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| From a letter written to me by Judge Lucius P.
Little, of Owensboro, the highest authority on the history of the Green
River country, I quote: |
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| "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
& Nashville Railroad. |
|
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| "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. |
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| "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." |
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| 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 "School
History of Kentucky," page 162, says: |
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| 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, the Hon. Henry Rhoads, was a member of the
legislature in 1798 when 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 fight for freedom, his ever enduring monument (a
county's name) was erected, not in his own land, but in the wilderness of
Kentucky. |
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| 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 into 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, page 1, gives the names of these commissioners, all of whom
were prominent pioneers--John Dennis, Henry Keith, Matthew Adams, William
Bell, Benjamin Tolbert, and Solomon Rhoads Deed Book No. 1, page 66, shows
that they granted Henry Rhoads two thousand acres of the survey, for which
he received a 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 brought. In 1798 he bought an adjoining survey of five hundred acres
that had been granted to General George Matthews.Grave of the "Godfather
of Muhlenberg County" |
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| It was on this 2,500-acre tract that he built
his home, 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." |
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| Henry Rhoads died on the 6th of March or May,
1814, aged seventyfive. His "last will and testament" was written April
15, 1812, witnessed by J. W. McConnell and Wm. Sumner." It was recorded in
1813 and probated in August, 1814, as attested by "C. F. Wing, Clerk," in
Will Book No. 1, page 194: |
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| 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, do make and ordain this my last will and
testament. |
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| 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. |
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| 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 August 23, 1810. |
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| 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 this my last will to my children, namely my sons,
Jacob Rhoads, Daniel Rhoads, Henry Rhoads, Solomon Rhoads, David Rhoads,
Susanah Nighmyoir and Caty Jackson, Elizabeth VanMeter and Hannah Jackson,
all my daughters, to be equally divided among them, at the discretion of
my executors at my decease. |
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| 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 ratifying and confirming this and no
other to be 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) 2
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| When Henry Rhoads settled on his tract of land
Muhlenberg was practically an unbroken wilderness. Many wild animals,
large and small, held sway. A number of stories are told about the game
that roamed over these hills in olden times. I here repeat two of these
stories, because they are characteristic of life in the wilderness and
because they are incidents from the life of Muhlenberg's first great
pioneer, handed down by local tradition.Henry Rhoads (Grandson of Pioneer
Henry Rhoads), His Wife and Daughter, in 1854 |
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| When Henry Rhoads was building his log house his
neighbors were few and far between, but all came with a helping hand and a
happy heart to take part in his "house-raising." These old-time
house-raisings were attended as much for the sake of their social features
as for the purpose of building a house. |
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| One afternoon, while the crowd was busily
engaged on the roof of this building, a large bear leisurely wandered into
sight. When the men saw the animal they stopped work and immediately
started on a bear chase. Some ran after him with axes and others with
guns. The women of the wilderness always lent a helping hand. In this
instance one woman followed in the bear chase with a pitchfork. After an
exciting time old Bruin was finally killed. That night a large bearskin
was stretched on the new log wall and barbeeued bearmeat was served in
abundance at all the other meals prepared for the house-raising party.
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| But the noise made by the bear-chasers evidently
did not scare all the wild animals out of the neighborhood. About a year
after that event Henry Rhoads, while walking in his wood, which is still
standing a short distance north of the old house, espied a large drove of
wild turkeys. He slowly raised his flint-lock rifle for the purpose of
shooting a fine gobbler strutting under a white oak within close range.
When he was about ready to pull the trigger he heard a rustling in the dry
leaves behind him. Rhoads looked around, and to his great surprise saw a
huge panther preparing to spring upon him. Without stopping to take sure
aim he fired at the threatening beast. Luckily, the bullet hit the animal
between the eyes and killed it instantly. A half-hour later Rhoads walked
back home with the panther skin on his arm and his trusty flint-lock on
his shoulder. |
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| These old flint-locks were, as a rule,
fine-sighted and unerring. They were slow but sure, although they did not
kill every panther they were aimed at. Compared with modern rifles they
were slow in all the operations that preceded and resulted in the
discharge of the bullet. |
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| Most of the local traditions are subject to a
variety of versions. The old panther story, as I have related it, has
probably changed very little from the original since Henry Rhoads' day.
