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Ancestors of Roscoe Clinton Myers


      36. Capt Henry Rhoads, Jr275, born 05 Jan 1738/39 in Germantown, PA276,277,278,279; died 06 May 1814 in Browder, Muhlenberg County, KY. He was the son of 72. Henry Rhoads, Sr* and 73. Catherine Cable. He married 37. Elizabeth Stoner 19 Oct 1760 in Frederick, MD.

      37. Elizabeth Stoner, born 25 Mar 1744 in Pipe Creek, Frederick County, MD280,281; died 02 Oct 1807 in Browder, Muhlenberg County, KY. She was the daughter of 74. Capt John Stoner I and 75. Catherina Elizabetha Ramsburg.

Notes for Capt Henry Rhoads, Jr:
EXCERPTS FROM 'TWO CENTURIES OF BROTHERSVALLEY' by H. Austin Cooper

HENRY RHOADS, Junior, was the fourth son of HEINRICH, born June 5, 1739, near Germantown, Pennsylvania. In the early days of his life he attended the school or Bible classes conducted for the youth at the Ephrata Cloisters. It is claimed by several researchers that HENRY was born at Ephrata bacause his father was a follower of CONRAD BEISSEL. If the family did not live at Ephrata they certainly must have lived nearby for the children were affected very much by the influence of the Cloisters as were most of the early Brethren of that day.

It is believed that at about 1744, HENRY's father and his family moved in to Antrim Township, of the present County of Franklin. Frederick County, Maryland, records show they lived there in 1748. HENRY married ELIZABETH STONER, daughter of Elder JOHN STONER of the Pipe Creek Church, Frederick County, Maryland. ELIZABETH was born March 25, 1744 and joined in wedlock October 9, 1760. This couple moved to Stony Creek that fall and are listed on the 1762 roster of organization of that congregation. Following is the record of the children born to this union:

John, born March 3, 1762; died August 5, 1779; Jacob born June 6, 1763; Jonathan born April 1, 1765; Daniel born July 11, 1766; Catrena born June 19, 1768; Elizabeth born October 12, 1770; Henry born March 20, 1772; Solomon born June 7, 1774; David born November 19, 1777; Hanna born March 23, 1780; died April 19, 1795

On the second page of [the family’s] Sauer Bible, 1763, Germantown, follows this record in broken English:

"This day wen this Retin we was mared 34 yaer & 8 month by me HENRY RHOADS and my ELIZABATHEA beloved Companion on the bans of Green River in Logan County-Kantocke 3 sons mared and 3; three Daughters, and 20 Gran Childr en My Wife Dove die October the 2-1807 Marrid agin 9 of Febry 1808 (HEN RY RHOADS)"

This was copied exactly as it appears in the photostat. (p. 167)

Chapter XI (page 122) Captain HENRY RHOADS in the RHOADS and Newmeyer family histories there are references to HENRY RHOADS, Sr. (HENRY ROTH, Sr. ), that he "exhorted the people in his congregation." This indicates that he was an "exhorting deacon." However, after Elder George Martin left the area from 1764-1768, HENRY ROTH, Sr. was the elder in charge. With the going of HENRY ROTH, Jr. and the fifteen families from Stony Creek to Kentucky in 1785, this left the congregation without leadership, for HENRY Jr. seemed to have taken up the work of his father. HENRY RHOADS, Jr. was a pioneer in the Wilderness of Kentucky, at the time when the Indians were still lurking in the forests and every moment of the pioneers' time was utilized for protection ... HENRY RHOADS (HENRY ROTH, Jr.) found time on the Lord's Day to stand before the congregation gathered from the sparcely settled neighborhood and read from his German Bible and translate it into the English language as he read, doing it better than most of the leaders in the Sacred Service did with an interpreter to assist.

The congregation here mentioned in Muhlenberg, Kentucky, was the Baptist Church. (More will be said in detail in the section of the Kentucky Brethren.) It should be stated that this man, HENRY ROTH, Jr., had served his country in many useful ways. He was a captain in the Revolutionary Army at Valley Forge, chosen a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia from Bedford County in 1776. He was commissioned a Justice of the Peace in Bedford County in 1776. A member of the Pennsylvania Legislature for Bedford County, 1778. (It must be remembered that this community was then located in Bedford County).

Five years after moving to Kentucky he served as a member of the Legislature of Kentucky from Logan County. That year he was given the honor to name the new county where he had lately settled. He named it after his beloved Brigadier General, John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, under whom he served at Valley Forge.

HENRY RHOADS first went to Kentucky in 1784 according to tradition. He spent the first winter of 1784-85 at Bardstown and Elizabethtown, Kentucky. He then moved them permanently in the spring of 1785 and settled at RHOADSVILLE on Green River. He remained at RHOADSVILLE for three years and spent the winter of 1787-88 at Barnetts Fort, now Hartford, Kentucky. He left RHOADSVILLE (Calhoun), because of not being able to retain the land he first settled on, due to a mix-up in recording land grants . .. after the Dorsey heirs of Frederick County, Maryland won out in the suit for the site of Rhoadsville (later Vienna and Calhoun, Kentucky) many of the Germans or Pennsylvania settlers moved about five or seven miles south of Calhoun / Rhoadsville) and settled around Sacremento, Bremen and Pond Station.

The first church organized at Pond Station was a Baptist church. Apparently most of the settlers were Baptists. The area around Sacremento and Bremen was commonly called the "Dutch Settlement" on account of the Pennsylvania Dutch settlers most of whom came from Bedford and Somerset, Pennsylvania. HENRY RHOADS left the Church of the Brethren and became a member of the Baptist Church. There are Baptist churches in the "Dutch Settlement" area at Bremen and Sacremento.

There must have been great excitement in the homes and meetinghouses in the winter of 1783 and spring of 1784. HENRY RHOADS, Jr. was planning his trip to Kentucky to get the land offered the Pennsylvania and Virginia Revolutionary veterans or pensioners. The old father, Henry Rhoads, Sr. had died in 1774 and the son was free to go. In 1774, HENRY ROTH, J r. sold his large holdings. The town of Garrett was one plot of his land. In the spring of 1784 a love feast was held as the fifteen families prepared to leave for the new frontier in DANIEL BOONE's country. Many were the preparations for the departure. Hearts were sad for this was a great decision. The party bade farewell and the congregation was weakened, never to remain for long as a Sabbatarian church. This was the second recorded love feast held west of the Allegheny Mountains by this church. The first was in 1762 when George Adam Martin organized the church. (p. 193 )

The Church Roster, 1770

A detailed account of these people will not be related in this treatise. But there is considerable material available on the life and events surrounding these early people. As formerly stated, some remained faithful to the Sabbatarian practices, while others and their posterity remained active and faithful members of the German Baptist Brethren. There were twelve families in the original organization with seventeen members. The roster was represented by eight male adults. Removing the name of Elder George Adam Martin, who did not remain with the congregation as a long- time resident citizen, (but returned to Stony Creek in 1769 and died April 29th, 1794), there are seven male adults who were local land owners. This author has found deeds and warrents and survey maps bearing all of these names except Philip Oswald.

The following interesting information has been discovered: (this has helped in establishing the original bounds of Bruedersthal). HENRY ROTH, Sr. (HENRY RHOADS, Sr.) owned the farm now owned and occupied by William Glessner and son, John. HENRY RHOADS, Jr. owned 300 acres of land in the Elk Lick section along Castleman River known as "Introduction," deeded at Lancaster, Oct. 4, 1774. HENRY ROTH, Jr. (HENRY RHOADS, Jr.) owned the farm where Mr. Joseph Croner lives south of Berlin. (It is on the William Glessner farm in Stonycreek Twp. that the old "Stony Creek" meetinghouse stood)."

There is a little stream running between the Albert Glessner and William Glessner farms now called RHOADS Creek that was called RHOAD's Creek on Reading Howell's Map of 1795.

HENRY ROTH, Sr. Grist Mill

About five hundred yards up (east) this creek stood the HENRY RHOADS, Sr. grist and saw mill. The foundation and race are visible yet today. This grist mill was standing in 1768. The Brethren held services in this mill before HENRY ROTH, Sr. built the dwelling-meetinghouse in 1771. The HENRY RHOADS, Sr farm where the meetinghouse was located was called "Round Meadows," so named because the Stony Creek makes a large round bend in the meadow. ABRAHAM GEBEL's name appears as the first deacon in the 1770 organization. He was the first Justice of the Peace commissioned on November 23, 1771. He was a man of great means and had a good reputation. He received this distinction three times: 1770, 1771 and 1786.

The Kentucky Migration, 1785

The terrible winter of 1784-1785 all but depleted the hopes of the frontiersmen who had faith in the coming crops of the spring and summer. The snows began early in October and continued almost without letup until after Easter. This is not uncommon to the area as the storms both in summer and winter come quickly and violently and often last for long periods without diminishing in force and fury. The altitude and the formation of the mountains to the west and east cause the storms to funnel into this area. As related in the former section on Brothers Valley the area is like an inverted saucer or dish lifted up above the surrounding countryside. Thus the storms beat heavily upon the land and the temperature drops quickly and holds on for many weeks sometimes without varying much either way. On Easter Monday when the sun shined warmly the snow measuring 85 inches on the level. This was one of the contributing factors for so many people leaving the area. However, this was only one.

Perhaps the other factors that induced the settlers to seek more pleasant settlement in the southern wilderness were the stories of some of their relatives such as Captain HENRY ROTH, Jr. and Phillip Aswald who had traveled extensively in the Kentucky country. They came back with glowing tales about the rich and fertile grasslands of the "blue grass region ." At that early time most of the land was unsettled and there seemed to be room for all to settle in a more temperate climate. No doubt, the determining factor for their departure from Bruedersthal in the summer of 1785 was the dual fact that the State of Virginia offered free land to her soldiers who fought in the Revolution. Many of the young men who had joined the Brothers Valley Militia and followed General GEORGE WASHINGTON throughout his campaigns against the British, received large land grants in what was then called "Western Virginia," which was the Kentucky country. Captain HENRY ROTH, Jr. led more than one hundred to Kentucky from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and what is now West Virginia. Several from New Jersey joined the band at New Market, Virginia, in the early part of the summer of 1785 and proceeded to the new "promised land."

For the most part the people in the party were listed as heads of families. To be sure, there were many children in the group. It seems that they went by way of Winchester, Virginia, and there met a group from Maryland, especially from Washington and Frederick counties. It is known that at least a dozen from the Pipe Creek country, in what is now Carroll County, met them at Winchester and accompanied them to New Market, Virginia. Here they rested for several weeks before going on to the Roanoke Settlement where many others met the band and proceeded on their way.

The other reason for so many going along with the small band of leaders who received the "military grants" were those who were termed later in Kentucky as "squatters" on the land. These people had the approval of these who received the grants. They were the workers and the tillers of the soil for these large land holders. Many of them later bought tracts for their homes and settled permanently in Kentucky. About 1800 there was another movement from Kentucky across the Ohio River into Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and into the Black Hawk country of Iowa. (p. 200)

Brothersvalley Militia

The first known Brethren youth, (or at this time he was a Sabbatarian) was Henry Roth, Jr. He enlisted in the militia, went to Bedford and drilled at the Fort and was advanced to the rank of Captain by 1772. He was finally advanced to the rank of General by the close of the Revolution. ( p. 83)

Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention (July 22, 1776)

HENRY RHOADS represented Bedford County at the convention and gave a strong speech in support of the section concerning religious tolerance. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN reportedly complimented him on the speech. (p. 170)
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'MATERIALS TOWARD HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS' by Morgan Edwards

"...17 persons are baptized (at Stonycreek Church) and may be considered as the constiituents of the church, viz. Rev. George Adam Martin and wife, HENRY ROTH and wife and daughter, HENRY ROTH, jur. and wife, George Newmoyer, Philip Oswald and wife and daughter, Abraham Gebel and wife, Philip Kimmel and wife, Mr. Widdebarger and wife." on the 1770 organizing of Stonycreek Church ---included in "Two Centuries of Brothersvalley" (p. 184)

Ben Franklin

While at Valley Forge, Capt. RHOADS was delegated to serve at the Commonwealth Constitutional Convention, held in the State House, Philadelphia, july 15-16, 1776. Capt. RHOADS was to serve as delegate for all that portion of territory west of the Allegheny Mountain in what was known as Bedford Township, now Somerset County. He signed the document on July 16, 1776, and Dr. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN was appointed president of the session and signed the document....One of the most important parts of the Constitution was that dealing with religious tolerance in the Commonwealth. It is said that HENRY ROTH was one of the strongest proponents of that article, and that BENJAMIN FRANKLIN congratulated him for his speech on the subject. ---end of excerpts from "Two Centuries of Brothersvalley"
[]

FROM 'THE CHURCH OF THE SINGING HILLS' by H. Austin Cooper

Battle of Blue Licks

Blue Licks, KY, was the last battle of the Revolutionary War. Gen. Toombs was killed and Capt. HENRY RHOADS took command and defeated the British and Native Americans. Afterwards he was honored with the rank of General. ---"The Church of the Singing Hills" (p. 383)

[Note: This must be questioned until it is corroborated. ---RCM]
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FROM 'HISTORY OF MUHLENBERG COUNTY'

HENRY RHODES was dedicated to his church and military leader, General Peter Muhlenberg, who was prominent in the American revolt for independence. On a statue of General Muhlenberg in Philadelphia, he is quoted: "There is a time for all things - A time to preach and a time to fight and now is the time to fight." ---farewell sermon, Woodstock, VA, 1776-- -( p. 5).

