Home Archives: Bourbon County
  1. The Nathan Hawkins “Mansion”: A Stone House in the Kentucky Territory of Virginia, 1790

    The Nathan Hawkins “Mansion”: A Stone House in the Kentucky Territory of Virginia, 1790

    By: Dr. Gay Sweely The house itself was … peeking stoically out from behind two overgrown oak trees …. It was a timeworn stone structure … with an addition thoughtlessly tacked on the back. That part was painted a dingy white … Indeed, the house hadn’t been lived in …...

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  2. Hugh Brent: Merchant of the city of Paris, Bourbon County

    Hugh Brent: Merchant of the city of Paris, Bourbon County

    By: Rogers Bardé I began the search for Hugh Brent when Hopewell Museum received a gift of the portraits of Hugh Brent and his wife, Elizabeth Langhorne Brent.  I wanted to know who Hugh Brent was and find out why my 4th great grandfather, William Rogers, named his youngest son Hugh...

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  3. Book Notes – Love at a Distance

    Book Notes – Love at a Distance

    Love at a Distance: The Courtship, Marriage, and Love Match of John Brennan and Emma Hickman, 1864-1876. By Nancy O’Malley. (2015. Pp. 435. $25.00. Paperback. lulu.com Publishing) ISBN: 9781312743083. In a remarkably short period of time, the long distance story of a young couple unfolded between Paris Kentucky and New York...

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  4. Collections Corner: Elder John “Raccoon” Smith Marriage Records

    Collections Corner: Elder John “Raccoon” Smith Marriage Records

    The early Kentucky landscape was often painted as a wild frontier, full of colorful characters that had enough eccentricity and determination to successfully settle this new land. While record keeping might have taken a back seat, or even been overlooked as a necessity in this “wilderness”, the ultimate goal of...

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  5. Colonel James Smith’s Death Verified

    Colonel James Smith’s Death Verified

    By: Martha Ann Atkins, Ph.D Col. James Smith (1737-1813) was a frontiersman, pioneer, explorer, Indian captive, ‘Indian fighter’, Revolutionary War soldier, Pennsylvania State Assemblyman, Kentucky State Assemblyman, Presbyterian preacher, published author and my 4th Great Grandfather. The major events of his life are well-known.  However, the date and location of his...

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  6. Collections Corner: Licking River Navigator

    Collections Corner: Licking River Navigator

    “The Navigator Containing Directions for Navigating Main and South Licking Rivers together with the Distances from one place of Notoriety to another…” Picture it: 1818, traveling along the Licking River in your flatboat. Unlike the Ohio River, the Licking is more narrow, with many twists, turns, and “ripples” to navigate....

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