A Corner in Celebrities

A Co r n er in Celeb r it ies By Alice E liz a b e th Tmb u e Pu b l i s h e d b y G EO . G . F ET T ER C OM P AN L s l ou i vi l e . DEDI CATI ON To m ather Ste he n F itz y f , p ’ "a me; Tr ab u e a n d mother Aliee Eliz ab eth Berr Tr ab ue de ( y) , s ee n da nt: of e arly p io n eer f ettler; of Ke n t u cky a n d lo ng de F r a n k n res i n t: of li C o u n ty . Au th or it ies C onsu lted A ” Kentucky Pioneer in the Commonwealth , by N . S . Shaler . ’ ” M cN u l tt M cE ro . Kentucky in the Nation s History, by Robert y ” Hist o r ' o f y the Supreme Court of the United States , by Hampton Carson . “ ” History of Franklin County, Kentucky , by L . F . Johnson , B . A . M . Centennial Commemoration of the Town of Frankfort , by John M ason Brown . “ ” History of Kentucky, by Campbell . ” History of Kentucky and Kentuckians , by E . Polk Johnson . “ Biographical Encyclopaedia of Kentucky . National Encyclopaedia of American Biography . ” Transylvania University, by Dr . Robert Peter and Johanna Peter . ” - The Wilkinson Burr Conspiracy, by Judge Shackleford Miller . A Cor n er in C el eb r it ies ‘ - n u n in h e R e n o w e d R o me o r t a t e e r o n o h e o e s . , f p r g y f r N PI CTURES"UE Frankfort Kentucky there is a quaint corner of the town from which have probably sprung more distinguished men than from any like area in the United States . Covering about four acres , bounded by four streets bearing the historic names of Washington , Wilkin so n VVa in , M ontgomery and pp g, is the central group of some noble old houses which sheltered sires and sons whose deeds brought fame and ever lasting glory to Kentucky . Here dwelt two Supreme Court Justices , two ffi six Cabinet o cers, nine United States Senators , seven Governors , Con re ssme n g , seven foreign representatives , and it is here that three Admirals w so of the Navy first sa the light of day . Can any other town in small a space , even in Puritan New England , Knickerbocker New York or the so Cavalier South , boast brilliant an array of Governors of the States and men of national and international importance ? Within this small zone for at least one period of their lives , there lived the following brilliant galaxy Supre me C o u rt J ust ice s THOMAS TODD and JOHN MARSHALL HARLAN . C abin e t Ofiice rs GEORGE MORTI ER BIBB and JOHN JORDAN CR I TTEN DEN . U nit e d St at e s Se nat o rs d J OHN BROWN , first United States Senator after Kentucky was a mi d tt e into the Union . He served three terms and was President pro 1 — tem 8 0 3 0 4. JAM ES BROWN , first United States Senator from Louisiana after it wa s admitted into the Union . By his hands the M onroe Doctrine was transmitted to France , in which country he remained as M inister for ix s years . GEORGE M ORTI ER BIBB , twice United States Senator from Ken tucky ; appointed Secretary of the Treasury of the United States by President John Tyler . JOHN JORDAN CRITTENDEN , five times United States Senator, ” ‘ — lla i cl ut R m e lix l a "stru m i i A - - n a o a o I x . I f p r V rg l? e n e id Bk . V 7 8 7 8 4 Governor of Kentucky, member of Congress and twice Attorney General o f the United States— appointments by Presidents William Henry Harri so n and Millard Filmore . M ETCADF E THOMAS , United States Senator, member of Congress and Governor of Kentucky . GEORGE GRAHAM VEST and BENJAM IN GRATZ BROWN , s both of whom served in the United States Senate from M i souri , the latter was c also Governor of that state , and was andidate for the Vice Presidency with Horace Greely . U nit e d St at e s R e pre se nt at ive s ROBERT PERKI NS LETCHER , served twelve years , was Governor o f Kentucky and M inister to Mexico . JAM ES HARLAN , served several terms . CHARLES SLAUGHTER M OREHEAD , member of Congress and Governor of Kentucky . F o re ign R e pre se n t at ive s CHARLES S . TODD , Minister to Columbia and to Russia . T CHR I T EN D EN . THOMAS LEON IDAS , Consul at Liverpool CHAPMAN COLEMAN , for twenty years First Secretary of the