However, another version of this incident has also crept into circulation,
and shows to what extent some traditions are changed. This new version has
it that when Henry Rhoads saw the wild turkey in the woods he took steady
aim and then pulled the trigger of his flint-lock. He had no more than
pulled the trigger when he heard the panther back of him. Rhoads turned,
immediately swung his gun around and aimed at the panther, then in the
very act of making a long leap from a limb down upon the hunter. But the
old pioneer was quicker than the discharging powder or the charging
panther, for he had the gun pointed at the animal before the bullet left
the barrel, and thus killed the panther with the load that, a few seconds
before, had been started toward the turkey! This same version continues
with the statement that the animal did not drop to the ground after it was
shot, but fell across the shoulder of the hunter, who then leisurely
walked home and did not throw the panther down on the ground until he
reached the front of his house. I do not adopt this version, but merely
record it for its vivacity and novelty. |
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| Henry Rhoads, as already stated, was a member of
the State Legislature from Logan County when, in 1798, Muhlenberg was
formed, and he was the first man to represent the new county in the House
of Representatives. He was sixty years of age when the county was
organized. Although he declined various county offices offered to him, he
nevertheless continued to work for the good of the community, and probably
did as much for the county, if not more, than any of the other early
pioneers. He helped draw the plans for the first courthouse and also did
much toward promoting the interests of Greenville, the new county seat. He
was bondsman and adviser to a number of the younger men whom he
successfully recommended for office. Tradition says that many, and
probably all, of the German-American pioneers in Muhlenberg came to the
county through his direct or indirect influence. |
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| During his last years Henry Rhoads spent much of
his time looking after his farm, tanyard, and other personal affairs, but
nevertheless lost no opportunity to bring in new settlers and perform such
acts as he thought would advance Muhlenberg County and its people. To-day
a small sandstone is all that marks the spot where rest the bones of this
influential pioneer. Some day his labors will be more fully recognized and
appreciated and an appropriate memorial will then, I dare say, be erected
over the grave of the Godfather of Muhlenberg County. 3McHenry Rhoads, 1912 |
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IV, Beginning and Bounds of the
County |
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| Afew Days after the State Legislature began its
regular session, November 5, 1798, the subject of forming a number of new
counties was brought before the House. Henry Rhoads was then representing
Logan County. Through his efforts the act establishing a new county out of
parts of Christian and Logan was passed. It was he who proposed and
procured the name of Muhlenberg for the new county. This act, passed at
the first session of the Seventh General Assembly, creating Muhlenberg,
reads as follows: |
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| An act for the erection of a new County, out of
the Counties of Logan and Christian. Approved, December 14th, 1798. |
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| 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that
from and after the fifteenth day of May next, all that part of the
counties of Logan and Christian included in the following bounds, to wit:
Beginning at the mouth of Mud river, running up said river with its
meanders within three miles of the mouth of Wolf Lick fork on a straight
line; from thence with a straight line to the Christian county line, six
miles below Benjamin Hardin's; from thence on a straight line so as to
strike Pond river, two miles below Joel Downing's; from thence down Pond
river with the meanders to the mouth; from thence up Green river to the
beginning, shall be one distinet county, and called and known by the name
of Muhlenberg. But the said county of Muhlenberg shall not be entitled to
a separate representation until the number of free male inhabitants
therein contained above the age of twenty-one years, shall entitle them to
one representative, agreeable to the ratio that shall hereafter be
established by law. After said division shall take place, the courts of
the said county shall be held on the fourth Tuesday in every month, except
those in which the courts of quarter sessions are hereby directed to be
held. And the court of quarter sessions shall be held in the months of
March, May, July and October, in such manner as is provided by law in
respect to other counties in this state. |
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| 2. The justices named in the commission of the
peace for said county of Muhlenberg, shall meet at the house of John
Dennis, in the said county, on the first court day after the division
shall take place, and having taken the oaths prescribed by law, and a
sheriff being legally qualified to act, the court shall proceed to appoint
and qualify their clerk, and fix on a place for the seat of justice for
the said county, and proceed to erect the public buildings at such place.
