Cash Family Lived in Central Kentucky in the 1780s

The American Revolution (1775-1783) brought great changes to Maryland. Men were called to serve and sometimes die on distant battlefields. The British Navy burned plantations and took away slaves. But when the war ended, the British no longer stood in the way of migration west.

Other factors pushing settlers west include the exhaustion of the land from the cultivation of tobacco. Catholics who felt discriminated against welcomed a chance to move to new territory where religious differences mattered less.

Kentucky was first settled by white Americans in 1774 at the start of the Revolution. The earliest settlements withstood raids and large scale attacks by Indians who fought fiercely with British help to hold their traditional hunting grounds. The raids became less frequent toward the end of the war and thousands of settlers rushed into Kentucky by the time the British signed the peace treaty in 1783. Shawnee and other tribes continued raiding until the Treaty of Greeneville in 1795.

The first pioneers choose the Bluegrass region of north central Kentucky, then part of Virginia, where the land was nearly flat and the soil fertile. Today it is an area of elegant thoroughbred horse farms. Word spread that Kentucky was a paradise despite the dangers and hardships.

In 1785, 60 Catholic Maryland families formed a league pledging themselves to immigrate to Kentucky within a certain period of time. They were mostly from St. Mary's County, Charles County, and Prince George's County. The families wanted to immigrate together to provide mutual aid and protection, to be with their families and friends, and to create a large enough Catholic community to warrant forming a congregation with a priest. Most sacraments and ceremonies in the Roman Catholic religion require an ordained priest. They hoped to form the first English speaking Catholic parish west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Led by Basil Hayden and Phillip Lee, a group of 25 families bought land from Baltimore speculators. The migrants traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania early in 1785, then floated down the Ohio River, according to The Centenary of Catholicity in Kentucky, by the Hon. Ben J. Webb.

They landed at what is today Maysville, Kentucky and trekked overland to their newly purchased land on Pottenger's Creek in Washington County, about 50 miles south of Louisville, Kentucky. They avoided the Ohio River near Louisville because of the danger of Indian attack.

The Catholic families were told that it was some of the best land in Kentucky. Actually, "the selection of Pottenger's Creek as the location of the new Catholic colony was unfortunate. The land was poor and the situation uninviting", according to Dr. Spalding. But the migrants had made partial payment for their farms and signed bonds for the remainder. They were also disappointed that no priest accompanied them, though one arrived in 1787.

The Caleb Cash family migrated to Cartwright Creek, a nearby settlement of Catholics near the Washington County seat of Springfield about 1787, an area better suited for agriculture than Pottenger's Creek. By that time, it is very likely that the family was associated with the Catholic faith since they settled in a Catholic community and the children married Catholics.

Caleb was old to be relocating his family to such a rough and dangerous frontier, about 64 years, though his wife, Elizabeth was likely much younger. However, Caleb was well and hardy enough to survive another 22 years, 1808 or 1809. Elizabeth likely died between 1822 and 1830.

In any event, tax records list Caleb starting about 1788 though some of them list no more the name and county. In the 1792 list, he is shown as owning two horses, seven cattle, but no slaves or land.

The newly written United States constitution went into effect in 1788, and in 1792, Kentucky became the 15th state, separating from Virginia. Kentucky had a population of 73,677 in 1790.

The Catholic Community also continued to grow through migration and natural increase, centering on what is today Washington, Nelson, and Marion Counties.

Washington County records show that on September 4, 1794 Caleb Cash purchased 63 acres of land from Thomas Wright of Culpepper County, Virginia for 15 pounds, Kentucky money. The tract was located on Cartwright's Creek.

As mentioned earlier, James Cash was born about 1800 in Washington County, Kentucky. His year of birth can be inferred from his age at various later censuses.

Meanwhile, the children of Caleb and Elizabeth Cash matured and began their own families. Margaret "Peggy" married James Mattingly, recorded December 20, 1802. She later married Charles Browning June 28, 1809 and lastly married Roswell Boarman on October 15, 1827. It was not unusual to outlive several spouses.

Priscilla married Barnard Mattingly, April 25, 1808. John C. Cash married Dorothy O'Bryan, October 30, 1813. Bonds for all these marriages were made in Washington County and involved Catholic spouses. John and Dorothy were married at St. Rose Catholic Church, witnessed by Rev. Robert Angier. Another child, Mary Cash, is listed as a ward of Elizabeth Cash in the guardian records of Washington County in 1811 and again in 1822.

Caleb Cash died in 1808, leaving no will. Inventory of property recorded on February 2, 1809 showed a value of 343 pounds, four shillings, and six pence.

The 1810 United States census is the first that records the Cash family. Elizabeth Cash is listed as head of the household. It lists one white male under 10 years (James Cash) one white female under 10 years old, one female 10 to 16 years old, and two females over the age of 45. The household also had three slaves, ages and sex not given.

At the 1820 census, James Cash is listed as living in Bardstown, Kentucky in neighboring Nelson County. He was the only one in the household but is enumerated immediately following his brother John C. Cash's household. They apparently lived next door. Both are listed as farmers, and neither had slaves.

Elizabeth Cash was counted with her Washington County household in 1820, but was apparently deceased by the 1830 census.

Many other families came through central Kentucky. About 1780, Abraham Lincoln (1744-1786), grandfather of the president, bought his family to Kentucky. In 1786 he was killed in an Indian attack, probably within site of his son, Thomas Lincoln (1778-1851).

Bathsheba (Herring) Lincoln (c. 1742-1836), mother of Thomas, then moved with her son to Springfield, Kentucky where he lived for 10 years or more. Thomas became a carpenter and farm hand. In a community that small, it is likely he crossed paths with the Cash Family.

In 1806, Thomas Lincoln married Nancy Hanks in Springfield, Kentucky, according to a marriage bond registered there. The couple later moved to a farm they purchased near Munfordville, Kentucky, about 35 miles away. President Abraham Lincoln was born there February 12, 1809, their second child.

The Lincoln family moved many times in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois and so crossed passed with many families. The Lincolns were not Catholic but were of New England Puritan and Pennsylvania Quaker stock.
Thomas was later a trustee of the Pigeon Creek Baptist Church in Indiana.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Lincoln

The Centenary of Catholicity in Kentucky, a book by the Hon. Ben J. Webb.