xt7h1834250f https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7h1834250f/data/mets.xml O Brien, Michael Joseph, 1870-1960. 1916  books b92f460i6o1419162009 English O Brien, Michael Joseph : Louisville, Ky. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Irish --Kentucky --History. Kentucky --Genealogy. Irish pioneers in Kentucky : a series of articles published in the Gaelic American. text Irish pioneers in Kentucky : a series of articles published in the Gaelic American. 1916 2009 true xt7h1834250f section xt7h1834250f 
    
    
   Irish Pioneers in Kentucky

A series of articles published in

The Gaelic American

New York

By MICHAEL I. O'BRIEN 
    
   The True Discoverer of Kentucky.

Not Daniel Boone, as is Generally Supposed, but an Irish Pioneer named James McBride. Testimony of Impartial Historians.

Our Irish-American literary and historical associations could do no better work than turn the searchlight on the early records of Kentucky. Of all the original Thirteen Colonies, none presents a wider, more prolific or more interesting field for historical research than that portion of the Colony of Virginia, originally called Fincastle County, and which, in 1779, was formed into the State of Kentucky.

It may be said that the early history of Kentucky is contemporary with that of Virginia and the Carolinas. It was from those Colonies that the pioneers of the "Blue Grass State" set out in search of adventure and fortune in the unknown land beyond the great ranges of the Appalachians, and although historians invariably give the credit to the renowned hunter, Daniel Boone, as having been "the discoverer of Kentucky," we shall quote authorities to show that long before the valiant Boone ever saw the sky over fair Kentucky, another daring hunter from Virginia had blazed a path through that region and paved the way for the more famous explorers that succeeded him. And it is not the least bit remarkable to find that the first white man who traversed that region and made known its possibilities to a waiting world, bore an Irish name, James McBride. In all likelihood he was a native of Ireland.

Our authorities for this statement are no less than the eminent historians of Kentucky, Judge Lewis Collins and John Filson.

Collins is the leading authority on early Kentucky history. He was the author of "Kentucky, Its History, Antiquities and Biography." It is a graphic story of the early settlement of the West, vivid, enthusiastic and minute; compiled with a loving and reverent industry from original records, and from the letters and papers of the pioneers themselves. These he sought out and rescued "from moths and mice in the lumber rooms of original log houses of the backwoods, or taken from the aged lips of some surviving relics of the olden time." The details are interesting, not only to every Kentuekian for the sake of the abundant family history, but to every student of the part played by Irish immigrants in the early days of the great Southwest. 
   A French Tkaveleb and Historian.

Filson's "Histoire de Kentucke, Nouvelle Colonie a l'ouest de la Virginia," preceded that of Judge Collins, and has served as a basis for all true accounts of that region that have since appeared. The author -was a French traveler and hunter, who first passed through what is now called Kentucky in the year 17S4. His history was published in Paris in 1785, and we have been fortunate in coming across a copy of this rare work, from which we quote.

Under the chapter entitled, "Decouverte et achat du territoire," Filson says:

