Do the world a favor and switch to Mozilla Firefox, a web standards compliant browser.THE HURT FAMILY HISTORY page 2
Copied from Rollin HURT's notebook written in the year of 1907 by him and
loaned to Ruby TAYLOR in 1962 by Mrs. Ralph HURT.
(Ruby TAYLOR's notes are in ITALICS)
Many thanks to Carl Johnson for this submission.
8. Jerome - born August 15, 1866 and died from croup on the 15th day of September
at 30 minutes after eleven o'clock A.M. in 1869. He was a child of remarkable
precocity and freely coined words in which to express his thoughts. He was
playing in the yard of the house with me, when he complained of being sick
and went into the house. Within fifteen minutes, he died. My father sitting
at a table, when he discovered the suffering of the boy, and springing up
took him in his arms. Though a mere child myself, I vividly remember the scene.
My father burst into tears and exclaimed "Poor (blur) boy." In a moment more
the child was dead. I was greatly attached to him and have never been able
to think of him with indifference and as I now write, the recollections fill
my eyes with tears. (Mrs. Jenny JOHNSON told me that her mother was canning
peaches the day Jerome died and many years later the cans had not been opened.
He is buried at the HURT graveyard.)
9-Jennie Mollie - born June 22, 1868; married J.L. JOHNSON on March 11, 1896.
She was a schoolteacher. They had one son, Morrison R. JOHNSON, who was born
on March 16, 1900. (She died January 28, 1948 buried in Columbia City cemetery,
as is her son Morrison. He married Ruby Taylor on December 18, 1919; their
son Joe T. was born on July 12, 1922; married Ruth Kelsay on May 30, 1942.
They have one daughter, Jo Ann, born on August 1O, 1944 and one son, James
Carl (J.C.), born on August 3,1946.)
YOUNG E. HURT
My father t Young E. HURT was of very masculine build. He was six feet and
three inches in height and at the time of my recollection weighed about 225
pounds. His hair was black and his eyes were hazel. His carriage was perfectly
erect. During his lifetime he was owner at various times of considerable property,
in lands and slaves, and when the slaves were emancipated his slave property
was of the value of more than ten thousand dollars, which was a clear loss
to him. He had never been a believer in the right to enslave the Negroes but
his environments made him the owner of these by inheritance. He never did
sell a slave, although sometimes was offered for them more than they were
worth. He had considerable capacity for the making of money but was a very
poor hand to retain it. During his life of 53 years, he became surety for
many persons and paid for them many debts to the amount of more than twenty
thousand dollars. His property was in this way nearly all swept away. He was
an exceedingly hospitable man and I have seen enough persons eat dinner at
his table in one day that it required more than one hundred horses to carry
them. These horses would also be fed. No one was ever turned away and no person
who came to ask a favor of him in the way of the sale of provisions or the
loan of money was ever refused. He had a remarkable influence over men and
boys and the young men and youths were more careful of their behavior and
conduct in his presence than they were in the presence of their own parents.
I was only ten years of age at the time of his death, but I have heard him relate and I now remember many of the incidents of his life.
