xt7hdr2p6139 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7hdr2p6139/data/mets.xml Hendrick, William Jackson, 1855- 1907  books b92-54-27062384 English Printed at the Riverside Press, : Cambridge, Mass. : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Hendrick, James Paul, 1828-1898. Presbyterian church in the U.S.A. Presbytery of Ebenezer. Rev. James P. Hendrick, D.D.  : memoirs with an appendix containing history of Ebenezer presbytery and other papers / by Wm.J. Hendrick. text Rev. James P. Hendrick, D.D.  : memoirs with an appendix containing history of Ebenezer presbytery and other papers / by Wm.J. Hendrick. 1907 2002 true xt7hdr2p6139 section xt7hdr2p6139 
 





1



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3Ab. 3au0 V. A             h bnck, 0U,


            MEMOIRS
    WITH AN APPENI CONTAINING HISTORY
         OF EBENEZER PRESBYTERY
            AND OTHER PAPERS

                  BY

        WM. J. HENDRICK, A.M.
            OF THE NEW YORK BAR



w    rintgo at  Uitmite proo
    CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
          1907

 












































COPYRIGHT 1907 BY WILLIAM J. HENDRICK


        ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 

















            To

      MY MOTHER

 ,0oplia rDarnatt pririck

          THESE
          MEMOIRS
 OF THE MAN SHE LOVED AND
HONORED AND WHOSE LIFE WORK
      SHE INSPIRED ARE
        REVERENTLY
        DEDICATED

 This page in the original text is blank.

 








Samen Paul mtbricf

                      C OpH ia IaLD RemNick


                  CHILDREN



WM. J. HENDRICK
   New York
ELIZABETH HENDRICK AMOS
   Flemingsburg, Ky.
JAMES PAUL HENDRICK
   FKemingsburg, Ky.



MARY HENDRICK SHANKLIN 

PENELOPE HENDRICK DUDLEY
   Kansas City, Mo.
FRANCES HENDRICK ADAIR
   Lexington, Ky.



              GRANDCHILDREN

    Children of WM. J. and MARTHA HARRIS HENDRICK
                 New York, N. Y.
ANNE HENDRICK WILSON      SOPHIA K. PICKETT
JOHN HARRIS HENDRICK     JANE CARLYLE HENDRICK
               JACQUELINE HENDRICK

     Children of A. R. and ELIZABETH HENDRICK AMOS
                 Flemingsburg, Ky.



SOPHIA THILMAN AMOS



EMILY AMOS



                PAULINE AMOS


          GREAT-GRANDCHILD

Daughter of ROBERT BURNS and ANNE HENDRICK WILSON
               New York, N. Y.
           ANNE ELIZABETH WILSON



 Died in 1893.

 This page in the original text is blank.


 








                        CONTENTS

    I. Birth and early life. . . . . . . . . . . . .        1
    II. College and seminary . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
 III. A year in Texas - Return to Kentucky - Marriage and
        settlement in Carlisle and Flemingsburg . . . . . 17
  IV. Establishment of seminary and characteristics as a teacher
        -Interest in education and zeal for Centre College . 24
   V. Character as a citizen and service as chaplain in the
        Federal Army   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
  VI. Relation to the Church and people as pastor and spiritual
        adviser -Work as missionary and evangelist  . . . 37
 VII. Character as a preacher and theologian - Selections
        from sermons   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
VIII. A delegate to the Pan-Presbyterian Council at Belfast,
        Ireland-Letters from    Europe to the Louisville
        " Courier-Journal," signed "Paul ".. . . . . . . 219
 IX. Last years and death   . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
 X. Funeral ceremonies and addresses . . . . . . . . 264
 XI. Author's estimate of the man. . . . . . . . . . 283
     List of students, 1855-1887. . . . . . . . . . 293
     Members of Church, April, 1879, as reported to Presby-
       tery ................. . 303
     History of Ebenezer Presbytery. . . . . . . . . 311
     Index ....    .  . .  . .  .  . .  .  . .  .  .    . 337

 This page in the original text is blank.