"On croit que M. James MeBride est le premier homme blane qui ait eu connoissance de Kentucke. En 1754, accompagne de quelques amis, il descendit l'Ohio dans des canots, aborda rembouchure de la riviere Kentucke, et y marqua trois arbres, avec les premieres lettres de son nom, et la date du jour et de l'annee; ces inscriptions subsistent encore. Nos voyageurs reconnurent le pays, et retournerent dans leurs habitations avec l'agreable nouvelle de la decouverte d'une des plus belles contrees de 1'Amer-ique septentrionale, et peutetre du monde entier. Depuis cette epoque ce pays fut neglige, jusque vers l'annee 1707, que M. John Finley et quelques autres personnes, commercant avec les Naturels, penetrerent heureusement dans cette fertile region, maintenant appellee Kentucke, et connue alors des Naturels sous les nonis de Terre d'Obscurite, Terre de Sang, et Terre Moyenne. Ce pays frappa beaucoup M. Finley; mais il fut bientot oblige d'en sortir, par les suites d'une querelle qui s'eleva entre les commercants et les Naturels; et il retourna chez lui dans la Carolina septentrionale ou il communiqua sa decouverte au Colonel Daniel Boone et a quelques personnes, qui, la regardant conime un objet tres important, resolurent en 1709 d'entreprendre un voyage, dans le dessein d'examiner ce pays. Apres une longue et fatiguante marche, a l'ouest, dans des lieux sauvages et niontueux, ils arriverent enfin sur les frontieres de Kentucke; et du sommet d'une eminence, ils, decouvrirent, avec une surprise melee de joie, son superbe paysage. lis y etablirent un logement, et tandis que quelques uns de la troupe allerent chercher des provisions, quils se procurerent facile-ment, vu l'abondance du gibier, le Colonel Boone et John Finley coururent le pays, quils trouverent fort superieur a leurs esperances, et ayant rejoint leurs compagnons, il les informerent de leurs decouvertes."

Translating this, it says:

Translation of the Foregoing.

"It is believed that Monsieur James McBride is the first white man who had any knowledge of Kentucky. In 1754, accompanied by some friends, he descended the Ohio in canoes, landed at the mouth of the Kentucky River, and there marked on three trees, the first letters of his name, with the date and the year, these inscriptions being still visible. Our travelers explored the country and returned to their homes with the agreeable news of the discovery of one of the most beautiful countries of North America, and perhaps of the entire world. Since that period, this country was neglected, until about the year 1767, when Monsieur John Finley and

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   several other persons, trading with the natives, fortunately passed through that fertile region, now called Kentucky, and at that time known to the natives under the names of Land of Obscurity, the Bloody Country and the Middle Country. The country much impressed Monsieur Finley, hut he was soon obliged to quit it in consequence of a quarrel having arisen between the traders and the natives; and he returned home to North Carolina, where he communicated his discovery to Col. Daniel Boone and others, who regarding it a matter of great importance, resolved in 1769 to undertake a journey for the purpose of exploring the country. After a long and fatiguing march to the West, through wild and mountainous territories, they eventually arrived on the frontiers of Kentucky, and from the summit of a hill, they discovered with mingled joy and surprise, a superb landscape. There they erected a cabin, and while several members of the party went in search of provisions, which were readily procurable, there being an abundance of game, Colonel Boone and John Finley scoured the country, which they found to exceed all their hopes, and having rejoined their companions, they informed them of their discoveries."

Probably an Irishman*.

It is seen from this that Kentucky was first explored in the middle of the eighteenth century and by one who, in all probability, was an Irishman. Of the incidents of his long journey there appears to be no record. We are only told that he had the hardihood to undertake a task from which all but the bravest shrunk, that he went far away into a wilderness hitherto untrodden by a white man, and that he set an example for the others who followed the same route several years after. The journey must have occupied many weeks, but no details seem to be obtainable from any of the historical works that we have examined, of the arrival of the pioneer and his companions at the Kentucky River or of their return to Virginia. We simply know that they were the first white men to penetrate a hitherto unknown country beyond the romotest frontiers of American civilization. Bands of Indians must have hovered round them and beset their every path, for the country was in sole possession of the red men, who resented the intrusion of the strangers.

At that time, and for several succeeding years, Kentucky was nothing more than a vast wilderness, where the savage Indian tribes roamed at will. From the very beginning they were hostile to the whites. The exploration and settlement of the territory was fiercely disputed, and many are the stories of daring and adventure that are told of the hardy pioneers from beyond the mountains who encountered the redmen in numerous bloody conflicts.

Route the Explorer Followed.