When he was about sixteen years of age his father directed him to take his six-horse team and wagon and make a trip to the city of Louisville. My grandfather the lived at his place two and one half mile south of Columbia. A journey to Louisville was then a great undertaking, and had to be accomplished by a road-wagon by the way of Greensburg and Bardstown. My father had never been from home before and was appalled at the difficulties of the journey and plead that he did not know the way. My grandfather's answer was that he had learned him to speak the English and that he could find the way, and my father was obliged to make the journey and to bring from Louisville a load of merchandise. Having fallen in company with other teamsters on the way, he made his way to Louisville successfully. There the other teamsters engaged in the smoking of cigars. My father was persuaded to indulge also. He had never before essayed to smoke tobacco, the result was that he became deathly sick and was consumed with a raging thirst and was nearly stricken blind. To slake his thirst, he visited large ponds, which have long since been removed and are now in the heart of the city but were then the playing grounds of large flocks of geese and ducks. He knelt down upon his knees and drank repeatedly of these dirty waters. He did not recover from his sickness until he arrived at Greensburg on the return trip. The other teamsters kindly drove and took care of his team. One of these was a man by the name of Salithiel COFFEY. When they arrived at Greensburg a large number of persons were there engaged in drinking and one of them was particularly loud and boisterous in his behavior. COFFEY, to tease my father, silently approached him and whispered to him that he believed that the boisterous individual had undoubtedly smoked a cigar. COFFEY lived to a great age, and never failed when in company with my father to remind him of the cigar incident. My father never any more during his life indulged in the use of tobacco in any way, In June 1836, when my father was in his 18th year, he made a journey on horseback to the Brasos River country in Texas. Western Kentucky was then almost a wilderness, western Tennessee, Arkansas, Indian Territory, Oklahoma, and Texas were indeed an uninhabited wild. When he crossed the Mississippi River at Memphis he fell into company with a man who was journeying with his wife and children in a two-horse wagon and attended by an old man on horse back whose name was BEDFORD. The swamp, which then, extended from the river out into the State of Arkansas was forty miles wide and the water in many places scarcely fordable. The party journeyed on until night-fall through a downpour of rain. There was at that time only one cabin in the swamp upon the way they were traveling and was situated on a comparatively dry place about midway of the great swamp. Arkansas was then called "Rogue's Harbor" and this house and its inmates bore no good reputation but was a place of rendezvous for robbers and murderers. For the want of any other shelter in which to spend the night, the party applied at this house for admission and a nights lodging. A large rough man answered their call and mighty and profanely ordered them to be gone and then retired into the house. BEDFORD then requested of my father to know if he had any weapons and my father answering that he had two pistols. BEDFORD answered that they would spend the night at the house, whether the occupants desired it or not. Dismounting my father drew his two pistols and BEDFORD produced a very long Bowie knife and thus armed and prepared, they forced open the door and entered. Luckily for them the man who had so uncivilly answered their request for admission was the only occupant. BEDFORD preemptorially directed him to go to his bed and not to (----- (blot) ---) man had only Hobson's choice and retired to his bed. BEDFORD then requested the man and his family in the wagon to come into the house, but the man feared to do so and refused, the wife and her children came into the house and slept during the night upon a pallet made of my father's and BEDFORD's great coats. Fearing the arrival of other parties, who might be in league with the proprietor of the house, my father and BEDFORD alternately kept watch and guard during the night. BEDFORD placed his large knife against the jam as though it were a poker, with the remark to remain there until he should have need of it. The unwilling host remained very quiet during the night and when morning came his guests took their departure but BEDFORD refused to travel further in the company of the man with the wagon and assigned as his reason, that he would travel with no coward. BEDFORD accompanied my father all the way into Texas.
My father, like my grandfather before him, was a Democrat in politics and during his lifetime voted for the electors of the following presidential candidates viz.:- Martin VAN BUREN, James K. POLK, Franklin PIERCE, James BUCHANAN, Stephen A. DOUGLAS, George B. MCCLELLAN, and Horatio SEYMOUR. In his youth, he first attached himself to the Campbellite Church but very soon severed his connection with this church and joined the Methodist church to which he remained steadfast until his death. He was also a member of the Masonic Fraternity. When the Civil War came about, although a slave-holder and a Democrat, he was an uncompromising Union man and supported the government in the war against Secession.
Previous to the Civil War, he was at one time a candidate for the democratic nomination for member of the Legislature, for Adair County, but met defeat in caucus. He felt this so keenly that he would never anymore stand for any such office, although often times pressed to do so and at times when his nomination and election was an assured fact. Early in the Civil War he was elected the Sheriff of Adair County and held this troublesome office during those times, in all, eight years and was serving a term at the time of his death. During the first years of his encumbering of this office, the county was overrun with soldiers, guerrillas, and the lawless men, whom the war had produced and he had a great many thrilling experiences with them. He attained a very high reputation for physical and moral courage and also for integrity of character and died very highly honored and respected. His popularity became so great, that no one after his first election would contest the poll with him. His position as Sheriff and his prominence as a Union man drew upon him the animosity of the Rebels, guerrillas, and politicians and resulted in many attempts of the Confederates to capture him for a prisoner. Many a time our house was searched in the hope of his capture and horses, mules, cattle corn, hay ,etc. carried away. On one occasion two hundred Cavalry was sent out from Columbia to effect his capture.