Provided always, that the permanent seat of justice shall not be fixed,
nor a clerk be appointed (except pro tempore), unless a majority of the
justices of the court concur therein, but shall be postponed until such
majority can be had. |
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| 3. It shall be lawful for the sheriffs of the
counties of Logan and Christian to make distress for any public dues or
officers' fees unpaid by the inhabitants thereof at the time such division
shall take place, and they shall be accountable in like manner as if this
act had not passed. |
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| The courts of the counties of Logan and
Christian shall have jurisdietion in all actions and suits depending
therein at the time of said division. and they shall try and determine the
same, issue process, and award execution thereon.Soction of J. Russell's
"Map of the State of Kentucky with Adjoining Territories," published in
1794, showing extent of the original Logan County from 1762 to 1796. Among
the orrors on this old map is the location of "Howards Sattlements," which
were on Gasper River and not on Mud (or Muddy) River as here
indicated.Section of Munnel's Map of Kentucky, published in 1836, thowing
outline of Muhlenberg and adjoining counties up to 1856, when McLean
County was formed |
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| The line that, before the formation of
Muhlenberg, separated Logan from Christian and lay within the bounds of
what became Muhlenberg, is described in the act creating Christian County
as follows: "Beginning on Green river, eight miles below the mouth of
Muddy river 1; thence a straight line to one mile west of
Benjamin Hardin's." In other words, this former dividing line ran in a
southwesterly direction from a point on Green River eight miles below the
mouth of Mud River to a point in the neighborhood of what later became the
northwest corner of Todd County. That being the fact, about three fourths
of the original area of Muhlenberg County, or about two thirds of the
present area, was taken from Christian, and the remainder--the
southeastern part of Muhlenberg--was taken from Logan County.Map of
Muhienberg County compiled from six atlas sheets issued by the United
States Geological Survey (1907-1912) |
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| I judge that after the southern line had been
surveyed it was discovered that certain lands originally intended to fall
within the bounds of Muhlenberg were, according to the "calls for running
the county line," not included in the new county. At any rate, on December
4, 1800, the Legislature passed "An act to amend and explain an act,
entitled 'an act for the division of Christian county,' " which I here
quote in full: |
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| Whereas, it is represented to the present
General Assembly that the act passed in December, 1798, for the division
of Christian county is imperfect, and wants amending: |
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| Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly,
that so much of the act as calls for running the county line from six
miles below Benjamin Hardin's, to strike Pond river two miles below Joel
Downing's, be and the same is hereby repealed; and the line shall run from
said six mile tree to Job Downing's on Pond river, so as to include said
Downing's dwelling house in Muhlenberg. This act shall commence and be in
force from and after its passage. |
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| An act to establish the county of McLean was
approved by the Legislature on January 28, 1854, and set "the second
Monday in May, 1854," as the time for the beginning of the new county.
Muhlenberg, Ohio, and Daviess counties furnished the territory.
Muhlenberg's part (about thirty-five square miles) was all the land that
lay between Green and Pond rivers north of the line described thus in the
acts of 1854: "... the mouth of the Thoroughfare branch; thence up the
Thoroughfare branch to the mouth of Big creek; thence up Big creek to a
point where the road from Rumsey to Greenville crosses the same; thence a
straight line to the head of the island on Pond river, at the Horseshoe
bend." 2 |
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| In 1890 a change was made in a part of the
southeastern boundary of the county. An act passed April 30, 1888,
provided for the appointment of commissioners "for the purpose of
establishing the lines between Muhlenberg and Butler counties." An act
approved May 22, 1890, briefly states: "That Mud river be, and the same
is, made the line between Butler and Muhlenberg counties." This act added
to Muhlenberg a triangular strip of land covering a few square miles
touching on Mud River below the mouth of Wolf Lick Fork. It incidentally
ended the occasionally disputed question as to which county the land
really lay in, and therefore also settled the discussion as to which
county governed it in the sale of liquor. It is said that this strip was,
up to 1890, invariably "wet," regardless of whether Muhlenberg or Butler
were "dry." |
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V, Courts and Courthouses |
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| Although Greenville is Muhlenberg County's first
and only county seat, the first six county courts and first three meetings
of the court of quarter sessions were held elsewhere, before the town was
begun. These initial meetings took place at the home of pioneer John
Dennis, about two miles southeast of Greenville on the Greenville and
Russellville Road. The original Dennis house was a large threeroom log
house put up about 1790 by John Dennis, who in 1810 built a twostory brick
of four rooms adjoining it. Both houses were torn down in 1902 by W. I.
Gragston, who erected a frame residence on the site of the old landmark.
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| Back of the original log and brick residence
were scattered a few slave cabins, a smoke-house and an ice-house; across
the road stood a large log barn, a blacksmith shop, a horsepower corn
mill, and several sheds, all of which gave the Dennis farm the appearance
of a small town. But all these barns and other accessory buildings erected
by John Dennis were torn down many years before the log and brick
residence disappeared. |
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| The old Dennis house was one of the earliest
"stopping-places" in the county, and in its day one of the most noted.