The only known route from the South and East by which this remote territory could be penetrated at that time was by means of boats on the Ohio River or its tributaries. McBride is said to have come down the Ohio to its confluence with the Kentucky and stopped where the town of Car-rollton in Carroll County now stands.   It was here that he cut his initials 
   on the trees, which Filson was able to read 30 years after. It is to be regretted that no more elaborate account of the romantic, and probably thrilling, adventures of this hardy pioneer of the West has been handed down to us by historical writers. But enough has been written by the premier historian of Kentucky, who himself traveled through the country in its primeval state, to warrant us in saying that the name and fame of this pioneer Irish-American should be better known to readers of American history. It is, perhaps, no misrepresentation of strict truth to say that it was unfortunate for his fame that he bore such a very Irish name.

Kentucky's Debt to M'Bride.

Some may be disposed to doubt the accuracy of this conclusion, or to think it overdrawn. But, if so, we should ask, how it is that the name of the first white man known to have come down the Ohio and Kentucky Rivers is not perpetuated in history? "The first known white man to explore these regions," as Collins describes him, is unhonored by the State of Kentucky, whose great possibilities he first made known to the world. Not a village, town, city or county in Kentucky; not a creek, river or mountain is named after this notable pioneer, the true "discoverer of Kentucky." The name of De Soto, the discoverer of the Mississippi; of Marquette, the pioneer of the great Northwest; of Boone, one of the pioneers of Kentucky, are deservedly inscribed on "imperishable marble," while he who may be said to have been the first to plant the seed grains from which the great State of Kentucky has sprung, is unknown to thousands of Americans. Who can measure the debt that Kentucky owes to the memory of this Irish-American pioneer; why has he not been allotted a place in the early history of our country?

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   The True Discoverer of Kentucky.

The Memory of James McBride is Unhonored by the Blue Grass State.  The Irish Traders.

Headers may picture to themselves what this bold adventurer may have looked like. A forceful and pushing character, and no doubt in the prime of manhood; a robust, muscular frontiersman, accustomed to the woods and rinding happiness in the excitements of forest life; not a "paleface," but tanned by constant exposure to the Southern sun; dressed in crude, unfinished leatherns and moccasins; rifle slung over his shoulder, and shot-pouch, knives and tomahawk by his side, ready for any encounter, whether with the Indians on the plains or the wild beasts of the forests. Or, perhaps, he was disguised as an Indian? Indeed, that is not improbable, for instances are found in Colonial history of hunters resorting to that subterfuge when penetrating unknown regions where the redmen held undisputed sway.

What, we wonder, could have induced him to leave the comparatively peaceful settlements of Western Virginia and depart in quest of a distant and unknown country, infested with wild beasts and enemies not less savage? Did he have no fears that in the magnificent sweep of the waters of the Ohio he might at any moment be hurled to destruction? Or, perhaps, that in the falling night, when he had tied up his birch-bark and sat down on the bank of the great stream to eat his frugal meal, he might be ambushed by the prowling savages, and an end put then and there to his dreams of the conquest of the wilds ?

Discovered a Magnificent Country.

The further he traveled, the more he must have wondered at the wild grandeur and magnitude of the new country he had discovered, and, no doubt, still wondering, he went on and on, not knowing where and with no fixed destination, until, having reached the mouth of the Kentucky, feeling perhaps he had proceeded far enough on his initial attempt, he and his companions tied up their canoes and- went ashore to explore this new and strange land. .

The place whence he started on his long and perilous journey, or the names of those who accompanied him, seem to be unknown to the early historians of Kentucky. It is supposed, however, that he must have come down the Big Sandy River, which has its source in Virginia, to where it

5 
   joins the Ohio, and then proceeded westward along the great river, and after having exhausted his search, returned homeward to relate his exploit to his neighbors in the Virginia settlements.

In an effort to obtain more detailed information concerning this little known pioneer, the writer has examined all of the Kentucky, Virginia and Carolina records that are accessible to him. Inquiries have also been addressed to historical societies in Kentucky, but no positive information seems to be available, other than that contained in these meagre articles.