He lived at his father's old place, where the Rev. Flavis BARGER now resides (1907). The Cavalry went out on the Columbia and Creelsboro road to where the Crocus road turns off from it, and then taking the latter road which then led from CONOVER's Mill across the Crocus road to the Long View on the Creelsboro road and to the house of Young BENNETT, who then lived on the left hand side of the Crocus road, where they captured BENNETT and stopped to question him of my father's whereabouts and the best way, to arrive at his house without being discovered. BENNETT was a near neighbor and had known my father from his youth and though greatly scared by the threats to take his life, he stoutly denied being acquainted with my father or his whereabouts. BENNETT was a very timid man. The road being dusty and soft in the summer time and the darkness of the night and the forests then on each side of the road prevented my father knowing the trap he was falling into, as he was then endeavoring to get to his house and riding up the road from CONOVER's Mill, found himself in the midst of the Cavalry before he was aware of their presence. Observing in an instant that the darkness, prevented them from knowing of his presence, he took the bold course of riding among them, as though he was one of them, and looking for some avenue of escape, he rode up to the head of the column, where BENNETT was being threatened and examined. To his dismay he saw BENNETT turn his eyes upon him and knowing the timidity of his character, was fearful that BENNETT would, in his weakness, recognize him and point him out. BENNETT declared however that he had not seen him in a long time and the officers then dismissed BENNETT and directed the Cavalry to move forward quietly but rapidly and thus effect my father's capture. When they began to move, my father being acquainted with the woods put his spurs to his horse and escaped under a rattling fire from the Cavalry, who knew that something had occurred but did not know what it was. I have heard my father say that when BENNETT was trembling and begging for his life, that he (my father) put his hand upon his pistol and determined that if BENNETT was foolish and cowardly enough to give him away, that he would instantly shoot him, and then take his chance of escape.
On another occasion Gen. Lyon was in Columbia with a considerable body of Confederate infantry and Cavalry. On one night he sent out two hundred infantry to effect the capture of my father and others of his neighbors. They came first to our house but before they were able to surround the house, my father escaped into the orchard and stood there concealed by the darkness, until they had made a search of the house. Then they took their way to the house of Mr. Oscar PILE, who lived on the hill on the opposite side of the road from Tabor Church, and from there to the house of Judge Richard GARNETT, who lived where his son H.B. GARNETT now lives (Horton's) and captured him. He was a Home Guard Captain. My father followed them over this course endeavoring to approach sufficiently close to find out who it was that was acting as their guide. Finally in the darkness, he mingled with them and in this, way was able to approach near the front and at great hazard to himself discovered that it was a man by the name of STEPHENSON, and who was a neighbor, that was acting as the guide. Within a few nights thereafter a crowd of men visited STEPHENSON and taking him from his home, severely whipped him and ordered him out of the country. STEPHENSON did not wait for a second warning but left immediately and never returned. My father never imparted any information to me, as to what he knew about how STEPHENSON came to be whipped or who did it.
On one occasion during the Civil War, a large force of Confederate infantry and Cavalry under the command of (--- blot---) came and camped at Columbia Kentucky. At once, parties were sent into the country, who captured Judge Richard GARNETT, Simon P. TAYLOR, and John BLAIR, who were Captains of Companies of Home Guards. These men were brought prisoners into Columbia, when the Confederate Commander made a proclamation for all of the Home Guards to bring and stack their muskets at the Long View on the Columbia and Jamestown road, about 3 miles, from Columbia on a certain night and that if they failed to do so, that he would at once hang GARNETT, TAYLOR and BLAIR. My father believed that this proclamation was a mere bluff for the purpose of working upon the fears of the friends of the prisoners and in that to procure the arms of the Home Guards. On the night appointed, my father went to the place designated and hid himself in the woods. Pretty soon the members of the Home Guards began to gather in, in twos and threes and to deposit their muskets and then to go hurriedly away. At a late hour in the night and after all, who intended to, had come and left their muskets, my father came out from his hiding place and taking the muskets one by one, he placed each in the fork of a convenient dogwood tree and bent the barrel of each of the guns, not sufficiently to be noticed, but enough to destroy its usefulness as a firearm. On the next morning a party of the Confederates were sent out for the guns and the prisoners were then released. On the same night a Confederate officer of the rank of Major spent the night at the house of Mr. Oscar PILE. After bending the muskets my father repaired to the house of PILE, where he captured the officer and carried him to the Harvey's Ridge with the purpose that in the event GARNETT, TAYLOR, and BLAIR were hanged, to take revenge by hanging the Major. Learning, however, on the next day of the release of GARNETT and his associates, my father released the Major and allowed him to rejoin his command.