 








    JAMES PAUL HENDRICK


                 CHAPTER I

             BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE
Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth. - ECCL. Xii. 1.
  JAMES PAUL HENDRICK was born on the 13th of
July, 1828, in Jessamine County, Kentucky, at his
father's homestead near Nicholasville, the county
seat.
  His father was Joseph Wyatt Hendrick, who was
born in Hanover County, Va., near the " Old Fork
Church," April 20, 1787, and died January 30,
1839, at his home in Jessamine County. He was
buried in the private burying ground of the family
near the homestead, from which his body, with that
of his wife, was removed in recent years and rein-
terred in the cemetery at Nicholasville. He was
descended from a highly respected and wealthy
family of Hollanders who settled in Hanover County
early in the history of Virginia. From his father
Joseph Wyatt inherited a large estate in land and
negroes near Taylorsville, on Little River, in what is
called the " Forks of Hanover."
  His mother, Mary Doswell Thilman, was born in

 


JAMES PAUL HENDRICK



Hanover County, Va., October 15, 1787, and died at
the homestead near Nicbolasville, Ky., on February
17, 1838. She was descended from an old Hugue-
not family of Thilmans, who, for many generations,
owned Hanover Court House, and was a grand-
daughter of the last Paul Thilman. Her father,
William Thilman, married Mary Doswell, sister of
the noted James Doswell, of New Market. The
Thilmans and Doswells were both French Huguenots
descended from sires who came to Virginia as refu-
gees upon the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
In 1810 Joseph Wyatt Hendrick removed from
Virginia and settled near Glasgow in Barren County,
Ky., where he bought large quantities of land. He
was unfortunate in business in Barren, where he lost
the larger part of his estate, and about 1820 removed
to Jessamine County and settled on the farm where
he died.
  The children of Joseph Wyatt Hendrick and
Mary Doswell Thilman were eight in number. The
oldest, Ann Eliza, was burned to death in infancy.
  Mary Ann became the wife of Isaac Sparks, who,
after the death of his father-in-law, bought and
owned the old homestead, where he and his wife
both died, leaving a large family. Hon. E. R.
Sparks, Dr. Joseph S. Sparks, John and Thomas
Sparks were children of this union.
  The third child and eldest son was Rev. John
Thilman Hendrick, D. D., who for half a century
filled a large space in the annals of the Presbyterian
Church in Kentucky and Tennessee.



2

 



BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE



  Captain Joseph Wyatt Hendrick was the fourth
child and second son. He lived in New Orleans, La.,
and was owner and captain of a steamboat on the
Mississippi River for many years. He died in 1858
leaving a widow and two children.
  William H. Hendrick, the fifth child and third
son, was for many years extensively engaged in
farming and stock-raising in Fleming County, Ky.
In 1890 he removed to Natchez, Miss., where he has
since resided. He died in January, 1901, and was
buried in the family lot in the Fleming County
Cemetery.
  Elizabeth married Thomas Masters, and lives near
Kansas City, Mo.
  Martha married John Tompkins, and still survives
him in Nicholasville, Ky.
  The youngest child and daughter, Jane, married
Newton Dickerson, of Nicholasville, and survives her
husband, who died some years ago.
  James Paul was the seventh child and fourth and
youngest son of his parents. His mother died when
he had reached his ninth year, and his father less
than a year later.
  Of the family name, Dr. John T. Hendrick, in a
personal memoir, says: " The Hendricks of Indiana,
who are of the Pennsylvania branch, spell the name
with an ' s.' The true name must end with a I W
and the 's' cannot belong to it. The word signifies
'rich in forest lands' or 'parks for hinds,' and
the coat of arms represents a ' hind in a park,'
conclusively showing that the Virginia branch spell



3

 


JAMES PAUL HENDRICK



the name correctly. Others derive the name from
the Saxon word 'hine' or ' hind,' signifying ser-
vant or domestic. So that the name would mean
I rich in servants.' But either derivation proves
our spelling correct."
  The birth and early life of James Paul did not
differ in any material respect from the ordinary and
usual life of the son of a Kentucky farmer of that
time. His father, though baptized in the Episcopal
Church, was never confirmed, and was an excellent
type of the Virginian of his day. He was hospita-
ble, free-handed, excessively fond of fox hunting
and horse racing, and, while not a hard drinker, was
convivial in his tastes and habits. His mother, Mary
Thilman, was a woman of great force of character.
She was also baptized in Virginia in the Episcopal
Church, but after the family removed to Kentucky
transferred her allegiance to the Baptist Church, and
was immersed by the Rev. Jacob Creath. She
always entertained open communion sentiments, and
had great liberality for all Christians.
  James Paul was a mere lad of nine years when his
mother died. And yet he had the tenderest and
most vivid recollections of her. Before she died
she exacted a promise from him never to use intoxi-
cating liquors in any form, and this pledge he
sacredly kept. From the seed thus sown undoubt-
edly grew his earnest and vigorous opposition to the
liquor traffic in any and every form and his unflag-
ging zeal for prohibition. His middle name, Paul,
was given him by his mother in honor of her grand-