His career, subsequent to the period when Filson and Collins mention him as exploring Kentucky, seems to be shrouded in obscurity. After showing the way to other adventurous spirits, he seems to have disappeared from history, leaving no record of the tour of "the first white man we have certain accounts of who discovered this province." The wilderness which he traversed now blooms with the arts and refinements of civil life, amid which the name of this pioneer Irishman is unknown, "unhonored and unsung."

Otheb M'Bbides Mentioned.

A James McBride appears on the records of North Carolina of the year 1734. According to the North Carolina Genealogical and Historical Register for 1900, there is on record in the office of the Seoretary of State at Raleigh the will of Benjamin Coin of Pasquotank, dated January 14, 1734. In this will, the testator named his "son-in-law, James McBride, his daughter, Betsy and his wife Bridget," as his only heirs. Pasquotank County borders on Nansemond County, Va., and it is quite possible that McBride was located in the latter county. There is nothing to indicate, however, that he was in any way identical with the first Kentucky explorer referred to by the historian, Filson.

There are two James McBrides mentioned in early Kentucky history. One held the rank of Major and the other that of Captain of Kentucky Volunteers in the War of the Revolution. Major James McBride is mentioned by Collins as one of the settlers at the fort of Harrodsburg, in Mercer County, in the summer of 1775. Of course, he may have been the pioneer explorer of Kentucky, but there is nothing on record to authenticate this. Collins seems to think that James McBride, "the first white man we have certain accounts of who discovered this province," was the same whose name appears among "the first lotholders of Lexington, on December 1G, 1781, when the plan of the town was adopted and the lots disposed of," an interesting old document which he discovered among the early records of the City of Lexington. In this list several Irish names appear, among them Stephen Collins and his two sons, William Hayden, James and Caleb Masterson, James McBride, Samuel Kelly, John, Hugh, Samuel and William Martin, Alexander, James, Francis and William Mc-Connell, Francis McDermid, James McGinty, Samuel MoMullins, John Morrison, James Morrow, and Francis, Henry, Hugh, James, John and William McDonald. The McDonalds were descended from Bryan MacDonnell and Jane Doyle from Wicklow, a sketch of whom appeared in this paper a few months ago.

6 
   James M'Bride, Revolutionary Officer.

Twenty-five years after MeBride's expedition into Kentucky, a Major James McBride fought at the head of a band of Kentucky Volunteers in the War of the Revolution. At the battle of Blue Licks on August 18, 1782, between the Kentuckians and the savage allies of the British, McBride was killed while leading a company of Volunteers. The historian says "he was long remembered for his bravery."

The fighting Major of the Blue Licks, here mentioned, may possibly have been the James McBride spoken of by the historians as "the first white man who traversed these regions." Assuming that the explorer could hardly have been less than, say, 25 years in 1754, which would make him about 53 in 1782, his age would not necessarily have prevented him from taking part in a fight for the liberty and independence of his country, especially against a foe that may have been the traditional enemy of the land of his fathers.

Although Filson and Collins agree that James McBride was the discoverer of thi3 territory, Abbott, another undoubted authority, in his "Life of Daniel Boone, the Pioneer of Kentucky," states that he was not the first white man to tread the soil of Kentucky. Some Indian traders had passed through there before his time, and it is interesting to relate that the first trader who is said to have passed through the Southern portion of the State as now constituted bore the Irish name of Doherty. "As early as the year 1690," says Abbott, " a trader from Virginia named Doherty crossed the mountains into what is now Kentucky, where he resided with the Indians. He visited the friendly Cherokee nation within the present bounds of Georgia and resided with them for several years." In 1730, another enterprising trader from South Carolina, named Adair, made an extensive tour through the villages of the Cherokees and also visited the tribes to the South and West of them.

Many Irish Traders.