American Legation at Berlin , later Consul at Roubaix , France and seven years Consul at Rome . — D . JOHN GLOVER SOUTH , M . , Minister to Panama appoint ed by President Warren G . Harding . W it h in t h is h ist o ric sp o t w e re b o rn t h re e Admirals o f t h e N avy JOHN CRITTENDEN WATSON , CHAPMAN COLEMAN TODD and HUGH RODMAN . ‘ The old citizens of Frankfort like to tell of the youthful p ranks - o f these embryo Admirals , whose sports on the Kentucky River, foreshadow r was ed their future careers . A fourt h Naval o flice who reared from infancy in this neighborhood and rose to the rank of a Commodore was ROBERT P HYTH I AN . The home of his youth was the quaint old gabled - roof house on the northeast corner of Main and Wilkinson streets . He was Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and of the Naval Observatory at Washington . Served in the Navy during the Civil war, rendering creditable service . He married Cordelia Brodhead , of Frankfort . It is interesting to note how many of these distinguished men , honored by both State and Nation , were allied by the ties of marriage or blood , and yet who during the Civil War were completely divided by their separate sympathies . Almost without an exception , th ey were of Virginia ancestry . 6 Some were sturdy pioneers of Revolutionary service , who though reared amid luxuries rarely excelled in the homes of any other state , had despite the constant conflicts with I ndians , fought their way through the wilderness “ of forest and cane — brake to take up land grants and surveys in That newly discovered , wonderful country, The earliest settlements were of necessity around the forts at Harrods ’ burgh , Logan s Fort , Boonsboro and Danville , until land grants and early surveys rapidly created settlements further down the river . Cou rt e sy o f t h e Ke n tuc k y Hi s tori c al Soci e t y . C e nt e n nial C e l e b r a tio n 1 8 8 6 of t h e I n co rp o r at io n o f t h e t o w n of F a n k o t K r f r , y. 1 8 6 was I n 7 , an act passed to establish the town of Frankfort on one e hundred acres of land belonging to James Wilkinson , who was at the tim — in - Commander chief of the Western Division of the United States Army . Wilkinson not only had the town established , but with characteristic energy utilized his soldiers to dig great drains that dried the swampy low grounds " o m t h e a o f o o ne an e l a ue a R e o ut o n a o fli r ce . Fr D i ry C l l D i Tr b , v l i ry an d in the eastern end and by his generosity tact , attracted a most desirable population . The first streets laid off by him were nearly all named for generals in the Revolutionary War, with the exception of Ann Street , which was named for his wife , a woman said to have possessed rare charm and popularity , and Miro Street , named for the Spanish Governor of the Province of Orleans . It is claimed that the name Wapping was suggested by Mr . I nstone , an Englishman , whose cottage was the first home completed on this — fift h This historic square is j ust one twenty part of the original town , to which another hundred or more acres have long since been added on the South side . It is located in a triangle or corner of the town . Wap at . ping Street , beginning St Clair follows the river west but two and a half blocks , when the river bends at almost right angles north . Follow Wapping two short blocks , and here Wilkinson Street begins and follows the “ ” bend . The name Wapping is derived from Wapping Old Stair, the ’ King s wharf in London , and it is believed that there is no other residence “ ” street bearing this name , as letters addressed Wapping Street without city or state address, have found their destination from far distant points . is Parallel with Wapping, Montgomery (now Main) named for General d ffi Richar Montgomery, a British O cer, who resigned his commission in 1 1 — 7 7 3 to come to America , and was in 7 7 5 appointed Brigadier General by the Continental Congress .

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