The first of the early settlers of whom we have any tradition or history were HENRY RHOADS and his brothers, who settled RHOADSVILLE, which later became Calhoun. Of the original party who began this station only a few remained permanently in the immediate neighborhood. HENRY RHOADS was probably the first to leave it.

After living a few years near what later became Hartford, Ohio County, he settled in the neighborhood of what is now Browder, Muhlenberg County. In 1790 James Inman left Rhoadsville and moved five miles south, where he built Pond Station in the territory which, in 1798, became a part of Muhlenberg County, and in 1854, McLean County was organized, became in turn a part of that county. (p. 10).

Among the pioneers who first settled that section of the Green River country which is included in what is now the northern part of Muhlenberg County were some who had fought in the Revolution under General John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg. Most of the first settlers in the central and southern sections of the county were Virginians and Carolinians, mainly of English, Scotch and Irish extraction.

Representatives of General Muhlenberg's army drifted to this part of Green River country from Southern Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia. Most of General Muhlenberg's soldiers were born in America, but their fathers came from Germany and Holland long before the Revolution. Among these was HENRY RHOADS, "the Godfather of Muhlenberg County," who not only procured the name of his general for the county but was also a prominent pioneer in Western Kentucky and identified with the early development of Muhlenberg and the entire western section of the Green River Territory.

In Perrin's "History of Kentucky," page 99, a brief sketch of the life of RHOADS is incidentally introduced in a biography of Professor McHenry Rhoads, the wellknown educator, who is a son of Absalom J. RHOADS, a grandson of SOLOMON RHOADS, and a great-grandson of HENRY RHOADS. From this sketch I quote:

'HENRY RHOADS was born in Germany [sic] in 1739 and died in Logan county 1814. [He died in Muhlenberg, County.] He and two of his brothers came to America about 1757 and settled in Bedford county, Pennsylvania. In 1760 he married ELIZABETH STONER of Maryland.

He fought for his adopted country through the great struggle for Independence, under the leadership of General Muhlenberg. After the war for Liberty, having lost heavily in the cause, he, with his two brothers and their families, came to Kentucky. They stopped first at Bardstown where they left their wives and children, and then went out in the wilderness to find a site to build a town. The place selected was at the falls of Green river where they started a settlement and called it Rhoadsville. After three years of peaceable position, an action was entered in the Ohio circuit court, styled "John Hanley vs HENRY RHOADS and others," for the possession of the land on which the town stood. The suit was gained by the plaintiff. HENRY RHOADS and all of his friends then removed to Barnett's Station, on Rough Creek, where they lived five years, during which time the present town of Hartford was about and a few houses built. He next moved to Logan County and settled . . . where he owned 7,000 acres of military land. He represented the county [Logan and what became Muhlenberg] in the legislature of Kentucky in 1798, and on its formation in December, 1798 as a county, named it in honor of General Muhlenberg.'

The name RHOADS is occasionally spelled RHOADES and RHODES, but pioneers HENRY and SOLOMON RHOADS and their descendants never so wrote it.

From a letter written by Judge Lucius P. Little to the author:

"When HENRY RHOADS came to this part of the Green River country, he stopped at Barnett's Fort on Rough River above Hartford. He first located his claim for land at the site of the present town of Calhoun and laid out a town in 1784 and called it RHOADSVILLE. When RHOADS was defeated by Captain John Hanley, agent for the Dorseys, of Maryland, the name of the town was changed to Vienna. RHOADS then went back to Barnett's Fort for a short time and soon after located in the bounds of the present county of Muhlenberg, five miles from Paradise on Green River and a mile from the present town of Browder on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.

"Simultaneously, with the departure of the Germans to the south side of the river, they erected a fortification about five miles south from Rumsey for refuge in case of Indian attack. This was called 'Pond Station.' This was in Muhlenberg, until the territory embracing it was made a part of McLean County. About the same time such of the residents of Fort Vienna as owned slaves quit the fort and opened up farms north of the river, where some of their descendants are still to be found.

"As late as 1840 the settlement south of Cypress Creek and extending far enough south to embrace Sacramento and Bremen was commonly called 'The Dutch Settlement.' While these people were thrifty, yet few of them owned slaves.

"In 1798, a few years after settling in Logan County, HENRY RHOADS became a member of the State Legislature and on December 14, 1798, an act was passed creating a new county out of parts of Christian and Logan. It was HENRY RHOADS who proposed and secured the name of Muhlenberg for the new county.”

Ed Porter Thompson in his "Second History of Kentucky," page 162, says:

'General Muhlenberg was at no time a resident of Kentucky. His name and his deeds, however, are of interest to us because some of the gallant members of his church who followed him when he left his pulpit to fight for Independence, had grants of land for military service, which they located on and below Green River, soon after the close of the Revolution, and made their homes in what are now Muhlenberg, McLean and Ohio counties. One of them, Hon. HENRY RHOADS, was a member of the legislature in 1798 wh en Muhlenberg county was established, and procured it to be named in honor of his pastor and general. . . .Through the influence of one to whom General Muhlenberg had been a pastor in peace and a valiant captain in the f ight for freedom, his ever enduring monument (a county's name) was erected, not in his own land, but in the wilderness of Kentucky.

While faithfully and successfully serving the public, HENRY RHOADS had, for a number of years, more or less trouble in establishing his claim to the land to which he was entitled and on which he lived after he moved in to what later became a part of Muhlenberg. This land, of which he finally gained possession, lay in what was up to 1798 a part of Logan County. It was part of a grant of almost 7,000 acres which he had surveyed in 1793 for General Alexander McClanahan, with the understanding, that he was to receive part of it. It is possible that 1793 was the year HENRY RHOADS first settled in what is now Muhlenberg. In 1797 the State of Kentucky issued to McClanahan and RHOADS a patent for this survey. In October 1801, a commission of six men was appointed to divide this tract between the two and issue a deed to each for his share. Order Book No. 1, pa ge 1, gives the names of these commissioners. . .Deed Book No. 1, page 66 shows that they granted HENRY RHOADS two thousand acres of the survey for which he received deed October 26, 1801. Thus, after a long and patient struggle, he held a title to land against which no priority of claim was ever brougt. In 1798, he bought an adjoining survey of five hundred acres that had been granted to General George Matthews...

It was on this 2,500-acre tract that he built his home [photo, p. 31], shortly after his arrival from Hartford. The original dwelling has undergone many changes, but is still standing, near the Greenville and Rochester Road about nine miles from Greenville. The farm on which this house stands has passed from father to son for more than a century, and is now owned by Professor McHenry RHOADS.
Near this historic house is the old family graveyard. In it, among five generations of RHOADS buried there, is the grave of the ‘Godfather of Muhlenberg County,’ on which was placed, almost a century ago, a sandstone about two feet high and marked: ‘H.R., B.J. 5, 1739. D.M. 6, 1814.’ [photo of gravestone, p.32]” (pp. 29-32)

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF HENRY RHOADS

Written 4/15/1812
Witnessed by J. W. McConnell and Wm. Sumner
Recorded in 1813
Probated in August, 1814 and attested by C. F. Wing, Clerk, in Will Book N o. 1,
page 194

In the name of God, Amen. I, HENRY RHOADS, of the county of Muhlenberg and State of Kentucky, being weak in body but of perfect mind and memory, to make and ordain this my last will and testament.

First, I recommend my soul to the Almighty God, and as touching my worldly effects wherewith He has helped me. I give and dispose of them in the following manner.

First. I give and bequeath to my beloved wife BARBAY RHOADS all the property she brought with her after we were married, agreeable to contract and one cow, a large heifer and one iron pot and the corner cupboard and chest and my large Bible, and the low posted bedstead, one large and one small wheel including all the furniture we have got since we were married. I also give and bequeath to my beloved wife BARBAY all that is allowed to her agreeable to the courts of a bond on my son DAVID RHOADS bearing date of August 23, 1810.

Secondly, I give and bequeath all my debts, dues and demands and all the property I own in this world except what is expressly mentioned in th is my last will to my children, namely my sons, JACOB RHOADS, DANIEL RHOADS, HENRY RHOADS, SOLOMON RHOADS, DAVID RHOADS, SUSANNAH HIGHMYOIS and CATY JACKSON, ELIZABETH VANMETER and HANNAH JACKSON, all my daughter s, to be equally divided among them, at the discretion of my executors at my decease.

Lastly, I do hereby nominate and appoint my brother DANIEL RHOADS and SOLOMON RHOADS and DAVID RHOADS as executors of my last will and testament, hereby revoking all other wills by me made as witness and seal this 15th day of April in the year of our Lord 1812 and the presence of viz:
HENRY RHOADS [seal]
(pp. 32-33)

Test
J. W. Connell
William his X mark Lunner (? - Turner?)
Muhlenberg County Sct
August County Court 1813.
The within instrument of writing purporting to be the last will and testament of HENRY RHOADS Sr. deceased was exhibited into court and eknowledged by the said RHOADS (in his lifetime) to be his act and deed and ordered to be recorded.
Attest
Chas. F. Wing C.M.C.
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NAMING MUHLENBERG COUNTY

Nevertheless, pioneer HENRY RHOADS, in 1798, very fittingly procured for the entitlement of the county the name of the man who was a friend, pastor, and general to many of its earliest settlers.

SOME OF THE FIRST-COMERS

Tradition does not say who were the first white people to come into what is now Muhlenberg County. It is, however, probable that the first men who made this locality their home were Revolutionary soldiers who wandered westward immediately after that war. Tradition goes no further back than about 1784, to which time a few of the families in the county can trace the arrival of their ancestors.

After Pond Station had been started and after HENRY RHOADS began inducing more German-Americans to locate near that station and in other houses, in most locations, were impracticable, religious exercises were in turn in the homes of the pioneers. These services were conducted in English. In some homes there were no Bibles other than German copies that had been brought by the German-American pioneers, nevertheless, the services were conducted in English. HENRY RHOADS, it is said, frequently addressed audiences and read chapter after chapter from a German Bible, translating them into English with more grace and rapidity than some of his contemporaries who on other occasions read a Bible printed in English.

Hazel Creek Baptist Church was organized December 3, 1798, and was the first church organized in the county. This is not only the first but also the oldest church organization in Muhlenberg. Furthermore, it is the only church in the county of which a history has been published. In 1898 Professor William J. Johnson, who then lived near Wells, printed a seventy. page pamphlet entitled "History of Hazel Creek Baptist Church." This church, like many of the other early churches, became the mother of other organizations.