"Influenced by these examples," says the historian, "several traders in 1740 went from Virginia to the country of the Cherokees." The names of these traders are not given by the Kentucky historians, but it is stated that a number of them hailed from the Monongahela River district of Pennsylvania. Rupp, in his "History of Western Pennsylvania," shows that no small percentage of these itinerant merchants of the West and South were Irishmen. From the "Journal of Christian Post"   quoted by Rupp   who was sent from Philadelphia to Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh) in the year 1758 on a mission from the Governor of Pennsylvania to the Indians, to prevail on them to withdraw from their alliance with the French, we learn some interesting details concerning these Irish traders.

On September 1, 1758, during a conference with the Indian chiefs, Post told them that "there are a great many Papists in the country who have sent many runaway Irish servants among you, who have put bad notions into your head and strengthened you against your brothers, the English." He then exhorted them "not to believe these ill-designing Irishmen," and adds by way of a memorandum in his Journal:   "There are a great nutn-

7 
   ber of Irish traders now among the Indians, who have always endeavored to split up the Indians against the English."

Rupp mentions two of these Indian traders by name, Dennis Sullivan and Thomas Ward, who, with three others, "signed a treaty with the Indians of the Six Nations at Logstown, on the Ohio, on May 28, 1751." Sparks, in his "Life of Washington," also refers to Indian traders from Western Pennsylvania named John JIcGuire and Barnaby Curran, who accompanied Washington on his journey through Pennsylvania from Virginia, in November, 1753, to deliver a letter from the Governor of Virginia to the Commander of the French forces on the Ohio. Washington also refers to McGuire and Curran in his Journal.

These traders carried on pack horses goods much valued by the Indians, which they exchanged for furs, and which were sold in Europe at an enormous profit. They kept up a friendly intercourse with the Cherokee nation, which, in after years, resulted in great advantages to the whites. They became acquainted with the country, as well as with the roads, such as they were, that led through the, hunting grounds to the occupied territory of other tribes. 
   Irish Pioneers in Kentucky.

Irishmen Were Among the Leading and Earliest Colonizers of the Blue Grass State.  The Hardships of the McAfees.

Many of the Irish pioneers of Virginia and Kentucky seem to have followed the trade of coureurs des bois, (forest guides), river pilots and surveyors. The latter profession was a very lucrative one in the early days. The Provincial Governors and land companies used to send out surveyors to ascertain the nature of the country, to map out the location and course of the streams, and to locate the forests, mountains and plains. On re'turn-ing to their posts, they rendered reports to their employers, and these topographical guides usually directed the course which the migrating companies followed to reach the places of their intended settlement.

Thus we find that when Lord Dunmore, the English representative in Virginia in June, 1774, sent out a punitive expedition against the Indians, under the command of Colonel Angus McDonald, one Tliady Kelly was selected to escort the troops. He piloted them up the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers as far as the present town of Dresden, Ohio.

Another noted surveyor was Lucas Sullivan(t), who was born of Irish parents in Mecklenburg County, Va., in 1705. He was a mere youth when he passed through the wilderness of Kentucky and the Southern portion of Ohio, surveying lands and marking places suitable for the establishment of future settlements. It was he who founded the town of Franklinton, in Franklin County, Ohio, and to where, after many adventures and encounters with the Indians, he returned in 1797 and settled down permanently. Among those who accompanied him to Franklinton are mentioned William Donigan, Arthur O'Harra and one McElvain. Sul-livant's three sons became prominent citizens of Ohio, and the youth of Franklinton to the present day are taught in "The Sullivant School."

Other pilots and surveyors of Irish birth or descent, to whom we shall refer from time to time as we proceed, were John O'Bannon, James Flinn, Francis Dunlevy, John Reilly, Barney Curran, John Fitzpatrick, John Doran, Patrick and Garrett Jordan, Hugh Shannon, William Casey, and others of the "Kellys, Burkes and Sheas" who are mentioned so frequently in the early records of the West, but whose names and deeds are, unfortunately, but little known, or, if known to any but the historian, are now entirely forgotten. 
   M'Beide Followed by Finley.