4

 

BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE



father, the last Paul Thilman. He was fond of the
name and frequently alluded to it, though he signed
his name " James P.," with few exceptions.
  In less than a year after his mother's death his
father followed her to the grave, having never re-
covered from the shock received at her loss. The
home of his boyhood was thus broken up, and at ten
years of age, with a small patrimony, he was practi-
cally thrown on his own resources. From this time
forward his training and education were directed by
his eldest brother, Dr. John T. Hendrick, who was
at that time pastor of the church at Flemingsburg.
Thither he went and became a member of his bro-
ther's family, receiving with his children, in the
schools supported by the Presbyterian families of
that community, his primary education.
  It was to his mother and to the teaching and ex-
ample of his brother, Dr. John T., that he owed his
early religious training. The atmosphere of reli-
gious thought and the intense interest in the subject
which marked the revival of 1827 and 1828, and
extended through the twenty succeeding years in
many parts of Kentucky, are so well set forth, with
local and personal coloring, by Dr. John T. Hen-
drick, in his account of his own conversion, that it is
here presented in his own words. It was part of
this same movement, at a later date, in which James
Paul found himself, became converted to Christ,
and dedicated himself to the gospel ministry. The
account given by Dr. John T. Hendrick of his own
conversion is as follows:



5

 


JAMES PAUL HENDRICK



   " During the great revival which prevailed
throughout that part of Kentucky, in 1827, under
Blackburn, Ross, Gallagher, Nelson, Barnes, Cleland,
and others, my thoughts were first turned and my
mind awakened to the great subject of religion. It
was a new and strange subject to me. I was just
sixteen years old, and had had no religious instruc-
tion, but was surrounded by the most ungodly play-
mates and associates, and the great subject of my
soul's salvation had never been thought of.
  " At this time I was engaged with my brother-in-
law in superintending a large cotton factory in
Nicholasville. I spent most of my evenings in dan-
cing and such like enjoyment and with the most
frivolous and careless companions. Still I went to
the Presbyterian Sabbath School very regularly, in-
fluenced by two motives: first, being very fond of
reading, I could obtain books there; second, I had
a good memory, and could memorize a chapter of the
Gospel without much difficulty. I received a reward
of one blue ticket for each six verses so memorized,
and a red ticket for every six blue ones, and for
every six red ones they gave me a book for my own.
Thus, out of my great desire to obtain books, I
memorized the whole Gospel of Luke and the greater
part of Matthew and John, and to this day can
repeat them. Now I feel the great advantage and
good resulting from Sunday School instruction.
  " How well do I remember the morning when that
meeting began! It was several days before I felt
any sort of interest in the preaching. Still I could



6

 


BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE



not keep away, but felt a vague sort of desire to be
at every meeting, and yet felt nothing like a convic-
tion for sin and no special need for Christ. On the
second Sabbath, when the interest was most intense,
and the Presbyterian Church being too small to hold
the crowds who wished to attend, a minister, the
Rev. Cabell Harrison, was sent to preach in the old
frame Methodist church, I was there; and I re-
member his text was, ' What shall it profit a man if
he gain the whole world and lose his own soul'
He was not a man of much interest, and his sermon
was very commonplace, but when he announced his
text it seemed to come right home to my heart, and
haunted me for many days. Every sermon appeared
intended especially for me. Nothing gave me relief.
I read my Bible and tried hard to pray, but made
little headway. Thus two weeks passed, and interest
in the meeting still increasing, many souls had been
made glad in Christ, and among the number there
were several of my companions. I had almost given
myself up as lost. One day I went up into a sort of
garret at our factory to see about the regulator, and
while up there I knelt down and prayed long and
earnestly. I found some relief and a degree of light
and a strange quietude of mind.
  " When I arose from my knees it all seemed like a
dream. My mind was relieved, and my feelings were
of the most tender character as I felt that my sins had
been forgiven and I would be saved. When I came
down to the office I took my Testament and opened
it. Each page appeared new to me, and so much