Among the other early places of entertainment for man and beast were the
Tyler Tavern at Kincheloe's Bluff and the Russell House in Greenville. The
Dennis tavern was situated on a comparatively much-traveled public road
leading from Nashville and Russellville to Owensboro and other towns.
Stage coaches, loaded with passengers and their deerskin trunks and
carpetbags, halted at this tavern in the olden days. All travelers over
this route, whether in public conveyance, horseback, or afoot, or in their
own sulkies, buckboards, wagons, or landslides, lingered here. Those who
were on long trips made it a point to spend the night with the genial John
and the members of his household. Circuit riders occasionally appeared on
the scene and held services in the house or under an arbor near by. |
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| Before Greenville was started, the Dennis place
was the principal headquarters for the pioneers who lived in the southern
part of the county. On the stile-blocks and around the large open
fire-places the local happenings were related by the pioneers, who came
not only to discuss such affairs but also to trade in the store and to
hear the latest news brought by the traveling public. But after Greenville
became the county seat one patron after another changed his trading and
meeting place to the new town, and long before 1822, when John Dennis
died, the Dennis place had been relegated to the past. In the meantime,
one after another, the pioneers died, and many of the stories of their
adventures that had often been told by them were no longer heard, and so
in the course of time most of the long-past events gradually ceased to be
topics of conversation, slowly faded out of memory, and were finally lost
forever. Only a few of these once-familiar facts were handed down for a
generation or two, and are now but dimly remembered as traditions. 1
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| Written official records are required by law,
and these, from the beginning down to the present, are still preserved and
are now on file in the courthouse at Greenville. The first of the county
court records I quote in full: |
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| May 28th, 1799. At the house of John Dennis, in
the county of Muhlenberg, on Tuesday the 28th day of May 1799. |
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| Agreeably to an Act of Assembly entitled an Act
for Forming a New County out of the Counties of Logan and Christian, a
commission of the peace from his Excellency, James Garrard, Esquire, was
produced, directed to James Craig, John Dennis, William Bell, Isaac Davis,
John Russell, Robert Cisna, Richard Morton, John Adams and Jesse
McPherson, appointing them justices of the peace in and for the county
aforesaid, which being read, thereupon John Dennis, Esquire, administered
the oath to support the Constitution of the United States, the oath of
fidelity to this Commonwealth, and also the oath of a justice of the peace
to James Craig, Isaac Davis and William Bell, whereupon the said James
Craig administered the said several oaths to John Dennis, Esquire. |
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| And thereupon a court was held for said county.
Present: James Craig, John Dennis, Isaac Davis, William Bell, Esquires.
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| John Bradley, Esquire, produced a commission
from his Excellency the Governor appointing him Sheriff in and for said
county which being read, he, the said John, thereupon took the oath to
support the Constitution of the United States, the oath of fidelity to
this Commonwealth and also the oath of office of Sheriff, and together
with Isaac Davis and William Worth ington, his securities, entered into
and acknowledged their bond in the penalty of Three Thousand Dollars
conditioned as the law directs. |
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| The court appointed Charles Fox Wing their clerk
pro tempore who thereupon took the oath to support the Constitution of the
United States, the oath of fidelity to this Commonwealth and also the oath
of office, and together with Henry Rhoads, Sen., and William Campbell, his
security, entered into bond in the penalty and conditioned as the law
directs. |
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| Alney McLean, Esquire, produced a commission
from his Excellency the Governor, appointing him surveyor in and for the
county of Muhlenberg, whereupon he took the oath to support the
Constitution of the United States, the oath of fidelity to this
Commonwealth and also the oath of office, and together with Robert Ewing
and Ephraim McLean, Sen., his securities, entered into and acknowledged
their bond in the penalty of six hundred pounds conditioned as the law
directs. |
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| On the recommendation of Alney McLean, Esquire,
surveyor of the county, William Bradford, George Tennell and James Weir,
Esquire, were Reduced Facsimile of Commission admitted as his deputies,
who thereupon took the oath to support the Constitution of the United
States and the oath of fidelity to this Commonwealth and also the oath of
office as deputy surveyors. |
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| Peter Lyons' stockmark: two smooth crops and a
nick under each ear. On his motion ordered to be recorded. |
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| Henry Davis' stockmark: a hole in each ear. On
his motion is ordered to be recorded. |
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