The second exploration of Kentucky was undertaken in 1767 by John Finley, a daring hunter from the Yadkin River District of North Carolina, and who, if we are to judge from his name, may also have been an Irishman. Finley was the first white man to cross the Cumberland Mountains and the first to discover the famous Cumberland Gap.

"The country west of the Cumberland Mountains," says Abbott, "was considered by the inhabitants of Carolina and Virginia as involved in something of the same obscurity which lay over the American continent after its discovery by Columbus." Abbott and Collins both say that Finley organized a party and crossed the Alleghanies into Kentucky, made a thorough exploration of the country, and after the lapse of several months, "returned to the settlements on the Yadkin with a glowing story of the beauty and fertility of the country which they had seen."

Daniel Boone listened eagerly to his recital, "By the camp fire3 the wildest stories were told of the vast country that lay beyond the mountains, of the unexplored realms of the Indian tribe3 wandering there, of the forests filled with game, of the rivers alive with fishes, of the fertile plains, the floral beauty, the abounding fruit and the almost celestial clime. Finley and Boone sat hour after hour at the fireside talking of the newly discovered country, which resulted in a plan for the organization of a party to traverse those regions."

A company comprised of six picked men was organized by Boone, among whom were John Finley, John Stewart, John Holden, James Mooney and William Cool. Here again we observe the readiness of the Irish settlers to take part in a daring adventure, beset with the greatest dangers and privations.

Boone's wife was Rebecca Bryan, to whom he was married in 1755. Her brother, William Bryan, married Boone's sister, Mary, in the same year. They were the children of Morgan Bryan   who is said to have been of Irish descent. Boone was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania, and was the grandson of a Colonist from England, who came from a Norman family named Bohun, which had settled in Britain some years before. Boone's father was a Catholic and was one of the early settlers of Maryland. In 1750 he removed with his family to Alleman's Ford on the Yadkin River, in the same community where Morgan Bryan lived.

An Ibish Schoolmasteb.

Daniel was educated by an Irish schoolmaster, whose name, however, does not appear in any of the published lives of the great pioneer. He is mentioned particularly in Flint's "First White Man of the West," and by Abbott in his "Life of Daniel Boone." "There were no schools in those remote districts of log cabins," says Abbott. "But it so happened that an Irishman of some education strolled into that neighborhood, and Squire Boone engaged him to teach his children and those of the adjacent settlements. These hardy emigrants met with their axes in a central point of the wilderness and in a few hours constructed a rude hut of logs for a school-

10 
   house." Here Daniel Boone was first taught to read and write by the roving Irish schoolmaster.  That was in 1734.

John Finley originally went from Pennsylvania to Virginia, thence to North Carolina. In the War of the Revolution, he was Major of the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment of Continental Troops. His descendants now live in Nicholas County, Kentucky.

According to the narrative of Daniel Boone, dictated to John Filson in 17S4 by the noted pioneer himself, Boone and his party set out from the Yadkin on May 1, 1709, and after surmounting many difficulties, they arrived on June 7 at a place supposed to be in the vicinity of Abington, in Laurel County, where Finley had previously been trading with the Indians. The party remained two years and traversed the whole region. They were harassed by the Indians, and Boone was captured, but managing to make his escape, he returned to North Carolina in 1771 and spread through the Western settlements of Virginia and North Carolina the most glowing accounts of the inexhaustible fertility of the soil.

In the second expedition of the celebrated pioneer, the ubiquitous Irishman was again represented in the persons of James Mooney, Joseph Hoklen, John Kennedy and William Boland. Two years after Boone's return, Virginia sent out surveyors to locate lands on the Ohio River. The first surveying party was under the command of Captain Thomas Bullitt, and ac-companj'ing him we find three brothers named James, George and Robert McAfee, afterwards to become famous in Kentucky history. On the arrival of the party at the confluence of the Ohio and Kentucky Rivers   noted as the place where James McBride disembarked nineteen years before, the McAfees separated themselves from their companions and descended the latter river as far as the Forks of Elkhorn, exploring the country and making surveys in various places. They were exposed to fierce attacks by the Indians, but invariably managed to keep the savage redmen in check.