7

 


8            JAMES PAUL HENDRICK
more interesting than before. That night I went
up to the anxious seat to be prayed for. Now all
was dark to me again. I had no feelings whatever;
I was even sorry I had gone up. On Sunday morn-
ing an inquiry meeting was held at nine o'clock.
I went and talked a long time with the ministers and
one good old elder. The elder asked me, ' What
first interested you' I could not answer. ' Did
you always feel this interest' 'No; I fear the
Devil has instigated me to do this.' ' What do
you want, then ' was next asked. I answered, ' To
be saved.' 'Where did you get that desire from'
'I cannot tell.' ' Well,' said he, ' you may be sure
that the Devil did not give it to you, nor did it
originate in your own sinful heart. So if you really
have a desire to be saved, why, the spirit of God put
the desire in your heart.'
  " A new light now dawned upon me. My trouble
was all gone, and I had found my Saviour, and
could go on my way rejoicing. A few days after
this I united with the Presbyterian Church in Nicho-
lasville with many others, and was baptized by Rev.
John P. Hudson, the pastor. I derived much pleasure
from reading my Bible and attending the Sunday
School. Some two years afterwards my mind was
turned to the ministry. I felt a most sincere desire
to be useful in the cause of my Saviour, but I too
felt a deep and solemn dread of attempting such a
fearfully responsible work. It is certain I had very
indistinct ideas of such matters. I was also annoyed
by ignorant and irreligious people, who endeavored

 


BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE



to turn my mind from all serious subjects. Even
when I had gotten my own consent to study for
the ministry, I was ofttimes sorely perplexed about
my duty and fitness for the work. Difficulties beset
me on every side; without were foes, within were
fears. My first few months at college were days of
darkness, discouragement, and gloom. I was like
one at sea, lost and forsaken. I cannot begin to
describe my feelings."
  It was while in attendance in school in Flemings-
burg, taught by Mr. Maltby, that he met his future
wife, Sophia N. Darnall, the daughter of Henry
Jackson Darnall, at that time, and for many years
previous and succeeding, one of the elders of the
church at Flemingsburg. My mother I have heard
frequently rally him over his boyish attentions to
another young lady who attended the same school,
but who early passed out of his life. So far as is
known he never had any other fiance'e than Sophia
N. Darnall, who afterwards became his wife.



9


 








CHAPTER II



              COLLEGE AND SEMINARY

  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast
been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. -2 Tis.
iii. 14.
   FROM Flemingsburg and the preparatory schools
there, the young student turned his eyes to the rising
hope of Western and Southern Presbyterians at that
day, Centre College, at Danville, Ky. This insti-
tution was founded in 1819, and was the protest of
the Presbyterians against the heterodox views taught
by Transylvania University under the inspiration of
the brilliant Dr. Holley. They had succeeded beyond
their hopes, and at this time, under the wise admin-
istration and inspiring enthusiasm of Dr. John C.
Young, its youthful president, Centre College was
at once the pride and the hope of the friends of
sound learning in the South and West.
  James Paul entered the sophomore class at the
fall term of 1846, graduating with his class in 1849.
The class roll of graduates is as follows: -
  William C. Baker; Samuel Alexander Bonner; Wil-
liam Alexander Brigham; Elias Davidson Clay; Robert
Conover; Edward Cook; Charles Buck Cotton; John
Cowan; John Jordan Crittenden, Jr.; Aaron Parker
Forman; James Paul Hendrick; John Read Hendrick;

 


COLLEGE AND SEMINARY



John Henry Kenney; David L. McDill; John Olinthus
McGehee; James P. McGoodwin; John Lapsley McKee;
William W. Metcalfe; John Henry Moore; Gelon Hann
Rout; Joseph Scott; Andrew Lewis Wallace; James
Warnock.

