Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Monday, March 10, 2025
John Bayliss, Businessman of Salem
Salem was a bustling town when John Bayliss arrived about 1816. Salem, the seat of justice of Livingston County, was a busy place especially the county courthouse, which faced what is today US Highway 60. It was but a few years prior to John's arrival that the courthouse was the scene of one of the most acclaimed trials in the history of Livingston County when the nephews of Thomas Jefferson were tried for the murder of a slave. This trial would have been recounted through the years and, without a doubt, John Bayliss heard all about it shortly after his arrival.
John quickly settled into life in Salem and married
Elizabeth Thompson, daughter of local businessman, William Thompson, 17 October
1816. They had at least one child before Elizabeth died a few years later. John
Bayliss then married Susan Boggs, daughter of William Boggs, 17 September 1823. John and Susan had several children, including
two who died as infants.
John Bayliss and William McCroskey entered into partnership
to conduct business in Salem. At some point, they had a saddler shop, but
perhaps had other business interests, also. Their saddler shop was located
catty corner across the public square from the courthouse.
In 1836, John Bayliss decided to relocate and sold his town lots in
Salem (Deed Book EE:144), to James Campbell. In this deed, John reserved "
10 feet including the graves of his children in the garden ... and permission
to inter his Wife in sd. space" unless he decided to move the corpses
later.
John moved to Paducah and formed a partnership with John A.
Calhoun. The partnership did not last long and was dissolved in 1841, the same
year John wrote his will. In his will, John named his wife, Susan, his son,
William, born of the marriage to Elizabeth Thompson, and his daughter, Sarah
Margaret, born of the marriage to Susan Boggs. The executrix named in his will
was his wife, Susan.
Because the partnership assets had not been assigned before
John died, a law suit ensued which dragged on for several years. It was
disclosed in this law suit that Susan Boggs Bayliss' agent, William Kay, who
was also John Bayliss' brother-in-law, had dissipated the assets of the
Bayliss-Calhoun partnership and there was not enough money to cover the estate
debts. The administration of the estate was later turned over to Berry Hodge.
Susan, who had suffered a number of losses during the past few years, was committed
to the Tennessee Lunatic Asylum in Nashville, where she died circa 1843.
William Bayliss, only surviving son of John Bayliss' first
marriage, was born 26 July 1817 in Salem. After his father moved to Paducah,
William Bayliss and William McCroskey formed a partnership in a dry goods
business in Salem.
On the 27th of November 1841, William "being sick and weak but of sound mind and memory" and to restore his health, "I intend starting in a few days to New Orleans and may go to Cuba ... and the possibility that I may never return." In the will, he mentions a wife, Mary, who was to receive his entire estate. To date, a marriage record for William and Mary has not been found. William did go to Havana, Cuba, where he died 24 January 1842. There is a tombstone in the old, abandoned Pippin/Butler Cemetery in Salem. Whether his body in interred there or the stone is simply a memorial to his life is unknown. A large stone, it is broken and layes on its side amid downed branches and with myrtle surrounding it.
Sarah Margaret Bayliss, who was born 19 November 1828, was the only surviving child of the marriage of John Bayliss and Susan Boggs. After her father's death, she moved to Montgomery County, Tennessee where she married J.N. Corbett 19 February 1846. The Corbetts moved to Nashville and had a number of children. Sarah Margaret died in Nashville 30 January 1900 and is buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.
The burial places of John Bayliss and his two wives are unknown. Perhaps they are also buried in the Pippin/Butler Cemetery. If so, no record of their burial survives.
Monday, February 10, 2025
Died of Cholera
New Orleans, a city of much steamboat traffic, was hit hard by a cholera epidemic in 1848-1849. Steamboats arriving from other ports carried the disease to cities across the country.
Wednesday, January 8, 2025
Idiot or Lunatic?
Many of us have come across records of someone being declared an idiot or lunatic and perhaps placed in an asylum. What do the terms mean and how do they differ?
The words "idiot" and "lunatic" are often used to denote the same medical condition, but the meanings are not the same. According to Compendium of the Common Law in Force in Kentucky by Charles Humphreys, 1822, pages 125-126, "Idiots are persons of unsound minds from their birth. Lunatics are those who become insane by some infirmity after birth."
It goes on to say that "A man is not an idiot if he has any glimmering of reasons, so that he can tell his parents his age ... But one born deaf, dumb and blind is considered in the same state as an idiot.
"A lunatic is one who has his reason impaired by some infirmity and ... only occasionally in that condition, having lucid intervals, sometimes depending on the change of the moon. However, the word lunatic includes all person who become incapable, by any impairment of mind, of conducting their own affairs."
Originally published 27 Dec 2013 and repeated 8 Jan 2025.
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Martin Gahagen and Wife
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Jack Going's Petition for Freedom 1847
Being
free in Kentucky did not guarantee a person of color the same rights and
privileges as a white person. Their movements were often restricted to the area
where they were known. Traveling outside their immediate area and sometimes
even in their own area required papers identifying them as free.