Relative to the twelve churches originating from Hazel Creek, Professor Johnson says:

"In 1799, twelve members were authorized 'to continue an arm at George Clark's, on the west side of Pond Creek, which doubtless led to the formation of Nelson Creek church, June 10, 1803. June 1, 1805, eighteen members were dismissed from Hazel Creek church to form Midway church, now Monticello. August 2, 1806, eighteen members were dismissed to form what is now Cave Spring, near Pond river, on the road from Greenville to Hopkinsville. Cypress church, McLean county, was formed from this church in 1808. Antioch, Todd county, was formed from this church and also Whippoorwill church in the year 1819. May 6, .1820, the arm known as Hebron (now Aft. Vernon) was made a constituted body. In 1840, thirteen members from this church formed new Hebron church (Muhlenberg). Ebenezer was organized with twenty-six members from this church, January 3, 1851. Macedonia was formed from this church on November 22, 1856. New Hope church (Muhlenberg) was formed of material mostly from this church, in 1858, but is now extinct. Sugar Grove was constituted with twenty-five members, mostly from this church, in January, 1873.

"It may be well to add that the Hazel Creek congregation built its first house in 1800, its second in 1807, and its third in 1857, all of which were of logs. Its fourth (the present) building was erected in 1906.

Mount Olivet (three miles northeast of Central City) is probably the oldest Methodist church in Muhlenberg. Mount Zion (one mile east of Central City) is among the oldest Presbyterian organizations. Although Mount Zion was organized as early as about 1802, the congregation, it is said, did not erect its first house until about twenty years later. As a rule, the church houses built by the pioneers were union churches, that is, buildings erected jointly by two or more denominations, who conducted their services independently of one another. In Greenville, up to about 1825, the academy building, served the purposes of a school and a union church. As far as t have been able to ascertain. the Presbyterians of Greenville were the first in that town to erect a building of their own." (pp. 127 -128) ---end of excerpts from "History of Muhlenberg County"
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CALHOUN: McLean Co. On the banks of the Green River. The town likely laid out by Henry RHOADS and named the town Rhoadsville. In 1785, his brother, Solomon RHOADS built a fort here. Town re-named for Fort Vienna, possibly by John HANLEY who bought Rhoads' land. Also known as Calhoun in 1849, William H WILLIAMS, post master; named for John CALHOON, a local judge.
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1810 Muhlenberg County Kentucky Census
p 389
p294

Henry Rhoads
1-0-1-0-1-0-0-1-0-1-0

p 401
p 282
p 307

Henry Rhoads
0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-1-0

More About Capt Henry Rhoads, Jr:
Ancestor: of Senator John C. Danforth of Missouri
Burial: 1814, Rhoads Cemetery, Browder, KY
Census: 1810, Muhlenberg County, KY
Church Record: Bet. 1764 - 1768, Elder in charge of Stony Creek church
Civic: 1798, Proposed name for Muhlenberg County, KY
Deed: 04 Oct 1774, 300 acres in Elk Lick section, Brothersvalley, on Castleman River known as "Introduction"
Education: Ephrata Cloisters
Forename Variant: 1739, AKA Henry Rhoads, Jr.
Grave Marker: yes
Historical: 1776, Hwy Marker #1735-Rev War Soldiers honored282
Indenture: 21 Mar 1777, 398 acres, Castleman River, to Benjamin Chew
Land Grant: 13 Dec 1773, Warrant #29, 500 acres, Brothers Valley Township, PA
Legal: 1788, John Hanley vs Henry Rhoads & Others---Ohio Circuit Court
Migration: Bet. 1784 - 1785, Brothers Valley, PA, to Green River area of Kentucky
Military: 1777, Pennsylvania Militia283
Occupation: Aft. 1759, Blacksmith, potter
Political: Bet. 15 - 17 Jul 1776, Delegate to Pennsylvania state constitutional convention
Property: 19 Mar 1767, Linns Choice to Laurence Bowsom. Appeared in Frederick County, MD, to dispose of property
Religion: 1739, Church of the Brethren and later German Baptist Church284
Residence: Bet. 1784 - 1785, Spent winter at Bardstown and Elizabethtown, KY
Settled: Bet. 1785 - 1788, Laid out town of Rhoadsville, KY, (now Calhoun)
Signer: 16 Jul 1776, Pennsylvania Commonwealth Constitution285
Survey: 17 Feb 1767, #2801 for 110 acres, 102 perches, Washington Twp, Cumberland County, PA
Tax Roll: Bet. 1779 - 1780, Turkeyfoot Township, Bedford County, PA
Warrant: 15 Dec 1774, 100 acres
  Notes for Elizabeth Stoner:
ELIZABETH STONER

Elizabeth's parents' identity is unclear. H. Austin Cooper says in 'Two C enturies of Brothersvalley' that she was the daughter of Elder John Ston er of Pipe Creek, MD. Richard Weber, auther of 'Stoner Brethren' does n ot believe that this is accurate or at least supported by any evidence.

Elizabeth's date of birth is not consistent to be the daughter of John Sto ner and Catherina Ramsburg as she is most often connected with.

Per his will, John Stoner had a daughter named Elizabeth. Is this Elizabe th the wife of Henry Rhoads?

There were close associations between the Rhoads and Stoners and also wi th the Remsbergs and others in Maryland. They lived next to each other, c hurch associations, etc. Even though Elizabeth's birth date is not consis tent with these parents, there is a strong likelihood that she was of th is family in some connection.

The Notes pages for Henry Rhoads and Elizabeth Stoner contain various refe rences to this confusion. ---RCM
[]

Family Group Record FamilySearch™ Ancestral File v4.19
Husband's Name
Christian STONER (AFN:1PWP-BDC) Pedigree
Born: Abt. 1718 Place: <, Frederick, Maryland>
Died: 1758 Place:
Father:
Mother:
Wife's Name
Elizabeth (AFN:9JZR-6L) Pedigree
Born: Abt 1720 Place: <, Frederick, Md>
Father:
Mother:
Children
1. Sex Name
F Elizabeth STONER (AFN:CCVF-P7) Pedigree
Born: 25 Mar 1744 Place: Windor, Fredrick, Maryland
Christened: Place: Browder, Muhlenberg, Ky
Died: 2 Oct 1807 Place: Browder, Muhlenberg, Kentucky
Buried: 4 Oct 1807 Place: Rhoads Cemetery, Browder, Muhlenberg, Kentuc ky
[]

FROM 'HENRY RHOADS SENR IMMIGRANT AND HIS EARLIEST DESCENDANTS'
by Marie Leighty Engel

p 38

'Elizabeth Stoner is said to have been the daughter of a Rev. Jacob or Jo hn Stoner and Elizabeth Ramsberg. No proof has been found to confirm thi s. Ramsburgs were prominent in the Reformed Church of Frederick Co. Step hen Ramsburg evolved as one of the leaders and protectors for the earlie st German settlers. In 1746, Henry Roth (Senr), Stephen Ramsburg and Jac ob Stoner had adjacent parcels of the original 'Taskers Chance' tract th at is now the site of Frederick Town.

These earliest Germans came into Maryland with no pastors, pre-existing ch urches, and no guides to organize their congregations. Henry Roth and Nic olaus Fink were two dissenters who joined the Dunker sect, which disturb ed the Reformed followers. T. J. Williams, on the 'Church of the Brethre n' in his Frederick County History, states that no church records were ke pt in those early years for Dunkers or German Baptist Brethren.'...

...[from the Rhoads family bible] 'Henry Rhoads wife's birthday and fami ly - Henry Rhoads, Jr, was born the 5 day of June 1739. Elizabetha Ston er was born the 25 of March 1744. And joined in wedlock 19 of October 176 0...'
[]

FROM THE RHODES FAMILY FILE
Russellville, KY, Library

Elizabeth Stoner, daughter of Elder John Stoner (Dunkard)
Mar 25, 1744 to Oct 2, 1809
of Pipe Creek, MD
Montgomery County
[]

Montgomery County History
Montgomery, one of Maryland's newer counties, was established in 1776.

The county is named for Richard Montgomery (1738-1775), a Revolutionary W ar General. He died leading Continental forces in Quebec. Montgomery Coun ty was created from Frederick County, which had been created from par ts of Baltimore and Prince George's Counties in 1748. Prince George's h ad been created from Calvert and Charles counties in 1695.
[]

THE BOONE FAMILY

This page is material I have received about Mathias Bausser, Jr., and h is Wife Anna Elizabeth (nee Edelmann) and other Baussers in Europe, etc.
Bowser Genealogy Workshop
on 2000 Feb 4 I began this page eg805b.htm and I am storing e-mail about B ausser families here
http://www.disknet.com/indiana_biolab/eg805b.htm

"The Sepulcher of Squire Boone, Jr." by Belle S. Luckett [Reprint from T he Youth's Companion, issue March 1, 1883]

"The writer and a companion recently took a horseback ride to the gra ve of Squire Boone Jr. one of the renowned pioneers of the West, fou nd in a rude cave on the side of a high hill, close by a public highwa y, in Harrison County, Indiana.

We entered the cave by springing into it as one might spring into an op en well.

This cave is about ten feet long and seven or eight feet wide. On a so rt of stone shelf, or ledge, rests the remains of Squire Boone, a broth er of the famous explorer Daniel Boone.

Squire Boone accompanied Daniel in his expeditions into the wilds of Kentu cky. At one time he traveled on foot, back to the old settlement in Nor th Carolina, a distance of five hundred miles, in order to procure horse s, powder, lead, and provisions for his bro- ther and himself.

It required two months to make the journey and return to the hut in the wi lderness.

Squire Boone Jr. crossed the Ohio River and made his home in southern Indi ana, in the early part of this century. There he lived, and there prepar ed with his own hands the dark cavern where his bones are lying.

Some of the very old settlers who live near this cave tell of how the Indi ans attacked and drove him from his work of opening up this tomb. They te ll of his kind face and strange rough manners.

For sixty-seven years these bones have laid in this unmarked grav e, to be clattered over by careless feet, and to be inspected by strange rs eyes."

"The Boone Family" by Austin H. Cooper [condensed summary reprint from "T wo Centuries of Brothers Valley, 1762-1962"]

"Dr. Floyd Mallott, historian of the Church of the Brethren and Profess or of Church History, Bethany Biblical Seminary, Chicago says: "The Boo ne Family were from Berks County, Pennsylvania. The fath- er, a Quaker, ma rried a Pennsylvania Dutch woman of Brethren affiliation. Nine childre n, of whom Daniel is the best known, came to the home. The majority of t he children grew up to be dunkers, among them Daniel, so tradition says, a lthough no record of the baptism is extant." Squire Boone came from Engla nd in 1717, had 11 children.

Daniel Boone was born November 2, 1734 and brother Squire Jr. born at fi ve o'clock in the morning in Philadelphia, October 5, 1744. They had broth ers George and William. Daniel married 1756 Rebecca Bryan; he died 26 Sep t. 1820 in Missouri.

George Boone, wife Margaret and William Boone, wife Susanna, founded the v illage of Boonesboro, Maryland where William and Susanna are interred at S alem Reformed churchyard.

George Boone and brother Squire became Dunker preachers. The former was el ected in 1770 at Stoneycreek Church, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Squi re was elected later in North Carolina, under the leadership of Elder Jo hn Hendricks, and thence to Kentucky, near Corydon where they erected a l og meeting house, in the churchyard of which several generations of Boo ne families are interred.

In 1750, the Boone family left Berks County, Pennsylvania, intending to se ttle in Yadkin Valley, North Carolina.

Three brothers, Daniel, George and William went ahead to explore the Stone ycreek Glades and Brothersvalley, then in Cumberland Co, Pennsylvania.

The rest of the family stopped over at Carlisle to await their report.

They stopped again temporarily at the site of Boonesboro, Maryland.

Before reaching Carolina, the family stopped a year at Linville Creek sett lement in Virginia.

In 1759 attacking bands of Indians invaded North Carolina. The Boone fami ly as well as other settlers were scattered, striking out in quest of safe ty in a northerly direction.

William Boone located at Boonesboro, Maryland, where he remained dur- i ng the remander of his lifetime.

Daniel made several visits to the Turkeyfoot region of present Somerset Co unty, so stated in Friend family history. The late professor Ira Carver, a nd Raymond Miller, of Stoneycreek Glades, heard in their youth of their pa rents and grandparents, stories about Daniel Boone carrying messages to re latives in Carolina, from this area, and returning with messages for loc al settlers.