The most distinct recollection that I have of any incident of the Civil War was as follows: One morning three armed men on horseback came to the gate at the end of the lane in front of our house. My father accompanied by a neighbor, named John TILGHMAN, went out from the house toward the gate. When they had come very nearly to the gate, the men on horseback fired on TILGHMAN and my father, who resolutely returned the fire. Then the men wheeled their horses and fled at full speed. These men were evidently guerrillas and meant to murder my father and were only prevented by the resolute conduct of him and TILGHMAN.
On another occasion when General John MORGAN and his forces made a foray into this part of the country, my brother, J.W. HURT, and two colored boys, Rue and George, had been to secrete some horses in a wood, which then lay along near the upper end of the Cedar Cliff on Petitts Fork. After a ,time, to their great surprise, a body of Cavalry came across the creek near where they were. My brother and the boys fled with the horses and I can now remember seeing them running the horses at full speed down the old rocky road, which ran through my father's farmland making for the woods on the north side of the farm. Particularly, I remember a ball-faced sorrel horse and a large mare called Beck. The Cavalry pursued them rapidly and captured the horses near the sinks of the sinking branch. I do not know upon what date this happened but I could not have been above three or four years of age.
Near the end of the Civil War, two young men, whose names were Porter ALLEN and Jim TURK, and who were neighbors of ours, and who were soldiers in the Confederate army were taken prisoners on Crocus Creek and were imprisoned by the Federal authorities on Johnson's island in Lake (---dim---) and then both died. The horses they were riding at the time of their capture fell into take hands of the Federal forces at Columbia, who were under the command of General WOOD. He desired to send a spy to Bowling Green, Kentucky to learn the number and disposition of the Confederate forces in that country. He thereupon, sent for my father and requested him to undertake the mission. Mr. Oscar PILE accompanied my father to see General WOOD and when my father consented to make the journey, he asked for PILE to go with him. General WOOD furnished them horses to ride and without their knowledge furnished them the horses which had been taken from ALLEN and TURK. Either as they went to Bowling Green or as they returned, someone saw them, who recognized the horses, and gave the families of ALLEN and TURK information of it, thereby causing a feeling toward my father and PILE of great bitterness. My father and PILE did not learn until long afterwards, that they had ridden the horses which had formerly been owned by ALLEN and TURK. Shortly after this incident, and at night, a body of Confederate Guerrillas numbering more than one hundred came into my father's farm at the upper end of the Cedar Cliff, and before he had any warning, the house was surrounded. Some of the Negro slaves came to notify him of his danger but it was too late. About that time, a loud banging commenced at the door accompanied by a demand to open the door and a rattling of sabers. My mother importuned my father not to open the door, as she knew they were guerrillas, but my father recognizing the futility of trying to prevent their entrance, opened the door, when the house was immediately filled with men armed with swords, guns and pistols. Although various forces of Confederates had sought to capture my father at various times during the Civil War and had uniformly failed and now for the first time had him in their power, it was at once evident that he was not the game for which they were seeking. They at once demanded to know where my oldest brother, Leslie HURT, was. My father answered that he supposed that he was in the Federal Army before Atlanta. They denounced this as a falsehood and said that they knew he was in the house and that unless he was immediately produced, they would burn the house. My father answered that it was a very good house but that it was of no benefit to him, as he was not permitted to remain in it and that if they desired they could burn it at once, that the fear of causing the burning of houses was all that had kept him from killing many of them during the years of the war just past and that his friends were actuated by the same motives and that if they burned his house and killed him, he was ready for it, as he full well knew that his friends would be revenged upon them. Leslie HURT had written a letter from the front that he would be at home upon that night and this had become known in the neighborhood and it was now evident that the foray had been planned for that night for