| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
Sketch of Lampton and Clemens families In honor of the birthday of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Mark Twain (November 30, 2012 - April 21, 2012), I submit the sketch on the Lampton and Clemens families of Adair County as written by Judge Rollin T. Hurt and which appear in his History of Adair County (along with some additional notes by editor). - MIKE WATSON By Judge Rollin T. Hurt, with notes by Mike Watson From Judge's Hurt's History of Adair County The Lampton and Clemens Families The Lamptons were among the earliest comers to Adair, but the date of their coming is forgotten. Lewis Lampton, for many years, was the proprietor and conductor of what would now be denominated a hotel, in the town of Columbia, but in the day of its operation it bore the name of a tavern. It was famous for the social functions which were held under its roof in the olden time and was the popular resort of the elite of society in those days. Doubtless, it was all that a tavern in Columbia at that day should have been. The circumstance in connection with its proprietor, which tradition has most carefully preserved, was the effort on his part to chastise Jesse White. 1 White was a great wit, a dandy in his dress, a good soldier and when the occasion was favorable, would sometimes imbibe more freely than was conducive to the utmost sobriety. In this respect, however, he did not differ from the great majority of the men of his generation. He was one of the forty men from Adair County who volunteered at the call of Governor Shelby in the War of 1812-15 to go upon the campaign which was made into Canada against the forces of the British General Proctor and his Indian Allies, who were commanded by the celebrated chief, Tecumseh. White served throughout the campaign and participated in the battle of the Thames, where the British and Indians were defeated and routed and Tecumseh was slain. The cause of Lampton's attempt to chastise White is now forgotten. Probably, it was a very trivial and insignificant circumstance, as men quarrel as freely about small things as great ones. White pretended to be very loath to engage in a fight with Lampton, but Lampton would receive no apology, nor would he desist, at the insistence of friends, and compelled White to fight, and accompanied his attack upon White with the declaration that he wanted all to see just how a gentleman could handle a woodchuck. White was an expert in the use of his fists and feet and, very unexpectedly to Lampton, the fight resulted very disastrously to him and ended in his being completely knocked out. During the course of the engagement, a considerable damage was done to the furniture and vessels in the room, which was the property of Lampton. The spectators, feeling, doubtless, that they were a large part of the cause of the affray, as they had egged on the combatants as was the custom in those days, proposed to pay the damage to the furniture and vessels. White readily concurred in the justice of the spectators paying the damages, declaring that he should pay no part as the spectators had the entire benefit of the show, including and incular demonstration of how easy it was to show up an opossum when it was pretending to be a wildcat. Upon one occasion, White was in Burkesville, Kentucky, where he was introduced to the then Governor of North Carolina, who was present about certain legal matters then pending the court at that place. The governor had a very common and ordinary personal appearance and White, contrary to usual custom, stood, and for a moment, mutely gazed at him. The governor, doubtless thinking that White was in all probability embarrassed at meeting so distinguished a personage, and to relieve the situation, suggested that probably White did not credit the statement that he was a governor. White replied that he did not discredit the statement that he was a governor. White replied that he did not doubt that the governor was all that he was represented to be, but that he was thinking that if the governor was truly the highest officer in that state, if he [White] should become a citizen of it, what position would be commensurate with his deserts? A number of the descendants of Jesse White yet reside in Adair County. Jesse White who resides in Columbia being a grandson. 2 Benjamin Lampton was a brother of Lewis Lampton and resided upon a farm in the neighborhood of Bliss, about four miles west of Columbia. He married Betsey Casey, who was also called Peggy, and a daughter of Colonel William Casey. The date of the marriage 3 is not known, but from other bits of local history, it seems safe to say that they were married and were living upon the farm mentioned, which was near the residence of Colonel Casey, as early as 1795 or 1796. Here their daughter, Jane, was born and reared. Miss Pamelia Goggins was a belle in Virginia for whose hand in marriage Samuel B. Clemens and Simon Hancock were strong rivals. Clemens was the lucky suitor and her hand was bestowed upon him in marriage. 