About 1764 Boone's Grist Mill was erected on Calendar's Run, in this Count y. The old mill still stands on the original foundation. It has been kno wn also as Onstead Mill, and has been remodeled for use as a barn by the O nstead family. Anthony and George Baltzer erected the mill for the Boones.

Just north of the mill an eighth of a mile George Boone erected a tanner y; the old pits are being preserved by local residents. There was also a l oom factory, cider press, store, and six churches later. Four Brethren, o ne Lutheran, and one German reformed.

The earliest school used also for religious services, erected in 1770 by E lder George Adam Glessner was sponsored by the Church of the Brethren. A s econd building was built in 1797, remodeled in 1820 and 1864.

Postal service was established in 1798 the mail being carried by post ride rs to Roxbury, and there transferred to the riders serving points along t he Glades Road between Somerset and Bedford. With rural free delivery serv ice established, the post offices at Boone and Roxbury were discontinued M ay 1907.

There is a record showing Squire Boone Jr. and his mother returning here f rom Kentucky in 1760.

Squire Boone married in 1760 Jane Van Cleve, of New Jersey.

Rachel Boone married Solomon Roth (Rhoads) son of Henry Roth, Sr."
[]

ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/pa/franklin/history/local/wbeers005.txt

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, it seems, was not settled so early as some of
the eastern and southwestern districts. It and QUINCY TOWNSHIP became
largely the homes of the Germans, who crossed South Mountain from YORK
and ADAMS COUNTIES. Warrants from 1743 to 1750 embrace MICHAEL LEGATE,
JOHN MARKLEY, JOHN MORHEAD, JAMES JOHNSTON, JACOB BEESECKER, EDWARD NICHOLS, MICHAEL RAUMSAWHER, MATHIAS RINGER, JOHN STONER, JOHN STEINER, JOHN SNOWBERGER, JAMES WHITEHEAD and JOHN WALLACE.
[]

BRETHREN-L Archives

From: Randall L Alford <rlalford@winnie.fit.edu>
Subject: STONER
Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 10:52:29 -0400 (EDT)

Am interested to know if anyone has done research on Brethren family of
STONER from VA. Searching for parents of Elizabethea Stoner, b. 1744, VA
or MD; d. 1807, Muhlenberg Co., KY; mar. 1760, Frederick Co., MD to Henry
Rhoads (Roth/Rhodt).

Have consulted Weber's book, Stoner Brethren, and can't find a connection.
Any suggestions?

Randall L. Alford
rlalford@fit.edu

Families: Rhoads, Rheinhardt, Stoner, Cable/Kable, Clayton (PA, MD, VA,
KY, IN)
[]


Husband: HENRY RHOADS (R320)
Born: 5 Jun 1739 at: GERMANTOWN,BERKS CO,PA
Married: 19 Oct 1760 at: FREDERICK CO,MD
Died: 6 Mar 1814 at: GREENVILLE,BROWDER,MUHLENBERG CO,KY
Father:HENRICK RHOADS
Mother:KATHERINE RHEINHARDT
Other Spouses: BARBARA LAURIMAN
Wife: ELIZABETH DOVEY STONER (S356)
Born: 25 Mar 1744 at: FREDERICK CO,MD
Died: 2 Oct 1807 at: BROWDER,MUHLENBERG CO,KY
Father:JOHN CHRISTIAN STONER
Mother:CATHARINA ELIZABETH RAMSBURG
Other Spouses:
PEDIGREE NOTES
[]

Generation No. 4

4. ELIZABETH DOVEY4 STONER (JOHN CHRISTIAN (STEINER)3, JACOB2 STEINER, CHRISTIAN1) was born 25 March 1744 in Frederich, Md., and died 2 October 1807 in Browder, Muhlengurg, Ky. She married HENRY RHODES3 19 October 1760 in Frederich, Md, son of HEINRICH RHOADS and KATHERINE REINHARDT. He was
born 5 June 1739 in Germantown, Bedford Co., Pa., and died 6 March 1814 in Greenville, Muhlenburg, Ky.

Notes for ELIZABETH DOVEY STONER:
Name is derived from STEINARR, which is either Norse or Danish. Henry's pet name for her was Dove. Her father has been listed as John Stoner or Rev. Christian Stoner both elders in the Pike Creek Church in Frederick county, Md. Henry's 200 acres of land in Brothers Valley township was named "Elizabeth's Delight".

Notes for HENRY RHODES:
Rev War Cpt
Meyerdale Library has a ltr fr John Miller who says that Henry Rhoads as a member of the Phila Constitutional Convention for 58 days in 1776. He represented Bedford Co. His source is "Pa. Revolutionary papers IIIa p. 34", which shows how much he made for attending.

Delegate: Chosen as delegate, from Bedford County, Pa. to the
Constitutional Convention in Pa. on July 15, 1776, where Benjamin Franklin was chosen Convention President. It was at this convention that the first Pa. Constitution was written.

JUSTICE OF PEACE; Appointed on Feb 27, 1778 as JOP in Bedford Co., Pa and served until he submitted his resignation on Nov 6, 1778, apparently to serve as Captian, 3rd Company Brothers Valley, 1st Battalion, Bedfor Militia, commanded by Col. William Parker. (vol 5 pages 64-67 Pa. Archives).

LAND GRANT; Granted Land Warrant #29, for 500 acres of land in
Brothersvalley Township, Bedford Co. This tract was named "Elizabeth's Delight". and actually contained only 213 acres.

PENNSYLVANIA ASSEMBLY; Served from 1776-1778 and as a Representative of the Kentucky State Legislature from Logan Co. in 1798 and for Muhlenberg County in 1800.

Revolutionary War" Served in the 3rd Company Valley, 1st Battalion, Bedford Militia, commanded by Col. William Parker

OTHER; Henry is listed on the 1780 tax List as living in Bedford Co.,
Turkeyfoot Township. He paid taxes in Bedfor Co., Brothersvalley Township in 1774 and Turkeyfoot Township in 1779, By 1784 he was listed as a non-resident, but owned 1200 acres of land in Bedford Co.
In 1784 Henry led more than one hundred people to Kay from Pa, Maryland, and Va. He first settled and claimed land at the present site of Calhoun in 1784, and laid out the town of Rhoadsville. He lost his claim and moved on to settle a mile from the present town of Browder on the Green River. He was living on the banks of the Green River, Logan County, Ky on June 9, 1795.

The Tithables for 1785 in Nelson Co., shich was taken in July 1785 do not list Henry Rhoads, however, he is listed on the list taken in July 1786, living in Rhoadsville, Nelson County, along with this sons Jacob and Daniel.

Also living in Rhoadsville at the time was Henry's brother Daniel. Henry
signed an agreement assigning lots at Rhoadsville on July 20, 1785.
The story of Rhoadsville is a story of Henry Rhoads Jr. althout it begins
befor Henry arrive in Ky. In Feb. 1780, Jacob Myers, a land speculator
acquired large bodies of land around the Falls of the Green River which then in Jefferson Co.

On Feb. 23, 1785, Myers issued a Proclamation appointing Henry Rhoads, Isaac Cox, and Isaac Morrison as trustees to lay out two thousand acres for the etablishment of a town. Henry was probably already on the site when the proclamation was issued. The town was laid out on July 18, 1785 and anyone who built a cabin prior to Aug. 1 would receive the land free. In March 1786 or before, the town name was changed to Vienna.

Henry wrote the birth dates of his children and the death date of son John in the front of his Bible. He also recorded the information about his first wife there. This page has been passed along to members of the family.

There have been several claims madeabout why Henry named Muhlenberg Co after Gen Peter Muhlenberg. There is no evidence that Henry ever served under Gen. Muhlenberg nor that he served a Valley Forge. Henry was a member of Bedfor Count Militia, shich was kept busy as Rangers for the defense of the frontiers. He served in this capacity from Dec 1777 until May 29, 1779.

Henry was a member of the State Assembly as was Gen. Muhlenberg, and they could have become acquainted at that time.

More About HENRY RHODES:
Burial: 8 March 1814, Rhoads Cemetery, Muhlenberg Co, Ky

Children of ELIZABETH STONER and HENRY RHODES are:
i. ELIZABETH5 RHOADS, b. 12 October 1770, Bedford Co. Pa.; d. 29 February 1852, Meade Co, Ky; m. JACOB JANSEN VAN METER (VAN METRE), 7 October 1786, Harford, Ohio Co., Ky; b. 4 October 1762, Frederick Co., Va.; d. 12 October 1850, Meade Co, Ky.

Notes for ELIZABETH RHOADS:
Name comes from ROYD, a clearing a wood; Germam rode as Gernerode, or Reute, Much used in Yorkshire, Kebroyd, Holroyd, Akenoyd (oak clearing), Ormord (the clearing mare by Orme); the Yorkshire family of Rhodes. Also from the Island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean Sea; Rhodes, a town in Guienne, France.

ii. JOHN PLAIN RHOADS, b. 3 March 1762.
iii. CATHERINE RHOADS, b. 19 July 1768.
iv. HENRY RHOADS, b. 29 March 1772.
v. SOLOMON RHOADS, b. 7 June 1774.
vi. JACOB RHOADS, b. 6 June 1763.
vii. SUSANNAH RHOADS, b. 1 April 1765.
viii. DAVID RHOADS, b. 19 November 1777.
ix. HANNAH RHOADS, b. 23 March 1780.

Endnotes

1. LDS ancrestral file.
2. Link Genealogy.
3. History of Muhlenberg Cty., by Otto Arthur Rothert, 1913, 513 pgs.
[]

More About Elizabeth Stoner:
AKA (Facts Pg): Dovey
Alternate Lineage: See John Stoner, husband of Catherina Elizabetha Remsburg
Burial: 04 Oct 1807, Rhoads Cemetery, Browder, KY286
Christening: Aft. 1785, Browder, Muhlenberg County, KY287
Grave Marker: yes
Lineage: was she the sister of John Stoner I?
Property: 19 Mar 1767, Appeared in Frederick County, MD, to dispose of property
Spouse: Is this the wife of Capt Henry Rhoads?

Marriage Notes for Henry Rhoads and Elizabeth Stoner:
>>>>>CONTINUED FROM NOTES OF ELIZABETH STONER AND CAPT HENRY RHOADS>>>>>


FROM 'A HISTORY OF MUHLENBERG COUNTY, KENTUCKY'

III, Henry Rhoads, "The Godfather of Muhlenberg"

Among the pioneers who first settled that section of the Green River count ry which is included in what is now the northern part of Muhlenberg Coun ty were some who had fought in the Revolution under General John Peter Gab riel Muhlenberg. Most of the first settlers in the central and southern se ctions of the county were Virginians and Carolinians, mainly of English, S cotch, and Irish extraction.

Representatives of General Muhlenberg's army drifted to this part of the G reen River country from Southern Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia. Mo st of General Muhlenberg's soldiers were born in America, but their fathe rs came from Germany and Holland long before the Revolution. Among these w as Henry Rhoads, "the Godfather of Muhlenberg County," who not only procur ed the name of his general for the county but was also a prominent pione er in Western Kentucky and identified with the early development of Muhlen berg and the entire western section of the Green River country.

In Perrin's "History of Kentucky," page 997, a brief sketch of the li fe of Rhoads is incidentally introduced in a biography of Professor McHen ry Rhoads, the well-known educator, who is a son of Absalom J. Rhoads, a g randson of Solomon Rhoads, and a great-grandson of Henry Rhoads.1 From th is sketch I quote:

Henry Rhoads was born in Germany in 1739 and died in Logan county in 181 4. [He died in Muhlenberg County.] He and two of his brothers came to Amer ica about 1757 and settled in Bedford county, Pennsylvania. In 1760 he mar ried Elizabeth Stoner of Maryland. He fought for his adopted country throu gh the great struggle for Independence, under the leadership of General Mu hlenberg. After the war for Liberty, having lost heavily in the cause, h e, with his two brothers and their families, came to Kentucky. They stopp ed first at Bardstown where they left their wives and children, and then w ent out in the wilderness to find a site to build a town. The place select ed was at the falls of Green river where they started a settlement and cal led it Rhoadsville. After three years of peaceable possession an action w as entered in the Ohio circuit court, styled "John Hanley vs. Henry Rhoa ds and others," for the possession of the land on which the new town stoo d. The suit was gained by the plaintiff. Henry Rhoads and a few of his fri ends then removed to Barnett's Station, on Rough Creek, where he lived fi ve years, during which time the present town of Hartford was laid out a nd a few houses built. He next moved to Logan county and settled ... whe re he owned 7,000 acres of military land. He represented the county [Log an and what became Muhlenberg] in the legislature of Kentucky in 1798, [an d] on its formation [in December, 1798] as a county, named it in hon or of General Muhlenberg.