Several free men of color, all carrying the surname of Going settled in
Livingston County prior to 1820. They lived in the part of Livingston County
that would become Crittenden County in 1842. One of those men, John
"Jack" Goin, was born about 1787. In 1847, Going wanted to visit
Mississippi to claim his portion of his brother’s estate. The following
petition was filed Wednesday, 26 May 1847 and is found in Crittenden Circuit
Court Order Book A, pages 308, 312 and 322. Although called John H. Going in
the circuit court sessions, he is listed as Jack Going in the order book index.
"To the Honorable Judge of the Crittenden Circuit Court ... Your
Petitioner John H. Going, a man of color a resident of this County would
Respectfully [say] to your Honor that he has lived where he now does & its
neighbourhood for near thirty five years that he is very well Known to many
persons of the County & he hopes & believes favourably Known that he is
a free man & has been so since his birth altho his color is dark &
might be taken as prima facie evidence that he was a slave. That his Mother was
named Agnis an Indian by blood his father a free man of color. He would further
represent to your Honor that he has a brother by the name of Thomas Going of
the County of Claibourne & state of Mississippi - that he has been dead
some years & died without children leaving him as he understands one of his
heirs that the Estate is valuable & time enough has elapsed since his death
for its full & entire settlement ... and he now desires to go to sd. state
of Mississippi & claim his wrights But he finds some difficulty in
travelling because of his collor. He therefore humbly & Respectfully
petitions & asks your Honor to permit him to introduce in Court proof of
his freedom & have it certified to all whom it may concern so that he shall
be able to pass & attend to his business."
Two days later, John H. Going filed the depositions of Thomas S. Phillips and
Ira Nunn. Phillips stated that he had been acquainted with Going for about 30
years and during that time he had resided as a free man of color and was not born a
slave. It was reported that he was of Indian and Negro blood or parentage [and]
from information he had a brother by the name of Thomas Going who was an
eminent Physician and died in Mississippi and affiant [Going] had an uncle who
was a Physician who once practiced medicine in copartnership with Thos. Going.
Ira Nunn stated in his deposition that he had known Going for 30 years and that
he was raised in the same county in Georgia as Going. He also stated Going had
always been considered & recognized by his neighbors as a free man of
color.
The following circuit court entry is dated Saturday, 29 May 1847: "It
appearing from the petition and the Depositions that the petitioner has for the
last 30 years been acknowledged and recognized in the community ... to be a
free man of color & that he was born free considered of African &
Indian blood [and] it is therefore considered that Going be recognized and
considered to be a free man of color and entitled under the laws of this
commonwealth to all the privileges such persons are entitled."
John H. Going is listed on the 1850 and 1860 Crittenden County census
records as a wagonmaker born in Georgia. In 1867, L.J. Crabtree submitted a
claim to the Crittenden County Court for "hauling Jack Goins a pauper from
Bells Mines to Marion .... $5.00" The reason for this claim is unknown, as
are the date and place of John Goins' death, but could it be Crabtree's claim was for hauling Jack Goins' body after his death?
Originally published 21 Mar 2008. Published again 6 Nov 2024.
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Short History of Weston Kentucky
On the 14th of August 1854, Richard M. Ford, proprietor of the land, "including the place known as Flynns Ferry," petitioned the Crittenden County Court of his intention to establish a town. According to law, Ford posted his intentions in three public places, including the Courthouse door in Marion and in the Paducah newspaper. The location of the town began at the "lower edge of Cedar Bluff at high water mark ..." and contained about 15 acres. He proposed calling this new town Weston. Ford, who had married Nannie, daughter of Claborn and Frances V. West, named the town after his wife's family. The following persons were appointed trustees of the town: W.P. Miles, N.S. Long, Richard M. Ford and Jackson B. Hill.
In early October of 1854, a license was issued to Richard M. Ford to keep a tavern at his wharf boat on the Ohio River at Flynn's Ferry. Apparently, the new name of Weston had not taken hold yet.
Two months later, Ford petitioned the court for a license to establish a public ferry. In order to have the ferry rights at Weston, Ford was required to "keep at all times one good substantial ferry boat and not less than one good hand to manage same ..."
The sale of lots in Weston progressed slowly at first with Hugh McKee, Stephen H. Walker and John Darby being among the earliest lot owners.
Being located on the bank of the Ohio River, Weston offered a ring side view of skirmishing throughout the Civil War, but especially during the summer of 1864. In June of that year, guerrillas fired on the 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on board the steamer Nightengale as it passed Fords Ferry. The news was passed along to the steamer Mercury, who was headed towards that town. As the Mercury reached Weston, the ladies of the village, in a supposed friendly manner, waved to passengers on the steamer. On the bluff on the northern extremity of the town, as the steamer approached, bullets tore through the air toward the boat. Fire was returned and the rebels were seen retreating. Some took shelter behind a house. A volley was fired at the house and was literally riddled by bullets. The rebels retreated in every direction, carrying their wounded with them.
After the war, Weston began to grow and sported hotels, dry good stores, taverns and churches. Many who died were buried in the cemetery on top of the bluff. While Weston's location on the river was advantageous in shipping and receiving goods, it also flooded every time the river rose. The great Flood of 1937 devastated every town along the Ohio River, including Weston. Weston never recovered and today the town consists of only a few houses and exists mainly in yellowed newspaper articles and in the memories of former residents.
References:
Crittenden County, Kentucky Court Order Book 2, pp 102, 115, 121.
Evansville Daily Journal 23 June 1864