4 The eldest child of the marriage was John Marshall Clemens. Samuel B. Clemens was assisting a neighbor to erect a log building when one of the logs fell upon Clemens and crushed his life out. His wife was then left a widow with a limited amount of property and with several small children who were dependent upon her for support and education. When Simon Hancock lost to his rival the hand of Miss Goggins, he came to Adair County and secured and opened a farm for cultivation. Thereafter, a brother of Mrs. Clemens came out from their home in Virginia and secured a new home by the purchase of a farm which adjoined that of Hancock. When Mrs. Clemens was left a widow by the unfortunate death of her husband, her brother in Adair County invited her to come and reside with him. She accepted the invitation and brought her children with her. When thrown in association with her old lover, Simon Hancock, the old flame sprang up in Hancock, and he again sought her hand in marriage. 5 His second suit was successful and they were married. John Marshall Clemens grew to young manhood upon the farm of his step-father, Hancock, about three miles from Columbia. He wooed and won the hand of Jane Lampton in marriage. 6 She was then an acknowledged belle and had many suitors for her hand. They resided in Columbia for a time 7 and then removed to Gainesboro, Tennessee, where a cousin of the wife, Dr. Nathan Montgomery, then resided. At Gainesboro, their eldest child, Orion Clemens, was born. From there they removed to Fentress County, Tennessee 8, which lies upon the Cumberland Mountains, and there their two daughters, Pamelia and Margaret, were born. They resided for a time in a large hewed log house upon Wolfe's River in Fentress County, Tennessee, where their son, Benjamin, was born. Their son Samuel L. Clemens was named for his grandfather who lost his life in Virginia. He was born at Florida, Missouri. John Marshall Clemens died in Missouri. In the late seventies Mrs. Clemens paid her old friends and relatives at Columbia a visit. A lady who was one of those visited by her thus described her at that time. "She was beautiful even at old age, complexion as fair as a girl's, with gray curls on each side of her face, set off with a dainty little cap, made her an attractive picture. In manner, she was quiet with quaint, old fashioned ways. She was an elegant and beautiful woman." She was rather witty and animated in conversation, but her words came out with rather a long drawl. She died at the home of her son, in Keokuk, Iowa, at eighty-eight years of age. The fact that the parents and one of the grandparents of Samuel L. Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, were reared and married here has caused a belief upon the part of many that the great humorist himself was a native of the county. This belief led a gentleman, who is now a prominent businessman in Louisville, Kentucky, into an embarrassing situation. While a high gentleman, with many worthy qualities, he is a very positive character, especially about his information. He is one of those positive men whose information consists of nothing but facts, and he has no opinions nor beliefs. At the time that the mother of Mark Twain made the visit to Columbia, mentioned above, the gentleman engaged in conversation with several ladies upon a train without the knowledge that Mrs. Clemens was one of them. When, for some reason, the name of Mark Twain was mentioned, the gentleman promptly volunteered the information that Mark Twain was born at Columbia. Mrs. Clemens quietly demurred to the correctness of the assertion and said that he must be mistaken. [He stated] that he had been shown the house at Columbia in which Mark Twain was born and that his information came from persons who were perfectly reliable, and could not have been mistaken in their information. Mrs. Clemens very quietly begged pardon, and said that she must have been laboring under a mistake herself for a long time, but that she was the mother of Mark Twain, and had always believed, until then, that his birth had occurred at Florida, Missouri. - Judge Rollin T. Hurt Notations, by Mike Watson:
This story was posted on 2012-12-01 04:27:15
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. (AD) - Many Reunion organizing efforts are also advertised in our REUNIONS category in our CM Classifeds. These are posted at a very low cost. See RATES & TERMS More articles from topic Local History:
Prof. Reynolds plays Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin at Slider Basketball memories: That talented, athletic Burkesville team The Silent City 2012 production was splendid success The Story of Our Place Thrift Shop - Greensburg, KY Remembering Emma Lloyd: Historian has great memories of her Reliford molasses making brings back memories Silent City Cemetery Walking Tour is October 29, 2012 Rev. Clifford Spurlock family: Life at Brightshade, KY History with Mike Watson: The Dug Hill A Scene in the Life of Colonel William Casey, Pioneer View even more articles in topic Local History |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
