Day 135

Well, you get blog 135 on the morning of day 136. Yesterday was one of the 2 days since I left home that I didn't feel well. However, a couple of doses of Airborne and I was on my way to the Henderson County Library. Also the internet would NOT stay up last night so I went to bed.

I found that Holloways and Atkinsons had much to do with the founding of the town. John Holloway, Anne Starling Holloway, and George Holloway (John's brother) arrived here in the late 1790s. George ran a small trading post. John and Anne took up his land bounty from the Revolutionary War and then traded it for more land (~1500 - 2000 acres) south of the small village of Henderson. Anne was a true pioneer woman as she carried her first born daughter, Rebecca Ballard Holloway, as she road horseback from Virginia to western Kentucky. John and Anne lived their lives on the farm. John served on several town committees including the early court of quarterly session in 1802. He died at age 65 in 1825 leaving his wife to run the plantation until her son John G. Holloway was able to take over its management. John and Anne are buried on the family farm which I hope to get to tomorrow.

Meanwhile, George Atkinson arrived from Richmond, VA in 1817. He established his first tobacco warehouse on the Ohio River, buying a mill and warehouse from John James Audubon (his mill venture did not pan out). Speaking of Audubon, he did much of his painting in this area. He often stayed with the Atkinsons, but more often the Holloways. One day he found the perfect turkey specimen and shot it. The turkey cock had a red flannel strip tied to its leg. It turns out, Anne Holloway was saving this turkey for breeding and it had gotten out of its pen - thus it was in the woods when Audubon killed it. Meanwhile, Audubon got little Rebecca Ballard Holloway to hold the dead bird while he sketched it. Audubon was frequently broke so paid for his board and room with his paintings. Several still belong to various members of the family.

Back to Atkinsons. George was very involved in all things commercial and governmental. He sat on the board for the local private school. He and others set up commissions and stock subscriptions to establish roads, construct wharves, and build buildings. In 1837, he and others financed the Henderson and Nashville Railroad. In 1850, he and his partners established Farmers Bank. The bank was highly successful and his son Edward joined its management in the 1870s. It should be noted that Hugh Atkinson, George's grandson and our great grandfather, was also in the banking business in Chicago. Obviously, meticulous detail and financial dealings suited this branch of the family.

This morning I am off to the courthouse to secure probate and marriage records. I will spend the afternoon at the genealogical society. More tonight if the internet cooperates.