Collins, in his "History of Kentucky," under the head of McLean County, sa ys that the first fort or station in McLean County was built where Calho un now stands, in 1788, by Solomon Rhoads', and called Vienna, and th at in 1790 James Inman built Pond Station, a few miles southeast of Calhou n.

Other authorities and most traditions say that Henry Rhoads establish ed a station some time between 1784 and 1788 where Calhoun now stands, a nd that he was assisted in this work by his brother Solomon Rhoads and ano ther brother whose name is usually given as David. At any rate, a few yea rs after Henry Rhoads established or helped to establish Rhoadsville or Fo rt Vienna, he lost the title to all his land in that vicinity, and after l iving for a while near Hartford he moved into what is now the Browder Mi ne neighborhood, in Muhlenberg County, which at that time was part of Log an County.The Henry Rhoads House, Near Browder

From a letter written to me by Judge Lucius P. Little, of Owensboro, the h ighest authority on the history of the Green River country, I quote:

"When Henry Rhoads came to this part of the Green River country he stopp ed at Barnett's Fort, on Rough River, above Hartford. He first located h is claim for land at the site of the present town of Calhoun, and laid o ut a town in 1784 and called it Rhoadsville. When Rhoads was defeated by C aptain John Hanley, agent for the Dorseys, of Maryland, the name of the to wn was changed to Vienna. Rhoads then went back to Barnett's Fort for a sh ort time and soon after located in the bounds of the present county of Muh lenberg, five miles from Paradise on Green River and a mile from the prese nt town of Browder on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad.

"Simultaneously with the departure of the Germans to the south side of t he river, they erected a fortification about five miles south from Rums ey for refuge in case of Indian attack. This was called 'Pond Station.' Th is was in Muhlenberg until the territory embracing it was made a part of M cLean County. About the same time such of the residents of Fort Vien na as owned slaves quit the fort and opened up farms north of the river, w here some of their descendants are still to be found.

"As late as 1840 the settlement south of Cypress Creek and extending far e nough south to embrace Sacramento and Bremen was commonly called 'The Dut ch Settlement.' While these people were thrifty, yet few of them owned sla ves."

In 1798, a few years after settling in Logan County, Henry Rhoads beca me a member of the State Legislature and on December 14, 1798, an act w as passed creating a new county out of parts of Christian and Logan. It w as Henry Rhoads who proposed and secured the name of Muhlenberg for the n ew county. Ed Porter Thompson, in his "School History of Kentucky," page 1 62, says:

General Muhlenberg was at no time a resident of Kentucky. His name and h is deeds, however, are of interest to us because some of the gallant membe rs of his church who followed him when he left his pulpit to fight for ind ependence, had grants of land for military service, which they locat ed on and below Green River, soon after the close of the Revolution, and m ade their homes in what are now Muhlenberg, McLean and Ohio counties. O ne of them, the Hon. Henry Rhoads, was a member of the legislature in 17 98 when Muhlenberg county was established, and procured it to be nam ed in honor of his pastor and general, ... Through the influence of o ne to whom General Muhlenberg had been a pastor in peace and a valiant cap tain in the fight for freedom, his ever enduring monument (a county's nam e) was erected, not in his own land, but in the wilderness of Kentucky.

While faithfully and successfully serving the public, Henry Rhoads had, f or a number of years, more or less trouble in establishing his claim to t he land to which he was entitled and on which he lived after he moved in to what later became a part of Muhlenberg. This land, of which he final ly gained possession, lay in what was up to 1798 a part of Logan Count y. It was part of a grant of almost 7,000 acres which he had surveyed in 1 793 for General Alexander McClanahan, with the understanding that he w as to receive part of it. It is possible that 1793 was the year Henry Rhoa ds first settled in what is now Muhlenberg. In 1797 the State of Kentuc ky issued to McClanahan and Rhoads a patent for this survey. In October, 1 801, a commission of six men was appointed to divide this tract between t he two and issue a deed to each for his share. Order Book No. 1, page 1, g ives the names of these commissioners, all of whom were prominent pioneers --John Dennis, Henry Keith, Matthew Adams, William Bell, Benjamin Tolber t, and Solomon Rhoads Deed Book No. 1, page 66, shows that they granted He nry Rhoads two thousand acres of the survey, for which he received a de ed October 26, 1801. Thus, after a long and patient struggle, he held a ti tle to land against which no priority of claim was ever brought. In 17 98 he bought an adjoining survey of five hundred acres that had been grant ed to General George Matthews.Grave of the "Godfather of Muhlenberg County "

It was on this 2,500-acre tract that he built his home, shortly after h is arrival from Hartford. The original dwelling has undergone many change s, but is still standing, near the Greenville and Rochester Road about ni ne miles from Greenville. The farm on which this house stands has passed f rom father to son for more than a century, and is now owned by Professor M cHenry Rhoads. Near this historic house is the old family graveyard. In i t, among five generations of Rhoads buried there, is the grave of the "God father of Muhlenberg County," on which was placed, almost a century ag o, a sandstone about two feet high and marked: "H. R., B. J. 5, 173 9, D. M. 6, 1814."

Henry Rhoads died on the 6th of March or May, 1814, aged seventyfive. H is "last will and testament" was written April 15, 1812, witness ed by J. W. McConnell and Wm. Sumner." It was recorded in 1813 and probat ed in August, 1814, as attested by "C. F. Wing, Clerk," in Will Book N o. 1, page 194:

In the name of God, Amen. I, Henry Rhoads, of the county of Muhlenberg a nd State of Kentucky, being weak in body but of perfect mind and memor y, do make and ordain this my last will and testament.

First, I recommend my soul to the Almighty God, and as touching my world ly effects wherewith He has helped me, I give and dispose of them in the f ollowing manner.

First, I give and bequeath to my beloved wife Barbay Rhoads all the proper ty she brought with her after we were married, agreeable to contract, a nd one cow, a large heifer and one iron pot and the corner cupboard and ch est and my large Bible, and the low posted bedstead, one large and one sma ll wheel including all the furniture we have got since we were marrie d. I also give and bequeath to my beloved wife Barbay all that is allow ed to her agreeable to the courts of a bond on my son David Rhoads beari ng date August 23, 1810.

Secondly, I give and bequeath all my debts, dues and demands and all the p roperty I own in this world except what is expressly mentioned in th is my last will to my children, namely my sons, Jacob Rhoads, Daniel Rhoad s, Henry Rhoads, Solomon Rhoads, David Rhoads, Susanah Nighmyoir and Ca ty Jackson, Elizabeth VanMeter and Hannah Jackson, all my daughter s, to be equally divided among them, at the discretion of my executo rs at my decease.

Lastly, I do hereby nominate and appoint my brother Daniel Rhoads and Solo mon Rhoads and David Rhoads as executors of my last will and testament, he reby ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last will and tes tament, hereby revoking all other wills by me made as witness and seal th is 15th day of April in the year of our Lord 1812 and the presence of vi z: Henry Rhoads. (Seal)2

When Henry Rhoads settled on his tract of land Muhlenberg was practical ly an unbroken wilderness. Many wild animals, large and small, held swa y. A number of stories are told about the game that roamed over these hil ls in olden times. I here repeat two of these stories, because they are ch aracteristic of life in the wilderness and because they are incidents fr om the life of Muhlenberg's first great pioneer, handed down by local trad ition.Henry Rhoads (Grandson of Pioneer Henry Rhoads), His Wife and Daught er, in 1854

When Henry Rhoads was building his log house his neighbors were few and f ar between, but all came with a helping hand and a happy heart to take pa rt in his "house-raising." These old-time house-raisings were attend ed as much for the sake of their social features as for the purpose of bui lding a house.

One afternoon, while the crowd was busily engaged on the roof of this buil ding, a large bear leisurely wandered into sight. When the men saw the ani mal they stopped work and immediately started on a bear chase. Some ran af ter him with axes and others with guns. The women of the wilderness alwa ys lent a helping hand. In this instance one woman followed in the bear ch ase with a pitchfork. After an exciting time old Bruin was finally kille d. That night a large bearskin was stretched on the new log wall and barbe eued bearmeat was served in abundance at all the other meals prepared f or the house-raising party.

But the noise made by the bear-chasers evidently did not scare all the wi ld animals out of the neighborhood. About a year after that event Henry Rh oads, while walking in his wood, which is still standing a short distan ce north of the old house, espied a large drove of wild turkeys. He slow ly raised his flint-lock rifle for the purpose of shooting a fine gobbl er strutting under a white oak within close range. When he was about rea dy to pull the trigger he heard a rustling in the dry leaves behind him. R hoads looked around, and to his great surprise saw a huge panther prepari ng to spring upon him. Without stopping to take sure aim he fired at the t hreatening beast. Luckily, the bullet hit the animal between the eyes a nd killed it instantly. A half-hour later Rhoads walked back home with t he panther skin on his arm and his trusty flint-lock on his shoulder.

These old flint-locks were, as a rule, fine-sighted and unerring. They we re slow but sure, although they did not kill every panther they were aim ed at. Compared with modern rifles they were slow in all the operations th at preceded and resulted in the discharge of the bullet.

Most of the local traditions are subject to a variety of versions. The o ld panther story, as I have related it, has probably changed very little f rom the original since Henry Rhoads' day. However, another version of th is incident has also crept into circulation, and shows to what extent so me traditions are changed. This new version has it that when Henry Rhoa ds saw the wild turkey in the woods he took steady aim and then pulled t he trigger of his flint-lock. He had no more than pulled the trigger wh en he heard the panther back of him. Rhoads turned, immediately swung h is gun around and aimed at the panther, then in the very act of making a l ong leap from a limb down upon the hunter. But the old pioneer was quick er than the discharging powder or the charging panther, for he had the g un pointed at the animal before the bullet left the barrel, and thus kill ed the panther with the load that, a few seconds before, had been start ed toward the turkey! This same version continues with the statement th at the animal did not drop to the ground after it was shot, but fell acro ss the shoulder of the hunter, who then leisurely walked home and did n ot throw the panther down on the ground until he reached the front of h is house. I do not adopt this version, but merely record it for its vivaci ty and novelty.

Henry Rhoads, as already stated, was a member of the State Legislature fr om Logan County when, in 1798, Muhlenberg was formed, and he was the fir st man to represent the new county in the House of Representatives. He w as sixty years of age when the county was organized. Although he declin ed various county offices offered to him, he nevertheless continued to wo rk for the good of the community, and probably did as much for the count y, if not more, than any of the other early pioneers. He helped draw the p lans for the first courthouse and also did much toward promoting the inter ests of Greenville, the new county seat. He was bondsman and advis er to a number of the younger men whom he successfully recommended for off ice. Tradition says that many, and probably all, of the German-American pi oneers in Muhlenberg came to the county through his direct or indirect inf luence.

During his last years Henry Rhoads spent much of his time looking after h is farm, tanyard, and other personal affairs, but nevertheless lost no opp ortunity to bring in new settlers and perform such acts as he thought wou ld advance Muhlenberg County and its people. To-day a small sandstone is a ll that marks the spot where rest the bones of this influential pioneer. S ome day his labors will be more fully recognized and appreciated and an ap propriate memorial will then, I dare say, be erected over the grave of t he Godfather of Muhlenberg County.3McHenry Rhoads, 1912

IV, Beginning and Bounds of the County

Afew Days after the State Legislature began its regular session, Novemb er 5, 1798, the subject of forming a number of new counties was brought be fore the House. Henry Rhoads was then representing Logan County. Through h is efforts the act establishing a new county out of parts of Christian a nd Logan was passed. It was he who proposed and procured the name of Muhle nberg for the new county. This act, passed at the first session of the Sev enth General Assembly, creating Muhlenberg...

