were Thomas Jones (b. 1796) and Sallie (nee Chisholm) b. 1804. Thomas Jones was born in Spotysylvania County, VA where his father Nicholas Jones had moved after the close of the Revolutionary War. It was on 4 Mile Creek that Thomas had settled with his father and brothers. Here he married Sallie Chisholm 20 Dec 1823, and W.C. was born three years later.

It was on 4 Mile Creek that Timothy Ewen had his first land of 50 acres in 1795. Timothy Ewen was my great (x5)grandfather, and Timothy Jones was my great (x4) grandfather. Nicholas Jones who came to Kentucky in 1811 was the first Jones to have land on 4 Mile Creek and was my great (x5) grandfather on the Jones side. So I guess you could say my family started things on 4 Mile Creek! I grew up riding my "Western Flyer" past this land and playing in this creek, but I did not know that this was where it had all began some 200 years before my childhood days were done.

The drawing to the right shows 4 Mile Creek in relation to Red River and Kentucky River. It is colored green and runs northeast into Clark County. It was named 4 Mile Creek because it was four miles from Boonesborough where another grandfather had made his claim in 1774, Col. Richard Henderson my great (x6) grandfather. 4 Mile Creek was the beginning point.

Clan Henderson The Dreamers

The parents of Ellen Dorcas Henderson were Abraham B. Henderson (called Sonny)b.22 Oct. 1843 in Estill Co., KY, and Armilda Berryman b.12 Jan. 1844. This was Sonny's second marriage and Ellen with her half-sister had been shown. Sonny's Dad, William Henderson had moved to Estill County before the 1830 census. William's Dad, Samuel Henderson was residing in Fayette County 1820 census and died 3 Oct 1844 just after William had married. Samuel's father was Richard Henderson who the younger son of none other than Col. Richard Henderson who bought Kentucky from the Cherokee Indians 17 March 1775. Can you believe it. My Henderson grandfather owned 20 million acres of what was to become Kentucky and Tennessee, before anyone else. Of course, this purchase and government called the Transylvania Company were short lived , but the Wilderness Trail and a fort called Boonesborough were a result of his planning. The colonies of Virginia, North Carolina, had something to say about this upstart from North Carolina. History has written very little about Col. Richard Henderson b. Hanover Co., VA 20 Apr 1735 and died broken hearted Hillborogh, NC, 30 Jan 1785. He sure had big dreams, and almost pulled it off. Our family knew how to have big dreams.

The picture to the right shows the Tartan of the Henderson Clan. The Henderson Clan had several branches in Scotland. Some of these Clan were not related, but carried the same name.