Louisville Laid Out on Lands Owned by Irishmen.

That was in the summer of 1773. Perkins, in his "Annals of the West," sajTs that the McAfees, John Higgins, and some others, "separated from the main party and went up the river, explored the banks and made many important surveys, including the valley in which the Capital City of Frankfort now stands." Portion of the Bullitt expedition went on up the Kentucky River to the Falls, and "laid out on behalf of John Campbell and John Connolly the plan of the present City of Louisville." The historians says that Campbell and Connolly were natives of Ireland.

Five years later, in October, 177S, Collins says the permanent foundations of the City of Louisville were laid, by the erection of a fort by Captain James Patton, Richard Chcnoweth, John Tuel (Toole?), William Faith and John McManus. He also says that "two surveys were made before Louisville was laid out," and that "the second survey was made by William Peyton and Daniel Sullivan." In 1780, the Legislature of Virginia passed "an Act for the establishment of the town of Louisville at the Falls of the Ohio." By this Act, eight Trustees were appointed "to lay out the town on a tract of land which had been granted to John Connolly by the British

11 
   Crown and which he had forfeited by his adherence to the royal cause." Among the eight Trustees are mentioned "Andrew Hynes and Daniel Sullivan, Gentlemen."

The M'Afee Brothers.

Mann Butler, a Kentucky historian, says the McAfee brothers were the sons of James McAfee, a pioneer of Botetourt County, Va. "Fired by the glowing description of the beauty and fertility of Kentucky, they determined to visit it in search of a new home, and on June 1, 1773, they struck out across the mountains to the Kanawha River, about four miles above the mouth of Elk River, where, having sent their horses back by John Mc Cown and James Pawling, they descended the river in canoes." By previous arrangement, they joined Hancock Taylor, the leader of another surveying party, witli whom they ascended the Kentucky River as far as Dren-non's Lick. Here they found a white man named Joseph Drennon who had crossed the country one day ahead of the McAfees.

"The unted companies joined the expedition under Captain Thomas Bullitt, and the three parties proceeded together down the Ohio as far as the mouth of Limestone Creek, where the City of Maysville now stands. At the mouth of the Kentucky the companies separated, the McAfee party followed a buffalo trace and crossed the river below Frankfort at what is now Lee's Town. Here they turned up the river and surveyed for 000 acres at the place where the Capital City was afterwards located, this being the first survey on the Kentucky River."

Hardships of the Pioneers.

From the Kentucky they took a Southeast course across Dick's River, and soon found themselves in a barren and mountainous region. For days they went without food, their feet were blistered and bruised by the rocks; no water could be found and no game. At length, Robert McAfee, by a lucky shot, the last in his pouch, managed to kill a deer which had strayed far from the herd, and thus the party was saved from starvation. After passing through many privations and horrors, the ragged and forlorn party returned safely to their friends in Botetourt County.

It will be observed that the historians differ slightly as to the details of the tour of the McAfees. Butler's statement is probably more correct than that of the others, for he says that his information was taken from the Original McAfee family papers, which are said to be still preserved as part of the records of Providence Church, the first established in Kentucky. "These papers," says Butler, "embrace the adventures of that enterprising and bold family from 1773 to the final settlement of the family in peace and in the plenty of Kentucky." We shall later quote extracts from these papers concerning the adventures of this noted Irish-American family. 
   Irish Pioneers in Kentucky.

The McGarrys, Dentons and Hogans Formed the First Domestic Circle in Kentucky   The Brave, But Rash, Captain Hugh McGarry.

"In Captain James Harrod's company of adventurers who came to Kentucky in 1774," says Collins, "was John Lynch. He occupied a cabin at Harrodsburg when, on September 8, 1775, General James Ray, accompanying his mother, Mrs. Hugh McGarry, her husband and children, Richard Hogan and Thomas Denton with their families and