V, Courts and Courthouses

... The court appointed Charles Fox Wing their clerk pro tempore who there upon took the oath to support the Constitution of the United States, the o ath of fidelity to this Commonwealth and also the oath of office, and toge ther with Henry Rhoads, Sen., and William Campbell, his security, enter ed into bond in the penalty and conditioned as the law directs...

...Henry Rhoads, Charles Lewis, and William Bell were appointed commission ers to prepare plans for a courthouse...

...On the motion of William Campbell, and it appearing to the court th at it will be advantageous to the public and it also appearing that leg al notice having been given agreeably to law, it is ordered that a to wn be established on his land at the seat of justice in this county on Can ey, including thirty acres of land to be called and known by the name of G reenville, whereupon the said William Campbell together with John Bradl ey and Charles Fox Wing, his securities, entered into and acknowledged the ir bond in the penalty of five hundred pounds, conditioned as the law dire cts. It is further ordered that the said town be vested in Samuel Russel l, Alney McLean, Henry Rhoads, Charles Fox Wing, William Bradford and Jo hn Dennis, who are hereby nominated and appointed trustees of the said to wn of Greenville, agreeably to law...

...As stated in the beginning of this chapter. the first three meetin gs of the court of quarter sessions were held at the residence of John Den nis. The first justices of this court were William Campbell, Henry Rhoad s, and William Worthington, appointed by Governor James Garrard December 2 2, 1798, Charles Fox Wing was chosen clerk. The first meeting took pla ce on May 28, 1799, and the third on October 22, 1799. The fourth and foll owing meetings took place in the courthouse, William Worthington, John Den nis, and Charles Morgan usually presiding. The last session was held in t he spring of 1803, and coincides with the establishing of the circuit cou rt in the county.

The first grand jury impaneled for the court of quarter sessions met on Ju ly 23, 1799, and was composed of: Isaac Davis, foreman; Henry Davis, Willi am Cisna, Daniel Rhoads, jr., John Culbertson, Charles Lewis, Gilbert Vaug ht, Henry Keath, William Luce, George Brown, Benjamin Garris, Richard Nels on Alcock, William Hynes, John Cornwell, William McCommon, Thomas Bell, a nd Thomas Ward, They presented three indictments.

The first petit jury of the court of quarter sessions was impaneled on Mar ch 25, 1800, and was composed of: Charles Lewis, David Rhoads, Dempsey Wes tbrook, David Robertson, John Cornwall, Isaac Rust, John Keath, John Culbe rtson, Jesse Littlepage, Matthew McLean, William Boggess, and Daniel Rhoad s. Their first case was that of "Commonwealth against Andrew Hays." The ju dgment shows that Hays was charged with assaulting Richard Nelson Alcoc k, and was fined "twelve dollars besides cost."...

...William Hynes, foreman, Charles Crouch, Jacob Studebaker, Thomas Denni s, Solomon Rhoads, Rob't Robertson, William Roark, William Baugus, Jacob T aylor, John Keath, John Cain, Sam'l Weir, John Cargle, Thomas Littlepag e, Dempsey Westbrook, Jacob Severs, John Stom, Jesse Jackson and Edmund Ow ens were sworn a Grand Jury for the body of this Circuit, who after havi ng received their charge retired from the bar to consult, &c., and after s ome time returned into Court & having nothing to present were discharge d. ...

XII, Life in the Olden Days

...To the pioneer the Bible was as symbolic of political and religious-lib erty as was the Flag.5 Those who could read were sure to read the Bible of ten. In the beginning, when as a rule farms were far apart and church hous es, in most locations, were impracticable, religious exercises were he ld in turn in the homes of the pioneers. These services were conduct ed in English. In some homes there were no Bibles other than German--copi es that had been brought by the German-American pioneers--nevertheless t he services were conducted in English. Henry Rhoads, it is said, frequent ly addressed audiences and read chapter after chapter from a German Bibl e, translating them into English with more grace and rapidity than so me of his contemporaries who on other occasions read a Bible printed in En glish...

XXII, Muhlenberg in the Civil War

Two letters written during the latter part of 1863 by D. C. Humphrey s, of Spring Station. Woodford County, to Gilbert Vaught Rhoads, contain m uch that pertains to this period of Muhlenberg's history. D. C. Humphre ys for many years owned a tract of timber land lying near the Louisvil le & Nashville Railroad, between Browder and Bellton. Shortly before the C ivil War broke out Alexander Todd came to Muhlenberg to look after this la nd for his uncle, and with a view of making this his permanent home. He op ened a small farm and built a cabin, in which he lived for a few year s. D. C. Humphreys' sister, Elizabeth Humphreys, was the second wife of Ro bert S. Todd, who by his first wife was the father of six children (amo ng whom was Mrs. Abraham Lincoln) and by his second wife was the fath er of seven children, among whom was Alexander Todd and Mrs. Ben Hardin He lm. Alexander Todd, having received a special invitation from Abraham Linc oln, went from Muhlenberg County to Washington City to witness the inaugur ation of his brother-in-law, March 4, 1861. Shortly after his return he jo ined the Southern army, became ordnance sergeant in the First Kentucky Cav alry, was made aide-de-camp on the staff of General Ben Hardin Helm, a nd on August 5, 1862, was killed at Baton Rouge. "Aleck" Todd was a brig ht young man, and during his stay of a few years in the county was a gre at favorite among the old people as well as among those of his own age. Al though he had a well-furnished cabin of his own, he spent much of his ti me in the homes of two of his neighbors, David and Absalom J. Rhoads. Alex ander Todd, after his death, was succeeded as overseer of the Humphrey tra ct by his friend Gilbert V. Rhoads:

'Spring Station, Kentucky. 13th November, 1863.

Gilbert V. Rhoads, Esq.--My dear friend:--Your very acceptable letter of 3 0th September I received a short time since. It arrived while I was abse nt in Illinois which will account for your not receiving an answer soone r. I am happy to learn you have recovered from the dangerous attack of sic kness you had in June last, and that you bid fair to be in the enjoyme nt of your usual health again. What a blessing it is to enjoy health and h ow thankful we all are to Him in whom we live and move and have our bei ng for it.

I have been anxious for two years to pay you a visit, and had made my arra ngements to send some hands down to open a large tobacco farm, but this cr uel and unnatural war has broken up all my arrangements, and now I don't t hink it worth while to count upon the work or value of my negro labou r. If the war lasts much longer all our young and valuable negroe men wi ll be pressed into the service to make railroads, cut wood, drive wagon s, make fortifications or perhaps enlisted as soldiers. I think the abolit ionists are determined to give a finishing blow to slavery in America. Sho uld they succeed I pity the poor negroes. I hope God will overrule and gov ern all things for our present and eternal good, the good of his church a nd his glory.

I have been speaking to a man who has lived with me several years about go ing to Muhlenberg and living on my land. He has not yet made up his mi nd on the subject. I don't wish you to rent my place to any one until y ou hear from me. My rent corn dispose of as soon as you can for the best p rice you can get, and retain the money in your hands until further instruc tions. Write to me and let me know the amount you receive for it. Corn he re is in good demand at $3.00 per barrel in the field and will be highe r. The crop of corn in Indiana and Illinois is very poor; the drought a nd the early frost have cut it down to almost nothing in places. Last ye ar in Illinois I got only 12 1/2 cents per bushell for my rent corn; th is year I am offered 40 cents.

I am glad to learn that my old friend Mrs. Rachael Rhoads is still enjoyi ng good health. Remember me kindly to her and all the family. Give my kind est regards to my old friend Isaac Woods who I sincerely hope is prepar ed to live or prepared to die whenever God in his providence shall see f it to call him. When you see Mr. Baker remember me to him and his wife who se kindness and hospitality I can never forget.

My family are all well except my grandson David who has been confined f or seven weeks with a swelled knee. I fear it is white swelling. He is mu ch better and I hope will recover without a stiff knee.

Write me soon and believe me sincerely Your friend, D. C. Humphreys.'
\

'Spring Station, Kentucky. 9th December, 1863.

Mr G. V. Rhoads,--Dear Sir:--I am just in receipt of your kind letter of 2 1st November which by some mistake was missent. I am glad to learn you a re enjoying peace and quietness and sincerely hope you may long be exem pt from the horrors of war. It is bad enough at a distance, but when it co mes into our own houses it is dreadful.

I notice your remarks about Chancy. My sister Mrs. Todd is now in Alaba ma where she got permission from President Lincoln to go for her daught er (who was married to General Helm who was killed at the battle of Chicka mauga.) She gave me no special directions about Chancy, but I am satisfi ed she wishes her and her son and daughter hired out and would consult Cha ncy's wish in a considerable measure as to whom she would like to live wit h. Certainly from my knowledge of Mr. Taggart my sister will have no objec tion to his having Chancy, and if he is willing to give a fair price for C hancy and she is anxious to live with him, let him have her.

You said nothing in your letter about my rent corn for the year 1863. Wri te to me about it on receipt.

I would like to pay a short visit to Muhlenberg this winter if I thought t he Guerillas would not overhaul me. I hope the country will soon be fr ee of them.

Remember me to Mrs. Rachael Rhoads and all the family and accept for yours elf and family my best wishes for your health, happiness and prosperity. Y ours truly, D. C. Humphreys.'

These two letters, it might be well to add, were found in the att ic of an old two-story weatherboarded log house standing on a hill overloo king Browder. A few years ago a number of old papers, regarded as rubbi sh by the man who had rented the house, were burned after they had been re moved from between two of the logs in the wall of this building. Evident ly these two had slipped down behind the lower log when the other lette rs were removed. At any rate, they were there discovered by Miss Amy M. Lo ngest, who recognized their value as documents bearing on local history.

XXIII, R. T. Martin's "Recollections of the Civil War"

In the fall of 1864 Captain Quantrill, a noted guerrilla and a desperate m an, came from Missouri to Kentucky with a company of men dressed in the Fe deral uniform. They passed through Hopkins County, where his men captur ed a horse from a man named Dick Davis Davis, believing them to be Federal s, followed them into Muhlenberg County and through Greenville. The peop le of Greenville were puzzled about the identity of Quantrill and his me n, but some of them were suspicious and advised Davis not to follow; howev er, Davis followed on. When they reached the Rhoads Settlement they kill ed Davis. When his body was found it was brought to Greenville and then co nveyed to his home in Hopkins County. Some time afterward Quantrill was sh ot in an attempt to capture him in Meade County, and was taken to Louisvil le, where he died unrecognized in an hospital. It is said that Frank and J esse James were with Quantrill when he passed through Muhlenberg.
[]

TURKEYFOOT, BEDFORD COUNTY, PA, TAX RECORDS PRE-1800
http://www.rootsweb.com/~pasomers/ltfoot/Pre1800.txt

Rhoads Israel 174a [1773-1848]
Rhodes Gabriel 200a [1772]
Rhodes Henry Jr. 400a [1772]
Rhodes Henry Sr. 200a [1772]
Rhodes Jacob 100a [1772]
Rhodes John 100a [1772]
Roads Daniel [1790]
[]

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ky/county/todd/past/shrngrove.htm
Todd County Past

Welcome to Sharon Grove, Todd County, Ky

"In 1800, John DRISKILL came to the Sharon Grove District from Rutherford County, North Carolina and began living near the Coal Bank.

He lived there for several years and moved to a farm late owned by John DRISKILL, Jr. A Col. HARDIN already had located near Clifty Creek on a portion of the farm later owned by John DRISKILL, Jr., who died in 1843. HARDIN remained on his first location for a time and then he moved to a farm within one-half mile of the former site, for which he obtained a Patent of 200 acres.

On the creek immediately below HARDIN's property, Jacob SELLERS lived on a farm which was inherited by James HALL, a grandson. SELLERS was a native of North Carolina.

James HALL served his country in the War of 1812. The approximate date of his death was 1855. A Mr. RAGER, at one time, lived on the farm which was occupied later by Squire SHEMWELL. A grandson, Burkett RAGER, lived in Kirkmansville District in 1884.