   Of all these, Dr. John L. McKee, for many years
the vice-president of Centre College, was his most inti-
mate friend and associate during these three college
years. Their souls were " knit " like the souls of
Jonathan and David, and this friendship continued
and ripened until " one was taken and the other left."
Here the young student met and felt the great per-
sonality of Dr. John Clarke Young, the president,
from whom and Dr. Erasmus McMaster, under whom
he sat later, the plastic mould of his life was formed.
What manner of man Dr. Young was no one who
has never seen him can rightly know. So much of
his power lay in his personality, which was so mag-
netic and attractive, that no man can hope to put
him on paper. He was preeminently an orator and
teacher, with the subtle power of each to infuse
into those who saw and heard him the very thought
of his mind and the conviction of his heart. The
following sketch will give the reader some impres-
sion of the man: -
  " John Clarke Young, D. D., was born in Green-
castle, Pa., August 12, 1803. He was the youngest
son of Rev. John Young, pastor of the Associate
Reformed Church of that place, and of Mary Clarke
Young, both of Scotch-Irish descent. Dr. Young
was for three years a student at Columbia College,



11

 


JAMES PAUL HENDRICK



New York, and in 1823 was graduated at Dickinson
College, Pennsylvania. And having declined the
most tempting offers to enter the profession of law,
under the auspices of his uncle, Matthew St. Clair
Clarke, at that time clerk of the House of Repre-
sentatives at Washington, and an eminent lawyer
and politician, he determined to study for the minis-
try. For two years he occupied the position of tutor
in Princeton College, and in 1824 he entered the
theological seminary there, in which he remained
four years. While at Princeton he was the intimate
friend of Drs. Hodge, Dod, and the Alexanders, all
of whom were young men together. In the spring
of 1827 he was licensed to preach; after visiting
several Eastern cities, where he was strongly urged
to make his home, he journeyed across the moun-
tains, to what was then considered the West, and
came into Kentucky. In 1828 he was elected and
installed pastor of the McChord Presbyterian Church
in Lexington. In the fall of 1830 the presidency
of Centre College became vacant by the resigna-
tion of Dr. Blackburn, and Dr. Young, then enter-
ing his twenty-eighth year, was unanimously elected
to that office by the board of trustees. Although
so young, and having been in the State but a short
time, he had already attained to the first rank as an
able and eloquent preacher, and a man of varied and
elegant acquirements.
  " ' If your inquiries,' says Dr. Archibald Alexan-
der, in answer to a query as to Dr. Young's qualifi-
cations for the place, ' relate to the presidency of a



12

 


COLLEGE AND SEMINARY



college, there is no man within my acquaintance
better qualified for such a situation than John C.
Young, who is already among you. It is a mistake
to look out for old men if you can get young men
who are qualified; the first must be going down,
but the latter will be improving for a long time to
come. You may depend upon it that Young is a
first-rate man, of extensive acquirements, and of a
pleasant but decisive temper.'
  "For nearly twenty-seven years, and until his
death, he amply fulfilled the expectation and promise
of his early youth. He entered Centre College when
it was at a low ebb, and left it at his death one of
the most prominent institutions of learning in the
Southwest. The Presbyterian Church in Danville
becoming vacant in 1834, Dr. Young was elected to
fill the pulpit. He entered upon this double duty
as an experiment, and continued its performance
with unparalleled ability, acceptance, and success
till his death, over twenty years after. In 1839 the
degree of D. D. was conferred on him by the College
of New Jersey. In 1833 he was elected Moderator
of the General Assembly in Philadelphia, and pre-
sided over that body with distinguished success. His
ready and brilliant elocution was noticeable in the
addresses which he made to the representatives of
corresponding and foreign churches. His death,
after a lingering illness, occurred June 23, 1857.
  " As a divine, Dr. Young was able and sound; as
a metaphysician, remarkable for his discriminating
powers; as a teacher, faithful and successful; as a



13

 