the purpose of seizing and killing him but for some reason that I do not know, he failed to be discharged at the end of his enlistment and served for several months afterwards, to which circumstance, he certainly owed his life. The cavalry, however, made a diligent search of the house and premises and carried away everything that they considered valuable, including twenty-one head of horses and mules. They went from there to the house of Mr. Oscar PILE and took all of his livestock and then departed from the community, without molesting anyone else. My father believed that Mr. Robert ALLEN, the father of Porter ALLEN, was the person who had induced and caused this foray to be made upon him and died, in this belief, as he and ALLEN were never friendly afterwards. Since the death of both, my father and ALLEN, I have learned that my father's suspicions were not just and that a young man whose name was STONE and who was a relative of ours was the individual who acted as guide for the Confederate upon this occasion. The marauders seemed to have minute information of the house and all things about it. My father always hung a gold watch, which he carried, upon a nail over the mantel in the family room. When the portion of the company which searched the house left the family room to go to the upper floors of the house my mother sprang out of bed and seized the watch and my father's saddlepockets, which contained several hundred dollars of county tax money, which at that time the Sheriff had to ride over the county and collect and protect, and took them into the bed with her. Immediately one of the masked men of the party ran down the stairway into the room and looked to the nail over the mantel. He either knew or had been told of the watch and had forgotten it when they first or maybe did not want the others to know he had possession of it. My mother said when he saw the watch was gone he turned and looked straight at her and she said she never heard a watch tick so loud in her life but the man didn't say anything and moved on out to where the others were coming.
Two wayfaring men from Tennessee were spending the night at our house upon this occasion, the Cavalry took their horses and taking the men out from the house, stripped them of their shoes, hats and clothing and then released them to find their way back to the house naked and barefooted.
The office of Sheriff, caused my father to have many thrilling experiences during the troublesome days of the Civil War and the years immediately thereafter. On one occasion a Negro was charged and being tried in the old courthouse at Columbia, upon an indictment charging him with an assault with intent to commit a rape upon a white woman. The Negro was unable to secure counsel and the court assigned Mr. Junius CALDWELL as counsel for him. A great deal of feeling was at that time rampart in this country against the Negroes generally, on account of the Civil War. Colonel John MORRISON was then stationed at Columbia with the 13th Kentucky Cavalry. MORRISON was an impulsive man and full of prejudices. He took strong grounds against the Negro and was loud in his assertions that he ought to be hanged and on the occasion of the trial came into the courtroom followed by about one hundred of his soldiers - all armed - and by his presence and otherwise undertook to overawe the court and jury and thereby force a conviction. When CALDWELL addressed the jury in behalf of the Negro, he mentioned the presence of MORRISON and his purpose and proceeded to soundly criticize him for his conduct. MORRISON, followed by a number of his soldiers, arose and started to come through the gate in the iron fence, into the bar, to assault CALDWELL. A low iron fence separated the bar from the remainder of the courtroom. My father, who was the Sheriff, warning the jurors to remain in their seats, met MORRISON at the gate with a drawn pistol and presenting it at MORRISON's breast warned him that if he advanced further that he would shoot him or any one of his supporters. In this way he compelled MORRISON and his men to retrace their steps and to sit down. The judge, who was presiding, was an old man, whose name was KAVANAUGH and who became so paralyzed with fear, that he could not or did not speak. My father then turning to CALDWELL directed him to proceed with his speech, while he stood facing the crowd behind the bar with a cocked pistol. Under these exciting circumstances CALDWELL finished his speech. The Jury retired and bravely returned a verdict of not guilty. KAVANAUGH, who had by this time regained his composure, immediately directed my father to return the Negro to jail and before the soldiers and citizens were scarcely aware of what the verdict had been, my father had escorted the Negro out of their reach, where he released him.