Robert SHERROD was an early settler in the Mt. Sharon neighborhood. He was a native of Edgecomb, North Carolina, having been born there in 1762, and also was a faith healer. His death occurred Sept. 9, 1836. His grave is in the family burial ground near Mt. Sharon. A Baptist preacher, John CHRISTIAN, came to the District from North Carolina in 1903.

The date of the coming of Samuel SHEMWELL is not known. He lived in Virginia before he established himself upon a farm late in possession of William C. SHEMWELL. James SHEMWELL, brother to Samuel, lived on a farm that his grandson, Mark, owned. James served as Magistrate for a number of years and also as a captain in the Militia.

On the lands which were owned by Britton SHERROD and Samuel SHEMWELL, there were caves which were explored only partially. It is said that a cave on the Widow GILBERT's land was found to have contained counterfeiting tools and a furnace. Their ownership and the purposes for which they were intended remain a mystery. Possibly the tools and the furnace were used by the PENNINGTON Gang, who were known to be printing and distributing counterfeit money. The residence of Alonzo PENNINGTON was on a site known as the Johnny FLEMING farm. Its horses and slaves which they sold to the owners of plantations in the south. PENNINGTON used his home as a stopping and resting place.

PENNINGTON's intersts were diversified. He owned fine horses and he was educated. He maintained a race track on his farm and racing contests were held there often. Unfortunately he killed a Mr. DAVIS, who was a resident of the Fruit Hill District in Christian County. The murderer fled to Texas, where he was found and returned to Kentucky. He was hanged in Hopkinsville and buried on his farm. Since he was a good fiddler, legend says he was allowed to play the fiddle on the day of his execution. A song, the title of which is "Pennington's Farewell" commemorates the event.

Charles CHRISTIAN discovered a coal bank on his acreage from which he mined coal for himself and his neighbors. Coal was hauled to Elkton and sold to residents there. Melrose JOHNSON and Ray FISH are said to be the recent owners of the CHRISTIAN tract. During 1870-5, William BROCKMAN ran a mill and used coal from the mine. Clifty Creek or the grounds near it contained lead deposits. James SHERROD used it for making his own bullets.

James GORRELL (1778-1845) and his wife, Nancy (1775-1851), who came to the Sharon grove section in 1810, established their home about one mile from the present site of the Community on the Lewisburg Road. He erected a small cabin near a good spring and became a farmer. He and his wife were buried near their home.

Dr. Robert DORRIS and his wife, Jane RIPPY DORRIS, of Sumner County, Tennessee purchased a farm and began living in the settlement in 1852. Of their 18 children, 3 had been married before they left Virginia. Dr. DORRIS was a veteran of the War of 1812, in the tradition of his father who fought in the American Revolution. The DORRIS lands eventually were sold to Mr. Marshall MEADOR. In addition to operating his farm, he ran a mill on Clifty Creek.

Dr. William SARVER was also one of the earliest doctors. Among his descendants living now are Joe Edward SNEAD, Curtis SNEAD and Mrs. Loren (Mae) MALLORY.

At approximately the same time, James GLENN came to Northern Todd County. He was a Magistrate and he also operated a horse-powered mill for a number of years. He died in 1826. His son, Robert, became prominent in early history. He was a Magistrate also, and then he was elected to the lower house of the Legislature for three terms, after which, his construents sent him to the Senate. After the War Between the States began, he sickened and died in office. At one time, he was Sheriff, although his son, George F. GLENN, often acted in his stead.

Another North Carolinian came to Todd County, Robert ACOCK. He was a veteran of the American Revolution and he died here in 1847. Robert ACOCK, Jr., also became Sheriff. He left the county for Missouri and died there.

William SEARS moved from another section of Logan County and settled near others at the head waters of Clifty Creek. At his early death, his son, Fritz, inherited and lived on the place for many years.

As early as 1825, John LYON, a Virginian, began a farm which was owned late by William LYON, a grandson. The latter operated a store in Sharon Grove.Contemporary with the arrival of the LYONs was that of Jesse ROBINSON, who began his life in Todd County on a farm which at a later time was in the possession of William GANT. He opened a store on his land and maintained it for a number of years. In addition to his other interests, GANT was a tobacco buyer.

Russell WHITESIDES of Tennessee moved into this part of the county in 1838 and remained.

Alfred, Joseph and John GANT established themselves in the Todd County area in 1840 from Marshall County, Tennessee. John lived in Elkton and was a minister for the Christian Church. Alfred lived on a farm not far from Alfred and reared a family of eight children. After Joseph's death, his son, William, occupied the farm.

Elias TOMERLIN was an early settler in the Northern section. Following a brief stay in Elkton, he located on a farm north of Mt. Sharon, where he had a woodworking shop. Some of his handcrafted furniture can be found in the area today. ~ abstracted from- The History of Todd County by J.H. Battle 1884

Sharon Grove was an incorporated village during the latter part of the 19th century. A small frame jail was built on the lot which adjoined the Baptist Church. The jail was moved eventually, but it remains a shed on property which is owned by Joe Ray BROWN. "Pat" HARRIS was the first constable and jailor.

The Sharon Grove Post Office has been in use since the nineteenth century. Before the post office was opened, mail was brought from Elkton twice each week, the delivery having been financed by local persons. On Oct. 16, 1924, the first rural mail service from the local facility began. Mr. Ray HALL, now retired, was the first rural carrier. After HALL's retirement, Mr. Frank POWER replace him. Mr. POWER was replaced by Louis SEARS, who is the incumbent. Early postmasters included Rev. M.V. LYON and Mr. Will WELBORN. Mrs. Matilda HARRIS, Mrs. Anise GANT WARDEN, the present postmistress, have served in the same capacity. The Post Office, at one time, was located on three corners of the Sharon Grove Crossroads. In April 1966 four buildings on the Southwest corner of Sharon Grove's "Square" burned and the post office was destroyed.

In the late 1800's and the early 1900's Mr. T.W. GALBRAITH owned and operated a drug store with different partners at different time. An early store, operated by T.M. TOMERLIN an W.H. LYON, remained in business until 1930, under the name "R.T. KIRKMAN No. 2".

"A school was built at Sharon Grove in about 1860, and a new building was put up in 1876. The Antioch Baptist Church was organized in about 1820. The Mt. Sharon Methodist Church was built in about 1830. William Lyons and Marion Tomoilin have general stores, and F. Galbraith a drug store.-F. S. Tyler."
[]
     
Children of Henry Rhoads and Elizabeth Stoner are:
  i.   John Rhoads, born 03 Mar 1762 in Brothers Valley, Bedford County, PA; died 05 Aug 1779 in Pennsylvania.
  ii.   Jacob Rhoads, born 06 Jun 1763 in Fort Pitts, Bedford County, PA288; died 1830 in Medora, Macoupin County, IL; married Alcinda Van Meter 1786; born 1766 in Mercer County, NJ; died Abt. 1834 in Grayson County, KY.
  More About Jacob Rhoads:
Burial: Medora, Macoupin County, IL

  More About Alcinda Van Meter:
Lineage: a descendant of Mackye Hendrikse
  iii.   Susannah Rhoads, born 01 Apr 1765 in Bedford County, PA289; died 23 Mar 1838 in Pennsylvania; married Peter Newmeyer 06 Oct 1783; born 29 May 1760; died 15 May 1836.
  More About Peter Newmeyer:
Surname Variant: Nighmyeir
  iv.   Jonathan Rhoads, born 01 Apr 1765 in Bedford County, PA.
  v.   Daniel Boone Rhoads I, born 11 Jul 1766 in Bedford County, PA290; died 01 Mar 1819 in Warrick, Pike County, IN; married (1) Mary Keith 11 Nov 1789; born 10 Nov 1773; died 1851; married (2) Mary Kimberly 27 Jun 1816.
  Notes for Daniel Boone Rhoads I:
Named after his father's friend, frontiersman Daniel Boone.
[]

Will of Daniel or David Rhoads 1811, proved 1813 Muhlenberg Co, Kentucky

Daniel/David Rhoads Will

NOTE: In this Will one time, the name is Daniel,and the next time it is
David. Heading on page says David & Daniel.

Source: Will Book 1, Page 151-153

In the name of God Amen October 5th, one thousand eight hundred and eleven.

I David Rhoads of Nox County, Indiana Territory, being of perfect health and sound in memory do make this my last will and testament in manner and form as follows. (to wit): I allow that all my just debts and funeral expences be paid and fully satisfied by my excutors.

I give and bequeath to my wife Polly, my second wife I now live with, eighty acres of land, with the improvements, that I now live on during her life. then the said land and premises is to desend to my son Daniel, that I now have with my said wife.and also:

I give to my son John eighty acres of land adjoining the aforesaid eighty
acres on the East side.

I also give unto my said beloved wife two beds together with the shelfware, woodware, and pot mettle. The choice of two cows and one horse with the one she owned when married to me. Together with four breeding sows. And also ;

I give unto my sons Daniel and Henry one (bend)? and eighty acres of land lying on the south side of the above memtioned land to be divided for quanity and quality. David is to have his part adjoining his stepmother's and John's tract. I also give unto David and Henry two horse colts which I now own.

I futher give and bequeath unto my sons James and Lewis all my stock and bedding and farming utensils that I have,to be valued by two men,if not agreed upon by my heirs before mentioned to ten equal proportions with the land before mentioned, rating the land at two dollars per acre. And also;

I give unto my son William one dollar current money.

I also give unto my son Ryla? [Riley?] a certain tract of land lying in Syres? adjoining Crumpickers? on the N. East side in the county of Muhlenberg and state of Kentucky.

I authorize my excutors to make the said Ryla? [Riley?] a title agreeable to a bond, that I give in my lifetime to my wife Polly, which she took when she left me, for her during her lifetime.

I do constitute and ordain my beloved wife and my faithful friend to be
excutors of this my last will and testament disanulling all wills and
testaments by me made prior to these present. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and the day and year above written.

Daniel Rhoads

Muhlenberg Co. Ky. SCT. Feb. court 1813

The within instrument of writting purporting to be the last will and
testament of Daniel Rhoads Jr. of Knox Co. in the Indiana Territory was
proved by the oaths of Henry Rhoads, Isa Hill, and Bradford Rhoads three subscribing witness thereunto which is thereupon ordered to be recorded. In testimony whereof I Charles Fox W i n g, clerk of the county court of said county have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of said county this day and date above written in the 21st year of the commonwealth.
Chas. F. W i n g
[]



  vi.   Catherine Rhoads291, born 19 Jun 1768 in Bedford County, PA292; died 30 Oct 1857 in Noix Creek, Louisiana, Pike County, MO; married Christopher Maccabeus Jackson 15 Feb 1790 in Nelson County, KY; born 08 Jan 1768 in North Carolina; died 22 Jul 1831 in Noix Creek, Louisiana, Pike County, MO.
  More About Catherine Rhoads:
Burial: Jackson Cemetery, Louisiana, Pike County, MO
Forename Variant: Catrena, Cathy

  More About Christopher Maccabeus Jackson:
Burial: Jackson Cemetery, Louisiana, Pike County, MO
Lineage: 1st cousin of Andrew Jackson
  vii.   Elizabeth Rhoads, born 12 Oct 1770 in Bedford County, PA293; died 29 Feb 1852 in Meade County, KY; married Jacob Van Meter II 07 Oct 1786 in Hartford, Ohio County, KY; born 04 Oct 1762 in Frederick County, VA; died 12 Oct 1850 in Meade County, KY.
  Notes for Jacob Van Meter II:
Full View of Record: LVA Catalogs Request | Save/Mail | Add to List | View List | Results List
Choose format: • Standard format • Catalog card • Citation • Name tags • MARC tags
Record 20 out of 676
URL (Click on link) http://lvaimage.lib.va.us/cgi-bin/GetLONN.pl?first=331&last=&g_p=G26&collection=LO Grant
Title Vanmeter, Jacob.
Publication 24 April 1792.
Other Format Available on microfilm. Virginia State Land Office. Grants A-Z, 1-124, reels 42-190; Virginia State Land Office. Grants 125- , reels 369-.
Note Location: Nelson County (Ky.).
Description: 400 acres on the waters of Rough Creek about five or six miles south eastwardly of Hardins Station.
Source: Land Office Grants No. 26, 1792, p. 331 (Reel 92).
Part of the index to the recorded copies of grants issued by the Virginia Land Office. The collection is housed in the Archives at the Library of Virginia.
Subject - Personal Vanmeter, Jacob. grantee.
Subject - Topical Land titles -- Registration and transfer -- Kentucky -- Nelson County.
Subject -Geographic Nelson County (Ky.) -- History -- 18th century.
Genre/Form Land grants -- Kentucky -- Nelson County.
Added Entry Virginia. Land Office. Register. Land grants, 1779-
Library of Virginia. Archives.