JAMES PAUL HENDRICK



friend, ardent and constant. His loss to the Church
and the cause of learning was deeply deplored, and
his memory is still fondly cherished by all who knew
him."
   From the halls of " Old Centre," James Paul
passed in the fall of 1849 to the Presbyterian Theo-
logical Seminary at New Albany, Indiana, attracted
to it by the fame of Dr. Erasmus McMaster, its pro-
fessor of theology. He remained there during the
three following sessions, teaching during the vaca-
tions, and graduated in 1852. If he had glowed
with fervor under the inspiration of Dr. Young at
Danville, his torch was set ablaze by contact with
the splendid abilities, fervent piety, and profound
learning of Dr. McMaster. No man so filled his ideal
of a man as Dr. McMaster. He was fond of refer-
ring to him as "that prince among men." The
following memorial, adopted by the board of trus-
tees of McCormick Theological Seminary on the
death of Dr. McMaster, will serve as well as any-
thing available to give some proper conception of
the man: -
  " It is due to the honor of divine grace that record
should be made of the grace vouchsafed to this dis-
tinguished servant of God, in the pure and upright
life which he was enabled to live, and in the clear-
ness and energy with which he was permitted to give
on his dying bed his testimony in favor of the cross
of Christ as the only hope of a ruined world, ' I die
without fear because I die in Christ.'
  " The board would also record their high appre-



14

 


COLLEGE AND SEMINARY



ciation of the eminent talents, the varied and exten-
sive acquirements, for which, as a preacher and theo-
logian, Dr. McMaster was so justly distinguished.
He was confessedly one of the foremost men of our
Church. He was in some respects a representative
man of his time. Endowed by nature with the
noblest powers of intellect, blessed from early life
with the highest advantages of education, and early
endowed with the graces of the Holy Spirit, he was
enabled at an early period in life to take a high posi-
tion in the ministry. As a scholar, a theologian, an
educator, and a preacher he was long recognized as
taking the highest rank. The young men placed
under his instruction at the different centres of his
influence, especially the students of theology at New
Albany and Chicago who enjoyed the advantages of
his department, all bear witness to his great ability
as a theological teacher.
  " As an instructive gospel preacher, a thorough
expounder of the Word, few have ever excelled him.
le was clear in his conception of truth, concise and
logical in his statements, and severe and exhaustive
in his analysis, even in the most difficult and ab-
struse questions. As might naturally be expected
from such intellectual endowments and the religious
culture which he had received at the hands of his
godly parents, Dr. McMaster was a man of great
strength, decision, and firmness of character. He
was never daunted by opposition, nor intimidated by
human authority. No man in our generation exhib-
ited greater honesty of purpose, or a higher moral



15

 


JAMES PAUL HENDRICK



courage in the formation and expression of his
views, than the lamented subject of this brief record.
At the same time, none was more sensitive to the
slightest wrong or injustice toward others, or more
regardful of the rights and feelings of his fellow-
men.
  " Dr. McMaster was not more the eminent scholar
and profound theologian than he was the Christian
gentleman. He came to Chicago in the spirit of his
Divine Master, to do his will. His whole deportment
and bearing was full of conciliation and kindness.
From his first entrance upon his duties until he was
prostrated by sickness, his colleagues in the faculty
and the students in the seminary were equally struck
with the exceeding richness and fullness of Scrip-
ture truth in his occasional addresses and sermons.
All who made his acquaintance were deeply im-
pressed with the dignity, solemnity, and excellence
of his character, and with the uniform kindness and
courtesy of his deportment."



16


 







CHAPTER III



A YEAR IN TEXAS -RETURN TO KENTUCKY -
   MARRIAGE AND SETTLEMENT IN CARLISLE AND
   FLEMINGSBURG
   Preach the word; be instant in season and out of season: reprove,
rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. - 2 TIM. iv. 2.
  HAVING finished his theological course, the mind
and heart of the young preacher were turned to
Texas, then the new empire, just wrested from
Mexico by the valor of the American soldier and
dedicated by some of the best blood of the Republic
to "law  and liberty."  Its history and traditions
appealed irresistibly to a bold and ardent nature,
while its soil, climate, and position promised large
returns to capital and labor.
  In 1852 he was licensed to preach, delivering his
trial sermon in Nicholasville, within a mile of his
birthplace. For a year following he taught and
preached in Christian County, Ky., and then, leav-
ing his native State and all its associations, Mr.
Hendrick made his way through New Orleans to
San Antonio, and there and in its neighborhood be-
gan his work as a preacher and teacher. He found
a colony of Kentuckians, and with these as a nu-
cleus, aided largely by a Mr. Wier, he opened a
school, which he taught for a year, preaching once or

 