System Number 000835288


  viii.   Solomon Rhoads, born 07 Jan 1771 in Bedford County, PA294; died 19 Nov 1849 in Browder, Muhlenberg County, KY; married (1) Rachel Boone; married (2) Nancy Bradley 03 Feb 1795 in Logan County, KY; born 13 Mar 1772; died Bef. 05 Feb 1798; married (3) Rachel Boone 05 Feb 1798 in Kentucky; born 01 Apr 1779 in South Carolina; died 30 Jan 1865 in Browder, Muhlenberg County, KY.
  Notes for Solomon Rhoads:
A History of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky

Among the many places in the county on which companies met to drill wer e: The courthouse yard, the Russell Old Field, the Andy Craig place, Kinch eloe's Bluff, Morehead's Field (now Central City), the George Clark plac e, Thomas Sumner's farm, the Solomon Rhoads farm, the Hunt Old Field, Will iam Bell's, the Vanlandingham Old Place, the Jim Taggart farm, Wyatt Wells ', the Mosley Collins Drake farm, Old Liberty, Mike Lovell's, Old Millpor t, and the Gish Old Field. Up to about 1820 most of the battalion and regi mental drills took place in Greenville. After that time the place of rende zvous for the men in the southern part of the county was changed to the Ru ssell Old Field, southeast of Greenville, near what is now Pleasant Hill C hurch. In the meantime regimental musters also took place on the Gish O ld Field, south of Bremen, and other fields in the northern part of the co unty. These two regiments, it is said, on several occasions drilled togeth er on the Russell Old Field.Reduced facsimile of commission showing appoin tment of William Bradford as Captain of Militia, August 2, 1799

Very little documentary data bearing on the early history of the milit ia in Muhlenberg is now extant, and as far as I am aware none exists perta ining to its later history in the county. An old commission, still preserv ed, shows that William Bradford was among the first local men to ser ve as a captain. Others may have been appointed at the same time, but no ne preceded him. He probably later filled other positions in the militi a. A photograph of the Bradford commission is here reproduced. On the ba ck of the original is written: "Muhlenberg County, Sct. This day came Will iam Bradford before me, a justice of the peace for said county, and made o ath as Captain of the Militia company. Given under my hand this 20th d ay of February, 1800. Wm. Bell."

From a few of the other commissions still preserved I gather the followi ng facts: Charles Fox Wing was "appointed Lieutenant in the Twenty-four th regiment of Militia, on August 2, 1799"; Alney McLean was appointed Ens ign in the same regiment on the same date; Lewis Kincheloe on September 3 0, 1800, was "appointed Lieutenant-Colonel commandant of the Fortieth regi ment of Militia to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Willi am Campbell, Esquire." William Bell, on February 9, 1801, was "commission ed Paymaster, with the rank of Lieutenant in the Fortieth regiment." Lew is Reno, on May 24, 1802, was "commissioned Ensign in the Fortieth regimen t." Thomas Randolph, on March 22, 1803, was "commissioned Captain in the F ortieth regiment."

A certificate of exemption, written on letter paper, reads: "Kentuck y. At a court-martial held for the Fortieth Regiment of Militia in the Cou nty of Muhlenberg on the 24th day of May, 1802; Ordered, that George Lovel ace be and he is hereby exempt from military duty in future for and on acc ount of his having his arm broke. A Copy Test. Charles Fox Wing, Judge Adv ocate."

An official notice, written on a small piece of paper and addressed to Cap tain Samuel Weir, reads:

Battalion Order, March 12, 1811.

Sir: You will have your Company parade at Solomon Rhoads's on the 17th d ay of May next by ten o'clock in order to hold a Battalion Muster. You wi ll also have your Company parade in like manner at William Bell's on the s econd day of October next in order to hold a Regimental Muster. The Dri ll Muster will be held on the last Wednesday and Thursday in September ne xt at William Bell's. The Court of Assessment of fines will be held al so at William Bell's on the last Monday in November.

Thomas Bell, Majr. Comdt.

1st Battalion of the 32nd Regt. K. M.

As already stated, from about the year 1825 until the law obliging all m en to drill was abolished, the musters were more or less a farce. The la ws regulating the militia of the Commonwealth were amended and chang ed so often that, as a consequence, they became more complicated than t he maneuvers were unmilitary. Humphrey Marshall, in 1824 ("History of Kent ucky," Vol. 2, page 14), wrote: "It is in vain to suggest that neither off icer nor soldier will ever trouble himself to know the law, when it may, a nd probably will, be changed before he has an opportunity of reducing h is knowledge to practice." Musters became gatherings in which everybody pa rticipated, regardless of age or social position. The men who attended we re not so much prompted by a desire to drill, and thus live up to that art icle of the Constitution, as they were to take advantage of the chan ce to mingle with the crowd of men, women, and children, renew old friends hips, make new ones, hear the news, see the races, trade horses, parta ke of a good dinner, and incidentally have a good time at "the big to-do."
[]

Rhoads, Solomon - Will
"...I also devise to my beloved wife [Rachel] during her life or widdowho od all my Slaves_ After the death of my beloved wife, my desire is th at my Estate which I may then have, or which may Remain exclusive of my Sl aves, be divided in to Eleven Shares...Having had two wives, and the Slav es which I have, coming by my last wife I have deemed it just to divide th em amongst my children which I have had by her_ It is therefore my will, a nd I do hereby devise that at the death of my wife Rachel my slaves be equ ally divided amongst my children which I have had by her..."
Dated 26 September 1845; Signed Solomon Rhoads; Witnesses John Calhou n, W. B. Depoyster, and A. M. Dennis. Produced in court November Court 18 49; Ch. F. Wing - Clk.
Submitted by J.P. Johnson
Source Muhlenberg Co Will Book 3 pg96-7
http://www.rootsweb.com/~kymuhlen/slavery.html
[]




Will of Solomon Rhoads
1848



Rhoads, Solomon
In the name of God Amen. I Solomon Rhoads being of sound mind do make th is my last Will and Testament as follows_ I give and bequeath to my belov ed wife Rachel during her life or widdowhood the tract of land whereon I n ow live together with all my stock of every description, my household a nd kitchen furniture, with my farming utensils of every kind_ My desi re is that my Son Absolem J. Rhoads Reside with his mother and take char ge of the land & other property which I devise to her & use the Same for h er benefit, and at her death in consideration of the said Absolem Remaini ng with his mother or with me & & managing the plantation for us, my wi ll is that he have the said tract of land whereon I now live, and I devi se it to him forever_ I also devise to my beloved wife during her li fe or widdowhood all my Slaves_ After the death of my beloved wife, my des ire is that my Estate which I may then have, or which may Remain exclusi ve of my Slaves, be divided in to Eleven Shares, one share of which I devi se to each of my children who may then be living, and one share to the chi ldren of such of my children as are now dead, or may be dead when this wi ll takes effect_ Having had two wives, and the Slaves which I have, comi ng by my last wife I have deemed it just to divide them amongst my childr en which I have had by her_ It is therefore my will, and I do hereby devi se that at the death of my wife Rachel my slaves be equally divided among st my children which I have had by her_ The children of such as may be de ad to come in for the share to which their parents would have been entitl ed if they had been living, and the children of my daughters who are now d ead each set to come in for one share. I devise to my son Nathan and h is Heirs forever that tract of land whereon he lives
The balance of my land undisposed of, I divide equally amongst all my chil dren that may be living and the children of such as may be dead, each s et of children to come in for one share. When the division of my estate t akes place amongst the children which I have had by my wife Rachel, ea ch of my children who has Received land shall be charged in the Settleme nt with the land at one dollar & fifty cents an acre except Nathan w ho is not to be charged on account of his land, the boundary of which I wi ll hereafter assertain my Survey_ And Absolem is only to have the land whe re I now live upon condition that he Remains with his mother or myself dur ing our lives in which case he is not to be charged with the land B ut if he fails to Remain with us, then the land devised to him shall be eq ually divided amongst my children by my wife Rachel in the manner set for th as to the Slaves. I make this my last will Revoking all others heretof ore made
Witness my hand & seal this 26" day of September 18
Solom on Rhoads (seal)
Teste
John Calhoun
W. B. Depoyster
A. M. Dennis
Whereas I did on the 26" day of Septem ber 1824, make my last Will and Testament which will appear in the hand wr iting of the Honbl John Calhous and being now anxious to add a codicil the reto & do make the following addition towit_ In my said Will I have giv en to my son Absolem a tract of land therein specified and in additi on to which tract of land I now add about Forty acres lying within the fol lowing bounds Beginning at a Hickory & two Elms in my line, Running then ce North 70 West Seventy Eight poles to a Maple, thence S 20 West Seven ty Seven poles to a White Hickory & Black Oak, thence South 70 East Seven ty Seven poles to a stake in my line, thence to the Beginning_ But this be quest to my said son Absalom Rhoads is made under the Same Restrictions, c onditions & limitations as contained in my Will herein Referred to, to h im the said Absolem Rhoads & his Heirs forever_ In the devise in my said W ill to my son Nathan, the quantity of land is not specified, but I belie ve there are about One Hundred & Seventy acres, being the balance of wh at is called the Vaught Survey
Witness my hand and Seal this 29th day of May 18
So lomon Rhoads (seal)
Ch.F.Wing
Wm.H.C.Wing
Muhlenberg County Sct
November County Court 1849
The foregoing last Will and Testament of Solomon Rhoads deceased, togeth er with the Codicil thereto annexed was exhibited in to court and prov ed to be the act and deed of the said Rhoads, by the oaths of Charles F Wi ng & William H C Wing the subscribing witnesses thereto, and order ed to be Recorded_
In witness that the Same has been truly Recorded I have hereunto Set my ha nd as Clerk of the said county court_ ChFWing Clk
Submitted by J.P. Johnson Source Muhlenberg Co Will Book 3 pg96-7



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  More About Solomon Rhoads:
Burial: Rhoads Cemetery, Browder, KY
Rhoads Migration: 1785
Spouse: Rachel Boone, d/o Squire or George Boone?

  Notes for Rachel Boone:
[myersfamily3.GEDjuly05.GED]


Rachel Boone was the niece of pioneer Daniel Boone.?

or

is she Rachel Boone Johnson, d/o Mr. Johnson and Rachel Boone [a cous in of Daniel Boone]?

http://gozips.uakron.edu/~agould/HTMLRhoads/nti00819.htm


  More About Rachel Boone:
Burial: Rhoads Cemetery, Browder, KY
Paternity: Squire or George Boone?
Rhoads Migration: 1785
  ix.   Henry Rhoads III, born 29 Mar 1772 in Bedford County, PA295; died 05 Sep 1840 in Indiana; married Elisabeth Noffsinger 15 Jun 1808; born 31 Dec 1776; died 1848.
  More About Henry Rhoads III:
Burial: New Hope Cemetery, Warrick, IN
Census: 1810, Muhlenberg County, KY
  18 x.   David Rhoads, born 19 Nov 1777 in Bedford County, PA; died 08 Jul 1855 in Muhlenberg County, KY; married (1) Elizabeth Vaught 02 Dec 1798 in Logan County, KY; married (2) Sarah Eaves 22 Mar 1824 in probably Muhlenberg County, KY.
  xi.   Hannah Rebecca Rhoads, born 23 Mar 1780 in Bedford County, PA; died 1847; married Jessie Jackson 15 Dec 1795.

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