JAMES PAUL HENDRICK



twice every Sunday during that time. This brought
him to the year 1854, and his work had so prospered
in his hands, the future was so bright, and his pro-
spects, material and spiritual, were so hopeful, that
he resolved to return to Kentucky for his promised
bride. He therefore left Texas with the determina-
tion to return and take up the work he had begun
there as soon after his contemplated marriage as
possible.
  His fiancee, Sophia N. Darnall, he had known
from boyhood. They had been schoolmates, and for
the three years preceding his return to Kentucky
had been betrothed lovers. Her father, Henry
Jackson Darnall, had been a long-time friend of Dr.
John T. Hendrick and an elder in the Presbyterian
Church at Flemingsburg. He was a large planter
and slaveholder with a numerous family connec-
tion in the county of Fleming. He was fifth in de-
scent from Colonel Henry Darnall, of Prince George
County, Md., who was a member of Lord Baltimore's
Council, and whose daughter, Mary, was the second
wife of Charles Carroll of Carrollton. Penelope,
wife of H. J. Darnall, and mother of Sophia N., was
the daughter of John Palmer, a Scotch-Irish Presby-
terian of New Jersey ancestry. His wife, Sophia
Kemper Palmer, the grandmother of the bride to
be, and for whom she was named, was a sister of the
Kempers from Virginia, all of them zealous pioneer
Presbyterians.
  With the fixed intention of returning to Texas he
came to Kentucky, and on the 10th of May, 1854,



18

 


MARRIAGE AND SETTLEMENT



at the home of her father, near Flemingsburg, Ky.,
he was united in marriage with Sophia N. Darnall.
His plans contemplated a stay in Kentucky until
September, when with his young bride he would
take his final departure for the Lone-Star State.
   But in the interval between his marriage in May
 and the time of his intended start for Texas, his
 father-in-law and other friends convinced him that
 his duty called him to remain in Kentucky. Un-
 der their influence he accordingly opened a school
 and took charge of the church in Carlisle, Ky.,
 in the fall of 1854. Here he continued until his
 removal to the adjoining county of Fleming in
 1857.
 The part of Kentucky into which the young
 preacher and teacher was thus induced to settle pre-
 sented many attractive features to an aspiring man.
 Its physical features were varied. Nicholas County
 was formed from Bourbon and Mason. Fleming
 County was carved entirely out of Mason. Each
 has a blue-grass section and a "knob " section.
 From the fertile, undulating fields of the western
 portion of Fleming the elevation rises as you go
 east, striking the foothills of the Cumberland Moun-
 tains a few miles east of the county seat. In the
 one is presented the indescribable charm of Ken-
 tucky blue-grass land, in the other the less sung
 but no less attractive features of " the hill country."
 As in all the border blue-grass counties of Ken-
tucky, the lines of demarkation between the two are
no less marked in physical features than in the char-



19

 



JAMES PAUL HENDRICK



acter of civilization the two afford. In Fleming
the transition from the Silurian to the Black Shale
is not so abrupt as in other sections, and the inter-
vening country is a blending of both.
  Between 1850 and 1860, this land, in common
with the other settled portions of central and east-
ern Kentucky, had reached a development along its
own lines, as attractive and delightful as any it will
probably achieve in its history. The pioneer had
passed off the stage, leaving with that generation the
delicious flavor of adventure and romance which
glorified the early settlement of the State. Tales of
hardship and privation, of stratagem and courage,
of daring adventure and
     " hair breadth 'scapes in the imminent deadly breach," -
of love and hate, of high emprise, and all that story
and tradition bang lovingly around the memory of
heroes, children heard at their fathers' firesides. It
was a part of their inheritance.
  The population was almost exclusively agricultu-
ral and rural. The county seat had not more than
seven hundred people, while villages of from one
hundred and fifty to three hundred souls dotted the
country here and there. There were three or four
large fortunes for that day, but the prevailing type
was the well-to-do, thrifty farmer, with stalwart sons
and blooming daughters. Many of them were slave-
owners, and "the peculiar institution" had found
firm root in congenial soil. The dominant type was
that of Virginia. South Carolina and Pennsylvania



20

 


MARRIAGE AND SETTLEMENT



had also contributed to the settlement of the country
some of their sturdiest people. This was the second
generation of the first tide of immigration. The
land had been cleared, the pioneer's cabin and block-
house had given place to commodious and comfort-
able houses, which in